Monthly Archives May 2014

May 13, 2014,  Brand marketing, Thought Leadership  No comments

Strange, but true…

Unilever will continue to use the peace logo in promotions for its new Lynx fragrance but is making an undisclosed donation to the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament (CND) after the protest group slammed its “callous” use of the iconic symbol.

The FMCG company said the “universally recognised symbol of peace” is a key part of its bid to raise awareness of peace globally, which forms part of the marketing campaign for its new “Peace” sub brand.

The campaign, which has seen 70ft peace signs tagged on various landmarks across the capital, was slammed by CND as being a “disingenuous”...

May 12, 2014,  Guru in a Bottle  One comment

England fans won’t be disappointed after pubs have been granted extended licensing to stay open when England is playing in the FIFA World Cup Brazil 2014 tournament that kicks off on 12 June.

Earlier this year, the British Beer and Pub Association that represents pub landlords in England had unsuccessfully tried to get the Home Office to extend licensing hours on a national basis in the same way pubs stayed open later for the Royal Wedding and Diamond Jubilee. The Government have the power to relax licensing hours for occasions of “exceptional international, national or local significance.”

But Home Office minister Norman Baker was unmoved as he didn’t consider the...

May 3, 2014,  Essential Law for Marketers, Guru in a Bottle, Legal update  One comment

Every organisation needs to address data protection, confidentiality, data security, data breaches and freedom of information as part of their compliance and risk management policies and procedures. UK-based companies face a major shake-up in how they conduct consumer sales and marketing activities over the next 12-months in the wake of a raft of new laws and regulations emanating from the UK and the European Union (EU).

With a close focus being taken by UK and European legislators on the individual’s right to privacy, marketers face one of the toughest marketing regulatory regimes in the world.

Keeping up-to-date with a torrent of guidance from the Information Commissione...

May 3, 2014,  Events, Guru in a Bottle, Public Relations practice  No comments

No, this isn’t a crossword conundrum or trick question but in fact the essence of the debate I chaired on Thursday 1 May at the offices of BNY Mellon ahead of the PRCA’s PR Council Meeting.

Like most things in life, there are at least two sides to every story – whether it’s the forthcoming EU General Data Protection Regulation that threatens to obliterate the freedom of marketers to track behaviour of consumers or the ethics of sponsoring education content in the classroom.

You can be sure that whenever you get two marketers in the room, you’ll have at least three points of view.

So when it comes to ‘content marketing’… well, you can bet there’s as many views on the ...

May 1, 2014,  Consumer behaviour, Guru in a Bottle, Social marketing practice  No comments

Seven days a week, 24 hours a day, hundreds of millions of consumers around the world cross national borders without a second thought – and often without realising that they’ve done anything unusual. This community scours the web for the ideas, products and relationships that they might not be able to find easily – if at all – where they live.

This borderless community makes up a virtual “Eighth Continent” that’s rapidly accelerating beyond 1bn inhabitants. And it exists wherever a PC/tablet, desktop, mobile phone or TV set top box hooks to the web...