Archive for the ‘Culture’ Category

Would you pay $1,000 for a single Oreo cookie? While this might sound absurd to most people, diehard Pokémon collectors wouldn’t give it a second thought. In their latest marketing campaign, Oreo has collaborated up with Pokemon and

The Thousand Dollar Oreo Cookie

Oreo is a master of limited edition flavors. They have come a long way from their original Oreo. The sandwich cookie company have tried a lot of different flavors and different marketing endeavors over the years to stay popular such as the release of the Golden Oreo, holiday-themed Oreos, donut-flavored Oreos, even Lady Gaga-themed Oreos and so many more!

In fact, OREO has had about 85 different flavors with many cross collaborations. The most recent being a partnership with the video game franchise Pokémon.

The Pokémon x OREO Limited Edition features 16 signature cookies, each with a Pokémon character engraved on each side.

So, how did this fun collaboration turn into a collector’s championship? Within the 16 characters, one is specifically hardest to find — Mew.

Customers have been searching for this rarity and the few lucky finders have offered up to $1,000 on eBay for the single cookie.

The price of one Mew cookie is almost 250 times greater than the price of a whole package of Double Stuf Oreos, which retails for $3.99.

All rights revered to Oreo.

OREO x Pokemon: Can You Catch ‘Em All?

Why is it so expensive?

Most people associate Pokémon with nostalgic memories of video games and playing cards, however, Pokémon has assembled one of the most valuable trading communities in the world.

Founded in 1996, the Pokémon franchise is now valued at 92 billion dollars, the highest-grossing media franchise of all time.

As of 2020, the company has sold more than 34.1 billion trading cards. These numbers are staggering and truly represent Pokémon’s incredible cultural phenomenon.

The OREO collaboration release came with a short minute-long video highlighting the idea that consumers are Pokémon trainers wanting to “catch” all 16 characters.

The Pokémon theme song repeats the same phrase “gotta catch ‘em all,” which has inspired the collector-friendly concept of Pokémon. From the mobile app Pokémon Go to the classic playing cards, Pokémon has carefully appealed to the collectors of the world by emphasizing exclusivity.

Youtuber Logan Paul has helped Pokémon re-enter popular culture in recent years by publishing his obsession on social media. On his Youtube channel and podcast, users can watch Paul open the rarest, most expensive Pokémon packs live.

During his boxing match against legendary Floyd Mayweather earlier this summer, Paul entered the ring with a rare Charizard card around his neck rather than a common blinged chain.

The card is rumored to go for around $500,000 if sold, however, Paul has claimed it is worth up to one million dollars.

What Can Your Business Learn From the OREO x Pokémon Collaboration?

Well, for starters, don’t spend thousands of dollars on a single cookie.

In all seriousness, re-evaluate your marketing techniques. Are you pouring too much time and energy into marketing strategies that don’t produce results?

Although your business probably may not be making billions of dollars regularly, marketing stays the same. Know your target market like the back of your hand.

Pokémon knows that their loyal customers want to search for rare finds. So, they produce campaigns that will foster that.

OREO knows that their loyal customers love buying new flavors and limited editions. So, they continue to produce these products multiple times a year.

What do your customers love?

All rights reserved to Oreo.

Want Your Brand to Follow in Their Footsteps?

Oreo’s marketing team has spent years fine-tuning their marketing strategy. Luckily, you don’t need to spend millions of dollars and ten years in the business to get your target audience to notice your brand.

All you need to do is learn a thing or two from Oreo’s marketing campaign, and then let professionals help you the rest of the way.

Elevare has years of experience helping businesses like yours appeal to their target market. Don’t let your marketing efforts go to waste. Our team of professionals can help you create an expert marketing plan and utilize the best strategies and determine the type of marketing campaign your business needs.

You can achieve a successful marketing campaign without a $1,000 limited edition cookie! Whatever your campaign goal may be

Need help bringing your business to the next level? Schedule your free consultation today.

Recent allegations of harassment and scandal have placed Activision Blizzard, the video game developer of popular games such as Call of Duty, Candy Crush, Overwatch, Warcraft, Hearthstone, and Diablo, in the hot seat. Many believe this scandal signifies a greater movement within corporations across the United States – that employees expect and deserve more from their employers. Companies like Activision Blizzard are leading the way in change.

The Activision Blizzard Walkout

Filing a lawsuit against Activision Blizzard spurred a movement. Now, over 500 current and former employees have signed a letter attesting to the company’s mishandling of sexual misconduct in the workplace. They called for more accountability to combat “a widespread and deeply ingrained culture of abusive behavior” within the games industry. This uproar led to a very public walkout in which hundreds across the gaming industry peacefully protested, making headlines.

In an open letter shared with Axios, protesters stated, “It should no longer be a surprise to anyone: employees, executives, journalists, or fans that these heinous acts are going on. It is time to stop being shocked. We must demand real steps be taken to prevent them. Those responsible must be held accountable for their actions.”

Surprisingly, this is not the first time the gaming industry has faced scandal and accusations of a toxic work environment. In June of 2020, Ubisoft, another major video game developer (known for games such as Assasin’s Creed), forced many of their executives, including then Vice President Maxime Beland, to resign. Beland faced allegations of workplace abuse including evidence of verbal and physical abuse of employees.

All rights reserved to Activision Blizzard.

The Workplace is Changing – Workers Expect More

According to a recent study, 56% of workers value a healthy workplace atmosphere over higher pay! Workplace dynamics are changing and quickly, not just in the gaming industry. Not only do employees value workplace culture, they also value their own emotional state – 69 percent of employees say they’d work harder if they were better appreciated in the workplace, according to Hubspot.

In a study performed by Glassdoor in 2019, workers’ attitudes are also shifting considerably. When considering a new job, a majority consider the organization’s values, with 73 percent of the respondents saying they would not apply to a company unless their values aligned.

The days of cutthroat, competitive, and sexist corporate cultures are dying. Instead, supportive work environments are taking the lead. According to the Harvard Business Review, a supportive workplace boosts worker productivity and creates conditions for business growth!

Companies Are Leading the Way in Change

For a long time, Scandinavian countries were ahead of the curve and pioneered the path for high employee satisfaction rates. Denmark has retained first place for years in high employee satisfaction rates, deemed the “happiest place to work” in the world. In a survey by InterNations, Danes have the shortest work weeks of all the countries surveyed. Workplaces also provide childcare for children up to the age of six and allot parents 52 weeks of paid maternity leave.

Now, it seems corporate America is slowly awakening to the truth, too. To ensure success, employees must feel comfortable and supported and receive fair pay, good benefits, equal opportunity, and pay equity.

Companies like Salesforce have picked up the slack now offering impressive employee benefits and a healthy workplace environment. Salesforce, in particular, stands out for its free childcare services for employees, educational reimbursement, and commitment to providing career advancement, life skills development, and further educational opportunities.

It is evident that Paypal also comes in at the top as one of the best companies to work for. They offer enhanced health care and leave benefits including parental bonding leave at 100% of their base pay! If you’d like to take a look at other companies and what they are doing to better their workplace environments, click here.

This is also a priority at Elevare. As a small but mighty agency, Elevare’s culture is about supporting personal and professional growth, open communication, leading with integrity, transparency and inclusivity. Our team members provide daily and weekly feedback and insight to leadership which helps to continuously improve the company’s culture and vision.

What This Means For Your Business

It’s clear that while you may not have the budget for all-expense-paid employee functions or extensive continuing education programs, you do have the budget for investing more into those on your team. To ensure your company’s future success, you must build a healthy work culture.

Do your employees feel heard? Are there clear channels of communication? Are you meeting their needs within the office?

These are just a few questions you should be asking yourself as a business owner or as a manager. The times are changing, and as a business owner, it is your responsibility to keep up with them.

It is evident that the work and life balance matters to employees. This is one of the top factors that drive employee satisfaction is feeling valued and part of a healthy community. To increase satisfaction, your company needs to prioritize building strong company culture and value systems.

Leadership should offer clean and exciting opportunities for all employees and ensure that your employees have adequate support, training, and resources to perform their job well!

Another thing to consider is the physical atmosphere of your organization. Mood plays a role in productivity and, workplace conditions can impact that. Thus, your workplace conditions must include adequate, lightning comfortable temperatures and maybe a few perks like snacks or drinks to keep up morale.

A Better Culture Equals Employee Happiness

The bottom line is employees deserve respect. A positive work culture is a must for success.

As a result, even if you are not a gaming company, the Activision Blizzard walkout should serve as a reminder. As a manager or business owner, it’s important to invest in your team and build a healthy work culture. If your employees thrive – your business with thrive, too. Work with your team to develop a healthy culture from inside out.