The Sauce – 03/01/24

Happy New Year!

Welcome to your first dollop of marketing news for 2024. If you’ve missed out on the latest marketing news while you were stuffing yourself with mince pies and turkey, not to worry – we’ve got you covered.

This week’s edition features some festive warmth from British Airways, Tinder’s new brand ad, an impactful campaign from Crisis, and some out-of-the-box thinking from Guinness.

Read on for the full stories from the past week and visit the Awesomesauce Marketing LinkedIn page to get The Sauce straight to your inbox.

Flying Home for Christmas…

British Airways launched its new campaign ‘Big Little Welcomes’ in the lead up to Christmas, as part of its ‘British Originals’ campaign.

Created by Uncommon Creative Studio, ‘Big Little Welcomes’ gave travellers’ friends and family the chance to surprise loved ones with a handwritten message. The messages were featured on digital display screens in and around London airports. The campaign was part of British Airways’ wider Christmas strategy which included festive airport decorations, in-flight entertainment and meals over the Christmas period.

Ashleigh Morris, Content and Communications Lead at Awesomesauce Marketing, said, “Images from the campaign have a ‘Love Actually’ feel to them, invoking memories of one of the most iconic British Christmas movies with scenes of loved ones reuniting at the airport. We love to see brands trying new things and it’s great to see such a big brand involving its customers and including a personal touch.

“I’d love to see more B2B brands try this style of B2C marketing – we’re all consumers at the end of the day and this warmth really resonates with people.”

Are you ready to try a different approach to your marketing this year?

We love to see brands trying new things and it’s great to see such a big brand involving its customers and including a personal touch.

Start the New Year With a Swipe…

Dating app Tinder has launched its first brand campaign in the UK, as part of its global ‘It Starts With a Swipe’ campaign. The ad aims to crush perceptions that Tinder is just for casual hook-ups and celebrates human connection from friendships to romance, hoping to reposition itself as a way to find meaningful connections.

It shows a woman named Ava who moves to London and uses Tinder to meet people. Featuring a diverse cast, it challenges dating narratives and the brand’s current perception. One of the original swiping apps, Tinder has been viewed as a platform for casual hook-ups (and was recently named best dating app for hook-ups by GQ).

Tinder’s campaign shows how even established brands need to continue to invest in their brand awareness and positioning, and the new ad shows Tinder understand their demographic and know how to appeal to their Gen Z audience, whatever they’re looking for.

How could you reposition or reinforce your brand’s positioning in 2024? Drop us a message to find out how Awesomesauce can help!

Crisis at Christmas

Amidst the festive cheer, it can be easy to forget that Christmas isn’t a happy time for everyone, with many missing loved ones, unwell or homeless. Homeless charity Crisis launched a new campaign before Christmas, urging people to donate over the festive period.

The hard-hitting campaign focuses on the reality of rough sleeping and features real quotes including, “I always kept one eye open” and “I walked all night”. The lines feature on impactful out-of-home and digital out-of-home placements across Birmingham and the West Midlands, as well as on social media.

James Keith, Account and Strategy Director at Awesomesauce Marketing, said, “It’s always good to see charities taking a different approach to make an impact. At Awesomesauce Marketing, our ‘Does Size Matter’ campaign for charity Sarcoma UK last year used humour to make sure it stood out from other ads.

“This campaign from Crisis really makes an impact by including quotes from real people who have been affected by homelessness and by using such striking formats in high-footfall locations. The message will really hit home for people especially over the Christmas period.”

What do you think of the Crisis campaign? If you missed our ‘Does Size Matter’ campaign for Sarcoma UK, you can check it out here: https://awesomesaucemarketing.co.uk/our-work/does_size_matter/

It’s always good to see charities taking a different approach to make an impact.

Time For a Foot Pint?

We can always rely on Guinness to provide some humour. Their Christmas campaign this year involved the creation of a pair of real winter boots – foot pints.

Launched to look like a genuine footwear ad, the black boots feature white faux fur around the top and the Guinness logo at the back, to appear like giant Guinness pints. The sole is also designed to cleverly leave Guinness-like footprints in the snow. Fans are even able to register their interest online – yes, they are actually a real thing! The cross-channel activation will also see outdoor activations at UK pubs – so watch out for a pair near you… if we ever get any snow!

We love the way Guinness have taken a multi-platform approach, combining humorous ads, outdoor activations and giveaways which are sure to get people talking – and in the mood for a pint of Guinness. They’re also consistent with their approach to marketing, using the brand’s humour, often tying into seasonal festivities and coming up with clever iterations of their ‘Looks Like Guinness’ Campaign – their summer 2022 billboards of deckchairs, surfboards and crashing waves designed to look like pints of Guinness were standouts for us and underline the impact of these visual campaigns.

Now… time for a pint?

You can check out our latest dollop of marketing news next week. If you can’t wait that long for your latest sauce fix, you can read our previous posts here.

Want to find out more about what we do and how we can help your business?

Contact our Account & Strategy Director James Keith here >>> james@awesomesaucemarketing.co.uk.