"What if we train our NAMs , and they leave...?"
"What if you don't, and they stay...?
"What if you don't, and they stay...?
Sunday, 8 December 2013
Friday, 6 December 2013
Google voice search - the lowtech London billboard crossover?
Google wanted to change consumers' behaviour, and inject some wit and romance into a Google service that could feel cold and distant.
The solution:
Hyper-relevant context. Google identified London landmarks, and placed relevant billboards nearby in a total of 150 different creative executions around the city. For example, a billboard that said "Ley-tist Skohrz" was placed outside Chelsea FC. Because the service is voice search, the words were written phonetically, drawing further attention, in one of the most media-saturated cities on the planet. More pic-examples here.
Why it won the Media Grand Prix:
The campaign combined the three fundamentals of advertising: technology, analytics and storytelling, with technology driving targeting driving briefing and strategy and eventually creative, a reverse of the normal sequence...
The result:
Google and Manning Gottlieb OMD shop in the U.K. won the Media Grand Prix at the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity in 2012
More importantly, voice search in London more than doubled.
Wednesday, 4 December 2013
A sign of the times?
"The only artists making a living nowadays are dead ones"
From the movie Blue is the Warmest Colour, a compelling study of relationships....
From the movie Blue is the Warmest Colour, a compelling study of relationships....
Managing uncertainty amidst the chaos
At a time when Tesco looks worse, Sainsbury’s are racing back to former glories, Boots, a basket-case only a few years ago but now looking global, Lidl stocking lobsters, and a virtual collapse in demand-growth, most NAMs could be excused for wanting to await a settling down in the market and the emergence of familiar patterns….
However, proactive NAMs know that the ability to cope with the current conditions determines real success in account management.
In other words, treating a flatline market as normal, and factoring risk into trade strategies has to be a way forward.
This means acknowledging that any growth has to come at the expense of the competition, requiring competitive profiling via a buying mix analysis.
It also means facing up to ‘permanent uncertainty’ by conducting a risk analysis for key options and initiatives. In practice this means exploring the impact on the business (high, medium or low), and chance of occurrence (high, medium or low) and developing contingency plans where things going wrong have high impact or a high chance of occurrence, or both.
Uncertainty can then be recognised for what it is, merely a stage in market development…
However, proactive NAMs know that the ability to cope with the current conditions determines real success in account management.
In other words, treating a flatline market as normal, and factoring risk into trade strategies has to be a way forward.
This means acknowledging that any growth has to come at the expense of the competition, requiring competitive profiling via a buying mix analysis.
It also means facing up to ‘permanent uncertainty’ by conducting a risk analysis for key options and initiatives. In practice this means exploring the impact on the business (high, medium or low), and chance of occurrence (high, medium or low) and developing contingency plans where things going wrong have high impact or a high chance of occurrence, or both.
Uncertainty can then be recognised for what it is, merely a stage in market development…
Tuesday, 3 December 2013
Why You Spend More Money on Warm Days
New research in the Journal of Consumer Psychology by researchers led by Yonat Zwebner of The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, offers evidence that people value products more highly when they’re feeling comfortably warm. They argue that “exposure to physical warmth activates the concept of emotional warmth,” producing positive emotions and increasing the items’ perceived worth.
A series of experiments revealed a common thread:
The first was a large-scale study that looked at more than six million clicks on a price-comparison website, each of which indicated the intention to purchase a specific product. The researchers looked at two years’ worth of data on eight categories of products (such as watches), and compared the decision to buy with the average temperature on each day, finding “a significant positive effect of temperature on intention-to-purchase”.
A second experiment featured 46 university students, who were randomly assigned to hold and examine either a warm or cool therapeutic pad for 10 seconds “under the guise of a product-evaluation task.” Participants who held the warm pad were willing to pay significantly more for products offered for sale.
For the third experiment, researchers manipulated the temperature in the room where the study was conducted. Students looked at 11 images of “different target products that college students typically consume,” and asked how much they were willing to pay for each. Those in the warm room were willing to pay more for nine of the 11 products.
Conclusion: “Physical warmth induces emotional warmth, which generates greater positive reactions.”
At last, a possible explanation for why the lower temperature in buyers' offices may not be a reflection of the customer's energy conservation policies - or mood! - after all, despite your attempts at prolonged hand-shaking and even hugs....
(Thanks to Andrew Sullivan for the pointer)
A series of experiments revealed a common thread:
The first was a large-scale study that looked at more than six million clicks on a price-comparison website, each of which indicated the intention to purchase a specific product. The researchers looked at two years’ worth of data on eight categories of products (such as watches), and compared the decision to buy with the average temperature on each day, finding “a significant positive effect of temperature on intention-to-purchase”.
A second experiment featured 46 university students, who were randomly assigned to hold and examine either a warm or cool therapeutic pad for 10 seconds “under the guise of a product-evaluation task.” Participants who held the warm pad were willing to pay significantly more for products offered for sale.
For the third experiment, researchers manipulated the temperature in the room where the study was conducted. Students looked at 11 images of “different target products that college students typically consume,” and asked how much they were willing to pay for each. Those in the warm room were willing to pay more for nine of the 11 products.
Conclusion: “Physical warmth induces emotional warmth, which generates greater positive reactions.”
At last, a possible explanation for why the lower temperature in buyers' offices may not be a reflection of the customer's energy conservation policies - or mood! - after all, despite your attempts at prolonged hand-shaking and even hugs....
(Thanks to Andrew Sullivan for the pointer)
Monday, 2 December 2013
Amazon 30 mins delivery by DRONE - in Bezos dreams?
Jeff Bezos has announced the online retailer has secretly been testing drones that can delivery packages directly to people's doors. However, the project is at least five years from reality due to still-to-be-determined FAA regulations.
As you know, an octocopter is a type of rotorcraft - or drone - that is powered by eight rotor helicopter blades. Each of the arms are operated by their own motor. For this reason they are designed and used to lift 'heavy' objects. It is also makes them less likely to breakdown if there is a problem with one of the blades. Amazon say their self-made octocopters will be able to carry packages weighing up to five pounds, which accounts for about 86% of the items the company delivers.
Whilst the drones may be a PR stunt, and selling books online seemed a 'no-go' a few years ago, Jeff's drone-dreams may become a nightmare for competitors...
...leaving time for a few what-ifs for those that feel they can still stay in the game...?
Friday, 29 November 2013
Every Lidl helps? - making do at the top…
The Squeezed Upper Shopping List
Lidl: Parma Prosciutto di Parma
90g, £1.99
- Ocado: Parma Ham, 85g, £3
Lidl: Vitasia Coconut milk, 400ml, 79p
- Waitrose: Essential Coconut Milk, 400ml, £1.89
Lidl: Vitafit Cloudy Apple Juice, 1 Litre, 99p
- Sainsbury’s: Copella Apple Juice 1.25 Litre, £2.80
Lidl: Deluxe British steak & ale pie, 540g, £2.49
- Tesco: steak and ale puff pastry pie, 550g, £3.50
Lidl: Barella Pesto Alla Genovese, 190g, 99p
- Tesco: Sacla Classic Basil Pesto, 190g, £2.20
(on offer at two for £4 until Jan 2)
Source: The Times, Thursday 28th Nov 2013
Problem: How can we get them back in segment, when they have lived a Lidl…?
Lidl: Parma Prosciutto di Parma
90g, £1.99
- Ocado: Parma Ham, 85g, £3
Lidl: Vitasia Coconut milk, 400ml, 79p
- Waitrose: Essential Coconut Milk, 400ml, £1.89
Lidl: Vitafit Cloudy Apple Juice, 1 Litre, 99p
- Sainsbury’s: Copella Apple Juice 1.25 Litre, £2.80
Lidl: Deluxe British steak & ale pie, 540g, £2.49
- Tesco: steak and ale puff pastry pie, 550g, £3.50
Lidl: Barella Pesto Alla Genovese, 190g, 99p
- Tesco: Sacla Classic Basil Pesto, 190g, £2.20
(on offer at two for £4 until Jan 2)
Source: The Times, Thursday 28th Nov 2013
Problem: How can we get them back in segment, when they have lived a Lidl…?
Thursday, 28 November 2013
China thief sends iPhone owner handwritten numbers
The pickpocket is believed to have taken the Apple handset from Zou Bin when they shared a taxi, the Xinhua news agency said.
Zou had nearly 1,000 contact numbers in the device and with no backup copy - like millions of other people around the world - he was more concerned about losing the data than the phone itself, it added.
Given Zou’s business involvement in the pub industry (a tough-guy business in most places), and aping Liam Neeson’s approach in the movie ‘Taken’, Zou’s text to the thief had the desired effect.
"I know you are the man who sat beside me. I can assure you that I will find you," he said in a text message to the thief.
"Look through the contact numbers in my mobile and you will know what trade I am in," he added. "Send me back the phone to the address below if you are sensible."
The thief painstakingly wrote out 11 pages of telephone numbers from the stolen iPhone and sent them and the sim-card to the owner within days…
NAMs outside the pub industry might find it more convenient to back up their phones occasionally…
Zou had nearly 1,000 contact numbers in the device and with no backup copy - like millions of other people around the world - he was more concerned about losing the data than the phone itself, it added.
Given Zou’s business involvement in the pub industry (a tough-guy business in most places), and aping Liam Neeson’s approach in the movie ‘Taken’, Zou’s text to the thief had the desired effect.
"I know you are the man who sat beside me. I can assure you that I will find you," he said in a text message to the thief.
"Look through the contact numbers in my mobile and you will know what trade I am in," he added. "Send me back the phone to the address below if you are sensible."
The thief painstakingly wrote out 11 pages of telephone numbers from the stolen iPhone and sent them and the sim-card to the owner within days…
NAMs outside the pub industry might find it more convenient to back up their phones occasionally…
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