Unilever's unstereotype initiative

One of the most notable of 2016's marketing initiatives, according to Campaign Live, has been Unilever's #Unstereotype campaign, headed by the company's SVP of global marketing, Aline Santos.

Unilever's research revealed the need to make changes in how its brand advertising depicts people. Among the brands affected by this new change is Axe (also known as Lynx). Santos explains: 'The stereotype of men that we been portraying for years isn't relevant any more. Not only was it not relevant, it wasn't right.'

In June, 2016, Unilever posted the following about its #Unstereotype initiative:

Gender identity is changing. Our advertising has not changed enough – up until now. We've listened to consumers and looked at the way we portray gender in our advertising and realised we need to do things differently. We understand that by using our influence responsibly, we can contribute to positive cultural change as well as making better connections with people through our advertising. That's why we've asked every one of our brands to challenge itself to move away from unhelpful stereotypical portrayals of gender, especially for women, and to deliver fresh campaigns that are more relevant to today’s consumer. We call this movement #UNSTEREOTYPE – and it is already making a difference.

The #Unstereotype campaign resonates in an industry where stereotyping is often in evidence (especially in advertising messages to or including women). In fact, Kantar Futures head J Walker Smith says this is the way of the future:

The advertising and marketing industry has got a lot of ground to make up to simply project a realistic, contemporary picture of female identity, so keeping up with and pre-empting its evolution will be no easy task. The good news is that Unilever has now shown that it pays dividends, and that those brands brave enough to move their strategy forward have a great opportunity for growth, disruption and creativity.

Preventing 'success disaster'

Message on Hatchimals website in December, 2016

A Google product expert--one of the team behind the new artificial-intelligence Google Translate technology--recently spoke about the need to prevent success disaster. That's a situation in which an organisation lacks the practical capabilities to meet high demand for a product.

In other words, suppose something new like the revamped Google Translate is tested and adopted by a large number of users. The result would be a strain on Google's network unless it planned, in advance, for an extended, sustained surge in usage. Meaning new processing equipment and new networking equipment. Which Google did, in fact, install prior to revamping Google Translate this year.

Family Search, the free genealogy website, also understands the potential for success disaster. As more people worldwide become interested in family history and post names and photos on Family Search's databases, the organisation has arranged for flexible cloud computing services to keep operating at peak demand.

Now think about the potential for success disaster at Christmas time. Weeks ago, well before the peak of holiday shopping, Hatchimal toys were already out of stock in many stores. Even though the company shipped additional inventory during December, it recognised that some children were going to be disappointed by not having Hatchimals under the tree in 2016. The message shown at top was a pop-up on the company's home page in mid-December.

Admittedly, predicting the popularity of a new toy (actually, predicting consumer behaviour towards purchasing the new toy) is quite a challenge. But even LEGO, with its long history of sales analysis, wasn't prepared for worldwide demand in 2015. No wonder LEGO 's top executive says: “If you make a decision in product design, you need to mirror it in manufacturing.” That is a major step towards preventing success disaster.

Easy marketing £1 coffee

EasyCoffee is a growing franchised coffee chain under the Easy brand umbrella, soon to open dozens of new branches around the UK. The top brand attribute for Easy is (no surprise) value (£1 for a regular -sized coffee or tea). You know, Easy as in easyJet, the high-profile Easy-branded budget airline.

Here's the EasyGroup mission:

To manage and extend Europe's leading value brand to more products and services, whilst creating real wealth for all stakeholders.

Businesses or other organisations can have an EasyCoffee vending machine (above) on their premises to offer employee value-priced branded coffee. In other words, EasyCoffee's distribution strategy goes beyond consumer-oriented retailing into B2B marketing.

Which is a good thing, because competition in the retail side of coffee shops is intense, given the strong brands trying to increase market share (Starbucks, Costa and so on). Not to mention competition from other food service brands that make coffee a signature element in their outreach to certain customer segments (such as McDonald's with its McCafe coffees).

Small Business Saturday success in 2016

According a survey by American Express, a founder of Small Business Saturday, shoppers spent an amazing £717 million with local stores, restaurants and other small businesses across the UK on 3 December. In all, footfall was up for many small businesses, and the total spend was up an impressive 15% on last year's Small Business Saturday.

To support Small Business Saturday, consumers and participating merchants sent more than 130,000 tweets on 3 December. The #SmallBizSatUK hashtag trended at number one in the UK on Twitter for the day. Social media marketing definitely shaped consumer behaviour, helping encourage shoppers to get out and shop.

#SmallBizSatUK now has 37k followers on Twitter, 30k likes on Facebook and 4k followers on Instagram. It's also active on YouTube and Google+.

Is Amazon Go the future of grocery shopping?

When the pioneer of online retailing tests a new store concept, the world of retailing pays attention. Amazon Go is the prototype unit of a US chain of small grocery stores, intended to serve shoppers who want a quick and convenient place to buy frequently-purchased items like milk or freshly-made sandwiches.

What makes this a unique concept is -- as shown above in a still from Amazon's video introduction -- shoppers don't queue to pay at the till. No, seriously, their purchases are tallied on a smartphone app and recorded as they leave the store. Amazon charges the payment method on file for each customer and sends an electronic receipt.

Obviously, only shoppers with smartphones can shop at Amazon Go. But given the mature nature of the smartphone market, this is not much of a barrier. And given the high brand awareness that Amazon enjoys, consumers are likely to at least give this store a go if one opens nearby. Because, it seems, there are some products that simply can't be sold online and some shoppers who simply won't buy groceries online (consumer behaviour in action).

Behind the scenes is Amazon's technology, sensing when a product is lifted from a shelf (and if the product is returned to a shelf). Amazon is a master of inventory management, and with time it will learn what sells and doesn't sell in each store location. No cashiers, an enormous cost savings. And the opportunity to serve the same shopper again and again because groceries are a frequently-purchased product category. Is this the future of grocery shopping?

What's new in chocolate marketing?

Chocolate for the holidays . . . chocolate as an everyday affordable luxury . . . chocolate as a socially-responsible snack. These are some of the ways that chocolate marketers position their products. The world of chocolate marketing is changing, thanks to changes in technology, consumer behaviour and society.

• Nestlé announced today that it has discovered a scientific way to reduce the amount of sugar in a chocolate bar without sacrificing taste. The company has been trying to reformulate its products to reduce levels of sugar. With obesity a concern in many nations, marketing chocolate with lower sugar could make products like Nestlé's KitKat bars more appealing to a wider market. 
• Toblerone, made by Mondelez International, recently changed two of its chocolate bars to reduce the weight, in response to higher ingredient costs. Most if not all chocolate marketers are experiencing higher costs, which some can absorb for months and others must pass along in the form of higher prices or reduced-size products. 
• Consumers are often interested in where a product's ingredients come from, seeking out ethically-sourced chocolate from companies that have a social responsibility agenda. 'Single-origin' chocolate is sourced from one area, ideally from one group of cocoa growers who receive fair-market pay for their crops. Single-origin chocolate also reflects the distinctive flavour of its beans. Waitrose, for example, is marketing chocolate bars from specific sources, each with its own flavour. 

• Hotel Chocolat was a leader in single-origin chocolate, a first-mover advantage in mystique that has helped build its brand. Now Hotel Chocolat, which has a chain of branded shops, is continuing its growth by opening cafés where customers can experience its chocolates in a branded restaurant-style setting.

Some of these trends are discussed in the updated sample marketing plan for the fictional company Lost Legends Luxury Chocolatier, when my next edition of the Essential Guide to Marketing Planning is published in 2017.

Branded salt and GivingTuesday

No, salt is not just salt. In the age of marketing, Morton Salt, a US-based brand, has the advantage of longevity and consistency. It also has a salt product for nearly every consumer and business segment.

For many decades, its packaging and adverts have featured the 'Morton Salt girl' holding an umbrella (see below, from Morton's website).

And now the salt brand is 'giving back' by backing a campaign designed to encourage charitable donations on #GivingTuesday, the last Tuesday in November.

Morton Salt partnered with an indie band, OK Go, known for its 2014 song, The One Moment, to create the video with eye-catching visual moments.

The salt company had the idea of inspiring giving through this video, to reinforce the brand's commitment to marketing purpose.

According to the director of communications and corporate brand strategy:

'We were really looking to help break through in a way that people would not necessarily expect from Morton Salt'.

Writing a marketing plan? Check newly updated links

If you're preparing a marketing plan, you may find some valuable ideas amongst the 80+ hotlinks here on my blog. The list is now updated with additional sources of marketing news and links to marketing resources around the world. 

• For marketing plan templates and tips, be sure to check the CIM Marketing Expert page.
• For an overview of the main components of a marketing plan, visit NI Business Info.
• For more detail about writing a marketing plan and planning for social media, visit Business Victoria.

Just as important as your marketing choices: Plan ahead for metrics to measure results to evaluate the outcome of each marketing programme.

Most Valuable Global Brands in 2016

Interbrand recently ranked the most valuable brands in the world. For 2016, the top 10 list is:

10. General Electric (US based)
9.   Mercedes (Germany)
8.   Amazon (US)
7.   Samsung (South Korea)
6.   IBM (US)
5.   Toyota (Japan)
4.   Microsoft (US)
3.   Coca-Cola (US)
2.   Google (US)
1.   Apple (US)

Notice any patterns?

First, 7 of the top 10 are US-based brands.

Second, technology fuels many of the top 10. 

And third, these are powerful brands backed by powerful marketing. Coca-Cola is well over a century old, yet it remains highly popular and valuable because marketing keeps it visible in pop culture. Amazon was incorporated only 20 years ago, but its first-mover advantage and ongoing innovations have helped the retailer stay ahead of competitors year after year.

Will Apple remain at the top of the tree in 2017? Although some analysts are concerned about Apple's ability to keep innovating, the brand has actually increased in value. I believe it won't lose its #1 status in 2017. But Samsung may fall in the rankings as a result of its exploding battery problem.

Introducing Christmas 2016 adverts (and their hashtags)

In the coming days, you'll see more and more of this year's Christmas adverts on every screen (telly, tablet, mobile). Building anticipation is part of the fun and a smart marketing strategy too.

Here are links to just three of the recently introduced retailer adverts playing on screens across the UK.

• Aldi's advert features #KevinTheCarrot (above) and ends with the strapline 'everyday amazing' to reinforce the retailer's low-price positioning. One million online views in one week.
• The new John Lewis #BusterTheBoxer advert has been viewed 15 million times on YouTube in just the first four days. Not only is Buster an adorable toy, 10% of the price goes to charity.
• Marks & Spencer features Mrs Claus in #LoveMrsClaus, its 2016 holiday advert. In four days, this advert has been viewed online 4.6 million times.

Watch for the hashtags integrating mentions of the adverts throughout social media and traditional advertising.

Competing with Aldi

Aldi, the deep-discount grocery chain based in Germany, is known for low prices on brand names and on non-branded merchandise. In fact, Aldi offers a Shop Specialbuys app to alert shoppers when their favourite products are going on sale (get ready to 'swipe and shop').

A former exec who helped set up Aldi in Australia explains the retailer's strategy: '. . . the deal between the supplier and Aldi is; first Aldi will take a larger pack size, often a pack size that is exclusive to Aldi so some economy is represented here and that Aldi does not embarrass other bigger retail customers . . . of the brand with its selling price'.

Now Aldi's head in Australia notes how the company's expansion has affected retail pricing: 'Our prices are always the lowest, so we have observed the market getting a little sharper in prices … at the same time as our competitors have been lowering prices, we have as well'. Aldi's expects to continue acquiring market share in Australia, aiming for as much as 15% of that market within a few years.

One way competitors are fighting back is by not only increasing their private brands but in some cases, by blurring the line between national brands and private brands. Woolworths in Australia recently relaunched some of its store private brands without highlighting the retailer's brand ownership on the front label. Products formerly branded prominently as 'Woolworth's Gold' now bear the brand 'Gold' on the front label, for example, with the Woolworth name on the back label.

Woolworth says it has been fine-tuning its Australian private brands: 'Over the last year we sought insights from our customers as we looked to enhance our range of products. Woolworths branded and non-branded ranges reflect our commitment to quality and value'.

Meanwhile, Aldi's low-price grocery rival in Germany, Lidl, is moving further into markets where Aldi has established itself--such as the US market. 'We are in the early stages of our preparation to launch in the U.S., and our focus right now is in our operations along the East Coast and opening our first stores no later than 2018', says a Lidl exec. Lidl competes against Aldi by opening larger stores and stocking a wider assortment of merchandise compared with Aldi.

Watch for price wars when Aldi targets a market--and watch for competing stores to slash prices or risk losing shoppers who follow the bargains.

New pound coin, new update for UK marketing plans

Businesses and government agencies should already have new marketing plans in place as they prepare for the new pound coin, shown above. The coin was announced more than a year in advance, with occasional information updates released to the public.

From March 2017, this distinctive 12-sided coin will be legal tender for any purchase. This is an especially important issue for operators of vending machines, ticket machines and parking meters. Any marketer that operates any of those machines has to plan now to adapt to the new coin.

The old coins will still circulate until September 2017, giving businesses and consumers time to make the change. Machines don't have to accept both coins, just one or the other (and notify consumers which will work) during March through September.

This new coin introduction has nothing to do with Brexit, yet it also introduces an element of change into the marketing environment. Not only do machines have to be adapted to the new coin, banks and retailers must use internal marketing to educate their employees to respond to customer questions, requests and confusion. 

How L'Oreal uses apps for product marketing

The global cosmetics giant L’Oréal markets dozens of beauty products in the luxury product category (such as Lancôme), professional products (such as Redken), mainstream consumer products (such as Maybelline New York) and active products (such as Vichy).

Now the company is leveraging apps to deliver information and product benefits to consumers and professional customers: 

• Hair Color Genius and Makeup Genius are apps to help consumers try and select the best hair and skin products for the looks they want. Makeup Genius, available for several years, has been downloaded more than 20 million times worldwide.
• Targeting beauty professionals, the company's 'Style my hair' app shows the right products for each hairstyle and situation. Hair professionals select the client's face shape, virtually test cuts and colours, and demonstrate how to get that perfect look.
• Another app for professionals is 'Matrix Academy', a virtual reality simulator that helps professionals learn the latest techniques for contemporary hair styles.
• For consumers, L'Oreal offers a 'My UV Patch' app that works together with its La Roche-Posay sunscreen product, to monitor UV exposure and protect skin. 

Poundland's pricing strategy

Poundland sells everything for £1. Or at least that was its traditional pricing strategy. In recent months, the retailer known for its one-price strategy has expanded the number of products sold at a higher price. 

From time to time, Poundland offered special deals over the one-pound price (see "Replay DVD" here). But recently, Poundland posted store signs announcing more value deals, meaning the sale of merchandise priced over the one-pound price.

Was the change in pricing strategy due to Brexit's impact on the pound? Poundland says Brexit is not to blame. The retailer is actually expanding its merchandise offerings: 'The rationale was to bring customers more value products than is possible at the £1 price point'.

In fact, Poundland is opening stores under the brand 'Poundland & More' to test the strategy of mixing £1 with a range of higher-priced value deals.

This post updates the Poundland example in the targeting and positioning section of Chapter 7 within my Essential Guide to Marketing Planning.

What does a brand stand for?

Quick, what do you think of when you think of Kodak?

Maybe you remember Kodak's yellow and red film packaging...or other photography-related products.

Kodak is changing its brand associations, and today it describes itself this way: 'Kodak is a technology company focused on imaging'. For consumers, Kodak offers digital cameras, movie cameras, printers and more.

Can the Kodak brand be associated with smartphones? Kodak is aiming for that market. Last year, its brand appeared on a smartphone made by Bullitt. The phone didn't sell well. Now the Kodak brand is about to appear on a new smartphone, to be marketed as having a very good built-in camera. The new phone is called the Ektra.

Everyone takes photos with smartphones and tablets these days, right? Some famous photographers use their iPhones and rely on the quality, and Apple is definitely promoting the photography aspect for social media ease and professional use.

In other words, Apple has successfully associated its branded phones and tablets with high-quality photography.

Can Kodak do the same for its Ektra smartphone?

Product pricing and Brexit

Unilever and Tesco skirmished briefly about pricing this week.

As a result of Brexit, the value of the pound sterling has slumped, and Unilever is trying to increase the price of some products by an average of about 10% to compensate for the slump.

Inventory on Tesco's store shelves dwindled as the grocery giant fought Unilever over pricing. Media coverage of the battle raised the possibility that Tesco's shoppers might be unable to find beloved brands like Marmite and Ben & Jerry's.

Tesco resisted Unilever's price increase by emphasising its role as championing low prices on behalf of consumers. Unilever explained that its supply costs are increasing, profits are going to be affected and therefore product pricing must be adjusted.

After a 24-hour standoff, Tesco and Unilever announced that the dispute had been resolved and shelves would be full of the brands shoppers want.

Expect more announcements about wholesale pricing as other producers seek to counteract the slump of sterling by increasing prices, if possible.

What's in a brand?

Brands generally include a name and (in many cases) a symbol/logo. Branding identifies and communicates what the branded product stands for so customers can recognise it. Ultimately, marketers want consumers to understand the brand's identity and its meaning, respond to it and have an ongoing relationship with it via brand loyalty and repeat purchasing (see Chapter 8 of my Essential Guide to Marketing Planning).

If you've ever walked past a Marks & Spencer store, you know that the brand shown above the door is distinctive. The website shortens the name to M&S, but the typeface is the same as on the name above the door. Over the years, M&S has changed the look of its brand name, but the brand still stands for values like quality, choice and innovation.

Now some brands are trademarking words that they've used over and over in adverts. Specsavers, the well-known eyewear retailer, was able to trademark the word 'should've' which it uses in its adverts, as in the catchphrase 'should've gone to Specsavers'. This legal protection ensures that no one else will be able to use that particular wording for marketing purposes. Essentially, 'should've' becomes part of the brand associations for Specsavers.

Changing a brand symbol or logo is a big deal. BT is reportedly making changes to the look of its brand. Instagram changed its look earlier in 2016, with mixed reactions. Once people become accustomed to a brand or logo, and are loyal to that brand, not all will have a positive reaction to changes.

Start-up success requires product expertise, thoughtful targeting

Brighter Foods was recently named Wales Start-up of the Year. Founded in 2014, the company specialises in healthy snack foods. Brighter Foods was also named food and drink start-up of the year and manufacturing start-up of the year for 2016.

It targets consumers who seek out snacks that are healthy and taste good. Among its products are snacks with high fibre, low fat, no dairy and/or no gluten. This is a fast-growing segment of the market and a promising target opportunity for an ambitious business seeking to expand sales.

In addition to contract manufacturing, Brighter Foods developed and now markets its own Wild Trail brand of snack bars, which are gluten- and dairy-free.

Wild Trails is being marketed via a microsite and is also available at Tesco, a channel partner that can help build brand awareness quickly. What product innovations will Brighter Foods introduce in 2017 to maintain its growth momentum?

Purpose-driven marketing at Unilever

Unilever's chief marketing officer recently said: 'We need to build brands with purpose. We need to go from "marketing to consumers", to "mattering to people"'.

In other words, the consumer products giant believes in purpose-driven marketing.

One year ago Marketing Week named the top 100 firms for brand purpose--and at the top was Unilever.

Just weeks ago, Unilever arranged to buy Seventh Generation, a US-based brand of household cleaners known for sustainability.

Unilever's executive vice president for global marketing notes that brands need to be activist as part of their purpose: 'Consumers are really expecting brands to create movements. They want to be part of those movements', she explains.

Yes, the firm's brands seek to make a positive difference (via social responsibility, sustainability and so forth). And in the process, Unilever benefits by meeting customers' needs, increasing public trust and, ultimately, improving the bottom line. 'Fifty percent of Unilever's growth today is coming from brands that are acting on their purpose', the EVP says.

Inside the marketing plans of UK challenger banks

Challenger banks are recently-founded banks challenging the traditional UK high-street banks. As some high-street banks close branches and adapt IT systems to multichannel requirements, challengers begin with the latest technology and lessons learned by studying the established competitors.

Monzo is a challenger bank targeting digital-savvy customers. Originally named Mondo, Monzo operates no branches but instead delivers services electronically. Its marketing plan involves continuous customer input--asking for feedback on products for cocreation, and even soliciting ideas for the brand name Monzo. It hosts periodic get-togethers for customers to meet each other. 'People in corporates roll their eyes when startups talk about values and vision, but the brands who succeed are those who can define that for the people on the journey with them', says Monzo's head of marketing.


Another challenger is Metro Bank, founded by the experienced bank entrepreneur Vernon Hill, with retail branches that are open for extended hours every day of the week. Looking at the UK bank industry, he observes: 'There had been no entrepreneurial tradition in banking. Maybe there was 50-100 years ago, but there certainly hadn’t been one here for a long time'. So Metro bank's marketing plan is based on competing with convenience and friendly service, as well as multichannel marketing to allow customers to bank when and where they choose.

Also competing as a challenger bank is Atom Bank, which is digital-only, no branches. Its marketing plan relies on differentiation via customer focus. Customers can choose a personalised look for their Atom Bank app and even call the bank whatever they wish. Atom's CMO says: 'The traditional old banks constantly reference their relationship with its customers, but our brand strategy is about us helping people understand money much better'.

Boaty McBoatface has high brand awareness

Months ago, the UK polar research ship that might have been named Boaty McBoatface was, in reality, given the dignified name of the Sir David Attenborough (as shown here).

Boaty was one of a list of names that topped a popular online vote but was not chosen. The vote and final decision attracted global attention, including from branding experts.

In Sydney, Transport for New South Wales invited the public to vote for a name for its new ferry. Of course, amongst the top vote-getters (not chosen) were...

Boaty McBoatface

Ferry McFerryface

So despite Boaty not being the actual name of anything, it continues to have high brand awareness and positive emotional associations. For example, Boaty McBoatface won a fundraiser soapbox derby in Magdalen this summer. News coverage of a Teesside firm making thrusters for the new polar research ship included 'Boaty' in the headline. One eBay auction offers the opportunity to name an Eddie Stobart lorry--mentioning 'Boaty' as an example. Sorry, a lorry has already been named 'Teletubby'.

Boaty has inspired other brand monikers. An Australian race horse has been named 'Horsey McHorseface'. Google has named AI software 'Parsey McParseface'. And a pub has changed its brand to 'Pubby McPubface'.

How many brands can inspire as many copycats and chuckles as Boaty?

7th October is Byte Night

Across the UK, people will be sleeping rough on Byte Night to raise £1.4 million for Action for Children. This event began in 1998 and now attracts more than 1,200 participants. Venues are hosting sleepouts and promoting fundraising activities for Byte Night.

To raise awareness of the event and explain the fundraising need, and to encourage involvement, Byte Night tweets and uses Facebook.

Byte Night also communicates via its LinkedIn profile page, because of the strong business participation from IT and other professions. Business leaders promote fundraising inside their organisations and to public audiences, as well.

So watch for #ByteNight tags across social media and get involved!

Brand personality builds marketing impact

Brand personality is a key ingredient in any marketing plan--especially for small businesses that want to grow quickly. Differentiation communicated with personality, including perhaps a bit of humour, attracts attention on a small budget to build brand awareness and preference. 

For example, Jimmy's Iced Coffee is a fast-growing business based in Dorset. Its brand personality shines through all of its marketing, from the logo to the product packaging and beyond.

The packaging shows a tagline ("Keep your chin up") from the first Jimmy's YouTube rap-beat promotional video, which attracted 3.5 million views in a year. It also echoes elements from Jimmy's brand history. Jimmy's has, in fact, expanded distribution by emphasising its brand personality and is now on the shelves of Tesco, Sainsbury and other major UK grocery chains.

What's Jimmy's secret to social media marketing? 'The good thing about online, if you do something offline you should be able to just put it online and show people what you’re doing. It’s not just pack shots of our cartons on Instagram all day long', he tells Management Today.

Take a look at how brand personality is showcased on Jimmy's social media: Instagram, YouTube and Facebook.

IBM thinks 'consumer' and 'brand story'

Traditionally a business-to-business marketer of computer hardware, software and consulting services, 105-year-old IBM just hired its first chief marketing officer for the corporation. Why? Because IBM is increasingly visible to the consumer world and needs to be sure its marketing is targeted, coordinated and differentiated across every subsidiary, product line and location.

In particular, the new CMO has experience with digital marketing and is knowledgeable about the importance of Big Data, key elements in IBM's marketing plan for Watson and other initiatives.

IBM has developed a range of sophisticated tools for applying analytics to customers' marketing challenges. When marketing IBM itself, Big Data is the key to segmenting markets and communicating what it can offer to meet individual customers' needs.

Did you know IBM now hires professional screenwriters to script ads? Professionals know how to tell a story, which all brands must be able to do to engage B2B or consumer audiences. 'Ultimately, our goal is really to make an emotional connection, and we think we can do that better by being personal without of course, being creepy', notes the CMO of IBM Commerce.

Growth in digital ad spending

AD BUDGETS in 2017

Not surprisingly, many experts project continued growth in digital ad spending. Even as UK ad spending increases overall, budgets for digital ads are growing more.

Digital video ads are a small percentage of all digital ad spending right now, but projected to grow in the future as content marketing and other digital elements become increasingly important.

Looking towards the future, UK spending on social media advertising is expected to increase at the expense of spending on ads appearing in news vehicles.

Then there's UK mobile ad spending...projected to grow quite rapidly in the coming months and years. Marketers are experimenting and shifting money into mobile budgets to reach mobile users where and when purchasing decisions are made. But you probably already knew that, because you've noticed mobile marketing on your cell. Right?

How did LEGO do?

From LEGO's corporate newsroom

LEGO recently reported turnover and profits . . . and different media outlets viewed the results in different ways.

• 'Lego wobbles after American downturn and higher wage bill' - The Evening Standard's headline
• 'Lego continues to build up sales' - BBC's headline
• 'Building on bricks with clicks' - CNBC's headline
• 'Lego profit falls 1.8% as company builds in China and Mexico' - Irish Times headline
• 'Toymaker LEGO builds more plant capacity to revive growth in US Sales' - Reuters

LEGO's profits are down a bit because it's expanding its workforce and its manufacturing capacity. Why? Because worldwide demand continues to grow and grow and grow.

In fact, demand was so extraordinarily high in 2015 that LEGO struggled to fill all orders for Christmas.

To avoid a repeat, LEGO is investing now as it continues implementing its global marketing plan, following a long-term growth strategy. Just in time: LEGO products are, of course, on this year's lists of top children's toys for Christmas.

Competitors as Stakeholders: More Collaboration

COMPETITORS COLLABORATE

 

Once again, I'm revisiting the topic of competitors as stakeholders--because of the increasingly popular concept of collaboration amongst competitors.

Earlier this year, I quoted Net-a-Porter founder Natalie Massenet on the vital importance of collaboration: Competition creates win-lose scenarios, but collaboration benefits us all.

More examples of competitors collaborating are emerging. For example, the founder of an online media network says that 'The Carousel Network was formed with the view that working collaboratively with other publishers is the smart way forward if we are going to look at a strong future of influence and reach'. By banding together with others in the industry, Carousel gains in strength and moves closer to achieving its own goals.

Collaborating on something that builds goodwill for all the competitors involved--such as a charity event or an event to increase awareness of a city or country--can result in positive outcomes for customers as well as companies. In one case, chefs from competing restaurants worked on a 'local dinner' menu that showcased their best meals and enhanced the reputation of the area as a magnet for food-lovers.

Competitors are also seeking to collaborate on new technology and new tech standards that will affect the overall industry. And of course, competitors have been collaborating (through industry groups) to tackle social responsibility and sustainability issues. Watch for more collaborative initiatives in the future.

Online marketing: seconds count

Seconds really count in online marketing.

• Amazon calculated that a one-second slowdown in loading its e-commerce site could cost it as much as £1.2 billion (US $1.6 billion) in sales per year. 
• The US department store Nordstrom actually experienced a sales drop of 11% after its retail website began loading more slowly--only half a second more slowly. 
• Mobile-friendly websites also have to be speedy to retain Millennials' attention, which is why Google offers a free speed-test utility.

Google reportedly plans to lower the results ranking of mobile websites that use pop-up ads--because it wants mobile users to get their results faster. Meanwhile, Google itself is testing ads that will load more quickly on mobile sites, helping to speed up load time for sites that carry the ads.

Marketers, when you develop your marketing plans for e-commerce or brand promotions online, test and refine to be sure your sites load quickly. Seconds lost can translate into visitors lost and money lost.

Researching most trusted brands

Every year, Reader's Digest works with marketing researchers to survey consumers in various parts of the world about the brands they most trust.

In its introduction to the 2016 report about trusted brands in Asia, Reader's Digest wrote:

A trusted brand enjoys international appeal, yet at the same time upholds a strong local connection. It has individual relevance for all its consumers, just about anywhere and in any culture.

Conducting research about trusted brands in Canada, Reader's Digest reported the top brands within product categories, with some winners being Canadian brands and some global brands, such as:

• Most trusted cereal: Kellogg's (global brand)
• Most trusted smartphone: Apple (global brand)
• Most trusted pharmacy: Shoppers Drug Mart (Canadian brand)

In New Zealand, Reader's Digest reported the top brands within product categories, again a mix of global and national brands, such as:

• Most trusted bank: Kiwi Bank (New Zealand brand)
• Most trusted car rental firm: Hertz (global brand)
• Most trusted car brand: Toyota (global brand)

Pop-up shops boost brands, test products, target customers

Pop-up shops are increasingly popular. Some pop-ups test interest in certain merchandise or new products. Others are opened for short-term promotion of brands amongst targeted customers.

Pop-ups don't always sell merchandise...sometimes they're focused on bringing the brand experience to life for a limited period in a targeted location.
Not only are pop-ups temporary, they can also be located or relocated to specific areas where target customers live, work, shop or enjoy leisure activities like sports and concerts.

Here are a few recent examples of UK pop-ups:

• Kanye West opened pop-ups in London and elsewhere to promote his current album.
• Morrissey opened a pop-up in the Salford Lads Club when he appeared at Manchester Arena.
• A dance teacher opened the Ballet Box in Westmorland to dance apparel.
• Insert Coin opened a London popup to promote its new line of Pokémon apparel.

Small Business Saturday plans 100 days of marketing

From 26 August, #SmallBizSatUk is beginning 100 days of marketing on social media such as Twitter, Facebook and Instagram, plus LinkedIn and widespread mainstream publicity. The goals: to increase awareness among UK shoppers of the benefits of supporting small businesses, to introduce small businesses to a wider audience and to encourage purchasing from small businesses on 3 December 2016.

Small Business Saturday was originally founded by the global financial services firm American Express. The UK group is now independent, operated by Small Is Big CIC to promote small businesses all year.

Since its inception, Small Business Saturday has been growing in awareness and participation. In 2015, customers spent £623 million buying from small UK businesses on Small Business Saturday.

This year, 100 small businesses will be featured in the weeks leading up to 3 December, giving each the opportunity for higher awareness and positive brand associations. In turn, each small business can leverage this opportunity for more local recognition and specific promotions targeting its customers, using tips and tools provided by Small Business Saturday UK. 

Lots of interest in marketing with Pinterest

Lots of brands are using Pinterest as part of broader-based social media marketing campaigns designed to reinforce brand image, build buzz for new products, expand their audiences and stimulate purchasing.

Pinterest is doing its part to support brand marketing through shopping buttons and boards, Promoted Pins and other marketing techniques that engage consumers. In fact, more than 1,000 brands signed up for Pinterest UK's Promoted Pins just weeks after this promotional opportunity was introduced.

So who's marketing with Pinterest? Here are just 3 of the many brands:

• Burberry. One of the most social-media-savvy brands on the planet, Burberry has a new Cat Lashes mascara Pinterest campaign. Burberry's Pinterest page has nearly 180k followers.
• Made.com. Based in London, Made-dot-com has Pinterest boards with more than 24k followers. It uses Promoted Pins, knowing that consumers who pin furniture and other products are often ready to actually make a purchase.
• L'Oreal. The global beauty products marketer studied one of its Pinterest video campaigns and found buying intentions increased by 31%.

Top adverts have heart

In marketing communications, facts can be less persuasive than emotion, as the 'top adverts' lists suggest.

Take a look at Adweek's 'ad of the day' and you'll see many adverts that appeal through humour, inspiration and heart-warming emotions. For example, here's an uplifting Samsung advert created to celebrate the Rio Olympics.

Read what Campaign says about the emotion-driven adverts so many brands are producing for the Rio Olympics. Human truths over product features is one of the phrases that stands out in Campaign's analysis. In other words, consider emotional appeals rather than rational appeals for certain adverts and campaigns.

Also look at the Best ads on TV site, where fun, inspiration and other emotional appeals are often showcased in the featured adverts.

When Campaign selected the best Easter 2016 adverts, its picks included lots of humour to stand out from the crowd. It also liked the all-chocolate 'pop-up' bar that Carlsberg beer established temporarily during the Easter season--playing on the love of chocolate.

Same-day delivery: marketing battleground for retailers

Sainsbury's recently announced it would offer same-day delivery of groceries ordered by noon. This is one of the ways the supermarket giant is battling aggressive competition from Amazon and no-frills discounters like Aldi. Sainsbury's is also proceeding with its acquisition of Argos, which itself offers same-day delivery or collection of toys and other products.

Amazon is offering same-day grocery delivery in London (in partnership with Morrisons for certain private brands). Whether delivered by drone in the future, as shown above, or not, Amazon Fresh promises Prime members that orders placed before the cutoff time will be at the customer's door by evening.

Rivals Aldi and Lidl are feeling the challenge of Brexit's impact on currency fluctuations. Because both Aldi and Lidl source many products from EU suppliers, the UK stores have to deal with higher costs when the pound sterling is low--and higher costs cut into already thin profit margins. For Sainsbury's and other UK-based retailers, however, this may present an opportunity to press price war advantages.

Meanwhile, speedy delivery is a niche being explored by startups such as Convibo, which offers one-hour delivery of grocery orders from London retailers such as Whole Foods and Waitrose. How much demand exists for one-hour delivery, compared with same-day delivery, is unclear--but this startup is a good example of distribution in general and service in particular as key points of differentiation.

Not-so-fast fashion at Urban Outfitters

The US-based clothing retailer Urban Outfitters has been expanding across the pond in the UK and continental Europe.

The European managing director of Urban Outfitters says this about the retailer's merchandise:

Currently around 20% of our offer is our own-brand edit and the rest own buy. The mix of both is really important.

Contrary to the trend of outsourcing production and encouraging fast adoption and fast disposition of fashion, Urban Outfitters is promoting an own-brand label that is sourced and made in the UK from fabric remnants. Not only does the ReWork brand represent up-to-date fashion, it makes the most of UK design and materials. The result is, therefore, a bit experimental and feels like a limited-edition product line because the clothing items are made from remnants--with the actual remnants inspiring the designers, rather than the designers searching for material after creating a style. ReWork also helps the retailer polish its sustainability credentials.

Urban Outfitters reaches its European and UK target audiences through a variety of social media, including Pinterest, Instagram and Twitter.

Speedier self-service at McDonald's

McDonald's UK wants to speed up ordering by having customers touch a screen just inside the entrance to its UK outlets. Tap to order meals or a coffee, insert a payment card and retain the receipt so you can collect your order by number. Those cashiers who previously staffed the till are now working behind the scenes or delivering meals to the table. Also being tested: delivery to home or office.

Amidst intense competition for the 'fast casual dining' customer, McDonalds needs to differentiate itself and refine its positioning. Self-serve ordering is one way to appeal to customers who habitually tap screens (smartphone or tablet) to order all kinds of products. The screen also updates the look of the outlets, adding a modern touch to a brand that has been in business for decades. The Aberdeen McDonald's, soon to open, is being promoted as 'high tech' because of its proliferation of screens and its table service.

Liverpool, interestingly, has a high concentration of McDonald's units, much higher than the national UK average.

Despite the high-tech updates, McDonald's UK continues its low-tech frequent-buyer reward scheme to encourage loyalty amongst coffee buyers. Every coffee cup comes with this peel-off loyalty card, good for a free coffee after the purchase of 6. This is an easy way to keep coffee lovers loyal without a lot of technology to slow down transactions.

Marketing results of second annual Amazon Prime Day

Amazon's Fire TV Stick, a best-seller on Amazon Prime Day

Despite some technical problems that prevented shoppers from clicking to buy a few of the deeply-discounted items, the second annual Amazon Prime Day was a huge success. Reportedly the online retailer's UK division received the most orders ever in a single day. Just as important, Amazon gained new Prime memberships and promoted the use of its exclusive shopping app.

Amazon's proprietary products were prominently featured and shoppers clicked to buy. The Fire TV Stick gadget was a top seller, and Alexa was also popular--being used to order other Amazon products, as well. Overall Amazon customer sentiment was positive and customer engagement was high.

From a marketing standpoint, Prime Day reinforced brand loyalty, attracted new Prime members, showcased Amazon's unique products and shaped customer behaviour by providing a mid-summer shopping 'holiday' branded by the world's original online retailer.

Amazon plans to continue Prime Day because it is achieving so many key objectives, both in customer relationships and in financial results. Not to mention good publicity for the brand.

Second annual Amazon Prime Day

Today is the second annual Amazon Prime Day, a day when the pioneering online retailer offers special price promotions for current Prime members and to attract new members. The first Prime day in 2015 created a lot of publicity for Amazon and resulted in a huge number of purchase transactions. In fact, Prime Day exceeded Black Friday's usual results.

The idea is to encourage shopping during the summertime, and make members feel like insiders when they get special deals that aren't available to everyone. Of course, since Amazon allows shoppers to sign up for a free 30-day Prime membership trial, everyone can, in effect, try and buy. So another objective is to attract new Prime members and convince them that the expedited shipping and access to streaming entertainment are worth the price of membership.

Amazon is promoting its Dash buttons at a discount, because once consumers install them, they simply press and presto! Replacement products for frequently-purchased items like laundry detergent will arrive quickly and automatically. Shoppers who grow accustomed to such convenience will be unlikely to switch to other retailers.

This year, as in 2015, the most coveted products being discounted are electronics, which lead the way in promotions. Amazon also encourages its sellers to get in on the promotion by offering deals to their customers via the retailer's website.

Will the number of transactions on 2016 Prime Day surpass the 2015 record?

Top brands in China

In this final post for my 'marketing in China' series, a look at the top brands in China. Not surprisingly, different groups rank brands in different ways.

According to BrandZ Top 100 Most Valuable Chinese Brands 2016, the top brands are: (5) Baidu (a tech brand), (4) ICBC (financial services), (3) Alibaba (e-commerce), (2) China Mobile (telecomms) and (1) Tencent (e-commerce and technology, owner of WeChat app). Market-driven brands are gaining ground compared with state-owned company brands.

Campaign Asia ranks the top global brands active in China, with this result: (5) Sony (electronics), (4) Apple (electronics), (3) Chanel (fashion), (2) Nestle (food) and (1) Samsung (electronics). The 2016 ranking was unchanged from 2015.

Kantar ranks China's 'most chosen' brands amongst fast-moving consumer goods, with this result: (3) Mengniu (ice-cream and other dairy products), (2) Master Kong (instant noodles) and (1) Yili (yoghurt and other milk products).

Five fast-growing Chinese brands to keep your eye on are: ZTE (smartphone manufacturer), WeChat/Tencent (messaging/e-commerce), Huawei (appliances and technology products), JD.com (e-commerce) and LeEco (entertainment content and devices).

Western brands market on China's WeChat

WeChat QR code

China's wildly popular mobile text/messaging app WeChat serves more than 700 million users (the number will probably be even higher when you read this).

Users are so glued to the WeChat app that brands, naturally, want to be part of the experience. Here are just a few ways that Western brands are marketing via WeChat:

• Burberry announces new products and showcases classic styles, as well as using WeChat for customer service.
• L’Oréal Paris uses WeChat as part of its frequent-buyer rewards scheme.
• Procter & Gamble's beauty brands have advertised on WeChat to engage consumers and build buzz.
• Mulberry has used WeChat to target gift-givers on special occasions.

The marketing lesson: Brands have to be where their customers are, and adapt quickly to digital media or whatever new technology is on the ascendancy.

Marketing Starbucks in China

Continuing a look at global brands in China, this entry is about Starbucks, the US-based coffee shop company that has made lattes and espressos part of daily life all over the world.

Starbucks just opened a spacious flagship cafe in the new Shanghai Disney resort. This isn't the first Starbucks connected with a Disney resort, but it is the first of this ultra-modern design...with more than 100 employees to serve thousands of customers every day. The company says this will be the busiest Starbucks on the planet.

China is an attractive market for Starbucks because coffee consumption is still relatively low compared with consumption in other areas--which means a lot of growth potential as consumers adopt the 'coffee culture'. Starbucks already has 2000 cafes in China and plans to open 2500 new cafes over the course of 5 years.

To reinforce its brand image and provide an upmarket consumption and sampling experience, Starbucks plans a new Roastery and Reserve Tasting Room for Shanghai. Modeled on the tasting room near the company's headquarters in Seattle, this Shanghai location will demonstrate the roasting process and offer samples of various coffees and flavours.

Will consumers in China pay the luxury price for a luxury coffee often enough for Starbucks to profit handsomely from its investment?