Superb Marketing Campaign for Nature Valley Granola Bars.

This is a fantastic marketing initiative by General Mills Nature Valley Granola Bars.

Awesome objective, great strategy, superb brand fitment and creation of not just a great campaign, but something that will be used for years on end by a thankful target audience. 

I rate this as one of the best marketing initiatives that I have come across. 

The video link below captures the process and the impact and I would suggest that you experience it here on the website

Got Milk? A digital activation.

Soy, coconut and almond milks are saying they’re healthier than real milk. But why? What’s in them? Here is a website to celebrate just that, all the ingredients that go into imitation milk. 

Has been Created by Goodby Silverstein & Partners for the Califonia Milk Processors Board to drive awareness.

I liked the thought, the strategy and the integration of devices; however, I did feel that the video interface makes the experience a little jerky and not as much of fun as I would have liked it to be, especially on the mobile device.

Visit the website here

CPG Mobile Marketing Strategy

Here is a comprehensive presentation by Brunner on how & why CPG / FMCG companies can adopt mobile marketing and make it an integral and "growing in importance" part of their overall strategy. 

The Future of Marketing by Gerd Leonhard.

Another gem by Gerd Leonhard - the futurist. 

Rebooting Media: From Ego to Eco

Fantastic presentation by Futurist Gerd Leonhard. Almost every slide is a lesson in business.  Enjoy.

Smart SM response management.

There are number of cases where bad management of engagement on social media can become a nightmare for brands and people (tons of examples of late). 

But here is a refreshing way to respond to a tweet. SmartCar responded to a tweeter who took a jab at and joked about bird poop totaling a SmartCar. It offered some compelling math and provided an infographic to show just how much bird poop it would actually take to total a car. 

Smart social media management. 

It’s time for dinner! Lawry's Digital Dinner Bell.

Lawry’s Digital Dinner Bell was born as the modern way to get family and friends to the table. 

The initiative / campaign is focused on the core of Lawry's recipe database.  

Start by selecting a flavor for tonight's dinner. Next, browse the Lawry's recipe database of the chosen flavor, pick a recipe, and prepare it. 

When it’s ready, invite family and friends to dinner. 

With a simple shake, your phone rings the Digital Dinner Bell and lets your family know that dinner is ready via SMS, Facebook posts, or a personalized phone call. 

It’s the modern way to get your family and friends to the table for a quality, family meal. 

Download your own dinner bell from here (Android only) and enjoy a family dinner.

Dove Ad Makeover.

From superficial makeover to mental makeover. Great consumer powered campaign. 

The idea of 'displacing negative ads' with ones designed to make women feel good about themselves, came to life by harnessing the Facebook Marketplace API. Rather than following traditional methods of the brand deciding on what the user should see we put the power of displacing negative advertising directly in the hands of women.

The Naked Espresso.

Loved the idea of unwrapping the core of the Espresso Machine to give individual identity to each poured cup. 

And suddenly your coffee has got character.  

In an aim to challenge Australians perception of the brand and position Breville and it’s Dual Boiler in a complex opinionated premium espresso market, Reborn (the agency) needed to highlight the premium features and specification of the espresso machine. 

Kraft Mac n Cheese.

Kids enjoy creating masterpieces of macaroni art - this initiative takes it further ensures almost a real experience especially on the ipad, an increased engagement and of course an association with a great cause where-in Kraft donates 10 real noodles for every virtual noodle used to a social cause. 

Simple thought, complex programing and overall effective. Try your hand at it here. 

The impact of online on offline behavior.

Nature - international weekly journal on science published a mass social-network study which shows that influence of close friends raises participation.

Just how much can activity on Facebook influence the real world? About 340,000 extra people turned out to vote in the 2010 US congressional elections because of a single election-day Facebook message, estimate researchers who ran an experiment involving 61 million users of the social network.

Shop Small - a wonderful initiative.

At AaramShop we had initiated the Indian Independents' Day on the 16th of August and we will grow the initiative year on year.  Our confidence in the initiative is heightened when we look at success of similar initiatives around the world - especially Shop Small in the US.

 

The initiative has boosted sales for Small Businesses across America by 23%. Has been made an official holiday by the United States Congress. Was tweeted about by President Obama. 

Almost 3 million people engaged with it on Facebook. Covered extensively by National and Local News media -- millions of dollars in free PR. In just 2 years, it has solidified its place as a national holiday and cultural phenomenon.

Read more here

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• Un-learning Sampling : Re-learning Sampling.
• The Delhi Grocery Festival - Curtain Raiser.
• Shopping aaram se!
• Order groceries for your mother-in-law too.

Tweet activated sampling machine - BEV's digital activation.

Sampling is a key strategy for BOS Ice Tea. Outcome was the first ever tweet-activated vending machine. What a superb idea and its implementation. 

Kit Kat Goes To Space! #BreakFromGravity

Meet the team that made it possible.

Maybelline - superb initiative.

Loved this campaign overall - great mix of technology and creativity. Loved how it is well designed to be used across devices from pads to PCs to mobiles. 

Very impressed with the way Maybelline has leveraged Pinterest, whose ties to fashion and beauty made it the right medium in which to extend the campaign. 

Visit the Maybelline - Color Show here and explore the color wheel

Forget Engagement, Consumers Want Simplicity

Loved the recent article by Patrick Spenner in Forbes where he writes that brands are trying too hard to engage with consumers via social media and that marketers are generally pushing out too much information, causing people to over-think purchase decisions and making them more likely to change their minds about a product, be less confident in their choice and less likely remain loyal to the brand.

He commends that brands need to simplify the decision-making process, so much so that consumers actually think less about the decision. Marketers can do that in three easy ways by helping consumers: 

• Trust the information they receive – providing recommendations by consumer advisors, ratings and reviews.
• Learn effectively without distraction – simplifying the research process by offering clear and streamlined brand-specific product information targeted to each decision stage.
• Weigh options confidently – making transparent buying guides and brand differentiated information easily available.

When used together, this approach is known as Decision Simplicity.

Not only is Decision Simplicity the number one driver of likelihood to buy, but the impact of simplifying purchase decisions for consumers is four times stronger than the favored marketing strategy of engagement.

Read the article here

Related articles

• No, Brands Aren't People -- and Consumers Don't Want Them to Be
• Simplified Online Plan for FMCG brands in India.
• Einstein Simplified!!
• Using SoLoMo to influence customer's buying decisions.

So much for purchasing power parity.

Einstein Simplified!!

If Einstein can be simplified, I bet digital  marketing for FMCG / CPG brands can be simplified as well.

You would have noticed that it is difficult (if not impossible) to wrap up a digital / online marketing discussion, without learning a few extra jargons and tech-speak. All the jargon has a MEGO effect on me (`My Eyes Glaze Over') :-). 

If you are into jargons pick up a few from here.

The other interesting bit in most discussions is the "evasive action" when it comes to quantifiable returns from the marketing spends. 

At AaramShop, we have taken a few steps towards addressing this challenge by creating a marketing program which converts consumer touch-points (jargon 1) into shopper action-points (jargon 2) for FMCG / CPG brands. 

Talk to us about our Simplified Online Plan for FMCG brands (in India) and sign-in for the Step-Up Program. 

You are assured of time porn (jargon 3) 

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• FMCG's rise to the top of the online adspend pile
• FMCG firms help push digital adspend to record high of £2.6bn
• Un-learning Sampling : Re-learning Sampling.

Online and Offline shopping experiences are blurring.

A new research from Google & Ipsos found that 80% of shoppers will research online for holidays shopping before making a purchase this season, and they switch devices to suit their needs. 

“For example, 51% of shoppers will research online and then visit the store to purchase, while 17% will visit a store first and then purchase online. Another 32% will research online, visit store to view a product, then return online to purchase. In short, the shopper’s journey looks less like a funnel and more like a flight map, and the lines between online and offline shopping experiences are blurring.” says Google Retail Industry Director, Todd Pollak.

This integration of the online and offline experiences offers great opportunities but also brings with it risks for all brands / retailers who are focussed on any one of the two formats. It is important to have a "hybrid" commerce strategy.

Related articles

• The role of mobile in shopping related research.
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• Data Points: Digital Holidays