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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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#MarketingTitbits – ice bucket challenge, Red Bull vs. GoPro, CEOs

icebucket-redbullgopro-ceos-smaller1. Charity defeats memes: ice bucket challenge hits 1 billion YouTube views
The Ice Bucket Challenge has been sweeping the globe over the past few months, but who could have predicted that it would become one of the internet’s biggest video memes in history? The challenge has topped the ‘Harlem Shake’ craze of 2013, having reached the 1 billion views milestone on YouTube, whilst raising awareness for ALS and over $100 million dollars in donations.

ALS is a neurodegenerative disease and its Wikipedia page views reached 2.89 million in August alone, coinciding with ‘Ice Bucket Challenge’ searches topping YouTube in the same month. It goes to show the power of social media and begs the question – what will the next viral craze be?

To check out the most-viewed challenge videos,  click here.

2. Red Bull vs GoPro: taking content marketing to the extreme

Two brands in opposite corners, fighting it out for content marketing supremacy. But who will be crowned the champion? Econsultancy decides.

Both Red Bull and GoPro have revolutionised the content marketing world, through broadcasting heart-stopping events or positioning us at the centre of the action on helmet cams and cockpits, as sports are taken to the extremes. Not even GoPro can rival Red Bull’s Stratos jump – resulting in Felix Baumgartner breaking the speed of sound as he fell from the edge of space. Perhaps no one can for the foreseeable future. However, GoPro produces content that its audience finds entertaining, unique and exciting, proving that the brand is a force to be reckoned with. Both brands’ YouTube channels also enjoy expressing their love for the extraordinary, so if you haven’t had your fill of exhilaration, then this is the place to go. However, rivalry aside, arguably each owe their success to the other’s existence?

To see who came out on top, click here.

3. What CEOs wish they knew about money in their 20s

Some CEOs have finally confirmed what we’ve all thought; not everyone knows everything. So, what were some of the things they would have loved to know all those years ago?

Contrary to what many of us think, according to Matt Maloney, money is not the route to happiness. The CEO of grubHub believes a key lesson to learn is that passion is a driver of success, and this brings you happiness, rather than the money itself. It seems that TOMS founder, Blake Mycoskie, agrees and recommends enjoying life rather than chasing money.

To hear the other billionaire tycoons’ views on wealth, click here.

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