Sustainable Stock Exchanges Break Cover
October 20, 2010
The other day I was watching The Simpsons … I blame it on the kids, but thankfully they don’t always understand the bits I chuckle at.
Anyhow, the episode in question was “My Fair Laddy”, a wonderful rip of My Fair Lady complete with parodies which you feel ought to be violating copyright somewhere along the line.
For example, the elocution lesson: “The Snot .. From My Nose .. Shouldn’t Fall .. Upon My Clothes”. I know it’s a long way from Spain, but lets not get into a debate on elongated vowels here!
Now, a few weeks ago I read something (I forget what) about Aviva Investors agitating strongly for increased responsibility within companies. I think I reread it several times, just to make sure I’d understood correctly, looked genuinely surprised and made a mental note to look out for Aviva in the future.
Lo and behold, up they pop again, pressing for stockmarkets to include ESG criteria in their listing rules. Did you just reread that sentence? I know I reread the article several times, remembered to close my mouth and thought “well this I gotta see!”
11 Months Left for the Oprah Effect
October 19, 2010
In November 2009, Oprah Winfrey announced that after 25 years she would be leaving the Oprah Winfrey Show behind on September 9, 2011. At the time, I wrote a blog post wondering who Oprah’s successor would be. I wrote:
Who can fill Oprah’s shoes? Who can step up to the plate and build a similar brand position? Let’s face it. Oprah Winfrey’s power and influence transcended the afternoon talk show circuit. She became a global influencer of everything from the beef industry to publishing, entertainment, and many areas in between.
There are just 11 months left until the Oprah Winfrey Show closes its doors, which would lead one to think there are only 11 months left for businesses, entertainers and individuals to benefit from the Oprah Effect — the guaranteed brand awareness and buzz that comes from an appearance on the Oprah Winfrey Show or even a simple mention by Oprah herself. Thousands of brands, companies, and people have witnessed the Oprah Effect in action with little-known writers turning into best-selling authors and small entrepreneurs watching their businesses grow beyond their wildest dreams after a single mention by Oprah.
So who will take Oprah Winfrey’s shoes in September 2011? Will there be another person capable of providing publicity, word-of-mouth marketing, and brand-building comparable to the Oprah Effect?
It’s an interesting concept to consider. When Oprah speaks on her talk show, there is a large segment of the consumer population that listens, and many of those people are the primary purchase decision-makers for their homes. Who will that audience turn to in Oprah Winfrey’s absence? And how can your business and brand get on that influencer’s radar screen?
What do you think? Is there another influencer that captures the same audience and has a similar effect on that audience’s perceptions? Has there been another person in history with the same type of reach and influence as Oprah Winfrey has garnered over the past 25 years?
Furthermore, the Oprah Winfrey brand itself is extremely powerful. It’s interesting to hypothesize about what’s next for the Oprah brand just as much as it is to wonder who the next big influencer will be. Leave a comment and share your thoughts on the Oprah Effect and successors to the Oprah Winfrey brand.
Image: Flickr
Shell’s Scenarios and Risk Management
October 18, 2010
In a recent post I reviewed Black Swans and mentioned that I would have a posting about Shell Oil’s use of scenarios to identify future risks and opportunities.
First, what are scenarios?
Scenarios are pictures of possible futures facing an organization. They are developed via an amalgam of perceived trends and intelligence on possible actions of stakeholders. External factors such as economics, competition and market conditions are considered. Quantitative and qualitative tools such as econometrics/ statistical forecasts, Delphi technique, and surveys may be used. The results of all analyses are organized into comprehensive pictures of a number of possible futures. Shell pioneered this technique in the early 1970s and they still use it.
The Scenario page is nestled in the About Us/Strategy section. The main page offers much useful information — definitions, videos and a link to current scenarios — and great use of visuals and a slide-out menu of links to related information.
Access to scenarios in future decades is viewed by simply clicking on the year. In the upper right, see Blueprints: clicking on the + icons provides additional information about the scenario.
Deloitte (PDF) offer some useful advice on Scenarios and Corporate Governance –
Why do scenario planning?
The Risk Intelligent Enterprise utilizes risk information to influence strategic planning in three key ways:
- Risks are identified and analyzed when considering strategic alternatives and developing business/organizational strategy
- Risks of the strategy
- Risk appetite serves as a guidepost in setting strategy and allocating resources.
- Once business/organizational strategy has been selected, risks that might affect the organization’s ability to implement key strategies are identified and managed
- Risks to the strategy
Common risk management challenges include:
- Failure of modern risk management
- Information filtering
- Mental models
Desired results may include:
Better understanding of risk
- to the strategy
- of the strategy
Shared commitment and approach to:
- manage key risks to within risk appetite
- exploit risks where the organization has a strategic advantage
Want to know more? Here are some additional worthy resources–
The use and abuse of scenarios McKinsey Consultants
Why Scenarios? Global Business Network
Summary Post October 17, 2010
October 17, 2010
- Mixing Oil and Water
We all have a water footprint; some of us have larger ones than others. (You can assess your personal water footprint here)
Companies also have water footprints, and this will vary across sector: if you’re a services provider, then your footprint will inevitably be smaller than if you use water as part of your operational processes. [...] - Alphabetical Order: More about the Candidate Experience
As noted in the previous post about candidate experience, Peter DeVries offers some interesting suggestions about talent technology in his post on Overcomplicating the Candidate Experience.
Highlights:
Problem 1: “You have a compelling story to share with candidates, but based on the current paradigm with ATS (Applicant Tracking System) providers, you lose much of your ability [...] - Research Shows Advertising Creative is More Important than Media Buy
New research from comScore ARS Group provides a new vision of the marketing budget with creative positioned to take a bigger chunk of the upfront investment in advertising than media placement. The question is whether or not companies will actually take the research to heart and apply it to their own marketing strategies and budgets.
Let’s [...] - Goodbye New Gap Logo – Welcome Back Old Gap Logo
Last week, I published a post here on Corporate Eye about the debate over the new Gap logo. This week, Gap is taking a new step to put out the controversial fire that the new logo started. Exactly one week after the new logo debuted on the Gap website, the company announced that the old [...]
- Green advertising: Feeling the pressure 1/2
An interesting sea change has caught my eye over the past 12 months : the stricter regulation of green advertising.
Eight months ago we reported how Denmark was introducing tough measures to stamp out greenwashing. The announcement said:
Environmental or ethical claims in marketing should therefore be correct and precise and exaggerations as to the [...]
JetBlue Differentiates Brand with YouTube Videos
October 16, 2010
In a clever attempt to differentiate its brand from other airline brands, JetBlue turned to YouTube and launched a series of videos that call attention to the common airline policies that anger consumers. Each video uses a hidden camera to capture consumers’ reactions to airline policies applied to other aspects of daily life.
For example, a New York City taxi driver reclines his seat and explains the legroom policy in his cab to paying passengers or he tells passengers that they’re required to pay a $25 baggage check fee to carry luggage in the trunk of the taxi. Other videos show an elevator ride destined to stop on every floor because it’s not a “non-stop” trip and a New York City street vendor pouring drinks into airline-sized disposable cups for customers rather than handing over the entire can.
As you can imagine, the reactions of New York City patrons are honest and amusing, and they perfectly support JetBlue’s message: “You wouldn’t take it on the ground. Don’t take it in the air.”
The videos work for one simple reason, JetBlue does offer more legroom, first checked bags are free, and you get the full can of Coke and a free snack no matter where you sit. In other words, JetBlue offers tangible differentiators and clearly demonstrates why consumers shouldn’t settle for less.
The YouTube videos are just one part of a larger marketing push JetBlue is launching in target cities across the United States, which will include online, mobile, offline, ambient, and in-flight initiatives. In other words, this is a well-strategized, fully-integrated marketing campaign.
You can view some of the JetBlue video montages below and check out all of the videos on the JetBlue YouTube channel within the Ground Rules playlist (which is great use of a playlist on YouTube, I might add!).
Glass Half Full Montage
Cab Jam Montage
Taken for a Ride Montage
The Local
What do you think of this effort by JetBlue? I like it, but I’d like to see even more social media efforts supporting the campaign which could carry the entire campaign to the next level of success over time. Leave a comment and share your thoughts.
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