MAGnet #26 19/11/21

Magnet #26

Welcome to another week of magnet, this week we’re discussing the power of celebrities and brands, the run up to Black Friday and an impressive 3D activation.

Campaigns:

We know 3D activations are taking the DOOH format by storm, and the latest one on Piccadilly lights is certainly impressive. Prime Video is backing the launch of epic fantasy series The Wheel of Time, with a live-action 3D illusion; created by Amplify and featuring  Rosamund Pike. It’s the first time an anamorphic billboard has been used by an entertainment company to promote TV series.

In the illusion, we see an epic battle between the ‘Light’; Pike’s character Moraine, vs the ‘Dark’, an evil fade, commander of the dark army as the two appear to break out of the screen and into our world. The narrative of the content is bound together by the iconic figure of the Great Serpent.

 The 3D activation is  also going to appear at iconic sites, including New York City’s Big Kahuna in Times Square and Tokyo’s Cross Shinjuku Vision.

Taylor Swift, RED (Taylor’s Version) x brands

Last Friday, Taylor released her much anticipated re-recorded version of RED, that comes as the Grammy Award winner seeks to reclaim her older music catalogue following a dispute with her ex-record label. Various brands, sensing this anticipation online from fans, hoped to capitalise around it.

Taylor Swift’s favourite drink is a grande caramel non-fat latte, at least if Starbucks’ Twitter bio is to be believed. The company took to social media to encourage consumers to try “Taylor’s favourite drink,” which can be ordered at Starbucks locations simply by asking for “Taylor’s Latte.”

Taking a “new twist on the classics” approach, Etsy tweeted an image of a woman in a red knit hat and scarf in celebration of “Red (Taylor’s Version),” articles of clothing that tie into Swift’s discography and her relationship with Jake Gyllenhaal. GoFundMe made a Twitter thread of the times Swift has used the donation platform over the years, whilst The Sims video game posted a screenshot of a Taylor Swift–obsessed Sim running home to listen to the new album on Twitter…and it now has more than 10,000 likes. And Modsy, an interior design service, reimagined what four of the album’s songs would look like if they were rooms in a house.

Over on TitkTok, booksellers and publishers were pairing books that would fit with the iconic songs from the album.

Black Friday:

The landscape for Black Friday has changed because of the pandemic, when brands had to move online to sell their offerings. The move online has not only created a more competitive space but it’s affected the way consumers shop and interact with brands, meaning this year Black Friday is predicted to be interesting.

Research from Finder shows that people in the UK plan to spend an estimated £4.8 billion on Black Friday and Cyber Monday buys this year.

Brits will spend £275 on average this year. This is 7% (£20) less than last year’s figure, where shoppers planned to spend £295 on average during the sales. This means the total Black Friday and Cyber Monday spending in the UK will decrease from £5.6 billion in 2019 and £6 billion in 2020, to £4.8 billion in 2021. With fewer Brits making the most out of the Black Friday and Cyber Monday deals this year, spending across the UK is expected to drop by £1.2 billion.