On the
pulse
Staying in tune with cultural trends is essential for all businesses. And for start-ups willing to take a risk, reactive marketing can be a great way to drive brand engagement
WORDS: ADAM PESCOD
F
ew ad campaigns could have sparked as much controversy as Protein World’s latest effort, which asked female consumers ‘Are you beach body ready?’ as a means of promoting its weight loss supplements. Adorned with an image of a slender, bronzed young woman, the advert caused uproar as people claimed it sent out a false – and deeply offensive – message to women. Following a flurry of complaints, the Advertising Standard Authority (ASA) is now investigating whether the advert breaks harm and offence rules or is socially irresponsible. However, it wasn’t just the general public that reacted strongly to Protein World. Other brands got in on the act too, notably Carlsberg, whose ‘Are you beer body ready?’ posters were soon adorning Tube stations across London. While intended to poke fun at Protein World, the beer company’s adverts were also a brilliant example of reactive marketing. Yes, Protein World may not be a direct competitor but Carlsberg had successfully tapped into a cultural and viral trend, which, ultimately, is what ‘Are you beach body ready?’ has become. Indeed, brands have no choice but to jump on the back of social and cultural phenomena
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in order to stay relevant in this day and age. “If you’re not up to date with what’s going on, your business isn’t current and, if your business isn’t current, you’re not marketing yourself effectively,” says Shaun Roberts, founder and managing director of Creative Catalysts, the online marketing agency that’s devised its own Protein World-inspired campaign, ‘Are you beach party ready?’, to promote a forthcoming event in Wales. Suffice to say, in a world where millions of people are online at any given time, one can’t blame companies for going all-out to get Jamie Matthews, in front of as many Initials Marketing customers as possible. “There’s a 24/7 scramble for eyeballs,” says Rich Leigh, founder of Rich Leigh & Company, the PR agency and PRexamples.com, the stunts and campaigns website. “Companies will do anything to get in front of target audiences and smart reactive marketing allows companies to do
that by inserting themselves into stories [that] people they want to reach are already reading, following and talking about.” Of course, the likes of Carlsberg are blessed with hefty marketing budgets but achieving the same sort of reach isn’t beyond start-ups and SMEs. It just takes some imagination and a sense of adventure. “You have to be very creative and a little more risky to achieve cut-through,” says Jamie Matthews, CEO and managing partner at Initials Marketing. “Anything safe will die. It won’t get the traction that you need.” On the other hand, companies must be careful not to takes things too far. “You have to gauge the temperature of the situation that you are potentially entering your company into and the repercussions of that situation,” explains Roberts. But what appears beyond doubt is that social media has helped level the playing field for
Anything safe will die. It won’t get the traction that you need
28/05/2015 22:19