TESLA TRUMPS TOWARDS THE TOP!

Just a week back, in a Fortune 500 CEO survey, CEOs mentioned Tesla as a stock that they would go short on. 

Now, we have this graph that shows that Tesla is the world's most valuable automaker! In fact, Tesla’s valuation has jumped by an impressive 375% since this time last year!

In fact, as you can see from the size of the bubbles, other than Toyota, no other auto manufacturer comes anywhere close to Tesla.

Elon Musk has a tendency to surprise everyone every time people try to write him off.

This story is not yet over, so fasten your seat belts and keep watching this space!

Sister's Ice Cream

Here is a little piece of inspiration that should make you smile and admire the creativity behind it.

Sister's is a homemade ice cream from Iran, made by three sisters. The packaging design has been done in a way to represent the identities of the manufacturers, clearly mentioning that it is homemade ice cream.

It has also been designed to ensure that the packs stand out in comparison to other big and small players in the market.

The spark of colour, representing the flavours on a nice and soothing white background stands out and gives it a fresh, cool and summery look. The smart use of the illustration to show the different hair style brings the fun element.

I am not sure how big the #brand is, how strong its distribution is and whether this concept has been scaled up or not. I do hope that this #packaging is helping the brand win the consumers' hearts and share of wallet!

FATHER'S DAY

I was just reviewing the latest communication work from different #brands across various countries for the occasion of Father's Day until I came across this ad from Titan Company Limited.

At first, it felt like a very predictable ad with a story line that has been seen before. The use of black and white to evoke nostalgia also seemed like something that is not new.

I was about to stop watching it midway, but then I continued watching it, and I am glad I did!

The ad caught me by surprise, brought a smile on my face and I had to see the ad again to see those scenes once again.

Great job Ogilvy. It is quite refreshing.

UNBOX IT

#Unboxing is a phenomenon that gained momentum with the proliferation of gadgets and digital products. So much so, that the unboxing videos on #YouTube gets thousands of views.

Now if you are a smart #brand, you will pick up a trend of one category and apply it nicely to your category. This is what #Adidas does with their ZX 2K BOOST footwear, which are supposed to be quite advanced footwear in terms of design and technology.

So, these shoes also come packed in this specially designed box, which has been called 'Premium Artifact' by the design agency.

This custom engineered box offers a truly unique unveiling and comes adorned in its own retro, space-tech reusable carrying case. All the material is 100% #recyclable.

I find the #packaging quite cool and goes well with the brand personality.

CRISIS COMMUNICATION : DO'S AND DON'TS

They say that a crisis is the perfect ground for new leaders to emerge and existing leaders to show how strong or weak their leadership is.

The basic expectation that everyone has from a leader is the right kind of #Communication - internal as well as external.

Over the past few weeks, we have seen some of the companies and their #leadership teams managing the situation quite well whereas there have been companies that have bungled this up completely.

Although, more and more countries are starting to reduce the lockdown measures, the problem is not completely over, and hence the expectations from leaders to communicate during this crisis, will continue to remain high.

Here is a set of Do's and Don'ts that can be very helpful in building the right kind of executive narrative.

CHECK LIST

If are a marketer or an agency that works on a brand and wondering what kind of #marketing you should be doing at this time, then the answer is simple.

You need to be considerate, compassionate and humane.

Put out your brand message, if and only if it helps the receiver in this difficult time, and if you are unsure then this check list from #Ogilvy should help you.

CHEERS TO ALL

It is the role of advertising and communication to build brand equity and drive sales. However, it is also the responsibility of advertising and brands to understand culture and play a role in breaking stereotypes.

The HEINEKEN Company has launched a lovely ad film that uses only the power of visuals and lyrics to break a strong stereotype associated with drinking beer.

Don't miss the last line, where they do not mention beer at all. Very smart!

LOVE HAS NO BOUNDARIES

#Greece is still one of the countries that is traditional by nature and not very open to #diversity. 

Lacta, a Greek chocolate #brand, that is now a part of the Mondelēz International group comes up with a lovely film that starts by showing reactions of people when they see love that is not as per their expectations. The film then changes course and each scenario gets depicted in a very different way. 

A well made film by Ogilvy for this #ValentinesDay, asking us all to see #love in its purest form beyond any stereotypes. The soundtrack is quite nice as well.

ROUND PIZZA BOX

Pizza Hut has recently announced the launch of round pizza boxes! They had been working on this concept since the last two years and it is finally being rolled out in one Pizza Hut in Phoenix, USA.

The key benefits of this round box are:
1. Round boxes will take much lesser #packaging than the standard square boxes, which is great for their costs and also good for the environment. 2. The box is industrially compostable. 3.. The pizzas will stay crispier, giving a better experience to the consumers. 4. The box has easier interlocking mechanism, saving the employee time in folding the square boxes. This means an improvement in productivity. 5. The round boxes also ensure that the pizzas stay intact in delivery. It is clearly a strong idea with lot of advantages. 

Once tested and found successful, this #innovation will be rolled out to other Pizza Huts as well. 

Will this revolutionize the #pizza industry? We will have to wait and watch. 


#launch #kunalviews #idea #brands

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.

THE MORE HATE YOU WEAR, THE LESS YOU CARE!

In today's social media world, #trolling is as common as giving likes. Brands get trolled, celebrities get trolled, common people get trolled. No one is spared. You always have two options - either get bothered by the trolls or ignore them. Clothing brand #Diesel came with a third option - Hate Couture. No, this isn't a spelling mistake of haute couture, but a very well thought out approach by the brand. Diesel took all the bad comments and turned them into limited edition merchandise and clothing for celebrities, for consumers and even for their staff. This was done across the fashion capitals of the world, slapping hate across their clothes and converting an insult into a self-declared identity! No wonder, this idea and campaign of Diesel has won the #Clio Gold Award for 2019. Check out the entire case study video to see what they did.

                                             #creativity #kunalviews #marketing #strategy

BARBIE FLIES VIRGIN ATLANTIC!

In its 60th year, #Barbie from Mattel Toys has introduced three new careers in the aviation industry for its dolls - pilot, engineer and cabin crew. 

This initiative is to inspire girls around the world to follow their dreams. A research by the toy maker identified that starting at age five, many girls begin to develop limiting self-beliefs and doubt their full potential – this is called the Dream Gap. Through its dolls, Barbie wants younger girls to continue believing in their dreams. On the other hand, Virgin Atlantic wants to increase women representation across the board and wants to highlight the various career choices available to women. The dolls have been designed just like real #VirginAtlantic uniforms, showing different ethnicity and body diversity. These dolls will be sold on board the Virgin Atlantic flights and also at their key retail partner stores. This joint initiative works for the objectives of both the brands and the idea is backed by a strong #purpose behind it. So kudos to both the brands for this powerful launch!

LEGO FRIENDS TV SET

2019 marks the 25th anniversary of the iconic TV series #Friends featuring characters Rachel, Monica, Phoebe, Chandler, Joey and Ross. 

To celebrate this milestone, #Lego has launched a special Friends set that features not only all the characters but also other recongizable items from the show - Phoebe's guitar, the Central Perk sofa, coffee machine, Gunter and his cash register.

It is a 1,070 piece set that allows fans to go back into nostalgia and relive those scenes and those characters. 

Lego invites ideas and suggestions for its sets from its fans and the idea for this special set also came from a consumer.
Lego is a brand that is not only relevant to kids but it also has a very strong following and engagement from adult consumers as well and therefore this launch is perfect to get them hooked yet again.

THE CONTENT MARKETING PYRAMID

Whether you are an individual, a brand or a company, #content matters a lot in today's noisy world. There is no set formula for content, there is a lot of trial and error, learning and observation, rinse and repeat, high effort and low effort and many other tactics and strategies involved. 

If you or your #brand is new and are trying to figure out the best approach, then this Content Marketing Pyramid might help.

                          Infographic Source: www.curata.com

FOR EVERY SIZE OF IMAGINATION

Three things that you would associate with large size - a dragon, a space ship and the Empire State Building of New York. So when you think of building any of these three using #Lego, you would imagine lots of Lego pieces. However, if you break the convention, then even a few pieces could represent any of these. In a print #campaign in Thailand, Lego shows a big structure next to a miniature structure for each of the three things and each advert ends with the line 'For Every Size of Imagination'. This clearly shows that there is no criteria or norm of how #imagination should be. It can be as you want it to be or as you imagine it to be!

Nicely done Lego!

POWER OF COLOUR

There is a lot of thought that goes in every logo, packaging design, product design and other attributes of a brand. While multiple factors do play a role, #colour is definitely one of the most important ones because catching the attention of the consumer even before consumption is crucial, and visual cues like colour can help in that aspect. Here is an infographic from #Ogilvy USA that gives an insight into how most #brands use colour. The rules aren't set in stone and there will be quite a few cases of brands and marketers who have broken the norm, but it is a good indication of the usual approach. Now please have a look at your favourite brands and see if they are following this approach or not. 
I will be happy to discuss examples that you have come across. 

                               Image Credit: Ogilvy USA
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                               #logo #packaging #kunalviews #design

BACARDI - BEAT MACHINE

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Advertising on a social media platform is one thing, but leveraging its hidden features to engage with your consumers is a completely different thing. 

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#Bacardi USA smartly used YouTube and its keyboard shortcuts to create a Beat Machine for the song 'Make it Hot', where users could play with the sound, remix it as per their own liking and create their own customized version with different effects. 

It is a great example of experiential marketing where consumers are engaging and interacting with the brand, feeling like musicians and sound artists through the hackvertising approach that Bacardi has taken. 

Check out the video to see what can be done through this hack.

Video Credit: Bacardi USA

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#brand hashtag#marketing hashtag#experiential hashtag#kunalviews hashtag#communications hashtag#music hashtag#socialmediamarketing