Aesop: The making of a Lovemark

Five years ago I washed my hands in a public bathroom and couldn’t help to notice the scent the liquid hand soap had. Normally, I don’t even notice the hand wash, but this one had a wonderful scent. I’d never seen the Aesop brand before, but I was intrigued by the stark design of the product label that made the bottle look more like a chemical compound than a soap.

Five years later, and this time in Zurich, I stumble across a uniquely designed shop; so different from other shop, that I couldn’t help but to stop. The shop resembled a chemist lab with a lot of style. I realise it is an Aesop concept store and couldn’t help but to want to learn more. I walked in.

The shop layout, lighting and product display invite you to come in. 

I spoke at length with the shop assistant who patiently explained Aesop’s background (it is an Australian brand, yes!) and philosophy. I was hooked. Its approach to selling cosmetics captured my attention that I couldn’t let go. No other cosmetic brand has done so for me like Aesop. Want to know why?

It is not the one thing (Not even their wonderful scents) that captured me, but it is the combination of all the small details (present at every touch point) that make the Aesop brand so attractive. Small details that combined under the one brand create an experience worth raving about. See for yourself.

The staff is knowledgeable, patient and focused more on product education than direct sales. Aesop value action more than talk and has the most ‘hands-on’ approach I’ve ever seen in a cosmetic shop. Hand soaps can be tested in store with real sinks.

The brand experience has been really well thought out. The sinks are just one piece of the overall puzzle. Other details worth noting are:

Attention to detail: Gift-wrapping with scientific looking label tied with a natural cord. (Science meets nature theme?)

Attention to detail: Shop bag with printed City Tourist guide. The brand knows its surroundings and pays respect by tailoring its packaging accordingly. In fact, I learnt that it is not only the bags that are customised per location, but also the stores. Each shop is designed differently to fit with its surrounding environment. 

Attention to detail: Shop bag (front side) with artist’s quote. The quotes help build the artistic and intellectual associations that the brand wants to convey. 

Attention to detail: The post purchase experience is finished with a highlight on the best looking (and smelling) invoice I’ve ever received. Makes you want to pay more…

In summary, Aesop we have the making of a brand worth loving. A brand, in my books, well on its way to Lovemark status. 

Candida: Online Brand Name Fail

The Brand Manager for Candida oral care products must be insane or have a sick sense of humor. Why would you create a brand that has the same name as a gut fungus diseases?!

What’s more the brand manager must have never used Google Search. Had they, it would become clear that the effort to rank in Google as a brand name is so distant (because of the fact that there are numerous disease related results) that this brand name has no chance of surviving online.

Type Candida into Google and the top 10 results are dominated by disease related sites. View Candida on Google Images and you get the most disgusting set of images on the web…  

Migros, you guys have this one totally wrong. What’s wrong with a name that reflects the benefits of your product and has potential to engage with online consumers? Oral B may provide you with some guidance. 

Insights from the Digital Guru – Iain McDonald

Iain McDonald is well known in the Australian digital media industry for being the founder of Amnesia Razorfish and most recently the chair of AdTech Australia.

During my time at Amnesia Razorfish I had the pleasure of working with Iain on a number of projects and every time we met I’d learn something new. I thought that the best Amneisa Razorfish leaving present would be to go out for lunch with Iain to talk career, media and life. Here are some gold nuggets from our lunch:

Don’t stress, just do your very best.
Focus on just doing your best. No point worrying. It doesn’t fix anything. Focus instead on what you can do.

Take responsibility
Nothing gets done unless people take responsibility. Those who stand up tall at Amnesia Razorfish are the ones who take responsibility. A good quote to remember is ‘Lead, follow or get out of the way’.

Work to your strengths, but work on your weaknesses
A lot about success is about letting go and working to your strengths. Know what you are good at and what you are not. Figure out if you are best suited for the task. If not, delegate and help others if you can. At the very least know your weaknesses.

The worst thing ever
People not living up to their full potential! Laziness and complacency get in the way of potential. It is so frustrating to see amazing talent go unused… I guess it goes back to taking responsibility.

Promoting employees
Problem in agencies is that we promote people above their level of incompetence, but promotions ought to be given to those already doing the job. The senior designer who wants an Art Director title should already be doing the job of an Art Director.

Good managers are valuable here in that they can guide talent through the transition of what they can do to what they want.  It is hard to tell people to stop doing this and start doing that – it takes time. People take time to change.

We are all in the game of rejection
For every idea approved by the client, 30 have gone in the bin. The creative game is more about rejection than about success.
I’ve had clients fall in love with bad ideas and clients reject really good ideas. You can take the really good idea to another client and they could fall in love with it, so in the end there is a real difference between the objectiveness and subjectiveness of what we do. 

On valuable clients
I have a lot of respect for clients that are able to articulate why they are rejecting or accepting an idea.

A great idea is a great idea
Great ideas can come out of anywhere – not necessarily out of a strategy.  In the case that a great idea comes to you out of the blue you can post rationalise it.

Why I’m grateful to Advertising and Marketing
It funds my creativity and ideas. There is some flexibility required as not every idea is accepted. If you want to only execute your own ideas, it’s better to become an artist.

The difference between being a Creative and being a Designer
Design solves a fundamental problem. Creative Direction doesn’t necessarily.

On overnight success
I don’t believe in overnight success, it takes time to build. Work hard and wait for awkward things to happen to you. Here are some valuable habits that may help:

·      Be humble
·      Be polite
·      Be responsible for yourself
·      Play to your strengths
·      Make the most of the cards dealt
·      Do it, and do it now! (Tomorrow never comes.)

Building loyalty and engagement out of ‘Likes’

This eMarketer report is a must read for anyone running a Facebook campaign and wanting to create further engagement with their brand audience.

eMarketer_Facebook_Marketing-Strategies_for_Turning_“Likes”_into_Loyalty.pdf Download this file

Infographic: The value of SEO rankings

http://blog.searchenginewatch.com/infographics/SEW%20CTR.pdf

Desperados Experience - Nice Social Media execution for an alcohol brand

Growing Mobile Ad Spending in BRIC - eMarketer

This article covers mobile ad spending include display, search and messaging-based formats. The article makes some big, yet probably realistic, projections.
Growing Mobile Ad Spending in BRIC - eMarketer

Vintank - Wine, Apps and digital media resource

From:
http://www.vintank.com/2011/04/looking-in-your-pocket-the-best-of-wine-iphone-apps/

How to best use Facebook, Paul Borrud

Valuable insights on using Facebook usage, ad types, and general social marketing.