For those who are fussy eaters, whether it be due to allergies, religion, lifestyle choices or just simply having a limited pallet, food shopping can result in being a daunting task, especially if you are having to study the ingredients list on every product to check it is suitable for you or the person you are shopping for to eat.

Now, thanks to food and drink journalist, Martin Isark and iPhone, drawn out shopping trips can be a thing of the past due to the development of the new and very useful ‘Can I Eat It’ app which allows you to simply and quickly check each item at the click of a button on your phone to see if you can eat it.

The app which can be downloaded from iTunes allows you input your dietary preferences then simply scan the bar code on a product, this then looks the item up on an online database and compares the product ingredients  to your selected preferences to instantly find out if you can eat it or not.

Unfortunately the app is only available for iPhone users at present and cannot be used on every single food and drink product available. However,  the list of products in continually being updated to add more obscure items to the vast database which covers the majority of products at all major supermarkets.

The app also caters to a huge range of people thanks to having an extensive list of preferences from the obvious things such as gluten free, dairy free, vegetarian and nut allergies to lifestyle preferences such as fair trade and organic to religious purposed including Halal and Kosher.  The app can also be used on drinks items.

For people looking to watch their weight and have a healthier diet, the app is also great as once an item is scanned it also gives you the products salt, saturated fat and sugar levels which can also be set in your preferences.

For just £1.99 the ‘Can I Eat It’ app really is the ideal tool for those who have specific dietary requirements or just simply wanting to watch their health this New Year!

Posted by Sophie on January 23rd, 2012

If, like me, you are still too tight to fork out for a Spotify Premium account, you’ll be familiar with the technique of ‘zoning out’ and ignoring the adverts that get in the way of you enjoying the musical delights of your favourite artists.

Working in the marketing industry, it’s often hard to look at campaigns, brands and adverts (outside of work) without your analytical and cynical work hat on. That’s why I was all the more impressed when curiosity got the better of me when I was listening to Spotify and one particular advert caught my attention.

 “Click here to watch the world’s first video you can taste”

I knew that this wasn’t actually possible (well I was 99 per cent sure), but I couldn’t help but click through and see what it was all about.

This is what I found:

Did you taste chocolate? Obviously not because ‘It’s all Lies!’ and part of the latest marketing push from Kellogg’s Rice Krispie Squares. The whole campaign is based on the idea that the popular cereal bars aren’t even square and agency Leo Burnett created this brash, tongue in cheek integrated campaign which turns advertising on its head and pokes fun at the idea that adverts are renowned for featuring big, bold and unrealistic claims.

The campaign included TV adverts, billboards and social media activity and caught people’s attention with an outrageous lie such as ‘free boat with purchase’ and ‘the first video you can taste’ but then the ‘small print’ reveals that it’s all lies.

I think this is the kind of campaign which can split professional opinion but I personally think it’s clever and effective, and it personally changed my perception of a brand which I previously associated with my school canteen. I applaud the fact that Kellogg’s took a risk that perhaps many other brands would not be comfortable with.

Posted by Janelle on January 20th, 2012

Social TV, what’s that all about then? Well, it’s listed as one of MIT’s (Massachusetts Institute of Technology) top ten emerging technologies and many industry experts say that it’s the biggest change to television since it was invented…

Social TV involves updating your social profile with details and events from the TV programme that you’re watching. You could be commenting on someone’s dodgy performance on XFactor or giving a view point on a BBC Question Time discussion.

You may have noticed that the majority of TV programmes now carry a hashtag (#xfactor) at the beginning so that viewers can track, contribute and share experiences about the programme they are watching with other viewers around the country – almost like watching a TV programme with a group of friends that aren’t in the room with you!

A huge 44% of UK consumers say that they use social networks to enhance their TV viewing and during an average week in the UK, over 90 unique shows are Tweeted about. As a result, Social TV can certainly be credited with the continued rise of Twitter here in the UK.

One of the first and most exciting Social TV technologies to be developed is Zeebox.  BSKYB last week took a 10% equity stake in the company, a sign that key industry players are sitting up and taking notice of this trend.

According to Zeebox’s research, a third of all UK internet usage is said to be undertaken whilst sat in front of the TV, so they’re definately on to something!

Zeebox is a free iPad and web app which has been developed by Anthony Rose, the guy behind the BBC’s iPlayer. It’s designed to make solitary TV-watching experience more of a ‘social jamboree’

When you view Zeebox for the first time it looks like a TV guide, but when you click on a programme, it displays all of the conversations/ Tweets that have been posted about it, allowing you to track and contribute in real time.

Within each programme’s screen, there’s a credits and synopsis panel, plus a news ticker of stories related to whatever it is you’re watching. Also included is a ‘relevant apps’ section – so if you’re watching BBC News, it’ll show you the BBC News App and you can visit the App Store to download it.

The interface includes rolling ticker of tags, names, subjects and even products as they appear in the course of a programme, allowing you to tap the topic you’re interested in and instantly find out more.

Fo advertisers, the opportunity for product placement are huge, as it gives viewers a direct route to buy anything they may have viewed.

Although Zeebox has huge potential and has got the TV industry very excited, there’s sure to be many other great developments in this arena over the next twelve months as the Social TV phenomenon continues to grow.

Posted by Chris on January 18th, 2012

Ever since the dawn of time (well ok, since Mad Men was real-life), marketeers have been fixated by big numbers.  Even better, big numbers that get bigger over time. Even better than that, big numbers that get even bigger more quickly than the last time you measured them.  You get the gist. But in social media measurement, the opposite could be true.

Big number fixation has been predicated quite rightly on the principles of leverage and efficiency. Targeting the highest volume of reach, frequency, impressions, clicks or links per marketing £ investment.  We would never argue for a second that that principle no longer stands for measuring the success of traditional advertising, but it is potentially dangerous if it’s applied to social media.  We’re seeing this particularly in the context of Facebook and Twitter where big number fixation can skew folks’ view of success.

Put simplistically, the absolute number of followers and likers is not a flat-out measure of success.  Many Facebook fans could easily have liked a page, never to be seen again. The simplistic evaluation principle of big number getting bigger would provide an unrealistic read.

So, what should good look like?  Guess what – that depends. Every proper campaign should begin with the end in mind.  Set-out an objective, and agree a target for success which can be measured and is achievable.

That’s where channel selection is so important.  Social media like PR is not ‘free advertising’, it’s not a chance to broadcast your sell message to as many people as possible for as little money as possible.  It’s a chance to engage, persuade and converse.  If your objective is, for example to understand consumers’ perceptions of your brand, or to change an entrenched opinion, then social media is bang-on.  Your objective could be linked to traffic driving and SEO, which are also predicated on quality over quantity these days.

That’s why the real measure of success in Facebook, is the ‘Talking About’ metric.  This is the number of people who have created stories around your brand, whether that’s posting on your wall, commenting on your posts, or sharing links and content with their friends. Simplistically, it means they really like you, rather than pretending to do that to get something out of you.

The key word here is stories.  Most brands have thousands of stories to tell, but what most people forget is that to a consumer, a story worth sharing is not about your product and price.  Keep that message to your advertising, and make sure the numbers you use to measure that are big and getting bigger.

Posted by Richard on January 12th, 2012

Social media is no longer just a buzz word.  Econsultancy’s State of Social Report 2011 pointed to a maturing disciple where brands are no longer simply experimenting in the social space.

However, while the report demonstrated that social media is well and truly part of the marcomms mix for many, it did highlight that three quarters of board-level execs are not bought into it as a discipline, suggesting it’s not quite getting cut-through at the top.

At the same time, brands are faced with a more demanding consumer.  Expectation economy means that consumers not only want, but expect so much more now.  We’re much more inquisitive, enjoy researching, doing our own competitor analysis and are much more likely to engage online if we find value in something.  All this means brands need to work harder to build quality relationships and earn customer loyalty.

So, how do we add value to the bottom line as well as add value to the consumer to ensure that social media is not stuck in the ‘nice to have’ box?

Customisation is not necessarily a new trend, but two stand-out campaigns in 2011 have capitalised  on social media’s new tools to achieve this perfectly.

Using Facebook as the platform and some of its newest tools, both Heinz and Nivea offered their fans the chance to personalize a product, allowing greater affinity with the brand and adding genuine consumer and commercial value.

Heinz gave its 80k fans the chance to send a thoughtful, personalised can of soup to their friends for just £1.99 as a get well message.  The campaign kicked off in October as coughs and colds begin to set in and firmly positioned the brand’s comforting proposition.

What’s more, on the busiest online shopping day before Christmas, Nivea launched a campaign to offer its 240k Facebook fans the chance to have their Nivea gift set wrapped in personalised wrapping paper created with the fan’s own pictures.  It tied into Nivea’s Feel Closer campaign and was a creative mechanic to get consumers purchasing gifts and receive a free, bespoke gift wrapping service.

Both these campaigns worked on three crucial points

They were both relevant – both fit perfectly into the brand values and targeted an existing fan base

They were timely – capitalising on a current and timely trend to ensure it resonated with the consumer

Plus they added value – not only to the consumer to ensure they received something in turn for investing time in the brand online, but also added to the bottom line of the brand itself

These three principles should be at the heart of any social media campaign and it’s something we at Finn always strive for when developing our digital strategies.

There’s still a long way to go, but in 2012, I’m sure we’re going to see more and more campaigns that not only engage with consumers online, but have a tangible commercial impact.

Posted by Jess on January 9th, 2012