Untangling the web of AdWorld

Making sense of why advertisers do what they do, and understanding it from every point of view.

[webofadworld]

Good vs Bad - Bad

Be Natural, "Pledge", Online and ambient

Leo Burnett, Sydney

Where to start with this one? It's like a campaign where everything has been tacked together with the hope that someone might see it as a singular epic movement.

Firstly, the "Pledge Wall". So I'm supposed to stop my busy day to re-write a failed New Year's resolution on a chalkboard and then feel good? What happen's to all the pledges? Do they get erased by a perky promo girl at the end of the day?

So I thought I'd have a look at the website, maybe there's an explanation there. Nothing much really, just "Day of Change" and some product shots. It asks me to make a pledge, either using one of the provided superhuman ones, or creating my own. I opt to create my own, though not sure what angle I'm supposed to be taking, I pledge to use less paper. I hit submit not sure what will happen next.

Oh! It's a printable coupon (read; printable. No scan on your smart phone at the register or NFC chips here) which really ties in with the whole environmental campaign. I get 50% off one of their products at Woolworths. So if I do get around to printing this thing off on A4 using my inkjet and remembering to take it to a Woolworths store, I may buy this product. Will I make repeat purchases at full price? Probably not. 

Oh, and as a side note while googling this campaign to try to understand it in any way, I find out that for every pledge one tree will be donated to Landcare. That part must have been blue-tacked onto the side of the campaign by the intern. 

I go back to the site to see if I can find my pledge and maybe read what others have pledged. After a brief search of the barren page I find nothing that stands out as a portal through to such a page. I'm out.

So, does ad clearly identify the brand? Well, the colours used are a hint,    and by the look of the ambient set up with the trees, wood paneling and the chalkboard it does feel much like the brand. But I don't think it could be identified from this. 

In terms of communicating the brand's unique promise, it does do this in a way, however not clearly. The message is not straight-up easy to understand, from what people have pledged on the wall, some have written fitness goals, and one just says "less coal". But all the suggested pledges from Be Natural and centered around food. 

"More of the Good Stuff" is the tagline for Be Natural, but this isn't really seen around the campaign, which again confuses the message. Then I'm seeing "The closer we are to nature, the better off we will be" slogans around the pledge wall. Again, there is no consistency or strong tie-in to the brand's message.

I don't think this campaign ticks the box of standing out among competitors. The health food section in any supermarket is a mass of natural colours of oak and honey, and the same tired looking cereal and nut bars. All health food snacks are natural, this campaign for Be Natural does nothing to differentiate them from all the others. 

Does it look and feel any different from any other brands using outdoor advertising and samples? No. It's the same old tired Fed Square/Queensbridge Square/Martin Place sampling. Be Natural haven't utilised anything natural from their surroundings, they haven't positioned the brand in an organic way using nature or even existing grass. They've simply done a pop-up style outdoor sampling and BYO'd some trees and a chalkboard. And they're asking consumers to reconnect with nature?

The brand has made an attempt to reinforce its positive values, but with other actual home-grown, small-time health food brands out there, I don't think a pop-up wood paneled store and a micro-site with no community engagement will change many people's perceptions or shape the brand too much.

To sum-up, I feel this campaign is very first-thought, unoriginal, and doesn't do much to define the brand. It has little to no shareability, and all the elements have a very "tacked on" feel about them. Be Natural have a lot of wishful thinking if they think that a consumer is going to do more than write a sentence on a chalkboard, grab a free muesli bar and continue on with their life 

[webofadworld]

Good vs Bad - Good

Coke, "Share a Coke", various mediums

Ogilvy

This was one of my favorite campaigns of 2011. It ticked all the boxes of what makes a good campaign, and I loved watching how easily it flowed onto each medium as the unveiled parts of it over the months.

First up, this couldn't have been more fitting to Coke's persona. The attributes of the brand can be clearly identified throughout each stage of the campaign. It's fun, it connects with young and old, it encourages people to get together and share experiences, and it works on a global level. 

The brand's slogan of "Open happiness" rings true, when you see the joy people felt at unexpectedly seeing their name on an iconic and timeless bottle, and sharing photos of bottles with friends and family.

The brand's tagline reinforces it's promise of bringing together friends, laughter, and good times. In a world where people are feeling more detached than ever, Coke brings joy to all ages with their Share a Coke campaign. 

Without the brand or the brand'c colours I feel that most people would be able to recognise this as a Coke campaign as it uses all the brand's attributes and its personality to speak to the target market. Unlike NAB's break-up campaign which would have been hard to guess was a for a bank due to its unusual approach, this campaign speaks for Coke in the brand's true personality.

 When Coke briefed Ogilvy on this campaign they were having problems; they had lost consumer's share of mind, and needed to reconnect with their target market. This campaign reached consumers on an emotional level and recaptured their love for the iconic brand. And they didn't stop at printing names. There were song dedications, with every name having its own personalised lyrics, this was tied in with the AFL Grand Final, there was even a free song with every bottle from the year on the label. This couldn't have been a more swifter way of grabbing one of Pepsi's only domains (the other being celebrities).

My facebook news feed was flooded with pictures of coke bottles everyday, and then the machines in shopping centres allowed people to print whatever name they wanted (provided it wasn't "Pepsi"). And then people were posting on each other's walls laughing over a friend's song lyrics, some people had a coke bottle as their profile picture! Coke had infiltrated my downtime in the most cunning and clever way possible. 

In terms of differentiating themselves from competitors, I don't think there's even a question. Although jumping on board the festival scene and Spotify is a little more Pepsi, however they managed it so seamlessly I would be fooled into thinking music and Coke were partnered all along. I would say this campaign would have had Pepsi and other major competitors very worried.

Not only did this campaign reach its objective of reconnecting with the target market in a natural and un-intrusive way, but the sales of Coke went through the roof just with a slight change to packaging, which goes to show the simplest and most cost effective ideas can often be the best.

[webofadworld]

A Cultural Approach to Branding in the Global Marketplace

Julien Cayla and Eric J. Arnould

Brands have become ubiquitous in global popular culture. The Coca-Cola logo and Nike swoosh are brand symbols that trigger myriad responses; their cognitive salience and ability to arouse passion are undeniable.

Only by embracing this cultural dimension of branding can scholars better understand the role of brands in the global marketplace.

The insistence on contrasting national cultures in terms of relatively simple binaries, such as individualism and collectivism. Moreover, individualism is little more than a definition of selfhood ascribed to American and Western European cultures. In contrast, collectivism represents what Americans and Western Europeans believe they are not.

International marketing scholars often urge brand managers to keep their brands consistent across cultural boundaries. Reibstein (2005, p. 176) states that “for a global brand to be a true global brand, it must also be consistent, not just in name, but in position and what it offers.”

Holt (2004) shows that iconic U.S. brands are successful because they are infused with culturally charged myths that help consumers deal with contradictions in their everyday experience. An important extension to Holt’s work would be to examine the different ways brands globalize. Similarly, can Chinese conglomerate brands do well in other brand environments such as Eastern Europe, where safety and authenticity are also important to consumers?

Earth Hour was observed in 24 major cities, including Dubai, Bangkok, and San Francisco (www.earthour.org). However, in the spirit of fostering the creativity of the event’s local organizers, the owners of the trademark retain almost no control over the way the brand is used, how the event is advertised, or how business partners are picked to endorse the event in other parts of the world.

Brands should be viewed as markers in a global system of symbolic differences—differences that can be mapped and dealt with to develop more effective theoretical and managerial insight.

[webofadworld]

Ads by Category - Global

Sony Bravia, "Bouncy Balls", TVC

Fallon

This one has a really fun, youthful mood portrayed by the use of colour, the backing track and by the animals (frog and dog).

The central idea of using the 250,000 bouncy balls to represent the pixels is something of a child's dream. The street used features a lot of pastels in the houses and cars in the background, contrasting the bouncy balls to perfectly represent the brighter picture quality of a Bravia TV. 

The track used evokes strong feelings of nostalgia, again returning to the child-like fantasy in this ad. There is a lot of symbolism in this TVC of adults being dragged from their mundane stupor (the woman looking out her window, the bikie character on the stairwell).

The use of vintage cars again reaches into those feeling of a more simpler time, along with the neighborhood style of houses lining the street.

The bouncy balls represent Sony bringing colour back into a now dull and lifeless world (note the lack of activity in the street).

This ad is perfect for a global market. With no dialogue and a simple metaphor for the product's core benefit (millions of pixels of colour mean a brighter visual) the ad has worldwide shareability.   

The simplicity of the copy; "Colour. Like no other" gives the impression that there is no questioning the quality of the product, it's a statement and it is clear and simple. The core message certainly cannot be missed in this TVC.

I think this ad does a fantastic job at getting a simple message across to its audience, not just in the execution, but also in a way that will ensure it is shared around the world and would never be regarded as invasive advertising. 

[webofadworld]

Ads by Category - Global

Guess, "Seductive", Print (From Cosmopolitan Magazine)

This ad has a very European feel to it, which is fine for the brand, however it may not translate as well in the Australian marketplace.

The Roman pillars in the background along with the sandy neutral colours give the ad a clean, expensive feel. This along with the choice of talent, being tanned (signifying wealth) and the typeface for the copy shows the advertiser is going for a high-end positioning.

The large product shot ensures that the message is not lost in the art direction. This is important as a lot of brand place their logo too far the the side or size it too small. 

[webofadworld]

The Face of Need:Facial Emotion Expression on Charity Advertisements

DEBORAH A.SMALL and NICOLE M.VERROCHI

What persuades people to give to charity? Far less research focuses on consumer spending for others’ welfare than on spending for a person’s own welfare.

Charitable giving warrants more specific attention and theory building because it uniquely involves generating consumersympathy for other people and worthy causes.

Pictures evoke emotion; however, the emotional response may depend on the nature of the picture. Certain picture attributes might more effectively appeal to sympathy than others.

Emotion expression on charitable appeals may be an important variable affecting donations. Expression is likely to cause contagion in observers, thus influencing observers’ emotional states automatically and outside of awareness.

However, the emotional bond may be disrupted when examining detailed information about the victim’s plight. This is not to say that information cannot induce sympathy but rather that it dilutes or even overrides the impact of emotional contagion.

it appears that people on the margin are more likely to opt to donate when the expression is sad than when it is happy or neutral, but those who would donate when viewing any emotion expression do not donate more money when that expression is sadness.

[webofadworld]

Ads by Category - Not For Profit

Accueil Nonneau Shelter, "Wild Game Benefit Dinner", DM

BCP Montreal

This execution is a very unusual approach for a charity to take. DM can be a very expensive way to reach your target market, and this piece is particularly involved.

The difficult thing with direct mail is ensuring it is opened and read. I would not doubt that this would have been opened by every recipient. The contrast between the creative and the art direction as such is brilliant, and definitely incites the reader to want to find out more.

The communication ties in brilliantly with the overall strategy, flowing on from the bullet saving lives message to the wild game menu.

I do feel that this ad could be controversial perhaps in a different target market, however with a wealthy, elitist audience there is going to be very little chance of a debate over weather it is appropriate to promote the eating of hunted of wild animals as a backwards way of saving human lives.   

[webofadworld]

Ads by Category - Not For Profit

Red Cross Japan Appeal, "Donate a Plate", Ambient

JWT Sydney

This campaign found an engaging feel good way for patrons to donate to the Japan tsunami relief in a non-invasive way.

The environment was highly applicable (sushi restaurants) and relevant to the overall message. This campaign gave donating loose change to a charity a meaningful experience, and allowed any sushi restaurant to easily get involved with minimal output.

People like to give to charity as it makes them feel good, by giving the action a more tangible product it becomes more appealing and an experience. People were able to support the cause while not being put out in anyway and while enjoying their usual meal with friends.

I think the idea of placing the plates in the sushi restaurant windows helped spread the campaign in an organic, non-invasive way as well as making the business appear ethical. 

[webofadworld]

B2B Marketers Need To Get Real About Social Media and Customer Engagement

Louis Columbus, Forbes

In 2013, its clear B2B prospects are already much more selective with their time.  They expect much more than just a data sheet or a series of choreographed PDFs to each of the stages of the buying process.  They want to know a company is in their corner and gets their problems – not at a simple level – but at the very heart of who the company is.  This is especially the case with B2B manufacturers who have deep expertise in solving complex problems.

Social media is how the current and next generation of B2B customers are choosing to learn about new solutions and stay current on brands they are loyal to.

It could just be the catalyst that reconnects them with their customers and ignites innovation through marketing, sales, and product development.

It could just be the catalyst that reconnects them with their customers and ignites innovation through marketing, sales, and product development. 

When asked about their company’s plans for investing in digital marketing over the next 12 months, 61% said they would be increasing spending in social media, 58% mentioned mobile applications and 54% said CRM. 

And while there are plenty of studies for and against the value of social media in B2B marketing in general and manufacturing specifically, it is unequivocal that how customers choose to learn is changing quickly for even the most marketing-driven companies.

Bottom line:  Customers are changing faster than many B2B marketers give them credit for.  Look at social media as an opportunity to continually earn customers’ trust by delivering useful, high valuable content continually and creating a solid platform of communication.

[webofadworld]

Ads by Category - Business to Business

Vancouver Convention Centre, "Conventions Should Inspire", Print

DDB Canada

DDB did a really great job of finding a simple truth with these executions. In this B2B ad series, clever copy coupled with very truthful art direction gives the Vancouver Convention Centre's message strong meaning.

This messaging is aimed at bosses and management types, and the purpose would have been to showing them a truth about employee's disinterest in dull conferences, usually spurred by dull surroundings.

The colours in this series are great, they are reminiscent of sitting through long boring church sermons, of visiting a great aunt in a nursing home, and even of an alcoholics anonymous meeting. Basically they look as though they would suppress creativity and drain inspiration from employees. 

The copy speaks the truth unquestionably. It doesn't allow managers to make exceptions in their minds about their own conference rooms, it gives them an insight into their employees inner thoughts and maybe even makes them feel uncomfortable. The typeface used is just as dull as the art direction - perfect and very harmonious.    

There isn't anyway the core message could be lost in these executions, they are clear and straight to the point and anyone who has attended a conference, or even held one, could easily relate. 

[webofadworld]

Ads by Category - Business to Business

Reflex, "Never Rely on Jason", TVC

OMG! Creative

Fear is a good emotion to use in advertising, and this TVC does well to incite it within management and bosses. A big client or important investor must never be displeased, everything must be executed perfectly to keep them happy. The worst that could happen is that one of your employees will under-represent the company, and subsequently yourself as a boss, in some way in front of this VIP.

The great thing about this ad is that it seems very viable. Everyone cringes when they see it. That pause after impact when the boss looks around for the culprit and you can feel his wrath through the screen. A viewer in a managerial position will cringe at the impact such a thing would have on the company, whereas the audience in an employee position would really feel that moment when Jason realises he is probably fired.

The ad really speaks to the Australian market, with the use of the name "Jason" which has great connotations, the international visitor speaking about staying in the Hilton, the footy being thrown around the office, not to mention the casting of the talent (Jason looks like an Aussie bloke and his mates don't move an inch let alone point the finger).

The "Never rely on Jason" line has staying power similar to the "Not happy Jan" of the Yellow pages. It's very relatable, every office or team has a "Jason" in their ranks.

Whether it sells paper I'm not sure, the message may not have a strong enough link. I don't know how much you need to 'rely' on paper in an office environment, so I'm not sure if it's the right positioning for Reflex. Perhaps when avoiding a paper jam, but then, that's usually the printer's fault.    

[webofadworld]

Short-Form DR Is the Best Way to Jump Into the Hot Retail Market

By Collette Liantonio

While Response and the Direct Marketing Association (DMA) agree that the size of the direct response market continues to grow — with revenue for DRTV, DR radio and DR-to-Web topping $400 million for the first time in 2011 — short-form DRTV media has gained a majority of that revenue.

Even more impressively, the space grew nearly 10 percent in the second half of 2011 alone, far better than both overall TV ad spending and digital/Web ad spending.

TV remains king when striving for retail success. “When TV is high, the retail numbers on a daily basis stay high,” Berger says. “The second it goes off TV, it falls immediately and you’ll be able to see it in the retail numbers.”

No DR campaign can afford to spend money on something that doesn't deliver during any part of the process. The effective use of research and data analysis plays a vital role in all aspects of a DR campaign, from the creative all the way to gleaning information from the companies that process the orders.

[webofadworld]

Ads By Category - Direct Response

Emart (Korea), "Sunny Sale", Ambient

Cheil Worldwide

This ambient idea is one of the only useful ways I have seen QR codes utilised. This campaign covers all bases; consumer engagement, shareability, it directly drives sales, it's inexpensive, and it's unique.

Emart successfully reached consumers in a non-invasive way, consumers went out of their way to engage with the brand.

Driving consumers directly to the website to make a sale avoids the usual issues of coupons being lost or forgotten about.

A fantastically simple way to make use of natural elements to solve a simple sales problem. 

[webofadworld]

Ads By Category - Direct Response

Coles, "Car Insurance", Coles Magazine

In-house

Coles have done a really good job at positioning their insurance brand in the market so shortly after releasing it. This DR ad has all the usual elements, cluttered with phone numbers, disclaimers, information and a price point.

Keeping in line with the overarching brand using the reds and the big red hand, this creative makes an easy transition from groceries to insurance.

The use of white space in the top half of the page really keeps the ad as clean as possible, with the message left to simple dot points and the call to action at the bottom. 

Nothing too unique to Coles, but fits in with the brand and also helps to differentiate their Car Insurance product in a saturated marketplace. 

[webofadworld]

Evaluation of Retailers’ vs Customers’ Views on the Usage of Advertising as Communication Tool

Hemant J. Katole, University of Pune, Pune, India, 2012

"Those retailers who desire to begin a large scale campaign may, of course, resort to advertising via Cable Television, Newspaper, radio, Billboards, Leaflets/flyers, Magazine, Website / Internet, E-mail. The advertising campaign will be successful if the advertising frequency increase up to five to six times during one or two week so that the customer would aware with the service or product and most important with the store." 

The above paragraph explains the need for frequency in retail advertising. Frequency is needed to remind the consumer of the sale, is it is not the kind of advertising that is engaging and generally interesting enough to be remembered.

"Rossiter & Percy (1997) focuses on the two brands a retailer has to advertise: the products sold and the store brand. Fulop (1988) points out how the retailer mix is composed from a differentiation strategy to promote the store through the retailer name. All the sources emphasise the main goals/objectives as increasing store traffic, creating store loyalty, stabilise volume and placing the store in the consumers’ mind (Hathcote, 1995)."

The above paragraph explains the reasons why a retailer will advertise brands within their store; to increase traffic, create store loyalty, and place the store top of mind.

"From the analysis, it is clear that both the retailers and customers have ranked Newspapers as the most preferred medium for placing their advertisements. The other advertisement media used by the customers for collecting the information about the store are radio, magazines, and internet. Hence, along with newspapers, the retailers should also use radio, billboards, magazines, & internet as advertisement media for placing their advertisements."

[webofadworld]

Ads By Category - Retail

Ikea, "Smallest Store in the World", Web Banner

Ogilvy Action

http://www.smalleststoreintheworld.com/banner/en/index.html - Interactive Banner example

This ad makes really good use of the space in an online banner to get the central message across - Ikea makes the most of space.

This ad allows the user to interact and engage with the brand and understand its core values.

This creative execution takes the essence of Ikea's success (furniture superstore) and turns it on its head.- a tiny store. 

This ad has a higher propensity to drive sales as it isn't ambiguous creative, the audience is interacting with the products and can purchase in a mouse click. How many web banners can get a consumer to do that?   

[webofadworld]

Ads By Category - Retail

Coles "Mix" ad, Coles Magazine

In-house

This print ad is very plain and simple. White clean space in the background, product shot in the foreground, price point, and brand.

The look and feel of the ad is very Target-est, which is an interesting approach. Notice the Coles logo is very small in the bottom right-hand corner. 

The ad comes across as fun and sells the brand as simple, easy fashion at a reasonable price. The choice of a red vest and red polka dot jumper would not be a coincidence, the red and white colour scheme is Coles branding, this helps to position the Mix brand clearly and simply.

Very simple creative, aimed to sell products quickly.