Ever heard of Tide Detergent? American brand, big orange container, pretty pricey… Me neither. That is, until a few weeks ago when news stories exploded all over the web about the product being stolen from stores across America.

Yes, you read that right. Bizarrely, rather than steal cars, cash registers or wallets, many thieves are stealing Tide Detergent and then selling the stuff on the black market.

You’re probably scratching your head thinking, “why Tide?” Well, according to the authorities, there are several reasons: Tide is instantly recognisable due to its bright orange bottle, it’s one of the most expensive brands of laundry detergent and it doesn’t have serial numbers, so it can’t be tracked.

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The Swinton Mystery Tipper campaign began in March 2008 with the objective of generating insurance leads for Swinton Taxi Division.  Not only did it smash this objective out of the park, but it also won several marketing awards including a DMA Gold in the Financial Services category.  So when we were tasked earlier this year with improving upon it we were a little apprehensive, but netherless we accepted the challenge withgusto and started to devise a bigger and better Mystery Tipper campaign….  but would the awards follow!?

A brief overview

For those of you who are not familiar.  The Mystery Tipper is a mysterious blonde decked out in a mac and trilby who travels across towns and cities in the UK, handing a £1,000 tip to a cabbie who has a ‘Mystery Tipper’ sticker in their cab. Cabbies get a sticker after requesting a taxi insurance quote from Swinton Taxi Division. Easy, effective and successful, The Mystery Tipper’s appeal is its simplicity. that and the lure of a big tip.

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How do you feel when you see an established brand name baffle you with a new product? One that’s not associated with the infamous brand name you know and love?  Well, you either trust the brand name enough to love the product, or you’re completely baffled, wondering how on earth the product has anything to do with the brand name!

Sometimes, even the most tenuous link between brand and product can actually work rather well – who would have thought that a musical instrument manufacturer Yamaha could become such a successful motor vehicle company?  Or that Coca-Cola lip balm would really take off?  But with every successful idea that sends a product soaring off the shelves comes another brand’s dismal failure at extending their name into a new field – welcome, reader, to the fabulous world of brand extension.

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As we all know, in any relationship, it’s the small things that matter. Yet what many people don’t realise is that it’s not only in our personal relationships that small things can have a big effect… they can also have a similar result in the relationships marketers, brands and companies have with their customers or business partners.

And why do small things matter? Well, as anyone who has ever bought a girl flowers knows; something small but effective can have a kind of result that is absolutely out of proportion to the cost.

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Over the past few years we’ve all had to tighten our belts. People want more for less and supermarkets have reacted to this by focussing their marketing on pushing cheap, value products. In contrast to this being a ‘foodie’ has become more fashionable than ever. From our love of TV programs like Come Dine With Me to the adverts made sexy by that highly annoying M&S lady, everyone is wanting a piece of this pie.

Granted, there have always been fads but now food has a cultural significance of its own. We’d love to be known for being an amazing cook and throwing the best dinner parties around. We feel the need to buy organic products rather than bog-standard own brands and if like me when you get to the counter at the supermarket you probably find yourself checking out the neighbours trolley in a keeping up with the Jones’ style.

The brands that have picked up on this trend have done it with gusto. By making a stylish alliance with their brand they are appealing to women like me who love both fashion and food.

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Before I start this blog, I’ve set myself some ground rules. Simply because I know there are lots of blog postings, articles and galleries on the web dedicated to really funky and creative business cards. There is nothing wrong with these cards… it’s just that one of my biggest niggles about fancy business cards is that they don’t fit in my business card holder, or my wallet for that matter!

Ok that may be a bit old fashioned of me. But I like my business card holder. It serves the lovely purpose of holding lots of business cards that I can flick to in an instant. The only problem with it is that if the card is larger than 3.5 × 2 inches… I have to get the scissors out, or it just gets lost. And until someone invents a business card app for my iPhone, I’m going to stick to paper.

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The truth is out there

At Red C, as well as juggling our busy schedules, we have a number of Creative team projects and initiatives that bubble along throughout the year. These include filming and editing video case studies to researching search engine optimisation. This time around, our team got the tricky task of generating new business opportunities with our current clients.

Finding new business avenues for clients sounds easy, but there are lots of things you need to consider. Identifying potential oportunities requires a deep understanding of a brand and the directions in which it could and would want to expand. And that’s just for starters. On top of that, it has to be financially viable, fit in with wider brand and marketing strategies and be measurable in terms of return on investment.

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It’s no big secret that I’m a bad loser. I hold my hands up and fully accept that my inability to be gracious in defeat is one of my weak points. Yet it is also a strong point too… as it drives me, pushes me harder and makes me ensure I have explored every opportunity for my clients. Simply because I want to create something special that will not only exceed the goals set in the brief… but also deliver some awards because the strategy is sound, it looks damned good, is incredibly well written and has pulled like a freight train.

For me, winning is key to a passionate, productive, purposeful, and prosperous life. If I were to value it less than I do, then I fear I would begin to say goodbye to my talents as a creative. The will to win is what drives me to be the best I can be in everything I do… and I have seen first hand what a winning mentality can do to an agency.

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The famous saying goes ‘there is no such thing as bad press’ but is this true? We now live in a society obsessed by celebrity culture. And celebrities are more than just ‘well known names.’ They’re carefully crafted, aspirational brands, as famous for the products they endorse as they are for their ‘talents’. The question is, what effect does negative press have on these  celeb brand business.

As you know, over the last few weeks, celebrity scandal has been everywhere. Even the highbrow broadsheets have been dedicating serious column inches to the state of Cheryl and Ashley Cole’s marriage.

In a recent article, Guardian reporter Deborah Orr wondered what Cheryl would now do with the tattoo on the back of her neck, the one that brands her ‘Mrs Cole’ for life? She concluded it would have to be painfully removed and noted: “the pain of breakup can be great to bear. And sometimes it’s the thought of all that rebranding that hurts most of all.”

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I know… I agree… it does seem strange having the words ‘fun’ and ‘insurance’ in one headline but have you noticed nearly all the leading insurance brands are attempting it? I know that Meerkat has just popped straight into your head but it’s not the only insurance brand to be using a ‘character’ to try and instil more fun (and consequently more brand recognition of course) into the fight for your insurance quote.

We all hate getting them… whether its quotes for home, car, pet, buildings, contents (the list goes on) and all we really want is the lowest price with of course the most comprehensive cover, so is this approach working for insurance brands and how are they achieving it?

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