In fact, QR codes have a knack of stirring up rather fierce debate within marketing circles. Whilst some argue that the inclusion of a QR code in advertising creative is an extremely useful way to encourage customers to engage more deeply with a brand, others view the QR code as a passing fad, of little interest to the end user, and an ugly distracting addition to creative.

Enter the much talked about, but as yet little adopted, augmented reality (AR). This new age in technology does what it says on the tin, augmenting reality through the addition of graphics and sounds to real life. Everyone from drivers, to tourists, soldiers, and commuters looking for the closest bus stop, can benefit from AR – smartphone users can look at the world through their screen to gain extra information about the world around them, whether it’s bus times, restaurant reviews or directions.

Having the ability to place computer-generated graphics in a user’s field of vision is a hugely exciting opportunity for marketeers. If used cleverly, AR opens up a new realm of possible ways to interact with customers, encourage consumers to interact with a brand, and hopefully reach new audiences.

One such exciting opportunity comes in the form of brand new app, set for launch in a few weeks time – ‘Blippar’. Whereas QR code technology requires users to scan a static 2D QR code, which then loads a URL on your mobile, the Blippar app uses image recognition to make an entire logo, image, poster, or even product itself, scanable and interactive. Blippar developers assure us that the technology offers a much more reliable user experience (many complain that QR codes fail to scan, and that distance and light conditions have too great an effect on scan success), whilst offering a whole world of potential virtual content on the phone screen – including overlayed 3D images, video, e-coupons, GPS enabled direction to nearby outlets, web links and more. Blippar, with its application of AR technology, is certainly an exciting means for brands to extend campaigns from print to online, adapting marketing messages, depending on the buying environment or geographical location of the user.

The Blippar showreel boasts of its potential applications; ‘try on’ a watch you see in a paper advert, play a game triggered by a bus stop advert, read a newspaper and tap to leave a comment on its website, or access deals and book a holiday from a billboard whilst waiting for a train.

Understandably, many are already hailing Blippar as the answer to all the short comings of QR codes – the final nail in the coffin that makes them redundant. QR codes have met with much criticism, centering largely on the perceived barrier to use posed by the need for users to download a QR scanning app before they can read the codes. Not only this, but many argue that the desire to stop and scan a code, even with the scanning app installed and ready to use, is simply not there – and the reward, not enough. But the same barrier to use exists with augmented reality, and for this reason, not all are convinced that the technology will be the success it is touted to be.

Another potential hindrance to the success of AR, whilst also a redeeming feature of QR, is the lack of a call to action, inherent with the way AR works. The slick subtlety that makes AR so attractive, is also the thing that could trip the whole thing up. How is a user to know if something is scanable? Will the inclusion of a Blippar or AR symbol still be required within creative, and on packaging, in order to advertise the feature? In which case, an advantage over the QR code is perhaps lost. Big campaigns, launched by brands with the money to invest in TV and print advertising, could undoubtedly get around this problem, but for smaller brands, there is the strong possibility that a huge investment in the technology and product development could go to waste, with no one knowing their poster or product is AR capable.

Where AR clearly steals a march on the QR code though, is in the potential for creativity it offers a brand’s marketeers to engender real desire for use in consumers. Without doubt, the success of apps like Blippar will rest on the content that brands offer users – if consumers are required to download an app, whether it is free or not, and take the time to scan a product or advert, it simply has to be worth their while. If we’re not careful, AR will become yet another craze within the world of tech bods, that fails to make the leap into the mainstream consumer field.

Other concerns lie in the number of Blippar-like apps that may spring up. Whilst competition is always healthy, in this case, the risk of end user confusion is a worry. Too many apps offering AR, meaning that users need to use Blippar for one advert, and a different app for another, could be the fly in the ointment that prevents AR taking off. The simplicity of QR codes is perhaps something that shouldn’t be overlooked.

So will the use of augmented reality become second nature in the near future? Will scanning billboards and adverts on passing buses during our morning commute be part of our every day lives? Or are we being swept up by the excitement of the suddenly achievable sci-fi dream? Will the swish desirability of augmented reality consign QR codes to the past? We’ll have to wait and see, but it’s certainly an exciting prospect for brands with the money, and creativity, to invest in making it a reality. Watch this space.

Phillippa Holmes
Junior Account Exec, Golley Engage

On the Saturday morning I was asked to do an interview with BBC Wales Good Morning Wales about the 4am Project. My fellow interviewee was Karen Strunks, professional photographer, blogger and founder of the project – it was she who inspired me to get involved.

I saw her speak at the Talk About Local 2011 conference in Cardiff a few weeks ago. She told us how she started taking photographs at the ‘magical hour of 4am‘. The time between night and morning when you can pretty much have the streets to yourself.

I was drawn to the creative idea of looking as something so familiar in such and unfamiliar way. But also by the idea that you can do something individual and very local while taking part in a global event. In more than 40 countries, thanks to the power of Karen’s web and social networking efforts, people have been getting up at 4am to take pictures.

As Karen was giving her talk, I tweeted a few things and immediately had a response from New Zealand – they were looking forward to taking part on 24 April. Karen hadn’t even got to that bit in her talk yet and here was someone on the other side of the world excited to see more people getting involved.

I tweeted that it would be good to do the project in/about Roath, my local area in Cardiff. Journalist and blogger Ed Walker agreed and set up Facebook and flickr groups. Fairly quickly there were 50 Facebook members.

The radio presenter this morning thought it might all look a bit dodgy – groups of people roaming the streets taking photos!  In the end four intrepid souls braved the early morning start.

For me, the most interesting part of the project in many ways was seeing first hand how a great idea has spread itself through the various channels.

Karen uses her blog, twitter, flickr and the website to run the project – but also goes to speak to groups that might be interested. I was at the conference because I saw it on twitter and it was tweeting that got me involved – showed me it was global and also that there were people interested locally.

Ed set up the Facebook group, we both tweeted about it and he blogged about it over the Easter weekend (as did I). The Guardian Cardiff blog gave it a mention and has integrated it into its own photo sharing project for the month. And I then did the radio interview.

How did the BBC know about it? People in the newsroom there had picked it up through twitter and thought it sounded interesting.

It’s been interesting to see the combination of web, events, traditional media, social networks and blogs working together to make the project happen.

Check out the pics from Roath here; the whole 4am Project is here and here’s a post about the event on the Guardian Cardiff blog. I’ve blogged a few thoughts about it here too.

And it doesn’t get much more auspicious than that.

If Product Placement has been included within a programme – the programme must display a ‘P’ on screen.  The “P” to mark the fact that cash has changed hands to get a can of coke – no lager thank-you and certainly not Full Fat Coke! - included prominently in a drama or even a documentary must be there for a full three seconds at the beginning of such a programme and at the end.

Blink and you could miss it.

Like many battles that have gone on for years (5 years they have been fighting) it won’t be long before we wonder what all the fuss was about in the first place – I predict the argument will last until Wednesday.

The Coke can won’t be shoved in our face, otherwise we will switch over. The sums of money going to the television companies will be modest but the liberalisation of the rules will at least help to boost revenues in difficult times.

Lets get Kev’s garage in Coronation Street to become a Bosch Car Service Centre!

But “P Day” has got more than one innovation going for it.  Ofcom, with a nice sense of timing and determination to make an occasion out of it, has also decreed that from Monday, for at least a year, television channels will be able to show longer advertising breaks in films and dramas.

In the experiment, which will probably become permanent, ITV, Channel 4 and Channel 5 will be able to show up to 12 minutes of ads an hour instead of the current 7. (Digital Channels can show 12 minutes per hour in ALL programming already - but I bet you have already noticed that!) This could have dangerous consequences!!

Younger audiences whose attention spans are notoriously short might wander off. The more mature might forget what they were watching. Everyone might be encouraged to reach for their PVR’s to teach the channels a lesson by fast-forwarding the ads.

But again, after a years worth of inflation on TV, it could bring the cost of TV DOWN again. The Ofcom decision comes after the Lords Select Committee on Communications last week decided to move in the opposite direction, rather perversely recommending that advertising time should be cut.  They will be recommending ad time is reduced to 7 minutes an hour instead of the current 12 across ALL platforms.  This reduces supply – while demand is maintained – hence prices increase for advertisers.

This was apparently to “improve the viewer experience” and to harmonise the rules in time for the completion of analogue switch-off next year. Once again the law of unintended consequences strikes.

The viewer experience in this case could be “improved” by reducing the amount of money available for original production and by pushing some satellite channels to the wall.

It looks as if their Lordships have fallen for the oldest logical flaw in the laws of television – that all channels are somehow born equal. There is an unstated assumption in the minds of their Lordships and their talk of harmonisation on minutage that somehow ITV is the same as a small satellite channel such as The Underwater Basket Weaving Channel. They are not and never will be and the only similarity is that both involve moving pictures.

Lets hope the 12 minute rule wins – it will bring in more revenue (which the TV contractors will be obliged to sink at least 50% into new ‘original’ programming – thats the deal), keep the choice we have available and keep costs down for advertisers - but the worry is that we will all be up in arms that our viewing will have been seriously compromised by having an extra 5 minutes of ads in a clock hour.

I don’t know about you – but I have never noticed my viewing experience being ruined when I have been watching ‘Dave’

Ian James, Media Director, Birmingham

The pitches that come back from various agencies are like job interviews. Creating a brief will mean a company is able to ‘interview’ the shortlisted agencies , allowing them to consider a wide range of results; hopefully finding a potential campaign that can uphold their brand values to retain loyal consumers, and present them effectively to attract new customers. 

In order to make sure a campaign will convey the message that a brand is trying to represent, it is important for the agency to have a clear picture of the brand and its message, so there is no confusion about their role or what you want them to do for you. This is why writing a brief is so important. 

A brief should be clear, concise and well written. It does not necessarily have to be long, but should contain relevant background information about the brand; for example, what the brand currently represents, its competitors and the state of the market in which your product exists.

It is important to include information about your target market too, so an agency can tailor a campaign to the correct social group and the types of media outlets they use. It would be ineffective to send a press release about dentures to a teen magazine as it would not achieve the desired results; it is unlikely that this particular product suits this market!  

Your brief should discuss what you wish to achieve from a campaign. Do you want the image of the brand to change? Are you trying to make sure your brand’s image and values stay constant to retain loyal customers? Or are you looking to draw more attention to your product in the hope of an increase in sales? Once these objectives are clearly defined, it will be easier for an agency to create a solution that is effective in helping you achieve your objectives.

Details should also be given on how long you want a potential campaign to last and whether it should run alongside or avoid any similar campaigns. It is important to provide a budget to ensure that the agency can allocate the appropriate resources and develop a campaign that is affordable while delivering the desired results.  Companies may not provide agencies with a budget because they want to see what the agency “comes up with”.  While this freedom on budget may seem like a good idea, it leaves a great deal of room for disappointment. The agencies will have to draw their conclusions on what you might have to spend and base their creative development on parameters that may be totally wrong.  The company could receive highly creative and broad programmes which are above their budget, or conversely could receive proposals that are based on too small a budget and therefore the campaign is not as far-reaching as it might be.

A well written brief will benefit everyone, so it’s important to put time and effort into writing one. This will avoid mixed-message which can cause confusion and result in lots of questions coming back to you from the agency.  A clear brief will yield significantly better pitches and ultimately lead to a successful campaign.

Lindsay Coates-Ledden – Golley Slater PR Cambridge

Great promotions use all of these methods to reinforce the message your customer carries into store. So it’s vital that your above-the-line activity has the right backing in-store to succeed! Strategic use of barkers, floor stickers, FSDUs, in-store radio, retail events etc. will guarantee your launch or promotion generates maximum sales.

Issues with timing between your campaign going live and your product’s availability can see customers trying to buy a product they can’t find. Or worse still, your product hits stores but nobody knows due to a lag in your above-the-line campaign.

Timing is everything, and at Golley Slater we have the expertise to deliver outstanding results every time by coordinating in-store and above-the-line activity.

Our specialist retail team works together with brand owners, helping them connect with shoppers.  To see one of our campaigns for Lenor click here.

Emma Sutcliffe
Golley Slater Retail
Leeds

TGI recently showed that 99% of ALL video was watched on traditional television. That’s ALL video – including YouTube, virals, Hulu et al.

What’s more, viewing figures in general have risen 3.79% year-on-year since 2005 – especially amongst heavy internet users, ironically.

For creatives this is great news. It means that the greatest, most vivid, most impactful, most evocative medium is still open to us.

Personally, I don’t believe the 30-second TV spot is yesterday’s format. I believe that when it’s used to communicate clear product truths in a clear, compelling and creative way, it works better than any other. And it offers us the chance to bring ideas to life in a way no other can.

Just look at Apple’s beautifully simple work. Look at the Meerkat. Look at Cillit Bang (just joking).

On a smaller scale, our own work for Twycross Zoo has had a huge impact. Visitor numbers rose by 132%, Google search for the zoo went up by 131%. And it won a raft of creative awards too.

Next time you hear the death knell for TV, just look at the facts, then look at ads like Guiness’s Surfer – and don’t for one minute think it represents the end of an era.

Then came the age of the slogan. The likes of Drinka Pinta Milka Day, Happiness is a cigar called Hamlet, Heineken refreshes the parts, Beanz Meanz Heinz, Go to work on a egg, This is the age of the train, The Wonders of Woolies etc.

Then came a kind of reformation or culture revolution. A new breed of ad agencies found everything about these campaigns irredeemably naff. They started to create campaigns for which PhD in post-modern deconstructionism was required to discover exactly what was being advertised.

The American journalist and wit, H L Mencken, famously observed that nobody ever went broke by underestimating the intelligence of the public. Today Messrs Murdoch, Desmond and others are proving him right. The Sun and News of the World are extremely popular whilst the Times and Sunday Times are not. The Daily Star is the only UK daily to be growing significantly. Jilly Cooper outsells Salman Rushdie in spades. Millions more people watch Big Brother than Simon Schama on TV. More people like a story with a beginning, middle and an end, than the puzzling mind games so beloved of the critics.

The new wave of ad agencies in contrast, intellectualizes the business, turning Mencken’s dictum on its head. Their watchwords might as well be legal, decent, honest and obscure. The beautifully crafted works of art which sometimes masquerade as advertising risk going so far over the heads of their audiences that they could come to the attention of the President’s Star Wars shield.

As I looked around both conference halls, I saw hundred of faces. Faces of people representing PR agencies, digital agencies, media agencies, public sector organisations, independent companies … the list goes on and on. And the same look was on all of our faces. We were all waiting for the answer.

People are still looking for answers when it comes to digital. People are looking for the definitive answer for how digital will work for them. And it doesn’t exist. Technology and innovation is moving so fast that just when you think you are getting close, something new arrives on the scene and throws a proverbial spanner in the works. But whilst there are no right answers, the people who are having success are those who have taken a risk and have got involved with digital media so when new innovations happen, they are better placed to incorporate them in their comms strategy. Take my favourite speaker at Hello Digital, Heather Gorringe . She is the creator of Wiggly Wigglers and her story was one laced with success in connecting to her audience via social media and developing customer service by added value services such as podcasts. Her approach was so fresh, so enthusiastic and so refreshing in the current climate and she truly embodied the analogy of Cinderella and Dick Whittington that Jon Grisby, Channel 4 Director of Future Media and Technology, offered earlier in the day. It went something like this; those who wait for their digital fairy godmothers to turn up to change their life will be waiting a long time. Those, however, who practice, try, fail, try again and again and finally succeed, the Dick Whittingtons of the world, like Heather Gorringe, will succeed … and they are!

So with that in mind, I look around these crowded conference halls, with frantic typing and scribbling and I wonder how many people are at the event just in case the fairy godmother turns up as a key note speaker. We all need to take a leap into the unknown. No think tank, no conference, no seminar is going to give the definitive answers we are all waiting for … it has been almost 15 years since digital media took off and if we haven’t got the answers now, we aren’t going to.

So less talking people, and more action please!

* Why have they stopped buying?
* What are they buying instead?
* Why aren’t they even bothering to go down our aisle?

Focus groups be dammed, when was the last time you simply watched your customers shop!!!

It’s quite a revealing exercise.

When you understand how customers behave when they are within touching distance of your product, you can tell them what they need to know so they will reach out and put it in their trolley. Working from that moment will help any brand owner focus on the right messaging and the most cost effective retail marketing mix.

The role of Golley Slater is to help you understand your customers, produce meaningful deals, communicate compelling offers and develop engaging promotions. That’s it!

In truth there are lots of messaging opportunities with each retailer, shelf POS, 6 sheets, ads, floor media, security shrouds, .com, retailer magazines, store and manager communication plus sampling. We can help you select the most effective media for the budget and the comms requirement.

In terms of pushing the boundaries, retailer guidelines and budgets can restrict the options available, but we find by working in collaboration (client-retailer-agency) you can get things through.

Within our work for P&G we look at technically what can be achieved, this has included scented barker, push pods, health & beauty mini mags and baby DM pieces. We have also seen both moving and illuminated POS but this is normally reserved for corporate activities (such as Halloween and Christmas).

Examples of cross-siting, we have just produced an on-pack promotion for Ariel which includes a discount for George school uniforms. This has helped secure secondary display and POS in the George section of all Asda stores. (Just think of the retailer goodwill in helping sell their products).

Brands in conjunctions with their agencies book slots and present creative in-store ideas. Some of these are accepted, the majority however are rejected.

Through a weekly POS clinic hosted by Asda, we have been able to get a permanent Pampers nappy sizing barker sited in all stores. This does not conform to POS design guidelines but as it builds value in the category it was accepted.

Our approach is to constantly look for creative opportunities in conjunction with you and then presenting onto retailers together.

We thought this was an interesting marketing concept, aside from the fact they have delicious products!