-
Let’s talk about Movement-Washing Marketing
Movements, that’s what millennials care about, right? Brands know this and splash their chosen crusades across their sites, reports and even product packaging. Greenwashing and sustainability-washing are passé and we’re now in the era of movement-washing. This is when a brand spends a lot of time and money hitching themselves to a particular movement, but on closer inspection, comes up very short. It may seem attractive to champion a cause, but with greater access to information, preaching about what you don’t practice is risky business. Values are in and PROFITS ARE OUT! Research shows it’s trendy to be values-driven and to champion a movement that your target market cares about. Less carbon…
-
7 Step Framework for Influencer Marketing
One of the explosive, marketing trends in 2017 is the influencer. Essentially, influencer marketing is leveraging the influence of specific social media users to gain coveted access to niche communities, create meaningful conversations and achieve targeted reach and exposure for your brand. However, it can prove challenging. Marketers struggle to integrate influencers into their marketing strategies in a way that creates value for their brands. Indeed, there have been some campaigns which have had the complete opposite effect. This seven step framework was designed to help marketers effectively integrate influencers into a brand’s social media strategy. The framework was based on a 2016 study which interviewed industry experts in South…
-
Fearless Girl – International Women’s Day
This statue of a fearless girl appeared on Wall Street on the eve of International Women's Day. The statue is designed to draw attention to the fact that companies who place females in positions of leadership, perform better financially.
-
Brand Identity and Kapferer’s Brand Prism Template
I used Kapferer’s Brand Prism for a brand identity project and discovered that it is a useful framework to shape the perception and image of a brand. The idea is that the prism will help you define and visualise what the brand symbolises to the user and what it represents and reflects to a non-user. The prism consists of 6 sides which represent Physique, Personality, Relationship, Culture (Values), Reflection and Self-Image. Mapping the brand according to this framework forces you to ask certain questions that are key to defining the brand identity. You can see a completed Prism for Apple below (source). You’ll see it looks at both the sender…
-
Paper: Customer Relevance in the Digital Age
Discovered a paper on Customer Relevance in the Digital Age [PDF]. It explores how brands can reach these new “born digital” consumers and how companies can become truly customer-centric. Published by Harvard Business Review, it’s an interesting, if heavy read.
-
Ad Campaign: Nike celebrates Arab female athletes
Brand: Nike Ad Campaign: Nike Women, #justdoit Sadly I can’t speak Arabic, but even so, this Nike advert that celebrates female, Arab athletes is incredibly inspirational. Even though the Nike logo is visible throughout the spot, it is still an empowering tribute to what these women have achieved in the face of rigid, traditional gender roles. In the ad, Nike explores the question – “What will they say about you?” Somehow, the #justdoit slogan has never seemed more appropriate or powerful. Women featured in the spot include Zahra Lari, the first Emirati figure skater, Tunisian fencer and Olympics medalist Ines Boubakri, Emirati Parkour trainer Amal Mourad, Saudi singer Balqees Fathi…
