20th annual Byte Night on 6 October 2017

Byte Night takes place on Friday, 6th October. This is the 20th year of fundraising to benefit Action for Children, a charity that helps homeless children.

In 2017, corporate participants will raise an expected £1.4 million for this charity, by sleeping rough in 10 locations: East Anglia, London, Midlands, Northern Ireland, North East, North West, Scotland, South West, Thames Valley and Wales. As many as 1,700 people will sleep rough on Byte Night.

Social media promotion is raising awareness of the event, the charity and the need. @ByteNight has nearly 3k Twitter followers and nearly 1k LinkedIn group members (this is a corporate-heavy event). Action for Children has more than 50k Facebook likes and 117k Twitter followers, plus 14k LinkedIn followers.

B2B marketing is key to the success of this event, with businesses registering teams of employees to participate--and marketing internally to increase involvement and raise money. Corporate partners include Royal Mail and House of Fraser, plus sponsors such as FedEx and the Amber Group. Watch for more publicity from media participants and for a deluge of social media messages as Byte Night approaches.

Competing technologies in the digital age

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Video_Killed_the_Radio_Star

Sure, Video Killed the Radio Star. This isn't the only example of competition from new technologies, of course. Cassettes eclipsed reel-to-reel audio tape, then CDs eclipsed cassettes, then digital music eclipsed CDs, then vinyl returned in a wave of audiophile nostalgia, followed by cassettes. Streaming continues strong as many consumers enjoy music via multiple technologies.

Currently, vinyl sales in the UK market are 30% higher than at this time last year. Vinyl and other mature entertainment technologies have become popular enough in the digital age that eBay recently introduced a marketplace specifically for books, music, games and video.

Another product category affected by technology: postcards. Before the end of the 20th century, consumers were sending an estimated 20 million postcards every year. Now, however, competition from social media has resulted in barely 5 million postcards sent per year. Why pay for a postcard and postage, take time to write a message and pop it into the post for delivery days later--when you can post a photo or message immediately on Instagram, Pinterest, Facebook or another site? Postcard publisher J Salmon, founded in 1880, is therefore leaving the business.

Perhaps consumers will someday see postcards as unique communication vehicles and give them a go again, the way vinyl and cassettes have become newly popular. Meantime, marketers need to carefully monitor consumer behaviour trends and the impact on the business environment as competing technologies enter the marketplace.

Private brands remain strong

M&S wines have won awards

The head of the UK grocery chain Morrisons observes: 'If people are feeling the pinch, they tend to shift out of brands to own [private] brands'. That's why, during the recent recession, private brands marketed by grocery retailers did so very well.

Traditionally, consumers switched to private brands to save money, and then switched back to manufacturers' brands once they felt less anxiety over economic circumstances.

Consumer behaviour these days indicates that despite economic recovery and consumers feeling more confident about spending, private brands continue to sell well. Private brands are helping Lidl--the deep-discount grocery chain--gain market share against traditional UK supermarkets like Tesco, just as they are helping Aldi. 

In fact, customers who can afford to buy manufacturers' brands often choose to buy private brands because they want both value and quality. At Marks & Spencer, for example, the store's brand of wine has won numerous awards, reassuring buyers that the quality is good, not just the price. The newest trend is toward premium private brands, reflecting the dual interest in value and quality.

This post updates the private brand discussion in Chapter 6 of Essential Guide to Marketing Planning 4e.

Unilever and Nestle Pursue Niche Growth

Sweet Earth is being acquired by Nestle

Switzerland-based Nestle is buying a small California firm known for vegan and vegetarian foods; Dutch-British Unilever is buying a company that makes herbal organic teas.

Unilever is acquiring Pukka Herbs

Both of these multinationals are building part of their growth strategies around acquiring businesses and products in niches that are attractive because of increasing consumer appeal and the ability to be noticed through distinctive brands/products.

Unilever, for example, pursued Pukka Herbs because it is unusually fast-growing in its niche. Unilever's top tea executive explains: 'In the morning a lot of people still drink black tea as it picks you up, but in the afternoon or evening herbal tea is wonderful with different benefits'. In other words, Pukka Herbs complements Unilever's existing tea brands and products.

Nestle bought Sweet Earth, a vegan/vegetarian food marketer, to get firmly established in the plant-based protein market. Nestle USA's CEO comments: 'One of Nestlé’s strategic priorities is to build out our portfolio of vegetarian and flexitarian choices in line with modern health trends'.

Mainstream brands/products continue to sell--but certain niches are growing more rapidly and delivering customer acquisition (and profits) through specialization. That's why more multinationals will be exploiting growth opportunities by buying firms that have a following and a strong brand image in a well-defined niche.

Gender neutral marketing?

John Lewis has reignited the debate over gender neutral marketing with its announcement that children's clothing will no longer be categorized as male or female. This isn't a new controversy, but a complex issue confronting retailers, manufacturers and their customers.

What about stereotyping? There is a concern that gendered toys and other products may reinforce stereotypes. Rather than have 'pink' and 'blue' aisles and products, retailers want customers to be able to browse and select products as they choose. But how does this work in everyday brick-and-mortar stores? Will it confuse or even anger some customers?

What about differences between male and female versions of products in a particular category? When customers compare the quality and marketing of boys' and girls' shoe products, for instance, some are unhappy about what they see. Pricing of products is also controversial, with complaints about different prices for men's and women's razors, for example, causing some retailers to eliminate the gender price gap.

At the same time, some marketers are recognizing distinctly different needs amongst male and female consumers, and marketing products geared to needs for each target market. Men in China, for example, are eagerly buying male beauty products like skin-care lotions. L'Oreal and ASOS are marketing makeup products for men in the UK. 

What is the future of gender neutral marketing? The controversy continues.

New regulations drive new auto marketing

The marketing environment can have a profound effect on brand and product marketing. Regulations governing car emissions are a good example.

From today, EU regulators have changed the rules on how car emissions will be measured, to prevent automakers from circumventing emissions limits. Most of all, the new rules are intended to improve air quality, for a greener future. In turn, these new rules are driving new vehicle marketing.

Now automakers are offering 'scrappage' schemes to encourage drivers to purchase new cars and 'scrap' or trade in older vehicles. Volkswagen is offering as much as £7,000 off to encourage UK buyers to turn in their old diesels (registered prior to 2010) and buy a new VW, Audi, Skoda or Seat model.

Ford is offering £2,000 off to UK buyers who exchange any brand of vehicle (model year 2010 or older) for a new Ford model. Kia and Renault are also offering the same amount for older models turned in when buying a new car in the UK. Toyota is offering up to £4,000 to encourage trade-ins of older cars by UK buyers.

Automakers are also designing new cars that will comply with emissions rules and appeal to environmentally-conscious buyers. Aston Martin has plans to have an all-hybrid product portfolio by 2020, and BMW will soon launch an all-electric version of its popular Mini. 

However, the UK's ambitious plan to not allow sales of new diesel and petrol cars from 2040 will strain the infrastructure for electric cars, requiring significant investments in recharging stations, for example. Automakers will be watching the environment carefully as they plan for future product introductions and car promotions.