Martin Hayward on the new sandwich boards
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Am I really such an idiot that I have no clue what I want to buy until I’m actually on the way to the shops, or even in the shop? Are my lifetime preferences built up from so many £millions of brand-building budgets and personal experience and recommendations from trusted friends and family really going to be overwhelmed by a little promotional offer as I pass an aisle or a high street store?
The answer is I’m not sure, but I don’t think so.
I currently find myself as susceptible as the next man to the novelty of time- and place-driven promotional offers. It’s all very clever and, for the moment, that novelty and cleverness are enough to overwhelm my mature instincts about what it is I want to buy and where I want to shop. But will this last?
The hysteria around these flashes of technological marvel is perhaps getting a little carried away with itself. Groupon, a “deal of the day”-type site, a site that frequently offers me, a middle-aged man, discount bikini waxes, recently turned down an offer of $8billion from Google. I’ll bet $8 they regret that one day. Foursquare, another of the “isn’t that clever?” new phenomena, rewards consumers with “status” for frequently visiting certain vendors – how long can this possibly be exciting for the average person?
I noticed that even the president of the IPA was boasting on his Twitter account about attaining Foursquare’s “Mayor” status of his local café or suchlike the other day – I bet that doesn’t happen again; the novelty must surely wear off.
I’ve a feeling that before too long normal service will be resumed. The sheer volume of offers that are going to be pinging their way onto our hand-held devices and laptops will inevitably mean that soon our personal preferences will once again be necessary to screen those that we want to let through. (Personal data, permissions and access management is a topic I’ll return to in a future blog).
Strip away the techy cleverness and valuation hype and it’s clear that a lot of what we’re seeing really amounts to a modern version of flyers or sandwich boards.
Read more by Martin Hayward, Founder of HAYWARD Strategy and Futures.
Posted: May 24th, 2011 | Author: maddie.york | Filed under: Customer Champions | Tags: foursquare, google, Groupon, martin hayward, twitter | 1 Comment »
Interesting angle Martin. I think there are two separate issues you are addressing here. Firstly, the correct role of discounting and promotions in the mix. Second, the hyperbole surrounding the current growth of networking and group offers. So – firstly, do POS/on-pack/price based offers have an impact? And do they damage the brand? On the latter, no – I do not think a well constructed promotional offer (even if based on price) damages a brand. There is nothing with value based offers and handled correctly, they can encourage consumer loyalty and engagement – from on-packs, bundling to movie promotions and sports tie-ins. Even M&S and Waitrose have happily enbraced smart price based themed promotions over the past 12 months. Also, the world of branding and consumer loyalty has changed. My young nieces are far too media savvy for most brand building ad executives. They buy on value and see no real difference (for example) -between mobile operators and handsets and if anything, view people buying on brand are as being slightly stupid, not cool. So – promotions, a good thing, when used correctly. The second point you refer to, the rise of network coupons. There is the danger these offers educate users to buy purely on price without much engagement. And whilst the technology is enticing the offers and communications are still too random and like you, I don’t understand receiving a coupon for improving my bikini line. Its fine as it is. And – the entire social networking space is becoming more bubbley than a lorry load of Krug – akin to the hype surrounding e-commerce and CRM in 1990-2001. Its heading for a fall when marketers (such as yourself) start asking some serious questions and the value of having followers. Seth Godin states there is no inherent marketing value at all in having followers and friends. At a recent summit I attended, it was also revealed that 45% of consumers recently surveyed confessed they are getting bored of social media sites such as Facebook and Twitter and 50% of those still engaged said they never even engaged with commercial brands or offers within them. So – whilst it is a way to reach some consumers, that is still a lot of people not checkin’ in and following. Technology and new channels are always part of the mix, and need to be explored but marketers can focus too much on enticing shiny new tactics, rather than truly innovate, add real value to the consumer experience through product and service innovation. Best, Andrew A. http://www.benchstone.co.uk