Why a strong content base should be part of your marketing strategy
Traditional marketing is becoming less effective by the day. Instead of simply pitching your services and products to potential clients, the way to achieve vital cut-through now is to provide them with truly relevant and useful content that gives them actionable insight.
The Content Marketing Institute’s annual research reveals that the vast majority of marketers are including content marketing as part of their strategy. They state that there are three key benefits for any enterprise that utilises content marketing, which include increased sales, cost savings and better customers who have more loyalty.
These are absolute no-brainers as to why content marketing should be a key aspect of your strategy. At the end of the day, marketing is impossible without quality, engaging content, so if you devise a strong content base to your overarching strategy then all aspects will greatly benefit.
Social Media, SEO, PR, PPC and inbound marketing are just some of the strategies that can be boosted by utilising clever content marketing. Using a diverse range of rich media serves to keep your customers engaged and grabs their attention instantly.
Infographics, videos, embeddable quizzes, animations and images are all methods in which you can provide customers with relevant high-quality content that can improve their loyalty to you and boost your brand exposure.
Here at 72Point, our in-house design team provide a comprehensive content marketing offering.
We worked in collaboration with Freuds on their social campaign for NHS England, putting together a number of assets including several animated GIF’s, static graphics and a short animation. This provided NHS with great content that was posted across their Twitter channels, and by various other health organisations - raising awareness of the services available via NHS111 and delivering the key messaging of their campaign in a creative way.
The team also crafted an animation for The Department of Culture, Media and Sport as part of their ‘free wifi’ campaign, which saw over 1,000 public buildings in cities across the UK transformed into free wifi hotspots, supporting their larger #BuildingBritain campaign. The package included a 45 second animation and a GIF of the final sequence. As well as this, we supported the campaign by providing social media graphics to be used by public organisations, raising awareness of the campaign.
Our infographics are divided into five different pieces, meaning that they can be posted out at different times across different social channels, providing clients with plenty of longevity on their campaigns, whilst our animations are perfectly tailored for social in length and design.
Whether you are looking for a high-quality social project to maximise your brand exposure (take a look at our breakthrough package here), or a clever piece of visual content to embed on your website or post across your social channels, 72Point should be your one-stop shop for all content marketing needs.
2018: The PR Trends that you need to monitor
Jack Granard looks ahead to the trends you need to monitor in 2018. See the first of this two-part feature on the digital media predictions of 2017 that you should have followed here.
2017 oversaw the continued evolution of what it is to be a PR professional, as it became more influenced by digital elements, social media and marketing.
Importantly, as content became more visual, it superseded the tried tested methods, such as traditional press releases, whilst also bringing about the rise in the use of video, influencer and infographic content. This article will highlight the upcoming trends that need to be monitored in 2018 and how it can be incorporated by your company.
The Future Role of PR: The Statistics
The advancement of the PR role is indicative of the importance of reacting quickly to the latest PR trends so as not to be left behind.
A 2017 USC Annenberg Global Communications study which interviewed 875 PR executives and 101 marketers from around the world found that digital storytelling is the biggest future PR trend with 88% citing it as important. Moreover, social listening ranked second (82%) followed by social purpose (71%) and Big Data (70%).
In terms of skills for future growth, strategic planning with 89% was voted as the most important, followed by written communications (86%), social media (84%), multimedia content development (82%), and verbal communications (80%).
87% of professionals believe the term “public relations” will not describe the work they do in five years, which exemplifies the initial point about being reactive. This is given further strength, where 60% of marketing executives believe PR and marketing will become dramatically more aligned in the near future.
Ultimately, these figures suggest the importance of being a well-rounded PR executive. It is essential to keep on adapting, otherwise the PR professional today could become extinct in as soon as 5 years.
Dark Social Media
Data coverage and tracking in the PR industry has become a fundamental element of presentation and success for clients, in identifying social influence and monitoring performance. However, what is impossible to track is dark social, which is defined as the communication through private messaging platforms, such as, text, email, Whatsapp, Messenger and Skype. The importance of tracking this is accentuated by the likes of Forbes.
Bearing any privacy concerns, the main interests in measuring this is emphasised by the notion that increasingly we are more likely to share a link via dark social than on your Facebook profile. Consequently, PR firms are incapable of measuring this and are left confused as to where the rise in traffic to websites stems from. Significantly, standard web analytics are incapable of measuring this and key insights are lost.
Therefore, to start measuring dark social, one method could be to really emphasise the social sharing buttons on your site, whilst making sure all buttons have trackable links. Alternatively, if your direct track URLs are too long, it will be more unlikely to have been typed in their browser.
Overall, with this being a recent hot point, it is notable to keep your eyes peeled for new developments.
Artificial Intelligence
As stated throughout, data measurement has been very important to the PR role and AI has the potential to extend this further, through being utilised for basic research and media monitoring.
By utilising data scientists to predict future trends and investing in artificial intelligence to also combat this, it could pave the way for workload to be reduced for PR companies and to predict when and what businesses need to change. However, one topic that has been heavily discussed is the usage of intelligent chatbots. These bots powered by artificial intelligence could evolve the way customer communication is utilised and may also be used to create a new fun concept to promote a brand. Further weight is given, as it was highlighted by Business Insider as “the biggest thing since the iPhone.”
Speech Recognition Technology
Whether you have seen the parody videos or you have utilised the technology in Amazon Echo, Apple Siri or Google Home, it is largely agreeable that it has been a strong talking point recently.
Speech recognition built into modern devices is quick, accurate and definitely the future. With the possibility of it being used more frequently it could bring about a process where ads and SEO are not relevant. This has been heavily advocated by Steve Waddington (Social Media Director at Ketchum) who believes it will “create another wave of internet disintermediation.”
With rising incomes and interest in becoming more technological, firms should try to incorporate this technology into their campaigns and find new ways to be different.
Personal Brand Reputation and Social Ethics
Is it obvious? Yes.
Does, more need to be done? Yes.
Social media has brought about exposure in new ways, putting us all under scrutiny. However, this is also a positive thing as it allows the opportunity for engagement with all these individuals through social media to gauge what this company is like. Previously, executives would target features in broadsheet papers but now optimising social networks is essential to harbouring not just brand reputation but a personal relationship with the consumer.
72Point has effectively created a space to combat this and has evolved through its recent brand revamp to better understand our organisation, our consumers and our goals. Now with increasing competition and shorter attention spans, only specialised websites who understand how to communicate effectively with all these new tools can succeed.
The PR industry is only likely to become more ethically focused with the Public Relations Communication Association’s (PRCA) expulsion of Bell Pottinger being a major point in 2017. Therefore, more awareness and positive messaging needs to be shown to restore trust.
Conclusion
This year will involve more competition and more technologies to use than ever before. At 72Point, we attempt to stay one step ahead and monitor these trends carefully. The PR world is a jungle and it has been shown to be ruthless in the past year. Therefore, more personal and genuine campaigns need to be implemented this year before it is too late.
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A holistic approach to blogger outreach
What is ‘blogger outreach’ and how do I do it?
That was the prominent undertone from a series of creative workshop sessions we recently hosted in the trendy Ace Hotel in Shoreditch. The proliferation of alternative media platforms has rendered the PR industry perplexed, and the knee-jerk reaction has been to throw money at it. But a holistic approach to blogger outreach is possible, and it is a far more attractive proposition for both brands and bloggers alike.
Marketing Land defines blogger outreach, or influencer marketing, as the process of leveraging influencers with an established and substantial following in exchange for “free access to the product or service” or a fee for publishing content. But the notion that bloggers are simply ‘reviewers with reach’ is misguided, and PR professionals are missing a trick if they define them as such.
Successful bloggers are able to reach large networks of people because they produce great content that resonates with a target audience. Talya’s blog Motherhood: The Real Deal, is a good example. The hilarious account of the “general WTF-ness” that comes with being a mother embodies the spirit of being a blogger by connecting to her audience with good content that is relevant. We landed this release not because we paid, but because we have established a relationship centred around those principles.
As a PR firm working from inside the media – the so-called Trojan horse effect – we are able to land branded content across the board because we take a media-first approach to outreach. At a blogger level, that is about supplying good content, engaging with blogger communities and using our media-base to collaborate with bloggers to ensure the content cycle is rewarding for all parties involved.
Here’s a short guide to our blogger outreach programme.
Content generation
Bloggers, like any other publishing genre, are in the business of providing engaging content to readers. Where they differ is that they have free reign over how they produce that content. Unlike mainstream media outlets there is no protocol when it comes to blogging, which breaks the mould of the holistic model applied by PR companies when outreaching to the media. Press releases are outmoded, spokespeople are redundant and branded messages can be off-putting, but that doesn’t mean that content is unwanted.
At 72Point, we take a hands-off approach to content distribution. Our own digital media hub is tailored exclusively to online publications, providing all the necessary materials in a simple-to-use format. We encourage collaborators to get creative with the content we provide them, or even engage with it. Like this.
Building communities
Communities are a focal part of the blogger ecosystem. Social media communities exist across all genres, many of which are active with meetups and conferences regularly taking place across the country. In order to have a feel for the pulse of the community, it is really important to engage with these networks.
The digital hub has a large community of more than 500 bloggers which we endeavour to engage with on a regular basis. Our Ambassador Programme gives us access to key influencers who work within blogger communities, and we regular discuss topics such as content generation and co-creation in our forum, as well as outreaching over social media.
Co-creation
We strongly believe that bloggers should be a part of the creative process, and we endeavour to involve bloggers in the work we do wherever we can. Our ambassadors have worked with us on several releases which have subsequently given them great exposure in the national press. Here’s a couple of examples:
Plus Size Bloggers Speak Out About Body Shaming
Demand for Ethically Sourced Clothes Increasing
The blogging community has been somewhat neglected by the PR industry thus far, and it is to our detriment. Alternative media outlets offer a lot of promise and arguably as much or more ROI in terms of engagement and social interaction than national press. But involving them in the outreach process should be less about throwing freebies their way and more about involving them in the creative process. It’s undoubtedly a long-term endeavour, but ultimately for a very worthy cause.
Marketing to the Millennial Mum
Mothers, we've all got one, unless you’re a marmorkreb. Facebook has just reminded me that it is my Mum’s birthday today, triggering the annual panic-order of flowers which is well on its way to becoming a tradition.
Still, between the ‘terrible son’ guilt and the ‘these daffodils are a bit pricey’ remorse I was reminded of this report from Hill+Knowlton on the growing influence of the Mummy blogger.
If you've just opened that link and heaved a sigh at the 11 pages in front of you, fear not, here’s the TL;DR (too long; didn't read) version:
- Mums are responsible for 70% of household spending
- ‘The Mummy Pound’ accounts for $20 trillion of consumer spending worldwide
- 23% of Mummy bloggers think that “a lot of marketing by brands that target Mums is not relevant or ineffective’
- 93% want to work with brands but only 13% believe agencies understand how to approach and work with Mummy bloggers
The Mummy bloggers have earned the trust and respect of their audience, but only a small percentage of brands have cracked how to take advantage of this. How do you effectively market to Millennial Mums?
The first thing to consider is that the modern mother is very different to my dear old Mum, patiently awaiting her belated bouquet of daffs. 75% of new Mums are Millennials, making for a hellish Venn diagram-intersection of tough demographics to approach. Essentially, the tried and tested rules of marketing to Generation X are becoming less effective with every passing year.
And it’s all social media’s fault.
You’re a Millennial Mum. On social media, all your friends are having a better time than you. They’re prettier, wealthier and better-dressed. Their selfies are flawless, they've got 20k followers on Instagram and their latest blog was entertaining yet informative.
Worse still, brands are pushing products on you from their Facebook pages like you’re a confident, well-established Gen X baby boomer. These guys took on the world and won with their entrepreneurial spirit. Meanwhile you were nurtured, educated and set on the world with fragile dreams only to be flattened by the grim reality that ‘not everyone gets a trophy’.
It all comes together to create an ideal perception of motherhood that is unrealistic for the Millennial Mum.
This calls for a more understanding mode of marketing. In a world where new Mums are straining under mounting social and economic pressure, brands that provide an escape are more appealing than those perpetuating the Gen X ideal.
59% of Millennial Mums favoured advertising with a more realistic edge, showing real-life situations using real Mums, while 57% looked for humour in the ads. If you are in the business of marketing to mums then shaping your campaigns around these characteristics could be the key to the Millennial Mum market.
And if you’re approaching Mummy bloggers with your content be sure to do your research first. 71% hear from up to 20 different brands a week yet 80% of the pitches they receive end up going unused. Spend some time exploring each blog, check out their social media channels and consider how you could collaborate with the blogger in the future. All the extra effort will be worth it when your content is posted by a prominent Mummy blogger, perfectly tailored to suit the Millennial Mum audience.
The Social Media Election. Was this it?
Five years ago, at the time of the last general election, I was studying for my undergraduate degree. For the first time ever I felt the election buzz. Although I personally wasn’t that interested, I found myself surrounded by people who couldn’t shut up about it, and everyone, of course, was voting Lib Dem.
This time around things are different. I’m back at home, fully employed and paying attention due to my own genuine interest. This is in no small part down to the role of Social Media (and hours of TV satire and a determination to not let full time muppet and general pain in the arse, Nigel Farage have any sort of power). The role of social media in this election has been much anticipated. We’ve already seen how social media can be used to reflect the way votes are likely to go in our own light-hearted infographic. However it is the use of social media to attract and persuade voters and to promote the campaigns of individual parties which has stirred up all the fuss.
The 2015 election has been dubbed ‘the social media election’. This was partly due to the speculation and anticipation due to the rise in Social media’s popularity over the last five years. 5 million people have joined Twitter alone in the years since Britain last went to the polls. This has been key for political parties. It meant that parties and politicians had a direct way of speaking to people without having to trawl the streets. This was good for two reasons. Firstly it meant that the powerful elite of our society didn’t have to go into areas where people shop in Aldi rather than Fortnum and Masons. Secondly, it meant that they could target specific demographics at the touch of a button. In particular they could target youths, or as they’re known in Westminster, ‘bloody hoodies’. Youths are not a group politicians normally go near for fear of being mugged or stabbed but now they could talk to them without fear of physical contact.
The televised debates in the last election boosted turn out by 65%, but only 44% of young people (aged 18-24) turned out to vote. It would therefore be amiss of parties not to take advantage of a primarily young person’s medium to reach this audience. It was revealed fairly early on that our current lord and master, Mr Cameron and his Conservatives had spent £100,000 pounds on Facebook advertising, ten times that of Labour and 1000 times that of UKIP. A recent article in the Guardian stated that Facebook has the potential to reach 9.2 million young people with one post and with UK adults spending a minimum of 1.33 hours on social media, spending obscene amounts on these platforms isn’t exactly a bad idea.
But it’s not just paid promotion and it’s not just Facebook. Politicians have taken to Twitter to personally promote key party policies (or at least their social media managers have). This means for the first time in living history, politicians have been forced into giving short concise answers and policy announcements.
Parties have also embraced the ways of YouTube. As you can imagine this means a lot of clips of speeches and cringe worthy videos of politicians looking to camera giving heart felt speeches “to you, the voter” *VOM*. The Conservatives channel is particularly bad for this. The video of David Cameron welcoming you to the channel actually makes me physically look away as if I were watching a man on Embarrassing Bodies with some disgusting skin complaint. Labour’s channel is marginally more watchable. It displays a great deal more personality. For example the featured video is of Miliband playing pool with snooker favourite Ronnie O’Sullivan. In fact celebrity support is something that Labour play on quite heavily with their channel featuring videos from people such as Martin Freeman, Steve Coogan and Jo Brand. The Lib Dem videos on the other hand focus very much more on the general public. Their featured video is the Clegg Meister visiting a school, followed by a video of him visiting animals. Everyone together now…awwwww.
Despite this use of social media many say that the ‘Social media election’ never came to fruition. The build-up has even been described as ‘routine, predictable and over cautious’. If that weren’t bad enough much of it has been unpleasant.
This is particularly evident on Twitter . Twitter as a PR and marketing tool can be and has been successful. For example a recent Twitter campaign prompted the petition to get leaders from smaller parties involved in the leaders’ debates. However much of the party campaigning consists of mocking and bitching about other party leaders. A perfect example of this is the Twitter feed of the one and only Boris Johnson. Bo-Jo’s feed consists mainly of jibes at Miliband, with his tweet referring to Miliband’s wall of policies being a personal highlight (see image). 
Obviously all parties’ campaigns feature a certain number of put downs but this election is being referred to as one of the ugliest campaigns in history. One therefore has to wonder whether Twitter is doing nothing more than making things worse. After all with Twitter you get trolls. The only thing that gets met through the Twitter bitching is the hope that there is a Malcom Tucker figure behind the scenes taking control of people’s mobiles and blasting them with a particularly taboo outburst.
I think, on reflection though, social media has played a huge part this time round. Yes it might not have been ‘the Social media election’ that we were all promised but it’s certainly a step in the right direction. If nothing else, it has shown how seriously we should take social media as a platform and the benefits of social media advertising. That’s something businesses can take out of this election regardless of the outcome. If Twitter promotion and campaigning is good enough to get you to run the country it’s good enough to get you some business and get your message out there.
Furthermore Stephen Coleman, professor of political communication at the University of Leeds, commented that traditional methods of party promotion, primarily newspapers, are being disregarded time and time again by readers who are desensitised to it. This also applies to the mounds and mounds of party leaflets we get through our doors which seems to have reached frankly ridiculous levels this year. Therefore it makes sense that other methods of campaigning should be introduced, if only to pump a little fresh blood into the election build up. Remember the last election, the so called ‘TV election’ that saw the first ever live TV debates that boosted voter turn out by over half? What I’m essentially saying is that when it comes to getting your message out there you can no longer just rely on one platform to do so. It’s very much a multi-platform world that we live in and as a result campaigns, political or not, can only benefit from multi-platform content. Just remember to make it nice. The place for trolling is in fairytales. Not the internet. Or the Hopkins residence.
(All of the above views are mine, not the company’s…or are they?! Yes, they are.
72Point Fun and Games
We’re all familiar with the festive well wishes that are sent by suppliers and clients at this time of year. Be they traditional cards, gifts, ecards or ‘hilarious’ animated santas and elves with personalised faces.
This year 72Point decided to do things slightly differently! Thanks to the fabulous work of our in house design studio, Drench, we shared a Christmas game for everyone to play for the chance of winning more sweets than you could ever dream of eating.
The format was a take on the retro Timberman game in which you have to help the lumberjack chop down the tree. With a little bit of design magic the lumberjack became Santa and the tree became dusted with snow!
The game was a huge success with some of our clients taking to it like ducks to water, and battling amongst themselves to get to the top of the leaderboard. In the office we peaked at 495, thinking it was impossible to get scores any higher……how wrong we were! Scores of 600 started to filter through. Then 700, then 8. The final winning score was 957! Outstanding work from Amanda Flanaghan from MEC Global. In fact we must give a special mention to MEC Global who refused to be beaten and reached a staggering company score of 50,078!
Thank you to all the lovely people who sent us a frankly ridiculous abundance of love and photos (which you can see on our Pinterest board, obviously)! It was and always will be our pleasure to show our gratitude (and keep sugar levels dangerously high, of course)…..So from all at 72Point and OnePoll, have a very merry Christmas and very happy New Year.
(Sadly there are no more prizes to award, but you can still play the game at (Christmascuts.com)
Christmas Ads are Coming to Town
It’s the end of November which obviously means it’s been Christmas ad season for months now. That means that every 10 to 15 minutes we’ve had flaming Christmas puddings, girls and boys dressed to the nines and unrealistically wrapped presents thrust upon our eyes.
Every year the nation’s (and the world’s) biggest brands spend thousands if not millions on their Yuletide ads; all trying to be the one that either makes you smile, makes you cry or makes your mouth water with delicious looking food. Every year they succeed and this year is no different.
In fact this year the ads seem bigger and better than ever. I find it hard to go on Facebook or Twitter without someone talking about or making me watch the latest Christmas advert. Pleasingly, this year, there seems to be a nice balance of ads which make you jolly and ads which make you borderline depressed.
Aldi for example, have pushed the boat out this year recruiting king of the Hootenanny, Jools Holland to tinkle the old ivories whilst being blasted with a dozen trumpets….none of which is a euphemism by the way. Then there’s the Debenhams ad showing what to many is the true joy of Christmas, happy smiling kids, running around and laughing. To me the idea of kids running around laughing is enough to make me never leave the house again but even I must admit that the Debenhams ad warms the cockles of my prematurely bitter old heart.
Marks and Spencer have gone down the jolly route with a magical themed ad which sees a couple of fairies making Christmas as special as it can be, whether it’s playing in the snow or having your washing magically upgraded (and consequently left outside on the line, in the cold, wet snow to spoil).
Boots on the other hand have taken a swerve from their normally jolly party mood type ad to focus more on a homage to the nursing industry. Their ad has gone down more the ‘I’m gonna make you cry until you buy one of our products’ route of advertising which seems to be increasingly popular at Christmas.
Obviously the John Lewis ad is a prime example. The John Lewis Christmas ad has become more than just an advert, it’s become an event. For many people it is one of the first genuine signs that Christmas is upon us whereas previously that accolade used to belong to Coca Cola with their iconic ‘Holidays are coming’ advert. John Lewis have made themselves the go to ad with the right balance of class, cuteness and emotion.
The John Lewis Christmas ad has become more than just an advert, it’s become an event.
This years offering is no different. Monty the Penguin has already become a household name and supplies of his plush counterpart are flying off the shelves. However the crown of most touching advert has been well and truly swiped from underneath John Lewis’ nose and plonked on the head of one Mr J Sainsbury.
The supermarket’s festive offering ties in with the 100 year anniversary of the start of the First World War, featuring the message that Christmas is a time for sharing, no matter what the situation. Although beautifully shot and profoundly heart-warming, the ad has unsurprisingly received its fair share of criticism with some remarking that it is cynical and disrespectful.
Christmas advertising, mainly due to an increasing dominance of commercialism has become a key part of Christmas, like it or not. During Christmases of old, people used to gather round a board game, or sit together to watch the Sound of Music for the millionth time. Now the family get together to see what festive spectacle John Lewis have put together. That is incredibly important in marketing terms. That means there is more pressure on marketers and advertisers to do something bigger than the ‘Buy this! Shop here!’ style adverts of old.
This explains why we see so many heartfelt, narrative adverts on our screens. For the big name brands and companies Christmas isn’t just about selling a single product, it’s about selling your whole company, getting people to choose you over your competitors. Therefore Christmas advertising has become more about portraying a message or a personality; about portraying the values of which your company stands for and with which Joe Public can identify. The Sainsbury’s advert is a great example of this.
Yes it might be a little bad taste given that they overall aim is to boost profits for Sainsbury’s but the advert is also in partnership with the Royal British Legion. What better way to use the power of Christmas advertising than to promote the work of such a noble charity. The ad shows that Sainsbury’s value the fallen (not that everyone else doesn’t) and that the notion of sharing at Christmas is key to the company’s image. Likewise the John Lewis advert reaffirms the messages of love and companionship; Boots celebrate the work of the nurses who work all hours; the Marks and Spencer’s ad even suggests that we turn our TV’s off and go and play outside like people did ‘when they were ‘ nipper’.
Nobody is suggesting that these are documentaries. Everyone knows they’re adverts and they’re doing it for profit. Yes the cynics will say that it’s a negative reflection of 21st century society where we focus on materialism and commercialism. But quite frankly so what? Do we all have to be quite so grumpy about it? I think it’s nice to see brands win us round with positive messages. It’s nice to grow attached to a certain advert, look at the fondness we all have for the late Linda Bellingham and her OXO adverts.
For the big name brands and companies Christmas isn’t just about selling a single product, it’s about selling your whole company
So when planning this year’s December marketing schedule we all need to remember this. People like things they can take into their hearts and minds, whether it’s funny or heart-warming. We need to think about our audience and not just about our profits. Your audience are people. People with shared experiences. This style of advertising is all about giving people just that and it’s these experiences that connect people with each other and in the world of marketing, connect people with brands.
To see what all the fuss is about some of the best (and worst) examples of Christmas marketing are on our Christmas Pinterest board .
The Power Behind the Rainbow Laces Campaign
Paddy Power never fail to disappoint when it comes to PR and marketing.
Previous examples of brilliance include their Luis Suarez advert, their break glass in an emergency Alex Ferguson, or their multiple world cup themed pieces.
Their latest marketing campaign however, although less comical, surpasses all previous attempts.
Working with sexuality charity Stonewall, Paddy Power have launched their#RainbowLaces campaign. The idea behind the campaign is to show solidarity for gay footballers and intolerance for homophobia in the sport by wearing, you guessed it, Rainbow Laces.
Although the campaign originally launched last year, it was accused of being merely another publicity stunt and has been redrafted with a more serious approach.
The campaign re-launched on the 8th September and has already found its feet.
The Metro produced a special Rainbow Laces edition of their paper which featured re-designs of well-known ads showing support for the campaign on behalf of dozens of household brands. The issue was even voted as Creative Review’s Ad of the Week.
Intelligent adverts being given a national showcase in the national press in which to convey their message is more than just a clever marketing trick. It’s a statement of how far society has come. It’s a reflection of what can be achieved if you have the right tools, support and platforms.
Notable examples of the above ads include Premier Inn who showed their support for the campaign with a rejigging of their brand name, changing it to Premier Out. Genius.
Smirnoff’s ad featured a rainbow coloured bottle of Smirnoff surrounded by the laces and the strapline ‘We wouldn’t change our recipe but we can change the game’.
This tied in with one of Paddy Power’s own ads which uses the line ‘it only takes two minutes to change the game’ and diagrams of how to place the laces in your boots in a style reminiscent of managerial tactic sketches.
Rather unsurprisingly Paddy Power have based all their advert designs specifically on football giving each a football punned strapline.
As well as the ‘change the game’ line above, other Paddy Power slogans include ‘now more than ever you’ve got the world at your feet’ and, possibly my favourite, ‘We don’t care which team you play for ’.
They even recruited the help of the Arsenal squad. It’s not the first time that Arsenal Football Club have shown their support for equal rights. In 2008 the club launched its ‘Arsenal for Everyone’ campaign to ‘ensure that everyone associated with the club feels an equal sense of belonging’. We live in a culture where, perhaps unjustly, footballers are idolised by a generation of young boys and girls, so who better to spread a message of equality.
The video, which shows certain Arsenal players list personal characteristics they can’t change, is worth a watch if you haven’t already. It not only reinforces the message that being gay is something you can’t change, but it also shows a level of self-deprecation and a sense of humour that, I for one, was unaware existed in football.
Highlights include the diminutive Santi Cazorla’s eyes peering over the edge of the camera unable to change his height; Mikel Arteta using more hairspray than is ecologically acceptable unable to change his ‘perfecto’ hair and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain stating that he is unable to change that he looks like a teenage mutant ninja turtle. Which he does by the way….Like, really does.
The rainbow laces campaign shows the true power of PR and marketing; using the power and influence of brands and influential personalities to spread a positive message to all age groups and demographics. My only concern is that it limits the campaign to football, after all homophobia has no place in any aspect of our culture or society but hopefully this is a step in the right direction.