HAVE A BREAK, HAVE A KITKAT YOGHURT SAKE!

#Japan is known for introducing exotic flavours of KitKat every year and a lot of those flavours may not even be accepted beyond the island, but these innovations drive the brand in Japan in a big way.

Their recent launch is KitKat Yoghurt Sake, which is an extension to the Sake KitKat that was launched in 2016. This new variant is in collaboration with former Japanese soccer star and now accomplished sake connoisseur Hidetoshi Nakata, who is bringing this special sake combination - rice wine made with super rich Jersey yoghurt into the chocolate world.

As a #chocolate lover and a KitKat fan, you may or may not be comfortable with the idea of seeing #KitKat in such a unique flavour, however the Japanese consumer will be paying a premium price for these chocolates coming in an eye-catching sky-blue packaging.

If you are a tourist traveling to Japan anytime soon, these alcoholic Kitkats might be something you want to add to your souvenir list.

If you want to know how KitKat become such a big craze in Japan, then this NY Times article would be the perfect place to start. Be prepared to be surprised and shocked.

https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2018/10/24/magazine/candy-kit-kat-japan.html

DOUBLE OREO BY CHIARA FERRAGNI - AN INFLUENCER MARKETING CASE STUDY

Cookie brand #Oreo has gone ahead and launched a limited edition Double Oreo capsule collection by Chiara Ferragni. This is an example of taking influencer marketing to the next level.

Most #brands leverage digital influencers by asking them to advertise their brands or products through a post or a picture. That is where they limit themselves. 

Oreo went ahead and collaborated with Chiara to launch a special edition product with #packaging that is associated with Chiara's style. Chiara is also going to be seen in their new ad film for this launch.

That is not it. Oreo is also launching a capsule collection inspired by Chiara Ferragni that #consumers can win as gifts and merchandise by participating in contests.

This product will be priced at the same price as a regular Oreo pack.

So, who is Chiara Ferragni?

• Chiara is an Italian fashion blogger, influencer, designer and entrepreneur who has collaborated with fashion and beauty brands through her blog The Blonde Salad. She started her fashion blog in 2009 and has risen over the years. 

• By 2013, Ferragni's blog had reached more than one million unique visitors and 12 million views per month.

• Her business ventures grossed about $8 million (mostly from her Chiara Ferragni Collection footwear) in 2014.

• In January 2015, Ferragni's blog and shoe line, Chiara Ferragni Collection, became a case study at Harvard Business School.

• In March 2015, Chiara was selected for the cover of the April 2015 Vogue España, making her the first fashion blogger to appear on any Vogue cover. Since then she has appeared on over 50 fashion magazines covers.

• In January 2016, Pantene announced Ferragni as its new global ambassador.

• In 2019, Amazon Prime made a documentary on Chiara Ferragni and her rise to this level.

Personally, I have been following Chiara Ferragni on Instagram for a few years now and she now has 18.5 Million followers globally! That is a huge reach for an influencer. In fact, she is more of a celebrity now than an influencer.

So how does Oreo benefit by collaborating with Chiara?

1. This new launch will lead to incremental sales for Oreo, just like any other innovation.

2. Oreo will potentially get new consumers who are big fans and followers of Chiara and would want to try a product that carries her name.

3. By partnering with a young fashion blogger, Oreo is building its cool imagery with the Millennials and Gen Z.

4. While Oreo would spend its advertising money, but posts and Instagram stories by Chiara Ferragni will get them immense global reach, which will amplify their campaign even further.

What are the advantages for Chiara by collaborating with Oreo?

1. An association with a global brand like Oreo builds her credential and equity even further and gives her a global reach beyond her current base.

2. It increases her market value a notch higher and gives other brands ideas and thoughts of partnering or collaborating with her in the future.

3. Oreo packs have phenomenal distribution and these packs would be available on the shelves of all supermarkets. People who do not know Chiara Ferragni would want to know about her, read about her and this will increase her follower numbers much more.

This is a win-win for both sides and a clear lesson from Mondelez on how to do Influencer Marketing beyond what most companies and brands do. 

I am excited to see this phase of Influencer Marketing grow in the times ahead and how marketing strategies will build this in their annual plans and promotion cycles.

THIRST FOR YOURS

Innovation is one of the biggest reasons for incremental sales and expansion of user base in the FMCG world. 

#Cola companies understand this the best and therefore they keep bringing new launches to the market.

This time, Coca-Cola has gone ahead and launched two new flavours in the US market - Sprite Ginger and Sprite Ginger Zero Sugar. These ginger flavours are a fusion with their lemon-lime base, developed in response to the increasing popularity of ginger-flavoured sparkling drinks.

However, the brand did not just stop there. They went ahead and launched a limited edition line of clothes - Ginger Collection. Sprite got designer Jeff Staple on board, who crowd-sourced creatives on #Instagram and took inspiration from people across art, fashion and photography to come up with the designs.

Cola brands like Coke, Pepsi, #Sprite are part of the youth culture and they go beyond just the products. By giving their consumers the opportunity of wearing their clothes line, Sprite is taking yet another step to become a part of the consumers' lifestyle.

COCA COLA WELCOMES CHERRY BLOSSOM SEASON

#Japan is extremely popular for its cherry blossom (sakura) trees which announce the arrival of spring. These trees bloom for a period of two weeks in different parts of the country and locals as well as foreign tourists flock to those places to witness this magic come to life. 

Since 2017, Coca Cola has been celebrating this season with the launch of specially designed aluminium bottles. Continuing its tradition, this year also, Coca Cola has launched a new set of specially designed, beautifully decorated, limited edition cherry blossom bottles. 

This year’s design and layout shows sakura-tree branches and artfully depicts falling petals as well as cherry blossoms in different stages.

This is yet another example of Coca Cola integrating the local culture into its strategy and seamlessly becoming a part of that culture. 

The image below shows the different packaging of Coca Cola over the years. 

GUIDE THAT FIGHTS CORONAVIRUS

We all know how #coronovirus has been spreading all over with cases being detected across multiple continents. 

We also know how prevention is better than cure and boosting our immunity is one way to avoid coming under attack. 

However, there are other simple but important steps too that will keep us all protected.

I am sure that people in #India would have seen this #Lifebuoy print ad that they released a week back, using the abbreviation of F.I.G.H.T.S to educate and inform people on what else they can do to fight the virus. 

Other than the use of the abbreviation, what also strikes you is the bold move by the brand to name four of its closest competitors in the same ad - Lux, Dettol, Santoor and Godrej No. 1

People who consider this as a marketing or a publicity stunt need to think again. No other brand had done this and not many brands can pull off something like this. 

This is a sign of a brave and secure #brand that sees its purpose to be more important than a mere piece of advertising.

It is no surprise that this comes from #Unilever as they strongly believe and follow purpose in their communication.

COFFEE COLA

In line with their strategy to diversify and keeping innovating #Pepsi has just announced the launch of their Pepsi Cafe range. 

This special combination of #cola with #coffee will be a limited edition that would be launched in the US market in April 2020 and would be available in two flavors - original and vanilla.

What is interesting is that Coca Cola has a similar product called Coke Plus Coffee, which is available in a few markets but still not available in USA. 

Will we see Coca Cola moving fast and bringing their product in the US markets before the debut of Pepsi Cafe? It's a wait and watch game. 

However, this also will eat into the share of the cold coffee market, so we will see lot of action from the coffee players as well to protect their share.

DANDRUFF MAKES YOU LOOK STUPID

When you scratch your head because it itches and not because you are thinking, it makes you look stupid. 

This is the premise on which Saatchi & Saatchi launched this print campaign for Head and Shoulders shampoo in the UAE market. 

They took strong, recognizable, real and fictional characters - Albert Einstein, Sherlock Holmes, Indiana Jones and James Bond and created special illustrations, showing them scratching their heads. Each ad ends with the tag line 'Dandruff makes you look stupid'. 

Not only is the #advertising smart, but the font and style of the tag line in each picture has been designed to look like the part of the rest of the surrounding, and the hand that holds the Head and Shoulders bottle in each ad is also a part of the overall set-up, making it all look seamless.

So, the #creativity and the quality of art in these layouts is very good, paying great attention to every detail.

THE AHA MOMENT!

The #innovation engine at The Coca-Cola Company continues to churn out idea after idea!

Just a few weeks back, we saw Coca Cola venturing into cola flavoured mints and festive drinks to expand their franchise and boost incremental revenues. 

Now, for 2020, Coca Cola is gearing up for a big launch in the flavoured sparkling water market of USA with the launch of #AHA in eight new and exciting flavours in two sizes. 

This launch is yet another step from #Coke to move into healthier space as part of its beverage

#strategy. Mainstream flavoured sparkling #water is the largest and fastest growing part of the water business, and the current U.S. market size of $3.1 billion makes it the perfect playground for Coca Cola to enter.

American #consumers are gravitating toward drinks that have functional elements and nutritional value or a jolt of caffeine. They also want healthy, low-sugar or sugar-free offerings. Sparkling water ticks a lot of those boxes, and American consumers are buying more of it. 

#Pepsico already saw the potential, and in 2018, they had launched a range called Bubly in this segment. Bubly has grown sales by triple digits since then and has taken a 6.2% dollar share of the category this year.

This is a segment to watch closely.

COCA COLA TIC TAC

The Coca-Cola Company and Ferrero have come together to launch #Coke flavoured Tic Tac in 70 markets globally! 

Although a licensed deal, this launch marks Coke's first foray into the mint category. The launch will be supported with an integrated marketing communications #campaign across TV, print and social media. This is an example of two iconic #brands coming together and using their individual distribution muscle and consumer base to reach out to more people and more channels, driving their brand equity and boosting their revenues beyond the core. 

It will be interesting to see how Pepsico reacts to this and how the existing confectionery players respond to such a launch!

                                                #FMCG #CPG #kunalviews #innovation

COCA COLA ENERGY + FLAVOURS

Earlier this year, Coca Cola Energy was launched in a few select markets and it has slowly been rolled out to 25 markets globally. 

Based on the initial response, #Coke is now rolling out the launch of Energy in USA. This launch will be accompanied with an exclusive cherry flavour launch for the US market. There will also be the zero sugar versions for Energy and Energy Cherry that will be available.

It is interesting to see how #CocaCola is diversifying into multiple #beverage segments beyond carbonated soda.

What is also interesting is the fact that Coke has a 16.7% stake in the energy drink Monster's company Monster Beverages! This means that Coke will try to dominate this segment from all fronts.

The energy drink category will see much more action in 2020 and beyond. Market leaders like Red Bull will also be watching this entry closely and coming up with their own game plan.

I'M IN. I'M OUT. OKAY NEXT.

Let your expressions, emotions and feelings come out. That is what Diet Coke is saying to consumers in UK.

They have launched 8 Limited Edition cans with short and snappy expressions so that consumers can pick the can that reflects their mood at that moment of time. All of these expressions have been chosen from modern lingo to connect with the youth and the packaging has been done to stand out on the retail shelves. These cans are a part of Coke's new 'You Do You' campaign by that is being launched across media touch points.

I am sure that consumers would love to pick these up, have conversations using these expressions and probably also collect all the expressions.

This is another step forward by Coke to stay relevant and cool among its target audience. 

DONATE YOUR WORDS

hashtag#Cadbury has launched limited edition Dairy Milk packs in UK with no words on the front of the pack. They have partnered with Age UK to support loneliness in the older generation. Research found 4.5 million older people felt lonely in later life because people don't talk to them. The campaign 'Donate Your Words' will donate 30p to the charity for every limited edition bar sold. The initiative is to encourage people to recognize and speak to older people in their communities. The #launch is also supported with a film that tells stories of older people who feel alone. It is quite obvious that only #brands that have strong icons and colours can pull something like this without the fear of whether #consumers would recognize the brand or not.

HEINZ KETCHUP - POUR PERFECTLY

hashtag#Heinz is known for its thick ketchup that pours out of the bottle slowly, giving consumers the perception that it is made of the purest tomatoes in its most authentic form with no dilution. While the slow pour has been Heinz's unique selling proposition, consumer insights have also shown that it has been a frustrating experience for consumers when the ketchup has taken far too long to come out. So Heinz Canada made it easier for consumers by introducing the Pour-Perfect bottle, where the position of the label on the bottle has been titled to a 45 degree angle - the perfect pouring angle for the ketchup. Now consumers know the right angle to tilt the bottle. This takes care of the frustration of the consumers while retaining its competitive edge. The tilted labels are also breaking clutter on the store shelves making consumers stop to check out these new bottles. It will be interesting to see if this gets scaled up by Heinz to their other markets or not.

Video Credit: Heinz Canada

KITKAT - AN ORIGAMI BREAK!

#KITKAT has announced plans to replace its plastic wrappers with recyclable paper wrappers in Japan, which can then also be turned into #origami creations.

Having worked on this iconic #brand for six years, I can say that this is a great initiative for a number of reasons:

 By replacing plastic with paper, #Nestle is staying true to its #sustainability commitment in tackling a world-wide problem.

 Through origami, KITKAT is becoming an even more integral part of the Japanese culture, which is the biggest market for the brand. KITKAT sounds similar to the Japanese words Kitto Katto, which translates to ‘You will surely win’ - the reason the brand has become so close to Japanese hearts.

 This launch is yet another extension of the brand and its #purpose of doing good for the planet and for individuals and families.

 It allows the brand to stay true to its positioning of ‘Have A Break, Have a KITKAT’ because now, consumers can have a break while eating a KITKAT and even after that once the #chocolate has been consumed.

https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/food-and-drink/kitkat-japan-nestle-plastic-packaging-paper-wrapper-origami-cranes-waste-a9057356.html

#FMCG #CPG #innovation #packaging #kunalviews #recyle #sustainable #marketing 

COLOUR ME AND BRING ME TO LIFE!

In Australia, #Kellogg's has teamed up with #Crayola and launched special cereal boxes that come without the standard colours. They are then encouraging consumers to colour the boxes in their own way, upload the picture to a webpage that brings the colored image to life via Augmented Reality (AR). This is brilliant at so many levels: 1. It breaks the monotony on the retail shelves and makes their packs stand out. 2. They give an even stronger reason for parents to buy their packs in comparison to other cereal brands in the market. 3. By giving the opportunity of colouring the box, Kellogg's engages even with children who may otherwise not enjoy the cereals so much. 4. There can't be a bigger Aha moment for a kid than to see his or her own creation come to life through #AR. 5. The entire ritual from shopping, consuming, colouring, uploading and sharing brings the entire family together, thereby creating an emotional bond with the brand. 6. By giving daily prizes to the best creations, the brand keeps the conversation going even after the colouring has been done. 7. A simple #packaging hack like this brings in so much of #PR and earned media for Kellogg's as well as Crayola.

                                     #CPG #FMCG #marketing #brand #creativity #idea

PEPSI TO SELL WATER IN CANS!

Starting 2020, #Pepsico will start selling drinking water in cans instead of #plastic bottles as part of its attempt to cut down on plastic. Initially, these cans will be sold at restaurants and stadiums before being extended to other places. hashtag#Aluminium cans generally contain more reused material than plastic bottles, and consumers are more likely to recycle them. While 67% of aluminum cans get recycled, 91% of plastic does not. They’re also less likely to float away in the ocean. We will be seeing many other companies also announcing different solutions to tackle the plastic menace. Some of them have already started good work on this front.

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   #innovation #pepsi #aquafina #brand #sustainability #plasticpollution #planetearth #packaging #recycling

WORLD'S 100 MOST VALUABLE BRANDS

The infographic below shows the brand value of the 100 most valuable brands in 2019 as released by #Forbes. 

As is evident, it is the tech companies that are ruling the roost in 2019, combining for a total of a mammoth $957 billion in brand value. Other than #Facebook, each of them have grown at a healthy double-digit since the year before. hashtag

#Financial services and #automotive sector are at a distant second and third ranking after #technology, and the traditional and reliable consumer goods sector comes in at the fourth rank.

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#brand #brandvalue #CPG #tech #valuation #billion

COCA COLA POINTS OUT RECYCLING BINS!

One of the consumer insights is that consumers would #recycle more if they knew the location of the recycle bins.

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#Coke used this finding and partnered recently with #Publicis Italy to do billboards across a few countries of Europe and turned their iconic swirls into fingers that point people to the nearest recycle bin. 

This is a great example of turning insight into execution in an innovative and effective way. It also shows the power and strength of the brand and its visual properties to be able to do such outdoor advertising without showing the product or a big logo.

hashtag #cocacola hashtag#outdoor hashtag#advertising hashtag#insight hashtag#consumer hashta#FMCG hashtag