Here’s 3 questions we’ve been asking this week: Kangaroo or two finger salute? What’s your 2017 Marketing Strategy? Sex, drugs and… aubergine?
Candice, Managing director
What’s your 2017 Marketing Strategy?
2017 seems some distance away.. but now is the time that businesses begin thinking about the year ahead and all the possibilities it has to offer their business.
Everyone seems to be back at work after a much needed summer holiday break and the topic this week has been about marketing strategies for next year. Our clients have been contacting us to help them strategise and plan for 2017. It’s key to plan ahead and ask “Have we done our annual marketing plan effectively so far this year and what can we do differently next year?”
From curating engaging content, to (real) online reviews, personalisation and transparency. 2017 is an exciting time. There is a huge shift in evolving technologies and it’s essential to find new and exciting ways to get your brand and businesses out to your target audience.
Feel free to read my previous blog post on the importance of a solid marketing strategy that is adapted to support the overall business strategy and sales strategy here.
Elena, Account Executive
Sex, drugs and aubergine
Last Monday Durex introduced its new aubergine flavoured condoms. Yay!
Following last year’s campaign asking for a safe sex emoji ahead of World AIDS Day so people can talk comfortably about safe sex, this year Durex opened up the conversation announcing aubergine flavoured condoms.
Although the announcement got some people on Twitter very upset, the launch was based on thorough research: 84% of 16-25 year olds ‘feel more comfortable talking about sex using emojis’, and the aubergine emoji is one of the most popular when talking about sex.
“The idea of an Eggplant condom coming from Durex is pretty absurd,” said the brand’s global director Volker Sydow, “but it is not as absurd as the fact that there is no emoji that enables young people to discuss safe sex easily in this language.
“We want to thank all the supporters of the condom emoji and assure everyone that we will continue to champion communication about safe sex in all forms”.
Watch last year’s campaign here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O7iKgKpkWfU
Good job Durex! 🍆
Sian, Creative Artworker
Deliveroo: Kangaroo or two finger salute?
Founded in 2013, Deliveroo now operates across 12 countries in 110 cities. This exceptional rate of international growth has put pressure on the visual identity system to work well across different landscapes and cultures. Visual identities constructed without a commitment to grounded research in semiotics, can be a major problem for many brands when they become international – what works well in one country may have culturally negative associations in another.
As well as this starting small with only a basic identity consisting of mainly a logo and a hero colour can run the company into problems when it comes to making the best use of different touch points. In the case of Deliveroo, the basics were designed only to be applied for their website, delivery boxed, business cards, the brand was struggling to be applied effectively to ad campaigns, whilst failing to fully utilise and take advantage the one touch point most city dwellers will come into contact with – the riders.
The team behind the rebrand became riders and took on customer service roles, whilst conducting semiotic analysis to ensure the identity would be culturally neutral internationally.
This solid approach to research has led to a system that not only expands on its touchpoints (riders are now fully kitted out from head to toe with gear that’s consistently and boldly branded, as well as accommodating of climate, time of day, and road safety specifications) but has also been designed to be future proof with scope for future applications.
Impactful and angular, the new Kangaroo is intentionally minimalist to reduce any negative cultural associations. But does it? Turning to the leading authority on logo design, and every designer’s favourite place for critique, Twitter users are pointing out that the Kangaroo might not be as culturally neutral as first thought…
