Beautiful, Just Beautiful!

The way in which Saatchi & Saatchi have transformed a number of bus shelters into an interactive game for Cadbury's Cream Eggs is just supurb.

Waiting for your next bus home needn't be an experience of utter boredom as you can fixate your attention on bashing as many Cadbury's Cream Eggs as possible.

But is this an example of marketing 2.0 and what are its implications? I believe that the innovation of the idea is what encapsulates the public the most and therefore, the games will appeal to almost anyone. Does this campaign fail to target Cadbury's Cream Egg's specific audience or does it achieve more through getting people of all ages to interact with the brand?

Nevertheless, the interactive games are very much 'on brand' and are also vandal proof. I just wish that the campaign extended to the darkest, most remote regions like Somerset so I myself could go and have a bash.
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Someone’s Doing Alright

The recent campaign by Norwich Union, intended to rebrand the company as Aviva is certainly not short of a bob or two.

The television advertisement includes celebrities such as Bruce Willis, Ringo Star, Alice Cooper and Elle Macpherson who all changed their names before going onto international fame and fortune.

The advertisement is an example of how celebrity endorsements can add character and virbrance to a brand. Also, the savvy consumer will be aware of the substantial cost of employing these superstars and thus, Aviva conveys a strong, bold brand image in times of such economic crisis.

Many have criticised the advetisement as a waste of money as it cost nine million pounds but I disagree. The advertisiment is very sucessful at communicating its message to its consumers and has positioned itself as a brand leader within the insurance industry.

What was I talking about last week? The importance for campaigns to contain a dose of original thinking a well as simple, effective communication. Well, here is an example of both. Bravo!

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Three Wise Men

A focal article in a recent issue of Marketing Week argued that the era of conspicuous consumption is over.  I can't help but think that such a claim leans towards the sensational but nevertheless, the article did highlight some serious concerns approaching the marketing industry and there were several other articles in the issue that provided an antidote to the increasing pressures the marketing industry faces in respect of the recession.

First and foremost was David Benady’s (contributing editor) thesis that an important consideration for marketers and brands is to engender the loyalty of existing customers rather than focusing on acquiring new ones. This implies even more so for lower cost consumer goods considering that retailers such as Tesco are offering its’ customers cheaper alternatives.

Furthermore, Jon Ingall (managing partner at Archibald Ingall Stretton) assigns a strong emphasis on marketers' need to concentrate on powerful, simple and bold ideas not “Great big attention seeking lumps of more-of-the-same”. Brands that distinguish themselves via a dose of original thinking will certainly gain richer rewards than those who don’t.

And finally, TCA chief executive Adam Leigh argues for the importance of brands to take greater care with the language they use and how they communicate with their customers. Direct, effective and penetrative communication should very much be at the fore of marketers’ considerations.

These three anecdotes are obviously not the only concerns facing those in the marketing profession, yet they certainly provide a shining light for all to follow. 

 

Differentiation with a Twist

Anyone for a meerkat? No…Thought not!

The way that the latest ad from Compare The Market has differentiated itself from other price comparison websites with wit and humour is just brilliant.

Juxtaposing the two websites, ‘Compare the Meerkat’ with ‘Compare the Market’ is such a simple and effective way at getting the public to remember the company name.

Plus, the mircosite, http://www.comparethemeerkat.com/, where you can actually ‘Compare the Meerkat’ is another great example of how brand engagement can equate to brand credibility and favour. You can even add Aleksandr Orlov, the founder of comparethemeerkat.com as a friend on facebook.

Audi Q5 Television Advertisement- Unbox the Box

When I first saw this advert, I loved it. But I couldn't help but ask myself over and over again, why?

I believe the reason why I warmed to this ad so much is because it is a break from the norm with regards to car manufacturer advertisements but I don’t mean in the sense of technological gadgetry and etc, I mean mood.

The song by Woody Guthrie, Take Me Riding in My Car that underpins the advert leads it into a kind of composed gentleness that it just so instantly uplifting and likeable and this is mirrored in the ease of the animated character in how he shapes the cardboard.

The result is an advertisement that is stylishly cool and confident and the association of superb engineering with Audi.

It comes of no surprise that Bartle Bogle Hegarty developed this advertisement.

Brand Engagement with Fat Face

It was whilst waltzing through the streets of Bournemouth earlier this week where I came across one of the most effective examples of brand engagement I have seen in some time.

Inside Fat Face’s store in Bournemouth there is a cosy little alcove titled, “Share your adventures” where people are given the opportunity to write and pin-up one of their very own little stories. What made this campaign so clever was the way that it tapped into peoples’ need to self-disclose something about themselves, and not just something mundane or of ill worth but something that is very precious and endearing to them.

Take for example a short novel I came across written by a man called Daniel. Daniel wrote about how he married his wife on St. James’ Bay in Barbados and how they went swimming with turtles, watched baby turtles hatch whilst helping them to the shore and he tells us that they did this all before catching the Reggae Bus back home to tuck into a fresh fish dinner over a magnificent sunset.

Glancing at these epic stories I realised how successful Fat Face had been at getting its’ customers to become involved with the brand, even becoming a part of the brand and the values it stands for.

It is well known that self-disclosure is vital in order to maintain and develop good personal relationships and Fat Face was able to achieve so much by simply offering its’ customers a piece of paper and a pen.

What made this campaign even more special was how every post was personalised. Simple characteristics such as an individual’s handwriting, the funky shapes people had ripped their pieces of paper into and even the charming pictures people drew to accompany their stories’ endings, all made the posts even more special. It had an authenticity that no digital campaign could ever muster and I’d like to think that in these economic times, advertisers and marketers will return to such powerful ways of communicating with their customers.