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Immersive virtual reality tech has vast potential in marketing – but a dark side too…

As an immersive technology, virtual reality (VR) has vast marketing potential to materialise consumers’ desires, says Dr. Chloe Preece, Associate Professor of Marketing at ESCP Business School.

However, it also has a dark side where it can be used to better conceal the current power asymmetries which capitalist systems depend upon.

Alongside colleagues from Royal Holloway and King’s College London, Dr. Preece co-authored a study on how VR is portrayed in the media.

Their findings were drawn from analysis of 146 texts collected over a two-year period, including news articles, white papers, fiction stories, and more.

The researchers discovered that most of the time, in 85% of cases, VR is portrayed in positive terms by the media.

Such views emphasise VR’s potential for improving the economy and its unique ability to place people in others’ shoes, which could contribute to tackling societal issues.

Negative views of VR portrayed it as an addictive and isolating technology, cutting people off in imaginary worlds. These portrayals also suggested VR could contribute to the exploitation of people’s personal data.

In a marketing context, successful practices convince potential customers that they will have a better future if they invest in a product or service. VR is a tool uniquely suited to this because of its ability to artificially create consumers’ idealised visions of the future.

But the researchers warn that people must be aware of how their hopes, desires, and visions of the future can be manipulated by commercial markets in this way.

To convey the potential positive and negative consequences of VR’s expanding role in the UK and other national economies, the researchers created an interactive online game to accompany their research paper.

“Creating an interactive narrative helps us emphasise how VR, as an immersive technology, can give consumers a perceived feeling of agency. The illusion of choice we offer players serves to communicate that, beneath the surface, their decisions are limited by powerful historical, political and social forces,” says Dr. Preece.

The study was published in The Journal of Marketing Management, and a link to the interactive narrative can be found here: https://canukl.github.io/vrsociotechnicalimaginaries/

Empowering virtual creativity in marketing

Creatives are losing patience with digital tools. Every client, outsourcer and freelancer seems to rely on a different software solution, leaving creatives struggling to retain control over the ever increasing volume of content. And it is causing problems. How many campaigns have been pulled after the incorrect artwork went to print?

How many agencies already struggling to recruit and retain staff are losing talent due to low employee morale as they wrestle with tedious administrative tasks and struggle with version control? How many are also spending thousands of pounds every month on an ever expanding list of software subscriptions?

Every business needs to work digitally. Yet while project management tools are great at coordinating a dispersed team, they aren’t working for creative tasks. So how can companies achieve end to end visibility of creative projects and free up talented individuals to create, not chase admin tasks?

Jon Simcox, Managing Director and Founder, Oppolis, explains why providing control in a virtual world will empower creative teams to maximise talent while still meeting tight deadlines to achieve the best possible design outcome.

Frustrating Compromise 

Creative agencies and digital marketing experts are in demand. From personalisation and the ever important unboxing experience to innovative technologies such as 3D, creative talent is transforming the way businesses engage with customers. Yet achieving the desired level of creative innovation, even meeting client demands is increasingly tough. A shortage of expertise plus a reliance on multiple outsourced and freelance resources is combining with hybrid working to create an ever more complex, disparate and disrupted creative process. It is unsatisfying for employees, companies and clients.

The individual tools used to support elements of the creative process are great. Digital tools are fabulous at enabling specific creative tasks and activities – from design to proofing, video to artwork. Project management tools do an excellent job at managing specific administrative tasks. Messaging tools are essential, especially for a dispersed team. But the plethora of tools now in use has led to an administrative and creative nightmare.

There is no visibility of creative task status. No single view of the process – or version. No audit trail or way to track content reviews. And no way to confidently share information with clients or other stakeholders. The more distributed the process becomes – and with the addition of innovative technology, businesses want to explore ever more exciting creative options which are unlikely to be in-house – the more complex, expensive and risky it becomes.

Broken Model

Even the standard task of commissioning a new piece of artwork can result in the use of multiple different tools – none of which is linked to the Project Management tool. The result is a time consuming and resource intensive creative process that focuses heavily on administration and management rather than creativity.

With poor version control, errors can slip through – leading to expensive mistakes. The tedium of arduous version control and review processes leads frustrated individuals to accept ‘good enough’ rather than push for perfection, especially under tight time pressure. The result is a compromised creative process that will have an implication for a company’s competitive edge.

With the ever present pressure on staff retention, this environment is morale sapping. When creative individuals can see friends and colleagues in other organisations freed up from the constraints of technology to be truly creative, the danger is clear.

Transparent Control

For an annual project to update packaging or the corporate identity, this convoluted approach is manageable – just. But for any creative business, this process is hugely damaging. This artwork will be used on packaging, social media, videos, websites. The entire business – or client’s business – will depend upon the fast creation of consistent, high quality content.

Clients also demand visibility. They want a say in the entire process. They do not expect to be asked to trawl through old Teams meetings to find the document that was shared. Or to have to repeatedly make the same request for a different colour. When the latest in design technology allows agencies to change the look and feel of product shots in 3D in near real-time, it makes no sense to attempt to share such innovation through email or We Transfer. It’s clunky, inefficient and unprofessional.

Everyone needs to be part of the process and that means using the same, coherent toolset that supports every single step of the creative project. With one tool, project owners can manage the entire content creation exercise, mark every milestone, within the project management system. Campaigns can be archived in one place, providing a full audit trail in one location, ensuring any confusion about content sign off can be immediately reviewed. Rigorous version control eradicates the danger of using the incorrect artwork in a campaign. Plus, of course, by consolidating onto one tool, companies can reduce the number of monthly subscriptions for the extensive digital toolset. Critically, scarce, talented creative individuals are freed up to maximise their creative time.

Creative Explosion

The digital technologies that enabled a virtual creative process served their purpose. They solved an immediate problem and enabled organisations to manage hybrid working, reach out and work with new freelancers, and access talent globally. But these disparate tools are not allowing these virtual teams to work together in a truly effective and creative manner.

By adopting a single tool designed to support every step of any creative process, companies can attract and retain individuals with the promise of achieving their creative best. By eradicating tedious admin tasks and the frustration associated with chasing versions, companies avoid errors and, more critically, enable creative staff to prioritise the activities they love. Plus, at every stage all stakeholders – including clients – have full visibility of the process and everyone will feel confident to add new creative talent, explore new areas of innovation without any fear of losing control.

The expanding digital creative toolset is no longer a boon; it is a business risk and one that needs to be urgently addressed.

The most sought after freelancers in the UK? Web & graphic designers

Twenty-two per cent of SME owners suggest that web design is the most-likely role to be outsourced, while digital roles hold top three spots for highest average hourly freelance pay.

That’s according to a recent study by small business lender iwoca, which analysed some of the UK’s most popular job sites to identify the top freelance hiring trends across the UK.

The research shows just how reliant small business owners could be on freelancers, with nearly half of respondents at 47% saying they had used a freelancer before, and 65% claiming they are likely to use one to help grow their business.

The top three roles that business owners are most likely to outsource are:

  1. Web Designer- 22%

  2. Accountant- 20%

  3. Social Media Manager- 15%

iwoca’s research on freelance site Upwork identified that the freelance skill costing the most, on an hourly basis, was Search Engine Marketing Specialist (SEM).

SEM Freelancers advertise an average hourly rate of £58.76, the most expensive skill of those studied on Upwork in the UK. If hired as a full-time employee, the hourly rate for an SEM Specialist would be just £15.17 (based on average annual salaries from Glassdoor), only around 25% of what the equivalent freelancer would make.

Rank

Freelance Skill

Average hourly rate to hire on Upwork

Annual earning potential as a freelancer

Average annual salary in full-time employment

1

SEM Specialists

£58.76

£112,826.88

£31,540

2

SEO Specialists

£57.59

£110,566.09

£35,365

3

Copywriter

£53.87

£103,424.64

£28,966

4

Developer

£51.82

£99,488.45

£41,851

5

Programming

£49.65

£95,323.84

£33,223

The three lowest paid freelance roles, all costing less than £20 per hour, were Sales Representatives, Customer Service Representative and Data Entry Execs at £17.03, £18.28 and £19.01 respectively.

Despite the high hourly rate of Search Engine Marketers, it’s not the role with the most freelance job ads. Only 13 SEM roles were advertised on the freelance site Upwork (up to 31 May) compared to the most advertised job, Developer, which had 243 openings, followed closely by Copywriter, with 234 job openings.

Rank

Job Title

Job openings for freelancers

1

Developers

243

2

Copywriter

234

3

Sales Representative

220

4

Branding

200

5

Graphic Designer

197

To view the full research please visit iwoca: here 

Shockingly Good: The 5 most controversial marketing campaigns according to social media

 As women’s health brand Elvie recently ‘broke the internet’ with their provocative 2022 campaign normalising women’s incontinence in sport, print marketing and branding experts Solopress have investigated the top 5 campaigns of the last decade that stirred up the social sphere…

 Key Findings:

  • 94% of those surveyed by Always agree that their #LikeAGirl campaign encouraged girls to be more confident and 70% of women and 60% of men claimed that the video changed their perception of the phrase ‘like a girl’.
  • #LikeAGirl received over 1100 earned-media placements and 4.4 billion impressions in the first three months of launching the campaign with its positive sentiment reaching 96%.
  • Gillette’s #TheBestAManCanBe campaign earned 3 million views on YouTube, 203k retweets and 513.3k likes on Twitter and was received positively overall. It encouraged 65% more purchase intent.
  • Elvie’s Leaks Happen campaign stirred up conversations around the world regarding incontinence in women, with content attached to #LeaksHappen receiving 2.9 million views on TikTok.
  • Searches for ‘Elvie Trainer review’ have increased by 60% and searches for ‘Elvie Curve’ (two of the brand’s key products) have increased by 70% according to Google Trends since the campaign’s launch.
  • Weetabix’s Beanz on Bix campaign instantly blew up on social media, gaining 36.3k retweets, 68.8k quoted tweets and over 130k likes on Twitter.
  • KFC pursued print advertising with their ‘FCK’ advert which resulted in 700 press articles and TV discussions, reaching a combined audience of 797 million globally.

The world of marketing has graced us with countless unforgettable (albeit controversial) campaigns over the past decade spanning a range of industries, from fast food to male grooming and women’s health.

Recently, women’s health brand Elvie sparked a wide online response with their March 2022 billboard campaign. The unique out-of-home advert depicted a woman squatting and lifting weights complete with liquid to portray urination and raise awareness of women’s incontinence.

But which ‘controversial’ marketing campaigns broke through the noise and caught the public’s attention the most within the 2000s and how many garnered business success as a result?

Print marketing and branding experts Solopress have analysed the top 5 most controversial marketing campaigns according to social media to reveal which campaigns leveraged shock value to their advantage.

The 5 Most Controversial Marketing Campaigns of the Decade

  1. Always #LikeAGirl
  • 70million views on YouTube
  • 5million views on TikTok
  • 10,62 likes on Twitter
  • 814 retweets on Twitter
  1. Gillette #TheBestMenCanBe
  • 4million views on YouTube (via Guardian News)
  • 203k retweets on Twitter
  • 3k quoted tweets on Twitter
  • 3k likes on Twitter
  • 11,752 likes on Instagram
  • 1k likes on Facebook
  1. Elvie Leaks Happen
  • 3million views on TikTok
  • 9k views on YouTube
  1. Weetabix, Beanz on Bix
  • 3k retweets on Twitter
  • 8k quoted tweets on Twitter
  • 130k likes on Twitter
  • 1,839 likes on Instagram
  1. KFC FCK
  • Reached a global audience of 797 million
  • 814 likes on Twitter
  • 428 retweets on Twitter
  • 114 quoted tweets on Twitter
  • 700 press articles and TV discussions
  1. Always #LikeAGirl – 2015

Feminine hygiene brand Always’ unforgettable campaign #LikeAGirl managed to successfully subvert gender stereotypes and redefine what it means to do something ‘like a girl’.

With the aim of reconnecting with their young consumer base (16-24-year-olds) to ensure brand loyalty, Always’ short video advert depicts a casting call with young women, men, boys and girls being asked to pretend to run, fight and throw like a girl.

Whist women, men and boys chose to act out stereotypes and mock the way in which women would do these things, pre-pubescent girls provided a powerful response in that they pretended to complete these actions with pride and confidence.

The insight resonated with Always’ viewership, with 94% agreeing that the campaign has encouraged girls to be more confident and 70% of women and 60% of men claiming that the video changed their perception of the phrase ‘like a girl’.

Always received over 1100 earned-media placements and 4.4 billion impressions in the first three months of launching the now renowned campaign.

They did this by taking a derogatory phrase that supports the negative, misguided representation of women ‘not being good enough’ and making it a symbol of female empowerment via social media with the hashtag #LikeAGirl.

Positive sentiment also reached 96% within three months, purchase intent increased by more than 50% among the target audience and 177,000 #LikeAGirl tweets were posted including tweets from celebrities such as Gloria Steinem and George Takei as a result of the thought-provoking advert.

In terms of social reach and engagement, the initial video advert garnered over 70million views on YouTube and 8.7k views on Facebook, making it to Solopress’ top spot in the best controversial campaigns list.

This unique campaign, including a YouTube video advert, paid Facebook and Twitter posts, paid reach, and influencer outreach, demonstrates the benefit of harnessing brand values to encourage positive social change and ultimately helping specific audiences to feel both seen and supported.

#LikeAGirl still has relevancy today despite being released in 2015, with posts connected to the hashtag receiving 20.5million views on TikTok.

  1. Gillette #TheBestMenCanBe – 2019

Another provocative hashtag-led campaign that got thousands on social media talking was Gillette’s 2019 campaign #TheBestMenCanBe.

The video-based social media campaign was created in the wake of #MeToo and aimed to challenge traditional male stereotypes and encourage positive behaviour.

It disregarded the brand’s shaving products and instead addressed themes of toxic masculinity, misogyny and sexual harassment.

Gillette’s video showed various situations involving boys and men, from men making derogatory comments toward women to young boys fighting each other, intending to encourage others to make better choices.

The divisive advert sparked serious debate with some viewers applauding the brand’s stance on this social issue and others viewing the ad as an attack on men.

Among the negative responses was a tweet from Piers Morgan accusing the brand of virtue-signalling “I’ve used @Gillette razors my entire adult life but this absurd virtue-signalling PC guff may drive me away to a company less eager to fuel the current pathetic global assault on masculinity”.

Other responses saw the campaign as a catalyst for positive change with one Twitter user writing “Thank you, Gillette, for standing out and keeping the conversation going” and another stating “I don’t even use Gillette but I may start using it after this…great job, great message, great delivery.”

Although opinions were divided on the campaign, which immediately went viral and now has 3 million views on YouTube, overall, it seems that feedback was positive encouraging 65% more purchase intent.

The original post gained 203k retweets, 76.3k quoted tweets and a staggering 513.3k likes on Twitter, revealing how powerful brand campaigns that tackle social issues can be.

However, given the backlash received around a razor company attempting to virtue-signal, it’s important for brands to consider whether they have the authority to make comments in these areas and whether the end goal of the campaign justifies the means.

  1. Elvie – Leaks Happen 2022

Following the brand’s TikTok video of a woman squatting with weights and accidentally peeing being flagged by the platform as ‘graphic’, women’s health brand Elvie launched a 20ft ‘peeing’ billboard to confront the taboo of urinary incontinence and clap back at social media censorship around the widespread issue.

The brand found that 84% of women experience incontinence in the UK and 1 in 3 experience the issue globally which led to them encouraging women to speak out about the issue.

Featuring the Elvie Trainer product, the #LeaksHappen campaign showed a 28-year old mum of two, Megan Burns experiencing a leak whilst working out, represented by real water coming from the London-based billboard.

The brand aimed to empower and enable women to ‘achieve everything their bodies are capable of’.

Since the launch of the campaign, the brand’s behind the scenes video of installing the billboard has received 1.9k views and content attached to #LeaksHappen has received 3million views on TikTok.

In terms of marketing, the widespread discussion on the topic of urinary incontinence indicates success.

When it comes to business success, the efforts of the campaign proved to be hugely valuable with search popularity for ‘Elvie Trainer review’ increasing by 60% since the billboard’s launch according to Google Trends and search popularity for ‘Elvie Curve’, another product in the Elvie range, increasing by 70%.

This innovative, head-turning billboard and social media campaign is an excellent example of a brand creating a purpose-led campaign centred on an important women’s health issue relevant to their brand values and product offering.

The campaign utilised shock value to its advantage, thus creating a relevant, timely and impactful message that led to increased brand visibility.

The campaign also demonstrated the power of utilising physical branding such as out of home advertising in 2022 to make a powerful statement and bring your brand to the forefront.

  1. Weetabix Beanz on Bix – 2021

The infamous Weetabix Beanz on Bix campaign that achieved ‘meme’ status won’t be forgotten in a hurry.

The campaign unfolded with a viral image of a breakfast like no other; Weetabix covered in Heinz Baked Beans, much to the horror of social media users everywhere.

Playing on the typical ‘food inspo’ style of Weetabix posts but with a controversial twist, the social media campaign garnered a phenomenal response with an onslaught of other brands responding on Twitter.

Ford declared “Just because you can doesn’t mean you should” with an image of beans all over the boot of a car.

Specsavers, who in typical fashion brought more humour to the Twittersphere by stating “If you can’t beat them, join them” accompanied by an image of two pairs of glasses covered in beans.

The saga continued with the NHS commenting “This tweet should come with a health warning” in response to the Weetabix image, indicating the widespread impact of the tongue in cheek campaign.

Weetabix’s original post on Twitter instantly blew up during what was a difficult time for many dealing with the repercussions of Covid-19, gaining 36.3k retweets, 68.8k quoted tweets and over 130k likes.

Additionally, the Instagram post of the questionable image gained 1,839 likes, demonstrating the level of engagement a simple creative campaign such as this can achieve.

The timeliness of the campaign was another factor that no doubt contributed to its success.

It came out six weeks into a national lockdown where audiences were looking for humour and comfort, emphasising the importance of appropriate timing when it comes to controversial campaigns.

  1. KFC FCK – 2018

This iconic print campaign from KFC covered a full-page ad in multiple news publications including Metro and The Sun in an attempt to apologise for their chicken shortage in February 2018 and mitigate damage to the brand.

The ad shows an empty chicken bucket with FCK replacing the KFC branding on the front, much to the appreciation of many social media users who loved the strategic humour.

The advert included an apology for the fact that hundreds of stores had to close throughout the UK as a result of issues with their new chicken supplier DHL.

Brandwatch data also revealed that on 21 February alone there were 53,000 mentions of KFC running out of chicken, associated with hashtags such as “#ChickenCrisis” and “#KFCCrisis”.

YouGov’s BrandIndex also revealed that KFC’s ‘buzz score’ measuring positive and negative sentiments dropped by20 points to -24.

However, the brand managed to avoid long term impacts, with purchase consideration metrics unchanged by the debacle.

KFC chose to pursue print advertising as they believed that this utilises higher trust metrics than social media.

The advert resulted in 700 press articles and TV discussions, reaching a combined audience of 797 million globally.

Within three months, 219 million social media users were also exposed to the branded image with the witty anagram, thus the campaign had achieved a reach of over one billion from its single print ad, leveraging only ‘humility, humour and honesty’.

In fact, the tweeted advert encouraged 428 retweets, 114 quoted tweets and gained 814 likes.

The recovery of the brand during the crisis was evident in the brand impression score among consumers dropping from 57 to 49 in the first few days and then increasing to 51 according to YouGov’s BrandIndex findings.

This simple yet effective ad is a prime example of a brand being proactive in the face of a PR disaster by responding in a very ‘human’ way, which ultimately prevented further damage to the brand’s reputation.

Assessing Controversial Marketing Success

As we know, marketing success is measured in different ways using a variety of metrics depending on a brand’s objectives.

Sometimes, in the case of KFC, success looks like mitigating severe brand damage..

Sometimes it can be an impactful campaign video reaching viral status, sparking meaningful discussions and improving a brand’s visibility like the case of Always’ #LikeAGirl campaign.

Solopress’ list highlights some crucial rules to achieving success with controversial campaigns however, such as ensuring the time is right and the tone is appropriate to avoid the advert causing a social media storm or falling on deaf ears.

Also noteworthy is the continued value of print media when it comes to getting a dialogue going, as we see in the Elvie billboard and light-hearted KFC print advert, which successfully used physical print alongside hashtags to drive social media conversation.

Digital marketing 2022 buying trends revealed

Lead Generation, Pay Per Click and Google Ads top the list of services the UK’s leading marketing professionals are sourcing in 2022.

The data has been revealed by the Digital Marketing Solutions Summit, based on delegate requirements for the upcoming event.

Delegates registering to attend were asked which areas they needed to invest in during 2022 and beyond.

Half are looking to invest in Lead Generation, followed by Pay Per Click at 43% and Google Ads (40%).

% of delegates at the Digital Marketing Solutions Summit sourcing certain products & solutions (Top 10):

Lead Generation & Tracking 50% Pay Per Click 43.3% Google Ads 40% Online Strategy 40% Social Media 40% Multi-channel Engagement 36.7% Online Advertising 36% Integrated Marketing 33% Search Engine Optimisation 33% Email Marketing 30%

To find out more about the Digital Marketing Solutions Summit, visit https://digitalmarketingsolutionssummit.co.uk.

Marketing software revenue to hit $264bn by 2030

The global digital marketing software market size is expected to reach $264.15 billion by 2030, equivalent to a CAGR of 19.1% from 2022 to 2030.

Analysis by ResearchAndMarkets asserts that the market has been evolving continuously in line with the advancements in technology and the changing needs of the incumbents of various end-use industries and industry verticals, especially small and medium enterprises.

Furthermore, the unabated transition from desktops to smartphones as the rapid increase in the number of smartphone users would expose more individuals to online ads is anticipated to drive the market growth.

In particular, it cites several vendors striking strategic partnerships with end users to help them in strengthening their digital marketing activities. For instance, in February 2021, IBM partnered with Palantir.

The partnership will include IBM’s hybrid cloud data platform designed to make hybrid cloud and AI environments more accessible to organizations. The partnership will support the implementation of AI-infused applications with IBM Watson as well as assist customers or clients in accessing, analyzing, and acting on massive volumes of data.

The growing trend of remote working and collaborative approaches has shifted the focus of marketing campaigns toward social media, search engines, and media websites.

They are leveraging the rising demand for streaming services such as Amazon Prime, Netflix, and Hulu. In Italy, the number of first-time installations of Netflix was up by over 57% in March 2020.

Digital Marketing Software Market Report Highlights

  • The adoption of marketing automation software is anticipated to gain traction over the forecast period it is widely used by marketing departments to effectively market their products on multiple online channels, such as websites, email, and social media, and to automate repetitive tasks.
  • The managed services segment is anticipated to register the highest CAGR during the forecast period. The increasing need for cloud-based managed services and the growing dependence of organizations on IT assets to improve their business productivity are the major factors contributing to the growth of the managed services segment.
  • The cloud segment is expected to register significant growth over the forecast period as it helps businesses in improving cost structures and setting up a control center to monitor, arrange, and coordinate various components of their digital marketing campaign.
  • The SMEs segment is anticipated to register the highest CAGR over the forecast period owing to the increasing role of government authorities in the provision of capital to small & medium enterprises for embracing digitization is anticipated to propel the growth of the segment.
  • Asia Pacific is anticipated to register the highest CAGR over the forecast period, owing to the increasing popularity of social media and the rising preference for e-commerce and m-commerce, particularly in emerging economies, such as India, Indonesia, and Thailand.

SEOs and digital PRs know their worth and are asking for a 10%-20% uplift in salary

With marketing spend roaring back to pre-pandemic levels, there’s a lot of hiring happening right now. We’re seeing headcounts go beyond levels of pre-pandemic hiring, as there’s such demand for new talent. Post-COVID, most brands are shifting budget to their online channels. Demand is increasing, but there’s not enough resources to go around. Specialist SEO provider, Blue Array, discusses the resourcing challenges in digital marketing and search…

In quarter one of 2021, PwC reported that digital advertising spend had surged 49% as marketers’ confidence returned, with a £10.5 billion spent. And, further to this, it was announced in September that UK job vacancies had hit a record breaking 1 million, as payrolls bounced back to pre-COVID levels. In August alone, The Office of National Statistics stated that the number of payroll employees increased by 241,000 to 29.1 million.

Since COVID-19, the recruitment landscape has shifted to a candidate-led market. Digital marketing and search professionals are demanding better working standards. They’ve weathered the storm of COVID and have tackled many curveballs in the last 18 months, and they now know their worth.

Stacey Tylisczuk, PPC, SEO and Digital Marketing Recruiter, said: “Since the summer of 2020, the demand for SEO and digital PR hasn’t stopped. Before COVID, we found that there was greater demand within paid media (PPC and paid social) than SEO, but after the ‘paid taps’ were turned off at the start of the pandemic to save marketing budgets, there’s been an interesting switch with SEO roles dominating the digital market. In part, I believe this is because as an industry we’re seeing the value of consistent and continual investment into owned media.

Since mid-2020, the amount of SEO and digital PR roles have more than doubled. 2021 continues to be a candidate-led market and I am almost certain we’ll see this continue throughout 2022. Historically, SEO roles were lower paid than PPC, but SEO salaries have definitely risen since the switch. SEOs and digital PRs know their worth and are typically asking for a 10%-20% uplift from what we were seeing across the industry in 2019. With remote working, there’s a lot of London businesses mopping up talent in the north and south west too, which is also driving salaries up. In terms of poaching and headhunting, talented individuals are receiving in the region of 15-20 messages per week from recruiters. Knowing that they’re in demand and can get a bump in salary is definitely making people think twice about their current roles and salaries.”

Simon Schnieders, Founder at Blue Array, said: “Every agency owner is going through the COVID resourcing hangover right now. There’s lots of people who were furloughed, then brought back. They’ve endured COVID and it’s then led to itchy feet to get a better package, work-life balance, or role. Poaching has always been a thing, but it’s much more prevalent at the moment. Candidates are looking for companies with strong values, who look after their staff, and can offer development and progression.”

So, what can you do to tackle the resourcing crisis head on? Whether it’s investing in apprenticeships or adapting working standards to retain current staff and attract new talent, you need to take a long hard look at your resourcing to be in a good recruitment position in 2022. Swanky office? Candidates don’t care. What they really want to know is what the company culture is like. Agencies need to show how they can improve their employees’ lives – from private healthcare and menstrual days to flexible working and enhanced maternity pay. It’s clear that employers will need to work just as hard on hiring, as they do with new business and sales.

Get your 2022 agency resourcing on track with Blue Array’s 10 top things to adopt for next year:

  • Adopt a fully optional flexible working environment. Employees need to have the option to work in both an office and at home.
  • Review and benchmark industry salaries to keep a competitive edge.
  • Avoid employee burnout by employing in advance and monitoring their workload on a regular basis.
  • Kickstart your employer brand to compete against your competitors.
  • Create a compelling brand narrative that will inspire the most talented jobseekers to accept that first interview and fall in love with your brand.
  • Perfect your remote recruitment process.
  • Offer the most coveted perk – flexibility.
  • Build a pool of reliable and engaged freelancers.
  • Ensure you provide ongoing training and opportunities for talent to grow.
  • Adopt an ABR mindset (always be recruiting).

Half of consumers ‘will dump brands’ if they can’t log in

The majority of consumers (56%) have ditched a digital account or online service when logging in was ‘too frustrating’, with 77% having abandoned or stopped creating an online account for a variety of reasons, including being asked to provide too much personal information (40%), needing too much time to enter info (33%), and too many security steps (29%).

That’s according to a new survey from Ping Identity, Brand Loyalty Is Earned at Login, which shows that while consumers are interested in securing their online accounts four in 10 (39%) are unwilling to spend even 2 minutes adjusting privacy settings.

The news comes as Microsoft announced that users will be able to log in with biometric scanning instead of traditional passwords, in a bid to safeguard digital identities and make the user experience more convenient.

Key findings include:-

Consumers demand easy, fast experiences

  • 77% have abandoned or stopped creating an online account for a variety of reasons, including being asked to provide too much personal information (40%), needing too much time to enter info (33%), and too many security steps (29%).
  • 56% have abandoned an online service when logging in was too frustrating.
  • 63% are likely to leave an online service for a competitor who makes it significantly easier to authenticate identity.

As passwords get worse, passwordless looks even better

  • 58% are comfortable with the concept of a digital ID capability that stores personal information securely on a smartphone to share electronically.
  • 46% would prefer to use a service or site that offers an alternative to passwords.
  • 44% admit to weak password practices, including making a minor change to an old password (29%) or reusing a password from another account (15%.)

Privacy should be transparent and simple

  • 85% are interested in learning how online services share their personal information, but 72% say that information is difficult to find.
  • 72% have manually adjusted their profile settings to control privacy—including a massive 89% of Gen Z.
  • 60% have dropped an account over privacy concerns, including 46% who have done so more than once.

“With more options than ever before, businesses now need to integrate their security, privacy and user experience strategies to keep up with modern consumer expectations,” said Richard Bird, chief customer information officer, Ping Identity. “Individuals have no hesitations about finding better experiences elsewhere, so companies that prioritise customer experience now will earn loyalty in the long run.”

The Ping Identity Consumer Survey: Brand Loyalty Is Earned at Login asked more than 3,400 consumers across the US, UK, Germany, France and Australia about their typical registration and login experiences, attitudes toward online privacy and willingness to share personal information.

 

Understanding D2C: What’s fuelling the move?

By Elliott Jacobs, EMEA Commerce Consulting Director at LiveArea

The direct-to-consumer (D2C) market has skyrocketed, experiencing double-digit growth to the point where it is projected to grow 19.2% this year. While D2C will have been on brands’ radars for some time, the majority have lacked the systems and processes needed to support such a move. The closure of physical retail, however, has proved a catalyst for many to make the move as they aim to reinvent themselves for the new landscape.

While the April 12th roadmap puts a return to the high street back on the horizon, we’re unlikely to ever return to pre-pandemic footfall. Together, shrinking margins, the emergence of digital disruptors and the unstoppable rise of eCommerce mean D2C is no longer a nice-to-have for many brands, but a means of competitive differentiation in the age of at-home retail.

Changing behaviours under Covid

When we think of ‘D2C,’ it’s usually the likes of Dollar Shave Club, Brewdog and Bloom & Wild that come to mind, and two key similarities run through them all. Firstly, they tend to be niche and offer a fine-tuned proposition concentrating on one category – think subscription razors, craft beers or letterbox flowers. Secondly, they are obsessively focussed on digital, whether it’s through social media engagement and user-generated content or innovative eCommerce experiences, these brands lead the way in data-driven business decisions.

The most agile, efficient and resilient businesses over the past year have been the ones which place digital commerce, data and analytics at the heart of their operations. Businesses can no longer rely solely on bricks-and-mortar, with many household stalwarts reliant on physical real estate having shut their doors for good. Spurred on by lockdown restrictions and panic-buying, many consumers are now sold on the convenience of buying directly from brands – a trend which is unlikely to change even with the reopening of physical stores. 

These behavioural changes have sprung larger brands into action, who are now launching their own D2C operations to improve profitability and take over the relationship with customers. Here, Nike has reaped the rewards of an earlier decisionto pull back from Amazon and use its website and shopping apps to build close connections with customers no longer shopping in-store. Elsewhere, PepsiCo and Heinz launched D2C offerings catering to common lockdown purchases to address supermarket shortages as a result of the panic-buying seen in the early days of the pandemic.

Acting on data intelligence 

The reason behind many of these brands adopting D2C lies in the data. Typically, CPG brands reliant on supermarkets, marketplaces and retailers to sell their products are at the mercy of these partners in feeding back the data. Retailers who take a D2C approach, however, own the entire customer journey and are well-placed to develop a 360 understanding of their customers.

The wealth of data available is substantial, providing brands with valuable insights and one singular source of truth which cannot be underestimated. Brands can then go on to optimise products, processes and communications and increase relevance to consumers in a way that isn’t possible when selling via third parties. Not only this, but control of the data also facilitates new ways of exploiting it – whether it’s running more targeted marketing campaigns or identifying shifting consumer behaviour patterns. The lesson here is that data is the future, and retailers will want to own as much of it as they can.

The switch won’t happen overnight 

A D2C sales channel should factor in every stage of the customer journey and there are myriad factors to take into account. For a start, they should consider the most effective means of competing with marketplaces, retailers and other brands for web traffic, whether it’s through social, search or PPC. From there, engaging content, immersive experiences and a seamless user experience will help brands build genuine connections with consumers and retain their custom.

Beyond this, a well-oiled D2C operation requires significant upfront investments in real estate, technology and staff. For example, any business aiming to achieve scalable online sales needs a platform that provides all the modern tooling needed to run an online business. It’s through these tools that brands gain the information required to treat customers as individuals. From a fulfilment perspective, D2C brands are in the business of sending regular packages to consumers rather than shipping bulk containers, meaning considerable changes to operating models will be necessary.

PepsiCo, Heinz and Nike have all proven the value of D2C in times of hardship. If other brands are to embark on similarly successful projects, they will need to ensure data, technology and processes can integrate and inform one-another across the entire customer journey. Those which do it right will set themselves up with a new source of income on top of the traditional wholesale channels when they return. But a cookie-cutter approach is no longer enough, and CPG brands considering the leap will have to decide whether such a commitment is right for them.

Online Strategy: Join your online and offline worlds instantly with QR Codes

By Go Inspire

The QR code now provides the perfect mechanism for joining your online and offline worlds, whatever the desired digital action. In this short article, we discuss the numerous benefits to your online strategy of incorporating them into your tangible communications.   

In 2020, society’s need to be ‘contactless’ accelerated somewhat. So much so, the humble (and previously much maligned) QR code has experienced an exponential growth in adoption. 

With in-built QR reading capability on all modern phones and tablets, scanning a QR Code is now a much quicker journey than launching a browser and attempting to accurately type the URL – or searching for a brand in Google, landing on their homepage and hunting out the relevant page or piece of information, that you actually wanted. 

Reduce PPC Costs by driving direct traffic 

On the subject of paid search, QR Codes allow you to reserve PPC spend for the searchers who truly need a nudge, by creating a direct link between your offline communication and digital destinations and you could save your business a considerable about of marketing budget.

Many users will google your brand name, click on you paid advertising and cost you money – remove this possibility by simply adding a QR code. 

Bridge your online and offline worlds with a new level of dynamism for print

Direct Mail has time and time again been proven to offer superior cut through, with recent figures from JICMail’s Q3 2020 report showing a 33% increase in in digital actions prompted by mail – but how many of these responses were driven by a QR Code? 

With all the above advances, QR Codes now offer you the chance to present a seamless transition into your online world, moving your customers from offline consideration into online action and conversion. 

Consider the power of an abandoned basket mailing received 48 hours after browsing and featuring an enticing offer and QR codes for the individual products browsed. 

One simple scan and your customer is online, reviewing their ‘basket’ and just a click away from checkout. 

Generate a multichannel view for more effective digital marketing 

Creating a link between your online and offline worlds will also fuel your digital marketing efforts – customers or prospects who previously hadn’t engaged online may now do so, identifying themselves via their device and enabling retargeting and programmatic display advertising. 

Collect valuable insight through reporting 

Knowing who scanned, when they scanned and the region of where they scanned is incredibly powerful insight, which enables you to capitalise on live opportunities as you know who is in market, right now.

Reporting such as this also enables continuous improvement, as response data can power enhanced targeting of your door drop and partially addressed acquisition campaigns. 

Bring Your Customers Together with QR Codes

Like many, your customers may be feeling a level of uncertainty over whether they will be able to see friends, family and loved ones this Christmas and beyond; as the fight to control COVID-19 before the roll out of vaccines continues and restrictions on social gatherings and travel so frequently change.  

Our range of flexible options means you can either add QR codes to your existing format, or for added effect, incorporate them into one of our many innovative and engaging direct mail formats, as a gift tag. 

The process is simple:

  1. Your customer visits the PURL printed on their mailing
  2. Records their video message on their chosen device
  3. Uploads their video message into their PURL
  4. Applies their QR gift tag to the present, before posting
  5. When the present is delivered, the recipient simply scans the QR code which then automatically to watch the video message

Find more information here

Test a QR Code and receive an incentive discount on your next campaign!

Why not take advantage of a live incentive and include a QR code on your next Advertising Mail or Business Mail campaigns, for 15% and 30% discounts respectively?

Below are just some of the endless possibilities for driving your customers to take digital actions:

  • Drive to coupon
  • Visit web site
  • Send to Geo-location
  • Play an mp3 jingle or message
  • Visit product page
  • Drive to data capture page
  • Link to event details
  • Get a review or rating

Get in touch If you’d like to speak to our expert team and discuss how QR Codes can help you engage with customers online, we’ll be in touch shortly!

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