Month: January 2022

With advancements in digital technology set to completely transform the social media world in just a few short years, we have the opportunity to innovate and create a digital future that revolutionises the industry.

It’s been reported that 67% of people are more likely to remember brands that use new technology in their advertising. Currently, brands need to explore transreality that involves market research and a new age of digital software, and critically evaluate the future of digital innovation. 

To be at the forefront of the digital evolution, Instagram has joined the Metaverse, launching its own avatars. 

Digital innovation

If businesses want to make a difference as a brand, they need to create social impact, focusing on strategies, culture, ethics, institutions, and network. 

Digital transformation requires businesses to successfully consolidate digital innovation management practices into their functionality.

This future of digital innovation involves seeking opportunity in adversity, thinking and acting flexibly, doing more with less, keeping it simple but moreover, following your heart. 

A great example is the giant Xsens, the leading innovator in 3D motion tracking technology and products. Their sensor fusion technologies enables them to create incredible things such as the phenomenon @noonoouri avatar, a digital character who is defined as an activist and vegan, and has 389K followers on Instagram.

Moreover, this character is nowadays considered as a digital influencer that has been collaborating with fashion designers – Stephen Jones is a great example – a London-based maestro of milliners, in his new couture collection.

And yes, Noonoouri is one of the virtual avatars that you can hire from a model agency. 

Avatars epitomize the digitally constructed self-projections social media and digital games currently emphasise, as the boundaries between these two distinctions continue to collapse. In the present moment, avatars experience a tripartite cultural encoding.

Instagram takes on virtual avatars

In January 2022, Instagram launched a new feature called ‘Avatars’, which can be personalized within the app and used in stickers and the like. 

Through avatars, people can express their emotions and engage in social activities. People also construct virtual identities by embodying themselves via digital avatars.  

Users can choose from clothing options, alongside a hair, skin and eye colour selection in order to make the virtual character as similar as possible to themselves to create their own featured avatar. 

To start creating an Avatar, you select the “Settings” menu, select the “Account” item, and then go to the “Avatars” element, which can be used across multiple platforms, such as Facebook or WhatsApp. Simultaneously, once the avatar is set up, it will be saved as a sticker and can be loaded in posts, when publishing stories or even interacting with followers on the platform. 

This feature isn’t currently available in all territories and places, so, it might take a while before we see the final product across all mobile devices.

The most important factor to consider in all this is that there is no going back. Businesses are reinventing themselves with a focus on intelligent products and platforms to create 360 value.  

Virtual avatars are not going anywhere, and we need to find the optimum way to manage what information is shared through using these avatars. 

To find out more about how your business can optimise its use of social media, get in touch with Posh Cockney today.

Brand personification

Companies have undergone severe changes since the outbreak of COVID-19. They have had to adapt and look for new ways to attract customers to their premises. With the lack of tourism and pause on immigration, the hospitality industry has suffered the most.

Not only have the companies changed their mentality, but also their customers. Nowadays, consumers are looking for something else. They want to interact with the brand. They want an experience!

It is no longer enough to offer a good service and a good product, but we must go a step further, and how can we achieve this?

Interact and engage with your consumer within the venue; they love it!

As previously mentioned, the first strategy is to offer a multisensory experience to the client. What is your story? Why would the client revisit you? What different events are going to happen in the week?

The creation of events for VIP clients. These events can be very varied, from talks by a distinguished fashion personality or editor of a magazine of any field to masterclasses of cigars, cocktails, or how to prepare the brand’s signature dishes.

As said before, companies have to offer a unique experience. The place is chameleonic, meaning it offers different experiences throughout the week with various events and parties that customers can enjoy, thus creating a unique atmosphere.

We all know that a venue’s decoration is as important inside as outside of it. That is when we should ask ourselves what colour does our brand represent? What do we want to express with our decoration? All this will vary depending on our values as a brand and the time of the year in which we are.

More than a restaurant, a multisensory experience

That concerns the premises, but what other ways does the customer interact with the brand? As mentioned before, the pandemic has changed how we socialise and interact. The internet has taken on an essential role in our lives.

Social media such as Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn or even YouTube have served as a lot of help during the pandemic for companies to maintain contact with their customers and thus interact with them constantly. YouTube and Instagram have offered many options, especially maintaining contact with customers during the pandemic. Many companies launched tutorial videos on preparing their favourite dishes at home, creating great popularity among their clientele on Instagram. Creating hashtags and having customers mention the restaurant’s account on social media multiplied visits among new consumers and the restaurant itself.

COVID has changed a lot in the industry, given that many companies have not been able to read this dramatic change, with the result of being left behind in competitive cities. Something very striking has been the use of music lists on Spotify. This feature has exalted the musical personality of the company and its best hits where customers can continue to enjoy the spirit of the brand and remember the moments they’ve spent in the brand’s venue, from home.

To find out more about brand personification and how your company can benefit, get in touch with Posh Cockney today. 

PR is a profession that dates back to the early 1900s, the art of persuading, influencing public opinion and maintaining a positive public image. Since then, the world of PR has grown and developed and continues to do so. Modern technology and the Pandemic have both had a huge impact on the way that PR is done today.

One debate, however, that isn’t going out of fashion, is whether Traditional or Digital PR is best. To evaluate this, we must first understand the differences. 

What is Traditional PR?

Traditional PR uses conventional news channels – magazines, newspapers, radio, TV, podcasts – to increase brand awareness. This is done through press days, sending out press releases and building up strong relationships with journalists. 

As well as this, traditional PR plays a big role in crisis management within a company, dealing with any negative press and maintaining a positive public opinion of the brand.

What is Digital PR?

Digital PR aims to boost the presence and visibility of a brand online through online press coverage, blogs and websites. This is done by using creative content, research and data that drives clicks to the brand’s website.

Whilst link building is a huge plus in digital PR, it is important that the emphasis remains on the story. The focus should be on relevance and storytelling, rather than on the link itself. This results in high quality links from high DA websites, which will be well rewarded by Google. 

One benefit of digital PR is that it is far easier to track success through open rates, Google Analytics and coverage stats. 

What does my business need?

The short answer – both. 

Gone are the days where a press release is sent to journalists by post and PR professionals spend an afternoon in a wine bar building in person relationships with journalists. All forms of PR now have a digital element, from press releases being sent via email to almost all major publications now having a major online presence. 

However, traditional PR is far from dead. A report carried out by Ofcom in July 2021 found that 79% of news was still consumed through TV, making it the most used platform for news. 

The most important factor to consider is, where does your target audience hang out? If you’re targeting Gen Z, then a more digital approach with a big emphasis on social media will be needed. For an older audience, a more traditional approach may be required. A combination of the two will, of course, lead to a wider audience coverage.

To find out more about PR and how your company can benefit, get in touch with Posh Cockney today. 

In the day and age that we live in, social media has become a significant part of our day-to-day lives, from the minute we wake up till the moment we go to sleep. Everybody is constantly checking their phones, looking to find the next big thing, the new foodie hotspot or the perfect place for a first date. This is where influencer marketing comes into play.

Influencing the masses

As we move into 2022, influencer marketing is majorly setting off, with influencing becoming one of the most trendy jobs for anyone who’s passionate about the social media scene. 

A decade ago, the influencer arena was limited only to celebrities and a few dedicated bloggers. However, this has all changed as we’ve seen social media influencers rise and saturate the market. 

Influencers are now regarded as experts in their chosen niche and through constant posting on their social media profiles, they have managed to build a following of people who are interested in what they have to say. These individuals are practically dedicated fans of the influencers they follow, like or subscribe to and happen to be very loyal to them. 

And this is exactly the key to influencer marketing: a loyal follower base of people who pay close attention to what influencers say and do. Influencer marketing works because of the high amount of trust that social influencers have built up with their following; therefore, their recommendations are sought out by their followers.

Influencer marketing in 2022: Why does it work?

Currently, with the plethoric selection of social media platforms, influencer marketing has become a full-time strategy. In an age in which we have grown from the original Instagram influencer marketing, new platforms like TikTok have gained massive popularity. 

The beauty of influencer marketing is that there are many influencers to choose from to promote a brand. Like any other marketing campaign, influencer campaigns do not differ. Whilst there are some unique factors to take into consideration while working with influencers, setting up a campaign is the same as most marketing campaigns: research, set a budget, determine goals, find your influencers, review and revise. 

Influencer marketing can help brands achieve their two most common goals: to elevate brand awareness and increase sales. Influencers have the ability to reach very specific audiences. Instead of having to rely on thousands of followers, influencers ensure a very targeted audience, which guarantees an increase in your brand’s traffic. 

The strategy is increasingly becoming more popular among businesses these days because traditional advertising has become less effective in attracting leads and customers.

It works because it uses tactics like word-of-mouth marketing and social proof, which are now critical aspects of any successful marketing strategy. Customers trust their peers, friends, and people they admire more than the companies selling the products and services they buy and use.

The very good and the bad

How the world of influencer marketing looks and operates has changed a great deal over a short period of time and in five years may be drastically different from how it is today. That’s the thing with influencers, it is a very volatile career that is subject to change at any second. However, it is here to stay.

If you want to learn more about influencer marketing and how influencers can help promote your business, contact Posh Cockney today!

Over the last two years, the hospitality industry has been subjected to riding the rollercoaster of uncertainty and misfortune that is Coronavirus. Although there has been obvious damage done to the industry’s flow of revenue, resulting from coronavirus restrictions and a decrease in consumer spending, the severity of impact on diversity & inclusion (D&I) within the industry is a grey area that is much open to interpretation. 

A Look Back at Diversity & Inclusion in 2021

Before the discovery of Coronavirus, the hospitality industry had acknowledged the diverse nature of the world’s population and this was reflected in the fervent development of more inclusive and diverse workplaces. To the industry, D&I means encouraging the widest possible perspective to play their full contribution in business, using their unique range of talent, experience, and outlooks to achieve the best possible outcomes. After all, a diverse target population is reliably represented by a diverse workforce.

However, approximately 660,000 jobs were lost in the industry throughout 2021, a time when the government’s Coronavirus job retention scheme was paying the wages of individuals who were barred by law from waking up in the morning and going to work.

At the time, the dissatisfaction felt by diverse groups of employees due to reported challenges they were previously facing with mental health, work-life balance, a missing sense of affinity and acceptance with colleagues was emphasised. Hence, with the financial support from the government, many employees felt secure enough to leave the industry in search of greener pastures. More than one in ten UK hospitality employees left the industry in 2020, and as of April 2021, the number of applications dropped by 82% compared to the year prior., translating to a staffing crisis within the industry with one in six hospitality jobs vacant as of December 2021. 

The Hospitality Industry’s Way Forward

With the advent of the Omicron variant and a crash in consumer confidence associated with the government’s inexplicit countermeasure scheme, it is hard to tell what lies ahead for industry D&I in 2022. Even though things seem to be off on a rocky start, the industry has previously integrated D&I efforts into its framework of success. So, the question remains of if leaders within the hospitality industry will continue to keep it as a priority on their agenda by developing Coronavirus specific programs and policies that will support employees during this time of fundamental uncertainty. 

It has become more evident with time that things will not go back to how they were pre-pandemic and a new normal way of functioning has emerged with change. From a holistic perspective, it is up to the individual sectors within the industry to unite, so that the industry can once again make progress on its journey to more diverse and inclusive workplaces.

“As a sector, we do have the opportunity to turn COVID-19 into a watershed moment—an opportunity to move the dial positively on D&I.  With creativity and an informed approach, inevitable restructures could enable new and diverse talent to emerge. Put simply: Businesses that fail to prioritize D&I—especially now—will suffer as they find themselves outrun by their more forward-thinking competitors, whose leadership is fully representative of their consumer base,” said Elliott Goldstein, managing partner, The MBS Group: on D&I in the hotel sector.

To find out more about how Posh Cockney can help your company, click here. 

It’s a new year, meaning, New Year’s resolutions are out in full force. There are limitless opportunities for self-improvement in this period, but the most common ones revolve around improving diet and health. What better way to start the year than a challenge: Veganuary.

History of Veganuary

Veganuary was founded in 2014 by a husband and wife, Matthew Glover and Jane Land. It is an annual challenge run by a UK non-profit organisation, which aims to promote and educate about veganism. The idea is simply to inspire people from all around the world to follow a vegan lifestyle during January.

Since its birth, more than a million people have signed up, but the number of unregistered participants could potentially be ten times more. In 2015, the project registered 12,800 sign-ups, 400,000 in 2020, growing up to 513,633 in 2021.

Veganuary is not only about healthier eating or decreasing animal cruelty, but it has a great impact on the environment as well. Recent research suggests that over 100,000 tonnes of CO2 were saved by one million participants so far.

Shift in Consumer Preferences

Interestingly, while the month of Veganuary has a huge positive impact on its own, 76% of participants are reported to actually stick to the diet after the 1-month challenge. According to a Vegetarian Consumer Trend Report from 2019, 50% of consumers aged 18-34, would like to be able to substitute animal protein with plant-based alternatives, while to 25% of young British Millennials, veganism is more appealing now than before the pandemic. These numbers show that the demand for permanent vegan choices is set to accelerate further.

This could be a good time for restaurants to introduce new vegan concepts for a limited time to assess popularity, with a vision to have a regular line of vegan choices available throughout the year. Hence, restaurants are prompted to offer more vegan and vegetarian options on their menus, due to the gradual increase of people cutting down meat. Customers are looking for authenticity and a lasting, meaningful commitment to the cause with options available after January.

How have restaurant brands reacted?

It can become quite competitive in the market. Apart from the people, there has been a significant engagement by businesses and certain restaurants jumping on board the vegan bandwagon. Traditionally meat-oriented fast-food restaurants, like KFC and Pizza Hut were among the 600 businesses participating last year. Popular Italian restaurant Zizzi’s has introduced a vegan pizza, sandwich shop Pret A Manger have opened another completely vegan store in London and higher-end restaurant Gauthier Soho opened the first-ever fully vegan restaurant last year.

Posh Cockney clients, such as Happy, Olives and Meze and The Pepper Tree are also among the large number of restaurants adapting to the trend by offering additional vegan options or separate vegan menus.

Lastly, the number of vegans in the UK has tripled in the last decade to over a staggering 500,000 people, according to The Vegan Society. All these facts and numbers point towards the quickly changing customer preferences, forcing the UK restaurants to keep up with or threaten to be left behind.

Do you need support attracting more customers during Veganuary? Get in touch with Posh Cockney today!