I know I keep writing posts to announce my return to this blog, but this time I’m here to stay (I promise). It’s been a long 9 months, but I have finished my final year at University and am ready to enter the big, and very real, world. Now that my dissertation has been submitted and exams are out of the way, I can finally return to the things I really love (blogging, eating healthily, actually being outside) and start my new job in a tech start-up!
I think that now I’m venturing into a new industry that really excites me, my posts will be a lot more varied in terms of innovations I’ve seen/read about, but of course there will be more communications related posts. Seeing a small idea grow into a big one is what made me fall in love with communications and is the same reason I am driven to learn in a start-up. So, from the end of May I will be commuting to the big city that is London to start my new journey as a working gal!
Stay tuned and I’ll leave you with this great campaign from Ogilvy Brazil, who developed a skin cancer awareness campaign using the insight that tattooists get closer to people’s skin than anyone else. This campaign was developed for Sol de Janeiro, a suncream brand in Brazil who target youths, who wanted to raise awareness of skin cancer and increase the amount of young people getting checked.
I think this collaborating with tattooists was a great idea, as young people tend to listen to people who are cool and they had the right amount of access to diagnose any symptoms. These kind of “out of the box” communications campaigns are what I love and can’t wait to blog about more of these!
Firstly, I have to apologise for my lack of posts for nearly two months! It’s my last year at university and I am already completely overwhelmed with work, grad scheme applications and life! As I have completely abandoned this blog, I thought it would be necessary to share a few things that I have found interesting and hopefully you’ll enjoy this post!
Red Bull – Revolutions in Sound
Isn’t Red Bull just the coolest brand? People may disagree with me, but they are one brand that continuously push boundaries in order to create amazing and engaging content for their consumers. Collaborating with Felix Baumgartner free-falling from space last year was one thing, but now as part of their Red Bull Music Academy promotion, last night they decided to throw 30 gigs in the London Eye (I mean, not just anybody can hire out the London Eye). Bringing the best of the UK music and club scene together, artists such as Lily Allen, Shy FX and Miss Dynamite all came together to give different live performances in one of the 30 pods. Each pod was hosted by a popular club night in the UK such as “The Warehouse Project”, which ultimately is every ravers dream, bringing all the acts they love together for one night only.
Each pod was streamed online on Channel 4 at 7:30pm last night so viewers could tune into their favourite acts, as well as the campaign hashtag #RevsInSound that was being tweeted all night. The best thing I feel about the whole idea, is that people who appreciate the London music scene at the moment were given an exclusive chance to tune in or go along to be a part of the experience. There was a big push about “no repeats or replays” which meant that fans knew that the live stream was exclusive to them, at that time. I personally tuned in and was amazed by the fact that I could toggle which pod I wanted to listen to, and the website was really clear in who was performing where.
Overall, Red Bull as a brand embody “living life to the full” and these are the same values that make the UK Music/Club Scene thrive. This collaboration is brilliant because the people interested in this event would create positive connotations between Red Bull and music, therefore increasing the likelihood to purchase or even loyalty to the brand.
Christmas Adverts 2013 (a small round up)
Here is a small round up of how I am feeling about a few of the adverts for Christmas 2013.
– John Lewis – “The Bear and the Hare” – adam&eveDDB
As much as I have previously loved John Lewis and their Christmas advertising, this year I was underwhelmed. As much as I am a fan for cute cartoon animals, there isn’t really anything that pulls on my heartstrings like the little boy in 2011 or the snowman journey in 2012. Many people will say I have a heart of stone, however I think that next year, John Lewis should try to do the unexpected, whereas this year I felt like the story was too predictable. Lovely to watch, and I absolutely love the song, but just not ground breaking. I must say though that the advert has had more YouTube views and Tweets than last year, so I guess consumers love it…
– Sainsbury’s – “Christmas in a day” – AMV BBDO
I thought that this short film made for Sainsbury’s was really nice. I feel more emotion towards an advert that seems real, or that portray things (such as Christmas) in a way that I as a consumer can relate to. Similar to their adverts last year, Sainsbury’s have stuck to a real “family feel” advert that shows how many different families, from different areas and backgrounds, celebrate Christmas. There is a real light heartedness to this advert that doesn’t make you feel like your being sold something, but shows you joy at Christmas in all its different forms, from children seeing their presents for the first time or adults preparing Christmas dinner. I liked this advert a lot, it’s relatable and doesn’t give off the “try hard” factor like many other brands Christmas advertising.
– Aldi – “There’s a lot to like this Christmas” – McCann Manchester
I have always had a soft spot for Aldi ads, mainly because I find them hilarious, but also because they depict a true, imperfect version of British people. The cheeky sarcasm and humorous children add so much value to the advertising because the brand aren’t saying they are luxurious or making promises they can break. The brand are literally saying they have a wide range, to suit everyone’s needs, to penultimately have a great Christmas.
And here are a few more that people are talking about on Twitter ;
– Marks and Spencer – “Believe in Magic and Sparkle” – RKCR/Y&R
– Morrison’s – “Go on…it’s Christmas” – DLKW Lowe (I think the backlash and ASA complaints from their advert last year have steered them towards this)
– Cadbury – “Unwrap Joy” – Fallon
In my next post I will be talking about the “Customer Experience” and what that means to brands. Feels good to be back!
Hi all! I admit I have been a bit of a blogging ghost recently but I am back now and excited to fill you all in on what I’ve been up to. Apart from procrastinating on BuzzFeed, my days have been pretty productive and I’ve *drum-roll* started my grad scheme applications! A few have opened and the questions are, as expected, pretty tricky. Even if I don’t get anywhere with these applications they are great, I’m finding out more about myself than I ever knew! My favourite application that I’m doing at the moment is for the Lean Mean Fighting Machine, I won’t spoil it, but the application process isn’t standard I’ll tell you that!
Last week I interned at McCann London, I haven’t written an “Intern Diary” on this placement because unfortunately I had to cut it short, but also I didn’t have much to write about in terms of tasks I did. I found the most value in talking to colleagues about the industry and getting to know more about how planning works (this is really beginning to interest me, I like the process of turning consumer truth into a proposition for a campaign).
I’m going into my final year of University (eek) so hopefully I’ll be able to keep this blog updated with anything cool I learn or any insight I’ve gathered from dissertation research. Of course, I’ll be reviewing more adverts and campaigns, hopefully they’ll be of interest to you – hope you enjoy the read!
Yesterday I came home from London to a hand written envelope from my university. I was kind of scared to open it, thinking I was formally in trouble for something, but it turned out to be quite the opposite.
I have gratefully received a “Second Year, Undergraduate Marketing Student of the Year Award” from the business school faculty (yipee). Now to some, this may seem like absolutely nothing, but I really felt a sense of happiness reading that I had been voted/recognised for something I didn’t even apply for.
I have had a wonderful year in terms of success and I have to admit, it’s been the hardest I’ve ever worked for anything. My B-Hive competition entry, this blog, my work experience placements and not to mention academic studies have really pushed me to try and achieve great things. So to receive this lovely award in the post has made it clear to me that A) God is good and B) Hard work, perseverance and surrounding yourself with things that make you happy really does work wonders.
I hope it’s onwards & upwards from here! (P.S thank you to those who have supported everything I’ve been doing, even if it meant I looked like a geek/had no life. You know who you are).
This is a really feel good, fun advert from John Lewis to promote their home insurance offering. I must admit, it’s quite refreshing to see a lovely advert for home insurance in comparison to the humorous ones that seem to fill the market. John Lewis are sticking to their brand values, focusing on family and home, which links nicely to the “if it matters to you, it matters to us” strap line. I think the ad targets both existing and new consumers really well. People who love John Lewis products will see their home insurance as an extension of their great service, and new consumers may convert if they feel that the brand is trustworthy. The soundtrack (Nina Nesbitt cover of “Don’t Stop” by Fleetwood Mac) combined with all of the other sound effects really do bring the advert to life as well as the beautiful visuals. I tend to forget about audio in an advert until an ad like this shows me how important sound can be for an overall “feel”. I personally think this is an ad you’d like to watch over again and feel good each time.
Agency: adam&eveDDB
Client: John Lewis
Sector: Insurance
Place: United Kingdom
Despite the controversy and over 400 complaints to the ASA about this advert, Marmite have definitely gained some attention because of their recent advertisement. Titled “Love it. Hate it. Just don’t forget it”, the advert focuses on neglected Marmite jars and spoofs a (what I think is funny, not offensive) rescue team entering homes to save these neglected jars from the back of cupboards. Considering Marmite have had the slogan “Love it or Hate it” for years, this humorous ad seems well fit, and I think that both the agency and Marmite have taken a great risk in producing this. In all honesty, I think that the advertisement is a play on the slogan and I really don’t think that there was any intention to upset audiences who may be sensitive about animal rescue (what the spoof imitates).
I guess, that although this advert was amazing PR for the brand, there are things that come with taking risk that brands have to be aware of. Marmite have paid the RSPCA £18,000 in donations to help settle the backlash, which I’m sure will put stakeholders at ease. I love it when big brands take risks though, this ad has gone viral within the past few weeks and it’s understandable why. It sparks conversation, be it good or bad – Marmite is still in consumers heads. A really clever and funny ad, Marmite have stayed true to their tongue in cheek values. After all, who would care if it was bland?
Agency: Adam & Eve DDB
Client: Marmite
Sector: Food and Drink
Place: United Kingdom
IKEA have released a really cool element to their catalogue that allows consumers to “try before they buy”, through viewing furniture in their homes with augmented reality.
Through scanning the page with an Android or Apple device users will be able to see the piece of furniture they like in their home – definitely a big benefit of AR!
I know I’m very late with this post but I thought I’d still do a quick round up of my favourite “Royal Baby” brand celebrations. Typical celebration ads and social media content was put out as soon as Prince George was born, and personally I found many of them to be boring and obvious.The thing with “real time” responses from brands is that they have to create that “YES” moment from consumers otherwise it’s just a waste of time. These brands wanted to “congratulate” the couple to increase shares/likes/sales but without the added creativity or subtle link to their brand they could be congratulating a chicken on laying an egg (aka nobody cares).
I think the following were the most creative;
Warburton’s “One’s bun is done” was my favourite response ad to the birth of The Royal Baby. With good references to their own product and the baby without being self indulgent, it really is thought provoking. Even their strap line “from our family to yours” fits so nicely with the concept of babies, parents and new arrivals.
I thought that Johnsons’ baby used a really subtle yet effective way of using the Royal Baby arrival to target their consumers on Facebook. All parents consider their children to be special so this picture celebrates the royal birth but also tells all parents that their baby deserves to be treated like royalty.
Although a little obvious, I did feel that the arrival of the Royal Baby did fit in well with the Open Happiness “Share a Coke” campaign for Coca-Cola. Their recent campaign with personalised named bottles has been a global hit, and this celebratory ad just seemed right.
I think that newspaper “The Sun” did really well with this one, renaming their paper “The Son” both online and in print format once the news was announced. This gained great coverage and drove conversation amongst people both on and offline. Also, I personally think many people would buy the newspaper on that day to keep as a souvenir – they look at the title and remember exactly when Prince George was born.
Taking a completely different approach, magazine outlet “Private Eye” played on their humorous takes on political and social news by writing this on their front cover. This was supposedly a representation of the majority of people’s attitudes towards the Royal birth in Britain, and was shared greatly on social media. I loved this because I felt this way about the royal baby (have to be honest), and considering every other newspaper and magazine had pictures splashed across them of Prince George and the couple, this just stood out as a funny alternative.
As I was aimlessly scrolling through Twitter yesterday I came across the strangest thing – two mobile phone networks having a virtual rap battle. O2 and Tesco Mobile have notoriously been known to be “down with the kids” on social media, using humorous slang and phrases to interact with their audiences and drive conversation online.
This “rap battle” was really weird but I thought it was amusing when O2 brought their “#bemoredog” campaign into the equation and Tesco Mobile had a sulk. With hundreds of retweets the brands are definitely building names for themselves online, and with bubbly brand values I think both are doing the right thing in engaging their audiences this way. I just wish it was a little less cringe…
Here are a few print screens of the battle (although both networks seem to have deleted their tweets now, maybe their employees got in trouble for that one…).
I’m pretty sure the reason I really like this advert is because I am literally a girlie girl and loves when people do “nice things”. I think Halifax have really tuned into the insight that customers want their bank to be compassionate, and this is really shown through this ad. Halifax are basically showing that they reward their customers, and use a caring football coach who looks after children to do this. They know people will look at the TV and go “aww he deserves that mortgage, that’s nice of Halifax”, and that’s great image, along with their strap line “those who give extra should get extra back from their bank”. Using humor and elements that pull the heart strings usually works lets face it.
Agency: adam&eveDDB
Client: Halifax
Sector: Banking/Finance
Place: United Kingdom
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