We’ve been working with Lee Valley for nearly 18 months now and have produced various banners, adverts, MPU’s and leaflets for them. We’ve just finished the latest Corporate Brochure for the VeloPark plus the White Water Rafting spring campaign … and now we’re working on some campaigns for Hockey and Tennis … does working on all this count towards our weekly fitness goals?!?
At our High Wycombe HQ we’ve now got a funky new office space including our very own egg brainstorming chairs … we’re loving them!
The Great British Bake Off final has been and gone, but I don’t know who’s won so please don’t tell me. I promised to watch it with my son, I’m now re-enacting that episode of the likely lads where their whole day is spent trying to avoid accidentally finding out the results of last night’s match. Except this time it’s a 37-year-old woman and an 11-year-old boy, united by their love of an even rise and dread of a soggy bottom!
Baking, once the preserve of grannies and yummy mummies, has gripped the nation once again, and this year our Bahlsen Bake Off campaign joined in the fun.
We invited some of our favourite parent bloggers to make a vlog of them baking their favourite recipe using Bahlsen biscuits. The Choco Leibniz cookbook and the campaign, not only produced positive associations for the brand, but provided a whole new fresh stream of suggestions about how the biscuits could be used and enjoyed outside the regular dunked-in-a-cup-of-tea option.
The fact that this was user-generated content only heightened its appeal. This wasn’t glossy, cynical advertising; this was real people showing how they can – and do – use the product.
Fun and delicious, that sums up chicken/egg!
To see the winner, and take a look and some of the other many entries click here
In marketing, this can actually be a true. It’s always going to be a winner for John Lewis at Christmas time, but an effective campaign needs to be more than just ‘remember how great things used to be’. The reaction to our postcards campaign for Pilot pen, showed how a creative idea which grabs the imagination and engages the target audience can be so much more than just ‘nostalgia’.
In the times of smart phones, ipads and notebooks, there’s something very appealing about the simplicity of a hand-written postcard using a good, solid pen. When communication is almost entirely electrical, to take the time to compose a message in your own hand has become something of a treat. It’s not rushed; it’s more personal and seems somehow more civilised and sophisticated.
Our campaign really hit a chord and we received over 250 postcards, far more entries than we had anticipated – especially as this was purely promoted via Twitter and Facebook, no on-pack or in-store creative! We simply asked customers to send Pilot a postcard with a memory of their best summer holiday. Although there was a prize for the winning entry (a fantastic Forest Holiday Weekend), there was a sense from all the entries that this was something they wanted to do, we were just giving them the excuse to pick up a pen a write.
With the postcard campaign we didn’t use nostalgia as a marketing tool. Instead it’s was people’s own nostalgia that reminded them what they loved about the product. Part tool, part inspiration- a pen is not just a pen. It’s the feel in the hand and the flow of the ink which create the handwriting unique to the author. In the right hands, a pen can take the user on a wonderful creative journey.
Grab a good pen (Pilot of course!), and give it a try, and when you get to wherever you’re going, be sure to send chicken/egg a postcard.
Ideally a successful campaign will be a perfect alignment of brand, product and consumer. But, often marketing will be strong, but the link to the product confusing, or questionable (e.g. junk food manufacturers sponsoring school sports). Even where the link between the product and campaign is clear, it may not necessarily fit with the desired image of the brand, or be accessible to the consumer base.
Bahlsen Book Club is a great example of how c/e have brought together the character of our client’s brand (a luxury and a treat, up-market yet accessible), the practical applications of the product (biscuit snack) and the target consumer, (intelligent, sociable, savvy, mostly female but not exclusively so). The book club, works with upcoming and established authors, promoting their work, but also mining their creativity and expertise to give an insight into writing a novel- the aspiration of many book club members.
With blogs and twitter parties the book club has pulled together a vibrant online community united by their love of reading -and what goes better with a gripping read that a cuppa and a delicious Bahlsen biscuit? The book club firmly positions Bahlsen Biscuits in the spectrum of activities the target customer enjoys. Whether book club members or not, the associations are very positive for the brand, and feel natural to the consumer.
The book club is positive and interactive marketing. Bahlsen are reaching out to their customers, getting to know them and creating a responsive relationship rather than cynically manipulating the consumer by persuading them their product will make them happier, smarter or more popular. Such an approach harks back to the bad old days of advertising, Bahlsen Book Club, is typical of c/e’s forward-thinking campaigns. We know that modern consumers are savvy enough to demand respect, and will be quick to turn away from companies which rely on cynical manipulative techniques. If you engage and communicate with your consumer you’ll create a successful, loyal and mutually beneficial relationship.
Now if you’ll excuse me, I have something very important to be getting on with *kettle on, biscuits out, book open*.
One of the highlights so far of the chicken/egg year has been the remarkable success of our ‘Bahlsen Break’ award campaign.
Sponsoring good causes has always had huge a positive outcome for companies who benefit from the positive associations brought to their brand. From a local shop donating raffle prizes for the school fete to global corporate sponsorship, the associated positive ‘free’ advertising, increase in brand loyalty and fulfilment of corporate responsibility are evident.
Simple sponsorship is undoubtedly worthwhile, but benefits can be maximised for a specific brand by structuring the support given to a cause in a way which brings the most advantage to the client, rather than just ‘piggy-backing’ on an existing charity or event.
For Bahlsen, we created the ‘Bahlsen Break’ which invited members of the public to nominate someone they felt was deserving of a reward or ‘break’ for their good work. The winner received £500 worth of Spa vouchers so they could treat themselves and 4 further selected runners up each won a hamper of Bahlsen biscuits, (further positioning the product as a luxurious and desirable item – a ‘treat’).
There were many worthy nominations, but ultimately the winner was mum-of-three, Lucy Mayer, who launched a lending-library of baby clothes called With a Little Love. She was delighted to have won, but her charity also benefited from the publicity which we were able to bring, which has included local press, national glossy coverage plus a TV interview! Bahlsen both supported and raised awareness for a worthwhile charity while also being associated with the indulgence of the prize.
The runners up included a husband caring for his ill wife, a foster mother who looked after scores of children and a twin who had given up her job to care for her severely disabled sister. In each case the recipient was delighted to have been chosen and their stories brought traffic and content to Bahlsen related blogs, SM content and press coverage.
Campaigns such as these do not necessarily focus on the product but are a valuable marketing tool as well as genuinely making the world a better place – the perfect example of a win-win situation. An element of cynicism surrounds any corporate sponsorship, but had Bahlsen Break not been created, these worthwhile causes would not have been recognised and the deserving winners, would not have received a much deserved ‘break’.
As long as it’s well-thought out, original and relevant campaigns such as Bahlsen Break can be the holy grail of responsible marketing.
To run alongside the current TV campaign for Bahlsen’s PiCK UP! we were tasked with coming up with a way of engaging consumers on Facebook. One of our ideas was to create a simple Facebook game that made use of the Ninja Chihuahua from the advert. Choc Ninja Game was born.
In two weeks we’d gone from a written concept right through to a fully developed and live game … small budgets, big challenge, that’s what we like here at chicken/egg!
So … are you a Choc Ninja?
Not every retailer has the budget to implement a marketing plan, and two critical factors in making sure you succeed are, firstly, ensuring your customer service is the best that it can be in order to ensure repeat business, loyalty and recommendation, and secondly, to make sure you’re doing enough to publicise your offering.
No matter how great your service is, you can’t expect your business to flourish by word of mouth alone, you need to tell people about it to raise awareness and encourage people to cross your threshold and find out more about you. What’s the point in investing so much time and effort into your outlet and not blowing your own trumpet?
While posters and flyers are a great way of promoting sales and one-day discounts, if you’re doing something with the ‘wow’ factor, the best way to engage with customers is to win the support of the local press, who can help promote your business.
While simply opening your doors every morning or holding a sale isn’t enough to interest the press, there are countless opportunities for every business to promote itself through PR and reach a wider audience of potential customers – from opening a new premises, unveiling a refurbishment, recruiting new staff, becoming a champion for the local community or supporting a local charity.
Over the past 10 years, we’ve worked with both high street brands and independent retailers to help raise awareness, enhance reputation and get them noticed for all the right reasons. And we’re sharing our top ten tips to help start-ups and independent retailers feel more confident about approaching the press to promote their business.
Here at chicken/egg, we love shopping as much as the next person, and we find the changes in the ways that retailers interact with their customers fascinating.
From super-speedy apps that allow you to buy a whole new wardrobe and have it delivered to your door within a matter of hours (Hello, Next) to innovative community sites that connect customers with retailers of the freshest, locally sourced produce, the high street retail experience as we know it has changed, and competition is fierce.
Convenience Store reported recently that more and more retailers are turning to mobile technology to help run their businesses, but we’re more interested in the power that technology wields over the public and its spending power.
We’re massive advocates of supporting local businesses, and we work with some fantastic independents to help them engage with the local community and increase their profile. We’ve organised charity fashion shows, exclusive preview parties and sampling events, but one of the most impactful ways we’ve been able to help is by implementing social media campaigns to help them engage with existing and new customers.
From introducing new designer lines, offering exclusive discounts and showing off the mouth-watering dish of the day, the immediacy of Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest and Instagram allows real-time interaction that revolutionises the way people shop. Many indies don’t have the luxury of expensive eCommerce sites and delivery services, and social media can provide one-to-one conversation and provide vital insight, customer feedback and word-of-mouth recommendations.
But it doesn’t stop there. We’re really proud to work with Annecto, one of the UK’s fastest growing independently sales organisations, which goes above and beyond to provide chip-and-pin payment solutions to independent retailers and businesses, as well as providing top-notch advice to help those businesses thrive. When Annecto told us about a cutting edge new payment solution that it’s now offering it’s customers, we couldn’t wait to tell our clients.
The system, myCircle smartPOS*, is an intelligent and forward-thinking system that not only ticks all the boxes when it comes to helping retailers stay in control of their business, but also allows them to access social media and engage with customers in the region with tailored offerings and messages according to stock, shopping behaviour and even the weather. Wow!
So not only does the system enable business owners to see real-time sales reports, add new products, and change prices at the tap of an icon, it lets them from a relationship with their customers, which is at the heart of any retail experience.
In a country where residents are more comfortable buying goods via smartphone than the rest of Europe, and where the number of consumers visiting social network sites has increased to 72 per cent, the need to maximise at technology to reach them has never been more important.
*chicken/egg also worked with myCircle on the design and development of their ‘icon wheel’ and datasheet
Bahlsen have finally officially launched PiCK UP! to the UK market – the chicken/egg team just love these biscuits and they’ve become a staple now at any brainstorm meeting!
It was great fun to have been involved in the pitching process for the TV commercial and although our ‘tea lady’ didn’t make the final cut we have to agree that BMB’s Ninja Chihuahua has universal appeal!
Working closely with BMB, MediaCom and the Bahlsen team we managed the launch PR and Social Media activity which saw a 6ft Ninja Chihuahua hit the streets of London in our #NinjaSelfChi campaign plus the NC also photobombed Ellen’s now famous Oscar Selfie …
A great start to the 2014 campaign!
