London, UK: I can’t believe what I’m about to say, but 2016 is almost over (I know, I’m still figuring out where it went) and for most of us, beloved marketers, it’s time to recap and analyse all the things we’ve done in the last 12 months. We have to sit down and go over all this information; each document one by one, to get a general panorama of the year. Was it a good year? Was it a bad one? The numbers will speak for you.
Will they?
Don’t get me wrong, I love marketing, but I don’t like to waste one or two weeks recapping things that were already recapped to begin with. It’s tedious and boring, and honestly, I find it totally unfair. Why would I have to spend my time judging specific actions? Deciding if we did well or not? That’s not my job, or at least that’s what my mum used to tell me when I was a kid.
That’s Santa Claus’ job.
Holly guacamole! I wished she was right! Could you imagine your boss’ face when you told him that Santa Claus is going to be the one presenting the end-of-the-year report? And that got me thinking… What if Santa judged brands?
Dear Santa,
We know you’re pretty busy with delivering gifts to children all over the world and all, but would you please be so kind as to decide who was good and naughty in terms of marketing in 2015?
Cheers, mate
The Printsome Marketing team
Expecting no reply, I sent it to the North Pole and forgot all about it. Until a few weeks later (to my surprise), he wrote back! And, of course, Printsome wants to share it with you all! Santa’s naughty or nice brands’ list of 2016!
The naughty or nice list for brands in 2016
The Good Guys
#5 Google
We can sense people’s eyes rolling by just typing the name. Yes, we’re aware that it gets tiring to include Google on every list, but they’re not here without merit. Thanks to actions like fighting child pornography, detecting flu epidemics with its search engine and renting goats (?) the Californian company has earned its space on this list.
#4 Facebook
The founder of Facebook Mark Zuckerberg made it to the ‘Nice List’ when he announced he’s planning to give away 99% of his Facebook shares ($45 billion) for charitable purposes. We’re sure there’s something nice coming to his stocking.
#3 Shire PLC
Specialised in biopharmacy, this Irish company was ranked #1 by Newsfeed as the greenest company in 2016. In summary, they make drugs. But nice ones.
#2 Amazon UK
According to The Telegraph, Amazon was the company with the best customer service of 2016. That and the fact that the company is planning to offer 5,000 new jobs in the country moved this one to the top of the list of many.
#1 The Trussel Trust
Proud winners of the Charity Awards 2016, this nonprofit runs over 400 food banks to help people who live below the poverty line in the UK. In 2016 alone they helped serve food to over 1,109,309 people.
The Bad Guys
#5 Yum!
When you think about a company that operates the licensed brands Taco Bell, KFC, Pizza Hut, and WingStreet worldwide, your first thought should be: they are doing well. And I won’t lie, everything sounds yummy until you discover they’ve been serving tainted meat. That’s not yummy at all.
#4 Nestlé
Everybody knows Nestlé for their chocolates, but it encompasses a lot more. The Swiss transnational owns many brands including Fancy Feast which produces cat food made out of fish… fish that was transported in slave ships where people were chained and beaten. Blimey!
#3 FIFA
Football moves crazy money, and when you work with such amounts, well, let’s just say that some hands are more tempted than others. In recent years, 14 officials were indicted for wire fraud, racketeering, and money laundering. Not good.
#2 Vofafone
I wanted to include on this list a company with particularly appalling customer service because nothing makes my blood boil quite like bad customer service. Unsurprisingly, it was hard to pick just one because as it turns out there were a few contenders. But after reading about not considering a lack of service or terminal illness as cause enough to cancel a contract and lack of sympathy for the mentally ill, Vodafone made it all the way to the top.
#1 Samsung
One word: Bribery… Oh, and exploding smartphones.
Do you know of any brand that should belong to either naughty or nice list? Please let us know in the comments below or through any of our social media outlets. In the meantime, keep reading the Printsome Blog for more awesome content.
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