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Marketing should make you money

By on March 11, 2013 in Spark Alerts, Think Advertising, Think Sustainability

By Matej Nvota, Linc Strategic Advisor

I recently read this article on linkedIn and I have to say I agree that the central idea of marketing is profit not cost.

The marketing industry is experiencing a major transformation. I dare say that the traditional model of marketing firms (often labelled “advertising agencies”) is quickly becoming a thing of the past.

Your marketing should be growing your company, not just providing you with marketing services. Your marketing consultant should become the most important partner of your organisation. Their advice should not only be limited to the traditional forms of communication but also driving innovation within your company, product development and the way how you go about your business.

The question is whether your marketing consultant has the right skills to drive your company forward.

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David Bowie – rock legend, PR genius

By on March 6, 2013 in Spark Alerts, Think Public Relations

By Conrad Natoli, Senior Consultant – PR

Some have labelled it the greatest comeback in music history, but we in the Linc PR team believe it is a stroke of PR genius.

As highlighted by The Drum, David Bowie’s comeback was perfectly orchestrated, delivering maximum media exposure and creating the sort of buzz some brands only dream of. Launched at 5am in UK, the single was assured airplay on every breakfast show, historically the most listened to slot of the day. This then generated a full day of coverage and reaction as news spread of the Thin White Duke’s first single in 10 years.

And best of all, it didn’t cost him a cent of paid advertising.

In the most recent issue of Ignite we referenced an article by Forbes, which said the most successful marketing strategies this year will be ones that are not only simple in nature, but promote goods and services that serve to simplify the consumer’s life, or even just their customer experience. The article also predicted real time marketing, through social media and websites, would be the focus for 2013.

It would be naïve to believe Bowie’s team hadn’t been working on the launch for months prior, but the single release and impending album launch have been engineered to appear minimal and simple.

By releasing the single on ITunes with no prior public announcement and refusing all offers for interviews he allowed music fans to do the work for him, spreading the news and sharing the single via social media in real time.

Such a tactic wouldn’t work for many brands, especially when you consider Bowie has the advantage of millions of fans worldwide hanging on his every word. However, I believe it does show that if your brand can create the right narrative it can tap into some of that cultural buzz.

One of the alluring aspects of Bowie’s comeback was the stories surrounding his long absence. There were claims including chronic health problems and a reclusive lifestyle. Such a sudden return to the airwaves was always going to be a sensation and something the media have likened to a rising of the phoenix.

It’s a great story and the media thrive on good stories – quite simple really. But as Mr Bowie has proven, good PR doesn’t have to be complicated.

 

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Ad of the Month

By on February 28, 2013 in Spark Alerts, Think Advertising

by Wayne Lubbe, Linc Creative Director

Are you thinking different, or flocking to perceived safety?

For those of us who can remember the 80’s, it wasn’t that long ago that a young company called Apple challenged the world to Think Different.

This is considered one of the best TV ads ever, but it’s also the perfect example of a challenger brand’s ad. It’s the brand’s ‘teenage years’ when it can be a bit maverick, a bit of a show-off and a little anti-establishment.

In fact, it has to be. Smaller brands need to adopt an aggressive marketing strategy or they simply won’t be noticed. They need to demand attention, attack the market leaders, challenge them, be more nimble than them and use all those great advertising weapons like humour, poetic inspiration or plain humility to gain new friends and followers.

But then something changes. The company grows. It stops being a teenager and realises it is a responsible grown up leader. And that is often a game changer. Now, for the first time, it realises it has more to lose than it has to gain. Suddenly, it feels it needs a defensive strategy to protect it from losing customers. It becomes risk-averse. Everything has to be weighed up against what it may gain versus what it may lose. All of a sudden you have challenger brands such as Samsung out-Appleing Apple.

If you’d like a local example of a brand that’s nearing that point, take a look at iiNet.

I have no doubt that they have, or are, or will sometime soon, be wrestling with a similar predicament (if growing into a huge market-leading company can be seen as a “predicament”).

Should they at some point start behaving more like the massive company they have become? They may soon have to focus on reassuring people that they are stable, reliable and care about their millions of customers. These are not “fun and funky” messages. They are serious, defensive, market-leader messages.

Personally, I love brands that, despite their size or category, stay true to themselves and demand to perpetually behave like a niche or challenger brand because they understand that that is what made them attractive in the first place.

One of the very rare brands doing this is IKEA. The brand has retained its “forever young” personality for years and continues to reward the viewer and make each ad an event and not a boring product announcement.

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(Sell)ebrity Endorsement

By on February 27, 2013 in Spark Alerts, Think Advertising, Think Sustainability

by David Baker, Linc Client Advisor

 We are living – more than ever – in the age of celebrity. The rise of reality TV means even the most unlikely people can gain fame. Celebrity endorsement has also flourished, with many businesses jumping at the chance to have a celebrity spruik their product or service. It seems like a no brainer – leverage the success of a celebrity to increase awareness.

However, nothing is without risk. Lance Armstrong has illustrated just how damaging it can be to align your brand with a celebrity. Their personal mistakes can destroy your brand’s reputation.

ESSEC Business School Professor Theirry Lardinoit points out associated ideals, along with awareness, perceived quality of products and consumer loyalty, is one of the key factors that contribute to the strength of a brand. This factor is of the utmost importance because it helps create an emotional link between the brand and all the elements that make up its universe.  And as Armstrong was a big part of his sponsors’ universes, their brands may suffer in the wake of this scandal. Especially since some of these contracts were longstanding, including a 16-year partnership with Nike.

“There’s no arguing that Armstrong was a cash machine for these brands, but only in the short term,” Professor Lardinoit said.  “In the long term, he’ll likely be a liability. Today, when results from a cycling event are announced, the public will begin to doubt if the winners have cheated. And if sport loses its credibility, then sponsorship too loses its reason for being. I think companies with a direct link to sport have a huge responsibility to protect the fairness of sport, if at least in the name of their future business. You have to be credible to inspire.”

There are many similar examples of celebrity endorsement that have been damaging to a brand – I’m sure just the mention of names like Lindsay Lohan and Tiger Woods send your brain into a spin. I’m not saying there haven’t been many successful celebrity brand associations too, however one can never forget the risk. As mentioned, Nike had a wildly successful relationship with Lance Armstrong that was built over 16 years, but all it took was a few minutes to destroy it.

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