Insight can drive brand ambitions
In a week where well-known British brands have been involved in major business discussions, it would be an easy thing to forget about what marketers are thinking in these testing times.
Whilst the increase in market share potential for both T-Mobile and Cadbury from Kraft and Orange respectively has got the business analysts talking, the week has also seen an array of research being published.
It’s perhaps a sign that brands need to remember that the insight of ordinary consumers and their peers is worth a read, if only to ensure that they don’t make the mistakes that will lead to losing the engagement of their valuable customers.
It seems somewhat surprising that brands seem to be getting this part of their business so wrong, but not all companies are suffering. Pollsters Opinum Research have found that 53% of consumers will purchase from a brand if it has had good reviews from previous customers.
With news that the gloom in the economy is beginning to lift, market research data and the insight it can offer will help marketers to build their brands and enforce brand values on customers in a way that they will be happy to respond to.
Bearing that in mind, it’s perhaps disappointing that research and insight did not figure in the Marketing Society and Royal Mail’s research into the key focus areas for UK marketers over the next six months. Hopefully customer acquisition methods, which came out top, will be inspired by data collected from UK consumers.
Elsewhere, polls have unveiled how quickly brands can fall in and out of favour. An overwhelming 94% of Marketing Week readers backed Channel 4’s decision to axe Big Brother – once a hotbed of discussion in offices but nowadays a rather boring same-old-format show. Will BBC radio 2 come out favourably after Terry Wogan announced he is to step down as breakfast host? Vote online and let us know.
On the opposite side of the fence, Ferrari is heavily tipped to sign Santander as a sponsor, as a poll at the Top Gear Live exhibition reveals its car badge is the most iconic in the world.
It just goes to show how brand power can be lifted if customer insight is used correctly and campaigns are delivered positively off the back of it.
