I don’t share Russell Parsons’ views in his article, ‘Charity mailers should be wary of growth’. Charity marketers are among the most sophisticated and results-driven in the business. Motivated by effectiveness and efficiency, they invest more in mail because it works. A 2013 Institute of Fundraising Conference heard how The Salvation Army bettered already market-leading […]
Our relationships with brands in the world seem to involve more kinds of verbal and visual language than ever before. And so much of what we see of a brand gets stripped down to the basics on small screens or brief flashes of content. In situations like those, a logo is a blunt tool, but […]
That research shows global advertisers are shifting programmatic away from agencies was no surprise to me. Digital advertising budgets are being wasted because of lack of control and transparency in programmatic buying, equating to billions of pounds lost in undisclosed fees and margins to unknown middlemen. But that’s not the only issue. Agencies are paid […]
How can small and medium sized companies make an impact in a market dominated by large multinationals?
Loyalty cards and the insight they bring have proven invaluable to businesses. However, discounted prices hold an appeal, particularly with today’s money-pressed shoppers. Though loyalty programmes are a great asset, businesses shouldn’t become complacent. Customers tend to get used to loyalty programmes quickly, so a reward scheme should not be allowed to become too familiar. […]
I was surprised by the list generated in the ‘Authentic branding’ article. I concur that many on the list are famous brands with strong emotional connections to their customers and can be assigned large monetary brand value, but I am not sure that they are truly authentic. Authentic brands have a much stronger sense of […]
Guidelines and contractual restrictions don’t always resolve the practical issues in a brand’s and agency’s relationship. More brands are making deals with buying platforms directly while the agency manages the strategic and tactical executions – this provides the brand with transparency and accountability in pricing and performance as well as control over how its data […]
It was interesting to hear the head of social and PR at Pret A Manger suggest at MW Live 2014 that outsourcing social media was a ‘basic error’ (MW 3 July). What Julia Monro does not appreciate is that some businesses simply do not have the time or expertise to do it properly. Employing an […]
I agree that at present ‘the single customer view (SCV) is unattainable’. In our experience, many companies have a long way to go in gathering data from established channels such as websites, mobile apps and social media and across devices. Unfortunately most seem to be trying to use data designed for other purposes to achieve […]
Your article on baby-boomers established how older people are feeling ignored by advertisers – and rightly so. But the real trick that marketers may be missing lies in the increasing scope of product sectors across which these baby-boomers are now the primary purchasers. The housing crisis and youth unemployment have helped to create a situation […]
Did Marketing Week intentionally use Hotter as an example of bad practice or was it simply a wonderful example of irony? Making a sweeping statement such as: “ When we reach 50… comfort starts to override the more glamorous aspects of footwear” is exactly the kind of stereotyping that us 50+ consumers find so annoying. […]
There needs to be a much wider appreciation of what the chief digital officer’s (CDO) role entails. It’s true that digital elements underpin many departments within an organisation but it would be erroneous to simply incorporate the senior digital role into that of the chief marketing officer. In fact, it is the chief information officer […]
Mark Ritson’s take on the Dixons Carphone merger was excellent. A very funny, very pointed look at every type of disappointing rebrand there’s ever been. But what linked all the failed examples (both real and imaginary) is that they focused on names as the very centre of the brand. A name alone is not enough […]
News of the Carphone Warehouse and Dixons merger comes as little surprise since the two have been in talks for months, but it will leave many wondering what the implications are for consumers. Now that many consumer products are becoming connected – think of the newly launched Vanhawks Valour smart bike, which connects with a […]