Category News

December 28, 2013,  Consumer behaviour, Essential Law for Marketers, Guru in a Bottle, Legal update, News, Sales practice  No comments

Indian consumers could soon be shopping in hypermarkets partly owned and managed by Western retailers as a result of the relaxation in Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) regulations see a surge of business interest and investment from European brand owners in 2014.

For example, it’s just been announced that British supermarket chain Tesco is the first international retailer to have its plan to invest USD 10m (GBP 67m) approved by India’s Commerce and Trade Ministry. The deal paves the way for Tesco in partnership with a Tata subsidiary to open multi-brand stores across India by taking a 50% stake in Trent Hypermarkets, which in turn operates Star Bazaar stores in the sta...

December 26, 2013,  Essential Law for Marketers, Guru in a Bottle, Marketing practice, News, Public Relations practice  No comments

Given the tendency for over-indulgence during the Festive Season it’s not surprising that some brand owners of diet plans, slimming and low fat products will think their Christmases have all come at once in the New Year as millions of us try to shake off the excesses of eating and drinking by trying to lose some weight!

Marketers may be tempted to do what Flora pro. activ (owned by Unilever) did a few years’ ago in the UK by inviting a national journalist to ‘fight the flab’ and exercise alongside a calorie controlled diet and keep a daily record of her progress.

This may sound like a great way to connect with consumers who may feel they need some encouragement to do ...

December 22, 2013,  News, Sales practice, The Art of Influencing and Selling  No comments

With just two more shopping days to go before Christmas Day, there’s evidence that the UK’s high street retailers are in panic mode over generating sales as nearly 75% are holding sales or promotions in a last-ditch attempt to attract shoppers.

The average discounts rose to 46% compared with 42% last week and 44% in the same week last year, according to the accountancy firm PwC.

Today, Marks & Spencer is planning to extend 30% discounts across all its non-food product lines and has already introduced 30% reductions on its knitwear as well as beauty items, nightwear and Per Una clothing range...

December 19, 2013,  Events, Guru in a Bottle, High Impact Marketing that Gets Results, Marketing practice, News, Social marketing practice  2 comments

Wherever you happen to live and work in the world, one thing is clear.

The outlook for 2014 is uncertain. But that shouldn’t dampen any attempt to see what the future holds for most of us next year, which is now only a few weeks’ away.

It’s easy to spot the negatives for our working future: technology has led to a world of ever-growing fragmentation where billions of people connected across the world are continuously bombarded with requests; a future where the virtual nature of nascent technology will leave many deeply isolated and craving physical relationships; a future where globalisation has created a dividing line between winners and losers; a world where the undercl...

December 18, 2013,  News, Public Relations practice  No comments

There can be few ironies in life compared with the following story.

As a film maker in my spare time, I realise that the best laid plans can often go awry thanks to the tendency of real life events to play out in unpredictable and surprising ways.

This is exactly what happened to Oscar-winning film maker Alex Gibney when earlier this year it looked as if his world had fallen apart.

You see, Gibney was in the middle of making a documentary film, narrated by Hollywood ‘A-list’ Matt Damon, about the seven- times Tour de France winner Lance Armstrong and his triumphant battle against cancer to reach the pinnacle of his sport.

Except of course it was all a big lie as Armstrong...

December 14, 2013,  Essential Law for Marketers, Legal update, News  3 comments

Many marketers are ill-prepared for the impact of a raft of new regulations that will severely curtail their direct marketing (DM) activities in 2014.

Recently, the UK’s Information Commissioner’s Office signalled changes that marketers must implement NOW within business to consumer (B2C) marketing in order to stay within the law and these include:

• where consent is obtained from the customer to receive DM, separate opt-in consent must also be gathered in order to send DM messages on each and every other marketing channel;
• a higher burden of proof of customer consent is now required to be shown by marketers, irrespective of whether the marketing channel is telephone, mo...

December 13, 2013,  News, Social marketing practice, The Art of Influencing and Selling  No comments

According to a new report by regulator Ofcom, UK shoppers topped the list of those that spend comparatively more money shopping online compared with consumers in other countries.

The International Communications Market Report compared the availability, take-up and use of services in the UK and 16 other countries and analysed the responses of over 9,000 consumers across nine countries.

Researchers found that the UK had the highest per capita spend online in 2012, at £1,175, which was up 16% year on year. It was also 35% more than Australia, the second highest country of the eight considered on this metric, and 77% more than the US in third place.

UK consumers were spending ...

December 7, 2013,  News  No comments

A new report by global accountants Ernst & Young (E&Y) shows India as the most attractive investment destination ahead of China. Researchers point to a number of factors including the recent slew of reforms that resulted in the relaxation of foreign direct investment (FDI) rules that has contributed to a boost in global investor sentiment.

“With sharp currency depreciation and opening up of FDI in various sectors, India has become an attractive destination for foreign investors,” say the report’s authors.

As a result of macro-economic pressures and heavy debt pile, several Indian companies are looking to divest non-core businesses and this has created a large opportunity ...

December 6, 2013,  News  No comments

Hard on the heels of the Chancellor’s Autumn Statement comes some welcome news!

Brand Britain is now worth USD 2.3 trillion (GBP 1.4 trillion) to become the world’s fourth most-valuable nation brand, having pushed Japan into fifth place according to new research by Brand Finance, a leading brand valuation consultancy that’s just published the 2013 edition of its Nation Brands report.

Using an analysis more usually applied to companies, the report provides a comprehensive look at the world’s leading nation brands and the impact that a country’s reputation and image has on governments, investors, students and consumers.

The top 10 most valuable nation brands in the world (2...

December 6, 2013,  News  No comments

The European Commission has launched a public consultation as part of its ongoing efforts to review and modernise EU copyright rules.

The consultation invites stakeholders to share their views on areas including:

• territoriality in the Single Market
• harmonisation
• limitations and exceptions to copyright in the digital age
• fragmentation of the EU copyright market
• how to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of enforcement while underpinning its legitimacy in the wider context of copyright reform.

Contributions are sought from consumers, users, authors, performers, publishers, producers, broadcasters, intermediaries, distributors and other service providers, collective mana...