European Podcast Award. Please vote for my marketing podcast that is nominated!

I am pleased to say that my Travel Podcast has been nominated for a European Podcast Award again this year. Please can you vote. 


Click the VOTE link and then rate, you then go to a page where you need to click on SKIP and that submits it. If you don't do that step your vote does not count. You can vote maximum of once a day..

 

Groupon, Living Social, KGB Deals. Offers stuffing my in-box, but what is the future?

Like so many others I suspect, when I log on and check my personal emails in the morning, I find it stuffed full of various offers from the hot new "thing" which are group buying offers from sites like Groupon, Living Social and KGB Offers.


And every day there seem to be more and more launching.


Even when I was on holiday recently, I found myself signing up for the offers where I was.


Other than almost never actually buying very many of the offers (as they seem stuffed with massages and dodgy looking afternoon teas), I have been amazed at the claimed huge valuations for some of these businesses. Businesses that are still to make any money.


There was a good article on this topic I read, and have put a link at the end of this posting.


But even before this I had been wondering if there are 3 ways that this whole offers thing will end up evolving to:



(1) On demand local offers. This is something when one is in the USA and using FourSquare that is getting better and better. Offers you can take advantage of right then and there in stores/ restaurants/ etc around you. I have seen some very interesting and relevant offers as they can be targeted both for where you are, and also be time specific. In a recent stay at 60 Thompson Hotel in New York, for example, I got an offer to upgrade my room and deals on competing restaurants very close by.


(2) More niche and targeted interest offers. The offers are all today a bit random and I get so much dross and stuff not interested in. They segment by town/ area and not by passion or interest (yet?). It would reduce the feeling that you are being thrown more and more random offers, and get stuff you are more likely going to want to buy. And so your return to the company is better as you will spend more. At this stage recruitment of people to the site is large, and looks like the return they making by person acquired is not great today.


(3) Linked to mainstream social networks. Facebook and other social sites that people are on and invest a lot of time are getting into this space. This means one less thing and place to visit as a consumer, and again as they learn and know so much about what their users like, they could provide more relevant offers. In fact probably better deliver on both the points above...

Read more about someone else's view on why they thing Groupon will fail: http://wallblog.co.uk/2011/08/18/why-i-think-groupon-is-set-to-fail/

Your thoughts?


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17 Social Sites Simply Summarised: a simple way to understand what they are and do

Check out this SlideShare Presentation: This is a really simple and dramatic short presentation by Kelvin Newman of SiteVisibility that I found a very clear way to summarise what each of the major social media sites are in a few words.

He also has a great weekly podcast called "Internet Marketing" (serach on iTunes) that is very helpful. On his deck he says that "There’s so many social sites out there, but which ones matter and what do they do..." and ina  few slides and very few words explains....

17 Social Sites Simply Summarised

View more presentations from Kelvin Newman.

Nivea Moments of Closeness. Why it is important for marketers.

I am a big believer, and getting more passionate, about the importance of elevating a brand beyond just its benefits and features. The importance of driving a story, a belief and an attitude for a brand is becoming more and more critical.


The development of and access to technology, matched with the increased regulation of products and claims, has seen products becoming more similar than different. So increasingly, consumers believe that all products will work (and work well). 


So you need to see beyond just the benefits and features of your product. These are more likely to be the "order qualifiers" - rather than the thing that really will drive purchase. They will get you on the consumer's consideration or shopping list - but what will drive her final choice?


Brand belief. Brand story. Brand attitude. Things that your target can relate to, be connected with and build a connection to. These will be very important to them as they reach out to make a final choice.. since they see all products are likely to work, and work well, on a rational level.


I was, therefore, intrigued (and impressed) by the Nivea 100 Years activity that seems to be building and developing into something more emotional and relevant - and not just about them celebrating a 100 years of business.


There is a roving roadshow in the UK that visits large malls and so on, under the banner of "A million moments of closeness". They invite you and the people you are with into a photo booth and take photos of you being close, post them on a screen and onto Facebook - and they then also give you targeted samples and vouchers for the products.


This marries an attitude and image for the brand that is more emotive, with products to close the deal. It was warm and all linked to the story of closeness and family and friends - with skin and touch as the mechanism. Nicely done.


Here are some photos of my experience with the Nivea Closeness Roadshow at Westfield London.

Nivea Moments of Closeness Westfield London

Nivea Moments of Closeness Westfield London

Nivea Moments of Closeness Westfield London

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