Gen Z - great new report reveals their need of Internet

JWT Intellience has released another well researched report, this time about Gen Z, the kids born from around 1995 and onwards. One interesting figure is that the kids find it extremely hard to give up Internet. The kids rather give up money, renting movies or attending sports events than missing out on what´s happening online. One explanation for this comes from another answer to the questionnaire, telling us that the kids can be themselves more online than in real life. They feel more comfortable having conversations in writing than face to face, and I guess if that´s the case, you will feel a bit lost as a person if you miss out on that very same level of conversation.

What does it mean in the long run though? That we will avoid meeting people physically? That we have two identities - one online and one offline? Who knows. But somehow it´s comforting to know that the kids have a place where they can express who they are and talk freely.

Thanks JWT Intelligence! While others give snapshots of cool campaigns in daily newsletters, you give deeper knowledge in your reports. I like :) 

Trend: post a picture of you wearing a brand, and get a pressie!

The latest trend report from Trendwatching.com presents "M(etail)" and a part of that trend where clothes brands offer customers rewards for posting pictures of themselves wearing the brand. Clever! 


I have been waiting for the real reward revolution, when we actually get something for Liking and checking in, but perhaps the power of the whole trend is that it´s driven by altruism. You like it because you like it, not because you are bought, hence the relationship is more honest and real.  


Here are some of the examples from Trendwatching.com brief: 

RNKD: Winning wardrobes

Users of RNKD are awarded points for uploading photos of clothes and accessories in their closet. The more points a user has, the better their chances of winning a prize, with rewards including Zappos gift cards.

VANCL Star: Share your style and earn

Customers of VANCL, one of China’s largest fashion e-tailers, can set up their own personal stores as part of the brand’s VANCL Star initiative. Customers can upload photos of themselves wearing Vancl products, and as well as highlighting potential combinations and styles, they get 10% of sales generated from their pages.

Zara People!

Brands too can easily tap into this trend. Zara’s People! initiative asks fans of the brand to upload photos of themselves wearing at least two items from the Spring/Summer 2012 collection. Each week, a selection of photos are published on the brand’s website, with featured contributors winning EUR 300.

Fopping.com: Friend-based discounts

Fopping.com is an Indian startup where consumers get discounts for sharing potential purchases with their social networks. The more friends a user has, the lower the price they pay.

Dove does it again! A message of love to women...

Dove made it to the headlines and hearts a few years back with its much loved ad where a normal looking girl is photoshopped into a stunner (as we are trained to see a stunner...). Now an Australian campaign has created a new campaign that is in line with the message "we love you as you are". Spotted by Psfk:

"Dove has released a Facebook app in Australia that lets users create targeted advertising that would essentially replace negative Facebook ads – the ones promoting cellulite creams, bigger busts, or diet fads. The ‘Ad Makeover’ app is part of Dove’s ‘Real Beauty’ campaign to promote positive female body image. The app allows the user to select one of eight encouraging messages, such as “The perfect bum is the one you’re sitting one,” or “Think of your cups as half full.” The user can then target a group of women to send the message to, for example those thinking about love, career, or travel on their profiles."

 
This is the classic Dove evolution, a reminder:

 

The message is clear. The brand aims to make you feel Awesome! But some of its campaigns have succeeded, and some have not. I´m not sure about the ads showcasing "normal" female bodies; does it really sell the brand?

We are all born into a culture where we strive for perfection, and aspire to be flawless due to anxciety or fear, but still there, real. A brand might have to accept that we are not as inspired by people looking like ourselves, so is it a financially sustainable strategy to use regular girls? I believe that it woudl be fantastic if it was, but I have my doubts.  A magazine with a picture of me and my wrinkles and pimples would not sell as well as a magazine with a picture of a supermodel. In this new campaign, however, the brand finds a way to make a point without creating a subconscious connection between Dove and looking average...

"We know drama" campaign entertains the world

Yesterday I had a chat with a friend about marketing, and that it´s not money but cleverness that leads to success. You can´t force your brand on to people by showing your ad in every little corner of their lives, but you need to awaken their interest, find an insight about them that you can use to get into their hearts. Small experiential, crazy, creative campaigns can easily win over a big brand bang.

This is one recent example of a campaign that has raised eyebrows all over the world.

 

One reservation is though that I when I tried to bring up this as an example in the conversation with my friend, I could not remember what brand who had paid the bill for it. After a few seconds I "felt" it was a tv channel - which turned out to be right - but I had no relation what so ever with the brand. I´m Swedish, living in Sydney or Stockholm though, and would hardly sign up for a Belgian TV channel anyway, and I assume the brand is recognised for those living in Brussels, who is the target, but still... Do we get so absorbed in a cool idea that we forget that our job is to market?

The goal is not to entertain the world. The video has 30 million views on YouTube, while Belgium has 11 million citizens... These kind of wicked happenings can never be the core of a marketing campaign, but rather an add-on, a spice to the meat that gives it "personality", makes it different from the others and lets us bond on a deeper level. And as long as you combine an outburst with a more boring, traditional approach, this kind of cheap events can do wonders for a brand.

Love it! Thanks to the sponsor.... http://www.tnt-tv.be/ :)

Powerful ads about work environments in Jakarta

Today, the Inspiration Room newsletter inspired with these very powerful ads. They for sure creates a strong emotion out of a simple picture. Words unnecessary...

"JALA PRT, (Jaringan Nasional Advokasi Pekerja Rumah Tangga) the National Network for Domestic Workers Advocacy in Indonesia, is running a print advertising campaign featuring domestic workers metaphorically wrung out in unjust work environments. “When domestic helpers themselves need help”.

Credits

The Jala PRT campaign was developed at Ogilvy, Jakarta, by executive creative director/copywriter Gary Caulfield, executive creative director/copywriter Jagdish Ramakrishnan, copywriters Purnadyka Anantha and Pribadi Prananta, art directors Ridward Ongsano, Nicholas Kosasih and Alfa Aphrodita, photographer Handri Karya, retoucher Heru Suryoko, prop master Aldo Ikhwanul Khalid, account executive Arianna Christanti, working with JALA PRT educator Lita Anggraini.

I´m Swedish again...

After 6.5 years in Sydney I have now moved to Sweden again... Big change, especially clothes wise. My God, it´s cold, and my hair is static. But people are really nice, and I´ve already attended my first seminar at Berghs, about digital projects, and adland is 100% less pretentious than in Sydney. Refreshing! I will be back blogging again when my head is in the right space and not whimsical from travelling and sleeping for too long. Cheers, I now come in Swedish again (but don´t worry, I will keep on blogging in English :)

Texts in simple fonts are taken less seriously

It´s not what you say; it´s how you say it. We all know that body language is extremely important when communicating face to face, but not as obvious is that fonts is a kind of body language for the written communication. Which can explain the appeal of Heinz Baked Beans for lazy bachelors...

Roger Dooley´s describes an interesting study in his book "Brainfluence":

“Researchers presented people with a description of a menu item printed in either a simple font or a harder-to-read font. The subjects who saw the difficult font rated the skills needed by the chef significantly higher than the subjects who saw the simple font.”

The researcher´s explanation was that long descriptions with big words will slow down the reader and imply that more effort and skill go into preparing the dish.

Other research, by Hyunjin Song and Norbert Schwartz, showed that when a text was in a simple font people believed the commitment to whatever the text was about would be easier. One group saw exercises described in a simple font and another group saw the same text in a complicated font. The second group thought that the exercise would take nearly twice as long, 15.1 minutes instead of 8.2 minutes. A similar test where people read instructions for a sushi recipe found that in Arial people thought it would take 5.6 minutes while in mistral 9.3 minutes.

Daniel Kahneman writes in his book “Thinking, fast and slow” that if you use color, you are more likely to be believed if your text is printed in bright blue or red than in middling shades of green, yellow, or pale blue. But if you want to write an instruction, research show that we perform better if the text is a little blurry, since this makes us frown and use system 2 (the logical part of the brain) more. Frowning normally accompanies cognitive strain and the effect is symmetric: when people are instructed to frown while doing a task, they actually try harder and experience greater cognitive strain.

For makers of technology this means you can attract tech-scared people by writing about your products with a simple font. For gyms, the same rule applies. But for skin care brands eager to tell us how complicated their products are, they should use as odd type as possible. For me as a blogger, I should not use Arial as the default font, but rather something complicated, to make you believe I´m smart :)

Petlovers for Obama - one of the Obama boards on Pinterest

Ok, Obama is on Pinterest and even if the number of followers is still less than 13,000, it will be super interesting how the social media digital savvy president will use the new medium. Brands and people are exploring, experimenting and discovering possibilities at the moment, and who knows where it will all end... I am moving overseas and put up all my items for sale on Pinterest - great way to use the site. How do you use it? 

This is one of Obama´s boards :) Another one is "Petlovers from Obama" and that has over 25,000 followers... http://pinterest.com/barackobama/pet-lovers-for-obama/

An article in Mashable describes the differences between the social media landscape in 2008 and today.

• In 2008, Facebook had 100 million users; today it has 800 million.
• In 2008, Twitter had 8 employees; today it has more than 400.
• In 2008, YouTube averaged 13 hours of video uploaded every minute; today it averages 48 hours.
• Foursquare did not yet exist.

And for Pinterest... Not even mentioned in the article from October 2011.

Top 10 uses of Pinterest according to Marketing Magazine: http://www.marketingmag.com.au/news/top10-uses-of-pinterest-by-brands-12590/

Oh Lego, brings out the best in ad agencies!

I really like most of the Lego campaigns; they are most times quirky and fresh thinking. This is the latest; don´t you love it too? :)


Reported by Inspiration Room today:

Lego imagines The Simpsons, South Park, Bert and Ernie, Donald Duck, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, The Smurfs, Lucky Luke Daltons, Asterix and Obelix in this print advertising campaign designed at Jung von Matt Hamburg. The minimalist concept takes the Simpsons Lego approach already shared online, and applies it to other popular cartoon characters. The Imagine ad was developed at Jung von Matt, Hamburg, by executive creative director Deneke von Weltzien, creative director Karsten Ruddigkeit, copywriters Corinna Ernst and Johannes Milhoffer, art director Reza Ramezani, account director Marc-Olaf Duncker, account team Alex Berg, Bettina Kreiger and Jasmin Mirsberger. Post production was done at The Scope. Other creative Lego ads - collected by http://www.otherfocus.com/ Thanks! :) LEGO are colorful, plastic bricks which you can use to build pretty much everything you like. This is a very popular game and to promote it some more, a couple of company’s have made an advertising campaign for LEGO. I would like to show you these campaigns. Lego Advertisement Campaign by Blattner Brunner Credits Agency: Blattner Brunner, USA Executive Creative Directors: Jay Giesen, Dave Kwasnick Art Director: Derek Julin Lego Advertisement Campaign by Saatchi & Saatchi Build it. Lego Credits Agency: Saatchi & Saatchi, Singapore Creative Director: Andy Greenaway Copywriter: Stuart Harricks, Roger Makak Art Director: Stuart Harricks Photographer: Dean Zillwood, Idc Photographers Nz. Lego Advertisement Campaign by Ogilvy Lego. Imagine. Credits Advertising Agency: Ogilvy, Malaysia Executive Creative Directors: Gavin Simpson, Robert Gaxiola Creative Director: Eric Yeo Art Director: David Stevanov Copywriters: Greg Rawson, Ross Fowler Illustrators: Tan Tsun, Wen Andrew, David Stevanov, Greg Rawson Lego Artists: Nicholas Foo Lego Builders: Too Jun Jie, Inessa Loh, Darshan Kadam Published: 2011 More about LEGO on the website www.lego.com.

What has God to do with Land Rover?

This ad is so cute. It speaks to the heart, to the inner longing for adventure, to get out and be part of nature instead of slaving away in a 9-5 job. Playing with the customer´s emotions around our human heritage - the earth, the sun, the wind, the water -  is much more prophane than playing with the emotions around wanting to fit in, be cool or have the latest gadgets because it´s technical benefits. 


What I wrote about yesterday is of course just as deep and sacred - our deep craving for love is a main driver for purchase of the shallowest of things.


Marketers will benefit from being a little philosophical in their approach, and search for the way their brands can bring people closer to what they really want, instead of serving them a thing that will satisfy a practical need. We may actually (subconsciously) buy "fresh food" because it is closer to God, or at least to the nature we are all a part of but separated from in our urban environments?

What about this pyramid, tracking our cooking of fresh food back to the shop, the farm, nature in general and to God? Coles and Woolworths are showing us shiny apples and genuine farmers, but should they also see how humans find peace and a belonging in the sacred nature and spirituality...? I also added "healthy living" in general, even if it´s a little away from the topic. Can you see how the apple goes from being something you eat, to something that connects you to a greater spirit?  


Dare to step out of the quant study research on what people think or say they want and not. Think broader, deeper, crazier, freer. Search for the inner truth that we may not be aware of but that instinctively drives us to a product or service. People at the office might give you a smirk smile, but as a planner you are there to inspire, shock and shake them into new ways of looking at a topic. If you were plain and blank, you won´t be useful, right...? 


Some poetry as inspiration: 

In all things of nature there is something of the marvellous. Aristotle (384 BC - 322 BC)

I believe in God, only I spell it Nature. Frank Lloyd Wright (1869 - 1959)

One cannot fix one's eyes on the commonest natural production without finding food for a rambling fancy. Jane Austen (1775 - 1817), Mansfield Park

After you have exhausted what there is in business, politics, conviviality, and so on - have found that none of these finally satisfy, or permanently wear - what remains? Nature remains. Walt Whitman (1819 - 1892)

Where the bee sucks, there suck I:
In a cowslip's bell I lie;
There I couch when owls do cry.
On the bat's back I do fly
After summer merrily.
Merrily, merrily shall I live now
Under the blossom that hangs on the bough.       William Shakespeare (1564 - 1616)

When you build an emotional connection between the brand and the consumer, you make sure the "target" is tied to your brand for longer. Just being "satisfied" is not enough; when people feel they will get more than a car, more than an apple, you have them loving the products with depth. Just look at how consumers who are emotionally connected to a retailer are more loyal to the shop: 

When men think of dating they shop like crazy!

The mating game is defining our priorities, how we shop and behave. It´s all about impressing, attracting, showing off. Is love (or sex) the biggest driver in shopping?

Roger Dooley reports on an interesting study in his book "Brainfluence":

"Geoffrey Miller, an evolutionary psychologist at University of New Mexico, primed two groups in different ways.

The first group was romantically primed by having to write about their ideal date.

The second group had to write about the weather. Each subject was then given an imaginary budget of both money and time to spend.

The romantically primed men turned into wild spenders, while the women in that group volunteered like crazy. The men did little volunteering, and the women spent little money."

Great insights if you want to sell expensive cars or have women help out with a charity... :)