apt blog

Is it really the ‘Whole Chicken’? KFC’s new ad sparks controversy online

The McDonalds’ ‘Good to Know Campaign’ was a strategic move in order to retaliate against the lash back of the quality of their products. This was relatively successful; however, the response to KFC’s release of ‘The Whole Chicken’ for the same matter has been somewhat different and has seen outrage by some online.

The video was initially designed to convey to consumers of where their chickens are sourced from and to emphasise the quality of their fast food, a strategy similarly approached by competitors such as McDonalds. However, the video portrays a rebellious hen strutting around to music without any indicators of this. As a result, the video attracted a huge amount of positive and negative media attention.

There have been some positive views of this video, where the energetic chicken has attracted much amusement to online users. A Facebook user commented that he found the video ‘hilarious’ but then questioned ‘does that make me sick?’. It could be argued whether this type of video content make us inhumane, because we are giving chickens human characteristics whilst we are also portraying them as our food. We can question ourselves this: is this really appropriate as marketing in the form of entertainment on social media platforms, or are people overreacting to a light-hearted video?

The video of the strutting chicken has sparked comments that ‘This advert makes us consider the animal we are eating’ (YouTube) and in fact draws away from the fact KFC is attempting to advertise their high-quality meat. The video is actually associating the food we eat with the animal itself, inducing guilt and distaste toward consumption of the products. Furthermore, the advert could be seen as ‘distasteful and disrespectful to the animal’ because it is directly associating chickens as food, which some viewers find disturbing because the video visually highlights that the products used are from chickens. This backlash can also be emphasised by the fact that consumers don’t want to be thinking of what they are eating, after a user even commented that he wants ‘to be a vegetarian’ after watching the video which was a completely unintended response through the creation of the advert.

Based on the evidence, here at APT Marketing we can conclude that this campaign is a failed attempt to convey a straightforward message, and instead it shows a darker message that has sparked outrage on social media, leading to a lot of backlash that may be difficult to recover from. The approach to create a fun advert appealed to some, but overall it just created complicated problems for KFC. We can learn from this to not convey messages that speak indirectly of an offensive matter, and only advertise the product we are selling.

apt proud to be a part of the Great Minds Campaign

Here at apt, we are extremely pleased to announce that we are the runner up in the Imagine’s Great Minds 2016 Campaign!

We have been awarded the runner up prize of £50,000 worth of media and content, after developing an exciting campaign idea for local tour operator, Compass Holidays. The ‘Tour de You’ idea was submitted into the competition back in July when the team pulled together their creative ideas over a good ol’ cuppa!

The competition was hosted by Imagine, the new creative studio from special interest content and platform company, Immediate Media Co. The brief was to design and create an innovative campaign for a client using Immediate’s portfolio of internationally famous brands. These include Radio Times, BBC Good Food and Lonely Planet Traveller and many London based media agencies across the UK contributed to the competition. Specifically, the campaign needed to optimise the power of Immediate’s 18 million monthly UK audiences across special interest sectors as diverse as Food, Cycling, Weddings and Gardening.

The judges commented our exciting ‘Tour de You’ idea used great brand insight to perfectly match the passion areas of the Immediate brands to Compass Holidays’ breadth of offering. The campaign is set to focus on brands including BBC Countryfile, BBC Wildlife and Olive to focus on the range of specialist tours Compass offer.

We are all so pleased here at apt, especially as we were shortlisted with some big London based agencies! The full shortlist for Great Minds 2016 is as follows:

• Airbnb entered by Starcom Mediavest
• Compass Holidays entered by apt Marketing
• Hellmann’s entered by Mindshare
• Sainsbury’s entered by PHD UK
• Thomas Cook entered by Dentsu Aegis Manchester
• Thomson Long Haul entered by MediaCom

Our MD, Angie Petkovic says “We entered the competition back in July after having a brainstorming session over a cup of tea and the excitement could definitely be felt in the office. As we’re a small agency, words cannot express how proud I am of my team and the hard work they put into the brief has most certainly paid off! We’re all now really excited to get the ball rolling and to work with Imagine.”

 

Interesting marketing campaigns

Ah the humble marketing campaign, we are surrounded by them on a daily basis. From the advertisements played on the TV to the billboards strung up in the high street, this is how brands communicate with consumers.

Here at apt, we are no stranger to marketing campaigns and we love seeing what new and creative ideas are doing the rounds. Read on to hear about some of favourites this month:

Lyst: Canine Collection

Online fashion retailer, Lyst recently announced on the popular social media platform, Twitter that their website had a new feature. The Canine Collection feature supposedly allowed online shoppers to choose their ideal furry friend by browsing based on the breed, size and the cuteness of puppies. Of course this was a hoax and it was later revealed that Lyst had set up the website feature to raise awareness about the amount of ‘handbag dogs’ having to be re-homed with the help from Blue Cross. We think that this was a really clever way of reinforcing the age old saying ‘A dog is for life and not just for Christmas’ by adapting to the online browsing and shopping habits of modern day life.

Boots: Chemist of the Nation

Household name chemist, Boots recently had a TV spot during ITV prime time show Britain’s Got Talent. The spot was a mix of documentary style footage showing how the services Boots offer can help the community. One of the clips showed an optician offering children important eye tests at a Zoo and in another a skin advisor offering advice to teenagers ahead of a school disco. Other scenes included Boots staff giving advice to new Mums and even handing out sun screen in India! We are firm believers in positive relationships and we absolutely loved the realness and the connection in this advertisement.

Here at apt, we specialise in delivering and implementing effective marketing campaigns for your brand or business. So if you’re looking for some support or just a sounding board, please get in touch today on 01242 250 6925 or visit our website.

Are you feeling #Emojinal?

It seems that popular clothing retailer House of Fraser has taken a turn for the worst, or better, we’re not sure yet, on their social media recently.

This week, they have been posting tweets using the hashtag #Emojinal, teamed up with, you guessed it, lots of emojis. With all of the hacking scams circling the internet, people quickly jumped to the assumption that the account was hacked; with some even saying it was wrongly hijacked by a work experience intern. However, it seems that this social media campaign is legit and an attempt at jumping on the emoji bandwagon. Tweets included:

Looks like our #Emojinal takeover has started! 😛😛😛😛😛😍😺😼🐶🐱🍏🍐🍊🍋🍌🍉

— House of Fraser (@houseoffraser) February 1, 2016

Whether you felt the love today or not, we hope you enjoy our #emojinal movie quiz and the treat if you complete it. https://t.co/CNk98xQ5FR

— House of Fraser (@houseoffraser) February 1, 2016

Even though it left their followers amused and confused, it seems that emoji lovers are in for an exciting treat. They launched the website www.emojinal.co.uk– a site that contains 12 movie-themed ‘emoji codes’ which upon cracking will send balloons flying and provide you with a 10% off code to use on the House of Fraser website. Sad to say, I’ve only managed to get one so far...

What are your thoughts on this campaign? Fun and current, or off-brand and confusing? We'd love to hear your thoughts, so get in touch with us on Twitter @apt_marketing or comment on this blog!

The importance of a good creative brief

When working with 'creative types' (and we use that term kindly as we have a few at apt!) - whether they are graphic designers, web designers, copywriters or photographers - it's important to communicate exactly what you are expecting from them at the very beginning of the creative process. "We're only as good as the brief you give us" is the reason your designer will give if what they produce isn't what you were expecting - and annoying as this may seem, it's true. So in this article we're going to outline a few principles to keep in mind when briefing any creative work - so that in future, the quality of the output is as good as you were hoping for.

1. What is your objective? It's always best to let the designer know exactly what you are hoping to achieve, even if you think they don't need to know everything about your business strategy in order to design a logo. Your elevator pitch (if you don't have one of those it's time to talk to apt!) should be enough to explain your business - but you are going through a creative process because you are looking for change so it's a good idea to explain your reasons for this. Do you want your business to look more modern? To stand out from the crowd? Or to look as if it has been around far longer than it actually has? All this can be achieved through use of colour, typography and language - but if your designer doesn't know, they are likely to guess, so give them as much information upfront as you can.

2. What do you hate? This might sound like an odd question, but if you have a huge aversion to orange, or a hatred of lightbulbs, it's best to tell the designer straight way so that they don't inadvertently create something for you which you will never like. A good designer will ask you upfront if there are any colours/words/images they should avoid, but be clear if they don't.

3. What do you love? A good way for a designer to create a project you will approve of is to know what you already love. It doesn't have to be within your sector, but if you admire the new branding of a company in Yorkshire or think the latest TV ad for a national retail store is fab, let your designer know. They will not copy - this is just a good baseline which tells them what you instinctively like, whether it's the tone of voice, the use of imagery or the use of a particular colour palette.

4. Be realistic. If you are looking for a new logo, remember the finished design is likely to be seen at very small sizes - so trying to cram every idea you've ever had into a one inch square is never going to succeed. Your designer has experience in distilling complicated ideas into a simple brand; let them come up with a few examples and try not to influence the process; that's what you're paying them for, after all. And remember there are different limitations when working in print and online; allow your creative team to make suggestions when translating work into different mediums and you will end up with a consistent approach which allows for technical restrictions.

5. Be prepared for a few amends. The best creative briefs are the ones that give enough background information for a designer to take the project and run with it. They are not prescriptive and they do not try and dictate exactly what the outcome should be. Given that someone else will be interpreting these ideas for you, it is understandable if they don't get it right straight away, and all designers take this into account and expect a certain amount of to-ing and fro-ing. Be honest with your feedback and you will be pleased with the finished result.

If you have any questions regarding creative briefs don't hesitate to get in touch - we can help you formulate the perfect brief for your requirements.

 

Will you?

A brand new advertising campaign by Tiffany & Co. has hit the headlines this week and we think it’s worth a mention, not least because the photography is gorgeous! It features seven portraits with scenes showing different couples under the title ‘Will you?’ and a number of short bylines. The black and white portraits, shot by Peter Lindbergh are stunning and add an eye-catching dimension to a superb campaign! It is not however these photos which have got everyone talking, but rather in fact a single image; the headline image features two men sitting on a ‘stoop’ (step for us Brits) and runs with the caption ‘Will you promise never to stop finishing my sentences…’

Speaking to CNN about the campaign, Linda Buckley from Tiffany’s said “Nowadays the road to marriage is not linear. True love can happen more than once with love stories coming in a variety of forms.’

Many of the images feature professional models, but the same sex couple are in fact dating in real life. A fabulous campaign…

It’s not all sparkling and diamonds however and some critics have dubbed Tiffany’s ‘behind the times’ and ‘a few years too late’. J Crew featured a same-sex partnership in 2011, followed by Gap in 2012 and Banana Republic in 2013, closely followed by Barney’s New York last year who used 17 transgender men and women for its ad campaign. Still for Tiffany’s, whilst the move might have financial or reputational benefits, the campaign is beautifully executed by this very traditional brand and gets a thumbs up from apt!

Happy New Year from all at apt Marketing & PR!

Once again the festive season has come to an end and with lots of Christmas choccies still lying around it is hard to stick to those New Year’s Resolutions as we welcome the start of 2015.

Looking back on 2014, it was a successful year for apt! We worked with some fabulous clients on many interesting projects. Six of our clients even reached the Gloucestershire’s Top 100 Businesses 2014.

2014 also saw apt welcoming 2 new members to the team. Kelly joined us in April as an Account Manager; she has over 14 years marketing experience but doesn’t look old enough! Kristina joined in July originally for a week long internship, but because she was so brilliant she was offered a Marketing Apprentice role and the rest is history!

To add to our successes for 2014, we were extremely pleased to have won a Gold Standard Accolade for PR. Being recognised for the quality of our PR, not by other PR Professionals but by a panel of people who use PR agencies is such a reward for our efforts and it really shows how we can adapt to fully understand our clients.     

For 2015, we are really looking forward to working with our clients on some fantastic projects and continuing to provide our Gold Standard services. From all of us here at apt we hope you have a happy and prosperous New Year too!

John Lewis versus Coca-Cola...

Without giving away our ages, there was an era when Coca-Cola was the King of Christmas, and their 'holidays are coming' advert was the single most anticipated advert of the season. In fact, many of our generation used it as a benchmark, a countdown to the festive days, and many times we have heard something like 'It's not Christmas until we see the Coca-Cola Advert'.

The holidays are coming advert (which has run for nearly 85 years) features the iconic Santa Claus, the 'Holidays are Coming' theme tune and the red lorries covered in fairy lights (see below). The series has been so successful that it manifested in real life around the World, with lorries and tours appearing in the UK.

The pros of running the same advert year on year are the familiarity of the story and the sense of nostalgia it creates; how many can fail to relate to something they've known all their life - particularly when they come from pre-Generation Y. The downside? In a time when we consume significantly more content than ever before, does nostalgia stand up to unexpected suprises and touching stories? Can the old really beat the new and shiny?

We refer of course to the eagerly awaited John Lewis Advert; last year, they bought people to tears and ran apparantly their most commercially successful advert ever, with the animated 'Bear and Hare' advert featuring only one product of their whole range! It was raved about, complimented, and in most people's minds topped only by John Lewis' advert of the year before - The Snowman Journey. 

This year, they've taken another new tack and produced #MontyThePenguin, a lovable toy penguin in need of a mate. The office couldn't wait to get their hands on it and as you will see from our blog post yesterday, most of us raved about it.

So, has John Lewis won gold again this year? It's actually a split opinion in the office, with half of us attempting not to cry, and the other half neatly identifying ourselves alongside Scrooge with our Bah Humbug attitude! Were we as touched as we were the first time John Lewis suprised us? Was it that perfect moment that caught all our imaginations? Probably not! The pros to this approach? A captivated audience who can't wait to see what you'll do next! The downside, a risk that your new characters might not be QUITE as good as last year and actually, your following don't have the same sense of loyalty when you change each year! 

So, despite a slightly diminishing effectiveness, how has John Lewis fared compared to Coca-Cola? Well it seems to depend on which generation you speak to. Those of us who grew up and remember the days when TV only had four channels and the addition of Channel 5 was a revelation also probably fondly remember the icon that is the coca-cola advert (even if we didn't drink it); it was the highlight of the Christmas TV season and it appeared alongside the delights of a Christmas Carol etc. Turn instead to the slightly younger generation in our office and they feel little or no attachment to coca-cola, loving instead the fresh, engaging excitement of not knowing what's coming!

We started the debate in the office of whether John Lewis Christmas is the new Coca-Cola Christmas and to be honest, haven't drawn any concrete conclusions! They're different and that's a good thing, but secretly, I myself will always be aligned to Coca-Cola; the reliable, nostaligic feeling that feels less to do with sales and more simply to do with Christmas.

 Coca-Cola: Holidays are coming...

John Lewis 2014; #MontyThePenguin

 

John Lewis 2012; The Journey 

John Lewis 2013; The Bear and The Hare

John Lewis strikes again with a Christmas ad that melts some of our hearts

Authored by Kristina Rickards

Popular high street brand John Lewis has finally unleashed it’s highly anticipated 2014 Christmas advert. They have a reputation for producing the most high quality and memorable ads on TV and this one does not disappoint!

It stars a young boy and his cute companion #MontyThePenguin, as they cause mischief and go on adventures together in the run up to Christmas Day. However, it soon becomes apparent that Monty is looking for more than a friend – he longs for the affection of his own female companion after witnessing other couple’s romance.

Luckily for him there sits a present under the Christmas tree carefully wrapped and waiting to be opened - a female penguin emerges and thus commences a love story of their own!

You can track the latest happenings on Monty, and female penguin named Mabel, by following their very own Twitter pages @MontythePenguin and @MabelthePenguin.

This multi-platform campaign is a great way of interacting with customers and creates a memorable image of the company by giving the brand a mascot. Other popular mascots include Oleg the Meerkat from Compare the Market and Ronald McDonald from McDonalds. For some of the ladies in the apt office, this ad definitely melted our hearts!

If you want to brush up on your multiple platform campaign knowledge, check out this blog post we did on some of our favourites!

Big Brands react: Suarez bites off more than he can chew

After a tense World Cup match yesterday between Uruguay and Italy, Luis Suarez hit the headlines for all the wrong reasons. In a game that decided which team would go through the group stages; Suarez was shown to bite Italian defender Chiellini on the shoulder - as if this wasn’t bad enough, this is the third time he has bitten a player during a football match.

Twitter erupted with rage alongside jokes, and businesses were quick to bring out their own puns to promote their products alongside the controversy.

Whilst we wait to hear what his punishment will be, we’ve picked out our top 5 brand responses in this global scale real-time advertising:

5. Domino’s 

Domino’s were able to easily promote their popular #TwoForTuesday deal by linking it in with the idea that Suarez bit the Italian because he was hungry. 

Maybe somebody should have told @luis16suarez it's #TwoForTuesday, he could have pizza for dinner instead! #biting

— Domino's Pizza UK (@Dominos_UK) June 24, 2014

4. Budweiser

Budweiser tweeted this picture of a man (Suarez of course) trying to bite off the cap of a Bud Light that can be twisted off – highlighting the unnecessary biting taking place.

The tweet has received just fewer than 1000 retweets to date in less than 24 hours.

Relax, they're twist off. #biting #ITAvsURU pic.twitter.com/Kj69El7MRE

— Bud Light (@budlight) June 24, 2014

3.  Aldi

Whilst Aldi’s UK Twitter profile didn’t get involved in this fiasco, their Ireland account came up with this list of own-brand products the Uruguay player can eat – whilst crossing off the Italian Footballer at the end. Although this hasn’t been as successful as other brands in gaining interactions, it was posted in the aftermath of the incident so we expect it to pick up speed.

Just in case you forgot what you can & can't eat #Suarez pic.twitter.com/qbbBOduxth

— Aldi Ireland (@Aldi_Ireland) June 25, 2014

2. Specsavers

One of our favourite responses to the incident has come from Specsavers. Receiving over 20,000 retweets and just under 1000 favourites to date, this has been a great piece of marketing from the company. They have stood out by playing on Chiellini’s name with their famous strap line “Should’ve gone to Specsavers” – without even mentioning Suarez’s name.

Should've gone to Specsavers #SHGTS #ITA vs #URU pic.twitter.com/9LZxluxVCW

— Specsavers (@Specsavers) June 25, 2014

1. Snickers

Snickers strap line was twisted within seconds of this incident taking place after Rocket Long from Soccer AM tweeted this: 

Suarez eat a snickers! You turn into a right diva when you're hungry.

— Rocket Long (@RocketSoccerAM) June 24, 2014

 It looked difficult for Snickers to come up with anything other than this to relate to the incident however they managed to come out with this brilliant piece that is perfectly fitted to their brand. With over 35,000 retweets and 15,000 favourites it will be hard for other brands to top this one.

Hey @luis16suarez. Next time you're hungry just grab a Snickers. #worldcup #luissuarez #EatASNICKERS pic.twitter.com/3RAO537HjW

— SNICKERS® (@SNICKERS) June 24, 2014

Whilst we aren’t agreeing with what Suarez has done, we think these brands in particular have capitalised on the opportunity to show how effective real-time marketing can be.