Audi A8: when design meets technology. An example of dimentional print marketing.

Departures, the glossy magazine for American Express Platinum Card members published by Meredith Corporation, is merging print and digital for a new Audi campaign. To call attention to the 2019 Audi A8, the automaker worked with the magazine’s creative team to produce a special animated insert for 25,000 targeted Departures subscribers, who will get a replica Audi key fob in the mail in a padded envelope along with the November/December issue containing the insert.
It works like this: A reader can use her replica fob to “unlock” the Audi A8 shown in the ad, and an ultrathin microprocessor sandwiched between the glossy cardstock of the insert then activates organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs) that mimic the way the real-life vehicle’s taillights behave. The ad also activates itself without the key fob when first  open. (See a short demo video below.)

Audi is putting a lot of emphasis on the vehicle’s luxury touches, and considers the new taillight “greeting” to be a signature visual feature of the 2019 A8. It was dreamed up by Audi Design Chief Mark Lichte.
Giulio Capua, vice president and publisher of Departures, tells Ad Age that he and his team wanted to “create something truly innovative and show-stopping” that would offer an “imaginative introduction” to the design-meets-technology message of the car’s launch. Loren Angelo, VP of marketing for Audi of America, says the goal was to not only create something “eye-catching,” but to interactively demonstrate the 2019 A8’s “next-generation lighting design in an entirely new and unique way” that otherwise could only be experienced on the lot of an Audi dealership.
The technology for the ad was produced for Departures by Structural Graphics, an Essex, Connecticut-based expert in what it calls “dimensional print marketing.” Among its greatest hits: an E-Ink execution for the 75th anniversary issue of Esquire 10 years ago.

Source: AdvertisingAge

Brandless, the millennials’ startup that sells everything for $3 …

Brandless, the ‘Procter & Gamble for millennials’ startup that sells everything for $3, is launching a pop-up — but you can’t buy anything.

Brandless sells its own brand goods like packaged food and essential homeware on its website all for $3 each.
The brand is moving into the real world with a popup in LA so customers can interact with the brand in person.
Brandless has expanded categories and tripled its selection to 300 items since launching in July.
Brandless is trying to develop its image.

The online shopping site, which sells food and consumable essentials all for $3 and pitched itself as the “Procter & Gamble for millennials,” first launched in July. The site now has around 300 types of own brand goods – triple the number of items at launch. Many of the items are organic, non-GMO, or gluten free. Think of Brandless as a dollar store for consumables people are looking for.

The brand is now moving into the physical world with a pop-launching in May, called “Popup with a Purpose.” It will be a “three-dimensional experience of the values of what Brandless is really about,” according to CEO and co-founder Tina Sharkey.

The Brandless brand will be on display, but no products will be for sale. Instead, the 3,500 square foot location on Melrose Avenue in Los Angeles will be offering samples, and opportunities to “live, learn, and love with intention,” according to a press release.

Brandless sells its own brand goods like packaged food and essential homeware on its website all for $3 each.
The brand is moving into the real world with a popup in LA so customers can interact with the brand in person.
Brandless has expanded categories and tripled its selection to 300 items since launching in July.
Brandless is trying to develop its image.

The online shopping site, which sells food and consumable essentials all for $3 and pitched itself as the “Procter & Gamble for millennials,” first launched in July. The site now has around 300 types of own brand goods – triple the number of items at launch. Many of the items are organic, non-GMO, or gluten free. Think of Brandless as a dollar store for consumables people are looking for.

The brand is now moving into the physical world with a pop-launching in May, called “Popup with a Purpose.” It will be a “three-dimensional experience of the values of what purpose,” Sharkey said. “That’s really resonating with people. You want to bring that purpose to life.”

The pop-up will be interactive and there will be panels, workshops, and talks by experts in the fields associated with the areas of food and wellness that Brandless has staked out. Along with the pop-up, Brandless is also launching a lifestyle blog that will be focused on educating consumers of the claimed benefits of, for example, “tree-free toilet paper.”

Sharkey says that Brandless has grown quicker than she’d imagined, and the company now ships packages to all 48 states every day.

“I checked that math – I just can’t believe it,” Sharkey said. “It’s gratifying to reach the whole country.”

Sharkey sees Brandless as filling gaps where the ease of shipping and low point of entry can allow people to try new things – like gluten-free baking mix – that would otherwise be either too expensive or just hard to find locally in some areas.

Since launch, Brandless has also refined its shipping cost structure. The free-shipping threshold has been lowered to $39 dollars, down from $72. All other orders cost a $5 flat fee to ship, which is down from $9.

The B.more membership program, which previously only lowered the free shipping order threshold to $48 dollars, now makes all orders ship free. The company has since started focusing on offering B.more to repeat Brandless customers.

When Business Insider tried Brandless shortly after launch, we found the items were a bit hit-or-miss, and value of $3 really depended on both the quality and quantity of the item.

Source: https://amp.businessinsider.com

5 Memorable Advertising Activations

Advertising has taken a decidedly experiential turn, as the brains behind the campaigns continue to push the boundaries of creativity to cement emotional bonds between brands and consumers.

Below we take a look at five innovative advertising activations that we believe push creative boundaries and help each respective brand better connect with their customers.

Marcus by Goldman Sachs Takes A Bite Of Your Pizza, Not Your PocketTo let people know it doesn’t charge any fees for its personal loans, Marcus by Goldman Sachs went to new lengths with its advertising, sending an actor into a pizzeria to pretend he worked there and having him bite into slices of pizza before serving them to patrons. The message? Rival lenders take a big “bite” of consumer’s pockets with fees. Responses are hysterical:

                                            

 

Beautyrest’s “Sleep” Activation
At SXSW this year, Beautyrest recruited 150 festival attendees to sleep on twin beds arranged on a concert stage while listening to composer Max Richter’s eight-hour lullaby, “Sleep.” The video, below, gives you a peek inside the activation:

                                            

“This was successful in terms of creating an event that not only stood out in a brand-relevant way, but also went beyond being a one-and-done event via all of the positive earned media from social sharing on Instagram and Snapchat during the experience,” said Michelle Montgomery, VP of marketing communications for Beautyrest at Serta Simmons Bedding, in an earlier interview with CMO.com.

Intel’s Olympic Drone Lightshow
Few will ever forget the Pyeong Chang 2018 Olympics opening ceremony, when Intel’s drone lightshow was broadcasted to 28.3 million viewers around the world. Talk about building brand awareness: The high-tech company flew 1,200 drones simultaneously, breaking its own world record. The drones were programmed to take the shape of a snowboarder, a dove, and then the Olympic rings. Mesmerizing barely skims the surface:

                                             https://players.brightcove.net/734546229001/default_default/index.html?videoId=5734644867001

Sephora Tent At Coachella
As the official beauty sponsor of Coachella this year, Sephora placed a tent right in the middle of all the festival action. The air-conditioned, Wi-Fi-enabled tent contained various stations to get attendees festival-ready. Some of the services offered inside: holographic makeup application, a braid bar, a DIY temporary hair dye station, and a sparkly space ball hair-styling station. Fans loved it. Who doesn’t love freebies?

 

Spotify Honors David Bowie
Spotify paid tribute to English singer, song writer, and actor David Bowie earlier this year with a huge takeover of New York City’s Broadway-Lafayette subway station, which is in the neighborhood that Bowie lived in for more than 20 years. There was a big Bowie portrait on the staircase, as well as artwork featuring his quotes about his love for Manhattan and custom metro cards with images of him during different stages of his career. The tieback to Spotify was especially cool: Each piece of artwork had a unique Spotify code linking to Bowie’s music, which made this activation more impactful.

                                             

Source: https://www.cmo.com

DIESEL’S Haute Couture Campaign: The more hate you wear the less you care.

We have all been victims of negativity and criticism on social media. Whatever you do online, there is always somebody ready to criticize. And when hit by unjustified hate, most of us take a step back. But hiding and feeling bad about it is not going to help anyone.

The truth is this: the more you expose the hate you get treating it with irony and irreverence, the less power it has to cause harm. This is why we are launching HauteCouture. A unique collection designed to do just that: disempower hate.

Where to start if not from what we have experienced directly?We took some of the hate Diesel received as a brand, like “Diesel is Dead” and “Diesel is not cool anymore” showing them with pride and turning them into unique items.

Then, because no one gets more hate than the celebrities and names we follow on social media, we are kicking this off with a group of polarizing global personalities including Nicki Minaj, Gucci Mane, Bella Thorne, Bria Vinaite, Tommy Dorfman, Miles Heizer, Yovanna Ventura, Barbie Ferreira, Yoo Ah-In and Jonathan Bellini to help deliver an important message: “The more hate you wear the less you care.”

They chose the very worst of the comments they have ever received, and we have designed exclusive HauteCoutureitems for each of them. Nicki Minajwas dubbed “The Bad Guy.” Gucci Manewas told “Fuck You, Imposter.” Bella Thornewas named a “Slut.” All these comments are now limited-edition items in the Haute Couturecollection, available from October (exact date TBC) in selected South African Diesel stores.

This new chapter of Diesel communication starts and lives where online hate is born – mostly on social media – with a series of tailor-made videos for each member of our stellar cast. We can see them dance and ironically celebrate the hate they have received, helping the world to experience, first-hand, the campaign message.

We are doing all of this to inspire everyone out there to create their own one-of-a-kind Haute Coutureitems. In key markets around the world, starting from October 6, we will let our customers personalize this new collection, creating and wearing the worst comment they have ever received. And with the proceeds from the sale of Haute Coutureitems, Diesel will be making a donation in support of anti-bullying and cyberbullying programs of the OTB foundation.

Here the video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lUJtUojXY1k

Source: http://previdar.com

Why Diesel Is Selling Knock-Offs To Unsuspecting Customers

Diesel has opened a bootleg store in New York’s Chinatown selling fakes that are actually real. In an exclusive interview, Diesel founder and president of OTB Renzo Rosso tells Vogue why ‘DEISEL – For Successfull Living’ is the ultimate brand strengthening exercise.

“HANDBAG, handbag, watches, watches.” Down in New York’s Chinatown, sales assistants operate from behind concealed doors and the trunks of cars, plying their luxury knock-offs to fashion fans who want that latest four-figure It bag without the prohibitive price tag. As of today, however, there’s a new sales tactic on the block: Diesel has opened a pop-up store of products based on bootleg designs called ‘DEISEL – For Successfull Living’.

The pop-up, which is decked out like any other traditional hole-in-the-wall, fake-as-they-come shop space on Canal Street, is part of Diesel’s spring/summer 2018 campaign strategy, Go With The Flaw. Stock comprises a series of denim, sweatshirts, caps and T-shirts, all printed with the misspelt Diesel logo, and is priced at knock-off sums. According to Renzo Rosso, the president of OTB group, which owns Diesel, the venture is aimed at “encouraging fans to feel free to wear whatever they want.”

Being authentically fake is an interesting idea. Bootlegs have historically been viewed as A Bad Thing for fashion, eating into profits and damaging the inherent value of a brand, with the caveat that they will also possibly harm the customer who – wittingly or unwittingly – buys them (those fake Prada sunglasses? No UV protection. And watch out for Cobalt-60, a radioactive isotrope, found in counterfeit metal bag straps). But in recent seasons brands have been keen to embrace the bootleg, with Vetements and Gucci both selling “fake” collections of designs based on counterfeits popular in Korea for the former, and in the Eighties streets of New York for the latter.

Is imitation still the greatest form of flattery – or an illegal practice that needs to be stamped out? “It’s both!” says Rosso, corresponding with Vogue over email. “If someone copies you it means that your brand is worthy and top of mind with consumers, but at the same time we make every effort to protect our brand from counterfeit activity. We will keep fighting to protect our brand by implementing state-of-the-art technologies, we cannot have any tolerance for fraudsters – on and offline.” The Chinatown pop-up, Rosso says, was conceived of as a joke. “We wanted to bring out our self-irony… and also to slightly mock the current logomania trend, in a Diesel way. We never want to take ourselves too seriously.”

Does he worry that by making a virtue of counterfeit, he is undermining the value of authentic, full-price product? If people can get just as good “fake” Diesel products at a “knock-off” price, why would they then pay for the real deal? “Not at all,” Rosso replies. “We are using the power of Diesel to strengthen it even more. The real deal is for those who own a DEISEL item now – it will become something to collect and impossible to find unless you buy it fast on our e-comm before it’s sold out. We did this for our core fashion customer looking for something that will turn heads and spark questions, while actively taking part in the culture and reinforcing our commitment to go with the flaw. The ‘knock-off’ price point and the fake store was an experiment to celebrate those brave enough to find their own unique style.”

Still, Rosso always keeps the business plan front of mind. “If anyone else follows they’ll have to do a knock-off of a knock-off,” he writes. “But, just to be clear: we trademarked DEISEL.”

Source: https://www.vogue.co.uk

 

 

 

 

Snapshots on Worldwide Adv Spending 2014-2015

Insights from a forecast being released by Publicis Groupe’s ZenithOptimedia:

Source: Publicis Groupe’s ZenithOptimedia (Advertising Expenditure Forecasts, December 2014).

The global ad market is seeing sustained, solid growth. Projected worldwide ad spending growth: 5.1% in 2014; 4.9% in 2015; 5.6% in 2016; and 5.2% in 2017. Major-media ad spending in 2014 reached a record $520 billion.

U.S. spending in 2015 will break a record. Projected U.S. major-media spending next year will total $183 billion, at last topping the previous peak set in prerecession 2007. U.S. ad spending growth: 4.8% in 2014; 3.8% in 2015; 4.2% in 2016; and 3.7% in 2017.

China is No. 2. China in 2014 passed Japan to become the world’s second-largest market based on ad spending. China ranked No. 5 in 2007 and No. 10 in 2000.

Internet share keeps climbing. Internet ad spending in 2014 totaled $122 billion, three times its 2007 level. The internet in 2012 passed newspapers to become the world’s No. 2 ad medium, behind TV. The internet’s projected share of worldwide ad spending: 23.8% in 2014; 26.5% in 2015; 28.9% in 2016; and 31.1% in 2017. The internet’s projected share of U.S. ad spending: 24.8% in 2014; 28.2% in 2015; 31.1% in 2016; and 33.9% in 2017.

Facts from Ad Age’s 100 Largest Global Marketers:

Global 100 rises 3.9%. Measured-media spending — traditional media and some forms of internet advertising — increased 3.9% to $131.4 billion in 2013 for the 100 biggest global marketers, according to Ad Age DataCenter’s analysis. That tracks with ZenithOptimedia’s estimate that 2013 worldwide major-media spending increased 3.9%.

Ad budgets saw both double-digit gains and drops. Twenty members of the Global 100 scored double-digit increases in measured spending; 15 had double-digit decreases.

U.S. is home to 42 of the Global 100. Europe is headquarters to 35; the remaining 23 are in Asia.

Personal care cleans up. It ranked as the biggest advertiser category in 2013, with 12 marketers — including the world’s top three spenders, Procter & Gamble Co., Unilever and L’Oréal — accounting for nearly one-fourth of Global 100 spending. Ad spending on personal care rose 7.6% in 2013, the fastest growth among major categories.

Automakers make up one-fifth of the Global 100. Automotive ranked as the No. 2 category, with 19 automakers driving 20.8% of Global 100 spending.

Red Bull is bullish on China. The energy drink was the Global 100’s most China-centric advertiser, with 38.0% of its measured spending in China (reflecting spending by Red Bull’s Chinese distributor, Reignwood Group). Other marketers with more than one-fourth of their measured media in China: fast-food seller Yum Brands (KFC), at 35.5%; Estée Lauder Cos., at 29.2%; and food marketer Mars Inc., at 25.9%.

Why some billion-dollar spenders don’t make the ranking. The Global 100, produced annually by Ad Age since 1986, is meant to capture multinational, multiregion advertisers — defined as marketers with measured-media ad spending in at least three major regions. There are seven companies with 2013 worldwide measured-media advertising greater than $1 billion that aren’t in the ranking because their measured spending was confined to fewer than three regions.

View the Global 100, a ranking of the 100 Largest Global Marketers by measured-media spending.

Biggest among the seven was AT&T. The U.S. telecom company had 2013 measured-media spending of $1.89 billion. AT&T would rank No. 20 among the world’s 25 largest measured-media advertisers in 2013 if Global 100’s three-or-more region rule were set aside. The rest of that all-in worldwide ranking would port directly from the Global 100, starting with Procter & Gamble Co. and ending with Italian candy maker Ferrero.

In addition to AT&T, other billion-dollar spenders not in the Global 100 ranking are Japanese retail giant Aeon Co.; U.S. conglomerate Berkshire Hathaway; Naspers, a South Africa-based internet-services and media company; German retailer Schwarz Gruppe; Japan’s SoftBank Corp. (including spending for majority-owned U.S. telecom Sprint Corp.); and another U.S. telecom, Verizon Communications.