TheMarketingblog

Christmas Comes Early to UK:  Carlsberg announced plans to be the first major brewer in the United Kingdom to launch a Christmas beer. Following the tradition of Danish Julebrygs, limited release holiday beers, Carlsberg Christmas Beer will be a dark Continental-style lager. The beer will be 5.6 percent alcohol by volume and sold in cans.

 Next week.... If you've got some time next week and want a comprehensive briefing on online retailing and e-commerce, why not come along to E Commerce Expo. 19th and 20th October National Hall, Olympia London Doors open at 9:00am for breakfast briefings. With over 150 exhibiting companies and FREE access to the entire conference programme PLUS free access to the Google University, this is your one stop shop to make sure you win the battle for online sales. Register now for free entry

For any government or enterprise engaging with a wide range of stakeholders, Bob Dylan’s anthem of social change has never rung so true. Increasingly onerous legal and regulatory requirements, demand for personalised and on-demand interactions, multiple communication platforms and the pressure on costs have all combined to create a remarkably complex environment.  To keep on top of it all (attracting and retaining customers and keeping citizens informed) businesses and governments need the systems in place that allow them to efficiently and effectively engage in print, online and increasingly via mobile and social media platforms. They need to tailor their communications to individual need, respond rapidly and accurately track and reference what has been said and when.   http://www.thunderhead.com/home.php The changes that have taken place, led largely by the rapid advent of a ‘connected’ society, have exposed the weaknesses of the print-based communications platforms t...

http://www.atg.com/ European consumers are more frustrated by online customer service than they were a year ago, according to the results of the latest online shopping study conducted by ATG (Art Technology Group, Inc., NASDAQ: ARTG), the premier provider of cross-channel commerce solutions. The benchmark survey of 5,000 European consumers reveals that 43 per cent rate online service as just satisfactory or worse, a rise compared to last year’s figure of 25 per cent. The results also indicate that over half (51 per cent) of consumers find the most frustrating aspect of shopping online is the difficulty they have reaching retailers by phone or online chat to answer questions. The second most cited frustration was trouble completing orders at the checkout (23 per cent). When asked which sectors offered the best levels of online service, the results echoed those of last year with most (27 per cent) giving the highest ratings to the entertainment sector. Drilling down, the study ...

  Vodafone has awarded the delivery of its customer relationship management to WPP agency G2 United Kingdom , following a competitive pitch. The account includes Vodafone UK’s eCRM and CRM marketing communications across both its consumer and business-to-business categories. G2 will start in October 2010. G2 United Kingdom was appointed on the strength of its strategic skills and excellence in execution.  “G2 showed that they could help us deliver our short term objectives of improving our customer journey whilst providing a credible approach to our longer term strategy, in a cost effective manner,” said Danielle Crook, Brand Director, Vodafone UK.(pictured) Tim Hipperson, CEO, G2 United Kingdom adds: “G2 London’s strength lies in aligning customer knowledge, technology and strategic thinking to create impactful brand experiences for the customer. We are confident that our approach and expertise will deliver for Vodafone UK and we are thrilled to be in the position to do...

Marketing roadshow specialist Event Marketing Solutions (EMS) is celebrating its 10th birthday as it heads for record-breaking turnover and profitability in 2010. The company is set to break the £5m turnover barrier by year end. Despite the tough trading conditions of recent years, the niche provider has continued to attract new clients – including major corporate brands such as Sky. Pfizer, Dell, Infinera and Barclays - and expanded its services overseas. In the last 10 years, the company – which employs 42 staff – has taken its vehicle-based marketing roadshows to 28 countries in Europe, Middle East, Russia, Canada and the United States.

The Chartered Institute of Marketing (CIM) has announced that the deadline for entries for the Marketing Excellence Awards 2010 has been extended to Friday 15 October 2010 to allow for more entries registering fantastic marketing achievements from the past year. For the chance to be recognised at the marketing industry’s premier awards ceremony, marketers from across sectors can enter the CIM Marketing Excellence Awards by visiting www.cimawards.co.uk where there are 14 categories available: This year, to recognise those submitting an award entry, entrants will receive one year Affiliate status of the CIM if not already members, worth £145. Jon Fisher, director of events at The Chartered Institute of Marketing said; “The Marketing Excellence Awards are open to marketers from across the UK – no matter what sector or size of the organisation. Many marketers are doing a fantastic job for their organisations, particularly in this tough economic climate, and our Awards will help celeb...

Big six bosses to meet George Osborne and business secretary Vince Cable to discuss £500m financing plan   Chancellor George Osborne and business secretary Vince Cable are to meet bosses from the big six banks , including the bailed out royal Bank of Scotland and Lloyds Banking Group, to discuss a plan to set up a £500m fund to finance small business. Photograph: Lewis Whyld/PA A proposal by the big banks to set up a £500m fund to finance small business has come under fire as an inadequate response. The bosses of the big six banks are to meet business secretary Vince Cable and chancellor George Osborne on Wednesday to present their idea. The six banks – bailed-out Royal Bank of Scotland and Lloyds Banking Group along with Spanish-owned Santander, Barclays , HSBC and Standard Chartered – will each pledge to contribute £50m-£100m but will ask the government to match their contributions with taxpayers' cash. The bankers are aware that their proposals for fr...

 "It's a five star video worthy of any B2C TV campaign" Swisscom  :  Connectedhotel.tv Watch the new Bedtime Story from Swisscom . If you spend time in hotel bedrooms away from your family you have got to watch this. In fact it is so good everyone should enjoy it. Arndt Mielisch, Communication Manager at Swisscom Hospitality Services said they "wanted to break with tradition" when they created a new series of videos for their ConnectedHotel TV business. Denis Sheehan the publisher of Hospitality and Catering News and I were both struck by the fact that althrough the videos are intended for a B2B audience their quality is so good that they would more than grace a B2C situation. Denis commented " It's a five star video worthy of any B2C TV campaign". Arndt summed it up very well with this quote - "We wanted our new marketing to be different and this series was planned to have a human touch right up front - it works well".  He als...

http://youtu.be/hnDern3FY_c A woman like this is used to being stared at. She's used to walking down the street with all eyes upon her and everyone and everything reacting to her stunning beauty and oozing sexuality. But she's probably not used to a cat tearing her sweater off to reveal her sizable assets in a public market. Of course, possessing such perfection - and the right bra - she really doesn't mind the resulting attention unleashed breasts all but guarantee. In fact, it seems, she craves the attention and doesn't even bother to pull her sweater back on giving everyone plenty of time to ogle her ample assets. This is how we sell lingerie. This is why we love advertising.

http://www.thebioagency.com/#/work/freesat Free-to-air satellite TV service Freesat has re-launched its website as part of a new campaign (launched 2 nd October) to establish its unique catch-free proposition with consumers online, created by digital experts The BIO Agency. The new website delivers a vibrant and engaging new portal for consumers looking to find out about Freesat’s ‘no-catch’ proposition and interact with the brand online.  It supports Freesat’s refreshed approach and runs alongside the start of its biggest TV campaign to date, devised as part of its march towards two million sales. The new site includes a real time TV guide and intuitive tiered navigation, all wrapped up in a refreshed and original look and feel.  In addition, the site will promote linked campaigns on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube, which are set to carry the no-catch story far and wide.  Will Abbott, Freesat Marketing and Communications Director, said, “Our new website is far mo...

The new Marketingblog social media marketing plan is inexpensive and incredibly responsive It has the ability to create (a) more conversations and (b) give you improved bottom line results October 2010 - March 2011 Click to view larg) Download this gallery (ZIP, undefined KB) http://bit.ly/cAYi38 Contact Will Corry of theMarketingblog 01784 434 412 if you want the right kind of extra social media coverage plus email marketing, plus personalisation, plus great Google positioning from October right through to end of March 2011. We create the very best quality, result driven stories for your company which can be published in theMarketingblog www.themarketingblog.co.uk . We then use our new 'Spreadability Thrust' plan to get massive coverage using these stories in LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter. Contact Will Corry 01784 434 412. It's like getting the use of a well tested, quality names base of over 65,000 UK marketing decision makers and influenc...

Web-based consumer researcher BuzzBack http://www.buzzback.com/   has rolled out an online concept analysis tool, through which respondents can highlight those areas of a product idea, advert, package or web site that are meaningful to them, rather than selecting from a list of predefined options. The firm says its new ‘Concept Focus’ tool has been developed to offer new ways to dissect an idea. Respondents are presented with an online stimulus as part of a larger survey. Using the custom toolbars, they can record their reactions to the stimulus (likes, dislikes, etc) – with up to 25 available tools; each of which can be linked to an immediate comment box. Concept Focus has its own proprietary reporting environment. Questions can be tailored to meet client requirements, and all features are fully customizable, and because the tool can pinpoint specific elements of a stimulus, it can provide detailed context to individual responses. BuzzBack says this enables rese...

Michelle Williams transformed into an icon, Marilyn Monroe, on the set of her new biopic My Week With Marilyn in Berkshire  today. The studio just released the first promo picture of Michelle in character as well, and she already perfectly embodies the blond bombshell. Naomi Watts is also set to play Monroe in an upcoming movie, though most of you are more excited to see Michelle take on the role . Michelle's been preparing for this project, which meant Ryan Gosling had to take the Blue Valentine premiere at the Toronto Film Festival without her. The first official trailer for that movie finally came out today , though unfortunately it's going to have to battle the NC-17 rating just slapped on it by the MPAA.

Crisps giant chips in with plan to recycle potato peeling to create new packets Recycled potato peelings could be used to create crisp packets within 18 months, the UK's largest crisp manufacturer said today. Richard Evans, president of PepsiCo UK and Ireland, which owns Walkers, said the company is looking at a number of ways of making more environmentally friendly packets for crisps. The development of crisp bags made out of cellulose from wood pulp had created 'crackly' bags that would potentially put off consumers but the company is looking at using old peelings for packaging. Snack man: Gary Lineker has starred in TV adverts for Walkers crisps since the late 1990s. Walkers' owner PepsiCo is planning to use recycled potato peelings to create crisp packets Mr Evans told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: 'More interestingly, imagine making a crisp packet out of potato peelings. 'In reality, if you think about starch - and you know how sticky star...

South Africa Tourism has brought in Publicasity to handle the country's consumer and trade PR and build on South Africa's high profile following the 2010 FIFA World Cup . South Africa: Publicasity wins consumer and trade account The agency picked up the three-year UK and Ireland account from incumbent FD following a competitive pitch. Publicasity will report into Lebohang Mokhesi, UK country manager, South Africa Tourism. Mokhesi said: ‘The 2010 FIFA World Cup raised awareness of South Africa to a very high level, however the task for Publicasity is to build on the legacy of the tournament and turn awareness into greater understanding and a positive desire to visit the country.’ The agency has been charged with increasing overall tourist numbers, length of stay and overall spend as well as increasing the provincial spread of tourism across the whole of South Africa.   http://bit.ly/aeMzym

obliviousunction : When nine-year-old Beatrice Delap wanted to organise a mutiny against her teachers, she knew who to call on. And it took just one letter to enlist the aid of the world’s most famous pirate: Captain Jack Sparrow. With only 10 minutes warning, Johnny Depp arrived at Meridian primary school, Greenwich, in full high-seas regalia with four other cast members. Beatrice sent her appeal when she found out he was filming the latest instalment of Pirates Of The Caribbean at the Old Royal Naval College nearby. The letter said: “Captain Jack Sparrow, at Meridian primary school we are a bunch of budding young pirates. Normally we’re a right handful but we’re having trouble mutinying against the teachers. “We’d love it if you could come and help. From Beatrice Delap, aged nine, a budding pirate.” Depp strode into the school hall, brandished the letter and called her to the front. She said: “It was the most exciting school day ever. I had the idea to write the let...

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http://www.marketinguk.co.uk/BtoC/3sixteen-Launches-Damage-Therapy-Range-for-Dove.asp The Dove Hair Care Team has appointed 3sixteen to launch its range of superior damage and hair care solutions with an innovative promotional marketing campaign. The agency has been briefed to create a bespoke sampling and educational campaign running across the largest UK shopping centres throughout October The campaign, which is targeted at 20-40 year old women, will focus on the science behind the range. Specially trained Dove Hair consultants will be offering consumers a focussed consultation to evaluate their personal level of hair damage. The sampling campaign will also support the UK debut of the ‘Dove Hair Profiler’, a digital application allowing each consumer to discover their very own hair damage score and the best Dove Damage Therapy product for their very own needs. The ‘Dove Hair Profiler’ will work alongside the Dove hair consultants who will be providing advice on h...

Call Will Corry on 01784 434 412 Have you organised 'result driven' social media marketing for your company  http://ping.fm/UHdR7

Integrating Mobile Into Your  Multichannel Strategy Steve Wind-Mozley, Ecommerce Director, Game Group, Rod Anthony, eCommerce R&D Manager, Aurora Fashions, Giles Delafeld, E-Commerce Director, Blacks Leisure Group plc and Fergus Boyd, Acting Head of eBusiness , Virgin Atlantic Airways will provide the answers at The Retail Bulletin's Multi Channel Summit 2011. The event, sponsored by K3, will answer these burning questions: •What proportion of retail sales will take place through mobile devices in the next 3 years? •Will mobile shopping be undertaken mainly by younger shoppers? •What are most engaging ways of marketing to customers through mobile devices? •What can we expect from mobile vouchers in the next 2 years? •How much of a threat is in-store barcode scanning to retail stores? •Which technological advancements need to take place to maximise the mobile retailing opportunity? •How can we approach security with mobile device payment? •How important is ...

Social media marketing is inexpensive, incredibly responsive, and has the ability to develop brand champions more than any other form of marketing More about this opportunity http://bit.ly/c31Jmc We at purple penguin create quality stories for your company which can be published in theMarketingblog www.themarketingblog.co.uk to suit your marketing objectives. It's like getting the use of a well tested, result driven data base of over 65,000 UK marketing decision makers and influencers for your success story. It's unique and it's available at no charge when you trial the 'Streets of Ambitiousness' plan for theMarketingblog www.themarketingblog.co.uk Simple and Cost Effective Social Media Management We can also load these articles into Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter sites in order to get the maximum Google and viral effect. From this thrust you will (a) get more fodder for your data base plus (b) a strong sales opportunity to get more new busi...

  Today saw the publication of Heavenly's congratulations ad from the Welsh Assembly Government to Europe's Ryder Cup team.   The ad, which was produced within minutes of the final put by brand consultants Heavenly , appeared in The Telegraph, The Guardian and The Independent, and marked the successful culmination in Heavenly’s campaign to raise awareness of the event.  Speaking of the campaign, Heavenly’s Founder and CEO, Richard Sunderland, said “The Ryder Cup has really captured the imagination of the country and we are delighted that the Welsh Assembly Government chose us to help them promote it.  Our "Welcome to Montgomerieshire" campaign has been everywhere for the last ten days or so and seems to have become the tag-line that will long be associated with this Ryder Cup

  Spanish drinks giant Don Simon, is launching a new brand called 'Juice Out' into the UK market. The Juice Out brand, which has been created by integrated agency Life, is aimed at mums and children aged 4-11 and has been developed by Don Simon in response to growing consumer demand for healthy lunch box solutions. The new Juice Out chilled fruit juice range will come in three, artificial-free flavours including Tropical, Orange and Apple & Blackcurrant. Life was responsible for developing the unique Juice Out brand identity from scratch and all packaging design, which highlights the functionality of the brand alongside its fun credentials. In addition to a clear listing of natural fruit ingredients, the 200ml tetra packs feature 'fun facts' and imaginative designs highlighting three extreme and outlandish methods of squeezing juice, driving the notion that Don Simon will stop at nothing to get every last drop of juice out of their fruit!