I’m a Celebrity, Get Me Out of Here…

The air is thick with economic doom, and frivolity often tends to be a casualty of recession. But does this herald a change in the collective cultural consciousness away from an indiscriminate obsession with ‘Fame’ and towards a more measured and global re-assessment of priorities?

In an exclusive blog article Melanie Cameron, director of Conquest Research considers how brands should work with the celebrity element:

“The most recent victim of credit crunch austerity after banks, manufacturers and retailers might well be the beleaguered A-Z listers who have been plaguing our gossip mags, billboards and television screens. Are the heady days of LiLo, Britney, Paris, Kerry and Brangelina numbered? Could it be that consumers now need more than any arbitrary, shiny, well-known face on an advertising hoarding to be convinced into parting with hard earned cash? Supermarkets Tesco and Asda certainly seem to think so, having recently dropped big names from their pre-Christmas campaigns in favour of a more matter-of-fact advertising approach.

Quantifying Quality

New research by Cranfield School of Management’s Phil Klaus looks at what triggers consumer purchasing behaviour in the financial services industry and why people choose one brand over another.

With the results of his brand tracking tool EXQ (Experience Quality) as evidence, he argues for the need for companies to deliver a ‘superior customer experience’. In an exclusive blog article Klaus lays out his case:

“Today’s businesses seem to be obsessed by brands. Managers are constantly exposed to stories emphasising the importance of the brand for their organization. Crucially, we need to be reminded of the relationship between cause and effect. The brand is only the effect of the company’s actions. The source of the brand, and the only part the company has influence over, are the actions leading to the brand and brand image. These actions and their impact on consumer behaviour can be investigated through the customer experience. Managers need to step back and work on the cause of the brand – the customer experience, rather than the effect.

It’s the young who are green. No, really…

There’s a group of “hardcore Greenfluencers” lurking around your recycling bins and meeting online to discuss how to turn the world green.

It can’t be a bad thing. According to communications consultancy Porter Novelli, 18 to 34 year-olds are now the most influencial greenies and they are gathering on social networks to discuss how to save the world.

In a world gone mad on green this is no surprise. The term green no longer needs to be put in speech marks, it’s a common term for this generation and it is about time it was taken seriously.

Five innnovations that will change your life (say IBM)

IBM has created a list of five innovations that will change the way we all live over the next five years.

These fall into five areas:

Energy saving solar technology will be built into asphalt, paint and windows

Ever wonder how much energy could be created by having solar technology embedded in sidewalks, driveways, siding, paint, rooftops, and windows? In the next five years, solar energy will be an affordable option. Until now, the materials and the process of producing solar cells to convert into solar energy have been too costly for widespread adoption. But now this is changing with the creation of “thin-film” solar cells, a new type of cost-efficient solar cell that can be 100 times thinner than silicon-wafer cells and produced at a lower cost. These new thin-film solar cells can be “printed” and arranged on a flexible backing, suitable for not only the tops, but also the sides of buildings, tinted windows, cell phones, notebook computers, cars and even clothing.

You will have a crystal ball for your health

What if you could foresee your health destiny and use that knowledge to modify your lifestyle? Even though we are told that things like chips, crisps, cheese and wine aren’t good for us, what if you could find out that you are someone who could consume more sinful foods without having negative impact on your health? In the next five years, your doctor will be able to provide you with a genetic map that tells you what health risks you are likely to face in your lifetime and the specific things you can do to prevent them, based on your specific DNA – all for less than $200. Pharmaceutical companies will also be able to engineer new, more effective medications that are targeted for each of us as individual patients.

You will talk to the web . . . and the web will talk back

The web will change dramatically in the next five years. In the future, you will be able to surf the internet by using your voice, eliminating the need for visuals or keypads. New technology will change how people create, build and interact with information and e-commerce websites – using speech instead of text. The technology is available, but we also know it can happen because it must. In places like India, where the spoken word is more prominent than the written word in education, government and culture, “talking” to the Web is leapfrogging all other interfaces, and the mobile phone is outpacing the PC. In the future, through the use of “VoiceSites,” people without access to a personal computer and Internet, or who are unable to read or write, will be able to take advantage of all the benefits and conveniences the online world has to offer. You will be able to sort through the web verbally to find what you are looking for and have the information read back to you – as if you are having a conversation with the internet.

You will have your own digital shopping assistants

In the next five years, shoppers will increasingly rely on themselves – and the opinions of each other – to make purchasing decisions rather than wait for help from in-store sales associates. A combination of new technology and the next wave of mobile devices will give the in-store shopping experience a significant boost. Fitting rooms soon will be outfitted with digital shopping assistants – touch screen and voice activated kiosks that will allow you to choose clothing items and accessories to complement, or replace, what you already selected. Once you make your selections, a sales associate will gather the items and bring them directly to you. You’ll also be able to snap photos of yourself in different combinations and email or SMS them to your friends and family. Shoppers can access product ratings and reviews from fellow consumers and will even be able to download money-saving coupons and instantly apply them to their purchases.

Forgetting will become a distant memory

Information overload keeping you up at night? Forget about it. In the next five years, it will become much easier to remember. That’s because such details of everyday life will be recorded, stored, analysed, and provided at the appropriate time and place by both portable and stationary smart appliances. To help make this possible, microphones and video cameras will record conversations and activities. The information collected will be automatically stored and analysed on a personal computer. People can then be prompted to “remember” what discussions they had, for example, with their daughter or doctor by telephone. Based on such conversations, smart phones equipped with global-positioning technology might also remind them to pick up groceries or prescriptions if they pass a particular store at a particular time. It’s not hard to imagine that TVs, remote controls, or even coffee table tops, can one day be the familiar mediums through which we tap into our digitally-stored information.

Want to know more? You can watch a video from IBM about these trends below:

From being seen to being green

Handset manufacturing giant Nokia has taken home the Grand Prix at the 2008 Green Awards, The Grand Prix rewards the campaign which best exemplified an outstanding environmental message, and had the greatest capacity to raise awareness.

The awards emphasise the role that needs to be played by the marketing and communications industries in informing people about green issues, products and lifestyle choices.

Other brands that were recognised included Coca Cola, Lush and Cadbury’s. But can are ‘green’ initiatives from big brands all a bit gimmicky?

Last year, Richard Branson, founder of the Virgin brand marquee, was named Citizen of the Year by the United Nations for his eco-advocacy.

However, the Rebel Billionaire attracted a host of criticisms after his victory because he ran an airline company.

Airlines are spewing out 3.1 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide into the environment in Europe alone.

Branson countered criticisms by pledging 100 per cent of the profits from the business to developing cleaner and more energy efficient fuels.

However, without government leading the way, it is difficult for the whole country to cut back on our carbon footprint – and this is why, some say, it is up to the big corporations to take the lead.

A recent survey from CNN International found that 90 per cent of consumers were willing to change consumption habits to benefit the environment, while 76 per cent were interested in green brands. A further 74 per cent said they were willing to pay more for them.

With this information its no wonder companies are focusing their marketing efforts on promoting their green credentials. But just how green are they?

Louis Vuitton signs up reinvention Queen Madonna

The say that any publicity is good publicity when you are a celebrity and this couldn’t be more true for brand Madonna. Despite a high profile divorce cause by a possible affair on her behalf, the mother  of three has just been named the face of Louis Vuitton. Does the luxury brand know what it’s getting itself in for?

Madonna is perhaps the biggest brand in music. But she is also known for a few other things that we doubt would suit the prestigious Louis Vuitton brand.

Madonna is known for her devotion to the Kabbalah and also her sexual confidence.

In 1992, she founded an entertainment company, Maverick, which published a book of naked and erotic photographs called Sex.

She also then released the album Erotica and starred in the film Body of Evidence with erotic themes.

These works generated negative publicity and coincided with a fall in commercial sales in the 90s.

While she did manage to revive her career in 1998, with the album Ray of Light, some are wondering if a high profile divorce will mark the end of the Madonna brand as we know it.

LV is internationally renowned in the luxury fashion for its style and sophistication. Celebrities that have been included in campaigns include actress and diva Jennifer Lopez,  supermodel Gisele Bündchen, fashion designer Marc Jacobs, actress Scarlet Johansson and tennis stars Andre Agassi and Steffi Graf.

Madonna on the other hand has been more known for her outlandish fashion sense as the face for brands such as clothing retail H&M, Gap and Max Factor.

Pepsi – losing agencies and alienating friends?

In a recession, or an imminent one at that, no brand is safe and certainly no agency is safe. This has been proved by Pepsi dropping BBDO after 48 years together.

Pepsi is currently under going a brand overhaul and logo update, but is it the best time for the cola brand to be pulling out all the stops?

A recent report from Mintel said that consumers, despite tightening their belts, were still buying the favourite brands as they looked for brands they could trust and rely on during tougher times.

We are not stopping buying, but instead changing our buying behaviour. We are paying for little luxuries in the supermarket because we’re not going out anymore, said the report.

TBWA\Chiat\Day will now serve as lead communications agency for the Pepsi in the US aiming to refresh Pepsi’s communications across multiple consumer touch points and to reinvigorate Pepsi’s legacy of leading-edge advertising, according to its CMO Dave Burwick.

So what makes Pepsi think it can steal away some of Coca-Cola’s share by releasing a new log and turning its strategy around? Is the brand simply too old to start a fresh?

May day, may day, may day for Qantas

A few weeks ago it seemed that the turbulent times for Qantas were over. The airline had weathered a media storm surrounding a number of safety incidents – but today, new trouble has shown up on the airline’s radar as a further incident looks set to damage the Australian brand even further. 

Headlines in the Australian press read “Qantas 747s collide”, referring to an incident that involved two planes that were being towed at the carrier’s Australian heavy maintenance base at Avalon Airport crashing into each other.

The jet involved in the Manila emergency in July had been close to being ready to fly again before the ‘crash’.

While no one has been injured, the brand will now bear the brunt.

McDonald’s enlists help from its Quarter Pounder brand

McDonald’s is cashing in on one of its most famous brands, the Quarter Pounder, by launching standalone stores in Japan.

The stores are branded THE QUARTER POUNDER and do not feature the fast food giant’s famous golden arches or Ronald McDonald. (Thank you to Neil Duckett who tipped us off about this and took the images below – see his site here for more information, pictures and a first-hand account….)

McDonalds Japan is testing the waters of no-brand marketing with the newly opened Quarter Pounder stores in Tokyo which offers generic packaging, minimalist décor and a two-item menu (Quarter Pounder and a Quarter Pounder with cheese).

The fast food giant’s dip into no-brand marketing comes as quite a shock to those who see the global burger master as the poster child for brand name advertising. But perhaps that is the very reason the brand has branched out with this innovation.

It’s credit crunch, well that’s no secret, and Quarter Pounder seeks to cash in on it’s product’s iconic status. The burger is one of the best selling products McDonald’s offers so by launching a “spin-off” store selling it and it alone will attract customers from far and wide that are fans of the burger. No decisions, no distractions and no promotions. It’s fast food at its best – and most convenient.

This also bring up the whole question of love or products – myth or fact? This idea from McDonald’s was built on the idea that people love this product and this product alone, will it work?

**All images copyright of Neil Duckett @ NeilDuckett.com

Stars In Their Eyes

Barack Obama emerges victorious as president of the USA, the most powerful job in the world, owing his election to a carefully balanced combination of factors not least the discipline of his campaign.

Surely a likely case study for Malcolm Gladwell, sparky sociologist and author, who will be speaking in London’s West End theatres this month promising to reveal why some people triumph in life and work and others just don’t.

Malcolm Gladwell Live, as the show is called, supports the publication of the writer’s new book, Outliers, which tackles the popular subject of success and starts with a very simple question: what is the difference between those who are extraordinarily successful and everyone else?

Gladwell will be seeking to show how the careers of Bill Gates and the performance of world-class football players are alike, how Korean pilots went from being the worst in the world to amongst the best in under 10 years, and why most successful ice-hockey players are born in January.
The performances take place on 24th November at 5.45pm and 8.30pm at the Lyceum Theatre in London, www.malcolmgladwell-live.comBrand Strategy readers can claim discounted tickets of £4 off the £26.50 top ticket price using the promotional code FRIEND