Jonathon Bright

Ritson’s top 10 quotes from marketers who aren’t ‘dead white men’

Mark Ritson says he was “torn” after giving a talk outlining his 10 greatest marketing heroes of the past 150 years. Why? Because “perhaps inevitably and certainly unfortunately” the list was dominated by dead white men.

While he didn’t want to deny these great marketers or ignore the contribution they have made to the industry, he was also conscious they didn’t accurately reflect marketing as it is today.

“I faced a bit of a quandary with my heroes talk because while the historical list was male and white, the current army of marketers is much, much more diverse,” he says.

Read the full article in Marketing Week.
.

New Turner Classic Movies channel brand explores differing film tastes

New York-based design studio Sibling Rivalry has developed a new visual identity for US-television channel Turner Classic Movies, which seeks to interrogate differing film tastes.

Launched in the 1990s, Turner Classic Movies is a film-oriented television network operated by WarnerMedia. It has a reputation for showing a wide variety of films, and this was the focus of the new brand.

Read the full article in Design Week.
.

GDPR: How brands could benefit from ‘common-sense reforms’

The UK government’s proposals for data law reform could have positive implications for the use of cookies, clarity around legitimate interest and improving public trust in advertising.

After announcing its intentions for reform last week, the government has launched a consultation on its proposed changes to UK data regulations and privacy laws, which industry trade bodies believe could be beneficial for advertisers.

Read the full article in Marketing Week.

Interabang unveils stamp collection dedicated to Batman

The 12-stamp collection features the heroes and villains of the popular comic book series, and a supplementary mini sheet depicts the Justice League.

Interabang has unveiled a 12-stamp collection for Royal Mail which is dedicated to the heroes and villains of the Batman comic book series.

Read the full article in Design Week.

New campaign from charity Frontline19 highlights PTSD in frontline workers

An emotive film and print campaign aims to emphasise the long term effects that the pandemic has had on key workers, and how the public can show their support.

There have been many, many statistics thrown at the public during the pandemic. Yet while these numbers serve a useful purpose, one downside of so many stats is the risk that they become meaningless along the way.

Read the full article in Creative Review.

Inside Boots’ mission to create a ‘world class media agency’

The high street retailer is introducing an advertising offering for brands, spanning campaign planning, creative development and measurement, a move CMO Pete Markey describes as “central” to the Boots marketing strategy.

Boots says it wants to offer brands a “world class” media agency experience through the launch of its full-service advertising offer, Boots Media Group.

Read the full article in Marketing Week.

Parliamentary committee calls for creative industries “freelance commissioner”

A recommendation to improve equity is one of several set out in a new report from the All-Party Parliamentary Group for Creative Diversity.

The government should appoint a freelance commissioner if it is serious about promoting and supporting diversity in the creative industries, according to a new report.

Read the full article in Design Week.

Is there room for ethics in design?

The devil on the ad industry’s shoulder might still say that fast fashion and oil companies aren’t so bad, but some design studios are taking an ethical stand. But can ‘good’ clients and big business can ever live in harmony?

In 2008, when Tom Tapper co-founded his agency Nice and Serious, he and his partner Ben Meaker had a simple method for judging which clients were OK to work with – they’d simply ask themselves if they’d be embarrassed telling their friends about it in the pub.

Read the full article in Creative Review.

B&Q’s latest ad uses stop motion storytelling to show the benefits of DIY

The ad is the latest work from Uncommon for B&Q’s Build A Life campaign yet strikes a different tone to previous work in the series, which has featured bold posters and an ad showing footage of real people doing DIY on their homes. Titled Later Means Never, this spot, by contrast, takes more of a storytelling approach.

Read the full article and watch the ad in Creative Review.

Consumer confidence dips as ‘cost-of-living crisis’ looms

Consumer confidence has dropped due to concerns about rising tax, food and fuel prices, while the end of the furlough scheme means consumers are “slamming on the breaks” in anticipation of economic hardships.

Read the full article in Marketing Week.

Oatly, Arsenal, Christmas ads: Everything that matters this morning

Marketing Week start every week with some interesting bite sized news stories. What caught our eye in this one is Arsenal launching a rewards scheme. As football fans and Aston Villa season ticket holders we were amazed they didn’t have one already.

Oh yeah, and the ‘C’ word at the beginning of August….

Read the full article in Marketing Week.

Pentagram redesigns Sight and Sound film magazine “for our times”

‘Pentagram partner Marina Willer has redesigned Sight and Sound in an attempt to combine the magazine’s heritage with a digital outlook.

The new look is accompanied by a reworking of the title’s editorial content, such as a special archive section which explores features from the magazine’s 90-year history.

Sight and Sound was established in 1932 and is one of the UK’s oldest film publications. It is published by the British Film Institute (BFI).’

Read the full article in Design Week.

Streaming, programmatic, misinformation: 5 interesting stats to start your week

We found the stats around TV and streaming consumption really interesting:

‘Covid-19 restrictions brought about a surge in TV and streaming consumption, rising by 47 minutes to 5 hours 40 minutes per person per day in 2020, an increase of 16%.

The Media Nations Report by Ofcom finds viewership of subscription video-on-demand (SVoD) services such as Netflix and Amazon Prime Video almost doubled in 2020, to an estimated 1 hour 5 minutes per person per day.’

Check out the full piece in Marketing Week.

BrewDog’s new marketing boss launches first campaign following ‘Punks with Purpose’ scandal

‘BrewDog has unveiled a campaign to showcase its inclusivity and sustainability credentials as it looks to move on from the accusations of its “toxic” work culture

The ‘Beer For All’ campaign launched on 7 August with a TV advert taking centre stage. It shows people from all walks of life, with a voiceover suggesting “meat-eaters”, “tall people”, “fake listeners”, “shoplifters”, and even the “guy who almost certainly owns a snake” all drink BrewDog.’

Read the full article in Marketing Week.

The Trouble with Packaging

‘To the casual observer, plastic packaging is no less of a problem now than it was a decade ago – despite years of grim warnings about landfill sites, climate change and ocean pollution. A huge number of our everyday products still come in plastic containers, many of them single use and produced using virgin plastic.

Each year, the Break Free From Plastic movement martials an army of volunteers across the world to collect and document hundreds of thousands of pieces of plastic waste, and create a tally of which brands are contributing the most to the problem. In 2020, the report featured a stable of household names including Coca-Cola, PepsiCo, Nestle, Unilever and Mondelez, to name the leading five.’

Interesting article in Creative Review.

How much is the Reebok brand worth after being offloaded by Adidas?

‘After 15 years under Adidas ownership, the sportswear giant is close to selling off the Reebok brand – but at a loss. While Adidas has followed Nike on an upward trajectory over the past decade and a half, Reebok has struggled to match their growth momentum.

Adidas bought the brand in 2006 for €3.1bn (£2.6bn) as part of its effort to take on Nike, but now looks likely to sell the brand for €2.1bn (£1.8bn) to Authentic Brands Group early next year.’

Read the full article in Marketing Week.

Turner Duckworth “thoughtfully contemporises” Campbell’s Soup

‘Turner Duckworth has redesigned Campbell’s Soup for the first time in 50 years, with the aim of endearing the brand to new audiences.

Founded in 1869 by Joseph A. Campbell, Campbell’s Soup has been a mainstay in kitchen cupboards for more than 150 years. It has also been an unexpected feature for popular culture, rising to fame as a muse for artist Andy Warhol.’

This is a super article in Design Week.

Marketer CEOs beat finance CEOs on overall reputation, study finds

‘ CEOs with a marketing background have a better overall reputation than business leaders from nearly all other areas, including those with a background in finance, engineering and economics, according to new research.

Marketing CEOs have an overall reputation score of 8.32, according to the data from Brand Finance as part of its Top 100 Brand Guardians Index. This puts marketer CEOs ahead of those with a background in finance (8.21), engineering (8.19), computer science (7.89) and economics (7.80).’

Read the full article on the Marketing Week website.

UK’s top marketers back stricter regulations to prevent ‘bad apples’ from ‘souring’ consumer trust

‘Just a quarter (26%) of the UK’s top 50 marketing leaders believe current regulations are fit for purpose, while half support further marketing restrictions on high fat, salt and sugar foods, according to research by the Chartered Institute of Marketing (CIM).

The majority say they would back rules similar to those for cigarettes to restrict the marketing of potentially harmful goods and services. Since 2002, companies have been completely banned from promoting tobacco products to consumers across any media.’

Read the full article on the Marketing Week website.

Channel 4 privatisation could damage the UK’s “entire creative sector”

This petition had 111k signatures when we posted this blog

‘ A petition has launched to protect Channel 4’s creative network, following culture secretary Oliver Dowden’s announcement that the government is once again considering the channel’s privatisation.

Established in 1982, the television network is a public corporation of the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS), though it is mostly commercially self-funded.’

Read the full article in Design Week.

BrewDog and other hard seltzer brands under fire for making ‘misleading’ health claims

‘ Hard seltzer brands BrewDog, DRTY and Whisp have all had adverts banned by the Advertising Standards Authority for making “misleading” and “irresponsible” health claims.

A raft of brands, including Heineken, Bud Light and Coca-Cola have recently launched hard seltzer products, which tend to be positioned as a healthier, more natural alternative to other ready-to-drink options.’

Read the full article on the Marketing Week website.

Customer experience, trust, savings: 5 interesting stats to start your week

At the start of every week Marketing Week publish 5 interesting stats – it’s well worth a look every Monday. The stat that caught our eye in particular is that nearly half of marketers admit their customer experience is below par.

‘ Just under half (48%) of CMOs in the UK, France and Germany believe the customer experience their brand offers is not up to the standard consumers expect.

That’s despite 79% appreciating the value of delivering a solid customer experience, and 75% agreeing that customers expect a highly relevant, personalised and integrated messaging and experiences. ’

Find out more about this and other interesting stats on the Marketing Week website.

Design is helping new age chewing gum stand out from its plastic predecessors

‘ For several centuries, the human species’ gum chewing habit was harmless. Gum of the past was made from chicle, a kind of sap collected from several species of Mesoamerican trees.

Today however, most gum is made with plastic and chemicals like polyethylene, which is found in plastic bags and bottles. Unsurprisingly, the microplastics that are broken down from modern chewing gum can have a significant impact on both chewers and the environment.’

This interesting article can be found on the Design Week website

Studio Output’s “provocative” identity for the Alfred Landecker Foundation

Studio Output has created the new branding for democracy action and research group the Alfred Landecker Foundation (ALF) which aims to “provoke action”.

The London-based design studio has created the new visual identity and website for the organisation, including a monogram logo and a series of pictograms.

Read the full article in Design Week.

Revealed: Marketing Week Masters 2021 Brand of the Year shortlist

Asos, Camelot, Channel 4, KFC and Tesco have been shortlisted for the Marketing Week Masters Brand of the Year award for 2021.

These five brands were chosen from a long list put together by the Marketing Week editorial team, which was assessed by our jury of senior marketers. Brands were selected based on performance, agility, marketing strategy and innovation over the past year.

Find out more on the Marketing Week website.

The 2021 design week graduate show guide

‘This year we’re expecting a mix of in person and online graduate shows as the country emerges from lockdown – here is our guide to what’s on offer.’

Design Week give the run down on the 2021 Design Week graduate show.

Full details on the Design Week website.

JKR rebrands Stonewall to usher in “a new era of bold activism and pride”

‘Jones Knowles Ritchie (JKR) has unveiled a new visual identity for Stonewall, which hopes to mark a new era of “bold activism” for the LGBTQ+ charity.

Named after the Stonewall riots in New York City’s Greenwich Village, the charity was established in the UK in 1989. It was founded by activists lobbying against Section 28, the famously anti-LGBTQ+ legislation which prohibited “the promotion of homosexuality”.

Today, the organisation focuses its efforts on the wide range of issues still facing the queer community.’

Full details on the Design Week website.

Marketing Week to reveal secrets of advertising effectiveness in new series

‘Marketing Week is partnering with the Advertising Association’s Trust Working Group and data company Kantar on a new regular series, which will unpick the secrets behind effective advertising.

Conducted by Kantar, ‘The Works’ study will test a selection of high-profile current ads with the public every month, to determine which are working best. Each month will focus on a different media channel in rotation, starting with television.

Marketing Week will then reveal the most effective campaign and explain why it has been so well received, to help marketers deliver stronger, more creative and more commercially effective work.’

Find out more on the Marketing Week website.

Design Ventura winning team develops flower seed cannon

‘The Design Museum has announced the winner of this year’s Design Ventura school challenge is a flower seed cannon.

Sow Beautiful has been thought up by students from Heckmondwike Grammar School in West Yorkshire.’

Find out more on the Design Week website.

Waitrose on why Covid has bridged the marketing generation gap

‘The pandemic has undoubtedly had a traumatic impact on business, but the positive effect on corporate culture should not be underestimated.

That is certainly the case at retailer Waitrose, where customer director Martin George has seen a dramatic flattening of the hierarchy, as boundaries have been broken down and colleagues have got to know each other better as individuals.

Speaking last week at the Festival of Marketing: Fast Forward, George pointed out the differences in corporate culture today to when he started his marketing career at Cadbury in the 1980s.’

Full story on the Marketing Week website.

James Dyson Foundation launches teacher’s guide to educate kids on air pollution

‘Engineering Solutions: Air Pollution is informed by the company’s work in the sector, and is intended to complement existing science, design and technology curriculums.

The James Dyson Foundation has developed a new education resource which aims to help children understand and combat air pollution.

Engineering Solutions: Air Pollution is a teacher’s guide, informed by the work Dyson already does in the sector – particularly with its Pure Cool purifying range of products.’

More via the Design Week website.

Stereotypes, stress, trust: 5 interesting stats to start your week

Marketing Week’s interesting stats to start your week is a regular must read but we thought the UK stress stat was interesting…..

‘Half (50%) of millennials and Gen Z in the UK feel anxious or stressed all or most of the time, with research stress levels among young people in the UK are higher than the global average.

Globally, 41% of millennials and 46% of Gen Z say they feel stressed or anxious all or most of the time.

Respondents state concerns over their long-term financial future (36% of millennials and 35% Gen Z), the welfare of their family (36% of millennials and 31% of Gen Z) and career prospects (33% of millennials and 36% of Gen Z), were highlighted as the leading causes of anxiety among those feeling stressed in the UK.’

Read more on the Marketing Week website.

‘The Broadcast, a digital magazine that covers culture, music and science, has launched with an identity inspired by print media from the 1970s.

It has been set up by a creative team led by Daniel Kent at Pioneer Works (PW), an interdisciplinary non-profit in Brooklyn, New York, in collaboration with designer Andrew LeClair, also based in Brooklyn.’

Read the full article in Design Week.

KFC resurrects ‘finger lickin’ good’ tagline

‘The line was temporarily withdrawn as the brand decided it was “inappropriate” to encourage finger licking in the middle of a pandemic as it breached hygiene advice.

However, with restaurants in England due to reopen next week the line is now being resurrected and will feature in the brand’s latest advertising campaign, “Your Chicken Could Never”.’

Read more in Marketing Week.

Airbnb hails early results from shift to brand building over performance marketing

‘Airbnb claims to have seen promising early results from its new marketing strategy, which has involved a substantial cut to performance marketing spend and increased focus on brand building and PR.

Over the first quarter of 2021, Airbnb cut its sales and marketing spend by 28% year on year to $229m (£163m). The business says this “primarily” reflected a decrease in performance marketing expenses.’

Find out more in Marketing Week.

Designers and artists unite to remember weird and wonderful Euros moments

‘David Shrigley and Chris Simpson are among the artists and designers who have worked on the  Weird Euros beer mat collection ahead of the delayed Euro 2020 football tournament, which takes place in June.

The brainchild of Middle Boop founder Gordon Reid and graphic designer Callum Stephenson, Weird Euros follows the designers’ Weird World Cup collection from 2018.

Like last time, the duo have asked creatives to illustrate the “weird, funny and esoteric” moments from Euros history. These will then be sold to raise money for football-related charities.’

Read the full article in Design Week.

Innovate UK to launch £2.5 million competition for creative industries

The Creative Industries Fund will provide “a package of targeted support” for UK-registered micro and small businesses with innovative ideas.

Non-departmental public body Innovate UK will invest up to £2.5 million in innovation projects from UK businesses in the creative sector.

The Creative Industries Fund will look to support micro and small businesses with a “package of targeted support for growth”, competition details explain.

Find out more in Design Week.

Industry leaders outline the skills marketers will need to thrive post-Covid

‘The Festival of Marketing’s ‘Fast Forward’ event will take place across four days this June, offering insight into what marketers need to help grow their brands and bolster their careers in the years ahead. The event features CMOs from Unilever, Amazon and Just Eat, as well as thought leaders such as Rory Sutherland and Mark Ritson.

In anticipation, Marketing Week asked six speakers for their opinions on the future skills marketers will need, the trends that will define their roles in the coming months and how marketers can ensure their brands continue to thrive in the future.’

Marketing Week has the full article.

Marketers urged to ignore ‘false boundaries’ of brand and performance

The majority of marketing campaigns are looked through via one of two lenses: brand or performance. The former is thought of as a long-term investment in driving brand health, while the latter is looked at as a short-term tool to drive customer acquisition.

But marketers have been urged to look past these “false boundaries” when creating marketing campaigns and to bring brand and performance together as one.

Read more in Marketing Week.