News last week that the Apple iPhone is to be extended to cover Orange and Vodafone as well as O2 has come with a wealth of joy. This really is great news, not only does it broaden the mobile phone's reach but will help grow the hotly anticipated world of mobile marketing.
It seems like the perfect deal for the consumer. With the iphone being distributed via more than one network it will surely create a price war between those involved and therefore drive down prices for the consumer. These wonderful gadgets are now more widely accessible and provide a permission asset for marketers to utilise and create truly personal and engaging communications. Applications are the future!
Although the AppStore has seen huge downloads since its launch, the following year will provide a clearer picture of just how far mobile marketing can go. Could it be that mobiles will no longer hold their primary purpose as phones but instead become life devices that acts as a single point for all media consumption? A bit extreme maybe but the explosive growth of the smartphone means that constant technological development is needed to satisfy an already tech hungry consumer.
I'm sure these times are a few years off yet but it has to be noted that this new deal is a great step forward in the mobile revolution!
Tuesday, 6 October 2009
Tuesday, 8 September 2009
Social Media and Brands
An absolutely brilliant presentation from @paulisakson concerning the future of marketing and how brands should behave.
Monday, 7 September 2009
Don't mess with the font!
I have just read this blog article surrounding IKEA's decision to dump its old typeface and instead replace it with the font Verdana. Believe it or not this has caused a significant stir with die hard IKEA fans who have set up an online petition recording over 4,000 names.
What is the world coming to?
What is the world coming to?
Thursday, 27 August 2009
Tuesday, 25 August 2009
Soft Selling ESPN
I had a bit of a rant about Setanta earlier in the year about how they came storming into the football broadcasting market and expected football fans to dish out over £10 a month to see additional live games. Now that they're gone, ESPN have come along and are trying to shift the monopoly of Sky Sports. The big difference between ESPN's strategy and that of Setanta is that ESPN have taken a much gentler approach and have tried not to become just another broadcaster that wants consumers money.
In the 60 second spot below, ESPN have tried to reflect the passion of being a football fan. There is no mention of any monthly fee, just a delivery that indicates the channel is a passionate follower of football. The ad seeks to emulate the oath of football that exists in so many towns and cities across the country. The call to action in the final frame, enables ESPN to develop a brand experience for consumers through their customer service or online presence. After football fans rejection of Setanta last season, the knowledge that ESPN is not merely trying to take our money is one that I believe will gain the broadcaster a lot of support.
Obviously to try and maintain its dominance Sky has created a series of ads depicting the feeling football brings and how they share this passion. A similar execution to that of ESPN, it may be difficult for viewers to differentiate between the two broadcasters and therefore due to the high level of brand awareness for Sky Sports, the UK brand may just come out on top. A clever piece of strategic advertising from Sky.
In the 60 second spot below, ESPN have tried to reflect the passion of being a football fan. There is no mention of any monthly fee, just a delivery that indicates the channel is a passionate follower of football. The ad seeks to emulate the oath of football that exists in so many towns and cities across the country. The call to action in the final frame, enables ESPN to develop a brand experience for consumers through their customer service or online presence. After football fans rejection of Setanta last season, the knowledge that ESPN is not merely trying to take our money is one that I believe will gain the broadcaster a lot of support.
Obviously to try and maintain its dominance Sky has created a series of ads depicting the feeling football brings and how they share this passion. A similar execution to that of ESPN, it may be difficult for viewers to differentiate between the two broadcasters and therefore due to the high level of brand awareness for Sky Sports, the UK brand may just come out on top. A clever piece of strategic advertising from Sky.
Ad Grads Vs Grads
Hosted by NABs, the graduate workshop at JWT on Monday was a fascinating experience. I was able to gain a bit more insight into how agencies are run and what makes a good account man, and I took alot from the presentations. It was an entertaining delivery from Sam and Will of the AdGrads blog, who gave 10 tips in managing your online presence and how this can help (or hinder) you in your application. Overall, a very informative and interesting presentation.
During the workshop, I talked to other students attending about their applications and what they had done at university. I was surprised at the sheer number of different courses people had studied, from French to Anthropology and even engineering. Not one person I spoke to had studied advertising or marketing.
This got me thinking about my own choices and if my decision to study Advertising and Marketing communications at university would give me a distinct advantage over the other advertising applicants. I can obviously understand ad agencies thinking that a wider range of graduates means more perspectives on certain issues but surely those who have studied the advertising industry for the past three years, had experience working on real client briefs and carried out numerous pitches should have a slight edge in the application process?
During the workshop, I talked to other students attending about their applications and what they had done at university. I was surprised at the sheer number of different courses people had studied, from French to Anthropology and even engineering. Not one person I spoke to had studied advertising or marketing.
This got me thinking about my own choices and if my decision to study Advertising and Marketing communications at university would give me a distinct advantage over the other advertising applicants. I can obviously understand ad agencies thinking that a wider range of graduates means more perspectives on certain issues but surely those who have studied the advertising industry for the past three years, had experience working on real client briefs and carried out numerous pitches should have a slight edge in the application process?
Wednesday, 19 August 2009
Great Idea. Poor Execution.
When I came across the news that Championship Manager 2010 was available as a digital download where users could pay what they want and get it for as little as 10p I couldnt wait to get online and grab my copy. I rushed to my computer, straight to the championship manager website and followed the link to the download. Luckily, the page I was directed to contained a video telling me a bit more about the pay what you want scheme. Underneath the video, I was met with a large number of comments stating just how bad the process was for purchasing the game. Users were complaining that they had been charged either twice, three times or four times for the digital download due for release on September 10th. People were angry and it was easy to understand why. After reading the comments there was no way I was about to enter my card details to get charged several times.
The idea of allowing people to pay what they want for digital goods was promoted by the band, Radiohead who let fans choose what they paid for their 'Rainbows' album in 2008. That proved to be a huge success with Radiohead consequently delivering their music on a sell-out tour. My problem with the championship manager version is their poor execution. When the shop went live on 18 August, the process should have been perfect, but instead there were major problems that was making people think twice about purchasing the game.
For me, Championship Manager has always been miles behind the other management simulator game, Football Manager but this was an opportunity to get the game on people's computers and experience its latest overhauled game engine. Instead, its just got fans angry and has confirmed my views on Football Manager's superiority.
The key point to take from this is the importance of a smooth execution. Having a great idea that will get people talking about your brand is one thing but delivering it simply and effectively is vital to the brands' reputation and long term success.
The idea of allowing people to pay what they want for digital goods was promoted by the band, Radiohead who let fans choose what they paid for their 'Rainbows' album in 2008. That proved to be a huge success with Radiohead consequently delivering their music on a sell-out tour. My problem with the championship manager version is their poor execution. When the shop went live on 18 August, the process should have been perfect, but instead there were major problems that was making people think twice about purchasing the game.
For me, Championship Manager has always been miles behind the other management simulator game, Football Manager but this was an opportunity to get the game on people's computers and experience its latest overhauled game engine. Instead, its just got fans angry and has confirmed my views on Football Manager's superiority.
The key point to take from this is the importance of a smooth execution. Having a great idea that will get people talking about your brand is one thing but delivering it simply and effectively is vital to the brands' reputation and long term success.
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