ALF Insight Blog Copyright @MBI https://alfinsight.azurewebsites.net/blog/rss Fri, 23 October 2020 13:47:57 Fri, 23 October 2020 13:47:57 Sales and marketing during the pandemic https://alfinsight.azurewebsites.net/blog/rss/blog/2020/sales-and-marketing-during-the-pandemic/ It was on the 23rd of March, when the Prime Minister announced we need to stay at home. What some initially thought was a temporary measure, we find ourselves eight months later and sales and marketing teams have still not been able to fully return to normal. Sales and marketing people jumped into ‘work from home’ life with a bang, along with 9.4 million roles being placed on furlough by the end of June many of us were left in a state of shock.   Many businesses in media entered a firefighting state, advertisers pulled their plans, consumers were locked at home, pipelines depleted, and events postponed. We asked our ALF users what impact this had in their role and discussed with ITV and Clear Channel in a recent ALF TALKS.   With brands hesitating and holding back around £1.1billion of advertising spend during lockdown and it is no surprise that 89% of respondents agreed that clients were less likely to spend. A gloomy picture, but how have sales and marketeers reacted? Over 70% of respondents disagreed that they were having instances of prospect/clients angered by their sales effort in light of the pandemic, but the way we communicate seems to have changed quite significantly.     Outreach   59% of respondents claim it has been harder to reach prospects and clients on the phone, while 36% think the same regarding email. Email certainly appears to be a more widely used method with 55% of respondents claiming they have used this to communicate more over the lockdown period (just 34% are upping their phone conversation). Video is the clear winner when it comes to new ways of working. Nothing encompasses this like the Zoom boom demonstrated by the growth of 10 million daily users in Dec-19 to 200 million daily users in March 2020. This is quite a shift in the media industry highlighted by a sales survey January this year, 42% of respondents claimed they never used video to conduct meetings with their clients/prospects while 74% did this mostly in a face to face setting.       Obviously, sales and marketers have had to adjust to both internally and externally. The same goes for our clients with 84% of our survey respondents claiming that clients are open to conducting business this way now over video. A significant change in media, and with new restrictions which include working from home it is a pattern that is not subject to change anytime soon.     Working from home   But what is the impact on salespeople having to operate this way? Only 23% claimed to have struggled with productivity, with 55% suggesting productivity was improved. Could this be one of the ingredients to work more efficiently? Gone are the days a simple one-hour meeting takes up half a day of your time. 48% of our respondents claimed that prospects and clients were more open to them. Could this be a result of the new ways we communicate from our homes or just an ‘all in it together consensus’?   In the ALF TALKS webinar, we discussed sales and marketing teams in work from home setting, and we indeed agreed the best solution was a mix of both remote and office working. There are certainly challenges being away from colleagues that we must face. There are multiple headlines regarding this work from home or in the office narrative. Still, ultimately 77% of our ALF user respondents said they missed the office and being with their colleagues despite also claiming WFH had to be an aspect in future life.   It makes sense that the best of both worlds is wanted. Despite saving on that commute time and cost what happens to training, coaching, motivation and reassurance that is gained from being together as a group. 68% of our respondents stressed that were concerned around job security and career progression created by the pandemic. This is not a shock considering furlough numbers, redundancies, and sales performance over the period, but it is so essential for organisations to reassure their teams when they can. Training plans, development sessions and team social aspects must not be forgotten- just reconfigured to fit our new ways of working. This should not just be for existing teams but virtual onboardings as well, which need to be carried out in upcoming months. We should not forget the important socialisation and learning that goes into making people great!   On targeting   If one thing Covid has reminded us is that things change quickly. The same thing goes for both our clients and our marketing and sales strategy. 91% of our survey respondents have had to change their sales pitch messaging, while 66% have been targeting brands that traditionally were not on their radar. When discussing with ITV's Rachel Compton and Clear Channels Mark Mahoney the same was true for them, and that fast-paced change of tact has been crucial for sales and marketing efforts. We have seen brands pivot to offer D2C models like ‘home to Heinz’ and established D2C brands increasing their spend in Q2 – the likes of Parsley box, Very, Direct Wines and Newchic.   We have been forced to re-think the makeup of our client base, looking at areas doing well. Let's not forget that this is not the first recession and there will be brands that will establish themselves in this period. Not to forget that the affordability of TV and online advertising that’s allowed more digital brands to surface and advertise to a stuck at-home audience. Of course, there were also some well-established brands upping their spend in Q2 – the likes of NHS England, Apple, Paypal and Unliever to name a few.  Despite the opportunity that remains I'm sorry to say 33% of our respondents have reduced their sales activity and 36% reduced their marketing efforts over this period. But with a further understanding that things will remain up in the air how will sales team reacts going into 2021? https://alfinsight.azurewebsites.net/blog/rss/blog/2020/sales-and-marketing-during-the-pandemic/ https://alfinsight.azurewebsites.net/blog/rss/blog/2020/sales-and-marketing-during-the-pandemic/ Fri, 23 October 2020 13:47:57 The factors that create new opportunities https://alfinsight.azurewebsites.net/blog/rss/blog/2020/the-factors-that-create-new-opportunities/ How often are commercial teams analysing macro and micro-environments? Pre Brexit once a year, post referendum once a month, during the pandemic…everyday? It can be quite difficult to step back and look at the political, environmental, social, technological and economic issues that businesses cannot control but still affect the way advertisers market themselves; and to connect these factors with how consumers respond, the way suppliers react, and a company’s stakeholders and its internal environment.   Consumer behaviour is in a state of flux, and brands have done their best to keep up and change their strategies in the world that we live in now. In our recent ALF Talks webinar,  ITV’s Head of Commercial Marketing, Rachel Compton, mentioned a bakery in the north of England they started working with, quickly building an e-commerce site and selling baking products which we all know sold out whilst in lockdown. We also saw a renewed interest in arts, crafts and gardening, which I am sure will continue.     It is no surprise that online and direct-to-consumer brands, or food delivery and meal kit to-your-door services have been so popular during this period. Some companies have decided to launch new products or call an agency review to help them devise a new strategy. Some things are difficult to predict and events occur which we can’t do anything about. Nevertheless, through a crisis, if we think about how the environment in which we live in will affect what consumers will do, there are plenty of opportunities around. For example, most consumers opted for staycations during the summer. The traditional road trip was back in vogue. And when we have road trips, we have road trip snacks. Think of all the types of meat, confectionery, cheese, protein and health snack brands you could had been working with? Mizkan launched a D2C veggie stick called Zenb. Mondelez made it clear that it was on the hunt to acquire healthier snack brands and to find a way to own a product line not affected by the sugar taxes.   If we look a few months ahead, Mondelez’s Chief Executive has warned that a no-deal Brexit at the end of the year without a trade deal would be “very disruptive” for the company’s supply chain between the UK and mainland Europe. On the other hand, Unilever warned  that it would reconsider its plans to move if it was affected by the proposed Dutch tax bill, which has been designed to penalise companies with revenues of more than €750m that leave the Netherlands for lower-tax jurisdictions. This would have affected its advertising plans for the UK market, except that Unilever’s Dutch shareholders have backed plans to transfer the company into a London-based entity to simplify its corporate structure, so there is some good news there.   A social trend that has affected the UK’s national drink market, is changing tea habits. Unilever said earlier this year that sales of traditional black tea have been declining in developed markets due to changing tastes and that it was reviewing its global tea business that includes brands such as Lipton, Brooke Bond, Lyons and PG Tips. Coffee is now the king of hot beverages in Britain. “Coffee continues to be the second most consumed drink in the UK, just behind water, but ahead of all other hot beverages and soft drinks,” says Emily Turner, Costa brand manager at All About Food which manufactures and markets many of the brand’s retail products.   Covid-19 drove strong growth in take-home sales of hot beverages. The market switched from 1.7% value decline [Kantar 12 w/e 26 January 2020] to 13.3% growth in the latest period.  With most of the UK’s 26,000 coffee shops closing at the end of March, the lion’s share of growth was driven by coffee. Sales were up 16.8% in value and 15.2% in volume.  “ The growth centres around roast & ground coffee ,” explains Kantar analyst Madeleine Peck. “Pods saw strong growth of 19.9% alongside 21.2% for filter cafetières and 32.9% for beans. Coffee bags are the smallest sector by value but grew by 55.3%.” This suggests shoppers have been trying to recreate that coffee shop experience at home. The growth of coffee bags also reflects this with this new format being adopted by Nescafé Azera and Taylors.  Tea fared less well with value up 3.9% and volumes down 2.8%. “ Tea’s decline is mainly driven by standard black ,” says Peck. “Decaffeinated black tea saw 14% growth. Some shoppers have switched from standard to decaffeinated; a movement worth almost £600k.” We have seen the tea manufacturers like Yorkshire Tea fighting that trend with their ranges of biscuit and jam & toast flavoured tea. And PG Tips who has launched a trio of functional teas.  There will be other sectors that will evolve and change due to consumer trends. Tourism and travel will need to rethink what they will do to claw back consumers, rebuild their confidence, or simply stay at the forefront of their mind during a complex period. So, it is important to keep an eye on this sector.   There will no doubt be huge advances within the technology space with more elderly people online than ever before and 10% of the world’s population being over 65. Brands will be looking to penetrate this market. For example, ZVOX Audio is the first audio brand to design marketed headphones acoustically designed for people over the age of 50.   The pandemic has also accelerated demand for sustainability. 42% of consumers consider it a lot more important for brands to behave in sustainable ways. And we have seen brands like Smol, an eco-friendly laundry goods subscription service, or Cheeky Panda who produce toilet rolls, kitchen rolls, baby wipes and pocket tissues sustainably using bamboo more and more.     In a recent ALF sales and marketing survey, 66% of respondents said they have approached brands that typically were not on their radar. As we live in an economy that constantly evolves, we will see some products and technologies that belong to brands that will become obsolete. Some will just be fads and be with us for a short period, and some for our lifetime. To keep an eye on these changes, monitoring and analysing our macro and micro-environments should be vital when we are looking for new opportunities. https://alfinsight.azurewebsites.net/blog/rss/blog/2020/the-factors-that-create-new-opportunities/ https://alfinsight.azurewebsites.net/blog/rss/blog/2020/the-factors-that-create-new-opportunities/ Thu, 08 October 2020 13:05:03 ALF Talks with ITV and Clear Channel https://alfinsight.azurewebsites.net/blog/rss/blog/2020/alf-talks-with-itv-and-clear-channel/ This episode will address the issues the pandemic has caused for ITV’s Head of Commercial Marketing, Rachel Compton and Clear Channel’s Head of Marketing Operations and SME Marketing, Mark Mahoney, new ways of working in the future and what initiatives they have implemented to help their new and existing clients.   Watch our first webinar here: https://alfinsight.azurewebsites.net/blog/rss/blog/2020/alf-talks-with-itv-and-clear-channel/ https://alfinsight.azurewebsites.net/blog/rss/blog/2020/alf-talks-with-itv-and-clear-channel/ Thu, 08 October 2020 12:32:32 Newcomer brands are changing the way consumers shop and are spending more on advertising https://alfinsight.azurewebsites.net/blog/rss/blog/2020/newcomer-brands-are-changing-the-way-consumers-shop-and-are-spending-more-on-advertising/ Smol   A start up who spent over £700,000 across multiple channels on advertising. The brand manufactures and delivers eco-friendly laundry capsules and dishwasher tablets on subscription to your door. It undercuts the price of the leading brands and has now raised £8m in its latest funding round. The funding will see the company push into new product categories, expand further into new markets and grow its team. Founded by former Unilever executives, Smol differentiates itself from established rivals with products that it claims are greener, cheaper and free of animals fats.    Kitri   Founded in 2017 out of a desire to create quality fashion pieces at an accessible price point, Kitri has quickly become known for its extensive inventory of contemporary vintage-inspired pieces. It recently introduced a made-to-order business model to avoid waste and some pieces have more than 800 people on the waiting list. And regardless of the current climate some of its dresses have sold out in 24 hours. This is a fast-growing company which doesn't appear to work with an agency.   Patch Plant   Patch is a service which helps you find great plants for your homes and gardens, delivering them straight to your door together with some with advice on plant care. Since its launch in 2015, this innovative UK startups has delivered over 250,000 plants to more than 82,000 customers across London and Paris. Late last year, the company raised £1.8 million through a Crowdcube campaign. These funds are being used towards further expansion and growth in a variety of key areas.   Vincero Watches   Vincero is a company still in its infancy. Founded in 2014, the watchmaker produces highly affordable timepieces. It has the simple mission to fill the "middle-ground" between high-end, luxury timekeepers and cheap models that scrimp on quality. The company's growth is equally impressive when you consider it has never necessitated outside investment. According to the founders,  “Our worst nightmare is being forced to grow simply for the sake of growth. From day one we wanted this business to grow organically because our customers truly loved our products.” Are any of these the type of companies you want to work with?   If you want to reach any decision makers from these brands or agencies. Get in touch click here to get in touch. https://alfinsight.azurewebsites.net/blog/rss/blog/2020/newcomer-brands-are-changing-the-way-consumers-shop-and-are-spending-more-on-advertising/ https://alfinsight.azurewebsites.net/blog/rss/blog/2020/newcomer-brands-are-changing-the-way-consumers-shop-and-are-spending-more-on-advertising/ Tue, 18 August 2020 07:51:45 How to build an agency patch https://alfinsight.azurewebsites.net/blog/rss/blog/2020/how-to-build-an-agency-patch/ This video shows you how ALF makes it easier to populate agencies that look after the highest spending brands in the UK from the market sectors you want to target. https://alfinsight.azurewebsites.net/blog/rss/blog/2020/how-to-build-an-agency-patch/ https://alfinsight.azurewebsites.net/blog/rss/blog/2020/how-to-build-an-agency-patch/ Mon, 08 June 2020 06:58:54 These brands have launched new products under lockdown https://alfinsight.azurewebsites.net/blog/rss/blog/2020/these-brands-have-launched-new-products-under-lockdown/ The list below is displayed by the most recent product launches.  For more information click on the brands in bold to see its full profile.   •  Alibaba   launched influencer platform   •  BoohooMan   launched first in-app video game   •   Morrisons   to open standalone Nutmeg store   •   Kallo   launched an alternative to rice cakes made with pea protein   •   Aldi   rolled out ice cream product Gianni's Mini Cups   •   Aldi   also announced it will provide a delivery service via a trial with   Deliveroo   •   Facebook   unveiled mobile-first shops for DTC brands to help e-commerce   •   The BBC   enabled viewers to watch programmes together, separately, by adding a new feature called BBC Together on its   iPlayer   •   Octopus Energy   launched EV charging payment interoperability service   •   Boots '   No7   is to run a selection of free virtual beauty services online   •   Waitrose   is relaunching its Essential Waitrose brand to show it in a more 'fresh and modern light’ that reflects the 'quality and value' of its products   •   Tesco   revealed Fire Pit, a new range of BBQ meats and sides inspired by the US pitmaster trend   •   Sainsbury’s   launched a one-hour bike delivery service titled Chop Chop   •   Pernod   Ricard   unveiled  Ceder's Pink Rose se   •   Kopparberg   rolled out three hard seltzers in Mixed Berries, Black Cherry, and Passionfruit variants   •   Kerry Foods   launched three vegan Deli Ready Bites to its Naked Glory range   •   Jack Link’s   added two 100% savoury beef bars to its meat snack brand   •   Bear   rolled out two new lines to its range: Giant Yoyos and Bear Bites, both made with 100% fruit and vegetables   •   Charlie Bigham’s   added four new dishes to its portfolio   •   boohooMAN   partnered with   Disney   to launch a new 90s inspired collection   •   Glossybox   unveiled a beauty box aimed at pre-teens   •   Charlotte Tilbury   launched a weekly discussion series named 'Charlotte's Beauty Happy Hour'   •   Brown Forman  kick started commenced its standalone UK spirits operation   •   Stella Artois   rolled out an alcohol-free version   •   Arla   launched an organic mature cheddar cheese under the   Yeo Valley   brand license it acquired last year   •  Waitrose & Partners   unveiled its 'Scrumptious Summer' range which includes the launch of 145 products   •   Sonos   collaborated with Napster to launch 30 streaming radio channels on its app   •   SodaStream   partnered with   Asda   to launch its Jet model and syrups   •   Sanctuary Spa   revealed its new Vitamin C collection   •   Tails.com   added Yak milk dog chews to its DTC portfolio   •   Twinings   rolled out six 'fortified teas' as part of its Cold In'fuse range   •   Napolina   launched a range of frozen pasta and sauces   •   Graze   rolled out a range of cereal bars for children   •   Epic Games   released   Fortnite   on   Google Play   following a long-running dispute   •   Facebook   launched a dedicated gaming app in an attempt to grow its presence in the online gaming world   •   GQ  launched an Instagram Live broadcast every Thursday at 6pm titled GQ Happy Hour   •   Jo Malone   announced the launch of its limited-edition Blossoms Collection   •   Head & Shoulder s   rolled out a new pre-wash range inspired by skincare   •   Elemis   partnered with British designer Olivia Rubin on three exclusive beauty bags   •   Apple   announced the release of the second generation model of its budget iPhone SE which first launched in 2016   •   Häagen-Dazs   teamed up with Secret Cinema to launch a weekly home-entertainment series   •   Jacob’s   launched a range of three Mexican-inspired Mini Cheddars flavours   •   Doritos  is competing with   Pringles   with the launch of four 'Stax' snacks in recyclable and resealable canisters   •   Waitrose   launched wine in a tube, which it is claiming is a UK first   •   Aunt Bessie’s   collaborated with brewer Northern Monk to create a pair of roast dinner beers   •  BrewDog   partnered with heavy metal band Lamb of God to create Ghost Walker, a non-alcoholic beer inspired by the band's song 'Ghost Walking'   •   Facebook   launched an app called Tuned allowing couples to privately message each other   •   Freixenet   announced the launch of three Italian wines named Pinot Grigio D.O.C, Italian Rosé, and Chianti D.O.C.G   •   Freixenet  also partnered with South African rhino protection charity Care For Wild to launch a new standalone wine brand   •   Innocent   added Power to the Purple to its Plus range of drinks   •   Rowntree's   added a new fruity flavour to its ice lolly range   •   Baxters   launched its first range of tinned plant-based soups   •   Carte Noire   relaunched its Classique coffee range   •   Napolina   launched a range of canned pulses and grains that are drained and ready to serve   •   Kettle Chips   added a Thai Sweet Chilli flavour to its lineup   •   Fridge Raiders   launched a limited-edition katsu Chicken Bites variant   •   Huawei   launched a range of new smartphones   •   Debenhams   launched a new premium kidswear brand targeting the younger and tween children’s market   •   Louis Vuitton   sold out a luxury 'at home' range as part of its new season collection   •   Lego   revealed new packaging for its products aimed at an adult audience   •   Lucozade Energy   added a new lemon and lime flavour to its portfolio   •   Ella's Kitchen   launched its new Dairy Free range with the help of agency Brandon   •   Wrigley's Extra Range   launched Extra Refreshers gum in peppermint, spearmint and bubblemint flavour   •   Marmite   launched a new six-pack case size to help retailers 'offer better breakfast choices'   •   Nakd   expanded its cereal bar range with Nakd Drizzled Chocolish   •   Boursin   augmented its soft cheese range by adding a spicy cheese variation called Inspiration https://alfinsight.azurewebsites.net/blog/rss/blog/2020/these-brands-have-launched-new-products-under-lockdown/ https://alfinsight.azurewebsites.net/blog/rss/blog/2020/these-brands-have-launched-new-products-under-lockdown/ Mon, 01 June 2020 12:04:35 5 brands that have stood out in the last 7 days https://alfinsight.azurewebsites.net/blog/rss/blog/2020/5-brands-that-have-stood-out-in-the-last-7-days/ Walkers   Walkers has decided to part ways with AMV BBDO and is looking for a new creative agency. Walkers' Marketing Director Fernando Kahane said: "Our challenge is very clear: we need to connect with people on an emotional level by inspiring everyday moments of enjoyment.    "A fresh perspective will help us remain relevant in modern Britain. We are hugely grateful to the team at AMV who partnered with us to create some of the most iconic campaigns in our history."   Post Office   The Post Office is reviewing its £7m media account and is searching for an affiliate marketing agency. Its Drop & Go service has seen a 30% increase in use since mid-March as small businesses adapt to trading during lockdown. The number of customers signing up to use Drop & Go is 3.5 times higher than it was during the same period last year.   Millions of parcels are processed by the Post Office every week and around 75% of all business seller items come through its 11,500 branches. The company will be launching a digital advertising campaign in June to promote its Drop & Go service.   Halfords   After Britons were told to consider cycling to work as lockdown is eased, and Transport Minister Grant Shapps said the UK’s road infrastructure would be changed to accommodate more cyclists, shares in Halfords soared by as much as 26%.   Britain’s biggest cycling retailer launched a campaign aimed at the estimated 7 million British adults who have bicycles languishing in sheds and garages. It said it will provide a free “32-point” check on neglected bikes to help people get ready for the post lockdown commute. It is also the market leader in e-scooters.   Looking at Halfords past it's likely to make agency changes soon. It made two significant marketing hires last year and has not reviewed its media planning and buying account for over five years. Also its creative account seems to be reviewed every three years. but it last appointed a creative agency in 2017.    Aldi   From this week customers can order Aldi products straight from Deliveroo. This partnership will most likely be heavily promoted. Amazon is now an investor in Deliveroo, making both brands involved in the online grocery delivery for Morrisons, Co-op, M&S and now Aldi.   Aldi has also launched two new ice cream products in time for the summer heatwave. The new range includes a dupe of Ben & Jerry's famous Cookie Dough ice cream as well as a copy of Häagen-Daz's mini cups. The new summer treats are almost half the price of the well-loved tubs.    The supermarket releases special buys every week, which is a selection of limited-edition products across all types of categories, from household to garden and beauty products.    Young’s Seafood   As home cooking is on the rise Young’s Seafood has launched new engagement campaigns, with recipes and preparation instructions called "The Young's Kitchen, aimed at boosting seafood’s profile in home kitchens.   Supported by a paid digital, influencer and social media campaign, the initiative was conceived to adapt to consumer feedback and showcase user-generated content, said Young’s.   Although micro-influencers in the parenting and family space are the initial target demographic of the campaign, Young’s said it’s looking to expand “The Young’s Kitchen” scope to include the recreation of the “chippy” experience at home, how to master date nights, and expert content for more adventurous cooks.     I hope these brand stories are helpful and of interest to you. https://alfinsight.azurewebsites.net/blog/rss/blog/2020/5-brands-that-have-stood-out-in-the-last-7-days/ https://alfinsight.azurewebsites.net/blog/rss/blog/2020/5-brands-that-have-stood-out-in-the-last-7-days/ Thu, 21 May 2020 08:45:10 Building B2B sales and marketing lists in ALF https://alfinsight.azurewebsites.net/blog/rss/blog/2020/building-b2b-sales-and-marketing-lists-in-alf/ If you work in media sales, new business and marketing ALF will populate sales and marketing lists to help you reach the highest advertising spenders.   It takes minutes or seconds even if you're really familiar with ALF to create a list of prospects from brands and agencies for you to develop into customers.   Watch the video below to see how you can create sales and marketing list in ALF. https://alfinsight.azurewebsites.net/blog/rss/blog/2020/building-b2b-sales-and-marketing-lists-in-alf/ https://alfinsight.azurewebsites.net/blog/rss/blog/2020/building-b2b-sales-and-marketing-lists-in-alf/ Thu, 14 May 2020 13:18:25 ALF brand advanced search https://alfinsight.azurewebsites.net/blog/rss/blog/2020/alf-brand-advanced-search/ ALF's advanced search helps you to identify all the brands you want to target.   Assort brands by spend, industry and ALF will even show you their incumbent agencies to make sales easier.   Watch the video to find how ALF can help you create your sales or marketing prospect list. https://alfinsight.azurewebsites.net/blog/rss/blog/2020/alf-brand-advanced-search/ https://alfinsight.azurewebsites.net/blog/rss/blog/2020/alf-brand-advanced-search/ Mon, 04 May 2020 08:44:30 Stars founded during a recession. What are these brands up to now? https://alfinsight.azurewebsites.net/blog/rss/blog/2020/stars-founded-during-a-recession-what-are-these-brands-up-to-now/ Here are six massive companies born out of recessions and some insights showing you what they're currently up to.     IBM – 1911   This year IBM appointed a new CEO, Arvind Krishna, who assumed his post on Monday. As Krishna stepped up to his new role, he outlined the three most important actions IBM needs to take.   Deepen understanding of IBM’s two strategic battles: the journey to hybrid cloud and AI Win the architectural battle in cloud Continually delighting IBM’s clients. At every interaction, strive to offer them the best experience and value   To accomplish this Krishna has reshuffled his executive team. He's hired a new, head for IBM strategy, a senior VP for global markets and a VP for go-to-market strategies across all business units and to strengthen IBM’s client-centric culture. It’s likely IBM will also change strategy with its agencies too, to help launch its new products and services.    Kraft Heinz – Kraft 1909 Heinz 1905   Last month, in news exclusive to ALF, we announced a wealth of new appointments for Kraft Heinz:   A new head of marketing; marketing lead for meals in Northern Europe; international marketing manager for EMEA, APAC & LATAM; marketing lead for food service; international media & digital lead; international brand manager for condiments & dressings; international brand manager for EMEA, APAC & LATAM; brand manager for Heinz Sauces; brand manager for Exploration Sauces; and two new junior brand managers.   And that’s not all for March, the food giant also issued an RFP for its $600m global media business. The major agency networks are expected to pitch including WPP and Omnicom.   Disney – 1929   Bob Iger’s 15-year stint as Disney’s chief executive was due to come to an end this year with Bob Chapek, the head of Disney’s theme park business, unveiled as his successor in February. But Iger has decided to stay on due to the pandemic.   A recent appointment which did happen last month was that of a new senior vice president & general manager, director to consumer for EMEA.    Since the launch of its Disney+ service, Sky has signed a multi-year deal to make Disney+ available on its Sky Q platform; and it will soon be available on Now TV.  Which brand decision makers will be responsible for promoting this new service?   Frozen   2  made its debut on Disney+ a bit earlier than initially planned, much to the relief of work-from-home parents wondering how to keep their kids entertained in the quarantine. And Disney's upcoming Artemis Fowl   will go direct to streaming instead of making its debut in cinemas.   Upcoming films Mulan, Jungle Cruise, and Black Widow   will all be pushed back later in the calendar year; and the release of Pixar film Soul will be postponed from June to November. This means Disney doesn't have a single new film scheduled for theatrical release until the end of July. Last year it spent over £26m to promote the release of its new productions: will this budget be redirected into Disney+?   Hewlett Packard – 1939   Last year HP rejected Xerox’s £25.9bn takeover bid. There were still plans for a merger until this month when Xerox decided not to go ahead due to economic uncertainty.    As Xerox is changing strategy, HP is launching new SME focused laptops to enable improved performance for small and midsize businesses now looking to maintain productivity while working remotely.   HP CEO said, " We have seen very strong demand for PCs, and in general for everything that has to do with people working from home or people learning from home. " He added, " As the activity has shifted to the home, all of our products in that space really have been in high demand ."   HP recently hired a new marketing manager for UK & Ireland in this space. Could we also see an increase in advertising spend to further penetrate the SME market? During the period of the potential acquisition by Xerox, HP had one of its highest spending periods in any quarter, investing over £6m in advertising. With the merger falling through and growth in new markets, what other changes will HP make? It hasn’t reviewed any of its major agencies for over 10 years: will 2020 be the year it does?   Electronic Arts – 1982   In its latest Fifia campaign, EA partnered with Copa90 and Rio Ferdinand to encourage football fans to stay home and play Fifa together.  Integrations of AR and VR technologies and the move towards 5G connectivity could see EA sports rolling out a new generation of immersive games into the market enabling players to connect and interact like they have never done before. If you want to monitor and keep track of EA Games activities ALF can help you keep track of new campaigns, advertising spend and new product launches.   Groupon – 2008   Groupon has recently listed a host of new deals where there are huge savings to be made for anyone keen to learn something new. Now is certainly an ideal time for consumers to have a go at whatever activity they’ve always wanted to try.    The marketplace website currently offers deals on a wealth of courses; from interior design, which includes a reduction from £101 to £19, to fiction writing with prices cut from £495 to £19, a whopping 96% saving. There are also options to book classes now and enjoy them once the lockdown is lifted; and most vouchers are being extended for up to 12 months.   Groupon’s strategy is now to focus more on travel and experiences rather than selling merchandise after its board of directors replaced CEO Rich Williams on Wednesday. Aaron Cooper, Groupon’s president of North America, is now the interim CEO.   Another key appointment is its new international trade marketing manager who joins from a health, wellness and fitness brand. Groupon may well be introducing more wellness and fitness experiences to its offerings.   In 2019, the e-commerce hub spent over £15m on advertising, the most it had ever spent. Groupon has a new strategy and will soon have a new permanent CEO, which means more changes and further investment to come. This should be a brand on your prospect list.   ALF shows you   the names , contact details and job functions of decision makers. You’ll also see all marketing activities for these and any other of the highest spending brands in our news section.   ALF connects you to brands  which are reviewing their agencies and provides you with their advertising spend by media channel.   ALF helps you find the brands  you haven’t thought of, providing you with new leads every day. https://alfinsight.azurewebsites.net/blog/rss/blog/2020/stars-founded-during-a-recession-what-are-these-brands-up-to-now/ https://alfinsight.azurewebsites.net/blog/rss/blog/2020/stars-founded-during-a-recession-what-are-these-brands-up-to-now/ Wed, 15 April 2020 13:42:03 Do The Current Changes Represent Any Advertising Opportunity? https://alfinsight.azurewebsites.net/blog/rss/blog/2020/do-the-current-changes-represent-any-advertising-opportunity/ The past month has brought considerable challenges to the media and advertising industries, with what would have been considered as stalwarts of the industry suddenly needing to slash budgets and certainties having become uncertain. Events have been cancelled, subscriptions have been halted, print ads have become like gold dust.   However, in times like these, where the existing paradigm has shifted so dramatically and so quickly, those companies who adapt quickest are those that thrive. We saw this after the 2008 crash, where amongst the rubble of a destroyed financial system the seeds were sewn for some of the world's most successful companies today. The distrust of banks allowed companies like Sterling and Monzo to grow, the failures of large incumbents allowed smaller more agile companies like Netflix and Airbnb to grow, and the challenges of getting lines of credit meant that bootstrapping and self-sustainability saw companies being founded on more secure footings. To some extent this is happening with companies now, with several either shifting their business model or seeing their existing models becoming essential.   We are currently in the midst of the crisis, meaning that getting information about impacts is difficult and nobody will be able to get the kind of objective picture of the changes happening for some time. For ALF this is clearly not ideal given that we pride ourselves on the data we can offer. Nevertheless, below are some sectors that are worth a look:    B2B shift   Shops, restaurants, pubs, cafes, and museums are all closed, which is an inconvenience for people trying to get a pint or a coffee, but has a huge impact on the companies supplying these businesses. For instance, New Covent Garden Market in London has supplied London eateries and florists with food and flowers since 1670, with this one market providing 75% of all London's flowers. With the majority of their clients now unable to sell anything the market, and wholesalers who use it, have shifted away from a B2B model to selling B2C.   With the inability for many people to get to shops, and when they get there having a very limited supply of food, the opportunity has arisen for millions of food boxes to be delivered across London directly to consumers. This has seen an arms race amongst companies who have never needed to take this approach before, with advertising, media strategies, and digital spend all brand new to them.   Food is the most obvious area where this is happening and the one industry that has been impacting the most people, but this is likely to be emulated across many areas where B2C companies can no longer sell the stock their B2B suppliers sell them.   Virtual Networking   The media has a reputation for networking events, whether it's Cannes Lions, MIPS, film festivals, awards etc. The fact that none of these can happen for the foreseeable future has meant that glasses of bubbly have been replaced by keyboards and the snap of event photographer cameras has become a small black circle at the top of your screen. Virtual meeting spaces are now big business, with the difference being particularly starkly shown with Zoom.   The average daily downloads of the app sat at 56,000/day in January, on March 23rd alone that number was 2.13 million. On December 6th the stock price of Zoom sat at its second lowest since its IPO in April 2019 at $62.7, today that number is at $159, a near tripling in value in a little over 3 months.   Many virtual meeting companies have been forced into a freemium model given their general focus on B2B clients, but with the huge number of consumers now using the app, if they did not adopt some form of advertising in their freemium model then they could be missing out on millions in revenue.   Digital Advertising   For years we have been told by our parents to go outside more, spend less time on the computer, stop watching TV etc, now we have a paradigm shift. Suddenly our screens are often the only escape we have. My screen time over the past two weeks has almost doubled and I am sure that I'm not the only one.   Whether this has been staying in touch with friends and family or just needlessly browsing through websites, the truth is that this represents a huge opportunity for digital advertising for B2C customers, the challenge will be finding companies who want to advertise, as many who could previously be relied upon suddenly find themselves struggling.   As social distancing continues, companies will begin to adapt, and this will become the 'new normal'. We are going to see digital advertising grow once again, simply because without people outside, with the already diminishing print advertising numbers, and without events, this will become the most effective place to advertise for many companies.   Fitness Apps   At the moment we can go outside to exercise once per day, we can run, we can cycle, we can walk - but for many this simply is not going to be enough. 1 in 7 people in the UK have a gym membership, so 10 million people are suddenly finding that they can't do the kind of exercise they could only one month ago.   There have already been several famous faces, like Joe Wicks (playfully dubbed 'the nation's PE teacher') showing the potential of remote workout classes, and with several companies offering this service for a fee, there will be increasing competition amongst them. Companies like Classpass, Peloton, and several Yoga classes are going to see a big increase in demand as people look to stay fit outside the gym.   Where template 'for all' classes are doing enough for now, in a few weeks time the chances are that this will not be enough, especially when 15% of the UK are so used to having completely custom workouts. Therefore as this goes on, there is a likelihood that we will see an increased uptake in these kinds of apps and an increased demand from them to get as much market share as they can.   Computer Games   On the opposite end of the activity scale are computer games, which, having already been in ascendency for the past decade, are likely to see a huge push as bored people look at ways to stay entertained at home.   Although we are yet to have the exact data on this, there is anecdotal evidence of the sudden spike in demand as Nintendo Switches are currently selling at 2 to 3 times their RRP on Amazon and Game. We have also seen game manufacturers' stocks perform well above the S&P average since the start of the outbreak, with the S&P average down by 14.6% whilst Take-Two Interactive, makers of game franchises such as Red Dead Redemption, GTA, and Borderlands, have seen their stock rise by 3.58% despite having no big releases in that time.   Another piece of anecdotal evidence here comes from companies like Nintendo, who have been pumping money into digital advertising and influencer marketing for their new game Animal Crossing, which has seen their share price spike by 24% since March 13.   Food Deliveries   Companies like Uber Eats, Deliveroo, and Just Eat have been seeing their popularity grow over the past 5 years, but the current crisis has changed their service from convenience to close to a necessity.   This necessity has come from both sides of the supply chain, with restaurants unable to serve customers on-premises and consumers being told to stay at home whenever possible. These app-based delivery companies have traditionally been loss makers, but with this sudden change in everybody's circumstances, the use of the these companies has likely significantly increased (although, again, this is based on anecdotal evidence).   With the large supermarkets currently struggling with capacity for food deliveries, these companies are also moving into  grocery deliveries, which will further increase their use and require effective advertising strategies to spread the message outside of their traditional customer demographics.   Cloud technologies   A few years ago people mentioning 'the cloud' were classified as either geeks who knew too much or marketers who flippantly used the word without really knowing its meaning. For everybody currently working at home the cloud has become an absolute necessity and without it working from home would be almost impossible.   We have seen some of the biggest companies in London (who shall remain nameless) being forced to stagger working hours due to pressure on internal servers from external connections. For the last few years with companies often having a small number of people working from home, the strains on older systems has always been small, but with the current situation likely to last for the next few months at least, the need to move to cloud-based technologies will become increasingly clear.   In addition to the current situation in which we find ourselves there is little doubt that spending this much time working from home will have knock on impacts on how people work in the future. Where fear previously existed around allowing large numbers of employees to not be in the office, being forced to work apart has largely allayed many of those anxieties and changing those mindsets back may not happen or even be necessary. The improvement in cloud technologies and with more persistent use of them in this period will likely drive more people towards them, increasing competition amongst platforms to get these new customers onboard. https://alfinsight.azurewebsites.net/blog/rss/blog/2020/do-the-current-changes-represent-any-advertising-opportunity/ https://alfinsight.azurewebsites.net/blog/rss/blog/2020/do-the-current-changes-represent-any-advertising-opportunity/ Wed, 01 April 2020 14:18:15 Sales Managers listen up - COVID-19 and the resilient UK media sales market https://alfinsight.azurewebsites.net/blog/rss/blog/2020/sales-managers-listen-up-covid-19-and-the-resilient-uk-media-sales-market/ The impact of remote working on sales teams and prospecting.   Fortunately, remote working is not a new thing at ALF insight, with 45% of my commercial team on remote working schedules already. I'm lucky enough to have an established sales team, most of which I've been working with for years. This comes with high levels of respect and trust. For some sales leaders, however, the thought of having a sales team at home may create some sleepless nights. If you are looking to introduce a trial or fixed remote working period, then here are just a few things to take into consideration.   #1 How to communicate internally   It’s 2020 and, although the idea of not being in the same room may be daunting, there are a vast number of options to utilise technology. Many organisations use VOIP anyway, but there are other services which may be a great way to ensure that all your team are reachable. Utilising services such as Microsoft Teams or Slack will ensure you can still communicate across your organisation.   #2 Don't live in your Inbox   Particularly in sales, let’s ensure we don't hide in our Inbox from our prospects and our colleagues. It is so easy to do a video call. Whether you have a service dedicated to it or you simply pop onto Facetime, make sure you are still having that quality interaction with your team. If it's your responsibility to support the team, whether that is training, coaching or a weekly one to one, don't stop due to remote working. You’ll be surprised how effective a video call can be - a million times more effective than the written word.   #3 Key Performance Indicators   Are you worried about productivity? Well, you should have a good understanding of what the key outputs are for your sales team to succeed. So, it's even more important to try and monitor this. If you don't, you definitely should!   I'm sure many will agree the coming weeks are not just about protecting ourselves from COVID-19 but will also change the way we work forever. If you don't already, then ensure you measure your key outputs that lead to success. You may even find that members of your team are   more   productive outside the office.   Word of warning - don't make the KPIs up. KPIs for the sake of KPIs will only create unmotivated salespeople. So, know your numbers. If you do have KPIs for your team, it’s time to get flexible.   When ALF recently ran its annual media survey, it found that the most common KPIs across media businesses were all based around meetings and pipeline development. Consider the channels you use and what changes you need to make. It’s time to stop pushing face to face and make sure the team has the relevant skills to smash meetings via video.   It’s never been more critical that everyone is updating their systems effectively. Whether it’s something internal or a CRM recording activity on a shared platform, it’s more important than ever because team members are going to be sick.   At ALF, if it didn't happen on the CRM, it just didn't happen   #4 Be open for business   The market is still open for business, so you should be too! Let's not get disheartened; the world is still ticking over. Brands will need to consider how they adapt in this new and temporary environment. Consumer habits will change, as will the consumption of advertising and content. Think about this and find how you and your partners are going to serve in this space.   #5  Trust - don't doubt your team   For sales leaders who are concerned or having visions of their team sitting in their PJs and committing themselves to a full morning of daytime TV, I have three words for you. GET OVER IT! These are likely all people you have hired yourself and worked alongside. It is not the time for paranoia, micro-management and suspicion. They are all adults and will care about their success, so give them the room to do so.   #6 Adapt to new ways of selling   Things are going to need to change for many organisations and fighting it is only going to damage performance.   Use new channels for prospecting. In our recent survey at ALF Insight, email came out as the most used communication channel by salespeople. Not only did 98% of respondents use email, but 85% also said it was the channel they use the most! Despite this, a whopping 60% said they found getting a response via email difficult. It's not surprising, given that the average B2B buyer receives upwards of 150 emails a day.   Will remote working increase this and create an even noisier inbox? Probably, so its time to consider looking at new channels.   Whatsapp is currently the fastest growing method of B2B communication worldwide. Obviously, this requires having a suitable mobile number in the first instance but Whatsapp pre-COVID-19, although not widely used with just over one-third of salespeople utilising it, emerged in the survey as the most responsive channel with 67% of those who used it usually getting a response.   Social media usage is undoubtedly going to increase in the coming weeks. In our survey, it was one of the least responsive channels with only 26% of salespeople saying they usually got a response.   That's not to say that LinkedIn is not going to be a powerful tool for sales prospecting. With none of that face-to-face contact, make sure your digital presence is strong. Maybe now is the time for you and your teams to work on valuable content, referrals, testimonials and your personal brand to share with the community.   When it comes to communication channels, consider the use of Twitter, which the survey found to be more responsive, yet less widely used. The most important thing is that your team is using all the available channels they can to overcome the challenges of reaching prospects.   Use video. Many people (my team included) seem to have a real fear of hosting video calls and meetings. Get over it quickly. If you hadn't heard, 73% of B2B buyers are millennials and they like to meet face to face, so start honing your skills on the next best thing. If remote working and staying in is going to become standard practice, then I'm sure the human interaction will be welcome to all. It's bound to give you the edge over your competitors, so pop on that smart shirt over your pyjama bottoms!   #7 Be prepared for the buying process to change   The Harvard Business Review stated that in 2020, 6.8 people are typically involved in signing off a B2B proposal. In ALF Insight’s survey, not having access to the whole decision-making unit led to salespeople being ghosted or ignored. This may get even more complicated, so be sure that you access as much of the decision-making unit as you can (maybe propose a video call?). With inevitable reticence to spend, ensure you’re doing everything you can to prevent additional delays in the sign off process.   #8 And finally…   …take into account your prospecting. Face to face events will likely stop or reduce in numbers over the next few months. If you rely on this method traditionally for leads, you need to think again. Make sure you are set up with the right tools for prospecting. If that's the UK media, marketing, advertising market, then ALF Insight can help develop the visibility and contacts you need to keep the team active. Alternatively, you may want to review your systems to ensure that your sales team have what they need for a productive working from home experience.   Whatever the challenges we will face over the next weeks and months, I expect they will dawn on us VERY quickly. Prepare your teams the best you can, keep calm and carry on. https://alfinsight.azurewebsites.net/blog/rss/blog/2020/sales-managers-listen-up-covid-19-and-the-resilient-uk-media-sales-market/ https://alfinsight.azurewebsites.net/blog/rss/blog/2020/sales-managers-listen-up-covid-19-and-the-resilient-uk-media-sales-market/ Thu, 12 March 2020 10:42:49 What have these 5 brands done since they last reviewed their agencies https://alfinsight.azurewebsites.net/blog/rss/blog/2020/what-have-these-5-brands-done-since-they-last-reviewed-their-agencies/ #1  AB InBev -  Budweiser Brewing Group    In 2017 AB InBev launched a global media review putting Vizeum UK on alert. The beverage company planned to consolidate global media duties into only a few agencies. It was using eight agencies. Vizeum retained the account worth £1bn.   Three years on AB InBev is reviewing its global/international media agency again.   In 2018 AB InBev launched its biggest campaign ever for the FIFA World Cup. The work included a 90-second film which sees a pack of drones travelling around the globe delivering bottles of Budweiser to football fans before reaching the Stadium in Moscow. The campaign included 15 and 30 second clips, which ran in more than 50 countries on TV and digital video. Will it have a similar strategy for the Euro 2020? ALF will tell all. Since 2017 AB InBev’s advertising spend declined quarter by quarter but then rose throughout 2019 from £1.2m at the beginning of the year to £8m at the end of the year.    2019 saw AB Inbev change its UK name to Budweiser Brewing Group UK&I in order to boost brand awareness and showcase its confidence in the region following Brexit. It also promoted its Marketing Manager for Budweiser to Marketing Director for Budweiser Europe. This year the world's largest brewer has already made three new appointments to its senior team. It has a new:   European Marketing Director Director of Legal and Corporate Affairs Marketing Director And it’s planning to replace its long-serving CFO Felipe Dutra this year. ALF will reveal the new CFO, and its new senior marketing team.    #2  Hotels.com   Three years ago, the hotel bookings site put its PR agency under review as well as sought a new global creative agency. It’s now looking for a new agency partner for a five-figure UK social media brief. Analysing its digital spend, it doesn’t spend much.   The most it has ever spent in a quarter is £400,000 which for a digital booking site is surprisingly low and has only invested in press in one quarter. Surely we can expect its digital advertising spend  to increase once it appoints its social media agency.   The majority of its advertising spend is channelled into TV which typically spikes at over £3m one quarter then plummets to £300k the next.   Last December Expedia, Hotels.com parent company, lost its Chief Executive and CFO, who stepped down after a clash with its board over an ambitious reorganisation plan.   Its CEO said the company had been in “an identity crisis” and that the company was more of “a portfolio of brands and assets” than an integrated business.   The challenge to simplify its portfolio which includes Hotels.com and to attract new customers compounded broader challenges as it grapples with competition such as Airbnb who spent a sixth less on advertising mainly through digital channels.    What will be the new CEO's plan for Hotels.com and will its new CFO direct budget to help the brand's identity crisis? And could there be more agency reviews looming?   #3  Groupe PSA  Vauxhall, Citroen, Peugeot   The owners of car brands Vauxhall, Citroen and Peugeot called a £773m global media review in 2017 to consolidate their media business into a single agency to improve efficiency after the acquisition of Opel Vauxhall. The account was won by MediaCom.   Shortly after, Citroen appointed a new Marketing Director for the UK. Peugeot followed suit and appointed one in 2018. He left three months into the role.   His replacement was selected within the group, who was the commercial director for the Robins & Day and Go Vauxhall dealer groups.   Out of the three brands from Groupe PSA, Vauxhall receives the most budget. It never spends less than £5m on advertising in any quarter. In Q3 last year, Vauxhall spent over £12m on advertising. That’s the most it has ever spent in any quarter in almost a decade. On the other hand, Citroen’s advertising spend spikes and nose dives sharply quarter by quarter, jumping from £10m to as low as £300k.   Groupe PSA is releasing a new generation of advanced electrified vehicles. Which include:  Peugeot 3008 and 508 models, the e-208 and e-2008, Vauxhall Corsa  E  and  the C5 Aircross plug-in hybrid. With all these new cars coming out of the factory Groupe PSA could be looking for new agencies to manage its new electric innovations.    Last month Groupe PSA announced it is looking for a new agency to lead on product PR. What other specialist agencies will they need?  The car makers won Automotive Management manufacturer of the year thanks to product development opportunities that all its brands are benefiting from, following the Opel and Vauxhall acquisition in 2017.   While Groupe PSA is breaking new ground, its French competitor, Renault, has suffered tumbling share prices and weak operating performance. Keep an eye on this company. It's releasing a wave of cutting-edge cars, which could indicate there will be new marketing hires and a need for new agencies.      #4  Lego   2017 saw Lego put on alert its media account Carat, who held the account since 2004. Shortly after this announcement, Lego made a series of changes to its teams. It named a new head of marketing for UK & Ireland. The previous senior director was promoted within the European business. A month later Lego appointed a new CEO.   Initiative won the account in a competitive pitch.   In 2018 the Danish toymaker took its first step towards an eco-friendly and sustainable business model by using plant-based materials for its blocks. The plant-based blocks were available to consumers from August 2018.     Lego’s chief executive opened more than 160 stores in 2019. An increase of almost 40% in the wake of the collapse of Toys R Us.    He said, “We have the ambition of getting to as many kids as we can around the world and getting to that means we have to keep gaining market share. We would rather do the investments upfront to be leading that change.”   At the beginning of February this year, Lego announced two new product ideas that have been approved for development; Winnie The Pooh and The Medieval Blacksmith. Nine more product ideas are in their second review period. Lego work with 16 agencies that are responsible for looking after different products. Could Lego be on a hunt for a new agency to look after these new products?   #5  Etihad   2016 and 2017 was a turbulent period for Etihad. It split with M&C Saatchi and awarded its global digital work to Cheil in 2016. However, Etihad quickly parted from Cheil to take its work in house in 2017.   This wasn’t the only agency that was at risk of losing business at Etihad. Its PR agency went under review when Etihad decided to review all of its agency relationships.    In 2018 it picked Forever Beta, Mr President and BBD Perfect Storm as its global agencies following the review. And all of this happened after Etihad Airways hired its CFO. Was this a cost saving exercise for Etihad or was there another reason for Etihad to review all its agencies? Last year it named independent agency Crossmedia as its global media agency.    Etihad has just launched a subscription-based travel solution as an extension of its digital strategy. The new travel pass provides customers with the choice between prepaid trips and pay-as-you-fly options, meeting the demands of flexibility, ease of booking and cost-efficient travel management.    Etihad’s total Q1 spend has increased exponentially YOY. Will it be spending even more this quarter and what other technological developments will Etihad be embarking on. Its competitor Emirates has just partnered with blockchain startup Loyyal, to improve customer experiences and reduce the financial liability that inherently comes with large-scale loyalty programs.    Other airlines operating blockchain-based rewards programs include Singapore Airlines, Cathay Pacific, and AirAsia.   Having access to the latest news and insights helps you act instantly and reach a brand's decision maker quickly. https://alfinsight.azurewebsites.net/blog/rss/blog/2020/what-have-these-5-brands-done-since-they-last-reviewed-their-agencies/ https://alfinsight.azurewebsites.net/blog/rss/blog/2020/what-have-these-5-brands-done-since-they-last-reviewed-their-agencies/ Tue, 10 March 2020 08:41:24 Brands to keep an eye on for 2020 https://alfinsight.azurewebsites.net/blog/rss/blog/2020/brands-to-keep-an-eye-on-for-2020/ 1. Hate to waste     Reports show that 25% of apples, 20% of onions and 13% of potatoes grown in the UK are still wasted on cosmetic grounds. Ugliness is just one reason among many for why food is wasted at some point from farm to fork. There’s also overproduction, improper storage and disease. But the problem of “wonky veg” caught the public’s attention. Last year Lidl announced that its Too Good To Waste wonky fruit and vegetable boxes will officially launch in England, Scotland and Wales stores after a successful trial. It has just put its social media agency up for review. Lidl’s PR & Social Manager isn’t on LinkedIn, but you can find her in ALF.     2. Healthy snacks on the run     Popped and puffed snacks are a major trendsetter here. Kallo Foods has launched a multi-million pound campaign titled ‘Call on Kallo’ promoting its rice cake products which runs across outdoor and digital advertising with newly appointed Fold 7 managing the campaign. Kallo is also partnering with veggie chefs Bish Bash Bosh to expand on the campaign. Kallo Foods owns 6 brands which include Clipper Teas and Coffee, which is looking for a new agency just a year after it appointed its new Marketing Director.   3. Sugar shift   Brands are opting for sweeteners or are leaning towards a reduction in the amount of sugar they put into their products. Cadbury Dairy Milk introduced 30% less sugar chocolate which it described as “the most significant innovation” in Cadbury’s history. This was made possible by the soluble corn fibre sweetener that the confectionery company has patented. Watch this space for a plethora of new products with reduced sugars or artificial sweeteners in 2020. With 195 confectionery brands in ALF, you’ll be able to keep track of the advertising decision-makers for the new reduced sugar products.      4. Hard hydration     BrewDog has taken advantage of this opportunity and released an alcohol-free range, which comes in four styles. Pale ale Nanny State and Punk AF are both currently available, while Stout AF and Hazy AF will be released by the end of Q1. BrewDog hopes to target social occasions and drinkers seeking moderation for health purposes, but the company is open to seeing how other consumer bases develop for the style. It’s a space that’s  getting a bit more crowded, with entrants from large brewers such as Heineken 0.0 and Molson Coors, as well as several craft companies such as Athletic Brewing and Surreal. Nevertheless, BrewDog’s AF line’s styles differentiate them from the pack of alcohol-free lagers.     5. Flexitarian brands     Flexitarianism is now rife and many consumers are making conscious decisions to cut down on the amount of meat they are eating. Linda McCartney launched a host of new products in time for Veganuary. The brand has rolled out Tomato & Basil Meatballs and a Southern-Style Chicken Fillet Burger for Sainsbury’s and Ocado, with a Pulled Pork Bao Bun meal kit and Chicken Bucket to be sold in Tesco and Ocado from 20 January. Birds Eye has not only launched a Green Cuisine Meat-Free range. It has also appointed a new Marketing Director that starts this month. Birds Eye spent over £1m in Q3 last year on its meat free range.     Do you want to pitch any of these brands? https://alfinsight.azurewebsites.net/blog/rss/blog/2020/brands-to-keep-an-eye-on-for-2020/ https://alfinsight.azurewebsites.net/blog/rss/blog/2020/brands-to-keep-an-eye-on-for-2020/ Tue, 28 January 2020 15:21:05 The little-known challenger brands are spending more and more on advertising https://alfinsight.azurewebsites.net/blog/rss/blog/2019/the-little-known-challenger-brands-are-spending-more-and-more-on-advertising/ ALF’s research team continuously examine the highest spending advertisers to provide our customers with accurate information to help win new clients. For example, did you know:     Ready meals producer Bigham’s Ltd   is ranked 1768th highest spender in ALF and it has recently recruited the former head of marketing at Cadbury as its new marketing director.    In 2018 Bigham’s spent 80% of its budget in outdoor . What changes will its new marketing director make to Bigham’s marketing strategy to compete against other ready meal brands?   Or   Travel company   loveholidays   makes it into ALF’s top 3000 advertising spenders. It spent   £899,628 in Q1 just on digital . Last year it spent   £164,337 in radio during Q1.   The company’s current Air Travel Organiser's Licence is for 1.2 million passengers, which it says makes it the UK’s fifth-largest travel agency. Loveholidays has topped a list of Britain’s top 100 private companies with the fastest growing profits. Is there an opportunity here for you to win new business?     ALF shows you   the names , contact details and job functions for decision makers. You’ll also see all marketing activities in our news function for these and 18,184 other brands.   ALF connects you to a brand’s   incumbent agency and reveals agencies who are up for review and a brand’s advertising spend by channel.   ALF helps you find the brands   you haven’t thought of, providing you with new leads every day. https://alfinsight.azurewebsites.net/blog/rss/blog/2019/the-little-known-challenger-brands-are-spending-more-and-more-on-advertising/ https://alfinsight.azurewebsites.net/blog/rss/blog/2019/the-little-known-challenger-brands-are-spending-more-and-more-on-advertising/ Mon, 28 October 2019 14:07:08 Will the trade war affect global advertising spend? https://alfinsight.azurewebsites.net/blog/rss/blog/2019/will-the-trade-war-affect-global-advertising-spend/ With everything that is happening in the world, whether it’s US/China trade war or Brexit, it’s nearly impossible to prove a direct connection between hard-line trade policies and the impact it will have in the marketing department.   Escalating tariffs will affect different industries differently, but if the cost of manufacturing goods rises, CFOs are likely to shave whatever looks like a cost centre. Marketing often fits that bill.   On the flip side, if the price of certain goods begins to fall, ad budgets could still be on the chopping block. Retaliatory Chinese tariffs on US pork, for example, mean that warehouses of meat originally earmarked for export are starting to flood the shelves of domestic supermarkets. Why set aside budget to market what’s going to sell itself?   Then again, brands must promote themselves if they want to stay in the consideration set.   Currently, we do have a relatively healthy global economy and there’s growth in advertising expenditure, which is good news for brands. Signalling that markets are expected to remain healthy and that demand for products and services should build. It also means that, as digital’s share of ad spend steadily increases, there will be more competition on ad channels and potentially higher prices for prime media spaces.   An eMarketer research forecast shows that worldwide ad spend will increase by 6.4% in 2020.   The table shows that global ad spend growth has not spread evenly across countries and North America remains the largest advertising market.   In a different report from Zenith, Eastern Europe and Central Asia have seen double digit growth in spend while others have seen minimal increases. The Zenith report also estimates that in 2020 advertising spend in North America will be more than double the advertising spend in China.   At ALF we have just researched the top 100 global advertisers which is available for you. We found that 43% of these global brands are based in the US and 40% of the CMOs, Heads of Marketing and Vice-Presidents of Marketing are based in the US.   This report not only helps to find the most senior level marketers across the globe, but also the budgets they allocate to each region. Providing you detailed analysis of advertising spend for 20 market sectors. ALF’s Top 100 Global Advertisers report makes it easier for you to win new business in new markets.   If you would like to see ALF’s Top 100 Global Advertisers report   contacts us today .   In these times of uncertainty, brands still need to advertise to stay at the forefront of consumers’ minds and maintain market share. Nobody knows how Brexit and the trade war will play out. John Militello, who spent nearly three years as Director of Marketing at Volvo says ”….tariffs may not actually end up changing the playing field all that much” . One thing is for certain, ALF makes it easier for you to prospect for new business.   If you would like to see ALF's Top 100 Global Advertisers report call us on +44 (0) 20 8102 0904 or get in touch at   sales@alfinsight.com . https://alfinsight.azurewebsites.net/blog/rss/blog/2019/will-the-trade-war-affect-global-advertising-spend/ https://alfinsight.azurewebsites.net/blog/rss/blog/2019/will-the-trade-war-affect-global-advertising-spend/ Wed, 22 May 2019 10:22:14 What we learned from Campaign’s breakfast briefing: when brands take advertising in-house Mary Finch https://alfinsight.azurewebsites.net/blog/rss/blog/2018/what-we-learned-from-campaign-s-breakfast-briefing-when-brands-take-advertising-in-house/ Is the current advertising in-housing trend a real threat for agencies? It’s a key question facing agencies today, particularly those in media and digital. As clients demand more transparency and agility, agencies are increasingly having to vie with the temptation for brands to bring the whole advertising process into their own hands.   In-housing is happening on an unprecedented scale right now. The agency world is still thriving, but it needs to respond to this new challenge. So how can agencies stay relevant and useful to their clients in this era?   ALF Insight attended the recent ‘When brands take advertising in-house’ Campaign breakfast briefing to hear some of the UK’s top marketers and agency leaders answer these questions. Below are some of the key themes which came out of the event.   What’s behind the in-house trend? Cost is certainly a driver: Unilever, which works with on-site agency U-Studios - staffed by Oliver - says that its hybrid operation is 30% cheaper than its old external model. This undoubtedly makes in-housing appealing. Additionally, lack of trust and transparency – particularly when it comes to digital media buying – has driven many brands to seek more control over their advertising.   But neither are decisive factors. The less often discussed reasons, although far more important, seem to be efficiency and agility.   Both Catherine Newman, chief marketing officer at The Times, and Alex Naylor, chief marketing officer for Barclaycard, said that working with an in-house team allows them to produce content far more quickly. For News UK – a publishing business – speed of delivery is particularly important. Many of the key stakeholders in the business are editors and publishers, people used to getting news out daily, so agencies are expected to meet similar deadlines. With an in-house team, proximity alone can drastically speed up processes. Wunderman’s 2018 Future Ready study found that 50% of chief marketers say in-house advertising is quicker.   As Newman said, many advertisers prefer ‘momentum over perfection’. Some campaigns might be worth waiting for, but when consumers have almost universal digital access to content and plenty of it, brands need to be regularly producing and updating work to stay relevant.   Naylor mentioned that Barclays is becoming more and more a digital business: most of its interactions with customers are digital, and as a result, much of its advertising is too. Using its in-house team, Barclaycard was able to run a digital campaign earlier this year that had refreshed creative rolling out once a month.   In-house and on-site teams are also able to better understand the client and their needs with proximity allowing for better aligned strategic objectives. Rather than creative teams working on a concept and presenting it to the marketing team only to have it shot down by key stakeholders on the client side, the in-house team can see how these stakeholders work, understand their needs and tailor proposals to them, meaning decisions are made faster.   Proximity also means easy access to data, which is not to be sneered at in today’s world.   In-house teams can encourage greater collaboration between different disciplines, a key issue for brands currently. Future Ready found that 72% of chief marketing officers feel their advertising operations are too siloed. Media planners and programmatic experts, digital marketers and creatives can all be brought round the table to discuss, decide and execute plans together in an in-house team.   How should agencies respond? Agencies are far from obsolete. In-housing doesn’t always mean the end of an external agency relationship; in fact, plenty of advertisers – including Barclays and News UK – have hailed the benefits of having both a permanent in-house team and external agency support. Others have gone for an ‘on-site’ model, working with businesses such as Oliver to create an in-house team staffed by the agency.   However, some brands see the advent of in-housing as a reason to split with their incumbent external agency. The launch of BBC Creative in 2016 triggered the end of the broadcaster’s relationship with BBH.   Agencies need to change their behaviour and become more agile. The integration of agency culture with that of a brand is one of the key challenges for advertisers hoping to move their advertising in-house. Newman recounted a visit to an agency on a Friday afternoon at 3pm only to find they’d all gone home!   Agencies need to put clients back at the centre of their own operations. Instead of considering what they can offer, they should ask themselves what their clients want and how they can help them achieve it.   However, agencies do have some things brands don’t have: agencies can attract top talent. An in-house team simply cannot rival the attraction of working for a high-flying agency, meaning they lack the people necessary for great creative work. With a hybrid model, brands can achieve the efficiency that comes from having an embedded agency and combine it with the great performance and creative output from an external team.   How can brands begin to move their marketing in-house? There will be obstacles. Naylor pointed out that the difficulties that come with in-housing often come in phases: in the early stages, brands can let their ambition get the better of them, trying to achieve more than what they’re capable of. Later, they become victims of their own success, unable to cope with the demands on their in-house team because they haven’t yet built the infrastructure to support it.   So brands should plan and be prepared – in-housing is a long and complex process. It took Intel a year of planning before completing the move! News UK previously experimented with an in-house agency, before it launched Pulse Creative, and was forced to cut the initiative short because it didn’t work. Brands should make sure they know what they’re doing and how they’re going to do it before they start in-housing. It is definitely not a ‘one size fits all’ scenario but, as Daniel Gilbert, Brainlabs’ Chief Executive, put it, a ‘case-by-case’ scenario.   Although there are lots of reasons to move advertising in-house, everyone on the Campaign breakfast briefing panel agreed that brands should never do it only for financial reasons. It simply won’t work. Cost has to be balanced with effectiveness.   And while brands might justifiably feel like they need more control over their advertising, they might also need support from their agencies. News UK and Barclays aren’t the only brands who propagate the benefits of the hybrid model. When Vodafone moved a significant proportion of its digital media buying in-house earlier this year, it retained incumbent agency Wavemaker for around a third of the business.   Debbi Morrison, director of consultancy and best practice at ISBA, said that the in-housing trend is ‘constantly moving and changing’ and that there is ‘more disruption to come’. This is echoed by Johnny Hornby, founder of The&Partnership, according to whom ‘we are at the very beginning of the disruptive curve.’ So, watch that space. It is not going to go away! But not all is lost for agencies as long as they know how to adapt to this new challenge and retain their USPs. https://alfinsight.azurewebsites.net/blog/rss/blog/2018/what-we-learned-from-campaign-s-breakfast-briefing-when-brands-take-advertising-in-house/ https://alfinsight.azurewebsites.net/blog/rss/blog/2018/what-we-learned-from-campaign-s-breakfast-briefing-when-brands-take-advertising-in-house/ Wed, 24 October 2018 11:36:31 What makes a GOOD sales person GREAT? https://alfinsight.azurewebsites.net/blog/rss/blog/2018/what-makes-a-good-sales-person-great/ By Amanda Rosevear, ALF Head of Sales   It’s a question I’ve asked myself a lot over the years and as time goes on my answer seems to change. I used to think it was simple - a great salesperson simply does more than a good salesperson. They work harder and longer, they speak to more people and they are driven by commission and being the best. In my early sales career, they were certainly the characteristics of the top performers. But is that all that it takes?   A few months ago, I decided to reach out to some of the good and great salespeople I’ve had the pleasure to know, learn from and work with to see what they thought. As a sales leader, it’s important that I create an environment where individuals can develop, succeed and ultimately continue to drive the business, and their careers, forward in the right direction. The first thing that I had already suspected, but became clear when speaking with my peers, is that there is not a simple answer to what makes a good salesperson great. Though I did pick up three clear themes which I will share, along with suggestions on how to create the best environment.   Customer focus I think my brother Roland Rosevear, Director of Customer Success, Analytics & Security at Interquest group sums this up best. ”Don’t wait to get paid before you start adding value. If you start adding value, you will end up getting paid”. This might sound obvious but it’s common for salespeople to be distracted by a target and ego. Long gone are the days I get excited in an interview when I meet an over confident sales grad who can sell ice to an eskimo. It’s actually expertise that makes the difference. As Rachel Cahill , Growth Director at Big Rock Agency points out “they have to be knowledgeable and immerse themselves in their prospects’ industry/business models to anticipate needs and position themselves as consultants and trusted partners”.   Customer focus is an important part of the whole sales journey, from sourcing the right prospects and asking relevant questions to really understand their challenges, to choosing how you will demonstrate benefits and values and finally to the way your proposal is written. A great salesperson is always asking themselves what would this do for the company/individual? They will walk away if it’s in the customer’s interest to do so. And they will be focused more on the outcome for a customer rather than the features of the product or service they have to offer.   So, if putting the customer first makes someone a better salesperson, how can a business ensure they have a team and environment in place to do so? The customer is wider than the sales team. With no customer there is no business, so be sure that every department is focused on understanding who the customer is and what they need from them. Share Teach Learn. Communication is key – share customer feedback across the business, the good and the bad. And remember, if this isn’t providing value for the customer, it’s not for your business either. Recognise those who go above and beyond – reward examples in the sales team who are clearly focused on the customer (existing or potential) to endorse the behaviour and let others know how they did it. Personal focus and ownership (with bloody hard work!) OK, so maybe there is some value in doing more than everyone else, but it’s not always as simple as that. I was surprised to hear that visualisation played a big part in what makes good salespeople great. Although I wouldn’t necessarily expect all great sales people to have a ‘vision board’ on their desk, in my experience all the best players have a clear image of what they want to achieve and a certainty that they are going to achieve it.   As Des Wilkinson, Business Development Manager at TwentyCI puts it “A person with focus is internally driven to accomplish goals and stay attentive to want they want to achieve. Focused individuals ask more of themselves than other people and are self-motivated.” This goes further than just the idea of what a person wants to achieve. The most successful people I’ve met take full responsibility for the journey in getting there.To quote Des again, “A person with a strong sense of responsibility does not blame other people when placed in a difficult situation. This type of person gets things done and when obstacles arise put their hand up and admit mistakes.” Something powerful happens when a salesperson takes full ownership of themselves. When they become answerable to only themselves and not the excuses around the market, the leads, or why people in the team perform better. These individuals will have a clear idea of their own KPIs and have to answer to themselves when they don’t achieve them.   How can you help the team take responsibility for themselves? Clear objectives for everyone, along with measurable KPIs that will get them where they need to be. Not top down, but on an individual level Discuss ‘the dream’ and how to get there – support your team in getting there and make it happen Personal focus is a ‘personal trait’ but keep an ear out for excuses and challenge them Endorse the right behaviours and as Annie Gladwell, Business Development Manager at Kafoodle recommends “reward and acknowledge the activity, not just the end results”. Make sure the team understands what the path to success look like. Opportunity and putting things into practice Finally, what makes a good sales person great is being constantly open to new opportunities and putting things into practice.   Take the first characteristic of ‘customer focus’. A great salesperson will learn from a customer, learn the challenges of the sales process and build on it to replicate the sale to similar prospective/existing clients. If a sale is unsuccessful, they will aim to learn as much as they can about what went wrong and use that as an opportunity to improve conversions for future sales. Everything is an opportunity to sell or an opportunity to learn. So in turn they are constantly looking out for the next opportunity and getting value one way or another. As Carly Wright, Regional Sales Director at Selligent points out, “they sound confident, they know its worked for similar companies, they save time and look for quick prospects to get stuck into – they don’t end up basking in their recent success and get complacent”.    This passion and constant driving forward is what puts one person ahead of their peers. You can usually recognise this in someone who is particularly open to feedback and bringing innovative ideas to the table – along with a clever work ethic. As Vassem Khan, Account Director at Puppet   said “Passion! Committed to the cause – that means always practising and always looking for criticism to get better”.    How to create an environment where opportunities are found, and things are put into practice As a leader, practice what you teach and be on a constant search to be better. Examine how you can replicate the best work/sales and ensure you review what’s working well and what’s not working so well Create opportunities to practice (role plays/ call listening/ discussions) and encourage feedback So, there we go – I’ve got a promising idea now of what to look out for in future salespeople and some ideas of how I can create an environment to push a current team to greatness. I’m eager to keep challenging this idea so any feedback is greatly appreciated. A big thank you for my peers who discussed the topic with me. https://alfinsight.azurewebsites.net/blog/rss/blog/2018/what-makes-a-good-sales-person-great/ https://alfinsight.azurewebsites.net/blog/rss/blog/2018/what-makes-a-good-sales-person-great/ Wed, 06 June 2018 08:36:07 GDPR Good Practice Guide https://alfinsight.azurewebsites.net/blog/rss/blog/2018/gdpr-good-practice-guide/ It’s important that GDPR is seen as an opportunity for marketers. Good practice is key for the ICO. The commissioner wants you to be able to demonstrate that you have done your homework and have tried your best to comply with the new legislation. Here is a simple guide to help you along the way:   Know your personal data Before you undertake anything, you need to know what data you are working with. Conduct a data audit. This is especially important if you store data in different CRMs (your sales teams could even use Excel spreadsheets, or worse) and if the state of your data is not the best it could be. You need to understand what data you have, where you got it from in the first place, what permission levels you have obtained (or not) from your data subjects, and how up-to-date your data is.   Re-evaluate your data suppliers This is not just about your data, it is also about the suppliers you choose to work with when it comes to personal data. Make sure they are reputable organisations that have done their homework around GDPR compliance.   Do your homework That might sound obvious but if you decide not to go down the consent route, make sure you have conducted a thorough Legitimate Interest Assessment (LIA) and have kept a record of the corresponding documentation. You’ll find a good template for the LIA here: https://www.dpnetwork.org.uk/dpn-legitimate-interests-guidance/   Put yourself in your prospects’ shoes Treat your prospects as you would want to be treated. Make sure you are honest and transparent with them when it comes to the use of their data, by who and to which purpose. Make sure it is easy for them to understand this by putting together clear and concise Privacy Notices. Demonstrate benefits or the value exchange to them. Make it easy for them to opt out from receiving further communications from your organisation and keep their data safe. If you haven’t been in touch for a while, check again that it is still ok to contact them.   Respect their data Ensure the personal data you hold is up-to-date and accurate, and that it is relevant to your business needs. If it is not relevant, scrap it! Use it lawfully. If you pass it on to third parties, make sure you inform data subjects by telling them who these third parties are and how they will make use of their data. Do not gather more data than is necessary. If you are using personal data for profiling purposes, make sure it is anonymised.   Stick to your words Make sure you do not use personal data for any other purpose than that mentioned in your Privacy Notices. If you commit to amend or remove personal details from your database within a specific timeframe, do so! Your organisation’s reputation is at stake here.   Review your T&Cs If you pass on your data to third parties, make sure they know how they should be using that data.   Be accountable Nominate some personal data champions who are accountable for your personal data and the way it is being used and processed. Ensure you can demonstrate you have taken GDPR seriously and have done as much as you could to comply. Provide training to your staff so they understand why it is important to comply with GDPR and apply best practice when handling personal data, and what the potential implications of not doing so are.   Keep on top of things Ensure you process all GDPR requests as soon as feasibly possible and communicate opt-outs or consent refusals to third parties. Ensure you keep records of opt-out requests, removal requests and consent date stamps, and have the processes in place to ensure these data subjects are not contacted again.   Good practice can be an opportunity for your business. Remember that quantity doesn’t always mean quality.  Better to have fewer prospects who you know want to hear from you (higher conversion rate for your sales teams) and are more inclined to give out information about themselves, so you can personalise your marketing messages based on their needs and interests. As a result, you should see ROI and your marketing campaigns performance improve with better targeted campaigns. By treating personal data with respect, you can also gain your prospects’ trust and improve your business reputation. That can in turn attract more customers. So, roll your sleeves up and go for it! You’ve got nothing to lose and all to gain. https://alfinsight.azurewebsites.net/blog/rss/blog/2018/gdpr-good-practice-guide/ https://alfinsight.azurewebsites.net/blog/rss/blog/2018/gdpr-good-practice-guide/ Wed, 21 March 2018 11:29:26 GDPR & ALF explained https://alfinsight.azurewebsites.net/blog/rss/blog/2017/gdpr-alf-explained/ Ensuring that all data in ALF is of the highest quality and compliant with all data protection regulation is our top priority.   With the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) due to replace the Data Protection Directive on 25 May 2018, all businesses and organisations that hold personal data are required to look at how they obtain, process and use that data to ensure they meet the required standards.   There are a number of key points that this raises for businesses using data for direct marketing and below we cover what they mean for ALF’s data, the people and businesses in our database, and our customers.   The EU legislation, which the UK government has confirmed will be retained after Brexit, says: ‘Member States shall ensure, in the framework of Union law and applicable national law, that the legitimate interest of end-users that are legal persons with regard to unsolicited communications…are sufficiently protected.’   Further, in its marketing guidance, the ICO has stated that a B2B email address with a named individual is personal data. The conclusion from this is that if you want to use a B2B personal email address for marketing, it has to be processed in accordance with GDPR’s definition of lawful and fair.   Lawful requires either consent for marketing (i.e.: opt-in), or data processing based on legitimate interest which doesn’t over-ride the rights and freedoms of the individual Fair requires transparency and data subjects’ rights management.   The new legislation says that organisations can process data on the basis of legitimate interest. In turn, it also states that direct marketing is a legitimate interest. But that is only the case when the interests of the marketer do not override the rights and freedoms of the data subject.   So, what does that mean for ALF and our service to businesses who want to contact key decision makers at major advertisers and brands – along with their agencies?   At ALF, we process our data under ‘legitimate interest’. This means that we are not seeking express consent from each data subject listed in ALF, but we contact them all individually as part of our research and give them the opportunity to review the data that we hold on them, and, if they wish, to be removed from it.   We have undertaken a legitimate interest audit (there’s a useful guideline for doing this from the Data Protection Network here: https://www.dpnetwork.org.uk/dpn-legitimate-interests-guidance/ ) and we have put in place a process that ensures transparency, including a simple no-questions-asked opt out for all data subjects.   Every data subject listed in ALF – 33,039 at the last count – are contacted each time their details come around for update; or every nine, twelve, fifteen or twenty-four weeks. We email each data subject with a transparent privacy notice informing them of why they are listed in ALF, any possible outcomes of being listed, and how they can opt out of having their personal information held within ALF. In the case of any opt out request, we remove the corresponding data subject within 24 hours. This process also now applies to all newly-sourced data subjects, who are contacted before their details get published in ALF.   In summary, each data subject listed in ALF is now contacted two to six times per year with an explicit opportunity to be removed from ALF.   The result of that is our data is robust and compliant and the people in ALF’s database have a regular and clear communication about their inclusion, transparency about our information and process, and the ability to remove their information at any time. Ultimately that means the quality of our information is stronger than ever.   ALF’s legitimate interest audit (LIA) is available on request. Simply email me at fraser.murdoch@mb-insight.com and let me know that you’d like a copy. https://alfinsight.azurewebsites.net/blog/rss/blog/2017/gdpr-alf-explained/ https://alfinsight.azurewebsites.net/blog/rss/blog/2017/gdpr-alf-explained/ Wed, 22 November 2017 10:16:32 Cannes Lions 2017: A festival at a crossroads Danny Edwards https://alfinsight.azurewebsites.net/blog/rss/blog/2017/cannes-lions-2017-a-festival-at-a-crossroads/ The Cannes Lions festival, and much of the industry, received a shock at the start of last week when Arthur Sadoun, Publicis Groupe’s CEO, announced that no Publicis agencies would be entering work for Cannes in 2018 – or indeed any awards in the upcoming 12 months. Publicis withdrawal caused a tidal wave effect which saw others leap to criticise Cannes. No longer about advertising; too tech-focussed, too data-driven; too brash but, most commonly, it was criticised for being too expensive, with Sir Martin Sorrell, CEO of the WPP network, stating that it was “too much of a money-making exercise”. With Sorrell also sitting on the fence about his network’s participation at future Lions, the festival had to act.   It did so by announcing that a committee was to be set up which would “help shape the future of the festival”. The announcement came with a list of names of people who had made a commitment to be in on the talks, but even that caused some consternation because all of the names listed were those of clients, with agencies and other media outlet participants yet to be announced.   What this means for Cannes 2018 and beyond is hard to fathom. Certainly, if Publicis sticks to its guns, which seems likely, then revenues for Ascential, owner of the Lions, could be sorely hit as Publicis is the third biggest entrant at the festival, behind Omnicom and WPP. AdAge reported that one executive estimated Publicis spends about $2.2 million a year on award entries, with about 25 percent of that going to Cannes, with others saying the total is much higher. When the announcement by Publicis was made last week, Ascential's stock went down 3.8 per cent.   Beyond the financial implications though, there could be an impact on Publicis itself. Awards are advertising currency, both in terms of profile and actual currency in the form of salary. More than one senior creative told me in Cannes that they had been sounded out by headhunters or approached directly by disgruntled Publicis staff who don’t want to work for a network at which they can’t win awards. Clients, too, seem shaken by the news, with many stating that they value Cannes and other similar events to quantify the effects of creative advertising and brand building.   There can be no argument that Cannes is at a crossroads. It is the industry’s biggest and most closely watched awards festival but its traditional audience of agencies, creative thinkers and, latterly, clients, is being threatened by the influx of technology companies and data-crunchers and Cannes needs to try to appeal to both sides to create a harmonious working relationship. How they do that remains to be seen but if Ascential CEO Philip Thomas’ speech at the opening of Saturday night’s awards is anything to go, at which he told the audience that with all the talk around Cannes’ future he felt he needed to address it, but then didn’t, pointedly saying that they should just get on with watching some great work, it might be less than harmonious road to resolution.   On a more positive note, let’s talk about the power of advertising. Sure, you might say, we all know that advertising is a powerful force, one that has a vice-like grip on vast swathes of the globe. But, of late, I’m not sure many in the industry have believed this. With the constant talk of platform proliferation, audience behaviour, ad fatigue and the breakdown of traditional advertising structures, it feels like advertising, at times, lost its self-confidence and has been vying to get itself back in the game. The way it seems to have done that is by turning itself, broadly, into a force for good.   Cynics, and at times I include myself in that, might roll their eyes and say to themselves that advertising’s a global business built on selling stuff, pure and simple. Even the most naively optimistic person wouldn’t normally argue that the industry’s main aim is to improve the lives of people, not by selling them pasta sauce or new trainers, but by giving them clean water, or promoting diversity, or enabling them to vote. But after this year’s festival there was a real sense that a corner had been turned and that advertising is not only important to the world financially but is once again important culturally and politically.   It’s not only this year that the industry has created interesting, important and clever socially-minded campaigns but it’s this year that socially-minded work dominated the prize-giving ceremonies. McCann’s Fearless Girl, the beautiful and powerful campaign to promote gender diversity, won four Grands Prix (Titanium, PR, Outdoor and Glass); Boost Mobile’s Boost Your Voice, which aided with voting in the US election by turning their stores into voting booths, won Grands Prix in Integrated and Promo & Activation; a male fertility checker for Seem won in Mobile while Payphone Bank for Tigo-Une turned Colombian payphones into banks for the country’s poorest workers and picked up a Product Design Grand Prix. And there was Channel 4’s We’re the Superhumans, a brilliant and influential campaign focused on disability, which won the Film Grand Prix.   So while the Cannes Lions festival wrestles with its place in the industry and how it appeals to both its audience and its shareholders, it seems that the advertising industry has already redefined itself, or at least started to. As David Droga, who collected the Lion of St Mark, to celebrate his achievements in and influence on the advertising industry, told the crowd: if his kids asked him how they could help do good in the world he wouldn’t suggest they join Oxfam or Greenpeace or other charitable causes, but instead get into advertising, from where, he said, you can really make change, now more than ever.   Read the full article  here . https://alfinsight.azurewebsites.net/blog/rss/blog/2017/cannes-lions-2017-a-festival-at-a-crossroads/ https://alfinsight.azurewebsites.net/blog/rss/blog/2017/cannes-lions-2017-a-festival-at-a-crossroads/ Fri, 30 June 2017 08:17:35 MBI’s Media Summit 2017: Five things we learned about VR Kristi Kotow https://alfinsight.azurewebsites.net/blog/rss/blog/2017/mbi-s-media-summit-2017-five-things-we-learned-about-vr/ Billed only as recently as a year ago as the media of the future, it’s clear that Virtual Reality has evolved from sci-fi tech to a reality that’s here to stay. As with all new technologies, however, the industry is still very much going through a period of trial-and-error, as media owners and brands seek to use VR as more than just a PR stunt. To help us take stock of where VR is and where it’s going, Media Summit hosted a VR session featuring speakers from Rewind, a VR creative and digital production studio; Blend Media, a VR creator network and library; and Samsung, which manufactures one of the most successful VR headsets. Here are the key things that we took away from the day.   1.) So far, men are the core audience of Virtual Reality   Insight from Samsung revealed that 47% of males are interested in owning a VR device and 94% of those who already own one are male. Perhaps these figures aren’t so shocking when you find out that the number one form of content at the moment is gaming. Blend Media CEO Damian Collier was quick to note that women are the predominant viewers of its own VR content, which is dominated by scenic, nature videos. Clearly there is room to grow the female audience within these genres.   2.) Consumers still need to differentiate between content and medium.   One of the key takeaways from the discussion came from Sol Rogers, founder of Rewind, who point-blank told the audience that consumers back away from VR because of bad experiences with early fully immersive VR technology and exposure to bad content. Winning new converts to the tech requires a way to combat those who say “I’ve used VR before” as an excuse for refusing to watch a video. Rogers likened this to saying “I’ve watched TV before” when being asked to watch the latest BBC drama.   Chief among those who are striving to bring VR to the masses is Facebook. It acquired Oculus Rift for an astonishing $2bn just two years after the VR start-up’s founding and recently entered into a strategic partnership with Blend for content. The new content partnership has potential to bring VR to a wider audience and to help change the minds of those who think they know what Virtual Reality is all about.   3.) Brands need to move beyond using VR to make ‘World’s first VR [insert basically anything]’   Rogers asserted that brands are now at a point where they are ready to experiment with VR. However, he warned that brands shouldn’t make an ad in VR just because they can, the content must be meaningful on the platform and, ideally, should benefit from the media choice. Rogers pointed to his agency’s collaboration with BBC Learning, BBC Science and BBC Digital Storytelling as a great example of what VR can be. The result, ‘Home – A VR Spacewalk’, is a 15-minute immersive virtual reality experience allowing users to get a sense of what it’s like to be an astronaut at the International Space Station. Here VR is used to offer an experience that 2D just can’t match.   4.) More ways to measure VR’s impact on the bottom line are needed   Rewind measures the success of its VR experiences on views. Rogers acknowledged that because VR is still somewhat a novelty, content will be viewed more than if that content were available in traditional 2D formats. But how does this translate into purchases? Clearly a set of established metrics is needed to penetrate this information.   Despite the lack of clear success benchmarks, brands are still prepared to bet on VR as Adidas, Glenfiddich, Ikea, Jaguar, the WWF and other big brands have proved by releasing VR campaigns within the last year.   5.) The future is an open field   Sol sees a successful future for VR relying on the invention of less-clunky hardware. One only needs to look to Snapchat Spectacles to see the truth in this. Reducing the size of the VR headset will widen appeal and opens up new opportunities in user generated content. With tech giants such as Google, Samsung, Facebook, Sony and HTC investing heavily, VR has received the validation it needs to go from sci-fi future to a technology which is constantly evolving in real-time.   Marvin Harrison of Samsung put it best when he mused that VR will succeed when only good content sees the light of day. In other words, the importance lies in not just having a vast library of content to access, but also in the curation of content that allows only quality experiences to get out. Those planning their next foray into VR should understand the need for a library of content with the breadth of iTunes, but with the curation of Netflix.   Of course, this does make total sense. VR is in your face, literally. Bad content on other forms of media is tolerable. A horrible ad comes on TV? Just change the channel. A YouTube pre-roll incorrectly targeting you? No problem, just switch tabs until it ends. There is no escaping a bad VR experience, no way to minimise its impact. And this is why the need for good, meaningful content will lead VR’s future.   The possibilities are seemingly endless. VR in sport could allow family members living on separate continents a way to watch a live football match together without the need for a plane ticket. In advertising, it could allow us to connect to a brand we never thought we shared anything in common with. With such an open-ended future, VR is sure to continue to gain momentum in becoming a media of choice for advertisers.   For more insight, visit our blog about MBI's Virtual Reality Creative Summit held last year. https://alfinsight.azurewebsites.net/blog/rss/blog/2017/mbi-s-media-summit-2017-five-things-we-learned-about-vr/ https://alfinsight.azurewebsites.net/blog/rss/blog/2017/mbi-s-media-summit-2017-five-things-we-learned-about-vr/ Wed, 17 May 2017 09:23:23 Newsworks Shift 2017: Here's what we learned Charlie Lloyd https://alfinsight.azurewebsites.net/blog/rss/blog/2017/newsworks-shift-2017-heres-what-we-learned/ From every angle, news media and its future is being questioned. From the media owners themselves: is the financial model sustainable in the long term? From their advertisers: will we ever have a modicum of transparency around where our money is going? And now, more recently, from consumers: How do I know what I’m reading is real? Which sources can I trust? To paraphrase the 45 th President of the United States: FAKE NEWS. Sad! With all these questions swirling around the media industry like Storm Doris on steroids, Newswork’s annual Shift Conference promised to be a valuable chance to listen to some of the industry’s leading figures discuss how to tackle the pressing issues of contemporary media. For anyone who missed it, here’s a recap of what was talked about.     Digital   One of the key issues discussed was, of course, digital, which Newsworks chief executive Vanessa Clifford, in her opening remarks, claimed to offer ‘the illusion of precision’. Illusion is the key word; digital is supposed to offer the zenith of targeting and measurement and yet approaching programmatic can still feel like a visit to Little Britain hypnotist Kenny Craig (catchphrase: Look into my eyes, look into the eyes, not around the eyes, don’t look around the eyes, look into my eyes…you’re under!) Most critical of the digital supply chain was Professor Paddy Barwise of London Business School, who reported a survey finding that even banking musters greater public trust than advertising, and referred to a test from the Guardian which saw it buy some of its own advertising; 70 per cent of which disappeared into the ether. Shots were fired at Facebook and Google as Barwise expressed his outrage that both are still ‘marking their own homework’. His advice to media owners: get your agencies and clients to support P&G’s Marc Pritchard, who last month issued a rallying call to demand that Facebook and Google agree to external auditing.   Avoiding Short-Termism   Strategy was also debated that morning, more specifically how far ahead marketers and agencies should be planning. Here there was a subtle discrepancy between some of the speeches. Paddy Barwise advised to push back against short-termism, which he argued digital can encourage through the quick hits of click-through rates, shares and likes. ‘You maximise reach by spreading your investment across media’, Barwise added. Sam Wise, head of planning at Saatchi & Saatchi, also criticised what he perceives to be a glut of tactical ads borne of short term thinking and others designed to break conventional formats simply for the sake of it (here he referenced the Metro’s scratch cover for the Aladdin musical). Barwise took aim at wraparounds specifically (‘crap-laden wraparounds’ were his actual words), as examples of activities that destroy long-term value.   Speaking from the client-side was Vodafone marketer Katrina Lowes. She didn’t challenge the value of long-term thinking, but Lowes did provide some insight into the way that a marketer at a public limited company needs to work. Having to report to the City every 12 weeks, Lowes needs to deliver tangible results and data on a frequent basis. So while a long term plan is clearly integral to long term growth, that doesn’t mean that marketers at PLCs can call off the hunt for immediate results. In short, a long-term vision facilitated by tactics that work towards and not away from that vision is surely the way to go.   Evidence   Another aspect of Lowes’ challenge to deliver concrete results every 12 weeks is that she needs to report the truth. To this end, whenever she’s talking to her agencies she asks the following three questions: Who are we targeting? What do we want them to do? How will we measure the impact? In an age where there is more data to devour than ever before, it’s easy to get lost in metrics and lose sight of which ones actually reflect meaningful engagement; an exasperating condition suffered by modern-day marketers which Lowes referred to as digital overload. Barwise similarly warned against running after ‘shiny new things’. If you’re thinking of filming a livestream, why are you thinking of filming a livestream? Is it on-brand and can you trust the glittery viewing metrics presented to you by the tech giants hosting them?   The Future   The final speaker of the morning was the Daily Mail’s Isabel Oakeshott and the central message was that newsbrands are thriving. Newspapers have declined, yes, but newsbrands are reaching more people than ever before and their power to influence news and public discourse is as potent now as it has ever been. To illustrate her point, Oakeshott referred to the fallout from her 2015 biography of David Cameron; an incident that quickly became known as #Piggate. Oakeshott’s point was that the Daily Mail had taken two or three relatively insignificant sentences buried deep in a serious piece of work and put them on the front page. Social media erupted and other traditional news sources jumped onto the story and, in doing so, the power of newsbrands was proven. Whether or not you find Oakeshott’s surprise at the way #Piggate unfolded a bit naïve, it’s hard to argue that the debacle didn’t demonstrate the continuing role and power of newsbrands.   But let's look at Oakeshott's main point that newsbrands are thriving. Are they? In terms of reach, certainly, but not financially. There’s still precious little evidence to suggest that the digital advertising model functions sustainably. This isn’t a problem that only faces media companies which formerly sold stories on paper. Buzzfeed missed 2015 revenue targets by $80m and slashed targets for last year. Snapchat has never made a profit and, incredibly, neither has Twitter. Recently, the New Internationalist announced it was turning to crowdfunding. Does all this indicate a viable future without meaningful changes to the digital model?   In the near future, at least, the speaker most damning of the contemporary media landscape is confident that 2017 will be a year of great improvement. Professor Paddy Barwise believes that fraud will be addressed ‘much more vigorously’ this year on the back of Pritchard’s seminal speech on the subject. Let’s hope he’s right. https://alfinsight.azurewebsites.net/blog/rss/blog/2017/newsworks-shift-2017-heres-what-we-learned/ https://alfinsight.azurewebsites.net/blog/rss/blog/2017/newsworks-shift-2017-heres-what-we-learned/ Wed, 08 March 2017 11:25:08 ALF TURNS 30! HERE'S HOW IT ALL BEGAN Charlie Lloyd https://alfinsight.azurewebsites.net/blog/rss/blog/2017/alf-turns-30-heres-how-it-all-began/ Today ALF celebrates its 30 th birthday. Back when ALF entered the world, the Iron Lady was Prime Minister, the Berlin Wall was still standing and the World Wide Web was a mere twinkle in the eye of Tim Berners-Lee. The advertising industry is almost unrecognisable from the heady days of long, boozy lunches and overflowing ashtrays, but ALF, in its various incarnations under several owners, has been ever-present since the first printed issue hit the press in February 1987.   ALF’s founder, Stephen Hart, first conceived the idea of a monthly list of agencies and their accounts working as an advertising sales rep at the Sunday Express in the 1980s. At the time, reps were expected to know about their clients’ accounts but had to rely on agencies’ self-published lists kept in a manila folder. By 1986 Stephen decided to bring his idea to life, and after raising some capital from a City recruitment agency, Account List File was born, published by Stephen’s new company, Black Box Publishing. Ironically, the acronym ‘ALF’ was a deliberate dig at the new product’s main rival, BRAD, which published a similar directory on a quarterly basis. Little did he know, 13 years later BRAD and ALF would join forces under one roof at EMAP.   Stephen opened up for business in what he describes as ‘a dump behind the market in Harrow Main Street’, with just one other employee who handled IT. After doing the rounds at agencies explaining the benefits of having well-informed media reps, the first issue was born in February 1987.     Stephen’s penchant for acronyms developed through a series of sister products for ALF. An early ancestor of ALF’s prospect lists, Data Agency Network (DAN) was set up offering publishers a mailing matrix that they could use to order personalised letters to agency contacts. As time went by and users could generate lists using their own PCs, DAN gave way to Mailing Matrix (MAX).   Realising that media owners needed to forge relationships with advertisers as well as agencies, Leading National Advertisers (LENA) was born, adding the top 1,000 advertisers to ALF’s list of agencies for the first time. By accepting that LENA was a fundamental addition to ALF, DAN and MAX, ALF’s publishers exhibited a willingness to break the cycle of male dominance in the industry that was well ahead of its time.   In 1992, Stephen left the business and ALF moved home several times before being acquired by EMAP in 1999, and rivals turned friends as ALF and BRAD were brought together. In 2003, ALF published another product, albeit with a less catchy acronym; the European Advertisers & Agencies Guide (EAAG). Sadly shortlived, the EAAG provided contacts at the top 25 advertisers and their agencies across the top five EU countries. As the world changed and printed directories became increasingly superfluous, ALF made the leap to an online-only existence in 2010, offering users live data that refreshed daily and prompting a sigh of relief from trees across the land.   Since then, ALF’s come a long way, from Prospect Lists and email alerts to live reports, Chrome extensions and Salesforce integration; all of which was driven by our goal of making the lead generation process quicker and more intuitive.   Who knows where ALF will be in another 30 years? Will we look back at ALF’s years on screens with the same nostalgia as those in print as we upload the data straight to our brains? Will telepathic and holographic media join TV, digital and our other spend channels? Looking back over the last three decades, anything seems possible. In the meantime, we have plenty of projects in the pipeline designed to facilitate business development in the here and now.   Here’s to the next 30 years!   “I recall the books from my early agency and media owner days in the noughties, along with the internal squabble to get the latest quarterly updated edition. It has evolved well with time and is still a very reliable resource for sales leads.” Alexander Bart, Digital & Sponsorship Activation Manager at Harvard Business Review. https://alfinsight.azurewebsites.net/blog/rss/blog/2017/alf-turns-30-heres-how-it-all-began/ https://alfinsight.azurewebsites.net/blog/rss/blog/2017/alf-turns-30-heres-how-it-all-began/ Tue, 14 February 2017 14:09:48 Everything’s different, nothing’s changed: key points raised at the ABC Interaction 2017 Charlie Lloyd https://alfinsight.azurewebsites.net/blog/rss/blog/2017/everything-s-different-nothing-s-changed-key-points-raised-at-the-abc-interaction-2017/ The ABC Interaction always provides an insightful snapshot of where the industry stands and this year’s event did not disappoint. Media owners, agencies and ad tech vendors were all represented in the speaker line-up as each took stock of where we are and what needs to be done to get us out of this perennial mire of viewability, accountability, fraud and brand safety concerns. One key player in the ecosystem, the client, was missing from the line-up, but it didn’t really feel that way given that Tuesday’s event followed that earth-shattering speech from P&G’s Marc Pritchard which, all on its own, offered a glimmer of hope that the issues discussed that day may be conquerable.   The Issues Dino Myers Lamptey, head of strategy at The7Stars, gave a frank and honest observation of what he’d heard prior to his taking the stage when he said it all felt a bit like déjà vu. And while he paid for his honesty by being referred to as Chicken Little for the rest of the afternoon, he was right. Viewability, ad fraud and brand safety were discussed in 2017, in 2016 and in 2015, too. The ABC is doing excellent work in these areas – the newly launched Worldwide Brand Reports now offer reliable data across a multitude of devices and platforms – but on an industry-wide level debate around these issues has involved a lot of finger-pointing and precious little action. As Myers-Lamptey argued, ad avoidance is becoming more common while engagement with ads across all media is falling. The proliferation of fake news factories in Eastern Europe and the rise of alt-right news sites have each made brand safety as big an issue today as it has ever been. And as if all this wasn’t enough to be getting on with, Facebook and Google continue to use their considerable weight to barge publishers out of the queue for ad revenues. In 2016, as newspapers closed and their publishers made hundreds of staff redundant in this country alone, Facebook made $26bn worldwide selling ads from its walled gardens.   The Solutions As far as the ABC’s involvement in addressing some of these issues, new chairman Derek Morris and chief executive Simon Redlich both used their time on stage to declare that the ABC will adapt much faster to change in 2017. Morris conceded that when he first began working with ABC last summer, it was caught somewhat between the conflicting interests of the buyers and sellers who jointly own the organisation, and had been too focused on what he called ‘doing the do’ and not listening to what was needed. The standard-setting process will now be much ‘fleeter of foot’. For Myers-Lamptey, the single biggest weapon the industry needs to add to its arsenal is accountability, of which there is presently a hefty deficit. He criticised his agency-side peers for being too quick to blame machines and should instead take greater responsibility for losing clients’ money on misplaced ads. Ending with an ultimatum that was both timely and to the point, Lamptey presented the industry with three options. Get faking; get regulated; or get together. In other words, if the industry doesn’t organise to combat these issues organically, we’re headed for government intervention and red tape. On this point, Procter & Gamble’s chief brand officer Marc Pritchard may have set the ball rolling in an unprecedented intervention on the subject from a major advertiser. In what marketing academic and Marketing Week columnist Mark Ritson described as ‘by some way, the most important speech in marketing…since 1999’, Pritchard fired a series of warning shots at advertising agencies and ad tech vendors, decrying the programmatic supply chain as ‘murky at best, and fraudulent at worst’, criticised the agency rebate culture and rounded on Facebook and Google’s walled gardens. Most important was what he announced P&G is going to be doing about it; by the end of the year P&G expects all of its partners to provide third-party verification of its audience data and is kicking off a review of every one of its agency contracts with a view to replacing them with more transparent ones. If other heavyweight advertisers like P&G adopt this stance, even Facebook and Google may be forced to take a few bricks off their garden walls. Tesco’s creation of its new Head of Media role filled by Mindshare’s Nick Ashley suggests that Tesco is also seeking greater control over its ad spend, and so it is easy to envisage a near-future where advertisers, emboldened by Pritchard’s statement of intent, begin to follow suit.       The Future But let’s go back to the Interaction. Two of the speakers, Piers North of Trinity Mirror and Rupert Staines of RadiumOne, made their predictions for the state of the industry in 2020. The former, from his perspective as strategy director of a major newsbrand, warned the room to ‘batten down the hatches; it’s going to be rough’ as the industry continues its struggle to properly monetise the digital ad model. He wasn’t unoptimistic, however, envisaging an industry that had devised a way of properly measuring and attributing digital campaigns, although the keywords ‘measurement’ and ‘attribution’ were ironically presented next to an image of a unicorn. Rupert Staines was far more upbeat, beginning his speech by quipping that when Myers-Lamptey was speaking he thought ‘we were all going to slit our wrists’. Accepting that trust is broken and that we have an industry locked by fear on one side and greed on the other, Staines argued that digital media shouldn’t be fighting other mediums and should instead collaborate to create ‘systems rather than siloes’. On that front, he considered JICWEBs the perfect opportunity to bring about cross-party standards. His vision of 2020: a data-driven industry using better science and better AI to help planners target consumers far more successfully. The biggest barrier to progress? Well, Myers-Lamptey thinks that a few players are doing too well out of the way things are now. If Pritchard’s speech has the desired effect, maybe every player will become more accountable and the issues that have come to define the digital media landscape in the 2010s may begin to be resolved. https://alfinsight.azurewebsites.net/blog/rss/blog/2017/everything-s-different-nothing-s-changed-key-points-raised-at-the-abc-interaction-2017/ https://alfinsight.azurewebsites.net/blog/rss/blog/2017/everything-s-different-nothing-s-changed-key-points-raised-at-the-abc-interaction-2017/ Wed, 08 February 2017 09:07:57 Time is money: How the ALF Chrome widget can make your research faster and easier Charlie Lloyd https://alfinsight.azurewebsites.net/blog/rss/blog/2017/time-is-money-how-the-alf-chrome-widget-can-make-your-research-faster-and-easier/ Albert Einstein once said that time is an illusion. That’s quite a mind-warping concept to try and get to grips with but fear not, we live in the post-truth era now so experts like Albert can keep their abstract concepts to themselves. Phew! Time seems very real and it always seems to be running out. Deadlines, whether bestowed from above or self-imposed through necessity are an all-too-frequent scourge upon our days, ramping up our stress and making us miss things that we don’t want to miss in our lives outside the office. Whatever 2017 has in store for us, whatever form of Brexit we’ll be given to work with, it can be safely assumed that time will continue to be at a premium. However the pound performs against the Euro, many of us will still be time-poor. And time is money! With that in mind, anything that comes our way that buys us a little more time is always gratefully received. At ALF, we always strive to find new ways to bring you the information you need to make your next deal as quickly as possible; to make your lead generation as efficient as it can be and to give your organisation an edge over its competitors. That’s why we’ve launched the ALF Quick Search widget on the Chrome Store.       The new Chrome extension facilitates your research in two ways. Firstly, an ALF Quick Search button is added to your Chrome browser, allowing you fast access to ALF at the click of a button.   Next, whenever you come across the name of an advertiser, agency, brand or contact online that you want to look up on ALF, you can do so simply by highlighting the text, right-clicking, and selecting the ALF Quick Search option. It’s free, and can be downloaded in seconds right here .   Whatever 2017 throws at you – and we hope its lots of incredible opportunities to take your business forward – ALF will be right there with you. The Chrome extension is just the latest product of our mission to help you take your business to the next level. https://alfinsight.azurewebsites.net/blog/rss/blog/2017/time-is-money-how-the-alf-chrome-widget-can-make-your-research-faster-and-easier/ https://alfinsight.azurewebsites.net/blog/rss/blog/2017/time-is-money-how-the-alf-chrome-widget-can-make-your-research-faster-and-easier/ Wed, 11 January 2017 09:13:58 What we learned at MBI's Virtual Reality Creative Summit Charlie Lloyd https://alfinsight.azurewebsites.net/blog/rss/blog/2016/what-we-learned-at-mbis-virtual-reality-creative-summit/ Virtual reality has arrived, and after the year we’ve had in the real world it couldn’t have come at a better time. With ten million Google Cardboard units shipped across the world and Oculus Rift, Samsung Gear and a plethora of other devices now on sale, what was once confined to the pages of 1950s science fiction is now available at Argos. The possibilities are seemingly endless. VR is not limited to 360 ° video; 360° sound and the developing field of haptic technology which allows users to feel their virtual surroundings means that VR can offer truly unique experiences, from being placed in the front row of a music concert to walking across Machu Picchu in your own home. As with any new medium, however, there’s as much uncertainty as there is excitement, as media owners, game developers, brands and advertising agencies all ask themselves where they fit into the burgeoning VR puzzle. This week’s news that some of the world’s leading tech companies; Facebook, Google, HTC, Sony and Samsung have joined forces to create the Global Virtual Reality Association will hopefully see the new organisation sharing research and guidance across the industry. In the meantime, MBI’s first Virtual Reality Creative Summit brought together some of the leading minds in VR to update us on the latest developments in the field and offer tips for best practice. Here are some of the key points from the conference.   It’s an incredibly powerful new medium. Simon Benson of Sony recalled showing Playstation’s VR technology to third party game developers and a common response from them was that they’d been waiting for this moment all their lives. Perhaps the greatest insight into the power of virtual reality and what sets it apart from other media was an anecdote from John Cassy (Factory 42) and Jon Wadelton (The Foundry). Both took part in a VR experiment in which the headset placed them on top of a tall building with a tightrope in front of them; they also had a piece of wire on the ground in front of them in the real world. While one had a fear of heights and the other did not, neither Cassy nor Wadelton could bring themselves to take a step forward despite them both knowing what they were seeing wasn’t real. This ability of VR to fool the subconscious gives the medium a unique ability to offer a truly immersive experience, and that sensory transportation is what needs to be tapped into to make the most engaging VR content.   Google Daydream could be a gamechanger. Another speaker at the event was Greg Ivanov, working in business content and development for Android’s VR venture Daydream at Google. Like Samsung Gear, Daydream works by slotting a smartphone into a headset, but is paired with a controller. What sets it apart is that Google has developed a separate version of its Play Store for VR apps. Along with Google’s own apps, a variety of newsbrands, gaming and video on-demand companies have signed up to offer VR-first apps, such as The Guardian, The BBC, CNN, Netflix and Jaunt. With a £69 price tag a fraction of standalone headsets such as Oculus Rift, and with all new Android phones being built Daydream-ready, Daydream’s release in 2017 may be the biggest milestone yet on the road to mass-adoption.   But mass-adoption is not guaranteed. As Ivanov put it, 2016 was Year Zero for VR, and Micke Hjorth of Starbreeze Studios admitted that VR cannot currently offer ROI because the system is still too small. No burgeoning technology can take its success for granted, and Wadelton warned that ‘without that killer app or killer experience, the whole thing isn’t going to work’, pointing to Halo for Xbox and Avatar for 3D film as examples of those killer experiences that get a device or medium off the ground. Wadelton also predicted that it will take two or three hardware generations before mass-adoption, so while we may well be approaching the dawn of the VR era, we’re not necessarily as close as we might think.   What makes good VR content? One panel at the summit was dedicated to ‘The Ten Commandments of VR Storytelling’, which provided some valuable tips for making engaging VR experiences. The panel advised content creators to be aware of the many different ‘flavours’ of VR – in other words don’t limit content to just one of them. There’s 360 °, interactive 360° and fully interactive, and so to get the most out of the medium content should be created that works across the spectrum. The same is true of devices. There’s no set standard at this moment in time, so knowledge of each device and their capabilities is crucial. Keep it simple. Each content mechanism needs to be perfect for the user to feel transported, and if anything doesn’t feel right the spell will be broken. It’s therefore better to get one mechanism spot on than to do layers of average ones. It’s also important to remember that VR’s USP is its interactivity; the user must be the director and not a spectator. And lastly, don’t make people throw up! The fluid in our ears senses movement and when our eyes are telling our brains otherwise, as with reading in the car, nausea ensues, so bear that in mind. https://alfinsight.azurewebsites.net/blog/rss/blog/2016/what-we-learned-at-mbis-virtual-reality-creative-summit/ https://alfinsight.azurewebsites.net/blog/rss/blog/2016/what-we-learned-at-mbis-virtual-reality-creative-summit/ Wed, 14 December 2016 09:35:58 We Are Social’s Live Streaming 101: Five Things We Learned Charlie Lloyd https://alfinsight.azurewebsites.net/blog/rss/blog/2016/we-are-social-s-live-streaming-101-five-things-we-learned/ After a year of ascendency, it’s clear that live-streaming is here to stay. If 2015 was characterised by whispers of impending disruption brought about by the likes of Twitter’s acquisition of livestreaming platform Periscope for a reported $86m (then still in Beta mode, no less), 2016 was the year that it really established itself as a part of the social media furniture. As with all new technologies, however, the industry is still very much going through a period of trial-and-error, as media owners and brands seek to add livestreaming to their arsenals for the first time. To help us take stock of where we are and what we’ve learned about live-streaming so far, our friends at We Are Social hosted Live Streaming 101, featuring an eclectic mix of speakers from BuzzFeed, Twitter and First Direct. Here are the key things that we took away from the morning.   1) 2016 was a watershed year for live video Live streaming made its mark on the year almost straight away, when half a million people tuned in to a live feed of, erm, a puddle. #DrummondPuddleWatch fleetingly captivated the nation as a live video of people trying to traverse a puddle in Newcastle became one of the most bizarrely addictive memes of the social media era. Then, in May, ‘Chewbacca Mom’ became an instant celebrity as she livestreamed a video of herself trying on a mask that she’d just treated herself to. Her hysterical laughter proved infectious as the video racked up 160m Facebook views. Livestreaming also cemented its role as a journalistic tool, particularly within the context of breaking news, as livestreams reached huge audiences in the wake of events such as the Brussels bombings and Orlando massacre, as well as in studio settings during the EU referendum and US election. In the words of Andy Dangerfield, social media editor UK at BuzzFeed, ‘For years people have been asking whether social media will change the face of journalism. 2016 was the year that happened’.     2) Live video is where Twitter sees its future Also speaking at the event was Helen Lawrence, head of creative agency development at Twitter, who laid the platform’s cards firmly on the table when stressing that the future of Twitter lies in live TV. Since acquiring Periscope in 2015, Twitter went on to secure the global streaming rights to ten NFL American Football matches for the 2016 season, and Lawrence spoke to us about the latest developments at the company. In October, Twitter launched Periscope Producer, which enables more sophisticated broadcasting of live video, offering dual screen broadcasts as well as various new features such as custom graphics and overlays. Twitter also seeks to take control of the live-streaming space by investing in politics and sports streams. Accepting that people generally gravitate toward the largest screen in the room for most of their TV/video consumption, Twitter has made Periscope compatible with the likes of Apple TV, Playstation 4 and Xbox. Twitter is the perfect platform for live streaming, argues Lawrence, as our favourite shows are enhanced by the Twitter conversations around them.   3) We now know what makes a great live video… According to Dangerfield, a successful live video needs to be simple, engaging and original, while a dash of absurdity and a sense of jeopardy are the secret ingredients of a video with real viral potential. To illustrate his point, Dangerfield looked to one of Buzzfeed’s most successful livestreams to date, of an attempt to explode a watermelon by wrapping it in elastic bands. The idea is clearly absurd, and as the number of elastic bands mounted, the sense of jeopardy was palpable. The video hit 10m views. All speakers at the event were in agreement that engagement with your audience is fundamental to a successful live stream. The ability to let the audience impact the narrative is one of the biggest differentiators from other forms of video, and it needs to be taken advantage of. Rebecca Dye of First Direct offered a case study of a livestreamed competition they ran, where a machine-operated claw controlled by user comments allowed the audience to win prizes by choosing which numbered ball the claw would grab. Dye also used lessons learned from First Direct’s first foray into livestreaming to provide tips for others. Ultimately the competition had a reach of 2.9m on social media, but that level of engagement took time to develop. It’s therefore important to consider the length of the stream and ways to make it engaging over a prolonged period. Other issues they experienced were technical (the claw broke) highlighting the importance of having a contingency plan in place, and the time of day, as they received several complaints from people who missed the competition because it took place during working hours.       4) …And what makes a bad one Being responsive to your audience is key. As Helen Lawrence put it, ‘If you’re not reacting to your audience, there’s no point being live’. Despite the earlier point about making sure livestreams are long enough to build engagement, Dangerfield pointed out that a lot of livestreams have been guilty of being too long and losing the audience’s interest. As a result, it’s crucial that a plan is in place to make sure livestreams keep viewers’ attention. A lot of livestreams are recorded on mobile and are often lower quality and more susceptible to technical malfunctions than normal video. In the case of the latter, Dye advised to ‘style it out’ whenever something goes wrong. In the case of the First Direct competition, the team used humour to turn the situation around by successfully getting the audience to use the #PrayforClaw hashtag and transforming the hitch into an engaging element of the stream.   5) There’s much more to come Twitter’s intentions are clear, and the next phase of livestreaming’s impending domination of broadcasting and social media were also touched upon. In addition to drones, GoPros and other devices making livestreams more original, creative and engaging, there are a number of new platforms picking up momentum which are set to place live video even more firmly in the mainstream. Younow, a livestreaming hub that effectively operates as the YouTube of live video, is gaining traction. Alively is hoping to make livestreaming the norm for contacting friends, allowing users to send livestreams privately to groups of friends while their comments and reactions appear on screen. And perhaps most exciting is Hype, created by the makers of Vine, which hopes to bring about the next phase of livestreaming; using Hype, broadcasters can layer live video with photos, GIFs, other videos, music, and pull their favourite user comments into the video itself. All of which adds to a sense that livestreaming is here to stay and may soon play a much greater role in the way we consume media. https://alfinsight.azurewebsites.net/blog/rss/blog/2016/we-are-social-s-live-streaming-101-five-things-we-learned/ https://alfinsight.azurewebsites.net/blog/rss/blog/2016/we-are-social-s-live-streaming-101-five-things-we-learned/ Mon, 21 November 2016 09:47:51 Think Differently About Linear TV https://alfinsight.azurewebsites.net/blog/rss/blog/2016/think-differently-about-linear-tv/ It’s undisputed that TV is an incredibly effective marketing channel and unmatched in terms of sheer reach. But advertisers’ expectations of TV are changing. Brands demand better targeting, more active management of buys and timely analysis of TV efforts. For agencies, it means measuring and optimising TV just like digital.   When talking to agencies that want to ensure better TV planning and buying for clients, I tell them that they have to start by thinking differently about:   Linear TV Itself : Gone are the days of planning, buying and gauging TV success based on GRP or audience data. Linear TV is now optimisable. With the right analytical tools, TV can reach target audiences with tailored messages, and advertisers can know who’s watching and when, measure impact and optimise spots while on air.   Short-Term Impact : Knowing the immediate effect of TV is crucial because day-of response is a reliable indication of overall campaign impact. Clients also expect firms to know the networks, days, times and programmes that generate performance, the type of customers responding and the best media buys for driving engagement.   In-Flight Changes : Optimising TV requires active management of media buys – and this is a big change for some agencies. Same-day analytics used to measure short-term impact can also find underperforming spots. Leverage more flexible buying opportunities and make day, programme, network, genre, creative or daypart changes to improve the efficiency of on-air spots.   TV Measurement : Agencies must prove that media is driving client KPIs. Doing this quickly with digital is the norm, but it hasn’t been with TV. By analysing spot performance, historical media plans and key business events, agencies not only show how TV drives consumers, but also how it interacts with other marketing channels.   TV Strategy : Negotiating a reduced CPT is great, but does it mean anything if the campaign doesn’t meet its objective? TV strategies shouldn’t be about reaching an untargeted, mass audience. They should be based on attributable response – the actions generated. Leverage performance data to plan more efficiently and get in front of the right people, in the places and times they’re most likely to respond.     Long-Term Effect : While same-day data measures the short-term and campaign-wide value of TV, it also helps identify long-term brand effect. Quickly quantify the impact TV has on client KPIs and uncover relationships between TV and other online/offline channels. Predict the impact of marketing investments, optimise spend and give your clients definitive proof of TV’s influence.   By treating TV like the optimised marketing channel it is, agencies can decrease CPA for clients, prove that TV is meeting or exceeding quoted campaign targets and ensure that all buying and planning efforts result in maximum response. We regularly hear from agencies about how measuring and optimizing TV led to increased budgets, attracted new clients and even retained existing ones that were thinking of moving on.   And it all started by thinking differently …   Calum Smeaton is the CEO and founder of TVSquared, which is used by more than 350 brands and agencies in 46 countries to measure and optimize TV. With TVSquared, agency customers, on average, double their clients’ TV budgets by improving TV efficiency between 20-80%. https://alfinsight.azurewebsites.net/blog/rss/blog/2016/think-differently-about-linear-tv/ https://alfinsight.azurewebsites.net/blog/rss/blog/2016/think-differently-about-linear-tv/ Tue, 27 September 2016 10:24:50 Sir Martin Sorrell delivers a 'tour de force' speech at last week's IBC show in Amsterdam Conor Dignam https://alfinsight.azurewebsites.net/blog/rss/blog/2016/sir-martin-sorrell-delivers-a-tour-de-force-speech-at-last-weeks-ibc-show-in-amsterdam/ Here are the ten things we took from WPP Group CEO Sir Martin Sorrell at last week's International Broadcast Convention in Amsterdam.   1) Don Draper wouldn’t understand WPP. The global communications services company is now far more than the advertising world depicted in Mad Men, with data and digital driving so much of the businesses core activity and growth. “Seventy five per cent of our business is stuff Don Draper wouldn’t recognise” said Sorrell.   2) Donald Trump could win. “He does have a real chance of winning”. Sorrell said turn out at the last presidential election was less than 55% and that if Trump could get normally “non-voting whites out” then he could win. He also said one analyst had told him that 10% of the black vote could go to Trump. Sorrell said New York remained at the centre of the media and advertising world and global economy. “Whether it will be the centre of the world if Donald Trump wins, is a good question”.   3) There are four core drivers for WPP’s strategy: The key strategies underpinning WPP’s growth are: “Horizontality” – offering a range of services to clients across different disciplines and functions; fast growth markets around the world, digital growth; and data management. “The biggest challenge for WPP is not geography or functions – it is how we integrate our offering to clients in the most effective way”.   4) Sir Martin “rounds up” in billions. Displaying a slide to the audience with WPP’s billings, revenues and EBITDA on it, Sorrell showed reported billings of $73 billion. “Let’s call it $75 billion” he told the audience. (Fair enough, what’s the odd billion between friends). Sorrell’s slide also said that WPP employed 194,000 people and had offices in 113 companies. “We’ve just opened the 113 th in Iran which has the potential to be the biggest growth market since Viet Nam”.   5) Google and Facebook are not his friends. For a man who’s built his own fortune on consolidation, Sorrell isn’t keen on the scale and power of Google and Facebook. He said the duopoly were not good for WPP’s clients and had too much power. “They are media owners not technology companies, they masquerade as technology companies. They are monetising inventory just like other media companies”. He said Google had got better at sharing data but Facebook was still difficult to deal with and suggested regulatory authorities would need to look at their power and influence in the market. Between them they account for 76% of internet advertising revenues and that number is growing, much to Sorrell’s consternation.   6) Disintermediation is out to get you . We live in a world of disintermediation and we’d better get used to it as established brands and sectors If Google and Facebook are flexing their muscles, Sorrell suggested we’ve only just begun to see the implications of Amazon’s scale and potential in the retail sector. “Just a few years ago Amazon was 15 per cent of the British Post Office’s delivery business, now it delivers its own parcels”. He said Amazon was the real “big one” coming, which is moving into private label packages and is already the second biggest clothing platform in the USA.   7) This is the “New Normal”. WPP’s view of the world was on a slide in the deck called “The New Normal”. And it had the following bullet points:  -  Low GDP growth, - Low or No Inflation, -  Little Pricing Power, - Focus on Costs.   8) Channel 4 should be privatised:  Sorrell was asked by our friends at Broadcast whether he supported privatising Channel 4.   “It would be a good thing if Channel 4 was more market driven,” Sorrell said. “That’s not to say it hasn’t been in the past, but my intuition tells me that a sale would be a good thing.”   9) Talent Wars will get fiercer. "The biggest indictment of the (advertising and creative) industry is we don't grow talent - we steal it from our rivals. It's counterproductive as you just end up paying more for staff." He added that it was vital to "organically grow" talent or risk losing the next generation of creatives to the likes of Facebook and Google. "If you think that there is a talent war underway now, then standby."   10) Mobile advertising should grow. Sorrell said an analysis of time spent on media in the US vs the amount of advertising it attracted showed mobile and internet advertising is lagging behind its use and there is a $21 billion opportunity just in the US and a $60 billion opportunity in online advertising.   Last but not least, Sorrell has got no intention of retiring. He mentioned his friend Simon Schama who had linked retirement to death and said it was exactly how he felt about it. He added: “If you’re a man, starting a company is the closest thing you can get to giving birth. I will carry on as long as they will let me. They’ll have to carry me out to the glue factory”. https://alfinsight.azurewebsites.net/blog/rss/blog/2016/sir-martin-sorrell-delivers-a-tour-de-force-speech-at-last-weeks-ibc-show-in-amsterdam/ https://alfinsight.azurewebsites.net/blog/rss/blog/2016/sir-martin-sorrell-delivers-a-tour-de-force-speech-at-last-weeks-ibc-show-in-amsterdam/ Tue, 13 September 2016 11:02:18 Consumer magazine ABCs for the first half of 2016: Nine things you need to know Charlie Lloyd https://alfinsight.azurewebsites.net/blog/rss/blog/2016/consumer-magazine-abcs-for-the-first-half-of-2016-nine-things-you-need-to-know/ The News & Current Affairs: Domestic sector retained its status as one of those most immune from changes to reading habits, posting a combined 4.5% rise on the previous period to 568,859. The biggest seller remains Private Eye having slightly increased its circulation by 0.1% on the last period to 230,099, while the biggest riser was The Spectator, posting a 7.0% rise on the last period and a 37.9% rise year on year to 76,750 for its UK edition. All publishers in the sector will be delighted that no titles suffered circulation decreases.   This month’s release was less rosy for the Women’s Weeklies sector, however. The highest circulating title remains Take a Break despite a 4.6% fall on the last period to 562,412, while OK! Magazine’s performance was anything but, posting the biggest fall in the sector to 176,386; a drop of 36.0% on the last period and 11.8% year on year. Elsewhere New! fell 12.2% on the last period to 216,877 and Heat fell 11.8% on the last period to 144,074. Not one of the 20 titles in the sector posted gains, and overall the sector fell by 8.4% year on year to 3,843,367 copies. That’s not to say that women are turning away from magazines across the board. While falling overall, the Women’s Lifestyle/Fashion sector returned far more mixed results. The freely distributed John Lewis Edition remains the highest circulating title, albeit after suffering a 16.8% fall on the last period to 476,180. Good Housekeeping is the biggest seller after an excellent year, up 8.6% on the last period and 10.1% year on year to 431,008. There were also increases of 4.0% and 4.3% respectively for Red and Elle, although the publisher of Look will wish it hadn’t, as Time Inc. UK’s title posted a 20.8% decrease on the last period to 91,902; a 30.3% drop year on year. Onto the TV Listings, and sadly falls for all titles left the sector contracting its output by 6.5% to 3,445,883 copies. The nation’s favourite remains TV Choice despite selling 2.9% less copies than six months ago at 1,232,038, while the Radio Times continues its downward trajectory, having fallen 8.8% on the last period and 6.2% year on year to 668,526. Hearst will not be pleased following the news that All About Soap recorded the heaviest fall, down 14.1% on the last period and 31.2% year on year to a very worrying 29,788. Men’s Lifestyle benefitted from a 22.2% increase across the sector year on year, though it is the entrance of the free title COACH and the performance of other freely circulating titles to which this rise can be attributed. Esquire is the highest riser, up 10.3% on the last period to 64,712, though nearly 48% of its circulation was distributed freely in this audit period. The highest selling title in the sector is also the biggest faller, as Men’s Health posted a 7.5% fall on the last audit to 180,082. The Cookery & Kitchen sector recorded circulation decreases across all of its paid-for magazines. The highest-selling is BBC Good Food, although a 14.4% fall on the last period and a 9.0% fall year on year leaves its circulation at 200,225. Sainsbury’s Magazine had an even worse time of it, down 16.5% on the last period to 189,578. Overall, the sector contracted by 3.5% year on year, but still remains the biggest consumer sector with a total distribution of 5,332,355 copies. Children’s reading habits continue to diverge from those of their parents, which should surely be a source of great optimism for print media in the long-term. In particular, the Children’s Magazines: Primary – Boys sector positively boomed in the first half of the year, led by strong performance in LEGO magazines. The sectors highest selling title is Egmont’s Disney Star Wars Lego whose circulation grew by 37.8% to 80,012, while Immediate Media’s LEGO Ninjago rose 21.3% on the last period to 77,879, and new entrant Lego Nexo Knights posted its first ABC audit of 51,005. From a media owner perspective, all three of the highest circulating consumer publishers recorded overall falls, though Hearst retains the top spot having experienced a relatively trivial decrease of 0.1% on the last period and 0.3% year on year to 4,525,352 magazines. Time Inc. UK is second but posted a greater decrease of 1.2% for the period and 1.1% year on year to 4,079,428. Of the top three it was H Bauer Publishing that endured the steepest decline, now circulating just 2,436,407 copies after a 5.0% drop, both on the last period and year on year. While there may be little cause for celebration at the country’s biggest consumer media owners, Immediate Media can celebrate an excellent audit. The publisher increased overall distribution by 5.2% on the last period and 5.0% year on year. This was led by gains across its children’s titles and also by BBC Gardener’s World, whose 15.0% increase on the last period will delight Immediate Media’s owners. *where not indicated all figures are for combined print and digital audits. https://alfinsight.azurewebsites.net/blog/rss/blog/2016/consumer-magazine-abcs-for-the-first-half-of-2016-nine-things-you-need-to-know/ https://alfinsight.azurewebsites.net/blog/rss/blog/2016/consumer-magazine-abcs-for-the-first-half-of-2016-nine-things-you-need-to-know/ Fri, 12 August 2016 11:11:57 ALF brings yet more agency contacts to your fingertips Adeline Bonnet https://alfinsight.azurewebsites.net/blog/rss/blog/2016/alf-brings-yet-more-agency-contacts-to-your-fingertips/ In our constant quest to enhance our agency attribution data and the service we provide to you, we have recently added the following 40 agencies to ALF:   Advance Marketing Design & Advertising Ltd Beacon PR Blue State Digital UK Ltd Bluefrog Ltd Brazil Street Ltd Bright Light PR Ltd Bugler Smith Ltd   Carousel PR Ltd Checkland Kindleysides Ltd Chilli UK Ltd Clickworks Connect Advertising & Marketing LLP CQ2 Ltd Creatiscope Design Ltd Digital Media Consultants Ltd Emma Beckett PR Ltd Frontrow Communications Ltd IC Comms Ltd Joe Public Ltd Just Think Communications Ltd Lawrie Cornish Ltd LK Communications Ltd Mason Williams Digital Ltd Motionlab Marketing Ltd One Agency and Communications Ltd Onyx Media and Communications Ltd Orchestra Agency Ltd Outreach Solutions Ltd Propeller Brandcomms Ltd RedheadPR Ltd Redmint Communications Ltd Show Media Ltd Stand Agency Ltd Strange Corporation Ltd The Buzz Agency Ltd The Media Solution Ltd Think Publishing Ltd Urban Element Design Solutions Ltd VMA Ltd We Are Coco Ltd Happy prospecting! https://alfinsight.azurewebsites.net/blog/rss/blog/2016/alf-brings-yet-more-agency-contacts-to-your-fingertips/ https://alfinsight.azurewebsites.net/blog/rss/blog/2016/alf-brings-yet-more-agency-contacts-to-your-fingertips/ Tue, 09 August 2016 11:18:39 Rufus Olins on the enduring power of newsbrands Charlie Lloyd https://alfinsight.azurewebsites.net/blog/rss/blog/2016/rufus-olins-on-the-enduring-power-of-newsbrands/ Rarely is there a period of such revolutionary change and flux in an industry as has been seen in media over the last ten years. For the executives of the national newspaper brands, the challenge of keeping pace with the opportunities available and monetising content on new platforms is a never-ending one. Such is the scale of change and new-found complexity to these companies’ operations that newsbrands’ performances can be perceived easily from either a glass half-full or half-empty perspective.   The more worrying issues facing newsbrands can be gleaned from the various stories these publishers report of each other: redundancies at the Guardian; cessation of the printing presses at the Independent; digital revenues being eaten away by ad blocking. To mention that print sales are continuing to fall has become so cliché it could only be made more slumber-inducing if one was to fit the word ‘millennial’ in there somewhere. None of these problems are illusory, but they only represent one side of the coin. We connect with these brands more frequently and in more ways than ever before, and for all of the great strides new sources of news have made, it is still these newsbrands we turn to when we want to read about serious issues in depth. While ad blocking isn’t good news for clunky display advertising, it has provided a signal to an industry which has shown a real eagerness to respond, whether through better display advertising or branded content. One man unshakeably upbeat about the future of newsbrands is Rufus Olins, chief executive of Newsworks, the marketing body for national newsbrands. Having held editorial positions at the Sunday Times and Management Today and subsequent executive roles at Haymarket and WARC, Rufus’ career predates the digital revolution and provides a wealth of experience. We spoke to Rufus to find out his views on the future of newsbrands and the issues facing them today.     National newspaper brands have always commanded an authority which has lived on into the digital age. Does readers’ long-standing respect for newsbrands give them an edge over online-only news sources? The thing that really distinguishes newsbrands from other news sources is the depth of engagement and the length of the relationship. The relationship between most readers and their newsbrands lasts longer than a typical marriage, and that relationship is often handed down from generation to generation. It’s hard to find a parallel in another sector which is as powerful as that. The only sector that springs to mind is football, where people either hate you or love you on sight because of the team you support, and you can say the same about newsbrands. That means there is a high level of trust between the reader and the individual newsbrand which distinguishes it from all other media. That clearly is a big advantage over some of the newer players.   Is that relationship in danger of deteriorating if print circulations continue to fall? I think it’s important to keep things in context. The circulations of our national newspapers are still by most standards extremely high. There are seven million newspapers that are bought every day, and nine million if you include free newspapers like the Metro and Evening Standard. That’s excluding regionals. There are very few product categories which sell in such great numbers on a daily basis. While numbers in print may not be as high as they once were, they are still extremely substantial. The other thing that mustn’t be forgotten is that the overall reach of newsbrands has grown hugely because of the opportunities presented by technology and new platforms. Newsbrand content is read by 47 million people every month, which is the vast majority of the population of the UK. You could argue that newsbrands’ influence is greater than it’s ever been.   The pace of change has been phenomenal. Is there anything happening at the moment that you find particularly exciting? I think that innovation within newspaper publishers is extraordinary. The levels of creativity, invention and the resources that are being put into it means that hardly a week goes by where a new product or a new way of looking at things isn’t launched onto the market. Whether it’s virtual reality, augmented reality or video, the ways readers and advertisers can interact with newsbrands is growing and developing all the time. There’s a very high degree of experimentation. Things are now being created in a much more bespoke way. It’s about listening to readers and listening to customers and allowing them to help shape the solution and the conversation. It’s a very exciting time.   A big part of those changes is what publishers can offer advertisers. Have there been any campaigns that have stood out for you recently? Many of the interesting changes that have taken place is in branded content, where there is much more of a partnership between publishers and advertisers. That enables them to think longer term about what messages they want to land and how they can tap into the relationship between the publisher and its readers, in a way that preserves editorial independence and achieves the levels of engagement and attention that they are looking for. I think that’s a very fruitful activity for both sides and we’re seeing a lot of innovation in that area.   Through Facebook’s Instant Articles and Google’s Accelerated Mobile Pages (AMP), the tech giants have inserted themselves into the process of consuming newsbrands’ content. Editor of the Guardian Katharine Viner said recently that this was a real concern for the industry. Do you share her concern? I think there are huge advantages and some drawbacks to the relationships that we have with Facebook and Google. The scale of the companies means that they can offer really powerful distribution but what’s interesting is that they rely on other people to provide the content despite that enormous scale. I think what that points up is that newsbrands influence and feed other media. You’ve seen it on television and radio, and now you see it with the two tech giants. It’s a two-way street with Facebook and Google, in that we provide them with their media and the expectation is that they provide a big audience for the content that’s created and refer readers back to the originators of that content. So they help to build distribution and they help to build the brand, but you do lose a degree of control.   BuzzFeed have been hiring some high calibre journalists over the past year or so. As ‘disruptors’ like they and VICE become more established and produce deeper, more investigative journalism, are these brands posing an increasing threat?   I don’t think we should look at it as ‘us vs them’. First of all, we welcome more interesting news. I think it plays a very important role in society and we’d like more people to be engaged and reading it. What our national newsbrands provide is a level of trust and an influence that is unrivalled. The degree to which they invest in content is enormous, and the track record they’ve built up over generations shouldn’t be underestimated. We know that these are premium sites, held to the very highest standards, so there is an obligation for our established national newsbrands to cover the big stories and launch investigations. There are other organisations that have emerged that do a very good job, but they are not expected to provide as comprehensive a service. We find at times of big national events that people turn to tried and trusted newsbrands for the depth of insight and analysis that they have provided for generations.   In March, the Independent became the first newsbrand to commit to a digital-only future. Will more follow? All newsbrands are balancing the need to serve their print audiences with the opportunities presented by digital, and they are looking very closely at what it is their readers most want and what it is that advertisers have an appetite for. Each of them is finding a different balance and each of them has a slightly different business model. I think it would be very surprising if anybody ruled out a change in strategy. However, if you look at the breakdown in revenues between print and digital, many newsbrands continue to rely on their print edition as it still provides the lion share of their revenue.   The New Day experiment sadly failed. Is it no longer feasible to successfully launch a national newspaper, or did Johnston Press get it wrong? I don’t believe that there is a moment that you can’t do something and a moment that you can do something; these things continue to change and develop all the time. We’ve just seen the launch of The New European. We’ve seen a revival in craft beers, printed books and vinyl, and there have been lots of print magazines that have emerged and are doing very well. I can’t see a reason why a new print newspaper can’t be launched today or in the future. It’s just a question of getting the product and the timing right.   In the short run, Brexit hasn’t done any harm to traffic or circulation figures. Looking further ahead though, how do you see Brexit affecting the industry in the longer term? I think the level of interest in the coverage of Brexit is interesting in two ways. The first is that it reminds people that when there is a big national story that people turn to newsbrands to help them navigate their way through it. The second thing is that there is going to be a new layer of complexity to everything that goes on and a simple soundbite or 30 second video is not going to be sufficiently helpful. Some of the issues that Brexit throws up will need to be analysed and they are ones that newsbrands will be writing about for quite a long time to come. In terms of what Brexit will mean for the industry in the longer term; nobody knows. There are so many different moving parts to that so it’s far too early to say. That said, Britain’s newsbrands are thriving internationally, and most of that growth is in English speaking countries. The success in America of titles such as the Guardian and the MailOnline has been quite extraordinary, and I don’t think leaving the single market will have an impact on that. There is still a huge opportunity for us as global brands, with the quality of our journalism and having English as our language, which is an international language.   Are you optimistic about the future of newsbrands? Of course I’m optimistic! There is a need for people to make sense of what’s going on now more than ever. We’ve produced some very compelling research on advertising effectiveness and what’s interesting about it is that there is a parallel between the way that content works and the way that advertising works. We all know that newsbrand content influences and feeds other media. The same is true of advertising. Advertising in a newsbrand supercharges your advertising on other media, whether it’s online pure-play, television or radio. I think that the pendulum is beginning to swing back in favour of newspapers, on an editorial level and, critically, on a commercial level. While the world changes dramatically, newspapers will continue to find that they play an important role within it. https://alfinsight.azurewebsites.net/blog/rss/blog/2016/rufus-olins-on-the-enduring-power-of-newsbrands/ https://alfinsight.azurewebsites.net/blog/rss/blog/2016/rufus-olins-on-the-enduring-power-of-newsbrands/ Wed, 27 July 2016 14:23:32 ALF has increased its agency coverage by more than 30% Adeline Bonnet https://alfinsight.azurewebsites.net/blog/rss/blog/2016/alf-has-increased-its-agency-coverage-by-more-than-30/ Last year, we conducted a major piece of research aimed at helping us draw up ALF’s next stage of development. This provided us with valuable insight into how our clients use and value our service. As a result, we have now increased our agency penetration by over 30% by adding the following 200 content, creative, digital, full service, media, mobile and social media agencies to ALF:   360i London Ltd 3X1 Ltd 4PS Marketing Ltd Access Emanate Communications Ltd Across The Pond London Ltd Al tair Media Ltd APCO Worldwide Ltd Aspectus PR Ltd Atomic PR UK Ltd August Media Ltd Axon Communications Inc Ayima Ltd b csAgency Ltd Bellenden Ltd Berkeley Public Relations International Ltd Beyond Design UK Ltd Big Agency Ltd Born Group Ltd Bottle PR Ltd Branded3 Search Ltd Brands2Life Ltd Brazen Ltd B-Reel Ltd Bright Blue Day Ltd Bright Digital Marketing Ltd Brunswick Public Relations Ltd Buchanan Communications Ltd Builtvisible Ltd Bulletproof Ltd CACI Ltd Camargue Group Ltd Camron Public Relations Ltd Candyspace Media Ltd Cedar Communications Ltd C hampollion Ltd Chandler Chicco Ltd Chorus Citypress Ltd Connect Public Affairs Ltd Curtin & Co. Ltd Cuttsy & Cuttsy Ltd Daniel J Edelman Ltd DF London Ltd D inosaur UK Ltd Dynamo Communications Ltd E3 Media Ltd Emoderation Ltd Eskenzi PR Ltd Eulogy! Ltd Feed Communications Ltd Finn Communications Ltd F irst Light Public Relations Ltd Focus PR Ltd Foolproof Ltd FP Creative Ltd Frank Public Relations Ltd Fresh Egg Ltd Freshwater UK Plc FWD Group Ltd Giraffe Marketing Group Ltd G ood Relations Ltd Greenlight Digital Ltd Grey Healthcare London Ltd Halpern Ltd H arvard Public Relations Ltd Head London Ltd Hill & Knowlton Ltd Hope & Glory Communications Llp Hotwire Public Relations Ltd Hugo & Cat Ltd Incisive Health Ltd Ingenuity Digital Holdings Ltd Innocean Worldwide UK Ltd Insight Consulting Group Instinctif Partners Ltd Interel Consulting UK Ltd Jack Morton Worlwide Ltd JBP Associates Ltd Jellyfish Online Marketing Ltd John Brown Publishing Group Ltd J ust Marketing International Ltd Kaizo Ltd Kaper Kreab Ltd Lansons Communications Llp Latitude Digital Marketing Ltd Lewis Communications Ltd Linney Group Ltd Local Dialogue Ltd London Communications Agency Ltd Lost Boys Ltd Luchford APM Ltd Lucre Marketing Ltd M&C Saatchi Sport & Entertainment Ltd Madano Partnership Ltd Make It Rain Ltd M an Bites Dog Ltd M arlin PR Ltd McCann Connected  (McCann Manchester Ltd) Media IQ Digital Ltd Mediacom Holdings Ltd (Mediacom Beyond Advertising) Metia Ltd MHP Communications Ltd M idas Public Relations Ltd Mindjumpers London Ltd Mischief PR Ltd MRM London Ltd MSLGROUP Ltd Neo@Ogilvy Net Media Planet Ltd Netconstruct Ltd Newgate Communications Ltd Nimbletank Ltd Ogilvy Public Relations Worldwide Ltd OLIVER Marketing Ltd Omobono Ltd Opera Mediaworks Inc Opticomm Media Ltd Pegasus Public Relations Ltd Periscopix Ltd PHA Media Ltd Political Lobbying & Media Relations Ltd Porter Novelli Ltd Portland PR Ltd PPS Group Ltd PSONA Social Purple PR Ltd Racepoint UK Ltd Recipe Advertising Ltd Red Door Communications Group Ltd R ed Lorry Yellow Lorry Ltd Redhouse Lane Communications Ltd R oche Communications Ltd Rostrum PR Ltd Rufus Leonard Ltd Salt Ltd S ay Communications Holdings Ltd Screaming Frog Ltd Se10 Llp Search Laboratory Ltd Seven Dials Communications Ltd Seven Hills Communications Ltd Seven Publishing Group Ltd Smarts Ltd Social Life Ltd Social Media Marketing Ltd Somethin' Else Group Ltd Space City Productions Ltd Speak Media (UK) Ltd Splash Worldwide Ltd Splendid Communications Ltd Stereo Creative Ltd Summit Media Ltd Sync Interactive Ltd Synergy Sponsorship Ltd Talk PR Ltd Tangent Snowball Tangerine Public Relations Ltd Techluxe Ltd Telegraph Hill Ltd The Agency Global Ltd The Big Partnership Group Ltd The Black Arts Productions Ltd The Communications Store Ltd The Driven Agency Ltd The Engine Group Ltd The Finsbury Group Ltd The Grass Roots Group Ltd The Ideas Network Public Relations Ltd The Maitland Consultancy Ltd The Market Creative Ltd The PR Office Ltd The Red Consultancy Ltd The Union Advertising Agency Ltd The White Oaks Consultancy Ltd The You Agency Ltd Thinkfarm Ltd Thinking Juice Ltd Third City Ltd Tmwi Ltd Torque Agency Group Ltd Touchdown PR Ltd True Digital Ltd TVC Group Ltd Visualsoft Ltd VL Digital Ltd Volume Ltd W Communications Ltd We Are Sunday Ltd We Are Tilt Ltd We Launch Ltd We Love Digital Ltd Webevents Ltd Weir and Wong Ltd White Noise Productions Ltd Wild Card Public Relations Ltd Will London Ltd William Murray Communications Ltd Willoughby Public Relations Ltd https://alfinsight.azurewebsites.net/blog/rss/blog/2016/alf-has-increased-its-agency-coverage-by-more-than-30/ https://alfinsight.azurewebsites.net/blog/rss/blog/2016/alf-has-increased-its-agency-coverage-by-more-than-30/ Tue, 28 June 2016 14:45:08 ALF brings more new prospects at your fingertips Adeline Bonnet https://alfinsight.azurewebsites.net/blog/rss/blog/2016/alf-brings-more-new-prospects-at-your-fingertips/ Further to the major piece of research we conducted last year  we have now added over 2,000 job functions to more than 1,200 contacts (61% new) across the top 1,000 advertisers listed in ALF. And more will be added over the coming weeks! New job functions: Customer Insight - click here to view contacts Programmatic Buying - click here to view contacts Social Media Marketing - click here to view contacts You will also find additional contacts under the following job functions already available on ALF: Content Marketing Digital Advertising Digital Strategy Mobile Marketing Marketing Procurement Want more? This is only our second content initiative, so watch this space: there is still more to come!! https://alfinsight.azurewebsites.net/blog/rss/blog/2016/alf-brings-more-new-prospects-at-your-fingertips/ https://alfinsight.azurewebsites.net/blog/rss/blog/2016/alf-brings-more-new-prospects-at-your-fingertips/ Mon, 20 June 2016 15:15:19 GfK Tech Trends 2016: Virtual Reality https://alfinsight.azurewebsites.net/blog/rss/blog/2016/gfk-tech-trends-2016-virtual-reality/ GfK’s Tech Trends 2016 explores the latest advances in technology and examines their implications for consumer needs and behaviour. This week, we are publishing the report's findings on virtual reality, a technology for which mass-adoption may be just around the corner.   Could 2016 be the year that virtual reality (VR) comes into its own? Estimates suggest a US$2.8 billion global VR hardware market by 2020 [1] , with head-mounted displays (HMDs) for gamers leading the charge. We believe the trialing of VR in gaming will generate more awareness of it and could drive appetite for its application beyond entertainment. This could result in VR penetrating other industries such as travel, retail, business and education. With Facebook saying it wants to “build a device that allows you to be anywhere you want, with anyone, regardless of geographic boundaries”, is it finally time to get real about VR?   Sony, Valve, HTC and Facebook are among those leading the way in creating VR content for gaming platforms. The current focus is very much on the HMDs that provide a fully immersive, individual experience. Gamers can be interacting with players anywhere in the world, while being practically isolated from the people sitting next to them on the sofa.   Much rests on how well these first HMDs and accessories perform. So what’s going to be on offer for gamers? Sony has PlayStation VR, Facebook acquired Oculus Rift in 2014 and Valve has Steam VR (a headset produced by HTC). Microsoft has yet to announce a full VR product for Xbox. Its HoloLens currently provides a different spin on an HMD, offering augmented reality rather than a full virtual environment.   The gaming market won’t be limited to first-party HMD manufacturers; third parties are already working on accessories that increase the perception of immersion via haptic feedback (i.e. the sense of touch in a user interface). Gloves are one of the first products on offer to gamers, and we expect other accessories and peripherals to follow. Numerous companies are offering them, including Gloveone, Control VR and Manus Machina. Teslasuit has a more ambitious approach: a full-body haptic feedback suit.   The gaming market caters to the tech-savvy, early adopter market that anticipates the arrival of technology such as VR headsets and accessories, and they are ready to part with US$350 or more to experience it. But how might VR develop beyond gaming? Marriott, Thomas Cook and Qantas Airways have already created promotional experiences using VR. The technology gives would-be travellers a taste of their possible destinations, as well as hotel facilities and rooms.   Shopping could become one of VR’s top applications, allowing connected consumers to experience a full retail environment from their own home. British online fashion retailer ASOS is currently partnering with 3D and VR retail specialist Trillenium to bring its products to HMD headsets. Benefits for retailers include an improved retail design and shelf optimization, and reduced item returns. The latter is a massive challenge and cost for fashion retailers in particular, so they are keen to embrace any technology that could help to address this.   Applications in business include architectural design, home and office space planning, and rapid prototyping in product development and engineering. VR can also be used in healthcare to support training and remote robot-assisted surgery, allowing operations to be conducted from distant locations. The educational possibilities are vast too. It’s easy to imagine a classroom full of schoolchildren experiencing ancient Rome via VR headsets.   Our analyst, Jack Millership, says: “The potential applications of virtual reality are endless and exciting. But, with this technology in its early stages focused on gamers, it’s still unclear if awareness and familiarity will be enough to drive appetite among mainstream connected consumers. We know that Microsoft’s Xbox 360 migrated from the gaming category to the home entertainment space, and the companies investing in VR will be hoping for history to repeat itself. Brands need to monitor the success of HMD headsets in 2016 and beyond, and be poised to respond if the consumer reaction is positive.” Read the full report here .   [1] Business Insider UK, April 2015, The Virtual Reality Report. https://alfinsight.azurewebsites.net/blog/rss/blog/2016/gfk-tech-trends-2016-virtual-reality/ https://alfinsight.azurewebsites.net/blog/rss/blog/2016/gfk-tech-trends-2016-virtual-reality/ Tue, 31 May 2016 15:22:18 GfK Tech Trends 2016: Artificial Intelligence https://alfinsight.azurewebsites.net/blog/rss/blog/2016/gfk-tech-trends-2016-artificial-intelligence/ GfK’s Tech Trends 2016 explores the latest advances in technology and examines their implications for consumer needs and behaviour. One of the burgeoning technologies covered in the report which will undoubtedly unearth new opportunities for marketers and consumers alike is artificial intelligence. Here is what GfK has to say on the topic.   Home cube, Power Badge, RankBrain, Hound. You might not recognize these terms today, but in 2016 and beyond they could become part of the consumer tech vocabulary. According to the Financial Times (FT), “The artificial intelligence (AI) stampede has become one of the hottest trends in start-up investing since the ‘Big Data’ slogan launched a thousand entrepreneurial dreams.” [1] With major players including Apple, Facebook and Google investigating this space, the FT’s comment is no exaggeration. In fact, AI has the potential to disrupt everything – from the lives of connected consumers to every industry.   The ultimate AI recreates the human thought process. A man-made machine, it has our intellectual abilities: learning, reasoning, using language and formulating original ideas. That is the ultimate AI, though, and while this will be possible at some point in the future, there is little evidence of the full execution of AI coming anytime soon. However, early forms of AI based on machine learning are increasingly infiltrating our lives. Amazon uses it to suggest products; Netflix to recommend movies; Facebook and Twitter to choose what posts to show. Plus there’s voice command services including Siri, GoogleNow, Cortana and, most recently, Amazon Echo.   The latter is particularly interesting because it can distinguish between commands and general background noise. This technology could become a critical springboard for other developments in the space – for example, as a voice-activated home automation control, a way to order products and a link to cloud services.   In 2016, we expect AI assistants to take the significant step of evolving beyond smartphones. For example, the Home cube and Power Badge platforms will enable connected consumers to have their personal assistant at home and on the move. This software is sophisticated. Cubic, which represents a new frontier in digital assistants, can connect with and operate all the devices, apps and services in the connected consumer’s life: their smartphone, smartwatch and car. The smart home and its appliances may be next.   RankBrain from Google brings AI into yet another sphere: marketing. It improves Google’s ability to return accurate searches for more conversational or ambiguous queries and examines search behaviour to “learn” how to perform better searches. And there’s Hound, with its Speech-to-Meaning capability. Could it be the new way to search and perform tasks faster without typing?   And let’s not forget Apple and Facebook. Machine learning is already a big part of Apple’s “intelligent assistant” Siri and there’s evidence to suggest that the company is investing heavily in this space, albeit quietly. In the second half of 2015, Apple acquired a small UK-based AI business, VocalIQ. A speech-related AI company, VocalIQ uses its technology as a core component in the delivery of the Internet of Things. Facebook is more openly supportive of AI, and has assembled two teams of AI experts. The first is focused on products, the other tasked with carrying out academic research within Facebook.   One of the company’s key products is its own virtual assistant ‘M’, currently being trialled in San Francisco.   Speech recognition is also a key focus in AI. What’s interesting is how different these applications are and how the players have opted to follow their own unique directions. AI has so many possible uses that it is a market waiting to be explored and exploited.   Our analyst, Anne Giulianotti, says:   “The ultimate artificial intelligence might be a long way off, but we are increasingly going to see the impact of machine learning on our lives, influencing our decisions and purchases. For connected consumers, AI presents even more opportunities for brands to reach them with relevant messages and recommendations. For brands, there is the chance for a dialogue with consumers that builds trust. Right now, brands should be focusing their efforts on monitoring and assessing the market impact of AI.”   Read the full report here .   [1] The Financial Times, January 4, 2015, Investor rush to artificial intelligence is real deal. https://alfinsight.azurewebsites.net/blog/rss/blog/2016/gfk-tech-trends-2016-artificial-intelligence/ https://alfinsight.azurewebsites.net/blog/rss/blog/2016/gfk-tech-trends-2016-artificial-intelligence/ Tue, 17 May 2016 15:28:22 Guy Phillipson on the online advertising industry’s battle against ad blocking https://alfinsight.azurewebsites.net/blog/rss/blog/2016/guy-phillipson-on-the-online-advertising-industry-s-battle-against-ad-blocking/ Whether you view the rise in ad blocking among internet users as a harbinger of the death of the free internet, or merely a welcome challenge around which the industry can rally to improve itself, few phenomena have forced the digital publishing and advertising industries to re-evaluate themselves with the sense of urgency that ad blocking is doing now. In March, the Internet Advertising Bureau (IAB) revealed that 22 per cent of UK internet users now block ads, up from 18 per cent last October, and the bulk of this proliferation is being driven by young people; an estimated 47 per cent of 18-24 year olds block ads in the UK.   For some, ad blocking’s rise can be attributed to the same sense of entitlement amongst young people that forced the music and film industries to adapt to changing consumer habits in the form of illegal downloading. While there may be a great deal of truth to that, most publishers, agencies and advertisers accept some degree of culpability; desktop and mobile advertising formats have become too intrusive and use too much data, and so consumers are telling us that the ‘value-exchange’ isn’t working for them.   But what to do about it? 2016 has been a real trial period for publishers, who have been experimenting with a plethora of ways to either convince people to turn off their ad blockers or monetise their content differently. To get a grip on the problem and better understand how the industry is and should be responding to the rise in ad blocking, BRAD spoke to the chief executive of the organisation tasked with combatting the issue, the IAB’s Guy Phillipson. Having joined the IAB in January 2005, Guy has seen the UK digital ad market rise from £825m to £8.6bn during his tenure, and having overseen such growth, his wealth of experience will surely be an important factor in the fight against the ad blockers.     There’s been plenty of good news for digital ad spend over the past week or so: ad spend is higher than ever and viewability rates are the highest they’ve been for some time. With ad blocking on the rise, is that now the IAB’s number one concern?   You’re right; online advertising is now by far the largest channel by spend (it’s over 40 per cent of UK ad spend), and opportunities like mobile, social, video and programmatic are all driving that growth. It’s good to see that, despite ad blocking, display still grew by 24.5 percent last year. But with scale comes challenge, and ad blocking is a significant one which was highlighted when Apple announced ad blocking software would feature in the iOS 9 App Store last September. We launched our LEAN program in October last year so we were fast out the blocks, but publishers, agencies and advertisers all need to be involved in the solution.   Do you see the problem getting worse before it gets better?   In a sense all problems start small and then get worse before they get better. We saw ad blocking usage rise to 22 per cent in February - although that’s ‘claimed usage’. comScore used their panel to actually detect consumers who were using ad blockers and their figure is nearer 14 or 15 per cent, so it is possible that our 22 per cent figure could be overstated. It may get higher. In marketers’ language, it has reached ‘critical mass’ by moving above 20 per cent. But this industry has a good track record of working together on self-regulatory programs to minimise tough problems. Copyright infringement, brand safety, viewability - these are all things that we come together to solve.   Where do you apportion the blame? Solely the ad blocking companies? To the consumers for forgoing their side of the value exchange, or publishers and ad tech companies for delivering undesirable ads?   The core ad blocking audience is young men and when asked, they simply don’t want to see ads. They don’t want any ads in the way of what they are doing and ad blockers give them that opportunity. So, in a sense, they are ad blocking because they can. In the same way that people whizz pass television ads, they now how have a tool online to avoid ads as well. It’s also partly a response to direct-response advertising, where clients are chasing lower CPA targets. Over time CPMs have gone down while the volume of ads has gone up, and that also exacerbated the problem. It’s essential that we work together to tidy up the ad experience for the consumer.   Publishers are experimenting with lots of different ways of tackling ad blockers. What do you think is the best way to get people to switch off?   It’s important to engage with ad blocking consumers to educate them about the value exchange and the fact that advertising funds content. The percentage of consumers who don’t really understand how the business of publishing and advertising works is surprising. It’s also important to offer a light experience. As long as the publisher has fewer, better ads, then putting a notice out to ad blocking consumers with options such as whitelisting, pausing their ad blockers, or subscribing could work. I also think we are going to see the growth of micro-payments companies coming in, where it will be pennies to view pages and that could be quite an interesting option in the future. You’re right that ad blocking affects traditional display advertising, banners and skyscrapers and so on. Native content is far less exposed to ad blockers, and we are seeing growth of those formats in our PwC ad spend figures. Spend on native formats is now £0.75bn, accounting for 23 per cent of total display.   Do you think paywalls and ad-free subscriptions are a viable solution for publishers, or is it just important to have that option?   The latter. It’s important to put the option across because even at low rates it highlights the value of the ad-funded content. When the consumers are making the choice, they can ask themselves whether they want to pay or whether they want to see ads to enjoy a free experience. Nineteen out of 20 will opt for the ads.   How is the IAB working to address ad blocking?   We’ve put principles around LEAN for lighter ads and non-invasive formats, so we’re advocating lighter file sizes and fewer data pools, all for faster download times. At the same time, we’re trying to avoid ads which overtly disrupt the experience like overlays and pop ups and ads which automatically launch sound. That’s all part of the LEAN program. At a global level, with the IAB Tech Lab, we are researching consumer experiences and all sorts of ad types and formats to fine-tune the LEAN standards. It’s a really big program that will take several months to do, but we’ll go beyond the principles into actual ad standards later on in the year, and that will be a global release. We’re also providing guidance to publishers on encouraging ad blocking consumers to deactivate their blockers. Our research is showing that actually 64 per cent of UK consumers are seeing these notices and are willing to deactivate their ad blocker in order to see their favourite sites. That shows that it’s an important tactic, as longs as publishers are offering a light ad experience.   Ultimately we need to get clients and agencies on board with the issue so that from the advertiser through to their creative agency and media agency, right through to the publisher and the ad tech in between, we are able to reset and improve the ad experience for consumers and address the key cause of ad blocking.   Would the IAB like to see ad blocking made illegal?   It’s unrealistic in most cases. Certain ad blocking methodologies, for example at network level on mobile, deep package inspection (when the entire ad experience is interrogated by the ad blocker) could be deemed contrary to data protection rules and net neutrality rules. Some of the tools are going to come under scrutiny. For the ones which simply talk to an ad server and block ads, there have been five such cases in Germany which have all failed. So they are here, and it’s better to concentrate on improving the ad experience and making sure publishers have got the right tools to address ad blockers.   Alexander Hanff (campaigner for Think Privacy) recently claimed blocking ad blockers is illegal. Is there any truth in that?   Alexander said that there’s no reason a publisher can’t engage with a reader about ad blocking. He was citing certain anti-ad blocker technologies as potentially illegal against the privacy directive, in that, he would say, some of them require consumer consent before they can be applied. We’ll continue to take legal advice and look at the different tools available.   Ben Williams claimed at Ad Week Europe that advertisers can’t just ‘pay to play’, and that Eyeo seems to be outsourcing the decision-making around what ads qualify as their permitted Acceptable Ads. Would that independent committee help to legitimise what the company is doing?   Well, it’s interesting that Ben Williams is saying that they are having to demerge the Acceptable Ads program from the ad blocker, perhaps because it was inconvenient for them to have it all under the same roof. There are parallels between the Acceptable Ads program that Eyeo has and where LEAN is going, and so a benign end-game on this would be LEAN becoming the Acceptable Ads program across any ad blocker in the future.   There’s a general consensus across the industry that we need better, cleaner leaner ads. Is that easier said than done or are we seeing these type of ads being developed and implemented quickly?   Major publishers are already addressing their inventories and looking at things like load speeds. One of our members has a policy that if an ad doesn’t load within 200 milliseconds they don’t load it. That’s really paying dividends, particularly on mobile where consumers want a faster experience. That’s why we put the LEAN principles out first which set the overall guidelines to what we expect, and we’re working towards finer standards later in the year.   How much cause for optimism is there?   I think there is cause for optimism. If you look at the bright side of this, there’s a big creative opportunity to create high quality, purposeful ads that consumers will enjoy. And with display growing so fast now – ad spend is now over £3bn in the UK – it’s actually a timely issue to come up. Everyone has skin in the game, from the advertisers to the agencies and the publishers, so as long as we do genuinely work together we can come out the other side in a good place.   I’m actually very confident that media revenue will flow to fund the web, through different formats. We’re already seeing that through native and in-feed, but there will be other ways of funding the internet for it to remain really buoyant and grow towards £10bn over the next couple of years. https://alfinsight.azurewebsites.net/blog/rss/blog/2016/guy-phillipson-on-the-online-advertising-industry-s-battle-against-ad-blocking/ https://alfinsight.azurewebsites.net/blog/rss/blog/2016/guy-phillipson-on-the-online-advertising-industry-s-battle-against-ad-blocking/ Tue, 10 May 2016 16:38:12 Brexit will hurt media and creative sectors warns MBI industry survey https://alfinsight.azurewebsites.net/blog/rss/blog/2016/brexit-will-hurt-media-and-creative-sectors-warns-mbi-industry-survey/ The majority of people working in the UK’s media and creative sector oppose Brexit and believe leaving the European Union will damage the global role of Britain’s film, TV and advertising sectors.   Our survey of 686 people working in the TV, film, media production, creative and advertising sectors, was carried out during March and early April, and found that 67% of respondents believe Brexit will have a negative impact on the UK’s creative economy.   However 22% of respondents took a different view and argued that leaving the EU would have a positive impact on the media sector – with 11% uncertain of the impact.   Many of the respondents feared Brexit could hit the international sales of UK films and TV shows along with production of international movies and dramas being made in the UK.   The survey found that: -           63% of people in media businesses believe Brexit it will have a negative impact on their own business. -           However 18% believed it would have a positive effect with 19% not certain.   The effect of Brexit on the economy and trading were cited as the key areas of concern by 62% of respondents, with Britain’s influence in the world (10%) and jobs (9%) being the second and third key reasons for people’s view.   People working in media production services – those providing locations, equipment and post production services to TV shows and films being made in the UK were the most concerned about the impact of Brexit – with 71% saying it would have a negative impact on their business, compared to 66% of film professionals and 59% of those working in TV.   Concerns included how difficult it would be to make TV shows and films in mainland Europe, the impact on British creatives working abroad, the effect on the economy and the impact on selling British TV programmes and movies internationally.   However the TV sector has the largest proportion of people believing it would be good for their market to exit the EU with 19% saying it would benefit the sector.   Respondents were asked about impact on their businesses and sectors – but also about their personal view – and there was a strong pro-EU sentiment among most of the industry when asked their personal opinion.   On a personal basis just under 69% were in favour of remaining in the EU with 27% wanting to leave and just 4% undecided.   Reasons given for wanting to stay in the EU included free trade and sale of films and TV and other intellectual property among EU members, movement of skills and people for production across Europe and a strong belief that the UK’s role as a global creative centre would be damaged by withdrawal.   Conor Dignam, CEO of MBI , which carried out the survey said: “The survey results clearly show the anxiety many in the media and creative sector have about the potential risks around Brexit. British film and TV is now part of a global business and there’s obvious concern about creating new barriers to creative and media companies and talent that needs to compete on an international basis. “The verdict of the creative sector is firmly against Brexit based on our survey”.   Notes and contact Media Business Insight is a B2B information, publishing and events business focussing on the creative and media industry. Its brands include Broadcast, Screen International, Shots, ALF, BRAD and The Knowledge and reach more than 100,000 people working in the international creative sector.   For further information contact: Conor Dignam – MBI, CEO – M: +447540 413351   The breakdown of UK respondents per industry:   o    TV: 251 o    Film: 238 o    Media / Production Services: 69 o    Advertising and Marketing: 57 o    Other: 71   Ant-Brexit Comments Pro-Brexit Comments “As an example; if I get called on at the last minute to record a show in, say Germany, I just get on a plane and go. All the equipment is there, and I'm there. No fuss. Image what that is like with border control and customs restrictions. I might end up at a show and not have a vital piece of equipment. Opportunity: Meet Drain”.   “Cost of living in the UK is higher than in a lot of EU countries. Therefore it is cheaper to employ 'foreign' crew than UK crew. It is literally impossible for us to compete, so less of us are employed and employment is shorter. This is specifically re: low and medium budget movies. It is having a BIG and negative impact on us. Till someone somewhere finds a way to neutralise the cost difference, UK crew will continue to lose out on jobs and suffer”.   Clearly the economic case for the creative industries to. Stay in EU are overwhelming with better market access better access to talent and labour better access to funding and capital   “Outside influence has little influence on our ability to find and nurture UK talent. Outside of the UK our biggest market and partner is the US. Our current trading position with them does not hamper our ability to work with them.   “Affordable travel, no need for separate visas, working relationships, crew, fluid trading, locations, ease of transfer - all of these would be a thing of the past”.   “Our creativity and UK brand is world-renowned and its distinctiveness a major selling point. The goal of the EU is a homogenised non-discript non-culturally-diverse mass of workers, with exchange and availability across borders the key to driving down wages across the entire EU. If you want to be part of that, well, you may want to seek some professional help...”   “Free movement of labour within Europe is attractive to the US studios who provide a lot of income for the UK market”. “In my view we share too many close ties both from a educational and work perspective with European creative institutions. If we left, those ties would be undone and potential European grants and opportunities to teach and work in Europe would be harder for the UK film and general creative industries”.   Because the EU hinders creativity & risk due to its cultural differences. The UK should be known around the world as having its own culture and brand of creativity.   “The EU is our biggest trade partner, it would be madness to construct barriers to business with France, Germany, Italy and all the other secondary sales markets for UK content”.    “Will be interesting to see if the support through programmes like the EU Media ones will be replicated internally from the money saved on EU contributions. Somehow I doubt it as the DCMS will not ramp up the manpower required to manage the process. Perhaps an opportunity to streamline the whole thing, but it will likely fall off the road until someone realises kids TV was dependent on EU cash.   “Film is a collaborative global business and is based on flexibility and inclusion, movement and influx of ideas, talent and funds, in the long run exclusion and withdrawal only serves to contract and reduce and is counter intuitive to expansion and growth, the global psychology is no different from individual psychology, people and their talents and funds are drawn to where they are welcome and feel included, there's no surprise the UK is a major cultural and film hub of the world and not Russia”.   Britain needs to maintain its own independence, democracy and unique historical heritage. The ever expanding conglomeration of disparate cultures and ideologies will have a negative impact on what is Britain….As far as the film industry is concerned our Royal Heritage and architecture is unique in the world and our vast range of locations serve as a great opportunity for film makers. Our crews and facilities are second to none.   Free movement, free trade, access to EU creative subsidies, access and free movement of talent.   “Leaving the EU will mean more opportunities for Brits working in Britain however it will hurt those who rely on EU funds and European co-productions. There will be a temporary downturn in the economy as a whole and it will mean that many production companies will sadly fold or suffer but for some people this will spell a whole world of opportunities especially if you are entrepreneurial. I for one believe that even though it has its risks leaving the EU is worth it”.   If the the UK vo ted to leave the EU, do you believe it would have a positive or a negative impacour business?   Overall UK Film TV Media - Production services Advertising - Marketing Other Positive 18.2% 15.5% 18.7% 10.1% 14.0% 26.8% Not certain 19.2% 18.5% 21.9% 18.8% 22.8% 19.7% Negative 62.5% 66.0% 59.4% 71.0% 63.2% 53.5%   Out of the following topics, which one influenced your answer the most? Answer Options Overall UK Film TV Media - Production services Advertising - Marketing Other Welfare 1.2% 1.3% 1.2% 1.4% 0.0% 1.4% Tax 2.6% 3.8% 2.8% 0.0% 3.5% 0.0% Other (please specify) 7.3% 7.6% 5.2% 7.2% 3.5% 16.9% Immigration 8.2% 7.6% 7.2% 8.7% 12.3% 9.9% Jobs 8.7% 8.4% 10.0% 7.2% 12.3% 4.2% Britain’s influence in the world 9.6% 10.5% 11.2% 5.8% 8.8% 5.6% Economy and trading 62.4% 60.9% 62.5% 69.6% 59.6% 62.0%   From a personal perspective, do you think Britain should remain member of the EU or leave? Answer Options Overall UK Film TV Media - Production services Advertising - Marketing Other Undecided 4.2% 4.6% 5.6% 1.4% 3.5% 1.4% Leave 27.1% 25.2% 29.1% 23.2% 15.8% 39.4% Remain 68.7% 70.2% 65.3% 75.4% 80.7% 59.2%   Do you think it is in the interests of the whole creative industry for the UK to remain a member of the EU? Answer Options Overall UK Film TV Media - Production services Advertising - Marketing Other Don't know 11.1% 10.1% 13.5% 10.1% 10.5% 7.0% No 22.0% 20.6% 23.1% 14.5% 15.8% 35.2% Yes 66.9% 69.3% 63.3% 75.4% 73.7% 57.7% https://alfinsight.azurewebsites.net/blog/rss/blog/2016/brexit-will-hurt-media-and-creative-sectors-warns-mbi-industry-survey/ https://alfinsight.azurewebsites.net/blog/rss/blog/2016/brexit-will-hurt-media-and-creative-sectors-warns-mbi-industry-survey/ Thu, 28 April 2016 08:27:28 Modern day email marketing: what actually works? https://alfinsight.azurewebsites.net/blog/rss/blog/2016/modern-day-email-marketing-what-actually-works/ The effectiveness of email as a marketing tool cannot be ignored. The average email open rate still remains fairly high at 21%, proving that people do read marketing messages that pop up in their inbox, however pesky they may seem. But the challenge is not getting people to open your emails, but to actually engage with them: the average click through rate sits at just 2.3%.    With a deluge of information pouring into everyone’s inbox, you need to be able to make your email marketing stand out. Here’s how to increase that all important click through rate…   Make content more visual    Visualised content is proven to get a better response than the written word alone, with people retaining approximately 83% of what they learn visually, compared to just 20% retained from reading alone, according to research from Social Media Chimps .    Apply this approach to your email marketing by using more images to get your message across. Campaigns with images had a 42% higher click through rate than campaigns without images, according to GetVero . Use banner images to initially attract attention and create interest, and use buttons for your call-to-action, rather than just a text link to see a potential 28% increase in click throughs.    When using images, you need to be aware of image blockers used by email providers. According to Litmus, about 43% of all Gmail users don’t see images in their emails. Always use ALT tags or provide an equivalent text link for every clickable image you include to ensure that your call to action is not lost. It’s also worth making images small, i.e. no bigger than 50KB, to avoid slow load-times.    As well as images, visualise your messaging in the form of a video. Even the lure of the word video in an email subject line boosts open rates by 19% and click through rates by 65%, according to Syndacast . Research from Forbes has found that 59% of senior executives would rather watch videos than read text, so this can be an effective format to get your messages read rather than deleted straight out of the recipient’s inbox.   Get mobile responsive     Equinox' mobile optimised campaign.   We are a society on the move with email alerts literally in the palm of our hands: 67% of consumers use a smartphone to check their email and 42% use a tablet, according to BlueHornet.  This proves that mobile responsive design can no longer be ignored in email marketing.    Your email recipients won’t wait to see your carefully crafted content if there is slow load time or the design is scrambled because it isn’t optimised for mobile. In fact, 69% of mobile users delete emails that aren’t optimised for mobiles, according to Litmus .    Mobile responsive design is particularly important in newsletters, which by nature have carefully constructed layout and design to facilitate an easy-to-follow flow of information. If this is scrambled on mobile, you’ve got no hope of getting any click throughs.   Brands that use responsive design in their email marketing campaigns see mobile click to open rates boom to 40% more than those who only use non-responsive emails. 89% of email marketers are losing leads and opportunities because they are not optimising their emails, according to Equinox . Don’t become another number in this statistic and optimise your emails for mobile now!   Segment your data   While sending mass emails is an effective way to get your message across to thousands of contacts, consumers are wise to this blanket method and want to see information that is actually relevant to them personally, not to the whole customer database.   The value of segmenting data is clear to see: MailChimp found that the open rate of segmented campaigns was 14% higher than non-segmented campaigns, and the click through rate was an impressive 65% higher.   Use a tool like ALF to develop an understanding of your audience and what they are actually interested in. Create different lists and target each list with appropriate information accordingly.    Behavioural segmentation is a great way to target potential leads, for example engagement, but simple demographic segmentation of email lists, such as location as job title, was found by MailChimp to increase open rates by 19% and click through rates by 22%.   Campaign Monitor reported that marketers can see up to 760% increase in revenue by simply segmenting their data for email campaigns, so if you’re not already segmenting your data, you should be!    Personalise your campaign   Once you have segmented your data and know which groups you are addressing with your email marketing, you can personalise the content to ensure that you really drive your marketing message home.    Once your recipients open an email and realise the content is actually relevant to them, click through and conversion is bound to go up. Personalised email messages have been found to improve click-through rates by an average of 14% and conversions by 10%, according to Aberdeen .  The first, and most basic step, is personalising the ‘to’ field, which despite becoming a common feature in email marketing is still an essential one. Even putting the recipients name in the subject field means the email is 26% more likely to be opened, according to Campaign Monitor .  Using your segmented data, you can then provide automated content based on what your lists engage with in previous emails. Promotional emails are a great example of personalised content, providing discounts and offers based on past behaviour. Yet only 39% of retailers send personalised product recommendations via email, demonstrating the missed opportunity in this sector. Remind them of this!   Optimise your email strategy now! To ensure you are getting the most out of your email marketing, employ the following tips to see your click through rate improve*:   •Add images to see your CTR increase by 42%  •Make your campaigns mobile responsive to see your CTR increase by 40%  •Segment your data to see your CTR increase by 65%  •Personalise your campaigns to see your CTR increase by 14%   *all stats are based on the referenced resources Image via Equinux https://alfinsight.azurewebsites.net/blog/rss/blog/2016/modern-day-email-marketing-what-actually-works/ https://alfinsight.azurewebsites.net/blog/rss/blog/2016/modern-day-email-marketing-what-actually-works/ Tue, 19 April 2016 08:57:57 Native advertising: What you need to know https://alfinsight.azurewebsites.net/blog/rss/blog/2016/native-advertising-what-you-need-to-know/ While native advertising is still a relatively new concept to some, it is coming into its own and has earned its place in a marketer’s arsenal.   What is native advertising?   Native advertising is sponsored or branded content that matches the form of the publication where is appears, also known as advertorials.    Do not get native advertising confused with content marketing. Native advertising, while it may look like regular content at a glance, must be clearly branded to indicate that it’s a paid for advertisement, not regular editorial content.    It is a great way to get a more in-depth message across to an audience. For example, a magazine advertorial about the benefits of a branded face wash, compared with a still image ad that is eye catching, but which can only convey a certain amount of information.    Does it work?   The great thing about online native advertising is it will not get blocked. There are now 198 million active ad block users worldwide and native advertising is an effective way to get around this issue by integrating brands’ messaging into editorial content.    Another advantage of native ads is that on first reading, many people do not realise that they are reading an advert. It may be that the audience only realise when they spot the header or sign off ‘sponsored by’ that they realise they are being sold an item.   Unlike banner ads, it can be hard to prove ROI on native advertising. But big names in the media industry are giving it their backing. Digiday reported that Forbes offered a money-back guarantee: “Advertisers had to spend $250,000 in native plus display over 60 days (up from the minimum BrandVoice package of $150,000). If they don’t get a lift in at least one of four metrics (awareness, favourability, recall, purchase intent), they get their money back.”   Media giant WPP’s data-driven unit Xaxis is also backing native advertising . Larry Allen told BeetTV,“The new inventory source is native. We see that effectively replacing display in the coming years.”    Who’s doing it well?   Buzzfeed is the reigning champion of native advertising and one of the best examples around, thanks to its ‘sponsored content’. It offers up humorous ‘listicle’ style articles and quizzes that seamlessly fit into their usual style. The only difference from its usual editorial content is that these advertorials carry a ‘promoted’ or ‘sponsored’ banner and have an advertising message from the sponsor at the end of the article.    Gawker revealed that Buzzfeed is valued at $1.5billion, tripling its revenue from 2012 to 2014, and hitting $46 million in early 2014. There is a noticeable relation between its profit and its reduced investment in editorial content: In 2013, Buzzfeed spent nearly $12million on editorial but in the first half of 2014 alone, it spent $10.5million.    Some excellent examples of Buzzfeed native adverts include:   ‘20 people that are doing it wrong’ by Virgin Mobile   Native advertising was being used as far back as 2013: look at this classic example from Virgin Mobile: it’s amusing and relatable (although not with a very explicit message as most articles are today) and ends with the simple hashtag #RetrainYourBrain and a link to Virgin Mobile Live.   ‘Sunbathing: Expectation vs reality’ by Cancer Research UK    This article delivers the serious message of being aware of the risks of skin cancer without being too preachy. It’s not even all about skin, it also has memes on frizzy hair and the glue in your book melting! The sign at the bottom of the article is simply ‘ Find ways to #loveyourskin this summer on YouTube with Cancer Research UK.’    ‘15 things only people who just bought their first home understand’ by Yorkshire Building Society   This is a very targeted piece of content, which will certainly get young people who are looking to buy, or have just bought, their first home. This is exactly the audience that Yorkshire Building Society wants to sponsor, but approaches the dry subject of banking in a fun and indirect manner.   ‘15 things we did at school that future students will never understand’ by Intel   Nostalgia is always a popular draw on Buzzfeed. This article harks back to the days of overhead projectors and floppy disks, with a friendly (but not so subtle) sign off: ‘Technology’s come a long way. Upgrade your old school gadgets for the new year with Intel-powered 2 in 1 devices!’ If you’re not already convinced by the power of native advertising…   These stats prove what a powerhouse native advertising is set to become:   Native ads are viewed 53% more than banner ads   Native ads generate an 82% in brand lift   Native ads in Europe are set to grow by 156% over the next five years    Native ads will be worth £10.29billion by 2020   9 out of 10 PR agencies see native advertising as an opportunity   It is forecasted that social media will drive more than 33% of growth in native social network advertising https://alfinsight.azurewebsites.net/blog/rss/blog/2016/native-advertising-what-you-need-to-know/ https://alfinsight.azurewebsites.net/blog/rss/blog/2016/native-advertising-what-you-need-to-know/ Tue, 12 April 2016 09:03:59 Alan Brydon, CEO of Outsmart, on OOH and its new-look marketing body https://alfinsight.azurewebsites.net/blog/rss/blog/2016/alan-brydon-ceo-of-outsmart-on-ooh-and-its-new-look-marketing-body/ There is plenty to be optimistic about in the out-of-home (OOH) sector. For other media, advances in technology provide a mixed bag of opportunities and challenges. While online advertising has and will continue to have such advances to thank for its ongoing success, the formidable rise of ad blocking is raising serious questions about the supposed value exchange between publishers and consumers. The OOH sector, however, finds itself in the unique position of being largely immune from the negative impacts to changes in technology and consumption. Nowadays, most people may not buy a newspaper every day, but they do still go outside. Furthermore, innovation in the sector is allowing better ads and better targeting, as well as more interactive consumer experiences through beacon technology.   Yet despite this, the sector’s trade body, the Outdoor Media Centre (OMC), was going through a difficult period prior to its rebrand to Outsmart six months ago, having had a major player in JCDecaux withdraw its membership in January last year. The following month Alan Brydon was appointed as chief executive, bringing with him a wealth of experience from a career that includes positions at Abbott Mead Vickers BBDO, Associated Newspapers and Havas Media. Alan joined newly appointed chairman Mark Craze, former chief executive of Havas Media UK, and together they oversaw the body’s rebirth as Outsmart last September. BRAD caught up with Alan to discuss the new-look trade body and the latest goings-on in the sector more broadly.     Six months on from the launch, what are the biggest differences between Outsmart and the Outdoor Media Centre?   I think there are three main differences:   1. We now have a much higher profile amongst the client and agency communities. The main reason for this is that we have a bigger team that has been relentlessly out and about talking and listening to them, making them excited about the medium. 2. Linked to the above (and contributing to it) pre-launch, we addressed what the industry was telling us were the key issues for them: Effectiveness (the results and learnings from our major 'connected device' research will be out soon); ROI and the fact that OOH has had unfair press in this regard; and our 'OutPower' presentation which helps give answers and overcomes barriers to using OOH for agencies and clients. 3. Our marketing of Outsmart is significantly better. The website is easily accessible and uncomplicated, and has proper resource and help for clients and agencies. In addition, we are engaging with people on social media whilst sending out regular newsletters. And as a result, we have grown our overall membership.   What was the thinking behind the rebrand?   The previous incarnation had a low profile and we wanted to move things onwards and upwards. The work that Goosebumps did for us was fantastic in all regards and has helped our efforts enormously.   It’s an exciting time for OOH. A number of contributors to Outsmart’s recent Outlook report looked ahead to what digital out-of-home (DOOH)’s developments will bring to the sector. For you, what are the key ways that digital investment will benefit advertisers and consumers?   I think the first thing to say is that the vast majority of the medium is classic and still delivers the mass reach, quickly, with impact and fame. So in my opinion it isn't just about digital.   However, DOOH allows planning and buying to be enormously clever and efficient; it allows for more impactful and more effective creative solutions; it allows for variation in creative message delivery by region, time, weather and retail stock levels, for instance. Lastly it allows for personalisation at scale, probably the nirvana for any marketer.   There’s been a lot of buzz about automation and programmatic trading starting to break through in DOOH. How is that developing and how much of an impact to think programmatic will have on the sector?   There's a lot of work being done by a lot of people in all parts of the OOH industry in the automated, real-time trading area. We don't like the term 'programmatic' as that conjures up the idea of very targeted messages to one person at one moment - whatever OOH becomes it will always be a mass reach medium, even if within that, we can deliver better and more targeted opportunities.   Automation will not only allow clever planning and buying opportunities. It will also (and already is) allow buyers and sellers to free up their employees’ time to develop better solutions.   How quickly are digital sites spreading beyond London and the big cities?   The OOH medium reaches everybody, very quickly, but it is of course mainly an urban medium. And given that digital is the premium part of the medium, it is only natural that it will be towns and cities that see most of the digital sites. But the growth is rapid, as is the development outside the capital. Clear Channel, Primesight, and many others are really scaling up their national digital offering, and regional players such as Forrest in Scotland are doing the same.   BRAD spoke to Naren Patel (then chairman of the OMC), in 2014, and he said that one of the problems for OOH is that not enough creative is being done specifically for outdoor sites. Is that still an issue?   I think there is some wonderful OOH creative work out there, but more needs to be done. Engaging with the creative community is a big priority for us and we want to make sure we do it in the best way and not just dive in. But certainly, enlightenment as to what is possible is key, particularly given all the recent digital developments.   He also mentioned a target of OOH increasing its overall market share to 12 per cent by 2020. Is OOH continuing to gain ground, and how much of an advertiser’s budget do you think should be spent on OOH?   Honestly, with such a diverse medium, I think at least a part of the OOH world could offer at least part of the solution to ANY brief. However, that might be just a few key targeted sites, or a massive national campaign using all formats; it might be for just one hour, or a presence all year. So there really isn't a single answer, and therefore I think to suggest the same single figure for everyone would not be logical. I believe that if we offer the great solutions, enlighten people to the endless possibilities, and inspire great usage of the medium, the share of revenue can soar. Build it and they will come! https://alfinsight.azurewebsites.net/blog/rss/blog/2016/alan-brydon-ceo-of-outsmart-on-ooh-and-its-new-look-marketing-body/ https://alfinsight.azurewebsites.net/blog/rss/blog/2016/alan-brydon-ceo-of-outsmart-on-ooh-and-its-new-look-marketing-body/ Tue, 05 April 2016 09:06:42 Marketing Trends for 2016: CRM, data, video and more https://alfinsight.azurewebsites.net/blog/rss/blog/2016/marketing-trends-for-2016-crm-data-video-and-more/ Do you know which marketing trends you should be embracing this year and where you should be investing your precious marketing budget? In such a dynamic industry with so many technological developments, it’s hard to know what trends will bring the best results and deliver ROI.   ALF Insight’s latest report, Marketing Trends, Spend and Forecasts 2016, surveyed over 200 marketers to find out what their priorities are and what they will be spending their budget on.   From our survey and interviews with marketing leaders, we found that marketing budgets are increasing, with 88% planning to increase or maintain their marketing spend this year. However, time and resources are decreasing with 43% of marketers concerned that they have limited staff to get the job done. It is more important than ever for marketers to prioritise and to make the most of the skill sets at their disposal.   “Everybody has a limited budget, so it’s a matter of prioritising. You don’t need a budget to up-skill, so we do lots of internal training from the heads of department and specialists we have in the organisation already,” said Alistair Wayne, CEO, Media Managers.   In order to prioritise their budgets, marketers need to identify their priorities and objectives that they want to achieve for 2016. Our survey identified these as the following points:     Marketers need to build a stronger sales pipeline   For the majority of marketers (54%), the main priority going into 2016 is building a stronger sales pipeline. Increasingly, marketers are being asked to pinpoint the exact contribution marketing makes to overall revenue. Marketing activity must have clear metrics and data analytics in place to measure results.   Data analytics will unlock insight   Our report revealed that 33% of businesses are struggling to realise the potential of data analytics, making this the second highest priority for 2016. Businesses collect mountains of data, but many are not turning it into actionable insight. Marketers need to know what they want to achieve from their data so they can make more informed decisions.   “We are investing in data to build insight and understanding around particular audience segments. Hunches need to be backed by data, especially with dynamic trends and shifting consumer behaviour,” said Will Awdry, Creative Director, Big Fish.   CRM is more of a focus than ever   70% of marketers plan on using a CRM in 2016. CRMs bring together sales and marketing, aiding marketers’ key priority of improving the sales pipeline and driving more value from existing customers. An effective CRM will streamline all marketing and sales processes across digital, social and offline channels.     2016 is the year of video and new forms of visual content   As we all know, content is king, but its focus has shifted to visual formats such as video and infographics. 60% of marketers are looking to use video in 2016. In ALF Insight’s 2015 marketing trends report, only 50% of respondents were looking to use it as part of their marketing strategy, making it 2016’s highest climber with a 20% year on year increase. Infographics are also growing in popularity thanks to their digestible content in a world overflowing with information. Additionally, Instagram is now one of the leading social media channels: top for B2C (tied with Facebook) and fourth for B2B, demonstrating the power of distributing visual content via social media.   Email still leads the way   Although email marketing may not be at the cutting edge of marketing technologies, it generates the highest ROI and is the most popular channel for marketers this year, with 75% of marketers sending their content marketing directly via email. Dynamic content, mobile optimisation and engagement programmes enable targeted and visual campaigns.   “Email is an important channel for us, and we will invest in this channel through analytics, segmentation, testing, responsive design and exploring our options regarding ESPs.” Renee Doegar, Head of Marketing, London Review of Books.     2016 looks set to be an interesting year in the marketing industry, with plenty of developments and new challenges to overcome. As budgets increase but time and resources decrease, marketers must prioritise their marketing strategies to make the most of the skill sets at their disposal. Suppliers and agencies should take note of trends and position themselves as experts in their field and offer services to help marketers meet their targets, specifically developing a stronger sales pipeline.   If you would like more information on these trends and to read the report and interviews in full, download  Marketing Trends, Spend and Forecasts 2016 . See below for a preview of the report: https://alfinsight.azurewebsites.net/blog/rss/blog/2016/marketing-trends-for-2016-crm-data-video-and-more/ https://alfinsight.azurewebsites.net/blog/rss/blog/2016/marketing-trends-for-2016-crm-data-video-and-more/ Mon, 14 March 2016 09:11:39 10 things you need to know about the latest consumer magazine ABCs for the second half of 2015 https://alfinsight.azurewebsites.net/blog/rss/blog/2016/10-things-you-need-to-know-about-the-latest-consumer-magazine-abcs-for-the-second-half-of-2015/ Cosmopolitan laughed in the face of falling circulations across the industry with an emphatic 56.8% increase on the last period to 405,308 after dropping its cover price and boosting the number of free copies. Elsewhere in the Women’s Lifestyle/Fashion category there were gains for HELLO! (up 2.3% to 267,299), Good Housekeeping (up 1.4% to 409,696) and Woman & Home (1.8% to 336, 192) – but heavier falls for titles including Look (down 12.0% to 116,024) and Essentials (down 14.5% to 89,068).   The Women’s Weekly sector suffered falls across most of its titles, with the most notable exception being a fantastic performance from OK!. Northern & Shell’s OK! Increased its circulation by 37.5% from the last period, offsetting a heavy drop last time around - although year on year performance remains down by 5.7%. The sector’s top seller remains Take A Break which suffered a 3.2% fall to 589,495, while rivals Heat and Now both recorded decreases, of 11.8% to 163,392 and 9.5% to 126,921 respectively. The sector has a whole fell 11.4% year on year to 4,160,049. Overall, the highest-circulating paid-for title is still TV Choice, which suffered a slight decline of 0.6% to 1,268,265. Fellow TV guides What’s On TV and Radio times remain the second and third highest-selling titles. What’s On TV recorded a 1.8% fall to 997,160, while Immediate Media will be pleased with Radio Times’s performance, increasing 2.8% from the last period to 732,765. Some good news for the Men’s Lifestyle sector which saw more increases than falls in this audit, although overall the sector fell by 0.9% year on year to 1,630,181. Freely distributed Shortlist stays top after growing its distribution by 0.7% to 505,562, while the number one seller remains Men’s Health, managing a slight increase of 0.4% to 194,682. Haymarket’s Forever Sports boasts the biggest gain in the sector, up 15.9% on the last audit period to 104,974. The release didn’t bring good news to all Men’s Lifestyle brands though, with Dennis Publishing’s Men Fitness suffering a substantial decrease to 30,998, down 18.0% on last period and 32.3% year on year. News & Current Affairs retains its title as the sector most immune to changes in media consumption with another positive audit. The Spectator celebrates a 28.8% increase to 71,707, while the top seller remains Private Eye which increased circulation by 0.7% on the last audit period to 229,777. NME’s move to shed its cover price has seen the brand record its highest ever ABC, reporting a circulation of 307,217 in its first audit as a free magazine. Bauer hasn’t lost its Mojo with the magazine still the highest selling in the Music: Rock market, and posting the biggest increase of paid-for titles in the market, up 4.7% to 70,445. The biggest faller in the sector is Kerrang! down 12.5% on the last period to a concerning 24,207 and down 20.1% year on year.   The latest audit will be hard to stomach at the Reader’s Digest, with the independent title being the biggest (non-children’s) faller from the last audit period. The 78 year old title decreased its circulation by 33.0% to 102,701 (down 27.3% year on year). While adults continue to turn away from magazines, children are continuing to read more. The Children’s Magazines: Primary – Boys sector grew by 51.3% on last year to 578,361 copies, while Primary – Girls expanded by 24.4% to 455,279. Children’s magazine publisher Egmont UK will be particularly pleased with this trend having increased their own total circulation for the year by 41.5% to 639,706. Two other publishers that had a strong audit were Hearst Magazines and Immediate Media. Hearst Magazines were the highest circulating publisher to increase sales year on year, up 0.8% to 4,571,543, helped in no small part by the fantastic performance of Cosmopolitan. Immediate Media increased their circulations by 1.8% on last year to 2,426,915, boosted by gains across its children’s portfolio. Time Inc. UK remains the country’s biggest consumer publisher with a total circulation of 4,912,351, but will be less pleased with how it fared, down 2.5% on last year and suffering decreased circulations across many of its key titles, including What’s On TV, Woman’s Weekly, Chat, Woman and Woman’s Own. *where not indicated all figures are for combined print and digital audits. https://alfinsight.azurewebsites.net/blog/rss/blog/2016/10-things-you-need-to-know-about-the-latest-consumer-magazine-abcs-for-the-second-half-of-2015/ https://alfinsight.azurewebsites.net/blog/rss/blog/2016/10-things-you-need-to-know-about-the-latest-consumer-magazine-abcs-for-the-second-half-of-2015/ Wed, 17 February 2016 09:21:27 ABC Interaction 2016: Five things we learnt Charlie Lloyd https://alfinsight.azurewebsites.net/blog/rss/blog/2016/abc-interaction-2016-five-things-we-learnt/ Like every year, last week’s ABC Interaction provided us with plenty to think about as to the challenges facing the industry in the year ahead. We heard from ABC’s new interim chief executive, Simon Redlich, who started off the Interaction’s 10 th anniversary conference with a quick look back at how much has changed in that time, from the meteoric rise of Facebook to the similarly phenomenal growth of digital ad spend; between 2005 and 2014, UK spend has risen from £1.36-7.1bn.   Redlich then looked to 2016 and laid out the organisation’s priorities, many of which are much the same as last year as the ABC continues to work on ironing out problems that have been facing the industry for some time. The most significant of these, of course, is online ad fraud, which the ABC continues to combat through its partnership with JICWEBS. Redlich then confirmed that video viewability will be tackled head on, and aims to add this to its viewability reporting in 2016. Last but not least, the ABC will continue to work towards ‘brand reporting’ - reporting all brands’ media in one place.   If you couldn’t make it to the conference itself, then fear not, as here we run through five key takeaways of the Interaction.   Consumers need to be your main concern   Hugo Drayton, CEO of InSkin Media, kicked off his speech with some uncomfortable truths, the first of which was that consumers don’t owe anyone their attention. Drayton also spoke of the key to success lying in collaboration between brands, agencies and publishers towards a goal that has the consumer at the heart of it but bemoaned a general lack of this kind of cohesion. Nick Hugh, VP EMEA at Yahoo, also spoke about the importance of a consumer-first way of working, citing it as one of his company’s key principles, as well as criticising the use of certain retargeting methods which he argues are turning off consumers.   Be creative   Scoota CEO, James Booth, underlined the importance of creative in successful campaigns. He pointed out that the average click rate for banner ads is a measly 0.06%. For rich media ads, the rate is a much improved 0.27%, but without the right creative rich media ads won’t work either. No matter how interactive your ad is, Booth said, without the right call-to-action, it’s going to fail. Hugo Drayton shared Booth’s concerns about creativity when deploring the use of repurposed content from other media.   Ad blocking isn’t going to destroy the industry…   …but it will force it to change, according to Nick Hugh. The Yahoo VP was adamant about that, and his comments on ad blocking contributed to a broader disdain at the tendency of the media to declare the death of any of type of media as soon as it faces disruption. Cost-per-mille, PCs and TV have all been recently issued with time-of-deaths, all of which were nonsense, claimed Hugh. One of the most important points on ad blocking made was a rallying call to the room to prevent ad blocking companies from becoming ad networks themselves. In light of ad blocking companies starting to sell their ‘premium audience’ to advertisers willing to pay for it, Hugh was clear that it was the industry’s responsibility to prevent that from happening.   The future is now   One of the most entertaining speakers at the conference was digital entrepreneur John Straw, whose segment focused on impending tech-based disruption. Describing technological breakthroughs and their implications for advertising, Straw’s speech felt like a new episode of Tomorrow’s World, though he was at pains to point out that nothing he mentioned was about to happen, it’s happening now. He spoke of artificial intelligence and in particular an AI that Google is testing, showing a clip of various events and the AI’s correct interpretation of those events in the corner of the picture. That, according to Straw, will present a huge opportunity to the industry in providing automated, context-based video advertising.   AI is also about to drastically improve search, with the development of Apple’s Siri and another from Google meaning that search engines will very soon provide answers to questions far more complex than they can currently handle. Last but by no means least, Straw declared that virtual reality is about to own the games market, expressing with certitude that mass-adoption of devices like Oculus Rift and Magic Leap is just around the corner.   Yahoo is fine, thanks   Nick Hugh’s criticism of the speed at which the media declares the doom of things extended to recent reporting of his own company’s situation. Yahoo’s alleged plight has frequented the business pages of many a news site recently, from brain drains and job cuts to falling share prices and questions over the workforce’s faith in chief executive Marissa Mayer. The veracity of these reports was played down by Nick Hugh who pointed to Yahoo’s recent achievements in its advertising operations, such as its audience data, the merits of its native-only offering on mobile and its success in pursuing cross-device recognition. Yahoo has mapped 75 per cent of its audience to two or more devices and this is something else that Hugh claims is crucial for the industry as whole in 2016. More information on last week’s ABC interaction along with presentation slides from some of the speakers can be found here. https://alfinsight.azurewebsites.net/blog/rss/blog/2016/abc-interaction-2016-five-things-we-learnt/ https://alfinsight.azurewebsites.net/blog/rss/blog/2016/abc-interaction-2016-five-things-we-learnt/ Wed, 27 January 2016 09:23:27 Lauren Holleyoake on publishing in a multi-platform world https://alfinsight.azurewebsites.net/blog/rss/blog/2015/lauren-holleyoake-on-publishing-in-a-multi-platform-world/ The pace of change since the dawn of ‘the digital age’, both in terms of the way we consume media and what we expect from the content, has caused no shortage of headaches for publishers over the last few years. From Paul Dacre, editor of the Daily Mail, asserting in 1999 that the idea that the internet was the future of newspapers was ‘bullshit.com’ on one hand, to premature declarations of the death of print more recently on the other, the industry faces a constant struggle to predict and respond to what works and what doesn’t.   But while the current media landscape poses its challenges, there are plenty of media brands that are embracing the new opportunities that it presents and thriving. Someone who has overseen the development of two such brands is Bauer Media’s Lauren Holleyoake, publisher of Grazia and The Debrief. The UK iteration of Grazia was launched in 2005 to replicate the success of its Italian big sister and has been serving up its eclectic mix of fashion and beauty pieces to its audience of affluent women ever since. Whilst not immune to the industry-wide drop in circulations that set in not long after its launch, the brand is as healthy now as ever before as it performs strongly online, moves into the events space and retains more than 140,000 of its print audience.   After spending three years on the marketing side of Grazia, Lauren moved over to the publishing side in 2012. It was in this role that Lauren played a key role in the creation of The Debrief, launched in 2014 to appeal to a new generation of young women, offering an in-depth and frank discussion of politics, sex and lifestyle features in addition to a new brand of fashion and beauty content. We spoke to Lauren about what she attributes to the success of her two brands, the challenges facing publishers in 2015, and what’s next…   What do you attribute to Grazia’s ongoing success since its launch ten years ago?   From day one, the focus of Grazia has been on understanding its audience. This year we launched ‘The Game Changers: The women who went from wanting it all to changing it all’ to coincide with our tenth anniversary. It’s an in-depth research piece that shed light on the lives of ABC1 women aged 25-44 and it provided our editorial team and commercial partners with unparalleled insight into that demographic. The deeper our understanding of what our audience cares about, the more we can reflect what they care about in every page of the magazine, in every piece of digital content and in every social post. Grazia strives to be completely relevant to its thirty-something, upscale audience and by getting this right week in, week out – and actually hour by hour – we remain influential.   We’ve really adapted to how her life, our reader’s life, has changed. About three years ago a reader said that she felt like Grazia had been spying on her life, which I really feel demonstrates the connection we have with our readers because we completely reflect their lives through the brand and I think that’s why it’s been so successful.     What do you think are the biggest challenges for Grazia over the next couple of years?   I think it’s a real challenge every week to make sure that every page of the magazine is relevant, and I think that is a feat that we really do achieve. It’s about remaining relevant and responding to your audience’s needs but trying to move that on in a way that is daring and bold. We did that in 2012 when we launched our tablet edition. A lot of magazines were creating page-turners; we knew it needed to be responsive because our readers would be accessing it across multiple devices. We also knew that they come to Grazia for the shopping edits so we made it shoppable.   Most recently, we celebrated our tenth birthday this year. We shunned the predictable party that some publishers default to and opted instead to celebrate with our readers by creating a three week exhibition which looked at events across a broad range of areas, in the same way that Grazia covers a broad range of topics, which have shaped the last ten years. Some of the readers at the event had been subscribers from day one, which is incredible, and we wanted to give them access to the brand, access to the inspirational women who were speaking and give them a new experience. That was a really important event and took us in a slightly different direction.   We ran a campaign called ‘Mind the Pay Gap’ which saw us play a fairly central role in changing the law that paves the way for equal pay for women. It saw us address an issue that really affects our readers. We’ve been facing challenges but we’ve shown that we are able to adapt and that we know what’s important to our readership.   Do you think it’s important to become more customer-facing and provide those experiences?   I completely believe that the magazine format is still relevant and I think that magazine media is an incredibly immersive experience. It cuts through the clutter and commands undivided attention. What strikes me as really interesting is the relationship between print, digital and events. Digital really enhances event publishing. Take Kim Kardashian’s appearance on the cover of Paper magazine. That was a high-end, relatively low circulation print product that had everyone talking via the internet. It’s interesting how print and digital are talking to each other.   Print is crucial. It’s seen as a trusted authority and gives brands a stamp of credibility. As such we’ve seen digital brands like ASOS and Airbnb launching print products and brands like Facebook are advertising in print. But on top of that we must connect with our audience digitally and we also feel that there’s an opportunity to connect with them through events and experiences because for us it’s about responding to what they want. In any way that she wants to connect with the Grazia brand, we will endeavour to be in that space.   Particularly in fashion, print has always been able to present things in a much more enticing and luxurious way...   Absolutely. With The Debrief, the team worked really hard on creating the right visuals for the digital space and we know from research that the look and feel of it, the visuals and the imagery are a real positive for the audience. There’s a different flavour to what you get in print. Fashion resonates really well in the print environment. We have lots of premium fashion advertisers who want to be on the pages.   So what were the expectations and challenges in launching The Debrief?   We started to work on The Debrief at the end of 2012, so I feel like we formed part of that movement towards more feminist content for young women. It was clear it had to be digital and created by a team of like-minded twenty-somethings. Like Grazia, the success of The Debrief has been built on understanding the audience and we spent a lot of time on that. We found, following a period of long and intensive research, that she was desperately seeking authenticity. We learnt that the tone and the language being authentic, friendly and super-relevant is absolutely vital and now we know that that has really cut through. We found that they’d been spending maybe 15 minutes of their lives on other sites pouring over pictures of bikini bodies and they didn’t feel good about that. She might have got some depth elsewhere but not in something that was speaking to her in her language. So we felt there was a real gap in the market to offer her the breadth of content that reflected her life.   We spent a lot of time thinking about our content strategy in terms of her behaviour. It wasn’t just about what she’s doing day-to-day, but what is she doing, thinking, and believing, hour by hour? What does she need and when; on what topic and in which format? When she woke up and had her mobile phone in front of her, what did she need in that moment? At lunchtimes when she was in the office, was she accessing via desktop and did she have time for a longer read? We had a mountain of info on which to build that and we had a team who all had impeccable instincts. We also knew that we had to be prepared to work in a really agile way; testing it and evolving it.     What do you think about the increasing impact of American media brands in the UK; brands like Vice and Vox? Does that present a challenge?   I don’t see it as a challenge. The media industry has never been so vibrant. In the digital space, it’s less about competing and more about collaborating, and that’s a win-win for the consumer. Part of our Facebook strategy is serving our audience’s interests, whether that content comes from us or whether we point them to Vice or Buzzfeed because we know that it’s of value to them. Ultimately, there is room for a lot of brands in the digital space, and as long as what you’re creating is brilliant and unique it will win through. It’s great having so many brands that are creating a market alongside The Debrief. Aside from ourselves, European publishers have been quite slow to adapt. Here at Bauer we have data scientists working alongside our journalists, and that alchemy is really exciting because we can take what we know to be great and build on it. It’s exciting; it’s a new way of working.   There’s been a gender revolution over the last couple of years, and from a publishing perspective you’re seeing a lot of brands offering a new take of ‘women’s lifestyle’ content – like Vice’s Broadly, for example. That’s exciting, isn’t it?   You’re right, there has been a change and that’s exactly why we launched The Debrief because there was a gap in the market for that. One of the things that really struck me in one of our on-site surveys recently was that 76 per cent described The Debrief as unique. That goes back to your earlier question about brands coming over from the states, because when we were launching we definitely looked to those brands in the US, and actually awareness of those brands in the UK is not as high as you might imagine. We feel that having that UK slant is definitely connecting to people. Us Brits have a certain humour, a certain cynicism and cultural touchpoints and those definitely come through in the pieces that we write.   Why do you think so many European publishers were slow to adapt to digital and the new narrative?   It’s difficult to know exactly why. How to monetise digital was never very clear, and people were slow to come to the digital table because the money wasn’t obviously there. A lot of the magazines that have closed now were the ones that targeted youngsters. A lot of people just dismissed the print format, but actually when we looked at them it wasn’t the print that didn’t work, it was the approach. Getting the voice right is half the battle. At The Debrief, we’ve got stacks and stacks of correspondence that shows that’s what the audience likes. We don’t patronise. We understand that she wants a range of topics and that she might want to look good and read about heavy issues at the same time.   Do brands expect to close down the customer journey nowadays? When they advertise in Grazia or The Debrief, do they want to know that someone is clicking on an ad and going straight through to purchase?   Every brand has its own unique set of requirements and we understand that. No two campaigns are the same. They measure different metrics and we respond to different objectives set by brands. The area that we’ve seen the strongest growth in is around partnerships and branded content. Brands are coming to us seeking collaboration. They really value and understand that we have heritage and expertise in producing content . A really strong example of that recently is the deal we’ve done with Grazia and Office. With the team at Office we created a quarterly ‘Shoespaper’, which is an eight page newspaper distributed through magazines and in stores. We helped curate that content and we worked really collaboratively.     Similarly, on The Debrief, we worked on a year-long deal with Bacardi. They wanted to encourage people drinking at home to make cocktails and try new things, which was promoting their whole portfolio. We helped to create a series of content franchises that we ran across The Debrief, which really resonated with our audience because we got the voice right. We understand what they are looking for from a night out.     Brands still enjoy print, don’t they? There’s that sense that the tangibility of it hooks people deeper into the brand…   Absolutely. We apply the same rigour around our journalists and our training on digital as we do our magazines, but with digital there’s no barrier to entry. There are no assurances with a lot of the content you can find on the internet whereas you can’t just print anything; there’s far more rigorous legal process and that comes across. There’s an underlying trust and authority to print that brands understand and value.   So many brands are launching print products and we can help with that. I enjoy that because in my role, that brings together the creative passion that we have for content and solving brand’s problems through the insight that we have. In the past, there was a certain tension between editorial and advertising. The collaborative approach now is much more reassuring for editors. Hattie Brett, who was the launch editor of The Debrief, used to far prefer being able to shape the things we were putting out as advertising than not having any control over it. She and her team could be directly involved and that’s what’s exciting. Brands get much more from us as well because there are editorial people involved.   When you were researching, what was your audience’s understanding of branded content?   We asked them in surveys. We showed them an example of commercial content on the site and asked them questions like, do you notice a difference between this and other pieces of content? Are you interested in reading it? Is this intrusive? We found that our audience is savvy and they know that the creators of their content have to be paid. As long as that sponsored content gives them value too then they’re happy. Native can be really great content. When it becomes a wrench, we shouldn’t be doing it.   Grazia has a YouTube channel at the moment with The Joshington Post...do you envisage investing more into that platform?   We’ve tried a lot of things on YouTube. I think the difficulty that we’ve faced – and what is a broad challenge across the industry – is that video is so complex in terms of what works on YouTube versus what works on your site and on social media. On The Debrief, one of the amazing members of our team, Stevie Martin, does a series of beauty vines and some silent video content which works on Facebook because a lot of the time when you’re looking at Facebook you’re on the move. We’re definitely playing around with ideas and we’ve had mixed results. It’s about testing and learning, as is so much digital content.   We’ve found that there’s a real case for that Debrief voice in beauty content. A lot of the beauty vlogger content is from girls who present this unachievable vision. What Stevie does is about relatable and situational beauty. We know that on Thursday night our audience is out drinking, so on Friday morning, Stevie’s beauty vine will be on how to cover bags under your eyes on the bus to work. They do really well and they’ve got real tone and humour.         What’s coming next? What are you focussing on for next year?   On The Debrief we have some exciting plans to work on some campaign-led ideas. There are some issues that we think really affect ‘our girl’, largely around housing, and we’re thinking about how we can affect change around that. We’re also thinking about growth. We’re really happy with our numbers but we feel The Debrief can go beyond and we’re working on that at the moment.   Instagram is a really key channel for us. The Debrief is a visual brand and our audience is on Instragram so it’s exciting what we can do in that space. Our audience is young and adopting platforms quickly. Vine is one of our editorial content formats and we’ve done partnerships on Snapchat.   It was important that we did it because we needed to be there in that space. It’s about constantly trying new things and not worrying too much if it doesn’t always work. In digital, it’s much easier to do that.   At Grazia, it’s very much about seeing how we can evolve the product and continue to make it agenda setting. We also recently launched our inaugural Grazia Google event which is a really exciting partnership with Google, at their Digital Garage in Leeds. The theme was about empowering women with technology, so it was perfect for us. It was incredible how engaged and excited the audience was. It was a humbling experience because it was an audience of smart, inspired, entrepreneurial women and they really loved how the two brands had come together. We’ve got plans to roll that out into a series and we think we can go in lots of different directions with that. It’s an exciting time! https://alfinsight.azurewebsites.net/blog/rss/blog/2015/lauren-holleyoake-on-publishing-in-a-multi-platform-world/ https://alfinsight.azurewebsites.net/blog/rss/blog/2015/lauren-holleyoake-on-publishing-in-a-multi-platform-world/ Wed, 09 December 2015 10:02:03 Building a Winning Sales Team https://alfinsight.azurewebsites.net/blog/rss/blog/2015/building-a-winning-sales-team/ BUILDING A WINNING SALES TEAM   England may have unfortunately crashed out of the Rugby World Cup, but whether you’re coaching rugby, leading a management team or motivating your sales force, there are some rules you can stick to in order to build a winning sales team. Here’s what you need to build your high-performing sales team this season:    SETTING EXPECTATIONS    Expectations should consist of two parts: behaviour and results.    Behaviour expectations set out how your team should go about their work, so if you set clear targets and KPIs for them to work to, from soft targets such as face-to-face meetings or prospect calls to hard sales targets, you’re bound to see the results you need.    Expectations are not purely constrained to individual efforts. While individual expectations are important, you should put an emphasis on teamwork to encourage your sales force to reach for the trophy as a team.   TRAINING   A rugby team do not walk onto the pitch knowing exactly what to do: they have months of intensive training, both on and off the field to develop their strength, speed, tactics and game play.    A report by Sales Performance International  found that multi-day sales training events do not work effectively, as approximately 50% of what is taught is forgotten within 5 weeks. Instead, it is far more effective to practice micro-learning: The little but often approach: frequently giving your team digestible information that they can put into practice then and there.    Other good ways to provide practical training are:   Role-play: Sales enablement sessions with improvised role-play are a great way to build selling-skills and learn how to overcome hurdles you might face in a meeting or call.   Share team success stories: Not only does this exemplify how to make effective sales, but it also qualifies the work of your team. Celebrate wins to boost team morale.   Create a sales reference library: Collect documents and videos on different sales techniques and give your sales reps access to them.    Provide training on sales tools and software:  Effectively using sales software can help your team achieve their targets. Invest in CRM software to keep track of customers and provide in-depth training so your team can get the most out of it.    INCENTIVES   The carrot works better than the stick. If rugby players perform well they could be rewarded with a Man of the Match plaudit. You can offer your team a Salesman of the Week/Month, perhaps with a prize as an extra incentive.    It is also beneficial to create a social and enjoyable work environment: a positive work culture will reflect in sales calls – people can tell a lot from your tone of voice! This could be by providing coffees or nice snacks in the office: just little incentives and treats to keep the team happy with the option of something like a night out if everyone meets their targets so that the team has something to work towards.   MONITOR RESULTS   Data has come to the rugby pitch : Accenture analyses key game indicators with positive points given for metres gained and passes and negative points for poor handling or a missed tackle to give an overall performance score for players.    You can also monitor your sales results by using your CRM to see progress and gain a deep analysis of emails sent and time spent on calls. By monitoring results, you can ensure that your team is on track to meet their expectations and you can help to give them live feedback to bring them closer to meeting their targets.   FEEDBACK   The team talk in the changing room is an important part of the rugby game. The post-match de-brief sums up what worked and what didn’t, what could be done better next time, team strategies and what can be learnt from the opposition.    Your team then needs to have the capacity to take the feedback, whether it be praise or constructive criticism and apply it going forward. Positive reinforcement is good, but what went wrong needs to be acknowledged to make sure it doesn’t happen again.   BEST PRACTICES FOR SALES TEAMS   •Set expectations for behaviour and results, KPIs for both individuals and for the team as a whole   •Lay out a strategy of how to meet these expectations   •Provide frequent training to help employees retain what they learn   •Ensure everyone has comprehensive training on any software or tools they use   •Monitor results to keep team on track   •Offer feedback, both positive and negative   •Provide incentives   •Celebrate success https://alfinsight.azurewebsites.net/blog/rss/blog/2015/building-a-winning-sales-team/ https://alfinsight.azurewebsites.net/blog/rss/blog/2015/building-a-winning-sales-team/ Mon, 12 October 2015 10:10:39 What to do about engagement? https://alfinsight.azurewebsites.net/blog/rss/blog/2015/what-to-do-about-engagement/ What to do about engagement?   It’s a well-worn marketing term but there's very little consensus on what engagement actually is. That’s a problem because the most important strategic decision is how to define, measure and incentivise it.   Engagement. It’s harder to think of any other marketing term used so regularly yet has so little agreement on what it actually represents. A word that’s used with confidence yet, on interrogation of a definition, is met with more umming and ahhing than a Hugh Grant character asking a girl out.   The four horsemen   Before putting forward my attempted definition, it’s worth looking at why there’s been renewed focus in the online world of getting to grips with engagement – what it means and what you can do to maximise it. The renewed focus is being driven by four forces that marketers are currently struggling with.   1) Time is a more precious commodity   Consumers face an onslaught of options at every turn, from the supermarket aisle to the living room sofa to our connected devices. Our scant leisure time, consisting of overbooked social calendars and obligations, is book-ended by increasingly long and unpredictable hours at work.   Consequently, advertisers are competing more ferociously for an increasingly scarce and expensive resource – our time. In simple economic terms, supply has raced far ahead of capacity. People can only take in so much. A recent study from the Harvard Business School found that the “cost” of attention has increased by at least 700% in the last two decades.   2) Ad overload   Allied to the above, media proliferation and ad “clutter” mean consumers are paying less attention to ads.   Consider television. In 2013, US viewers were exposed to more TV commercials than ever before — roughly 52,000 that year, or 140 every day. Increased volume and choice has coincided with dwindling efficiency. TV advertisers enjoyed 97% viewability in the early 1990s but that’s fallen to less than 20% today.   In online it’s even worse. For research purposes, I installed ad blocking software which revealed in a normal five minute surfing session I’d have been served 142 ads.   3) Data isn’t enough   Our industry has become so captivated by the promise of “big data” that we’ve forgotten it’s just one component in an overwhelmingly complex process. Even if we had perfect data, our campaigns would still be inexact and unpredictable. Worse, advertisers are increasingly discovering that data is nowhere near as powerful as was once promised – and it’s just not enough.   The digital era has afforded us unparalleled efficiency, an abundance of inexpensive media, and countless ways to interact. But while we have all made enormous strides, the number of consumers – and wallets – remains constant. Yes, you’ve got better at targeting but so have your competitors so you’re simply on a higher, but still level playing field.   4) The wrong incentives   This one is about the industry shooting itself in the foot – and then the other one. The demand for low-cost impressions fuelled the rise of “clickbait” – cheap content designed to support punchy headlines and lure readers to click yet another page. Most users stay for only a few seconds before moving on. And why not? Success is driven by low engagement; a lingering user is not driving additional impressions.   Having a strategy to optimise to impressions or clicks encourages behaviour which abandons the very purpose of advertising in the first place. Two decades on, marketers have realised it’s time to fix this completely misguided and damaging tactic that rewards high-volume, low-involvement content.   Drum roll please   So, in light of all this, I believe engagement to be defined as someone’s active attention with advertising which is triggered by a signal they’re responding to it. It’s measured by the amount of time they spend with the ad.   A sign they’ve responded to it is important. As Dave Chaffey says in Smart Insights: “In a medium where only 0.06% of banner ads result in measurable consumer action, “seeing” the ad just isn’t enough.”   I acknowledge my definition loses the emotional value of engagement. However, it’s up to you to define performance and success – and then measure that accordingly.     The solution   Your online strategy should be optimised to the measurable event closest to your goal – and the most important goal is to ensure consumers are engaging with your brand. As with any strategy, however, engagement has its place. If every aspect of advertising demanded full engagement, consumers might be too fatigued to shop. Advertising works best as an opening or conversation starter, preferably with a strong narrative and emotional salience.   Almost all advertising campaigns have a natural arc with three stages: First, a highly immersive story is presented Second, the consumer is offered additional supporting information Third, the message is reinforced with a series of reminders. The role of video   Without a doubt, thoughtful integration of video – from a smooth, welcoming teaser video into a selective in-stream or rich media unit is the most reliable route to getting people to engage.   Video nearly doubles average dwell time, from 37 to 71 seconds. While users exposed to rich media ads are nearly three times more likely to browse the advertiser’s website, those exposed to video are six times more likely.   So, what are the best tips for getting people from the teaser into the full video ad? People online are constantly bombarded by ads so the user opt-in experience must be welcoming not jarring. Our tests show that a gentle, periodically pulsing ‘peelback’ layer in the bottom corner of the teaser that exposes the brand logo and an invitation to “explore” further is the best method.   It’s worth including a clear countdown timer in the peelback upon rollover so the expectation is clearly signalled: ‘click’ or ‘rollover’ here to explore further.   The next, and penultimate, act is to make a smooth and clear transition to a large overlay video experience, with the original site the user was viewing greyed out in the background. Finally, the video should shrink slightly to reveal interactive elements that the user may engage with. These transitions serve three purposes:   1. It gives the user multiple opportunities to realise they are entering an ad experience and therefore, fully qualify the user. 2. If the billing point – the moment in the ad at which the advertiser is charged for the engagement – is further along (i.e. several seconds) into the transitions, advertisers are encouraged to make it a smoother experience for users, thus, minimising potential drop-off. 3. It respects the user journey by not jarring them into an ad experience or giving the sense that you are taking them far away from their original purpose. After all, the consumer should love your brand, not resent it. To maximise the amount of time people spend with the video, you have to make it the primary focus of an ad without heavily over-branding it or wrapping the creative with distracting animation. While this can be successful if executed tastefully, our extensive testing shows that keeping video as the main act garners more consistent results.   Second, it is important to communicate brand consistency in interactive elements. Rather than sending users directly to a site, for example, audiences tend to prefer ‘authentic’ interactive elements. In other words, elements that resonate with the brand itself. For instance, a retailer would want to build creative that included a virtual reality store where users can construct outfits and 'shop' around the store – creating a more relevant and memorable brand experience.   That’s a wrap   Embracing ‘engagement’ requires a shift in mindset, particularly through the potential provided by multi-screen video campaigns to engage people. The use of multiple devices will retain consumer attention so advertising campaigns can be even more powerful with the right technology, creative and metrics across the consumer device of choice.   By Jason Trout, UK Managing Director, Exponential   Exponential’s free whitepaper on engagement is available here https://alfinsight.azurewebsites.net/blog/rss/blog/2015/what-to-do-about-engagement/ https://alfinsight.azurewebsites.net/blog/rss/blog/2015/what-to-do-about-engagement/ Wed, 07 October 2015 10:41:31 Discounts, offers and incentives in B2B marketing https://alfinsight.azurewebsites.net/blog/rss/blog/2015/discounts-offers-and-incentives-in-b2b-marketing/ DISCOUNTS, OFFERS AND INCENTIVES IN B2B MARKETING   Discounts, offers and incentives may seem like an old school marketing method, but offering them at the right stage of the sales funnel can seriously help your lead generation.  They need to be presented to prospects in a tactical manner, as you don’t want to devalue your product or rub your current customers up the wrong way. They are ‘offers’ for a reason: they should not be available all the time, and should only be offered to people at the bottom of the sales funnel, as they have an active interest and are likely to convert.    FREE TRIALS   Free trials are a popular offer with software companies, allowing customers to experience the product first hand and see exactly how it can help them before committing to a purchase.    Free trials should be offered at the end of the sales funnel and need to be long enough so your prospects feel like they can test your product and assess whether it adequately meets their needs. As Clarity’s Lincoln Murphy advises on Sixteen Ventures , “Once they’re in, your job is to convert them into a paying customer ASAP regardless of the trial length.   “If you have a 30-day free trial, it doesn’t mean they don’t become a paying customer until the trial expires or on Day 31 (though this is unfortunately typical). They come in thinking they have 30 days to evaluate the product, but you see it as you have three days to get them to USE the product and to convert them to a paying customer within the first seven days.”    It is important to push for the close of a sale once you have offered the free trial , especially as the period comes to a close. Propose an additional time-sensitive offer to make the sale, such as: “We know you said you were going to buy this month. I was just given permission from my boss to offer you 20% off or two free months, but I need you to place your order today.”    DEMOS   When explaining the advantages of your product to a prospect as they near the bottom of the funnel, a demo is an effective way to illustrate the features of the software and validate the solution you are offering. 80% of B2B marketers say that live demos with a sales rep deliver high-quality leads , according to a survey from  Software Advice .    Demos are particularly useful when the software is complex and in situations where trials may be abandoned if users are confused about how to best use the product. As Capterra highlights , customers to target with demos are those that need to “ communicate their specific workflow and have a much more catered sales conversation.”     Software such as Demochimp allows you to tailor a demo to your customer and then use analytics tools to see how prospects respond to different elements within demo. This highlights each individual’s needs, which can then help when you come to close the sale.    INTRODUCTORY DISCOUNTS, INCENTIVES   Introductory incentives are given at the bottom of the funnel just before the customer commits to buying to tip them over the edge of uncertainty into committing to buying. Incentives could be discounts, such as ‘12 months for the price of 10’ or training on how to use the product for free.   Incentives should be easy to understand, as customers tend to ignore overly complex offers, suggests Zhivago Marketing Partners. “The most successful incentives can be explained in one simple sentence: ‘Buy one, get one free.’ ‘Buy now, pay later.’ ‘Buy now, get X.’ ‘Buy 50, get this.’ If there is a time limit, make it part of the short description ,” she told Marketing Profs .   Consider adding value in your offers , as opposed to discounting your product. At ALF, we often give people access to extra contacts or licenses. To find out what ALF can offer you, request a demo here .    THINK ABOUT WHAT YOU ARE OFFERING AND WHEN   If you are offering an incentive to persuade prospects to purchase, remember to consider what point of the sales funnel they are at. Only give away information at the top of the funnel, and then once customers have progressed to the bottom of the funnel, move on to demos, free trials and introductory discounts and offers    Free trials are a great way to allow prospects experience your product first hand, but use a demo if the software is complex and users will benefit from a talk-through on a sales call. And finally: seal the deal with discounts and offers that your customers just can’t ignore. https://alfinsight.azurewebsites.net/blog/rss/blog/2015/discounts-offers-and-incentives-in-b2b-marketing/ https://alfinsight.azurewebsites.net/blog/rss/blog/2015/discounts-offers-and-incentives-in-b2b-marketing/ Thu, 01 October 2015 10:47:15 Meet Stylehaul's New Gen of YouTube Stars https://alfinsight.azurewebsites.net/blog/rss/blog/2015/meet-stylehauls-new-gen-of-youtube-stars/ We popped by Stylehaul to get their scoop on the next generation of creators on YouTube in the UK. StyleHaul is the world largest community of style creators delivering fashion and beauty focussed programming for millennials. The network (which boasts some of YouTube’s biggest names) is called home by nearly 6,000 creators across over 63 countries with a reach of nearly 1.2bn view a month and 500m viewers. Scale and engagement off the charts. The rise in the adoption of ad blockers is putting pressure on digital marketers to become both more subtle and more creative when delivering an advertising message. Marketers are reaching out further to YouTube creators as an authentic platform to embed sponsored content with fashion-forward influencers to an audience who are there to get shopping tips, because they want to spend, spend, spend. Meet Emily Victoria-Canham, Gracie Francesca and Robin James - these are the new gen of YouTubers you need to get to know, if you want their fans to love your brand...   Emily Victoria-Canham // But I’m Here Forever       At just 18, Emily Victoria-Canham is one of the youngest rising stars in the creator community. Alongside her own lifestyle videos with a make-up steer (she is obsessed), she also presents a number of co-vlogs with her boyfriend Jake Boys, which has become a recent trend on the vlogging scene, and isn’t just about boyfriends applying their other half’s make up. She represents a world where beauty and lifestyle come together and blend with Jake’s humorous style, and pranks.   What/who inspired you to start vlogging and how did you get started?   Originally I had a blog that was more fashion focused, and it was the people that read my blog that inspired me to start YouTube. I used to watch YouTubers, but it was never something I considered doing until having my blog.   What was the turning point when you realised vlogging could become more than just a hobby?   There was never really a point, it kind of just happened! I still see it as my hobby, but it's just my career as well now.   What do you enjoy most, beauty vlogging and tutorials or sharing your daily life and LOLs with your boyfriend Jake?   Most probably daily vlogging. I love sharing my daily life and I feel like I connect with my audience more through vlogs. Also, daily vlogging encourages Jake and I to get out and discover new places, which is so much fun!   Do you and Jake compete to see who can get the most views, likes, and subscribers? Are you livid if he ever gets more views than you?   No! We have completely different channels. Jake has a bigger following, so obviously he's going to get more interaction and views but I'm more than happy with the response I get from my viewers. What we do is so different, you can't really compare.    What would you be doing if you weren’t a YouTuber?   Honestly I have no clue! I'd probably be just finishing year 13 and trying to decide what to do with my life.   You’re only 18, do you think this helps give you a better perception about what a younger audience may want from your channel?   Definitely. I feel like we're all a group of friends with common interests. I think I do a pretty good job of reading what my audience want, but then again they're always tweeting me and helping me out!   Do you plan to vlog your entire life on YouTube?   I'd love to! As long as I'm still enjoying YouTube, I won't be leaving.   Who are your favourite YouTubers, and why?   I love a bunch of different beauty YouTubers, specifically Shaanxo and Kathleen Lights, but I also love watching vlogs and my particular favourite channel is the SacconeJolys. I can also spend hours watching cooking and baking videos on YouTube.   What are the favourite brand partnerships you’ve worked on, and why? How do you partner with brands? And what are your tips for those companies who want to partner with vloggers?   I loved working with MaxFactor, as they're one of my favourite makeup brands EVER so it felt like a really big achievement. I also loved working with NCS, because I felt like it was something that would really benefit my audience and I want to do anything I can to help my viewers. I partner with brands in many different ways, but I think the main thing is to give the creator freedom. They know what works on their channel, so asking them to read from something a company has scripted probably won't go down too well!   Do you enjoy working out how you can partner with a brand without annoying your subscribers?   My subscribers and my content are extremely important to me, so I'm never going to produce something they won't enjoy watching. With any partnerships, everything has to be honest and relevant to my channel otherwise I just won't do it.   Where do you hope this will lead? Is TV the dream? Or 1m subscribers? A beauty range? Or all three?   I'm not too sure. I'm happy just going with the flow and seeing what opportunities I get offered. YouTube is my main focus right now.    Could you live in a world without make-up?   Yeah, easily. I'm not the type of person to wear make up every day. Although, I'd probably have to find a new hobby!   What are your top 5 hauls?   When it comes to shopping, the only thing I really get excited about is makeup!    Gracie Francesca // UglyFaceOfBeauty       Gracie is tackling the real issues facing young women. Her approach is multi-layered and alongside fashion, beauty and style, her content explores difficult subjects such as body image, self-harming and mental health, all explored through her own personal battles. Gracie is a great example of a rare platform for young people to turn to when seeking advice and support for more taboo subjects. When she drops a vlog entitled “When I’m on My Period…” you know she means business.   What/who inspired you to start vlogging and how did you get started?   I guess I just felt like there needed to be a bit more diversity on YouTube. When I used to watch videos I couldn’t really find anyone to relate to, so I thought 'maybe if I start making videos, someone out there could relate to me'.   What was the turning point when you realised vlogging could become more than just a hobby?   October 2014, I won a Cosmopolitan award and in the same week I signed to a management team, I think that was the point I realised 'wow, this could actually become a career'. Nearly a year on it has grown and grown, and I am very thankful to be able to call what I do my job.   What would you be doing if you weren’t a YouTuber?   Probably still working at a children's home or with a child protection team within the police force. My heart lies with helping vulnerable kids, and I eventually want to go back to that one day.   What do you think underlines your appeal?   My realness and honesty. I don’t pretend life is easy and I don’t pretend everything is butterflies and rainbows, and I guess people relate to that? I know what matters to a lot of people because the same stuff matters to me. I’m not afraid to talk about difficult things. People need to hear it.   From body image to porn and self-harming, you seem unafraid to take on any subject no matter how taboo, do you think women have waited too long for a role model like yourself who can tackle hard-hitting subjects head on? What has been the reaction to this?   Absolutely. So many people are going through what I went through, but they don’t feel brave or strong enough to talk about it. When making videos, I want people to see the real me, and if I'm struggling or going through something, then that’s what I will talk about. Our generation need to be able to know that things are going to be okay, and if I don’t speak up about difficult subjects, I'm just pushing them under the carpet. I get that some peoples’ lives are great and they don’t worry or have to worry about certain things but for other people like myself, life isn't like that. My reality was hating my body so much that I would self- harm and cry myself to sleep at night. I only talk about things I've been through because I guess, that’s all I know.   The reaction I get from speaking up is amazing. People from all over the world contact me to say I've inspired them to go to therapy or to tell their parents what’s going on and that means more to me than anyone will know. Growing up I felt like I didn’t have anywhere to turn or anyone to talk to, so if I can show someone suffering a little glimmer of sunshine in their cloudy days then my job is done.   What are the favourite brand partnerships you’ve worked on, and why? How do you partner with brands? And what are your tips for those brands who want to partner with vloggers?   So far my brand collab with Bodyform has been my favourite. It was for their ‘Live Fearless’ campaign and it just had my name written all over it. I enjoy makeup and fashion of course, but doing brand work on subjects that are for more than just the outer exterior really makes me happy and proud.   In terms of working with brands it can be anything from being sent products to review or being heavily involved in a paid campaign, where I pretty much take full content control. It all depends really.   For brands wanting to work with vloggers, my advice would be to know the vlogger you're working with. Actually watch their videos, read their comments and try to understand them as a person, but also a brand themselves. Be clear with what you want from them and also be honest. Try and meet them face to face too. I love nothing more than going for a coffee or lunch with brands who want to work with me. It’s more personal, but also more professional at the same time.   What are some of your own favourite vlogs, and why?   SonjdraDeluxe is one of my absolute favourites. She's down to earth, inspiring and just beautiful. Her makeup skills are amazing and she’s a pleasure to watch. I also live ViviannaDoesMakeup for skincare advice. She knows her stuff! I also enjoy watching my friends, Anothergirlslife and BeautyandtheBlog.   What is your ultimate goal, and where do you see your vlog heading?   Ultimately, I want to become a worldwide business. There are so many avenues I want to explore, including TV. I would love to have my own TV show - that would be amazing.   Robin James // TheUtterGutter     The male fashion and grooming world has now also found its footing on YouTube. Vloggers like Robin James are there with style tips for men who are on the lookout for accessible fashion advice for the everyman.   What/who inspired you to start vlogging and how did you get started?   I’ve always loved watching content online - especially how to videos and tutorials. I was fascinated by the transformation that so many girls were documenting on YouTube, but noticed that there wasn’t the same level (or quality) of content for guys. So, it was time for me to get my camera out and change that!   What was the turning point when you realised vlogging could become more than just a hobby?   I still work full-time - Monday to Friday - but spend all weekend working on my YouTube channel and my blog. Who knows what will happen in the future? I love what I do and excited to see where it takes me.   What is your background and when and how did you become fascinated with men’s style and fashion?   I’m a trained broadcast journalist and experienced digital content producer. Having worked for Channel 4, Sky, NBC Universal and ITV, I’ve worked on some pretty high profile TV shows - creating digital content and working up digital and social media strategy. I’ve always had an interest in men’s style, fashion and grooming. I love the ‘getting ready’ process and how our choices in style and grooming can express who we   are…or who we want to be.   Who are your men’s style and fashion heroes?   James Dean is a major style hero of mine. Even though he was only in the Hollywood limelight for a very short time, he’s had a major impact on men’s style and grooming. Clean lines and simple basics - classic style without the fuss.   Why is your vlog called The Utter Gutter?   Ah, so this one is a bit of a long story. In a nutshell, the story involves a lot of wine (good wine, obviously) at the Sydney Opera House with one of my best friends… and a lot of brainstorming. I woke up the next day with the [limited] memory of a great night, and as the owner of TheUtterGutter.com domain.   What do you think underlines your appeal?   I’ve always wanted to be true to myself and my audience. I love what I do and I like to think that my passion for men’s style and grooming comes across in what I do.   Why do you think vlogging about male style, lifestyle and grooming has only just started to take off?   It’s been around for a while, but I think that people have now only started to notice that it can be a great source of inspiration and education. Video is such an immersive medium and lends itself perfectly to subjects - like style and grooming - that are so visual.     Also, the quality of men’s style, lifestyle and grooming vloggers has really improved. Some of the guys out there are making some killer content!   What do you think was missing from men’s lifestyle content previously that you’re now adding?   I’d like to think that I bring a bit of personality and individuality to the space… but then again, I’m sure everyone says that. I have a real interest in the subject matter, so hopefully that comes across in my content. I don’t see myself as a ‘YouTuber’, nor do I aspire to be. For me, I’m a content creator and my platform just so happens to be YouTube. Perhaps that’s my point of difference.   What would you say are some of your biggest achievement so far through vlogging?   Building a really engaged and loyal audience is something I’m massively proud of.   It may sound a bit worthy, but I wouldn’t be able to do what I do without the people that subscribe to my channel and watch my videos. For that, I am so grateful and humbled.   What are the favourite brand partnerships you’ve worked on, and why? How do you partner with brands? And what are your tips for those companies who want to partner with vloggers?   Working with brands provides fantastic opportunities. Sure, being paid to create content is great, but there’s so much more to it - it really is about working in partnership. I recently worked with ASOS and Lynx on style and fashion content. I was given access to some amazing clothing and was able to attend a really great event. I enjoy working collaboratively with brands. For me, I want to understand the brand’s aims and motivation for working with a YouTube creator. From there, I can ensure that key messaging is included in the content, whilst retaining my own personal views and creative.   What do you think are the keys to successfully partnering with brands?   I think it’s essential to only work with brands that are inline with your own content. If there’s not a natural fit, it won’t feel like authentic content and your audience will know. It’s not about flogging a product, it’s about creating engaging content that works for both the creator and the brand.   If everything works out exactly how you want it to, where do you hope vlogging going to take you?   Ah, this question - it always gets me! I’m fiercely ambitious and want to be successful, but enjoying what I do - and being proud of what I create - is the most important thing to me. Come back to me in January 2016, I’m pretty sure I’ll have a solid answer for you! https://alfinsight.azurewebsites.net/blog/rss/blog/2015/meet-stylehauls-new-gen-of-youtube-stars/ https://alfinsight.azurewebsites.net/blog/rss/blog/2015/meet-stylehauls-new-gen-of-youtube-stars/ Wed, 23 September 2015 11:08:28 Three summer events to warm your prospects https://alfinsight.azurewebsites.net/blog/rss/blog/2015/three-summer-events-to-warm-your-prospects/ THREE SUMMER EVENTS TO WARM YOUR PROSPECTS    The summer months may feel quieter in the office, but rather than letting your leads go cold – take advantage of the long summer evenings and host an event to perk up your new business.   We’ve put together three summer events you could host to warm up your prospects and grow your big accounts:   THE EXCLUSIVE ROUNDTABLE   Roundtables are a great opportunity to show that you are a thought leader in your space and to get networking with your clients. By choosing a hot topic that is front of mind for your clients, you’re sure to have a hit on your hands.    Audience:   Roundtables should be exclusive events, attended by no more than 15 people to keep it intimate. Roundtables themed around specific industries or specialisms make for neat, self-contained events so invite your top prospects within your chosen industry or sector. When you’ve chosen your target market use a database like ALF to identify potential guests by searching & filtering; for an event like this, we suggest location, spend and market category make ideal filters.    Approach:   Breakfast roundtables tend to perform well, a couple of hours first thing in the morning doesn’t eat into the rest of the working day. Keep the location central and convenient and offer up some coffee and croissants to set guests up for the day. If you choose to host an afternoon roundtable, it’s worth putting some budget aside to pay for drinks and dinner afterwards to continue networking into the evening.   The main pull to roundtables is unique and relevant content. Roundtables are a chance to showcase thought leadership and show you have the knowledge to pass on to put your clients “in the know” too. Make sure your topic attracts the big guns by following our recommended content strategy:     Venue   LONDON High budget (e.g. £1000) Milbank Tower , The Shard , Duck & Waffle Mid budget (e.g. £500) Soho Hotel , The Hospital Club , Institute of Directors Low budget (e.g. £250) The Clubhouse London , Hoxton Hotel MANCHESTER High budget (e.g. £800) Club Room at On the 7th , Dunstaff Nage at Hilton Manchester Mid budget (e.g. £350) Whitworth Suite and Museum of Science and Industry , Green Room and Bridgewater Hall Low budget (e.g. £150) Vail Suite at Chill Factore , Players’ Lounge at Emirates The Media Centre BRISTOL High budget (e.g. £250) The Old Council House , The Passenger Shed Mid budget (e.g. £100) Bristol Marriott Royal Hotel Low budget (e.g. £60) Hamilton House EDINBURGH High budget The Balmoral , Parliament House Hotel Mid budget Apex Waterloo Place Hotel , The Scotsman Hotel Low budget Stills , Cosla Conference Centre (NB: Prices are not exact, please contact venue for precise costing)   THE NETWORKING PARTY   The networking party is a great chance to grab some drinks in the sun and makes some connections while you’re at it. Who doesn’t love a Pimms in the British summertime? It can be a more casual affair than a roundtable and an opportunity to get to know your prospects and clients on a more personal level – key to winning new business.   Audience:   Like any good party, it’s important to have a good mix of people there: customers, clients and brand ambassadors can make up a guest list of about 40 to 50 people.   To put the guest list together, select your top customers & search top prospects by market category on ALF. Your criteria doesn’t need to be as tight as other events as long as there’s enough people there with similar interests, so you can make introductions and get conversations flowing.    Approach:   Having members of your own team at the event means that they can talk with guests and set up introductions between those guests who they know have common interests. Set a brief so they know who they should be talking to and make sure you all have business cards to hand. Go for approximately 5-10 staff members for an event of 50 people.    Keep the set up casual so people can mingle. It’s often a good idea to have an open bar or at least a table of drinks so people can help themselves. Providing nibbles or canapés is a good idea for after work drinks to help those who didn’t have a chance to have dinner to avoid drinking on an empty stomach!   We find Wednesdays or Thursdays are the most popular nights for networking events. Take advantage of the long summer days and get your party organised before the dark cold nights start drawing in and your prospects go back into hibernation. Venue   LONDON   High budget (e.g. £1000) Rooftop Terrance at Radio Rooftop Bar , Kensington Roof Gardens , The Boundary in Shoreditch Mid budget (e.g. £350) Mayor Of Scaredy Cat Town Low budget (e.g. £150) Graphic Bar in Soho MANCHESTER   High budget (e.g. £800) Courtyard at Islington Mill Mid budget (e.g. £250) Lark Hill Place at Salford Museum , Bijou Club Low budget (e.g. £100) Black Milk Cereal Dive , Zombie Shack BRISTOL   High budget (e.g. £750) The Square Club , No 4, Clifton Village ,  Mid budget (e.g. £300)  Goldbrick House , Bristol Zoo Low budget (e.g. £150) Brace and Browns EDINBURGH   High budget (e.g. £500) One Square Mid budget (e.g. £250) The Constitution , The Caves,   Low budget (e.g. £125), Royal Botanic Garden , The Washbar   THE HOSPITALITY DAY   Hospitality days are saved for your top prospects and clients. The event needs to be unique and memorable - they are a chance to impress and delight, and if done right, are the perfect opportunity for growing your accounts and winning new business.     Audience:   This is an exclusive 1-on-1 event, so should be kept intimate and saved for the clients with big potential. At the top of your guest list should be your top current customers with money to spend - treating them to a day out shows how much you appreciate their business. Next on the invite list are your top prospects (after you’ve warmed them up of course) and use the event as a chance to get to know them and better understand their needs.   Approach:   Be sure to be well-informed on your prospects company news. Getting up to scratch on their job moves, agency relationships, spend and areas of investment means you’ll be on top of the conversation and primed to impress by understanding their business needs.   You should have one host to every four people attending to ensure they are well looked after.    Venue   High budget (e.g. £700 pp) Wimbledon , Silverstone , Ascot races , and corporate sailing days Mid budget (e.g. £100 pp) Clay pigeon shooting , Red Bull Air Racing Show Low budget (e.g. £70 pp) Wine tasting at Vinopolis , The Big Feastival day ticket (NB: Prices are not exact, please contact venue for precise costing)   No matter what event you throw, research and preparation is key. Use ALF to compose your guest list and keep it relevant. Don’t forget follow up either – if you put in the face time with your clients, you should contact them after the event to put a date in the diary to talk business after all the fun you had at your amazing event. https://alfinsight.azurewebsites.net/blog/rss/blog/2015/three-summer-events-to-warm-your-prospects/ https://alfinsight.azurewebsites.net/blog/rss/blog/2015/three-summer-events-to-warm-your-prospects/ Wed, 22 July 2015 11:17:59 EXCLUSIVE - The debut issue of the BRAD magazine is here https://alfinsight.azurewebsites.net/blog/rss/blog/2015/exclusive-the-debut-issue-of-the-brad-magazine-is-here/ The pace of trends and innovation in media and marketing in 2015 is ridiculous and it’s hectic trying to keep up.   We know there’s an infinite stream of media news you’re ploughing through on Twitter, and those inspiring white papers quickly stack up, and NewFronts videos get bookmarked, and with the best of intentions you maybe never manage to digest it all. Blink, and you’ve probably missed another round of disruption. So we thought why not launch a quarterly media & marketing magazine...in print? We decided to call the magazine BRADas an extension of our much-loved media planning products which have been market leading for over six decades. But it’s crazy to be in print when all the talk is about digital, right?   No, we’re going after those moments you need to have a screen detox. BRAD will cut through the hype, tune out the noise and deliver definitive articles you will want to share, re-read, re-discover and refer back to over and over. The BRAD magazine is destined to become a keeper, a regular feature on your desktops taking advantage of that moment to get some much needed perspective on media, tech and marketing.     We will be getting access to the game changers and disruptors who are re-calibrating the world around us and BRAD will breakdown the DNA of how content is now marketed, created, consumed, distributed, and shared.   In our launch issue, get to know the founders behind TheLADbible, two lads in their early twenties from Manchester who in three years are on the verge of establishing the media empire of the future. In an exclusive interview with the pair, find out how they’ve nailed it and scaled up their audience of 17m on Facebook.   Arm your mobile strategy with our exclusive survey in collaboration with Research Now outlining surprising (not surprising) consumer attitudes towards mobile video advertising.   YouTube sensation Zoella’s management team Gleam Futures give us their tips on the next social stars you should be working with. Get the 101 lowdown on how to effectively partner brands with YouTubers from Rightster, Stylehaul and Channel Mum.   Our ad tech rundown has a compendium of hacks from global industry experts including the head of the IAB, Guy Phillipson, Forensiq’s Erol Soyer on being an ethical trader, and Vivaki’s President, Global Clients, Marco Bertozzi on trading exchanges.   And we’ve only mentioned the words programmatic and mobile and video…oooh about a billion times. Deal with it though, they’re here to stay!   Click here for the magazine>>> https://alfinsight.azurewebsites.net/blog/rss/blog/2015/exclusive-the-debut-issue-of-the-brad-magazine-is-here/ https://alfinsight.azurewebsites.net/blog/rss/blog/2015/exclusive-the-debut-issue-of-the-brad-magazine-is-here/ Thu, 25 June 2015 11:22:57 How marketing buzz phrases can shape your channel distribution https://alfinsight.azurewebsites.net/blog/rss/blog/2015/how-marketing-buzz-phrases-can-shape-your-channel-distribution/ With so many marketing channels at your fingertips, it’s hard to know which ones are best to invest in, especially when there are so many buzzwords and phrases winging their way around the web.   Phrases like “Content is king”, “Year of mobile” and “Digital backlash” may all seem contradicting, but they all have one thing in common: multiple channels. Success lies in being able to create a diverse campaign using different methods.    Content is king   It’s no secret that content is king: half of marketers will be using content as a marketing channel in 2015, as we found in our Marketing Trends, Spend and Forecasts 2015 report.     But it’s no good having majestic content if none of your clients are reading it. Content is now just as much about distribution as it is about quality. And there are so many distribution channels to choose from - social, search, email, native, and offline - so it’s vital to work out the best delivery method for your content.   Year of mobile   Did you know that 2015 is actually the third annual Year of Mobile? We are taking comfort in the fact that Salesforce has named 2015 the year of mobile ‘for real’. If you’re not online, you’re not on the radar.   In our ‘always on’ society, it is more important than ever for web presence to infiltrate mobile and tablet.    In 2015, marketers will be ensuring brand continuity across all online platforms. It’s no longer just about being present online but also pushing complementary messages across different online channels – whether its mobile, social or banner advertising.    Digital Backlash   While content, web and mobile are still vital channels, marketers aren’t entirely turning their back on traditional means of communication. As information available online escalates, attention spans are dwindling.    It’s easier to simply hit delete than sift through your inbox or scroll past a sponsored tweet rather than read and click through the link.    With traditional offline marketing methods like direct mail, recipients are more likely to physically pick up your information, read it and have an actionable response. This is why 34% of marketers are looking at investing in direct mail marketing this year.   The trick, now, is to ensure that you’re building a coherent, consistent and interesting journey online and offline. If the messaging is supported across channels, both online and offline can complement one another.     A particularly strong recent example of this was the Oreo Eclipse campaign , which brought together out of home, print and social strategies to create a real-time, multiple platform advertising campaign.   It’s worth considering which channels best compliment each other and then using these effective, and ALF has the tools to help you do this. Download our Marketing Trends, Spend and Forecasts 2015 report for more information. https://alfinsight.azurewebsites.net/blog/rss/blog/2015/how-marketing-buzz-phrases-can-shape-your-channel-distribution/ https://alfinsight.azurewebsites.net/blog/rss/blog/2015/how-marketing-buzz-phrases-can-shape-your-channel-distribution/ Thu, 16 April 2015 11:36:15 How to deliver the perfect pitch https://alfinsight.azurewebsites.net/blog/rss/blog/2015/how-to-deliver-the-perfect-pitch/ Why is it these days that we are expected to fit into a mould?  Working in sales, you may find yourself filling one of the following roles:   A Hunter An Educator A Consultant A Challenger A Closer This is all very well, as everyone has his or her strengths and these will play to these but if you want to deliver the perfect pitch, you need to coverall bases:   Hunters plan ahead   Hunt for your prospects, and get smart about it with thorough research. Insights into both the individuals and companies you are targeting, including information on job moves, budget increases, changes to company structure and detailed information on company spend, will set you apart and enable you to share information that will make your pitch highly relevant.    Educators explain how they can help   Once you have educated yourself on the person you are selling to, return the favour: explain what you can do for them. But beware: there is a fine line between being informative and lecturing. In order to have a relaxed conversation that doesn’t stink of sales-talk, be ready to stray from the script.   Consultants build relationships   Sometimes it’s about looking at the bigger picture. While the main aim of an initial pitch is for you make a sale, it’s also about building a foundation so you can get to that end point.    Challengers aren’t phased by objections   It would be strange to say the least if a sales pitch went without a single hitch. That’s why it’s best to prepare for objections before you reach them. By knowing what objections you may face, you can prepare clear responses to reply positively and enthusiastically move past them and be on your way to a successful sale.   Closers finish the deal   When you know you’re on to a good thing with your customer, the best thing is to finish the conversation on a high. Establish a verbal contract so you end the conversation with a date in the diary and your customer expecting to hear from you again soon and, ideally, looking forward to it. All these roles have one thing in common: planning ahead. Investing in an online database such as ALF is one useful way to keep your information up-to-date with minimum effort. By gathering and understanding information on your prospects, it’s easier to tailor the perfect pitch for your audience. For more tips and tricks to the perfect pitch, download our guide now. https://alfinsight.azurewebsites.net/blog/rss/blog/2015/how-to-deliver-the-perfect-pitch/ https://alfinsight.azurewebsites.net/blog/rss/blog/2015/how-to-deliver-the-perfect-pitch/ Mon, 06 April 2015 11:39:20 How Oreo shone light on the eclipse https://alfinsight.azurewebsites.net/blog/rss/blog/2015/how-oreo-shone-light-on-the-eclipse/ All eyes were on the sky on 20th March for the total solar eclipse, even if dark clouds meant most people missed out on seeing the celestial event of the decade for themselves.   It was also the marketing opportunity of the decade, especially for any brand with a round logo or product. But it was one round biscuit in particular that really seized the opportunity.   While dingy grey skies meant Londoners couldn’t see the actual solar eclipse, they did see an Oreo eclipse thanks to a digital out of home (OOH) advertising campaign.   Thanks to data from the Royal Astronomical Society and great work from agencies PHD media and Talon, a digital billboard at Piccadilly Circus showed an Oreo moving across a sun between 8.25am and 10.40am in real time as the eclipse happened. There were also boards in Coventry and Edinburgh displaying the Oreo trajectory.   Jonathan Holden, marketing manager for Oreo said: “We want Oreo to be an even more iconic brand in the UK. Playfully putting it at the centre of a moment where the whole country will be looking in the same direction makes this idea the perfect fit with that ambition.”   The dynamic advert was accompanied by the tag line, ‘You won’t have to wait another 11 years for one’ as well as the hashtag #OreoEclipse.     This was a great example of how different marketing methods can compliment each other. The spectacle of the digital billboards got people tweeting, while in turn, the hashtag was promoted, which got allowed people who didn’t get to see the billboards to still see the effect of the OOH campaign.   Richard Simkins, Innovations Director at Talon said, “We often talk about how data can improve the targeting of OOH campaigns. With #OreoEclipse we used astronomical data to build a wonderfully simple campaign only matched by the wonder of the solar eclipse itself.     “We have created a domination opportunity on multiple Digital Out of Home screens for the duration of the entire eclipse. This has created a unique opportunity for Oreo to entertain people with a wonderfully creative ad, delivered in real-time, that was literally out of this world.”   But Oreo didn’t stop there. A truly great campaign should be seen by as many people as possible. What about those who aren’t on Twitter?    Oreo had print covered too. FBC Inferno and Drum, Oreo’s marketers, had the genius idea to literally block out The Sun - the newspaper that is.   For the first time in the publication’s history, The Sun was issued with a translucent overlay cover, which blacked out the front page and back cover of the paper behind it with an Oreo eclipsing the sun taking pride of place in the centre of the page. And to bring the campaign full-circle, #OreoEclipse was printed along the bottom of the front page.     This just goes to show what some creative thinking and planning across multiple channels can do for a brand’s visibility. And more importantly, great teamwork between multiple agencies shows how reaching out to the right prospects can help to form a great strategy.   Contact us at ALF to find out how we could help you reach out to specialist agencies to deliver the ultimate multi-channel campaign. https://alfinsight.azurewebsites.net/blog/rss/blog/2015/how-oreo-shone-light-on-the-eclipse/ https://alfinsight.azurewebsites.net/blog/rss/blog/2015/how-oreo-shone-light-on-the-eclipse/ Tue, 24 March 2015 11:41:08