How Brands Are Re-Introducing Themselves

It's springtime, the vaccinations are here, and there's a feeling of rebirth in the air. At least it seems that way if you've been paying attention to most of the ad campaigns over the past week.

Brands across the world are clearly trying to get ahead of the wave of pent up demand that has been accompanying the relaxation of health orders, but as they say, timing is everything.

New Zealand's tourism board actually kicked off the return-trend with their brilliant "Travelling Under the Social Influence" campaign back in February. The only problem was that, while NZ had done an incredible job at quelling the pandemic, most of the rest of us were still in the thick of it. As a result, the tourism ads were met with mixed responses.

Now, it seems that optimism in parts of the world is growing, so beer, travel, and even gum brands are using the return-to-everywhere rush as an opportunity to make sure that people think about them when they're out enjoying themselves again. There's a lot to learn from the waves of successes and failures that we've seen from brands. Perhaps the most important being that whenever it's time to tell your story and welcome people back, make sure you read the room first, and make your message a part of the bigger movement.

Here are just a few examples of the reopening ad wave:

• Heineken - Finally Together
• YouTube - Get Back to What You Love
• Airbnb - Made Possible by Hosts
• Pepsi - The Mess We Miss
• Extra Gum - For When It's Time
• Shapermint - Remember Dressed?
• Diesel - When Together

Written by Conner Galway, Junction Consulting