nigel carr

Great and provocative read on Liquid Deaths’s success story. So many insights and examples which are relevant for FMCG challenger brands as well. Mark Ritson claims that “… if you step back and look at the original ‘four Ps’, it is almost impossible not to acknowledge that while the promotional P has its place, the product P is invariably the most important tactical consideration. Shitty marketing can surely kill a great product, but without a successful, product even the best marketing does little other than speed its own demise.” And I fully agree (see my earlier post for details) - so if you’re not yet following Mark, do it asap. It’s worth it (and entertaining). #challengerbrands #productlaunches #offlineretail

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I got that feeling, because Im at Target, Sipping a latte, Shopping for nothing, but buying everything. Isn't this Yargets overall strategy? They want us to stroll, roam, browse, and enjoy being in their store. This ad is absolutely hilarious and brilliant. It highlights the thing about Target that we all love and evokes emotion. While watching this commercial I saw myself in a few of these characters (cough, cough, the latte drinker, and plant enthusiast). 🎵 Perfect song choice. When it feels like a no-brainer that this ad worked.... that means its a real gem and a marketing win. Watch the Ad 👉 https://lnkd.in/gSQ2e9nY #Target #TargetStores #targetCommercial #FunnyCommercial #Marketing #MarketingWin #MarketingSuccess #MarketingInsights

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33 Products That'll Help You Get The Best Sleep Of Your Life 11. And a acceptable of reviewer-beloved "Loops," a meticulously designed receptor plug that efficaciously blocks retired distracting, irritating, oregon overwhelming sound without wholly blocking retired the satellite astir you (a boon for parents who privation to support an receptor out!).  Each acceptable comes with a carrying lawsuit and respective sizes of silicone tips to get your cleanable fit!  I precocious utilized these astatine Taylor Swift's Eras tour, and could not curse by them more. I had what I fondly picture arsenic the literal worst seats successful the stadium (behind the signifier successful the 300s, help, lol) and not lone did these block the WALLS of sound from my beloved chap Swifties, it funneled Taylor's audio truthful I could perceive the euphony much clearly. The fewer times I pulled them retired I couldn't perceive her arsenic well, and the sound was rather overwhelming. It made the performance a calmer, much enjoyable experience.  Promising review: "Got these to usage astatine nighttime portion sleeping, and I would decidedly urge and rebuy. The sound cancellation is conscionable capable wherever I tin slumber comfortably. My interest earlier buying was that they would artifact retired excessively overmuch noise, and for information reasons, I wanted to inactive beryllium capable to perceive immoderate alarms oregon alarming noises. That doesn’t look to beryllium the case. I tin inactive perceive the important stuff, but americium capable to slumber due to the fact that the snoring that I usually perceive is majorly chopped back." —PB Mom  Check retired the Loop Store connected Amazon for much options based connected your dependable blocking needs!  Get it from Amazon for $24.95 (available successful 8 colors). 

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I used to think “Salonpas” was a terrible product name for a DRTV-promoted pain relief product. But this food brand, prominent in a regional grocery store, may compete for bad taste. Naming is more art than science. Drop a line if your organization needs a hand! #branding #productmarketing #advertising #productnaming #DRTV

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With over 4 million possible Chipotle Mexican Grill combinations, the chances of someone ordering the exact same burrito bowl as you at the exact same time are slim. But during Chipotle's Doppelgänger Campaign, whenever an identical order with at least 8 menu customizations came through (chicken and rice burritos didn't make the cut), Chipotle-goers got an email alert letting them where in the world their doppelgänger ordered from. Chipotle's email campaign led to a click rate 176% above benchmark in the first four weeks and $4.8M in revenue. Creepy? Ingenious? I'd love to hear your thoughts! #emailmarketing #chipotle #doppelgangercampaign Stagwell

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Movie tie-ins -- Builds brand recognition? Keeps the brand fresh? Or just for fun? Kraft Heinz, amongst many others, is jumping on the Marvel Entertainment Deadpool and Wolverine hype wagon as they try to show they can still generate $1B+ in movie ticket sales. Will it affect sales of ketchup and mustard in any significant way? What happens to all the promotional tie-in packaging once the summer movie season ends? Or will it just get people like me to write about it? #ecommerce #movietieins #customerexperience #zeitgeist

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I've always wanted to hear more from Eric Seufert on creative, specifically. Eric has written a few brilliant pieces on the subject over the past few years (including The inflationary impact of AI-generated ad creative,) but I've never found a Q+A that dives into how he'd approach ideation, testing, learning and scaling in this new era. So we're having a chat. Eric is next week's Screenshare Session and it's a can't miss. We'll be joined by one of our top strategists, Aly Freeman who will help dig into the grittier parts of the latest testing strategies, et al. that she knows a lot more about than I do. We’ll unpack: → Trends and challenges affecting performance markers → Why creative is still the ultimate growth lever → Creative production and optimization frameworks geared to boost ROAS Lots of screen sharing and real talk as always. It’s happening on Wednesday, July 17 @ 10am PT Space is limited https://lnkd.in/g9yDWxQb

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This is 𝐞𝐱𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐥𝐲 why Growth leaders use Webflow 🚀 Save half a mil? No prob 💰 Ship 3x faster? Yep 🚢 Increase search volume 400%? Gotcha covered there too 📈 These are the areas that Growth leaders are struggling with. Pricey contracts, cross-functional dependencies slowing down speed to ship, and dated tech that isn't optimized for technical SEO. Add in embedded personalization and experimentation tools? Webflow is a no-brainer...and, we're 𝑗𝑢𝑠𝑡 getting started 💪 Props to Christopher Law for this huge transformation.

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I believe one of the most incredible thinkers in #B2Bmarketing today is Jann Martin Schwarz. There are writers who are much more than the stories they tell. These stylists deliver more than anyone else. Nabokov, Kafka, Elliot. Today I believe James Parker and his new book “Odes to Being Alive” is the greatest contemporary example. Jann shares something with them – it’s not simply the content of his argument that makes engaging with Jann so valuable. This is important because he’s famous for taking “contrarian” points of view on modern marketing challenges. He's pioneering thinking during his leadership of The B2B Institute, collaborating with brilliant thinkers like Mark Ritson, Roger Martin, and Les Binet around topics like customer promise, category entry points, etc. He’s challenged widely held assumptions around hyper-targeting and other supposed truisms of our industry. While there are incredible practical insights in this work (and I’d recommend heading to Linkedin's B2B Institute without hesitation), the way Jann thinks and considers our area of the marketing ecosystem is even more important than the content of his thinking. Finding inspiration in how Jann thinks will help ALL of your work – beyond the specifics of any given topic. I was lucky enough to spend a moment with him at The Saturnalia Chateau, where he shared incredible insights about the buying committee and the complexity of how groups make decisions. A few friends who might enjoy: Dan Rosenberg, Toni Clayton-Hine, Jessica Deckinger, Amanda St L Jobbins, Christopher Burns, Dan Petrossi, Jonah Goodhart, Patrick Reynolds, Noah Brier, Natalie Ely, Jeremy Botwinick, Hannah Budreski, Anna Griffin, Tisha Hulburd, Christi Moot, and Jeff Brooks #B2B #buyingcommittee #marketingstrategy

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Your opinion matters, but not as much as the collective voice of your consumers. As we gear up for our Sellers Circus at Accelerate in Seattle, I'm reminded of a crucial lesson learned the hard way—why sidelining personal biases in favor of audience feedback isn't just a choice, but a necessity in branding. 🚀 Branding Design Insights for our Upcoming Accelerate Party! 🎉 | Seattle, September 18 Reflecting on my journey, I've learned that personal biases can often cloud our judgments. There were countless times when relying solely on my perspective led to missteps. It's a humbling realization that what we think personally often doesn't align with what our audience needs or wants. This realization sparked a pivotal change in how we approach branding decisions, especially for our major events. Just recently, our team faced a crossroads choosing between a bright vs. a faded background for our upcoming party. To move beyond our internal debates, we turned to our most reliable source of direction: our audience. We created a PickFu poll, letting our community weigh in directly on the decision. The results were eye-opening, not only showing a clear preference but also providing insights into why certain choices resonated better. This feedback is invaluable as it guides our future creatives and ensures our designs truly connect with our audience. 👀 See the poll results and how audience feedback is shaping our event's branding. For those of you grappling with branding decisions or uncertain about how to engage with consumer preferences effectively, remember, a simple poll can provide profound insights. If you're curious about crafting effective questions or leveraging polls for strategic decisions, don’t hesitate to reach out in the comments. 🔥 #Accelerate2024 #ConsumerFeedback #EventBranding #BusinessInsights Looking forward to seeing many of you in Seattle! Comment below your thoughts about your decision making process. https://lnkd.in/eyKpZBEs

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April numbers just dropped. Who's on fire with influencers in food and bev in 2024? Non-Alcoholic Beverages (US) 🥤 Alani Nu - EMV Up 70% YoY - #5 from #10 in Q4 🥤 Poppi - Up 83% - #6 from #14 🥤 Maryruth's - Up 324% - #13 from #22 Alcohol (US) 🍹 Luc Belaire - Up 198% YoY - #1 from #2 in Q4 🍹 Bumbu Rum - Up 81% - #4 from #14 🍹 Aperol - Up 48% - #7 from #13 🍹 Modelo - Up 50% - #14 from #27 Quick Service Restaurants (US) 🍔 Raising Cane's - Up 89% YoY - #6 from #9 in Q4 🍔 In-N-Out - Up 93% - #8 from #11 🍔 Wingstop - Up 115% - #10 from #14 🍔 Jersey Mikes - Up 156% - #24 from #34 Food (US) 🥗 Ryse - Up 226% YoY - $20M in EMV 🥗 Crumbl Cookies - Up 109% - $25M 🥗 MyProtein - Up 74% - $21M 🥗 Bob's Red Mill - Up 64% - $15M Greats start to the year everyone!

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Hawk... you know... Should brands follow trends? As tempting it maybe on the virality of said trend... 1. Only if it fits the brand image and values. 2. Only if it is relevant and also has some value for the target audience. 3. Only if you are not following all trends all the time. 4. Only if you have some clever idea that is different from what other brands are doing in following such trend. Of course the nature of the trend is that we get on and stay as close to it without infringing copyright or open ourselves for lawsuits - but a lazy copy paste is not a good way. Put some effort, come up with a clever idea that taps into the trend. And no, for this particular trend, it's not a good fit for most of the brands. Sure some brands could - I can see a condoms (you know with extra lube), cough medicine (or dry mouth medicine if there is any) or .. I can't think of more, but I'd keep my brand away from this trend - unless we have a clever idea!!! ADWEEK attempts to answer. Check it out.

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In the world of modern business, standing out is the name of the game. One killer way to make your brand unforgettable? Branded merchandise. Whether you're a scrappy startup building your name or a seasoned player deepening customer loyalty, personalized merch is your ticket to the big leagues. Here’s why you should be all in on branded merch: Unique Brand Identity: Branded merchandise lets you craft a unique brand identity that blows the competition out of the water. Slap your logo, colors, and messaging on anything from apparel to accessories, and you’ll boost brand recognition while leaving a memorable mark on your audience. Increased Brand Visibility: Think of merch as your own mobile billboard. When folks use or wear your branded merch out in the world, they’re basically your brand ambassadors, spreading the word and pulling in potential customers like a magnet. Enhanced Customer Engagement: Giving out branded merchandise creates a personal connection with your customers. A thoughtful, personalized gift makes them feel valued and appreciated, turning them into loyal repeat customers faster than you can say “branded mug.” Cost-Effective Marketing: Compared to traditional advertising, branded merchandise is a bang-for-your-buck way to promote your brand. Hand out promo products at events or toss them into customer orders, and the long-term brand exposure more than pays off the initial cost. Brand Loyalty and Advocacy: Branded merch builds brand loyalty. When customers feel that warm fuzzy connection to your brand, they’re more likely to become your biggest cheerleaders, recommending your products or services to everyone they know. Versatile Branding Opportunities: The sky’s the limit with branded merchandise. From unique product designs to creative packaging, you can tailor your merch to reflect your brand’s quirky personality and core values. Memorable Brand Experiences: Branded merchandise isn’t just stuff - it’s a way to create memorable brand experiences. Whether it’s a special gift or a fun promotional campaign, these moments stick with customers and deepen their loyalty. Branded merchandise is a powerhouse for elevating your brand and standing out from the crowd. Invest in personalized products that scream your brand's story and values, and you'll forge meaningful connections, boost visibility, and drive serious business growth. #Branding #BrandedMerchandise #MarketingStrategy #BrandAwareness #BusinessGrowth #BrandedMerch

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Behind the paywall there’s some great stuff here…. Gap has been all over my LinkedIn FYP these last few days which to me is an indication they are working there way back into the hunt. To Danny Weisman’s point - this isn’t always about “impressions” but rather impressions with purpose. I’m old enough to remember you went to GAP for quality clothing that felt great on and held up to weekly washing. Should be a great lesson in how brands & media now more than ever need to work in tandem. Something Steven M. and I with our consultancy Moy & Halter often are talking extensively to or are listening in on brand marketers with great insights like: Diana Haussling, Vinny Rinaldi, Alyson Griffin, Casey Hurbis, Dave Kersey and Sri Rajagopalan about. What’s your opinion on how creatives and media strategy teams can better align through the planning process? Leave an opinion below 👇

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Spark's predictions of social trends are coming in at 94% accurate 🤯🔥 We're constantly reviewing the predictions that our trend tracking tool Spark is making about social trends 3 - 4 weeks in advance of them reaching their peak in audience interest. Our most recent report shows that Spark is defining the future growth pattern of these trends with 94% accuracy, something we're extremely proud of! Knowing 3 - 4 weeks in advance what it is that's going to be trending can be a huge advantage to any brand looking to capitalise on the relevance, additional reach, and enhanced ad performance that it can give you. If you want a demo of Spark, drop me a dm on LinkedIn!

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Have you seen the new Heinz's Pickle Ketchup Campaign? I haven’t tried it yet but I do love the combination of pickles and ketchup so I’ll probably be into it. Plus it seems like pickle flavor is sneaking into everything! #Pickles2024 Let’s breakdown the campaign and how these principles can apply to other food brands. 🎯 Core Campaign Concept. The entire campaign revolves around the concept of “You Can Already Taste It”. This comes through in their billboards, influencer campaign, paid social, their hero campaign video and the UGC campaign asking for “pre-reviews”. The overall idea that you don’t have to try it to imagine what it would taste like. 🍭 Multi-channel Campaign. An omnichannel marketing strategy leveraging multiple touchpoints with consistent branding leads to higher brand awareness, recall, customer retention, and ultimately increased sales. 🎨Tailored Creative Per Channel. They have a highly visual, punchy billboard in high traffic locations. A more authentic but still produced person on the street interview style video that plays well on YouTube. And leveraging creators on IG and TikTok. All three of these are telling the same stories in different ways that play better based on the placements. 📩 Capturing First Party Data. This is a hugely critical piece that a lot of brands who don’t sell DTC miss. Building a database of first party data dramatically increases the performance of your paid campaigns, gives you a direct line to your consumers and helps to future proof your business as privacy concerns continue to push us to a cookie-less world. Their giveaway where consumers submit pre-reviews (what they think the product will taste like) for a chance to win a year’s supply of the product is a great way to incentivize and capture this data. By adopting these tactics and principles, other food brands can effectively drive consumer engagement and boost in-store sales. #FoodMarketing

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Moving Retail Media from Science to Art.... Here's a few musings from the latest Unfold about how we've seen the advancement of RMNs into the upper funnel resulting in the conversation shifting from a place dominated by data and ad tech in to more of a discussion on messaging and creative. Or put more simply, how Retail Media is moving from a pure performance channel to a traditional marketing vehicle. ... and as a true P&G marketeer at heart, how excited that makes me! I'll drop the link to the full episode in the comments too 😀 Let me know your thoughts!

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