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Print industry ‘yet to feel effects of Brexit’
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Research from Close Brothers has revealed the supply chain concerns UK SMEs from multiple sectors have regarding Brexit, including the Print sector.

The asset finance specialist polled 900 businesses – while 56% say they have felt no impact on levels of business from the UK’s decision to leave the EU, a further 20% said it was too early to tell; only 24% had felt any kind of effect.

In the Print sector, Close Brothers says the results closely reflected those of the UK as a whole, which means it’s clear that the majority of Print businesses are yet to feel any real and tangible effect from Brexit.

In terms of spending decisions, more than three quarters (76%) of businesses have not delayed spending or investment decisions because of the EU Referendum.

Roger Aust, Managing Director of Close Brothers Asset Finance Print division, said: “Once again, Print businesses reflected exactly the national picture, but what is interesting to note is that 88% of smaller firms – those with a turnover of between £250k to £500k – were the least liable to allow the EU referendum stop them from pushing their business forward and investing.

“Close Brothers has a history of lending through all economic cycles, and experience tells us that these organisations aren’t sitting on large reserves of cash, meaning that in order to maintain business levels they typically don’t have a choice but to spend and invest to ensure a sustainable flow of cash.

“Firms don’t become unviable overnight; we see it as our responsibility to do what we can to ensure our customers, who are in the main SMEs, remain in business and can build towards a profitable future.

“One alternative to consider is restructuring your business finances to make any rise in costs easier to deal with. A great way to do this is through asset finance, which is where our team of experts at Close Brothers Asset Finance can help.

“Print is a significant player in the UK economy but there are ways to mitigate the risks and still have a productive and successful business.”

37% of UK businesses ‘still not GDPR compliant’
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New research shows that over a third of UK business haven’t fallen in line with GDPR, while a similar amount still send marketing emails without consent.

A survey of 1,021 UK workers carried out by MarketingSignals.com, revealed 37% confess they are still not following the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).

When asked to elaborate on why the business wasn’t falling in line, 35% said they are still sending marketing emails without the expressed consent.

In addition:

  • 31% say they still have the data of those who haven’t agreed to opt in to having their data stored.
  • 27% say they haven’t secured the data in case of a ransomware attack.
  • 22% say they have a longer process for those choosing to opt out from receiving information.
  • 14% say their firm hides privacy choices from people
  • 17% say they are still unsure as to what the benefits of GDPR are

Gareth Hoyle, managing director at MarketingSignals.com said: “The research shows there are many ways that businesses are admitting to not following the newly enforced GDPR regulations. GDPR is the most fundamental change to ever happen to data privacy, so it is imperative that businesses follow this and complete the process as soon as possible.

“Businesses need to understand that acting responsibly and ethically with customer data is crucial to protect and enhance brand reputation and ensure customer trust. Not only this, but it will enhance the quality of data collected which is a good thing for UK businesses.”

These are Britain’s favourite brand logos
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Britain’s favourite logo is Coca-Cola, with McDonald’s in second place and Disney’s Mickey mouse silhouette ranked third.

Coke’s iconic red and white symbol was first revealed in the late 1800s and has remained largely unchanged ever since.

It’s so popular the logo can commonly found on fashionable clothing items, homeware and other desirables – while vintage items featuring the logo can sell for thousands.

Commissioned by label makers Avery, the research of 2,000 UK adults found 62 per cent consider logos such as those belonging to Hard Rock Café and Ferrari to be ‘works of art’.

Fiona Mills, marketing director for Avery UK, said: “Last year we conducted research which highlighted the impact design and branding can have in terms of persuasiveness, consumer trust and consumer perception.

“The findings showed the results can be extremely powerful if you get the ingredients of label design spot on.

“These ingredients can include handwritten fonts, bold colours and shapes, emotion and use of heuristics – the brain’s mental decision-making shortcuts.”

Other logos in the top 10 include the emblems for Nike, Guinness and LEGO – along with those for Michelin and PG Tips.

Nostalgia appears to play a part with long established logos such as Fisher-Price, Oxo, Wall’s and Colman’s all featuring.

However relative newcomers such as Amazon, Google, Virgin and Starbucks made the top 40 too.

The research also found a product’s logo is so important it’s the first thing we notice about a product – ahead of the product’s name and even its colour.

Logos are also a key part of what makes a brand memorable – 46 per cent said they are the most enduring aspect of a brand.

A fifth are so loyal to particular brands they will specifically purchase branded products over non-branded counterparts – despite them often costing more.

But 33 per cent will only buy from brands they are familiar with – and for 53 per cent, familiarity makes them trust a brand more.

The poll also looked at the logos and brands we find most memorable from different decades – from the sixties through to the noughties.

And it emerged the eighties is the most popular era when it comes to logos, packaging and branding.

However 47 per cent think products and their packaging look better now than they ever have done before.

Branding belonging to Maxwell House, Nestle Milkybar and Kodak were found to be the most enduring of those from the sixties.

Old Spice, Fairy washing-up liquid and Wimpy were identified as the most recognisable from the seventies.

The most memorable ones from the eighties are Coca-Cola, Pepsi and Nesquik according to those polled.

And similarly the most unforgettable logos from the nineties belong to Adidas, Lynx and The Body Shop.

While Costa Coffee, Dove and Red Bull’s are the ones most associated with the noughties.

TOP 40 – MOST POPULAR LOGOS

1. Coca-Cola
2. McDonald’s
3. Mickey Mouse (Disney)
4. Cadbury
5. Apple
6. Nike
7. Guinness
8. LEGO
9. Michelin
10. PG Tips
11. Oxo
12. Mercedes-Benz
13. Google
14. Levi’s
15. Adidas
16. Pepsi
17. British Airways
18. Volkswagen
19. Shell
20. Amazon
21. Wall’s
22. Goodyear
23. Toblerone
24. Colman’s
25. Virgin
26. AA
27. BMW
28. Pringles
29. Walkers Crisps
30. Fisher-Price
31. Kodak
32. Land Rover
33. M&S
34. Ford
35. Starbucks
36. Burger King
37. Tesco
38. Hoover
39. IKEA
40. Argos

Love Island 2018 – Influencer Power List revealed
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Dani & Jack were the winning couple on last night’s Love Island 2018 finale, but they weren’t the only winners to emerge from this summer’s reality show saga – plenty of their housemates now have careers as celebrity influencers waiting for them.

Reports are already suggesting that the Islanders are on course to cash in £millions thanks to public appearances and social media campaigns, and even the those who left the villa early will have the opportunity to make the most of their new celebrity status.

Indeed, according to new data from Filter Digital, ‘love rat’ Adam Collard ranks ahead of finalists Megan Barton Hanson and Wes Nelson, as well as ahead of Dr Alex George, when it comes to their fan following across social media channels.

Unsurprisingly, Love Island 2018 winners Dani Dyer and Jack Fincham top the list of Islander Influencers, but their combined followers still fall short of Love Island host Caroline Flack.

Georgia ‘Little G’ Steel comes up close behind Jack Fincham. Kendall Rae-Knight, who was the first to be dumped from the Island, surprisingly scores highly – ahead of finalists Laura Anderson, Josh Denzel and Kazimir Crossley, who all failed to make the Top 10.

Overall Love Island 2018 Influencer Power List (Top 10)

  1. Caroline Flack – 3.7m Fans
  2. Dani Dyer – 1.9m Fans
  3. Jack Fincham – 1.4m Fans
  4. Georgia Steel – 1.3m Fans
  5. Adam Collard – 0.97m Fans
  6. Alex George – 0.94m Fans
  7. Samira Mighty – 0.85m Fans
  8. Megan Barton Hanson – 0.85m Fans
  9. Wes Nelson – 0.84m Fans
  10. Kendall Rae-Knight – 0.81m Fans

To see the full Love Island 2018 Influencer Power List with all contestants, go to: https://sportstarinfluencer.com/journal/fun/love-island-2018-powerlist

Filter Digital crunched the numbers through its Sportstar Influencer platform, which usually evaluates marketing value of sports players and teams through a combination of social following, engagement metrics and team performance.

The platform uses social, engagement, media, and sentiment datapoints to rate and rank sports players against each other, comparing them at a local, national and international level.

“The Love Island contestants have been making new media careers for themselves while sunbathing and dealing with the intricacies of love and the heart,” said Oliver Morrison, CEO at Filter Digital. “By better understanding how the contestants rank against one another across social media, brands can take better decisions over where they spend their budgets.”

Google top again in YouGov’s global brand health rankings
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Google tops YouGov BrandIndex’s annual global brand health rankings. In a list dominated by digital brands, the search giant stays ahead of sister company YouTube.

The ranking is based on over six million interviews over the 12 months to the end of June. It shows Samsung jumps one place from last year, climbing to third position as does messenger service WhatsApp, which rises to fourth. WhatsApp’s parent company, Facebook, falls two places to fifth.

There are three new entries in the top ten. While Amazon remains sixth on the list, IKEA enters the rankings at number seven. Colgate falls one position to eighth, while clothes brand Uniqlo makes the top ten for the first time in ninth place, while toy manufacturer Lego is another new entry at ten.

The rankings are based on YouGov BrandIndex data from across the world. BrandIndex operates in 37 countries across the globe, covering markets in North America, South America, Europe, Africa, Asia and Australasia.

For the list YouGov used data from 26 countries – data from markets that cover three sectors or fewer were not counted in the global top ten. The rankings use the Index score which assesses overall brand health. It takes into account perceptions of a brand’s quality, value, impression, satisfaction, reputation and whether consumers would recommend the brand to others.

Digital brands dominate this global ranking and with good reason. By their very nature the likes of Google, YouTube and WhatsApp are available in most places on earth to anyone with internet access. However, while many of the top five have only been around for the last decade or two, classic brands that have been around a good while longer also make the list. IKEA, Colgate, Uniqlo, and Lego, all still connect with the public and as a result have very positive brand health.

UK brand health rankings

YouGov has also released its UK brand health rankings. The list is characterised by the presence of brands that have been in the public consciousness for a long time. Traditional high-street favourites John Lewis and Marks & Spencer are first and third respectively while BBC-related brands – iPlayer and BBC One – are in second and ninth positions. Meanwhile Heinz makes an appearance in fourth place.

The rankings are drawn from over 1.46 million interviews in Britain conducted between July 2017 and June 2018. Each day consumers are asked their view on 1,384 brands in the UK, which allows YouGov to build a picture of how different brands are perceived by the general public, their own consumers, people considering using them, and their competitors’ customers.

YouGov’s analysis shows there are two new entrants in this year’s top ten – IKEA in fifth and Cathedral City in eighth. Ikea had a particular strong campaign in 2017, which featured its ‘Lion Man’ character. Sony is the most notable absentee from the rankings, having been in third place this time last year

Two brands from the global rankings are also in the UK list, with Samsung in sixth and Amazon in seventh. Pharmacy chain Boots rounds off the top ten.

Over the past year the retail sector has struggled to combat problems arising from ferocious online competition and increased business costs. However, in the face of this, the public clearly retains an affection for traditional high street brands with long and rich histories, such as John Lewis and Marks and Spencer. Similarly, while the BBC has faced challenging headlines over the past 12 month. But the public clearly still rates what the corporation offers and iPlayer and BBC One continue to be in strong brand health.

Most improved brand health

YouGov’s annual analysis also where the biggest increases in brand health have come in the past year. For several brands, escaping negative press coverage has seen an improvement in their scores, although many of them still remain in negative territory.

For example, Sports Direct, the most improved brand this year, has seen its score improve by +6.2 points, moving from -12.4 to -6.2. While in past years it has often garnered negative press, it has enjoyed a period out of the headlines and its Index score has now returned to mid-2016 levels.

Similarly, Southern Trains – for a long time blighted by strikes, cancellations, and ensuing adverse media coverage – has seen its score change from -16.1 last year to -11.3 now, an improvement of +4.8 points.

Value fashion chain Primark has made a notable leap in the past year – going from having negative brand health to positive. Its Index score improved from -0.9 to +2.7 in the last 12 months, an improvement of +3.6.

Elsewhere, Netflix continues to advance, with its score improving by +5.9 points (going from 19.5 to 25.4). Tech firm WhatsApp has seen its score increase by +3.5 – up from 18.9 to 22.4.

Online video viewing to exceed an hour a day this year
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The average person will be spending 84 minutes a day watching videos online by 2020, according to the latest forecasts from Zenith.

In that year, China will have the keenest viewers, with the average person spending 105 minutes a day watching online video, followed by Russia (102 minutes) and the UK (101 minutes).

Zenith says this rapid rise in consumption is leading to a significant shift in the way brands plan campaigns across both television and online video.

The research covers 59 markets and encompasses all video content viewed over an internet connection, including broadcaster-owned platforms such as Hulu, ‘over-the-top’ subscription services like Netflix, video-sharing sites, e.g. YouTube, and videos viewed on social media.

Global online video consumption grew by 11 minutes a day in 2017, and we expect it to grow by an average of 9 minutes a day each year to 2020.

It accounts for almost all the growth in total internet use, and is growing faster than media consumption overall, so it is taking consumption time from traditional media.

Although some of this extra viewing is going to non-commercial platforms such as Amazon Prime and Netflix, Zenith says plenty of it is going to commercial platforms, so the supply of commercial audiences is rising rapidly.

In fact, the firm estimates that online video adspend grew 20% in 2017, to reach $27bn. Growth peaked at 36% in 2014 and has fallen steadily since then, but still remains high. It forecasts 19% growth in 2018, and an average of 17% annual growth to 2020, when online video adspend will reach $43bn.

Video’s share of online display advertising is rising steadily: it accounted for 27% of display adspend in 2017, and Zenith expects it to account for 30% in 2020.

Online video advertising is still only a fraction of the size of television advertising, but because television is stuck at 0% to 2% annual growth, this fraction is rising rapidly. The online video ad market was 10% of the size of the television ad market in 2015, and 14% in 2017. By 2020 Zenith expects online video adspend to be 23% of the size of television adspend.

“Online video is driving growth in global media consumption, as smartphones with high-speed data connections make high-quality video available to people on the move, and smart TV sets give viewers unparalleled choice in the living room,” said Jonathan Barnard, Zenith’s Head of Forecasting and Director of Global Intelligence. “The rapid rise in video viewing makes online video the world fastest-growing advertising format, creating new strategic and creative opportunities. Brands that do not currently have a strategy for online video need to think about getting one.”

INFOGRAPHIC: DMA reveals global consumer privacy trends
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The Digital Marketing Association (DMA) has detailed consumer attitudes to privacy across 10 nations, encompassing attitudes, opinions and preferences and how they change depending on their location.

The research, conducted in partnership with Acxiom and Foresight Factory, found that:

  • 51% of people are ‘data pragmatists’ who exchange their data as long as there is a clear benefit.
  • 21% are ‘data unconcerned’ who do not mind how and why their data is used.
  • 23% are ‘data fundamentalists who never share their data for any reason.
  • The data pragmatists are most likely to be found in the US, Spain and Singapore, while data fundamentalists are found en mass in in Australia, Germany and The Netherlands.
  • Nearly half of all consumers would use their data to negotiate better offers.
  • 83% of consumers would like more control over their data.

The DMA concludes: “Although each nation differs in some ways, globally consumers are remarkably similar – most aspects of privacy remain the same wherever you are. Globally, the majority of consumers are pragmatists – willing to share their data so long as there is a benefit. Trading data is a common desire among consumers and data as a commodity will become more important to companies in the years to come.”

The DMA has produced a handy infographic to break down its findings and will be running a webinar on July 11th to delve deeper into the results.

28% of media consumption will be by mobile internet in 2020
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24% of all media consumption across the world will be by mobile internet this year, with figures suggesting that by 2020 this number will increase to 28%, according to new data published in Zenith’s Media Consumption Forecasts 2018.

The figures show a dramatic increase in media consumption by mobile across the world, which was just 5% back in 2011, with mobile eroding the consumption of nearly all other media, including newspapers and magazines.

The report reveals that time spent reading traditional print media such as newspapers has fallen by over 45%, and 56% for magazines. However, those that have adapted to online have gained from what was lost in print readership.

The rise of mobile has directly influenced the way that brands now plan communications, focussing less on channels and more on consumer mind-set and behaviour.

TV and radio are also losing the battle against the rise of mobile, although not as dramatically as traditional print media, with the average time spent watching TV shrinking by 3% between 2011 and 2018, along with time spent listening to radio down by 8%.

Brands can now take advantage of the various boundaries that mobile offers through different channels, entertainment, news, information, research, communication and socialising building awareness with the ability of creating direct responses and one-to one communication.

Zenith says the rapid expansion of mobile internet use has increased the amount of time the average individual spends consuming media, by giving people access to essentially unlimited content almost everywhere, and at any time of the day. We estimate that the average person will spend 479 minutes a day consuming media this year, 12% more than in 2011. Zenith forecasts the total to reach 492 minutes a day in 2020.

“Under traditional definitions, all other media are losing out to the mobile internet,” said Jonathan Barnard, Zenith’s head of forecasting and director of global Intelligence. “But the truth is that the distinctions between media are becoming less important, and mobile technology offers publishers and brands more opportunities to reach consumers than ever.”

“Mobile technology is challenging brands to rethink how they communicate with consumers,” said Vittorio Bonori, Zenith’s global brand president. “Brands need to understand both the consumer’s mind-set and where they sit on the consumer journey, to determine how to communicate with them. By using data, ad tech and now artificial intelligence, brands can co-ordinate their communications across media and mind-sets to move them along the consumer journey most effectively.”

UK marketers ‘burying their heads in the sand’ on automation
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A new survey has revealed that low-level, repetitive tasks are stifling the flow of creative juices and operational efficiencies among UK marketers.

And yet a third are choosing not to do anything about it.

The Digital Work Report 2018, commissioned by Wrike, found 33 per cent of UK marketers say that automation is not something they are considering, while 34 per cent saying they do not believe it would give their company a competitive edge.

However, nearly all (98 per cent) who took part admitted some aspect of their work is repetitive or cognitively routine, with a quarter estimating as much as 61-80 per cent.

Crucially, the survey found over two-thirds (69 per cent) believe they could achieve more work if technology could take on repetitive tasks such as filing, copying information between systems and documenting action items from meetings – with a quarter saying as much as 50 per cent more if that was the case.

If they could win back some valuable time, marketers would choose to focus more on creative work (32 per cent), team management (26 per cent), developing strategic projects (21 per cent), time spent listening to customers (20 per cent) and creating a better work culture in the office (19 per cent).

The report found that the ability to be efficient is hampered by some of the processes in place in their organisations; 27 per cent felt work is done across too many systems, creating duplication of work and communications, for example.

While 48 per cent said they have a culture of operational excellence in place, whereby they constantly review and improve how they are doing things within their team and organisation, only 10 per cent scored their company’s ability to consistently deliver high-quality work on time with existing resources as ‘excellent’. 30 per cent of UK marketers say their company strives to improve processes but changes are just too slow.

“Traditionally marketers are at the cutting edge of technology trends when it comes to the work they deliver, but these results suggest they are not always finding time to practice what they preach,” said Andrew Filev, CEO and founder of Wrike.

“With ever-increasing pressure around delivery times, personalisation of products and predictability, the marketing craft is being slowly buried under a mountain of disparate processes that leave little time for adding real creative value. With business automation developing at pace, change management is becoming an increasingly important part of the role.”

Interestingly, 34 per cent of marketers said they believe that when it comes to flawless execution they could do a better job than their boss. Worryingly, out of frustration with a lack of operational efficiency, 32 per cent of marketers have searched for a new job.

81% of UK marketers feel ready for GDPR, but their employers may not be
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GDPR awareness is at its highest level since 2016 and 81% of marketers feel prepared – although 7% say their employers still have no plan in place.

The deadline for Europe’s most significant overhaul of consumer data privacy laws is this coming Friday (May 25th) and the Digital Marketing Association (DMA) has published research that finds UK marketers’ confidence in their GDPR preparations is at an all-time high.

The report, ‘GDPR & You – Chapter 5’, found that 81% of marketers are confident in their understanding and preparedness for GDPR, having steadily grown from 49% since the DMA’s first survey in 2016.

However, one in five (20%) of marketers state that their employers are behind schedule and will not be ready to comply with GDPR by 25 May. Worse still, 7% state that their organisation do not have a plan in place for GDPR.

Although not being enforced until 25 May, the transition period for organisations to become GDPR compliant began two years ago, and the DMA says there is a growing belief that the benefits of the new regulations to consumers outweigh the disadvantages to businesses, with more than half (52%) of marketers believing this to be true.

“It is encouraging to see that GDPR awareness and preparedness is at an all-time high, with marketers increasingly optimistic about the benefits of the new legislation,” said Chris Combemale, CEO of the DMA. “GDPR is a fantastic opportunity for organisations to build consumer trust and highlight to their customers the benefits of sharing their data. Organisations should use it to build a culture within their business of putting the consumer first and improving their experience.”

68% of marketers believe their employer is either on track or ahead of schedule with GDPR compliance.

In response to the findings that one in four marketers’ (27%) believe their organisations are either behind schedule or without a plan, Combemale said: “While the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) has stated that they will be pragmatic before handing out penalties, these companies must show evidence that they are doing everything in their power to be ready. Otherwise they won’t just be receiving fines from the ICO; they could lose their customers’ trust and be at risk of security breaches, with the reputational damage posing a real threat to brand and share value.”

Over a quarter of marketers have received no specific training in GDPR

One of the biggest priorities for marketers and their organisations surrounding GDPR and highlighted in the report revolves around staff training – with a spike in the past six months in the percentage of marketers who feel they have received appropriate training for GDPR, up 21% from November 2017 to 54% in the latest survey.

But the DMA says it’s a concern that despite the complexities of GDPR compliance and its impact on how organisations communicate with customers, more than a quarter of marketers polled (27%) have had no specific training to date. 34% felt that more training was needed and approximately 68% believed training will help their organisation comply beyond the deadline.

Find full details on the report on the DMA website, here: https://dma.org.uk/article/gdpr-and-you-chapter-five