Gamechangers and Rockstar games' resentment towards the BBC

The BBC docu-drama 'Gamechangers' has been receiving countless negative reviews and has created substantial PR around the Rockstar Games brand and the infamous video game 'Grand Theft Auto'. The film is "based on true events" surrounding the story of Devin Moore who killed three police officers, who some believe was due to him continually playing the violent video game.

It's well-worth a watch despite the reviews, I was intrigued to learn about the brand and the story as a whole, especially as it is partly-factual. Grand Theft Auto (GTA) is the best-selling entertainment product ever made and has caused controversy in the past for its violent and graphic nature. The creators- Rockstar Games are a British company who have received multiple awards for their gaming creativity and continue to sell millions of copies upon every release- despite the heightened press coverage surrounding the violent nature of the games. Their is a huge debate within the media as to whether violent video games lead their players to conduct violent acts and this is a key topic explored in the docu-drama.

Rockstar Games filed a lawsuit against the BBC as they felt the film did not show the brand nor the events that took place in a true light. Of course, Rockstar games would be against a film which a) painted them in a negative light and b) a piece of PR which they had no sort of say or control over.

The company reacted strongly to the film once it had ended, publishing this tweet:

@BBC Was Basil Brush busy? What exactly is this random, made up bollocks?

— Rockstar Games (@RockstarGames) September 15, 2015

At first, you would have thought this might be a potential PR crisis for the brand, but in fact, judging by twitter, TV reviews, blog posts and news articles- consumers seem to be siding with Rockstar Games over the BBC:

The gaming industry as a whole is very protective over its makers and they gain a lot of respect by their fans. GTA is also one of Britain's most successful exports and therefore people are very protective over it, especially those who enjoy playing it. Ultimately, if anything, this has painted the BBC in a negative light.

It is interesting to see how something which may be a potential crisis for a brand, can actually leave their customers feeling closer and more positively towards it. Docu-dramas/ documentaries about brands and companies do not usually provide this result- as is the case with Blackfish, the documentary on Sea World which has lead to their profits downfalling ever since. Consumers' morals are so important within marketing and can often erase any sort of positive associations one has with a brand, Sea World was once so loved and had really strong, positive brand associations surrounding family, love, protection and care for animals and what Blackfish has done is detrimental to all of the above. 

However, GTA lovers seem to disagree with what has been presented to them in terms of a moral argument. Perhaps their needs to be further evidence or, sadly, another disaster which can be linked to playing the games, until consumers will react negatively towards them. 

Protein World's Controversy and Positive Body Image Advertising

'Sex sells' and objectified women is nothing new in advertising- and as a young marketer and a self-proclaimed feminist I am constantly viewing how gender stereotypes affect advertising and the way brands place a certain expectation on how people should behave based on their gender. However I have to say this type of advert doesn't just affect women, I've seen numerous protein shake-type companies flogging their products based on false-idealisms of the perfect man i.e. big muscles, abs etc. and it is really something I feel passionate about that marketers should look at ethically.

Protein World's London Underground adverts have been causing controversy and topical debate across the internet this month. If you haven't seen them here's their 'Beach Body' advert:

There was a huge backlash from angry tweeters and the ads were vandalised:

We love London. Fuck patriarchy. pic.twitter.com/bDeET7pzdO
— The Vagenda Team (@VagendaMagazine) April 22, 2015

A petition was started to remove the ads and the ASA received hundreds of complaints. All in all though, the backlash has caused an awesome body positivity message spreaded on the back of putting the Protein World brand in a bad light...

I am SO for the #eachbodysready hashtag!!! <3 http://t.co/RcL72FzAt7 pic.twitter.com/U2HLRjR2zm
— Tara Costello (@Catstello) April 23, 2015

Making people feel bad about their own bodies is not the way to sell products, despite the fact it may have done so 40 years ago, brands have moved on to empowering women, making them feel good about themselves and being accepting. I feel as though the Protein World is so archaic, not adapted to 21st century advertising nor does it consider the affect it may have on the public and the message they are portraying. The media has been shamed for putting unrealistic expectations in the minds of women and men with regard to body image and perceptions, so why hasn't Protein World learnt from other's mistakes? 

If you know me or my tastes in advertising you'll know I often speak about how much I love Dove as an advertiser- their positive body image portraying both women and men gives them such a great brand image and ultimately sell great products! I was so happy to see this piece of newsjacking advertising from Dove:

Nice topical ad RT: @DoveUK Yes, @ProteinWorld. We are #BeachBodyReady. #CampaignForRealBeauty pic.twitter.com/PcXczqnP9v
— Matt Weatherall (@MTWTHRL) April 16, 2015

Hijacking the negative PR which Protein World were receiving was an amazing opportunity for Dove to reinforce their brand values and show themselves completely opposing Protein World's messages. It also helped align Dove with campaigners on social media and showed the brand's support for what they were trying to achieve.

You'd think after receiving such heavy negative publicity and tweets like these:

No I am fucking well not and I don't think milk powder will help. Poisonous advert from @ProteinWorld pic.twitter.com/WRBIZOU8Su
— Alex Martin (@AlexFGMartin) April 15, 2015

'Protein World' posting massive adverts about being 'beach body ready' whilst promoting skipping meals. Wow.
— Rach Warrenger (@RachWarrenger) April 12, 2015

@ProteinWorld I think your tube advert is really irresponsible. You can see the girls ribs!! Is that what is meant by beach body ready?!!!
— Jo Marshall (@jomarshall2) April 15, 2015

This advert pretty much sums up everything that I despise about how we treat and value women's bodies. pic.twitter.com/PBZNyn8qop
— Hannah Atkinson (@hatkinson_) April 12, 2015

To be #beachbodyready you have to be slim? F*CK OFF! I dont care about your size, you wana wear a bikini then do it pic.twitter.com/vieVVQIKhv
— Tony Mitsinga (@TonyMitsinga) April 16, 2015

You'd think the first thing they'd do would be to employ a fantastic PR firm and do some serious crisis management right?

Wrong. 

They handled their social media reaction terribly.

Protein World deleted negative comments from their Facebook page, send horrible automated responses like these:

@ceciliadom Don't worry! Lose 2-4lbs per week- http://t.co/NKkl81UOsZ
— Protein World (@ProteinWorld) April 16, 2015

@rabbitinahat It's not too late to get your beach body! Lose 2-4lbs per week with our Weight Loss Collection :-)
— Protein World (@ProteinWorld) April 16, 2015

When they finally decided to respond to criticisms, their responses were rude, inappropriate and all in all made the situation much worse!

This one is significantly disgusting and displays a need to have clear brand guidelines and values to stick by in ALL forms of communication.

Jesus @ProteinWorld, do you want that hole to be any deeper? (via @willpscott) pic.twitter.com/hvzYQ9s7gl
— Laurence Hebberd (@LaurenceHebberd) April 24, 2015

This tweet was made by the company CEO who then started blocking all negative tweeters.

@daniellenewnham @JulietteBurton @ProteinWorld it sounds like Juliette had a lot of issues well before she saw the PW ad
— Arjun Seth (@arjun_seth) April 24, 2015

Both @ProteinWorld and their CEO @arjun_seth have blocked me. Bravo! pic.twitter.com/MvWrk4Majx
— Jack Ashman (@Jack_Ashman) April 18, 2015

Fighting fire with fire is never a good idea- and actually makes the company look guilty- despite no signs of any admittance of such, nor an apology. The brand were retweeting any tweets which shunned campaigners...then the CEO posted this tweet:

And I can't even comment on how greedy, selfish, ignorant and lack of customer focus this brand/ spokesperson is displaying.

And that ladies and gentleman is how not to run an advertising campaign.

However, with the continual push from brands and the media to gain their perception of the 'perfect body', it's unfortunate that people will still buy these crappy products!

Let me know your thoughts over on my twitter account @stefclarkx I would absolutely love to hear your opinions!

Stephy 

Penguin books #YourMum twitter backlash!

We all love a good Twitter highjacking story! However, this time the brand highjacked is a little surprising... Penguin Books- the publishing company we all remember from childhood, attempted to get #YourMum trending on twitter based on books their mum would like to receive for Mothers' Day.

In principal, it's a pretty simple campaign with not much potential and is almost a bit dull and samey...however, the campaign took an interesting twist...

We all remember Your Mama jokes from the playground... and it seemed the Twitter community found it hilarious to relive their youth and tweet Penguin with endless jokes, totally hijacking Penguin's lovely intentions with crude jokes.

 

So @PenguinUKBooks is using the hashtag #YourMum for their Mother's Day campaign. It's almost too easy. Much like #YourMum
— Dan Northcote-Smith (@D_NS) March 10, 2015

And then more brands jumped on the bandwagon!

Give #YourMum a break. Get the #pizza in tonight. pic.twitter.com/y0crdfeAwX
— Domino's Pizza UK (@Dominos_UK) March 9, 2015

@PenguinUKBooks You're braver than we are, Penguin.
— Waterstones (@Waterstones) March 9, 2015

 However, despite the totally highjacking of the campaign- I actually believe Penguin did a great job and spread much faster than had the campaign not gone viral- even if the reason behind doing so wasn't their original intention. Everyone was talking about Penguin and it got the Twitter community talking about literature- a great result for Penguin in my opinion!

 

As much as I loved @PenguinUKBooks #YourMum, I think I would have gone with #WordToYourMother...
— Daisy Buchanan (@NotRollergirl) March 10, 2015

 Penguin handled their response to the highjacking excellently, remaining calm, professional and taking it lightheartedly, which actually made some question whether that was their intention all along! I don't believe Penguin could have predicted that reaction, nor could anyone else. However, it is a lesson to brands in the future who need to be extremely careful when selecting hashtags and content which has the potential to go viral for the wrong reasons.

 

I think overall the campaign was great PR for the brand and has shown their personality slightly more than I have ever seen!

 

Steph



Why creating DEMAND from consumers is the best marketing tool!

I don't know about you but everywhere I've driven, every TV show I've watched and every social media channel I've browsed in the last couple of weeks, I can't help but noticed McDonald's new marketing campaign, whether it be in outdoor advertising, TV and radio ads or paid posts across Facebook and Twitter;

Post by McDonald's.

@krpickersgill @McDonalds trouble is when you get one it will look nothing like that, more like it's just been stood on or run over!!
— Keith J Last (@kentishmale) December 15, 2014

Yes, the McRib is back! Now, I can't say I'm a regular McDonalds visitor myself, but judging the hype on social media, this was a clearly loved product. The McRib product is often introduced for limited periods of time and then taken off the menu. Clearly the marketing spend around bringing the McRib back has been huge as I have seen it just about everywhere! By creating these touchpoints, consumers can build their excitement and remember the product everywhere they go.

Now, one may argue why do McDonalds created this 'limited-time-only' product? If it's so popular- why don't they just keep it on the menu year-round? 

Well, from what I can tell, when it was on the menu permanently, the sales were low... yet not low enough to keep it off forever... so here are the reasons I believe that the intermittent reintroduction of McRib is a great marketing strategy;

1. It creates a sense of urgency in the consumer: It's available for a limited time only! The consumer must stock up if they want to make the most of the product whilst it's still around. The great thing about food is that it's perishable... so customers can go back to McDonalds as many times as possible in the time period in order to repurchase.
2. Nostalgia: Customers may remember the product from the past and want to relive perceived 'happier times'... this also applies to brands who have executed this brilliantly e.g. Cadbury's Wispa
3. Retains customers who may not be regular customers: Customers who might not regularly make trips to McDonalds may do so purely to purchase the McGrill- this therefore brings in extra custom and the potential to retain them further/ up or cross-sell.
4. Creates a great talking point: We all know social mentions and shares are fundamental to establishing an online presence, therefore something which consumers feel their peers may talk about/ something which they perceive to be 'safe' to discuss like McDonalds food.... is likely to be highly discussed. This also applies to the offline world.
5. Something new, but not a risk: New products can hit it off with consumers, but their sales are usually low to begin with due to consumers fearing trying something new. However, the fact that McDonalds have brought this back because it was so well loved in the past, which is a message highly reiterated in their marketing communications activity for McGrill, consumers are much more likely to buy it. When your peers like something- you are likely to want to like it too!
6. Customers feel like they have achieved something: By creating a 'hype' or an upstorm about bringing the product back, customers feel like they have caused this and therefore they feel a better connection with the brand as they feel as though their needs are being listened to. Effectively, this is the case, but it also brings more awareness and talk around the brand itself

This is the kind of genius marketing I get excited about!! So simple yet so effective!

Stephanie

Genius Revolution in Advertising from British Airways

Check out one of the most innovative adverts I have seen from British Airways:

As part of the #LookUp campaign, BA set up a billboard in Piccadilly Circus which tracked flights and named them as they were passing. What an amazing attraction which is not only interactive, fun and interesting but allows consumers to engage with the brand on a real-time basis.

It ignites the imagination and child-like curiosity in people and for those who imagine where the plane they see up in the sky, they can find out instantly! It is inspiring and an absolutely phenomenal piece of innovation within advertising. 

I believe the campaign could also be extended through various platforms such as a smartphone app and to give British Airways phenomenal coverage and brand experience!

The ad was created by Ogilvy!

Mysterious Ape

You may, or may not have seen Southern Electric's new advertising campaign. If not here's a few of their outdoor advertisements:

Consumers are hitting social media to express their confusion and humour at the ads. Some people even thought the adverts were a mistake! You can read some of the tweets here: http://www.buzzfeed.com/patricksmith/everyone-is-confused-by-the-sad-looking-ape-in-these-energy

As SSE responded to questions of the relevance of the ad to their organisation/ consumers taking the piss out of an ape at a music concert/ country side/ over wind turbines, they said the outdoor ads were to continue the story of their TV ad about "looking at energy through fresh eyes"

Here's the ad:

To be fair, I actually like the ad and come to think of it I think I have seen it on TV before, however I think SSE/ adam&eveDDB need to learn from the following mistakes made in this campaign:
1) Consumers don't always have a high recall rate Even if people have seen the ad, it may not be in the forefront of their mind and the character doesn't automatically spring to mind and therefore the link between the TV and outdoor advertising cannot always be made. 2) You cannot 'create' a character's novelty or likeability It is only through consumer word-of-mouth and other earned media sources that characters are known, loved and remembered.... take compare the meerkat, it was the brand who created the character, but the consumers who developed his legacy 3) Don't just PRESUME that the consumer will have seen the TV ad Not only is it slightly arrogant to think that your marketing methods are going to have that kind of reach, but if your whole campaign is resting up on it then you're bound to fall at the first hurdle. 4) Don't create an ad that appears completely out of context on it's own I'm all for integrated marketing communications and with better planning and a more intelligent outdoor advertising message, the whole campaign could have been a success. Yet, the current outdoor ads are as described on twitter "a bit crap", it's almost as though their entire budget went on the TV ad, so they got the work experience boy to create the outdoor ads
All in all, at least SSE got huge PR out of this! And their ads have gone viral..... maybe not for the reasons they had hoped......

Steph

Cancer Research: No make up selfies are genius for non-profit marketing!

How could I, as a marketing blogger, not mention the massive trend this week- No make-up selfies to raise awareness for breast cancer!?!

As I am sure you are all aware- through facebook and twitter, EVERYONE seems to be taking make-up free photos of themselves and uploading them. Cancer Research have suggested that since the trend started they have received a huge increase in the levels of donations to the charity that they have been receiving, enough to even crash their donation systems!

However, CRUK have also said that they have no idea where the idea came from yet clearly they support it!

I know on my Facebook there was a lot of controversy, especially from those saying it is a pointless trend, that taking photos of your face make-up free isn't going to cure cancer and other like-minded comments. These negative comments and retaliations from those arguing the other side of the case have actually given the cause an even stronger presence online!

This is just another fantastic example of how social-media can be used to drive awareness and in the non-profit marketing world, donations...

However, the thing that is unique about this example of social media marketing is that it wasn't driven by the brand it was driven by the consumer! I feel as though a marketing trend could be emerging which brands need to think very carefully about how then can use to the best of their ability!

Cancer Research were very lucky to be at the center of this- lets hope we see more consumer-driven marketing examples in the future!

Steph 

Brands who got it RIGHT: Oreo

A brand who have always done their social media marketing exceptionally well is Oreo! They have been referred to a "social media innovators" and have received exceptional recognition for the social media marketing they have demonstrated.

This post is on why I think they are social media masters:

I mentioned them in the newsjacking post previously, but there are hundreds of more examples of excellent use of social media by Oreo.

Check out these vines that they produced:





The thing that makes these so entertaining is the creativity and the success that Oreo create is SHAREABLE.

There is no point creating a loyal fan base or even posting social media content which has no shareability value- make content which people want to tweet or revine or tell their friends about!

Oreo connect with their audience, they have a strong following amongst their social media platforms and they engage with their target audience CONSTANTLY.

What some brands tend to do is run social media campaigns which publish heavy content and responses around a particular product release or around a particular time of year and then remain fairly quiet until the next one. However, Oreo continually updates with relevant, current and consistent content.

They respond to news stories, important dates, trends and peaks- this means users react in real time and are willing to interact with the Oreo brand. Look above at the phone case tweet- Oreo uses wit and humour to engage their audience and inspire others to share more!

Reasons why Oreo wins best use of social media marketing:
HUMOUR, CREATIVITY, CONSISTENCY, SHAREABILITY

an inspiration and a case study for all brands to learn from- Congrats Oreo!!

Thoughts and opinions all my own.
Stephanie Clark

Tesco doing it right!!

I have wrote about the importance of a social media presence a thousand times and seriously if your organisation doesn't know that by now, how are you actually still in operation?! Here is one of my Favourites Tesco Mobile who have a fantastic twitter account:

Tesco Mobile

This buzzfeed post summarises it quite nicel, but here are some of my personal faves!!

 When you're competing with the big dogs, i.e. Orange, Vodafone and O2, I can imagine advertising budget is limited, as is a loyal set of brand advocates- however Tesco Mobile's wit, enthusiasm and understanding of their target audience's 'banter' trend, is enough to CLEARLY get tesco mobile noticed in the social media world and is fingers crossed enough to allow them to relaunch their brand image into a lighthearted, fun and laidback brand, which may differ from that of tesco as a parent company.

Views are my own,


Stephanie

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

Sponsored Tweets and ANOTHER bad example of PR

Saw a very interesting article on the Daily Mail website today which you can read here...
The article tells of an angry British Airways customer who has paid for a sponsored tweet in order to express his frustration of losing a bag on the airline:

The tweet below followed which details the impressions and coverage the original sponsored tweet received:

Final Stats pic.twitter.com/adNW4JMTAL
—  (@HVSVN) September 3, 2013

 Clearly his anger at the airline and his desire to gain some notice, sympathy and for the airline to resolve the issue must have been strong for him to pay $1000 for a sponsored tweet, yet the press coverage and extending twitter discussions lead to more than notice from BA.

As a big virgin fan which you may have noticed from previous posts- this thrills me as British Airways dirty tactics have been evident in the past. But reiterating what I have said a million times bad PR can be avoided with the RIGHT RESPONSE to customer complaints (evident in the bodyform blog post).

British Airways took 24 hours to reply to the tweet- and told @HVSVN to contact them through private messaging. Have they not learnt from Tesco's mistake? Instant responses can avert disaster! Clearly the situation did get out of hand and has erupted to world wide media....

With simple planning in place alongside a dedicated customer service social media team who operate constantly- this could have been avoided. Clearly- with the negative publicity of an organisation, the competition steps in, see this tweet from the CMO of Marketing at JetBlue:

Interesting; a disgruntled customer is buying a promoted tweet slamming a brand where they had a bad experience. That's a new trend itself!
— Marty St. George (@martysg) September 3, 2013

 @HVSVN has clearly caused a world of marketing and social media experts to question their own PR strategy and rethink the use of sponsored tweets!

On the other hand-  a fantastic use of PR from my old favourite Virgin Atlantic- when a similar complaint from an airline customer arised in the form of a letter complaining about the food on board which you can read here, Richard Branson the CEO of Virgin actually rang the customer and offered for the customer to come and help design the new menu onboard!

Take note British Airways!!

Clearly the press/customers are going to make a comparison and in the tough world it is as much about how you deal with the aftermath of bad customer service as much as delivering good customer service in the first place.

Steph

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

Public Relations disaster and success

So the big news this week was the Tesco story that horsemeat has been found in their burgers! I'm a vegetarian so this doesn't really affect me THANK GOD but I was really interested to see how Tesco's public relations department handled the crisis. Frankly, it's good news for sainsbury's, asda and morrisons who are now making claims such as 100% British beef and can use their farming as an advantage over the market dominator. Tesco deserves such revelation after cutting corners in order to stay on top.

I noticed how the Tesco twitter and facebook pages hadn't released a statement even 24 hours after the news had been released even though Tesco had been trending on twitter for hours. Eventually they did release a statement which I felt was to a certain degree reassuring however I feel the twitter page could have been used to better effect whilst the scandal was occurring, there was no posts even declaring that a statement was going to be released later on and I think that whilst Tesco's shoppers where questioning their loyalty to the company, Tesco could have been a reassuring force whilst monitoring their social media.

However last night Tesco posted this tweet:
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p>It's sleepy time so we're off to hit the hay! See you at 8am for more <a href="https://twitter.com/search/%23TescoTweets">#TescoTweets</a></p>&mdash; Tesco Customer Care (@UKTesco) <a href="https://twitter.com/UKTesco/status/292043677897994240" data-datetime="2013-01-17T23:00:13+00:00">January 17, 2013</a></blockquote>
<script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
I think the humour works well on a tweet that could have backfired and it's British "laughing at ourselves" humour and gave Tesco a moment on twitter as it has thousands of retweets, rather than entirely negative publicity.

However the daily mail doesn't seem to think so: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2264394/Horse-meat-scandal-hit-Tesco-centre-Twitter-backlash-customer-care-message-told-followers-staff-hit-hay.html#ixzz2IK0VApdY interesting article!!

So in my opinion Tesco did a half hearted job and need to improve their crisis management for the future, but hit back well.

A company that handled social media crisis management extremely well were Bodyform, this happened a while back and I was going to blog about it when I heard about it but now I think is a perfect time to;

In response to the bodyform adverts this was posted on the bodyform facebook page:

 

Richard Neillposted toBodyform

8 October 2012 via Mobile

Hi , as a man I must ask why you have lied to us for all these years . As a child I watched your advertisements with interest as to how at this wonderful time of the month that the female gets to enjoy so many things ,I felt a little jealous. I mean bike riding , rollercoasters, dancing, parachuting, why couldn't I get to enjoy this time of joy and 'blue water' and wings !! Dam my penis!! Then I... got a girlfriend, was so happy and couldn't wait for this joyous adventurous time of the month to happen .....you lied !! There was no joy , no extreme sports , no blue water spilling over wings and no rocking soundtrack oh no no no. Instead I had to fight against every male urge I had to resist screaming wooaaahhhhh bodddyyyyyyfooorrrmmm bodyformed for youuuuuuu as my lady changed from the loving , gentle, normal skin coloured lady to the little girl from the exorcist with added venom and extra 360 degree head spin. Thanks for setting me up for a fall bodyform , you crafty bugger

 

The post recieved over 100,000 likes and despite his humour and attempt at hitting back at the organisation, I believe Bodyform RINSED him with this video:
 

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I think it's genius and works because it gets people talking, displays Bodyform as a humourous, light-hearted organisation who don't take themselves to seriously and targets the individual comment which gets consumers reading more and more into the story via their facebook- in turn looking more into Bodyform, a company which usually social media users might avoid. Overall I think the Bodyform PR department handled it perfectly and provided an example to other organisations!

 

-Steph

Ever changing

Ok, so been a massive week at uni this week. Exams, assignments and today our group product pitch presentation which we have been working on for MONTHS and I am so glad it's over. I hate group work, not going to lie I like to be in control especially when it concerns my own grades and levels of input to my work. Anyway I think our product pitch went really well and I think developing a new product and pitching it is something beneficial from uni that you normally wouldn't do through literature reviews or exams. That's why I love my course! Lot's of variety....

Sad news about HMV going into administration this week, a truely British brand. However I remember saying a long time ago how they needed to up their game and develop a new strategy in order to remain current or else they were going to fall under..... touche. They never changed in order to suit customer demand and therefore they were never going to compete. Personally, I haven't been in a HMV store in years and would have no enjoyment in doing so.

And from another organisation crushed by the rise in technology, as comes a further development in technology. This one interests me as I love social networking as much as the next person.... However, I have started to use facebook less and less recently as I feel as though a lot of it is just marketing (ironic I know) and less about the 'social' aspect. However, I am becoming addicted to twitter. I feel that although twitter does incorporate marketing and brand promotion through its trends etc, it allows people to be social through doing so. For example, every night without fail there is a TV show trending which allows people to join in on discussing the programme or not if they choose not too. I feel twitter uses this interaction in a way that facebook is unable to. Twitter is definately less in your face and 100% more tailored to individuals, not only through demographics and people you 'follow' but also increasingly using twitter means your topics of interest or talking points become tailored into products or services you may be interested in.

Anyway, back to my initial point. Facebook have now launched a search engine or a "graph search" as they are calling it; it allows you to search your 'network' for images, statuses etc. which I think may be slightly more like twitter in that you can search for things which interest you and sort of tailor your experience with the site. So for example, I was recently trying to think of places to go on holiday and was struggling finding photos of people that had been to marbella, cancun etc. however the new feature would allow me to directly search "friends who have been to marbella" which I do think is going to be interesting and am looking forward to checking the feature out! Maybe see if facebook can make a comeback! Also interested to see how my facebook friends react!

Been working on my internship loads this week too! Been contacting review sites and bloggers ahead of the launch next week! This has been the most exciting element so far I think as I love reaching out to other companies and making a pitch! Also signed my contract with IBM! I am now a demand programmes specialist!!

Steph

My friends, goose and smashbox!

Heyy,
ok so this week I've been really unlucky! Got through to the assessment centre for peugeot citroen after passing the 1st interview!! Which I was super pleased about, however it's on the 10th January which is my finance exam so I can't go and I've emailed them begging but they won't re-arrange, which I'm GUTTED about :'( especially as I could really see myself there and I worked so hard on my application. I guess it wasn't meant to be!
Secondly, had my BMW telephone interview which went AWFUL as I was totally unprepared as I did it at uni cos I was in the middle of my group meeting for marketing in practice preparing our presentation, anyway I think I did well on the compentency questions but then she asked me what was my favourite BMW model and I froze I couldn't even think of one :-( so not expecting good news from them! Also got another interview lined up for next week and still waiting to see if I've been matched by IBM which is horrible as I'm really impatient!!

Our presentation is getting super close now and I think my group are finally working well! I hate group work and hope this is the last time I will have to work in a group during my course...probably not though.

So, writing this blog seems to have inspired a couple of my friends to start writing a blog which is exciting!
My good friend Sam who is on my course at UWE has started a marketing blog and he is a very opinionated and hilarious person so looking forward to hearing a bit more from him, you can check his blog out at: http://samvenning.blogspot.co.uk/
Also one of my girlies Sophie has started a blog too which is a bit more creative and personal which I like so you can check her out here: http://ohyoudramaqueen.blogspot.co.uk/
Finally, I have followed this blog for quite a while and it's definately one for the girls!! Zoe does beauty and fashion reviews and news and she's getting paid for it now I think so her posts have been very influencial! http://www.zoella.co.uk/
Let me know if you want me to mention you or if you want me to have a read of your blog cos I love reading new blog material!

Ok so tonight I went to Cribbs Causeway with 2 of my friends Rach and Beth and we went to Boots because I had heard about a new cosmetics company- Smashbox doing free makeovers and giving out free giftsets! So I booked an appointment for a treat for us all and we went along and I was very impressed!! Smashbox are huge in America and they came to the UK 3 months ago, they are owned by Estee Lauder who also make MAC and Clinique so I knew it was going to be high quality and I wasn't dissapointed. They did full makeovers for all of us and we got free products to try! Was a very girly and chatty session which I loved and they also do things like makeovers and photoshoots all for free so definately worth checking out! I think it's really important as there are so many make-up counters that girls can go to that new brands have an interactive and fun experience especially as I hadn't ever heard of them before and now I know loads about them from chatting to the lady who worked there. Very impressed!

Finally, something occured to me on twitter recently that I had been noticing increasingly.
I saw this account https://twitter.com/GreyGooseWanker and lots of retweets and follows from people I know.
I know a lot of people who will save up all week just to buy a bottle of Grey Goose at the weekend, and this has become an increasing trend over the last year. Grey Goose represented status, class and luxury and people who spend all their time working wanted to represent these things at the weekend. However, now I just think it has become a bit of a chav drink and not really for special occasions. I see guys getting 3 or 4 bottles a night and thinking their suarve when they are wearing sports t-shirts or trainers. Not really a good brand associate for Bacardi who own Grey Goose as one of their more premium spirits.
Although it is a premium spirit and represents indulgence and luxury, in order for Grey Goose to maintain this image they are going to have to work hard to ensure they can keep this brand image up, especially with bad publicity such as the site above. Although sales may have soared, is it for the right reasons and can they maintain the sales by using the same marketing and brand associations as they do currently.
They are just my predictions and opinions and if you don't agree feel free to comment and let me know!

Steph