BBH have brought out their advertising guns once more,

Tango being their latest client to do this for.

Campaign explains it in further detail, but the target market are said to be 17 to 25 year old males and I am one of them! This has certainly raised a few eyebrows due to the seemingly obscene nature of the ads or rather the copy. One, some say implys about giving oral sex to a bull…despite saying about a bull’s udder and they don’t even have any.

But in my opinion, I think it does fit quite well in the target market, as we are occasionally a little vulgar, immature, and love having fun. It may not be to everyone’s taste, but in the theory that is is all about getting a message across to a certain set of people, I think it works. And most probably these complaints about them have come from somewhere where there is too much time spare…can I have some please.

Cool and funky black sheep advertising.

I am a black sheep too! Can I come into the pen?

x

What’s really interesting about the appointment of Hugh Baillie as chief executive of Ogilvy Advertising is that he’s part of a breakaway. And the break is away from Bartle Bogle Hegarty.

Former group business director Baillie is being joined by Rachel Hatton as group head of strategic planning, and planning director at the ad agency. Hatton was head of planning at BBH during what may come to be seen as its heyday, when it won all those awards, culminating in the IPA Grand Prix and Agency of the Year title in 2008. Baillie helped to win the global Johnnie Walker business and has led some of the agency’s key accounts, Axe/Lynx, Britvic and Surf among them. Both are BBH stalwarts, Baillie having joined from Saatchi & Saatchi in 1998, and Hatton from Boase Massimi Pollitt (BMP) in 2000.

So, this is a significant coup for Ogilvy and a significant set-back for BBH. Baillie and Hatton come as a team (for example, they both worked on Britvic). It’s a little like that buddy-buddy wrench at DDB London when Paul Hammersley, then ceo, and David Hackworthy, planner, quit to go to The Red Brick Road in 2005.

What makes this worse for BBH is that the defection of senior staff to WPP agencies is becoming a habit. Richard Exon, ceo of RKCR/Y&R, once occupied a similar position to Baillie at BBH. True, he was seduced across at managing director level, and got the top job only after James Murphy set up his own agency, Adam & Eve. But let’s not split hairs. There was also the unfortunate matter of John O’ Keefe, who sat in the BBH creative pantheon only one echelon below Sir John Hegarty. He decided to seek his fortune as global creative director at WPP. Then there’s Guy Murphy, head of global planning, and Russell Ramsey, executive creative director, JWT London. Why has JWT come knocking on BBH’s door? Well, who else’s? BBH is the one to beat in JWT’s competitive creative set, and has the most clients in common (Unilever, Diageo and Vodafone spring to mind). If you can’t beat them, get them to join you, you might say.

Nor is the BBH exodus confined to WPP. Derek Robson quit to go to Goodby, in the USA, as a managing partner; Penny Herriman is managing director and – some would say – soon to be ceo of WCRS; Chris Harris was poached as managing director of Leagas Delaney.

Swallows not making a summer? Well maybe. Any agency which has attained the status of BBH is fair game for the headhunter. In a  sense, it’s a back-handed  compliment that rival agencies feel the need to pillage BBH for top talent.

Nonetheless, another conclusion can also be drawn. And I would be very surprised if this did not condition the thinking of at least some of those senior people who have recently defected. BBH is now 27 years old and in the throes of generational change. It has greatly expanded (into a micro-network) – which in itself offers fresh opportunity for younger talent. And in fairness it has tried hard to bring on a cohort of younger managers – of which London chief executive Gwyn Jones is perhaps the most prominent example. This has not been enough to quell mutinous thoughts in the marzipan layer, a few to the point of defecting. Of course, some of these people may have been talented, but not talented enough. BBH, like everyone else, has had to make some harsh decisions about the size of its workforce, which has been, literally, decimated. One in ten has gone or is going. Nevertheless, I cannot believe that every one of the top-flight defectors has had an assisted exit. After all, it’s also the case that the route upstairs, managerially speaking, is now blocked; and for ambitious people that is a signal to start looking elsewhere.

It is hard to think of BBH without Nigel Bogle, Jim Carroll or Simon Sherwood. On the other hand, if they do not outline their retirement plans in the foreseeable future, the result will be rebellion or atrophy. BBH, at very best, will become less an agency, more a law firm overloaded with “partners”. Not an enticing prospect for the UK’s premier creative shop.

One of the current campaigns that features Ms Carmichael’s gorgeous hand-lettering is for the latest ‘Twilight Sensations’ from Surf.

BBH approached us at the beginning of summer asking for some lettering with “organic elements, to create movement and intruige and beauty in the words”.

The lettering was used not only for the DM & poster campaign, but on the fantastic Surf Twilight Sensations: Shadows advertisement, viewable here!

One of the upsides of decentralized media channels and citizen journalism is the rich stream of information, news and opinions scattered across the landscape. The “scattered across the landscape” part is one of the downsides. So, in a continuing effort to deliver relevant tidbits (and pull together an easy blog post), Agency Babylon introduces a new recurring feature, “Would I lie to you?” AB will update the post throughout the week as new items roll in. This week’s non-lies:

Added 10/02/2009:

• The Minnesota Timberwolves have chosen Minneapolis ad shop Hunt Adkins as agency of record, according to a report in the October 1 online edition of The Minneapolis- St. Paul Business Journal. Hunt Adkins is a known quantity in pro sports marketing in these parts as the creative force behind the Minnesota Twins “Get to know ‘em” campaign. [Thanks to Craig Pladson for his Twitter heads up on this news.]

Added 10/01/2009:

• File this under the “better late than never category,” with big thanks to Gene Rebeck at Twin Cities Business for  back stopping AB on this news: We all knew that the American Association of Advertising Agencies (4As) named Barrie D’Rozario Murphy as its 2009 Small Agency of the Year. BDM celebrated (in part, no doubt) by taking a full page ad in the New York Times tweaking big-boy/big-girl agency competitors, specifically BBDO and Bartle Bogle Hegarty. And in its news release touting the award, they boldly declared themselves the ‘grown up start up’ to watch. Advertising Age’s “Small Agency Diary” covered the whole affair last week.
• BDM wasn’t the only Twin Cities talent in the 4As spotlight. mono was a finalist for the same small agency award. Carmichael Lynch was a finalist in the mid-sized agency category. And Preston Kelly was a finalist in the local public service category.

Added 09/30/2009

• Meet Minneapolis, the city’s convention and visitor promotional organization, is seeking a director of interactive strategy and market research.
• Computer support and repair wiz Lisa Hendrickson, whose company Call That Girl often serves the local advertising and marketing community, is offering a whopping 50 percent discount on computer repair to the unemployed (and $20 off for everyone else).
• A new business win for B-to-B agency Schermer Kuehl and technology partner Ratchet nets them the design and development of new corporate and customer web sites for Universal Hospital Services.
• Agency recruiter Gillian Gabriel continues to dispense splashes of cold-water reality and nurturing advice to job seekers at her often-updated blog Best Foot Forward. Her latest missive is about the hubris in which some engage when hunting for the next big thing.

Added 09/29/2009

• Recruiter Donna Menzies reports that she is looking for digital design-oriented creative director with e-newsletter experience, someone who is known for cutting edge graphics.
• Martin|Williams just announced that Raymond James Financial named it agency of record.

Added 09/28/2009

• The Minneapolis- St. Paul Business Journal reported in its Sept. 18 issue that both Campbell Mithun and Carmichael Lynch are downsizing their office space, relinquishing 23,500 and 15,000 square feet respectively.
• Amanda Brinkman, former chief gardener at the Carrot Agency (a unit of UnitedHealth), is moving just across I-394 from her old offices into the corporate embrace of Allianz. There she will lead a resurgent in-house brand and creative group as vice president. How many of her fellow vegetables will follow is the most interesting speculation.
• Popular Front is seeking a strategic planning director for its expanding staff.
• Modern Climate is looking for a Senior .NET Developer.
• The agency business development role continues to be a favorite punching bag, with more turmoil and turnover. AB will not name names, but knows that this particular function is deeply challenged in agencies with possibly record turnover across many small and medium-sized agencies.

Just so you know: In addition to no animals being harmed in the making of this post, all information was drawn from public sources. That means none of you have little moles inside your organizations directly feeding information to AB. This stuff is on the street, so relax and remember that if you’re not part of the conversation you’re flirting with irrelevance.

Een blend die ik wel kan appreciëren: een aangenaam drankje (Johnnie Walker), een fenomenaal landschap (Schotland), een stevige acteur (Robert Carlyle) en een oneshot, vijfminutendurende take. Zonder ijs natuurlijk. Laat het u smaken.

Advertising Agency Bartle Bogle Hegarty in London produced this commercial for Mentos gum. It is weirdly reminiscent of the famous banjo scene in the 70s movie “Deliverance” starring Burt Reynolds and Jon Voight.

My favourite tv ad at the moment is “Be Natural” by ad agency Bartle Bogle Hegarty for Robinsons squash. It’s got all the charm of a doll’s house and, like a good film, it’s just as entertaining the second time around.

Hello, good afternoon!

Some of you may, or may not know that each month we send out a mailer to all our lovely clients to tell them about our Artist of the Month.  Making the mailout and hearing the lovely responses is by far the best part… unfortunately, like any mailout, we have to (well, actually our admin monkey Michaela has to do it!) trawl through all the bounce backs, out of offices and unsubscribes.  BORING!! – or is it?

Lately, we’ve been seeing some really hilarious automatic responses which we’d like to share with you – because if they made us laugh out loud, we’re certain they’ll make you too!!

I will be out of the office starting 03/03/2009 and will not return until 30/03/2009.

Sorry, but I am away from the office. If you have a special deal on Viagra could you please send an email to the Florida retirement home: http://www.floridaondisplay.com/ If you are sending me a virus under the title “yourbankdetails.doc” I appreciate the offer and its really clever but maybe you should spend less time in an internet café on the Tijuna boarder. If you are a “barrister” who has come across some funds in Africa and need my credit details then I will provide them to you if you can tell me a word that rhymes with Orange and send me a 19 page document as to how you chose the burgundy wood to frame your ‘degree’ in gullibility and what material your ‘real’ Gucci suit is made of. For all other details please contact the front desk using the code word “Hello” on 0207 4949120 or email Wing Wing (her AC/DC track is mind blowing) who was recommended to me by the great Shui Kay Kan: http://www.wingmusic.co.nz

And most recently:

I will be out of the office starting 10/04/2009 and will not return until 23/04/2009.

I’m on holiday in Dubai. Please don’t burgle my house when I’m away. I’ve just had new windows fitted, which has left me quite out of pocket & I’m quite attached to the meagre possessions I own. If you really feel the urge to do some pillaging in the NW10 area, next-door-but-one own a bigger flat screen telly and judging by the size of their 5 Series BMW, they can afford to replace it. Come to think of it, their cat makes a terrible mess of my garden, so you’d be doing me a big favour if you stole it while you’re there. I believe it answers to the name “Satan”.

Now that my neighbour’s greater suitability for a profitable spot of pilfering has been established, if your enquiry is related to something other than larceny, please contact _ until I return. Thank you.

The above were provided by our friends Matthew Keon at Fallon and Richard McGrann at BBH.  So, thank you both very much!!!

We’d love to read more, so if anyone has some more examples – post them on the blog!!!

Tony England, CMO de MillerCoors

Ya vimos en la entrada anterior Miller Light y Coors Light dos cervezas, dos realidades, Coors: el éxito.,  que Miller Lite, al contrario de Coors Light tiene un pasado reciente de estancamiento. Incluso sus ventas del último trimestre 2008 fueron, en volumen, 7.3% inferiores a las del mismo periodo el año anterior y el año global 3% inferior.  

Le toca al CMO de MillerCoors, desde fines de Junio del 2008, Andy England, revivir los mejores tiempos de la marca. Porque England ha heredado todas las cervezas de SABMiller (sus antiguas antagonistas) además de las de Coors que ya tenía. Con éstas ha hecho un estupendo trabajo: antes del joint-venture de las dos empresas, la Coors Brewing Co. había crecido 5.1% en el 2007 y sus marca Coors Light 3.6% había alcanzando 17.3 millones de barriles,  mientras que Coors Banquet 5.3% y 1.2 millones respectivamente. Las marcas menores Blue Moon: 66.7% creciendo hasta los 750,000 barriles y Keystone Light, con 10.9% de crecimiento llegó los 3.5 millones de barriles.

Para completar el panorama digamos que Bud Light del gran gigante cervecero AB-Inbev, que lidera la categoría, creció menos de 1% en el 2008.

England fue V-P en Cadbury Schweppes primero de 1985 al 97 y V-P de marketing en Hersheys del 2002 al 2006. En la primera conoció de cerca el negocio de las embotelladoras y en la segunda aprendió la práctica de posicionar a una marca frente a la otra. Dice que todo en su carrera ha sido trabajar en categorías que son diversión para sus consumidores, los de chocolate y los de cerveza: comida y bebidas no imprescidibles y más bien placenteras para niños o adultos. Pero lo que ahora lo espera es otra cosa: lo que han empezado a llamar “el monstruo de las dos cabezas” por Coors Light y Miller Lite que representan más del 50% de las ventas del joit-venture.

Recordemos para tener los antecedentes completos, que Miller Lite fue lanzada en 1975 y fue la reina de las cervezas light durante casi veinte años. Lo fue en efecto hasta que Anheuser-Busch decidió lanzar Bud Light en 1982 y contradiciendo la regla que dice que es mejor ser el primero que tener el mejor producto (Ries y Trout lo dijeron “Es mejor ser el primero que ser el mejor” en su primera regla) se apoyó en su enorme envergadura, sus recursos financieros y su mucho mejor red de distribución para tomar finalmente la punta en 1994 y conservarla hasta hoy. De cualquier manera le tomó 12 años hacer válida la frase aquella (también de Ries & Trout) que contesta a la pregunta de ¿Dónde duerme un gorila de una tonelada? con “Donde le de la gana” e ilustra que la gran marca, las mas veces, o derrota al competidor que molesta… o lo compra.

Bob Uecker

Lo primero que declaró England cuando le preguntaron por el futuro de Miller, con ocasión de su nombramiento como “Hombre de Marketing del 2008″ por Brandweek en septiembre 2008, fue que revisando el estudio de segmentación que se hizo originalmente para Coors Light, el camino para Miller sería enfocarse (o re-enfocarse) en el sabor y que por lo tanto, de la misma manera que se han hecho dueños de la palabra “refrescante” en la expresión de “cerveza fría que refresca” para Coors, pretendía apoderarse (o re-apoderarse) de la expresión “gran sabor” para Miller.

La tarea de desarrollar las ventas de la marca va a ser dura porque parte del crecimiento de Coors Light de los meses recientes, proviene, sin duda, de Miller Lite. England tiene que mantener el crecimiento de Coors Light, hacer crecer a Miller Lite y además de mantener el crecimiento de “las otras marcas” de Coors, hacer lo propio con “las otras marcas de Miller

Sin embargo, el sabor como posicionamiento, en Miller Lite no es novedad: cuando se lanzó al mercado, su tagline (y su posicionamiento) eran “Great Taste. Less Filling” (“Gran sabor. Menos llenura”) con comerciales de lo que llaman la era de Bob Uecker, jugador de las grandes ligas, cronista deportivo, cómico y actor de cine (al que llamaron Mr. Baseball), con otros famosos de la época como Bubba Smith (atleta y después actor -el moreno alto de bigotes de “Academia de Policía”-) y Boog Powell, otro beisbolista. Una campaña que mereció ser considerada por Ad Age la octava campaña más importante del siglo XX, en su edición especial del centenario. Sigue un ejemplo. Un comercial de otro corte, de hace más de 20 años:

Miller Lite ~ Dangerfield, The Case of The Missing Case

El objetivo claro de la nueva campaña es crecer para recuperar participación pero evitar la canibalización de la cerveza-hermana Coors Light. La suma de ambas pretende minar al líder de la categoría, Bud Light.

Y si bien dijimos en la entrada anterior que Coors se había presentado con “a puffery” (que ha funcionado extraordinariamente bien), es decir algo tan subjetivo y amplio que es imposible sustentarlo de forma alguna a pesar de tener un cierto  reason why en la fabricación, lo que están planteando Andy London y su equipo para Miller Lite, es totalmente distinto: una sustentación razonada en toda regla.

Se basa en el proceso de la cerveza y en la forma como se le agrega el lúpulo (la flor hembra sin fecundar que contiene el lupulino, que es el ingrediente que le dará a la cerveza su distintivo sabor amargo y los aromas propios, y que se usa de equilibrante al dulzor que le aporta la malta) durante el proceso de fabricación, en tres momentos distintos (repetiré, traducidas, palabra por palabra lo que va a martillar Miller Lite en los oídos de los consumidores norteamericanos):

- En el primer paso, nuestro lúpulo le da a Miller Lite un limpio y diferenciado aroma y sabor (a cerveza) pilsener, de manera a que cuando usted tome el primer sorbo, sus papilas gustativas inicien el camino a la felicidad.

- En el segundo, el lúpulo se agrega para el asegurar el equilibrio entre un cuerpo perfecto y el sabor del lúpulo, en cada cerveza. ¡Y sabemos lo mucho que usted aprecia un buen cuerpo!

- En el tercero, nuestro lúpulo le agrega a Miller Lite espuma perfecta (en cantidad) y encierra su gran sabor de principio a fin. Y también le proporciona ese “bigote” de espuma…

Este razonamiento lo ha colocado en su página web desde la entrada (y en algunos otros lugares de la página, muy al estilo de London de martillar y martillar el mensaje) y en cuatro comerciales de los que solo está disponible en Youtube uno de 15″ que pondremos a continuación. Los otros tres los podemos ver  en su página web.

Miller Lite Triple Hops Brewing Commercial (15″)

Los 4 comerciales (que se pueden ver en su página web) son:  

Triple hops brewing (15″)

Triple hops brewing (30″)

Wedding Tailgate (30″)

Outdoor Movie (30″)

En los dos primeros es puramente el razonamiento de los tres pasos en los que se agrega el lúpulo y en los otros dos, las ocasiones (una boda, ver una película al aire libre) no son más que una excusa para preguntarle al consumidor que escucha:

“¿Cuándo usted está disfrutando de una Miller Lite piensa alguna vez en que es procesada con triple lúpulo?  Me refiero a si cuando usted está bebiendo con unos amigos una Miller Lite ha cruzado por su mente el hecho de que le agregamos lúpulo en tres momentos diferentes durante el proceso de fabricación: tres veces distintas en vez de una sola. Sí eso es lo que pensábamos (es decir asume que el consumidor no lo sabía). Pero siga disfrutando su Miller Lite, de cualquier manera. Triple lúpulo en el proceso: Miller Lite. Gran sabor. Menos llenura.”

Y se intercalan imágenes de gente tomando cerveza y del proceso de la cerveza en la fábrica. El tag line es evidentemente el mismo con el que se lanzó Miller Lite: el de toda la vida que habla de su sabor y de que llena menos. “Great Taste. Less Filling”.

Siguiendo el formato de Coors Light, ninguno de los cuatro comerciales le da tregua a quien los ve: repiten sin cesar lo mismo de los tres pasos agregando lúpulo remarcado puntos importantes con imágenes del envase con algunos detalles que vale la pena señalar, en la botella y en especial en su etiqueta cuyo diseño se ha cambiado para contener símbolos y mensajes:

- un diseño que representa a la flor de lúpulo que, en las demostraciones entra tres veces en el diseño y que se convierte en una especie de gota que cae a la cerveza

- ese diseño (de la flor de lúpulo) en varios lugares de la etiqueta de la botella  y  separando a las frases “Great Taste” de “Triple Hops Brewing” (una especie de Y de tres patas iguales con unas “flores” de lúpulo en los tres ángulos) .

- “Great Taste” en relieve en la botella.

- un “new taste protector cap” es decir la tapa de la botella con “protector de sabor” y las latas revestidas interiormente para evitar el sabor metálico que puede tomar la cerveza en ellas. Como las que vimos, en la entrada anterior, que también se usan en Coors Light. Siempre buscando distinguirse en un punto más, pero ese punto, siempre relacionado con el posicionamiento.

Es decir: un mensaje coherente, consistente, uniforme y directo construido alrededor del concepto medular del sabor.¡De libro!.

Es interesante anotar que Andy England dice que el proceso con tres adiciones de lúpulo es antiguo “¡lleva décadas haciéndose en Miller!” pero que nunca le habían dicho nada a nadie sobre este procedimiento exclusivo. Con lo cual se está adelantando a las críticas (o a ser refutado) que pueden surgir de los competidores o de marcas menores buscando una comparación con ventaja (¿cuatro adiciones de lúpulo?)

Lo cierto es que el propio Wall Street Journal considera que al revelar su proceso, la marca corre el riesgo de que los consumidores, que cada vez saben mas de los ingredientes de la cerveza, conozcan que las cervezas lager light como Miller Lite tienen bajos contenidos de lúpulo (especialmente si se comparan con la cerveza artesanal) y se sientan defraudados por las apelaciones de la marca. Algo de eso he detectado en algunos medios sociales dedicados a la cerveza; alguno incluso se quejaba de que ha probado “la nueva Miller Lite” y la ha encontrado exactamente igual a la que tomaba habitualmente (no se enteró de que no hay una “nueva Miller Lite” y que solo están contando como se fabrica, para explicar su sabor). Uno incluso ha grabado un video avisando que la publicidad de Miller Lite es engañosa: Miller Lite Hops Hype

Sin embargo, con el nivel de profesionalismo que han mostrado, sería raro que England y su equipo no hayan medido eso. Por lo tanto no debería causarle mas sobresalto que algunos blogs sin mayor trscendencia (porque lo que corre rápidamente por la red son las denuncias importantes), comentado que todo lo que hace Miller Lite, es solo publicidad. Y eso es fácil de refutar: “en efecto hacemos publicidad de lo que nosotros creemos que le da ese especial sabor a nuestra cerveza desde su creación”.

¿Como va a respaldar esta campaña MillerCoors?. No dan una cifra concreta pero el año pasado, según Nielsen y Brandweek, invirtieron $140 millones en medios medidos. Y una suma parecida deberá consumir Coors Light.  

Me parece importante agregar aquí que MillerCoors hizo declaraciones a Ad Age a mediados de marzo anunciando que aprovecharán la retirada del rival Anheuser-Busch y de los anunciantes del sector financiero y del sector automotriz de los medios en general y en especial de algunas compras exclusividas, para tomar el lugar y auspiciar eventos “event-based marketing opportunities” que presenten una oportunidad de marketing para sus cervezas. Y eso incluye, por cierto, radio definiendo la oportunidad “no solo como la ocasión de estar ahí sino de lograr algún tipo de gancho para el consumidor”.

Más allá de los ejemplos lo importante de estas declaraciones es que MillerCoors está lanzada al ataque y dispuesta aprovechar todas las oportunidades que le permite un mercado en recesión y unos anunciantes retirándose de sus exclusividades. Se lo permite estar creciendo cuando los demás decrecen y tener claros planes de seguir haciéndolo.

DraftFBC manejará lo creativo y reemplazará, en breve (la noticia de Ad Age es del 9 de abril) a Bartle Bogle Hegarty (del Grupo Publicis). Y los medios, se sabe desde noviembre que los manejará MC Media que es a su vez un joint-venture de DraftFCB, Initiative y Kinetic. England ha declarado creer en que se deben desarrollar relaciones a largo plazo con aquellas agencias que ya entienden el negocio en el que uno está.

En el área promocional poco es lo que vemos aún: seguirán auspiciando a su equipo de competencia de autos y en su página web, además de noticias sobre el equipo, tiene juegos online, con autos. Una promoción de “busque debajo de la tapa de la botella) ofrece premios que van de un viaje a Las Vegas a objetos deportivos varios. Hay también una asociación VIP o mas bien VIB (la B de Beer Drinker o Bebedor de Cerveza) y están invitando a hablar del gran sabor de Miller Lite en Facebook y en MySpace. No es mucho, seguramente se animarán más, mas adelante.

Y aquí termino el recuento de la situación de las dos hermanas MillerCoors.

Impresiona sobre todo la calidad de la investigación y su expresión estratégica y táctica. Sobre todo el apego al libro en las ejecuciones y su estructura.

No dejaré fuera, como premio a los que hayan llegado hasta aquí, un comercial que en las redes sociales cerveceras reclaman todos. Realmente creo que jamás he oído mas repeticiones del tag line. Y eso es insólito. Dicen que el comercial fue retirado del aire…

Girl Fight for beer

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Last Thursday’s PSFK Conference proved to be an incredibly informative day. In between panels, coffee, digital chatter and creative meet-ups, I had the opportunity to track down one of the day’s most interesting speakers, Ben Malbon, Managing Partner of BBH Labs and his colleague, Ben Jenkins, Strategy Director of  BBH ZAG, to snap a few shots of their patterned getups.  Both men were suited with subtle accents, though Malbon’s Paul Smith sweater was what initially caught my eye.  The textured patchwork added a playful spin to a typically conservative staple. BBH ZAG is no stranger to the fashion industry, as several of their newly invented brands, such as Mrs O and Ila Security marry the concept of daily beauty with personal necessity.  Check out ZAG’s website for an overview of their unique marketing model, as well as this New York Times article for a better understanding of why its not always a bad idea to brand ideas that you own.

Hey all!

I’m going to introduce you an ad agency today: Bartle Bogle Hegarty(BBH). As most of you already, BBH is a British ad agency under Publicis Groupe. Let’s take a look at some of the ads they’ve done first.

How do you like these ads?? I personally love these ads.  I think that creative visual work captures and delivers the message they’re trying to say very well while non-neglecting to catch people’s eyes at the same time. If you look at the ads that BBH has done such as Levi Strauss & Co. and Johnny Walker, you will notice that their ads tend to focus on somewhat strong visual.  It seems actually quite reasonalbe if you think about the characteristics of clients they have. Levi’s is a fashion clothing company and Audi is an automaker.Those are the companies that the visual is very essential to their products and BBH has satisfied their needs to be eye-catching, curious and looking-awesome. We are living in a wolrd that our creativity can become actual. well…maybe not totally true…..BUT it is totally at least in a movie or advertising!!

Here’s another ad they did.

Oooh……….it would be a really fun slide, wouldn’t it??

The “Unbox the Box” ad campaign, created by British advertising agency Bartle Bogle Hegarty (BBH) features an animated man drawn on the side of a cardboard box carefully reshaping the box into a Q5.  The adds have already been run throughout Europe.

…have a few looks at this Audi Q5 commercial.
Don’t worry about the car – I’m sure it’s just like all the others – but the commercial itself, made by BBH (Bartle Bogle Hegarty) is outstanding.

It's not you, or at least it shouldn't be

In today’s hyper-connected, no-barrier-to-enty, Consumer-generated-content world it’s hard to escape the cult of Personal Branding. Everyone has a website, blog, Twitter account and Facebook page and they aren’t afraid to use them. But it seems to me we’ve reached an inflection point, and what was once smart move now feels self-congratulatory and driven more by ego than producing value.

I think we as marketers, strategists, consultants and social media participants need to re-think what we’re doing and how we’re doing it. What’s the purpose of having 15,000 people following you on Twitter? To help clarify my thoughts on this issue, I went back to article that really launched one of the most influential magazines of the 1990s:

Fast Company, Tom Peters and You!

Back in 1997 Fast Company changed the way business people thought about themselves, business, branding and marketing with the “Brand Called You” cover story by marketing guru Tom Peters. The article is worth reading again, some 12 years later. In going over it again myself I got the feeling that, like a photocopy of a photocopy of a photocopy, the original intent had lost some of its clarity.

“Any damn fool can put on a deal, but it takes genius, faith and perseverance to create a brand.” – David Ogilvy

With the advent of social media platforms like MySpace and YouTube, content sharing sites like Digg and microblogging tools like Twitter, people have taken personal brands to mean “look at me,” and when enough people did, presto!, you had yourself a personal brand. But that’s a gross misrepresentation of what Peters was saying, or at least what he meant. His idea of a personal brand was one that provided value. Unique value that set you apart from others. Yes, you can get 23 million people to hear your pleas on behalf of Britney Spears, but I’m not sure what value (beyond comedic) you’re bringing to the table.

The “Brand Called You”-era is dead.

Should you have personality, a distinct P.O.V. on issues and are qualities like honesty, integrity and hard work still important? Absolutely, in fact those qualities and attributes will always be (and have always been) valuable. But the inward-looking focus on branding yourself is no longer the best way to serve yourself.

Here’s what Geoff Livingston said back in November of 2008:

There is a big difference between reputation and personal brands. Reputation is built upon past experiences — good or bad, a real track record. Personal branding is often an ego-based image based on communications. A personal brand can demonstrate a person is there, but it’s often shallow and can be contrived. It’s just like a sport stripe on a car, nice but no engine, no guts, no substance.

It’s become a lot easier to create a personal brand. Gather up 3,000 Twitter followers (by any means necessary); create a Facebook page and start blogging. In three months you just created your personal brand. But, as Geoff put it, that’s just a racing stripe. Of course the very best of breed, the Seth Godins and Chris Brogans have created very strong personal brands by creating real value for thousands of people every day. Their personal brands are focused on helping others, not on promoting themselves.

The Brand Called Me, Me, Me!

Scott Monty, formerly of Crayon, now bringing his intelligence and expertise on behalf of Ford, also has seen the rise of Personal Branding as a form of egotism:

I’m tired of seeing social media bloggers focusing inward. Whether it’s a laundry list of the latest appearances, self-referential links to previous entries in the blog, or thought leadership that feeds an overinflated ego, their sites become a great monument to…themselves.

That’s the trap of the current ‘Personal Brand’ or “Brand Called You’ thinking. How can I get more attention for myself, my blog, my Twitter feed. There are just very few people who provide value for the eyeballs and minds they are furiously trying to gather. I think most people engaged in conspicuous personal branding are missing another key element: It’s hard for other people to become engaged in your efforts. What’s in it for me when you get your 2,000 Twitter follower? The answer: not much.

Becoming a brand manager by being a… brand manager

Here’s Tom Peters from that Fast Company feature:

To start thinking like your own favorite brand manager, ask yourself the same question the brand managers at Nike, Coke, Pepsi, or the Body Shop ask themselves: What is it that my product or service does that makes it different?

This is something I think a lot of people misinterpreted or maybe just simply missed an opportunity. Today, thinking of yourself as a brand is like swimming in an ocean full of sharks all fighting over the same seal. That’s a blood red ocean. I think there is still an opportunity to have a Blue Ocean Strategy. By creating a brand that lives outside yourself.

Here’s another excerpt:

One key to growing your power is to recognize the simple fact that we now live in a project world. Almost all work today is organized into bite-sized packets called projects. A project-based world is ideal for growing your brand: projects exist around deliverables, they create measurables, and they leave you with braggables. If you’re not spending at least 70% of your time working on projects, creating projects, or organizing your (apparently mundane) tasks into projects, you are sadly living in the past. Today you have to think, breathe, act, and work in projects.

Now that’s an idea I can get behind. But instead of making your personal brand your project, why not make creating an actual brand your project? Rather than trying to impress your boss, colleagues and peers by having an awesome LinkedIn account, why not create something external and tangible. I’ve referenced Seth Godin as someone who has gone about creating a personal brand the right way, but he’s also created things like Squidoo and Triiibes, brands in and of themselves that live without and beyond his participation, yet are unmistably his creation.

Putting My Branding Where My Mouth Is

I’ve put a lot of work into creating Eyecube as my personal brand. I’ve learned a lot, made plenty of mistakes, but overall I think I’ve made a respectable contribution to the greater marketing community. But long before Eyecube I was the founder of Arsenal America, the official supporter’s club of Arsenal FC. From nothing, with no money, I created one of the top U.S.-based supporter’s clubs. Even though I haven’t been actively involved for a couple of years, Arsenal America is still a vibrant brand with members throughout the country, the vast majority of which I’ve never met.

A few months ago I launched Foundtracks, an art project / creative outlet that I’m excited about continuing in 2009. It’s still very early for Foundtracks, but I think it has potential to inspire others to create their own artifcitions.

These projects aren’t money makers, but they demonstrate my ability to promote something other than myself, work with others and compete in the marketplace of ideas. Those sound like the type of attributes an employer or client would be interested in.

I’m certainly not alone in seeing the value of creating external brands. Take a look at this recent New York Times article citing ad agencies that are creating their own brands. Listen to what Ben Jenkins, the strategic director of Zag, a division of Bartle Bogle Hegarty, says:

“Advertising is a massively old model based on the 1950s. As media has proliferated, it’s become a lot harder for us to earn enough money off our ideas,” said Ben Jenkins, . “Zag is about creating the properties ourselves from scratch and having 100 percent of it.”

Let’s do a quick rewrite and see if it doesn’t still ring true:

“Personal branding is a massively old model based on the early-2000s. As social media plaforms have proliferated, it’s become a lot harder for us to earn enough money off our blogs. Now it’s about creating the properties ourselves from scratch and having 100 percent of it.”

The Challenge For 2009

So, for 2009 I think I might pull back a little bit on the Facebook Friending Frenzy, or not check my Twitter Follower/Following ratio quite so diligently. It’s not that I think those social media channels are worthless or irrelevant, I think they are very valuable. But I think I could learn a lot more about brand stewardship by creating something that other people can interact with and even contribute to. If I can prove my abilities to create, maintain and grow a real brand – with virtually no resources – then I think I can demonstrate to my company and our clients that I can provide real value to them.

I’ve already got some ideas, but I would love to hear from you, please let me know your thoughts.

Study:CMOs Must Evolve to Meet New Marketing Challenges
The growing popularity of interactive tools such as wikis, blogs and social networks is giving customers the ability to engage with firms as never before, and global marketers need to put customers at the center of their operations to respond to this new and challenging reality, according to an study of global CMOs conducted by the Economist Intelligence Unit and sponsored by Google.
The report, “Future Tense: The Global CMO” (pdf), finds marketers are increasingly able to reach out to consumers at all points along the value chain, not just at the moment a purchase decision is made. Because of this, global marketing of the future must engage all corporate stakeholders with consistent, constant and accurate messaging. At the same time, it must encourage and be able to respond quickly to customer feedback and involvement, pulling stakeholders closer to the corporate brand.

While Everyone Else in Adland Zigs, BBH apparently Zags
As the economic downturn worsens and agencies cut costs, Bartle Bogle Hegarty is doing something different: diversifying into products such as vegetarian meals and personal alarms. Through Zag, the agency’s brand-invention company, BBH’s London office is creating its own brands and bringing them to market with joint-venture partners. The idea is to identify “brand lag” — areas where consumers are active but there are few brands. Zag launched in 2006, headed up by former Unilever executive Neil Munn, and its first U.K. brands are launching just in time to bolster the agency’s growth. The agency recently opened a Zag office in New York.

(Click on images to enlarge)

This weeks favourite website….BBH! Don’t mind that it takes a while to load, the resulting pleaure is worth the wait! Go in and explore, click on a region and enjoy the transition from the spectacular of the entrance page to the subtle beauty and quirky navigation of the regional sites!

Click on the image and take a tour of the site!

I love this campaign from Bartle, Bogle, Hegarty for Boddington from 2005.

Anyone else get to urge to read some Hate comics, and listen to Jesus Jones right now? God, I’m old.