Advertising Discipline and others

My reflections to an employment ad

Marketing Communications practitioners usually formulates own approaches on analyzing and developing advertising ideas
Personally, I learned to question and judge my approach as following:
Impact “Does it sell?”
Marketing is not entertainment business, even humor driven approaches aim to link brands with consumer mindsets emotionally.
Relevancy!
Is my communication strategy on core brand values? Does the expressive values share common ground? Is it relevant to my target group life style/ life stage?
Originality!
Is the idea familiar to my target group or sound odd? Has it been done before? Does it incorporate some or all of my brand essence? Is it going to employ brand advocates?
Touch point!
Is my brand having a dialogue with target group? Is it a positive brand activation and engagement on the long run? Do the brand in need to create its own medium at point of truth?
Traditional media Vs. New media

Complexity, mobility and fragmentation of any target group command brands to think out of the box in order to be differentiated specially on visibility, consumer promotions and below the line tactics that deliver on one single unique insight and relevant brand key proposition.

The Global Online Media Landscape

Social Media And Video Site Engagement Reshapes The Web
April 22nd, 2009
Online engagement by Internet users is deepening, according to a new report on the online landscape released today by The Nielsen Company. This increased engagement is in part a result of a shift toward video content and social networking as popular online subcategories.

Highlights Of The Report Include

• The number of American users frequenting online video destinations has climbed 339 percent since 2003.
• Time spent on video sites has shot up almost 2,000 percent over the same period.
• In the last year alone, unique viewers of online video grew 10 percent, the number of streams grew 41 percent, the streams per user grew 27 percent and the total minutes engaged with online video grew 71 percent.
• There are 87 percent more online social media users now than in 2003, with 883 percent more time devoted to those sites.
• In the last year alone, time spent on social networking sites has surged 73 percent.
• In February, social network usage exceeded Web-based e-mail usage for the first time
• Retail, and the auto and financial services industries, have obviously made dramatic cuts to their online spending. On the other hand, the pharmaceutical industry is actually spending more on online ads today.

View PDF Report :

The Global Online Media Landscape

View more documents from Ayman Sarhan.

Natura eco-beauty

Vanity may be one of the seven deadly sins, but makeup is important to mankind. Primitive cultures painted themselves with plant extracts in rituals such as weddings, funerals, wars and religious festivals. So did the American Indians and African tribes. But it wasn’t until ancient Egypt that cosmetics gained prominence and the applying of colorful plant substances on human beings became synonymous with beauty.


The market for cosmetics has experienced exponential growth rates and is an important sector in many countries—particularly Brazil, where the cosmetics sector rose 8.6 percent in 2008 despite the global financial crisis.
Accordingly, Brazil rose in consumer market rankings, becoming the world's second-largest consumer of beauty products—surpassing the Japanese market, which shrank during the same period. Until 2007, Brazil lagged behind both the Japanese and American markets.
According to the Brazilian Association of the Industry of Personal Hygiene, Fragrances and Cosmetics (Abihpec), Brazilian exports in the sector were US$ 650 million against US$ 450 million in imports, reaching a surplus of US$ 200 million in 2008.
In Brazil, the industry of personal hygiene, fragrances and cosmetics is the only chemical complex—which includes cleaning products, pharmaceuticals, paints and fertilizers, among others—to produce a surplus.
www.natura.net
The cosmetics industry in Brazil is extremely competitive and involves big global players, but one Brazilian brand stands out from the rest: Natura. Born in Brazil, this cosmetics brand is now available in seven Latin American countries and France.
Founded in 1969, Natura is the industry leader in the cosmetics, fragrances and personal hygiene market in Brazil. It is also the industry leader in direct sales, surpassing even the giant American company Avon.
Natura offers a full range of products with solutions for consumers’ various needs, regardless of age, including products for the face and body, hair care and treatment products, make-up, fragrances, bath products, sun protection products, oral hygiene products and product lines for children.
Neighborhood success
In 1982, Natura started its internationalization process when it arrived in Chile. Six years later, it added the Bolivian market. It did not take long to infiltrate Argentina, Peru, Venezuela, Colombia and Mexico.
In 2002, Natura’s products were being sold in duty-free Brazilian airports. But it was in 2005 that the brand took a major leap in the international market to open a shop in Paris, the world capital of cosmetic products.
Latin America accepted the Natura brand with incredible enthusiasm. A recent annual report indicates that the company's direct sales in the region will reach a turnover in the order of US$ 500 million in 2012.
In Europe, Natura continues with the important work of building the brand in a sophisticated market, generating the experience required to implement a business model in developed markets. But the international expansion will not be limited to Latin America and Europe. Natura is currently planning expansion into the United States.
Before coming to the US, Natura sent a group of senior executives to develop a plan to penetrate the world’s largest market for cosmetics and direct sales.
What makes Natura so special?
Concerns over global warming continue to increase, especially in politics. In December 2008, during a meeting with Al Gore, then-US-president-elect Barack Obama said: “We all believe what the scientists have been telling us for years now, that this is a matter of urgency and national security, and it has to be dealt with in a serious way. That is what I intend to do in my administration."
This discussion also included the role companies play in protecting the environment.
Natura, founded in the late 1960s, is credited for having a business model that embraces sustainability and commits to using natural ingredients in its formulas. Natura’s eco-friendly, socially responsible business strategy was in place long before current advertising trends made it popular. Under the slogan "Well-Being-Well," Natura has always focused on social responsibility, the environment and economics. These long-held beliefs have become the main advantage in differentiating Natura from its competitors—demonstrating that the brand and its values were ahead of their time.
Today many opportunistic companies use sustainability as a way to promote their products, but Natura’s green marketing is more than a strategy, it is a philosophy. Natura’s concern for the environment is directly translated into its products. During the production of product mixes, Natura does not test on animals and respects all international security standards. In 1983, Natura began to produce and sell refills, whose average mass is almost 54 percent less than the mass of regular packaging. This revolutionary project resulted in a significant decrease in the disposal of solid waste in the environment. In 2007, the company put into practice the Carbon Neutral Program, designed to reduce and offset all emissions of greenhouse gases (GHG).
In 2005, Natura was cited in a UN report, “Talk the Walk,” as one of the pioneers in green marketing. The report also cited American Apparel and Stonyfield Farm—both American brands—and highlighted the work of Natura’s Ekos line for communicating brand values that foster a culture of conscious consumption.
Natura’s Ekos line features fragrances, personal care and ambience products that draw from the wealth of Brazil's biodiversity and are inspired by traditional plant ingredients—elevating awareness around Brazil’s environmental heritage and promoting quality of life in the communities that cultivate or extract those ingredients. Additionally, Natura’s Ekos products are biodegradable and use bottles and packaging that contain recycled material across the brand’s market segments, including soaps, shampoos, conditioners, moisturizers and perfumes.
Brands, according to American economist Edward Chamberlin, must differentiate products and services to survive. It is not surprising that Natura is flourishing by embracing the history and diversity of Brazil’s people and natural environment.

Franchise Brands: More than a Logo

Franchise Brands: More than a Logo
March 9, 2009

In franchising, it’s not just the corporate logo that needs to be carefully guarded, although that’s important. It’s the logo plus everything else—corporate colors, signage, buildings, trucks, uniforms, products, services, prices, promotions, ads, window posters, and even mundane stuff like pens, wrappers, and every collateral item in existence.
SUBWAY restaurants, named the #1 Global Franchise Opportunity for 2009 by Entrepreneur magazine, has more than 30,500 locations in 87 countries. Imagine what it’s like to control every aspect of the SUBWAY brand in every franchise location around the globe.
If it sounds like a major headache-inducing challenge—well, it is. “Multi-unit franchises may face a variety of difficulties along the way toward building brand consistency,” says Gary Findley, CEO of the Findley Group, in Franchising World (“Consistency: The Key to Branding," April 2007).
“Balancing brand uniformity while respecting franchisee independence and regulating brand messages while effectively targeting local communities are two of the struggles that often arise.”
Findley believes the only way to control the brand is through RQM—repetitive quality marketing.
“In RQM, repetitive is remaining persistent and consistent with the marketing message,” Findley says. “In RQM, the overall objective is to remain consistent.
Consistency in the marketing campaign will not only strengthen the brand identity, but it often leads to positive business growth.”
In the franchise world, however, marketing consistency takes on a whole new meaning. “…marketing touches everything a business does,” Findley says, “from the design on the bathroom tiles to the rips in the salesperson’s jeans, and anything a customer sees, touches, hears or smells can affect the brand image.”
For large and small franchise operations alike, educating franchisees about the value of the brand is often the first and most important step.
Taylor Bond, CEO and president of Children’s Orchard, a US-based children’s clothing resale franchise, explains it this way in Franchising World (“Communicating the Brand,” February 2005): “…we have aggressively focused on communicating the ‘picture of value.’ That means we have done everything humanly possible to help our franchise owners understand that the brand is the market share.
We explain that the brand is a mental message, a picture that consumers connect to their store.” Bond says smaller franchisors should point to the success of large global brands to get their franchisees “to understand and embrace the value of the brand.” It’s crucial, he says, to “tie the brand directly to the value of the business.”
In large, sophisticated franchise operations, the franchisor maintains control of the brand through numerous means, including franchisee training programs, comprehensive brand guidelines, and providing franchisees with consistently executed branding and marketing materials.
Providing brand guidelines is not that difficult, but enforcing them across a far-flung franchise system is another story.
“While many franchise systems provide their franchisees with guidelines about logo usage, signage and advertising, many fail to fully enforce those guidelines,” says Nikki Sells, vice president of franchising for Express Personnel Services, in Franchising World (“Consistent Brand Identification Increases Market Share,” December 2006). “This is why a customer can go from one unit to the next and have a completely different experience with the brand.
Enforcing clear guidelines will not only help franchises stay true to the brand when marketing, it will also improve customers’ experiences.” Sells says it may take site visits, customer surveys and focus groups with field reps to determine adherence to brand standards.
That’s why superior global franchisors such as SUBWAY and McDonald’s make franchisees part of the solution. McDonald’s requires its restaurants to spend a minimum of 4 percent of gross sales annually for promoting and advertising the business. Owner/operators work with local agencies to place advertisements and, in some cases, produce their own creative material, as long as it follows system guidelines.
McDonald’s also encourages its operators to offer feedback and ideas that could benefit the entire system; the Big Mac, Egg McMuffin and Filet-o-Fish sandwiches were all developed by owner/operators.
International branding is particularly difficult. Language and cultural issues present unique challenges for franchises. For food franchise systems, local cuisine preferences may require entire menus to vary. McDonald’s, for example, operates in India but does not serve beef there.
Instead, the Indian system offers a choice of vegetarian and non-vegetarian menus; the non-vegetarian menu is comprised of chicken and fish. Product names retain the McDonald’s branding concept but are country-specific: McVeggie, McAloo Tikki, Shahi Paneer McCurry Pan and Veg Pizza McPuff.
Challenges not withstanding, globalization is a means of rapid brand expansion. US-based Yum! Brands, owner of KFC, Pizza Hut and Taco Bell restaurants, has enjoyed widespread acceptance for its franchise brands around the world. The KFC business in France has the highest unit volumes of any KFC in the world. For the last four years, Pizza Hut has been ranked as the #1 most trusted food-service brand in India in a consumer survey in The Economic Times.

Mainland China is Yum! Brands’ top market for new company restaurant development worldwide. The company opened 471 new restaurants last year in mainland China. KFC, with more than 2,300 restaurants in China, is the leading quick-service restaurant brand, while Pizza Hut, with 400 locations, is the leading casual dining brand in mainland China. Yum! Brands says it opens a new KFC every day in mainland China. In 2007, operating profits for Yum! Brands’ China Division were more than US$ 375 million.
When a franchise system decides to change its brand, the implications are mind-boggling. In 2001, global shipping giant UPS acquired Mail Boxes Etc., a private postal center service. In 2003, “The UPS Store” brand was introduced. Tests in select US markets pitting The UPS Store against Mail Boxes Etc. showed a strong preference for The UPS Store. That meant thousands of US-based Mail Boxes Etc. stores had to be rebranded. Stores in Canada were rebranded in 2005. Stores outside North America, however, maintain the Mail Boxes Etc. brand. UPS currently operates over 6,000 stores worldwide.
Despite the arduous requirements of global branding, the business opportunity associated with a strong international franchise is unparalleled. Controlling their brands across thousands of locations is a key reason leading franchise systems succeed—and why their brands are among the most recognized in the world.

Soda Cans

Zoo Safari::: Take a peek

BRAND OWNER :Zoo Safari
CATEGORY:Sport/Leisure
REGION:Brazil
DATE:Feb 2009 - Dec 2008


The Zoo Safari in Sao Paulo is a safari park where visitors can drive their vehicle through forests as the animals roam around freely. The idea is that this way visitors are in cages rather than animals.
In order to communicate this different type of animal park, Zoo Safari created electrostatic stickers featuring pictures of animals including Zebra, ostriches and monkeys. These were placed on the windscreens of parked cars, facing inwards to car interior. Anyone getting into their car would get a glimpse of what it might be to have an animal peering into their vehicle. The proportions of the sticker gave the impression that an actual life sized creature was investigating the car passengers. The message on the sticker read: “Up-close, no cages, more fun”.

36.6 :::Ad-funded mobile brand

BRAND OWNER:36.6
CATEGORY:Telecoms/ Mobile
REGION:Poland
DATE:Jul 2008 - Dec 2008


36.6 was a service that allows people to top up their mobile credit just by listening to advertisements.

They must connect to a specific number, listen to the ad, respond to a specific question verifying that they listened to the ad and then get their account credited with free minutes or texts.

In order to launch the service, 36.6 wanted to drive the free message home, so created media and services that game the target audience of 15-24s something for nothing.

By following their habits, the brand identified key “need to phone” times and made sure the brand was there to offer an alternative to a cash-free mobile.

So this meant that young people were targeted when they were travelling to and from work, while they shopped as they exercised and during the evening.

36.6 appeared on signs in parks, on the sails of boats, as reverse graffiti, in digital out of home and on TV screens in electrical retailers.

The brand helped young people plan their big night out by appearing in the listings pages.

The brand also provided a free 36.6 bus which acted as a sales channel with the crew selling SIM cards.

The bus went along predefined routes in cities, carrying passengers between nightclubs.

Finally the brand also took control of snack dispensers in Warsaw selling 36.6 start up packs alongside snacks and chocolate.
As a result of the campaign, sales were 90% ahead of target in the second month.

Honda :::Mobile ignition

BRAND OWNER :Honda
REGION :Ireland
DATE :Jun 2008 - Jul 2008


To launch the Civic Type R vehicle model, Honda wanted an interactive campaign that captured the imagination of people in Dublin, Ireland.
Honda teamed up with JCDecaux to create an innovative new out of home format.

The special build was a 2D cut out of the back of the car with special lighting in the brake lights, smoke machines in the exhausts and a sonic element incorporated into it.

There was a text number on the poster that was linked to the controllers of the lights, smoke and sound. Passers by could text the number to “start” the car.

On doing this, the brake and indicator lights on the car started to flash, smoke came out of the exhausts and the roar of the engine was emitted from the board.

The sender then received two messages on their phone – one from Honda saying “thanks for participating, hope you enjoyed the show”, and the other gave a link to a specially designed mobile site that contained more information on the car (images of the interior, specs etc.).

A bluetooth unit contained in the build also picked up on any bluetooth enabled phones in the area, allowing people to download the roar of the engine as a ringtone.

Carlsberg::: Best Mate

BRAND OWNER:Carlsberg Group
CATEGORY:Drinks (alcoholic)
REGION:Canada
DATE:Apr 2009 - Dec 2008


Carlsberg was looking for a campaign to enhance brand awareness as it launched in Canada, building on its brand slogan “Probably the Best Beer in the World”. It wanted to engage with a primarily male target and link the brand to sociability.
Carlsberg came up with a nationwide competition akin to the Canadian Idol phenomenon. Competitors are required to show what makes them the “Best Mate” and why they can lay claim to the title.
The competition looks for “the guy that can make every situation better, is always connected and never lets anything stand in the way of a good time.
Visitors to www.bestmate.ca can enter to prove that with pictures, stories and videos that they are the best Best Mate. The 30 top “Best Mates” will be given a new Sony Ericsson W705 Walkman phone with integrated Facebook and YouTube applications.
The finalists will then be encouraged to record events and interactions as they build their case demonstrating their “best mate” skills.
A final winner will be selected and announced in June. The big prize is a VIP trip for the winner and three mates to Las Vegas. The advertising declares “Sinners needed for Vegas” and was created by GJP creative team Louis Duarte and Craig Burt.
The initial phase to invite contenders will be supported using a combination of outdoor, radio, online, video and social media tactics to cast a wide net.

Huggies::Baby countdown

BRAND OWNER:Kimberly-Clark
CATEGORY:Baby Care
REGION:USA
DATE:Feb 2008 - Dec 2008


There is a very short window in which first-time moms look at different disposable diaper brands and, once they have developed a preference, they generally stick with it.

Huggies sought an innovative way to inspire new moms to try the brand and build brand preference. The challenge was to create a meaningful tool that would allow mums to take information from the Huggies site and save on their personal profile pages online, creating brand ambassadors.
Multi-tasking is an important survival mechanism to help mums with their busy lives and online media play a major role in facilitating multi-tasking. Huggies created the “Huggies Baby Countdown” widget as a tool that expectant mothers could use to calculate how much longer their pregnancies will last based on their due dates.

It serves moms-to-be with daily pregnancy tips corresponding to their particular day along in pregnancy, as well as a picture of the developing fetus.

All content for the tips came from the Huggies brand website while a link on the widget drove users to sign up for the Pregnancy e-Newsletter on HuggiesBabynetwork.com.

This aligns Huggies with a useful tool that pregnant women can download to a personal profile page from more than 20 websites, including Facebook, Freewebs, iGoogle and MySpace, thereby connecting moms-to-be with the Huggies brand on a daily basis. All widget-supporting media and creative execution was negotiated as added value. Thus, every successful install was essentially a 9 month-long brand engagement, free of cost. The widget had 1,200+ installs in the first month and garnered an astounding interaction rate of 18%, compared with a Pointroll CPG rich media average of 7.25% (Pointroll CPG benchmarks, December 2008). To date, the widget has had 4,503,983 unique views and more than 31,000 installs

Dove::: Sleepover for self esteem

BRAND OWNER:Unilever
CATEGORY:Toiletries/ Cosmetics
REGION:Canada
DATE:Mar 2008 - Jun 2008

Too many girls develop low self-esteem from hang-ups about their looks and it stops them reaching their full potential.

The Dove Self- Esteem Fund wanted to fight this and deliver a positive experience for mothers and daughters.
While mums have positive memories about their own childhood sleepovers, they know they can turn negative and hit self esteem.

The Dove solution was to get both mums and daughters excited about doing something positive together, encouraging mothers to make the sleepover positive experience for their daughters.
Information about the sleepover was distributed online at dovesleepover.ca/soireedove.ca, offering mums tips on hosting a positive sleepover with music downloads, photo albums and live to air texting for daughters.
In a media first the promotion included a five network takeover with commercial breaks replaced with segments that linked live to real sleepovers and showing mums and daughters discussing issues that affected them.
TV programming was also adjusted in line with the positive theme to show empowering movies. Support also ran in-store, print and via PR.
The campaign delivered 11m media impressions and more than 30,000 registered attendees.