As Britain slides down the rankings from position 10 to 13 in the Future Brand’s Country Brand Index, a global study of country brands, it shows how factors such as economic problems and unrest have a negative affect on a country’s brand.

It’s not surprising. One minute Britain is basking in the pageantry of the Royal Wedding, relishing our history and sense of occasion. The next, the streets are full of rioters and unrest.

Having a strong country brand is pivotal as it influences the perception of tourists, investors and buyers of British products. Can we recover? The signs are positive having just won the bid for the 2017 World Athletics Championship, and Brand Britain marketers are hoping that the London 2012 Olympics will give us an opportunity to showcase a fresh image.

Let’s take inspiration from the countries who’ve improved their brand. Japan’s increased its ranking despite the earthquake, and Thailand is showing a strong performance in tourism despite political upheaval in the country. Brazil has seen a boost following successful bids to host the 2014 FIFA World Cup and 2016 Olympic Games, and Canada which took full advantage of promoting its natural beauty throughout the 2010 Winter Olympics tops the Index.

I’m hopeful that next year Britain will have a fantastic year. With campaigns such as Visit Britain’s tourism campaign to inspire the tourism industry to promote our country in the run up to the Olympics, we’re heading in the right direction.

I’ll be playing my part by working with British companies to help them market themselves effectively. We’re putting on a very British event, a family Olympics day and a Street Party celebrating the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee in 2012 in Marketing Zone’s home town. And on the subject of Marketing Zone, we’re delighted to take our place on the CIM Marketing Excellence Awards Finalist List in the Retail Category.

John Lewis is using ‘Made in UK’ on over 4,000 products as part of their Corporate Social Responsibility programme. So I’d like to know if London members think that ‘Made In’ is relevant to today’s consumers.

My opinion is that it works for certain countries. Switzerland is synonymous with fine timepieces, Germany highly regarded for precision machinery, Italy is the ultimate for gold jewellery, and France is associated with perfumes and luxury accessories.

What does Made In mean?
It sounds obvious, but it needs defining. Currently, as long as imported goods are 51% produced in Europe, it can qualify as ‘Made In’. But we suspect that John Lewis has a more stringent category, because as a British retailer, their customers expect it to support other British firms when it can.

What does it mean for Britain?
What do you think ‘Made in Britain’ conveys? Is it design, creativity, quality, traditionalism? Let me know your thoughts on @CIMLondon Twitter. Certainly, ‘Made In’ triggers the emotions and branding is all about emotional connections.

So maybe its time to ride the wave of British Pride – keep calm and carry on style.

It’s been an interesting couple of months here in Australia.

Talk about a PR nightmare – Qantas had a lot of bad worldwide press with their staff striking and then the issue escalated when CEO Alan Joyce grounded the Qantas Fleet until the matter was resolved affecting tens of thousands of passengers world wide. Australia Prime Minister Julia Gillard was forced to step in and then matters came to a quick resolution. I don’t know how it was publicised in the UK but it was a round the clock commentary here and Julia Gillard was criticised for not stepping in soon enough.

One could argue that Alan Joyce’s decision was a brilliant one PR wise as no PR is bad PR right? Although he had just given himself a nice 71% pay rise which further rubbed salt into the wound. Not great timing.

We’re seeing the aftermath of the strikes now with Qantas sweetening customers up with frequent flyer offers and complimentary gifts, and today Alan Joyce has been plugging Qantas’ new investment – the Boeing 787 which one could say is interesting timing.

We’ve also had the Carbon Tax passed here in Australia recently which if you don’t know what it is basically means that companies that generate pollution will pay per tonne of carbon they release into the atmosphere.  The cost will increase up until 2015 when there will be a move towards a trading scheme that will let the market set the cost.

Many people have been for and against the tax so it will be interesting to see how it goes.

More recent news, Queensland is celebrating having just been awarded the right to host the 2018 Commonwealth Games on the Gold Coast. This will be excellent PR for the Gold Coast as it often gets a lot of bad press, although the Acting Queensland Premier Andrew Fraser has been a bit of a killjoy over the announcement today suggesting that the financial gain for the Gold Coast was completely unquantifiable.

Finally, Canberra has been at a standstill recently as US President Barack Obama was there Canberra on a whistle-stop tour.  So it’s all go here down under at the moment.

More soon.

How did London win the bid? Find out from the experts involved.

The 2012 Games is the key global next summer, and it’s taking place here in London! It will not only be fantastic for sport but also fantastic for business.

If you want to know

• The truly inspirational story of how London won the bid
• How London 2012 is using new media to ensure these games are not only commercially successful but also to influence positive behaviour change
• The pitfalls and opportunities the Games offer advertisers
• The strategies, challenges and opportunities of sponsorship and partnership

Then the Marketing and the 2012 Games Conference is for you.

29 November 2011
University of East London, Docklands
18.00-21.00
2 CPD hours
Prices start from just £20. Early bird booking discount end 31 October.

Sessions

• How the bid was won
  David Magliano MBE, Former Director of Marketing, London 2012
• Social Media and the 2012 Games
  Alex Balfour, Head of New Media, London 2012
• Advertising lock-down 2012 – protecting the Games from ambush marketing
  Nick Johnson, Partner, Osborne Clarke
• Olympic partnership – partnership strategies and their challenges
  Shaun Whatling, CEO, Redmandarin

Find out more about this key event and book.

Poll – get into the spirit of the Olympics

To get you in the spirit of the Games, here’s a quick poll for you to take part in.

This event is not an official London 2012 event and has been organised independently by The Chartered Institute of Marketing.

How did London win the bid? Find out from the experts involved.

The 2012 Games is the key global next summer, and it’s taking place here in London! It will not only be fantastic for sport but also fantastic for business.

If you want to know

• The truly inspirational story of how London won the bid
• How London 2012 is using new media to ensure these games are not only commercially successful but also to influence positive behaviour change
•  The pitfalls and opportunities the Games offer advertisers
• The strategies, challenges and opportunities of sponsorship and partnership

Then the Marketing and the 2012 Games Conference is for you.

29 November 2011
University of East London, Docklands
18.00-21.00
2 CPD hours
Prices start from just £20. Early bird booking discount end 31 October.

Sessions

• How the bid was won
  David Magliano MBE, Former Director of Marketing, London 2012
•  Social Media and the 2012 Games
  Alex Balfour, Head of New Media, London 2012
• Advertising lock-down 2012 – protecting the Games from ambush marketing
  Nick Johnson, Partner, Osborne Clarke
• Olympic partnership – partnership strategies and their challenges
  Shaun Whatling, CEO, Redmandarin

Find out more about this key event and book.

This event is not an official London 2012 event and has been organised independently by The Chartered Institute of Marketing.

Here’s something to get your teeth into! The chocolatiers at luxury brand Hotel Chocolat are offering London members the chance to win the ultimate pamper package for the chocolate lover in your life. Worth £75, this luxury hamper is brimming with chocolate goodies including milks, darks, truffles, nuts and caramel canapés.

All you need to do is answer a few questions to be entered into the prize draw. The deadline is 25 November 2011.

If you haven’t been to one of Hotel Chocolat’s stylish shops, it really is a must. Immerse yourself in the atmosphere and discover their devotion to making exciting, adventurous chocolate by unearthing exceptional ingredients and using plenty of passion. Hotel Chocolat continues to be a British-owned phenomenon brazenly committed to real, authentic chocolate.

To find out more, drop in and bliss out with their free in store chocolate tasting or go to www.hotelchocolat.co.uk

Whilst business today  is being implemented from one, three and five year business plans in accordance with rapid market changes it is time to give vital consideration to the next 10 years and the strategic plan. The shift of market focus is more than apparent in industries today but with media related ones more needs to be done in order to build critical bridges with telecoms companies and channels.

Manufacturers of entertainment products need to be aware that the most significant challenges are coming and if unmanaged the possibility of loss of control of the business will be through the channels that supply and deliver ‘purchase to consumers’. Such distribution channels will be critical for the survival of the music industry within the coming years and it will be highly appropriate for such companies to have a slice or at least an affiliation/sponsorship agreement of this sector. This will inevitably save organisations form being taken over and controlled but a somewhat silent competitor ahead.

An awful lot of focus is spent on product, place and promotion and rightly so but to the senior executives and director a clear reaction is needed to acknowledge the shape of the things to come. The processes, management and strategic positioning of the new communication corporate could allow them to gain significant competitive advantage. Short term focus has gained generous business results but this is not sustainable. The cold call is starting to ring loud from organisations outside of the competitor thinking box.

Telecomms companies will see that they control the key channel that media companies and customers are using. Digital is here and growing faster ever day and the physical elements are in their end of product lifecycle. Digital provides commercial elements and tactics to telecomms companies that will be trying to make robust strong decisions and plans in business to ensure they are getting the best ‘profits and opportunities’ out of these ever reliant markets.
The genius about all of it is (from the telecoms side) is that it will happen it is just a matter of timing. A guaranteed pay day ahead it seems? So, what should be done now? If music companies could buy/invest into a telecoms giant then that would be an incredibly smart move for a sustainable business model. However as with most acquisitions and mergers there will be regulatory aspects that would need consideration (and probably a lot more than has already been given prior thought to at this time).

Getting ahead of the pack has always been the game in the business world but sometimes the curve ball up ahead is always the one to be most concerned about. Music and entertainment products are a desire, a want. Communications (Business and personal) are an absolute need. Therefore in many aspects the ‘Comms’ model has already won the race and it will be up to music and media related  companies to solve how much business they want to retain for their organisation or face the inevitable change of the new super race of telecoms breed that will be able to dictate critical decisions within the market.  What is most definitely clear, is that a strategic plan and action is needed in order to limit damage in the years to come.
Kevin Tewis MCIM Chartered Marketer

Last night I watched “Made in Dagenham”, the true story of the late sixties campaign by women at the Ford car plant in Dagenham for equal pay. It wasn’t until 1970 that the Equal Pay Act was passed by the UK Parliament – a fundamental right that we now all take for granted.

It was really a story about reward and recognition – it wasn’t just about the money, but about the company recognising that regardless of gender there should be equal pay for men and women doing the same job.

So reward should go hand and hand with recognition. To quote a line from Love and Marriage, the 1955 song made famous by Sinatra, “you can’t have one without the other” if you want a relationship to last.

This was certainly the message given by Giles Pavey from dunnhumby at the CIM Summer Marketing Conference in Chelmsford last month. Giles talked enthusiastically about the good old days when the owner of the corner shop knew all his customers personally and this desire for detailed customer insight is really the driving force behind the success of the Tesco Clubcard.

Giles opened his presentation with this quote from Jack Welch, former CEO of General Electric, “There are only two sources of competitive advantage: the ability to learn more about our customers faster than the competition and the ability to turn that learning into action faster than the competition”. Which is exactly what Tesco does – it collects vast quantities of transactional data on individual shoppers and uses the knowledge it gains to influence customer behaviour in real-time by issuing personalised “rewards” in the form of direct mail vouchers, point of sale incentives and online offers.

There’s a lot more to it than vouchers and price promotions though – if you want to know more you will find a copy of Giles’ presentation on the marketing conference micro-website. You’ll find several other conference presentations there too.

Even though you may not have the resources of Tesco or dunnhumby you can still apply the principles. Basically, if you can understand what motivates behaviour then you can design incentives or interventions to influence it.

Just don’t overdo the generic promotional offers though, as they will encourage promiscuity rather than build loyalty. It can also be expensive as this recent snippet from the CIM’s weekly Cutting Edge news bulletin highlighted:

Discounting during the recession has led to an estimated fall in UK profits of more than £20bn, according to a recent KPMG survey. It says that 49% of respondents have entered into pricing wars with competitors and many feel that they don’t have enough time to create a long-term pricing strategy.

So, perhaps it’s better to personalise your product offering or customer service; or maybe just say thank you every now and then.

We all like a bit of recognition. That’s true not only from a marketing perspective but also in the workplace and in life too. Blimey, I’ve gone all profound!

Gain two CPD hours and a whole lot of knowledge from attending this event arranged by the Croydon and South London team.

Held on 2 December at the Jury’s Inn, Wellesley Road, Croydon, Personal branding for success will demonstrate the value of having a clear personal brand. Whether it’s a product such as Tiffany, or a person such as Richard Branson, a brand is a promise of what you can expect when you buy it, use it and experience it.

This event’s speaker, Lizzie Pawsey, is an experienced facilitator and executive coach. She will take a strategic marketing approach to the impression that a brand creates and the impact it can make.

By the end of this workshop you will be able to:

• Recognise the importance of a personal brand
• Learn the key steps in building a personal brand
• Understand how to use your personal brand to its best effect.

Prices start from just £10. Registration is from 18:30; the event starts at 19:00 and is expected to finish at 21:00.

Book your place today.

Hi there!

Haven’t been in touch for a while as life has been crazy. I have started a new job and my parents were over here for three weeks and they then got stuck in Singapore because of the Icelandic volcano – life has been pretty interesting.

I got invited to a pot luck party the other week. I don’t know about you but I had no idea what that was – but one of my Aussie colleagues explained to me it basically means you go to your cupboard or fridge and bring something from there – bring a plate with a difference I guess. I ended up making cheesecake as I figured people wouldn’t really want alfalfa sprouts and carrots for dinner!

So what’s going on here? 

Cigarettes puffed out?

Well the Government recently announced a 25% federal government tax increase on cigarettes. The Government is hoping that more people will quit and also are moving to ban logos and branding from all cigarette packs. Quite a big impact on anyone working in that industry from a marketing perspective.

iPad – the gloves are off!

The iPad is finally going to be launched here in Australia at the end of the month. I am so excited as being an Apple convert with my iPhone, iMac and iPod – I can’t wait to get another toy!

The Telco’s have now started a major battle here for a slice of the action with Australian provider Optus being the first one to reveal its packages. I will probably go for the Wi-Fi only iPad rather than the 3G and Wi-Fi as mobile providers here are so expensive compared to the UK. I miss 02and the great deals they offered, none of that here. Broadband is expensive too compared to the UK and you don’t get as much for your money – whereas when I lived in London it was offers that gave you ‘unlimited’ here it is a very specific amount like 2GB which makes me panic that I will go over my allowance, and it isn’t cheap either.

I’m enjoying my new job working for a digital agency as an Account Manager that also is a marketing consultant – it’s a really varied and diverse job and I am learning loads of cool new things that I had previously ignored such as AB testing using Google Web Optimizer. In fact if you work in that area I’d thoroughly recommend a book just passed my way called A/B always be testing – the complete guide to Google Website Optimizer by Einsburg, Quarto-vonTovadar and Davis (2008).

I’m also helping CIM Australia increase its communication here in Brisbane. We’re starting small with a newsletter and will build from there.

Anyway, bye for now

 Zoe