Weirdly, every entrepreneur wants to be like Jobs but they don’t bother to master the basics.
In my experience, marketers don’t frequently start their own companies, which is a pity, because most startups from the get-go make these three basic branding errors that hobble their growth:
1. A head-scratcher brand name
A brand name that needs to be explained is a liability rather than an asset. Ideally, a brand name should create a positive emotion that ties into the product or service. The classic example here is Apple Computer. (It’s a computer, but it’s small, tasty, and easy to use.)
One of the worst brand names I’ve encountered is Deuce Productions. The term “productions” could mean anything, and the word deuce refers to a playing card with two pips. Turns out, it was an events production company run by a pair of twins. Even when explained, it’s a head-scratcher.
If I were rebranding them and they really thought (for some reason) that being twins was a competitive advantage (I’m not at all sure about this), I’d advise them to go with something that actually has a positive and meaningful twist, like “Twice-as-Good Events.”
2. Launching with multiple brand names
Over the weekend, a friend asked me to look at his branding plan, which included a corporate brand, a product brand, and a personal brand, all of which were different from each other.
It’s very difficult to establish a single brand in the minds and memories of investors and customers. Three brands? Not gonna happen. I told him to focus on one brand and dump the other two.
I learned this one the hard way. When I first launched myself as a writer/speaker/consultant, I tried to promote “Geoffrey James” and “The Institute for Business Wisdom.” I quickly learned that two brands was one too many and rebranded as Geoffrey James LLC.
Startups should ideally launch with a corporate brand that’s also its product brand. Once again, the classic example is Apple Computer, whose first product was … you guessed it … the Apple computer.
3. Adding new brands rather than extending existing brands
Many companies seem to think that the more brands the better. (I think this belief might be a leftover from the “Heinz 57” days.) The worst example of this was General Motors, which was a brand-name salad until the company wised up and dumped half of them.
When expanding your product set, it makes far more sense to extend your existing brand than to launch a new brand name. That way, you take advantage of whatever momentum your current brand has acquired. Again, the classic example is Apple, with the Apple I, Apple II, Apple III, and then Macintosh (still building on the small, tasty, easy meme).
Let’s apply this principle to a real-life startup.
I recently purchased a full-body motion-capture suit (for doing SFX like Gollum) called Perception Neuron PRO from a company named Noitom. Just to be clear, I have no relationship with this company; I just happened to buy one of its products.
Both Perception Neuron and Noitom are head-scratcher brand names, but they’re also disjoint. Noitom recently launched a new product called the Hi5 VR Glove. That’s a decent brand name (if you know what “VR” means), but it has no obvious connection with the original two brands.
A better approach would have been to start with a corporate and product brand name like Hi5 MOCAP and a first product named the Hi5 MOCAP Suit. That would then be followed by the Hi5 MOCAP Glove, etc.
This simplified brand scheme would have made the company and its products more memorable, easier to promote, and easier to combine and package.
Follow these steps to ensure alignment and investment, and derive maximum value, when introducing learning analytics.
Mention “learning” and “measurement” in the same sentence and it may evoke flashbacks to sharpening your No. 2 pencils in preparation for standardized tests. The good news is that measurement in learning is no longer a distinction between correct and incorrect answers, but rather a process designed to measure and improve engagement and effectiveness.
Today, learning measurement involves collecting data from multiple sources—online course activity, surveys, human resources (HR) data and performance assessments—and applying analytics to measure and improve the impact of learning programming. This emerging discipline, known as learning analytics, has great potential to strengthen an organization’s overarching talent strategies and link learning directly to business impact.
Learning analytics has great potential to strengthen an organization’s overarching talent strategies and link learning directly to business impact.
When introducing learning analytics, we recommend learning and development (L&D) leaders follow seven crucial steps to ensure alignment and investment across the organization and derive maximum value from the data and insights:
Establish the strategic plan for analytics. L&D departments must have a long-term vision and strategic plan for analytics, including focus areas. For example, if a company identifies their learning technology as an area for improvement, one objective should be analyzing how users are engaging with the technology and where it is or isn’t successful. L&D leaders must develop the plan in conjunction with the organization’s larger business mission, from growing service lines to retaining top talent.
Develop a measurement strategy and identify data needs. Learning teams need to define the questions they seek to answer, which metrics to track and their processes. They must also establish data-quality standards as changes in digital, social and informal learning provide new avenues for data collection.
Move from program- or course-centric views to learner journeys. As more organizations design long-term learning programs that span delivery methods, themes and content, it can become challenging to tie outcomes to a specific program or training module. A look at the learner’s journey helps examine outcomes and activity through the lens of multiple learning modalities and experiences.
Learn from the education space. Education-focused organizations are using data and analytics to customize daily lessons for students. New York-based organization New Classrooms uses a technology platform that assesses students’ current performance and automatically customizes curricula, skill libraries and lesson banks tailored to their needs.
Find the right learning-analytics talent. The nascence of the learning-analytics field means few professionals combine a strong understanding of data science with meaningful experience applying analytics to L&D. Organizations already investing in people analytics can apply this expertise to L&D to bridge gaps. Given that higher-education institutions are now offering graduate degrees in learning analytics, companies can expect an emerging pool of qualified candidates.
Link learning data to performance data. Learning professionals must establish an integrated data architecture that permits the ongoing flow and linkage of data among the learning function, talent and business outcomes. Functions across the organization, including HR, benefit from learning analytics. These teams should be involved in the data sourcing.
Start small. L&D organizations with limited resources can offer analytics-driven learning by introducing the approach incrementally. To start small, organizations might first consider multiple options for learners to “test out” of certain content if they have existing knowledge or abilities; providing regular, personalized surveys to measure improvement and identify patterns by learner segments; and offer recommendations based on existing data—for example, recommending an elective course that others in a similar role found valuable.
The appetite for data-driven measurement will continue to grow. As L&D leaders use data and metrics to quantify results and improve programs and processes, they can better support their organizations’ goals and those of their learners.
As Apple reveals its own on-demand video service, it’ll have to face up to an old enemy: pirates
Apple’s move into the streaming video industry is the industry’s worst-kept secret, but while the shift into creating video content is a new one for the company, another issue will be sorely familiar: the risk of piracy.
Nearly 190 billion visits were made to illegal piracy websites in 2018, according to MUSO, a company that tracks the scale of digital piracy – 5.75bn of which came from the UK (and a further 17.4bn from the US). Almost half of all visits to piracy websites were for television shows, with nearly one in five visitors to illicit sites seeking out the latest film.
MUSO’s figures for 2018 show a slight drop in the amount of privacy compared to the previous year. In 2017, it says, there were 206bn visits to pirate sites. But the illegitimate video industry is mimicking its legitimate peers, says Andy Chatterly of MUSO.
“People have moved largely to on-demand [streaming] and away from downloading, in a similar way that people have moved away from iTunes to Spotify,” he says. “Whether they’re paying for it or not, they want to access things when they want.” Six in ten visits to piracy sites las year were to illicit streaming services – with torrenting, once a popular method of accessing illegal content, dropping in popularity.
Convenience is a key reason for people taking the illegal route when hunting out their favourite TV shows and films, reckons Chatterly – and illicit websites are starting to make their user interfaces more user-friendly for that exact purpose.
It’s a similar move to one we saw four years ago with the rise of Popcorn Time, an illegal movie sharing program singled out by Netflix CEO Reed Hastings as a major competitor back in 2015. Popcorn Time’s slick front page was the equal of Netflix – a world away from the dark old days of wrangling VPNs and downloading a raft of new software just to be able to access shaky rips of Hollywood screeners.
That idea of illegal platforms pushing forward innovation has continued today. “Some of these sites you go to, the dashboard experience is better than the paid subscription services,” says Chatterly. That builds up brand loyalty – last year saw a ten per cent increase in people directly visiting big-name illegal streaming sites, rather than finding them through search engines.
But it’s not just a lack of friction that makes movie sharing so popular. Many consumers now don’t see why illegal streaming or download is seen as a bad thing, in large part thanks to the attitude of Netflix and Amazon Prime’s towards account sharing. “The more digital services allow sharing of passwords, the more people think of it as they’re okay with me doing it, so I’ll just go download a piece of content,” says Frost & Sullivan streaming video analyst Dan Rayburn. “I don’t think consumers think it’s stealing.”
There’s also an element of subscription fatigue, says Chatterly – something likely to be made even worse by a slate of more high-quality original programming appearing on yet another service looking to separate us from our cash, none of which overlaps with others. “It’s inevitable that people are not going to pay for four or five different subscriptions to four or five different platforms,” he explains. “If you can access everything with a single click, of course you’re going to do that.”
While on-demand streaming services need to have their own original content to attract audiences, the fragmentation of content across competing services can mean someone who loves Game of Thrones, Arrested Development, The Grand Tour and whatever Apple decided to launch with has to sign up to multiple services – all of which take money out of their bank account.
As a result, the core base of people accessing illegal websites has broadened out – significantly. “We have to stop thinking this audience is the traditional pirate in our imagination,” says Chatterly. “The reality is these are probably people who do subscribe to multiple platforms, who do have sports subscriptions, but access other sports online because it’s not available in their region or they have too many subscriptions.”
While Chatterly is reticent to lay the blame at the platform providers for giving people an excuse to turn to privacy, he believes a rethink is required. “There’s an opportunity here,” he says. “There are huge amounts of demand, and we ignore that audience demand. It’s important to try not to leave pirated content online, but at the same time, the audience is something that has to be valued.”
The battle with piracy is one any company – whether Netflix, Amazon or Apple – is likely to lose in the long run. “I don’t care what steps you’re going to take, you can’t keep 100 per cent of your content protected at all times,” says Rayburn.
One of the most crucial activities a company can do is focus on building their brand. Creating a cohesive, recognizable brand which is illustrative of the company itself is paramount, especially in current times where customer loyalty can be much harder to achieve. A solid brand can help a business connect with existing customers while also drawing in new ones, as well as inspire brand loyalty and media sharing.
Yet, building a brand is no easy feat as it requires detailed planning, strategy and implementation. To help you plan the best brand-building strategy for your company, eight members of Forbes Communications Council weigh in with their preferred methods or approaches. Here’s what they advise:
1. Understand Your Customers
The best way to improve your brand is to fully understand your current customers. Know why they use or love your product and leverage those insights to further reinforce your brand benefits by highlighting them in marketing by coming back to them as clear differentiators between you and your competitors. Keeping a pulse on your customers is critical to success. It can be done through regular check-ins with customer service teams, social media feedback and organized market research. – Todd Daum, Dentistry.com
2. Keep Branding Consistent
Designate brand standards champions within your organization — whatever its size. Keeping your brand’s voice and tone consistent across departments and copywriters is key to delivering an authentic and unwavering experience that ultimately strengthens all of your messaging. – Brett Dunst, DreamHost
3. Assess Current Position
The best way to improve the brand is by first truly understanding and assessing your current brand position. For example: What is our brand? Is our entire team aligned with the definition? How is our brand perceived by our customers, our partners, our employees and our competitors? Be honest about your answers and ask questions! Never assume. – Syed Hoda, Sight Machine
4. Be Transparent And Authentic
Full disclosure: These two words are overused and cliche but it really is the foundation of a brand. Ultimately, it’s also what will improve your brand the most — they are transparency and authenticity. There is no short cut, no storytelling, no creative that will have more impact than establishing transparency and being consistent with it. I view a brand as a living organism, and I build it with the thought process of how I build human relationships. What makes a strong human relationship? Use those attributes in how you establish and build your brand. Also, a strong narrative and storytelling are a close second. – Andrea Hurtado, Protis Global
5. Make It The Focus
If it’s not at the center of your organization’s culture, then it should be. Each member of your team is a brand champion (or the opposite!) every single day and you want them to authentically live your values and messaging. – Ellie Duffus, Elixirr
6. Open Up Through Your Branding
Poor branding can be the downfall of a company. Messaging is a big part of branding, so don’t just focus on the visual aspect. Let your consumers know who you are, why and how your products support that. – Indre Deksnyte, CUJO AI
7. Write Well, And Use Powerful Images
The best way to improve your organization’s brand is with good writing and powerful images that reflect the values of your company. Be consistent with this on social media, on proposals and on your website. I can’t tell you how often clients will fire an agency because of repeated poor grammar or the overuse of stock images. – Erica Hicks Anderson, PR VEIN
8. Tailor Your Messaging
A recipe to enhance your organization’s brand: Understand your reader, tailor your message accordingly, conduct keyword research to optimize content and ensure it aligns with your brand. People gravitate to what is authentic and human. Therefore, your content should be meaningful, humanized, educational and engaging. Propel brand awareness by promoting your content on social media. To expand your brand’s reach, encourage employees to share, like and comment on company posts. – Katie Sloane, Align Communications
Retail is betting big on tech, and the market activity proves it. Last year, Nordstrom acquired tech startups BevyUp and MessageYes to further improve its online shopping experience. Walmart acquired virtual reality startup Spatialand, while Target bought Shipt (an Algolia customer) to provide same-day delivery.
As retail embraces technology, the industry is setting the stage for a new standard that will affect our everyday lives: Search as an avenue to build personalized and engaging discovery experiences. This represents nothing short of a technological revolution in terms of how everyday consumers browse products, shop and engage with brands.
Our new survey reportdemonstrates that search is critical to online retail. On-site shoppers are more than 200% more likely to convert compared to non-search users, and retailers of different segments and sizes are seeing the link between search, revenue and their bottom line.
The report further reveals search impacting key performance indicators (KPIs)such as basket size, revenue per visitor and average number of items ordered. Retailers with the most revenue are those taking the most mature approach to search, leveraging more sophisticated touchpoints and personalization features.
The stakes are high for retailers. Those who are able to engage in a more interactive and conversational manner with their consumers are poised to deliver a superior shopping experience.
As A Retailer’s Search Experience Matures, So Do Consumer Touchpoints And Engagement
There are three different stages of search and discovery technology, each demonstrating the range of retailer maturity in relation to site search. Each stage provides retailers with the opportunity to provide customers with personalized interactions, allowing for more engaged and meaningful experiences.
The first stage is “Search in the Box.” This most basic function, which we are all used to, is purely transactional. Users find only what they search for using the most basic form of search with less relevancy and personalization. As “Search in the Box” requires users to comb through for the exact result they are looking for, it is less likely to result in a purchase.
The second stage — “Search Beyond the Box” — improves the user experience significantly by helping customers discover new products and options beyond what they can express (or take the time to express) and what they know of the business’ inventory. Rather than having to type into a search box, shoppers can browse and use advanced navigation and faceting options. The relationship between the customer and the site is much like one with a personal shopper recommending items to a customer based on their preferences or onsite history.
The last and most advanced stage in the search maturity model is “Search Without the Box,” which is seamless, personalized and ultra-relevant search predicting user needs. In the coming years, such an experience will become ubiquitous, integrated/embedded and predictive. Conversational search, in which the user interacts with software in the form of natural conversation, is the direction we are going toward as search continues to evolve. The user interface may include voice or conversation along with browsing, navigation and advanced faceting.
Actually, based on our findings, less than 4% of retail survey respondents say they offer “Search Without the Box.” In fact, 40% of companies, including those with revenue more than $100 million, are at risk of losing revenue due to lack of budget they are able to devote to advancing their search capabilities.
It is critical for retailers to progress in the search maturity model to take advantage of the most important consumer touch points available. Here are three recommendations that companies can use to get started in (re)evaluating their search strategy.
First, retailers can review critical KPIs and how they are related to site search. The above-mentioned stat about companies at risk of losing revenue are not tracking even the most basic metrics, such as the percentage of site visitors using search. Other relevant KPIs might include revenue per visit, time on site after search and highest bounce searches. Are there any your organization has previously ignored? If so, look to fill those gaps.
To ensure you are addressing your KPIs, take stock of current search capabilities. Does the technology you use have tablestake features that consumers expect, “spoiled” by the likes of Google and Netflix that excel at providing personalized user experiences? These features include speed, typo tolerance, synonyms, language capabilities and advanced query suggestions.
Finally, are you looking ahead to upcoming trends such as voice search? Important e-commerce concepts such as personalization and omnichannel improvements are already relying on critical UIs like chatbots and voice. According to Narvar’s 2017 consumer report, 70% of device owners already shop by voice or expect to. Search technologies at the forefront of natural language processing are a jump ahead with digital transformation and progressing along the search maturity model.
As Search Transforms The Retail Industry, What’s Next?
If engagement is king in retail, then search is the tool to unlock it. More and more brands recognize the value of strategic consumer engagement to demonstrate they are authentic and caring, claims PwC — a key point considering the importance of brand authenticity among millennials as they make purchasing decisions.
“Customer experience will overtake price and product as the key brand differentiator by the year 2020,” according to KPMG. Naturally, brand engagement relies heavily on online experience. By evolving to “Search Without the Box,” retailers are on the cusp of transforming what we expect from the search experience itself.
As more online consumers engage in advanced search capabilities, over time they will expect the same seamless experience everywhere. It will extend from how they interact with search at home into their professional lives, much in the way that consumerization has impacted enterprise IT.
With retail continuing to adopt increasingly mature search models, the sector is transforming search — not to mention the concept of brand engagement itself. Other industries should take note.
Apple’s plans for a future beyond iPhone sales are slowly beginning to take shape.
At an event at its headquarters in California March 25, the company unveiled a range of new services intended to provide it with more stable, recurring revenue sources, including a credit card, a magazine subscription service called News+, a video-game subscription called Arcade, and original video programming debuting in the fall under the banner of Apple TV+.
Details are still thin on how these services will be priced—News+ will be $10 per month but Apple didn’t offer information on the others—but they seem to be building on the recent successes the company’s services division has had.
In its latest earnings report in January, there were legitimate concerns about the future of its cash cow, the iPhone, which has struggled to expand into burgeoning markets like China and India. But its services business had another banner quarter.
Over the last four quarters, its sales of apps, movies, games, Apple Music, AppleCare, iCloud subscriptions, and Apple Pay fees have generated roughly $39.6 billion for the company, with a 62% margin in the most recent quarter. To put that into perspective, that would land that division on its own at number 79 on the Fortune 500 list, a few spots below Facebook, and above the likes of American Express, Nike, Coca-Cola, McDonald’s, Time Warner, and 21st Century Fox. Without much fanfare, Apple has become one of the largest media and services companies in the world, and there’s likely far more ahead.
Apple has been signing deals with producers, filmmakers, and actors, many of whom were onstage with CEO Tim Cook today, with the goal of launching its TV+ streaming service with exclusive content to compete with the likes of Hulu, Netflix, and Amazon Prime.
Given that Apple has been supremely successful with relatively mediocre services offerings to date—it has essentially the same film, TV, and music offerings all its competitors have; iCloud is overpriced; and Apple Music, even with its reportedly 50 million subscribers, is generally a poor experience—it should be able to leverage whatever content it plans to launch to build a services package that consumers would be excited to subscribe to.
Right now, people buy iCloud because their phones run out of storage space, they buy AppleCare because it seems like a sensible thing to do, and they buy Apple Music for early access to music and forget to cancel (or they’re one of the few people who own a HomePod). But if Apple is serious about shifting its business model away from individual hardware sales (it stopped reporting unit sales this past quarter) and toward more consistent, expected streams of revenue, it should truly go all in on services. It should take a page out of Amazon’s playbook and launch Apple Prime.
Apple launched the iPhone Upgrade Program in 2015 in a move to capture some of its hardware sales away from third parties like cellular carriers. It’s a payment plan though Apple, underwritten by Citizens Bank, where customers pay a monthly fee to get the latest smartphone each year, along with AppleCare. It’s a decent deal if you’re sort of person who needs the newest phone each year. Given that it also offers subscriptions for iCloud storage and Apple Music, and will soon have ones for video and news, it’s not wildly unreasonable to think that Apple would consider selling a single subscription package for everything it owns, including its new content.
Amazon Prime started out as an annual subscription for discounted expedited shipping, but has since grown into a massive program that gives customers deals at Whole Foods, free streaming on Amazon Prime Video and Prime Music, free e-books and magazines, free photo storage, as well as free shipping. The shipping may have been why many people signed up for the now $119-a-year service, but it’s likely the award-winning programs and other benefits are what keep them coming back. Prime has a renewal rate of over 90%, better even than discount retailer Costco’s member program, Bloomberg reports.
Apple could offer something similar, bundling together its new shows and news subscription with access to music, games, storage, AppleCare, and even phones, in one monthly package. A service like this likely wouldn’t come cheap (Apple is a luxury brand after all). Apple’s iPhone upgrade program ranges from about $37 to over $60 a month; Apple Music costs $10, and iCloud can cost from $1 up to $10. Lump on top of that AppleCare, and a video service (most of its competitors’ are around $10), and the new subscriptions in the pipeline, and Apple Prime could easily run anywhere from $75 to $100 per month. (But perhaps if it’s purchased with Apple’s new credit card, there could be some additional cash-back benefits.)
Even so, Apple has the brand loyalty to pull something like this off. Instead of worrying about holiday sales, down quarters, and having a massive supply of phones ready each September, Apple could shift more of its customers to a monthly subscription that will give it reliable revenue, and offer customers a discount on paying for services and devices separately. It’s working for Amazon, which has over 100 million Prime subscribers, and others have pushed similar ideas for other companies, like Disney. It’s a model that’s worked in IT sales as well—companies like HP, Microsoft, IBM, and even Apple itself all offer managed services for massive corporate customers.
If Apple wants to get serious about generating a nice flow of recurring revenue, and deepening the ties between its customers and its ecosystem, it should definitely consider offering all of its services bundled together. Today it laid further groundwork for doing that.
According to a study by payments giant American Express, 65 percent of customers say that having their issues resolved in their chosen channels is the most important aspect of a good customer service experience.
“This means that [customers] expect you to reach them on the exact channels that they want to be reached on,” says Kutic. “You need to gain insights about their interests, their behavior, their priorities, and, of course, their preferred method of communication.”
Seamless customer journeys
One organization that has a lock on providing a seamless, convenient omnichannel customer experience is TBC Bank in the Eurasian country of Georgia. It upgraded its onboarding process to enable new customers to begin the origination process for loans through a call center and finish it at an ATM, kiosk, or branch – whichever is most convenient for them.
The improvements resulted in greater efficiencies, cutting the time-to-decision for a credit application from one business day to 15 minutes and increasing loan approval rates by 40 percent. This shows the impact of a cohesive omnichannel communications approach on customer experience.
According to Salesforce, 70 percent of customers worldwide say that connected processes, such as contextualized engagement based on earlier interactions, are very important for winning their business.
“Customer support needs to have a seamless switch from bot support to human communication, and speed is key,” says Kutic. “People want to get the answer to the question as quickly as possible with the least effort. They want communications to happen where they want, when they want, and how they want at each step of the customer journey.”
Kutic offers the example of Xiaomi as a company that genuinely values user experience. The Chinese internet company is one of Infobip’s clients.
Through Infobip’s solutions, new users can register for a Xiaomi account via one-click SMS registration, which takes mere seconds. A Xiaomi account is required for users to access the company’s internet services. They can also use all their Xiaomi smart devices through this single account.
The process also involves two-factor authentication via SMS for verification and data security purposes, a more secure and efficient measure than email verification.
Xiaomi sees reduced costs and complexities involved with docking mobile operators in each new territory, and it can access the messaging platform anytime through a customer portal. This facilitates the management of inquiries from within the company by allowing an administrator to keep tabs on all the messages sent and received.
“Infobip’s global messaging service has reduced the complexities of Xiaomi’s international SMS requirements, resulting in an improved user experience for our customers,” says Xiaomi Passport manager Fan Nan. Xiaomi Passport is the team that manages all matters that are handled via Xiaomi account. “Throughout our years of working with Infobip, we find that they are indeed a global messaging service provider of high quality.”
Localization in globalization
The ever-expanding and evolving tech industry presents businesses with many innovative ways to communicate with their customers and ensure a good user experience even as they expand beyond their own borders.
“As companies scale geographically, they all face the challenge of facilitating an experience most appropriate to local online habits,” points out Kutic. “At Infobip, we like to think of it as an opportunity for differentiation.”
With a quarter of all blog content now being sponsored, it pays to be an influencer
A new survey has revealed the true price of social media – with 19 per cent of influencers admitting they charge more than £250 for a single blog post.
The UK Blogger Survey, conducted by software specialist Vuelio alongside Canterbury Christ Church University, also revealed that four per cent of the 534 bloggers questioned charged more than £1,000 per post.
Shedding light on a world in which the hashtags #spon and #ad have become commonplace, the results show more than a quarter of all blog content is now compensated in some way.
Recent months have seen calls for greater regulation across the paid content industry, as the lines between gifting and sponsored content become increasingly blurred.
Joanna Arnold, CEO of Vuelio, says: “The influencer marketing industry is still in its infancy, so we expect to see further calls for transparency and regulation as it finds its feet.”
In line with these calls, the Advertising Standards Agency and the Competition and Markets Authority have collaborated to create the Influencer’s Guide – a handbook on the dos and don’ts of the advertising industry.
“Bloggers and content creators have had a bad press recently,” says John Adams, author of fatherhood blog, Dad Blog UK. “As a dad blogger operating in a market heavily dominated by women, I was interested to see that female bloggers are three times more likely to charge hard cash for writing blog posts compared to men.”
The survey also revealed that the notoriously crowded lifestyle, fashion and beauty sectors have seen a 14 per cent drop in blog numbers over the last two years.
Despite these findings, influencers affirm the quality and relevancy of their content remains a top priority.
Elle Linton, author of health and fitness blog Keep it simpElle says: “First and foremost, it’s about the brand; are they a good fit for me and my audience demographic, are they a brand I am happy to be affiliated with and do our values align?”
The news comes as the number of full-time bloggers citing blogging as their main source of income has risen 50 per cent year-on-year.
The survey also shed light on the direction bloggers believe the industry will take. Almost a quarter of bloggers surveyed believe blogs will become driven by advertisers’ needs, with 42 per cent believing their audiences will become more sceptical of bloggers’ motives as a result.
Mr Adams says: “As the blogging industry gets more professional, I would also hope us bloggers come together to create a blogging trade association. It’s an industry worth billions and there’s lots of talk among bloggers about it being a supportive community.”
As part of its big rollout of its new content services, Apple debuted a new short film for Apple TV+ featuring some of the most creative minds in film taking us inside their respective worlds on the anxieties and triumphs of their craft.
‘Storytellers’ was shot by Academy Award-winning cinematographer/filmmaker Emmanuel “Chivo” Lubezki. The film features iconic storytellers – Steven Spielberg, JJ Abrams, Sofia Coppola, Ron Howard, Octavia Spencer, Reese Witherspoon, Jennifer Aniston, Damien Chazelle, M. Night Shyamalan and Hailee Steinfeld – who take us through the creative journey of telling stories that matter.
The five-minute-plus black-and-white film is a glimpse behind the curtain, revealing an intimate account of the art of storytelling and showcases the unwavering passion and dedication of Hollywood’s greatest filmmakers.
It starts with Spielberg, who gives a suggestion of how to begin the film, with a white dot on a black screen that gets larger and then explodes. From there, he, JJ Abrams and the rest describe what goes on in their minds during a shoot. It ranges from the intricacies of the writing process through the anxieties the filmmakers face when they have a full set of people and things might not be working just right. In between the commentary we see full sets – one of a lunar landing, one of a rain-soaked urban block, another of a snowy dreamscape where a woman is hoisted into the air. We also see a symphony orchestra gathering then playing as the film’s score itself ebbs and flows with the narrative.
“Fear is good. At least for me it’s good. Fear of failure is a kind of octane that keeps me wanting to stand on the edge of the abyss but at the same time not plunge to my career death,” says Spielberg.
Ultimately, it’s about shared stories and how it draws all of us together. “Sharing stories with one another makes us feel less alone,” states Chazelle.
Leveraging Lubezki’s masterful eye, ‘Storytellers’ transports the viewer into the mind of the filmmaker and underscores the important role stories play in our daily lives: to create a shared sense of connection. The film underlines the timely launch of Apple TV+, illustrating through captivating imagery and powerful prose that there’s never been a better time for stories that truly matter.
“We’re honoured that the absolute best lineup of storytellers in the world — both in front of and behind the camera — are coming to Apple TV+,” said Eddy Cue, Apple’s senior vice president of internet software and services, in a news post for Apple. “Apple TV+ will be home to some of the highest quality original storytelling that TV and movie lovers have seen yet.”
An additional opening film for Apple’s presentation appears like a 60s-era movie opening credits sequence, with Apple products in place of stars and swirling technicolour animation.
Apple TV+ is set to launch this fall. Additionally, Apple debuted the all-new Apple TV app and Apple TV channels coming in May 2019.
On April Fools’ day no one is safe from brand PR stunts. Where Microsoft has just initiated a blanket ban on 1 April humour, other companies have decided to uphold the tradition of capitalising on the event with some fake news of their own.
In a memo to staff last week, Microsoft noted how April Fools’ pranks had a “limited positive impact”, pointing out that ill-judged jokes can even result in “unwanted news cycles”. But while big tech might be cynical about filling journalists’ inboxes with fake news for a day, consumers aren’t as uptight.
In the UK at least, research indicates 86% of people think humour is one of the best ways a company can connect with them. 68% even say they think April Fools’ campaigns were funny.
Though some admittedly miss the funny bone, this year’s lot of brand executions is a mixed bag of inspired ideas, millennial product parodies and a few clumsy rebrands.
Among the efforts is a ‘height verification tool’ from Tinder which has already proven to be divisive despite its aim of bringing “truthfulness back into the world of online dating”. British retailer Boden, meanwhile, has riffed off the current Brexit chaos with a tongue-in-cheek Breton top ban.
Scroll down to see the rest of this year’s tongue-in-cheek stunts, campaigns and product launches from around the world, from Singapore to Scotland.
Tinder: Height verification badge
Recognising that height is a valuable currency in the world of online dating, Tinder has trolled users by announcing plans to introduce a ‘height verification badge’. “Simply input your true, accurate height with a screenshot of you standing next to any commercial building. We’ll do some state-of-the-art verifying and you’ll receive your badge directly on your profile,” it teases.
Durex: Fish skin and mala hot pot flavoured condoms
Durex is inviting couples to unleash the heat with a special new flavour:”Spice things up and experience the taste of the fish skin condom with mala hot pot flavour. Packed with handpicked ingredients for your tasteful experience. Let ’em pleasure your mouth…” it insists on its Facebook page.
Jameson: A glittering deterrent
Jameson has launched a clever (and sparkly) way to deter would-be whisky thieves from stealing a dram of the good stuff. Jameson Catchmates comes complete with ‘glittershot’ technology. One twist of the cap sees any sip-stealing roommate or relative met with a wave of green glitter, turning their sticky fingers into shimmering ones.
Boden: Brexit Breton top ban
Breton shirts are the latest casualty of EU upheavals according to Boden. The retailer claims consent has been withdrawn for it to continue producing the French-inspired sartorial staple in the UK, and that anyone owning a Breton top will now need to apply for a special EU shirt license to wear one or face a €1000 fine. As such, it’s offering a thoughtful solution to customers: a Breton stripe removal service. The complimentary postal service erases illegal stripes by screen-printing, a technique the company calls ‘the Bret-off’. Boden’s founder has been giving interviews to the media this morning.
Travellodge: Bedshare service
In its bid to compete with sharing economy rivals, Travel lodge is taking sharing to the next level with a fresh ‘bedshare’ service that makes travelling a little less lonely and cheaper. Guests will get a 50% discount if they are willing to share half their room with another guest, and the company will clearly mark everything down the middle to make sure each person gets their fair share.
SodaStream: A wind-powered innovation
American astronaut Scott Kelly, best known for having spent the most time in space on a single mission, is the face of SodaStream’s newest innovation; SodaStream.ME, which turns people’s excess CO2 into sparkling water on the go. One small burp for man, one sparkling leap for mankind.
Discussing the campaign with The Drum, Scott Kelly said: “I have a SodaStream and really like the product. As a lover of our planet, I appreciate partnering up with a brand whose environmental values fall in line with my own personal beliefs.”
He clarified that: “You can’t burp in space. On earth – or in a gravity field – the gas in your stomach is lighter than air, so it rises opposite to the force of gravity. In space – in microgravity – there is no weight and hence the gas isn’t “lighter” than air, so it doesn’t rise. It stays mixed in with the food in your body, so it’s eventually expelled another way.”
Maryland: Avocado cookies
Forget smashed avo’ on toast, Maryland has taken the millennials’ favourite food craze one step further with the launch of its brand-new Avocado Cookie. Promising an “Instagrammable snack” like no other, the snack maker claims to have used “refined avocado powder” in lieu of flower, creating a super-food alternative to original cookies.
Hello Fresh: A bold unicorn box
What do brands think millennials love more than avocados? Luridly-coloured foods and Unicorn-themed products apparently. That’s why Hello Fresh is adding the ‘The Unicorn Box’ to its meal subscription box options. The first-of-its-kind experience contains three colourful recipe kits that will let diners eat “like a mythical creature with a box full of farm-fresh rainbows, smiles, and joy right at your doorstep”.
Honda: The polite horn
Sometimes drivers need to get the attention of others. But do they have to be so rude about it? In its mission to make roads everywhere more civilised, Honda Canada has launched a solution: the polite horn.
Origin: Sun power
Solar panel business Origin has announced it’s literally going the extra mile for customers and heading to the sun to power the entire planet, in a world first mission to capture solar power in its purest form. It says the traditional method of waiting for sunlight means we lose around 98% of its power before it hits earth. So, in order to capture the energy in its purest form, Origin has engaged some of the world’s greatest engineers to head into space to carve off a bowling ball size of the sun – which alone will be enough to power the world for the next 60,000 years.
Caring Skin: Astronaut facial
Space is a recurrent theme this year, with Singapore facial spa caring skin revealing it will be sending customers into outer space to clear blemishes and treat sensitive and inflamed skin. The 150-minute suborbital ‘pop-up’ treatment, dubbed ‘The Astronaut Facial’, is endorsed by influencers Camira Asrori and Cassandra Tan.
Google: Snakes on a map
Google prefers to celebrate April Fools’ day instead of tricking people. Last year, you might’ve seen Waldo peeking out of your Google Maps to invite you to find him on a scavenger hunt: This year, it’s revived another nostalgic game that takes people back to a much simpler, pre-Fortnite time: Snake. Confusingly, the ‘snake’ is now a train. Regardless, the twist on the 90s Nokia classic lets players ‘travel’ to different locations across the world—including Cairo, London, San Francisco, São Paulo, Sydney and Tokyo – straight from Google Maps.
Jägermeister: Introducing the Jägerbong
Just ahead of the 4/20 celebrations, Jägermeister has announced that it’s joining the cannabis market with the launch of the Jägerbong. Coming in at a clever $42, customer can light up the party with a kit which includes a 1L bottle of the aperitif they can recycle and turn into a bong, a bong carb, a hacky sack, eye drops, a lighter and grinder.
Aaron & Partners: Animals need lawyers too
UK law firm Aaron & Partners has launched an employment law service for pet influencers. Dogs, cats, fish and tortoises are just some of the species the firm hopes to work with. Standard employment contracts will be drawn up to suit the needs of each animal, including key clauses such as fixed nap times, allocated time for belly tickles or petting, and remuneration in snuggles and favourite treats.
BMW: Lunar paint
BMW has unveiled an innovative new feature that helps to “push the limits of electric driving”. From 1 April, BMW drivers will be able to add Lunar Paint as an optional extra to their i series vehicle. The product uses “revolutionary photovoltaic technology to harness the power of the moon and passively recharge your battery in the hours of darkness.” It’s what Neil Armstrong would have wanted.
Deliveroo: Crustless wonder
Delivery giant Deliveroo has revealed its plan to remove all crust options from the app, due to overwhelming anti-crust feedback from customers placing pizza orders across all of its 14 markets.
Like Tikes: Big Tikes
Kids toy maker Little Tikes will now be known as Big Tikes. The announcement reflects the brand’s “new found maturity” and is a nod to its fresh and grown-up approach. The new logo will appear across all brand channels and on social media.
KitKat: Tea time
After four years of intense research, Nestlé has crafted the optimal blend of tea leaves for the perfect brew to accompany its famous KitKat break. This tea has been developed in the brand’s very own Teaology labs and comes in tea bags inspired by the signature KitKat range: two-finger, four-finger and KitKat Chunky to fit every break occasion.
Amazon: Audible for fish
Amazon is giving Aussies the chance to get their fish hooked on literature with Audible for Fish – a three-second audiobook designed to keep underwater friends company while their owners aren’t around. It says research has shown that marine life is stimulated by short bursts of audio, sounds a little fishy to us.
London Dungeon & HSBC: Rugby torture chamber
Organisers of the HSBC London Sevens rugby tournament have announced a collaboration with macabre tourist attraction London Dungeon. The London Dungeon has installed a replica of its infamous torture chamber within a dungeon-style sin bin at Twickenham Stadium, where players will be sent on receipt of a yellow card throughout the duration of the nail-biting two-day event.
Zava: The Meata-blocker
Following a record-breaking Veganuary, it’s the dietary trend on everyone’s lips, and from today Brits can simply pop a pill to help them lead a plant-based lifestyle. Online doctor Zava’s Meata-blockers have meat-suppressing properties, diverting blood flow so that hormones involved in creating meat cravings can’t circulate around the body as efficiently. The pills also cause a decreased sense of smell and therefore less temptation when a tasty bacon sandwich is nearby.
Foodpanda: Jetski deliveries
A new mode of food delivery via jet blades has been revealed by Foodpanda Singapore. The innovation will “shave delivery times by half”, reducing it to 15 minutes or less. Not to disappoint Singaporeans, Foodpanda will be rewarding one lucky customer with a personal jet blade session (valued at S$198) with Ola Beach Club on Sentosa, with those who include ‘fpjetblad’ into the voucher code box until 5 April in with a chance of winning.
Wilkinson Sword: Casting Ken
Wilkinson Sword has appointed Ken Carson as the face of its Hydro 5 Sense product range.
Otherwise known as Ken Doll, clean-shaven Ken now can grow a beard… in seconds.
Le Chameau: Muddy boots
Building from the insight that people want an authentic outdoor experience, Le Chameau has launched an exclusive Pre Muddé service.
Pre Muddé offers boot lovers the desirable, well-worn country look, without even stepping outside. The boots arrive in soil curated by the brand’s expert pedologists (soil specialists).
Shutterstock: AI-serviced library
Shutterstock has announced plans to build the world’s largest brick-and-mortar library. The library is to house over 250 million volumes of imagery, a full-floor of 14 million reels of film and a listening bay where visitors can enjoy over 20,000 music tracks.
AI-powered robots call Cyanotypes are to replace traditional librarians, to ensure the building is open seven days a week, 24 hours a day.
Construction of the building is to commence in 2020 and will be designed by the world-renowned Belgian architect, Alexandria VonPixel.
Sainsbury’s: Pink avocados
Sainsbury’s is to stock a limited edition run of ripe and ready pink avocados – a naturally grown hybrid of different avocado varieties.
The supermarket has worked closely with a supplier in Peru to grow the exclusive Rosa-vo, which will go on sale as an initial trial to gauge popularity among UK customers and Instagram hungry millennials.
Nakd: Takeaway flavours
Nakd has expanded its range of bars with a series of savoury snacks inspired by Indian Takeaways.
The Indian ‘Flakeaway’ comes in four flavours: Vindalover, Poppadom Paradise, Korm-azeballs and Pilau Nice.
Cineworld: 4DX movies
Cineworld has done the impossible and brought snowfall in London, in Spring.
To celebrate the countdown to the arrival of its 4DX screens, visitors exiting North Greenwich station were met with an unexpected snowfall.
Snow is one of the effects 4DX can stimulate in the screening room, as well as wind, lightning, bubbles, water and scent work.
Hotels.com: Pet passports
With Brexit still up in the air, 75% of pet owners do know that their EU pet passports are in jeopardy.
To ensure pets don’t miss out on the beauty of the continent, Hotels.com has launched its first European Pup fakeation. It is a themed pet stay where dogs can enjoy European destinations without leaving the UK.
Royal Caribbean: Air space
Who says cruises can only be enjoyed on water? Not the Royal Caribbean, who has launched its first ‘cloud-class’ plane called ‘Master of the Skies.
Set to take off in 2020, the plane offers guests the chance to enjoy all the hallmarks of its cruises at 35,00 feet in the air.
When the seatbelt sign turns off, the plane turns into a dedicated entertainment zone that hosts an air-hockey table, a library of video games, as well as a whirlpool and dining area.
Subway: Listening in
As paranoia mounts around smartphone listening and ad targeting, Subway is the first brand to openly admit it makes use of covert research techniques.
In dramatic new footage released today, a Subway Sandwich Artist has been caught on camera, capturing overheard conversations in an unknown part of Great Britain. He can be seen hiding in bushes, behind a newspaper and dressed in state of the art military-standard disguises.
Benson for Beds: A royal visit
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle shocked shoppers at a central London store after they were spotted testing out mattresses.
With their ‘newly born’ baby in tow, the couple were seen browsing the Benson for Babies cot mattress section.
Spam: A vegan treat
Spam has jumped on the plant-based wagon, by launching a new variation of its iconic tinned food.
With a quarter of 25-34-year-olds identifying as vegetarian or vegan, Spam is re-positioning itself towards those decreasing their meat consumption, with ‘Vegan Spam.’
Duolingo: A passive aggressive owl
Learning a language takes a lot of work, perseverance and motivation. With this in mind, Duolingo has launched ‘Duolingo Push.’
Duolingo’s Duo is an online passive aggressive owl that sends you reminders when you need to practice your language skills, but this year, Duo will remind people to practice their language skills – in person.
Duo will turn up at your work, when you are on a date when you are at the gym to make sure you practice your French, Spanish, Korean, Klingon, High Valyrian or Chinese.
Muuna: Cheesy cannabis
Muuna has introduced a new flavour to its cottage cheese range. Muuna cannabis cottage cheese is a limited-edition variety, using milk from grass-fed cows.
Muuna’s limited edition Cannabis variety features cottage cheese as a base with a sprinkle of food-grade cannabis on the bottom.
Designed to create an element of carefree relaxation, while delivering an earthy taste, its latest offering will leave customers relaxed while keeping the munchies at bay.
Isobel: Brexit stamps
As the UK still looks set to exit the EU, a series of six stamps commissioned has been leaked ahead of their official release.
Created by isobel, the six first and second class stamps capture six Brexit ‘icons’ who are presented as famous historical figures complete with a relevant line of copy.
Theresa May is presented as the lady with the lamp – the UK’s first woman of nursing Florence Nightingale, while Boris Johnson has adopted a rotund Churchillian guise.
John Berkow, leader of the house is seen donned a suit of armour as Henry V with the line “Once more unto the lobbies!”
Virgin Atlantic: A sing-a-long
Virgin Atlantic is going back to their musical roots and trialling sing-alongs on key routes.
As part of an extension to the airline’s ‘depart the everyday’ campaign, passengers will be encouraged to join the crew for in-flight karaoke from shortly after take-off.
Highlights of the schedule include a Saturday Night Cabin Fever disco on weekend flights, mile-high hip-hop during flights to LA and non-stop Sinatra on flights to New York. Start spreading the news…
