Sports brands plan for the 2014 FIFA World Cup

The 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil will be a major marketing battleground for Nike, Adidas, Puma and all their rivals in the world of sports branding.

Nike will be showcasing its sponsorship of the Corinthians (at left) while the Adidas sponsorship of the World Cup (below) will give that brand exceptional media prominence. Nike has favourable brand momentum and close relationships with retailers and brand fans, reinforced through decades of advertising and, more recently, savvy social media dialogue.

Adidas has been planning its World Cup marketing activities for more than a year. In particular, the company is gearing up for a massive social media marketing presence to support the sponsorship and deflect potential ambush marketing from non-official sponsors.

After fans leave the final game, Adidas will still have one remaining task, says its global project leader for the World Cup: 'All the project's stakeholders and contributors will be tasked to go into overtime to make sure that all elements are fully documented, our key learnings are listed, and new opportunities, threats and benchmarks are identified'. In other words, evaluate the results in preparation for the next marketing plan.

Marketing buzzwords: How many do you know?

Mashable just posted this infographic representing the 30 most overused buzzwords in the marketing vocabulary.

There's a serious reason to read through these buzzwords: Many represent concepts that are integral to the practice of marketing today. So as you read, test yourself--how many of these concepts do you know and apply in your marketing activities?

• clickability
• immersive experience
• CPL (cost per like)
• ROI (return on investment)
• p-commerce (participatory commerce or Pinterest commerce)
• snackable content
• SoLoMo (social, local, mobile)
• engagement
• second screen
• contextual marketing
• value proposition
• earned media
• big data
• ideation
• viral
• curator
• social commerce
• KPI (key performance indicators)
• two-way conversation
• native advertising
• custom activation
• synergy
• gamification
• growth hacker
• showrooming
• thought leader
• 360 campaign
• agile marketing
• infographic

Multichannel is the future of retailing

A steady rise in multichannel shopping shows that consumers are increasingly buying via mobile, supported by mobile payment options that are faster and more convenient than ever. For example, 20% of Domino's UK orders are made on mobile devices, usually iPhones and iPads. The head of Domino's commercial systems observes: 'One thing is for sure – there is a clear shift in consumer behaviour where mobile is the channel of choice'. Yet according to one study, only half of the leading UK retailers have optimised their e-commerce websites for mobile access, compared with 100% of the leading US retailers.

Claire's, a fashion accessory retailer, is building its first UK e-commerce site with mobile marketing in mind. 'By the end of 2014 we foresee that mobile transaction usage will overtake desktop computers', explains its director of European e-comm. 'Right now, 66% of 14-23 year-olds own a smartphone and 73% of teens are active on social media. We wanted our site to be an extension to our consumers’ lifestyles, an engaging destination to explore the latest trends and share their voice with us'.

Marks & Spencer is experiencing higher multichannel purchasing, and is emerging as a leader in in-store contactless payment acceptance, processing more than 230,000 Visa contactless payments every week. According to one M&S manager, 'Contactless helps reduce queue times even further, giving customers a payment option that's even quicker than cash'. Still, Marks & Spencer recently reported lower profits and is seeking to generate higher turnover in key categories such as apparel, which carry higher profit margins than food products.

Industrywide, high-street stores continue to go bust, leaving a high number of retail vacancies in many cities and towns. Will multichannel marketing lead to more vacancies in the coming years if shoppers shift most of their purchasing to mobile or online sites?

Updating Tesco's Marketing Plan

Tesco has had a challenging year, with lower UK supermarket profits and a huge write-down planned for its ailing US Fresh & Easy chain.

Now an updated marketing plan, 'Building a better Tesco', aims to put the powerful retailer back on track towards future growth through a focus on six key elements:

• Service & staff - Using internal marketing, Tesco asked employees for their ideas and responded when told about broken fixtures or needed resources. 'They wanted to be given the tools to do the job for customers that they really wanted to do', says UK MD Chris Bush.
• Stores & formats - Tesco has already refreshed 300 of its stores, sometimes including not only the interior (see photo of the refreshed Tesco in Whitstable) but also the car park and access roads. It is also investigating expansion possibilities in India, where government regulations require a certain minimum level of local sourcing.
• Price & value - Tesco has put so much marketing emphasis on its low-price policy that some competitors are complaining about misleading messages. Along with some key rivals, Tesco has also reduced petrol prices, making headlines as the summer holiday season draws near.
• Range & quality - Look for additions to own-label ranges in such categories as snacks, soft drinks and ready meals, with more emphasis on high quality.
• Brand & marketing - Perceptions of the Tesco brand are definitely improving, according to YouGov studies, as the company uses advertising to present 'a warmer and more engaging face' in the words of its CEO. The firm also is expanding its F&F clothing brand to standalone, franchised apparel stores across the Middle East, Eastern Europe and beyond.
• Clicks & bricks - Mobile is a big part of Tesco's marketing plan. It has opened a development center for apps, for example, with the goal of serving customers, understanding their shopping patterns, and pinpointing areas for future investment. The company is also mixing clicks and bricks for multichannel marketing convenience, allowing customers who order online or via mobile to pick up their groceries at more than 150 drive-through locations around the UK.

Retailers deal with supply-chain workers' safety

Much of the world's clothing is made in Bangladesh factories, some unknown number possibly as dangerous as the factory where last month, more than 1,100 workers tragically lost their lives in a building collapse.

Now H&M, Zara, Benetton and several other big-name retailers have committed to working closely with factory owners and the government to improve conditions. H&M issued a statement saying it wants to create an environment 'in which no worker needs to fear fires, building collapses or other accidents that could be prevented with reasonable health and safety measures'.

UK's Primark and Canada's Loblaw will compensate the family of victims of the factory collapse. According to a Loblaw statement, 'We are working to ensure that we will deliver support in the best and most meaningful way possible, and with the goal of ensuring that victims and their families receive benefits now and in the future'.

Walmart has so far decided to conduct safety inspections on its own, saying it believes this is the fastest way to uncover and correct potential problems. The world's largest retailer plans to post the results of its factory inspections on its website, because 'transparency is the ultimate accountability mechanism'.

Marketing to kids--yes or no?

In a recent Sixth Sense/YouGov survey, 49% of UK adults said yes, it's OK to market to children. The other half of adults surveyed think it's NOT OK to market to children.

As the debate continues, some adults are signing online petitions posted by Leave our kids ALONE. This group wants to ban advertising messages targeting children who are 11 and younger. One member wrote an opinion piece for the Guardian, pointing out the rising tide of marketing surrounding children at school, at home and in daily life.

The Advertising Standards Authority, which regulates UK ads and is looking closely at the issue of marketing to children, tells the BBC: 'Regulation in this area is deliberately strict, but proportionate and based on the best available evidence'.

Changes in media technology are responsible, in part, for adding urgency to the question of whether marketers should target children. An article in Marketing Week notes that 'The rise of digital communication channels and in-school advertising, in particular have been singled out as stress points by parents who claim there is a lack of control over messaging to youngsters'.
 
On the other hand, the 8-16-year-olds polled in the Sixth Sense/YouGov research said they recognised the reason for advertising's existence. Nearly all were aware that ads seek to get them to buy. In other words, as long as children understand what marketing is about and why it's all around them, they are better positioned to analyse the messages and make a more informed decision about how to react.

Still, some marketers are choosing to curtail marketing to youngsters. Coca-Cola is no longer going to advertise to  children under 12 in any market. Effectively, however, this means not advertising in media where children make up more than 35% of the audience.

The debate continues: What are the ethics of marketing to children?

Adverts go viral on YouTube

Marketers work hard to help their TV adverts go viral so millions more people will see their brand messages day after day after day.

Why try for viral status? Most of the time, well-established brands want to grab a larger audience and increase awareness of a new product, reinforce brand preference or defend market share. Specific objectives vary from campaign to campaign . . . but sometimes brands get an extra jolt of publicity simply by garnering the most online views in a given time period.

 

So which adverts are the most-viewed?

• At the end of 2012, when YouTube issued a list of the year's 20 most-viewed advert videos, Nike's ode to the world's best footballers topped the list. (Watch it here.) To date, this Nike advert has been viewed more than 20 million times.

• YouTube's 2012 list of the most-viewed adverts in the UK put the Honda Civic's 'Spark TV' ad at the top. (Watch it here.) Compare the 2012 top UK views with the 2011 top views, when T-Mobile's royal wedding advert was the leader.

• The Viral Video Chart maintained by Unruly Media presents a snapshot of the most popular adverts viewed during the previous 24 hours, the previous week, the previous month, the previous year and since the chart started tracking views. (This chart also shows advert views via Facebook and blogs.) 

And don't forget that YouTube has its own reasons for publicising advert viewing statistics. 

Coca-Cola tops list of 50 top global brands

Around the world, which brands are most often purchased by the most consumer households? Kantar Worldpanel studied this question and came up with a list of 50 top consumer brands, ranked by global popularity and regional popularity.


At the top of the global brand list (see left): Coca-Cola, which is purchased 5.3 billion times each year. According to Kantar, 44% of households buy Coke.

Below Coke are: Colgate, Nescafe (from Nestle), Pepsi, Lifebuoy (from Unilever), Maggi (from Nestle), Pantene (P&G), Knorr (Unilever), Lays (PepsiCo) and Dove (Unilever).

Looking only at Europe, the top 10 brands are: Coke, Heinz, Lu (Mondelez), Activia (Danone), Herta (Nestle), President (Lactalis), Nescafe (Nestle), Knorr (Unilever), Pepsi and Flora (Unilever).



The top 10 brands in UK households are: Warburtons, Heinz, Walkers, Hovis, McVities, Kingsmill, Birds Eye, Muller, Coca-Cola and Cadbury's Dairy Milk.

Marketing the London Eye

Built to mark the turn of a new millennium, the London Eye has lived on and on to become one of the city's most popular attractions. It's a highly visible symbol of London, often featured in movies, TV shows and tourism materials because it's so distinctive and instantly identifiable by a global audience.

Before it opened, some critics believed that the London Eye would be a 'white elephant' and others appreciated the unique design. In fact, the design has inspired other projects, such as a new attraction on board a Royal Caribbean cruise ship that will allow passengers a completely different view of their surroundings (see below).

British Airways was the London Eye's original sponsor. Merlin Entertainments operates the London Eye, and in 2011 it set up a three-year sponsorship with the French utility EDF Energy. Now the EDF Energy London Eye is being marketed online, through special mobile apps, occasional ticket giveaways, outreach to travel marketers, e-mail newsletters, special bundled pricing with other attractions and promotions with other brands.

Stay in touch with the London Eye on its Facebook page (336,000 likes), Twitter account (12,000 followers) or its Flickr page (175,000 uploads tagged for the London Eye).