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#MarketingTitbits – Coca-Cola’s Marketing, YouTube’s Viral Moments, Brands Colours

cocacola-youtube-brands1. How Coca-Cola overhauled its marketing in 2015
From its ‘single brand’ strategy to lower calorie, flavoured products, Coca-Cola are determined to keep up with changing consumer tastes. Back in March this year, the soft drinks company introduced a one brand strategy, where its four product family – Coca-Cola, Diet Coke, Coca-Cola Zero and Coca-Cola Life, were placed under one master.

The new branding came from its consumer research which found that half of consumers didn’t know that Coke Zero has no sugar or calories, as well as not knowing the difference between Coke Zero and Diet Coke. Bobby Brittain, GB marketing director for Coca-Cola says “We’ve failed to communicate clearly enough the product differentiation. That’s a major wakeup call for us”.

Want to read more on Coca-Cola’s marketing? Click here.

2. YouTube has released its annual video mashup of the biggest viral moments of 2015

YouTube have recently paid tribute to all the biggest viral moments and people of 2015, and it already has 44 million views! From the tribute, people who are well-versed in internet culture and YouTube stars will recognise dozens of in-house jokes; others on the other hand, may not.

YouTube’s culture executive, Kevin Allocca, shared that shooting for the 7-minute piece took 21 days across multiple cities, in the US and around the world. He shares: “Some of these (YouTube creators) are pretty huge stars who are busy with crazy schedules, so to have them in the same place is really fun”.

Watch the video now by clicking here.

3. Quiz: do you know why these brands chose their famous colours?

For many brands, their choice of colouring can be just as iconic as their logo, and sometimes even their name. Have you ever wondered why brands like Coca-Cola chose red and white, or why Starbucks chose green?

Coca-Cola’s colours go back to the mid-1890s, when the company began painting its syrup barrels red so that the tax agents could easily tell them apart from alcohol during transport. Google on the other hand, chose a rainbow-coloured logo as it implied playfulness, particularly the order of the colours. Cadbury’s also shared that the colour purple was first introduced as a tribute to Queen Victoria, as it was her favourite colour – how sweet!

To see other brands’ reasoning for their colours, click here.

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CamKids 2015 Update

camkids
As you may already know, TLC Business support ‘CamKids’ – The Cambodian Children’s Charity, and this week we received our Child Sponsorship Annual Update.

We sponsor a young girl called Sreylim who is now 15, and is about to go into Grade 10 at school. She remains very committed and works hard at school; however she isn’t a fan of biology! She doesn’t yet have any firm ideas about what she wants to do when she finishes school, but she still thinks she would like to use her English skills. Sreylim has considered teaching or translating, but says she would also like to work as a tour guide, and thinks that the amazing temple complex at Siem Reap might be a good place to work.

Sreylim has previously travelled to Siem Reap to participate in the bicycle challenge, and this year she was very excited to return, but this time with her mother. She really enjoyed showing her mother around the temples, and Angkor Wat itself was definitely her favourite. She loved the steep stairs and all of the wonderful stone carvings.

Sreylim’s brother, Chanrith, is also doing very well, both near the top of their respective grades. Chanrith is now 19 and is in the year above Sreylim at school. They both remain very close and supportive of each other, and are looking forward to travelling home for the Pchum Ben holiday.

If you would like to find out more about CamKids and their incredible work, click here.

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#MarketingTitbits – Aldi’s Christmas Campaign, Marketing Moments, Periscope For Business

aldi-marketing-periscope1. Aldi’s ‘agile’ Christmas campaign wins first round of Christmas ad battle
With just 3 weeks to go until Christmas, Aldi has definitely run the most effective festive campaign of 2015, adopting an agile approach and social engagement to defeat their rival retailers. Aldi’s ‘man on the moon’ ad compared two telescopes – one John Lewis and the other Aldi which included Jean the infamous star of Aldi’s previous ads.

Aldi has managed to top a list of 13 retailers; scoring 154 compared to John Lewis’ lower score of 142. WE’s head of digital and insights, Gareth Davies, says “ If there’s one thing that the Aldi advert has shown us it’s that being agile and creating on-the-fly content can be a hugely successful strategy”.

Would you like to see the top 13 Christmas ads of 2015? Click here.

2. The top 10 marketing moments of 2015

With 2015 now coming to an end, us marketers have seen some of the most controversial, ground-breaking and, at times, baffling campaigns of the year. As we recap to some of the top marketing campaigns, Nicola Kemp unveils this year’s biggest marketing stories – enjoy!

There are no surprises here as Google have reached the #1 spot with their rewritten structure of Alphabet – their new holding company! Closely following Google was Apple and their new ‘Apple Watch’, as well as Moneysupermarket.com and their ‘Epic strut’ campaign which featured Sharon Osbourne.

Click here to view the top 10 marketing moments of 2015.

3. What is Periscope and how can you use it for business video streaming?

2016 is approaching and businesses are looking for the next tool to experiment with to advance their business strategy in the new year. For many, the next tool at the top of the list is Periscope – a video streaming/broadcasting service from Twitter which allows businesses to have video conversations through their network!

Anyone who follows your broadcast will be able to see your live video, like it, comment on it and even share it to other followers on Twitter. From a business perspective, Periscope is an excellent way to gain visibility. It’s important for businesses to be active on the platform to create a community with their target audiences – the more interactive, the better.

Want to learn more about Periscope? Click here.

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#MarketingTitbits – Influential Brands, Marketing Predictions, Success Advice

microsoft-predictions-success1. Microsoft ‘surprises’ as it tops The Guardian’s poll of the most influential UK brands
Surprisingly, it beat the likes of Amazon and Google in a new poll by The Guardian, subsequently being named the UK’s most influential brand – who would have thought? Microsoft’s move to imbue more social values in its marketing is being offered up as the the ‘primary driver’ for its success in the poll.

Surveying 2,000 UK consumers, covering 200 of the biggest brands, the results were unexpected. The results were defined by the respondent’s perception of a brand’s position for each of the following criteria – commercial influence, how a brand impacts purchasing habits and its impact on society and their audience. Not only did Microsoft surprise us marketers with their winning score of 58.3, but the runner up, with 54.7 points, was TripAdvisor, perhaps equally unlikely, closely followed by Amazon with 53.9 – more expected!

To read more about Microsoft’s success, click here.

2. Marketers’ 2016 predictions: from the video explosion to the next ‘new normal’

The marketing industry is changing rapidly and shows no signs of slowing down, forcing marketers to adapt to thrive. 10 of the industry’ best and brightest have been asked to share their predictions for 2016 – enjoy!

Gavin Patterson, Chief Executive at BT, predicts that the year ahead is full of ‘busy-ness’, where marketing will be an important way of communicating with consumers and businesses. On the other hand, Nicola Mendelsohn, Vice-president of Facebook, believes that video will become even bigger, where people can discover the world through sharing content.

Click here for the full 10 predictions for 2016.

3. 20 entrepreneurs share the advice that made them successful

Regardless of how success is defined, it can be a gruelling task for businesses to achieve it. Entrepreneurs can generally agree that it takes confidence, passion and drive to accomplish goals, and to recognise success once achieved. With this in mind, 20 of the most successful entrepreneurs share their best advice on how to succeed in business.

The renowned Bill Gates believes “success is a lousy teacher. It seduces smart people into thinking they can’t lose”, meaning success is worked for, not given. Other business fanatics like Steve Jobs says “You can’t connect the dots looking forward; you can only connect them looking backwards. So you have to trust that the dots will somehow connect in your future”.

Want more advice on how to achieve success? Click here.

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#MarketingTitbits – #ManOnTheMoon Launch, Retro Christmas Ads, Google+ Social Publishing

johnlewis-retro-google1. John Lewis sees a significant sales uplift following ‘Man on the Moon’ launch
The latest John Lewis Christmas ad, #ManOnTheMoon, appears to have generated an increase in the most important metric for any marketing campaign – sales. After its first week of release, the department store reported its first weekly sales total to surpass £100m this season – an increase of 1.5% from the previous year.

The much hyped Christmas ad received 22 million views in its first week – a total which makes it on track to become “even more popular” than last year’s ‘Monty the Penguin’. This Christmas, John Lewis teamed up with Age UK to raise awareness of the 1 million elderly people that go for over a month without speaking to anybody over the holiday period and beyond.

To read more on the success of #ManOnTheMoon, click here.

2. Are these the best retro Christmas ads of all time?

According to Anne Carpen, creative director of 18 Feet & Rising, some of the best Christmas ads are from a bygone era. The most challenging part for brands preparing their Christmas ad isn’t wading through numerous clichés, but instead finding the festive cheer during the summer season, when the campaign has to be prepared to get them ready to implement in the run up to Christmas.

One brand that didn’t fail to entertain their audience was OfficeMax with their ElfYourself campaign, and is still extremely popular today. DirecTV also managed to bring out the pleasant side of characters like Darth Vader, Chucky and Hannibal during the festive season with their Silent Night Christmas ad – even this would put a smile on any Scrooges face at Christmas.

Click here for the best retro Christmas ads of all time.

3. The new Google+ seeks the middle ground in social publishing

Many marketers are still confused as to what Google+ actually is; however, a major revamp has occurred in yet another effort to convince its most loyal users to log on. From the new change, Google+ is seeking a middle ground between Twitter and Medium, a place which revolves around an individual’s interests and a desire for micro-blogging.

Collections have been available to users for five months, but are now at the centre of focus on the revised network. The Collections will allow users to group posts together, encouraging users to create and share further content. In much the same was as Medium, Google+ have reinforced Communities on the network to inspire users to get involved through popular groups.

To view other Google+ changes, click here.

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#MarketingTitbits – The Economist, Social Media Hacks, Brands For Millennials

digital-hacks-brands1. How The Economist injected digital into a 172-year-old magazine
The 172-year-old publication, The Economist, has recently embraced digital technology, with help from Iain Noakes, The Economist’s Global Digital Acquisition Journey and Performance Director. With this new revolution, Noakes was keen to stress that despite its recent efforts, The Economist is not a digital brand.

The Economist team researched their potential market and found that their circulation could grow from 1.6m to 73m, just by making their magazine accessible online. According to Noakes, a large proportion of people subscribe once they’ve browsed the content, and those who unsubscribe are retargeted through further content.

For more information, click here.

2. 30 days’ worth of social media hacks and experiments

Marketers like us are always keen to find new ways to improve our social media numbers, and the best way to grow in the social media world is to try new things. To inspire change, entrepreneur Kevan Lee has drummed up 30 new, small and simple experiments.

One of the favourite recommendations for getting more followers and engagement on social media is to embed a tweet at the bottom of a blog post, making it easy for readers to engage with the blog. Not only this, but posting during non-peak hours can also boost recognition, as well as pinning a tweet at the top of a Twitter profile.

To read Kevan’s top 30 social media hacks, click here.

3. The top 100 brands for millennials

Millennials make up a large consumer group, and 3,500 people aged between 20 and 35 have been asked by Moosylvania for their favourite brands over the past three years. Some of the brands that came out on top were surprising – others, not so much.

With 91% of Millennials owning a smartphone, it doesn’t come as a surprise that the top brand was Apple. However, you might be surprised to see Nintendo, reaching #11, elevated by the nostalgia Millennials feel when playing the games they enjoyed when they were kids. Some brands didn’t fare so well though, Subway being a prime example, given that Millennials make up a key target audience, occupying a lowly #92.

Click here to view the top 100 brands for Millennials.

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#MarketingTitbits – John Lewis’ Christmas Ad, Google Analytics, Marketing Predictions

christmas-google-predictions1. Is John Lewis playing with fire with its annual Christmas advert?
With the combination of John Lewis Christmas ads being the second most shared of all time, will #ManOnTheMoon be another unqualified success? According to BrandWatch, the ad was mentioned more than 23,000 times on social media just two hours after its launch. With such huge expectation, is there a risk associated with pursuing such campaigns year after year?

John Lewis has definitely caught our attention with their Christmas ad, and the top marketers from the Post Office, eHarmony and Virgin Games have given their verdicts. Romain Bertrand, eHarmony’s marketing director, states “#ManOnTheMoon delivers all the things we’ve come to expect from a John Lewis Christmas ad”, but will the leading brand be able to keep up with the hype each year? We will have to see.

To see what the other marketing magicians thought, click here.

2. Should we dare to leap beyond Google Analytics?

It doesn’t come as a surprise that many marketers use Google Analytics as their primary website analytics tool, but are there others out there? With the tool being part of the Google family, we feel that we can trust it; our peers use the tool, its free, and provides top level website performance statistics.

The question is – should we leap beyond Google Analytics? There are a many of tools available to you which help to form an insight into your website data. Behavioural insights from the likes of Decibel Insight and Hotjar are a ‘must’ for marketers, as well as testing tools such as Optimizely and Visual Web Optimizer. These tools vary in cost and each offer different insights. Whether you feel you need them as an addition to Google Analytics is very much down to your specific requirements. What we can say is that there is a whole world of web analytics tools out there beyond Google’s offering, make sure you explore them.

Click here to find out more.

3. 16 marketing predictions for 2016

With the internet turning into television and mobile turning into our new browser, have you wondered what will happen to marketing in 2016? For an expert perspective, some of the leading marketers, including CEOs, authors and executive recruiters have been asked for their thoughts – enjoy!

IBMs Chief Marketing Officer, Deepak Advani, believes the key for marketing in 2016 is cognitive commerce. Brian Kardon, CMO of ThinkingPhones, believes real-time marketing analytics will unite online and offline behaviour for richer lead scoring and nurturing in 2016. However, Michael Schinelli, CMO of UNC Kenan-Flagler Business School, states that digital marketing will cease, as marketers move towards a concept of marketing in a digital world.

Do you have a prediction for marketing in 2016? Share it with us today! Or click here for the full list of predictions.

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#MarketingTitbits – Google AdWords, Marketing Humour, Creepiest Campaigns

adwords-humour-halloween1. Google AdWords at 15: moving beyond the last click
The success of AdWords for Google, launched 15 years ago, is undeniable. Now, the search giant is keen to build on the success and add even more functionality for advertisers and benefits for searchers. Back in 2000 when AdWords first launched, it had just 350 advertisers, now that number is more than 1 million and the success of AdWords shows no signs of abating.

For those marketers who don’t know, AdWords is Google’s paid search service, whereby advertisers can pay to have their ads shown for specific keywords on Google search network, as well as on partner websites, apps and videos.

Click here to find out more information about AdWords plans for the future and developing their service.

2. The dangerous art of using humour in marketing

Content that pulls on the emotional strings is powerful and humour is no different. However, getting it right can be the difference between being derided and loved for a brand. Being funny through social content can be tricky, but get it right and the rewards are compelling. Get it wrong; however, and the awareness it generates will be unwelcoming.

KFC experienced this with their recent reconstruction of pro surfer, Mike Fanning’s, much-publicised shark attack. Fanning’s family took offence and they were forced to take it down. But for every comedic backfire, there is an example of comedy gold.

Take a look at the pros and cons, as well as some great examples of humour in marketing here.

3. Halloween 2015: the creepiest campaigns

Trick or treat? We have TREATED you to the creepiest Halloween marketing campaigns this year, and they didn’t fail to disappoint.

Once again, brands like Tesco have been trying to spook us this Halloween, and they certainly excelled with their ‘Spookermarket’ campaign. Tesco launched their online film set in one of their supermarkets which were given a spooky makeover. Hidden cameras were able to capture the reactions of customers as they encounter a series of scary situations.

Click here to view the results along with some of the other spookiest Halloween campaigns of 2015.

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#MarketingTitbits – Marketing CEOs, Business Books, Dulux Reality App

ceo-books-dulux1. Over 20% of FTSE 100 CEOs now come from a marketing background
British companies are gradually becoming marketing experts when it comes to filling the top job, as 21% of all FTSE 100 CEOs now come from a sales or marketing background. The UK’s tendency to employ former marketers is far greater than international companies, where only 10% of CEOs are former marketers.

Over the last few years, Tesco has led the way here and in July 2014 they appointed former Unilever marketer Dave Lewis – who was responsible for Dove’s ‘Real Beauty’ campaigns – to help rescue their dwindling sales and profits.

There are plenty more examples, so click here to view the full list of marketer CEOs.

2. 5 books to read before starting your business

Starting up a new company can be a tricky business, and there are many factors which need to be considered. With 80% of businesses failing within the first couple of years, it’s important for budding entrepreneurs to prepare as much as possible in advance, and with so many business books out there now, reading has got to be the place to start.

Building a business can be a daunting task, and Ken Dunn from Entrepreneur has shared his 5 top books to read before entering on the challenging journey. The Founder’s Dilemmas is a particular favourite, a book that focuses on helping entrepreneurs reduce the risk of mistakes.

To see the full top 5 list, click here.

3. Dulux puts augmented reality app at the heart of e-commerce plans

Dulux is investing heavily in its app with a view to helping shape how decorators – both amateur and professional –use their mobile device to improve their home.

Key new features include the ability to sync up a user’s virtual scrapbook on the Dulux site, the ability to buy testers from the new app and perhaps most interestingly, an augmented reality feature that allows users to view how a room will look if painted a particular colour, through the camera on their device.

Click here to view the new Dulux updates

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Blow Away those Marketing Cob Webs and Get Your Marketing in Order for 2016

blow away event-1
TLC Business have teamed up with renowned inspirational speaker Simon Harmer and his company Blown Away, to deliver an insightful and inspirational working-lunch session for businesses who are looking to get better results from their marketing in 2016.

Not only will the session include marketing tips, cheats and ideas, but it will give you an insight into marketing trends for 2016, provide advice on how to get the biggest bang for your marketing buck, and inspiration to actually make those necessary marketing changes for 2016.

So when is it? The FREE session will be held on the 25th November 2015 at The Mayflower Theatre in Southampton, between 12-2pm. As well as this, the networking session will include lunch and two presentations.

We guarantee you’ll leave with lots of fresh ideas and feeling motivated to put them into action. Places are limited, so reserve your seat now to avoid disappointment. To reserve your ticket, click here.

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