HMV marketing chief: ‘multichannel investment needed’
HMV’s top marketer wants any new owner to invest to create a “stronger multichannel and digital presence” in order to exploit the continuing affection he claims consumers have for the brand.
The future of the 91-year-old HMV brand is in question after the entertainment retailer called in administrators, putting more than 4,000 jobs at risk. The 239 HMV stores in the UK and Ireland, website and 9 Fopp stores will continue to trade while Deloitte seeks a buyer for the brand.
Speaking to Marketing Week, marketing and e-commerce director Mark Hodgkinson says HMV has a “fantastic brand and heritage” but that financial problems have held it back.
He adds it is “too early to say” what happens next if the business is taken out of administration but “clearly a much stronger multichannel and digital presence has got to be an important part of the way forward”.
“We’re not short of ideas and opportunities for what we want to do with the brand the key issue has been the constraints we’ve been under [debt] which hasn’t enabled us to accelerate our plans as quickly as we’d like as we haven’t been able to make the investment we’d like.”
YouGov BrandIndex data shows perception of the HMV brand remains broadly positive despite its financial problems. Its Index score – a net average of how customers rate the brand in terms of impression, quality, value, reputation, satisfaction and whether they would recommend it – currently stands at 11.8, down slightly from 12.8 registered 12 months ago.
However, its Buzz score – a net balance of negative and positive comments consumers have heard about a brand – has suffered from the negative headlines about its financial difficulties, dropping to -6.56 from 13.09 12 months ago.
