bhlog

All roads lead to Rome ... dot com

2007-09-24T11:52:54Z

Continuing on from my recent rant about how difficult a seduction is in 30 seconds (or 15, if you're particularly confident) I'd like to suggest the new call to action is the website visit.

And not necessarily to immediately close the deal, but to continue the courting ritual ... or to work the analogy, the "cup of coffee back at my place".

It suggests a new role for mass communications: to steer your date (or customer) to a place where you can charm the pants off them away from the din of the crowds and other potential suitors.

Far too often a brand's URL is treated as a mere mandatory inclusion in a TVC or print ad - like an ugly strapline, difficult to art direct, and worthy of only a fleeting moment of exposure, or 8 point font. The campaign is then evaluated against web traffic and disappointingly remedied by "more frequency" or some even less direct course of action.

A better approach might be to treat the ad as the invitation and the web experience as the date. Many single people will agree - a date at a bar is safe territory compared with the dinner date at home - which is tantalizingly more serious.

Obviously this has implications to ad messaging. There is an extra, more influential, step between the ad and the sale and communications should really do more direct people to it - not as a side effect of the ad, but as a main outcome.

Failure to take this step could mean a long, lonely walk home for many brands.

Bangkok young professional indeed.....

2007-09-21T04:20:39Z

Ceri one of the founding members of bellamyhayden Bangkok gets profiled by the Bangkok press...... click on the thumbnail to view.....

Fill those awkward elevator moments.....

2007-09-20T09:35:24Z

Having just returned from a brand workshop with the 'Eat Big Fish' team in London, I thought that putting some learnings into practice might be a good idea.

An interesting tool was used to articulate a brand's identity which was called "the elevator pitch...."

Living in Asia, one spends a lot of time in elevators and hence I have written an elevator pitch for the bellamyhayden brand... admittedly it would need to be a fairly lengthy elevator ride, but damn it would be interesting!

bh has always believed that:

consumers connect with brand communications across an infinite scope of touchpoints.
certain touchpoints or channels have greater influence than others. It is not always the high reaching touchpoints that are the most effective.
a strategic solution should be unique to a clients category, brand, consumer and specific to their objectives.

bh as a brand:

is unique, because its' approach is genuinely neutral.
embodies genuine brand connection without the baggage or assumptions of mass media traditional advertising approaches.
is a thinking brand, that makes a difference. We are not an implementing brand and this ensures our impartiality.

That is why we have created a product:

called realconnectionsbh which starts by identifying a channel hierarchy through bespoke quantitative and qualitative research and ends with a strategy that defines how the brand should behave in all of the identified channels (based on their unique nature.)
that is built on the basis that influential channels such as P2P, WOM, experience (both virtual and real) should be a startpoint for communications, which should then spread to more traditional higher reaching mass media, if we see these as necessary to the brief.
that is highly awarded for its efficacy and innovation.
that also drills down deep into media strategy and creative amplification.

Our audience is:

anyone who has responsibility in optimising the connection between a brand and a target audience in order to drive sales metrics or brand equity.
anyone who is finding that their current communication mix is delivering less than it used to.
anyone that is having difficulty in getting all their communication channels or agencies to work together.

Our audience become bh superfans because:

Our influence adds real value to our clients business.
We deliver tangible results.
Input is given to the process at the inception of briefing and we have an opinion that helps shape the entire communcation process.
We share our clients' aspirations and ambitions (whether they be challenger brands or market leaders.)

This is different from the past because:

We come from the perspective of 'all channels' not just advertising channels.
We take the consumer journey from a message, to an experience, thus creating conversations and relationships.
We prioritize channels by "influence" rather than reach.

This is different from our competitors because:

We have a track record in true integration (our awards in both the account planning and media arena speak for themselves.)
We can identify the best channel to use relative to a category and consumer with bespoke tools.
We bring to life a brand idea in an orchestrated campaign flow with measurable specific delivery against every channel.
We do not segment new media from old.
We are neutral, independent and entrepreneurial, empowered to raise the bar without hesitation or vested interest.
We take due diligence in understanding a clients business in order to deliver insightful, relevant and category redefining strategies.
We run a tight ship of dedicated communications specialists from many different backgrounds.

Can I have the IV bag with the Little Mermaid on it please?

2007-09-20T06:42:08Z

Disney have announced their foray into healthcare with significant funding going to the rebuilding of a kids hospital in Florida (not too far from Orlando's Disney World).

http://news.ninemsn.com.au/article.aspx?id=297482

No doubt Disney have the best of intentions but while their "imagineers" (and who wouldn't want that title!) are hard at work designing the patient experience, they cannot actually lay claim to this extension of the Disney brand experience as an original idea. In fact, a hospital executive turned Disney "cast member" (Fred Lee) literally wrote the book on this as far back as 2004.

Lee's book is a serious look at how Disney's corporate and brand values can translate into the healthcare environment to provide superior levels of service and empathy to patients. Apparently someone at Disney was paying attention and took Fred quite literally. I do hope he gets an invitation to the opening!

Research is getting me down

2007-09-20T04:40:31Z

We've been doing quite a bit of research recently for a pharmaceutical client. These are always great projects to do, because they really blur the lines between research sessions and 'therapy' sessions. It often makes me think about how wierd respondents are and what kind of a person would sign up to forfeit their evenings in return for $75 and some stale sandwiches.

One of the most interesting things about the project was the volume of (off topic) spontaneous discussion about depression.

Specifically male depression. Men openly talking about themselves, and wives openly sharing their concerns about their husbands.

This might have triggered something in me because it also coincided with the beginning of the rugby world cup, which has been accompanied by a lot of coverage about how the current Japan coach and former world-cup-winning All Black John Kirwan has suffered from the condition- he is now the public face of an advertising campaign in New Zealand. I think there's more to it, though.

It's easy to draw cultural stereotypes about the Australian way of life and to talk about men not having the emotional support network that women have always had. It's also easy to look at the changing roles within society, where service-led economies put a premium on the more 'feminine' relationship skills and 'emotional intelligence' and think that it must be quite a difficult adjustment to make for men brought up within a strong manufacturing, mining and labouring economy. Equally neither of those may be any more than a red herring.

One thing I do think is true is that this problem is significant and is becoming more so.

Curently the most prescribed drugs in Australia are for cardio-vascular and related issues. Over the next 10 years, it wouldn't surprise me if anti-depressants stepped up to join them.

There's a fantastic job that communications could do to help with this situation. Sadly, when it happens, I don't think that campaign will be a government initiative, it'll come from one of the drug companies.

Mobile Messaging

2007-09-13T06:53:10Z

I've been recently asked if mobile will ever be considered a serious channel by marketers...

Right this minute the mobile phone is bigger in its reach than the car, TV or internet.

Already in China, Japan and South Korea the majority of internet access is via mobile phone. In total over 750 million people access internet content via a mobile phone today

The Communities Dominate Brands post Putting 2.7 billion into context puts forward some great stats: There are 800 million cars, 850 million personal computers, 1.3 B fixed landline phones, 1.4 billion credit cards, 1.5 billion TV sets and at the beginning of 2007, 2.7 billion mobile phones. That's three times as many mobile phones as automobiles or personal computers. About twice as many mobile phone owners as those of fixed landline phones or credit cards. And almost twice as many mobile phones are in use as TV sets.

Australians love their mobile phones and there are more than 16.5 million mobile services in use in Australia, according to the Australian Communications Authority (ACA). We spend, on average, an hour on the mobile phone every day and 35 minutes of that is spent texting

It is inevitable that the mobile phone will become an important part of the communication mix. While the Australian telco's walled gardens and premium content focus have restricted advertising innovation, the times are changing.

It's important to keep reminding ourselvers that we are in the message delivery business. The ability for marketers to deliver timely and targeted messages to specific audiences is one reason that media planners still knock on the telco's doors. This, in addition to the mobile phone's ability to provide a procrastination destination and information a service for the 3.5 million people browsing the mobile internet in this country, means that there is a large and growing opportunity for brands to connect with their consumers by using this channel.

IKEA Hacker: A real world 'mash-up'

2007-09-11T06:09:32Z

About six years ago, in the UK, IKEA launched a campaign called 'Throw Out Your Chintz'...it was a brilliant way of getting the UK to strip off the flock wallpaper (obviously flock is now inhenrently cool again but hey), throw out the chair and sideboard that you inherited from Nanna (again de-mob utility furnishings are de jour) and get yourself down to IKEA.

That was cool but this is even cooler. Now that those $15 stools and $50 shelving units are looking...well, decidely 2002...someone has come up with this little beauty. IKEA Hacker is brilliant! It's ingenious, it's creative and it ticks the box of sustainability too.

What's on your mind?

2007-09-10T08:20:49Z

Part of a world map illustrating the origin and content of the most popular search queries via Google, revealing the preferences and interests of the world population. The map is based on data from the Google Zeitgeist statistics of 30 different countries from April to June 2006. Found on the Incom Project.

Every month the top 10 search terms in Australia can be found here.

Nokia invents new marketing sub-genre

2007-09-09T23:55:05Z

Nokia has followed up it's innovative N95 launch earlier this year with another ground breaking piece of marketing communications. They have supported the launch of the new N81 by rolling out an entirely new approach to music sponsorship called 'Spons-Pop'. Perhaps inspired by Hugh Grant the film Music & Lyrics, Nokia have launched Pop4Real. Cheesey certainly...however will it flog lots more plastic for those clever Norwegians?

2007 WebTrends V2

2007-09-05T01:08:29Z

The Communication industry really has become over complicated these days....

Return on Innovation

2007-09-04T00:00:00Z

One of the most difficult questions for brands is: I know I need to be online...but how much do I need to spend?

Of course there is always a need for hard numbers, particularly around how much do you need/ can you get away with shifting online to get results.

A great question to ask is:

- if you took 5% away from the ATL TVC media budget
- what would you need to spend online to create the same reach and frequency to the conquest audience?

For one of our clients, bellamyhayden was recently able to evidence:

- that we could gain almost 3 times the exact target audience we needed to reach to make up the budget shift
- with less than half the budget
- delivering 4 times the time with brand
- and articulate the product benefit in a way the would also increase packaging recognition in channel.

Trying new channels needn't be a huge risk, and one of the underexplored benefits of digital engagement is the insights that can be gained.

For example at KraftFoods.com, the strategy is to empower the consumer with relevant information such as recipes and nutrition information; to demonstrate the values and attributes of Kraft's brands in interactive ways that can't be achieved offline; to involve consumers in the brands, and to help them integrate Kraft's brands into their everyday lives.

One involvement initiative that targets "millennials," young adults born between 1979 and 1994, is the Kraft Cooking School. Since many of these young adults haven't learned to cook at home, Kraft addresses their need with on-demand videos that explain basic tasks and methods needed to cook a meal. As many people in this group are online, it's an ideal way to reach them and involve them in Kraft's brands.

Insights Kraft wants to learn, and address, about its consumers include things such as which consumer behaviors Kraft wants to change or reinforce and whether the experience should be emotional or functional.

Kathleen Olvany Riordan, VP of global digital marketing strategy at Kraft Foods, explains: "In traditional advertising, the rule has always been 'think of one thing you want to say.' With digital marketing, it's 'think of one thing you want the consumer to do. It's not whether we gain the consumer's attention -- it's whether they give it to us."

Cinema Patrons Bowled Over

2007-08-10T03:59:27Z

When was the last time you went bowling? The type of bowling with ten pins, a ball and a pair of shoes fit for a clown!

I am guessing that it was years ago and a friend organised it for their birthday. Now, what was the experience like? After the initial reaction of 'what the hell am I doing here' you probably had a great night.

The challenge we faced was to help AMF reignite the bowling flame.

We needed to shift cultural perception of its brand, as people were simply not bowling.

The insight, showed people have a set group of activities when they go out with friends and plan their next get together, while they're out.

To force reconsideration of behaviour we aggressively set out to infiltrate this entertainment hierarchy through comparative communication via the cinema experience.

Results show for every $1 invested $1.75 was returned in incremental revenue.

Creating Baristas at Home

2007-07-30T03:58:26Z

Sunbeam isn't a European brand or a coffee specialist so people didn't really believe they made good coffee machines.

The brand lacked legitimacy and was being excluded from people's shortlists.

This was a fundamental issue that previous advertising had not addressed.

In overcoming this, Sunbeam had re-defined the terms of being a credible coffee brand. Credibility came from a new brand experience that turned their customers into experts.

It also meant re-defining the channels to communicate with the market. This lead to establishing Australia's largest ongoing coffee school, embarking on a new publishing venture, and seeking fame for a little-known spokesperson.

The radically different approach earned Sunbeam the credibility they were lacking; the top market share position within six months; and an incremental profit of $1.40 for each marketing dollar spent.

Heartstrings Vs Purse Strings

2007-07-13T02:23:26Z

OMG! Pepsi Light

2007-06-30T03:56:33Z

OMG! Pepsi Light was in danger of being removed from the shelves. This was in the face of one of the biggest soft drink launches in Australia. Swift action needed to be taken.

The task at hand was to create a communications plan starting from a blank canvas. OMG! Moments were identified as the key rich emotional territory that bonded women together. These OMG! Moments formed the basis for the facelift for Pepsi Light.

OMG! Moments paved the way for the channel strategy that focused on creating branded content using celebrities as catalysts.

Encouraged by celebrities sharing their OMG moments women shared their own in a public forum.

Distribution and sales lifted ... Pepsi Light is a survivor.