Jun 29 2013

THE SATURDAY BRIEF // 29.06.13

It’s been a slow-going week in terms of Marketing news. With the haze situation dying down and the hail a once-off incident, Singaporeans are finding comfort in the national hobby of queuing up for things.

1. Hello Kitty: A Formula For Marketing Success?
Marketing Interactive
Check out what Marketing Interactive has to say about the Hello Kitty craze that is sweeping our nation. There have been videos of vicious demands that McDonald’s managers cough up more Hello Kitties to fulfill customers’ insatiable hunger for these feline soft toys.

What magic does Hello Kitty hold? It does seem that whenever McD’s does anything to do with Hello Kitty, everyone explodes in excitement. Hello Kitty specialty shops though, don’t experience long queues. Why is that so?

2. Ramsay Too Much For Singtel Brand?
Narketing Interactive
Our hawker fare is dying, and Singtel is trying to revive it by challenging Gordon Ramsay to a fight. I can already guess the ending. We would win, because if Gordon Ramsay takes the trophy, it would really spell the end of an era of great hawker fare, with a national television show to prove it. Then again, it’s something that we all know, isn’t it?

The question here is, what has Gordon Ramsay got to do with Singtel? What is the story Singtel is trying to paint by coming up with this campaign? Does it help the Singtel brand at all?

I believe Singtel is trying to distance itself away from the perception that they are simply a telco, and try to brand itself as an entertainment company with its mioTV, much like what Starhub has been able to do more successfully.

What with their HungryGoWhere acquisition, it sounds pretty credible instead of forced like what Marketing Interactive says. Will it work? We may never know. These things take years to change in consumers’ minds.

3. Is This the Beginning of the End for Barnes & Noble?
Brand Channel
Moving our sights to beyond Singapore, B&N is struggling to keep its ebooks business alive by being a market follower to Amazon. Having just bought a Kindle, I can totally understand how the market forces are aligned against them. It’s not just ebook reader vs ebook reader anymore, it’s LCD tablets vs. a less functional ebook reader. Why then would I go for a second-best one, especially if I was considering something of much higher price?

4. Sony puts micro ads on Wimbledon player, ushers in an era of 4K marketing
Engadget
Sony puts tiny ads on Wimbledon players to promote their super-large TVs. It’s ingenious really. Normal screens wouldn’t be able to pick it up, but Sony’s enormous 4k screen would show it large and clear in electronics stores. This form of micro-advertising seems to be all the rage too, with Coke and Pepsi doing it as well (see point 6).

5. With new Android gaming console, Google goes to war on Nintendo, Sony, Microsoft and Apple
Quartz
More in Tech: Android has it’s own gaming device that it is using to pit itself against Nintendo, Sony and Microsoft! It has a super low price tag too. Personally I think the gaming market is too particular to be disrupted, but if Google manages to convince a few big name game developers to defect, or even to create games on its platform, why not?

6. Coke and Pepsi Try Out Back-Handed Advertising
Brand Channel
I said it was a trend didn’t I? Both Coke and Pepsi seem to be finding ways to hide their logos in plain sight, or to create a deeper meaning to the brand to excite customers. Yay or nay? I thought Coke’s execution was better thought through, with an experience to remember the brand by. Static advertisements hardly do the trick nowadays.

7. Coming Soon: Downton Abbey Wine and Breaking Bad Beer
Ad Freak
I LOVE DOWNTON ABBEY! And I would totally buy some Downton-branded wines if they are good enough. I am guessing many would too. TV shows have been selling licensed products for a long time, but it seems like there is an increasing trend. See what AdFreak has to say.

8. As Food Network, Smithfield Foods Cut Ties, Paula Deen Sees Fans Rally
Brand Channel
Paula Deen has been all the rage over social media for admitting to saying “The N Word”. Food Network has since cancelled her show, with many previous sponsors deciding to drop her. Fans are rising up in support of Paula Deen with a Facebook page and all.

The episode shows how sensitive companies and consumers still are to racist slurs. With social media making it so much easier to voice our opinions and for what we say to spread like wildfire, there is a greater need for self-censorship than ever. Panopticon effect yo.

9. Samsung forms carbon fiber joint venture in bid to back away from plastic
BGR
Samsung is trying to move away from the plastic casings that have been criticized for making their phones feel like cheap toys. They are doing this by going into carbon fiber. With so many things going for Samsung these days, it is high-time that they do this and upgrade their products to occupy a higher position. But would that mean higher prices for consumers? If it does, would people still be attracted to Samsung, when other phones might offer the same OS at a cheaper price?

10. Beware the Cannibal In Your Product Line
HBR Blog Network
Last but not least, some academic reading for us to learn more about cannibalisation in product lines. It’s a very real issue that a lot of companies face. After all, there is a fixed number of consumers, yet increasing number of brands in the marketplace. When is it really the saturation point?

That’s all for the Top 10 Marketing news this past week. Happy weekend!

Jun 28 2013

Oreo: The brand that chases the news

How is everyone this lovely Friday? It’s been a busy week for this author, and hence quite quiet here at MAJOR: MARKETING.

I thought I would post some stuff that has fascinated me on social media, just for your entertainment. And I guess one brand sums up everything pretty well…

Oreo!

Oreo has been doing a marvelous job of staying hyper-relevant and on trend to all that happens over social media.

What I found really amazing was that they run a GLOBAL Facebook page rather than a local one! Doesn’t that make it doubly hard to stay relevant? And yet I think they are doing great, at least on the Singapore front.

If you are not from Singapore, here’s what they did:

A Hello Kitty fever is hitting Singapore. Long queues line up outside of local McDonald’s outlets where girls wait for their favourite cat, brothers queue for their sisters, and boyfriends wait in line for their girlfriends. The fever is so hot, in fact, that eBay is currently selling these feline soft toys at astronomical prices. Oreo has entered the fray quickly with “Hello, Cookie”.

Just after the haze hit, there were reports of a hailstorm in Singapore. Normally unheard of in our sunny little tropical island. The rare weather event naturally fascinated most Singaporeans.

Being the self-deprecating lot we are, a viral video has been spun out of an interview with a local who commented that the hail stones looked like grapes…

Of course, Oreo did not miss out on the opportunity either, and came up with “Hail, Oreo!” mere hours after the news and videos of the hail came online.

(On a side note, I totally love this video. It’s so awesome that it’s playing on loop on my computer right now! Hilarious.)

By now, the whole world knows that we had the haze that hit PSI 401 last Friday. I also featured it in a previous post about companies who jumped on the haze bandwagon to promote their brand and products.

Then there was Man of Steel that happened close to Father’s Day. Oreo killed two birds with one stone by celebrating “Super Dads”.

This has to be one of the most on-trend brands ever, further perfecting the real-time marketing they pioneered at Superbowl. Staying on top of the news has kept Oreo at the top of mind of consumers. The humour that comes with these posts also help to create a fun personality for the cookies. Brilliant, really. Looking forward to see more from Oreo!

Jun 22 2013

THE SATURDAY BRIEF // 22.06.13

It’s that time of the week again, for THE SATURDAY BRIEF! Time passes really fast doesn’t it?

While we are enduring the haze here in Singapore, let’s take a quick look at what we missed in Marketing news around the world this week.

1. Haze Prompts Creativity From Companies in Singapore
MAJOR:MARKETING!

This week was all about the haze, haze, and more haze. From Singapore at least. Find out what companies are doing to capitalize on the bad weather in order to build their brands or to sell their wares (the latter is probably a bad idea, frankly).

2. Apple Finds Its Footing Again With Evocative Film About Third-Party iOS Apps
Ad Freak

Apple shows consumers what its iPad can do with a long-form video. It’s not about selling more, it’s about meaning more.

3. On Heels Of Countless Famous Collaborations, Converse Launches “The Simpsons” Sneakers
Time

We are seeking more and more collaborations across brands, both from onscreen and off. The Simpsons are coming alive in your Converse sneakers this time. Isn’t it ironic how this is kind of a reverse product placement?

4. Researchers Explain How Brands Make You Fall In Love
FastCo Create

Now we can finally find out why we can’t get enough of Coke!

5. Microsoft To Reverse Xbox One Policies After Fan Revolt
Forbes

About time! Microsoft is going to allow you to play games from your friends, and without an Internet connection too. I guess there are only very few brands who can pretend the competition doesn’t exist, and get away with it.

6. P&G Hosts Massive Everyday Effect Giveaway Event in New York City
Brand Channel

I would be uncomfortable with this normally because I always thought the idea of a House of Brands approach was to make lessen the power of the corporate brand. In this case, however, P&G did a great job in showing New Yorkers how its products improve their every day lives. They need that awareness too, seeing how they didn’t do too well last year. Now, COME TO SINGAPORE!

7. Apple Wants to Drive Future of Infotainment, but Will Car Brands Move Over?
Brand Channel

Never one for standing still, Apple now wants to own the car infotainment market. Would auto companies let it? From what we read from Ford, it seems that most consumers still prefer traditional knobs and dials over touchscreens in their cars. We’ll see how this goes, Apple.

8. At Cannes, Brands Find Themselves Redefining the Boundaries of Advertising
Brand Channel

It was the Cannes Lion Festival of Creativity last week! If you missed out, check out this summary from Brand Channel. Also, you can go to the Cannes’ Lion website to find out more about the amazing campaigns! Advertising never looked less itself.

9. Introducing Video on Instagram
Instagram

Now all the selfies and food shots would be able to move… erm. Yay? But honestly, this is a better offering than Vine, I feel. By virtue of the fact that it is built to be shared on an existing platform. Not much of a stretch to use it.

10. Transgender Marketing: 12 Campaigns That Defy Sexual Stereotyping
TIME

Interesting look at how marketing has evolved. We are no longer “targeting” traditional segments. With big data and social media, more of these will follow,where we break down stereotypes.

Jun 20 2013

Haze Prompts Creativity From Companies in Singapore

**Edit (June 22, 2013): Added Starhub to the list!

The PSI Index has hit a high of 371 in Singapore today. Even as the rest of the country post increasingly hazy shots of their country, businesses are coming up with creative ways of making the most out of #SGHaze. Here’s some that I got off Facebook:

1. Oreo
As the company which more or less pioneered “real-time marketing” with its successful “Dunk In The Dark” campaign in the American Superbowl, it is not surprising that Oreo is one of the first brands to come up with a social media response to the #SGHaze. Check out their gas mask with Oreo stuffing.

2. Cadbury Dairy Milk
Sister brand of Oreo, Cadbury has also come up with an interesting post on its Facebook page that is relevant to the haze. What I felt would have been a real coup would have been for them to really put this in the papers. After all, we all know how effective the newspapers are for the Singapore market. It would have had a much greater reach!

3. Costa Coffee
Costa Coffee advices us to keep our masks on and come indoors for a cup of coffee with their interesting mask coffee art.

4. Scoot
Scoot thinks we should just fly out of Singapore to avoid the the haze altogether with their low fares to different locations around the region. Well, we all know where we don’t want to fly to, don’t we? Not after they called us childish!

5. Adidas
My favourite, and one of the earliest to come up with any sort of response, is Adidas’ “Go All In(doors)” advisory on their Facebook page. I love how their tagline is embedded, and how it gives an added meaning. Parentheses are pretty overused after (RED) campaigns, but this is just right.

6. Physical ABuse
Local gym Physical ABuse has also decided to alleviate the pain of not being able to be out and about in the horrible weather. They are offering free gym access until PSI levels are stabilised. Of course, we have no idea what “stabilised” means. I hope they mean “back to normal levels”.

7. LifeOpp
Job-matching community LifeOpp has taken it one step further and gave out free face masks to locals at different malls around Singapore. Definitely a good way to boost awareness of the company. I do hope that they somehow managed to brand those masks though. Otherwise the mileage of this campaign would be limited.

8. McDonald’s Peak Sauce Index
Looking at how high the PSI really is, McD’s approach is fast lousy its humour, in my opinion. Then again, the new Wasabi and Honey Mustard sauce might offer sweet respite from our smokey woes.

What is truly laudable about McDonald’s is that it has decided to suspend McDeliveries because of the haze to protect its delivery riders. It’s one of the very first companies to do so today.

McDelivery is halting until further notice

Since McDonald’s move, other companies have also followed suit. Amongst them, competitor KFC:

As you can see, most Singaporeans are approving of such moves. Most are of the opinion that employee well-being is more important than the sales that these companies might lose.

The #SGHaze has become an excellent platform for brands to show that they care, and to show how their brands are relevant and fit into the lives of consumers.

9. Starhub Offers Free Previews
Reader Tan Teck Heng has shared Starhub’s Facebook post as well. They are offering free TV previews for those of us staying at home!

How did you like their attempts? What’s your favourite? Tell me more at the comments!

Jun 19 2013

The Flight to Authenticity: Lola’s Cafe

In Search of Authenticity

In their book, “Authenticity: What Consumers Really Want”, Pine and Gilmore illustrate the consumer’s search for authenticity in products that they buy, and in the experiences that they consume (Check out Joseph Pine’s TED video here if you don’t want to read the book).

In today’s day and age, we no longer trust companies as much as a generation before. We are cynical and tired of mainstream advertising messages. We feel betrayed by Big Corporations after that whole hoo-hah back in 2007 that still affects us now.

Increasingly, consumers look to friends and Internet reviews for information before they buy anything. In this climate, Seth Godin opined in “All Marketers Are Liars” that being authentic is the best marketing of all. We all instinctively gravitate towards experiences that we sense are earnest and true rather than believe in advertising messages that we all know have a certain propensity for exaggeration.

Singaporeans are similarly looking for authentic experiences in our lives in the face of increasing globalisation.

There is a rise of neighbourhood enclaves that celebrate the spirit of what Singapore means to the true local. From Haji Lane, to pre-war HDB blocks of Tiong Bahru, it is evident that we are searching for something that we feel has been lost in the unceasing march in the name of progress. This trend coupled with the pessimistic job market has encouraged Singaporeans to start out on their own to make a name for themselves.

Creating Your Own World

There is an increasing gap between what companies sell, and what consumers seek in their products. Millenials who are tired of endless consumerism are also increasingly stepping out to start businesses that they would personally buy from.

Pretty Frivolous, the stationery store I co-founded, was created out of the lack of meaningful and real cards that we would want to give to our friends. We wanted to offer our customers the ability to customize their cards in the long run. (Watch out for that in the coming months!)

Local social media agency GOODSTUPH has also picked up on the trend and launched THE DAMN GOOD SHOP selling toys and knick-knacks from the 90’s, cashing in on the nostalgia that people feel. With the tagline, “MADE IN SIN”, the shop stocks quirky items that represents a piece of Singapore, or of what Singapore used to be. Consumers are increasingly eschewing the big brands for smaller but well-designed products that means something to them at a deeper level.

Another example would be Barber and Hair Tattooist, Mervyn aka Muffyn Liuliu, from Heist. He stepped out on his own to create a whole trend that did not exist in Singapore at the time, because he saw the gap in services that hair saloons were offering in Singapore.

The experience you have when cutting your hair with Mervyn is something totally unlike your typical hair saloon because you interact with his whole personality and feel his passion for what he does. Even simply following him on Twitter would give you a sense of that.

Case Study: Lola’s Cafe

What then, can be more authentic than your very own cafe?

Situated at Simon Road, the vintage-themed Lola’s Cafe is a started by two young entrepreneurs, Choo Kiat and June. They dreamt of creating a cafe experience that is one of a kind for its customers, and decided to join forces to make a world of their own. Lola, by the way, is June’s pet name.

When I entered Lola’s Cafe, I was immediately hit by welcomes by the service staff. While it might seem like a standard in all cafes, the crew were unusually happy and enthusiastic at Lola’s, on a Sunday night at 11pm. Most would be tired out by the long day they had, but these people were beaming. I was impressed.

Decor

The first thing I noticed was the wall of frames that lined the feature wall of the small cafe and the dominant view for most of the place. The whole cafe was a throwback to a time before our own.

Old sewing machines served as tables. Old chairs lined the little bar top at the corner, where one could sit to people watch. There was also a comfy corner for you to relax at if you did not want to sit at the tables, replete with a vintage canary yellow cane saucer chair and a gramophone.

Old-school chair — Old-school cane saucer chair

Going further into the cafe, you would see shelves with more vintage goodness – an awesome magnetic calendar (which I think is a great idea), and a vintage polaroid camera together other assorted items.

Of course, there are the hand-crafted beers that Lola’s Cafe recently brought in from all around the world.

Vintage polaroid camera and hand-crafted beers

The Food

Because of the late hour of our arrival, we did not order any main courses at the cafe but opted for desserts and drinks instead.

Let’s start with the coffee.

The beans are sourced from Brazil, El Salvador and Ethiopia, and roasted locally to ensure strong aroma and smooth taste. Importantly, all coffees are artfully prepared and served by Choo Kiat with coffee-art!

I tried out a Mocha while I was there. To be honest, it was not the best coffee I have had, being a coffee lover. I believe though, that the standards will only increase since the owners continually ask for feedback on how the food tastes and how they can make it better.

A mocha made with love — A Mocha made with love

Personally, the tarts were the highlight for me. We had a Lemon Meringue Tart and a Caramelized Banana Earl Grey Tart with Pistachio Toppings.

The Earl Grey Tart is an absolute must-try! Never quite had something like that before anywhere else. The Earl Grey worked surprisingly well with the bananas to create a sweet and fragrant taste. All tarts are lovingly baked by June.

We were told that the new beers that were brought in were must-tries, so we tried some too…

I tried out the Westmalle Trippel, Trappist Golden Ale, which had a full body and was perfect for sipping and chatting with friends. The girlfriend had an Op & Top, which was a Dutch beer that is lighter to the taste. The perfect girl-beer.

It is clear that the owners believe very strongly in personally serving the customer and establishing a rapport with them. The beer was poured out for us meticulously and slowly so that the froth does not get too much.

The authenticity of the place comes not from the fact that it is loaded with vintage furniture from a bygone age, but from the effort that Choo Kiat and June put to tending to it and making sure that it is the best cafe there is.

Despite the late hour, the two young bosses sat down with my girlfriend and I for a quick beer and talked a bit about the new menu that they came up with. They even had a little friendly competition where they got us to vote on whether the tart was better or the coffee. It’s hard to find such a strong personal touch at any cafe nowadays, even the hipster ones in Yong Siak or Ann Siang.

Visiting the cafe really reinforced my belief that a new generation of entrepreneurs are rising to create businesses that are based on strong values, and how they think the world should be. If that’s the case, the world would be a better place.

Lola’s Cafe is situated at 5 Simon Road, Singapore 545893.

Opening hours: 11am to 12mn daily.
Call them at 6343 1808 for reservations!

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/lolascafesg
Instagram: @lolascafesg