Posts filed under 'marketing'
The frenemy of my frenemy is my, err?
Alastair Morton writes:
Sir Martin Sorrell, WPP’s CEO, has long recognised Google as a frenemy (part friend, part enemy). On one hand Google offers communications agencies the chance to buy interactive ads for its clients but, on the other, Google makes no secret of its intention to allow anyone to buy ads for themselves, thus disintermediating agencies.
Google has now announced that it will cease to restrict keywords for ads served to users in the UK and Ireland. This means that surfers who key-in a trademarked brand name such as ‘O2′ may also see rival brands (Orange, Virgin etc) appearing in the search results alongside those for the brand they had sought. It seems that Google is now a frenemy of brands – providing access to huge audiences but potentially eroding brand equity – as well as of communications agencies.
And in all of this, is Google making any real friends? Well, consumers apparently. Matt Brittin, Google UK director, claims that ‘we are making this change because we want to give users greater choices to help them make informed decisions.’ But there is a problem with this line of argument. Our Planning for Consumer Change (PCC) data shows that more than half of UK consumers, and nearly two-thirds of those aged 15-24, feel that there is sometimes so much choice nowadays that they can’t make a decision. To borrow from Barry Schwatrz’s critique of the notion of choice [article here, opens in pdf, see video here] “choice maximisers” may welcome greater information, but find it harder to ‘maximise’ – while ‘choice satisficers’ – usually happy to make a ‘good enough’ choice – will feel greater pressure to maximise their choice from all the available options. Both groups are likely to be more frustrated.
In truth, many consumers actively use trusted and recognised brands and providers to sift the choices which face them. Whether or not Google’s intentions are admirable, I have a feeling that this change will have more effect in growing their ad revenues than in helping consumers manage their already complicated decisions.
Add comment 10 April 2008
Barbie knows no bounds
Sarah Davies writes:
On a recent visit to the US I was stopped in my tracks by an enormous pile of Barbie branded cereal boxes, on offer at 2 for $5. I was so mesmerised by this spectacle that I felt compelled to purchase a box. To the disappointment of my two daughters, I didn’t buy the cereal as a gift to add to their burgeoning collection of Barbie merchandise, but rather as an example of what can only be described as irresponsible marketing to children.
Does a brand like Kellogg’s need to go to such lengths to sell its products? Close inspection of the box reveals a long list of additives and general ‘nutritional’ profile of the product. The pieces of ‘cereal’ and marshmallow bits look more like sweets than breakfast food.
In an age where childhood obesity and diabetes are on the increase, it seems hard to justify using Barbie to encourage children to eat such things for breakfast. But on second thoughts, perhaps this is all a storm in a teacup? Reassuringly, on the back of pack, Barbie is able to share her ‘fab tips’ with children, telling them to “Live active” and “Keep it green”. So that’s alright, then. But it’s hard to tell which brand is being damaged more by this co-marketing venture.
Add comment 19 March 2008
What to read in 2008?
Andrew Curry writes:
The most recent issue of The Wire, WPP‘s in-house paper, has a feature on ‘What to read in 2008′, a collection of recommendations from individuals working for businesses across the world. I blogged a while ago on my contribution – about Thomas Homer-Dixon’s The Upside of Down. If there are themes from the other contributions, they are about the emerging economies, especially China, and about marketing and management.
WPP Chief Exec Sir Martin Sorrell’s choice is the two working papers (99 and 119, opens in pdf) from Goldman Sachs which, in his words, “describe the shift in wealth from west to east”. (The more recent Working Paper 134 , also pdf, is an update). The other two Chinese selections – from people working in Asian markets – look at China “as a country, not just as a market”. The Search for Modern China locates China within its cultural and political history, while China: The Fragile Superpower is subtitled, “How China’s internal politics could derail its peaceful rise”.
On management, the idiosyncratic Rory Sutherland (of Ogilvy) praises Discover Your Inner Economist, while bemoaning the fact that “It is a disgrace to marketing and research disciplines that economists are now writing more interesting books than we are”. David Muir, at WPP’s Channel Practice, commends as a management primer Team of Rivals – a history of how President Lincoln managed a cabinet whose members disliked each other and coveted his job.
And as always in such lists, there are some quirkier recommendations. The arguments in David Maister’s Strategy and the Fat Smoker, about strategy and change, are both “irrefutable and wonderfully personal”, while Very Thai is a cultural journey into modern Thailand – pictures and text – which offers “new ways of exploring your own, or a new culture”.
Add comment 7 March 2008
What the Premiership learnt from Formula One
Andrew Curry writes:
I hope I’m not too late to note a fine article [not currently available on the Guardian's own site] by the Guardian’s Richard Williams on how England’s footballing Premiership has, in its plan for overseas league games, followed a global marketing blueprint first laid down by Formula One. Williams suggests the three steps to sporting franchise heaven go like this:
- Step One: Secure the commercial rights to the sport, including the right to sell broadcasting licences, income from which will dwarf the sale of tickets and perimeter advertising.
- Step Two: Use the television ratings to encourage the acquisition of teams by people more interested in global brands and markets than in the sport’s traditional audiences.
- Step Three: Clear out the traditional schedule to create new opportunities in new markets, if necessary by threatening to remove existing events completely.
Williams also suggests that there’s a fourth lesson that the Premiership’s Richard Scudamore has learnt as well:
“Saying the unsayable out loud is more than halfway to actually getting it done, as long as you have the money on your side and are prepared to take no prisoners.”
Given the money at stake, the current crowd of owners, and the track record of the Premiership over the last fifteen years, you wouldn’t bet against it pushing the plan through. But there are a couple of differences: formula one is still about individuals (we remember great drivers like Senna and Fangio), whereas football is about teams and their history. And football is far more rooted in place than motor racing ever was.
1 comment 15 February 2008
It’s not about the money any more
Brian Chien writes:
In an article for the latest edition of the Royal Mail’s Contact magazine, we looked at how modern consumer currencies go way beyond money. Sparked by some recent examples of free marketing in the television and music sectors, including Radiohead’s latest album (initially, but no longer downloadable at the price the user chose to pay), we noted that even when such transactions don’t involve cash they still take both time and energy . Consumers understand that there’s no such thing as “free” marketing, so how should worth be measured?
We tested this against our database of attitudes on five user “currencies” – Information, Time, Energy, Money, and Space (ITEMS) – and found that 38% of UK consumers rated Time as the most valuable of the five currencies, while 30% believed Energy to be most precious. Which prompts a question: how much do marketers know about how their consumers juggle between currencies?
Add comment 21 January 2008
The power of packaging
Jake Goretzki writes:
Belgian chocolate – while evidament the best in the world – has always let itself down by the conservatism of its brands (Cote D’Or’s range hasn’t really changed for the last 40 years). So it’s a pleasant surprise to find some innovation, from ‘Dolfin’, a brand which I hadn’t previously heard of but is apparently making friends and influencing people in the supermarkets of Bruxelles.
I like the way the packaging communicates the brand. But even better, the wrapper is like a re-sealable rolling tobacco pouch, and really gives the chocolate the feel of something specially blended for the special moment, to be taken in small doses in reflective interludes. It takes Galaxy’s ‘indulgence’ to another… galaxy, ah oui. But be warned; it’s 70% cocoa – so you’ll love it or hate it.
Add comment 11 January 2008
Green influencers
Clare Archer writes:
To mark Energy Savings Week, which finished yesterday, the Energy Saving Trust commissioned us to research the role of word of mouth and community in promoting ideas about saving energy. Our research showed a strong correlation between people who were informed about ‘green ideas’ and their level of connectedness to other people in their communities – creating a kind of virtuous circle. From this we developed a index – working in conjunction with another consultancy, Wildfire – which allows any individual to calculate the power they have to influence others to save energy, on a scale of 1 to 100, by answering a few simple questions. The EST has shifted its strategy to focus on the power of communities to influence change.
There’s coverage in a number of publications – for example in Metro and Marketing Week.
Add comment 29 October 2007
Identity outsourcing
Jo Phillips writes:
A complication of identity as a result of the proliferation of online communities is identified today by the BBC. Some (particularly the famous) engage others to manage/update/improve their online presence on social networking sites such as Facebook or in MMORPGs. This goes beyond design services such as Pimp my Profile, to a more fundamental level of identity outsourcing. Another example is blog ‘shadow writing’ – for example Sarkozy’s campaign blog was written by technology entrepreneur Loic Le Meur.
But there are some quite subtle issues here. Journalists routinely ghost-write celebrity autobiographies, and we are used to the idea that speeches and articles are drafted by others. The question seems to be about authenticity. In which case: what it is about online media which requires higher standards of trust and transparency than more traditional channels?
Add comment 2 July 2007
