Not surprisingly, reaction to Google's decision to air a spot during the superbowl have been polarized. My own initial reaction was mixed, and while I had seen the spot before and liked it, I immediately questioned the decision. While some estimates show the spot gained about 600K views overnight as a result, I really wondered why Google had broken from it's past philosophy on TV advertising, and what exactly they thought they would really gain from this when they absolutely dominate the market for search.
(In case somehow you missed it before, during, or after the Superbowl, here it is for your viewing pleasure)
I've been working on a few projects recently where the inevitable questions around brand architectures and 'brand houses' are starting to come up in order to funnel all of the thinking and research into the right framework. Perfectly fine questions and expectations, but I think like many people, I'm dissatisfied with brand architecture models many of us are used to (and unfortunately often still use due to the lack of readily implementable solutions that could work across clients). Further adding to the current situation is that people (like Adrian among others) have been talking about this for years, and yet it seems to me that we still haven't collectively found a model or even a set of models/tools that we all feel is the right leap forward (and that have proven to be effective in bringing internal and external parties along for the ride).
Good place to start would be with a couple models that have gotten me pretty excited in the last year or a bit more.
In mid 2008 when The Open Brand (written by the very smart Kelly Mooney and Nita Rollins) came out, I thought that it might be a framework I could start using with even the more conservative clients and brands, but it hasn't quite caught broader recognition and attention that I expected (though I still find the experience framework overall to be quite useful).
Specifically, putting shared passion at the center of more familiar elements I think is a no-brainer today
(image source: marketingprofs)
More recently, have been spending some time thinking about The Molecular Brand laid out by the also smart folks at Nouve, which I think is spot on for the times and pushes brands to think beyond the traditional notions of 'the big idea' and more about how brands can mean different things to different people, with different approaches, and many moving parts.
(In fact, just in case you haven't read up on their thinking, definitely worth your time)
A telling example of how quickly technology is evolving and how fast the next thing quickly becomes dead on arrival. But beyond that, what I did find intriguing about the research, and a bit less expected, however, was the following chart which tracked how people reacted to different types of advertising they came across while watching online video
Seems contrary to conventional agency wisdom which suggests the dumbest thing you could ever do would be to treat online environments like broadcast and reuse similar creative. While this is only one study and one specific category example, this feels like a prime area for more research and analysis on what is proving effective as people become more used to the idea of engaging with video away from the traditional TV environment. And I wonder if it's only a temporary phase: perhaps now some people are still getting used to the idea of watching shows and movies online and still react to advertising the way they would on TV (as in it feels more natural if the ads feel similar to what they would have seen had they been watching on TV). But as watching video away from that traditional TV screen becomes more and more commonplace, I imagine preferences in advertising would shift along with it. Or, preferences away from watching and/or liking advertising at all, more likely. And perhaps that's the bigger point-- how long will it be before people stop accepting ads in online video as cost of entry, just as we have on TV?
Another classic from the guys at Funny Or Die. Even a passive fan of The Office will appreciate this. A bit NSFW, unless you work at an ad agency, which I'm guessing of the small handful of people that read this, the majority of you do.
Everyone says that someday you have to grow up, but I have to say...immature humor never gets old.
As an added bonus, a compilation of TWSS from The Office itself (a little dated now, but still good for a laugh).
Arguments about whether or not TV spots are dead aside, there's still something undeniable about the emotional power of film (wherever people might come into contact with it).
Case in point- a seatbelt PSA from across the pond, which resists the urge to show horrific crash scenes to shock and awe people into taking action. Brilliant and simple, which to me is what makes it so powerful.
Smart use of new tech by ADIDAS and a great example of marketing as a service. Interesting that they chose to tease/launch the shoes with...a spot. But I'll let that slide for a minute because this just looks pretty incredible. Promising sign of a brand that didn't just turn to each other and say "let's do some AR!". But rather appears to have actually thought through a business objective, what their unique take as a brand might be on AR, and how their customers would actually benefit from the experience as opposed to something they see once and move on.
Will be curious to see how this plays out in execution, but impressive and ambitious effort from these initial signs. But hoping to see some of the shoe actually in action soon, not just more spots about the idea of the shoe.
Great collection of stats on gamers/gaming (across demographics, consoles, etc) for the next time a client asks you for a deck/POV on gaming and implications for your brand.
Perhaps one of the most amazing stats is the last regarding best selling games ever-- not one in the top 5 comes from Playstation or Xbox, despite the relative dominance of Sony/Msoft for several years prior to the launch of the Wi. Quite a telling sign of just how fast the fortunes of even the most successful brands can turn, for better or worse, the second complacency sets in or the hunger for innovation subsides.
Despite the fact that I'm somewhat of a Farmville addict (and not alone), I can appreciate the issues cynics and haters have with it, and this rip sums it all up quite nicely.
It may not (and probably won't be) farmville that moves the dialogue, but I doubt the behavior that underlies it-- gaming in the networks you're already deeply involved with versus new gaming platforms that require building new communities from scratch-- is going to fade away any time soon.
Been doing a bit of thinking recently about the epic, decades long battle for supremacy between Coke and Pepsi. No secret that for many years, Pepsi has played also-ran to the Coke behemoth, fighting for whatever they could get. No matter what new products they came up with or even investing millions of dollars in some ill-conceived overhaul of their packaging and logo, they just couldn't seem to make up the ground. But lately Pepsi seems to be hitting a few of the right notes, to me because they understand perhaps more so than Goliath where culture is headed. From their SXSW aggregator back in 2009, to their partnership with foursquare, to the Pepsi refresh project and their decision to pull out of the absurdity that is Superbowl advertising, Pepsi is doing all the right things that suggest they are a brand that actually understands what people are looking for from brands today. Meanwhile, as Fast Company mentions, Coke is still struggling to find their way in a world they don't quite seem to understand yet, and one in which they are arguably being left behind by their much more nimble and fluid chief competitor. Has me thinking if we may look back at this moment in time and point to when the cola wars shifted in Pepsi's favor. Obviously fans will be fans, some will always like the taste of one more than the other. But as both brands gear up to start bringing in new generations of fans, if Pepsi proves to be the one that better understands what it is people are looking for, I think they'll likely come out on top. They seem to have a keen sense of what sort of experiences their customers want to create with them, and are enjoying significant success with most of their recent initiatives. And if this is in fact a moment when the cola wars shift, I think it would be an amazing sign that even the longest held positions of power are up for grabs in an ever changing and dynamic environment. And that brands are not as enduring as marketers and agency folk like to believe they are. Pepsi may not win out the battle in the end, but I think it's safe to say they are making major in-roads as we speak, and I for one am far more excited about who they are and what they are doing as a company that I am about opening happiness.
Fantastic new idea/site launched by Lego in the past couple days, just getting around to checking it out. Feels spot on for the times-- highly interactive, designed for people to pull bits and pieces of it apart (love that the "remove" button results in a lego craft flying up and destroying the lego module you selected for destruction), creating your own experience as you see fit. Absolutely hits the inspirational note for me that they were seeking to bring out in the tinkerers of the world. Also really like the "play matters" idea, a much needed reminder in a world of over controlling parents and where good intentions stifle creativity at an early age. Only gripe is that they have not made the videos and content from the site freely embeddable or sharable, so you'll have to actually go check out the experience for yourself. But it is well worth it.
Thanks to @bud_cadell for pointing me to this. Great stuff.
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