OOO: A Break from Marketing BS | February 2024

1 | The ‘Taylor Swift Effect’ is transforming NFL viewership. Beauty brands are responding.?

Taylor Swift's romantic involvement with Travis Kelce of the Kansas City Chiefs notably elevated both the team's and the NFL's ratings and revenues leading up to the Super Bowl, particularly among female viewers. As a result, this year's Super Bowl unexpectedly become a focal point for beauty advertising, a departure from the norm of the past 57 years where such brands were largely absent from broadcasts. But brands didn't confine themselves to traditional 30-second spots. L'Oreal USA's NYX Cosmetics, for instance, collaborated with Ulta on a comprehensive marketing strategy encompassing strategic content releases, experiential events, an exclusive product launch, all anchored by their Super Bowl commercial.

Do Say: The score? Idk, lmk when the commercials come on

Don't Say: Beauty brands at the Super Bowl? That's suspicious...

2 | Leave the script fonts for the wedding invites.? Tech is going legible.??

We already know there is vast potential for how spatial computing technology (such as the long coveted Apple Vision Pro) will influence?how we design products and services.

The most significant? Spatial typography.

Typography designed for augmented or virtual reality opens up a third dimension that comes with greater interactive possibility - it will have depth, seemingly able to rotate, twist and reposition. Typography will need to adapt seamlessly?with changes in the background. While brands and designers may be tempted to explore 3D type, the top priority must continue to be legibility and accessibility. Monotype predicts geometric?sans serif typefaces will be the most popular in augmented and virtual reality, with a study on emotional responses finding that sans serif fonts suggest 'innovation and distinction'.

Do Say: Is this as clear as it can be?

Don't Say: Let me add one more thing before you go...

?3 | Stanley: get yourself a brand that can do both?

Increased digital adoption has lowered marketplace entry barriers for new brands like never before. However, it's also provided an opportunity for established brands to transform into a digital-content machine.

Crocs and Stanley (with Terence Reilly at the helm for both occasions) have solidified that consumer psychology and digital platform mastery is the key to brand success. According to Divya Gururaj, CCO of Brainlabs, the modern marketplace requires?'brand building with a performance mindset and performance with a brand-building mindset.'?Historically, putting these at odds with each other has created tremendous headwinds for marketers. The Institute of Practitioners?of Advertising?recommends allocating 60% of marketing budget to brand and 40% to demand.?

Do Say: We should put that on the internet!

Don't Say: We don't need a TikTok

We Musk Prioritise Design for All

Last week, Tesla issued an emergency software update to 2.2m of its cars—essentially, a virtual vehicle recall.?

The reason??

The icons in its dashboard interface were not accessible.?

The font size of the visual warning indicators were too small and “could reduce the driver’s detection of it when illuminated, increasing the risk of a collision”, as the US regulator’s report put it.?

Font size and contrast are two of the most basic accessibility rules—in a design 101 handbook, these are on page one.?

So, it’s saddening that these components are often ignored or forgotten by design teams, especially here, where precious human lives are at stake.?

And this stretches far beyond just the automotive industry—all EU companies have until next year to ensure all their products and services are fully compliant with the European Accessibility Act, and it's "Design for all” principles.

At WongDoody, we fully recognise accessible design’s impact on the world and the power it holds— for breaking down societal barriers and, in this case, saving lives.

That’s why our designers are trained by our Accessibility Centre of Excellence to design fully accessible and inclusive experiences. They collaborate with our engineering and testing teams to ensure the final product retains these qualities and we also employ automatic test suites, including our own iATT tool, to continuously audit the live product.?

Ralf Gehrig, Global Chief Experience Officer

WongDoody Shortlisted as Digital Innovation Agency of the Year by Campaign US and UK

Campaign is a leading publication that guides the creative industry through what's now and what's next in marketing and advertising. As they noted in their 2024 Agency of the Year shortlist announcement, “Agencies and individuals on this list have demonstrated creative and media excellence, effectiveness, and ability to outshine their peers in the past year across a variety of categories, including creative, media, innovation, PR and leadership.”?Winners will be announced in March, but we're thrilled to be a top-five contender in both the Campaign US and Campaign UK Agency of the Year award programs! Many thanks to our talented humans and trusting clients.?

CIO Today Names WongDoody's?Mohan Krishnaraj one of the five most successful leaders to watch in 2024

In the January issue of CIO Today, WongDoody’s Chief Experience Officer Mohan Krishnaraj is named one of the five most successful leaders to watch this year, and shares how he's navigating leadership with creativity to reimagine the way we create human experiences. Read the full article.?

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