Topical ads make maximum impact

Ten top topicality tips
For ten great ways to harness
the topical power of national
newspapers for your brand,
see Pages 12-13
Summer
2010
topicality special
www.nmauk.co.uk
Topical ads make
maximum impact
Topical advertising in national
newspapers packs a powerful
punch for consumer brands.
Newspapers are about news – advertisers
that exploit this fundamental quality by
introducing topicality into their national
newspaper ads can gain a real advantage
over competitors.
New qualitative research by the NMA
shows how topicality can boost the impact of brand advertising. It shows how
connecting with the news deepens engagement and offers advertisers the
potential for improved targeting.
National newspapers have a strong
emotional bond with their readers. People trust their papers to provide authoritative coverage and sharp commentary,
to surprise and entertain them, and to
provide advice and information to help
them make a whole range of decisions
about their lives.
Successful advertising taps into
this mindset. Ads that chime with the
news can really stand out in this newsdriven environment.
From predictable events like Christmas, Easter, Valentines and big sports
occasions, to unpredictable events like
the Iceland volcano, the result of the general election, and the weather, there are
plenty of opportunities to grab consumers’ attention.
Every day, smart advertisers are
piggybacking on the news. The very
best topical ads become part of the
story, and become part of the national
conversation – people will talk about
a clever ad linked to a story, just as
they are talking about the editorial.
Getting topical advertising in national newspapers is a tough challenge,
but the rewards for getting it right can
be enormous.
Topical ads in
newspapers can
boost impact by
5% points
The Newspaper Marketing Agency. Empire House, 175 Piccadilly, London, W1J 9EN. Tel: 020 7182 1700. Fax: 020 7182 1711. Registered Number 4618606. Registered Address 88 Crawford Street, London, W1H 2EJ, Tel 020 7724 8824
It’s about looking at your ad, looking at a
brand and thinking is there a way I can
possibly take advantage of the situations
going on in a newspaper at that time and
use it to my advantage?
Malcolm Duffy, Executive Creative Director, MCBD
Use topicality
for better connections
Newspapers are
all about today
For almost 400
years newspapers
have reached out
to readers, and
engaged them, like
no other medium
Readers depend on their newspapers to
keep them up to speed about what’s new,
what’s around and what’s cool. They identify with their paper – it’s “my paper” and
if the newsagent has run out, they will go
and find another shop to provide their
daily paper.
This unique emotional bond added to
the medium’s mass reach – 38m people
read a national newspaper at least once a
week – make national newspapers a compelling proposition for advertisers.
And one of the best ways of exploiting
that engagement is to link a brand’s personality to the editorial that readers are
seeking out.
Topical advertising can reinforce a customer’s connection to a brand, or help
potential customers to re-evaluate and
think differently about a brand.
Newspapers present a battery of opportunities for topical advertising. Some can be
planned well ahead; others require that the
advertiser is quick to seize the moment.
As there are seasons for the weather
– there are seasons, or cycles, for news.
Advertisers can look out for these and
exploit them.
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Readers’ loyalty to their newspaper
breeds familiarity. They know that their
paper will be in tune with their interests
and needs around big seasonal events, like
Christmas and the summer holidays.
They know that their paper will be
packed with topical stories and features
for events such as Easter, Mother’s Day
and Valentine’s, as well as big sporting
occasions.
And when there is fun to be had, as on
April Fool’s Day, they know that their paper will join in – and clever advertising
that also joins in the fun can earn real payback for the brand.
Advertising that hitches on to those
events, and does it well, grabs the reader’s
attention, creating that vital space for the
brand message to be delivered.
Not all topical advertising can be planned
months in advance – breaking news stories
offer advertisers daily opportunities to
make news work for their brand.
One UK example was the way the India
Tourism Office linked to the Jade Goody/
Shilpa Shetty row in Big Brother in 2007
(see page 14).
Or this year, bmi used ads linked to the
strike at rival BA to remind passengers
bmi was still flying.
And a few weeks later, East Coast’s
“When the Dust Settles” ad told people
whose planes were grounded by the Icelandic volcano that there were other ways
of travelling in the UK.
National newspapers have an unmatched ability to accept late bookings
and creative for delivery to a mass audience, making them the prime medium for
such opportunistic advertising.
Calculating how to take that advantage
is the challenge.
newspaper Marketing Agency news
Topicality special, Summer 2010
Friday
December
8
The unique thing about
newspapers is that they offer
an advertiser the chance to
have serious impact.
Tim Delaney, Chairman, Leagas Delaney
Thursday
February
14
Thursday
April
23
BMW case study
Tuesday
April
20
One of the most successful examples
of topical national newspaper advertising has been BMW’s annual April Fools
advertisement.
For ten years WCRS has produced
special April Fools advertising for BMW
to appear in “quality” newspaper titles.
The tight style and design of these
one-off specials has always exactly
matched that of the BMW newspaper
advertising at the time. Carefully challenging the reader to uncover the spoof
for themselves – illustrating a great way
for a brand to join in the fun.
People are watching out for their
paper’s April Fool story, which often
holds a motoring theme, like this
year’s “flying AA man” for the roadside
rescue organisation.
Sunday
May
7
BMW combined the topicality of
April Fool’s Day this year with the
general election campaign by inviting
owners to show their political colours
by choosing BMW roundels adapted to
include red, blue or gold: the Political
Roundel Attachment Tag.
The ad was chosen as Ad of the
Month in the Awards for National
Newspaper Advertising. ANNAs judge
Russell Ramsey, Executive Creative Director at JWT, said it was “clever and
almost plausible, like the best jokes
always are”.
Previous campaigns have included
the in-cabin Klimatabeiter Climate Control System that can recreate any one
of the world’s 23 “registered climates”,
and the Canine Repellent Alloy Protection option, delivering an electric shock
to dogs that relieve themselves on your
alloy wheels.
The narrative of the BMW spoof
adverts invariably refers back to the
product, the values of the brand and the
clear offering of a consumer benefit.
In BMW’s own words these April
Fool advertisements “allow the intelligent owner to feel part of the BMW
tradition”. BMW is so proud of this
tradition in national newspapers that
it champions the ads on its website:
http://www.bmweducation.co.uk.
A boost for ad metrics
Over seven years of NMA research, topicality has
proved to be a key advantage of newspapers.
In research on the cosmetics and toiletries sector,
published in 2009, the NMA tested responses of
women to 75 single ads, including 12 topical ads,
such as sun protection products in the late summer.
Each ad was seen by at least 100 women, and
their responses were measured against a range
of branding and response metrics.
The average score for the 12 topical ads against
the six core metrics was 5% points higher than
the average of all the ads .
The research also demonstrated the value of
relevant context – 85% of female newspaper readers, and 83% of male newspaper readers agreed
that “seeing adverts next to related articles makes
them more memorable and relevant”.
This demonstrates the value of topical advertising, especially in a sector where, like cosmetics and toiletries, frequent national newspaper
readers spend more per household than either
an equivalent number of heavy TV viewers or
frequent magazine readers.
Full details of the NMA’s cosmetics and
toiletries research can be downloaded from
www.nmauk.co.uk/toiletries.
ay
Thursd
April
1
3
Newspaper advertisements, …they can be topical or they can be
strategic, it doesn’t really matter, but they can be part of something
which is very now and that gives advertisers an extraordinary
opportunity to say what they want to say, in an impactful way, and
in such a way that people can’t ignore it.
Tim Delaney, Chairman, Leagas Delaney
Piggybacking
on the news
Make today’s stories
work for your ads
It is tough producing great topical advertising
– yet all the effort will bring major benefits to
those that do it right, demonstrating they
understand the reader
Research shows that newspaper readers
actively want to take part in a game with
the advertisers, and their newspapers.
They want to play and be part of the fun.
This has the advantage that as a news
story breaks into a consumer’s consciousness; the brand surfs through positively
on the back of it.
Better still if the advertisement can
add the strength of empathy to that of
context – such as Audi’s advertisement
during the cold snap: “An advertisement
for the Audi Q5. Written by someone who
drove to work in one yesterday.”
Readers can transfer their feelings
through the ad into both the newspaper
and the product itself, a real win-win.
The hard work of alerting consumers
to an advertisement, and asking them to
focus, is already done – they will be enjoying the copy, seeing the relevance by just
following on from the news story.
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newspaper Marketing Agency news
Topicality special, Summer 2010
Last year during the nationwide panic
over swine flu, a number of healthcare
brands such as Domestos and Oust responded quickly with ads referring to
swine flu, alerting consumers to their
brand benefit when the country was already highly sensitive to the issue.
Domestos picked up on the NHS slogan of “Catch it, Bin it. Kill it” with, “Point
it. Spray it. Kill it” – creating an even
stronger link to the main public health
message from the NHS.
In the latest qualitative NMA research,
one respondent said of the Domestos ad:
“The calibre makes them serious for not
just cleaning your toilet but saving your
life. There’s a reason for you to pick it up
this time.”
Further proof that such advertising
works comes from NMA research, published earlier this year, on healthcare
brands in national newspapers.
In the research, among 2371 women,
responses were tested to 75 healthcare
brand ads against six core branding and
response metrics, and the Millward Brown
Involvement Diagnostics tool.
The responses – each ad was seen by at
least 100 women – showed that these ads
(swine flu) scored more strongly on impact and engagement than the average
healthcare brand ad.
As the brand piggybacks on the topicality so the message becomes magnified –
the power of topicality can turn a good
response into a great one.
Readers also love newspaper advertising that allows them to read in their own
understanding of an event, and make the
links themselves.
It is not necessary to spell every stage
out for the newspaper reader if the context has already been proved beyond reasonable doubt.
Topical ads take the gloss off…and just say look here we are, we’re just being
like you and I think that the humanity that’s in there is really important to
most brands. Therefore as far as I’m concerned newspapers offer an amazing
opportunity to be topical, and be part of something which allows a brand to
have a new side to its personality and I think that is always a good thing…
Tim Delaney, Chairman, Leagas Delaney
Flora and ‘the global workspace’
Topicality can make emotional engagement both stronger and richer.
In the latest NMA research, newspaper readers talked
of topical, humorous, advertising building stronger links
with the product or brand.
With Flora margarine’s London Marathon work,
respondents immediately saw the warmth of the campaign, linking with the goodwill around the event, and
what followed was an immediate positive feeling towards the product.
As one said, “It draws you in, because your heart is
with the people that are running…and therefore they,
Flora, got a place in your heart as it were.”
And there is science behind the readers’ response.
An academic paper by Jane Raymond and Graham
Page on Cognitive Neuroscience research, and its impact
on Marketing, found that when consumers encounter
most marketing messages, they are not typically seeking
information about brands – they are doing something else.
When reading a newspaper or magazine they are also
seeking diversion from their daily lives and may be more
likely to seek knowledge about topics of interest.
To enter a consumer’s “global workspace”, marketing
messages have to fit with these needs.
This is why creativity is so powerful and important
in advertising.
Very often fulfilling the need for entertainment or
diversion is a great way for marketing activity to attract
attention.
So by being more relevant to the topic that the audience is interested in at that time, the chances of the marketing message entering the “workspace”, and hence
conscious brain of busy individuals is maximised, and
it can then have greater effect.
The romance of
Burger King
Not every advertisement that piggybacks on a
news story has to do so in a directly positive way.
It is possible to have fun with the reader by
taking a contrary viewpoint.
Two days before Valentine’s Day this year
Burger King ran a full-page ad with a large, enticing product shot in The Sun with the strap line:
“Leave her speechless on Valentine’s Day”.
Not only did Burger King use the topicality of
February 14th to capture attention, the company
timed it to run two days early – when readers would
likely have been considering their Valentine’s
Day obligations – showing empathy for the readers’ conundrum on how to celebrate with their
loved ones.
The ad left the reader with the counter-intuitive suggestion of a dinner at Burger King as a real
option for February 14th.
All at a time when other advertisers were filling the pages of national newspapers with, some
might say, traditional alternatives. Extolling the
virtues of their products in a more classically romantic way.
“A reader is then able
transfer their feelings
through the
advertisement into
both the newspaper
and the product itself,
a real win-win.”
5
When a brand takes something [that is happening in the news] and gives it a
bit of a twist, or latches onto it people think not only is this brand on the ball,
you’ve entertained me as well… you’ve given it a spin appropriate to your
brand, entertained and engaged me, and I think this is what topical ads are
all about. They can engage both emotionally and rationally.
Malcolm Duffy, Executive Creative Director, MCBD
Topicality:
The value of association
Align your brand with
positive feelings
Newspaper advertisements that pick up
on current news events directly can lead
to highly positive results
The secret is to make the news work
for the brand.
There are four key areas where positive association, or alignment, with a major news story, appears to work best according to the latest NMA research.
• If the news story itself centres on an
organisation, or individual, that has inherent credibility, and maybe gravitas,
associating your product with their news
story allows that to rub off on the brand.
Advertising from the government
around the swine flu epidemic triggered
advertisers to link their products around
the national health messaging and public
information.
In the NMA’s healthcare research,
mentioned on Page 4, the advertising impact and engagement scores were even
stronger for brands that appeared on the
same newspaper spread as the NHS ad.
• If the event or topic is a national
institution, literally or just in the psyche of the nation, such as Wimbledon
tennis fortnight – then the association
with the brand or product can only be
for the good.
Marks & Spencer advertising strawberries at half-price, with full colour advertisements, at a time when the nation
turns to the thought of a British winner at
Wimbledon, wins on the link between
two trusted British brands.
Doubly so as the nation will also have
been holding the annual debate around
the cost of a punnet and dollop of cream
in South West London.
• When a news story creates a tidal
wave of goodwill it always pays to ride the
wave for the “rub off”. If the product already has a link through other marketing
spend, such as with sponsorship, national
6
newspaper advertising is the perfect way
to exploit that spend still further
Flora margarine did this consistently
for 14 years with its sponsorship of the
London Marathon for example, as have
Mars and Gillette, which have also previously sponsored the event.
• When a brand already has an association with a particular type of behaviour,
such as “obsession” then topical national
newspaper advertising is the perfect vehicle to associate one obsession with another… and the positive messages are
multiplied.
Kellogg’s has long sold a message of
obsessional behaviour and enthusiasm
around Crunchy Nut Cornflakes.
Linking the brand to the nation’s
known obsession with Wimbledon week,
through a dedicated advertisement featuring a tennis player and the headline
“Serving Suggestion” resulted in two obsessions becoming one for the consumer.
These great national sporting occasions do not just appear in the back of the
papers – they develop a life of their own
throughout the publication.
If advertisers hit the mark, the message will resonate.
newspaper Marketing Agency news
Topicality special, Summer 2010
It comes back to whether you can use topicality strategically or
whether you can use the immediacy of newspapers more potently.
I think there is definitely an opportunity in both those areas. I’m
not sure that creative people and creative departments are taking
advantage of that enough.
Tim Delaney, Chairman, Leagas Delaney
Mending associations – BA and Terminal 5
British Airways had a problem in 2008
with a forced association, its relationship
with the new Terminal 5 at Heathrow.
After the traumatic launch of the terminal in March 2008, which made headlines around the World for all the wrong
reasons, T5’s performance started to improve and by July of that year T5 was performing well – but the public perception
was very different.
BBH and ZenithOptimedia were challenged to create a campaign showing
things had changed.
Rather than simply claiming that T5
was working as normal they based the
campaign on a deliberately factual account of life at T5, aimed at proving the
turn-around was taking place.
Every day, BA ran different adverts in
national newspapers centred around genuine “Yesterday at T5” statistics; one week
on, one week off, to build up a sense of
momentum and credibility.
The advertisements contained changing vignettes on individuals’ experiences at the airport to build a connection
with readers, delivered with a touch of
humour.
This highly intensive campaign required real teamwork across the advertising and newspaper production process to
ensure that the ads were turned round for
the next day’s papers, and that the right
statistics and text appeared in the right
advertisement, delivered at the right time
to the right publications.
Success was immediate: by
September inclination to fly BA
because of T5 had increased by
30% points.
Topical advertising in national newspapers – creating success
by association.
Reversing
association
The reverse of positive
alignment can also
work for newspaper
advertisements
The reverse of positive alignment can also
work for newspaper advertisements.
Last year John Lewis advertised dishwashers in November – six of them on a
page, all white, with the copy “Just what
everyone wants to see at Christmas. Lots of
willing and able dishwashers”.
Not simply a seasonal advertisement, as
Tim Delaney, Chairman of Leagas Delaney,
said. “It shows that not all festive ads have
to involve reindeer and fat, bearded old
men. This headline uses a twinkle in the
eye to convey its point. It’s a truth we all
know and accept.”
So turning something nobody really
likes to think about into a positive thought
with a practical benefit will mean a win for
the brand and win for the consumer.
The Nationwide building society, advertised itself in national newspapers as the
good-guy through the early days of the
banking crisis with the headline “Solid.
Stable. Dependable. Exciting, aren’t we?”
Philips too ran a large image of George
W. Bush at the very end of his presidency
with the slogan “For whenever you lose
power”, to promote its portable battery
charger the Power4Life.
Good advertising that links with the
news can go on to create a news cycle of its
own, feeding off the initial wave of publicity to create more interest, building customer support along the way.
And the low production costs and quick
turnround of newspaper advertising provide the opportunity to run tighter, up-tothe-minute, more cost-effective campaigns.
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A newspaper is great for capturing a particular zeitgeist
or responding to a current frame of mind.
Richard Flintham, Executive Creative Director, Founding Partner, Fallon
Topicalty:
Getting close to readers
Make better connections by
operating ‘within the radar’
All readers have radar – if you are inside
their circle, on their radar, they notice
you, pay attention to what you say, and
are more likely to respond as you hope
and intend.
Topical advertising in national newspapers provides an unrivalled opportunity
to enter that exclusive zone of a consumer’s radar and make a difference to their
behaviour
Operating inside the radar will both
increase the impact of the advertising,
and boost reader engagement.
The reason this works is threefold:
The first and most fundamental reason
is also the most obvious – because a newsworthy event has made column inches,
and the advertisement sits close to the
very stories it relates to.
The advertisement catches the eye and
becomes part of the reader’s overall newspaper experience. As news stories develop
over time so the advertisement can easily
hold continuing relevance from one news
cycle to another.
The swine flu scare was a good example.
As was the recessionary cloud over the motor
industry – and the government’s scrappage
scheme to help to get it moving again.
Secondly, a good topical advertisement
will hold itself on the radar of a reader by
being familiar.
If the principal image in the advertisement is one that would normally sit within the publication, it will guarantee to
touch a nerve with the reader, it will feel
comfortable and not alien.
If the copy as well as the layout and image fit within the character and style of publication, so much the better, familiarity will
hold the reader’s attention to the page.
Finally topical advertising works best
within the readers’ radar when the information is presented in such a way that not
only do they know what to do with the
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newspaper Marketing Agency news
Topicality special, Summer 2010
information, they can also identify with it
on a more personal or practical level.
It makes them feel informed and in
touch, ahead of the game and good about
themselves. It may even give them something to talk about.
The ad can combine with the relevant
editorial giving readers a chance to offer
information, a tit-bit of gossip, or humour
to their friends and colleagues.
If that topical ad can also provide a sense
of involvement through challenging the
reader a little bit, there is every chance the
reader will again want to pass on to family,
friends or workmates their satisfaction at
winning the challenge.
In this way, topical newspaper advertising can harness word of mouth to help
to build a brand. It’s what newspapers
have been doing since the coffee houses
of Fleet Street, hundreds of years ago.
People like to be entertained by their ads and I think with a topical
idea you’ve got to create opportunity there because there is something
that has happened in the news and you can give it a spin to your own
advantage and I think the Lynx ad is a great example of that.
Malcolm Duffy, Executive Creative Director, MCBD
Sharp work from Lynx
Participants in the NMA research
also showed themselves to be huge
fans of this Lynx Effect ad, picking
up on Britney Spears’s short-lived
marriage. A great example of targeting, operating within the radar
of the readers.
Following tabloid revelations
about Britney having an unexpected wedding, and then splitting up from her new husband
the following day – Lynx ran a
simple advertisement, in the
style of a rip-out from a tabloid
newspaper, alongside its “Lynx
Effect” slogan.
The right tone, creative style
and sense of humour to match
newspaper and audience alike.
As one respondent in the latest qualitative research observed,
“…it’s not actually saying that
our product lasts longer than a
Britney Spears relationship, but
everyone gets that idea!”
Humour, topicality and a
strong fit with a tabloid story, success all round.
Honda ads
bring home
the bacon
One of the most successful advertising
campaigns in 2009 linked a news story,
the Honda car plant in Swindon returning to work, with the benefits to the
local community, through images of
commonplace items likes irons, bolts,
rashers of bacon and cups of tea.
It was a highly topical campaign
– the national newspapers full of stories on the recession, and the Honda
plant had just been shut down for four
months.
As Darren Bales, Creative Director of
VCCP said: “The Honda work is news
in the form of advertising. There is an
actual story to be told here, told simply
and with charm. Good news amongst
the gloom – Honda Swindon is reopening for business.
“The reopening could have been
swept under the carpet all too easily –
the shutdown being seen as a real blow
to the pride of the brand. But thankfully
client and agency saw sense. This recession is something we’re all in together,
the workers and the manufacturers are
all in the same boat.
“Bacon, irons and mugs of tea make
it seem far more real than say, the rebooting of a robot arm. Good news for
the people of Swindon. Good news for
Honda. Good news for the guy who delivers the bacon.”
In the latest qualitative research,
one reader said of another execution
in the series:
“I think it makes Honda sound like
a caring, sharing company… you are
drawn to it, and it just makes you want
to actually read the text!”
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Newspapers seem to be a particularly
appropriate place in which to advertise food.
Maybe it’s because they’re both best when
fresh and consumed on the day of purchase.
Leon Jaume, Executive Creative Director, WCRS
Topicality:
Improving targeting
Talk to the readers’ ‘clubs’
All advertisers want to improve targeting
– and using topical advertising in newspapers can be a precise way of doing it.
This brings better value for every pound
spent, improved consideration for brands,
and hence an even greater response rate.
If you are a fan of a club, sport or celebrity you become a member of an exclusive
club that advertisers can target directly.
The club can be as much around behaviour as it is about likes and dislikes.
Rugby fans seeing the Guinness ad beside the paper’s rugby coverage can feel
the passion and identify with the strength
of emotion. And regardless of their own
physical abilities, they can feel what it
must be like to be the player charging for
the goal line “as he brings a nation to life”.
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newspaper Marketing Agency news
Topicality special, Summer 2010
A perfect fit for the Guinness “Bring It To
Life” campaign, especially given the brand’s
strong sporting sponsorship links.
Whatever the subject matter – with
careful media buying, and clever creative,
the personal familiarity we all have with
our various associations can be exploited
to the full by advertisers in the national
newspapers.
The sports pages are a great place to
target men, and it’s not just male-targeted
brands that can use this context powerfully as Lindt showed on 13th February this
year with an ad in the Guardian reminding
men that the brand can support them on
Valentine’s Day.
Targeting also means it is possible to
home in on those seeking answers at what
may be a time of personal stress.
After the collapse of Northern Rock, ads
such as the Nationwide ad on Page 7 offered reassurance and security.
Placing those advertisements on the
City, or personal finance, pages strengthened the impact.
As with all advertising, audiences are
often looking for answers.
Elnett leveraged the glamour of London Fashion Week for a newspaper ad
offering catwalk-standard performance
in its hairspray.
Readers looking for advice on health
issues can be reassured and empowered by messages about things they
can do to improve their own and their
families’ health.
The reader gets to feel more singled out,
and hence understood by the advertiser.
The more this is achieved the better the
long-term benefit for the advertiser.
Great targeting brings the consumers
and the advertisers into their own shared
inner circle, all members of that same exclusive club.
The technology now in newspapers allows you to do beauty shots [of food],
and they are beauty shots. I think technology and the fact that you can
make it look very seductive in newspapers should allay their fears and in
fact make it a very potent way of talking to people about food.
Tim Delaney, Chairman, Leagas Delaney
‘Foodies’
tuck into
food ads
The nation has a well-established food obsession,
and targeting “foodies” has
become a real success story
for topical advertising.
Many seasonal occasions
are linked to food – the array of food and drink that
makes Christmas special,
eggs at Easter, luxury foods
at Valentine’s, lighter options for the summer and
for the post New Year diets.
National newspapers
have a strong diet of food
and drink editorials – stories about food and health
issues, hints and tips for
busy mums, recipes for
every day and for special
occasions, reviews of restaurants and stories about
celebrity chefs.
Around the special seasons, they are there to offer
readers advice and information on how best to cook up
success at home.
As the nation continues
to enjoy its consumption of
national newspapers – so
there is a chance for food
related advertisers to feast
on this enthusiasm.
“There are two schools of thought on
food advertising; The Pavlovian, see
beautiful picture of Pavlova cake and
drool, and The Freudian, unconsciously
conjure idea of Pavlova cake and drool.
Until recent technological advances
The Pavlovians (M&S, Sainsbury’s)
have favoured colour magazines
and The Freudians (Waitrose and
most “ingredient brands”, yellow fats etc.) have chosen TV.
Now we see a convergence of the
literal and metaphorical in national press where high standards
of reproduction meet frequency,
topicality and naked opportunism.”
Gerry Moira, Chairman and Director of Creativity, Euro RSCG.
Rapid recovery
When Marks & Spencer admitted a major error of
judgement – by charging women more for larger
bras, it was time to act. The company made great
use of national newspapers to recover from the adverse commentary.
M&S seized the initiative in a major newspaper
ad campaign, using a close-up of a green silk bra,
with an abject apology for getting it wrong.
This, and a subsequent cutting of prices by 25%,
helped M&S sell a million more bras as a result.
In the latest NMA research, when asked about
the campaign, this sentiment was typical of all the
female respondents: “I remember seeing it and
thinking it was really clever, amusing and really a
good way to approach the problem.
“It was funny, was addressing the problem, and
being straight up about it”.
Again, a case where an advertiser was able to
use targeted, bold, advertising, topically – and see
immediate results, while creating its own positive
wave of news.
11
Topical, relevant, immediate and
absorbing. If you want to seize the day,
a newspaper grabs it with both hands.
Matt Lloyd, Blue Senior Creative, VCCP Blue
Top Tips
1
2
Seize the day
Power of Association
In the world of topical advertising there
is no time to stand and stare. Newspaper
advertising is relatively inexpensive, and
highly cost effective. A few years ago,
just as London was to launch the bid for
the 2012 Olympics Vauxhall Motors
published a letter of support from the
Managing Director to Barbara Cassani,
the then leader of the bid, in key national
newspapers – the first UK company to
publicly support the bid. All for the cost
of a simple advertisement that just
printed the letter itself – and so beating
all their competition.
If your brand has commonality
with an issue or event, then
exploit it with newspaper
advertising. The idea of staying
in and watching Gordon Ramsay
on a Friday Night, drinking a
Gordon’s gin and tonic, while
relaxing in front of the television
all has a natural association: and
so why wouldn’t you place the
advertisement in the middle of
the TV listings too? As Gordon
would no doubt say himself,
“Job Done”.
5
6
Less is More
The topicality can do
most of the work,
and the brand and
advertising only
needs to hang on to
the story. The
advertisement just
needs to set the
scene and the tone;
then align or
contrast with the
story to make the impact;
force a response or provide a solution.
12
newspaper Marketing Agency news
Topicality special, Summer 2010
No News? Make News
When Marks & Spencer admitted that
it had erred over charging extra for
larger women’s bras, and apologised
through newspaper advertising it
created its own news, behaved true to
its own brand character and won the
support of women everywhere. As Tim
Delaney said, “It is a very good example
of how to use a newspaper”.
7
Immediate responses
Immediate responses
to major news
stories create
their own
credibility for
having a finger
on the pulse, being
in touch with
consumers’ needs
and fears.
Topical ads really give the opportunity
to take something in the news and give
it a bit of a spin to your own advantage.
Malcolm Duffy, Executive Creative Director, MCBD
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October
November
3
December
4
Be brave
Twist and Shout
let the topical story take the lead, and be happy to
follow surfing along on its wake. Be it George Bush
and fading power, or an England football match and
Wayne Rooney supporting Nike; following rather
than leading the news story makes the cut through to
the consumer so much easier.
If the news story is a negative one, there is no
reason why your brand cannot emerge
triumphant. Lynx won out over the length of
Britney Spears’s marriage in its Lynx Effect
advertisement, as did Nationwide advertising its
solid, stable dependability. The
brands linked to the
news story in such
a way as to suggest
that consumers
could really trust
them in an everchanging world.
8
9
Newspapers are an
essential part of
news consumption
They should never be
excluded from a topical
campaign, they should be
seen to be leading, as the
papers are where people
linger longest consuming
their daily news fix.
Echoing others
Finally…
If you have got a REAL news story, go
for it. For example when President
Obama landed
at Stansted,
Ryanair was
able to draw
immediate
parallels with
its own
service from
the airport.
Supports their messages and reinforces the
advertisers’ own messages. When Domestos
almost exactly replicated an NHS advertisement,
it wasn’t by accident.
13
Winning
Awards
2007 winners with
host Dara O’Briain
2007
The NMA has a passion for creative
genius – hence the ANNAs. The Awards
for National Newspaper Advertising.
One of the awards, the Topicality
Award, is for the best use of topicality in national newspapers. It is worth
£10,000, split between the creative
and media teams.
The award is judged by creative directors from top advertising agencies and
senior figures from media agencies –
14
they seek out those advertisements
that have made a real difference: and
the winners have never disappointed.
Entry is free for the awards, which
are presented in January each year.
The Topicality Award was launched
in 2007, so there have been three
winners so far:
newspaper Marketing Agency news
Topicality special, Summer 2010
“This ad appeared straight after Jade committed career
suicide on Big Brother. It’s simply written and turns a
negative into a positive.”
Andy Cheetham
Creative Director, CheethamBell JWT.
?
2008 winners with
host Frankie Boyle
2009 winners with
host Rob Brydon
2008
You?
2010
2009
“I admire the calmness of this ad. It’s a great line delivered with
judicious levity. It’s surprising how quietly and confidently this
message rises above the mass hysteria of the current market place.”
“Here’s a topical ad that will endure. No cheap jokes were
employed here, just a few well chosen words that show
a perfect understanding of the zeitgeist.”
Simon Learman
Joint Executive Creative Director, McCann-Erickson
“Best use of the topicality and controversy that only
newspapers can bring to the mix is Five with their
championing of the fragrant and much-maligned Georgina
Baillie. The ‘Never Mind the Bollocks’ art direction just tips
it into first place. “Cash through Chaos” as we used to say.”
Gerry Moira
Chairman & Director of Creativity, Euro RSCG
15
Have you done a
better topicality ad?
Here are some of the candidates for this year’s
Topicality Award in the ANNAs. If you have done a
great topical ad, or have got one coming up, let us
know at [email protected], attaching a PDF
and the name of your agency and the team involved.
Remember, there’s cash for the winners: £10,000
shared between the creative and media teams.
The Newspaper Marketing Agency – Contacts
Empire House
175 Piccadilly
London W1J 9EN
Tel: 020 7182 1700
Fax: 020 7182 1711
Web: www.nmauk.co.uk
Maureen Duffy
Chief Executive Officer
Tom Lynch
Communications Controller
Qualitative Research
Karen Marshall
Research Plus