Tag: cause marketing

6 Ways for Marketers to Understand Millennials this Social Media Week

Posted on by Nicky Yates

Ok, New York, you’re stuck indoors with yet another snowstorm this winter, and we know what you’re up to. You’re feeding those guilty pleasures: those preferences on Netflix you never want anyone to see. Well, as much as we might hate to admit it, what we’re seeing on Hulu and other platforms is largely shaped by the generation coming behind us. There’s a reason Party in the South is debuting. And this is exciting.

Millennials are shaping our future, and we need to understand this. Everything from our recreational options to innovation in industries like health, you either gotta keep up or get out of the way. And we want to help you keep up:

  1. 5 Ways Millennials’ Habits Are Changing How Content is Made and Shared
    The first step is to admit you need a deeper understanding. So, we recommend starting out SMW14 with Complex Media and their friends to learn how the Millennial generation’s habits are causing a speedy shift in how content is created and distributed. From the discovery of new talent and Vine stars to the ever present listicle, you’ll need a deeper understanding of this generation to get your marketing on track.
  2. How To Build a Brand That People Don’t Buy, They Join
    The millennial generation is the most cause-oriented generation since World War II. So, how do you get them to buy into your brand with a movement? That’s exactly what Zady, charity: water, and Whole Foods have managed to master. Join them to hear more and take away from their case studies ways your brand can become more connected to our passionate generation.
  3. Fueling Social Fandom at MTV, VH1 and Comedy Central
    Once you understand millennials better, it’s time to look to those who serve them best. Comedy Central has the market cornered currently, and MTV was once king of youth. But for both, this demographic is key. The two have quite a bit they can share and learn from each. So, we’re putting them together with VH1 to highlight how you can keep your fan base engaged, drawing from their own examples in everything from online to apps. You can’t miss this session. (Don’t believe us? Comedy Central’s past event on How To Be Funny in 140 Characters was in such high demand that we had to repeat it last year!)

  4. It’s Complicated: The Social Lives of Networked Teens, a Conversation with Author danah boyd and Andrew Rasiej
    Now, it’s time to get advanced. Without contest, few understand youth better than Microsoft Researcher danah boyd. She’s written about what’s new in how teenagers communicate through platforms, and specifically how social media affects the quality of teens’ lives. And at SMW14, she’ll be sharing her findings on identity, privacy, safety, danger, and bullying. Anyone working with youth and millennials will need to stop in and check on danah.
  5. Reading Is No Longer Fundamental: The Shift to Visual Vocabulary
    Our streams are flooded with gifs, Instagram, emojis, and bitstrips. We’re moving to a very visual marketing period, and it’s driven by millennials. “Visual” is a new language that needs to be mastered. As we look to the future, we have to ask: Is this a new era for cross-cultural communication, or is it changing the way we think – and not for the better? JWT leads a group of experts to really look at this impact, particularly in commerce.
  6. The Future of Now: Health Innovation Track, Sponsored by Merck
    And while we’re talking about movements, no generation was more supportive of health innovation than millennials. They are now turning away from politics to find other ways they can create innovation in the healthcare industry. That’s something Merck knows a thing or two about. Value-creation in the healthcare arena is now inextricably connected to digital and social technology. In this special three-hour track, we’ll explore how health is innovating and what’s to come in the future.

Registration is open! Get your pass today here, and join us and our partners, Nokia for what will be an extraordinary week of exploring our always on, always connected world.

An Interview with Mike Hemingway: the Man Behind Dove’s “Campaign for Real Beauty”

Posted on by Lisa Chau

Mike Hemingway has been in communications and advertising for over 30 years.

In the 1980s, he worked at two of London’s most famous Advertising Agencies: Collett Dickenson Pearce (CDP) and Boase Massimi Pollit (BMP). His award winning accounts included: Fosters, Wrangler, Cinzano, Barclay’s Bank, Martell Brandy and Hamlet.

In 1990, Mike joined Grey Advertising in London as Vice Chairman, and led the team that launched and positioned Pantene as “Healthy Hair and Pro-Vitamin.” It was this move that catapulted Pantene to worldwide leadership in the hair care category, where it remains to this day. Mike also worked on Covergirl and their fragrance collections.

In 1995, Mike pitched for the worldwide Mars Confectionery business which he won. As a result, he was asked by the Mars Family to create a seminar for Mars Associates and their Agencies called: “How to Create Award Winning Effective Advertising.” Mike ran this seminar in over 20 countries around the world.

In 2000, Mike was invited to join Ogilvy and Mather New York to work on Kodak. While there, he helped to create the “Share Moments. Share Life” campaign. In 2003, Mike took over Ogilvy’s Unilever business, Dove, and led the team that created the Dove “Real Beauty” Campaign. This now iconic campaign led to incredible sales increases, whilst pioneering new concepts in “Equity Innovation” and “Mass Media.” Dove’s “Campaign for Real Beauty” is now the most awarded advertising work of the 21st century. Mike continued to lead the Dove Team until 2009, when he left to start his own business: Brandhunger.

Through his Brandhunger website, as well as his many speeches and specific client assignments, Mike helps companies and well known personalities incorporate social responsibility into their mass communications. He has also become an inspiring speaker. His newest speech is called The Rise of the Citizen Consumer.

A father to four sons, Mike authors illustrated books which he hopes will inspire parents and children alike. They are available free, on the internet. You can find Mike here.

Mike, does authenticity belong in any conversation about social media?

Authenticity is really only referenced in social media in the negative. For instance: “The jeans he bought were not authentic. They were Levi’s imitations.”

How do you define a brand? How do brands differ for genders?

This is the 21st century definition of a brand: A brand is an opinion. An opinion about your category that the customer finds personal and important. Brands are different for men and women. Men’s brands are mainly about the quality of the present. Women’s brands (mothers) are mainly about the quality of the future.

How do you advise companies to use social media in building their brands? Who is doing it best right now?

Companies need to realize that consumers have an equally keen interest in what they do, and why they do it. Motive is important. A brand is about motive. A product is about persuasion. Social media is the best way to get a brand’s motives into the public space.

Why isn’t Coke a brand? What do you think of Coke’s new ads to address obesity?

Check the definition of a brand, as stated above. Coke is discussing the key issue that is most important to their key purchasers (mothers). Obesity. Coke was a brave and great company once and are back to being that brave and great company again. They need to be congratulated. In many companies, passion is used and overused. Passion this. Passion that. But Hitler had passion! Compassion is really what’s needed. That one syllable “com’ states the direction of the passion… “for others”. Great brands put themselves second, and their consumers first.

Why doesn’t cause marketing work?

Cause marketing works in terms of increasing the overall knowledge of the true soul of a company. But in terms of sales and persuasion, cause marketing does not add specific enough information for the consumer to make a choice. For instance, the great work Bill Gates does on polio and other causes does not help Microsoft in terms of either share or affinity.

You’ve led some incredibly well-known campaigns. What is your strategy for success?

The key to success? Get to know your consumer really well. Fall in love with them. Never show them a mirror of themselves, but offer them a window to look through, to a place that is happier and achievable! Remember, we all have more in common with people who haven’t won the lottery, than with people who have. Don’t insult their intelligence and don’t dumbly overpromise.

What is “coliseum culture” and how does social media play into this?

The coliseum was built in Rome by the emperors for the citizens to witness gladiator fights. When one gladiator was defeated, the other gladiator would look up to the spectators and they would give the losing gladiator a thumbs up or a thumbs down. If it was a thumbs down, the gladiator would die. This power made the spectators feel they had some power, and made them feel better about themselves. Schadenfreude. Reality programs are the same. There is an elimination process, and the viewer sees the pain or joy of the contestants in close up! All of these contest reality programs have the same theme of elimination. Social media discussions give the public of sense of importance. (When, in fact, they are just pawns and unimportant in the eyes of the media owners.) Facebook and Twitter give the public the same false sense of importance.

What do you predict to come down the digital pipeline over the next 5-10 years?

The word digital will vanish from our vocabulary; just a turbo has vanished from the car market. What isn’t digital these days? The next “big thing” will be virtual reality for the masses.

 

Lisa Chau has been involved with Web 2.0 since graduate school at Dartmouth College, where she completed an independent study on blogging. She was subsequently highlighted as a woman blogger in Wellesley Magazine, published by her alma mater. Lisa currently works as an Assistant Director in Alumni Relations at Dartmouth College. She has been published in US News and Forbes. You can follow her on Twitter.