As the profile of soon-to-be royal Kate Middleton escalates, there will be some choice opportunities for the brands that edge their way into this inner circle. The battle for brands to link themselves to the royal wedding, however tenuously, has been waging ever since Kate and William put us all out of our misery and […]
With communication around pricing, benefits and overall information leaving much to be desired, it’s no wonder consumers are confused about green cars. By all accounts the “green” car market is a fledgling one. According to statistics from research firm Datamonitor, and as featured in last week’s trends feature, hybrid and electric cars make up just […]
Banks are trying to regain the trust they lost when the recession gripped the UK by using social media to engage with consumers. But they muct adhere to strict guidelines. By MaryLou Costa.
With health and beauty being the third most complained about sector in advertising, will the CAP’s new guidelines satisfy consumers? According to an article in Which? magazine in September last year, health and beauty is the third most complained about sector in advertising. Complaints to the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) regarding this sector rose 14% […]
Click here for Nick Thomas executive director at the China Britain Business Council’s viewpoint Click here for a Q&A with Catherine Peng corporate communications director at Bosch China The eyes of the business world are fixed on China right now, as the proverbial sleeping giant begins to fulfil its prophecy of taking the world by […]
China is proving to be a ripe market across a range of sectors, but is this market so self serving that brands will have to elbow their way in? When it comes to the growth of China’s economy, the stats speak for themselves. You’ll be able to read more in next week’s cover feature, out […]
Laterooms.com is in the price-sensitive hotels market and has to work hard to stand out. MaryLou Costa looks at how it is using social media and online communities to stay competitive and devise an international expansion strategy.
If counting carbon catches on as a mass consumer trend Britain’s retail landscape is nowhere near ready to meet the demand. Managing budgets, diaries, calories and all of the other minutiae that are increasingly cramming their way into the corners of our daily lives just isn’t enough these days. We’ve now added counting carbon to […]
The weight loss industry is showing us how effective use of social media creates engagement and brand loyalty. The weight loss industry is booming. Leading brand Weight Watchers’ shares hit an all-time high last month and its Q4 profit more than doubled to $49 million. This is impressive on so many levels, not to mention […]
The traditional definition of a nuclear family has become redundant in this day and age, but marketers can respond to this by opening their minds to what constitutes a modern family. The media has mourned the death of the nuclear family since at least the late 1990s, highlighting the decline of the institutional ideal of […]
Exclusive research following Ofcom’s decision to allow brands to be promoted in UK TV shows conveys a public more amenable to product placement than last year, writes MaryLou Costa. After nearly two years of public discussion the arrival of product placement on UK television this week was highly anticipated, hotly debated, feared by some and […]
Is your brand ready for some home truths? For brands to find a place in today’s homes, marketers must look past family stereotypes, according to an exclusive survey which goes behind people’s front doors to reveal the true nature of households’ relationships with brands.
Jewellery brand Pandora has capitalised on insights taken from the childhood trend of collecting things, but rogue traders are cramping its style. How fondly I can recall my schoolyard days, where many a lunchtime was spent making, and collecting, friendship bracelets. The childhood phenomenon of collecting is the topic of this week’s Trends feature, out […]
Adding extra layers to the net promoter score technique of assessing levels of customer satisfaction is enabling marketers to take their insight into the boardroom.
One of the internet greats, Yahoo! has since lost ground to the likes of Google and Facebook, but through new ventures, such as a tie-up with Bing, and a refocus of the brand as a content provider, it is planning a resurgence.