Here are some key principles from Beth Comstock: 

1. There is great power in learning to adapt to the change. Getting accustomed to and making progress during periods of change requires a mindset shift that must happen on both a personal and cultural level. There is a common notion among bigger organizations in assuming they have the answers and the readiness that will allow them to bend change to their will. This is false and can hamper growth.
   

   “Covid-19 has been a great teacher. It has helped us realize that we are not in control and we never really were, which has cultivated a thinking that allows greater willingness to try new things.” – Beth Comstock

2.  Best leaders in times of change are ambidextrous leaders. Beth says the secret to unlocking success during times of crisis is to have your company operate at two speeds. She draws a distinction between them as the ‘now lane’ and the ‘what’s next’ lane, also known as the ‘imagination lane.’ While the ‘now lane’ focuses on the current climate and trends, which is more predictable for bigger public companies, the ‘what’s next lane’ guides the future.  

“It takes courage in supporting something for which you’re not exactly sure what the profitability model is, but you know there’s a hunger and you want to take it to the next level” – Beth Comstock

A good leader understands that they must operate both ways. They must allocate the time, people, and money while also evaluating what they learned, what they need to do more of, and how to put a halt on things that aren’t serving the company anymore.  

3. Innovative companies help customers get to what’s next. Beth cites Nike as an example of an innovative and prescient company. Nike is constantly focused on listening to their customer and being passionate about delivering for them. They accomplish this by staying ahead of their customer, instead of waiting for them to tell them what they need. In most cases, customers often expect brands to know their needs before they do. Beth also attributes an ecosystem approach and strong integration of physical and digital to stay attuned to customer needs. 

“To really be a platform company, it is recognizing that interconnectedness and knowing how to navigate it and digital forces you to do that. If a company was slow in digital, they’re not going to come out of Covid-19 and succeed being slow. Digital is just the way you have to operate.” – Beth Comstock

Here are the three simple steps to become a better marketer and innovator: 

• In order to make a breakthrough innovation that you live to see tomorrow, you must be curious and open your aperture. The notion of discovery and making that a part of your practice is critical not only for your team but also for yourself.
• Mastering the art of storytelling is imperative in order to translate your vision to your team. Storytelling and strategy go hand in hand and your team should be able to discern that there is room for them in the company’s vision to be a part of it. Having a strong future vision entails being able to communicate to your team and audience both ‘the why,’ and ‘the why us.’
• To be a good marketer, one must live in the market. Beth recommends getting into the practice of maintaining a notebook or making notes on your phone to collate interesting ideas when out and about. This allows you to adopt the mindset of a marketer and develop a knack for pattern recognition.

Conclusion 

Change is inevitable. It can be difficult to predict and always be prepared, but the willingness and swiftness to adapt to the change are crucial. In order to pave a successful future path, companies must look ahead of the moment and their current processes to optimize productivity. These often result in a gap of imagination and failure to envision what could disrupt them. It is necessary to outgrow mind blocks and see beyond the now to ultimately imagine a way forward.   

Watch the full event here:

06:58: How to adapt to change

08:31: How to overcome the gap in imagination

11:17: Importance of curiosity and discovery

15:15: What we can learn from Walmart and Nike

20:42: Role of a good leader

23:23: What makes a good marketer

29:38: What is in Beth’s notebook

36:20: Brand’s role in positioning and scaling subcategories

40:43: The tension between branding and innovation

This segment was part of The Interaction Field Series of our LinkedIn Live Events. Please connect with us on our LinkedIn page to stay updated with our upcoming conversations.

The post Beth Comstock on Leading with Imagination in Uncertain Times appeared first on Vivaldi.

Here are some key principles from Melissa Schilling:

1. Crisis is a great catalyst for change. A crisis allows people to become less rigid and consider new alternatives. People are willing to try new things and be more accepting of change because they are aware that the norm has already been broken. The pandemic urged people to try video conferencing, experimenting with new forms of education and new business models for running a company and employing people. Referencing history, Melissa recalls how the oil crisis led to huge innovations in solar, thermal, and wind power.

“If you are not innovating during times of crisis, you are missing a huge opportunity. When things are already disrupted, that’s a great time for disruptive innovation.” – Melissa Schilling

Breaking into consumers’ attention span was a lot harder before, as opposed to the current climate where they want to see what the potential solutions are and are willing to try innovative recommendations. That is not to say, that the innovations are limited to the pandemic alone, but a lot of those innovations are going to be long-lasting and outlive the crisis.

2. A platform business model is a propitious approach for disruption and innovation. The reason for that is because a platform business model enables a large number of small players who otherwise might not have access to or gain traction into the market to now have a way to get levered into it. To illustrate, Melissa cites Apple as an example. Apple’s App Store has enabled small companies to sell a product to a big market and while they don’t all succeed, many are successful and getting access to the market in a way that they could have never had access to before.

 “Almost all of these ecosystems arose because they allow you to solve some consumer value proposition or create user value proposition, that could not be as easily solved by integrated firms that were totally independent from each other.”  – Melissa Schilling

3. In the long run, you must distribute value in an equitable way. How firms allocate value is critical, as allocating value fairly will motivate providers to enter. An exception to this is cases where organizations have managed to capture the market so well that it is difficult for other players to enter.

“In other markets switching costs and the barriers to entry are not so high, which is why in the long run you’re going to have to distribute value in a way that makes all your provider’s happy or they’ll leave you for another ecosystem.” – Melissa Schilling

Here are the three simple steps to adopt the mindset of an innovator:

• Great innovators like Steve Jobs, Elon Musk, and Marie Curie shared a common trait of incredibly high self-efficacy. Building a strong sense of self-efficacy, which means, a person’s belief in their capabilities to overcome any obstacle to achieve their goals, determines what the goals are that we choose to pursue and how we go about accomplishing them. People who exhibit high self-efficacy don’t perceive risk the same way because of their faith in their capacity to succeed.
• Persistence, a subset of efficacy, is a very defining trait behind every great innovator. Adopting a can-do attitude, and consistently applying yourself to a problem despite facing failure and obstacles is a big factor to help you achieve success.
• An important element that enables persistence and self-efficacy is idealism. All innovators share keen idealism, where they set a grand goal, which takes precedence over peripheral accomplishments like money, fame, and reputation. If you have a goal or a solution to a problem, then you must be willing to relinquish your pride.

Conclusion:

While the COVID-19 pandemic altered how companies interact with their customers and how customers interact with them, the current climate also unlocked a room of opportunities and a glut of data into consumer behavior for innovation and disruption. Prioritizing innovation, in addition to a shared and equitable value system, will be the key to unlocking post-crisis growth.

Watch the full event here:

04:20 – Innovating in a crisis

07:12 – Success of platforms and digital ecosystems

12:13 – Future of transitional models

19:30 – Distributing value in a system

21:45 – Traits of a breakthrough innovator

28:48 – Reasons for Tesla’s success

33:04 – Difference between efficacy and mania

35:08- Tips for gen z innovators

37:50 – Effects of cultural norms

40:26 – Leadership for the ecosystem model

This segment was part of The Interaction Field Series of our LinkedIn Live Events. Please connect with us on our LinkedIn page to stay updated with our upcoming conversations.

The post Breakthrough Innovation with Melissa Schilling: Are you innovating in times of crisis? appeared first on Vivaldi.

Here are some key principles from Denise Lee Yohn:

1. Culture building is about ensuring your brand has clarity about its purpose and values. Developing employee experiences and designing an organization in a way to support that overarching purpose, are pivotal to help reinforce and reinterpret the company culture.

Denise believes that in order to change and transform your company culture, you need to deliberately integrate new values, thinking, and people in. You can then weave them into the fabric of your organization.

“If you want to be an innovative brand, then your cultural values need to reinforce experimentation, curiosity, learning, fast prototyping, risk-taking, and celebrating failure. All of those unique values that actually mean something to people, so that they don’t just become words on a page but actually becomes a driving force for your organization.” – Denise Lee Yohn

2. Have a purpose for your brand that is not focussed on a specific product or service. Instead of being tied to one particular business model, application or market, think about a broader purpose that talks about the impact you envision to have on the world.

To illustrate, Denise cites Apple as a brand that has seamlessly aligned and integrated its ecosystem. Having clarity in its purpose and values, Apple has successfully attracted the right participants, employers, ecosystem partners, and customers that are not only want to work with them but are a part of their value creation.

“If you are able to deliver the kinds of customer experiences, the kinds of products, services that really differentiate your brand, then your culture needs to be as unique and differentiated as your brand.” – Denise Lee Yohn

3. The way to achieve brand-culture fusion is to accept it as a leadership responsibility. There needs to be a foundation of accepting responsibility for culture building and brand building and integrating the two and ensuring that you have an overarching purpose, and a single set of core values to guide, align and drive everything you do as a brand in sync with the internal company culture. The senior leaders of the organization should believe, champion, and implement the responsibility for orchestrating the two.

Denise highlights the importance of understanding and listening to the two primary stakeholder groups—customers and employees. Bringing this vision and insight as a leader and can be highly beneficial for culture transformation.

“Culture building is not just about perks or free lunches and parties. Most business leaders settle for a baseline and generic, good culture within the organization. It’s not only possible but it’s imperative that you actually take these specific steps to build your culture.”  – Denise Lee Yohn

Here are the three simple steps towards building a robust brand culture:

• Build your brand from the inside out with integrity and coherence while being market-facing and keeping the customer informed about how is the world changing. That way you are able to continue evolving.
• You need to have one overarching purpose that motivates and aligns everyone. When you create multiple statements and values that are generic, they become meaningless and one-sided. Instead have an overarching purpose, which is your highest order ambition that speaks to all of your stakeholders.
• Design and integrate your customer and employee experience. Think about how you can expose your employees to customers. Bringing your culture to your customers and bringing insight, empathy, and understanding to your employees will be mutually beneficial.

Conclusion:

Engaging with a brand is no longer a transactional experience but is deeply revealing of the brand’s core beliefs and value sets. Integrating the external brand identity and your internal organizational culture will not only pave the way for a healthy and vital culture but will prove critical for building a sustainable organization.

Watch the full event here: 

08:27 – What is brand culture fusion

09:21 – How do you achieve brand culture fusion

10:38 –  Why brand culture fusion doesn’t happen as often

14:50 – How new companies are getting the fusion right

20:50 – Role of the brands

26:46 –  How to navigate and respond to the challenges of the pandemic

31:34 – How to overcome silo thinking

36:08 – Are companies misunderstanding the human element of culture

39:50 – Understanding your stakeholders

45:20 – How brand and culture can come together

This segment was part of The Interaction Field Series of our LinkedIn Live Events. Please connect with us on our LinkedIn page to stay updated with our upcoming conversations.

The post How Brand and Culture Create Great Companies with Denise Lee Yohn  appeared first on Vivaldi.

Although 89% of advertisers are working with influencers only 29% have results to prove it’s effective. This strikes us as unbelievable and possibly even irresponsible in an industry demanding attribution and ROI on all activities. And especially when influencer marketing is experiencing exponential growth with estimates that it’ll be a $5-10 billion market by 2020!

In the study we recently conducted in association with ISBA (Incorporated Society of British Advertisers) even of the 29% who have results 85% of those are relying on simple and inconclusive metrics such as Reach and Engagement.

With the average brand spending £50k per campaign, running on average 5 campaigns last year and with 80% looking to increase investment in influencers this year this is another case of the marketing industry jumping on a bandwagon with no real evidence of its impact. In the research only 40% even felt confident that their activity was working.

Quite frankly not good enough! There really are no excuses for brands and agencies not to be measuring the impact and proving the business case for further investment (or not as the case may be), or simply making activity more focussed and effective.

We believe that it’s a critical first step that KPI’s and measurement infrastructure are developed as part of the initial strategy, considered throughout the campaign development process and reviewed on an ongoing basis once the campaign is live. Based on the research data this well established discipline seems to have been forgotten when it comes to influencer activity.

The post Why Brands Are Failing To Measure Influencer Activity And What To Do About It appeared first on Vivaldi.

We’ve been tarred with a big black brush for putting nightclubs out of business, the decline of the Great British pub, and shunning big brands in favour of something more artisanal, more ‘authentic’.

It’s not that we don’t like booze (you’ll still see inebriated millennials out and about) – some of us are just after something a bit different. We’re not always up for getting wasted and waking up Sunday lunchtime feeling like our minds and bodies have been infiltrated by a swarm of angry bees. We don’t wear a hangover as a badge of honour as much as something to be pitied.

It’s common speculation that we don’t want to act how our parents did. But surely it’s more complicated than that? We live for instagrammable, like-worthy experiences – so we actually want to remember what happened the night before. We’re also a lot more health conscious than previous generations. We’ve seen first hand what binge drinking does to people long-term, and the internet is constantly bombarding us with fitspo, vegan diet tips, and nefarious healthy living inspiration. But most of all, we don’t want our social reputations and future prospects to go down the toilet if we start acting like idiots.

When you do find us imbibing a beverage, it’s highly likely to be an artisanal, hand-crafted cocktail – or we’re drinking at home because going out is too much effort. Or possibly, we’re at some sort of indescribable, once-in-a-lifetime event, too busy taking selfies to think about what drink we’re getting next.

So here’s the question: In a world where we’re drinking less, and hankering over high-quality, small-batch labels, what should brands be doing to connect with us?

Here are 7 things:

1.THINK SMALL

A major problem facing big spirit brands is their size. Seeing product recalls, ingredients scandals, and the ‘we’ll stop at nothing’ greed of corporations to turn a hefty profit, we’re more wary of big brands. This means we’re also more clued up about products – picky about ingredients, interested in process, and we want to believe that our drink has been distilled by a wise artisan who cares passionately about their craft. And thanks to social media, we’re also far more likely and able to tell our friends about it.

And as we turn towards these smaller, high-quality independent names – we’re actually drinking less, but spending more on what we drink*.

But there is still an opportunity for bigger brands to regain that trust – to build an enticing story of provenance and process that can give our new generation of ‘woke-drinkers’ something to talk about. They need to connect more with their local communities, and help grow their roots through local initiatives and events, show off their processes. Done well, this can make your brand feel part of culture – it could become a local tradition, something to take pride in and also give your brand a more authentic feel.

Some brands have already picked up on this – like Glenfiddich, who collaborated with a craft brewer and an ice winemaker to create a unique whisky with an unusual finish, giving it a limited, small batch feel, and unusual production methods you could impress your friends with. Budweiser has taken a simple approach to provenance, by changing their labels in the US to show you exactly where the beer was brewed, giving it more of a small batch feel.

*Mintel 2018

2. BE MORE HUMAN

Brands need to take a long, hard look at the qualities they bring – good and bad. Let’s face it, alcohol isn’t exactly good for you, and brands need to start showing that they understand and care about this beyond a ‘drink responsibly’ line tagged on a bit of content.

In fact, the old aspirations and status of ‘getting wasted’ are slowly dissipating. It’s now about getting a buzz from the experience and rituals of drinking, rather than the drink itself. Alcohol ads have always been well regulated and restricted, but where we used to ignore moderation, maybe it’s time to embrace it? The Lagavulin ad, simply called ‘Yule log’ was a 45-minute silent dram with Nick Offerman, where he comfortably stares at you for the duration. This might sound creepy, but the way it’s been produced makes it incredibly cool. There’s immense comfort in his slow appreciation of a good whisky, to the hygge effect of the cosy room and roaring fire, and solace in the quiet, contemplative, ‘no effort required’ nature of this clever bit of content. Heineken has also created a jazzy, powerful ad ‘Moderate Drinkers Wanted’ which shows the unattractive side of inebriation, celebrating moderation. It can be done, and done well.

3. GET US OUT OF THE HOUSE

Recent stats show that 28% OF Millennials can’t be arsed to leave the house to drink, and would rather stay at home.

Brands need to think about how to motivate people and get them excited enough to go out. Facebook events could help – these are mainly groups of already engaged audiences and enable brands to tailor content around an event. From Post Polls (If you do a poll, make sure it affects the outcome of the event), Memes, Competitions, teasers, online experiences, it’s worth getting people excited and geared up for a magical evening, and starting the event early.

The best example that comes to mind is Secret Cinema (if you haven’t been, go –  you’ll remember it for the rest of your life) – the world-famous events company finds inspiration in cult films, builds immersive movie sets full of actors and invites you to be part of the story. Every single event is preceded by social immersion into the world of the film – you might join a secret organisation on Facebook, proclaim your character’s attendance on social, chat with other people attending the event, and pick up on little clues as to what might happen when you get there. It never fails to make sharing content around the event fun and exciting. Something which booze brands could definitely do more of around their events.

Equally, it’s worth incentivising consumers to share their content during the event. You need to make sure everyone’s using your hashtags, and you either offer to share the best on your feed to help them pick up more followers, or have an unusual, conversation-starting prize.

4. LET YOUR CONSUMERS STEAL FROM YOU

Many brands create their own merch,  but how many of them are so good at it that it creates an army of petty thieves or “lateral salesforce”? Getting quality branded merchandise into people’s homes gives them a constant reminder of the brand, and can also act as a conversation starter with guests and potential new consumers. And in light of the fact that many people prefer to stay at home to drink, it’s more important than before.

Take the Hendrick’s Tea set for example – serving your friends a cocktail from this rare and unusual teapot never fails to incite a comment or a quick social post. It also taps nicely into the new home-drinking trend with some inspiration for mixology.

Or perhaps, you could let them steal your expertise? The Smirnoff Instagram your fridge campaign came with a simple challenge – share your fridge content, and they’ll send you a bespoke cocktail recipe with what’s available. With an exponential rise in artisan cocktails, could brands help us make more of our ingredients at home? A monthly cocktail prescription, perhaps?

5. WE THINK, THEREFORE WE ‘GRAM

We worked with some influencers for Aperol Spritz a few weeks ago, at the Big Spritz Social. One of the main features was an orange canal big enough to row a boat across. We were amazed by just how many pictures the ‘creators’ took around the canal before they even had a sip of Aperol – just to get that one perfect shot. It’s not dissimilar for your spirits consumer either. We’ve all been through the ritual of taking a picture of our concoction at its most perfect – garnishes and all – and the more you can help make that FOMO inducing, the better.

In fact, the younger generations are buying into the experience economy more and more. They’re spending less money buying things and more money on doing things. Experiences are seen as status symbols, and it’s no wonder. A trip abroad, or experience can easily provide them with more content than material goods, some memorable highlights to add to their social feed.

But, as well as making sure your signature serve is enough to bring on a bout of jealousy, you need to think about the environment they’re drinking it in. You might not have an orange canal, but there are other ways to make smaller, memorable experiences in bars. We worked with Hendrick’s gin recently to make harmonious music with cucumbersbehind the bar – letting people create their own musical tracks by touching sound-inducing cucumbers while enjoying a cocktail. And sending them their track afterwards to share on social. Chivas created an ‘Ice Press‘ – a wonderful bit of kit that transformed a block of ice into a perfect sphere for the perfect dram. So you just need to make sure that every time they enjoy your brand, they don’t just drink it – they experience it.

And don’t just think about this as an opportunity for a static gram. More and more people are taking boomerangs, using Instagram stories, Snapchat filters etc. So your environment needs to help them play with all those features.

6. THINK LATERALLY ABOUT INFLUENCERS

Every booze brand knows it’s best practice to engage influencers within or parallel to the category, but real cut-through comes from looking further afield and tapping into lateral passion points and interests.

To do this successfully, you need to know what your consumer’s passion points are outside of the category – and a lot of the time, it’s not as obvious as you’d think. Take, for example, the recent campaign from the Ardgowan Distillery – where a trio of Arctic explorers were challenged to hike to the South Pole for Hogmanay and partake in the world’s most southerly dram – only using renewable energy. They might not have had the biggest following, but the campaign tapped into the audience’s maverick side and it became a much wider, PR-able story.

When you do start working with these more relatable influencers, you’re going to have to be brave because they’ll want to do things their way. No one knows their audience better than they do – what they’ll respond to, what makes them click that like button. So give them some creative leeway to show their passion for your brand.

7. TURN BARTENDERS INTO YOUR PERSONAL INFLUENCERS

Only one person is standing between your discerning drinkers and your product in a bar – the bartender. They’re not the subservient agony aunt of yesteryear, just waiting to hear all your problems. They are (for the most part) ambitious experts who can keep you ‘in-the-know’ about the latest trendy cocktail or spirit. You need to get them on side so they can help get us millennials excited about your brand.

But you’ll have a lot of competition. The mindset for many bartenders is to work behind the bar for a while, build up a social following, and become a brand ambassador or start their own business. They’re hungry to become the influencers of the booze world.

We’ve always treated bartenders like influencers – getting them involved in the creation of signature cocktails, events, making sure they always have a show or a story for customers.

It’s worth helping them make the most of their own social channels too (Whether it’s for the drinking establishment or the bartenders themselves). When we started training up the Glenfiddich Ambassadors, we showed them how to effectively use social channels, provided them with assets and copy, identified people they should be following and engaging with, and even kept them up to date with different functionalities. It might sound like a lot, but the more you connect with them, the more likely they are to recommend your brand.

While engaging full-time professional bartenders is great, don’t forget about all those people who don’t treat bartending as a career. There’s a bigger opportunity for something more than the usual cocktail competition that aligns with everyone’s values –  maybe an entrepreneurial challenge – something which focuses on their side hustle and gives them a bit of creative fodder.

Now, who fancies a handcrafted, small-batch dram of whisky?

The post How To Invite A Millennial For A Drink appeared first on Vivaldi.

The much anticipated show was a lot smaller in scale compared to the huge, glitzy productions of previous years. Despite this, social granted inclusion to an otherwise exclusive event.

The past few years have represented a step change in the way luxury brands approach digital advertising. In a market that makes money from the very nature of its exclusivity, luxury brands have previously felt put off. However, many have started to shift their budgets to digital.

In order to really embrace the potential influence of digital and social, luxury needs influencers – or creators – to give them their preferred title. Whatever you call them, they are the people people listen to before they make purchases, especially when it comes with a hefty price tag.

The consumer is changing

People don’t trust brands. This isn’t new news – people have always trusted their peers over brands with sales targets. But when it comes to luxury products this is even more pertinent. As there are no product benefits, advertisers are essentially selling the feeling of desire. Traditionally this would manifest itself in half-whispered words, abstract colours or intense eye contact. But today’s consumer can see through that – so much so that McDonald’s is now using these tropes to parody launch a hamburger. To engage today’s consumers, luxury needs creators to help them drive desire in a more authentic way.

The way we shop is changing

Online reviews, makeup tutorials and even the apps we use are changing the way we shop. According to Mintel, 74% of consumers use social media when making a purchase decision. You only have to scroll through Instagram to see how social media is adapting to suit a more seamless shopping experience. Immersive stories draw us into an emotive experience for longer; while ‘Paid Partnership’ posts signpost when we’re seeing an ad from our favourite creators. More practical functions like ‘swipe to shop’ and shoppable posts mean you barely need to leave the app to spend.

Advertising is changing

The good news is that luxury marketers seem to be cottoning on. According to The New Face of Luxury report by Econsultancy and the Fashion and Beauty Monitor, 73% of luxury brands surveyed are active within influencer marketing. However, the report doesn’t fail to note that these departments are in their infancy, suffer from budget constraints and still worry about exclusivity of their luxury products. But now is not the time to lose faith in the influencer model. We can no longer ignore the ad-free way people are choosing to consume content. And it’s not just adblockers and Netflix; the launch of YouTube Red will mean subscribing to watch content without ads. Enter creators: the perfect partner for your luxury brand.

Creators provide authenticity and aspiration

The reason we can relate to creators is because we see something of ourselves in them: perhaps they’ve come from a similar background, represent our core values or just have the same hair colour as us. As a luxury brand, if you can enlist a creator that is the living breathing embodiment of your brand then you’ve broken down the fourth wall. Creators make the aspirational lifestyle more achievable for average Joes, which makes them more likely to buy luxury. It’s a year round opportunity that doesn’t depend on occasions, seasons or flashy TVCs.

Creators can produce high quality content, fast

Most luxury brands will be put off by creators’ ‘authentic amateur’ status. But typically, they needn’t worry. Despite being more accessible or authentic than traditional celebrities, creators are professional, often have their own dedicated teams supporting them, and are experienced in working with brands. Ultimately, they are able to deliver high quality content very quickly, and come with their own media. Most creators are ultimately extremely slick, broadcasting businesses that know their audiences and their output better than anyone. It’s actually agencies and clients that are slowing things down with our endless rounds of amends and multiple points of contact, according to influencer powerhouse Lilly Sing.

Creators are seen as trendsetters

Some final and perhaps unsurprising stats relevant to luxury brands: 77% of Generation Z said they trust their favourite creators and see them as the trendsetters more so than brands. More surprising is that trendsetters with a smaller following have a bigger influence. In fact, Kim Kardashian’s conversion rate is worse than a banner ad. If you think about it, it makes sense. Smaller followings mean its easier to be super targeted when it comes to passion points – so you could end up using more than one influencer for the launch of a new seasonal wardrobe for the fraction of the price of one Kim K. This is exactly what Tommy Hilfiger did in 2015 with its ‘Hilfiger Island’ campaign, using eight influencers across fashion, lifestyle and photography to target different passion points and trends with one campaign. Its reward for using creators in an original way? 27m impressions and 442% ROI. Not bad for a bunch of amateurs.

The post How To Create Inclusivity In An Exclusive Market appeared first on Vivaldi.

“This generation is a key marketing target because they are aging into their prime earning and spending years and starting to reach milestones (getting married, buying homes and having children) that will have them reconsidering how they make purchases,” the market research firm states in its June 2017 report titled “Marketing to Millennials – US.”

For brand owners within the consumable consumer packaged goods (CPG) and foodservice industries, this impacts not only the food and beverage products being developed, but also how to communicate with this generation.

“At its core, social media started as a way to connect friends online,” Mintel’s report states. “However, in the hands of millennials, social platforms provide a variety of other functions.”

For example, 27 percent of millennials stated social media is good platform for brands to reach them. On an index to average measurement (noting that an index of 100 equals average), millennials index at 147 on this statement. These results were based on 712 Internet users aged 23-40, who were part of 2,000 user-polled groups 18 and older that were surveyed online by Lightspeed/Mintel.

“Millennials are more likely than the average to use social media to connect with brands and improve their career or job prospects,” Mintel states. “Younger millennials (aged 23-30) are the segment driving these behaviors, reflecting a commonality with older members of the iGeneration.”

Millennials attitudes about brand engagement are prompting brand owners to explore new avenues when it comes to marketing tactics.

“Like all consumers, millennials don’t trust advertising, and they hate it,” says Tom Ajello, global chief creative officer, and Erich Joachimsthaler, chief executive officer and founder of New York-based Vivaldi. “We find that a unique combination of what we call the power of the six Cs works: connection, collaboration, crowd, conversation, commerce and communications. This model makes the consumer a participant in creating the value for them. They become an active part in the brand’s conversation.”

Ajello and Joachimsthaler expand upon this participation with more specific examples. “They look for content that is authentic and personal; short videos, user-generated better than marketer generated, telling a story better than messaging,” the two explain. “Targeting has to be highly personalized, they grew up with product reviews and social tools to share opinions before committing to purchase. Behavior is very tribal (crowd), like-minded consumers that are networked.”

Finding the right outlet in which to market to millennials could be vital to brand owners as Mintel reports that the generation still remains ahead of the curve when it comes to the latest trends.

“Even as they age, millennials are clearly still at the forefront of trends, with data showing they are more likely to agree that social media, tracking of personal data, remote working arrangements, and personalized advertisements have a positive impact on their lives,” the report states. “The data continues to support the recommendation that marketers trying to gain acceptance for new business models, new technologies and even new communication strategies may want to start with a millennial target.”

Although the market research firm notes that millennials could become regimented as they age, the generation still remains a solid testing ground when it comes to industry trends.

Healthy attitudes

Although digital technologies and services commonly are linked to millennials, many analysts also will highlight the impact this generation has had on the food and beverage industries and ultimately, retailers and foodservice providers.

Experts note that millennials want to be an active part of the social media conversation. Inspired by a consumer-driven social media initiative that gave fans the power to choose its next beverage flavor, Sparkling Ice released Black Cherry in 2015. (Image courtesy of Talking Rain Beverage Co.)

“Our 2016 report, ‘Foodways of the Younger Generations – Millennials & Gen Z,’ found that millennials can tell ‘good’ food from ‘bad’ food and as a group have been well-schooled in healthy eating habits,” says David Wright, senior marketing manager at The Hartman Group, Bellevue, Wash. “As a digital generation, they have an amazing amount of information at their fingertips. They continue to grow their knowledge through friends and a variety of media channels. Like older age groups, millennials who have ventured out on their own (living away from home) are focusing on foods that are minimally processed, organic, with simple and recognizable ingredients.”

This is similar to the coming-of-age years of Generation X and baby boomers. “Millennials tend to look like older cohorts (Gen X, boomers) when it comes to health and wellness,” he says. “Those who have ventured out to live on their own are more interested in developing healthy eating and exercise habits and tend to say they looking for healthy, less processed food.”

However, millennials who still live at home with their parents can be the exception to this as they will pursue convenience and indulgent treats, similar to iGeneration teens, Wright says. In general, millennials view their eating habits as healthier compared with previous generations. However, family dynamic does impact meal choices for millennials.

“Millennials (as well as the older generations) believe they eat better than their parents,” he says. “They believe their choices are healthier, less processed and more natural. Millennials without children are the most interested in global cuisines. Millennials with children live scattered, busy, chaotic lives and are often just trying to get a decent meal on the table. Parents’ daily reality of family life and picky eaters makes it harder to be culinary explorers and also gets in the way of healthy eating.”

In a September 2017 Insights titled “Who’s Buying Clean Label Products?” from New York-based Nielsen, the market research firm details that sales of traditional products are on the decline, yet “clean” products remain on the rise. Sourcing 52-week data ending July 8, 2017, from Nielsen Product Insider, powered by Label Insight, Nielsen found that the share of clean label across total food and beverage is 33 percent, which is 1.2 percentage points higher than two years ago.

When it comes to pinpointing the shoppers who are fueling this growth, Nielsen points to two generations: millennials and Generation X.

“Interest in and purchase behavior vary by both income level and age group,” the Insights states. “Across generations, millennials and Generation X consumers are more likely to seek out and purchase products that are labeled organic, free of GMOs (genetically-modified organisms), and don’t include added hormones.”

Vivaldi’s Ajello and Joachimsthaler also highlight the natural ingredients and adventurous food trends of millennials, but note that food and beverage can be viewed as an extension of millennials’ personalities.

“[Millennials] use food as a form of self-expression and [a] form of creativity and sense of design,” they say. “Food is about connecting to their identity, not just nutrition.”

When it comes to beverages, Ajello and Joachimsthaler say that Jazz-age cocktails, bourbon and beer cocktails have gained a nationwide presence, in addition to prohibition-icha drinks, including a resurgence of French 75s, whiskey sours, Manhattans and southsiders.

The generation also will look at a balance of eating right and exercising to support physical, mental, emotional and spiritual health, the duo adds.

Dining decisions

Although previous generations frequent dining establishments, the millennial generation has become well associated with their likelihood to dine out for meals.

Ajello and Joachimsthaler note that millennials show higher preferences of dining out compared with Generation X and baby boomers and also will spend a higher percentage of their discretionary income on this expense. This taps into millennials experience-seeking ways as they search for flavors, innovative restaurant concepts and global exposure, they add.

The Hartman Group’s Wright also details the importance that ethnic diversity has on the generation when it comes to dining experiences.

“The ethnic diversity of the millennial demographic has created an adventurous palate,” he says. “As a result, they are more likely to seek out ethnic food experiences than other cohorts. But along with Mexican, Indian, French, Thai or Middle Eastern cuisine there is an attraction to fast food and fast casual restaurants that meet their budget needs and accommodate their busy lives.”

Because millennials will dine at various types of foodservice outlets, it also highlights the food diversity they embrace.

“This combination of palate and price translates to use of a unique mix of quick serve/fast casual choices, including popular chains (like Chipotle or Taco Bell), a favorite gyro shop close to a campus or a Thai place they frequent with friends,” Wright says. “This food diversity is most dramatically illustrated by the shift in college on-campus food services. Examples of traditional dining hall fare are dwindling and being replaced by grab-and-go options, vegetarian dishes, ethnic cuisine, locally sourced food and, on some campuses, a grocery market option where students can buy fresh and fix it themselves.

“The fact is that millennials choose to dine out a lot,” he continues. “They distribute their choices between full-service restaurants (54 percent) and quick-serve (71 percent) establishments while also choosing (more than any of the other cohorts) to incorporate takeout/delivery (43 percent) into their regular dining options.”

You gotta shop around

Today’s shopping trends highlight the growing influence of omnichannel shopping for consumer packaged goods. However, millennials are more likely than previous generations to embrace digital shopping solutions.

Products that support clean-label trends resonate well with millennials, analysts note. JUST Infused are made with Adirondack mountain spring water with the addition of organic fruit and spice essences, the company says. (Image courtesy of JUST Goods Inc.)

“Millennials are the first real digital generation, so, not surprisingly, they are leading the charge on everything online — shopping, coupons and product research,” The Hartman Group’s Wright says. “Still, over half claim to clip paper coupons as they strive to make ends meet.”

Yet, digital solutions for consumable purchases are not as popular as social, video, music or GPS-enabled apps and services. According to Mintel’s report, millennials index above the average for online services such as grocery delivery, mobile apps for coffee pick-up and meal kit delivery. However, none of these finished in the Top 5 of “must have” online services.

Although digital solutions for consumable purchases still has more room for growth when it comes to millennials, the generation still has broken from the norms in its grocery shopping habits.

“When grocery shopping, they don’t buy a lot of stock-up items,” The Hartman Group’s Wright says. “Compared to older generations, this group buys fewer items from key grocery categories and purchases more items that reflect their needs for quick and on-the-go solutions. What drives millennial loyalty to grocery stores is price and proximity, as is true of older generations.

“Convenience is a key driver, as they are running as fast as they can, whether it’s to and from their children’s soccer practice or from their jobs/classes to their after-work/school activities,” he continues. “In keeping with their expectations for transparency around who made it, how it’s made and what’s in it, millennials like a good brand story more than other cohorts. However, they are cash-strapped, so price will often trump a good narrative and social cause. As-good-as store brands have wide appeal to many.”

Wright notes that millennials also have a strong connection to local brands, prompting them to be supporters of shopping local trends.

“As a cohort, it’s important to them that they are supporting their local community and local workers through their choice of products,” he says. “This generation is not as focused on packaging information as older cohorts. Boomers are scrutinizing labels much more closely than millennials. For the most part, millennials aren’t that interested in reading the labels even though they talk about watching sugar and salt intake.”

In addition to packaging information, or the lack of reading it, millennials’ shopping behaviors also has varied slightly in regards to impulse purchases. In a May 2017 Insights titled “The Alcoholic Beverage Opportunity: Understanding Boomer and Millennial Shopping Behavior,” Nielsen examined category shopping fundamentals across generations. The results suggest that the generation is less impulsive when making alcohol purchases than older generations.

“Given the growing spending influence that millennials have, a recent category shopping fundamentals study delved into how impulsive their shopping behaviors are when it comes to alcoholic beverages,” the Insights states. “And possibly surprising to some, the study found that millennials are not the most impulsive shopper group when it comes to alcoholic beverage purchases.

“In fact, according to an October [2016] Nielsen survey, 18 percent of baby boomers who bought adult libations in the past 30 days had made an impulse purchase, compared to only 11 percent of millennials,” it continues. “At the same time, 16 percent of millennials said that it wasn’t until they were in the store that they ‘recalled’ the need to make a purchase. Comparatively, the majority of millennials and boomers say they plan their alcoholic beverage purchases before they shop.”

Another distinction between the two generations is the tie to brands when making alcohol purchases, which can benefit brand owners looking to capitalize on this variance. “More than half the time (52 percent), boomers make a shopping trip knowing which brand they plan to purchase, compared with less than a quarter (24 percent) of millennials. As millennials have fewer planned brands in minds when heading to the store, it leaves ample opportunity for retailers and suppliers to influence their in-store purchases.”

However, not all alcohol segments are left to chance when purchasing brands. Nielsen found that millennials are more likely to plan Champagne purchases when compared with table wines or other alcohol purchases. “In fact, when it comes to brand-specific shopping, 27 percent of millennials know what Champagne brand they will be purchasing versus only 21 percent of wine,” it states.

This article was originally published in Beverage Industry.

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With Amazon making acquisitions left and right to ramp up their retail presence, people are quick to panic. Palms sweating and heart racing, this full-on retail-induced frenzy is far from the fun kind.

Have we reached the finale of retail? Is this where it ends? One King Kong-sized, e-commerce giant coming in to demolish the retail world as we know it?

Stop. Take a step back, breathe, find your center and clear your mind.

Amazon may have swooped in with a vengeance and a creative way to expand their business, but what does that really mean for the retail world? For decades, the retail experience has looked very similar, no matter what store you walked into or where it was located. A customer enters a shop, is greeted or not by a store associate, there is an assortment of products sold, and the customer chooses to buy or not. Well, are you the same as you were decades ago? Probably not. So why has retail strategy looked the exact same for so long?

Perhaps Amazon is not the enemy who comes in to destroy everything in its path, but the knight in shining armor that’s actually here to save the retail world. Don’t believe it? Retail has needed a kick in the pants for a while. Instead of innovating and trying to push the boundaries, especially with the rise of e-commerce, many have decided to stay stagnant and rest on their laurels. Their old, traditional laurels. This Amazon “scare” may just be the fire under brands behinds to take their retail strategy more seriously and reevaluate what they need to do to best serve their needs and their customers’ needs. This is the time to take a step back and really think about what the retail experience means for your brand and for your customer.

Why not lose faith in retail? E-commerce may be growing at a faster rate but revenue in physical stores is still positive with a 1%-2% growth. Moreover, e-commerce still represents less than 10% of total retail sales and is expected to remain below 20% in the next 5 years.

Now, this fact may be the reason why retailers feel as if they do not have to evolve. They may think, “Hey, physical shopping is still generating 90% of all sales, so we can’t be doing that bad!” Wrong. The trend clearly shows that e-commerce is on the rise and will continue to rise over the next decades. The time to act is now.

So where do we go from here?

It’s almost 2018, so let’s catch up. 

The traditional ethos of retail strategy was to build, build, build. Go big or go home. Get your storefront anywhere and everywhere, from malls to street corners, so people knew your brand and had access to your product. Well, e-commerce has made everything accessible to just about everyone, so building for the sake of building is not a necessity anymore.

Think strategically about what makes the most sense for your brand. Is it stores in lucrative locations? Is it pop-ups that give you the ability to change locations? Is it strategic partnerships that combine your own retail experience with another’s? Is it a curated store experience? Find what’s best for your brand and run with it.

Where am I again?

Just as Airbnb allows a person to feel as if they are a local rather than a visitor, consumers no longer want to walk into a store and feel as if they could be anywhere, or nowhere, or in some nondescript mall. When I go into a J. Crew in San Diego I don’t want it to feel as if I’m in New York City. Warby Parker does a great job of integrating their stores into each specific neighborhood they inhabit. Every location has a different design, enhancing the customer’s feel for the neighborhood they’re visiting. So the Warby Parker store in Venice Beach is completely different from the one on the Upper East Side of Manhattan, but both perfectly fit into those neighborhood pockets – and into the larger WP brand.

You can call me on my cell phone.

For better or worse, we’re attached to our phones. We always have them, they’re usually in our hands, and we feel lost without them. So instead of making our extra appendage obsolete in a store, give us a way to use it to our benefit! Sephora does a wonderful job of integrating their app into the in-store experience. Customers can scan products and receive ratings, reviews, and other helpful information as they browse the shelves themselves.

Experience, experience, experience.

It’s like a broken record – but one that happens to be right on track. A physical store is an opportunity for your customer to have a tangible experience with your product. It may not be the customer’s first interaction with you as a brand or where they first discover you, but it’s an important customer interaction nonetheless. This is not to say that the in-store experience needs to be over the top and completely out of the box. It doesn’t need all the bells and whistles – but it does need to align with who you are as a brand and the benefit you want to give your customer.

So why not go full e-commerce and ignore retail all together? Well, it has been shown that omnichannel shoppers, those who shop on- and offline with a specific retailer, buy 250% more than their online-only counterparts. Amazon may have come in and thrown a wrench into the retail game, but instead of panicking, let’s welcome it. Retail strategy has to change, and while it won’t all happen at once, finding the right retail strategy for you and your customer is imperative today. Remember, even after King Kong came in to save the day, he still tumbled to his fate.

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