Welcome to the weekly Wrap from How-Do - media news for the North West.

 

 

Good to read about How-Do’s Top 100 North West Brands. With so many strong, well-known brands in the region, this is our opportunity to acknowledge their diversity and strength. It’s also a great opportunity to showcase the region as a centre of marketing and business excellence. When in London, I’m frequently amused at the look of disbelief on peoples’ faces when they discover our head office is in Wigan. There’s no doubt that our capital city has some great brands but frankly so do we. So, c’mon everyone! Get voting now. Can’t wait to see the results and Mediavest’s analysis.

Big boobs

So from big brands to big boobs and how to take advantage of your assets. Good luck to Anthony Taylor who has just joined Littlewoods Direct, a classic North West brand. There’s a big task ahead for Littlewoods as they develop their business in the changing world of catalogue shopping. The success of smaller competitors like Boden must have put the cat among the pigeons. The decision to appoint Trinny and Susannah as the face of Littlewoods was an astute move.

The rise of the freebie

I’m fascinated by how companies transform themselves to meet the changing needs of today’s consumer. A great example of this was the news from the Liverpool Post and the MEN who have offset the decline in paid-for copies (-10% and -25% respectively) with freebies. Total readership remains unchanged but I do wonder whether people value a free copy as much as they would a paid-for copy. You often see abandoned copies on trains and it makes me wonder whether advertising responses differ between paid-for and pick-up copies. It wouldn’t surprise me if it did, and I’d love to see some research on the subject.

New departures

Manchester Airport’s tender for its marketing needs will no doubt create some excitement. As a big fan of the airport, there’s no doubt that it’s a great account but let’s not downplay the fact that there’s a big job to be done. It’s been a tough year for airports which are having to balance the need for increased security with the requirement for a great consumer experience. 

 

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