Chewits, Thatcher's, The Sunday Times; It's The Drum's Quotes of the Week
Here's a quick look at some of the stories to have passed through The Drum website this week and what interesting things were said by those in the know too.
"The newspaper will continue to publish Scottish content and produce Scottish supplements, so it is hoped that by and large the average reader will not notice too much difference. And even if we lose some sales it will not be enough to counter the cost saving benefits," an insider told The Drum following the announcement that The Sunday Times planned to scrap its Scottish operation.
"Email offers a highly cost-effective, trackable and accountable way of communicating with prospects and customers, but this latest study shows that too many companies are still getting it wrong," says a study into email marketing campaigns by Tink Taylor, managing director at dotMailer, released this week.
"Today’s multitude of digital technologies enables people to be connected around the clock in almost any location across the globe. This has created a rise in push communication and an attitude that once a message is sent (or left) it has been received and the necessary action taken by the recipient. This can contribute to an individual approach to working, both within an organisation and externally in the marketplace that erodes shared thinking and interaction, creating silos that retain best and bad practice."
Andy Poole from Weber Shandwick North talks about the growth in collaboration with online media and says that distance is no longer a problem for many companies.
Also lauding digital technology while discussing this weeks' rajar figures was Sean Duffy, head of technology, media and telecoms at Barclays Corporate;
"New technologies are clearly making popular shows increasingly more accessible as greater numbers continue to move from traditional FM/AM to DAB, mobile and on-line. However, while growing swiftly, digital penetration still stands at around 20 percent, so it will be interesting to see whether the new Government will still support a digital switch over that is now only five years away.”
All digital media seems to be being overtaking tradition media, as represented by the following comment;
“It does take a lot of bravery, especially when talking to the owners of the brand. They want to see the brand develop, they’re used to seeing it develop in a very controlled manner, and having control. With digital the more control you have the less interesting it becomes. You’ve got to cede a lot of control to people that are interacting with your brand," says Tim Boote, marketing manager of confectionary brand Chewits, while explaining his strategy to move away from TV campaigns, a medium that the brand is well remembered for.
“Smart clients know their budgets can go a lot further by commissioning experienced individuals for a project. I can offer a stripped down, modular service. If clients need planning or back-end database development it’s all there and they simply pay for what’s needed," Kerr Vernon said while discussing the move by the former senior designer at Curious Group and Big Picture, to launch his own consultancy.
Although cider brand Thatchers seems to be sticking with tradition in the meantime with a new TV ad, while the comment from Martin Thatcher, managing director of Thatchers, and great grandson of its first cider maker, certainly gave The Drum a feeling to head down the pub and at least pretend it was nice outside, while standing very near a warm radiator.
"Using fine apples from our own orchards, the expertise we put into our ciders has taken over a century to acquire. So through this campaign we are looking to focus on the values that make Thatchers unique – family, heritage care and expertise."