READ vs. COVID

This is an outstanding piece of #communication that has been executed so well!

We all know that the current situation has made us all stay at home. Being away from people for so long also brings with it, bouts of loneliness, especially if you are living alone or far from friends and family.

So, Marvin, an eCommerce platform in Kazakhstan came up with print ads that show #books as your friends that will not make you feel lonely or bored at home.

In these print ads, books have been shown near the face, looking like masks! What is even smarter is that the text on these books comes from stalwart writers who have written on how loneliness can actually be good for you.

Very well done!

KITKAT ICE CREAM

It's true and it's out!

Canada has gone ahead and introduced three new flavours of #KITKAT ice cream, which looks amazing!

                           

There are certain things that really stand out for me:

1. The brand has very smartly used the same flavors that they have in their #chocolate variants already. So it is a safer bet and they can get economies of scale in sourcing ingredients.

2. Although the #packaging has the cues of ice cream, it doesn't walk away from the KitKat layout. A great sign of a strong, global brand - consistency.

3. The product shots clearly tell you that there will be KitKat pieces in the #icecream. This is a great way to make existing KitKat consumers try it as well as get ice cream consumers to try it.

4. This is a very good #brand extension as it opens new business opportunities in an adjacent category, premiumizes the brand and reduces the risk of relying on a single category for revenue.

5. The positioning of the brand still remains all about the break. So any #communication on this product will help improve the brand equity of the overall brand as well.

FACE MASK INNOVATION

Over the past few weeks, many fashion and retail brands have tried to enter the face mask space to make it more fashionable and leverage a business opportunity.

However, what this small studio in Kerala, #India has done is simply remarkable and a true example of how #innovation can happen anywhere.

So what's the idea?

In the town of Kottayam in Kerala, people can get their face printed on the #mask so that when they wear it, people can still recognise them. It takes 15 minutes to print and costs around Rs.60 (less than a dollar).

The video below is in Malayalam language, but the visuals will tell you the story.

POWER OF PRINT

Irrespective of however much technology may evolve, there is a certain impact and power of print that is just unmatched.

With the Memorial Day weekend in #USA, Americans will wake up to a solemn front-page design of The New York Times that is extremely eye-catching and thought-provoking.

It just has a headline followed by the names of 1,000 #coronavirus victims along with details of their name, age, hometown along with a short description of each person.

No other medium can shake its readers the way print can. So never doubt that print is dying.

UNICORNS FROM INDIA

Despite all the turmoil that is shaking the world, impacting businesses, questioning their raison d'etre, there are certain companies that are still holding on to their valuation.

As of May 2020, 20 of the world's unicorns are from #India, moving from baby steps to giant leaps!

It is going to be challenging months ahead for a lot of them, but if they can survive this, they will emerge even stronger and bigger.

12 WAYS TO GET SMARTER

Your #success, your growth, your journey and your career trajectory are all dependent on your mind and its ability to learn, observe, assimilate and act.

Here is a list of the 12 most useful mental models that will challenge you, get you out of your comfort zone, make you expand your horizon and make your brain power stronger!

Save this, print it and practice these regularly.

COMMUNICATIONS DURING A CRISIS

Whether you are a leader, a social media manager, a brand builder, a politician, a CEO, or a copywriter, you need to follow the 5 steps of DRIVE to communicate during a crisis.

It may appear simple, but it surely is not. Following this DRIVE means taking every step carefully and considerately.

The Decision Matrix

Do you sometimes feel that your day is overwhelmed with too many tasks, emails, projects. etc.? Is there a constant struggle that you face between what is important, what is urgent and what is not? Well, then take the time out and put the 4Ds of The Eisenhower Decision Matrix into action and you will already be making an inroad into a shorter To Do List, a cleaner calendar and a more relaxed mind.

THE COMFORT ZONE - COVID19

The comfort zone is the weakest zone in the life of a person who wants to succeed and the transition from the comfort zone to the growth zone is a journey that involves a transition into different zones. 

                                           

How would you apply this in the current situation? 

By asking a simple question - Who do I want to be during #COVID19 There are clear options and answers for each zone and your answer to yourself will tell you which zone you want to stay in.

10 MOST VALUABLE BRANDS

Here is a look at the 10 most valuable #brands in the world. It should be no surprise that e-commerce and technology companies are ruling the roost. 6 of the top 10 brands come from a single nation - USA. hashtag#Amazon has not only retained its rank for a third consecutive year, but has broken the mindboggling brand value of $200 billion! What would really be interesting is how their brand valuation changes in the coming months, depending on the #covid19 situation. Some of these companies would benefit from the external environment while a few others would face the brunt of this pandemic.

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POR TODOS (FOR ALL)

Coca Cola came up with a unique treatment in their ad for the very first time a few decades back. It was a brilliant and path-breaking approach of using their #Coke SKUs across the portfolio to represent different people and scenarios. 

Now, the world has changed so much and so has the context as well. However, when they use that old treatment with a completely new set of scenarios along with an empathetic voice-over and a lovely music background, the impact is as powerful as it was the first time. Do note that there is not even a single person in the ad. It runs on the power of the #brand. Enjoy this one. It will resonate with you. All of you. Well done McCann Argentina!

THE WEALTH OF THE WORLD

How would the globe look like, if we were to project the #wealth of the different nations on it? The infographic below shows you how, and also gives some clear insights: 

1. The U.S. remains by far the richest country in the world, controlling $105.99T of the wealth, or almost 30% of the entire world’s net worth. 2. If you add up all the wealth of all the Asian nations, then they are higher than USA. So 15 nations, including China, Japan and India have to come together to beat USA! 3. Africa and Latin America only control 1.14% and 2.75% of the world’s wealth, respectively. 

I believe that although we may see some shifts by the end of 2020 due to the current environment, but still, the distribution of wealth will remain more or less similar across these nations.

VISUAL STORYTELLING

They say a picture is worth a thousand words. Here is a perfect example of that. McCann Serbia uses the power of great #storytelling in these #visuals: 1. Clear context setting by showing masks. 2. Clear character setting through the uniforms, telling us they are doctors. 3. Strong symbols associated with Super Heroes (look closely) that are formed on the faces due to the long hours of wearing the masks. 4. People of different colour and gender. As a receiver of the message, you know exactly what they are saying without them using a single word.

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FOLLOW YOUR PRESCRIPTION

A lovely piece of work done by the agency 180 Kingsday, Netherlands for WHO. 

The visuals are simple to understand with a powerful message behind them - Stay at Home. The way the different props have been used to combine medicinal equipment with household items is quite #creative. Don't miss the chair in the bottle 🙂

UBER LOST AND FOUND INDEX

Every year, #Uber comes out with its Lost and Found Index in USA, where it captures details like: 1. Most commonly forgotten items. 2. Most unique lost items. 3. Which cities are the most forgetful. 4. Time of the day that people forget things the most. 5. Day of the week when people forget things the most. 6. Special days of the year when people forget things. 7. Tips to get back what you have forgotten They have been doing this for four years now, and this index is a good insight into trends, patterns, behaviour and thinking of people. However, it is not as simple as it seems. Be prepared to also be shocked and surprised when you see the list of the most unique items having things like - mice, fake cosmetic tooth, a bubble machine, Swarovski binoculars, cat tarot cards, bag of wigs, Game of Thrones wallet and much more! In fact, the image below is an actual image of some of the unique stuff that people forgot in an Uber. 

You can read the full 2020 list here:

https://www.uber.com/newsroom/2020-lost-found-index/

I am just wondering, how these lists would change in different parts of the world.

NIKE - THE KING OF SNEAKERS

Few weeks back, I had written a book review on Shoe Dog - The Memoir of Phil Knight, the man behind #Nike. 

https://kunalbaidmehta.blogspot.com/2020/04/book-review-shoe-dog.html

Now when I look at these graphs, it becomes even more evident why Nike has been doing everything right. For the last four years, the #sales of Nike has been more than its next four competitors! They are a giant in the world of sneakers. Isn't that a dream that every marketer, sales person, brand builder, CEO, CFO has? To see numbers like this where the gap between your company and the next few is so wide. Seems like they follow this mantra internally too - Just Do It!

REMOTE TOURISM

As a travel enthusiast, I keep a close eye on what the tourism board of different countries are doing in the current environment.

What I have seen from Faroe Islands is simply brilliant! The Faroe Islands comprises 18 rocky, volcanic islands between Iceland and Norway. They have surely been impacted by the #Coronavirus and they had to do something.

So they have come up with an idea where they give you the chance to not only see the visuals of their land but they also give you an immersive experience of doing the things that you would have done if you were there. The only difference is that, this time, the things are done by one of their 50,000 citizens, at your command!

Yes, that is right. See the film to know more. This is #creativity at its best. 

SWIGGY GENIE

I just love the new initiative by Swiggy in #India, where they have rolled out Swiggy Genie to continue business during COVID19.  1. It is a great way to use Swiggy's existing ecosystem and network to provide customer service while opening new revenue stream. 2. This gives customers more options to choose from, especially in getting their essentials delivered. 
3. The large number of delivery guys that Swiggy has on its rolls will not only be kept busy but will also continue to hold on to their jobs.

What is also brilliant is the new layouts that have been rolled out for Swiggy Genie. It is a fantastic wordplay on popular #Bollywood movies, making the title more relevant to the context.