The recent news about Tesco’s profit falling within the UK came as a bit of surprise, but it wasn’t totally unexpected.

Tesco have fallen out of touch with their consumers through out of date marketing campaigns that have been overshadowed by their competitors.  Here are just a few ways that Tesco could rejuvenate there image with interactive marketing campaigns.

Greggs

What we love about Gregg’s new campaign is that it reaches over many platforms, and even includes bus-stops pumping out the delightful smell of bacon rolls and coffee.  With a dedicated micro-site, as well as mobile apps for iOS and Android, Greggs is defiantly keeping on trend and in their customer’s minds.  Have a look over here.

Waitrose

Waitrose’s Christmas ad worked perfectly in bringing together the Christmas traditions of old with new exciting ideas.  Working alongside Delia and Heston, Waitrose weren’t selling their customers food, but rather a very merry Christmas experience.  This worked brilliantly as it captured the imagination of the consumer and allowed them to build their Christmas around Waitrose products.

Starbucks

You’ve probably already noticed that Starbucks are now asking customers to ‘introduce’ themselves.  Caffeine lovers were overjoyed when Starbucks offered a free latte to anybody who came and introduced themselves.  This resulted in the hashtag #freestarbucks trending on Twitter, with support from celebrities like Jimmy Carr.  This promotion got thousands of new customers through the door, and made existing customers feel valued.

So Tesco take note.  Customers love to feel valued and are looking to interact and be entertained by their products.  No longer can you win our hearts with a value ready meal for one!

Last week saw Big Cat’s Nick Morgan feature in The Business Desk, as he discusses the future of Big Cat and in particular how the business is currently looking to expand.

Big Cat Group is now actively on the lookout for mergers and acquisitions, partly to expand the agencies presence in the London market. Sights are currently set on London based firms, ideally who work in similar fields as Big Cat, such as events management, public relations and marketing.

Nick said: “I’ve spent a number of months going around the venture capital houses and the response has been very positive. We now have the finance in place to acquire other businesses.”

“London is very competitive but also a highly receptive market; we’ve had interest from a number of agencies already and are confident to have completed a deal by late Spring. The search is on.”

If you are interested in learning more about Big Cat’s expansion, email Nick on n.morgan@bcguk.com

Over the next couple of months Big Cat will be looking into a refresh of its brand and image, as well as launching a shiny new website. Before launching into it, we’d like to get some input from our valued clients and friends!

We’d be really grateful if you could take a few minutes to answer a couple of short questions about Big Cat and our brand. As a thank you, Big Cat will enter everyone who completes the survey into a draw for the chance to win a bottle of champagne!

You can complete our survey here,

Video views are the currency of YouTube and in some cases I mean this quite literally. For those of you who are only just realising the potential of this platform, here are my five tips to gain more views:

1- Give your video Title/Description/Tags a lot of thought

YouTube gives you a lot of power to control how your video is found. As YouTube can’t index your video based on the video content itself, you need to tell it where it belongs (and tell the truth too!)

2- Give yourself a head-start.

YouTube uses ‘view-count’ as a method of ranking – meaning popular content gains further popularity. A good way to start strong is to push your videos out across all of your social platforms and allow your current networks to help you hit the ground running. Get your most loyal customers to watch your videos too and certainly make sure you email it around the office.

3- Encourage inbound & outbound links to your videos/channel

YouTube finds links such as ‘video responses’ or ‘shares’ to be a very useful indication that the content is good. Start posting your videos on ‘friends’ channels and encourage them to do the same on yours.

4- Work on stimulating ‘likes’, ‘shares’, ‘subscribes’, ‘ratings’ & ‘comments’

Treat this element in a similar way to a facebook campaign. It is a good idea to ask questions & interact and, since good video ratings and engagement effect your YouTube rankings you might want to use ‘annotations’ throughout your video to encourage the viewer to rate etc.

5- Seek External links to your videos

External links work in the same way that they do for your website SEO strategy. Ensure your video is on your website as well as any social/blog pages you might have. Another strong method is to approach forums & discussion pages with your content as this will provide you with a large number of very relevant links. Remember to join in the discussion though; you might get your post removed if they are just plugging yourself.

Views can also be purchased, or you can purchase/ design a bot to formulate views for you, however this is not guaranteed to work and you could be penalised for taking these approaches. Another method that is very tempting to some is to open hundreds of windows yourself to boost views, but this method can also leave you in YouTube’s naughty books. In this case YouTube will (at the very least) pause your view-count if it recognises your IP address.

Birmingham Metropolitan College employed Big Cat to develop a campaign promoting their brand new campus in Kidderminster. The new campus offers specialist courses ranging from Fashion design through to Computer Game Development and so a fully integrated digital strategy was implemented in support of our offline activity in order to capture the young (and socially active) target audience.

The biggest challenge presented by the campaign was having a very short lead time until the open day, and the Big Cat team worked really closely with the college to ensure that the campaign was time efficient from the planning stages, right through until delivery.

The outdoor budget was focussed heavily towards transport media such as train station platform panels and both interior/exterior panels on busses. We organised activity on local radio stations, with presenters taking part on the day, and captured parents of potential students by featuring details of the open day on all arterial routs into Kidderminster. Competitions were run to aid our social media fan acquisition efforts and our contextual / geo-targeted YouTube adverts also proved really successful.

The footfall achieved on the day was 200% greater than the target outlined in the initial brief.

Last week saw the launch of Birmingham’s digital week, which celebrates the city’s achievements in digital innovation and brings people from various sectors together to discuss the impact and value of technologies for professional, creative and cultural industries.

On Tuesday 15^th November my colleagues from Big Cat and I had the chance to participate in a featured event called ‘Business Collaboration Through Digital Innovation’, which was a part of the digital week.

Before the conference started, we had the opportunity to introduce ourselves and network whilst enjoying a bite or two of the refreshments offered. After a warm welcome from Chris Brown, our PR manager and chair of events at Birmingham Future, it was time for the first speaker to take the stage.

Keith Evans, Managing Director at Cida Co delivered an inspiring presentation on why and how the businesses should adapt to the current changes taking place. He stated that the Power of 3 (People, Ideas and Innovation) is more important than it ever was and that companies should not only encourage creativity but integrate it within corporate management and processes. However, Keith emphasised that despite the need to quickly adapt to the changing business environment a company must retain its values.

Whilst Keith Evans talked about digital innovation from a strategic point of view, Andy Lovatt from the White Room brought in a more tactical approach and introduced Enterprise 2.0 (or, as known in the West, a Social Business concept). He argued that companies should embed social platforms within the company rather than use them only for external marketing purposes. To strengthen his point, Andy provided case studies on how companies benefited from utilising social platforms internally. In response to common fears about network security, Andy said that ‘one must find a balance between risk and trust’. Trust in colleagues must be embedded within a company in order to secure continuous business growth.

After the two presentations, a panel comprised of Keith Evans, Andy Lovatt, Chris Brown and Rupert Bent from Pinsent Masons enthusiastically replied to questions (there were quite a few) from the audience with a great attention and detail.

In conclusion, the event offered plenty of information and ideas for both digitally-savvy companies and those only starting to embrace digital technologies.

More and more companies are diving into the world of Augmented Reality (AR) in order to provide memorable customer experiences and to bring a sense of fun to their brand. Last week Nivea launched a new AR campaign which enables its target market to see Rihanna perform in front of their computer screens.  All customers  have to do is buy the tin of the crème and hold the cap against their webcam.  However, the campaign is not solely aimed at existing buyers,  since the AR content can also  be accessed for free via the company’s website.

This isn’t the first time that companies have used AR to make their brands ‘live’.  Nivea’s campaign has revealed the potential of AR technology to the FMCG market and it is sure to be widely adopted as a marketing tool. This is definitely a bright moment for companies and customers alike,  however with AR technology  becoming more widely accessible  it makes it more difficult for luxury brands  to differentiate  themselves through advertising. In  a recent article on mashable.com it was suggested that digital innovation can make deluxe brands exclusive again, however here at Big Cat we feel that exclusivity is not something technology alone can achieve.  Companies must accept that in the end, all that matters is how  technological innovation is used to deliver lasting and meaningful campaigns.

In the meantime, we should just sit back and enjoy the free experiences we are offered.

With business booming at Big Cat we felt it was about time we expanded our Marketing and Communications team so we can continue to deliver award winning campaigns which wow the nation. So, logically this months Q & A is with the latest addition of the Big Cat family, Hannah Wood. A self-confessed creative perhaps a tad OCD, we asked Hannah what she loves about our glorious city and the campaigns she’s working on at the moment.

What is your role at Big Cat Group?

Marketing and Communications Exec; basically I do a bit of marketing, a bit of PR and a bit of project management depending on the client and their needs.

How did you get into marketing and PR?

I sort of fell into it; I studied Visual Communication at Uni and in an attempt to get my foot in the door of a design agency, I put myself forward as a digital marketing and PR intern at Fluid, got it and loved it! After a crash course in comm’s and having worked on some high profile accounts, I gained experience in events marketing and planning, working on both BASS and Flatpack festivals. I’ve always loved brands, communication and events and my strengths are strategy development and organisation so when I applied for an internship at Big Cat everything just sort of clicked into place.

What are you working on at the moment?

There’s too much to list but so far today I have worked on booking the national campaign for the international restaurant group San Carlo, the brand development and marketing strategy for a highly acclaimed auction house, a national PR campaign for a range of Lulu Guinness compact mirrors, research for two new business pitches, the internal marketing strategy and brand propositions for Big Cat and I’ve just been brought on board for Hello Culture; Birmingham’s biggest festival.

What is your favourite marketing campaign at the moment?

I actually really like what Skittles are doing at the moment. After having a couple of not-so-successful campaigns leading up to 2009, they now seem to have developed a solid, integrated brand strategy. By keeping the same themes and tone of voice throughout all their marketing and PR activity, regardless of campaign or media, the key messages and their tagline “taste the rainbow” are reinforced. The overall brand campaign is flexible and individual product launches fit seamlessly together underneath the skittles brand.

With audience engagement being at the top of their agenda, their slightly weird approach to content has enabled them to really think outside the box when it comes to interactivity and utilise a wide range of platforms including TV, facebook, twitter, YouTube and POS. The continued high quality activity ensures they maintain brand loyalty, leaving their audience wondering what weird and wonderful ideas they will come up with next.

What is your favourite thing about Birmingham?

I’m very much a country girl at heart but for some reason I never tire of Birmingham. There’s something to suit everyone and always something going on. It’s the little hidden gems that I love; we have some amazing architecture, festivals, events, typography, music and history. It’s often reported that Birmingham has a bad reputation but I like it, and I’ve always had a tendency to favour the underdog.

Planning a social media campaign that works can be a tricky task. 90% of all campaigns are said to fall flat within the first month, the key reason being audience figures not meeting critical mass, therefore the campaign never really going viral. September saw Big Cat team up with energy and communications company Glide and the University of Birmingham to show students on their MSc Marketing and Communications course how hard it actually is to run a successful campaign.

60 students were given the brief to develop a social media campaign which interacts with either tenants or landlords. The aim of the campaign was to raise brand awareness and in turn drive direct sales to Glide. The budget was £10,000 and it was to be used over a three month period.

The students were split into groups of 9 or 10 and then dismissed into various rooms throughout the University. The day was a fantastic experience for Big Cat who have been working with Glide for some time now. It was fascinating seeing outsiders who don’t know a company work to develop a campaign. As you can imagine there were a few arguments a long the way with stronger students trying to take hold of the groups, however some great ideas were generated.

Click image to see full photo gallery

After the 2 hour period, the students were then asked to come back to the main lecture theatre to present their campaign to a live audience. The judges, built up of University staff, Glide and Big Cat ranked each group on a number of categories; originality, sticking to budget, ROI and a wild card too.

In the end though there could only be one winner and that was Group 3 who utilised existing Smartphone geo-location technology to offer their chosen target audience of students competition prizes, giveaways and digital badges. One thing that this group did really well was plan for the future. Although they were making use of the tools around them, they also stated that once the campaign worked in the region of Birmingham, they’d roll it out nationally and develop their own app.

Well done Group 3!!! We hope you enjoy your winnings.

If you fancy checking out what the students put in the presentations click here.

This week sees the launch of the gaming industry’s first live TV advert.

The real time adverts for Xbox’s ‘Gears of War 3’ will publicise the number of people playing the game online at the time of broadcast.

The interesting thing about this campaign is that it relies on the product already being used by the customer. The creators, of this highly anticipated game, have chosen to rely on brand loyalty and user generated hype rather than using television advertising during the run up to the release date; instead using real time engagement and aiming for immediate responses online to maintain excitement once the product is on sale.

Created by McCann Erickson, with media planning by UM London and digital campaign support from AKQA, the television campaign launches on 23^rd September. Although the technology is already being utilised by some online gambling companies to advertise their popularity, the large scale nature of the Gears of War 3 campaign, which includes targeted social and online media, will set the standard in using live data in television advertising as more truly integrated campaigns are developed.

Whilst doing some research for a prospective new client last week we came across this nice little marketing stunt by DHL.

The high impact visuals utilise the space on and around an escalator in one of Hong Kong’s busiest subway stations and despite being rolled out nearly 5 years ago, the viral nature of mobile videos has ensured the longevity of the advert as well as presenting it to an international audience.

The reason why this advert works so well is because it can be interpreted on many levels and, thanks to YouTube, be viewed by a mass audience. For example, we can all appreciate the playful message of the mini DHL vans rushing past the lines of queuing traffic as they travel alongside you on the handrail.

On a cultural level, Hong Kong was the perfect location for this campaign. It is widely reported that DHL couriers often use the subway system for their deliveries to ensure the quickest possible delivery time. Hong Kong’s subway system has the reputation of being the most efficient and affordable in the world, reflecting DHL’s express delivery service aims; speed, efficiency and affordability.

Positioning is key and with ambient media still growing in popularity the use of advertising on an escalator effectively makes your audience a sitting duck for communication. Advertising around escalators is nothing new but this stunt really communicates and interacts with the audience in a way that a static poster wouldn’t.

The red and yellow DHL branding is instantly recognisable and is used in and around the advert. For example, the vans are branded with the colours and logo, the images of the call centre and the yellow wall with the red stripe which runs the whole length of the escalator reinforces the brand message and focuses the audience’s attention.

Let us know if you have you seen any inspirational marketing stunts recently.

6. Partners – events massively benefit from partners who can influence their networks. Event marketing messages that are syndicated via their website, blog, social network or database gain much more gravitas than unsolicited ones from a new event. Partners can provide third-party or word-of-mouth endorsements for your event that are much more powerful than an Ad or status update. Research your industry: who are the main influencers, who has the biggest network, what associations are your prospects likely to be a part of, do any of your speakers or entertainment have social networks or databases?

7. Channels – which are the most cost effective and efficient marketing channels to employ when promoting an event? This really is the million dollar question. I would suggest a blend of direct, sales promotion tactics such as email, telesales, social network updates, ads; reputational, brand and awareness building tactics such as PR, blogs, syndication through partner channels, and response based-social web marketing; passive marketing through websites and search engines; and “sticky marketing” tactics which employ a more problem-solving, relationship building activities that allow consumption on consumer’s terms such as tip sheets, blogs, presentations, guides, and white papers. The key thing to channel selection is constant evaluation and adaptation of tactics.

8. Incentives – discounts and offers are a great way of devaluing your brand and ensuring that no one will want to pay full price next time. I personally believe that if used correctly incentives can deliver word-of-mouth, red hot data, and early critical mass. Use only as an “early bird” incentive or in a very direct and time-limited way, never as a last ditch attempt to get numbers via general release through Ads, with no time limit.

9. Time – one of the most important elements of an event is giving you sufficient time to plan and promote your event. I would suggest a minimum of 3-4 months for even the smallest event such as a workshop and up to a year for a more complex event such as a conference or concert. For a large event I would suggest 4-5 months minimum of marketing time and for small event 8-10 weeks.

10. Context – in today’s world of abundance and connectedness customers have too much choice. There aren’t many needs that are not being serviced. With this in mind I would suggest being as niche and targeted as possible and ensure that all of your communications add value in some way. Context is as much about understanding when and how your target audience are buying as much as who they are.

The British brand of premium desserts Gü, founded in 2003, is running a brand relaunch campaign with a colossal budget of £2M -which is one of the company’s biggest marketing investment so far. With this significant amount, Joseph Liu, Senior Brand Manager at Gü Puds hopes to reach consumers who haven’t tried the brand yet and retain the loyal ones. They are repositioning the product, offering new packaging making it more visible to consumers and supporting the relaunch with a huge advertising campaign.

The brand refresh is also the occasion of launching a new range of products: Singles. They are chocolate or fruit flavoured mousses packaged in individual pots which include a convenient plastic spoon, allowing it to be savoured anytime and anywhere. The objective is to popularise the indulgent dessert and make the consumer realise that a special occasion is not necessary to enjoy it. However, it keeps its premium positioning since the flavours proposed are inventive and the price quite high £1.19 for a pot.

Gü consider interactivity with the consumer as a key factor of success. For the alimentary sector, the in-store sampling is a traditional weapon to invite the customer to taste the product and then to convince him to purchase it (it is always more than welcome to have a free sample of chocolate when you are in your supermarket, isn’t it?). But Gü wanted to go beyond in the interactive experience and make a big impression to people. In collaboration with JCDecaux, YouTube and Virgin Experience Days, DDB UK (in charge of Gü UK campaign) had the idea to install a drum on a 48 sheet poster in Tottenham Court Road, London. They invited passers-by to take delight in playing this big drum and organised a competition between the volunteers, filming the performances and uploading the videos on YouTube. The performer with the highest number of views has was awarded by a £200 Virgin Experience voucher.

The new bright slogan “Give in to Gü” encourages people to indulge themselves with little pleasures of life. On the new TV advert, that will run from May to July, we can observe scenarios of little temptations like inflated bubble wrap that is just waiting to be popped, a long line of dominoes that would just need a little nudge to start racing down, or an annoying label sticking out your friend’s cardigan. The message of Gü is quite simple: yield to these small everyday-life urges. As far I am concerned, I guess I will probably give in to the chocolate & raspberry pot after putting the final dot to this blog post. Yummy!

Give In To Gü advert

1. Brand identity – maybe a bit clichéd but a strong, clear brand is an important element of any event. The brand can either help build trust or else convey a confusing message. The brand can be supported by an event or programme title, which gives a more in depth description of the event.
   
2. Content – the theme, content, speaker, subject or entertainment of your event must be sufficiently attractive to your target audience. If you’re expecting customers to spend time and probably money to attend your event then you need to understand their needs and meet these in spades. Research (and attend) similar or competitor events to give you an idea of the level of content that is needed to drive the numbers you need. If your event is new you may have to try doubly hard, and expect to lose money on your first one.
3. Narrative – write compelling narrative that tells a story about the event. This could be about the background to the organisers, the history behind how the event came to be, how it will benefit the attendees. This will need to be combined with killer sales copy to quickly highlight the content and benefits, date, price, location, etc.
   
4. Business model – free or paid for? If an event is to attract new customers to your brand consider holding a free event – this will ensure maximum attendance. If however the event is of sufficient value to your prospects then introduce a charge but research what your competitors or similar events are charging.
5. Website – you will want a website which enables you to book delegates or customers online. Eventbrite. is an excellent site which is free to use if you don’t charge. It allows you to syndicate widgets, create lists, badges, and email customers. If you charge for your events and they are regular then you may want to consider developing your own eCommerce site as charges are 5% plus and you are restricted to Paypal or Google Checkout, which charge another 4-5%. I would suggest a website like Eventbrite to start and then evaluate the amount you are likely to spend on fees over the next year then decide whether a specific website is more cost efficient.

Here’s the takeaway: Ensure you have enough time to plan, especially promote your event. Write copy that sings. Link with as many relevant partners as you can. Test then evaluate every piece of marketing and get the ball rolling though early bird offers. Have a very clear message and identity and ask yourself this: would I pay for and attend this event before you start spending time and money.

DDB Auckland had an original idea to advertise the brand of shorts Superette in New Zealand. Some relief plates had been placed on the benches, seats of the shopping centres and bus stop in the trendiest areas. Once they sit down, only people who wear short shorts or short skirts become the ambassador of the brand, showing their “printed” legs. This new form of marketing remains very anecdotal for now but is in perfect harmony with the message:  “Short shorts on sale in Superette”.

Of course this principle has sparked off many positive and negative reactions. In my opinion I think it is a brilliant idea but it has to be very occasional and for a fairly exclusive brands (who wants a crisp or a washing powder brand tattooed on their legs, even for a little while?).

What I think is interesting as well is the way they can choose indirectly their models. Normally everybody with bare legs can be the “support” of the brand but people who wear short shorts and skirt are at 90 % young, rather slim and fashionable women. And they are modelling for free. Besides, choosing where they place the plates, they can also segment an area since the provisional tattoo lasts less than 30 minutes. In fact, it presents a big advantage more than the fact it is innovative: it is quite cheap.

It is an interesting and funny concept because we don’t get used seeing this kind of advertising and that’s why our attention is drawn to the message. On the long run, I think it would be doomed to failure, even if people -and particularly men- always look at the women’s legs they won’t pay attention to the message… and that is the point, paying attention to the message, right?

As everybody grabs an ice cold beer to sit out in the sun, Big Cat toasts to winning three exiting new clients: Reed Midem, bloc hotels and Aston Business School.

Reed Midem is one of the world’s largest marketing and event organisers, specialising in Television, Interactive Content, Music and International Property. They are heavily involved in projects such as MIPIM and MIPTV. We are lucky enough to be working along side Reed Midem assisting in strategic development, and the growth and exploration of new viable business sectors.

bloc is a chic, boutique hotel which opened in Birmingham’s Jewellery Quarter in April 2011. We love bloc because it’s a luxury- budget hotel inspired by futuristic Japanese design. Big Cat will be working alongside bloc on its direct marketing and social media campaigns.

Aston Business School are a prestigious and renowned elevated education school, specialising in higher development for post graduates and business professionals.

Big Cat will be working closely with Aston Business School to promote a series of new courses aimed at business professionals within the region.

It’s been near impossible to avoid the hype and media exposure around Prince William and Kate Middleton’s big day over the past few weeks and it seems that everybody wanted a piece of the action. Described as “a gift to the marketing and PR world” the wedding has seen all manner of companies jumping on the media band wagon and their products suddenly becoming tenuously related to the happy couple.

Of course, it was to be expected that certain industries would pounce on this huge marketing opportunity. The tourism industry, for example, were able to cash in on not just the spectacle but also the four day weekend. The entertainment and leisure industries utilised new media technology creating apps, websites, networks and online games, allowing the wedding audience to connect with brands on both a news and entertainment level.

But it’s not just the obvious industries that are using the Royal Wedding to try and boost their brand. BMW’s recent April fool campaign took full advantage of the run up to the nuptials as they announced a royal edition of the M3. As well as successes there were bound to be some Royal related campaigns that missed the mark within the media bombardment, I’m sure you’ve seen them, the gimmicks, competitions and events which seem to plug the occasion just for the sake of it. The line seems to blur between topical and relevance and it raised the question; can companies maintain their brand values whilst cashing in on the historical British event?

Here are Big Cat’s Top Five Royal Wedding related Marketing Campaigns that have stayed true to their brand:

5.  3M – Post-it Super Sticky Notes

Maybe slightly predictable, but Ogilvy Group’s tactical ad to advertise 3M’s Super Sticky Post-it notes, reading “Will and Kate, may you stick together forever. Congratulations” coupled with the strapline “holds stronger, longer” gives a simple but effective campaign with a rather sweet sentiment.

4. T-mobile – Royal Wedding

Whether you love or hate the recent stream of T-mobile adverts, they never fail to grab attention. Again working with Saatchi & Saatchi, they took inspiration from the growing popularity of wedding dance routines which have been appearing on YouTube over the last few years. The advert featured lookalikes of the Royal family dancing down the aisle as an extension of the “Life’s For Sharing” campaign.

3. Castle Rock Brewery – Kiss Me Kate Beer

The East Midlands based brewery decided to celebrate the Royal Wedding in the best way it knew how, by brewing a special edition, real ale! Although this marketing campaign started off small, with the brewery only planning on producing a small batch, over the weekend they were stocked in a major national pub chain and well known supermarket, as well as being internationally recognised in the press.

2. John Smith’s – Commemorative Wedding Plate

John Smith’s invited customers to “buy a pint and pick up a free royal wedding plate”. Keeping strongly on brand the No Nonsense commemorative paper plate gives a tongue in cheek nod to the Brit’s love of a souvenir plate as well as a “thumbs up” for that extra day off work.

1. Premiere Inn – Royal Bed-ding

Over the weekend Premiere Inn were on a mission to make you feel like a Prince or Princess. The limited edition duvet covers were printed with images of William and Kate from the neck down so just had to hop into bed and align your head with the printed body and transform yourself into the future King or Queen.  The, verging on the ridiculous, bedding shows that the budget hotel chain has kept it’s sense of humour and was available in their London branches on the Friday night.

Whether you had front row seats over the weekend or you were vomiting into your commemorative sick bag (yes they do exist) one thing is certain; for better or for worse, wedding fever managed to take over the world of marketing on a national and international level.

The problem with writing a blog on South by South West, the interactive conference in Austin Texas (SXSW) is that it covers everything: innovation, technology, marketing, design, journalism, gaming, health, philanthropy and more…

But that’s the great thing about it too. The breadth of ideas is astounding, even mind blowing.

2011 was SXSW’s 25^th anniversary but for once wasn’t about the next big thing this year. It was about using what we have, better. Many sessions were about the evolution of the user interface: from mouse and keyboard to touch and gesture technologies such as the iPad and Xbox Kinect.

There was a lot of focus on the convergence of technologies like television, mobile and computers. Mobile, video, apps and tablet PCs were tipped as the most exciting opportunities for innovation and investment.

The much vaunted Apple iPad 2 was launched during this year’s SXSW which is testament to the importance of the conference to the industry. Needless to say queues were around the block for several days until they finally ran out – I have to admit, even I, a self proclaimed PC succumbed to Mr Job’s charms.

The refreshing thing as a non-techie was that there was lots of humour around the conference. Amusing speakers who poked fun at the community, a witty collaborative 30-page pull out from the Guardian and the Austin Chronicle, and obviously, the parties.

The areas which most interested me were the leading edge social media marketing techniques, practitioners and technologies. I am already a big advocate and practitioner but South-by gave the opportunity to listen, learn and discuss. Gary Veynerchuck and Guy Kawasaki were notable in their advocacy of marketing using Social Media, with the big caveat that it is employed correctly.

The opportunities and benefits of good social media practice are many fold. Never before have organisations been able to build relationships with existing and potential customers in such a scalable way. Kawasaki’s angle was about superior customer service in his new book Enchantment. His very engaging talk detailed his 10 point plan to delighting your customers along with a generous smattering of anecdotes from his time working at Apple in the 80s.

Vaynerchuck’s contrasting style concurred with Kawasaki’s affirmation that competitive advantage can be gained by superior service. But his point of difference was about showing gratitude to your customers. His new book “The Thank You Economy” details how he created his $60 million business, The Wine Library.

Gary Veynerchuck pronounced that social media provides opportunities to businesses in the next ten years on the scale that the internet has in the last.

The concept of employing social media is still difficult to comprehend for many businesses because it requires listening to potential customers and building one-to-one relationships with them. It requires transparency, honesty and candour but I believe the differentiation and competitive advantage it will gain for the early adopters far outweighs the risk and investment costs.

Last week saw 236 professionals from over 30 of the city’s top businesses descend upon Edgbaston Cricket ground for the Birmingham Forward Gala Dinner. Despite the fact that everybody likes to dress up, network and fill their bellies with delicious food, filling an event of this size and stature isn’t simple. In fact, since Denise Lewis OBE was the guest speaker I think it is fitting to offer a sporting analogy:

Marketing and managing an event is a lot like long distance running. You start off quick out of the blocks but quickly realise you have a long way to run. There are bursts of effort at strategic intervals and it always ends with a mad dash to the finish line. Selling the Birmingham Forward Gala dinner stayed true to this.

Of course our guest speaker; Denise Lewis OBE played her part in keeping the bookings flooding in, as did the main sponsor of the event ,Jaguar, who gifted one lucky guest a brand new Jaguar for a week.

We started the race with an announcement on the Birmingham Forward website, and this was accompanied with the initial announcement email (this is a lot like starting quick out of the blocks).

Following this, we used weekly email transmissions to reach our target audience (strategic bursts of effort). These consisted of images, event updates and plenty of links to click through to the Forward website where bookings could be made. This was then analysed to monitor the tone of voice that best captured our audience. This was extremely difficult as in many cases we were liaising with PA’s rather than the guests themselves.

The process doesn’t stop with these transmissions though. It is essential to monitor which organisations are responding and interacting with the mailer so that we can further target our marketing (a lot like analysing your performance mid-race and making any changes necessary).
With only a week to the event (finish line) we pull another trick out of our locker. Using a call to action like “last chance to book” or “final places being booked” in transmissions are essential to fill the final seats. In addition to this, we also increase hype about the event to revitalise the enthusiasm and energy in the build up to the day.

Now for the sprint to the finish line…

Our events team set up the tables and seating plan and organised sponsorship arrangements. This was followed by the VIP area, sound and visual tech, guest list, names tags, catering/dietary requirements, plants, lighting, waiting service, suit and boot, greet guests and help them find their seats.

Our events wizards transformed Edgbaston Cricket Ground into this:

Breath and celebrate!

People regularly talk to me about their new business ideas. They’re mostly employed in a job they are a bit bored of or downright dislike. Sometimes they’re already running their own businesses and want to increase revenues.

Many ideas haven’t been thought out properly or paint a rose-tinted-spectacle view of what being your own boss would be like: you can work the hours you want and most importantly you’re your own boss.

Countless numbers of people don’t start new businesses or innovate their existing ones because they’re not confident in the outcome. There are unknown factors, high perceived risks, skills gaps, finance issues, threats, weaknesses, boogie men…

I have news for all would be entrepreneurs and innovators: making mistakes and failing is a good thing. But there is one caveat – you have to start doing it.

Don’t over analyse, constantly plan, forever rejig figures, wring your hands about the risks. You have to get started. Start small, take risks, don’t worry about things not working, just constantly learn and fine tune as you go.

I’ve always gained from failures. Not instantly, but without exception, looking back over my 16 odd years running businesses; every disaster, every mistake, every failure has lead to something good.

Success from failure can come in many forms. New contacts, raised profile, improved reputation, new skills, clients and partners.

The raw ingredients to a successful business or innovation are passion, enthusiasm, commitment and the courage to just do it!

Carlsberg’s “probably the best…” campaign is probably one of the best advertising campaigns that we’ve seen for years. Its latest campaign certanly goes the distance to support this claim:

The anchor for each advert is the arrogant (yet humorous) method in which Carlsberg claim to be the best beer in a round-about way that doesn’t flout false advertising law.  Each edition is built around this core foundation and is adapted to a theme.

The choice of theme is important as it enables Carlsberg to associate itself with that genre/theme. For instance, “ …Probably the best football team in the world”, or “…probably the best hotel in the world” or even “…probably the best holiday in the world”. Carlsberg therefore begins to establish itself as a front-runner within those markets.

This latest advert works very well as it crosses channels between online (viral) and print. Not only this,  it illustrates how print can be used in an interactive and unique fashion, which combats the decline in print advertising effectiveness, a topic which was covered in a previous post.

Creative consultancy Big Cat Group has this month announced three new appointments within its Marketing, Events and Administrative teams, bucking the trend of graduate unemployability.

Joshua Turbill a Law graduate from Birmingham City University joined the agency in Summer 2010 as a Marketing intern having been named a finalist in the Marketing category of the B-Hive scheme. Joshua provided invaluable support across the department which has seen a number of new business wins over recent months.

Emily Britton a 2010 graduate from Birmingham City University has been appointed to the role of Events Co-ordinator following a three month internship which included working on events for global names such as Google and Mars.

Charlotte Kimbley, a literature graduate from the University of East Anglia entered the consultancy as PR intern in Autumn 2010. After demonstrating strong organisational, time management and people skills, Charlotte was hired as Office Manager earlier this month.

CEO of Big Cat Group, Nick Morgan said: “We’re incredibly pleased to be welcoming Joshua, Emily and Charlotte to Big Cat Group. They have all shown dedication, determination and passion for their fields and felt it a perfect opportunity to expand our team.

“The UK job market is still relatively unstable at the moment, meaning graduates are finding it even more difficult to claim their place on the job ladder. We have always believed in investing in young talent at Big Cat. Not only does it add a breath of fresh air to the company but also enhances our skills and abilities as a service provider, ensuring we are kept up-to-date with the latest tools and techniques.”

As the Big Cat team continues to grow we bring you an exclusive insight into the life of newly qualified graduate and member of Big Cat Group, Josh Turbill. Having studied Law at Birmingham City University, Josh explains how he entered the world of Marketing and why he loves the city so much.

What is your role at Big Cat Group?

Currently – I am Big Cat’s Marketing and Advertising Executive.

How did you get into marketing?

I entered Marketing through the medium of B-hive. B-hive is a Dragons-Den-style competition (organised by Pitch Consultants) where students present their ideas and strategies in a bid to gain work placements at top Birmingham agencies. As a result of my efforts in the competition, I was awarded placements at both London Midland and Brindleyplace. From here, and as a direct result of being a B-hive winner, I was invited for an Interview at Big Cat Group.

What are you working on at the moment?

At the moment I am working on a variety of exciting accounts. I have planned entire advertising campaigns for the international restaurant group San Carlo as well as being involved in the planning for the successful Hello Business conference which took place in October. In addition to this, and as well as servicing other clients, I am involved in pitching for new business, for which I was required to develop  digital strategies that exploit a variety of online and offline platforms.

What is your favourite external marketing campaign?

I have recently blogged about Cadbury’s Challenge bar campaign.  Many digital campaigns, particularly those that involve social media, ignore the important fact that it isn’t a standalone channel of communication and that it works best when it is cleverly intertwined with offline activity. By no means was the Cadbury campaign (which clearly had a huge budget) perfect, but it is one of the only big campaigns locally that have effectively integrated both online and offline activity to drive traffic and raise awareness.

What is your favourite thing about Birmingham?

I love Birmingham! Samuel Johnson once believed that; “When a man is tired of London, he is tired of life; for there is in London all that life can afford” and I believe this is becoming the case for Birmingham. There is ALWAYS something going on in the city, from gigs and bars, to the German Market. Not only this, much of the city centre is being improved, making the future bright for both business and pleasure.

My only criticism of Birmingham is that there are many people who are not aware of what’s on offer. How can we even begin to tell the world how great our city is if we don’t know ourselves?

Count every ” F ” in the following text:

FINISHED FILES ARE THE RE
SULT OF YEARS OF SCIENTI
FIC STUDY COMBINED WITH
THE EXPERIENCE OF YEARS…

How many could you find?  3?

WRONG, there are 6.
Read it again if you do not believe me.

Here is another:

It deosn’t mttaer in what oredr the  ltteers in a word are, the
olny iprmoatnt tihng is that the first and last  ltteer be in the
rghit pclae . The rset can be a taotl mses and you can still raed
it wouthit a porbelm.

Many of you will have come across tests like this before. Both of the examples above show that people skim-read text unless they know the content will help them. Once a visitor lands on your site, picks up your book or opens your blog, you have just milliseconds to grab their attention. Images and videos are the kings of content, so why do so many cram their websites and products with text where it is not necessary?

This is a short and simple blog and if you’re bored by now, it is probably because I didn’t embed any pictures or videos.

Promoting the MINI Countryman vehicle is a rather quirky iPhone application that has already caused chaos in Stockholm.

How to hunt and catch a virtual MINI in Stockholm city… and win a real MINI Countryman:

• Find the virtual MINI with your iPhone
• Take it when you get closer than 50 metres
• Get away! Everybody within 50 metres can take the virtual MINI from you
• If you have the virtual MINI in your iPhone after one week of gaming…you will win a real MINI Countryman

This campaign was designed to disrupt Stockholm in the same way that an accident disrupts traffic, and, since everyone wants to know what it is that is causing the hold up, it was certain to work.

Cities are too predictable, and so it is the unpredictable that gets noticed. Imagine the guy in Stockholm who loses his job because he stormed out of a meeting in a bid to remain 50 metres away from a Countryman rival. Or the lady, who, because of approaching countryman rivals, was seen fleeing a salon in the buff – half tanned- half red with embarrassment. When creating a competition, throw a decent enough prize into the mix and remove as many rules as possible. Let the contestants do the marketing for you.

Nick and I incorporated Big Cat Group Limited 10 years ago following 2 years working together as a partnership; and during this blog I would like to share some experiences we had along the way.

I met Nick through an ex colleague of his who introduced us in 1996. We had the same work ethic and were equally ambitious and we started collaborating on various music-related projects.

Our first office was in the basement of a nightclub, which was situated adjacent to the ladies changing room at a popular Gentleman’s Club. This made meetings a little awkward although we had a surprisingly good relationship with our Bank Manager, who would visit us frequently

Eventually we moved up in the world (literally) into rather cramped 100 sq foot office on the Hagley Road. We could only fit 2 desks, a mini fridge and 1 filing cabinet but at least we had a window.

Although we were working for well known brands like MTV and Cream times were hard in the music industry where minnows didn’t hold much weight or power.

A micro business providing event marketing in the music and entertainment sector, we were offering something unique. We were driving as many as 10,000 customers to events every week and managing their experience in multiple venues across the UK.

In 2000 we won a contract to turnaround Coventry University’s entertainment complex, which had posted a £1/2 million loss the previous year. Our strategy was simple: give the students what they wanted, 7 days a week. Nick booked pretty much every chart topping act and comedian on the circuit, I promoted the hell out of it, and Rob Dudley (our Exhibition Manager currently managing the Tutankhamun exhibition in Manchester) sold the drinks. At the age of 23 and 25 we were managing a £1million+ business.

It was towards the end of that project in 2001 when the phone rang; and it was Brixton Academy calling for the old Ents Manager – to ask if he knew of PR company to help launch the Birmingham Academy.

Needless to say I convinced him that Big Cat could provide this service and that was the start of our consultancy business offering discrete services from our Experiential and Marketing skillset.

2006 was a pivotal year. We started working with the Custard Factory managing their venues business and we organised the Soundstation Festival. One of them launched us into the Creative Industries sector and introduced us to brands ranging from Hugo Boss and Dulux; the other lost £100,000 and brought us close bankruptcy.

If it was not for my fellow director’s financial wizardry and total commitment we probably wouldn’t be here today – so thank you Nick for that!!!

Around 3 years ago we took a call from an American gentleman namely Mike Molloy who represented Jam Exhibitions, Miami.  He represented Bodies Revealed and approached Big Cat to partner with them in Birmingham.  The following two year’s of exchanges included a Venezuelan crises and Human Tissue Authority accreditation and resulted in a successful opening of the exhibition at the Custard Factory in October 2009.

The exhibition was not without controversy and the threat of huge protests began to build during the pre opening weeks, so we hired a prestigious crisis management consultancy from London to stymie the uprising.  On the opening day, a wet October just over a year ago, stood one lonely gentleman shouting “Remember the War!”

From dealings with Mike and his teams in both Paris and Spain there seemed to be complimentary values and vision and so began a plan for European collaboration and expansion.

This brings us through to the present day: Big Cat is an Events Marketing consultancy working with some amazing clients and projects, with operations in both France and Spain. We were born and our European Headquarters are in Birmingham and we feel we owe it to the next generation of home grown business leaders to offer the support we received along the way.

We have a lot of memories of doing business in this great city for and as we grow in size and scope we will continue to glance back occasionally to remember the experiences of our formative years.

This week saw Skittles launch a social media campaign to bury all other campaigns as they set up a room to bury a man in skittles. In order to do this, an ill-fated man stood in a glass box (rather reminiscent of David Blane), and awaited the onslaught of 2 million skittles.

For every person that tweeted about the campaign and for every time it was ‘liked’ on Facebook, 40 skittles would be added to the downpour. This was then fed live through the facebook page so that those of us sadistic enough to keep pressing ‘like’ could see the effect of our efforts.  The nature of the campaign meant that its success was heavily dependent on the rapid acceleration of viral support and unsurprisingly, the box was full by the end of the day – complete with man inside! It is much easier to command a large community of followers when those tweeting, or clicking like, can immediately see the effect their contribution has. This is where many social media campaigns fall down as it is not enough to expect a following purely built on admiration for the brand. Many tweeters may like skittles, but until this campaign, had no reason to tweet about it.

However, I fear that the success of this campaign will be damaged by associating the product with being buried alive. The thought of being buried in skittles is no less daunting than being buried in dirt, and if the asphyxiation/ suffocation doesn’t kill you, trying to eat your way out will.

While such playful stunts are an immediate reflection of the brands values, my concern is that the brand has created emotional links between its product and these fears. This, coupled with the message from my last blog; that ‘anything in excess will make you sick’, means that I will not be making the journey (in the bitter cold) this morning to buy skittles. They make me too hyper anyway!

I was listening to the radio this morning about a BT gimmick that is asking 5 communities to vote for themselves to receive super fast broadband in their area. This represents upgrading just 5 telephone exchanges out of almost 2,500 across the country – hardly about to put the UK to the top of the list of national connectivity.

The discussion was about whether we really need the £5bn investment and the new services such as streaming HD video. My passenger was on the side of the rather sceptical interviewer in that it was probably a waste of money since HD videos were already available on numerous terrestrial and satellite networks.

TED’s Chris Anderson recently talked about how online video is powering global innovation. “Crowd Accelerated Innovation” is the way in which individuals and organisations alike are using the connectivity of the internet to watch and create videos.

He talked about how the human mind is exquisitely designed to use and understand the rich and complex information of face to face communication. The invention of printing and more recently email transformed how information was transferred but that this missed out a lot of non verbal information.

Video however harks back to a time when storytelling and performance were the main media for transferring knowledge. Web videos are causing dance to evolve: by challenging each other incredible new dance skills were being invented. The League of Extra Ordinary Dancers (LXD) were web taught, but so good they got to perform at the Oscars and at TED.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rrxOBxlQmho

Superfast broadband is not just about watching blockbuster movies at home but also about sharing, creating and connecting ideas with like minded groups (like TED and TEDx do) across the globe.

Present anyone with too much of something and I promise you that they will grow to resent it. Big Cat have been presented with a “few” boxes of chocolate in preparation for an event we are organising for Mars. We are now discovering that even chocolate isn’t exempt from this rule.

Print advertising is self destructing.

The same rings true for print advertising. This morning I rummaged through a few lifestyle Magazines that had been delivered to me. One of them boasted ‘exclusive fashion show pictures’ and, naturally, this is the one I analysed first. There were three pages of advertisements before the contents page appeared, and a further 15 pages of advertising before the first Article (which reeked of press release).

Sales of Magazines have suffered recently. They are clearly losing out to the internet, which can provide answers to any question, and smart phones, which can give you access to those answers via the touch of a button.  Unfortunately, magazines have been combating this loss of revenue by selling more pages to advertisers and the impact of print advertising has been diluted as a result.

Many predict that print will, to some extent, return as a valuable medium for advertising. This is most likely to happen after media buyers turn their back on saturated publications as this will separate the serious publications from the ones driven by money.

Until that day comes, advertisers will have to find even more creative ways to reach their customers should they choose to continue print campaigns.

Here are some of the more noticeable ones that have caught my eye recently;

Everything in this advertisement is hot – from the Dali style objects that are melting in the heat, to the attention grabbing front girl and this makes the beverage seem very refreshing.

Surprisingly, this one isn’t advertising tools. It is a Hooters advertisement camouflaged. The reason for this (according to the copy) is; “so your girlfriend doesn’t know you’re attending happy hour”. This is an interesting approach but wouldn’t this just get overlooked in a magazine that is saturated with advertisements?

I went to see Angelina Jolie’s new film on Tuesday and was interested to see something very elegant, fashionable and rather tasty. I am, of course, talking about the new Jack Daniels advert.

The advertisement displays an assortment of mesmerising, morphing graphics which are accompanied by a gentle, slightly husky American voiceover that raises speculation as to what the brands ‘No7’ refers to. Once the advert had finished I had continued to speculate why the number 7 was so important to Mr Jack. Was it that he had 7 girlfriends? Was it that it took 7 measures of his own whisky to get him drunk? Through speculating, I missed the following seven advertisements and for that I praised the campaign. I was very intrigued to see what other marketing methods were in place to support the advert.

I was disappointed to later find that the only reference on the website was the short sentence that was used in the advertisement;

“One story says that it was the railroad shipping number on a barrel. We’ll never know for sure – Mr. Jack took that secret to the grave.”

Before reading this, I expected to find a vibrant forum where both the brand and its consumers had been passionately arguing over various interpretations of the ‘Old No7” mystery. I expected to see a neatly laid down and cleverly thought out competition to find and reward the most creative reason for the numbers importance. I even expected there to be a feedback form about why the number 7 may have been important to the consumer (it is after all one of the most popular favourite numbers). Perhaps social media incentive where seven friends band together to participate in the ‘finest 7’ – a competition to find the most ludicrous, diverse and interesting group of seven friends to appear in the next advertising campaign/ become social media advocates.

Unfortunately there was nothing like this.  Jack Daniel’s spends a fortune on advertising and these other marketing methods could have provided them with a better ROI if managed correctly. I do, however, admire Jack Daniel’s long running efforts to maintain the brands respect. Recent campaigns have lifted the covers off the manufacturing process and have also educated people about how the whisky came about. This will make the brand seem more authentic and accessible.

For a while now, Cadbury’s advertisements have become the focus of much debate. On the one side stand those who do not understand how a gorilla playing the drums can sell chocolate. On the other side are those who can see a cleverly structured and fully integrated media campaign, which incorporates multiple channels of communication.

The latest advert is no less confusing. It starts with a boring ocean scene that springs to life in what seems like a scene from Pixar’s Finding Nemo. The final shot holds the campaigns branding for the new Challenge Bar, along with directions to the companion website. It is hoped that the confusion raised within the commercial will provoke people to find out more by seeking an answer online.

I went onto the website (after taking a break to buy a Challenge Bar from Big Cats local store) and was welcomed by what I can only describe as the Willa Wonka Factory of the digital age. The site, like everything else in the campaign, is split into spots (of which there are 169,000 members) and stripes (of which there are 168,000).There are hundreds of competitions taking place along with many uploads of home videos and fan pictures. My only criticism at this stage was that you have to sign up to take part. While this provides the marketers with some useful data collection, it will reduce the amount of part-takers.

The website links to the Facebook and Twitter fan-sites which are home to an army of stripy people who are challenging spotty people. The campaign relies on our competitive streak in order to ensure its viral marketing intentions become a reality and some tweeters are really taking this competition to heart.

In addition to this, the campaign operates an experiential marketing arm, as a spots and stripes ‘circus’ tours UK’s major cities. This aspect of the campaign focuses on creating a relationship between the brand and the consumer and due to the high level of interaction that is required, this method (it seems) will be successful.

At Big Cat we have long operated under the knowledge that social media campaigns are stronger when supported by offline marketing methods. This is the first time I have seen a social media campaign implemented with this knowledge locally. Whether or not Cadbury’s go on to shove this campaign down our throats will determine its success.

I’m amazed that it is (once again), fashionable to buy scuffed boots and coats that smell like my shed! We have all noticed that vintage clothing has been flying off the shelves at Cow and Topshop. Now brands are following suit by re-releasing their old advertising campaigns. The objective of this approach is to stimulate a sense of nostalgia in the consumer which, hopefully, will reinstall the fondness the consumer once had in the product and therefore drive sales.

For example, Nigel Holland (regional president for Tetley Global Beverages), is bringing back the ‘loveable’ Tetley Tea folk who he sacked 27 years ago. In addition to this, Heinz is commemorating a century of its ‘cream of tomato soup’ product by launching the limited edition design that they used 100 years ago.

Furthermore, Nestle Milky Bar have released a new advertising campaign which attempts to evoke fond memories among adults. This is achieved by targeting adults who might have wanted to be the milky bar kid as a child. The advert shows the casting process for the next milky bar kid by broadcasting the auditions of the ordinary adults (aged 16 or over) who applied for a part on the campaign’s companion website.

This is the perfect way to launch the new raison and biscuit bar because the new products juxtaposition with the old advertising method further highlights the fact that it is new. However, as with many ‘blast from the past’ campaigns , the impact may be short lived when we remember why we turned away from them in the first place,  and the old stuff – which is now new stuff – will be old stuff again.

Companies house is the name of the government body that regulates everything involved with the incorporation of a business.  There are strict guidelines laid down that need considering when choosing a company name and these are in place to avoid misleading consumers.

Section 66(1) Companies Act 2006 states;

“a company must not be registered under this Act by any name that is the same as another name appearing in the registrar’s index of company names”

In addition to this, it is possible for existing companies to challenge the use of similar names via the common law action; ‘Passing off’. This action prevents new companies from taking advantage of the success and reputation of existing companies, as demonstrated in the case; Reckitt and Colman Products Ltd v. Borden Inc. and others[1990], after Borden launched an identically named brand.  Many of you, like me, may have accidentally typed in hoogle.com or facenook.com for instance, and noticed that the domain name was in use by an imitation website.

The ongoing dispute between Sky and Skype demonstrates how important the name of a company can be an what implications it may have. British Sky Broadcasting is trying to prevent the internet communication service Skype from registering its logo in several territories because it is concerned the two brands will be confused. Such disputes are proof that similar names have a big effect on business.

It is common for brands to try to take advantage of the success of another company and this strategy isn’t unique to company names. The launch of Marks and Spencer’s new vitamin water has been received with heavy criticism due to the products similarity to Glaceau’s Vitamin water. The product is identical in design and shape with only a slight variation in name. Such a “copy cat” approach is usually only adopted by those with limited resources or a lack of creative thought. We will be following these disputes with close attention and will update you when they are resolved.

There is ample evidence in history to support the claim that, “together everyone achieves more!”

In 2,650 BCE, it took approximately 100,000 workers approximately 20 years to construct the Great Pyramid of Giza. This was achieved with technology far inferior to that used by the engineers of the new Wembley stadium (which took about as long to complete!)

In 1966 a team of eleven came together to bring football home to England and just yesterday, 388 brave bidders exercised true teamwork to get a delicious 3 course meal discounted on the deal-of-the-day website Groupon.

Groupon is one of many sites where consumers can band together to get price reductions on items which might otherwise have been out of their price range.  Such sites are beneficiaries of the recession and a new discount site is being launched every week.

Another internet platform which illustrates the strength in consumer numbers is www.pledgemusic.com. Here an artist can make promises in exchange for the funds needed to create a new album or to pay for a headline tour.

Here –  http://www.pledgemusic.com/projects/charliesimpson for example, fans can pay £10 to have their name mentioned in Charlie Simpson’s album booklet. £2000 will buy a private gig!

With more and more artists latching on to this method of fundraising, and with deal websites continually attracting new business partners, it appears that many of these sites will be here long after the recovery.

One final example of a team who achieve great things:

Team Big Cat

Despite my efforts, I found it impossible to escape Gordon Brown’s creepy smile in the run up to the general elections. David Cameron’s airbrushed face was no less frightening.

Despite this, the Conservative’s outdoor campaign was the one of the most memorable aspects of this year’s general election. ‘Bigot-gate’ scandal aside, of course!  The conservatives spent a giant £5.2m on outdoor posters, while the other major parties decided not to focus on outdoor campaigns.  Alistair Campbell initially labelled the Tories campaign as ‘old fashioned’ and highlighted the role of social media as one the primary forums to drive Labours ‘modern’ campaign.

Alistair Darling also commented that … “public resistance to heavy messaging has grown, and for politics in particular there is no guarantee that the rewards of a well-funded, well-crafted and well-executed ad concept will outweigh the risks.” This is a well founded statement as the conservative posters featuring David Cameron received wide-scale criticism, with many expressing that too much focus was on him as a person rather than his policies. In response, the Tories changed tactics and decided to use an image of Gordon Brown alongside a negative statement. This also received heavy criticism –much of which suggested that the Tories were focussing heavily on the pitfalls of the opposition in order to disguise their own shortcomings.

However, the poster campaign could only have received this criticism if people were interacting with the adverts and this is the proof that, with the right message, outdoor is media format-force to be reckoned with. The decline in print options has raised the influence of outdoor advertising.

The Big Cat Group understands that this is the case – and therefore , outdoor features so prominently in our mutli-channel media campaigns. Here are a few examples:

Bodies Revealed

CSI Experience

Meet Stephen Holmes – a normal man from Coventry who has been made famous due to being the only person that Kanye West follows on Twitter. Kanye has effectively increased Stephen’s followers from just 60, to over 5, 000 in just over a week! This led me to investigate just how powerful celebrities are at influencing what we do.

There are obviously many benefits in using a celebrity to endorse your product. The brand will instantly be associated with the celebrity and will, in turn, be accepted in the same manner that the celebrity is. The brand will become more easily recognisable and will, in most cases, achieve longevity in the mind of the consumer.

This is certainly the case in sport.  For example, fans will religiously imitate David Beckham and this makes him the perfect vehicle to drive the sales of the latest Adidas boots. However, brand-celebrity associations are a double edged sword, as demonstrated by the relationship between Nike and Tiger Woods. After the exposure of his private life, Nike decided not to drop Tiger- a decision which runs the risk of making it seem that Nike condone his behaviour.

Anyway, I’m off to follow some people on Twitter…  in order to make celebrities out of them!

The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) is banning more and more adverts each year.  In 2008 alone the ASA dealt with 26,433 complaints which led to 2,475 ads being changed or withdrawn. This comes as no surprise since we are a nation with an ever-growing concern for political correctness.

The threat of offending people has made it increasingly difficult for advertisers to leave viewers in shock and awe. Despite this however, many banned adverts, especially those from well known brands, continue to rack up views on video site such as Youtube. Once banned, the adverts spreads like viral wild fire and since they get sent to people by friends via Facebook or e-mails, viewers are more likely to respond to them. In fact, many brands can thank the ASA for a larger ROI than any paid slot could ever have provided.

VW – Don’t Forget It’s a Diesel.

This VW advertisement was banned as a result of its frequent use of expletives.  It is difficult to believe that VW’S advertising agency ever believed the advert was fit for TV screens. It is more likely that the adverts banning was a result of fine planning – an approach which provoked over 2 million views on Youtube.

Click to play:

This isn’t the only time VW have had an advert banned for being controversial. Any guesses as to why this one got banned?

Polo – Small but Tough

Click to play

Those of you who watched I-Robot in 2004 will agree that viewers are subjected to a considerable amount of product placement.  When Will Smith wasn’t parading around in his ‘converse vintage 2004’ footwear he was racing around in a custom-made Audi.  That is, of course, when he wasn’t at home listening to music on his Sony CD player.  Despite these exploits, branded entertainment in the UK was prohibited by Ofcom.  This prohibition was based on EU legislation; however amendments to these laws have paved the way for product references and trademarks to be used on British television in exchange for money.

I-Robot 2004

The new rules, which are due to be incorporated into UK law at the end of 2010,will allow product placement in TV series, films, entertainment and sports programmes, but not in children’s and news programmes. So to reassure those of you who are concerned – Bob the Builder will not be fixing things with a Black & Decker multi-purpose saw. What we might expect to see however, is a Carlsberg tap at the Rovers Return or even Clear Blue pregnancy tests on Jeremy Kyle.  This will provide a new channel for advertising so maybe now it’s time to think inside of the box (for a change).

Hello all.

My name is Joe, and I am the brand new Marketing Intern in the Big Cat office. I sit next to Dan, opposite to Jenny, and diagonally from Ben. My view out of the office window is of a canal and a few buildings. I regularly bring a sandwich and a bottle of water into work, along with an energy drink, depending how alert I am in the morning. I have lived in a small village for the entirety of my life, and despite enjoying being away from home and travelling, have never ventured far away for a lengthy spell.

I would describe myself as a thinker, not in the conventional philosophical sense, but one who lets his mind run in a million different directions, which would explain the completely random observations and questions that will come your way when around me for more than an hour.

The obvious question that any interviewer, or anyone in general to whom I am chatting about my job, would ask is ‘Why Marketing?’ I would respond with another question; ‘Why wouldn’t I want to be involved in marketing?’ Having only been at Big Cat for just over a week, I have made contacts from various companies, I am involved in a potentially very successful campaign, and have not had one moment of boredom in the office.

I’ll finish with a few words on life so far at the Big Cat Group. Despite being here just one week, I have felt it very easy to fit in to the office structure. For now it is more of a learning curve than anything, but I can only expect to gain the best of experience during my time here.

Last Week it was announced that Entertainment Weekly, the US’s weekly entertainment guide (obviously), would be the first printed publication to include a video ad in it’s pages.

Pepsi will be the first company to be advertised on the small mobile phone screen sized display advertisement, along with CBS network previews. The technology used is similar to that which is used in the (utterly hilarious) singing greeting cards. The chips can hold roughly 40 minutes of footage and have rechargable batteries.

Watch it here

So when we watch films like Blade Runner, Back to the Future, Total Recall, Minority Report, even Harry Potter (see the Daily Prophet) and we laugh at the idea of a hoverboard or interactive and holographic ads, is the advertising industry laughing with us, or is it busy taking notes?

So, I’m sure you’ll agree it’s both impressive and exciting (and maybe a touch novel). At the moment, it is only brands with MASSIVE advertising budgets like Pepsi that can even consider splashing out/experimenting with this kind of marketing.

But what does this mean for the wider advertising industry?

Well if this takes off, a market which is even more competitive than it currently is. This technology isn’t going to be cheap (until they can be mass produced for a few pence), and along with the increase in printing costs, the publications are going to hold all the cards surely. To use a football analogy (if in doubt…): With their new wealth and ambition, Manchester City have single-handedly increased the market value of any player by 50% . Everton can now name a price for Joleon Lescott, now a £24m player, according to the word of Manchester City. How much would he cost to another club without if City’s financial influence wasn’t practically monopolising the market (the Real Madrid-less market that is)?

Anyway what I’m trying to say is that these ad spaces will be priced out of smaller brands budgets. Although the Video.Chip.Print ads will not be abundant for some time, therefore competition for places is going to be fierce, especially if this is successful. And the more money thats being pumped in, the bigger it will get.

It will certainly go a long way in helping create a good impression, maintaining that when the competition hits will be the next test.

On a final note, I’m waiting for the day this happens as I walk past Cineworld:

Advertising is everywhere. You cannot and will never be able to escape it.

The advertiser’s utopia of Los Angeles, as depicted in Blade Runner, is very much here and now (see Times Square below). If there’s an unoccupied piece of land, advertising companies will snap it up and whack an ad there.

Home-owners are even willing to offer out the road-facing side of their houses as a billboard, because it faces heavy traffic on a long commuter route. These selfless vigilantes are on a mission to help local businesses promote their products and services. An intention twinned no doubt, with an almost rabid thirst for cash.

Understandably, blanket advertising can get people’s goat. The characteristics affiliated with advertising are greed, lack of ethics, ruthlessness – typical fat cat traits that give the industry a rotten reputation.

Sure, brands like Coca-Cola and Tesco have practically monopolised their industries by pumping billions of dollars into their advertising campaigns. How do you compete against these monsters with this much financial clout? You can’t, leave them to it.

But what about the thousands and thousands of other companies, genuinely competing for custom? How do you persuade one person to buy Evian Water instead of Vittel? Bore them into submission with a few stats about minerals? Why not offer a new perspective. Does the advert have to be based around the springs at Lake Geneva? I’d love to have been at the meeting when the creative team had this idea:

Evian Babies

Brilliant! Babies dancing to Rapper’s Delight. I’m thirsty, might go grab an Evian…

Seriously though, this demonstrates perfectly the creativity and “outside the box” thinking which is becoming so prominent and practically unconditional in the advertising industry. This advert has achieved viral status, forwarded to colleagues, friends and family and has currently attained nearly 10 million views on YouTube.

To celebrate their 50th anniversary, Olympus created this stopmotion video. The PEN Story is a staggering piece of work by any standard. A 3 minute advert using over 60,000 pictures, 9,600 prints and 1,800 pictures had to be re-shot.

The artist is Mr Taijin Takeuchi

The PEN story

That companies are commissioning incredibly talented artists to create pieces like this, stretching their imagination and raising their profile simultaneously, is surely proof that advertising provides opportunity and pleasure.

Subliminal Advertising mentions must go out to Cadbury’s (yes, the drumming gorilla – seen it?), and perhaps the pioneer of the genre – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g2VCfOC69jc.

Is this Subliminal Advertising by definition? Or is the term evolving?

Hi there

Welcome to Big Cat Strategy’s blog. My name is Daniel, I’m pretty much a year into my role in the Big Cat Strategy department, so I guess I’m relatively new to marketing. I’ve learnt a lot in that time and have been involved in some great projects. I’m looking forward to learning more and am excited, intrigued and a little bit scared by the unknown.

My plans for this blog are simple.

I don’t profess to be an expert, but I will be able to offer a different viewpoint to other marketing blogs. I’ll also be coaxing the Strategy Director to share his abundant knowledge of the marketing, advertising and social media industries on this blog.

I’ll be interested in hearing your thoughts. I actively encourage both rage and praise.

Follow me on Twitter @danielbigcat