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Industry Spotlight: How can marketers ensure that their brand is being displayed correctly on the high street?
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Luca Pagano, CEO of BeMyEye, discusses the need for marketers to find a cost-effective means of ensuring that retailers in brick and mortar stores are displaying their brand correctly.

In the digital age, it’s easy to forget that marketers face challenges offline, as well as online. When faced with decreasing budgets and difficulties justifying ROI to the c-suite, a common problem is proving that offline marketing materials are achieving what is intended. Marketers do not have the same visibility afforded to them when their brand appears in a physical store as they do in online environments. Ultimately, as soon as marketing materials leave the marketers hands, they go into a blind spot.

With the uncertainty of Brexit’s impact and falling store prices, marketers will have to work harder than ever to ensure consistent revenue streams and safeguard operational efficiency. The majority of sales for brands and retailers still take place offline and therefore marketers who supply brand products and materials to physical stores must be confident that their brand is being presented to consumers correctly.

 

Facing the challenge head on

The biggest challenge in ensuring this is the spread of location. Marketers cannot easily monitor how their products and marketing materials are being presented in thousands of physical stores. Normally, marketers would receive a sample snapshot of data providing an overview of their brands presence across a handful of stores, but how can marketers ensure that this is consistent everywhere to measure accurate compliance of promotional activation and ultimately ROI?

To achieve a census view, the brand needs to ‘see’ each individual store. However, up until now this has been a costly, lengthy and improbable task for sales teams to complete. Brands need the ability to check thousands of retailers for in-stock presence of their products, effective activation of marketing collateral and POP and compliance of price quickly and cost-effectively.

 

The role of crowdsourcing to ensure brand consistency

Mobile crowdsourcing and the gig economy have grown at rapid speeds in recent years and businesses are beginning to tap into its incredible power. Marketers can utilise hundreds of thousands of eyes on the ground who are ready to deliver detailed actionable insights about their brand. The crowd can deliver images of promotional activity, pricing and competitor positioning from any location, all in real time.

BeMyEye’s recent report ‘Eyeing up the cost of UK groceries’ is an example of this at work, revealing price differences for a basket of popular groceries across hundreds of retailers in the UK, collected over just 4 days. The crowd uncovered granular level details of branded goods, including that cans of coke are less likely to be stocked in two of the four big supermarkets than avocados, which highlights changes in distribution for Coca Cola in the UK.

The report also discovered interesting insights for marketers when looking at convenience shopping, which is a trend that could unseat leading retailers as consumers move towards ‘little and often’ shopping. For example, results from the report showcase that whilst supermarkets like Tesco remain the most cost-effective outlet for grocery basics like milk, eggs and bread, some other goods, such as avocados, can often be found for lower prices in off-licences.

 

Brands are already benefiting from the crowd

The data from the grocery report highlights that it is possible to gather actionable retail intelligence at scale, cost-effectively and in real-time, however utilising the crowd doesn’t just apply to the grocery sector, the data can be applied to any brand or retailer operating on the high street.

For example, the world’s largest cruise line company, MSC Cruises, uses BeMyEye’s crowd of eyes to analyse the presence of their marketing materials in its travel agency partners. The results amounted to a complete overhaul in the brand’s marketing strategy as 30 per cent of the travel agent partners weren’t displaying the materials correctly.

During uncertain times, marketers need an honest representation of how their marketing materials, promotional offers, and products are being presented and they can turn to mobile crowdsourcing to find this stability. A recent report from McKinsey showed the importance of insights for brands, stating that brands such as Phillips and TRESemmé are all driving growth by meeting consumer needs better than their competitors are. Brands who invest wisely in scaled data, analytics and real-time insights will often achieve up to 10 per cent sales increase, up to 5 per cent higher return on sales and a margin uplift of 1 to 2 per cent – something the c-suite cannot argue with when allocating marketing budgets.

Crowdsourcing and the gig economy have quickly become the fastest, most feasible, accurate and valuable means for marketers to gather granular insights about their products, pricing and promotional activity across every single offline touchpoints. Combating this blind spot will be fundamental for marketers to maximise their brand’s revenue streams in the uncertain post-Brexit retail landscape.

 

Luca is CEO of BeMyEye, Europe’s leader of mobile crowdsourcing for real world data gathering. Prior to BeMyEye, Luca was co-founder and CEO of Glamoo, Italy’s third largest player in the digital couponing space, acquired by Seat Pagine Gialle in 2014.

Prior to joining Glamoo, Luca was VP of Publishing EMEA at EA Mobile, where he spearheaded the growth of iconic brands like Fifa, Tetris and Need for Speed into the dominant titles of the App Store; from 2001 to 2009 Luca was Managing Director UK & International at Buongiorno, a global leader in mobile Value Added Services (VAS).

CMOs ‘first in firing line’ if company targets are not met…
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The annual ‘The C-level Disruptive Growth Opportunity’ online research report from Accenture Strategy analysing the attitudes of 535 CEOs and 847 CMOs from organisations around the world has determined that, although an estimated five ‘C-level executives’ are usually held responsible for driving disruptive business growth, the majority (37 per cent) will place CMOs first in the firing line if growth targets are not met.

The results found that CEOs depict CMOs to be the ‘primary driver’ of disruptive growth (50 per cent), closely followed by chief strategy officers (49 per cent), and chief sales officers (38 per cent). The majority of CMOs (96 per cent) also recognise the importance of disruptive growth to revenue potential, and an additional 75 per cent believe they have a great deal of control over the disruptive growth levers in their company.

Senior managing director leading Advanced Customer Strategy at Accenture, Robert Wollan commented: “Organisations that rely on ‘growth by committee’ struggle to achieve their targets. It breeds a C-suite culture where everyone is responsible, yet no one is accountable – and onus unduly falls onto someone, usually the CMO.

“CMOs can take a greater role by actively driving the disruptive growth agenda and generating new value for the business. Such initiatives include developing ecosystems with non-traditional players, launching platforms that elevate current products into expanded service models for customers, and increasing revenue through next generation connected data monetisation – all of which CMOs are well positioned to do.”

The report did, however, acknowledge that many CMOs are not currently in a position to drive disruptive growth due to time and mind-set. Only 30 per cent of believe they are cutting-edge marketing innovators, and 37 per cent of their time is spent on innovation. Furthermore, 60 per cent claim to spend the majority of their time on ‘traditional marketing initiatives’, such as improving customer experience and maintaining brand image.

While evidently important, 54 per cent state a large portion of their marketing budget is being wasted and not delivering the results the business expects.
Download the full report here

Experian Marketing Services confirmed as MBF’s headline sponsor…
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Experian Marketing Services, a leading industry provider of data-driven marketing expertise and cloud-based technology, has been confirmed as the headline sponsor of the upcoming Marketing Business Forum (MBF), to be held on November 8 at the Grange Tower Bridge Hotel in London.

With more than 30 years’ experience using analytics, customer identify data and cross-channel marketing solutions for better data-informed decision making, Experian will benefit from full accessibility to pre-arranged one-on-one meetings with big-name delegates ooking to optimise their current strategies; as well as numerous networking opportunities in a relaxed setting.

Dan Bond, head of Marketing at Experian Marketing Services commented: “Experian’s expertise in data, and our powerful Marketing Suite, puts us in a unique position to solve today’s marketing challenges. At the Marketing Business Forum, we are looking forward to connecting with people and companies we can help. Events like this are a great way to share knowledge and build long-lasting business relationships.”

Craig Ross, event sales executive at the Marketing Business Forum said: “Experian Marketing Services are the perfect fit as headline sponsor due to their experience within the industry and the vast number of services they offer. With more than 90 delegates looking for a number of services from this year’s event, Experian have the capabilities to assist the majority of our attendees with their upcoming projects, making the event hugely beneficial to all involved.”

 

Learn more about Experian Marketing Services here

Mass reach and budget ‘matters now more than ever’…
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New research findings presented by Les Binet and Peter Field of the Institute of Practitioners in Advertising (IPA) at an ‘Effectiveness Week’ event on October 31 has refuted the misconception that, with the rise of owned and earned online media, marketers are beginning to question the need to spend money on paid media and mass reach.

Providing analysis of the IPA Databank and drawing on IPA TouchPoints data, the findings constitute the first part of a full report to be published in 2018, indicating that penetration is still three times more likely to be the main driver of growth and profit vs loyalty. As such, brands must focus on widening their customer base for which a broad reach of owned and earned communications – particularly paid media –  and subsequent budget, are crucial.

Research also found that brands utilising paid media will typically expand three times quicker than those relying solely on owned and earned media alone. Nonetheless, adding owned media to the equation can increase the effectiveness of a paid campaign by 13 per cent, and earned media by 26 per cent.

Furthermore, adding television increases effectiveness by 40 per cent, making it the most effective platform and it is also the best for generating top-line growth that drives profit, with a 2.6 per cent average market share point gained per year when using television advertising.

IPA director of Marketing Strategy, Janet Hull OBE said: “Here lies the proof that the digital transformation has helped make mass media work even harder. It also proves that while it is good to have earned and owned media, for top-line growth brands must invest in paid-for, mass reach.”

IPA claims the one reason why television advertising effectiveness has increased is due to video on demand and online video working in synergy with live television. The research shows a 54 per cent increase in the average number of very large business effects from adding television and online video together; versus 32 per cent for just television and 25 per cent just for online video.

The latest findings are a follow up to previous reports published by Binet and Field – Marketing in the Era of Accountability (2007) and The Long and the Short of it (2011) – confirming analysis portrayed in the 2011 study that the most profitable campaigns have a 60:40 ratio of long-term brand-building media (broad reach, highly emotive) and short-terms sales activation (tightly targeted and information rich).

Hootsuite partnerships to bridge the paid and organic gap…
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Considered to be the most widely used social media management platform, Hootsuite has announced its new partnerships with six leading technology and social advertising solution groups which, in turn, will allow users to complement their organic social media efforts with optimised social advertising campaigns.

The six partners are:

  1. Popimedia – a subsidiary of Publicis, and an Ad-Tech company that helps brands optimise spend, save time, and scale media on Facebook.
  2. AdEspresso – the best-in-class self-service solution for Facebook and Instagram advertising optimisation.
  3. Mediative – one of North America’s largest integrated digital marketing and media companies.
  4. Kenshoo – the global leader in agile marketing.
  5. Adaptly – a technology and services company that enables advertisers to scale campaigns across Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, Twitter, and Pinterest.
  6. Nanigans – the leading provider of advertising automation software for in-house marketing teams.

According to the company, users will now have the flexibility to choose ‘best-of-breed’ technology and service solutions to help optimise and manage social advertising campaigns across all major social channels. In particular, integrations with Kenshoo, AdEspresso, and Popimedia will make it accessible for users to manage paid social campaigns and organic social channels all in one place, directly from the Hootsuite dashboard.

Senior vice president of Labs, Corporate and Business Development at Hootsuite, Matt Switzer said: “More than ever, brands are investing in paid social media advertising to complement their overall social initiatives and marketing campaigns. Hootsuite’s partnerships with these market-leading social ads solutions will help give our enterprise customers a cohesive and comprehensive view into their entire social strategy.”

Guest Blog, Trevor Hardy: Why marketers need to recognise consumer trends…
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Examining trends is not a way of predicting the future; it’s a way of understanding the direction of forces, attitudes and behaviours. The Future Laboratory has developed a methodology for trend forecasting that combines qualitative, quantitative and ethnographic research; as well as expert interviews and an informed dose of intuition. But you can start the practice of identifying early adopter behaviours. Inspired by William Gibson who said, “The future is already here, it just isn’t very evenly distributed”, you can identify these early signs, behaviours or attitudes that are considered niche today; but will become more mainstream in months and years to come.

Understanding trends is essential. Not to predict what is going to happen or to create certainty – but to build confidence. Confidence that the decisions you take today will result in benefits tomorrow. Trends may have devalued meaning in some boardrooms, but they are essential insights which help with business, brand and marketing planning.

 

Trends are not trending

 

Understanding trends is not about knowing what is hot or trendy. Trends are a weather system; they are way to think about where things are going, where things may be and how things may change. Think of them as an insurance policy for your strategy. A way of exploring and understanding all possible futures to give you greater confidence that you are developing plans for what will be, rather than what is.

 

Trends slow down time

 

For years there has been a growing and clear sense that speed is good; speed should be aspired to. That speed of decision-making, of action or consumption and response signalled modernity, accomplishment and dynamism. We see it in our jobs, with roles changing at a greater pace; we see it in our voracious consumption and rapid disposal of news and of course we see it in our relationships with marriages not only coming to an end more frequently, but more quickly too

Without taking the space and time to consider possible futures, the road ahead is very uncertain; and that uncertainty is frightening. Whether it is Brexit, our pensions or our physical health we have a growing and worrying inability to engage with distant threats. As Ralph L Keeney of North Carolina’s Duke University puts it, ‘America’s top killer isn’t cancer or heart disease or smoking or obesity. It’s our inability to overcome our own short-term behaviour.’

The need for speed is letting us down. By taking time to develop a longer term view of your brand, market or consumer, you will be better prepared to make more informed, meaningful choices, and have a clearer picture of possible futures.

 

Trends are slow strategies

 

In one sense, understanding trends allows you to slow down time: being more prepared and informed about the future will allow people to engage in a slower, more considered planning process. The need for continuous rapid response will fade away as your teams develop more confidence in their future-readiness.

Slow strategies will become increasingly palatable as it appears that ‘fast’ is under attack in other aspects of life: food, fashion, music, sex and travel. From Jake Dyson’s 40-year light bulb and the New Horizons space probe, which took almost a decade of travel before beginning its mission, to Richard Linklater’s film Boyhood, which took 12 years to make; brands and their customers are thinking in terms of years, decades – even centuries.

There is an emerging acceptance that immediate gratification is leading to longer-term regret. A recognition, especially amongst younger generations, that a live-for-today approach may have caused irreparable harm to our bodies, our businesses, our communities and our planet. And these same younger generations may be the ones to embrace a long view so that they do not make the mistakes their parents made; the ones who will think in terms of legacy, not missions; who will consider their actions not over instants but over ages. They may be the ones to set an example to think long and slow.

Trevor is chief executive of The Future Laboratory; a trend forecasting and future strategy firm. His career has spanned management consulting and advertising agencies in Canada, USA and the UK; working with organisations including Coca-Cola, Budweiser, Chanel and MTV.

Industry Spotlight: We caught up with Click Consult at the Internet Marketing Summit
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The Internet Marketing Summit took place on the 9th May 2016 at the Grange Tower Bridge Hotel in London and was once again, a huge success. The Summit boasted keynote speakers, senior decision-makers from some of the biggest brands and the most innovative product and service providers in digital marketing for a day of match made face-to-face meetings, educational seminars and networking.

We caught up with Click Consult’s senior business development manager, James Price, to find out why they are back at the event for the 7th time.

So, how are you finding the event so far today?

In terms of today, for myself, it’s actually been really, really positive, the meetings have all been very good, very well-qualified people that actually want to speak to [Click Consult] about their needs for our products and services – it’s always been the case here, it’s why we come here so much. It’s been very, very good and personally I’ve always have a good return on investment from these events.

What do you think of the quality of delegates this year and last? At all events you have attended?

If I could have planned it, I couldn’t have planned it any better to be honest, they all wanted exactly what we’ve got and they’ve all really responded – I suppose some of that is down to our process as well as an agency but they’ve really responded to the conversations that we’ve had and I think there will be a lot of follow-up, more than any other event I’ve done for a while actually.

Have you received any business from attending these events?

Yes – we have definitely had business from Forum Events which is why we come back. We won’t do these things if there’s no ROI, we’re a business and if there’s no ROI then we won’t do it; we certainly make enough to pay for the event and get some profit as well, I mean we’ve got some of our biggest clients from these events.

Have you had any fast turnarounds?

Yes, we’ve had a couple – not many – because how I see these events and how they are marketed; it’s a case of getting to know people and starting a relationship. I mean we have had some pretty quick turnarounds as well, but mostly it’s been good long-term business that we’ve gotten from them.

Do you attend trade shows or exhibitions?

We used to invest heavily into trade shows. It was really good for a number of years, certainly when I first joined the company. But I think the quality has now gone down, I think where we’ve moved to as an agency we tend to deal with brands pretty much exclusively now – and the place we meet brands is here so that’s why we choose to come – it fits our profile as a business.

Do you find this format more effective than a trade show or exhibition?

Absolutely, yes. [Trade shows] were very good when it was a lot easier back in the old days because you would come away with contracts from them and it was that easy. But now you have to immerse yourself into your clients business and become a part of it. And with greatest respect in the world, if you go to a trade show, you meet junior members of staff who don’t have decision-making power; the advantage of these kinds of events is you are meeting decision-makers who actually make the final decision, so it’s a good way to start that relationship and it helps us immerse ourselves into their business and their brand as well.

Will you be back next year?

Yes, I don’t see why not.


Founded in 2003, Click Consult is an award-winning agency specialising in SEO and PPC. For more information on Click Consult and the products and services they provide, please click here.  

The next Internet Marketing Summit will be taking place on 8th May 2017 at the Grange Tower Bridge Hotel, London. To register your interest for this exclusive event, please click here.

Forum News: 10 ways to succeed at networking events…
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Walking into an event room full of people you don’t know can be a scary experience. However, there are proven ways to conquer this fear and make networking an enjoyable and a useful process to do business. Here, we share 10 of the best practices to eradicate those networking nerves.

1. Plan ahead: Try to obtain the attendee list in advance and highlight the people you would like to meet. On arrival, contact the event organiser and say who you are trying to connect with. If they get the chance, an introduction between yourself and the other party will be made upon arrival. It might also be beneficial to go to the registration area to ask if one of your selected visitors has arrived.

2. Get there early: If you are one of the first to arrive, it is much easier to strike up a conversation with a small group of people.

3. Most people are in the same position: If you do not know anyone else attending, it’s good to prepare a few opening questions: ‘Any particular presentation you’re looking forward to hearing today?’; ‘What brought you to this event?’

4. Join a group: Approaching a group of attendees already in full conversation is a daunting prospect. So be bold, confident, and simply ask: “May I join the conversation? I’ve just arrived and I’m keen to learn what’s going on.”

5. Build interesting conversation: Ask topical and relevant questions to the specific event. Be a good listener and don’t dominate the conversation with your own stories and business ideas.

6. Be helpful: Share your knowledge of the industry, your contacts and sources of information. If people perceive you as an experienced and knowledgeable professional, they will want to keep in contact and maintain a relationship.

7. Use your business card as a tactical weapon: I have a friend who renovates old wooden floors, so his business card is made of a thin piece of wood and has proven to be a guaranteed conversation starter. Be imaginative with the design and the job title displayed. Anything that says ‘sales’ or ‘business development’ could cause people to fear a sales pitch is on the way. So try and think of a job title that encourages a productive conversation.

8. Receiving business cards: Be sure to make notes on the back to remind you of the conversation and the person. This could become much use in future interactions.

9. Following up: If you engaged in constructive conversation with an attendee and have agreed to follow up after the event, then set a preferred method of contact and make sure to do so promptly.

10. What not to do: Sales pitches, even if you’re asked ‘what does your company do’, keep your answer to a very brief explanation. Don’t ‘work the room’ rushing from group to group as this is not the way to form business relationships. It’s better to have had four good conversations than a dozen meaningless chats.

 

Words by Paul Rowney, Director at Forum Events Ltd.

Business Marketing: Physical Vs Digital
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In recent years, more and more emphasis is being placed on digital marketing, sometimes to the detriment of more traditional (often tried and tested) marketing methods.

This is due, at least in part, to the newness of many digital platforms and the constantly advancing functionality of various social media and communication channels.

Nevertheless, campaign tracking and consumer research findings tell us that some of the more traditional marketing approaches, such as print advertising and solus campaign, are still effective ways to reach receptive target audiences.

Both physical and digital activities will have a place in most marketing campaigns, but it can be tricky to decide on the best combination of the two. Ultimately, this will depend on the nature of your business and the products and services you’re promoting. However, there are advantages and disadvantages to both physical and digital methods and these will need to be given full consideration before settling on your marketing mix.

Physical Marketing

Print campaigns, leaflet drops, print advertising, direct mailings, solus distribution and “outdoor” ad campaigns are all physical approaches to marketing that have yielded results for businesses in the past.

If yours is the type of business that publishes a brochure or catalogue, then this is likely to account for a significant portion of your annual marketing spend.

By comparison with digital alternatives, traditional marketing can seem costly and the temptation is sometimes to switch all of your efforts to bolstering your digital campaigns. However, when you consider the demographics that you’ve identified as target markets, it may well be that certain physical marketing methods are more appropriate.

Digital Marketing

Your business website, PPC (Pay Per Click) advertising, social media channels, banner advertising on other websites or on search engine results pages, SEO (Search Engine Optimisation), blogging and email marketing are all examples of digital marketing methods that have come into their own in recent years.

The most immediate and apparent benefit of digital marketing is the seemingly lower cost. Email is often touted as having the highest ROI (Return on Investment) of any marketing activity. However, it’s important to monitor your digital efforts to make sure you’re getting worthwhile results.

Banner advertising is attractive to many business owners and marketing managers simply because it seems so cheap compared to print advertising. However, just because a website with ad space boasts a high volume of traffic, doesn’t necessarily mean that their traffic will be receptive to your product or service.

Another pitfall is the assumption that social media marketing is free. Although it’s possible to create and execute a highly effective social media marketing strategy for very little outlay, nurturing and growing your online audience takes time and effort – precious resources which must not be overlooked.

At the end of the day, the particular mix of physical and digital marketing techniques you choose will depend on your product/service, your budget and the size of your team. However, the best approach is to keep an open mind. To get the most from your marketing campaigns will involve a certain amount of trial and error and a constant willingness to adapt and refine your activities.

Go digital at the Internet Marketing Summit
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Rapidly revolutionising the dynamics of the business world, the use of the internet has become increasingly critical to the success of organisations. Businesses need to take advantage of this new medium to interact with their consumers by incorporating digital into their strategies and adopting the latest technologies available.

Traditional marketing approaches; snail mail, trade shows and print advertising, have become a thing of the past. Businesses now need to go digital to connect with their customers. Marketing strategies and tactics must therefore be conceived with today’s digital nature in mind.

Opening up the world of business, the internet has significantly contributed to the removal of trade barriers. Through the use of the internet, companies are able to reach a wider audience by trading globally. Though this is largely advantageous, there are also limitations businesses must keep in mind. With over 30 million domain names online trying to reach out to potential consumers, competition has never been higher.

Now more than ever, businesses need to optimise their marketing strategies to improve their visibility and name recognition worldwide. To be on the forefront of digital, businesses need to be innovating constantly. The challenge is for brands to connect with customers through all these devices and networks in real time, creating campaigns that work across social media, display advertising and eCommerce.

The Internet Marketing Summit is an event designed to draw on the combined skills, knowledge and expertise of the digital community to develop new strategies and tackle the challenges that the digital future presents.

Offering invaluable digital insight to senior marketing professionals; the Internet Marketing Summit provides unparalleled industry access to the latest products and services to help businesses enhance their marketing strategies. Maximising productivity with face-to-face meetings; the Internet Marketing Summit uses a unique matchmaking formula to bring delegates and the most innovative product and service providers together.

Featuring a comprehensive seminar programme, this year’s Summit will be welcoming prominent industry influencers, including speakers from Metropolis International, The ID Group and many more, to provide an update on policy and share best practice strategies on all facets of digital marketing.

Welcoming senior representatives from Bupa Global, Hilton Worldwide, Tesco, Vision Express, yoomoo and many more; the Internet Marketing Summit is a well-established platform to learn from the experts on how to encompass the latest technologies into a marketing strategy.

Returning for its 8th year, the Internet Marketing Summit is a day of ideas, inspirations, tools and tactics to help businesses succeed in today’s fast-paced business environment, giving marketers the expertise to transform their strategies in line with the latest technologies. Featuring keynote speakers, leading brands and the biggest brains in the industry, the Internet Marketing Summit is the ideal place for industry professionals to get their fix on the latest trends, updates and innovations in the ever-changing world of digital marketing.

The annual Internet Marketing Summit will take place on May 9th at the Grange Tower Bridge, London. Attendance to the Internet Marketing Summit is exclusively limited to senior marketing professionals and product and service providers in the industry, to secure your place at the event please contact:

Amy Ktori
Event Sales Manager
E: a.ktori@forumevents.co.uk
T: 01992 666729