This week has been a great week for Ergo in the European press, particularly in the Danish press, with the recent launch of Beo* (the brewed soft drink) over there. The product is a new venture for Carlsberg into the world of drinks innovation, and is quite a step away from their usual well-loved products. It required us to take a very strategic point of view towards the drinks market and European consumers. Months of research, tasting, testing, and voila! – our insight led to the branding and packaging of Beo*, and followed through into the tone used to capture the consumers imagination in magazines, tv and and print.

It has led to further interesting conversations over the state of globalised branding, and why companies such as Carlsberg look to the UK for help when it comes to branding and innovation. It's been somewhat of a 'pat on the back' for British branding and design studios, suggesting that we lead the way in global branding and understanding. But it also raises interesting points on why a product developed for Danish consumers (or certainly initially), didn't use the expertise of Danish branding consultancies to develop and communicate the proposition. Now, don't get us wrong, we're not claiming to know it all. Our thoughts are more along the lines that the UK perhaps has a bigger breadth of talent and choice when it come to branding and design consultancies, meaning an increased level of competition, forcing us to think and strategise on a global level for global audiences in order to compete. The added influence has the benefit of pushing us to be try to be smarter and more innovative when it comes to branding.

But have a read for yourself, and we'd be interested to hear your thoughts on it too. 

For those of you who can't read Danish, we've translated a few snippets here:

Article No. 1 – Carlsberg Brand developed in England

"Danish agencies can think globally, but in England agencies just have a better understanding of the international markets, and have a higher calibre when it comes to international strategic brand innovations, says Ms Dyrby Anderson innovations director Carlsberg responsible for global brand innovation…Global markets require global branding. For that reason, Scandinavian companies are looking abroad."

"…There is a larger market for branding in London. There is a greater global awareness, which is most definitely the future. Consumers are becoming more global. A Chinese consumer maybe interested in a Danish brand, but it has to be able to meet his needs also.' says Stuart Mackay."

Article No.2 – A National Jewel in the Crown

"Danish agencies have difficulty understanding Carlsberg as a brand because it’s a national treasure here at home. They think they know the brand and strategy and this can be a barrier, says Lene Dyrby Anderson and continues: It isn’t necessarily and advantage that you know anything about Denmark when you are developing an international brand. Everything Carlsberg stands for in Denmark is something entirely different abroad."

(If you're interested in reading the full translation of both articles, feel free to get in touch at potential@ergo-id.com).

I've just stumbled across this great presentation on Social Media by Insights Consulting. 
The complete works are a hefty 167 pages but I’ve collected a few highlights below:

Social Networking
*7 billion people in the world, of which 2 Billion Internet users in the world, of which 1 Billion are social network users!
*600 million people use social networks daily
*347 million or 73% of European Internet users use social networks
*Emerging markets India and Brazil show highest awareness and penetration of social networks

Brands in Social Networks
*50% of social network users are connected to brands
*People become a fan on Facebook because they actually like the product, not because of advertising
*42% of users have had a conversation with a brand via Facebook.
*Getting information about products and brands is driving membership of social networks
*People want more say in Brand product development
*61% of employed social networkers are proud of the company they work for

Is that enough evidence to make you think twice about social media...

You can’t take a step within marketing right now and not bump into… Behavioural Economics.

Undoubtedly it’s hugely relevant and certainly useful, but it also highlights an enduringly disappointing fact. As an industry, we still lurch towards legitimatised jargon-y things to validate the vital study of human behaviour.

But finding out what people want, might want, could want is the most basic responsibility of any successful business!

What people actually want and seek is the crucial bit here. We love how Dan Ariely’s micro-experiments highlight the scale of error in accepting broad assumptions. But hang on... hasn’t this always been the critical contribution of ‘planning’ to brand strategy?

It’s definitely intrinsic to our own non-jargon-y (!) notion of ‘Branding Now’ which guides us to factor-in as much unmolded consumer insight as we can into every stage of brand development.

In Taiwan, A Stunning Bamboo Pavilion With A Potent Eco Message..