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Battle of the Christmas Adverts

24 November 2012 Rachel Communications, Marketing One comment

It’s that time of the year again! As the leaves began to brown, out came the fairy lights and tinsel, Christmas had arrived.

One of my favourite things about this season is the Christmas advert, while venturing outside in the cold, dark winter will more likely leave you with soggy feet than festive spirit, the Christmas advert brings the magic sparkle of the season right into our front rooms.

Every year our favourite retailers battle it out to produce the biggest, the best, and the most tear-inducing advert possible. So who has produced the best advert for 2012? We’ve seen them on our television screens for the last month, but which ones will stay with us after the mushy brussle sprouts are consumed?

John Lewis

Like much of the British public I love John Lewis adverts. In recent years (go back too far on YouTube and they’re not of the same standard) they’ve got very good at telling a stories about normal life, and yet they add a sparkle and magic to these stories. Last year we learnt about the impatient young boy who was desperate to present his gifts. So this year I was eagerly awaiting the 2012 Christmas ad. This year we got snowmen.

I’ll admit it, there were tears. Yes they were snowmen, but the advert tugged at all the right heartstrings, sentimental, romantic!

M&S

M&S bring us a fun advert this year, showcasing a wide variety of their ranges.

Debenhams

The department store make our festive season just a little bit more fabulous!

Asda

Attributing Christmas success to mum hasn’t been without controversy, many people hit back at Asda’s advert over Twitter.

Morrisons

Mum also seems to be holding fort for Morrisons, maybe it’s a Yorkshire thing?

Waitrose

The upmarket store took an alternative approach to this year’s advert encouraging their customers to support the supermarket’s chosen causes.

Finally, a post like this wouldn’t be complete without a mention of the ultimate Christmas ad. Holidays are coming…

So who wins the battle of the Christmas adverts? Well, I think that is up to you to decide!

Looking beyond the Olympics

7 July 2012 Rachel Communications, Marketing, News, Public Relations, Ultimate Frisbee No comments

There is a certain upcoming event in London later this month. It is an event many years in the making. It is an event which has seen 70,000 people give up their time to volunteer. And it is an event which has caused many logistical headaches. I am not about to talk about the Olympics, although it creates many interesting areas of PR and marketing conversation and debate. I wanted to remind you of those sports we forgot, the ones which do not feature in the Games. Have a look at this blog to read up on some of the most unique sports found being played in the UK. Reverting to an old favourite, although unfortunately a sport I have recently neglected, I was interested to read this week that UK Ultimate, the governing body for Ultimate Frisbee have partnered with Wham-O Europe to support the Frisbee@schools project. This strikes me as an excellent partnership which hopefully will encourage some very positive outcomes. I personally look forward to seeing its development.

200 (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

I cannot promise this blog will remain Olympic-free, over the past few months I have been fascinated with all the PR and marketing related topics that have arisen as a result of the Games in London. From a non-PR perspective I also have a great personal interest, the tickets for a Hockey event sit in pride of place on my desk. I am really looking forward to enjoying some of the exciting Olympic vibe in one of my favourite cities.

Wham-O Europe links with UK Ultimate Frisbee (toynews-online.biz)
Pro ultimate frisbee team coming to Toronto (thestar.com)
Grab the Official London 2012 Results App for Android (news.softpedia.com)
The is Ultimately the Best Ultimate Frisbee Catch You Will Watch Today (Video) (backyardsportsblog.com)
Why Ultimate Frisbee is a Sport (alansrants.wordpress.com)
Impressive BBC title sequence for Olympic games (lostateminor.com)
London 2012: even Beijing didn’t put an army on the gates (guardian.co.uk)

The importance of branding for sports teams

29 February 2012 Rachel Communications, Marketing, Ultimate Frisbee One comment

Fivestar Frog Splash (Leeds Met) Logo

If you are looking for examples of strong branding the sports industry is the place to look. Teams rely on having strong brand identity to engage their fans and give them the opportunity to feel involved in their team, and ultimately support them financially. This is achieved through team colour, a strong logo and a team identity to which fans are able to relate. The passion that sports fans provide is magical, they are loyal to their teams and would fight to defend them.

What about small sports teams? If your team’s fan base consists of parents, friends or at most your university, is branding still important?

The single most important part of a team is the team. It is impossible to be successful if you cannot work together as a group to support and develop to reach your results, whether they are to win competition, or have a lot of fun trying! To gain this team spirit requires a strong brand identity, team members need to be able to relate with their team, feel involved with it and be able to engage with it.

While helping to run Leeds Met Ultimate Frisbee Team (Fivestar Frog Splash) this has become all the more apparent to me. The club is very new and facing many of the challenges which come in this early stage of life. What has been important however is that all the members feel that they own their club. They get a say in decisions, they understand what is going on and they have influence.

We are still trying to find our identity, but the foundations are there and in time the identity will grow stronger as the club continues to adapt and grow. What was important in the early days was establishing the initial image, this included naming the club and creating a logo. The whole team was given the opportunity to contribute to this ensuring that they were satisfied and involved in the decision.

We recently acquired sports kit and this is another important step in our development, playing in the team colours is a reminder that we are part of a team and we need to work together to achieve our aims. As the club grows undoubtedly the brand identity will continue to be important as we purchase merchandise, such as branded discs, host tournaments and get better known throughout the Ultimate world.

I have been able to see the importance of brand identity within my small sports club, and understand how these principles can relate to other clubs. Your team’s image needs to reflect your team members, this will ensure that as you develop you can ensure that you are growing in the right direction to achieve the most appropriate aims. It also helps attract future members who suit the culture of your club.

The world of sports branding is fascinating and offers brilliant case studies to show how branding can be effective.

Fivestar Frog Splash (Leeds Met Ultimate Frisbee team) demonstrate branding through kit

Three lessons learnt from Ultimate Frisbee (rachelbarkley.wordpress.com)
The Role of Color in Brand Identity (csicolorworld.com)
Pinsanity: How Sports Teams Are Winning on Pinterest. (isellerfinance.wordpress.com)

How Oxfam use QR codes to tell a story

27 February 2012 Rachel Communications, Interests, Marketing, News No comments

oxfam_logo_big.jpg (Photo credit: net_efekt)

Customers love a story. We often do not make purchases for merely their utilitarian properties, but for a plethora of reasons from how it makes us feel to how it makes our peers perceive us. It can be as simple as buying a branded energy drink because you believe it will do a better job than a supermarket version, or buying an iPhone because you have been told by friends that it is the best phone on the market. We rarely analyse the individual functions of a product objectively in order to make a buying decision.

From a marketing communications point of view this means that selling a story can be an effective way of selling the product. From convincing a consumer that owning your product will make them feel a certain way, to letting them know how it will improve tasks they perform in their life.

Another story is one which connects with a consumer emotionally, and this is where Oxfam are spot on with their latest Shelflife scheme. The scheme uses the QR code technology, something I have written about before, and a tool which I can see has an awful lot of potential, but currently is not being used to maximise this. However every so often a creative usage of the technology comes along which I commend, Shelflife is an example of this.

By scanning QR codes browsers in Oxfam will be able to read about the personal history behind an object. It may have lived a previous life in another country, or perhaps it once held significant sentimental value. The aim is to turn every Oxfam shop into an interactive social museum according to contributor, Andrew-Hudson Smith.

I love the idea because it takes advantage of the unique selling point of charity shops, in essence second hand goods are meaningless, but by giving them their story they can gain consumer interest. What appears to be a simple dining set suddenly becomes a wedding present for a lovestruck couple, that beautiful broach was received as a leaving home gift.

On the other hand, do people care enough? I volunteered in an Oxfam shop several years ago and not one person ever expressed an interest in an item’s previous life, they were usually looking for a bargain or unique item. This may simply have been because the information was not previously available, and perhaps this scheme will offer a new lease of life to the Oxfam experience.

Another potential problem is the technology. QR codes require customers having the software and hardware to be able to scan the codes. Again, from my experience in Oxfam, many of our customers were of older generations and did not have access to this technology. In this case Oxfam is targeting customers who do have access to information but are they making a mistake in neglecting those who do not?

It will be interesting to see how the scheme works out, it is being trialed at 10 shops in Manchester with the expectation of it being extended to all shops if it proves successful and to add value to the items they sell.

What is your opinion? Would you pay more for a product with a story?

Oxfam becomes a new fashion power house (dothegreenthing.com)
App tales for second-hand goods (bbc.co.uk)
Getting the Most Out of QR Codes Using URI Schemes (jamesbayley.com)
QR codes, hints and areas not to use! (mediasocial.co.nz)
QR Codes of the Future? (socialmediatoday.com)

Communicating a passion for sport

17 February 2012 Rachel Communications, Interests, Marketing One comment

I am no athlete and I do not support a team, but sport is very important in my life. I believe keeping active is part of an active lifestyle and I like to achieve this through team sports, more specifically Ultimate Frisbee. Sport motivates me in more areas than just fitness, it inspires me to work harder, to aim for my goals no matter what they are, it is such a motivator to me that I have a Pinterest board devoted to it.

From a communications perspective I think sport is a great area to sell. It shows humans at their best; using their bodies and minds to defeat barriers and achieve the seemingly impossible. It also promotes very strong imagery and prominent messages. Yesterday I shared an old Under Armour advert. I could watch it again and again. It shows such powerful, amazing women, I simply find it inspiring!

Once I had managed to divert my attention from that video I then wasted invested time watching other campaigns from sports and fitness companies. Here are some of my other favourites to enjoy.

Make it count Nike