Creative Works Archives

In News

How to say something compelling in a world of headline-readers

May 23, 2024 No Comments

Ever shared an article on social media after reading only its headline? Jamie Bailey of Ledger Bennett explains that slowing down can be key to making meaningful content.

“Polar bears face starvation threat as ice melts.”

What’s the point of a headline? To give the newspaper reader a clear picture of an event.

That’s a good newspaper headline because the message has been shared concisely and clearly. You don’t really need to know anything else. You can infer that the melting ice results in a lack of food for polar bears. It doesn’t take much work.

But there’s a big difference between newspapers reporting a factual story and the kind of thing we tend to see in the marketing articles all over our LinkedIn feeds. Polar bears starving is one thing, a deep dive into the transformative power of AI-driven omnichannel marketing is quite another.

Unfortunately, we’re all guilty of reading a headline and assuming we know what the rest of the content will say – and that affects how we read it, if we read it at all. And we’re just as guilty of forming opinions based on those initial assumptions.

It’s the same with B2B content. We see a snappy headline like: “AI-driven omnichannel marketing is the future of B2B marketing“ and share it on social media, without really knowing what the content is about.

Before you know it, there’s a ripple of: “AI-driven omnichannel marketing is the future of B2B marketing“ posts on social media from people who couldn’t tell you the first thing about omnichannel marketing – or all the other considerations and caveats that come with it.

And that’s a dumb thing for us to do.

Think slowly to avoid wrong conclusions

Many compelling stories are just waiting to be heard. But to be able to dive into world-changing arguments, we first need to get past the clickbait world of headlines.

Because some ideas need several paragraphs, not 70 characters.

So why do we often pay more attention to compelling headlines than the content that comes after?

Thankfully, it’s not our fault for thinking this way.

In Thinking, Fast and Slow, Daniel Kahneman outlines two systems of thought. System one (thinking fast) is responsible for our intuitive knowledge and the split-second decision-making we don’t even notice taking place. System two (thinking slow) is responsible for deeper, more deliberate, more active thought and decision-making.

But system two is notoriously lazy. If it can leave the heavy lifting to system one, it will.

The problem with system one? Its ability to map stored knowledge onto new events leads to a tendency to jump to conclusions. And they aren’t always right.

Deciding “ice melts“ means less food sources for polar bears – and less food for polar bears means a heightened risk of starvation – is an example of our system one jumping to a correct conclusion.

But deciding: “AI-driven omnichannel marketing is the future of B2B marketing“ means that all you need to succeed in 2024 is some more AI-driven omnichannel marketing – whatever that means – and you can ditch everything else?

That’s clearly a bit dumb.

And yet, that’s what you might end up thinking if you scour LinkedIn posts re-sharing the article.

It’s not all bad news

The good news is – it isn’t all bad. I’m not lamenting every single marketer in existence. Consider this more of a rallying cry to engage your system two brain a bit more and take the time to properly think about what the experts in our industry are really trying to tell us.

Think deeper. Think slower. Stop taking things at face value.

It won’t end world hunger.

But it might end a LinkedIn feed full of know-nothings.

Feature Image Credit: Ian Maina via Unsplash

By Jamie Bailey,

Sourced from The Drum

In News

AI won’t replace B2B copywriters, because it can’t

April 29, 2024 No Comments

By Georgie Everitt

Does AI pose a threat to copywriters? No, says Georgie Everitt: not if we remember that words hit differently when they come from humans.

Do you ever feel like you’re being watched? I do. At this very moment, actually, as I sit writing at my desk, in the B2B marketing agency I work for, I think – what if my colleagues see me, a professional copywriter, spell a word wrong? Googling which dash to use? Or thesaurus-ing a synonym?

Okay, they’re probably not watching me, are they? But self-consciousness is a writer’s curse and it really can disrupt our flow, which is why I’m talking to you today.

There’s been a new tool in our writing shed for a while now, and it’s time we talked about it – mainly so I can stop panic-minimizing my screen any time I’m using it.

Hopefully, it’s obvious that I’m talking about AI, a writer’s most controversial friend, but a friend nonetheless. For the time being, at least.

Don’t fear, the Terminator is not here

When AI burst into our lives, my copywriting colleagues and I immediately felt like we were in a fight against the perception that it could do our jobs, and quicker. The Terminator had arrived to deliver the news that human-writers’ days were numbered.

We creatives are already deemed to be an awkward bunch, often told that we’re overthinking, our standards are too high, and that speed is more important than quality.

Does this make us the first to go? Of course, that’s our self-consciousness talking, and what group doesn’t have its quirks?

Copywriters’ standards are high because we know that tiny tweaks can mean the difference of thousands of extra impacts, sales, or whatever we’re after.

Copywriting is writing to persuade. In usually very few words, we have to make people feel something and then want to do something with that feeling. It’s not about quantity, it’s all about quality.

How many of the ads you’ve seen today have made you want to do something?

Plenty of words sail past us, so as copywriters, we have to find the right ones, put them in the right order, and give whoever we’re talking to the feels – when we get that right, we can literally make our clients millions. There’s a reason creatives can spend weeks locked in a room to come up with a concept or strapline made of two or three words.

The danger is that, with tools like AI, we risk diluting markets with a sub-standard sameness written in grammatically correct sentences but doesn’t get results, with nobody really understanding why.

Copywriters are just like bears

Creative copywriters rely heavily on our subconscious to spark creativity. We approach creative projects like bears readying themselves for hibernation.

Yep, bears. We’ll feed our minds with the project brief, research interviews, case studies, factory tours, and incessant Googling until we’re stuffed full of enough insights and anecdotes to see us through the next stage of the process.

Then into our creative caves we go – to live, breathe, and sleep with all of that knowledge and allow our creativity to get to work.

It’s as we drift off into a well-informed stupor that the fun starts – inventor Thomas Edison actually argued for sleep as a creative technique. He’d nap upright, with steel balls in his hands and a metal plate on the floor. As he fell asleep, the balls would drop, wake him up, and allow him to withhold any creative genius that had occurred to him in his relaxed subconscious state.

While I can’t claim to have the genius of even Edison’s right pinky toe, I can still relate. I’ll always keep a notepad and pen by my bed when I’m working on a new concept. Sadly, my nocturnal scribbles are rarely of any use, but every so often there’s something.

Obviously, I don’t think my boss would be particularly impressed to find me asleep under my desk. Time is money, and that’s where a tool like ChatGPT can help.

Once we’ve stocked up on everything AI can’t do – grasp our innate understanding of who we’re talking to, our client’s preferences, unique strategic insights, and years of personal experience – then a little back-and-forth game of prompts can get us going.

AI shows us the derivative, the dull, and the done so that our brains can use that as a springboard to real creativity. And if nothing else, it can help soften any imposter syndrome – it really can churn out some very average combinations of words.

Don’t be afraid of ChatGPT

So from this point forward, I shall no longer be minimising my ChatGPT when colleagues walk past; it’s not cheating, it’s just another useful tool that has the potential to take human creativity even further.

And if you don’t want to take my word for it, here’s what ChatGPT has to say:

“Copywriting involves creativity, emotional intelligence, and a deep understanding of human communication, which are qualities that AI currently lacks. Instead, think of me as a tool that can help streamline certain tasks, generate ideas, or provide information.”

But that’s what a clever Terminator would say, right?

I believe that words in the hands of humans hit differently and, while I’ll continue to shout this from the rooftops, I do believe we copywriters need to embrace AI, just like other specialists around us, so we don’t get left behind.

Feature Image Credit: Florian Klauer via Unsplash

By Georgie Everitt

Sourced from The Drum

In News

A Google Street View replica shows the devastating impact of war in Ukraine

February 22, 2023 No Comments

By Amy Houston

To mark the one-year anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, creative agency And Us has devised the world’s first interactive street view of a war zone. Here’s how.

On February 24, 2022, Vladimir Putin waged an illegal war with Ukraine, inflicting mass devastation on the country, resulting in thousands of deaths and millions of innocent displaced people. In the year that has passed, a ravaged Ukraine is totally unrecognizable.

“There’s been quite a clear pattern of targeting civilian areas,” says Jamie Kennaway, executive creative director at And Us. “We had the idea of bringing it to life in a way that people can explore and see in a visceral way. It brings it home in a different way.”

“Whether it was Yemen or Iraq, there’s never been an accurate representation of a war-torn country [on Google Street View]. [Google], understandably, don’t want to show violence.” With this in mind, just how difficult would it be to get someone on the ground to document the conflict?

Through previous projects, the indie agency had a network of people that could help. Diego Borges, the agency’s tech director, was able to connect with an exec working at Google Street View who, in turn, happened to know someone that was in Ukraine at the time who could get images. From the beginning, the duo says that the entire project has been both serendipitous and scary.

Taking a Street View car camera through an active war zone is obviously not an advisable plan, admits Kennaway. There were many times they would be on the phone with their Ukrainian contact and he was in an area that was under attack or experiencing power cuts. With a project like this, there are always going to be trepidations, no matter how important the cause is. “We didn’t want to put anyone at risk and we don’t put anyone at risk from a security point of view either,” he adds, stating clearly that the photographer and agencies safety was always front of mind.

Potential issues with Google were also a consideration as the photographer had previously worked with the tech giant and had been supplied with equipment under strict conditions. After talks, they came to an agreement. “There’s a situation on the ground that people need to see.”

The original plan was to get their Ukrainian partner there with a remote-controlled armored car fitted with cameras and drones. But in the planning stages, the photographer suggested using the masses of footage he had on file from his posting in Ukraine. Quickly, the creatives realized they could use scenes from various cities and not just one “symbolic area” in order to give an accurate representation of what was really happening on the ground. They could show the real devastation in Kyiv, Irpin, Kharkiv, Izyum and Cherigiv and Sumy.

“There’s no bigger documentation of what is happening,” says Kennaway. “There’s lots of other footage like drone shots, stuff on CNN and the BBC, a clip here and something there, but to say, come see for yourself, essentially, we realized that the angle was that we were asking people to bear witness.” This, he adds, has been important throughout horrific events in history and is extremely powerful.

For the immersive user journey itself, the team wanted to show what seemed to be the “deliberate targeting of civilian areas” and to highlight that they were “accessing something that was quite obviously a crime.” The notion of their being an undeniable truth eventually led the team to the frank campaign name.

“Obviously mistruth is a weapon of war. You take the camera down the street and it goes up onto this, there’s something very raw and untouched about it.” Looking through the before and after images were shocking, they say.

The end result is a dedicated website that allows the user to make their way through the streets of the chosen six Ukrainian cities, similar to Google Maps. By zooming in and looking around, people get a full 360 view of the devastation inflicted upon those areas.

But to guarantee the project would be seen by millions, the agency needed the backing of a client. “There’s a bit of virtue signaling. There’s a lot of stuff going on [there], versus actual people and institutions on the ground who are trusted with where the money goes,” he said. The more they spoke with Ukrainians on the ground, the more they realized some ‘charities’ were not as trusted or helpful as others.

This meant laborious research and a vetting process to ensure the partners they brought on were valid and doing vital work on the ground. The collective includes President Zelenskyy’s United24 initiative), Voices of Children, which offers long-term psychological support to children affected by war, plus Nova Ukraine and Vostok-Sos, both provide humanitarian supplies. Specifically, feedback from United24 suggested that they get approached constantly to partner on projects and they don’t go with everything. “We weren’t relying on United24, it was just a big surprise that in the end, they wanted to partner. We weren’t expecting that.”

The campaign rollout was decided early on, with a huge emphasis on the press and social media. “It is essentially a carrot that we’re going to give PR for the wider conversation,” admits Kennaway. He says they sought advice to see if it was “PR-able” and if not, they might have reconsidered what they were doing because that was the one chance it had and nobody has a “billion dollars of media money.”

“We’re going to try and get this through mainstream media and obviously the marketing world I mean, I was a bit hesitant about marketing media at first, but we said to our clients that marketing media is important because we can get it spreading in a different way, in different load channels that will also then give it exposure.”

Kennaway is super conscious that he doesn’t want this project to come off as all about the agency, which would feel wrong. The initiative itself has to lead, he wants people to see the efficacy of it and why it’s important. It’s about the “causes involved, the story behind it, and maybe some of the technicality,” he concludes.

“We’re just the puppeteers.”

By Amy Houston

Sourced from The Drum

In News

Out-and-out out-of-home: 5 campaigns that used OOH as a perfect PR play

January 18, 2023 No Comments

By Emma Grace

Out-of-home (OOH) is often considered a paid media buy with ad agency-led creative. However, for PR agencies OOH is just another channel we can leverage to start a wider earned conversation around a campaign.

Creative OOH has long been a tool in the PR armoury. It’s like a comfy pair of slippers. We know they have been used to death, but we still pull them out.

OOH is a (comparatively) economical method of implying the bravery, scale & intent of an advertising campaign, without having to buy all the media spots. If done well (and some are not), one OOH media buy alone can be enough: the tenacious publicist and social media team will do the rest.

Captured with a bit of creativity (ideally some interaction from a blindsided passer-by i.e. someone from the office), the assets can then be used in paid, earned, shared and owned channels.

The average Joe doesn’t know that it was just one OOH site on a residential street that cost very little.

The PR filter

Creative OOH with a success metric of ‘talkability’ needs to be run through a PR filter. Is it meaningful to the consumer? Is it provocative? Does it add to a cultural conversation (or respond to the news agenda)?

There are two or three examples a year that really get the ‘I wish I thought of that’ respect of the industry. The first ones that came to my mind were a few years old, which goes to show their memorability (and the fact that their iconic status hasn’t yet been surpassed).

If PR-led OOH campaigns were Spice Girls, they would be…

1. Interactive Spice

These are the OOH activations that invite the audience to participate.

PrettyGreen once worked on a campaign to amplify billboard-size peelable cards for 10 free Nando’s meals. The promise of free Nando’s got many fans up ladders, peeling off the giant velcro vouchers Free Nando’s is news, as were the fans up the ladders.

In a similar vein, Carlsberg’s ‘Probably the best poster in the world’ included a beer tap for free drinks. Mr Kipling’s ‘Better with cake’, an OOH campaign made of cake – respect to that production team.

2. Provocateur Spice

Think Relate’s wonderful ‘Joy of Later Life Sex’ campaign. Rankin’s shouldn’t-be-taboo-but-totally-were-images of older people getting it on were daring, beautiful and stopped people in their tracks when displayed on giant billboards.

Similarly, Muslim dating app Muzmatch saw Birmingham Bachelor Muhammad Malik use billboards to seemingly “save me from an arranged marriage”. Media interest was huge, because it was seemingly an authentic story which tapped into a cultural insight – of course, it was later revealed as a PR stunt for the app.

3. Activist Spice

These are OOH activations used by brands to convey a punchy opinion. Nothing does that better than making it a big shouty 48 sheet billboard.

Brewdog is a dab hand; the latest Qatar World Cup shaming ad is a recent example which has since drawn criticism for being inauthentic, but the initial interest was there and their opinion adequately spikey.

Similarly, ‘Wave of Waste’ from Corona x Parley For The Ocean has its place in the OOH hall of fame. The 3D installation was a work of art and a sobering image of a surfer surrounded by plastic, showing Corona’s commitment to the marine pollution cause.

4. Newsjacker Spice

These are the campaigns that know exactly what is on the news agenda and respond accordingly. We have not been short on these this year.

Butterkist’s ‘Here for the Drama’, complete with a large demonstration outside 10 Downing Street during the Partygate controversy was low-fi and so on the money it got talked about.

Likewise, Burger King’s ‘Turns out there are too many Whoppers’ and Quorn’s ‘No more porkies’ when Boris Johnson resigned. The media are desperate for content to endlessly talk around big news moments; these activations delivered.

5. Brand-led but gets away with it Spice

There aren’t many brands in this category: they demand consumer attention because of brand affection.

Marmite Dynamite fits in here: a Marmite lid smashed through a car window to launch the new chilli variant. The interaction of the product and its surroundings was funny, but not all brands would have garnered the same attention with the same activation. Marmite has done the hard yards to gain brand love. As it turns out, PR-led OOH is actually quite a science.

Can’t wait to see the next one.

By Emma Grace

Managing Director: PrettyGreen An Independent, Award Winning Agency for PR Less Ordinary

Find out more

Sourced from The Drum

In News

‘Privacy doesn’t need to be boring’: the story behind WhatsApp’s 3D billboard

December 12, 2022 No Comments

By Amy Houston

Tasked with touting its latest privacy features, WhatsApp’s creative team devised a plan to take the somewhat dry topic and make it exciting. Here’s the story behind the 3D billboard that intrigued the internet.

3D billboards are the hot marketing medium of the moment, and the Meta-owned messaging app WhatsApp was the latest brand to hop on the trend. Yet, amid the sea of stunts, this Piccadilly activation stood out and garnered industry-wide praise for its creativity.

“We’re very excited. You think about these things, you envision what you’re going to do, but to see it come to life and be embraced by people means the team is feeling very proud,” says Vivian Odior, global head of marketing at WhatsApp, about the reaction.

“Partly because of the creative prowess behind it, but more importantly the messaging that we were able to bring to our users in a powerful, impactful and memorable way. It was a lot of fun. It was definitely a creative dream.”

The project was a collaboration between Meta’s in-house team Creative X and production company Ntropic. The team quickly realized that if they were going to nail this, they needed something bold. “We fell in love with the concept that technology really is modern-day magic. It gave us a license to represent privacy features such as ‘end-to-end encryption’ and ‘disappearing messages’ in truly astonishing ways,” explains Garrett Jones, creative director at Meta.

“When we began thinking about this iconic media placement, we saw a great opportunity to reinforce the brand’s stance on privacy with a visual metamorphosis of a 200-year-old piece of architecture.”

With the location a huge consideration in this project, digitally altering the building made the ad feel more immersive for viewers. It was a “canvas” adds Odior, stating that “we really lucked up on the space at Piccadilly and we wanted to step up to the challenge. We looked for a creative process that was going to be simple in terms of the message that it delivered so that we could spend most of our time on the technicalities and how we brought it to life.”

It was a super-fast turnaround too, with the billboard taking less than four weeks to complete. “Ntropic applied a cinema-quality VFX team to a very simple idea, and I think the result was pretty magical,” recalls Jones. “Our three-chapter story began with a live moment that reflected the WhatsApp community, then leaped further away from IRL with every step. We suspended reality for thousands of passers-by and sparked a conversation around WhatsApp’s ongoing privacy efforts with a bit of ‘wow’ to break up the day.”

In recent years privacy concerns have been a hot topic for many people, with Meta products often at the centre of debates. “We want people to enjoy that story – it doesn’t need to be a boring write-up,” notes Odior. “These features are exciting, they’re very empowering and knowing that they’re there protecting you is super important. It was another way to have that conversation with our users.”

Understanding how WhatsApp “moves the needle” is key to the conversation. “Do people hear us? Do they believe us? What do they think about us now? When you look at the billboard, the reaction speaks for itself,” adds Odior. “People really reacted, they loved the creativity and they took notice.”

Leaning into creative ways of describing privacy and connecting with people is an approach that the marketer says WhatsApp will be continuing. “Once you get a taste of that, there’s definitely no going back.”

By Amy Houston

Sourced from The Drum

In News

Fiverr launches Togetherr: ‘It’s fantasy football meets advertising’

June 30, 2022 No Comments

By Audrey Kemp

Fiver’s new launch, Togetherr, leverages AI to build optimized “dream teams” of creative talent for brands on individual projects.

For brands and agencies, putting together a dream team of talent has never been easier—at least, that’s the idea behind Togetherr.

Popular freelancer platform Fiverr teamed up with Tel Aviv-based advertising veteran Amir Guy to launch Togetherr. The platform’s algorithm, called the Creative Genome, builds virtual teams of highly skilled, independent talent and connects them with brands and agencies on an individual project basis.

Togetherr’s creators have compared its interface to fantasy football. “Togetherr allows brands to build creative teams that are tailored specifically to their needs… They are getting access to world class talent for any project they can imagine,” Guy told The Drum. “Togetherr gives brands what they need, faster, and with exceptional quality.”

The platform also provides freedom and flexibility to creatives by allowing them to choose the types of projects they want to partake in.

In addition to 30 micro-independent agencies, Togetherr’s growing portfolio counts over 1,100 vetted, award-winning creatives and ad industry leaders, who have worked on campaigns for Nike, Coca Cola, Apple and Netflix. The site launches today at Cannes.

Guy has spent over 25 years at creative agencies. Starting out at Young & Rubicam, he eventually climbed the ranks to take the helm of agency Grey, Israel, where he led regional accounts for P&G,Volkswagen and other brands.

It was here, Guy said, where the idea for Togetherr was born. After pitching the idea to Fiverr’s founders, they were happy to make it a reality.

How Togetherr works

When a client uses Togetherr, they’re immediately asked what they need, be it brand strategy and identity, creative concepting or something else. After making that choice, they can specify the channels they’re interested in, such as video, social or experiential.

Finally, the client inputs their industry, budget and brands that inspire them. That data helps Togetherr’s Creative Genome to quickly match the client to three teams of creatives best suited for their project.

Each team at least one creative lead and freelancers who have worked together previously, which ensures compatibility and punctuality among members.

A “dream team” built via Togetherr’s algorithm / Image credits: Fiverr + Togetherr

Togetherr’s future milestones

Guy has big dreams himself for this dream team model. Togetherr could also replace the advertising industry’s agency-of-record (AOR) model, which has gone stale over the past 25 years, he says.

“[AOR’s] hefty retainers, bloated head-count and overheads, combined with complex processes, is not meeting today’s client needs,” he saidsays. “Clients need a lot more for less, and faster. Trying to meet these needs without changing our industry’s complex system resulted in broken spirits and a lack of excitement.”

Although the site is officially live, Fiverr plans to continue to build out Togetherr’s platform and improve its AI, as well as add new talent that specializes in different areas, such as media buying and production.

“It’s also important to us to have talent from all over the world We want every team to be as diverse as possible.”

Feature Image Credit: Amir Guy, General Manager, Togetherr / Fiverr + Togetherr

By Audrey Kemp

Sourced from The Drum

In News

Relevance remains in retail as marketers juggle to balance physical and digital outlets

August 31, 2021 No Comments

By Olivia Atkins

The physical demise of high street clothing brand Topshop signalled the turn of the UK’s retail sector. As the flagship store closed in 2021, the physical became digital, and the brand was picked up by online retailer ASOS – a move demonstrating the appetite and continued willingness of UK consumers to shop virtually. As the rise of online shopping continues, how can marketers seize the digital opportunity? And is there a role for the physical store anymore?

In a panel discussion spearheading The Drum’s latest Deep Dive: The reinvention of retail and ecommerce, The Drum’s Olivia Atkins speaks with experts from VMLY&R COMMERCE and Heal’s on how to assess the changes in customer experiences; the technology pushing the sector forward; and how agencies and retailers can prepare for what lies ahead.

Brand purpose is here to stay

E-commerce in the UK grew by 46% last year as the pandemic forced stores to close, driving consumers online from the lockdown convenience of their homes.

“People who buy online now are used to buying online – they’ve adapted to the price and the convenience of it; and recognize the advantages of doing so,” said Debbie Ellison, global chief digital officer at VMLY&R COMMERCE, who believes these habits may be here to stay.

Online shopping saw many customers become more aware of their purchases and look into the purpose of the brands they’re buying from – a trend perpetuated by Gen Z.

Ellison recognizes the spending power of Gen Z and their influence in pushing retail trends forward. She suggests brands need to become more relevant to their audiences or risk seeming redundant.

She thinks, “retailers should respond to their shopper’s needs and communicate their brand purpose at shelf – whether that’s in a physical or digital space. In physical retail environments, marketers easily understand their local community and how to engage there. This same logic needs to be applied in the digital sphere.”

David Kohn, customer and e-commerce director at furniture retailer Heal’s, agrees: “Purpose is the single biggest social consumer trend that we’re seeing at the moment. In retail, that translates to being a brand that stands for something – whether that’s environmentalism, diversity or even quality design.”

Physical versus digital

Despite the surge in online shopping, retailers should work to embrace both virtual and physical spaces for their brand, as certain purchases may require prospective customers to shop in-person to get a sense of their desired products.

Ellison said: “Over the last year, there’s been a pent-up demand globally to get back in-store with consumers wanting to experience something special. Retailers will be listening to that and thinking how to differentiate their offerings across channels.”

The focus for retailers is to understand the role and purpose of every space they have. Ellison suggests that in-store offerings could feature more sensory experiences where the social aspect of shopping is considered along with how to improve the service and looking at how consumers interact. Technology also works to scale up connected experiences, by automating backend processes and improving the consumer’s experience.

Kohn adds: “Technology in-store can be useful for getting your consumers to imagine. At Heal’s, we try to bring them into our world and get them to visualize our products in their home.”

He’s excited about the prospect of incorporating new technology like virtual reality (VR) in stores, believing it will be a great device for reviving storytelling methods in retail.

Merging e-commerce with in-store

“We’ve all moved online; we’re all inspired and purchasing within milliseconds,” says Ellison. “But now that the gap between inspiration and purchase has converged, how is that going to translate into the physical retail space? How will creativity be brought through each touchpoint to deliver on both the emotional and functional aspects of buying?”

Despite this change in habitual consumer behaviour, Kohn suggests that retailers need to reassess how they use each space and set them up accordingly to ensure they cater to customer needs. He gives the example of Heals’ online in-store teams who work to connect customers online with relevant store team members.

“As a brand, you’ve got to think carefully about your customer’s purchase journey,” he says. “Try to understand where the customer fits in and what you can do to move them along that process. That’s where the fusion between in-store and online can come into being.”

It’s been a trying time for retailers but having a clear understanding of what consumers need and want from each space will only help brands to move more seamlessly between their online and physical offerings. Customers are already overwhelmed by the amount of choice available to them in the marketplace, so brands need to work hard to stand out.

“Selling products is not enough anymore,” said Kohn. “You’ve got to look at the wider needs of your customer and work towards fulfilling those.”

Ellison agrees and concludes: “Brands need to walk in their customers’ shoes and really look at how they will show up in a connected way across all their different channels.”

By Olivia Atkins

Sourced from The Drum

In News

Unlocking the virtual reality for the in-store shopping experience of the future

August 19, 2021 No Comments

By Stefano Hatfield

As brands and consumers seek a return to the physical retail space post Covid-19, the technology that has enabled ecommerce to fill the gap as stores were closed will play a vital role in the recovery of that same bricks-and-mortar retail. Shoppers, particularly in the UK, want a “connected shopping” experience.

The pandemic has obviously hit the UK high street, but shoppers are ready to return, particularly if the ease of online shopping is blended with the richness of the in-store experience. Some 40% of UK shoppers use their mobile in-store to look up more information on a product. And there is a huge increase (80%) among Gen X shoppers who say they will use augmented reality (AR) in shopping over the next five years.

These are the headline findings of a new report, ‘Future of Shopping’, based on a global survey of 20,000 shoppers by trends agency Foresight Factory, for Snap Inc. Technology, rather than sounding the death knell for bricks-and-mortar retail, has led to an irreversible shift to omnichannel that genuinely benefits both shoppers and retailers.

As we have seen over the past 18 months, when new technologies are built primarily around human behaviour, rather than imposed because of internal business needs, their impact can be positive. Yes, online shopping has disrupted bricks-and-mortar retail over the past two decades. However, technology has also helped retailers navigate the increasing overlap between online and physical environments, now a part of our lived experience.

The report reveals that consumers worldwide feel their shopping experience has been greatly enhanced by camera technology and accompanying digital innovations. It is clear that shoppers are keen to get back into stores, but they also want to keep all the advantages of technology when they return; for example, instant access to stock information or home delivery service.

Britons seem more wedded to online shopping, particularly for clothes, than others. Some 44% plan to do the majority of clothes shopping online, above the global average of 38%. Only 34% of Brits said buying in-store was their favoured method of shopping – compared with 43% globally. But nearly half (49%) of Brits missed the social aspect of shopping and more than half (51%) found the inability to try on products frustrating.

This desire to blend online and in-store highlights how vital the mobile phone has become across the shopper journey and explains why the new consumer habits forged in the pandemic are here to stay. However, consumers have missed the social component of physical shopping, so e-commerce advertisers need to greater humanize their brands online.

The report identified several other key takeaways:

Growth in e-commerce during Covid-19 will be sustained

81% of UK shoppers are expecting to do the same amount or more online shopping in the next 12 months compared to last year, with only 19% indicating they plan to do less.

A post-lockdown return to physical retail

Shoppers returning to store post-lockdown will seek the social and tactile experiences they have missed in the last year, albeit combined with the convenience and safety of shopping online. But bricks and mortar stores must act fast to ensure they do not lag behind shopper expectations.

Technology will drive shoppers into stores

Some 35% of global consumers would visit a store specifically if it had interactive virtual services such as a smart mirror that allowed them to try on clothes or makeup.

Mobile will connect brands and consumers across the shopper journey

One in three global consumers choose the mobile phone as their preferred shopping channel, and 50% of Generation Z and millennials say they never go shopping without using one. These trends will only continue, not least in the area of price comparison.

Virtual testing could accelerate e-commerce further

Some four in 10 consumers globally state that not being able to see, touch, and try out products puts them off online shopping. Retailers will therefore need to invest heavily in try-before-you-buy technology to help encourage purchase and reduce the potential need for returns, by enabling consumers to more tangibly engage with products.

Shoppers will demand widespread AR

Within five years we will see a 57% increase in Gen Z shoppers who use AR before buying. Significantly, 56% of consumers who have used AR when shopping claim it encouraged them to make a purchase. The mobile phone will be the core tool.

New technology could reduce the number of online items that are returned annually by up to 42%. The study estimates that the cost of online returns now amounts to around $7.5 billion each year – and £377m in the UK alone.

Resale platforms cement their position as a credible alternative

Four in 10 consumers globally have bought and sold something via resale platforms, which attract shoppers searching for cheaper prices and unique products. Second-hand goods no longer come with stigma, but are a more desirable, sustainable alternative. Retailers like Levi’s, Ikea and H&M are moving into the branded resale space.

The key trends identified above talk to the blurring of consumer needs and expectations across physical and digital shopping channels. They reflect shoppers’ primary demands (beyond pricing): convenience, social interaction and product testing.

Ed Couchman, general manager, UK, Nordics and DACH, at Snap Inc. says: “People thought the internet and technology was a threat to physical retail but this report clearly shows that those who harness the benefits of tech are best placed to thrive post pandemic. Shoppers want to read reviews, compare prices and try on items using AR – but they also enjoy the experience of going into a shop, speaking to staff, and looking at items. They want the best of both worlds.”

The ‘Future of Shopping: Global Report 2021’ from Snap is available here

By Stefano Hatfield

Sourced from The Drum

In News

Geico pre-roll ads interrupt again and again to grab attention

March 1, 2018 No Comments

By Kyle O’Brien

Geico has been trying to grab people’s attention online with its pre-roll ads, and it continues to do so with its latest, ‘Interrupt-a-palooza’ campaign that interrupts and then interrupts again.

The first Geico pre-roll campaign, ‘Unskippable,’ won plenty of accolades for its freeze-frame live action silliness and ability to entertain, where many pre-roll ads were highly skippable. It returned with ‘Fast Forward,’ which appeared to skip the middle of an ad to get to the point. ‘Crushed’ smashed the actors as the sets closed in, making for entertaining mayhem.

With ‘Interrupt-a-palooza,’ Geico and The Martin Agency again reinvent the now-tired pre-roll, cramming in more action, information and branding into 15-seconds than ever before. The company admits upfront that the ad is interrupting the viewer, then the spot in progress is also interrupted by more action, plus a falling logo.

‘Nighty Night’ sees two people in bed talking about how glad they are that they switched to Geico. They’re then interrupted by two people on elliptical machines crashing through their bedroom wall as they tout Geico’s 24-7 access. Both are then interrupted by a Geico logo that flies in from off camera. Other spots in the six-spot campaign follow a similar path.

“In the previous three rounds of pre-roll work, we played with the concept of time. First by skipping to the end, then fast-forwarding through the middle, and last year, condensing our ads,” said Neel Williams, vice president, creative director at The Martin Agency. “This year, we took a different approach, but still kept things very self-aware. Rather than apologize for the interruption, we thought it would be fun to lean into it.”

Associate creative director for the agency, Mauricio Mazzariol, added: “Getting interrupted before watching an online video is not exactly a Ferris wheel ride. So, these new Interrupt-a-palooza ads are supposed to bring some humor to the issue by embracing the disruptive nature of pre-roll and taking it to a whole new level.”

By Kyle O’Brien

Sourced from THEDRUM