Posts Tagged ‘marketing’

1. Clear messages from the golden age of advertising

   Published on Thursday, March 4th, 2010
   If you are anywhere near the creative industries, public relations and advertising, and want a good pick-me-up, go see Art and Copy at the Documentary Film Festival.

   Yeah, it’s a review of the early American advertising industry, but there is still freshness about their thinking and their client solutions.  We learned of the irreverence these pioneers had for their clients, but also of the tremendous results that were achieved. This was the golden age of advertising, when people loved marketing and weren’t yet called ‘consumers’.

   For me, two comments had particular resonance:

   - People make advertising decisions by committee, because it avoids them taking responsibility if things go wrong (this applies equally to other industries of course); and
   - If you make a mistake, forget it and move on. You learn nothing from your failures, but lots from your success. Art & Copy featured this ad as an example.

    

   Another thing that I’ve learned about managing communications, and it was only today, from a client who was talking about preparing good briefs: the proposals that clients receive from their agencies are only as good as the brief they’ve been give. Most likely, if the ideas are crap, the brief was crap. I hasten to add that our discussion did not relate to anything that had just been proposed.

2. New Media gets a dose of ethics from the FTC

   Published on Monday, October 12th, 2009
   It’s fair to say that traditional media has envied the huge freedoms Internet publishers enjoy. On the Internet, any man and his dog can be publishers, editors, ad sales people – at the same time, without the “Chinese Walls” traditional media like newspapers and television are required to have, to avoid accusations of bias and advertorialising.

   Without mentioning anyone in particular, there are influential bloggers and webmasters who have felt that the rules of ethics that bind traditional media do not apply to them. With their enormous reach and clout, they have tremendous power to influence if they decide to endorse products or services, and have at time run foul of the law courts too.

   The trouble is, without transparency, such endorsements could potentially mislead readers.

   There have been some moves to voluntarily introduce for instance a Blogger’s Code of Conduct, but the US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has had enough and sharpened its tone against the New Endorsers. New roles have been issued and they state quite clearly that if you have material connections with anyone whose products or services you endorse, it must be disclosed.

   Bloggers paid in any form, and this includes receiving free products or services in exchange for reviews, are said to be endorsers by the FTC. From now on, they must disclose their relationships with vendors right up front. Likewise, a firm that pays bloggers or seeks to influence editorial content by supplying material or services for free must say so up front or face legal liability.

   The FTC rules tighten up what can be said in advertising and promotions featuring consumers relating experiences, stating these have to be typical of what results consumers can generally expect.

   Likewise, research cited has to disclose any sponsorship and celebrities endorsing products and services outside traditional ads (in social media campaigns for instance) have to disclose relationships with advertisers and marketers.

   While New Zealand is yet to introduce similar, stringent rules, it should be noted that the Commerce Commission works close with the FTC. New Zealand bloggers for instance who have US audiences could face investigation by the FTC if they do not follow the new rules.

   For public relations practitioners, it’s important to note that FTC could haul not just “endorsers” but also advertisers – for example, agencies initiating social media campaigns – in front of the courts for false or unsubstantiated claims, or for simply not disclosing the connections between the parties.

   Also, saying “results may vary” is no longer a safe harbour qualification for testimonials that endorse products and services. Celebrities or personalities who take part in campaigns must disclose their relationships with advertisers.

   The rules are new and untested, but ethics behind them are clear and simple and will make life easier for all involved. Full disclosure and increased transparency strengthen relationships and trust with audiences with that in mind the FTC’s new rules are most welcome. 

3. Consumers show their muscle and Cadbury fesses up to mistake

   Published on Wednesday, August 19th, 2009
   

   A few short months ago Readers Digest declared Cadbury the No 1 trusted New Zealand brand.  The coverage was extensive…accolades galore for the “iconic Kiwi brand”.

   Before the chocolate was set on that announcement, we learned that Cadbury had re-sized its chocolate blocks and substituted palm oil for cocoa butter. Apparently this was all for our own good, that is the continued affordability of Cadbury’s chocolate.

   The initial protests to these developments seemed quite muted and even confused, perhaps because a competitor attempted to stir the chocolate.  When that intervention was over, chocolate lovers really got to work via Facebook, Twitter and old-fashioned email.

   We’ve now seen the results, an apology from Cadbury NZ managing director: we got it wrong.

   You have to expect that a brand like Cadbury would have done a crisis assessment before embarking on its product changes, no matter how seemingly sensible.

   In the event, once on the back foot, its messages became too complex to articulate and consumers were not interested in listening.  Perhaps another factor in this issue has the determination of consumers to remind Cadbury exactly who determines brand leadership. Consumers create brands, companies are the guardians.

   This has been a hard-earned lesson for the chocolate maker, but one that every FMCG company should have ears for.