The marketing mix has been the key concept to advertising. The marketing mix was suggested by professor E. Jerome McCarthy in the 1960s. The marketing mix consists of four basic elements called the four P’s. Product is the first P representing the actual product. Price represents the process of determining the value of a product. Place represents the variables of getting the product to the consumer like distribution channels, market coverage and movement organization. The last P stands for Promotion which is the process of reaching the target market and convincing them to go out and buy the product.
Advertising Theory
* Hierarchy of effects model[8]
It clarifies the objectives of an advertising campaign and for each individual advertisement. The model suggests that there are six steps a consumer or a business buyer moves through when making a purchase. The steps are:
1. Awareness
2. Knowledge
3. Liking
4. Preference
5. Conviction
6. Purchase
* Means-End Theory
This approach suggests that an advertisement should contain a message or means that leads the consumer to a desired end state.
* Leverage Points
It is designed to move the consumer from understanding a product's benefits to linking those benefits with personal values.
Types of advertising
Virtually any medium can be used for advertising. Commercial advertising media can include wall paintings, billboards, street furniture components, printed flyers and rack cards, radio, cinema and television adverts, web banners, mobile telephone screens, shopping carts, web popups, skywriting, bus stop benches, human billboards, magazines, newspapers, town criers, sides of buses, banners attached to or sides of airplanes ("logojets"), in-flight advertisements on seatback tray tables or overhead storage bins, taxicab doors, roof mounts and passenger screens, musical stage shows, subway platforms and trains, elastic bands on disposable diapers,doors of bathroom stalls,stickers on apples in supermarkets, shopping cart handles (grabertising), the opening section of streaming audio and video, posters, and the backs of event tickets and supermarket receipts. Any place an "identified" sponsor pays to deliver their message through a medium is advertising.
[edit] Digital advertising
Television advertising / Music in advertising
The TV commercial is generally considered the most effective mass-market advertising format, as is reflected by the high prices TV networks charge for commercial airtime during popular TV events. The annual Super Bowl football game in the United States is known as the most prominent advertising event on television. The average cost of a single thirty-second TV spot during this game has reached US$3 million (as of 2009). The majority of television commercials feature a song or jingle that listeners soon relate to the product. Virtual advertisements may be inserted into regular television programming through computer graphics. It is typically inserted into otherwise blank backdrops[9] or used to replace local billboards that are not relevant to the remote broadcast audience.[10] More controversially, virtual billboards may be inserted into the background[11] where none exist in real-life. This technique is especially used in televised sporting events.[12][13] Virtual product placement is also possible.[14][15] Infomercials: An infomercial is a long-format television commercial, typically five minutes or longer. The word "infomercial" combining the words "information" & "commercial". The main objective in an infomercial is to create an impulse purchase, so that the consumer sees the presentation and then immediately buys the product through the advertised toll-free telephone number or website. Infomercials describe, display, and often demonstrate products and their features, and commonly have testimonials from consumers and industry professionals.
Radio advertising
Radio advertising is a form of advertising via the medium of radio. Radio advertisements are broadcast as radio waves to the air from a transmitter to an antenna and a thus to a receiving device. Airtime is purchased from a station or network in exchange for airing the commercials. While radio has the limitation of being restricted to sound, proponents of radio advertising often cite this as an advantage. Radio is an expanding medium that can be found not only on air, but also online. According to Arbitron, radio has approximately 241.6 million weekly listeners, or more than 93 percent of the U.S. population.
Online advertising
Online advertising is a form of promotion that uses the Internet and World Wide Web for the expressed purpose of delivering marketing messages to attract customers. Examples of online advertising include contextual ads that appear on search engine results pages, banner ads, in text ads, Rich Media Ads, Social network advertising, online classified advertising, advertising networks and e-mail marketing, including e-mail spam.
Product placements
Covert advertising, also known as guerrilla advertising, is when a product or brand is embedded in entertainment and media. For example, in a film, the main character can use an item or other of a definite brand, as in the movie Minority Report, where Tom Cruise's character John Anderton owns a phone with the Nokia logo clearly written in the top corner, or his watch engraved with the Bulgari logo. Another example of advertising in film is in I, Robot, where main character played by Will Smith mentions his Converse shoes several times, calling them "classics," because the film is set far in the future. I, Robot and Spaceballs also showcase futuristic cars with the Audi and Mercedes-Benz logos clearly displayed on the front of the vehicles. Cadillac chose to advertise in the movie The Matrix Reloaded, which as a result contained many scenes in which Cadillac cars were used. Similarly, product placement for Omega Watches, Ford, VAIO, BMW and Aston Martin cars are featured in recent James Bond films, most notably Casino Royale. In "Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer", the main transport vehicle shows a large Dodge logo on the front. Blade Runner includes some of the most obvious product placement; the whole film stops to show a Coca-Cola billboard.
Physical advertising
Press advertising
Press advertising describes advertising in a printed medium such as a newspaper, magazine, or trade journal. This encompasses everything from media with a very broad readership base, such as a major national newspaper or magazine, to more narrowly targeted media such as local newspapers and trade journals on very specialized topics. A form of press advertising is classified advertising, which allows private individuals or companies to purchase a small, narrowly targeted ad for a low fee advertising a product or service. Another form of press advertising is the Display Ad, which is a larger ad (can include art) that typically run in an article section of a newspaper.
Billboard advertising: Billboards are large structures located in public places which display advertisements to passing pedestrians and motorists. Most often, they are located on main roads with a large amount of passing motor and pedestrian traffic; however, they can be placed in any location with large amounts of viewers, such as on mass transit vehicles and in stations, in shopping malls or office buildings, and in stadiums.
The RedEye newspaper advertised to its target market at North Avenue Beach with a sailboat billboard on Lake Michigan.
Mobile billboard advertising
Mobile billboards are generally vehicle mounted billboards or digital screens. These can be on dedicated vehicles built solely for carrying advertisements along routes preselected by clients, they can also be specially equipped cargo trucks or, in some cases, large banners strewn from planes. The billboards are often lighted; some being backlit, and others employing spotlights. Some billboard displays are static, while others change; for example, continuously or periodically rotating among a set of advertisements. Mobile displays are used for various situations in metropolitan areas throughout the world, including: Target advertising, One-day, and long-term campaigns, Conventions, Sporting events, Store openings and similar promotional events, and Big advertisements from smaller companies.
In-store advertising
In-store advertising is any advertisement placed in a retail store. It includes placement of a product in visible locations in a store, such as at eye level, at the ends of aisles and near checkout counters, eye-catching displays promoting a specific product, and advertisements in such places as shopping carts and in-store video displays.
Coffee cup advertising
Coffee cup advertising is any advertisement placed upon a coffee cup that is distributed out of an office, café, or drive-through coffee shop. This form of advertising was first popularized in Australia, and has begun growing in popularity in the United States, India, and parts of the Middle East.[citation needed]
Street advertising
This type of advertising first came to prominence in the UK by Street Advertising Services to create outdoor advertising on street furniture and pavements. Working with products such as Reverse Graffiti and 3d pavement advertising, the media became an affordable and effective tool for getting brand messages out into public spaces.
Celebrity branding
This type of advertising focuses upon using celebrity power, fame, money, popularity to gain recognition for their products and promote specific stores or products. Advertisers often advertise their products, for example, when celebrities share their favorite products or wear clothes by specific brands or designers. Celebrities are often involved in advertising campaigns such as television or print adverts to advertise specific or general products. The use of celebrities to endorse a brand can have its downsides, however. One mistake by a celebrity can be detrimental to the public relations of a brand. For example, following his performance of eight gold medals at the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing, China, swimmer Michael Phelps' contract with Kellogg's was terminated, as Kellogg's did not want to associate with him after he was photographed smoking marijuana.
Sales promotions
Sales promotions are another way to advertise. Sales promotions are double purposed because they are used to gather information about what type of customers you draw in and where they are, and to jumpstart sales. Sales promotions include things like contests and games, sweepstakes, product giveaways, samples coupons, loyalty programs, and discounts. The ultimate goal of sales promotions is to stimulate potential customers to action.[16]
[edit] Media and advertising approaches
Increasingly, other media are overtaking many of the "traditional" media such as television, radio and newspaper because of a shift toward consumer's usage of the Internet for news and music as well as devices like digital video recorders (DVRs) such as TiVo.
Advertising on the World Wide Web is a recent phenomenon. Prices of Web-based advertising space are dependent on the "relevance" of the surrounding web content and the traffic that the website receives.
Digital signage is poised to become a major mass media because of its ability to reach larger audiences for less money. Digital signage also offer the unique ability to see the target audience where they are reached by the medium. Technological advances have also made it possible to control the message on digital signage with much precision, enabling the messages to be relevant to the target audience at any given time and location which in turn, gets more response from the advertising. Digital signage is being successfully employed in supermarkets.[17] Another successful use of digital signage is in hospitality locations such as restaurants.[18] and malls.[19]
E-mail advertising is another recent phenomenon. Unsolicited bulk E-mail advertising is known as "e-mail spam". Spam has been a problem for e-mail users for many years.
Some companies have proposed placing messages or corporate logos on the side of booster rockets and the International Space Station. Controversy exists on the effectiveness of subliminal advertising (see mind control), and the pervasiveness of mass messages (see propaganda).
Unpaid advertising (also called "publicity advertising"), can provide good exposure at minimal cost. Personal recommendations ("bring a friend", "sell it"), spreading buzz, or achieving the feat of equating a brand with a common noun (in the United States, "Xerox" = "photocopier", "Kleenex" = tissue, "Vaseline" = petroleum jelly, "Hoover" = vacuum cleaner, "Nintendo" (often used by those exposed to many video games) = video games, and "Band-Aid" = adhesive bandage) — these can be seen as the pinnacle of any advertising campaign. However, some companies oppose the use of their brand name to label an object. Equating a brand with a common noun also risks turning that brand into a genericized trademark - turning it into a generic term which means that its legal protection as a trademark is lost.
As the mobile phone became a new mass media in 1998 when the first paid downloadable content appeared on mobile phones in Finland, it was only a matter of time until mobile advertising followed, also first launched in Finland in 2000. By 2007 the value of mobile advertising had reached $2.2 billion and providers such as Admob delivered billions of mobile ads.
More advanced mobile ads include banner ads, coupons, Multimedia Messaging Service picture and video messages, advergames and various engagement marketing campaigns. A particular feature driving mobile ads is the 2D Barcode, which replaces the need to do any typing of web addresses, and uses the camera feature of modern phones to gain immediate access to web content. 83 percent of Japanese mobile phone users already are active users of 2D barcodes.
A new form of advertising that is growing rapidly is social network advertising. It is online advertising with a focus on social networking sites. This is a relatively immature market, but it has shown a lot of promise as advertisers are able to take advantage of the demographic information the user has provided to the social networking site. Friendertising is a more precise advertising term in which people are able to direct advertisements toward others directly using social network service.
From time to time, The CW Television Network airs short programming breaks called "Content Wraps," to advertise one company's product during an entire commercial break. The CW pioneered "content wraps" and some products featured were Herbal Essences, Crest, Guitar Hero II, CoverGirl, and recently Toyota.
Recently, there appeared a new promotion concept, "ARvertising", advertising on Augmented Reality technology.
Current trends
Rise in new media
With the dawn of the Internet came many new advertising opportunities. Popup, Flash, banner, Popunder, advergaming, and email advertisements (the last often being a form of spam) are now commonplace. Particularly since the rise of "entertaining" advertising, some people may like an advertisement enough to wish to watch it later or show a friend. In general, the advertising community has not yet made this easy, although some have used the Internet to widely distribute their ads to anyone willing to see or hear them. In the last three quarters of 2009 mobile and internet advertising grew by 18.1% and 9.2% respectively. Older media advertising saw declines: −10.1% (TV), −11.7% (radio), −14.8% (magazines) and −18.7% (newspapers ).
Sunday, June 26, 2011
Thursday, June 9, 2011
ADVERTISEMENT
Definition
1. The non-personal communication of information usually paid for & usually persuasive in nature, about products (goods & services) or ideas by identified sponsor through various media. 2.Any paid form of non-personal communication about an organization, product ,service, or idea from an identified sponsor. 3.Paid non-personal communication from an identified sponsor using mass media to persuade influence an audience. 4. The element of the marketing communication mix that is non personal paid for an identified sponsor, & disseminated through mass channels of communication to promote the adoption of goods, services, person or ideas. 5.An informative or persuasive message carried by a non personal medium & paid for by an identified sponsor whose organization or product is identified in some way. 6. Impersonal; one way communication about a product or organization that is paid by marketer.
History
Egyptians used papyrus to make sales messages and wall posters. Commercial messages and political campaign displays have been found in the ruins of Pompeii and ancient Arabia. Lost and found advertising on papyrus was common in Ancient Greece and Ancient Rome. Wall or rock painting for commercial advertising is another manifestation of an ancient advertising form, which is present to this day in many parts of Asia, Africa, and South America. The tradition of wall painting can be traced back to Indian rock art paintings that date back to 4000 BC. [2] History tells us that Out-of-home advertising and billboards are the oldest forms of advertising.
As the towns and cities of the Middle Ages began to grow, and the general populace was unable to read, signs that today would say cobbler, miller, tailor or blacksmith would use an image associated with their trade such as a boot, a suit, a hat, a clock, a diamond, a horse shoe, a candle or even a bag of flour. Fruits and vegetables were sold in the city square from the backs of carts and wagons and their proprietors used street callers (town criers) to announce their whereabouts for the convenience of the customers.
As education became an apparent need and reading, as well as printing, developed advertising expanded to include handbills. In the 17th century advertisements started to appear in weekly newspapers in England. These early print advertisements were used mainly to promote books and newspapers, which became increasingly affordable with advances in the printing press; and medicines, which were increasingly sought after as disease ravaged Europe. However, false advertising and so-called "quack" advertisements became a problem, which ushered in the regulation of advertising content.
As the economy expanded during the 19th century, advertising grew alongside. In the United States, the success of this advertising format eventually led to the growth of mail-order advertising.
In June 1836, French newspaper La Presse was the first to include paid advertising in its pages, allowing it to lower its price, extend its readership and increase its profitability and the formula was soon copied by all titles. Around 1840, Volney B. Palmer established the roots of the modern day advertising agency in Philadelphia. In 1842 Palmer bought large amounts of space in various newspapers at a discounted rate then resold the space at higher rates to advertisers. The actual ad- the copy, layout, and artwork- was stilled prepared by the company wishing to advertise; in effect, Palmer was a space broker. The situation changed in the late 19th century when the advertising agency of N.W. Ayer & Son was founded. Ayer and Son offered to plan, create, and execute complete advertising campaigns for its customers. By 1900 the advertising agency had become the focal point of creative planning, and advertising was firmly established as a profession. [3] Around the same time, in France, Charles-Louis Havas extended the services of his news agency, Havas to include advertisement brokerage, making it the first French group to organize. At first, agencies were brokers for advertisement space in newspapers. N. W. Ayer & Son was the first full-service agency to assume responsibility for advertising content. N.W. Ayer opened in 1869, and was located in Philadelphia.[3]
An 1895 advertisement for a weight gain product.
At the turn of the century, there were few career choices for women in business; however, advertising was one of the few. Since women were responsible for most of the purchasing done in their household, advertisers and agencies recognized the value of women's insight during the creative process. In fact, the first American advertising to use a sexual sell was created by a woman – for a soap product. Although tame by today's standards, the advertisement featured a couple with the message "The skin you love to touch".[4]
In the early 1920s, the first radio stations were established by radio equipment manufacturers and retailers who offered programs in order to sell more radios to consumers. As time passed, many non-profit organizations followed suit in setting up their own radio stations, and included: schools, clubs and civic groups.[5] When the practice of sponsoring programs was popularised, each individual radio program was usually sponsored by a single business in exchange for a brief mention of the business' name at the beginning and end of the sponsored shows. However, radio station owners soon realised they could earn more money by selling sponsorship rights in small time allocations to multiple businesses throughout their radio station's broadcasts, rather than selling the sponsorship rights to single businesses per show.
A print advertisement for the 1913 issue of the Encyclopædia Britannica
This practice was carried over to television in the late 1940s and early 1950s. A fierce battle was fought between those seeking to commercialise the radio and people who argued that the radio spectrum should be considered a part of the commons – to be used only non-commercially and for the public good. The United Kingdom pursued a public funding model for the BBC, originally a private company, the British Broadcasting Company, but incorporated as a public body by Royal Charter in 1927. In Canada, advocates like Graham Spry were likewise able to persuade the federal government to adopt a public funding model, creating the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. However, in the United States, the capitalist model prevailed with the passage of the Communications Act of 1934 which created the Federal Communications Commission.[5] However, the U.S. Congress did require commercial broadcasters to operate in the "public interest, convenience, and necessity".[6] Public broadcasting now exists in the United States due to the 1967 Public Broadcasting Act which led to the Public Broadcasting Service and National Public Radio.
In the early 1950s, the DuMont Television Network began the modern practice of selling advertisement time to multiple sponsors. Previously, DuMont had trouble finding sponsors for many of their programs and compensated by selling smaller blocks of advertising time to several businesses. This eventually became the standard for the commercial television industry in the United States. However, it was still a common practice to have single sponsor shows, such as The United States Steel Hour. In some instances the sponsors exercised great control over the content of the show—up to and including having one's advertising agency actually writing the show. The single sponsor model is much less prevalent now, a notable exception being the Hallmark Hall of Fame.
The late 1980s and early 1990s saw the introduction of cable television and particularly MTV. Pioneering the concept of the music video, MTV ushered in a new type of advertising: the consumer tunes in for the advertising message, rather than it being a by-product or afterthought. As cable and satellite television became increasingly prevalent, specialty channels emerged, including channels entirely devoted to advertising, such as QVC, Home Shopping Network, and ShopTV Canada.
Marketing through the Internet opened new frontiers for advertisers and contributed to the "dot-com" boom of the 1990s. Entire corporations operated solely on advertising revenue, offering everything from coupons to free Internet access. At the turn of the 21st century, a number of websites including the search engine Google, started a change in online advertising by emphasizing contextually relevant, unobtrusive ads intended to help, rather than inundate, users. This has led to a plethora of similar efforts and an increasing trend of interactive advertising.
Advertisement for a live radio broadcast, sponsored by a milk company and published in the Los Angeles Times on May 6, 1930
The share of advertising spending relative to GDP has changed little across large changes in media. For example, in the US in 1925, the main advertising media were newspapers, magazines, signs on streetcars, and outdoor posters. Advertising spending as a share of GDP was about 2.9 percent. By 1998, television and radio had become major advertising media. Nonetheless, advertising spending as a share of GDP was slightly lower—about 2.4 percent.[7]
A recent advertising innovation is "guerrilla marketing", which involve unusual approaches such as staged encounters in public places, giveaways of products such as cars that are covered with brand messages, and interactive advertising where the viewer can respond to become part of the advertising message.Guerrilla advertising is becoming increasing more popular with a lot of companies. This type of advertising is unpredictable and innovative, which causes consumers to buy the product or idea. This reflects an increasing trend of interactive and "embedded" ads, such as via product placement, having consumers vote through text messages, and various innovations utilizing social network services such as Facebook.
Public Service Advertisement
The advertising techniques used to promote commercial goods and services can be used to inform, educate and motivate the public about non-commercial issues, such as HIV/AIDS, political ideology, energy conservation and deforestation.
Advertising, in its non-commercial guise, is a powerful educational tool capable of reaching and motivating large audiences. "Advertising justifies its existence when used in the public interest—it is much too powerful a tool to use solely for commercial purposes."
Public service advertising, non-commercial advertising, public interest advertising, cause marketing, and social marketing are different terms for (or aspects of) the use of sophisticated advertising and marketing communications techniques (generally associated with commercial enterprise) on behalf of non-commercial, public interest issues and initiatives.
The granting of television and radio licenses by the FCC is contingent upon the station broadcasting a certain amount of public service advertising. To meet these requirements, many broadcast stations in America air the bulk of their required public service announcements during the late night or early morning when the smallest percentage of viewers are watching, leaving more day and prime time commercial slots available for high-paying advertisers.
Public service advertising reached its height during World Wars I and II under the direction of more than one government. During WWII President Roosevelt commissioned the creation of The War Advertising Council (now known as the Ad Council) which is the nation's largest developer of PSA campaigns on behalf of government agencies and non-profit organizations, including the longest-running PSA campaign, Smokey Bear. Continues
1. The non-personal communication of information usually paid for & usually persuasive in nature, about products (goods & services) or ideas by identified sponsor through various media. 2.Any paid form of non-personal communication about an organization, product ,service, or idea from an identified sponsor. 3.Paid non-personal communication from an identified sponsor using mass media to persuade influence an audience. 4. The element of the marketing communication mix that is non personal paid for an identified sponsor, & disseminated through mass channels of communication to promote the adoption of goods, services, person or ideas. 5.An informative or persuasive message carried by a non personal medium & paid for by an identified sponsor whose organization or product is identified in some way. 6. Impersonal; one way communication about a product or organization that is paid by marketer.
History
Egyptians used papyrus to make sales messages and wall posters. Commercial messages and political campaign displays have been found in the ruins of Pompeii and ancient Arabia. Lost and found advertising on papyrus was common in Ancient Greece and Ancient Rome. Wall or rock painting for commercial advertising is another manifestation of an ancient advertising form, which is present to this day in many parts of Asia, Africa, and South America. The tradition of wall painting can be traced back to Indian rock art paintings that date back to 4000 BC. [2] History tells us that Out-of-home advertising and billboards are the oldest forms of advertising.
As the towns and cities of the Middle Ages began to grow, and the general populace was unable to read, signs that today would say cobbler, miller, tailor or blacksmith would use an image associated with their trade such as a boot, a suit, a hat, a clock, a diamond, a horse shoe, a candle or even a bag of flour. Fruits and vegetables were sold in the city square from the backs of carts and wagons and their proprietors used street callers (town criers) to announce their whereabouts for the convenience of the customers.
As education became an apparent need and reading, as well as printing, developed advertising expanded to include handbills. In the 17th century advertisements started to appear in weekly newspapers in England. These early print advertisements were used mainly to promote books and newspapers, which became increasingly affordable with advances in the printing press; and medicines, which were increasingly sought after as disease ravaged Europe. However, false advertising and so-called "quack" advertisements became a problem, which ushered in the regulation of advertising content.
As the economy expanded during the 19th century, advertising grew alongside. In the United States, the success of this advertising format eventually led to the growth of mail-order advertising.
In June 1836, French newspaper La Presse was the first to include paid advertising in its pages, allowing it to lower its price, extend its readership and increase its profitability and the formula was soon copied by all titles. Around 1840, Volney B. Palmer established the roots of the modern day advertising agency in Philadelphia. In 1842 Palmer bought large amounts of space in various newspapers at a discounted rate then resold the space at higher rates to advertisers. The actual ad- the copy, layout, and artwork- was stilled prepared by the company wishing to advertise; in effect, Palmer was a space broker. The situation changed in the late 19th century when the advertising agency of N.W. Ayer & Son was founded. Ayer and Son offered to plan, create, and execute complete advertising campaigns for its customers. By 1900 the advertising agency had become the focal point of creative planning, and advertising was firmly established as a profession. [3] Around the same time, in France, Charles-Louis Havas extended the services of his news agency, Havas to include advertisement brokerage, making it the first French group to organize. At first, agencies were brokers for advertisement space in newspapers. N. W. Ayer & Son was the first full-service agency to assume responsibility for advertising content. N.W. Ayer opened in 1869, and was located in Philadelphia.[3]
An 1895 advertisement for a weight gain product.
At the turn of the century, there were few career choices for women in business; however, advertising was one of the few. Since women were responsible for most of the purchasing done in their household, advertisers and agencies recognized the value of women's insight during the creative process. In fact, the first American advertising to use a sexual sell was created by a woman – for a soap product. Although tame by today's standards, the advertisement featured a couple with the message "The skin you love to touch".[4]
In the early 1920s, the first radio stations were established by radio equipment manufacturers and retailers who offered programs in order to sell more radios to consumers. As time passed, many non-profit organizations followed suit in setting up their own radio stations, and included: schools, clubs and civic groups.[5] When the practice of sponsoring programs was popularised, each individual radio program was usually sponsored by a single business in exchange for a brief mention of the business' name at the beginning and end of the sponsored shows. However, radio station owners soon realised they could earn more money by selling sponsorship rights in small time allocations to multiple businesses throughout their radio station's broadcasts, rather than selling the sponsorship rights to single businesses per show.
A print advertisement for the 1913 issue of the Encyclopædia Britannica
This practice was carried over to television in the late 1940s and early 1950s. A fierce battle was fought between those seeking to commercialise the radio and people who argued that the radio spectrum should be considered a part of the commons – to be used only non-commercially and for the public good. The United Kingdom pursued a public funding model for the BBC, originally a private company, the British Broadcasting Company, but incorporated as a public body by Royal Charter in 1927. In Canada, advocates like Graham Spry were likewise able to persuade the federal government to adopt a public funding model, creating the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. However, in the United States, the capitalist model prevailed with the passage of the Communications Act of 1934 which created the Federal Communications Commission.[5] However, the U.S. Congress did require commercial broadcasters to operate in the "public interest, convenience, and necessity".[6] Public broadcasting now exists in the United States due to the 1967 Public Broadcasting Act which led to the Public Broadcasting Service and National Public Radio.
In the early 1950s, the DuMont Television Network began the modern practice of selling advertisement time to multiple sponsors. Previously, DuMont had trouble finding sponsors for many of their programs and compensated by selling smaller blocks of advertising time to several businesses. This eventually became the standard for the commercial television industry in the United States. However, it was still a common practice to have single sponsor shows, such as The United States Steel Hour. In some instances the sponsors exercised great control over the content of the show—up to and including having one's advertising agency actually writing the show. The single sponsor model is much less prevalent now, a notable exception being the Hallmark Hall of Fame.
The late 1980s and early 1990s saw the introduction of cable television and particularly MTV. Pioneering the concept of the music video, MTV ushered in a new type of advertising: the consumer tunes in for the advertising message, rather than it being a by-product or afterthought. As cable and satellite television became increasingly prevalent, specialty channels emerged, including channels entirely devoted to advertising, such as QVC, Home Shopping Network, and ShopTV Canada.
Marketing through the Internet opened new frontiers for advertisers and contributed to the "dot-com" boom of the 1990s. Entire corporations operated solely on advertising revenue, offering everything from coupons to free Internet access. At the turn of the 21st century, a number of websites including the search engine Google, started a change in online advertising by emphasizing contextually relevant, unobtrusive ads intended to help, rather than inundate, users. This has led to a plethora of similar efforts and an increasing trend of interactive advertising.
Advertisement for a live radio broadcast, sponsored by a milk company and published in the Los Angeles Times on May 6, 1930
The share of advertising spending relative to GDP has changed little across large changes in media. For example, in the US in 1925, the main advertising media were newspapers, magazines, signs on streetcars, and outdoor posters. Advertising spending as a share of GDP was about 2.9 percent. By 1998, television and radio had become major advertising media. Nonetheless, advertising spending as a share of GDP was slightly lower—about 2.4 percent.[7]
A recent advertising innovation is "guerrilla marketing", which involve unusual approaches such as staged encounters in public places, giveaways of products such as cars that are covered with brand messages, and interactive advertising where the viewer can respond to become part of the advertising message.Guerrilla advertising is becoming increasing more popular with a lot of companies. This type of advertising is unpredictable and innovative, which causes consumers to buy the product or idea. This reflects an increasing trend of interactive and "embedded" ads, such as via product placement, having consumers vote through text messages, and various innovations utilizing social network services such as Facebook.
Public Service Advertisement
The advertising techniques used to promote commercial goods and services can be used to inform, educate and motivate the public about non-commercial issues, such as HIV/AIDS, political ideology, energy conservation and deforestation.
Advertising, in its non-commercial guise, is a powerful educational tool capable of reaching and motivating large audiences. "Advertising justifies its existence when used in the public interest—it is much too powerful a tool to use solely for commercial purposes."
Public service advertising, non-commercial advertising, public interest advertising, cause marketing, and social marketing are different terms for (or aspects of) the use of sophisticated advertising and marketing communications techniques (generally associated with commercial enterprise) on behalf of non-commercial, public interest issues and initiatives.
The granting of television and radio licenses by the FCC is contingent upon the station broadcasting a certain amount of public service advertising. To meet these requirements, many broadcast stations in America air the bulk of their required public service announcements during the late night or early morning when the smallest percentage of viewers are watching, leaving more day and prime time commercial slots available for high-paying advertisers.
Public service advertising reached its height during World Wars I and II under the direction of more than one government. During WWII President Roosevelt commissioned the creation of The War Advertising Council (now known as the Ad Council) which is the nation's largest developer of PSA campaigns on behalf of government agencies and non-profit organizations, including the longest-running PSA campaign, Smokey Bear. Continues
Saturday, February 26, 2011
Management 101
What is management? What do managers do? How do I manage?
These are standard questions that most of us in the management profession have been asked more than once. And questions we asked once in our careers too. Here, then, is a basic look at management, a primer, Management 101 from my perspective.
Art and Science
Management is both art and science. It is the art of making people more effective than they would have been without you. The science is in how you do that. There are four basic pillars: plan, organize, direct, and monitor.
Make Them More Effective
Four workers can make 6 units in an eight-hour shift without a manager. If I hire you to manage them and they still make 6 units a day, what is the benefit to my business of having hired you? On the other hand, if they now make 8 units per day, you, the manager, have value.
The same analogy applies to service, or retail, or teaching, or any other kind of work. Can your group handle more customer calls with you than without? Sell higher value merchandise? Impart knowledge more effectively? etc. That is the value of management - making a group of individual more effective.
Basic Management Skill #1: Plan
Management starts with planning. Good management starts with good planning. And proper prior planning prevents… well, you know the rest of that one.
Without a plan you will never succeed. If you happen to make it to the goal, it will have been by luck or chance and is not repeatable. You may make it as a flash-in-the-pan, an overnight sensation, but you will never have the track record of accomplishments of which success is made.
Figure out what your goal is (or listen when your boss tells you). Then figure out the best way to get there. What resources do you have? What can you get? Compare strengths and weaknesses of individuals and other resources. Will putting four workers on a task that takes 14 hours cost less than renting a machine that can do the same task with one worker in 6 hours? If you change the first shift from an 8 AM start to a 10 AM start, can they handle the early evening rush so you don't have to hire an extra person for the second shift?
Look at all the probable scenarios. Plan for them. Figure out the worst possible scenario and plan for that too. Evaluate your different plans and develop what, in your best judgement, will work the best and what you will do if it doesn't.
TIP: One of the most often overlooked management planning tools is the most effective. Ask the people doing the work for their input.
Basic Management Skill #2: Organize
Now that you have a plan, you have to make it happen. Is everything ready ahead of your group so the right stuff will get to your group at the right time? Is your group prepared to do its part of the plan? Is the downstream organization ready for what your group will deliver and when it will arrive?
Are the workers trained? Are they motivated? Do they have the equipment they need? Are there spare parts available for the equipment? Has purchasing ordered the material? Is it the right stuff? Will it get here on the appropriate schedule?
Do the legwork to make sure everything needed to execute the plan is ready to go, or will be when it is needed. Check back to make sure that everyone understands their role and the importance of their role to the overall success.
Basic Management Skill #3: Direct
Now flip the "ON" switch. Tell people what they need to do. I like to think of this part like conducting an orchestra. Everyone in the orchestra has the music in front of them. They know which section is playing which piece and when. They know when to come in, what to play, and when to stop again. The conductor cues each section to make the music happen. That's your job here. You've given all your musicians (workers) the sheet music (the plan). You have the right number of musicians (workers) in each section (department), and you've arranged the sections on stage so the music will sound best (you have organized the work). Now you need only to tap the podium lightly with your baton to get their attention and give the downbeat.
Basic Management Skill #4: Monitor
Now that you have everything moving, you have to keep an eye on things. Make sure everything is going according to the plan. When it isn't going according to plan, you need to step in and adjust the plan, just as the orchestra conductor will adjust the tempo.
Problems will come up. Someone will get sick. A part won't be delivered on time. A key customer will go bankrupt. That is why you developed a contingency plan in the first place. You, as the manager, have to be always aware of what's going on so you can make the adjustments required.
This is an iterative process. When something is out of sync, you need to Plan a fix, Organize the resources to make it work, Direct the people who will make it happen, and continue to Monitor the effect of the change.
Is It Worth It
Managing people is not easy. However, it can be done successfully. And it can be a very rewarding experience. Remember that management, like any other skill, is something that you can improve at with study and practice.
These are standard questions that most of us in the management profession have been asked more than once. And questions we asked once in our careers too. Here, then, is a basic look at management, a primer, Management 101 from my perspective.
Art and Science
Management is both art and science. It is the art of making people more effective than they would have been without you. The science is in how you do that. There are four basic pillars: plan, organize, direct, and monitor.
Make Them More Effective
Four workers can make 6 units in an eight-hour shift without a manager. If I hire you to manage them and they still make 6 units a day, what is the benefit to my business of having hired you? On the other hand, if they now make 8 units per day, you, the manager, have value.
The same analogy applies to service, or retail, or teaching, or any other kind of work. Can your group handle more customer calls with you than without? Sell higher value merchandise? Impart knowledge more effectively? etc. That is the value of management - making a group of individual more effective.
Basic Management Skill #1: Plan
Management starts with planning. Good management starts with good planning. And proper prior planning prevents… well, you know the rest of that one.
Without a plan you will never succeed. If you happen to make it to the goal, it will have been by luck or chance and is not repeatable. You may make it as a flash-in-the-pan, an overnight sensation, but you will never have the track record of accomplishments of which success is made.
Figure out what your goal is (or listen when your boss tells you). Then figure out the best way to get there. What resources do you have? What can you get? Compare strengths and weaknesses of individuals and other resources. Will putting four workers on a task that takes 14 hours cost less than renting a machine that can do the same task with one worker in 6 hours? If you change the first shift from an 8 AM start to a 10 AM start, can they handle the early evening rush so you don't have to hire an extra person for the second shift?
Look at all the probable scenarios. Plan for them. Figure out the worst possible scenario and plan for that too. Evaluate your different plans and develop what, in your best judgement, will work the best and what you will do if it doesn't.
TIP: One of the most often overlooked management planning tools is the most effective. Ask the people doing the work for their input.
Basic Management Skill #2: Organize
Now that you have a plan, you have to make it happen. Is everything ready ahead of your group so the right stuff will get to your group at the right time? Is your group prepared to do its part of the plan? Is the downstream organization ready for what your group will deliver and when it will arrive?
Are the workers trained? Are they motivated? Do they have the equipment they need? Are there spare parts available for the equipment? Has purchasing ordered the material? Is it the right stuff? Will it get here on the appropriate schedule?
Do the legwork to make sure everything needed to execute the plan is ready to go, or will be when it is needed. Check back to make sure that everyone understands their role and the importance of their role to the overall success.
Basic Management Skill #3: Direct
Now flip the "ON" switch. Tell people what they need to do. I like to think of this part like conducting an orchestra. Everyone in the orchestra has the music in front of them. They know which section is playing which piece and when. They know when to come in, what to play, and when to stop again. The conductor cues each section to make the music happen. That's your job here. You've given all your musicians (workers) the sheet music (the plan). You have the right number of musicians (workers) in each section (department), and you've arranged the sections on stage so the music will sound best (you have organized the work). Now you need only to tap the podium lightly with your baton to get their attention and give the downbeat.
Basic Management Skill #4: Monitor
Now that you have everything moving, you have to keep an eye on things. Make sure everything is going according to the plan. When it isn't going according to plan, you need to step in and adjust the plan, just as the orchestra conductor will adjust the tempo.
Problems will come up. Someone will get sick. A part won't be delivered on time. A key customer will go bankrupt. That is why you developed a contingency plan in the first place. You, as the manager, have to be always aware of what's going on so you can make the adjustments required.
This is an iterative process. When something is out of sync, you need to Plan a fix, Organize the resources to make it work, Direct the people who will make it happen, and continue to Monitor the effect of the change.
Is It Worth It
Managing people is not easy. However, it can be done successfully. And it can be a very rewarding experience. Remember that management, like any other skill, is something that you can improve at with study and practice.
Saturday, February 19, 2011
The Pathway to Reputation
Brand reputation does not happen ‘just like that’. There is a yellow brick road that is more or less paved, leading from brand professionals thinking about the subject, right down to the reputation being formed.
Intent
Brand management aims to create brand by intentional action. Deliberate decisions are made about brand personality, brand values, brand positioning, brand logos, etc. Attention is paid to customers and competitors. Done smartly, the whole strategy and culture of the company are lined up behind the brand to deliver on the intent.
And yet none of this is the brand. It may be intended to be the brand, but brand itself is still far away.
Enactment
Despite best intent, there’s many a slip and the enactment of brand-oriented plans will never come off perfectly. Even when people start with a perfect intent, they have to formulate their action based on their inner world of understanding.
Unfortunately, the map is not the territory. But we constantly act as if it is. We take our inner maps that we have built to help us understand the world around us and then formulate actions that will perfectly achieve our intent. But the plan is already flawed because nobody has the right map. Our inner maps are gross simplifications of a massively complex outer reality.
And as if this was bad enough, even putting the perfect plan into action is doomed as our actions are secretly twisted by our inner biases, goals and deeper needs.
Enactment is still not the brand. However it is getting closer than the intent. It is the difference between Argyris’ Espoused Theory and Theory In Use. You are what you do, not what you say. Company values is the totality of what their people do, not a neat list of values on the website.
Like a bullet fired, the enactment of the brand has no meaning until it reaches its destination. And even then it has far to go before a reputation is formed.
Perception
When the brand messages in all their glorious forms reach the people standing in their way, the brand itself is starting to form. This happens in the perception that is created in the heads of both intended customers and innocent bystanders. It is as perceived by everyone who touches the brand in any way, whether from a lifetime’s experience or a brief third-hand mention from a passing stranger.
Perception does not come clean and pre-packaged. We take direct experience and infer meaning by passing it through a set of highly-biased perceptual filters. First we classify, using broad mental models and unique memories. Then we assess for immediate threats. Then we test against expectations and goals, re-predict the future and compare against our values. To complicate things further, all of this is biased by our current emotional state.
The eventual perception we infer is thus far from the sensory inputs we receive. Even after the original perception, we continue to ponder, muse and reflect on our experiences, changing their meaning even further.
Perception is the brand as experienced. Perception is not reputation, but reputation is perception.
Transmission
When I buy something from a company or otherwise experience the brand, I am getting a first-hand snapshot of what the brand really delivers. From this I directly develop my perception of the brand. On the other hand, if I listen to what others say then I am getting a second-hand version of events. I get their perception, which I then modify via my perceptual process. And if that transmission is third-hand, fourth-hand or more, then the effect is multiplied further.
Communicated perception is reputation, but from a single person it is just a single data-point. If I am inclined to believe that person and act on their perception, then for me, that is all the reputation I need. But many people do not just go on the say-so of a single point of authority. They listen to others and think for themselves, too.
Communication
We not only listen to other people when they talk about brands—we also talk back, asking them questions and offering our own perceptions. Out of the conversation a shared meaning (or as much as this can happen) arises. Thus brand reputation may be viewed as being socially constructed.
Thus reputation is not created in individual perception, nor even in a second-hand, unidirectional transmission, but in the dynamics of real communication between two or more individuals.
True communication is communing, the joining of minds as is sought in open inquiry or dialogue. However this nirvana seldom happens. It is more like a battleground of ideas and wills, where evolution occurs in real-time. Discussions go around and about and eventually the loudest voice or the clearest idea takes root as an unspoken, tacit agreement.
In many ways, the birth or change of a brand reputation is tied up with the brand reputation of the people doing the arguing. People with strong reputations, who command attention and trust, have the greatest potential to forge the actual reputation of the brand under discussion.
Diffusion
Beyond the local conversations whereby I get a personal sense of brand reputation, there are thousands of such conversations that travel across the unbroken network of human relationships. This is where the total reputation of the brand is built. There are many factors that affect diffusion, as identified by Everett Rogers and others.
Some people know more people and talk more than others. Some people are listened to more carefully than others. The brand perception as received by these people will thus travel further than from others.
But people belong to groups, and almost by definition converse more with in-group people and have different attitudes toward them than towards out-group others. Reputation is thus likely to grow differently within each group. Brand ideas will jump between groups like a forest blaze leaping a fire break only when there is sufficient heat and sufficient connection.
And at any one time, reputation reaches as far across groups as the fire has spread. In some it may be fixed and established, whilst to other it may still be novel and a subject of heated debate.
Decision
In the final analysis, the value of a brand comes in the simplification that it brings to decision-making. The inferred promise of a brand enables us to short-cut the evaluative part of the decision process. In our inner construction of the brand we have already done this, mapping out a simplified meaning.
When we choose between brands, rather than guess or choose on tangible aspects such as price, we compare the brand values that we have inferred and hence rapidly make what we assume will be a wise and safe decision.
The reputation of a brand includes an element of reliability. The psychology of judgment under uncertainty rears its head here, and our perceptions of 100% reliable are very different from even a 99% perception. This explains at least in part the fragility of reputation. The psychology of betrayal and retributive justice is another minefield for the unwary.
Intent
Brand management aims to create brand by intentional action. Deliberate decisions are made about brand personality, brand values, brand positioning, brand logos, etc. Attention is paid to customers and competitors. Done smartly, the whole strategy and culture of the company are lined up behind the brand to deliver on the intent.
And yet none of this is the brand. It may be intended to be the brand, but brand itself is still far away.
Enactment
Despite best intent, there’s many a slip and the enactment of brand-oriented plans will never come off perfectly. Even when people start with a perfect intent, they have to formulate their action based on their inner world of understanding.
Unfortunately, the map is not the territory. But we constantly act as if it is. We take our inner maps that we have built to help us understand the world around us and then formulate actions that will perfectly achieve our intent. But the plan is already flawed because nobody has the right map. Our inner maps are gross simplifications of a massively complex outer reality.
And as if this was bad enough, even putting the perfect plan into action is doomed as our actions are secretly twisted by our inner biases, goals and deeper needs.
Enactment is still not the brand. However it is getting closer than the intent. It is the difference between Argyris’ Espoused Theory and Theory In Use. You are what you do, not what you say. Company values is the totality of what their people do, not a neat list of values on the website.
Like a bullet fired, the enactment of the brand has no meaning until it reaches its destination. And even then it has far to go before a reputation is formed.
Perception
When the brand messages in all their glorious forms reach the people standing in their way, the brand itself is starting to form. This happens in the perception that is created in the heads of both intended customers and innocent bystanders. It is as perceived by everyone who touches the brand in any way, whether from a lifetime’s experience or a brief third-hand mention from a passing stranger.
Perception does not come clean and pre-packaged. We take direct experience and infer meaning by passing it through a set of highly-biased perceptual filters. First we classify, using broad mental models and unique memories. Then we assess for immediate threats. Then we test against expectations and goals, re-predict the future and compare against our values. To complicate things further, all of this is biased by our current emotional state.
The eventual perception we infer is thus far from the sensory inputs we receive. Even after the original perception, we continue to ponder, muse and reflect on our experiences, changing their meaning even further.
Perception is the brand as experienced. Perception is not reputation, but reputation is perception.
Transmission
When I buy something from a company or otherwise experience the brand, I am getting a first-hand snapshot of what the brand really delivers. From this I directly develop my perception of the brand. On the other hand, if I listen to what others say then I am getting a second-hand version of events. I get their perception, which I then modify via my perceptual process. And if that transmission is third-hand, fourth-hand or more, then the effect is multiplied further.
Communicated perception is reputation, but from a single person it is just a single data-point. If I am inclined to believe that person and act on their perception, then for me, that is all the reputation I need. But many people do not just go on the say-so of a single point of authority. They listen to others and think for themselves, too.
Communication
We not only listen to other people when they talk about brands—we also talk back, asking them questions and offering our own perceptions. Out of the conversation a shared meaning (or as much as this can happen) arises. Thus brand reputation may be viewed as being socially constructed.
Thus reputation is not created in individual perception, nor even in a second-hand, unidirectional transmission, but in the dynamics of real communication between two or more individuals.
True communication is communing, the joining of minds as is sought in open inquiry or dialogue. However this nirvana seldom happens. It is more like a battleground of ideas and wills, where evolution occurs in real-time. Discussions go around and about and eventually the loudest voice or the clearest idea takes root as an unspoken, tacit agreement.
In many ways, the birth or change of a brand reputation is tied up with the brand reputation of the people doing the arguing. People with strong reputations, who command attention and trust, have the greatest potential to forge the actual reputation of the brand under discussion.
Diffusion
Beyond the local conversations whereby I get a personal sense of brand reputation, there are thousands of such conversations that travel across the unbroken network of human relationships. This is where the total reputation of the brand is built. There are many factors that affect diffusion, as identified by Everett Rogers and others.
Some people know more people and talk more than others. Some people are listened to more carefully than others. The brand perception as received by these people will thus travel further than from others.
But people belong to groups, and almost by definition converse more with in-group people and have different attitudes toward them than towards out-group others. Reputation is thus likely to grow differently within each group. Brand ideas will jump between groups like a forest blaze leaping a fire break only when there is sufficient heat and sufficient connection.
And at any one time, reputation reaches as far across groups as the fire has spread. In some it may be fixed and established, whilst to other it may still be novel and a subject of heated debate.
Decision
In the final analysis, the value of a brand comes in the simplification that it brings to decision-making. The inferred promise of a brand enables us to short-cut the evaluative part of the decision process. In our inner construction of the brand we have already done this, mapping out a simplified meaning.
When we choose between brands, rather than guess or choose on tangible aspects such as price, we compare the brand values that we have inferred and hence rapidly make what we assume will be a wise and safe decision.
The reputation of a brand includes an element of reliability. The psychology of judgment under uncertainty rears its head here, and our perceptions of 100% reliable are very different from even a 99% perception. This explains at least in part the fragility of reputation. The psychology of betrayal and retributive justice is another minefield for the unwary.
Tuesday, February 1, 2011
The Branding message in a New Month
There is no doubt that whenever we're to experience another month, we are always preparing for: new heights, character, blessing, expectations are always on the high side, either positive or negative. And each new months are profoundly branded that we all know their names, infact; some of us even know what each months means Biblically or otherwise, February and March, biblically means: "New Heights". In line with this; if each month, year etc, comeswith an expectation in the minds of the target audience, the qustion now is: What is/are the perception of Nigerian in arriving in each of these months, what are the plans of our representatives at the governement house, how did they intend to make our brand promise a reality via "Nigeria, Good People, Great Nation", are we really a good people from on-the-inside? Fine Nigeria is a great nation, but mind you, a nation cannot be great when the people in it are not great cus a nation does not drive itself, it's being pioneer by the intellectuality of the people that resides in it. As i want to saddle us with the responsibilty of a branded mind that would achieve a targetted goal in this new month of February, pls be positive about this country, it ddoesn't matter what the "fear-dogs" are doing, but with you and me, together with same vision, mission, mandate and task, we'll indeed make Nigeria the homeland of "good people, great nation"!
Still to come: New Month - My Brand, My Mind
Kind Regards
The Diamond Team
Info: 08060037277, 07093175098
www.diamondstarint-brand.blogspot.com
www.diamondstarint-francis.blogspot.com
Still to come: New Month - My Brand, My Mind
Kind Regards
The Diamond Team
Info: 08060037277, 07093175098
www.diamondstarint-brand.blogspot.com
www.diamondstarint-francis.blogspot.com
Saturday, January 29, 2011
Perception Management
Things are not always what they seem to be.
And that is exactly the way some people like it.
When times are bad, they want us to think they are good and getting better.
When damage is being done, they hope we will be unable to see the clear cutting behind the line of trees cleverly left to block the sight of drivers along the road system.
Long ago, Alice discovered that Life really was a Mad Tea Party and Wonderland was a clever theme park meant to displace that tedious thing called reality.
Concealing the truth from public view has become a dishonorable but lucrative profession in many nations as power brokers seek to maintain their grip by distorting perceptions of reality. Good citizens in this brave world will be compliant and accepting rather than challenging and critical.
Power brokers hope to continue doing bad works by making them seem like good works.
Some call this SPIN. Others call it MisInformation. Still others call it propaganda.
Just Say It Isn't So
Some of this phenomenon is caused by wishful thinking. Sometimes folks have a low tolerance for bad news and reality. Sometimes they find reality shows (a true oxymoron) a huge relief from the real world. At a time when action heroes and wrestlers become governors or world leaders, the cartoon replaces serious drama while fiction, melodrama, soap opera and fantasy shove aside that boring thing we used to call LIFE.
Ironically, the BIG LIE is easier to swallow than the BITTER TRUTH.
Next thing we note true believers swallowing the latest party line hook, line and sinker without questioning its veracity.
Do we want our children to grow up embracing such weak standards of veracity?
Must verity and veracity become orphaned twins, casualties of a cynical age willing to sacrifice truth to the winds of expediency and fashion?
Shall we allow presumption and bias to substitute for judgment and reason, displacing longstanding traditions of gathering evidence and looking before leaping?
Soft Truth, Soft Evidence and Soft Drinks
Some of the population is content with coddling and pandering. Few leaders are rewarded for confronting or communicating the difficult truth.
"Tell us what we want to hear!" the voices shout in chorus as a host of leaders and PR merchants churn out messages of reassurance and optimism to mask the fumes of cultural landfills.
Media Literacy?
Is there a literacy lurking here some place? Is there a curriculum?
What should schools do to equip students to live in these times of pessimism dressed up as optimism and of greed masquerading as compassion and generosity?
In the past we have relied upon media literacy to arm students against misinformation, propaganda and grotesque marketing, but it may not be sufficient to the task at hand.
When veracity is sent packing to loud applause from the general public, the society lurches like a runaway freight train screaming down a mountain grade. The Roman Circus kept folks happy and entertained as Rome's reach exceeded its grasp and its world ambitions led to its eventual decline. Efforts at entertainment often seems to peak when cultures reach self-defeating extremes. Recent freakish experiments with reality shows should serve as a warning as we lurch into a new century celebrating the eating of insects and the firing of apprentices.
Sugar-Coatings
When air pollution, water pollution and other forms of corruption are packaged attractively as social benefits, we lurch and stumble away from decency. We lose our way. We wander and stumble. The bitter pill starts to taste like candy. Why worry about water quality when we can mask the taint and the sour flavor with enhancers and artificial sweeteners?
How would you compare this to be a reality and not a perception of the situation in Nigeria?
For more about this write-ups, contact:
08060037277, 08059035403
diamondstarint.brand@gmail.com
diamondstarint.brand@hotmail.co.uk
And that is exactly the way some people like it.
When times are bad, they want us to think they are good and getting better.
When damage is being done, they hope we will be unable to see the clear cutting behind the line of trees cleverly left to block the sight of drivers along the road system.
Long ago, Alice discovered that Life really was a Mad Tea Party and Wonderland was a clever theme park meant to displace that tedious thing called reality.
Concealing the truth from public view has become a dishonorable but lucrative profession in many nations as power brokers seek to maintain their grip by distorting perceptions of reality. Good citizens in this brave world will be compliant and accepting rather than challenging and critical.
Power brokers hope to continue doing bad works by making them seem like good works.
Some call this SPIN. Others call it MisInformation. Still others call it propaganda.
Just Say It Isn't So
Some of this phenomenon is caused by wishful thinking. Sometimes folks have a low tolerance for bad news and reality. Sometimes they find reality shows (a true oxymoron) a huge relief from the real world. At a time when action heroes and wrestlers become governors or world leaders, the cartoon replaces serious drama while fiction, melodrama, soap opera and fantasy shove aside that boring thing we used to call LIFE.
Ironically, the BIG LIE is easier to swallow than the BITTER TRUTH.
Next thing we note true believers swallowing the latest party line hook, line and sinker without questioning its veracity.
Do we want our children to grow up embracing such weak standards of veracity?
Must verity and veracity become orphaned twins, casualties of a cynical age willing to sacrifice truth to the winds of expediency and fashion?
Shall we allow presumption and bias to substitute for judgment and reason, displacing longstanding traditions of gathering evidence and looking before leaping?
Soft Truth, Soft Evidence and Soft Drinks
Some of the population is content with coddling and pandering. Few leaders are rewarded for confronting or communicating the difficult truth.
"Tell us what we want to hear!" the voices shout in chorus as a host of leaders and PR merchants churn out messages of reassurance and optimism to mask the fumes of cultural landfills.
Media Literacy?
Is there a literacy lurking here some place? Is there a curriculum?
What should schools do to equip students to live in these times of pessimism dressed up as optimism and of greed masquerading as compassion and generosity?
In the past we have relied upon media literacy to arm students against misinformation, propaganda and grotesque marketing, but it may not be sufficient to the task at hand.
When veracity is sent packing to loud applause from the general public, the society lurches like a runaway freight train screaming down a mountain grade. The Roman Circus kept folks happy and entertained as Rome's reach exceeded its grasp and its world ambitions led to its eventual decline. Efforts at entertainment often seems to peak when cultures reach self-defeating extremes. Recent freakish experiments with reality shows should serve as a warning as we lurch into a new century celebrating the eating of insects and the firing of apprentices.
Sugar-Coatings
When air pollution, water pollution and other forms of corruption are packaged attractively as social benefits, we lurch and stumble away from decency. We lose our way. We wander and stumble. The bitter pill starts to taste like candy. Why worry about water quality when we can mask the taint and the sour flavor with enhancers and artificial sweeteners?
How would you compare this to be a reality and not a perception of the situation in Nigeria?
For more about this write-ups, contact:
08060037277, 08059035403
diamondstarint.brand@gmail.com
diamondstarint.brand@hotmail.co.uk
Wednesday, January 5, 2011
Happy New Year, Public Relator
The main goal of a public relations department is to enhance a company’s reputation. Staff that work in public relations, or as it is commonly known, PR, are skilled publicists. They are able to present a company or individual to the world in the best light. The role of a public relations department can be seen as a reputation protector.
The business world of today is extremely competitive. Companies need to have an edge that makes them stand out from the crowd, something that makes them more appealing and interesting to both the public and the media. The public are the buyers of the product and the media are responsible for selling it.
Public relations provide a service for the company by helping to give the public and the media a better understanding of how the company works. Within a company, public relations can also come under the title of public information or customer relations. These departments assist customers if they have any problems with the company. They are usually the most helpful departments, as they exist to show the company at their best.
PR also helps the company to achieve its full potential. They provide feedback to the company from the public. This usually takes the form of research regarding what areas the public is most happy and unhappy with.
People often have the perception of public relations as a group of people who spin everything. Spin can mean to turn around a bad situation to the company’s advantage. It is true that part of the purpose of public relations is to show the company in a positive light no matter what. There are certain PR experts that a company can turn to for this particular skill.
The public often think of PR as a glamorous job. Public relations people seem to have been tarred with the image of constant partying and networking to find new contacts. The reality is usually long hours and hard work for anyone involved in public relations.
There are certain skills necessary to work in the world of PR. These include a very high level of communication skills, written and verbal. The PR person must also be very adept at multitasking and time management. He or she may also have some form of media background or training in order to understand how the media and advertising work. Organizational and planning skills are also important in public relations.
The PR worker must also be able to cope very well under pressure. He or she must have the ability to cope with a barrage of questions from the media and the public. If a company comes under critical attack, it is the PR department who must take control of the situation. They must effectively answer the criticism and turn it around in order to protect the company’s reputation.
A public relations worker usually has some form of relevant college qualification. Competition for jobs in PR is fierce. A talented public relations person has the opportunity to work up from a junior account executive to an account director in around five years. This is not a nine to five job; the hours are long and can be stressful. However, for successful PR workers, the pay is good and the perks may be even better.
The business world of today is extremely competitive. Companies need to have an edge that makes them stand out from the crowd, something that makes them more appealing and interesting to both the public and the media. The public are the buyers of the product and the media are responsible for selling it.
Public relations provide a service for the company by helping to give the public and the media a better understanding of how the company works. Within a company, public relations can also come under the title of public information or customer relations. These departments assist customers if they have any problems with the company. They are usually the most helpful departments, as they exist to show the company at their best.
PR also helps the company to achieve its full potential. They provide feedback to the company from the public. This usually takes the form of research regarding what areas the public is most happy and unhappy with.
People often have the perception of public relations as a group of people who spin everything. Spin can mean to turn around a bad situation to the company’s advantage. It is true that part of the purpose of public relations is to show the company in a positive light no matter what. There are certain PR experts that a company can turn to for this particular skill.
The public often think of PR as a glamorous job. Public relations people seem to have been tarred with the image of constant partying and networking to find new contacts. The reality is usually long hours and hard work for anyone involved in public relations.
There are certain skills necessary to work in the world of PR. These include a very high level of communication skills, written and verbal. The PR person must also be very adept at multitasking and time management. He or she may also have some form of media background or training in order to understand how the media and advertising work. Organizational and planning skills are also important in public relations.
The PR worker must also be able to cope very well under pressure. He or she must have the ability to cope with a barrage of questions from the media and the public. If a company comes under critical attack, it is the PR department who must take control of the situation. They must effectively answer the criticism and turn it around in order to protect the company’s reputation.
A public relations worker usually has some form of relevant college qualification. Competition for jobs in PR is fierce. A talented public relations person has the opportunity to work up from a junior account executive to an account director in around five years. This is not a nine to five job; the hours are long and can be stressful. However, for successful PR workers, the pay is good and the perks may be even better.
Monday, December 6, 2010
Brand Reputation Management
Brand Reputation Management
So, what is brand reputation management and how can it help your business?
Its not necessary to be a professional programmer or web site developer to get your opinion viewed and read by others around the world. This fact should alarm any company concerned with their reputation. Imagine that you've spent years of hard work constructing a good brand reputation for your product or service, invested money in public relations, marketing and website design. Still, a few people will be enough to undo all this effort overnight. Fortunately, there are brand reputation management professionals that will help you maintain a robust online presence and save you from bad publicity.
There are plenty of people who may want to damage your company. Activist groups, unsatisfied clients, unhappy employees, all use the web as a way to promote their points of view. Sometimes, the sites containing your company’s name in an unpleasant surrounding of such words as “bad” and “awful” will rank even higher than your main corporate web site. Each day your reputation is thoroughly scrutinized. How can you prevent anyone from noticing the tiniest stain on it?
In the past, things such as brand reputation management and search engine marketing were separate activities. These days, with the advent of user-driven blogs, forums, social networks and other sources of content, they have to be carried out jointly.
Generally, any negative information appearing in the search engine results pages can be responded to by writing favorable content and knowing where and how to submit it. If the search engines consider this positive data more relevant, informative, and it appears on reliable web sites, the negative mentions of your company’s will be pushed down the result pages until that nasty article by a disgruntled client or a vengeful ex-employee is on page twenty and your good name is safe and secure.
Actually, it’s quite easy to get good rankings for a company name key word as there is usually less competition for these words than for the product its sells or services provided. Informative, high-quality content, such as press releases, is a great tool for managing traffic driven to your site and influencing the search engine results. A good brand reputation management specialist will use comprehensive and constantly evolving skills and knowledge of how the search engines evaluate web sites to work out both proactive strategies to avoid any damage to your brand reputation now and take steps to prevent it in the future. The more unique the name of the company whose brand reputation you’re striving to defend, the more significant and faster the effect you’ll achieve by implementing even the simplest brand reputation management techniques.
Reputation Management Software
Reputation Management Software paves the way
With the diversity of information that can be found on the web and the number of web sites that users have to choose from, they need some guidance in making their choices. Usually people follow the advice of search engines and pick out one of the top links offered to them by their search. Reputation management is essential for a company that wants people to find only those links that will lead them to the web sites with favorable or positive information about the organization, and its products and services. And reputation management software makes the process easier.
Reputation management software can take over a large part of the time consuming and complex activity of monitoring and improving your company’s online presence. There are various useful tools which help you to find your bearings in the overload of information presented on the web.
The reputation management software itself will not help to actually change or dismiss the things that people say about your company, products or actions, but once you are aware of what’s going on, you will have a better idea of which strategy to choose when interacting with the online world. For example, if most negative reviews come from common users in a forum, just a couple of positive posts in the same forum can influence the opinion of all readers. But when it comes to more credible sources, like popular professional blogs, or conventional media, the task of improving your reputation will require quite a different approach. Anyway, all managing should be left for humans, though reputation management software can give your people a target to focus on.
To start searching for the information about your company with the help of these tools you just need to specify certain key phrases that will be used to find any mention regarding your business online and their sources. No matter where or when your brand was mentioned - on corporate sites, forums or blogs - reputation management software will find it out and inform you. It will display every relevant link and content and let you view the detailed description of the one you may get interested in.
It will sort the results according to their relevance and level of harm to your company’s reputation and then present everything in a clear informative manner. With this kind of tool it becomes extremely easy to keep track of any information concerning your business that emerges on the web and take immediate actions if needed. This constant awareness allows you to identify trends and examine the strength of your brand’s position online. Most reputation management software is even capable of identifying and removing duplicate entries from its results.
Reputation Risk Management
With the ever increasing number of Internet users and places for them to freely express their opinion, online reputation risk management is something that should be paid plenty of attention too. When you discover that your reputation on the web is being assaulted, either on purpose or unintentionally, you should take measures immediately.
Any reputation management begins with clarifying of who is attacking your good name. It can be a malicious competitor, an ex-employee whom you fired, or a client dissatisfied with the quality of service rendered to him or her. Often you’ll learn that the offending post is written without any knowledge of the exact facts about your business. Sometimes it’s a single negative post in a blog, sometimes it’s a series of deliberately created articles that are aimed at ruining your reputation. Still, no matter how it turned up, the negative publicity is quite difficult to get rid of.
If you’re experiencing one of the above mentioned problems with your online reputation, hiring a good reputation risk management company can be a perfect decision.
Are there many positive online reviews and articles already associated with your business, or is your companies name rarely found on the Internet? Reputation risk management also includes maintaining and promoting existing web sites that positively mention your name, not just reacting against the bad publicity. New content is also very important. From posting in different professional blogs to creating your own pages in different social networks, there are many ways to introduce positive information, thus growing and managing your online reputation.
While implementing various useful reputation management practices, do not forget that monitoring your online reputation should be an ongoing process. It seems impossible to find anything in the avalanche of information on the Internet, still there is reputation management software that can help automate the process. All these various tools do basically the same things. They search the web according to the key words you specified in order to find any references to your company or its products in blogs, forums, corporate web sites, and so on. The best way to have control over the situation is to know when your internet reputation is being compromised and take appropriate actions.
Reputation risk management can seem tough and, to tell the truth, it is. The average reputation management project may take months to get visible results. Moreover, serious threats to your business reputation should be handled by professional reputation management companies, not by amateurs. Something will threaten your online reputation whether you employ reputation risk management or not. Still, if you are warned about problems quickly and take appropriate measures, you can lessen the impact they have on your reputation.
So, what is brand reputation management and how can it help your business?
Its not necessary to be a professional programmer or web site developer to get your opinion viewed and read by others around the world. This fact should alarm any company concerned with their reputation. Imagine that you've spent years of hard work constructing a good brand reputation for your product or service, invested money in public relations, marketing and website design. Still, a few people will be enough to undo all this effort overnight. Fortunately, there are brand reputation management professionals that will help you maintain a robust online presence and save you from bad publicity.
There are plenty of people who may want to damage your company. Activist groups, unsatisfied clients, unhappy employees, all use the web as a way to promote their points of view. Sometimes, the sites containing your company’s name in an unpleasant surrounding of such words as “bad” and “awful” will rank even higher than your main corporate web site. Each day your reputation is thoroughly scrutinized. How can you prevent anyone from noticing the tiniest stain on it?
In the past, things such as brand reputation management and search engine marketing were separate activities. These days, with the advent of user-driven blogs, forums, social networks and other sources of content, they have to be carried out jointly.
Generally, any negative information appearing in the search engine results pages can be responded to by writing favorable content and knowing where and how to submit it. If the search engines consider this positive data more relevant, informative, and it appears on reliable web sites, the negative mentions of your company’s will be pushed down the result pages until that nasty article by a disgruntled client or a vengeful ex-employee is on page twenty and your good name is safe and secure.
Actually, it’s quite easy to get good rankings for a company name key word as there is usually less competition for these words than for the product its sells or services provided. Informative, high-quality content, such as press releases, is a great tool for managing traffic driven to your site and influencing the search engine results. A good brand reputation management specialist will use comprehensive and constantly evolving skills and knowledge of how the search engines evaluate web sites to work out both proactive strategies to avoid any damage to your brand reputation now and take steps to prevent it in the future. The more unique the name of the company whose brand reputation you’re striving to defend, the more significant and faster the effect you’ll achieve by implementing even the simplest brand reputation management techniques.
Reputation Management Software
Reputation Management Software paves the way
With the diversity of information that can be found on the web and the number of web sites that users have to choose from, they need some guidance in making their choices. Usually people follow the advice of search engines and pick out one of the top links offered to them by their search. Reputation management is essential for a company that wants people to find only those links that will lead them to the web sites with favorable or positive information about the organization, and its products and services. And reputation management software makes the process easier.
Reputation management software can take over a large part of the time consuming and complex activity of monitoring and improving your company’s online presence. There are various useful tools which help you to find your bearings in the overload of information presented on the web.
The reputation management software itself will not help to actually change or dismiss the things that people say about your company, products or actions, but once you are aware of what’s going on, you will have a better idea of which strategy to choose when interacting with the online world. For example, if most negative reviews come from common users in a forum, just a couple of positive posts in the same forum can influence the opinion of all readers. But when it comes to more credible sources, like popular professional blogs, or conventional media, the task of improving your reputation will require quite a different approach. Anyway, all managing should be left for humans, though reputation management software can give your people a target to focus on.
To start searching for the information about your company with the help of these tools you just need to specify certain key phrases that will be used to find any mention regarding your business online and their sources. No matter where or when your brand was mentioned - on corporate sites, forums or blogs - reputation management software will find it out and inform you. It will display every relevant link and content and let you view the detailed description of the one you may get interested in.
It will sort the results according to their relevance and level of harm to your company’s reputation and then present everything in a clear informative manner. With this kind of tool it becomes extremely easy to keep track of any information concerning your business that emerges on the web and take immediate actions if needed. This constant awareness allows you to identify trends and examine the strength of your brand’s position online. Most reputation management software is even capable of identifying and removing duplicate entries from its results.
Reputation Risk Management
With the ever increasing number of Internet users and places for them to freely express their opinion, online reputation risk management is something that should be paid plenty of attention too. When you discover that your reputation on the web is being assaulted, either on purpose or unintentionally, you should take measures immediately.
Any reputation management begins with clarifying of who is attacking your good name. It can be a malicious competitor, an ex-employee whom you fired, or a client dissatisfied with the quality of service rendered to him or her. Often you’ll learn that the offending post is written without any knowledge of the exact facts about your business. Sometimes it’s a single negative post in a blog, sometimes it’s a series of deliberately created articles that are aimed at ruining your reputation. Still, no matter how it turned up, the negative publicity is quite difficult to get rid of.
If you’re experiencing one of the above mentioned problems with your online reputation, hiring a good reputation risk management company can be a perfect decision.
Are there many positive online reviews and articles already associated with your business, or is your companies name rarely found on the Internet? Reputation risk management also includes maintaining and promoting existing web sites that positively mention your name, not just reacting against the bad publicity. New content is also very important. From posting in different professional blogs to creating your own pages in different social networks, there are many ways to introduce positive information, thus growing and managing your online reputation.
While implementing various useful reputation management practices, do not forget that monitoring your online reputation should be an ongoing process. It seems impossible to find anything in the avalanche of information on the Internet, still there is reputation management software that can help automate the process. All these various tools do basically the same things. They search the web according to the key words you specified in order to find any references to your company or its products in blogs, forums, corporate web sites, and so on. The best way to have control over the situation is to know when your internet reputation is being compromised and take appropriate actions.
Reputation risk management can seem tough and, to tell the truth, it is. The average reputation management project may take months to get visible results. Moreover, serious threats to your business reputation should be handled by professional reputation management companies, not by amateurs. Something will threaten your online reputation whether you employ reputation risk management or not. Still, if you are warned about problems quickly and take appropriate measures, you can lessen the impact they have on your reputation.
What CIOs Should Know About Online Brand Management
Managing corporate brands and identities online is a black art that combines Web technology savvy, a deep understanding of how search engines and social networking sites work, and an appreciation for the power of perception. Although this task doesn't typically fall on the CIO's shoulders, technology executives need to understand the issues at hand and the role they can play in helping to manage their company's brands.
Just as company executives charged the CIO's office looking for help in the 1990s with the emergence of domain squatting - setting up a Web site with a name similar to a certain company or brand and spreading misinformation about that company or holding the URL for ransom - upper management will no doubt look to the resident technology expert for rescue should the company's online reputation become compromised.
CIOs can help prevent this scenario by working with marketing and communications departments to optimize corporate Web sites for generating positive search-engine results, develop employee online conduct policies that dictate what can and cannot be said publically about the company, and evaluate online reputation management tools and services, experts say.
Online reputation management is more than just making sure that naked photos of the latest Hollywood starlet don't end up on someone's Facebook page. For corporations, protecting brands online is becoming an essential function as more and more consumers turn to search engines and social networking sites to gather the information that forms their opinion about a particular brand or company.
"The switch from traditional media and corporate monologues on websites to social media on the Internet makes every Internet user a journalist.
"People will judge you, your company, and your brand. Reputation management requires new skills in this radically transparent world."
Why does a company's online reputation need to be managed, especially if the business believes it has nothing to hide? Because the top search results from Google and other engines have become trusted sources of information for most consumers, and companies can't control what other Web sites are saying about them, who's reading them, and how those comments are ranked by search engines.
"Among users who search on a daily basis, 90 percent of them trust what's on Google page one [of search results], and 70 percent of those users rarely read beyond page two,". "That gives companies a narrow window to control their brands and reputations."
Many companies provide programs and services that - among other things -- manage the order in which information about their clients is ranked by search engines. There is also cadre of online monitoring tools available that alert a company whenever a brand name or keyword relevant to the company is posted.
Brand management tools and services employ techniques such as search-engine optimization of keywords to help their clients bring the most pertinent information about their companies to the top of the search results, burying older, more random, or less flattering links deeper within the results.
But managing a company's reputation doesn't end with search engine techniques; there's also the issue of monitoring what is being said on social networking sites such as Twitter and Facebook, and who's saying it. There have been reports of companies having unauthorized Twitter accounts opened with names similar to the corporation or brand name; in one case a company's competitor did just that, and the tweets it sent out were less than flattering.
For the most part, sites like Twitter won't verify the authenticity of a new user account, so it's up to companies to monitor these sites themselves for unflattering comments or for the spread of confidential information, which sometimes can come from within. Beyond employing online monitoring services and tools, CIOs should make sure that the company's policies regarding online use by employees specify what kind of information can be posted about the company on a public forum. That means working closely with the marketing folks to come up with these guidelines, something many IT professionals aren't necessarily used to.
"Today, it is more essential than ever to have IT and marketing on the same page," in a blog post earlier this year. "As data becomes the currency of relevance and customers demand real-time interaction with the brands they do business with, it is even more important for marketing and IT to join together and drive efficiency for the business and value for the customer."
Just as company executives charged the CIO's office looking for help in the 1990s with the emergence of domain squatting - setting up a Web site with a name similar to a certain company or brand and spreading misinformation about that company or holding the URL for ransom - upper management will no doubt look to the resident technology expert for rescue should the company's online reputation become compromised.
CIOs can help prevent this scenario by working with marketing and communications departments to optimize corporate Web sites for generating positive search-engine results, develop employee online conduct policies that dictate what can and cannot be said publically about the company, and evaluate online reputation management tools and services, experts say.
Online reputation management is more than just making sure that naked photos of the latest Hollywood starlet don't end up on someone's Facebook page. For corporations, protecting brands online is becoming an essential function as more and more consumers turn to search engines and social networking sites to gather the information that forms their opinion about a particular brand or company.
"The switch from traditional media and corporate monologues on websites to social media on the Internet makes every Internet user a journalist.
"People will judge you, your company, and your brand. Reputation management requires new skills in this radically transparent world."
Why does a company's online reputation need to be managed, especially if the business believes it has nothing to hide? Because the top search results from Google and other engines have become trusted sources of information for most consumers, and companies can't control what other Web sites are saying about them, who's reading them, and how those comments are ranked by search engines.
"Among users who search on a daily basis, 90 percent of them trust what's on Google page one [of search results], and 70 percent of those users rarely read beyond page two,". "That gives companies a narrow window to control their brands and reputations."
Many companies provide programs and services that - among other things -- manage the order in which information about their clients is ranked by search engines. There is also cadre of online monitoring tools available that alert a company whenever a brand name or keyword relevant to the company is posted.
Brand management tools and services employ techniques such as search-engine optimization of keywords to help their clients bring the most pertinent information about their companies to the top of the search results, burying older, more random, or less flattering links deeper within the results.
But managing a company's reputation doesn't end with search engine techniques; there's also the issue of monitoring what is being said on social networking sites such as Twitter and Facebook, and who's saying it. There have been reports of companies having unauthorized Twitter accounts opened with names similar to the corporation or brand name; in one case a company's competitor did just that, and the tweets it sent out were less than flattering.
For the most part, sites like Twitter won't verify the authenticity of a new user account, so it's up to companies to monitor these sites themselves for unflattering comments or for the spread of confidential information, which sometimes can come from within. Beyond employing online monitoring services and tools, CIOs should make sure that the company's policies regarding online use by employees specify what kind of information can be posted about the company on a public forum. That means working closely with the marketing folks to come up with these guidelines, something many IT professionals aren't necessarily used to.
"Today, it is more essential than ever to have IT and marketing on the same page," in a blog post earlier this year. "As data becomes the currency of relevance and customers demand real-time interaction with the brands they do business with, it is even more important for marketing and IT to join together and drive efficiency for the business and value for the customer."
Saturday, November 13, 2010
Brand Management's Evolution Lesson
If you are ever in London for the January sales, can I suggest a quick pit-stop? Just across the road from Harrods in trendy Knightsbridge is a lovely tree-lined road called Montpelier Street. Immediately on your left, tucked between the sandwich shops and cafes, is a boutique bearing the name Mary Quant. It is a small shop - more than six customers makes it feels crowded - and it contains a limited combination of clothing, accessories, handbags and cosmetics. Yet it is a shop that presents marketers with an invaluable lesson in brand management.
Thirty years ago Mary Quant was at her zenith. She was set to launch the mini-skirt on an unsuspecting world and her designs were a global sensation. By 1969 it was estimated that more than 7m people owned at least one item bearing the designer's daisy logo. Despite its global appeal, Mary Quant was indelibly linked with London, a brand that came wrapped up in the cultural attraction of the swinging 60s.
Quant herself was an iconic figure who took great pleasure in breaking the conservative rules of women's fashion, once famously dyeing her pubic hair green and referring to this taboo area as 'the crutch' during an interview with The Guardian.
What happened next was as predictable as it was avoidable. The very strength and ubiquity of the Quant name became its weakness. Because Mary Quant had been so successful during the 60s, the brand became associated with the decade, and when the fashion scene moved inexorably on to the 70s and 80s, Mary Quant was left behind. The iconic designs that made it first cutting edge, and then contemporary, finally made it seem stale. Even loyal customers did the brand no favours at all. Their continued patronage meant that as they aged, so did the brand. New, younger customers were turned off by this brand gentrification and sought their fashions elsewhere.
Today, the Montpelier Street shop and two other small boutiques in Paris and New York are all that is left. Since 2000 the Japanese have been running the brand, with the result that the price tags of Mary Quant cosmetics and accessories are now displayed in yen, with the equivalent in sterling written beneath.
Mary Quant has ultimately become everything it was not. Where once the brand was British, now it is Japanese; where once it was contemporary, now it is historic; where once its fashions were the centre of the brand, the make-up range is now its focus. It used to be the label of choice for those at the epicentre of international fashion, but now its London store merely attracts a sad little flow of retired English women and Japanese tourists. Ironically, this reversal of fortune was caused by a fixation on brand consistency and an inability to recognise and embrace change.
Good brand management is not simply a matter of keeping everything from the logo to the product consistent. A good brand manager must also strive to reinterpret brand equity as times, competitors and customers change around them.
One way of doing this is by dragging an old, iconic brand such as Burberry or Bentley back into the light with a dramatic strategic revitalisation.
However, a better approach is to implement a continual revitalisation of the brand in which new customers are wooed at the expense of short-term sales, and the iconic elements of the brand are excised in favour of contemporary but brand-consistent designs.
The truly great brand managers are those who are unable to rest on their laurels and who perceive the successes of the present as the biggest challenge for the future. A walk up Montpelier Street is a sad but vital journey.
Get Innovated, Get Branded!
Talk to us @: DiamondStar Int'l PR Company Ltd
+2348060037277, +2348059035403
diamondstarint@hotmail.co.uk
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