Tagged: digital
Life after the ban that never happened
So, as many predicted the BlackBerry ban didn’t go ahead in the UAE – pulled at the 11th hour. A sigh of relief for many, but a bit of a disappointment for some – as I predicted earlier that it could go to act as a catalyst to make the most significant change in UAE marketing history and have a significant impact on consumer behavior.
However although the ban didn’t go through, the announcement in parallel with the launch of iPhone, has certainly see share of voice talking about iPhone in contrast to BlackBerry increase. iPhone mania that has swept the rest of the world seems to have finally touched down in the UAE.
Expect to see consumers reaching out for localised apps, and the big brands undertaking the role of educators in the technology. It feels like the gap is closing, but whilst the rest of the planet are hyped about location-based applications of mobile technology, the UAE is still yet to foster its first truly relevant and useful app, with mass success. It now won’t be until that happens that local audiences and brands will be truly engaged.
Tell us what you think!
Survival
GyroHSR Dubai General Manager, Fiona Menzies, appeared on Dubai Eye’s Business Breakfast.
Listen to the interview here…
Five things I learnt from Cannes 2010
It pays to be fun
VW’s The Fun Theory proved people don’t like taking the stairs when there’s an escalator – but when it’s turned into a giant piano they do. Welcome thefuntheory.com
The powerful nature of this campaign is the proof of peoples intrigue into human behavior. Reactions to, and motivations for, having fun are what make the subsequent viral materials so engaging.
Technology innovation is truly here
Nike’s Chalkbot proved how fusing some of the biggest and baddest technology with social tools really does pay dividends in bringing an idea to life. Didn’t somebody once say impossible is nothing?
And so is simplicity
Everyone’s familiar with the great Facebook item grab campaign in the IKEA showroom. What a great reminder of how we should be looking to exploit new media channels they way they were meant to be.
PR is integrated
A look at any of the Titanium and Integrated Lions show us how big a part to play PR has in every advertising story we now strive to tell. Gatorade’s Replay and Heineken’s Auditorium are testament to this – PR has become really fun!
If everything else fails – there’s always a beer
Great humour, spot on for target audience. Bravo Thooeys’ Beer Economy
U-T… Uniqlo turn friendly Twitter analytics into a campaign
I recently stumbled across Uniqlo’s UTweet campaign having been surprised by the coolness that the brand seems to have gathered in recent months / year. The campaign which hero’s the brands quirky and personal T-shirts allows you to create your very own Tweet video by entering your Twitter handle into the beautifully simple microsite.
Alternatively enter any keyword and it will gather together recently mentions of the keyword and it will give you a upto the minute quirky and cool reflection for that key word. For example bananas or Rooney.
Nothing of course that can’t be done through a simple twitter search, but I found it an excellent way to present the Twitter voice of a brand to clients – and introducing non tech savvies into a simple and effective online application.
The following though are much more interesting for us agency types and offer various different ways of crunching Twit-data.
Let’s talk Sirius
Sirius, the Recognition and Rewards programme from Jumeirah are a respected and leading player in the Hospitality loyalty game. We wanted to build on their very generous rewards and privileges and engage on a more personal and added value way.
In order to do this we have recently launched a suite of new comms going out to targeted segments of the base:
Sirius Delights focuses on the Dubai dinning market specifically. From our research our insight was yes offers are important, but actually reviews and recommendations are what really make people decide where to go. We connected this insight with the fantastic reputation Jumeirah restaurants have, and have actually embedded 3rd party review links into the communication. It’s open, honest and cuts out the time finding out whether the restaurant with the great offer is any good.
An additional clever feature we included was super personalisation – so that from a redemption perspective each individual member can see whether they can redeem instantly or how many Sirius Points they will need to get that reward.
Initial results have shown considerable revenue and footfall increases in Sirius business units.
Here it is shown on an i pad because it’s cool.
Sirius Travels is a different kettle of fish. The objective here is to build a long-term relationship with Jumeirah’s overseas members. Firstly we have to convince the recipient to come to Dubai, London or New York. Once achieved we need to make sure it’s with Juemriah that they stay. Editorially led with cool what’s going on widgets and 3rd party links to sell the ‘big 3′.
Results show a marked increase in click-throughs to specific stay packages and overseas booking information.
Sirius Statement does exactly what it says on the tin – but further than this moving forward plans to hyper personalise – offering members redeemable rewards which are affordable based on their Sirius Points balance, but also appealing based on profile and spend habits.
Tales from London – Part 2
As well as larking around disguised as a culture vulture on my trip to London – I managed to get time to watch my beloved football team secure top flight European football next season for the first time by beating Bolton and then a tense victory in the North of England to beat Manchester City.
Glory glory Tottenham Hotspur at last. And two new experiences with it. The first match I had the pleasure of watching from a box at White Heart Lane courtesy of Bluhalo – Thank you Bluhalo. The second match was a completely alien experience to me and strangely a lot better than I anticipated. I ventured to a pub in Clapham with a group of friends, pulled out my Avatar 3D specs and watched the entire match in 3D.
It worked well, the stats in particular leapt out at you and everybody looked suitably ridiculous. 3D TV is literally kicking off. Some brands such as Guinness have already created the commercials (arguably the best 3D experience of the evening) and I’m sure there will be a bandwagon of brands jumping on the 3D train.
I’ll be interested to see which high fashion brand will be the first to release those designer 3D specs, and when 3D TV hits Dubai.
Innovative and light-hearted sales team activation from GyroHSR London
The successor to www.thegreatcaperace.co.uk Rio Runna is yet another great sales team initiative for T Mobile. The GyroHSR London team had pushed the bar pretty high already, so this one had a tough act to follow. The idea took the destination (Rio) as inspiration for a Ronnie Biggs-style getaway theme. The challenge here was to avoid the gangster territory and keep it light-hearted – more Del Boy Sun Shocka than Lock Stock. The site is currently 2 months in and the content is being revealed one step at a time – with ideas to make it even bigger and better as the incentive progresses.
Sirius Celebration
Slide 3We were briefed by Sirius (Jumeirah Hotel Group’s loyalty programme) to communicate multiple Jumeirah festive offers to the Sirius database.
We identified that there are many hotels and restaurants offering ways to spend the festive season in Dubai and that our target audience don’t have time to be spoilt for choice – there’s no time to ‘organise’ the season and they definitely don’t have time to learn about a complicated loyalty programme
So in summary, our target market is busy. It’s all too much… they can’t be bothered. They just want to celebrate
Strategy
Make Jumeirah the ‘home of celebration’.
Remind people that by spending time at Jumeirah, they’ll be earning points on their Sirius cards to spend on themselves later. Doubly nice.
Idea
Rewrite the message of Earn then Redeem as Celebrate then Celebrate meaning: Celebrate with Jumeirah then celebrate again with Sirius
Execution
Stylish website at the heart of the communications – if simplified the process of gaining information, and aimed to excite and inspire the user to book their festive celebrations with Jumeirah.
Radio promotions across four stations for the whole month supported by on and offline advertising and social media, owning ‘celebration’.
An amazing competition allowing a lucy couple to fly Upper Class between Dubai, London and New York staying at trademark Jumeirah properties (including Burj Al Arab) over a ten night extravaganza.
And we took the stress out of the festive season with the Sirius Celebration Planners which included offering members access to ‘real’ Celebration Planners , a guide to the holiday season with a pull out festive planner and an 800-celebrate hotline.
Results
5,000 new Sirius members – up 23%
26,000 earn transactions – up 10%
2,500 redeem transactions – up 15%
20,000 web visits, 45,000 page views
6,000 competition entries
Over 40 hours of radio air time
Over 100 ‘celebrations’ given away on air
One lucky winner who won the ‘Jumeirah Jet Set’
The ‘maximising marketeer’
Whilst watching an opening episode of Mad Men – we see fictional creative director Don Draper and his team casually solving a brief for a high end department store with slick images and a coupon to drive sales. The modern marketeer (and in this case; the attractive client), were let down by the depth of the campaign strategy.
However, is the coupon making a return to fame? Despite the undeniable importance of an integrated and engaging approach to marketing strategy – the humble promotional coupon has its place.
Whilst reading a recent entry on our corporate blog site, I was informed that consumers are stepping up efforts to save money during the recession by carrying out more searches for online vouchers and discounts than ever before. This is according to new figures from Hitwise, which show that web searches for vouchers have soared by 47.5 per cent in the last year in the UK.
What was most interesting to me was the comment from Hitwise UK research director Robin Goad; “We are seeing the emergence of what our colleagues the Future Foundation call the ‘maximising consumer’,”
“These shoppers don’t necessarily buy the cheapest products or services, but they do spend a lot of time researching online before selecting what to buy and then a bit more time to find the best price or discounts before making a purchase.”
A valid point and one that rings true in Dubai. The nature of the economy and the lifestyle which many have flocked to the Emirate to embrace means that we are looking for an experience that we shouldn’t really be able to afford, at a seemingly affordable price.
In steps the Entertainer Book (for non UAE residents, this is a series of voucher books which cover the majority of eateries from Burger King to Michelin Star restaurants).
It works so well in Dubai. The city is small enough to make it logistically viable, and the concept simple enough for the smallest of outlets with the most basic of marketing strategies take part, yet powerful enough that the global players can’t afford to miss out.
Although the Entertainer has an online presence – with limited offers available only online – beyond this the ‘print-on-demand’ coupon is not as common as you might think.
It would seem like a perfect opportunity for some of the less prevalent brands in the region to make an impact. Utilising simple and tried and tested promotion driven marketing to reach out and drive sales – without having to invest heavily in a complex web solutions.
It’s not groundbreaking, but if embraced could boost the development of the online landscape in the region, and is a very measurable way to track ROI.
