brands

Good, very good – but not quite seamless

Anil / brands, Customer Service, High Street, rants / 0 comments

November 11, 2013

Everyone seems to love John Lewis. It wins customer service awards all the time and is one of the most beloved household retail brands in the UK.

I’m not a very ‘household’ sort of person, which is why my trip to the High Wycombe branch this weekend was actually the first time I’d been in a John Lewis store for at least five years. The range was excellent – and yes, I bought a few things I didn’t need.

Interestingly, I also tried to buy a suit but they didn’t have the right size of trousers in stock. However, the sales assistant was a beacon of helpfulness – he checked their website, found out they had the right size available there and placed an order online while I stood at his side. All very multichannel, as I’m sure you’ll agree. Well done, that retailer.

Your privatisation’s in the post

Simon / Advertising, brands / coalition, government, Privatisation, royal Mail, The Royal Mail / 0 comments

July 11, 2013

It may have taken 77 years for a Brit to put the Wimbledon Men’s Singles title voodoo to bed, but it’s taken considerably longer for another much-loved British institution – The Royal Mail – to start the journey from public to private ownership.

Image taken from The Daily Telegraph

This week the coalition Government (which still seems an odd thing to write, let alone be ‘governed’ by) announced plans to privatise Royal Mail with a Stock Market flotation. The general concensus seems to be that the privatisation of monolithic, monopolistic, state-owned industries has been positive, transforming stodgy, unfit behemoths into lean, agile and competitive players.

Why brands needs to be on the marque when it comes to data

Jo S / brands, Customer Service, rants / 0 comments

June 17, 2013

As a group of professionals who are deeply immersed in the marketing industry we are bombarded daily with examples of best practice. Taking big data as an example, it’s all too easy to fall into the trap of thinking that every brand is doing a brilliant job of targeting us all with pinpoint precision.

Except the reality is often so desperately disappointing.

I bought a new Range Rover Evoque a year ago. I don’t get much in the way of communication from Land Rover other than endless email surveys that I’ve tired of completing, especially as there is no feedback or thanks in return.

Image taken from mccabemotors.co.uk

So you can imagine that I was quite excited to receive a personalised letter inviting me to a VIP event at my local Land Rover dealership. I was told to call or email to secure my place as numbers were strictly limited. I wasn’t quite sure what I was being invited to, but it looked exciting enough for me to get in touch. It transpired that I was essentially being invited to an event to flog me a stock car. Why on earth would I be in the market for a new car I asked when I’d just bought one a year ago? The caller simply explained that they’d ‘gone through their database’ and invited everyone. So much for targeting!

The caller was unable to explain what if anything was VIP about the approach and the event. But the experience did leave me feeling let down and thinking much worse of the marque as a result. Surely in this age of big data companies can do better. I know car dealerships are a thorny issue for manufacturers but there is simply no excuse for a sloppy approach of this kind.

Begin with a Bulmers – the ad campaign that works

Matt / Advertising, brands / Advert, Alcohol, Begin with a bulmers, Bulmers, Summer / 0 comments

June 7, 2013

Let’s face it the summer of 2013 has hardly been a classic so far. In fact some would say that, even with June already here, we’re still waiting for it to start. Now and then a few heroes see some sun and step out in t-shirt and shorts – if it’s sunny, it’s hot, right? – but they look a bit silly when they’re shivering in the corner of a chilly beer garden an hour later when the sun has gone down.

Of course the dismal weather hasn‘t stopped marketers wheeling out their long planned summer campaigns, featuring the young and beautiful enjoying blue skies made that bit bluer by the presence of product X. Am I the only one left wondering where they found all that sunshine? One such hazy sun-dappled Shangri-la of a TV-ad world is presented by Bulmers in their ‘Begin with a Bulmers’ campaign. The ad shows a perfect evening’s fun in reverse, going back from a roof-top party, through an open air concert (no woolly jumpers in sight) to a bar and a flat where the first Bulmers bottles of the day make their appearance at the end of this ‘Reverse’ ad. The thing is I actually quite like it, despite my where-was-that-filmed-I bet-it-wasn’t-around-here cynicism and I’ve been trying to work out why it works for me.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tNrlVAGmY6c

The Limbo Ads: How low can you go?

Matt / Advertising, brands / Branding / 0 comments

June 4, 2013

When does innuendo reach a crescendo? When does tongue-in-cheek become foot-in-mouth? When some months ago I was introduced to the energy drink known as “Pussy”, I thought that this was unique; a soft drink with a name open to interpretation as either something innocuous – a cat – or a woman’s private parts. The strap tells me that the “The drink’s pure. It’s your mind that’s the problem.” Oh, sorry my fault. Close to the knuckle? Definitely. Eye catching? Certainly. Unique? Well apparently not.

Image taken from The Drum website

Say hello to ‘Fanny’, the new name for IrnBru. Wow. So that’s two soft drinks in the borderline-offensive, feminine niche. It’s a tight spot to be sure. Adherents of IrnBru can claim that this works on more than one level – that Fanny is not only anatomically rude, but also a colloquial pejorative, especially north of the border. There is currently a further dig at Coke who are naming bottles after people and Fanny is after all a girl’s name, albeit rather underused these days. It kind of works – more so if you’re Scottish, according to the social networks.

An Ice day for a white wedding

Matt / Advertising, brands / brands, guerilla marketing, Pippa Middleton, smirnoff Ice /

May 20, 2013

A blushing bride bursts through a church gate to be greeted by cameras and well wishers, all pearly teeth, flawless tanned skin and a beaming husband who knows he’s bagged a total hottie. There are a ton of beautiful, famous and even royal friends in attendance and the scene is so picture perfect it looks like an ad for bespoke weddings, or diamonds or . .or .. . Smirnoff Ice???

Image taken from Daily Mail website

Baileys and Wonderbra – more in common than meets the eye

Jo S / Advertising, brands / 0 comments

April 22, 2013

I was driving into town a couple of weekends ago. As I hit the junction of Baker Street and the Marylebone Road a huge billboard on the side of a building struck me. It was for the new Bailey’s bottle. I wanted to take a picture but a run of green traffic lights – oh the irony – put a stop to that. I saw the same hoarding near Shepherd’s Bush Green on the way home. The same run of green lights.

Image taken from Daily Mail website

What the high street banks can learn from John Lewis

Jo S / brands, Customer Service, High Street / 0 comments

March 12, 2013

I went into Lloyds the other day to pay some cash into a non-Lloyds account. I’d received a call while I was out asking for the money to be paid into the account there and then as it was pretty urgent. I’d not had to do this sort of transaction for many years so was a bit staggered when I found there was a £20 charge. If I’d been paying into another major bank I’d probably have been able to take the cash out of my account and walked it over the road and pay it in. However there wasn’t a Halifax anywhere close. The irony is if the bank had provided Wi-Fi, I’d have pulled out my iPad and made the payment there and then via the Lloyds app. Instead, I headed to Starbucks and did it there for free (well, for the price of a coffee…..see how Starbucks made money out of Lloyd’s fail?). While retailers are increasingly bringing Wi-Fi in store, the banks seem to be ignoring the march of technology when it comes to the branch environment. The cashier told me there wasn’t even any Wi-Fi for staff. Boo.

Image taken from The Daily Telegraph

Selfridges No Noise initiative a touch of genius or just a gimmick?

Jo S / brands, Fashion, High Street / No noise, Selfridges, unbranded / 0 comments

January 10, 2013

The idea of Selfridges’ No Noise initiative is both genius and a gimmick. I’m not sure which. For anyone who’s not familiar with the idea, Selfridges has developed a Silence Room based on Harry Gordon Selfridge’s 1909 original concept where shoppers could “retire from the whirl of bargains and the build up of energy”. Selfridges has organised a range of silent initiatives including a series of talks on related subjects presented by the Idler Academy and a performance of John Cage’s famous 4’33 seconds on 23^rd January. But for me the real genius, or is it ‘emperor’s new clothes’ comes in the shape of the ‘Quiet Shop’. In addition to minimalist designer capsule collections, consumers can buy a range of famous brands that have had their identifying logos removed – referred to as ‘de-branded design’ by Selfridges.

Selfridges tells us that “some of the world’s most recognisable brands have taken the symbolic step of removing their logos in our collection of de-branded products including Beats by Dre, Levi’s, Marmite and Crème de la Mer – each creating exclusive collector’s items.”

While the tobacco industry is fighting tooth and nail to prevent plain packaging from coming into force, ironically here we have a handful of iconic brands who are embracing the concept as part of a very clever PR stunt. Quite clearly none of the participating brands have anything remotely in common with tobacco and the complexity that surrounds the plain packaging issue. Nor do any of them have any recognition issues whether or not they carry their logo. We reckon there will be plenty of Selfridges shoppers willing to splash out on one off, no logo versions of their favourite Creme de la Mer product and others taking part in the initiative. We wonder what Naomi Klein makes of all of this. Regardless, you’ve got to admire Selfridges for their clever idea and the brands brave enough to take part.

The problem with celebrities and brand association

Jo S / Advertising, brands / 0 comments

October 3, 2012

I wrote a blog post a while back on what happens when celebrities jump ship and become the face of a new brand. Kate Moss did this when she appeared in a TV ad for Dior lipsticks after becoming known as the face of Rimmel.

Now it’s the turn of Myleene Klass. We became used to seeing her in the line up of models and celebs used by M&S in their TV ads. When I saw her on my TV screen the other night in a fashion ad I assumed it was for the same retailer. Then towards the end something jarred. Would M&S really talk about interest free credit? As the ad came to an end the Littlewoods name appeared and it sort of made sense.

Image taken from Sky living

OK, Myleene might not have represented M&S for a couple of years, but I’d be ready to bet that most consumers would still name her together with Twiggy as being linked to the brand and its ad campaigns.

The retailers, while clearly different, are still close enough to make me feel uncomfortable when I see them using the same celebrity. Does this tarnish M&S in hindsight? Does it give Littlewoods a slight uplift. And what does it say about the lovely Myleene?