The Most Effective Brands of 2024

Summary

The Marketing Architects: Episode Summary Episode Title: The Most Effective Brands of 2024
Release Date: December 31, 2024
Host/Author: Marketing Architects

---

Introduction and Podcast Growth

Alayna Jasper opens the episode by expressing gratitude to listeners for the podcast's significant growth over the year. She highlights the valuable feedback and increased engagement through interviews with notable guests, emphasizing the team’s commitment to continuous improvement. Alayna shares listener-centric metrics, noting that the top episodes featured interviews with Mark Ritson and Byron Sharp, alongside a discussion on Media Mix Modeling. Additionally, popular "Nerd Alert" segments delved into topics like how our brains react to advertising and the pitfalls of A/B testing.

Notable Quote:

“Our most popular Nerd Alert episodes were how our brains react to advertising, how to reach the right customers, and where AB testing goes wrong.”
[00:54] Alayna

---

State of Marketing Effectiveness in 2024

The hosts delve into the current landscape of marketing effectiveness, discussing the increased emphasis on empirical research and data-driven strategies. Angela Voss and Rob DeMars share their perspectives on the progress made within the marketing industry, particularly in the United States, where debates around advanced measurement frameworks are intensifying. Rob highlights the burgeoning conversations among organizations like the ANA and IAB, signaling a move toward greater alignment on defining marketing success.

Notable Quotes:

“I feel like there's more going on related to marketing effectiveness and folks trying to lean into the empirical research...”
[03:25] Angela

“I think there's just so much debate over, you know, the 60/40 and the short-termism...”
[04:59] Rob

---

Top Performing Brands of 2024

The core of the episode focuses on identifying and analyzing the most effective brands of 2024. The hosts select brands based on their adherence to marketing effectiveness principles and the tangible rewards they've reaped.

1. Uber Eats

Alayna commends Uber Eats for its impactful Super Bowl campaign titled "Don't Forget," featuring celebrities like Jennifer Aniston and the Beckhams. The campaign's longevity, extending throughout the year, set Uber Eats apart from typical Super Bowl advertisers who often see a campaign flame out post-event. With an impressive national TV spend exceeding $100 million, Uber Eats is poised to challenge DoorDash's market dominance.

Notable Quotes:

“...they kept it going for the rest of the year. And a lot of Super Bowl brands don't do that.”
[07:38] Alayna

“They started off the year with a very popular Super Bowl campaign. It's actually one of the only ones I remember from this year's Super Bowl.”
[07:38] Alayna

2. E.L.F. Beauty

Angela highlights E.L.F. Beauty as a standout performer, projecting sales to surpass the billion-dollar mark. The brand excels in mental and physical availability, ensuring widespread presence across major retailers like Target, Walmart, and Ulta. Their "Eyes, Lips, Face" campaign is lauded for its memorability and effective use of influencer partnerships. E.L.F.'s minimalist packaging and affordability without compromising quality have broadened their consumer base beyond typical beauty brand loyalists.

Notable Quotes:

“I've got this thing like, "I am just there far too often. But I probably otherwise wouldn't be at Kohl's."”
[22:36] Angela

“Their products are affordable, but they have this premium feel to them, and I think it helps them appeal to a broad audience of light buyers.”
[11:27] Angela

3. Liquid Death

Rob presents Liquid Death as a masterclass in earned media, citing their innovative campaigns like the "Casket Cooler" co-branded with Yeti and the "Pit Diaper" collaboration with Depends. These unconventional and bold marketing tactics generate significant buzz and social media traction, reinforcing Liquid Death's disruptive presence in the water category.

Notable Quotes:

“Liquid Death just continues to teach a masterclass in earned media.”
[15:38] Rob

“They’re masters at it. So much so that when I was prepping with this podcast, that was the example I wanted to bring.”
[16:04] Rob

---

Brands Missing the Mark

The discussion shifts to brands that may have faltered in their marketing effectiveness this year, analyzing the reasons behind their missteps.

1. Coca-Cola’s AI Holiday Campaign

Rob critiques Coca-Cola's recent AI Holiday campaign, which faced backlash for integrating artificial intelligence into a traditionally heartwarming holiday narrative. While the campaign may have received negative feedback initially, Rob speculates its long-term impact could be significant in discussions about AI’s role in advertising.

Notable Quotes:

“We’re going to be talking about how it was first introduced into popular culture.”
[25:15] Rob

“I think we'll still be talking about that ad ten years from now.”
[26:21] Rob

Angela counters, viewing the campaign as a forward-thinking move despite the criticism, suggesting that innovation often faces initial resistance.

2. Jaguar’s Rebranding Efforts

Angela expresses skepticism over Jaguar's strategic pivot to a hyper-luxury, electric-only brand. The repositioning includes doubling price points and significantly reducing physical availability, which may alienate a vast majority of their existing customer base. The new minimalist logo has also been poorly received, diluting Jaguar's iconic brand identity.

Notable Quotes:

“They expect to retain only 10 to 15% of their existing customers and instead focus on 'cash rich time, poor design minded younger buyers.'”
[28:11] Angela

“The new logo looks like it belongs in the beauty aisle. It’s so simple, it’s almost juvenile in my view.”
[31:17] Angela

3. Tropicana’s Packaging Redesign

Alayna revisits Tropicana's history of rebranding missteps, notably their 2009 redesign that led to a dramatic drop in sales. This year, Tropicana attempted another packaging overhaul, reducing bottle size and altering the bottle shape for environmental and user-friendly reasons. However, the changes were met with accusations of shrinkflation, resulting in significant sales declines.

Notable Quotes:

“They reduced the size from 52 ounces to 46. And there were reasons behind this. They wanted to improve user friendliness and environmental sustainability.”
[35:12] Alayna

“Packaging shape, when you’re that well known, packaging shape is also an asset that you should protect or really consider before you change it.”
[35:59] Alayna

---

Most Effective Advertisements of 2024

In the concluding segment, each host shares their personal take on the most effective advertisements of the year, underscoring the tangible influence of well-crafted campaigns on consumer behavior.

1. Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup Campaign

Rob praises Reese's for their consistent and engaging advertising, particularly highlighting Will Arnett's voiceover and the brand's distinctive coloring. The campaign’s blend of humor and product focus has successfully driven sales and brand recognition.

Notable Quotes:

“It appeals. It always do such a good job of introducing humor. Yet product focus...”
[36:33] Rob

2. Disney Cruise Line Campaign

Angela selects Disney Cruise Line for their vivid, emotionally-driven storytelling that reinforces the magical Disney experience. The campaign's cross-generational appeal effectively entices families to book cruises, demonstrating Disney's unparalleled ability to captivate diverse audiences.

Notable Quotes:

“Their vivid, immersive imagery, emotional-driven storytelling just brought me right back into the magic again and ended up booking another Disney cruise.”
[37:32] Alayna

3. TEMU’s Super Bowl Ads

Alayna admits that TEMU's Super Bowl advertisements, despite being mocked, were effective in driving app downloads and increasing brand awareness. The high-frequency viewing during the Super Bowl helped TEMU ascend to the top of the App Store rankings.

Notable Quotes:

“They used TV to reach a really broad audience with a distinctive, clear, memorable message, whether you liked it or not.”
[39:37] Alayna

---

Conclusion

The episode wraps up with a reflection on the dynamic nature of marketing effectiveness, acknowledging both triumphant campaigns and notable missteps. The hosts encourage listeners to continuously analyze and adapt to evolving marketing trends, emphasizing the podcast’s commitment to delivering research-backed insights.

Final Notable Quote:

“Now go forth and build great marketing.”
[41:28] Alayna

---

Key Takeaways:

• Consistency and Longevity: Successful brands like Uber Eats maintain their campaign messages beyond high-profile events like the Super Bowl.
• Innovative Earned Media: Brands like Liquid Death excel by creating buzzworthy, unconventional campaigns that resonate on social media.
• Balancing Tradition and Innovation: Coca-Cola’s AI campaign and Jaguar’s rebranding efforts illustrate the challenges of balancing heritage with forward-thinking strategies.
• Importance of Packaging and Physical Presence: Tropicana and Jaguar underscore how changes in packaging and physical availability can significantly impact sales and brand perception.
• Effective Storytelling: Disney Cruise Line and Reese’s demonstrate the power of emotional and humorous storytelling in advertising to drive consumer engagement and loyalty.

---

Connect with Marketing Architects: Stay updated with the latest in marketing trends and insights by following Marketing Architects on LinkedIn. If you enjoyed this episode, please leave us a review.

Transcript

[Alayna]

Hi, everyone, it's Alayna. Before we start this episode, I wanted to take a moment to thank all of you for listening and supporting the show. This year we grew significantly. We interviewed some dream guests, and we learned a lot along the way. So thank you to all the new people who just discovered us, and thank you to everyone who's been around since the start. I read every message you send, every review you write, and it keeps us all excited to record this show every week. And we have a lot of plans to keep improving the show next year. There's always something new to learn. Oh, I hope you all have a happy and safe holiday and we will see you next year.

[Angela]

Marketing Architects.

[Alayna]

Hello and welcome to the Marketing Architects, a research first podcast dedicated to answering your toughest marketing questions. I'm Alina Jasper. I run the marketing team here at Marketing Architects, and I'm joined by my co hosts, Angela Voss, the CEO of Marketing Architects, and Rob DeMars, the chief product architect of misfits and machines.

[Rob]

Hello.

[Angela]

Hi.

[Alayna]

We're back with our thoughts on some recent marketing news. Always trying to root our opinions in data research and what drives business results. Today, we're talking about the most effective brands of 2024. So we'll start with some data and research to highlight what was popular in marketing effectiveness this year. And then we've each come prepared with a couple of brands that we feel demonstrated excellent effectiveness in 2024, as well as one example of a campaign we think might have missed the mark. So listen at the end for perhaps some hot takes there. And to tee us up in the spirit of our show, I have some numbers for you. Let's start with some of our own data from this show. Our top three main episodes this year were Mark Ritson's interview, followed by Byron Sharp's, and third place went to the episode titled Media mix Modeling is back in style. And our most popular Nerd Alert episodes were how our brains react to advertising, how to reach the right customers, and where ab testing goes wrong. So not that surprising to see Marketing effectiveness was definitely a theme in all of those. And I also thought I'd look into the top Marketing Week articles because we actually referenced their work a lot on this show. And the top one was you can't cheat the fundamentals. Why prime has been reduced to the bargain bin by Neve Carroll. And that prime is not Amazon Prime. It's the energy drink prime, which had a fall from grace this year. It was founded by YouTubers and it kind of took a tumble. The second was Copy Kitkat on your quest for Double D marketing by Mark RITSON, which highlighted KitKat's positioning and how their simple distinctiveness and differentiation has made them successful for a very long time. And finally the third was inside Aston Villa's top to bottom Club Rebrand by Molly Inez was a top article and I think that's like a soccer team that just highlights that. I think people in the UK are maybe ahead of us on some of these articles and they're like, I don't know what that is. And finally, just for fun, because we are a TV agency, I did some digging into the top national TV spenders of 2024. I'll say this is just like linear national TV. If we looked at local TV, it would probably be two presidential campaigns. But for national campaigns it was progressive Geico, Verizon, allstate, State Farm AT&T, Amazon Prime Video, Domino's T Mobile and Liberty Mutual. So and Rob, love your thoughts on any of that. But I also wanted to ask, how do you feel about kind of the general progress of marketing effectiveness this year? Because that's a topic that kind of hammer home on the show. We care a lot about it. How do you feel like it's gone in 2024?

[Angela]

Yeah, it's even hard for me to think about it. I feel like we live at the center of it, especially here on the podcast. And so I feel a little biased. I feel like there's more going on related to marketing effectiveness and folks trying to lean into the empirical research that's been done by so many great bodies out there, principles that we're trying to evangelize here on this podcast. But I also recognize that I might be drinking my own Kool Aid. I don't know. How do you guys feel?

[Rob]

I know the US has gotten crap for not being as good as our peers out there beyond our borders. And I don't think we're as good yet. But I do think we're arguing more than we ever have before. And that's a really good thing. You look at just the amount of debate we have over advanced measurement frameworks, Right? Some of our most spicy debates on LinkedIn, when Elena will post things, are around measurement. You look at organizations trying to get together like the ANA and the IAB and getting some like actual alignment on what success looks like. Are they there yet? No, but the debates are happening. I think that's really good. And there's just so much debate over, you know, the 60, 40 and the short termism and which the US has sort of been pointed at going we're way too short term focused and not as much in the long game and really healthy debates happening at the C suites level within the United States. So I think the debates are good. I don't think we're there yet, but man, seeing all of the fighting is a great thing.

[Alayna]

I actually think that Ritson's article, it kind of commenting on the US and how we're behind helped a lot because he then was invited to speak at Brand Week, which is a pretty big marketing event in the United States. And that to me I'm like, okay, like people are seeing Mark Ritson as a thought leader. People want to hear him speak, they're bringing him in. I think that was a good sign. And I agree, Rob. I feel like it's more popular, but I also don't know if it's, you know, when you drive a certain type of car, you start to see that car everywhere. That might be happening to me. But I was also like really pleasantly surprised by the marketers that we brought on this show. Like throughout our effectiveness workshop series that we did this year, just how many of them referenced Byron Sharp were aware of it? Some weren't, but they were all really smart marketers. And so I think it is becoming more well known. And I think if we're at the point where we're arguing about it, that's also a good thing because there's not a lack of debate in other countries, it's just that they're more familiar with what to debate about to even get there. Well, let's get into the main topic of this episode and that is who do we think were the most effective brands of 2024? And yes, obviously this is subjective, but we looked at publicly available information about ad sped campaigns and marketing decisions to each find two brands that we believe followed marketing effectiveness principles well this year. And we also thought they were rewarded for it. So I'll go ahead and kick us off. My first brand is Uber Eats and I chose them because I think that their use of marketing and advertising this year made a really big difference for their brand and their company. Now, they aren't a category leader that would be doordash, but they made huge strides this year and they're likely going to be profitable in 2024 for the first time, which is a big deal for a brand like Uber Eats. And they started off the year with a very popular super bowl campaign. It's actually one of the only ones I remember from this year's super bowl. And it's A little bit ironic because the campaign was called Don't Forget and they had stars like Jennifer Aniston and David Schwimmer and Victoria and David Beckham that starred in the spots. The concept was all these celebrities had to forget something in order to remember that Uber Eats delivers almost anything. But what I love most about the campaign is not even the fact that it was in the Super Bowl. It's the fact that they kept it going for the rest of the year. And a lot of super bowl brands don't do that. They kind of flame out after their big game. But they reinforce their message through national tv. And they're a huge TV spender in general. According to I spot, they're going to spend over $100 million on just national TV alone this year. Now, they are a bit smaller than DoorDash. They're dwarfing DoorDash's TV spend right now. And we all know that share of market follow share of voice. So I am predicting that they will continue to eat into DoorDash's market share next year.

[Rob]

Oh, did you stay up all night thinking of that one?

[Alayna]

That just a natural. Rob.

[Rob]

Elaine, I've got a question for you on this one. Because it's such a great campaign, it's a great example. What a great use of television, especially because their job is harder. When you think about they have kind of two objectives. One is how do you compete in that category, but then also as Uber, the name Uber, you have to provide clarity on your product because so many people already think of Uber in a different category of transportation. So do you think the fact that they are Uber Eats helps them or do you think it makes their job more difficult?

[Alayna]

I agree with you. They have a challenge there, especially because. So first they had to detach from just Uber, and now they're trying to detach from Uber Eats. So they're. I know eventually Uber is going to. They want to become sort of the Everything app, I think. But that is like a double challenge. Yeah, I think it helps them. And the reason I think that comes from we talked to a marketer called John Eric who does the B2B side marketing for Carfax, and we asked him a similar question. Does it help or hurt to be attached to such a big consumer brand? He felt like it helped because it just added credibility. And I think when Uber Eats, when you're going to do a category with a monster like DoorDash, their awareness, just like their marketing spend the size of company, it had to help them. So I think if I Had to choose. I'd rather be attached to Uber than be solo at this point with where the market is at.

[Angela]

Yeah, I think that makes a lot of sense. They also have a challenge related to so many restaurants, etc. Trying to cut them out. They're kind of the Google of the online delivery space where you're like, how do I just go get as many customers coming directly to subway.com and ordering from me, then bringing them into this app environment where you've got all of these options and you're paying the paid search game of the app world. So they've had a lot of challenges. I agree. The, the marketing campaign, I think set them up for success there. Super funny. You guys probably remember they received a little drama right ahead of the Super Bowl. One of the cuts was related to like someone going, oh, I forgot I couldn't eat peanut butter. And they had like, oh, yeah, we talked about that. They had to recut the spot like right before the super bowl, which probably just generated more buzz. It probably ended up working in their favor. But yeah, that's a great one.

[Alayna]

All right, Ang, what about you?

[Angela]

I'm going with E L F Beauty. They have had a standout year, actually probably the last two years. They're expected to hit over a billion in sales. Just a massive leap, I think, fueled by really smart, effective marketing strategies. It feels like they're following how brands grow just from beginning to end. And I think it's paid off big time. They've nailed mental availability. They're everywhere. I. I realize I'm the target audience a bit and so are my girls, but their Eyes, Lips, Famous campaign, it just sticks in people's minds. They've added to that use of viral content influencers to drive buzz and have just become sort of hard to ignore. They've dominated physical availability. You can find ELF products in Target, Walmart, cvs, ulta, my grocery store. Like, they're huge in E commerce, meeting consumers wherever they shop. And then recently, you know, acquiring a high growth skincare brand. They've expanded into new categories just trying to ensure that their products are even easier to buy. They've got distinctive brand assets. It's clean, minimalist packaging, bold black and white logo. Their acronym, elf, which I don't know, Rob, if you know this, Elaine, I'm sure you do.

[Rob]

Definitely don't.

[Angela]

What does it stand for? Do you know what it stands for?

[Alayna]

E L, F. Yeah.

[Angela]

Eyes.

[Alayna]

Lips, Face.

[Angela]

Yeah, there you go. So just recognizable on shelves and on screens. And then I think what sets them apart? Is their ability to blend value and quality. Their products are affordable, but they have this premium feel to them, and I think it helps them appeal to a broad audience of light buyers. And so high quality and accessible price just allowed them to grow their base and rely not just on kind of that loyal consumer set that I think so many beauty brands fall into.

[Alayna]

I love elf. I think they're a great example. And if you're going to enter the beauty category when you've got these, like, heavyweights, like freaking CoverGirl that have been part of it forever, I think that must be so hard. So they've been so bold. You're right. They've done everything right. And speaking of light buyers, I own one product from elf, which would be like some, like, eyebrow sort of gel, but I'm. I'm a light buyer from them. Like, I probably buy from them once a year and that's it. But I'm saying they're getting my eyebrow gel. Oh, it's a thing.

[Angela]

Rob. Rob, you probably need some. You don't even realize that.

[Rob]

I probably. Do I. Eyelash gel. No idea.

[Alayna]

Angel.

[Rob]

Eyebrow gel. Sorry. Eyebrow gel. Yeah. So it is. It is a great name. Just when you think about the categories and it's so confusing out there. I mean, especially as someone who doesn't shop at all in those spaces. You go down there and there's just so many different names and they're all fanciful and just to go out there and elf, but also have the story behind it, that's great. Just like kind of what the acronym means.

[Alayna]

So very, very distinctive. I love their cmo. She's very passionate about the brand. Very kind of like outward facing, which I think aligns really well with them.

[Angela]

Very cool.

[Rob]

So, okay, go back in the time machine. 2020, it's the pandemic, and we're all doing these zoom calls, and Angela pulls in this tall boy into frame and starts to drink from it, you know, a little. And I'm like, ant, it looks like, are you drinking malt liquor? I mean, I know it's the pandemic and everything, but what. What is going on? It's noon and you're showing your age.

[Angela]

When you use a term like malt.

[Alayna]

Liquor, we're going to know what that is.

[Rob]

That's funny. Colt 45 gets the job done. Remember that. Okay, so. So. So I'm like, edge, what. What's the deal? And you're like, rob, it's this liquid death. It's water.

[Alayna]

This is.

[Rob]

This is great. I'm like, what? And you know, you talk about differentiation in a category like you're just talking about cosmetics. What could be more in need of differentiation than water? Right? And that's why Liquid Death is my call out for 2024, because they just continue to teach a masterclass in earned media. And I think some of their latest examples, one in particular was their, their casket cooler that they did leaning into the Halloween season where they did a co branded effort with yeti and they created a casket that was also a yeti. And of course, it just fits so well with the brand. Right. Of Liquid Death. They're aligning with another real high quality commodity brand of a cooler. Right? They ended up selling the one casket, which was another great earned media event for $68,000. All right. Like now that's probably the most expensive cooler in the history of coolers. Obviously, it just did a great job in terms of earning buzz and social media. And they're just, they're masters at it. So much so that when I was prepping with this podcast, that was the example I wanted to bring. And then of course, I wake up yesterday to new headlines being generated by Liquid Death regarding their pit diaper, which is a diaper that you wear when you're in a mosh pit at a concert so you can recycle your liquid death, right? And you're like, you just can't make this up. They did a co branded effort with Depends, right? They charged $75 for this pit diaper. You have to look it up online. It's very like leather and it's got chains and all that kind of stuff on it. They're selling it for $75 and they sold out. But I think it's another great example of, you know, you're going into the holiday season. What a fun gift idea. And obviously this isn't a revenue play for them selling the diaper, but it's just hilarious, the news jacking that this did, because recently the Sabrina Carpenter concert, she's a big thing. I don't listen to her, but apparently.

[Alayna]

She'S a big thing.

[Rob]

Yeah, big thing. Well, everyone was talking about the viral video of one of her fans in front area of the concert squatting and peeing and it went viral. And of course this tied in perfect with that. I mean, it's just, you can't make this stuff up. So it's great. It's a great brand. It's just great tactics and I'm actually excited to see what they pull off in, in 2025.

[Alayna]

Yeah, it's funny We've talked on this show before about earned media and how marketers, they can't just go out and like predictably create that over and over again. It's so hard. Liquid Death calls it into question for me because they have a formula. I think it's for their team. They probably have momentum they can build on. They're like the idea that sounds so crazy to another brand, like when you've made a mosh pit diaper, it's like, why not do something else? That's totally crazy. And I know he's commented on their brand a bit and like their product. I think they are a great example of just the power of advertising and marketing. I mean, they're doing everything they can to kind of disrupt the water category. And I also love the co branded stuff they've done. And that seems like a theme this year too. And that's a great way to increase your reach by partnering with another brand.

[Rob]

Well, and hats off to Kimberly Clark for a minute because if you think about the YETI partnership, that made sense for Yeti too because obviously it's a beverage. They're both quality brands. But for Kimberly Clark to go, yeah, we're going to do this tie in with Liquid Death was bold. That was a bold move. That probably wasn't a real easy one for them to make is there's not as much potential upside and for them to even go with them on this is pretty great. So hats off to the folks at Kimberly Clark.

[Angela]

That's a great one.

[Alayna]

All right, I've got my second one. I wanted to pick one that's maybe not quite as well known. So I'm choosing Olipop. They're expected to hit half a billion in revenue this year, which is big growth for a brand that's only been around for a handle handful of years. And they have absolutely nailed physical availability. They're in over 35,000 stores across the US including Walmart, Target, Whole Foods and Costco. So their product, it's first to mind, it's very easy to buy and they've carved out their own space in the soda category by marketing themselves as a healthy soda. They position their product as not just a fun drink, but something that's actually good for you. So they've tapped into that health conscious consumer without losing the joy that people associate with drinking soda. And their ads, their branding, it's colorful, approachable, it's consistent and that's helped them stand out in what is now a crowded healthy soda category. So they didn't just compete in the soda market. They created this new healthy soda category, and I think that's what makes them so effective. And they also advertise on tv, which we know is the clear choice of channel for brands who want to invest in effectiveness.

[Angela]

Have you guys had Olipop?

[Rob]

I haven't.

[Alayna]

I have.

[Angela]

I'm definitely a light buyer. I think I've had it once, maybe twice, but it's good. I feel like, didn't Kombucha really, like, start the, like, focus around kind of healthy but yet fun drinks? And there's been all sorts of, like, offshoots and growth in this area that probably still has quite a bit more to grow.

[Rob]

I would agree. It's such an interesting space to be in right now in terms of healthy beverages, but fun beverages. And, yeah, Kombucha definitely kicked off a whole other sector.

[Alayna]

Well, Rob, you're right. Like, all the sparkling water has become very competitive, very crowded. I think what's smart about them is they carved out, like, a whole. Like, the healthy soda is the category that didn't exist. And it definitely tastes different than sparkling water. Like, it does taste like soda. But now you can see a lot of other brands are entering the category, but they're the category leader, so they're definitely gonna capitalize on just the general interest in it.

[Rob]

Yeah, that idea of healthy indulgence, you know, when you think of, like, Magic Spoon, the cereal company, and, like, hey, we're gonna take your favorite kids cereals and make them somewhat healthy.

[Alayna]

Yeah.

[Rob]

You could just see that, really, Especially as us old folks like myself, we get a little nostalgic and still want our treats, but they're just not as good for us anymore. That whole category could be pretty interesting to watch.

[Alayna]

All right, Ange, what's your second brand?

[Angela]

I'm playing the beauty game today because I have actually two additional tried to pick between them, but they've both really leaned into a partnership strategy that I think is so interesting. So I'm talking about Ulta and Sephora. So these two beauty powerhouses are among the most effective brands of this year. What's interesting is their success stems again from embracing these marketing effectiveness principles, but in different ways. But both were rewarded for it. So starting with Ulta Physical availability, by continuing their partnership and expansion with Target, this shop in shop presence, have you guys. Does your target that you visit have an Ulta in it? Mine does.

[Alayna]

I was gonna say no. I don't think mine does, really.

[Angela]

Okay, so it's like, front and center. I mean, it's right by the Registers and it's a pretty sizable footprint. Is a big move for both of them, I think. So Puts like this wide assortment of kind of prestige and mass market beauty products in front of, I mean, millions of Target shoppers, many of whom may not have been Ulta shoppers before and then moving on to Sephora. So Ulta expanded through Target. Sephora leaned into its growing partnership with Kohl's. So Sephora shop in shops in over 850 Kohl's locations, I think by the end of the year. Helps Sephora tap into the suburban and kind of middle market shoppers who might have not visited standalone Sephora stores, which I fall into myself. So we have been in both Ulta and in Sephora across Kohl's and Target, and otherwise wouldn't have been there. So I love those moves.

[Rob]

I've got data to support your choices, and that is the credit card statement of our house. My wife and daughter frequent. I've never stepped into. Well, maybe I have stepped into one because I had to or something, but man, do they love it. They shop there. It is just. And they're doing such a good job with, like you said, like, physical availability. They're everywhere.

[Angela]

Well, and I think my favorite of the two is probably Sephora Kohl's because, like, personally, I'm trying to be at Target less. Ulta gets the win there because I. I am just there far too often. But I probably otherwise wouldn't be at Kohl's. And I have bought a lot of product at Kohl's because I'm venturing into Sephora usually for my children to the point that you're making there. So just it's a win both ways for them.

[Alayna]

Some people thought that physical availability wouldn't matter anymore. It turns out it does.

[Angela]

Yeah. I mean, this is Cole's second, or actually, I don't know which happened first, but they're the ones that also did the Amazon Return partnership, which brought me into Kohl's as well. Like, it just makes a ton of sense.

[Alayna]

All right, Rob.

[Rob]

Well, how hard is it to create a beloved holiday campaign, right? Like, that's the pinnacle, right? Just it's the pinnacle of branding, the pinnacle of cultural relevance. And Aldi just continues to knock that ball out of the park with their Kevin the Carrot campaign. I mean, you just talk about a memorable character and emotional storytelling. It's just they're beautiful ads to watch. They do such a great job of using that character to interact with all of their products. So it's not like it's some sort of completely irrelevant character. It truly fits with their brand. They're able to use Kevin the carrot across all of their platforms. Platforms, which just continues to give it legs even though it's a carrot. Hey. And then also just the data supports it. They continue to be ranked as the number one holiday campaign, I believe it's System one for like six years in a row. Just in terms of their overall ad rankings. If you look at the foot traffic and the sales that they report from it, it's the perfect one, two punch. Great branding, great storytelling year after year memorability. And at the end of the day, it's driving ROI for Aldi.

[Alayna]

So their main kind of work with that is usually a spot. Right? A commercial. Yeah. So hey, video consistency, a mascot, cute name.

[Rob]

It's Hollywood quality too, I have to say. I mean sometimes production value can not be that impressive in a campaign. You're like, okay, great. You just spent a lot of money to make something look. But it's just gorgeous. Everything that they do with that character is just cinematic and beautiful and great campaign.

[Alayna]

All right, enough positivity.

[Angela]

Start tearing brands apart.

[Alayna]

Yeah, we're gonna. No, we're gonna learn from what we think could be kind of a brand blunder this year. And this is just looking through a lens of marketing effectiveness. And I will say we aren't saying that these aren't successful brands or incredibly smart marketers. There are a lot of reasons why a brand might make any given decision and sometimes those decisions have nothing to do with the marketing team. And we just don't know exactly what's, what's going on there. We also don't know for sure how any of these choices this year will pan out in the long run. So open to being wrong. But that being said, Rob, why don't you go first?

[Rob]

I sort of have a two sided answer. Obviously Coca Cola got a lot of grief over their AI Holiday campaign. And one might look at that as a massive blunder, massive backlash. Obviously no brand wants that. However, I do think that you have to look at it in the context of the time period that it was delivered in. And AI is going to be something we're going to be talking about 10 years from now. We're going to be talking about how it was first introduced into popular culture. And I believe that AD students 10 years from now will be talking about this ad. And so there is something to the weight at which Coca Cola Cola is saying, look it, we're going to take our most beloved moment, our most beloved Equity which is the holiday season and we're going to layer it with the future technology of AI. So definitely was a blunder. Definitely gave them way more negative feedback than they were hoping for. But I'm also going to put an asterisk next to it and go. I think we'll still be talking about that ad ten years from now.

[Angela]

It was hard for me to even put that in the blunder category. I put that in the win category for them. Like it's all the brands that are poo pooing this new way of thinking and this new form of innovation. I think that's going to be the blunder. I don't know if this exists in other industries as well but the marketing world loves to tear apart new thinking.

[Rob]

Oh love.

[Angela]

And I get it. There's a lot of energy and emotion around job displacement and things like that. Which is all to be considered without question. But it just feels to me like we're taking ourselves far too. We used. If you go back and look at the Polar bear commercials that Coca Cola used to put out back in 1995 and compare them to some of the work that was just done via AI it's just a great ad. It's warm, it's holiday, it's magical. And people sitting on couches eating their holiday food and enjoying their holiday period are not going, going, what the heck was that? That's just not happening in my view.

[Alayna]

100 I agree. I have a first hand example of this which is a couple weeks ago I was watching football with my husband and he did not any of this Coca Cola drama because he's a normal, a normal human. And. And that spot came on and it was the only spot throughout the hours we were watching football games where he. I was like looking the other way. He's like look at the spot. He's like oh it's Coca Cola. And they ended. He thought it was beautiful and it was the only spot the whole day that he like he called it out. And I love this spot. I don't know. People are whining about it. I think it's really beautiful. It's full of distinctive assets and just makes me think of Christmas. And so I agree. Rob, that's a toss up. Maybe depending on who you ask.

[Angela]

But okay, well mine's not a toss up. I don't think. I don't know. Maybe you guys will disagree.

[Alayna]

Hey.

[Angela]

A lot of press recently. So mine's Jaguar and their plan to abandon this heritage that they have been and become this hyper luxury ev Brand repositioning themselves as this ultra exclusive, hyper luxury, electric only brand car. Starting at a hundred thousand dollars, double their current price points they've shared. They expect to retain only 10 to 15% of their existing customers and instead focus on quote, unquote, cash rich time, poor design minded younger buyers.

[Alayna]

So who would that be?

[Angela]

Not me. I, I don't know. I don't know who that is. But this move is going to dramatically reduce their physical availability. They're scaling down to just 20 locations in the UK, a small number of curated brand stores in global cities. They do have to stop production for over a year so that it just obviously makes it harder to find and buy. They're narrowing their focus to this niche target audience. Wealthy, design minded, alienating 85 to 90% of their current buyers. We know that goes against marketing effectiveness principles. And then this, the brand refresh. They introduced this completely new set of brand assets. It's more modernist, minimalist logo. Got a ton of bad press when it happened. It just abandons their legacy and introduced this, I don't know, generic, disconnected asset. Just dilutes what makes Jaguar recognizable. So it just, it's hard to see. I'm sure there was a vision there, but from the outside looking in, it's a head scratcher for me.

[Rob]

I think they could do a tie in with Liquid Death because the brand is gonna be dead.

[Alayna]

Oh my God.

[Rob]

I mean, it's just, it's sad actually. And I didn't even know some of the details you were about where their future positioning was going and that was super interesting. But I, I've seen the concept car that they've introduced, which is horrendously ugly. The fact that they've gotten rid of the leaping Jaguar, I mean, come on. I still miss the fact that they removed the hood ornament. I could never quite get over that. I mean, that was such a classic, iconic part of the car back in the 80s. And it's just sad, you know, it just smells of desperation.

[Alayna]

Yeah. They're burning the boats for sure.

[Angela]

Yeah. I mean, certainly must be fueled by opportunity. They're trying to find white space in some area, which we all are to some degree. But just thinking through what makes brands grow, it's hard to see how this is going to play out in a way that is positive for them.

[Alayna]

Yeah. And I agree with you, Rob. I was just straight up sad when I saw the Jaguar was gone.

[Angela]

Yeah.

[Alayna]

Like as a, as a marketer and a consumer, I was just like depressed. Oh, we're doing this really it's gone. You couldn't have kept it in some way? Like, I've seen people redesign their distinctive assets in a smart, nice way.

[Angela]

Yeah.

[Rob]

I don't understand, you know, and they are owned by the same company that owns Range Rover.

[Alayna]

Yeah.

[Rob]

Yeah. So I just don't know if maybe there's some sort of portfolio play that they're doing here, saying, we're gonna leave Land Rover to this, the broader audience, and then we're going to make this super exclusive. I don't know.

[Alayna]

Because it does seem like Land Rover has been, in making a lot better marketing decisions. They've kind of been expanding.

[Rob]

Right. Their audience, they've been going the opposite direction.

[Angela]

This new logo looks like it belongs in the beauty aisle. It's. It's so simple, it's almost juvenile in. In my view. Like, it's just really interesting.

[Alayna]

I would love to, like, so some of these big brand decisions, it'd be cool to do, like, a Netflix series on these big brand changes and, like, track and interview people. How these changes got to where they did. I'd be really curious because I know that they're kind of doubling down on it, Marketing team is standing behind it, and I would just love to know the strategy and the steps or the, like, the politics. I'm not sure how you end up with something like that, because it happens. It happens more often than you think.

[Angela]

Well, and I think so much time, money, and energy goes into something like that that I think sometimes brands get so far down the path they can't see a way out. They're just like, just keep going. Just dig deeper.

[Rob]

Double down.

[Angela]

Yeah.

[Alayna]

They should take some notes from. What's that movie? Rob, you probably know this. They're making this big movie with some sort of cartoon character. He has, like, blue hair, and he's like a fireball. What's his name?

[Rob]

Sonic the Hedgehog.

[Alayna]

Yes. And remember, people reacted to the initial trailer, and they're like, you can't do this to Sonic. And they redid the whole movie.

[Rob]

Well, he had fangs in the original version. No, I'm serious. He had, like, these sharp teeth, and it freaked everybody out. And so they ended up making his teeth square. They had to go back and fix it before they released them.

[Alayna]

But they went back and they.

[Angela]

Yes.

[Alayna]

I'd like.

[Angela]

Hey.

[Alayna]

All right. But you're right, Ang. It's really hard to do that when you're already in that deep. Okay. So mine is actually sort of, I think, related to Jaguar because this brand made an initial marketing mistake that's now an example, and it has to do with abandoning their distinctive assets. And that is Tropicana. So market effectiveness fans, you probably already know about their 2009 rebrand. They invested $35 million into this redesign and they replaced, they have that iconic orange with a straw image, and they changed that to a like a glass of orange juice. And they repositioned the logo vertically. And in 2009, it led to a 20% drop in sales within just two months, equating to an over a $30 million loss. And the backlash was so severe that Tropicana actually went back to its original design shortly thereafter. Now, this year, they were in the marketing news again because they redesigned their bottle again. They took it into a more conventional plastic shape, and they reduced the size from 52 ounces to 46. And there were reasons behind this. They wanted to improve user friendliness and environmental sustainability. But they were immediately accused of shrinkflation because they're giving people this smaller quantity without a corresponding price decrease. This led to an 8.3% decline of sales in July and a 10.9% drop in August, which is likely also a tens of millions of dollar loss. They responded by emphasizing that this redesign was based on feedback. They want to improve the customer experience. And they said, hey, changes like this take time to be embraced. And I will say this rebrand, they kept their original distinctive asset of the orange with the straw, but original packaging, that's also a distinctive asset, which maybe brands don't always think about. So changing that design had a negative impact. That's still a distinctive asset. So I think that combined with inflation concerns and the timing of this just didn't set them up well for success. But I know that this is where they think they want to go long term, so maybe it could pay off. And I really appreciated how they worked to keep those core distinctive assets this time around. But I thought it was funny when I first saw them in the news again, I thought, oh no, did they kill the orange again?

[Angela]

What?

[Alayna]

Who walked in there and recommended that for the second time? But they didn't. The orange and the straw is still there, but still, people, that's a pretty big loss. People are still upset about it.

[Rob]

It's interesting when someone. It's like a bittersweet, no pun intended, with the orange juice. The. It's bittersweet when you build such love for a brand that when you change something, people revolt. Like, there's something admirable about, like when Coca Cola switched their flavor. I mean, that was. It was Like a scandal, you know, and it garnered its own press. But at least someone like Tropicana or Coca Cola, they can walk themselves back out of it and maybe even build on that. Oh, we heard our, you know, loyal customers versus Jaguars just basically saying, you're all out.

[Alayna]

None of you can afford a big middle finger.

[Rob]

You don't really care.

[Alayna]

Yeah, I think they're going to be fine. But I thought it was an interesting. Because I don't. I didn't think of that as a distinctive asset as well, but it is. I was reading about it. It's like, yeah, packaging shape, when you're that well known, packaging shape is also an asset that you should protect or, like, really consider before you change it.

[Rob]

Absolutely.

[Alayna]

All right, final question to wrap us up. What ad comes to mind for you as Most effective in 2024? So I'm talking personally, if you can remember, like, what ad drove you to buy something or do something that you think was due to effective advertising?

[Rob]

The Reese's Advertising Peanut Butter cup campaign continues to be my favorite campaign and continues to drive me to buy more Reese's Peanut Butter Cups. Will Arnett's amazing voice in that campaign series. The distinctive brand coloring that they use. It's the one campaign where I can be in a room and close my eyes and I know it's a Reese's Peanut Butter cup campaign or the volume can be off. And I know it's a Reese's campaign. It's just. It's so good and it appeals. It always do such a good job of introducing humor. Yet product focus, where you just see that peanut butter cup that's been bitten into and you're like, I wish that was my mouth that just took that bite out of the peanut butter cup. So it has driven me to personally stop by gas stations just to buy peanut butter cups.

[Angela]

They're so good.

[Alayna]

Can you, like, see an ad and hear it and you know it's for the same brand? It's a good.

[Angela]

All right. I had to think hard about this one. Like, brand is super important. You know, just like, how often can you correlate your buying behavior to something that you just saw? I really had to think about this one. So what I came up with was Disney Cruise Line. Got me to bite. Got me to bite again. We did a Disney cruise a couple of years back, and don't get me wrong, it's a great experience. If you've done one, you probably will do another one. But they have a campaign out that's been running for the majority of the year, if not all year. And just Disney, like, they're just a kaleidoscope of creativity. And this vivid, immersive imagery, emotional driven storytelling just brought me, just sucked me right in, back into the magic again and ended up booking another Disney cruise.

[Alayna]

Nice. And you should be like a Disney ambassador.

[Angela]

I love Disney. I really do. And they've made it harder to love them recently with some of their moves. But I still do love them. It's been hard. Can you imagine being just this entertainment conglomerate through Covid and stuff? Like, I don't, I don't envy their position as a business leader, but their.

[Rob]

Ads do a great job though, of capturing that classic Disney experience. The magic, you know, helps him in a category where it's probably harder and harder to differentiate yourself. It's all about bigger, badder, whatever. This ship now has. Yeah, you know, helicopters launching, whatever. But you can't compete with Disney. Nobody can put Disney on a ship except for Disney.

[Angela]

Well, and they've got such a cross generational appeal where my kids can see the ads and go, I want to go on a Disney cruise again. But you could also have grandparents go, gosh, you know what it using is. So I love that about what they're doing is just, what are all those kind of like category entry points to getting that family back on the ship?

[Alayna]

Love it. So mine Angel's also hard to think about. I do, like, really think what was a commercial or an advertisement that like, really changed my buying behavior. I'm a little ashamed of this one, but the TEMU super bowl ads definitely worked on me. I'm a light buyer of temu. I bought from them once. I know they're like number one in the App Store now. However it worked, I know everybody dunked on their commercial and they showed the same one a few times. However, they used TV to reach a really broad audience with a distinctive, clear, memorable message, whether you liked it or not. It did cause me to download the app and buy some strange things from TEMU that I probably won't use. But I think a lot of people looked at that and poked fun at them. But it did like, it made a lot of people aware of TEMU that weren't before. And now look at that. They're number one in the App Store.

[Rob]

And the data from the demars House would support that one as well. The amount of TEMU charges, I'm like, who's this temu? What is this TEMU thing? My goodness. We seem like we're our own, like, port in front of our house right now with the amount of shipments kind of coming in. It's like, from.

[Angela]

Well, if you just get off the app, Rob, they'll stop showing up.

[Rob]

That's not me. I'm telling you.

[Angela]

Sure, sure. We know that you've fallen into the world of Teemu.

[Rob]

She's like, my wife will be like, oh, look at this amazing sweater. And it is a great sweater. And she's like, it was like, $4 on Teemu. I'm like, what is that? Like, how is that even possible?

[Alayna]

Yeah, there's. There's something else happening with Teemu. We don't need to predict that. I'll find out soon enough why it's actually $4, but, boy. Right, that's it for this episode of the Marketing Architects. We'd like to thank Taylor De Los Reyes for producing the show. You can connect with us on LinkedIn. And if you like the podcast, please leave us a review. Now go forth and build great marketing.

[Rob]

I will tell you that the Reese's Pieces campaign. No, it's not Reese's Pieces. Why do I keep saying this?

[Alayna]

Doesn't seem like effective advertising. This is not.

[Rob]

Okay.

[Alayna]

Is it Kit Kat? Is it?

[Rob]

No, no, no, no.

[Alayna]

Marketing Architects.