An environmental consultant can't be seen not 'walking the talk', so Andrea Romani takes waste paper and ink-stamps her business card onto it instead of printing brand new [possibly environmently unfriendly] cards.
Great idea even if you're not actively trying to save the planet.
[via]
We spoke to somebody recently who said; "that advertising shows weakness". If that were even remotely true, what does that say about the ANC's position as the first South African political party to flight a TV ad?
Remaining completely politically neutral, we think the ANC's strategy is a great one.
The ad is emotive, the story compelling, the message smacks of humility and for the people that it's meant to target - it sells a strong reason to vote ANC.
As a brand, they understand their audience intimately and this is a cracking trump card to play. It's not the most creative or award-winning piece of work you're ever going to see, but for the results it's sure to deliver - one of the best ads so far of 2009.
We're not too sure why we like this marketing idea done by a travel agency to encourage poeple to save money for a holiday [cause it's very lateral and a bit higher grade for the average plonker], but we do.
Zuji have embarked on a marketing campaign where they're selling everyday products at ridiculously low prices. First up. tins of baked beans for just 10c.
In one week they apparently sold 10 000 tins of beans and helped thousands with their budgets to sit on the beach and bake.
[via The Hidden Persuader]
Who would have thought that people would value clean underpants and hot showers above witty billboards and well edited TV spots when it comes to advertising.
Diesel Jeans are going the rock route and at a recent overnight music festival in Denmark, the denim brand provided free hot showers, including fresh towels, shower gel and clean underwear to the tired headbangers. Needless to say the underwear ran out in minutes and everyone is now a die-hard fan of Diesel.
Great move by Diesel.
See; PinkPop website
[via Springwise]
When a band releases a new album, they go on tour to promote it - so why can't product marketers do the same thing?
A bunch of North American toy makers did (kids still play with toys? - we though they just burnt crosses and planned acts of treason with each other online) and it worked so well they can't keep up with demand.
Interesting article on the difficulties of toy marketing...
Read: To Create Its Hits, a Company Takes Its Toys on Tour - NYTimes
Previously: Nike's Trial Van: Take the shoes and run - Cherryflava
If you're on your way to Cape Town International airport sometime in the near future, make sure you go at night...so that you can wonder in the LED glow of the latest Audi A4 billboard.
Thanks to Heinrich for sending in this night time shot of the hording, unfortunately taken while he was on the phone and firing off a Desert Eagle .50 round at a passing rival gang all at the same time - hence the poor quality of image, but it gives you a fair idea.
China is a country we don't often cover here on Cherryflava, but here's an award-winning mobile advertising concept which makes sense and is something that could quite easily work here in South Africa too.
The Nike Zoom campaign, devised by media agency MindShare China, won Campaign of the Year recently at the Venice Festival of Media. The campaign ran in Shanghai, Beijing, and Guangzhou. Bluetooth technology was used in special “information shelters”, offering a chance to win a pair of Zoom’s by running between the shelter and the closest Nike shop.
Standard billboards with Nike ads were specially equipped in each city to emit a Bluetooth signal aimed at nearby mobile phones. When people approached the billboard, they received short-range signals on their activated mobiles to start a “virtual stopwatch.” Then they received a message to run to the nearest designated Nike store as fast as they could, where a second Bluetooth signal stopped the stopwatch and recorded their time. Every day, for the length of the promotion, the store gave away one different pair of running shoes for the fastest athlete. [Source: CScout]
Apart from sending out annoying messages, it's comforting to know that your cellphone can easily be turned into a high-tech training tool by Bluetooth technology. Can just imagine the route to shop in the busy mall on a Saturday morning.
Let's be frank, South Africa has no shortage of social investment opportunities for business to throw a sympathic buck at, but does this oversupply of charity hold any business opportunities for the quick entrepreneur.
One shining beacon of how a business success can be created by helping others is the expanding network of Jamie Oliver restaurant called Fifteen.
Jamie's idea was to train up down and out kids who had no other options in life, employ them in his restaurant and promote the whole thing by making it into a reality TV show. Genius business strategy all round, but it apparently wasn't all plain sailing.
If your last engagement with Fifteen was shedding a warm tear of happiness in front of the TV as you watched those once-feckless, insecure, spliff-smoking trainees blossom miraculously into resilient and resourceful young catering professionals, it may come as a surprise to learn that Oliver's outfit has struggled to meet its ambitious social objectives. As the report notes critically: "The truth is that the start up of Fifteen was messy and the boat left port without all its sails and supplies ready."
Nobody said uplifting others was easy, but with millions in desperate need of a break in life it's perhaps the local social business angle you've been looking for.
More: Jamie Oliver's Fifteen enterprise serves up honest fare - Guardian
See also: The Khayelisha Cooking Company
It seems that all the supermarket brands received the same memo about using the power shortage in a spot of targeted brand building.
Pick n Pay are slipping these 'Power Pledge' notes into shoppers carrier bags as an incentive to help everyone understand how we can all save power.
It's a noble effort to help, just a pity it had to be printed on environment-busting paper.
Previously: Woolworths spots the branding opportunity thanks to the power shortage - Cherryflava
With the way our training for the Two Oceans Marathon is going, we're kinda hoping that the sponsors of the famous Cape Town run read and take careful note of this awesome piece of athletic event ADDvertising.
Adidas helped out the 11.000 runners of the Auckland Marathon by giving them some extra motivation at the 17 km mark. 50 knots of motivation. Runners had to run into the adiBOOST lane and walk past a custom built, hurricane fan to get their shot.
Sure, if the wind is blowing the right direction on the morning - it'll be like an unbranded version the whole way, but a good 'added-value' campaign all the same.
