Archive for the ‘News’ Category

Whether you’re looking to re-evaluate your current marketing campaign, or simply stimulate new ideas and thinking, it’s often a good idea to keep up to date with current trends and developments in the world of advertising & marketing (particularly consumer & technology trends). There’s a great (free) summary of some of the key social changes in 2008 over at  Contagious magazine. This special article covers everything from the marketing behind the Obama campaign through to the impact of the iPhone 3G, and also highlights some unusual and highly creative advertising campaigns (Diamond Shreddies anyone?).

In their own words:- “Contagious is a quarterly intelligence briefing in magazine, DVD and online format. It identifies the ideas, trends and innovations behind the world’s most revolutionary marketing strategies“.

It’s a great summary of how the traditional role of ‘one way’ marketing is becoming very much a ‘two way street’, and if you can spare a few minutes, we recommend you take a look.
Download the pdf here:- www.contagiousmagazine.com/pdf/MostContagious2008.pdf

Arrrrrgh… it’s one of those phrases that really winds us up when we hear it, yet ocassionally (and embarassingly) we sometimes find ourselves uttering the very same words… “At the end of the day”. And yes, we’ve also been known to utter that classic “it isn’t rocket science“.

Well, we’re ging to try our very best to stop using these expressions… as a recent poll by Oxford University has highlighted them as some of the most annoying out there.

And if a point were to be proven about how annoying and overused “At the end of the day” can be, then you need look no further than this compliation video!

Can’t see the video? Click here to view it on YouTube.

So, in the future, you might want to be careful about the language you use in your marketing materials.
Avoiding these cliches isn’t rocket science you know! (damn… we just did it again!).

Via Lifehacker and The Telegraph

We’ve been resisting it for weeks, but since we’re nearly half way through November… we’ve finally succumbed to thinking about buying Christmas presents. As such, we really like this heartwarming TV ad’ from John Lewis.

If you’re in the market for a website, and need a new web address (a.k.a domain name) then you might be interested in a new suffix, that will be available in a few weeks time. From 3rd December, trademark owners will be able to apply for a website address ending with .tel e.g. mycompanywebsite.tel

General applications (for businesses without registered trademarks) will be processed from 3rd February 2009. The .tel domains are aimed at businesses who simply need a contact page website that can easily be viewed on mobile devices, without the need to build or host a site.

You can learn more about .tel domains (and watch an introductory video) at the Telnic website.

A few years ago it was not uncommon to read headlines about the ‘dot com’ bubble bursting. Even today, the media often use the term ‘dot com’ to describe the internet.

Things might be about to change though… whilst you might be used to entering a ‘.com’ or ‘.co.uk’ address into your browser, a whole raft of new web address suffixes are on the way! The technical name for these suffixes is Top Level Domains (or TLDs) and they are about to be overhauled following a new ruling by the net’s regulator ICANN (the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers).

“Wonderful” you say…. “but what does that mean in plain English?”

Well, basically, companies will be able to create their own unique web addresses. For example Volkswagen could set up a website with a ‘vw’ suffix (e.g. www.golf.vw). This is a great opportunity for marketeers, or brand owners, offering much greater flexibility for bespoke campaigns for example.

It’s probably only going to be the larger companies that can afford this though (as each unique TLD will need to be bid for, and is likely to cost a six figure sum).

Via BBC News

‘Marketing’ is getting more and more complicated. A decade or so ago, things were much more simple… stick an ad on the TV, create an outdoor campaign, buy some ad space in a few magazines… and you had a good chance of reaching your target audience. Nowadays, there are many ways to reach the consumer, and marketeers need to adapt accordingly.

Drinks bohemoth Diageo seems to understand this. At a recent investors conference, they highlighted their approach:-

1. Understand the new marketplace.
2. Adapt marketing model accordingly.
3. Know the implications.
4. Act on them.

Via Influx Branding

What better way of drawing attention to yourself than ‘tapping in to’ a controversial topic or current affair? That’s exactly what Manchester band “The Get Out Clause” have done, using CCTV as their ‘headline’. This is another great example of getting great PR for minimal investment (the simple ideas often being the best). We expect that this video will turn up in current affairs programs in the future, further raising the bands profile.

Via The Telegraph

PS. We think the music sounds a lot like Coldplay… or is that just our imagination working wild?

We’ve mentioned it before, but one definition of marketing is “taking the needs and wants of consumers and meeting those needs in a profitable way”. Tesco has clearly embraced this philosophy by introducing a Polish version of their website.

“The website, accessible through www.tesco.com/polski, is in both Polish and English and is designed to showcase the retailer’s range of Polish specific products. It also has a dedicated store finder function which provides details of the nearest Tesco store that stocks Polish ranges“.

The only question we have… is this a little late? Current reports seem to be suggesting that many Poles are returning home. Either way, it’s a good example of a business that attempts to target a market that previously did not exist.

Via IGD Retail Analysis

PS. Apologies for the lack of posts over the last 2-3 weeks. We’ve been a little busy here! Normal service will be resumed shortly.

Tesco is to launch a ‘Dragons Den’ style program on ‘five’ TV in February, in a drive to recruit new independent suppliers. According to Brand Republic:-

“The peak-time series, which begins on Five on 3 March, will follow the people behind the new brands as they go through a genuine pitch process to Tesco’s buyers. Although the supermarket said it did not commission the show, it is an attempt to help improve perceptions of the store and its attitude toward suppliers.”

This might offer a good insight in to the minds of Tesco buyers… we wait with anticipation.

Brand Republic

IGD Retail Analysis