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A Cunning plan for a more daring line in advertising
(Western Mail Via Thomson Dialog NewsEdge)The woman famed for projecting a naked Gail Porter onto the Houses of Parliament has urged Welsh businesses to become daring in the promotion of their goods and services.
Anna Carlos, whose London company Cunning recently dropped a 15-tonne cookie into Trafalgar Square, was speaking to entrepreneurs at Cardiff University's Innovation Network.
One of Britain's pioneers of guerrilla marketing techniques, she said, 'Marketers have got to change the way they approach marketing in terms of advertising. People talk about television advertising being dead.
'It is not so much the content that is dying off, but the medium is changing.
'On television you used to be able to buy a few key spots such as in the centre break of Coronation Street, supported with some Emmerdale, [and] a couple of local spots - maybe on Channel 4 or later on in the evening.
'And you could get high coverage very quickly.
'That day has gone - nowadays there is a proliferation of media.'
But she cautioned that shock tactics only work when they reflect the values, attitude and ultimate identity of the brand.
She said, 'Make sure your brand has some values attached to it. What is the personality of your brand? What is the tone of your brand and what is it saying? Don't expect the consumer to go around spouting your strap line - it has to be engaging and in the real world.'
She continued, 'You have got to give them something that will actually stick with them. So, for example, one of the big areas coming through in research is that people are not just motivated by brands that show green credentials but they must also have civic and social credentials.
'So what is it that your brand actually represents?'
The challenge for anyone working in marketing was to second-guess the new tastes that consumers will develop, she said.
A truly successful campaign would result in customers being transformed into 'ambassadors' for the brand and product.
'We are interested in putting ourselves in the consumer's place,' she explained.
'What is it that touches, moves, inspires and engages the consumer? What is it that will make him or her actually want to talk to that brand? How do we bring that brand and that brand's values to life?
'I am not talking about standing in a supermarket with a plate of cheese.
'I am talking about bringing brand values to life.
'So for us it is about brand experience involving and engaging the consumer, because once you build a relationship you are far more likely to hold onto them and they in turn become your ambassadors.'
Michael Wright, head of the Cardiff University Innovation Network, which this year is celebrating 10 years of bringing companies together to exchange ideas and technology, said, 'Guerrilla marketing is all about attracting potential customers by challenging the norm and exciting people's curiosity.
'We think these techniques will interest more creatively minded Welsh companies especially as high-impact campaigns attracting national media exposure, can cost relatively little compared to their media value.'
Other Cunning campaigns have involved putting up fake speed cameras branded in the colours of T-Mobile, and launching the 'It's a Mini Adventure' series of advertisements for the relaunched car.
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