IS THE KEY TO GREAT BRAND EXPERIENCES TO BE FOUND IN GERMAN INDUSTRIAL METAL GIGS?
Rammstein played in O2 this week, and while we are not all massive fans of industrial metal music at MCCP, we witnessed one of the most spectacular shows that stage has seen. The show was an explosion of pyrotechnics and energy. Many in attendance were there for the show and not necessarily the music. We overheard a member of the audience after the show saying “I have never been to a gig before where I knew none of the songs, had no idea of the language they were singing in and yet was so entertained”. Rammstein’s stage show teaches us the power of real theatre and a differentiated experience.
There is no other group delivering what they do and they have a show so tightly choreographed (given the constant danger of huge amounts of fire on-stage) that every move seems deliberate and builds on the experience of the show. In a market where the recession fed consumer is starved of new and different experiences, the brand that can deliver one, is a brand that will stay relevant & valued. Brands need to deliver experiences that are unexpected, truly differentiated and compelling, just like German industrial metal bands.
(Photo Credit: Peter Neill; shootthesound.com)
GOOD COMMUNICATION IS NOT ALWAYS ABOUT GOOD NEWS
Last night saw the first state of the nation address in over 25 year in Ireland. The Taoiseach spoke of hope and hardship in equal measure in an address which would possibly have had little new news for many. However, the fact that this is only the 6 state of the nation address in Ireland is astounding. The previous 5 have been delivered at what are considered to be times of crisis in Ireland.
Why have the people of Ireland only heard scheduled address from their leader 6 times in our history? It has to be one of the poorest communication records in history. The fact that such an address took place was in itself a statement. It was a direct communication from the government, to the people. We have been starved of such communication for too long. Whatever the public opinion of the contents of the address, the fact that it happened will be applauded by most, because it shows a government will to communicate with its people.
If CEO’s were to communicate with their companies on such an infrequent basis, or brands were to ignore their consumer for such long stretches, neither would be in business for long. What the state of the nation address shows, by its own infrequency, is the importance of regular communication. Good news or bad, it’s always better to communicate than bury your head in the sand.
THE 5 ‘SO WHATS’ WHICH IMPACTED CONSUMERS AND BRANDS THIS WEEK
1. Game Changing Idea- Input: Potato. Output: Crisps.
With health becoming more of a consumer concern in all food categories Lay’s Potato Chips have given customers in Buenos Aires the chance to see exactly what is going into the product & process at the point of purchase. The shopper puts in a potato & sees it being washed, peeled, cut, cooked, salted and packaged ready to pop into their mouth fresh and hot from the machine. This is 100% transparency.
So what?
The reason we at MCCP love this idea is 3 fold;
- By being transparent the brand is proving to consumers that they’ve nothing to hide & really living their 100% natural claim.
- It provides an increasingly health conscious consumer permission to snack without suspicion or guilt.
- Finally, it is a really good example of a shopper marketing initiative engaging the shopper at the point of purchase.
2. Impact of VAT hike on people’s behaviours & aspirations
The leaking of the government’s intention to increase VAT by 2% has been met with despair from all corners of society. Economists are denouncing the timing with the Christmas run up so near; retailers were already facing a difficult Christmas in comparison to other years & the government are fuming at the leak – undermining their budget before its even released
So what?
For every action there’s a reaction. This increase in VAT by 2% to 23% will have unpronounced effects on the Irish economy & consumer. Firstly, border towns will be crippled as not only will they feel the effects of the
HOW IMPORTANT IS ETHICS?
The Irish Times featured an article today outlining DCU’s efforts to instil more employer friendly attributes in graduates via a new initiative. One of the key attributes they are trying to imbue graduates with is a set of ethical standards. With the finger being pointed to greed and corruption as the cause of the recession, this move towards teaching ethical reasoning is to be expected and supported.
However, as academics debate over whether ethics should be a stand-alone module or integrated into all teaching, MCCP asks if ethical standard are also growing in importance for consumers. Certainly the projection of ethical standards will be pivotal for brand in certain sectors, most obviously banking. It is interesting to consider whether such standards are important to the individuals themselves.
In tough economic conditions, is a person’s focus on looking after number one, or acting for the greater of good of a bruised society? What do you think?
THE 5 ‘SO WHATS’ WHICH IMPACTED CONSUMERS AND BRANDS THIS WEEK
1. Cash, Plastic or Mobile?
Each Irish person makes an average of 40 ATM withdrawals each year, totalling almost €5,000. However, the value of all non-cash transactions in the Republic was 36% last year, in contrast to the EU average of 96%. In short, we are still very much a cash rich society bucking the European cashless trend.
So what?
As we’re behind the curve when it comes to cashless payments here in Ireland, will we continue to be slow to adapt to other fast approaching payment technologies? The much discussed and effective mobile phone payment options that’s being utilised in Japan and parts of the USA are set to hit Europe, will we be slow to adapt to that too?
2. The lighting speed of social change
The original method for promoting your ideology was through word of mouth. This developed into the written word & so it took months (sometimes years) to get your message out. With the development of newspapers the message was enabled to meet its audience a lot faster. Along with the birth of newspapers came a quicker response rate from others with the same view point or differing view point. Currently, twitter is the quickest method for voicing opinion and one that has been used to good – organising protests in Syria and bad – organising the riots in the UK.
So what?
Whether for good or for bad, Twitter is facilitating the rapid diffusion of protest ideas, tactics, and strategies, thus allowing social movements to overcome problems historically associated with collective
IT JUST MAKES SENSE
For years marketers have been keenly aware of the power of connecting with their consumers in a multi-sensorial way. Retailers bake freshly baked bread in an attempt to enable the aroma to drive impulse purchase. As people look for new experiences, brands have to find creative ways to keep up with them and it becomes increasingly important to allow consumers to interact with your brand in a multi-sensory or poly-sensorial way. So in order to find out more, MCCP embarked on a trip to Ireland’s second biggest tourist attraction, the Guinness Storehouse, to see how it impacted the senses and changed perceptions.
The Storehouse has been designed to activate the senses from the moment you enter. The storehouse cleverly places physical elements of its history throughout the building enabling the physical history of the brand to be touched and tangible. The ‘brewing room’ brings the physical elements to the fore, by allowing you to touch the grain, smell the roasted barley and feel the power of the waterfall. The clever use of dimmed ambient lighting further enhances the feeling of being inside the brewing process.
The temperature was controlled at different levels of the tour, being warmer during the brewing stages and colder and refreshing during the Gravity Bar stage, just as you being to enjoy your cold pint of Guinness. Sound and light were used to trick the mind into different moods, bright and lively for the transport section and dark and craft-like for the cooperage. The darker levels of
SHOULD THE IRISH BE PROTECTED FROM THEMSELVES?
An initiative was launched last week in Iceland to put forward a proposal to the government that cigarettes should be banned from sale in all outlets except for pharmacies as a step towards irradiating them completely. The proposal is seen as very extreme by many groups in Icelandic society and the general consensus seems to be that it will fail, however we at MCCP believe it raises some interesting questions.
How far does a countries remit go in protecting its citizens? What level is the right level of regulation for substance that may cause harm to people? At what point should the choice of whether to engage in a gradually harmful activity be taken away from people?
These questions are interesting for our own society too. Ireland was the first country in the EU to impose a smoking ban that has now been adopted elsewhere, and it has affected the numbers of people smoking, while also creating new social habits for smokers. The ban radically changed most social environments in Ireland and hugely altered the perception in people of what is and is not acceptable in a public place.
While this proposal in Iceland may seem extreme to some, we need to recognise that sometimes such radical moves can be whole-heartedly embraced and accepted by a population within a very short time. Should we be looking at ways to further protect people in Ireland, even from their own behaviour, or is this a step too far toward a controlling state?
THE 5 ‘SO WHATS’ WHICH IMPACTED CONSUMERS AND BRANDS THIS WEEK
1) Back Saving
The latest Savings Index figures show that Irish people are returning to saving behaviour. After 3 months of consecutive falls in saving May saw a massive increase of 25 points (Source: ESRI June 2011)
So what?
MCCP analysed the figures along with other cultural context trend to unearth the drivers behind the resurgence of Irish people’s saving behaviours. Firstly, we noted that the largest proportion of people are saving with a precautionary motive, with 44% of respondents indicating saving for unexpected expenses. This unease about the financial future may well be being driven by current news around pending cost and tax hikes such as the triple tax hike. On a lighter note education/training and holidays are the next most popular reasons for saving at 12%. Savings in case income falls stood at only 10%. MCCP believes that these saving motivators show signs that Irish people have begun to adapted to and accept a long-term recession and that they are now preparing for the future rather than living in fear of it.
2) Q. Where Wally? Ans. Everywhere
This weekend saw the International Street Performing Championships taking place in Merrion Square. As part of the festival thousands gathered to attempt to break a Guinness Book of Records first – the largest number of ‘Where’s Wally?’ characters gathered and photographed in the one place. Saturday saw 3,657 Wally’s partake and a further 3,872 gather on Sunday.
So what?
To promote the event all week Metro Herald had their merchandisers handing out newspapers dressed as Wally.
THE 5 ‘SO WHATS’ WHICH IMPACTED CONSUMERS AND BRANDS THIS WEEK
1) iCloud revolutionary use of online music ownership
Apple is closer than ever to launching its own music cloud service—with record label support. What separates iCloud from iTunes is that it is multi-platform music ownership (iphone, ipad, ipod) without fixing consumers to one fixed device. This new hybrid approach allows consumers own their music and also access it all from the ‘cloud’, streaming it to many different devices via a Web browser or mobile app. This approach is typically called the “music locker”.
So what?
Apple continue to lead the way with online ownership. In a world where consumer expectations are about flexibility how can your brand give the same sort of freedom to consumers from online through offline?
2) Charity starts at home
Research carried out recently shows that over the past two years people have given to a charity on average 11 occasions. Middle-class people from Dublin or Leinster, above the age of 35, tend to be the most frequent contributors to charity. Women tend to give more to charity then men.
So what?
With disposable income diminishing as taxes increase and people save for the unexpected, charities are starting to feel the pinch. Inherently people like to give money to charity to feel as if they are contributing yet financial constrictions mean that charity now starts at home. How can your brand partner with other organisations in order to demonstrate social responsibility and generosity? And how will this drive a deeper connection to your consumers? A perfect example of this is Toms shoes –
THE 5 ‘SO WHATS’ WHICH IMPACTED CONSUMERS AND BRANDS THIS WEEK
Ireland has had the official visits of Queen Elizabeth, President Obama, Leinster won the Heineken Cup, the Republic of Ireland soccer team beat Nortern Ireland 5-0 and predictions are we’ re facing the hottest summer since ‘76. After the constant bad news marathon consumers are experiencing a huge sense of positivity.
So what?
In a climate where consumers are desperate for good news, all positivity needs to be leveraged. How can your brand exploit and build on the upbeat & ‘can do’ mood.
2. Obama factor
President Obama’s Irish visit has created more than 11,000 articles in over 3,500 publications in 110 countries in the 48 hours. More than 50,000 tweets were published globally in relation to his visit to Ireland. President Obama’s ancestral home of Moneygall, Co Offaly, appeared in almost 5,000 articles and 10,000 tweets around the world in 48 hours. Searches by US tourists for Cork are up 104% compared with this time last year, while UK searches are up 191%. Meanwhile searches by Irish users were up 175% for Tipperary and 89% for Dublin.
So what?
Brand Ireland is punching above its weight at the moment. How can your brand take advantage of spotlight on Ireland and position itself top of mind for consumers?
3. Ash Cloud
It would appear to be that time of the year again when the Icelandic volcano erupts ash into the atmosphere causing consternation amongst airlines and tourists worldwide. Last year alone some 63,000 European flights were cancelled and it cost the industry approximately €150 million