The article ‘Marketers stress importance of offering value in 2012’, does a great job in highlighting a number of the challenges that marketers will face over the coming year. Being the oldest or the cheapest is no longer enough to differentiate you from the competition. Marketers need to be continually adding value and creating engaging […]
Your cover story, ‘Swimming against the tide of received wisdom’ (MW 5 January), explored the need to unleash the power of creativity to drive growth in stagnant markets and to employ more people at board level who truly understand human behaviour. While intuitively I applaud this, I’m critically aware that we run the risk of […]
BetNow, the instant text betting service, is to launch a television campaign next year.
When it comes to internal communications (’The vital connection between staff and the bottom line’, MW 10 November), social media and the intranet need to be balanced alongside other communication channels. In the same way, it is important to look at the balance of control. As Aviva’s Christy Stewart-Smith says, an internal communications strategy needs […]
Another week, another column by Mark Ritson on his rather one-sided opinions on the failings of social media (MW 24 November). What Mark and the TNS study fail to address is the type of messages that many brands put across on social media platforms. What will fail are those campaigns that don’t adopt the ’social’ […]
As a director with responsibility for HR at a marketing services agency, it’s fantastic news that the industry is striving to reduce unemployment through boosting opportunities for this younger age group (MW 24 November). Now is a vital time to invest in the future of our young people, who otherwise risk being forgotten. The marketing […]
We were delighted to see Sir Martin Sorrell highlighting the growing influence of marketers in companies in the years ahead (MWlinks.co.uk/SorrellPower). Marketers are uniquely positioned to help their businesses rise to the challenge of the tough economic climate but need the capabilities to do this and engage other functions in a more customer-focused agenda. While […]
Being able to bridge the public service gap is great news for brands (MW 24 November), adding a potential new string to their bow. But it is how they communicate this to consumers that will be the true test for brand marketing. Today’s brands struggle to compete with rivals based on product or service alone, […]
A recent study carried out by TNS suggests that six out of 10 Britons don’t want to engage with brands through social media (NMAlinks.co.uk/smengage) – a situation that is creating “mountains of digital waste”. However, research from KN Dimestore and SocialVibe found that 90% of consumers are actually happy to interact with an incentivised ad […]
Linking customer experience with profitability (MW 3 November) demands “bigger picture” thinking because when you talk to customers about what really matters to them you tend to get responses surrounding price and offers. However, this research can highlight true opportunities. One of the nuggets uncovered by our customer insight programme was that we should extend […]
In these testing times, it is a joy to hear from somebody who is upbeat about business prospects. A relatively junior member of our independent sector sales team had taken it upon himself to make sure that the marketing department was properly briefed on what he believes will be a key change to consumer behaviour […]
UK Gift Card and Voucher Association director general Andrew Johnson is absolutely right when he states that, for employers, cost savings are the main advantage of rewards delivered via email or mobile (MW 20 October). But it is vital to keep in mind the comment made by New Look head of business solutions Rob Froome […]
Wally Olins has a habit of getting it dead right. He’s done it again when he describes airlines as “cold, mechanistic and absolutely uninterested in their passengers” (MW last week). But airlines aren’t alone. When I look at so much of the post-sales communications I get from all sorts of companies, it’s the same: cold, […]
Editor Mark Choueke’s riposte to Guardian columnist George Monbiot’s negative view of the advertising industry written under the banner ’Advertising is a poison that demeans even love and we’re hooked on it’ generated a plethora of responses. Read Mark’s editorial atwww.mwlinks.co.uk/ToGeorgeMonbiot Monbiot’s views are the product of a quasi-Manichean belief that the world of commerce […]
Richard Madden hit the nail on the head with his article on brand trust (MW October 20). Banks are, of course, front of mind when we think of issues of trust and it’s great to see Sir Richard Branson announcing that ethics will be at the core of Virgin’s bid for Northern Rock we live […]