StrawberryFrog’s founder on Forbes: “Billions of People Want the Super Brand Religion”

StrawberryFrog, the global ad agency’s founder, has written a new piece on Forbes about the opportunity global brands have in today’s world with billions of new consumers: 

Today the world has 6.92 billion people. They all wake up and look for the sun in the sky. They also look up at super brands and aspire to belong. The future is bright for brands that evolve their buyers into passionate advocates. Loyal consumers who buy without question. These are consumers who are worth their weight in gold…

Read more on Forbes

Future Friendly Living World App - StrawberryFrog

StrawberryFrog is proud to announce the launch of our latest app on iTunes. Entitled “Future Friendly Living World”, you can download this fun filled app which showcases three games. Save the planet and our future with these fun mini games from Future Friendly. Save water, save energy, and reduce waste by tilting, shaking and blowing into your iPhone. As the App says: “Each of your little green acts has a meaningful impact that will come to life on a lush and living planet that you can care for on the app.” Enjoy! Your friends at StrawberryFrog! 

Goodby’s Rhodes Jumps to StrawberryFrog

Adweek’s Gabriel Beltrone reports that StrawberryFrog has hired Frances Rhodes, operations director at Goodby Silverstein & Partners, as director of operations at its New York headquarters, reporting to CEO Scott Goodson.

StrawberryFrog New York is excited to welcome this amazing talent to the agency, to further strengthen the agency’s management team. “We are thrilled to have such a talented and experienced manager joining the ranks of our operation,” says co-Founder Karin Drakenberg. “When we started the agency 12 years ago, we never imagined that we would have grown as rapidly as we have around the world. We are looking forward to the future with Frances aboard”. 

In the Adweek article, Rhodes says her role Goodby was split between account duties and project management on the agency’s Sprint business. In her new position—which starts June 1—Rhodes says she will be focused on instituting processes and structure at StrawberryFrog.

She has been at GS&P for about four and half years, her second stint.

The Movement is the Medium

Originally published in Forbes

By Scott Goodson, Chairman of StrawberryFrog

There’s a movement gathering steam in the marketing world right now and, funnily enough, it has to do with… movements.

Large marketers like Procter & Gamble and PepsiCo recently have begun to shift some of their marketing focus to try to find ways to connect with cultural movements that are happening around the country and all over the world. Companies based outside the US, such as India’s fast-rising Mahindra Group, are also picking up on this trend. These companies are developing strategies and campaigns that are designed to go way beyond traditional advertising in terms of connecting with groups of people and their particular passions. The approach usually involves trying to identify an idea that is important to people, one that is on the rise in culture and that folks are uniting and gathering around. Then the company or brand must figure out how to be an authentic part of the movement as it grows and builds (usually from a grassroots level) around that particular idea.

Case in point: Last week the smart (car) sparked a new Cultural Movement “Against Dumb”, inspiring millions of Americans to fight against mindless over consumption.

In the past few years, I’ve become convinced that this type of “movement marketing” is the new way forward for anyone trying to gain market share and earn customer loyalty. Beyond that, I think it can provide a way for business to connect more deeply with culture, address social issues, get close to customers and their deepest interests, and maybe even be part of something worthwhile and important.

All of this probably raises a few questions, such as: How exactly do you define a “cultural movement?” And considering that people have been starting movements of one kind or another for eons, why should this suddenly be relevant to business now? And by the way, aren’t popular uprisings and groundswells things that happen spontaneously—separate from the realm of business? Aren’t they beyond our influence or control?

Let me start with the basic definition of cultural movements, at least as I use the term. It involves a likeminded group of people banding together around a shared idea or passion, and usually trying to bring about some type of change. The do-it-yourself crafties who belong to Etsy are part of a movement. The purists who are devoted to Apple and try to get all their friends to switch from PCs? They’re part of a movement. So are the people protecting animals in various ways. Or those who are pushing for open innovation. Or Christian rockers. Or Tea Partiers. Or those quirky “Steam-punk” people who dress in Victorian garb but love modern gadgetry. And the list goes on: For almost every passion you can think of there is a movement.

And while the notion of people forming movements is not new, this proliferation of mini-movements is something new—fueled by changes in media. The Internet, and in particular the rise of social media such as Facebook, Twitter and Foursquare, has made it incredibly easy to find and connect with likeminded souls. And this same technology makes it possible for a group, once formed, to organize, plan, and take action.

But there are also social reasons why movements are on the rise. While people are more connected in one sense, they’re also more disconnected—from neighbors and from the some of the traditional community hubs of yesteryear. Moreover, people seem to be looking for meaning and purpose in a world that has become increasingly turbulent and unsettling. Bob Johansen, one of the top brains at the Institute for the Future think-tank, predicts that as the world continues to get more volatile and complex in the years ahead, “we can expect movements to become increasingly important.”

As to the notion that movements happen spontaneously and that business has no role to play in them, it’s true and it isn’t. Movements definitely can be sparked or encouraged. My agency StrawberryFrog has been involved in starting a number of them in the recent past: For example, for Pfizer, we quietly seeded a “Boomer Coalition” movement that rallied Baby Boomers around fighting cardiovascular disease. We’ve done other movements for everything Frito-Lay snack foods to Pampers diapers.

The key for marketers who want to ride this wave is that they have to stop talking about themselves and their products, and start listening to what people are talking about and are passionate about. When you identify that big idea you want to align your brand with, it should be one that fits your corporate identity and values—an idea you can really believe in without being phony about it. Anand Mahindra, who heads the Mahindra Group and has started using movement marketing for various products, says: “I think if you’re going to tap into a movement, you need authenticity—you are either credible as a member and standard bearer of that movement, or you’re not.”

You also have to figure out what people need to really make that movement go—and help provide it for them. That may involve curating culture for them, providing content and/or expertise, or perhaps giving them a platform where they can more easily organize and build a community. This new model of marketing is primarily built around listening, sharing, facilitating: If you do that, people will trust you enough to let you be a part of their cultural movement.

And when that happens, your brand will have earned the kind of respect and credibility with these people that advertising just can’t get you. Your message will be shared among people who trust and listen to one another a lot more than they trust commercials. This is why I believe that increasingly, in the future, the movement will be the medium.

StrawberryFrog imports Allen from TED

StrawberryFrog has hired William Allen from TED to be its Director of Cultural Development, which is a new position in the independent global agency.

Allen, currently Senior Manager, Global Partnerships at TED, will head up a new department focused on implementing Cultural Movement programs inside organizations.

“Allen has been called one of TED’s brightest young stars,” says StrawberryFrog founder and Chairman Scott Goodson. “This is incredibly exciting to us as Allen has built some of the most influential partnerships at TED, an organization we admire, and he’s got an innovative digital agency background that will influence the direction our agency will take for years to come.  He also possesses a great sense of humor, which is perhaps of equal value. The moment we met William, we knew he was the guy to lead Cultural Movements internally for our clients.  Allen will lead a new space within StrawberyFrog specifically aimed at creating Cultural Programs within organizations, to deliver Culture Movement strategies from the inside out. William is the kind of person who can help change a whole business, and we want him to do it at StrawberryFrog for our clients.”

“I am thrilled to be joining a global agency that is creating movements for clients, and already implementing these strategies so effectively with its existing clients,” says William. “What I have learned at TED is that storytelling, both inside and out of an organization, is critical as movements usurp advertising in the age of authenticity.”

About StrawberryFrog
StrawberryFrog is the world’s first cultural movement agency. Our cultural movements identify a unifying, universal cultural trend and then build galvanizing marketing communications around that trend, transforming target consumers into brand advocates while also building widespread brand awareness. StrawberryFrog’s client roster includes blue chip brands such as P&G, Pampers, Pepsico, Smart Car, Quaker, Emirates Airline, Mahindra, Sabra, Jim Beam, Liberty Mutual, Heineken.

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FORBES: Why smart (the car) wants Americans to be “against dumb”

“Against Dumb”

By ELAINE WONG, Forbes Magazine, November 5, 2010

Let’s face it. Americans are guilty of overconsumption. We buy everything from SUVs to homes we cannot afford to even that extra pillow or blanket when one would’ve been enough. Smart, that ultra tiny, fuel efficient car brand, today kicked off an initiative (it hopes) will staunch some of that overzealous buying. Its Facebook page now has a full length “against dumb” manifestation which lists the principles of, well, exactly that. (StrawberryFrog is the agency.) Some excerpts: “Dumb is Venti when Tall is plenty.” And another: “Dumb is eating anything bigger than your head.” Yikes!

Kim McGill, smart’s vp-marketing, advertising, said the effort is really a “movement” aimed at reinforcing the brand’s relevance in a post fuel-prices-are-skyrocketing economy. While driving a smart—or fuel efficient vehicle—may have been a “smart” (no pun intended) move for most Americans in tough times, now many consumers are going back to their normal buying habits. Call it whatever you want, but initiatives like these are essentially a marketing plug for its brand—and McGill acknowledges that—but this might just be what the nation needs to keep its voracious appetite in check.

McGill spoke with Forbes this morning about how smart is tapping viral videos and word of mouth influencers to get this initiative sweeping across the country.

Forbes: What’s this new “smart” initiative you’re kicking off? And what prompted it?

We are not calling it a campaign. We’re calling it a social media initiative. Smart still remains the epitome of efficiency—whether it’s fuel, materials or space—but as we looked at a number of things about the brand, [consumers’ perceptions of it had changed.] When the brand first launched in the U.S. and fuel prices were $4 a gallon, everyone got it. But now that fuel prices have gone down, America is back to what we like to do, which is “bigger and better” [when it comes to buying] and all that. And people are saying, “I don’t know if I really need a car like this anymore.” And so, we wanted to [address that] in the context of a humorous [movement.]

Forbes: Why rally against overconsumption?

We all have junk drawers. We’ve got attics that are full of stuff. And it’s really around this idea of how much stuff we surround ourselves with that bogs us down and keeps us from being free to do what we need to do. Should we have two SUVs in the garage? Or should our other car be something more nimble and small that we can use 95 percent of the time?

Forbes: Okay.  So moderation is key, essentially. Why do you think this message is especially relevant now?

We see all these ads now as we get into the holiday season. People are overextending their credit cards, they’re losing their homes. It’s like, why did we buy all of this stuff? Did it really make us happy? How happy am I that I have all this junk? It’s like [one consumer telling us] she wasn’t sure if it was worth it to pay $2,000 to put her stuff in Public Storage.

Forbes: Not to stretch it, but industry groups have launched campaigns rallying against the dangers of over-consuming junk food or paper. How original is this message?

I don’t know that it’s so original. The idea is the conversation is going on, so we thought we would stoke it a bit more. Let’s talk about it, let’s put our brand relevance around it. It’s not so much against overconsumption, but the mindless things we do.

Forbes: We’re all guilty of overconsumption.

Yes. Here’s an example. I’m a very passionate, high-end, amateur photographer. Every time I’m standing on the sidelines of a sports event and see professionals with their huge lens, I say, “I want one.” Two years ago, I might have actually bought a $7,500 lens. But today, I may be a little more conscious of what I buy. I’ve gotten more creative and realize that I don’t need to buy one. I can rent one. You’ll see us emphasize that, too, with “against dumb.” It’s “Buy what you need most of the time and rent what you need occasionally.”

Forbes: It’s not just the hoarders or shopaholics you’re targeting, is it?

It spans all demographics. There are some people who naturally say, “I don’t need to have everything. Buying more and more material goods is not going to make me happy. In fact, it’s a burden because I can’t be free to move as I want to.” And that [last bit] might relate more to the younger generation, who is always thinking about, “I’ve got to be free to move across the country. If a job opens up, I have to be free to go.” For the older generation, you work really hard at accumulating things and there comes a point in time when you say, “I am not really happy with all this stuff.”

Forbes: How are you getting the word out?

We have two street teams we are running full time in the marketplace right now. We might stoke something around the LA Auto Show. That show is right in the middle of November, right before Black Friday. We also have viral videos and we’re looking at some Web sites and blogs where this conversation is already happening.

Forbes: Why humor? Does it fit the brand? And don’t you think the message, even if it’s delivered in a funny way, is still a bit, er, harsh?

Smart was a serious solution for the problem of urban congestion, but the brand is very lighthearted. Look at it. It doesn’t look serious…You can’t get this in a brand that is about challenging the norm. We’re not something you’d necessarily see on the road, and so we wanted to do this in a fun kind of way, whether you’re smiling with us or at us.

[Plus,] we’re not trying to preach to people to downsize to the max. We all do it. We all have drawers and attics full of junk.

Forbes: The “movement’s”  effectiveness ultimately hinges on getting more people to consider smart. So how are you measuring success?

If it makes people just think about it, that will be a success. Because right now, we get so caught up in our habits and thinking about that “what if” time where we’ll need something big. We need to get people thinking of buying not for that one time, but buying for what we need most of the time. If we can get more people talking in that direction, it will be nothing but positive for this brand.

Marketers Hope Cultural Movements Build Cult Brands

From Forbes today:

By Melanie Wells

A few years back shoe designer Manolo Blahnik, pausing to consider the craze over his expensive designer footwear, confessed to me: “Sometimes I’m not able to understand all this madness and love.”

I spoke to Blahnik for a cover story I was writing for Forbes about cult brands. For that same story I spent time with Mazda Miata fanatics and chatted with mild-mannered executives who took on Harley-Davidson’s hell-raising image on weekends. Then, as now, there were many Apple enthusiasts to interview. But then, unlike now, most companies didn’t set out to attract cult-like followings. The cult thing happened most often when brands attracted fans and followers because of a basic baked-in promise.

Today, companies are trying to create die-hard fans and followers by harnessing or engineering cultural movements. PepsiCo wants to appeal to entrepreneurial do-gooders with its Pepsi Refesh effort. Kimberly Clark wants to take the stigma out of menstruation in honest ads for its feminine hygiene products. Clif Bar & Co., which markets its snack bars to outdoorsy, environmentally minded outdoorsy people donates money to wind farms, powers vans with biodiesel and encourages employees to volunteer for good causes.

Scott Goodson, the founder and chairman of ad shop StrawberryFrog says there will be many more “cultural movement marketing” efforts to come. He happens to think that connecting with consumers who are passionate about recycling, cleaning up the ocean, fighting a disease or something else is a powerful way for companies to entice them into becoming brand fans.

“The approach usually involves trying to identify an idea on the rise in culture, that is important to people and that folks are uniting and gathering around. Then the company or brand must figure out how to be an authentic part of the movement as it grows and builds, usually from a grassroots level, around that particular idea,” says Goodson, whose independent agency is working on a cultural movement effort for Emirates Airline. 

Goodson’s agency created a campaign for Frito-Lay’s True North snacks that included ads and Web videos featuring Baby Boomers finding their passions in life. For Pfizer, the agency quietly created a movement that encouraged people to join in to raise awareness of and fight cardiovascular disease.

Social media tools, fragmented media, and a need for disconnected people to find meaning in an increasingly turbulent and unsettling world guarantees more such movement campaigns, says Goodson.

Can movement marketing really move the needle when it comes to sales?

“The key for marketers who want to ride this wave is that they have to stop talking about themselves and their products and start listening to what people are talking about and are passionate about,” Goodson says. “When you identify that big idea you want to align your brand with, it should be one that fits your corporate identity and values—an idea you can believe in without being phony about it.”

What do you think? Can efforts like these contribute to the kind of enduring brand lust that keeps Apple and Harley fans addicted?

http://blogs.forbes.com/melaniewells/2010/10/26/marketing-cult-brands-apple-harley-social-media-strawberry-frog-movements/

Creating Cultural Movements — The Accelerated Impact

The colossal agency networks have been operating on the same business model for the last 40 years — aggregation and consolidation into bureaucratic systems.  That’s why we refer to them as ‘dinosaurs’ and think of ourselves as the smarter, more nimble ‘frog’.  

Unfortunately their communications models are equally out-of-date.  A large-scale mass effort using traditional media, then some direct marketing and ‘new media’ if there’s any money left over.  And there’s a threshold spending level that clients have to make if they have any hopes of being heard amongst the noise.

At StrawberryFrog, we think there’s a better way.  A smarter, faster more efficient and more effective way.  We call this the Cultural Movement.  It combines the populist power of grass-roots movements with the science and discipline of consumer branding.

At the outset of any campaign, our first task is to identify the idea on the rise in culture.

Then we find those people who present the greatest opportunity to belong.  For them, Cultural Movement works three ways:  1) they’re interested in the offering, 2) their values and the brand’s values are the same, shared values, 3) they are activist about brands that matter to them, spreading the message to others like them.

Brilliant creative ideas connect with people on an intimate, personal level. Then they prompt them to relay that idea to others.  This is turn accelerated the brand’s uptake into the cultural conversation, creating a Cultural Movement.  Once your Cultural Movement begins, great creative ideas leads to the next great ideas, consumer engagement leads to new consumer engagement, and the brand goes from static to kinetic.  Every marketing dollar under a Cultural Movement works harder, faster, and lasts longer.

It’s been said that even one man can move mountains.  With Cultural Movement, even one brand can move the world.

The Essentials for a Long Lasting Client + Agency Relationship?

Last week we asked what the essentials are for a long lasting Client + Agency. Thank you for all your comments. What must they be? Here’s SFrog’s list: Honesty. Whatever happens, client and agency, need to tell each other the truth. Trust and mutual forgiving of mistakes, which are unavoidable on both sides. Absence of fear. Nobody can produce great work, under a Damocles sword. Acknowledgement of jobs well done. Mutual agreement that carrots produce largely better and more work than whips. Openness from wherever ideas come from. They often come from the client. Close involvement at the top of client and agency. The big picture must constantly be clear to everybody. Nobody is permitted to waver in the belief of the essential values of the brand. A sense of humor, which allows both sides to have as much fun as possible, in the interest of outstanding commitment and work. Maybe this helps a bit, what do you think? Feedback here please»>