More Weekly Columnists articles

Alistair Blaxill, executive director, Communisis, looks at how individualisation can give companies stronger brand equity while enhancing the customer experience…Marketers have understood for some time the role that personalisation plays in increasing ROI. However, despite an increasing consumer demand for better targeting and an individual approach from brands, many marketers have failed to take it… Continue reading The power of individualisation

Fresh from 2009’s E3 Gaming Expo, Louise Gaynor, board director, Target Media, predicts this year’s big launches and market trends for the gaming industry…This year’s E3 Expo saw a return to form for the most illustrious gaming industry event. Huge announcements from industry giants including Microsoft, Sony, Nintendo and Activision had everybody talking. The sheer… Continue reading What to look out for in gaming in 2009

Jon Mitchell, Spotify UK sales director, explains why audio advertising will become the norm online…On Spotify you’d be hard pushed to see our listeners providing us with passionate feedback on our display ads. There’s barely a tweet questioning the Vodafone skyscraper or the Ford leaderboard. Generally it’s the audio ads that get all the attention… Continue reading Big Audio Dynamite – The case for audio advertising online

Tim Hipperson, CEO, RMG Connect, examines digital training and the client/agency relationship…As the capability and reach of digital marketing continues to both grow and attract attention at a rate of knots, there has been increasing debate about training. Talk across the industry revolves around the ‘skills gap’, and how so many marketers are utilising digital… Continue reading Digital knowledge is all about playing to your strengths

The challenges of launching a new online service are examined by Alison Roberts, director of marketing at feelfit.com….Getting the marketing mix right is always a tricky business, even more so with a totally new and exclusively online service. Forget the well trodden path; in such circumstances a marketer has to find their own way.feelfit.com, which… Continue reading Launching a new online service

Caroline Worboys, managing director, Callcredit Marketing Solutions, looks at how marketers can use online techniques to engage with consumers in real-time…After months and years of skirting around the subject, it seems that the marketing industry is finally waking up to the benefits of real-time interaction with consumers, with many brands choosing to conduct online research… Continue reading Real-time techniques – how to converse with your consumers

Michelle Pamment, editor-in-chief, Your M&S magazine, suggests why it is more important than ever for retail brands to engage with their customers during a recession…Every recession is different. Each time, depending upon the cause of the downturn, its duration and which industry sectors and consumer demographics are worst affected, consumer behaviour, spending habits and attitudes… Continue reading How customer magazines can engage with consumers during tough retail conditions

Joseph Chan, International Insight Manager at MediaCom reveals connectivity insights of money strapped consumers during the current economic meltdown…Global consumers have submerged themselves long enough in a sea of recession and fear. Now they are gradually emerging from their state of pessimism and are becoming more adaptable and finally learning how to live simpler and… Continue reading How to connect strategically with recessionary consumers

Anthony Greenidge, sales and marketing director of ethnic media sales house MEMS, looks at whether current audience research systems are biased against ethnic media…With the next UK census due to start in 2011, current projections for the size of the ethnic population are reaching 7.5 million or 12% of the total UK population, an audience… Continue reading Are audience research systems biased against ethnic media?

James Smythe of Culture of Insight draws conclusions from his research into the health of market research in the media and advertising business…In good times past, market research has informed the creation of quality media products and services, and provided a great story to help sell them. But times are different. Businesses are looking for… Continue reading “A good story cannot be devised, it has to be distilled”