Scott Goodson's Cultural Movements Blog

Welcome to StrawberryFrog Brazil

Ranking of the world's top 100 brands

It's humbling and inspiring to see that some of our clients are ranked among the world's best on the recently released Financial Times Global brand report. The headline: New upstarts, primarily in the tech space, are challenging dominance and control legacy old timers.

Here is the ranking according to the FT. You can read about their methodology here.
1 Google
2 1 Microsoft
3 1 Coca-Cola
4 2 IBM
5 3 McDonald’s
6 1 Apple
7 -2 China Mobile
8 -6 GE (General Electric)
9 2 Vodafone
10 = Marlboro
11 2 Wal-Mart
12 6 ICBC
13 -4 Nokia
14 -2 Toyota
15 * UPS
16 35 BlackBerry
17 -1 HP
18 -1 BMW
19 10 SAP
20 3 Disney
21 4 Tesco
22 8 Gillette
23 4 Intel
24 7 China Construction Bank
25 1 Oracle
26 35 Amazon
27 5 Bank of China
28 27 AT&T
29 * Louis Vuitton
30 5 HSBC
31 New Pampers
32 New Nintendo
33 -11 Cisco
34 -1 Verizon Wireless
35 -7 Porsche
36 New Visa
37 -16 Wells Fargo
38 10 Santander
39 6 NTT DoCoMo
40 -4 Mercedes
41 -27 Bank of America
42 -1 Dell
43 6 Accenture
44 -5 Pepsi
45 -7 L’Oréal
46 -26 American Express
47 -3 Carrefour
48 -14 RBC
49 -34 Citi
50 -13 Honda
51 -4 Siemens
52 18 Budweiser
53 -3 Orange
54 11 Ebay
55 22 BBVA
56 15 Colgate
57 -11 Target
58 8 H&M
59 -6 Nike
60 13 Subway
61 New TD
62 26 Movistar
63 20 T-Mobile
64 New Wrigley’s
65 30 Auchan
66 -14 Chase
67 -8 Nissan
68 New DHL
69 * FedEx
70 -30 Home Depot
71 18 MTS
72 New Beeline
73 -19 Canon
74 New Aldi
75 19 Avon
76 8 Zara
77 New O2
78 22 Standard Chartered
79 New Red Bull
80 New China Merchants Bank
81 -19 Yahoo
82 * Hermès
83 -8 JP Morgan
84 3 Ariel
85 -3 Tide
86 * Gucci
87 12 MasterCard
88 -31 Goldman Sachs
89 -33 Starbucks
90 3 Barclays
91 -13 State Farm
92 -29 Morgan Stanley
93 -50 ING
94 New KFC
95 -9 Ikea
96 New Nivea
97 -7 Esprit
98 New Bradesco
99 -8 Tim
100 New Lowe’s
Note:
1 The brand value of Coca-Cola includes Diet Coke, Coke Light and Coke Zero
2 The brand value of Pepsi includes Diet Pepsi and Pepsi
3 Budweiser’s value includes both Bud Light and Bud
4 ING value includes ING Bank and ING Insurance
* Restated to refl ect additional data inputs. Ranking change therefore not comparable

How to create a social media campaign

I have had quite a few emails about this lately so thought I would simply post this NY Times piece:

TOYOTA likes to think of its quirky, boxy Scion as a 21st-century chariot of the soul — not just an affordable car, but also a unique expression of the young, hip person who Toyota hopes is driving it.

Scion drivers can have their coats of arms painted on their cars.

Now Toyota’s Scion enthusiasts will have even more “me time”: a marketing campaign with an underground vibe that is intended to show just how much their chosen transportation reflects their personality.

With an eye to the social networking ethos that has made Facebook and MySpace wildly popular, Toyota will let Scion owners design their own personal “coat of arms” online, a piece of owner-generated art that is meant to reflect their job, hobbies and — um, O.K. — karma.

In making their personalized crests, Scion owners can choose from among hundreds of symbols, all designed by a professional graffiti artist. The symbols range from an eagle, a jester, a king’s crown and a worker’s fist to Japanese anime-style flowers, a three-person family and a yin-yang circle. Customers can download their designs and have them made into window decals or take them to an auto airbrushing shop to have them professionally painted onto their cars.

The Scion is an economy car aimed at younger, stylish drivers, and the design Web site, scionspeak.com, is free. But Scion enthusiasts must pay for the auto shop renderings of their design, an indulgence that can cost thousands of dollars.

The campaign, called Scion Speak, was created by StrawberryFrog, an advertising and marketing agency based in New York that is known for its quirkiness and for representing new or hipster brands. The agency spent six months last year escorting a graffiti artist, Tristan Eaton, around New York, Los Angeles and other cities to talk to Scion owners about their lifestyles. Based on those conversations, Mr. Eaton designed the symbols.

“These guys love to personalize their cars, and we give them a tool to do that,” said Kevin McKeon, the executive creative director of StrawberryFrog in New York.

At the same time, Scion Speak is meant to be about more than the individual. “We brought the people we’re communicating with into the process and had them build the idea with us,” Mr. McKeon said. “That’s what we find particularly cool from our perspective.”

The closure principle

Jennifer Wells of the Globe & Mail had an interesting observation.

“The closure principle states that people tend to perceive an incomplete picture as complete. That is, we tend to fill in the blanks based on our prior experience. This principle explains why most of us have no trouble reading a neon sign even if several of its letters are burned out. The principle of closure is also at work when we hear only part of a jingle or theme. … Marketing strategies that use the closure principle encourage audience participation, which increases the chance that people will attend to the message.”

From the just published The Truth About What Customers Want ... ‘and why they buy,' by Michael Solomon, professor of marketing at Saint John's University in Philadelphia.

Cannes: Baccari e Sechi giurati italiani per Design e Direct. Nessun membro ‘tricolore’ nell’Outdoor

Giuria Outdoor Lions (presidente, Akira Kagami, Executive Officer & Global Executive Creative Director, Dentsu, Giappone). Brasile, Alexandre Peralta, Chief Executive Officer & Chief Creative Officer, StrawberryFrog; Argentina, Gonzalo Vecino, General Creative Director, JWT Argentina; Australia, Matt Eastwood, Vice Chairman & National Creative Director, DDB Sydney; France, Anne De Maupeou, Co-President, Marcel; Germania, Christian Mommertz, Executive Creative Director, Ogilvy Frankfurt; India, KS Chax, National Creative Director, DraftFCB+Ulka; Singapore, Victor Ng, Executive Creative Director, Euro RSCG Singapore; Sud Africa, Andrew Whitehouse, Executive Creative Director, FoxP2; Spgna, Jürgen Krieger, Executive Creative Director, Grey Barcelona; Thailandia, James Dennis Makanas, Creative Director, BBDO Bangkok; United Kingdom, Graham Fink, Creative Director, M&C Saatchi; Usa, José Mollá, Founder & Executive Creative Director, la comunidad.

Millions of eyeballs are glued to TV in Brazil

StrawberryFrog Brazil has pulled off an innovative stunt that captured the attention of the entire country by gluing the entire cast of the national reality TV show BBB Big Brother Brazil 20 meters/65 feet above the stage during the popular nationally televised show.

The Henkel glue brand got a half an hour of brand exposure on one of the country's most watched shows, reaching big ratings in this season's show.

"Glued strong" was presented in front of more than 100 million Brazilians on the Big Brother Brazil's experiment.

Secured by Super Bonder, by Henkel, in a Tyrolean traverse, it seemed daringly unsafe. But, on the contrary, the people on the show were absolutely safe. The only thing that made impact was Super Bonder - the leading glue brand in the market in sales and with this event, in brand entertainment too.

"Thesedays it's hard to make a fast moving consumer product, something as ubiquitous as glue brand as cool as an iPod and in the middle of a recession. But you can if you are resourceful and innovative. Today any brand can become famous quickly by understanding the vast changes in media and marketing, being well rehearsed and it doesn't hurt to understand the power of social media expanding the idea a million times over," says Peralta, StrawberryFrogs CEO in Brazil. "Our goal was psychological impact, yet the members of the show were never in any danger but the drama, the anticipation, the pure drama made the power of this glue brand not only extremely clear, but millions of people could feel it's power in their stomachs. You won't forget that kind if marketing very soon.

Joel Amorim, the CMO OF Henkel Brazil said:

"This campaign was not simply a Product/Brand Placement on prime time, it was THE Brand entertainment TV event sponsored by our brand Super Bonder. The PR alone has been extraordinary. People are talking about our product features, our "Fast, Strong, Convenient" multi-material selling proposition but in a way that hugely relevant to our consumers. StrawberryFrog Brazil came up with a big idea that gave our brand a tremendous resonance but also it was a very cost effective campaign that reached a massive audience - our "Superbowl audience" in Brazil (100 MM consumers - prime time) and demonstrated that even in a time of economic crises brands can grow because of breakthrough ideas.

Why investing in marketing now is important

The New Yorker has a wonderful article on their financial page today about the importance for brands to invest in marketing now. It argues that companies have to worry about two kinds of failure in the recession: “sinking the boat” (wrecking the company by making a bad bet) or “missing the boat” (letting a great opportunity pass). Today, most companies are far more worried about sinking the boat than about missing it. That’s why the opportunity to do what Apple and Kellogg did exists.

Hanging tough

In the late nineteen-twenties, two companies—Kellogg and Post—dominated the market for packaged cereal. It was still a relatively new market: ready-to-eat cereal had been around for decades, but Americans didn’t see it as a real alternative to oatmeal or cream of wheat until the twenties. So, when the Depression hit, no one knew what would happen to consumer demand. Post did the predictable thing: it reined in expenses and cut back on advertising. But Kellogg doubled its ad budget, moved aggressively into radio advertising, and heavily pushed its new cereal, Rice Krispies. (Snap, Crackle, and Pop first appeared in the thirties.) By 1933, even as the economy cratered, Kellogg’s profits had risen almost thirty per cent and it had become what it remains today: the industry’s dominant player.

You’d think that everyone would want to emulate Kellogg’s success, but, when hard times hit, most companies end up behaving more like Post. Read more >>>

The unConference, see you there

Mary and Kevin of the One Club have taken the creative conference concept to very cool next level. I'm going, hope to see you there.

The One Show Creative unConference will take place in New York for two days (May 7 & 8) marking the first time ever that the advertising community in New York has hosted this hip and unique event, announced Mary Warlick, CEO The One Club.

Presented as part of New York’s first ever ‘Creative Week NYC,’ the unConference favors a flexible, participant-driven format. Unlike a traditional conference, where topics and speakers are set by organizers months in advance, unConference participants create the agenda live the day the event happens. This allows participants to engage up to the minute ideas.

“The One Show Creative unConference is about thought-provoking discussions with the brightest minds in creative media,” says Kevin Swanepoel, president The One Club.

“No stale pitches from sponsors, no dated presentations. If you are eager for an opportunity to engage with a diverse group of leaders in your field in a fast-paced, flexible format then you're the right person to come to the Creative unConference.”

While participants set the agenda and session topics the day of the event, space will be reserved for sessions on two separate tracks: The Digital Advertising track, produced in association with The Society of Digital Agencies, will focus on sparking a dialogue about the effects of new technology and the current economic environment on the business and creative aspects of digital advertising; The Independent Agency Forum will be an opportunity for the founders and chief creatives of smaller and independent agencies to exchange ideas and discuss the business and creative issues they have in common.

Participants for The One Show Creative unConference include: Michael Ferdman, Firstborn, New York; Jason Koxvold, Perfect Fools, New York; Jan Leth, Ogilvy, New York; Susan Credle, BBDO, New York; Scott Goodson, StrawberryFrog, New York; Steve Mykolyn, TAXI, Toronto, Michael Lebowitz, Big Spaceship, New York; David Angelo, David & Goliath, El Segundo; Mike Geiger, Goodby, Silverstein & Partners, San Francisco.

Questions unConference attendees will be engaging include:

# "How will technologies like smartphones, netbooks, and GPS devices change advertising in the near term?";

# "How are the shifts happening in the media landscape going change my creative process?";

# "What changes are needed in the training and education process to properly prepare students to enter the world of advertising in the 21st century?";

# "How will the current economic climate affect the digital marketing industry?"

# "How can social networks be properly incorporated in a brand's marketing strategy without compromising the brand or alienating consumers?"

“Creative Week NYC” is presented by The One Club with the cooperation of NYC & Co. and partners including SoDA and SheSaysUS. The Daily Beast, Tina Brown's news and opinion service, will be the anchor online media sponsor with Sony ATV coming on as a partner.

For complete information go to www.creativeunconference.com.

India has realised the importance of country branding

India wants something that no global economic powerhouse should be without: an international symbol for its currency. A rupee sign that will become as known and respected as the US dollar ($).

The most recent birth of a financial symbol was the Euro (€), which had a very complicated path to the world.

The Indian government's search for the perfectly formed sign is via an open competition, which stipulates that entries "should represent the historical and cultural ethos of India."

What is most interesting about this decision is that India recognizes the importance of branding. This is a most significant step.

The BBC writes about it here.

Google and media woes

Some say it is time to 'reboot' the advertising and media system. Some agencies, especially the legacy agencies, fear Google most of all. For example, the combined value of all WPP companies, doesn't equal the value Wall Street places on Google.

In the media world, the newspaper bosses are coming out swinging for a change. Perhaps because the newspaper world faces an even starker reality than the traditional advertising conglomerates. The BBC reported today that Google boss Eric Schmidt criticized the newspaper world in a keynote address at the Newspaper Association of America's (NAA) annual conference in San Diego and said that the "majority of newspapers should be online." In the face of this, the newspaper bosses threw it back at Google by saying, also with criticism, that Google should share some of the millions it makes from newslinks.

The BBC reported that: "Media owner Rupert Murdoch has questioned if aggregators like Google should pay to use content.

The Associated Press is to sue to protect its content as a time when the industry is losing readers to the web.

"I would encourage everybody to think in terms of what your reader wants," Mr Schmidt told newspaper bosses.

"These are ultimately consumer businesses and if you piss off enough of them, you will not have any more," he warned the Newspaper Association of America's (NAA) annual conference in San Diego.

While he praised the way newspapers initially embraced the internet, Mr Schmidt said they had since dropped the ball allowing the likes of Google to take over content distribution.

"There wasn't an act after that. You guys did a superb job, and the act after that is a harder question."