The strategy behind Pripps Brazil commercial

This morning we heard the swedish communication magazine 'Dagens Media' claiming to be the first to report on the new Pripps Blå ads made by Åkestam Holst. Pripps Blå is one of those brands that Swedes somehow love (which I believe is mainly due to nostalgia connected to its Swedish heritage) but few people buy. In Y&R BAV terms it's got massive brand stature (esteem and knowledge) but I believe it lacks brand strength (differentiation and relevance). And the move from Carlsberg Sweden is this new communication platform. What are they trying to do you think? Well, I belive they must have done some homework before this move. They must have realised that their current platform of nostalgic Swedishness has nothing to offer their intended target group. See one of the old style ads here:

So, I guess Carlsberg Sweden must have got to the point where they feel convinced that youthful feelgood 'Brazil' emo feel ads are going to do the job better. I'm not going to judge this one - I simply look forward to follow the developments. Are the new ads going to deliver against the strategy? Are they going to alienate the current buyers? Are they going to attract the intended 'new' target group? And, on the journey I wish Pripps Blå good luck on their path to brand revitalisation - I hope you've done your homework!

Does music branding via Technologic help to strengthen Telenor brand?

That’s the question that awake when I read the last page of Svenska Dagbladet (SvD) this morning. Music branding is by a definition set by Jacob Lusensky ‘when companies make strategic allies with the music industry to strengthen brands’. Jacob Lusensky is a Swede who helps brands to use the right music in their communication, he is also the writer of a new book on the topic called ‘Sounds like branding’.
I first realised the power music can have to strengthen brand when I saw the Muller Dairy commercials with the 'I'm alive' tune in the UK that ran a few years ago. It was something with that music that added vigour and vitality to the brand. Somehow the music touched something inside me at a very emotional level and I started to view Muller differently, more favourably. During this particular period I was engaged in research and innovation for another big dairy company and it was very interesting to hear first hand just how much consumers engaged in the brand due to the music. I wonder if Muller ever understood the power of that music on their brand. A few years later they totally changed direction in their communication, and the power was gone – at least for me.

A recent Swedish example of the power of ‘music branding’ is the new Telenor communication platform with the Technologic tune. It’s a move for Telenor to freshen up their brand and move from a dull, public institution to a fresh, private and very vibrant brand with cool factor. Despite the logo being dull and Telia like… the new ads, and the music – well, it’s got a lot of coolness factor! The problem for me is that I lack the hygiene factors underlying this ‘new cool’ positioning. The company is still dull and their old school ‘focus on sales’ service attitude and offers are just offputting…So, with ads that are cool and fab music the experience feels very remote from the current Telenor brand. This could end up a dangerous example of moving too fast with ‘music branding’ too soon, without getting the basics right. However, if Telenor does their brand homework right they are hopefully engaged in a range of internal efforts to ensure that they can deliver against the ‘cool’ factor that they set for themselves via music and ads. I hope so anyway – otherwise it’s just branding at its worst. Glitzy surface with lack of substance.

Tiger Woods - Desperate attempt to strengthen his brand

This ad by Tiger and Nike is sure an interesting and rather desperate attempt to strengthen his personal brand. For me, it's a typical example of a branding and communication at its worst. At the same time as media reports on his chaotic lifestyle and forecoming divorce. Tiger simply calmly stands there, listening carefully to his fathers wise words, looking like he's learned an awful lot... This is bullshit! It totally lacks reason to believe. Nike nows it - and it's embarassing. Maybe Nike and Tiger should just have been wise enough to wait with any attempt to strengthen brand until the basic hygiene factors had been on track when Tiger had proved himself a bit more, both on and off the golf course. He simply appears to be an even bigger loooooooooser (and now I'm talking about his personality) than before the scandal.

But there's another issue here too. And it is the desperate attempt by one of Tigers main sponsors Nike. What on earth did the Nike marketeers think when they decided to go ahead with this commercial. What's the issue that they want to overcome here? And did they thoroughly analyse this with any serious or smart strategic planner at their ad agency? If so, what on earth what the analysis that gave them the belief that this ad was a good idea? Is it good for Tiger? Is it good for Nike? I'm perplexed!

Definition of Insight - what's an insight anyway?

Well, that is a good question don't you think? Especially when you read a blog which claims to give you 'insight for innovation'! Well, the definition that I believe in and that I work with everyday is the definition of my past employer 'The Value Engineers'. They say that an insight is ‘The penetrating understanding of consumers which provides hooks or clues that lead us towards new brand building opportunities’.
That's a pretty damn good definition of insight! Enjoy!

Springwise reports - Now Sainsbury’s is set to become the first UK supermarket to keep bees, recently announcing plans to install eight 'bee hotels' on land around their new eco-store in Dursley, Gloucestershire.

I love this initiative - it's so Sainsbury's! My favourite supermarket all time!

Living Labs - consumer co-creation in the digital age

I recently heard about 'Living Labs' - a consumer co-creation methodology supported and promoted by Opinion, the rather quirky norwegian research agency. I love the name 'Living Labs' so of course I had to read more about it. And over the last few days I've explored the idea. The concept of consumer or customer co-creation appeals to me. Being a consumer centric professional it is certainly something that I encourage. I'm aware of the power of insights from these activities. And the idea of a web-based, digital community is also very interesting to explore when it comes to FMCG and service innovation. Just imagine how interesting and effective it could be to test a new food service concept in this kind of setting. Especially if you can create an environment that brings consumers into a real 'service reality' online. Community members could help you to evaluate the strenght of various food service concepts in a setting that becomes as close to 'real life' as possible. If anyone out there have got some experiences of 'Living Labs' - let me know, I would love to know more.

Food retail innovation with impact - 'My Supermarket'

I discovered My Supermarket today and now I cannot stop browsing the offers on show. If only I could do online food shopping via the My Supermarket solution! It's not only clever and tempting, you get a bargain too. For a food and food innovation junkie like me I cannot get hold of myself when I see all the lovely offers from the oh so clever food retailers in the UK. Love it!

Youth boosts egg sales in Sweden

Fri Köpenskap reports today that it is the swedish youth who boost the latest sales increase. for eggs. Apparently last year swedes ate 71m more eggs than the previous year! That's a bloody lot of eggs! And it is a sales increase of 5%, the highest in many, many years.

So, what stands behind this development? Why on earth do the swedes eat more eggs? Well, You Gov were commissioned by Svensk Ägg (Swedish Egg organisation) to explore the reasons why in what appears to be an 'only' quant exercise based on 1024 interviews. The very quant answer is apparently that more and more swedes eat egg for breakfast. Almost one in four claim to eat more eggs today than a year ago (this is not the easiest thing to measure - since it is hard to put an estimate on past behaviours!). In the age group 18-29 23% of respondents claim to eat more eggs today than a year ago. In the older age group 50-65, 17% claim to eat more eggs than a year ago. I want to know more. So, do a couple of groups as well will ya and let us know the reasoning, behaviours and attitudes that lie behind!

Mr Oatman - Havrefras ad is one of those ads that stand-out

When I look at brand communication I try not to value its relative entertainment factor. Instead I want to value it's ability to reach those communication objectives that have been set in the first place. And, when entertainment is an important objective - then surely entertainment factor should also be measured. When reading some of the Swedish magazines that comment on ads and communication entertainment factor get a too high score from my point of view. This week I enjoy the Havrefras ad with Mr Oatman. Havrefras is a Swedish cereal brand owned by Quaker Oats. The Mr Oatman ad is running pretty frequently on Swedish television at the moment. It would be interesting to see sales figures of Havrefras during the last few weeks. Surely, they must have risen! I love the new ads ability to create stand-out on the TV, surely brand/product awareness must have risen like mad. And I also think that the creation of Mr Oatman was a clever move for a rather functional brand. In his rather dumb 'silliness' he embodies the emotive links that the brand owners want us to connect to Havrefras as a brand. And the environment in which Mr Oatman acts is also so full of energy and vitality. I want to eat more Havrefras! Another powerful fact is the song. It's power to get stuck in mind is just brilliant!

Comfort & Via Naturals concept - a first sign of brand migration?

I spend two hours a day commuting to and from work and that's probably the reason why I do a lot of brand and innovation spotting as I travel. Yesterday I saw the new ads for the new Naturals concept by Unilever. This new concept has interestingly enough been launched as part of both the Comfort and Via brands. And it's the concept graphics rather than the umbrella brand graphics that hold the concept together. So, what is Naturals then? It is a concept focussed on the emotional and functional benefits of 'a more natural wash'. And, since it's being launched under both the Via and Comfort brands it may also be a first sign of a brand migration strategy. Will either Comfort or Via become the big detergent brand? Unilever are known to be clever about how to maximise the potential of their brands. And they have a good track record of extending brands to cover new territories. I'll certainly be following Via and Comfort more closely from now on. That'll be all today!