August Update: Pizza Videos, K-Pop, and McDonald’s

August 2020 has seen the rise of the Staycation as consumers and travel and hospitality brands have taken on the reality of vacations in a time of minimal travel. In some ways it's been a silver lining for many as we get to discover our own countries, while others have gotten into trouble or been completely overwhelmed by people, like the whole of the UK! As we head into a new academic year, alongside fluctuating virus rates and local restrictions, we've done a round-up of some of the more interesting stories in the world of marketing this month. 

Pizza Home Videos

With cinemas and theatres still closed, Domino’s Pizza came up with a bright idea to get customers active and creative. Fans were invited to submit a very short home video by early August and a choice of entries will be viewable online between 7-11 September. The grand prize? A year’s worth of free pizza. Domino’s is actually following a trend for home videos that has also seen Macy’s and American Eagle take advantage of customer-created content. Read on. 

Dynamiting the Internet

If you haven’t already heard, K-pop (South Korean pop music) continues to dominate the internet. In fact, top band BTS almost broke the internet on August 23rd, when their latest music video broke the record for the highest number of YouTube views in 24 hours - 101.1 million, to be precise. The release of their first English-language song, Dynamite, has the world fluttering its collective eyelashes thanks to the band’s razor-sharp image and desire to “share some positive energy with our fans” during the pandemic (according to their press release). For further reading, you can get up to speed on the phenomenal success of the world’s biggest boy band, catch up on how men’s makeup is having a moment beyond just K-pop, and pick up some inspiration from BTS for your own marketing efforts.

Reeling in the Likes?

Users of Instagram (like myself) have not failed to notice the well-promoted launch of Reels, the company’s new short-video feature and its answer to TikTok. Reactions to Reels have been mixed, with one particular review calling out how it fails to address the 'paradox of choice' that is solved so successfully by TikTok, which keeps its UI (user interface) so simple that it brings content to you rather than make you work to find it. In short, TikTok is still more fun than Instagram Reels. Read more, on The Verge and check out our recent article on another Instagram experiment, when they tried losing the likes.

Marketing the Golden Arches

Even the mighty McDonald’s has lost money this year. It is now poised to spend hugely on marketing for the rest of the year, with a focus on the three Ds: delivery, drive-thru, and digital. It will also learn from new behaviors seen during the pandemic - namely, increased use of mobile and kiosk ordering. In the words of CEO Chris Kempczinski, “the mentality for us now is we have got the business to a good position, so whether we have a recession or don’t have a recession, have a resurgence, don’t have a resurgence of the virus, all those things are going to vary. Our mindset now needs to pivot strongly to going after share because that is the opportunity we have.”

Read more at Marketing Week and check out our case study on McDonald’s.

In Other News

• As retail stores have been reopening over the last couple of months, the tie with online shopping has become more evident and consumer habits are changing due to our altered lifestyles. These charts from the World Economic Forum give a fascinating snapshot, and this piece on Reuters look at retail sales in the Eurozone.
• Airbnb is in the news. The business took a huge blow with the arrival of Covid-19 - losing 67% of revenue and cutting many jobs - but they are ever-hopeful its planned-for IPO will go ahead. The company also announced restrictions on house parties and occupancy rates with an aim to be more in line with local restrictions.
• A July 2020 list of the top influencers shows many familiar names. But one thing worth noting is the list of top 3 influential “influencers”: two of them danced their way out of the world of TikTok and into more mainstream social media, looking to soon dethrone the long-held top position of PewDiePie (who started as a gamer).
• Apple has become Wall Street’s first $2tn company. That’s two trillion dollars. Quite the journey since the day it went public in December 1980. Read on.
• Charities and other non-profits have been badly affected by the Covid-19 crisis. In one effort to help, Google Ads offered $200million in ad grants for those in need of an extra push with their marketing.
• A recent interview gives some insight into how Bing uses user engagement metrics for ranking in search. Watch the full video here.
• Looking to read less on screen and more on paper? Check out Neal Schafer’s list of the top 15 marketing books to read this year. See the list here. You can also watch the webinar Neal did for DMI on Influencer Marketing.
• With November’s US presidential election coming ever closer, social media platforms are working hard to stay neutral. Twitter has revamped its Transparency Report site and Facebook is introducing a voter information hub. Meanwhile, one report casts worries on the integrity of user data in the Trump campaign’s app.

Mind Your Health

The Drum put together a super list of some of the best-and-bizarre public health campaigns over the years. Check out the Britney-Spears-style Scottish anti-smoking ad, a confusing message on VD from the 60s and, our favorite, the classic “Dumb Ways to Die” PSA from Australia. Here's the full list.

And, Finally

Tired of feeling you haven’t bothered to get fit during the last six months? (Or is that just me?) Here’s an excellent list of non-intimidating and easy exercises you can do while brushing your teeth or waiting for the kettle to boil, from The NYTimes.

And... Finally, Really

Who doesn’t love tiny sweaters for penguins? This story looks back at the Australian man who spent decades knitting woolly sweaters to help rescued penguins before his death at the age of 107.

Continue to stay safe, and let us know in the forum or by email of any stories or topics you're interested in. Or write a piece that might interest all our members.