Apple and Privacy

Phones are an ever present part of modern life – from their use as navigation tools to payment methods the use of phones as simply ‘the’ tool of the day to day is increasing. This increasing reliance is forcing the slow adaptors and the late uptakers of the mobile world at a rapid pace. This can of course lead to a lot of anxiety – several things that used to be done in long processes that were guarded by professionals are now undertaken in the supposed privacy, under your own discretion whenever you want. Things like banking, identification, health records, contact information etc are all now arranged around the mobile phone. Accessible using your phone login pin or even face ID you can log in and access your information on the go, at home or just about anywhere.

Obviously, this is massively convenient, but how can we trust that our data – our personal information is safe?  In the news there are frequent hacking attacks on personal data of people, and there is no stopping them. They can access the data in massive corporations that are storing health information – accessing the insurance records and health information of millions of individuals, how on earth could you trust your own device and data ? A lot of people are not completely aware of how these technologies work – let alone how to manage their own privacy and protect their data. What then is the key that allows these people to trust that their data will not be freely available as soon as they use these things? That answer is Apple.

Apple have maintained their identity as a brand that means privacy for data. Their reputation for refusing to offer recovery of personal data from phones that have been wiped, its own operating system that is not freely able to interact with other sytems is part of Apples reputation for privacy.

Their current advancements in the perception of health data is that it is a sensitive topic that is able to be exploited by the society that is creating a commercial value for that data. Thus accessing it and who gets access to it is very sensitive information.

Apple are able to use their reputation as a secure system to represent themselves as a brand that is safe to use in the current environment. Their technology, both their health apps and hardware devices like phones are safer than others according to their brand image and this strategy is going to be helpful for those dealing with the problem of data privacy in the current environment.

Alcohol Free

Figure 1Heineken 0.0 Beer

Heineken beer – its famous for being … beer. But beer is no longer what is was, there is a new beer in town and the strange part is it is alcohol free. No longer a truly new product alcohol free beer has been around for a number of years, but the advertising campaigns are fairly new and the biggest so far is Heineken’s. Working with the markets of the health conscious, sober, those on a day out that want to drink socially without the alcohol – alcohol free beer is filling the neich between the virgin cocktails, often sweet and priced the same as their alcoholic counterparts, with beer. Beer that looks like real beer and tastes like real beer, but is not alcoholic. This product allows people who do not drink, to engage socially with others and appear to be drinking beer – without the alcoholic component.

The advertising for these drinks takes the same tack as the recent campaigns for Canadian club – who wants alcohol, but different? And rather than their “differently tasting”, better than beer advertising Heineken is doubling down on the traditional beer element of their brand – but taking it to the next level by advertising beer – that is not really beer.

Figure 2 Oddo 2023 – Ant man with Heineken 0.0% alcohol beer

Recently visible on the large franchise Marvels movie “Antman and Wasp: Quantomania”, (ODDO, 2023)  Heineken 0% alcohol beer is pushing its new product as an alternative to alcohol consumption, with the same benefits of real beer; relaxing, de-stressing, social drinking etc. Heineken also recently sponsored a festival in Korea (Lovesome Festival) where they sold alcohol free beer and real beer side by side at the stalls – with no difference in the look of the beer, it is impossible to tell if a person is drinking real beer – or not. This is an important thing in regards to social stigma around not drinking. In many countries not drinking is seen as strange, and an explanation is often sought from the non-drinker. This can be harmful to then as they may be in an awkward situation to reveal personal information – like they are sober, they are a follower of a religion, or even they simply do not like alcohol and drinking – all of these things can be seen as strange to the society. So the product of alcohol free beer can help to disguise this and enable people to drink  beer – without the alcohol.

This relies on the Heineken brands reputation developed since 1873, but is a new and exciting product that fills the niche of beer for beers sake, without the alcohol (Heineken, 2023).

References

Heineken. (2023). Heineken 0.0. Retrieved from Great taste, zero alcohol: https://www.heineken.com/global/en/our-products/heineken-0-0

ODDO, M. V. (2023, Jan 12). Ant-Man’s Alcohol-Free Heineken Ad: Drink a Cold Beer Before Saving the World. Retrieved from Collider : https://collider.com/ant-man-heineken-ad-alcohol-free-beer/

World Expo – Dubai, Osaka-Kansai then maybe ? Busan

The World Expo has been a global event since its beginnings in the Great Exhibition in London in 1851 – this event has been held in Countries around the world most recently Dubai, United Arab Emirates 2020 (actually held October 2021 due to circumstances)(BIE 2023) . Since 1928 the Bureau International des Expositions has been overseeing these mega events that are unrivalled in scale and reach. Held every five years in a different location around the globe they are influential mega events that last up to 6 months – due to the event being run by the country who is hosting the event each is run and operated differently – this is especially true of marketing for these events.

The Dubai 2020 World Expo faced large challenges in hosting the event due the circumstances that prevented the usual running of the event – it was delayed and over the 6 months it ran welcomed 24 million visitors(BIE 2023). But that is not all the Dubai World Expo also welcomed an additional 250million virtual visitors(BIE 2023).

The World Expo bid in for Busan, South Korean is well underway – a fact that can hardly be escaped in Seoul and online – the World Expo Busan 2030 is being marketed (before official selection in November 2023)  on buses and in the local news as well as online – any google search of the World Expo leads with Busan’s hosting in 2030  – in fact all over the internet there are companies  and celebrities announcing their involvement in this event that is still yet to be granted and further than that still 7 years away. It may seem strange but from a communications perspective this difference in marketing strategy for this mega event makes a lot of sense.

Figure 1 Osaka Kansai World Expo Logo (BIE 2023)

The Osaka Kansai World Expo will mark Japan’s 3^rd time hosting this event in its 100 year history – considering that this will also be just the 15^th World Expo since 1935 that is quite a feat – Japan is the nation to have hosted the most World Expos so perhaps this accounts for their lack of marketing? Already assured a place on the world stage Japan’s popularity as a travel destination and the friendly face of Asia is not new – in fact it has been steadily built over the last 50 years – with Japan first hosting the expo in Osaka in 1970 welcoming over 64million people the brand reputation of Japan is not new and the country can bank on its usual tourism attraction and reputation to bring in visitors to the World Expo.

Figure 2 Osaka World Expo 1970 Logo (BIE 2023)

At a contrast the World Expo 2030 is not yet decided if it will be held in Busan, and while South Korea has risen in popularity through their soft culture exports and events like the 2018 winter Olympics the brand reputation of the country is not quite as established as Japan. This means that there is a lot more advertising ongoing because a mega event like this is a massive opportunity for both tourism and industry to the country – while the reputation of the country and its tourism industry has continued to expand over the last 20 years in particular – and event like the World Expo is large enough make significant impact.  With a maximum time of 6 months the event will no doubt bring in visitors from around the globe and showcase not only Busan’s but Korea’s technological, social and cultural aspects. This marketing campaign is currently raising awareness across the globe – using the currently popular Korean-pop and technology brands like BTS and Hyundai to really raise awareness of the event. This initial stage of the campaign in Busan’s bid to host in 2023 is fascinating – especially when compared with the confirmed hosts of the 2025 World Expo.

I am excited to continue exploring the communications strategies that the World Expo in Busan will use to advertise their mega event – I think that Korea’s reputation for trend sensitivity and its increasing popularity and reputation on the world stage will be amazing to watch and the contents that relate to this World Expo will continue to be creative and interesting in the years to come. I wish it good luck in its campaign.

Figure 3 Candidate Logo – World Expo 2030 Busan (BIE 2023)