Search results matching tag 'Barclays'

Is it time for a new set of values for a new era of advertising?

322703 — Wed, 18 Feb 2009 02:42:00 GMT

Words can be like brands and one word that has now got the worse brand image of all time must be 'greed'. T-shirts are already appearing in markets with a Thatcher cartoon on and the slogan "greed is good for a few and bad for the rest of us".

The recession has exposed an indefensible amount of unethical behavior by bankers who's only value has been greed. Eric Daniels, Andy Honby, Lord Stevenson and the rest may have got a good grilling by the press and politicians and stimulated a lot of public anger, but when you have been pocketing obscene bonuses for years it's a small price to pay as you sip vintage champagne on your yacht in the Maldives. Saying "sorry" and then defending bonuses as "well earned" isn't washing (Bob Diamond got paid £20m at Barclays in 2007). As the Independent on Sunday said, 'what planet are they on? A different one from the rest of us.'

Apparently, the backlash has resulted in lots of students signing up to left wing groups and anti-capitalist organizations in colleges. The next generation doesn't sound like it's going to be very ad friendly. The recession has left almost everyone asking the question, "what is the true cost of making money?" While religious leaders are quoting "money is the root of all evil" in their Sunday sermons and most of us are starting to agree as we fear for our jobs and homes.

Money is a twin edge sword that can motivate or corrupt. One agency (that will remain nameless) discovered how bonuses brings out the bad in people. Account handlers started fiddling invoices and double billing clients to make targets and get big
bonuses. As this legendary story goes, the agency nearly ended up in court and had to pay back all fees to one client to avoid a public scandal. The simple rule I read (I think in a Peter Drucker or Tom Peters book) was, if you have to use money to motivate people to do their job properly you have the wrong people. I haven't yet met a really good creative who did better work for a bonus. Or a nurse, policeman, soldier or teachers. I've heard of lots of stories of bent traffic wardens though.

The Triple bottom line – People, Planet & Profit has been at the core of many ethical businesses but even mainstream brands must be looking to be a little more ethical given the public outcry. Could this result in a move to more ethical business models like Quaker, Puritan or even Islamic models? These all balance a businesses need to make money with making a positive effect upon society. Brands like Cadbury's built houses, schools, churches and health centres for their workers. Brands like The Body Shop and John Lewis make employees part of their business. There are many brands that prove that you can make money without abandoning basic social values or exploiting people.

Of course the ad industry is going through many changes and the big question is, is the current model (largely based on the 60's model) right for the future? Has it become too fat in places with too much admin? Could the recession be the perfect
catalyst for a positive change, after all we are one of the last creative industries to change.

In these dubious times redundancies are so common they no longer make the pages of the news and all of us in the ad industry have got friends who have been laid off in the last few weeks. Freelancers and juniors are getting an equally negative message, "we're not hiring" or "we're cutting back on freelancers." It's a tough business and the really tough bit is to treat people fairly and with respect. I've recently heard some disgusting stories of how some agencies have been trying to get people out without decent pay offs. Cutting costs isn't the same as making money and trying to save on redundancies packages only puts us in the same hall of shame as those bankers.

Equally as concerning in these times is the pressure those still in a job are going to be put under. The work needs to be done but with less people how will this impact upon families? Will we see more stress related illnesses? Are clients aware of the outcome of paying less but demanding more?

What if the ad business turned over a new leaf and tried to be more ethical? To adopt new values? Having worked with many charities, how would it be if agencies were set up as social enterprises? This means they can't make money for shareholders but have to reinvest any profits back into the business – people, talent, training, resources, etc. This model has worked really well in other industries (especially ethical business) as it's a value based business model not a profit based one. This
forces the business to focus on its core values. Makes you think, how different would an ad agency look?

My book - Ethical Marketing and the New Consumer: Marketing in the New Ethical Economy

What a load of bankers!

1225254 — Tue, 21 Oct 2008 09:45:00 GMT

Blimey. What would you do if you were a bank now? Apparently according to a recent poll in the Guardian (21.10.08) bankers are officially the most hated and loathed creatures on the planet now with the public blaming them more than anyone for wrecking the economy.

Of course, anyone who has been as keen as student as I of bank advertising would know the banks have never really known what they were doing. Do you remember "the listening bank?". Well, they were until one of their Bank Managers called the police in to arrest some hapless overdrawn student. Or the same bank's woeful attempt to brand its products along conceptual lines such as Vector, Orchard, Wombat etc....Didn't Barclays veer from a Bladerunner inspired attack on 'Big Brotherness' to Sir Hannibal Lecter proclaiming that Big is actually good? Then they gave us some silly Hollywood nonsense with the man from The Shawshank Redemption. NatWest felt they were onto something with the little old lady bemoaning "trendy wine bars" except they then turned her into a brand spokesman which worked less well for more complex business products. And Howard and his dancing troupe of staff wannabees now look as relevant to today's realities as cheque books. Still, if we have to be grateful to the credit crunch for one thing.....

The trouble is bankers are seduced by gurus who sell them the dream of brand, which is obviously far more exciting than poring over debt books or debating compliance issues. And emotions seem easier to manipulate than FSA-driven terms and conditions. So being banks, they spent big on 'brand'.

One problem is that a bank's brand perception hangs on the behaviour and attitude of the poorly paid Call Centre worker for whom English may not be their first language. Expensive emotive-based advertising cannot cover for this. Nor can a new visual identity mask the damage done by £550m being repaid to consumers in unfair bank charges. I'm afraid they only have themselves to blame for scoring so badly on 'trust' - the one value they could desperately do with now.

So what can they do? I'd go back to basics. I'd take the approach McDonald's took to respond to the 'Super-size Me' attack. I'd start explaining things again. I'd take the exact opposite route to Morgan Freeman's vacuous soliloquoy. I'd abandon TV advertising completely and use the web, email and print. No, I wouldn't start posting spurious user comments on social network sites and forums. No-one believes corporations when they do this. It's like your Dad dancing at a disco and easy to spot.

I would initiate a campaign, based on copy and argument, that was realistic in tone with a degree of humility. No hyperbole, sorry Halifax Howard. I'd revisit the old Volkswagen and Avis ads for tone. I'd talk about products and service, not vague and insincere emotions. It is a myth don't want to read about products. If you're not buying a house you won't read about mortgages, but if you are, you'll read a lot. Same with insurance, loans and credit cards. I would talk about CSR and green issues. I would explain how we try to deliver service. I would outline how I try hard not to rip customers off. I would invest in well written, personalised emails (far cheaper and more effective than another big budget TV ad). I would encourage feedback, comment and interaction at every stage. I would not pretend to be a fashion retailer or a coffee shop. I'd be a bank, but a very good one. And I'd explain why.

I would close my ears to the dwahlings who say consumers don't read or write any more. What do they spend their whole time on their computers doing? Thanks to the web, we now live in a text-based interactive world. The old advertising model of presenting visual imagery on TV to people doesn't meet their needs. Consumers are more curious and demanding than that now. They want to know what your position is on various issues. What's the depth to the brand? What relevance does it have for them as an individual? What lies behind your claims? Only good copy can deliver this - online or in print. They might read in a different way - in bite-size chunks - but they read more than ever. And this way, consumers might even begin to understand the products banks are selling.

But I bet the minute there's an upturn, all those agencies with bank clients will be hot on the phone to Hollywood and "The Bank Supremacy" will hit our screens, doubtless followed by "The Bank Ultimatum". Actually, I think that's what they had last week.