It’s that time of the month again! Hopefully, you know the drill by now. Each month, the team here at DGT get together and discuss our favourite creative marketing campaigns of the month and why we love them so much. We see so many wonderful campaigns across social, print and broadcast that entertain us and are thought-provoking, but most importantly here, they get us feeling inspired to create our very own sales and marketing campaigns. So, without further ado let’s get into DGT Loves… November Edition.
We couldn’t have a roundup blog for this month without acknowledging COP26. All eyes are currently on the UN Climate Change Conference taking place in Glasgow. The conference which is running from 31st October to 12th Nov aims to unite the world to tackle Climate Change.
World leaders, business owners, climate activists and celebrities have descended on the city of Glasgow for the conference which has since seen pledges from countries to cut damaging and polluting behaviour including, deforestation and the use of fossil fuels. COP26 has been everywhere on our tv’s, radios, across our newspapers and every news bulletin includes a COP26 segment and we love it! This is such a crucial conference and is our last chance to really make a change with so many influential people all together, at one time. We are so far past denying climate change so it’s great to see the conference getting the coverage that it deserves.
With Climate Change and COP26 being at the forefront of our minds, we have started to see more brands pushing their climate change pledges with their marketing in an effort to be seen as greener and be more attractive to customers. Whilst acting on their promises and pledges must the primary goal all efforts to increase awareness and action around climate change are welcome.
Nando’s have taken their classic PERI-ometer and given it a makeover, stating “It’s no secret we like things a little spicy, but we’re about bringing heat to your plate, not the planet. That’s why we’re stepping up our efforts on the climate crisis and becoming carbon neutral by November this year.”
We love this because it’s taking a visual we are all familiar with and making it relevant. They have stayed true to their brand – being fun and a little cheeky whilst getting across a very important message. You can check out their full statement here and how they aim to become net zero by 2030: Nando’s Carbon Neutral
Humour – 4/5
Longevity – 5/5
Positivity – 5/5
Wagamama’s have taken a different approach to get across their environmental stance with the introduction of ‘Vegamama’. A reptile looking monster, angry and destructive. Vegamama targets the oil rigs and skyscrapers in fits of rage at what we have done (and continue to do) to the planet. But finally, Vegamama calms after learning that Wagamama’s is the first UK restaurant to switch 50% of its menu to plant-based choices.
Again, this is a light-hearted approach with an important message about Wagamama’s and what they’re doing to tackle the climate crisis, and it certainly catches your eye when it comes on TV. You can check out the full creative from Uncommon London here:
Humour – 3/5
Creativity – 4/5
Positivity – 5/5
We’ve mentioned Sky before with their ‘Game Zero’ campaign which saw the world’s first net-zero football match taking place, but since becoming the first media company to become carbon neutral in 2006, Sky continues to reduce their carbon emissions with the goal of becoming net zero by 2030. With their #gozero campaign, Sky have launched Sky Zero – their 10-year plan consisting of reducing the carbon emissions of their users and the supply chain, making their tech products more energy efficient, the creating of the world’s most sustainable film and TV studios and all their productions will be net zero carbon, reduce the emissions of their vehicles and plant trees for the emissions they are unable to cut – a huge pledge from the media company.
Why we love it? Well, it’s refreshing to see such a huge company take a clear and concise approach to climate change. They have big ambitions and we’re enjoying seeing them play out. They’re doing it in creative ways that really attract your attention.
Importance – 5/5
Bravery – 2/5
Inclusivity – 4/5
It’s not very often that you get brands being completely transparent, but it’s good to see the folks over at Oatly trying a refreshing approach in their print ads. We’re not sure when this originated but it’s recently been doing the rounds on LinkedIn, and it caught our eye.
They know that Oat Milk is an acquired taste, but they also know that many people enjoy it – it’s a great dairy alternative. So, we were pleased to see this advert that featured a very *ahem* honest review.
We love this because it’s not very often you see brands sharing their bad reviews and in particular respecting that feedback and saying, “you know what, it’s ok you don’t like it, but other people do and that’s what matters”, they’re very aware that not everyone is going to like their products, and that’s ok. We also like their suggestion to give it to some you don’t like if you don’t like it. Some great marketing from Oatly.
Humour – 4/5
Bravery – 5/5
Brand – 5/5
Unless you’ve been living on another planet, you would have at least heard of Squid Game. The South Korean series created by Hwang Dong-hyuk has recently been named as Netflix’s most watched series ever with a total 142million views within the first 28 days overtaking Bridgerton’s 82million. The survival drama focuses on a number of players enduring a series of child-like games in order to win the prize money and eradicate all of their debt – but we won’t spoil it for you!
The quirky games, outfits and characters have become extremely popular and as a result we’ve seen a number of brands piggy backing on the show’s success.
Disclaimer: in order to appreciate how clever these brands have been, we do recommend watching the series first (if you haven’t already, of course).
Heineken
This subtle yet clever design from Heineken pays homage to the second game the players are tasked with. Before the game starts they are given a choice of four shapes and asked to pick one. The shapes? A circle, a star, a triangle, and finally an umbrella.
Heineken very cleverly incorporated their star into the mix, making the shape picking what they consider an easy choice – and we’d agree! Who doesn’t love a cold bottle of Heineken?!
Why we love this? It was quick marketing during a time when Squid Game was really taking off. It also does it in such a way that it’s still true to its own branding – very clever!
Brand – 5/5
Wit – 5/5
Inclusivity – 4/5
Relief
Relief is an American debt relief app that helps its customers to manage their debt and get back on track. So, it was refreshing to see them hop on the trend of Squid Game with this simple, but effective marketing.
Again, in the series, once a potential player is approached to join the game, they are left with a card (like the one on the left) with a number to call if they want to enter. Relief used this to their advantage but instead of a number they left a very cheeky message. Check it out for yourself below:
Why we love this? Again, Relief is a small company that hopped on a viral trend. By using the premise of Squid Game to push their motive, they grabbed the attention of potential new customers in a way that was simple but effective. If you hadn’t heard of them before, you most likely would have now, Kudos to Relief!
Intelligence – 5/5
Brand – 5/5
Humour – 5/5
Let’s create something amazing together!
It’s been another great month of some really fun campaigns that not only grabbed our attention but got across some important messages. If like us you’re feeling inspired and are ready to create eye-catching creative marketing campaigns, get in touch – together we can create something amazing!
Posted by Xena Graham on Tuesday 16th November 2021
