This week on E-Consultancy I asked the question ‘Is the role of the SEO dead and should PRs own natural search?’.

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This week on my Drapers blog you can read my views on celebrity fashion brands analysing online conversations.

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Orange is now encouraging people to find their website by typing ‘I Am’ into search engines instead of advertising www.orange.co.uk.

At first I thought it was quite clever and innovative, but I am surprised that the only Orange presence for a search on ‘I am’ is in the sponsored listings.

Any brand that intends to follow Orange’s ‘find us by searching’ tactic, should employ an SEO agency to get their website to appear for the said phrase BEFORE the start of the campaign.

For Orange’s campaign website to rank naturally for ‘I Am’ they will need to try to encourage lots of websites and blogs to link to them with the text ‘I Am’. Where is the call to action on their website for webmasters and bloggers to add a link? Which part of the wider campaign encourages them to link in this way?

At least Orange will be helping I Am Bored, which ranks first for the term I Am, get heaps of extra traffic.

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Last week I was forwarded an email with various “mashups” of Cadbury and Nestle brands.

Both Cadburys and Nestle are keen to reignite interest in their products and are relaunching some of their old brands (see my interview with branding expert Jonathan Gabay on this).

I am not at all suggesting that this viral was a contrived marketing effort, but it leads to the question of whether brands properly explore the option of marketing online with their competitors.

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With everyone apparently “feeling the pinch” discount supermarkets Aldi and Lidl have seen year on year sales rise by 13% and 20% respectively.

It’s the perfect time for Aldi and Lidl to increase marketing activity. With more of their shoppers coming from the middle classes, how can they market themselves to attract more of these affluent shoppers?

Press
Features in the media help Aldi and Lidl remove the stigma attached to discount supermarkets.

Over the past month Aldi and Lidl have benefited highly from analytical coverage surrounding their increase in market share due to the credit crunch.

Almost every article has mentioned the rise of the middle classes shopping in discount supermarkets; which certainly dispels the myth that Aldi and Lidl are the prevail of the underclass.

Note to Aldi and Lidl PRs - more of this please (especially in the broadsheets).

Television
Last week’s Dispatches: The Truth About Food Prices on Channel 4 saw one family save hundreds of pounds by shopping at a discount supermarket.

The homepages of Aldi and Lidl could have contained an article about the programme, and a link to the Channel 4 website to watch it.

A programme featuring discount supermarkets is publicity Aldi and Lidl can’t buy, although it is the type of coverage that will come and go. To keep the coverage alive it’s important that they shout about it online, as that lives forever.

Pay Per Click
Google now allows UK advertisers to bid on competitor names, so Aldi and Lidl should consider bidding on Waitrose, Ocado and Sainsbury’s.

Although Aldi and Lidl are yet to be transactional - and searchers are most likely to be looking for an online ordering solution - it would be a great opportunity for them to gain awareness at a time when shoppers are susceptible to cheaper alternatives.

Videos
Aldi and Lidl should move into creating content.

Nintendo DS – Why not make an interactive cooking guide for the handheld video game player?

YouTube – Simple recipes hosted on a dedicated YouTube channel.

VideoJug – More recipe ideas and also ‘how to save money’ style videos.

I would also put it out there that Aldi and Lidl should also be focusing on communicating clearly how they are able to provide cheaper produce.

As they grow market share rapidly they will be opening themselves up to the same kind of negative coverage that Primark has recently receiving.

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You may know James Layfield as one of the youngest ever Managing Directors in Richard Branson’s Virgin group.

James, named in the Top 30 under 35 UK Entrepreneurs by Growing Business Magazine, caught the entrepreneurial bug from Richard Branson and went on to found youth marketing agency The Lounge Group.

The best marketing agencies understand their client’s clients. With a network of 8,000 under 35’s, The Lounge Group has the upper hand on devising campaigns that work to the youth market.

In this interview I ask James what he learned from working with Richard Branson and how The Lounge Group fills a gap in the market.

You once worked alongside Richard Branson. Did any aspect of working for Richard’s Virgin group inspire you to set up The Lounge Group?
As Branson’s youngest ever MD I definitely learnt a few things. I was inspired by his ability to trust and give responsibility to good people, he taught me to have the confidence to bring in people to the businesses that are better than me.

He also showed me the importance of culture to driving the success of a business and that passion and drive far outweigh any sort of experience when it comes to getting the best job done and yes, it made me want to start the Lounge for a market that I was passionate about.

Your agency has a clear focus - working on campaigns aimed at under 35s - was this a case of wanting to work on young brands, spotting a gap in the market or both?

Unlike nearly everyone who starts an agency I did not come at it as an ex Account/PR/Creative type wanting to go it alone. Instead the decision to start The Lounge Group was inspired by a need that I had seen whilst I was a Marketing Director for Virgin.

Having seen what was out there I knew that there was the market for an agency that was genuinely in touch with younger consumers. So The Lounge Group is first and foremost an excellent business that has been crafted to fill a gaping hole in the market. 

Tell me about the most fun online campaign The Lounge Group has worked on.
To be honest all of our campaigns are fun to work on and nearly all of them have an online component but I don’t think any of them just live online.

Our consumers don’t just live online so nor do our campaigns. I really love the work the team have been doing recently for the launch of Sure Girl, check out our Bebo page.

You have a peer network of 8000 people, can you explain who these people are, what they do and how you keep in touch with them?
Our network are the heart of our business, they are the ‘clever bit’ they are the bit that means we are not like any other agency. Our network ensures that The Lounge Group is more in touch than any client or agency.

They give us our edge and they make sure that our campaigns resonate and get the results our clients expect.

Finally, what happens when you’re above the age of your target group?!
That is the magic of The Lounge, we believe that “only the market gets the market”. So we don’t pretend to be “down with the kids”, in fact one of our team is over 70 – this is not a joke, she really is.

We deliver genuine insight based on our network, so no matter how old we get The Lounge will always be more in touch than anyone else.

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Visit The Lounge Group’s website

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This week Emma Jones from home working website Enterprise Nation asked me “When marketing an online brand, should all marketing stay online?”.

See my response on the Enterprise Nation website.

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1. HTML/CSS instead of Flash
A HTML/CSS website would have a much faster loading time and increased search engine visibility.

Web users are becoming more impatient. They’ll rarely sit around waiting for a flash file to load unless it’s something worth waiting for.

If V Water switches to HTML/CSS they can watch that bounce rate - people leaving the website - drop!

2. Net Doctor content sponsorship
Surprisingly enough V Water plays on the health benefits of vitamins.

In an age where more and more people turn to websites like Net Doctor for health and nutrition advice, V Water would do good to sponsor relevant vitamin articles.

3. Mood News
The Mood Guide on the website helps you to identify which V Water drink you need for your mood.

Why not make this topical by using case studies of people in the news, highlighting which V Water drink matches their current mood?

Visit the V Water website.

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Today was the Drapers online fashion conference at the Radisson Edwardian hotel in Mayfair.

The conference theatre was taken over by independent fashion stores interested in getting online, established online retailers and the big players.

As an online marketer having worked on fashion websites, one of the most surprising comments I heard was from Nick Robertson of ASOS who said “nobody searches for ‘black frilly dress’ [in Google]”.

According to Nick people search for stores (such as his own) and brand names (such as UGGs), but not for the actual item they want (such as black frilly dress). I couldn’t disagree more.

I believe that whilst many want inspiration (which is why they search for stores) and some are driven by brand (they search UGGs), an increasing amount knows exactly what they want and they do search Google for things like black frilly dress.

It’s been my experience that the latter is more likely to convert. And I know that view is also shared with others in online retail – (I wasn’t the only one in disbelief at the comment!).

Perhaps because of ASOS’s scale, the rules that apply to most online fashion stores don’t apply to them. Perhaps, perhaps, perhaps.

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Author of 12 books and an expert on everything to do with branding, Jonathan Gabay is one of the most respected names in the world of marketing.

When he’s not writing influential books Jonathan travels the world spreading his knowledge on marketing, branding and communications.

This week I spoke to Jonathan about the re-launching of our favourite chocolate brands, how internet only players can compete with established names online and managing online reputation.

What do you think of Mars, Nestle and Cadbury’s bringing back old confectionery brands such as Marathon, Wispa and Opal Fruits?
The ancient Greeks had a term:  νόστος = nostos = returning home, and άλγος = algos = pain/longing .

The power of nostalgia in branding is one never to be underestimated.  However, FMCG companies have to be careful of the time between relaunching brands.  You can’t reintroduce a chocolate bar for nostalgia’s sake if it was only off the market for a question of a few years.

Snickers is renaming to Marathon for a limited period. Do you think there is a risk of confusing a generation of young people not familiar with Marathon, or is the logo and branding on the packet stronger than the name?
The trouble with reverting to an old brand name and then going back to a new one is that it shows a lack of confidence in a brand:  My opinion? Stay in for the long race not just a quick Marathon.

Cadbury’s brought back Wispa in response to several online petitions. What do you think is the primary motivation for people to join Facebook groups such as ‘Bring Back Wispa’?
Fun, nostalgia and sense of the consumer having a say in a much-loved brand.

An online petition has brought a brand back but do you think the internet generation will ever create a FMCG product? Will we see online petitions like ‘the campaign for Banana flavour KitKat’?
A brand leader is like a conductor of an orchestra.  If he (or she) totally dismisses out of hand what the audience wants, they could end up conducting nothing more than a one-man Penny Flute.

YouTube is one of my favourite internet brands. The word ‘tube’, which itself has connotations to traditional TV sets, is appropriately enclosed in an TV shaped box, ‘You’ adds a sense of personalisation, and the tagline ‘broadcast yourself’ says it all in two words. What’s your favourite internet only brand and why?
Google.  It is useful, distinctive and even has the accolade of being a verb in the Oxford dictionary. I also like Leonbaileygreen.com.  Fun, informative and sharp why thank you!.

What can internet only brands do to compete with online offerings from established bricks and mortar competitors?
The question should be reversed.  Give it ten years and most of the high street will be on the Wi-Fi street.

Do you think big brands are actively doing enough to achieve positive first page results on Google for their brand names?
I hope so - I teach a lot of them how to achieve that aim!

With universal search Google now shows news results alongside some brand name searches, making online reputation management more important than ever. Is reading a bad news story on a brand, when you’ve searched for it, more damaging than coming across the bad news story in a newspaper, or is it the same?
Someone famously said that “all publicity is good publicity” That’s not necessarily true, especially on the web.  Brands receiving bad PR could always be consoled by the PR men saying “today’s news is tomorrow’s fish and chip wrapping paper.” Pieces on the web linger much longer and because people read in short bursts on the web, they sometimes see the bad news headlines and just take it as read, rather than delve to find out more of the real truth behind the story.

And finally, what do you think is the next big trend in the world of branding?
More personalization and more permission based intrusion. That includes everything from the world of technology with customizable computers and interactive video ads on the go, to FMCG chocolate bars that come in banana flavours.

See more about Jonathan Gabay on the Brand Forensics website.

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Read my article ‘How Asda’s George clothing will succeed online’ on Drapers.

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This live (and very impressive) advert may have been for Honda but Channel 4 and Come Dine With Me also benefited from the press surrounding the stunt.

This is one commercial that won’t set fingers on that Sky+ fast forward button!

There seems to be a bit of confusion over Honda’s strapline. The advert is said by many to focus on the strapline “If it’s difficult it’s worth doing”, but the advert closes with “The Power of Dreams”.

So what does Google say when you search both brand messages?

If it’s difficult it’s worth doing - No mention of Honda on the first two pages of search results.

The power of dreams - Most of the search results, including the three images in the integrated image search, relate to Honda.

It would have been a good idea for Honda to create a landing page on their website, in anticipation of the advert, to ensure it ranked for terms like “honda advert”, “sky dive advert” and “live advert”, ready for the flurry of searches following the ad and press.

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Read my article ‘the online fashion trust factor’ on Drapers.

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Coleen McLoughlin, fiancée of Wayne Rooney, is one of many footballers wives and girlfriends who shot to fame because of their partner’s status on the pitch. She’s estimated to be worth £5m in her own right, thanks to her high profile and clever brand building.

Coleen’s brand has taken the fashion, style and beauty route. Last year she earned millions being the face of Asda’s clothing range, writing a weekly column in Closer magazine, presenting her own TV show and launching a perfume.

By involving herself in numerous fashion and beauty based projects, and avoiding the usual ‘lads mag and falling out of nightclubs’ routine, Coleen has managed to become a style icon; unusually respected in the fashion industry.

But how does Coleen’s website help to communicate her brand message which is essentially ‘a normal girl who’s become an expert on fashion, style and beauty’?

Unfortunately, Brand Coleen, worth an estimated £5m, doesn’t have an online presence.

This is one brand that isn’t using the internet to communicate its message.

Here are three reasons why Coleen McLoughlin needs a website…

1. Brand Extension
Last year Coleen signed a 10 year beauty deal with Robertet, through whom she launched her first perfume. Coleen could use a website to capture data on her brand followers, to help shape the decision of the most sensible next launch.

2. Trust
Coleen is competing with many celebrities in a competitive beauty market. We often hear the line “I chose the bottle and scent myself” from many celebs to which most people are cynical of. Coleen can use a series of ‘behind the scenes’ articles and videos to demonstrate the work she puts into her products.

3. New Markets
If Coleen decides to introduce her brand to foreign markets, where she isn’t as well known, people will be ‘Blind Googling’ (searching Google for someone they don’t know) her. If she creates her own website she can tell her brand story, if not, blogs, forums and newspaper websites will come up in the search results tell their version for her.

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Read my online marketing tips for online organic stores on E-Consultancy.com.

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