#consumertrends

This month’s theme is consumer trends – and there’s a lot of it about.

In the good old days if you wanted to know what consumers were up to and what they were likely to be doing in the future you simply referred to the experts or commissioned some research.

Both still have their place of course, as proven by the excellent article published here from the Trajectory Partnership, but now we also have to listen to what people are saying on social media.

What’s trending on Twitter, for example, may just reveal a delicious piece of consumer insight that someone somewhere will be able to make money out of (or use to avoid a consumer backlash). I’m not sure if #jamiroquai is a good example though (#1 trending topic at time of writing).

One thing that can be predicted about consumer behaviour is the increasing importance of word of mouth, driven to some extent by the inexorable growth in smartphone ownership. It’s not just me saying this – take a look at the results of our Consumer Trends survey.

I’ll make one more prediction about consumer behaviour before I go – I’m going to spend too much money at Christmas. Hope you have an enjoyable, festive time too.

Paul Flatters and Michael Willmott from the London based Trajectory Partnership take us through their research on the post recession consumer that was part of a Harvard Business Review presentation. This report focuses on the trends in consumer behaviour to give so shows a real insight into the psychology of people as they come out of a recession.

The full article is available to download and here are the main points to get you started:

Over 130 CIM marketers, guests and important industry peers celebrated the achievements of women in the Greater London Region at the first-ever Women in Marketing Awards.

Held at the celebrity favourite May Fair Hotel, London, the evening was a huge success. With keynote speeches from advertising specialist and sponsor Kevin Allen, Anna Bateson from Google, and Brook supporter Sam Roddick via a video message, there was a real buzz of success and inspiration.

Ade Onilude, Awards Creator, opened the ceremony with a sparkling, inspiring welcome speech then guests viewed a show-reel from Swarovski showing iconic women from stage and screen. Then Sir Paul Judge, President of the Institute presented each lucky winner with a specially commissioned crystal Swarovski trophy.

The crowning accolade of the night went to Catriona Kempston from Europcar UK Group based near Heathrow, who won the Best female marketer of the year award. The judges felt her clear set of objectives and strategic direction made her the deserving winner.

Doubly celebrating was Vicky Maskell from Tower Hamlets College, near Poplar. She took home the New Female Marketer of the Year Award and the Best female marketer – not-for-profit campaign.

The other winners were:

• Best Female Marketer – Commercial Campaign, Charlotte Speller from Sage Pay, near High Holborn
• The male marketer – campaign targeting women, Tom Savigar from The Future Laboratory, near Whitechapel
• Highly Commended, New Female Marketer of the Year, Kate Stinchcombe-Gillies from holidaylettings.co.uk

Photographer, John Cassidy, took a whole host of shots during the evening, so look out for these coming soon to the Women in Marketing Awards website.

Well done to all the winners and short listed candidates for their achievements!

The Pitch London 2011

An unmissable day. An amazing prize. Are you up for it?

Have you got what it takes to pull off the pitch of your career? If you're serious about your career in marketing then you seriously need to be part of The Pitch. Everything you’ve learnt about marketing will be put to the test.

Last year’s event was a resounding success, with the Alan Sugar Babes from the Marketer’s Forum, based in Covent Garden, scooping the winner’s prize. This year’s Pitch will be on 23 March 2011 at the BPP Business School, St Mary’s Axe, London.

Your team could win:

• The Chartered Institute of Marketing Shield for a year
• Membership of The Chartered Institute of Marketing for a year

Further details will be available on the Pitch website soon, but make sure this date is firmly in your diary. Anyone in the Greater London Region studying for The Chartered Institute of Marketing’s Professional Diploma levels 6 and 7 and the new syllabus Professional Post-Graduate Diploma can apply to enter the competition.

Download study podcasts

The Chartered Institute of Marketing’s GLR team is dedicated to looking after studying members, and in the last issue of the GLR News we told you about the new digital podcasts we’re setting up for new members.

These podcasts officially launched last week and we encourage all members, especially new studying ones, to download them. You’ll find them extremely beneficial. Download and discover more about the benefits of membership, gain advice for tackling assignments and exams, and get the most from your studies.

There are five podcasts available:

• CAM digital marketing qualifications: if you’re serious about your career in marketing, you’ll know the importance of keeping up to date with the latest marketing trends. In this podcast there’s information about the new CAM digital marketing qualifications. It gives you insights into how you’ll be assessed and the many exemptions that apply if you already have CIM qualifications.
• How to pass the CIM Professional Certificate: designed specifically for your level of study.  In this podcast, exam and assignment subjects are covered separately with hints and tips on how to prepare for the exam and cope on the day, plus how to tackle the assignments to ensure apathy doesn’t set in! We have the inside track from the Senior examiners, for all you need to know about how to pass.
• CIM Professional Diploma in Marketing: designed specifically for your level of study.  In this podcast, exam and assignment subjects are covered separately with hints and tips on how to prepare for the exam and cope on the day, plus how to tackle the assignments to ensure apathy doesn’t set in! We have the inside track from the Senior examiners, for all you need to know about how to pass.
• Study tips: a podcast giving general advice about studying, particularly useful if you’re new to CIM exams and assignments, and have not studied for a professional qualification before.
• Your CIM: how to get the most out of your membership. There may be services you may not use, may have forgotten or may never have known. Useful web links and contact details to ensure studying members get the most out of their membership. This is particularly interesting if you’re new to CIM. If you’re interested in getting involved in a market interest group or a branch there’s info for you too.

You can download the one you want, or download them all - they’re completely free! Each podcast comes with a factsheet with useful links on how to get more information so you’ll be fullyequipped to tackle your studies and to get the most from your membership.

The Chartered Institute of Marketing celebrates it centenary next year. John Ling, from Moor Hall takes us through its varied and innovative history.

2011 marks our centenary – one hundred years of representing and developing the marketing and sales profession. Like marketing itself, The Chartered Institute of Marketing has evolved beyond all recognition from its beginnings in a central London hotel in May 1911.

Originally known as the Sales Managers Association (SMA), we were established in 1911 by 12 sales managers who shared a common goal to improve sales techniques and bring greater professionalism to their chosen careers.

We can take enormous pride in the fact that over the last hundred years we have continued to pursue those aims – representing and developing the marketing and sales professions, raising professional standards, and striving to ensure marketing is recognised as the cornerstone of best business practice.

Throughout our history we have sought to increase the status of marketing. As far back as 1936 King Edward VIII penned a congratulatory message to mark the Association’s Silver Jubilee, whilst HRH The Duke of Edinburgh became our Patron in 1952; a position he still holds today.

In the political world, our national conference in 1950 was addressed by the President of the Board of Trade, Harold Wilson (later Prime Minister 1964-1970, 1974-1976), and in 1963, as part of ‘National Productivity Year’, a special luncheon was addressed by HRH The Duke of Edinburgh and Prime Minister Harold Macmillan, who stressed the importance of marketing as an essential element in improving British business performance. The winners of the Institute’s National Marketing Awards were invited to 10 Downing Street by Margaret Thatcher in 1983, and three years later the Government called on the Institute to manage the Department of Trade and Industry’s Government Support for Marketing Initiative.

The past century has also seen our influence spread internationally – we were instrumental in the founding of what later became the European Marketing Council, and in the 1990s the European Union adopted our Diploma as the preferred professional marketing qualification throughout member states.

One of the most significant developments in our history was Her Majesty the Queen awarding the Institute the Royal Charter in 1989, when becoming The Chartered Institute of Marketing. For the last 12 years we have been awarding Chartered Marketer status in recognition of individual professionalism and on-going learning and development in marketing, and there are now over 5,500 Chartered Marketers around the world.

The events and celebrations planned during our centenary year will provide marketers with an opportunity to show off the positive power of marketing and demonstrate the beneficial contribution that marketing provides to both an organisation's bottom line and long-term future.

When it comes to direct mail campaigns, you need an efficient, cost effective way to find new customers or to contact the ones you have. And Mailshots Online have the answer. Coming to you via the Royal Mail website, Mailshots Online is the quick and easy way to create postcard and letter campaigns from your PC.

And this month, courtesy of the London region’s Small Business Ambassador, Andrew Miller, Mailshots Online are offering one lucky reader a chance to trial this service, by winning a free mailing of 100 personalised Christmas Cards.

So what are you waiting for! Enter the prize draw for the chance to wrap up your customers’ Christmas cards in one festive swoop – good luck!

Lorna McKinnon of Diabetes UK wins Premier Prize

Congratulations to Lorna McKinnon, Marketing Executive for Diabetes UK based in Camden, who won last month’s prize draw and will be relaxing at a Premier Inn’s in the capital for a two night stay.

What London marketers think about consumer trends

What do our London members think about the importance of consumer trends? We asked for your opinions in the September issue of GLR News and your responses show just how important it is for marketers to keep up to speed on consumer trends, especially with the advances in digital marketing.

Here’s what you had to say:

Marketing Analytics events – last chance to book and save £100!

Social media event – London members save £150!

Resources for London members from Your Institute and Royal Mail

Industry intelligence at your fingertips

Members are able to make use of the wealth of resources contained within our library – either online, over the phone or in person. The library offers book loans, a bespoke research service, and access to over 3,000 journals and newspapers in full text online.

For further details visit www.cim.co.uk/515831 or www.cim.co.uk/marketingresources

Stay on the Cutting Edge

Members can sign up to a weekly digest of the latest business and news, broken down into specific industry sectors. Members can opt in to receive an email alert of the latest news – just visit www.cim.co.uk/cuttingedge to find out more and sign up.

As well as this tool, there’s the Mail Media Centre from Royal Mail

Based in Holborn, London, the Infobank Resource Centre from the Royal Mail is a unique tool for marketers’ direct mail needs. It is a free resource that allows you to discover what competitors are doing and understand your own customers better

The Mail Media Centre is the brilliant new resource that provides insight, inspiration and innovation to show you how mail works for your business and your customers. It’s a personalised information service that gives you access to:

• Latest facts, figures and consumer insight
• Major research studies about how and why mail works
  
• Expert advice and thought leadership
  
• Extensive library of case studies showcasing successful international campaigns
  
• Examples of some of the best integrated creative
  
• Downloadable video clips, data charts and quotes for your presentations
  
• Access to media, creative and data experts

Profit from social media plus downloadable videos

Often we can get the most information when we simply sit and listen. This was one of the main messages to come from the recent Small Business Community event in Holborn, about social commerce and the power of social media for small businesses.

Social commerce expert and trainer, Warren Knight was the in the hot seat as he shared tips on how companies can use social media to make a profit for their company. He gave information about free resources available to track the trends of who is ‘talking’ about your product online, including Social Mention and Spyfu. Check them out, listen to what people are saying about you and see how you might convert these in to making a profit for your business

We don’t need to tell you about the huge consumer trend in using social networking sites such as Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn, but with half a billion users on Facebook and 60 million on Linked In, the scale of people that you could be talking to about your business, and vice versa is immense. It’s definitely worth checking out.

The Prostate Cancer Charity, Hammersmith, says Grow a ‘Mo’ to raise money!

Ever wondered what you’d look like with a moustache? Well here’s your opportunity! The Prostate Cancer Charity, based in Hammersmith, is the UK partner of the Australian Movember mo-vement.

Movember (the month formally known as November) is a charity event held during November each year and is a global fundraising phenomenon.  In fact the Movember Foundation is now the second largest global fundraiser of Prostate Cancer causes.  It all started in Australia in 2003 after a conversation in a pub. Its growth has gone from 30 Mo Bros in its first year to over 255,000 people, across the globe supporting the campaign last year.

In terms of trends, the Prostate Cancer Charity has also seen a huge increase in support for Movember year on year.  In 2009 there was a 176% increase in support from 2008 with 45,000 participants raising over £5 million.  We want this trend to continue so this is where London members can help.  The rules are simple – you must be clean shaven on 1st November and no beards or goatees are allowed.  The marketing theme of this year’s campaign is the modern gentleman. 

“It’s said that a well maintained moustache is a symbol of the modern gentleman. A coat of arms on the face of the man who is always - infallibly and with honour - dedicated to the cause of chivalry, sound judgement and good grooming”.

The Mo-Bro is also a gentleman because he is supporting a good cause.  Prostate Cancer is the most common cancer in men in the UK and one man dies from it every hour. The Prostate Cancer Charity fights prostate cancer on every front – through research, support, information and campaigning.

Millbank-based Media Trust helps charities stay on-trend – and stay savvy

Demand from charity marketers to understand and embrace social media has rocketed over the last two years. Media Trust has found that not-for-profit organisations increasingly grasp the potential of all things digital, and reach out to society and influence it. But particularly among smaller charities, the desire to keep up with communications trends is often undermined by a lack of access to skilled support and advice.

Media Trust keeps on top of this digital trend by using it to support their audience of charity communications professionals. With just under 5,000 followers on Twitter since they started the feed a year ago, a listing in the top 100 twitter feeds for humanitarians and some glowing recommendations from charities and media professionals, they’ve done pretty well.

Much of this has come from a push to engage with others and share what they know. Media Trust started their Twitter feed by matching volunteer communications advisers to charities in search of help. It’s grown as they’ve tweeted tips live from speakers at their events using a dedicated hash tag (#mtevents) that has sparked more help, advice and discussion.

Media Trust works with charities, especially in the London area, to keep them in touch with how they’re responding to social media trends. Whether already running digital campaigns or just starting out, charities benefit hugely from advice from experienced professional .

Advisers from Precedent Communications near Shoreditch, use Twitter to promote Bradford Pride in May. They used Twitter to consolidate the impact of e-bulletin and website promotions and also update from the event itself, which doubled attendance.

The ways Media Trust offer support are as varied as the topics. From matching volunteer advisers for a quick phone call, online matching for projects, running seminars and workshops, online downloadable guides, Twitter feed tips, and their ‘like speed-dating but without the romance’ informal networking events.

Fundraising for ParalympicsGB for London 2012

ParalympicsGB is the charity responsible for sending the best prepared team to compete at the Paralympic Games. With a home Games in London 2012, the charity has a once in a lifetime opportunity to make a lasting impact on attitudes towards disability, and importantly to inspire more people with a disability to get into sport. When people watch Paralympic sport, they see past the disability and find themselves engrossed in elite, competitive and inspirational sport. It's this power of the Paralympics that enables people to change the way they think, feel and behave towards disability.

In order to inspire change, it's essential that the British team perform well. ParalympicsGB receive no funding for its core activities, and so has to raise funds to ensure the British team receive the preparations they need and deserve to perform at their best when it matters most. Training camps, medical provisions, transportation, kit, media training - just a few of the elements ParalympicsGB has to provide to prepare the British team for the Paralympic Games and remove the pressures of a home Games.

Paralympians are incredible athletes who push their boundaries and achieve immense feats. And much like their athletes, ParalympicsGB find that it’s the big challenges that create the best fundraising opportunities and really encourage sponsors to dig deep and donate in recognition of the challenge. Most significantly for ParalympicsGB, this has come in the form of the Deloitte Ride across Britain, a nine day, 1,000 mile John O’Groats to Lands End cycle ride for which ParalympicsGB are the charity partner. Other successful fundraisers have been challenges such as marathon running and long distance swim, but the Deloitte Ride across Britain raised more money for ParalympicsGB than anything else and provides participants with a memorable, breath taking and extremely challenging experience.