Brands: Latest Shifts (Retail)

Some Brands are winning over consumers, but are they providing real value?

 Everyone agrees that Brand equity is something precious to hold on to and can sometimes help you ride out the rough times, but in times of crisis it is also true that our fickle consumers will become treacherous and turn their backs on their favourite product, in search of a cheaper or fresher looking.alternative.

In a recent Bigger Picture Market survey, some of the shifts in New Zealand's Brand Leaders and Losers have come as somewhat of a surprise in a country that relentlessly adores home brands and shuns outsiders, and does so in a consistent manner - year in, and year out.

Take, for example, The Warehouse - "Where everyone gets a bargain". Back in 2005, when I last visited these shores, The Warehouse was best known for selling "cheap and cheerful" goods (to be polite). Walk into any of their glistening red warehouses today and you'll be met with...yes, you guessed it: "cheap and cheerful" goods again. Surely a successful model that has stood the test of time? 

Well...yes and no. This latest survey actually ranks the country's largest listed retailer well behind many of its competitors when it comes to delivering value. Market Research firm Big Picture surveyed 300 New Zealand consumers last week, asking them to rate 44 well-known brands in terms of their value.

EDITOR'S CHOICE AWARD: "Corona" - summer, advertised properly

As the Southern Hemisphere wonders where its summer went, and Northern climes start the long hard trek to elevated temperatures, we return to cover one of the best artistic pleasures of the summer advertising season, and yes....it is a beer commercial !

One of the Billboard Images used perfect positioning of the corona to shine above the rest

The real beauty of this campaign can only really be appreciated if you are lucky to see one of these billboards out in the open. What amazed me was how well the "corona" of the sun actually blends in with the real world. For example, on sunny days or at sunset, it really looked like a TV screen, and on grey days, the corona almost "shone" out of the billboard as if it was lit.

Online Time - What do you do in NZ ?

TNS’s (http://www.tnsglobal.com/) recently-released Digital Life study provides some useful insights into how Kiwis spend their time online:

• 39% of our time is spent on Entertainment (including multimedia, online gaming & shopping)
• 34% Communications (social networking and email)
• 22% Information (pre-purchase research, knowledge & education, news, sport and weather)
• 7% Management (personal admin, planning & organising)

Spotlight on: "Carbon Zero"

Around the world, Governments, Companies and Individuals are embracing the eco-friendly vibe and at least trying to give the impression that they are making headway against the impending doom that is forecast for us all. From a Marketing perspective we have witnessed waves of "greenwashing", some downright lies, and a whole range of half-hearted attempts to jump on the Sustainable bandwagon. So isn't it nice that some guys do come out smelling like roses and tasting as sweet as honey....? Read on to discover how one Kiwi brand is doing their bit for our future well-being ....

J.Friend's "Carbon Conscious" and extremely delicious honey

Fiji Me Tourism Campaign

Timing can be everything, and during an unusually cold winter in New Zealand, Auckland was subjected to the taunting invitation of the Fiji Tourism Board's outdoor campaign. Ingeniously simple, the billboards featured a rather kitsch "generic" tropical island picture with a digital "Fiji Temperature" insert which changed daily.