Nilewide Marketing Review articles from July 2003

Nilewide Marketing Review archives from July 2003

A not so risky business.
July 27, 2003... Analysis Today, it is impossible to ignore or avoid the word "risk". From mainstream media to the business press, risk features prominently in all major articles, including risk from war, terror, SARS or market rejection. Events, such as...

What kind of science?
July 20, 2003... Many people would like marketing to be like a classic science, where we can measure and predict its effects and, through experimentation, develop new insights. But with the emergence of a New Kind of Science (as typified by the biological...

Whither our brands?
July 20, 2003... As marketing struggles with its declining influence in many companies, it is worth asking if one of the reasons for this decline is that its greatest contribution, the brand, is being devalued. Certainly, the importance of the brand can be...

Too much optimism.
July 20, 2003... There is abundant evidence to show that most major projects, including mergers, capital investments and entries into new markets, fail to pay off. While it may be attractive to the managers involved to think that this high failure rate is a...

The scorecard routine.
July 20, 2003... Scorecards are now routine in business management, as they are a good first step to aligning strategies, metrics and activities. However, as with all management tools, they have their strengths and weaknesses, which need to be clearly...

Misleading fmcg.
July 20, 2003... The ROI of advertising continues to be a source of conflict and the clichs of the past, such as "50% is wasted", are still taken as truth. This is because it has been so difficult to demonstrate a short-term payback from advertising, even...

The kids know what it is.
July 20, 2003... While Sweden bans advertising to children under 12, there is no conclusive evidence that children need to be protected from advertising or that this is the right age to do it. Based on Piaget's development psychology, children are not able to...

Ethnocentrism and brand perceptions.
July 20, 2003... The brand personalities of international brands tend to be developed in major western markets and there is always a risk that the personalities will be interpreted differently in other cultures. Aaker's brand personality scale is widely used...

Smells good.
July 20, 2003... As the use of pleasant scents in retail settings increases, it is important to try to understand how they impact not only the buying process but also brand memory. One line of research suggests that scents work by influencing moods and...

Websites and flow.
July 20, 2003... The concept of flow, as proposed by psychologist, Csikszentmihalyi, has been discussed in relation to work and advertising, but it is fair to say that, while it is a very appealing concept, applying it has been difficult. However, it may be...

Answering "I don't know".
July 20, 2003... Many studies have shown that people will answer survey questions about something they really know nothing about, (these studies usually involve fictitious situations) and, combined with the desire of researchers for respondents to answer all...

No global consumer.
July 13, 2003... Many commentators, from business and politics, have suggested that globalisation will create a convergence of consumer tastes, needs and lifestyles. A view that is supported by the impact of global media such as MTV, brands such as Coke, and...

Which self takes a risk?
July 13, 2003... One of the fascinating insights in psychology has been that we have multiple selves, and different selves are called upon at various times. This means that decision-making, and therefore risk-taking, will depend on which self is current....

IM and the private domain.
July 13, 2003... Instant messaging (IM) is most commonly associated with teenagers becoming addicted to chatting with their "buddy list", but it also has real potential to become an important business communication tool. As with all tools, it has advantages...

No more fads.
July 13, 2003... Amid the barrage of "keys to success" or, more accurately, management fads from BPR to CRM to ERP etc, it is reassuring that academic studies show that business basics, not these fads, are the real reasons for success. A 5-year study of 160...

Better safe than sorry?
July 13, 2003... The prevailing mood in western countries appears to be one of fear and anxiety, even though everyday life is safer than ever. Moreover, many decisions appear to be made on the "precautionary principle" where the duty of care, or onus of proof...

Not so simple logic of CRM.
July 13, 2003... The simple logic of retaining existing customers to increase profitability has driven much of marketing thought in the recent past, leading to the current emphasis on relationship marketing and CRM. But this simple logic is too simple, as the...

The objective disqualifier.
July 13, 2003... Few will disagree that brands are supposed to make consumers' decision-making easier. Yet, most people only look at this from the positive perspective: that brands differentiate, add value, create relationships and attract price premiums....

Co-ordinating celebrities.
July 13, 2003... Celebrity sells, and celebrities are some of the most sought-after commodities for companies that want to project their brand in the media. Celebrities offer an attractive version of reality, at a time when TV may appear more real than...

Call up the brand.
July 13, 2003... Although many companies talk about customer relationships, they still try to cut costs on customer service. One common example is the call centre, even though it can be a centre for experiencing the brand. If companies were to take this...

But don't call me.
July 13, 2003... A new do-not-call registry has been established in the US to protect people from the barrage of telemarketing calls received at home. The way it works is that people provide the numbers they do not want called and the registry contacts...

Why customers hate CRM.
July 6, 2003... Marketers have been quick to take up the language of customer relationship management (CRM) but it is true that, for most marketers, CRM is a means to generate greater profits and hence its use remains manipulative, rather than focused on...

Stretching the war metaphor.
July 6, 2003... In this era of relationship marketing, the war metaphor appears to be less popular among marketers and business in general. But war continues to be an all too important part of life around the world, not only in real life but also in books,...

New definitions of value.
July 6, 2003... Keeping up with best practices may not be enough, according to CK Prahalad, a leading thinker on strategy. He claims that companies can catch up using best practices, but they can not become the leader. Since strategy is not an extrapolation...

Building social capital online.
July 6, 2003... There have been two opposing reactions to the social effects of the Internet, one that it will create a more socially isolated world, versus one that it will help bring people who are usually distant together. A new study in the UK by the...

Blinded by the brand.
July 6, 2003... Everyone has a natural blind spot in their eye, where the optic nerve leaves the retina, and the blind spot has become a useful analogy for problems or difficulties with perceptions and thinking. The key to the blind spot is that the brain...

Anxious and not buying.
July 6, 2003... Amid all the hype and widespread use of computers and the Internet by business people, it is easy to overlook the fact that many people are not comfortable, and are even anxious, about using technology. One study suggests that more than half...

Who is the creator?
July 6, 2003... While JK Rowling is clearly the creator of Harry Potter, there is a new trend causing some concern among those involved with intellectual property. The Internet has seen a wave of Fan Fiction, the proliferation of novels, novellas or poetry...

Something for everyone.
July 6, 2003... One of the golden rules about brands is they must be clearly targeted, with a strong value proposition and not try to be all things to all people. Yet, companies, such as Sainsbury's, Tesco and BBC, are successful precisely because they focus...

Marketing is not important.
July 6, 2003... If financial directors of The Times 1,000 Companies are to be believed, then marketing is not that important. Only 57% of a recent sample thought investment in marketing was necessary for long-term corporate growth and 27% thought it was...