OOO: A Break from Marketing BS | December 2023
1 | TikTok isn’t just for Christmas
One after another, major retailers’ have released their Christmas ads on TikTok, reaching a crescendo as people seek festive inspiration.
Instead of dialing back activity once the dust settles from the ‘big day’: with the right strategy in place, the so-called ‘Q5’ period is ripe with potential for big rewards.
While the ad industry switches off to recharge its batteries over Yuletide, this is an opportunity to maximze the potential of social shopping audiences cultivated during pre-Christmas peak trading.
Do Sing: January Stars - Sting
Don’t Sing: It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year - Andy Williams
2 | Sleighing nostalgia
The tone of 2023 was set early by a Super Bowl ad season described by some as safe, lazy and boring.
Marketers never seemed able to get out of the block as the year went on.
Most noteworthy efforts fell into the categories of rebrands, refreshes and repositionings as marketers sought to reconnect with evolving consumers rather than wowing them with splashy campaigns.
Instead, successful marketers leaned even more aggressively into campaigns around nostalgia and pop culture, sparking joy for otherwise beleaguered consumers.
Because who wouldn’t be stoked about the revival of Taco Tuesday?
Do Sing: It was acceptable in the 80’s - Calvin Harris
Don’t Sing: Stronger - Kanye West
3 | Reimagining returns
'Tis the season for returns, but savvy retailers are turning this post-holiday headache into a sustainable success story. As the year-end influx of returns approaches, brands are adopting eco-friendly strategies to minimize the impact on both the environment and their bottom line.
From streamlining logistics with third-party partners to embracing secondhand markets and prioritizing repairability, these forward-thinking businesses are redefining the art of reverse logistics. Happy Returns, now part of UPS, leads the charge by revolutionizing the return process, utilizing reusable totes, and eliminating the hassle of repackaging.
It's not just about recouping costs; it's a jolly green approach to customer satisfaction and sustainability.
Do Sing: Return of the Mack - Mark Morrison
Don’t Sing: Since U Been Gone - Kelly Clarkson
Back in 2019, WongDoody learned that University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill had been working diligently to uncover a genetic cause of postpartum depression (PPD), a silent and isolating disease that affects 1 in 7 new moms and is the leading cause of maternal mortality from suicide. But UNC’s research was slow going. For the study to reach any actionable conclusions, they needed a much larger sample size, and getting moms to openly talk about PPD was hard enough. That’s where WongDoody came in.
Using the Sounding Board, our agency’s insights model, we started with research and interviews of moms who’d lived through PPD. We heard their struggles, shared their tears and saw their intense desire to help other moms avoid PPD’s debilitating effects. Armed with these emotional insights, we created Mom Genes Fight PPD, an end-to-end campaign to bring awareness to the UNC study and inspire moms of any age to donate saliva samples to help determine PPD’s genetic cause, and eventually, its cure.
Fast forward to 2023, The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC) recently announced the completion of their study that confirmed direct genetic correlations associated with PPD (postpartum depression) and other psychiatric conditions.
It’s not every day we get the chance to help affect change on a generational level through advertising. In VP, Group Creative Director Jennie Moore's recent article, she dives in to how the campaign became such a success and why creativity is a necessary driver in building a better world.
Read the full article here.
The German Design Awards set an international standard for original developments in design and competitiveness within the global market and exclusively honors projects that are groundbreaking in the German and international design landscape. This year's top-class international jury set out to distinguish the most outstanding design achievements and WongDoody's work made the cut.
Using cutting-edge laser scanning technology, we created an AR App for FARO Technologies which helps visualize how flat and level concrete pours are to increase efficiency and accuracy for contractors, and for The Association of Tennis Players, we developed a first of its kind Carbon Tracker for professional athletes so they can track and mitigate their carbon footprint.
Both projects were honored by the German Design Awards for Excellent Communication Design.
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