Ever since I saw the first of these "Friends" posters plastered across Farringdon tube station, I have been half expecting to hear the loud thud of a pig flying into my window! You may think that I am over reacting, but what segment of the market haven't Facebook tapped into? I mean, even my Grandma has Facebook! So why has  the social network which boasts 1.3bn global users decided that now is the time to launch its first TV and outdoor marketing campaign? Well, its seems to be more about Facebook's brand image and position, rather than brand awareness. Social media is developing at an extremely fast rate, there is a new platform every year. Nowadays, my Facebook account can sit dormant for days at a time. Three years ago it was my primary means of checking up on my ex's latest escapade, but now I just use Snapchat or Instagram to do that! But in all seriousness, Facebook's dominance is increasingly being challenged by its usurping offspring (Twitter,Instagram and Snapchat), which are much more fun and cooler than their 11 year old father. So what did Facebook do in an effort to turn back the time?

Facebook revamp is Brand image and position

Facebook were right to reevaluate their position in the market. When new competitors enter  into the market place it's important to establish a distinctive position for oneself in order to stand out and stave off the competition. So Facebook wanted to revamp its brand image, our current view of the social network, to change our perception of it in relation to say Twitter or Instagram, (brand position). Therefore, the new 'Friends' was set out to do two things; change the companies brand image and reposition itself in the market place. The two are often intertwined as once you change a company's brand image you inadvertently change how we view it against similar products. But for clarity's sake, let's first discuss how Facebook sought to change its image. A Facebook spokesman explained the concept behind the adverts;

"Facebook is a place where friends go to make meaningful connections. This regional campaign celebrates connections and the different kinds of friendships that enrich our lives both on and off Facebook.."

Indeed, the adverts are more brand than product focused. Although trademark Facebook vernacular is used in the TV ads such as "friendship requests", "shares'' and "likes", the adverts are more about shaping our beliefs about Facebook. Adopting a content marketing approach, the three thirty second ads from in-house agency The Factory, follows the story of different friendships. Using a British narrator to abstractly, but poetically describe the unfolding events on screen, the agency wanted to communicate Facebook's pivotal role in creating and sustaining meaningful bonds between  two individuals. Facebook wants us users to associate its social network  with 'true friendship'. This might seem very basic or even obvious given it is a "social" network, but we are completely honest with ourselves how many real "friends" do we have on Facebook?  I would say most of my 350 friends are made up of mostly associates or distant family members. Facebook want to make a fresh start whereby the words "friend request" truly means you want to build a lasting, meaningful relationship with that person. But aforementioned Facebook doesn't want us to update our perception of the brand in isolation, they want us to do so in relation to the other social networks. In other words, Facebook want to use this new brand image in order to re-position itself in the marketplace.

As I have already explained what a brand position is, I bet you can already guess what re-positioning is, but just for more my own clarity I will explain anyway *wink*. The term traditional refers to a dramatic change in a target market's understanding of the product relative to its immediate competitors. However, Facebook are not seeking to exact any major changes to the position, just a slight alteration. They simply want us to think of Facebook as a place where you go to make friends in comparison to Twitter and Snapchat where you go to socialise. Subtle difference I know, but this change is important at a time when Facebook is fast becoming just another social network. Mark Zuckerberg and co hope this repositioning will take their company back to a time when it was  The social network (pardon the pun), reestablishing itself at the top of the social media food chain. Take a look at the ads below and let me know what you think. Did it work? Leave a comment in the section below!

Have you seen the new video for Clean Bandit's latest single 'Stronger'? And did you know that the chart topping quadrate teamed up with Microsoft to create it? Well, late last year Clean Bandit challenged popular YouTube creators from across Europe to make a short video of their hit single 'Rather Be'. Each Youtube creator was tasked with not only attempting to put their own unique spin on the video, but also shoot it using a Lumia mobile device. The winner would then help  to create Clean Bandit's new music video, and the band would do a few TV ads. Simple enough right? However, it's amazing how even the most basic of brand partnerships can go so wrong! But hey, I am not that mean, so let's first talk about the positive aspects of the hook up .........before I tear it apart!

The Good

Warner Music, Clean Bandit's record label, and Microsoft were targeting this campaign at three main groups; Existing Nokia users, Clean Bandit's fanbase and European vlogger fans. With any brand partnership, the partnership must be mutually beneficial. In other words, both parties need to get something out of the relationship. In 2014 Clean Bandit had huge success with their break through single 'Rather Be', amassing over a quarter of a billion views on YouTube. By partnering themselves with a band with proven popularity, Microsoft were potentially giving their new product exposure to the millions of people who would watch Clean Bandit's next music video.  It was a no brainer for Microsoft; a huge number of people seeing their latest product without shelling out loads on advertising #winning - well at least that was the idea. Furthermore, having done research on existing Lumia users, Microsoft discovered that music was a huge part of their lives. So through this partnership Microsoft hoped to convert existing users into "advocates" of the brand; who in time would sell the phone for Microsoft through positive word of mouth. In this respect, Microsoft were not only trying to increase brand awareness, they also wanted to improve Lumia's brand image. Brand image represents the associations that are activated in memory when people think of a particular brand. So in this case, Microsoft wants 'music' to appear in our "associative network" when we think of their phone. But Microsoft were not the only ones benefiting from this partnership, Clean bandit also had a vested interest in collaborating on this campaign.

Despite achieving huge international acclaim for their single 'Rather Be', Clean Bandit's international album sales were extremely disappointing. So in order to remedy a lack of a solid overseas fanbase, Warner and Microsoft targeted an European audience. The idea was that mainland Europeans would be exposed to the band and their music via their favourite vloggers. By today's standards vloggers are the new celebrities, does the name Zoella ring any bells? So tapping into their huge online followings would be good for any band, and in this instance, also gave Microsoft a very subtle way of advertising its product. In this form of content marketing, fans were exposed to the functionality of the phone and the band's music without so much as a 'google ad' or a click here link!

Looking at a positive aspect of the campaign as a whole, it encouraged public participation via social media. The vlogger's fans were able to assist their favourite YouTuber by sharing their own ideas on the re-imagined 'Rather Be' video, via social networks using the hashtag #lumiamusic. This is good because as I explained in the Drake article, which I know you have already read *wink*, we as consumers respond better to marketing campaigns that we can interact with. Furthermore, the primary focus on social media marketing meant a larger, younger audience could be reached. This was particularly important for Microsoft as these adolescents may not yet have a specific brand of choice when it comes mobile phones, especially while they are still withdrawing money from the bank of Mum and Dad.

So all in all, on the surface, this looks like a good campaign. The choice of subtle advertising over the all too obvious product placement is refreshing. However, whilst theoretical this partnership seems perfect, in practice there were some major flaws.

The Bad

The problem with most of these types of partnerships is the non-musical partner's overestimation of the clout or popularity of their musical associate. Indeed, Clean Bandit did have a massive single, but are still a relatively new band who are yet to fully establish themselves in the music world. In other words, one hit single with a quarter of a billion views on YouTube does not mean future videos will be as successful. Stars like One direction, Rihanna and Taylor Swift can rest safe in the knowledge that their latest music video will garner at least 100 million views on YouTube. Clean bandit on the other hand can not. Clean Bandit's new song is likely to achieve 10 million views which will predominantly come from the  domestic market. Now you may say 10 million is nothing to sniff your nose at, but when taking into account that this is a new product launch that is being marketed globally, these are not the numbers that the fat cats at Microsoft would hope for. But the underestimation of the music video's reach is not the main problem facing this partnership going forward, its Clean Bandit themselves!

The Ugly

The best brand partnerships are those whereby the two parties' brand image or personalities compliment one another. Let's take UK rapper Professor Green's relationship with Puma for example. This partnership worked well given Puma’s efforts to become the sports brand of choice for urban music and fashion loving teenagers. Whether or not you truly believe that Green represents 'the streets' is another matter, but based on his style and young urban fanbase, this partnership makes sense! Throwing a little bit of theory into the mix (don't worry, it's straight forward and interes.....well....relevant anyway!); According to the principle of 'cognitive consistency', we value harmony among our thoughts, feelings, behaviours and those people or things around us. Based on this premise, brand partnerships are more effective when there's a logical connection between the star and the product. However, I am hard pushed to find a logical connection between Microsoft and Clean Bandit.

It also seems the partners have given little, or no thought to what this partnership would do for their brand image, or in Clean Bandit's case, in creating one to start with! When you think of Beyonce, you think sexy, great singer, cool, fashionable, great dancer.. need I go on? But when I think of Clean Bandit I only think about their music. To put it as nicely as possible, Clean bandit have as much personality as a packet of Sainsbury's basic pasta, (well I tried). Brand partners are meant to pass on their attributes to one another so as to make whatever they are selling more attractive. Far from making the Lumia seem more exciting, the band's association with it makes the phone seem anything but!  Particularly with the current phone market being dominated by Apple and Samsung,  Microsoft need to cultivate a distinctive position within it if they hope to lure 'apple-holics' away from their precious iPhones. But choosing Clean Bandit to help them do this, for me at least, has only served to increase my love of Samsung.

In my opinion, Clean Bandit first need to work on selling themselves before thinking about selling anything else. Also big brands like Microsoft need to stop focusing on numbers when picking future music partners. When it comes to these types of partners they should look more at their qualitative attributes. Had they done this originally, Microsoft may have opted to team up with a group like Rudimental rather than a band made up four people with heaps of musical ability but are as interesting as Windows 95. Have a look for yourself!

Awkward or What!

Have you seen the new video for Clean Bandit's latest single 'Stronger'? And did you know that the chart topping quadrate teamed up with Microsoft to create it? Well, late last year Clean Bandit challenged popular YouTube creators from across Europe to make a short video of their hit single 'Rather Be'. Each Youtube creator was tasked with not only attempting to put their own unique spin on the video, but also shoot it using a Lumia mobile device. The winner would then help  to create Clean Bandit's new music video, and the band would do a few TV ads. Simple enough right? However, it's amazing how even the most basic of brand partnerships can go so wrong! But hey, I am not that mean, so let's first talk about the positive aspects of the hook up .........before I tear it apart!

The Good

Warner Music, Clean Bandit's record label, and Microsoft were targeting this campaign at three main groups; Existing Nokia users, Clean Bandit's fanbase and European vlogger fans. With any brand partnership, the partnership must be mutually beneficial. In other words, both parties need to get something out of the relationship. In 2014 Clean Bandit had huge success with their break through single 'Rather Be', amassing over a quarter of a billion views on YouTube. By partnering themselves with a band with proven popularity, Microsoft were potentially giving their new product exposure to the millions of people who would watch Clean Bandit's next music video.  It was a no brainer for Microsoft; a huge number of people seeing their latest product without shelling out loads on advertising #winning - well at least that was the idea. Furthermore, having done research on existing Lumia users, Microsoft discovered that music was a huge part of their lives. So through this partnership Microsoft hoped to convert existing users into "advocates" of the brand; who in time would sell the phone for Microsoft through positive word of mouth. In this respect, Microsoft were not only trying to increase brand awareness, they also wanted to improve Lumia's brand image. Brand image represents the associations that are activated in memory when people think of a particular brand. So in this case, Microsoft wants 'music' to appear in our "associative network" when we think of their phone. But Microsoft were not the only ones benefiting from this partnership, Clean bandit also had a vested interest in collaborating on this campaign.

Despite achieving huge international acclaim for their single 'Rather Be', Clean Bandit's international album sales were extremely disappointing. So in order to remedy a lack of a solid overseas fanbase, Warner and Microsoft targeted an European audience. The idea was that mainland Europeans would be exposed to the band and their music via their favourite vloggers. By today's standards vloggers are the new celebrities, does the name Zoella ring any bells? So tapping into their huge online followings would be good for any band, and in this instance, also gave Microsoft a very subtle way of advertising its product. In this form of content marketing, fans were exposed to the functionality of the phone and the band's music without so much as a 'google ad' or a click here link!

Looking at a positive aspect of the campaign as a whole, it encouraged public participation via social media. The vlogger's fans were able to assist their favourite YouTuber by sharing their own ideas on the re-imagined 'Rather Be' video, via social networks using the hashtag #lumiamusic. This is good because as I explained in the Drake article, which I know you have already read *wink*, we as consumers respond better to marketing campaigns that we can interact with. Furthermore, the primary focus on social media marketing meant a larger, younger audience could be reached. This was particularly important for Microsoft as these adolescents may not yet have a specific brand of choice when it comes mobile phones, especially while they are still withdrawing money from the bank of Mum and Dad.

So all in all, on the surface, this looks like a good campaign. The choice of subtle advertising over the all too obvious product placement is refreshing. However, whilst theoretical this partnership seems perfect, in practice there were some major flaws.

The Bad

The problem with most of these types of partnerships is the non-musical partner's overestimation of the clout or popularity of their musical associate. Indeed, Clean Bandit did have a massive single, but are still a relatively new band who are yet to fully establish themselves in the music world. In other words, one hit single with a quarter of a billion views on YouTube does not mean future videos will be as successful. Stars like One direction, Rihanna and Taylor Swift can rest safe in the knowledge that their latest music video will garner at least 100 million views on YouTube. Clean bandit on the other hand can not. Clean Bandit's new song is likely to achieve 10 million views which will predominantly come from the  domestic market. Now you may say 10 million is nothing to sniff your nose at, but when taking into account that this is a new product launch that is being marketed globally, these are not the numbers that the fat cats at Microsoft would hope for. But the underestimation of the music video's reach is not the main problem facing this partnership going forward, its Clean Bandit themselves!

The Ugly

The best brand partnerships are those whereby the two parties' brand image or personalities compliment one another. Let's take UK rapper Professor Green's relationship with Puma for example. This partnership worked well given Puma’s efforts to become the sports brand of choice for urban music and fashion loving teenagers. Whether or not you truly believe that Green represents 'the streets' is another matter, but based on his style and young urban fanbase, this partnership makes sense! Throwing a little bit of theory into the mix (don't worry, it's straight forward and interes.....well....relevant anyway!); According to the principle of 'cognitive consistency', we value harmony among our thoughts, feelings, behaviours and those people or things around us. Based on this premise, brand partnerships are more effective when there's a logical connection between the star and the product. However, I am hard pushed to find a logical connection between Microsoft and Clean Bandit.

It also seems the partners have given little, or no thought to what this partnership would do for their brand image, or in Clean Bandit's case, in creating one to start with! When you think of Beyonce, you think sexy, great singer, cool, fashionable, great dancer.. need I go on? But when I think of Clean Bandit I only think about their music. To put it as nicely as possible, Clean bandit have as much personality as a packet of Sainsbury's basic pasta, (well I tried). Brand partners are meant to pass on their attributes to one another so as to make whatever they are selling more attractive. Far from making the Lumia seem more exciting, the band's association with it makes the phone seem anything but!  Particularly with the current phone market being dominated by Apple and Samsung,  Microsoft need to cultivate a distinctive position within it if they hope to lure 'apple-holics' away from their precious iPhones. But choosing Clean Bandit to help them do this, for me at least, has only served to increase my love of Samsung.

In my opinion, Clean Bandit first need to work on selling themselves before thinking about selling anything else. Also big brands like Microsoft need to stop focusing on numbers when picking future music partners. When it comes to these types of partners they should look more at their qualitative attributes. Had they done this originally, Microsoft may have opted to team up with a group like Rudimental rather than a band made up four people with heaps of musical ability but are as interesting as Windows 95. Have a look for yourself!

Awkward or What!