Marketing Murmur #7 Mind Boggling Alibaba Stats

Keep saying that all departments from within agencies and companies have to come together as one; yes that includes marketing bods meeting IT geeks. Only then can we really have joined up customer experiences. We need to get that infrastructure in place with people working and talking as one. For many in agencies and even clients, dismiss eCommerce as it doesn't fall under their remit so it then takes a back seat when it comes to any form of connected marketing. It must be at the centre of any comms as it's central to the customer interaction from searching through to buying. Just hearing Alibaba's Single's Day on how much was spent on their platforms, is truly staggering.

If You Want Change Start At The Top

This is #MarketingMurmur 6 vodcast, Some views on the #Shesays event I attended at Karmarama the other night. Hearing the panels horror stories, it struck me how unbelievable rude some clients and agency people behave. Appalling in their demands and bullying emotionally and physically. It's rife in our industry and we do nothing, shame on the management within agencies who allow clients to treat agency staff in this way. Sadly ares holes are at the top regardless of their gender. Most agencies eventually fire clients only when the business is about to leave or they can't make anymore money from it, they then say we did it as they were treating our team badly. The sad truth is; talented people leave the business because of these attitudes. Interested to hear your thoughts and your horror stories and maybe some suggestions on how to change this behaviour.

Art from fabric - Just stunning.Truly.

Just look at this - no words needed apart from inspired fabric sculptor artist Benjamin Shine

The elephant in the room

Marketing Murmur on diversity in our industry and that comment from Justin Tidall

Fidget Phone.

Seen this, I really like it when you combine two things to create something completely new. Welcome to Fidget Phone - I love the fact it has a practical value too. From a marketing perspective I can also see branding and content creation with this. A new media channel. Very impressive and beautifully simple idea.

IKEA - Place Looking Nice Via AR

We have for a long time as agency folk sold in 'transformative' retail work for our clients and harnessing new tech and not so new tech such as AR. The trouble is; the idea is great in scamp form but sadly the end result always failed to impress mainly regarding the technology as it always to me fell short. Not a great experience if anything, it hindered it. The other problem many marketing and agency folk missed was how to push the app through marketing, a more joined approach, connected thinking was always a missing. Then I saw this from IKEA The hope is that Ikea can now inspire customers in new ways and make their lives so much easier. Now instead of going to the store maybe two or three times to look at a couch, feel it, sit on it, envision it within your own home, the customer might only have to make one trip to the store. The app now allows shoppers to actually see the product, in all its assembled glory, as it would really appear in your home. You can see what it looks like in different rooms, against a different wall, etc. IKEA is in a good place when it comes to creativity and innovation to the benefit of its customers. A good place to be for any brand.

Infographic on the importance of colour for brands

Let's Have A Beer #OpenYourWorld

I came across this piece from Heineken and when I started to read the idea I had a bit of a Coke Cola and Kendall Jenner moment. We are seeing more and more brands take this approach, take a topic and set up a social experiment and see it played out. The ad features people who disagree on issues like climate change, feminism, and transgender rights. But there's a catch: The two people don't know they disagree with each other when they first sit down. After a few minutes of getting to know each other, the pair is shown short videos that reveal their dissenting opinions on a particular topic. They're then given a choice: They can leave, or they can try and hash out their differences over a beer. I really like this idea - the actual build to the reveal was really clever and well thought out, by setting tasks you can see them bond, so when their conflicting views are revealed it adds tension and drama. I was transfixed to the end and I didn't feel the brand was forced, it dovetailed in nicely. Now there's a brand that's found its purpose, as we know and it has scientifically proven that most people can come to an agreement on most things over a beer. (As long as it's not too many beers and they are Millwall or West Ham fans:)

Google Deck On What US Kids Think Is Coolio

Found this piece of research produced by Google looking at what US kids think what are cool brands, I love the layout for starters but also what I like about this they don't just give you a top ten cool brands but they breakdown the demographic, sample and more importantly what defies 'cool' very cool and informative, no real surprises in the top 10 as beforehand I asked my daughter who said YouTube and screamed I loooove YT and Pewdiepie who has has 54 million subscribers. One surprise that I did notice was 'least cool' was RedBull and Apple, high in awareness, but not cool? Maybe now 'try hard' Overall this deck is Lit as my kids say.

What were they thinking?

Watching the video of a passenger been randomly dragged of a United Airlines flight I was literally shell-shocked. Shocked how they treated the poor man and for the record he is a Doctor by trade not a madman who went crazy mid-flight. He was chosen, as they needed the space, as they were over-booked!!! Shocked too in the age of ‘live’ broadcast what was the staff thinking? It’s a PR nightmare and I find it amazing that brands invest millions in marketing campaigns but how much staff get trained in dealing with customers? I reckon looking at this, nothing. I bet they now wish they had a time machine and could turn back the clock.

A Familiar Story Well Played

Spotted this little spot, really charming little film - that feeling of been rewarded as a kid, the butterflies you get in your tummy, they linked that to the NZ Lotto of winning it and the fact that they sponsor kids sports in NZ. I must say this spot is really well written and the cast of the kid, with the shot of his face at the end - is genius- nice work all round, well played, shame I can't say the same for my football team, West Ham, hey ho.

Real Time Mobile Data - Mind Blowing

Here's a great little site that shows in real time mobile app and mobile web usage - every second, 24/7. Great to share with anyone client or agency side who still doubts the importance of leading with mobile. View Live Here

Tech Wearables In Sport That Can Make A Difference

I have blogged on here before about IoT especially on the subject of sport apparel for athletes. As a keen runner and swimmer I know what it is like, how can you improve on your PB or performance? I have in the past also been very critical of some IoT in sports and viewed many as a gimmick or developing for tech sake without really thinking about the athlete. One thing, that all of us are aware as athletes is cramping and if you have ever experienced it while competing it can be incredible painful and very frustrating. (I once cramped out in the open sea while 6 foot waves came rolling in, not a very nice experience I still get flash backs) Now here’s something that caught my eye and could be useful in detailing and monitoring cramping and they do this by analysing.... your sweat.

The team at Kenzen have created ECHO H2, a wearable that includes two components: a hardware-based continuous sports monitor, and the flexible H2 Smart Patch. ECHO is based on groundbreaking technology developed for aerospace and medical research in Switzerland. This rechargeable device combines a number of sensor technologies and algorithms that provide real-time feedback on sports performance and vitals.

ECHO captures previously inaccessible measurements like skin conductivity and 3D motion. H2 is a disposable adhesive patch that, when connected to the ECHO monitor, enables wearers to monitor hydration, lactic acid and calorie levels using sweat analysis. It can be worn on the calf or abdomen for up to one week. A corresponding app enables the user to monitor levels and export data to other fitness apps.

Now that’s something that could be very useful as in the past much of this data had to then go off to labs for tests, this IoT wearable saves a lot of running around ☺ and can tell you pretty straight away. Nice

Mobile before and after shot

Isn't this a wonderful shot? A before and after photo of the iPhone, at first glance as a creative art director I admire the simplicity and clean interface of the iPhones compared of old, but something also struck me looking at this photo, they look rather boring and bland compared to the old versions, they looked like fun where as the new ones look a bit soulless. Where everyone copied Apple, they all now look like iPhones. No personality, same same which in marketing terms isn't a good thing to be labelled with. I understand it's the functionality that is what is going to set it apart but from a brand perspective you need to develop a creative strategy that tells the story of the phone, give it some personality, a human touch, that's what then set's them apart. Currently I couldn't tell the difference between a branded or content piece if it's from Samsung or Apple. Time to stand for something and stand out from the crowd me thinks in marketing terms.

The science and art of shopping

Marketing - Dress to impress

It still amazes me how as marketeers we invest thousands upon thousands of money into various marketing from data research, customer journeys, marketing campaigns, apps, PR, packaging, and shinny new platforms based content, and still as marketing directors we forget the basics of what we were taught when we did our marketing degree which is; when selling your product your customer has to be amazed visually or emotionally or in the case of clothing you look amazing wearing it. Yes I know we're not all size 10 models, but there's things we can do that can make us all look good. The brand sells itself when worn, Lacoste is a fine example in clothing and in-store experience. You build an appealing brand. Steve Jobs understood this basic principle too of marketing when launching Apple products (Just looking at the products you would get goose bumps, so why do so many major brands miss this?) Again I believe they operate in silos and for that the whole customer experience is a bit of a let down. Here’s a great example of not truly understanding your customer, this blogger has shown how major retailers have missed the mark. Fitting rooms should have flattering light and pleasing colours that make the clothes look good but Russian blogger Inna visited dressing rooms in 11 different stores and found they often fail to flatter.

Inna visited clothing stores such as H&M, Mango and Zara and compared her before shot, taken with home lighting, to the shots taken in each room. And even though she was wearing the same clothes, and shot the pictures with the same phone, the lighting and background changed her appearance alot from shot to shot.

So what did Inna conclude based on her research? Brighter lights are more flattering, and red used right will really make you stand out, but a dark dressing room can ruin an otherwise good shopping trip. It might make you look moody but you’ll look drab.

Basic stuff right, and you don’t need to invest in thousands of pounds in research to understand that principle. So next time you are planning your next marketing campaign think about the whole customer experience, not just online but when they enter the store, talk to retail staff, go and visit and see for yourself if you have to, be honest with yourself, if it's not great get them involved, the outcome will be much more appealing for you and your customers.

Think You Know Your Films?

Here's some lovely work, in the idea, illustration through to the art direction, it is by the illustrator Maria Suarez-Inclan “Hollywood Kits,” each colorful illustration in the series features props and images from the filmmaker’s stable of movies. While some of these objects are instantly recognizable, others will surely require a bit more thinking. The collection, which is exclusively available on Curioos as art prints, includes twelve original artworks inspired by icons like Steven Spielberg, David Fincher, Martin Scorcese, Quentin Tarantino, the Coen brothers my personal favourite is the Coen Brothers - what is yours?

Combining Innovation and Exercise Is Kids Play

What can I say about this piece I came across online? Truly genius, as you know I'm a sports nut, I'm a firm believer that a healthy body is a healthy mind, that is why physical exercise is so important to young kids, so when I saw this my heart skipped a beat. It's so simple and so easy to set up, with a bit of tech, a screen projector and you're ready to go. PE then becomes something beyond to when I was a kid; running cross country in your underpants!! (You did PE even if you forgot your kit in my day) Anyway this gets the kids moving in a fun and interactive way. Hat tip to the school. Please any PE teachers out there who see this, what's stopping you doing the same?

Introducing Uber Movement

Uber is launching a new service that could help cities master their traffic. It’s called Uber Movement, and it uses information on the billions of rides Uber has completed. It’s free, open to anybody who wants to use it—today that’s limited to select planning agencies and researchers—and lets users track car travel times between any two points in a city at any time of day. It actually seems pretty helpful.

Looking at this animation this looks very slick and informative, I remember working on Google Business and they had something similar - as a package to gov and industries it was pricey, Uber will be offering it for free! Maybe an olive branch to local councils as we know Uber's relationship with councils like New York is strained. I'm sure this could make amends.

Before and after saying; 'good boy'

Full view here