AD AGENCIES Focus on Brand-Communication

-- iCrossing.com
How To Captain Your Brands Digital Transformation
Digital transformation is not a new concept. But with the intense pace of
change ignited by technology and shifting consumer behavior over the past
15 years, the demand on businesses to transform and adapt to new realities
has never been greater.
Every brands evolution is different:
Every company is unique and so is its path along this road. Industries with
more direct customer relationships and direct-to-customer sales (automotive,
financial services) were disrupted earlier. Others, like CPG and health care, did
not face such upheaval as quickly but are now gaining momentum. We have
found it valuable to look to other industries and markets for lessons that can
be applied to help our clients.
Its bigger than just marketing transformation:
Digital transformation is really business transformation. Marketers need to
consider the changes in our discipline within the context of overall changes in
their business. Being on the front line with customers gives Marketing an
immense opportunity to pave the way for their brand to embrace being more
tech-savvy, data-smart and accountable to the bottom line.
Changing culture vs. capabilities:
Transformation needs to be managed both up and down the organization. To
generate buy-in and funding from leadership, many of our clients harness
data and analysis to demonstrate the improved performance and efficiency
that comes from investments in digital channels. This data can also be used to
help create a burning platform within the organization that crystalizes
shifting customer behavior, implications to the health of the business and the
current state of preparedness of the organization to respond.
Collaboration with IT:
To be successful in this new environment, marketing and technology
leadership along with their supporting organizations need to come together in
unprecedented ways. These teams need to jointly understand business and
marketing objectives and then collaborate on how to build the right stack of
technologies and partnerships to effectively deliver against those objectives.
Marketers need to develop a better understanding of the technologies and IT
teams need to take time to understand customers behaviors and how
marketing drives business.
Eliminate the silos:
Today most marketing organizations have an analytics team, a social media
team, a content team, a website team and so on. Moving forward, companies
are beginning to use data to create a much more holistic customer view and
to think more broadly about customer experience management. But to pay

this off, marketing leaders will need to break down these inter-team silos and
create a holistic, customer centric org structure.
The idea of digital transformation is as daunting as it is imperative. Looking
forward, change will continue to be our only constant so it is critical that
marketing leaders take the time to think about their org design, talent and
culture to ensure they are set up to be successful in this reality.
DeKuyper: Moments of Celebration -- https://www.youtube.com/watch?
v=2RVHV-saPzQ

-- Havas Chicago
Endless Table (Reynolds Consumer Products Inc.) -http://www.adforum.com/agency/4464/creative-work/34522808/endlesstable/reynolds-kitchen
Havas Worldwide shares fully in the Havas Group's mission: to be the world's
best communications Group at connecting brands with people Effectively and
pertinently, using creativity, media expertise and innovation and adhering to
its "Together" strategy. The network emphasizes integration and a relentless
focus on smart collaboration. By combining the talent, knowledge and
professionalism of its best experts across countries, agencies and all the
creative disciplines, Havas Worldwide is able to provide your clients with the
most integrated offering on the market.
Havas Worldwide Develops global strategies for its clients based on a
community of talents and expertise centered around three pillars: consulting,
creation and content. From advertising to marketing, from design to thought
leadership, the network's scope of action Applies to Institutions and
corporations whatever Their sector. In every instance, Recommendations are
based on innovative concepts and methods combined with proprietary tools
dry as Creative Business Ideas and Social Business Ideas.
Find Your Prosumers
Get Consumers on Board
Give Them Something to Talk About
Prosumers Are Vital to the Development of Creative Business Ideas By
understanding what matters to members of this group, the trends theyre
driving, and their changing attitudes and behaviors, we are able to forecast
how mainstream consumers will change in coming months and years.
All consumers are not created equal. By developing a way to identify and
segment a categorys or brands most influential customers, strategists can
make highly informed decisions based not on where markets are now but on

where theyre headed. For our agency network and our clients, Prosumers are
a window to the future
The fact that anyone, anywhere, can create the next Internet sensation that
goes viral through social channels creates an environment where brands have
to push further and more deliberately into the world culture.
The power of viral marketing lies not in building buzz but in making
consumers feel more deeply connected to the brand. The best campaigns
offer a sense of ownership that ties consumers in emotionally and makes
them feel they have a genuine stake in the brands success.
More info at: http://www.slideshare.net/HavasWorldwide/creative-businessideas-ten-years-of-breakthrough-thinking

-- Mother London -Ikea -- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ne49jKeQiRk

Interview Abstract:
"There are only two questions that matter," argues Calcraft. "Who on earth are
we going to talk to, and what are we going to say? The problem with the
business is that everyone over-intellectualizes it. And that's why we don't
have suits."
"The margin is in the confusion," says Saville. "The big agencies know that the
model is fucked, but they can't afford to do anything about it. The agency's
business objective is not the same as the client's. The agency's objective is to
hang onto the client's business. There's a big difference between not telling a
lie and telling the truth."
"It is Mother's view that only by admitting the limitations of a brand can you
hope to have a mutually beneficial relationship with the customer," the good
book continues. "So a pack of Super Noodles becomes a packet of nosh for
when you are too lazy, rushed or, more likely, drunk to prepare proper food. In
this instance," the Bible concludes, "the customer recognizes themselves and
gives the advertiser the benefit of the doubt."
-- SuperNoodles Ad -- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PIogwOeun10

-- VCCP
http://www.vccp.com.au/campaign/legendary-service/

We understand That being a modern communications agency is about having

a point of view on blackberries than just your advertising. We believe in using
craft, passion and clever thinking to strategically launch, relaunch and protect
brands.
We do not change symbols, we create symbols of change. Ideas excite us,
they shape the future, add value and signal change. We've moved from being
a cost, to an asset. We help Organisations, products and services profit from
relevant and creative transformation.
That's why we focused on creating Big Ideas first, then go about making them
beautifully.
Innovation is at the core of our digital activity: we dont have separate Labs
or Creative Technology departments. Rather, our RAID initiative (Research
and Innovation Development) extends across our digital team, which is
committed to dedicating 20% of our staffs time to drive innovation in the real
client work that we do.

-- Huge -The Holiday Party -- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CnR4991etvM

We helped Crate and Barrel launch a 360 marketing campaign to support the
idea of the campaign and tagline "Design for the way you celebrate." The
media mix included a pre-roll, display advertising, social, and blogger content.
We created two online videos to showcase different ways to entertain with a
variety of holiday tablescapes and party scenes.
Crate and Barrel could be everyone's entertaining inspiration.
The campaign is featured on crateandbarrel.com, in the Crate and Barrel
holiday catalog, across Crate and Barrel social and owned channels, online
and in various display placements. Additionally, the Crate and Barrel helped
forge Their first ever Influencer partnerships to create fresh and relevant |
content and extend its distribution across earned and owned social channels
throughout the season. The partnership showcased a diversity of holiday
celebration ideas from seven popular lifestyle bloggers. Each used Crate and
Barrel products to express Their personal tastes and inspiration as they
entertained for the holidays.
The campaign brings the Crate and Barrel visual tone to life with a clean,
warm and welcoming aesthetic design.
Crate and Barrel has seen promising sales online. The blogger content, used
across e-commerce, owned and earned media, is engaging audiences and
growing brand awareness. And the new tagline is setting the tone for a

successful holiday season - in Crate and Barrel's catalog and through its
digital properties.
Highlights and Predictions: http://www.hugeinc.com/ideas/perspective/2015highlights
Part of the explosion in data is because weve shifted from web pages made
up of mostly static content and with limited interactivity to data-centric web
applications that display dynamic content and allow users to take action.

Rather than data-centric user interfaces that present information boxed in

static containers, design elements could be shaped in real-time and allow for
functionality based on information about the user. To provide the best
experience, more sophisticated apps could evolve to determine how data is
presented.

Use multiple sources of data

Think of data as a storytelling device
Know your users abilities
Trust your users abilities
Establish clear paths to discovery
Minimize UI distractions
Make data social and relatable
Make the future your priority

More detailed information here:

http://www.hugeinc.com/ideas/perspective/how-data-and-design-can-worktogether

Tesla timeline: How the electric car company built a global brand without
advertising
"The first store opened in the Bay Area of San Francisco in 2010. Shoppers were not able to buy
the cars in the store but had to order them directly from Tesla online. The stores, along with wordof-mouth and PR, act as Teslas advertising."

http://www.prweek.com/article/1390895/tesla-timeline-electric-car-company-builtglobal-brand-without-advertising#lL7WZ4qhEUMbiBj5.99

People Climb Toyota and Saatchi's Insane RAV4 Rock Wall in Times Square

"We won't talk about the idea, we want to Prove the idea. And the idea is not how
fuck can you take your veichle, but How much can you challenge your-self"
http://www.adweek.com/adfreak/watch-people-climb-saatchi-and-toyotas-insanerav4-rock-wall-times-square-170453
The executiona climbing wall on a billboardcreated by Saatchi & Saatchi in
Los Angeles, is not only the first of its kind in Times Square but also the tallest
outdoor climbing wall ever built in New York City.

Moving over to Instagram, while most brands are beginning to Recognize the
immense potential and engagement levels Within this platform, few have
managed to connect with users in a powerful, lasting way. National Geographic is
a (surprisingly) strong player Within this platform, with over 46 million followers.
Interestingly, the content is managed by 110 photojournalists traveling around
the world, documenting Their experiences one image at a time. Each post has a
unique backstory, prompting users to tag Their friends and wistfully Their Own
plan future travels.
While Instagram is being seen as increasingly important, marketers are skeptical
about Vine Often, questioning the relevance and impact of the platform. As a
starting point, the Dubai Vines Facebook page has over 70,000 likes (notice how
Facebook has become a benchmarking tool) and frequent updates with usergenerated content. UK-based e-commerce portal Launched ASOS Vine campaign
asking users to submit short videos When opening Their brown delivery boxes.
Users could easily relate to the surprise and excitement Behind That muchawaited moment, Resulting in almost 200,000 views.
Article: http://brandspeak.me/2016/03/19/going-beyond-facebook-targetingyounger-customers-social-media/

What In-Image Advertising Is and Why You Should Be Using It

http://www.adweek.com/brandshare/heres-how-food-brands-mazola-andfleischmanns-turn-images-advertising-masterpieces-in-image-advertising-171342
A lot has changed since the first in-image ad was served, but the concept
remains the sameput the ad where the viewer's eyes are drawn, creating a unit
that's far more engaging than traditional digital display. This higher engagement
comes from image recognition and language analysis technology, which allow the
platform to "understand" editorial images and pair them with appropriate ads.
When the right ad is matched to the right image, your brand is effectively sharing
the image's power to evoke a strong response from the reader.
Publishers are turning to in-image advertising for a few reasons. For one, it offers
real incremental revenue, considering ad inventory appears in places that
previously weren't utilized. Furthermore, it's well-integrated into the image and
creates a user-friendly experienceunlike many other forms of advertising.

Marketers who want more engagement can also choose units that transform the
entire image into a rich media experience. In-image advertising is set to disrupt
how we utilize images around the web. Forward-thinking marketers understand
that serving highly relevant ads within images that already have consumers eyes
is compelling and engaging.

Emogi, in real-time emotional intelligence platform decodes That sentiment,

recently conducted a study about emoji use by consumers and asked people to
look at digital ads and rate them using emojis. The study yielded interesting
results That may help brands better engage with the consumer through timing
and the right messaging. Nice infographic here:
http://www.adweek.com/news/advertising-branding/infographic-emojis-arebecoming-preferred-communication-tool-across-demographics-167355

Introducing the Top 5 Programmatic Trends and 'Un-Trends' for 2016

What to expectand not: http://www.adweek.com/brandshare/introducing-top-5programmatic-trends-and-un-trends-2016-168502

4 Digital Trends That Will Redefine the Modern Media Agency

A shift from campaigns to data-informed conversations By Doug Ray
http://www.adweek.com/news/advertising-branding/4-digital-trends-will-redefinemodern-media-agency-171234

-- J. Walter Thompson
The-Future-100 --- Trends-and-change-to-watch-in-2016
Brands, once judged on Their desirability and products, are now being judged on
Their value systems, on Whether they are innovators, on Whether they are
promising to change the world. Interestingly, this has become a talent retention
issue, as companies instill value systems and cultures to attract demanding
millennials in a competitive job market. Across all sectors, consumers are
differentiating between brands based on concern for the environment.
"Privacy and trust will be a big part of 2016 for brands," says Chuck Phillips, chief
technology officer at Mirum, J. Walter Thompson's global digital agency. "Brands
have abused consumer trust through outright abuse of consumer data entrusted
to companies and services, and lax engineering and security practices.
Consumers will start to react. " According to PageFair, for blocking has grown

globally by 41% in the past year and 48% in the United States. There are now
198 million active at
blockers. As a result, says Phillips, brands will have to work much harder,
blackberries and be transparent, to earn consumer trust. There's no doubt That
ad-blocking technology could Provide majors challenges in 2016. "Users have
taken control and are blocking advertising after years of abuse by brands. Is it too
late? I think not. Will it become too late soon? I think so. Brands can follow
Apple's lead and start taking Their steps to protect consumers instead of using
Their data as though they owned it. "

Neuromarketing
A study published in the September 2015 edition of the journal Social Cognitive
and Affective Neuroscience found that researchers were able to predict
accurately the large-scale outcomes of an anti-smoking campaign by measuring
brain responses using an fMRI machine. Compared to traditional methods, the
brain data more than doubled the researchers ability to predict responses to the
anti-smoking campaigna hugely significant and largely unprecedented result
for such a study.
More boutique neuromarketing firms have also emerged in recent years. New
York-based firm Neuro-Insight has partnered with AdNews to study how the brain
responds to nominated ads using a technique called steady-state topography,
and Nielsen bought the Boston-based neuroscience firm Innerscope Research in
May.

Why its interesting: If peering directly into the brain continues to yield better
predictive results, it could quickly become a standard technique for agencies and
brands.

Social good on steroids

Weve already seen a proliferation of new brands baking social good into their
business model. Now companies are taking social good to epic proportions.
Kering has turned its attention to climate change with a feature-length film
celebrating the life and work of French glaciologist Claude Lorius. Lego, aware of
the ever-growing number of plastic toys in landfill, has invested $150 million into
research on sustainable materials. Meanwhile, Ikea is dwarfing most governments
in its investment in sustainability. The Swedish home retailer has vowed to spend
1 billion on renewable energy.
Tesla Ad rocks! -- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sZ0ypbd8EbM -- Tesla "Not
A Dream"
Why its interesting: As tech luminary Biz Stone said during South by Southwest
Interactive 2015, The future of marketing is philanthropy. The Innovation Group
has been charting this shift for some time. In our recent SONAR data survey, we
found that 86% of US and UK millennials believe that brands are more important

to society today and that they should be accountable for public services and
education. Also, 75% believe brands should act as cultural benefactors

Branded content futures

With the latest version of Apples iOS mobile operating system including support
for adblocking software, the future of conventional display advertising on mobile
phones seems to be in doubt.
As a result, spending on native ads, which are relatively impervious to blocking
attempts, is rising: BI Intelligence estimates spending on native ads will reach
$7.9 billion in 2015, and grow to $21 billion by 2018. Are we nearing a time when
native advertising becomes the new norm, on mobile and elsewhere?
Increasingly, this looks to be the case. The New York Times is expanding its native
content shop, T Brand Studio, into an agency in its own right, according to an
October 2015 company memo.
Vice Media is showing signs that it may be considering wrapping native
advertising content into the core of its new suite of TV channels, which will
include Viceland in the US and 12 channels across Europe. We were the first
people to do native advertising and were going to move that over to TV, cofounder and chief executive Shane Smith told The Drum. Were going to change
the way TV is monetized.
Why its interesting: As adblocking becomes the new norm, agencies and brands
will have to redirect their attention toward channels where viewers interest must
be earned. Its time for agencies to take the truism content is king seriously

Fan-spitality
Marketers often create physical pop-ups to promote upcoming films and
television projects, but in the past year more independent hospitality projects are
paying tribute to cult series.

In Londons Hackney Wick neighborhood, the pop-up cocktail bar ABQ is

meticulously modeled on the trailer used to cook methamphetamine in the series
Breaking Bad. Also in London, pop-up restaurant The Owls Are Not What They
Seem created multi-course dining experiences based on the cult series Twin
Peaks, which is returning to television in 2017. The new Lower East Side bar Stay
Classy New York is a tribute to Will Ferrell characters and jokes. None of the
above has commercial relationships with the series in question, but they all
channel fans obsessive energy into a memorable hospitality experience.
Why its interesting: Like a physical manifestation of fan fiction, these pop-up
venues are labors of love as well as commercial ventures. Content marketers can
work with fans to create authentic pop-ups for their projects.

Instagram stories

Instagrams user base reached 400 million in September 2015, and the number
of US companies with more than 100 employees using the service as a marketing
tool is set to reach 48.8% in 2016, according to eMarketer. As more brands pile
in, Instagram is evolving from its origins and featuring more diverse forms of
content. Dazed magazine has taken advantage of the high character limit on
Instagram captions to publish instastories, bite-sized articles that feature a
strong visual lead and still convey the publications distinct written voice. Literary
magazine Virginia Quarterly Review commissions one writer each week to create
three to five stories to be published on Instagram. These, and other examples,
are proving that high-minded journalism and short-form, visual-first content can
coexist.
Why its interesting: Brands are only beginning to advertise on Instagram, but
havent yet thought about how to create native content for the platform that
relies on text as much as images. These examples offer a way forward.

Anti-authenticity marketing
Hipster clichs aside, over-labored notions of authenticity, with their emphasis
on craft, artisanal processes and timeless values, no longer resonate with jaded
urban consumers whove come to associate the notion with insincerity and cash
grabbing.
In a sign of the times, many observers applauded in June 2015 when a Brooklyn
deli owner whose rent was more than doubled began selling artisanal roach
bombs for several times the normal price in an ironic fundraising gesture.
Words such as artisanal have lost all sense of meaning, value, truth and
descriptive weight, says Martin Raymond, editor-inchief at London lifestyle and
consumer insight consultancy The Future Laboratory, which elaborated on antiauthenticity marketing at a recent trend briefing event in London. We no longer
believe that artisanal means what it saysrecently I was privileged to use
artisanal toilet papernor do we trust the stories, claims or narratives behind
them. How, for example, can a large multinational mass-produce artisanal ice
cream?
Instead of claiming to be authentic and artisanal, Raymond says, brands should
make simple, realistic claims. The anti-authenticity backlash does not mean that
products cannot be authentic, artisanal or crafted, he continues, but like true
luxury, such benefits need to be apparent, manifest and implicit, rather than
explicit, overt and requiring description.
Why its interesting: As hip urban centers turn away from authenticity marketing,
will consumers whove only just begun buying artisanal products follow suit? Stay
tuned.

Employ-vertising
Brands are starting to use forward-thinking employee benefits and policies as a
marketing and recruitment tool. Starbucks is offering employees full tuition at

Arizona State Universitys online program, giving them the chance to earn a
bachelors degree.
Gravity Payments CEO Dan Price announced a personal salary cut to deliver each
employee a $70,000 annual salary. Richard Branson recently announced a fully
paid 12-month paternity leave policy at Virgin. Airbnb, Evernote, Afar Media, G
Adventures, and Think Parallax are among a wave of employers putting up from
$1,000 to $4,000 for some or all of their workers to get out of town. Two days a
year, each of REIs 11,000 employees are given a paid vacation day to go on
outdoor adventures.
Its increasingly important for brands to find their mission, explains Robert
Safian, managing director of Fast Company. Its a business imperative to settle
on what their purpose really is, aside from making money. There are too many
brands and this will become a key way in which people filter the ones they buy
into.
Why its interesting: As the economy rebounds, the job market is more
competitive than ever. Simultaneously, attitudes among millennials toward
employers are changing. According to a recent SONAR survey, millennials now
expect the companies they work for to have value systems and be innovative.
Our survey found that 43% of millennials want to work for companies that have a
reputation for innovation above all else.

New buzzword: empathy

From computer games designed to promote empathy to new empathy-based
social networks such as Biz Stones Super and a string of 2015 think pieces,
empathyits importance, benefits and virtuesis the new buzzword in thought
leadership.
Theres even been speculation that Facebooks forthcoming dislike button will
actually be closer to an empathy button, so people can express support for
friends who may post distressing status updates without appearing to like
them. Ive been observing usthe media and advertising industryas we
debate how we got here, wring our hands over what to do, point fingers at
perceived villains, and speculate outcomes, writes Jay Lauf in a Medium opinion
piece, Its the Empathy, Stupid.
Most of the discourse is about data, technology, or the quality of ads, he
continues. Almost none of it seems to consider the actual consumer of our
products. The discussion needs to move back to a more elemental levelit
seems to me we have a design problem here. Or, more precisely, an empathy
problem.
Why its interesting: As technology, in particular, becomes more embedded in our
lives, brand creators, innovators and consumers are starting to question their
relationship with new apps and devices. The successful ones, in the current
flooded landscape, will be those who understand human behavior and emotion.