August Highlights: 10 Of The Best And Worst New Ads
We test every UK and US ad that airs in 25 key categories for System1 Ad Ratings. The service is launching to customers later this year: meanwhile here are ten of August’s most interesting new campaigns – and how they scored.
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“Wanna Buy A Scandal?”: Unpicking The Response To Controversial Ads
German brewer Astra became the latest brand to run into social media scandal and accusations over an ad. What do the public think – and why does it matter?
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Rise Of The Machines
In our most recent case study, we look at twenty-four innovative tech releases: there’s something in here to satisfy everyone’s sci-fi needs.
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Desert Island Reads
Here at System1 we love a good book… or 15. Check out the reads we’ve been enjoying, covering a range of subjects from social evolution to fungi.
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New 5-Star Ad: Mentos’ “Say Hello”
Mentos is the first confectionery brand to release a 5-Star ad on UK TV this August (so far). Find out what made this ad so popular.
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The Behavioural Science Behind “Share A Coke”
2018 marks the fifth US summer of Coca-Cola’s “Share A Coke” marketing campaign, when the soft drinks giant releases thousands of limited-edition bottles showing names, places, occasions, or even song lyrics. It’s probably the most famous, and longest running, mass personalisation campaign in the world, and Coke have regularly credited it with big returns. Back in 2014, following its successful launch, the Ogilvy-run campaign was linked to Coca-Cola’s first sales increases in a decade.
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Maintaining Cats And Dogs
Using our Ad Ratings data we look at what works and doesn’t in the Pet Insurance category – and what people insurers can learn from it.
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Marketing Legal Weed: Everybody Might Get Stoned
What do you do when you’re launching a product that already has very strong – and very unhelpful – brand associations?
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There’s No Next If You Text
This week, System1 Agency released a powerful 90 sec film to help change people’s attitudes and behaviors around texting and driving.
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System1 Finalists in The MRS Operations Awards
Find out how System1 became finalists in the MRS Operations Awards with Ad Ratings
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Conference Season Preview: Take Marketing’s Pulse
The keynotes. The awards. The case studies. The golf tournaments. From the IPA to TMRE, find the events you won’t want to miss.
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A Crucial Snapshot Of Media Change
Ofcom’s “Digital Nations” report sheds some light on the biggest questions in media. We run through its most useful insights.
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Less Is More For 5-Star KitKat
Sharp editing turned an Australian KitKat ad into a 5-Star US Ad Ratings winner. We break it down.
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Around The World In 25 Places
A new study reveals a startling truth about the places humans visit, with big implications for brands and mobile marketing. It’s just one example of the power of habit.
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Thirty Million Viewers. Twenty-One Ads.
Last week saw the highest commercial TV audience in UK history. System1 Ad Ratings exclusively reveals which brands made the most of it.
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Do More With Less, In An Efficient And Valuable Way … MRMW APAC
The MRMW APAC conference in Singapore at the end of June took “digital disruption” as its theme. It was a great opportunity to measure the pace of research change in the part of the world with more experience of ultra-fast change than any other. System1 was in attendance, with Maria Spinelli, Glaucia Marques and Alice Arnould reporting back.
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IPA Effectiveness Shortlist: What We Loved
Other ad awards may have the glamour, but for us, the IPA’s biennial Ad Effectiveness Awards are the classiest in the industry. Tying the awards to specific business impact and bottom line effects means the IPA awards have rigour to go with the creativity. And that creativity covers a genuinely wide field – from the cleverest examples of digital wizardry to broad-based, populist ads which put a smile on millions of faces.
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Best Of The1: Our Most-Read Pieces
As a thankyou for reading our newsletter and blog, here’s our ten most-read pieces of the last three months, from voice branding to the power of dogs.
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How To: Tap Into Patriotic Feeling
As the USA celebrates the 4th of July, we look at how brands and advertisers can handle the hot potato that is patriotism.
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The 5 Best World Cup Ads 2018
We tested dozens of ads for the World Cup. Here are the best (and worst!).
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How To: Compete With Private Labels
With Amazon investing heavily in private labels, brand marketers are feeling the heat. Here’s how to manage own-label competition.
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What Happens If You Test Everything?
We’re launching Ad Ratings, our creative benchmarking system. It’s our biggest research project ever – find out more.
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Book Review: Amber Case – Calm Technology
Amber Case’s ‘Calm Technology’ is a manifesto for coping with the coming age of ubiquitous computing. Innovators should take heed.
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Fannovation! Why Supporters Have The Best Ideas
Brands come up with limited-run innovations around every World Cup. But it’s the fans who really understand how you need Fluency to move the crowd.
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How To Score With Football Ads
An entertaining ad by retailer Otto puts a spotlight on the qualities needed for a great event-themed commercial – and the risks to brands who don’t make their identity clear.
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Five Things We Learned At IIeX
A postcard from the future! Brent Snider and Bianca Pryor report back from the IIEX 2018 Conference.
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Food Innovation: How Far Is Too Far?
In the Innovation space, you can learn a whole lot from 1-Star ideas. The gap between a market-ready idea and a flop is often a case of finding the right framing. Anyone for Avocado Gelato?
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The Short-Term Dilemma (And How To Beat It)
Marketers don’t need lectures on short-termism; they need solutions. Here’s ours.
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A Fluent Breakfast Success
Crack, scramble, heat and eat! For millions of people making scrambled eggs is a familiar and habitual morning routine. Ore-ida’s new Just Crack An Egg Scramble Bowls build off of this easy System 1 familiar behaviour and is a great example of what at System1 Research we call Fluent Innovation.
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Five Ways Voice Will Change Branding
In this year’s Super Bowl commercials, Amazon’s Alexa lost her voice. In the real world, she’s louder than ever. The Amazon Echo, and other voice-activated home assistants like Apple’s iPod Home, are enjoying a surge in sales. Mass adoption isn’t quite there yet, but it looks likely, if not inevitable.
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To Survive The Retail Apocalypse, Keep Moving
These are tough times for physical retailers. It seems like every week, news breaks of another brand in trouble. With 60% of purchase decisions made in the retail environment, understanding and predicting shopper decisions is a critical task and one that deserves the appropriate investment.
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Dogs! Cars! Dogs Driving Cars!
Advertising ideas don’t get simpler than Subaru’s Barkleys – but sometimes simple works. We take the motoring mutts for a test drive.
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Still Ready For Prime Time: How TV Defied The Doomsayers
The “death of TV” has become a marketing trope. But it hasn’t happened yet. We explore why.
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The ‘Most Innovative’ Imperative For Every Insights Firm
Alex Hunt discusses the pace of insight change and the latest GRIT findings.
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Innovating for the Environment
Images of an albatross feeding its chick plastic and a whale with a bucket caught in its mouth shocked worldwide viewers of Blue Planet 2, the documentary about our oceans. Plastic became Public Enemy Number One overnight. Enter innovation and new product development.
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Unwrapping The Plastics Crisis Phenomenon
This time last year, almost nobody was talking about a “plastics crisis”. This year, it’s the hottest of topics. But how did the plastic waste issue finally get onto the public radar, and what lessons can communicators learn from it?
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Who’s Picking Up Your Litter? Litter Kills Campaign
Britain has a serious litter problem. Find out how System1 Agency helped Clean Up Britain combat this issue with their ‘Litter Kills’ campaign.
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How Fluent Are You In Branding
We often talk about the 3 qualities that make for great, profitable brands: Fame, Feeling and Fluency. If your brand comes to mind easily (Fame) it’s a good choice; if your brand evokes positive emotion (Feeling) it’s a good choice; if people recognise your brand and its assets quickly (Fluency) then it’s a good choice. But how to nurture these qualities in your communication?
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A Personal Reflection on IIeX Behaviour
System1’s European Managing Director, Horace McDonald, takes us through his highlights from this year’s IIeX Behaviour London.
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Tips For Innovating In A Tipsy Category
Distinction in the alcohol sector can be tough – rip off the label and often times your brand isn’t unique anymore. Companies must heavily rely on continuous and successful innovation to earn their spot in the top of consumer’s minds.
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