Marketing 3.0.

19.9.09

Rice choice:::Rice noodles

I’ve noticed more of a variety of Vietnamese instant noodles popping up.

Fu chang “real beef inside” noodles

18.9.09

Organic Cows Make Happy Yogurt

“Stonyfield Farm’s new package design clearly stands out on shelf, but more importantly, Webb Scarlett deVlam worked hard to understand our core values and authenticity to ensure that the new design reflects the Stonyfield ideals. We featured a photograph of the Wayside Farm, one of the many Organic Valley family farms that supply our milk for our yogurt. We are proud of the fact that our organic milk comes from real family farmers who run real, organic farms and make real food for real people. Our packaging, which is our most important consumer communication medium, now reflects who we are and what we have stood for for over 25 years. Not many companies out there can wholeheartedly say that and mean it.”

— Attessa Bradley, Stonyfield Brand Manager Sonyfield Logo, Before and After

When it comes to yogurt I have no brand allegiance. Whatever brand happens to cross my line of vision that does not look like it will taste like creamy acid, I will grab. Granted, I don’t eat much yogurt, so I have no problem in brand continuity. Same thing with milk, whatever the house brand is at the grocery store near my home at the moment is the one I buy. For a while, in the halcyon economic times of 2007, we bought organic milk. Prior to writing this post, if you had asked me what brand of organic milk I bought I would not have been able to tell you. It was only as I was going through Stonyfield Farm’s web site that I realized the $5 gallon of milk I had been buying was Stonyfield Farms. This is not a knock on this particular brand but perhaps just my perception of the dairy category: A blurry landscape of cows, prairies and fruit drawings. Most likely, I’m not the target audience. Having said all this, Stonyfield Farm stands out from the crowd as a cow- and earth-conscious company since its modest beginning in 1979 as The Rural Education Center until 1983 when they began (pun alert!) milking their expertise and killer yogurt recipe as a consumer product. Today it is one of the most successful organic dairy product lines in the market, and it recently launched a new identity and packaging designed by Webb Scarlett deVlam

In 2007, Gary Hirshberg, Stonyfield’s CEO decided to embark on an initiative to update the relevance and aesthetic of Stonyfield’s key messages, look, feel, tone, and equities as well as explore new campaign ideas, and new media. These would involve a new brandmark, packaging design, web site and advertising campaigns. The challenge was to create a distinct yet relevant point of difference within the yogurt category.

We started with research. Our analysis included a deep dive with consumers, key stakeholders and distilling needs and perceptions into brand truths and aspirations. Our design strategy was to bring consumers to the farm, so we photographed and printed the farm on the pack. Despite excellent quantitative test results, this execution took an extraordinary leap of faith for Stonyfield.

[The] the brand had lost the ‘Farm’ in the brand name. Our research concluded it wasn’t essential to the identity of the brand. Hence, Stonyfield Farm became Stonyfield.

The old logo had been in use since the early 1990s, with a few modifications over the years, and for the most part it remains the same but in a decidedly more contemporary execution. Dropping the “Farm” allowed for a non condensed type treatment, which made the old logo look a little bit dated. The new typography is very nicely executed, especially that “yfi” ligature. The cow (more on her later) is a little smaller, which I’m not sure if it’s good or bad, and the word “Organic” feels more subtle and less like a commandment that must be followed. The colors are richer and, for lack of a better term, yummier.
While I do like the logo, I don’t like the packaging as much. The photographic approach makes it feel more ordinary somehow. Too colloquial. And I’m no packaging expert by any means but I feel the hierarchy of the information was easier to access on the old one, even though the information in the new one is more consistently executed. As a metaphor for my contradiction: The old product information was like a hipster with clashing colors and textures, and the new one is like an Ivy college professor, even tones from head to toe. But I digress, before the digressions become too much. The flat colors in the old packaging were more energetic and that’s probably what I’m reacting to.

A comparison of old and new

Sonyfield, Cow Accessories

In 1992, Stonyfield held a contest to name their cow. Elizabeth Malakie of Church Falls, Virginia suggested “Gertie” so that when she was called she would respond to “Yo! Gert!”. Stonyfield took it one step further and named the cow “Gurt.” Yes, as in “Yo! Gurt!”. Throughout the packaging line of yogurts, Gurt appears in a bevy of accessories like a beret for the French Vanilla flavor. Above is a small sampling from nearly 30 options.

We got our binoculars on you Mr. Plagiarism (JWT, Cairo)

The Copy

Radio Shack binoculars

Advertising Agency: JWT, Cairo

Executive Creative Director: Lars Busekist
Creative Director: Rania Makarem
Art Director: Ramy Saka

Lynx Winner 2009

The Oroginal

Advertising Agency: Ogilvy & Mather, Gurgaon, India
Creative Directors: Ajay Gahlaut, Nitin Srivastava
Art Director: Krishnapriya Dutta Gupta
Copywriter: Kanishka Vashisth
Released: 2008

New Balance:::The 574 Clips Campaign

New Balance, based in Boston, MA, continues its tradition of premium footwear. Designed for both men and women, New Balance footwear features the finest construction and quality. Ranging from all-time classic favorites to reinvented modern silhouettes, each Lifestyle shoe features innovative materials and technologies that keep the New Balance brand as relevant and sought after today as it was 100 years ago. Celebrating heritage, craftsmanship, innovation and imagination, New Balance Lifestyle fuses classic designs from the past with bold ideas from the future.

The New Balance 574 Clips offers up a rather unique buying experience which has each shoe in the 480 pair run correspond with a series of videos on www.574clips.com where buyers of the 574 can find their specific video and will then have your name at the end of the clip when claimed. The “Clips” name also comes from the shoe’s usage of salvaged materials from the company’s Lawrence, Massachusetts factory

480 Shoes, 480 Experiences

BOSTON (September 15, 2009) -- From the heritage of the 574, New Balance introduces the 574 Clips Collection. This staple New Balance silhouette is crafted into a new innovative style, which continues to inspire the blend of design with function. While the 574 silhouette's heritage will remain, New Balance will debut an innovative campaign to support the launch of the 574 Clips Collection which will mark the first campaign from New Balance Lifestyle's agency of record, Mother New York.

The 574 Clips Collection

574 Clips is a collection constructed from leftover materials salvaged from New Balance's Lawrence, MA factory. Made in the US, the upper of each shoe is first constructed and then assembled in Massachusetts. To show pride in New Balance's continued dedication to domestic manufacturing, "USA"will be stitched on the heel and tongue of every shoe within this collection.

574 Clips stays true to the 574's premium design and comfort technologies, but acquires its name from being constructed of leftover clips of materials from other New Balance "Made in the USA"silhouettes, specifically the 993 and 996. Typically constructed of cow suede, the evolved 574 will feature supple grey pig suede, which comes from the leftover materials of the 993 stitched together with one of four different colored surplus meshes from the construction of the 996.

"Of all the shoes produced by New Balance, we're especially proud of the 574. It's a perfect demonstration of our core values of heritage, craftsmanship, innovation and imagination, as well as our deeply held belief that â€˜grey is beautiful,'"says product manager Luis Navarro. This collection will follow the standards that all past 574 collections have embodied: the synergy of beautiful design and function. All content created for the 574 Clips campaign will also be inspired by heritage, craftsmanship, innovation and imagination, New Balance Lifestyle's core values.

The 574 Clips Campaign
The collection name, "574 Clips"has a dual meaning: The first stems from the leftover material clippings used to construct each shoe; the second from the video clips used in the marketing campaign supporting this collection's launch, designed by New Balance Lifestyle's agency of record, Mother New York.

The 574 Clips marketing campaign will target sneaker connoisseurs - one of a growing number of enthusiasts who collect, critique, discuss, analyze, obsess about, display, sell, and sometimes even wear the sneakers they buy. New Balance will be able to provide these tastemakers with a shoe that no one else has with a unique experiential story specific to that shoe.

The 574 Clips Campaign was designed to highlight the individualistic nature of each shoe. The campaign will be centered around a website that will feature 480 short videos, www.574Clips.com. 480 video clips were recorded of each of the shoes' unique experience before reaching the consumer. These videos were shot at locations throughout the US including Los Angeles, New York City and Lawrence, Massachusetts, where the shoes are manufactured.

To compliment the 480 short films, a Polaroid photo has been taken of the shoe's experience and placed in the corresponding shoe box, conveying a trading card collector feel. The back of each Polaroid will indicate the shoe's limited edition number (example: 017/480), size and color. A find tab will list the ten retail locations where the collection can be purchased.

Consumers can then visit the 574 Clips website and search for the exclusive video created specifically for their shoe. Once the consumer has found their "clipâ€, they can watch the short video featuring their pair. After the video is finished playing, the Polaroid will flip over and the owner has the option to "claim"their shoe by entering a unique 5 digit code and their name. Once clips are claimed, they can still be viewed, but the owner's name will be shown at the end of the short. Enthusiasm of purchasing and finding each shoe on the website will translate into a desire for the owner to share with their friends. If a user elects to share their new pair of 574's unique experience with friends, they are presented with several social media options including: Facebook, MySpace,

Delicious and Tumblr.

"We took the iconic 574 and evolved the world around it,"said Paul Malmstrom and Linus Karlsson, Creative Directors and Partners at Mother New York. "We wanted to find a way to make each shoe extra special. We did this by creating 480 stories for 480 shoes, shooting people and places across the country. We were there for 443/480's entrance into the world. We screamed with 298/480 throughout its first roller coaster. We held 016/480's laces as it raced in an ambulance. We even had to chase a zebra to get 002/480 back."

The 574 Clips Collection shares various technologies with the 2010 re-engineered 574, such as removal of unnecessary foams in the tongue and collar to reduce heat and bulk and added rubber durometers to yield shoe flexibility and a softer feel. It also features a PU insert for ultimate, plush comfort and a microdenier lining taken from the 993 to create a luxurious feel.

The 574 Clips Collection will be available in September 2009, in four rich colorways: grey/blue, grey/green, grey/orange and grey/burgundy. There will be 120 pair per color available, limiting the total production to 480 pairs. 574 Clips will retail at $75.00 at ten top U.S. retailers including Reed Space in NYC, Undefeated in LA, Bodega in Boston and Goods in Seattle, among others.

The 574 Clips Campaign was designed to highlight the individualistic nature of each shoe. The campaign will be centered around a website that will feature 480 short videos. 480 video clips were recorded of each of the shoes’ unique experience before reaching the consumer. These videos were shot at locations throughout the US including Los Angeles, New York City and Lawrence, Massachusetts, where the shoes are manufactured.To compliment the 480 short films, a Polaroid photo has been taken of the shoe’s experience and placed in the corresponding shoe box, conveying a trading card collector feel. The back of each Polaroid will indicate the shoe’s limited edition number (example: 017/480), size, and color.

Consumers can then visit the 574 Clips website and search for the exclusive video created specifically for their shoe. Once the consumer has found their “clip”, they can watch the short video featuring their pair. After the video is finished playing, the Polaroid will flip over and the owner has the option to “claim” their shoe by entering a unique 5 digit code and their name. Once clips are claimed, they can still be viewed, but the owner’s name will be shown at the end of the short.

Enthusiasm of purchasing and finding each shoe on the website will translate into a desire for the owner to share with their friends. If a user elects to share their new pair of 574’s unique experience with friends, they are presented with several social media options including: Facebook, MySpace, Delicious and Tumblr.“We took the iconic 574 and evolved the world around it,” said Paul Malmstrom and Linus Karlsson, Creative Directors and Partners at Mother New York. “We wanted to find a way to make each shoe extra special. We did this by creating 480 stories for 480 shoes, shooting people and places across the country. We were there for 443/480’s entrance into the world. We screamed with 298/480 throughout its first roller coaster. We held 016/480’s laces as it raced in an ambulance. We even had to chase a zebra to get 002/480 back.”

Campaign credits;

Creative Director(s): Linus Karlsson & Paul Malmstrom
Art Director (s): Jed Grossman & Mark Aver
Copywriter (s): Ben Hughes & Jon Lancaric
Creative Technologist: Rey Peralta
Designer: Derrick Lee
Producer (creative): Imogen Bailey
Assistant Producer: Bryan Reisberg
Art Producer: Amita Sehgal
Production Company: Greencard Pictures
Executive Producer (s): Nick Kadner & Emily Wiedemann
Producer: Max Knies
Post Supervisor: Mike Sobo
Interactive Agency: Almighty
Studio Director: Paul Larrow
Senior Flash Developer: Marc Leuchner
Technology Manager: Jeff Wilder
Account Director (interactive): Emily Daniel

Halal cosmetics for Muslim women

It's estimated that 70% of Muslims worldwide live by the code of halal. That's a big market for producers of halal food, but one that has largely been ignored by the casually carnivorous cosmetics industry. Recognising this gap, Canadian Layla Mandi—a former make-up artist who converted to Islam—has launched a range of certified halal cosmetics. OnePure skin care products contain no pork extracts and no alcohol, both common in standard make-up but haram (forbidden) according to the Koran. The range is certified by a Malaysian Islamic authority, which has verified that everything down to the fluids used to clean the production equipment is halal.

Dubai-based OnePure is initially offering a USD 125 travel pack (cleanser, toner, moisturiser and eye cream) targeted at Muslim women in the Middle East, for whom OnePure say the products are specifically formulated. The packs are currently being sold on board Saudi Airlines, in Dubai's Souk al Bahar shopping mall and through the company's website, but the company says it is in talks with leading hotel brands about making OnePure products available to guests. OnePure also plans to launch a body and hair range, as well as products for men.

Whether standard cosmetics are really haram is perhaps debatable. But our bet is there are plenty of Muslim women who would rather be safe than sorry. The guarantee provided by OnePure's halal certification is the real selling point, hence their slogan: "Be sure. 100%." One to bring to Muslims in your area?

Website: www.onepureonline.com

Sex in advertising

Sex sells claims the old and undeniably true adage. We are sexual beings. Advertisers use this attribute by trying to associate their products and services with sexy imagery hoping that some of the hotness gets attached to their brand in the consumer's subconscious mind.

However abusing your audience's attention is a dangerous thing. Showing skin to get attention and then trying to sell completely unrelated products like hearing aides, touch-typing courses or car-rental rental services (like you will see below) may backfire. The reader feels cheated and talked down to. Another thing to be cautious about is how much nudity is sufficient to grab eyeballs and what is too much thus considered offending. This is of course a cultural question. Usually the more religious your target market the less accepted it is to show bare body parts. For these reasons one needs to be careful where and how to use sex in advertising.

Yet there are many brands that are brave enough to take the risk and celebrate sex as any other source of joy in life in their ads. Decide what works and what not for you and presumably for the target within this pool of several dozen campaigns collected over the last few years. Check out the images below or watch the video on YouTube.