An increasingly important element in brand development is the role that consumers play through social media. More now than ever before it is essential that brands maintain a dialogue with their consumers to preserve the balancing act of retaining loyal customers whilst fostering new ones. After moving beyond the one-dimensional “like” feature of Facebook, brands are using social networking sites as platforms to actively encourage consumer participation. Crucially it is the confectionary brands that have been experiencing the best responses as their target audience is younger and so more likely to engage with online campaigns.
Skittles demonstrated their ability to master the social media strategy with their “Blue campaign”. The brand embraced consumers’ demand for a blue skittle and then allowed them to participate in the arrival of the new flavour. Fans were able to track the truck driver’s progress from the factory in the Czech Republic across the continent and into the UK.
Whenever this eccentric trucker was feeling “blue”, Skittles instructed their Facebook users to send messages of encouragement and to like his updates.
When the blue Skittle finally launched it sold out in three weeks and Skittles sales in the UK increased by 29.9%. The brilliance of the campaign lies in the involvement of the consumers who were given a reason to participate and feel part of a community. Indeed the inspiration for the blue Skittle originated from the fans themselves and so providing them with such a unique intimacy with the brand demonstrated an intelligent perception of their consumers.
In a similar vein Rowntree’s launched their aptly named Randoms brand by floating a giant “Foamy Gnome” across the British skies, whilst making considerable noise in the social networking ether about its location.
The campaign motivated 600k to network with the brand on Facebook and saw #foamygnome trend nationally on Twitter. In order to strengthen these networking inroads, Rowntree’s began another campaign where fans had to locate seven “Phoney” gnomes hidden in packets of Randoms. This second campaign utilised the brand’s established online presence to encourage fans to take part, which naturally drove sales as, to participate, you had to purchase a packet.
The most effective social media campaigns are also the ones that have a straightforward objective. As a way to thank their one million followers on Facebook, Cadbury Dairy Milk decided to construct a giant chocolate thumbs-up.
Again the participation of the fans, who were able to watch the live footage and reward the workers with tea and cake, was essential to the campaign’s success that saw 350,000 users interacting with the brand.
By celebrating their fans instead of the reverse, Cadbury displayed their ability to transform the archetypical role that brands usually play on social networking sites. Rather than posting an impersonal message of thanks, Cadbury recognised an opportunity to be both creative and interactive.
However, social media is an open platform and as such there are risks. Brands can suffer when social media strategies are not well thought through and clearly defined. Skittles exemplified this reckless approach perfectly when in 2009 it turned its website into a live tweet stream that automatically displayed any post that contained the word “skittles.” By volunteering their brand to twitter users with no restrictions, Skittles became open to a torrent of unwanted and obscene posts.
Social media campaigns must therefore actively involve fans beyond the perfunctory “like” gesture and give them a reason to keep socialising around the brand. Consumers are hungry for novel and innovative ways to interact with brands and brands recognise that a key to driving loyalty is engagement. But don’t just engage for the sake of engagement, be smart, know your audience, define your strategy and set yourself targeted outcomes.
The London 2012 Olympic Games have been hailed universally as a resounding success, from the wonderfully eccentric opening ceremony to the phenomenal achievements of our athletes and the resounding expression of British unity. But where does the once volatile subject of the Olympic logo fit within this story and in our minds?
Brands and logos are specifically designed to make an impact and drive an emotional response, and the London 2012 logo certainly provoked a powerful reaction in the lead up to the Games, albeit mostly negative. However, when Bradley Wiggins rang that enormous bell to announce the commencement of Danny Boyle’s colourful and quirky take on British culture, the logo did not appear so awkward and alien. In fact the London 2012 symbol with its vibrant colours and jagged edges seemed to fit well with this celebration of British peculiarities.
Throughout the Games the logo proved to be incredibly versatile in the way that it was applied in the various sporting contexts, which demonstrated its ability to become an actual brand.
Given that the motto for the Olympic Games was “Inspire a generation” it would appear that this logo was particularly apt. The design is easily identifiable as the number 2012 and bold in its originality, it is not just an artist’s abstract interpretation of Big Ben or Tower Bridge or a London bus.
Of course the logo could have been designed to be less obtrusive and more delicate. But as the London 2012 Olympic Games will undoubtedly be remembered as the time when the world took a peek at British eccentricities, it is perhaps befitting that the logo was just as peculiar and individual.
Looking back on those 17 days it is clear that the logo was dominant and effective, it did its job, and in the words of Lord Coe in the Olympics closing speech, '...we did it right'.
It is no longer enough for brands to deliver satisfication simply through a quality product. Brands today, must 'excite me, involve me and respect me as an individual'. No small task for businesses who historically drive profit margins through uniformity and volume. Hence the rise of the pop-ups.
Pop-ups are the perfect platform - a single-minded branded presence on the high street offering pure brand theatre through experience and engagement. Cost effective against the exposure they generate, they offer a visible and real channel to celebrate the brand by creating something special if only for a limited time.
So hats off to Magnum who have just opened up a pop up store in Westfield Stratford (conveniently near to a certain global event starting in a few days). We recently heard about the 'Make your own Magnum pop up store" and had to go check it out. All in the name of research, of course.
With 2 types of ice cream (vanilla or chocolate & caramel), 18 toppings ranging from caramel swirls to coconut shavings to edible rose petals, 3 dipping chocolate sauces (white chocolate, milk chocolate and dark chocolate) and the option to drizzle some more chocolate on top, there are over 104,500 different possibilities to create your own Magnum.
Magnum-inspired cocktails were also available at the bar.
Twitter campaign to go hand in hand with the pop-up store
Our creation was a chocolate & caramel Infinity ice-cream dipped in white chocolate topped with hazelnuts, popping candy and brownies and finally drizzled with dark chocolate.
If that wasn't enough, once you've created your guilty indulgence you are invited to sit in the 'Pleasure Pod', to measure the pleasure that you give out whilst eating it.
The pod records your sensory output through measures of skin tension, facial expression, deglutition (aka swallowing) and heartbeat to capture your responses and displays them through a series of visual animations chart the pleasure journey.
This is just a short interpretation of the visual animation inside The Pleasure Pod.
Congratulations to Magnum and Unilever for creating such a compelling brand experience. So Mars was wrong...here is an example of Pleasure you can Measure.
With one week to go before the start of the London 2012 Olympics, Bloom has some exciting Olympic news. Anna, one of our client servicing team, can finally reveal that she will be performing in both the Opening and Closing Ceremonies. Keen to know more we've managed to interrogate her between client meetings and rehearsals for a quick 5 questions in 5 minutes.
Q: So Anna, what are you going to be doing?
A: My title is "Placard Bearer" in the Opening and Closing Ceremonies which basically consists of leading athletes round the stadium.
Q: Sounds exciting. How did it all come about?
A: It all started in April 2011 - I saw an advert on the Olympic website inviting people 'to get involved in the Opening and Closing Ceremonies". After I applied, I was called for a dancing audition which was a bit of a concern as I am NOT a dancer - I think that soon became apparent at the audition, because they changed my role to a Placard Bearer!
Q: What's your overall verdict of what you've seen so far?
A: Amazing! Crazy, unpredictable and very entertaining.
Q: Looking forward to it. Do you secretly wish you're dancing now?
A: The dance routine will amazing on the night but I'm really happy with my section. It's probably best that I'm not dancing.
Q: And finally, can you tell us a Bloom exclusive? For example, what nation will you be presenting or what colour is your outfit?
A: mmm... Can't really tell you anything - but it's definitely not one specific colour. (That narrows it down) All will be revealed on the night...
So true to her obligations she's being tight lipped about the detail. We tried.
Good luck Anna! We're sure you will do your adopted nation proud. We'll be looking out for you in what will no doubt be the greatest global spectacle of the year.
Today, at Bloom, we gave a nod (and had a toast) to Queen and country with a red, white and blue dress code.
We wish you all a wonderful Jubilee Bank Holiday Weekend.
We all love a good reason to celebrate. And this summer, London is not only gearing up for the Olympics but also for H.R.H. The Queen's Jubilee Celebrations and not forgetting the annual Wimbledon Tennis Championship. So with that combination, it does not come as a surprise that every week we see established brands emerging with limited editions to play a role in national optimism.
Whilst the Olympic brand (such as the Olympic rings, the torch and the flame) is protected, in order to ensure that sponsors get the exclusivity they have paid for, the national flag and the Queen’s equities are rather more permissive. As a consequence the iconic Union Jack is fast becoming omniprescent throughout the high street. A poignant symbol of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, it tackles both the recognition of our Queen's 60 year reign and a message of support for 'Team Great Britain' as well as an opportunity to align brands to a culture of British pride. So how are brands doing it?
Patriotic Pride
An unadulturated celebration of all things British is the brief here. Aligning the brand with the Union Jack in a way that is both relevant and appropriate. British flavoured / themed limited edition products are fast emerging every where. Here are just a few.
1950’s Revival
Brands will always seize on the opportunity to remind us of their enduring appeal through landmark milestones. Several brands have dug into their archives to bring back some classic designs from yesteryear to remind us how long they've been gracing our cupboards. The Jubilee and its retrospective celebration of Britain over the years provides the perfect stage.
Diamonds, crowns and jewels
This category embraces brands that have earnt their right to celebrate the Jubilee through receipt of the Royal Warrant. Some are more overt whereas others a little more understated and elegant.
It would be a shame not to mention some of the great brands that Bloom has been working with to celebrate these occasions. A couple of months ago we couldn't move in the studio for the cultural british images and the red, white and blue flags filling our screens. Here's a few of the brands we've aligned with this wonderful occasion.
Finally the Museum of Brands are curating an exhibition ‘Jubilee, Jubilee’ which is showcasing souvenirs and commemorative products made to mark the royal jubilees of the past, as well as the newly released keepsakes launched to commemorate this year’s Diamond Jubilee.
And with all the excitement this summer and the wave of patriotism sweeping the country, we wish The Queen a happy anniversary, Team GB all the best at the Olympics, England every success at Euro 2012 and hope that this might be Andy Murray's year to win Wimbledon!
Here's to all things British.
For futher examples of celebration packs click on our Flickr stream on the right of this post.
Royal Mail are releasing a special issue of first class stamps on May 15th - the ‘Great British Fashion’ stamps collection.
Britain is world famous for the creative vision of its fashion designers, its refined Savile Row tailoring, its shoemakers and milliners, and its fine wool fabrics and yarn.
Since 1945, fashion has grown to become a major national industry. Today it employs about a million people and contributes some £21 billion to the UK economy.
This colourful collection highlights some of the iconic Britsh styles of recent years from the 1940s elegance of Hardy Amies, through to the genius of the late Alexander McQueen. Other designers and boutiques represented include Vivienne Westwood, Paul Smith and Zandra Rhodes.
The stamps were designed by Johnson Banks.
Row 1 - Hardy Amies, Norman Hartnell, Granny Takes A Trip, Ossie Clarke by Celia Birtwell, Tommy Nutter.
Row 2 - Jean Muir, Zandra Rhodes, Vivienne Westwood, Paul Smith, Alexander McQueen
Jeff Potter: Cooking for Geeks: Real Science, Great Hacks, and Good Food
Allen P. Adamson: BrandDigital: Simple Ways Top Brands Succeed in the Digital World
Davis Dyer: Rising Tide : Lessons from 165 Years of Brand Building at Procter & Gamble
Douglas Holt: Cultural Strategy: Using Innovative Ideologies to Build Breakthrough Brands
D. B. Holt: How Brands Become Icons: The Principles of Cultural Branding
