Category

Audio

Jul 06
0

10 questions every business owner should be asking about their marketing RIGHT NOW

By | Audio, Blog, Branding, Digital, Events, In-Store, On The Phone, PR, Social

As businesses start to re-open their doors once more, it’s safe to say we’ve officially entered the realm of the ‘new normal.’ But what does this mean for your business and, crucially, your marketing plans?

It’s probably an understatement to say that the way you run your business has had to adapt in recent weeks.  With this in mind, it’s almost certain that your pre-lockdown marketing plans need to be re-shaped too, so that you can be confident your comms channels are working as hard as they possibly can.

Feeling a bit overwhelmed?  Don’t worry, we’ve put together 10 questions you should be asking yourself about your marketing right now.  And, of course, if your answers to these questions lead you to thinking you need a helping hand with anything, the OnBrand team are ready to take any marketing load off your mind!!

Your 10 questions start here

  1. What’s changed in my market/economy?
    Change isn’t always a bad thing.  For example, it may be that your target audience’s shopping behaviour has changed; they may be shopping less, but spending more.  Could this be an opportunity to look at ways to upsell or increase basket size online?
  2. What are my competitors doing?
    Whilst assessing what new opportunities there may be for you out there, don’t forget to check out what your competitors are doing too.  Think about what makes your brand/business different and how you can achieve stand out amongst all the ‘New Normal’ noise.
  3. What are my comms priorities?
    Whilst it might feel like you should be putting spend across each and every touchpoint, it’s better to do a few things really well, than spread your budget too thinly across too many channels. Think about which channels are working best for you right now and ensure those you choose to put resource behind will help you reach your overall business objectives.
  4. What skills are missing in my team that I need to take control of?
    With businesses having to make tough staffing decisions over recent weeks, you may find there are skillsets you need to tap into right now that aren’t covered within your team.  At OnBrand, our team cover a range of different marketing disciplines, so whatever the gap, we have an expert on hand to help!
  5. How much do I need to change my original 2020 marketing plan?
    It’s unlikely your marketing plan from the beginning of 2020 is going to be exactly the same now.  Take time to really assess which parts are still going to deliver, and which areas need a tweak!
  6. What new needs do my customers have? 
    The world has changed for everyone. Not only are businesses needing to make changes, but consumers are having to approach every day tasks and responsibilities differently.  Do your customers have any new needs that you can help them with?
  7. Do we have the right level of comms activity running to reach our customers?
    If you’ve been one of the businesses that have had to shut-up-shop during lockdown, it may be that you’re needing to ramp up your comms activity more than you originally planned to at this time of year.  Take a look at your marketing spend for the year so far – perhaps there’s budget you ended up not using during lockdown that you should be thinking about re-apportioning to really create impact now that you’re back up and running again?
  8. Do we need to revise our business goals?
    Do your business goals still reflect the market you find yourself in?  If they’re now seeming unrealistic or you’re needing to change your approach, make sure you re-align your business goals so that you have something to measure success with by the end of the year.
  9. Is our website/e-commerce platform robust enough to respond to changes within the business model?
    There’s no denying that since lockdown, the world has become more digital than ever.  People are spending even more time scrolling on their phones.  How well do you engage with your audience across digital platforms?  Is your website optimised for e-commerce?
  10. What am I doing to keep my brand visible and top of mind? 
    Of course, reaching your customers is key, so it’s important to think through which channels are going to work hardest at doing this for you.  It’s also important to think x-channel.  How are you engaging on social media?  Do you have an email database you can segment with the right targeted messages? Are you running an affiliate program?  We can help you explore which channels are right for your business, and look at your overarching content strategy so that not only are you appearing across the best channels for your brand, but so that your messaging really cuts through and stays top of mind.

Lots to think about!  Want to chat through ways we might be able to help?  Email: sayhello@onbrand.co.uk or call 03333 22 00 22

Apr 14
0

A Positive Throwback: How we got Whitney Houston to drive engagement for Baytree Shopping Centre on Valentine’s Day…

By | Audio, Blog, Case Study, Events, In-Store, PR, Shopping Centres, Social

We thought we’d enjoy a little interlude from what’s going on in the mainstream news, to spread a little cheer and share  one of our favourite campaigns from earlier this year.

Question for you…What do you get when you mix a shopping centre, a dollop of love, a spoonful of Whitney Houston and some clever radio marketing alongside a sprinkle of social media magic?

An interesting recipe right?  Read on…

A bit of background

OnBrand’s history is deeply centred around radio, so much so that the whole company used to be called Centre Radio. And we’re proud to supply our most cost effective product, Centre Radio, to a wide range of different shopping malls up and down the country, with a variety of playlists and recorded messaging that can be updated and loaded quickly, especially in times when you need to react in a crisis.

We can make you feel good

We’re often reminding people that sounds can encourage a range of emotions. But did you know that positive feelings created by music can also help to increase both dwell time and sales in a shopping centre?  You can read more about the science behind it here.

However, today we’re not going to talk about science. Here’s an update on how we used Centre Radio creatively to have a bit of fun this Valentine’s Day at The Baytree Shopping Centre.

What went down

The Baytree Shopping Centre wanted to launch a simple Valentine’s Day competition, but with a twist. Something that would make shoppers want to ‘dance with somebody’ and engage them within the centre and on social media channels.

Centre Manager, Dan Foley didn’t really need to look very much further than OnBrand. We got right to the heart of the brief, which would mix all the elements together… (any Whitney fans getting our references yet?)

The chart-topping idea

A week-long competition that encouraged people to listen out for Whitney Houston’s, ‘I will always love you’ and then message the centre’s Facebook with the time that they heard it, in a bid to win a Valentine’s Gift Bundle.

Working closely with our audio team to ensure the track was played when the ‘Clock strike(d) upon the hour,’  our social media gurus then set to work promoting this awesome competition on the socials.

With a tightly planned schedule, we created banner advertising, posts and fun teasers, encouraging people to go into the centre and listen out for the tune, while giving them clear instructions on how to apply for a chance of winning.

The results

We generated plenty of seasonal engagement around this awesome competition, with customers emailing us to let us know they had specifically visited the centre just so they could hear the song… footfall – tick!

Another customer was also so chuffed at the ‘creativity’ they mentioned it in their entry comment.

And let’s not forget how happy the winner is…

At Onbrand, we talk a lot about memorable experiences, happy customers and success stories… it just  makes us ‘so emotional baby’!

Looking for a unique competition idea? Get in touch on sayhello@onbrand.co.uk.

We’re ‘saving all our (creative) love for you…..’

 

 

 

Apr 14
0

In the Sound of Silence… Is background music important in a shopping centre?

By | Audio, Blog, In-Store, Shopping Centres

Listen. Hear that?

If you’re in a city centre and all you can hear are raised voices and revving engines, it probably means there’s a good chance that something else has slipped past your radar. Music. As forgettable as they seem, the songs that play in the background of shopping malls and supermarkets are as much a part of the experience as your loyalty card or bag for life.

But how can something so important slip past us so easily? If we can barely tell it’s there, why bother, right? Maybe, we’re better off shopping in silence – they do say it’s golden after all.

Or maybe not. You don’t need to be a scientist to know that a shop with no music feels weird, but in case you were in any doubt, mood-setting music has been shown time and time again to work best for retailers when it’s there.

However, does anyone give it any notice?

It’s like the air we breathe; we only speak up when there’s a problem. Take it away though, and there’s no atmosphere.

When we think of shopping tunes, the first thing that probably pops into your head are upbeat top 40 bangers, those songs we hear played over and over until they become instantly recognisable.

Maybe the rationale of business owners putting them over the intercom is that familiarity is a way to fast track comfort. Popular tracks everyone knows will make people feel more at home, and a welcoming retail environment is more likely to create regular customers.

This idea hinges on people recognising the songs being played, so we know it sounds counterintuitive to be told it’s better for business when customers don’t recognise the music they’re listening to, but stick with us here: Several studies have proven that playing slower music causes shoppers to take longer in stores, and by not rushing, they end up spending more.

Spangenberg and Yalch (2000) found that playing music unfamiliar (and so less obvious) to customers, not only hardly changed its enjoyment, but it also had this time-stretching effect.

There’s lots of theories as to why this might be, but the prevailing one is that when we hear music we know, we feel time passing slower than normal. This makes sense right?

Who’s not listened to a favourite song and it felt monumental, when the run-time is only a couple of minutes? When all the background songs mush together, our body clocks have a hard time working out how long it’s been since we started doing something.

That said, having a whole load of people milling about might not always be the savviest sales option.

Maybe your aisles are getting a little over-crowded, or there’s a queue of families waiting for a table. The answer? Pick up the pace a little.

The good news for retailers is…

When we are under music’s influence, these studies consistently find we have absolutely no idea, even if it seems blatant on paper. Hargreaves, McKendrick, and North’s experiment in a wine bar (1999) found that buyers were more likely to go for French wines when ‘obviously French-sounding’ music was playing, with the same effect on German wines with ‘German-sounding’ music. Customers also spent more on wine when classical music played instead of pop; in neither case did they think the music had affected their choices.

So, let’s get controversial for a moment and make a bold claim:

If you want customers to stick around and spend a little more, maybe it’s time to call time on in-shop pop. Its bouncy rhythms and anthemic choruses might be enticing, but as far as research goes, all signs point toward less being more.

Hard to believe we know, but there’s nothing that makes us want to stay and blow our hard-earned cash than slow songs we haven’t heard before. We guess silence isn’t the only thing that’s golden.

 

Apr 16
0
recording studio

Speeding up the headache of finding that perfect voice recording artist and delivery

By | Audio, Case Study

The ailment

CIG Healthcare required a speedy cure for a presentation they were hosting about Syndol, a headache relief tablet. The company, which specialises in developing training solutions, e-learning and bespoke education materials for pharmacists and pharmacy teams, approached us to quote them for scripts surrounding their Tackling Headache in the Pharmacy’ training presentation. However, they needed an express way to do this and a voice artist who knew their stuff, while also being able to deliver the recordings with professionalism and tact.

The cure

We usually turn around voice recordings within the standard 5 day SLA. However, we knew the importance of the CIG request so we decided to use our skills and contacts to find that speedy cure. We gave the CIG a range of voice artist samples to select from, made sure that the correct instructions were given to the selected voice artist and stressed the SLA time.

The outlook

Having worked with us previously, our voice artist stuck to the brief and delivered the recordings the next day. We then set about editing these and got them over to the CIG that same day – ahead of the SLA.

That was one headache taken away.

Feb 07
0
chinese new year

Don’t stop the music!

By | Audio, Case Study

The challenge: To create a playlist that would engage and excite shoppers during Chinese New Year 2019 celebrations.

We’re always happy to work creatively and think out of the box. So when we were approached by Lower Precinct in Coventry to help them create a buzz around Chinese New Year, we jumped at the chance.

At OnBrand we always have a creative take on briefs, so we drilled down on the many ideas we had and decided to make some music. We profiled and played out a bespoke music playlist of Chinese themed world music that was both inviting and evoked a calming atmosphere for shoppers. And the result was, well, music to everyone’s ears.

We were thrilled with Lower Precinct’s Senior Duty Manager, Lyndsay Smith’s feedback. She told us that our team’s playlist ‘was the perfect finishing touch that enabled the centre to knit together the activities that took place throughout the mall and arcade, providing a seamless experience for visitors, exhibitors and retailers.’

It complemented the Chinese musician and the traditional events they had planned out.

We admit we did a little dance to celebrate…

Take a listen to our playlist… Sounds good right? Contact us today to discuss what might may be music to your shopper’s ears…

Aug 29
0

Creating a community

By | Audio, Case Study, Digital, Events, Shopping Centres, Social

The Baytree Shopping Centre has been a crucial part of the town centre for Brentwood shoppers for a number of years, with its wide range of stores surrounding a central café hub and thriving fitness centre on the second floor.

The centre management recognised the importance of captivating the local community and wanted their shopper to have a better shopping experience, both on and offline.

Focusing on smarter marketing

In order to grow its reputation as the heart of shopping in Brentwood, the centre management team identified that, in order to achieve this, they would need to seek out a marketing agency.

OnBrand were thrilled to be appointed in January 2018 as the outsourced marketing agency for the Baytree Centre.  Specialising in smart marketing using customer knowledge, OnBrand creates and delivers the Baytree Centre marketing strategy across all channels: digital, social, audio and events.

Working very closely with Dan Foley, the Baytree Centre Manager, OnBrand delivers a ‘joined-up’ approach to marketing.

Our experience-led marketing programme covers all touchpoints on the shopper journey:  from poster advertising space to email marketing, PR and social media engagement, to excite customers with competitions and events.

‘We’ve seen a significant increase in our online presence, developed encouraging relationships with a number of our retailers who help support our marketing activities and held a number of successful events which received positive customer feedback’  – Dan Foley, Centre Manager

Delivering successful campaigns

Since working with the Baytree Shopping Centre, OnBrand has delivered a number of thriving community engaging campaigns with success stories across all marketing channels:

  1. Valentine’s Day social media saw a rise of 56% engagement during February thanks to our event, online competition and retailer offer activity
  2. Pre-promotion of our Mothers’ Day and Easter Activities drove April Facebook followers up by 300%, as well as increasing our reach by 150% talking to over 5,000 local shoppers
  3. Dedicated April Twitter activity saw page impressions grow by nearly 4,000, reaching over 17,000 in one month, an all-time high for this channel

Building the future customer experience

With exciting developments coming soon to the centre, we are delighted to be collaborating on the 2019/20 marketing strategy for the Baytree Shopping Centre.  Our approach is to provide a continued balance of customer retention & customer acquisition activities, developing a whole host of new ideas to be delivered across digital, social, audio and events.

May 19
0
It only takes a minute to run a great campaign with Onbrand

It only takes a minute to run a great campaign with OnBrand

By | Audio, Case Study, Shopping Centres

The Challenge

In April of 2017, retail giants McArthurGlen teamed up with music moguls Universal to run a campaign for the launch of Take That’s much anticipated album, Wonderland.

The British boy band were established in the nineties, the same decade as McArthurGlen were established. Fast-forward 25 years and Take That are one of the most iconic bands in the history of pop, whilst McArthurGlen manage 22 major retail centres across 9 territories – 6 of which are located throughout the UK.

This event needed to be rolled out through the UK outlets in a way that had a core central theme, but that also needed a slightly unique feeling in each of the centres – a tall order given that the release date of the album was creeping ever nearer.

Enter OnBrand

With over 55 PA installations under our belt, the creation of music and messaging for over 1 billion shopper visits a year, and a history of research into customer behaviour, we’re used to providing content that becomes a big hit with modern shoppers.

Therefore, we created bespoke Take That playlists that would play in each of McArthurGlen’s 6 British centres and get their customers in the mood to celebrate this musical event.

Key Wins

  • Fast campaign response time
  • Good understanding of the client’s needs
  • Creation of bespoke and relevant content
  • Shopper-relevant content to enhance customer experience

What They Say

“OnBrand’s expertise really allowed us to run a memorable event that our customers loved. They did this by creating numerous bespoke playlists, which were high in quality and made at speed! We’d use them again in a heartbeat.”

Jon Shephard, Marketing Manager – McArthurGlen

May 19
0
Conga line at Octagon shopping centre

Moving your shoppers in exuberant ways with octagon shopping centre

By | Audio, Case Study, Events, Shopping Centres

The challenge: To encourage in-store shoppers to get involved in a giant shopping centre conga!

As we inched closer to Christmas in 2015, the management and staff at Octagon shopping centre developed a dream: to celebrate the success of various small businesses by arranging an impossibly long conga that would dance through the centre in a festive spirit.

At OnBrand, we’re a great believer of dreams, so we created an in-store audio message – complete with accompanying soundtrack – to ensure that this Christmas wish came true.

We could tell you that the people of Octagon were so thrilled with the customer experience, and the feedback, that they danced over themselves trying to express their gratitude, but we think that’s pretty evident from the pictures!

Contact us today to discuss what might make your shoppers dance through the mall.

May 19
0
Bing bonging with Virgin Trains

Bing-bonging with Virgin Trains

By | Audio, Call Centres, Case Study

The challenge: Could we improve the on-board sound of Virgin Trains?

Having already worked with Virgin Trains – reducing call volumes at their customer relations contact centre – we knew that repetitive announcements were preventing customers from listening to them, meaning they weren’t being engaged with. As a result, we were asked to research the voices used on-board, along with the all-important ‘bing-bongs’ that preceded each message.

We gathered feedback from both customers and train managers, who heard the messages on a daily basis, and devised a cunning plan. You see, we know a lot about how audio makes customers feel, so with some creative magic, a refreshed tone of voice and several ‘bing-bong’ auditions, we struck gold.

Our new strategy involved the use of contrasting male and female voices, depending on the type of message Virgin Trains was aiming to deliver. The next stop was to hold a feedback session and to test the new messages on a real train at the Virgin Training Centre. Once this was done, we rolled out an all-encompassing plan to suit the client.

So the next time you’re travelling, be sure to listen out for the ‘bing-bongs’ and remember how much love, craft and wisdom went into each message.

Contact us today to get on-board and arrange a meeting, where we can discuss the many ways we can help improve your customer experience.

May 19
0
Using shopping centre radio to raise cash for kids

Using shopping centre radio to raise cash for kids

By | Audio, Case Study, Shopping Centres

The Challenge

Beaumont, Leicester – a 300,000 sq ft Shopping Centre based within the East Midlands – wished to run a fundraising initiative supporting local families. With as many as 1 in 3 children in the East Midlands region considered as living in poverty, the aim was to encourage the donation of toys from their visitors. These toys were then distributed to  local families. However, even with the support of their local radio station Gem 106, the first weekend saw a donation of just a dozen gifts, making it hard to see how the incentive could grow to its potential.

Enter OnBrand

Given that we believed in the campaign and always support good causes where possible, we took the 50-second audio file the centre had played on air and uploaded it to the centre’s internal radio system at no extra cost, allowing the message to reach 100% of shoppers in the mall. This saw a significant increase in donations, with 58 gifts being donated the next weekend and over 400 toys being donated by the end of a successful campaign.

Key Wins

  • Enhanced awareness of the campaign
  • Raised kudos of the incentive
  • Created a community spirit within the mall
  • Delivered quantifiable results at a quick turnaround

What They Say

“When running an incentive for charity, you always want to get the best results possible. No child should wake up on Christmas morning without a present to open and hopefully the “Cash for kids” campaign, and the generosity of our shoppers, has helped with this. OnBrand used their knowledge of shopper behaviour to help ensure the campaign saw a significant spike in results, and we’re incredibly grateful for their help.”
Simon Revill, Centre Manager – The Beaumont Shopping Centre