The Marketing Week – 5/7/2013

Welcome to The Marketing Week, your guide to the good, the bad and the ugly in the marketing industry over the last seven days.

CAMPAIGN OF THE WEEK

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iMzgl0nFj3s

O2 is on to a winner with its latest ad campaign. You can’t go wrong with both dogs and cats in one ad. Encouraging us all to “be more dog” and live life to the full as part of its 4G campaign, it features an aloof, indifferent cat deciding to live more like a dog. It runs, chases cars fetches sticks and catches frisbees. Amazing. The digital element that lets users create “dog bombs” for friends is a nice idea but could be executed better but the concept is great. Animals in ads seems to be the latest fad and O2’s effort follows rival Three’s dancing pony ad. While it may not have longevity it certainly latches onto a popular trend. 

GOOD WEEK BAD WEEK

Good week for….Social Media

Social Media

Marketers’ ongoing efforts to connect the dots between social media engagement and that elusive return on investment were given a filip this week in the form of a new study. Research from the IAB Social Media Council, revealed even the smallest social media interactions between brands and consumers can drive major uplifts in sentiment, engagement and brand loyalty. It found nine out of 10 consumers would recommend a brand after interacting with it on social media. With debate still swirling around whether influence marketing can generate measurable returns, the findings reveal the growing practice of how it can impact purchase decisions instead of simply driving brand awareness.

Bad week for…..Samsung

samsung-s4-product-2013-304

The Electronics giant’s major marketing blitz for its much-hyped Galaxy S4 smartphone was not enough to boost preference for the brand in a crowded market. Samsung posted weaker than expected quarterly profit projections as heavy marketing costs for its latest flagship device weighed on its margins. The forecast has sparked concerns from analysts, despite its outlook representing a 47 per cent increase year-on-year and an 8.2 per cent rise on the previous quarter. Samsung has been bullish in the past about its ability to consistently set and hit high targets, but the latest news suggests it could soon come under threat from more innovative players.

INTERNATIONAL NEWS

Want rice with your Big Mac? McDonald’s is to adds rice to its menus in China to better appeal to local tastes. From next week the fast food giant’s 1,700 Chinese outlets offer beef and chicken wraps with rice dishes similar to its operations in other locations in the Far East.

Adidas has debuted its virtual footwear wall in South East Asia to enhance the immersive experience of its retail experience. The German sportswear giant launched the interactive wall in Singapore earlier this week which uses touchscreen technology to allow consumers to learn more about its products.

adidas-adiverse-shopping-wall-2013-460

ONE TO WATCH

Mobile video ad network YuMe is to join rivals Millennial Media and Tremor Video in making an initial public offering (IPO) in a sign of the growing emergence automated trading of ad slots online. Earlier this week US-based YuMe filed for a $65m (£43m) IPO describing itself as an “emerging growth company”  that was “redefining TV brand advertising”.

TWEETS

@zeldman Jeffrey Zeldman – founder of design agency Happy Cog.
“Yahoo wants to be Google, Google wants to be Facebook, Facebook wants to be Twitter, and Twitter wants to be anything but what it’s good at.”
 
@mitchjoel Mitch Joel – president of digital marketing agency Twist Image
“With all of this cool, amazing and new stuff you can do with marketing, what about just pushing the sale?”
 
@mattsingley Matt Singley – chief executive of Singley and Mackie
In customer service, I think it’s important to ask the complaining party what outcome they want. It’s amazing how many don’t know.
 
@BarrettAll Jeff Barrett – chief executive of media and PR agency Status Creative
Motorola calls Moto X the ‘first smartphone you can design yourself’ in new ad. Mine is going to be a hoverboard.

DATES FOR YOUR DIARY

  • July 5 – Silicon Drinkabout. The weekly meet-up for Silicon Roundabout’s emerging talent takes place this week at Salvation Jane where marketers can potentially mix with the ‘next Mark Zuckerberg’ in an informal setting.
  • July 7-11 – Microsoft’s worldwide developer conference. The digital giant will make further overtures to developers to keep apace with Apple’s iOS and Google’s Android ecosystems.
  • July 8 – United to announce its latest global sponsor.
  • July 9 – HP are hosting a private concert at Fabric nightclub with special guest rapper Iggy Azalea.
  • July 11 – Yahoo is hosting a breakfast roundtable to discuss how brands can make sponsorship work on and off line.

Recommended

Mark Ritson

‘Brazillians are rallying the ad slogan for their fight’

Tina Desai

Consumer culture. It’s one of the most used and yet least understood concepts in the modern lexicon. It’s a phrase usually wheeled out when society is deemed to be spending too much or to describe the proliferation of brands on the high street. But the concept of consumer culture and its implications for society are far more complex and important than that.

Branwell Johnson

‘We all have a vested interest to overthrow the marketing status quo’

Branwell Johnson

An embarrassment of riches. That’s the perfect phrase to sum up all the learnings and insights delivered by more than 200 speaker sessions at Marketing Week Live (MWL) last week. Hundreds of marketers gathered to hear the latest thinking on strategy and innovation and meet suppliers that could provide clever solutions – all with the aim of helping brands gain that vital competitive edge.