Stories by Brad Howarth

Any business that has been around for more than 100 years must know a thing or two about being sustainable, at least in the traditional sense of the world.

Among the many sectors affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, fundraising has been hit especially hard. But one charitable organisation found a way to keep funds flowing through the depths of the pandemic and beyond, by working with a community that is generally considered hard to reach by marketers – online gamers and streamers.

One of the lasting legacies of 2020 will be the boost it gave to digitalisation projects in Australia, as consumer flocked to the Internet to buy groceries, order food and entertain themselves.

In a world that seems to be inevitably drawn towards digital service delivery, few sectors have shown the same level of resistance as building supplies. Even the market behemoth of the retail side of the hardware industry, Bunnings, only got its ecommerce act together in 2018.

Every day 48 per cent of Australians wake up with heel, arch or general foot pain. But despite this, more than half will never visit a podiatrist. This knowledge is part of what inspired integrated footwear and retail company, Atomic Group, to ramp up its online presence for its orthopaedic shoe line, Homyped.

One of the silver linings of 2020 was the way marketers stepped up to assist their colleagues in sectors in need. So in September of last year, Share With Oscar launched a new campaign to alert its customers to the availability of unused hotel parking spaces around Sydney.

The marketing sector is no stranger to enthusiastic debate, but the battle between privacy advocates and the holders of customers’ personal data has become especially impassioned.

Long before COVID-19 made it an essential service, Menulog faced a challenge. Australia’s original online multi-outlet food ordering service had come under pressure from well-funded arrivals such as Deliveroo, DoorDash and Uber Eats, which had connected better with Gen Z consumers.

There’s much to be said for the commercial benefits of providing exceptional customer support. But no matter how that support is provided, there is always a cost somewhere.

An irony of the data age is that while it is mostly B2C brands lauded for their data prowess, the companies supplying them with analytics tools tend to be B2B. And for this latter group, that means they don’t always get the bask in the glory of what they enable.

Few retailers would be as far from claiming ecommerce leadership as charity op shops. But when COVID-related lockdowns descended across Australia last year, charity stores were forced to close their doors along with everyone else considered non-essential.

When COVID-19 led to the postponement of major sporting competitions around the globe, there was one form of contest that surged – even if some pundits might not recognise it as such. The esports sector was the clear winner in 2020, with burgeoning player participation and viewer numbers coming through on platforms such as YouTube Gaming and Amazon’s Twitch.

Most data teams are constrained by the resources available to them. So when those resources aren’t enough for you do everything, you could be doing to help your organisation, you can either live with the situation, or find ways around it.

The meaning of the word convenience has changed a lot in the digital era. For 7-Eleven, which has built its brand on convenience, understanding exactly what that word means to consumers is going to go a long way to determining its long-term success.

In the era of cancel culture, one poorly thought-out message can do sudden and severe damage to a brand. But marketers today find themselves on the hook for more than just what brands say to the world. Bad executive behaviour, supply chains issues and poorly thought-out operational decisions, such as the dynamiting of sacred sites, can quickly damage brands, professional reputations, and the bottom line.