We are all always on the lookout for what's hot and what's not. In this Baltic Brand Talks podcast episode, we return to the "What's trending" segment, where our core team—CEO of Magic Andris Rubins, Strategy director Rihards Ginters, and Head of Strategy Lelde Dālmane—dive into ... .... what's trending. We touch on current topics like US elections and Halloween as well as wider trends like the booming pet market and brands going from "make the logo bigger" to "guess the logo".

Links to some stuff mentioned in the episode:

We’re standing by our “irregularly regular” podcast tagline. This episode once again is a bit different, we’re going back to our local roots and local brands - Kārums, Pols and more. We’re also switching the language to Latvian in this episode. Our podcast co-host and CEO of Magic Andris Rubins sat down with Ieva Lejniece, Head of Marketing at Food Union. The episode dives into loads of local and global endeavours relates to several brands underneath the Food Union.Key takeaways from the conversation:

Links to some stuff mentioned in the episode:

This is a special episode. As you might know we the Baltic Brand Talks podcast are a part of the Baltic Brand family and the recording of the episode is from the main event - Baltic Brand Forum. This episode is a combination of 4 separate talks we had at the site, so you’re about to hear take on humour and working with Baltic market from from Eha Talvist-Reinsalu from SEB and Elina Baranovska from Rimi. The epiosode also dives into a case of Dimdiņi and how their mascot is doing on Tinder told by Kristine Murjane. And you’re also about to hear what a comedian Ann Vaida is to say about jokes in advertising.

Some stuff mentioned in episode:
Ann Vaida on workplaces being escape rooms: https://www.facebook.com/share/v/W2oAm73oxnHmAGUT/
Ryanair on X: https://x.com/Ryanair
Iceland case study from Baltic Brand Forum: https://www.facebook.com/share/v/yCVfukfqaMuRsYFj/
Dimdiņi on TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@dimdinilv?lang=en

Join the newest episode with Aleksandra Kostyukovich, Head of marketing and communications at Volkswagen Baltics, and Andris Rubins. In this discussion, Aleksandra shares her experience working at Volkswagen, how consumers are adapting to electric vehicles, and the incentives made for the adoption process in the Baltic society. Both Andris and Aleksandra discuss the myths and misconceptions we have about electric cars and electric charging. The marketing legacy of VW creates immediate emotions. They discuss other topics such as AI, Gen Z habits, and the perception of buying cars and touch on the upcoming Baltic Brand Forum & Awards happening September 20th!

The campaigns mentioned in the talk:

Never Say Never:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=81N8Rawo1v4

Tiguan 2024 launch: https://www.volkswagen.lv/lv/chose-your-volkswagen/models/new-tiguan.html

Porsche “The all electric Macan”: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ccqn7r9WUHI 

NIKE “Winning isn’t for everyone”: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pwLergHG81c 

You can still grab your tickets to Baltic Brand Forum: https://balticbrands.eu/ 

In this episode of Baltic Brand Talks, Hando Sinisalu, founder of Best Marketing and Marketing Parrot, joins Andris Rubins on a discussion on the creative world of advertising and marketing in the Baltics. Drawing from Hando’s great deal of experience in journalism, advertising, radio and media, the conversation provides practical insights on how brands can shake up their marketing strategies to attract potential clients. They also explore the differences in advertising styles between Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania. And of course, humor takes center stage, as they break down the rules for using it effectively in campaigns.  

You can connect with Hando via Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/b2bcontentexpert/

Content is king. That is what we could all agree with. But, how can we get a brand’s message across different platforms and daily content? Arta Uma Upmale, Head of Content at airBaltic sat down with Andris Rubins to dive deep into creating content that aligns with a brand’s strategy. The conversation covers how to adapt trends & real-time events to fit the industry in the storyline, what role humor plays in content creation and how teamwork is everything. What’s more, Arta shares how other aviation companies, such as Ryanair communicate their brand through their content. 

Clickable stuff mentioned in the episode: 

airBaltic’s TikTok account: https://www.tiktok.com/@airbaltic?lang=en

Baltic Brand Forum & Awards, September 20th: https://balticbrands.eu/en

“Carpool” karaoke (airplane version) with Dons: https://www.tiktok.com/@airbaltic/video/7365789341710355744?lang=en 

Lex Fridman Podcast: https://open.spotify.com/show/2MAi0BvDc6GTFvKFPXnkCL?si=81f9540ddec64ddb 

Acquired Podcast: https://open.spotify.com/show/7Fj0XEuUQLUqoMZQdsLXqp?si=b6cae527348d46c6 

Have you ever heard about humor consultancies? Now you have and now you can learn more about what a humor consultant does as Paddy Gilmore sits down with Andris Rubins and dives deep into brand relationships with fun. The conversation covers the nuanced shades of comedy and how brands can find their fit, use it to their advantage and get the most out of it. Moreover, Paddy shares practical and systematic ways a brand can find their shade of funny and put that into brand guidelines.

Clickable stuff mentioned in the episode:

Studio Gilmore weekly newsletter: https://brandsandhumour.substack.com/

Volvo Trucks – A Love Story: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ufye-txv1AY

Dumb Ways to Die: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IJNR2EpS0jw

In this Baltic Brand Talks episode, Kristiāna Valbe-Uzrauga Head of Marketing & Group Brand Lead at Balcia joins conversation with brand strategist Lelde Dālmane. This is was a true Baltic Brand Talks since Balcia is a brand that covers all three Baltic countries and beyond. Balcia is true challenger brand in the purest form. In 2023 Balcia was the bravest insurance brand according to Brand Capital data and bravery is something was talked a lot about - in a personal sense and in a brand context. Conversation also touched on the mazes of the insurance category and both needs and ways to be ahead of other brands.

Fun fact: Balcia is the main partner of the upcoming Baltic Brand Forum. Grab your tickets: https://balticbrands.eu/en

The podcast host team Andris Rubins, Rihards Ginters and Lelde Dalmane sat down together to see what’s trending. It seems like the search for humor in advertising is a really hot topic. This episode is a bit different - our team has gathered their top picks from Cannes Lions-awarded campaigns and shared their take on why these campaigns are worth exploring. What’s trending closer to the Baltics? Baltic Brand Forum, of course. We’ve launched this year’s web, revealed some of the speakers and tickets are up for grabs!

Most of the stuff mentioned in the episode:
Cemento Sol/ SightWalks: https://www.contagious.com/news-and-views/cannes-lions-2024-design-winner
Hainz Ketchup/ It Has To Be Heinz: https://www.contagious.com/news-and-views/cannes-lions-2024-creative-effectiveness
Magnum / Find Your Summer: https://lola-mullenlowe.com/work/find-your-summer/
JCDecaux / Meet Marina Prieto: https://www.contagious.com/news-and-views/cannes-lions-2024-creative-b2b-winners
Pedigree/ Tail Orchestra: https://www.lovethework.com/work-awards/entries/tail-orchestra-722865
Coca-Cola / Recycle Me: https://www.ogilvy.com/work/recycle-me
Michael CeraVe - CeraVe: https://www.ogilvy.com/work/michael-ceraveBaltic Brand Forum 2024: https://balticbrands.eu/
Tickets: https://fienta.com/baltic-brand-forum-awards-2024

In this Baltic Brand Talks episode, the CEO of Magic, Andris Rubins, dives deep into conversation with Sara Hannson, Brand Strategist & Partner at KIOSK and ex-Global Social Media Manager at Oatly. The conversation follows Sara’s career - 10 years at Oatly where she shares how to translate data and human insight into advertising, how to keep the brand consistent without being expected and the power of transparency and surprise. What’s more, it taps into the importance of the team - in-house creative team, involved CEO and more. This deep dive also explores the transition from Oatly to KIOSK and all the joys and challenges that come along.

Some stuff mentioned in the episode:
Oatly Super Bowl ad: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5q9KrSffIrs
Oatly marketing activities and loads of billboards: https://www.oatly.com/en-gb/things-we-do