>Most companies now provide some information about the experience of a few of their staff, to try to give potential recruits an idea of what life might be like. HSBC have added a widget to the sidebar of these pages showing where this individual has worked.
This is a neat way of demonstrating that working internationally is a genuine possibility.
One of the biggest challenges that marketers face today is securing adequate budgets to drive real results in the digital space. However, there is more to this problem than budgets. The problems actually start at the top with corporate boards who don’t understand digital marketing in 2014. As a result, companies are making the wrong investments and marketing departments continue to struggle.
For marketing results to improve in the future, corporate boards must understand the following three things about digital marketing and branding.
Digital marketing changes rapidly. What worked a few years ago doesn’t work as well today (or at all). However, marketers aren’t given the training that they need to stay on top of this fast-paced discipline. An investment in ongoing digital marketing training for all marketers is essential and will give the company a significant competitive advantage.
Rather than simply increasing the training budget, it may be possible to shift training spending. For example, corporate boards should review current training programs to determine if some are outdated. This is a very real possibility in the marketing department. Training programs developed five years ago are almost certainly outdated and very likely to be irrelevant today.
Think of it this way—what worked in Facebook marketing last month has already changed (which is true since Facebook changed the layout of business Pages this month). The number one thing that board members need to understand is the critical importance of investing in the company’s human capital in order to improve digital marketing results and maximize returns on digital marketing investments.
Most board members still view digital as a source of worry first and a source of opportunity second (or third or fourth or even lower). They’re biggest concern is how the digital environment can put the brand at risk. As a result, the opportunity that digital presents can never be fully realized. Until board members accept the fact that you can’t stop consumers’ shift to digital for shopping, communicating, sharing, and just about every other part of life, those missed opportunities will continue.
Digital isn’t just about marketing, and boards need to understand that the value of digital extends beyond direct marketing. The opportunities to leverage digital to improve customer experiences and the overall user experience with the brand are numerous and should be prioritized.
Not only can the marketing department develop better brand experiences through promotions and content, but all functional areas of the business can leverage digital for improved customer experiences. For example, online, real-time customer service offered directly on the brand’s website as well as through social media can yield significant increases in customer satisfaction and positive word-of-mouth marketing.
Does your corporate board of directors fully understand digital marketing and branding yet? Have they taken the right steps to exploit the digital opportunity by understanding these three critical things? Leave a comment and share your experiences.
Image: Jennifer Lee licensed CC BY 2.0
Within four years, internet advertising will surpass television advertising to become the largest advertising segment globally. That news comes from PWC’s Global Entertainment and Media Outlook 2014-2018.
By 2018, internet advertising revenue is expected to hit $194.5 billion. Paid search advertising will hold the majority of the internet advertising market share, but the most growth will happen in online video advertising. Furthermore, online television advertising revenue from traditional broadcasters will nearly triple from $2.7 billion last year to $9.7 billion in 2018. In fact, online television advertising’s share of total television advertising revenue will double in the next five years.
Another segment that will lose its dominance in global advertising revenue is classifieds. In 2014, mobile advertising will surpass classified advertising.
The PWC report provides global results as well as results for specific regions of the world, including the United Kingdom. Already, the U.K. is the largest internet advertising market in Europe and the third largest in the world (behind the United States and China). By 2018, internet advertising will be the dominant advertising segment in the U.K.. Online video advertising will be the fastest growing type of advertising, followed by mobile advertising. In fact, it is predicted that mobile advertising will surpass online display advertising in 2014.
According to the analysis, U.K. consumers will drive online advertising through their changing behaviors, habits, and preferences. By 2018, it is expected that 50% of the U.K. population will own a tablet and 73% will own a smartphone. Also in 2018, 88.9% of the U.K. population will subscribe to the mobile internet, and 15.5 billion apps will be downloaded.
The shift to digital expands beyond traditional internet and mobile advertising. PWC predicts that ebooks will outsell print books by 2018 with a 21.3% growth rate. Furthermore, digital out-of-home advertising will surpass physical out-of-home advertising this year!
You can follow the link at the beginning of this article to read more from the 15th annual report from PWC. This year, the report provides forecasts for 13 media and entertainment segments in 54 different countries around the world. You’ll see a great deal of consistency from one country or region to another in terms of revenues shifting from television, radio, and magazine advertising to online and mobile.
What do you think of PWC’s predictions? Share your thoughts on the future of advertising in the comments below.
Image: espensorvik licensed CC BY 2.0
Coca-Cola Life will be released in the U.K. in September of this year. This is the first new product release for Coca-Cola in the U.K. in eight years. The last big release was Coke Zero, which debuted in 2006 and was targeted to men seeking a no-calorie alternative to regular Coca-Cola.
Coca-Cola Life will come in a green can, unlike other Coca-Cola and Coke branded products that have featured the Coca-Cola red in some way on all packaging. However, the iconic Coca-Cola logo will be prominently displayed on the Coca-Cola Life label.
Coca-Cola Life is a “middle of the road” option for people who want to reduce their calorie consumption. At 89 calories per 330 ml can, Coca-Cola Life is significantly fewer calories than regular Coca-Cola.
Rebecca Smithers of The Guardian reports that the company is marketing Coca-Cola life not only as a lower calorie alternative to its flagship product but also as a “natural” alternative because Coca-Cola Life is sweetened with a combination of sugar and stevia rather than artificial sweeteners. Stevia sweetener comes from a South American leaf, and it was approved for use in foods in Europe in 2011. It’s already used in a variety of products in the U.K., including Coca-Cola’s Sprite.
Coca-Cola is also promoting Coca-Cola Life as its first new product in support of the U.K. Government’s Responsibility Deal to which the company committed to reducing the average calorie count per liter in its beverage products by 5% by the end of this year. However, health advocacy groups argue that Coca-Cola Life still contains too much sugar (more than four teaspoons of sugar are in one 330ml can of Coca-Cola Life, equal to one-quarter of a child’s recommended daily amount).
Interestingly, the Coca-Cola company reports that more than 40% of the Coca-Cola products that it sells in the U.K. are no-calorie products. In total, the company sells 100 products in the U.K. (21 brands).
We’ll have to wait and see how consumers react to Coca-Cola Life. What do you think? Good brand extension or not?
Will you buy Coca-Cola Life?
Last month, I shared the results of the 2014 BrandZ Top 100 Most Valuable Brands ranking and the big news everyone was talking about was the fact that Google ousted Apple from the top spot. Apple stole the number one ranking from Google in 2011, but in 2014, Google took it back. Today, Google’s brand value is estimated at $158 billion, which is an increase of 40% over its 2013 value. On the other hand, Apple’s brand value in 2014 is $148 billion, which is a decrease of 20% from 2014.
What happened? How did Google’s brand value increase by 30% in one year while Apple’s brand value plummeted by 20%?
Those are two questions that Finances Online and Ruby Media Corporation try to answer in their new infographic (shown below). They offer five reasons why Google is on the rise and Apple is on the decline. Here is an overview of their analysis with my thoughts added in:
According to the analysis in the infographic, consumers are excited about Google which launches products more frequently by enticing consumers and building excitement with series of beta launches before a completed product is fully launched.
This is actually a form of perpetual marketing that can be very effective. Each time Google makes a small tweak to a product and announces a new version, there is inevitable buzz about it online. In contrast, Apple holds its product development close to the vest and launches with a bang. Both strategies can work, but it appears that Google’s is working better in 2014.
Google pursues a broad differentiation strategy with products that surround consumers with Google branded experiences. As the infographic points out, Google has mobile products, wearable products, cloud-based products, productivity tools, and even driverless cars! On the other hand, Apple is far more focused in its brand strategy. Again, both strategies can work, but Google is dominating today.
As the infographic explains, Google’s corporate culture focuses on a team of creative and innovative people working together to organize the world’s data and launch products that make life easier. Apple is in a state of flux. It’s brand and strategy were so closely tied to Steve Jobs in consumers’ minds that there is a great deal of brand confusion now.
As the infographic says, “Google is the master of crowdsourcing, involving users to perfect the product. Apple works on secret labs and wants to surprise the crowd.” As discussed in #1 above, Google’s strategy has gained favor with consumers over the past year, and Apple is feeling the effects.
As I always say, once you set consumer expectations for your brand, you must meet them in every customer interaction. If you don’t, consumers will become frustrated, disappointed, and confused, and they’ll turn away from your brand in search of one that does meet their expectations in every interaction. As the infographic rightly says, “With each product launch, consumers expect Apple to redefine a category in the magnitude of iPod/iTunes, iPhone and iPad. Anything less is mediocre.”
What do you think are the primary reasons Google ousted Apple as the most valuable brand in 2014? Share your thoughts in the comments below.
Comparison by Emily Bead
Image: Keng Susumpow licensed CC BY-2.0
GE have highlighted the total number of years that the 18 GE board members have served their shareholders: 140 years. This is paralleled by the emphasis on the page about their CEO having served as Chairman since Sept 7 2001.
These are impressively long periods of service, and including these figures can help to demonstrate the depth of experience and loyalty of the GE board members, assuming that all is going well. (Naturally there is a risk that the board may appear stale if the numbers grow too high).
