Thursday 29 March 2018

The big risks about sharing on social media


“Who’d have guessed that what goes on Facebook doesn’t stay there!” chuckled the BattleAxe as she shared the latest amusing cat video.  “Have you ever thought of how much of your personal data is on the net and what it’s being used for?” she mused as her Chief Elf nervously started changing his banking password.  
“Don’t worry too much about that Elf, if you have strong passwords, don’t share them or use them on computers that you don’t control, the risk is low.  It’s more the social media stuff we share with friends and acquaintances – where you’re going, who you’re going with, your cat’s name and pictures of last night’s dinner…..preferably without your credit card visible on the table. All this is catnip to marketeers in deciding what will press your buttons – apparently, it can even be used to help you decide how to vote!”
“Isn’t GDPR going to stop all that when it comes into force later this year?” asked the Chief Elf, wondering if all his work on reviewing the systems, writing policies and cleansing the data held at BattleAxe HQ had been a complete waste of valuable time.
“Well sort of, but GDPR itself is more about how collectors of data review what they hold and requiring systems to be in place to make sure they know where and who it came from, what they have permission do with it and how and who, if anyone, they can share it with. It applies to businesses and organisations like sports clubs who should have been used to securing and making sure they only keep data that they can justify keeping for years already.  
“The biggest changes are that you have to document your processes and tighter rules on making sure you’ve got consent to keep/use the data.  It’s about time too because I’m sick of businesses bombarding us with marketing bumpf just because you once rang up to ask about their services.  They can’t rely on pre-ticked boxes anymore.  Thankfully, GDPR means asking people to opt in to being pestered – and telling them what you’re going to pester them about in advance.
“But of course it doesn’t apply to individuals who simply found the information on social media because you forget to adjust your privacy settings so that only real friends and family can see that colourful rant about your boss after you’ve had a few.  And as for Google’s trick of watching what you browse so that local businesses can pop up their ad every time you decide you want to look on YouTube for a “how do I ...?” video……
“You mean that’s not a coincidence?” asked a perplexed looking Chief Elf. 
“Surely you knew that by using Google you’d consented to being marketed to? How else do you think that lot is free?” she sighed and stomped off to send another withering blast to a household name requiring they remove her from their emailing list before she got her rolling pin out.
This article originally appeared in Huddersfield Examiner on April 5th

Thursday 8 March 2018

Times change and brands need to adapt



Early 2018 has seen the passing of a clutch of household names some young, some old.
Billy Graham just not quite making his century, as famous for his religious catalysing at the end as in the mid-50s. Sir Roger Bannister, at 88, first an astonishing athlete before switching to become as renowned neurologist .  Then Davide Astori cut off in his majestic footballing prime at 31.
Business hasn’t faired much better – Toys R Us, after 70 years on the high street, filing for Chapter 11 in the US and administration in the UK. Maplin failing having recently celebrated 45 years trading.  Just 17 years in, Prezzo is hoping to outlive other restaurant chains by shrinking to 1/3 of its peak scale after a history of massive growth.
The causes of demise are all individual but in many ways sadly similar. 
Toys R Us was the cornerstone of many an out-of-town retail park but, ironically, that was core to its downfall.  Kids attitudes to toy buying have changed and they want instant gratification – downloading an app or ordering up that specific fidget spinner for same day collection from Argos.  Stimulated by Harry Potter they began to expect magic and the warehouse style of presentation just didn’t cut it – worse, it ended up parodied as by the Toy Story franchise. Kids know what they want and they want it to feel specifically created for them. So, a vista of aisle after aisle of identical stuff simply doesn’t work.  Tiring stores and the sheer cost of such a huge physical footprint made them uneconomic, especially alongside online rivals.
The irony for Maplin is that it started as mail order technogeek heaven (long before the internet) which was then lured onto the high street searching for mainstream consumers. But that was the trouble – it became just another gadget shop rather than THE go to place for those truly serious about tech.   Speak to British nerds of a certain age, and they’ll wax lyrical about ultra-knowledgeable sales staff guiding you to piles of obscure components. Losing focus, striving for that general audience, meant stores sported drones, tablet computers and home automation gear.  Eventually, the burden of loans used to fund expansion brought them down.  Who knows, maybe the brand can re-emerge, phoenix-like, as the mecca it originally was?
Prezzo’s is a story of ultra-fast growth driven by dramatic (or eye-watering) promos to get people through the doors. Stepping back, without those margin squeezing offers were they offering anything distinctive amongst a host of competing restaurants?  As other now-struggling casual chains like Byrons and Jamie Oliver’s Italian have found, dining habits change and continuing with “same as ever” in a crowded sector with a less frequently visiting clientele inevitably spells pain.
The lessons here are clear: don't push expansion beyond natural limits and nourish the DNA of your success - the trick is to match Billy Graham and Roger Bannister by keeping the expression of your DNA evolving to renew the essence of that success.

This article first appeared in Huddersfield Examiner on 8th March 2018