International round-up: Unilever launches ‘natural’ beauty brand, Kellogg’s doubles down on cereal cafes

Plus Australian health bodies fight Coca-Cola’s Christmas truck tour and the first crowd-funded Super Bowl campaign appeal is launched to raise awareness of global warming.

Unilever

Unilever goes after niche audiences with ‘natural’ beauty line

Unilever says it is no longer going after broad swathes of consumers, instead using big data to determine increasingly narrow groups to develop new products for.

For example, it launched a new personal care brand ‘Love Beauty and Planet’ in the US this week, featuring “natural” products including shampoos, conditioners, and body washes.

The bottles are made from 100% recycled plastic and are 100% recyclable. The products also use a “fast-rinse conditioner technology,” which has the environmental benefit of requiring less water to rinse the product out of hair. The Love Beauty and Planet line is free from Parabens — a kind of ingredient that many consumers looking for natural products try to avoid.

Products considered “natural” now make up a quarter of the personal care market, according to Unilever, and are growing at twice the rate of the rest of the sector. Meanwhile, brands that fall under what Unilever identifies as “Sustainable Living” grew more than 50% faster than the rest of the company’s business last year, and also delivered more than 60% of the Unilever’s 2016 growth.

READ MORE: Unilever is launching a new ‘natural’ line of shampoos and soaps to attract millennials

Kellogg’s goes big on cereal cafes to slow sales decline

Cereal giant Kellogg’s is feeling the heat. More health-conscious young consumers have been moving away from eating cereal for breakfast, resulting in a four-year sales slump at the company. Cereal is projected to finish 2017 down 1.6%, according to Euromonitor International.

But Kellogg’s has a plan to change its fortunes. It is opening a new cereal cafe in Manhattan’s Union Square, doubling down on a concept that it started in Times Square last year.

The cafe will be about fives times larger and feature an Instagram station with props and professional lighting, designed to help customers perfect their social-media posts. There’s a full cereal bar, giant murals of Kellogg’s characters like Tony the Tiger, a station to heat up Pop-Tarts and a special iron to cook fresh Eggo waffles.

“We needed something that was more experiential,” says Aleta Chase, a marketing executive at the company. “There’s a more lasting emotional connection if they experience it firsthand – that’s hard to do with a TV commercial.”

READ MORE: Kellogg is going all in on cereal cafes

Absolut Vodka looks to reach Chinese consumers across 100 cities in one night

Absolut has unveiled a campaign for New Year’s Eve, which looks to celebrate “unity and nightlife” in China and will be created by individuals across 100 cities in China.

People have been invited to submit an idea for their ideal night out to the AbsolutNights website, which has been gathering submissions for the last six months. Every week a winner will receive the support of 10,000RMB (£1,126) from Absolut to bring their creative night to life.

These nights will all create thousands of short online videos creating the chance to take part in 100 different nights in one. This means that consumers will be united throughout China, all celebrating the same night in 100 different ways.

Gaia Gilardini, global communications director for the brand, comments: “Absolut has always believed in the power of creativity and this activity shows our commitment to bringing this about across the globe.”

Australian health bodies fight Coca-Cola’s Christmas truck tour

A number of Australian health bodies have joined forces to try to stop Coca-Cola’s Christmas truck tour. The group, led by campaign group Parents’ Voice, believes the Christmas truck tour is a technique to disguise Coca-Cola’s marketing techniques and target children.

The tour is currently underway in partnership with The Salvation Army, and looks to deliver “surprise and delight” moments to regional towns. It has received opposition since it began in November.

“The truck is essentially a giant mobile billboard marketing unhealthy products to vulnerable communities,” says Parents’ Voice campaigns manager Alice Pryor.

An open letter expresses disappointment in the truck’s visit to Tamworth. The New South Wales city has high levels of overweight and obese people, with 73.9% of adults there either overweight or obese.

“Coke is a harmful product packed with sugar,” says Pryor. ”With one-in-four Australian kids overweight or obese, it’s hard to comprehend they’re deliberately targeting children in this at-risk community.”

READ MORE: Health bodies fight Coca-Cola Christmas truck small town tour

Crowd-funded Super Bowl campaign aims to raise awareness of global warming

Professional skier Julian Carr has launched a new campaign to create the world’s first crowd-funded Super Bowl ad with the hope of raising awareness of global warming.

Using the global crowd-funding platform Kickstarter, Carr is asking people to help raise the $5.5m needed to buy 30 seconds of airtime during the big game on 4 February 2018, which boasts TV’s biggest live audience.

Ad agency Goodby Silverstein & Partners (GS&P) will produce the final ad should enough money be raised. GS&P has produced numerous Super Bowl ads for brands such as Budweiser, Emerald Nuts and Doritos.

“America is the biggest polluter in history. Yet only one in eight Americans know there’s a consensus among the scientific community that global warming is caused by humans,” explains Carr. “Together, we can raise awareness in front of 110 million Americans about global warming and let our people know what’s at stake. Because only when we acknowledge the problem can we truly fight it.”

The appeal can be found on the Kickstarter platform, where consumers can read about the project and decide how much to donate. Top donors receive a ski lesson from Carr, and the initiative also offers brands the opportunity to be featured on the end card during TV’s most expensive moments.

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