5 things you need to know this week
From Ben & Jerry’s plans to use marketing to combat climate change to the potentially worrying news that British consumers would not care if 94% of brands were to disappear, Marketing Week rounds up the best news of the week from the world of marketing.
1. Why the time is right for the PayPal brand to stand alone
It’s been a busy week for PayPal. Having finally split from eBay into an individual company, analysts told Marketing Week why the move makes sense. The payments brand is aiming to grab a greater share of the mobile pay market by taking on the likes of Apple Pay.
It also announced a nationwide roll-out of its contactless pay app trial with Shell, which allows drivers to pay for petrol without leaving their cars.
Speaking to Marketing Week, Rob Harper, director of mobile commerce at PayPal, gave an insight into the brand’s future strategy.
He said: “What we mustn’t do with contactless is just replicate a simple card based experience that doesn’t add value.
“I think digital and mobile wallets have an opportunity to bring together all components of transactions – whether that’s rewards, loyalty points or ominchannel interactions. One constant is people will always need a way to pay and we’re confident we will remain an important part of that.”
2. Marketers on the hunt for new jobs
The number of candidates seeking marketing jobs in London is up by 39% year on year according to the Robert Walters City Jobs Index despite the fact that marketers’ confidence in the industry is suffering.
The volume of marketing vacancies was up by 42% year on year, at a two year high for the second month in a row.
Meanwhile, the latest Bellwether Report, released last week, showed that marketers’ confidence in the financial prospects of their own companies and the wider industry have dropped despite growth in marketing spend.
Marketers’ optimism towards their own financial prospects dropped with just 25.3% feeling confident about the future, down from 37.8% since the last survey and the lowest point in nine quarters.
3. ‘British consumers would not care if 94% of brands disappeared’
In what will make unfortunate reading for CMOs, a new poll of over 19,000 British consumers has revealed that respondents wouldn’t care if 94% of brands disappeared altogether.
The Havas Media’s Meaningful Brands UK Report 2015 also showed that an overwhelming 85% of respondents believe brands must play a bigger role in improving the quality of life and wellbeing of their customers and the wider community.
Respondents believe that only 3% of brands are currently taking sustainable measures, while only five brands – Google, Amazon, PayPal, Visa and Samsung – were listed as firms perceived to be improving the quality of consumer’s day-to-day lives.
4. Ben & Jerry’s European director on combatting climate change through ‘organic’ marketing
In the latest move in Unilever’s ongoing sustainability drive, its brand Ben & Jerry’s is calling on world leaders to implement 100% clean energy by 2050 through a petition, an online film, an event tour and the rollout of a new flavour in the lead up to the UN Climate Change Conference in Paris later this year.
Speaking to Marketing Week, the ice cream brand’s European director Jochanan Senf said he is looking to drive messages ‘organically’ rather than through push marketing, which he believes is the best way to engage with modern consumers.
“The earth is heating up and we’re facing this huge problem and we felt like the climate summit in Paris might be a good moment to build a movement and get people to come on board,” Senf said.
The brand has also launched a new flavour in the US called “Save our Swirled” with packaging that reads: “If it’s melted, it’s ruined”.
5. A good call? Foster’s moves on with new ‘Why the hell not’ campaign
It’s fair to say beer drinkers were quite fond of Foster’s ‘Good Call’ ads. After all, the campaign did win the IPA Effectiveness Awards Grand Prix in 2014.
However the brand has moved on. Launching tonight (July 24), Foster’s new ‘Why the hell not?’ campaign will kick off by following Australia’s fictional first male rugby cheerleader.
Ifeoma Dozie, beer brand director for Foster’s at Heineken, which owns and manages the Foster’s brand in Europe, said the new direction maintains the brand’s long association with comedy and will “drive excitement, interest and increased sales”.
