Marketing Inspiration #8

Marketing Inspiration #8

Your monthly dose of inspo to boost your marketing mojo.

Here are some brand new insights from Automated Creative’s Shiny New Object podcast, where senior brand leaders share their vision for the future of marketing.

“Be careful not to surrender your core emotional connection to the whims of the marketplace”

- Elizabeth Windram, Global Head of Mobility Marketing, Masterbrand and Membership, Uber

For Elizabeth, brands need to learn when and where they should “show up” in order to create and keep true connections with their consumers. But this needs to always be a logical moment for the brand’s values. In the case of Uber, whose mission is to change the way the world moves for the better, intervening with free transportation initiatives for refugees from the Russian invasion of Ukraine was a logical step that aligned with their brand ethos.

In this case, as Elizabeth puts it, “we have not just a right, but an imperative to speak and to act there.” These are the types of moments when a brand stays true to its core emotional connection with consumers, strengthening its message. Find out more about how to do just that here.

“Know who you are and do it on purpose “

- Julie Austin, Marketing & Digital Director, Bravissimo

One of Julie’s favourite pieces of marketing advice comes from none other than Dolly Parton, and it points to brands understanding their true values, mission, and target audience. Once marketers are clear on how they want their brand to be perceived by consumers, they can decide on creating a customer journey that is more or less seamless.

That’s because Julie believes in positive friction - a customer journey that doesn’t immediately take a buyer to checkout, but creates a deeper connection with the brand they’re buying from. Positive friction leads to increased satisfaction, brand loyalty, and repeat business, which ultimately can bring more profitability.?

“We are looking more towards the 700 million imperfect flexitarians than the 7 million perfect vegans”

- Patrick Neyret, Marketing & Innovation Director, DACH, Plant-Based, Danone

When brands look to drive positive impact while also creating business growth, having grey areas is normal, according to Patrick. Nowhere is this clearer than in plant-based product development, where he believes it makes sense to open the door to the middle ground rather than be “preachy.” This is part of the way that Patrick reflects on his Shiny New Object, the ability to translate purpose and sustainability into commerce. He is always looking to tell stories that drive positive change, but also resonate with consumers.

Listen to Patrick talk about purpose-led marketing and his other top tips here.

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Automated Creative Case Study - Aviva

We worked with Aviva to help the brand understand which creative triggers drove attention from consumers. Our campaign led to a 32% improvement in ad recall rates through optimised Facebook ads which refreshed in-flight to avoid content fatigue.

David Byrne, Brand Marketing Lead at Aviva, said:

“Automated Creative delivered impressive results and gave us new first party data into the creative triggers that work for our audience”.

Read the full case study here.

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This month’s ‘Best Marketing Tip’?

“AI is not a strategy on its own. AI is an enabler for business strategy to [...] achieve better results.”

The Digital Innovation Manager in North Africa, Gulf and the Middle East for Unilever, Fatima Baz, shared her passion for innovation for using AI in business marketing when we interviewed her on the Shiny New Object podcast. She advised businesses to have AI embedded in every department in order to make the most of it. By feeding it more complexity, it will have more cognition to be able to provide better outputs. It’s essential that AI is an integral part of a brand strategy, and not just a standalone element of it. Then, by combining a well-built AI with human intervention, brands can reap the benefits of innovation in marketing.?

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People have been saying nice things about Automated Creative

"AC has been a great support to evolve the way we think about paid media using their technology to optimise our social & display ads. The collaboration is easy and efficient, they have delivered impressive results and strong insights that we are now deploying to support our strategies and our creative process"

Marion Thébault - European Senior Content & Cx Manager, Mars Petcare.

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Automated Creative are Hiring

AC are looking for a Senior Client Lead to run campaigns with world famous brands. We're reinventing work as much as we are marketing, and are looking for someone entrepreneurial who wants to explore strategy, client management, technology, and data - more info here.

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And there is more Marketing Inspiration this month on Advertisers Watching Ads - our show where brands watch other brands’ ads and discuss their merits and failings, in partnership with Contagious.

In March, we watched Cadbury come up with a dubious Valentine’s Day alibi and we learnt about Cancel Court for brands. The ads chosen by our partners Contagious also featured a climate change apocalypse set in Grand Theft Auto and a mellow radio ad we didn’t expect from McDonald’s.

Have a look back at this month’s episodes to see what our guests from Gousto, Innovate Comms, Reckitt, FARFETCH, PepsiCo, Unilever, HSBC, Huawei, Mediahub and MPB had to say about each of the ads.

Do you want to share your thoughts about these ads or suggest a new one for us to debate? Email us on [email protected].