Cutting Edge: Our weekly analysis
of marketing news
2 October 2019
Welcome to our weekly analysis of the most useful marketing news for CIM members.
Quick links to sections

Marketing trends and issues
Advertising
Comparative advertising
Comparative advertising is a tried-and-tested tactic,
but it seems to be on the rise as more brands attack
each other as they seek to differentiate themselves.
Tim Calkins, a marketing professor at the Kellogg
School of Management, suggests that comparative
advertising may be part of the “cultural shift towards
more aggressive behaviour” as reflected on thecurrent political stage. While consumers say they
don’t like comparative or negative advertising, they
do work, according to Kit Yarrow, a consumer
psychologist. He says that the number of people
turned off by a comparative ad is about the same as
those who are positively influenced by it. Here is alist of the dos and don’ts of comparative advertising.

concluded that the ad industry had reached a “crisis
in creative effectiveness”. Having looked at theaward-winning campaigns in the IPA’s databank, hefound that they were no more effective than thosethat hadn’t won awards. Separately Kantar has
identified poor branding in award-winning ads as a
key factor for the decline in their effectiveness –only around 25% of Cannes award-winners this year
could be easily identified by brand. Kantar alsosuggests that ads have become less enjoyable dueto the decline in humour. Few ads produce brandaffinity or a positive emotional response, sometimes
relying overly on “shock factors”.
marketingdive.com, 26 September 2019 (Levine)

Brands and branding

In-app advertising a serious proposition
The global market for in-app advertising is expected
to reach $220 billion by 2020, according to a newreport from KBV Research. It says the market willgrow by 18.8% over the next year while North
America, which has so far dominated the market,
will grow at a rate of 16.8%. However, Europe willgrow more strongly over subsequent years, withgrowth of 17.6% between 2021 and 2025. The
fastest-growing ads will be rich media andinterstitial.

Burger King – from generic to creative
Burger King CMO, Fernando Machado, has been
speaking about how he uses creativity in his
campaigns to give the company an edge overbrands, such as McDonald’s and Subway, whichhave larger budgets. He described Burger King as“an amazing brand” that had been producing“shi**y” ads featuring celebrities which was “fakeadvertising that has nothing to do with the brand”.
He believes that this type of “very generic”
marketing is bad for a brand like Burger King
because customers probably remember the products
being advertised. People need to be able to look at a
product and think that: “only Burger King could havedone that”, which is why creativity is so important.
This has resulted in the introduction of four key
initiatives to boost creativity at Burger King.

prolificlondon.co.uk, 30 September 2019 (Hall)

thedrum.com, 25 September 2019 (Lepitak)Advertising Age, Vol 90(17) 9 September 2019, p11(Schultz)

AgenciesAward-winning ads less effective
In June a report from Peter Field, a consultant,

Don’t forget, reading this publication cancount towards your annual CPD record.
www.cim.co.uk/membership/cpd/

Don’t try to be everyone’s friend
The author argues against brands trying to cosy up
to customers as if they were a friend. The internet

1

Cutting Edge: Our weekly analysis of marketing news

has been a boon for written language and there isplenty of artistic licence in advertising, but it issometimes difficult to get the right balance when it
comes to informality and experimentation. Last year
Econsultancy deputy editor Rebecca Sentance wrote
that: “When a brand starts trying to talk and act likea person, it inevitably comes off as creepy – andthat disconnect intensifies when they start to use
slang or sound like a young person”. The advice isto promote your product or service but don’t try to
add personality.

the top impediments cited by marketers are: issues
with data, siloed personalisation, limited resources
and not maximizing potential. Only a third of
marketers believe that they are delivering
personalisation to customers effectively. However,some are using more sophisticated methods such asmachine learning and algorithmic personalisation
which have reached 40%, up from 26% last year. Of
themarketers
whoaremakingstrongpersonalisation efforts, 90% have experienced ameasurable lift.

marketingweek.com, 26 September 2019 (Davis)

Marketing News, Vol 53(9) October 2019, pp4-5 (Zeng)

Children

Direct marketing

ASA sees red over gambling ads
In September the ASA upheld complaints against
32Red Ltd, an online casino. It ruled that its two
sponsored search engine ads breached the UK Codeof Non-Broadcast Advertising because they werelikely to appeal to children and the ads had been
directed to children under the age of 18. The ads
appeared alongside search results after the
expression “Jack and the Beanstalk” was used.
32Red argued that the search terms were part of amarketing strategy using search terms that
corresponded with the names of its games.

Conversational commerce
Text messaging is central to communication, but
most Western businesses still rely on email topromote their products and use the phone in theircustomer service departments. Yet they are missing
a trick when it comes to engaging with customers
and selling goods using personalised messaging.
WeChat, the Chinese messaging app, uses chat tools
enabling customers to browse and pay for goods
and services. This so-called “conversationalcommerce” is about to enter the Western world.
Apple Business Chat enables users to engage with abrand and transact with retailers, allowing them tointeract with a business without having to wait in aphone queue. Gartner says it could take some time
for the concept to take off but that, “all the pieces
are in place”.

lexology.com, 26 September 2019 (Zeffman and Gandhi)

Conferences and events
Industry should take the lead with CSR
The events industry is well-positioned to take thelead in corporate social responsibility (CSR),
according to the events and charity industry experts
who took part in a roundtable discussion last month.
It was agreed that the events industry has recently
made great strides in sustainability, energy, waste
and environmental issues but needs to tackle wider
socio-economic issues. Jennifer Jenkins, trustee of
events industry charity Meeting Needs, argued that:“It’s about building corporate social reputation – notjust having a policy”. Kay England, chair of the
Meetings Industry Association stressed the need for
integrity and authenticity. The report from thediscussion, together with suggestions on how theevents industry can become a leader in CSR.
https://qeiicentre.london/wpcontent/uploads/2019/09/CSR-in-the-Events-IndustryRoundtable-Findings.pdf; mia-uk.org, 25 September 2019

Customer relations
Not enough personalisation
Personalisation can lead to better customer
experience but many marketers are not satisfied
with their achievements in this area. This is despite
98% of marketers agreeing that personalisation canhelp enhance customer relationships. According toresearch from Evergage and ResearchscapeInternational, 70% of marketers say that
personalisation has a “strong” or “extremely strong”
impact on cultivating customer relationships. Among© Copyright 2019 CIM

Financial Times, 25 September 2019, p16

DMA tackles neurodiversity
The “neurodiverse” community is underrepresented
in the data and marketing industry. With the aim ofchanging this, DMA Talent has announced new
guidance to support autistic employees in creative,
data and marketing roles. The DMA Talent: Autism
Employer Guide aims to help businesses understandautism, to make reasonable adjustments and to
broaden their talent pool. Data from the National
Autistic Society indicate that there are about
700,000 people on the autistic spectrum in the UK
but that only 16% of autistic adults are in full-time,
paid employment.
https://dma.org.uk/dma-talent-autism-employerguidance; marketingweek.com, 26 September 2019

Law
ASA bans beauty ads for misuse of celebrities
The ASA has ruled that companies should not use
celebrities in their ads if the celebrities have notthemselves used the products. The watchdog hasbanned two Instagram ads from beauty companies
who claimed that their procedures can make people
look like Kylie Jenner. AKI Aesthetics and Queen of
Aesthetics, which both market “filler” cosmetic
procedures, told the ASA that they use images ofKylie Jenner because she appeals to their target
2

Cutting Edge: Our weekly analysis of marketing news

audience. They also claimed that Jenner and herfamilyhadthemselves
undergone
facialenhancements using filler.
The Guardian, 25 September 2019, p24

Right to be forgotten – but not outside the EU
The CJEU has ruled that, in order to comply with a“right to be forgotten” request under data protection
law, Google does not have to remove search results
outside the EU. This is the first time that a ruling has
been made with reference to the territorial scope ofindividuals’ rights under GDPR. It shows that privacy
rights must be balanced against other rights such as
free speech and access to information. This rulingwill be of interest to multinationals with operations
in different jurisdictions although it doesn’t givethem an automatic right to ignore GDPR outside theEU.
lexology.com, 25 September 2019 (Erskine-Fox)

MarketingThe 3Cs
The business environment is becoming increasingly
difficult to navigate, which makes the 3Cs (Context,
Content and Connection) a good model to adhere
to. Context is about having an in-depth
understanding of the environment in which thebusiness is operating and takes into account thecontext for planning and carrying out the marketing
mix; content is how to express the marketing mix interms of what type of product to develop, what
problem the product is expected to solve and how it
is priced, positioned and distributed. Finally, amarketing mix that is well aligned to the first two Cs
should lead to the third C: greater consumer
connection.
Marketing Africa, Issue 31 2019, pp26-27 (Wandera)

Influencer marketing will survive
Influencer marketer will be hit by Instagram’s
removal of “likes”, which are perceived to be themain indicators of success (See also Cutting Edge 25
September). However, the author argues that
influencer marketing is no longer all about paidsponsorships on social media. Instead brands are
moving to unpaid “micro-influencers”: people withfewer than 1,000 followers. Evidence suggests that
it is more effective to use micro-influencers. For
example, the average Instagram engagement for apaid influencer is 3% to 4% compared with 14% formicro-influencers. Several large brands are alreadyshifting their budgets to the latter. While influencer
marketing will continue to exist, it will be “in newand creative forms”.
businessgrow.com, 23 September 2019 (Shaefer)

Facing the consumer “techlash”
Marketers face a “techlash” (a backlash against
technology), with 80% of Americans and 62% of© Copyright 2019 CIM

Chinese fearing a loss of privacy. This is according
to a study by the American Marketing Association
New York which highlights the “digital disconnect” inwhich marketers are not taking consumer concerns
over technology seriously enough. For example,
while US consumers said they expect their use ofsocial media to fall in the next three years, 68% of
advertisers said they are likely to spend more moneyon it. Americans reacted unfavourably towards
personalised ads based on big data (55%); IoT
connected devices (50%); and micro-influencers(43%). However, they were more favourable
towards VR, AI and technologies they could use
voluntarily. Overall they tend to be more wary ofmarketing technology than Chinese consumers.
marketingdive.com, 25 September 2019 (Williams)

Market research
Tackling claimed behaviour
The “use and attitude” survey, a mainstay of themarket research industry, is in decline as brands
make increasing use of their own “first party” data.
Yet the idea of getting consumers to record what
they’ve done – so-called “claimed” behaviour – isstill at the core of research projects. The key focus
for data quality is to eliminate the respondents who
deliberately distort the data. However, this doesn’ttake into account the fact that what people
remember may significantly differ from what actuallytakes place. The authors devised a study on
consumer smartphone usage to test what actually
happened vs what consumers thought happened. It
revealed some key challenges for claimed
behavioural data. They discuss the use ofobservational tools to help overcome these
discrepancies.
research-live.com, 26 September 2019 (Bonny and Gunn)

Can the pollsters turn things around?
Opinion polls vary widely and are often wrong sowhat is the point of them? In 2017 research by
Ipsos MORI found that 43% of people didn’t trust
pollsters, an all-time high. They may not be trusted
but they are still used by journalists, politicians andcampaigners alike. Yet, after being wrong about twoelections and the referendum, the pollsters can’t
afford to be wrong again. Gregor Jackson, research
director at ICM, says that if there is another highprofile failure, he would have to “ask if there is along-term future for political polling”. This article
investigates what the polling companies are up tonow.
The Guardian (Weekend), 28 September 2019, pp39-47

Public relations
50 years of PR
To celebrate its 50th anniversary, PR Week looks
back at 50 years of public relations to see how it has
evolved. It interviews key players in the industry foreach of the five decades and highlights ten key UK
3

Cutting Edge: Our weekly analysis of marketing news

campaigns for each decade that it considers have
had the most influence on the industry. These range
from “Clunk click, every trip”, the public information
film (1970) to Live Aid (1985), Princess Diana’s antilandmine campaign (1997), Movember (2007) and2018’s “Iceland’s Christmas ad that never was”.
PR Week, September-October 2019, pp46

Sponsorship
Creating authentic sponsorships
When Danish pharmaceutical company Novo Nordisk
decided to sponsor a cycling team, it seemed astrange choice given the sport’s doping and drug
scandals. However, its partnership with American
Team Novo Nordisk turned out be “authentic”
because the company produces insulin therapies andthe cycling team in question all had Type One
diabetes.
Brandshave
traditionallyusedsponsorships like billboards or TV ads but, according
to Professor Cornwell of the Lundquist College ofBusiness, “sponsorships have the potential to give
consumers an experience and win brand loyalty”.
This article discusses the creation of authentic links;
engaging consumers in the experience; andmeasuring that engagement.
Marketing News, Vol 53(9) October 2019, pp12-13(Conick)

Building industry
Attracting Gen Z – who is responsible?
This article looks at how construction is being
presented as a career choice in schools, but should
the onus be on schools or the industry? The
pressure for schools to prepare young people for the
workplace is increasing, yet there is still uncertainty
over who should be responsible for the next
generation of talent. The Construction Skills Network
report for 2019-23 predicts that an additional
168,500 workers will be needed over the next five
years. But are schools presenting construction as an
attractive enough option? A common issue for young
people is a lack of engagement which derives from alack of understanding of the industry and the roles
available.
constructionnews.co.uk, 19 September 2019 (Wadham)

Zero-carbon construction material
Cambridge Carbon Capture, a Cambridge-based
start-up, says it has developed a process thatremoves CO2 from the air and can convert it into abuilding material. The new material, which is strong
and lightweight as well as being fire and water
resistant, has many potential applications in thebuilding industry. Now the company is looking toscale up the process.

Agriculture, fishingand forestry

theconstructionindex.co.uk, 1 September 2019

North Sea cod loses blue tick
North Sea cod stocks have halved in just two years,
according to the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC)
which is encouraging consumers to buy pollock,hake or whiting instead. It was only two years ago
when cod numbers were reported to be at theirhighest since 1982, following the success of a major
recovery plan in the region. The MSC has now
removed its sustainability certification from North
Sea cod. UK consumers eat 115,000 tons of cod ayear, 37% of which carries the blue ticksustainability label. From 24 October any cod caught
in the North Sea won’t carry this label.

The straw man
The “straw man” is defined as a draft version ofsomething that can be debated and improved upon.
It is also an important tool for collaborative problemsolving during all phases of client engagement. The
author gives examples of where the straw man
could be used to aid team problem solving, why it isimportant and how to use it. He warns against an
over-investment of time and effort because theconcept simply needs to be developed enough toprovoke the necessary debate and thinking.

The Daily Telegraph, 25 September 2019, p9

Farming concerns over post-Brexit policies
Some British farmers have been campaigning for asecond referendum due to fears over what Brexit
will mean for them. After leaving Europe’s common
agricultural policy, farm subsidies will change, while
new trade deals and tariffs could threaten thecompetitiveness of farm products. The Government
says it will put the environment at the centre of its
policy on farm subsidies, but experts predict that
this could force up to a quarter of farmers out ofbusiness. The NFU says the UK will become less selfsufficient and more reliant on imports.
Financial Times (Special Report: Food Sustainability), 25
September 2019, p2© Copyright 2019 CIM

Businesses and strategy

Marketing Africa, Issue 31 2019, pp60-61 (Ferguson)

Demonstrating social commitment
Businesses are increasingly being held responsible
for their social impact. The modern CEO and CMO
have a duty to create models that are bothinclusive and beneficial to more people. Most
companies know that CSR is more than just amarketing buzzword. PR firm Edelman’s 2018
Earned Brand Report noted that 64% of global
consumers: “will buy or boycott a brand solely
because of its position on a social or political issue”.
Brands that can demonstrate values that align withthose of consumers will attract purchasing loyalty,
higher brand awareness and favourable perceptions.
Brands that have already made positive moves inthis direction are Patagonia and Toms. There are4

Cutting Edge: Our weekly analysis of marketing news

five ways in which companies can demonstrate theircommitment to social responsibility.
fortune.com, 24 September 2019 (Andrews)

Metrics and strategy – avoiding surrogation
Most companies are overwhelmed by numbers.
While strategies are abstract, employees tend to
replace them with performance metrics whichindicate whether the strategy is a success. This
trend, referred to as “surrogation”, can destroy
value, which Wells Fargo found out with its focus oncross-selling goals. This confusion between what isbeing measured and the metric being used can be
avoided by: ensuring that the people who executethe strategy have a role in formulating it; by notlinking incentives too closely with strategy metrics;
and by using multiple metrics to assess
performance.
Harvard Business Review, Vol 97(5) September-October
2019, pp63-69 (Harris and Taylor)

Small businesses ill-prepared for no-dealJust a fifth of small British businesses have prepared
for a no-deal Brexit, according to a new survey fromthe Federation of Small Businesses (FSB). It reveals
that the average costs for companies that havemade initial preparations have been as high as£3,000; some companies say this has already led toreduced profitability. The FSB found that nearly 40%
of its 165,000 members would be badly affected if
Britain leaves the EU without a deal. Yet nearly twothirds of business feel unable to plan because they
don’t know what to plan for. Although theGovernment has launched an ad campaign to getbusinesses preparing for Brexit, many say they do
not have enough sector-specific information about
trading and tariffs.
Financial Times, 27 September 2019, p2

Charities and NGOs
Micro-volunteering
The charity sector focuses on raising funds, attaining
goals and making progress on a large scale using
the digital tools available to them. Yet somecharities are embracing small interventions, such as
micro-volunteering, which are producing significant
results. Micro-volunteering was defined in a 2013
paper as “no commitment to repeat and withminimum formality, involving short and specificactions that are quick to start and repeat”. Actions
might include signing a petition, sharing a hashtag
or picking up plastic on a beach. This article
explores the opportunities for charities of “bitesized” action and their changing relationships withvolunteers.
Third Sector, September-October 2019, pp22-25 (Burt)

SEO tips for charities
It has become harder to improve search engine© Copyright 2019 CIM

rankings because of Google’s complex algorithms.
Yet charities need to be found by the people who
help them and who want to be helped. This guide to
SEO offers ten tips for improving charities’ searchengine rankings. They include making your site
mobile-friendly, making the site shareable andmaking the most of analytics.
charitydigitalnews.co.uk, 23 September 2019

Durable consumer goods
Christmas campaigns
Some Christmas TV ads, such as those from M&S
and John Lewis, are highly anticipated. The
Entertainer, the toy retailer, began last year’s
Christmas campaign with sponsorship of ITV’s This
Morning programme, a strategy that delivered
increased in-store and online sales. Nick Richardson,
MD of Kids Insights, warns that there is more to it
than just TV. Data show that children are spending
less time watching linear TV and that it may be timeto, “start looking beyond pre-Christmas TV
advertising”. Phil Geary, CMO of The Entertainer,
believes that a pre-Christmas ad campaign will onlytranslate into sales if supported by a marketingstrategy across all channels. This article looks atwhat sort of campaigns we can expect from avariety of toy manufacturers this Christmas.
TnP, Vol 38(11) September 2019, pp63-68

Gender inclusive dollMattel has created a customisable “gender inclusive”
doll. The Creatable World dolls come in a range ofskin tones with a variety of clothing, wigs andaccessories. The innovation follows researchshowing that children “don’t want gender norms”.
Mattel has already introduced a greater range ofbody shape and ethnic diversity to its Barbie range.
marketingweek.com, 26 September 2019

EconomyConsumer spending helps economy
Consumer spending rose by 0.4% in the second
quarter of the year thanks to higher wages. This has
meant that families have also saved more (6.8% of
their incomes on average, up from 6.4% in Q1)
which could help to shield them in the event of adownturn. The spending trend is one of the clearest
signs that higher wage growth is affecting the wider
economy. Average income is growing at the rate of
4% a year, its fastest in a decade.
The Daily Telegraph (Business), 1 October 2019, p3

UK employment
The latest UK Business Register and Employment
Survey gives provisional results for UK employment
for 2018. The estimated number of employees in the
UK rose by 0.8% between 2017 and 2018, from30.3 million to 30.5 million. For the same period thenumber of employees increased in all regions except
5Cutting Edge: Our weekly analysis of marketing news

the North East and the West Midlands, while theSouth East showed the greatest rise (up 1.1%). The
survey supplies a detailed breakdown by region andindustry.
https://www.ons.gov.uk/releases/ukbusinessregisterandemploymentsurveybresprovisionalresults2018revisedres
ults2017, 26 September 2019 (Williams)

Ultra-wealthy individuals
Hong Kong has the highest number of ultra-wealthy
adults relative to its population (number per
thousand adults). These are defined as having a net
worth of over $30m. Worldwide there were 265,000
such people, with 30% residing in the US.
Financial Times, 27 September 2019, p1

Education
Over half of young people go into HE
Over half (50.2%) of young people aged 17 to 30 inEngland were in higher education by 2017-2018. In
1999 the then prime minister, Tony Blair, set thetarget for 50% of young people to be in higher
education. However, Britain has not developed as
fast as other countries: in 2017 45% of under-30s
had graduated in Britain compared with 66% inAustralia and 50% in Denmark. Gavin Williams, theeducation secretary, is concerned about “virtualsignalling” whereby universities talk about recruiting
poorer students but are not doing enough.
The Times, 27 September 2019, pp1-2

MBAs in Asia

The Economist looks at two top business schools in

Asia – Hong Kong University (HKU) and Hong Kong
University of Science and Technology (HKUST) – tosee how their MBA approach differs from that in theWest. A survey of HKU’s executive MBA course
found that Asian students are more tolerant thanWestern students of undesirable leadership traits,
such authoritarianism and asocaility. Those who
worked for local companies were also more positive
about performance-oriented leaders than their
Western counterparts. These differences may be
because the corporate case studies developed by US
business schools are less relevant to Asian
audiences while family businesses are more common
in Asia. HKUST also encourages students to consider
corporate “purpose” rather than just making money;
this concept is becoming more common in the Westbut is relatively new in Asia.
The Economist, 21 September 2019, p75

Energy and utilities
Wind power – blown off course?
Britain is the biggest off-shore wind market. Last
year its off-shore turbines had a third more capacity(eight gigawatts) than Germany, the next-largest
market. By 2030 its capacity is predicted to reach
30GW, second only to China. Investment is expected© Copyright 2019 CIM

to continue since offshore wind is a key part of theGovernment’s efforts to achieve net-zero emissions
by 2050. However, this will require investment intechnology that doesn’t exist yet, such as batteriescapable of storing power for weeks. There arebroader problems in Britain’s electricity system (forexample the state of the grid) that will need to beresolved. A Government white paper on the topic,
due to appear this year, has been postponed…
The Economist, 21 September 2019, pp29-30

Shell – a balancing act
Shell faces a future that is increasingly turning
against fossil fuels. It has begun to embrace lowcarbon technologies while still being focused on oil
and gas, where most of its profit comes from. The
company has developed wind and solar-power
projects and invested in low-carbon start-ups
ranging from electric vehicle charging to homeenergy storage. It has also promised to half theemissions of its products by 2050. This won’t change
the fact that the bulk of its profits for years to comewill come from oil and gas. It also needs to please
its shareholders, some of whom want good returns
while the more socially-conscious may end up selling
their holdings.
FT Weekend, 28-29 September 2019, p15

Environment
Brands take part in global climate strikeOn 20 September, the date of the global climate
strikes against political inaction, 1,000 companies
and websites expressed their solidarity. These
included Ben & Jerry’s, Kickstarter and Patagonia.
The recent Edelman Trust Barometer Special Report
revealed that 67% of people expect brands to play alarger role in society, while 54% of those polled in
the US say that brands are trusted more thangovernment (40%).
ama.org, 23 September 2019 (Heisler)

Supermarkets act on plastic and food waste
Sainsbury’s is to replace the plastic wrapping around
its flower bouquets with recyclable paper.
Supermarkets are also trying to reduce the amountof food they throw away every year through various
initiatives. Tesco’s Chief executive, Dave Lewis,
wants reporting of food waste to be compulsory for
UK businesses. Iceland claims to have prevented allits food waste going to landfill by selling it back tofarmers or converting it to beer. Morrisons has been
reducing food waste from farmers by selling“wonky” veg and selling food that is past its sell-bydate. Ben Elliot, the Government’s food waste
champion, says the “Target, Measure and Act”
scheme has helped to rescue 53,000 tonnes of foodso far.
The Daily Telegraph, 25 September 2019, p9

6

Cutting Edge: Our weekly analysis of marketing news

Sea levels will rise more than predicted
A new UN report warns that by 2100 sea levels willrise by as much as 1.1 metres (10cm higher than its
previous estimate) if CO2 emissions keep increasing.
This will pose a risk to coastal cities and low-lying
Pacific islands. The Intergovernmental Panel on
Climate Change (IPCC) says that extreme floods will
occur at least once a year by 2050 in many regions.
Despite pledges to reduce CO2 emissions, they
continue to rise. The report also warns thatchanging marine habitats will result in the loss ofplant and animal species, which will affect people’s
livelihoods, especially those who are dependent on
marine life.
Financial Times, 26 September 2019, p8

Climate change entrepreneurs
Some investors have become less enthusiastic about
clean technologies as green subsidies around theworld start to decline. The Economist has identified
12 industrialists and entrepreneurs, who are both
wealthy and climate-friendly. They include wellknown names such as Bill Gates, Elon Musk andMichael Bloomberg; others are only well-known
within their respective industries. The article
examines these climate-change entrepreneurs andconcludes that, without such people, “the planet
would be considerably more daunting than it alreadyis”.
The Economist, 21 September 2019, pp73-74

FashionWhy fashion ads work
Fashion houses tend not to use ad agencies for theircampaigns, yet their style and imagination can proveinspiration for agency creatives. Campaign asks
some of adland’s top creatives to comment on thelatest tranche of fashion ads from Louis Vuitton,
Saint Laurent, Fearofgod.com, Balenciaga, d’xxit,
Gucci, Prada and Stella McCartney.
Campaign, September 2019, pp36-51

Financial services
Buy now pay later
Retail brands are increasingly offering consumers“Buy Now Pay Later (BNPL)” options with their Visa,
Credit Card or PayPal payments. This plugs the gap
between credit cards and store credit while thecompanies make money out of the fees paid byparticipating retailers. One player is Klarna, aSwedish payment service provider, which offers
options to shoppers who check out on some online
shopping websites. It has already accepted over
4,000 UK retailers and has reportedly become thelargest private FinTech in Europe. This article offers
advice to retailers when considering the BNPL
option.
lexology.com, 20 September 2019 (Drew and Akwaboa)© Copyright 2019 CIM

Glint collapses
The Glint app, a start-up that enabled people to buy
part of a physical bar of gold, has gone into
administration following a dispute over an
outstanding loan. Glint says it has handled over
$50m in transactions since its launch last year. It
was publicly backed by Conservative MP Steve
Baker. The gold is stored in a vault in Switzerland.
Financial Times, 27 September 2019, p27

Amex launches pay with bank transfer
American Express has created a new service
allowing UK consumers to pay for items directlyfrom their bank account. Customers will be able topay online without a debit or credit card. It is
partnering with retailers for the “Pay with banktransfer” service which launches later this year. The
service will be available to current account holders
even if they don’t have an American Express card.
The Daily Telegraph, 23 September 2019, p3

Branded payment pen
Starbucks has launched a branded contactless
payment pen in Japan. Customers can load the pen
with funds and make payments at any compatible
terminals. Starbucks Touch: The Pen has “coffee
brown” ink, a coffee-machine inspired design andcosts 4,000 yen ($37.02). Starbucks has previously
launched other contactless payment products suchas a flask, phone case and a tiny handbag called
The Hug.
nfcw.com, 19 September 2019 (Clark)

FMCG
Beverages
Lager sales plummet
Lager brands have suffered a significant fall in sales.
Becks has lost over a quarter of its value over the
past year (down 25.9%). Other major brands
include: Budweiser (down 3.8%), Carlsberg’s pilsner(down 11%), Molson Coors’ Carling (down 2.9%)
and Coors Light (down 7.6%). No overall reason is
given for the decline and each brand has cited
individual issues.
The Grocer, 28 September 2019, p54

Cosmetics and toiletries
The first CBD tampons
Daye, a feminine hygiene start-up, is to launch the“world’s first” CBD tampons in the UK. The direct-toconsumer service will sell its standard Naked
tampons alongside the cannabidiol-infused variety.
The company claims that the CBD has relaxing
properties that can sooth menstrual cramps. All thecompany’s tampons are plastic-free and made fromsustainably sourced cotton.
The Grocer, 28 September 2019, p52

7

Cutting Edge: Our weekly analysis of marketing news

Food
The rise of superfoods
So-called “superfoods” have become commonplace.
Some traditional foodstuffs, such as broccoli andspinach, have been rebranded while sales of
blueberries and cranberries in Britain havequadrupled in the decade to 2018. Most
supermarkets now stock little-known products suchas freekeh and kefir. The legal definition ofsuperfood is unclear but under EU regulations it
must explain what the health benefits are. The ideathat eating certain food can improve our healthplays to people’s neuroses and the emotional role offood in their lives. Ben Wilson, author of The Way

We Eat Now: Strategies for Eating in a World of
Change, explores why superfoods have taken off.
1843 (The Economist), October-November 2019, pp102105 (Wilson)

KitKat embraces premiumisation
Brands are increasingly investing in premium goods
and services, with the confectionery industry leading
the way. Now Nestlé has introduced a “luxury
handcrafted” eight-finger KitKat. With a price of £14
and 1,500 flavour combinations, it can be purchased
via the website or at pop-up shops in 30 John Lewis
stores leading up to Christmas. Consumers canchoose a base chocolate and select up to threeflavours including rose petals or popping candy. In
Japan, Nestlé has a history of trialling innovations –such as KitKat Ruby – before introducing them to
the UK. KitKat’s rivals, Mars and Mondelez, haveprioritised affordability for their premium products.
KitKat’s more expensive offering will initially gain
publicity and social media likes, but what will it dofor its long-term strategy?
marketingweek.com, 25 September 2019 (Rogers)

TobaccoJuul needs Altria’s tactics
Juul Labs is having a difficult time, having beenaccused of encouraging teenage vaping and creating
health problems in the US. President Trump has
threatened to ban flavoured ecigarettes whileregulators in some states are planning their own
restrictions. Meanwhile, Juul’s sales growth has beenslowing. This comes just nine months after Altria(maker of Marlboro) acquired a 35% stake in Juul.
Juul’s chief executive, Kevin Burns, has been
replaced by Altria’s chief growth officer, KC
Crosthwaite, who says that Altria will help Juulbecause it is, “adept at aligning itself with regulatory
concerns”. He was instrumental in convincing the US
FDA to give the go-ahead for Altria’s IQOS product.
Financial Times, 27 September 2019, p17

ASA investigates ecigarette ads
Having received numerous complaints about ads forvaping in the UK, the ASA is launching an
investigation into ecigarette marketing. There are© Copyright 2019 CIM

concerns that the ad campaigns appear to target theunder-18 age group which is not allowed to vapewhile other ads “misinform” about the dangers of
ecigarettes. A survey by King’s College London andthe University of South Carolina revealed that a thirdof 16- to 19-year-olds thought that ecigarette ads
made them look attractive.
The Times, 1 October 2019, p6

Government andpublic sector
Britain seeks to maintain its warplane status
Britain’s ageing warplanes will eventually be retired
from service, but the country wants to retain its
world-class status for building them. In July last year
the Government announced almost £2 billion offunding for its Combat Air Strategy. Already over
1,000 people are working on Team Tempest, thelatest plane. Yet few countries have the funds tobuild warplanes on their own and Britain has
recently entered into an agreement with Sweden to
begin a one-year study. Italy is also partnering withTeam Tempest. There is competition from other
European countries which have co-operated to build
a sixth-generation “air system”. France andGermany want the EU to develop a more integrated
defence industry that can hold its own against
American offerings. Brexit has put another spoke inthe wheel…
The Economist, 21 September 2019, p34

Design your own Brexit-ready campaign
Led By Donkeys, a pro-remain group, is inviting the
public to redesign the Government’s “Get Ready for
Brexit” campaign. It has created a mockGovernment website, NoDealBrexit.info, that allows
users to design their own “Get Ready for Brexit”
poster. The five best designs will be placed on
billboards across the UK.
marketingweek.com, 26 September 2019

Health and pharmaceuticals
Technology helps deliver vaccines
Health experts say that vaccines are unrivalled
among health interventions at giving the “maximum
benefit to the highest number of people in the mostcost-effective manner”. Despite immunisation rates
being at their highest in history, some 15% to 20%
of people in the developing world are notimmunised. Technology can play a part inaddressing this, according to Seth Berkley, chief
executive of Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance. Gaviencourages
vaccination
throughinnovativetechnologies such as: chatbots; crowdsourcing of
information; mobile data; facial recognition; andfingerprint technology. Zipline, a Californiancompany, is pioneering the delivery of vaccines bydrone in Rwanda. Gavi is experimenting with drones
8Cutting Edge: Our weekly analysis of marketing news

in the DRC and Ghana.
Financial Times (Special Report: The Future of African
Healthcare), 23 September 2019, p3

earbuds that can activate Alexa simply using voice).
The Alexa smart assistant will also be built into
General Motors’ vehicles from 2020.
marketingweek.com, 26 September 2019

NHS needs new approach to technology
Healthcare professionals need technology that can
assist in more accurate diagnoses, but the NHS has
procurement rules that prevent small companies
from selling their innovation. Adoption of a new
product involves a pilot but even if a product isadopted by one trust, the others still need to beapproached individually. The NHS could benefit fromtaking a different approach by, for example, using
procurement teams to review innovation alongsideclinicians. It could also learn from other countries.
This article looks at how China, Denmark and theNetherlands approach advances in technology intheir healthcare systems.
The Times (Raconteur: Public Sector Technology), 27
September 2019, pp4-5

Health and social care supply post-Brexit
The NAO has published a report Exiting the EU:
supplying the health and social care sectors. The
Department of Health & Social Care, NHS Englandand NHS Improvement have been working tounderstand the scale and nature of the supply
challenge post-Brexit. This report examines the
progress made in implementing the Continuity ofSupply Programme.
https://www.nao.org.uk/report/exiting-the-eusupplying-the-health-and-social-care-sectors/, 27
September 2019

IT and telecoms
Mobile operators need change to embrace 5G
Mobile operators around the world are rolling out 5G
networks. Initially this will take the form ofenhanced mobile broadband (eMBB) which will
boost applications such as streaming, downloading
and gaming. It will also be used in fixed wirelessaccess (FWA) and areas such as “massive” Internetof Things and AR. Tech companies that develop andmarket such services will rely on mobile operators todeliver them to the end user and operators will needto transform themselves to take advantage of this.
The author identifies three main areas whereoperator transformation will be required: networkarchitecture, business models and ways of working.
Mobile Europe, Q3 2019, p34 (Nordström)

Echo updated with raft of products
Amazon is introducing a range of updates for its
Echo smart speaker. These include the ability for
Alexa to mimic the voice of various celebrities. At acost of $0.99 per voice, the user will have the choiceof a “clean” or “explicit” mode, where the actor
swears. Other innovations include: Echo Frames(titanium-framed glasses with built-in microphoneand speakers) and Echo Buds (wireless Bluetooth© Copyright 2019 CIM

Ofcom acts to end loyalty penalty
Ofcom says that 40% of people are paying too muchfor their internet because they allow expired
contracts to automatically renew rather thanchoosing a new one. These customers are paying £8
to £9 more a month than new customers, a practiceknown as the “loyalty penalty”. So-called “out-ofcontract” customers are also receiving slower
internet speeds. The worst operators in this respect
are BT and TalkTalk. From February 2020 new
Ofcom measures will mean that broadband
customers will be informed when their contract iscoming to an end and told about the best deals
available.
The Daily Telegraph, 26 September 2019, p14

Leisure and tourism
Liverpool fails to score with trademark
The Intellectual Property Office (IPO) has rejected
Liverpool FC’s application to trademark its name.
Both Tottenham Hotspur FC and Chelsea FC havebeen awarded trademarks for their names.
However, the IPO said that the name Liverpool had
too much “geographical significance” to be
trademarked. The club had also underestimated thestrength of feeling from Liverpudlians: many people,
including football supporters, believe that the word
belongs to the City of Liverpool and its people. The
application was originally made to stop third parties
selling merchandise using the Liverpool name.
The Times, 27 September 2019, p15Motor homes and RVs
Sales of caravans and motorhomes have beenbooming. The trend has been attributed to the highcost of US housing and the ageing population in
Europe. Northern Europeans appear to be in favourof motorised caravans, with ownership per capita in
Sweden and Finland doubling over the past decade
while ownership of towed static caravans has
stagnated. Caravans are discretionary items of
expenditure and could be a good economic
indicator. Meanwhile, US sales of recreational
vehicles (RVs) have fallen this year which has
affected manufactures such as France’s Trigano andthe US’s Thor Industries.
FT Weekend, 28-29 September 2019, p24

9

Cutting Edge: Our weekly analysis of marketing news

Media
Books
Educational publishing – out of print?
Pearson, the educational publisher, has seen sharesfall by 14% following weak sales in the US. John
Fallon, Pearson’s chief executive, had hoped that the“huge opportunity” in global education would provelucrative, especially in the area of US courseware,
which makes up a quarter of the company’s
revenues. Yet spending by US and Canadianstudents on course materials has fallen by 41%
since 2009, according to the National Association ofCollege Stores. Meanwhile there is a rise in the useof free, “open” educational resources. Print’s shareof US courseware is predicted to fall from 45% to
35% in 2019. A wider issue is the slowing interest in
the benefits of university degrees as Gen Z
increasingly considers alternative ideas to a
traditional college education.
Financial Times, 27 September 2019, p14

Games
Mario goes mobile
Nintendo has launched Mario Kart as a mobile app,
but it is charging as much for the one game asApple charges for its entire gaming service. Mario
Kart Tour could change the way that Nintendo
makes money outside its console business. The
game will be offered via a $4.99 a monthsubscription service but Apple’s Arcade, which hasover 100 games, costs the same.
Financial Times, 26 September 2019, p15

Magazines
Revamping Dennis the Menace for Gen Alpha
Dennis the Menace, who is two years away frombeing 70, is to be rebranded. According to Emma
Scott, chief executive of Beano Studios, Dennis will
no longer just be a figurehead for naughty children
but a “poster child for what his generation standsfor”. Even before climate campaigner Greta
Thunberg came along, kids were “passionate about
causes”, claims Scott. Beano Studios still sells
41,000 print copies of The Beano every week withcirculation up by a 10th year-on-year. But it needs tofind a place for its classic characters which wereoriginally developed for baby boomers. Scott has
recruited Matt O’Mara, an expert in marketing toMillennials, as CCO. He believes in a mixed media
business and will offer a service targeting thechildren of Millennials: Generation Alpha.
The Daily Telegraph (Business), 26 September 2019, p4

Digital media – too dependent on advertising?
Vox Media, a digital publisher, has acquired New
York Magazine and its parent, New York Media. Vox
runs a raft of websites such as Recode, The Vergeand New York Media. The agreement will help Vox© Copyright 2019 CIM

to become a leader in a generation of digital media
companies, such as BuzzFeed and HuffPost, thathave expanded rapidly but then struggled togenerate enough ad revenue. Mark Thompson, chief
executive of The New York Times, is quoted assaying that “the future looks bleak” for digitalpublishers unless they can “pivot away fromdepending on advertising”.
Financial Times, 26 September 2019, p17

Newspapers
Apple News teams up with The Times
Apple’s subscription news service, Apple News+, haslaunched in Britain having partnered with The Times
and The Sunday Times. The service enables readers
to access hundreds of magazines and newspapersfor £9.99 a month and The Times will provide a daily
selection of articles. Apple originally launched its
service in the US and Canada in March. Rebecca
Brooks, chief executive of News UK (owner of The
Times), said that the Apple service is “the next step
as we evolve our digital strategy”.
The Times, 1 October 2019, p47

Social media
Trends for 2020
The author makes four major predictions for social
media in 2020. The first is the removal of “likes” by
Instagram, a move which it says will help address“mental health” issues but cynics says it is a PR
initiative: brands who want to measure theircampaigns may instead be tempted to run
Instagram ads. A second expectation is that Google
will incorporate existing social networks into its
search algorithm, having failed to enter the social
space itself. Thirdly, niche social platforms will
expand and vie for the attention of brands and,lastly, social sharing tools will become free or add
more value. Other trends that are likely to come tothe fore next year are discussed.
forbes.com, 23 September 2019 (Farmiloe)

Television
Streaming services ramp up the marketing
Netflix’s marketing seems to have produced results
at the recent Emmys, with over 40 of its shows
nominated and 27 wins. Meanwhile Amazon won insome high-profile categories including Outstanding
Comedy Series for Fleabag. Disney+ is due tolaunch in November and marketing has alreadybegun for its first raft of shows and films, its first ad
being shown during the Emmys. Ads from Apple,
Amazon Prime, Hulu and Netflix were also aired
during the Emmys. They reflect growing competitionin an increasingly fragmented entertainment
industry and investment in marketing is expected toramp up.
ama.org, 23 September 2019 (Heisler)

10Cutting Edge: Our weekly analysis of marketing news

Video
Success stories
Stories help to unlock the imagination but to achieve
cut through they must be “creative, compelling,
relevant and memorable”. They also need to beaccessible which is where video comes in. The brain
processes visual images a million times faster thantext, much of the processing being unconscious, so
a well-produced video can be a valuable tool forbusiness. The internet, faster smartphones and thefalling cost of producing a video makes it accessible
to most businesses. This article gives some advice
on producing a successful video and how to achieve
ROI.
London Business Matters, Issue 158 September 2019,
p40 (Boa)

Packaging
Napolina replaces plastic with cardboard
Napolina, the Italian food brand, plans to package
most of its pasta in cardboard boxes rather thanplastic. It aims to remove 17.5m tonnes of plastic
from UK waste. The new packaging, which will be
used on its “added value” pasta range, will consist of“fully coated folding boxboard”. The company claims
that despite the more expensive packaging, there
will be no change to the weight or price.
The Grocer, 28 September 2019, p52

Reuse build brand loyalty
The first universal recycling symbol was launched 40
years ago, yet today only 14% of plastic packaging
is collected for recycling and very little is recycled
into new products. Reuse is one way of changing
how we think about packaging. It allows brands tobuildcustomerloyalty,enables
product
customisation and reduces costs. The Ellen
MacArthur Foundation recently published ReuseRethinking Packaging, a book which showcases 69
examples of businesses that are moving to reusemodels. Some of these are highlighted here.
The Guardian (Sustainable Packaging), 30 September
2019, p2 (Wingstrand and Lendal) (A promotional
supplement)

Retailing
Sainsbury’s to close stores
Sainsbury’s is to shut up to 125 outlets over the next
five years, ranging from Argos stores to Sainsbury’sBank, a division that has been a drag on company
profits. Sainsbury’s merger with Asda failed to go
ahead after being blocked by regulators. Chief
executive, Mike Coupe, had hoped the merger would
place the company in a better position to competewith the discounters Aldi and Lidl.

McKinsey opens store to test technology
McKinsey, the management consultancy, is to open
a retail outlet selling underwear, make-up andjewellery in Mall of America, the biggest US
shopping centre. The new store is designed to testout technology that retailers could use to keep theirstores viable in the age of internet shopping. Visitors
will be able to try gadgets such as mirrors andsoftware to help them choose the right garment
size. Cryptocurrency will be offered as a payment
option. McKinsey will also be analysing data on
shopper behaviour. It hopes the information will
improve its understanding of what works in retail.
Financial Times, 27 September 2019, p16

Marketing boosts bottom line at Boohoo
Boohoo Group, the fast-fashion retailer, has shelledout £90m (9% of annual sales) on marketing overthe past year. Now it has reported a 43% rise in
year-on-year revenues for the six months to the endof August, with pre-tax profit up by 83%. Much of
the marketing budget was spent on influencers but
also included a music video for its Pretty Little Thing
brand. The group has been expanding throughacquisition, having recently acquired Karen Millen
and Coast. Experts agree that Boohoo still has
potential for growth.
The Times, 26 September 2019, p50

Services
University bars in decline
The University of Portsmouth’s Waterhole Bar has
closed its doors. Before the era of mobile phones,
university bars tended to be places for students tomeet and buy cheap booze. Brewers would sell theirdrinks at below cost price so that students might
become attached to certain brands. Other
universities have closed their bars or transformed
them into “events spaces” offering food, coffee andother services. Other factors in their decline are:competition from pubs; students who are drinking
less; pre-drinking at the student residence before
going out; and the fact that students have become
more serious about study!
The Economist, 21 September 2019, p30

AA turns to Red Dwarf to change staid image
The AA is ditching its traditional “fuddy duddy”
yellow van ads as it seeks to address declining
customer numbers. It has recently launched acampaign starring the Red Dwarf cast: Lister, Kryten
and Rimmer. The series, first screened on the BBC
in the 1980s, has been revived on the Dave channel.
The Times, 25 September 2019, p47

The Daily Telegraph (Business), 26 September 2019, p3© Copyright 2019 CIM

11Cutting Edge: Our weekly analysis of marketing news

Transport and travel£1 billion fund for car industry
Andrea Leadsom, the business secretary, has plans
to invest “up to £1 billion” to help the British car
industry shift towards electric vehicles. The fund is
expected to be used for R&D and, “in the
manufacturing of batteries, electric motors, drives,
power electronics and hydrogen fuel cells”. Leadsom
warns that the car industry will have to change its“just in time” business model after Brexit. However,she believes it should be possible to establish good
just in time supply chains using other British ports
and technology than the usual Dover-Calais route.
However, the FT says the car industry “is unlikely torespond enthusiastically” to this idea.

Written by CIM’s Knowledge Services Team© Copyright 2019 CIM

The views expressed in Cutting Edge are notnecessarily those of The Chartered Institute ofMarketing.

FT Weekend, 28-29 September 2019, p2© Copyright 2019 CIM

12

Cutting Edge: Our weekly analysis of marketing news

Sources
We created this edition of Cutting Edge from thesources listed in the next column. As a member you
have access to a discrete range of them through the
CIM website, some are freely available on the internet,
but there will be others that we can only supply you
with through our photocopying service.
To access the journals you have available to you as amember:• Go to www.cim.co.uk/more/marketing-library/ andlog in to the site.
• You will then have access to the links to Ebsco,
Emerald and e-books available via Ebook Central.
• A user guide for the electronic resources is available
on this page.
Please note: the titles as they appear in Cutting Edge
are not the same as in the original article. If thejournal is within Ebsco, you can search by publication,
which then allows you to choose the date. This page
will also clearly show if there is an embargo on the title
or if there is a short delay.
Key**Full text available on Ebsco – although there may be
an embargo*Abstract available on Ebsco+Full text available on Emerald~Available online if you register# Mintel reports are available in the library at Moor
Hall. Members can request the contents pages of areport and can receive up to 5% via our photocopying
service.
Please contact Knowledge Services if you would likeany further assistance or would like more informationon our photocopying services (charges apply).

1843 (The Economist)
Advertising Age**www.ama.org
www.businessgrow.com
Campaign**
www.charitydigitalnews.co.uk
www.constructionnews.co.uk
www.theconstructionindex.co.uk
The Daily Telegraph ~www.dma.org.uk
www.thedrum.com
The Economist*
The Financial Times ~www.forbes.com
www.fortune.com
The Grocer
The Guardian
Harvard Business Review**
www.lexology.com
London Business Matters
Marketing Africa
www.marketingdive.com
Marketing News**
www.marketingweek.com
Marketing Week **www.mia-uk.org
Mobile Europe
www.nao.org.uk
www.nfcw.com
www.ons.gov.uk
www.prolificlondon.co.uk
PR Weekwww.research-live.com
Third Sector (selected articles available)
The Times
TnP

Tel +44 (0)1628 427333
Email knowledge@cim.co.uk© Copyright 2019 CIM

13

Cutting Edge: Our weekly analysis of marketing news

Contents
To fast forward click on the following links:
Agriculture, fishing and forestry
Building industry
Businesses and strategy
Charities and NGOs
Durable goods
EconomyEducation
Energy and utilities
Environment
FashionFinancial services
FMCG
Beverages
Cosmetics and toiletries
Food
TobaccoGovernment and public sector
Health and pharmaceuticals
IT and telecoms
Leisure and tourism
Marketing trends and issues
Advertising
Agencies
Brands and brandingChildrenConferences and events
Customer relations
Direct marketing
Law
MarketingMarket research
Public relations
Sponsorship
Media
Books
Games
Magazines
Newspapers
Social media
Television
Video
Packaging
Retailing
Services
Transport and travel© Copyright 2019 CIM

14