- Health & Wellness – IKEA, Thisables
- Pharma – GSK, Breath of Life
- Design – Google, Creatability
- Outdoor – NIKE, Dream Crazy
- Print & Publishing – An-Nahar, The Blank Edition
After the first day of Cannes, five Grand Prix trophies have been awarded. Whilst it may be way too early to identify any themes, two interesting observations can be made:
- 4 out of 5 have been big global brands
- 4 out of 5 have had social causes at their heart (and the 5th is a purpose-driven brand message).
It will be interesting to see if this trend continues, but it would appear that big brands are supporting social causes as a key part of their communications strategy.
Certainly, when done right and, critically, with authenticity, social cause marketing defines a strategy which can work powerfully, but it’s important to make the following considerations:
- Ensuring that the brand is an integral part of the story and not just a sponsor trying to appropriate the cause
- Related to this, if the brand is seen to be cynically exploiting a cause it can backfire (e.g. Pepsi’s controversial 2017 advertisement).
At Flock, we are passionate about the power of creativity and believe that it is the most important source of competitive advantage for brands. That is why, when we talk to our clients about Marketing Transformation, we always think about how creativity can be nurtured and protected and advocated for.
We’d love to talk to you about how we can help you. Contact us here