Best of ‘A Marketers Diary’ (October 2011)

Each day we are bombarded by thousands of advertising messages. However, how many of them do we actually consume? We decided to collect just one example of an ad every day and explain why this communication caught our attention. And each month we showcase our favourite pieces; most engaging communication, most compelling idea and best media placement.

Here are October’s offerings for your consideration.

MOST COMPELLING IDEA

Tuesday 11^th October 2011 – Canada press ad

I liked this press ad because it’s trying to be an online ad in print. A potentially smart approach given the likely affluent older demographic audience. All the digital trimmings are in place on the ad and it made me think immediately to check them out online through my social media connections rather than their website. It came across as a brand that knows its digital and how to use it.

MOST ENGAGING COMMUNICATION

14^th October 2011 – Green & Blacks double page press ad

I’ve pieced this together because it spread across two sides of the Evening Standard. Friday night, heading home straight after work and as a father of two Friday night means home, cosy on the sofa with popcorn viewing and TV treats. To be reminded of the G&B range like this was brilliant – I used it like a menu. To get comms to work like this, beyond an ad, is rare and memorable. It hits the spot.

BEST MEDIA PLACEMENT

Monday 31^st October 2011 – Royal British Legion bikes

Is this great or graffiti? Do Barclays know their bikes have been hijacked by the RBL, of course they do. And by using a space not normally advertised on they’ve created brand comms arguably as memorable as a press ad or poster (of course integrated with them and it’s more powerful). The marketer in me says well done RBL for taking over an untapped space. But to be honest it has got me thinking more about whether this is smart from Barclays’ perspective or will it lead to Barclays Bike scheme now being targeted by guerrilla advertising too by second string advertisers copying the initiative without Barclays’ say so? As I was taking this pic a second bike pulled up and the chap said to me, ‘good isn’t it. I don’t need to buy a poppy with one of these on the bike’. I read that Barclays are contributing £1 for every ride this week. Even so I hope that rider’s view is not a popular one. Nice work Barclays and RBL.

Posted by Christopher Brooks, Director Lexden.

Lexden is a marketing strategy agency which creates unordinary propositions which motivate customers and deliver commercial advantage for brands. To discuss how our approach can help you with your burning platforms, contact christopherbrooks@lexdengroup.com or ajairanawat@lexdengroup.com, or call us on T: +44 (0)20 7490 9123, M: +44 (0)7968 316548. And you can follow us on Twitter @consultingchris.