Rich Thinking

An Expensive Shave

2011-08-15T06:09:00.000-07:00

NASA spent $25 billion to get to the moon.

So are a few minutes shaved from my train journey to our Manchester office worth £32bn?

That seems to be the rather high price to pay for the proposed High Speed 2 project that is now in its official consultation phase.

Rory Sutherland wrote about HS2 in his Spectator column recently. Firmly in the ‘no’ camp, he argued that time on a train is actually rather pleasant and a better use of public finances would be to focus the bit between his house and Euston.

The ‘for’ camp argue that we should see the £32bn as an investment that will deliver a fantastic return in terms of jobs, economic growth and progress.

Rory is of course correct that time on a train can be pleasant (especially in first and not on the last off-peak train before rush hour on a Friday). That time is also valuable and productive for business people who by the miracles of modern technology can make and receive calls, catch-up on emails and even think about stuff. Which causes somewhat of a hole in the economic growth argument you would think?

The story about economic connections and growth also falls down by the fact that it about a few minutes less on journeys between London and Birmingham, Manchester and Leeds.

The latest GDP figures show the Birmingham area ranked 14th in a European league table. London is in the top 2 and looking a little further south the Randstad area in the Netherlands along with the Cologne, Dusseldorf and Hamburg area in northern Germany are both in the top 5.

So wouldn’t it be better to pool our resources with our European cousins and figure out how to bring London closer to these areas?

That and get a decent taxi lane between Euston and Rory Sutherland’s house.

Everything you say or do ...

2011-06-26T00:26:00.000-07:00

Sofa.com present themselves as the Innocent of sofa brands.

I've never met them but after 12 minutes on their website I have an insatiable desire to hang out at their HQ and consume 'lashings of ginger ale'.

So attracted by the promise of a stylish sofa bargain and a free barbecue, we headed off yesterday morning to the sofa.com warehouse sale.

Ouch!

We arrived at a rather functional warehouse near Heathrow which contained 30-40 sofas and around three times that number of confused AB1s.

The root of that confusion was the fact that 90% of those sofas on display had large 'sold' stickers on them.

The obvious next step was to question one of the sofa.com staff to check what the 'process' was.

Unfortunately they were all busy. Customer confusion can be a time consuming business you see.

The obvious next step was to eves-drop.

And from this tactic we discovered there was a bit more stock and a 'master list' of sale items in the office.

So off we went to the office. Excited again.

But unfortunately the queue to investigate the list was put at 2 hours and news quickly filtered through that all the popular styles had gone.

The barbecue (what else to do) was perfectly pleasant if a little off brand (sainsbury's basics range and coke not ginger ale).

But the toilets were taped off presumably so those pesky customers couldn't monopolise them.

So all in all a pretty average brand experience.

A painful reminder that EVERYTHING you say or do effects your brand.

And an example of when it's not a good idea to let your customers see behind the brand (image) veneer.

Advice?

Use your very good website next time.

W+K To The Power 3

2011-01-27T14:07:00.000-08:00

It’s a long time since TBWA first presented that idea to 3. Eight years in fact.

In that time the business has been on a hell of a rollercoaster. From initial excitement about the possibilities … to realization that the technology and handset manufacturers hadn’t yet got out of bed … to the wonderful world of Korean cowboys, singing cherry charts, Agent Provocateur parties and record contract sales … to the recent malaise of an opportunity seemingly lost.

As an ex-3er I still retain a certain emotional attachment to the brand so I was pleased to see W+K pick up the business. It feels like the brand needs to be in new, hopefully strong hands.

I don’t know why the business went from Glue. I can only assume the work didn’t work. Getting a brief to tell people you are working hard to improve your network is understandable but fundamentally flawed. People don’t need to hear it, they simply need to experience it.

So I hope W+K get to take the brand back to its true opportunity, away from an existence as a channel for handsets + cheap tariffs. It can play in a youthful, positive, uber-innovative space. Doing things differently, living on the edges of the mass-marketing mobile norms, understanding what the people who care, care about and building its image around that.

That of course is much more than just a communications task.

And that is something I hope everyone involved both realises and is up for.

Otherwise another agency will simply end up being judged as having failed to deliver the dream.

Friendly Little Coppers

2011-01-22T06:51:00.000-08:00

Now there’s an ignition point….

It didn’t quite soften the blow of my first £1.35 a litre diesel experience but I thought my local Esso’s ‘Penny Pot’ was a nice touch when I filled up last week.

A simple idea – admittedly only relevant when not paying by card – where I can leave a few coppers to brighten my fellow man’s day or equally benefit from his or her thoughtfulness before me.

We rightly search for the big ideas and platforms we believe can transform and propel brands forward but it is sometimes worth remembering – especially in a category like fuels - that the little things can also have a positive effect.

Behaviour and Context

2010-10-21T14:31:00.000-07:00

As advertising has changed, so have the roles of strategists and planners.

We must go ever deeper in pursuit of human understanding, past traditional approaches to customer research and segmentation, beyond understandings of demographics, lifestyles and attitudes. We have to understand why individuals and groups behave as they do in different circumstances and in different contexts. To gather real understanding and insight that can fuel ideas to truly ignite our clients’ businesses.

Luckily there are tools, frameworks and research which allow us to do just that. Some of them much in vogue at the moment.

Behavioural Economics for example, that tells us why social, cognitive and emotional factors mean people don’t behave as rational Economic models suggest they should.

Whilst, Identity Economics explains why people – facing the same economic circumstances – make different choices based on their own identities and the norms they encounter in the contexts of their social, family and working lives.

Academic research in both areas throws up fascinating potential for marketers.

Take the example of consumers in the US and Italy who were asked to either scale up from a plain pizza base by adding toppings or scale down from a fully loaded pizza by removing toppings. In each country consumers ended up with more toppings and a more expensive pizza in the scale down scenario than in the scale up scenario. A result explained through the behavioural principle of ‘loss aversion’.

Or take the experiment that showed consumers who paid a discounted price for an energy drink positioned as increasing mental agility, derived less actual benefit from drinking it (measured in ability to solve puzzles) than consumers who purchased and consumed the exact same product but paid its regular price. Thus showing how the actual efficacy of products – not just the way they make us feel - can be changed by marketing actions such as discounting.

Just a little lateral thinking tells you that such behavioural insights have a plethora of exciting and profitable applications across sectors. From the car industry to retail, software and beyond.

And how, by understanding the role of behaviours and contexts more deeply, it becomes easier to identify where marketing and marketing communications can play a role, and have the biggest impact in today's world.

Behavioural Guilt

2010-10-10T05:07:00.000-07:00

As I travel back from Paris on the Eurostar I find myself in reflective mood.

I have an American Express Red card. It’s a great product for a great cause. Trouble is I have yet to use it.

The problem is I have this fantastic Virgin Atlantic black card too. I spend £1, I get two Flying Club miles in return = my miles balance rockets = I get upgrades into Upper Class once a year.

You see my problem? It seems my good old Reflective System wants me to be charitable but my Automatic System (or own self interest) stops me doing it in the moment of payment. And the issue is now compounded as I have not set up a direct debit on the Red card and have forgotten my PIN. Thus making using it in the future even more unlikely as I have added a whole other hassle factor into the mix.

I suspect I am not alone in exhibiting such behaviour, which got me wondering how the Red proposition could be adapted to counter the problem and generate more revenue for the charity.

Personally, I think that when I signed up for the Red card I would have agreed to pay a small monthly ‘fee’ - maybe £2 a month, maybe £5 a month - designed to cover the costs associated with the card whilst guaranteeing a donation income for Red even if I didn’t spend on it. I wasn’t really buying into a credit card at the time so that feels eminently plausible. Hell, I might even have agreed to a ‘Save More Tomorrow’ type mechanic where the ‘fee’ could increase slightly year on year.

I also think that would have acted as a nice little ‘nudge’ to make me more likely to use the card today. The direct debit would have been set-up and a barrier removed.

But as it stands I am not spending on the card and despite the best intentions I am sure my holding the card is costing someone, somewhere some money. So what to do? Well, as I am now through the channel tunnel perhaps I should stop this self-reflection and switch back to a good old Anglo-Saxon mindset for starters. And when I get to St. Pancras I could always just bloody spend on it! Now what was that PIN again .....

A New Agency Model

2010-09-30T14:27:00.000-07:00

As I posted a few weeks ago, we’ve been working on a piece of research (to lead into a book) investigating the views of top marketers on the make up of the ideal agency of the future.

The views and opinions we have now gathered been really interesting and we’re taking many of them onboard as we evolve and adapt as an agency network. And so it was good to hear Daryl Fielding, VP of Marketing at Kraft Foods in Europe speaking on the same subject at the recent Marketing Week Annual event.

From our research and the insights Daryl shared, it is clear that as we all strive towards great ideas the collective dynamics of channel proliferation, digital consumption, globalisation, recession and etc etc etc throw up a host of challenges that clients and agency types are working through today.

To name just a few that come up:

Is there a lead agency? A good question to start with and if so what is its expertise, experience and remit? And if not, then who is best placed to manage the ‘integration’ process and curates ideas?
How many people and what kind of people should be given the responsibility for driving out great ideas? We all know it doesn’t work when there are twenty people in the room but if small teams are best how can that be made to work across agencies?
Is the ‘big idea’ still, too often, born of an old advertising model? Daryl spoke about ‘supercharged TV ideas’ (read Gorilla or Old Spice) versus ideas where advertising becomes the servant of the idea (read Spots and Stripes).
And fundamentally, do current agency engagement (commercial) models foster the right approach and the best ideas?

So whilst the end goal for most of us remains the same - namely great ideas that create the desired human behaviours and feelings - the way clients and agency partners will get there continues to evolve.

On The Inside

2010-09-30T12:00:00.001-07:00

I heard a presentation this morning by Brian Waring, VP of Marketing and Category at Starbucks.

He touched on the brand’s roots and heritage but focused in on more recent initiatives to open the brand up to its customers and enable them to direct the future of the company.

His words reminded of a recent email I received as a result of signing-up for My Starbucks which informed me that the Pumpkin Spice Latte was again available in-store (in the ‘third place’).

Nothing special in that you would say, a straight selling message?

It was of course exactly that but the ‘magic touch’ in the email was that the Pumpkin Spice was not being promoted or available ‘over the counter’ on the menu. The promise was that those in the know could ask for it and with a nudge and a wink the barristers would create it for you.

A ‘nudge nudge, wink wink’ kinda product, only available to those on the inside.

As I said once before, it’s the little things …….

Twitter Utility - For Mum

2010-08-18T14:48:00.000-07:00

My mum was down to see her new grandson a couple of weeks ago and asked me what I thought of twitter.

She had read about it in the Daily Mail and couldn’t understand why anyone would need to know that anyone was at Tesco, or that Stephen Fry was following Delia Smith.

I couldn’t really argue with her on those two but I did find myself explaining how it could actually be very useful.

The examples I gave her?

I still love Baker Tweet but that’s an obvious one and probably says something about my consumption of warm bread.

During the recent England – Algeria game the electricity went off in my house and twitter helped me work out where the nearest unaffected pub was still showing the game. Unfortunately space was limited:

http://twitpic.com/1zb0ym

After the recent England – Algeria game the water went off in my house and twitter helped me work out that I was not alone, the electricity cut had caused it and Thames Water were on the case (and blaming the electricity people).

And then of course there was the twitter snow map last winter that helped me see who was bunking off work due to half an inch of the white stuff and who needed food supplies airlifting in due to 6ft of drifting.

http://www.benmarsh.co.uk/snow/

The whole area of social media and networks as utility is clearly nascent and fascinating.

It would be great to see people share other personal examples of twitter utility here ….

Big In Japan

2010-07-17T14:47:00.001-07:00

Good to see our Fujitsu brand campaign getting good reviews this week. The teams have worked hard on it.

It’s a campaign designed to kick off the process of building the Japanese company’s profile to better reflect its market position. Fujitsu is the fourth largest IT company in the world - up there with the likes of IBM, HP and Accenture – but does not get the credit (read brand awareness / consideration scores) it deserves.

It is a tough time for many of their CIO customers, something we learned all about when we spent time with a number of them earlier in the year, We saw budgets under massive pressure, too much resource and energy being spent on day-to-day maintenance and operational tasks and as a result those technology leaders who aspire to be viewed as more strategic, business leaders becoming increasingly frustrated. They feel stifled.

So, this was a nice insight and what also became clear is that this feeing is driving the beginnings of a sea-change in the category as people begin to search for new models of IT and technology delivery that take out cost whilst enabling IT to have a more strategic influence on the business rather than being an internal service function.

Fujitsu’s technology leadership and service innovation differentiates them in many areas, especially in the emerging area of cloud technology. As a result, we realised that they could lay claim to the promise of enabling the CIO to get away from his frustrations and reach his ideal future sooner. Hence the campaign idea of ‘Get There Sooner’ that has been executed solidly in print, outdoor, digital outdoor and online so far with more to come.

Love the Vuvuzela. Hate the Generic.

2010-06-14T14:03:00.000-07:00

I am not sure if the consistent droan of the vuvuzelas annoys me anymore. Or in fact if it ever did! But listening to colleagues today and Five Live on the way home this evening I know I’m not speaking for everyone.

The BBC team in particular was lucky enough to encounter some very passionate advocates of a complete ban on these most exotic of wind instruments.

“They’re annoying ...” said Mick from Bristol.

“It’s like a mosquito in your ear...” said Tony from Leeds.

“It sounds like a schoolboy international...” said Matt.

And my particular favourite: “I can’t hear the England fans singing and chanting on TV ...” said Fabio (OK. I didn’t quite catch this chap’s name).

Now I live close to the Heathrow flight path in TW1 so I probably get used to background noise quicker than most BUT surely, surely, surely the noise and atmosphere created will be one of the key elements that will make this World Cup what it will become –special and unique.

The alternative - to ban the vuvuzela - is to celebrate the generic. To long for a World Cup just like the last one and the one to come.

Think about it. Ban the vuvuzela? Where would we go next? Or perhaps more pertinently, what would our memories be made of if we had previously thought like this?

Let’s take to our time machines, go back to Buenos Aries in 1978 for example and outlaw ticker tape. We could then set a course for the Azteca stadium in 1986 and stop people from standing up and throwing their arms in the air.

Yes it’s a simple point yet I’m amazed to see the volume of counter arguments running rampant on twitter and the wires.

This World Cup will be great in spite of global brands that sponsor it and the global media owners that cover it. It will be great because of a 30-yard pile driver from someone we least expect, a dazzling piece of artistry from a Messi or Kaka, a crazed celebration from Maradona and inevitably a penalty shoot-out for England.

But more than that it will be great because of what Africa and African culture brings to it. It will be great because of the vuvuzela!

2010-05-14T03:20:00.000-07:00

A little over two weeks ago I stepped on to one of Stellios’s flying Orange machines and left these fine shores for a two week break in Crete (where, just for reference, cash is king and restaurants on the south coast have a lower propensity to show pictures of the dishes on their menus).

Reflecting on a few of the things that happened whilst I was away:

> Ash cloud returned, blew over, returned, blew over …
> Greece went bust
> Greece was rescued
> The UK voted
> The UK was thrown into political turmoil
> The Eagles sent the Owls down

Oh, and one other thing - The World Cup bandwagon got well and truly rolling!

Back in London this week and I feel I can’t move for brands getting in on the act of hyping both the event and England’s chances (2nd round exit to Germany?).

For some brands the link to World Cup 2010 is clear. Adidas? Check. Carlsberg? Yes I can see their relevance to the competition too and the “teamtalk” execution is certainly rousing if it fails to quite get the hairs on the back of my neck standing as high on a second viewing.

But Kit Kat and Mars though? C’mon! Give me a break …. (sorry!)

Anyway, the brand that has executed a World Cup idea most beautifully has to be Louis Vuitton. It’s here and it’s cool. It has Zidane, Pele and Maradona in it so how could it not be? Even if their link to the beautiful game is tenuous at best!

http://www.louisvuittonjourneys.com/legends

The Planner’s Psyche

2010-03-13T12:27:00.000-08:00

A couple of weeks into a search or a new Planning Director for our London office I am already tired of hearing that ‘planners just aren’t moving jobs at the moment’.

It’s a cool role with a great team, great clients and a generous package for someone doing a similar ATL / Integrated / Digital role today (or wanting to step up from a Senior Planner position) but the CVs just aren’t flying in.

Apparently it’s all down to the economic environment and a natural tendency of planners to be more cautious as a result. Really? I thought Sir Martin had called the bottom?

Anyway, the hunt goes on ……. richard.mabbott@gyrohsr.com

Brand v Demand - Summit, Research and Lord Heseltine

2010-03-02T12:54:00.000-08:00

Last week over 100 delegates attended our (Gyro:HSR's) first B2B Marketing Summit in the UK.

The event was held in Manchester Town Hall, a fantastic venue which – Danny our Manchester MD assures me - harks back to when the city was last a commercial power house. We had some fantastic speakers from some great brands including Fujitsu, Google, HSS and Pearson along with our own Rick Segal and the legend that is Michael Heseltine.

I had the pleasure of sharing the stage (albeit a good hour or so after he spoke) with Lord Heseltine to host a panel debate on the theme of the event:

Brand v Demand – do brand custodians too often disinvest their brands in favour of short term demand generating activities?

We had conducted qualitative research with clients and contacts through 2009 and used the findings to stimulate the debate. In my mind the question is somewhat of a false dichotomy but there are still interesting views from both sides of the fence.

We have produced a summary report of the findings which people are welcome to download at:

http://www.brandordemand.com/

There is also the opportunity to share your point of view should you fancy.

Ten things ....

2009-12-28T07:42:00.000-08:00

As the Sunday papers clamour to provide us with their predictions for the year ahead, I had a think about a few things the past 12 months have taught us / me.

Here are ten to start with:

1/ 0.02mm is interesting in the right hands. Especially if those hands are the D&AD award winning team behind Sagami’s ‘Love Distance’ campaign http://awards.dandad.org/2009/categories/onln/online-advertising/25046/love-distance

2/ Markets can behave irrationally. How else can we explain UK bookmakers making England second favourites for the World Cup? (Yes I know, it’s the punters not the market that are behaving irrationally).

3/ We’ve gone real time. We’re texting, twittering, facebooking like …. It’s all about ‘Now’. Admittedly Vodafone cottoned onto that a while ago but Samsung tapped into that nicely with ‘impatience is a virtue http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s8tWLEsLpxs

4/ Hash can be bad for your health - hash tags that is - as Habitat found out earlier in the year when trying to use coverage of the Iranian election to sell sofas. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/twitter/5621970/Habitat-apologises-for-Twitter-hashtag-spam.html

5/ The success of a campaign can be judged on recall of a TV execution? That was the argument some experts made to explain why an ad by ‘Confused.com’ had performed better than one by ‘Compare the Market’. Missing the point I think when you see that Mr. Aleksandr Orlov now has well over 600K facebook fans.

6/ That being said, TV advertising is far from dead. Comcast proved that without question – simply genius http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PYAOLKSAaBM

7/ There is more than one way to skin a cat. Or launch a new car. As VW showed with the Golf GTI in the US http://www.topgear.com/uk/car-news/golf-gti-iphone-usa-2009-10-29

8/ You really are only as good as your last burger. See Fallon + Sony + Balls.

9/ Baku is interesting the first time you visit. On each subsequent trip it is blustery, dusty and a long way from home. Bakcell were doing well when we left them though.

And finally, one other thing that I now know all too well.

10/ Nappies are easy. Not pleasant, but easy. Thanks for every one Avie x.

2009-10-08T04:18:00.000-07:00

The Jam used to tell us that the bitterest pill was hard to swallow.

But as I watch the political landscape here in the UK develop it seems our current and future political leaders no longer feel that holds true.

As the parties set out their respective stalls ahead of next years’ contest, I wonder if ever before an election has been contested on the basis of ‘vote X, it’s going to be much worse with us’!

It tells us something about the world we live in today I guess. That the levels of trust we have for our leaders have fallen to such a low level that they now feel the only course of action is to be honest with us.

Research Gyro conducted a year or so back showed that in the midst of the credit crunch less than 17% of us (believe we) trust advertising…. . if you’re a bank brand I doubt things have improved.

Marketers of course know all this. They also know that consumers are savvier, more informed and – in theory at least – should have more control over their choices.

And as such the best brands and agencies are responding. Day after day we see, dream up and argue over various brand attempts at collaboration, co-creation and participation.

So as we move forward into 2010 and beyond, we will undoubtedly see more and more stunning ideas in this area as we all become used to these changing times.

We’re going to see more openness, more honesty and less spin. And personally, I think I look forward to it. It can only be good for the soul.

The Real Thing?

2009-09-20T08:07:00.000-07:00

Coca Cola’s lawyers obviously need a holiday … to Corsica.

On a recent trip there I discovered the locals have their very own version of The Real Thing – Corsica Cola - and they haven’t been shy in using the Coke packaging as the inspiration for their own e.g.

http://www.fractal-angel.org/photo/img/photo0829.jpg

At first I assumed that Coke must own or license the brand but I am reliably informed that the Pietra brewery on the island actually launched it in 2003.

So how have they managed to create something so similar to and seemingly ‘get away with it’? Of course I’m no lawyer so maybe there simply isn’t a case to answer but if there is then what could the story be?

Well what became very evident whilst travelling around was the fierce pride in being Corsican. Road signs are presented in both French and the local Corse language but the French version is almost always painted (or sometimes shot!) out. Advertising celebrates a ‘made in Corsica’ sentiment. And restaurants delight in serving up all manner of traditional and very local delights.

So one theory has to be that a judgement call has been made at Coke HQ that the newspaper headlines created by tackling Pietra in the courts would do the brand more harm than good on this very proud island.

Maybe. Maybe not. Either way one final question remains.

Does Corsica Cola taste like The Real Thing?

Simply, no! Though certain other brands sold by the Pietra brewery do come recommended.

U2 Love Blackberry .... and Apple

2009-07-30T13:38:00.000-07:00

I have always been told to Zig when your competitors Zag … or Zag when your competitors … you get the picture!

I’ve just seen the new Blackberry ad, “We Love U2”.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qx_wdg-BSaY

I like it … but it reminded me of something …

What was it … of course, the iPod U2 ad!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nljs4kzpebU

A mistake? An oversight?

No, I can’t believe it’s anything but a conscious effort to take a leaf out of the iPod book of marketing.

After all, if you want to emulate them and beating them is not really on the agenda, why not copy them? Mmmmm ….

Wally

2009-06-27T12:40:00.000-07:00

It’s awards season and over the last couple of days I’ve found some time to look through a selection of entrants and winners from both the D&ADs and Cannes Lions.

There are plenty more to look through but I’m currently dothing my cap to a couple of nice uses of outdoor and one barnstormer of an idea that blasts through all channels.

Virgin Trains and the guys at Spike did the talking billboard which, no matter how often I see it, still gives me that envious, ‘why didn’t we think of that’ feeling!

http://www.spikeuk.com/vtposter.html

The next bit of outdoor magic comes from Australia and it’s a beauty. It’s a fantastically simple, fun and engaging way to get money out of people’s pockets (via their phone bills) and improve the lives of Sydney’s dogs and cats.

http://awards.dandad.org/2009/categories/mmkt/mobile-marketing/20776/throw-us-a-bone

The last one is a BIG IDEA. And it’s a little more hardcore. In fact you might want to look at it first and then use the previous two to relax.

If you haven’t seen this before I won’t spoil the fun. Just hit the link below to Meet Wally’s Heart.

http://awards.dandad.org/2009/categories/intg/integrated/18822/meet-wallys-heart

Just A Little Bit Better

2009-05-20T14:54:00.000-07:00

I did an interview in Starbucks this morning before work. “Why Starbucks?” asked Janet when I arrived at work?

Her inferred point was right. I wouldn’t have dreamed of doing it at Costa or that blue place even though it’s a little closer to the tube. So why Starbucks?

Of course there isn’t a single reason. They’re just ‘a little bit’ better in every aspect.

The chairs are a little more comfortable. The tables are a little further apart. The barristers are a little friendlier. Their sustainability initiatives are a little more interesting. Their loyalty cards are a little cooler. Their coffee is a little better. They are a little bit better at making a dry cappuccino. Their digital work is a little more engaging. And the whole experience just feels a little warmer.

Here’s to being that little bit better. It’s on the margins that brands win and lose.

Loyalty and Pigs

2009-04-27T14:17:00.000-07:00

This post might be seen as a blatant plug for one of our client’s products but it genuinely didn’t start as that.

It started with an email this morning – 7.20am - which informed me I had accrued enough Flying Club miles for a free return trip to the US in the Upper Class cabin of Virgin Atlantic.

Now, for those who don’t know, Upper Class is V nice so I was naturally delighted … especially as this seemed to vindicate my decision around 18 months to pay for the black fee-based credit card that VAA had launched (double miles per £ spent) rather than the free white card.

So, given it was only this weekend that we decided we needed a holiday, I thought I would have a look at where to go (availability of reward seats permitting).

So off to Google - 7.25am – to look at the weather in the US only to find that the EU health minister has advised against non-essential travel to the US due to swine fever (a H1N1 strain of flu apparently) hitting 81 people out of a population of 109 million in Mexico.

An over reaction? Or a reason to head to Wales for a break instead?

Brand or Demand

2009-03-28T13:16:00.000-07:00

How should I spend my communications budget in the current economic climate? Do I continue to invest in brand building activities or slash the lot and spend every dollar I have on demand generating activities driving enquiries and sales?

I’m paraphrasing of course but this is a question we have been asked to consider on a number of occasions in the last couple of months.

We’ve decided to conduct research to gather different evidence and opinions on the subject for the clients concerned, all of whom happen to be B2B brands. For them the question is actually simpler. They want to know whether they can justify advertising or if they would be better shifting budget into direct and digital channels.

Already I have heard from several commentators arguing that brand building in B2B markets is an ineffective use of budget. I guess those SAP, Accenture and Oracle ads I saw as I came through Heathrow a few weeks ago are all a waste of time and money then?

The same commentators see the B2B purchaser as a purely rational animal, buying and making recommendations to peers based on price, product and service features. I expect us to also challenge that. Isn’t there also a role for more emotionally led communications in B2B marketing?

Some areas we are exploring in the research include:

Understanding decision making networks and how to deliver an optimum mix of brand and selling messages
If appealing on an emotional level to the target whilst giving them the rational arguments they need to appeal to their peers / boss is a valid approach
Understanding the different stages of the buying process and when to deliver emotional vs. rational selling messages
Understanding the role of different channels and how to use them to deliver emotional vs. rational selling messages
Understanding the difference between reputation, relationship and brand

Any ideas / comments welcome. I suspect the answer to the original question will of course always come back to the individual client objectives. I am sure we will find historical case studies that support putting $$s into advertising in a recession and equally case studies that can be found to support a shift into direct channels.

Away for a while

2009-03-28T12:51:00.000-07:00

Time to add to this blog has been a little limited since News Years Eve.

The reason?

The arrival of Aveline Stella Mabbott shown here!

Will We Be Green in 2009?

2009-01-30T08:39:00.001-08:00

I mentioned a month or so that we were looking into the relative importance of sustainability, CSR, green and the whole environmental debate for our clients. We were hearing in the media that 2009 will be all about thrift and as such our green consumer values will go out of the window. We wanted to see if this was true.

So with this in mind Gyro has just completed research with close to 2000 consumers and over 150 Marketing Leaders in 8 countries. The objective behind this 2 pronged research was to understand the above question and also to discover whether the people behind the brands fully appreciate the buying motivations of their customers. The results show a considerable disparity between what brands are communicating and what their customers actually care about.

A selection of highlights includes:

- Marketing Directors significantly underestimated the role green issues can play in the purchase decision of consumers. Even in current economic times.
- People see themselves living increasingly green lives over the next 24 months.
- The UK significantly lags other major European countries in green attitudes.
- Around half of consumers do not trust the claims of green brand advertisers.
- People want to see evidence of companies’ progress in ‘green R&D’. They are not interested in hearing about car sharing schemes. This is about real technological efforts and breakthroughs.

We jointly hosted a roundtable with The Times this week to discuss the results. The Shadow Environment Minister and representatives from P&G, Coke, HP, Shell, BT, Adobe, Google, Nokia Siemens Networks and The Carbon Trust all contributed towards a really interesting debate.

Drop me an email - richard.mabbott@gyrointernational.com - and I’ll be happy to send you a copy of the report.

Social Enterprise – Why Wouldn’t We?

2009-01-09T09:18:00.000-08:00

This time last year I wasn't changing nappies, I was in South Africa, rising at 5.00am each morning to go out on an open top 4x4 looking for lions and other hungry residents of Madwike game reserve.

The animal highlight was the sight of a female leopard taking down an antelope, only for three hyenas to effectively mug her of her dinner minutes later. Away from the game, the other highlight was the hospitality of the local people who run a number of the lodges on the reserve.

Accommodation options include the Madwike Collection, a group of fabulous lodges that in most cases are ‘community owned’. http://www.madikwecollection.co.za/

This means they are run and operated by the local communities with private capital and expertise being used to get them up and running. After a period of ‘a few years’ the lodges are handed over to the communities which means that your tourist $$s have a better chance of going to the people who really need them.

I thought this was a pretty cool idea and it played a huge factor in our decision to stay there. It is also just one example of a fast emerging sector of the economy that I hope defies the current economic downturn.

UK consumers seem to agree. A recent YouGov poll showed that social and environmental values of business are as or more important than before the onset of the credit crunch.

Only 13% of respondents said that they believe that social and environmental values of business are less important since the credit crunch began, whereas almost three quarters (71%) believe that they are as or more important than before the economic upheaval.

According to Government figures, there are 55,000 social enterprises in the UK that contribute £8.4 billion per year to the UK economy. YouGov’s poll also shows that people want more social enterprises in the UK. When asked what we need more of to ensure a sustainable economy for the future, 42% of respondents chose social enterprises, ahead of government institutions, charities funded by donations, and traditional business.

So it seems that in these tougher times, people in the UK not only want to see vibrant businesses contributing to the economy, but they also want those businesses to consider the communities and the environment in which they operate.

If you had been to Madwike and seen the impact the venture is having there, you’d find it hard to disagree that there is even greater need in countries outside the UK.

My tips on Madwike by the way: Stay at Thakadu River Camp for a couple of days and then move to Buffalo Ridge. You’ll get the warmest of welcomes and see more of the park.

Christmas thanks

2008-12-27T08:42:00.000-08:00

A few brands deserve my thanks this Christmas.

> Thanks to Waitrose for adding a little bit of festive spirit and emotion into their Christmas advertising. Their ad stood out like a lighthouse in a dark, relentless sea of kitchen, bedroom, sofa and DIY sales.

> Thanks to John Lewis for the excellent email that gave me an early start in their online sale. The nursery is getting closer to completion at every click of the mouse.

> Thanks to Pro-Active for the hamper. The chocolate covered coffee beans have been popular all round.

> Thanks to Dubai Holdings for making Fi and Lucy’s Christmas.

> And thanks to UGG for getting me in the good books.

Now I'm off for a well deserved Chesterfield ....

Brands are for life. Not just the credit crunch.

2008-12-02T06:24:00.001-08:00

So should we spend our way out of it as Chancellor Darling (and John Maynard Keynes before him) seems to be advocating or should we batten down the hatches and come back when it is all over (as Pete next to me in the office is advocating)?

Personally I am not sure either route is preferable. For one I don’t have any hatches and for two I can’t help thinking that the ‘spend now, pay it back later’ approach was the thing that got us into this pickle in the first place?

Anyway, clearly I am no economist so I will bring the question back to a marketing theme and ask: What should brands do in a downturn?

It is well documented that brands that increase advertising during a recession, when competitors are reigning in spend, can improve market share and return on investment at lower cost than during good economic times. But how should brands behave during such times? What messages should they take to consumers?

Well hopefully Xtreme will have part of the answer. A recent email informed me that they have put together a report that ‘explores and analyses recessionary marketing communications tactics and strategies from around the world’. I thought this seemed like a nice idea so we have ordered a copy.

In addition to generating them a sale, the Xtreme email did another job. It prompted me to recall a rather jarring brand experience I had had courtesy of Orange a day or so earlier.

I had flicked through 5 or 6 pages of press doom and gloom – Mumbai, house prices, the pound against the dollar, more failing retailers and another round of job cuts – when I logged onto Orange broadband at home.

The message on the home page read “How bad will it get?” with the usual ‘expert’ telling me it could undoubtedly get worse. Now I am not sure I want to see Orange jump on the back of the credit crunch band wagon. I expect it of Tesco. I expect it of Asda. But I want Orange to tell me it’s all going to be OK. That things are rosier than we might think. That the future is bright for gawd’s sake!

So what does my own reaction tell me? It tells me that marketers and agencies need to think twice when the idea of a credit crunch campaign falls hits the flip-chart. Credit crunch busting offers and promotions might drive penetration in the near term but we must question what the effect will be on the brand in the long term.

Brands are precious. They are for life not just the credit crunch. Be careful out there.

The Art of Integration

2008-11-26T00:26:00.001-08:00

Is Integration becoming a dirty word in agency land?

We always keep an eye on the competition and one thing is certainly true, it has never been a more popular term to describe an agency’s offering!

So it may not offer much differentiation for agencies going forward, but more importantly what does it mean for clients? We recently spoke to around 60 international marketing directors to get their views.

Our research points to different client segments requiring very different engagement models. At the one end there are clients who value the full-service agency model. They are often resource constrained and work for businesses that perhaps don’t value the marketing function as much as they possibly could. They want the efficiencies an integrated agency can bring and the convenience of having ‘one throat to choke’!

At the other end of the scale are the more sophisticated marketing operations. These are brands with bigger budgets, more marketing resources and, more often than not, communications functions that are organized by discipline (or ‘silo’ if you are a true integrated believer!) They buy specialists – direct marketing agencies, digital agencies, advertising agencies, branding agencies and media agencies – and often build rosters of similar companies to drive competition and / or manage workload.

So one questions is, are these bigger clients uninterested in the idea of Integration?

We certainly think not. We see an increasing trend towards a requirement for more Integrated Planning, with agencies being thrown together to collaborate on initiatives. Whether this works and is effective against the original objectives always comes down to the agencies and individuals involved. The client can always help by ensuring there are clear areas of responsibility … especially when it comes to delivery of the plan! And the agencies can help (and make things easier for themselves) by cutting back on the number of people involved from each side!

We are certainly comfortable with both the above approaches as I am sure are many of our Integrated competitors. Our approach has always been rooted in Integrated Thinking rather than simply Integrated Deliver. It is not about being full-service or a one-stop shop. It is about solving clients’ business problems and we are always happy to work with other like-minded agencies to achieve that goal.

Thrifty or Green?

2008-11-21T10:44:00.000-08:00

So the economy is in a tad of trouble and all our concerns over the environment immediately go out of the window? That seems to be the basis of the countless 'thrifty consumers' articles I have read recently.

We weren't comfortable with that prognosis at Gyro (surely this will be about different segments? and why are the two mutually exclusive?) so decided to conduct a spot of research to see what the true situation was. We spoke to over 2,000 consumers and markers in the UK, Europe and the US and discovered that things aren't so black and white ... they seldom are.

We'll be publishing a report on the subject after Christmas but safe to say we have found some interesting differences in views ... especially between the consumer and the marketing professional!

Let me know if you would like a copy of the report.

More on Loyalty and Customer Marketing ...

2008-11-01T02:39:00.000-07:00

We recently conducted research in this area, both with end-customers and the marketing directors employed to build a relationship with them. We found a number of key areas that brands simply have to deliver on in order to drive loyalty and ultimately advocacy:

> Loyalty starts with the basics and a brand’s ability (often via its sales force) to deliver on its promise. Damage is inevitable when there is disconnect between marketing’s promise and sales’ ability to deliver.

> Customers want the brands they choose to be open and honest. The moment something goes wrong it is on your ability and energy in fixing it that you will be judged.

> Loyalty can be built by rewarding customers. But different customer segments value very different types of rewards. A student might want a free cinema ticket from his bank but a small business owner might be happy with an unprompted letter thanking him for the 20 years he has been the bank’s customer.

> Brands that succeed retain their relevance to people as they move through the different stages of their life and career. Think about a technology specialist who moves up the corporate ladder to a board level technology or business role. Think how IBM’s brand deals with this versus some of the more product focused IT vendors.

The same research also looked at the link between the current economic situation and marketers focus on loyalty. The results were interesting:

In interviews with marketing directors from a range of industry sectors, 51% said that they have increased their focus on loyalty marketing as the full effects of the credit crunch start to be felt, with 38% of this group saying that they have significantly increased spend in this area. Of those consulted no on had reduced their focus on brand loyalty and loyalty marketing schemes.

We also found that 83% of marketers are investing more in building or sustaining relationships with existing customers. With only 2% saying they had reduced investment in these relationships as a result of the unstable economic environment.

Get a summary of the research here:

http://www.gyrointernational.com/press_office/loyalty_for_life.html

Getting the best from planning

2008-10-29T13:25:00.000-07:00

I was asked today 'how can an agency get the best out of planning'?

I obviously have my own views but I thought I would canvass the opinions of others so asked a couple of creative directors, a number of other planners I know and our new business director.

People had various views but it all came down to three or four key areas:

Involve them early - easy if it is an account they are working on but sometimes is forgotten when a new opportunity walks in the door. I would concur with this and let's face it there is nothing worse than getting a brief second hand or so late that the Account Team can't go back with further questions.

Give them time - finding that insight or inspiration for a new positioning or strategy requires research, understanding and thinking. I.e. It takes time.

Let them focus - don't ask someone to be the voice of the customer; to understand the client's business, market and competition better than they do; to be the brand guardian within the agency ... and then ask them to do that across 10 brands!

So for many agencies (who use planning as a new business tool or on just a few lead accounts) that means a simple truth ... give the planners you have the time and focus they need and if that means that you need to increase the number of planners you have then do it .... and in doing so make decisions about which clients really need, want and deserve that level of strategic engagement.

Take a Packed Lunch .... or Jamie Oliver

2008-10-26T11:34:00.001-07:00

We met my sister, Darren and nieces at Legoland Windsor today.

Lunch time came and the choice of food for us and all those thousands of kids came down to burgers, hot dogs, pizza and quite possibly THE worst chicken burgers imaginable to man.

As we munched our way through our cholesterol busting food I pondered why there was nothing healthier available? ''They make more money from this stuff don't they" replied my 6 year old niece? Mmmm .... spot on I thought.

So if you are planning on a trip to Windsor anytime soon, my advice would be to take a packed lunch. Meanwhile, lets hope Mr. Oliver takes on theme parks as his next target.

Legoland - we deserve better.

Don't Knock The Monkey

2008-10-25T04:17:00.000-07:00

So a report last month from TNS showed that Dairy Milk sales have been growing at less than 2%, while sales of Galaxy are growing at 12%.

The headline writers and integrated marketeers hit their stride. The Monkey on Drums ad didn’t work. And TNS had a nice bit of PR.

Now I don’t have the tracking stats but even accounting for the skew factor of working in the London ad industry bubble my instinct tells me that on the measures it should have been judged, it worked. Find me a hat and I’ll eat it if it didn’t.

So why has Galaxy outperformed?

I think the answer can be found further upstream than a single piece of communications, no matter how hairy it was.

Has Galaxy’s clearer focus on the chocoholic female market paid dividends? Is it down to their premium positioning? Or has their new product development and premium innovation machine simply done a better job?

I suspect it is a mix of both plus a few other factors so let’s not knock the Monkey. It was and is a fantastic piece of creative work. And who remembers the last Galaxy ad? Well I don’t but maybe that’s because I am not target market.

Ryanair

2008-10-25T03:13:00.000-07:00

I had my second Ryanair experience this month, traveling with Ireland’s finest down to Sicily for a very pleasant one week break.

The first experience was a fuzzy memory. It was a journey down to France for a funeral on a plane that, if I recall correctly, was sponsored by and thus adorned with a stunning livery by “The Sun”.

So happier times and years later no sponsorship or livery – yields must be better. But what about the brand experience?

Well, the first thing to say would be that we got there and back both safely and on-time. And the flights were £70. A good £200 less than BA. Big tick!

The second thing to say would be that we were offered scratch-cards half way through the flight. And I think in that moment, there was Ryanair in a nutshell.

Scratch-cards.

B2B and Competition

2008-10-02T09:30:00.000-07:00

I was asked today about competitor analysis in B2B markets – how do to do it and what are the challenges?

‘Interesting’ question I thought. So I polled (delegated to) the planning team and got the following response:

The first thing to say is that in marketing terms, we would never look at competitor research as a discrete activity. It is when competitor analysis is combined with real audience and category insight that we – as a communications agency – can find the positioning opportunities that create real value for brands.

So our recommended approach would always be to understand the audience and market drivers first and then work out how your brand stacks up against your competitors against each of those drivers. We tend to use qualitative research (groups / interviews) to understand the former and quantitative tracking studies to monitor the latter.

For any given campaign, our research always boils down to a Value Proposition. This is a three or four paragraph summary which articulates why ‘I’ need and why ‘I’ should buy ‘this’ particular product or service. Inherent in this is the need to explain why the offering delivers superior customer value to next best alternative. We try to find the one or two things that are most important. This is not always easy for agencies and clients to establish and requires customer value research rather than a long list of points of differentiation.

In terms of techniques for competitor research / analysis we have obviously seen a real shift to online tools and resources. We use software to track brand share of voice (positive and negative) in the ’blogospehere’ as well as in traditional / controlled channels – traditional SOV and SOV2.0! We also run tracking studies through online research panels and use shared websites to capture and share information.

One of the obvious challenges in B2B is the direct nature of much of the marketing activity. How do you get hold of the DM pack that your competitor sends to an IT Director for example? There are ways around this – it just takes a little imaginative thinking.

I guess I need to check what ‘imaginative thinking’ means and make sure our tracking activities are not crossing the boundaries into espionage!

Honey Trap

2008-09-21T03:09:00.000-07:00

I returned from a great, sunny week in Sardinia recently with 3 identical jars of local honey.

Nothing unusual in that - the Sardinian people are well known for their production of bitter sweet honey. The interesting thing was how we got them.

It seems that the hotels and agriturismos of Alghero and Olbia have discovered the combined power of honey and the internet in pulling in overseas visitors. Specifically www.tripadvisor.com where, in return for each delicious jar of honey, we were kindly asked to post our glowing reviews of each of the 3 places we stayed.

Three different places. Three identical jars of honey. Maybe the honey farmer is the real smart guy here.

Anyway, they got their reviews (and in this case they were all great) and I have got a couple of early Christmas presents. So all good.

And for the record, this was the best hotel of the 3 – Hotel Lucrezia near Oristano.

http://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotel_Review-g187884-d578775-Reviews-Hotel_Lucrezia-Oristano_Sardinia.html

Madonna, Mum and Dad

2008-09-12T09:17:00.000-07:00

I was enjoying a meeting yesterday when the subject of the ‘grey’ pound came up. “Good idea – get the over 50’s in our target audience matrix” came the cry!

I sensed we had a problem.

Stats from Age Concern show that as much as 40% (£260bn) of total UK annual consumer spending can be attributed to the UK over 50s. In 2003 one in three people in the UK were aged 50+ and by 2031 this is predicted to rise to two-fifths. There are already more people aged 60+ than are aged 0-14. People aged 50-65 spend twice as much on leisure and entertainment as under-30s The over 50s buy 80% of all top of the range cars, 50% of skincare products and 80% of leisure cruises. Go mum and dad! And Madonna!

There is no doubt it is a very valuable segment, but also a very large and diverse segment. This is not an audience that can be seen as a homogenous group. To generalize is to surely miss out.
Do marketers understand this? Of course many do but that doesn’t seem to stop advertising often falling short. I spotted some research from The Leadership Factor research panel that showed how the 0ver 50s believe marketers treat them. The findings showed room for improvement (!):

55% said ‘patronising

29% said ‘old fashioned / technophobes
Only 16% said intelligent / discerning

The same research also looked into the different product categories that are pushed towards this age group. As the chart shows they would rather hear about cars and travel than life assurance or dentures!

So it looks like the message is clear -- more thought needs to go into segmenting and targeting Madonna and her 50+ peers!! How? That's up to you - it's time for the pub now …..

Crunch Time

2008-09-06T14:53:00.000-07:00

We did a quick poll last week with just over 2,000 UK consumers using our online research tool >ENGAGE.

We’ve been working on cars and wanted to get a feel for how the current economic climate and the media’s coverage of events were influencing consumer purchase intentions.

We asked: “Thinking about the current economic environment, which of the following purchases were you considering 6-12 months ago that you are not considering now?”

Top answers were:

- Holiday 26%
- Home extension & other improvements 22%
- New car 18%
- New home 8%

What does this mean?

Well in our case it makes selling cars more difficult (!) though behind the top-line numbers we found some interesting insights. One of these was that the over-50s seemed to be far more resilient to the current economic challenges. In fact the ‘grey market’ – debt free, with significant savings and a hold on 40% of UK consumer spending – start to look like a relatively recession proof audience.

We plan to dig deeper ……

Another useful source of research in these turbulent times – for B2B marketers – is the B2B Marketing Insight Report 2008. It was created by B2B Marketing and Gyro to provide a definitive picture of the rapidly emerging B2B marketing sector, during the heart of the credit crunch.

More details can be found here http://www.b2bm.biz/insightreport/

Football - How Big Will The Bubble Get?

2008-09-05T13:54:00.000-07:00

Came back from a meeting this afternoon to find a trail of emails featuring a lively Friday afternoon discussion on the state of football. Seems some of my premiership friends - Man United, West Ham and Pompey fans in this case - are feeling more detached from their teams, their players and the game as a whole than ever before. I can relate to that (being an Owl) but it was interesting to hear it from these guys. They would usually be in full Sky watching mode by now.

So I guess the question is does football keep getting bigger and bigger or is there a point when the football bubble starts to deflate? Isn't that inevitable if it loses touch with its audience as it seems - based on today's inbox chatter - it is doing? Looks like a classic brand problem that - whatever the outcome - will be textbook stuff of the future.

Is the end nigh? Or do we have European super leagues and the further demise of international football to look forward to first?

Watch this space ......

Loyalty for Life

2008-08-14T14:08:00.000-07:00

That's today's question. Is it possible? An achievable goal? Or is it a forlorn aspiration for a brand? The following website poses the same question and has managed to draw in contributions from folk around the globe.

http://www.loyaltyforlife.co.uk

Have a look and post a comment.

A quick skim of the results so far is interesting. We want brands that change and grow with us. Brands that offer us something at every step. The younger audiences talk about this a lot. They also want to feel that they or their tribe are getting something back from the brand.

People talk about football teams as the ultimate in loyalty. You pin your colours to your chest early on in life and you do not change. No matter how badly they might let you down. Can brands in other catageories match that? It's difficult but you can draw similarities between other high commitment brands, brands that take you from prospect to customer and to advocate in the blink of an eye - take Skoda for example.

For the older audiences the basics have to be in place. The product or service has to live up to the brand promise. Always. And then people want to feel valued. A simple letter will do. A thank-you. When was the last time your bank wrote to you just to say thanks for being a customer?

The post that sums it up for me is this one: '"Tune into my aspirations and values; change with me through my life; be easy to find; give me something back; don’t ever assume I will come back to you and when I have a problem, surprise me with how easy you are to deal with. Simple really."

Check out the website and share your views.