Author: Razor

#FlashbackFriday

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Back to school time is upon us! Uniforms are being prepped, snazzy lunch boxes are waiting to be filled, and people are flocking to Paperchase for the latest funky stationery. 

Seeing kids gear up for the new school year got me thinking about some of the ‘in’ brands from my school days; all left back in the past along with BBM and Bebo: (Argh, I feel old! *starts weeping*)

Hollister
Hoodies, jogging bottoms, and beach vibe stores. Everyone I knew loved shopping in Hollister. I can even remember queues coming out of the door during its peak. But today’s teens don’t share the same enthusiasm; it’s an expensive brand and, as savvy shoppers, they’d rather invest their money elsewhere. They connect more with brands that show realness and diversity in beauty – Hollister’s image comes across as a little too ‘perfect’.

UGG
Soggy footwear ruined by the rain is neither practical nor a good look; but we still wore UGGs whatever the weather. Unfortunately (maybe fortunately depending on how you look at it) cheaper, knock-off versions swept the market and soon everyone was wearing them, taking away their exclusive status and ruining the brand.

Despite the brand trying to make a comeback numerous times, teens shun UGG these days in favour of trainers and an everyday wardrobe of athleisure wear.

Body sprays
Sickly-sweet smells always dominated the school changing rooms. Every girl’s schoolbag had a can of Charlie or Impulse in there. Some still do in fact! Just last year, Impulse brought out a new range to satisfy a need for lighter fragrances in the form of mists. And these aren’t just for teens; luxury retailers have their own ranges as a cheaper, everyday alternative to perfume.

Jane Norman
The PE bags! Everyone at my school used a plastic Jane Norman bag to carry their PE kit in. Even if you’d only bought one item from that store, you kept that bag and used it at least a hundred times until it was bruised and battered. You won’t find these bags around anymore; the retailer failed to keep up with changing trends and consumer demands leading to its administration in 2011.

So, what do brands need to know about the needs of today’s youth? They’re more demanding than ever and want brands that actually do something for them, making their life easier in some way [Uber]. They want to connect with brands but on a deeper level, feeding into product design and development [Glossier] And as we’ve heard several times, they like brands that demonstrate social responsibility [Lush].

Not much to ask for!

Everyday play

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I consider myself relatively optimistic. I’m a glass half full/look on the bright side kinda gal.

But being an adult is hard work. (I’m in my thirties and still don’t feel prepared.) There’s no sugar coating it; the world feels like a pretty crummy place right now and we’re faced with doom and gloom in the news every day.

As adults, our growing responsibilities tend to come with high levels of stress. The Mental Health Foundation conducted a UK study earlier this year. Of the 4,619 respondents, 74% stated that they’ve been so stressed in the previous twelve months, that they felt overwhelmed or unable to cope.

So, it’s no surprise that there’s a huge and growing trend for adult escapism in the form of play. When browsing Time Out last weekend to find something new – and a little bit different – to do with a group of friends, I was amazed by how many experiences exist; all encouraging adults to be transported back to more innocent times. From Disney sing-along brunches to ball pit cocktail bars and adult-only bouncy castles, we can take our pick. (And yes, I’m tempted by all of these!)

Journalist Cherrill Hicks describes this movement as the ‘infantilising trend for adult play’, which has touched everything from products to services and toys to art galleries.

But why is infantilising so popular?

As summarised nicely in a Virgin guest blog, experts suggest a number of reasons:

  • Playfulness taps into a fun, stress-free era; and that helps to escape current problems and uncertainties.
  • It draws on our collective memory of the past and connects us to others.
  • It brings out our ‘inner child’, making us feel youthful and energised.
  • It embraces creativity, humour and optimism.
  • It’s spontaneous, interactive and frees us from ‘grown-up’ rules and structures.

This is by no means a new phenomenon; it’s been a gradual shift over time and doesn’t look like it’ll disappear overnight. In 2015, the adult colouring book trend was at its peak, generating sales of over £24m. Although these sales haven’t been maintained, we’re seeing more brands offering products & services that embrace playfulness.

Injecting playfulness into everyday life
Nostalgic experiences like mini golf, retro video games and escape rooms are big business. Exercise, which has been traditionally viewed as a chore, is being given a make-over and playground-inspired fitness activities are becoming more common. Companies like Rabble promise adults they’ll ‘have fun & get fit’ with sessions such as dodgeball, capture the flag, and the hunger games all on offer. The USA stepped things up a notch with AquaMermaid school offering the chance for participants to get fit while living out their fantasies of having a mermaid’s tail(!).

Infant embodiment
Adult onesies are an excellent example of this. And you can’t step into a high street shop these days without coming face-to-face with a unicorn (still!), or a flamingo, or even (the latest Instagram obsession) a Llama. What connects these trends? They’re all vibrant, cute, harmless, and allow consumers to revert to childhood. As brand strategist Jess Weiner put it, “women are in need of fantastical magic in their lives right now, because we’re surrounded by culture and politics that are very bleak and dark and oppressive”.   

Playful brands: packaging & brand experiences
There are many ways that brands use their packaging as a vehicle to spread joy and to appeal to the youthful mindset of their target consumers. During the 2017 festive season, Starbucks offered shoppers the chance to customise their own cups with colour & illustrations.

Then there are the brands who use child-like experiences to engage; a great example is Toys“R”Us, who installed a giant Etch A Sketch in a New York subway station last year to encourage adults to take a break from their stressful days.

Closer to home, breakfast brand Up & Go launched in the UK with an inflatable assault course on the Southbank. Even the Razors went along early one morning to take part!

The desire for fun activities, and products with a nostalgic charm, is clearly showing no signs of abating. And where there’s demand, there’s always supply…

Old is gold

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“Nicole?”
“Papa?”

“What’s French for ‘va-va-voom’?”

Either of these sound familiar? Possibly not if you were born during the nineties or later. But that’s okay; let’s take a trip down memory lane.  

I realise that nostalgia (or looking back at the past with rose-tinted specs) isn’t for everyone. Personally, I’m okay with being reminded of simpler or happier times in my life. Social media does it to me regularly by waving photos under my nose every now and then which result in a usually warm and fuzzy reaction.

Music and fashion have always evolved by bringing past trends and sounds back in a new way. Culturally, we’re constantly idealising the past and the internet provides all the inspiration needed to do so; particularly for those of us raised in the 80s and 90s as we’ve personally documented so much from those decades. TV’s The Goldbergs and Derry Girls are just two current examples. 

Be it a post on Facebook or introducing your child to a TV programme you watched twenty years ago, if it’s about something you love(d), you’re more likely to share it with others.  

Nostalgia is powerful and brands know it. 

Enter, Renault.

The French car manufacturer is currently showing off its new Clio range – and celebrating Renault’s 120th anniversary – with a 90s nostalgia activation. Click here to see the ‘showroom’ being taken to millennials. 

Thierry Henry fans will also be pleased to know that he’s returning as brand ambassador and will appear in new TV idents that will appear on Sky Sports during the 2018/19 Premier League season.

Will any of the above make me buy a Renault Clio? No. But what makes this kind of marketing work are its social media sharing opportunities and positive emotional brand associations; which in turn drive business. (Car pun intended.)

McDonald’s, Coca-Cola, Pepsi, Walkers and countless others have been doing nostalgia marketing for years. Whether it’s packaging, logos, retro posters, or good old TV advertising, bringing the past back to life is a gold mine for some brands.

I recently found my old Nokia 8110 ‘banana’ phone while doing some belated spring cleaning. It still had some charge on it too! Who could resist a game (or several) of Snake after a discovery like that? Rumour has it that, like the 3310, it too will be making a comeback. Again, I won’t be rushing out to buy a new handset but here I am telling you about it… 

 

AI and quant

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‘Why AI could destroy more jobs than it creates.’
‘Experts warn that AI poses a clear and present danger.’
‘AI cyberattacks will be almost impossible for humans to stop.’

Just a few headlines from recent months. Not a particularly rosy picture of technology, I think you’ll agree! Even the late, great Stephen Hawking expressed fears that AI might replace humans altogether. It’s a huge topic and there are genuine concerns.  

At the start of the year we introduced a new internal initiative, ‘Razor Drive’; where every so often we select a topic which will challenge us and stretch our imaginations. A topic that, in some way, relates to market research – but also doesn’t. Our first was Artificial Intelligence. We ran sessions to help understand AI by digging beneath the surface to get to the good, the bad, and the downright ugly.

A March 2018 special report from The Economist pointed out that companies from a range of sectors harnessed AI to forecast demand, hire workers, and to deal with customers. In 2017, companies spent almost $22bn on AI-related mergers and acquisitions; about 26 times more than in 2015.

This led me to think about the role that AI plays in the world of consumer quant research.

The pessimistic mindset is all too easy to guess: ‘We’re all doomed! Machines will take over our jobs and leave us redundant!’.

A balanced and informed viewpoint is often important in these instances, so I’ve done some digging. There’s no questioning the fact that advances in technology have (and will continue to) alter the way we do our jobs. But it’s not all bad…

Recent developments in AI have made identifying emotions & personality traits more accessible and more accurate than ever before. Businesses such as iMotions simplify advanced biometric research by providing companies with the hardware & software to move the ‘lab’ to their office (or location of their choice).

With this technology, eye-tracking, facial expression analysis, and galvanic skin response are all possible on a large scale. We can get an accurate view on where people are looking and how they feel about something based on their body’s natural responses. Other companies such as EyeSee and Realeyes use respondent webcams to detect emotional reaction in a simple and non-intrusive way. The ability to read emotions like this is a game-changer for any researcher, adding another important layer to our understanding.

Trendwatching recently unveiled that there are many fresh examples of brands harnessing this kind of deep human data to help provide even more personalised products and services. For example, Expedia and Palace Resorts ran a campaign with a series of ads split across a screen and used eye-tracking to see which type of holiday consumers were focusing on. 7-Eleven in Thailand and Walmart in the US have also introduced facial recognition technology to track shopper moods around their stores and, therefore, tailor products and experiences accordingly.

AI has also allowed for far speedier analysis of video, audio and text from samples. Companies such as Crimson Hexagon have developed platforms with the ability to process large amounts of natural language data. They’ve also developed algorithms powered by machine learning to detect patterns in online conversation and to automate the classification of these attributes on a large scale.

So where does this leave us humble researchers? In my view, there’s still very much a role for humans in collating and interpreting this data. Common sense and human observation will surely remain the driving force for most successful projects, when providing well-rounded insights to our clients.

Alongside these automated techniques, focused and direct research methods still have a huge role to play in helping clients to tackle specific business issues. Only humans can truly understand clients’ businesses and the wider context – and then use this knowledge to craft an engaging and informed narrative; a fine-tuned narrative that clients can use to action change.

AI is still very much in its infancy. There’s so much more to come, and no one really knows what the future holds. But, in its current form, we should consider it a blessing rather than a curse. The more we acknowledge and understand the benefits of technology enhancing our understanding of human behaviour, the better!

‘Creativity is contagious…

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Historically, creativity was the preserve of gifted individuals; great artists and thinkers touched by a certain genius. But, in recent years, it has become a quality all of us can (and do) possess.

This democratic turn coincided with the public and private sector attempting to harness its powers for growth. As a result, we now have ‘creative industries’, a ‘creative class’ and even ‘creative cities’.

As with any buzzword, determining the genuine from the aspiring – not to mention the plainly fraudulent – can be tricky. With money to be made, many businesses have sought to position themselves as creative without actually, you know, doing anything creative. 

Indeed, the start-up world has mastered this better than anyone else. While the initial idea may be creative (Airbnb, Uber, or any other digital start-up you care to mention), the businesses themselves tend to be more concerned with operations than new ideas. But the halo of creativity remains, held up by an informal corporate culture and the ubiquitous table tennis table.

Which inevitably prompts the question: what is a creative business?

Traditionally, it was those in the business of creativity; ad agencies, fashion houses, film studios, the list could go on… But there’s no denying it now encompasses a broader swathe of industry, which is probably fair. After all, we as people are all capable of creativity (although, to paraphrase Orwell, some of us are more creative than others).

But it does mean that individual businesses increasingly need to define it for themselves – what are they working towards? How do they cultivate it? How do they measure it? Heineken took this step in recent times; and we at Razor will be doing the same over the next month or so.

There will be outings, experts, and conversations about what creativity means to us – and how we can knit it deeper into the fabric of the company. Watch this space.

Creative sparks

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There’s always so much to take in during the International Festival of Creativity that I find it overwhelming. Not only because I spend the week trying to keep up with the entries, winner, speakers (and performers!); but, as a former media planner, my social media timelines are always full of friends and former colleagues living it up in the south of France. (That’s right; I didn’t go. And I’m not at all jealous.)

Aside from all the glitz and glamour synonymous with Cannes, I was most curious about the kind of subjects that global advertisers addressed in the past year. There’s not exactly been a shortage of sensitive topics to choose from the world’s current affairs stage.

They didn’t disappoint either. Here’s just a small handful of the standout campaigns; ranging from punch the air with delight to harrowing:

Period taboos
Blood Normal by Bodyform/Essity/Libresse (UK)

Pollution
Palau Pledge by Palau Legacy Project (Australia)

and 

Trash Isles by LADbible and Plastic Oceans Foundation (UK)

Racial bias
The Talk by Procter & Gamble (USA)

Armed conflict
Hope by International Committee of the Red Cross (Spain)

To see all the 2018 winners, visit the Cannes Lions website.

Note: Look out for #JamesRazor’s follow-up blog next week. He’ll be talking about creativity in business.

Is social media losing its shine?

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Thanks to gearing up for last month’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) deadline, everyone’s heads are now fully in the data privacy zone. Companies must now treat their customers’ personal data with extra special care (or risk a hefty fine!). In other words, this is topic is even more serious than it already was.

On the plus side, we are more informed than ever before. People are increasingly aware of security risks that come with sharing their personal data; mostly because we’re hearing more about data breaches in the news.

Social media channels are under a new level of scrutiny since the scandal surrounding Facebook and Cambridge Analytica hit the headlines back in March.

In an age where personal data is more precious than ever, people who previously wouldn’t usually have thought twice began questioning the security and levels of trust they should place on social media. For months, news outlets closely reported every detail of the Facebook/Cambridge Analytica case as it unfolded. But how much did people trust social media anyway; and have the revelations had any impact on this?

We collated some of the studies out there (of which there are quite a few!) to provide an informed viewpoint on whether social media is really losing its shine.

Trust in social media has always been low, but is now falling further
Edelman’s 18th annual trust & credibility survey was published in January. They questioned respondents from 28 countries. 3,413 people from the UK shared their views.

Less than a quarter of those questioned claim to trust social media as a source of information. These low levels of trust are nothing new; it’s consistently been ranked as the least trustworthy source in the Edelman report for the past three years (vs. traditional media, search engines, online-only media, owned media, and media as an institution). However, social is now falling even further behind, while trust in traditional media sources (now at 61%) has increased since the previous study in January 2017.

Distrust in social media is driven by inaction on some key issues:

Furthermore, over a third of people think social media is no longer a force for good. Prominent areas of concern for over half of respondents link to fears of being exposed to ‘fake news’ and the view that the average person isn’t accurately able to tell good journalism from rumour. Alongside this, people are demanding a greater level of responsibility from social media companies: regulation, transparency, and the sharing of personal data are all hot topics! Below are some of the key stats that show how severe these concerns are:



Social media channels also seem to be losing connection with their audiences
We’re also increasingly seeing a lower level of engagement with social media platforms (especially among young people):

As much as most of us enjoy using social media to stay connected, there is an increasing acknowledgement that an over-reliance on it can have a very negative impact. As a result, active rejection is becoming more common. Detox camps and advice on how to adjust to life without a dependence on social have been popping up here, there & everywhere!

A survey of 5,000 students, commissioned by Digital Awareness UK and the Headmasters’ and Headmistresses’ Conference last year found that 63% claimed they wouldn’t care if social media no longer existed, and a huge 71% had already taken a break from social media in some form.

What about Facebook specifically?
Unsurprisingly, Facebook is the main company in the firing line, and there is evidence of the Cambridge Analytica scandal impacting usage of the network. The forecast is not overly rosy: Emarketer estimates that 2 million users under the age of 25 will stop using the social network this year.

Populus ran an Omnibus survey on the topic in March. While 73% of people reported that their Facebook usage hadn’t changed since the story broke, 1 in 5 people stated they used it less, and 30% had considered deleting their account altogether. They also asked people to evaluate Facebook against some important criteria. It was rated an average of 4.28 out of 10 on the favourability scale and only 3.64 in terms of trustworthiness. While we don’t have direct figures to compare this to, these are not exactly positive scores from a company set for world domination.

It should be no surprise that there are people struggling to believe that Facebook take their data seriously, with only 17% agreeing with the statement ‘I trust Facebook to hold data about its users securely’.

So, what does this all mean?
Users are becoming more savvy about the value that their data holds – and how companies use the data that they share. Social media channels have widened the trust gap, falling further behind traditional news channels as a source of information. Levels of engagement & over-reliance on these channels seem to be dwindling against many users. It’s clear that although we are a long way from breaking away from the strong grip social media has over us, over time (and especially in the light of a heightened focus on data privacy), users are becoming more cautious and starting to question the dominant role it plays in their everyday lives. Brand that prioritise digital should think carefully about how they use these channels to promote themselves and to build relationships with their ‘customers’.

The Listening (Goal)Post

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Welcome to The Listening Post. Each quarter, we update you on trends & influences relating to a specific topic. Issue two looks at the 2018 FIFA World Cup and how Brits have been feeling about it in the run-up. And, more importantly, what they plan to do around the tournament.

Click here to read all about it.

To find out more about our Listening Posts (and/or to suggest another topic), give #JoRazor a shout.

 

Sober socialising

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Could you forgo alcohol once or twice a week? More importantly, would you want to?

At the start of this year, I joined the 3.1 million Brits attempting to cut out alcohol for one month. I actually lasted until mid-March (I’d more than earned my birthday prosecco at that point) and I must say, I found it relatively easy. And, dare I say it, I actually enjoyed it!

It appears that I am not alone. The other day I stumbled across an article predicting that ‘sober socialising’ (i.e. socialising without drinking) will grow in 2018, particularly among 16-24 year-olds who reportedly drink less than their Millennial counterparts did – with a quarter stating that they do not drink at all (so they say!). In addition, we see a trend for alcohol moderation amongst Millennials – particularly during the week.

No doubt the two generations will have slightly different needs around ‘sober socialising’. For instance, if Gen Z really are drinking less, then their drinking habits, preferences and desires will be less engrained than their Millennial counterparts’. Furthermore, it’s likely that that the social expectation to drink (and the stigma around not drinking) is much greater for Millennials than for Gen Z where the drinking culture is not so heavily established. All of this will have a big impact on where they choose to socialise, when they choose not to drink and what they choose to drink instead.

Clearly, this presents an interesting opportunity for brands to understand emerging needs and to find new and innovative ways to tap into ‘sober socialising’. I’d also argue that the opportunity doesn’t just lie in developing alcohol-free versions of the real McCoy, but expands into the soft drinks category and the entertainment space.

Some brands and businesses have already started to respond to this demand. There’s a small – but growing – alcohol free drinks category (I should know because I’ve tried most of it!). Alcohol-free bars and nightclubs have started to emerge, and I noticed recently (on Instagram) that there’s a large number of wellness festivals gaining in popularity. (Think music festivals without the booze but with lots of spinning classes and cooking demos,)

I’m very interested to see how response to this trend continues to grow. From a selfish point of view I would love to have more variety and better quality options; particularly better tasting alcohol-free variants and more availability in the on-trade to avoid those awkward ‘I’m not drinking tonight’ moments.

Brands…it’s over to you.

Kim Jong Un-branded

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The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea has always fascinated me. In a global world where branding can be so influential, the DPRK has kept its distance. Just imagine a world without, Heinz, Nike, McVities and the like…though I suppose it’s a classic case of not knowing what you’re missing. I mean, we all love brands, right? (Don’t kid yourself, those own label chopped tomatoes don’t count.) In a highly competitive marketplace, branding and design is the foundation for success. Something forcing companies to strive to constantly be better; surely that’s not a bad thing for us consumers? But what if everything was designed by the state? What then?

The DPRK’s political system has been described by some observers as a ‘hereditary dictatorship’ and an ‘absolute monarchy’, so I ask; what impact does that have on your bag of crisps or tin or sardines?! I went to the House of Illustration in London to find out.

Nicholas Bonner (tour guide and expert on North Korea) shares his collection of FMCG designs, travel tickets, invitations, postage stamps, hand-painted propaganda and more. I came away with a rare glimpse into what North Korean life is like. 

Due to the state’s structured training of graphic painters (in an attempt to ensure consistency), most of the designs feel identical. It’s almost as if the DPRK is the brand. There’s no variation and no choice. However, having worked on projects rebranding designs of beer/ale brands, I have to say that Pyongyang Beer wouldn’t look out of place in any craft pub in London. Though I’ve a feeling that none of their designs were tested in research… 

In more recent years, competition’s become established in many markets and technology is allowing hand-crafted designs to be replaced by digital imagery. There is a desire for the country to be seen on a level with foreign brands so much of the packaging is now characterized by flat block colour – as seen elsewhere in Asia.

Whilst it is all so intriguing, mysterious and insightful, I’m happy to know that in the UK there’s always a choice to make. There’s always a brand working harder or doing things differently.

P.S. if you want to check it out, the exhibition is only open until 13 May, 2018.