The Weekly Wrap: Carl Whitney, Managing Director Sequoia
Not surprisingly this week, it’s a challenge to find some positive news among the UK’s continuing story of financial doom and gloom.
An estimated 4,000 Paralympians will compete in the games and I have to agree with TV pundit Clare Balding that “this is one of the few events that genuinely changes the way that people think”. Let’s hope team GB enjoy the same level of success as their team mates did last month.
Inevitably the first week of the month delivers a host of monthly comparison and year on year review figures issued by everyone from the British Retail Consortium, The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders and the inevitable house price decline from the Halifax. Unfortunately these give us few reasons to be cheerful.
Not surprisingly given the current financial climate new car sales for August are down 18% compared with the same month last year. The green message coupled with the financial impact of driving a larger vehicle is keeping smaller car sales alive, but the impact is being felt among the larger traditional US ranges and 4x4’s.
At the same time we learn that the annual figure for food price inflation is now at 10%, and over 50% of properties remain unsold after 90 days, while house prices have dropped 11%. After months of speculation the government finally raised the threshold for stamp duty payment to £175,000 and delivered a cash injection to the Home Buyer Scheme - in an aim to somewhat belatedly try to improve the market.
The Unions accused the Government of betraying poor families in the energy windfall debate and Brown faced even more public criticism from former Chancellor Kenneth Clarke.
In the same week a giant spider went walkabout through the streets of Liverpool and a stunt to stimulate a Venezuelan-style fuel stampede to promote a new video game caused traffic chaos in North London.
So where does all this leave our industry? – We’ve got to work harder than ever to stretch client budgets and ensure effectiveness across all campaigns. At the same time playing it safe just doesn’t cut it and it’s our role to encourage clients to break new boundaries and innovate in a bid to gain and maintain market share. Price consciousness continues to drive consumer decisions and we need to be aware of this.
Despite the statistics above it’s been a fantastic week at Sequoia with confirmation of a competitive pitch win with a national retailer, and a very positive response to our creative from the dynamic new ownership team who have recently acquired one of our longest standing clients. In an industry where the team is only as good as their last job, we are making sure every step of the process from concept to delivery counts more than ever before.