“Is it really true to say that China is a rising empire?” asked Alexei Orlov, chief marketing officer for Volkswagen Group China, during the session “How to Reach a Billion Eyeballs” at the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity today. “I would say they’re a returning empire,” he said, reminding the audience that China is responsible for inventions like paper and gunpowder, even toilet paper, and home to some of the largest global brands, including Lenovo and Huawei. China now contributes more than a third of VW’s worldwide sales, Orlov said: The automaker sold 2.1 million cars in China in 2012, 37 percent of global sales.

Despite the vigorous marketplace, VW ranked an abysmal 126th in terms of desirability in China three years ago. “There’s a big difference between need and desire,” Orlov said. To amp up its desirability, VW launched “The People’s Car Project,” which allowed consumers to suggest designs for cars—more than 260,000 were submitted—one of which the company produced. Orlov said it was the biggest crowdsourced product to date. In 2012, VW moved up to 76th most desired brand.

Orlov followed a presentation by PepsiCo China CEO Richard Lee, who pointed out that China’s rapid development has come at a cost: the loss of family values. For instance, while Chinese New Year is the most important season in the country—with some 700 million Chinese traveling to celebrate with their family each year—70 percent of youth question the tradition of going home for the holiday. Last year PepsiCo sought to remind youth of the importance of family and culture with a campaign focused on rebuilding family bonds. Spreading the message that family is the root to happiness, “Bring Happiness Home” included a 22-minute film, music videos, outdoor ads, bus wraps, social media, QR codes on packaging, content marketing and more.

Continue reading “At Cannes: VW and PepsiCo on succeeding in China, Contagious on the world in five years” »

This week Cannes is hosting its 60th annual advertising extravaganza, and we’ll be posting on some of the highlights. In a morning session today at the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity, Yahoo! VP Erin McPherson talked about the shift to video consumption online and on mobile. “Video is critical to Yahoo!’s vision,” said McPherson, head of video at the Web company. “We are committed to sourcing, developing, producing and broadcasting video content.” One Web series Yahoo! is bringing to life this fall is Ghost Ghirls, a comic endeavor backed by actor, producer and musician Jack Black.

McPherson pointed to the benefits of Web series, extolling the speed—the first 12 episodes of Ghost Ghirls were written in one month and shot in three weeks—and fluidity. “We’re able to experiment and listen to our audience in real time and optimize accordingly,” McPherson said, noting that brands are underwriting this kind of innovation. Black, meanwhile, talked about finding content he wants to produce: “If you ever detect a whiff of desperation, that’s usually a good sign it’s not something you should pursue. … You have to wade through a lot of shit to get to the diamond.”

In addition to video, Yahoo! is investing in what we termed News Bites—summaries of articles for on-the-go reading—in one of our 100 Things to Watch in 2013. In March, the company acquired Summly, reportedly for a hefty $30 million, from teenager Nick D’Aloisio, who also participated in the panel. The digital wunderkind, who founded Summly at age 15, said he’s trying to make the exploding digital world small again through personalization and summarization. “Time’s the new currency, right?” D’Aloisio said, explaining that he’s trying to give people back time.

Continue reading “Cannes highlights, from the new world of Web video to an ‘awesomer’ world” »

Find our roundups collected in magazine form on Flipboard, the iOS and Android app; download the app to view it here: http://flip.it/n7D37.

-The FT’s “Responsible Business 2013” special report includes looks at how businesses are attempting to build in social value and lead consumers toward more responsible behavior.

-Most Americans feel they’ve lost their privacy in this era of connectivity and surveillance, with Millennials the least uneasy about this, per the National Journal’s Heartland Monitor Poll.

-The FT reports on corporations’ drive to accumulate data on consumers and the bid to make data collection more transparent.

-George Lucas and Steven Spielberg forecast a “radically different entertainment landscape” in Hollywood’s future, as Variety reports.

-Asia is “the new Peoria” for consumer brands, says a Forbes contributor.

-The New York Times reports that luxury and resort hotel companies are focused on Asia, and especially China, for growth.

-A new study finds that China’s rising wealth has boosted longevity but also introduced new health issues, reports Bloomberg Businessweek.

-China’s growing presence in Africa is causing some discomfort, reports The New Yorker.

-The Economist takes a look at the progress women in Brazil are making, especially in business.

-The Wall Street Journal spotlights the “New Industrial Revolution,” examining how digital tech is changing manufacturing and possibly reviving American industry.

Continue reading “Weekly Roundup: Privacy fears, Hollywood’s future and ‘happy feet’ for men” »

“The same tension felt by working mothers today is palpable and relevant for dads,” writes Wall Street Journal blogger Yee Lee, VP of engineering at TaskRabbit, in a post this week. Indeed, more than 8 in 10 men say that balancing career and family can be just as tough for men as for women, according to a recent survey of 1,000 adults in the U.S. and U.K. that we conducted using SONAR™, JWT’s proprietary online tool. As fathers become more engaged in their role, women are only somewhat more likely than men to say they have made career sacrifices for the sake of their family/children and that they’ve taken time off from work to accommodate their family’s schedule.

Balancing family and work is fast becoming an issue for all parents, with fathers facing their own distinct challenges in this regard. For instance, more than two-thirds of men in our survey agreed that “Employers assume men will be there, while women with children can put in less time because of their families.” Notes a sociologist quoted in this week’s Wall Street Journal: “There’s still a stigma associated with men who put parenting on an equal footing with their jobs.” For more on the changing role of fathers and what that means for marketers, see our new trend report “The State of Men.”

This Father’s Day, let’s celebrate the decline of the “doofus dad,” that clueless stock character who has populated advertising for years. He’s on the way out thanks to disgruntled fathers, who have started making clear to marketers they’re not amused by these portrayals. The Huggies case is well-known: Last year the brand agreed to revise a reality-style spot in which Huggies were “put … to the toughest test imaginable: dads, alone with their babies.” Earlier this year a Huggies exec told The New York Times a valuable lesson was learned: “Dads do not want to be treated differently and they do not want to be treated foolishly.” (See the revised, “pro-dad” spot here.)

More marketers will need to adjust their messaging now that dads devote more time than ever to domestic chores. American fathers spend an average of 7.3 hours a week on child care, triple the amount of time they spent in 1965, according to the Pew Research Center. And today it’s cool for dads to be engaged in this way. Men are no longer likely to feel emasculated by tasks once primarily the domain of women. Two years ago Tide showed a stay-at-home, self-described “dad mom” overcompensating as he talks about using “the brute strength of dad” for laundry duty; this year, Tide depicts a self-described “expert dad” who’s nonchalant about handling the laundry.

Dad is increasingly popping up in place of Mom in commercials around the world, whether it’s tackling laundry, making a family meal or driving a kid to school. But too much of the time, advertising’s domestic sphere is still a female-only domain—a vision that’s increasingly out of step with the times. Take the longtime tagline “Choosy moms choose Jif,” for instance. The J.M. Smucker brand has started showing fathers in commercials, adding “and dads” to the voiced-over tagline—but dads still feel like an afterthought. As men take on more household work, brands will need to start speaking to them and to women more equally.

For more on men’s changing role in the household, see our new report “The State of Men” here or here.

While researching our latest trend report, “The State of Men,” we interviewed Yang-Yi Goh, fashion editor of the Canadian men’s lifestyle magazine Sharp and Sharp: The Book for Men, a biannual publication. The author of two educational graphic novels, Ninja and Alien Inventor, Goh also co-founded the men’s lifestyle site Handlebar Magazine. He talked to us about men’s new openness to bold style choices, why some men are looking to the past for guidance, and whether men are adopting a different attitude toward shopping.

With gender roles becoming more fluid and ideas about masculinity evolving, how do you see that affecting men’s style and how men present themselves?

From the style standpoint, we’re definitely seeing men taking more chances and becoming more and more interested in how they present themselves and their appearance. It is great to see. There are style-savvy moves today that are acceptable that maybe your average guy wouldn’t have thought to try three or four years ago. In our April issue, we had a photo shoot that was devoted to floral patterns for spring—whether it is wearing a floral shirt with a suit and tie or trying out even floral shorts or something like that. I think guys are more willing to take risks today, which is great. They are less self-conscious about making some of those bolder style choices.

Aside from floral patterns, what are some other examples of things that men are coming to more readily accept?

Clothing-wise, guys are starting to take a little bit more pride in their appearance and are more willing to dress up on occasions that they might not have to. They are seeing the value in looking and feeling their best. There is this antiquated notion that it’s manlier to not care about the way you look. Now, more guys are starting to realize that when you look good, you feel good. That is an idea that is really starting to catch on.

For men’s fashion, how much do you think the media is responding to the broader culture, and how much are they leading the way?

There are more resources for guys out there than ever before. It really started on the Internet—there was this amazing outpouring of blogs that were suddenly about men’s grooming and men’s style, and all those things. Guys are more educated than ever before, which is great to see. You’re starting to see more publications like Sharp, like our biannual publication, a book for men that is devoted to [style]. We market ourselves as a comprehensive guide for men of taste and style. There really is now a growing market for publications and websites that are strictly devoted to men’s style, which is good to see.

Continue reading “Q&A with Yang-Yi Goh, fashion editor, ‘Sharp’ magazine” »

Find our roundups collected in magazine form on Flipboard, the iOS and Android app; download the app to view it here: http://flip.it/2FP4W.

-The FT examines Millennials in a special report that includes results of a global survey of this generation. ABC News summarizes some key insights from the study.

-McKinsey analyzes “trends remaking China’s economy, cities, and society,” arguing that the next phase for the nation will look quite different from the current one.

-A 39-country Pew study on social acceptance of homosexuality finds that in recent years acceptance has grown fastest in South Korea, the U.S. and Canada.

-The New York Times’ Economix blog lists eight takeaways from the International Labor Organization’s new report on global employment.

-For luxury brands in China, “the low-hanging fruit is gone,” reports The Economist, but there’s still plenty of opportunity in the market.

-Time’s cover story looks at how China views the rest of the world and envisions its place in the global scene.

-Several long-term trends appear to be sapping Americans’ “risk-taking spirit,” reports The Wall Street Journal, making for a less dynamic economy.

-The Huffington Post provides an infographic on the vanishing American middle class.

-Hard hit by the economic downturn, African-Americans are nonetheless optimistic about their lives, according to a study by NPR.

-Americans have mixed feelings about wearable technology, which they see as both enhancing life and compromising privacy, explains USA Today.

Continue reading “Weekly Roundup: Millennials around the world, email’s evolution and live-streamed weddings” »

Our new trend report, “The State of Men” focuses in part on how masculinity is being redefined circa 2013. Gender conventions are blurring and men are formulating more nuanced ideas of what it means to be a man, with some taking to traditionally feminine activities like cooking or going to spas. Men are also starting to adopt products or habits once largely associated with women’s grooming routines, from getting facials to using foundation. Adoption is likely to grow given that Millennials are more open to these grooming habits than older generations, according to a recent survey of 1,000 adults in the U.K. and the U.S. that we conducted using SONAR™, JWT’s proprietary online tool.

Men’s grooming products are one of the beauty industry’s fastest-growing segments, with global revenues rising by an average of 6 percent a year since 2006—reaching almost $33 billion in 2011—according to Euromonitor International. Some markets in particular are taking to these products. In South Korea, for instance, men spent nearly $500 million on skin care products alone in 2012, according to Euromonitor, which also estimates a 13 percent rise in men’s grooming sales in China this year. Another sign of the trend: Last month Amazon launched a men’s grooming shop to cater to America’s growing group of image-conscious men.

Social media and other interactive digital platforms are increasingly serving as outlets for medical advice. A PwC study last year determined that a third of U.S. adults use social media to get medical information. Another study found that more than 90 percent of respondents aged 18 to 24 trust health information obtained via social media and that more than a quarter of U.S. hospitals have a social media presence. Le Bonheur Children’s Hospital in Memphis, for example, posts relatable family stories and parental advice on its Facebook page, as does HCA Healthcare, the Nashville-based hospital chain. Providers like these compete for consumer attention with populist sources like TV’s Dr. Mehmet Oz, whose Twitter feed is filled with tips, like adding vinegar to one’s diet to ward off diabetes.

HealthTap is a startup that connects people seeking medical information with doctors, either online or via mobile app. The site now gets more than 7.5 million unique visitors a month. While few doctors connect with patients via social media, email can help health care providers efficiently address people’s concerns. Le Bonheur fields emails relating to medical conditions through a general account, to preserve anonymity, according to Digital Trends. Sherpaa, a startup that helps employers select health care providers, gives company employees access to a network of doctors available to answer questions around the clock by email, text or phone. The company says this helps doctors form better relationships with clients over time.

In 2013, men are becoming a different breed from the men of decades past. Our latest trend report examines shifts in male roles, behavior, attitudes and mindsets, focusing on how masculinity is being redefined today, how men’s role in the home is changing and how men are navigating the new gender order.

Masculinity was more clearly defined when “men were men,” as the phrase goes. Today, as gender conventions blur, men are formulating more nuanced ideas of what it means to be a man. The household in particular is becoming more gender-neutral as men both embrace a more active role and get pushed into it out of necessity. And as men’s place in the world vis-à-vis women shifts rapidly—7 in 10 men we surveyed see their gender as becoming less dominant in society—men feel they have it just as hard as women.

This report features data from a survey we conducted of 1,000 adults aged 18-plus in the U.S. and the U.K. from April 29-May 2, 2013, using SONAR™, JWT’s proprietary online tool. It also includes input from experts and influencers in male trends, as well as JWT planners and researchers around the globe. Check back here each Wednesday for the next few weeks to read the expert/influencer Q&As we conducted for this report.