Summary of The Naked Brand

00:00:00 - 00:55:00

"The Naked Brand" video highlights the shift in the advertising industry where traditional advertising is becoming obsolete and transparency is key. Consumers have lost faith in corporate messages and now turn to social media and peer reviews to find the truth about products and companies. Brands should focus on creating small experiences that get customers to want to come back for more rather than a big branding campaign. Transparency is a necessary aspect of the future of advertising, and companies that build trust by being transparent improve their chances in the ongoing war for our attention. Companies like Unilever, Walmart, and Under Armour have already noticed that using sustainable practices in their business helps to reduce costs and increase revenue. Zappos invests in free shipping, a 24/7 call center, and happy employees which result in repeat customers and word-of-mouth recommendations. The video concludes that by partnering with customers and collaborating with them, brands can make a meaningful impact on the planet.

• 00:00:00 In this section, the excerpt highlights how every homeless veteran is a much larger and louder advertisement than what's going on in the front hood of a NASCAR car. Despite Congress allocating $27 million for NASCAR military sponsorships, including $20 million for the National Guard racing team and $7 million for army racing in 2011, they also cut $75 million in benefits for homeless veterans. The excerpt also discusses the shift in the advertising industry, where traditional advertising is becoming obsolete, and transparency is key. The essence of every great brand is trust, and investing in customer service and customer experience is becoming more important than paid marketing. However, corporations are growing bigger than countries and consume more resources than ever before. The last battleground where people, not multinational companies, may have the upper hand is in advertising where brands are losing trust.
• 00:05:00 In this section of the video, the focus is on how modern consumers have lost faith in corporate messages and now turn to social media and peer reviews to find the truth about products and companies. The average consumer is no longer naive and is aware of the unethical behavior that companies indulge in. Social media has given consumers a voice, and they use it to expose companies that indulge in such behavior. Amy Krajewski, an average consumer, shares her opinion on how writing reviews is a great way of getting her voice heard. Consumers rely on peer reviews more than advertising and are more likely to trust them. With the rise of smartphones, the information shared on social media and peer reviews follows us wherever we go, and companies must now focus on making better products rather than hiding their unethical behavior.
• 00:10:00 In this section, the speaker explains how advertising has not evolved much despite consumer behavior dramatically changing over the past decade. The strategies have been the same with print ads becoming banner ads, 30-second TV ads becoming pre-rolls, and display advertising limiting creative digital opportunities. The speaker suggests that organizations are risk-averse to change and therefore not thinking differently. He also emphasizes that brands need to shift from just saying they are great to actually being great. Instead of a big branding campaign, it is about creating small experiences that get customers to want to come back for more. The speaker proposes that companies deliver better products and services as a form of advertising.
• 00:15:00 In this section, the video presents the concept of advertising being used to make companies more transparent, socially responsible, or helpful. While acknowledging the negative impact of corporations on the planet, the video suggests that advertising has the potential to drive positive change in the corporate world. The video showcases Alex Bogusky, a renowned advertising executive who, at the height of his successful career, quit the industry to focus on social responsibility. He started a bamboo bicycle company in the small town of Greensboro, Alabama, to help alleviate poverty in the community while making profits. His goal is to launch a thousand socially conscious ventures over the next few years through his project called Common.
• 00:20:00 In this section, the speaker discusses transparency as a necessary aspect of the future of advertising, stating that it's not a choice and that it will happen to a company whether or not they participate in it. The speaker discusses the example of Nike and their factory scandal in 1997, which resulted in a market cap loss of over $2 billion because of a lack of transparency. The speaker also mentions Good Guide, a website founded by researcher Dara O'Rourke, that puts transparency in the hands of everyday consumers allowing them to be informed consumers. The speaker concludes that new types of information will be coming to consumers due to higher demand, and as technology evolves, consumers will too.
• 00:25:00 In this section, the transcript speaks about how information is becoming more and more present in our lives, and the technology that will allow screens to be everywhere we go, while companies fight over the control of our attention. The hope for companies is to garner trust by being transparent, which in turn can increase their credibility. One company, Patagonia, has embraced transparency by showing where their products come from, including the use of toxic chemicals in their jackets. This approach increased their credibility with the consumer and established trust. Clear messages are the new norm and companies that build trust by being transparent improve their chances in the ongoing war for our attention.
• 00:30:00 In this section of the video, the benefits for corporations to go green are showcased. Companies like Unilever and Walmart have already noticed that using sustainable practices in their business helps to reduce costs and increase revenue. Unilever has cut its environmental footprint in half and doubled its revenue in the next ten years, while Walmart has saved 3.4 billion dollars by reducing the size of its packaging. Under Armour's green clothing line, which is made from recycled water bottles, has helped the company increase its market cap by 250 percent. By adopting sustainable and green business models, these corporations have managed to both create a better world and increase their profits.
• 00:35:00 In this section, we learn about Pepsi's Refresh Project, a unique marketing campaign that redefined the brand by putting consumers in the driver's seat. Pepsi accepted proposals for projects every month, and the best proposals were selected by audience vote to receive grant money. The campaign, which received 8 billion page views and 80 million votes in its first year, proved to be wildly successful and helped redefine the meaning of being a great company. The video argues that the division between marketing and product development is gradually dissolving, and in a transparent world, the product or service becomes the message. Marketing should focus more on investing in products rather than advertising them, as trust is established when companies invest in creating better products.
• 00:40:00 In this section, the focus is on neuro marketing research and how it can shape not just ads, but products, packaging, and in-store experiences. Neuro Focus is a global leader in this field, utilizing neuroscience to yield insights and build a personal connection with the consumer. They've found that evocative moments between moments are what the brain enjoys best, like the humorous instructions on how to operate a seatbelt on a Virgin America flight. Virgin America spends only $10 million a year on marketing, as compared to a typical major airline's budget of $200 million, focusing on improving the product experience, such as bringing full-fleet Wi-Fi to the market. The key to survival in a time when consumers have so much choice is to find the points of fun and make them better, while diminishing or demolishing the points of pain.
• 00:45:00 In this section, we learn about the importance of company culture in delivering a great customer experience, as demonstrated by Zappos. Zappos invests in free shipping, a 24/7 call center, and happy employees, which result in repeat customers and word-of-mouth recommendations. Zappos believes that happy employees lead to happy customers, so they prioritize building and maintaining their company culture above all else. They hire and fire employees based on their committable core values and keep a full-time life coach on staff to ensure that they maintain a happy and positive environment. Their corporate culture is reflected in their interactions with customers, and their recent TV campaign consisted of transcripts of real customer service calls.
• 00:50:00 In this section, the video highlights the importance of transparency in advertising and how it's no longer a choice for brands. It's now up to brands to determine how to deal with it, which could determine the fate of corporations and impact consumers' lives. Brands often sell one thing that they know how to sell, making it hard to change and adapt to a new way of advertising, but as the world moves forward, advertising should tell a true story, solve problems, and help people through their day. Consumers are now watchdogs, critics, and conscience of these brands, and by partnering with customers and collaborating with them, brands can make a meaningful impact on the planet.
• 00:55:00 In this section of the video, the speaker discusses the idea of power and how it has shifted over the years. From kings and the church to corporations, the speaker does not believe that it will end with corporations as the greatest power on earth. Rather, it will end with humanity itself.