Data collection and customer engagement is being touted as the “prize asset that marketers are chasing” from promotions on Facebook (MWlinks.co.uk/ FacebookComps) but our 25 years of experience of promotions and competitions teaches us there is often a major difference in reality. We gather hundreds of thousands of names, personal information and contact details each […]
When a luxury brand goes mass market or to a co-brand, the winner is the retailer that has convinced the brand custodian to reduce quality, size, price and margin in return for pie-in-the-sky promises that rarely work out. Too often it has the opposite effect to Mark Ritson’s example of the Missoni and Target tie-up […]
The latest British Promotional Merchandise Association research suggests that promotional merchandise is a cost-effective way of raising brand awareness during a recession (MWlinks.co.uk/PromoMerch). However, promotional merchandise often falls short of its potential ROI because of a lack of planning and unrealistic timeframes for development. If it materialises as a mere afterthought, this will push up […]
Mark Ritson’s latest column reignited the debate over the value of Olympic sponsorship, the lack of creativity displayed in some of the associated campaigns and the appropriateness of some of the key partners of London 2012. Read the original column here and see comment extracts below. I would like to raise three points with you, […]
The news that Groupon is not signing up to new code of conduct for the daily deals industry sparked much comment. Read the story here and comment extracts below: It appears that, as in most industries, the big boys think they are too important to mix with the minnows. The sad fact is that their […]
Your article on Marks & Spencer using its ‘trusted brand’ status to diversify led me to think about what makes brands trusted. The reputations of BMW, Mercedes, Sony, Apple and Intel are built on mechanical quality and reliability as well as technical innovation; being trusted to deliver excellence consistently rather than fancy creativity. If they […]
It would be good to know how the Marketing Academy scholars’ psychometric reports compare with the Diagonal Thinking Self-Assessment. This is a free online test, launched in 2008, and its data reveals that only 10% of the population are ‘diagonal thinkers’ and achieve top scores in both the linear and lateral exercises. A five-year study […]
The article on the rise of complaints over charity email campaigns raised some good points about the challenges marketers face in these budget stretched times. Many of the complaints levied relate to data use, and it has never been more important for all brands, not just charities, to connect with customers in the right manner […]
I think it is a bit rich for Tesco CEO Philip Clarke to be banging the anti-coupon drum when Tesco is forever running heavy price discounting and bogofs. Are we supposed to feel sympathy because for once Tesco is on the back foot and having to stump up the cost of paying for more promotions […]
Why was there not a mention of PR’s impact on sales in your article about the need for the PR industry to measure the outcomes of campaigns, not just the outputs? Levels of awareness and positive perception are metrics of value to a marketer, but do they sufficiently illustrate the PR’s effectiveness, especially to the […]
It’s not surprising consumers were found to be frustrated when loyalty programmes don’t use their data to tailor rewards (MWlinks.co.uk/BrandChange). However, there are many high street brands getting it right. Segmentation is crucial to any loyalty scheme’s success. But, for it to really hit home, brands must build their knowledge of the customer across every […]
It was great to read that those brands which have a purpose beyond profit have increased in value by 87% over five years, whereas those that are not ideals-driven have grown only 43%. Brands with ethical, as well as rational and emotional values, are winning customer hearts and minds. Also good to see that brands […]
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When it comes to measuring the success of social media activity, the key for any brand is to know and understand who their ‘likes’ are from because everything else is just extrapolation. Social login – the ability for consumers to use their social media profile to register on a brand’s website – is now providing […]
Columnist Mark Ritson sparked a fierce debate with his last column questioning the value of SWOT analysis and other time-honoured techniques taught to marketers, such as Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs. Read the column at www.mwlinks.co.uk/ThreeStooges and see comment extracts below. Swot up on SWOT benefits SWOT and Maslow are your ‘workings out’ like in a […]