Would anyone come to your brand's funeral?

By AdNews | 24 January 2014
 

Henry Ford once said, "A business that makes nothing but money is a poor business." More than a century later, some brands are finally getting the message.

In today's issue of AdNews, in print and on iPad, we dig deep into brand trust, corporate social responsibility, and why purpose – not data – is the new black.

News in this issue:

Mojo hits back at the naysayers
Fitness First admits it got it wrong
TV faces 'ad dollar exodus' after 2014
Germans do big data better, faster
Canadian Club goes bear hunting

Alice Atherton, planning director of Grey Australia, which has run the Eye on Australia consumer sentiment report for the past 20 years, points to social media as a big part of the shift.

"Our social media feeds are inundated with petitions – even a brand's Facebook page is more like a public complaints hotline than the friendly, loyal community the brand was hoping to create," she says.

"All of this breeds further distrust in the corporate world and of course that affects a customer's intention to support that brand. Brands can't escape this so they have to ensure they're behaving in a way their customers will approve of."

It's also January, which means gazing into the crystal ball for the Media Outlook. We don't pretend to have all the answers, but we talk to the people who do. Find out where media buyers, owners and analysts thing the money's going in 2014, and what challenges lie ahead.

Plus, Facebook's global creative honcho, Mark D'Arcy, sides with art over science, GE marketer Emma Rugge-Price on the industrial-strength challenge of telling a brand story for the multinational, and Razorfish global chief Pete Stein explains why he's taking on the management consultants.

On another note, it's a new year and, you may notice, a new look for the magazine. Over the year we’ll be briefing creative and design agencies – and others – to deliver our covers and picking from the best pitches.

We want to give agencies a window to showcase their talent and the thought process behind the work. The outcome we want is to drive pick-up value in an industry where people like to talk about each other.

The early feedback from agencyland has been positive and we want to cast the participatory net wide. We’ll publish covers online and ask readers to vote and constructively critique the work.

At the end of the year there will be an AdNews Cover of the Year Award, with a readers’ winner and a publisher’s winner. First up is The Glue Society’s funereal take on the challenge facing brands. Next issue, well, you’ll see.

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