Results for articles with tag 'sweden' (5 total)
10/13/2009 03:25:01 PM 
(2) 
(2) It's clever and entertaining, but I keep wondering why it is we like it and I can only assume it's because it shows a brand really going out of its way to make people's lives more fun.
You could hire an expensive director and produce an elaborate ad that shows exactly the same thing, but it would not have half the power or potency, which tells us something about the weakness of advertising.
The VW film is engaging and interactive because there's an interesting concept (the challenge of an alternative route), you know its real and you want to see how the people react (will they take the long road, if it's more fun) and this is the piece that draws you in.
In reality, it's the next best thing to make a great product, it's clever, live experiential communication that can be shared.
While the linkage of the idea to VW is a little stretched, you overlooked that and end up just feeling good about the brand.
I guess there's a lesson here.
How can you create something real that has a conceptual idea at it's heart and provides a fun, interesting, positive and engaging experience for people?
Posted by Ed Cotton
03/25/2008 04:10:39 PM (1)
(1) One tactic to broaden the idea is to partner with other like-minded companies to generate a halo effect.
Saab, a company not necessarily known for its green credentials, but is now keen to push them, has just embarked on a new program.
Saab is moving into the clothing business with the launch a new “Pure BioPower EcoClothing” collection.
The goal is to push Saab’s BioPower technology.
To do this, the Swedish automotive giant has partnered with Reflective Circle for the clothing that will include a range of dresses, t-shorts, blouses made from certified organic cotton, other clothing lines will be introduced over the course of the year.
The line will be available online at Saab Expressions.
The idea of partnering and combining to add impact is interesting in this case.
Traditionally, brands have partnered with companies of equal size and weight and in areas where there is obvious synergy.
In the case of the environment, smaller companies that are focused on the ethical side can bring a considerable halo to the larger firm.
The challenge for these small companies is to protect their integrity because they will have many critics who don’t support the idea of partnership with companies who don’t have ethical and environmental considerations at the center of their corporate mission.
Idea from Claes Foxerus
Posted by Ed Cotton
03/17/2008 06:16:52 AM
This could be a boring, dangerous and reactive way to go. Before they were forced to lead and forge a path, now they can just look and follow. In the long run, this could be a problem: when you fall back and get satisfied, the world around seems to fade away.
The acquisition strategy marks a shift from H&M’s old approach of launching sub brands (or rather sub companies in another category such as COS
Where will it end for H&M? Will it become the new PPR ?
By Claes Foxerus. You can find more writing from Claes here. He’s also the co-founder and editor of The David Report . And, for those of you looking for Swedish Planning connections Claes is the man, he is the co-founder and secretary of the Swedish APG.
Posted by Ed Cotton
01/06/2024 08:03:32 AM
People have been marveling at the entrepreneurship and creativity coming out of the place, which is due to the deep pool of talent and the emergence of a new “can do” attitude.
In the last year or so, digital agencies Farfar and North Kingdom have been setting the world alight.
Acne is perhaps the godfather of this latest phase of Swedish creativity.
It’s a company that defies conventional wisdom, because it creates both products and communication in a variety of formats.
The “Factory-like” collective is best known for its Acne Jeans brand, was founded in 1996 by four friends, Jesper Kouthoofd, Thomas Skun Skoging, Mats Johansson and Jonny Johansson.
Acne’s empire now spans a film company, an ad agency, a web design company, a toy company and even a magazine.
The jeans brand is the beacon of the group. It sets to the tone, the mood and the trends and helps build the connections and relationships for the rest of the company, but it also reacts and responds to what the other units are doing. Think of it as a dynamic feedback loop. The jeans brand has its own stores across Europe, including a flagship in Berlin and is sold in over 400 stores worldwide.
The ad agency has worked for MTV, Virgin and even a competitor to its jeans brand, H&M.
Acne Film is a commercial production house and has created ads for the likes of Comcast, Dodge, Garmin and Nike.
The magazine, Acne Paper, documents the worlds of creativity, fashion and style.
The digital agency, one of the newest ventures, has already worked for the likes of SAS, VW and Volvo.
With ad agencies currently struggling to define themselves, their stragey appears limited to focusing on driving revenue by owning every element of the communication mix.
Acne starts with creativity and ideas and works it out from there, a nightmare proposition for most senior agency management and holding company CFOs. However, perhaps the time is now right for new Acnes to emerge, led by individuals with limited or no real agency experience.
It appears that Acne’s secret is to leverage the cult of cool across a variety of different creative disciplines and areas.
It’s a concept that would be way too risky for most agencies to conceive because there’s always an inherent concern for any brand trading on cool, how long can it last?
Here’s how Acne explains its vision.
When Acne was created in 1996 the initial idea was to build brands, own as well as others', within the fields of fashion, entertainment and technology. Although all members of the collective are independent entities acting in their own right in various fields of creativity, they all share the same vision and culture. This vision combines art and industry in equal measures, whether this is through clothing, film, printed matter or a global advertising campaign.
Posted by Ed Cotton
04/06/2024 07:01:38 AM
It’s well known that 720p copies of Fox’s 24 find their way onto torrent sites 20 minutes after the show goes off the air.
However, most people tend to see the issue through a US lens, when it’s really a global issue.
Worldwide sales of TV shows contribute significant chunks of revenue to the networks, but it appears those sales are being undermined.
The Swedish Broadcast Statistics Institute just released their 2007 report, which included the following findings:
- Swedish youngsters watch an average of 1 hour of pirated television a week
- The most popular show is Prison Break- 35% of the past months viewers had seen the show via P2P networks
- The main reasons given for watching shows via P2P were- control over viewing times and not having to wait for the shows to make across to the broadcast networks in Sweden
The last point is especially interesting; although movie studios are increasingly looking to global release dates for movies, TV show sales lag behind.
One interesting reverse example is the Discovery Channel’s Blue Planet, currently airing in the US, but the series first aired on the BBC last year. Many people here in the US have already seen the series, they downloaded it a year ago from torrent sites.
Three questions:
1. Can the TV networks speed up their global sales process and sell their shows faster?
2. As the networks increasingly look to offer content online through their own websites, will they “lock out” overseas viewers?
3. Will the faster adoption of US shows lead an accelerated adoption of trends and ideas in overseas markets?
Articles for tag sweden (5 total).