2022: It’s Time To Think BIG
Just what were the building blocks of 2021 that give us the base on which to think big in 2022?
2022 BUILDS ON THESE TRENDS FROM 2021:
INCLUSIVITY: “Consumers became focused on a more optimistic depiction of equality and consumer media and subject matter covering not just a variety of races, sexualities, and religions, but representations of people with physical disabilities and learning disabilities” says Chelsea Steiger, Creative Director at FRED & FARID Los Angeles. This has effected a conscious shift in buying patterns. According to a year-end study by Accenture: 41% of shoppers have shifted their business away from a retailer that does not reflect how important [identity and diversity] is to them.
Inclusivity demands new language to be effective — new pronouns for example — as FRED & FARID explored in this campaign for transgender awareness week: https://fredfarid.prezly.com/euphorialgbt-to-launches-a-new-campaign-inspired-by-the-pronouns-for-transgender-awareness-week
Created to launch the new tagline “Become who you are for Euphoria.LGBT, Inc.,” the campaign supports the quest of the transgender community to recognize, accept, and embrace their true identity. “This message is intrinsic to the transgender community but touches a much wider audience,” says Amanda Van Caneghem, Executive Producer at FRED & FARID Los Angeles. “It’s an inspiration for each of us to dare to become who we are.”
SUSTAINABILITY: “Consumers now are more passionate than ever about environmentalism,” says Laurent Leccia, Executive Creative Director and Partner at FRED & FARID New York. “They want to make sure the brands they buy are, too.”
According to a recent Nielsen study, 81% of consumers strongly feel companies should help improve the environment.
Our campaign, “The North Pole, the South Pole, and You” for French cruise company PONANT pays tribute to science and purposeful voyages which increase understanding and knowledge about our environment. https://fredfarid.prezly.com/french-cruise-company-ponant-launches-its-campaign-the-north-pole-the-south-pole-and-you
The campaign introduces PONANT’s new hybrid-electric polar exploration ship powered by liquefied natural gas. “It is an invitation to awaken to a world of sensations, knowledge and respect for the nature that surrounds us,” says Jules Chaffiotte, New Business Director at FRED & FARID Los Angeles. “Approaching the Poles is very much like approaching space. It helps us realize how small we are as humans.” The campaign was written by FRED & FARID Los Angeles.
Environmental Concern
“Concern for the environment is a crucial part of the fashion industry’s current repositioning,” says Severine Autret, Co-President & Partner at FRED & FARID Paris, “We showed this trend in our campaign for Longchamp’s iconic Le Pliage® folding bags, now using repurposed materials.” https://fredfarid.prezly.com/longchamp-partnering-with-fred--farid-los-angeles-launches-it-is-not-a-bag-it-is-le-pliager-the-first-campaign-for-its-most-iconic-line-which-was-originally-debuted-in-1993
Named after the French verb “to fold” because it can be folded up and stowed away, inspired by origami, Le Pliage is not a bag — it’s a concept. The campaign, in which FRED & FARID partnered with internationally acclaimed film director, photographer, visual artist and designer Sander Plug, features six films suggesting Le Pliage is not a bag. The final three films show Le Pliage questioning what it really is, in a tongue-in-cheek mini series called: “Am I Not A Bag?”
“The film sheds a glamorous perspective on what it means to create and carry a recycled object,” says Severine.
CUSTOMER SEGMENTATION: “Technology makes it easier than ever to target an audience by certain traits or behaviors, such as demographics or shopping habits, to provide hand-picked consumer content,” says Karen Ge, Head of Strategy at FRED & FARID Shanghai.
One example, our “So Good” campaign for Ladder, the flexible life insurance company offering coverage calculated in minutes. https://fredfarid.prezly.com/ladder-releases-debut-brand-campaign-designed-to-reach-new-generation-of-consumers
Directed by award-winning director and costume designer Casey Storm, the film is presented with a humorous twist built around an industry survey showing half of all couples with life insurance joke about “taking each other out” to collect the payout.
Centering on a family who have booby-trapped their home, the spot shows Dad expertly navigating his normal day-to-day peppered with dynamite sticks and children’s archery bows, all the while lovingly humoring his very “creative” family.
“The commercial feels immediately relatable, yet completely unexpected,” says Chelsea Steiger. “It’s this combination of familiarity and surprise that enables the brand to cut through the noise in a unique way.”
“Sports fans are still among the largest audience segments,” says Olivier Lefebvre, Co-President and Partner of FRED & FARID Paris. “And Prime Video gave us the opportunity to address them exclusively across a range of devices when it called on FRED & FARID Paris agency for its communication around the Ligue 1 Pass last summer.” https://fredfarid.com/work/projects/the-commentator
The film, directed by Jérôme Langlade, features the star consultant of Ligue 1, Thierry Henry, and the star footballer of PSG, Sergio Ramos, in the daily life of a soccer fan.
The GenZ Segment
Consumer segmentation is especially important if you want to reach socially conscious tech-driven GenZ. “And now GenZ is becoming even more important,” says Feng Huang, General Manager and Partner at FRED & FARID Shanghai. “Remember, last year saw the oldest of this generation turning 18 and entering the workforce…yes, starting to earn money.”
According to a recent study by Deloitte, 94% of the GenZ cohort expect companies to take a stand on important societal issues, and 90% say they are more willing to purchase products they deem beneficial to society.
A big GenZ concern of course is climate change. And on the eve of the 2021 climate strike (a chapter in Greta Thunberg’s climate movement, Fridays For Future) we released our film, “The Denial.” This short spot illustrates an all-too-prevalent attitude about the climate crisis with a metaphor: running into a wall. https://fredfarid.prezly.com/for-the-global-climate-strike-september-24-greta-thunbergs-climate-organization-fridays-for-future-launches-the-denial
This fourth collaboration between FRED & FARID and Greta Thunberg highlights the fact that despite the increasingly visible and dangerous effects of global warming on the earth, we are in reality doing very little to improve things.
“We are literally, collectively running into a wall,” says Nicolas Berthier, Creative Director at FRED & FARID Los Angeles. “The film plays on this contradiction and emphasizes the urgency to act to save our planet before it’s too late.”
RISING IMPORTANCE OF INFLUENCERS: “We saw this combination of interactive content and micro influencers taking hold in 2021,” says Peter Jacobs, Business Director at FRED & FARID Los Angeles. “Get ready, because it’s set to become more important in 2022.”
Valued at $9.7 billion in 2020, influencer marketing is estimated to reach $15 billion by 2022.
2022 TRENDS:
This year should bring us, finally, some good news: as the economic recovery gains momentum, many marketers will likely find themselves with more dollars to spend. “This will encourage marketers to THINK BIG in this year,” says Severine Autret, Co-President & Partner at FRED & FARID Paris.
PURPOSE AND PROFIT.
Brands are reevaluating why they exist and how they make an impact beyond profit. “Consumers are looking to support companies that have a mission or give back in some way,” says Adrien Goris, Creative Director at FRED & FARID Shanghai.
In this context, engaging with non-profits can be a win-win. For example, our partnership with the NGO Concern Worldwide — which has been on a 50+ year mission to end extreme poverty — to create #UnfortunatelyFakeNews. Statistics show an additional 150 million people were plunged into extreme poverty in the past year, which means they are now trying to survive on less than $1.90 per day.
The multi-channel campaign aimed to highlight ways in which corporations and billionaires could do more to end extreme poverty: https://fredfarid.prezly.com/concern-worldwide-to-launch-a-new-ad-campaign.
In this, its first ad campaign, Concern launched more than 50 fake news headlines, such as “SPACE CAN WAIT. BILLIONAIRE PUTS PASSION PROJECT ON HOLD. REDIRECTS BILLIONS TOWARDS ENDING EXTREME POVERTY.”
Audio ads ran on podcast networks such as Crooked Media and NPR, while video segments appeared across outlets traditionally associated with “fake news”: Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, Twitter, and Youtube.
AWARENESS.
In addition, FRED & FARID joined forces with the Abbé Pierre Foundation to provide a winter awareness campaign featuring “The Good Life”, a film developed by the agency and directed by Sarah Suco: https://fredfarid.prezly.com/fondation-abbe-pierre-unveils-the-good-life-w-fred--farid-paris
It is the story of 40-something Virginie who survived a childhood on the streets with the help of the Foundation. “It gives pride of place to hope,” says Severine Autret. “And the theme — ‘There is life after homelessness,” while the iconic French song ‘C’est beau la vie’ — reminds us all to be positive in our lives.”
AUTHENTICALLY INCLUSIVE MARKETING.
“It’s time to use a range of backgrounds and experiences in your messaging to connect with future customers,” advises Nicolas Berthier, Creative Director at FRED & FARID Los Angeles.
When LOUIS XIII cognac launched N°XIII, we focused on this very limited edition of just 200 handmade decanters as a tribute to the craft and art and amount of time it takes to achieve greatness. The craftsmanship in the decanters dates back to 1586 and originates from the “Cristallerie Saint Louis” in the eastern France region of Alsace.
The campaign, developed by FRED & FARID Los Angeles, includes a film directed by Christine Yuan. https://fredfarid.prezly.com/louis-xiii-worships-scarcity-over-industrialization-and-mass-production
“We showed in the film how exclusivity and craftsmanship triumph over industrialization and mass production,” Nicolas adds .
Another example: FRED & FARID supported Heineken in its first global TV campaign for its wheat beer brand, Edelweiss, with an adventurous film — shot in the Alps in Europe, in winter, at an altitude of 2000m, during a global pandemic: https://fredfarid.prezly.com/first-global-campaign-for-edelweiss-captures-spirit-of-the-alps
Watch it and you will feel the Alps — the air, the winds, the smells, the cold, the serenity, the fresh water, the essence of the trees. No artifice, or distracting music.
INFLUENCERS AND INCLUSIVITY.
We’ve seen that GenZ (ages 18 to 25) takes greater notice of authentic and inclusive advertising when making purchase decisions.
Hence, micro-influencers are important to GenZ: the “average people” in this influencer sphere can claim a larger-than-average social media following because of their authenticity.
“By using social media contests and giveaways to attract these consumers, you can achieve the same numbers as top-level, expensive influencers at a fraction of the cost and effort,” says Anthony Bober, Head of Social Media and Influence at FRED & FARID Paris.
INTELLIGENT CREATIVE ENGINES.
Data is now critical to informing customer strategies, so geeks & creatives must be at the same table. “We need to be hiring individuals with analytical skills,” says Karen Ge, Head of Strategy at FRED & FARID Shanghai. “It’s time to bring data scientists, strategists, programmers, and creatives together to develop better data-driven marketing initiatives.”
We managed to break some advertising rules with our campaign for Remy Martin: aspiring home-bartenders can shop the entire Remy Martin collection without the actual ad by tapping into their social feed. See how it works here: https://fredfarid.prezly.com/when-it-comes-to-ecommerce-fred--farid-new-york-thinks-outside-the-box-literally
“This campaign was a re-thinking by FRED & FARID New York of e-commerce media,” says Laurent Leccia. “We basically hijacked Facebook and Instagram shoppable ‘Collection’ ads, which allow users to swipe through products in-feed, while they view the video content.”
CONTENT IS KING.
Visibility, credibility, and authority count more than ever. “You need to have some multi-layer source content on your website,” says Jules Chaffiotte.
Content such as quizzes, open-ended questions, surveys, contests, giveaways, polls, calculator widgets, etc., have proven to be especially effective. “Not only does this interactive content increase the length of time that users engage with you (which helps your standing in algorithm-based searches), it improves the user experience,” Jules continues.
PRIVACY BEFORE COOKIES.
What would a cookie-less world look like? Consumer privacy concerns have recently led to stricter privacy regulations and decisions as some major tech companies move to discontinue their support of third-party cookies. While consumers may be happy about it, it poses a few implications for digital marketers.
“Be selective in how you activate smart technologies such as geo-tracking and device listening. Implement them if they benefit the user and their experience with your brand; otherwise it’ll be seen as intrusive and invasive,” Eileen Zhao, Head of Strategy at FRED & FARID Los Angeles cautions.“
For example, 68% of respondents in a Nielsen survey say they find alerts about sale items helpful, while 11% consider them creepy. Understanding how to use AI and data triggers to improve our audience’s experience will create a positive distinction for brands in a digital sea of confusion.
We applied this new no-cookie preference to the legendary French cognac brand LOUIS XIII in a decidedly low-tech campaign: https://fredfarid.prezly.com/louis-xiii-cognac-launches-nxiii-with-fred--farid-los-angeles
EVENTS POST-COVID.
As more businesses reopen, many brands are challenged with creating experiences that integrate the best of the physical and digital worlds. “Think hybrid,” Adrien Goris advises. “In-person events will have a strong digital component, and technologies like AR and VR will create an immersive experience for those who prefer to stay home.”
BECOME A VENTURE CAPITALIST.
Put your money where your mouth is. Since you’re able to sell somebody’s product and bring in significant revenue, you are also increasing the value of that company. “Invest in companies that can benefit from your firm’s resources,” says Nicolas Berthier. “We do.”
Last year was about recovering from an unprecedented shock; 2022 is about responding to and thriving in a post-pandemic world. So, as you look towards 2022, don’t be afraid to think big.
Reports used in this article:
https://www.accenture.com/us-en/insights/retail/inclusion-diversity-retail https://nielseniq.com/global/en/ https://www2.deloitte.com/lu/en/pages/consulting/articles/global-marketing-trends.html
