The Meerkat v The Italian Tenor ... Who Is Winning The Battle?

[Colin Parker]

Dt's exactly what I was trying to say. You can't build a brand. A brand develops from your reputation (and other things). All the PR in the won't won't overcome a crappy website, cheap business or shoddy products. The brand is the name of the product or service. You can promote this. What you can't manufacture is 'branding', people will see straight through the spin and your reputation will suffer.

Saw this post on another thread and thought it would make an interesting thread in itself.

Whilst I agree with the cooments about the website - I disagree that you can't build a brand.

You can build a brand - and quickly - but only if you throw big, big money at it.

Take Go Compare (GC). And Compare The Market (CTM) - as examples.

CTM latched on to the Meerkat theme and quickly built a brand around that.

GC were being hammered - until they brought out the Italian Tenor.

Now -IMO - CTM have lost the plot.

Their ads don't even have the CTM ditty that everybody was singing. What the hell those two Meerkats trekking across the desert have to do with car insurance beats me.

The CTM brand is being eroded by their ad agency practising 'creative egotism' - nonsense to amuse the ad writers rather than coomonsense to improve the core of the brand.

By comparison (ha ha) GC are hammering home the GC ditty in every ad and making it clear - even to first time viewers - exactly what their service is.

A classic tale of how branding can work - or not - as the case may be.

Either way though - if you want to 'brand' your company nationally - be prepared to spend BIG BIG MONEY.

However if you are a small to medium size business your advertising spend IMO is absolutely wasted - or at the very least at great risk of being wasted - by spending on 'brand building'.

Most small businesses need fast results - and fast results come from direct response advertising.

Advertising that gets the phone ringing off the hook, gets customers flocking though your doors or clicking in droves through to your website.

You then need to 'sell like hell' offline and online.

I bet that Meerkat has seen a big, big drop off in offline and online enquiries through getting their branding message all wrong lately.

Can you just IMAGINE how much that might be costing them?

While the Italian Tenor is singing all the way to the bank ...

Colin Parker

 

anyone can become a brand,we have one running from a single shop.

Its simply a question of how well known you are in your area allied of course to excellent products and service.

Earl

 

[toastking]

I personally thought the Italian Tenor was actually making more of a hash of it than the Meerkats. Most people I have spoken to like the meerkats and hate the tenor, and many many people I know have tried the specialist website that they made to partner the adverts. Although its probably well off the original plot, I can't see how the series of adverts is showing a big drop off...

 

[debbidoo]

Great post Colin - really interesting.

I love the Meerkats *and* the Italian Yep, I know the tenor is annoying - but I love it nevertheless And that tune is seriously catchy... my dad was over here visiting last September (he lives abroad) and after the ad had been on a couple of times, he was wandering round the house singing it!

The Meerkats must've had a modicum of success though Colin - look how many people on this forum alone use the word "simples" in their posts. That's just this forum. I know I'm guilty of saying it all the time, both online and in real life

I agree though that the latest ads are losing the plot somewhat - ditching the 'compare theee meeeeerkat, dot-com' ditty was a daft move. I suspect the new ads hint at future spin-off products like books, collectables etc. They have some massive engagement going on, either way - over 650,000 fans on Facebook and nearly 35,000 followers on Twitter. They're clearly doing something right - probably the fact that you can 'chat' with Aleksandr Orlov - whoever is managing these accounts replies in a Russian accent, so you feel like you're actually talking to the little fella (even though common sense tells you that's impossible, ha )

Debs

 

[estwig]

Question 3: What would you not like to find in your wardrobe???

All together now...........

'''''''Grisly Bear'''''''''''''''''


Cracks me up everytime!!

 

[Scott-Copywriter]

That bloody Tenor drives me insane. I actually purposely avoid using Go Compare now just to spite them for creating those horrendous adverts.

 

[which_08]

WOW , look at the impact these advertising campaigns have had on us all !! they have achieved their goal.

Meercat was a great move.. And when tenor came out i was thinking OMG noooo rubbish but i have to say its catching on.. Also has anyone noticed how the meercats arnt on half as much as tenor these days. I did think it might have something to do with exhasting their advetising budget.

Also you have to feel sorry for confused.com dont you. what are they going to do next.

confused.com confused.com when your confused and you want to be bemused come to confused.com.

omg did i really just make that up .. we buy any car any any any ,, that was in my head at the time.

Anyway thats my 2 pennys.

Good luck to them

 

[patientlady]

WOW , look at the impact these advertising campaigns have had on us all !! they have achieved their goal.

Meercat was a great move.. And when tenor came out i was thinking OMG noooo rubbish but i have to say its catching on.. Also has anyone noticed how the meercats arnt on half as much as tenor these days. I did think it might have something to do with exhasting their advetising budget.

Also you have to feel sorry for confused.com dont you. what are they going to do next.

confused.com confused.com when your confused and you want to be bemused come to confused.com.

omg did i really just make that up .. we buy any car any any any ,, that was in my head at the time.

Anyway thats my 2 pennys.

Good luck to them

I am in two minds as I dislike the adverts so much including 118 that I would NEVER ring them for a quote on principle.
Good branding but does it always make a sale ?

 

[Silverlight]

A trip to the zoo in the summer involved the meerkat habitat; if I had a pound for every person that said 'simples' I'd be doing alright.
On the other hand a recent pub conversation involved how we'd never use go compare just because we'd all quite like to dig the fat tenor in the ribs.

 

[Pete Crane]

The key to both concepts has been the ongoing creative work and the level of spend. CTM was out the blocks very quickly and had the luxury of a lanscape with little to turn people's heads. The meerkat wasn't, in my view, all that clever - sticking a cute animal over your brand got a bit tired a long time ago - but they tinsled the character up and it got the all important recall factor.

Contrasting that with Go Compare, which certainly seemed at first to have very little legs in it and no real room to expand. I mean, someone asks a question and bloke jumps out to proclaim the answer. If the meerkat was hardly imaginative then the tenor is old as the Ark itself, and probably the only truly humurous take on the concept was Monty Python's Spanish Inquisition. But the operatic ads have managed to expand outwards, with some ironically Pythonesque work, and the spread of the adspend combined with CTM falling away is nosing them in front.

What depresses me is the complete wilderness of good, genuinely innovative adwork. It has been years since I saw anything that realy felt new and inspired; far too much is either hoicked from other people off the web (Honda and Guiness being two prime examples) or is self indulgent tat resulting from far too much Bolivian marching powder.

 

[Pete Crane]

I am in two minds as I dislike the adverts so much including 118 that I would NEVER ring them for a quote on principle.
Good branding but does it always make a sale ?

118 247 annoys me hugely, but only because it was originally a brilliant bit of toon work done in about 2004. And then they sold out - the chimps!

You can see the original version here in it's magical glory

And from the same people, a lovely take on Dragon's Den with a far too funny cameo take on Evan Davis.

 

[directmarketingadvice]

That bloody Tenor drives me insane. I actually purposely avoid using Go Compare now just to spite them for creating those horrendous adverts.

Go Compare is the most hated advert on TV right now.

(according to studies)

However, it's very successful.

I haven't seen any recent stats for CTM, but I'd agree with Colin that the campaign has started to disappear up its own arse.

Steve

 

[fisicx]

So the adverts are momorable (which is not the same as being liked) but have they improved the branding?

Suppose either advert drove you to the respectives sites and you were dissatified with the service they offered. Would you use them again? If the service on offer fails to live up to expectations all that PR/Branding was a waste of money, customer satisafaction will be low and the reapeat custom unlikley.

 

[stugster]

WE BUY ANY CAR DOT COM!

WE BUY ANY CAR DOT COM!

 

[deniser]

My mind instantly goes to the Meercat. I hate the tenor so much so that GC has deregistered from my brain. I probably would have thought of GC first before the Meerkat ad but that is now firmly lodged.

Having said that, I only have to mention the word "insurance" for my daughter to start singing jingles from ads so any of of them might be my first port of call!

Sheila's Wheels (not a comparison site) is another one that has become entrenched because of the jingle.

 

[garyk]

Hey I love the meerkat but agree Colin, its kind of lost its way. That said I still think it offers more in terms of a 'story' than the tenor does. I think the tenor is boring and limited, all he is going to do is just leap out of somewhere, same action, different scene. I'm surprised CTM havent been selling meerkat soft toys (or have they?) and other meerkat merchandise.

Interesting reading others views about hating ads so much they wouldnt buy. I feel like that sometimes, one that sticks in my mind is the nissan almera 'the car they dont want you to buy', biggest pile of $hite on 4 wheels, I wouldnt buy one for a £1!

Simples!

 

[directmarketingadvice]

Go Compare is the most hated advert on TV right now.

(according to studies)

However, it's very successful.

Just to clarify: "successful" means "increased market share".

Steve

 

[Scott-Copywriter]

Go Compare is the most hated advert on TV right now.

(according to studies)

However, it's very successful.

I haven't seen any recent stats for CTM, but I'd agree with Colin that the campaign has started to disappear up its own arse.

Steve

I don't doubt that. It's very annoying really as that gives them a reason to create more irritating adverts.

 

[Call Tracker]

Go Compare won 'the most annoying advert of 2009'. I think rather than be a negative it has won them much needed exposure against the meerkat. The song is on my brain for hours after I have seen the advert and I remember the meerkat ad for being a bit quirky so both are winning in the recognition stakes. Its the online conversions that will set them apart.

 

[Dai Phipps]

I must say I prefer the Meerkat, but my new favourate is the Moneysupermarket ads featuring Omid Djalili, who berates people for not having the ability to haggle! Funny and gets the purpose of the service across. Much better than Peter Jones zipping about on a trolley anyway! lol

 

[debbidoo]

I must say I prefer the Meerkat, but my new favourate is the Moneysupermarket ads featuring Omid Djalili, who berates people for not having the ability to haggle! Funny and gets the purpose of the service across. Much better than Peter Jones zipping about on a trolley anyway! lol

I think ALL of them are better than ANYTHING confused.com have ever done. Every single one of their TV ads EVER has been atrocious. First the annoying twerp screaming out "I'm confuuuuuuuused dot com", then the hammy actors with cartoon shopping trolleys/computers/ATMs etc, and now the "no honestly, we are REAL people, not actors" lot, the worst of which is that young bloke who thinks he's oh-so-zany. Arrrggh. I really REALLY can't stand those ads...

This, on the other hand, makes me laugh out loud (OK I know it's not a comparison site, but it's a bloody hilarious ad anyway, and better than any of the other mobile phone recycling ads )

 

[directmarketingadvice]

Much better than Peter Jones zipping about on a trolley anyway! lol

I hated those ads.

Yes, Peter Jones - the guy whose kids had only ever been on a private jet - is counting the pennies.

When I saw those ads, all I did was wonder if he had financial problems.

I'd be interested in knowing how well the ads did. Moneysupermarket made big claims about it going well, but the substance behind those claims was pretty weak.

And, surely, CTM, Go Compare and Money Supermarket can't all have increased market share at the same time?

Steve

 

[Dai Phipps]

nice '8 out of 10 cats' reference there steve! lol

 

[Pete Crane]

This, on the other hand, makes me laugh out loud (OK I know it's not a comparison site, but it's a bloody hilarious ad anyway, and better than any of the other mobile phone recycling ads )

For some reason that bug character reminds me of a cross between Chris Moyles and Ron Jeremy.

 

[which_08]

Ok its annoying but when we need the service its on the front of our mind. Now if 20% of people say OOHH i am not using because of the annoying tenor etc etc then who cares if 80% of the population still check it out. And then there is those people that are oblivous to what we are talking about and because we are all promoting ALL of them by talking about them then they are going to check them out . and who knows they are going to give it a go.

I am sure there are others out there that arent even acknoldged because they are not annoying people.

I say good on them , If you had a choice have a company that has an annoying jingle that people will get in their head at least once a day or have a company that is trying to find its next customer what would you do ? I would GOOOOO COMPARE ha , i know he is annoying but trust me its working on us all and we dont even realise it.

 

[estwig]

WE BUY ANY CAR DOT COM!

WE BUY ANY CAR DOT COM!

That's infuriating it's all over the local radio. I hope they buy overpriced rusty old bangers and crash and die!!

 

[astutiumRob]

Now -IMO - CTM have lost the plot.

Their ads don't even have the CTM ditty that everybody was singing. What the hell those two Meerkats trekking across the desert have to do with car insurance beats me.

Does it matter, if it continues to drive in business ?

Sales of nescafe coffee (all variations) skyrocketted with the 2 year long "love story" adverts, which apart from the logo at the end, stopped even mentioning coffee after about the 3rd advert ...

I manage to "tune out" most advertising - very much of the mindset that *i* will decide what I buy, when, and form whom - but do "enjoy" the CTM ad's as at least its and attempt at being different - like the original "monkey" ads for ITV digital/freeview (or whatever it was called)

I know a little about how obscene the money all these comparison sites make as one of our clients provides the technology used by the largest of them - so the millions in trying to get their "branding" remembered through tv/radio advertising is peanuts overall

 

[KidsBeeHappy]

If you want to know how good a brand is, and brand marketing, you need to ask the kids.

My 7 year old has been know to run around the house shouting "go compare" everytime anyone metions insurance. They both love the meerkats, but don't associate the meerkat with insurance.

Therefore - I think that GC are winning.

 

[KidsBeeHappy]

That's infuriating it's all over the local radio. I hope they buy overpriced rusty old bangers and crash and die!!

Not anywhere near the worst - try this one!!
http://www.diggerland.com/!

 

[KidsBeeHappy]

the meerkat has to be winning in our house.

few weeks ago....me and mrs watching TV, meerkat comes on, 21 month old son runs up to TV and shouts "simples"... followed by tears of laughter from us

we dont say it so no idea where he got it from, maybe grandparents....it was funny thou!!

But a brand is only working if you connect it with the product/service........

But, eitherway, I bet both companies are getting tons more visits to their website than Aviva, or Zurich do directly. However, an insider in the industry has told me that customers don't just use one price comparison site, they'll go to GC, and the CTM, and then Confused etc, so effectively the customers are price comparing the price compare websites. I think the he said customers were obtaining approx 260 quotes on average for each policy.

 

[kellym82]

meerkat meerkat meerkat!

I actually can't stand the tenor so much that I put the tv on mute every time that advert comes on - I've never done that with any other advert before!

 

[KidsBeeHappy]

I spoke to a woman at Rockly Park, last summer, and I had to confess to her that I could still sing every single word of a radio jingle that they had in the 1980's. The power of jingles should never be underestimated, because although everyone is running around going "simples" and meerkat mad, they're not mentioning your name every time.

And I can bet you that virutally every (UK) member of this forum could still burst into song at the mere mention of a certain carpet talc!

 

And people I meet are now saying "simples" aaaaarggggghhhh!!!!

Bring back mixematosis, genetically engineered for cyber meerkats.

 

[Direct Print Int]

There are different types of 'stickiness' when it comes to creating adverts and brands.
The agency who created the Tenor were actually given the brief to make an 'annoyingly sticky' campaign.

 

[Deleted member 66528]

Gocompare.com did indeed win the coveted title of "most irritating advert of 2009" yet they allege it has increased awareness of the brand by 200%. It seems more than a little suspicious that 200% is the same figure that Compare The Market have increased their market share year on year since the meercat made his first appearance. As it was mentioned earlier in this post, brand awareness does not mean increased sales "simples".

 

[popunder]

My kids have taken to singing every other phrase to the CTM jingle, with "dot com" on the end, such as "I'll have fish fingers... dot com". So meerkats clearly a winner here. Trouble is they're 9 and 5 so don't have a big requirement for insurance.

Whichever one you use don't forget to try your local broker too, you may be surprised what good deals they have which the online sites get nowhere near. And if you've got more than one car try Admiral multicar!

 

[Jigsaw CCS]

I personally thought the Italian Tenor was actually making more of a hash of it than the Meerkats. Most people I have spoken to like the meerkats and hate the tenor, and many many people I know have tried the specialist website that they made to partner the adverts. Although its probably well off the original plot, I can't see how the series of adverts is showing a big drop off...

Completely agree. I actually mute the TV or turn over all together when the GC advert is played, I find myself diving for the remote, cursing my head off - how badly can you get a brand wrong???

In comparison, people have warmed to the meerkat, in the same way the have warmed to the Churchill dog and Direct Line phone (and now mouse). When you see those adverts you associate the company with feelings of comfort, trust and above all, understanding.

The tenor feels like a slap in the face, a half-arsed attempt to be quirky and different which ultimately leaves you feeling hollow.

- My two pennies

 

[Deleted member 66528]

Comparethemarket.com tops the Adwatch charts again this week 10.02.10 with an impressive 69%

 

[ThePublisher]

As in previous years, I've just checked Go Compare and they can't handle the fact my car is an Opel Astra. They only offer Opel Vectra as an option, so that bloody tenor can sing as much as he likes, he won't be getting my business.

The meerkats can handle it!

I thought the ads with Peter Jones totally missed the mark. You couldn't believe that he would be spending time on price comparison sites looking for insurance, not was he believable as having any connection with the company other than fronting their ads.