Millenials are not a niche "youth"

I was thinking last week about one question the teacher raised in class. Since the youngest consumers seem less interested in Facebook and more in other social media like Snapchat, will Facebook suffer from it or is that a specifity of their age and they will grow as Facebook users as they grow older. I could not make my mind, seeing pros and cons for every side of the argument. But then, after some research I stumbled on a very interesting summary of who are millenials in term of numbers. http://www.millennialmarketing.com/who-are-millennials/
That is when I realized that actually millennials are not a niche “youth” segment but a generation of people who will ultimately give way to a newer generation. Therefore, millennial-focused brands will have to change their game to stay relevant. 

Marriott Launches Global Creative and Content Marketing Studio

Aims to be the go-to brand publisher for travel entertainment

Following the trend of marketers becoming publishers, Marriott International is launching a global creative and content marketing studio to handle internal work for its portfolio of 18 travel-related brands. They view it as the opportunity to be the world's largest producer of travel-related content.

As the largest hotel chain in the world, Marriott aims to leverage its expertise on travel. Similar to the approach that Red Bull and GoPro take with action sports, Marriott wants to own the travel entertainment space—and, in turn, gain the recognition as a trusted source for all travel needs.

"You're most likely to remember something if a friend recommends it," David Beebe, Marriott's vp of creative, content marketing and global marketing said. "We want to take that same approach as a brand through building engaging content communities through social platforms."

The in-house division will have three parts: content development, which will be the personal creative agency; production, or the entertainment division responsible for video content ranging from Web clips to TV shows; and distribution, a real-time marketing group that will monitor social media to ensure immediate interaction with trending topics. Marriott will continue to work with external agencies and other production companies as needed.

Marriott has signed a stable of exclusive talent from the online space, including Sonia Travel's Sonia Gil, stunt team Substance Over Hype, social media news purveyors What's Trending and comedian Taryn Southern. Shows in development include Renaissance Hotels' indie music performance series The Navigator Live; action-comedy stunt show Two Bellmen; and Web series Marriott Rewards' Year of Surprises, which will honor people in the community for their contributions to society. Online series will be broadcast on Marriot.com and Marriot Mobile and through Marriott Rewards and other media channels like YouTube.

Gartner's Andrew Frank said Marriott's in-house approach reflects a general trend in the industry that meets the increasing demand for content marketing, particularly ongoing interactions for long-term campaigns. It can be a risky move, however, because brands can be less experienced in creative and media strategy compared to agencies, but widening media access has made it easier. "Since most agencies are not organized to support content marketing engagements, at a certain scale it can be more cost-effective to bring it in house," he said.

Larry Woodard of digital advertising Graham Stanley Advertising added that brands like Pepsi and Nike have had internal resources for years, and it can be a smart way to create a following and get in touch with your consumer base. "Things are growing so fast and are so divergent from traditional marketing that you need to cast a wide net just to stay relevant,” he said.

Still, Frank noted that it isn't easy to become a global entertainment entity. Marriott, in particular, has an uphill battle considering how many travel programs are already established online and offline. "For every brand do-it-yourself content publishing success story, there's a much larger number of failed attempts. Brands that lack creative core competencies may be surprised at the costs and cultural challenges involved in building a world-class in-house capability," Frank said.

Woodard was skeptical as well. "Neither Marriott nor any other travel giant will be able to own travel entertainment online. For the foreseeable future consumers will be the leading edge of content creation," he said. 

Source: www.adweek.com by Michelle Castillo

How to market a jewelry brand online

Given that our recent guest speaker was from Squarespace and mentioned how important it is to have a website, I wanted to share the basic layout of a jewelry website. Having scoured multiple jewelry websites I came to the conclusion that these headings are must haves to build your visual identity online

Headings & subheadings

              History/Our Story

•       Brand - what does it stand for, USP, values, design aesthetics.

•       The designer - their vision, inspiration and other relevant information

•       Timeline: how the brand has evolved

•       Craftsmanship  -   Consumers want to know how diamonds/gems are sourced and where the product is being made

•       Philanthropy - always helps to show the brand in a positive light

            Bespoke/high jewelry (if the brand offers custom made jewelry)

•       A video showing the designer sitting with a client and the steps involved in making custom orders from start to finish

•       Button on page leads directly to book an appointment

           Boutique/jewelry (affordable collections)

•       Collections: e.g. the Tiffany enagament collection, valentines collection etc

•       Categories: Rings, Bracelets, Earrings, Cufflinks

          Masterpieces

•  Exclusive one of a kind pieces. Also ones that you don’t want to share a price for.

          Press/Featured/In the News

•       Editorial – When featured in magazines 

•       Celebrity – what celebrities are wearing the brand

•       Events – that the brand does/sponsors

        Enquiries

•       Leads directly to form where the options are

•       Request appointment or Request information

      Recommendations also know as Bestsellers – items that the brand wants to push

    

      New arrivals – update as necessary

    

      Retailers/Buy/Shop – update as and when we new partnerships are formed. Good 

      to have a feature that one can search with postcode.

These are some of the best jewelry websites:

http://www.davidyurman.comhttp://us.chopard.comhttp://www.buccellati.comhttp://www.graffdiamonds.com/#/expertise/designhttp://www.theglamculture.com/web/us/#/site/sitemap/hp-stories/hp-gala-on-costa-smeraldahttp://www.vancleefarpels.com/us/en/?from_unlocalized=1
http://www.harrywinston.com/store/jewels/rings-jewels/products/crossover-ring

Cupcake Unicorns and a little company called Coca-Cola

Being consistently ranked as one of the most valuable and recognized brands in the world is no mean feat and when your product is sold in over 200 countries worldwide, it definitely makes sense for the company to invest highly in digital media so as to capture the biggest audience with a fraction of the cost it would take to market on-ground. 

Here are some of the recent marketing campaigns by Coke. Their messaging has always revolved around “sharing” and by making their softdrink share worthy on ground, they have made their campaigns share worthy online. 

1) A video that is naturally close to my heart given my Indian roots is the Happiness without Borders Video. An uplifting Coca-Cola film shows that what unites us is stronger than what sets us apart. High-tech vending machines installed in two popular shopping malls in Lahore, Pakistan and New Delhi, India – two cities separated by only 325 miles, but seemingly worlds apart due to decades of political tension – invited consumers to put their differences aside and share a simple moment over a Coke. 

2) Coke Can lets you twist and share 

3) Share-A-Coke campaign in Britain 

4) Recently Coke came up with a clever new way for students in Colombia to make friends. With the help of Leo Burnett, they designed a bottle called “The Friendly Twist” that can only be opened with the help of another person. Apart from an interesting mental challenge, the design also helped students to socialize without them even realizing it was happening. Watch the friendly twist campus bottles video here. 

Lastly check out Coke’s new digital marketing campaign: featuring 61 websites starting from ahh.com, that are focussed on engaging teens but clearly have a wide appeal. Note: these websites are highly addictive, my favourite is the cupcake unicorn!

While these campaigns may not always lead to a purchase it definitely creates a positive impression in the mind of consumers and the next time one wants to buy a softdrink, all things being equal, you’re more likely to opt for a Coke.