Marketing in a recession

OK, so we've all been told the end is nigh, the sky is falling and we're heading for recession for the foreseeable future. We also know the old adage that the most successful businesses continue to advertise through the tough times. When the raw reality hits of decreasing confidence, needing to pay the bills and your staff, this is easier said than done.

We believe that they key is to advertise smarter, rather than less.

• Have a strategy for your brand and communications. Ad hoc marketing decisions end up in wastage and substantial cost increases over time
  
• Reconsider your media mix
• Explore online social networking and targeted advertising strategies
• Try something new. As Einstein put it, insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results
• Utilise a cost effective communications agency with a coherent and strategic approach to spending your cash
• Remember that generating word of mouth is the most effective form of communication
  

Campaign Silly Season ... American Style

Imagine how much this would have cost if it was your brand and you had to pay the talent.

The early leader in campaign silly season

People ask me what my degree is useful for. I say "generally not much." Every time election season hits us my Master's Degree in political studies gets dusted off and become a go to guy for details of the intricacies of MMP or a supposed educated opinion on who to vote for - my grandmother called me asking for instruction about 2 weeks back.

One of my personal favourite tasks is taking my other passion - advertising, and assessing the merits of the various parties campaigns. So far we've seen the major parties regurgitation the same old visual pollution - "Labour, Pillay, Tick, Tick" "National Key Blah Blah." etc etc It astounds me that these parties feel that's still relevant in 2008 ... oh yeah, John Key and Helen Clark both have Facebook pages. edgy. relevant. I think not.

For me the only party who is actually trying to communicate an idea with their billboards (I'm not going to get into a policy discussion here) are the Greens with their beautiful "Vote for me" campaign. They deserve some congratulations.

Client Work: Hello Dolly

Branding, Product Design, Advertising and Promotional material

We created the branding and product designs for this new gift brand. The brand has been a sell-out success story. The design appeals to women of all ages and needed to be flexible enough to use on anything from hammers to aprons, posters or printed material. The simplicity of the colours and the packaging design create a strong, memorable retail presence enabling the products to sell themselves. The products and trade fair stand have won numerous awards. Click image for more detail.

Client Work: Tax Management New Zealand

Branding, Advertising and Promotional material

Starting with a brand workshop we’ve worked with Tax Management New Zealand to rebrand their business and raise product awareness across a range of media including advertising, direct mail and online. The work has been highly successful resulting in record product acquisition numbers. Click image for more detail.

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Crackerjacks, Freedom from 9 to 5

The Whisper Shop have had a major client project in incubation for a little while now, but the egg has finally hatched. Last Thursday we launched Crackerjacks.

Crackerjacks is New Zealand's marketplace for contractors. Up until now, someone else has always dictated when and where you work. But not any more. Crackerjacks' contractors have a lot more control over how they spend their time. As a contractor you decide when you work, who you work for and how much you want to earn, and with Crackerjacks now it can all be managed at your fingertips.

If you're one of the New Zealanders crying out for more leave and greater flexibility of working hours, contracting is a great way for you to achieve that all important work/life balance, allowing you to own your own time. Contracting gives you the freedom of being your own boss, minus the responsibility of running a business. It allows you to do what you like with a Monday, mould a Friday to suit yourself and you get to choose what you're going to do with your own December. It's completely up to you. As a Crackerjacks contractor you get to pick and choose how you spend your time, and most importantly, you are in control of your own life. It's the contemporary way to approach your career.

Crackerjacks is for people of any vocation, is great for mum's returning to the workforce, people who are studying part-time, older people who aren't quite ready to retire yet and of course people who want to make more money and want greater flexibility in their working style. And of course, since we're going to build the most comprehensive collection of contractors in NZ, if your business needs to hire a contractor - you now know where to look. We believe we are offering businesses the most cost effective and user friendly offering in the market.

Spend your life wisely, become a contractor. check out www.crackerjacks.co.nz and become a fan on Facebook

The Whisper Shop ... in pictures. Part2

The Whisper Shop ... in pictures. Part1

The limitations of marketing

Here's a great little story by a friend of mine. He talks about how he finds an amazingly packaged beer with a great story, that unfortunately can't live up to its own hype.

Great packaging, great advertising, gorgeous design, clever marketing ... these things can only get you so far. They get people to talk about you, they make potential customers become aware you exist, and they can even generate trial. But for a successful BRAND, there must be more than trial. Repetition of purchase is fundamental to business success, and repetition will not happen without a quality product.

In cases like Eric tells in his story, when the quality is largely determined by the nebulous benchmark called "taste" there are numerous examples of brands that defy my thesis. Stella Artois, I am told, consistently wins the award for the worst tasting beer in Europe, and closer to home I am continually astounded by peoples love for a particular market leading brand of espresso (who shall not be named). In these cases "tasting good" is often a euphemism for "what I am used too."

However if we examine an industry such as hotels, you can tell everybody how wonderful you are, but if your front of house service is sub-par, customers won't come back. If a brand of footwear falls to bits, they won't be purchased again. If you are a seeking a repair for a laptop bag, and the retailer makes it hard to get that repair, you'll definitely think twice next time you consider purchasing from the store.

It's because of this that companies need to have a more holistic view of the idea of BRAND. Despite what the design comapnies might tell you "branding" is not your colours, your logo or even your tagline - brand is the totality of a persons experience with you. It's the way you deal with complaints, its the way your answer the phone, it's the music playing in your store, it's the handwritten thank you card that come when they resubscribe to your magazine. These are the types of things that determine repeat customers

Telling a tale of quality

A simply beautiful little ad from Volkswagen selling their quality story.

SneakerKings, bugs and butterflys

Welcome to a new year. After the Christmas mayhem, lets get on track with some lovely ads by Leo Burnett in Germany for SneakerKings - apparently a a sneaker store

Stroking the ego ... this made my day

Truth, Lies and Advertising : The Art of Account Planning

The book that began my career as a planner.

"Account planning exists for the sole purpose of creating advertising that truly connects with consumers. While many in the industry are still dissecting consumer behavior, extrapolating demographic trends, developing complex behavioral models, and measuring Pavlovian salivary responses, Steel advocates an approach to consumer research that is based on simplicity, common sense, and creativity--an approach that gains access to consumers' hearts and minds, develops ongoing relationships with them, and, most important, embraces them as partners in the process of developing and advertising.
A witty, erudite raconteur and teacher, Steel describes how successful account planners work in partnership with clients, consumer, and agency creatives. He criticizes research practices that, far from creating relationships, drive a wedge between agencies and the people they aim to persuade; he suggests new ways of approaching research to cut through the BS and get people to show their true selves; and he shows how the right research, when translated into a motivating and inspiring brief, can be the catalyst for great creative ideas. He draws upon his own experiences and those of colleagues in the United States and abroad to illustrate those points, and includes examples of some of the most successful campaigns in recent years, including Polaroid, Norwegian Cruise Line, Porsche, Isuzu, "got milk?" and others.

The message of this book is that well-thought-out account planning results in better, more effective marketing and advertising for both agencies and clients. And also makes an evening in front of the television easier to bear for the population at large."

Some ads we like