Brandwriters urge marketing re-think

Saturday 22nd of December 2007

The Brandwriting Index, commissioned by Gecko, is urging companies to rethink their marketing strategy, with a number of consumers voicing their displeasure at hand-written signs.

According to the Gecko survey, 63 per cent of consumers disliked handmade signs and posters, with 55 per cent of shoppers taking their business elsewhere because of it.

Development Director of Gecko, Andy Milner, revealed that the use of such signs often betray extensive marketing campaigns by national brands.

"UK companies spend millions annually developing their brands, creating brand books, and then implementing these processes and procedures across their organisations," he said.

"Yet it is often these shop floor customer messages that can sometimes fail to reflect the brand values and which can at the very least start to unravel all the other work, and potentially start to damage reputation," he added.

The survey also showed that 12 per cent of consumers have no trust in signs that are handwritten by shop staff.