Why Capitalizing “Black” Is Important News for the Advertising Industry We’re in the midst of major social upheaval. There are the very visible indicators: cities dismantling statues honoring Confederate soldiers and painting “BLACK LIVES MATTER” on prominent streets. Then there are those less noticeable signs that the times are changing. The proof is in the letter ‘B’ in “Black.” In the past few weeks, newspapers across the country have changed their style guides to capitalize the word when describing people or things in a racial, ethnic, or cultural sense, arguing it’s a designation not unlike “Latino,” “Asian,” and “European.” That designation is practically canon now, with AP this past Juneteenth announcing it’ll update its influential style guide accordingly.  It’s a sea change that happened practically overnight, before which activist groups and Black-led publications were among the few using and advocating for the capitalization. It also highlights the rapid changes language—in English and beyond—is undergoing, as the modern world grapples with centuries of racism and inequality.  Language Confers Respect Those advocating for capitalization see language as a reflection of power structures. As early as the 1890s, W.E.B. Du Bois argued that “eight million Americans are entitled to a capital letter.” Capitalization … The post What’s in a Letter? appeared first on Kworq Blog.

We did it! With your help we’re this year’s People’s Voice Winner for Digital Campaigns in the Webbys Awards! Bad Reviews started as a revolt against stale perfume ads. With our client Etat Libre d’Orange, we channeled their rebellious spirit to roll out a campaign unlike any other. Check out the Story Behind the Build, a feature from the Webbys on how we came to the idea in the first place. For us, “the ambiguity was decadent. The self-deprecation was irresistible.” THE STORY BEHIND THE BUILD And check out Creative Director Guy Peires’ five-word speech. TL;DR: We have a bad review to post ourselves. WATCH OUR FIVE-WORD SPEECH                   More About Bad Reviews How to Sell Perfume with Negative User Testimonials The Science of Story and Bad Reviews BACK TO BLOG HOME The post We Won a Webby! appeared first on Kworq Blog.

Make Them Go “Ooh” and “Awww” When Nanit first introduced its baby monitor, it made waves in the tech space. A little white square that hangs over your baby’s crib, the camera collects crucial data parents usually jotted down in a notebook, groggily: their baby’s sleep patterns. Using computer vision and deep learning, it delivers insights every morning like a personal sleep coach.  It was a product almost as miraculous as childbirth (sorry, moms—almost!), and made Nanit the “Tesla of baby monitors” and one of Time Magazine’s best inventions in 2018. Flying high, Nanit came to us to help manage some growing pains.  The first was operational. Nanit had to deal with a lot of freelancers for their marketing needs. Onboarding so many so often meant less time devoted to strategy and product development. It also created an incoherent design language. So our first order of business involved streamlining. We became a regular collaborator on all manners of assets going out. From video to social media to physical store displays, we wanted to make sure the brand stayed consistent, clear yet concise about the products’ innovations, and, of course, beautiful.  The other growing pain revolved around the fact that, several … The post How to Bring Empathy Into the Tech Space appeared first on Kworq Blog.

We’re all at home scrolling, but not equally across platforms You may remember your initial horror seeing your phone’s screentime app report your first week of #lockdown life. Eye-watering increases in time spent on our devices reflected a new reality in online consumption. Almost two months into lockdown across much of the country, we’re starting to see sustained changes in behavior, particularly on social media channels.  The formula is simple: more time at home means more time on screens. And without the prying eyes of coworkers or teachers, that means more idle time for social media. Worldwide, 44% of respondents are reporting more time on the platforms. Here are some of the changes we’re seeing on each platform: Twitter: More News, Less Engagement The platform’s self-professed “extremely online” people may call it a “hell site,” but Twitter’s more popular than ever. That’s because the site remains an important source for up-to-the-minute information. When new policies are enacted seemingly every other day, people aren’t waiting for their favorite news app to update. That usage jumped 23 percent in March over last year. That barely affected advertising growth, however, as the site saw a 20 percent dip in revenue in the same … The post 4 Social Media Trends to Keep an Eye On appeared first on Kworq Blog.

Our Bad Reviews campaign, done for État Libre d’Orange, is in the running for the best Digital Campaign for Advertising, Media & PR in the Webby Awards! Known for its unusual scent names, the fragrance brand approached us with a simple brief: anything but another sexy perfume ad. So we got risky, not risqué, sourcing bad reviews of their fragrances. The result was a head-turning social media campaign that set État apart from the rest of the industry.   We need your help to win. Please consider supporting us by voting for our campaign! (& don’t forget to verify that email if you do 😘) VOTE NOW   More About Bad Reviews How to Sell Perfume with Negative User Testimonials The Science of Story and Bad Reviews BACK TO BLOG HOME The post We’re Up for a Webby! appeared first on Kworq Blog.

Yes, You Read That Right: A Case Study of État Libre d’Orange Cannes Lions and the Clios are cancelled, but that shouldn’t stop us from showing off award-worthy work. Our creative director already alluded to this campaign earlier this year, but let’s do a deep dive into some of our most audacious work yet: the “Bad Reviews” campaign with the luxury perfume État Libre d’Orange. They approached us with a simple brief: help their fragrance break into the U.S. market. There was just one catch. “Please, for all that is holy, don’t turn it into another sexy perfume ad.”  One quick Google search and you’ll know that they were talking about. In Europe, they were known for their unique approach to perfume. Names like “I Am Trash” and outrageous-yet-tantalizing fragrance descriptions have given their products cult status. In a nod to that spirit, we went with our own bold approach.  Let’s say we got risky, not risqué. Instead of sultry models, we went with heavily clothed early-modern European art subjects. Instead of sensuous taglines, we mined the richest sources for copy: user reviews. And not just any user review. Bad ones. Comments that, if they weren’t outright insulting the fragrance, … The post How to Sell Perfume with Negative User Testimonials appeared first on Kworq Blog.

Upgrading the Birthday Card in the Age of Social Distancing It’s Week 3 of remote work at Kworq. It’s required changes to all aspects of typical office life, from meetings to happy hours. Another part that’s required improvising? The humble birthday card.  Across the country, people are finding ingenious ways to say “happy birthday!” albeit at a proper distance. Here’s one surprise birthday party that’s strikes a balance between sweet and Is-This-Black-Mirror dark humor: And here’s a moment when an entire apartment building joins in on the fun (get your tissues!!). At Kworq, we’ve had two birthdays during this shelter-in-place period. For our video producer Joaquin, it meant showing off our TikTok moves to Justin Bieber’s “Yummy.”  For our project manager Eurah, a mini rave to Yaeji’s “Raingurl.” Sending well wishes required more coordination than you’d need asking your desk neighbor if they’ve signed a card. But in unprecedented times, we welcome anything that lifts spirits. Kworq and Covid-19:    Keeping Your Client Happy During Coronavirus Dispatches from Home During Coronavirus BACK TO BLOG HOME The post How to Wish Your Coworkers Happy Birthday During a Pandemic appeared first on Kworq Blog.

How the Kworq Team is Staying Sane Working Remote It’s getting real. Coronavirus has made its way through the U.S., and it seems like every other day marks a new way of living. Amid lockdowns, empty grocery stores, and a general sense of uncertainty, it can be tough to stay grounded in the age of social distancing. And we’re some of the lucky ones, able to work as the virus shuts down wide swaths of the economy.  So while hunkered down at home, we thought we’d share what keeps us sane—what keeps us motivated, our creative juices flowing, and generally lifts us up as we work through the crisis together. With love, from Kworq 💛 Alina: Here are things that help me to survive through quarantine: (1) Drawing—finally I have time to realize all my ideas; (2) Reading—books are doors to another universe. (3) Wine—good wine gives a taste to your life, even if you’re stuck in quarantine. But no more than 2 glasses or after quarantine you will have another problem 😅; (4) Walking around the neighborhood in an empty NYC—my favorite one. You have time to notice details. It’s also a quest to be around people and keep distance. … The post Dispatches from Home During Coronavirus appeared first on Kworq Blog.

How to Maintain your Client-Agency Relationship During a State of Emergency   Written by: Isaac J. Park Americans are taking Covid-19 seriously. The streets are still humming in New York City, but mostly as a result of grocery store and wine store runs (this writer may or may not be in one of those lines). Here at Kworq HQ, our team is working from home for the next two weeks, in hopes that the city’s collective efforts help confine coronvirus’s spread.  We’re staring down an extraordinary period here in the U.S., but agencies and clients alike have a large toolkit to address any upcoming challenges.  Inside-of-Home  In China, Dentsu Aegis Network surveyed businesses, where 14 percent reported they were shifting ad spend away from offline media. With more people staying at home, clients might reconsider their out-of-home campaigns, which might have less impact for the foreseeable future. Social-distanced Social Seeing that many more are self-quarantining, businesses might want to revisit their social ad spend. Agencies, meanwhile, might consider what campaigns that tell a brand’s story through public service. So a home goods store, for instance, could create a social series on cooking recipes to help out newly remote workers. Or, a … The post Keeping Your Clients Happy During Coronavirus appeared first on Kworq Blog.

What our brand color says about us, and how we’ll work for you When you see the color yellow, what comes to mind? We like to imagine you muttered the name of your favorite creative production agency to yourself (we’re blushing), right after mouthing words like “openness,” “confidence,” “creativity,” and “energy.” As visual storytellers, we think how you look says a lot about how you’ll represent your clients. So when we picked yellow to represent us, we thought those qualities above best illustrate our process:   Openness: Kworq is all about direct lines of communication. Slack us when something is nagging at you in the middle of the night. Burst into our studio to say how you really feel about the latest creative. And it goes both ways. We’ll be upfront about our first impressions. We’ll challenge you to think about the story behind your brand, and the point of view your brand has on the world. Because what’s the use of an agency that’s only your yes-man?    Confidence: Yellow makes us warm and fuzzy inside, but confidence is backed up by cold, hard numbers. We’ll always have a soft spot for the work we make, but we also … The post Why’d We Pick Yellow? appeared first on Kworq Blog.