Thank you Babybjörn - the honest, innovative, life-saver brand

Yesterday I had one of the toughest days for a while now. Both kids are ill with colds and fever, and my little boy is also teething... A recipe for total disaster zone. But whilst I have been feeling extremely deprived of sleep I have actually managed reasonably well. And the reason for that is mainly attributed to my long-term friend the Babybjörn baby carrier. What would I do without it? Whilst carrying around my little grizzly boy in my Babybjörn I started to think about the Babybjörn brand and an article I read just the other day about its founder Björn Jakobson. After having read the article I understood that one of the reasons that Babybjörn continues to produce such fantastic products is because the brand is staying true to Björn and his wife Lillemors founding principles and values. Babybjörn is truly a family owned brand where the founder hasn't been tempted to sell out to investors or the stock-market, but instead decided to grow organically, steadily year by year, by staying true to what they believe in most, the power of a caring, safe, and loving environment for small babies. And to support an environment that encourages strong attachment between baby and parent.

I took a look at the Babybjörn website and came across this fantastic clip with Björn and Lillemor. In this clip one can truly feel the power of the brand at its core. And the core I believe is not its fantastic products but rather the strong brand values acting as a foundation for anything the company does going forwards. Those values also ensure that the company continously search for new insights to innovate and new products or current products better for both baby and parents. I hope that the values of Björn and Lillemor will continue to remain at the heart of the Babybjörn brand for many years to come. What a great brand and what an inspiring brand story.

Electrolux - commitment to 'Thinking of You'

Yesterday I spotted a great ad by Electrolux in the newspaper - it was highlighting one of their vacuum cleaners. But instead of focusing on the vacuum cleaner message I spotted the Electrolux brand tagline 'Thinking of you'.

I had not seen that tagline before. Is it maybe new? But when I saw it I was so pleased to see that Electrolux has such a strong commitment to consumers. Based on news in the marketplace, hirings and their recent, successful launches I have already understood that something is happening at Electrolux. During the last few years they have moved from a technically driven appliances manufacturer to a consumer insight centric solution provider. Electrolux is deeply committed to consumer centric and insight driven innovation, and it was fantastic to see that this commitment has also translated to their brand communication. I think the total change to a consumer centric company will continue but whilst their at it and beyond I believe we will see great things from Electrolux. I'm not only looking to buy a sexy Ergorapido vacuum cleaner asap (how did they manage to make a vacuum cleaner sexy and desirable?) but will also look into buying some shares...  

Starbucks continues expansion plans in Sweden

In 2010 the first Starbucks was opened in Sweden at terminal 5 at Arlanda airport. Now it's apparently time for more, as Starbucks plans to open up a few more cafés next year at the high traffic locations of central stations in Gothenburg and Malmö.

Sweden already have a number of Starbucks 'wannabees' including Waynes Coffee and Espresso House. I've complained before that I don't think those two chains have established enough differentiation and uniqueness in their brand and service concept. And with Starbucks entering they might have to think about this, and how to keep their customer base if a Starbucks would open up around the corner. Strong brands always have a big advantage, but of course - in the coffee chain world the biggest advantage of all is great tasting coffee at a high traffic location... 

Starbucks - a unique and well crafted positioning in the world of coffee

[Source: Online MBA]

Ice-cream creation - Cold Stone Creamery is living its vision

I wonder what it is in the North American gene or environment that makes so many Americans creative and unafraid of challenging the norm. This time this thought of mine awoke when I spotted how something old and simple was reinvented into something new and awesome. And it was all related to one of my favourite foods - ice-cream and the great ice-cream experience of Cold Stone Creamery.

I enjoyed this experience during my recent holiday in Dubai. One of the many lavish hotel experiences was the Atlantis hotel where I had the privilege of having lunch and then experiencing one of their ice-cream creations for dessert. Believe me, for anyone who likes a decent ice-cream this is the business!

The Cold Stone ice-cream is not just ice-cream. It is an ice-cream experience where fun and entertainment is joining force with incredibly tasting ice-cream flavours and creations. And the ice-cream is not just ice-cream anymore but instead it becomes the carrier of a broad variety of fantastic fillings, and it's all crushed, created and customised on a granite stone. All to meet your individual ice-cream desires. Mmmm....  what a treat! On their website they say: "Ever since we opened our first store back in 1988, we’ve been serving up what we refer to as Creations" And what I've seen and tasted is certainly delivering on this brand promise.


I love the fact that Cold Stone Creamery have created a real ice-cream experience, that both adults and children can enjoy. All details are carefully organised to deliver your kind of ice-cream creation.

Rejuvenating a stagnated brand the P&G way - Old Spice

Today I had the great privilege of attending the DLF event 'Innovation & Successful Product Launches' held at Rival hotel in Stockholm. I must say that I was very impressed by the quality and variety of the presentations held during the day - so great work DLF team!

One particular fun part was the 'Old Spice' story told by Tony Durham of P&G. So why not sharing it with you? For me it's a fantastic story of how to use insights to rejuvenate a rather stale and boring old brand, that many consumers had forgotten about. P&G follow a first class innovation process of identifying great insights, and then acting on those. In the case of 'Old Spice' their insight was that "women buy female scented shower gels for their husbands" i.e. most guys walk around smelling of female fragrance... This insight was utilised as a startpoint for a new brand and communication platform for 'Old Spice' and the result was this creative communication featuring the 'Old Spice man'.


The focus on the communication was viral. Apparently the ad was placed on Youtube and via twitter and youtube it was spread with a speed that is nothing but incredibly impressive. I'm not sure I believe this figures myself... but Tony did say that the ad had 23m views within 26hours, and 200m views today on Youtube. Incredible! I'm an awe.... Of course the activities were linked to an Old Spice website and instore activities.

The 'Old Spice Man' since became a real cult and a persona was developed who interacts with its followers. A fun way of interacting was by creating 'Personal adverts' to respond to consumer questions or requests. A particularly fun request was the 'Marriage Proposal' request that Tony also shared during his speech. See this one below as well.


This P&G example is a creative and innovative way of breaking the rules and using insight to rejuvenate a brand that has somewhat become stale been forgotten. I hope you enjoyed this story.

Snickers satisfies - strong new communication platform anchored in target group and need state

 It was my hubby who first commented on the greatness of this commercial. It's not often that he says 'loved that!' about ads so this time it really made me reflect on the greatness of the new Snickers communication concept. What is it that makes it so great and spot on? I would like to point to three things:

1. Snickers knows its target group
The bulls-eye communications target of Snickers is clearly men aged something around 25-35 years old. Guys who are adults but still non committed. Active guys who enjoy sports and a having a banter with their mates.

Snickers have clearly done their homework and anchored the brand to a target group. This is good, sophisticated marketing practice.

2. Snickers have anchored the brand to a consumer need - satisfying hunger, filling you up
The recent ads from Snickers are so spot on because they are relevant. We all recognise the situations when our blood sugar levels are low and we need to fill up with something to keep us going and avoid getting grumpy or irritated. Identifying the needstate where there's potential to anchor a brand like Snickers have done give you potential to gather fantastic and deep emotive insights onto which one can then build strong communication concepts. The team behind Snickers have done their homework well.

3. Turning insights into Action - strengthened positioning and powerful Marcom concept
Last but not least. It takes a lot of work to turn insight into action and it takes a lot of creative skill to turn brand strategy and insights into great creative. The team behind Snickers deserve a bow. From a quick google search it appears to be top agency TBWA who should be proud of themselves. As well as the Snickers brand team of course.

My conclusion? Well, I do think that this work is some of the most spot on brand, insight and communication work I've seen in a long time. And I do think that this work will have a positive effect on global Snickers sales. I'm fairly sure my hubby will chew down a few...

Magnum - a well managed brand

According to the Unilever website there are over a billion Magnum ice creams sold every year. That's a significant number of ice creams! A few days ago I spotted the Magnum Minis collection that was recently launched in Sweden. Now, I am a bit of an ice-cream snob so while I'm frustrated by the less than tempting ingredient list of Magnum I still find the lovely little chocolate mini ice-creams absolutely deliciosly yummy looking...

I would say that Magnum is one of those brands that I think Unilever really manage in style. The brand was launched in the UK already in 1987 and it claims to be the first widely available hand held indulgence ice cream in the UK. Since then, Magnum has extended the brand family with nice additions like my favourite Magnum Almond as well as other lovely ideas such as Double Chocolate (1996), Double Caramel (2000), Yoghurt Fresh and Magnum Intense (2002). I also loved the limited editions titled '7 Sins' (2003) and '5 Senses' (2005). Both were well executed great campaigns with brilliant supporting communication.

The new addition to the Magnum family is apparently Magnum Gold with front figure tough guy Benicio del Toro as the supporting frontman. Sweden is perhaps a too small market for Unilever to bother with any big TV ad expenses, but see this ad from UK and you get the feel for what the Magnum Gold launch is all about.


So what do I like about Magnum? Well, I think that in terms of innovation, concept development and communication it is an incredibly well managed brand. It's all about being the almost sensual ice-cream indulgence - and the new launches support that brand proposition full on. And through the new concepts Magnum manages to stay connected and relevant to its target audience. Great work Magnum!

Brand positioning case - Ben & Jerrys

Ben & Jerrys is one of my favourite brands. I can pretend that it's got all to do with the taste but... I woul

Image by Noeluap via Flickr

d be lying. And it's certainly expensive ice-cream to which my rational mind says: - don't buy it! But by then my emotions have already kicked into gear... I simply must have it, I crave it!

Luckily though, I manage to steer away from the ice-cream counter on most shopping trips - but if I've got a weekend night with me, myself and the telly I simply need B & J. So, what has it got that makes it so desirable?

A compelling personality
B&J is so much more than just ice-cream. Buying B&J is about making a statement about who you are. If you find yourself to be just a little bit wacky, a bit creative and in touch with your emotions - then you're sure to like the B&J brand. And if you like those personality traits in yourself - then you like B&J even more! B&J does ice-cream in a way that no one has done it before. It's wacky ice-cream with big bits and weird taste and ingredient mixes. It's fun, quirky and simply brilliant!

A brand story
B&J has a great story to tell. This amazing story is based on the beliefs and principles of the B&J founders Ben and Jerry who had a dream about making the best tasting ice-cream the nicest possible way - you can read more about that story here. And you should be able to trust those founding brand principles even today - despite Unilever buying B&J a few years ago.

Committed to serving good, honest ice-cream with a cause
B&J is committed to a bold social mission statement that should guide the way that the company and the brand interacts with the world.

All in all, Unilever appear to be committed to preserving the things that make B&J stand apart from other brands in the world. I really hope that B&J will be allowed to continue to develop the brand in its own right - I see so many more opportunities for the brand. I hope B&J will see them too!

Carlsberg world cup initiative – “Probably the best team talk in the world”

I was pleased to see that Carlsberg UK continues its impressive communication focus ‘Probably the best’ during the world cup. Carlsberg is the official beer of the England team. This time they've created a strong ad with very high emotional 'I love England' connection. The English are due to love that one! It starts in the England dressing room with Stuart Pearce geeing up players a few minutes before kick-off before they set off for the pitch surrounded by a who’s who of English sporting heroes, as well as chart-topping rockers Kasabian.
What I find encouraging is Carlsbergs strategic comms focus. They’ve reaped rewards with their brand and communication platform – and they won’t, as many other companies do, change a good, winning formula despite recession, internal re-organisations and other issues that can get in the way of strategic, long-term brand development. Great ad and well done Carlsberg!

Converse - insightful innovation in the shoe world

I only have one pair of Converse - a gold leather pair that I bought in London last year. After a long and cold winter they were finally rescued from the darkest corner of the closet last weekend. I wore them again - and they felt so fine! How come a pair of shoes can mean so much? Simply by being different (gold coloured leather) I feel like I've made a fairly cool and slightly individualistic choice. Or is it really an individualistic choice that makes a certain statement? How can it be individualistic when 80% of swedish women, men and kids wear Converse during the summer months? If you really want to look like everyone else you choose the white coloured version...
It's fairly pathetic - but Converse does it again. By simply adding a few new lines of colour, a few interesting new styles (that no one every buys?), liasing themselves with a few cool people (like Ozzy Osbourne who gets his own special and very unique versions) they add some new magic to their brand and become relevant again. Clever! I love my gold leather Converse...

I've identified that brilliant brand!

I read an article today on E24 and realised that I came across that brilliant brand that I want to write about. It's Lexington - the small bed linen turned mega lifestyle brand of a century! Lexington is everywhere and it grows stronger and stronger by the day. And what I did not know is this - Lexington is actually a Swedish company that sells the American dream via their very American brand. I was so surprised to find this out and must admit that I feel a bit like an ignorant idiot not knowing those facts. Did you all know out there?
Anyway, Kristina Lindhe and her colleagues has done a tremendous job with Lexington. Today it is a strong lifestyle brand that sells great products with a strong emotional connection to the promise of a New England luxurious living. And throughout their collections and brand communications they stay very close to this single, strong emotional promise. It's well executed and I'm very inspired by the intelligence behind the Lexington brand!

A brand that I love - Gü

In the UK I discovered Gü - a fabolous brand with magnificent products for girls like me who like their moorish yummy desserts. Let me tell you something about why this is such a marvellous brand. The story begins with James Averdieck, who is Gü’s MD. James came up with the idea of launching superbly yummy chocolate desserts when he was working in Belgium. And we all know that Belgium offers some great chocolate!

James launched Gü in the UK in 2003. And the success was pretty imminent. Today it’s estimated that a Gü dessert is eaten somewhere in the world every 2 seconds!

What I love about them? The idea was simply great - both the consumers and the retailers were ready for Gü's mix of great tasting fresh chocolate desserts from a brand that is both sweet and heart warming. And the best of all - my impression is that this brand hasn't lost it's credibility over time - it's still as yummy and sweet as when it was first launched.
Visit their website: http://www.gupuds.com