On Sunday, The Value Engineers were delighted to be asked to contribute to two news programmes. Lou Ellerton joined Stephen Dixon and Gillian Joseph on Sky News Sunrise to discuss the multi-million dollar ad business that’s the Superbowl, building on the recent blog post from Richie Heron.

Ads in the Superbowl have become an event in themselves – not just for those in the advertising and marketing world, but also for the general American public. In fact, a survey last year found that more people in the US tuned in to watch the advertising than to watch the sport! It’s become an unofficial competition to see who’s got the new best ad, meaning that the viewing public are more engaged on the day and brands are keener to be there. The result is that prices are pushed ever further up, as we’ve seen with this year’s media costs.

Of course, the use of the Superbowl to showcase great advertising is nothing new. Coca-Cola began the trend in 1979 with its Mean Joe Green ad, to be followed by Apple’s 1984 triumph. Directed by Ridley Scott, the ad launched the Apple Mac with an anti-establishment tribute to George Orwell’s ’1984′. Despite being aired only twice, it remains acknowledged by the industry as one of the great executions of the past 30 years.

Following her appearance on Sunrise, Lou went on to talk with LBC Radio’s Emma Baxter and ex-Interbrand chairman Rita Clifton about the ‘demise’ of Britain’s high streets. Sparked by Sir Terry Leahy’s comment  that the closure of small shops is a “part of progress”, the debate covered the inevitability or otherwise of such closures, and what the independents can do to combat it.

While there’s no easy answer, here at The Value Engineers we believe that continuing success is as always dependent on offering something bigger, better or different. Given that the stores can’t compete by size, it’s up to traders to focus their efforts on offering better, different, and possibly more specialist products, services and shopping experiences.

Of course, the biggest factor in the decline of local high streets is consumers’ willingness to compromise their support in favour of convenience, ease and lower prices. There’s no point in complaining about the closure of small traders if you’re doing all of your shopping on Amazon – it’s a case of ‘use it or lose it’.

… And this time it’s not about who’s got Green Park or what to trade for Mayfair, but rather which classic token gets the boot (no pun intended).

“It’s the trial of the century! The fate of every classic MONOPOLY token rests in your hands. Vote daily to save your favorite token from a life sentence off the board.”

That’s right, folks. Soon your go-to lucky Monopoly token may be a thing of the past.

Renowned for being a game that can go on for hours and cause explosive arguments, Monopoly has been a family favourite since it was first published in 1934. It even played a role in World War II, when the Secret Intelligence Service sent escape maps, compasses and real money to prisoners of war, concealed in the unassuming guise of a board game.

But now Hasbro have decided that it’s time to refresh the line-up, giving fans the chance to vote on Facebook for the tokens they want to save. Up for eviction are the Car, the Thimble, the Boot, the Scottie Dog (a personal favourite), the Battleship, the Hat, the Iron and the Wheelbarrow. It’s not the first time Hasbro have retired tokens, with previous tenants the Lantern, the Purse and the Rocking Horse all disappearing in the ’50s.

But it’s not all doom and gloom, for as one classic token is stood down, a new 21st century contender will be instated in its place – and voters can also decide whether they’d like to see the Robot, the Diamond Ring, the Cat, the Helicopter or the Guitar make their way into new editions.

At this point in time, things aren’t looking too good for the Iron or the Wheelbarrow on the leaderboard – to vote for your favourite visit:

https://apps.facebook.com/saveyourtoken/.

On Sunday, The Value Engineers were delighted to be asked to contribute to a regular LBC radio show, hosted by the lovely Kay Burley.

Lou Ellerton joined Kay to talk about the post-Christmas retail surge, as consumers flocked to London’s Oxford Street, Westfield and shopping centres around the country to make the most of the sales.

Leading department store John Lewis announced a record start to its online sale which began on Christmas Eve, with hourly orders up 70% on last year, while Selfridges took in more than £1.5 million in its first hour of trading on Boxing Day. The story was no different online, with UK internet users making 84 million visits to retail websites on Christmas Eve and 107 million visits on Christmas Day, up 86% and 71% respectively compared to the same days in December 2011.

So what’s the story behind the surge? In Lou’s view, much of it can be boiled down to a metamorphosis by UK consumers into strategic shoppers – or ‘stroppers’, for short.

Now well trained by the major retailers to expect heavy discounts in the week immediately before and after the 25th, ‘stroppers’ are spending less on presents to unwrap on Christmas Day – focusing on smaller, more intimate gifts that show thought in place of the big-budget purchases of Christmases past – leaving them able to take advantage of discounts for the key family purchases.

While the post-Christmas sales boom will have come as welcome news to retailers beleaguered by poor pre-Christmas figures, the Olympics downturn and stormy weather, it remains to be seen whether tills will have taken enough to keep them from suffering as we head into another year of economic uncertainty. Either way, we’ll be keeping our ears open for more signs of the stropping phenomenon…

Sadly, we’re unable to post a copy of the interview here due to size constraints, but if you’d like to hear Lou’s comments or find out more about stropping, drop us a line.

Last Wednesday, The Value Engineers were delighted to be asked to contribute to ITV1′s Daybreak show.

Lou Ellerton appeared on the show at the ungodly hour of 6:40am to talk about Tesco’s trials and tribulations with its Fresh ‘N’ Easy brand in the US, Philip Green’s decision to sell a 25% stake in Top Shop to a US investor, and the opportunities that a Royal baby might create for British brands. It’s an eclectic selection of topics, we agree!

If you’d like to see for yourself how Lou got on, the show is available here on ITV Player until Wednesday morning (12th December). Her comments start at 00:37, just after the ad break.

… a Sprite-ful little Christmas.

Coca-Cola have long been associated with Santa Claus and many have observed that it was Coke’s depiction of the big jolly fellow dressed in red that helped shape modern Christmas iconography. Father Christmas had previously been depicted as everything from a tall gaunt man to a spooky-looking elf, donning  a bishop’s robe or a Norse huntsman’s animal skin, and most often depicted in green.

Less well known, however, is that in 1942, Coca-Cola introduced a companion for their Santa Claus –  ”Sprite Boy”.

Sprite Boy was initially introduced to communicate to customers that it was OK to call Coca-Cola by the name “Coke.” By  1949, when artist Haddon Sundblom created this “Travel Refreshed” painting, Sprite Boy was now one of Santa’s little helpers watching over the reindeer while Santa drinks a Coke.

Unsurprisingly, Sprite Boy got his name due to the fact that he was an elf – a sprite. What is more surprising is that he was in fact a precursor of the popular drink – it wasn’t until the 1960s that Coca-Cola introduced Sprite as a brand.