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Thought Leadership

Three Things on a Thursday: Future mums, cultural power and brandless branding

BITE’s weekly series rounds up the must-read articles of the week.

Nicola Kemp

Editorial Director Creativebrief

Hustle, humanity and humour. The three ingredients that topped BITE’s most-read articles this week underline that at the start of a challenging year, it's vital to have clarity in what it is you want to achieve, as organisations and individuals. 

When it comes to creativity, clarity of thinking was in full flow this week. From Cadbury’s Dairy Milk dividing up its packaging to reflect the division of labour in everyday tasks, to Heinz’ masterclass in brandless branding. The work was top of the agenda.

January might be coming to an end, but once you have got through the New Year to-do list, you can have the time and space to really commit to focusing on where you want to be.

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How Organix and The Ninety-Niners punctured the pressure of modern motherhood

As Marketing Director of Organix Brands, Mandy Bobrowski is in the driving seat of change at the baby and toddler food brand. In this interview, she explained how the brand has embraced creativity to call time on suffocating stereotypes of motherhood. Alongside Si Goodall, Founder, at agency partner The Ninety-Niners, Bobrowski shared how the brand has successfully used insight to shift the brand’s relationship with consumers.

“A lot of the conventional wisdom is that when you are a new mum you are always thinking about an idealistic future for your child. You want your child to be an athlete, a mini Einstein or at the very least not a fussy eater,” she explains.

Yet the reality is real mums are living in the moment. As Bobrowski explains: “In the early days of parenting the truth is it really is about surviving the day.” She describes this insight as a genuine ‘aha’ moment for the brand which has changed their approach, sharing: "Mums might set out with a plan for the day, but the chances are it is out of the window before breakfast. It means they have to be prepared to adapt to whatever the day throws at them, and having Organix in the bag is one way they can do that."

The insight marks a step change from the arguably unattainable ideals of what motherhood should look like. “A lot of brands have a tendency to see mums as a superhero; dealing with every family emergency and incompetent partner,” says Si Goodall, Founder of The Ninety-Niners. 

He continues: “That might seem empowering but it creates an unattainable ideal. Brands are inadvertently creating more pressure for mums. We turn mums into heroes and in turn make other mums feel they are not good enough.” 

At a time when mental health is at the very top of the agenda, the humanity in this approach to marketing is significant. 

Organix and The Ninety Niners:
Read the article here

‘To succeed you need to be able to shortcut decision making’

Culture may well be the most over-utilised word in marketing but this expansive interview with Jo Bacon, Group CEO at M&C Saatchi UK, underlines that true cultural power is a genuine differentiator for brands.

Brilliant brand platforms help create the foundations for a team to know when to speak and when to be silent. “When the brand has an authentic voice you can be agile and confident enough to act,” says Bacon.

This agility and cultural power is dependent on strong brand and agency partnerships. “That strong partnership of trust is a strategic foundation, you know you can leap when there is trust,” she explains.

“Now more than ever we are even more an extension of our clients' businesses,” says Bacon, adding: “We have all worked client side. I have built content businesses. Brands are now operating in a newsroom environment. You need to be able to walk in the footfall of conversational culture.”

To keep up with this pace brands and agencies must move away from slow and cumbersome sign-off processes. Death by a thousand amends does not build culture-first brands.

It is a shift which is having a significant impact on how marketing and agency leaders work together. “It’s a Whatsapp relationship rather than an email. To succeed you need to be able to shortcut decision making,” says Bacon.

M&C Saatchi:
Read the article here
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Heinz triggers taste memories with new masterbrand campaign

If the stereotype of a heavy handed CMO is the ubiquitous ‘make the logo bigger” request, then a masterbrand campaign with no logo is always uniquely delicious. 

In a visually-led campaign, Heinz effortlessly creates the anticipation of the taste of its iconic products through classic food pairings. How could you have fries without Heinz Tomato Ketchup? (Which, if you are as obsessed as this writer, you order with your drinks to ensure that the key ingredient is not missing when said fries arrive).

The campaign successfully underlines that simplicity is the most under-utilised tool in marketing. As Joe De Souza and Juan Sevilla, Creative Directors, W+K London, explained: "Ultimately, we love it because it shows that Heinz is all about one thing: great-tasting food. Simple as that.”

In a world of chaos, simplicity is a remarkably effective marketing tool. 

Wieden+Kennedy London:
Read the article here