The Year of Digital...?

The common assumption is that things happen first in America and then make the cross-Atlantic trek to Europe and then to the rest of the wider world. 

Jeans, fast food, music, melting pots....with their entrepreneurial history and subsequent corporate might - embodied by behemoths such as Apple, Facebook, Twitter and Amazon - we are constantly being told through all sorts of media how advanced and 'ahead' the US is. 

It would surely follow that they are at the forefront of the digital revolution that has been consuming marketing for decades, but seemingly this is not the case; Europe - and especially the UK - has been edging further and further in front... 

Well, with the news yesterday showing that in 2015 the UK will be the first major advertising market where digital will account for more than half of all spend, the argument seems to have been settled. 

Western Europe spend on digital accounts for approx 33% while US ad spend is weighted towards TV, with digital only representing slightly more than a quarter of the total.

Although the infamous "Year of Mobile", which has been coming since the late '90s/ early 00's, is yet to fully arrive, what seems certain is that this is the Year of Digital in the UK....

When you consider that these figures don't take into account things such as digital outdoor, digital TV, etc, there are clearly more of them to come!

# PurePoint

MADE for the Occasion

Thunder wasn’t the only thing keeping us awake in London last night. 

As the votes were counted, we were kept in suspense; would Scotland break their 307-year-old union with England? At Pure, we were all wondering how this would affect marketing campaigns: so, much to our delight MADE.COM took a comical spin on the referendum first thing this morning.

Ensconced on the 8.03 bus towards Waterloo, I was lulled into the monotony of my conventional commute; you know, sat next to the token guy who forgot to wash, behind the girl doing her make-up. 

Having not yet checked the results of the Scottish referendum, I received the following email from MADE.COM, titled “NEWS: MADE.COM opens in Scotland”.

Sure enough I was compelled to open it – I mean, who needs a call-to-action headline when you've just dropped the S-Bomb?

The email contained a £10 off code 'AUCHAYE', a casual mention of their recent launch in the Netherlands, and some 'patriotic inspiration', in the form of blue, Saltire-themed products.

…”Oops! Please ignore our last email.‏” 

Within seconds I received a second email, filled with Union Jack emblazoned products, pretending to have 'accidentally hit send' on an email they had prepared for the ‘YES’ vote.

With the eyes and ears of Britain eagerly awaiting the results, MADE.COM truly optimized their marketing - both message and timing - and took the opportunity to intrigue, engage and amuse their customers, while celebrating the Union with a £10 off code titled, 'GREATBRITAIN'.

#PurePoint