Tag Archives: world

Will the lack of a social presence hinder a brand?

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Not on various social networking platforms sharing your personal statistics and daily whereabouts with the world? You could appear unusual or even suspicious to others, according to a recent UK report by the government’s chief scientist Sir John Beddington.

The report contradicts popular opinion of old that staring at your computer (and phone, tablet and other devices) rather than living in the real world with real people alienates you from normal society.

But LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter are all part of our current normal society – they’re all methods we use to communicate en masse.  History is littered with utterances of “It’ll never catch on” from the TV to telephone and internet, yet where would we be without them today?

Professionals are increasingly seeing the need to have a web presence to build and maintain relationships with current and prospective clients (and employers). The ‘younger’ generation run their social lives with Facebook and Twitter, gossiping, laughing together and arranging to meet – permanently online and available so they don’t miss a single moment.  And there are plenty of the older generation either taking to Facebook to keep up with their families, or grumbling about who knows what first because they don’t use Facebook.

Which sheds light on the report’s point of view that those who don’t network online could become ‘disenfranchised’.  Anyone not socially networked could be overlooked or appear conspicuous by their absence. The same goes for brands as well as individuals.

Brands that are thought of as “behind the times” have an increasingly short shelf-life and decreasing buyer population, so not connecting with others through social channels is far from desirable.

Of course, some actively choose not to stare at the Gogglebox or bare their innermost thoughts to the whole world on Facebook and Twitter, but they’re increasingly in the minority.

When it comes to marketing, selling products and keeping customers happy, who wants to reduce their ability to do so based on their availability?  Why not just ask your customers to write you a letter if they have something to say and have a chap on a horse deliver it in a week or so?

It’s time for everyone to get social and use the channels the masses use, in the way they want to use them, or get left behind.

Two wins at the Data Strategy Awards for Aviva Model Office

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Our Model Office CRM programme proved its prowess in the world of data last night by scoring two wins for our work with Aviva at the Marketing Week Data Strategy Awards.

These awards put data high on the agenda for many brands, as businesses increasingly realise that deriving and maintaining an understanding of their customers from data and will drive the most powerful customer communications.

The first award came in the Financial Services category. The Aviva Model Office was deemed the best example of a campaign using customer data to engage the target audience and drive an organisation’s growth.  The win saw off competition from a shortlist that included The Bank of Scotland, Nationwide and five others.

The best use of CRM was also in a shortlist of eight, up against the likes of Guardian News & Media and O2. The judges “applauded a project that has resulted in improvements in both sales and cancellations and driven benefits in both acquisition and retention/cross-sale.”

2020 Chief Executive Martin Boddy commented, “To win the Financial Services category in the first instance was great but to top it with a win for the Best Use of CRM is a real boost to the stellar work accomplished with Aviva.  The project was the perfect marriage of all of our disciplines, from creative and contact centre to data and systems.  It also shows just how important it is for brands to understand their customers as a whole in order to offer what they want, when they want it.”

Read more about our work with Aviva.