Menu

Marketing

Mark Ritson: How ‘influencers’ made my arse a work of art

Mark Ritson: How ‘influencers’ made my arse a work of art
It’s the middle of June and you know what that means. A certain location on the French Riviera orders in the rosé, sets up shop and any marketer with a pulse and an expense account heads to Cannes and the Festival of Creativity. After much navel-gazing and flagellation over the past year, Cannes has re-emerged apparently unchanged and as powerful and pointless as ever. The presentations remain the same dreary combination of purpose, creativity and disruption – just with bigger fonts. The conjoined dismissal of and desire for awards is as schizophrenic as ever. And the attendees remain the same too. Not since Rommel invaded North Africa in 1941 have so many pasty old white men been exposed to so much sunshine, so suddenly. Quite remarkably, however, something positive has actually emerged from this years Festival. We have Keith Weed, Unilever’s CMO, to thank for a rare bit of practical sanity. He used the stage at Cannes on Monday to bemoan the current state of influencer marketing, which he believes is bedevilled by integrity and transparency issues. Weed called for a three-pronged approach to influencer marketing in which misleading engagement, dishonest practices and a lack of transparency need to be fixed. “We need to take urgent action now to rebuild trust before it’s gone forever,” he said. Hmm. As usual, I find myself in violent agreement with Mr Weed while at the same time shaking my head at the abject unlikelihood that anything will come of it. Yes, Unilever does possess influence, but the idea that it can somehow police the world of influencer marketing into being more legitimate seems fundamentally flawed from the outset. READ MORE: Despite Unilever’s good intentions, its demands of digital platforms are futile[1] The whole premise of influencer marketing is, if you think about it,…
Read more...

Brands missing out on potential $45bn in profit by failing to optimise media budgets

Brands missing out on potential $45bn in profit by failing to optimise media budgets
Source: EbiquityBrands are missing out on a potential $45bn in profit because they are failing to optimise media allocation, investing too much in digital display and not enough in more traditional formats, according to new research. The study, undertaken by Ebiquity, used data from 2,500 campaigns over three years and was regionally weighted in order to build a global number. It includes only channels where Ebiquity could study profit impact at different spend levels, so search, influencer and in-app advertising are not included but any digital display and online video, including on social channels, are included. The total media investment analysed represents $375bn in global ad spend, or roughly three-quarters (76%) of the total global ad market. It finds that had that same spend been optimised based on ROI contributions of each channel, it would have generated an extra $45bn in global profits for brands. Plus, if brands reallocated marketing investments, overall marketing ROI could rise from 2.83x to 2.95x – an increase of 4%. And for brands that want to cut budgets, if they reallocated budgets to optimise media spend, they could spend $15bn less on media and still generate the same profit. Source: EbiquityThe research aims to provide marketers with a global view of how misallocation of media can impact profitable growth. While, of course, optimal allocation will vary dependent on geography, category and the target audience, it suggests there is still much work for marketers to do to ensure they are getting the best possible ROI. READ MORE: Marketers undervalue the impact of traditional media channels[1] In particular, the Ebiquity data suggests brands have significantly over-invested in digital display as they follow consumers online. In part this is because digital display is a relatively expensive way to reach audiences at scale and also because consumer behaviour online…
Read more...

Customer experience is the opportunity to grow influence

Customer experience is the opportunity to grow influence
For the past eight years, Omobono has completed annual research on the state of marketing for global business brands. Along the way, we have learned which channels work best, what issues marketing leaders face and the keys to success. This year’s research, in partnership with Marketing Week, gleaned from more than 1,100 participants around the globe, reveals key insights about the role marketers should be playing in helping organisations shape their customer experience and become more relevant in their customers’ lives. It is clear that marketers recognise they should be taking this role seriously, with 49% of participants stating that deepening customer relationships is their biggest marketing objective for the year ahead, second only to raising brand awareness. In fact, for those organisations with a turnover of £500m+, it is the number one focus, with 58% ranking it in the top spot. It also seems that marketers and the companies they work for are paying more attention to customer experience than ever, with 75% of respondents saying it is increasing in importance. Converting intent into action Yet despite it being on everyone’s radar, only a minority of businesses are delivering a truly joined up experience for their customers. When asked to what extent customer experience is embedded in the organisation, only 23% of participants say it is fully embedded. The reality is that many businesses still have a long way to go, with 62% of respondents saying that it is either fairly or somewhat embedded. This disparity between perceived importance and the actual degree of implementation reflects the inherent difficulty in delivering a consistently rewarding experience across the entire customer journey. Despite this, it is clear that some of the respondents are committed to making it happen. One says: “84% of our business is repeat business. Our reputation is very…
Read more...

Swedish brand’s ‘boring’ billboard, Velcro targets trademark abusers: International round up

Swedish brand’s ‘boring’ billboard, Velcro targets trademark abusers: International round up
Pernod Ricard uses cocktail kits to target Chinese millennials French distiller Pernod Ricard is using a cocktail kit-delivery service to lure Chinese millennials as it attempts to increase its presence in the Asian nation. It is understood the distiller is trying to double the share of international spirits in China’s $156bn (£116bn) alcohol market and the company’s main goal is to increase the share of western-style spirits from the current 1% of volume to 2% in China by 2025. While brands across its portfolio such as Chivas Regal whisky and Martell cognac are already well established in China, Pernod Ricard is now setting its sights on the nation’s emerging middle class, the company’s CEO Alexandre Ricard says. As part of it’s pitch to the millennial market, the company is selling kits that provide all the ingredients for classic cocktails, with the promise they’ll be delivered to homes within an hour. The distiller has also revealed an Absolut vodka-sponsored television rap contest and is selling premixed highballs – a combination of whiskey and soda. Asia has helped drive Pernod Ricard’s growth, with net sales across China and India increasing by 19% and 14% respectively in the nine months to the end of March. READ MORE: Pernod Ricard targets Chinese millennials with cocktail kits[1] Uber launches bike-sharing service in Germany Uber is launching bike-sharing service Jump in Germany as a means of rekindling its relationship with European governments after it was banned from operating some of its services in several cities across Germany, France, Italy, Spain and Belgium. The plan was delivered as protestors lined the streets in Germany holding signs saying “Uber go home” during one of the company’s conferences in Berlin. “I want this to signal a deep commitment to Germany. Germany is a little bit of a signal of…
Read more...

Finding Joy in the Mundane

Finding Joy in the Mundane
Often the monotony of everyday life can quickly extract joy. It has been said before that novelty is the key to happiness and once the novelty of an action, a person, or an event wears off, it becomes mundane and no longer satisfying. The problem is that life is full of the mundane.   Christians are called to be joyful in an unearthly way and to find joy that is beyond the norms of this world. How does one find that joy when all we do is go from home to work and back? Finding this joy stems from seeing the world through a different lense. Being in the world, but not of the world goes beyond church and witnessing to people. Seeing your daily commute as something more and looking at it as a time for learning something new or engaging with the surrounding world is a magnificent way of finding something bigger in a small moment. That conversation with your neighbor Bill about the weather? Take it to the next level. See it as your last chance to talk to Bill. Approach it as the first and last time you will ever get to see Bill. Go beyond the mundane and dive deeper. It stems into so much of our life. The idea that we need to look at things as so much more than just routine and humdrum. We must look at it as our last chance to engage, while also looking at it as our first time doing this particular task. Do you remember the first time you saw your husband and thought he was attractive? Now ten years, two career changes, and three kids into the marriage, he’s just the man that you share your life with. What would happen if you woke up each…
Read more...

McDonald’s, FA, Facebook: Everything that matters this morning

McDonald’s, FA, Facebook: Everything that matters this morning
McDonald’s trials delivery service with UberEats McDonald’s is partnering with UberEats to trial on-demand delivery across London, Leeds and Nottingham. UberEats users who live within a mile and a half of certain outlets will be able to order from the McDonald’s menu for home delivery between 7am and 2am. The cost will include a £2.50 delivery fee charged by Uber. The trial, which currently spans 22 restaurants in London, seven in Nottingham and three in Leeds, will be extended if it proves successful. The UK is one of the last markets to get McDonald’s home delivery, which was launched in the US as early as 1993. It is thought the fast food giant was under pressure to keep pace with rivals Burger King and KFC; the latter announced a tie-up with on-demand delivery app Just Eat in April. READ MORE: McDonald’s launches home delivery in the UK after tie-up with Uber[1] FA ends £4m-a-year Ladbrokes deal The Football Association is ending a £4m-a-year sponsorship deal with Ladbrokes, claiming it is “inappropriate” for the organisation to have commercial relationships with betting companies. The deal ends just a year into a four-year contract and comes at the conclusion of a three-month review into the governing body’s relationship with gambling. The review also looked into sponsorship by alcohol firms, although no action is being taken in that area. The FA’s decision to cut ties with gambling also comes in the wake of accusations made by former Burnley footballer Joey Barton, who was banned from the sport for 18 months in April for illegally placing hundreds of bets on matches. At the time of his sentencing Barton blasted the FA for its “dependence on betting companies”. The decision relates only to the FA and there is no expectation individual football clubs will be asked…
Read more...
Subscribe to this RSS feed