Nilewide Marketing Review articles from January 2004

Nilewide Marketing Review archives from January 2004

More than the individual parts.
January 11, 2004... Analysis In the world of marketing thinking, 2003 will probably be remembered as one that focused on links. These were the links between people, organisms, organisations, and even non-living things. At a superficial level, network thinking...

The self-actualised majority.
January 18, 2004... It is well recognised that most western societies are aging and that marketing will need to move away from its obsession with youth. American consumers aged 40+ make up a market 45% larger than those under 40, and by 2010, the 40+ age group...

Risk or retreat.
January 18, 2004... Many people are familiar with Maslow's hierarchy of needs, but its widespread acceptance does not mean we should not question its appropriateness for modern society. After all, Maslow was writing after two world wars and a depression, a time...

Don't call me ethnic.
January 18, 2004... As many societies become increasingly multicultural, marketing must also embrace the mix of cultures. However, the idea of ethnicity is not as simple as it sounds. While ethnicity is a characteristic of being a member of a racial group; it is...

Driving trial.
January 18, 2004... How to encourage trial of a new product is a critical issue for all manufacturers. Without trial, potential buyers have to rely on other sources of information, yet usage experience is the strongest predictor for buying again. Most of the...

Brand personality or identity?
January 18, 2004... Brand personality is a key part of any advertising or brand creation brief, but the definition of personality appears to be rather loose, in both academic studies and in its practical use. For example, the paper that has influenced much of the...

Ethnography: not what they say.
January 18, 2004... A large percentage of market research involves asking people about what they do, even though it is well-known that people rarely know (let alone say) what they do. Ethnography is a branch of market research that observes people doing, as well...

The place for location.
January 18, 2004... The importance of location is a real estate mantra and is often assumed in retailing, yet there may be occasions when location becomes less important. A US study of service outlets (banks and hairdressers) asked about satisfaction and...

Junk research.
January 18, 2004... The influence of Google on Internet searching and research in general, is enormous, but there are implications from its monopoly. Just as information is power, it may be that providing the information itself confers another kind of power. If...

Setting boundaries.
January 18, 2004... It has always been a controversial issue that advertising has steadily found its way into almost every area of public space. From the surfaces of cars, trains, building and T-shirts, to mobiles, email and webpages, ads are ubiquitous. In spite...

Shocking advertising.
January 18, 2004... Some brands use shock tactics in advertising to break through ad clutter and make people take notice. The question is whether these shock tactics work or whether they just upset people. Benetton, Calvin Klein and FCUK have all been challenged...

Pruning brands.
January 25, 2004... Unilever is not the only company to have embarked on a brand rationalisation program as the key to growth, but it is certainly the best known. Behind this critical strategic issue, often ignored by marketers, is the knowledge that most of a...

Marketing is dead; long live marketing!
January 25, 2004... Some people have forecast the death of marketing, while others have said it is too important to be left to marketers. However, based on Kotler's views of 1P marketing - that it is now little more than promotion - perhaps it is time to recognise...

Culture and adoption rates.
January 25, 2004... Most international marketers are aware of the different rates of adoption of innovations in different countries and there is some acceptance that adoption rates are linked to culture. To optimise introduction strategies, we need to be able to...

Why Americans love technology.
January 25, 2004... Not everyone is comfortable with the relentless march of technology, yet for every two Americans who are low-tech, there is one American who loves technology. These people are enthusiastic users of wireless Internet, DVDs, PDAs and mobile...

Who wants the technology?
January 25, 2004... Banking is one industry that has been transformed by new technologies, starting with ATMs and then the ability to bank online. One study predicts that 84% of banks globally will adopt online banking by 2011. Many banks say they are adopting...

Advertising: still a mystery.
January 25, 2004... A major project to draw together an overview of how advertising (particularly print advertising) works highlights that (except for a few succinct, general rules) we really know very little about how this huge discipline works. Most startling is...

Like it or not.
January 25, 2004... In the apparently neverending quest for cut-through in advertising, there is always a risk that the ads with the greatest cut-through are those that people do not like. It is well-recognised that there is a link between liking an ad and liking...

The impact of sexy ads.
January 25, 2004... Advertisers frequently use sexual content in their ads, suggesting that they believe sexual ads are persuasive. However, the nature of sexual content can change according to whether it is primarily sexual, part of passionate love, or primarily...

No geeks.
January 25, 2004... If anyone still believes that the majority of Internet users are geeks, a Californian study of surfers in 14 countries suggests quite the opposite. The typical Net user is an avid reader, socialises more than non-Net users, and may watch up to...

Objective knowledge?
January 25, 2004... The trend towards knowledge management continues, with calls for a Chief Knowledge Officer in each company. The justification for it is that there needs to be someone in the company who is not too close to operations, so that they are objective...