BJK&E

You may have read, or certainly heard about James Surowiecki’s book ‘the wisdom of crowds - why the many are smarter than the few….’ There is a beguiling appeal to the simple, and almost intuitive notion that more people giving more information/opinion will lead to a more accurate out come. Wikipedia is built on such a notion. In fact, as JS himself points out there are a vast number of situations where this is not the case. Indeed three of the 5 main situations could almost be used to define a crowd - where the group is too homogenous, imitative and emotional.

This is not the place to debate the finer points of information theory, but James’ book, together with the rapid rise of virtual crowd building via social networks, should give us involved in marketing and communication pause for thought.

The digital landscape might offer consumers the near perfect information that would lead to optimum decision making, but I fear that we are asking too much. Human behaviour certainly in the instance of brand consumption is not to analyse minutely, but to buy on the basis of consistency, reflective of one’s values and to make them feel good. Hmmmm isn’t that ‘homogenous, imitative and emotional’ behaviour?

So does this mean the aims of brands and crowd wisdom are technically at odds but in reality aligned? Perhaps, but it unquestionably makes the job of brands harder. To me, the mantra for brands must be ‘Honesty, transparency, and people’. Honesty - Align your marketing to what you really do or you will get found out. Transparency - let people see what you are doing - if you don’t they will jump to conclusions. People - technology is actually making the importance of a brand’s people far more important they need to be good and they need to care, whether that’s in ideas for the brand, the salesman or the service centre handler.

Because the reality is it’s easier than ever for the slightest negative perception of the brand to incur the wrath of the crowd - just ask Northern Rock or the McCann’s…

Prior to coming over to London from America to start work as BJK&E’s new intern, I knew that British television was bad. There’s something in every American’s internal wiring that makes us wary of UK programming.Beside such universally adored icons as Monty Python or Ricky Gervais, I had not really ever been exposed to British television. I had developed a stereotype of British TV. I would picture either some variation of Benny Hill, where every scene would end with some rapscallion involved in a hyper-speed chase, or I would imagine an absolutely drab melodrama of some aristocrats with ‘holier than thou’ attitudes. So when I finally landed across the pond, I decided not to watch any British television,

Instead of no TV at all, I decided to go where everyone goes to solve their problems: the internet. Google finally proved useful and found a website called TV Links. Within five second of visiting the homepage, I had realized I found a gold mine Perusing through the site, I found their tagline to be a bit modest: “Better than a remote control”.

They have 6 categories of content including Shows, Cartoons, Documentaries, Anime, Movies and Music Videos. The selection of TV shows is quite impressive. I immediately went for Kung Fu, the classic, aptly titled series featuring David Carradine (he played Bill in Kill Bill). There are a large amount of British shows on there too, since the web address is actually www.tv-links.co.uk. I tried a couple out, such as Ruddy Hell! It’s Harry and Paul, but I guess I’ll never quite appreciate the subtleties of television over here.

Movies have quite the selection, including freshly bootlegged versions of films still in theatres. A classic one which I am quite partial to is called Reefer Madness. It was made in 1936 as a cautionary tale featuring a fictionalized and highly exaggerated take on the use of marijuana, following a trio of drug dealers who lead innocent teenagers to become addicted to “reefer” cigarettes by holding wild parties with jazz music. Those swingers and floozies have always been trouble.

The Music Video section provided a great selection of videos, concerts, and interviews of artists. As for all you English-folk out there, I know you’re dying to know if they have Phil Collins on there. Yes, sadly, they do.

As for the rest of the site, I’ll let you navigate with your own discretion. And next time you think you’re stuck watching Neighbours, think again.

Twenty five years ago fashion was dictated by the catwalks. Couture designers and Super models were the pillars of what was ‘fashionable’ and high street stores came second to the fashion designer brands such as Gucci or Calvin Klein.

Being fashionable was measured by the designer you chose. Brands developed high street kudos and were more accessible to the general public. With the recent growing interest in celebrities and what they’re wearing, getting the look has become more important then where the look is from. Where boutique stores were the main fashion outlet, you can now pick up your outfit from Asda and confidently brag about it to your peers. Wearing second hand ‘vintage’ clothes is cooler than to be hung up on designer gear which can be considered ‘chav’.

Marketers have a task ahead of them. They have to simultaneously build their brand, talk about the new ranges and direct people to all the shopping outlets including online. So what are fashion retailers doing to market themselves to a consumer whose finding where they shop or how much they spend less important?

Magazines are the primary medium with advertising spend increasing over the last three years. This is not a surprise. Magazines have their own brand loyalty and women’s trust, and thus are an opinion forming medium. PR is increasingly important and often relied upon. The magazine and retailer relationship is key. Celebrity names such as Kate Moss, Lilly Allen and Madonna are all designing high street fashion and so the celeb weeklies have become the fashion retailer’s best friend. Brands cannot be built upon a media landscape that moves with the latest fad and celebrity.

Brands should be as important as ever. This is what allows high end high street companies and mass market stores in the same wardrobe. It is also what drives people back into store, builds trust and advocacy.

It takes confidence to look longer term at building the brand personality and holding your audience by becoming synonymous with other key areas of retailers lives through sponsorships and integration. Growing credibility and consumer relevance can be a slow burner but this will move the brand towards the key objective to be top of mind, regardless of economic pressures or latest fads. It could also be deemed visionary to have this foresight and look to a replace the packshot with edgy creative and get a lead on the market.

The consumer is also starting to question the source of the cheaper clothes and this will only get louder, by looking to create more value to the retail brand and by (seemingly) becoming more transparent this could cushion the blow of a potential consumer backlash.

Retailers need to look at new innovative marketing strategies with longer term goals in order to differentiate themselves. If you can offer a better, more rounded brand experience time and again then the short term cheaper sales opportunities are, just that.