Date: 31st July, 2018
In this month's roundup, we discuss Google's new algorithm update, a world without memes and we take a look back on some of the best and worst World Cup marketing stunts.
Google’s Speed Update
The forever moving Google has just announced a new algorithm update, which has a main focus on your mobile websites speed. In recent times, there has been a push for all website's to become mobile ‘friendly’ in preparation for Google’s Mobile Index. So, it’s not a surprise to hear of a new update solely focused on mobile sites.
The disruption is supposedly going to be undetectable, from Google’s Webmaster forum: “The ‘Speed Update’ will only affect pages that deliver the slowest experience to users and applies the same standard to all pages, regardless of the technology used to build the page. The intent of the search query is still a very strong signal, so a slow page may still rank highly if it has great, relevant content. We encourage developers to think broadly about how performance affects a user’s experience of their page and to consider a variety of user experience metrics.”
If you notice a slight change in your websites rankings, in the next couple of months it would be worthwhile making sure your website’s mobile speed is up to scratch. You can contact us today if you are unsure about anything.
Could there be a Silver Lining to the Dark Cloud covering the New GDPR?
The introduction of the EU’s new GDPR back in May led to a cull of company’s customer databases, with some reporting a 50%+ reduction.
But could this be a positive? Companies such as L’Oréal and Domino’s think so and are welcoming the new guidelines. They believe that they have created an opportunity for them to have a “good clean up” of their databases.
The new GDPR has essentially ensured all company databases are full of active, consenting customers who are willing and wanting to receive information and promotions from companies.
This has provided two key positives:
- It promotes the idea of a trustworthy brand image; L’Oréal’s chief digital officer stated in an interview with The Drum that “if your relationship with people isn’t based on consent, it’s detrimental to your [brand’s] image”
- Help prevent advertising expenditure being spent unnecessarily and in the wrong places
By using more targeted data, more efficient communication can be achieved.
So really, what has all the fuss been about…?
A World without Memes?!
Internet memes have become a part of most people’s day-to-day lives in recent years, with it being near on impossible to scroll down a social media feed not to find a familiar image accompanied by a witty tagline. However, meme culture came close to becoming a thing of the past.
At the beginning of the month, the EU Parliament voted on a new copyright directive that included the controversial ‘Article 13’. If this article was to be approved, it would require online platforms to enforce tighter regulation over protected content from the copyright holders by preventing the availability of protected works.
“So how would that affect memes?” I hear you ask. With many memes being user-generated, they wouldn’t be providing the “appropriate and proportionate” measures to provide the recognition to the image’s copyright holder, therefore breaching the copyright of it.
Fortunately, the MEPs saw sense and rejected the bill with a majority of 318 votes to 278 and the Bill is now set to be torn apart and put back together by September without the presence of the dreaded Article 13
A Look Back at the Best (and Worst) World Cup 2018 Marketing Stunts
As with any big sporting event, many brands are keen to cash-in from the sales uplift that the association with the spectacle has, without having to splurge out on a sponsorship.
Never ones to be subtle, the Danish beer brand Carlsberg decided to blend their own taste with host-nation Russia’s by developing a luxury brew with the taste of their own Carlsberg that had the texture of caviar, a popular dish in Russia. It was aimed at football fans looking for a taste of Danish and Russian culture.
However, the champions of this year’s World Cup marketing stunt has to go to the Irish bookmaker Paddy Power who caused a storm with its polar bear stunt. They began by streaming a supposedly ‘live’ clip of a Russian polar bear being spray painted with an English flag on, accompanied by a newspaper wrap in the Metro – enraging much of the public who saw it. However, a couple of days later they published another newspaper wrap in the Metro to reveal that the whole stunt was conjured up in partnership with Greenpeace in an attempt to draw attention to the plight of polar bears in the Russian continent. But they didn’t stop there; they also announced that for every goal Russia scores, they will be donating £10k to Attitude magazine’s foundation in support of LGBT causes in protest of Russia’s political stance on LGBT issues. That was certainly one way to get us cheering on Russia.
On the other end of the spectrum, we can look back at some of the own goals made by brands this world cup. The most talked about being Russia’s Burger King social media campaign that urged women to get impregnated by World Cup footballers to integrate more ball skills into Russia’s gene pools. This was promoted with the promise of a lifetime supply of Whoppers and a cash prize to any woman who could prove she’d achieved this. The campaign was soon given the red card after an outcry from the public expressing how it was degrading to women and pregnancy.
Another foul move was given from Mastercard, who thought that ‘gamifying’ world hunger would be a good idea. They announced that for every goal scored by Messi or Neymar Jr, 10,000 children will receive a meal. With some seeing the bright side of this campaign (Messi himself saying he’s proud to be a part of this campaign), others are asking why they can’t provide their charitable donations regardless, and not let children’s hunger be dictated by the outcome of a game.
