Extra! Extra! Read All About It! (9/10/19)
'Knowledge comes, but wisdom lingers.' - Alfred Lord Tennyson
The Chicken Or The Egg, What Came First? A Question That Many Have Debated For Ages.
Before social media, OOH advertising (out-of-home) was key. Print ads were partnered with branded billboards. Guerilla marketing with stickers all over the streets or posters throughout the subways were key in making a brand successful. Slowly but surely social media crept in. Small budgets began to go towards influencers, known as bloggers originally. This followed with larger budgets going to influencers on social media platforms, Instagram in particular now can require as much as 25K per post (yes, that's ONE Instagram post) for certain talents, and that is not even the extreme budget side. Yes, these days brands are utilizing digital marketing like no other, from Instagram for the millennial audience to TikTok for the Gen Z audience and so on. This is not news, of course. However, there is a change in the wind. There is now a need for social media to partner with OOH advertising. One cannot stand without the other (at least not as successfully thanks to the algorithms). Two recent strong examples are Jaja and Fanta (and previously Bumble, highlighted in a previous post HERE).
Jaja first utilized Instagram to gain consumer insight. The brand photoshopped a Jaja tequila truck on an Instagram post and only once the response they received numerous comments and emails asking about, did they create a real-life truck decorated to their brand theme. It’s like happy hour on wheels, who would not love it?! (source)
Fanta, on the other hand, created billboards and posters that included shareable AI filters and sticker packs when connected with Snpachat. They utilized the streets, social media and television to build brand awareness as the new message of the brand focuses on individualism (source).
Trolling On Another Level
If you can't take a joke, get out of the kitchen. Or in this case, get out of McDonalds and head to Burger King. Once again the fast-food giant has one-upped their rival. This time, the king is going after Ronald McDonald under the disguise of the movie "It Chapter Two."
The new campaign, #EscapeTheClown, geo-targets customers with messages on Facebook and Instagram when they are inside a McDonalds (currently in Germany only) to use their phone to scan an article in the McDonald's movie magazine, which will then allow a popup button of "Escape the Clown" to appear that when clicked will show ballons with a coupon for a one-cent Whopper. Not only does this encouragement give a discount for the BK empire, but it also gives directions to the nearest location with a countdown as this is a limited time only offer for each customer. (source)
FOMO
In the early days of social media, giveaways were everything. Promoting a giveaway on any social platform guaranteed your account to grow some major followers. These days, such promotions are seen unauthentic and do very little for the brand. The likes are gained, some email signups are completed, but very little followers remain past the giveaway timeline.
Instead, it's all about the limited edition, exclusivity aspect. Supreme build an entire company around limited edition this and that, from metro cards to bricks to sometimes actual clothes. Sneaker brands are even more known for having limited-edition kicks for which people line up around multiple blocks if not even overnight. I personally remember someone being stabbed in SOHO in NYC because they tried to cut the line for the latest sneaker launch.
Now the food market is jumping on the bandwagon. From Popeyes to Chick-Fil-A to Shake Shack to Dos Toros and so on. In fact, the limited edition drop of the Popeyes chicken sandwich was so hyped up that it even sold for hundreds of dollars on eBay. Celebrities were tweeting and posting on all social media for FREE in order to have just one reserved for their taste buds, including Cardie B and even Gayle King (that's one degree away from Oprah approving your brand name; one can only dream of getting so lucky).(source)
Girls Just Wanna Have Fun!
Experiential and "Instagramable" moments are everything these days. From restaurants with "so so" food but perfectly positioned decor for photos (I won't name names) to stores with the most colorful and crazy product stations for (drum roll, please) Instagram. One brand that has mastered the market with both is Lush. Not only is the entire store full of areas with bright colorful products, all positioned as the perfect backdrops for Instagram, but there are stations to play with the product.
Inside the open store space, there are several stations to play with the product, enjoy the sents and be helped by the brand staff to find the right product for whatever you need, including relaxation or smoother skin. Now there are also closed off spa areas where you can enjoy customized treatments of the products from the store.
This is brilliant and exactly where brands need to go with their physical locations. If someone comes in for their social media, they will promote your brand for free. AND if someone comes in for one item, they may stay around for hours, which could greatly increase the value of their product purchase. (source)
Nostalgia
Emotions control us, whether we want to admit it or not. More specifically emotions from memory. Certain ads, cartoons, food items, or songs can trigger a childhood happy memory, or so Dum Dum is hoping with their new ads utilizing Shel Silverstein-style sketches with the candy. Not only is there sweet and funny storytelling within the ads for the current generations, but they also have a child memory poke for the grownups that may want to buy the candy for their kids or even grandkids, especially with Halloween around the corner. (source)
'What's In A Name? That Which We Call A Rose By Any Other Name Would Smell As Sweet'
The most recent advertising for Doritos does not actually include its name or logo. This is truly billiant because as the traingle continues to be connected with Doritos on social media, OOH advertising, print and television, there will be no one that doesn’t subconciously think of the chip whenever seeing a simple shape out in the world.
The concept is also a great play on the Milineial and Gen Z audience, who do not want to be labled by society. (source)












