Our May Roller Round Up
For Roller, the month of May was jam packed with birthday celebrations, awards events and planning for June's London Tech Week 2018! But for the rest of the world, the focus has been entirely centred on tech. From branded digital wellness campaigns, to the unveiling of some rather unusual social media updates, May brought about new and innovative changes in the digital revolution. But with so many headlines to discover, we've compiled our key May takeaways into our monthly Roller Round Up, to bring you the highlights of the previous month and the impact it might have on the technology of June.
Social Media
Youtube launched a new music streaming service
This May, Youtube unveiled a new music streaming service. Offering both videos and audio tracks, Youtube have set up the service in order to compete with the likes of Apple Music and Spotify. This new service is a revamp of the previous YouTube Red subscription. Along with the free ad-funded app, there will also be a premium subscription service without advertisements which will be available, costing $9.99 per month. It will include extra features, such as, personalised playlists based on the individuals YouTube history, similar to Spotify’s Discover Weekly. The current streaming service, Google Play Music, will eventually be replaced by the new YouTube Music.YouTube is already the most popular music streaming platform in the world, excluding China, however it has been attacked by the music industry for allowing users to upload videos that infringe copyright laws. YouTube Music will be launched in five territories; USA, Australia, New Zealand, Mexico and South Korea. These are the 5 countries where YouTube Red already exists. The service will then be rolled out in 14 additional countries, which will include the UK. Although there are pros and cons to all music streaming services, the convenience of having everything all in one place is a bonus, so whether consumers want to listen, watch or discover, it will all be in on place.
Brand Activations and Pop-Ups
Asics rediscover the power of mindfulness in new campaign
Asics new campaign moves from the standard ploy of ‘blood, sweat and tears’ marketing in order to rediscover mindfulness. This sportswear brand has recently evolved to engage consumers on digital platforms on a more regular weekly basis to integrate with personal fitness pursuits and mindfulness. The company is split into two brands; performance brand Asics and lifestyle brand AsicsTiger. Each run their own campaigns, I Move Me and What The Gel. The company use running as an aid to the worries of everyday life. Promoting the fact that running is a good opportunity to turn off from everyday life and free up the mind, and can help get your mind and body back in balance.
These new agile and creative marketing techniques, have come about now to synchronize with the Asics founder Kihachiro Onitsuka’s 100th birthday. The new campaigns have the Founders principles at the heart; mindfulness. Along with the general public are becoming more aware of mental health issues, Asics also report that more people are taking up running year on year. Being relatable is an important message Asics wants to portray to consumers. They have taken their marketing in a direction of creating inspirational stories around not only athletes but also your everyday runner and encourage people to get up and running whether that be 5K, 10K or a marathon, preferably in their own Asics trainers!
Technology
Schweppes creates touch sensitive dress to highlight female harassment in nightclubs
Schweppes are taking on the challenge of harassment of women in nightclubs by creating a dress that demonstrates how common it is for women to have their evenings disturbed by inappropriate touching. The campaign ran in Sao Paulo, with three volunteers being invited to wear a touch-sensitive dress at a nightclub. The dress had several sensors applied to the fabric that registered in real-time where the three women were touched without their consent. The campaign was brought about in order to encourage men to ‘rethink their behaviour and approach women with more respect’ and results may be surprising to some.
Digital Campaigns
J2O release new advert featuring a cockney alpaca named Mojo, encouraging people to ‘find your mojo’ this summer
Summer is synonymous with BBQs and J2O have played on this in their new TV ad campaign. The new brand ambassador, Mojo the alpaca, hands out pearls of wisdom to his BBQing human chef and encourages his student to become ‘a lion, an alpha’ and to ‘hunt the best meats’ and ‘wear a silly apron’ in order for the humans to make the most of a social situation. The £3m campaign launched on May 25th, running until the end of August, will give retailers the opportunity to take advantage of the seasonal uplift in socialising and maximise on their soft drink sales during the busy summer months.
Statistics and Surveys
66% of consumers begin their online search on Amazon or Google
Retail has been the most affected industry in the rise of the internet. It has turned into an industry where chasing sales means creativity and innovation in order to attract the consumer. Search engines are now the starting point for many shoppers, with Google (32%) and Amazon (33%) being the top ranked starting point; something that will worry retailers who have invested in their own app. Although not all searches lead to sales, many consumers research online first before buying, especially when it comes to big ticket items like such as furniture. Although there is a steady rise in consumers purchasing items online, consumers now expect the same engagement across their mobile, desktop and in-store experience. 
To download the digital version of our Roller Roundup, we've also made it available in PDF form! (May 2018 Roller Round Up). Or, if you would like to speak to any of our team, feel free to drop us a message at [email protected]!
Posted from my blog with SteemPress : http://rolleragency.co.uk/blog/may-roller-roundup/