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Is the future cashed out?
By Anastasia Shephard, Consultant
Earlier this year, global financial groups gathered in Barcelona to grapple control of what many will call our future. ‘Mobile money’ allows people to use their smart phones to purchase goods instead of cash or credit. Yet surprisingly, the conversation wasn’t entirely on a positive note.
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A researcher, a cabbie and a dominatrix walk into a bar…
by Dr. Russ Wilson, Senior Qualitative Consultant
I’ve always felt privileged being a researcher. From helping develop services for some of the most vulnerable people in the country, to bringing something extra to people’s lives through the products and brands they interact with on a daily basis, I sometimes think that working in research gives me unique insights into people’s lives, emotions and needs.
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Modernity and South East Asian Women
by Grace Christianity, Quant Associate
Recent consumer groups in Asia got have me thinking about the definition of a ‘modern women’ and how widely she varies, depending upon which cultural values she holds most important…
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He who thinks local, wins global: Lessons in branding from Down Under
By Kate Evans, Senior Consultant
The world’s long distance love affair with Australia began well before Fosters unleashed its famous (‘He who drinks Australian, thinks Australian’) tagline. What is it that makes Aussie brands so alluring? What lessons can we learn from Down Under?
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Retail’s answer isn’t more social media, its retailing like social media.
By Benjamin Harrison, Senior Consultant at Clear Australia
Retail can learn big lessons from the success of social media, but not in the way that we’re usually told: instead of doing more social media, retailer stores can be more like social media.
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How to get out of the ‘friend zone’
By Frances Deighton, Global Marketing Executive
Some brands will always remain ‘just friends’, we’ll flirt with them, dipping in when there’s a great offer, but when it comes down to it, there’s always a suitable alternative. Being stuck in the ‘friend zone’ isn’t ideal, so what are 3 tips to take your brand out of the friend-zone to loved-up and loyal?
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Knowing me, knowing you
By Mark Killey, Senior Consultant
Have you ever met someone for the first time at party and they’ve asked that typical ‘get to know you’ question, ‘what’s your favourite album / book / movie?’ Well I’ve always struggled to answer that question; I find it hard to pick the one thing that will define who I am as a person. However, I no longer need to worry, as now there’s someone who knows that answer immediately…
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Learning from the little guys
By Dani Roberts, Consultant at Clear Europe
With a spate of goliath-sized stores closing their doors on UK high streets in the last few months, I felt compelled to write about the happenings of my own high street.
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Online retailers winning the war…until now?
By Adam Rowles, Business Development Manager
If we can’t compete with online retailers on their playing field, then we shouldn’t attempt to. We need to go back to basics and understand what it is that drives footfall in the first place. There are 3 major opportunities for bricks and mortar retailers to deliver more than their online counterparts…
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Learning from Mom and Pop..!
by Charlotte White, Senior Consultant
When you read the title ‘learning from Mom and Pop, you probably all groaned and thought I was talking about the pearls of wisdom our parents are always so eager to pass on. Whereas I actually meant the thousands of small stores that form the backbone of traditional developing market trade.
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Branding the high street: the ultimate social marketing project
By Anna Cordon, Senior Consultant
‘The high street’. It appears to be a bit of a dirty phrase these days. It’s not a destination you share with pride. You’re probably more likely to declare an ambiguous: “I’m off shopping” than admit to your true destination. The high street itself has become something of an enigma. Or worse still, a stigma.
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Marketing to Women in 2013
by Frances Deighton, Global Marketing Executive
2012 had its fair share of lady-marketing disasters…’BIC for her’ pens, pink ‘OMG!’ lucozade and the embarrassing Femfresh ‘whatever you call it’ campaign, to name but a few. The huge backlash caused by these was sure to make a few marketers sit up and listen, but why is it that when it comes to marketing to women in the modern day, we’re still falling foul to such moments of blatant sexism?
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Do you know how to turn women on?
by Morgane Gaubier, Senior Consultant, Clear Singapore
Women aren’t always rational purchasers and when it comes to branding, it pays to understand what makes them tick. If you are really able to hit their passion points and bring to the fore the desirable aspect of the brand or product, price becomes moot. So what are my top tips to turn women on?
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An inconvenient truth about marketing to women
by Anne Imbach, Strategy Director
Have you ever heard a 25 year old beauty rep sell a new skincare gimmick promising “youthful and radiant skin” and then witnessed a customer in her 30′s willing to believe and buy it? It seems that when it comes to our looks, women are happy to lie – and are equally happy to be lied to…
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The Gap between New and Innovative
By Mark Killey, Senior Consultant
At CES 2013 over 3000 consumer electronics companies showcased the fruits of years of R&D, insight and innovation with the products they hope we will be buying in the coming year. So what have we got to be excited about?
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Don’t Miss The Next Beat
by Anna Cordon, Senior Consultant
Whilst perusing the aisles of John Lewis in the run up to Christmas, a crowd of people surrounding one particular display caught my attention. So what was the cause of this gathering? Headphones. BEATS BY DR DRE headphones, to be precise.
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Why “Beer for the ladies” will never work
By Simon Garnett, Managing Director, US
The opportunity is obvious. Beer under-indexes against women and in a category that is at best flat and more often than not, in decline, why wouldn’t you go for such a huge under-leveraged audience?
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No need to state the obvious
By Dani Roberts, Consultant at Clear Europe
“Why does the insight even need to appear on a consumer facing concept? Consumers and shoppers don’t see insights at the supermarket aisle; there is not an insight floating ethereally above a product on the shelf when they make a decision…”