Content without Borders

Moments after the Paris attacks were reported the night of Friday, November 13, Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook were flooded with messages and images in response to the atrocity. Reflection, prayer, disappointment, and anger were all seen throughout the digital space. Facebook soon offered users an option to overlay a French flag on their profile picture in support of the French.

A particular image, however, was soon showing up online more than any other. It’s a rough watercolor sketch of the Eiffel Tower bisecting a circle: a simple representation of peace for Paris, and a depiction of the tenacious hope and optimism felt throughout the world.

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Its creator is 32-year-old French designer and illustrator Jean Jullien. In an interview with Wired, Jullien stated that he began the sketch moments after hearing about the attacks and that “It was done on my lap, on a very loose sketchbook, with a brush and ink…I didn’t do any sketches…It was more an instinctive, human reaction than an illustrator’s reaction.”

The sketch, posted to Jullien’s Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook, went viral. As of November 17, his posts have received:

  • Twitter: 60,000 re-tweets and 45,000 likes
  • Facebook: 28,552 shares and 24,518 likes
  • Instagram: 166,000 likes and 3,692 comments

1Instagram posted the image to its own account on Friday, receiving over 1.4 million likes.

These statistics, however, don’t take into account the immense number of shares and posts that used Jullien’s art through a screen-shot or after personal editing, whether credited or not.

In stark contrast with recent battles about accreditation of content on social media, Jullien was happy to have people around the world editing and recreating his work or using it on shirts—with or without credit: “The fact that people shared it and used it, well, in a way that’s all for the better. It’s an image for everyone. It’s a communication tool…”

In an Instagram post, uploaded Monday morning, Jullien thanked the world for their messages of support for Paris. He iterated that he created the image for Paris, for the victims, and for their families. “It’s a sign for everybody to share and show their support and solidarity,” he says. “It’s a peace sign for all the other cities and countries around the world affected by such nonsense and violence…”

If there’s any question about the influence of social media within our global society, this weekend and the aftermath of the Paris attacks were unfortunate indications. Jean Jullien himself is a selfless reminder that social media is not always about promotion, sales, or getting the most engagement; sometimes, a simple message unites us all with the best of intentions.

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Creatures of Habit

With new controversial decisions made by Twitter and Starbucks, consumers are flustered over one thing—change.

We’re sure you’ve heard the buzz. It’s the holiday season and Starbucks lovers waited a whole year for their holiday cups. To their dismay, the cups were just red. No fun winter or Christmas designs… just plain, old, red. And even though the company has stated that they “wanted to usher in the holidays with a purity of design that welcomes all of our stories,” for consumers, it’s still not enough.

 

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Another tragic thing happened recently… There’s no more “favoring” tweets with stars. Twitter is all about “likes” and hearts, now. Twitter lovers are enraged:

 

 

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This leaves us stirring over one big question: why do we consumers resist change?

It’s mostly because we are creatures of habit. We live in a society that is very emotionally connected to brands. (Which, as marketers, we can pat ourselves on the back for). Thus when something about a brand identity shifts, consumers may respond with uncertainty. For example, Twitter was unique with its “favorites” function as compared to Facebook and Instagram. According to the tweet above, “favorites” meant something to people that “likes” just don’t. And with Starbucks, the holiday red cup designs became something little that consumers looked forward to, just like the “PSL.”

As we’ve seen with Twitter and Starbucks and other brands like Google, change happens. And oftentimes, it’s the driving force behind industry trends. Is Starbucks’ “inclusive” maneuver representative of a larger packaging industry trend? Is Twitter’s redesigned mechanism for appreciation going to spur changes in other similar forums? Time will tell. But for now, we can’t help but still “heart” our lattes, by any other packaging still as sweet.

Are the Jingle Bells Being Rung Too Early?

As we pointed out a couple weeks ago, year after year, the holly jolly season makes a grand entrance sooner and sooner. With marketers hopping on board to grab the attention of their target consumers, initiatives are consistently being pushed to bring the merry spirit to life earlier in the year. But how early is too early for the Christmas Creep?

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For brands, it makes total sense to hook consumers with deals and steals through early-on initiatives. In a study done in 2014 by the Harvard Business Review, nearly 60 percent of shoppers started buying for the holidays as early as September and October. What’s drawing these people into the pre-pre-pre-holiday madness? The benefits.

Both consumers and brands get huge takeaways from more holiday-focused shopping. More time to buy means higher customer satisfaction: fewer items out-of-stock, less risk of shopping chaos, and a larger period of time to institute sales and POP deal opportunities throughout the span of three months. So at the end of the day, the few who continue to complain about the early arrival of Christmas are trumped by the rise of those who don’t mind the early, themed holiday pushes – and sure as heck take advantage it.

What about those companies who don’t conform to the preemptive holiday craziness? One company that continues to fight the Christmas Creep is Nordstrom, who continuously, year after year, decides to hold off on holiday marketing and decorating until after Thanksgiving, earning the respect of those still willing to enjoy the little bit of fall that lingers in November before Christmas season officially hits in December.

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Will there be any “bah humbug” critics of this year’s Christmas Creep? Or have we all succumbed to the allure of the months-long bargains and early-released holiday shopping campaigns?

Tell us what you think: bring on the bargains or hold off on the holidays?

Virtual reality — the future for brand-to-consumer storytelling?

Virtual reality, a fairly new thing for most, is a 3D reality of an environment that imitates physical presence in places that exist elsewhere in the world or in an imaginary place. Mostly known as a new platform for video games, virtual realities are also becoming very popular in marketing and journalism, with the potential to be the new form of storytelling. You can experience virtual realities with a pair of Oculus glasses or with something as simple as a Google Cardboard. With this technology, you can watch videos to see, connect and experience life elsewhere in the world on a completely different level.

Can you imagine what life is like as a nine-year-old in South Sudan, displaced by warfare? Well, now you can – thanks to the New York Times Virtual Reality app, which shares the stories of three children in eastern Ukraine, Syria and South Sudan.

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Can you imagine what the life of a ballerina is like? Or what about an experiential virtual reality where you walk into a store, try on a winter jacket and take a quick trip to the South Pole? A North Face store in South Korea created a virtual experience for its shoppers to experience what it would be like to wear the jacket on a dog sledding ride.

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With these novel uses of a just-as-novel technology, consumers have the opportunity to be completely transported. If advertising can pull at the heartstrings, virtual realities can impose more literal experiences – be they emotional, tactile, or the like – on people. Point of purchase tactics have immense potential for growth with VR, as do activations and other brand-to-consumer interactions, something we specialize in here at CBC. With North Face exemplifying the trend of brands using technologies to engage on closer, more intimate levels with consumers, we’re eager (and, honestly, a little wary!) to see what’s to come.

Advertising Through AdBlock Plus

Companies such as Instagram and SnapChat have taken their widely successful social media apps and managed to turn them into money-making advertising machines. By launching services that integrate company-generated content into the interfaces, these mobile applications are able to capitalize upon their preexisting user-base through compensation by advertisers.

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The newest company to monopolize on their users is AdBlock Plus, a download that blocks annoying pop-ups and allows users to bypass YouTube’s pre-video advertisements. Because of ad-blocking extensions, ignoring online advertising is easier than fast-forwarding through commercials. Eyeo GmbH, the makers of the popular download, are trying to make money off of their new program, ‘Acceptable Ads’. This would allow companies to pay and have their ads bypass the blocker, as long as they adhere to a set of guidelines.

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This new program allows AdBlock Plus to make the most of its pre-existing user base by charging advertisers to ensure that their messages are reaching their target. The sole reason to download an ad blocker is to eliminate exactly what they are trying to sell: ads. Having paid content on SnapChat and Instagram has so far been well received, as the ads don’t seem to interfere with user experience. However, users who are accustomed to an ad-free experience may find this new program disruptive and counterproductive. Since selling ad space to companies defeats the whole purpose of an ad blocker, it’s unclear how the company will fare in upcoming talks with publishers, considering its now roundabout, slightly oxymoronic chain of operations.

Twitter Implements Campaign Donation Button

In an age of encroaching technological prowess, it makes sense to think that someday soon we’d be able to make political donations through the social media world. Well, that “someday” has come a bit sooner than we’d anticipated—and the opportunities are endless.

Last week, Twitter teamed up with mobile payment company Square to create a user-friendly donation system for political campaigns. To make it work, campaigns must set up a Square Cash account, which will then give them a username called a #cashtag. When the #cashtag is tweeted, a big blue button that says “Contribute” appears in users news feeds. Twitter users who click “Contribute” will be redirected to a page where they can donate with a credit card. Users will also have to input other information required by the FEC, such as full name and address.

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With this advancement to the technology and interface of Twitter, campaigns are no longer limited by the amount of donors they can reach via e-mail lists. Now, campaigns can simply post a donation tweet and leverage the power of re-tweets from celebrities and social influencers. This will allow campaigns to reach audiences they could have never imagined. It’s almost, dare we say it, a presidential feat in terms of the ways politicians are tackling the evolving and ever-interactive social media front to their benefits.

Will the new campaign donation button feature turn Twitter’s environment into an Amazon.com-like spending frenzy? Or will the luddites prevail, the system pestered with the skepticism of the grouchy political pundit? As seamless as it’s become, honestly—will you be more likely to donate?

‘Tis the Season of Programmatic Advertising

Oh the times, they are a-changin’. Every year during the holidays, companies look for new ways to reach their audiences. Well, here we are, approaching the holiday season and WOW, have things changed since the last time we sat on Santa’s lap.

If we time travel just ten years back and think about holiday advertising, what comes to mind? Television ads (those Coca-Cola Polar Bears!), email marketing (that early-on Hotmail account…) and basic online/print magazine ads (and their oh-so-wonderful catalog counterparts – see JCPenney’s, below). In fact, we found an article from 2005 that says “If you want to ensure the best visibility for your advertisers this holiday season, you’d better contact publishers and submit RFPs (define) now.” Although pitching is still a very useful tool, it is no longer the only option.

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Fast forward to today. We have multiple social media platforms, ads pop up on our screens based on what we’ve recently searched, and admen are able to completely understand big data and use it to target consumers on micro levels. These are the tricks of the contemporary trade, and – seem it trick or treat – what brands will be employing this holiday season.

Over the weekend, AdWeek updated us with the best way to reach consumers this holiday season. Two words: Programmatic Ads. Marketing Land defines the concept as such:

“In a nutshell, programmatic advertising automates the decision-making process of where ads are placed, using artificial intelligence (AI) and real-time bidding (RTB) for online display, mobile and video campaigns — and it’s making inroads into TV and social media, too.”

AdWeek reports that about 50% of consumers are down to have their personal information shared and used to provide them with better shopping experiences. The time is ticking, so major brands better get on board with such marketing intelligence or they might risk falling behind. So, ‘tis the season of spending! Thus, ‘tis the season for targeted consumer outreach.

The War is Dead?

When we started CBC nearly 16 years ago Jim Mullen, the legendary founder of Mullen Advertising and our former employer, gave us some advice. It was simple, and prophetic.

“Sell against advertising,” said the man who in 1976 started and built one of the most creative and iconoclastic ad agencies in America. He was sensing change in the air. In how we relate to brands, how they relate to us and the role of culture in the life of a brand.

So imagine who we thought of when reading that another legendary founder of another legendary ad agency, Chuck Porter of Crispin Porter (nee Bogusky) yesterday declared at an industry conference, “The war is dead, PR won.” For many years, he said, his company has been trying to think “more like a PR agency than a traditional ad agency” in order to create campaigns that generate buzz and engage with consumers.

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“We realized the best buzz came from non-paid media,” Porter said, pointing to the campaign introducing the Mini Cooper in the US, in which the agency placed cars on top of SUVs and drove them around. “The client drove along with us, and by the end they said, ‘We don’t know how to measure this but everywhere we went people took pictures of us.’ .”

We agree. Whether it’s a campaign with “ad-like objects” (such as Rockport Shoes or TomTom or Garnet Hill), or the experiential CBC House programs, or something in between, the secret sauce to all our work at CBC lies in our PR roots and orientation. Because PR people think in terms of sharing (we need journalists to ‘share’ our story), this orientation is better suited for today’s marketing realities (aka, subtle and substantive) than traditional ad mentality. HOWEVER, PR people can’t produce visually compelling campaigns. The key is GREAT positioning and creative to push through earned channels (not simply media relations). Do that, and the brand idea will resonate and change minds and disrupt in the best possible way.

Is the war really dead? Who knows. But the rules sure have changed and they’re never going back.

A Blast From the Past: PlayStation Gets Nostalgic

Looking for a way to get people hooked on your story? Just make them wish they were a kid again. This was PlayStation’s latest tactic in the launch of their ad campaign for a new game: Star Wars Battlefront. Deemed the Ad of the Day by AdWeek this past Tuesday, the commercial takes you through every stage of your childhood Star Wars fandom (lightsaber battles included, of course).

Following the release of the Star Wars: The Force Awakens movie trailer during this week’s Monday night football, PlayStation took viewers one step further back into kid-dom. And we think it worked.

Aside from Star Wars being an ultimate classic to those of us “vintage” enough to have caught the originals come through theaters, the Playstation ad speaks to all generations, cultivating that nostalgic feeling of playing pretend as a child. From Halloween dress-up to the (more adult) feeling of wishing you could hop on a hovercraft and fly out of work on a slow day – PlayStation’s got it covered.

Not only has the gaming company recreated relatable and iconic moments with the advertisement, but they have also launched a supplement to the campaign: a purchasable bundle package featuring a one-of-a-kind PS4 system branded with Darth Vader and the Star Wars logo.

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All right, let’s bring it “back” to the future. Using feelings of nostalgia as a marketing tactic is a creative way to get people emotionally involved, and translating that campaign idea across all product platforms (as PlayStation did with their branded repackaging) only serves to further generate feelings of commitment and the desire to come back for more. Plus, who doesn’t love a good reason to celebrate #TBT!? Consumer’s value feeling connected to brands, and a blast from the past connects them to the “good ol’ days” and – when the endeavor is successful – to the brand itself.

UberRUSH-es to the Forefront With “New School” Delivery Service

Have you ever wasted your afternoon trying to figure out how to get something you need from point A to point B? (That box you got delivered to work, lo and behold, is too heavy to carry on the train? That shirt you took from your roommate that he really, really, really needs at the apartment NOW?!) Yep, us too – and it seems we’re not the only ones.

This past week Uber launched UberRUSH, a same-day delivery service that is being pilot tested in three major cities, and is being pushed as a business-to-consumer asset. As Uber released in a statement Wednesday, “today with the launch of UberRUSH, every business in Chicago, New York, and San Francisco has the power to get customers what they want, when they want it.”Screen-Shot-2015-10-16-at-3.54.36-PM-300x199

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UberRush allows businesses to make faster, more reliable deliveries that, in turn, save consumers extra “tedious” trips to places such as the grocery store. For now, the service is targeted towards small businesses. For example, through UberRUSH, local or smaller-scale restaurants with lesser capacities for delivery teams can outsource delivery and get their customers food faster, preserving more time for in-house clientele.Screen-Shot-2015-10-16-at-4.04.54-PM-300x228

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Will UberRUSH be a disruptive market force against companies like UPS and FedEx? Although UberRUSH does not deliver nationwide just yet, we anticipate them stealing a bit of attention from these now “old school” delivery companies in their trial cities. For example, when ordering something online from a local retail shop, consumers who want same-day delivery would have the ability to choose the UberRUSH delivery option. Consumers will then be able to track their product, every step of the 30-minute way. Say goodbye to “3 to 5 business days.”Screen-Shot-2015-10-16-at-4.04.27-PM-159x300

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Uber made a name for itself by finding ways to meet consumers’ needs where traditional business models were falling flat. And the brand epitomizes contemporary corporate movement: action-based and willing to make daring moves across traditional business-identity “boundaries” (who’d have thought a taxi service would be delivering roses on Valentine’s Day!?). Will the old school players prevail amidst the force of this new school juggernaut? Only time (and with UberRUSH, we may all have a lot more of it) will tell.

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Shopping Your News Feed

Holiday shopping this year will be quicker and easier than ever, with the increased number of social media platforms introducing ‘shop-able’ posts and functions. Instagram pioneered the trend, announcing last summer that that they were granting companies the privilege of posting ads that appear on feeds. For the first time, this allowed links to take users outside of the app to buy the products in the photo they’re used to so routinely scrolling past.

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Pinterest quickly followed suit with their ‘buyable pins,’ which enabled users to search for products within specified parameters, such as price range and color. As a result, retailers could drive sales straight from their posts.

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The newest addition to the convenience-shopping rat race is YouTube. The video platform is rolling out new ad products that will allow any video to become shop-able. This is especially beneficial for brands that have numerous ‘review’ or ‘unboxing’ videos for their products. Previously, brands could only add this function to their own created videos, but the new feature allows them to link from eligible videos, regardless of the creator, through an auction for the ad space. [Source]PICTURE-1-300x225

 

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With the constantly increasing use of mobile devices, platforms are taking advantage of the time millennials spend on social and networking apps. The data accrued from active users allows companies to better target and market to their consumers. (People have even been matched with pizza on the dating app Tindr!). Social media has become integrated into lives and routines, and for some millennials, they can’t remember a time when social media did not exist. Even now, the social media landscape is becoming more visual-based, with Instagram, Tumblr, and Facebook at the forefront of this trend. People are spending more time sharing this visual content than they are creating it. Thus, it’s no surprise that companies are focusing their efforts on creating a quick and seamless transition from daily media “checks” to – you got it – sales.

 

Branding Case Study: Blake Lively’s Preserve

Society has seen a surge in celebrities-turned-digital-mavericks, such as the recent launch of the Kardashian apps and Ashton Kutcher’s new role on Shark Tank. While we might expect such a move from the enterprising Kardashian klan, there have been other, more subtle celebrity efforts to become involved with commerce, business, and social media.

Flashback to 2007’s Gossip Girl, which became immediately famous for fashion, much like Sex and the City had decades earlier; characters were not only on-trend, but trend-setting.

 

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After the show’s 2012 finale, Blake Lively continued her character’s legacy and remained a style icon. In July 2014, she launched Preserve, a lifestyle website with corresponding social media accounts consisting of handmade wares and clothing designed in part by the actress. (Gwyneth Paltrow can perhaps be credited with the celebrity lifestylepreneur trend, having launched Goop back in 2008.). Gossip Girl fans were optimistic and envisioned Lively’s website as a place where they could get the inside scoop on all things “Serena”.

Why then, did Lively just announce that she is shutting down the site? What went wrong?

The most successful aspect of Lively’s new business was not the goods for sale, but was, in fact, her personal Instagram account. (On it, Lively frequently featured herself in Preserve pieces.) Perhaps, though, her consumers were looking for that and only that – the continued persona of the character of Blake Lively (and, in turn, her Gossip Girl counterpart) –but nothing more.

The trajectory of the website highlights the importance of strategically growing a brand image in direct accordance with its products and offerings, and, likewise, ensuring that the target consumer (if “the consumer” is what the company depends on) is in line with them both.

Not to get too sappy here, but we’re sad to see Preserve go. We’re not too worried about Blake Lively, though, for what she’s excelled at the most – her Instagram account and the quippy, genuine, personable “Blake Lively” brand that shines through it – lives on.

 

NY Ad Week: Facebook Tackles the TV Market

Just when you think Facebook has done it all, the company opens a new avenue for advertisers – TRP buying. On the eve of this years Ad Week event in NYC, Facebook announced its plans to integrate the new ad-buying product which will allow agencies to boost their TV campaigns through Facebook video ads.

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While television ad campaigns have been the go-to source for many brands, millennials are more often looking at life through the screens of their cellphones. So why not combine forces?

Through a partnership with Nieslen, Facebook is working to amplify TV ad spending by allowing brands to purchase TRP shares directly from Facebook. So what does this mean in layman terms? A target-rating point, by definition, is a specific consumer audience within a gross-rating point (GRP), which has been a key metric for TV ad measurement since the 1950’s. Marketers will be able to plan a campaign that will extend across Facebook and TV while keeping a specific TRP in mind. Nielsen will then verify Facebook’s in-target TRP delivery as well as its delivery for Facebook and TV combined. This gives brands the opportunity to get in front of their audience in more than one place, and make their campaigns more memorable.

For those brands looking to take the next step, Facebook’s TRP buying holds the potential to increase their reach by 19% according to a recent study conducted by Facebook.

But wait…there’s more

Facebook has been hiding a lot up their sleeves, but the secrets are out. They have also released 3 other new and exciting opportunities for brands to connect more through the platform.

Brand Awareness Optimization Tool

Facebook’s new tool will allow brands to find the best audience for their campaigns. The tool factors in how many people the ad will reach, as well as how long it will hold their attention.

Video Carousel

It seems like only yesterday Facebook released their carousel format to showcase products on users’ newsfeed. Now new and improved, the layout allows brands to include videos in their content to create even more interaction with their audience.Screen-Shot-2015-09-29-at-12.47.04-PM-300x292

Mobile Polling

Along with being able to run campaigns through Facebook advertising, they can now be measured in the same place. Mobile polling is available for Facebook and Instagram to keep advertisers up-to-date on how well their campaigns are running.

Follow the rest of Ad Week here to stay up to date on other exciting news!

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2015 Parenting Experience with CBC

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Summer is winding down, and parents everywhere are preparing their kids and their homes to accommodate the new school year. From stocking up on school supplies to transitioning closets to accommodate the crisp fall months, it can be overwhelming for a parent to sort through all the new products at hand. Luckily, CerconeBrown has the answer to these parenting dilemmas! Since its introduction in 2013, the CBC Parenting Experience works to connect top parenting and children’s brands and products directly to top lifestyle press.

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The Parenting Experience is a one-day event showcasing a collection of the best products that top brands have to offer. Guests are invited to sample and taste test these new items, allowing them to get face-to-face and hands-on experience with the experts behind the brands. This year’s event took place this past Wednesday at the London NYC Hotel Penthouse suite, and participants from parenting and lifestyle magazines, top mommy bloggers, and high-influencing mom personalities joined in on the fun. In total, 33 top-tier media were able to get to know brands who ran the gamut from snack solutions to educational tools for children.

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Sabra, Plum Organics, and Pom Wonderful were on-site sampling and sharing their brand flavors, while LEGO and ABC Mouse showcased new toys and tools that are both interactive and educational.

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The Parenting Experience is not only about the children, but also the parents! Nothing ruins a family outing more than cold and wet feet, and BOGS presented cold-weather solutions for parents and children alike.

The Parenting Experience is just one of CBC’s House Programs, facilitating press and brand interactions between editors, authors, and bloggers and the newest, best products in their beats, all in a casual yet high-energy setting. This experience was another success: authentic, intimate, and the preface for long-lasting brand/press relationships.