Well, it seems there’s just no escaping ‘The Boyle Effect’. Ever since Susan Boyle appeared on our screens in Britain’s Got Talent on ITV she’s caused quite a stir. She’s appeared on Oprah, amassed a huge celebrity following both in the UK and US, clocked up in the region of 100 million hits on YouTube, has her own official fan-site, five pages of options to follow on Twitter and now is reportedly being courted by brands eager to sign her up as their brand ambassador. However, is all this super-fast-success too good to be true? Is it a case of when will the Boyle burst as opposed to if? Marketing magazine contacted Jim Prior to get his view on ‘Brand Boyle’ for their latest Brand In News section.
Jim said; “Boyle has magnificently demonstrated that substance is more important than style, or, indeed, that sometimes it is more substantial to be unstyled. It is ironic that a host of companies are now clamouring for her endorsement. It’s easy to see where it’s heading: makeover campaigns such as ‘our haircare product transformed Susan Boyle’, which will ultimately destroy the true beauty she represents. What these publicity-hungry brands should be doing is asking how they, like her, can make their product exceed expectation. Alas, many marketing people’s idea of marketing is the inverse of this. Susan Boyle would be justified in taking brands’ money and running. However, if she does, sponsors should beware. Her element of surprise is gone. We now expect her to sing well, and with each new song the delight of surprise will diminish, and so will the ROI of the sponsorship. Unless, of course, Boyle has more surprises yet to come.”
(Via: http://www.marketingmagazine.co.uk/news/search/905663/Brand-news-Susan-Boyle/)
About Helen
Head of Communications at The Partners by day; writes about food at hjonesyfeeds.wordpress.com by night. Also pops up as a contributor on www.hot-dinners.com from time to time. Will mainly be commenting on matters brand within the food/leisure sector.
Britain’s Brand Talent
Jim said; “Boyle has magnificently demonstrated that substance is more important than style, or, indeed, that sometimes it is more substantial to be unstyled. It is ironic that a host of companies are now clamouring for her endorsement. It’s easy to see where it’s heading: makeover campaigns such as ‘our haircare product transformed Susan Boyle’, which will ultimately destroy the true beauty she represents. What these publicity-hungry brands should be doing is asking how they, like her, can make their product exceed expectation. Alas, many marketing people’s idea of marketing is the inverse of this. Susan Boyle would be justified in taking brands’ money and running. However, if she does, sponsors should beware. Her element of surprise is gone. We now expect her to sing well, and with each new song the delight of surprise will diminish, and so will the ROI of the sponsorship. Unless, of course, Boyle has more surprises yet to come.”
(Via: http://www.marketingmagazine.co.uk/news/search/905663/Brand-news-Susan-Boyle/)
About Helen
Head of Communications at The Partners by day; writes about food at hjonesyfeeds.wordpress.com by night. Also pops up as a contributor on www.hot-dinners.com from time to time. Will mainly be commenting on matters brand within the food/leisure sector.