Tuesday in India: In The Midnight Hour They Cried - "More, More, More"!

Move over, Millennials, here comes the Generation Z.

And brands follow.

Generation Z youngsters are the first true digital natives and they know they want more.

Because if there is one thing better than having a cup of gorgeous tea, it's having a cup of gorgeous tea AND a molten chocolate cake.

Spot on with #AndGeneration, Micromax.

P.S. When you’re done reading and watching, I’d love for you to share your favourite campaign this year? Leave a comment or Tweet me, let's chat!

Tuesday in The UK: Jingle Those Bells with 5 Best Christmas Ads!

No snow outside yet but it has been blowing and snowing with Christmas ads in full steam.

The multi-billion pound battle for customers is up and tough in the UK and here are my 5 most favourite ads for this Christmas.

Ho ho ho!

The most popular and hyped about Christmas ad - John Lewis:



The most cheeky truth-telling Christmas ad - Currys PC World:



The most adventurous cat-involving Christmas ad - Sainsbury's:



The most cosmopolitan Christmas ad - Body Shop:
 

The most educational Christmas ad - Lidl:
 


P.S. When you’re done reading and watching, I’d love for you to share your favourite campaign this year? Leave a comment or Tweet me, let's chat!

Friday Research: Best-selling Things Come in Clever Packages

You thought:   

Good marketing message can sell it all.

New facts:  

Whether in an advertisement or on a package, marketers often make strong claims that they want consumers to believe, like "200% more eco-friendly" or "Better than Botox". Somehow we assume that consumers respond in the same manner to ads as they do to packages.

Current research shows that packages and ads differ in terms of believability. Consumers perceive packages as being close to a product and ads as being far from a product. Packages are typically perceived as a more credible source of information than ads. Consequently, consumers are more likely to believe a product claim when it is featured on a package rather than in an ad.When a product features a strong claim, consumers are more likely to make a purchase if they see the claim presented on a package versus in an ad.

What Marketing Doctor ordered:

Given that skepticism towards marketing is a growing phenomenon, it is increasingly important to identify tactics marketers can use to signal their credibility. A novel way to do this is to highlight product proximity, place the product next to the ad so the ad would become as effective as the package.

Regardless of context, increasing product proximity should increase claim believability.


Source: Tatiana M. Fajardo, Claudia Townsend. Where you say it matters: Why packages are a more believable source of product claims than advertisements. Journal of Consumer Psychology, forthcoming.

P.S. When you’re done reading, I’d love for you to share your experience with product packaging? Leave a comment or Tweet me, let's chat!

Tuesday in India: You Might Not Want to Marry After Seeing This

PepperTap has rolled out an advertising campaign (conceptualised by Option Designs) that might send the shivers down your spine about marital life.

Jokes aside, these ads are great.

They ride on a oh-so-well-felt fact that wife usually finds her husband to be lazy and apathetic about grocery shopping.

Baaaaammmm- here comes the hero - PepperTap app.

P.S. When you’re done reading and watching, I’d love for you to share your favourite campaign this year? Leave a comment or Tweet me, let's chat!

Friday Research: Look Out For Number 1.3 - Not Number 1!

You thought:   

It's effective to focus on the advantages of using precise numbers (50, 100, 530, etc) in the marketing messages.

New facts:  

Various products like energy drinks and aspirin pills are often marketed based on the numerical amount of a key characteristic that they contain. For instance, an energy drink may be advertised as having a certain amount of caffeine, whose number might be communicated as 100mg or 102mg. Although these numbers are similar in magnitude, 100 is a round number, whereas 102 is a precise number. Current research found that using a round (vs. precise) number in a product description increases consumers’ perception of a product’s lasting performance and ultimately enhances purchase likelihood. For instance, an energy drink with 100 (vs. 102) mg of caffeine is perceived as providing energy for a longer time, and as a consequence consumers are more likely to buy it. In addition, this effect occurs because when round (vs. precise) numbers are used in product descriptions, they bring to mind an associated concept of stability.

What Marketing Doctor ordered:

In order to design more persuasive marketing messages, use round numbers in product descriptions. Furthermore, these findings could also apply to consumers’ perceptions of product durability. Consumers might expect a 20-watt (vs. 23-watt) CFL light bulb to have a longer product life.


Source: Pena-Marin, Jorge & Rajesh Bhargave. Lasting Performance: Round Numbers Activate Associations of Stability and Increase Perceived Length of Product Benefits. Journal of Consumer Psychology, forthcoming.

P.S. When you’re done reading, I’d love for you to share your experience with round and precise numbers? Leave a comment or Tweet me, let's chat!

Tuesday in India: This Makes Me Unquestionably Jump for Joy

Let me just say that this DBS Bank's campaign "Chilli Paneer 2" received a Gold and Silver at the Midas Awards 2015 a moment ago.

And there is a real steak not just some sizzle.

It's the most engaging campaign for the banking services that I've ever seen.

Superb innovative storytelling with a pinch of genius selling.

Warning: the film is 20 minutes long!

But you have permission to be blown away, trust me.

P.S. When you’re done reading and watching, I’d love for you to share your favourite campaign this year? Leave a comment or Tweet me, let's chat!

Tuesday in India: Bring Flower People And Their Beetle!

I remember seeing an interesting story on BBC about Beetle car.

Beetle is not only the best-selling car in the world, there is also another jaw-dropping fact: this car was developed from an idea of Adolf Hitler’s. He thought that all people, not only elite, should be able to own a car and it needed a smart, economic design. Hitler even made a sketch of this soon-to-be an iconic, one of the most likable cars in the world.

Well, life is too ironic to fully understand..

Soon Beetle has been sold to the United States with an awesome ‘Think Small’ advertising campaign.

Moving to another side of the globe, they are trying to sell Beetle to Indians with "Think Fun. Think New".

And I don't feel it so deeply.

Do we really think Indians feel the same about the Love Bug, Beatles, college kids and free lovin’ hippies as we do? Surely, a rapping narration brings attention but I don't know if Indians are touched by nostalgia for something they never really experienced. 

P.S. When you’re done reading and watching, I’d love for you to share your favourite campaign this year? Leave a comment or Tweet me, let's chat!