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dentsu 2022 Media Trends 20 Nov 2021 1:05 AM (3 years ago)

  Our new 2022 Trends report has been published - all about how we are transitioning to a 'new normal' as we move through the pandemic.  

See the deck on Slideshare below - 

Carat's Trends for 2021 11 Jan 2021 12:06 AM (4 years ago)

 Our new trends report:  12 trends to help navigate the next few years, including 

From FOMO to FOGO

The Donut Problem

The Great Divide,

&

The Decade of Paid

Amazon Alexa in your car & in your life 8 Jan 2020 5:41 AM (5 years ago)

Like many people I struggle with the usefulness of smart speakers.  In fact I generally keep mine unplugged.

But it could be a lot more useful if it were able to -

Prompt you to confirm things (synching with your calendar)

Make suggestions

Make payments

& more. 

You can see examples of all of these in this video, and all are features that are coming soon (or maybe here now).

We're working with teams across @Amazon to help Alexa simplify your life on the go. Come find us at #CES2020 or learn more at https://t.co/wHJAZfRAYq #AmazonCES pic.twitter.com/jpG2uTbBoz

— Alexa Automotive (@AlexaAutomotive) January 6, 2020

You still need to remember specific commands - for example 'Alexa, how is the traffic on the way to Gary's office?', but it is getting more natural.

Carat's 10 Trends for 2020 6 Jan 2020 8:22 AM (5 years ago)

Here is our annual trends presentation - looking at what is happening in media and technology, and its implications for our clients and the industry.

Instagram Threads - Social Media Gets Darker 4 Oct 2019 7:04 AM (5 years ago)

Instagram has just launched Threads, a camera-first messaging app.  It's a stand-alone app, but uses your Instagram contact list.

Instagram has been moving away from completely open sharing for a while - Stories delete by default after 24 hours, and Close Friends, launched last year, enable you to choose whether to share a post with all followers (e.g. including your auntie), or to a smaller circle of friends. 

Threads is is camera-first, as opposed to WhatsApp, which is text first.  Not surprisingly Snap’s share price dipped on this news. 

It’s another example, with Facebook groups, and local networks like Nextdoor, of how social media is evolving into a less open, less public set of tools. 

A big theme for the year ahead, I think.

Voice and Commerce - Keep it immediate 20 Sep 2019 6:37 AM (5 years ago)

What if we're getting smart speakers and shopping wrong?

I've read a lot in recent years about the hopes for shopping on smart speakers like Amazon Echo - lots of different attempts to get people to order free samples, to put things into their shopping baskets, and to say phrases to get discounts at checkout.

But what if we've been thinking about it in the wrong way?

Two recent stories from the hospitality industry point in a different direction.

First, Starbucks has done a partnership with Alibaba in China to let people make delivery orders on the smart speakers, integrated with Alibaba's food delivery service.  Basically 'bring me a coffee'

Second, McDonalds has bought a speech tech company, Apprente, which automates voice ordering in multiple lauguages.  They already use this in some drive-ins, to automate the process.  Again, this is essentially 'I want a Big Mac & Fries'.

I think that this is a much more compelling use than 'add to my basket'.

(Thanks for reminding me to keep updating my blog, Scott!)

Three Favourites from Cannes Lions 2019 28 Jun 2019 6:47 AM (5 years ago)

I didn't go to Cannes this year, but I watched it on Twitter, on YouTube, though emails and in dispatches from colleagues.

You miss the meetings and the networking, but you can still learn lots from afar.  It can look like a giant party (too many people post pictures from yachts), but it's great for networking, and Cannes' compact size means that you can arrange lots of meetings in and easily walk between them in 15 minutes.

My issue with the awards - and I suspect that this is a general image problem Cannes has, given the meme above - is that lots of the allegedly effective work seems to have been pretty unknown before someone turned it into an awards case study.  Other things were quite widely known, but weren't known to be ads (the VW work below is a classic; I'd seen the video many times but it had never occurred to me that it was an ad, and the car is about the least interesting element.  You certainly can't attribute an 11.8% increased in market share to the viral clip.  DHOTYA as someone might say.  See discussion by me and others surprised to hear that it was an ad here.



But anyway.

There were things I really liked, and here are 3 -

Tampon Book - see top of the post - A campaign that created a book as packaging for tampons, based on the injustice that books are taxed less than sanitary products in Germany, so this packaging would both reduce their price and start a debate about the tax laws.



Distracted Goalkeeper - One of those 'it wouldn't work here' cases where more liberal media laws let brands do crazy things in other countries.  Assuming that it is totally genuine, and that the reason the keeper was on this phone before the match didn't leak before the reveal, this was a great idea, and must have been a real shock for football fans.



The Last Ever Issue - Another social impact case study, and another great idea.  Men's magazines have generally lost lots of readership and must (mostly) be losing lots of money.  It was a great idea to buy one from the publishers (complete with its social feeds) and fill the last ever issue with content promoting equality and respect for women.  I don't really buy that this would get the message to men who bought the magazine, as men generally browse before buying and would not have bought that issue, but it was a great stunt, and guaranteed to get lots of press coverage.



Oh - one more - but no video for this one.  Monty's Wicket Warning was a piece of work for Foxtel, the Australian pay TV channel.  They worked with Google to produce an AI tool that could predict when a wicket was likely to fall in a cricket tournament 5 minutes in advance.  They could then produce dynamic ads that they could send to phones and digital screens to get people to switch on.  Very clever!

So - lots of good stuff at Cannes, but you need to see lots to find the good stuff. 

Nike in Fortnite 24 May 2019 7:25 AM (5 years ago)

A new partnership brings Nike to Fortnite - players can download skins with exclusive Nike sneakers - a sneaker drop in the game, if you like!




In the spirit of 'nothing is new', it's worth pointing out that both adidas & Reebok were doing this in SecondLife in 2006!

The Perils of Voice Controls and the Smart Home 4 Apr 2019 7:46 AM (6 years ago)

A very funny couple of ads for Rema 1000, a Norwegian retail chain!






(Not sure that it's really selling the retail chain, to be honest...)

BK - Burn up a rival's ads in AR 25 Mar 2019 4:23 AM (6 years ago)

Love this from Burger King in Brazil!



Great use of augmented reality - probably the most playful I've seen by a brand in their own app.  & you get a voucher at the end of it, so they can monitor impact.  Looking forward to seeing the Cannes case study video!

More here

Shopping on Instagram 19 Mar 2019 8:53 AM (6 years ago)

I've been telling people for ages that we'll soon be able to buy directly from Instagram, and today they announced an initial trial in the US.

The Bandersnatch Stunt at Old Street Station 7 Jan 2019 12:00 AM (6 years ago)

This is probably the most analogue thing that I have written about on this blog, but it's a great example of creating something physical designed to go viral.

Netflix has taken over one of the pop-up shops in the tunnels under Old Street roundabout, near the entrance to Old Street tube station, to create a fake shop, Tuckers Newsagent and Games, named after Tuckersoft, the video games company in the Bandersnatch 'choose your own adventure' episode.

(Apparently there is one in Birmingham too).


The store doesn't open (as far as I know) but people have been peering through the windows and taking photos and sharing them on social media, particularly Twitter and Instagram.


They've had a lot of fun kitting out the store, including lots of posters for fake video games, and even fake VHS tapes for some of the other Black Mirror episodes, including San Junipero and Nosedive.


There is also a big billboard for Bandersnatch in the tunnels, but obviously this is getting far more attention.  According to the site of pop-up shop hire company Appear Here, the shop would cost something like £250 a day to hire - so if they have taken it out for twelve days or so (for set-up, take down etc) it would have only cost £3,000, a very effective media cost given the amount of buzz that it has created!


I thought that the show itself was good, but not great.  It was lots of fun at the beginning, but then it descended a bit too much into horror for me (yes, I have seen all the other Black Mirror episodes, so I did know what to expect...).  But I loved the 80s references, including John Menzies, and the 'Hobbit' game, plus the re-created WHSmiths store that he buys music in, and I loved the jokes with the format, like the 'Fuck Yeah' choice when he is in the doctor's office.

Ten Trends for 2019 13 Dec 2018 1:44 AM (6 years ago)

Each year I write a trends report, trying to predict what the most important themes of the next year will be.  This year the underlying theme is the increasing speed of connectivity through 4G (& soon 5G), and how this is making services richer, d

New Balance uses AI at NYFW 14 Sep 2018 6:31 AM (6 years ago)

A fun use of Artificial Intelligence.

New Blance set cameras up to record people walking down a street in New York for several days.  Then, during New York Fashion Week, then used the learning from the weeks of observation to identify people who stood out from the crowd - and rewarded them a free pair of shoes.

The streets of NYC are nothing less than exceptional, and AI technology proved it. Find out how: https://t.co/1tlpSdtVsu #BeTheException #NYFW #FreshFoam pic.twitter.com/enoDYDt59w

— New Balance (@newbalance) September 12, 2018

I suspect that there may have been human intervention in this (many people in New York can stand out for all sorts of reasons), but it's a great idea.

'Don't believe you have to be like anybody to be somebody' 5 Sep 2018 11:52 PM (6 years ago)

Extraordinary work from Nike.

'It's only crazy until you do it.'

KitKat's 360° Video Ad 24 Aug 2018 7:03 AM (6 years ago)

A very good example of what you can do with 360° - and apparently it had a 28% completion rate.

Trinny Woodall on Instagram 20 Aug 2018 5:20 AM (6 years ago)

Another one from Stockholm ladies, for this week’s Friday Twinning 👯‍♀️… You know I never usually pick a dress but Chloe @chloedallolio found this sunshine yellow one with its delightful floral print, from H&M very popular this season, and in my TRINNY LONDON yellow…. I would wear it with a belt and a chunky wedge… Chloe, who has a curvier figure, would wear it as it is, no belt and a little ankle boot.. oh and she would totally do it with a strong lip to balance the strength of the yellow… we are in fact both wearing a fuchsia @trinnylondon LIP LUXE in Pookie… SUMMER IS COMING! ☀️👯‍♀️ SUMMER IS COMING!! ☀️👯‍♀️

A post shared by T R I N N Y (@trinnywoodall) on May 4, 2018 at 9:31am PDT

A colleague alerted me to 'the resurgence of Trinny' on Instagram.  Trinny Woodall, one of the presenters of iconic 90s fashion show What Not To Wear, is now presenting her own mini shows on her own Instagram channel.

In the clips she goes into stores - with their permission - and does some quick demonstrations of how to wear different looks.

In this one she brings her friend Chloe, to show how a dress would look on a larger size model.

This is very similar to what the Chinese site ShopShops is doing.  In their version their influencers go into stores, demo the products, and also allow people to shop along.

I'm sure Trinny (& many others) will be doing this soon in the UK.

Chompers - An Alexa podcast to brush your teeth to 3 Jul 2018 8:26 AM (6 years ago)

Chompers is one of the best things I've yet heard of the the Amazon Echo.  It's a daily (ish) podcast that lasts less than 5 minutes, and is designed to encourage 3-7 year olds to brush their teeth for 3 minutes or so.

It's perfect for the Alexa because kids or adults just need to say "Alexa - start Chompers" for it to start; no one wants to be touching buttons or their phone screen when they're about to brush their teeth.

More here, inc some episodes to listen to.

White Castle's Chicken Rings on Facebook Live 2 Jul 2018 3:51 AM (6 years ago)

This is an example of a brand using Facebook Live Video -


US burger chain White Castle created a fake shopping show on Facebook to promote its Chicken rings, joking that you could use them as earrings etc, with live interaction from fans watching.

More here

Teads Augmented Reality Mobile Ad for Ray Ban 29 Jun 2018 8:12 AM (6 years ago)

Teads showed off this new ad format at Cannes this year.

It's essentially like a Snapchat lens, but it works on the mobile web, and it's available across some of Teads' partner sites.

It activates your camera, and then - hey presto - you're wearing a pair of Ray Ban's.

They say that it's the first time it's been done as a web-based ad format.  I've seen a few other versions, for example from Vyking, but they work within apps.

More here

4 Great ideas - June 2018 22 Jun 2018 7:02 AM (6 years ago)

Image source

Here's another series that I'm experimenting with on this blog.

Now that almost everything is digital, the idea of 'digital examples' is a bit redundant.  But since I still get quite a lot of traffic to the blog it would be a shame not to keep writing it.

Every month or so I'm going to try to list some great ideas that I've come across recently, and hopefully explain why I think they're so great. 

There's a danger it might turn into Springwise, but that's not what I'm trying to do.  They probably won't be ideas from new companies, but instead ideas from existing companies, great ideas for books and so on.  Ideas that I wish I'd had, perhaps.

A History of the World in Seven Cheap Things - a book by Raj Patel and Jason Moore.  I haven't bought this yet, but it's a great idea for a book.  Often history forgets the commonplace, and it's the inventions that make things cheap that arguably make the biggest impact on consumers.  One example is the chicken nugget, which has made a big impact on diets and agriculture. 

Travis Kalanick's new company City Storage Systems.  The company, which Travis invested in and as part of the deal became the new CEO of, turns old retail space into something that better suits the new economy.  We have about as much retail space as we had before eCommerce, which means that there are lots of empty shops.  It's a great idea to find new uses for these - for example kitchens for food delivery services, or entertainment venues like VR arcades.  I can see this being really successful.

Paid newsletters.  I write newsletters, and read lots of newsletters.  In fact I have to be really strict with myself and unsubscribe from the ones I don't read regularly, or I find them clogging up my mailbox and hiding messages that I really need to read.  One great idea around newsletters that that I can really see taking off comes from the Dutch start-up Revue, which gives newsletter authors the ability to charge their readers.  I don't think it's something that I could do - but I can see lots of niche newsletters charging small amounts in the future.  Similarly, it's a great idea for Facebook to offer Group (read 'forum') owners the option to put in a subscription system, so that they can charge for access to useful communities.  Again, I can see this becoming commonplace, and it would also serve as a good way to keep disruptive people out.

Domino's Places.  Domino's is allowing people to order pizzas to places that don't have proper postal addresses, for example beaches or park benches.  A great idea, because sometimes you just fancy an impromptu picnic.  I'd imagine that there was some objection when the idea was floated - you must get more prank calls and hoaxes to random locations - but since it's done through their app, and they can see an identity and payment details, it's much less risky than when people just ring up. 

Until next time - here's to great ideas!

Deals in Media & Tech - April and May 2018 18 Jun 2018 9:07 AM (6 years ago)

Another look at recent strategic M&A deals:  I think that these provide a good indication of the future direction of both the large tech companies, and also society.

Mobility - 

This is one of the areas that seems to be moving fastest, both with improvements in autonomous driving (also an AI problem), and new ways to move around cities.

Bikes are the flavour of the month, with at least 3 new dockless schemes now in operation in London, for example, and the new that Uber has bought electric bike company Jump, may buy the company behind Citi Bike and Ford GoBike, and will be incorporating bikes into its apps in some cities.  In Asia Meituan Dianping has bought MoBike for a staggering $3.4bn making it one of the two biggest Chinese bike sharing companies.  Bikes are clearly going to be very central to how we get around cities in the next few years!

Payments - 

Lots going on - There is a trend towards vertical integration, with Square buying both Weebly, the site that lets people create their own websites, and Zesty, the food delivery app.  Food delivery is growing fast, and this gives Square a stake in the market, while the purchase of Weebly is a good way to meet new companies setting up a commerce platform for the first time.

Elsewhere, Paypal has bought iZettle, the 'European answer to Square' which gives them access to lots of small merchants, including market traders, and also Jetlore, an AI-driven marketing company.  Paypal has so much data on payments, so buying a company that specialises in analysing it seems like a good move.

Food - 

Pet food - Nestle Purina has bought a majority stake in Tails.com, a direct to consumer pet nutrition company that sells food personalised to the pet.  In a way it's a bit like Unilever's purchase of Dollar Shave Club, because Tails.com must have lots of knowledge about owners, digital innovation, and selling directly.  Pet food is a massive market - in the UK, for example there are more dogs than babies - and this deal makes lots of sense.

Technology - 

Saving the biggest deal til last, Microsoft has paid $7.5bn for GitHub, the 'library for software' site.  In a way it's a hard deal to work out - GitHub had taken lots of investment, but never really made much money as it's fundamentally a free service for developers.  However it puts Microsoft at the heart of the developer community for the first time in years, and gives them access to a comminity that they want to encourage to develop for all their new platforms.  Lots of intangible benefits here.

BK's Instagram Stories Burger 23 May 2018 8:08 AM (6 years ago)

A great example of using a new media format -

Burger King in Spain used the polls feature in Instagram Stories to help people to design their own Whoppers.  Once you'd made your choices you got a voucher to go to order the burger in-store.

They also took the most popular burger, created from the most popular poll answers, to create a limited edition burger, sold at Burger King restaurants across Spain.

Really well done!

NSDU's 'Human Test' on Amazon Echo on Google Home 30 Apr 2018 2:44 AM (6 years ago)

Love this -  Series 3 of 'Humans' is starting soon on Channel 4, and they've produced this 'Human Test', from the NSDU - National Synth Detection Unit - to see if you are a human or a 'synth'.

#WeArePeople has teamed up with the National Synth Detection Unit. In the fight to protect our species from the threat of Synthetics, we need to prove we are #Humans. Have you taken the test? https://t.co/LSKfQ1wjbb #GoogleHome #Alexa pic.twitter.com/I8twYpBsxp

— We Are People (@WeArePeopleUK) April 27, 2018

Just say 'Start Human Test' to your Echo, or 'Talk to Human Test' on the Google Home.

Very well done!

See the site here

& see an example of someone taking the test here

Product Placement on Netflix 5 Apr 2018 8:46 AM (7 years ago)

Netflix is on a roll at the moment.  New shows or movies seemingly every day (or actually two every day - they have announced a plan to commission 700 this year), stats that kids in the UK prefer it to BBC iPlayer, and their shows are generating lots of buzz.

One recent show that I've seen is Queer Eye, the re-boot of the NBC make-over show from the early 2000s.

It's a good show, if a bit focused on showing that all of life's problems can be solved by having a haircut, re-modelling your house, and spending lots of money on a new wardrobe.

What's really interesting is that it's the first Netflix show I've seen to openly use product placement.  Nothing that blatant, but you'd assume that the car company has paid, as have other manufacturers whose logos prominently appear during the show.

Netflix has a policy of no advertising breaks and no sponsorship, but I suspect that this shows that they are now more open to commercial deals.  I don't think ad breaks will come any time soon, but the increasing breadth of content, including chat shows, uses formats that people would be more willing to accept sponsorship for.  It's hardly like they have a charter for no ads or no sponsors, unlike the BBC.

I'll update this when I come across other examples of commercial activity on Netflix.