Promise is to host our first Luncheon Meet of 2013 on the 12th February with Guest Speaker Alan Stewart, CFO at Marks and Spencer. Alan will be addressing areas of change including: the specific changes in the market, the implications for M&S and the next generation of consumers.
Alan Stewart has been the CFO of Marks & Spencer since October 2010 and has extensive experience of retail and other highly competitive industries, including travel and banking. He spent nine years working for HSBC Investment Bank before joining Thomas Cook in 1996, where he spent seven years, in roles including Chief Executive of Thomas Cook UK and Group Chief Financial Officer. Alan joined WH Smith PLC in 2005 as Group Finance Director, where he played a key role in delivering the Group’s improved performance.
The event has limited places and will welcome a select few senior executives to enjoy Alan’s insights, hosted by our very own CEO Charles Trevail.
It promises to be an enjoyable event for all, touching on areas at the forefront of many businesses minds as we continue to try and successfully navigate our way through recession, hoping to both retain customers and gain new ones, whilst at the same time remaining cutting-edge and ahead of the curve.
For more information please contact Nicole at nholloway@promisecorp.com
It’s always great to have good feedback!
We were delighted to read today that one the attendees at a recent Promise debrief enjoyed it so much that he chose to write about it in his column for Media Week. Thanks News International, the feeling’s mutual!
‘Today is going to be Fabulous. A Fabulous research debrief. I love seeing how readers interact with our products and this work was far more insightful, useful and interesting than the usual “here’s a 10-second vox-pop from a focus group” stuff that you still sometimes see in media. The two hours fly by and I agree to pick up learnings (and what we do with them) from a commercial perspective next week.’
http://www.mediaweek.co.uk/News/MostEmailed/1167222/Media-Week-Brendan-Judge-head-strategy-News-International-Commercial/
Firstly a very happy new year to one and all from everyone here at Promise!
We’re getting off to a great start to the year with our very own Dr Nick Coates being published alongside long-standing friend of Promise, Nicholas Ind, in the European Business Review.
The purpose of the paper is to draw attention to the diverse strands that underpin the still emerging concept of co-creation. The paper aims to suggest that there are alternative views rooted in psychotherapy, critical theory, software development and design that can help provide a richer understanding of the meaning of co-creation.
I asked Nick to give me a quick summary of the paper. “The argument is that co-creation brings together a rich set of practices from different disciplines (from psychotherapy and organisational change to open innovation). That makes it deep in inspiration and broad in application. Not new and narrow (the risk of it becoming a widget on a website, or dismissed as flavour of the month)
It also raises the important question of how we avoid co-creation becoming ‘outsourcing’ innovation to customers and focus on the idea of more open organisational collaboration instead.”
If you’re a subscriber of the European Business Review, you can read the full article here. It’s well worth a read.
As 2012 comes to a close…we asked some of our good and great at Promise to share their personal highlights of the year.
Here are a few of those.
Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year from everyone at Promise.
See you all in 2013.
It has been another busy and exciting year for Promise. Our rapid growth means it’s impossible to mention everything, but here are a few reasons that we are celebrating 2012…
We have 50 great clients, and are firmly established as a key strategic innovation partner with many of them
Our co-creation work is impacting the lives of millions of people across the world
We also published our first book, Brand Together – How co-creation generates innovation and re-energizes brands
And to finish off the year, our biggest news is that we have become part of the Omnicom Group. We’ll be coming together with Communispace to create a powerful global force in strategic innovation and insight for the world’s leading brands and companies
We would like to thank all of our clients, friends and associates for their support over the last 12 months, and are very much looking forward to an exciting 2013 together
What was the trend?
Personal Technology 3.0
In contrast to the buzz around social media, we’re seeing the growth in importance of ‘personal’ technologies. These are best understood as tools for self-improvement (like running apps), time-stretching, organisation and solutions to life’s daily dramas (bus checker). We will become increasingly reliant – and hooked in to – technologies that make our lives easier.
How has it manifested itself in 2012 (if at all)?
This trend has really manifested itself in 2012 and people become increasingly reliant on their little tech helpers to make their lives easier. The App store now features 700,000 apps, with 275,000 iPad apps, and 35 billion apps downloaded. The Bus Checker app has been repeatedly voted one of the best travel apps in 2012 and more and more gadgets and apps are finding their place in consumers’ hearts. Even celebs like Stephen Fry admit their passion for tech and gadgets as Gadgetman on Channel 4, introducing the newest innovations around themes like Fun and Games; Work made easier a.m.m. What’s your favourite personal little tech helper in your day to day life?
And in 2013..?
I think this trend is going to grow even further in 2013. As already mentioned in Post 3 – it’s all about technology, but technology that makes life easier, more convenient and allows consumers to be more efficient, both in their professional as well as personal lives.
#7
What was the trend?
Discount Hangover
Last year we found consumers in a frenzy to take advantage of discount deals and last minute offers. Groupon was the hero. This year poor experience has bred cynicism and mistrust. 2012 will see the voucher culture re-form with consumers picking and choosing the best deals from trusted brands rather than “believing the hype”.
How has it manifested itself in 2012 (if at all)?
I think in this case the question we should ask is: has this cynicism and mistrust changed over the year? In March, Watchdogs have told discounts website Groupon to clean up its act following a deluge of complaints from disgruntled customers (Mail Online, 2012). From what we have heard, talking to consumers – their mood hasn’t changed. They’re demanding more value across the board and, as we have just outlined in our second post, we live in a new world of value. Simply discounting prices just isn’t enough – consumers want a personalised service and more transparency when seeking value through vouchers.So, as more and more generic voucher sites continue to emerge, customers have started to tune out.
And in 2013..?
People are still searching for value through vouchers. Brands, such as Groupon and Wowcher will have to try much harder though to offer a more personalised service and create much greater transparency around their deals.
