Monochrome packaging trends, curious consumer behaviour, and the month the news stopped

Welcome to October's edition of CriticalReading. We're back to serve up the sharpest insights and trends across Strategy, Creative, Performance and Communications.

This month, we're exploring monochrome packaging trends, curious consumer behaviour, and reflecting on how brands reacted to the Queen's passing.

Strategy: Counter-intuitive consumer behaviour ??

It’s very clear there is a recession coming.?Whatever you think of the latest budget, we’re already a fair way down this gloomy economic tunnel. And the key question on our minds is how will this affect consumer behaviour - particularly with non-essential or premium products? Will anyone still want to pay any more than they have to in this climate?

Interestingly, it’s often seen in economic downturns that consumers don’t shun premium products as much as would be expected… In fact, they often turn to them.?And it comes down to psychology and wanting to feel in control.

Performance of Company Types During the Great Recession (2008-09)

For?everyday?products, people look to?“reward themselves with premium versions of everyday items”. Items such as nail varnish, premium food products, pet care and alcohol often perform very well during recession.

And for more?premium?items, purchases might drop off in the short term, but consumers tend to bounce back with a-vengeance as soon as they can. At the start of recessions, consumers tend to be more cautious and rational, but as they regain confidence and start seeing the light at the end of the tunnel, they seek out quality products that will last.

So, what does this mean?

So it’s not all doom and gloom. There is a silver lining - and it all comes down to understanding where you sit in consumers hierarchy of needs, and making sure your value proposition reflects this.?

Creative: The bold design trend, where less is more (and more is more) ??

The growing trend for monochrome in packaging is hard to miss.?Eye-catching and full of personality, you might expect monochrome to simplify designs and limit the range of colours on pack, giving a minimalist feel. Yet bright colour palettes, quirky typography and extra product-specific details ensure it does anything but.

It’s a trend that goes hand in hand with the more adventurous, dynamic typefaces that are coming to the fore lately – think Evri’s variable font – because it gives typography the space to shine. There’s also a touch of the retro about it à la Burger King’s recent redesign, which deliberately returned to an old logo first used in the late 1960s. Alternatively, monochrome can give space to more quirky product-specific details, such as the illustrations that add so much personality to Minor Figures coffee cans.

So, what does this mean?

There’s been a ‘sans-serification’ of branding in the past decade – think how similar Google, Spotify and Uber’s brand typefaces are these days – and this trend feels like a deliberate reaction to that. Leaning into a look and feel that’s simple but packed with energy could give brands real standout in the crowd.

Performance: Instagram launches 'multi-advertiser' ads ??

Instagram has launched an interesting new feature - you can now run ads alongside ads. It comes in the form of an ad placement and is called 'multi-advertiser ads'.

When you create an ad to show on the Instagram feed, you can now select the 'multi-advertiser ads' option as a placement at the ad level. Your ad may then appear in carousel format alongside ads from related businesses, supposedly to highly-engaged users.

The goal of the new feature is to make use of Meta's machine learning to help users when they're considering and buying products.

The discovery part of this feature is very interesting, as it allows your ad to display alongside complementary businesses.

So, for example. when people see a wedding dress ad, they may now also see an ad for a wedding cake alongside. Handy, right?

So, what does this mean?

This new feature will help Instagram users to discover your products when they show commercial intent and have a shopping mindset. It seems like a great feature for maximising ad delivery and boosting performances. As always, we recommend taking a 'test and learn' approach to new features, and look to see any uplift in performance after this has been included as a placement.

Communications: The month the news agenda halted ??

This month served as a reminder for marketeers that even the best, most perfectly planned campaigns are at the mercy of the news agenda. And if something as nationally significant as the Queen passing happens, the broadcasting of non-related news stops.?

Advertising paused, TV launches were pushed back, and campaigns were put on ice; a lesson on the fragility of the news agenda and the need for practitioners to adapt and respond (if relevant).?

One of the major debates on social was around the appropriateness of piggy backing on this ‘event’ vs. pausing activity. And, as always, there were brands that hit the right note and others that failed miserably.?

So, what does this mean?

We should remember that there’s a time and a place for everything, discretion is key, and content isn’t always king. Sometimes we need to pause, reflect and take a step back. We might have stakeholders asking what our position is and what content we’re pushing out on our owned channels, but a rushed decision can be inappropriate.

While the need to respond in a timely manner is important, so is making sure the decision is rooted in relevance and strategic thinking.?

Critical Reads ??

?? This sustainable OOH ad from Heineken Brazil uses solar power to chill beer in the bar below, aptly demonstrating the brewer's renewable energy pledge. ?

?? On demand childcare app Bubble celebrates parents for all they are and want to be, and this delightful OOH campaign that uses children's drawings is the app's biggest marketing campaign to date.

?? Challenger water brand Liquid Death has been valued at $700m. Read more about how the brand is flipping water category conventions in this case study over on Contagious.

?? Gen Z can’t get enough of Crocs. Find out which other brands Gen Z like more than Millennials do over on Adweek.

Campaign of the moment ??

?? Ikea's Life Collection commits to finding new homes for abandoned products, with the retailer now buying items back from owners. Set to a soundtrack that wouldn't be out of place in a John Lewis Christmas ad, Ikea & agency Try manage to evoke raw emotion in this 60 second piece on second hand furniture, which poignantly demonstrates the need for second-hand stores whilst promoting the Buyback service. We're not crying, you're crying.

We're launching a webinar and podcast series, and we'd love you to be a part of it. Episode one of CreativeSpace takes place on Wednesday November 2nd, where we'll be discussing Q4 trends and insights for brands and marketers. Click here to register - see you there!