In a show of brand honesty Puma has acknowledged that not every wearer of its apparel is going to be playing for international sports teams or competing on ‘the world’s greatest stage.’ Instead they identify and celebrate a lifestyle more familiar – that of the ‘after hours athlete.’ The athlete who chases down taxis, jostles for position in a kebab shop and plays pool whilst half cut. It does not belittle, patronise or judge. It is humble, nostalgic, retains integrity and reflects emotional intelligence that audiences can relate to. It is an example of a brand doing ‘real’ well and shows beauty through’real life’ stories. I just wish the beer bottle had landed in the back of the truck.

The ad is created by Droga5 in New York and directed by Ringan Ledwidge.

Luxury in China - social responsibility and increased sales go hand-in-hand

Trying to promote your brand in China, the world’s second largest luxury market? Most labels instinctively turn to ads – print, outdoor, TV, online, mobile or radio. But a new study points to a more powerful tool: promoting corporate social responsibility. More than two-thirds of Chinese consumers said a luxury brand’s CSR would affect their decision to purchase decision, according to a new report. Asian market research company Albatross Global Solutions, and Ruder Finn Asia  surveyed 1,100 luxury consumers earlier this year in China, Hong Kong and Taiwan to produce their China Luxury forecast 2010. CSR was found to be particularly important among the more educated shoppers with higher incomes.

Jean-Michel Dumont, chairman of Ruder Finn Asia, says the earthquake in Sichuan two years ago “was a turning point for CSR in China, whichever sector you are in.”

Local companies donated millions of dollars immediately after the quake. But some multinationals were criticised for not doing enough. Bloggers labelled companies like Louis Vuitton, Nokia, Coca Cola, McDonald’s and KFC as tie gong ji, which literally translates to “iron-roosters”, meaning scrooge. Foreign companies were quick to respond. Now consumers expect more, says Dumont.

“Consumers are looking at what companies do beyond donations. They want to know how companies are getting the society involved,” he says, adding that “when you talk about luxury in China, you are talking about European brands.”

The study found that among the 15 most popular brands in China, Hong Kong and Taiwan, 14 are from Europe, with the most sought-after being Louis Vuitton, Chanel and Gucci. The only American label that made it to the list is Estee Lauder, the cosmetics company.

A notable exception from the list is Japanese brands, says Christophe Cais, executive director of Albatross.

There are two main reasons for the prejudice. Firstly, the Japanese are big in cosmetics, which is a small segment of the luxury market in China. The other, more sensitive reason is a long and bitter history between China and Japan. The two countries were war enemies and “some consumers are still resentful of Japanese products in China,” says Cais.

Foreign iron-roosters take note, Chinese luxury consumers now expect more than just a great brand.

This article first appeared on the FT’s blog here.

People enjoy sharing. Encourage it.

Gerd Leonhard published his latest insights on file sharing and the music industry. Never a shrinking violet, Gerd argues that people should be allowed to share freely but bundling premium and exclusive content into a paid version will encourage mass adoption.

Canvas8 subscribers can read the article here.

Amazon's CEO Jeff Bezos

Jeff Bezos being interviewed by Charlie Rose:

“Before if you were making a product, the right business strategy was to put 70% of your attention, energy, and dollars into shouting about a product, and 30% into making a great product. So you could win with a mediocre product, if you were a good enough marketer. That is getting harder to do. The balance of power is shifting toward consumers and away from companies…the individual is empowered… The right way to respond to this if you are a company is to put the vast majority of your energy, attention and dollars into building a great product or service and put a smaller amount into shouting about it, marketing it. If I build a great product or service, my customers will tell each other.”

This quote from Jeff Bezos perfectly highlights some of the most important trends we’re observing in business around the world:

1. Technology enabled transparency. If you say something that’s patently not true you will get found out (Trafigura, BP etc).

2. People are the new media – technology is again the enabler and, through the use of social networking tools, people have the ability to spread both positive and negative news, on a scale never before achievable, and with a credence that traditional media can not match.

To succeed Whether in advertising, communications, product development or BAU – simply being mediocre is no longer an option.

Many thanks to Bob Lefsetz for drawing our attention to the quote.

Images of peaceful protest on Twitter helped alleviate negative public opinion at G20

Canvas8 Thought Leader Sara Diamond spoke to us at length about the cross-over between art and technology, Canada’s documentary culture and the role of technology, including Twitter, in activism with particular reference to the latest G20 in Toronto.

Canvas8 subscribers can read the interview here.

Storm shopping

Slate magazine today reported on the apparent contradiction in the US  with declining consumer confidence paired with rising sales. They look at whether this represents ‘Gloomy Growth’ or whether it is muscle memory.

The Conference Board reported Tuesday morning that consumer confidence declined in July for the second straight month. Worse, consumers’ expectations for the near future declined sharply. “Concerns about business conditions and the labor market are casting a dark cloud over consumers that is not likely to lift until the job market improves,” said Lynn Franco, director of the Conference Board’s Consumer Research Centre.

And yet there are signs that back-to-school shopping isn’t going to be a disaster. Each week, the International Council of Shopping Centers and Goldman Sachs release a weekly index for chain-store sales. In the most recent week, sales rose 0.6 percent from the week before and were up 3.8 percent from the year before. Sales have risen from the week before in six of the last nine weeks; and over the past two months, weekly sales have been up between 2.5 percent and 4.2 percent from the year before.

So how can the two apparent contradictions live alongside one another?

Daniel Gross argues that it is down to Muscle Memory.

“Muscle memory exerts a powerful influence on economic behavior. Government bond interest rates hovered at high levels through the 1980s and early 1990s, even though Federal Reserve Chairman Paul Volcker had long since slayed inflation. Investors burned in the 1929 crash avoided the stock market for a generation. For the same reason, companies that experienced a near-death moment in the fall of 2008, when the credit markets seized up, continue to hoard cash today, and consumers burned by excessive debt continue to pay it down. I’d argue that our collective muscle memory now includes the knowledge that the economy can come close to collapse. It makes consumers feel wary, even as they open their pocketbooks.”

The full article can be read here.

Real world digital reading is on the rise

Neil Perkin of Only Dead Fish wrote a great piece for Canvas8 looking at the divergent approaches of The Guardian and The Times to paywalls and newspapers’ business models. Neil argues that whilst the future of  newspapers isn’t rosy, it isn’t bleak either.

Canvas8 subscribers can read the full article here.

Packabook - culturally immersive holiday reading

A really smart take on holiday reads – identifying the most culturally relevant reads for your hols. By reading about characters who have lived, loved, fought and died in the areas they wish to visit, Packabook hopes to offer a more personal and tailored travel experience that can’t be found in a guidebook.

Canvas8 subscribers can read the article here.