Suppress, suppress, suppress is the mantra of the data industry. It is a critical element of the campaign process to ensure that we:
- Comply with the Data Protection Act.- Reduce wastage from mailing goneaways and the deceased. 59m* pieces of direct mail a year are sent to the deceased.- Avoid reputational damage, especially when mailing the deceased. 30%* of consumers would not buy from a company who had been known to mail a deceased person.
But does over-zealous suppression become a problem in certain circumstances? For example, when a brand wants to target an individual based on where they live or the type of property they own, if the resident has moved away, does this really mean they need to be suppressed? The house and garden hasn't moved with them and so perhaps an unaddressed offer may well be pertinent to and timely for the new owner of the property.
Goneaway files are built from many sources, some accurate and some less so. By relying on these files many campaigns often find that substantial numbers of potential profitable customers are suppressed, limiting campaign success.
Another, albeit extreme, example of this are the results of a campaign conducted by one of our clients.
Following the campaign, out of curiosity the organisation matched back against a deceased suppression file. Surprisingly this group achieved a significant response rate, with a number of orders coming from the deceased contacts; a number that is hard to ignore.
This mail order company's customers and target audience is very much the 'golden generation' - a generation that lives with death more than most, which may go part way to explaining the results.
The catalogue nature of the mailing may also have helped. It may have been recognised and read by more than one person in the household prior to the recipient's passing or the property may have subsequently attracted an occupant of a similar age. Plus of course it wasn't a personally addressed letter promoting services such as life insurance or will services.
Of course we're not advocating insensitivity to grieving families for the sake of results, rather a more intelligent approach to suppression.
The key to intelligent suppression is to bear in mind the source and accuracy of the files. Think about your objectives, your audience and your offer before you decide the level of suppression you want to run. And above all, as with any other element of direct marketing, test your approaches. With intelligent processing and analysis to establish the most appropriate strategy for your brand you might just end up pleasantly surprised.
*Source: Deceased Preference Service
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Promotional marketing is a great way to reach your customers and engage with their purchasing experience by giving them more of what they want - encouraging customer retention and/or increase customer spending. There are a number of agencies that specialise in developing promotional marketing strategies and those that offer high quality sales promotion/ affinity marketing solutions. We’ve identified some of the key elements that make a successful campaign and promote customer retention so that you can see how sales promotion or affinity marketing can work for your business.
Create a powerful headline
Leading with a powerful, well targeted offer will hook the consumer in instantly. Stating a percentage or monetary value of the discount such as 50% off, save £10 or 2 for 1 hotel breaks can be the most effective communication of a saving. There’s no need to complicate the message, keep it short and basic to avoid confusion – if you have a strong enough offer it will talk for itself. It’s as simple as that!
Get it out there
There are increasingly more and more ways to communicate and distribute your consumer incentive and the more widely it is seen, the more successful it can perform. Advertising your consumer incentive doesn’t have to cost you as much as you might think and in most cases there’s a free marketing option. The internet is a good platform for reaching millions of new people but can be hard to control and can be subject to over-redemption. Online distribution methods include viral campaigns, voucher sites, social media - all of which are free marketing solutions. But remember mass-marketed campaigns can lead to brand devaluation! Keeping control of promotion distribution is now as essential as getting it out there at all.You can also offer your consumer incentive to your existing customers at point of sale which gives you greater control of distribution numbers. Another option is to offer your consumer incentive to customers through a loyalty and membership programme or discount club, this way you are keeping it to a closed group which responds positively to discounts and could easily lead to a mutually loyal relationship.
Deliver!
When all of the hard work is done there are some checks that sound simple but that can make or break a promotional marketing campaign. First of all make sure your discount works – ensure the promo code or voucher code is active online, over the phone, in-store or by whatever redemption method you have chosen. Try not to tie you customers up in knots over the terms and conditions. Any overcomplicated, or unreadable small print will put people off - remember the purpose of the exercise is customer retention, so be friendly not intimidating.
Get some advice
Promotional marketing or sales promotion/ affinity marketing can seem daunting to set up but there are plenty of agencies out there that can help and it can still be a free marketing option when managed externally. All an external agency will ask for is an exclusive discount for the members of its loyalty and membership programme or discount club. By using an external agency such as The Rocket Marketing Group every aspect of your promotional marketing campaign will be managed from promotion to handling loyalty and membership programmes or discount club members.
Contact The Rocket Marketing Group on 0845 241 2135 or visit www.rocketmarketinggroup.com if you are interested in free marketing solutions that encourage customer retention through consumer incentives. We can discuss how loyalty and membership programmes or discount clubs can promote your brand through sales promotion/ affinity marketing.
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Digital digital digital – isn’t it wonderful?! With its power to engage, its speed, the huge choice and access it offers consumers and, not least, the vast opportunity it provides for marketers to get under the skin of prospects and customers like never before.
Well, a resounding ‘yes’ to all of the above and more. As marketers we must all learn to adopt and adapt to all things digital if we are to maintain currency, credibility and capability. Traditional DM agencies can no more afford not to have some kind of digital skills now than their above the line colleagues and, in the heady world of data in particular, digital’s role is rapidly moving from peripheral to central.
The richness and depth of the data that can be captured, analysed and manipulated takes us closer to real-time customer insight and understanding than ever before. Clickstream and web analytics are just a couple of the many tools now at our disposal to track consumer behaviour and preferences in minute detail. There seems to be daily coverage on some clever new way of using web, e mail and mobile data to better effect, eclipsing other channels in a frenzy of new technology-itis.
And at this point we need to sound a cautionary ‘But’. Yes, the speed of technological change in the digital channel is exponential and very, very exciting – of course, this brings its own challenges with almost instant obsolescence of the latest gadgets – but let’s not lose sight of the bigger picture. Data to drive consumer insight comes in all shapes and sizes – at campaign level, at channel level (including digital) and at customer and household level. Clever tools such as web analytics are excellent when well-used at campaign and channel level. The problem is that they only give a part of the picture, so whilst the digital channel and the data-rich benefits it brings are growing rapidly in importance, a little perspective can go a long way.
High streets may have suffered in the last few years but we still see millions of people browsing and shopping in-store every day of every week. Direct mail volumes may be dropping but there’s still plenty piled up waiting for us when we get back from holiday. Call centres are also still seeing a brisk trade for both sales and service, and for more complex, big ticket products (especially such as pensions and mortgages in the financial services market) many consumers still prefer the reassurance of dealing with someone face to face.
So digital, although growing very rapidly, is still only part of the whole channel mix. What’s more, most consumers will often use a mix of channels - sometimes over a sustained period of time – to make their purchase. Using data from all relevant channels and bringing it together at the customer level is where we get the real insight for improving communications and targeting.
So the value to be gained from data sourced from digital activity is enormous, but let’s not lose sight of the basic (and still valid) principles of what makes great direct marketing. By looking at the picture from the customer perspective the whole really does become greater than the sum of the parts.
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Any good chef will know that even their most favoured recipe will be doomed to failure if they use sub-standard ingredients. Many will rise before dawn to hit the best local markets to secure the very best produce, and some will even fly in the raw materials of their soon to be culinary delights, from thousands of miles away, in order to get the look and taste of a dish just right.
Mouth-watering analogy over, but the sentiment remains the same in the world of marketing, when we consider the importance of one of the primary ingredients of b2b campaigns; data. With a reputation that’s more McDonald’s than The Ivy, data has, at least until now, been a secondary consideration compared to the ‘recipe’. Marketers have been more focused on the what and why than the who when planning and implementing campaigns; leading to sub-standard data being used in the kind of marketing applications that, should they be recipes, wouldn’t look out of place in Delia’s latest.
But as the nations tastes have arguably been refined in recent years, not least due to the popularity of the myriad of ‘celebrity chefs’, so too has the b2b marketers thirst for better quality data to drive their campaigns. Multichannel landscape aside, accessing a customer or prospects name and address is simply not enough, and marketing professionals are now crying out to give their data more layers than an a home made lasagne.
From our experience the most effective way to improve basic b2b data is to undertake a process of matching and enhancing. When undertaking this process with a client, the rules of the kitchen can again have an influence on the entire activity. Just as knowledge of the recipe is important when setting out to buy the right ingredients, so too is an understanding of what the client is trying to achieve. Why do they want to enhance their data, and what is the likely end goal? Getting this communication between client and supplier right is of paramount importance, and can have a massive impact on the success of matching and enhancement programmes, and the quality of the data produced.
And so to the technical part. Before beginning the task of matching and enhancing, the incoming client data needs to be assessed, to check the key variables (like name, address, postcode and telephone number) are present, and to identify whether the file is company or contact based. It is also essential from a customer perspective to be supplied an ID or URN so that the data can be re-imported into the appropriate software.
Once these and other checks have been carried out, the matching process can begin. Every data provider/data aggregator will use different matching software and different matching algorithms, so it is important to understand what classifies as a match. It is not as simple as just comparing match rates between different suppliers as matching routines will be different and the quality of the match will differ. It is necessary to strike a balance between quality and quantity, and to ensure that the client is aware that this is generally an automated process, so there will be anomalies.
Once matching routines have been agreed, the client data can then be enhanced. It is important here to ensure that the client is aware of what data they will be receiving, and the supplier has covered all angles. For example does the client want data appending or overwriting, do they want codes and descriptions appending, or just descriptions with a separate look up table? Does the client have any specific codes they use for example around business sector or employee size that they want us to use? Asking questions is a vital part of the process, and will ensure the client’s investment in enhanced data is properly realised.
We always find that providing a file layout to the customer before sending the data to them is immensely helpful, so they are able to understand exactly what they are receiving, and queries can be ironed out prior to receipt of the data. This helps to ensure that the job is done just once, and does not have to be repeated due to lack of information and clear communication.
Just as TV chefs lay out dishes with all the ingredients they will need before they begin cooking, getting your proverbial kitchen in order when setting out on a matching and enhancement programme will ensure success. And the proof is very much in the pudding; supporting client investment in data, to deliver quality and richer customer insight, is the first step on the marketing journey of discovery. Now surely that’s worth a Michelin Star or two.
As Morrisons announce an underlying profit before tax up 22% to £359m (2008/9: £295m) and the Halifax reporting that house prises rose another 0.8% last month there are now definite signs that the recession is slowing and maybe even that the end of our current economic problems are on the horizon. What does this mean for businesses and the average consumer? Will consumers maintain their spending ransom on businesses, forcing them into drastic recession solutions or will we eventually see the end of the sale season?
It’s hard to know whether people have just changed their spending habits and this is how it is going to stay or if it’s just a fashion/fad/phase that will pass. Businesses and marketing departments definitely have a tough road ahead rebuilding the worth of recession battered brands. This has been an important era for marketing as the spending culture has changed so dramatically. In some cases this is not just due to the recession but the increasingly wide spread use of online shopping, the recession has just acted to highlight the shortfalls of ageing business models – and these are possibly the businesses that won’t emerge from the sale.
Throughout the last year marketers have relied upon discounts and sales as the complete recession solution but now as we move out of this era will the lower prices be forced to remain and move from a desperate recession solution to the norm. All businesses need to start regaining their brand value by ending the sale season and finding other ways to offer consumer incentives. There are other free marketing solutions available which both benefit the consumer and business involved.
These free marketing solutions involve consumer incentives that promote brand loyalty rather than a ‘shop where’s cheapest’ mentality. A good way for businesses to tap into this culture but maintain their brand value is through affinity marketing. This is a free marketing tool which can offer consumer incentives in a number of ways including through loyalty and membership programmes or discount clubs. These clubs work well because they are not exclusively recession solutions. Companies such as The Rocket Marketing Group operate a number of loyalty and membership programmes or discount clubs. Businesses feature in the loyalty and membership programmes or discount clubs as a free marketing solution; all they have to do is offer members an exclusive discount. These discounts act as consumer incentives and they can effectively drive loyalty for the brands featured in the discount club.
If you are interested in free marketing through affinity marketing - featuring your business in one of The Rocket Marketing Group’s loyalty and membership programmes, purchasing a consumer incentive or selling the clubs and generating an incremental revenue call 0845 241 2135 or visit www.rocketmarketinggroup.com
In a week when record numbers of teenagers have been biting their nails in anticipation of their A Level results and pundits are predicting that students will leave university with an average debt of £17,500, leading brand and marketing response agency, TheAgency, has been conducting research into effective sales and marketing to teenagers.
Instant is best. Whether it is instant messaging, video sharing, social networking or online shopping, it’s happening ‘now’. According to IABuk.net 81% of teens (aged 12 – 24) say instant messaging is an important online service and 83% use MSN to keep in touch with friends.
However, there is a lack of teens twittering. Under 25s make up 25% of the twitter audience, but the 13 - 17 audience is already using facebook/bebo to keep up to date.
Key services that teens use are ones where they can contribute and communicate with one another rather then make purchases. For a brand to be successful in these areas they must make communication and contribution a key objective, sales second. Two-way communication is essential. Even better, brands should meet face to face with teenagers and keep in touch on a regular basis.
Being a teenager is a time of opportunistic endeavour. Exciting and changeable it has always been tricky to tap into ‘now’ trends. With the right tools and spaces in place to target them, brands have to form a deeper understanding of the teen psyche and engage with them at a far deeper level than ever before.
The recent £4m account win from BSM required TheAgency to make BSM more relevant to the core learner youth market. Its ‘Lessons for Life’ campaign stood out from those of other driving schools by focusing on the learner rather than the car. Youthful visuals dominated right down to the colour palette and teenager’s clothing.
The result is a 20 per cent uplift in learner bookings and ‘Lessons for Life’ has been extended across the brand experience. BSM has also ended its 16-year relationship with Vauxhall to swap the Opal for the über-trendy Fiat 500 , reflecting yet another facet of the driving school’s desire to connect with the youth market’s interest in green credentials.
As teenagers tackle exams, debt, disenfranchisement, world politics and global warming, so brands have to grapple with the right message, tone and creative relevance that will inspire, engage with and activate this youth audience. And that’s a lesson in life that many brands will have to take.
TheAgency top 5 tips for targeting teenagers
1) Engage – with the power of social networks two way conversation is key. Invite responses and allow contribution.2) Give them something back– a free download, a discount, an amusing video. Think of it as a friendship, you can’t just take and never give back.3) Be honest – don’t lie, don’t pretend to be something you’re not and encourage honesty in return.4) Language - don’t use marketing jargon, use language that teens use and make sure you’re up to date – Groovy does not count.5) Don’t just sit back – don’t wait for them to come to you, go out and find them and once you’re there join in the fun!
www.theagencyonline.co.uk
Whilst chatting with my cousin in India via Facebook, it struck me how social media sites are helping to merge cultural boundaries. At the expense of sounding like someone who never switches off, this got me thinking about its effects on marketing and creativity.
Let’s step back 20 years or so. In the 80s, conversations (over the ‘phone) with relatives struggled to progress beyond the general ‘How are you and the family?’ and of course Cricket. Now it’s the Premiership, music, movies – to be honest, it’s not too different to talking with friends in the UK.
Today if you walk through major cities in India you’ll see loads of familiar faces – from Mr. Ronald McDonald to David Beckham; along the way you can take in the likes of Nike, Debenhams and even Marks and Spencer.
Commonality is no bad thing. It helps us feel comfortable and confident enough to explore more diverse aspects of a culture, providing new fuel for our creative minds.
Strategy benefits too. We step further into a very different landscape and see how other people and organisations approach consumers. This provides ready contrasts and comparisons to ponder and incorporate into our own approaches.
In many ways some of the world’s most successful brands have always been cultural sponges, squeezing interesting new flavours into their strategy.
Today, social media sites are fantastic tools for experiencing fresh new perspectives. But how often do we really step away from our ‘safe’ vantage points when using social media? Are we doing enough to find out about other cultures and their dynamics? Or do we simply add neighbours to Farmville, get nostalgic about our school days and watch the same types of films on YouTube?
By limiting our viewing, we run the risk of missing out on genuinely original, entertaining material. And on a professional basis, that’s where the gold really is.
To a certain degree the movement of western brands and the rise of international brand carriers makes it seem like the East is simply moving westward. If it’s coming to us, why bother going to them?
In creative and strategic terms, there’ll be little need to try something different if you know you can do the same thing and get pretty much the same results. But that is a slow painful road that will ultimately deliver diminishing returns, not to mention become really boring. But that’s never stopped our industry in the past.
So go on take a little diversion; hit Youtube and take a look at some of the exciting material that’s coming out of agencies in India and the Asian subcontinent. Yes there’s rubbish - there’s rubbish everywhere - but equally there’s some really exciting and different stuff worth diving into. Have a gander at the art and stunning films being created, for example.
And when you find something that really tickles your fancy, why not pass it on to your friends? It would be the social thing to do.
http://theagencyonline.co.uk
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Author- James Glick, Media Account Manager, CheezeDMG www.cheezedmg.com, www.cheeze.com/blog/, twitter.com/Cheezedmg
In July Google announced Google Chrome OS. It is expected to be a more advanced version of Android that will be pre-installed on net books initially. So, as Google rarely does anything unless it generates revenue, how will it make money from Chrome OS in its continued quest to organize the world’s information?
It does indeed look very similar stylistically to Android, with a focus on Google’s core products - and why not? This OS isn’t going to allow us to produce complex image rendering in Adobe PhotoShop. This is net book territory, designed to run internet-related applications, which Google has in abundance, as well as other projects such as Google Drive - still a closely guarded secret apparently, that will surely come to light as the release of the operating system descends.
In short, people shouldn’t expect too much from this operating system, it’s an expanded version of Android which is completely built around its own internet applications such as Reader, Search, Mail, Docs, Picasa.
But the future of computers is in the cloud isn’t it? And Chrome OS could be the real start of cloud computing, where hardly anything is held on the hard drives of our computers. Google has created an impressive software suit of applications that cover the majority of users needs in today’s Internet society. What exactly will be required to be stored on the hard drive of a Google Chrome OS net book? Not much if all your photos, documents, contacts, emails, notes and files are held on Google’s servers.
The only major complication to the success of this product is, if all our data is stored on Google's servers, how much of it will be accessible to them? No doubt this could be why Google is producing Chrome OS in the first place - if it has details on all our search behaviour, as well as our personal documents and photos; this would surely enhance its advertising targeting on the Google Content Network and help advertisers and their Adword’s campaigns with market research. Chrome OS allows Google to satisfy its mission statement as well as use the data to increase its advertising revenues.
With Internet speeds and accessibility becoming faster and more reliable, full cloud computing is ready to be properly supported and has the potential to flourish.
This article has come full circle - from straight operating systems, to cloud computing - but eventually back round to the Google’s main and primary strategy in whatever it does – making money.
There was a lot of stuff on Twitter by the end of last week, spreading the announcement of the worlds first video in paper magazines.
The very fact that we had to talk about ‘paper’ magazines is in itself indicative of were we are now. In all my time as a reader of everything from Shoot! to Homes & Gardens I’ve never once felt it necessary to clarify I was picking up a ‘paper’ magazine in much the same way I’ve yet to ask for a ‘liquid’coffee at Starbucks.
But times change & obviously marketers feel generation Y needs no ambiguity before they can have new innovations sold to them.
CBS: Copyright CBS
It’s a joint venture between CBS, Pepsi and Entertainment Weekly in the States. According to the CBS press release, readers will be able watch video straight from the printed page via a paper-thin interactive video player featuring ads for several CBS programmes as well as a video promoting a Pepsi diet cola in select copies of Entertainment Weekly’s Autumn TV preview issue.
http://thenextweb.com/2009/08/20/video-paper-magazine-worlds/
At the moment, to me, it all comes across as a short-sighted rather than innovative. The current rush within the media to multi platform at all costs reminds me of those games where you make ridiculous fantasy animals by sticking different parts of them together just to see how it’ll look. Hippopotobirds, donkeyguins, videopapermagazines….
‘Donkeyguin’Copyright Tedmus
‘Hippotobird’Copyright Skitzter.com
The shame of it is that this is all about advertising rather than content. Turn the idea on it’s head and look on it as a new opportunity to create content rather than just sell things, and it suddenly becomes a whole lot more interesting. I could read an in dept interview with the Artic Monkeys in Q Magazine and watch their new video on the adjoining page. Alternatively I could flick through an Annie Leibovitz fashion shoot in Paris and on the last page check out a behind the scenes viral.
Additional and repackaged content is what propelled the home buyer DVD market a few years ago. But in forgetting that and going for the short term advertising novelty the magazine industry might be missing a trick.
Post by Tim Kerr (Director & Picture Editor PA Photocall)
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Over the last few weeks, I’ve discussed how retailers can better understand their customers, and prevent them from defecting to rival brands in this competitive marketplace. This week I want to look at how retailers can win the war on value, without damaging their brand.
With Brits spending more and more time holidaying at home on ‘staycations’, I wanted to explore the UK and Ireland to find my favourite city break destinations, seeing what there is to entice tourists there and which businesses are potentially profiting from this increased trade. There are so many different areas in the UK and Ireland, each individual in what they have to offer tourists. And as companies such as The Rocket Marketing Group launch discount clubs like the 241 Hotel Club, which gives members 2 nights for the price of 1 at over 300 hotels, the UK and Irish tourism trade really can now compete with the rest of the world for offering affordable yet interesting and unique holidays.
Bournemouth
Famous for its expansive sandy beaches and warm south coast climate this is a popular destination for old and young alike. There are plenty of attractions, many focussed around the seafront, making it a major competitor to the traditional beach holiday abroad. Providing the sun stays shining tourists can spend hours enjoying the beach for free. Every business from ice cream vans to clothes shops and restaurants benefit from visitors who can spend money that they’ve saved by getting 2 nights for the price of 1 at their hotel.
Brighton
Or London-by-the-sea as it is known is a bustling seaside resort with plenty to entertain tourists both on and off the beach. In sunny weather the pebble beach is very popular as are the galleries and eateries that sit along the seafront. There is the famous pier with rides and bars plus quirky independent shops that benefit from the busy holiday seasons. There is still plenty to do when the weather is not quite so good such as busy bars, nightclubs and comedy to name just a few. This will always be a popular resort but with cheaper hotel accommodation such as 2 for 1 at Holiday Inn, or Rottingdean, White Horse, people are freed up to really enjoy everything Brighton has to offer.
London
The capital of Britain has activities and sights to interest everyone so people travel from far and wide to see this exciting cosmopolitan city. Traditionally known of as an expensive destination this puts some people off visiting, but with cheaper accommodation like 2 for 1 at Earls Court Holiday Inn Express or further south at Kingston Lodge plus consumer incentives and discount clubs, attractions such as the world-class theatres, galleries, shopping, restaurants, the London Eye and Madame Tussauds become accessible for more people. This city is a great alternative for people who might normally take a break in Paris, Rome or Barcelona.
Cambridge
As one of England’s most treasured historic university cities, Cambridge is a fascinating place to visit. Again, great on a sunny day as you can meander the streets taking in the beautiful architecture, punt down the river or join the locals and go for a cycle. But there’s also plenty to do inside from world-renowned exhibitions, theatres bars and cafes that will benefit from an increase in tourism. This can be achieved by presenting consumers with an affordable romantic break accommodation like 2 for 1 at Cambridge Crowne Plaza.
Manchester
This is just one of the North West’s interesting and vibrant cities, with a reputation for great nightlife including music, theatre and restaurants. This city gives tourists a good time all year round they visit. There are lots of tourist attractions that reflect the strong character of the city such as the working people’s museum and Urbis – a new kind of museum. As in all of the cities featured, all of these attractions would benefit from increased visitor numbers.
York
A beautiful historic city with many unique features, the magnificent Cathedral, Roman city walls, numerous exhibitions and winding streets with independent shops means tourists are spoilt for choice. It can be a romantic getaway or fun-packed and educational holiday destination for all the family. The city caters well for tourists and there are discount clubs and consumer incentives that give savings which could help increase visitor numbers and as a result benefit the city hugely.
Edinburgh
Edinburgh is another city that is geared towards tourists - one of the most popular cities in the UK. The interesting history and many unique and original architectural features make it one of the country’s most beautiful places. There is so much to do all year round and one of the world-famous festivals is a must-see for anyone, as well as sampling some of the regional food and drink specialities. Cheaper hotels or deals such as 2 nights for the price of 1 at Edinburgh Royal Mile Holiday Inn Express may prompt people to plan the trip they’ve always thought of.
Cardiff
Wales’ capital and largest city is a good mix of the heritage of the old and the progressive new. Cardiff is a bustling and interesting city at the heart of this proud country. The tourist attractions range from the historic Cardiff Castle to the modern and monumental National Assembly for Wales and Cardiff Bay, as well as lots of beautiful shops - all of which would benefit from a rise in trade.
Belfast
Belfast makes for an interesting visit with its castle and Victorian heritage, including Botanic gardens plus entertainment at the Grand Opera House or family attractions like Aunt Sandra’s Candy Factory. It’s also a good base to explore the rest of Northern Ireland including stunning natural sights such as Giants Causeway. Tourists can use offers such as the 241 Hotel Club so they can enjoy the beauty that Northern Ireland has to offer.
Dublin
Dublin is the Irish capital and a city that promises everything – an exciting nightlife with trendy bars, traditional pubs and live music plus lots of family attractions and access to some beautiful scenery. This has always been a popular destination all year round but it can be expensive. Discount clubs, consumer incentives and savings on accommodation such as Dublin Blanchardstown Crowne Plaza, could really help more tourists enjoy this complete holiday destination.
These breaks are all unique and the attractions in various locations appeal to a wide selection of people. The diversity of such a small area is what makes the UK and Ireland interesting places for anyone to explore. The 241 Hotel Club offers 2 nights for the price of 1, making it a product with mass appeal and can be used effectively as a consumer incentive, staff benefit, sales promotion tool plus much, much more.
So why not support British tourism while taking advantage of this powerful new promotional incentive? The 241 Hotel Club is available to purchase so if you would like to find out more call The Rocket Marketing Group on 0845 241 2135 or visit www.rocketmarketinggroup.com
Offers correct at time of publication and subject to terms and conditions.
People buy people, so it is important to reveal the human side of your enterprise, as very often the first image people see is the profile photo on your website, blog or social networking site. You need to communicate effectively with your chosen audience, ensuring you are sending the right message about your organisation. Be sure to personalise the connection you make, it helps your customer see you as a person instead of an abstract web site.
In the past companies have not been keen to invest heavily in photography for their corporation as they see it as an unnecessary expense compared to the overall promotion of the company, but consider this: Your company sites will be the first thing your potential customers will see, they are the windows to your company.
Here are a few points you may want to consider about your current business photography:
If the answer to any of these is “no” then perhaps you need to speak to a professional business portrait photographer. Investment in your business photography can set you apart from your competitors. There is still a lack of investment in images and graphics online stay one step ahead and put a human face to your company.
Post by Penny Joyner (PA Photocall)
Interesting piece in the current issue of PR Week about concerns we could be seeing the ‘Slow death of the embargo’. The Wall Street Journal is believed to have introduced a new policy stipulating that they will only honour embargos on exclusive stories. It’s a change of direction that’s obviously brought on by the pressure to be first with breaking news amid increasing competition from other online media outlets especially bloggers who traditionally have been more cavalier with embargos.
Certain newspapers may feel that they can’t afford the niceties of sitting on embargoed stories when specialist blogs are prepared to ‘publish and be dammed’. News has moved on it’s no longer written up today printed tonight and read in papers tomorrow, it’s available instantly & constantly via multiple formats.
The walls have come down and the means of news production are now available to anyone. In that light embargos can seem antiquated, but they still have a place, they just need to be used with care and not as a ‘catch all’ control mechanism.
PR Week editor Danny Rogers talks about embargoes as being “a lazy means of dealing with the media.” The WSJ and the blogs have stirred things up & if that stops these ‘lazy’ embargoes it’s probably no bad thing.
So what could this it mean for photos? I always feel the best way to handle a press PR photo is to use embargoes as sparingly as possible. Basically, ‘take it, get it out, get it in!’ Getting your pictures in the press is always hard enough without making it harder for yourself by putting embargoes across the top of them unless they’re really necessary.
Obviously certain photos because of logistics or availability need to be be taken beforehand and held back. Journalists will understand that and personal relationships, trust and exclusives will always play a role in this business. But maybe the shake up in attitudes towards embargoes generally will make people look at picture embargoes a bit harder too. Using embargoes where they aren’t really appropriate, such as on pictures taken in public places or of stunts that are open knowledge may start to become a thing of the past.
In this climate when the media is crying out for good, free to use PR copy, it’s unnecessary to shackle every story & picture with an embargo. Nobody can really control the media, instead we just need to continue to work with it making content that the press will want to use now, not next week.
Last week we discussed the importance of retailers understanding their customers in a bid to grow the most profitable customers. This week we consider how retailers can protect themselves from brand defection.
Tune in next week I will debate how to win the war on value.
Angee Walls, Managing Director, Catalina UK
There have been many surveys and reports this year indicating an increase in the number of British people taking their holidays in Britain. Travelsupermarket.com conducted research back in July, showing that 50 % of British holiday makers said that they were most likely to book a holiday in Britain in the next 12 months. The ‘staycation’ as it has been dubbed is a new fashion that is fantastic for the British economy. But as we begin the ascent out of recession, can the British hotel trade continue to compete with the allure of foreign holidays that offer the probability of good weather and escapism from our everyday life?
It’s unfortunate that it has taken a recession for British people to discover that Britain has the kind of diverse landscapes and cultures that can be just as enjoyable and interesting as flying abroad for a holiday. Maybe the good experiences of this year’s holidays will encourage British holiday makers to have a staycation more often. But this element cannot be relied on too heavily as summer memories will soon fade as the winter sets in.
Some of the most popular city breaks in Britain include London, Edinburgh and Brighton. These destinations have seen visitors descend on them this summer giving the tourists a taste for the theatre, historic sites, theme parks plus regional food and drink specialities. Most of these activities don’t rely on sunshine so could survive as an addition to the annual summer sun break or as an interesting alternative to spending hours sleeping on a beach.
The increase in the British tourism trade this year has been in direct response to the recession but we mustn’t forget that it is only in the last 20 or 30 years that foreign travel has become financially possible for the average British family. The rise in cheap package holidays to countries such as Spain and then the increase in budget airlines selling flights abroad for less than it costs in train fares across the country has contributed to British people travelling further a field than British holiday hot spots such as London, Brighton and Blackpool. But as eco/green issues become more widely understood, airport taxes continue to rise and the budget airlines start to fold, this era of cheap foreign holidays could soon be over.
So if British resorts and cities remain competitively priced surely this will contribute significantly to Britain being able to compete with the popular destinations abroad? Hotels have traditionally been the most expensive element of any British break so a consumer incentive that focuses on hotel discounts whether stand alone or part of a discount club would be a useful sales promotion technique for encouraging the Brits to think twice about holidaying abroad.
A recent sales promotion idea has seen The Rocket Marketing Group launch the 241 Hotel Club. This discount club offers members 2 nights for the price of 1 at major hotel chains including Holiday Inn, Holiday Inn Express, Crowne Plaza, Old English Inns and Brook Hotels, giving members the choice of over 300 hotels across the UK and Ireland. The 241 Hotel Club is a discount club that has been created by The Rocket Marketing Group and will initially be given as a reward to members of its loyalty and membership programmes. The 241 Hotel Club is also intended to be sold as a consumer incentive for other businesses as it is an impressive sales promotion tool that could encourage customers to buy certain products/services. This discount club would be suitable for almost any consumer incentive or employee benefit as it’s a product that most would be interested in whether they are young or old, rich or poor, prefer city breaks or countryside retreats.
There is so much to see, do and be proud of in the UK and Ireland and any initiative that illustrates this and makes it accessible for more people to enjoy will help the recession hit UK and Ireland.
For more information on The Rocket Marketing Group's loyalty and membership programmes/discount clubs or if you are interested in purchasing the 241 Hotel Club as a consumer incentive or employee benefit sales promotion tool please contact The Rocket Marketing Group by emailing enquiries@rocketmarketinggoup.com or calling 0845 241 2135
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