mediation

Vote for Chris to be the most stylish woman in media: how Grazia created an experience and how I "wear my style well"

whilst you'd be forgiven for thinking you'd stumbled onto the auditions for next top model, this is in fact not a professional effort.  rather its what happened when Grazia - in a bid to work their relationship with the UK's media industry - visited Vizeum towers to snap the girls for their Style Hunter Awards.

girls?  style?  whatever!

I'm sure you'll agree (if you do you vote here) with the official Grazia line that "Chris has clearly got a strong sense of style. Wearing G Star jeans, a Cold Method jumper and a scarf from Topman, he wears his style well."  they didn't mention the Nike 6.0s on my feet but we'll let that slide.

if you're so inclined you can vote for me here.

all joviality aside, its great effort by Grazia to come in and engage with we media types by doing what they're about rather than saying what they're about.  no presentations, no docs or bags with expertly crafted trinkets destined for recycling.  instead, a fun and disruptive experience to more firmly make agencies think that Grazia = style.  brilliant stuff.

oh, and did I mention you can vote for me here?!

When brand extensions become ads: How Jack Daniels is creating the most innovative of point of sale assets

so Phil and Eva were shopping at the weekend and arrived at Vizeum this morning with tales of Jack Daniels woodchips.  it is true.  Jack Daniels have extended their brand into not only wood smoking chips but briquets too, allowing each of us to have great smokin flavour BBQs whenever we want.  and at the start of summer too.

the products have some great reviews on Amazon; b. observes that "within minutes, you'll be treated to the sweetest smelling wood this side of anywhere", perhaps because the chips are made from the actual barrels used to make JD.  so - great marketing story one - the product extension genuinely tells part of the brand story.

the second reason we like this is the margin.  the list price on Amazon for a 2lb bag of chips is $9.99, compared to between $4 and $6 for other bags.  the reviews refer to the cost for say its totally worth it.  heritage and brand are being monetised very effectively indeed.

but the third and real genius of this brand extension is the sheer volume of space it gets on you shelf in a new and different part of the store.  its top-notch media space right at the point of purchase...  brand's offer love and money for valuable space like this.  Jack Daniels have innovated their way in whilst at the same time commanding a premium and augmenting their brand story.  lovely.

ps they do sauces too!

Looking after your own: how Starbucks is fighting the recession by rewarding its existing customers

so Mediation was in Islington at the weekend and popped into the local Starbucks.  whereupon I was asked if I wanted to sign-up for a Starbucks Card.  "no", I kindly replied, "I'm fine thanks."  ...not wanting - frankly - to be spending money with a brand before I even had any of the product in my hand.

"but we're doing a special limited offer", countered the chap behind the counter.  "oh yeah", says I (see how they do it) - "what kind of offer?".  "free shots for life when you sign up for a card", said the chap casually.  just like that.  "free shots. for life", I said.  "yup yup, sign up to a Starbucks card and you get free shots and flavours for the rest of your life".

now I plan on living a good while yet.  I also plan on continuing to enjoy my venti skinny lattes with a shot of sugar-free vanilla syrup.

I left the store with a Starbucks card.

turns out that it's part of a trial by the coffee chain, limited (for the moment) to two stores in Islington.  the email I got upon registering was pretty standard, but the response from the care centre when I called up was a great deal more revealing...  they confirmed that I would indeed receive up to five free shots or flavours per drink from those outlets for 'the foreseeable future', whenever I used my card to pay for the drink.

why?  because, and this is a direct paraphrase from the Bucks, the brand is looking to what it can do - given the current economic climate - for its existing customers.

anyone who knows Mediation knows I'm pretty passionate about brands looking after their existing customers.  something which I think is more rather than less true in a recessionary climate.  taking care of your own, giving reasons for your existing customers to keep being your existing customers, is more important than ever before.

Starbucks would seem to agree.  so if you like your sugar-free vanilla syrup as much as I do I suggest that you get yourself to a Starbucks in Islington sharpish.

Connecting with Fans and giving Reasons to Buy: how Trent Reznor's Nine Inch Nails are re-writing the rules of music marketing

the above is a great video from MIDEM - the world music marketing conference - that took place in Cannes (where else?) a few weeks ago.  in it, Michael Masnick discusses how musician Trent Reznor - for his band Nine Inch Nails - has been experimenting with a variety of new and unique business models to reach and connect with fans.  according to Masnick, Reznor's secret is really quite simple:

CwF + RtB = $$$ ... where:

CwF = Connecting with Fans

Reznor has used a range of techniques, including hiding secret urls in tour t-shirts (al la ARG), allowing interaction with the music, and ultimately giving a lot of his music away for free

RtB = Reason to Buy

tangible reasons to purchase a product above and beyond the music itself.  for example using CDs that change colour when they're played (a 'non-duplicable USP'), or developing added features which you only get when you purchase product rather than download for free.  Reznor has gone further by super-premiumising physical content (up to $300 a pop for an album) for which fans are happy to pay a super-premium rate

$$$ = lots of revenue generation

the approach certainly seems to work.  by super-premiumising limited editions of Nine Inch Nail's Ghosts I-IV album, he generated $750,000 in less than 30 hours.  the album was free to download, and yet it generated $1.6m of revenue

Masnick goes on to suggest a broader model for Reznor's approach:

Compete with Free + Return to Business = $$$

we could apply this model to a whole host of brands and products.  compete with free by giving your product away; to fans to generate WOM or to potential customers as a recruitment tool.  then return to business; developing ways to premiumise a brand or product, adding value - through marketing - which encourages purchase and revenue generation.  fewer people buying fewer things but at a vastly increased unit price could be no bad thing?

marketing is too often about selling.  it shouldn't be.  selling focusing on the needs of the seller, marketing should focus on the needs of the buyer...  marketing should be a natural extension of the product that adds value and desirability to products based on the wants and needs of the target audience.  how could brands you work on benefit from thinking that Connects with Consumers and develops Reasons to Buy?

When brands hit the high-street: How National Geographic made their brand manifest in spectacular fashion

I learned three things in a jump into central London yesterday.  one, that Uniqlo doesn't do gloves.  two, that the recession has yet to hit Abercrombie & Fitch, the till queue for which was a good twenty-punters long.  and three, that National Geographic have opened a rather amazing store on Regent Street.

National Geographic are not the first (and they won't be the last) media organisation to open a branded retail space, but they're certainly in line to be the one that opened the grandest.  its 20,000 sq ft across three floors sells everything from bug spray to the latest technology in exploration gear, but that is just the start.

the store also aims to provide an absorbing learning experience through interactive visual displays as well as an auditorium to host film screenings and public lectures.  it's an amazing space, and one that will go towards funding the Society's aims, as copy in the store explains:

"when you buy at the National Geographic Store, you're helping launch new expeditions across the world.  thanks to your help, projects we've helped fund have uncovered the Inca city of Machu Picchu and the wreck of the R.M.S. Titanic.  today the Society supports more than 500 expeditions and research projects a year" (source: poster in National Geographic Store)

it is certainly opening in interesting times; as an article in Retail Week observes, the store is likely to be the last major opening Regent Street (and indeed London) will see in a while:

"Retail pundits will tell you that Regent Street is a thoroughfare filled with brand flagships where having a presence is rather more important than making money. This may be so, but in recessionary times the tendency to let the eye stray towards the bottom line is more tempting than last year."

which is a shame, because it's exactly this kind of initiative, exactly this kind of engaging brand innovation, that is most likely to future-proof a brand.  as a focus for PR efforts, as a destination, and as a source for new news and sparks for word of mouth, the National Geographic Store is everything an interactive and engaging brand experience should be...

...an experience grounded not in the necessity to sell, but in the discovery and exploration of why that brand pertains to exist in the first place, and what that brand's point of view on the world is; the concept and idea of that brand made manifest.  everything, in short, that a retail space in the early 21st Century should be.

'Together we're stronger' is the message as ITV takes an optimistic tone at the 2009 upfronts

as optimistic as it gets: ITV's Britannia High

'together we're stronger' was the message to media agencies at last week's 2009 upfronts presentation on the Southbank.  and strong is indeed what ITV is going to need us all to be.  with Tesco now openly talking about Q1 2009 being an 'Ice Age' in consumer spending, all media owners are bracing themselves for tough conditions ahead.  the message from ITV is simple: TV is the most effective channel for brand building and behaviour change, commercial TV is more popular than ever, and in real terms the cost of airtime is the same as it was in 1992.  that and a billion pound commitment to the programming budget to boot.

it's all compelling stuff and ITV has plenty to be pleased about; ITV2 and ITV3 are the top two MC channels, over 80% of the schedule is UK original programming, and (with Kangaroo still in the pipeline) itv.com is starting to make some strides in online for the corporation - we were informed that three alternate endings to the Liam storyline generated 650k views in one weekend.  who knew.

upcoming programming looks good (you can view the reel here) and includes the remake of The Prisoner with Sir Ian McKellen, and Demons (an early Saturday night partner for Primeval).  ITV have also recently locked down a deal which will see Sage ad-fund the return of the Krypton Factor, with Julian Smith, Planning Account Director at ITV, commenting that it marked "the biggest ad-funded and multi-platform programme ITV has commissioned and the first one to appear in ITV1’s prime time schedule".

Mediation asked Peter Fincham - ITV's new Director of Television - why it had taken so long for an AFP to make it into primetime.  he noted that commissioning lead times are often very different to those of brands, and that keeping an audience and a brand happy aren't always the same thing.  but the main barrier seemed to be cost - with a Q&A panel adding that brands often baulk at the price tag that comes with making your own show.  this is probably fair and true, and a new approach that starts with what the schedule needs rather than what advertisers dictate is a good starting point - no brand wants to invest in a programme that is simply not going to rate no matter how on-brand it is.

one of the stars of the show was Sunday nights new effort Britannia High (above) which despite buying pretty much every 6 sheet on the underground was severely trounced in the ratings by Antiques roadshow on BBC1 (its viewers may be - according to Fincham - a "coach load of old people", but that there quite a big coach).

part of the problem with Britannia High has been the marketing.  not sure that a 6 sheet campaign really cuts it - especially with a show like this.  my guess is a lot of people just didn't know what to expect, that's not a position a new peak-time show on ITV wants to be in.  it would have been so easy to run some kind of audition-concept format in the run up to TX that would have also explained what to expect.  suspect that it will have momentum but it's an opportunity missed for the channel.  you only get to launch once.

one other gripe is that ITV do rather want to seem to have their cake and eat it...  they're very happy to deliver mass audiences (and so they should), but their targeting ability was demonstrated at a channel level (see below), with ITV1 equaling optimism and ITV2 fun and younger etc.  solid positionings but in a multichannel world you can get more precise targeting elsewhere for less.

stronger targeting delivering effectiveness (source: ITV upfronts presentation)

the case study for targeting was Harveys' sponsorship of Coronation Street which has generated 3.5m red button interactions with the brand.  a great result but hardly the best example of a targeted proposition.

all in all though a confident performance from the corporation.  here's to the optimism holding as the chill of an economic ice-age starts to bite.

'Exciting and dynamic times': how the PPA reminds us of the key components of any media conference

yesterday Mediation popped along to the PPA's Magazine Advertising Conference and Awards 2008, held at the IMAX.  media conferences really are a wonder to behold and the PPA's effort was no exception, with several key components of any decent conference on display (no pun intended)...

selective use of stats are out in force to make convoluted promotional statements about the channel... in 70% of product categories, for example, magazines drive more online sales than any other medium.  who knew?

awards are a must.  my best of the morning being 'The Industry's favourite Magazine Cover' (for the record it was the above Superman Returns effort by Empire).

fat words like 'relevant' and 'engaging' are compulsory in every sentence, and a host of industry heavyweights are rolled out to half inspire us and half self-promote they own pet agenda.  to be fair John Grant was on his usual excellent form, reminding us that the new media attack is centralised on distribution whilst actually supporting the creation and filtering of great content.

but the best and most compulsory part of any media conference is the plain, unabashed optimism that oozes from every syllable.  there are no challenges, only opportunities.  consumption never goes down, consumers just get more sophisticated.  but above all conditions are never bad.  this is really important.  our beloved western economy isn't teetering on the brink, it's just going thru an 'exciting and dynamic' phase.

and for all their flaws, this is what we love.  in an all-too-often cynical industry, it's quite right that a media channel can put on it's finest and sell it to the world...  it's a testament to the passion our industry has for what it does.  and besides, who wouldn't want to live in such exciting and dynamic times?

How Burn offers a simple solution to what to ask for at the bar

so I end up doing a fair bit of thinking on how broadcast messages can influence decision making at the point of purchase.  here's a great little solution from Tours in France that gets le barmen to suggest how people should mix their energy drink.

the barman makes the suggestion and the customer gets the opportunity to try something new without feeling the potential intimidation of having to ask a barman what he recommends...  very simple, very neat and very based in a brand and consumer problem.

The Double-Edged Sword of Hoxton Hotel's £1 Room Sale

so I've just bagged a room at the Hoxton Hotel  (the £17m establishment opened in 2006 by Pret founder Sinclair Beecham) in their sale...  a quarterly event which this time round offered 500 rooms at £1 and 500 rooms at £29 to the first to book them online from noon today.  the sale lasted 19 minutes.

as expected, online demand at the booking engine was high and much page refreshment was required before I finally got to the booking.  others didn't make it...  a friend messaging online commented on the frustration being felt (and verbally articulated) around his office.

these frustrations were acknowledged by the Hotel's General manager David Taylor, who in an online statement after the sale commented:

"The booking engine once again struggled to keep up with the huge number of people trying to book rooms ...  We are sorry if you were not successful, We are sorry of the booking engine stalled on you, We are sorry that not everyone could be a winner"

and that's the problem with sales like this, the CRM fall-out can be painful.  the website experienced 500,000 hits in the 19 minute duration of the sale, with only 1,000 'winners', that potentially leaves 499,000 disappointed potential customers.  but there's a flipside...  boy is there a flipside.

using the lowest standard room rate of £59 as a base, the sale cost the Hotel £44,000 worth of income.  but to recoup this income Hoxton has (only) to sell 746 rooms it otherwise wouldn't have done.  so of the half a million hits they received today, they only have to convert 0.0015% of them to get the money back.  which shouldn't be too tall an order at all.

but money aside, the sale is delivering across a number of other key metrics.  I'm willing to bet the quarterly spikes in the below Google Trends result for 'Hoxton Hotel' is driven by their quarterly sales.

added to this increase in website traffic is the surge of new email addresses and mobile phone numbers to their database (I surprised myself at how much personal information I was happy to throw at the website when the clock was against me), and of course the word of mouth effect that this generates...  I found out about the sale from a friend, who found about it from his friend, who in turn found out about it from his girlfriend who was already on the database.

it's one hell of a sales promotion that can generate this kind of response whilst almost certainly paying for itself...   a double edged sword it may be, but I'm sure it's one that this Hotel is more than happy to wield.