RESCHEDULED! 2nd Marketing Symposium, 1830 at Hogg Lecture Theatre

Notice: I'm sorry to tell you, that due to the snow and the weather forecast for tonight, today's symposium has been cancelled and will be rescheduled! I will keep you updated... Stay warm ;)


First I want to thank all the people for all the positive feedback on the MBS ThinkTank activities like this blog and the symposium! It's really motivating and we all are happy you gain something out of it.

However Tomorrow on December the 1st  we are pleased to host another Marketing Symposium with interesting guest lecturers again and we hope you all will come!

One of our guests is Christopher Macleod, Director of Group Marketing, Transport for London. 

That's gonna be an interesting one for sure. I know most of xyou suffer from tube strikes regularely, but the Marketing of TFL is versatile and Christopher hisself is very experienced in marketing and communications. 

A few infos on his curriculum vitae:

"Chris has spent his entire career in Advertising and Marketing. Beginning at the agency Leagas Delaney in the 1980s, he went on to work at Saatchi & Saatchi (twice) and the legendary Collet Dickenson Pearce, leaving as Chairman.

He is now Director of Group Marketing at Transport for London (TfL).  Here he is responsible for a diverse portfolio of Marketing programmes for one of London’s largest advertisers. This ranges from Oyster cards to Road Safety and Buses to the Barclay’s Cycle hire scheme.

TfL was Campaign magazine’s Advertiser of the year in 2008 and other awards include Cannes Gold Lions, IPA Effectiveness and MCCA Best integrated campaign.

A Fellow and former chairman of the Marketing Society, Chris has a degree from Newcastle Business School, a Master’s degree from the London School of Economics and he is a regular on the Bakerloo Underground line."

Another speaker is going to be Damon Segal, Managing Director of Emotio Design Group and an INternet Marketing specialist who has been a major player in the field for over 20 years now.

Read more about him and his business here:

The Speaking Business - www.damonsegal.co.uk

Linkedin - http://www.linkedin.com/in/damonsegal

The Creative Business - www.emotio.co.uk

The Techie Business - www.intenix.eu

Our third speaker will be Darrell Kofkin,  Chief Executive of  Global Marketing Network.

"About Global Marketing Network

Global Marketing Network is positioned as the worldwide professional membership association for marketing and business professionals. GMN collaborates with leading business schools and academicians and around the world to help define, shape and raise standards in marketing practice worldwide. Global Marketing Network is focussed on delivering vital programmes in four really critical areas for the marketing profession:

• Realising the aspirations of marketers worldwide - by recognizing and rewarding educational and professional achievements through its global  accreditation system;
• Raising standards in marketing practice - by helping businesses achieve greater profitability and return on investment through a relentless focus - in all that we do, and on what actually matters to people in business in the 21st;
• Putting marketers back in the Boardroom - by enabling employers to insist on and recruit the best and most up-to-date marketing and business professionals through its continuing professional development scheme; 
• Supporting today`s global marketers - enabling them to be more knowledgeable, capable and better networked, leading to improved employability, promoteability and, ultimately, rewards - wherever they live in the world, and throughout their career.."

For more information visit: http://www.gmnhome.com/

Doesn't that sound like an interesting and amazing evening?

Be at Hogg Lecture Theatre at 18:30 and be part of it.

Of course there will be time for getting all your questions answered and for a discussion and networking with refreshments afterwards.

Hope to see you there...

New Ad Format on Google Images Search: Google Display Ads

There have always been ads on Google Image search, but after revamping the whole tool in summer, Google offers a more visual way to advertise. There are Banners above the images search results. The Google Display Ads have now arrived to the UK and Mazda is the first one to test it.

The new method offers the possibility to talk to consumers in all stage of the buying-cycle-process. Who of you has not Googled the image of something you were considering to buy?

The Google Ads are first trying to support a branding-effect and when a person later on enters a more precise request, Google uses this effect to lead the person to an online-shop.

In my opinion it is not sure that this strategy leads to a profit plus in all kinds of performance-oriented campaigns and for all shops. It is more likely for major players like amazon to benefit form this. What do you think? Please feel free to discuss this via commenting on the entry! 

read more:

Mazda first with display ads on Google Images in UK | News | Marketing Week

Techhcrunch.com: Google unveils Search Ads

The latest Trend in Marketing: 3D Projection Mapping

Recently more and more big brands like Samsung, BMW, Nespresso, H&M or Ralph Lauren, are using this tool for Marketing. Projecting images, animations or fashion shows on buildings in big cities and creating an event around is a new and unconventional way to create brand awareness, news worth and lots and lots of viral content.

Here I chose a few examples for you to enjoy. 

They show how you can use this tool in a very good way. Ralph Lauren showed a fashion show via 3D projection not only in London, but also in New York and Tokyo. The fourth dimension is the new Perfume that is sprayed over the audience at some point of the show. RL also shows that you can use synergy effects with this tool, since they did not have to organise different shows all over the world, but only slightly smaller events and the projection. I'm not sure if this is also cost effective, though, since those projections seem to be expensive in producing and planning... why else would only big players in the market use the tool?

H&M (again... I know... but they are amazing) is announcing a shop opening in Amsterdam. A smaller event than RL, but indeed nice to watch.

Samsung is launching a new product using 3D Projection Mapping.

What do you think, will this kind of Marketing become a permanent feature?

The Official Ralph Lauren 4D Experience - London

3D projection mapping in the city centre of Amsterdam for H&M

Samsung 3D projection mapping

Good Parties always end up in the Kitchen

Everybody knows that no matter how nicely you decorated the living room, no matter how much furniture you moved... at all the good parties sooner or later everybody ends up in the kitchen!

IKEA knows this as well and created a very entertaining viral that I'd like to share with you. Even the song is good... what do you think?

"You'll Always Find Me In The Kitchen At Parties"

Funny bit of Advertising to start the Week

The following TV ad from Norway for the cellphone network provider TELE2 Bipper Norway is indeed funny to watch (on a Monday especially...) and it also achieved to be appealing to kids and parents while bringing its message across... but see yourself and klick on the video below!

Have a nice week!


P.S.: don't forget to subscribe to the blog to get ll new entries directly into your mailbox and share share share... :)

H&M Designer Collaboration with Lanvin, Part 2: Guerilla at Marble Arch

Last week I told you about the integrated marketing campaign by H&M for the launch of its new designer collaboration (read more here). This weekend when I was at the christmas market in Hydepark I accidentely saw this guerilla ad from H&M preojected on Marble Arch. I happend to have my camera with me so I captured it... beautiful, isn't it? 

Our first Marketing Symposium - a success!

First: A big Thank you to everybody who came to see the symposium and supported us. Many of you told us, that we did a great job and you enjoyed the evening and found the lectures inspiring and interesting.

Of course we also want to thank Roberta Ramsden-Knowles, Diego Santana and Richard Philip who made this Symposium happening in first place by giving us some hours of their time.

Richard, Managing Director of First Concept, started the evening as a WBS MAMC Almuni himself and told us about his life and work as an entrepreneur and how postgraduate students in marketing can start out in their professional life. Don’t forget: never ask how much holidays or Christmas bonus you get, BEFORE you even have the job :)

Diego, a young marketing manager from the Chilean wine company Concha  y Toro, gave us an detailed and interesting insight in his work, especially according to the wine brand Casillero Del Diablo and the kind of marketing mix they use for marketing it.

More information on Concha y Toro: CLICK HERE.

Roberta from reputation strategy and management consultancy Regester Larkin Limited closed the Symposium with a highly interesting presentation on her daily business, using case studies and examples. Now each and everyone of us knows the difference between an issue and a crisis.

More informaton on Regester Larkin Limited: CLICK HERE

The presentation have been followed by an open discussion between the three lecturers of the evening, students and professors and a little get together with nice refreshments sponsored by the uni.

If you missed this wonderful evening, don’t be sad! You will have another opportunity on December 1st, where we organised the second Marketing Symposium with brand new and amazing lecturers. Details will be published soon on this blog, your new information source! 

Some impressions of the evening:

Richard Philip

Diego Santana

Roberta Ramsden-Knowles

The open discussion

Diego seemed to be the popular guy...

presets for the lecturers

the get together 

The MBS ThinkTank Team and the Lecturers

First MBS Marketing Symposium on November 17th, 18:30 at Hogg Lecture Theatre

The MBS ThinkTank Team worked hard for you over the past few weeks to bring you this event. The Marketing Symposium will be the first of a series of regular symposia where selected Marketers and Businesspeople will share their knowledge with you and give you interesting insights into their daily business. 

This is an interactive event with postgraduate students, professors and alumni from the WBS Marketing courses. There will be room for discussion, questions and a little get together afterwards.

I hope to see you there!

P.S.: The next Marketing Symposium will be on December 1st!

Guerilla Marketing: Coka Cola makes London Students Happy!

I just found this viral about a guerilla marketing action of coca cola. They placed a "special" vending machine in an univeristy in London. Watch the video and have fun!

P.S.: Why don't they do in in WBS?

P.P.S.: Does anybody know where this happened?

Marketing Myopia

The following Essay is from Daniel Cano, MA Marketing Communications Student:

"I read an article the other day by Theodore Levitt (Harvard Business Review, 1960) on the “Marketing Myopia” and realized that his theory was still applicable in today’s buzzing media industry, if not even more so.

A plethora of companies nowadays are soaking up buzz words and they all think they ‘need’ to incorporate Social Media into their marketing strategy and by doing this, they often end up having pages or groups that do not generate any value.

Therefore I must impress upon these companies to consider why are they setting up a social media page or presence in the first place; is it for fun, for networking purposes, to create awareness, to generate traffic to the company’s/ personal web page, to generate more sales or just for the sake of having an account?
If your end goal is not clear then it should be an obvious sign not to embark upon an activity such as Social Media that can not only be costly, but draining on your resource.

As the HBR highlights, petroleum companies are not just in the petroleum business, they are in the energy business, “virgin trains” are not just in the train business but in the transport business, which mean that those companies have a wider scope and a better definition of what market they are competing in.

Focusing on social media, the example of an individual whose main purpose is networking, the definition of its goal is not only randomly attracting as many followers/fans/friends as possible, but rather targeting people that the individual wants to connect with, and who is relevant to his business. Again, when the main goal is to generate more sales, is important to make clear who is going to buy, not all of the social media users are potential customers. My view is that even the people/companies who do not care about who are following them on social sites should establish a prototype of the people who will see the content of the pages.

The content uploaded to social sites defines the company’s persona and helps to mould an image of how they would like to be perceived to the outside world.

Therefore the content shown on a social media page should be linked to how the owner want to be perceived and be relevant to its viewers, even more when the account was created for business purposes.

My advice to brands would be to ensure that you are active, dynamic and constantly update your social media presence and avoid being myopic. Ensure that you have a real purpose for using a social media tool from the beginning, if it is to network and increase your brand awareness make sure you are targeting to a specific target audience and not grabbing every single person who is surfing the web!”

What about Brand Values, GAP?

The new Logo of american fashion retailer GAP lasted only as long as one week. Marketers all around the world discuss ever since about the reason for this silent an quick change and they have the feeling it might be for a reason other than people just not liking the new logo. Some even said it looked like from an IT Company or INsurance and has nothing to do with the brand and what it stands for.

Gap denies this and published a news release about this new logo being part of a big re-branding.

But on the other Hand GAP calls brand-lovers to action in creating their own design of a new GAP Logo on facebook: 

 "We've had the same logo for 20+ years, and this is just one of the things we're changing. We know this logo created a lot of buzz and we're thrilled to see passionate debates unfolding! So much so we're asking you to share your designs. We love our version, but we'd like to see other ideas."

So what do you think? Is this a PR Stunt? The try to get a new logo for free? Or just a pitfall in rebranding?

read more:

Marketingweek  AdFreak.com  CNN

Chapeau, H&M!

H&M showed a brilliant and modern example of an integrated Marketing Campaign the last months. It started out with a misterious announcement about a new umcoming guest designer on their facebook fanpage. Over a few weeks a series of Videos has been posted on youtube.com, facebook and hm.com to make people guess about the label. The campaign went viral and fahionistas all over the world were busy discussing and making guesses.

The collaboration with the french high fashionlabel Lanvin is now official. The fashionshow was sceened live online and I am sure the fashion victims under you are already exited for the 27th of November when you finally can buy the collection.

The following video that was produced in Paris is worth watching. It is an extended advertising created around the idea of Lavin designer Alber Elbaz to create a dream.

Definitively a nice piece of marketing and an advertisement with a fresh approach that you can watch over and over again.

Adaptation of BMW’s Marketing Campaign in Asia

The article is a good example of how companies adapt their international marketing campaigns in different markets.

BMW’s marketing campaign dominated by the theme ‘JOY’ has been modified for the Chinese market and the word JOY was translated into the Chinese word YUE.

Within BMW’s advertising images the car manufacturer customized the brand image to its local Chinese market in implementing traditional cultural symbols and calligraphy.

Read more on:

http://www.rayally.com/?p=955

BMW’s JOY campaign in Singapore – Asia’a 1^st interactive 3D Building Projection

The video illustrates how technically sophisticated a marketing campaign can be realized.

Enjoy watching it!