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Tuesday, February 28, 2012



eBay have announced plans to expand on their mobile applications and drive customers into stores using their click and collect incentives.

The retailer has introduced services to 'remove the friction' of in-the-flesh transactions by offering customers the opportunity to pay for goods via their phone. An example of this took place at the Mobile World Congress in which eBay encouraged visitors to scan a QR code which let users purchase paella at a food stand. The meal could be paid for using a credit card or PayPal account and allowed people to 'skip the queue'.

Head of mobile Steve Yankovich said: "“We can know when someone is in or near a store and offer them a deal via our relationship with a bricks-and-mortar retailer. By doing this, we go from a multimillion-dollar business to a multitrillion-dollar one.”

Mobile network 3 has also recently agreed to pre-load eBay apps on some of their devices, similar to an existing deal with O2, which would make the aforementioned features readily accessible to new customers.

“It’s important for us to help people realise there is an eBay experience on the phone" stated Yankovich.

VP and general manager for eBay has quoted the retailers research in the neccessity of mobile-optomised websites, commenting that 17% of mobile users will change their purchasing decision when encountering a non-optomised site.

“We want to help businesses, small and large, compete online by using eBay tools to provide a real multichannel experience and mobile is a massive part of that."
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Thursday, February 23, 2012

A recent study from The Chartered Institute of Marketing has revealed that three quarters of marketers plan to spend more money on social media in 2012 than ever before. Following this, Marketing Week has taken a look at the effectiveness of social media platforms in regards to bringing in new custom and enhancing marketing campaigns.
The report conducted by CIM has analysed four major social networking sites, namely Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and YouTube. The four have been compared and contrasted in areas surrounding reputation, audience interaction and customer enquiries. You can see the results in the chart below:



Twitter came out on top for most categories, beating out competition by a wide margin when marketers were asked which platform ‘adds value to reputation’. However, Facebook sees a return on investment for 16% of businesses, compared to Twitter’s 15% and LinkedIn and YouTube’s 9%.

Many businesses are now opting to market and sell particular products exclusively through social networking sites. Reckitt Benckinser is now selling a new Cillit Bang cleaning product solely via Facebook, and fashion brand Burberry have launched new perfume Body directly to those that have ‘liked’ their page. However, as Alex Pearmain of O2 UK states, having a large volume of followers does not mean a large volume of sales.

“This is led by sector, but if you are achieving above about a 2% engagement ratio, you are generally doing a pretty good job. Past 5% is very good,” says Pearmain, Head of Social Media. “It’s not difficult to acquire more fans through ad spend if that is what you are after. The challenge is keeping them engaged when you get them there.”

Companies such as XBox have adopted Twitter as a platform to resolve customer queries via new account @XboxSupport. It has recently branched out into ‘customer-to-customer’ support, where trusted users provide advice to those in need.

Even bakery giant Greggs have moved into social networking, with chief executive Ken McMeikan, praising the ability to interact directly with customers as “one of the most powerful tools for a chief executive, giving a greater sense of what is really happening in your business”.

He continued, “[Social] gives you what is on the customer’s mind in real time. If you have a business that is agile enough to reply and do something about it, you will have a growth business.”

28% of marketers have claimed to be ‘experimenting’ with their online marketing, which former Telefonica marketing director Russ Shaw recommends.

“These channels are very new. My advice would be to keep trying. Some things are not going to work, they are going to be a disaster, but some things will. Build on your learnings and what is working. Understand how these channels then relate to the specific audience you are trying to reach.”
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Friday, February 17, 2012

With UK unemployment at an all time high – a record 9.67 million men and women currently out of work – Chrysalis are taking a look at how this crisis is affecting the digital marketing and communications industry. 

We have spoken to Harriet Sanders from Chrysalis Recruitment about the difficulty businesses face when attempting to fill crucial roles and how a lack of specialised skills can hinder applicants in their search for employment.

Chrysalis Recruitment help to solve the many problems encountered when engaging in volume recruitment. As a team of dedicated staffing specialists, they assist successful companies in the sourcing of key personnel across the IT and Digital Marketing arenas. Chrysalis focus on SEO, PPC, Digital Account Management, Media Planning, Web Development: PHP, Java, .NET.

Harriet Sanders, Service Delivery Manager at Chrysalis Recruitment

“I think the overall attitude of Graduates coming into the industry is changing. You can no longer compare today’s 21 year olds with those of even 10 years ago. There are constant signs of young people wanting everything immediately – expecting instant gratification. We find ourselves having to motivate people wanting to get into the industry to get out there and improve their chances of landing a role: doing some work experience for no pay; developing a portfolio at home to showcase their skills; even just spending more time improving their CV. It’s no wonder the Digital Marketing industry struggles to find well equipped Trainees or Juniors, there are very few making themselves attractive enough to employ.

Digital Marketing needs to be given more “real life” focus at university level. In the past, many IT degrees were far too generic to be of much use in the commercial world – so software houses were having to invest heavily in bringing them in line with their needs. Now it appears that many of the studies in marketing/digital marketing are so diluted that often the same person approaching us for work will happily consider roles in PR, Marketing (generally) and even SEO or Social Media – there is very little evidence to suggest they are being groomed to specialise.
Because of the lack of genuine quality in the market, finding the right staff (at all levels) is a bit of a needle in a haystack. Companies with mission critical roles to fill cannot afford to leave their vacancies in the hands of a single person, nor a handful of agencies that also have to service numerous other clients. Urgent roles need filling fast and there is only one way to deal with this – simple, honest hard work in networking through as many people as is humanly possible. Exceptional people are out there, that is not in doubt. Finding them is the monumental challenge.

Chrysalis solves this problem by assigning an Account Manager to that company – thus creating a single point of contact whose job it is to get to know that company inside and out – this person in turn is supported by a team of Consultants who spend every hour they work networking for talent purely for that company/ role. It’s the best of both worlds: One point of contact but with several people doing the searching. Unless we sit back and wait for supply to outstrip demand, then the only way our clients will find the right staff is for their Recruiter to adopt an aggressive, proactive and comprehensive search strategy.”

Speaking to The Drum, a number of media professionals also voiced their opinions and experiences:

Phil Morgan, director of policy and communications at PR industry body the CIPR

"Young practitioners, who are finding themselves without permanent work, should continue to do what they can to distinguish themselves in a tight job market by ensuring they are committed to professional development. The CIPR offers a wide range of training and development opportunities for public relations practitioners at all levels – these practical skills could be what sets them apart at their next job interview."

Jim Brigden, CEO of London digital agency I Spy Marketing

"I still don’t think digital marketing is seen by a lot of graduate level entrants as the sexiest place to go to, which I find a bit bizarre.

There are creative/advertising agencies that are inundated with CVs but I think most of the digital marketing specialists aren’t in the same position. I wonder if that’s because universities and the education system are still set up around traditional business models and the newer entrants to the space aren’t as well known or aren’t as well sold by the academic places.

We don’t see a huge swamping of CVs coming our way from graduates, so from a graduate perspective that’s got to be an opportunity – digital marketing agencies are still crying out for people."

Chris Combemale, chief executive of the Direct Marketing Association

"The DMA is currently conducting an economic impact analysis of the UK direct marketing industry and initial anecdotal evidence from our hundreds of corporate members shows that some sectors are doing better than others and are bucking the national trend by adding new jobs to the economy.

The results of January’s Bellwether report showed that investment in direct marketing is growing, particularly in digital sectors, so that indicates a heightened demand for workers with these prized skill sets.

Innovation, entrepreneurship and investment in skilled staff are vital for the long-term health of direct marketing. This a great time for start-ups and SMEs to make their mark on the industry. We need to do more to develop the next generation of talent, which is why the DMA is supporting initiatives such as the Graeme Robertson Trust to give young graduates a route into the industry.

While the economy is faltering, experience from previous recessions tells us that companies that invest in direct marketing and skilled personnel emerge strongest when the economy bounces back."

Alison Meadows, managing director of Cambridge creative agency Ware Anthony Rust


"We assumed that in the current climate it would be easier to recruit people and bring the right kind of people into the business – but actually the reverse has been true.

Good quality people seem to be thin on the ground and that's maybe because they are staying put, but the people who are around seem to not have sufficient skills and experience for our industry.

We opted last year to employ an apprentice, assuming that it would be a fairly easy role to attract and fill - after all our industry is a little bit more relaxed and creative than a lot of regular businesses.

It took six months to find one competent and worth employing apprentice."

Chrysalis Recruitment can assist companies in uncovering applicants with specialised knowledge, relevant qualifications, and industry experience. Visit www.chrysalisrecruitment.com for more information.
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Sunday, February 12, 2012

PepsiCo to cut 8,700 jobs


PepsiCo have announced they are to cull 8,700 jobs in North America in order to save the company $1.5bn (£944m) by 2014. The corporation -- which makes Pepsi, Walkers crisps, Tropica, and Quaker Oats amongst others -- has yet to state if the redundancies will affect the 5,000 PepsiCo employees situated in the UK.

The unfortunate news comes despite the drinks and food brand recently revealing an 15% increase in sales in 2011, with profits rising by 2% to $6.5bn (£4bn). However, PepsiCo also forecasted a sales decline in 2012 resulting in company shares falling by almost 4 percent.

As with a similar move from rivals Coca-Cola and Premier Foods, PepsiCo aims to up their marketing presence in the US with a $500 million investment in marketing. It also plans to invest $100 million on in-store displays and coolers,. The brand have been losing its market share to Coca-Cola throughout 2011.

In a note to investors, Citi Investment Research analyst Wendy Nicholson wrote: "We are curious as to why Pepsi has not made the choice to balance its investment spending more evenly around the world."

Chief financial officer, Hugh Johnston, stated: "As we implement our strategic priorities in 2012, we've had to make tough decisions. As a result, 2012 will be a year of transition."
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Monday, February 06, 2012



Social media giant Facebook have hired Rebecca Van Dyck as their first Chief Marketing Officer. Van Dyck, who has previously worked with Apple on campaigns for the iPod, iPhone, iPad and iTunes, joins the company following Facebook's admission of conducting very little consumer marketing.

Facebook has recently increased its marketing budget from 2010s $8 million to a hefty $28 million and is expected to take part in more traditional advertising, following television advertisements from rival social networking site Google+.

Van Dyck is set to lead all future marketing, with the first big change expected to be advertisements appearing on Facebook's mobile apps. Currently, the most frequently downloaded app in the US does not display ads to its 425 million monthly users. However, 'Sponsored Stories' are likely to feature on the app within weeks in order to bring new revenue.

The social networking site also currently allows brands to create fan pages free of charge, allowing businesses to promote products to millions, though there are no plans to monetise this service.

In a letter accompanying the Securities and Exchange Commission S-1 filing, Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg stated Facebook aims to improve how people connect to businesses:

“We think a more open and connected world will help create a stronger economy with more authentic businesses that build better products and services."

Facebook may have work to do in order to maximise their earning potential, but with $1 billion profit in 2011, it's unlikely that Mark Zuckerberg is losing any sleep.
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Friday, February 03, 2012

After reporting an 8% decrease in sales over the Christmas period -- usually the chains most successful time of year -- HMV have announced a number of changes to the business.

Lacking sales of physical products such as DVDs has been attributed to recent layout changes in stores, with a quarter of floor space now assigned exclusively to technology products. However, sales in headphones, speakers and tablets have increased by 137%. Now Universal have joined forces with the retailer to combat flagging sales by taking a 2.5% stake in the company. The deal with the supplier means HMV's debt of £180 million can be halved over three years

In January, Chief Executive Simon Fox stated: "He adds: “The new relationship with our suppliers and the support of our banks will now enable HMV to wholeheartedly focus all of its energies - working in close partnership with its suppliers, on serving the changing needs of its customers ever more effectively."

Since the deal, HMV has created a new senior role in order to increase sales and refocus their branding. Former Asda marketer Paul Stevens has taken on the position of Head of Insight and Ecommerce, reporting to Marketing and Ecommerce Director Mark Hodgkinson.

HMV have also restructured marketing focus to give equal attention to online and offline branding in an attempt to offer what online businesses such as Amazon cannot. The marketing team are responsible for "bringing the brand and products to live" through in-store events and added value experiences to potentially draw customers away from computer screens and back in to stores.

Hodginkson has commented: “We shouldn’t just think about our stores and physical products … and the concept of the physical in decline and digital growing and treating them as separate businesses - its about running online and offline together and customers being able to interchange easily.”

Fox has stated changes are “beginning to show through” and added:

“As a key part of this we remain committed to improving our specialist ranging and merchandising of music and DVD whilst also continuing to grow our sales in portable technology and further developing our online and digital offers.”

It is thought recent deals with Universal and backing from banks will secure HMV's future as the remaining major entertainment retailer, though flagging sales show the business must be successful in offering attractive services online retailers cannot provide.
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