Marketing in 2020: how to survive, adapt and thrive
As a marketer preparing for the next 12 months it would be easy to feel overwhelmed or uncertain, even fearful. Here are some key actions marketing agency KISS recommends to help you survive, adapt and thrive over the coming months.
Influence with influencers
Olly Cooper, Account Manager at KISS, writes: "With the explosion in influencer marketing - the industry was worth $2bn in 2017 and is set to reach $15bn by 2022 - I often describe social media as a bit like Times Square: you’ve got thousands of people all in one place and all these brands fighting for your attention."
How ‘movements’ create an environment of change
It starts with an injustice, which manifests into anger and frustration. It then turns into a movement, which is vocalised through protests. It moves into a political debate, and then eventually a change of the mind helps create an environment of harmony and understanding – well that’s the hope anyway!
100% virtual should be the new normal
The pandemic is rewriting the rules of customer experience. But what do Covid’s sudden seismic shifts mean for marketers long term?
Recovery marketing – the big W
Of all the predictions for the shape of the economy as we recover, most analysts say a ‘W’ is the most likely and the best way to plan marketing.
Pivot – the most overused word of the past 13 weeks?
Jane Kroese, Senior Account Director at KISS, writes: "I’ve lost count of the amount of times the word ‘pivot’ has been used in Zoom and Teams meetings over the past 13 weeks! It’s very clear from what we’ve all recently experienced that many businesses and organisations across the globe have had to swiftly change their plans and ‘pivot’."
Getting to know the human behind the client
Olly Cooper, Account Manager as KISS writes: "I led my first ‘lockdown’ pitch over Microsoft Teams last month for a global tech company and I had huge reservations about the whole pitch process. Would the Wi-Fi hold out? Would the client be able to hear me? Would someone walk in and start hoovering the carpet at any moment?"
Creativity in crisis
We’re more adaptable than we ever thought. Even in January this year the idea of working full-time from home, teaching our own kids or being unable to visit friends was unthinkable. Even in early March we were still carrying on fairly normally with life, at least in the UK. But with startling speed we have found ourselves in the grip of an unprecedented situation.
KISS celebrates rankings success of PROI Worldwide
Creative marketing agency KISS is a proud partner in PROI Worldwide, which has recently ranked fourth place in the PRovoke Media 2020 Global Holding Group rankings – jumping up a spot on its fifth place ranking in 2019.
Staying connected – working from home
With home working as our new way of life businesses have had to think of innovative ways to keep in touch with employees. It’s become even more important for companies to ensure team morale remains high and ensure that there’s a consistent dialogue between employer and employee.
Turn the spotlight on your internal comms
If you’ve spent the past seven weeks ramping up your messaging and external comms, I hope you’ve also factored your internal comms into the mix too!
Don’t look back, you are not going that way
The current pandemic is a true tragedy, particularly in the UK, and I don’t want to downplay the seriousness of it – but it is also a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for a rethink.
The (neuro)science behind storytelling in video ads
It's no mystery that humans like stories. In fact, our brain is evolutionarily wired to follow the connections between a series of events relying on cause and effect – that's in a nutshell what narratives are made of.
You need clear key messages now more than ever
All of us have extra worries in these unprecedented times. But today, more than ever, being clear about your key messages is vital.
Why I chose Strategy as a career
KISS's junior strategist Chloe writes: I chose a career in strategy because it’s the best job in the world...
A winning way to make a brand more appealing…
Remember when you were a little kid playing with your friends? You probably still recall how grumpy you would get after losing a sports match, or how genuinely good you would behave if, instead, you won it. We’ve all been there. We then grow older and pretend to manage emotions and focus on cooperation rather than competition, but it seems that the human brain is still wired for the latter,…
Tech will hold us together while apart
Lamour Nash, Account Executive at KISS writes: I don’t know about you, but the word ‘quarantine’ immediately throws me back to a scene in Pixar’s “Monsters Inc.” in which a contaminated employee is put into quarantine as a “23-19” has occurred. Given the current situation we’re all faced with, how are people coping with the anxiety that remote working and isolation bring?
Winning hearts and minds
Sarah Reakes, KISS Managing Director, recently wrote about how communication has changed in light of the current situation, and it was interesting to read how much consumers are going to be judging brands at the moment – effectively putting them on trial.
Humanity’s finding new ways to communicate – but be careful
KISS's Managing Director, Sarah Reakes says: "I think it’s fair to say that we’re all in agreement at the moment – connection is vital, and people are finding new ways to do it; but the way brands do it is even more important."
Five top tips for marketers now
KISS's Managing Director, Sarah Reakes, offers her top tips for marketers during the coronavirus outbreak.
A glimpse into the Internet of Things
KISS's Chloe Thompson, Junior Strategist writes: As I write this blog I’m sat in my flat, working from home like most of you - how surreal is this? My thoughts are with anyone impacted to any greater or lesser extent.
Four books to ease your time in quarantine
With schools closed and the majority of businesses moving to remote working, we’ll have to find ways to accommodate and adapt to our new working-from-home schedules with children at home full time, as well as seek strategies to keep body and mind healthy.
The ‘Dude with Sign’ is a sign of things to come!
I’m sure we’ve all seen the @Dudewithsign sweeping across our Instagram feeds (and if you haven’t, check him out) holding cardboard signs with a simple protest such as, ‘stop replying-all to company-wide emails’ and ‘that meeting could have been an email.’ Relatable.
Trust – and the importance of accurate and timely information in the current climate
In the globalised world we live there is only one thing that spreads quicker than viruses: fake news. As we’ve (or should have) learned how anti-vaxxers and their misleading information brought back deadly, previously eradicated diseases, we must prevent misinformation about the novel coronavirus strain COVID-19 from spreading as quickly as the virus itself.
Holistic brand experience: C not D
KISS has developed digital strategies for several clients recently and it’s had Sarah Reakes, Managing Direcotor, thinking about the fact that we need to talk about ‘C’ words more than ‘D’ words.