This is a business and we're in the business to do business, so lets do some business!

The business, the firm, the boys, the lads, your crew...the picture on the left obviously has nothing to do with business to business marketing. However, it does give you a nice insight into the cut-throat world of business. If it all goes tits up, these boys could be round collecting all your worldly posessions (and probably smashing up your lovely premises as they go about it).

Sometimes in business you've got to collaborate with your rivals in order to be successful.

It's a bit like in the film Football Factory (aaaah...there's the relevance of the picture). Billy Bright (the bloke jabbing his finger at the camera in the picture) deals in narcotics - specifically heavily cut cocaine. Now, even though he's a Chelsea boy through and through, he does business with Millwall's top boy, even though Millwall are there most hated rivals...why? Because that's where the money is.

"Keep your friends close, but your enemies closer" (Michael Corleone - The Godfather Part II - 1974)

In keeping with the film inspired start to this blog, the above quote is one that can be applied to business to business marketing (in a twisted sort of way). Basically, as a business you might not be particularly interested in what another company does, you may not even like their particular sector of the market. However, if that's where the money is, go with the flow!

Business to business marketing describes transactions between businesses. Now this could be between a manufacturer and a wholesaler, a wholesaler and a retailer, and so on and so forth. Somewhat surprisingly, the volume of business to business transactions is far greater than that of business to consumer transactions. And this is why as marketers we should place a large amount of emphasis on B2B marketing.

Businesses can be divided into three main categories;

• Government organsiations (health and education etc)
• Institutional organisations (not for profit, charities etc)
• Commercial organisations (distributors and retailers etc)

The importance of business to business marketing can be outlined when we look at not for profit organisations (like charities). Whilst charities do rely on kind souls like you and me for donations, the majority of their income comes from the government and independent companies. As a result of this, charities need to market their cause correctly so as to make it attractive not only to the hoi polloi like you and me, but also to the guys with the big money. This would be a business to business transaction and henceforth it explains why business to business marketing is vitally important to today's marketing generation.

And so, this is it....the last post. I don't want to make a big deal out of it (wouldn't want anyone crying or anything like that), but it's been an honour and a privilege to have you read my incoherent (and sometimes downright silly) musings on the world. Hopefully it's given you a bit of an insight into what we've learnt this year (it's bloody flown by) and will aid you in years to come when you go on to be a successful PR or marketing guru.

Finally, follow the link to the video just as a nice end to what's been a thoroughly enjoyable year.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w7aBGh9tJWg

*sob*...oh damn, I said no tears!

The Starship Enterprise week...

No...for all you little geeks out there, this post is not about Star Trek, Star Wars, or any other star for that matter. So if you've found yourself on here by accident, please go boldly where no man has gone before...and kindly buzz off back to Warhammer (or whatever it is you do in your spare time).

This post is solely about the one week of the year we call "Enterprise Week", or as some people called it (me included)....HOLIDAY WEEK! No, I jest. I was unfortunately unable to attend this event, as by the time I got my lazy self round to it all the places on the lectures I would be able to attend had been snapped up. However, had I known that the girls would be running the door I would have rocked up there anyway and gatecrashed my way in.

Anyway, regardless of whether I attended or not, I'm pretty confident I'll be able to give you a bit of an isight on what went on, with the help of a few bits of info and quotes I may have "borrowed" from other people.

Enterprise week basically gave us marketing students a chance to hear the way that the big boys run their companies, their thoughts on the recession and how it could effect the marketing industry and what we (as future PR and marketing gurus) can do to ensure we make the most of our education when we get out into the big, bad world.

Alan Rich set the tone when (directly contradicting the media's opinion) he highlighted the recession as a "fantastic opportunity". His opinion was that rather than having to cut back on expenditure, companies should retain their existing budgets and focus on a more limited number of brands. This means that rather than spreading their budgets thinly on a higher number of brands, companies should spend the same amount of money on a smaller number of brands and really concentrate on the brands that people will keep going back to.

Tom Vick (from JWT) pointed out that at this moment in time digital marketing is killing off television advertising. According to some people, today 117 adverts are needed to have the same effect as 3 adverts would have in the 1970's...that's an immense figure. But when you consider the amount of television advertising the modern generation is exposed to, you can clearly see why it takes such a large amount of exposure to advertisement to make an impact on a person. Mr Vick also advised that with the focus of today's marketing shifting towards digital marketing, there is pressure on companies who wish to be successful to make a push towards this type of marketing and away from other less successful types of marketing.

He outlined 5 key points how agencies should respond;

1. Forget above the line and below the line as marketing concepts.
2. Bring back the dictionary definition of advertising.
3. Re-structure business around brands and it's communications needs.
4. Invest in re-training and re-orientating agency colleagues.
5. Learn from the youth, for example, agencies using younger staff to train the older.

So in hindsight, maybe I should have gatecrashed my way in, as it seems to have been a very interesting and varied week, where we got the opportunity to learn from different sources with proven track records of success in the marketing industry. However, hopefully I've been able to give you a bit of help with what it was all about, and maybe next year I'll actually attend Enterprise Week so you can get my own thoughts rather than those I have stole....er...borrowed off other people.

*This post was sponsored by Datlen, Stokes, Simpson and Fontanoz (2009). However, all images and intellectual ramblings are sole property of Sean Halsey, and as such, any unauthorised use will result in prosecution and/or death by stoning. All rights reserved. *

Karma chameleon...

Culture...it's a minefield isn't it? Such a varied and dense topic that we could be here all day examining it. But frankly, I don't have the time nor the patience...so I'll try and sum it all up in a nice bitesize chunk for you.

The dictionary defines culture as "a form or type of civilization of a certain race or nation"...but then further down it does also describe it as "the commercial rearing of fish and certain plants". So, are we talking about races and nations, or am I just writing this for the halibut...hahaha. I joke, I joke.

So, ignoring my humourous quip, what exactly are we talking about?

"Culture is the fabric of meaning in terms of which human beings interpret their experience and guide their action." (Clifford Geertz)

Well, culture could be defined as a common set of beliefs, values and customs that are shared between a group of people. For instance, the chav culture love Burberry, gold jewellery and stealing cars. They believe that education isn't important as they go to the "university of life". They value McDonald's over Burger King (it's cheaper) and their customs include fighting, robbing and drinking Stella in parks. But that's not for everyone...I'd much prefer a nice, warm can of Special Brew.

"Culture is a little like dropping an Alka-Seltzer into a glass-you don't see it, but somehow it does something." (Hans Magnus Enzensberger)

Once again, segmentation is fundamental when considering different cultures. What one group of people may like, others may hate. However, I'm not going to bang on about segmentation as I seem to do that in absolutely every post. In terms of the the purchase process and how marketers can apply the theory to different groups, culture is a vitally important aspect to consider. As you may have started to gather, many of the different aspects of this whole blog have started to mix in with the others. We've previously covered values, social class and personality and self concept, and I like to think of culture as the amalgamation of all of them, with (as always) a bit of segmentation thrown in for good measure.

"I do not want my house to be walled in on all sides and my windows to be stuffed. I want the cultures of all the lands to be blown about my house as freely as possible. But I refuse to be blown off my feet by any." (Mahatma Gandhi)

Culture can include the perceived meaning of things and the translation of words and language. Therefore it is important for marketers to recognize what cultures their target market will incorporate, and how the use of their marketing skills can be applied to appeal to (or in some cases repel) certain cultures.

"On a group of theories one can found a school; but on a group of values one can found a culture, a civilization, a new way of living together among men." (Ignazio Silone)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6_WAmt3cMdk
HSBC ran a series of successful adverts that show the differences in certain cultures quite cleverly. Watch the above advert and it might help you to understand culture a little bit more.

"Culture is the name for what people are interested in, their thoughts, their models, the books they read and the speeches they hear, their table-talk, gossip, controversies, historical sense and scientific training, the values they appreciate, the quality of life they admire. All communities have a culture. It is the climate of their civilization." (Walter Lippmann)

To me, culture is everything that makes a person unique, yet everything that they have in common with others.

Hopefully this post has given you some idea of what culture is all about. If nothing else, I've thrown a lot of lovely soundbites in here for you to use at your own will. And here's my favourite;

"Culture is roughly anything we do and the monkeys don't." (Lord Raglan)

Yeah but, no but, yeah but...

Football commentators are often heard say "form is temporary, but class is permanent" when a player performs well after a string of terrible games. But what difference, if any, does social class make in terms of marketing communications?

First off, let's break down the subject matter. What is social class?http://quizfarm.com/quizzes/Style/gonewiththegale/what-social-status-are-you/

Having taken Michael's test on the above link, I came out as exactly as I imagined...dirty, stinking, on the breadline lower class. Well thanks, tell me something I and anybody else who knows me didn't know. According to the quiz, being lower class means "You're stressed over money and unfortunately you're 'maid' to work hard for little money. The only wealthy people you know are the ones who make you clean their floors. Just like the upper class, the government doesn't listen to you either". I resent that! Chances are if I ever had to clean wealthy people's floors, they may well find that some of the lovely oil paintings they have on their walls might just start mysteriously disappearing...

I would define social class as the grouping of people according to their wealth, social status and occupation (among other things). Some people may argue that the social class system does not exist anymore, but I would beg to differ. Consider this; I (as working class scum) struggle every month to meet my direct debit payments and generally live my life praying to the heavens for that one big win. Whereas others (those born with silver spoons in their mouths) receive a more than generous "allowance" from their parents each month to keep them living in luxury. This would seem to suggest that the social class system is alive and well, and persistently trying to piss on the parades of poor little buggers like me.

Social classes can be broken down into the following groups;

A – upper middle class

B - middle class

C1 – lower middle class

C2 – skilled working class

D – working class

E –lower class

Now, having sat through Ruthy's lecture on social class, my opinion of how the social class system works has changed somewhat. I used to believe that you are what you are, regardless of what financial improvements you make in your life. However, it would appear that the classing system only really exists because we as people are continually putting ourselves into categories and pidgeon-holing ourselves as a particular type...just because I would class myself as working class (D) it doesn't mean that when I finish university (hopefully having gained a degree and with full working use of my liver intact) I cant be in a job that would be reserved for the middle class (B) and aspire to have the wealth of the upper working class (A).

But what difference does all this make to marketers? Well, a marketer's goal is to appeal to the correct grouping of people that the product is mainly aimed at (as we saw in the earlier post on segmentation). If people can be defined into social classes, marketers can easily identify which group they are supposed to be trying to capture the attention of, and use the right language and imagery to isolate and appeal to that social group.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nZn-FaWeUZY

Watch the above advert and then answer me this...who was this advert specifically aimed at; The builder down the pub, supping his pint after a long, hard day on site? Or the toffee nosed old boy, sitting in his London town house in his silk pyjamas and slippers, who just so happens to have accidentally changed the television over from ITVs "spiffing" drama Jonathan Creek. Personally, I think the marketers who designed this campaign were aiming it specifically at the working class man, who works hard, plays hard and enjoys nothing more than a night down the boozer followed by a scrap in the kebab shop. And as such, some might call it a "Chav-vert"...BU-DOOOM CHHHH!!!

So in summation, social class may only be a figment of our imagination. But considering we all have an opinion of what class group we fall into, it is important for marketers to recognise this and (as always) to aim the product at the right group.

Just as a light hearted way of looking at how people are always striving to move up the social class ladder, watch the video on the link below. The video contains probably the biggest example of a man motivated by trying to move up the social class ladder. And it also shows that the "one big win" I was talking about earlier can really happen, so watch it you plonkers!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UsuIaZcj8Ak