Kookmeyer Institute

Introducing the first microwave to play music when food is ready. For me, the opportunity to come up with a product innovation would be far more exciting than most run-of-the-mill digital briefs, especially when there’s nothing new to say. BGN did an initial run of 1,000 units which sold quickly and plans to increase production next year. I wonder how long songs play. And do they rotate? It could end up being just as annoying as the beeps!

I wish I had a client like Burberry. Everything it does is slick, from the behind the scenes content and tryvertising on Facebook to the 178 videos on its You Tube channel. Here’s the Burberry bigwigs’s take on social enterprise, courtesy of a promo video for one of its suppliers.

Hyperlocal in a marketing context refers to information and advertising created by local businesses for consumption by local residents in small, well-defined areas. It’s the antithesis of mass marketing and globalization really. I first started to think about hyperlocal when I wanted to launch an online magazine. But it’s equally relevant to small businesses that rely on locals for much of their turnover. So if you run a small business check out Street Fight , a website dedicated to  the latest developments in hyperlocal marketing.

Tesco is the second largest supermarket chain in Korea. The challenge for its agency was to improve market share without having to build more stores. Their solution: a virtual store in subways based on QR codes. The campaign results sound impressive – impressive enough to win Grand Prix in Media – but what were the baselines? I also wonder if this experience is any better than buying groceries online (less scrolling but more walking). I guess it’s just another channel some customers may prefer. Good idea.

At the risk of further confusing Kiwi retailers already behind the eight ball, I hereby present this infographic from savings.com. It’s based on consumer behaviour in the US but no doubt these trends will filter through to our markets in a year or two. Key points include:

• More Facebook promotions, more mobile coupons, more offers sent direct to smartphones
• Rise of ‘pay on the spot’ technology such as iPads to manage checkout
• Increased use of mobile price comparison apps
• Small booms followed by mini busts as consumers alternate between spending one day and saving the next.

(Double click on the full image to enlarge.)

I’ve been keeping an eye on the ‘Fair Go For Retailers’ campaign in Australia. And I have to say, I’m not liking the whining. In case you haven’t heard, the likes of Myers, David Jones and Harvey Norman are calling on the government to charge consumers GST on goods bought from online stores in other countries. Because it’s hurting their business. Gerry Harvey even declared it ‘un-Australian’ for Aussies to buy in this way. Fair dinkum. Maybe these same retailers should focus more on improving their in-store experience so that they can justify their inflated prices. They’d be better off hammering home the advantages of buying offline (things like try before you buy and the ease of returning items), rather than running full page ads looking for public sympathy.

Global brands like Coca-Cola have been musing over the future of destination sites for awhile. And now French Connection has created the first retail store on YouTube, called YouTique (as in boutique – get it?). FC could have simply uploaded the series of stylist videos to its own site, in much the same way Nike did with its Nike Sportswear Stories. But going the YouTube way definitely has its advantages, both in terms of SEO and exposing the brand to a far wider audience. I wonder if we will get to the stage where the full retail experience will be housed on the one social media. Being a neat freak/minimalist, I like the idea of not having to rely on external links. (Clicking on any of the YouTique annotations takes you through to the French Connection site for purchase.)

The more you tweet about a product, the cheaper it becomes for everyone. More simple genius from Uniqlo.

Wow, 2.8 million clicks for a banner campaign! Uniqlo had a sale and decided to spread the word via a widget embedded by willing blog and website owners. Click the widget and the page transformed into a Uniqlo Lucky Ticket that revealed great deals or a tote bag prize. I encourage all brands to copy this idea and see if they get the same results. It will help if you have an uber cool, global brand with plenty of disciples (I can’t see the same idea working for Hallensteins or Barkers).

UNIQLO LUCKY SWITCH from HN on Vimeo.

Full page fashion ads in GQ don’t do much for me – you know the ones – same Blue Steel stare, different label. But I do enjoy opportunities to learn more about brands, a case in point being this You Tube clip to celebrate Paul Smith’s collaboration with Evian. On the one hand I think ‘wow cool new bottle, I might buy some’. And on the other I go ‘that Paul Smith guy seems quite decent, maybe I will look twice at his $448 jeans’. The challenge with these sorts of branding exercises, that aren’t really viral, is coming up with cheap, effective ways to drive traffic. I guess that’s where seeding comes into play.