5 things you need to know this week

1. TfL will open up its tube stations to brands for renaming

Having temporarily renamed Canada Water station to Buxton Water to celebrate its sponsorship of the London Marathon last weekend, TfL has revealed it will open up all its stations to potential brand takeovers as part of its plans to generate £3.45bn in non-fare revenue over the next decade.

Graeme Craig, TfL’s director of Commercial Development told Marketing Week: “Over the last two years we’ve spoken to plenty of brands, from film studios to food makers, about renaming stations, but we haven’t gone through with it as the opportunities, not just financially, haven’t made sense.

“Going forward, Buxton won’t be the last brand we work with on this but brands will have to fulfil rigid criteria to qualify, which is based around audience relevance and whether renaming a tube stop actually ties in with a significant event in the area.”

2. Lego is targeting parents with global ‘Kronkiwongi’ campaign as part of its co-creation strategy

Lego is targeting parents on Facebook through a partnership with the social network for its “Kronkiwongi” campaign, the latest in a line of efforts to involve co-creation in its marketing strategy.

A series of documentary-style videos launched on Facebook this week showcasing the reactions of kids around the world in their own homes when they are challenged to “build something that doesn’t exist” – or as Lego calls it, a Kronkiwongi.

The films, created by Lego and Facebook’s Creative Shop, are part of its efforts to reach the parents on Facebook who share activities they do with their child by posting photos, according to Lars Silberbauer Andersen, global director of social media and search for Lego.

Andersen, who says the Kronkiwongi idea came from a term used in his childhood, told Marketing Week that the brand hopes to inspire parents to ask their kids to build a Kronkiwongi with them, with shared images and videos to be included in one final user-generated video before the campaign wraps up in three weeks.

The move is in line with the brand’s recent strategy to involve co-creation and fan-generated content in its marketing, having included fan-created videos in the Bafta-winning The Lego Movie last year.

3. The controversial ‘Beach Body’ ad has been banned after hundreds of complaints

The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) has banned Protein World’s ‘Beach Body’ campaign due to concerns over “health and weight loss claims made in the ad” after receiving hundreds of complaints.

A spokesperson from the ASA said the authority met with Protein World to discuss the “Are you beach body ready?” campaign following negative reactions to the ad, which appeared throughout the London Underground last week showcasing a woman in a bikini alongside the words “Are You Beach Body Ready?”.

“It’s coming down in the next three days and, due to our concerns about a range of health and weight loss claims made in the ad, it can’t appear again in its current form,” the ASA said on Wednesday.

As of Monday the ASA had received 216 complaints about the ad from the fitness and sports nutrition brand, while a separate Change.org petition calling for the ad to be removed had received over 40,000 signatures.

4. P&G’s agency cull could signal a new model for brand agency partnerships

P&G’s recent decision to cut its agency roster and reinvest savings into marketing could be viewed as indicative of the way brands will work with agencies in the future.

On a call with investors to discuss the company’s first quarter results last week, chief financial officer John Moeller said P&G is looking to cut marketing costs by up to $500m with the savings set to be reinvested to “improve positions and support new innovations”.

The move by P&G is largely due to pressures the Pampers, Ariel and Fairy owner is under to cut costs because of foreign exchange concerns. However, a re-examining of agency relationships isn’t just about cutting costs – companies such as P&G are recognising that the world has changed, and traditional marketing models, many of which were developed before the age of digital, no longer work.

Richard Robinson, managing partner of Oystercatchers, who help agencies and brands create efficient models for partnerships, told Marketing Week: “Agencies need to look at themselves and ask if they have the most appropriate model for their clients or if they are hanging on to a colonial past,” he added, suggesting that some of P&G’s savings will come from its agencies better organising and streamlining their processes.

5. Consumers are willing to sell data to advertisers for £500 a year despite deep distrust

UK consumers are willing to sell their data for £500 a year despite the fact that 99% have a deep distrust of advertisers, according to a new survey.

A study on the “value exchange” surrounding privacy and data by Mediabrands Marketing Sciences, part of media investment business IPG Mediabrands, showed that three in ten respondents would be prepared to sell their data to advertisers, with 41% of that group stating their information was worth at least £500 a year.

This is despite the fact that only 1% of respondents claimed to have faith in advertisers’ ability to look at their data, while 60% felt “weird” knowing companies were tracking them online.

Claire Spencer, head of insight at Mediabrands Marketing Sciences, said that marketers need to “establish a simple exchange between brand and consumer, one in which boundaries are respected and both parties benefit” so that they don’t lost sight of their customers’ interests.

This exchange does not necessarily need to involve money according to respondents, who said they would be interested in receiving discounts and vouchers in return for supplying personal details such as email and home addresses, mobile numbers, date of birth and product reviews and preferences.