Facebook Places + Brands = Mobile Deals

Facebook is targeting mobile users with its Places Deals programme. Here's how it works: Users download a Facebook Places app and then "check in" from various brand locations, such as a local Starbucks or Debenhams branch. To encourage people to come and check in, brand locations offer special deals: Debenhams is giving away free cosmetics, and Starbucks is giving away a free coffee.

Emily White, Facebook's director of local, tells the Guardian: 

"[Facebook] Places is the 'where' to 'what am I doing' and 'who am I with'. And it allows businesses to start joining the conversation."

Despite privacy concerns, Facebook has been pushing ahead with mobile apps to counter the strength of Google and others. Currently, the Faceboook Places Deals programme is available to UK mobile users plus those in Spain, France, Italy and Germany.

Expect location-based m-commerce to continue expanding into new areas and new targeting possibilities as brands seek to join the conversation with mobile users in their daily lives at work, at play, and on the go.

Ocado Delivered a Strong Christmas

All that December snow may have hurt most retailers, but Web-based grocer Ocado delivered strong Christmas results, with sales 27% higher than in 2009. Its Christmas week sales were an astonishing 40% higher than in 2009.

Ocado has yet to deliver solid profits, however, and its share price had been languishing until the December results were announced and the market heard rumours of a possible takeover by Morrisons, which has apparently been interested in launching its own Internet grocery service.

Meanwhile, the Daily Mail reports that some Ocado customers were confused and unhappy over the site's new look (above), unveiled at the start of the new year.

Ocado is active on Twitter and on Facebook but so far it has only a few thousand followers/"likes" on each, which is surprising, given that it's an Internet-based business. Waitrose has many more Twitter followers, and Sainsbury's has twice as many (14,000) as Waitrose. In fact, Sainsbury's Facebook page has 82,000 "likes."

What's ahead for Ocado in 2011?

ASA has its say on Coca-Cola's Vitaminwater ads

Contrary to Coca-Cola's advert for Vitaminwater (left), the Advertising Standards Authority says that the 'nutritious' claim is misleading--because a 500 ml bottle contains 23g of sugar.

The issue is that Coca-Cola presents the nutritional contents of a 500-ml bottle in terms of five 100-ml servings, whereas the ASA believes consumers will perceive a bottle to represent one serving only. As a result, consumers drink down a lot of vitamins, but also a lot of sugar, in a single bottle.

Here's a quote from the ASA's statement:

We considered that consumers would understand the word "nutritious" in the context of the ad as a claim that Vitaminwater contained added ingredients that were needed by the body in order to stay healthy. However, we considered that they would not expect a "nutritious" drink to have the equivalent of four or five teaspoons of added sugar. Because Vitaminwater contained about a quarter of a consumer's GDA for sugar as well as the added vitamins, we considered that the description of Vitaminwater as "nutritious" was misleading.

Coca-Cola was, understandably, disappointed with the ASA's decision. Its response:

We have always been completely transparent that the drinks contain 23g of sugar in each 500ml bottle, which has been prominently labelled on pack since launch. We do not believe that this detracts from the vitamin and mineral content of the drinks. We are therefore disappointed with the ASA's decision to uphold three consumer complaints based on a difference in opinion over the use of the word 'nutritious'.

In this case, I agree with the ASA. Coca-Cola does disclose nutritional content, but consumers tend to see a bottle as a single serving. Labels should reflect a typical consumer's view.

Global Appetite for Chocolate

Updating the sample marketing plan in the Essential Guide to Marketing Planning, chocolate continues to be a popular ingredient in foods and desserts worldwide. The biggest supplier to food manufacturers is Barry Callebaut, a Swiss firm that leads the planet in chocolate production. And Europe remains the biggest market for chocolate, a situation that should continue for the next few years.

One major challenge for chocolate marketers has been the steep increase in cocoa prices over the past year. This is due, in part, to political problems in the Ivory Coast, where huge quantities of cocoa beans are grown. But global demand is increasing rapidly, as well, which means competition for available chocolate supplies (and higher supplier prices). The cost of other food commodities has also gone up, squeezing chocolate marketer's margins.

Despite these challenges, there are many profit opportunities for gourmet chocolatiers and foods that incorporate chocolate in innovative ways. Hotel Chocolat is even opening a luxury resort on its exclusive cocoa plantation in the Caribbean, building on public fascination with upmarket chocolate. Look for more choco marketing moves in 2011.

How long can Superdry remain cool?

The Superdry fashion brand had a great 2010, with sales up more than 90 percent in the last 9 weeks. In fact, if the weather had been better during December, it would have had a completely brilliant year, with an almost 100% increase in sales compared with the previous year.

Superdry's profit margins will suffer a bit as the price of cotton rises, but so far, its loyal customer base is very happy buying the latest hoodies or t-shirts.

How to keep Superdry from getting stale or falling out of favour with its audience? The company is always launching new styles in multiple product ranges, to offer variety and give customers new choices. It will have to watch trends closely, be prepared to evolve quickly, continue to use fashion detail as one of its differentiating points and avoid oversaturating its markets with product and stores.

Still, few fashionistas stay loyal forever. The next big brand will be . . . ?

What about the new Starbucks logo?

Starbucks recently announced an updating of its seemingly ubiquitous green logo, which features the firm's mermaid "siren" with crown and long flowing hair. No more "Starbucks" name, no more references to "coffee." In fact, no words at all. Getting ready for brand/category extensions again? Trying to break free from its coffee roots?

As Starbucks prepares for its 40th anniversary celebration in March, its newly revised logo has some loyal customers--and some marketers--asking questions.

Although this isn't the first revamp of the logo, some people wonder whether Starbucks is wasting its money on the changeover to the new logo. The Guardian even has a poll asking readers this very question. When I checked today, sentiment was running 2-to-1 against the move. In other words, readers don't agree with Starbucks' investment in its updated logo.

Will Starbucks stay with the new logo or, like the Gap, will it revert to an older version? Let's see how vocal the opposition turns out to be.

Social media 2010

Happy new year! It's a good time to look back at one of 2010's key marketing trends--the enormous growth in social media marketing, a trend that will certainly continue into 2011 and beyond.

First, what were the top search terms last year? Experian Hitwise says that in 2010, as in 2009, Facebook was the most searched-for phrase online. No surprise, really. I am a bit surprised that MySpace rose so high in the list last year, however. Thanks to SmartDataCollective for collecting so much of the social media data on one page.

What about social media usage? According to Social Media Today, Australia leads the world in social media users. This is another surprise (US and UK follow Australia in the list). The Financial Times says that businesspeople in the UK now use social media more than search engines.

In Britain, Facebook was the most visited Web site on Christmas Day, the first time it has surpassed Google. And all around the world, Twitter and other social media are spreading news instantly, reinforcing users' interest in and commitment to these media. This applies to marketing, as well, with favourite adverts going viral in multiple media.

How will social media influence and be influenced by marketing in 2011?