Is this a nanny state gone mad or are there interesting points things to learn for PRs and marketers?

There’s one thing that’s obvious, it’s completely different for consumer and B2B brands. B2B brands are given almost free reign to make all sorts of claims about ‘industry firsts’ and ‘market-leading’ products and services, whereas consumers are constantly molly coddled by government run authorities. Whilst it’s true that buying a software solution for your business might not effect specific individuals if it goes wrong, why is buying a holiday based on someone else’s recommendation any different?

Perhaps they assume that the business world is more discerning. They might be right there, you’ve got to jump through a lot of budgetary, management and contractual hoops before buying a new business tool, but surely you’d do a lot of research before buying a holiday and in the case of the L’Oreal advert everyone knows that one face cream is more or less the same as another… What’s the difference? Probably mass appeal I suppose and the Government’s obsessive need to protect the consumer.

It’s a bit pedantic, but whether we like it or not, that’s the way of the world. But in my opinion tighter regulation is a good thing. It should actually make us all better marketers. Be more imaginative, more creative, gain audience and customers through being cleverer than the competition and pushing your marketing department to be braver with their campaigns. Don’t stick with the classic we have the best x formula, create your own brand by using the millions and one channels that are available. Video, podcasts, live events, social media, whatever, make your marketing and PR count.

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Tetley grabbed my attention today when a friend let me know about its social media campaign. The firm already upped its marketing ante by bringing back the Tea Folk in television adverts so the next natural step was for Tetley to brew up a storm in the social media space.

It took me until 11am this morning to realise Tetley were conducting a competition on Twitter, which was to simply start following @tetley_teafolk and retweet one of their posts. This competition has already been incredibly effective with Twitter followers jumping up from 38,281 to over 39,000 (at the time of writing). The giveaway is a year’s supply of teabags and as a nation of tea-drinkers I think it constitutes as a pretty good prize that won’t even break the bank for Tetley, but will do wonders for its brand advocacy.

Another company ramping up its social media efforts is bmibaby; the airline has put a competition on Twitter to add cheer to a dull January day. On Friday, 20th January, bmibaby announced it would be giving away five pairs of tickets to help its followers make someone’s January special. Anyone who’s on Twitter will know about the ‘Follow Friday’ hash tag – #ff – used to suggest people to follow. The competition from bmibaby is, effectively, an extension of this; you nominate your friend using the hash tag #ffff, which stands for “Free Flight Follow Friday”.

So, are brands finally waking up to social media or are the just becoming less scared of it? With 61% of UK adults using social media sites it demonstrates that it’s a marketing opportunity not to be missed!

Brands should absolutely be looking to integrate social media into their marketing strategies to take advantage of such a vast audience. However, brands should proceed with caution – consumers see Twitter as a different way of marketing; it’s about dialogue and a sense of community. With Twitter, consumers have a direct communications channel with a brand and one that’s in a public forum, which if not handled carefully and respectfully can turn very bad, very quickly for a brand.

P.S The Tetley competition ends at 5pm today when a winner will be announced. Having now lived in England for the last couple of years I, too, have taken on the tea-drinking way of life and entered this competition; I’ve had my fingers crossed since 11am.

Martyn Warwick, from Telecom TV chaired the session with Russell Buckley (@russellbuckley) from Eagle Eye Solutions (client of Speed), Mark Curtis (@fjordmark) from Fjord, David Wood (@DW2) from Accenture and Mike Short from Telefonica all providing their answers to some of the big questions in mobile.

Some of those big questions seemed to centre around the death of things…perhaps a little morbid, but it was the conversations on privacy, trust, location and retail that took my particular interest. Much of the industry seems to be concerned about the decline and re-birth of different industries, which is i think only natural. After all, these cycles present a variety of different business opportunities.

I’ve heard all of these guys talk at MoMoLo and elsewhere before and although that everyone on the panel last night made some very interesting and valid points…i think that Mark and Russell always provide some fantastic food for thought.

I always come out of a MoMo session with a load of notes and thoughts, so I thought that instead of one massive blog post, I’d break it down in to maybe three shorter ones on different topics. So here goes, first up – retail.

Live or let die?

If a major high-street retailer doesn’t have a mobile offering today, something I can go to, download, view now, then it could already be too late. Mobile moves at such a rapid pace – evident to see from the recap of the last six years of events since MoMoLo started – that by the time it takes to act on something, it’s already out of date.

Five years ago there was no such thing as an iPhone and it was only a very slight minority that were using WAP on their phone to search the web, download JAVA and J2ME apps. Five years in retail never used to be *that* long of a time. In mobile, five years is a lifetime. As mobile commerce is increasing, retailers need to be quicker at adapting otherwise there’s a big risk that consumers leave them behind.

Interestingly, econsultancy recently published some stats around retailers and mobile offerings, concluding that:

• 36 of the top 47 retailers on the list have either a mobile optimised website or a smartphone app.
• 21 of the 47 have both sites and apps.
• 9 have just apps, while 6 have a mobile site and no apps.

Russell made an interesting point that even when a retailer has a mobile offering and drives a consumer to the store, the battle isn’t won yet. Retailers are competing in their own stores for that consumer to make a purchase – 21% of consumers that own a smartphone have changed their mind about purchasing a product in store as a result of information gathered on their device. Retailers are failing to make the sale even with the consumer there with the product, hand in pocket. But the hand isn’t on their cash; it’s on their mobile.

Russell rounded up by concluding that it’s a fact that a lot of digital marketing techniques have passed many retailers by as they’ve never really invested in digital marketing. Many retailers out there are just not geared up for mobile thinking yet, but they have to be as they’re about to go through absolutely massive changes just as the music, publishing and many other industries have.

Mark went as far to say that a lot of retail looks dead already. I think that in some ways he’s right, but arguably it’s in retail that a lot of the action and opportunity is right now. Some retailers have made significant effort towards mobile and continue to reap the benefits, Amazon for example is always, always my default choice to check prices, availability etc. and I’ll continue to give them my custom as they provide exceptional service. There are however many others using mobile very well such as Tesco, Ocado and Argos to name a couple.

Mark went on to say that retailers who don’t now accept that mobile is very much part of their business are in big trouble and that high street retailers should be looking at making their stores in to experiences rather than just a place to hold and sell stock. Something that Steve Jobs evangelised when the first Apple Store opened in 2001.

In the last 10 years Apple Stores across the globe have provided that ‘Apple experience’ that make visiting a store actually quite an enjoyable experience even when you don’t have anything particular to buy. How many other stores can you name that have a similar effect? I’m struggling to name any other that offers a consumer something similar. Any suggestions?

It’s not the first company Walmart has acquired and it certainly won’t be the last. So why is this important? Retail and mobile are intrinsically linked. Research from comScore has indicated that 70% of those using mobile for holiday (read Christmas) shopping are using them in-store, where purchases are being influenced on the spot. Retailers know they need to be engaging consumers on mobile. They know that while they’re in store, they’re mobile is on and frequently being referred to.  Love them or hate them, this is a smart move from Walmart. They could have partnered up with a provider, but why do that when it had an income last year of $15.4bn and just buy in to the game.

By acquiring RiotOne, Walmart hold all the cards. It not only makes significant headway in to the mobile and social, real-time ad space, but maintains complete control of all their customer data. From a customer point of view, sharing data with just Walmart is preferential to sharing it between two or even three third parties. Make no mistake, Walmart are building something big. Walmart already acquired social media start-up Kosmix earlier this year, so it’s clear that social and mobile is going to form a big part of Walmart’s future as it tries to catch up with Amazon.

Supermarkets already have huge amounts of data around our shopping habits; just look how online grocery shopping has developed to now have all your favourites waiting for you in your shopping basket. You don’t have to do anything; all your regular purchases are already in your basket. What this acquisition gives Walmart however is a platform providing access to public data streams to build profiles and the ability to deliver incredibly relevant, timely ads to customers, not just when they’re in store.

Yes Walmart is a US brand, but remember Asda is part of that brand ‘family’ and it will be interesting to see how the likes of Tesco will compete against this, apart from offering free Wi-Fi in store. So far all ‘social’ has meant to retailers is a Facebook page…possibly a Twitter account. This could indeed be the wake-up call the retail industry needs in terms of using mobile and social to engage their customers with relevant content, resulting in others following suit.

The flipside of this is that it could be another example of a massive company buying an innovative start-up only to let it fall by the wayside. Which will it be? Only time will tell. But one thing’s for sure, marketing is no longer an art. It’s a science. The most successful brands will be those with the most data and the ones who provide the most analysis and measurement on that data.

For university students, managing your online presence offers invaluable experience, showing that you fully understand the importance of reputation management and can navigate online networks with ease. It also presents you with a fantastic opportunity to demonstrate your skills, share your thoughts, and build links with influential people in the industry.

Managing your online presence isn’t just about appealing to new employers though; it can also be a key part of winning new business. If you wanted to hire a PR agency, would you not be tempted to google the names of the consultants that you would potentially be working with? And if you were impressed with a particular company’s communications, would you not want to try and find out who was behind it? Of course you would!

It’ll be very interesting to see how this trend evolves. Already PR agencies are offering firms help with developing social media guidelines for spokespeople and other staff. But as more businesses start caring about how staff carry themselves online, perhaps we’ll see more PR agencies and SEO firms working with time-poor individuals to ‘clean up’ any social media mistakes that could affect their employability or put off prospective customers.

Whether or not the story is true, it makes me laugh and with the Pope’s UK visit taking up the media spotlight this week, I was thinking about Mr. Pope Head on my bike ride home, where I rode by a bus poster for the upcoming Disney film, Camp Rock 2.

There’s another example of regional marketing awkwardness. In North America, Camp Rock is a perfectly acceptable children’s film title, but here in the UK I am sure that the Jonas Brothers’ Camp Rock has raised a few eyebrows and I’m a little surprised that the didn’t change it for the UK release.

Courtesy of email forwards, Google and websites without any references, here’s a few more regional marketing errors:

- Orange’s 1994 slogan. “The future’s bright… the future’s Orange,” was probably not the most inclusive slogan for the Northern Irish market

- The iconic American baby brand, Gerber, didn’t do so well in Quebec with their baby food, where gerber means vomit

- The Chinese translation of KFC’s slogan “finger lickin’ good” is apparently “eat your fingers off”

- The Honda Jazz is said to have been formerly named the Honda Fitta, until they realised what the word fitta means in Scandinavia

Ad Age’s list is limited to just 30 brands, including many of the names people in the marketing industry would expect to see included: Facebook, Ikea, Nike and BMW for example. That The Economist, a brand with a fraction of the number of consumers of these companies, is considered to be of the same calibre says much about both the quality of the product and the rigour of the publication’s marketing.

In both cases, it’s The Economist’s refusal to compromise that has made it so successful. Editorial is always disinterested – unaffected by background forces – and marketing is always true to the essence of the product. That may sound simple to achieve but to not waver over the course of 167 years deserves great praise.

This week, the winner of our ‘Wall of Shame’ competition (on the basis of the submission of this super snap), Simon Matthews, answers some suitably random questions about fetishes, football and the role of PR in today’s business climate.

Q – Tell us about your worst habit – throw in any fetishes.

A – I’m far too generous which has led to at least one of my friends owing me £600

Q – List the 3 most embarrassing things you’ve ever said/done – whilst sober.

A- Inadvertently accusing my step-step-grandfather (step-dad’s step-dad) of using inflatable sex dolls – in my defence I was young and didn’t really understand what I was talking about.

In ‘Nam I fell down an open manhole while walking across a field with my friends, after an interesting run in with some prostitutes who stole 100,000 Dong (about 5 of her majesty’s sterling pounds) – without any form of professional services being exchanged I hasten to add.

I once ate a habenero chilli in one mouthful because an attractive lady bet I couldn’t. I was successful in the attempt but my mouth was in such a state of pain and dribbling that I was rendered insensible.

Q – What’s your take on today’s business climate and the role & importance of PR?

A – It’s still a little rocky out there in places and PR is as important as ever – if not more so. A company with no PR will struggle for awareness in a competitive business environment, so they need us to put them right in front of their customers in a way that advertising and other marketing disciplines can’t.

Q – Are you a football fan? Why? Who do you support? Have they won anything?

A – Crystal Palace. Winning is for chumps.

Q – I hear match.com will soon have a new member – what qualities do you possess that one might…consider?

A – In the name of research, I have bravely volunteered to sign up to match.com. Apart from being generally great at everything, I’m a pretty good cook. All I can ask is that the ladies form an orderly queue.

Q – Name your top 3 Speeps and the reasons why you love them/don’t love them so much. We’re an honest bunch, don’t be afraid of the possibly hostile repercussions.

A – Very difficult to choose as I do like all of you lot, despite your best efforts – here’s an arbitrary selection:

Bex has to get a look in on this – she’s lovely and, as a bonus, hasn’t fired me.

John Brown – often looks quite dapper and is the source of many japes.

Nicole – lunch buddy extraordinaire.

The recession has had a massive effect on B2B sales and marketing – but not just in the obvious ways. Yes, companies are buying less and projects have been cancelled or put on hold, but research by TAS into the B2B sales cycle, quoted on the Inflexion Point blog uncovers some surprising facts.

Despite the recession, successful sales cycles are getting shorter. Essentially companies are only going out to the market when they have a clear idea of what they want and the signed-off budget to proceed. So time from qualifying a prospect to signing the deal has reduced by just over 23 per cent. The flipside of this is that if the sales cycle drags on, the opportunity is more and more likely to turn to dust, wasting time and effort.

Where does this leave PR and marketing? I’d say it strengthens the overall part they play in the sales cycle. Prospects are doing due diligence and research before they call you, so you need to ensure you are providing consistent information to them across the whole marketing mix. Get into the publications they read, make your website relevant, have a strong presence in the right digital channels and keep this up on a sustained basis.

With the sales cycle moving from a marathon to a sprint preparation and warming up prospects is even more vital. This is absolutely where integrated PR and marketing delivers, and careful investment here will reap major benefits further down the sales process.

In fact, I love it so much that I went online and joined its email newsletter database – and perhaps more to the point, I’ve actually stuck with it. Its humorous tone and snappy content means it’s a welcome arrival in my inbox and more to the point, its quite good at giving away free stuff. Not that I’m cheap or anything.

It seems that others share my love of Tossed as it has been nominated as a finalist in the food and drink category of Metro’s Venture Candy Awards. To help the company clinch the title, they have emailed their database offering a free coffee for anyone who can prove they’ve voted for them.

I’m slightly dubious about the morality behind essentially bribing your way to first place but I guess if Gordon Brown et al have taught us anything, it’s that sometimes you’ve got to whatever it takes to win.

Now, where’s my free coffee…