Ebay recently decided to stop advertising inside its own apps claiming that “they didn’t need the money” and that it was “spoiling the user experience”. Now there’s a brand that are ahead of the game and realise that the short term benefit of quick revenues could outweigh the long term benefits of customer satisfaction and customer loyalty.

Many brands and media agencies seem to think that a mobile marketing strategy just involves advertising. I have news from them, it’s unlikely that it actually includes much if any mobile advertising. Mobile is more sophisticated than that.

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I foresee two key opportunities for the industry creative this year. One is that ambient will become a key battleground for brands trying to disrupt audiences’ daily routines. The other is the move towards the big, the bold and the simple. Both these trends may well converge of course and I look forward to exploring their possibilities.

While Minority Report’s retina-scanning six sheets may not arrive in 2013, I think the drive towards mobile-first advertising and the arrival of 4G will have brands clamoring to become even more visible in our everyday lives. Using insight to identify where ambient opportunities exist will be imperative … so we may see sports drinks advertised on treadmill screens (available in a vending machine near your locker) or footwear retailers offering discounts on sturdy boots with graffiti on snow-covered pavements. Read More »

The news that mobile has doubled its share of advertising and is the fastest growing area of marketing spend in surveys from the US to the UK, Australia to China demonstrates clearly where the industry is going. This is especially true in Asia.

Many mobile users have skipped the pc/laptop usage part of their lives and gone straight to mobile. If a brand wishes to reach them they must have a mobile marketing strategy. This is especially so for countries such as Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand and India.

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eBay, one of the most successful Internet brands, recently announced it was changing its logo. Upon making the announcement, it revealed the refreshed logo is designed to reflect eBay’s brand and marketplace today by offering “a cleaner, more contemporary and consistent experience, with innovation that makes buying and selling easier and more enjoyable”.

But can just a logo redesign deliver this? The redesign has centered around a much more mainstream aesthetic delivered by the Univers Extended typeface, used by many brands for its readability and simplicity with the instantly recognisable eBay colours maintained.

Gone is the jaunty lettering of the old logo that was so much a trademark of eBay. Is this an effort to look the part and convey those brand values or is it a technical solution that makes communications simpler to convey across different media platforms? Read More »

As the US presidential race heats up a revealing infographic here claims the use of various social networks and websites can indicate how the American public might vote  come Tuesday November 6.

For instance if you like to sell stuff on eBay then you might be a Republican supporting Mitt Romney voter who is also highly engaged politically.

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Since Sainsbury’s Justin King made his comment in February, that smaller retailers should simply accept their fate and die gracefully, the ‘death of the high street’ has been the talk of the media.

E-Commerce has been identified as one of the culprits responsible for the troubles of bricks and mortar establishments, but this is not a fair judgement.  Read More »

Listening to CEO and co-founder Ben Silbermann describe how he abandoned plans to become a medical practitioner to found Pinterest, it is easy to forget that every novel, differentiated idea that takes the limelight also comes with a risk—overhype.

Brands are being increasingly successful in social media by using humorous mascots, according to the WSJ. We’ve seen plenty of evidence of that in the UK with Dulux recently reinstating its dog and how brands as diverse as Burger King’s “The King”, Compare the Market (Meerkat) and Go Compare with its opera-singing mascot, Gio Compario, have used them.

The report says that ad executives believe consumers on Facebook are more likely to bond with a character than the traditional company page on the social-media website pumping out company and product news. Read More »

2012 is going to be the year when smart brand marketing truly embraces the power of converging digital and physical activity.

The ‘internet of things’ is becoming an increasingly common part of our life; everyday products now have web connectivity, shopping experiences are getting social media components built in and anything other than a smart phone now looks distinctly archaic. Read More »

The iPad has done for tablets what the iPhone did for smart phones.

They have not only completely revolutionised what now seem like dinosaur-era devices but they have also created a market consisting of exciting new consumer experiences and opportunities for brands well beyond the previous industry standard.

The similarity between the devices ends there – unless, of course, you take the Dom Joly (Trigger Happy TV) approach to phone size with your beloved iPad. Read More »