Consumer & Market Trends

At your convenience

Marketing Week

Ease and speed of purchase are driving online shopping at the expense of traditional channels, but the process is sidelining brands, which are being bypassed by consumers intent on a quick click

Mission Implausible

Marketing Week

Business gurus love them, but a mission statement that’s badly thought out can come back to haunt you, says Chris Ingram I have been studying the strange world of mission statements. You may think I should get out more, but I embarked on this analysis because it seemed like a classic area for marketing folk […]

Spreading only so far

Marketing Week

The launch of an easier-to-spread variant was intended to increase consumption of the iconic spread, but the ‘love it or hate it’ factor limits its appeal, says Caroline Parry Love it or hate it, Marmite has become one of the most iconic brands in the UK. Unilever Foods has owned the brand since 2000 and […]

Turning the corner

Marketing Week

Despite more bad news for ITV and GCap Media, big investors are starting to show an interest as they sense an opportunity to buy big. By David Forster. There is a stock market adage that the best time to buy a falling share is when the last buyer capitulates and turns bearish – the rationale […]

Good (and bad) vibrations

Marketing Week

When a disgruntled member of staff interacts with customers, the result in Little Britain terms can be ‘computer says no’ – which makes encouraging positive attitudes that much more important. Carphone Warehouse chief executive Charles Dunstone says the recent launch of his brand’s broadband service has been a “painful” experience (MW last week). And it […]

Plus 柠change…

Marketing Week

Today’s marketer works in a rapidly evolving landscape dominated by new media, strict legislation, green issues and small budgets, but some things stay the same – women rarely reach board level

Search’s disappearing act

Marketing Week

Search engines are changing the way they compose their lists bad news for marketers with a multiple brand portfolio, says Siobhan Tyrell. Multiple brand management can be a marketing tightrope trick at the best of times. But a new dimension to that perennial question – who or what defines a brand – has marketers tottering […]