October

Happy Halloween marketers. Spooky season ends at midnight, which means the holiday season is imminent. For us marketers, the truly scary season is just beginning - you know how the saying goes, ‘tis the season to be jolly busy.?

Let’s talk about October, the campaigns we’ve been unable to forget, the not-so-subtle creeping in of Black Friday messaging, the birth of yet another social media format to go viral on, and whether a jar of mayonnaise needs to have a purpose in life.

Tired of being tired?

This month I was driving when I saw a, no scratch that, the Floradix billboard. ‘Tired of being Tired?’ the poster asks you, alongside a yawning woman. ‘I am tired of you asking me’ I thought. And we all know yawns are contagious, so now I’m yawning whilst wondering if I am in fact tired of being tired. Clever.?

It got me thinking though, I’m sure that ad has been the same for at least ten years, and how often do we see that? I wanted to understand why this ad was going against the norm and find out if it was successful.?

Initially, I thought that it was lazy marketing (maybe the marketing team needs some Floradix), or a case of a small budget. But Floradix must have spend, I see that ad all the time out and about. It turns out that SALUS-Haus who owns Floradix has an annual turnover of 100 million euros, so it’s definitely not a budget issue, and it also shows the ad is working. In fact, according to the design agency behind the ad, the ‘Tired of being Tired’ campaign increased sales of Floradix by 20%.

I realized the ad is actually a case of ‘if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it’. Which is something we don’t see too often in the fast-paced world of advertising. The copy is perfect; it speaks to the problem, asks a question, implies the product is the cure, and it does it all in four words. FOUR. I can only dream of being so concise.

Despite what you may think, sticking with this same ad for so long wasn’t necessarily the easy option. The ‘Tired of being Tired’ campaign has faced adversity a couple of times, but Floradix has backed it all the way. The ad was actually banned from the London Underground when TfL implemented a policy restricting advertisements featuring food and drink products high in fat, sugar, or salt. Despite being marketed as a health product, Floradix fell into this category. The brand was required to appeal for an exception, which it did, and it was granted. The yawning lady was back.

Floradix also had to defend the actual phrase ‘Tired of being Tired’ to the ASA back in 2014 when it received complaints of being misleading. Floradix won, and the phrase continues to question us all on a daily basis almost ten years later. All of this to say, Floradix is REALLY proud of that ad, and, honestly, so they should be.?

Want to write something just as iconic? Our free guide to writing engaging email copy is a great place to brush up on your own copywriting skills.

BFCM in October??

It seems like every year Black Friday and Cyber Monday sales get earlier and earlier. I understand the dilemma brands face; go too early and you risk discounting when you don’t need to, go too late and you risk losing out to competitors already running sales.?

This month I got my first Black Friday/Cyber Monday email of the year. Savage X Fenty by Rihanna sent me an ‘early access to cyber deals’ email on October 16. There’s early, and then there’s early. I’m not one to sniff at a sale, but Black Friday and Cyber Monday used to be just two days, and very much tied to the US holiday of Thanksgiving. Now, ‘Cyber week’ and ‘Black Friday month’ are not unusual to see.?

As marketers, we see something working and we want to maximize that success, but we need to draw the line somewhere or the sales period will lose its meaning entirely. We see lots of talk about Black Friday fatigue amongst consumers. In my opinion, the more that Black Friday deals aren’t actually tied to Black Friday, it dilutes the appeal, the sales highs will drop off and marketers will have ruined it for themselves.?

If you are looking for ways to deliver conversion-driving campaigns this Black Friday, check out this blog with five simple tips for a winning Black Friday campaign and our infographic full of Black Friday marketing hacks.?

Meta expands broadcast channels to Facebook

In October Meta announced it would be launching broadcast channels on Facebook and Messenger. Broadcast channels actually launched on Instagram in February this year, but was limited to a trial of US influencers. The feature has gained a lot of traction with a full launch in September, and it’s now appearing on Facebook too. Broadcast channels are essentially a one-way conversation from an account, with the ability to send messages, voice notes, and polls from an account to a group who’ve chosen to sign up for the ‘channel’.?

It appears that social media platforms vying to do everything is not slowing down. Gone are the days when each platform had its own niche, now the big players are all copying each other - and let’s not talk about all the changes happening over on Twitter… X? From TikTok to Instagram Reels to YouTube Shorts, to name just a few similarities, it’s a lot for social media marketers to keep up with. My thoughts are with you. ?

To any cross-channel marketers feeling overwhelmed, our marketing channel playbook is on hand to help you decide how to split resources and where to focus depending on your brand’s needs.?

Are brand values hindering growth??

Last week Unilever’s new CEO, Hein Schumacher, made the bold statement to investors that the company would stop “force fitting” purpose to all its brands. Unilever is a consumer brand powerhouse, and Unilever company Dove was one of the pioneers in brand marketing that focused on values and purpose. In fact, Dove’s ‘Onslaught’ campaign is what made me want to get into marketing in the first place.?

Just the other day I wrote about how brand values are an important part of a brand’s success, citing Norwich City Football Club’s viral World Mental Health Day campaign. Brand values have been a hot topic for marketers for a little while now, so it’s interesting to see such a huge name denounce its importance.?

Brand values are crucial to standing out in a crowded marketplace, and in generating an emotional bond that drives loyalty with your customer base. This new approach from Unilever is likely a reaction to Unilever investors who have claimed purpose is being put before growth. Last year major Unilever investor, Terry Smith, said: “A company which feels it has to define the purpose of Hellmann’s mayonnaise has in our view clearly lost the plot,”.

As a consumer, my first reaction is that he has a point. Mayonnaise doesn’t need a purpose, it’s just a condiment. But as a marketer, even something as personality-less as mayonnaise does need a draw. Why would I pay more for Hellmann’s mayonnaise vs a supermarket’s own brand? Is it a decision made just on flavor and price? Or does knowing that Hellmann’s uses 100% recycled plastic in its bottles and only uses sustainably sourced ingredients make me feel the extra cost is more than justified? For most people, it’s a bit of both. A lot of the time, brand values are about making the consumer feel they’re doing good by buying from a brand doing good. You’re making customers feel good about themselves by proxy.?

I’m really interested to see how Unilever reducing the emphasis on purpose with its brands plays out. It’d be a shame to see so much work go to waste, especially when consumers today want brand values more than ever. There’s only so long you can rely on brand reputation and campaigns from the past to carry you through… Unless you’re Floradix of course.?