The Marketing Week

Welcome to The Marketing Week, your guide to the good, the bad and the ugly in the marketing industry over the last seven days.

CAMPAIGN OF THE WEEK

Currys PC World

Almost six months on from the merger between Dixons Retail and Carphone Warehouse and two of its brands, Currys and PC World, are embarking on their biggest ad campaign to date. The £20m push introduces a new “We start with you” positioning that the company says will serve as a “manifesto” to bring to life its customer service.

Based around the classic game Guess Who, the TV spot shows electrical goods being eliminated by falling through trap doors or being hoisted up by rope, leaving the shopper with the perfect product. Currys PC World’s CMO Gary Booker says the retailer is going for “maximum exposure” in the crucial Christmas shopping period.

The scale of the campaign reaffirms Dixons Carphone’s commitment to both the Currys and PC World brands following the merger.

GOOD WEEK FOR

Marketers on the hunt for a new job

Brands are growing increasingly confident in their prospect of growth, underlined by the fact that marketing vacancies are on the rise. According to Robert Walters, which tracks the volume of jobs posted on eight leading job boards, the number of vacancies increased by 21 per cent year on year in the three months to 31 September. The growth rate has also accelerated since the second quarter, when vacancies were up by just 6 per cent.

“Demand is especially intense for commercially-minded individuals with a track record for innovation and delivering high returns on investment.”

Tim Gilbert, marketing recruitment director at Robert Walters

Tim Gilbert, director of marketing recruitment at Robert Walters, says the figures demonstrate a “revival in candidate confidence, improved hiring budgets and widespread recognition of the importance of bigger pay packets to attracting skilled marketers”.

Thinking about dusting off your CV? Gilbert offers some advice.

“Demand is especially intense for commercially-minded individuals with a track record for innovation and delivering high returns on investment.”

BAD WEEK FOR…

Tesco

tesco-store-2014

Profits falling 92 per cent, like-for-like sales dropping 4.6 per cent, share value tanking, customer perceptions torpedoing and an admission that the accounting black hole found a month ago is bigger than originally thought. By any metric this has been a bad week for Tesco.

How it comes back from this is the job of new boss Dave Lewis. Both he and the Tesco board are keen to draw a line in the sand and move on. Chairman Sir Richard Broadbent has fallen on his own sword, a move aimed at proving that the Tesco board is taking responsibility for the problems.

Now it needs to convince shoppers to return. Lewis plans to do this by returning the retailer to its glory days as a “champion of the customer”. Just don’t ask him what his strategy is.

“Don’t sit there and wait for a Tesco strategy. That will be for me and Tesco management to know,” he told journalists at a press conference yesterday (23 October).

ONE TO WATCH

Facebook launches anonymous app Rooms

Facebook's new Rooms app
Facebook’s new Rooms app

In an attempt to bring back the chat rooms that defined the early days of the internet, Facebook has launched an app that lets users create a “room” where they can talk anonymously on any topic. The chat room-style feature aims to differentiate Facebook’s latest app from anonymous sharing products such as Secret to Whisper.

INTERNATIONAL NEWS

Macy’s ties with Google for location-based push

Have you ever been on way to meet friends only for a coffee-stained shirt to ruin the fun before its even begun? US retailer Macy’s is offering an instant solution through a new proximity-based marketing tie-up with Google. Shoppers can search for an item on their phone to see what’s stocked at their nearest Macy’s store or find the closest one that has it in store. The application uses a mix of GPS, in-store beacons and other location-based tools to support the omni-channel gambit. Other US retailers such as Sephora, REI, Office Depot and Sears Outlet also are working with Google on the service.

Beats and Lebron James return to Ohio

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4c-aFLXzAwU

After being banned from the NFL, Beats stepped up efforts to woo the NBA with the launch of a new ad this week featuring the sport’s biggest star Lebron James. Set to Irish musician Hozier’s “Take me to Church ad, the ad revolves around James’ return to the club where he first rose to fame – the Cleveland Cavillers.

TWEETS OF THE WEEK

@Whatleydude – social media director at Ogilvy & Mather on the new Currys PC World advert
Play the new Argos ad backwards and you get the new @curryspcworld ad.

@SocialMia – director of social media at VH1 on voting rights in the US:
Should trolls be allowed to write headlines? RT @TheAtlantic: Should the poor be allowed to vote?

@jmicklish – senior account director at AKQA on things overhead in the US
Overheard in NYC: “molly saved my marriage. It’s honestly a lot easier thn drinking. Cuz you’re really like, you release all the stressors”

@charliebhoy72 – PR director at Nike on Erik Lamela’s wonder goal
Erik Lamela’s agent just exploded with excitement.

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