LBi

LBi Cannes Panel Standing Room Only

Posted by LBi June 23rd, 2011

Our panel at Cannes yesterday was a smashing success! Thanks again to our friends at Coca-Cola and Nike for sharing their insight and expertise.

Panel Summary:

Most companies invest in advertising to boost brand awareness, but what happens when you own some of the most famous brands on the planet? What’s the point of advertising?

Many of the world’s biggest brands have known for some time that there’s more to marketing than making yourself famous, but now companies of all shapes and sizes are harnessing digital channels to translate consumer awareness in to engagement, loyalty and ultimately sales.

The reason for this is simple: people now expect more from the brands in their lives. They look behind the promises made by marketers. They seek out content and services that add value to their online experience. They expect to be spoken to rather than shouted at. In this always-on, hyper-connected digital world in which we live it’s no longer enough for brands just to focus on boosting brand awareness.

This workshop is a practical exercise giving delegates the chance to learn from some of the best-known brands on the planet. Following a brief presentation outlining innovative digital ‘engagement’ projects from around the world, participants are tasked with responding to a real-life client brief.

Breakout groups are mentored by workshop practitioners before being asked to present their five-minute pitch Pecha Kucha-style the end of the session.

Using proven training techniques, the mentors help inspire delegates to develop ideas that make the best use of digital channels to engage consumers. Mentors showcase digital planning techniques, past success stories, key insights and data to help stimulate the groups.

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The Cannes Lion Festival of Creativity

Posted by LBi May 22nd, 2011

The Cannes Lions Festival of Creativity is gearing up to take place June 19-29. Dubbed as “the world’s only truly global meeting place for creative professionals in the communications industry,” the festival takes place in the famous Palais de Festivals and boasts attendees from around 90 different nations. This year’s noted guest speakers include Foursquare’s Dennis Crowley, Arianna Huffington, Malcolm Gladwell, James Murdoch, and Patti Smith, to name a few. If you, like me, were wondering what Patti Smith will be doing at the Festival, she’s speaking at the aptly-titled “Music Legends Seminar.” Get your tickets while they last.

One of the many exciting things happening at the Cannes Lion Festival is YouTube’s Good Work at Cannes Lions project that LBi New York’s very own copywriter extraordinaire Alejandro Quilici is taking part in. The ad-focused competition asks NGOs worldwide to submit briefs that young creatives will then use as their basis for a video tasked with raising awareness and encouraging more people to follow their cause. Some of these organizations include PetRescue, LOVE146, and Friends with Things, the last of which Alejandro chose to work with. Friends with Things strives to create a “global neighborhood” by encouraging neighbors to share their time, their skills, and extra goods with each other.

Alejandro expressed that his inspiration for the video was simple: after thinking about the process people go through when they need something that can only be obtained by asking for it, he realized that many put up their own personal roadblocks, such as shyness or self-limitation.

“If you don’t ask, then how are people supposed to know what you need,” said Alejandro. “So with this in mind, I thought the best place to talk to people and get my point across was to plant the message where their thoughts live – in their respective heads.”

This is the final product, straight from Alejandro’s imagination to your desktop:

The videos with the most “likes” will be presented to a jury that will choose the finalists. Winners will travel to the Cannes Lions Festival and showcase his/her winning work to the top creatives in the advertising industry.

Help us support Alejandro and secure his spot in front of the jury at Cannes by clicking “like” on the video’s YouTube page, and then sharing on Facebook, Twitter, or any other form of effective communication (may we suggest carrier pigeon?)

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LBi and Hendrick’s Gin claim queen bee status

Posted by LBi May 13th, 2011

Pardon all the Anthophila related puns, but the worker bees at LBi are buzzing over the latest news coming out of San Francisco: LBi has won the Social CRM Bees Award for the campaign developed for Hendrick’s Gin!

For the campaign. LBi’s consumer focused research showed that once engaged with Hendrick’s, it was a likely to be their brand of choice.  LBi’s findings also demonstrated that recommendation via word of mouth could be directly accountable for around 50-80% of trials within this sector and was the most influential factor in encouraging consumers to choose Hendrick’s over other brands in the premium gin market.

Informed by this research, the campaign was driven in two key strategic directions: developing an interactive website, the Hendrick’s Curiositorium, and an ongoing Social CRM campaign that created enduring brand advocacy by identifying and segmenting consumers from the Mildly Curious to the Wildly Curious and engaging with them using multiple channels and in particular social media. 

Specific calls to action, were developed to entice the consumer up to the next level of segment, for example, e-invites to various unusual and peculiar Hendrick’s events.  Ultimately, the aim was to drive consumers up into the top Wildly Curious segment, living and breathing the Hendrick’s brand, effectively spreading the word of Hendrick’s through their own social networks and amongst their peers.

The number of consumers recruited into the Curiositorium program has been substantial, but more importantly, the sales impact has been significant with Hendrick’s gaining market share within key markets.

To learn more about the Hendrick’s Curiositorium campaign, check out our video case study here.

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