Four ideas that will help generate leads

Source: http://websblog.wpengine.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/lead_generation.png

How to generate leads for a company is one of the main questions that business people ask every day. We all want to generate more leads for our businesses. But how do we intend to do it? For many companies, this is literally a million-dollar question. No matter what your business model is, content is still king. One research study a few years ago revealed that plenty of B2B marketers have documented plans to improve their lead generation budgets by up to 50% the following year. That investment is still on the rise overall.

Let’s start with defining a lead:
What is referred to as a Lead?

A lead is a person who has indicated interest in your company's product or service.

In other words, instead of getting a random call from someone who purchased your contact details, you'd hear from a company or business you've already opened communication with.

Check out how these FOUR types of unique content ideas can help you meet your lead generations:

1. SURVEY
We all like to share our ideas. As marketers, let’s absorb that human instinct and use it to drive leads. Rather than just stating the gains of your service, why not ask your prospects to rank their top three problems, or share their own idea for a new program?

Sixty questions in ten point font is not going to drive the leads home, but a quick two to three questions, with an awesome layout, might be just the opportunity your prospects have been looking for to share ideas and preferences. And, as a marketer, you can use the survey responses to suit your own marketing and continue the discussion.

MarketingProfs ran a popular “Day in the Life of a Marketer” survey that acquired a 42% click through rate (CTR). Another awesome example comes from Xyleme, who created a survey on measuring learning that has been helpful in driving leads (82% lead submission rate for those that began the survey).

2. CONTESTS
Like quizzes, contests are no more just for consumer brands. Contests come in all formats, but our favourites are based on user content: upload a selfie, video or art work: You provide the concept — your prospects provide the content. A contest/competition can come with an awesome prize or it might just be “bragging rights.” The key, from a lead generation outlook, is to make sure the contest is bringing in the right prospects for you. The questions and prize should suit the kind of people you are looking to have a sales conversation with.

Do you think your product is too expensive or your market will not be interested for a contest? Atmel, manufacturer of microcontrollers, ran a video contest targeted towards marketers, engineers, entertainers and hobbyists. With almost 500 entries, 218,000 votes, and 165,337 participants referred through social media channels, I’d call it a success!

3. INTERACTIVE INFOGRAPHICS AND WHITE PAPERS.
The engaging infographic and white paper take two of B2B marketing’s most important types of content and make them faster by putting in same type of “info exchange” that is made available in quizzes, calculators, and surveys. As opposed to simply texts and images on a page, there are awesome opportunities, questions and results, and a chance to tailor the experience by how the reader relates to these questions. The result is a truly personalized, useful piece of material that takes advantage of the power of digital literacy and provides both the marketers and consumers with targeted info. Endicia, which gives postage and shipping solutions, put together infographic based on package returns. Most importantly your job as a content marketer is to get your listener's attention, and then to harness and keep it. With average click through rates of 60% and lead conversion rates of 50%, interactive content might be just what you need to boost your lead generation in 2016.

4. QUIZZES
No more simply the area of ladies' magazines and Buzzfeed puff pieces, tests are presently genuine business for the B2B advertiser. Especially at the highest point of the pipe, advertisers are utilizing tests as an approach to attract prospects and begin a dialog.

Tests offer various advantages as lead generators.

• Because they are normally captivating and fast, requiring to a lesser extent a promise from the prospect than perusing a white paper, for instance, they are for the most part more powerful at the highest point of the channel than a white paper download.
• Quizzes have high begin and fulfillment rates. For instance, a basic trivia test has a normal snap rate of 41% and normal finishing rate of 43%. That last detail is essential: regardless of the possibility that your prospects download your white paper, how would you know whether they have perused it? 
• In expansion, tests offer two-way data stream: you as an advertiser can share data and by soliciting an arrangement from inquiries, you can pick up data about your prospect that can be caught for future effort and sustaining.
• Quizzes are likewise, as we as a whole know from our Facebook nourishes, very shareable. Overall, there is a 15% offer rate for intelligent substance such as tests — how can that contrast and your present offer rates?
• Finally, a well done test assembles trust: with some insightful inquiries and "results," you can show that your organization comprehends the issue, test, or individual they are focusing on, making it more probable that future correspondence from your organization will be considered. For instance, worldwide ability administration counseling firm DDI constructed a Typical Authority Styles test and has found that prospects who draw in with this intelligent substance are 5x more inclined to open subsequent messages from DDI.

Enjoy.

Alejandro Catalan
Current student in the Master of Marketing program at the University of Sydney Business School

Brand Management: ChickDriven

The new website aiming to put female car buyers in the driver’s seat.

There is no doubt that the majority of content-based car websites are aimed at males, because everyone knows cars are a man’s game, right? Wrong, not any longer! Move over boys, ChickDriven has just rolled up and has beat you to the finish line.

For the first time, women have overtaken men on the road. With 80% of car buying decisions left up to us women, it is becoming increasingly important to get in the driver's seat when is comes to making those choices. To steer us in the right direction, the newest go to is company ChickDriven. As American #1 website for women, the company is leading the way to honest informative car reviews, advice about auto financing and insurance, along with other insightful tools we need for choosing the right car.

Ruby Davis, CEO and Founder of ChickDriven started the business venture in a response to her own experiences and frustration as a first-time car buyer.

“I purchased a car with all the glitz and glamour, thinking I had received an amazing package, but instead, was delivered with the basic package paying premium price. I think that car salesmen—MEN—see a woman and they assume it’ll be easy to take advantage of her, ChickDriven empowers women like me to make informed decisions about what car to buy and how much they should pay for it.” – Ruby Davis

Through exciting content based articles, cheeky videos and engaging social media campaigns, Ms Davis has successfully expanded ChickDriven from her base in Los Angeles to engage with consumers from all corners of the globe. The content available on ChickDriven.com is not only for women, but also written by women. Lets face is, whom better to market towards females than a female?

When is comes to purchasing decisions, particularly buying a car, it is important to understand that women have different priorities, objectives and challenges. With that being said, Davis states the importance of maintaining an authentically female touch point that further understands and acknowledges these differences. Offering content partnership opportunities, the site is also an effective way for automotive manufacturers to capture the attention of the all-important female market. ChickDriven’s adverting solutions include customized content creation to ensure that marketers’ messages are relevant and resonate with its audience.

Website: www.ChickDriven.com
Email: hello@chickdriven.com
Instagram: @chick_driven
Facebook: /ChickDriven

Lauren Musat
Current student in the Master of Marketing program at the University of Sydney Business School

Tips to setup strategic marketing goals

Image credit: Startup Stock

All companies begin with the main goal of profit maximisation and aim their operations in that direction. Businesses that operate on large or even small scale tend to have marketing goals that not only allow our products to deepen their roots in our target market but also help us to capture a greater market share. We must have the hustle to work for the betterment of society and our stakeholders in general. Speaking in general, the aim of our business should always be to strategically motivate people into buying our products through various marketing strategies and advertisements. Through our marketing strategies we will directly achieve the following established goals which will help us achieve our actual goal indirectly.


Sales volume is important because it affects the factors which are beyond our control. Some of the factors which are beyond our control are rise and fall in economy, the weather in business market, and the threat of competition. If we have good sales volume we believe we will be able to nullify the adverse effects of these uncontrollable factors.


Market share determines our future in a specific industry and region that we operate in. We must aim at acquiring a good market share because only then we would be able to stay global or international in any desired market or region.


Sales revenue is important to us because it makes us capable of investing in other projects and products. The higher the revenue, the more chance that we will expand our roots in the current market scenario. Sales revenue also allows companies to penetrate into the market. This also determines the future pricing strategies, branding posture and product/service.


Profit is and should always be the main concern of businesses so as to overcome the costs they have tolerated in establishing their business.


Return on Investment (ROI) indicates that several other windows of opportunities will open up for the companies that are still in the growth stage.


Apart from all these strategic marketing goals, the following will also be achieved in return, which serve as the backbone of many businesses. 

•  Every company aims at building a relationship with their customers, so that they buy their products for the next purchase as well. The repeated purchase intention is kept in mind. Customer base and customer loyalty will bring about greater sales and will help to generate larger revenue.
• Communicating the value that businesses offer their customers, which will help them to increase market share based on the value proposition and quality provided to them.
• Overcome the market myths and expand market share with the help of clearing out any misconceptions and controversies.
• Investment opportunities will flow into our business for the future's sake and will make our business the long lasting one.
• Greater revenue means greater profitability or profit margin, which will establish a long term market survival rate.
• Final goal should be to attract new partners in the market, which will help us to grow faster and quicker. New partnerships mean greater volume of sales and larger market share and good standing in the market.

Alejandro Catalan
Current student in the Master of Marketing program at the University of Sydney Business School

How good decisions enhance your business and bad decisions undercut your business

Credit: Rawpixel/Shutterstock

Business decisions have a deep impact on business success and growth. A right decision at the right time can bring you ultimate success where as one wrong decision can make you regret for a life time.

Let’s see how good decisions can enhance and help a business;

 ✓ A well researched decision will not let you down
If you perform sufficient research before making a decision, then the chances of loss are minimised. When you are updated about the recent financial market changes and your decision is based on the current business trends, then it will surely bring you success and growth.

✓ Decisions made on expert advice always bring success
It might happen that the decision you are going to make has already been implemented in the past, but you might not be aware of its outcomes so, in this scenario, an expert’s advice can help you. They can predict the outcomes of any decision and due to extensive experience they can advise intelligent decision steps that can increase your business growth.

✓ Quick decisions in times of need can prevent business loss

Some business situations require a quick and intelligent decision at a perfect time. When you know business conditions are according to your decision, then a smart decision can save you from business loss.

✓ Decisions made on consideration of employee opinion often prove fruitful

Your employees are your well wisher because their success is dependent on your success, so taking their opinion and incorporating them with yours would bring you your desired goals.

Every entrepreneur or businessman once in a life makes a bad decision, but with proper planning you can make up for it. Now, let’s see how bad decisions can undercut a business.

 ✘ Hiring the wrong employees will lead to loss

Your success depends on your employees’ efficient performance and hard work. If you hire unprofessional people, then due to lack of desired skills and talent they can tatter your business.

✘ Ignoring cash flow can decrease your growth

Whether your business is on a small or large scale, a close eye should be kept on its cash flow. Cash is your asset and you must be aware about where it goes and from where it comes. Ignoring the cash flow can result in business destruction as you cannot operate without it.

✘ The decision to expand rather than to make a profit can lower your progress
Many entrepreneurs want rapid growth and to achieve that they take decisions of rapid business expansion involving new hiring and resources, but often these decisions do not meet the objectives and they suffer in profitability. Choosing expansion over business profitability is not a wise decision and often results in lower progress.

✘ Skipping marketing strategies
If you don’t create effective marketing strategies, then there will be no increase in your sales. A wise decision is to allocate a team to work for your product marketing.

If you can avoid the above mentioned bad decisions, then you can keep up with the business market and by practicing smart decisions, you can bring growth and future success to your business.

Alejandro Catalan
Current student in the Master of Marketing program at the University of Sydney Business School

Marketing metrics: How much are your tweets actually worth?

Who do consumers trust when it comes to purchasing decisions? That’s right you guessed it, social influencers!

Influence marketing is not exactly a new phenomenon, but has increased rapidly with the rise of social networks in the past ten years. Influencers themselves could be potential buyers or users of a product, or even third parties such as journalists or industry experts. The key to influencer marketing is that the influencer holds the power to shape and change the behaviour of others within their network. This is typically achieved by creating engaging promotional content to a wide and loyal audience of followers.

Source: http://hyperactivate.com/

In a world where customers are increasingly using online recommendations, influencers hold a lot of power in the social space. Recent research has shown that 74% of customers rely on social media to influence their purchasing decisions. This week, Twitter is celebrating its ten-year anniversary with over 320 million active users. So how much are your tweets actually worth?

A fantastic new tool from the company Webfluential allows users to gain an estimate of the potential monetary value of their tweets. Using a special algorithm to analyse your following, the Influence Estimator tool gives a rough approximation of how much you could charge per tweet. In order for this to work accurately you will of course need a following of at least 500 people in order to sufficiently monetise your 140 character tweets.

For those of us who sadly don’t have a large Twitter following, the Webfluential tool can be used to seek out influencers, searching by market type, age and location. Identifying influencers in new markets can be a tricky process, so tools that simplify this process can be incredibly useful for marketers. Interestingly it can also be used to calculate the potential tweet value of the world’s most followed Twitter accounts.


Source: http://webfluential.com/

The current queen of Twitter, Katy Perry, has a worldwide following just short of 85 million. To put that number into perspective, that’s more than two and a half times the population of Australia following her handle @katyperry. Should she wish to monetise her postings she could look to pocket up to $70,425 per tweet. Lenardo Di Caprio may have just won an Oscar, but with only 15 million followers by comparison he could potentially earn up to $45,035 for each Twitter post. These numbers may seem relatively small to the uber-rich celebrities with millions of followers, but social influencers with large followers can use metrics such as Wefbluential to gauge their own value and connect with potential clients.

However, changes to Instagram this week may potentially limit brand exposure through the use of influencers. New algorithms used by the popular photo and video sharing app means that posts will no longer appear in chronological time order. Mirroring the parent company Facebook timeline, posts will now be based on the likelihood that you will be interested in the content. This move will essentially see more power and control being given to Instagram in selecting which articles it should surface. Endorsements from social influencers that were once relatively inexpensive for large brands may soon come with a much bigger price tag as the company takes its slice of the promotional pie.


Robert Brunning
Current student in the Master of Marketing program at the University of Sydney Business School

USYD Lions make gold history

We came, we roared, we conquered!

The members of The Masters of Marketing would like to say special congratulations to our classmate, Madeline Rosenthal for being part of the victorious win last Sunday the 13th of March. The Sydney University women’s water polo club has made history winning their first ever National Water Polo League (NWPL) women’s title after defeating the 2015 champions, the Brisbane Barracudas, 12-8.

More choice is always a good thing right? Wrong!

As a consumer and marketer I always naturally assumed that more choice was always a good thing. Autonomy and free choice are important to the well being of humans, but could too much choice actually be a bad thing?

I have always been a big fan of the brand Levi’s. Growing up in the early 90’s the classic button fly Levis 501 was my jean of choice. Levis Stratus created the iconic 501 jeans style in the 1890’s, which later became one of the best selling clothing items of all time. Of course back then Levi’s predominantly came in one colour with only a limited number of styles. Fast forward to 2016 you can buy jeans in every colour of the rainbow with a plethora of styles, features and fits. With so many choices to make, the simple decision to purchase a pair of jeans just became a lot more challenging.

Increased choice has its obvious benefits, but there are also some major negative effects that must not be ignored. An almost unlimited number of choice options can lead to what’s known as analysis paralysis. This is a state caused by over-thinking and often occurs when a person is presented with a large number of options. A trip to the supermarket can become overwhelming when products come in such a wide number of varieties. This has serious implications for marketing practice since increased choice can cause paralysis and increased anxiety for customers. This is particularly prevalent for today’s consumers who are continually making choices not just on what they purchase but how they live their lives on a daily basis.

For customers who are able to overcome the paralysis, research has shown that they will in fact be less satisfied with the result of the choice than they would have been with fewer options available. On the face of it, this may seem very strange and illogical that increasing choice could make you less satisfied. Imagine the case of purchasing a pair of Levi’s jeans online and later becoming dissatisfied, given the huge amount of variety on offer. It could be easy to imagine yourself being satisfied with one of the many other options available. Post purchase dissonance is the regret or unease in the mind of the consumer that can occur in such an event. Opportunity costs also subtract from the satisfaction that we get from what we choose, even when it is actually a good choice. Increasing the number of options available to consumers inevitably causes the expectations of customers to also increase.

So how much choice is the right amount? This is almost impossible to answer, but it is a question that all marketers should consider. We have all heard of the expression less is more, although this is not a hard and fast rule that can be applied to every situation it is useful to remember. When P&G went from 20 different types of Head and Shoulders shampoo to 15, they experienced a 10% increase in sales. 
Increasing clearly defined categories can also help consumers to make less stressful decisions. Market research often shows that customers want more choice, but actually this many mean that they want a better choosing experience. Too much choice is not a good thing and should not be ignored.

Robert Brunning
Current student in the Master of Marketing program at the University of Sydney Business School

A “Wonderfilled” Australia

41 million likes on Facebook, 802K followers on twitter, and 1.4 million followers on Instagram: There is no doubt that the Oreo brand is doing something right.

Whilst most of us have spent a lifetime twisting, licking, dipping, dunking and eating the cherished Oreo cookie, many don’t know that since their introduction in 1912, the Oreo cookie brand has grown to be a social media powerhouse. Just to break the brand down into platforms:

Twitter:
Twitter is the home to Oreo’s agile marketing strategy and has further supported the brand's many social campaigns over the past six years. In particular, the 2012 Super Bowl put Oreo centre stage, generating over 280 million impressions. The simple tweet would become one of social media’s most successful real time responses, paving the way for the current real time marketing trend.

Facebook:
Home to over 41 million followers, the world's favorite cookie has been stunningly successful at transferring its real world popularity over to Facebook. Much of the company’s success over this social platform is a result of positivity, high engagement, involvement and co-creation between both themselves and their fans. In celebration of its 100th birthday, Oreo has been posting photos along with the name and locations of fans across the globe. Oreo’s social presence isn’t about Oreos but about people who love Oreos. Blogger, Christine Geraci states “When you put your fans at the forefront, they will stick with you. And when you put your fans first, they keep coming back”.

Recently concluding their hugely successful 100 year anniversary campaign that won the company numerous awards and garnered significant attention in social and traditional media channels, Oreo has gone out with a BANG, launching their new global “Wonderfilled” brand platform in Australia through a 15 second animated ad. The philosophy behind the Wonderfilled campaign is based around Oreo’s belief that the world is full of wonder and positivity, two concepts we need a little more faith in.

A 15-second TV commercial ‘World Leaders’ officially launched the new brand platform. Shaped around the global creative 'I wonder if I gave an Oreo to...', it has been reimagined for the Australian audience, encouraging them to dream and join together to crate a world of harmony.

Throughout the remainder of the year, Oreo will continue to spread the Wonderfilled Story on and offline with influencer engagement, demonstrating different interpretations of what “wonder” means to them. Senior Marketing manager at ANZ Biscuits Mondelez International stated “Oreo is one of the world’s most loved cookies, known and loved for its playful imagination. We’re thrilled to bring the Wonderfilled philosophy to Australia, re-creating it for our engaged audience and highlighting how sharing something as small as an Oreo can brighten our perspective on the world”.

Creative Agency - AJF Partnership
Animation - XYZ studios
Media Agency – Carat
Digital – SapientNitro
PR – One Green Bean

Lauren Musat
Current student in the Master of Marketing program at the University of Sydney Business School

Internal Marketing 101 – Lessons from MKTG6207

“You don’t build a business, you build people, and then people build the business” – Zig Ziglar

What is an internal market some might ask? This concept is quite foreign to most but remains to be one of the most fundamental aspects of any organization resulting in either their success or failure. To put it simply, Internal Marketing is when organizations think of their employees as their first market, their internal customer…and so they should! It is when all employees are customer-oriented and work collaboratively together as a team, no matter whom their “customers” may be; B2B, B2C, professional service clients, donors, students... You get the picture.

It is apparent that a company can have fantastic marketers and marketing plans but how do we get them to work? At a basic level trying to think about and understand some of the issues that arise within an organization that actually stop us from being able to make our marketing plan effective could prove to be a good starting point. 

The purpose of having and practicing successful internal marketing helps ensure that employees are effectively carrying out the organization programs and policies. From what I have realised in my professional career is that the more informed a staff member is, the more engaged and invested they are in the organizations outcomes, so at the end “Happy Employees = Happy Customers”.

In the discussion run by Dr. Pennie Frow it was the success of ones internal marketing that creates an environment that enables organizations to focus on whatever needs changing internally so they can enhance their external marketplace performance. It should further help organisations deliver better customer service by aligning, coordinating and motivating employees.

A particular point that resonated with me was the insight gained into the different customer markets affecting a brand, product or service, and yet again …majority of the time is comes down to relationship! It was said that the QUALITY of service that reaches the customer begins with the quality of service people inside the organization give each other. These to me are powerful and ever so important concepts that must not be surpassed! No matter what industry sector you might belong to, it is paramount that all stakeholders involved in a company’s fabrication feel valued, acknowledged, satisfied and motivated otherwise you will quickly enter the cycle of failure. 

An exercise that may prove to be beneficial is to undergo a Customer Market spider map in relation to the organization in which you are researching. Several elements of the Customer Market is rated in relation to its current environment and again in relation to where it is perceived to be in the future. Each of these seven components (New markets, existing markets, Supplier markets, referral markets, Recruitment markets, Influence markets & Internal markets) all have direct correlations and depend on one another to ensure a businesses success and futurity within its market position.

Many elements of a companies “Customer Market” further affect the climate and culture of a business, ultimately influencing the employee, stakeholder and consumer satisfaction. The concept of culture that was discussed related to more of a company's customs, values and beliefs whereas the climate relates to the atmosphere that employees “perceive” is created in their place of work by the policies, practices, procedures and rewards to the firm. 

Some might say that managing an online kitchenware company from the comfort of my home has a long list of benefits, and yes, you’re right! However, it also means there is very little culture I am surrounded by. As a friendly and extremely social person this sits as a slight disadvantage for me as it stops the collaboration, innovation and sharing of ideas, which are important qualities that define me both as a person and a professional. It is just my luck that I service a number of clients outside my everyday job enabling me to co-creative value for them and their business.

So, How do you foster an increased sense of culture within an autonomous role? Even though I am empowered to make most of the marketing and operational decisions within the company, an increased culture might perhaps give me a greater sense of “belonging” or opportunity to grow. Food for thought perhaps?

Lauren Musat

Current student in the Master of Marketing program at the University of Sydney Business School

House of Cards: Netflix marketing genius

On Friday last week Netflix released 13 new episodes of the much anticipated fourth season of its hit show House of Cards. The American political drama has been both a critical and commercial success for Netflix since it premiered in February of 2013. The show follows the story of Frank Underwood, played by Kevin Spacey and his rise to power as member of the South Carolina State Senate all the way to the White House, becoming the President of the Unites States.

Besides being a fantastic Internet television series the hit show is a triumph of excellent marketing practice. In fact, the timing could not be better with the United States currently heading into its next presidential elections. With Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump regularly grabbing the headlines in recent weeks, the House of Cards audience are primed for the political messaging which accompanies the shows main theme.


Source: https://www.fu2016.com/



Campaigners and fans of the show have been urged to show their support for the President by tweeting the hashtag #FU2016. Using Frank Underwood’s initials is a subtle yet clever double entendre, which brilliantly mirrors and reflects the aggressive attitude of the shows main character.
The microsite for the show even allows you to download your own media kit with Frank Underwood themed branding. This includes Facebook and Twitter covers, a poster, sticker badge and even a bumper sticker for the car. The Frank Underwood brand really comes alive through the use of patriotic colours that you would expect from a real political candidate.

Source: https://www.fu2016.com/

Although this is all just for entertainment purposes, this level of attention to detail makes the show feel very real indeed. It is a marketing campaign fit for a real presidential candidate, not just one being played out for drama.  On Twitter this week the President even issued a pardon to House of Cards fans to miss any important meetings they may have until they finish watching the fourth season.  Of course, those who defy the President's orders would be met with zero tolerance for betrayal to the show.

Source: https://twitter.com/FUNDERWOODHOC

There are many reasons why House of Cards has become such a successful series. You could point to the slick production skills or the heavyweight actors and actresses who star in the show. But I think the main reason why it works so well is because it gives political insight into what happens behind closed doors whilst weaving in drama and fiction. The level of detail shown in each episode is equally supported with marketing that is as sophisticated and nuanced as the show itself. Netflix have developed a reputation for consistently creating unique content with their shows becoming somewhat of a hallmark for quality. But I think equal recognition must be given for the fantastic marketing that accompanies these shows.

But that’s enough from me for this week, it’s time to start season 4!

Robert Brunning
Current student in the Master of Marketing program at the University of Sydney Business School

Spice of life you say?

The concept of connection said to be the new “Spice of Life” for the new Masterfoods dinnertime campaign.

If I asked you, “if could have dinner with anyone, living or dead, who would it be?” I am sure most of you would say socialites and intellects such as George Clooney, Einstein, John Lennon, Hemmingway and so forth. Well that is the exact question Mars Food is asking Australian families for a new Masterfoods campaign created to prioritise and celebrate dinner again, particularly after much of the research revealed the meal created important connections between families. 

The new campaign named “Lets make dinnertime matter” has been created around findings that imply 78% of Australians obtain a deeper connection from sharing a meal with loved ones than they would usually do through any other activity. Putting the findings aside, almost 75% of the people surveyed said they would change something about their dinners. So the question stands to be rather conflicting if you ask me?

The process of creating the video that accompanied the campaign involved Mars Food touring the nation, filming at a diverse range of venue’s and community locations. In the way in which the video was constructed, the ads further feature real Australian families connecting over dinner.

Ensuring its hits a wider plethora of social channels, the campaign is implementing social media outlets including Twitter and Facebook by further encouraging conversation around the hashtag #makedinnertimematter.

A report commissioned by Mars Food Australia called “Lifting the Lid on Dinnertime” supported the recent campaign and further went on to research how food shared with company contributed towards our emotional well-being. As stated in a recent article the results suggested that “when it comes to dinnertime in Australia, more people put greater emphasis as to what is going on around the table, rather than what is actually on the plate”. Since its launch on February 15th, the video has been viewed over 8.5 million times. Now that’s what you call viral!

Lauren Musat

Current student in the Master of Marketing program at the University of Sydney Business School

The golden rules of student marketing

The long wait is finally over, it’s the end of the summer holidays and the University is back in full swing!

In the last week, thousands of new students descended upon The University of Sydney campus for fun and festivities. The start of OWeek provides a great opportunity to make new friends, join new clubs and societies, and of course we can’t forget about all those fantastic promotional freebies!

Today’s student is tomorrow’s customer; so marketing towards students is crucial for many businesses' long-term success. In the past few years working in youth marketing I have learnt some golden rules to successfully connect with the student audience.

Perhaps the most important rule of all in student marketing is to first understand that there is no such thing as a typical ‘student’. The student body is not a homogenous group, so marketing that is not targeted simply will not be successful. Brands hoping to connect to the student audience must take the time to fully understand how they think, feel and behave. While there may be some shared similarities between student groups it is important to also recognise that there are also many differences. Even narrowing down students to those of University age presents a vast plethora of different nationalities and cultural norms.

Although there is a vast array of differences between students, one thing is very clear, students are clever, involved and aware. This means that marketing needs to be genuine and truthful if it is going to resonate with this audience. Students are also well informed particularly when it comes to issues such as the environment and human rights. Therefore brands need to be transparent, open and honest in the ways that they interact with the student body.

Source: http://www.trinityp3.com/

 Warren Buffett once famously said, price is what you pay, but value is what you get. While price may be a very important factor for many students value must not be forgotten. Value must be demonstrated in ways that are tangible and easily recognisable. Therefore for campaigns to be successful they should look to educate student customers on value and not just price alone.

Brand image is also incredibly important when looking to attract the student population. However, for many brands the default option is often to try and look ‘cool’. Unfortunately, this sometimes backfires resulting in the brand looking too contrived or simply just trying too hard. Hijacking trendy Internet phenomena and memes is a sure fire way in which many brands try to be ‘down with the kids’. But this begs the question, should everything be cool? For example, many banks and financial services in recent years have attempted to take on a ‘cool’ persona to attract younger customers. However, it’s worth considering if this is really an image you want to portray in your product or service.



Source: http://www.meldmagazine.com.au/

One thing that cannot be underestimated is the role that social media plays for the younger generation. The digital natives of today embrace new technologies and digital channels quicker than any generation before them. Experiences from these technologies are becoming seamlessly integrated into the lives of these consumers. However, it is important not to forget the multiple offline marketing channels that can also be utilised to connect with the student audience. 

Robert Brunning
Current student in the Master of Marketing program at the University of Sydney Business School

#UberPuppies: Puppies delivered to your workplace!

This morning started pretty much like any other Thursday morning waking up in my Sydney apartment. My girlfriend needed a ride into the city and I suggest for her to book an Uber taxi. But as I opened the app something was different, very different indeed!

UberPuppies! What exactly is UberPuppies? You’ve guessed it, puppies on demand delivered straight to your workplace.

Source: https://newsroom.uber.com/australia/uberpuppies-au/

Between 12-4pm today anybody with an Uber account can order puppies to be delivered to their workplace for 15 minutes for fun for a $40 fee. Teaming up with the Purina Pets At Work mission to deliver puppies to spread the love across eight cities in Australia for a limited time only.

It has been scientifically proven that our furry friends are shown to decrease stress and increase productivity in the work place. Many pet friendly initiatives have been adopted in offices across Australia making it less uncommon to work alongside animals. Of course, almost everyone is smiling when dogs are around which can bring a sense of calm to an often-stressful and busy working environment. 

Source: https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com

The goal of the initiative is to encourage the adoption of pets and help to raise funds for local animal shelters. In fact, all the puppies taking part in the UberPuppies initiative are up for adoption and in need of a new home. The proceeds of the special delivery will be donated to shelters in Adelaide, Brisbane, Canberra, The Gold Coast, Melbourne, Perth, The Sunshine Coast and Sydney.

Of course, if you are worried about the puppies welfare fear not. This is a limited time initiative with successful requesters being subjected to screening to ensure the puppies safety is a priority. The biggest danger however may be just how many people fall in love with their new fury friends!

I think this is a fantastic piece of marketing from Uber and a great way to raise the profile of their taxi service along by helping a great cause. It comes off the back of a similar campaign last year, UberKittens, which saw friendly felines sharing their love in the workplace. Of course, before requesting one of the Uberpuppies, you may first have to check that is OK with your boss to have an animal in the office for 15 minutes of fun.

Robert Brunning
Current student in the Master of Marketing program at the University of Sydney Business School

ANZ & Mardi Gras take full swing

Since 2014, the business of banking for ANZ has given some of its ATM’s in Sydney a fabulous makeover with glitter, paints and sparkles in support of LGBTI celebration of Mardi Gras.

This year however, to mark one decade’s support towards Mardi Gras, ANZ have spent the weekend completely revamping their branch on Oxford Street to make it into a baroque inspired #GAYNZ, “fit for a queen”. The creative agency behind this fabulous campaign was Whybin/TBWA with execution by The Glue Society.

In working with Whybin, Mark Hand, chair of ANZ’s Australia Division diversity council said “They’ve got the recognition they deserve globally with awards out of Cannes. It’s fantastic for them and we’re happy to be their muse in some respect, to be able to provide a canvas for them to show their creativity. It’s phenomenal what they’ve done and they deserve every plaudit that they get”.

The new GAYNZ features two new GAYTM’s, ornate walls, marble floor and 16 unique hand painted murals inspired by the LGBTI community. Mr. Hand stated that “diversity, inclusions and respect is an important part of what we doat ANZ so we are particularly proud of our partnership with Mardi Gras, which started because our staff passionately believed in supporting the cause 10 years ago."

The ANZ Bank further collaborated with Twitter to develop a rainbow colored flag emoji that will appear whenever #GAYNZ is used across the social media platform.

Four GAYTM’s have also been given back to the George Street and Pitt Street branches. ATM operator fees for non-ANZ cardholders from GAYTMs will once again be donated to Twenty10, a not-for-profit organisation working with and supporting people of diverse genders, sexes and sexualities, their families and communities.

While a number of brands do support the Mardi Gras, many question as to why more don’t get involved considering it is a great way for brands to get some of their own support.  For those wanting a fun, fabulous and flamboyant night, check out the parade which will be held on Saturday March 5^th.

 

 As for us Marketing students, we will be welcoming a new large cohort. To celebrate their commencement into the Masters of Marketing, welcome drinks and an evening of introductions will be held this Thursday 25^th of February in the New Business Building. For further information please contact lauren.musat@gmail.com 


Lauren Musat
Current student in the Master of Marketing program at the University of Sydney Business School

Modern marketing for Maccas, you say?

Taking a look into the evolution of products and communications for retail giant McDonald’s.

  

 

There is no doubt that consumers are increasingly becoming more demanding, particularly due to the variety of choice we now get. With this being said, brands such as McDonald’s have responded by evolving their products and communication strategies to meet the changes in customer needs.

In 2015, the initial launch of their new steak range of products saw McDonald’s enter the experiential world of marketing where elements of fun, disruption and interaction bought over the hearts and wallets of thousands of consumers. Lunchtime was not deemed so ‘boring’ anymore and Maccas now saw their campaign make it into the notorious Guinness World Records. 

As the whole campaign centered around the idea of this red and yellow ‘lunchbox’, McDonalds decided to build one that really reinforced the idea of Maccas being the fast food ‘giant’.

The lunchbox was parked outside the Opera House for two days gaining interest, traction and curiosity from all the foot traffic travelling past. Once the #maccaslunchbox was opened a restaurant appeared giving away free sampling testers of the steak wrap.

The success of this campaign saw customers interact with the pop up restaurant by using their unique #maccaslunchbox hash tag to post images across social media generating a huge amount of awareness for the brand. The success of the campaign enabled Maccas to pack up their lunch and move it across the country.

Current Consumer Challenges:

There will always be a level of marketing challenges businesses will face. With the plethora of new innovative technologies on the scene, the idea of being able to really ‘connect’ with consumers will be something that McDonald’s need to continue to address in order to stay ahead of the curb.

Consumers in this day and age want to feel valued, they want to feel good about the food they put into their mouth and Maccas really needs to keep up with the times along with the changing lifestyle and needs of the people keeping them in business.

Maccas – World leader or follower?

Even though McDonald’s is perceived as a large international brand, each country continues to operate autonomously. Australian CMO for McDonald’s stated that “over the past 40 years, McDonald’s has been part of the Australian fabric and community and we’re really passionate about serving that community, so I wouldn’t say that we ‘lead the world’, I just think were independent and we just do what’s right for us”.

Brds these days lose sight of who they are and whom they are targeting their products to. If McDonald’s Australia was to implement the same communications strategy and product lines seen in India or America, I don’t believe their success would have lasted this long.

We as an Ozzie nation love our coffee and with the introduction of cooking shows such as MKR and Masterchef we have wanted to become more involved in the process of cooking, along with an understanding about what exactly were eating.

McDonald’s remains hugely successful at understanding their consumers. They listen and observe, and as a result of the changing face of Australian consumer needs, launched the McCafe along with the ‘Create Your Taste’ meals.

The Modern Media Menu

When CMO Lollback was asked about the best media mix for McDonald’s, his response indicated that McDonald’s Australia is a large media buyer that uses a diverse range of media channels. At the end of the day, Maccas is a large conglomerate brand that has multiple parts, trying to serve customers seven days a week with multiple messages and multiple demographics.

“We absolutely still use TV and see television as a really important part of our portfolio. We definitely use outdoor, we use radio, we use mobile, we are very much on social media. Money moves around – I don’t think anybody would be surprised to see more money be directed into digital – but it’s not an avalanche,” says Lollback.

McDonald’s has always been a big user of outdoor, however once it moves towards a more digitalised environment consumers should start to really see some clever pieces of advertising being promoted across the country. Reflecting on our culture, I suppose outdoor has proven to be hugely successful for the Australian division as most of the Australian consumers drive around in their cars, or catch busses and trains.

Lollback predicts that outdoor will continue to evolve but it will depend on location. It only makes sense if there is proximity, however over time consumers should start to see some interesting things happen. In terms of interactivity, mega sites like Trafalgar Square in London have already started to be utilised in a creative way.

In regards to digital, it still remains to be quite an erratic medium to use. “Digital is going to open up a lot of flexibility around out-of-home,” Lollback says. “We’re exploring, we’re experimenting, but to be able to do it en masse, on road signs and the like, it’s still got a long way to go.”

Looking Ahead

Having been the market leader for a considerable amount of time, McDonald’s doesn’t get too distracted or focused on its competitors. At this point in time, the best thing they can do is grow. The more they lead, the more they will continue to innovate and in return customers will reward them.

There is no doubt that customers want more choice than ever, demands are increasing and lifestyles are changing. With this being said it is up to Maccas to continue leading their category and respond to the changing face of Australia.

Lauren Musat
Current student in the Master of Marketing program at the University of Sydney Business School

Can you “Taste the feeling”? Coca Cola’s new revitalized “one brand” global strategy

Over the decades, Coke has remained as one of the only brands that have delivered some of the most memorable taglines in advertising history.

Coca-Cola have finally unveiled their new 'one brand' global marketing strategy, and the “Taste the Feeling” tagline and campaign. This global strategy will hopefully bring together all their trademark products under one iconic brand image.

'One Brand' aims to diversify the global equity and iconic appeal of the brand, where the “taste the feeling” campaign aims to celebrate Coca-Cola through universal storytelling and everyday moments which center around the beverage.

The Australian campaign in particular will feature a number of outdoor advertisements placed in some of our more prime positions, such as Kings Cross, along with coverage on social media, POS, experiential and sampling.

This new chapter for the powerhouse brand celebrates the notion that the simple pleasure of drinking Coca-Cola makes the moment more special. Chief Marketing officer, Marcos De Quinto describes the “one brand” approach:

“More than ever, we recognise people want their Coca-Cola in different ways, but whichever one they want, they want a Coca-Cola brand with great taste and uplifting refreshment. Through the ‘one brand’ strategy we will move away from multiple brand campaigns, to one single iconic brand campaign that celebrates both the product and the brand.”

Proving its success in the UK back in March 2015, the new strategy may also help Coke win over a younger demographic of consumers. In this day and age, young people want to feel part of a global society and they are continuously looking for brands that can help them participate in one. The new generation will do well in creating equity for Coke as an enabler, someone who empowers consumers to feel part of a global conversation and community. It will represent a good blueprint for other big brands to follow.

It is much more difficult delivering a global campaign to a global consumer. Even though the concept of 'one brand' seems to be something of benefit to the Coke brand, it will be interesting to see whether this global campaign will gain the same level of cut-through as its previous advertisements.

 

 

Lauren Musat
Current student in the Master of Marketing program at the University of Sydney Business School