October 2019 Blogs

Money, business and solidarity.  You might think we’re talking about the latest series of the Peaky Blinders, and you wouldn’t be far wrong. The Northern Powerhouse is in one of its strongest positions yet, spelling a great 2020 ahead for businesses and candidates alike.  The Northern pull But it’s not just Thomas Shelby and his brothers who are stealing candidates and pulling businesses away from London. According to a recent report from Totaljobs, the North is attracting attention in its own right, thanks to: The Northern pound As the famous saying goes, “it’s cheaper up North,” and that remains relevant today. £1 in London is now worth £1.17 in the North - giving you 17% more bang for your buck. To put this in perspective, Northerners are paying £0.59 less per day on coffee, £42.65 less per month on travel, and £6,240 less per year on rent.  Growing businesses Northern England is home to 1 million businesses exporting £50 billion of goods across the world. Accordingly, it’s become a hotbed for investment, expansion, and jobs. At Henry Nicholas, we’ve seen an increase this year in marketing and PR jobs in cities including Manchester, York and Leeds.  Northern soul There’s a different way of life up North, which is why its cities dominate the happiness index. Candidates and businesses are motivated by earning enough to be comfortable, and workloads that get people home on time. A stark difference from salary-motivated Londoners who work an average of 150 hours overtime per year.  Local pride People and businesses are more proud of their region than the rest of the country, and this is reflected in overall employee happiness and business health. And it’s not going unnoticed. Relocations from London have tripled since 2010, leading to 75% of creative jobs now being outside of the capital.  How you can get involved So how can you as a business or employee get involved in the attraction that is the North?  Businesses If you’re a Northern business looking to benefit from the influx of marketing and PR talent relocating to the North, we can help to: Advice on local salaries and relocation support for your next vacancy;  Benchmark your policies, including flexible working, against the rest of your industry; and Build a local (and national) buzz about your business among talented candidates. Candidates If you’re looking for a creative job that allows you to relocate up North, then you need to look in the right places. Sign up to local job boards, speak to a national creative recruitment agency and make it clear on your CV that you’re willing and eager to relocate. ​ If you’re looking to join the Northern powerhouse, then get in touch with one of our Northern consultants today.

Burger King VS McDonalds - Are you giving your competitors the McFeels? Now you may remember in a bizarre turn of events, Burger King asked its customers to go directly to the competition in its “A Day Without the Whopper” campaign.  On 26 September 2019, McDonald’s celebrated McHappy day - a fundraising campaign in Argentina where $2 from every Big Mac sale was donated to the Children with Cancer charity. And Burger King showed its full support by stopping sales of its number one product for the whole day and, instead, asking customers to support its arch-nemesis.  This powerful marketing move melted the hearts of the internet, and it certainly isn’t the first time that Burger King has used competitor marketing to grab attention. But how can supporting your competitors in this way be good for business? We looked into the benefits of Competitor Marketing and how supporting your competition can actually work in your favour.  Industry support Firstly, without your competitors, there might be no industry at all. If the McDonald brothers hadn’t given consumers a taste for quick burgers, salty fries and hefty milkshakes, Burger King might not have been here at all. And today, when the nation’s attention is on healthy eats, it’s in the interests of both brands to keep fast food popular, desired and talked about. This campaign took the focus away from the negatives of fast food outlets and instead highlighted the positive actions of these brands.   The greater good Secondly, as in this case, sometimes there are more important matters at hand than who wins the burger war. McDonald’s was fundraising for an important charity and Burger King’s support led to a record-breaking McHappy Day that saw 73,437 more Big Macs sold than the previous year. That equated to $146,874 more for a cause far more worthwhile than a day of burger sales.  PR And finally, this was incredible PR for the King. The internet went crazy, and Burger King received a huge amount of attention and praise for a day that was really McDonald’s’. Not only was attention received, but Burger King emerged from this heartwarming campaign as a caring and selfless brand, distancing itself from McDonald’s “big corporate” image and subtly highlighting the fact that McDonald’s didn’t do the same for Burger King on their charity day.  And, while not a single Whopper was sold in Argentina on 26 September 2019, we don’t think this campaign hurt Burger King’s overall sales. In the words of Sanil Jain, co-founder of CupShup: “Next time I see a whopper, I am gonna grab a bite.” If you're looking for your next marketing challenge, or you’re searching for a marketing expert to rival Burger King’s, Henry Nicholas can help. Get in touch at home@henrynicholas.co.uk or contact us on LinkedIn to find out more.

Influencer is a term that has changed the landscape of marketing. Described as an individual who has the power to affect the purchase decisions of others, influencer exploded from a barely known phrase to a full-on profession in just a few years. But has the influencer bubble burst? Negative press around influencer authenticity was dealt a heavy blow by the well-publicised Fyre Festival fiasco – a fraudulent ‘luxury’ music festival promoted by high-profile social media influencers. There is also an increasing audience awareness of paid promotion on platforms like instagram. 45% of social media users find sponsored post hashtags annoying, according to research conducted by UM for Campaign as part of the Post-Influencer Culture report. This negative press along with reluctance from some brands and agencies to engage with this form of outreach has created backlash when it comes to influencer marketing. With many seeing the market as saturated and untrustworthy. However, the numbers indicate that influencer marketing is far from over. Research from Viral Research and Neoreach found that the influencer market was worth $1.7 billion in 2016 growing to to $4.6 billion in 2018. The sector is predicted to grow to $6.5 billion this year.  So, if the influencer marketplace continues to grow, how can brands tap into this valuable resource without being burned by recent negativity?  Know your influencer  Unfortunately, there are some stereotypes that follow the influencer community, with the image of the cash-strapped reality star being unfairly used as the typical face of the ‘lifestyle’. In fact, an influencer is simply someone who holds some level of influence over a group of people and these can run from global movie stars to niche hobbyists. Micro-influencers (those with followers under 10,000) are being increasingly targeted by marketers to provide access to small but highly-engaged groups of consumers.  Find your community  An influencer can have 10-million followers, but if they have little interest in your service or product then money spent on paid promotion could be put to better use elsewhere. It’s important that brands think really carefully about the communities they want to engage in and actively target those influencers with links in these areas.  Grow trust  There is increasing distrust, not only of sponsored social media but of the artificiality of social media in general. Consumers are less likely to trust those social media stars who are advertising a wide variety of products every week. 25% of those surveyed in the Campaign and UN survey referenced above said that content feeling ‘authentic or real’ was very important to them, and this figure rose to 40% amongst 18 to 25-year-olds. Brands must look to partner with those influencers who embody their values and can help them to build authentic and lasting relationships with their audience.  Looking for the social media experts who can help to hone your influencer approach? Or your next marketing role? Talk to one of our marketing and PR consultants today.  

In the future will all brands be a service? Branding has transformed over the last decade. It’s no longer enough to put a brand or product out into the world, slap on some colourful advertising and let it do its thing. Increasingly, brands have to become much more than a transaction or tool – they have to connect with their customers on a human level, becoming an integral part of their life and identity. In short, brands have to become a highly personalised service – an entity with real meaning and authenticity.  Modern consumers have become increasingly savvy in the way they react to advertising. They are looking for an authentic connection in an often inauthentic world. We explore some of the ways brands are changing their approach to address this shifting audience, below.  Personalisation  Personalisation is a key step in becoming a brand with meaning. The rise of subscription-based services like Netflix and Spotify has revolutionised the consumer playing field, swapping traditional standalone products with hyper-customised service offerings. If an audience feels you know who they are and what they like, you have the foundation of meaningful connection. Although not every brand can shift to a subscription-based model, they can work harder to understand their customer’s needs and craft a curated experience. Google is an example of a brand that has integrated its services into every layer of its customer’s lives.  Data  The collection and application of data is at the heart of these changing customer relationships, and those who are not using data to focus their branding approach run the risk of being left behind. Marketers must look beyond data as a tool to fuel personalised advertising. They must understand the customer experience and service  – leveraging data responsibly to personalise each step of the brand journey.  Authenticity It seems that brands who are ‘keeping it real’ are ahead of the pack when it comes to the future of branding. Seth Godin, Squidoo founder and marketing thought leader, says, “marketing is no longer about the stuff that you make, but about the stories you tell”. This mindset is rapidly taking hold as consumers shift towards brands that resonate with their deeper values. We are seeing brands like Dove, shift away from a glossy, airbrushed image of beauty to something more authentic by using ‘real women’ as models throughout their advertising.  Whatever your business, branding is at the centre of your strategic approach. Perhaps it’s time to ask yourself, what are you doing to become a brand with meaning?  Looking for the social media experts who can help you to build brand authenticity? Or your next marketing role? Talk to one of our marketing and PR consultants today.  

It’s easy to assume that, as businesses, we are safe from phishing attacks. After all, the fraudsters are targeting individuals – a tech-illiterate older generation who can’t spot the signs of fraud – right? This simply isn’t true. A report from CyberSec found that 43% of the UK SMEs they surveyed had suffered from a phishing attack. With 66% of those attacks being successful. Phishing today is an incredibly sophisticated industry and businesses around the world are at risk. So, how do you make sure you stay protected? Here are some of the ways you can spot a phishing attack and successfully prevent your business from suffering a breach.  Look carefully at spelling and domain names  Many (but not all) phishing emails contain errors, spelling mistakes, and poor English. They may also come from a personal rather than a business domain, so 'hotmail.com and 'gmail.com' ddresses rather than a website address. It may seem like something that you would pick up on automatically but when you and your team are busy, it’s easy not to take a moment to consider the emails that hit your inbox. Make sure your people are aware of the common signs of a phishing email and know how to report them.  Don’t click on unverified links Often scammers will include a link in an email with the destination disguised through a button. These are often a gateway to malware, like viruses or spyware. By hovering over a suspicious link with the mouse, your team can identify its source. And questionable links should always be referred to the IT team for further investigation. One click is all it takes to undermine the financial and data security of your business,  Think twice when considering urgent requests The most persuasive scammers will add a sense of urgency to their requests. They may even claim to be from an IT helpdesk and say that they require information or access to your files to prevent a scam or virus. If someone you don’t know is asking you to do something with an extreme sense of urgency, always take some time to consider why. And never provide access to data or sensitive information you don’t feel comfortable with. Make sure you have the right security tools and training in place  One of the best defences in the fight against phishing is awareness. Taking the time to train staff and ensuring they understand internal security procedures and best practice is an investment in the security of your company. This should be supported by expert tools and digital walls of defence. Spam filters, website filters, anti-virus software, they can all add an extra layer of security. However, it is important that you pick defence tools that support your unique business structure and goals – listen to external and internal expertise to ensure you have adequate protection.  Phishing strategies are evolving constantly and so must your approach to this very real security threat. By staying up to date with the latest scams, strategies, and defence tools you can help your company to stay one step ahead of this destructive industry.  Looking for a cyber security specialist to help protect your business? We can help. Get in touch to learn more about our cyber security and technology candidates.