Marketing to Gen Z’s

Brands are scrambling to learn as much as they can about the newest generation with buying power that’s entering the market- Gen Z’s. This is a generation that’s known as the “voice of an individualized generation; one that is made up of the many distinct voices that represent its cultural groups, subgroups, and individuals.”

By 2020 they will make up 40% of consumers, a quarter of the American population will be comprised of Gen Z’s and they will influence up to $600 billion of family spending. These stats say it all so marketers are scratching their heads trying to figure out how they can appeal to this group of new buyers when they just started to understand Millennials. When brands start to design experiences and market their themselves here are a few things to really consider when it comes to Gen Z’s.

Value of Diversity
This has been a buzzword that’s been overused but in actuality, this is a reality for Gen Z’s. They grew up in a time where the message of inclusivity has been stressed over and over again. So to them, this is a must when it comes to how brands will reach them.

Engagement and Value
Brands will really need to figure out innovative ways to create engagement through content that is valuable. Customers are being bombarded with billions of message on a daily basis so how will your brand’s experience be valuable enough to change the lives of your customer while keeping them fully engaged. Attention acquisition will be key for brands. It’s not just about the data and metrics with this generation authentic and transparent value will be important to them. The question you want to ask yourself is, “does my content not just bring value to my customers but does it elevate them?”

Gen Z’s in Developing Nations
Most of the Gen Z population globally will be in emerging markets such as India and Nigeria. Which means that the vitality of your brand may be reliant on a mobile-only strategy. So developing a concise mobile brand experience will also be key for many brands who are looking to reach a global audience.  

Inspire Them
Brands that have the ability to inspire and aspire will have longevity in the marketplace. Everyone is looking to level up in life, be better and this generation knows too well the value of what it means to be better. Help them learn and experiment with the world around them using your brand. Creating possibilities for your customers can be a way brands can distinguish themselves from the competitor.

The Brand Experience That No One Talks About

Brand experiences are becoming a critical part of brands but there’s still so much that’s unknown about this concept. Here we want to break down the brand experience that no one talks about. In order to do that we need to start by understanding what exactly is the brand experience. Essentially brand experience is that subjective tangible experience that your customer has when they interact with your brand or products. In simple terms, it’s the way your brand delivers its brand promise.

Brand experience is a cycle that happens when consumers search for products, shop for them, receive service, and finally when they consume your products. That is why the brand experience needs to be consistent whether it’s online or offline. Brand experiences include a multitude of specific sensations, feelings, cognitions, and behavioral responses triggered by a certain brand-related stimulus. Brand stimulus can include a brand’s design and identity (ie: name, logo, signage), packaging, and marketing communications (ie: advertisements, brochures, Web sites).

The challenge is that just like brand awareness there hasn’t been a sure shot standard of measurement that’s been developed yet. But there are some goals that brands have used as a way of measuring brand experience. Some are brand love, brand loyalty, brand community or even through customer engagement and feedback whether it’s on social media, surveys, or offline. Another challenge is that the since brand experiences are subjective, it can vary in the way each consumer experiences your brand. This is where it’s your brand’s responsibility to really get to know who your customer is, not just the demographics of your customer but really painting a picture of who they are.

Here are some examples of brand experience from the perspective of consumers who are using these brands.

American Express

• It’s an interactive experience

• Part of luxury, sophistication, and exclusivity

• Because of sponsoring activities, I feel fun, excitement, and entertainment

W Hotel

• Being part of something fun, happening, and exciting

• It was an amazing feeling to hang out in the lobby

• Service is disappointing

Google

• The search is elegant; it creates a mood of playfulness and curiosity

• I feel happy and proud because I am “smart” and “in-the-know.”

• With Google, I change the way I organize and interact with information

Target

• Shopping experience is very pleasant

• Products are displayed to please the eye

• Many stores are putting in Starbucks for an even more enhanced shopping experience

Disney

• Stimulates my senses

• I feel like a child; I feel warm and safe; I want to discover things; the brand reminds me to use my imagination

• I feel part of the magic

Customization The Winning Strategy

Today's customer is looking for products to be tailored to them. They want brands that better their lives, therefore, customization is the winning strategy to help fulfill this need. Too often brands are focused on products and branding but that is only part of creating a robust brand that customers remember, love and are loyal to.

Customization should be available offline but also online. Brands who are serious about customization have the ability to retain customers in the long run. There are a few things to consider when it comes to crafting that special experience for customers.

Make It Easy

When customers’ lives are filled with things that require their constant attention, brands need to make the purchasing process as streamlined and simple as possible. Simplicity is key here. Make it easy for your customers to talk about how great your brand is. When we overcomplicate the process customers get turned off and leave the buying cycle. Think about yourself, when you visit a website that takes too long to download, what happens? Most of us would simply click the “X”, jump over to another site or maybe even hit refresh. When the challenge persists that's when we lost that customer indefinitely.

Providing Exceptional Customer Service

This goes without saying but when your brand goes above and beyond what has been considered the “norm” of customer service, customers start to experience something positive with your brand. It shows that, as a brand, you value your customers.

Get Personal With Customers  

In a society of oversharing it’s easy to get personal. Customers will happily share with you their woes. Learn to know your customers’ wants, needs, and pains. Listen to what they will say because they will leave clues for you. Learn the exact words they are using to describe a certain problem or pain that your brand has a solution for.

Customize Your Experience

Experiences are very personal to our customers and everyone has a different idea of what a positive experience entails. Make sure you know who your customer is and design experiences that speak to that customer, capture their attention and make their lives better.

Brands that inspire and aspire their customers have massive staying power and also the ability to create loyal followers.

To Emoji or Not

Brand superstars out there it’s time to ask- “To emoji or not?” Using emojis has been something that a lot of brands swiftly utilizing. It conveys a message that’s fun and quick. So we’re going to talk about when you should and shouldn’t use emojis.

First off let’s take a look at some popular emojis and what it says about the brands who are using it. Based on a study by Swiftkey Emoji report These are the popular emojis and the breakdown of how often they are used. The survey found that  Brands who use smiley faces are usually more agreeable. The same applies to those who use facial expression emojis. 

In another finding, they found that those who used emojis are socially receptive and empathetic. As you can see out of all the emojis the smiley face emoji is one that is used the most 44.8% out of all the other emojis.

Brands or people who use sad face emojis tend to worry about how they come across to others Just a note when you consider a person’s age it also plays a role in their use of emojis. The study also found that 80% of us use it in texts, 76% of us use it on FB while 15% use it in emails. The good news out there is that if your brand uses emojis it means that you are a great communicator

We wanted to dig a little deeper into this so we did our own little curiosity project. Here we looked at the heart emoji. This is the one emoji that is universal but it has so many different meanings behind it. I was curious to see if there was a science behind these colors. Here’s what we discovered:

Red Heart- passionate love, it’s the classic way we express love

Black Heart- Morbidity, dark humor, death, evil, emotionally cold

Yellow Heart- Friendship, happiness, trustful love

Green Heart- Envy, jealousness, or possessive love

Blue Heart- Deep and stable love, trust, loyalty, harmony, peace

Purple Heart- Compassionate love, duty, honor, royalty, good judgment

This is just a reminder when you are sending out emails you probably don’t want to include emojis since emails are still a professional way of communicating. If you are posting on social media such as FB, IG, or Twitter feel free to use your emojis happily.

E-commerce Experience Done Right

Brands today are relying more and more on e-commerce as a means to create a direct to consumer approach. When your e-commerce experience is done right it can create customer bliss and even much-coveted customer loyalty. Customers today are looking for ease of purchase along with experiences that change their lives.

Now with all those different approaches to really solidifying your e-commerce experience what the things that brands should be paying attention to and even religiously employing?

Here are the top 6:

1. In-stock status

Letting customers know when an item(s) is back in stock

“Don’t Only 15 left in stock. Have that right under the price”

“Do the Last run! Be one of the last 9 people to own this credenza design, OMG!”

“Click, click, click!”

“1 in-stock in-store next to your office”

2. Life of current price

When you announce how long customers can get an item for a discounted price

“This price is guaranteed for the next 12 hours”

“This price reflects the highest discount in the past 8 weeks”

“Seasonal Promotion! Expires Saturday”

“Price reduced by 10% since your last visit”

“Limited-time offer applied to the price you see”

3. Direct competitor comparisons

Utilizing your competitor’s pricing to reflect why your’s is better. This also creates for consumers the “fear of missing out.”
“Only at Best Buy, this item comes with a free warranty”

“38% cheaper than Neiman Marcus”

4. Delivery times based on mobile phone location

Show customers how many days it would take to deliver item(s) to their location.

5. Social cues to the rescue

“Our most tweeted shorts”

“Over 2000 pins for this dress on Pinterest”

“125 people in California have booked this hotel in the last 30 days”

“People have shared this blouse 23 times in the last hour on Instagram”

6. Personalization

Personalization gives your brand the ultimate edge as customers look for customization.

What's Shaping Brand Experiences

Brand experiences have the tremendous responsibility of shaping our brands. Customers today have the deep desire to experience brands and be part of a brand’s journey. They don't want to be only told why a brand is superior. As brands, we need to be deliberate in shaping our brand experiences. It needs to be thoughtful and have the ability to change our customers’ lives.

It’s easy for brands to get lost in their own hype, forgetting that at the end of the day our brand is made up of customers who purchase our products. The question becomes how do we create meaningful experiences? What’s that secret formula to shaping brand experiences that get our customers’ to evoke curiosity?

Connect Emotionally
Emotions are the key to tapping into our customers' desires. It’s also through emotions that we create a bond. Most buying decisions are made on emotions, designing emotional experiences will give brands the ability to create better relationships.

Authentically Transparent
This has been something that’s been drilled over so many times but it’s worth the reminder. Transparency has been a big thing for the millennials. Today it's more prevalent as these millennial parents are raising Gen Z’s in the same way. Consumers want to know what and brands must make the information available in order to retain the trust.

Cross-Functioning Experience
The brand experience isn’t just outward facing to our customers but it also has to be represented in-house. If your employees are not on board with the experience, it becomes harder for them to really deliver that same experience to customers. The brand experience must be demonstrated across all departments whether it’s HR, marketing, sales, operations, etc.

Customer Collabs are Key
We mentioned before that customers want to be part of your brand’s journey, so getting them involved is a great way to also get feedback. For example getting them to participate in a challenge alongside your brand. Think about why Drake’s #inmyfeelings challenge was so wildly popular? It allowed listeners to be part of something that’s real. Who doesn’t have feelings and who doesn’t want to express themselves to be seen and heard?

Cross-Channel Marketing
Gone are the days of utilizing a singular form of marketing. In today’s hyper content-driven world we are consuming content in many various forms. Customers connect with brands through many different medians so brands need to have a 360 approach to how they reach their future customers which includes both online and offline experiences. Whatever channel you choose to express your experiences the one thing to keep in mind is that it must be consistent.

Emotion AI Changing Lives

Technology is getting smarter and smarter as each year passes and brands are grappling with how to incorporate the newest tech into their experiences. It seems like we can never keep up in time. But there are industries that are spearheading innovative ways to adjust to the fast pace of tech changes. Emotion AI is changing lives and the way we learn about each other and our customers. Today brands are striving to level up and really craft those personalized experiences that can only be done through understanding emotions and intent.

Here are some really creative ways industries and brands are including emotion AI into their offerings:

1. Autonomous car. In the future, autonomous cars will have many interior sensors, including cameras and microphones, to monitor what is happening and to understand how users view the driving experience.

2. Video gaming. Uses computer vision, the game console/video game to detect emotions via facial expressions during the game and adapts to it.

3. Education. Learning software prototypes have been developed to adapt to kids’ emotions. When a child becomes frustrated because a task is too difficult or too simple, the program adapts the task so it becomes less or more challenging. Another learning system helps autistic children recognize other people’s emotions.

4. Medical diagnosis. The software can now help doctors diagnose diseases such as depression and dementia by using voice analysis.

5. Employee safety. Based on Gartner client inquiries, demand for employee safety solutions. Emotion AI help to analyze the stress and anxiety levels of employees with very demanding jobs such as first responders.

6. Car safety. Automotive vendors use computer vision tech to monitor the driver’s emotional state. An extreme emotional state or drowsiness will trigger an alert for the driver.

7. Public service. Partnerships between emotion AI technology vendors and surveillance camera providers have emerged. Cameras in public places in the United Arabic Emirates can detect people’s facial expressions and, hence, understand the general mood of the population. This project was initiated by the country’s Ministry of Happiness.

8. Patient care. A ‘nurse bot’ not only reminds older patients to take their medication but also converses with them every day to monitor overall wellbeing.

9. Fraud detection. Insurance use voice analysis to detect whether a customer is telling the truth when submitting a claim.

10. Recruiting. The software is used during job interviews to understand a candidate’s credibility

11. Call center intelligent routing. An angry customer can be detected from the beginning and can be routed to a well-trained agent who can also monitor in real-time.

12. Connected home. A VPA-enabled speaker can recognize the mood of the person interacting with it and respond accordingly.

13. Retail. Retailers have started looking into installing computer vision emotion AI technology in stores to capture demographic information and visitors’ mood and reactions.

E-sports the Experience That Transforms

E-sports is a new rising category that brands should be paying attention to as brands enter into 2019 spotting for new trends. This is an area of tremendous growth as esports become the experience that transforms. According to Newzoo, a provider of esports market data, 22% of male millennials in the U.S. watch competitive esports which is very close to the stats of football, hockey, and baseball. Newzoo also noted that the revenue jumped from $493 million in 2016 to $655 million in 2017, and total revenue exceeded $900 million in 2018.

Price Waterhouse Coopers reported that the average view duration for an esports broadcast is 84 minutes. While ad agency GMR reported, 43% of surveyed esports viewers indicated that they always appreciate when brands reach out through the gaming world -- and another 42% indicated that they usually appreciate brand marketing through gaming channels.

Still not convinced that e-sports will be a strong category to watch for? Well, recently Mastercard became the first global sponsor for the League of Legends global events inking a three-year sponsorship deal.

Riot Games which is the company that is behind League of Legends created an e-sports stadium in South Korea. The complex includes a 500-seat stadium, a fan meeting zone, a 24-hour PC bang (the South Korean term for internet cafe) and a hall of fame featuring jerseys and 3D-printed miniatures of accomplished League of Legends pros.   

The Gaming Stadium hunkered into the market by building the first of its kind stadium in Canada with seating for 250 spectators, 40 gaming stations, casual gaming area open to players, a broadcast facility with a full suite of options, and, food and beverages.

Colleges are even getting in on this trend. Full Sail University is said to be building a $6 million esports arena. The 11,200-square-feet stadium will be known as, “The Fortress,” housing s 500 spectator space, full with the newest technology and space for players to prepare for tournaments. This will be the largest e-sports stadium to be ever built on a college campus.

The e-sporting phenomenon is not only geared towards the US audience but Spain has also jumped onto the ship. The Real Madrid, Bernabéu Stadium announced that it too will be building out a stadium when completed is projected to generate $176.4 million in additional revenue.

Bringing FUBU Back The Classic Way

The iconic streetwear brand, FUBU was the first to fuse hip hop into a mainstream fashion brand in the ’90s, is now making a fierce comeback. One that no one saw coming. The newest exclusive collaboration with Century 21 in NYC launched the brand’s recent capsule collection, “Can’t Resist A Classic.” Michael Wolkoff, CMO of Century 21 states, “Century 21 is so excited to be part of this next chapter in the FUBU brand story. It is our passion to bring our loyal shoppers access to the iconic brands they love and this capsule definitely fits the bill. We can’t wait for the original fans of the brand to line up as well as the next generation of shoppers to discover it in our stores.”

On March 1st the 10-piece Capsule collection was unveiled to the public for the first time. The goal of this collaborative launch was to revitalize the brand, reaching a new and younger demographic. FUBU transformed its classic collection by creating pieces that really captured the hearts of the younger generation. FUBU, known as For Us, By Us, was founded by four brilliant and highly respected entrepreneurs, Daymond John, J. Alexander Martin, Keith Perrin, and Carl Brown, who all had the audacious vision to bring something into the marketplace that was never before seen. Founded in 1992, the story of FUBU started with four friends, from a shoestring budget of $40 to a now whopping $6 billion fashion empire. Vice President of FUBU, Keith Perrin states, “We were in over 5,000 doors globally in the ’90s and today we are taking the E-commerce business model route and collaborating with strategic partners is a natural fit. When the idea came up about reemerging our brand, we felt Century 21’s downtown location was the best fit- if you’re developing a relationship with a brick-and-mortar store you couldn’t ask for a better partner to reach diverse consumers. Century 21 has always been the place to find premium clothes at a good price. Century 21 is just a great overall retail partner.”

The goal of this collaborative launch is to revitalize the brand, reaching a new and younger demographic. FUBU, known as For Us, By Us, was founded by four highly respected entrepreneurs and friends, Daymond John, J. Alexander Martin, Keith Perrin, and Carl Brown, who all had the audacious vision to bring something into the marketplace that was never before seen.

What’s great about the brand is that it is continuously spearheading initiatives that shake the way we view streetwear and championing the voice of the community. One of FUBU’s newest projects includes a partnership with a bulletproof backpack for children. In America, the increase in school shootings has pushed many in the community to find solutions to save our children. Daymond John who’s not only known for his role on Shark Tank but also as one of the founders of FUBU recently stated, “ If the government isn’t going to find ways to save our kids then I’m going to have to buy a book bag for my children to be a little more protected then what’s out there. We always have tried to be the voice of the kids and the voice of the community.”

If you’re wondering what’s the next big thing we can expect to see from FUBU? Daymond hinted at the possibility of more collaborations, eyewear, watches, suits and more. While co-founder J. Alexander Martin says, “because we do things from the heart and from the soul; from the point of the culture. We feel the need and the breadth of how the culture moves and what it wants. We’re giving back to the culture giving them what they want. Going forward we’ll have new products coming in. We have a number of licensing deals, loungewear ... we also have radio, hotels, and more. FUBU is a lifestyle synonymous with the culture of hip hop.

Brands are paying attention and really following through on their promises to consumers. Like FUBU other brands are also implementing serious social listening to make sure that they are fully aligned with consumers. As Daymond reiterated, “ We need to get data back from everybody to see what they like, don’t like and what they’re looking for.” At the end of the day who can resist a classic? Especially one that’s been THE brand responsible for giving birth to so many fashion brands that fuse hip hop and fashion while still giving consumers a share in the voice.

2019 Trends You Didn't Even Know About

It’s been a massive year of changes as brand experienced some major shifts and industries started to morph into a different set of guidelines. Millennials aren’t the most talked about generation instead the world is embracing for Gen Z’s which some say is basically the millennials on steroids. So what’s in store for 2019?

There’s plenty of articles out there that talks about what trending for 2019 but let’s talk about some of the trends that you didn’t even know existed for next year.

Reframing The Masculinity Conversation
Men have been portrayed in a certain way in the advertising world, the strong muscular adonis with glazed abs. But there’s a shift to creating a multifaceted perspective of masculinity in marketing. You will start to see campaigns making efforts to adapt to a more flexible and compassionate portrayal when it comes to men.

Social Media Wellbeing
Experts have all been saying that using too much social media can have an adverse effect on mental wellness. Tech giants have responded with solutions to help users maintain their sanity. Facebook uses an “online wellbeing” section that includes a Youth Portal, which helps young users use the platform in moderation. Instagram launched a Wellbeing division in April 2018 that has a dedicated team fostering a healthier space to visit. Some of the things this team works on is filtering bullying comments in order to create a kinder community. Google has also launched a Digital Wellbeing initiative back in May 2018 which helps users to find the “right balance” of customer reminders to take a break.  

Petcare Gets Bougie
The global pet product market is estimated to generate a stunning $125 billion in revenue according to Euromonitor. We’re starting to see a huge jump in pet ownership in countries such as China, Mexico, and Brazil. Pet wellness will be a category to be on the lookout for, from CBD oil for cats to California based wellness service AnimalBiome offering personalized testing kits with supplements tackling gut issues for pets. Pet ownership had become a status symbol of adulthood, especially for the Millennials. People are willing to spend as much on their pets as on themselves.

Gen Z Travelers
The travel industry is also gearing up for the newest generation that’s coming into the marketplace. This generation is looking for affordable and authentic experiences as opposed to the millennials who are looking more for Instagrammable experiences.

DNA Cafes
We all love personalization and that’s no different when it comes to our nutrition. This is a category that is on the rise as it starts to explore how to work with artificial intelligence (AI) in order to deliver a unique experience. Habit, an Oakland startup created a diner that invites guests to collect their own biosamples- with over 60 nutrition-related blood, metabolic, and genetic biomarkers-which then is used to determine a personalized nutrition plan while supporting users along the journey.

S-Commerce
We’ve all seen the wild success of e-commerce but here’s a category that quietly making waves. S-Commerce is the newest way in which brands are able to sell on social media. Back in September 2018, Snapchat announced a partnership with Amazon which allows users to “snap” a picture of a product and buy it on Amazon’s site. The app also unveiled a feature for shopable stories in June 2018 which is similar to Instagram.

4 Types of Influencers Brands Need to Know About

Influencers have been a highly sought-after collaboration with brands across a variety of verticals. As the influencer market becomes saturated brands are seeking to work with different kinds of influencers on the market. The goal for brands is ultimately to get the same results while cutting cost.

Here are the 4 types of influencers brands need to know about:

1. Celebrity Influencers
Today you’re seeing more and more influencers with 1 million plus in followers. Brands are keen that these celebrity influencers are seeking high-value sponsorships. They are very aware of their worth and aren’t afraid to ask for it. For brands that have the marketing budget to work with these types of influencers, it’s needless to say that success is wildly guaranteed.

2. Micro Influencers
There’s no clear definition of what constitutes micro influencers. Some say it’s less than 30K in followers while others say it’s less than 300K in followers. A safe rule is any influencer with less than 1 million followers can be considered a micro-influencers. These are the next most sought-after influencers because they are as effective as celebrity influencers but cost much less.

3. Nano Influencers
This is a new category of influencers that are on the rise. Brands are looking towards these smaller influencers with 1K-5K in followers because most of them are willing to post for free in exchange for products/services. Nano influencers are not well known and because of this simple fact, they are willing to work with brands in order to gain the exposure and increase their followers.

4. Employee Influencers
Influencer marketing has become somewhat of a staple for many brands and is also the place where brands look to cut cost while getting the same results. So what’s happening as the influencer marketing space becomes saturated? Brands are looking inward taking the strategy in-house. They are looking at their own employees to see who are already influencers that can help them promote their products. This strategy is extremely cost-effective, promotes employee loyalty and also allows brands to have quality control of the content or post.

Evolution of Brand Loyalty

A brand’s experience is only as valuable as how it’s customers perceive it. As brands grow the evolution of brand loyalty must grow alongside it. Every customer who is loyal to your brand believes that your brand is changing their lives. But that’s not enough to sustain the experience if you don’t provide some kind of perks to those customers who have been by your side they may eventually switch brands.

Loyalty programs can often be dry so how can your brand spruce up your rewards program to those “ride or die” customers without being a snooze fest this holiday?  

Create Exclusive Experiences

Today’s consumers want to be part of your brand’s experience, they want to be heard, seen and really understood. So why not provide exclusive fun experiences to those loyal customers who spend a little more with your brand. Maybe you can offer an invite-only behind the scenes of how your product is made, a special excursion for your top spending customers, or even getting creative like offering them a Safari trip for 2.

Embrace the Smartphone

Let’s be honest, who wants to carry an extra card or piece of plastic. Today less is best, but we all carry our phones everywhere. So figuring out how to integrate a loyalty card onto mobile will ensure that customers will always have access to their cards and keep track of points earned.

Membership Perks

Now if you want to take loyalty cards to the next level, why not introduce membership options. Yes! Allowing your customers to be part of a VIP membership speaks to their need for social status. It makes them feel special. Allowing special discounts or free goodies could be part of the perks of being a member of your brand’s super exclusive club.

Personalized Rewards

According to a 2017 research by Deloitte, 44% of consumers would like personalized rewards based on their past purchases. This is a trend that will continue into 2019 as customers seek out those brands that are really willing to cater to their specific needs. So why not apply the same idea to your brand’s loyalty program.

The key to rewards programs is that it needs to be relevant to your customers and what they want. It’s not about your brand but in fact,  you need to keep thinking about what value your brand is bringing to the table that’s going to be meaningful to your customers.

Food Loves Tech, A Fusion of Two Worlds

Today tech is beyond prevalent in what we experience with brands but it was at the recent Food Loves Tech Expo where the fusion of these two worlds collided in a perfect union. Food meet tech, tech meet food. This year we experienced, along with 3,500 other food enthusiasts some innovate brands from SproutsIO, Oatly, Equinox, Bowery Farming, The Honest Bison, Brodo, Real Eats and more.

Brands need to always be creative in how they utilize tech in order to really invite customers to evoke curiosity and engage with them. When it comes to food it’s a very basic need and you normally don’t think of it intertwining with innovative tech. But once it does some really unique brands are born.

Here are some of our favorite experiences:

SproutsIO

Experience a new approach to gardening focused on what you enjoy. Cultivate Personal Produce™ with SproutsIO, an automated indoor growing system. With SproutsIO you’re always growing. Enjoy the benefits of year-round, continuous access to delicious fruits and vegetables cultivated to your taste. Develop flavors that delight your senses and inspire your creativity.

Gotham Greens

Uses technologically advanced, urban greenhouse facilities, located in NYC and Chicago to provide year-round, local supply of premium quality, pesticide-free produce grown with the highest standards of food safety and environmental sustainability.  

Selffee

Uses exclusive technology to create edible food inks to print directly onto food surfaces and beverages to produce a high quality, edible image. They can print directly onto cookies, iced coffee, marshmallows, and more.

Food Loves Tech Expo also featured this year, GE's Connected Kitchen showed how to make the perfect pizza with Chef Duffy, rainbow pasta and Blue Point shared their mission-based beers, like the Good Reef Ale - brewed to help restore NY’s oysters.

The Chobani Incubator also featured some of the most interesting new food brands at this expo such as I Heart Keenwah, Rind, Apiterra Honey and more.

2019 Customer Experience Trends You Won't Want to Miss

The end of Q4 is fast approaching and brands are gearing up for holiday sales while vying at 2019 trends. This year we started to see a shift in brands where the focus is mainly on customer experience. It’s not something new but today’s consumer is asking for a whole different type of experience than say five years ago.

Consumers want to be part of the brand journey, they want to be part of your brand story and most importantly they want to be seen and heard. It means that your brand will need to reshape the way it connects with customers.

Here’s what’s on the horizon for 2019 customer experience trends:

1. Employee Influencer Marketing

We’ve all heard about the wild success of influencer marketing but this is also a category that is becoming quickly saturated. So brands are starting to look inward towards their own employees as influencers. This strategy has plenty of benefits from promoting employee loyalty to cutting cost.

2. Verbal Intelligence

This is a category that will continue to grow year after year so it’s pertinent that brands think about how to integrate this function into their brand experience.

3. Chatbots

Consumers today are no longer demanding but requiring instant gratification and that goes for customer support. Consumers want to be able to instantly access information and help so employing chatbots (if it makes sense for your brand) will be another avenue to grow your customer experience.

4. Sharing Economy

We’ve all heard the saying, “sharing is caring,” and the sharing economy has been a consistent rising star. This trend is mostly driven by Millennials who see this not just as an economic way of living but also as a way of sharing trusted information. It speaks to the fact that our consumers are needing instant gratification, hence brands such as Uber, Netflix, Amazon have become widely popular. It’s through one click of a button that the customer can attain their wants.

5. Know Your Customer

It’s no longer about fitting your customer into a bucket of statistics, you need to get to know them. In order for brands to have longevity in the marketplace, they need to know about their customers’ lives. What problems are they facing, who are they, what are their personalities and many more details which can not be ascertained through simple numbers. Therefore when brands paint a precise picture of who their customers are it creates a personal connection. It also makes personalization of your product or services much easier. This rising demand is prevalent as customer seek out brands that will change their lives for the better.

Experiencing Brands: The New Norm

It’s imperative in today’s world that customers are experiencing brands, this is the new norm. Brand experiences are the connective tissue between customer and brand. Customers are no longer just looking for a great product and great pricing, they want to know how your brand’s experience can change their lives.

Creative brand experiences translate into retail as well. Recently Guess partnered with Alibaba to launch its first experiential retail store in Hong Kong. Retailers are relying heavily on the use of technology as many stores have started to decrease the display of products while increasing the use of tablets and high definition screens. Guess isn’t the only retail giant shifting the way customers shop.

In NYC there’s a host of retail trailblazers crafting unique in-store experiences.

Coco-Mat

Ultra lux natural bedding brand offers products made from natural materials but some also Vegan, provide customers with nap time appointments. Customers can book a nap session to try out some of the brand’s most exquisite mattress options.

B8ta

The showroom co-branded with Macy’s offering a slew of tech devices from health to home. The products are on display allowing customers to touch and feel as they please.

Adidas

The fifth avenue store offers juice press to bleachers for customers to watch the games. They also offer customers the opportunity to get customized clothing and an indoor track on the retail floor, where you can get your stride analyzed.

Glossier

Disruptive beauty brand and giant created a theater like showroom allowing customers to sample products using interactive mirrors.

Amazon Books

Offers a collection of print books and as well as product demonstrations from Echos, the Fire TV, e-readers and tech toys.

Lululemon

Creates true tranquility in their store offering customers “zen pods” along with a selection of guided meditation.

In the end, brands who fail to humanize themselves will fail at connecting with customers and risk losing market shares rapidly.

Newspapers Get a Reprieve

Could it be true, newspapers are getting a reprieve? We all know that physical newspaper sales have been sliding quickly in the last 5 years as most people consume news digitally. In recent news, fashion brands have quickly harped onto this lost opportunity giving newspapers a breath of fresh air and an increase in sales.

The strategy comes in light when highly coveted fashion brand Supreme decided to co-brand with the New York Post. When the announcement was posted on Instagram, the newspaper that was available for $1 was completely gone within a day. Loyal customers scoured New York City for their copy and flipping it for 15X on eBay. Last year the cult-like fashion brand advertised on the back of NYC MetroCards to further its local brand awareness campaign. Supreme is known to build brand awareness through some not so conventional ways and it clearly shows that it works.

Supreme isn’t the only one taking advantage of this opportunity. Fashion mogul, Alexander Wang also plastered the logo of Page Six on his men’s collection in January this year which debuted at New York Fashion Week.

Last month Saks Fifth Avenue created window displays with mannequins wearing newspaper print which was dedicated to the New York Times and Sacai of Japan. The mannequins sported T-shirts and hoodies with the slogan “Truth: It’s More Important Now Than Ever.”

It leads us to wonder could print be making a major comeback in a not so traditional kind of way? The possibility is there as the dying industry strives to come up with creative strategies and co-branding opportunities in order to drive sales. In the next couple of years, print will start to rely on collaborations such as that of Supreme and Saks as an additional source of revenue. It would also be interesting to see if print co-branding opportunities expand outside fashion and spill over into other industries.

Airplane Food Goes Farm Fresh

If you recently got on a commercial flight it’s probably safe to assume you experienced the not so delectable array of food choice. Here’s the good news because of this ongoing challenge, airline food goes farm fresh pivoting from the normal offerings of crackers and cheese.

So why the sudden change in airplane food? Airliners are starting to recognize that customers are looking for healthy food choices as they travel from destination to destination. In 2017, the U.S. market for health and wellness reached around 167 billion U.S. dollars, with an increase of around four billion U.S. dollars expected in 2018, according to Statista. This surge has left many brands scrambling to incorporate healthy options into their offerings, airlines included.

Here’s what different airlines are offering in order to better attract customers to book their flights.

1. Emirates Airlines

The Dubai-based airline is committed to investing 40 million USD in a 900-acre indoor vertical farm establishment, which produces high quality and chemical-free produce for its airlines and airport lounges. Vertical farms use no sunlight, soil or chemicals, and doesn’t require as much water as a regular farm. Fliers are slated to nosh on Emirates’ farm-fresh meals by December 2019.

2. Delta Airlines

Takes the healthy food spin in a different way by offering local organic produce and meats from local Georgia farmer, Wes, and Charlotte Swancy's Riverview Farms. In addition, they hired celebrity chef Linton Hopkins who’s known for his down-to-earth, farm-fresh Southern fare.

3. JetBlue

Offers it’s Mint class customers the opportunity to taste food from renowned New York restaurant Saxon + Parole and drinks service curated by wine expert Jon Bonné.

4. United Airlines

Has taken the food experience to new heights by offering a more luxury spin with menu choices to the likes of an upscale restaurant such as duck confit ravioli.

Influencer Marketing Fail, Now What?

Does this sound familiar? Your brand finds a great influencer, partner’s with them on an influencer marketing campaign and it fails miserably so now what? This happens all too often as brands get stuck feeling like influencer marketing is a total waste. Most of all they steadfastly decide to not utilize influencers as part of their marketing initiatives.

Influencer marketing is coming to a point of maturity and we’re seeing brands starting to find other creative strategies for building brand awareness. We’ve seen an uptick in brands implementing employee-influencer marketing.

For example, Equinox Fitness, which owns Equinox gyms Pure Yoga, SoulCycle, and Blink Fitness recently launched a new talent management agency for employees. Following in its footsteps are other big box brands such as Everlane, Kate Space and Macy’s which have all created a dedicated influencer program that sources from their employees.

So why exactly are brands starting to embrace this approach?

1. Cost-cutting

It’s much more cost effective to hire employees who are easily available than working with influencers who can charge up to thousands of dollars per post, review, or video.

2. Employee Loyalty

This is also a way for brands to form long-term loyalty with employees while showing appreciation for their affiliation with the brand.

3. Quality Control of Content

Employees who are currently on your team are already familiar with the brand and its marketing initiative. Therefore creating content that aligns with the brand will be much easier while sending out a cohesive message.

Two distinct strategies of employee-influencer marketing are currently used, either creating a dedicated program such as Equinox or using Macy’s Style Crew program. The second strategy is featuring employees on social media like Everlane and Kate Spade.

Macy’s model allows over 300 employees to create video clips that are developed around employees’ interests while featuring related products which are carried at Macy’s. While Everlane’s model features their head of social media modeling new styles or making announcements on Instagram.

Color Psychology and Customers

In marketing, color psychology and customers are strong indicators of how brands connect with people. Colors have the ability to shift our moods, tell a story, create an experience and even change the way we feel. Part of branding encompasses the meticulous research of which colors best suit brands based on industry as well as what emotions they want to convey to the audience. 

As brands, it can be confusing which colors best suits your message and image. So we’ve broken it down for you here: 

Blue 
So what feeling do you get from seeing this color? 
The color blue is a calming color that promotes communications, dependability, and trust. 

Green
What about this color? How do you feel about seeing this? 
It’s a color that’s refreshing, natural, clean or even healthy. 
Do you ever notice that brands in the health industry tend to use this color?

White
It a neutral color that shows simplicity and gives off a youthful and economical effect or even being peaceful. 

Black
Black is a sinister color that is powerful, serious, and a classic choice of sophistication. This color works well for high-end luxury products but beware it can also make the product be perceived as heavy. 

Red
Red taps into increasing the heart rate causing you to breathe more quickly. This response makes the color energetic, provocative, and grabs your attention. Using red can evoke passion but it can also represent danger or anger. 

Pink 
Different intensities of pink convey different meanings. If you want to show energy, youthfulness, fun or excitement hot pink is the way to go. Hot pink is a favorite for trendy products for women and girls. It is suggested for less expensive items as well. A dusty pink can appear to be sentimental while lighter pinks are romantic. 

Yellow
Yellow is the color of positivity, happiness, light, optimism, and warmth. Certain intensities of yellow can promote creative thought and warmth. This eye-catching color is one that the eye sees before any other color so they are great to use for point-of-purchase displays. 

Orange
Invites exuberance, cheer, vitality, fun, and a childlike energy. Light shades can be attractive to an upscale market while peach tones work great with restaurants, beauty, and healthcare organizations. 

Brown 
This earth tone color evokes stability, simplicity, and durability. Or it can create a negative response to your audience who might view it as dirty. If you’re looking to use this color for an upscale look terracotta is the way to go. Brown is also great at concealing dirt so it’s a good color for trucking and industrial companies. 

Purple
This is a favorite for brands that are creative. It represents royalty, mystery, sophistication, and spirituality. On the other hand, lavender creates nostalgia and sentimentality. 

4 Powerful Ways Brands Are Getting Emo

Why are we so obsessed with emotions? It doesn’t matter if you’re an average person or a big-time brand we’re all constantly trying to understand emotions and learn how to tap into it. Why? You see the most powerful thing about emotions when you learn to tap into them you can motivate others to take massive action.

If you’re thinking well who cares, that’s grimy. Well, guess what? Whether you like it or not your emotions are being analyzed, processed and learned at every moment. Behind all the algorithms there’s a whole system learning about your likes, dislikes and figuring out how to manipulate your emotions.

According to the NY Times, “Facebook Tinkers with Users” Emotions” using your newsfeed. Marketers are always looking for the edge in order to increase brand awareness and ultimately sales. On the front end marketers are using words to tap into your feelings and here’s what they’re saying to evoke emotions:

TRENDSETTING- “Be like your favorite celeb”

TRUST- “There are no hidden costs”

FEAR/ FOMO- “Don’t get left behind”

VALUE- “There’s nothing else better than this”

BELONGING- “Join now and see what everyone is talking about”

TIME- “Do your taxes in half the time”

LEADERSHIP- “Be the first to take advantage of this special offer”

GUILT- “Your contribution can provide clean water for these children”

INSTANT GRATIFICATION- “Call today, speak to a representative today”

So if you’re looking to get emotional with your customers remember to:

1. Inspire

Understand what motivates your target customer. Keep in mind that we as people have 6 fundamental needs: certainty, significance, variety, love and connection, growth, contribution — which determines how we feel about ourselves, how we feel about others, and how we experience brands. When people are inspired there’s a sense of pride. Brands that have done well with the inspiration messaging has been Nike and Gatorade.

2. Aspire

This is a way to tap into your customers' lofty goals, their wildest dreams, and biggest wishes. Some people might want financial freedom, a nice car, or a big house whatever your customer’s dream marketers must understand that this is about hope or desire that your brand can fulfill.

3. Express Love

Humans are built to connect and the most powerful emotion in the world is love. By expressing love you are connecting with everyone universally. It’s the same idea as laughter and sadness is a universal language. The best way to humanize a brand is to show how your brand can better the lives of others, bring joy, and makes someone’s life easier or better.

4. Celebrating Your Milestones

If your brand is celebrating 30 years in business this is a great way to connect with customers. Even creating a brand story around this milestone alongside celebrating milestones with your customers can really bring the story to life.