In brands we trust

Trust in brands is declining. The number of brands that consumers say they trust halved between 2001 and 2010, according to Y&R’s Brand Asset Valuator. Yet trust is critical to building brand equity and deeper engagement with consumers.

Can brands really expect loyalty anymore?

This was the question posed to a panel during a gathering of marketers at The Hospital Club earlier this month. Panellists and participants represented a broad spectrum of sectors from technology to energy and healthcare.

What keeps a content marketer awake at night?

The topic under review was content marketing and the marketers were drawn from a broad spectrum of sectors (fast-moving consumer goods to energy, technology, professional services and financial services).

The future is creative

The creative industries are fast becoming the darlings of the political and economic world, and not a moment too soon. For decades the UK has been viewed as a hub of creative excellence by those in the industry, with agencies and brands alike brimming with marketing and advertising innovations.

Embracing the digital challenge

As in other industries, an important driver of change in media and entertainment is the rapid growth of emerging markets. In terms of total media spend, the USremains the world's largest market by far with, according to PwC, a total spend in 2010 of over $443 billion.

Building a community of customers

Castorama, a French home-improvement chain owned by Kingfisher, has devised an innovative way of allowing its customers to benefit from each other’s expertise. Les Trocs'heures is a free website that allows customers to swap their DIY expertise (troc is French for barter or swap).

Don’t think

I’m lucky enough to see inside lots of marketing organisations – big and small, here and overseas – and one of the things that strikes me most in the conversations I have is the degree to which marketers continue to misunderstand their audiences.

Customer experience: when the numbers lie

Post financial crisis, a major US bank was rapidly losing customers. The numbers suggested that the solution laid in selling customers multiple products. A customer who only had a checking account, the data suggested, were significantly more likely to change banks than a customer that had a checking account, a credit card and a mortgage.

Redefining value

It’s a fairly common assumption that in a recession, marketing budgets are the first to go. And yet Nielsen’s quarterly AdView Pulse report released this week reveals that global advertising spend increased by 3.1% in the first quarter of 2012 (Europe though was the only region to see it decrease).

Tell the truth

It’s much easier to talk about engagement, conversation, and all the activities that brands spend billions annually to deliver. But doing so without addressing the basic human need for truth is like opening a beautiful new restaurant and neglecting to stock the kitchen. Or hanging an art museum full of empty frames. Or building bridges and roads to nowhere. It’s all process without meaning.

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