THE BRAND - CONSUMER RELATIONSHIP IN 2013

What happened during the past year and what should we remember ?

GLANCING IN THE REAR-VIEW MIRROR

WIEDEN + KENNEDY reminded us of this in the beginning of 2013, in their publication How to (not) fail

OVERCOMING CONSUMERS’ INDIFFERENCE

The one true challenge:

There are probably more but, for us, these three are the strongest. If you think of others, don’t hesitate to leave comments

3 IMPORTANT TRENDS EMERGED IN 2013

There is not THE solution

AWWW NOW BOOM

Brands seek to strike a chord and to move us to tears, to give us chills. Finding a powerful, sharp insight and developing wonderful operations are two fundamental elements to deepen the brand/consumer relationship. “

#1.AWWW

Giving people a new opportunity to share

Coca Cola puts sharing and reconnection between people at the heart of its communication. It also remains in touch with its iconic products, putting them at the center of its operations “Sharing Can” and “Share a Coke”. A simple, direct message, without fluff, which had a powerful impact on consumers.

COCA-COLA

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Sharing our last piece of chocolate to express our love

Chocolate is (often) a selfish pleasure. When we only have one square left, it seems almost impossible to give it away, except to somebody we deeply love. Milka gives its consumers the opportunity to reconnect with their loved ones through a simple but meaningful gesture. Originally planned for 1 month, the operation was extended until February 2014.

MILKA

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Helping women regain confidence about their beauty

DOVE

4% of women feel beautiful. To increase women’s self-confidence, Dove put them in front of a unique truth: they are much more beautiful than they believe they are. A social by nature idea, so strong and universal that the movie becomes a conversation subject inviting everybody to share their point of view.

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Sensitivity before product demonstration

VOLVO TRUCKS

Even a product demonstration can be gut-wrenching. Watching Jean Claude Van Damme could have made us laugh, but his speech, coupled with the build-up created through the song, gives a powerful dimension, full of emotions, to what could have been only a physical and technical prowess.

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Getting people to smile thanks to its customer service

Who could have believed that a single customer service action would move people? By choosing to give a personalized, human answer to a young American boy, who had just lost his favorite figurine, Lego did it. A beautiful way to show how much the brand cares for its clients and knows how important it is not to disappoint the youngest.

LEGO

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Being starry-eyed just before Christmas

The brand moves its customers by offering them a real Christmas miracle, through a simple but perfectly orchestrated operation. Playing them by surprise, West Jet well depicts, in their video, the passengers’ amazement, at a cherished time for the entire world.

WEST JET

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Getting free coffee for a kiss

While people get their coffee at 9am, all sleepy and grumpy, this Australian coffee enligntens their morning by proposing an intimate moment with their lover, in exchange for their coffee, free of charge.

METRO SAINT JAMES

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Brands adapt the current culture’s codes, act and react in real time, to create content and services deeply anchored in their consumers’ daily lives, to continually get closer and closer to people.

#2.

NOW

“

Using a well-known event to further penetrate its consumers’ lives

During the « Fashion Week », Oasis launched its T-Shirt line, starring its famous fruits, adored by its consumers. Oasis extends its brand territory and gets more and more into its fans’ lives, by getting into their closets.

OASIS « Fashion Kiweek »

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Using funny news to create conversation

Le lama de Bordeaux

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Taking lessons from Oasis’ success, lots of brands use surprizing and crazy news to animate their social networks’ pages. The Lama story is one of the best examples of the year, even though it proven to be stretched at times.

From « meme » to print advertising

RAD & Grumpy Cat

Oasis has used some of the « meme » culture’s codes to create viral web films, but we never saw them used outside online media. Rad did it by using the now famous « Grumpy Cat » to create a poster campaign for the Parisian metro.

Using a TV series icon

AXE

Axe uses the famous womanizer Barney Stinson, to illustrate how powerful its deodorants are on women. The ad’s strength comes from using a popular icon to support its message. See website

Illustrating its brand promise with those who buzz on the Internet

ORANGINA Mission 404

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Orangina, partnering with Golden Moustache, produced a movie in which famous Youtubers are associated to create WTF content, using the geek culture codes, with the only goal of entertaining the brand’s fans.

Understanding fans’ daily frustrations and creating a custom service

NETFLIX « Spoiler Foiler »

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For the release of Breaking Bad’s last season, Netflix created « Spoiler Foiler », a Twitter application which permits to cancel out spoilers about the series and to go through one’s newsfeed without risking to see the pleasure of suspense spoiled by an unfortunate tweet.

Using new means of communication to be fully integrated in consumers’ daily life

COCA COLA

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Coca Cola allowed Romanians to instantly invite people to dine with them, using a TV commercial edited live thanks to the hashtag #LetsEatTogether. The brand gets inspiration from people’s new habits to enrich their communication and offer something more in their daily life.

Brands go off the beaten track and challenge their business’ perceptions. They create unprecedented services to answer consumers’ new expectations in a timingly manner and extend their competencies, sometimes up to the point of reinventing their business model. “

#3.BOOM

When consumers decide what is sold in stores

AUCHAN & QUIRKY

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For the first time, a retailer gives power to its customers. Auchan became a partner of the collaborative economy by giving the possibility to consumers to create products they need thanks to a partnership with Quirky.

A smartphone that will never be obsolete ?

MOTOROLA « Project Ara »

The brand gave birth to « Project Ara », partnering with the creator of Phonebloks, to create an entirely adjustable smartphone, which could be optimised over time depending on technology’s progress. See video

Making its « Hangouts » features evolve

Google launched « Helpouts », using its « Hangouts » video service. This is a clever way to incite people to use its integrated social platform.

GOOGLE HELPOUTS

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The prowess of a 24/7 video customer service

AMAZON KINDLE FIRE HDX & « Mayday »

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Amazon proposes an upgraded customer service, available 24/7, which will provide assistance through videoconference with Amazon service operators. The brand takes great care of its customers, at all expenses.

Imagining a product’s functionalities with its future customers

GOOGLE GLASS EXPLORER PROGRAM

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The «  Google Glass Explorer Program » pushes forward the integration of early adopters in the process of product creation. The future buyers create and determine the new technology’s features.

A haven of peace in an « all-is-advertising » society

This operation is directly against the mainstream way retailers organise their business. By proposing a quiet space and products without logos, Selfridges offers a moment of peace to its customers, far from the over-pressuring consumer society.

SELFRIDGES « No Noise »

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Reinventing queuing

SAMSUNG

Samsung reinvented queuing to allow its most loyal fans to obtain their newest smartphone first. An idea that changes what consumers are used to, to answer some of their new expectations.

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Becoming a flea market and sponsoring its customers.

IKEA

Seevidéo

From furniture retailer, the brand became an intermediary for selling second-hand furniture. Ikea established itself as a partner of the collaborative economy and recycling.

One last

thing…

PEOPLE ARE INDIFFERENT AS LONG AS EVERYTHING GOES WELL

NEVER FORGET THAT…

WHEN PEOPLE WHINE, IT CAN END BADLY

And, it means that,

“

#bonus.BIM

Whether you like it or not, people today are more educated and don’t hesitate to turn their back on brands they once liked if they know they behaved badly. It can either be quickly forgotten or, sometimes, have important consequences.

In a matter of two weeks in February, the brand lost 1M euros and 3% of sales compared to the previous year. This scandal, which spread internationally, has affected several brands and has weakened consumers’ trust in the food industry in the long-term.

FINDUS & the « Horsegate »More than ever, it’s impossible to avoid scandals.

BRITISH AIRWAYSAt a time consumers use the same weapons as brands, …

A dissatisfied British Airways passenger payed a 1000$ sponsored tweet to denounce the company’s « horrendous » customer service. It didn’t have (as far as we know) important consequences for British Airways but this shows that consumers are not afraid to pay in order to be heard by a large public.

ABERCROMBIE & FITCH… it is crucial for brands to understand them, to act according to their expectations…

Elitism and fat shaming created bad buzz for A&F. The result: 15 millions dollars lost over the entire year and -18% in stock value. They finally decided to yield under the pressure and, by the end of 2013, they started producing size 10 and 12 for women again.

GUERLAIN… and to stop talking only to themselves.

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You can’t just create content to create content. You have to have a story to tell, which will get people interested. With « The Legend of Shalimar », Guerlain produced an expensive spot, which was too long and unable to captivate the viewers.

Barilla’s boss and his homophobic statements created a bad buzz

Concerns about labor protection rose after the collapse of a factory in Dacca

Carrefour was sentenced in court for having a woman wait ing too long at a cash desk

AND MANY MORE…

These 4 cases are among the most memorable of 2013But there are plenty of other examples, when brands slip up and get caught…

Easyjet refuses a passenger on board because of a « disruptive » tweet

Caisse d’Epargne, bad buzz after posting a picture of a squirrel hanged by its testicles

LV was forced to take down its iconic suitcase from the Red Square in Moscow

Intermarché faced the petition against deep trawling

THANKS .o/Presentatiion realized by Caroline Desmartin, Paola

Craveiro & Mathieu Genelle from Publicis K1