Look at your brand from the customer’s perspective, not the other way round
Mark RitsonResponses to the Queen’s death show marketers think brands have a place in consumers’ lives. You’ll be more effective if you recognise their insignificance.
Mark Ritson
Brands take note: The purpose of purpose is purpose
Mark RitsonMarketers are still fixated on the notion that purpose drives growth, when the whole point is that for most brands it will cost money and require sacrifice. Just look at Patagonia.
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Marketers should pay more attention to attention
Mark RitsonThere’s ample evidence that longer dwell time on ads raises brand recall and choice, so ignore Byron Sharp’s claims that you shouldn’t pay for more attention.
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The best way to make your brand vulnerable to private label is to commodify it
Mark RitsonAs money gets tight the popularity of supermarket own labels will only increase, so the single most effective thing any marketer can do to protect their brand is build it.
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Crown Paints’ ‘Hannah and Dave’ ad may be sexist, but it’s also salient
Mark RitsonWhile some found offence in the ad, perhaps justifiably, what’s certain is that the controversy will boost brand recognition and, ultimately, sales.
You can’t beat TikTok by becoming its clone
Mark RitsonOur marketing columnist examines the underwhelming response of the major social media brands to the TikTok threat and explores the perils of competitor orientation.
New media platforms shouldn’t play by old media rules
Mark RitsonData suggests creating assets specifically for each channel is more effective than repurposing them, so podcasts and streaming platforms shouldn’t look to radio and TV for their ad formats.
Do you have a strategy worthy of a brief? These three questions will tell you
Mark RitsonNew research shows marketers are terrible at briefing agencies. To start putting that right, ask yourself whether your marketing strategy meets these criteria.
Can you achieve long and short at the same time? Usually, no
Mark RitsonIt’s appealing to fulfil brand and sales objectives in one execution, but they’re so different that you’ll probably fail at both.
Ritson’s 10 marketing hacks to help small businesses go big
Charlotte RogersFrom a new recipe for pic n’ mix comms, to making extreme choices, Mark Ritson shares his marketing twists that can help SMEs get big brand outcomes.
The seven things marketers need to know in order to answer The Question
Mark RitsonRight-minded marketers understand the need for long-term brand building investment, but most still question how they can convince those above them. Here’s how you do it.
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‘Bothism’ is the cure for marketers’ fascination with pointless conflict
Mark RitsonMarketing theory is a constant battle between opposing viewpoints, but an open mind and accurate data set will show you usually need to adopt both perspectives.
And the winner of campaign of the year is…
Mark RitsonGreat diagnosis, smart insight, clever use of media and inventive execution, Sheba’s ‘4am Stories’ is a masterclass in simple but highly effective marketing.
Christmas advertising is drowning in marketers’ fake tears
Mark RitsonChristmas 2021 is shaping up to be an exercise in hyper-emotional brand bullshit, with Coca-Cola even choosing to edit itself out of its own campaign. But don’t worry, the holidays are still coming.
P&G and Coke’s pandemic performances prove it: You don’t cut ad spend in a crisis
Mark RitsonProcter & Gamble doubled down on marketing when Covid hit, while Coca-Cola went dark. The former’s revenues surged, the latter’s dwindled, and Ehrenberg-Bass data now proves if you stop advertising you lose sales.
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Amazon is the perfect example of why big brands need to advertise
Mark RitsonAmazon now tops the global ad spend charts, despite founder Jeff Bezos’s original scepticism towards advertising – not surprising, since it’s crucial for defending market share.
Ritson’s recession playbook: 9 steps marketers should take to survive the dark times ahead
Mark RitsonFrom retaining a long-term view and the importance of excess share of voice to making strategic changes to positioning and saying no to failure, our columnist spells out how brands can navigate recession.
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Volkswagen is right to put profit before sales
Mark RitsonThere are two paths brands can follow – one leads to sales while the other points to profitability, and the latter is invariably the right one to choose.
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At times of war marketing is rendered superficial and ridiculous
Mark RitsonGiven what’s happening in the world right now marketing really doesn’t matter, but there are ways brands can respond without appearing tone deaf.
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The horror of marketers’ strategic bankruptcy is about to be laid bare
Mark RitsonAs the Better Briefs Project will reveal this week, 90% of marketers fail to brief agencies effectively, and their failures begin with a total lack of strategy.
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Transforming logos for Pride has lost brand impact and become ‘rainbow-washing’
Mark RitsonWith more brands altering their distinctive assets more frequently, often for the same reason and at the same time, code play is becoming far less effective.
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Brand might slyly alter human truth: How brand image changes perceptions of reality
Mark RitsonThe nature of reality, and how brands influence our perception of it, is the unusually metaphysical topic of our marketing columnist’s thoughts this week.
Ritson on the UK’s top 10 sonic brands
Marketing Week ReportersFrom Autoglass to Netflix to Just Eat, Mark Ritson explores the brands with the most effective sonic assets.
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If you’ve never heard of ‘anthimeria’, Google it before you end up like Kärcher
Mark RitsonCourtesy of French politics, Kärcher is the latest brand to find out that becoming synonymous with your category is a double-edged sword.
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Suffering from impostor syndrome? The cure is simpler than you think
Mark RitsonMarketers are prone to impostor syndrome, but solid training and a more realistic view of your peers’ achievements will show your worries are unfounded.
Brands staying in Russia are making a statement of support for Putin
Mark RitsonBrands that continue to do business in Russia deserve no platform in our industry, our columnist argues.
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Welcome to the new normal, it’s the same as the old one
Mark RitsonDespite dire predictions of Covid-driven decline for some sectors and exponential growth for others, we’re largely where we would have been if it had never happened.
Musicians like Neil Young lack the market power to force Spotify’s hand over Joe Rogan
Mark RitsonThe asymmetry between millions of available songs and the five companies dominating streaming means no artist can put Spotify in a corner.
It may be tainted, but don’t underestimate the power of brand love
Mark RitsonAlthough the concept of ‘brand love’ was overused and went out of fashion, it remains an insightful way to consider consumers’ attitudes towards brands.
If you don’t invest 5% of your budget in research, you don’t know what you’re doing
Mark RitsonThe BBC’s decision to invest heavily in research should be celebrated by us all and noted by marketers. Investing 5% of your budget in market research is not superfluous, it’s key to understanding customers, serving them better and growing your business.
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To win the biggest legal battle in marketing, Google must show who its competition really is
Mark RitsonGoogle might have an 80% share of the search market, but as the investigation by the US Department of Justice will no doubt show there are now many more ways people find information online.
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Seven reasons why TV’s doubters are wrong
Mark RitsonOfcom’s latest data yet again shows why TV should be at the top of most big brands’ media plans, yet some marketers insist on ignoring the facts. Here are the answers to their most common quibbles.
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Tom Kerridge’s prices aren’t a rip-off if they’re what the market will pay
Mark RitsonForget worshipping at the altar of revenue. Marketers who take a leaf out of Tom Kerridge’s book and embrace pricing power will find the surest route to profitability.
Follow The National Lottery’s example: Don’t rebrand, revitalise
Mark RitsonWhen brands struggle, marketers’ first thought is a rebrand or repositioning, but by going back to its roots you can boost sales and retain brand equity cost-effectively.
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John Lewis the landlord? Welcome to brand extension nirvana
Mark RitsonEven if John Lewis cocks up in its bid to rent homes to the masses, the blowback on its department store business will be limited – even non-existent – thanks to the magic of brand extension.
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Damaging brand image is rarely harmful because it matters so little
Mark RitsonMarketers should worry less about their carefully crafted brand image and take more risks because, as brands such as Porsche, Volvo and Ben & Jerry’s show, consumers don’t care about what they stand for.
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Three axioms and three questions that summarise all of brand strategy
Mark RitsonBrand strategy is not complicated, it’s just the systematic application of the basics all marketers are taught. Here’s a simple way to be sure you’re taking the right steps – in the right order.
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It’s time for ‘share of search’ to replace ‘share of voice’
Mark RitsonShare of voice is a key metric for setting budgets and predicting growth, but digital media make it impossible to calculate accurately. Understanding your share of search queries is a simple and elegant alternative.
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Take Tesco’s lead, prepare for a recession that will dwarf the financial crash
Mark RitsonForget ‘U’s and ‘V’s, this recession will be F-shaped, and Tesco knows from the financial crash that all most brands and retailers can do is minimise their losses.
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WeWork’s IPO debacle highlights the failures of modern brand building
Mark RitsonMasquerading as a tech firm has done no favours for WeWork, neither have its premature brand extensions and over-inflated view of its own self-importance.
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For Omega and Swatch, the rewards of co-branding could be astronomical
Mark RitsonFar from cannibalising Omega’s luxury sales, the collaboration with Swatch on the £200 Moonswatch will breathe new life into both these sister brands.
An ethnography of pricing: How and why marketers should put up prices
Mark RitsonInflation means price increases are marketing’s number-one priority for 2022. But how many marketers are capable or even aware of the challenge ahead? Our columnist provides a handy cheat sheet for those who want to get it right.
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Good purpose, bad purpose: Marketers shouldn’t oversimplify the arguments
Mark RitsonBrand purpose campaigns underperform ‘traditional’ marketing on average, but for the right brands purpose will still be the most effective strategic choice.
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The Long and the Short of It maps exactly onto the challenges of global marketing
Mark RitsonThe boundaries between marketing teams’ responsibilities become clearer if you simply make long-term brand strategy a global job and short-term, targeted product activations a local one.
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Accenture Song is not a great rebrand, but it could be so much worse
Mark RitsonRebrands are usually a bad move, but despite the ridicule for Accenture Interactive becoming Accenture Song, there is just as much upside.
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Does Facebook’s corporate rebrand to ‘Meta’ prove the future is ‘beyond’ it?
Mark RitsonOur marketing columnist stayed up late in Tasmania and put his headset on for the Facebook Connect VR conference. But he came away unimpressed with the branding revelations that followed.
Adidas’s sale of Reebok makes strategic sense all round
Mark RitsonReebok hasn’t reached the heights of the 1980s and 90s since Adidas bought it in 2006, and its sale means Adidas can focus on its ‘branded house’ while new owner ABG has the skills to bring Reebok into its ‘house of brands’.
There’s no downside for Boohoo in buying Debenhams’ brand
Mark RitsonCritics might scorn the fit but consumers care little about corporate ownership, and acquiring the Debenhams brand at a knockdown price helps Boohoo target more profitable customers.
P&O is the rare reputation crisis that really does matter
Mark RitsonThe damage P&O Cruises has suffered from P&O Ferries’ mistakes cuts to the core of the business, and leaves the separately owned brand with four options.
Peloton has snatched victory from the jaws of death – again
Mark RitsonMr Big’s (spoiler alert) death after a Peloton ride in the latest Sex and the City spin-off had social media forecasting the brand’s doom, but it actually created greater mental availability for the brand – especially after Ryan Reynolds’ creative agency got involved.
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Trust in brands is illusory, just look at Facebook’s continued growth
Mark RitsonFacebook repeatedly ranks low in consumer trust surveys, yet user growth continues, revealing the idea of trust in brands as anthropomorphic nonsense.
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If an influencer’s what you want, find a 90-year-old with bad WiFi
Mark RitsonThere’s no influence like a customer’s, as AT&T found when nonagenarian Aaron Epstein placed an ad in the Wall Street Journal criticising its service.