Creme Egg Cafe, Sensory Marketing and Brand Experience

It is that time of the year again, Easter. Personally, the first thing I think about when Easter is discussed is chocolate, chocolate and more chocolate. This year, well known chocolate creators, Cadburys decided to open up a pop up shop in Soho, London to do something new and different with their Easter favourite the crème egg. The shop is open for 7 weeks and allows consumers to try out recipes that have been chosen and created based on their online recommendations.

The Cafe in it's glory, from an outdoor perspective

 The shop shouts sensory marketing with their bright, well known colours: purple, red and yellow, which are plastered on the inside and the outside. The glass window on the shop front also allows people who are passing by to see what is inside. This is useful, as it can help Cadburys draw in attention, as the first thing they see when they peer in are words and people; firstly making them wonder what the commotion is all about and secondly drawing them in to read the bright font/happy typography.

 The idea that consumers can also smell the wonderful sensation of what is being cooked, hints that by exploiting an individual’s smell sense, they can be drawn in. This is especially beneficial when trying to make extra sales from people who are already part of the experience, for example, if a consumer takes a friend with them who may not be interested, the sight and smell of other people’s orders may produce a reaction from their senses, causing them to want to share the same experience that people around them are having. This therefore shows that by drawing someone into an experience through their senses can actually condition the individual to do something the brand wants them to. E.g. The smell of something tasty can make an individual want to eat, or watching someone eat one of the crème egg creations, which is only available for 7 weeks, may lead the individual to buying a product too.

Popular creation, the 'creme egg toastie'

The café has 3 different floors of experiences, including an interactive ball pit, which allows all consumers to have fun and gives them a physical, tangible activity to remember and feel. The addition of a ball pool adds extra value to the experience, as it is an opportunity for the adult consumers to have a laugh and bring back memories of when they were young and had their own ball pools to mess around in. This is a form of nostalgia, which creates a great brand experience, as it becomes active immersion. This is because it allows consumers to actively take part in activities, but also allows them to choose which floor of participation they want to be on e.g. café, cocktail bar or ball pool.

customer enjoying her experience

 I reckon it is quite easy to say that the Crème Egg café’s creative, experiential ideas have definitely helped then in sales and marketing departments, as the engagement of consumers has led to the company getting recognition online though: Youtube, newspapers, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and also blogs; thus helping them gain a better reputation and also creating brand loyalty or even advocacy through those who have participated and shared their happy experiences; hoping it will be back next year! 

Would anyone else want to go if they had the chance, or is it possible that the cafe is actually overrated because of the hype?

Battle of The Bands Huddersfield

This year, as a ‘Managing the Live Event’ assessment, I had the task of planning my own event with some group members and then bringing all the ideas to life. The idea that was implemented was ‘Battle of The Bands Huddersfield’.  This live event consisted of three student bands that were chosen through a Facebook poll with over 1000 results.  The event was hosted in The Parish, a local bar/venue in Huddersfield.

The 3nine8 starting off the night and building tension

One of the touch points of the event was most definitely just before the first band started playing, as everything was in place. This was the ‘clearance’ and most definitely showed that all group members knew what they were doing and helped engage the audience; showing them a clear route of where they could go, what they could do whilst waiting for the first band and also signalling when the ‘experience’ was starting. This helped build tension, which is definitely needed for a ‘Battle of The Bands competition’. Other moments that engaged the audience was during voting and the announcement of the winners.

Personally, I think the pre-event experience was the most challenging and also the most successful part, when it came to consumer engagement. This is because the Facebook poll that was created to choose the top 3 bands had a lot of attention, as people from all over Huddersfield (not just students!) took part in voting. A Guitar Hero stand was also implemented in the Student’s Union, to try and promote the event and increase sales. This was useful as it created another experience for consumers and brought some fun into a typical day for a University student. The stand was very popular and many students wanted to participate. Many students highlighted that it was bringing them back memories when they used to play the game. This form of engagement is by far one of the most powerful that I had seen during our promotion periods. This is because the use of something nostalgic helps the consumer remember their past involvement with the game and the one they are currently experiencing; therefore leaving them with something they can talk and think about after playing; thus leading them to thinking about our event and buying a ticket. The stand was a form of sensory marketing and consumer motivation, as it engaged the individuals with the use of some of the human senses and also it gave them a sense of belongingness; making them feel valued by us.

A consumer playing Guitar Hero on our promotional stand

 I feel that for the actual live event itself, as the event manager I was not in full control of the event experience. This is because of the nature of our event. Our live music event is also controlled by the sound engineer, as they created the ambiance through sound their chosen lighting. It was also partly controlled by the bands themselves,  as the engagement of the consumers would have depended on their choice of songs on the night. Lastly, it can be suggested that the whole event experience could have been controlled by the audience, as they were in charge of picking the bands and those who attended, as their personalities and attitudes towards the bands that were playing and even the organisers would mean the experience that was planned out could be changed. However, as we organised and knew the set lists for the bands and collected enough market research about our target audience, this was not an issue and lead to a very successful night. 

Culture, McDonalds HK and UK

McDonald's is one of the world's most well-known and leading brands in the fast food industry. However, this does not mean that the brand is marketed the same in every country. The way McDonald's promote their portfolio of products varies depending on the market and the culture of the country; therefore it is necessary that each form of marketing is delivered in a different way, in order to catch their target audience's eye.

One form of marketing that McDonald's use in a large amount of their advertisements is storytelling, which helps connect the audience to what they are seeing and engages them to follow the story and think about the products that they are selling.

In January 2016, McDonald's Hong Kong decided to promote their brand during the Chinese New Year period. This was a very wise decision as they used one of the country's traditions and ideologies to help bring an individual closer to the brand, by making them feel that the brand wants to connect to them and make the part of the company. The key message highlighted in the commercial was "

有你，就是最大祝福",which translates as "Having you is the greatest blessing".

The advert shows a child giving their mothers love, bringing them gifts and sharing food with them. Chinese New Year- McDonald's Avdert This may seem quite strange, as not once does the advert show an actual McDonald's product; however this is where the aspects of high culture comes in. In countries such as Hong Kong, China, Korea, Taiwan etc. the population tend to obsessively follow dramas that include storylines that include love, sadness and romance. The love that is spread in McDonald's advert is sweet and shows that family is very important; thus reflecting a value that they have in Hong Kong, especially during Chinese New Year. The use of these values and traditions is extremely beneficial for the brand, as it means they can connect with an audience, even without using any of their products in the advertisement.

Child sharing a sweet with his mother

This use of storytelling works incredibly well in Hong Kong, although this is not the same case in the UK. Storytelling is used in the UK commercials, but very differently, as McDonald's creates an approach that allows all consumers to know exactly where their food is from and how responsible the brand is in sourcing their products. This reflects the ideology of how important sustainability and the country's economy is.

The start of the A-Z story

The UK advertisement consists of a story of where all the ingredients come from, how they get delivered and who benefits from it. This helps connect their audience by engaging them in what could the next letter represents. This is using the concept of content analysis, as the culture's beliefs and mass communications are used to find repetitive values that are trending; which happens to be locally sourced goods, sustainability and a good economy. A-Z of McDonald's Advert

The UK advert would not work in Hong Kong, as the values and culture of the two countries are completely different; so it would be difficult to connect to an audience. Vice versa, the HK advert would not work in the UK, even though it has quite a low culture with many segments. This is because the concept of sharing and giving is not as important and Chinese New Year is not celebrated by everyone in Britain.

In conclusion, it can be correct to say the McDonald's mainly use a storyline to help consumers to follow a value  that the company and culture both believe in. However, it is also necessary that the story also links in with social structures, ecologies and ideologies of the countries in order to interact effectively with their target audience.