Globespotting – March
PR Campaigns & Stunts
THE GOLDEN ARCHES FLIPPED FOR WOMEN
What?
McDonald’s flips its famous golden arches into a ‘W’ in honour of women
Who and When?
The burger chain revealed the stunt at one of its California restaurants for International Women’s Day on 8th March, as well as changing its social media logos for the day
Where?
Worldwide coverage including national pick up from The Mirror, Daily Mail, Metro and The Sun. The stunt also went viral across social media
Why?
A simple and effective way to support an global campaign and cut through a crowded news space. Other brands hijacking the campaign, included rival, KFC, changing its iconic logo to a female instead of a male chef, Aer Lingus offering priority boarding for female passengers, and our very own Manchester renamed itself Womanchester. But the gold award has to go to McDonald’s…
THE CUSTOMER ISN’T ALWAYS RIGHT
What?
MyProtein wins legal battle following a serious customer complaint
Who and When?
•The Hut Group’s healthy food brand entered into a legal dispute last year when a customer falsely claimed he had found a dead mouse in his protein and went to local press with the story
Where?
The disagreement generated a lot of coverage across news channels including BBC News, as well as national and consumer pick up
Why?
The story is a great example of the customer not always being right. With many brands bowing down to customers’ complaints, My Protein stood up for themselves and it paid off
LACOSTE’S NEW STATEMENT LOGOS
What?
Lacoste launches a new range of logos to raise awareness of endangered animals
Who and When?
The luxury fashion brand partnered up with the International Union for Conservation of Nature to launch the inspiring campaign at Paris Fashion Week. Ten different limited edition t-shirts were embroidered with animals at risk of extinction, in place of its iconic crocodile
Where?
Broad pick up from national and regional media including the Sun, Independent and CNN, with huge praise from the public and industry alike
Why?
The thought-provoking campaign used simple imagery to raise awareness of a serious issue – a perfect demonstration of a big brand exercising its corporate social responsibility
THE HULK STOPS TRAFFIC IN BLACKPOOL
What?
A giant Hulk wax figure was pictured stopping a tram on Blackpool Promenade with sparks and smoke flying from the buckled tram tracks
Who and When?
Madame Tussauds Blackpool took one of the key figures from its new Marvel SUPER HERO attraction and worked with Blackpool Transport to literally stop traffic to announce the new area opening
Where?
Blanket national and regional coverage including the Metro, Mail Online and the Daily Star and ITV News
Why?
The eye-catching picture story was original and had high production value. It stopped the traffic as the public went about their days and proved that there’s still something to be said for a classic picture stunt
Trends
THE POWER OF INFLUENCERS
This really is the age of the influencers, with more bloggers, vloggers and celebs proving the power they have over consumers’ decisions. Kylie Jenner proved just how far this can go when she tweeted: “”sooo does anyone else not open Snapchat anymore?” The post immediately wiped £1m off Snapchat’s stock market value. There has been huge backlash from consumers following the Snapchat update yet when an influencer joins in, the network has to sit up and listen. Brands can no longer deny the power of influencers.
TIME’S UP AT THE OSCARS
This year’s Oscars had a stronger message than just movies. With women’s rights high on the news agenda, and International Women’s Day and the #MeToo campaign in full swing, this was a topic that the world’s biggest awards ceremony couldn’t ignore. The industry’s biggest actresses took to the red carpet wearing black, and actors spoke out about the key issues throughout the evening. There’s no denying that 2018 really is the year of the woman!
THE PLASTIC MOVEMENT
Michael Gove recently spoke out about a potential ban on plastic straws in the UK, marking the next move of its 25 year plan to eliminate avoidable plastics. The Marine Conservation Society revealed the UK uses 8.5 billion straws every year that end up in landfill or waterways. Wetherspoons were the first big chain to phase out plastic straws in its pubs, so expect to see more big brands addressing their corporate social responsibility and reducing plastic usage.
#PRFAIL
TOPMAN KICKS UP A FASHION STORM
What?
Topman was the latest brand in the centre of a fashion controversy, after launching a shirt that Liverpool fans accused of relating to the Hillsborough disaster
Who and When?
The fashion company launched a red long-sleeved t-shirt featuring a large number 96 on the back and the slogan ‘what goes around comes back around’ in reference to a Bob Marley hit. However many consumers pointed out the similarities to Hillsborough – with a Liverpool FC style design and 96 being the number of people who died in the incident
Where?
The story was covered by the national press including the Daily Mirror, Guardian, Telegraph, Sky, BBC, Metro and the Independent – Topman hastily had to issue a statement of apology and withdraw the shirt
Why?
More and more brands are finding themselves facing backlash from customers for inappropriate, offensive or politically incorrect items, as consumers are getting their say and influencing the news agenda. An example of how brands need to be aware of significant dates and events, and minimize any offense caused by products
WOMEN SEE PINK WITH ‘BEER FOR GIRLS’
What?
BrewDog launches Pink IPA ‘for girls’ to raise awareness about gender pay inequality and sexist advertising
Who and When?
The beer company rebranded its famous Punk IPA with pink packaging and served the beer 20% cheaper in an attempt to close the gender pay gap, but came in for criticism as a cynical marketing stunt
Where?
Widespread coverage across national media including the Telegraph, Guardian and Independent, and the story influenced a number of spin off articles about marketing towards women and women in the beer industry
Why?
While the brand had good intentions (donating 20% of the proceeds to the Women’s Engineering Society), it didn’t quite hit the mark with its satire and faced huge backlash from consumers missing the sarcastic tone of the campaign. A case of the right motivations but the wrong execution…
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