The days are getting longer and the depths of winter are slowly becoming a thing of the past (apart from that brief spell of snow) and let’s be honest, spring can’t come soon enough! Here’s a little look at what we’ve been up to this month.
What we're reading
Baked beans? Good. Weetabix? Good. Baked beans on Weetabix? Well that got the internet talking and Specsavers responded perfectly. Read about how brands can harness meme culture.
We all love to see what the Superbowl Ad breaks bring however, how much value do these big budget slots really have for brands. Ad-Age takes a look at which brands gained the most social followers following their ads.
Brand building is back! After all of the uncertainty of 2020, business are once again investing in their brands and we couldn’t be more pleased. This is the sign of confidence we’ve all been waiting to see .
What we're loving
Pip & Nut – Pipparazzi
Pip and Nut have made their TV ad debut with their new Piparazzi Campaign. Not only does it take a playful jab at the realties of a social media world obsessed with snapping that perfect food pic, this also brings with it a little nostalgia for those that remember the days of the Marmite Marmarati campaigns. The call to join the Piparazzi has been sung. Will you join?
WWF – Love it or Lose it
With so much of Valentine’s day promotions and advertising being routed in the commercialism of the holiday it was great to see WWF’s approach to the holiday with the ‘Love it or Lose it’ campaign. It certainly pulls at the heart strings and reminds you to take care of what it is that you love!
What we're watching
The Superbowl
Some of us are there for the sport, others are there for half time show and the rest of us are there for the ad breaks. With the much coveted ad slots amongst the most expensive paid media going, it’s a great time to see what these big brands and their marketing teams are capable of.
With some ‘almost-star’ casts, some questionable concepts and a little dose of cringe and humour this year’s round up was a mixed bag, in our opinion.
Some of the big players like Amazon and Uber delivered as we expected with some others like Jimmy Johns and Cheetos providing a laugh or two. However, most notably and cunningly, our hats go off to Reddit who managed to play the big budget system by really thinking about how in-home viewing works… that pause button has never been more handy! Check out the full list of ads here.
What we're working on
At the start of every year DAC Beachcroft’s international experts offer their insights on the opportunities and challenges that the insurance market may face in the coming year and beyond. As well as launching the 2021 predictions via their thought leadership website, informed Insurance, we have been creating bespoke interactive reports for their key clients.
At a time of unprecedented difficulty for the insurance market – never before has the world faced international lockdowns, quarantine and a global recession in the way it does today – these predictions have generated a lot of interest amongst existing customers and prospects.
What we're celebrating
February brings with it two main celebrations, Valentine’s day and Pancake day, and you can probably make a jolly good guess at which holiday we take very seriously….
Pancakes, we’ll crepe’s and waffles, make up a large portion of our diets with a monthly appearance on the last Wednesday of each month. This wonderful day is diarised and known as ‘Waffle Wednesday’. Thankfully for us Pancake day is a Tuesday so there is no threat of an overlap, just the promise of two sugar-filled treat days!
This tradition actually came about from a breakfast bribe in return for a very early train up to London, which subsequently fell through following a last minute meeting cancellation… but that’s a story for another time.
What we're looking back on
It’s been almost a full 12 months since we’ve all been in the sunny, yellow S4 office together. There are many perks to working from home but we sure do miss the atmosphere, company, the rooftops views and most of all … the office snacks.
Fingers crossed that we’ll all be together again very soon!