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O2 is to launch a fresh advertising strategy across all products and services, featuring a Narnia-inspired fantasy world.
The creative will be used above and below-the-line, retaining its ‘bubbles’ logo, but introducing the strapline ‘We’re always thinking about you’.
O2 spent £40m on ads in 2010, and is expected to maintain this in 2011. The group is expected to spend £70m on all media in 2011.
Ads will centre on a ‘cheeky’ faun brand character – a half-human, half-goat, who will talk about existing O2 customers in each clip, claiming that they get better value using the brand.
The first set of ads is intended to show that the network’s existing customers get the best deals. Those on pre-pay tariffs are rewarded with 10% of the value of their top-ups back every month, which can be spent on calls, handsets or in-store vouchers.
Ads were created by VCCP, with ZenithOptimedia handling media and AIS responsible for digital marketing.
‘We have created a surreal world, a representation of the mind of O2, and in that world we are thinking of individual customers, who are brought into that world,’ said Cowdry.
O2’s regular voiceover artist, actor Sean Bean, will have a less prominent role in future campaigns, only signing off the ads, while the narration will be provided by the faun character. In a reference to previous creative, yellow plastic ducks will be shown floating down rivers.
Separately, O2 will be introducing in-store technology ‘gurus’ to help customers get the most out of their devices.
These staff will feature in digital campaigns later in the year, with viral films also being produced to give mobile tips to viewers. Cowdry said she expected O2 to remain the top UK digital advertiser in 2011.
Separately, O2 signed a proximity marketing deal with Marks & Spencer last month, which offers O2 customers digital vouchers for free smoothies at M&S with additional purchases.
When football players throw their toys out of the pram demanding more money or handing in transfer requests, they’re always told that no player will ever be bigger than their respective club. But a change is occurring, players are amassing accumulated power to get their way and if the club they’re with doesn’t pay up, they know someone will. Because if you’re any good, the players marketing clout is priceless.
Players know that they’re not just footballers on the pitch who win games they’re also commodities. They demand ridiculous wages and mind blowing transfer fees because they know whatever the club is paying, they’ll be making profits just from merchandise before any football is played. When Real Madrid decided to sign David Beckham, the President told his committee that he would pay whatever was required to bring Beckham to Madrid because no matter what the fee, it would be a guaranteed money maker and he was right. They had expected to make £20 million in Beckham shirt sales over 4 years, they paid for his transfer in shirt sales before he had played his first game.
When Torres signed for Chelsea in January they weren’t just spending £50 million and getting a world class player they were also selling hundreds of thousands of shirts at full price when most clubs cut the price by 50% after Christmas. Robin Clarke, head of sports at Starcom MediaVast said ‘Chelsea is effectively getting full price for what will soon be old stock’.
Shirts are a big source of income and thus a key element of club marketing. Chelsea sponsor Samsung would’ve been delighted by the global coverage they received from the pictures and news of Torres holding the Chelsea shirt. Liverpool sponsors Standard Chartered may have been less impressed given that it focuses on the Far East and Andy Carroll is an unknown.
Paul Meadows, head of brand marketing at LG, sponsors of the Fulham team, explained that you’re always looking at the media value. When Fulham got to the UEFA final that was obviously great press but at the same time, when they avoided relegation on the last day of the previous season, it was also great coverage.
However recently the shift is moving from team sponsorship to the individual player deals. Brands want to sponsor their boots or have them in their commercials. Torres’ transfer went to the wire because his representatives were trying to keep hold of him as much as possible. Meadows explained ‘players are the magic dust that allows sponsors to connect with consumers; you don’t get the depth of relationship through team sponsorship’.
When you look at the likes of £50 million for Torres and £80 for Ronaldo it’s a lot of money and there’s no disputing that but when you view it in a marketing and ROI it’s not that ludicrous. Torres was the top selling shirt in the premiership which now passes to Chelsea and with the likes of pay-per-view revenue, mobile apps and games, webisodes; it suddenly looks like a good outlay. Whilst the players think they’re God’s gift to man kind, the team’s know they’re just a product. No doubt Ronaldo was rather pleased with himself when he became the most expensive player in the history of football but Real Madrid were probably even more pleased when they paid off the fee within a year and are have been taking outright profit since.
When Google accuses Microsoft’s Bing search engine of plagiarism, we get a glimpse of how commerce now needs academia more than ever
Google’s Search Fellow Amit Singhal complained via Twitter that Bing was copying Google’s results. That should tell you everything you need to know about the scale of this dispute: serious accusations of theft of intellectual property, even in Silicon Valley, are made in court.
But it would be wrong to suggest Google’s merely orchestrating a publicity stunt; rather this is a warning shot across the bows of rivals at Microsoft and beyond. Every web company stands on the shoulders of preceding giants, but that can be taken too far.
But the nature of search – still the core of Google’s business – is a monopoly business. Nobody wants to search the web and then have to search it again: the site that provides the best answers first time is the one that you’ll make your homepage. So it’s natural that Bing should look at what the dominant player is doing. The most academic aspect of computer science – the advancement of search – is meeting commercial reality head on. Microsoft’s blog response say they’ll keep focused on the customers. Most customers, still, are focused on Google.