Marketing Intelligence by Iain Johnston

OK, I see the strategy now.

I wrote previously about how utterly terrible the Ignis advert was by Blackfriars bridge. Well, now I don’t know whether to laugh or cry. They have  compounded the problem by…..wait for it ………. throwing large sums of money at the campaign.

Nooooooooooooooooooooooooo.

The good news is that no matter how poor the campaign, blanket coverage in and on taxis, at stations and other sites all combine at least to build a sense of presence in the capital. They’ve even managed to produce an ever-so-slightly animated version for the video JCDecaux site on the main concourse at Euston. Good stuff. If they throw enough money at the campaign, they might even succeed with their target audience in establishing a lasting association between their brand and the phrase “we give our fund managers a licence to perform”. Job done?

No.

Ubiquity and huge expense do not a good communication make. Must track down the adwatch spend figures for it. Bet I’ll be stunned.

I’ve checked with a couple more fund management chums (statistically valid sample – two people who I happened to be at school with or meet for lunch), and they really don’t understand what Ignis are trying to say. Or at least are amazed that they are promoting freedom and risk in a market which is largely running scared from such currency. It’s a bit like promoting a transatlantic air route by saying “our pilots have such a laugh at 39,000 feet”. If the results of such licence are massive outperformance, then why not say so? But what about compliance? What about freeing staff to take risks with others’ money? Is the campaign even credible?

Rant over, for now.