apt blog

Hotel Owner Magazine - Angie's Marketing Advice

For this months 'Marketing Matters' coloum in Hotel Owner magazine, Angie gives her advice on how to improve the all-important first impression of your hotel.

Read the April column here: Hotel Owner 2012 April Marketing Matters or register for the magazine on the website.

Paying to Pitch

Opinion piece: Kirsty Scaplehorn - Intern

 

There has been a recent uproar across the PR industry at the fact that some clients have been charging PR agencies to pitch. This is taken from the story that the BAA has charged agencies around £1000 to pitch to them in order to ‘cover costs’.

We are now back in a recession and it just doesn’t seem fair for PR agencies at all. First it prevents smaller companies from having the chance to pitch - £1000 can have a completely different effect on different PR agencies. Second, PR’s are already giving up billable time in order to create a proposal suited to the potential clients brief. This also includes the time it takes to think of the best ideas which are going to outshine any other agency - and to create an interesting presentation.

But that isn’t all; extra costs can be incurred by creating visuals or mock ups and presentation boards etc. As well as travel costs and the billable time it takes to travel and present on top of that!

Francis Ingham, Chief Executive of the PRCA has commented on the issue. “Let me be quite clear about this. It isn't about affordability - there shouldn't be some 'small agencies pitching for free; big ones pay'. It's a fundamental principle - agencies and clients meet as equals. Neither pays the other to check one another out.”

Although it is luckily quite unheard of for clients to expect a payment from PR agencies to pitch, it is something that cannot be ignored and should definitely not be something that PR agencies should ever have to get used to.

Our great (little) social media experiment - going against the grain and closing down our Facebook...

If we asked you how many new social media platforms/developments have 'taken off' or been launched since the beginning of this year, most people would be able to name one or two at least (think Pinterest and Facebook Timelines). If we were to ask how many had been developed since then, the answer is probably hundreds, although everyone would be guessing! Although we have no clue on the actual stats, we're pretty sure there are plenty of new software developments launching every day designed to help us 'build relationships' and 'connect' with people or brands online. All the techies are clearly hoping they'll start the 'next big thing', yet very few actually become established as a 'must-have' for brands and consumers alike.

When they do take off though, they take off big and you cannot escape from (at least in my  inbox) updates, articles and suggestions on 'how to make it work for your brand'. If you gave us a pound for everytime we hear someone say 'I'm setting up a profile on...' we'd be millionaires, yet ask them 'why' they're doing it and the answer is most likely 'because everyone else is'.

So to go against the flow, we're here to tell you about our company Facebook profile and why we'll be closing it down.

The history of our Facebook profile...

In 2009, we set up a Facebook profile to update our clients, potential clients, friends and general followers on what we were up to, the work we were doing and the projects we found most interesting in our industry - in fact, the real reason that most companies set one up! By 2011, Facebook had moved the goalposts and declared that brands should have 'pages' not 'profiles' and so we closed down the old one and set up the new one. Since then, we've had no less than 5 major platform changes (the latest being Timelines) and despite the fact that our original 2009 profile had 'connections' with over 300 people, after switching to the new one in 2011, it's been difficult to get those numbers back up (we've tried not to take this personally).

Closing down our profile...

As a full-service agency, social media management is just one string to our bow and we never advocate going it alone... By that, we don't mean you can't do it yourself, but that if you are a B2B company, social media should be just one part of your overall business marketing/pr strategy and then only if it's right for you. As part of our own 2012 strategy, we've looked at our biggest drivers of new business, our most time-consuming activities, our favourite platforms to use, our desired business direction and much more! What came out of that analysis? Facebook doesn't work for us but that is not a crime! This means, as of Friday 4th May 2012, we will be closing down our Facebook profile and venturing into the big-wide-world without it!

Why, we hear you ask?

• We've tried it and committed to it, but actually we've found it doesn't work for us. Short of 'buying' our followers with competition incentives, or special offers for a product we don't have, we're just not reaching a big enough audience for the time investment. Our business contacts as a B2B service do not want to 'like' a potential agency on their personal account and have it clogging up their news feed! Instead, they want to pick up the phone, pop in for coffee, or actually build an offline relationship at networking events. It's the personal touch that's missing!
  
• The only difference between the content on our Facebook page and the other platforms we use is photos. Facebook doesn't provide us with a unique service that we can't get elsewhere for our brand and quite frankly, we can find a photo-sharing option elsewhere. In fact for this, we've picked Flickr which is a whole heap less messy for keeping track of albums!
  
• Our other platforms simply work better for us. We've found that whilst Facebook works for B2C brands very well, for B2B, blogging, Twitter and LinkedIn are much more comprehensive and tailored for supporting our content.
• We're tired of the constant updates. Facebook keep changing the goalposts and revamping the platform, without actually refining the service or making it work better for brands. Yes they're adding cool new functionality like milestones and post pinning, but they still haven't addressed the issue of updating a page from an external platform. This is somewhat understandable because Facebook was developed for personal communication, not for brand promotion, so should we be conforming and trying to make it fit?
• You can find everything you need about us elsewhere; as mentioned, our blog, Twitter and LinkedIn profiles are all there, we're thinking about Google+ (maybe if we decide it's right) and actually, with these, you can dip in and out of who we are and what we do, at your convenience. Our blog is getting a lovely mix of new and returning visitors each month and our Twitter account is growing steadily (up nearly 1000 followers in the last 12 months).
• Unfortunately of all the API links, Facebooks is the most difficult; it is compatible with less platforms, it's more difficult to format and it's overall more fiddly. That means to get it right, we have to physically log on and repost other content onto here.
  
• It just hasn't been a success for us - there, we've said it and we're not ashamed about it! Good business is about trying new things and when necessary, admitting that sometimes things just don't work out!

So, after all that... whilst we've enjoyed interacting with our fans and we'll be sad not to be able to support them on Facebook, most of them follow us on Twitter and hey, sometimes you just have to let go!

So where will you find us from now on?

Although we won't be hosting our business page anymore, that doesn't mean we don't see the value of Facebook. We manage and even ghost write a number of client accounts and Facebook was carefully selected to suit their needs. They've each had much greater success than we ever have and their cover photos and Timelines look fab! You might even have seen our previous how-to guide post for Facebook Timelines which can give plenty of benefits for the right business.

Ultimately, for us, what it comes down to is that we’re not here to jump on the bandwagon of every popular platform; we believe it's more important to find the best platform for your needs and ensure you’re concentrating your efforts on those where you’re guaranteed the best result. In fact, that's the same reason you won't find us on Pinterest...

So to all our lovely fans on Facebook, it's time to sign-off and sorry if it makes you sad to see us go! You can still keep in touch via email, phone or of course pop by and we're on Twitter, LinkedIn, Flickr and this blog if you'd like to join us here! To everyone else, we hope you've enjoyed reading all about our opinions and we hope to see you back soon!

Kind regards

The team at apt!

A gorgeous (well wet but enjoyable) morning at the Gallops

Last wednesday (yes, a bit late writing this post), we were lucky enough to have a morning with Kim Bailey at the Gallops.

To say the day was cold, wet and windy is an understatement! Having woken up through the night to thunderstorms and howling winds, the morning faired little better with driving rains and a dark grey sky! Still, being British, Emma, Angie and Victoria wrapped up warm in Dubarry's, tweeds and wax jackets and headed off for a morning at the Gallops on Kim Bailey's Yard! Not to be outdone, our guests also straggled in, eager for the promised tea, coffee, cooked breakfast and a morning with the horses, not deterred by the weather in the slightest!

As we stood finishing the last dregs of our coffee's peering gloomily through the waterfall pouring down the window, the clouds parted and the odd ray of sunshine peeked through. It was time to dash, so Kim took us on a whistle-stop through the stables, pointing out his favourites, upcoming prospect and downright pain in the bum horses, throwing in some hilarious anecdotes to keep us entertained. Next it was into a motley group of 4X4 vehicles and an Audi to head across the sodden fields to the gallops. A few minutes in the cold with a running commentary on the horses and their condition from Kim, then back to the yard while the weather was still holding out. Finally, we were taken to the top field to watch some practice jumps and apart from Lorrin (Total Communications) 'losing' her camera lens cap because she couldn't feel her fingers (it was still in her pocket), the whole morning went without mishap. 

All that remained was to sit down and eat a hearty, well-deserved full English and to thaw out before work!

We'd like to thank Kim Bailey for his generous hospitality and if you want to know more you can visit his website or follow his blog, or you can become part of a syndicate with a share in a Race Horse...

We'd also like to thank our lovely guests for coming: Frank Smith, Lorrin White, Paul Nurden, Ed Mawle, Mark Haynes, Rob Wheatman and Melanie Pomfret

You can view our Photogallery of the morning on Flickr...

Facebook Timelines: Love ‘em or hate ‘em, they’re here to stay!

It's been a month since Facebook officially rolled out the new timeline feature on March 30 and there's been a lot of noise about them so far.  They may take a lot of getting used to, but there are some nifty new features on Timelines - so how can you make the most of them for your business?

First of all, you now need a cover image as well as a profile picture. This is a landscape image which stretches across the top of the page and should not only draw people’s attention but give people an idea of what you’re about as a company as well as perhaps complement your profile picture. However, you’re not allowed to do a direct sell e.g. with contact info, pricing info, or direct calls to action such as ‘like us’ so be careful what you choose. Think carefully before implementing your cover image - companies are no longer allowed to set customizable landing pages; people now have to go direct to your timeline and your cover image, so make it a good one!

Aside from the introduction of cover photos, normal photos have also gotten larger with Timeline, whether it be those posted on your wall, in photo albums or even the profile picture itself so use this to your advantage, especially if you’re a visual company.

There is now also a collapsible admin panel at the top of the page so whenever you log on you can see all the notifications, messages, new likes and insights for that particular Timeline. This is a useful tool if you have a Timeline linked to a personal account, as these notifications won’t pop up as normal when you first log in unless you specifically click the ‘Use Facebook as….’ button. There are a few drop downs at the top of the admin panel now – ‘manage’, ‘build audience’, ‘help’ and ‘hide’.  The ‘build audience’ function especially is a useful tool to encourage followers, especially for starts ups, as it allows you to disseminate a link to email contacts and existing Facebook friends. It also gives you the option to create an advert (but that’s a whole different blog post in itself!)

The admin panel can be as useful as you want it to be; the more you use it, the more likely you are to succeed in the art of the Facebook Timeline! It’s worth setting time aside every couple of weeks or at the end of each month to look through activity on your Timeline and also your Insight statistics to see what is and isn’t working; it’s there to help inform and guide content - so use it!

Also useful is the new ability to filter through posts chronologically and highlight, hide, minimise or delete them via the ‘activity log’. While we would never suggest deleting a fan’s post – even if its negative - this is a great tool for managing what your timeline looks like and perhaps deleting any mistakes from your side!

When you’ve finished with the admin panel, just click ‘hide’ and it will disappear to so that the actual Timeline appears, as it would for a follower.  

Obviously the main difference from the old pages is that it is now laid out differently; activity is split into months and posts generally zig-zag across the two columns now (though ‘likes’ and friends who also ‘like’ that page are always displayed at the top, regardless of the month). If you have a really important, time-sensitive post or announcement, you can also now pin this to the top of your Timeline for a week so that people don’t miss it – great for events and competitions!

As well as the normal functionality e.g. posts, sharing photos/videos and asking questions, Facebook has now introduced a Milestones feature, designed for you to highlight great business news or achievements (this is situated above the status update field). Milestones allow you to add news as an ‘event’ which shows up on your timeline; this has been designed to look very different to normal posts for maximum impact so it’s a fantastic opportunity to blow your company’s trumpet. You can add background information about the milestone as well as choose a selection of images to accompany it; perfect for award wins, for example, where you will no doubt have some photos to share. Make Milestones as visually attractive as possible and they’re more likely to grab people’s attention when they pop up in news feeds!

So there you have a short introduction to Timeline and some of its new features. There’s no doubt they will take a bit of getting used to so we’d really recommend you set some time aside to fully explore the Timeline’s potential. Change is often frustrating but there are some great little tools to help you promote your business here so do your research, get creative and, most importantly, have some fun with it!  

Is Patriotic Marketing Losing Meaning?

As 2012 is a jam packed year for Britain with a number of large events, we’ve been taking a look at how brand marketing has become more patriotic. From the Olympics to the Queen’s Jubilee and even the Visit Britain campaign all over our cinema screens, 2012 is set to be a great year for inbound tourism and provides numerous opportunities for brands large and small to get involved. Many brands such as Kelloggs, Heinz and Marmite (Ma’amite!) are commemorating the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee using vintage packaging, with both Kelloggs and Heinz using designs that were around when the Queen ascended to the throne.

Brands are also teaming up to mark the “British summer to remember”. Schweppes and Diageo are set to promote drinking Schweppes with Pimms and Gordon’s gin – complete with union jacks in the promotional images of course!

But how many union jacks is too many?!

A recent study by Coley Porter Bell shows that most London based professionals don’t mind when marketers, advertisers and PR’s play on Britishness, just as long as it’s subtle!

Vicky Bullen, the CEO of Coley Porter Bell said, "Our main finding is that the British are being very British in their attitude to Britishness. They are happy for brands to be patriotic, but they want brands to act with dignity and restraint when it comes to using the flag and other icons of Britishness. Fewer than one in five respondents felt that overt patriotism is acceptable."

Outspoken journalist Charlie Brooker has recently written a blog for The Guardian (http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2012/apr/22/olympics-thank-god-for-sponsors) focusing on sponsorship for the Olympics and particularly how it is overused. Given the investment these brands have made, it is understandable they want to maximise exposure and exploit the opportunity, but is it too much?

Charlie goes on to say, “The official Olympic iconography has become just another bit of background visual noise – like the Keep Britain Tidy icon, or a barcode.” This is a fair comment which not only applies the Olympics, but also to The Queens Jubilee. The more we see union jacks, the less attention we are going to pay to them!

Although the idea is lovely, and it is great that Britain is having such an eventful year, all this play on ‘Britishness’ will become too much for us and will soon lose all meaning. This is similar to the recent issue with products claiming to be ‘green’, resulting in us being ‘greenwashed’ so green credentials  no longer hold much meaning to us. What’s more, jumping on the bandwagon to raise awareness of products has resulted in the ASA clamping down on false claims being made towards how sustainable a product may actually be.

Will the same apply for British patriotism for marketing non-British products? For example, Heinz is an American company, but is using the Queen’s Jubilee to market its products in the UK.  Does patriotic marketing mask actual British products and make us associate these big brands with being British? The fact that Heinz is supporting the Queen’s Jubilee makes us associate it with being British, although the brand never actually claims to be. 

Mary Portas’s ‘Bottom Line’ has created ladies lingerie from materials 100% manufactured in the UK, using British suppliers and staff. It’s a great concept in providing for the British economy, but with the amount of ‘British marketing’ from non British companies, this uniqueness has been taken away as everything appears to be British these days. It’s something that the ASA has not yet picked up on, and depending on the extent of the issue it probably never will. But it does make us question how much is too much? And what effect is it having on real British products.

Should Unhealthy Products be Banned from Sponsoring the Olympics?

The news that The Academy of Medical Royal Colleges has asked for companies such as McDonalds and Coca-Cola to be banned from sponsoring the Olympics has caused quite a mixed reaction in the office.

To begin with, this statement has been released quite late considering the Olympics are starting at the end of July. Sponsorships will have been long decided by now and would be difficult to rearrange at this late stage.  Either this is a PR stunt, or just bad organisation!

We can see the both the pros and the cons of this argument.  The sponsors are promoting things which aren’t necessarily good for us, but most people are already aware of that as well as being informed of the nutritional content on packaging.

An argument that we find to be extremely valid is that the amount of money spent on sponsorship from these companies would be difficult to replace, meaning that millions of people would not be able to experience the games, including those athletes who would not be able to afford to compete, missing out on an opportunity of a lifetime.

"As one of the longest, continuous sponsors of the Olympic Movement, we are proud that we are able to use our sponsorship to enable millions of people to experience the Games and believe we have a valid role to play." said a Spokesperson from Coca Cola.

If there is a good balance between healthy snacks or sporting sponsors mixed with the sponsorships from companies such as McDonalds and Coca-Cola, then surely it can’t be such a bad thing?

However, counteracting this argument as said by one of apt’s mums, if a child sees a McDonalds, they want a McDonalds; adults know that McDonald’s isn’t the most nutritious meal, children do not! Then comes the tantrum...

On the whole we do believe that if it is providing a significant amount of funding for the Olympics and allowing athletes to compete, and for the games to be a success, then why not?

 

Tesco Value revamp

After reading the headline ‘Tesco ditches 20-year old value range and replaces it with Everyday Value’, my first thought was ‘what’s the point?!’ but after reading the article I was soon to be convinced that this could be a good move for Tesco.

Since 1993 the store has been offering its ‘value range’, the cheapest version of Tesco’s range of products and often, cheaper than a lot of brands; providing value for consumers on a tight budget or looking to save money. The blue and white stripes are recognised by many, and in a way, it will be a shame to lose them, but on the other hand the new branding is looking contemporary and fresh!

Along with the new branding, Tesco is also focusing on quality and health by revamping the products so that they contain no MSG, hydrogenated fats, artificial flavours or genetically modified ingredients. A number of their products have also been changed so that they contain less sugar and fat.

Smart move Tesco, we approve!

#Brandfools 2012 - A look at this year's April Fool's pranks by brands...

Sadly this year, April Fool's Day fell on a Sunday which robbed many of us of the time and opportunity to enjoy the clever pranks/'developments' brands have rolled out. All is not lost however and a little bit of digging turns up some #brandfools that rival last year's attempts by TalkTalk, Google, Vaseline and more... So in no particular order, here come some of our favourites for 2012...

 

• Google does it again this year, this time with 'GmailTap', Really Advanced Search and a team up with NASCAR... although we do like the creativity of all three, the favourite has to be GmailTap which is 'most suited to people with fat fingers' and enables you to 'text' two people at the same time! Great attention to detail once again!

 

• BMW are adapting the Olympics theme and are offering a new 'driverless running coach' which turns your car into a personal trainer and helps you to boost your fitness. Surround view cameras enable the car to follow the runner at a safe distance while exterior speakers play encouraging phrases. In addition, the car has an automatic lockout which prevents you from getting back in until the allocated distance has been complete! Ouch! You may just have spotted one of their April Fool's ads in your newspaper this weekend...

 

• American brand Warby Parker has redesigned its website to attract a whole new target market... Dogs! Yes, now the popular brand of fashionable eyewear has moved into the dog-eat-dog (well not really) world of glasses for pets! You'll now find a whole range of Warby "Barker" affordable, fashionable glasses for even the most discerning dog! Brilliant!

 

• Youtube! Now this one needs no further exultations that some of the others require! Just watch the video and laugh your socks off! "Sign up for the YouTube collection today and we'll despatch 175 YouTube trucks to your house with the entire collection"... which enables you to watch YouTube offline without losing interactivity!

 

• Lynx... What list would be complete without them at the moment? They're producing some really great stuff and April Fool's is no exception... Bringing you the latest in fragrance technology, Lynx has produced an app which enables you to spray yourself... "getting the girl will never be the same again"

 

• Innocent Drinks - Mangoes and Marmite anyone? Enough said!

• Print your own real-life kitten? It has to be a Kodak moment...

• Virgin Volcanic - the latest brainchild from Richard Branson, Virgin is now launching Virgin Volcanic which will take you on a journey to the centre of the earth... Hot stuff!

And just in case that wasn't enough, here are a few other great round-ups...

• Marketing Nabbed
• Ad Week
• mUmBrella - Australia's best

Our very own Angie is Mentor of the Year!

Congratulations to our Managing Director Angie who was given the title ‘Mentor of the Year’ at the prestigious Women in Business Awards hosted by The Citizen and Gloucestershire Echo last night.

The black tie awards ceremony held at Cheltenham Racecourse is an annual celebration of the inspirational women in business from Gloucestershire, whose drive and determination makes such a difference especially in these challenging economic times.

Since starting three years ago the awards ceremony has gone from strength to strength and our team from apt had a fantastic evening hearing about the remarkable achievements of women from both large businesses and smaller, fast growing companies.

We have been lucky enough to work with some of Gloucestershire’s most inspiring women and we were over the moon to find that Angie had made it through as a finalist in two categories (Mentor of the Year and Women in the Workplace).

The team at apt has all seen how much time Angie dedicates to helping young people in the region, whether through apt marketing & pr’s placement programme, the apt academy in a bid to help young people access training, or as a guest lecturer at the University of Gloucestershire.

We are also delighted for our client Denise Leighton, director of Merry Den Care who was a deserved winner of the ‘Contribution to the Community’ award for a career devoted to people with learning disabilities and for starting Merry Den Care in 2004, encouraging service users to be as independent as possible.

We are incredibly proud to be recognised at this year’s awards and to be associated with the women in business finalist who are all exceptional role models. We would like to thank the awards organisers, sponsors, judges, finalists and attendees at the event for such a fantastic evening.

Read a full report on the awards...