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Being Remarkable: Coke’s New Gen Y Targeted Campaign

Welcome to a new series of short reads slicing, dicing and celebrating remarkable creative work from around the world. These campaigns are great examples of how marketers are connecting with consumers in smart ways and have got us saying “well, that’s remarkable!” 

In the inaugural article, our Group Managing Director Tom Phillips dissects Coke UK’s latest “Open That Coca-Cola” campaign in collaboration with the highly popular artist Tyler, The Creator and discusses why he thinks it’s a masterclass in modern integrated FMCG marketing.

Watch the campaign’s full-length ad below.

Last year wasn’t kind to anyone, and a major global FMCG brand like Coca-Cola was no exception. As bars, restaurants and cafes closed around the world, Coke made the potentially risky decision to temporarily stop its advertising across the globe.

However, things look like they’re on the up for Coke after it recently launched its latest campaign in collaboration with the highly popular artist Tyler, The Creator. The ad came from Coca-Cola in the UK and is the work of creative agency Wieden + Kennedy London. The campaign is running across TV, online video, radio and interactive out-of-home, with audiences also invited to recreate the dance on their own social channels.

I believe this is a fantastic example of modern FMCG marketing. Here’s why.

The Taste “Hit” of Coke

The campaign is beautifully single-minded. It focuses on the refreshing first “hit” of flavour that Coke is famous for and beautifully dramatises how the taste is beyond-words sensational.

It’s Absurd and Attention-Grabbing

As an ad it grabs your attention. It’s out there, it’s a little bit weird and it plays on the edges, which is where remarkability lies. It gets extra points for aligning the peak attention moment (in this case the taste hit) with the consumption moment. Even more points for conveying the idea with the sound both on and off!

Social by Design

If we’ve learnt anything from the meteoric rise to fame of TikTok, it’s that dance is a universal language. It’s no accident that the Coke creative has leant into this exploding social behaviour and capitalised on it by creating a bespoke choreographed ‘Coca-Cola Kick Shuffle’ dance. The dance exploded across social channels with guerilla seeding through talent, leading into a huge dance-based social campaign including challenges and step-by-step tutorials.

Something for Everyone

The full version of the ad sits at over 2 minutes long and is representative of a wide range of demographics, cultures and interests. However, it also easily cuts into 6” and 15” iterations to be used in more contextual and personalised environments such as gaming, sport, music, dance and beauty.

The Impact of Collaborations

Coke collaborated with musician and rapper Tyler, the Creator to create an original song for the campaign that would appeal particularly to Gen Y and Gen Z. This collaboration will help Coke reach an additional market in loyal Tyler, the Creator fans while also giving the media something to write about, resulting in additional earned coverage.

Unleashing the Power of Creativity & Connections

The work is more eloquently described by Walter Susini, Coca-Cola’s SVP of Marketing in Europe, who said “What is brilliant about this campaign is how we have merged the power of creativity and connections to be able to increase our efficiency and effectiveness in our overall plan. We have developed a modular communication platform that enables us to have one unique message and tone of voice across the different moments and occasions of the year in all touch points to push the brand experience.”

It’s easy to imagine how this could be activated in a truly integrated communications approach with everything very simply pointing back to “taste” and the “hit” of Coke. You can see how a brand team and their village of agencies could get around this idea and really make it sing.

Menulog appoints Connecting Plots as social agency following a competitive pitch

Menulog has appointed Connecting Plots as their social agency of record following a competitive pitch between at least three agencies.

“Connecting Plots have a refreshing perspective on social-first thinking that’s proven through their case studies.” says Menulog CMO Simon Cheng, who continues “The work they presented gives us confidence in them as a partner to help us grow our brand & bring our unapologetic platform to life in existing and emerging social channels like TikTok”.

“We’re thrilled to be partnering with such an ambitious & motivated client & agency team. Menulog is a true challenger brand that has much to offer, so we’re excited about showing how social can help capitalise on that potential”, said Lewis Steele, Head of Social & Content at Connecting Plots.

Connecting Plots will join an agency group that includes McCann, UM and Map & Page.

We launch Nestlé’s first TikTok Campaign

The #MILOfreestyle challenge gets the Aussie TikTok community to show off their best freestyle soccer skills. The campaign is the first TikTok Challenge for a Nestlé brand and activates on the existing brand platform “Sport is a great teacher”, making it participative in social and driving brand love. 

Launched by a variety of Aussie TikTok creators like Jamie Zhu and Eliza Murphy the campaign comes at a time when sporting clubs are closed across the country allowing people to still stay active and competitive in a safe environment.

 

Fantastic Furniture is on the hunt for Australia’s scariest sofas in new Halloween campaign via Connecting Plots.

This Halloween, Fantastic Furniture, along with guest judge Yvie Jones (Gogglebox and I’m A Celebrity Get Me Out Of Here), are on the hunt for Australia’s scariest sofas, encouraging Aussies to share their sofa horror story for the chance to win a $3000 lounge room makeover.    

“Behind every purchase of Fantastic Furniture there’s a story…” Says Will Dance, Head of Marketing, who continues  “…we wanted to use this Halloween season to have some fun and get people considering a sofa upgrade by turning their scary sofa story into a Fantastic one.” 

The integrated campaign, created by Connecting Plots, aims to drive awareness of MyChoice, which gives customers 100+ fabrics and colours to choose from for their sofa, ottoman, occasional chair, cushion and bedhead. The campaign is being activated through PR, social, content and media partnerships with KIIS and Spotify. 

The activity is supported by research into the scariest things Aussies have found under the cushions which reveals that almost half of us have come across something disgusting lurking there at some point, including mouldy food and dead insects.  

To win, entrants must share a picture of their sofa horror story online at fantasticfurniture.com.au/scary-sofa-swap, or on Instagram using #scarysofaswap and tagging @FantasticFurniture. 

 

Connecting Plots launches first campaign for Casella Family Brands

Casella Family Brands has appointed Connecting Plots as lead creative agency across Magic Box Wines, part of their premium wine portfolio.  ‘Welcome to Magic Hour’, is the first brand campaign for The Magic Box Wine Collection, bringing to life the newly developed brand identity and global brand platform ‘Wonders Never Cease’. 

“We’re excited to be working with Connecting Plots, whose integrated offering is helping us build our brand over the long term.” Says Adrienne Renton, Senior Brand Manager. The ‘Welcome to Magic Hour’ campaign celebrates the transition from day to night, work to play, where wonder, anticipation and excitement builds as to where the evening may lead. The campaign aims to engage target consumers with an authentic brand experience and build relevance at key drinking occasions and with appropriate social cues. 

At the heart of the campaign is a suite of video assets which capture and celebrate the beauty, energy and excitement of this transitionary period in a distinctive and ownable way for Magic Box and help consumers understand the varietals in the range. 

The film project was crowdsourced through a global creative community, including influencers, filmmakers and Getty custom content to capture how magic hour is experienced in amazing locations and various time zones across the globe.

Tom Phillips, MD of Connecting Plots explains: “We know from experience that authenticity is key in building a strong emotional connection, especially with younger adults. By co-creating with a community of content creators, we’re able to circumnavigate the veneer of traditional advertising and build awareness of the brand in a way that’s authentic and entice target consumers into discovering more about Magic Box.” 

The campaign is currently rolling out in Australia with in-store activity to support the campaign and drive purchase and trial. 

 Connecting Plots is also working across the Peter Lehmann range.

Lewis Steele joins in newly created Head of social role.

Connecting Plots today announces Lewis Steele joining in the newly created role as Head of Social. Steele’s remit will be focused on challenging the conventions and practices social agencies have been built on over the past 10 years.

 

“For us the opportunity that social media represents for brands has evolved significantly over the past 2-3 years with misinformed points of view and outdated operating & evaluation models compounding the issue” says Connecting Plots Co-Founder Tom Phillips who continues “things like the expectation to post weekly or to celebrate May 4th with an obligatory Stars Wars post rarely deliver business impact. We truly believe that social media is in need of a radical shake-up and fortunately for us Lewis shares this same point of view.” 

 

Steele joins the agency to lead their social offering across Nestle, Frucor Suntory, Casella and 4Pines. He comes to the role with over twelve years’ industry experience across accounts such as Heineken, Coca-Cola, Nestle, LEGO and Sky Entertainment, AfterPay and Sydney Water. His wealth of knowledge and experience is critical to the changing social landscape, having in-sourced social media teams into blue chip clients, developed integrated social campaigns and brought to market a number of significant attention earning campaigns. 

 

Steele commented “What excites me most about Connecting Plots is that there are two simple principles ingrained in the agency DNA that are combining with powerful effect. Marketing science and social first thinking. Taking proven marketing effectiveness principles from the likes of Ehrenberg-Bass and Binet & Field, and combining that know-how with our own social thinking and production processes, to deliver campaigns that are shifting the dial for our clients. 

 

Social continues to evolve at lightning speed, and with it comes waves of opportunity for agile brands looking to create impact. 

Miller Genuine Draft launch first project with new creative partner Connecting Plots.

Miller Genuine Draft has launched its first project with creative communications agency Connecting Plots. The Miller Design Lab is a sold out series of creative and cultural events in Melbourne.

A consumer experience at the intersection of cultural trends and creativity, Miller Design Lab Australia is part of a global platform and has been curated by world renowned designer and creative Jeff Staple, and adapted locally by Connecting Plots in collaboration with and supported by an exclusive media partnership with Concrete Playground.

It is an exciting opportunity to be one of the first markets around the world to launch Miller Design Lab” says Brigitte Kedicioglu, who heads up the Miller brands in the local market, “and it is an important strategic step for us to grow our premium credentials in a credible way in Australia.”

As a business we’re passionate about creating brand experiences that are talked about in culture…” says Connecting Plots Managing Director, Tom Phillips, who continues “… Miller Design Lab is a fantastic representation of how brands can collaborate with the design community to create something truly remarkable.

Miller Design Lab brings together Australian creators via art, design, fashion, music & technology to create art installations across various mediums that can be experienced by consumers, alongside panel discussions and other events. Collaborators include; light sculptor, Meagan Streader, street artist, Buff Diss, Pitch Studios Founder & Creative Director, Christie Morgan and textile creators, DREAMCATCHERSDREAMTIME X Think Positive Prints.

Miller Design Lab launched last week at SoHigh Gallery Windsor, Melbourne and runs until March 30. 

 

Maximus ‘Sweat Happens’.

Maximus is the non-sports sports drink. 
 
So to help everyone understand this, we’re pointing out that you don’t need to be an athlete to drink Maximus, you just need to sweat.
 
‘Sweat Happens’ is a celebration of all those sweaty moments that Maximus is here to assist with. From the broken A/C, to the flakey apprentice, the spicy vindaloo, to the accidental reply-all. No matter what’s got you sweating, Maximus has your back.
 
The integrated campaign is currently rolling out across Digital, OOH, Print, in-store and social.

Westinghouse celebrates the chaos of family life in new brand campaign.

Westinghouse has refreshed it’s Really Clever brand proposition with a new integrated campaign which challenges category conventions by taking an honest approach and celebrating the chaos that is the reality of modern family households.

Told through the eyes of a family, the campaign shines a light on innovative product features that allow Westinghouse owners to take control in the one place they can. The Kitchen.

“Westinghouse is a brand that prides itself on an ethos of practical inventiveness by creating products that provide a true functional benefit to its customers”, says Electrolux Home Products Marketing Director Anastasia Barlas. She adds “This is an iconic brand that Aussies love and so we wanted to tell our story by being honest in how we portrayed Aussie family life and the role our products play in them”

The campaign will be rolled out across broadcast, digital, social & retail.