An intimidating encounter with the unfamiliar!

May 29, 2016

We live in an age flourishing with daily innovations and are steering towards very unfamiliar grounds even to those fluent in the latest tech & digital developments. I am often confronted with a “no thank you, social media is not for me” or a “no i’m not a tech person” by various professionals holding key positions in the marketing industry.

While this task might seem daunting to few, the intent of this piece is to remind you that our industry was founded on the basis of understanding consumer behaviour. These same innovations had a monolithic impact on the way we share and consume information, so our ability to connect with our audience lies in our apprehension and knowledge of these novel tools so we can in turn develop bespoke marketing strategies that are un-interruptive and relevant.

Included below are interesting examples of creative work showcasing how some brands leveraged social media and technology to create more meaningful connections with their audience.

Skittles Touch The Rainbow

A quirky and humorous social media experiment that took the social media networks by storm back in 2011. Skittles ran these tongue-in-cheek 60 second spots daring the viewers to touch the rainbow. So why don’t you give these a try beginning with the light weight version and work your way up to the more adult rated versions.

Ikea Augmented Reality App

Ikea sought to overcome one of the major challenges its consumers undergo when picking furniture. So they developed an application combined with the powers of augmented reality to make the whole process simpler and fun.

Intel Beauty Inside

Storytelling at it’s best. This social media experiment invited the audience to become co-creators and pitch in the storyline to play a part in the film(s). At the expense of sounding cheesy I must admit that both story and takeout really live up to the word “beautiful”. It’s a well crafted piece of work that is intelligent and well aligned with the brand’s rally cry “Intel, Look Inside”. So get yourself some napkins and enjoy this award winning social film.

The collection of films link:

https://vimeo.com/album/2229079

So next time you’re faced against an intimidating encounter with the unfamiliar, remember we can only improve by stretching ourselves out of our comfort zone. Isn’t that after all the purpose of our existence?

Your truly,

Philippe Abed
Trend Spotter