Think Out Loud is a blog brought to you by the team at ThinkTank - a catalytic consultancy specialising in strategic marketing, branding and innovation based in Cork, Ireland.
It is certainly refreshing in the Cork advertising space to see the broadsheet Irish Examiner making a bold move with the development of their hard hitting and thought provoking billboard and print ad campaign.
Developed by Dublin based Chemistry advertising the campaign promotes the Examiner’s “Special Investigations” supplement that tackles several of Ireland’s socially taboo subjects -including alcoholism, mental illness, clerical abuse, human trafficking, suicide and pornography.
Hello. My name is Anna and I am a Millennial. I am part of the largest generation yet to exist. We populate Facebook and YouTube. We are social and always connected. We are armed with laptops, iPods and smart phones. We are Generation Y, or indeed Generation Y Not.
The Millennials are the “wired” generation and we don’t know how to be any other way. We’re a new breed of consumers and unfortunately most businesses are not prepared for us. Businesses need to get to know the Millennials if they want to be relevant and successful in the future. Our global annual spending power exceeds $250 billion and we also influence another $50 million in purchases. Our generation has bigger potential purchasing power than the Baby Boomers and is set to supplant them as the most powerful economic force on planet earth.
Naming a business is a lot like laying the cornerstone of a new building. Once it’s in place, the entire foundation and structure is aligned to that original stone. If it’s off, even in the slightest, the misalignment becomes amplified.
The tougher it gets out there, the more important it is to put your marketing money where it will do the most good. Coming up with the right name for a company or a product can make a huge difference in building a brand and even in determining it’s future success. Too often companies jump straight into designing a logo and then spend the rest of the marketing budget trying to explain to people what they actually do and what their difference is.
Soccer’s governing body FIFA recently saw red, but mostly orange – during the Holland Vs Denmark game at the Soccer World Cup in South Africa.
Thirty-six blondes, wearing orange mini skirts gate crashed the game at Soccer City in Johannesburg causing a major brouhaha. The offense wasn’t so much a fashion faux pas but a carefully orchestrated ambush marketing attack by Dutch brewer Bavaria, against its bigger rival Budweiser. The spectacle created a frenzy as photographs and video footage went viral as the story was picked up on social media networks and newspapers around the world.
The reaction of FIFA was swift and ruthless. The authorities immediately evicted the women from the stadium and two were arrested on charges of organising “unlawful commercial activities”. Under pressure from FIFA, South Africa passed laws in the run-up to the World Cup that made ambush marketing a criminal offence. The women face charges of contravening the Merchandise Marks Act (unauthorised use of trade mark at a protected event), and some sections of the Special Measures Regulations Act (entry into designated area while in possession of prohibited commercial object).
For a business to be viable, it has to do something as well as its competitors; to win in a competitive market, it has to do something betterthan its competitors.
Recent research by global marketing firm, Young & Rubicam highlights the fact that 80% of new businesses and brands fail. Lack of differentiation is cited as the major reason for business failure.
In order to ensure that your product is preferred over those of your competitors, you must consider the complete brand experience and how that experience will contribute to consumer perception. Your brand isn’t what you think it is – it’s what your customer think it is. Your brand isn’t your logo, web site design or tag line – it’s a research informed strategic premise that is designed to deliver competitive advantage and grow market share.
As a bit of a brand refresher and value add to customers, ThinkTank decided to take a peek into what really goes on inside the mind of your customer.
Let’s say you’re at a networking event and someone steps in the elevator with you, notices your nametag, and asks, “So what do you guys do?” Quick–what’s your answer? You’ve got just 30 seconds before the doors open so you’d better think fast.
In many ways an Elevator Pitch is shorthand for what your brand stands for. It’s your one-shot opportunity to be different and present yourself in a compelling and memorable way. For most business owners, getting to the crux of what you really do is the hardest, yet potentially most rewarding, one-minute conversation you could ever have.
Strong brands have once again proven their resilience in the recession in Millard Brown’s 5th annual ranking of the world’s top 100 brands. At a time when most key financial indicators plummeted, the value of the top 100 brands rose by 4% in the last year to more than $2 trillion – a 40% increase over the last 5 years. In the wake of the recession, more brands have realized that they need to maintain and even increase their marketing spend to support brand loyalty and engagement. As Millard Brown Optimor’s Research Unit comments:
“Strong brands have the power to create business value. They impact much more than revenues and profit margins. Strong brands create competitive advantages by commanding a price premium and decrease the cost of entry into new markets and categories. They reduce business risk and help attract and retain talented staff.”
In celebrating St Patrick’s Day last week, advertising agency Leo Burnett developed a great tactical outdoor campaign for McDonalds in Chicago.
This execution was placed on the banks of the Chicago River, which is dyed green each year in celebration of St. Patrick’s Day. A perfect way to generate brand awareness and promote McDonald’s seasonal ‘Shamrock Shake’ in a fun and creative way.
This got us thinking as to why local Irish advertising agencies do very little to tap into celebrating our National Day. After all it’s a perfect opportunity to get your brand noticed and generate great buzz on social networks and other media.
Have we just become too blase about St Paddies Day? Are clients too risk averse or are our local advertising agencies starting to lose their creative edge?
Paddy Power has been forced to pull its latest ad on TV after regulators feared it could cause widespread offence.
The spot, the third in a series of three ads created by the bookmaker’s new ad agency Big Al’s Creative Emporium, features four wheelchair-bound actors “doing a runner” on their bill from the ‘Star of Bombay’ curry house.
After the restaurant’s owner gives up on chasing them, a brand spokesman consoles him by explaining that while Paddy Power can’t get him his customers back, it can in some cases help get him his money back, thanks to its new Money-Back specials initiative, which gives customers the opportunity to have their stake, refunded even if their bet didn’t come through.
What do you think about the TV ad? Does it cause offense, and should it have been pulled. Either way the ad, which has been launched to coincide with next week’s Cheltenham Festival, will certainly create a buzz online and generate great PR for the Paddy Power brand.
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