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Well it was an amazing night for all!  We here at Dialogue picked up 2 amazing awards.

GOLD for CHARITY PARTNERSHIP MARKETING

“go ahead! and Cancer Research UK’s ‘Race for Life’ Together we feel good”

Creative Team: Alison Hockley & Leigh Fowler

SILVER for FINANCIAL SERVICES

“first direct – re: solutions”

Creative Team: Jon Ashwell & Lewis Lloyd

We also had our very own Leigh Temple, who is a member of the IPM’s Generation Board, give a speech at the event.  This was met with a warm cheer from the audience.

Overall it was a great night and we are ecstatic with the results!

By Leigh Temple

This is no ordinary POS display…

POS material plays the valuable role of showcasing products and enticing consumers. But there are occasions when can it prove costly for brands – when there are glaring errors in the artwork.

Last weekend, during a visit to the shopping Mecca that is Westfield London (I was on a pilgrimage for shoes), I saw the impact on a shopper decision of a poorly proofed display header card.

While waiting in line to pay at M&S, my friend was distracted by a display promoting brightly coloured, pocket-sized packs of ‘chocolate nibbles’. At the purse-friendly price of 2 packs for £1.50, who could possibly refuse such a treat? Well, she did.

My friend’s grammar pedantry would not allow her to overlook signage that touted ‘chocolate almond slithers’, instead of ‘chocolate almond slivers’ (as was correctly worded on the packs).

The connotations of chocolate-coated nuts sliding like reptiles out of the packs might be amusing for some, but is no laughing matter for the brand. Because of this one mistake, not only did an unforeseen barrier to an impulse purchase emerge, but a consumer’s perception of product quality and brand credibility changed too.

Brand image is something M&S has been particularly sensitive about in recent months. In April this year, they threatened Ann Summers with legal action over a sexually provocative campaign that parodied both the M&S logo and promotional copy. As a result, the offending – and, you have to admit, quite witty – “Your S&M squeal deal” material was removed from Ann Summers’ shops and website.

Attention to detail is always important, but at point of sale even more so, as it’s here that the deal between consumer and brand is closed. Here, the cost of a mistake can be much more than just losing the sale of one or two products.

By Sarah Green

1.       Visit local Tesco…..that Lurpak looks interesting – is it a basil flavoured butter?  Good stand out on shelf, but not quite sure what I’m getting.  We’re a Lurpak family anyway, so no risk involved.

2.       Take 2 scavenger boys and open ‘Basil Butter’ in front of them – of course nobody reads or looks at the small print inside the cardboard wrap.

3.       Much tussling for the ‘free biscuit’ that falls from the pack.  What’s this got to do with basil?  Is it a basil-flavoured biscuit?  Is it a new basil cracker that tastes delicious with Lurpak?

4.       Hastily read instructions before oldest tries to takes first bite….it’s not a biscuit, it’s a sprinkle of basil seeds on a circular board.  Of course!

5.       Go back to pack and impress upon children how important it is to read instructions before putting anything in your mouth (much rolling of eyes).

6.       Start to do as instructed and plant seeds.  Youngest asks why it doesn’t say ‘FREE SEEDS’ clearly on the outside of the pack – hmmmn he could be destined for great things.

7.       Instructions are followed to the letter and we’re looking forward to our basil ‘springing to life’.  Am now being badgered with ‘are they ready yet’?  So they’re not overly impressed with the guide in pack to have your recipes ready ‘in 90-120 days’ and ask me to just buy some basil when I’m next in Tesco……..

Oh well, nice try Lurpak. The promotion could have been more clearly communicated on pack and the presentation of the seeds is questionable but we had an enjoyable and educational family experience.  Now what BOGOF can say that?

By Nicola Guest

There’s been a lot of talk recently regarding the current trial by Tesco of an in-store satellite navigation app to help shoppers track down items on their shopping list quickly and painlessly. This got me thinking about shopper behaviours and who would really benefit from such an app?

Having worked on Gillette male grooming products for the last 5 years, I have a pretty good understanding of the differences between the sexes when it comes to shopping. As a member of the fairer sex, I can spend many weekends out with the girls just “browsing” the shops for pure entertainment. I know that men see this pursuit very differently. Men tend to have a “search and destroy” attitude to shopping. They know what they want, they go in-store, find it swiftly (where possible) and make a hasty retreat. For this audience the new supermarket sat nav app is what they’ve been crying out for!

The trial is currently limited to one Tesco store in Romford and the results are yet to be published. But recent press coverage suggests that this is something the general public are hungry for. It seems our time-poor consumers want speed and agility when shopping. Too much choice from retailers is also leading to confusion. M&S recently conducted research that found some shoppers were unable to find 10 specified items on a shopping list when given a whole hour to search for them! Is this really what retailers want us to be doing? Spending time browsing or trying to navigate the aisle can often lead to many more impulse purchases and higher basket spend. If we’re guided directly to every product, how will brands cut through in-store if they are not on an existing shopping list? Will brands be able to advertise on the app or provide subliminal messages to tempt shoppers?

In conclusion, it might be wiser to target the shoppers we know hate to dwell in-store with this new sat nav technology, play on their habitual shopping nature, and be seen to provide a solution to every man’s greatest fear… having to ask for directions.

By Cordelia Wren

With all the hype surrounding Cheryl Cole’s departure from the US X-Factor we can only speculate about why the show’s producers decided to give her the chop.

Some say that the US audience were struggling to understand her Geordie accent; others that she failed to become BFF with Paula Abdul. Or did she simply try too hard to appease her L’Oreal sponsor with her big Hollywood hair!

I have another theory to share. Could it simply be, that that there was no awareness building promotional activity prior to her US launch?  Surely her management should be keen to ensure her success by first stimulating interest and thus creating a demand?

When considering any new launch, brands tend to assume a tried and tested approach. It usually involves development of a phased marketing plan drawing on multiple disciplines to ensure maximum reach for the target audience.  In this case Cheryl should have been seeded into the hearts and minds of the American public at the earliest opportunity rather than assume that she will be an instant hit.

Imagine yourself on holiday for a moment, browsing the unfamiliar aisles in the supermarkets on the continent.  They ooze with new and exotic foods yet why is it that we always seek out the brands and the products that we know and trust?

Reports say that Cheryl failed to put herself out on the publicity circuit in the States, ‘so instead of attending the Grammy awards and the Coachella music festival, she sat in her hotel room eating digestive biscuits.’

Was it this lack of pre launch enthusiasm from the singer, combined with her lack of chart topping success in the US that led to her demise?  Her replacement Nicole Scherzinger – with multiple hits as a Pussy Cat Doll and established career as a credible US artist – does appear to be a wiser choice for the shows producers.

Perhaps Cheryl would do well to insist that her management have a solid marketing team in place to ensure her future success across the pond.

By Alison Hockley

It’s a brainstorm-organiser’s favourite cliché that an idea can come from anywhere. Anyone can have a good idea. Agreed. So why would anyone pay for one? 

A tangible product has a tangible worth. And if a skill is rare or has to be learnt – plumbing, say – it’s quite easy to justify asking for £X per hour please, because you need that, and you couldn’t do it yourself, unless you enjoy unfortunate leakages. It’s harder to use the same equation for creative thinking. A good idea can come from anyone. And can present itself within minutes of digesting a brief. Or it can take months of sweat and tears to tease it out. Is the idea that took longer worth more? If anyone can do it, it’s not time-dependant, and you can’t eat it, drink it, drive it, play it, use it to impress your friends…

Of course our clients know that a good idea can make them money, by persuading lots of people to buy their brand. But there still seems to be a certain coyness in asking for our fair share. Within our own industry, we’re guilty of undervaluing creative. No, really, we are. I can’t remember the last time we gave away thousands of pounds worth of free print or media to a client in the hope of winning more business. But we regularly do exactly that with our key product – ideas. (Okay, I get that there are no external costs, but the principle remains.) Show me a creative that hasn’t been involved in numerous free pitches or ‘proactive’ (ie: non-chargeable) briefs.

 No other industry, that I know of, works on the same principle. Imagine this scenario, if you will: Last year, I got five builders to each build me half a house, with a view to finishing the job – and getting paid – if I liked what they did. After two months, I looked at the five half-houses (actually three of them were nearly finished and one of them had even landscaped the garden). But I realized that none of them were quite what I wanted. So I went back to my usual builder and got him to build me an apartment block instead.

 How much is an idea worth? You could say it depends on how good it is. (And how well it’s executed, but that’s another argument.) I think, the more we all keep giving it away, the less we can expect clients to value our work. I believe our clients do value creativity. It’s time we did too.

By Nicola Guest

The recent Marketing Week Engage awards on the 24th May, saw both Nicky Guest and Callum Watt from Dialogue squeeze into a Mini car photo booth with top Radio 2 DJ Chris Evans (and some random stranger…) now there was a foursome they won’t forget in a hurry!

By Stefan Klasener

iPads and iPhones and more particularly Apps, are part of the colourful tapestry of my world and these two gadgets have wormed their way into my life and just about everyone else’s it seems – and it’s about to get even more prolific.

Retail environments are putting tablets on the shop floor, literally giving them to shop assistants to whip out when a customer shows a bit of interest in a product.  It’s putting key knowledge in the right place at a time when it’s needed.  At the point of sale.  Information is now so portable and visual information is crucial in keeping viewers engaged.  As a Graphic Designer at Dialogue, this is something I know about!  The shop assistants are using Apps crafted to not only display information but to process payments, track stock and generate reports on sales and profit margins or even complete the sale there and then.

iPhones are becoming so seamlessly integrated within our homes, that we are only a step away from using the thing to control games on our TV.  I’ll be able to just pull my phone out of my back pocket, switch on the TV and play!  Heaven!!  It can be done already, although a bit laborious, but the speed at which technology and gaming advances are being made I reckon we may just be seeing the mighty Apple getting into gaming and consoles.  Nintendo and Playstation hold onto your hats.  Just think about it, with iPhone gaining market share year on year it’s not too great a step for us consumers to take. The iPhone will rule the living room next year and Apple will revolutionize the entertainment industry again with adding the gaming platform to their bag of tricks.

Back to the real world. Over & Out.

by Jan Bates

Jamie Oliver coined the new term for the youth of today by describing them as ‘embarrassingly wet’.

He may have a point in some cases, but having interviewed a bunch of 18-23 year olds for the Ogilvy Fellowship scheme recently, I don’t think we should underestimate the talent coming through.  OK there was a bit of dampness behind some ears but the majority were so focussed, ambitious and hungry to learn that there’s no doubt entrepreneurialism is alive and kicking, and the world of marketing is due for an injection of energy.

Roughly 750-1500 applicants each year battle it out to gain a place on the scheme – only 15 get through to the 12 week trial, and there are only 5 jobs to be ‘won’.   The process is very similar to Lord Sugar’s The Apprentice and equally intense, where young bright things compete over 12 weeks to secure them a three year apprenticeship at one of the WPP companies – Ogilvy & Mather, OgilvyOne, OgilvyAction, Coley Porter Bell and Dialogue.

We wish them well.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-1356599/Jamie-Oliver-attacks-British-youth-embarrassingly-wet.html

By Jo Bowden

We invite you to a conference dedicated to leadership.  In Mumbai.

Mumbai…  Why Mumbai?  Did the organiser fancy a bit of winter sun?  Had they negotiated an exceptional rate at the hotel (which incidentally had the misfortune of hosting a siege)? Is our decision to attend such events based more on the venue than the subject and content?

I expect all of the above is a bit true but as I spent the next four days listening and talking to awe-inspiring thought and action leaders, being given the luxury of navel gazing into my own leadership and exploring this hectic city, it became clear this was the perfect backdrop.

Mumbai’s 12 million inhabitants are literally racing from the 18^th to 21^st century at breakneck speed. It’s got huge potential.  Huge potential to implode.  Huge potential to excel.

I met a few of their leaders, all very different in their approach and style.  But all exuding high excitement that their city had endless possibilities and theirs was a country of bold aspirations.  I’m glad my notebook’s first entry was ‘It’s morning in India’ as it really encapsulates the feeling I got.

I particularly remember a visionary lady, Dr Indu Shahani, who is now serving her third term as the Sheriff of Mumbai (an honorary post created to link the citizens with their Government).  I admired her for being totally undaunted by the challenges of the city.  She is highly selective, putting focus on key areas that will make a difference.  One area that resonated with me is the nurturing of future leaders, the young.  Empowering them to take responsibility for their own learning and enjoy it.

So, what did I take back home and to the office?  Yes, a couple of pashminas and some rather strange mint sweets but most of all I was inspired to think about leadership.  Think about how it takes many forms, no right or wrong, it goes both ways up and down the ‘job title’ hierarchy. Think about how we should bring it more into our client relationships and our work – after all we are tasked with leading our consumers and shoppers to the brands we represent.