Marketing Inspiration #34.3: Advertisers Watching Ads
Your weekly dose of data-driven marketing insights
Marketing Inspiration on Advertisers Watching Ads - our show where brands watch other brands’ ads and discuss what they liked - and often, what they didn’t! - in partnership with Contagious.
We often look at quick-fire ads on the show, but we’ve also reviewed a number of case studies over the past months. Here’s what we’ve learnt from how brands present their own research.
“Generally speaking, if you think of, you know, fine dining, and you think of like, who you're trying to reach, you know, KFC probably has a core audience that probably doesn't go to fine dining. So I think that almost in a way, it could be a brilliant idea, because they're trying to create these new occasions, new diners, and that's a huge growth strategy, right?” - Akash Pathak, VP Growth & Transformation: Marketing Practice at Chameleon Collective (formerly Associate Vice President, Marketing, at Humana)
KFC doesn’t instantly make you think of fine dining, but the brand tried something different when they launched an 11-course tasting menu in Australia. It generated lots of buzz worldwide and an increase in quality perception, while landing them a review on page 2 of the Sydney Morning Herald (something no restaurant review had done before). But what did the brand have to gain from this and what did our marketing leaders have to say about it?
“It’s not an ad, it’s a campaign. The objective is to connect with the generation of individuals who don’t watch advertising. So it’s like an anti-ad which enables the audience to take control and be part of the brand. - Kate Mackie, Global Integrated GTM Lead | Partner at EY
Trying to forever associate a triangle with a Dorito crisp, this case study looked at a gamification activation for the brand. There were partnerships with other brands that have triangles in their logo, reimagining key buildings around the world… and generating 3 billion media impressions. Ultimately, this Doritos activation tried to break through to people who don’t watch ads but will be sucked into a game - a new generation, but arguably one that consumes the product anyway. So what was in it for them?
“For me, the keyword is storytelling. The way they present the whole, you know, move is, "We're saving America.” Essentially, the costs were going up because of COVID shortage, but that in itself is a pretty bad story. This way, the consumers actually feel like they’re being helped - the way they put together that whole plan is a genius move.” - Johann Evanno, Global Category Director at Sonova Group (formerly Global Marketing Director, Streamers & Creators, at Logitech)
During the Covid-19 pandemic, the US was running out of chicken wings. Wingstop decided to lean into this, rather than panic, and rebrand themselves almost overnight into Thighstop. An out of the box move that definitely got them talked about in mainstream media. 6 billion impressions and an 8% increase in share price followed. Did it “save America”? Find out what our guests had to say:
Many thanks to all of our guests:
Akash Pathak (VP Growth & Transformation: Marketing Practice at Chameleon Collective (formerly Associate Vice President, Marketing, at Humana), Sean Martin (Senior Digital & Performance Marketing Manager at The Gym Group), Diksha Idnani (Marketing Leader), Kate Mackie (Global Integrated GTM Director at EY), David Esrati (Chief Creative Officer at The Next Wave), Harshil Karia (Founder of Schbang) and Johann Evanno, Global Category Director at Sonova Group (formerly Global Marketing Director, Streamers & Creators, at Logitech)
Do you want to share your thoughts about these ads or suggest a new one for us to debate? Email us on hello@automatedcreative.net.