Tom Shuttleworth was appointed as Director of pi pop, pi global’s in-store branding unit. pi pop is dedicated to ensuring that the visual expression and experience of the brand at purchase decision point, is optimized, with pack design and in-store theatre fully harmonized in one, powerful, holistic brand presence. Together with full prototyping services and global manufacturing capabilities, pi pop, working closely with pi’s other branding units, delivers seamless branding strategy, creation and management of in-store environments, providing real-world solutions focused on advantageously connecting our clients’ brands to consumers.

To promote the new range of the retro styled Converse Padded Collar Loopback created exclusively for the sportswear retailer Foot Locker, SapientNitro developed a lovely campaign that will be rolling out for two weeks across Europe. The integrated promotion, which was kicked off on April 3, includes activity on Foot Locker’s Facebook page, an advert as well as outdoor element in Germany and in-store engagement in a number European cities.

On April 4, Pepsi launched the second year of its Pepsi Refresh Project, calling on people from across the United States to submit bold ideas that have the power to move communities forward, focusing on the categories that America cares about most: Education, Communities and Arts & Music. In addition to its standing grant categories, Pepsi will announce a new Pepsi Challenge each month in the form of a question that Pepsi will challenge the public to answer with creative ideas. This month, Pepsi is challenging fans to channel their love of music to drive social change with its first Pepsi Challenge by asking, “How would you rock the house for a good cause?” 

IKEA has launched a series of small joyful promotions both as part of its previous campaigns and as standalone mini projects. Kicked off in three different countries, the UK, Poland and France, these initiative are revolving around cats, chairs and carpool, and are united by one thing—the company’s strong dedication to delivering comfort by being eco-friendly (as well as simply friendly), loving and proving the durability of its furniture.

Kraft Foods is extending its partnerships with Paula Deen Enterprises, Digitas and EQAL to launch Season 2 of the Real Women of Philadelphia online community and cooking competition.  Building on the incredible success of the first season, home cooks nationwide are invited to upload videos showcasing their preparation of original recipes using Philadelphia Cream Cheese or the new Philadelphia Cooking Creme.

In November 2010, Bombay Sapphire, which made an awesome sea-life inspired 3D projection onto the Queen’s House at the Old Royal Naval College in London last fall, issued a call for new stunning ideas to be converted into a three-dimension visual picture on one of the most iconic buildings of the world. On April 1, the winner was selected—Facebook community, which voted for the most stunning work, chose the concept of the Cube of Rubic projection conceived by Erjola Veliaj from Albania to be the next Bombay Sapphire’s 3D installation.

Comparison stands behind any considered choice, and any confident global brand tends to provide its consumers with an opportunity to examine both the positive and negative sides of their products—and sometimes weigh its offerings against goods by other manufacturer. Sometimes, companies also step outside the product world and help compare lots of other things—sexes, automobiles, brothers, tastes, political parties, athletes and more—to help determine which of the two is better, stronger, messier, tastier, faster, more attractive, reliable, sportive, etc.  In this overview, we won’t focus on serious ratings revealing carbon footprint or social impact, like Nike’s Environmental Apparel Design Tool, Timberland’s Eco Index or GoodWill’s rating—instead, as tribute to April Fool’s Day, which was celebrated last Friday, we will focus on humorous and tongue-in-cheek projects.

Coca-Cola’s flavoured beverages FUZE brand is launching its first advertising campaign focusing on the fun which blending different things together can bring. The campaign dubbed ‘It’s Better When You Mix Things Up’ was launched across a range of media platforms including TV (two adverts were created), billboards, print, digital, retail, mobile and social media elements in the U.S. on April 1, and will be running throughout summer.