All posts filed under: brand storytelling

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Extra Gum – The Story of Sarah & Juan

Published by Aiste Juozaponyte

Wise men say, only fools rush in. Or so tells us Elvis Presley’s famous “Can’t Help Falling In Love”, which plays a key role in Extra Gum’s latest brand ad. “The Story of Sarah & Juan” is a love story unwrapping in front of the viewers’ eyes: the first look, the first kiss, first celebrations and fights, and lastly, a much-anticipated and intimate proposal. In the center of this emotional story is Extra chewing gum, redefining the classical ‘Romeo and Juliet’ theme to today’s romance among millennials. Released only a couple of weeks ago, the video generated 74 million views in its first week alone. So how is it different from all the other romantic brand videos? Actually, Extra executes a rather simple style of storytelling. But what really catches our attention is the heartwarming love song and the lack of dialogue, proving that sound is pivotal for emotional stories in video content marketing. The video also advocates diversity (hence, the male protagonist is not John but Juan), and scores big in the category of …

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How To Master Marketing With Company Apps. A Checklist Loaded With Inspiring Examples.

Published by Susann Fischer

Even though smartphones and tablets are no news to the world, digital transformation is still a buzzword and mostly one of the biggest challenges for companies. While most companies continually relaunch their websites a few times, they do not take up the challenge to use apps as a new marketing channel. As a marketing manager who works for an IT service provider, I encounter hundreds of app ideas on a daily basis. But when I look at Apple App Store or Google Play to check out how companies use apps to promote their brands and products, I am astounded by how few apps are available and that just a handful of brands manage to create a great user experience. The key ingredients for a great marketing app The basics alone could fill an entire book. I’m sure you also hear about it every other day. So you know that you need SMART goals for your marketing campaign, as well as a target group and a content plan. All the basic marketing concepts apply to mobile …

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IKEA – 2016 Catalog App

Published by Aiste Juozaponyte

The leading Swedish home furniture retailer IKEA has just dropped its long-awaited 2016 catalog. It’s more than 300 pages long, it’s heavy and, as always, it’s full of great and affordable furnishing ideas. But it’s the IKEA 2016 catalog app that we’re more excited about. The very first thing that strikes the eye when you open the new catalog in the IKEA app is the superb high-quality appearance. The pictures look sharper than on paper, and that’s an achievement. When customers opt out for the digital version of a well-known product, they expect the same or even greater quality of pictures. After all, it is the first attribute that leaves the strongest impression. IKEA’s quality is great, so we swipe the page. And this is where the app outshines all the previous IKEA apps – it’s a true celebration of clickable interactive content and emotional storytelling. The app is equipped with six orange buttons that each uncover a different and innovative way to explore IKEA’s newest products. IKEA fans will not be surprised to discover the virtual …

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Five Minutes

Published by Aiste Juozaponyte

Thought zombie apocalypse movies are scary? Try playing an online zombie game, where the protagonists’ lives depend on your mouse skills. We are talking about the much-praised Five Minutes, a branded interactive film slash zombie game created by two German students Maximilian Niemann and Felix Faißt. The idea started as a film school project – the duo decided to create an ad that would be both a brand experience and at the same time not be overloaded with sales messages. Their final idea was so brilliant that it instantly caught the attention and support of G-Shock (brand of Casio) and production company Unit9. The short-movie/game directly submerges you into the story of John, who fights against zombies. The only problem is that he has lost his memory. You as a user help John to keep his concentration throughout the interactive experience by completing short tasks with either a desktop mouse or on a tablet. Users can choose to play between three levels – tourist, moderate, hell – and thus help John retain his memory to survive. Once you …

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What I learned at Fashiontech Berlin from a Content Marketing perspective

Published by Susann Fischer

What does fashion, technology and marketing have in common? More than you might think! To begin with, the fashion industry is a highly competitive market and fashion brands are willing to dip their foot into new marketing trends to stand out, sooner than any other industry. While I snitched an apple watch from our developer test devices stock, and checked out what the fuss is all about, people at Fashiontech were already wearing intelligent scarfs, 3D jewelry and smart fabrics.   During the Fashiontech sessions and personal talks 3 points were made. Mobile Marketing is more important than ever Personalized snackable content and digital storytelling are THE solutions for content marketing on mobile and wearable devices The world has never been so visual 1. Why Mobile Marketing is so important Mobile devices, especially smartphones are the #1 devices when it comes to screen time and personal engagement. People spend more time in apps than in mobile browsers and there are an average of 26 apps installed on every smartphone. Mobile Marketing is not about ad …

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4 Cases of How Travel Brands Utilize Storytelling

Published by Aiste Juozaponyte

Travelling and stories go hand in hand. It would probably be unimaginable to travel somewhere far away and not bring back exciting stories to share with your friends and family. Well, summer is finally here, so we decided to take a look at how and where travel brands utilize the power of storytelling. Today we present you with four excellent cases that display how successful travel brands employ digital tools, original content, friendly staff and much more to motivate, inspire and engage with their customers. Expedia  Expedia is mostly known for being a go-to companion for helping you book cheaper vacation deals. Travel is its number one story. Expedia started to embrace innovative storytelling techniques for its campaigns before the storytelling boom was even here. In 2012 the brand launched a ‘Find Yours’ campaign, emphasizing personal travel experiences by integrating user-generated stories along with photos and videos. For example, one of the best films centres on a father’s emotional journey regarding his daughter’s same-sex wedding. With the help of social media, the brand also set out to produce …

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Eater – One Night at Kachka

Published by Aiste Juozaponyte

Ever wondered what a day in a life of a restaurant looks like? Or how many vodka shots it serves per night? A team at Eater (your go-to source for delicious food news and dining guides) created a very creative and interactive piece on a Russian food restaurant in Portland. “One Night at Kachka” offers more than just a glimpse of what goes on in a restaurant throughout one day. The narration goes deeper and combines customer interviews, staff impressions and anecdotes with great storytelling, photography, videos, playlists and gifs. The piece starts off chronologically, depicting the start of a working day at Kachka. As the piece develops further, and more people come in for appetising eastern specialties, the left-hand side shows calculates how many guests are dining, the number of pelmeni (delicious Russian dumplings) consumed, vodka shots ordered and even the bucks earned. This simple, yet innovative way to present a restaurant and its authentic kitchen is not only excellent for a brand’s identity, it is very handy for all the foodies (making us want to …

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Peugeot – Graphic Novel

Published by Aiste Juozaponyte

Peugeot’s take on digital storytelling is greatly known for its graphic novel inspired by the HYbrid 4 technology. The story of a female hero is presented in a digital comic-strip style, and embeds scrolling with interactive storytelling. As one scrolls down, four different Peugeot travel modes and their capabilities are highlighted. Moreover, each and every one of these is reenacted by the heroine, creating a suspenseful storyline . Built responsibly to fit any screen, this graphic novel signifies a great example of interactive storytelling. Moreover, Peugeot was actually ahead of its competition when this digital story was created in 2012, as it showcases the most important elements used for similar projects today – such as scrolling, great sound effects and immersive narratives.

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Bacardi – Our Story & The Spirit of Bacardi

Published by Aiste Juozaponyte

When you think of rum, the brand Bacardi will be probably the first one to pop up in your mind. It is indeed one of the most popular alcoholic beverages, but not so many are familiar with its fascinating history. Bacardi is actually the largest family-owned spirits company in the world. It was founded by Don Facundo Bacardi Masso, who was an active fighter for Cuba’s independence in the late 1800s. His son, Emilio Bacardi, was arrested, exiled and imprisoned twice for fighting against the Spanish rule in Cuba. His real goal was to change his country and introduce the world to the true taste of rum. Bacardi’s ‘Heritage: Our Story’ is an interactive audio book presenting the history of the Bacardi family and their most memorable moments in creating the drink and positioning it amongst the most popular alcoholic beverages in the global marketplace. It is part of the “Bacardi: Untameable Since 1862” campaign. The interactive story is embedded with real audio recordings of Bacardi family members recounting on the start of the company …

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How Fashion Brands Use Digital Storytelling

Published by Aiste Juozaponyte

How can a brand go from a self-made online auction store to one of the fastest growing retailers in less than a decade? Is a moving picture worth more than a thousand words? The two magical words – brand and storytelling – seem to be inseparable today in 2015.  Marketers’ radars are all directed at finding more innovative ways to let their brands speak, tell their unique stories, and utilize innovative technology to achieve that. Combined with social media, the brand’s story lets you tap into consumers’ emotions and create a direct link, which ideally leads to brand awareness . Today we take a look at four popular fashion brands that use immersive digital storytelling and promote not only shopping, but also lifestyle experiences. Nasty Gal When a fashion brand is not even 10 years old but is already a multimillion dollar business, you know it does something right. And that might just be almost everything – from selling clothing directly to consumers at high gross margins (without fixed retail costs) to communicating with its customers and …