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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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#MarketingTitbits – Facebook, Vine, YouTube

Facebook-Vine-YouTube-smaller1. This is what happens on Facebook when you die
You may have never wondered what happens to your social media profiles when you die. It is not something most people would think about. However, different social media channels treat death in different ways. Until recently, Facebook has chosen to restrict a person’s privacy settings to just friends once they have died; however this has now changed.

Now, when a person dies, their Facebook privacy settings stay the same, they say they “are respecting the choices a person made in life while giving their extended community of family and friends ongoing visibility to the same content they could always see.”

Facebook have also added an extra touch for friends and family. If you are a Facebook user you will know that recently you have been able to access your “Look back” video, showing you your life on Facebook. After a father’s plea on YouTube to be able to see his deceased son’s “Look back” video, users can now request to see their friend’s videos upon request after they die.

To read more, click here. 

 

2. 14 best branded Vines of February 2014

Today, many brands are using Vine to connect with their customers. Companies such as McDonalds, Xbox, Microsoft and General Electric are doing great things on Vine and using the relatively new social media platform in an innovative way.

If you’re in need of inspiration on how to use Vine or just want to have a look at who is doing it well, have a look at the 14 best branded Vines of February 2014here. 

 

3. YouTube’s 20 most shared ads of February

Unruly Media have put together a list of the most shared adverts on YouTube from February 2014.

Three’s “Sing It Kitty”, Coca-Cola’s “Social Media Guard” and Budweiser’s “Puppy Love” all feature on the list. To have a look at the full 20, click here.

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#MarketingTitbits – social media fails, YouTube, Twitter’s year

fails-youtube-twitter-smaller1. The top 20 fail-iest social media fails of 2014
As the impact of New Year’s exploits begin to wear off, it’s an ideal time to look back on 2014 and reminisce about some of the greatest brand fails on social media last year! Thanks to Econsultancy, you can scroll through their list of awkwardness which will have you shaking your head at some businesses thoughtlessness.

Proving that not all brands are as smart as they seem, is LG, who ‘cleverly’ mock the iPhone, whilst using the very device they are critiquing during their mocking tweet. Others putting businesses to shame include US airline, Delta, who may need to polish up on their geography knowledge, and logistics giant, DHL, who did a lot more bad than good with their ‘like to send Jules your best wishes’ post.

Click here to check out some of the others, including fails from celebrities like Rita Ora and Robin Thicke.

2. YouTube crams every big Internet moment of the year into one insane mashup

Since 2010, YouTube have released their yearly ‘Rewind’, reminding us of the biggest moments from the year gone by. This year is no different as last month they debuted ‘Turn Down for 2014’. One thing that the video reinforces is that we spent the majority of the year very, very wet.

The video re-enacts some big moments from 2014, including, the Ice Bucket Challenge, viral videos like ‘First Kiss’ and the ‘Devil Baby Prank’, which we spoke about a few weeks ago. You’ll also find references to other things, such as popular songs that have topped the charts. Can you spot them all?

Grab some popcorn, press pause on 2015 for 5 minutes and rewind by clicking here.

3. Twitter’s year in review: World Cup, Ferguson and Ellen’s golden tweet

Twitter’s Year in Review microsite allows you to look back on 2014 through the eyes of Twitter. If it happened in 2014, then it happened on Twitter, which reinforces the ever growing influence of social media in modern day life.

Some of the biggest moments from the previous 12 months include a few of the world’s biggest entertainment awards ceremonies, with the likes of The Brits, The Grammys and The Golden Globes all making an appearance. Other events that played out over Twitter include the World Cup and Ferguson riots.

If you’d like to throwback to the biggest moments of 2014, then you can do so by clicking here.

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#MarketingTitbits – YouTube ads, negative SEO, Marmite

youtube-negativeseo-marmite-smaller1. The top 10 most popular YouTube ads of 2014
Now-a-days, the most popular YouTube ads tend to be made for an online campaigns, instead of airing on TV, so it’s no surprise that most of the top 10 featured in Marketing Week’s article have followed this trend.

Included in the list are the likes of Sainsbury’s, John Lewis, Nike, Marks & Spencer, Always and Pepsi, who all created ads with a social media audience in mind, however, also aired shorter versions on TV. A lot of brands are now creating and sharing stories within their advertisements and this can be difficult to do in a TV ad space of typically 30 to 60 seconds, and this is where YouTube comes in. Consumers are now happier to spend time with branded content online, dependent on the entertainment and relevance delivered.

If you’d like to see the top 10 adverts, you can click here.

2. What is Negative SEO and how can you protect your website?

Negative SEO is the process of using techniques similar to those of black hat SEO, but to attack and undermine a rival’s website that can lead on to damage their rankings in search results.

This can be done in many ways, including:

  • Having a huge number of links directed to your site that are low-quality and spam-heavy with keywords that have little to no relevance.
  • Copying content from your website that is then distributed across the internet, which could possibly interfere with Google’s policy on duplicate content.
  • Damaging your reputation by being negative about your business. That could involve fake social media profiles being created, etc.

You can click here to learn more about negative SEO and the steps you can take for your business to avoid it.

3. Marmite looks to replicate 2013 success by bringing back revamped ‘End Marmite Neglect’ campaign

We spoke about the ‘love it or hate it’ brand back in November when they picked up 2014’s Brand of the Year Award, and as predicted, Unilever have chosen to start a ‘full-scale Marmageddon’ with their parody on animal rescue programmes, entitled ‘End Marmite Neglect’. Although this approach attracted over 500 complaints back in 2013, the ASA chose to take no further action with the ad, allowing the jar to make a comeback this year.

But will this campaign follow in the footsteps of the 14% sales increase that it produced in its first run?

Keep an eye out for the ad, but for now, you can read more by clicking here.

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#MarketingTitbits – YouTube, LinkedIn, billboard campaigns

youtube-linkedin-billboards-smaller1. YouTube tops the list as favourite digital brand among children
Childwise, a market research company, has published a report highlighting that YouTube was the most popular site for 5 – 16 year olds over a 7-day period following a survey of the age group.

YouTube visits outnumbered the likes of Facebook, Snapchat and Google, and children / teenagers rate the video streaming platform as their favourite website (23%) and favourite app (8%). Amongst the children surveyed, 11-16 year olds were more likely to put video sites and vloggers at the tops of their favourite brand lists, whereas 5-10 year olds preferred social gaming brands.

It was notable that the popularity of Facebook amongst younger audiences continues to deteriorate. Do these findings indicate a changing of the social media guard?

To read more about the survey, click here.

2. How to use LinkedIn’s publishing tool to increase your social reach

Last year, LinkedIn released its publishing tool which allowed users in the US to create and post blogs on the platform. It has now granted publishing power to those outside of the US too, which means LinkedIners in the UK can now benefit from the function. You can add a headline, insert images to support  the blog and header, and copy and paste directly into the text box, which will preserve any links you have. How can you use this to your advantage?

One way of doing this is explained by Matt Owen from Econsultancy. The concept involves multiple people posting different blogs to their own LinkedIn pages, covering a wide range of connections.

For a thorough explanation on how you can make the most of LinkedIn’s publishing tool, just click here.

3. Bruised woman on London billboard heals as people pay attention to her

Canary Wharf in London saw the first in a short series of billboard campaigns surrounding the issue of domestic violence last week. Using facial recognition technology, the ad is designed to catch the eyes of busy passers-by.

The poster promotes a simple message, informing people to look at the bruised face of a woman and watch as the bruises heal when more people pay attention. The campaign was brought together by ad agency WCRS, charity Women’s Aid and the photographer Rankin.

To take a look at the striking adverts, head to Mashable.

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#MarketingTitbits – Android Pay, YouTube ads, Pizza Hut projector box

android-youtube-pizza-smaller1. What Google’s Android Pay will mean for brands
Earlier this month, Google announced the launch of the much anticipated Android Pay to take on rival Apple, as they enter the mobile payments market. Google could be seen as already having an advantage over their tech giant rival, as Android holds the majority of smartphone users, but they will require the support of both businesses and consumers in order to succeed.

An advantage of mobile payments that has become clear through the launch of Apple Pay is the low transaction costs for businesses, alongside the increase in security that customers are actively searching for. Brands, therefore, have much greater motivation to support mobile payments as the platform continues to change the way consumers engage with commerce.

To find out more, click here.

2. Watch: the 5 most popular YouTube ads of the past decade

YouTube has gained immense popularity over the past decade since it was introduced to the world in 2005, and now, in honour of its 10th birthday, YouTube has asked viewers to vote for their favourite ads of all time.

Entrepreneur has compiled a list of the top 5 voted for ads, and you may be surprised to discover which one hit the top spot! Click here to take a look at the adverts and see which is your favourite.

3. Pizza Hut has a new box that turns into a movie projector for your smartphone

Pizza Hut’s latest marketing stunt is bringing Hollywood blockbusters to your doorstep through the design of their new ‘Blockbuster Box’. Along with their pizza, Hong Kong residents will find a special lens and a perforated hole with which to begin their movie night.

For customers who aren’t Netflix users, Pizza Hut has printed a QR code that can be scanned with a smartphone to download a free movie. The Blockbuster Box comes in four different styles to appeal to all movie fans: action, sci-fi, romance or scary movie genres.

Click here to find out more about the limited edition boxes.

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The Rise in Digital Media – Continued

The nights are drawing in and winter is on its way, so what better time for companies looking to boost their marketing by getting online and involved in social media on the dark and dreary afternoons that we have been experiencing lately. Following on from Joshua Spencer’s presentation on digital marketing in July, we examine some more benefits to digital media and what it can do for your business.
Digital marketing is hugely effective for connecting with consumers in an interactive and engaging way. An increasing number of people are interacting and communicating within the social media sphere, and therefore investing in an online presence for your business is very important. Effective use of social media is no longer an option for companies, it‘s now a requirement.

Last week the luxury fashion brand Burberry told the Financial Times that they were investing more of their marketing budget into the digital arena, a total of 60%, more than three times the average.  In the past, Burberry relied heavily on traditional methods of marketing, such as print advertising; however they now feel that they need to be totally connected with whomever touches their brand and engaging with their audience via social media is a means of achieving this. The shift to digital marketing highlights how quickly industries are moving away from traditional methods of marketing in order to interact with consumers globally. Reaching out to consumers on multiple channels makes it more important than ever for a business to make sense of this new ‘marketing mix’

Create a two way conversation

As we have mentioned in the past, digital media can be a valuable asset not just for larger B2C organisations but also for your everyday SME. Twitter is currently dominating the marketing landscape, used by 82% of the B2B social mix. When it comes to expanding a business, “tweeting” has real value, enabling a two way conversation with customers, as well as promotion for any organisation. It is used by small businesses, as well as global companies, facilitating customer feedback, free marketing, improved brand recognition and a stronger connection with customers. Starbucks use of social media is a brilliant example of this.  The coffeehouse giant posts new offers and participates in interactive discussions with their customers about the offers on twitter daily. Computer company ComCast also offers a friendly Twitter customer support, including a photograph of the member of staff you are talking to.

Audience participation

Video is another personal yet dynamic way to engage with consumers, allowing them to participate and interact with a brand in order to obtain more information. Google recently reported that 35% of B2B marketers already using online video will increase their video budgets in the future.   A tool which is mainstream and accessible to all, video enables businesses to accumulate larger audiences quickly and effectively. The value of video is reflected in HSBC’s recent campaign. The bank held a competition for a £15,000 student bursary last year, and the decision to keep the media interactive was integral to the success of campaign. Students uploaded a 90 second video to Facebook stating why the money would help them change the world. Response to the campaign was outstanding: there were 50,000 interactions in one month and more than 2 million impressions. Check out Sprites Zero Skate ‘n’ Splash video below and HSBC’S winning entry.

This interactive YouTube video lets you instantly skip from one segment to the next, deciding exactly what you’ll see and when you’ll see it. Using keyboard keys 4 to 9, you can replay the skateboard tricks, skip others, and create your own rhythmic masterpieces.The promotional YouTube video, dreamed up by Coca-Cola Germany for Sprite Zero, minimizes branding because it’s creators “wanted the focus to be on the content and the interactivity.” They added, “This sort of video is quite different from what we at Coca-Cola usually do, in terms of ‘edginess’ and branding.”

 ‘Likes’ are not the be all and end all

Facebook is used by 67% of B2B marketers and 200 million people access Facebook via a mobile device each day.  It is guaranteed to expand your business presence on the web. However, it is also important to be careful with the type of interaction your social media attracts.  A recent study has shown that the more “likes” a brand has on Facebook, the less participation there was to a page by consumers.  A study by L2, an organisation for digital innovation, has found that the quality and not the quantity of consumers is extremely important.  Therefore, in the fast changing social media landscape, it is important for businesses to keep their pages up to date and interactive.

Another huge advantage of social media is that it is a free or low cost marketing strategy.  It brings a new dimension to an organisation’s communication – forecasts indicate traditional marketing will represent only 30% of SMB marketing budgets by 2015.  The objective of social media marketing is to draw the customer closer to your brand. Once engaged, maintaining an effective dialogue must be a priority. It is no good collecting likes, connections and followers. The real power of social media is only realised through regular communication and relationship building. Only then can your start turning followers into customers.

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Conquering the business landscape

In the aftermath of the recent financial crisis, the Hampshire economy is holding up well. Starting a successful business and sustaining it is a difficult task, but recent surveys have shown that local organisations have continued to perform strongly and successfully. SMEs are making the most of opportunities and growing their businesses. The Sunday Times Fast Track 100 league table ranks UK firms by sales growth.  The average sales growth amongst this year’s firms was 85%, and the group contained a substantial number of Hampshire-based businesses.

Introducing the new wave of Technology

 Portsmouth-based company Vadition source security, networking and data-storage technology from America’s Silicon Valley, which it then sells to banks, television production companies and life-sciences groups via resellers. It was the third fastest growing private UK company in 2010 and this year, the company announced its acquisition of Exclusive Network group. The deal will add important drive to the business and the collaboration means that the breadth of offering is preeminent in the UK and gives them a significant advantage within the marketplace.


Looking after the MAMILS

Portsmouth company Wiggle, sells sports products online to more than 70 countries. The business launched in 1999 in humble surroundings, selling a range of cycle accessories from the back of a cycle shop in the city.  The rise in the popularity of cycling, especially among “MAMILS” (middle aged men in lycra!) added significant momentum to the business. By 2006, Wiggle was offered a deal with equity investor ISIS and HSBC had invested in an £11.5 million “cash out” deal. Through negotiation, company founders were able to maintain a controlling stake in the business and they continue to manage the company today. The company attribute their success to the breadth of their product offering,  promoting a range of about 15,000 products, including bikes and cycling accessories, as well as running and swimming gear. Wiggle has now achieved sales of £55m across 70 different countries in 2009 – 2010.


Water with added Intelligence

Southampton-based i20 Water is an example of a successful ‘green company’ that last year won the Bond Pearce award for Technology and Innovation. Their success is founded on their ability to identify a serious environmental problem and successfully develop a solution that will make a valuable contribution to the problem.  i20 responded to claims by the UN that by 2025, two thirds of the world’s population will have insufficient water. In response, i20 created a solution to the world’s big leakage problem – an integrated system that minimises leakage and burst frequency by remotely, automatically and intelligently optimising pressures in the distribution network. i2O has now installed technology for water companies all over the world, achieving impressive leakage savings and helping to save money. In 2011, i20 water was also named joint winner in the Innovation and Technology category at the 2011 Test Valley Business Awards.

So what’s next for Hampshire business?

Recently Hampshire-based entrepreneur Jenna Rayner and business partner Sam Charles won a competition run by Duncan Bannatyne’s creative agency, Bannatyne Digital, which encouraged young entrepreneurs to pitch their inventions via online video website YouTube.  The pair sent in a video to promote their company,”Freckles and Gilbert”, which sells quirky and colourful cases for laptops, iPads and Kindles. The pair demonstrated the importance of strongbranding for SMEs. Bannatyne Digital rewarded the pair with a prize of £10,000 design and the creation of a company website.

 

 

There is no better time to start your business or expand your current one in Hampshire. Currently, there is plenty of support for businesses in the Hampshire area. Schemes, such as ‘Brand New Forest’, are also successfully improving local trade. This programme is designed to help local businesses become smarter, greener, more efficient and better able to access the support available to them. The Hampshire Ambassadors scheme, run by Hampshire County Council and now in its fifteenth year, also aims to stimulate investment and encourage business development in the county. In addition, despite the recent financial crisis, results from a recent survey show that 98% of private equity investors believe now is the right time to take risks and invest.  Over the coming years, Hampshire businesses will play a key role in delivering the growth and momentum to help drive Britain’s economy  forward.

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Marketing Titbits – Top campaigns, youtube videos and marketing infographics of 2012

Take a look at the ‘Marketing Titbits’ we’ve found for you this month. There are sources of inspiration in there for everyone:1. Top 10 Campaigns of 2012

Take a look at Marketing Week’s top 10 pick of this year’s marketing campaigns. Red Bull’s sponsorship of Felix Baumgartner’s 24-mile drop from space, Channel 4’s Paralympic TV ads and Southern Comfort’s latest offering are our favourites.

Top 10 Marketing Campaign’s of 2012

2. Top 10 YouTube Videos of 2012

Unless you’ve been living under a rock for the last 3 months, you will have come across South Korea’s answer to Michael Jackson – PSY. His Gangnam Style video is far and away the most popular video of the year, nearly clocking up 1 billion views. But there are some other notable inclusion. Take a look at the run down below.

Top 10 YouTube Videos of 2012

3. Top 14 Marketing Infographics of 2012

We see a lot of infographics now but the kind people at eConsultancy have put together there list of the top 12 they have seen this year. We think the Social Media Sizing Cheat Sheet has to be one of the handiest! See all of them below.

Top 14 Marketing Infographics of 2012

 

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#MarketingTitbits – Tagging On Instagram, Tips From Obama’s Marketing Team & YouTube 8 Years On

Instagram introduces taggingIf you are a Facebook user, you’ll be familiar with tagging. Social media picture sharing app Instagram has now introduced the feature to its platform, which enables users to tag anything or anyone that has an Instagram username, in an image.

This includes people, places, companies and brands.

The new feature potentially opens up the opportunity of free advertising for companies and brands; who will no doubt be keen to tap into this new tool to build awareness and loyalty.

For those of you unfamiliar with Instagram, find out more here. The social media app’s engagement statistic make a compelling argument for taking it seriously – every second over 8,500 photos are liked and over 1,000 comments are posted on Instagram.

 

10 marketing lessons from Barak Obama’s CTO

When Barack Obama secured his 2nd term as US President, many commentators pointed to his team’s mastery of the digital marketing arena, as a key foundation for his success.

At the recent DMA Technology Summit in London, Harper Reed, Chief Technology Officer for Obama’s 2012 campaign, outlined the winning strategy and techniques that helped Obama to extend his presidency into a 2nd term. These have been distilled into 10 key points byMarketing magazine’s Nicola Kemp, including:

1. Building a great team

2. Embracing diversity

3. Focusing on user experience

4. Facilitating community

To find out more about each point and see the full list, click here.

 

YouTube 8 Years on

On April 23rd this year, YouTube turned 8 years old. It is hard to believe even its founders foresaw its impact on society across the globe. The statistics are mind blowing:

  • In excess of  1 billion unique users each month
  • Over 4 billion hours of video viewed every month
  • 72 hours of video uploaded every minute
  • YouTube is localized in 53 countries and across 61 languages

The first, somewhat uninspiring, video uploaded to YouTube was entitled ‘Me at the zoo’ and was posted by YouTube founder Jawed Karim.

The current most viewed video in YouTube history, with an incredible 1.5 billion + views, is South Korean pop sensation Psy’s Gangnam Style video. Who knows how long it will be before Psy is knocked off top spot, what is certain is that it will happen and the video in question will make its owner a very wealthy individual!

 

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