Brands react to the cost-of-living crisis, new features on shopping & social, and ketchup-loving robots
Welcome to issue #004 of CriticalReading - your resource for the sharpest insights and trends across Strategy, Creative, Performance and Communications.
This month, we're exploring how brands are behaving during the cost-of-living crisis, as well as examining new features on shopping and social.
Strategy: Heinz launches premium sub-brand ??
In the midst of all the conversation about the cost-of-living crisis and how it’s causing people to pull back on spending, it’s interesting to see that Heinz has launched a new premium sub-brand (in the US only for now).
The Heinz 57 collection is (in the words of the brand), “an elevated line of culinary sauces & spreads which give chef-inspired consumers the solutions they need to transform simple dishes into mouth-watering creations”.
With products that start at the equivalent of ￡5.60 this might seem like a counter intuitive move when people are counting the pennies, however it could be a very smart move for two reasons.
So, what does this mean??
Yes, people are cutting back, but there will be people who will do that by not taking a holiday or eating out less. These people will still want a regular treat so may trade up when it comes to their food shopping for the weekend. When times are tough, food is a great way to lift your spirits! Brands in categories that are more-or-less essential could stand to benefit from this reallocation of money.
There are also more affluent people who are less affected by the cost-of-living crisis and can continue to spend on premium products. Levi’s recently shared results showing that sales of its lower priced products have slowed this year while its premium lines have continued to grow. Not every audience will be looking for lower priced products.
Creative: ‘No frills’ doesn’t have to be ‘no fun’ ??
In January, food writer and anti-poverty campaigner Jack Monroe called out the diminishing size – and increasing price – of supermarket budget ranges, at a time when inflation was already starting to bite hard.?
The rise in importance of value brands got us questioning - can the design of a value brand help customers choose during a cost crisis?
One of the biggest and most recognisable value brands in Canada is No Name/Sans Nom. Its iconic design features a bold yellow background, black Helvetica type and a deadpan literal description of the contents.?Such a bold and confident approach shows that value brand design can have personality, and even be cool.
In the US, Target’s?Smartly?brand – where most products are under $2 – approaches value by matching white with an optimistic pastel colour palette, simple iconography and no-nonsense product descriptions. It’s basic with a positive attitude. The look and feel also ladders up nicely to Target’s clean, cool overarching brand, which uses plenty of block colour, cut-out photography and a confident typeface.
So, what does this mean?
One of the roles of a brand is to simplify decision making, which is particularly crucial in times of crisis when customers are having to make tough choices. Having a clear and recognisable brand identity for budget products can make that decision easier.
In the end, there is only so much that design alone can do to help customers make decisions during a cost crisis. But when designing for value brands, ‘no frills’ doesn’t have to mean ‘no fun’.
Performance: Smart Shopping updating to Performance Max ??
It’s happening! As of this month, Smart Shopping campaigns will begin to be automatically updated to Performance Max based on the features in use, with some campaign types such as Vehicle Ads, not expected to be updated until 2023.
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Google will let you know up to three weeks in advance that this is happening, and the ability to automatically update is already available for those who want to make the leap a little early, but the question remains, should you upgrade?
From past experience, Google products aren’t always the best, fully formed offerings when they come out of beta, or even 12 months after they become available to the masses - as is the case with Performance Max.?
So, what does this mean??
As with any AI based system there needs to be a period of learning before you get the best out of it. We are advising clients on how to mitigate any initial drops in performance, and we should all remember that these campaigns are supposed to enhance and work alongside your keyword based campaigns, which you have much more control over.
Communications:?LinkedIn trials native carousel posting ??
Users have been posting carousels on LinkedIn for a few years now – since the ability to attach PDFs to your updates was introduced back in 2019. But now the platform is trialling a new native carousel posting option to make the process easier and fit-for-purpose.
Less faffy than the current workaround, LinkedIn has clearly cottoned on to the fact that people want to present their content more visually but similarly don’t want to be limited to uploading one supporting asset.
A new study from Social Insider has also revealed that ‘native documents – as in?posts consisting of PDFs uploaded directly on LinkedIn?- generate 3 x more clicks than any other type of content’. This, alongside stats showing that engagement on LinkedIn is rocketing with the booming post pandemic job market (a 34% YoY increase in revenue was reported by Microsoft in April), suggest that the platform is on to a winner.
It’s rumoured that the new feature will be open to all users later in the year and we’re sure it will be welcomed with open arms.
So, what does this mean??
A more user-friendly solution to the current makeshift document sharing option, we think this could be the first of many new developments on LinkedIn. What's more, as organic reach on Instagram plummets, LinkedIn surely becomes more and more appealing for marketers seeking engagement. If you're not currently using LinkedIn as part of your marketing strategy, perhaps now's the time to get involved.
Critical Reads ??
?? The Guardian's Amelia Hill explores Britain's 'great unretirement', as the cost-of-living crisis forces over-50s back to work.
?? In the wake of Instagram's TikTok-style updates, a petition to 'Make Instagram Instagram Again' has racked up over 191k signatures.
?? This fascinating read from Axios suggests that the end of the social networking era is nigh, as Facebook favours consumption over connection.
?? As a break from all the social media doom and gloom, we spent far too long watching this endless digital art. Incredible stuff.
Campaign of the moment ??
?? Rethink Canada produce a follow up to their highly-acclaimed 'Draw Ketchup' campaign in the most 2022 way ever, using AI system DALL-E2. Turns out, even the robots enjoy Heinz on their chips. Well played.
CreativeRace?is a a?fully integrated, independent marketing agency based in Leeds. We've launched CriticalReading to share the sharpest insights and trends across Strategy, Performance, Creative and Communications. We'd love to hear your thoughts on the above - don't be shy, get involved in the comments below ??