With three union jack waving events back-to-back in the form of the Queens Jubilee, Euro 2012 (more George Cross, than UJ granted) and the Olympics, there’s many streets in Britain that will have bunting up for three months or more this year. With this epic Britishness window comes a flood of marketing activation and communications leveraging the opportunity too.
There wont have been a marketing exec meeting in the land this spring which hasn’t had the, “how can we exploit, I mean celebrate, these occasions?” question posed. And for some this has resulted in effortless and well connecting communications. Whilst other brands have brought us what looks more like lipstick on a pig, or perhaps a corgi is a more fitting reference for the occasion.
Here are a selection of our favourite finds. Please add your own in the comments box below.
First Prize
There weren’t enough pun executions for my liking in the Jubilee advertising season. Rarely is it acceptable, but this is one time when a big slab of British cheese is exactly right. Great work from Buxton Water on this front. And when you get in to the detail of it you see it’s a more interesting proposition linked to an elegant party at the Eden project. Although I found the online experience to find the party details a tad more difficult than I hoped. But perhaps like sunshine on a flotilla parade, getting everything perfect is a bit too much to expect.
Best in class
Pret used the opportunity to do their bit for the streets of London, and I assume the nation. They captured one of the unwritten benefits of a national event; the chance to get your best jacket or frock out and feel good for a day or two. Of course John Lewis got in on the action too, but not with as much of a M&S ‘coronation chicken special’ or Sainsbury’s ‘ham & mustard 2012’ flavour. Just gentle bunting shots, picnic promotions and relevant partner tie ups.
Slap a ‘jack on it’
So who hasn’t used the union jack this season? But these two for me personify the, ‘Why not – we’ve got nothing to add, but nothing to lose!’ approach used too often. The first example is from Vaseline and the world of lip balm and the second from the more niche customised radiator market (from The Design Show – exhibitor not captured). And if it’s stretched to these two lesser spotted sectors, you know it’s rife in almost every other!
There have been some fantastic explosions of patriotism in retail windows this season. Something the online players have failed to be capture as well. I spent an afternoon in Winchester over the Jubilee weekend and was amazed at the quality of the independent traders efforts. But from a national chain perspective there were a few which caught my eye again and again. Charles Tyrwhitt and Cath Kidston both got the window dressers to create original themes which also pushed product. And every time I walked by them I felt justifiably ‘jubileed’.
Really!
Finally there are those who majored in ‘Shouty man’ at advertising school, with a minor in ‘How to bring the tone of any occasion down’. Venture photography and the pro’s Paddy Power didn’t disappoint with their ‘Laughing Liz’ creations. Paddy Power also took ‘integration’ to a new level by blending the Jubilee with the Euro tournament in one execution. Talk about stretching the marketing budget that little bit further! Hideous? Possibly. Hilarious? Absolutely.
So there we have it. Of course many more took part. In fact it would be easier to count the brands that didn’t. But these examples above others caught the Marketer’s Diarists attention. Do let us know if you feel you have worthy winners for any of the categories, or indeed categories of your own for us to add.
In due course we will also bring you our Euro 2012 and Olympics 2012 reports too.
Posted by Christopher Brooks
Lexden is a marketing strategy agency which creates unordinary propositions to motivate customers and deliver commercial advantage for brands.
For more information on how we can help you, contact christopherbrooks@lexdengroup.com orajairanawat@lexdengroup.com, or call us on T: +44 (0)20 7490 9123. And you can follow us on Twitter @consultingchris.
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