April 2022 - SUNDAY

Hitting the content trail in Barcelona

José Pizarro knows every tapas spot and restaurateur in Barcelona. At least that’s how it feels as the renowned Spanish chef and P&O Cruises Local Food Hero takes us on a foodie tour of the Catalan capital.

We pinball from hole-in-the-wall eateries, traditional tapas bars and modern dining rooms to markets groaning with fresh produce, with José setting the pace. Stroll, eat, drink, repeat goes the day; what an incredible way to see the city…

P&O Cruises briefed us to introduce guests and the wider business to José, the brand’s Local Food Hero. To showcase his personality, knowledge and passion, we planned a mini-campaign based around assets gathered on a multiple-location shoot in Barcelona.

For the brand, website and CRM teams, we created high-production photography and longer-form video to inform loyal guests; for social channels, we captured a series of short videos to play out on Facebook, Instagram Stories and Twitter to appeal to existing guests and prospects. While on location, we also shot a portfolio of beautiful evergreen destination images for all teams to use – from the website to travel agent comms.

We chose Barcelona for two reasons: José’s knowledge of the city’s foodie scene and because Iona, P&O Cruises’ newest ship, stops there overnight on Spain and Portugal cruises – something research told us would appeal to prospects.

Connecting with a team of local fixers and José’s restaurant contacts, we were able to show an authentic side of the city, revealing Barcelona through the lens of a local. Another tick for people considering a cruise who like to explore off the beaten track.

Navigating a mask-wearing public and the busiest food market in Europe were some of the challenges faced – and when the heavens opened on day three, the schedule had to be rearranged at short notice. Nevertheless, we came away with a fabulous suite of content that played out across brand comms, on the website, in email newsletters and on social channels.

The experience was also recalled in our cover story for issue 13 of Moments, the travel magazine we create for the brand’s loyal customers. Taking inspiration from Gaudí’s mosaics, we used 96 of our photos to create a striking wraparound cover.

This multichannel campaign was a success on several levels. It effectively introduced internal teams, existing guests and prospects to José and immersed them in the benefits of the new partnership. It also allowed us to bank beautiful video and photography of a commercially important overnight destination for immediate and long-term use.

This much I know: Jessie Lear

I’m pretty impatient. I watched The Batman and was desperate for him to speak or walk just a fraction faster so that it might be over sooner. I’d give short shrift to that man, no matter how chiselled his jawline.

The alchemy that happens in a kitchen is endlessly fascinating to me. I’ve been cooking a lot from the Rangoon sisters’ cookbook (they’re contributors on the OcadoLife magazine that I edit) and making a set tapioca dessert with a coconut custard. Watching the tapioca transform into frogspawn was compelling stuff. If that’s not a wonderful witch’s brew, I don’t know what is.

Throughout the interview for my first role at Sunday, I called the then creative director Mike. His name is Matt. I got the job anyway. Sunday is a creative and lively place, and supportive of progress. It must be doing something right because I’m still here 14 years later.

I love living in London, but I crave green. I need to be in the garden or out and about in nature. I can’t live without pickles either. And custard donuts. Anything with custard. Which must be deep in my psyche as they were my treat when growing up.

Food is my passion, and in my role I get to legitimately think and talk about food all day – which I would be doing naturally, but that was probably quite tedious for people when I was working on other client accounts.

I’m proud of taking OcadoLife from a bi-monthly to a monthly publication in the middle of the pandemic. It was a huge challenge and testament to the whole team’s commitment and resilience that it has been such a success.

If I weren’t at Sunday I’d probably be a writer or, as a natural show-off, an actor. I studied English and Art at university, and I sometimes wonder what might have happened if I’d taken the arty career path.

I tend to panic when someone asks me for a music recommendation. I think it reveals too much about you if you just listen to Hamilton on repeat. I’ve become partial to a bit of country music and bluegrass so I would probably tell people to try The Dead South.

Why are dogs so obsessed with sticks? It doesn’t make sense to me because even those who aren’t bred to retrieve are obsessed with them. Let it go, guys.

I’ve been having words with myself recently about trying to stay up past 9pm. The thought of getting into my pyjamas as soon as I finish dinner is glorious. I’ve got into the habit of having a little sherry before dinner, too. I didn’t see it coming. I’d like to say it’s my Spanish side coming out, but really it’s just my age.

Every so often, I go back to a game I played as a student where I combine all the foods on one shelf in my fridge. If you’ve never tried cheddar ‘crudité’ dipped in mayo, give it a go. And a touch of marmalade in a bacon sandwich takes it to another level. I like dinner foods for breakfast, and I don’t just mean leftover curry or pizza – anything you’d eat for dinner, I’ll happily eat as my first meal of the day. Sets you up nicely. As does cake. And custard.

Why H2H marketing beats B2C and B2B

If your content objective is to build a strong, long-lasting and trusting relationship with your audience, then it’s important to remember that your audience are humans first and customers second.

So, whether you’re marketing to a B2B or a B2C audience, take one thing from this post:

‘People buy from people.’

We often forget that, even in the B2B space, companies are made up of real people – which means the buying and selling process is human, too.

Human-to-human (H2H) marketing needs no extra investment or resource. It simply requires one set of humans to connect with another. Since most organisations have teams of people working behind their marketing and communications, this should be straightforward.

Once you accept that applying a human-centric filter to your marketing is the best way to engage your audience, it helps to delve deeper into the psychology of how people consume content.

Cognitive overload. It’s staggering how many micro decisions are made throughout an average day. A recent study found that new visitors judge a website in 0.05 seconds – faster than the blink of an eye. And according to Microsoft, our attention span has narrowed to eight seconds. With so much content competing for our attention, our brains now unconsciously avoid complex information. (It’s one of the reasons everyone loves emojis.)
Social proof. When deciding to buy a product or service, none of us rely purely on the seller’s information to inform our decision. We’ve all become used to reviews and recommendations from friends or other customers. This is because of the psychological principle of social proof, which means people are more likely to act or trust when they see that others have done so too.
Habitual behaviour. Humans are creatures of habit and will subconsciously look for patterns or common elements across the content they consume. Curiosity drives the audience to continue down a path until they achieve resolution. From a marketing perspective, going too far beyond expectation could be risky – whereas creating a logical flow and an obvious call to action, and keeping the content intuitive, help to satisfy the audience’s curiosity.
The power of persuasion. To persuade people to convert, you need motivation, understanding and a trigger. To motivate an audience and encourage them to believe you, the content needs to contain strong, relevant messages that are easily understood. In a world of information overload, people tend to take shortcuts when making buying decisions – so building a trusted brand based on sincerity and authenticity is essential.
The psychology of colour. A recent study suggests that people judge something new or unfamiliar within 90 seconds of seeing it – and up to 90% of that assessment is based on colour. Colour has the power to evoke emotions in a way that most other content elements do not – so use it wisely and with intent to improve your audience’s response to and perception of your brand.

Many brands – both B2B and B2C – will be following these principles already even if they’re not conscious choices. But upping your H2H game by using human language, being more empathetic and authentic, applying personalisation, and leveraging user-generated content will help you sell more, strengthen your brand and generate more value.