News and Insights

Following the EU referendum results on Friday, the aftermath has evidently brought many changes to England as we know it. But why? Whilst some London-based economists have claimed we are in state of chaos as we await direction on how to deal with the outcomes created by the referendum results with no Prime Minister to guide us, nothing has changed for now. We are still in the EU for the foreseeable future, we are still a member of many other global trade groups and initiatives and it is up to us as business owners to maximise the opportunity to promote our businesses and keep our national integrity as a contributing player in the global marketplace.

The online ad body, IAB UK, this week pointed out that "the most recent comparable situation to Brexit was the recession caused by the 2008 credit crunch, when digital advertising still grew 5.7% year on year.”

Uncertainty is inevitable with any change, but uncertainty can yield positive long term results rather than negative if we approach change in the right way as global marketers.

Reject negative speculation. Embrace positive change

The EU referendum has seemingly given us lemons. It is up to us to take those lemons and make gin and tonic, rather than dwell in bitterness and watch news headlines with bated breath. Ok, our UK currency may not get us as much bang for our buck in the global marketplace as other currencies, but this works in our favour for winning global business as we emerge as the more competitively priced marketing choice for global businesses.

One of the best marketing activities marketers and business owners alike can invest in now is a revamp of their international marketing activities. Brand awareness in a changing global market place where we can offer unparallelled quality, value and ROI is money well spent.

Use the facts we have been given to excel in the future

According to vote count statistics, London was the only UK region to vote the majority ‘Remain’ and as a result a petition has been created campaigning for London to gain an independent status. Whilst much of the UK voted to remain, we have been shocked as a nation by the results that lead to the contrary and as a result should use this exercise as a learning curve to ensure we understand our market audience behaviours, preferences and demographics for best results.

In the lead up to the EU referendum, given the scale of the changes now upon us as a nation, one could argue that the referendum itself was not marketed effectively with many voters claiming that they didn’t realise the impact of their vote until after the event. If the ‘remain’ party had invested intelligently in a winning marketing strategy that engaged with the right audiences using the right channel, one could argue that the outcome would have been different.

Recent articles relating to Brexit state “Although the UK is arguably the world’s leader when it comes to the creative industry, the thick bubble it sits in has always had the potential to put it out of touch with anyone outside it.”

Maybe a shake-up is just what we need to stay ahead of our global competitors. By deploying a proactive and intelligent marketing approach, channeling efforts in global brand awareness through effective global marketing and being transparent to show proven ROI, we can flourish. Reaching out to key decision makers in European marketers at the right time has never been more important so make sure your business is equipped with the best market intelligence and contact data possible.

Change is good and creates a great opportunity to pursue new global opportunities that weren’t previously viable for us as a nation. The opportunities are ours for the taking. How will your business embrace the change for the better?

Great Britain is Great. Whilst our football performance at the Euros suggests otherwise, we’ve still got Wimbledon - and have brought many pioneering technologies and products to the global market that have changed the world and cemented our foothold in the global market - like the telephone, submarine, the World Wide Web and creating the technology to send the world’s first SMS. History shows we’ve always been great communicators regardless of our economic or political status, so why stop now?