Why Argos & eBay's distribution methods can work together in harmony

I have to say, as someone who is more-interested-than-most in the digital marketing space, eBay is one of the only brands I really pay attention to when it comes to their email marketing campaigns. They are often well-targeted, relevant and provide decent value. Hence I was pleasantly surprised to see this email in my inbox recently:

There was an existing partnership between Argos and eBay with many Argos product sold through eBay regularly. However, this extension of the way the channels work together is a great strategic move from both parties.

A few years ago, upon the spark of the digital age, which saw the likes of Woolworths, HMV and Habitat struggle- I was worried that Argos would simply be destined for the same fate. It was surely going to be out-priced, out-producted and out-branded by the likes of Amazon? However, by thinking and accepting that their existing distribution model wasn't going to be sustainable long-term, Argos have adapted their strategy which blurs the lines between the online world and bricks and mortar retailers.

I think the key to success in what Argos is doing is the fact they are so accessible, convenient and efficient. Their Click and Collect service was pioneering, their digital channels are fantastically-integrated with their retail channels and they partner with the best brands- often I don't even have to check if Argos stock something I just presume they will and I'm not often wrong. They also have great, local stores, you don't have to go in to a big town or city to find exactly what you are looking for.

However, this isn't just beneficial to Argos in terms of defining their brand as a digital, well-distributed service. eBay gain something they've never had before- a physical presence in the UK market. So many brands (especially those who are solely online) are realising the importance of an omni-channel experience and that 'human interaction' with the brand. By collaborating with Argos, eBay have a tangible setting in the form of hundreds of stores. 

eCommerce sold us the idea the home delivery is the way forward, however consumers are starting to realise that it is not as convenient as originally thought. Fear of leaving your house whilst waiting for a parcel or having to cart it home on the tube after having it delivered to work or worse, queuing in the post office depot on a Saturday morning- all build the case as to why click and collect has become a phenomenon! Amazon locker was a solution that had won over many consumers and now eBay is matching that with their own offering.... featuring humans!

Not only is this a great strategic move for the two brands, but this will ultimately provide a fantastic experience for the customer. They are able to drop whatever they've sold on eBay at a local Argos store (open late evenings and weekends), pay a rate for P&P which by far rivals the Post Office and provide a tracked and signed for parcel to the customer! 

In terms of change management, the organisational impact is minimal, the infrastructures for delivery and storage are already in place as Argos have been delivering their own products for years and as mentioned above, have the processes down to a T.

I look forward to hearing more about this exciting partnership!

Bargain Booze's reaction to the overwhelming surge of discount supermarkets

I'm not sure if I've ever noticed any adverts for Bargain Booze before, certainly none that have made me chuckle as I left the M4 and drove past one of their outdoor adverts on the side of a phone box. However, I thought these adverts were absolutely great and really made me like the brand, especially as the brand had been so far back in my recall.

Aldi's comparison adverts were widely successful and showed their own brands against competitors for a hugely discounted price. However, Bargain Booze does exactly the opposite! They have ALDI's unheard-of alcohol brands against hugely well-known brands Calsberg and Smirnoff quoting the exact same prices! It's almost like 'Brands Fight Back'! 

I love the ballsy headline 'Aldi Shmaldi', it's so captivating and certainly caught my attention! I only since noticed the Who? and I think it's a great joke and no doubt Carling and Smirnoff are benefiting from these adverts too!

Bargain Booze have insisted they are not trying to knock ALDI nor imitate what they do- after all ALDI are brand less yet as you can see Bargain Booze's slogan 'For People Who Like Bargains and Brands' which suggests they are putting the public's faith back in to branded products and conveying their quality! Which is what all we marketers like to hear!

Bargain Booze have begun a print and outdoor campaign with the social media campaign launching in the next few weeks and I wish the best of luck to them as it's a great idea- one from a totally unexpected brand too! Good luck taking on the Germans!!

Steph

Brands who did it BADLY

I'm often talking about brands who use their social media channels and advertising well, but 'they' say "by seeking and blundering we learn.” and in the marketing world, we can also learn from others mistakes... 

and I guess they are more interesting to read to!

So here we go.... Marketing Flops!

1.

Firstly, a US brand, SpaghettiOs posted this tweet in commemoration of the anniversary of Pearl Harbour:

This was followed by many angry tweets;

This tweet will live in infamy / @SpaghettiOs Take a moment to remember #PearlHarbor with us. http://t.co/C9dTJSDGF5
— David Clinch (@DavidClinchNews) December 7, 2013

Uh, brand. You're doing it wrong RT @SpaghettiOs: Take a moment to remember #PearlHarbor with us. http://t.co/bsfQPgNKkJ
— Shawn Reynolds (@WCL_Shawn) December 7, 2013

The tweet was deleted and replaced with an apology.

 Well followed up considering the consumer response. However- what can we learn from SpaghettiOs mistake?

Never make it about yourself- a quote from Mack Collier "You don't ask others to remember a military tragedy by putting the focus on your brand mascot. NEVER make it about you."

The fact is- in order to bring brand value, make the tweets personal  and empathise  with people, make your tweets seem human!!

2.

In the US, the supermarket Kmart tweeted to reveal they would be open on this Thanksgiving and would stay open on Black Friday. Customers complained about the ethics of the decision by the masses: 

What can we learn from Kmart's mistake?

a) Marketing isn't just about the communications you portray and publish i.e. advertising, direct marketing etc. it is also about Corporate Social Responsibility and how you treat your staff is a big part of this- as is fair competition. By opening on Thanksgiving- Kmart were demonstrating their lack of ethical standards for both, this was clearly pointed out by their customers. By publicising this fact, Kmart allowed themselves to be exposed to a storm of dismay.
b) Don't post the same response to every tweet!!! Re my above comment on SpaghettiOs make your tweets personal! If customers have an issue or complaint they want to feel valued and understood, not dumped in the pile with everyone else and given a phony excuse!

3.

So far we have seen American brands failing on social media, but here's a British brand who make it in to the ranks! This one comes from Facebook on Luton Airport's page:

The message behind it could have been enforced in so many better ways! The pictured they posted was from a plane crash in 2005 in which there were fatalities which included a 6-year-old boy.

Way to show your insensitive side?? I don't think this example needs much explanation as 'what not to do'...

4.

This little gem from Red Robin....



As a vegetarian I can't say I am highly offended by this advert, however I can imagine how, especially in the US Culture, some people would be. The fact that Red Robin suggests that "vegetarians are just going through a phase" is poking fun at peoples' beliefs and I believe as a brand anything which ANYONE could find offensive should be avoided!

What can we learn from Red Robin's mistakes?
a) Understand the culture of your target audience and make sure you respect, inhabit and encompass it into your consistent branding themes. Make their culture, your culture....
b) I feel like Red Robin could have completely turned this around with a good recovery strategy and clever PR. When you make a muck-up- recover, recover, recover. They could have offered vegetarians a free burger, introduced new vegetarian options or even created a new ad campaign to turn this one on it's head! However, the disaster recovery wasn't effective and the video and it's angry responses went viral....

Check out these video responses on YouTube:

5.

Just read this article on Food Beast: 14 Ways To Ruin Your Restaurant Business and Lose Friends

Uh oh..... major fail! Be careful about your own publicity!! Pretty sure thats the No1 Rule of Marketing....



Let me know if you enjoyed this post! I may do more like it!!
All opinions are my own!

Stephanie

Miley's negative publicity

Andrew Loog Oldham said, "there is no such thing as bad publicity" when he was manager of the Rolling Stones in the 60's. He positioned and promoted a "bad boy" image for The Rolling Stones which opposed the clean cut band from Liverpool; The Beatles. His positioning and brand image generated world wide printed headlines such as, "Would you let your daughter marry a Rolling Stone?" The brand has clearly stood the test of time- which poses the question, is bad publicity one of the most clever tactics a marketer can use?

If you haven't seen/heard/received some form of buzz around Miley Cyrus' antics this week- then where have you been? Literally EVERYONE has been talking about her music video/VMA performance. If not then you can read all the drama HERE....

Jonah Berger posted a very interesting Linkedin post on why this may be Miley Cyrus' best career move yet and I totally agree. You may or may not have read my post on Sankeys Manchester and their rejection of Justin Bieber which lead to an uproar in the press....(if not go ahead and read ;-)) well this carries the same theory.

If Miley had just relaunched herself as an 'adult star' with the same attitudes and personality she carried in her Hannah Montana days- then I guarantee there wouldn't be the hype that there is regarding her music, the video wouldn't have had over 175 million views and I wouldn't be writing this blog post!

What I'm getting at- is that whilst people may be saying she's gone mad or she's ruined her career, the fact is- the vast majority of them will watch her music videos, download her tracks and watch her TV appearances.

 “There is only one thing in life that is worse than being talked about, and that is not being talked about.”

Oscar Wilde

Vine

 If you haven't heard of/used/had a look at Vine then you need to get on it! It's a new social media site which I think is going to take off very fast! I would say the site is a cross between twitter, instagram and youtube and it allows users to post a six-second video clip and share with other users.

Many celebs, dance groups and wanna-be singers have taken to Vine to provide entertaining and informative content. I did have a go myself but I don't think I'm funny enough!

So clearly with the huge level of entertaining content on social media platforms at the moment- organisations are finding different ways to slide their marketing content in amongst the others.

As vine only provides content creators with a six-second limit, it separates the best, most creative and unique marketing teams from the weak. Companies have to get their thinking caps on in order for their content to be liked, revined and shared.

A suprising company that I saw on the list was Natwest bank....
They used the application to answer customer's frequently asked questions on twitter- a creative way to engage with customers! This meant that customers could find the answers without having to go on the natwest website or google the questions for themselves!

Will definitely make natwest stand out and the vines can be reshared on facebook and twitter for a higher coverage!

 Another interesting vine from Puma which captures attention...


 Bacardi UK showing how brands can be creative with the Vine app.


And finally doritos showing how vine can be used to engage consumers and INVOLVE them in campaigns.

Vine is a fabulous tool used by marketers and I hope you agree!


Steph

Dispatches: social media fooling and celebrity endorsements

Hello,

So last night i watched dispatches on channel 4 which often highlights unlawful/unethical treatment whether that be of consumers, staff, general public or animals. The programme is always worth a watch but last night was particularly interesting, especially if you have an interest in marketing/advertising or celebrities. The show was titled 'celebs, brands and fake fans' and explained how companies can sometimes hype their own products by paying for Facebook likes, twitter followers or YouTube hits. This false popularity can often lead consumers to purchase products they believe are popular when as a matter of fact this following has been created by an IT hacker in Bangladesh.

The programme also had a focus on celebrity endorsements on twitter and that celebs have been promoting products without revealing to fans they have been paid to do so and breaking the asa code. The sad reality is that whilst these marketing agencies or departments have been putting all the best efforts to create a buzz around their products has actually back fired with the revelations on the show. The only way to create a natural, genuine hype or buzz about a product is to sell a product which is of good quality, provide a good service or to create something interesting and then word of mouth will be your best friend! Companies should have learnt by now that consumers DON'T LIKE BEING LIED TO!!

However I do believe that giving products to celebrities free gifts and asking them to review or recommend them is an excellent form of marketing and isn't unethical if the celebs actually give their own opinion of their own free will.

A lot of companies have started to use this method not only with celebrities but with bloggers- a lot of which I read. Recently I was reading a fashion blog which recommended the website sheinside.com and featured some clothing items off there which the blogger loved..... Paid? I don't know...

So I decided to go ahead and buy the top as it did look lovely on the blog. My top arrived about a month later.... And it was faulty! When I tried to contact the website I realised they are based in china and provide terrible customer service and most of the responses to my numerous emails have been worded in terrible English! Not good and now I am let with faulty clothes and no refund! 

My point is, bloggers and other endorsers may recommend products even when they aren't great! Do t trust everything you read.

And you will be happy to know everything in my blog is my own opinion!!

Steph

Changing Perceptions

Coming home to Lancashire this weekend for Easter has opened my eyes to how certain perceptions of a brand/organisation can stick in a consumer's mind and can often be unchanged.

Firstly, I grew up in Preston and started going out there when I was 16/17 and used to love it, however after I started visiting friends in Manchester/ Birmingham/ Liverpool/ Lancaster/ Wigan etc. I started to hate Preston nightlife and especially when I moved away to Bristol I never considered going out in Preston as I was put off by the previous experiences I'd had in Preston due to associating the nightlife with the places I used to go and the experiences I had when I was 16 and 17. I always thought they were a bit chavvy, cheap and not very sophisticated however this was only because they had been back then.

However, over the Easter weekend I decided to try Preston again and some new bars I hadn't been to before and was so pleasantly surprised! I had a really good night and actually felt as though I was in Manchester not the Preston I knew!

I also popped in to my nail salon where I have been going for years now, and whilst I was speaking to the beauty therapist, who happens to be the new manageress, she was telling me about the problems they had been having with staff letting them down and how this had negatively affected some of their most loyal customers and how certain customers had been put off coming due to the fear of their appointments not being secure or receiving bad service. She was explaining to me that she had to drop the prices of certain services to try and regain the reputation the salon had before the problems had occured due to a member of staff who had been layed off due to the consequences of her actions.

This made me think of how difficult it can be to grow back a good reputation or change a consumer's perception from negative to positive. These examples may sound specific to me, but it can happen so many times when consumer's purchase products and services. Once a product has been taken out of a consumer's evoked set i.e. the products they are willing to buy, they are very unlikely to ever purchase that product again.

Once a customer has made up their mind about a brand- it is almostn  impossible to change it. Despite the fact a company's product may meet the consumer's needs and wants perfectly, if they are unwilling to consider purchasing it or associate the brand with negative feelings due to a bad experience with it- the product's benefits will never reach them.

People cannot form new perceptions of a brand WITHOUT A NEW EXPERIENCE

This means that it is up to the brands & marketers to provide these new experiences...

Despite the fact I have had a number of negative experiences eating at harvester, from food & service quality- when I complain they always make an effort to put it right by offering money off or free dessert, which provides me (the customer) with a positive experience as I leave Harvester happy.

This not only relates back to my customer service blog about retaining customers, but also the fact is- without turning negative experiences into positive ones, companies will lose customers and therefore business.  

Successful rebranding is hard to achieve & the fact is- some brand owners only realise the negative brand perceptions far too late- once the brand relevance and customers have already left.....