Archive for the ‘Marcomms’ Category

The Smooth Way to Build a Brand

Published on May 24th, 2011 by Katia

“Mmmm, this smoothie tastes really nice”, I thought.  The label on the bottle read:

22 pressed red & white grapes

1/2 a mashed banana

1/2 a squeezed orange

32 crushed blueberries

double-decker bus*

a squeeze of lemon

* Hold very tight please, ting, ting!

“A double-decker bus?!”  It made me smile… “But who’s this company?”, I wondered. “Innocent Drinks…? Never heard of them before… but I like them!”. That was it. I had become, not only a loyal customer, but also very fond of Innocent Drinks. And so did many other people. Founded in 1998 by three college friends, Innocent Drinks has become the UK’s fastest growing food and drink business. Brand awareness has grown by 28 per cent in a year – reaching 41 per cent national awareness and market share has grown from 14 per cent to over 30 per cent in four years. Innocent Drinks are now available in over 4,000 outlets, including all Sainsburys and Waitrose stores, Starbucks, Boots, Eat and many other independent retailers.  Either through necessity or intent, they’vre created an image and brand values based on straightforward, slightly irreverent communications style that soon became the company’s trademark.  Their fun, easy going, no-nonsense approach helped them to gain 71 percent share of the £169 million UK smoothie market, selling 2 million smoothies per week, and yet maintain the integrity of their brand values, retaining the trust and support of their employees, customers and retail partners.

As a small start-up, they realised that they could utilise a space that was essentially a free advert: the packaging of their products. It was an inexpensive channel, and an opportunity to talk about the drink, the business and others things they wanted to communicate. And by constantly changing the words and keeping them interesting, it meant people started actually reading the labels and telling others about them.  So they used their packaging to channel relevant and timely messages at a time when they have their consumers’ undivided attention.  Their brand’s “tone of voice” – or their “verbal identity” even – did not only help differentiate it from competitors but also create bonds of affection and loyalty with different audiences.  With warm and humorous words, they convinced enough people to give it a try and to keep on going back for more. People laughed with them, liked them and wanted them to succeed. They bought into the idea of the Innocent brand.

Customers were invited to “call the banana phone or pop in to visit Fruit Towers, if feeling bored or if there’s nothing on TV”, and Innocent Drinks listened to them: they’ve created a banana-free smoothie (one of their biggest business requests) and eliminated honey from their Veg Pots (as a result of a reaction from a vocal group of people on their blog).  They’ve also coped well with a tricky situation that could have easily damaged their brand:  the news that they would be selling their shares, giving Coca-Cola a 58% stake, triggered immediate comments in their blog where the company was immediately accused of selling out their values to a very profit-orientated company.  But Innocent Drinks managed to keep their image intact by being very open with their customers and reassuring them that the mission and values of the company remained unchanged.

I went to their Annual General Meeting last year and I must say it’s very hard not to believe on what they say.  Being at the Fruit Towers, their headquarters, one does feel all the positive and creative vibes that you see on their product labels; it does seem that they do care or at least try very hard to.  Whereas they might not be as innocent as we originally thought them to be (after all, they are a for profit organisation), it is undeniable that they’ve managed to create a very solid company image.  They showed how an appealing tone and engaging words that are communicated creatively and consistently and that are “lived” in all customer interactions – whether that is sending warm messages on product labels, talking to consumers on the phone or encouraging customers to visit their offices – can deliver high market impact at relatively inexpensive marketing cost and be the basis for a successful brand.

 

Branding Marathons – More Than Just Mileage

Published on Apr 18th, 2011 by Jack

On Sunday 17th April over 35,000 runners took to the streets of London for the 31st London Marathon. The fact that it is formally called the Virgin London Marathon probably had little significance for the majority of runners. However, for the marketing/endurance hybrids who took part (such as NSUK’s own Rhiannon Price), this may have been more significant. Long distance sporting events are held every weekend. These have a vast array of not only distances and levels of competition, but also event names – all with different meanings, target audiences and auxiliary functions beyond sport itself.

Commercially Branded, Numbers Driven

Events such as these include the aforementioned Virgin London Marathon and the BMW Berlin Marathon. Their unique identifier is that they are branded in a corporate way, citing a large brand name in the title. These events reach out to people who would not ‘normally’ participate in events such as these. Resultantly, these events can be extremely large in size. Due to the popularity and size of these events they often serve purpose beyond a sporting event, with many participants taking part to raise money for good causes.

Sports Branding, Athlete Focussed

The increased popularity of endurance sports now means that brands which are large in the sporting world have the capability to brand events themselves. Examples include the Maxifuel Half Marathon. These events often do not have the reach of corporately branded races and therefore are not always as well communicated to the general public. However, they do have the power to communicate to the sporting community and often serve as a popular event for the enthusiastic athlete. The naming power of these events should not be underestimated, with events such as ‘Ironman’ in the world of triathlon being a global brand in itself.

Tackle Me If You Dare

Some endurance events avoid all commercial branding in their name, instead opting for monikers which reach out to participants and entice them to take on a race with the allure of a name which represents difficulty, hardship and a challenge. Such names include ‘Hell Down South’ and ‘The Cumbrian Killer’ from the worlds of running and cycling respectively. These events hope that through aggressive naming they will attract hardened endurance veterans – albeit in small quantities due to the niche audience they are aiming at.

Location, Location, Location

Some endurance events keep it simple, using only the event location as a prefix. Such events on first inspection may appear to be missing a trick. Or are they? Some events can attract participants without any commercial backing or an aggressive name. Often the attraction of a location is enough. Examples range from the Angmering Bluebell 10k to the Beachy Head Marathon. These events attract the scenery (as well as sporting) driven competitors. Don’t be fooled into thinking that these events are only small scale. Simply having a location based name helps the Paris Marathon attract 37,000 competitors a year, many of whom no doubt are attracted by the thought of going to such an iconic city as well as the 26.2miles of running.

The less social networks and their challenge for marketers

Published on Apr 10th, 2011 by Chris

Based on the recent buzz at SXSW, the festival that young wannabe Zuckerbergs go to party, showcase their new social media app/ecosystem/way of life and receive billions from salivating venture capitalists, 2011 will be the rise of the less social network. Spurred-on by continuing discontent over Facebook’s desperate attempt to sell as many details of its members as possible, new services are offering a more intimate way to communicate with a select few recipients.

This clearly presents a problem for marketers as the holy grail of massive insight into consumer’s activities and social interactions slips further away. Previous Northstar research has shown less concern about privacy amongst current teenagers, however the rise of less social networks on the back of privacy concerns amongst older age groups means that the golden age of marketing could be further away than the industry hoped.

The industry has to act responsibly and carefully manage the use of social media based advertising. If managed correctly the idea of relevant adverts could be a benefit to consumers not a hindrance, location based adverts likewise.

Location based special offers (Foursquare, Facebook places) are a good way to introduce consumers to these ideas as the benefit is clear to them. The idea of using your Facebook friends’ images without their knowledge to promote a product might be a bit too far on the creepy side though.

How marketers use these new opportunities could have a big impact on the extent to which people look for alternatives to Facebook. These are the less advertising friendly competitors to watch out for in 2011.

GroupMe/ Beluga

Fed up with sharing everything that you do with everyone? These text message/ app based services allow you to setup groups and then send messages visible only to members. The addition of SMS means that you don’t need a smartphone and good data connection. If you are using a smartphone app you get the added features of location & photo sharing and conference calls. Sensing the potential threat Facebook snapped up Beluga shortly before SXSW.

Glympse:

Want to send you location to someone quickly, easily and without telling everyone else where you are? Glympse lets you send your location (for a limited period of time) out via a link in SMS or email. The recipient can then view your location and speed. Ideal if you’re running late, meeting someone in an unfamiliar place or just want peace of mind.

Path:

With the average Facebook ‘friends’ with 120 people the idea of sharing everything becomes a bit daunting given that your parents/ colleagues etc could well be watching. Path aims to offer a more intimate experience with the intention of a smaller network of friends around 50.

Some information sourced from: http://mashable.com/2011/03/09/startups-to-watch-sxsw/

All Adverts Want For Christmas Is…

Published on Dec 15th, 2010 by Jack

One of the key features of the Christmas period is the amount of time we spend in front of the television. To advertisers, this is a Christmas present in itself as consumers are the willing victims of their seasonal TV campaigns – more so than at any other time of year. Accordingly, many brands roll out special festive messages to their audiences – some better than others. Ads like the Coca Cola truck commercials have become an appreciated part of the festive season. Others, like Iceland’s 2009 effort starring Jason Donovan and Coleen Nolan were less well received. This poses the question – what makes a good Christmas TV ad? Whilst not the ‘complete recipe’ here are three top tips:

Communicate Via Festive Traditions

When speaking to consumers at Christmas, remember what might be considered a cliché or artifice if rolled out at any other time can be used without fear of embarrassment at Christmas. This is the time when you really can have your Christmas cake and eat it!

Witness the Irn Bru effort of 2006 when Scotland’s favourite soft tipple entertained consumers to the tune of ‘Walking in the Air’. By doing so, they identified with an element of Christmas culture familiar to many consumers whilst communicating that Irn Bru is so tasty it is worth stealing from a small child (snowmen are not bound by British law it appears). Additionally, this form of communication helps to show that brands know what people do at Christmas (like watch The Snowman), nullifying views that all brands are just nakedly commercial enterprises, because like everyone else they like to celebrate Christmas themselves.

Work In Progress

Christmas ads need to be built upon in a consistent manner.  Look no further than the iconic Coca Cola Santa Claus who has been plying his trade since 1931 for a successful example of this. Is it any coincidence that arguably the most recognised Christmas advertising campaign is the one which has had the lengthiest life cycle? Supermarkets too are catching up with this idea, often delivering similarly themed festive adverts year on year but featuring different celebrities. For example, M&S have used celebrities ranging from Demi Moore to James Nesbitt to front similar festive TV campaigns. More latterly Peter Kay has joined Twiggy’s gang to deliver the Christmas fun. Why is this important? Firstly, at a time of year when consumers are faced with many difficult choices, recognisable communications may have a greater appeal vs. the unknown. Reassurance and familiarity take on an extra importance. The Christmas loving consumer will associate certain things with the festive spirit – such as a familiar ad. For the advertiser this familiarisation status is a double edged sword – needing to feel fresh YET familiar, needing to achieve year on year recognition by being consistent, progressive AND recognisable in their delivery.

Timing is Everything

Brands face a tough decision regarding when they should release their yuletide advertising campaigns. This is balanced judgement with those which launch too early, such as Tesco in previous years, risking being seen as cashing in on Christmas. Conversely, those that wait too long might find their message buried in the Christmas communications onslaught. This is critical. To avoid wear out, brands need to identify when consumers start thinking about Christmas – a question with a myriad of answers – to know when is the optimum time to start communicating their offerings. Until an answer for this problem appears, brands will just have to keep on guessing, hoping that they do not come across as exploiting Christmas or, even worse, not come across at all.

Dodge Ball Communications

Published on Sep 17th, 2010 by Patrick

For me, the most nerve-wracking and exciting part of dodge ball was always the start of the game.  Each team is lined up on their own base line, with the balls balancing on the centre line.   The whistle blows, everyone races to grab a projectile, and if you don’t get one, you’re in trouble.  You are both close-in and completely exposed to your opponent.  And unless you can back-peddle fast enough, you are probably going to get pegged and eliminated from the game.

Right now in the communications industry, there’s a four-sided game of dodge ball happening.  And there are some big players heading for the middle.  Advertising, PR, media and digital agencies are all fighting for control of the ball.   Each agency discipline is aggressively repositioning to ensure relevance and liquidity in the future.  The drive to own digital is at the centre, as a disproportionate share of reinvigorated marketing budgets is being redeployed to support online initiatives.  The big question is who’s going to left standing once the game is over?  I would argue that those who best understand of brands, and on what terms people want to engage with them online will win.

It’s remarkable to me that the idea of a convergent model is just now starting to take hold.  The big multi-national agency that I worked at 10 years ago had an interactive department.  Heck, it was almost as big as the “general” side of the agency before the dot-com world imploded.  360 degree thinking was our competitive advantage.

So why does it seem like now so many traditional advertising agencies are still scrambling to catch-up?  It’s probably because traditional agencies can see the end game now that clients are finally, truly interested in digital.  Social media is the catalyst for digital’s resurgence.  Because anybody can now easily own and alter a brand’s image online, marketers are taking digital more seriously than ever before.

It could be argued that traditional agencies that arguably have the most to lose in this game.  They have long been the coolest kids on the block, the owners of the big idea and the group best positioned to make their clients either rich or famous.  Without a credible digital offer, these companies risk going the way of the dinosaur, frozen out of the picture as newspaper readership and television viewing rapidly dissipate.

On the other side of the fence we see digital agencies now looking for employee candidates with general agency credentials.  That’s because digital agencies are increasingly getting the opportunity to sit at the grown-ups table instead of being forced to eat with the kids.  As interactive specialists, they obviously have the most credibility when it comes to generating innovative and engaging online solutions.  But can they do more than just think digitally?  This is a business model that’s typically been concerned with deploying projects on budget and on time, rather than focusing on the bigger picture.  This mentality must change for digital players to truly emerge from executioners into architects.

I sometimes find it surprising to sit in meetings with media agencies and hear them talk about digital.  I think that this group has the farthest road to travel, largely because they still think in terms of mass media versus mass personalization.  An example, at a recent event I attended had a media person on stage speaking about the millions of people who are flocking to social media.  To the listener, it seemed as if the speaker was recommending taking out targeted ads on Facebook, which to me is no better than your average pop-up.

Of all the agency disciplines, PR firms hold a slight advantage, having moved off the line on social media earlier than anyone else, it being a natural extension of their traditional line of business.  Media relations became blogger relations.  But PR agencies cannot afford to rest on their laurels, as the rest of the industry is speedily catching up.  PR agencies must make every effort to replicate the apparent success of firms like Edelman, who seemingly have broken through traditionally skimpy PR budgets to develop breakthrough ideas funded by marketing.   They must move beyond becoming a 21st century clipping service and learn to think more strategically about how to leverage social media.

So who will come out on top of this battle for digital and communications supremacy?  I would argue that no single discipline will win, but there will be victors from each quadrant.  Those agencies who can demonstrate that they understand brands, and how people connect online will ultimately reign supreme.  The rest will be left watching from the sidelines