Efrain Ayala

📈How can you be Meaningfully Different to More People? Join this 8-min conversation with Heineken's Global CMI Director, Tony Costella, and Kantar’s Jane Ostler, as they discuss how #Heineken maintains differentiation in mature and new markets and continues to thrive as a leading alcohol brand, with great success in premiumisation for their category. Discover the routes they’ve explored to achieve it and how they operationalise Be Meaningfully Different to More People through #innovation, #distribution and #customerexperience. Kantar’s data shows that being Meaningfully Different to More People commands 5x penetration today and real advantage in penetration growth over the next two years. To find out more about the Blueprint for Brand Growth: https://lnkd.in/g2F2tA-V #BeMeaningfullyDifferenttoMorePeople #BlueprintforBrandGrowth

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I had the distinct pleasure of sitting with Kantar BrandZ for an in-depth conversation about global brands through the lens of PepsiCo's iconic portfolio -- what makes a brand valuable, the role of brands, how to stay relevant, deploying distinctive assets in a consistent and connected way, how the best-of-the best do it and so much more. I believe brands have a bigger role to play than before and at PepsiCo we talk about Positive Brands. We want to inspire people to make better choices for them and the planet. We are developing programs that leverage the scale and power of our brand marketing to accelerate our sustainability journey and connect with consumers. And we recognized brands are only relevant to people to the degree that they connect to something meaningful in their lives; something bigger that connects to core human needs like community, security, control, connection, enjoyment, etc. When it comes to deploying distinctive assets, we have to be very humble as marketeers. Memory structures, distinctiveness, brand meaning is built over generations. As marketeers, we stand on the shoulders of the giants that went before us. I'm very humble to the generations of incredible marketeers who have built these brilliant brands. Thank you Kantar for recognizing PepsiCo in the BrandZ Top 100 Brands Global Report 2024. Check out the full conversation: https://lnkd.in/eE3mtGxZ #PepsiCoProud #BrandZ #Kantar

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Are refills a non-starter in the consumer packaged goods market. @thegrocer reports that Freshways has radically overhauled Milk & More since acquiring the business last November, with a shift towards more mainstream brands and the removal of most products in its much-vaunted refill offering (Source: The Grocer 'Freshways dismantles ‘farm shop on wheels’ in value push' https://lnkd.in/e3iWk2rs). Some of the challenges of refill (albeit looking at the luxury sector) are explored in this article: https://lnkd.in/ehDdG62W

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Cultural gender insights - An intersting reflection on the cultural shift in feminism across Asia Pac, a deep desire amongst young people for a more inclusive feminist movement that is driven by collective participation and a future where one gender doesn’t lead another, 55% of youth surveyed believing the 'future is genderless'. Feminism took a big step forward this year as a result of the Barbie effect. Instead of fighting to prove women can be equal to men, women are embracing hyper-femininity, subverting stereotypes in boldly creative and playfully rebellious ways. Brands can further the gender conversation by tapping into the universal appeal of creativity, humanity and joy. Exploring the soft power of feminism could be a worthy starting point to drive change and create sustained impact. #culturaltrends #hyper-feminity #boldlycreative #trends

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If men's health is something you care about, or if you just want to see an example of a hugely effective digital ad that uses brand centric creativity and humour to succeed then this read on. Clever and appropriate use of humour can be an immensely powerful way to engage people with sensitive issues and land your intended messages effectively, in this case the topic is male urinary incontinence. As Ricky Gervais once said "humour is an inoculation against what might otherwise be seen as inappropriate to talk about". Men are less likely to talk about health issues, and it can be harder to engage them effectively with important topics like this that can negatively impact their wider well being and sense of self worth. The effective use of humour in this ad overcomes those barriers brilliantly. It also makes it much easier to talk to others about it and helps to remove potential stigma and embarrassment that a more serious approach might reinforce. Huge congratulations to the fantastic teams at Essity and AMV BBDO on this brilliant ad, and well done Laura Holder Cale and all the team Insights by Kantar on the fabulous contribution you made to making it a success.

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📈How can you be Meaningfully Different to More People? Join this 8-min conversation with Heineken's Global CMI Director, Tony Costella, and Kantar’s Jane Ostler, as they discuss how #Heineken maintains differentiation in mature and new markets and continues to thrive as a leading alcohol brand, with great success in premiumisation for their category. Discover the routes they’ve explored to achieve it and how they operationalise Be Meaningfully Different to More People through #innovation, #distribution and #customerexperience. Kantar’s data shows that being Meaningfully Different to More People commands 5x penetration today and real advantage in penetration growth over the next two years. To find out more about the Blueprint for Brand Growth: https://lnkd.in/eVAX5W6Y #BeMeaningfullyDifferenttoMorePeople #BlueprintforBrandGrowth

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In recent years, we've witnessed a troubling trend of inauthentic engagement from brands during Pride, with misguided product executions like LGBT Sandwiches and Tops/Bottoms burgers being some memorable, and slightly humorous examples. These attempts at allyship often miss the mark, reducing meaningful support to mere marketing gimmicks. This year, however, a new challenge has emerged: a noticeable decline in brands participating in Pride celebrations. Fear of backlash—from both the LGBTQ+ community, wary of inauthenticity, and critics who label allyship as “woke”—seems to be driving this retreat. I've always believed that true allyship should be an all-the-time commitment, extending beyond mere marketing campaigns to genuine support and advocacy. Brands that have previously championed Pride but are now "going back into the closet" risk losing their status as allies, in my opinion. As the political landscape shifts across many Western societies (e.g. here in the UK but also in America and France), it will be fascinating to observe how brands navigate their roles in Pride and LGBTQ+ conversations in the coming years. The need for authentic, unwavering support is more critical than ever. #pride #allyship #brandstrategy #brand https://lnkd.in/eKG3iKFQ

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🌍 Mondelēz International is leading the way in prioritizing inclusion and diversity within its marketing strategies. As highlighted recently, the company is not just talking the talk but walking the walk by embedding inclusive practices into every aspect of its operations. 🚀 By focusing on authentic representation, equitable opportunities, and fostering a culture of belonging, Mondelez is setting a powerful example for the industry. Their commitment proves that inclusion is not just a buzzword but a strategic imperative. 👏 Let’s applaud Mondelez for its dedication to creating a more inclusive world and take inspiration to implement similar practices in our own organizations. #Inclusion #Diversity #Equity #InclusiveMarketing #Leadership #MarketingInnovation

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Liz Buchanan <> The CPG View On this week's podcast, "Pioneering the Future of CPG Data," on The CPG View featuring Liz Buchanan, President, North America at NielsenIQ. Liz covers the following key points: 🎯 Leadership and Market Evolution: Liz emphasizes her transition to leading Nielsen IQ's North American business and the dynamic changes in the market, highlighting her extensive experience and the company's adaptive strategies. 🎯 Data Activation and Value: A major focus is on making data "activation ready" by ensuring it is comprehensive, granular, and useful for driving business outcomes, particularly in retail environments. 🎯 Customer-Centric Approach: Liz shares the importance of understanding and addressing customer needs through modern data access methods, personalized insights, and maintaining high standards of data stewardship and privacy. Tune in to gain insights on new data strategies, AI tools, and market trends shaping the CPG industry on The CPG View. 🚀🌟 Full Podcast Link (Apple, Spotify, Google, etc): 🎧 https://lnkd.in/eEqXpSB6 #ecommerce #digital #omnichannel #strategy #success #cro #ceo #leadership #cmo #cdo #retailecommerceclub #cpg #privateequity #playtowin #thecpgview

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Last year we reported the second highest growth for the #FMCG industry in the last decade, which meant more growth in the last three years than the previous seven. How did the industry perform in 2023? Did it accelerate? Did it slowdown? Find out tomorrow in our latest #webinar 'Omnichannel 2024', where we explore the latest industry and channel trends. Link below 👇 https://lnkd.in/dQJRs95G Worldpanel by Kantar #omnichannel #cpg #cpgindustry #ecommerce #growth

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Building on Lynne Deason's post demonstrating how the Quaker ad makes it easy to get their powerful meaningful difference across. Another vital ingredient in the recipe for advertising success is to be consistent over time and across channels – as people easily ‘get’ and believe what’s different about your brand. 🥂 We illustrated in our New Years Resolutions session, that being consistently different with your communications makes you more effective and leads to stronger brand growth. With the Marks and Spencer Food Christmas campaign success demonstrating this very clearly. 📈 In fact brands with strong excess difference (beyond what’s expected for their size) are 4 x as likely to grow than those without. More recently, SMARTY Mobile has generated improved impact in 2024 by bringing to life, once again, how they keep things simple with ‘less malarkey, more SMARTY’. Building on the familiarity of the central idea of simplicity from the previous digital currency roadside vegetable stall execution, they reinvigorated this by tapping into the spring DIY trend and launched a new execution around the complexity of choosing white paint. 🌟 There’s great consistency within the campaign in tonality, plus the same voiceover casting and pace, but more importantly - the emotional frustration of a difficult transactional experience is beautifully played out, reinforcing in a refreshed way why they’re different. Well done SMARTY! Look out for next week’s post from Simon Atherley continuing the conversation on the commitments that you can make that drive more effective marketing outcomes! hashtag #ConnectedEffectiveness #KantarBrandDynamics #MarketingEffectiveness

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The latest podcast relating to connection and how brands can do it well. This one focuses on applying smart behavioural science thinking to the topic. Thanks Lindsey Horne and Laura Mulcahy. And if you want to dig deeper take a look at the how shared interests create echo systems that brands can leverage to build connections, communities and even fans. https://lnkd.in/g-cXU_8Q

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📈How can you be Meaningfully Different to More People? Join this 8-min conversation with Heineken's Global CMI Director, Tony Costella, and Kantar’s Jane Ostler, as they discuss how #Heineken maintains differentiation in mature and new markets and continues to thrive as a leading alcohol brand, with great success in premiumisation for their category. Discover the routes they’ve explored to achieve it and how they operationalise Be Meaningfully Different to More People through #innovation, #distribution and #customerexperience. Kantar’s data shows that being Meaningfully Different to More People commands 5x penetration today and real advantage in penetration growth over the next two years. To find out more about the Blueprint for Brand Growth: https://lnkd.in/dC7b_mHJ #BeMeaningfullyDifferenttoMorePeople #BlueprintforBrandGrowth

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Another great article from #thinkwithgoogle, this time with Aude Gandon, Global CMO of Nestle. I highly recommend you read her views across a range of marketing areas, and two points I subscribe to, based on the data and evidence, are: 1. "We’ve got to be more entertaining. Today, we are in the entertainment business". The evidence in Ipsos data sets and our #misfits book points to this universal truth, yet time and again I see ads that have a singular objective to communicate claims and information. This is a big consistently missed opportunity for more effective creative to drive more media efficiency. 2. "AI can never replicate the elusive magic of human creativity. The human touch will always need to be there". Like any technology, AI is a tool and it can only amplify creativity and effectiveness with the right Human Intelligence/HI. This is a core Ipsos principle in our measurement solutions, that we deliver the incremental value of HI + AI to get to bettet decision-making. A great article and set of perspectives from Aude, and a recognition that we need to embrace the opportunity of HI + AI, while not forgetting the true essence of creativity and effectiveness. Michel Guidi, Louise Harrison, Arnaud Debia, Aurelie Jacquemin, Mathieu Reboul, Steve Spicer, Sonia Belgacem #ai #creativity #effectiveness #misfits

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In today’s installation of how to walk the bold advertising talk that for so many is just talk, I give you the new campaign from Impossible Foods and Erich and Kallman. And it’s bold in approach and execution. Its point of view (from my point of view) is a big, bold step away from the usual plants are good/meat is bad eco-rhetoric of veggie burgers. For Impossible, it’s not that plants are as good as meat. It's not that plants are better than meat. It's that plants ARE meat. Now that's bold statement. It goes again everything we’ve ever been taught to be true about taxonomy, starting with when King Philip Came Over From Germany Saturday. And it’s not just the traditional advertising that reflects their strategy. Impossible has adopted meat culture in all of its carnivorous excess. The redesign sports the reds, yellows and whites of McD’s, BK, and Wendy’s, with nary a whimper of tree-hugging eco green or faux-organic flowing type. They’re putting on a hot dog eating contest. They converted a cattle ranch into a plant meat ranch. They are doing meat stuff. It's smart. And It’s more than bold marketing, it’s bold branding. Which seems appropriate, since meat is where the term branding comes from in the first place. https://lnkd.in/ezuQyyrd

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Remember deinfluencing? Back in 2023, it shook up the social narrative and sent brands into a frenzy. 🤯 Now, after a steep decline, it might be staging a comeback. But does it really matter to brands? Is its impact enduring, or is it just another passing trend? 💤 Dive into the latest insights and data with our expert, Helen Clow, as she explores what deinfluencing means a year later. Check out her thoughts here 👇🏼 https://lnkd.in/dyTZC7DB #deinfluencing #influencermarketing #brandstrategy

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