DUBLIN DOES FRIDAY’S BETTER THAN ANYONE IN THE WORLD.
Dublin Does Fridays is another game changing idea led by MCCP the Planning Agency & delivered by the interagency team including TBWA, Modern Green & Cybercom for the Licensed Vintners Association (LVA).
Dublin Does Fridays is a campaign to promote and support Dublin pubs. The campaign seeks to create behavioural change by reminding people that there is no place in the world like a Dublin pub on a Friday evening. It is the time & place where stories are told, deeds are done & legends are made.
The big idea is centred around that time on a Friday, about 5 bells, when everyone in Dublin seems to switch from ‘work you, to just you’. It’s about celebrating the end of the working week & anticipating the weekend ahead with friends, work colleagues, the regulars in the bar or that random you meet that could be your next girlfriend, boyfriend or new best friend.
Whether you want a few quite ones to wind down or a mad one to wind up, Dublin has a pub to meet your Friday mood & mind-set.
Dublin Does Fridays will support your hunt for that perfect, personalised Friday night with an app that allows you to invite your mates to the pub, check in at your local & check out where there is a buzz. Pubs will also be running special entertainment & promotions on Friday nights to help kick start your weekend.
Watch out for the campaign on radio, print & online. In the meantime, we’ll see you in
THE 5 ‘SO WHATS’ WHICH IMPACTED CONSUMERS AND BRANDS THIS WEEK
1. Subscribe to past editions
The birth of the tablet was seen by many in the publishing world as a dark knight. However, after initial backlash from consumers over subscription charges they’ve hit upon a solution. Rather than just offering access to new releases give access to the back catalogue of magazine editions as an additional part of the subscription process. Hearst Publishing reported that 30% of their digital sales are for old editions & has helped boost their sales on the tablet platform.
So what?
Your brands previous wares still have use if marketed properly. Utilising the inherent value of the previous editions as part of the subscription package enabled consumers to feel as if they were being treated to the opening of the magazine vault & transported into better times gone by. Essential futuristic technology companies are the adage strategy of nostalgia, a trend that MCCP Trendstream™ has identified as having a lot of potential in consumers turbulent lives today. The past can be looked to for more than just direction, it also has nuggets of gold that are applicable in today’s market place.
2. Pin it & potentially become a tastemaker
Pinterest is a new social media site that allows people to organize and share online images that you find interesting or inspiring. Once uploaded or shared on Pinterest, these images become known as Pins, which the user can place on customized, themed Boards.
So what?
Although only in its infancy & by invite only many are proclaiming that pinterest will deliver us into
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THE EDUCATION PARADOX
My colleague Megan & I recently went to London on business and while we were there we were invited to LSN Global for a talk on the Just Nots. The Just Nots are a new segment of consumer who are just not making enough money, they’re just not on the property ladder, they’re just not making ends meet. One speaker in particular, Graeme Cook from the Institute for Public Policy Research made a very interesting point about the education paradox.
Those who entered 3rd level education back in 2006 and 2007 were hoping to ride out the recession in college once it hit. They intended to emerge into the world as Masters or Phd’s and walk straight into a high paying job. But here’s the thing, despite all of their qualifications, jobs (which are extremely few and far between), are being taken by those with experience, rather than just education. Unfortunately college can’t teach you experience.
Then, on the other end of the spectrum there’s those who either don’t want or can’t afford to go to college; they can’t get apprenticeships as trades’ people because no one will take them on, and they can’t get jobs anywhere because they have no qualifications.
These Just Nots are quite literally damned if they do and damned if they don’t. In Enda Kenny’s address to the nation last night he said that the Government were creating a 4 year plan to get everything back on its feet; but four years is a long time for over
7 SHOPPER RULES OF ENGAGEMENT & 3 BEST IN CLASS CASE STUDIES
Brand owners such as Procter & Gamble, Colgate-Palmolive & Unilever have all began to increase their interest & investment in Shopper Marketing. However, according to MCCP’s Expert Dialogues with Ireland’s leading FMCG marketing directors a lot of confusion exists around the disciple “We are talking about it, but we are not completely clear on what we are talking about!”, FMCG Marketing Director.
In order to offer some clarity and inspiration we at MCCP have developed the following article which looks at seven shopper rules of engagement & some best in class examples of how these rules were leveraged with great success.
Seven Shopper Rules of Engagement
MCCP has invested in conducting extensive desk & primary research in order to pioneer the understanding of the shopper marketing discipline & indeed the Irish shopper. Our research has found that a number of golden rules can be applied to grab the shopper’s attention & forge relationships beyond price. These rules should not only be applied only in-store but out of store also, as shoppers begin developing a mental list of shopping needs long before they reach an outlet;
- Unearth & leverage shopper insights
- Simplify your selection
- Offer more relevant choice
- Guide their choice with clear navigation
- Tailor messages
- Use your packaging to communicate relevant quickly & clearly
- Provide shoppers with surprise, delight & fun
Three Best in Class Case Studies
We have chosen 3 Best in Class Case Studies which have utilised some of MCCP’s shopper rules of engagement effectively and reaped a return on investment by doing so.
1. American Apparel ‘leverages the shopper
THE 5 ‘SO WHATS’ WHICH IMPACTED CONSUMERS AND BRANDS THIS WEEK
1. Are consumers really as price conscious as we think they are?
A report published this week in Retail Intelligence states that the majority of shoppers believe that the price of organic foods such as fruits and vegetables have remained static or risen in the last two years, yet 70% of shoppers are still purchasing these organic products
So What?
Where people see added value they’re willing to pay a premium for instance the health & nutrition on offer from organic food is worth the extra cost to them. As we at MCCP pointed out at our Brand Forum in April you can indeed add value beyond price when tailoring your product to consumers.
2. The Youtube take over
Youtube have recently unveiled details surrounding 96 forth coming channels from providers such as The Wall Street Journal, Thompson Reuters, Meredith and Rodale. These channels will be available to consumers all over the world via any internet enabled device.
So What?
In an age where TV on demand has become a staple in consumers lives, and what these consumers are demanding is ad free TV, Youtube is now offering brands a new and innovative way to connect with their audience they thought previously lost. Can brands offer content that is as engaging as the traditional format of television?
3. Participation is rife
With almost 15,000 people running the Dublin Marathon last Monday and over 40,000 people attending the Sligo Live Festival over the bank holiday weekend, it is clear that MCCP’s Authentic Participation trend is very much alive.
So What?
During the
ELECTRIC PICNIC: BRAND PRESENCE VS. BRAND PARTICIPATION
Last weekend, I packed my tent & headed to Stradbally to Ireland’s best boutique music & arts festival, Electric Picnic. 3 days of theatre, pantomime, food and holistic health, hot tubs, laughter yoga & last but definitely not least great music.
However, the planner in me never switches off so I eagerly noted various brands presence at the festival & how festival goers were reacting to them and/or interacting with them.
Many brands were just there to promote their names and hawk their wares but a few brands ‘got it’. They understood the essence of the picnic, it’s draw & they added something special to people’s overall experience.
ESB got into the festival spirit with a novel idea ‘Picnic Power’. Essentially, ESB asked festival goers to hop on Bikes, see saws & even a human sized hamster wheel to create sustainable power that generated hot water for a free shower.
Oxfam’s Open Mic Oxjam hosted in a teepee invited local musicians to perform in order to raise awareness & make positive global impact.
The festival lesson for brands is to not only have a presence but to create authentic participation.
THE 5 ‘SO WHATS’ WHICH IMPACTED CONSUMERS AND BRANDS THIS WEEK
1. The top-5 brands unchanged
Checkout Magazine recently released their top 100 brands of 2011 and the top 5 – Coca Cola, Avonmore, Brennans, Lucozade & Tayto are unchanged from last year.
So what?
Almost 9 out of 10 Irish consumers say they have changed spending in order to save on household expenses. 69% say that they have switched to cheaper grocery brands in order to cut back. So what are the Irish and International brands listed in Checkout’s top 5 doing to retain share of shopper’s shrinking household budgets. Are they offering familiarity and trust in anarchic times? Are they offering us a small treat that lifts our spirits? One thing for sure is that these smart brands are offering value beyond price to touch the head, heart and hands of shoppers and consumers.
2. Trialling still an option despite financial handcuffs
In hard economic times when failed trial or novelty can be an unaffordable expense it was surprising to hear that 52% of people are more likely to try new products/brands than 2 years ago, according to an Empathy survey this week.
So what?
Less surprising was the fact that price was the main driver of trial. Reasons for trial included ‘cheaper price’ (63%), ‘better quality, same price’ (59%), ‘same price, larger pack’ (39%) & ‘newspaper or magazine recommendation’ (21%). While on the face of it price seems to be ‘the driver’ delving into the data allows us to find other opportunities beyond price. For example, those with children were most like to try
THE 5 ‘SO WHATS’ WHICH IMPACTED CONSUMERS AND BRANDS THIS WEEK
1. Source a crowd through fear of missing out and connection
It began this week with a Flash Feast in Dublin on a bridge over the river Liffey. The time and location of the lunch was only revealed on Twitter an hour before it took place and there was only room for 40 guests. It was of course the kick off promotion of Street Feast an initiative that started last year in an attempt to get locals together over lunch.
So What? This is yet another example of how Irish people have reprioritised what matters and that is connecting with each other around shared experiences regardless of what environment we do it in. If this is a fleeting moment of connection and people feel as though they might miss out on it, all the better to create a sense of urgency.
2. Irish people love brands but do they love own brand?
British Value retailer Poundland is set to enter the Irish market using the brand name Dealz. The retailer has identified a number of suitable sites, in Dublin and Cork and will open its doors in October of this year. Dealz will stock a number of locally sourced products which will be secured from Irish producers, including milk, eggs and Tayto crisps. Top international brand names will include Colgate, Walkers, Cadbury, Maxwell House, Weightwatchers, Pantene, Beechams, Johnson’s, Winalot, Kodak, Coca Cola, Kelloggs, Maltesers, Fairy, Dettol and Flash.
So What? Given the amount of choice that Dealz are going to offer as well