LiquidGraphic’s top five Olympic medal hopefuls

Sadly, the Liquid Graphic household did not get tickets for the 2012 London Olympics.

And while we face the prospect of sitting next July to watch sporting events from the comfort (and arguably better vantage point) of our small screen at home, the Olympic challenges we’re most interested in will be taking place away from the glare of the TV crews.

Here’s our top five events to watch unfold in the build up to what will be a massive event for many brands, agencies and advertisers:

The high jump: TV ratings

Having just wooed advertisers back to TV, ratings have suffered again in 2011 according to recent Informa figures. Ratings are projected to increase going forward into 2012 (no doubt taking the Games into account) but, in a fragmented medium, will they jump high enough to protect advertising spend from going elsewhere?

The steeplechase: Adidas v’s Nike

Adidas has thrown down the gauntlet and is set to use the Olympics to go after £100 million sales in the UK and steal market leadership from Nike. As arch rivals, this will be a historic and gruelling race played out with pride and high stakes to be won in market share.

Gymnastics: the logo

Already infamous and divisive among critics, the 2012 London Olympics logo design made it’s mark way before the Olympic gymnasiums were even built. But with controversy still close at bay (e.g. the recent threat of an Iranian boycott) will we see some bending and re-shaping of the brand identity as the Games get closer or will the logo continue to walk the high bar as the eyes of the rest of the world begin to look on London 2012?

The hurdles: BP

If there’s any brand image that has ground to regain it’s BP. As an official sponsor, BP will launch its feel-good “be proud join in” campaign to tie in with an Olympic marketing strategy. Let’s see if the campaign has legs long enough to get over the hurdles needed to scrub clean BP’s public image.

And finally…avoiding disqualification

The 2012 London Games is a crucial marketing focus for many many brands, only a few of which will carry the much-celebrated title of ‘official sponsor’. With so much at stake, we will watch team ‘official sponsors’ versus team ‘non-sponsors’,  and will be curious to see how brands get around the rules and eek every last drop of commercial gain from association with the Games, without being criminalised in the process.

The gauntlet has been thrown down and, tickets or no tickets, we can’t wait to see which brands are the winners and losers of London 2012.

What’s in it for me?

Anyone who’s ever worked in sales or who knows their F’s from their B’s (features and benefits) will be very familiar with the saying “What’s in it for me?” or WIIFM as it’s sometimes referred to. It’s basic stuff really, unless you communicate the benefit of what you’re selling, people aren’t going to buy it.

Except, these days, the modern brand-consumer relationship is more complex. That’s why this week at Liquid Graphic we’re asking do we like brands for what they give us? Or, do we like brands for what they contribute to our own personal brand?

In a fractured media market, more and more brands are using social media to get dialogue with their consumer. Most brands have fairly clear-cut ideas of what they’re looking to gain from using social media that mainly have to do with building loyalty, connecting with hard-to-reach audiences and sales promotion. But what about the consumer? What’s in it for them?

TNS Research International recently conducted a large-scale study for Marketing Week speaking to 50,000 people across 40 countries about their internet use and what they like about a brand’s online activity and what they find intrusive.

Five interesting things they found out from participants:

• 69% like online creative platforms
• 19% have brands as friends online, but they want gifts or discounts
• 70% will become friends with brands for personal benefit
• 56% become friends with brands because they like them
• 73% of people who like brands online say the ethics of a website or brand effects their decision to use them again

Source: TNS International Research, Marketing Week 28 April 2011

In our minds, the key is in the last two points.

The fact that 56% of people will show their affection for a brand to the world without an obvious reward is proof that we like brands for more than what they give us and is further proof of the inestimable power of social media.

But, before we get carried away, the last point holds a ‘handle with care’ warning for enthusiastic marketers. 73% will tune out if you over-egg the pudding. As much as your consumer may love you, there’s a fine line to be had between courting your consumer online and stalking them.

To find out more about how online marketing campaigns work and how you can use social media and search engine optimisation to support your advertising contact Liquid Graphic.

Love-to-hate advertising

Ever heard of a guy called Wynne Evans? He’s a former Welsh rugby player and opera singer. Er (perplexedly) no…

Ever heard of Gio Compario the much-celebrated star of the Go Compare adverts? Er (grudgingly) yes…

Same guy.

This month, the insurance price comparison company Go Compare released its full 2010 pre-tax profits to the market. Stunningly, for a company that serves as an intermediary, it saw a whopping 35% increase in profits last year which were just shy of £30m. Operating in a fiercely competitive market, much of this success has been credited to the ‘memorability’ of Go Compare’s advertising.

So the question we’re asking ourselves at Liquid Graphic this week is: since when do brands need to annoy their audiences to achieve stand out?

Interviewed in Marketing Week, Go Compare’s Head of Marketing Nick Hall calls it the Marmite campaign: people either love it or they hate it. He pinpoints character-based advertising and a love-hate relationship with the audience as key to the success of the campaign but acknowledges this alone is not enough: “We run a through-the-line marketing campaign. TV and radio is supported by active online campaigns through search, affiliate networks, online display, social and email.”

Annoying adverts? Yes.

Astute use of online and social media? Yes.

A short-lived trend for character-based advertising? Let’s hope so.

Will we buy Gio Compario’s CD? No.

To find out more about how online marketing campaigns work and how you can use social media and search engine optimisation to support your less-annoying advertising contact Liquid Graphic.

Good banter sir – use Social Media

Is it just us, or are you also noticing the cool kids are all about the ‘banter’ at the moment?
The Urban Dictionary describes banter as something ‘playful, intelligent and original. Banter is something you either possess or lack, there is no middle ground’. We like to think of ourselves and our followers as being part of the cool club, therefore we thought we’d share some of the banter behind the Liquid Graphic site.

Be inspiring
Good graphic design lives and dies by its ability to inspire. Our world is crowded by media messages and achieving genuine standout is more challenging than ever. True creative design is the way forward to avoid stale and uninspiring advertising.

Be future-proof
A business that is stood still is a business that is in decline. For a brand to have cracking web design and web site optimisation is no longer considered an advantage, it’s a hygiene matter. Future-proofing your business isn’t all about new-fangled web technology though, it’s simply about building a website in a way that can be easily maintained and modified to suit the needs of your business.

Be noticeable
There really isn’t anyone who wouldn’t feel patronised if you sat down to explain to them the all-encompassing role that Google plays in our world. If your site doesn’t have a decent Google ranking, it may as well not exist. Google Adwords and other search engine optimisation techniques can be employed to bring you back into existence and your consumer’s radar.

Be connected
Everyone who’s anyone has an opinion about social media. Likewise every business that’s switched on has realised that, although it’s not always an obvious fit, social media is a benefit. With the right strategy and customised business pages, Facebook and Twitterhttp://www.liquidgraphic.co.uk/social-media.html can yield big time results in the form of viral marketing, building loyalty and customer relationship management.

Be eye-catching
A great image is worth its weight in gold to a brand and often forms the centrepiece of a successful campaign. Without too much bubble bursting here, the photography that arrests and captures your attention day to day has usually spent a good deal of time in the hands of the graphic artist working on post production and image re-touching. So what if it’s not always the magic of the photographic lens? The effect is still magic.

That was a bit about our banter, now have yourself some good banter this weekend…