Muller Dairy - Meet Mary commercial

I love the British company Muller Dairy for the lovely ways that they manage to reinvent their marketing communication. I just came across this recent commercial where Mary the cow is in the spotlight. It's lovely. And I love browsing their website. It's an excellent example of how to create a consumer friendly online presence. They understand the main target for their website (the consumer) and they focus on making the web a consumer friendly, exciting and enticing place. Great stuff!



I promise to write more about Muller Dairy soon - and I would love to tell you more about the Muller brand and innovative dairy products. Until then, enjoy Mary!

Gap new logo - weak insights, social media buzz experiement or what?

 

It was interesting to read in Resume and Adweek about the launch and reactions to the new logo from Gap.   After an outbreak of comments from people who hate the (supposedly) new logo, Gap has now changed direction. The story is that they listen to consumers concerns and reactions to the logo change and, instead of simply changing to the new logo, they now want to offer designers all over the world the opportunity to contribute to new logo versions. The idea is to see if any of those new versions will be a better option than the beauty you see above.
Hmmm, is this really a true story? I simply cannot believe it when I look at the 'new' logo that Gap has unveiled. How on earth can anyone view that logo to be something for Gap? From my perspective - harsh reactions... I think any manager that took such a decision should be fired on the spot... Why? Well, the new version does not carry any resemblance to the old logo and none of the current equity is present in the new logo. Why would a brand with such a strong brand recognition and brand equity throw all that in the bin? If they do any consumer or shopper insight work they would now that their current logo carries a lot of power that cannot simply be thrown away. They must be smarter than that - I hope.


So, I opt for the social media experiment. And it sure has been an interesting week for Gap. I don't think that Gap has had this much free buzz for a very long time. And this might be part of a strategy to get Gap more social media savvy. I can't wait to here more about this one.

Cadbury - brand extension into chocolate-themed cafe chain

Recently I wrote about Cadbury's Spots VS Stripes campaign. Now I want to mention another interesting launch by this much loved British chocolate brand. Cadbury's will open up cafes called Cadbury Cocoa House which will be Cadbury branded, traditional English style cafes where you can expect to enjoy a delicious afternoon tea, along with a range of Cadbury-themed goods.

According to BBC Cadbury says it has been planning the move for some time and negotiations are already underway for sites and the first outlets - in London - could be open for business before the end of the year. However, Cadbury stressed that it was "very early days" for the plan. The plans are part of a joint venture with retailer Harrods. Spokespeople say: "We want to build on the Cadbury heritage and the British heritage of Cadbury. All food will be sourced from the UK where possible, and we will really develop that heritage of the brand - from fireplaces and fireside chairs to traditional English afternoon teas."



This is an interesting move by Cadburys and I will be keen to follow the developments. Moving from product brand to service brand is a challenge, not just because the business model is entirely different, but also because the consumer interactions are in many ways more challenging. A service is customised and the service experience is highly dependant on the situation. The challenges are way different from the world of product retailing. And the delivery of the total brand experience is paramount to success. Let's follow this one!

Findus understands consumer needs - launch frozen Pasta Gratin kits

Findus is creating new smart meal solutions for Swedish families who experience the 5-6pm 'hell-hour' need for quickly prepared and reasonably healthy dinner needs.

Their latest launch are two innovative Gratin dinner kits, one pasta gratin, and one Taco gratin. Home made Tacos (swedish style) are the Swedish favourite meal no. one - so perhaps this is a fairly expected move...

I was pretty pleased to see these two products by Findus. Yet again Findus shows a focus on being innovative when it comes to ensuring that consumers keep shopping the frozen categories - as fresh makes inroads also in Sweden, albeit at a very slow pace in comparison to many other, larger markets. These products are perfect for the cash-rich, time-poor families of today. And the 'cooking kit' with two seperate components that you simply mix is just a dream for mothers and fathers who want to feel like they've done some cooking (hmmm we all need to fool ourselves sometimes to feel satisfied with our role as parents...)

So, great work Findus, mums and dads are likely to shop this product if it's available and at a reasonable price. And hopefully the taste and quality will make both mums, dads and kids happy.

Crisp maker OLW taps into Fredagsmys insight to conquer Swedish crisp market

Swedish crisp maker OLW's choice to tap into a strong emotional insight proved a good strategy. OLW has now taken the throne as the king of the Swedish crisp market with a 39% market share. The insight that sits at the back of the Fredagsmys campaign taps into Swedes need for 'cosy, lazy family time' on Friday nights, after a tough and stressful working week. The key ingredient in the campaign is the song 'Fredagsmys' which, in all its 'geekiness', have become incredibly popular. It has been played more than 1 200 200 on Spotify! And the social network following has also been strong with more than 190 000 members in the Facebook group 'We love Fredagsmys'. See the ad below - a show of different Swedes who all love Fredagsmys.

Why brand characters?

Well, that is the question that I asked myself as I read the ‘name three popular brand characters’ thread in one of the many Linked In groups that I follow. We’ve all come across famous brand characters as we meet brands advertised and promoted. There are the really famous ones like the Michelin man, the Duracell bunny and the Andrex puppy. And there are the local ones, in Sweden we have the Tele2 sheep and the rather annoying Boxer guy Robert…

So what’s the point of them then and why do companies bother? As I can see it there are a few strong advantages of creating brand characters:

To emphasise a relevant, differentiated benefit
Brand characters are often chosen because they are the advocates of a benefit that the company in question wants to own. In the case of the Tele2 sheep, Tele2 must have come to the conclusion that ‘different due to cheap’ was the most important benefit to emphasise, and… hurrah. The agency came up with the idea that cheap and sheep were connecting words that one could easily play with… and since differentiation is also a key benefit of Tele2 the black sheep was born! The Duracell rabbit is another great example born from the same logic.

To create a holder for storytelling
Brand characters are the perfect holding devices for storytelling. And advertising agencies, at least in Sweden, seem to love to create long (way too long!?) running stories around brands. One example in Sweden are the characters in the ICA commercials. ICA Stig and his colleagues play in a long-winding soap-opera. Personally I’m a bit tired of those ads but because the characters are recognised, the costs are covered by brand owners and the format is so incredibly engrained in people’s mind I’m afraid they might just last forever… ICA Stig goes strong. A favourite of mine is the Ipren man, a made-up character that supports the brand message and new innovations. I enjoyed seeing the Ipren guy in a new settings in the latest ad which I’ve written about before.

To create recognition and ad brand recall
Lastly brand characters are great tools to create brand recognition and brand recall. When you’ve got a brand character strongly associated with a brand, all future communication that clearly displays that character will act as a snapshot reminder of the brand and its benefits. So if you only see a few seconds of an ad you might miss out on the message and the brand logo but at least the actor i.e. the brand character will serve to effectively remind you of the brand. Tele2 very clearly displays its black sheep in all sorts of consumer facing communication whether its TV ads, print, digital or packaging. You surely cannot miss the sheep – cheap connection however hard you try.

I believe these three reasons are the key reasons why we see more and more brand characters supporting the message of brands. There are of course also some issue if you choose this path – and I will get back to those asap. But for now, I hope the above makes some interesting reading. And do let me know if you think I’ve missed out on some additional fantastic benefit of creating supporting act brand characters. Bye for now.

Calsberg Sweden launch Falcon Autumn Lager

In the next move to position Falcon as the beer for 'genuine men' Carlsberg Sweden have recently launched Autumn Lager, a darker kind of lager, lightly roasted and with a hint of chocolate.

This appears to be the next move to strengthen the Falcon brand positioning clearly to its target group of 'genuine men' which I personally trust to be a well-researched and clearly defined target group described as mature, self-confident, grounded 30-50 year old guys with a strong presence. Or something close to that at least... This group is also likely to be interested by international beers and beer culture so this is also an important move for Carlsberg to strengthen the local brand Falcon against the tough and growing international competition. The recent launch comes with a short ad focussing on building awareness for the new launch, but still with a strong message connected to the new positioning. See the ad here.

Another issue for Carlsberg is to define and communicate different positionings for the local brands against the Carlsberg brand. The proposition in the world of Premium must be unique for both Carlsberg and Falcon brands, where each brand should be targeted at a specific segment in the market. With the latest moves by Carlsberg it seems like they've got a clearer plan in place now for how to work with their different brands. I'm looking forward to next steps!

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!

Fritidsresor - the days you remember

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I just spotted the most recent Fritidsresor ad on telly - the one with Mads Mikkelsen. Apart from being a beautiful ad it also carries a strong emotional message built around the Fritidsresor brand promise of 'creating more days to remember'. Of course we should all want more great days to remember. Many of us are but too aware that time flies and our individual lifetimes are just tiny little dots on the lifetime of planet earth. And just as autumn comes and Swedes are back behind our desks with memories of a lovely summer holiday behind us, the Fritidsresor message becomes even stronger. I want to book a trip now!

Cadbury Spot vs Stripes production - hit or miss?

Cadbury is really going for glory with its big, high investment sponsorship of the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games. Cadbury spends a record £50m marketing investment on this campaign. The campaign started last weekend with an unconventional TV advert introducing the Spots v Stripes campaign. And the campaign will run until the game starts in July 2012.

The idea of the campaign is that Cadbury's invites the nation to divide into two teams competing to score points on a website. The games can be anything from big and highly organised sports competitions to simple arm-wrestling and they can be played at all locations, everywhere.

The first TV ad features two teams of spotted and striped marine creatures playing a game using seaweed balloons. What do you make of this? Is it a hit or miss? I find it very unconventional and intriguing, perhaps the reaction that Cadbury's want from its audience? I suppose the key objective is to get the audience engaged and to draw people to the site. The ad will be followed by a Spots v Stripes national roadshow visiting UK cities over the couple of months, inviting members of the public to join in using “giant games kits” provided by the Dairy Milk Maker. A spokesman from Cadbury's described Spots v Stripes as “an ambitious programme to get millions of people across the UK and Ireland playing games by 2012, leaving a lasting legacy of community spirit in the UK and Ireland”. It's a big ambition for Cadbury's - good luck guys!