On 15 March: Do something funny for money

Red Nose Day is Friday, 15th March!

'Do something funny for money' is the strapline for Comic Relief's day of fundraising and fun. In 2013, the nonprofit's marketing involves more social media and mobile marketing activities than ever before. Goals: to increase awareness, build anticipation, encourage participation and generate generous donations:

• Red Nose Day's official Facebook page already has more than 465,000 likes. Recent posts include what celebrities are doing to raise awareness and money, previews of exclusive content and fun fundraising challenges.
• The official Twitter account already has 392,000 followers and more than 5,100 tweets.
• The latest news is available 'in your pocket' from Red Nose Day's iPhone app (see above). 
• Videos galore, ready for viewing anytime in a video gallery page on the Red Nose Day website.
• 1D (that's One Direction) are putting their fame and talent to use for Red Nose Day fundraising, including a special single.

Among Red Nose Day's partners are Sainsbury's, TK Maxx, BT, British Airways, Maltesers, Ryman, Disney, Cafe Rouge and Ernst & Young. Watch for more surprises and fundraising challenges as Red Nose Day approaches.

2013 Top UK brands

Superbrands UK recently released its 2013 list of top brands, consumer and business. Here are the top 5 in each list.

Consumer brands:

1. Rolex
2. Apple
3. Microsoft
4. British Airways
5. Coca-Cola

Business brands:

1. Apple
2. British Airways
3. Google
4. Visa
5. Virgin

I was surprised to see Rolex at the very top of the consumer list, above Apple. Yet Rolex is an extremely strong brand, known around the world for quality, styling and status. The company is an active sponsor of many artistic, cultural and athletic activities. It's also received more than 1 million YouTube views, more than 1 million Youku views (China) and additional Douban views (China).

Visa, the no. 4 business brand, is expanding its use of 'contactless payments' (by card), mobile payment options and safe payment alternatives for online shopping. As an example, Visa recently arranged with RBS and NatWest to issue 2m contactless cards for consumers to use in everyday transactions such as buying clothing or groceries. Visa has also partnered with Samsung to have mobile payments functionality preloaded on future Samsung mobiles. For businesses and retailers, it emphasises that 'whether you're making or receiving payments, Visa can help your business make money flow'.

Celebrating 30 years of Swatch watches

Wristwatches were sometimes a status symbol and always functional but rarely a pop-culture fashion statement until a Swiss company launched the Swatch brand of affordable, fun plastic watches in 1983--changing the industry forever. This shift in strategy was so critical to the company's success that it changed its name to Swatch in 1998.

Today the Swatch Group is the world's largest maker of wristwatches--and it's celebrating the 30th anniversary of the original Swatch this year. The company's brands actually cover every price point from the low end (Swatch and Flik Flak) to the very high end (Omega, Breguet, Tiffany etc). You may remember that Omega was one of the official Olympics sponsors in 2012, a brand-building move that reinforced its reputation for precision.

Swatch's luxury brands sell well all over the planet, including in China and other markets where rising disposable incomes enable status-conscious consumers to display their affluence on their wrists. Its Swatch fashion watches are also increasing in popularity in China and elsewhere, thanks to ongoing style cycles.

Despite competition from low-price, Chinese-made wristwatches, Swatch continues to grow and prosper by emphasising brand value and by controlling much of its supply chain. The company is a global supplier of the movements that make wristwatches tick and the balance springs that regulate wristwatches. Because Swatch wants to reduce the quantities of components it sells to non-Swatch companies, competitors such as LVMH are looking to acquire component manufacturers so they, too, can control their supply chains.

In this 30th anniversary year, watch for advertising and in-store materials promoting Swatch's celebrations and the roots of its fashion heritage.

Domino's likes bad weather

Domino's iPhone app

Bad weather? Market leader Domino's doesn't mind. The pizza delivery company's smart mobile and social media marketing moves are increasing turnover and reinforcing brand loyalty among key customer segments.

During a rainy and snowy 2012, Domino's UK turnover rose compared with 2011, as customers called or clicked for delivery rather than venturing out in person. 

Online orders now account for 56% of all Domino's UK pizza deliveries; of that percentage, 20% are mobile orders. The company is taking advantage of its mobile popularity by using QR codes in targeted promotions.

With nearly 770,000 Facebook likes, 1.4 million YouTube views and 88,000 Twitter followers, the company markets its range of products to an ever-growing social media audience.

On St Valentine's Day, for example, Domino's offered a special price for pizza, garlic bread, potato wedges and a movie streamed to a desktop computer, tablet or mobile. During December, it hosted a global pizza party with special discounts available through the Facebook page.

The company has also introduced a crowdsourced pizza topping, involving its customers in a new and active way.

What's next for Domino's?

Asda asks: What do Mums think?

Asda wants to know what Mums think about products, the economy, household buying, today's families and many other topics. The goal is to better understand the needs, wants and buying priorities of this important consumer group.

Asda has more than 5,000 Mums on its Mumdex panel. It publicly reports on broad trends uncovered through Mumdex research every few months, gaining Asda positive publicity coverage. This research also positions Asda as being keenly interested in what its customers think, an expert in matters that influence shoppers.

But the research is really designed to help the retailer look below the surface at underlying issues of concern to the shopper who is often the household's primary decision maker for food and everyday products. As a result, Asda receives timely insights that it may be able to apply for marketing advantage.

For example, Asda's Mumdex revealed in mid-2012 that mothers were already worried about Christmas preparations, including the cost of buying gifts and of being responsible for making the holiday a special experience. One way Asda applied this research was by having its ad agency create a special advert, 'Christmas doesn't just happen by magic', portraying all the work that mums put into holiday prep--and showing how Asda has everything they need, at the right price.

Another recent finding based on Mumdex research is that nearly half of the mothers surveyed were not optimistic about their families' economic situation for 2013. The implication for marketing is a continuing emphasis on value and budget-conscious pricing to demonstrate how the store is meeting the needs of shoppers, every day. This follows Asda's statement that 'Our mission is to be Britain's best value retailer - we set out to help save you money every day'.

What's cooking at McDonald's

After its summer success at the London Olympics, when the McDonald's on-site restaurant served up 2.5 million meals, the restaurant chain has had mixed global sales results more recently. Now it's looking to UK high street locations and family purchases for higher growth in 2013.
 
The recent horse meat scandal hasn't been a problem for McDonald's--in fact, it's an opportunity for the chain to showcase its reliance on 100% quality British and Irish beef suppliers. Because of these supplier ties, Jill McDonald, boss of the company's North Europe region, is confident about the all-beef burgers served up in UK restaurants.

McDonald's has made some changes to its Happy Meals--changes that should please parents. 'I don’t think our customers have noticed, but in our Happy Meals there’s half the salt there was back in 2000', McDonald says.

Replacing the free toy with a free book, at least temporarily, is another change. Working with the National Literacy Trust, the company is giving away a book with each Happy Meal during the current promotion with DK Books, part of its goal to distribute 15 million books to children by the end of 2014. (Last year, McDonald's distributed 9 million books in a pilot programme.)

McDonald's has 414,000 Facebook likes; its YouTube channel has attracted more than 15 million video views during the past 7 years. Increasingly digital, one element of its mobile marketing is an app that locates nearby McDonald's restaurants, provides nutrition info and shows the latest promotions.

What's in store for private brands?

Private brands continue to sell well as bargain-hunting buyers seek out savings, not just in groceries but also in other categories. Already, grocery-store brands account for 45% of all UK supermarket sales. Looking ahead, one survey found that shoppers will increase their purchases of private brands by 22% during 2013.

Not surprisingly, stores are putting marketing power behind their private brands, because promotions add visibility and highlight the value benefits.

• Tesco reintroduced its range of private-brand baby products as 'Tesco Loves Baby'. The idea is to encourage shopper loyalty among new parents. Think about the extra revenue and profits if new parents adopt Tesco brands for baby's early years, and buy extras while in the store. Plus the parents club will provide input to help Tesco improve its products.
• Waitrose's website features its 'essential' range of 1,500 products, everything from pet food and pasta to coffee and crisps. The retailer describes its private brand this way: 'At the heart of our essential range is the belief that you shouldn’t have to compromise your standards, even on the everyday items you depend on'. (Waitrose has 93,000 Facebook likes.)
• Morrisons is launching a new private brand of children's clothing and 'essentials' clothing for everyone. Margins on such products tend to be better than the margins on food, so this move is expected to help the bottom line if customers buy and clothing revenue is strong.
• Asda was a pioneer of private brand fashions in its stores--its George brand appears on everything from baby clothes and blazers to shoes and socks. The George Style blog keeps brand fans updated on the latest styles. Of course George has more than 120,000 Facebook likes.

The international flavour of 'Do us a flavour'

Remember when consumers voted to add Builder's Breakfast (a flavour invented by a brand fan) to the Walkers crisps range in 2009? Although the flavour was discontinued a year later, the contest has continued to draw public and industry acclaim, winning awards and helping parent company PepsiCo benefit from the cocreation involvement of crisps fans across the continent and beyond.

Based on that initial success with Walkers, PepsiCo has held 'Do us a flavour' contests in more than a dozen countries, including Spain, Poland and Australia. When Lay's Belgium invited consumers to submit a flavour, the contest result was higher brand engagement and higher sales.

Currently, the contest is running in the US, where the finalist flavour will be announced later this year. Launched with a major media push in New York's Times Square last year, the Lay's contest will promote the winning flavour in connection with the brand's 75th anniversary.


This week, PepsiCo announced it would begin the contest in Canada, again making social media a central element for messaging and voting. 

Whether the crowdsourced flavours become permanent members of the product range is not the point. 'Do us a flavour' is intended to get brand fans involved in the fun and excitement of choosing a new flavour while reinforcing the brand's contemporary image.

B2B: Marketing high-speed hand dryers

Sir James Dyson is best known for his vacuums, but his innovations also extend to fans, heaters and high-speed hand dryers for public restrooms. The B2B market: businesses, restaurants, schools, government agencies, tourist attractions and buildings that have restroom facilities for employees or customers.

His UK company's latest invention is the Dyson Airblade Tap (left) which makes hand washing and drying more efficient by completing both processes in about 12 seconds. This would eliminate the need for paper towels, saving money and time, not to mention trees. His marketing points out that the Airblade Tap would also mean a neater, safer restroom--no water dripped across the floor, less bacteria sprayed all over.

The Airblade Tap costs £999.99, so Dyson helps business customers look beyond the purchase price and evaluate the long-term cost benefits. Its website includes an interactive feature to "calculate your savings" (above right, the initial step in the process). Another good marketing idea: Dyson has a "request a meeting" link where prospects can request a demonstration or a sales call. (You can also find Dyson on Facebook, where it has 56,000 likes, and on YouTube, where it has more than 4.6 million video views.)

One of Dyson's US competitors is Excel, which markets made-in-America high-speed commercial hand dryers for public restrooms. Excel's strap line: "Time to throw in the towel."

Excel also provides a convenient calculator (including "green" savings) to help businesses evaluate the financial implications of buying its products. Apart from the product benefits, the point about its products being manufactured in America is mentioned in nearly every news story about Excel.

Now Excel is reportedly readying its own all-in-one hand washer/dryer. No word yet on the cost, but it will likely be marketed on the basis of sustainability and long-term cost savings. Excel's Xlerator hand dryer currently has just 360 Facebook likes--but that may change as Excel increases its marketing during 2013.