New agency trend : make products, not campaigns?

Two years ago advertising agency BBH set up a brand invention arm called 'Zag', meant to spot market opportunities, invent new brands and team up with partners to bring them to market. Yesterday the first two product were announced.

Pick Me is a pre-prepared meat-free food range that has been launched in over 800 Tesco stores. Zag worked with recipe creator Elizabeth Leath to develop the Pick Me brand and develop the strategy. Ila Dusk is a personal security brand designed to keep women safe, which has a unique female scream instead of a siren. This is in response to the insight that women can sometimes lose their voice when adrenalin kicks in under stressful circumstances. It will launch this month and will be sold exclusively at Marks & Spencer for three months and then will be extended to major retailers.

Read more about these two products here.

Although product/brand development by "traditional" communication agencies is an interesting trend to keep an eye on, I can't help feeling that Zag has yet to fully deliver its potential. Since Zag's inception in 2006, another agency has really set the benchmark in campaigning beyond the traditional brand promise. Have a look at this year's Cannes award winning case where agency Droga5 teamed up with Samsung, Verizon and New York Public Schools to develop a mobile brand.