design

Marketers Strive for More

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Those working in marketing are quite familiar with the relentless pursuit of market share, brand awareness, conversion rates, and the list of metrics goes on… Yet, amidst all of these metrics, there are some that are particularly interesting such as the race for claiming association with specific occasions, shapes or even colors.

Let me refer to some familiar examples: Consider the clash of brands competing for association with particular occasions. Kit-Kat claims the “break occasion,” while Coca-Cola stakes its claim on the “meals together occasion.” Then there’s the struggle for dominance in the realm of colors. Mondelez, with its iconic Milka brand, champions the color purple, while Reckitt Benckiser endeavors to be synonymous with pink with their Vanish brand. Lastly there is also the battle for recognition based on shapes. When one thinks of the egg shape, Kinder reigns supreme as the most closely associated brand.

So if you consider the Easter occasion, the imagery of eggs is top of mind… and the egg-shape is traditionally owned by Kinder. What would you do if you were Mondelez, and color purple is your strong asset?

This pursuit of association gave rise to a stroke of genius in packaging.

I noticed this ingenious packaging of Mondelez’s chocolate eggs breaking the clutter in shelves, simply by nesting their chocolate eggs in an iconic purple carton (yes the one that real chicken eggs are sold in). In one shot Mondelez asserted ownership over not just the color purple, but also the iconic egg shape and hence the Easter occasion itself. Great move!

Happy Easter to all the witty people out there!

Marketers Strive for More

A handmade brand story

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What is the role of marketing claims when you are purchasing a product? Why are you buying one product vs. another at the decisive moment in front of the shelf?

Marketing claims are there to generate demand for a certain item (or service if you like). However, most importantly, brands would like to provide you with an emotional benefit (through a brand story) coupled with their product, in order to earn your preference. Handmade products are a special category in this, as they try to tell a unique story that’s also greatly connected to the person who actually made the product.

In this frame I particularly liked the below practice from Lush, a cosmetics manufacturer and retailer that make their products using only vegetarian or vegan recipes. I found out that 100% of their products are handmade by people who mix up fresh batches of materials everyday. I got a hold of a Lush product and the package looked quite ordinary at first. Nothing but the claim “handmade” on top of the pack to stress that this product was indeed handmade but… wait a minute… as soon as I flipped the cream container; I noticed a face sticker at the bottom of the package. This is the cartoon version of the person who actually made the product! His name is Dada (!) and his cartoon version looks a bit like me. What a fantastic twist having this kind of visual information on pack. Knowing who made the product and looking at the graphic version of his/her face, gives you a warm feeling and bonds you with the product. This practice conveys a unique story, as soon as this handmade product by a unique individual reaches your hands. In this “uniqueness relay”, the final receiver of the product cannot help but feeling unique and taken care of!

I’m closing with a quote from the company’s website, on why they insist on offering handmade products. This encapsulates their beliefs, constitutes a beautiful brand story and is indeed a very strong element of their USP. “This way, we can ensure that everything we use is of the highest quality and has been ethically sourced from beginning to end. Ever since our humble beginnings, handmade has been a part of our story. It’s not just part of our name; it’s part of who we are.”

Great stuff! What is your brand story that conveys your unique selling proposition?

A handmade brand story

A playful twist for a (previously) dull passage

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I’ve been writing my blog for 6 years and I have never praised projects that I have led (at least not until today). However, on November 2020 while Greece is experiencing the second phase of a lockdown, I had the honor to receive a Platinum distinction in the Event Awards 2020 organized by Boussias Communications for the project “The First Interactive Under Passage in Greece”. I felt that amidst these tough times, this is the right moment to write about this case and highlight the significance of brand experience as we navigate through Covid19. Let me break down for you, why I believe this is a particular good story to share.

In early 2019, I took the courage to propose to my manager an idea to revamp an underground passage in the city I grew up. Why does it take courage to propose something like this?  There are numerous reasons but let me provide my top 5: A. It needs a good amount budget B. You face the risk that the project gets vandalized C. Initiatives like this are often mistaken for CSR actions and not perceived as brand initiatives (ie. there is a weak brand role in the renovation) D. It is almost impossible to hit the right balance between a branded intervention (which also included a high risk of vandalism) and a restoration that cannot be attributed to a brand (ie. this is nice but we don’t know that OPAP did it) E. Collaborating with the Public Sector can be long and cumbersome. Even one single reason of these, could have discouraged us and force us abandon the idea.

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A playful twist for a (previously) dull passage

Vans – Staying consistent and true pays off

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On Tuesdays, I walk after work to my Tai Chi class at Psyrri neighborhood in Athens. As I walk through some of the oldest neighborhoods in the Greek capital, I wind down and get myself mentally ready for the class. During a walk few days ago, I noticed something different adjacent to BIOS bar located at Piraeos street that had not been around previously. There were some people chilling on the pedestrian street, who seemingly belonged to the same “tribe”. I quickly figured out they were all somehow related to skateboarding. The rather “rough” signage outside BIOS signaled that this is an event by the Vans brand. For those who are not familiar, Vans is a manufacturer of skateboarding shoes and related apparel, based in California.

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Vans – Staying consistent and true pays off

Tell me what do you see when you look at me

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My wife recently bought a case for her new mobile phone. It is a relatively inexpensive, minimal, black plastic mobile phone case. As I was ready to dispose the case’s packaging and since I am obsessed with recycling, I went through the small letters on the packaging to make sure that the case was ok to recycle. We have seen a lot of initiative on minimizing packaging footprint, either by light-weighting packaging, by indicating with clear recyclable signs or even by using compostable containers.

mobile_case

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Tell me what do you see when you look at me

Succeeding a 5-Senses Product Experience

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Summer is already here and I literally don’t know anyone who doesn’t enjoy ice cream. Thinking about ice cream category communication you can argue that most of the time it is all about indulgence. You usually see ads with melting caramel close ups, mouthwatering slow motion pack shots and cracking chocolate sound effects to generate the impulse and the crave for ice cream.

As all of this takes place in the wonderful world of advertising, what happens in real life? Ice cream surely looks great, smells great and tastes great in real life, but is this what the whole product experience should be about? Could we involve all 5 senses in the tasting of a product? Continue reading “Succeeding a 5-Senses Product Experience” →

Succeeding a 5-Senses Product Experience

Adding ritual for a change and adding odor to a ritual

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On a recent low budget city break, we visited Sofia. The unexpected joy of a leisure trip without any particular reason is a priceless feeling.

Speaking about unexpected joy, I can’t help thinking about the category of instant lotteries which works exactly in this way. During my trip, I experienced two cases of clever market practices in this category. Continue reading “Adding ritual for a change and adding odor to a ritual” →

Adding ritual for a change and adding odor to a ritual

Designing for impact and differentiation

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I recently observed the new design for DUO condoms series while waiting in line at a kiosk. I was impressed that the design was so powerful that stood out even in the very cluttered environment of a Greek kiosk.

DUO series

The design appealed to me and I believe it broke the clutter and differentiated from the competition for three bold reasons: Continue reading “Designing for impact and differentiation” →

Designing for impact and differentiation

How do effective win-to-win partnerships look like

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I keep a close eye in the breakfast cereals market since the early 2000s, when breakfast cereals were relatively underdeveloped as a category in Greece. Together with the growth of pasteurized / “fresh” milk, breakfast cereals grew vastly during the last decade riding on the global health & wellness trend in the food industry.

The category itself has a lot of great characteristics on shelf. The 3 things I particularly like in this category is that there is a pretty clear segmentation (kids / teens / family / muesli / adult / functional), there is room for innovation and experimentation (possibly the only way to differentiate in a category that would otherwise have been a commodity) and lastly there is plenty of available facing space to communicate on pack.

Frozen Cereals Final

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How do effective win-to-win partnerships look like