Sustainability: Go Big or Go Home
Ikea has created a “Scrapsbook.” No, not a compilation of embarrassing pictures and memories from your beach vacation, but rather a book that invites cooks to recycle ingredients and avoid food waste. The Scrapsbook includes 50 culturally diverse recipes from top North American chefs, from apple core pulp burgers to chocolate and banana peel cakes.
As the effects of climate change continue to wear on our earth, consumers are putting pressure on brands to increase their sustainability efforts. And they aren’t going to settle for lofty goals or small recycling initiatives. Consumers want to see businesses take big action. For Ikea, their efforts extend beyond the cookbook, including suspending their catalog's physical printing, pledging to make 50% of their food plant-based, already reducing food waste across their own kitchens by 31%, and urging customers to do the same at home.
Sweepstakes in COVID Times
Budweiser is on a quest to become the official beer of Utah. It all started last year with a pledge to make customized Utah beer cans if they reach enough traction on social media through the #Bud4Utah. Just this week, they continued their quest with a “Swear, Sip and Ski” social media sweepstakes giving two lucky winners a trip to the Mountains to blow off steam from the past year.
Brands have been encouraging consumers to take on pandemic stress in new ways, whether that means watching Yeti’s chill streams or full-on scream into the Icelandic mountains. While we are one year into the pandemic, brands still recognize customers could use a break from life’s pressures. One quick way for businesses to gain some awareness is recognizing a consumer insight like this and elevating it through a PR-able sweepstakes. The prize doesn’t have to be big, but it certainly needs a newsworthy headline like Budweiser’s offer to “Curse Your Heart Out On Top of a Mountain.”
Staying Nimble in the age of TikTok
A teen TikTok star, Carly Joy, recently gave a glowing recommendation for Eos’ Shea Better shaving cream. Over the next month, Eos saw a boost in sales and website visits that were directly a result of the Tik Tokers post. In honor of Carly, Eos created a new limited-edition shaving cream line “Bless Your F*ing Cooch” using the Tik Tokers exact words and instructions. The brand sent Carly a
special package of the new product line, prompting the Tik Tok star to again create a Tik Tok video about Eos resulting in over 4.5M additional views.
Last year, Ocean Spray was handed a similarly perfect PR and Marketing opportunity when a video went viral of a man drinking their cranberry juice while longboarding and singing along to Fleetwood Mac’s “Dreams.” Brands can and should monitor for videos, Tweets, and Facebook posts that directly relate or are adjacent to their brands. There’s often room to extend brand visibility by capitalizing on these social media moments in unique ways. That could mean simply sending a box of product to a fan or donating to a man that happened to feature your brand in a video. Leave it to your agency partner to help you figure out the next best move.
Trending
Clubhouse app downloads fell drastically In March but are expecting growth when they release a new Android app in the next few months. Most recently the app announced you can tip your favorite creators. Read more on AdWeek here and here.
Instagram for kids is probably NOT happening. While Facebook Inc. intended to create a “safer space” for kids under 13 years old, lawmakers are arguing that social media use is unhealthy for young children and should not be encouraged. Read more on WSJ.
The meat wars continue as Impossible Foods declares they are in fact meat in their first national ad campaign. A move to reach more meat-eating consumers. Read more on Marketing Dive.
