Packaging Positioning: What does it represent?

Last time I spoke about appearances and it seems I will be re-visiting the topic now.

Retro Tide

P&G are taking a 'gamble' (no pun intended) to re-vitalize their brand by going back in time and bringing out the good ol' packaging. A few of their flagship brands, like Tide, will be available in their packaging from the '70s and to make it complete it will be complimented by retro advertising, to make a holistic campaign. Now generally I'm a big fan of vintage and going retro, I love the look, and the style and it definitely stands out from the modernistic style of most. But you have the question its purpose... P&G argues that its not a short term sale boost but what they hope will be an emotional connection to the purchaser by causing them to relive memories from their childhood. Fair enough..but what about Generation Y who are currently an increasing demographic in terms of purchasing power..well P&G goes on to justify that it will help remind consumers of the simpler times, when everything was basic, functional, and did its job...so what if people don't really remember the 70's? I feel is more of a tactic by them to help them remember the time when they were the market leaders, and they hope that maybe people will remember this too and go back to buying their products over their competitors. well here's hoping...

Meanwhile the Cola wars are on a new turf... the "green wars"... which company can be the most green. Both companies are battling it out to see who can be first to mass produce 100% recycled packaging. Pepsi are taking it one step further by producing recyclable cups as well in order to meet demands by increasingly educated and environmentally conscious consumers. What I am curious about is this being done to look good with the people, to increase sales, to beat Coca Cola or are they genuinely concerned about the environment?
It's not easy to produce recycled products as it also uses heaps of water and electricity so in reality its a trade-off between plastic or water etc...also will this affect the price of Pepsi? Many other companies use a strategy where they sell products either standard or environmentally friendly (at a higher premium) in order to segment the market. In other words people will pay according to values and income, but this is quite questionable, how environmentally friendly are these companies then in reality?? So therefore will Pepsi charge a premium for its products? there is a market to sustain it, but what effect will it have in the wars, and can they be then really called an environmentally friendly company? Check out the infomercial below to learn more about Pepsi's green cups.

All about appearances

McDonald's New Look

McDonald's has been changing the physical appearance of its restaurants in order to project a more wholesome and family friendly appearance. This is part of its planned upscale in order to generate a shift from just a fast food  brand to a lifestyle one. I find this change to be long overdue as it would be welcome with its friendly cafe style menu, and a place to sit and enjoy, instead of grab your food and run. Well true its following in the footsteps of Starbucks, and its not highly original, but its a move in the right direction, especially with all the negative connotations associated with fast food and obesity, this change is followed by the news that they will not let go of Ronald their mascot, and if this upgrade goes as planned then they will not have to.

As I'm on the topic of appearances, what about Gillette and the prowess of  their athletes?? First Federer and now Longoria, does Gillette have the same effect on them as Axe on dudes?? makes you wonder... all this is an elaborate scheme by them to prove their tagline of "being all that a man can be". Original? Yes, Believable? No, Entertaining? Definitely!, Effective? To be seen...If Gillette does not admit that it is a fake, then it has strong faith in the ability of its athletes combined with using its products to make them extremely good at what they do. You can see the video below and decide for yourself.

Best Ad Ever!

I may be deviating from my usual tirades about brands....but I have to say, isn't this one of the best ads ever??

And no I don't say that because I am a self-proclaimed cat crazy person, but because it makes an emotional connection with the viewer. It not only makes you go "awww...", but it declares its message in a way which does not use scare tactics or pity which is common in animal shelter/rescue advertising. Instead it makes you feel warm and fuzzy and induces you to help out, therefore living up to the 'humane' part of their name.

The ad, albeit indirectly says a lot about the brand itself, that it is a caring, emotive brand which connects to the people and with the animals and that they truly care for them, so it creates an image for the brand as well as effectively spreading the message, a double edged winner.

OBL for advertising...justified?

Well Osama or OBL as he is popularly tweeted as is it seems is (in)actively doing his part for social advertising. This ad was released online under the title of Seat Belt Awareness.. its highly doubtful if its authenticated, but it brings up an interesting topic of using OBL for advertising. 

While I am not surprised that given all the hype surrounding his death, it has made its way into advertising, but the fact is that it is still a highly political and sensitive issue for most people, and even if he is being used for the sake of public interest..is it justifiable?? 

Hitler being used in an ad for World Aids Day

On one side, it exploits popular culture just like companies exploiting the royal wedding by incorporating some form or the other into their advertising and admittedly even Hitler has been used his fair share in adverts; on the other hand it is quite recent and still extremely fresh to be used in an humorous manner, especially with threats of retaliation from certain quarters, and if you taken into account the multitude of information on OBL currently there's a good chance of it getting lost.

In the end though, it is always difficult to please everyone as there will always be someone who will be offended depending on the region of your operations.

Copycat Branding

Pepsi has been in the news for its latest part in the cola wars, the Pay-it-Forward vending machine. The concept and technology behind it is quite novel and could possibly be the first in a long line of socially networked and interactive vending machines. The way it works is simple, you can choose a beverage, put in the contact details of a friend and they are notified of a drink redeemable at a vending machine of their convenience. It's about spreading the love and getting real people to act voluntarily as brand ambassadors..plus who would want to pass up on a free drink?? This campaign would involve a large expense on behalf of Pepsi, but overall is reminiscent of Coca-Cola's happiness campaign and their Happiness machines whose main aim is to encourage social interaction and bonding over the drink. This has been a long running aspect of their campaign and the happiness machine is a logical extension of it, but it would be interesting to watch how Pepsi develops their campaign further and the success rate of the machines, and how will Coca-Cola retaliate?

Pushing the boundaries of imitation is the new commercial of Edge shaving gel, and its eerie likeness to the Old Spice Isiah Mustafa campaign. It's hard to find a good video of it and this is the best i could do.

But it's one thing to seek inspiration and another to blatantly copy...what does a brand achieve out of that? The goals, ideology and style are completely different, even if the product may be similar the budget would have been better spent on developing the brand further and in creating a unique identity..enough said.

Lately it seems to me, most car brands have been adopting the word 'innovation' into their advertising, with Citroen - "celebrating innovation" following closely behind, Nissan's - "Innovation for all". If all brands are innovative..isn't that just the norm then?

Hyundai: The Honest brand that does (not) keep its promises

Hyundai has been recently making news about its 'Assurance' policy which they had cancelled after the program helped them meet their expansion goals. The initial policy involved a job loss protection guarantee for Americans who after having purchased a vehicle would be allowed to return their vehicle within a year if they were to loose their job. An excellent idea which enabled Hyundai to gain mass appeal to consumers and which allowed them to build brand awareness and gain a larger share of the US market. In their ad marking the first year of the program (as seen below), they assure their customers that they are in it together, and till the economy improves they will be there to support their customers, so what happens when there is a turnaround and the policy is cancelled?

According to Dale Buss'article 'Hyundai Cancels Assurance Policy', this move was made as the purpose of the program has been fulfilled, i.e. to build awareness and gain a larger share of the US market. So what about the people? Unemployment figures have only risen, and therefore its only logical to ask where's Hyundai's promise now? If I were at the American public I would definitely feel cheated and used to say the least. And Hyundai's reasoning of the program that it was waning anyway just does not cut it. I may be being a bit harsh, but when a promise is made, you expect it to be kept, especially since the foundation of a brand lies in its promises to its consumers.
So when Hyundai launched a new 'Assurance' program, i.e. a new way to gain the trust of the American public, it makes me wonder how long this one is too last. The new policy, also marketed as 'Assurance' could lead to some confusion with the people, especially since the last one was not carry forwarded as it was 'assured' to be. The new policy as described in Dale Buss' article 'Hyundai's Trade-in Assurance: Let the driver beware', is said to be quite favorable for the company and would benefit them greatly..but what about the brand? That wait's to be seen. But in all fairness Hyundai are an honest brand, they don't beat around the bush and quite open to their consumers for the reasons behind their old & new Assurance program.