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What 2016 taught us in the world of video content…by Rose Dooley

A New Year, a new start. 2017 has arrived and we’re already marching through the month with the force of a January gale force wind.

But, as we focus on the new and exciting prospects that 2017 may hold, it’s important to look back and take inspiration from what we have learnt from the last year, especially in the world of video content.

Here are some thoughts from our video department, Rich Reels…

Learn to Evolve

Whilst we’re are always on the lookout for new and forward thinking ways of creating video content, that doesn’t always mean out with the old and in with the new. Search engine giant Google has taught us the art of evolution, especially when it comes to its trademark ideas. Through the power of Google Maps, every Christmas Eve for the past 12 years, a whole generation of families have been able to track Santa as he makes his way around the globe. With virtual reality becoming a reality for video content, Google has embraced new technology and trends so that trackers can watch and interact with Santa’s very own dashboard camera from the front of his sleigh, allowing viewers an additional perspective to his progress around the world.

Be part of the action

Another popular trend of the past twelve months is the 360-video experience. A dream for travel marketing and a great way for charities to emotionally connect with their audience, 360-video allows consumers the chance to see a video from their own individual point of view, truly immersing themselves in the action. Check out one of our favourites from the Go Pro Bombsquad. The ‘Blue Skies’ video allows viewers to skydive, for three minutes and thirty seconds, from several thousand feet, all from the comfort of your screen.

Never under estimate the power of social media

Anyone heard of a family fun game called Pie Face? Was it from the clever video ads and digital marketing? Or was it your Facebook and Snapchat feeds full of your friends playing the game? In this instance, Hasbro and Rocket Games let the product do the talking on social media. A YouTube video from May 2016 of a grandfather and grandson playing the game went viral and led to the product selling out. By the end of 2016, back in stock, Pie Face had taken pride of place alongside Scrabble and Kerplunk alike in retailers. With kids, parents and even animals getting involved in the fun and sharing online.

2016 Cocktail trends – Hit or Miss? by Philippa Barker

At the start of 2016, we worked with professional cocktail mix brand, Finest Call and distributor Cellar Trends to predict what we can expect to see rise and fall in the cocktail industry for 2017. With this, the team of drink connoisseurs and marketing professionals highlighted eleven trends set to take the industry by storm in 2016.

1. Back to basics – classic cocktails with a twist

2. Molecular Mixology – gels, foams, powders, atomisers, smoked cocktails

3. Regional inspired cocktails – British Classics, Asian, Caribbean

4. Unique spirits – Pisco, Cachaca, Mezcal, Digestives such as Amaros & Bitters

5. Unique ingredients – vegetables and shrubs, dried and smoked fruit

6. Low calorie cocktails

7. Apertif based cocktails – spirit-heavy cocktails with less fruit and sweet ingredients

8. Disco cocktails – fun cocktails but still high quality

9. Homemade ingredients – gin infusions, barrel ageing

10. Serving vessels – theatre will remain a key trend

11. Rise of premixed cocktails and cocktail solutions

 

With the year all done and dusted, we took the chance to see what predictions triumphed in 2016:

 

2. Molecular Mixology – we saw ‘Molecular Gastronomy’ hit the UK food scene a few years ago and only recently did we start to see this tipple down onto the cocktail industry. The Alchemist recently expanded its offering to Liverpool providing drinks bubbling in dry ice, whilst London’s Breaking Bad style bar saw customers step into a chemistry-inspired cocktail lab where they are offered Nitrogen Cavitation to infuse their drinks.

4. Unique spirits – consumer’s appreciation for ‘hand-made’ products is continuously growing and 2016 has seen more artisan products making their way into cocktail menus. Bars such as the Cocktail Trading Company in Brick Lane, London opened recently with a specific focus on unusual and rare spirits from around the world. Like the sound of that? Then ‘APairOTeef’ might be up your street, a refreshing mix of Pisco, Cardamom-pear infusion, white balsamic and sparkling wine.

9. Homemade ingredients – craft has been and will be for a while a key element within the food and drink industry. From the explosion of small-scale breweries to the sourcing of local ingredients, mainstream to independent bars are tapping onto this trend. Only recently did restaurant and bar chain, Missoula, launch their new menu featuring their brand new ‘Steeped’ section offering a fresh selection of premium spirits infused with familiar tastes of Vanilla, Earl Grey Tea and Jasmine.

With 2017 already set to be a big year in terms of food and drink, the enthusiasts here at Lucre are excited to see what there is in store.

 

 

Rio Reflection

 

As the Paralympians get ready to take centre stage in Rio, we ask some of our Ideas and Insights panel to reflect on what we’ve seen so far and how this compares to the thoughts we had at our Rio event in April this year.

Overview

Mary Thomas, Firestarter Marketing

For me it would be summed up as ‘The Have and Have Nots’. The games showcased such bittersweet contrasts – the wafer-thin gap between defeat and victory – the sheer joy of those who met or exceeded their expectations and those who didn’t – from Lutalo Muhammed’s final second gold medal loss, to Tom Daley’s semifinal drop out, the distress of the Dutch losing out to the UK in the women’s hockey – and our own teams unadulterated delight in being unexpected champions, Max Whitelocks last minute success at the expense of Louis Smith.

The ‘Have and Have Nots’, not just in terms of winning and losing, but in terms of economic prosperity and inbuilt advantages for rich nations –  the Americans with their gold standard athletes programmes / hothouses –  in contrast to some of the world’s poorest nations, such as Kenya, still managing to achieve medals. These contrasts create some of the most poignant Olympic moments – for example Rafaela Silva ‘Queen of the Favelas’ winning the Judo Gold is a truly humbling success story.

All of this back dropped by Brazil as host, and its own shocking contrasts, which have formed a commentary throughout the buildup and during the Games, with its own story of extremes of rich and poor, with stadiums full of empty seats, unaffordable to most of the nation’s citizens, with slums cleared for or sitting jarringly adjacent to the glamorous Olympic infrastructure.

 

Home and Lifestyle

Ruth Kelly, Trendbible

From the Olympics itself it was all the stories of great sportsmanship that really stood out to me! And of course GB celebrating the incredible achievement of our athletes!

Reflecting back on the trends forecast for the Spring/Summer season we saw some really lovely interpretations of the ‘Rio’ influence. I think the M&S ‘Spirit of Summer’ campaign really stood out as getting it right – a really modern, fresh interpretation influenced by South America and Central America as a geography more generally. Rather than putting an obvious and stereotypical ‘Rio’ label on everything, it’s tapped into the broader focus on that area of the world as a travel destination. The packaging design, advertising and products captured an energy that was spot on.

 

Joao Barufi, Brand Manager, Bosch

They pulled it together at the end, that was amazing to see!

For a while I was concerned it wouldn’t happen, as we got closer and closer and the athletes were moving to hotels I thought that would be the end.

Team GB did brilliantly and the real heroes are still to compete in the Paralympic games!

And to finish, as we say in Brazil, the party always ends up in pizza and carnival. Well, it was literally carnival. According to the FT, the budget was overrun by 51% whilst the Olympic committee publishes a total cost of USD 7.5 billion, which have made the rich minority wealthier and the poorer will have to pay the bill.

 

Travel

Graham McKenzie, Travelmole

So despite the recriminations, worries, self-analysis and stress before the Olympics started (which seems only too familiar in the pre-Olympics run up – who can forget the fear amongst all Londoners that the capital would grind to a halt during the summer of 2012?), in many respects Rio 2016 was no different from any other games having pre-performance nerves. The troubles here though may go a bit deeper than butterflies in the tummy.

Only a few years ago when Brazil actively sought the games they were very much top of the pops. The economy was so encouraging that they even took the lead singer role in the BRIC band. They were leading the new wave of economies set to sweep away any vestiges of old money in Europe and North America.

Yet here we are a few years later and money’s too tight to mention. Rio has set out emergency policies to avoid a catastrophic loss of essential services and the Paralympics has been cut right back.

So why hold the games? Is it National Pride? Legacy infrastructure? Maybe Tourism? Well only time will tell on the first two but for tourism, I feel the answer will sadly be no. In fact the mistakes have already been made and it’s too late baby. Too late to invite the press in advance to find out what Rio has to offer. In the years leading up to the 2012 games Visit Britain was doing its very upmost to show off all the country’s heritage both sporting and otherwise with one press and familiarisation trip after another. Scotland a few years later did likewise for the Glasgow Commonwealth games. Not so this time.

Rio and Brazil have had an opportunity to rectify the negative image in the minds of the international tourists. The 2016 games is an opportunity to help change that and bring about an increase in visitors which through their social and economic impact change lives. Sadly Rio has lost its voice and its chance.