Two British institutions were in the media this week: the monarchy, with the birth of Prince George of Cambridge; and the Church of England, with the Archbishop of Canterbury’s support for credit unions and his challenge to payday loan companies.
And two organisations were quick to exploit the marketing opportunities these events presented. One was the Asda supermarket chain, with this advert (left) for its George of Asda clothing line.
The other was Wonga, the payday loan company named (but apparently not shamed) by the Archbishop. Wonga was quick to respond to criticism of its exorbitant interest rates with an ad featuring its “Ten Commitments” and stating that “Credit unions have an important role to play too and we welcome debate around the most customer-friendly and responsible ways to meet people’s needs”.
Given that George was high on the list of possible royal names, I reckon Asda had their campaign ready and waiting. Wonga, however, was pretty quick off the mark with its damage-limitation response.
A marketing lesson for small businesses
It strikes me that there’s a marketing lesson here for small businesses. Is there a newsletter, blog-post or even a tweet that we could prepare in advance for some forthcoming event?
Translators, for example, could prepare material to coincide with their “language countries'” national days, festivals or feast days. Or a post featuring electoral terminology or procedures, say, to coincide with elections in your country.
Have you ever produced an event-related post or newsletter that tied in nicely with your business? Let us know in the comments!
Other posts you might like:
GIGO… the brand
The Wrong Way to name a car: international marketing blunders
Marketing? Do you homework
By Marian Dougan
Published by Marian Dougan
Marian is a translator and editor (specialising in web content) currently based in Glasgow, Scotland. Marian previously lived in Italy for over 20 years, working as a language teacher, translator and policy analyst with the British Embassy in Rome. A qualified member of the Institute of Translation and Interpreting (ITI) and its Italian-language and ITI Scotnet networks, she is currently Scotnet's Convenor and Deputy Webmaster.
From 2003 to 2006 Marian taught translation skills at the Italian Department of Glasgow University and now gives Master Classes as part of the new Masters in Translation Studies course. She also conducts web-writing and usability workshops to help people improve their websites and communicate more effectively with their readers, users and customers. In September 2014 Marian obtained User Experience Certification, with specialisation in Web Design, from the Nielsen Norman Group.
She loves language, especially English, and is convinced that learning languages opens up people’s minds and horizons (and increases their brainpower!). To share her enthusiasm, she advises schools and educational authorities on language skills and enterprise. She gives talks to pupils on how to combine language studies with other subjects and so enhance their potential and increase their career options.
Marian is an active member of organisations such as: Scottish Council Development and Industry (SCDI); Association of Scottish Businesswomen; Dunbartonshire Chamber of Commerce and the Italian Chamber of Commerce in Scotland.
She also loves architecture, design, fashion (British Vogue!), cities and chocolate. She’s a great fan of Twitter and you can also find her on Linkedin.
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And two organisations were quick to exploit the marketing opportunities these events presented. One was the Asda supermarket chain, with this advert (left) for its George of Asda clothing line.