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Culture brands
In the first issue of MILK I wrote a piece about Making Culture, the idea that brands will become culture factories producing content and ideas to connect consumers around an idea.
Since then I think it’s fair to say that the notion of a brand’s preference and performance being driven by the capital it has in cultural relevance has continued to grow in popularity. Likewise my theories on cultural relevance and the practices a brand should follow have continued to evolve.
Shortly I’ll be publishing a new paper which aims to identify how the long-term cultural paradigm has shifted, how global context and hyper-niche and real time relevance will continue to fragment culture and indeed how lifestyles and changed lifestages have led us from a post industrial, post digital age into a new ‘Cultural Age’.
With this in mind, the success of brands will be less audience centric and more culture centric, bringing about a change in the way we measure brand equity, and anchoring brand relevance against it’s measure in culture.
Marketing in the cultural age demands a change in marketing practices and organizations will work with agencies to follow initiatives which focus more heavily on the cultural equity or ‘Cultural Capital’ of a brand.
Needless to say some brands intuitively perform in this way already. Nike consistently harnesses culture led initiatives like the above ‘Republica Popular do Corinthians’ in Brazil which bring capture the cultural passions of groups of people and bring their brand into centre of focus by providing the inspiration and experience for people to engage with.
Likewise brands I’ve worked with including Red Bull and Pepsi have been successful in leveraging cultural relevance by creating innovative ways to inspire groups with initiatives like Red Bull House of Media and Pepsi Refresh Project.
The key challenge is that while these brands mentioned are used time and time again as case studies of innovators or outliers, most companies are failing to understand how to operationalize their behaviors and change their brand management model.
However, this will change, because for brands to succeed in the Cultural Age it has to!
CM
Was that a cow?
This current campaign for Fage yogurt by Mullen is running with the line Plain Extraordinary. It’s high production values are nice and have clearly aimed to position it more in the guise of a natural beauty product rather than a yogurt which is certainly a cool category jamming idea, but then there’s a few bugs in the system!
The voice over script is so bad that it feels like the ad is a spoof on indulgence. Now that is fun, see the old Boddington’s ad from the UK which parodied the Calvin Klein and luxury sector to mock its superficiality and bring the tone of the brand to life.
So I was pretty much in hysterics thinking this was a really fun ad, especially when it cuts to the shot of the cow covered in yogurt. I was waiting for the clever twist which made the brand really cool, but it didn’t come.
Judging by some of the inspired viewers comments for the spot on YouTube it’s a hit with a some people who actually buy into the faux sincerity of the script, butI’ll leave it to you to decide. It feels like this really could have been something fun and smart which it has failed miserably to do, in favor of believing its own cliche.
Recycled coffee karma
In keeping with this blog publishing perspectives on culture, to be honest this point of view is more relevant to observations of human nature.
It’s been a weird day. A beautiful start cycling to the office along venice beach boardwalk, past the marina in the sunshine… lovely.
An interesting chat with a smart guy at MTV about branding and collaborative projects and a great brainstorm for a cool pitch, all good so far.
Sadly then the day took a shift downhill! Some less than kind person had stolen my bike (the one in the picture above in fact, nice huh?!).
As with any theft, the interesting associative context is in many ways more telling than the act of removing the possession.
Clearly the ‘perp’ (as they say in cop shows) didn’t care that I was now without transport, but more than this they had altered how I could live my life (my experiences of riding along the marina and beachside) and perhaps most significantly my ability to trust others.
Hold that thought.
So now I had to get to a meeting with a super inspiring blogger you may know NOTCOT (or Jean Aw in person). On route I sent an email out to the agency to warn other bike owners to beware the bike bandits. The response I received to the email was amazing, from simple thanks for the warning, to messages sympathizing and even offers for a ride if I needed to get home – good folks.
After my meeting and feeling a little balanced on the days accounts, I popped into Intelligentsia who serve a mean latte and is another of life’s little experiences to enjoy (along with what cycling used to be). Chatting to the barista I checked I could pay by card (no cash on me as usual). This sparked him to tell me about his favorite sandwich place where they only take cash and when he’d first visited them and not realized this, the sandwich guy had said, no problem take the sandwich and pay me next time. With this he served me my latte, smiled and said don’t worry, next time.
I hope I don’t need to labor the point here, but trust goes a long way. It’s easy to undo, but acts of kindness go a long way to re-instill it.
Applying trust metrics or karma into culture go a long way to enriching our social experiences and the behaviors we subscribe to.
Mobile innovation
There’s little doubt that mobile innovation will lead growth in the advertising industry, certainly Sir Martin Sorrell thinks so.
Perhaps a more interesting question though is what does mobile innovation mean for a brands role rather than just the ability to have an advertising presence? With over 350,000 apps available through Apple’s iPhone App Store alone, it’s arguable an app is not the answer.
Simply, the governing factors driving mobile innovation hold the answer which can allow brands to play a role if they are willing to step out of the preconceptions of what mobile marketing is.
Innovation on the one hand is being driven through the hardware formats and these hold true to two principles. 1, converge digital services through the device (a phone, email, web, video, camera…). 2, device innovation diverges against consumer usage occasion – The iPod Nano is an iPhone Mini waiting to happen, whilst the iPad2 with Facetime continues to shape the role of iPad as the social technology experience device of choice.
Innovation is also being driven by ‘The Cloud’ for a devices ability to provide connective experience on a near permanently online basis. For this reason connectivity represents a significant sponsorship opportunity for social brands.
Perhaps most critically for brands, there is the role of new content experience. So far this has seen brands integrating content through Apps enbedded within Ads on mobile content, or as Apple call, them iAds.
Beyond this, the content opportunity for brands could really look more like the platform developments we’ve seen in TV.
Branded films, shows and interactive content developed against mobile media channels. The question for progressive brands is how to own the channel rather than become a show, or even worse a feature of the show. Whilst TV networks have been first on the scene here, though it’s more likely it will be the likes of GoogleTV who could lead the category. The opportunity for mass culture brands is significant here if they act now and work with content producers and platform creators to own the space and establish consumer following.
And beyond content, brands may do well to engage in external IP product ventures to provide experiences around their existing brand social consumption occasions. The new Jawbone Jambox is one such device which would have been a perfect branded product opportunity for any brand looking to increase their social role in music experience and social connectivity.
Mobile is without doubt the most exciting and undefined media future and where there is low definition there is high opportunity.
Finally watch this to remember where it all started: First cell phone commercial
Greetings
It’s been a while.
The empire of MILK moved home last year, from the pulsing heart of London to the shores of the Pacific in LA. Fine times indeed, but changing times and a convenient excuse to mark a break from blogging and publishing about culture and changing worlds, whilst physically changing worlds and considering new boundaries.
And now. A new world gathered and re-focused, opinions are fixed on the sharper orders and how to punch back a message of intent across the jaw of a new opponent.
But first some mentions. A new home. LA is a hard home to find even after your arrival, but it does become you. There are layers beyond the surface to be found, but they don’t seek you out. As a friend said, ‘it is a rubbish place to visit, but a fine place to live’.
I must also mention a kind thank you to Andy who has patience in managing this site. Health has not been kind with him recently and I wish him every well thought to recover to good health and live a great life.
Finally, for now, I prompt a thought… and a promise.
Greetings. When you see a much loved friend or relative how do you meet them? Is it a casual handshake, a nod and smile, air kisses to both cheeks? Or do you hold them close and squeeze? What mutual fondness is secured in that embrace that resurrects every emotional connection of trust and physical language that needs any other expression?
So from MILK a big hug. It’s been a while, there’s much to catch up on.
You should expect the usual provocative thinking, challenging perspectives, opinionated hard lining views from the leading edge of culture.
Be warned, it’s a fond familiar hello, but the gloves are off and culture will be called to reckon.
Enjoy.
Culture Making positions
Crunch time for Doritos
It will be really interesting to see how Doritos latest crowd sourcing campaign to create their next ad plays out.
They’ve really gone to town creating a decent digital experience for their King of Ads introduction hosted by T4′s Miquita Oliver no less.
Promising a purse of £200k for the winning ad submission which will be judged by a celeb panel and aired on national telly.
Not only are they pushing the consumer entries, but they’ve also placed a DPS in Campaign Magazine to engage with the pros! Though it has to be said the Campaign ad falls well short of the rest of the campaign.
It is without doubt one of the better constructed crowd sourcing campaigns and provides an interesting question not only as to how effective sourcing your commercials is, but also how effective the engagement process of crowd sourcing can be. Ultimately it begs the question of when is it right to use brand communications spend to engage in this way. Would the money have been better spent with a creative shop in the first place.
Ultimately does asking your consumer to create your ad gain you the respect of your consumers, or look like a cheap stunt with lack of imagination?
I guess, only the end results will answer that one!
2010 The year of innovation.
The signs from budgeting and planning are clear, this year we should be set to see some genuine innovation in brand owning businesses, marketing teams and agencies alike.
Last year was about dealing with tough change, but this year is definitely about making the most of what you have and finding inventive ways to maximize opportunity.
Naturally here at MILK this is cool news. Being a company that specialises in cultural direction and how to develop new concepts to connect businesses or brands with consumers feels a good place to be.
The interesting thing is that the scope for developing concepts is broader than it has ever been. Whether it be straightforward brand strategy and proposition development, or NPD, or business diversification… the range is truly expansive.
We’re talking to clients and business partners about the different ways to innovate, sometimes with IP share on ideas and initiatives, sometimes working as an ideas creator, sometimes helping to drive innovation through business. Even the approach to innovation is becoming innovative!!!
When I used to work with T-Mobile, they had a slogan for their business philosophy: ‘Never stand Still’. It is certainly this mentality which will highlight the winners and losers in the year ahead, those brave and creative leaders will embrace this new era of pioneering and those that don’t just won’t be around for long.
Nike True City
The folks at Nike and AKQA have been busy it would seem and just launched this slick new app for smart/ iPhones.
It uses the geo-tagged augmented reality technology mentioned in previous blog posts to create a virtual world accessed through your phone app to provide a Nike guide book to your City.
Expect this initiative to be big and likewise expect many brands to gain confidence from seeing Nike do it and follow suit in 2010!
Where do trends come from?
Much of the work we do at MILK is based on understanding changing culture and trends.
The interesting thing is that generally the preoccupation with trends focuses around: What is the trend and where’s it going? This has been fueled by books like Malcolm Gladwell’s Tipping Point, focusing in on why something small fads become popular trends and others fade away without establishing themselves.
For us, the more interesting point to focus on is: What is the trend derived from and why? What in culture is changing to make something of interest bubble to the surface in general societal attitudes and behaviours?
One indicator we use as a point of reference is shown in the diagram above.
Just about anyone who’s studied or worked in marketing has heard of Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs, but surprisingly few have come across Shalom Schwartz.
Schwartz took Maslow’s thinking and pushed it further to determine a map that demonstrates values states, it also proposes that these values sit opposite one another in a wheel like configuration.
Taking this simple reference point and applying it against society you can start to build a real picture of what makes us tick and more importantly why!
Now if you start to measure society’s values (like the smart folks over at Cultural Dynamics do!) then you start to understand the motivations and pressures driving shifts in values.
Understand this and you understand how trends form. Start to project values shifts based on known values movement and you can start to see how and if trends will grow!
For people in the communications industry or government this is like alchemy for ideas, it’s powerful stuff.
