If you haven’t heard, Bavaria beer has been basking in headlines, this week, after grabbing attention when it planted 36 women clad in orange mini-dresses in the crowd at Monday’s game. Bavaria tried something similar at the last World Cup (but with 120,000 pairs of orange lederhosen) and this is just the latest example of ‘ambush marketing’ – a tactic steadily growing in popularity and ambition as mischievous brands try to gatecrash major events for free.
The risk of brands piggybacking on the London 2012 Olympics, without being an official sponsorship, has already got its organisers worried. Ever since the bid was won they’ve been locking down advertising boards and getting laws passed to restrict what combination of words brands can say.
So is ambush marketing merely plucky opportunism? Or does it threaten the ability of event organisers to attract sponsors?
As Bavaria beer’s tactic demonstrated, ambush marketing can be an effective way of getting attention when it’s done creatively and people see it as a bit of fun. But it can also backfire and damage your brand’s image if you tread on too many toes…
Examples of ambush marketing campaigns
Nike causes an advertising exclusion zone
Nike has a long history of using mischievous tactics to steal the limelight from its rivals. Despite not being official sponsors, at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics Nike built a huge retail outlet just outside the official Olympic village and covered the city’s billboards with their advertising. They repeated the same tactic at both Euro 96 and the France 98 before both UEFA and the IOC banned anyone from advertising within a 1.3 mile radius of stadiums, forcing official sponsors to buy up all the billboard space instead.
FHM hijacks the race for London Mayor
Back in 1999 lads’ mag FHM used interest in the race for London Mayor to promote its annual ‘100 Sexiest Women’ issue. It released a series of posters featuring popular FHM pinups with cheeky slogans mirroring those used in the political race. The campaign’s final touch was to project a naked Gail Porter onto the House of Commons. Suffice to say, the stunt earned FHM mainstream coverage and the issue featuring Gail Porter sold out within two weeks.
Red Bull tries to clip Monster Energy’s wings
Whilst this isn’t strictly ‘ambush marketing’, it does demonstrate how covert marketing tactics can backfire. After being replaced by Monster Energy as a drinks supplier to JD Wetherspoon, Red Bull hatched a plot to win the contract back. The plan was for ‘wings girls’ to smuggle cans of Red Bull into JDW bars and then leave them behind to suggest to managers that customers were unhappy with the change of drink. When the plot was uncovered Red Bull blamed it on ‘overzealous junior employees’ whilst JDW accused it of ‘behaving like a rejected teenager.’ Not the best publicity.
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BDA (Buckingham Design Associates) blog – real people giving real opinions, and a complete lack of agency waffle. BDA deliver an exciting blend of design and creative marketing for the Oxford, Milton Keynes, Northampton and London region.
The World Cup’s Choice of Sponsors Sends a Muddled Message
If you hadn’t noticed from the deluge of patriotic themed TV ads, the World Cup is upon us and is set to be the biggest cash bonanza ever.
In fact, its organisers hope to swell their pockets with a sweet $1 billion from TV rights, marketing and merchandise by the time the final whistle has blown. But it’s not been all plain sailing, with their choice of sponsors coming into question.
Campaigners say that having McDonalds, Budweiser and Coca Cola is counterproductive to the World Cup’s ability to inspire active, healthy lifestyles in our youth and combat childhood obesity. And I tend to agree with them.
Whilst the Cup’s organisers are well within their rights to secure the most lucrative deals, I think they should have considered the impact having sponsors with negative associations will have on the World Cup’s brand message.
The benefits of event sponsorship
Sponsoring an event can be marketing gold. It can:
Raise brand awareness, credibility and prestige
Link the positive associations people have of an event with your brand
Reach your target audience in an unobtrusive way
Gain social currency as being seen as helping an event to take place
Capitalise on consumer interest in the event
Influence people’s buying behaviour and increase sales
Whilst event sponsorship is great for brands, event organisers should consider whether their sponsors are relevant and support the image the want to promote.
Yes, the World Cup’s organisers will reap in millions, which can go towards improving the event taking place and fund future development projects. But will having unhealthy products associated dampen the World Cup’s image in people’s minds?
When people see the McDonalds logo emblazoned on posters of football’s greatest players will it inspire thoughts of athleticism, skill and determination? Or will it conjure images of couch potatoes sat at home gorging on fast food and beer whilst watching the football?
Developing a brand message is a complicated business. Careful consideration is needed of every facet and factor that contributes to how it’s perceived. I have to wonder whether the World Cup’s organisers considered this when choosing their sponsors, or just chose those waving the fattest cheque?
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BDA (Buckingham Design Associates) blog – real people giving real opinions, and a complete lack of agency waffle. BDA deliver an exciting blend of design and creative marketing for the Oxford, Milton Keynes, Northampton and London region.
Are You Ready for the Boom in Online Video Advertising?
Online video is fast evolving from clips of skateboarding pets on YouTube and into a mainstream activity. In January 2009 29.6 million people (8 out of 10 internet users) watched a combined 280 million hours of online video in the UK alone (comscore).
With Project Canvas, Google TV and a souped up YouTube on the way, the demand for online video content is set to explode. This offers a great opportunity for marketers to engage with customers in a highly measurable and engaging way.
The benefits of online video advertising
Online video advertising offers a number of unique benefits over TV:
Measurability – You can track every impression, click through, interaction and the amount of time people spend watching your ads. This makes it easier to gauge the success of your campaign, rather than having to rely on fuzzy metrics, such as brand uplift and message association.
Engagement – During the TV ad break you have to compete with people flicking channels, making the tea or fast forwarding your ads altogether. However, on the internet people are choosing to watch your video. This means they don’t feel like they’re being marketed to and are 100% engaged with your message.
Interactivity – Viewers can click on links whilst the video is playing for product information and they can even buy it before the ad has finished. Powerade’s The Never-ending Game world cup themed ad is a great example of how you can build interactivity into online video.
Viral marketing – Thanks to social media, people can spread videos virally and do a lot of the leg work for you. The global popularity of Cadbury’s Gorilla YouTube video, which was originally just aimed at the UK, is a textbook example.
Be innovative to get the most out of online video
Online video requires a slightly different approach to delivering 30 second commercials. If people think they’re being blatantly sold to, you’re ad is only a mouse click away from failure. So you need to provide online video’s that are interesting, funny or informative in exchange for your target viewer’s attention.
At bda we love Blentec’s Will it Blend? series of video ads. We think they’re a perfect example of how you can create cost effective ads that showcase your product and entertain viewers at the same time.
BDA (Buckingham Design Associates) blog – real people giving real opinions, and a complete lack of agency waffle. BDA deliver an exciting blend of design and creative marketing for the Oxford, Milton Keynes, Northampton and London region.
It might be little more than six words long, but a strapline is as important to your brand’s identity as your logo. It should reflect your values, your expertise and what you have to offer customers. With so much to fit in so few words, thinking up straplines isn’t easy. Get it wrong and it could dampen your image for years, which is why brands will happily spend a king’s ransom to get it right.
M&S’s latest slogan, ‘Just Because’, is currently under the marketing spotlight after the supermarket chain revamped its food advertising. Whilst everyone agrees an update was needed, with its old ‘food porn’ ads now so frequently parodied they can no longer be taken seriously, opinions are divided on the ‘Just because’ slogan. Does it make M&S sound special? Or does it fail to differentiate it enough from its competitors?
Personally, I think it sounds more like something you’d say to an overly inquisitive child than an assertion of quality. But then, I’m sure M&S have done their research.
Strapline writing tips
Your strapline should be memorable, catchy and creative. Oh, and did I mention it shouldn’t be more than six words? So as you can imagine, creating an inspiring strapline that builds confidence in your brand is no mean feat.
So how do you go about it? Well, a good place to start is to jot down a list of words that describe your business and another list on what benefits you offer to customers. Then try mixing and matching words and ideas to mould a concise, punchy sentence that reflects your brand’s identity. Easier said than done, I know.
But before you go plastering your favourite creation all over your stationary, test it out on customers and suppliers first. They’ll be able to tell you whether they think it reflects what your brand is all about, or whether you need some more brainstorming.
A few of bda’s favourites:
Nike ‘Just Do It’ – As concise a projection of brand values as you’re ever likely to hear
Stella Artois ‘Reassuringly Expensive’ – A great example of using a high price as a USP
Ronseal ‘It does exactly what it says on the tin’ – A no nonsense appeal to its practically minded target customer
De Beers ‘A diamond is forever’ – A persuasive sales argument that emphasizes the timelessness of its product
Heinz ‘Beanz Meinz Heinz’ –Written over two pints of beer in 1967. It went on to become one of the best known straplines in advertising, and was even wheeled out and used in a campaign only last year.
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BDA (Buckingham Design Associates) blog – real people giving real opinions, and a complete lack of agency waffle. BDA deliver an exciting blend of design and creative marketing for the Oxford, Milton Keynes, Northampton and London region.
Christmas is fast approaching, and with it the rush to get to the shops. But with all the traffic and crowds, you’d be forgiven for staying away and buying your gifts online. Well, this year you can visit some of London’s top retailers from the comfort of home thanks to a new virtual world called NearLondon.
NearLondon offers laser scanned 3D recreations of Oxford St, Regent St and Bond St, with more streets to follow. Many top retailers have signed up to advertise their wares, although they’re currently limited to selling from a shop window. But as NearLondon evolves they’ll be able to house fashion shows, interactive games and virtual concerts in their branded stores.
Does this all sound familiar? Well, NearLondon’s creators have been at pains to point out it isn’t another Second Life, and for good reason too…
Second Life – Not dead, just evolving
It was only two years ago that Second Life was basking in the media spotlight as brands, businesses and even nations rushed to grab their piece of online real estate. In fact, the number of people joining jumped from 450,000 to 4 million in just one year.
But unfortunately Second Life just wasn’t accessible enough for most people, and failed to attract the numbers needed to make it a successful marketing platform. The branded shops and buildings became ghost towns when the crowds failed to materialise and the buzz fizzled out. In many brand managers’ eyes, Second Life is now dead.
However, the site still attracts a million regular users and is now being touted as a platform for online collaboration, virtual meetings and a teaching tool. But it remains to be seen whether Second Life will ever attract the numbers needed to tempt brands back to what was, for many, an expensive experiment.
Will NearLondon be different?
The fact that NearLondon’s creators are already talking about a NearNewYork and NearTokyo shows they’ve got big plans. But will they be able to attract enough shoppers to keep the brands happy?
Criticisms of Second Life have been its awkward controls and the cartoony graphics. In NearLondon, however, you just click around the screen to explore London’s streets which are rendered in detailed 3D graphics similar to the latest video games.
NearLondon is currently on limited release, with software disks to be handed out in London next Monday. Whether it can compete with the buzz and physicality of the real world shopping experience remains to be seen. But it’s certainly another step towards delivering more innovative branded experiences in the digital world.
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BDA (Buckingham Design Associates) blog – real people giving real opinions, and a complete lack of agency waffle. BDA deliver an exciting blend of design and creative marketing for the Oxford, Milton Keynes, Northampton and London region.
Is Your Marketing Appealing Enough to Women?
Posted by david on Wednesday, September 30th, 2009
Advertising agencies are notoriously male dominated, which is a problem when the majority of your customers are female. The fact is that rising female spending power is causing a shift in how products are designed and sold. And it will be those able to deliver marketing that’s appealing to women who’ll prosper. Those who continue to think we only live in a man’s world will fade away.
A few facts:
85% of US household purchase decisions are made by women (National Federation of Woman Business Owners)
Women spend 10% more on the internet than men (Verdict Research)
91% of women say ‘advertisers don’t understand us’ (Martha Barletta, in ‘Marketing to Women’)
The web turns female
At ad:tech London, this week, a consultant from trend forecasters The Future Laboratory announced that the web turned female last year, meaning that there are now more female users than men.
So with female spending power, influence on buying decisions and prevalence on the web on the rise, marketers must consider whether their campaigns need to be adjusted.
How can marketing be made more appealing to women?
Does marketing need to be made more feminine?
Well, according to Martha Barletta, in ‘Marketing to Women’:
“Men and women don’t communicate the same way, and they don’t buy for the same reasons…He simply wants the transaction to take place. She’s interested in creating a relationship.”
Other experts on feminine marketing have suggested that women take longer to reach buying decisions than men. They tend to research more and are less influenced by advertising. This means marketing needs to find subtler approaches.
Word of mouth marketing
When discussing feminine marketing, Tarek Mady (chair of the Marketing Department at the American University in Dubai) said:
“Women are the most powerful brand builders and the most dangerous brand killers due to their tendencies towards information sharing…In Dubai they are six times more likely to use word of mouth than men because by nature, people talk about products they are satisfied with.”
Perhaps the rise of the female shopper means it’s time to focus even more closely on subtle approaches, such as word of mouth and viral campaigns, rather than traditional advertising.
When it comes to feminine marketing the trap is falling into dated stereotypes, delivering marketing that’s patronising and treating all women as a single segment. So creating campaigns that are more appealing to women certainly poses a challenge, but it’s one marketers can’t afford to ignore.
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BDA (Buckingham Design Associates) blog – real people giving real opinions, and a complete lack of agency waffle. BDA deliver an exciting blend of design and creative marketing for the Oxford, Milton Keynes, Northampton and London region.
ITV and Twitter Attempt to Solve the Advertising Puzzle
How can you make money from a user base that hates advertising and doesn’t want to pay for content?
Well, that’s a puzzle all media companies seem to be struggling with at the moment. Whether it’s newspapers, commercial TV or Facebook, no one has yet worked out how to monetise content with advertising people are happy to receive.
But that doesn’t stop them trying…
ITV gets the law changed
Commercial TV has, at least, been thrown a lifeline (albeit a thin one).
Almost exactly a year ago we discussed on the bda blog ITV’s ill fated experiments with ad overlay technology, which could have had viewers spitting out their tea when ghostly slogans started appearing on walls and on people’s foreheads. Thankfully these experiments are unlikely to reach our screens now that product placement on TV has been given a tentative green light.
It’s predicted that product placement could earn UK commercial TV companies £125 million a year. Whilst mere pocket change compared to total TV ad revenue of nearly £3 bn, the decision to allow product placement reflects how advertising has to become more inventive if it’s going to survive in our anti-ads culture.
UK commercial broadcasters will have to tread carefully though. They don’t want to shoehorn too many mentions of Aston Martins and lingering shots of iPhones into the script. Any product placements will need to be done subtly, otherwise viewers will vote with their remotes.
Twitter changes its user agreement
Finding the right balance in how many times you mention brand names is something ITV and Twitter have in common following Twitter’s announcement of changes to its user agreement, which “leave the door open for advertising” to its 45 million users.
Grumbles of discontent at the news are already spreading on blogs, in forums and on Twitter itself. So Twitter, just like ITV, will have to be careful in how it introduces its new advertising model. It will need to find a way of delivering ads people are at least accepting of, in exchange for a service they value.
As with all marketing, the answer lies in delivering advertising in a way that’s useful, relevant and welcomed. But unfortunately this is a puzzle few, if any, have been able to solve.
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BDA (Buckingham Design Associates) blog – real people giving real opinions, and a complete lack of agency waffle. BDA deliver an exciting blend of design and creative marketing for the Oxford, Milton Keynes, Northampton and London region.
What Someone Should Tell Facebook about using People’s Data
Facebook continues to be an untapped goldmine struggling to extract cash from its users. People love the service, but aren’t prepared to pay for it.
So advertising remains Facebook’s main source of income. But in its rush to deliver targeted, contextual ads using its members’ data, Facebook needs to be careful it doesn’t upset its users in the process.
And it’s not just its own advertising Facebook needs to be concerned about.
People consider personal data private
It’s no secret that whenever you take part in a quiz or download an app you’re handing over your personal information, and that of your friends, to Facebook’s third party developers.
What they then do with your info is anyone’s guess. But it’s unlikely they create quizzes and apps for your entertainment when there’s money to be made.
In fact, it’s predicted that Facebook’s developer community could soon be earning more than the site itself. It’s estimated this year they could pocket a combined $300-$500 million from sales of virtual goods (e.g. tommy guns in Mafia Wars and poker chips), branded sponsorship and, of course, advertising.
The problem is that some of these developers are misusing people’s personal information. And Facebook needs to step in before the abuse gets out of hand.
Misusing customer data will lose their trust
Facebook is already facing a spate of privacy lawsuits, cases of applications recording people’s login details and a man seeing his wife advertised as a ‘hot single’. And recently a number of applications had to be suspended for flouting Facebook’s user privacy policy.
So Facebook does, indeed, appear to be at a crossroads: it can either start doing more to protect how its members’ data is used or risk losing their trust and loyalty. You only have to look at the demise of Friends Reunited and falling popularity of MySpace to know how quickly fickle online crowds can move onto the next big thing.
Last week, Facebook announced it would be making some changes to give its users more control over their data. In the future, developers will have to specify what information their applications need to use and users will also be able to block applications from scraping their friends’ profiles.
But it will take at least a year before these changes come into effect. So Facebook will be hoping that, in the meantime, there aren’t more cases of people’s private data being misused. Or there might be a rush of its members logging out for good.
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BDA (Buckingham Design Associates) blog – real people giving real opinions, and a complete lack of agency waffle. BDA deliver an exciting blend of design and creative marketing for the Oxford, Milton Keynes, Northampton and London region.
Why a Lower Adwords Position Can Increase Your Website’s Conversion Rate
Google has been ruffling a few feathers recently after announcing on its Adwords blog that the position your ad appears in the search results doesn’t affect its conversion rate. Its research suggests that whether your ad appears at the top of the page or the bottom the likelihood of people taking action on your website remains the same.
This news has been greeted by a mixture of shrugged shoulders and furrowed brows. Some people wonder why this is even news, whilst others are annoyed at Google’s subtle marketing ploy. Because Google’s research could be interpreted as suggesting the only way to improve your website’s sales is to attract more traffic, which means getting sucked into a bidding war for the top positions.
So is Google correct and the conversion rate remains the same wherever your ad is placed? Or can its position and content be optimised to attract a higher proportion of buyers, rather than browsers?
Who cares about clicks? Send me customers!
Many big companies buy up the top positions for generic terms as part of a branding strategy. They want you to find their website as soon as possible so you can register and bookmark it, even if you’re not yet ready.
This strategy is fine if you’re happy to throw £1000s at Google Adwords everyday. But if you’ve a limited budget, chasing after the top position might not offer you the best return.
Most people initially search the web for information. So if your ad is in top position you’ll attract a lot of browsers at the early info gathering stage.
If your ad appears lower down you’re going to attract fewer clicks. But the clicks you do receive will be from people who’ve scrolled down the page, which suggests they’ve progressed further along the research stage and are closer to buying.
So an ad in 7th or 8th position might attract fewer clicks than those at the top. But, potentially, a higher proportion of those clicks will be from people who’ve picked out your ad for a specific reason. So managing your bids to appear further down the page could offer you a better return on your Adwords investment than fighting an expensive war for top position.
To increase your conversion rate it can also help if your ad is targeted at specific prospects, rather than as many people as possible.
How can my Google Ad be better targeted at buyers?
One of the world’s best known copywriters, Bob Bly, recently said that every great ad has four ingredients: urgent, useful, unique and ultra-specific. This is particularly appropriate to creating targeted Google ads.
Instead of focusing on generic keywords, consider how your ad can be made more unique and ultra-specific. If you sell a range of products, how can you create an ad targeted at customers for each one?
For example, if you sell industrial furniture you could create separate ads focused on ‘antistatic workbenches’ and ‘small parts storage cabinets’. You could also include the price to dissuade clicks from those on a limited budget. Your ads might attract fewer clicks. But a higher proportion of those clicks will be from targeted prospects more likely to buy.
The beauty of Adwords is you can split test different keywords and descriptions to discover which offers the best conversion rate for you. Just don’t listen to Google and settle for a 1% conversion rate when higher ones are possible.
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BDA (Buckingham Design Associates) blog – real people giving real opinions, and a complete lack of agency waffle. BDA deliver an exciting blend of design and creative marketing for the Oxford, Milton Keynes, Northampton and London region.
In their 80s heyday TVs ad men ruled the break as their domain, and would marvel audiences with their creative brilliance and 30 second blockbusters. Budgets were generous, and top agency creatives were treated with the reverence of a Hollywood director (which one or two even became).
But times have changed. Now rarely a week passes without whispers of channels merging or collapsing because of the failure of the ad break to keep them alive.
If TV is a sinking ship then advertisers are now abandoning it in droves to chase after the audiences that left long ago.
People now prefer to spend their evenings on the web, where they can control what content they want to receive, which is the barrier every advertiser now faces in remaining relevant in today’s marketing mix.
Giving people what they want
In a recent post, marketing Einstein, Seth Godin commented on the challenges and opportunities advertisers face if they want to be successful online.
Without TV programmes to be paid for or limited slots to fill, the cost of running commercials on the web is low. This means companies who previously didn’t have the budget to compete with the big boys now can. Now anybody with a camera can start their own ad campaign.
Whilst Seth hails this as a great opportunity, it’s going to be difficult to create commercials people will watch when they have the attention spans of goldfish.
As with all modern marketing, the answer lies in being able to offer content people want to consume in exchange for their time.
More than likely, this will come in the form of entertainment, as shown by the popularity of the ‘Will it Blend’ commercials, featuring a sales message amongst the flying debris of iPhones and golf balls.
What about Susan Boyle?
Working out how to make commercials people will watch on the web is the puzzle facing every advertiser. And some are already missing out on millions whilst trying to figure it out.
You’d have thought ITV’s execs would have been rubbing their hands with glee over the Susan Boyle phenomena. But unfortunately they’ve been slow to take advantage of the 100+ million views of her YouTube clip, leaving them penniless.
It’s estimated that a brief ad slot before her clip could have netted £1.5 million revenue for the beleaguered channel.
So, advertisers can learn two things from Susan Boyle:
It’s often what the product does that people are interested in, rather than the presentation
If they can offer people content they want to consume then they might have a chance of delivering their commercials along with it
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BDA (Buckingham Design Associates) blog – real people giving real opinions, and a complete lack of agency waffle. BDA deliver an exciting blend of design and creative marketing for the Oxford, Milton Keynes, Northampton and London region.
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