5 things you need to know this week

Catch up on the biggest news in the marketing industry over the last seven days.

1. Brands that default to gender stereotypes when creating products and communications aimed at girls could be putting sales to females at risk.

New research, titled Little Miss Understood, surveyed 1,070 girls aged 8-14 where they revealed their likes, dislikes and what they want from brands. They found that girls prefer brands that empower them and help them define and discover who they are.

The girls’ four top reasons for engaging with brands included if a brand lets them have fun, allows them to be themselves, gives them confidence and asks for their opinions. It is why Always’ ‘Like A Girl’ ad has been so successful this year.

While toy manufacturers face pressure to get rid of gender stereotyped toys as young girls increasingly move away from them, gender stereotyping in marketing could have a wider impact as well as it could endanger future brand loyalty for females from a young age.

Read the full story: Why brands are losing relevance with girls

2. 10 of the most complained about ads in 2014 have been revealed

Oscar Pistorious Paddy Power

The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) has revealed the 10 most complained about ads for 2014, which include the three most complained about ads of all time. Paddy Power, Bookings.com and The Sun took the title as the top three most complained about ads.

Paddy Power is the overwhelming leader of the list with 5,525 complaints in 2014. The ASA banned the press ad as it encouraged consumers to bet on the outcome of Oscar Pistorius’ murder trial. Complaints suggested that the ad caused serious offence as it trivialised the issues surrounding a murder trial, the death of a woman and disability.

Booking.com claimed second position, with 1,768 complaints but the content was deemed “light hearted” by the ASA. Complaints suggested the ad encouraged bad language amongst children for replacing the word “booking” in place of a swear word.

Read the top 10 and watch the ads here

3. Millennials are less materialistic than their predecessors

New research has shown that millennials look for experiences over possessions, with more 18-34 year-olds valuing independence and decision making over buying a home.

The generation of young adults feels a growing affinity for brands that help them to take control of their lives and offer worthwhile experiences rather than more possessions, the study by ZenithOptimedia has found.

Read the full story here

4. Lego is valued to become the world’s most powerful brand in 2015

lego

The brand “strength” list, which measures a brand’s ability to impact a company’s performance by looking at marketing investment and the goodwill the brand has built up with customers, have valued Lego to become the world’s most powerful brand, after the success of The Lego Movie.

The brand overtakes Ferrari, Nike and Burberry for the top spot, while Apple tops the list for the brand predicted to be the most valuable in 2015.

‘Everything is awesome’ – read the full story

5. Nestle is looking at a 5% growth in 2015 after upping marketing spend

KitKat_logo

The brand significantly increased its consumer facing marketing spend in 2014 and has announced plans to achieve organic growth of 5% this year.

Total marketing expenses for the brand rose, as it increased its consumer marketing support for its brands by 5.8%.  The move is a part of an effort to see long term sales success, with plans for the company to increase its revenue in 2015.

Read the full story here

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