April 20th, 2009

Celebrity in the last ten years has become a somewhat muddied term.  The traditional association of talent with fame has become increasingly distant, and with this decrease in traditional talent has been an increased desire to knock people down.  However a coupling of a return to more traditional values harnessed with available technology may see a shift in this trend.  The talent case in point would be the recent viral phenomenon of Susan’s Boyle performance on “Britain’s got Talent.”  As for the knock down effect, the popularity of the Lindsay Lohan self mockery treatment on “Funny or Die” speaks for itself.  With the numerous negative effects of the dissemination of celebrity in the last ten years, perhaps we are witnessing the power of the online force to revert to a less cynical approach to what we value from our stars, which I think can only be a good thing.

Source: The Independant, Funny or Die

April 5th, 2009

Mmmmmmm.....

After a week off from work, and a healthy (?) number of culinary treats, it was refreshing to read an article in today’s Sunday Times that celebrated both the happiness to be had from a good pud, and the resulting positive business impact.

We hear the food & restaurants director of Selfridges proclaim that “indulging in food can play a great role in making people feel happier about life” as well as April Preston, the head of product development at M&S confirming the rise in popularity of the pie.

And on the business side we’re seeing custard sales up by “almost 20%” and by a staggering 140% at the aforementioned M&S.

Proof that pudding is good for you AND the economy – so tuck in!

M&S, pies, pudding, Selfridges

March 25th, 2009

Greenshootsblog.com is pleased to welcome another guest blogger – Ilona Latta, who brings a unique perspective from her two jobs as a hypnotherapist and a marketing planner.

But, for the most part, this just hasn’t happened. Rather than needing hypnotherapy to provide the subconscious’ equivalent of tea and sympathy, most of my clients have, in their own way, wanted to make the most out of the situation. They are determined that their personal story of these tricky times will be a positive one.

For many, the enforced turmoil of losing jobs and / or homes has been painful; but they are resolute that, once their lives are back together again, they will be more rewarding than before. Even those who have been relatively unscathed by the axe-wielding HR personnel who seem to be stalking London at the moment have discovered that a bit of economising could mean they can take a pay cut and move to another career, or work four days a week rather than seven.

I know that my client base is a tiny microcosm in the grand scheme of things and that those wanting to work with a hypnotherapist might not be a nationally representative research sample. Nevertheless, the consistent optimism of the people with whom I’ve been lucky enough to work, and similar experiences shared by other clinical hypnotherapists led me to question some of the nuggets of received wisdom handed down in the marketing world. Traditionally, marketers seem to expect recession-stricken to consumers to “batten down the hatches,” be more conservative in their choice of products / brands, and to be significantly less open to communications that stray beyond cold, hard, financial facts (ideally price promotions).

Undoubtedly belts are being tightened and household budgets are under more pressure and scrutiny than they were a couple of years ago. However, this doesn’t mean that we have all turned into purely rational beings. The subconscious mind, when it is functioning properly, is an extraordinarily hopeful phenomenon; its power to visualise a positive outcome in any given situation and to seek out opportunities in achieving the best possible results is a constant source of amazement to psychologists. As such, the mind’s appetite for ingenuity and creativity does not disappear in times of stress – in fact it grows – and the subconscious will attribute significant value to any allies it finds along the way.

Obviously this doesn’t negate the importance of pricing in purchase decisions, but ensuring nervous marketing briefs do not restrict brands to one-dimensional, rational entities is going to be critical in resonating with consumers as we all find our way out of the recession. In a world where margins are being slashed and ads are full of discount flashes, the brands that stand out are going to be the ones that still have a twinkle in their eye whether they are selling holidays in the Maldives or half-price loo roll.

March 23rd, 2009

Greenshootsblog.com is delighted to have a guest blog from Gordon Mclean, Planning Director at JWT NY, who gives us a welcome view into signs of positivity in the US…

Working in New York with a major bank that has both a large global footprint and a foot deep in the local US market one could say I’ve been working over the past few months in the eye of the economic storm.
I guess for this reason, amongst others, I’ve been pretty attuned to the gloom drenched headlines, depressing RSS feeds and less than chirpy tweets. The beacons of hope I’ve been drawn to are innovation, generosity and collaboration.

Innovation

With millions of jobs being lost in the US what we are seeing is something of a clearing of the old to make way for the new. The top man is committed to seeing through his ambitious technology and innovation plan. Obama conceived of many of these plans well before the current meltdown. The optimist in me, and others, sees the current economic meltdown as nothing short of a perfect storm and if necessity is the mother of invention this crisis can become the catalyst for a raft of essential innovations that will deliver a triple bill of social, environmental and economic benefits.

I recently came across a research study into the attitudes of US small business owners. I was surprised and heartened to see that over one-third regard the current economy as more opportunity that calamity. If innovation is thinking differently about something to realize an improvement then there’s plenty evidence of innovation at work in amongst small businesses in the US. Many small businesses in the US are re-evaluating their supplier relationships, rethinking their competitive strategies and reconsidering previously discarded market opportunities.

Generosity

While the major theme of recent months has been financial bankruptcy, near or in some cases actual, we’ve also borne witness to a moral bankruptcy on truly epic scale. What we’ve seen is capitalism as a green light to money making at any cost. Barry Schwartz – the author of The Paradox of Choice – spoke at the recent TED conference about a world gone mad with bureaucracy and our loss of practical wisdom . In the course of his talk he touched on the one of the key elements of Presidential Candidate Obama’s campaign appeal: he didn’t just promise prosperity, security and a restoration of America’s rightful place in the world; he appealed directly to our sense of virtue, duty and citizenship.

The new US administration is gradually re-setting our moral compass. This is both welcome and needed after too long a period where selling one’s grandmother for two pence could be excused by the pursuit of prosperity. For the most powerful man in the world to openly chastise the most powerful corporations in the world for their irresponsible, reckless and outrageous behavior is both admonishment and antidote. It’s also sending a powerful and popular signal that greed and one-upmanship is trumped by generosity and citizenship. Trendwatching recently captured this spirit as the emergence of “Generation G” .

Collaboration

If together we’re stronger then this virtuous reawakening is the very thing that’s needed for potent innovation to flourish. One of the hallmarks of this transition from greed to generosity is a simultaneous shift from competition to collaboration. The world-renowned design consultancy IDEO is currently capturing this nicely with their “Open Conversation” on Facebook . Each week they tackle one big question and open it to the floor. Both contributors and readers alike gain something from the collective brainpower and come away with new ideas, renewed vigor and a sense of great possibility that the current economy presents us with when we work with, rather than against, one another.

These are tough times but there are three good reasons to be cheerful: innovation, generosity and collaboration. The chaos of current economy is in many ways providing a powerful catalyst for much needed change. It’s also providing a cathartic release from the belief that greed is good and, in turn, a realization that generosity; moral virtue and civic duty are better. And, in the face of challenging circumstances collaboration is helping many to turn adversity into opportunity. If these three themes do nothing to lift your spirits then perhaps the latest innovation on the menu of the Turkish café in which I’m writing this will – a generously proportioned and modestly priced “Obama Sandwich”.

Nothing short of a fourth reason to be cheerful as far as I’m concerned.

Author: Gordon Mclean

Sources: TED, Trendwatching, IDEO, Facebook

March 5th, 2009

More and more people are abandoning holidays abroad from their plans and rediscovering the UK.And whilst Bognor and Blackpool may not have the pull they once did, the traditional Great British holiday is making a big comeback, as families look for a cheaper alternative to luxury holidays in the sun.
One organization that is already experiencing an uplift is the Caravan Club and they have not lost any time promoting the fact that advanced bookings for 2009 that are up by 40 per cent on last year, when 55,000 households joined up. While the number of visits abroad by UK residents was down by six per cent in 2008 – according to the Office of National Statistics.
Nick Lomas, Director of Marketing for The Caravan Club cites even more justification behind caravanning ranging from; freedom, cost, tranquility, strengthening family bonds and even claims that caravaners have longer-lasting marriages. And his comments have been lapped up by the UK press giving him and his organization much valuable coverage.
For my money, caravans will never be socially acceptable – however camper vans are a different matter. I have a romantic notion of taking off Devon in a classic VW Camper, parking up by the beach, going surfing with the family and then firing up the stove for a warming cup of tea as the sun goes down. And now an enterprising former Ad-man has set up a company who can provide you with all the kit – without the need to have an in-depth knowledge of air-cooled engines. It’s a great concept and brilliantly packaged and I, for one, am really looking forward to the Summer!

VW campers: www.devonclassiccampers.co.uk

Author: Andy Hunt Cooke
Source: Caravans

February 27th, 2009

One industry to see the positives of the recession is one close to my heart – film.  Figures published from the Cinema Advertising Association indicated that cinema admissions had in fact increased by 1.1% in 2008.  As an industry measure it would appear that those who believed the cinema experience to be dying may have perhaps cried wolf a little too soon.  Whilst people may be increasingly tentative in their attitudes towards parting with large sums of cash on cars and holidays right now; the idea of luxury is one central to our society so questions of what can be judged to be affordable treats arise.  Film in all shapes and forms seems poised to take advantage of this shift in customer behaviour.  The positive impact of this is two-fold for both consumer and industry.

For the consumer, recent research published from psychologists at the University of San Francisco indicates that choosing an experience based purchase over a possession based one is likely to make you happier.  You just have to look at the increasing popularity of experiences like Secret Cinema for exciting new ways to experience film.  The social impact of this may in fact roll over into the film industry itself.  The prevalence of genres such as chick-flicks is likely to remain popular; great for advertisers – you only have to look at the Sex and the City film positioning in 2008 and the tie-in opportunities.  However (and not to overly bog myself down in the mire that is high vs. low cinema) the cultural questions that have been thrown up may have an interesting impact on the subject/format (ad infinitum) of film itself.  And unlike the depression of the last century, British cinema is actually in great shape to take advantage of this.  Beyond national cinema, 2009 is shaping up to be a great film for both blockbuster and arthouse – roll on Watchmen for me.  I await the results of the next few years with interest….

February 19th, 2009

I have been asked a number of times to write something for this blog. Not because my offerings are particularly deep, but simply because I have been promising to make a contribution since the idea of the Green Shoots Blog was first discussed but have failed to deliver. There is a reason for this. Despite the fact I absolutely agree that it is high time somebody (the press) attempted to write something positive about what is going on in the world and despite spending the last couple of weekends trying to find something uplifting, there is so little to grab hold of. I see the army is sending gaff prone Prince Harry on an equality course and Jeremy Clarkson has apologised for his comments about Gordon Brown’s ability to see things clearly. Maybe this should raise a smile but all I can take from this is that the country has gone beyond political correctness to a new era of “gagging just in case”. What else is there? The gaff prone bankers have been made to apologise to a committee of self-righteous MPs and have shown some degree of remorse – although I am not sure they showed signs of accepting any blame. There where some green shoots in England’s performance against Wales at the weekend – although they lost and did not slow down Wales’ march towards a second Grand Slam. Come on the Irish. But none of this really does the job, so I decided to do what I always do when I need information and can’t be bothered to dig it up for myself – ask Google.  And I found something there – there is a website called the Good News Network which offers a little bit of a lift but third on Google’s top ten is a 6 year old article from BBC.com which tells us that research in Australia has found that masturbation can reduce the risk of prostate cancer. So there you have it, even the great Google can only offer some light relief from the gloom but I suppose with so many merchant bankers having too much time on their hands, any news is good news, even if it is a bit old.

Author: Matthew Brown

BBC, Good News Network

February 6th, 2009

The recent economic turbulence will create a new and more localised high street……

According to Experian one in seven high street shops could be empty by the end of the year. Thus, as the supply of retail space increases, rent rates will come down but……these spaces won’t be populated by your usual household retail brands.

With more of us buying homogenous products (that don’t require a specific personal buying experience) online during the recession, remember Amazon’s sales rose 9% in the last quarter of 08 and are expected to grow in the first quarter of 09. How many of us will go back to a high street retailer to buy these homogenous products?

The potential for a high street retail decline, leaves the door wide open for a high street recovery led by local providers who can push products and services that demand that personal touch….

This years high street may have less phone shops and electronic retailers but more specialist food suppliers, boutique fashion stores and even the return of your local butcher….

David Killick

February 5th, 2009

Customer publishing is an area that promises considerable growth despite the recession. According to reports, the industry will grow 15% by 2013. The growth in this sector demonstrates how a focus on customer retention and an ability to demonstrate effectiveness can yield positive results. There has been a recent influx of new clients to the industry, including House of Fraser and the Co-operative Group.

Source: Brand Republic 28/1/2009

http://www.brandrepublic.com/Discipline/DirectMarketing/News/876732/Customer-publishing-grow-15-2013/