From a hilarious speedy check-in campaign with British Airways to discovering the latest trends in digital ad spending and more, it’s been a fun, creative and colourful month.
Join us as we discuss the Good Stuff that caught our attention in April.
Digital ad spending – where is it going?
Although social video advertising is still growing, soon to surpass retail media networks, it is no longer the biggest growth driver in digital video ad spending. Connected TV (CTV), is where marketers and advertising teams are spending most of their ad budget, with this form of advertising set to grow by 27.2% in 2023.
If this predicted growth is correct, social media platforms could take a big hit when it comes to ad spend. In recent months talks around two social giants, Youtube and TikTok, competing against CTV ad spend have been rife. Youtube have introduced their plans to make Youtube Shorts, bringing short-form videos to TVs to accelerate their growth, and TikTok already has apps for Samsung, Fire TV, Vizio, and Google TV, and have already begun to make headway in the CTV market.
What do you make of this change in digital ad spend and do you think social media will be able to survive the shift to CTV?
A new and simple brand identity for Norwich Castle
Medieval landmark, Norwich Castle, refreshed their visual identity this month with a new core brand logo inspired by members of the public. Working with design studio, The Click, the new look needed to “bring things up to date” as Norwich Castle is currently undergoing their second biggest transformation in its almost 1000-year history. Besides branding, the historic castle is part-way through a £13 million revamp that includes new digital and learning spaces, an improved café, restaurant and retail offering.
The new visual identity took inspiration from the cube-shaped form of the castle’s Norman Keep, described as “instantly recognisable and memorable” by The Click’s design director, Adam Ewels. To support the thought process behind this, members of the public were challenged to draw a picture of the castle purely from memory, in just 10 seconds. The creative studio used these drawings as a guide to create the new brand logo, which removed everything from the previous brand logo that wasn’t needed, and reduced its visual representation of the castle to its simplest and most iconic form.
The simple shape of the core brand logo is used as a framing device for photography and text and has been applied to the brand’s marketing materials, both digitally and in print. A phased launch is currently underway ahead of the castle’s full reopening in 2024. Will you be paying a visit to Norwich Castle?
British Airways embrace the need for speed in their latest check-in campaign
British Airways latest campaign resonates with people travelling to and from UK airports in the last few years. The all too familiar abnormally long and painful queues made national news, with customers’ collective frustrations a hot topic. But it’s BA’s Cityflyer service that promises to prioritise rapid airport check-ins once and for all.
The new ads highlight the short journey from check-in to departure gate at London City Airport using their Cityflyer service. A leaf blower was used to create wind-slapped facial expressions, caused by high speeds and incorporated into passport style ads rolled out across the city. The messaging that supported the visuals was simple and to the point: “From check-in to gate in 20 minutes”. The ads work to reflect the speed of flying with British Airways, changing the way customers view the check-in process and promoting their new service.
We loved the creativity behind this campaign and how funny the windswept pictures are.
We share our Good Stuff round up every month, so make sure you come back next month to see what caught our attention within the creative marketing industry.
Image sources: 1)www.insiderintelligence.com 2)www.designweek.co.uk 3)www.creativereview.co.uk
