Most popular posts of the past 7 years

In a few days, my blog celebrates its 7th anniversary. It's time to see which posts were the most popular during the first 7 years.

Above, the results via Google's stats: Yes, competitors are stakeholders is clearly the winner--by far. Nearly 10% of the visitors to this blog want to know whether competitors are stakeholders (or want to see the arguments in favour). It's an important and relevant topic, with good arguments on both sides.

Tesco is one of the largest retailers active in international retailing. It's also a case study in many college classrooms, and my book analyses its marketing activities, so two of my many posts about the retailer are among the most-viewed of all time.

Key performance indicators (KPIs) attract many views, as do product lifecycle and sustainability posts.

Thank you for reading. Welcome to my 8th year of blogging about marketing in the UK and around the world.

Unilever's social, mobile and digital future

Unilever's head of consumer and market insights said last week that brands must 'Be social or get ready to be branded "anti-social"'. Social media marketing is a strength for Unilever, which has found that buzz actually translates into sales, not just goodwill and brand awareness.

With market demographics and behaviours changing, the Unilever exec says companies should not worry about having different strategies for seniors and Millennials, two customer segments that his brands target.

Unilever's well-known brands continue to use traditional adverts but some--such as Knorr--are also experimenting with artificial intelligence to give customers the information they need, precisely when needed. As an example, Knorr's Chef Wendy invites consumers in Asia and Africa to text for recipe ideas based on the foods they have on hand.

Looking toward the future, Unilever is part of a new coalition that will share market-research data with the goal of helping all better prepare for sustainability, address income inequality and eliminate poverty.

In addition, the Unilever Foundry project is focusing on five areas where startups can make a difference in 2016: (1) retail, (2) content creation, (3) data insights and innovation, (4) sustainability and (5) new technologies.

Ryanair's 'always getting better'

Ryanair--known for low air fares--has been wooing back travellers with an initiative it calls 'Always Getting Better'. Above, CEO Michael O'Leary discusses this marketing programme, which is part of the reason for Ryanair's growth--and supports its ambitious growth goals for future markets.

The purpose is to improve customer satisfaction by addressing some of the complaints that have annoyed travellers about Ryanair, including very high fees for 'extras' and website navigation that complicated the process of buying tickets. This also extends to the interior design of its aircraft.

With demand for business travel increasing as economic conditions improve, Ryanair (already Europe's largest discount carrier) has decided to meet the specific needs of this market with Business Plus. Business flyers can change their itineraries on the day of travel without penalty, choose seats in advance and receive priority boarding.

Now Ryanair sees opportunity in corporate jets for hire. Its first 60-seat jet is available to businesses (or sports teams or affluent individuals) that want to travel on their own schedule and in comfort. Of course, Ryanair's corporate jet is competitively priced and extras cost, well, extra.

Marketing WWF's Earth Hour

Social media and traditional media are helping the World Wildlife Fund to promote Earth Hour on 19 March. The idea is to switch off the lights from 20.30 to 21.30 and go social to support sustainability.

This worldwide effort, which began in Sydney in 2007, increases awareness of our role in protecting the planet's precious natural resources, not just wildlife.

The social media campaign by WWF UK includes:

• #PassthePanda and #EarthHourUK hashtags to encourage participation on Twitter, Facebook and other sites
• YouTube videos
• Incredible nature photos on Instagram
• Pinterest posts
• A Facebook app to 'donate your social power' by posting about local environmental issues and sharing information with people in other areas

Traditional media marketing by WWF includes an unusual and engaging advert to attract attention and encourage participation. Other groups are joining the campaign. The Sustainable Restaurant Association's members will serve dinner by candlelight during Earth Hour, for instance.

Olympics sponsors put marketing plans into action

Corporate sponsors of the upcoming Rio Summer Olympics are using marketing to connect with audiences through the personal stories of athletes and their families. Remember 'Thank you, Mum' from the last Olympics? That was Procter and Gamble's memorable marketing idea, connecting with consumers on an emotional level by showing how mothers provide vital behind-the-scenes motivation for athletes. Here's a video about P&G's support from the Olympic sponsor page.

P&G doesn't just market the Olympics sponsorship under its corporate umbrella. Many of its billion-pound consumer brands will also have a tie-in campaign for the Rio summer games. 'One of the myths is that the Olympics is more of an image-building opportunity', P&G's brand director of Olympics & sports marketing said at a recent sports marketing conference. 'Over the last three [Olympic] games, we’ve seen how it is a business-building platform for brands'.

BMW, like many sponsors, is not only sponsoring Olympic teams, it's focusing its marketing efforts on selected athletes. For example, BMW is creating marketing communications to follow medal-contenders and up-and-comers alike on the Canadian team, including high-jumper Derek Drouin. Each athlete chosen for BMW's marketing treatment will receive a BMW to drive.

Visa International is a long-time Olympics sponsor with experience marketing its financial services in conjunction with sports sponsorships. This year, it teamed up with another sponsor, Swatch, to allow attendees in Rio to pay using a smartwatch app. Like so many other sponsors, Visa has its own roster of athletes that will be the face of its marketing efforts.

Watch for more marketing activities, especially social media marketing, in the weeks leading up to the opening of the Olympics.

What's New in Mobile Marketing

The Mobile World Congress just concluded, with more than 90,000 attendees converging on Barcelona to learn about the latest in mobile developments and see new phones and accessories. Above, attendees try out virtual reality gear, a consumer version of tech that may have profound implications for scientific research and for marketing, among other applications.

Many top industry leaders spoke at the congress, everyone from Facebook's Mark Zuckerberg and BT Group's Gavin Patterson to Telefónica's César Alierta and UNICEF's Anthony Lake. (By the way, Mark Zuckerberg sees a bright future for VR and social media.)

For marketing, a key point is that mobile is not yet a mature marketing medium, which means brands have the opportunity to experiment now while the price is still low and consumers are still open to trying new things.  

Another point is how to connect everyone (including areas where mobile adoption is still low) to share the benefits of tech that can serve as a foundation for payments, entrepreneurship, innovation and more.

Yet if all the devices and data bog down networks, mobile can't deliver on its promise. So ensuring that systems and networks have the capacity to handle video streaming and everything else is essential.

Competitors as Stakeholders, Collaborators and Customers

COMPETITORS ARE STAKEHOLDERS

No matter what business you're in, your competitors are, without question, stakeholders. I've written extensively about this topic, including identifying the top four reasons here.

Remember, stakeholders are people and groups that can directly or indirectly influence or be influenced by a company's performance.

More and more marketers are viewing competitors as potential collaborators and certainly as customers, in the right situation.

Natalie Massenet, founder of the highly successful online luxury retailer Net-A-Porter, writes in Wired that this year, 'the most successful businesses will be characterised by collaboration between businesses in the same sector, different sectors or with their customers'. Her bottom line: 'Competition creates win-lose scenarios, but collaboration benefits us all'.

Netflix competes with Amazon in the market for streaming entertainment, yet Netflix buys its cloud storage services exclusively from Amazon Web Services. Why? Because Amazon has already solved the most challenging problems that Netflix would face if it built a cloud system on its own--and Amazon continuously improves the services that Netflix buys. So Netflix turns out to be an excellent customer for Amazon, and the relationship benefits both.

Notice that I'm not suggesting competitors collude to set prices or do anything else that is unethical or illegal. Competitors can and should be fierce rivals. Still, they can also consider collaborating when both parties would benefit or buy from each other when the situation makes sense.

More controversy over plain packaging for cigarettes

New Zealand is considering a switch to plain-pack cigarettes, covered in health warning labels, following other countries that have switched to make smoking less attractive, especially to underage and young smokers. England and Ireland have already decided to move to standardised plain-packs. Individual brands will be identifiable only by uniform printing on package tops and fronts--not by 'trade dress', meaning colorful graphics intended to reinforce brand differentiation and image. All packs will have to include specific health warnings about the dangers of smoking.

France expects to implement plain-packaging requirements before June, with the aim of reducing smoking rates. South Korea is watching world developments closely, not only because of the legal challenges from tobacco marketers but also to see whether smoking rates are actually affected by the switch to plain-pack cigarettes.

Some brand experts suggest finding other ways of addressing the public-health consequences of smoking, due to the economic impact of changes such as plain-pack regulations.

The issue is complicated because some tobacco marketers are using legal challenges to delay or derail plain packaging. Meanwhile, packaging businesses are receiving unusually high orders as retailers rush to stock up before any bans go into effect.

Fighting for sweet share of Easter purchases

Cadbury's traditional Creme Egg was part of the reason that sales of the company's Easter product range was lower in 2015 by £10 million. What happened? Parent firm Mondelez changed the recipe, angering loyal fans.

Contrast that to 2009, when Cadbury's sales were on the rise as UK consumers had a hearty appetite for chocolate Easter eggs.

Now Cadbury is fighting hard for a higher share of 2016 chocolate purchases as this year's Easter season approaches.

'To strengthen our positioning, we will continue to invest in power brands, launching new seasonal products and a brand new Easter pack design', says the marketing manager. To keep awareness high, the company recently launched a pop-up Creme Egg Cafe in London.

Meanwhile, competition is altering the marketing environment as Mars launches its new Galaxy Golden Eggs.

Knowing that approximately 80% of UK consumers purchase chocolate for Easter, Mars is targeting this large and lucrative market early--in direct competition with Cadbury Creme Eggs.

Entrepreneurs give marketing advice

Startups often have big ideas but little money, so marketing is vital to survival and growth.

Here are quotes from entrepreneurs about their marketing ideas and insights.

• 'My service isn’t for everyone, it is for those who appreciate it for what it is'. Melissa Curley, founder of SocialBee, which puts on afternoon tea events for clients, large and small. Her marketing insight is that the target market is not everyone, only people who understand the benefits and value and are willing to pay for her service. 
• 'Look for collaboration and you will find opportunities to grow'. Aaron Jones, founder of Fikay Fashion, an ethical clothing company that puts profits towards reducing poverty. His insight is that marketers can leverage the resources and ideas of partners to become bigger--a good idea for businesses of all sizes. 
• 'Having a pet pig is what I’m known for, it’s what people I meet always want to know about and I’d like to think my business has some of the best qualities of pigs - being smart, sociable and down-to-earth.' Why Katy Pollard named her business Listening Pig Communications is an interesting example of how to stimulate conversation about you and your offering. She didn't brand her service 'pig' but instead added words that would convey more about what her business does.
• 'Usually the original has the greatest value, and will be sought out, and this is the thought, as original creators, that we must cling on to'. Gary Lancet created the Bookchair, a bookholder that would reduce neck strain. Then he began to worry about competitors copying his unique design. So his marketing insight is to protect the innovation but also remember that first-mover advantage has meaning to customers.