The brand benefits of breaking into gaming
Charlotte RogersAs the roll-out of 5G promises to amplify the experience of mobile gameplay, brands are discovering inventive new ways to find fame through gaming.
Vauxhall boss: Our brand positioning was unsustainable
Molly FlemingStephen Norman became managing director of the car marque last year after four decades in car marketing, and has spent the past 18 months repositioning the floundering car brand.
Watch: Ritson on how Snickers perfectly balanced differentiation and distinctiveness
Marketing Week ReportersMarketing Week columnist Mark Ritson explains how the Mars-owned brand turned around falling sales by introducing clearer positioning and making better use of its brand codes.
Marketers’ job prospects on the rise as brands hire to support growth
Ellen HammettWhile hiring prospects remain relatively subdued, the quarterly IPA Bellwether suggests businesses are searching for highly skilled recruits to support growth opportunities in the long-term.
‘It’s much easier when you win’: How NatWest rode the rollercoaster of England’s Cricket World Cup triumph
Sarah VizardNatWest picked the right time to be the main sponsor of England cricket after both the men’s and women’s teams won the World Cup, with sport sponsorship playing a key role in turning around perceptions of the brand.
Monzo sees ‘insane’ growth after running first TV ad campaign
Sarah VizardThe digital bank’s marketing boss says its first TV ads “show the power of traditional advertising”, although its community and organic word-of-mouth remain key.
How one company has built its brand reputation on a single product
Erin LyonsRucksack specialist Osprey is focused on making one product as good as it can be, but is expanding into new markets such as travel and lifestyle to extend its brand.
Marketers up traditional media budgets amid increased competition
Ellen HammettWhile there were no changes to overall marketing budgets in the second quarter, according to the IPA’s quarterly Bellwether, marketers increased spend on main media advertising, suggesting they are investing in long-term brand health.
Recommended reading: Mental models and innovation champions
Ellen HammettMarketing Week reviews the latest books and articles for marketers.
Highly social, gender diverse and age agnostic: Why brands must change their view of gamers
Charlotte RogersMobile gaming has crossed over into mainstream entertainment, but brands still seem reluctant to explore the burgeoning opportunities.
Digital TV must overcome its contradictions if it wants to attract more ad dollars
Ben DavisDigital TV is becoming ever more popular among consumers, yet it lags behind in advertisers’ plans. Yet as the siloes between digital and TV break down, it is an area brands should find worth exploring.
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Marketoonist on logo size
Tom FishburneTom Fishburne is founder of Marketoon Studios. Follow his work at marketoonist.com or on Twitter @tomfishburne See more of the Marketoonist here
The new rules of innovation
Charlotte RogersFrom co-creation and cultivation of a social community for ideas, to empowering an entire business to work on new product development, brands need to open up if they want to stay ahead of the innovation curve.
Diageo slows new product launch rate as it reaches ‘peak innovation’
Molly FlemingDiageo has a a three-pronged innovation strategy that aims to recruit new drinkers, engage current brand fans and disrupt the industry long-term.
How hybrid teams are driving innovation
Charlotte RogersBrands are increasingly thinking outside the box with fresh ideas to bring teams together, but will a new focus on cross-functional innovation within these teams lead to a better response to consumer needs?
How Sainsbury’s innovation team chases ‘entrepreneurial heat’
Charlotte RogersLed by marketer Rachel Eyre, the Future Brands team is looking to bring the best challenger brands into Sainsbury’s and solidify the supermarket’s reputation for innovation in the process.
Being a ‘me-too’ brand is more desirable than it sounds
Helen EdwardsIt’s all very well being differentiated, disruptive and revolutionary, but if your main competitor makes a meaningful improvement, your brand will drop behind if you don’t follow suit.
Ethnography beats focus groups hands-down, but they still serve a purpose
Mark RitsonFocus groups are a bone of contention, as a Twitter debate featuring Professor Byron Sharp this week showed, but while they are flawed, they are still a quick and cheap route to useful insights.
Rebranding CMOs as growth officers doesn’t help market marketing
Lucy TesserasAs another big global business hires a chief growth officer rather than a CMO, will it help to reframe marketing’s role within the wider business or is there a risk of further damaging marketing’s reputation by pitching it as something separate to growth?
Determine which customers to invest in and which markets to target
1. Executive Summary Customer Lifetime Value (CLV) is considered one of the most important factors in determining present and future success of a business. However, less than half of those surveyed for this research said they were able to measure CLV. With it costing less to retain a customer than acquire a new one and […]
One of the big trends in advertising has been an appetite for increased control over programmatic
1. Introduction This report is aimed at providing guidance on setting up and running a highly effective programmatic campaign in the present climate. It is intended as an informational tool for advertisers who run their ads programmatically, as an audit guide for agencies that deliver the programmatic activity and as a best practice manual for […]
Creating compelling stories has never been more important for marketers
1. Introduction 1.1 Executive summary This report identifies best practice approaches, techniques, challenges and opportunities around storytelling in the context of marketing. It explores how marketers perceive the importance of storytelling to the practice of marketing and the best practice application of storytelling principles to support marketing objectives and activity. The following topics are covered […]
How brands can remove friction from the customer journey
Michael BarnettAt a roundtable hosted by Marketing Week in partnership with Facebook, marketers debated the cost of hindering consumers on the way to making a purchase, and how brands can keep them coming back with smooth, hassle-free experiences.
How financial brands are innovating with data
Michael BarnettThe financial services sector may be big and cumbersome, but brands are using an increasing number of data sources, focusing more on customer experience and engaging more customers in real time than ever before.
Mary Portas: ‘Innovation is the key to rescuing retail’
Michael Barnett‘Queen of shops’ Mary Portas believes retail is entering an exciting period where innovation is key and the future of the high street depends on community, connections and removing ‘friction’.
Marketing Week to launch 100 most effective marketers list
Marketing Week ReportersThe Marketing Week Top 100, sponsored by Salesforce, will be chosen by a judging panel including Marketing Week columnist Mark Ritson, former AMV BBDO chief Dame Cilla Snowball and Tom Fishburne, aka The Marketoonist.
How Mars’ shift from CMO to chief growth officer has reframed marketing
Lucy TesserasAs the role is far broader than a traditional CMO position, Berta de Pablos says it has forced the business to “think differently”, both from a marketing and recruitment perspective.
BrewDog’s former marketing boss: It wasn’t ready for a CMO
Ellen HammettBrewDog’s former marketing boss of three months says it was too early in the craft beer brand’s evolution to have a chief marketing officer, something which became “fairly obvious” very quickly.
Super apps: How the rest of the world is following in China’s footsteps
Rebecca SentanceWeChat is no longer the only super app ecosystem available to Chinese internet users. In her recent Internet Trends 2019 report, Mary Meeker highlighted the growing trend of super apps both within and outside China.
Burger King CMO on creativity: We are not in the pursuit of random ideas
Charlotte RogersThe recipient of 94 Cannes Lions in four years, Burger King global CMO Fernando Machado is “100% focused on the idea”, as long as it links back to the brand and business strategy.
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Brands and tech giants come together to launch first digital safety alliance
Ellen HammettLaunched at 2019’s Cannes Lions festival, the Global Alliance for Responsible Media marks the first time an alliance that represents all sides of the media industry is forming.
Watch: Ritson on the power of Apple’s brand positioning
Marketing Week ReportersMarketing Week columnist Mark Ritson on how Apple defined the three core tenets of its brand position – simplicity, creativity and humanity – to celebrate what made it different.
Why B2B brands should adopt a challenger mindset
Marketing Week PartnerOur new video series on marketing effectiveness in B2B begins with Genpact’s Neil Dowling, explaining why disruption needs to be part of the marketing team’s psyche.
Marketers are forgetting the importance of A/B testing
Thomas BartaThe value of A/B testing should not be underestimated, but all too often it’s overlooked.
