Blog Archives - Page 12 of 19 - CerconeBrownCompany

#NoFilterNeeded: Snickers Gets Real with New Campaign

It’s 11:00 AM. Too late for a post-breakfast snack but too early for lunch. You’re in culinary limbo.

As you sit at your desk listening to your stomach serenade you, your merciless mind races with thoughts of vicious things you would do for some grub right about now. SNAP OUT OF IT! You’re not you when you’re hungry – and Snickers understands.

A recent Snickers ad demonstrates the consequences of letting yourself get a little too hangry. Strategically placed on the back cover of Sports Illustrated’s Swimsuit Issue, the ad shows a beautiful model whose hair floats beside her head, whose belly button is near her chest, whose hand has been digitally placed onto her shoulder sans arm, and whose image, poor girl, has suffered multiple other repercussions of poor Photoshopping. The copy reads, “Photo retouchers get confused when they’re hungry.” Another ad from the campaign features a distraught, wind-blown model with copy that reads, “Wind machine operators get loopy when they’re hungry.” Clearly, these mistakes could have been avoided, had the workers had a Snickers bar.

With this new campaign, Snickers sought to revamp their now six-year-old motto, “You’re not you when you’re hungry,” in a fun and hyper-targeted way. Using minimal copy, Snickers challenges audiences to interact with the former ad by finding all 11 retouching errors. While it seems the rest of the world is focusing on technological advancements, Snickers proves that print advertising ain’t about to be a #TBT just yet.

Considering Sports Illustrated’s religious use of Photoshop, the placement of these ads is significant and ironic. Luckily, Snickers was able to bring attention to the absurdity of retouching in a lighthearted, fun way, thus functioning successfully alongside its outlet and, therefore, its audience, rather than against them.

Not only does the campaign get an A+ for creativity, its timeliness is on-point, as well. Sports Illustrated model Ashley Graham recently announced that her 2016 cover is au naturel and entirely untouched. Looks like the magazine is taking the appropriate steps toward combating its notorious reputation by stepping out of its comfort zone to recognize real, natural women for the first time in history. And the Snickers ad, it seems, is the perfect cohort in this effort.

While the ads are proving effective in the states, we’ll have to keep tabs on the brand’s performance abroad, due to a recent product recall in the Netherlands. Maybe Snickers factory workers should start practicing what they preach–hunger always gets the best of us!

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February 24, 2016

Adidas Introduces a New Kind of Athlete

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When you picture a woman athlete today, a particular description may come to mind. You may think of the words strong, empowered, determined and full of potential. A woman who will go extra lengths to reach her goals and keep moving through any obstacles that may come her way. More recently, the sports marketing industry has been celebrating women athletes through campaigns based on these attributes. Take for example, Under Armour’s #IWillWhatIWant campaign or Nike’s #betterforitcampaign.

In order to further connect with women, Adidas is introducing a different element to the conversation about what makes women athletes so great: creativity.

“We think the idea of using creativity to reimagine and reshape yourself however you want will really resonate with women because when you look around the world, that’s what so many women in sport are already doing,” explains Jason Norcross, partner and executive creative director at ad company 72andSunny.

The global campaign, titled “I’m Here to Create,” includes a series of videos told through some of today’s most influential and accomplished female athletes. Included are international tennis icon Caroline Wozniacki, WNBA All-Star Candace Parker, DJ Hannah Bronfman, street athlete Robin Arzon and fitness artist Nicole Winhoffer, among others.

Through these women’s stories and lifestyles, Adidas hopes to use the concept of creativity to bring recognition to the changing traditional views of sports and to focus on the versatility of the female athlete.

Each woman in the campaign embraces her creativity to accomplish something all in the name of sport. Candice Parker redefines motherhood to maintain her training schedule, for example, and Wozniacki uses non-traditional forms of training to keep her sharp on the tennis court. These women are redefining what it means to be an athlete – on their own terms. And Adidas seems to be harnessing the concept and energy at the perfect moment.

According to Nicole Vollebregt, the head of women’s at Adidas, in 2016, the brand will continue to “roll out women-focused activations, partnerships, products and events” to engage and further connect to the powerful consumer demographic. We look forward to seeing how this campaign, and Adidas’s forthcoming efforts this year, will contribute to the conversations around female athletes. Will other sports companies follow the gendered suit? Or will the women-focused venture simply be a small drop, affecting a select demo, with few ripples among the larger industry? Time – and no doubt a bit of female sportsmanship – will tell how this ad game plays out.

February 16, 2016

Bey is the Way: Brands Benefit from Product Placement

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The 2016 Super Bowl brought along its usual jaw dropping and unforgettable moments for consumer and spectators alike. But what we at CBC care about is how well those big-name Super Bowl advertisers reached their target audience. One way to monitor how well brands did in their advertising initiatives is to measure post-game mentions. For a lucky few brands, talk is still buzzing, and while most of the heavy hitters spent large sums of money to have that precious air time, some were able to grab attention for free. You might be wondering- how did they pull THAT off? It’s simple: product placement.

Product placement has been a notable advertising technique for quite some time. The obvious advantages of product placement are that your brand gets air time with respectable and trustworthy opinion leaders, allowing your brands reputation to become more credible. While most companies will pay to have their products featured in media programs, it’s not always the case. In a couple instances that are mentioned below, brands get credible airtime without spending a dime, allowing for great post-game coverage for their product of service. Here are some brands that are making viral waves post-game.

Red Lobster

One of the biggest benefactors of this advertising technique would be Red Lobster. During Beyoncé’s half time performance, she mentions the chain restaurant in her new song. Red Lobster saw a spike in activity on their social media as well as a rise in sales since the release of the song just a day prior.

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Apple

Apple was another brand that didn’t pay for air time in any facet, but was instead including in advertising by other popular brands. The iPhone 6S, Apple’s CarPlay interface, the Apple Watch, and Beats Audio were able to make cameo appearances which spiked interest in Apple products associated with these brands. The cameo appearances were in a variety of product commercials from car companies like Hyundai, phone companies like T-Mobile, and Machine Zone’s Mobile Strike campaign.

[Source]

Budweiser

Budweiser was an unexpected benefactor of product placement after Peyton Manning said he was “going to drink a lot of Budweiser” after his super bowl win. An unfortunate circumstance for Budweiser who already spent millions of dollars in advertising fees, but nonetheless a credible and substantial push for their target media.

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Overall, this kind of advertisement is a luck of the draw approach: it isn’t the most reliable, and of course unlike paid advertisement, it’s never guaranteed. But as a PR professional, always be prepared for the unexpected, and if the instance occurs, make sure you thank those who gave you a shout-out!

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February 12, 2016

Crisis Control: Chipotle’s Under Heat, Should They Get Out of the Kitchen?

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It’s the Monday after the Super Bowl around 11:30am, and there’s only one thing on your mind: lunch. You decide to treat yourself to a delicious Chipotle burrito bowl, complete with chips and guac (yes, you know it’s extra). The Monday blues are hitting you hard, and this should flip things around. But instead of fresh corn salsa and spiced chicken, disappointment is the only taste left in your mouth.

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This is no doubt the experience that many had yesterday, as Chipotle closed every single one of it’s 1,900 locations for the entire day on February 8, 2016. Seems like a terrible sales move, right? Wrong. This was a strategic, and almost necessary crisis control PR move for the popular chain restaurant. The decision to close the store came after several months of combatting E. Coli, Salmonella, and Norovirus outbreaks in Boston, Oregon, and Washington, to name a few. This could have been monumentally destructive for the brand, but Chipotle is coming out of the fire as a crisis control powerhouse. So much so, that other PR professionals should take note of the crisis control moves stored in Chipotle’s tool belt.

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Step One: Take Action

The first thing Chipotle did right was take action immediately. Within hours of the first released cases of E-coli, Chipotle had already reached out to those affected to personally check in on them.

Step Two: Play it Safe

Their next move called for a closing of all the locations around the affected area, even if they did not have a problem. Chipotle decided to play it safe and not push their service limits. They showed they were in control of the situation, and interested in stopping it immediately.

Step Three: Communication, Internally and Externally

Now, a month or so after the outbreak has simmered down, Chipotle is still making smart crisis control decisions. The purpose of the nation-wide store closing yesterday was to hold a “company meeting” between executives and employees. Supposedly, new safety and health precautions were thoroughly discussed, employee questions were answered, and upcoming marketing efforts were implemented. They established that a major goal moving forward would be complete transparency and constant communication between owners, employees, and customers.

Step Four: Give the People What They Want

So, you moved onto a different Monday lunch option, but you’re still bitter you didn’t get your $1.50 guacamole. Chipotle saw this coming, and offered a free make-up burrito to anyone who had their number. All you had to do was text “Raincheck” to 888-222, and your burrito dreams came true— talk about customer appreciation at it’s finest (Sorry to those of you who are just hearing about this now!)

Even with increasing costs and lower sales, Chipotle is not a mild, not a medium, but a hot commodity. As the parody article from Gomer Blog stated, “people would rather die from E. coli than not eat Chipotle.” Is this because of their excellent crisis control and PR approach, or is everyone just crazy for carnitas? We think it’s a little bit of both.

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February 9, 2016

Coors Light Uses Targeted Advertising to Reach Women

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Hey, ladies! Put down the vodka soda and get ready to put on your beer goggles. Last weekend, Coors Light launched a new campaign called “Climb On,” which used targeted advertising to attract women drinkers. Smart move, Coors, considering women represent nearly a quarter of the industry’s total volume. (I.e. they drink over 17 billion beers a year, F.Y.I. That’s a whole lot of hops…)

The debut ad opens with a question: “What would we be without our mountains?” Sure, some of us may prefer to glide through life without obstacles, but Coors realizes that we’ve all got #firstworldproblems and then some. Climbing these “mountains” and facing obstacles and challenges is what builds character and makes life enjoyable (or is it the beer on the other side that makes it all worthwhile?).

Not only will this ad inspire you, it’ll get you thinking about those New Years resolutions you already forgot about. Throughout the commercial, a number of men and women of all shapes, sizes and colors are shown engaging in vigorous outdoor activities. Don’t be discouraged if the mountain you’re climbing doesn’t involve conquering a mean yoga pose or trying to stay on an angry bull—we all have different aspirations and capabilities.

As Coors kindly reminds us, “your mountains make you who you are—whatever your mountain, climb on.” And when you’re done climbing, crack open a beer. You’ve earned it. [Source]

February 5, 2016

CBC Hits the Slopes for the 10th Annual Winter House

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It’s that time of year again. Seeing the weather getting colder and colder here in New England prompts not-so-distant memories of endless shoveling and bone-chilling temperatures. While most are doing their best to stay out of the cold and the snow, CBC teamed up with some of media’s top-tier journalists and bloggers to tackle it head-on in Dear Valley, Utah for the annual experiential marketing event, Winter House.

Winter House was live as soon as the plane hit the tarmac. Onstar and Buick started guests off in style, with chauffeured rides to lunch. An active schedule from then on included a running clinic and workout courtesy of Altra and Icon, a relay race put on by Kahtoola (followed by libations, of course), Probar’s make-your-own activation, and a classy cocktail hour by POM pomegranate juice.

Naturally, surrounded by an abundance of snow and one of the best ski mountains the United States has to offer, Winter House attendees hit the slopes equipped with top-notch gear from Smith Optics and Elan.

CBC’s Winter House gave those who attended a chance to take a step back from the hustle and bustle of everyday life and share an experience with brands that they won’t soon forget. The activities, combined with a pristine location (and of course plenty of good food and drinks) made Winter House 2016 one for the books.

February 2, 2016

“Using Comparative Advertising can be a Ballsy Move”

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It all started in late December when Verizon let the ball (or should I say balls) drop by debuting a new commercial claiming that their performance was 1^st in the US for data, calls, speed, and reliability. The ad was titled, “A better network as explained by colorful balls.”

In the commercial, the four major US carriers including Verizon, Sprint, T-Mobile and AT&T each have their own colored balls that race down a path and into their own designated pool. Verizon wins the race, displaying their superiority over the other brands while supporting the credibility of their RootMetrics study.

Verizon was obviously hoping to see a response from consumers, resulting in new customers and higher sales. However, what they didn’t foresee was the response they would get from competitors they’d just thrown under the bus.

T-Mobile’s commercial, titled, “The rest of the story,” accused Verizon of omitting information, claiming they have added coverage for 100 million people in the last two years. The ad ended with, “Verizon didn’t tell you that, did they?” – a clear shot at the rivaling brand.

Sprint felt the need to get in on the action, as well, defending themselves in a commercial titled, “Sprint Presents: Nice Try Verizon.” In the commercial, they too accuse Verizon of leaving out information, claiming that they have the fastest download speeds than any other carrier.

How’s that for a little competition? The good news for us is that while these leading carriers fight over who is better, it is the consumer who ultimately wins. Both Verizon and Sprint offer to pay for the fees to change carriers, which can sometimes be several hundred dollars. Sprint also started a promotion that cuts their rates in half. Not too shabby a deal.

Better offers and new campaigns make the prospect of changing carriers more appealing, showing the prevalent nature – and the continued effectiveness – of comparative advertising.

January 29, 2016

Coca-Cola’s Big Campaign Sends a Sweet New Message

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For the last seven years, Coca-Cola’s “Open Happiness” campaign provided a mantra that connected the brand and its consumers in a remarkable way. With clever ad approaches and recognizable exposure, Coca-Cola established a movement that associated the brand with philosophical and psychological happiness. But with the attention on the brand itself for nearly the last decade, Coca-Cola recently saw fit to put focus back on the products and get its consumers to re-commit to the brand’s actual beverage offerings.

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Coca-Cola’s new campaign “Taste the Feeling” was released last Tuesday with an abundance of new print and video advertisements to refocus Coca-Cola’s consumer base on the actual product in the bottle: that sugary sweet good stuff we all love to love.

The “Taste the Feeling” campaign, using their ‘One Brand’ strategy, has a very direct goal: to connect the Coca-Cola brand on a global level. While stressing the global campaign, Coca-Cola will strive to reinforce the notion that consumers choose Coca-Cola products – across all of its trademarks – based off of their preference and lifestyle choices.

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The company intends to encourage consumers that their lifestyles already align with sugary Coca-Cola products, but in doing that, one can’t ignore how the global shift to healthier lifestyles puts a strain on Coca-Cola; while they are a completely successful brand, they’re fundamentally ignoring the bigger picture. Although the company offers ‘smarter’ lifestyle choices, the consumer base is still looking for a more revolutionary product that supports the movement to living a healthier life. Can the ‘One Brand’ strategy and the “Taste the Feeling” campaign serve to reconcile that gap between lifestyle and preference?

Whether you see it as a futile quick-fix, or as the tip of an iceberg that represents a huge step soda makers must one day take, with its new approach, Coca-Cola is ready to take you back to your special moments and remind you of the feelings associated with one of the world’s most beloved drink brands. The full set of “Taste the Feeling” television ads can be found on Coca-Cola’s YouTube page, but you can check out one of the commercials, which covers Queen and David Bowie’s song “Under Pressure”, below!

January 26, 2016

New Year, New Packaging Trends

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Contrary to what you may have learned in elementary school, the concept of “judging a book by its cover” plays a positive and essential role in marketing a new product. While it’s still the inside that counts, the outside packaging represents a crucial (and potentially first) step in attracting consumers. Not only are shoppers consciously looking for new and exciting trends, but psychological factors affect who buys your brand –without the buyer even realizing it.

Essentially, your product should scream, “Pick me!” without making a sound. Relying on imagery, color scheme, texture, and shape, your brand can speak wonders.

We’ve looked into emerging trends for packaging to find out just what consumers will knowingly and unknowingly be drawn to in the New Year. As Rich Cohen, founder and president of Distant Village Packaging, put it, brand packaging must be seen at as a “silent salesperson”. Turns out some of our clients are already ahead of the new trend game – here’s a look at their clever and effective packaging.

Color

Have you ever been looking at an ad when suddenly your hunger skyrockets? Well, there’s meaning behind this. Certain colors like yellow, red, and orange are known to spike appetite, as well as create a sense of energy and excitement. Cooler colors like green, blue, and white stir up feelings of calmness and security, explaining why they’re usually used for spa-related products. Luminox capitalizes on this color trend, using black and red in their watch packaging design. Along with the energy and passion of red detailing, the black boxes convey a sense of prestige that the product, true to its broader brand message, upholds.

Size & Shape

Size and shape also play a crucial role in the impression a product makes on a consumer. The shape of the package can tell a story about the product, for example. Backyard Farms employs this, packaging its tomatoes in boxes that mock an actual fenced-in backyard. Backyard Farms provides a fresh-from-the-garden tomato, and this message is translated in the brand’s package design. In addition to telling a story, shape can convey other subconscious values: rounder packaging emanates a softer, feminine feel, while hard edges translate to toughness and masculinity.

Design Aesthetic

The general aesthetic of your packaging can make or break a final sale. Recently, consumers have been reaching toward more authentic and “natural”-looking packaging. They favor homemade designs over utilitarian ones, as “hominess” tends to produce honest, quality, and caring associations. Stonewall Kitchen’s packaging is a successful example of this design tactic. Each of the brand’s jars of mustard and bottles of sauce is labeled with soft, casual, handwritten-esque typography. It’s as if your grandmother just whipped up a batch of her famous blueberry jam, and attached a specially crafted personal note. And who doesn’t love grandmother’s jam?

So go for it, try the colorful box or rustic jar; some brand manager spent a lot of time creating it just for you. We bet it tastes or works as good as it looks.

January 21, 2016

What Can We Expect for This Years Super Bowl Commercials

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Around the beginning of every year, America begins to get excited for what some might consider to be an unofficial national holiday: Super Bowl Sunday. Fans of the two combatting teams strap in for what they hope to be a victory for their favorite city. Others tune in for the love of football or the spectacle that the Super Bowl has become.

One thing is for sure; everybody who turns on their TV on February 7^th is going to be excited to watch this year’s Super Bowl commercials. Companies pay premium prices for a chance to put out their most polished commercial during the game and, according to the stats, it’s paying off.

Here is a sneak peek at what we can expect for this year.

Successful 2015 Campaigns Returning to the Big Stage

Doritos will air the winner of their annual “Crash the Super Bowl” contest for the final year
Popular candy companies Snickers and Skittles will try to match the success of their 2015 commercials “You’re Not You” and “Settle It” (below)

Intuit will once again give a 30-second spot to the finalist of its “Small Business, Big Game”, while TurboTax will use its own spot again in 2016
Online services Squarespace and Wix will be back
After a shocking hit in 2015, Avacados From Mexico announced its return
Kia, Mini USA, and Toyota will be coming back this year to show off some of their new cars

Making a Comeback

Plenty of car companies will return after missing the action in 2015, such as Acura, Buick, and Honda
Taco Bell announced its return in the form of a redacted press release
Butterfinger reeled out its intentions for its “Bolder than Bold” campaign in bold fashion

Big Surprises

You won’t be seeing the popular Web domain company GoDaddy this year, as they have announced they will not return for the first time in 12 years, making way for new companies to enter such as Colgate, LG, and Paypal
Budweiser will sideline everyone’s favorite puppy this year in an attempt to focus on the quality of their beer. But oh, how we will miss those puppies:

After a string of serious Super Bowl commercials in 2015, the general tone of 2016 should be much lighter. (As this New York Times article puts it, marketers just want to have fun again.) With that in mind, there are bound to be plenty of laughs, as well as more surprises, for viewers on game day. Oh… and there’ll be some football, too.

January 19, 2016

Ad Blocking – How to Avoid the Interruption

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The topic of ad blocking has hit the main stream after a recent Apple iOS update began supporting it. As users embrace the option of skipping over advertisements and blocking them from their view, marketers are prompted to step up to the challenge.

Ad blocking has grown to cost the industry roughly $781 million a year – yikes. Big numbers. Luckily for some advertisers, they have found a way to use it to their advantage. Utilizing the feature on YouTube that allows users to skip an ad after 5 seconds, GEICO created a simple ad that only lasted this long. The campaign behind the ad: “You can’t skip this GEICO ad, because it’s already over.”

The Facebook advertising world also has a unique feature—auto play for videos. Hotels.com incorporated this into an ad and specifically designed it to run without sound, allowing user experiences to remain uninterrupted (for the most part).

As these pesky ad blockers continue to make their mark, marketers need to create ads that, as this Forbes article so aptly put it, “match the context of the site or app in which they appear.” Consumers don’t like to be interrupted, and ad blockers were created as a way out. That being said, there are ways that marketers can adapt to this new landscape in order to keep their ads from being blocked. Here’s our advice:

Be simple

The main reason that consumers dislike online advertisements is that they don’t like being interrupted. Pop-up ads block content and follow users through their web surfing experience. Marketers can avoid this by creating content that is simple and relevant to the user experience, limiting the disruptions and the all-too-frequent irrelevance.

Boost ads through social media

While ad blockers are designed to remove ads from the online experience, most social media channels remain peppered with ads. Ads displayed via Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter fit effortlessly into the platforms and are made an innocuous – though present – part of the user’s experience.

As ad blocking is relatively new, it is also relatively unrefined. To date, the feature is used to block out any and all advertising content. However, as the story goes, there is always room for improvement. And fingers crossed there’s room for us as ad-people, too.

December 8, 2015

The Season of Giving

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‘Tis the season for giving and, on Giving Tuesday, Snapchat teamed up with the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation to donate up to $3 million dollars to (RED). Three “World AIDS Day” geofilters were created and for every picture that was taken with one, $3 was donated. On top of that, $1 million would be donated if a specific (RED) YouTube video were shared more than 330,000 times.

[SOUR CE]

“It feels good to put a cause-supporting filter on a social media post, but wouldn’t it be nice if those little tokens of support actually counted in real money?”-Mashable

This question made us think—WOAH. Promotion for charities has completely evolved with the help of social media. What used to be a very personal and voluntary act is now much more easily accessible, with just a simple click of a button.

This type of campaign is a two-way street, and that’s why brands love it. While the charity is gaining funds and exposure, the brand is self-promoting and supporting user interaction. In this way, the charity and the brand are both kept in the consumer’s mind.

Some of our clients have used this tactic and we think it’s great:

From November 3^rd to December 25^th, Garnet Hill is donating up to $15,000 to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital by giving $5 for every PJ party photo that is uploaded to Instagram with the hashtag #StJudePJParty.

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In October, Rockport Shoes donated $5 to Dress For Success for every post using #MyDailyAdventure and tagging @DressforSuccess, and the campaign raised $10,000 for the philanthropic organization, which provides interview suits and career development support to low-income women.

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The bottom line is that social media has helped charities become more accessible to consumers, and we can all be thankful for that. So, if you see campaigns like these, engage! It’s an easy way to do your part in giving during this holiday season.

December 3, 2015

Emerging Shopping Trends

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It’s no new thing that digital interactions are shaping the way we live. But the statistics behind this year’s Cyber Monday are really ossifying that idea, and the ways that marketers are crafting point of purchase experiences have to change with it. Differentiation, mobile phones, and multichannel experiences are just some of the ways retailers have changed their approach to keep up.

Differentiation

REI is one of the few companies who did something different this Black Friday. They announced an “Opt Outside” campaign and closed all of their brick and mortar stores to encourage consumers to do something active outdoors. REI promoted the hashtag #OptOutside, and had over 1 million participants. The outdoor retailer reinforced their brand positioning and stayed true to their values. In doing so, they received great reward with an increase in online traffic throughout the Thanksgiving weekend. REI was able to entice more customers by doing just the opposite of other retailers in an act of – pardon the pun – “outside” of the box differentiation. (Source)

Mobile

The use of mobile devices for shopping has increased over the years, which has decreased the prominence of big shopping days such as Black Friday. (Source) This is because every day is a shopping day, and there is no rush. In fact, many shoppers use their phones for research before going into the store or making a purchase online. In addition, social commerce has also gained influence in mobile purchases. Twitter, Instagram and Pinterest all incorporate a simple way to purchase items straight form each of these platforms, helping drive awareness and sales.

(Source)

Multichannel Experiences

Retailers are coming up with creative ways to reach more people on top of online and in-store shopping. Some retailers have created pop-up shops, allowing consumers to see, touch, feel and experience available options for a limited amount of time. This helps retailers test new concepts and markets with less risk. For example, Adidas created a pop up shop in London to celebrate the launch of the new Stan Smith collection. Designed to look like a replica of a Stan Smith shoebox, the shop had limited and exclusive edition products along with interactive experiences to leave a lasting impression on attendees. One of the interactive experiences allowed attendees to use the “Stan Yourself” app, which replaced Stan Smith’s signature and face with a unique endorsement picture of themselves.

(Source)

With shopping trends changing every year, will Black Friday continue to be as important of a shopping day as it has been in the past? Shopping malls have become more and more of a window-shopping experience; will brick and mortars continue to exist? Or will the malls of the future just be where we go to get our steps in?

December 2, 2015

Emerging Industry and Tech Trends for 2016

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As 2015 is coming to an end and next year’s planning is kicking into full gear, it’s time to take a look at some emerging trends that will rule the digital landscape in 2016.

Different sources have varying perspectives on the top-tier trends, but for the most part everyone can agree that mobile and new gadgets in innovation will top the list. With the endless new devices topping holiday wish lists this season (iPad Pro, anyone?), marketers will definitely be zeroing in on optimizing their mobile platforms, and getting to the forefront of mobile ads.

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In an era where anything and everything is becoming digitalized, it’s important to keep an eye out for technological trends. Virtual Reality and 360 tech has had tons of buzz in 2015; it will be interesting to see where this takes us, and how advertisers will be able to integrate this into their projects.

Similarly, wearable tech like TomTom’s GPS watches will definitely be top of mind for advertisers in 2016. Whether or not the platforms will allow for advertising opportunities is still pending, but given the latest trends of social media brands opening up their platforms for advertisers, it wouldn’t be surprising if we start seeing pop-up advertising on our watches, too.

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Another industry trend that’s particularly interesting is the growing prominence of disruptive competitors, or small niche brands taking on industries dominated by a few key players. Services like Dollar Shave Club and Uber have been extremely successful in staking a claim within industries that have not seen new competitors in quite some time.

With the emergence of new technologies and companies creating new markets for themselves, marketers will have to work harder than ever to stay ahead of the innovation game. Who knows what platforms will open their doors to advertisers in 2016! As ad-people, we’re staying on our toes, poised to create, to evolve, and to innovate in the name of the ever-changing game.

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November 25, 2015

The Word of the Year, and What It “Says” About Us

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In the bustling chaos of the world, people are constantly trying to speed things up. Remember the days of having to actually dial your friend’s number into your phone? Or better yet, the days when your phone was attached to the wall of your house? Those days weren’t fast enough – cue cell phones. Since then, we’ve continued to innovate – from faster Internet, to faster cars… and now, to even shorter words.

Two years ago, the Oxford Dictionary deemed “selfie” the word of the year. Since then, it has become a word that we all hear a little too often. Taking selfies is a quicker way to capture a moment, and has become a popular photo-taking strategy, even (if not especially) for celebs.

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Still, selfies just weren’t fast enough. We have taken our fast-paced lifestyles just a tad bit further (hint: emojis). You know those little icons on the keyboard of your iPhone? Watch out “selfies,” these images have taken the main stage.

A few days ago, the Oxford Dictionary decided that its 2015 word of the year was in fact not a word at all, but an emoji titled “Face With Tears of Joy”. The emoji was deemed the most used of 2015 and Oxford Dictionary says it is the “word that best reflected the ethos, mood and preoccupations of 2015”.

Oxford Dictionary’s backing of the “word” confirms that people can (and do) now use emojis as a form of communication, in the way that traditional written characters once pioneered the sharing of ideas. In the social media world, this is a huge hit. Take Twitter, for example, which limits the number of characters allowed in a tweet. Emojis, only count as one character, but may convey a message worthy of much more; therefore we are no longer hindered by a character count when communicating a complex message.

While some are concerned that people are reverting back to the time of hieroglyphs, as for now, we’re staying tuned for the word of the year in 2016. Who knows, it might just be a smell.

November 23, 2015