An oldie but a goodie – this is no new campaign but we didn’t want to miss the chance to highlight Volkswagen’s (VW) ‘the fun theory’ campaign as it’s a great example of how a brand’s ingenious use of creativity can help instigate positive consumer behaviour and build a strong following.

VW’s campaign was created in a series of phases:

Phase 1: lead by example - VW demonstrated how making things fun can positively change behaviour with its own three experiments:

1. The Piano stairs:

This resulted in an increase of 66% more people taking the stairs. With the additional online component, the video had over a million views on YouTube.

2. The world’s deepest bin:

Another idea aimed to get more people throwing their rubbish in the bin by making it resemble the sound of a 50ft-deep well. The bin collected 72kg of rubbish in one day, 41kg more than a regular nearby bin.

3. Bottle bank arcade:

Would more people recycle glass by making it fun to do? Designed like an arcade game with music and lights, this bin was used by nearly one hundred people in one evening, compared to the nearby one, which was used twice.

Phase 2: embrace consumer ideas – by holding an online competition, VW invited others to contribute their ideas, encouraging entrants to be strategic in how they could prompt behavioural change through fun ideas.

Whether their ideas aim to help other people or the environment, most of the experiments aim to effect a positive cultural change, such as safer driving, recycling and personal hygiene.

Phase 3: choose a winner – judged by a panel of experts known for either their entertainment or philanthropical values, or both. Click here to see the winner.

In addition to the wide number of consumers it garners, ‘the fun theory’ also demonstrates the longevity these kinds of ideas can leverage. It proves that, not only are everyday people willing to invest their time in good ideas (and in doing so sit side by side a brand), it reminds us how dynamic the relationship can be.

Sure, there is still relevancy in doing the tried and tested when it comes to advertising, but this example demonstrates we can afford to think a little bigger when searching for engagement. How refreshing.

Thanks to: Volkswagen
Posted by: Carmen Campbell

We know consumers associate themselves with brands they have an affinity with, or aspire to be like. In recognition of this, it seems Pepsi has made a bold move to realign its values and give consumers a new reason to associate with the brand, while at the same time removing its advertising spend from the infamous Super Bowl.

Its latest Refresh Project campaign is an investment of US$20 million to create a tangible way of demonstrating the company’s more philanthropic ethos. The idea itself - creating a site that entertains a maximum of 1000 ideas from the public on how it might improve the local community, in a highly interactive way – plays a key role in the shift Pepsi wants to make.

Even though the advertising at the Super Bowl enabled the brand to reach outrageous audience numbers, it arguably lacked that tangible ‘feel good’ factor. The refresh project may not instantly reach massive audience figures, but the level of involvement and engagement with the community will be deeper, and no doubt have more longevity.

Plus, the media Pepsi uses to deliver the campaign embraces the role consumers now want, and need, to play. The brand has entered the new communication landscape where it’s the consumers who have a voice; setting the agenda and then leading the direction they want to go in. Like many other brands choosing this path, Pepsi is currently the facilitator, letting the consumer take the driving seat.

Good on Pepsi. The campaign effuses creativity and emotion, and let’s not underestimate the publicity Pepsi is getting from this move.

Thanks to: Pepsi
Posted by: Daniel Saltalamacchia, University of Notre Dame Australia & trend watcher to WYWW for the month of Feb, 2010

Knowing how to get where you need to go is no longer a problem thanks to the proliferation of gadgets like the GPS and iPhone maps. But what happens when you know instinctively there is more than one way to get to your destination? Which way do you choose?

Enter Waze: a new mobile phone application that, through collaboration with other drivers informs you if the traffic is bad in a certain direction and then offers you a preferable route for that particular moment in time.

Here’s how it works:

Posted by: Carmen Campbell
Thanks to: Contagious, Waze

Achieving cost-effective searches online can be a challenge, especially for companies like UK car insurance aggregator, Compare the Market, where the keyword ‘market’ is so generic it equals expensive.

But this smart campaign really stands out from the crowd. It not only avoids high search costs, but has also more than tripled its web traffic and is creating quite a storm with its entertaining appeal. Its solution - develop an alternative site, comparethemeerkat.com, to help drive more traffic to the official site.

It all started with TV and radio, you can view the TVC below.

The media leads people to a continuation of the story online, which is in fact a gentle diversion to the more serious business of comparing car insurance.

Challenge met – results see the cost per click is reduced from $8 to 8c per click. Driving Compare the Market cost per acquisition down 73%. Traffic increased by 400%.

The campaign is further strengthened with strong integration into the social media environment with Facebook, Twitter and has resulted in a number of spoof campaigns on YouTube, like this one.

“This campaign really highlights the synergy between offline and online media and the importance of ‘closing the loop’ on all campaigns. All possible search terms need to be covered to capture all interest including above the line messaging and tag lines. It’s important to take a broad view with all campaigns and ensure you have search supporting your offline campaigns, so it can capture the increased traffic volumes and drive greater efficiencies through targeting uncompetitive keywords in a competitive marketplace.”

Jon Roberts, General Manager, Columbus

Posted by: Carmen Campbell
Thanks to: Compare the markets, Compare the meerkats, Emma Hall, Advertising Age, Jon Roberts, General Manager, Columbus

IKEA has always stood out for its catalogue, but this latest initiative demonstrates how inviting people to create content can not only be useful, but also inspiring.

Right now in the Netherlands, people have the opportunity to show off their design flare and feature in the online IKEA catalogue. It started in the kitchen and has now progressed to the bedroom.

The interactivity on the website deserves a mention. It provides people with easy-to-use methods of uploading photos of their IKEA kitchen to enter the competition and there also appears to be a live interactive web cam.

What’s really clever about this campaign is that it doesn’t just invite people to participate. It deepens the customer relationship by providing an even greater incentive – if your kitchen is voted, you win back what you spent on it. And, for people who haven’t already designed their kitchen, just by voting you can win a free IKEA kitchen.

As a brand, IKEA continues to innovate with its product and retail layout, but here it also demonstrates the value it places on its customers, while at the same time, compiling the most eclectic catalogue yet.

Just as a side note…

IKEA is a brand we can all learn from. It’s clear from previous marketing campaigns that IKEA’s innovative approach is strongly embedded into its culture.

Here are a few examples we featured in previous issues of WYWW:

Extraordinary retail experience
Mark lives in IKEA

Thanks to: Adverblog, IKEA

The Twitter phenomenon continues. Here’s an example from Vodafone UK on how it can be used in a way that complements an existing campaign, taking the user generated aspect to a deeper level.

To let Vodafone UK customers know that they don’t have to pay global roaming charges while they’re on their summer holiday, Vodafone launched an interactive twitter travel map to invite participation.

People are invited to enter their Twitter details, alongside their postcode and almost immediately they are posted to the interactive map along with hundreds of others.

This campaign works because Vodafone doesn’t forego its brand in favour of the latest hyped technology. Its brand messages and iconography sit alongside the interactive map, while at the same time acknowledging its audience likes to both travel and Twitter!

If you love Twitter, you’ll love these…

There are numerous applications popping up that can enhance your day to day Twitter experience. Some are more useful than others. Here’s just a few:

A place where important people get really famous tweetingtoohard.com

To keep things tidy tweetdeck.com

Questions for the Twitter universe? iknowtweet.com

Create and distribute polls on Twitter twtpoll.com

Thanks to: Vodafone UK, Twitter, Tweeting too hard, Tweet deck, I know Tweet, twt poll