Jack Willy, Jack Wills and what to do when passing off is all in the name of charity

It is no secret to this blog – and to pretty much anyone that knows me – that I am a long-time, ardent fan of Jack Wills.

So this evening, when I started to pick up tweets about Jack Willy for the first time – a brand new charity initiative in support of prostate cancer awareness – I initially thought, bravo JW for having enough gumption and banter around their own brand values to create a tongue-in-cheek charity campaign.

Or so I thought.

After a bit of digging on the site it became apparent that they are ‘BTW, NOT Jack Wills‘ and are instead playing on the renowned middle class clothing brand’s wide appeal. And, in for a penny, in for a pound, the site invokes JW’s look, feel, font, tag-line (‘outfitters for the general’ – rather than gentry), image/model look style and web design.

They’re hot on Twitter, they engage with their posse of fans on Facebook – they even run an ‘Ambassador‘ program whereby enthusiastic consumers of their clothing can earn themselves free stash by being photographed in the gear and posting their shots back to the brand. Any of this sounding familiar?

Now whether you’re a fan of the original brand or not, this led me to thinking: as a brand manager or owner, what would I do? I’m in charge of a hugely successful, internationally expanding, young, influential fashion label and a charity initiative sets up for a very worthy cause, riding on the coat tails of my brand’s image (and poking a little fun in its ribs at the same time). How do I feel about this? What are my options?

I figure they are, namely, these:

1) Do nothing

2) Do nothing – yet. Ride it out. It’s a start-up so wait and see what kind of following it gets (and what comments you get as a result) before making any move. (It’s got them this blog post for a start…)

3) Be reactively supportive. When fans, consumers or press ask the question, ‘So whad’ya make of all this Jack Willy stuff then?’, respond with a reasonably non-committal ‘We think their cause is an incredibly worthy one and we wish them all the best.’ Or even something a tad more engaged such as ‘and we’re honoured they saw the value in the Jack Wills brand to help promote awareness for their campaign’. But kept fairly at arm’s length and not promoting an association

4) Be proactively supportive. Seek out the organisers and reach out to them. Discover more about the set-up and explore the option of an official partnership. In an if-you-can’t-beat-em-join-em kinda way. Cross-promotion could work in your favour (though on first impression from the site, significantly TBC whether the Jack Willy gang would want an official JW stamp or seal of approval.)

5) Be privately opposed. The public voice decries any association with the charity – no negative comments per se, but making it clear there is no connection. Privately, approach with a view to enforcing a stronger message of complete independence from the JW brand in order to put an end to the passing off (which, frankly, it undeniably is as it took me at least 5 minutes to find the ‘NOT Jack Wills’ statement. Granted it was mobile web, but I’m not exactly web illiterate)

6) Be publicly opposed. Dangerous territory, but if a brand feels its values have been compromised, sometimes it should go all out to protect those. Harder if it’s a worthy cause, but if it were an organisation of deplorable or questionable (or competitive) intent, a brand wouldn’t hesitate. Just because it’s for ‘charidee’, should it act differently?

Of course, it might all be a double bluff, and maybe the Northern Irish founders really do have a link to JW. Maybe Pete Williams gave his blessing. But it doesn’t look that way to me. And whatever stance the brand takes, they should decide a position fast because the questions will come – if they haven’t already.

 

Jack WILLS Spring look (that's WILLS. With an S.)

 

So what would I do? I’d rule out #6 immediately – the cause is far too worthy and the objective well-meaning to bring in the heavies. For the time being, I’d also avoid #5, but consider a conversation in this territory later down the line if a supportive angle is decided against. Your brand equity is your livelihood – regardless of the well-meaning nature of potential impostors.

It’s probably too early days for #4 and you would need buy-in and weighty consideration from all stake-holders within the organisation before going down this route. But it’s not out of the question. So I think my take would be a combination of #2 and #3 – with a skew towards the latter. As a light-hearted, fun-loving brand, unofficially supporting these guys would be a strong way to demonstrate not taking yourselves too seriously.

Whatever happens, don’t do #1. Even if, at the very least, you prepare an internal reactive brand position to respond to queries in this area. Silence is damaging – especially for a brand whose lifeblood is its highly engaged dialogue with its avid fan base. They will ask, and a brand always needs a (consistent) answer.

And in the meantime, go buy yourself a Jack Willy hoodie. Go on. It’s for a good cause.

Wordle view of the first Leaders’ Debate

It was quite an amazing social media experience last night being part of the first Leaders’ Debate, shown on ITV1 (or ITV1HD as they are trying to get us all watching).

Twitter went completely mental in an effort to keep up, offering up some quite interesting stats by the end on all those twittering away using the #leadersdebate hashtag:

total tweets: 184,396

average frequency: 29.06 tweets per second

total tweeters: 36,483

Comments on everything from policies, key arguments and debate tensions to the dated set design, the increasing panicky refereeing from Alistair Stewart and the colour of the candidates’ ties. Largely it was pure banter, making the whole process not just informative but hugely entertaining.

Anyhoo, main reason for the post was a cute little Wordle cloud, sent out on Twitter this morning by @benayers, Social Media Manager at ITV.com. An interesting visual representation showing the focus of each of the three in their commentary. And here it is:

Glee – episode 101: the verdict?

Judging by the online buzz from traditional outlets and social media sources like, this is a show that is here to stay. While savvy marketers in the US announced FOX’s confirmation of a second season coincidentally on the very same day Season 1 was due to air in the UK, the Brits lapped up the first helping of Glee with unabashed, well, glee.

It even struck a chord with the dry wit of Times critic Caitlin Moran, who shared with her Twitter followers earlier today,

It’s VERY silly and VERY funny and VERY bitchy, and ends with an inspiring version of Journey’s “Don’t Stop Believing.”

Even Peaches Geldof told the world she was “Loving Glee” during the airing of the double’s bill’s second episode.

Truth be known, I’ve been rooting for this show since the summer due to the widely available and questionably legal internet sources for the show. What makes me feel better about that is my dedication to watching the same episodes again on E4 regardless, as it seems legions of fans who came across the show under the same guise echo this dedicated (obsessive?) sentiment.

Ironically, this show about geeks – or rather, Gleeks – breeds popularity like an exponential snowball.

Already with SAG nomination, three Teen Choice nominations, a People’s Choice Award, and no fewer than four Golden Globe nominations (including Best Actress for Lea Michele and Best Actor for Matthew Morrison) under its belt, Glee is a cult show of the very highest order. And, having been on UK screens for less than 180 minutes total, that is quite some feat.

This is a show that somehow cynically mocks its own genre, whilst showing some real heart. It soaks up our modern susceptibility to self-absorbtion and squeezes the life out of it.At times this makes it a little too heavy on the soul-searching and the discovery of a true identity (among both the kids and the adults) – but what American High School-based show doesn’t? Glee stands apart in its remarkable self-awareness. Glee knows it pushes these boundaries, admits it and does so with humour, warmth and unashamed cheesy musical numbers. It never pretends to be anything else.

(c) FOX Broadcasting

But at the same time, it stops just short of being trite and clichéd at every opportunity where it could become just that. When we first meet doe-eyed Rachel, we think that the tried and tested She’s All That / Rachel Leigh-Cook / Geek-turned-popular-kid formula will play out to the end. But Rachel Berry falls short of being 100% likeable because she’s so darn highly strung. She’s a manicly dedicated perfectionist, who is both the stunning young ingenue that everyone roots for and intensely annoying at the same time. Sometimes you just want to slap her. No one ever really wanted to slap Laney Boggs.

The bunch of Gleeks are predictable mis-fits: Kurt is ridiculously gay; Artie is restricted from the full musical numbers by his wheelchair; Mercedes’ sassy spirit is the only thing bigger than her immense voice and frame. Yet often we see the strongest stereotypes either pushed beyond the reasonable boundary or given a dry comedic twist. The Cheer Coach is not just a slave-driver, she’s a masochist (“You think this is hard? Try living with Hepatitis, that’s hard”). Head Cheerleader, Quinn, is Captain of the Abstinence Club (thereby blowing out of the water all cheerleader stereotypes known to man). Finn, the typical Jock-turned-soul-searching-friend-of-the-geeks turns out to be the displaced son of an Iraq war fatality (well, they had to get the war critique in somewhere) while his friend Puck turns out to be even more of the clichéd jock-gone-soft than he is.

But frankly, what makes Glee is the music. Yes the young cast is immensely talented, the scripts are sharp, the dialogue cutting and the editing varied enough in style to make it a mixture of the American Office and Bring It On. But it is undoubtedly those powerful musical numbers that keep the critics and fans coming back for more. And that ultimately is what Glee club is all about.

*Join Glee’s UK Facebook group

*Follow Glee on Twitter (and cast members @frankenteen & @msleamichele)

*Watch episodes 1 & 2 on E4 catch up

*Buy the soundtrack (highly recommended)

*Audition as part of the producers’ open casting call for the next season!

When headphones became jewellery

I’ve been loving the flurry of luxury brand advertising dominating the glossy pages of all national newspaper supplements from last weekend onwards, marking the onset of London Fashion Week – or #LFW as Twitter users have re-named it in a hashtag frenzy of fashionista gossip.

No doubt a few more highlights might make the pages of this blog before the week is out, but one particular Links of London ad caught my eye in the Sunday Telegraph’s brilliant ST Fashion. As preposterously be-jewelled neckpieces provided ostentatious frosting to the sharp tailored lines of the suited collections strutting down the runway, Links seemed to be offering something a little different.

So ubiquitous have the dangling ear pieces of ipod headphones become – on school kids and cityworkers alike – that Links has decided to cast them in silver and hang them from a pretty chain. Thus creating a funky of-the-moment statement piece that fuses modern pop culture lifestyle with the striking bold style that we have come to expect from Links’ unique design.

© Links of London/Telegraph Media Group

It took a second look, but in the end it charmed me.

Ultimo’s latest range is just Peachy

 

Loving Peaches’ campaign for Ultimo underwear, from which a second batch of pictures were released to the press today. Guaranteeing coverage in Nationals, London papers and all the weekly celeb gossip/fashion mags, Ultimo have made a smart move signing up Sir Bob’s eldest and most notorious daughter to front their latest range.

And if you fancy more regular updates from the world of Peaches, follow her @peaches_g on Twitter.

Douglas Coupland: an insight

So after a total age I finally finished Coupland’s Girlfriend in a Coma today (worth a read but be prepared, the end gets whack).

Anyway, Harper Perennial the publishers have this cool addition to all his works where they give bit of back story to each novel and some stuff on Coupland to finish off the book. The timing was funny – I was just walking along thinking I really should learn more about the man himself and his life in order to further understand his works when I came across a quickfire Q & A in the back of the book.

So here it is:

What is your idea of perfect happiness? Right now. Where I am. At home.

What is your greatest fear? That God exists, but doesn’t care very much for humans.

Which living person do you most admire? Vaclav Havel. [yeah, I didn't have a clue either]

What objects do you always carry with you? Earplugs.

What single thing would improve the quality of your life? Everybody I like and love all living in the same city.

What is the most important lesson life has taught you? We have time and we have free will. Otherwise we’re just animals.

Which writer has had the greatest influence on your work? Jenny Holzer, an American artist whose work is text-based (what a dismal term. How tightly can you compress an idea? Where do ideas end and you, as a person, begin?

Do you have a favourite book? Non-fiction, The Andy Warhol Diaries. Fiction, it’s either Truman Capote’s Answered Prayers or Margaret Drabble’s The Ice Age.

Where do you go for inspiration? Four-hour drives in my car, usually into the interior of British Columbia, into the desert cordillera that stretches from BC down into Mexico. Believe it or not, Canada has cactuses/cacti.

Which book do you wish you had written? The Age of Extremes: The Short Twentieth Century 1914-1991 by Eric Hobsbawm.

What are you writing at the moment? A new novel, Eleanor Rigby.

And if you want a few more daily gems, follow the man himself on Twitter @DougCoupland.

Tweet your way to LA (and the Ashes)

It may be because the Ashes have taken over our office, and Twitter has taken over the Ashes, but it seems that more than ever before Twitter is ruling the world. Seriously, it has gone mental in the last few days.

Bumble is on it, Tuffers is on it – aussie Jason Gillespie has become a full-on devotee of the micro-blogging site. Hell, even TMS have their own Twitter feed. This afternoon, I was literally watching on Sky, listing to Dizzy’s TMS commentary stint and tweeting them all simultaneously. It’s getting ridiculous.

Anyway, one excellent use of the tool as a promotional mechanic (without exploiting the platform as is fast becoming frowned upon) caught my eye today:

Steve Mullins posted a note on the fab brand e-biz site (a must for any followers of the brand marketing industry) flagging this new promotion launched by V-Australia (Virgin sub-brand). The concept of the 4320LA competition is simple – a winner is chosen to fly to LA, with two of their mates, and experience all the glitz and glam of a top LA experience in 3 days. In return, they must tweet at least once every minute of their trip – i.e. 4,320 times across the 3 days.

For the target market, clearly a youthful digitally native demographic, this is the equivalent of telling the three of them they must breathe for every 4,320 minutes of their trip. It will be as natural as that (though how they cover off the sleeping part I’m not sure – I guess the point is you’re having too much fun to sleep).

It’s a brilliant way of shouting about V-Australia’a LA route, the possibility of a short 3-day trip and reaching out to a specific audience segment. Check it out yourself. But be warned before you enter: you will have to fly from Sydney in the next month…

Why we heart Jack Wills even more than before

I blog, Tweet and share on Facebook most of the cool stuff I come across on a daily basis. According to Rupert Murdoch, this makes me a ‘digital native’, but whatever label you want to apply, today it totally paid off.

As a long-term fan of the Jack Wills brand, my support of the British fashion label has, over the years, transcended both online and offline platforms – along with a lot of my closest friends. We shop with Jack, we party with Jack, and when we do, we tell people about it.

Take the annual Varsity Polo tournament at Windsor (JW’s sole, perfectly conceived sponsorship property): we’ll not only attend the event, but with a desire to soak up every last drop of JW goodness that can be squeezed from the day, we’ll also make sure we hit the renowned pre- and post- parties. Each of these supporting social events is a prime opportunities for JW product sampling, mobile shop units and giveaways – all wrapped up in a perfectly ‘fabulously British’ parcel of fun that completely encapsulates the brand’s personality.

But it doesn’t end there. Like us, each attendee (usually residing firmly within the 16-24 age bracket and thus 100% digitally native) will tweet, blog, share links, upload photos and update statuses continuously in the run up to and aftermath of each fully branded event – therefore spreading the word to their like-minded friends and colleagues, all of whom sit slap bang in the middle of the JW target demographic. They in turn will add Jack as a friend on Facebook, become a fan of the JW page and follow their every update on Twitter… and so it goes on.

However, little did I know until yesterday just how savvy the JW marketing team could be. Evidently all too aware of their mini ready-made army of (free) brand advocates online, they have decided to recognise and reward those who share the JW love.

Having over 2,000 followers on Twitter, they follow themselves only 21 (to date) – including, as of yesterday, me. This in itself (for an avid brand fan) is pretty cool in the Twitter-verse as it’s a stamp of approval from a brand you love – especially if you’re one of few. But, hey presto, at 8am this morning a special delivery package arrived at my door… a surprise thank you gift from the JW team no less. Complete with a handwritten note (-’Just to say thanks for being a fan! Keep the word up… Love Jack x’-), I had been sent a whole collection of JW goodies for doing no more than shouting about the things I love.

What is so clever about this smart move from them, is that not only I am now pretty much a fan for life (or at least, the foreseeable future), but they know that I will make sure everyone knows about it. For them, a minimal outlay has cemented the loyalty of one particularly vociferous fan, knowing that I would return the favour ten-fold in brand advocacy for them.

Naturally I did: by 9am I had updated my Facebook status and Twitter feed accordingly. By 10am I had three messages from other JW fans asking how I managed to get presents from Jack. And now I’ve posted this blog post as well. Offline, I’ve also told pretty much everyone I know.

For Jack Wills, engaging with their audience using the platforms that will give them the biggest share of voice is absolutely key. But what did surprise me is how they strive to show their fans how much they are valued - turning their online advocacy into currency for tangible, offline rewards. Cute, surprising recognition for those who love them best will, in the long run, grow their business exponentially.

No Jack, thank YOU.

To Tweet or not to Tweet?

Amongst all the clamour extolling the numerous marketing values to Twitter, this morning I came across a sage example of when it can rather spectacularly backfire.

Last week’s UTalkMarketing.com newsletter displayed a lead story on the subject of Twitter: a Marketing Director’s guide to utilising the platform best, a list of do’s and dont’s for PR’s and the like. The whole article is definitely worth a read for those of you considering using the service for more than your own personal ramblings, but particularly worthy of note is the now classic ‘Watch your mouth’ anecdote teaching all Twitterers, quite frankly, when to just shut the hell up.

Ketchum, the US PR and marketing agency, keen to impress upon their client (FedEx) their expertise in all areas of social networking and digital media marketing, sent a young executive by the name of James Andrews to their HQ in Memphis for a meeting. Unfortunately, the said executive was rather too down with the kids, and sent out a tweet upon landing using his own personal moniker @keyinfluencer, decrying the desperately uninspiring state of his client’s home city, in his own tweet words:

True confession but I’m in one of those towns where I scratch my head and say ‘I would die if I had to live here’

Perhaps more savvy with social media than Mr. Andrews had anticipated, FedEx employees, already following Andrews on Twitter, promptly caught the offensive Tweet and emailed around internally (including the top executives in FedEx’s front office as well as the corporate comms department) – all before Andrews had even set foot through the door.

Safe to assume he received a less than warm reception upon arrival – in fact, the full response that FedEx immediately sent through as a Direct Message to Andrews is now available online. As well as a public FedEx statement on the incident. Check it all out here.

And so the term CLT (Career Limiting Tweet) was born.

Twitter marketing: blog stats never lie

So on Friday on last week, I finally fully embraced the world of Twitter (always a follower, never a leader, as ever) and I have been slightly addicted all weekend.

You will see the new addition of an RSS link to my Twitter feed at the top of my sidebar to the right and, in turn, my Twitter profile links back here.

However, I had in no way anticipated the instantaneous leap through the roof in my blog‘s traffic figures from Friday onwards, which I have just discovered on my Dashboard this morning. And frankly, I can only ascribe this bizarre heightened interest in my random musings to joining the Twitter universe.

Admittedly, when the average views figure for my posts tends to linger around the 30 mark (with a high to-date of 87), ‘through the roof’ can be translated as the dizzy heights of 125 views a-day – which I appreciate is unlikely to crash the WordPress server any time soon. But, relatively speaking, that is a 4:1 increase in web traffic, solely derived from opening up that additional avenue to my blog through Twitter.

Or at least I assume so. I can’t imagine my post on the Olsens over the weekend was that ground-breaking…

All hail Twitter – the latest undeniable force in self-marketing.