Thursday 31 January 2013

Nielsen: FMCG brands account for 25% of advertising spend globally

Despite moderate global growth in advertising spending, fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) companies continued to invest—and invest more—according to Nielsen’s quarterly Global AdView Pulse report. 

The largest sector by ad spend market share, with roughly a quarter of all dollars spent (25.1%), FMCG saw a 6 percent increase in ad spend in 2012 through September. FMCG was joined by telecom, media and automotive as the top sectors for year-over-year ad growth.

FMCG

FMCG spending grew most in Q3 (9.6%), driven largely by increases in food and drink advertising. Advertising in the Middle East and Africa contributed significantly to these gains, with a regional year-to-date increase in FMCG spending of 41 percent.


Telecommunications

Telecommunications advertising unsurprisingly continued to lead the sectors for growth in year-to-date advertising spend (+6.6%). 


Media

Within the media sector, broadcasters spent 8.3 percent more in ad spending for 2012 to date. This jump may be in part due to an increase in broadcasters advertising on their own channels, as they promote their content and fill spots not sold to other advertisers.


Automotive

Q3 is traditionally big for the automotive industry, as the sector saw a 6 percent increase in the first three quarters of 2012 over the same period in 2011.

Share of spend YTD

% Change YTD

Wednesday 30 January 2013

Nigella Lawson’s Frome dresses in stock have all been sold

Video / All the Nigella Lawson’s Frome dresses in stock have been sold

by Will Corry on January 30, 2013 in Businesswoman, Events, Events & Awards, featured item, Lead story, Rock 'n Roll, Special Issue, TV, Videos, Women for Women

Watch the video

A small Somerset shop has found itself  in the international spotlight thanks to Nigella Lawson. The television chef recently appeared on a new cookery show in the United States called The Taste.

Viewers loved her dress and when she tweeted where she had bought it from, the clothes shop in Frome was inundated with orders.

 

 

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YouTube’s premium channels will take on other online video subscription services such as Hulu and Amazon.

YouTube set to launch paid-for channels

by Will Corry on January 30, 2013 in Business, Film, Latest News, Music, Nuggets, Retail, Retail News, Rock 'n Roll, TV

  • As well as targeting Netflix, which boasts more than 30m subscribers, YouTube’s premium channels will take on other online video subscription services such as Hulu and Amazon.

  • According to the Financial Times, the site will charge viewers $1-$5 per month to view some channels and could launch the service as soon as March.
  • YouTube, which is visited by 800m people globally every month, reportedly plans to treat the premium service as an experiment and has spoken to only a handful of video-makers about the project.

More

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Monday 28 January 2013

Internet Retailing Expo / Register for your free ticket now for free access to 6 conferences and 12 hands-on practical workshops.

Internet Retailing Expo is the UK's biggest event for multichannel and online retailers.

Register for your free ticket now for free access to 6 conferences and 12 hands-on practical workshops.

The content of these workshops will ensure you leave IRX 2013 with tangible, demonstrable skills. 

SLI Systems

Turn browsers into buyers: Importance of site search to an ecommerce site, Boden.co.uk Moving delivery from cost to profit.  Maximising the use of SaaS site search technology at Boden.co.uk, presented by Paul Knutton: Discover why site search is an essential aspect of an ecommerce site, and best practices to improve the user experience.  More

CitySprint

Delivering customer convenience in an omnichannel world. Customers are able to make purchases from anywhere and at any time and expect the same level of flexibility when it comes to delivery of their packages. Demands on retailers for delivery times that fit in and around their customers’ lifestyle are becoming the norm.  More

Anicca Solutions

Winning PPC tactics for ecommerce websites.  This presentation will illustrate some of the key techniques that you need to use to maximise the revenue and ROI from PPC. More

Apptus

Delivering a tailored shopping experience to each individual visitor. What if a site could be optimised automatically with only the need for minimal input from the merchandising team?  More

Read more on the above and see the full programme.

Also at IRX 2013

Register for your free ticket now.

Cristina Melenchon
Marketing - Internet Retailing Expo 2013

PS There are still some stand and sponsorship opportunities available.  Contact us to discuss further  -  020 7933 8999 or info@internetretailing.net


VIP Lounge Sponsors Anicca Solutions

Friday 25 January 2013

TV’s inherently ‘lean-back’ and shared experience

TV’s wasted opportunity / Milya Timergaleyeva, Oregan Networks

by Will Corry on January 26, 2013 in Gamification, Latest News, Mobile/Tablet, Online Advertising, Online Video, TV

Will Corry‘s insight:   Discuss – nothing in the home beats the TV, and its large screen

Milya Timergaleyeva writes …For the last few years we have seen a seismic shift in the consumption of video content. Led by younger demographic groups adopting personal viewing platforms like smartphones, PCs and tablets the threat to traditional broadcast TV has been well publicised.

Oregan Networks

Despite that shift, one thing remains true; nothing in the home beats the TV, and its large screen, for viewing video, particularly when it’s long form content and particularly when it’s a shared experience.

That fact hasn’t been lost by some in the industry who have been working hard to create the core technological elements to enhance TV with the best of the Web, but to date digital marketers have had few opportunities to exploit the potential.

The dominant, almost exclusive, brand engagement mechanism on TV remains the 30 second spot, but with some new Internet enabled TV platforms now providing PC-like interactivity and access, the industry is missing a trick. If the 30 second spot is inherently superior in long form content we might have seen it on the Web but in fact it’s almost unknown. We have to assume then, that in the world of connected, on-demand, app enabled TV, it won’t have the same dominance. What’s more likely are variations of what we see on the Web but which take account of TV’s inherently ‘lean-back’ and shared experience.

Although the technological challenges have now been solved, until all the relevant industries pull together, the potential of unified web and broadcast will remain undeveloped. It is the digital marketers who need to take the lead, carrying content owners along with them on the crest of almost universal WiFi connectivity, sophisticated lean-back user interfaces (both software and hardware) and HTML5 which can provide a cross-platform development language.

It is the demands of the brands, which ultimately pay for content development, which should be driving content owners, platform and technologists to create new engagement models for TV. It is the potential for those new engagement models that is exciting us at Oregan Networks. We look forward, with anticipation, to a time when the marketing and branding opportunities presented by internet TV connectivity has been fully integrated into the advertising plans and production workflows.

By Milya Timergaleyeva, VP Market Strategy for Oregan Networks

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Monday 21 January 2013

2013 Unlucky or your Best Year Yet? Only one way to find out.. / Refer-On

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Great shot taken by John Welburn of Refer-On . It’s a venue picture for his next conference in late January. Check out all the details and make a plan to be there next Thursday

2013 Unlucky or your Best Year Yet? Only one way to find out.. / Refer-On

Thursday 17 January 2013

Global Ad Spending Rises 4.3% in Q3 2012

The global advertising market saw healthy growth during the third quarter of 2012, according to Nielsen’s quarterly Global AdView Pulse report. Spending was up 4.3 percent over Q3 2011, to $139 billion. This gain outpaced the 2.7 percent growth seen in the first half of 2012.

An influx in advertising investments drove growth in the Middle East and Africa (up 18.9% YTD), as well as in North America. The North American market showed a 5 percent increase through September, bolstered by an impressive 10.2 percent increase during Q3. In North America, both the automotive and industry and services categories increased by double digits year-over-year, for both the year-to-date and Q3. The industry and services category includes political ads, a big spend area leading up to the U.S. presidential election. 

“Growth in global ad spend accelerated in Q3. The Olympics, a major media event in all parts of the world, and the U.S. presidential election helped drive investment up,” said Randall Beard, global head, advertiser solutions for Nielsen. “We’ll be watching carefully to see if the growth was sustained in Q4 and into 2013, or if there’s a dip in comparison to this year.”


Ad spend also grew in the Asia Pacific region, reporting a 2.7 percent increase in ad spend for the year-to-date through September and a 3.5 percent increase for Q3. Ad spend for the region was supported by the recovery of China’s advertising market, which showed positive ad-spending trends in Q3 (up 3.1%) after two consecutive quarters of decline. 


Western Europe, which reported a 2.7 percent decrease in year-over-year ad spending during the first half of 2012, saw deeper Q3 cuts in advertising (-4.8%), as advertisers watched their budgets carefully due to ongoing economic instability. This decline contributed to a year-to-date decrease of 3.4 percent in Europe.

Global Ad spend chart Q3  2012

2013 Unlucky or your Best Year Yet? Only one way to find out..

Do you want to be a statistic or

do you want to be a success in 2013?

The fact is that the life of an entrepreneur and business owner can be a lonely path.

Welcome to the registration page for our
FREE evening seminar!

Whether you arrived here via Twitter, LinkedIn or an email link you received,
we are certain you will get immense value from attending.

You will find out how you & your business can not just survive,
but grow in ways you never thought possible!

Where? Phyllis Court Club, Phyllis Court Drive, Henley on Thames, RG9 2HT

When? Thursday 31st January – 5:00pm to 7:30pm Henley on Thames

Speaker: Ian Prosser, The One Discipline. Co Founder of Best Year Yet

To register for the event please complete this short form:

Name (required)

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Touch2view have created a Giant Tablet Styled Kiosk

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Prototype ‘Giant iTab’ goes Public @ ISE

With specialist designer solution partners, Touch2view have created a Giant Tablet Styled Kiosk designed to be robust enough for the rigors of Public, Retail and Commercial environments. Perfect for ...

Retail Outlets
Shopping Malls
Schools and Academies
Cinemas and Museums
Transport Hubs

Come and see this spectacular piece of cutting edge technology in action and experience the latest designer touchscreen tablets which are leading the way in multi-channel digital engagement.

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If you would prefer to book a meeting or choose a time to fit your schedule, please contact Mark Jones, Managing Director, Touch2view on 00 44 7810 893911

or just come and join us on one of our partner stands.

 

 

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Touch2View, 59A Allfarthing Lane, London SW18 2AR
Tel: +44(0)7810 893911 | mark@touch2view.com | www.touch2view.com

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Tuesday 15 January 2013

Movers & Groovers / The NEC Group / Stuart Cain & Nicola Young

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The NEC Group has made two senior marketing and commercial appointments to drive a new business unit and bring fresh FMCG marketing expertise in to one of the UK’s leading venue management and entertainment companies. Stuart Cain has been appointed  Managing Director of Commercial Marketing; a new division set up to develop national ticket agency, The Ticket Factory and launch Eight Feet Tall – a specialist marketing, media and sponsorship agency for the live events industry.  Cain was previously Marketing Director at the NEC Group and he has been replaced by FMCG brand marketing expert Nicola Young who joins from Molson Coors.

Perfectly timed photos - via Richard Goard

Monday 14 January 2013

Making sure that your website is fully optimised

Guest Post : It is so very important to make sure that we all, “get it right onsite!” / Daniel Vassiliou

by Will Corry on January 15, 2013 in Apps, Ecommerce, FaceBook, Google, iPhone, Lead story, LinkedIn, Metrics, Mobile Marketing, News you can use, Pinterest, Retail, Search Marketing, Small Business, Social Media, Startups, Twitter

I lose count of the times I am meeting with a new client and within ten minutes of us talking, back links are brought up. Somehow, through a blog post somewhere, or a friend my client wants to know how many links they can get, and how quickly that will get them up the rankings. I hate having to start off with anyone who is enthusiastic for my services, by slowing everything down and hitting the rewind button.

Have they had their website optimised, and equally as importantly, have they analysed their bounce rate and changed ineffective pages, internal links etc. The blank face that follows indicates more than any mere words ever would. “What has that got to do with getting me to page one?” “I want to overtake my competition and they all have thousands of back links!”

I then have a thirty minute period of trying to impress upon them the importance of content or how tags and titles help the little search engine spiders index pages easier. Why the down load speed of pages is important. If I get this long I know that I have usually done enough to secure a chance at getting my client’s campaign started on a firm foundation. If not, I have to admit I probably would have had more trouble from that client over the long term as they would have expected much more than a “spray” of back links would ever have achieved.

Firm Foundations.

I always offer the “house built on sand” analogy to clients to express the massive importance of making sure that their website is fully optimised, and as customer friendly as it can be made to be. Certain template platforms do hinder what can be done, especially with content. I then offer a checklist of all the things I want to have done to their site once keyword and competition analysis have been taken care of.

Here it is:
- Alt Tags for images, videos. Variation of the text used to help rank for certain chosen keywords. Keywords will make up what is in the text
- H Tags 1, 2 and 3 for titles. Google loves these. They show that the content is broken into relevant paragraphs that are easily picked out by those reading it.
- Meta Data for all pages. A good description and title, relating to the chosen keywords, attractive enough to look enticing to those searching when seen in the results. Keywords do not really hold much importance nowadays. Search engines like Google tend to analyse the content to find the keywords that it will rank a particular page for, as opposed to using keywords given to it, to make its decision.

CONTENT, CONTENT, CONTENT!!

Is there enough informative and useful content that can help gain rankings for their chosen keywords? The answer is going to be a no. Nowadays content needs to be continually created, with relevant social platforms informed to get interest back to the site. It is an ongoing process and is very, very important. The more relevant and useful content that your site has, and has associated with it, the greater its authority, and the better it will rank.

- Blog Pages. This relates to the above content point. A blog is a very easy way to add content to a site, then link through to any landing page that may be relevant keyword wise. The more posts that are added, the more can be indexed by the search engines and ranked. This means that informative blog posts can themselves direct traffic to your site. If you throw in social media promotion, through Twitter and Facebook especially, a lot of attention can be directed to the site, and its authority will grow as there is more content, relevant to the chosen keywords, being added on a regular basis. Any site with no blog needs to add one.

- Bounce Rate Analysis to see if people are actually staying very long once on the website. If they are not they obviously not getting the information they are looking for, and this will mean lower rankings and lower conversions from traffic that does get through to the site. Whole sites sometimes have to change of there is a lot to alter.

- Site Flow is incredibly important and linked to the above point. A site should take potential customers or clients to their destination as quickly as possible, in as few clicks as possible too. Three clicks is the absolute maximum. The importance of landing pages here cannot be understated. Certain pages designed to catch searchers from particular keywords reduces the amount of clicks those searchers will need to use to get to the products or services they are looking to use or buy.

- Page Download Speed has to be checked. I have seen sites gain four or five places by improving their page download speed. We live at a time when people searching want to see a page quickly. If yours downloads faster than a competitor, you certainly will be appreciated by the search engines, and may well rank above that competitor.

- Code Analysis is important to make sure that the website is able to be crawled easily by the search engines. Any corrupt files, or badly coded pages will cause problems and the search engines do take a dim view to those kinds of errors.

Realisation.

Once I have been through this with my potential customer, nine times out of ten a drawn breath will result, before a sigh, and realisation that this is not a quick and easy job. I will recommend that if the site is very old, and that there are too many issues, that a new one is built and created with the above “checklist” taken into consideration. There is no point in looking at an offsite campaign until you have a website that is fit for purpose. I have seen clients go against my advice and spend many thousands of pounds on advertising and link building packages, without having a website that is worthy of ranking highly.

It doesn’t bring me any pleasure when I see them failing because I look at sites like that and see them as an opportunity I have lost. I make my money as a search engine optimisation consultant after all. The search engines are now very good at removing sites that are not, in their view, giving those searching what they want.

It is so very important to make sure that we all, “get it right onsite!”

Daniel Vassiliou is CEO of Endurance SEO

Twitter page:  Facebook page:

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The power of complaints, and the public awareness of that power, is growing.

Guest Post : “Complaints are one of the most immediate and free sources of customer insight available to businesses every day” Andrew Aldred, mycustomerfeedback.com

by Will Corry on January 14, 2013 in Latest News, Media, Research, Retail, Rock 'n Roll

Andrew Aldred, head of marketing at mycustomerfeedback.com, comments on research from the Institute of Customer Service (ICS) revealing that consumers are more likely to complain about grievances with a firm than five years ago, despite experiencing fewer problems.

“The survey by the ICS echoes a trend towards increased consumer expectations and reduced tolerance – consumers making a point of complaining about anything and everything. This trend creates the ‘perfect storm’ for businesses, with the pressure of snowballing complaints leading to a marketing nightmare and resulting brand damage that can see revenues falling. Meanwhile, the power of complaints, and the public awareness of that power, is growing.

The flip side however, is that complaints are one of the most immediate and free sources of customer insight available to businesses every day. The increased level of complaints that the ICS has revealed means there is more potential customer feedback for a company to utilise, yet these complaints are often overlooked and not utilised efficiently.

Companies are in danger of creating a situation where the marketing department is struggling to make sense of customer grievances whilst the customer service team is struggling to deal with the quantities of complaints from aggrieved customers. Businesses need to align customer service teams with the marketing department to close this communication gap in order to better utilise information available from complaints.

Companies that embrace complaints and evolve their businesses based on this valuable feedback will soon begin to see the gap growing between themselves and their competitors that remain bogged down in information silos.”

Andrew Aldred, head of marketing at mycustomerfeedback.com

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Nimble have released the Nimble app for social media management dashboard HootSuite .. Wizard Systems

Nimble CRM announces integration with HootSuite for enhanced social relationship management

  • Nimble have released the Nimble app for social media management dashboard HootSuite, allowing users to connect a contact's social profile on the platform to the rest of their Nimble contact record.
  • The Nimble-HootSuite hook-up will afford HootSuite users increased access to dashboard use cases beyond the standard community management and marketing roles, both early adopters.
  • The ultimate goal is to give salespeople or other enterprise users access to contacts' full history from their email correspondences to photos they share on Pinterest or their slidedeck from a presentation.
  • Information on Nimble and the integration please contact Wizard Systems.Tel: 01454 316800

Wizard systems specialise in the implementation, training and support of various CRM (Customer Relationship Management) software systems like GoldMine, Sage CRM, NetSuite, Workbooks, Nimble and HEAT. [more…]

Friday 11 January 2013

It’s the start of a brand new year, and industry predictions for 2013 are spreading like wildfire

Enjoy once again the best read article in theMarketingblog – early January 2013 by Will Corry on January 12, 2013 in Apps, Apps & Software, FaceBook, Gadgets, Google, iPhone, Lead story, LinkedIn, Metrics, Mobile, Mobile Marketing, Pinterest, Research, Retail News, Search Marketing, Twitter, Websites, Women for Women Marketing claims its rightful place at the boardroom table Emma Chalwin, Brand Marketing Director, Adobe So, it’s the start of a brand new year, and industry predictions for 2013 are spreading like wildfire – will it be the year that marketers finally crack social ROI, or campaign attribution, or that it will be the year of the tablet etc. etc. These aren’t new per se, but what they do point to is the vast challenges and opportunities facing marketing right now. It seems like nearly every day a new channel, a new platform, a new device, a new technique becomes ‘the next big thing’ and marketing is the one industry that is at the centre of it all. Best read article (early January) in theMarketingblog Very useful article in theMarketingblog – well researched fb.me/DuBqNp2Y — Will Corry (@slievemore) January 12, 2013 Tags: a new channel, a new device, a new platform, Adobe, Emma Chalwin, roi, social ROI, the best read article, theMarketingblog Print article via themarketingblog.co.uk

Restaurant Reviews

Restaurant Reviews : “I’d recommend The Foxhunter to any couple of groups of friends looking for a bit of escapism” Gemma

by Will Corry on January 11, 2013 in Lead story, Rock 'n Roll, South West

The Foxhunter, Nantyderry, Abergavenny, Monmouthshire, NP7 9DN

w: www.thefoxhunter.com
Follow Chef Matt Tebbutt on twitter: @matttebbutt

Posted 10th January 2013 at 10:28 pm by Gemma

TheMarketingblog Restaurant Reviews : The Foxhunter, Abergavenny: Bristol Foodie on tour.

Gemma writes .. This review isn’t strictly Bristol – but it’s less than an hour away and was the setting to a perfect anniversary weekend. More importantly, somewhere this good, this close by, deserves to be shared with you all!

Tucked away in a tiny hamlet called Nantyderry just between Abergavenny and Usk (45-50 minute drive from Bristol, map here). The Foxhunter is a beautiful gastro-pub with self catering accommodation. Their website doesn’t do it justice but hopefully my review will!

We arrived on Friday evening and were greeted by owners Matt and Lisa Tebbutt who showed us to our home for the weekend – a beautiful holiday cottage a few doors down from the pub. I’m not going to wax lyrical about the accommodation, after all this is a blog about food not travel, but it was wonderful. (Trip advisor review here).

Read more…

Prices aren’t cheap but good value for the quality of food, service and surroundings. I think we paid about £150 per night for the cottage. Main courses were £20-£28, wine was from £18. Our nightly food bill came to between £100 and £120 for two/three courses each, a bottle of wine and aperitifs.

A truly perfect weekend. I’d recommend The Foxhunter to any couple of groups of friends looking for a bit of escapism without wanting to travel too far, similarly its close enough to drive out for Sunday roast or a lunchtime meal.

Despite its celebrity chef status – The Foxhunter was wonderfully relaxed – no pretense whatsoever, just excellent food. Lisa and Matt made us feel welcome and at ease, its one of the most relaxing breaks away I think we’ve ever had!

 

 

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Thursday 10 January 2013

“It is questionable how the club can continue to operate in an environment where revenue is reducing"

Football : Financially could Birmingham City F.C. go the way of Portsmouth?

by Will Corry on January 10, 2013 in Lead story, Media, Midlands, Nuggets, PR

Birmingham City supporters turn on club over £14m debt to owner Yeung

• Accounts reveal unnamed director is being paid £687,611
• Carson Yeung is awaiting trial for money-laundering

The Blues Trust says .. “It is questionable how the club can continue to operate in an environment where revenue is reducing, its ability to borrow money is removed and any playing assets with significant transfer value have all been sold.

While it is not revealed how much money the club may need to raise from these player sales, the club now finds itself in a situation where such high value playing assets are slowly diminishing.”

City now have no significant borrowing from any bank, but stated that their overdraft facility has been withdrawn. Another point of concern – after relegation, the payment due from the club to its own sponsor was higher than the sponsor had to pay the club.

There would appear to be major trouble brewing for this famous club. Is it a case of watching this space for a massive ‘need to raise more money explosion’ or will they make a ‘slow but sure’ go of it?

 

 

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Monday 7 January 2013

Major shifts tied to warp-speed developments in mobile, social and data technologiesUntitled

Top 10 marketing trends for 2013 by JWT The forecast is that there will be .. Major shifts tied to warp-speed developments in mobile, social and data technologies.Great video about the top 10 marketing trends for 2013 [more…] via themarketingblog.co.uk

Saturday 5 January 2013

The Unconscious Mind – How it affects your customers decision making / Amplience at IRX 2013

How to appeal to the unconscious minds of your customers by creating media that exploits these hidden processes

by Will Corry on January 5, 2013 in Apps, Events, Events & Awards, FaceBook, Google, iPhone, Lead story, LinkedIn, Mobile, Mobile Marketing, Pinterest, Retail, Retail News, Twitter

IRX 2013 http://www.internetretailingexpo.com/is the only opportunity in the UK to blend marketing with technology, logistics with customer facing design, mobile with instore experience – the full range of skills and capabilities to sell in the multichannel era.

Join @jimbrooke & @uxmo of @amplience for The Unconscious Mind – How it affects your customers decision making #IRX2013 goo.gl/V2srY

— InternetRetailingXpo (@etailexpo) January 4, 2013

At IRX 2013    The Unconscious Mind – How it affects your customers decision making

Date & time: Day 1 – 10.30
Room: Workshop 3 – next to eSeller Theatre

Overview

Experts agree that the unconscious mind affects decision making processes more than is commonly thought. How we search and perceive things are long evolved and are predominantly unconscious processes.

Why is it then that campaign strategy is dominated by rational thinking that appeals to the conscious mind? Join Head of User Experience Mo Syed and CEO James Brooke and discover

1 How to appeal to the unconscious minds of your customers by creating media that
exploits these hidden processes
2 Examples of campaigns that tap these processes, delivering better performance
3 How to optimise campaign media rapidly for best results

Mo Syed – Head of User Experience, Amplience

Mo Syed is Head of User Experience at Amplience and an expert in the field. He works with Amplience delivery teams and customers to create inspirational content and digital experiences. Mo is completing a PhD in social software design – using social and social-psychological theories of cognition, decision-making and motivation.

James Brooke – CEO and co-founder, Amplience

James founded his first internet company in 1994, and since then has been at the forefront of interactive media and ecommerce, as an entrepreneur, and as a leader in the most innovative global agencies and consultancies. As CEO and co-founder of Amplience, the leading cloud based merchandising and marketing platform, James is committed to transforming the economics of interactive media production for retailers and brand owners

 

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Friday 4 January 2013

2013 : Dominos and Splash is the perfect way to kick it off.”

Domino’s Pizza to sponsor new ITV1 peak time show, Splash!

by Will Corry on January 4, 2013 in Events, Events & Awards, Latest News, Marketing, Nuggets, Retail, TV

ITV Commercial today announced that Domino’s Pizza, the world’s leading pizza delivery company, is the sponsor of ITV1’s new Saturday night peak time show, Splash! with Tom Daley.

The fully integrated sponsorship package was negotiated by ITV Commercial and Arena Media on behalf of Domino’s Pizza. The package includes broadcast, online and mobile and kicks off on 5th January 2013. The sponsorship idents will be created by Big Communications.

Splash is a brand new entertainment series that pitches celebrities against each other as they learn to dive. Featuring Olympic Bronze medal and British and European Championship winner Tom Daley, Splash! challenges some of the nation’s favourite faces to learn one of sport’s most difficult disciplines.

A team of professional coaches will train the celebrities as they push their limits and overcome their fears to master the grace, skill, athleticism and accuracy needed, to perform dives from the high board. The famous faces will perform live each week in the electric atmosphere of a packed Olympic size pool – in front of a panel of expert judges as the public vote for their favourites.

An ITV Commercial spokesperson said: “We are very excited for our new entertainment show Splash! to hit screens and entertain families all over Britain. We are delighted to welcome Domino’s Pizza on board as the sponsor of the programme as we believe it will be an ideal platform for the brand to engage with their target audience.”

Simon Wallis, sales and marketing director at Domino’s said: “Our decision to sponsor this brand new show fits perfectly in line with our target audience, promoting Domino’s at the ideal time and in the right place. ITV has an incredibly impressive track record for prime time family entertainment, and I’m sure Splash! won’t disappoint.”

Henry Daglish, Deputy MD at Arena Media said: “2013 will be another year of innovation and creativity in our on-going partnership with Dominos and Splash is the perfect way to kick it off.”

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AdConnection has made a senior level appointment hiring Simon White to the role of Account Director

Movers & Groovers : Simon White joins AdConnection

by Will Corry on January 4, 2013 in Advertising, Latest News

AdConnection, the leading independent media planning and buying agency, has made a senior level appointment, hiring Simon White to the role of Account Director following a number of new client wins.

White joins AdConnection following eleven years at Rapp Media and brings with him a wealth of experience across TV, data and direct response campaigns. White has also worked at MGOMD, MBS and ITV, working with brands such as Michellin, npower, Sony Music, NSPCC, and UNICEF.

White will be reporting to Group Board Director, Stephanie May.

Catherine Becker, CEO at AdConnection, said: “It is great to attract such a talented person to join our senior team, and it is a testament to the success of our company that we have done so. We are very much looking forward to working with Simon, who we know will play a key part in our continued growth.”

Simon White added: “I am really excited to be joining such an ambitious company and working on delivering rigour, creativity and results-driven campaigns to their growing list of fantastic clients.”

AdConnection has recently added ethical tuna brand, The Reel Fish Company, to its growing list of clients.

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Will Corry: 14 content marketing tips you’ll read because they’re in a list. - The Marketing Society#more-23937

Will Corry: 14 content marketing tips you’ll read because they’re in a list.

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  • Our new monthly blogger, Will Corry, Content Curator for The Marketing Blog,  shares top tips on content marketing.

    I know, I know…  Even though you’ve read page upon virtual page about content marketing already, you couldn’t resist clicking the link to read this post. Some uncontrollable impulse forced you to click your mouse or tap that screen. Well, I’ll let you in on a little secret—that impulse is what content marketing is all about.

    Let’s take a look at how you can shape that content so it will be simply irresistible for your audience:

    1. Put things in a list

    Lists are compelling. They’re easy to skim and most people skim when they’re reading blog posts.

    Lists are also easy to write.

    Don’t use them all the time, but don’t forget them, either.

    2. Use the word “you”

    You wouldn’t find this copy so compelling if I talked about what an anonymous “they” should be doing with their content.

    Really, who cares about them?

    No, this is a post for you, about what you can do for your content marketing.

    If I’m talking to you, you’re more likely to pay attention and keep reading what I’ve got to say.

    3. Make declarations

    Which blog post are you more likely to read: “14 Content Tips You May Want to Read Because They’re in a List” or “14 Content Tips You’ll Read Because They’re in a List.”

    Probably the second post, right? Because the title makes a bold declaration.

    Declarations show that the writer knows what he or she is talking about.

    They are informative and valuable, too, because making declarations ensures that the reader will take something away from the content.

    4. Write tweet-ready titles

    You may have heard how you need to make titles of all sorts engaging, whether it’s an email subject line or blog post.

    But what does an “engaging” title actually mean?

    Well, try picturing every title like a tweet. Think about what kinds of tweets drive the most traffic and model your titles after those.

    5. Make sure your content doesn’t blind people

    Text on a screen is different than text in a book.

    Keep most paragraphs to one or two sentences. Three can sometimes work, if you’re feeling lucky.

    Don’t forget to make breaks in your text with subheads, images, and breaks to fully optimize your content for readability.

    And pay close attention to your color schemes—stay away from fluorescent colors that will blind your reader.

    Making any of these mistakes can make your content completely unreadable .

    6. Write what people want to read, not what you want to write

    Your content should always have an audience in mind.

    That means you should have their needs in mind, too, not your own. Remember, content marketing should provide something valuable to people.

    So although you may want to write about how terrible your day was or how someone should do something about the lines at delis in grocery stores, that’s not the kind of thing people will want to read.

    They want to read something that’s written about the things they’re thinking about.

    So ask yourself what concerns and delights your audience, then go from there.

    7. Make sure you’ve got more of the “content” part and not so much of the “marketing” part

    A lot of organizations get caught up in the “marketing” part of content marketing. Don’t!

    Content is supposed to give your audience something of value. In return, you’re developing trust, authority, and expertise.

    A blog post that ends with “BUY NOW!” each time will generate far fewer potential customers or supporters than one that ends with “Download our free guide!”

    Why? Because people need to be convinced to buy something and one blog post probably won’t do it. You need a lot of content to build a good relationship.

    8. Talk to people about the problem, not the solution

    Instead of asking if an audience has a problem, then presenting a solution (your product), content needs to meet your audience’s problem, acknowledge the issue, then show your expertise on the subject.

    When the audience trusts that expertise enough, they’ll be ready to take the next step and they’ll think of you first.

    9. Don’t write your content in a bubble

    When you’re writing, always remember to pop the bubble of your products and services by showing how they impact real people and real things every day.

    If you stick to isolated product pitches and studies, no one will be able to see it in the context of their own lives.

    10. Don’t forget about SEO

    One of the most rock-solid benefits of content marketing is boosting your website’s ranking in search engines.

    You don’t have to be an expert to write content that’s great for search engine optimization (SEO).

    Just link phrases you think your audience is looking for to deeper pages on your website that relate to the topic and you’re halfway there.

    11. Show people how to do things

    Google’s Keyword Tool estimates that, each month, the phrase “how to” is searched 414,000,000 times and the phrase “how to videos” is searched 618,000,000 times.

    So, it’s more or less safe to conclude that people use the Internet as an informal instruction guide for just about everything.

    Your own “How to” posts should discuss not just the things your organization offers, but anything else that your audience is interested in that can be related to what you offer.

    We do this a lot with “How to” blog posts about subjects like Facebook.

    We’re not Facebook, we’re not selling Facebook, but we do have Social Campaigns , a tool that can help people get the most out of their Facebook Page.

    12. Pay attention to what’s working

    Always have a way to track what content is being read and what’s being ignored.

    With Email Marketing , you can do this by monitoring click-throughs and open rates.

    With blog posts, check to see which search terms are leading people to your site and what posts are getting read and shared.

    With social media, you can see who’s “liking,” retweeting, and engaging with posts.

    All of this can show you who’s actually reading and interacting with your content.

    13. Tell people what you told them … again

    Content marketing isn’t just about making the content, it’s about making sure things stick.

    In the end, it all comes back to thinking about your audience before making any content in the first place.

    • Who’s going to read the content?
    • What are they going to do with it?
    • What are they going to take away from it?
    • What’s your organization going to get from it?

    14. Include a call to action

    No blog post is complete without a next step of some sort, so here goes:

    What do you find is most effective when it comes to content marketing? Let us know below…

    Read more Will Corry blog posts and tweet @silvermore.

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    Posted: December 14th, 2012 | Author: admin | Filed under: Digital | Tags: , , | Leave a Comment »

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