Ivan Pollard's blog - All Comments

re: A Little Thought About Big Brands

sue turner — Thu, 10 Sep 2009 11:17:42 GMT

And this is news? to whom?

re: A Little Thought About Big Brands

Martin Thomas — Wed, 09 Sep 2009 11:22:19 GMT

I agree with Ivan that something has fundamentally changed, although it is more about new patterns of behaviour and changing expectations than simply the emergence of social media. People's relationship with brands and brand owners has changed (the reasons are complex) - they want to get involved, they want to discuss things and share experiences with like-minded individuals and they want to be heard.

re: A Little Thought About Big Brands

Dan Matthews — Wed, 09 Sep 2009 09:29:04 GMT

Ivan, surely this has always been the case? Brand owners have never had more than a small influence over the way people feel about their brands once they pass into the public domain. Any econometrics study will show advertising plays only a notional role in the sales of brand, be it a bank or a burger.

And people have always talked about brands they like and don't like to their friends. The only difference is now, thanks to the wonders of the interweb, comms planners can see their comments from the comfort of their own desk, without the bother of having to organise research groups.

Burberry, Porsche, Primark, RBS, the BBC and many others are powerful testament to the reality that brands are owned and moulded by the public, and there's not a lot advertisers can do to change or influence that.

re: A Little Thought About Big Brands

Tod Norman — Wed, 09 Sep 2009 09:16:59 GMT

Ivan

The assertion that 'In the not so distant past, the vast majority of those experiences were controlled by us' is not, in my opnion, even remotely accurate. Brand managers - whatever their budget, have never been more powerful than worth of mouth, 'symbolic customers', or personal experience. And brands have and continue to assert things that consumers don't accept and therefore disregard. So it goes.

So does social networking change anything at all besides the medai?

I'm not sure. Certainly the group of people I can 'call on' for WOM and 'observe (and therefore see as symbolic users) is now much larger than ever. But these are changes in scale, not nature.

I'm afraid I don't understand what "fluid, active, multi-dimensional mediation of the collective" means, and therefore don't really understand what your premise is. But if it means trying to get positive WOM while recognising that you can't just assert things and expect people to believe you, then as above, I think it is a change in degree, rather than nature.

re: A Post-Modern Take on Digital

Syed Naqvi — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 12:36:47 GMT

It is very refreshing indeed to read your take on the Digital Conundrum. I offer my own theories on my blog www.makethelogosmaller.com and I look forward to your thoughts. Digital is misused to laughable extents now.

re: A Post-Modern Take on Digital

Adrian Langford — Fri, 05 Jun 2009 09:39:57 GMT

Some healthy reservations here regarding 'digital' but what exactly are we talking about? If I watch Sony 'Paint' via Freeview or Sky is that 'digital', because that's how it was transmitted? When I listen to my DAB wireless, then presumably that's 'digital' too? And what if I take my telly via IP (internet protocol)? That sounds pretty 'digital' too.

re: The Age of the Old

Ian Darby — Mon, 11 May 2009 15:12:44 GMT

33 is definitely young for a Notts player these days.

re: The Age of the Old

robert campbell — Sat, 09 May 2009 07:39:54 GMT

Hi Ivan. Couldn't agree with you more. By 2020 nearly half the population of the UK will be over 50. (And they'll hold all the money.) Yet our industry remains infatuated with youth. Lets catch up soon and discuss. Best. Robert and Garry.

re: The Age of the Old

James T Kirk — Fri, 08 May 2009 10:30:40 GMT

Won't a lot of us be deaf by then due to listening to banging music and turning our ipods right up to overcome the noise of the tube? Invest in hearing aid companies!

Topics about Football » The Power of Nice

Topics about Football » The Power of Nice — Sat, 04 Apr 2009 19:28:13 GMT

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re: The Power of Nice

charlie robertson — Fri, 03 Apr 2009 15:49:21 GMT

please send this to Barry Ferguson, de-moted captain of Rangers and Scotland