Author

Sarosh Waiz

Browsing

It seems like poking fun at each others products is becoming a regular thing for technology giants; Samsung and Microsoft / Nokia have been the culprits to name a few. This time it’s Amazon trying to degrade the iPad Air with it’s new Kindle Fire HDX 8.9. A functional approach correctly points out 3 benefits of getting the Kindle Fire HDX 8.9 over the iPad Air, to put things into perspective: The Kindle Fire HDX 8.9’s screen is of higher quality as compared to the iPad Air It is 20% lighter than iPad Air It is cheaper ($379) than iPad Air ($499) Though I like the straightforward approach by Amazon that quickly establishes why the Kindle Fire HDX8.9 is better than iPad Air, but a lot of mock-vertising has already been done this year.

It’s always great to see marketing teams and agencies going a step ahead and creating awesomeness. Infiniti, the luxury car manufacturer, has launched an immersive interactive movie, Deja View, which breaks new ground in entertainment technology. It’s a short film where the characters call you on your phone to ask for advice making you an integral part of the story. The best part is that your response determines how they react – unfolding the story in a different direction. And all of this happens while you’re actually watching the film. Quite exciting, isn’t it? From a brand integration perspective, I think it is very smartly done. A simple, yet impactful, campaign that effectively engages the user. The Q50 is at the center of the story and creates an instant impression while the user interacts through the experience. I’m not going to give you any spoilers; would be better to experience…

People usually let the type of music determine their driving style. And that’s the widespread understanding. However in a new VW Golf GTI campaign, Volkswagen flipped this notation. How about an application that determines the kind of music played based on individual driving behaviour? That’s what the new Volkswagen Golf GTI’s “Play the Road” campaign is about. The german automobile manufacturer designed an iOS app in collaboration with Underworld that tracks the driver’s unique driving movements, location and speed. This is smartly done through a combination of GPS, gyroscope and accelerometer within the device, after which, the data is calculated to play the relevant type of music. How is it being done? Following is a description from the Volkswagen website to explain the science behind this app: “Using the musical program language PD (Pure Data) the music and data were brought together. Different musical motifs were attached to different data streams,…

Surprise marketing can do wonders for a brand if done right. It is one of the many guerrilla marketing formats that allow marketers considerable freedom to innovate. And if done right and seeded well on the internet, it can lead to generating millions of views. A great guerrilla marketing campaign was executed in order to promote an upcoming movie called “Carrie.” The marketing team planted a telekinesis prank in Snice Café, New York, by installing cables and hiring some kick ass actors to pull off the show. After getting up and trying to walk past this girl sitting in the coffee shop, the guy bumps into her and spills her coffee over. This leads to the actors creating a freaky scene where it seems as if the girl has supernatural powers. As expected, the act shocked all the people present at the venue. In fact, I am sure it freaked…

Volvo Trucks came up with an unusual campaign to demonstrate the precision and directional stability of Volvo Dynamic Steering. Volvo Dynamic Steering is the world’s first technology that makes the new Volvo FM easier to drive. They signed up Jean-Claude Van Damme and made him perform his famous splits on two reversing Volvo Trucks. The stunt was performed in Spain in a closed off landing field in one take. Quite a brave campaign pulled off by the brand. The original video has generated over 46 million views in 10 days only, excluding other promotional videos of the campaign.

We post about creative and catchy slogans a lot because we feel that slogans are one of the key elements of a brand’s identity. In fact, great slogans help position the brand from a consumers’ point of view. And that’s why brands emphasize more on how their slogan sounds like; does it go with the brand? Is it addressing the need the brand exists for? But the question is: What makes slogans catchy? What is it that makes consumer remember something they read or hear about ‘a’ brand? What Makes Slogans Catchy? I feel that the art of crafting a catchy slogan lies in it being more consumer-centric. The more consumer relates to it, the higher the chances of a recall. Advertisers spend billions of dollars to build their brand equities, and slogans have played a big role in it over the years; especially when it comes to building brand…

Samsung takes a jab at Apple by mocking customers waiting for the new iPhone 5S through a smarter “virtual” line for the S4. Great concept however; specially in times when you wouldn’t want your consumers to go through the pain and hassle of just to buy your device. And ideally, a customer line for a smart phone should be… smart. The whole concept of letting consumers line-up pretty much negates the concept of quality customer service. Smart timing to launch it. Seems like they had been holding onto this “pun” for a few months before they finally decided to release it. Brand wars are always amusing. If you have no idea of the length of lines outside the Apple store for the new iPhone 5S, check the video below. Consumerism at its peak.

Kellogg’s Crunchy Nut cereal means trouble: that’s how this brand is positioned. But why? Because it tastes so good. This edgy positioning is highlighted quiet well with a tinch of humour in this TVC that went live on national TV earlier this week in the UK. Like the commercials that have recently preceded it, ‘Revolutionary Chocolatier’ tells the story of the trouble that can occur as a consequence of Crunchy Nut’s irresistible allure which, in this case, is Crunchy Nut Chocolate. LeoBurnett is the agency behind the concept. The commercial will be supported by an interactive game hosted on the brand’s YouTube channel.