Marketing

Brand champion – the Q&A series: Simon DemeryPictured: Simon Demery, general sales manager for Swizzels in Ireland Simon Demery is the general sales manager for Swizzels in Ireland where he is responsible for all aspects of the business with particular focus on the sales and marketing function in Ireland. He works closely with agents and customers to plan at least six to eight months in advance for key sales periods such as Halloween, Christmas, Valentine’s Day and key summer activity. Swizzels Matlow was established in 1928 and started as a market stall in Hackney, London. Today, the factory in New Mills now produces more than 14 tons of chew sweets,…

Irish Wi-Fi provider Bitbuzz has integrated its offering with the Costa customer loyalty programme, the Coffee Club, in what the partners are saying is the first scheme of its kind in Ireland. Costa launched its first store in Ireland in 2004 at Belfast City Airport and now has 60 stores employing over 600 people in Ireland and Northern Ireland. Bitbuzz has been providing complimentary Wi-Fi to all Costa stores in Ireland since 2010. Registered Costa Coffee Club members can now avail themselves of complimentary Bitbuzz Wi-Fi, without the need for vouchers. Bitbuzz has been working with its location partners, such as Costa, to introduce brand loyalty through Wi-Fi for some…

Games on: London 2012 sponsorship As the clock ticks towards London 2012, brands are upping the ante to become as globally visible as possible to consumers, writes Grainne Rothery. As the opening ceremony for London 2012 edges closer, the €4.5bn battle for the hearts and minds of consumers is set to be cranked up a few notches as the official sponsors of the Games – and no doubt a few gatecrashers to the party – jostle for position. A recent analysis by consultancy company Onside Sponsorship reveals that Irish consumers could potentially receive Olympic-branded communications from more than 65 brands during the Games run-up. This comprises official Team Ireland sponsors,…

Alcohol brands ask to be blurred out of movieImage courtesy of Facebook According to reports, drinks brands Budweiser and Stolichnaya have asked to be blurred out of an upcoming movie starring Denzel Washington. Both companies cited their concerns due to the negative connotations alcohol has in the film. Entitled ‘Flight,’ the movie focuses on a pilot with an alcohol problem (Washington), who becomes a hero when he saves the lives of the passengers on his commercial flight following a plane crash. However, the brands have revealed their unhappiness with their association to the film, especially scenes where Washington is shown drinking and driving. Statement From Budweiser Speaking to Reuters, vice-president of Budweiser , Robert…

When using E-mail for customer service purposes, be sure to follow this helpful advice: Answer quickly—customers using E-mail expect a prompt response, usually within the same business day. Use the “Reply” key in your E-mail program so that the customer’s note is part of your response. Avoid slang, jargon and anything else that could be considered insulting, such as writing in all capital letters. Don’t send attachments—not everyone can open them, and some users are afraid to open them because of the threat of viruses. Instead, paste the contents of the attachment directly into the body of the E-mail. Treat E-mail as you would paper documents—assume it will be kept…

Twitter’s “Trending Topics” For Sale? What is a hashtag? Well, the obvious answer is that if something is quite popular, it is going to get retweeted a lot. But it is possible to pay someone to make something trend artificially? Of course. Where there is money to be made, rules will be broken. Twitter makes money by allowing businesses to push “Promoted Tweets.” However, those adverts are clearly marked. But there are companies that try and get around Twitter’s rules. They offer to make something trend for a price. How do they do that? They use bots. Bots are automated accounts, and you can make them say anything you like. If you’ve got enough of…

Social Media Engagement Global digital marketing spend is expected to increase in 2018. As we enter the new year consumer engagement levels and analytical skills remain limited. This includes across channels, according to Alterian’s annual marketer survey. The survey polled nearly 1,500 marketers, agencies, marketing service providers, and systems integrators worldwide. This year’s topic, ‘How Engaged is Your Brand?’, examined marketing expenditure, social media measurement , and the level of personalization across digital channels. About half of survey respondents estimate that overall marketing expenditure will increase slightly (5-25pc) over the next year. It is also seen that an additional 9pc said it would improve significantly (25pc or more). This, according to Alterian, suggests…

Ryanair has officially joined Facebook and launched a competition via the social media site to mark its 30th birthday. The ‘30 Names 30 Planes’ competition offers 30 fans the chance to have their name and face pictured on one of 30 Ryanair aircraft. Fans can upload their photo and download a CGI video of their Ryanair plane bearing their name and face on the new Facebook page, and the 30 winners will be announced in September. Otherwise, on the page, Ryanair will offer its 100m customers the latest route news and developments, other competitions and offers and real-time customer service. The Facebook page is part of Ryanair’s strategy to expand…

Etihad Airways has been announced as sponsor of GAAGO’s international live streaming of the GAA Championship 2015. GAAGO is the GAA and RTÉ’s online streaming service for Gaelic games outside of Ireland. It is live streaming over 45 GAA football and hurling senior championship matches in the summer, plus the concluding stages of the Electric Ireland GAA minor championships and the Bord Gais Energy GAA Hurling U21 Championship Final. In addition to sponsoring these matches on GAAGO, as part of the sponsorship agreement, GAAGO customers will receive a discount on various programmes when purchasing tickets using the promo code Etihad before the end of June. The airline has partnered with…