Category: BLOG

In a recent study by a team of researchers at Cornell University in the US, some analysis was undertaken on the shelf placement and eye positioning of 86 cereal mascots/characters in 10 grocery stores.

The study concluded that cereal brands aimed at children have their brand mascots exhibiting a downward eye inflection compared with cereals targeted at adults. It was concluded that the positioning of the boxes on a vertical axis on the supermarket shelves and the drawn out eye contact to match that of children, were both evident in the cereal brands included in the study.
The study continued to experiment with various versions of the cereal boxes having the mascot’s gaze digitally altered and found eye contact from the cartoon characters increased feelings of trust and connection to the brand, which consequently influenced choice over competitors.

Concerns arose from the study as the authors noted that “making eye contact with the spokes-character on the cereal box fosters positive interpersonal feelings, which may transfer to the cereal itself.” The crux of the problem lies in what the authors say is “children’s vulnerability to such an influence and the concern that such marketing techniques aimed at children could be exploitative.”

So the ultimate question; is it?

 

Social media can be extremely powerful for drawing a crowd, particularly in hospitality where consumers suffer intense FOMO (fear of missing out). This fear can be leveraged to direct them into your business, commonly achieved by socialising with well know people through social channels. This referred ‘coolness’ works the same as it does in the real world.  Customers see you interacting with someone they value and ascribe that same value to your business, thus you become the hip spot to be seen.

Another element of social media often overlooked is working with your competition to increase business overall. As the saying goes, when the tide comes in, all the ships rise. Venues that embrace this concept work together to encourage more customers into the market, thus everyone wins. A recent example was a group of companies that ran a series of bets on who would win the football. The losers had to adorn their bar with their competitors’ team colours, as well as performing some embarrassing dance moves in the other venue. This online banter, which was more fun than business, generated online chatter and engagement, driving customers into all the venues, turning into a win/win proposition for all involved.

This is the element of social media people forget, it’s supposed to be social. Imagine standing around at a party and someone walks up to you repeating “come to the footy this weekend”, “come to the footy this weekend”, “come to the footy this weekend”. Unless you are devoid of options, you are going to avoid this annoying guy.  He’s offering no value, no fun and he’s not actually engaging you in conversation, he’s just yelling at you.  This is a common problem with social media, people use it to yell messages, rather than have conversations.

The companies that achieve the most from their social media accounts are the ones that want to engage their audience. They banter with their competition, discuss the finer points of their business with their customer base and generally have fun online.

Free meals for kids is an old promotional concept, but when done well it can be a godsend for restaurants. The beauty of this promotion is that it drives behavioural change for customers, placing the restaurant in their consideration set whenever the promotion runs (every Tuesday as an example). A good example of this is the 23-store, Greek food restaurant chain Souvlakihut which claimed a 14 percent increase in dining revenue following the introduction of a ‘kids eat free’ promotion in early January.

Designed as a casual Greek restaurant, outlets offer take-away and eat-in services. In the past quarter, the dining-in component has risen from 26 per cent to 40 per cent of the revenue due to the ‘kids eat free’ promotion and the introduction of plates and cutlery.
The business reported that the promotion lifted revenue 32.5 per cent, based on figures for three weeks from January 4 when the promotion was running in Victoria. This figure was benchmarked against average sales figures from stores that were open in 2007.

Bill Fotiadis, who founded the franchise with his brother John in 2004 attributed the upturn to further differentiating the dining-in service from the takeaway service. Previous eat-in meals were served the same way as takeaway food but the franchise introduced plates and cutlery at the same time as the ‘kids eat free’ promotion.

“Feedback from customers on the introduction of plates and cutlery is that they feel like they are having a proper restaurant meal at a fraction of the cost,” said John Fotiadis. But lower pricing has also played a role. The menu has been revised to offer six meals under $6.
According to Bruno Ceraso, the franchise’s operations manager, research showed that restaurants offering meals costing more than $40 were finding it quite difficult.  “Whereas what we are finding is quite a big increase in our dining. People can have that dining-out experience without the price tag attached to it.”

The value of the kids eat free promotion has been immeasurably good. Souvlakihut have taught their customer base to dine in their venue during off-peak times, positioning their business as a family friendly venue that provides great value food. It’s this point of difference that has generated sustained growth and the ability to expand.

How do you know if your advertising breeches societies moral standards?  A good example of going too far is Sydney’s Home Nightclub who produced a promotional video of a figure supposedly snorting a powdery substance, and other images of males ejaculating on a female anime character.  The advertising was certainly polarising, which if you’ve been reading our articles is the methodology we recommend, but there is a limit, and knowing this limit is important.  The truth is, promoting sex and illegal activities is a very dangerous line to cross, yes it’s attractive to a certain segment of society, but it comes with a huge degree of risk.  We’re not going to tell you how to advertise, but we do want you to think about the consequences of your advertising and the risks therein.

In the case of Home Nightclub, their advertising was deemed as “not in the public interest”, which under The Liquor Act 2007 allows regulators impose fines based on moral reasons.  OLGR guidelines state that this includes promotions that “use images or messages which could be seen to be encouraging or condoning breaking the law or other anti-social behaviour”, or that “allude to drug taking behaviour”.  Simply explained, the discretionary powers of the regulators means any event you’ve invested in could be torpedoed in seconds if they believe you have crossed the moral threshold.  Without trial, regulators can remove advertising and impose substantial fines.  It’s a very dangerous market to play in.

How do you stay ahead of the law?
Know the risks and still want to play on the fringes?  What you need to know is that it’s a subjective measure, and the OLGR have subjective power.  You will never know if you are at risk or not.  On one hand, society is becoming loser with its moral objections, on the other, you never know which representative of the regulators is going to view your campaign.  We recommend the ‘ask your mum’ strategy, meaning unless it gets mum’s approval, just avoid it.