011: MIK MUSELETTER

We’re back with another edition of The MIK Museletter, your fortnightly must-read for industry insights and creative inspiration.?

Top Of Mind

Whether it’s a forty-foot billboard or classified in the back of a newspaper, advertising is made to be seen.?

Right? Well, sometimes.

Great ads don’t always require a visual prompt to get consumers to engage with the brand. At times, it is less about seeing and more about feeling.?

Armed with this knowledge, Coors Light asked a simple question – how can we make an ad that cools people as much as our beer does? And so came ‘Chillboards’ – a series of billboards painted onto the roofs of houses that reflected 85 percent of sunlight to help combat Miami’s frequent heatwaves.?

Whilst ‘Chillboards’ weren’t directly visible to the communities they were in, their cooling effect could be felt, reducing temperatures by up to ten degrees inside the homes they were placed on top of.?

Spotlight On MIK

This week we sat down with Alessandro Spica , our Creative Strategist based in Pisa, Italy.

How can brands authentically engage with consumers?

To authentically engage with consumers, brands should focus on…being authentically themselves.

In a world where ‘fake’ and ‘artificial’ is everywhere, brands should act as real people, building genuine connections and fostering meaningful relationships.?

Being authentic means getting used to:

• Transparency: be open and honest about their brand values, mission, and practices. Customers are conscious of how their behaviors influence the world and want to have clear information about products, sourcing, and manufacturing processes. This level of transparency creates trust and connection with brands.
• Social responsibility: show the brand’s commitment to social and environmental issues that align with the brand values. Engage in sustainable practices, support charitable causes, and communicate your efforts transparently. Consumers increasingly expect brands to be socially responsible, and supporting meaningful causes can help build authentic connections.
• Active listening: pay attention to customers' feedback, concerns, and suggestions. Encourage open dialogue through surveys, social media interactions, and customer service channels. By listening and responding to your customer's needs, you demonstrate that their opinions matter and that you genuinely care about their experiences.

I believe these are the first steps a brand might do, then creativity, storytelling, and personalisation come in support of engagement.

Through a thoughtful and creative approach brands can engage their customers using storytelling to convey the brand's purpose, values, and the people behind it. The most successful brands nowadays use authentic storytelling to share real stories that resonate with their target audience and create an emotional connection. Authentic storytelling helps consumers relate to brands and fosters a sense of authenticity. In this process, brands can involve customers to share their experiences, reviews, and stories about the brand itself. This not only builds trust and authenticity but also involves your customers in the brand narrative.

But ‘customers’ don't exist just in marketing books. Customers are first of all people, and unique human beings. And they demand to be treated as individuals rather than just customers. So brands should tailor their marketing messages, offers, and experiences to their specific needs and preferences. Personalisation shows that you understand and value your customers as unique individuals, making the engagement more authentic.

What’s the biggest challenge in creative strategy today?

The digital landscape is constantly changing, and every day there is a new tech tool, a viral meme, or some new insights that we, as creative strategists, need to take into consolidation in our ideation process.

I think that the biggest challenge in creative strategy is this: the rapidly evolving digital landscape. The proliferation of touch points, the rise of technology, and the increasing dominance of digital platforms have significantly changed the way people consume content and interact with brands. This has created new opportunities for creative strategies, but it has also presented challenges.

One major challenge is capturing audience's attention. With the abundance of content and ads people get bombarded with every day, it has become increasingly difficult to cut through the noise and stand out. Creative strategists must find innovative ways to capture attention and engage their target audience effectively. Another challenge is maintaining consistency across multiple channels and platforms. Ensuring a consistent brand voice, visual identity, and message across these channels can be a complex task.

But also, valuing creativity isn’t something easy to do: measuring the effectiveness of creative strategies and demonstrating ROI (Return on Investment) remains a challenge. Strategists need to establish clear objectives, in accordance with the client’s marketing team, and define specific Kpi, in order to use data effectively to measure and optimize their campaigns.

What’s your proudest moment at MIK?

There are many!

Recently, we have been working on a lot of fun and awesome digital and audio projects, pushing the boundaries of what is possible with our clients.

When I joined a couple of years ago, I was the first European MIK employee outside of Australia.

My role, outside of the creative strategy sphere, has been to launch the company in the UK and European markets. I did focus quite a lot on how to expand MIK’s presence in the UK by building our local teams, supporting the establishment of a London Office, and leading the company’s growth overall in EMEA. I did wear different hats to create the conditions for MIK’s growth and now that the UK team is growing and thriving I’m very proud of what we’ve been capable of doing so far.

What’s got you excited about 2023?

As above, the company’s growth direction in EMEA is my primary focus this year.

We have plans to hire more resources in both London and other places around Europe and this is very exciting.

MIK is a creative studio providing 360° digital services. Based in Australia, working worldwide.?

Get to know us a little better and contact us at [email protected]