In 1945, the dividing line between North and South Korea was chosen by two young American statesman with almost no expertise on the matter. They conceded the division “made no sense economically or geographically,” but it was based on the feeling that “Seoul, the capital, should be in the American sector.” The division later formed part of the demilitarised zone which has served as the border between the two countries ever since.
Sam Salama
In the 1990s, awareness of the 5 a day rule sky rocketed from 8% to 39%. But the corresponding behaviour remained unchanged: the proportion of Americans getting the right intake stayed at 11%.
During Covid-19, in the absence of in person exams, the government created an algorithm to assign A-level grades. It was designed to be fair – based on historic school results and teachers’ assessments of individual students – but it ended up discriminating against students from poorer backgrounds, whose past performance was typically worse and whose class sizes tended to be bigger.
79% of psychiatrists recommended immediate antidepressant treatment for depression, but only 39% would follow that recommendation themselves. If you want to get to the heart of an issue, ask someone: “what would you personally do in this situation?”
Barilla, the pasta maker, has released a series of Spotify playlists with a twist: their duration corresponds to the cooking time its most loved pasta shapes. A great way of practically helping consumers – who no longer need to set a timer – and also making the brand more salient at key moments.
The brains behind Moneyball, and a figurehead for sport’s analytics revolution, owes his success to one trait: “Being the dumbest guy in my own room.” It was this ignorance that allowed him to see opportunities – and find players – that no one else was looking for.
Marketers significantly overestimate the recognition of their distinctive brand assets vs consumers (by an average of 40%!). A reminder why it’s so important to conduct consumer research and not solely rely on marketers’ judgements.
Most marketers understand the importance of long-term brand building, but the real challenge is convincing their seniors to buy into it. Helpfully, Mark Ritson outlines seven tactics to improve the chances of success, from sourcing case studies (“pick big impressive brands, in your sector or outside it”) to explaining the why (i.e. what’s in it for them).
Fans of Step Brothers will be pleased to know that the film’s iconic event is now a reality. Every year since 2015, the Catalina Island Company (just off California) has paid homage to the film with a two-day celebration full of music, wine, and quotes from the characters.
Despite being known by 95% of consumers, Chips Ahoy! is only found in 30% of U.S. households. So the brand has recently launched several innovations to appeal to a wider customer base, including Baked Bits (on-the-go snacking), more products under $3, and better for you products like gluten-free Chips Ahoy!
How do you turn an unknown yogurt brand into a $3 billion revenue business? Give it mass distribution. According to Chobani’s founder Hamdi Ulukaya, “the single most important decision we made” was insisting the product be sold in mainstream grocery stores rather than specialty stores, and that it be stocked in the dairy aisle not the gourmet food aisles.
In the recent conclave, clerics actually used the film (of the same name) for guidance on deciding the new Pope. The film is considered to be remarkably accurate, which is especially helpful for the clerics with little experience of Vatican politics and protocol.
Côte Brasserie recently launched a range of £10 mains on Monday to Friday. A great offer, made even better because of its clever framing: the meal is more affordable than a range of (often needless) items you buy.
In Japan, sales of adult nappies have outpaced infant nappies for more than a decade – which makes sense given the country’s unusually old population (those aged 65 and over make up 30%). The decline of infant nappies has become so stark that Oji Holdings, a leading producer, recently announced it will stop making them altogether.
The Waitrose branded podcast gets more than 10 million views every week, and has hosted the likes of Florence Pugh, Tom Holland and Shania Twain. When a recipe is chosen for an episode, it leads to a 5,000% spike in searches for it on the Waitrose website.