Milk Wars: Labeling Battles Escalate
“A brand is a concept, which is typically boiled down to a very, very small nugget, just like how we can text with emojis,” he says. “The concept of a brand changes per context, per contextual environment, depending on the season, the platform, the medium, how it’s being delivered, who it’s talking to at that time, and that’s where a brand is able to expand those experiences and connect emotionally by showing different sides of the brand.”
“‘Drink’ is far more general and loses the powerful frame of reference that ‘milk’ granted these beverages,” said Newman. “The brain doesn’t have a proper footing to create the meaning it needs to attach to the plant-based alternative.”
The Food Institute
Growing Consumer Anxiety Dictating Americans’ Spending
“According to Reilly Newman, founder of Motif Brands, consumers are diving into comfort foods and things that are familiar to them. “Since the world has entered a state of uncertainty, there’s a natural desire for the known and familiar. This relates to comfort foods or even perhaps those foods that are nostalgic.”
“Through messaging and visual design cues, the brands can help calm the consumer and make them feel more confident in their decision-making,” Newman said. “This anxiety may also encourage the consumer to look for mental shortcuts in their decision-making to avoid being overwhelmed. They may look to peers, reviews, trends, signals, etc. to help them make their decision and even affirm the decision they’ve made.”
Brands can take these psychological aspects into account when strategizing on how to communicate to their audience. Brands that can be empathetic to the feelings of their audience will always win at the end of the day, Newman said.”
-Reilly Newman
The Food Institute
Understanding Gen Z’s ‘Menu Anxiety’
“Consider the In-N-Out menu, where options are simply numbered #1, #2, or #3, compared to a complex French restaurant where the decision-maker might struggle to pronounce the names of the dishes,” he said. “Even if an elevated experience is desired, it can still create a rather frustrating experience for the consumer.”
“If all loyalty programs and data focus on delivering a customized experience based on my past interactions, then the predictive error of my future choices becomes that of randomness,” he explained.
“Humans are irrational creatures, and past performance never guarantees future results. By allowing individuals to browse and explore, we encourage a more curious experience that adds value…when we browse and discover, there is a sense of pride in our choices. Allowing this freedom empowers the consumer to discover a new favorite, or perhaps the simple pleasure of autonomy is enough to entice them to return.”
The Food Institute
A Hallmark Movie, but Make it Shoppable: Walmart’s Add to Heart
“This approach to advertising seemed to be a reverse-engineering of product placement,” said Reilly Newman to The Food Institute, a brand strategist and founder of Motif Brands.
“By creating the ‘faux’ content in a way that deliberately uses certain products, the brand can put on display their products in appealing ways…What made this even more successful is the fact that Walmart was self-aware in its efforts” in crafting a new paradigm in holiday programming – RomCommerce, which Reilly said helps make up for any cringey placements or even quality of content “because they aren’t hiding the fact that this is indeed an advertising effort.”
Though a novel approach in today’s retail and entertainment world, Reilly noted that Disney has been doing this (more or less) for decades; “Disney films are just two hours of advertising…As the barrier between content and consumer interaction blurs, we can bet on more integrated content commerce.”
The Food Institute
Boost Brand Awareness With Threads
“Just because Threads is new doesn’t mean you should join. Reilly Newman, Brand Strategist at Motif Brands, notes that the platform has already lost more than 80% of its initial users since its launch.
“It’s a brand decision to ensure the platform agrees with your position in the market and the audience you are trying to reach. It also is a business decision because you will invest time, effort, and money into the platform. If a medium, like Threads, is deemed like a good decision on both of these fronts, then it could be worth a retailer’s time to experiment on the platform,” Newman says.”
“A content strategy for Threads would be similar to a strategy for Twitter(X). Just as we have seen brands like Wendy’s, Old Spice, and Denny’s be successful with unique content that leans heavily on humor, we can apply some of this strategy to a Threads content strategy. Wordplay and clever quips would do best as they can be supplemented with some imagery and important information like new product releases or seasonal sales,” Newman advises.”
Specialty Retailer
Coca-Cola Finds Marketing Success by Sidestepping Controversy
“Coca-Cola’s approach is smart because their brand has always been about community. They consistently promote ‘share a Coke’ or depict social gatherings enjoying a Coke together”
“Coca-Cola has always been a brand about accessibility and inclusivity. If the brand were to take a political stance on a hot topic, this would be counter to their brand because they would instantly alienate a group of potential Coke consumers,”
“Coca-Cola stresses “the nostalgic undertone of an enchanting America who lived in harmony with a shared dream,” Newman said. “They have bottled the feeling of walking down Disneyland’s Main Street – a time when your neighborhood was neighborly and politics weren’t political.”
-Reilly Newman
The Food Institute
Brand Management and Psychology
“Brands are an inevitable component of business, as the human brain naturally seeks to form associations and derive meaning. Your business cannot exempt itself from this process. To unlock your business’s full potential, it is essential to manage its perception through carefully crafted brand identity and experiences.”
-Reilly Newman