An interesting story caught my eye last week concerning British heavy metal legends Iron Maiden. I have something of a soft spot for 'the Irons', they were the first band I ever went to see, it was Wolverhampton Civic Hall and I was 14 - and whilst my taste in music may have mellowed a little since then, I still keep a passing eye on what the old boys are up to. This story however, didn't concern their last touring schedule, album release, or even their music at all. It was in fact to do with beer. Iron Maiden announced that it has sold out of pre-orders of its first ever beer "Trooper" and Cheshire-based family brewer Robinsons is now brewing three batches a day for the first time in its 175-year history to meet demand. According to The Sun, over a quarter of a million pints have been pre-sold in the UK alone ahead of the May 9 release and over 100 countries have applied to stock the cask ale.

This immediately struck me as genius! In an industry where your core commodity is increasingly worth less - in this instance albums, singles and other traditional music sales - it makes perfect business sense to diversify into other products which your current customer - i.e. Iron Maiden fans - will be interested in buying. Iron Maiden has nothing to do with the alcoholic drinks business but it only took a little creative marketing thinking to diversify the brand into this new product area. Marketing 101! (and great PR too).

So this got me thinking, with nearly 40 years in the music business and a brand that is currently stronger than ever, what other business and marketing lessons can we learn from Iron Maiden?

1. Timing is everything

In 1990 Iron Maiden had their first and only UK number one single, the BBC-banned song 'Bring Your Daughter… to the Slaughter'. The band - aptly - released the single alongside Cliff Richard's 'Saviour's Day' for the 1990 Christmas No. 1, but due to not being officially released until the week after Christmas it knocked The Peter Pan of Pop off the number one slot in the following week and went straight to No. 1 in the UK Singles Chart on 5^th January 1991.

In a world before X Factor had Christmas number one sown up in November, everyone wanted to be Christmas number one , so all the big bands and artists would go head-to-head for the honour, nobody in their right mind released a single in the week after Christmas. Therefore statistically this was the easiest week in the year to secure number one with the lowest number of sales - so that's what Iron Maiden did.

Lesson: Anticipate when you can make the biggest impact and identify a period when you can galvanise your customer base to maximum effect.

2. Multi-task to cut costs

This top tip could also have been 'no job is beneath management' or 'continuous investment pays dividends'.

In the 1990s lead singer Bruce Dickinson trained to become a commercial airline pilot flying Boeing 757s for UK charter airline Astraeus. Since 2008 Dickinson has been the band's official pilot for overseas tours. In a band that prides itself on running cost-effective, lean tours, this is just one example of 'management' taking control and multi-tasking to cut costs.

How many UK MDs could cite such innovative examples of where they have managed to reduce costs on their bottom line?

3. Your best talent could be anywhere - even in the company's past

Of the current Iron Maiden line-up two-thirds have left the band only to subsequently re-join at a later date. The line-up is considered to be the strongest ever and key to the band's resurgence in recent years.

So consider this, when a good member of staff leaves and heads off to pastures new, do you leave on good terms and let them know the door is always open for a return; or cut them off, never to be given a further thought?

If it's the latter, then you might have lost a star employee not just once… but twice.

4. Don't be afraid to test new markets

Costa Rica, Colombia, Puerto Rico, Peru, Ecuador, Venezuela and India are not traditional countries that rock bands tour in. But in the last 10 years Iron Maiden has been to all of them.

 The message here is that if you want to grow, then you have to keep finding a new audience, new customers and new markets for your service or product. And if you're a little bit niche, then you might just have to push the boundaries just a little bit further.

5. Relentlessly give your customers what they want

Finally, if you have a loyal customer, never take them for granted and continuously work at giving them a consistent product that aligns with the core values they originally fell in love with.

Since 1975 Iron Maiden has played over 2000 live shows and released 15 studio albums (plus a further 18 live and compilation albums) . That's approaching one release per year for 38 years. Not many software companies could attest to such work rate and consistency.

 Stephen

* Stats and references are taken from Wikipedia and from my own encyclopaedic and mostly useless knowledge of classic rock trivia.

This week, I've seen a crazy amount of articles and blog posts talking about Pinterest. So, why not add one more. I joined Pinterest a few weeks back, as I wanted to see what all the fuss was about. According to some, it is the 'holy grail' of the internet, and apparently this website is what the internet was made for.

I guess for those of you who haven't heard about it, or are still trying to figure out what it is (which I am too, to a certain extent), you could describe it as a "visual pinboard of dreams". It's a place where you can gather all the things that you love and show them off to the world, by sharing your pinboard with others. It is also a place where you can dip into other people's dreams and inspirations; you see something you like, you pin it. Someone likes what you have Pin-ed and Repins it, and so on.

Having been around for a few years, Pinterest has only in the last few months started to gain traction, and people are starting to pay more attention. Having taken a while to surface, Pinterest is slowly but quickly becoming mainstream and I fear we only have a short window before we see it hi-jacked by brands, and the monetisation opportunities become all too apparent.

However, brands taking advantage of this "next big thing", is no bad thing. It is a site that should definitely not be overlooked by marketers as there is huge potential here. Not for direct customer engagement as this is not a platform where you want to invade someone's social space, but more of a situation where you provide the content and wait for the magic to happen.

A brand can showcase its products and allow its audience to take them far and wide. Tailoring is key here, as the content shared needs to be carefully selected to attract the attention of a brands desired audience. Brands can offer 'sneak peaks' of new product launches, then sit back and watch people share and spread the content.

Pinterest is a platform that complements the likes of Facebook and Twitter, as these platforms can be used as a pathway to draw people in to your "pinboard of dreams".  As it becomes more and more familiar to brands and consumers, the viral nature of Pins/Likes/Repins will prove to be wildly successful and, when absorbed into a company's existing social engagement strategy, we will see its content spread to a much wider audience.

The buzz around Pinterest is increasing at a rapid rate and as more and more brands and consumers flock to check out this new and exciting platform, the flow of content will continue to grow and create a visual explosion of what the world thinks is, well, cool.

Jen

 

Last week, a team of Octopedes arrived in the city of dreaming spires for the Oxford Advertising, PR and Marketing Fair. The quest was to chat to hundreds of students about communications, what Octopus does - and with any luck, meet some future employees.

For me, having only graduated from University in June, the situation was all too familiar; students wandering round with a look of eager anticipation on their faces, not knowing who to approach first, whilst gradually becoming weighed down with free USB pens, notepads and bags full of printed leaflets.

To buck the trend, we arrived armed with cupcakes, bean bags and even the prospect of a day's work experience with the Octopus Group. Our colourful stand soon attracted over one hundred students, who had studied a range of subjects from PPE to Chemistry, English Literature to Physics.  We were showered with questions including "what is PR?", "how much can you earn?" and promisingly "how can I apply to Octopus?".

Whilst we were chatting to students on the exhibition stand, the event also saw members of several different agencies taking to the stage to give talks on advertising, brand insight and PR. Inspired by the nuggets of wisdom imparted in these lectures, here is a summary of the key points which may help prospective PRs or marketeers land their first break after University…

1. Gain experience - gone are the days when your academic qualifications are enough. Whether you've written for the student newspaper, organised a University ball, or if you've completed a day, a week or a month's work experience (in house or in an agency), make sure you include it on your CV. It shows commitment, drive and focus.

2. Be social media savvy - although a lot of PR and marketing is still firmly grounded in traditional methods, the internet has transformed PR into a two way conversation, where social media sites play an important role in a brand's reputation. Use those hours spent on Facebook and Twitter (rather than starting that dreaded essay…) to your advantage, enhancing your knowledge of the social media space.

3. Find a voice - in communications, you may be asked to write an opinion article, confidently communicating a client's viewpoint. By reading the papers and blogging or writing (in a creative or journalistic capacity) you can hone your argumentative and written skills, equipping yourself for the workplace.

4. Be hungry, astute, true and brave - If you're passionate about the industry and possess these core Octopus values you should have no trouble persuading a potential employer that you can do the job.

From an Octopus perspective, the day was a great success, giving us the chance to meet students with a wide range of interests and a varied skill set. If you're passionate about PR, marketing or brand insight and you're hungry, astute, true and brave we look forward to seeing your CVs and applications rolling in!

Ellie

This week Octopus, in conjunction with our pals at PR Week and Marketing, held its Future5 Live Event to showcase the type of campaigns we think are starting to signpost the future of the PR industry.

It was a cracking bash with the PR industry seemingly in fine fettle. Fifty communicators from all sectors coming together to have a look into the future and hear from some of their peers who have conceived and executed cutting edge campaigns over the last year.

There was much positive debate, discussion both in the Q&A and over coffee afterwards. Here's a quick summary:

1. The campaign of the future will be totally integrated.

So to be a Future5 award winner in the future, campaigns will need to use all, not just some, of the  trends - research and planning, brand partnerships, audience participation, use of technology, and of course what we've termed, the BIG Idea. And maybe even more that will evolve in the future.

But to deliver those campaigns there needs to be a new skill set for agencies and in-house teams. Not just the core skills of media relations but content development, video, design, production, app development, influencer relations, direct communications, even traditional advertising. The list goes on. PR is doing lots of stuff it's never done before.

Of course you can get all of these different skill sets from individual agencies, but we're convinced that the more forward thinking ones (ahem, like us J) should be able to offer all of these services under one roof.

Any PR agency, or in house team, failing to innovate at the moment won't be here in a few years.

2. Managing risk versus trying new stuff

PR people are good in a crisis. We've long been the guardians of corporate reputation and let's face it, doing new things can be risky. So how do you minimise risk but maximise campaigns and new approaches? Well Future5 shows it's through research and planning, something that PR agencies have been slow to embrace.

Unless campaigns start with an insight into the audience - spotting gaps and new channels - we think they are at best ineffective, at worst risky to the brand. And lots of the Future5 winners demonstrated this.

3. Outcomes not outputs

One trend we've seen over the last couple of years with Future5 is the need to drive audience participation and action. This has been brought about by the growth in social media channels, like Facebook and Twitter, where encouraging 'likes' or 'follows' is easy and demonstrable. But increasingly PR is being asked to predict and goal ourselves on direct action not coverage.

This can be a problem for those who don't have the integrated mindset or the ability to benchmark. Without this foresight and confidence, you can't build more direct metrics around direct outcomes - sales leads, registration or online feedback - which undoubtedly is the way we're heading.

4. PR relationship with the business and who pays?

One comment made was that it seemed less about whether PR and marketing owned the campaign, and more about what tactics made it a success. An encouraging sign. But often, in reality there are still barriers. There is still the perception from many in marketing and beyond that PR is butting in on a conversation if it requires anything beyond the press release.

So what's the opportunity? The opportunity for PR is in coming up with campaigns, not just story ideas, and to go and find money from other parts of the business to bring these to life. Thinking bigger and more long term. Because in reality, the overstretched PR budget alone cannot do everything.

So, what was the message from the floor? Coming out loud and clear was think bigger and PR practitioners can all be rewarded with the opportunity to do more and evolve their roles. Develop well-planned ideas, integrated approaches and a focus on outcomes from your campaigns and your agency partners. And try and push outside of our comfort zones occasionally and not be scared of failing sometimes. Which is after all, the very essence of what Future5 is all about!

You can learn all about Future5 from our website pages or why not read all about the campaigns in Marketing.

Jon

Do you remember your first mobile phone? Peeling the protective cover from its screen and admiring the device in all its 'latest technology' glory, you felt a sense of security knowing you could be reached anytime, anywhere. The satisfaction of dropping "You can catch me on the mobile" into conversation was delicious. How times have changed.

The dramatic evolution of mobile technology means the basic functions of any mobile handset have been eclipsed by the seemingly unlimited uses of today's smartphones. From emailing and surfing the internet to online shopping and listening to music, today's consumers have an endless and ever growing list of uses for their smartphone, and as each individual uncovers a new reason to rely on their mobile device, their very own "Mobile Dependence Day" dawns.

The introduction of the smartphone has revolutionised the mobile market, resulting in the need for marketers to embrace this new platform when considering their mobile strategy. The US smartphone market alone saw a growth of 60% from February 2010 to February 2011, according to comScore, and market trends suggest this unstoppable expansion is set to continue with the International Data Corporation predicting a worldwide growth of 49.2% in 2011.

So as more and more of us experience our individual "Mobile Dependence Day," the impact on purchasing behaviour is cause for marketing teams to re-evaluate their approach, ensuring that they feed the individual demands of each and every "mobile dependent."

According to insights taken from ExactTarget's research paper 'Mobile Dependence Day', the latest in its Subscribers, Fans and Followers research series;

- 89% of US online consumers aged 15+ own a mobile phone

- 41% own a smartphone

- 48% own a feature phone (typically limited to calling and texting)

- Just 11% don't own a mobile phone

When it asked consumers what they would be willing to give up in order to keep their smartphones, 40% said they would give up their laptops, 69% would part with their tablet computers and a mobile addicted 13% would rather live without their refrigerator than face life without their smartphone.

When looking at what consumers use their mobiles for, the top 5 functions of a smartphone are fairly obvious. Calling, texting, email, internet and Facebook are all daily uses, but the activities carried out by users are becoming more sophisticated.

Location-based services (or "checking in"), quick response codes and barcodes, comparison shopping, mobile coupons and push notifications seem to be the front runners in the list of activities that are gaining popularity amongst smartphone users. As mobile dependents adopt these activities in their daily routine, it is important that marketers identify the purchasing behaviour of their target consumers.

As "Mobile Dependence Day" creeps up on more and more consumers and the mobile dependence army grows in strength, marketers need to be mindful that the continuous evolution of devices and networks will shape the mobile market for the foreseeable future. Mobile isn't simply a channel, it's a cross-channel platform that will continue to evolve....

Jodie

We like to think we get our campaigns spot on most of the time, but the minute you relax and take things for granted is when it all starts to fall apart like the proverbial house of cards. I guess, to some extent, that is what Future 5 is all about. Not taking anything for granted, and making a genuine attempt to find out what needs to be happening next with our industry, making sure that we are doing it - and doing it well!

There are many companies that invest billions into analysing the future direction of their respective industries. We don't have billions of pounds, and unfortunately we don't have a time-travelling DeLorean. What we do have, however, are some of the brightest and most capable minds within the comms industry at our beck and call - which turned out to be more than enough when hosting our "Future 5 Breakfast Briefing" with PR Week.

The morning was a great success. This was all helped along with Haymarket's Philip Smith pithy chairing of the event; our very own Jon Lonsdale dealing with the cut and thrust of a questioning audience; and two further great presentations from Steve Kirk at Honda and Jamie Harley of Deloitte.

More details on the Future 5 trends/campaigns can be found here.

Feedback from the guests was brilliant, and I know that the majority of people in attendance were pleased to know their comms programs were starting to head in the right direction but also saw areas that they knew they could improve on.

However, one thing that did strike me was how hard some of our brand-side peers have to fight to get experimental and innovative ideas through. Agency side, you kind of take it for granted that you are encouraged to be as creative as possible, but this is sadly not always the case with our friends across the divide.

I hope Future 5 has showed our guests that to be brave you sometimes have to be willing to put your neck on the line and think differently.

At the risk of sounding like a Honda advert, one of Steve Kirk's remarks stayed with me that day - a quote from their founder, Mr. Soichiro Honda. "99% of success is failure." Basically, don't be afraid to make mistakes as long as you learn from them. Be brave, pick yourself up and be prepared to (boldly) go where no PR has gone before - that is what Future 5 is all about.

Julian

As I stepped onto my tube platform this morning on the way to work I was greeted by the polite lady on the tannoy announcing that there was a good service on all lines. Good news! Five packed tube trains later and I was still on the platform trying to start my journey to work and the polite lady on the tannoy was still trying to convince me that there was a 'good service on all lines'. My levels of annoyance, frustration and disappointment were mounting and 'miss irritating voice' had not helped with her false promise.

This got me thinking about brand promises, consumer expectations and avoiding disappointment. If the tannoy announcement had said something along the lines of "Really sorry folks, we've got some problems today, it's going to be tough but we will get you there eventually" I think I'd have had a resigned smile on my face and kicked back and relaxed...or got the bus.  

There's no doubt that we are now in an age of brand transparency. Communications professionals have been banging the 'transparency and honesty' drum for some time and many brands and companies are doing this well. However, this hasn't reduced the desire for brands to have the most compelling selling lines and claims they can. Nowhere is this more evident than for functional foods (I'm thinking Activia and Actimel) and beauty products with their pseudo science of ceramides and peptides.

Here's the 'but'. Will the ever-more cynical Generation Y and after them Z still respond to these types of claims? Maybe, if the products truly deliver but a disappointed consumer can be a consumer lost for life. Personally I'd like to see a bit more realism in product claims, avoid disappointment and consumers will remain loyal.

Eat Special K for breakfast and lunch, you'll be starving but by eating less, exercising more you will lose weight.

Everyone grows old and gets crow's feet. Use L'Oreal Revitalift every day and your wrinkles will not disappear but they'll look a little less prominent.

Pampers  absorb a lot of baby wee and are designed to prevent even the messiest number two's from spilling out the sides. Making parents lives a tiny little bit easier.

I for one would find this approach totally refreshing. It might also mean that marketeers could spend less time worrying about the articulation of a strapline and more time making sure their consumer insight is right, their product is good and their customers are happy.

 

Juliet

I love it when a plan comes together.

And that's exactly what happened when our creative team and a few of our social media gurus got together recently to figure out a way to step e-marketing up a notch or two.

The result was something we're calling the Three 'S' Methodology.

The three Ss (sense, speak, and share) combine social media insight and outreach with first-class creative to deliver highly targeted and relevant online communications.

We've put together a very short slide show that explains how it all works. If you're interested to see it, send a request to julian@octopuscomms.net

Julian

While a career in PR isn't likely to leave you with as many good tales to tell the grandchildren as a job in something like international espionage might, it does have its fair share of moments where you can sit back and think "that was pretty cool". Of course, public relations does tend to involve a lot less being shot at as well (particularly bad review meetings aside), and you don't have to ask the grandkids to sign the Official Secrets Act either, both of which are integral parts of the Octopus benefits package.

A few of the Octopus gang were privy to one of those "Ain't It Cool" moments just recently, as we brought together the judging panel for Cisco's Customer Kings campaign - a partnership with Real Business magazine to find the UK's best customer focused small firms, and one that Octopus and Cisco picked up a PR Week award for in 2009, thankyouverymuch.

Joining Cisco's head of SME and Commercial , David Critchley, the judging panel included MoneySupermarket genius and small business supremo Simon Nixon (now running the fabulous travel guide SimonSeeks), The Daily Mirror's resident careers, finance and small business expert Tricia Phillips, and Real Business' Charles "I've written about more brilliant SMEs than you've had dinners, hot or otherwise" Orton-Jones.

With our four judges assembled, it was a bit like having a small business version of the A-Team in the room; the SMB-Team, if you like. And a good thing it was too, because we needed every iota of their entrepreneurial and small business expertise to pick the winners from the many, many fantastic entries to the competition. Yes, this day was cool for two reasons - not just for being slightly star-struck at our judging panel, but also for being able to see the raw brilliance and passion on display from our entrants.

Quite literally just like the judging day...

 

From those that have come up with a smart, unique idea and just run with it to those who have spent years crafting their business into a well drilled, slick and yet - dare we say it - lovable company, Customer Kings is a wonderful reaffirmation of the breadth of talent and drive that exists amongst the UK's small businesses. When times are tough, these businesses continue to put the customer first, and that's what has made each and every single one of our winners not only a Customer King, but also a roaring success of a small business in their own right.

Stay tuned for the announcement of the winners when the March 8^th edition of Real Business hits the streets. We love it when a plan comes together.