Category: News

In The Register last month. Via ~this week in security~

The regulator ordered an unnamed website manager to strip Google Analytics out of their site, giving him a month to comply. It added: “Concerning the audience measurement and analysis services of a website, the CNIL recommends that these tools be used only to produce anonymous statistical data, thus allowing an exemption from consent if the data controller ensures that there are no illegal transfers.”

I see the beginning of a crack down

From The Guardian via Jonathan Pollinger

This month the advertising regulator named six social media celebrities, including Jodie Marsh and five former Love Island contestants, for repeatedly failing to tell followers when they were paid to promote products in posts.

Oops

“The market has blossomed, the influencer marketing market has doubled in two years and it’s very, very effective,” Lusty told MPs. “It’s much more powerful than traditional advertising techniques and it’s particularly powerful with younger people in persuading them to buy things.”

Recommendations from influencers (be they family, friends or online celebs) are incredibly powerful. It’s why referrals are often the top marketing source and the easiest prospects to sell to.

Watch Amber Atherton share why it is important to find people who don’t mirror your strengths but supplement your weaknesses.

Amber Atherton, boss of tech firm Zyper (recently bought by Discord), says you need staff who are good at things you might not be.

BBC News

Don’t be afraid to find people who have a different set of strengths from you.

Ecommerce, just like marketing, requires long-term investment to yield the best long-term results.

Promotion is the gasoline. The accelerant of not only sales, but brand essence. Yet, if you can’t control the experience, then a drop in price can lead to a drop of future brand value. It might even be better to hold back instead of leaping forward with the first discount that comes to hand.

Mediatel News

Think about the three Cs of Culture, Community and Commerce as you navigate your marketing funnel.

Even the big brands can sometimes get it wrong…

The infamous error, which is still remembered 35 years later as a spectacular failure, was the release of “New Coke” – which saw the formula of what was and is still the most popular soda in the world changed for the first time in 99 years.

According to Coca-Cola, the launch of the product, which was pushed aside for the return of the original recipe just 79 days later, “spawned consumer angst the likes of which no business has ever seen”.

However, to fully understand the scope of the mistake, the soda company insists that one must first take into context the factors that “shaped the launch decision”

Inside the recipe tweak which sparked nationwide backlash, Independent

Make sure you listen to your consumers and don’t be afraid to reach out to them to ask for feedback.

Has your business felt the impact of consumers being less impulsive and keen to spend?

The majority (63%) of global consumers say new behaviours adopted under lockdown now feel “normal”.

Brands are becoming less of a factor for 44% of global consumers when it comes to purchasing decisions, as the pandemic has aided consumers in learning to live with less and consume better.

There is less pressure for consumers to keep up with the latest gadgets and technology trends (41%)

Source: EY’s Future Consumer Index – By Marketing Week Reporters

Another example why making the effort to personalise your marketing can help make you stand out against your competitors.

Boasting a growing loyalty membership and subscription base, Pets at Home is investing significantly in personalisation in a bid to boost its marketing effectiveness.

During the past six months, Pets at Home has launched over 300 targeted marketing campaigns and claims to have experienced a threefold increase in “supplier-driven communications”, improving response rates and marketing efficacy.

Manny Pham, Marketing Week

In this post, you’ll learn how find actionable advice on video SEO best practices in order to give you a step-by-step guide to optimising your videos.

Here are some tips for optimizing your videos for YouTube’s Home Screen:

Upload new videos on a consistent basis to give your audience an expectation of when they can see more new content.

Keep viewers engaged for longer and encourage them to come back for more. Whether it’s with a long video or several short ones, the longer you keep people watching, the more your content is likely to get surfaced.

Keep doing what works. When you create something that’s working for your audience, do it again. YouTube surfaces more content that your viewers like. Don’t be afraid to experiment, but do so mindfully. Observe feedback from your audience and give them time to adjust.

George Jarboe, Search Engine Journal

YouTube announced last week that it is removing its ‘dislike’ counts on videos for public across its platform

In the instance of YouTube removing the dislike counts publicly, it’s good for all 3 stakeholders because it limits mass trolls that often videos can get, it allows creators to be more experimental with their content while not being afraid of backlash. For users the like button still serves as a way for them to know if a video has been appreciated while letting them form their own opinions.

At the same time, creators can still opt to view their dislikes privately so they can receive needed data driven feedback to know what’s working for them.

Karuna Sharma, Advertising & Media Insider

With YouTube disabling public dislike and Instagram testing time-outs, these influencers and agencies suggest more steps to building a safer space on the internet.

An interesting approach to help funnel your consumer’s decisions into getting a sale.

A study from Goldsmiths, University of London, says the psychology used by magicians to deceive audiences can also be used to influence consumer choices in other areas. The study, published in Trends in Cognitive Science, identifies different psychological tools used by magicians. In the same way that someone might be directed to choose the “right” card in a magic trick, so, too, we can be “nudged” towards buying products in the supermarket.

BBC News, Magicians’ tactics found in politics and marketing

By understanding a magicians’ technique in sculpting their audience’s decisions you too maybe able to encourage more consumers to chose your products.

Definitely worth a watch. Can also be found on iPlayer.

The story of the phenomenon of Air Jordan sneakers, showing their social, cultural and racial significance and how groundbreaking marketing strategies created a multi-billion-dollar business.

It is also a story with a dark side – manufacturer Nike’s high price tag and genius marketing strategy has fuelled a demand so high that since 1989, young people have killed and been killed for a pair of the famous sports shoes. Nike has turned a blind eye. This film is a parable of America’s dark love affair with consumer capitalism and celebrity culture.

BBC News, One man and his shoes

Focusing on several important aspects of Leadership, The Gloucestershire Growth Hub has organised a free two day workshop series featuring an outstanding line up of speakers, all experts in their field and they want to pass on what they know to you. 

Come along and learn from the best in the business. For Free.

The event, takes place on November 23-24 and will look specifically at the Four Cornerstones of Leadership, giving you practical tools and techniques to get your growth strategy on track for 2022 and beyond.

We’ll be digging deep with expert speakers and collaborative working to uncover successful leadership strategies on key themes:

• Resilience – Peter Milligan
• People – Elaine Warwicker
• Innovation – Dr David Dawson
• Marketing Strategy – Ben Kinnaird

Places are free, but limited. You can come in person and they’ll even treat you to lunch, or you can join online from the comfort of your office or kitchen table.

This post, on the Bromsgrove Speakers Club website, has some useful advice when presenting in public but they can also be used when presenting on video. Via David Wike.

Before we start, we need to acknowledge that there are barriers to effective verbal communication. A downbeat voice, not engaging with the audience and not appearing to be sincere in what we say, will prevent us from being an effective and persuasive presenter.

Increased consumer protection poses a unique set of challenges for marketers.

Brands and marketers must look beyond typical third-party data, like general demographics or the time users spend on a page, and understand the specific interests and objectives of their customers. The next generation of marketing will run on an intentional brand-to-consumer relationship where collaboration—likely in the form of sharing data and incentives between parties—will drive purchasing power. Consumers want relationships with the brands they prefer, but many companies don’t focus on building this type of loyalty. If marketers strategise and embrace these changes in data privacy, they can cultivate better customer relationships and brand loyalty.

By MarketingTech

The cookie is on the way out, and no, I don’t mean the dessert. Third-party data collection— “cookies” to most— lost their allure because consumers are skeptical and privacy laws are increasing.

The ICO recorded an average of 13,925 reports of nuisance calls, texts and emails received each month across the UK.

“This is not to say that all reports of nuisance contact have malicious undertones, but it is certainly something that end-users and business decision-makers must be aware of, particularly as the remote working climate has increased the cyber threat facing businesses.”

By MarketingTech

Make sure your marketing doesn’t fall into this category and that there is value in the contact you make to your customers.

Find a way to personalise the consumer journey without the need for unauthenticated device and browser IDs

It’s time to rebuild the modern-day ecosystem to transact on people-based identity and to move away from the third-party cookie. It’s time to build an ecosystem that is rooted in consumer trust and puts the consumer first. And, in a trusted ecosystem, this trust is expressed through a privacy-focused, transparent authentication experience.

By MarketingTech

Provide authentic value by offering a clear and fair exchange of information.

A new code of practice aimed at raising standards, smoothing relationships between industry participants, and delivering transparency for consumers.

Jill Dougan, ISBA executive committee chair and customer director, British Gas Energy said: “As marketing continues to evolve, it is vital we keep pace with new marketing channels and ensure they are being used honestly and authentically. Influencer marketing is a great way to reach and engage with customers but until now there has not been a common code that everyone involved adheres to.

By Asa Hiken

A valuable tool to anyone involved in influencer marketing.

Coca-Cola is inviting the world to celebrate the real magic of humanity in its first new global re-brand platform.

“Coca-Cola is refreshing the brand platform for its Coke trademark, as well as altering its logo design and launching a global campaign to support the revamp, according to a company blog post. This is the first brand refresh for Coke in five years.”

By Asa Hiken

It’s important to make a personal connection between your product and consumer.

After Christmas was effectively cancelled for many people last year, it’s predicted that consumers are planning to make up for it in 2021.

“This Christmas is set to be very different from the last, so to execute effective advertising campaigns brands must plan to peak at the right times, when consumers are most engaged with relevant content.

By Steve Hemsley

It’s never too early to get your festive marketing strategy in place.

A creative idea one NYC restaurant owner had to benefit from the capacity restrictions earlier this year.

‘The 35 percent capacity rule only applies to actual people. There are no stipulations at all about wax people, which is why, according to a press release, the “iconic steakhouse” has partnered with Madame Tussauds to “fill empty seats” with wax replicas of celebrities. “Diners are invited to toast with Jon Hamm at the bar, enjoy a moment of elegance with Audrey Hepburn, or share a laugh with Jimmy Fallon,” explains the press release, promising an “an unforgettable dining experience.” I believe this. I would never forget this dining experience, not in my waking life or in my dreams.’

Creative thinking at its best and a great opportunity for some PR.

‘Has it all gone too far? Are we losing the human connection? Consumers and brands are still figuring it all out, but when it comes to how businesses approach their relationships with customers, Houston, we have a problem. 

Customer experience, after all, is made up of a variety of touchpoints and interactions that a consumer has with a brand—its products, services, employees, even its cultural values—across multiple channels over the course of the relationship. Almost all of it is driven by emotion and how the customer feels about the experience. A PwC survey of 15,000 consumers found that one in three customers will leave a brand they love after just one bad experience.’

Marketing Dive, Hey marketing execs: People are human, not data points

We mustn’t forget how incredibly important it is to make the effort to personalise content and have that human touch when engaging our customer base.

Youtube have launched Youtube Shorts; a blog post from the tech giant reads:

‘Every month, 2 billion viewers come to YouTube to laugh, learn and connect. Creators have built entire businesses on YouTube, and we want to enable the next generation of mobile creators to also grow a community on YouTube with Shorts.”‘

‘User-generated short videos were born on YouTube starting with our first upload, a short 18-second video called ‘Me at the zoo.’ As technology advances, creators and artists can now take advantage of the incredible power of smartphones to easily create and publish high-quality content wherever they are in the world,” the YouTube post added.’

This is the first launch of the software and I’m excited to see how Youtube Shorts develops over the coming months. It will be interesting to see how businesses will start using more candid videography to promote their businesses.

Forrester’s report emerges alongside the ongoing debate on balancing the role of short-term direct response activity and long-term brand-building. Increasingly, the tendency to use short-term online metrics as primary performance measures will have implications for long-term brand success, as Mark Ritson’s recent article warns, with brand building techniques historically more intangible to measure and challenging to link to conversion.

‘If you look for returns from your marketing on a 12 month or shorter time scale, you will inevitably undervalue long-term brand building and move too much of your marketing investment into shorter-term tactical fare. This will result in superior ROI initially, but two very different stories will emerge over the next five years.’

Marketing Week, How the value of marketing has taken centre stage

The next 12 months is going to be interesting as marketers will held more accountable to justify and prove short and long-term effects of their campaigns.

Janine Sullivan, a freelance illustrator who attended my Growth Hub Video Strategy workshop recently, loved my presentation so much she drew out some of the slides. It’s so funky and ‘remarkable’ I had to share it.

‘I loved your presentation and the slides were all very positive hence why I drew them.’

Janine even created a video of her work using Giffy, perfectly demonstrating some of my ideas about repurposing content and creating something remarkable that people will be compelled to share.

‘I just wanted to say thank you for such an informative and helpful workshop.
…Your workshop was so positive I wanted to encapsulate it in a video.’

If you like Janine’s style checkout her Depop Shop where you can buy various accoutrements based on her drawings. My favourites are the ones of her whippet.

Stats from McKinsey on the changes and what this means for the future of online sales. Via Jonathan Pollinger.

More than three quarters of buyers and sellers say they now prefer digital self-serve and remote human engagement over face-to-face interactions—a sentiment that has steadily intensified even after lockdowns have ended.

Safety is one reason, of course. But self-serve and remote interactions have made it easier for buyers to get information, place orders, and arrange service, and customers have enjoyed that speed and convenience. Only about 20 percent of B2B buyers say they hope to return to in-person sales, even in sectors where field-sales models have traditionally dominated, such as pharma and medical products.

I enjoy in-person contact for connecting and relationship building but buying online is almost always easier especially for repeat purchases. Also where it reduces the need for travel I’m all for it.