This Mum aint gone to Iceland…
Mum's gone to Iceland...
So, the team over at Iceland (supermarche, not the country), has dropped Kerry Katona from its ads with immediate effect.
Apparently, they feel it is “impossible” for her to continue in her brand spokesperson role, following recent allegations in the news of the screws, which claimed she took cocaine.
The News of the World secured hidden camera footage apparently showing Katona snorting at home and published the story with the obligatory pictures .
The supermarket chain last night issued the following statement:
“We have been working with Kerry for four years. She has been a successful part of our advertising campaigns, but has also been through some tough times in her personal life. We have always stood by her. However, following the recent allegations, we feel it is impossible for Kerry to continue to work with us. We will continue to try to ensure she gets the most appropriate support, should she require our assistance.”
On paper, fair enough.
The recent campaigns also featured Coleen Nolan (The Nolans were always way too prim and family friendly to touch drugs), and the former caner Jason Donovan. By his own admission, he use to have a BIG drugs problem, and it cost him Kylie, his career, nearly his life. But, the boy made good…
The druggy tag did Kate Moss limited harm when her ‘model in drugs take’ shocker broke. Sure she lost a few contracts, gained a few new ones, and then scooped most of the old ones back. But what Kate has / had going for her was her looks. Her cool.
Kerry is clearly having some form of ongoing mental health issue, and watching her slowly degrade in the public eye is sad. The British public will always champion an underdog, but Kerry really needs to go away. Get clean. Apologise. And come back and do their Crimbo ads next year when all is forgiven.
When you can make us whole again….
Iain is a senior marketer in the British Tourism Industry. And would like to leave you with Atomic Kitten’s one special little pop moment that tickled the top of the charts for a fair old while back in the day…
The real deputy PM to get tourism brief too?
Looked better on Freddy Mercury (just)...
Well, not yet…
But the British Chamber of Commerce and Travelodge seem to think Mandy should take it on…
They have proposed that the responsibility for tourism be removed from the control of the Department of Culture, Media and Sport and reallocated under the authority of Lord Mandelson’s Department for Business, Innovation and Skills.
In response, Kurt Janson, policy director at the Tourism Alliance, said:
“We’re at the stage at the moment where there is less government funding for VisitBritain than there was when Labour came to power in 1997. “We have an opportunity for the sector to provide and maintain jobs… and to provide growth to help us out of the current recession.”
Good old BoJo (London mayor Boris Johnson) has also pledged his support and encouragement to the capital’s tourism sector in the run up to 2012. Which all makes for great talk.
But ultimately, it’s money that’s required. You’d be amazed how a little can go a long way…
Iain Morrison is a senior marketer in the British Tourism Industry. And loves that Mandy is back making his presence felt…
How to build financial loyalty when the system is broken…
Never been much of a cat person?
It’s a tough one.
The financial system buckled fast. Institutions on their knees in a heartbeat.
So, the one question on many financial marketers lips; how to we rebuild lost trust and loyalty.
Fast…
Well, Great Eastern (a financial brand in Singapore), took a somewhat novel approach, when some investment funds they were running nosedived some 40-80% .
Rather than saying, ‘sorry, here’s 40% of what you paid us’, and move along swiftly, the brand decided that 18,000 customers who took the product between 2005-07, could get all their money back, plus a nominal amount of interest (between 3.5 and 4.9% per annum).
At a time where corporate losses hit the press daily, this will cost the institution some $250 million.
But what they stand to gain in terms of goodwill and brand equity cannot be undervalued, at a time where some of the ‘safest’ and most reliable institutions are losing customers in their droves.
They exhibit all the signs of understanding the long game. And isn’t the long game what we are told investing is all about?
If I were to invest over here, I know who I’d be recommending…
Iain Morrison is a senior marketer in the British Tourism Industry, currently working in Singapore. And would advise Blighty’s financial institutions to take note!
My fellow gin lovers…
Morrisons' ruin...
Well, my fellow gin lovers. Here’s one for you…
Those canny fellows over at Hendricks are playing to their heritage, with what we in the trade call a TWAT brief (Tradition With A Twist, for the uninitiated!).
For uploading a photo and description of some ‘curious’ objet da, you could win a bottle of lovely gin if they publish your oddity.
Better yet, you could win an exclusive invite to their travelling bar-cum-horseless carriage…
The site is quirky, although the layout could be a little better.
Just a shame I am in Singapore at present, otherwise I’d be gunning to join one of their lovely gin parties…
Iain Morrison is a senior marketer in the British Tourism Industry, and will be in the Far East for a couple of months, so might be blogging a bit less. Follow my travels here
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