INSPIRING OBSERVATIONS FROM AROUND THE GLOBE | 2013 | ISSUE 1
DESIGN,
WITHOUT
US
The Power of Generative Design
WHERE CLASSIC MEETS STREET
The Juxtaposition of High Culture & Street Culture
VIEWING SPREE
Inspiring a New Way of Telling Brand Stories
DESPERATELY SEEKING CREATIVE VISION
Are Celebrities the Answer?
SENTIMENTALITY VS. HUMOR
The Battle Over Hearts & Minds
IN THIS ISSUE
In this issue of ANTHEM SIGHTINGS,
we see the influence of what’s
popping in today’s culture across
marketing, innovation, branding, and
design. Our findings suggest that on
balance the world is finally feeling
a bit brighter and energized. Going
back to our forecast for the year—a
year that will be smarter, simpler, and
richer—we find evidence of each.
YOU+NEW!+FREE 4
The Winning Formula in Personalized Shopping
WHERE CLASSIC MEETS STREET 6
The Juxtaposition of High Culture & Street Culture
THE BUZZ 7
PINK OR BLUE BRANDING 8
Changing Gender Norms
VIEWING SPREE 10
Inspiring a New Way of Telling Brand Stories
DESIGN, WITHOUT US 11
The Power of Generative Design
EMOTION RULES? 14
But I Just Need it to Work
DESPERATELY SEEKING CREATIVE VISION 16
Are Celebrities the Answer?
SENTIMENTALITY VS. HUMOR 17
The Battle Over Hearts & Minds
OUR COVER: This issue’s front cover was
created using a Generative Design tool called
Scatter Brush in Adobe Illustrator
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SIGHTINGS: 2013, ISSUE 1
3
INNOVATION
BRANDING
INNOVATION
YOU+NEW!+FREE
The Winning Formula in
Personalized Shopping
Let’s face it, as much as shopping can thrill our
endorphins, it can also be a drag. How often has
one experienced the hunt of all day shopping only
to come home empty handed because nothing
fit? Or sought out a unique item only to find the
expected? Plus, most of us would love to stay on
top of trends and be fashionably dressed, but
who has the time to peruse all the Fashion Week
videos and fashion blogs to stay on top of it all?
Leveraging a proprietary
system that “learns” a
woman’s style over time
based on her likes and
dislikes, Stitch Fix sends a
box of clothing fit for each
woman’s unique tastes. In
the end, she decides what
she keeps and what she
sends back—risk-free.
Enter personalized shopping, which is gaining
scale this year. Not only are traditional retailers
trying to bring personalization from online
into the store, there are also host of shopping
services that use personalization to resolve these
shopping pain points (many of which are startups receiving incremental investment funding
to scale up and reach a broader audience). In
doing so, these services simplify the shopping
experience and increase the odds of shopping
success, while at the same time create allure
and a sense of discovery by offering new, unique
curated products. It’s a blend of Pandora meets
Shoedazzle meets Zappos—personalized, curated
shopping baskets that get more attuned to you
over time, combined with risk-free returns.
STITCH FIX is one example. While the service
appears to be just a shopping site, it does have
a higher purpose—get women into the clothes
that match their personalities to help them look
and feel their best. Celebrities are lucky enough to
have stylists to achieve this objective. But if one
can’t afford her own personal stylist, Nordstrom
doesn’t carry the cool labels she’s seeking, or
she simply has no time to shop but wants to be
stylish and on-trend, then Stitch Fix might just be
the solution. Choose a style, get served up pieces
of fashion, tell them what you like and don’t
like, and Stitch Fix’s proprietary technology gets
smarter over time about who you are and your
personal tastes. Styles one doesn’t like can be
sent back for free, keeping the service risk-free.
Yet, smartly, Stitch Fix provides an incentive to
hold on to those pieces; keep all of them, and get
25 percent off your order.
TRUE & CO offers a similar service focused on
personal items, primarily bras. The pain point the
company is trying to resolve is less about staying
on trend and more focused on making a wouldbe painful shopping experience more pleasant.
Finding bras that fit and are comfortable is not
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SIGHTINGS: 2013, ISSUE 1
easy, but with True & Co one takes a simple online
survey, and the company finds the perfect bra fit
to deliver an experience equivalent to what the
company calls a “personalized lingerie shop.”
A similar model to Stitch Fix, True & Co sends a
total of five styles—three of which the shopper
picks and two that the company selects—and
offers a risk-free try and ship back offer.
WANTFUL takes on the challenging task of
gift giving, again offering personalization as
the answer. With the gift card getting tired,
Wantful now provides a better gift solution when
one simply doesn’t know what to buy. Enter
information about the gift recipient’s likes and
lifestyle based on the online probes, and Wantful
offers up gift suggestions. Pick the top items in
your price range, and Wantful adds the beautiful
touch of printing and sending a personalized
catalog of your gift selections to the recipient.
The lucky recipients simply pick from their
personalized, curated gift offers, and your job is
done.
but are also creating new distribution channels
for marketers’ products. From start-ups to
established players, these new channels can offer
opportunities to reach niche consumer groups
or can provide a platform to test new product
concepts. Marketers should also keep an eye on
these sites for inspiration that can range from up
and coming trends to possible acquisition targets.
Finally, these new services should be seen for
what they are—simplified, yet powerful, shopping
experiences. Consumers are looking for help in
simplifying their lives today, and these services do
more for them while requiring less time and effort.
Beyond simply appearing hip and new, these new
personalization sites attempt to solve a consumer
problem by making the shopping experience more
fulfilling and successful.
Wantful brings relief to gift
givers everywhere, providing
a beautiful, customized
catalog of gifts specifically
curated for the recipient
based on information
provided by the gifter. Then,
it’s up to the recipient to
choose the perfect gift.
These new services are not only changing the
retail and shopping experience for shoppers,
5
INNOVATION
BRANDING
Famous in street art circles of New
York, FAILE was enlisted by the NYC
Ballet to help promote the inaugural
“Art Series” installation currently
on exhibit at the ballet during two
performances this year. In an effort to
further expand the reach of the Ballet
to broader audiences, promotional
posters and ads for the Art Series
performances were also placed in
younger, more diverse neighborhoods
such as the Lower East Side and East
Village.
the
buzz
on
[ #REAL-TIME MARKETING ]
Fashion has long had a
relationship with street art,
but seldom do we see this
relationship be embraced by
luxury brands. Louis Vuitton most
recently engaged three street
artists to design patterns for a
line of silk scarves for its 2013
collection. In the words of Aiko, an
artist featured in the collection,
the designs “break the rules”
and “break the tradition.” With
the scarves, the high-end fashion
house hopes to refresh its brand
and reach a wider market.
Tiffany & Co. commissioned
four artists to beautify
the plywood exterior that
surrounded the jewelry
retailer’s brand new SoHo
site while under construction.
One of the artists was Ellis
Gallagher, a famed street
artist known for his sidewalkchalk drawings found in and
around New York City.
Why is it real-time? Because it’s spontaneous
and done on the fly in response to a live event.
A brand campaign that’s done in character and
extemporaneously, not planned, that generates
positive consumer buzz. Contrast it to “Scripted
Moments:” brand attempts to be in the moment,
yet pulled off with pre-planned assets that come
across as forced and anything but spontaneous.
THE TAKE
Success breeds copycats. The
challenge is figuring out the secret
sauce that allows you to successfully
fast follow. In this case, it’s about
being poised vs. planned. Being in
character vs. being on brand.
OREO AT THE SUPER BOWL
WHERE CLASSIC MEETS STREET
The Juxtaposition of High Culture & Street Culture
Today we’re seeing a symbiotic relationship being formed between street culture and high culture. High-end brands and
street art are merging and leveraging each other to grow their audiences and bring their polar worlds closer together,
mutually benefiting from what each has to offer. Street culture is loosely defined as a set of behaviors and values belonging
to a group of people that are highly influenced by the urban environment in which they live, and its style of art has
traditionally represented all that is “hip,” a source for fresh, raw perspectives. Recently, adopting street art has become
a tactic for mature and sophisticated luxury brands to break free from their traditional reins and position themselves in
a way that is more accessible to the masses. Partnerships with street artists bring high culture within the world of the
hyper-relevant and provide an avenue for marketers to refresh and expand the reach of their brands. Likewise, street art
also stands to benefit, as it increasingly gains widespread respect and recognition as a highly regarded art form from an
audience it seldom has had the opportunity to reach.
WHAT IT MEANS FOR MARKETERS
Nearly every brand goes through periods of downturn when it needs to regain relevance. It’s best to be vigilant about
maintaining consumer loyalty before a brand falls into crisis. Tapping into cultural trends that are relevant to your
consumers and growth targets, such as street culture, is one way to reinvigorate brands. This approach can also
bring welcome energy to a brand, adding an unexpected element that creates consumer intrigue. So, go ahead and
experiment and don’t assume these niche groups are too out of reach. Such groups just might give your brand a new
perspective.
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SIGHTINGS: 2013, ISSUE 1
T
his year’s Super Bowl wasn’t all just fun and games. During the second
half of the game, half of the lights went out in the Superdome delaying
the game for over 30 minutes. During that break Oreo sent out a tweet:
“Power out? No problem. You can still dunk in the dark.” It received over
15,000 retweets from consumers and kudos from the social marketing
community for its quick quip.
Proof yet again, best
cookie of all time RT @
Oreo: Power out? No
problem.
@amygdudley
Dunk on! Thanks for
a super Super Bowl
moment.
Scot Morrison
@Oreo, wow, very well
played! Could go for an
Oreo right now..
@JadeEmily
7
CONSUMER
CONSUMER
worth watching to see if the merchandising and
packaging executions will be more authentic and
demonstrate real change.
While historically only offered
in a purple color palette, the
Easy-Bake Oven from Hasbro
will be launched later this year
in black and silver in order to
appeal to a wider audience, in
particular, boys.
PINK OR BLUE BRANDING
Changing Gender Norms
In today’s society we are seeing a shifting or
blurring of adult gender roles, and recently
we’re starting to see this play out in the land
of children’s toys. While women take on more
traditional male roles, such as becoming Fortune
500 CEO’s, and men take on more expected
female roles, as seen in the growing population
of stay-at-home dads, toy brands are challenging
gender stereotypes for kids, catching up to what’s
happening in the grown-up setting. Ironically
for toys, which represent the world of play and
imagination, there is generally a rigid and stark
divide across gender lines—from types of toys,
to colors and design, to merchandising and
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SIGHTINGS: 2013, ISSUE 1
advertising. Let’s look at three examples where
toy marketers are confronting norms and going
beyond simple pink or blue branding.
Making worldwide headlines this past holiday
season, TOP-TOY, a Swedish toy retailer,
featured in its catalog girls playing with toy
guns and boys playing with dolls. The move was
in response to previous complaints that the
company was not more gender neutral (in line
with the country’s strong focus on equality). In
addition to the advertising, in-store signage
and store brand packaging will also move to
reflect a gender-neutral stance. Admittedly, the
images of kids playing in reversed roles seem
somewhat staged and a token step, so it will be
Also garnering much press attention was HASBRO
and its Easy-Bake oven. Given how many men
love cooking and the number of male celebrity
chefs as role models, it’s somewhat surprising
that the company currently only offers the oven
in a “girly” purple version. Thanks to the efforts
of McKenna Pope, a teenager who petitioned
Hasbro to offer a toy design that would appeal to
boys—namely her younger brother—the company
will release a new black and silver model later
this year. Intentionally or not, with the purple
version, Hasbro was bolstering stereotypes that
ovens are for girls and not for boys. From this
insight, it will be interesting to see if the company
reviews its entire product portfolio to see if it can
break from convention and broaden its consumer construction set. The importance of this toy is not
base, offering more choices that ultimately may
the outer trappings that may seem “girly,” but
increase its market share.
that it exposes little girls to other options and
expands their perspective.
In addition to building a business, Debbie Sterling
creator of GOLDIEBLOX is on a mission to affect
While the examples above focus on toys, the
society at large. She holds a degree in engineering learnings can be applied more broadly. For any
and is looking to change the lopsided statistic
product or service, the consumer target is one
that 90 percent of engineers are men. She, too,
of the first marketing questions to be answered.
recognizes that gender norms are defined at an
Perhaps that question should be reframed—
early age. “If we want more female engineers,
should a product be designed and marketed to a
we need to open their minds to engineering at
specific gender, should it be gender-neutral, or
a young age.” With that in mind, she purposely
should two versions be launched, one for each
focused on developing a toy for girls. While on
gender? Once that decision is made, marketers
the surface GoldieBlox seems to fit gender norms should consider stereotypes and norms and how
with pastel colors, curved shapes, and soft
they may or may not play into our shifting modern
materials, at its core it is teaching girls about
society. In answering that question, there is a
basic engineering principles. The toy is part of
real opportunity for marketers to help shape and
an engaging story where problems are solved
evolve society—to showcase possibilities and
by constructing different devices. To some the
give consumers, from an early age to adulthood,
toy may seem to embrace and reinforce many
more choice in how they live their lives.
stereotypes, but similar to the earlier example
that most young boys would not want to play
with a “girly” oven, so too, most (not all) young
girls would not want to play with a “boyish”
After receiving complaints
that the company was not
gender neutral enough, Top
Toy in Sweden revamped their
catalog to show boys and
girls playing with similar toys.
9
DESIGN
CONSUMER
VIEWING SPREE
Inspiring a New Way of Telling Brand Stories
From the use of VCR’s to DVD’s, then DVR’s to video
on demand, over the last two decades consumers have
taken more control over when and how they engage with
entertainment. Add to this the trend of TV stations showing
series marathons instead of weekly airings, and we now find
what’s been a growing entertainment habit of what many
are calling “binge viewing.” Playing to this habit, Netflix
launched its first entertainment series, House of Cards,
releasing all thirteen episodes at the same time—the first
show to ever do so.
One might have heard an announcer say, “Viewer, pace
yourself.” Yet, there’s something about binge viewing that
draws us in. Beyond our lack of patience to see how a story
is resolved, we hypothesize that this viewing behavior
provides a richer storytelling experience. When watching
the shows in quicker succession, we find that it’s easier
to understand and track the full intent of the storyline and
pick-up on character development. While the conventional
belief would be that it’s best to create suspense and
longing, putting control of media consumption into the
hands of the viewer actually results in a deeper and
stronger engagement.
In Australia, ABC’s (Australian
Broadcasting Corp) iView platform
provides quality content for free and
on demand, serving viewers’ desire to
stream content that can be consumed on
various devices, anytime, anywhere.
WHAT IT MEANS FOR MARKETERS
“Binge viewing” certainly presents challenges for brands,
from consumers skipping ads altogether to an ad really not
being aired at the time a brand purchased to not having
an accurate read on viewership since Nielsen currently only
tracks viewership within 7 days of airing. A few actions a
brand owner can take to try and alleviate at least the first
challenge is to ensure the brand content is worth watching
in the first place, create ways for further engagement, and
find the right media vehicles beyond TV to ensure it reaches
the eyes it is targeting.
DESIGN,
WITHOUT US
A look into how Generative Design can
influence the future of the creative process.
But we don’t think this trend is all bad news. The
opportunity we see is to use it as inspiration to break the
traditional commercial model of reach and frequency of
a singular message. Rather, this trend further fuels the
argument for a content strategy that is multi-faceted and
integrated, one that builds a richer story line over time.
How can you tell your brand’s story over a series that can be
viewed more sequentially? How can you build your brand’s
character through multiple touchpoints that convey varying
messages and reveal multiple sides of the brand to create
a richer picture? Just like with binge viewing of TV series, by
doing so you just might build deeper brand connections.
Netflix’s foray into its own produced
entertainment, House of Cards, took
the unique approach of launching all
thirteen chapters of its Season 1 all at
one time, consistent with being an on
demand digital network.
To combat the “binge” viewing
habit and resulting non-viewing
of TV ads, DDB Brussels has
created a “slowmercial” for
the Volkswagen Beetle. What
does that look like? An ad that
is designed to move slowly so
that a consumer can still get
the takeaway even if it’s fastforwarded through, essentially
behaving like a print ad.
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SIGHTINGS: 2013, ISSUE 1
11
DESIGN
DESIGN
DESIGN, WITHOUT US//
A STUDY OF GENERATIVE DESIGN
MOVEMENTS
THE POWER OF
GENERATIVE DESIGN
MIT MEDIA LAB//
Generated from a custom algorithm, MIT Media Lab’s logo
has 40,000 variations and 12 color combinations.
is still a product of handpicked parameters by skilled designers.
This technology simply makes designers and their talents that
much more powerful.
With technology impacting almost every aspect of how we live,
it’s no wonder that we now find the momentum turning towards
design and design methods. Generative Design will have implications for marketers and designers alike. It will require all of
us to open ourselves up to seeing beauty in the calculated chaos
of this continually evolving method. For designers, Generative
Design suggests a new way of working, a new set of tools, and a
new way of approaching the creative process. For marketers, the
task at hand is to discover a way to tap into generative design
while it’s still in its early stages and see how it can be leveraged
for creative executions. Every industry undergoes change; technology will do the same for design and those involved with it.
THE GOLDEN MEAN
The ancient Greeks’ use of the simple ratio 1 to 1.61803
seems simple enough, but within that seemingly benign
computation much of their world of architecture, sculpture, and art was imagined—no two structures alike and
yet, each with its own distinct, unifying rationale.
LEFT: The Statue of Goddess Athena (c. 340 BCE), at the Piraeus
Museum, Athens, Greece
DADA
Dada, an early 20th century art movement originating
in Europe and springing from the reaction to the horrors
of World War I, was a systematic rejection of reason and
logic. It prized nonsense, irrationality, and intuition. It was
art that sprang from anti-art and was the precursor to
post-modernism and pop art.
LEFT: Hannah Höch, “Cut with the Dada Kitchen Knife through the
Last Weimar Beer-Belly Cultural Epoch in Germany,” 1919
WABI-SABI
Wabi-Sabi is the Japanese term for the acceptance of
transience and imperfection. The aesthetic is described by
Leonard Koren as beauty that is “imperfect, impermanent,
and incomplete.” Even this most structured and regimented culture understood that allowing the irregularities
and variety of nature to infuse one’s work brings it closer
to perfection.
LEFT: Rough Style Wabi-Sabi bowl by Kiyotaka Hashimoto
THE CUT-UP TECHNIQUE
William Burroughs, the 20th Century Beat author, took
experiments by other contemporary writers and poets and
allowed the randomness of the found content to infuse his
writing. He used cut-outs from magazines and newspapers
in a completely arbitrary order to create new connections
and meaning. He even went so far as to cut-up his own novels, randomly rearranging them to achieve more unexpected
results—yet, within the confines of one narrative.
MICHAEL HANSMEYER & ALGORITHMIC ARCHITECTURE GENERATION//
Hansmeyer considers how the L-System algorithm for modeling simplified plants can be applied to
generating architectural form.
In a world with continued automation, robots, and Big Data, we find the design
industry starting to be impacted by these forces, using algorithmic-based automation as has been adopted by other industries, such as social media analytics and
online advertising. The result is called Generative Design.
Generative Design is a semi-automated process in which designs are created as a result of user-defined, choicefully chosen
parameters and algorithms being input into a computer. This
process allows designers to generate a multitude of variations
and allows for instantaneous iteration, playing with parameters
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SIGHTINGS: 2013, ISSUE 1
such as color, shape, texture, and type. What results are
“random” designs that open the creative process to a welcome
chaos, creating solutions that have never been seen nor expected. While generative design requires that designers let go of
the reins and give some control to technology, the resulting art
PAUL HOPPE & THE EXPLORATORIUM//
Hoppe’s student project for the San Francisco-based Exploratorium leveraged generative design to create a brand
identity system with infinite variation.
MASSIVE & THE LORD OF THE RINGS
Massive is a software package utilizing the concept of fuzzy
logic to allow animators to quickly and easily make thousands
of agents act individually without the need to animate each
unit separately. A well-known usage of Massive was in the recent groundbreaking movie trilogy, The Lord of The Rings, where
in certain scenes whole armies of orcs, elves, and men lumber,
march and battle in endless, yet highly ordered chaos.
13
BRANDING
BRANDING
BRANDING
EMOTION RULES?
But I Just Need it to Work
all the marketing noise, the power of functional
product benefits is still vital to consumer
purchase decisions. This is particularly true in
Building an emotional connection with consumers
the world of consumer packaged goods where,
has always been the Holy Grail for brand
more often than not, efficacy—not emotional
marketers. But has emotional branding become
engagement—remains the key driver of repeat
so much of a focus these days that products and
purchase.
brands have started to lose sight of practical
consumer needs? It seems as if marketers are
In fact, this is supported in the Brand Keys 2013
willing to accept that all products are created
Customer Loyalty Engagement Index (CLEI), an
equal and that the focus should be solely on
annual study that surveys 39,000 consumers
laddering to a higher emotional territory, like
in the U.S. with the aim of understanding their
today’s ubiquitous search for happiness.
emotional engagement with brands. This year,
for the first time in 17 years, 11 categories
Coming out of the recession, it’s important to
that were previously tracked and reported
remember today more than ever that amidst
have been dropped from the study due to
lack of differentiated consumer evaluations.
The categories include OTC Allergy, OTC Pain
Relievers, Facial Moisturizers, Shampoo,
Conditioner, Laundry Detergent, Paper Towels, and
Pasta Sauce.
According to the CLEI, consumers perceived
the products within these categories to have
such similar attributes that they had lost any
meaningful brand differentiation. The study goes
on to assert that this is due to a lack of emotional
engagement with consumers, without which
they default to price, availability, and functional
attributes as their primary purchase drivers. Yet,
(despite saying that it drives purchase) the study
undermines the potential for functional attributes
to drive brand distinction, instead suggesting that
Consumers responded positively when Tide offered a solution to
their functional needs of added convenience and efficiency with
Tide Pods.
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SIGHTINGS: 2013, ISSUE 1
emotional engagement is the only way to create
meaningful differentiation for a brand.
When viewed another way, however, the CLEI
results actually reveal something quite pertinent:
perhaps consumers prioritize function above
emotion when it comes to certain product
categories. More than anything else, they simply
need products that work—a fact that is perhaps
especially more relevant in the recent economic
climate. Rather than thinking of functional
benefits as merely cost of entry, marketers
should remember that they could be powerful
brand differentiators—point of parity really
isn’t acceptable. Companies that successfully
differentiate their products through enhanced
function—whether through ingredients,
packaging, delivery system, or usability—can
dramatically strengthen consumers’ experiences
and associations with their brand.
BRANDING
FROM AROUND THE GLOBE:
AUSTRALIA
In Australia, grocery retailer Aldi invests in
their private brand Mamia Supa Fit™ diapers
with improved technologies including Comfort
Flex™, that enhance the product’s softness,
absorbency, and stretchiness. Their investment
in function enables the brand to stand for more
than price and value, allowing them to ladder
up to emotion more credibly, as seem in their
latest advertising. Their 45-second TV spot is not
only clever and creative, but is delivered in an
emotionally engaging way, speaking implicitly to
the product’s strength and absorbency.
Maker’s Mark diluted. In this case, function
clearly mattered.
TIDE PODS is an excellent example of
reinvigorating a brand through the enhanced
function of its unit dose delivery system.
According to Ad Age, Tide’s sales, which have
been flat-to-down since 2007, are up 9 percent
due to Pods, with P&G projecting $500 million
in first-year sales. Through meeting consumers’
functional needs of added convenience and
efficiency, the product has been successful
despite its higher price point over traditional
bottled detergent.
These examples demonstrate that functional
benefits are not only significant drivers of
purchase but also are inextricably tied to
consumers’ perceptions of a brand. So before
reaching immediately for the arsenal of consumer
emotions, marketers should take a step back and
ask: what is it that consumers are looking for
when they buy this product today? How can this
product exceed those expectations by delivering
differently and better than others? Believe it or
not, differentiated functional benefits can actually
be the answer to unlocking that elusive emotional
Another example is when MAKER’S MARK—a
territory. Through innovation and investing more
brand with a devoted customer base—recently
in being functionally differentiated, marketers
announced plans to reduce the alcohol content
can ensure that their products are meeting their
of its famous bourbon by 3 percent in an effort to consumers’ core needs. Once distinguished
meet rising demand. The overwhelming outrage in functionally, brands can more credibly ladder up
customer response caused the company to reverse and re-engage on an emotional level to deliver
its decision and to keep the Maker’s Mark formula a brand promise that’s richer and even more
unchanged. Customers would rather have seen
meaningful.
a price increase or dealt with occasional product
shortages than have the contents of their beloved
15
MARKETING
MARKETING
BRANDING
SENTIMENTALITY VS. HUMOR
The Battle Over Hearts & Minds
To create consumer engagement, it’s not uncommon for brands to leverage one of two angles—sentimentality or humor—
to create the strongest emotional response. While during the early days of the recession many of us appreciated a good
laugh, recent ad campaigns may suggest that we’re entering a new stage, one where we are seeking inspiration that moves
us forward and speaks to a better tomorrow. This played out when examining two of this year’s biggest television events—
the Super Bowl and the Oscars. Despite the traditional angle of Super Bowl ads, this year there were a number of ads that
passed on humor to appeal to our hearts. And it was these ads that won the competition according to numerous polls,
opposed to last year’s top ads that fell into the “funny” camp. Three of the top five most popular commercials this year,
according to USA Today’s Ad Meter, were longer, 60+ second spots that told authentic, emotive, inspirational stories. Each
was carefully crafted, unrushed, and poignant—a stark contrast to their 30-second, more humorous counterparts. A few
weeks later at the Oscars, viewers saw even more companies using this angle. Brands ranged from newcomers (Chobani,
Hyundai) to mainstays (Grey Poupon, Neutrogena, and Coca-Cola), all unveiling new material that was more sentimental.
Again, it was these messages that attracted more attention from consumers and polls alike.
A
B
WHAT IT MEANS FOR MARKETERS
C
DESPERATELY SEEKING CREATIVE VISION
Humor, especially for the right brand, can certainly create consumer engagement, but the question becomes whether the
connection created is fleeting instead of long lasting. Despite the media placement such as the Super Bowl, a marketer
should ask if humor really suits their brand’s character and aligns with its brand story. Instead, while sentimental ads
may seem soft, such ads just might present a brand with a more impactful angle that builds lasting impressions. The
polls this year suggest that this is the case, and that inspirational ads may align best to current cultural sentiments.
Are Celebrities the Answer?
Using celebrities in advertising has been a marketing tactic for years. But today marketers
are using celebrities not just for product endorsements, instead integrating them into
front-end product development. This goes beyond seasonal offers or exclusive lines, such
as Target’s now familiar designer wares. These artists are taking on Creative Director
titles within organizations, suggesting their involvement in developing and implementing
a creative vision. Given our culture’s celebrity obsession, it’s not too surprising to see this
development; just as models have gotten sidelined to celebrities, now other professions
are being impacted. It also suggests that companies and brands, in creating such
relationships, are seeking both relevance and an often elusive creative spark.
WHAT IT MEANS FOR MARKETERS
Celebrity relationships may be a worthy marketing tactic to revitalize a brand, but it
should be deployed with the same discipline as any partnership. Don’t just tie a brand to
a celebrity as a last ditch effort to build consumer relevancy and ignite a brand’s renewal;
rather, build a partnership if there’s true alignment with your brand’s character, story, and
go-to-market model. And don’t forget to choose wisely given all the downfallen stars that
grace the news daily. Finally, if you are going to call an artist a brand’s Creative Director,
then deliver on the promise. Consumers today are savvy skeptics, and if a celebrity Creative
Director is just a ploy or marketing pitch, it likely won’t deliver the results a marketer is
seeking. While it might be hard to unravel a relationship if it goes sideways, integrating the
celebrity more tightly into the creative process would deliver on the promise.
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SIGHTINGS: 2013, ISSUE 1
(A) During this year’s SXSW, Michael Ferro, chairman of Wrapports
LLC and CEO of Merrick Ventures, pitched a new health and
wellness app with an unlikely partner: rapper Lupe Fiasco. Not only
is Fiasco a key investor in the company, Higi, he’ll be operating as
the Creative Director—a change from his other role as a Billboard
Hot 100 artist.
(B) Alicia Keys has been appointed Global Creative Director
at Blackberry where she will be leveraging her knowledge and
experience from the entertainment industry, as well as her
connections in the business and technology communities, to
enhance and drive engagement with the new Blackberry 10
platform.
(C) To help bring its “Sparkling Together for 30 Years” campaign
to life, Diet Coke has invited fashion visionary Marc Jacobs to be
the brand’s Creative Director, exclusively for 2013. As part of the
partnership, Jacobs will apply his unique style to limited edition
bottles and cans.
A beautiful, powerful ad from Dodge Ram
called “God Made a Farmer” features
gorgeous still images from ten noted
photographers, accompanied by the voice
of legendary conservative broadcaster, Paul
Harvey, who died in 2009.
The standout performance at the Oscars came
from JCPenney. The company wrote a letter to
America claiming a 100-year-old heritage of
helping Americans live better, and making a
promise to do so for another 100 years.
Anheuser-Busch landed Ad Meter’s #1 spot. The
brand’s ad showed a Clydesdale foal growing
up until the day its breeder has to release him
to the folks at Budweiser. Three years later they
are sentimentally reunited, made all the more
evocative with Fleetwood Mac’s “Landslide.”
17
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DESPERATELY SEEKING CREATIVE VISION
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WHERE CLASSIC MEETS STREET
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THE BUZZ
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Anthem Worldwide, the brand development division of Schawk,
Inc., is an integrated global network that provides innovative
solutions to articulate, unify and manage brand impact. Anthem
creates compelling brand experiences by aligning its strategic,
creative and executional talent worldwide with the business needs
of companies seeking a competitive advantage. Anthem offers a
full range of branding and design services. For more information
on Anthem, please visit http://www.anthemww.com.
SENTIMENTALITY VS. HUMOR
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youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=o2prAccclXs
Photo:
Ram.
“Farmer”
watch?v=AMpZ0TGjbWE.
commercial.
http://www.youtube.com/
To learn more about Schawk, please visit http://www.schawk.com.
Schawk invites Industry Thought Leaders to participate in
BRANDSQUARE, a one-of-a-kind, exclusive online marketing
community. Visit http://brandsquare.com.
Passikoff, Robert. “Emotional Engagement: Where Brands Strike Gold.
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January 31, 2013. http://tech.fortune.cnn.com/2013/01/31/the-problemwith-celebrity-creative-directors/.
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PINK OR BLUE BRANDING
Cleveland, C., “Brands Fall For The Hype: Celebrity Creative Directors Don’t
Matter. Here’s Why,” Madame Noire, February 15, 2013. http://madamenoire.
com/262752/brands-fall-for-the-hype-celebrity-creative-directors-dontmatter-heres-why/.
Contact:
Kathy Oneto, Vice President, Brand Strategy
kathy.oneto@anthemww.com
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