With the launch of the BRAVES, the new awards that celebrate excellence and innovation in the online video space, here at Cream we're discovering some amazing work on a daily basis. This film is from Japanese denim manufacturer Edwin, and is one of the most striking corporate videos we've ever seen.
In this perfect contender for the 'Best Art Direction' category, there's no dialogue, no corny messages and no brand mission statement. Instead the film manages to convey the craftsmanship, the technology and the people that are essential to the Edwin brand and its heritage as a Japanese firm.
"For 35 years, Edwin Japan have worked on improving efficiency, quality, construction and washing methods by studying and engineering machinery used in the denim manufacturing process.
Continue reading "More than just a simple marketing idea" »
Celebrity endorsements have long been a powerful marketing tool. Like all strategies, the idea of getting a famous person to act as a brand ambassador comes with its own unique pros and cons. Lots of commentators covered this subject during the various indiscretions of Tiger Woods, which saw the professional golfer sacked from a number of lucrative ad contracts over his marital indiscretions.
But while some relationships do not end well, it is a sad fact of media that some partnerships are doomed from the start. Some are very successful and in some cases you have to wonder if it’s just a case of brand managers abusing their position to meet their favourite actors and pop stars.
Fiat and Jennifer Lopez
At the start of 2011, Fiat launched its new Fiat 500 campaign in the States, enlisting a dream spokeswoman in the face of Jennifer Lopez. After a few years in the pop wilderness, J-Lo was back in 2010 with a hit album and worldwide smash single. Her appearance as a judge on American Idol confirmed that her star was in the ascendant.
Continue reading "The danger of being a star-struck brand manager" »
The airline industry and Twitter were never going to get along. As a method of getting about, air travel is dependent on so many variables that delays, cancellations and missed flights are going to be inevitable. Frequent flyers are used to all manner of disruptions called by fog, mechanical failure, ice on the runway and refuelling delays – and this assuming that the air traffic control staff aren’t on strike in one of the countries you have to fly over in order to reach your destination.
Continue reading "Qantas competition twisted by Twitter" »
Social media has been around long enough now to allow a number of universal consumer insights to have emerged. In their worst form they appear as hackneyed phrases in most media awards entries. It seems that at any given time, half the marketing on the planet is driven by the revelation that "teenagers are passionate about music" and the idea that consumers want to "engage with brands that provide entertaining content".
Continue reading "Social science and insight clichés - An infographic" »
By Nigel Hollis
Plymouth, Vermont, is still digging out from the damage caused by Hurricane Irene. The road, power and phone crews have done a fantastic job to stabilize and repair the local infrastructure. That said, travel is still difficult and people hardest hit by the flooding are still in need of help and supplies. And brand name goods are playing a starring role in meeting people’s most immediate needs.
Continue reading "Everyday brands bring comfort and reassurance" »
Much has been made of the dilemma facing Blackberry and RIM (Riot In Motion? Sorry – Ed.) which saw the mobile phone brand effectively hijacked by a group of consumers who probably didn’t feature very highly on Blackberry’s target demographic. BlackBerry for its part has maintained a dignified silence, no doubt made all the more frustrating by the countless number of media pundits who will insist on analysing the role and responsibility of the brand in the recent London incidents.
Continue reading "Telling consumers where to get off" »
Could Blackberry experience the same problems of undersirable customer associations like Burberry? About six years ago, Burberry was suffering something of an identity crisis. The historic British brand, famed for its beige check fabric and trench coats had once been a desired designer on the backs of A-listers everywhere. But by 2005, the name Burberry had become synonymous, in the UK at least, with the much maligned ‘chav’ class.
For the uninitiated, the term ‘chav’ has come to be applied to a disruptive youth sub-culture, epitomised by loutish behaviour, a penchant for ostentatious jewellery and most famously, Burberry print clothing. The theory that the term originally derives from the acronym “Council House And Violent” might be apocryphal, but is an engaging story nonetheless.
Continue reading "Blackberry’s reputation and the London riots" »
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