The genius 'Oreo Moment' I wrote about a few weeks ago has predictably already created a trend that brands are copying during live events. Dulux attempted a similar message during the Brits earlier this month. They tweeted a picture of the paint colours featured on the Brit Statuette that was designed specifically for the event by Damon Hirst.
Although this tweet had the same relevant and current message that made the Oreo communication so genius, it somehow fails to have the same impact. This could be for a number of reasons. Oreo were first brand to work quickly to send out a completed ad relevant to the consumer and the event. This had never been seen before and therefore Oreo benefited from being the trail blazers. The content of the ad also used humour and made light of the situation which encouraged consumers to share through social media.
Therefore although this is a good attempt by Dulux, to champion this trend the ad may need to have a more humorous, interesting or unique message to have the same impact of the Oreo ad. We are still talking about this communication so It is still a good idea to have a team ready for any event that drives high volumes to Facebook or Twitter just in case an Oreo opportunity occurs.
There hasn't been a post in a while because of the day job. Last weekend we attended the Baby Show in ExCel. Anyone who has experienced consumer exhibitions will realise and hopefully forgive why there hasn't been time to post.
Last week our 'brandlight' was the Burberry initiative that allows the consumer shop the catwalk from their mobile or in store and receive a personalised product made for them. The carefully crafted video beautifully explains the concept.
In the current financial climate it is important for luxury brands to reaffirm their brand standards and in particular focus on consumers experience so that it warrants the price tag; in this latest initiative Burberry has succeeded to achieve this.
Burberry have considered how to enhance customer experience in three ways. Firstly the brand builds on having a very strong and desirable product range. A Burberry bag or trench coat is a product that consumers will own for life. By offering a personalisation service Burberry are creating something unique for the consumer and a product that is even more desirable. Secondly the video footage showing how the bag or coat is made also validates the quality and personalised message behind the product and brand. Finally the use of mobile and in store technology is the perfect, forward-thinking mechanism to deliver the initiative. This in itself becomes an additional unique aspect of the experience for the consumer. The full customer journey has been personalised from ordering the product, the maunfacturing and finally to the end product.
In summary by focussing on a unique customer service, Burberry are successfully increasing the desirability of their brand and products so that it transcends the credit crunch.
There are some brandlights that we remember and refer back to. These are particular communications that are a benchmark to what we as marketeers strive to achieve and ultimately why we love our jobs. This ad from Tropicana in 2010 is one of team member Claire's favourite.
Arctic Sun is a beautifully shot, documentary style ad shows a small Canadian town's reaction to a huge helium balloon filled with light on their 31st day of darkness.
This ad received worldwide coverage and Tropicana's fans on Facebook sky rocketed. The ad therefore clearly made consumers feel a strong connection with the brand. There are a few things we can learn from this.
Firstly the brand message 'Brighter Mornings for Brighter Days' is visually and emotionally brought to life. The consistency of the message with what consumers already associate with the brand (i.e. breakfast time, good mornings etc.) is taken to a new level.
The main reason consumers connect with the ad is the random act of kindness that the brand demonstrated for this town. The happiness of the people featured transpires to the viewer and creates a feel good feeling to anyone watching.
A cynical person could say that this example is not a random act of kindness as there is clearly an ulterior motive which is to sell product; shown here by Tropicana juice being handed out towards the end of the ad. Arguably in this instance however the enormity of the gesture outweighs the commercial message and when consumers experience it they enjoy the sentiment. This is proven by the response to the brand on channels like Facebook.
We are seeing the R.A.K (random act of kindness) trend appearing more through brand communications. If you google it there are some great examples. For instance Interflora tweeted one of their followers who complained of a hard day asking whether they could send her some flowers. Kleenex offered 'get well soon' packs to people who were nominated by friends on Facebook. Dulux run a 'Let's Colour' project that chooses parts of the world to paint bright colours to improve peoples' lives (below). The list continues.
As this trend continues to grow the consumer is going to become more aware that a brand is simply using R.A.Ks as a tactic to sell product. To avoid this the acts either must look unplanned or the brand must really want to do something for the greater good. As Tropicana proved with their ad, ulterior motives can be forgiven or even forgotten when the act brings so much happiness.
You can't write a marketing blog without posting about the Superbowl. Everyone around the world looks to this event to see what brands will deliver in the most expensive and viewed media space.
There was a clear winner this year that made all the marketing headlines on Monday morning - Oreo. During a power cut that lasted 30 minutes Oreo tweeted the ad below with the caption; "Power out? No problem.". The result? 10,000 retweets in an hour and over 20 000 likes on Facebook.
We can only describe this piece of communication as genius.
It is the creative, witty and quick-thinking needed to execute the ad that made it so impressive. People don't expect brands to be able to react so quickly to unusual circumstances and the relevance of the ad clearly connected with the audience. Oreo
played right into the hands of a very captive and bored US audience
waiting for the power to come on. These people, without anything else to
do were clearly going to be talking to each other and be highly
interactive on social networks. What brands can therefore learn from this is to to avoid the usual delays of a lengthy sign off process and use instinct to get communications out there. Brands need to be more prepared to have a team ready at any time to create of-the-moment communications that consumers can relate to.
Finally Oreo have shown that you don't always need the budget to create the most cut through. The brand have created the most memorable and talked about 2013 Superbowl ad that cost only a tiny fraction of the millions spent by the other brands on the night.
Working in an International team we are constantly looking for well executed 'brandlights' that can communicate through different cultures, languages, tastes and opinions. It is extremely difficult to get it right and impossible to please every consumer.
Topshop released a digital advert last week with a Happy New Year message for the Chinese market. A very well shot, emotive story that shows Topshop clad girls watching the Chinese lanterns over a typical London scene.
There are two great things to learn from what Topshop have set out to communicate about their brand to the Chinese market.
Firstly at Mamas & Papas we always find it advantageous that the global consumer view of British design and products is synonymous with quality. In addition this is arguably the best time for brands to state their British heritage due
to the success of the London Olympics and news of the Royal baby which has captured global audiences. By including the London backdrop, Topshop are communicating and promoting the British heritage of their brand around the world at the right time.
Secondly this week at Mamas & Papas head office we have been taking part in global culture training. This has given us an insight into the inner thinkings of different countries and cultures and make us think carefully about how to communicate with businesses and consumers. One of the most important understandings about the Chinese market is the significance of loyalty and relationship building. After considering this, it appears that the Topshop brand is reaching out to build a relationship with the Chinese consumer by sending a personalised Happy New Year message, something very close to the consumers' heart.
By embracing the asset of being a British brand and sending a considered and relevant message, Topshop have made a great attempt to communicate to the Chinese market however there is also a flaw in the ad that we can also learn from.
Although the clothing choices and styling are appealing to the target market here in the UK (tried and tested by me), the comments surrounding the ad criticise the product shown due to the choice of colour appropriate for the market and occasion. On Chinese New Year it is custom to wear red to show joy and to avoid dark tones that appear heavily in the ad. There seems to be a midpoint that needs to be reached by the brand whereby without compromising on the overall look and feel they make product choices appropriate to the occassion.
The perfect international brand communication therefore is proven to be a complicated mix of different elements and as already stated extremely difficult to get right.The story learnt here is always do your research.
One of the most remarkable things we saw last month was Selfridges' de-branded area whereby iconic products were stripped of their logo. As consumers are constantly bombarded with marketing messages 'The Quiet Shop' was created by the department store to give customers a break from the overwhelming amounts of information and noise they are usually faced with in the shopping environment.
Big brands with iconic products including Marmite (above), Levis' 501 jeans, Clinique's best selling moisturiser and even the Selfridges bag (below) participated in the initiative and although the main aim was to create a calm, message-free shopping experience, there are clearly some additional benefits for these brands to take part.
In reality this initiative did three additional things. Firstly it acted as a unique PR hook for the Selfridges store - ideal for the tough January retail environment. It's a consumer facing story and message that suits the department store brand rather than only talking to customers about sale. Secondly it created affordable, quirky limited addition products that are desirable to the consumer. Finally and most importantly it certified these products as truly iconic. It shows us how impressive the packaging and branding is that without a logo and the marketing messages they are still instantly recognisable to the everyday shopper.
This isn't the first time that Heinz have relied on the consumer to make the connection between their brand and a certain product. This de-brand initiative made us think of the brilliant 2009 Heinz tomato ketchup advert (below). The advert shows every day dinner scenarios whereby the condiment bottle is digitally removed. Without showing the product, Heinz tomato ketchup is relying on being so recognisable that the consumer is already thinking about the brand before the final frame reveals the logo. Heinz have achieved a brand's top goal; they have created a connection between consumers' knowledge of the product category and their brand. When you say or hear tomato ketchup, you think Heinz.
