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Top Brands in the Eyes of a 5-Yr Old

2012-01-30T18:59:00.001-05:00

An Example of Great Customer Service - JUST CARE!

2012-01-24T11:42:00.001-05:00

In today's fast paced world, it's all too often that you get on the phone with India and someone who cares little to nothing about fixing your problem. They're overworked, underpaid, and simply don't take the time of day to respond appropriately if it messes with their call metrics (AHT in particular).

That's why I LOVE this example of awesome, amazing, someone needs to marry / hold onto that kind of guy customer service:

People Are So Outraged At Coca-Cola's Holiday Cans That It's Abandoning Them After Just One Month - Business Insider

2012-01-18T15:07:00.001-05:00

LOL you know you have a strong brand when users find any change to the product "blasphemous."

Coca-Cola tried to revive its polar bear mascot with a wintry white can design for Coca-Cola Classic, but just one month after launch, it's abandoning the project and reverting to red, reports Mike Esterl at the Wall Street Journal.

Why? Three reasons:

1. Some consumers are confusing the packaging with Diet Coke's similar silver cans.
2. Others swear that the drink tastes different when in a white can.
3. Coke's most ardent fans find the change in color blasphemous.

M&M’s to Unveil a New Speaking Role at Super Bowl - NYTimes.com

2012-01-17T12:08:00.001-05:00

M&M’s, sold by the confectionery giant Mars, will use a commercial during Super Bowl XLVI on Feb. 5 to introduce a character to represent brown M&M’s named Ms. Brown. She will be the sixth computer-animated mascot for the brand, following walking and talking versions of the red, yellow, blue, green and orange M&M’s.

Ms. Brown is the second female in the M&M’s cast, after Ms. Green, and like her colorful counterparts she will be imbued with a distinct personality. Ms. Brown is an intelligent woman with a sharp wit who finally decided to reveal herself after working for decades behind the scenes as “chief chocolate officer.”

The Real Story Behind Apple's "Think Different" Campaign

2012-01-04T10:00:00.000-05:00

True story behind the legendary "Think Different" campaign from TBWA/Chiat/Day creative director Rob Siltanen. A very intriguing read into the creative process behind every great ad.

Apple’s remarkable rise, coupled with Steve Jobs’ recent death, has prompted quite a few people to reflect on the historical impact of the “Think Different” ad campaign and the “To the crazy ones” commercial that launched it. There have been a lot of different accounts of how the work was created, who conceived it, and how it was presented to Jobs, so I thought now was a good time to share my own perspective and give you an inside look.
How do I know what took place? I was there—right in the thick of it. I was the creative director and managing partner at TBWA/Chiat/Day working on the Apple pitch alongside CEO and Chief Creative Officer Lee Clow. Together, Lee and I headed up and actively participated in all of the work done for the pitch. I was also in every agency meeting with Jobs throughout the process — pre-pitch, pitch and post-pitch.
...
Apple had some brand zealots in various creative industries, and we thought maybe the best way to stop the bleeding was to do some testimonials with famous celebrities we had heard were Apple backers. We found that people such as Steven Spielberg and Sting used Apple computers, and so did several other prominent creative stars. Conversely, we saw a lot of articles talking about Apple negatively — many people in the business world were calling Apple computers “toys” that were incapable of “real” computing. Meanwhile, the press started suggesting that buying an Apple was a dumb purchase, and they spoke freely of the fact that Apple had a miniscule and shrinking market share while also having a fraction of the software applications of classic PCs. Apple’s situation was outright ugly. But through ugly situations come beautiful opportunities.
The next week we gathered in a large conference room at the agency where everyone had their work tacked up on wallboards. The room was filled with photos, pencil sketches, rough ideas and taglines. You know that scene in the movie “A Beautiful Mind” where the room is plastered with paper on every inch of wall space? Well, during a new business pitch or preparation for a big project, our conference rooms typically looked like that. This pitch was no exception. About four different creative teams had work represented, and virtually all of it was mediocre. Through quantity doesn’t necessarily come quality.
But there was one campaign that jumped out at me. And it jumped out in a big way.
It was a billboard campaign that had simple black and white photographs of revolutionary people and events. One ad had a photo of Einstein. Another had a photo of Thomas Edison. Another had a photo of Ghandi. Another had the famous photo of flowers placed in gun barrels during the protest of the Vietnam War. At the top of each image was the rainbow-colored Apple logo and the words “Think Different.” Nothing else.
The creator of the work was a brilliant art director named Craig Tanimoto. Craig’s Apple campaign seemed big and fresh in a room that was filled with classic computer shots and stereotypical celebrity photos. I loved it. But at the same time, the work seemed in need of explanation.
I asked Craig what it all meant, and he said, “IBM has a campaign out that says “Think IBM” (it was a campaign for their ThinkPad), and I feel Apple is very different from IBM, so I felt “Think Different” was interesting. I then thought it would be cool to attach those words to some of the world’s most different-thinking people.”
...
Jobs was quiet during the pitch, but he seemed intrigued throughout, and now it was time for him to talk. He looked around the room filled with the “Think Different” billboards and said, “This is great, this is really great … but I can’t do this. People already think I’m an egotist, and putting the Apple logo up there with all these geniuses will get me skewered by the press.” The room was totally silent. The “Think Different” campaign was the only campaign we had in our bag of tricks, and I thought for certain we were toast. Steve then paused and looked around the room and said out loud, yet almost as if to his own self, “What am I doing? Screw it. It’s the right thing. It’s great. Let’s talk tomorrow.” In a matter of seconds, right before our very eyes, he had done a complete about-face.

KLM Royal Dutch Airlines Continues to Drive the Social Media Bandwagon

2011-12-14T10:18:00.001-05:00

KLM Royal Dutch Airlines never ceases to surprise me with their wanton embrace of social media. One year ago, I wrote about their marvelous campaign to deliver random acts of kindness with the "How Happiness Spreads" FourSquare campaign. This January, they continued their pioneering ways with the "Fly2Miami" campaign - adding a non-stop flight and selling out within 5 hours in response to a passenger's tweet about the lack of a direct route to Miami for a music festival.

Well, they've done it again folks... KLM plans to launch a "Meet and Seat" program early next year. Travelers can link their Facebook and LinkedIn profiles to their check-in information, and then choose seat-mates based on common interests (or, to be real, their profile pictures). Travelers can choose whether or not to make their profiles publically available, but my guess is that you wouldn't opt-out unless you had something to hide (e.g., obese, recently had a baby, serial killer). While the joke is that this is a new way to join the Mile High Club, I'd do it just to avoid those seatmate-from-hell situations.

Now if only I lived in Amsterdam...

For more info, check out the Daily Mail article.

Billboard Wars: Audi vs. BMW

2011-12-01T14:12:00.001-05:00

This is from Spring 2010 but still pretty funny...

First, the war begins in sleepy Santa Monica with BMW's response to a snarky Audi billboard:

Then, Audi took to Facebook to spur user-generated comebacks such as:

Finally, the war ends with this brilliant stunt:

Nice one BMW...

Such clever outdoor marketing!

Coca-Cola Launches Its First U.S. QR Code Program

2011-11-11T17:35:00.001-05:00

"Millions of Coca-Cola cups circulating this month will sport QR codes for a program that supports the brand’s holiday mascot, the polar bear.

The brand is partnering with the World Wildlife Federation for the initiative, which aims to help conserve the polar bear’s Arctic habitat. Consumers who scan the codes, which appear on cups distributed by 7-Eleven, will download a Snowball Effect by Coca-Cola app for the iPhone and iPad platforms that turns into a Facebook-connected, snowball-throwing game. Those who generate the most points in the game will win prizes including iPads (eight total will be given out) and a trip to the Arctic for two. The program runs through March.

The app also leads to a site where consumers can donate to the WWF’s cause. Coca-Cola will match each $1 donation up to $1 million (it also donated an additional $2 million)."

What a great idea! Fun, socially responsible, and cool.

The Decline of Traditional (Outbound) Marketing

2011-11-09T15:30:00.000-05:00

Great infographic from CMSWire - and very interesting use of outbound vs inbound, a term from contact centers, to describe marketing:

Columbia Sportswear Tries Out the "Anti-Spokesman"

2011-11-05T09:36:00.000-04:00

First and foremost, let's call out the fact that the super manly, super awesome spokesman has won some impressive accolades in the ad realm over the past few years a la Dos Equis "Most Interesting Man in the World" and the Old Spice "The Man Your Man Could Smell Like" campaigns. But while Columbia Sportswear's new campaign featuring Wim Hof has the same look and feel of those campaigns, this spokesman does not actually use or endorse the product in the ad. Instead, he is the anti-spokesman, a man so impervious to cold to it inspires both awe and the recognition that we could never (and would never want) to be like him.

According to NYT:

"Five commercials will appear only online beginning Monday on Web sites including ComedyCentral.com and ABC.com, while additional videos featuring Mr. Hof will appear on Columbia’s Facebook page and YouTube channel. Print ads began appearing in the October issues of Fast Company and Outside.

“Not many people will aspire to do what Wim does,” said Tom Coates, a creative director at Butler, Shine, Stern & Partners. “But anyone who looks at him sees how much he enjoys being outdoors and how much passion he brings to it — and that’s how people will relate to this guy.”"

Of course, I would be remiss to exclude the also funny but less absurd ads that Columbia has already run on its new Omni-Heat technology:

Google Reveals Ad Targeting Secret Sauce

2011-11-01T09:43:00.003-04:00

Ok.. not really airing their code for all to see, but certainly offering some visibility into how they serve ads:

"In an ironic twist, during yesterday's Halloween festivities, Google unveiled a new initiative designed to further allay user privacy fears and remove the "creepy" factor from targeted ads. The new feature is called "Why these ads?" and allows you to find out exactly why you were targeted for a particular advertisement on Gmail and Google search pages.

In addition to Google's Ad Preferences Manager, this new feature is perhaps one of the boldest moves the company could have taken in its efforts to calm concerns around personal data privacy that have gained momentum in recent years.

In a recent Ad Preferences Manager update video, a Google spokesperson admitted, "Sometimes how we personalize ads for you can seem mysterious." The new "Why these ads?" feature is designed to further remove any mystery in regards to how a user is targeted for a specific ad."

In general, I think that Google's "Why these ads?" move makes a lot of sense given the level of transparency requested by consumers (re: Facebook data privacy) as well as a general curiosity about how they are perceived online (e.g., Klout). More importantly, the biggest factors leading consumers to embrace ad targeting are trust and understanding - trust that you won't sell PII ("personally identifiable information") and understanding around what kind of ads/products are actually relevant to us. More transparency is certainly a step in the right direction on trust, and it can also help to improve understanding. For example, BlueKai (one of the leading vendors of cookie data) lets you update and edit your "preferences" which then lead to more targeted ads. I was pretty shocked to see some of the misinformation on there when I first checked it out (not 30-34 years old, not a home owner, not living in the South, etc.):

In addition, the "reward" for your preference update is a donation to your charity of choice:

I think customers will become more and more comfortable with targeted advertising (esp. as we move into more "invasive" advertising on mobile devices) as more companies provide some insight into their "secret sauce."

Retailers Become Online Media Players

2011-10-30T16:01:00.000-04:00

"Earlier this year, Amazon quietly announced it was entering the online advertising game by using its consumer data to deliver targeted advertising on third-party sites across the web.
Amazon has an unfathomable amount of consumer shopping data — which items consumers looked at, purchased, compared, abandoned in a shopping cart, etc. — and it’s now available to outside advertisers looking to reach these consumers using online display ads.
Amazon isn’t the only major retailer experimenting with this type of consumer targeting.
Best Buy’s online cookie program segments their 30 million online shoppers into consumer categories based on the pages they visited on BestBuy.com, allowing partners to target these consumer groups with display ads across large publishers such as Yahoo, MSN and AOL.
More recently, Walmart became the latest major retailer to buy into this online trend when it agreed to buy the “key assets” of mobile-social ad network OneRiot in September. OneRiot uses data from social networks, such as Twitter and Facebook, to deliver more-relevant advertising to consumers.
By purchasing OneRiot’s technology, Walmart now has the ability to match consumer interests with the most relevant product ads from Walmart and/or their co-op partners.
These types of retailer-enabled media opportunities are coveted by online advertisers looking to find in-market consumers who are already interested in their products and reach them with relevant ads across the web. For example, electronics manufacturers would be interested in serving ads to consumers who were shopping on Best Buy for both their products and their competitors. Using Amazon data, home audio companies can target consumers who recently purchased big-screen TVs.
These are just a few examples of how retailers are leveraging their online data for better ad targeting while simultaneously increasing revenue. But the message is clear — both online and bricks and mortar retailers are looking to digital media to further profit off of their consumer bases."

This reminds me of my recent post on data privacy and what I wrote about:

"Brands, retailers, etc. who traditionally purchase advertising are now integrating further into the value chain by becoming data management platforms (DMPs) and selling their richer customer data as an alternative to the 3rd party data that agencies and publishers daisy chain together with tracking data such as cookies."

I'm not surprised to hear about Amazon, Best Buy, and Walmart who are the Goliaths in retail, but I also wouldn't be surprised to hear about device manufacturers like AT&T, Apple, etc. entering the fray soon. As long as there is serious and significant consideration given to data privacy and security, I am pretty excited to see how tailored advertising becomes in the next few years. Will you know what Halloween costume I'm looking for before I even make up my mind? Maybe!

Tesco Virtual Shopping Experience Using QR Codes

2011-10-30T15:45:00.000-04:00

This is probably one of the best ideas that I've heard about in the past few months:

Shop for groceries on-the-go using your phone and virtual displays that are enabled with QR codes. Products are delivered after purchase completion (presumably timed for after your commute).

There's a lot of chatter about "digital transformation" and the ability to translate physical customer experience into digital, and vice versa. This Tesco case study is really remarkable in that their solution replicates the physical experience virtually in a way that actually improves the customer experience (convenience, fun, etc.). Kudos team on the brilliant work!

Kraft Brands Go All Out For Halloween

2011-10-30T15:40:00.001-04:00

"Jell-O, for example, is giving new meaning to the term “brain food.” Through Oct. 31, the brand is offering a free Jell-O Halloween Brain Mold (consumers pay a few dollars for shipping). The mold comes with an eight-page recipe booklet for creating ghoulish gelatin brains -- including a bright-green Frankenstein version -- and other holiday tips.

The idea seeks to capitalize on a resurgence of interest in Jell-O/gelatin molds (restaurant usage, mold competitions, etc.) to lift sales during a holiday that’s not necessarily Jell-O’s biggest, says Michael White, the brand's senior associate brand manager. The brain mold was the winner among various Halloween mold possibilities tested with consumers.

This isn't Jell-O's first seasonal mold, but the expanded “grassroots” outreach is paying off, with consumers ordering about 33,000 thousand brain molds to date, versus about 12,000 of the brand's less-promoted July 4th flag mold, according to White. Moreover, early data indicate an uptick in the brand's gelatin sales during the weeks leading up to Halloween, he reports."

I really love Kraft and their rigorous new product testing methods. Wish I'd found out about this sooner!

Product Placement + Korean Drama Webisodes = Love

2011-10-30T08:41:00.000-04:00

This month, Toyota launched a series of Korean Drama websides featuring Lee Min Ho (of "Boys Over Flowers" Hallyu fame). It's titled "The One & Only" which references a promotional print campaign that Toyota ran from Oct - Dec 1969 with the common tagline "valuing each customer's one and only vehicle." Only the first episode is up (second episode comes out Nov 3), but the premise seems to be stolen identity and stolen love, and Lee Min Ho's Toyota Camry is the key to figuring out the truth.

Ok let's be honest, this level of product placement just wouldn't work in America. I mean there have been brand-sponsored webisodes (e.g., "In the Motherhood" with Sprint and Suave), but none to this level of integration (just check out 2:40 - 4:05 from episode 1). But I'm not going to complain when I get so much eye candy :)

Oreos Changes Form for Chinese Market

2011-10-18T10:34:00.000-04:00

Found this case study in IBM's 2011 CMO Study - an oldie from 2008 but still a goodie:

"Unlike its iconic American counterpart, the Oreo sold in China is frequently long, thin, four-layered and coated in chocolate. But both kinds of cookies have one important thing in common: They are now best sellers.
Oreos were first introduced in 1912 in the U.S., but it wasn't until 1996 that Kraft introduced Oreos to Chinese consumers. Nine years later, a makeover began. Shawn Warren, a 37-year-old Kraft veteran who had spent many years marketing the company's cookies and crackers around the world, arrived in Asia in 2005 and noticed that Oreo's China sales had been flat for the previous five years.
Back then, Kraft was selling the U.S. version of Oreos in China. Albert Einstein's definition of insanity -- doing the same thing repeatedly and expecting different results -- "characterized what we were doing," says Mr. Warren, vice president of marketing for Kraft Foods International.
Mr. Warren assigned his team to a lengthy research project that yielded some interesting findings. For one thing, Kraft learned that traditional Oreos were too sweet for Chinese tastes. Also, the packages of 14 Oreos priced at 72 cents were too expensive.
Mr. Warren also noticed China's growing thirst for milk, which Kraft wasn't fully exploiting. In fact, increased milk demand in China and other developing markets -- as well as tighter supplies resulting from recent droughts in milk-producing countries and a reduction of subsidies for European dairy farmers -- has pushed up milk prices around the world. That has put pressure on food manufacturers like Kraft, whose biggest business is cheese, but it has also created opportunity.
In China, Kraft began a grassroots marketing campaign to educate Chinese consumers about the American tradition of pairing milk with cookies. The company created an Oreo apprentice program at 30 Chinese universities that drew 6,000 student applications.
Three hundred of the applicants were trained to become Oreo brand ambassadors. Some of the students rode around Beijing on bicycles outfitted with wheel covers resembling Oreos and handed out cookies to more than 300,000 consumers. Others held Oreo-themed basketball games to reinforce the idea of dunking cookies in milk. Television commercials showed kids twisting apart Oreo cookies, licking the cream center and dipping the chocolate cookie halves into glasses of milk.
Still, Kraft realized it needed to do more than just tweak its recipe to capture a bigger share of the Chinese biscuit market. So in China in 2006 Kraft remade the Oreo itself, introducing for the first time an Oreo that looked almost nothing like the original. The new Chinese Oreo consisted of four layers of crispy wafer filled with vanilla and chocolate cream, coated in chocolate. Kraft developed a proprietary handling process to ensure that the chocolate product could be shipped across the country, withstanding the cold climate in the north and the hot, humid weather in the south, yet still be ready to melt in the mouth.
Kraft's Oreo efforts have paid off. In 2006, Oreo wafer sticks became the best-selling biscuit in China, outpacing HaoChiDian, a biscuit brand made by the Chinese company Dali. The new Oreos are also outselling traditional round Oreos in China, and Kraft has begun selling the wafers elsewhere in Asia, as well as in Australia and Canada. Kraft has also introduced wafer rolls, a tube-shaped wafer lined with cream, in China. The hollow cookie can be used as a straw through which to drink milk.
Over the past two years, Kraft has doubled its Oreo revenue in China, and with the help of those sales, that revenue topped $1 billion world-wide for the first time last year."

Insights from the IBM 2011 CMO Study

2011-10-18T10:29:00.000-04:00

For IBM's inaugural CMO Study, it interviewed 1,734 CMOs from 19 industries and 64 countries. Here are some insights:

To download a copy of the study visit http://www.ibm.com/cmostudy

Target x Missoni: The Social Fall-Out

2011-10-01T18:08:00.001-04:00

Target x Missoni: The Social Fall-Out

Looks like it's not just Target that's in the weeds on this eCommerce disaster. IBM, AT&T, Akamai, etc. are getting pulled in as well. Only time will tell the extent of the brand damage to Target, who will still take the brunt of the social media hatred.

"Target’s new website, designed on an IBM platform and hosted by AT&T, buckled under “unprecedented demand,” the company said in a statement this week. “This demand impacted our Target.com site and affected the shipment and delivery of select guest orders.” It’s still unclear exactly what went wrong. Three Massachusetts companies that worked with Target on its website — Endeca Technologies Inc., SapientNitro, and Akamai Technologies — would not comment on the failure. Target would not elaborate beyond its statement. Regardless of why the site couldn’t cope under the strain of high demand, some jilted customers appear less than understanding. And with a campaign built around social media, Target is now feeling shoppers' wrath."

'via Blog this'

No Shame - I Tots Cried at this Google Commercial...

2011-09-25T15:22:00.000-04:00

Qwikster - possibly the worst rebranding concoction ever, and run by weed-loving Elmo

2011-09-19T17:08:00.000-04:00

Witness the next evolution of Netflix doom... Qwikster. Yes, they really chose THIS name. I can just imagine the branding idiot who suggested it: "It's quick like Quiktrip but cooler because of the w misspelling, AND friendly like Friendster but without the obvious friend in the name!!! OMG LOLZ!"

Oh, and just to make things better, the Twitter handle @Qwikster is run by a weed-loving Elmo. Amazing. And by amazing I mean terrible.

Toyota: "Growing Up"

2011-09-13T16:31:00.001-04:00

toyota commercial: "growing up" | angry asian man:

SO GOOD!

Cute Teacher + Target = Totally Awesome

2011-08-28T14:07:00.002-04:00

FYI the actress is Tania Gunadi, an Indonesian-born American who's absolutely adorable.

Morton's Steakhouse and Customer Service in the Social Media Age

2011-08-26T18:59:00.001-04:00

The Greatest Customer Service Story Ever Told, Starring Morton’s Steakhouse | Peter Shankman:

A year ago, I wrote about the amazing customer service by KLM driven by Foursquare. Well, looks like Morton's Steakhouse has added itself to the list of stupendously good customer service with this recent act of awesomeness for frequent diner Peter Shankman.

After boarding a flight from Tampa to Neward, Shankman tweeted a joking message before he shut down his phone:

Well guess who was waiting for him when he landed in Newark? A Morton's server holding a porterhouse with all the trimmings, and dressed in a tuxedo no less!

I gotta try this on my next flight! I'm looking at you Roy's!!

Historically Hardcore - A Case Study in Control

2011-08-23T11:01:00.000-04:00

Ok, I know I'm a little late to the game on this topic, but I really love the "Historically Hardcore" ads and I'm tiffed that the Smithsonian didn't hitch its snooty star to the back of that wagon. After all, it's a new world these days - it's complex, it's fast, and it will leave you in the dust if you're not careful. With the advent of social technologies that put the consumer in the driver's seat, it's foolish to think that you'll be able to maintain control over all aspects of your brand, your content, or your institution. That's just the way it is. You can either be on the side that benefits from this change, or the side that loses out.

The (dare I say?) genius of Jenny Burrows and Matt Kappler gained a massive following from social media, at one point being #1 and #3 on Reddit. Their school ad project was lovingly crafted and serves a good purpose - get kids today to care about history. After all.. "If you want to understand today, you have to search yesterday." (Pearl Buck).

Also, coming from a PR background, this isn't just any press, it's GOOD press. People are loving it and saying they want to come visit the Smithsonian - these are all great things. For the Smithsonian to stick up their nose and not want anything to do with it... well that's just foolish in my opinion. I know that the Smithsonian is a government run institution, but shoot their brothers at the CDC are doing some pretty amazing things so why can't they? They don't even have to do anything. Just let social media continue to spread the word and say a kind word or two about it. That's it. Free marketing, great press, and good will all around. Instead, they now have people who have a negative opinion about the people who work for the Smithsonian (whether it's snooty, foolish, ... well you get the idea). Here are the ads, with the Smithsonian's logo gone, for your enjoyment:

The Edinburgh Fringe Festival - The Anti-rule Guide to Success?

2011-08-18T20:43:00.002-04:00

How The Seemingly Chaotic But Wildly Successful Fringe Festival Makes It Work | Fast Company

Brilliant marketing genius or success by happenchance?

"The analogy with [open-source] software is interesting," Gudgin says. "In the arts, everyone wants to be the curator or the creative director. At the Fringe, we have to be the exact opposite. Our job is to get the circumstances absolutely right, to sell the whole experience, to make it as inviting as possible to anybody who could possibly contribute. We can't curate new ideas into existence."

Melting through the end of summer...

2011-08-18T17:19:00.000-04:00

Well folks, looks like we're wrapping out another hot, sweltering summer. Until we buckle up and stop contributing to global warming, looks like we'll have to start looking forward to yet another one next year. For now, let's say adieu to the heat and welcome in the cooler temperature by watching one of my favorite summer ads (and oldie from Spring 2009, but still a goodie):

HP Kills TouchPad and webOS

2011-08-18T17:18:00.000-04:00

HP Kills TouchPad: Rest in Peace Tablet, You Had a Short, Miserable Life - International Business Times

Only 9 days ago, I wrote about the awesome HP Touchpad commercials with Pacquiao and Lea Michele. I guess I spoke too soon... because HP just killed the Touchpad. And after only two months on the market.

Alas, farewell sweet Touchpad. May you grace another celebrity's face in device heaven.

IPG Sells 50% of Its Facebook Stake for $133 million

2011-08-16T11:47:00.002-04:00

IPG Sells Half of Facebook Stake for $133 million | Adweek:

"When the current transaction closes, IPG expects to record a pre-tax gain of $132 million, the proceeds of which will be put toward increasing its existing stock repurchase program. IPG will now buy back $450 million of shares, up from $300 million. Through Aug. 12, the company has repurchased $187.6 million in common stock, including fees, or about 16.8 million shares. (The repurchase program has no expiration date.)"

That my friends is why Facebook did not agree to an acquisition deal, and rightfully so. This strategy won't work for everyone though (I'm looking at you Groupon!).

Dentsu continues buying streak

2011-08-16T11:43:00.001-04:00

Dentsu buys online advertising exchange Adjug | Media | guardian.co.uk

Not surprising that this WPP of Japan is continuing its buying streak, especially as it looks to expand its footbrint into more developed markets that tend to have bigger ad budgets.

Popular! I wanna be POP-U-LAR!

2011-08-16T00:39:00.002-04:00

Popularity - BusinessWeek

"Each entry in this survey represents either a market leader or the person, product, or trend that experienced the greatest commercial growth or surge in popularity during 2010, or between last year and this one. We plotted the entries based on a relevant number along a scale beginning at 0 and running to 14,594,874,110,347. Some figures are literal (Nordstrom’s revenue, $9.7 billion), others symbolic (the rpms of the top-selling turntable, 33⅓)."

A lot of really interesting statistics in this article - all the way up to the ~$15 TRILLION debt of course. One that caught my eye was of course... Coca-Cola.

Servings of Coca-Cola consumed every day: 1.7 BILLION!

"The soda, which turned 125 this year, continues its worldwide sugary domination. The company now boasts more than 500 brands; its products are sold in over 200 countries—which is more than the U.N. recognizes."

Workout with Wow Gal in Chinese Taxis!

2011-08-14T12:29:00.002-04:00

Touchmedia's Taxi Workout Video Is Surprise Hit in China | Global News - Advertising Age

When I first read this article I thought... wow did Michelle Obama's "Let's Move" campaign spread all the way to China?!

But in all seriousness, what I find most interesting about the article is this section:

The success of the WOW campaign and other taxi advertising underscores a key difference between Chinese consumers and those in the West, Mr. Fung said. He originally started his company in New York but during testing, many passengers said, "Turn that crap off, it's an invasion of my privacy."

"Over here, when something is new they embrace it," Mr. Fung said, describing consumers who are inquisitive and interested in uncovering the benefits of new products or technology. "China is up and coming so the whole mindset is very, very different."

Touchmedia has 30,000 screens in four Chinese cities so far -- Shanghai, Beijing, Guangzhou and Shenzhen -- and ambitious plans to expand to more cities in the coming months. Audits show that only 1.7% of passengers turn the screen off and keep it off. Passengers generally play with any one of the 11 icons on the screen for an average of 40 to 110 seconds.

Living in New York, I've seen my fair share of seatback TV screens in taxis (to the usual tune of Jeopardy! and stoop chats with B-list celebrities) and I'm pretty surprised to learn that this concept didn't take off here. Honestly, I wish there was more provocative content on the taxi screens (no Tammy Faye Messner makeup required though!).

I also find it curious that Chinese citizens are less averse to potential privacy invasion. I'm not sure if that's a factor of the "new-ness" of interactive media, the fact that media is state-run, or perhaps that privacy is an over-hyped concern in the US?

Ad-sponsored airport security bins

2011-08-11T16:43:00.001-04:00

This airport checkpoint bin was brought to you by USATODAY.com

What brands want to be affiliated with the long and tedious security checkpoint process... maybe Amtrak?

‘Bespoke’ and the provenance of me, myself, and I

2011-08-10T10:07:00.002-04:00

‘Bespoke’ used to mean a Savile Row suit. Today, it’s everything else | Adweek:

"Referring to “bespoke” as the latest thing is admittedly a bit of a stretch. After all, the term’s usage dates to 1580 (bespeak—meaning “to arrange beforehand”). And, for as long as anyone in the branding world can remember, bespoke has meant the same thing: that obscenely expensive men’s suit from a tailor on Savile Row or Madison Avenue.

But just in case you haven’t noticed, bespoke (a clunky modifier that means completely made-to-order) is enjoying a rather unusual renaissance, popping up not only in ad copy but also within categories that have nothing to do with suits: sneakers, jeans, and even bicycles and rare hardwood floors.

Why now? Several forces seem to be at work. Foremost is a backlash against the sort of brand homogenization brought to you by Target. “In a world of product symmetry, it becomes more important for consumers to be able to point to their individuality—even if it costs more,” says retail analyst Marshal Cohen of the NPD Group. Josh Feldmeth, CEO of Interbrand, calls it “the provenance of me.” Bespoke bicycle maker Mike Flanigan adds that the localvore movement has helped too. “People are starting to discover specialized craftsmen they never knew existed,” he says. And Meg Woodhouse, director of marketing for bespoke linen brand Matouk, observes that “the scarcity, uniqueness, and even the lead time involved in bespoke has made it the new incarnation of luxury.”

An unfortunate turn of events for the indecisive, but a very fortunate turn of events for the opinionated :)

There's celebrity endorsements... and then there's HP TouchPad

2011-08-09T15:23:00.001-04:00

Love these!

IBM - Today's CMO: Innovating or following? - United States

2011-08-08T19:26:00.002-04:00

IBM - Today's CMO: Innovating or following? - United States

Interesting report and a precursor to the full CMO Study due out this October.

As expected, CMOs report that the marketplace is indeed turbulent. When asked which market dynamics will have the most impact on them and their organizations in the next three to five years, for example, 50 % identified “increased customer collaboration and influence,” and 49% said “speed of change.”

While it is not surprising that these issues are “top of mind” for CMOs, it is surprising that far fewer CMOs cited among these impactful dynamics many of the specific tools and techniques that epitomize the data-driven digital era:
Only 34% of survey respondents chose “Web 2.0 and social media” and only 54 percent are certain the opportunities of social media even outweigh the risks.

Just 29% of respondents selected “demand for more transparency.”

Only 24% chose “growth of channel and device choices.”

A mere 20% selected “ROI accountability.”

Also some particularly interesting graphics:

Captain Morgan’s Pirate Ship Found. Be There Rum Aboard? - TIME NewsFeed

2011-08-08T19:18:00.001-04:00

Captain Morgan’s Pirate Ship Found. Be There Rum Aboard? - TIME NewsFeed

I REALLY hope there's rum in those recovered chests! If not, it was probably stolen by Jack Sparrow.

Subway Signs Huge Mobile Advertising Deal with Velti

2011-08-05T12:40:00.005-04:00

Subway Readies Global Mobile Push

Hot off the presses of yesterday's post about brands and retailers bringing the DMP portion of the advertising ecosystem in-house, today's story is about Subway and its optimistic 2012 mobile advertising roadmap.

"The quick-serve sandwich chain has dabbled with mobile marketing activity in the past - including display ads from vendors such as Apple's iAd unit - but this initiative will represent the largest investment the brand has made in the mobile arena to date, Subway director of digital marketing, Joost Zimmerman, suggested. "We want to jump into this space now. The adoption rate of smartphones has been tremendous, and it’s the right time to start really leveraging those devices for the brand," he told ClickZ.

Tapping services from mobile marketing platform provider Velti, Subway plans to launch location-aware mobile websites allowing customers to order and pay for meals to pick up from their closest Subway restaurant. The company hopes to have that system in place across the majority of its 24,000 U.S. locations by early next year, with a wider global rollout in 2012. It has a presence in over 90 markets worldwide, the company said, with a total of over 34,000 restaurants in operation worldwide.

According to Velti director of mobile solutions Darin Leach, the company is working to integrate Subway's back-end systems with its own to make the mobile ordering function possible. That offering is unlikely to be ready until early next year, but the mobile site will launch later this year featuring functionality such as a store locator, menu information, and other content."

I'm pretty excited about the opportunity to bypass the line at the counter and just order and pay through my mobile - but again there's the data privacy warning, particularly since credit card information will be added to all the other personally identifiable information ("PII") in Subway's data warehouses and potentially accessible to 3rd parties through Velti. Specifically, I know Velti is still struggling to incorporate its recent acquisition of Mobclix, so the threat of data breach is definitely real.

The Fine Line of Privacy vs Piracy that Advertisers Tread On

2011-08-04T11:10:00.002-04:00

USA Today - Web tracking has become a privacy time bomb

In May, I wrote about new malware that seeks to steal your behavioral patterns instead of the typical username, address, credit card, etc. info that everyone's used to. The danger behind that is it becomes much more complicated to disentangle you when your identity is stolen. Today, thieves have gotten pretty clever at taking small, unnoticeable amounts from your bank accounts. Tomorrow, what's to stop them from sending spam to or soliciting money from your friends as YOU instead of a random stranger in Central Africa looking to share a $ 1 M bank note? In April, my Twitter account was hacked and the hacker sent malware links via 6 direct messages to my friends. They seemed harmless enough with "Great way to make more money" and "Looking for a job?" as the general gist of the messages. And it took me 3 days to figure out that this was happening behind my back. Not cool.

Trouble is, the tracking data culled from your Internet searches and surfing can get commingled with the information you disclose at websites for shopping, travel, health or jobs. And it's now possible to toss into this mix many of the personal disclosures you make on popular social networks, along with the preferences you may express via all those nifty Web applications that trigger cool services on your mobile devices.
As digital shadowing escalates, so too have concerns about the erosion of traditional notions of privacy. Privacy advocates have long fretted that health companies, insurers, lenders, employers, lawyers, regulators and law enforcement could begin to acquire detailed profiles derived from tracking data to use unfairly against people. Indeed, new research shows that as tracking technologies advance, and as more participants join the burgeoning tracking industry, the opportunities for privacy invasion are rising.
Responding to such concerns, the Federal Trade Commission late last year called for a "Do Not Track" mechanism that would enable consumers to opt out of being tailed around the Web. The technology is simple and can be quickly added to any Web browser. Users would then be able to check a box configuring their browser to automatically notify every webpage they visit not to track them. The catch: The online advertising industry would have to universally honor Do Not Track requests.

The new development here is that the traditional advertising industry is being turned on its head. Brands, retailers, etc. who traditionally purchase advertising are now integrating further into the value chain by becoming data management platforms (DMPs) and selling their richer customer data as an alternative to the 3rd party data that agencies and publishers daisy chain together with tracking data such as cookies. For example, your retailer has actual data about you in their CRM systems. They know when you purchase, what your purchase preferences are, how much your average purchases are, what purchase incentives are most relevant to you, etc. although most of them are probably unsophisticated in how they've analyzed this kind of data. Still, the potential emerges for data owners like Delta, which might see that you've bought a ticket to Aspen, CO for December, to then sell that information to interested advertisers such as EMS or North Face.

The privacy concerns are heightened once advertisers figure out how to target you across multiple screens. For example, they know that you bought the Delta ticket, so they know what your billing address is, and also what electronic devices were purchased from that address. They can then derive your mobile phone number and serve you that North Face ad via text. That's a little scary right? And don't get me wrong - I'm an ad lover and I'm excited by the idea of more relevant ads (e.g., I was just on BlueKai and fixed some of their attributes which described me as a Home Owner and Rising Boomer - definitely not the case) - but only if I can trust that these new entrants to the advertising game can protect my information and make the right call to anonymize that information when they feel it crosses the line. And the truth is that these types of concerns can often slip through the cracks during implementation. Remember the privacy leaks when Facebook first created the application platform? At least Facebook has a legion of the country's best engineering minds to plug those leaks and boot the violators. I can only imagine what happens with DMPs - especially when the DMP owner is a dinosaur of a company whose data infrastructure has been piecemealed together over the past 50+ years.

DirectTV - Satellite for International Superstars

2011-07-31T22:55:00.002-04:00

So Old Spice recently changed up its spokesperson - switching from Isaiah to Fabio. Now it looks like DirectTV is making a similar move by going from its Russian superstar to a Vietnamese superstar "The Whale" (aka comedian Dat Phan). I thought it was hard to beat the miniature giraffe, but a giant panda more than does the trick!

New Old Spice Man is... FABIO?!

2011-07-22T22:56:00.001-04:00

Scandal! Did Old Spice Bench Isaiah Mustafa for Fabio? | Advertising and Marketing Wisdom: Adages - Advertising Age

The Procter & Gamble Co. brand, via Wieden & Kennedy, is attempting to unleash a new set of viral videos featuring the former romance-novel cover boy (and margarine and insurance pitchman), now posing as the "New Old Spice Guy."

The second wave of TV ads featuring Mr. Mustafa, which launched in December, didn't resonate -- or spawn Cannes hardware -- quite like the first ads or the "Responses" social-media campaign did last year. That led to some speculation that he would go the way of that other Mustafa, the Lion King.

I STILL don't get the Fabio thing. Do women really find him attractive??

Project Runway meets Mad Men for its 9th season

2011-07-21T16:13:00.002-04:00

Commercial for season 9 of Project Runway:

Love it!

Hyundai ranks #1 in brand loyalty

2011-07-19T19:49:00.001-04:00

Hyundai gains in measure of brand loyalty - latimes.com:

"Hyundai, once known for producing among the least reliable vehicles sold in America, has retooled its lineup and is picking up market share, mostly because of its hot-selling sedans, the Sonata and the Elantra.

Through the first six months of 2011, Hyundai’s U.S. sales have risen 26% compared with the same period a year earlier, to 327,797 vehicles, according to Autodata Corp. Its growth is more than double the rate of the entire industry in the U.S. this year.

Hyundai held a 5.1% market share during the first half of this year, up from 4.6% a year earlier.

During the second quarter, Hyundai’s brand loyalty was at 52.3%. Honda was 49.7% and Toyota was 47.7%. Rounding out the top five were Ford with 45.4% and Subaru at 44.8%."

Snail Mail My Email - Perfect for USPS Sponsorship

2011-07-18T16:15:00.002-04:00

SNAIL MAIL MY EMAIL

It would be amazing if this was actually a campaign by the US Postal Office. Sadly, I doubt that the USPS is as creative as the CDC. Oh, and they might be going bankrupt soon. Guess they don't have the time or effort to fund an ad campaign.

Netflix: A Brand Fairytale gone wrong

2011-07-16T11:12:00.003-04:00

Furious Customers Overwhelm Netflix

Once upon a time, Netflix was the knight in shining armor, coming to its customers' rescue from a terrible movie rental experience (high prices, limited choices, inconvenience). It took down some evil (ok not really evil) overlords like Blockbuster, and everything was on track for Netflix to win our hearts.

When Netflix began to offer streaming movies and TV shows, it was SO exciting. Everyone in the land cheered as more and more devices (XBOX, Wii, iPhone) were enabled with Netflix streaming capabilities.

And then. And THEN. It announced a tax on the kingdom. Not just any tax. Tax that's as high as 60%. What in the... is this America or is this America?

In all seriousness, I think that what Netflix is doing is business smart. And anyone who's thought about it would know that this was coming down the road... eventually. This was definitely premature, as its streaming service doesn't have nearly the same quality as its DVD offerings, but someday, we knew this "tax" was gonna come knocking. DVD and streaming customers have different behaviors, and could logically be catered to with different plans.

BUT, for a change this massive and unexpected, you really need to have a stronger brand to carry it off. And that's Netflix's fatal flaw: pride, not greed. You can change your pricing upwards only if you have a strong product AND brand. And Netflix couldn't see the difference between its product popularity and brand strength. Take Apple for example - they have excellent products (iPod, iPad, Mac Air) which they continue to raise prices on model after model, and they get away with it because consumers are willing to pay for the brand. They know that owning the newest and latest Apple product conveys a sense of coolness, innovation, popularity, etc. What does it mean to be a Netflix user? Nothing, except that you have the capability to rent DVDs physically or streaming. There's no social element. No "street cred" so to speak. And thus there's no reason for customers to pay the increased prices.

"Branding demands commitment; commitment to continual re-invention; striking chords with people to stir their emotions; and commitment to imagination. It is easy to be cynical about such things, much harder to be successful."
-- Sir Richard Branson, CEO Virgin

Turtle Spinsters for Oceana

2011-07-15T08:57:00.000-04:00

I'm not sure if this was intentional, but this commercial for Oceana featuring Rachael Harris and Angela Kinsey reminds me of two spinster cat ladies - except with sea turtles instead of cats. Anyone else get that impression?

In any case, I'm still a supporter because, as a scuba diver, I have tremendous respect for the sea life and our efforts to limit the destructive human activities that pollute the waters, hunt (purposefully or by accident) these precious animals, and ruin their habitats! So let's save the turtles!!

Visit oceana.org and take the pledge today!

Cashing in on the Year of the Rabbit

2011-07-14T10:47:00.000-04:00

China celebrated the start of the Year of the Rabbit last week, and the country's marketers are hoping that a surge in sales will kick off the new year. Demand in the Chinese economy soared by between 15% and 30% during the spring festival last year. In fact, some marketers of baijiu, the liquor that's usually consumed on special occasions in China, generated as much as 20% of their annual sales in the first two weeks of the year.

Like Western consumers at Christmas, Chinese shoppers display a greater than usual propensity to spend during the spring festival. At the center of the celebrations is food, on which most consumers spend more in terms of quantity as well as quality, especially premium brands. Food and beverage marketers in China deploy several kinds of marketing strategies to boost sales.

Better than the "Like" button?

2011-07-14T10:08:00.001-04:00

Google Accelerates Google+ for Business Test Program:

"Christian Oestlien, group product manager at Google, wrote in a blog post Wednesday evening that the interest from “thousands upon thousands” of businesses “has got us very focused on accelerating our business plans.”

Earlier this month, Oestlien asked brands not to create Google+ profiles yet. Nevertheless, several brands, including Ford, Breaking News and Mashable have created profiles anyway. The full Google+ program for businesses won’t be ready until later this year, Oestlien says."

So far I'm only following one brand - Coca Cola. How could I resist??

Toy Firms Turn to Nostalgia to Mark Anniversaries

2011-07-12T12:42:00.001-04:00

Toy Firms Turn to Nostalgia to Mark Anniversaries - NYTimes.com

“Toys are always tied with nostalgia,” said Adrienne Appell, a spokeswoman for the Toy Industry Association, an industry trade group. “A lot of those purchasing decisions are being made by a parent or a grandparent. They gravitate toward toys they enjoyed as children.”

Apparently worked for Uno, who saw double digit increases in sales after its "Uno for Uno" campaign.

"I'm a PC" ads turning the tide - does functional really win over aesthetics?

2011-07-11T14:24:00.000-04:00

Microsoft launching new "I'm a PC" ad campaign

This is my favorite part of the article:

In 2009, Microsoft took aim at Mac pricing in its "Laptop Hunter" ads with the help of "Lauren," a consumer who was looking to find "a laptop with speed, comfortable keyboard, and a 17-inch screen for under $1,000." Lauren took to the Apple Store, only to find "one computer available" that matched her pricing. Discouraged by the 13-inch display, she said that she wasn't "cool enough to be a Mac person." She then went to a local big-box retailer and found several Windows PCs in her price range with the features she was after.

As the Laptop Hunter ads continued, Microsoft hinted that it was finally turning the tide in the ad space. The company's chief operating officer, Kevin Turner, said in 2009 that his company was contacted by Apple's legal department, requesting that Microsoft "stop running those ads."

"I did cartwheels down the hallway," he said at the time.

Modest Beginnings for Today's Ad Execs - You Gotta Start Somewhere!

2011-07-11T14:05:00.002-04:00

Advertising Industry Execs Share Summer Job Stories | Agency News - Advertising Age:

My favorite story is from John Adams, CEO of the Martin Agency, who worked as a gravedigger! What I love most is his one-part David Sedaris, one-part Mike Birbiglia writing style.

Lesson learned: People are adaptable

I never intended to dig graves. It wasn't on my list that summer. They told me explicitly that I would not have to dig graves, just cut the grass in the cemetery. Liars. Never trust people in cemeteries. But I needed the money. Digging a rectangular hole 6 feet deep (yep, precisely 6 feet) is a pain in the neck, arms and shoulders, but it's not that hard. What's hard is digging it in tight proximity to another grave. On my third grave I got cocky and ran into the decaying wooden casket next door. I know.

When the funeral caravan arrived, we spadesmen were advised to lurk discreetly behind trees, so as not to confront the grieving with a reminder that someone actually digs these neat little cavities. I resented having to lurk because I was certain that even the most distraught mourner would have been inclined to compliment my craftsmanship. I found it interesting that the funeral home frequented by dead Caucasians used black hearses, and the one favored by dead African-Americans used white hearses. I always wondered if they had worked that out together. A white hearse looks fantastic.

Is Your Brand Cool?

2011-07-08T13:30:00.001-04:00

MediaPost Publications Is Your Brand Cool? 07/07/2011

This post by David Trahan, of social marketing agency Mr Youth, speaks to the same core idea behind my previous post on lifestyle branding. At the heart of it, when your brand is no longer about product features, and instead a somewhat hazy "we are you" kind of brand message, it becomes THAT much harder to stay relevant and "cool" in consumers' eyes. Here were David's top 5 points:

1. Don't try too hard to make a statement
Trying too hard can seem desperate, and honestly at best what you'll get is an unmemorable brand message. That's my take on the T-Mobile 4G ads, seemingly trying to duplicate the success of "I'm a Mac."

2. Progressively communicate
In a world with constant communication and information, no consumer is going to care about how creative one 30 second spot is. Most consumers don't even watch TV anymore. It's more important to focus on your value statement and keep that central to your messaging across an integrated marketing plan. Take Geico for example, whether its cavemen or geckos, I understand that saving money with Geico is easy to do. Vanilla.

3. Focus on innovation over improvement
I think there are some product categories where, unfortunately, this just doesn't work (e.g., pens). Then again, the best brands are able to speak to a deeper not functional need. Basically why everyone's clamoring for the iPhone 5 but no one cares about the Gillette Fusion 5-blade razor.

4. Merge branding and personalization
I can think of no better brand that represents this than MTVN. They pop up a new MTV logo for pretty much everything - from channels, to shows, to events. Its a quick and easy way for the parent company to convey the mother brand while tailoring it slightly for specific audiences.

5. Transparency
Enough said. No one likes a fishy brand that does things that aren't authenic and real. One example of this is the onslaught of people trying to capture the lightning in a bottle of the "Old Spice Guy" magic. There's so many imitators, all of them terrible. And really you just can't copycat your way to success. We consumers can see right through that.

6. Be responsible
One fabulous example of this is the Pepsi Refresh Project, which helps consumers support great causes. Pepsi was such a proponent of this initiative that they chose not to advertise in the Super Bowl in order to fund these causes. Talk about corporate social responsibility.

Tweets In French Earn USC Professor Knighthood : NPR

2011-07-08T12:49:00.001-04:00

Tweets In French Earn USC Professor Knighthood : NPR

I think this story is brilliant and a great example of out-of-the-box thinking. I think social media has so many potential uses that have yet to be explored; foreign language instruction is just the first of many a great idea!

Advertisers Reconsider Media Mix Pending "News of the World" Scandal

2011-07-06T13:33:00.001-04:00

News of the World: Ford leads major companies in pulling advertising | Media | The Guardian: "Hillsborough"

Interesting that this story is happening at the same time that Michael Vick re-signs with Nike for an endorsement deal. Just goes to show you - not all PR is good PR. And companies that care about their brands should really stay on the safe side. You can always get a deal back with a spokesperson or, in this case, newspaper. But the negative publicity to your brand is something that's much harder to win back.

VW Magic - like lightning in a bottle?

2011-06-25T13:01:00.001-04:00

VW showed off this amazing, adorable advert "The Force" during the 2011 Superbowl:

It recently came up with a more grown-up version called "Magic"

Unfortunately, it falls short in my opinion. Catchy music? Check. Likeable characters? Check. Magic? Hm...

Companies Invest in Brands, Demand More Creativity

2011-06-24T13:29:00.001-04:00

Reuters.com | Brands demand more creativity in return for ad spending

"At a macro level, there are worries but has that translated into any data that suggests that our business is changing? The answer is no," Martin Sorrell, chief executive of the world's largest ad group WPP, told Reuters.

"In the west, people are terrified of making mistakes post Lehman. So instead of investing in a new factory they will invest in the brand. I was speaking to one big retailer who said retail sales are so tough I want to figure out some clever ways of advertising."

What I love about this article is that it parallels the momentous increase in creativity today for traditionally non-advert friendly organizations. For example, I covered the CDC's foray into social media last month with their blog post on disaster preparedness (spearheaded by the doom and gloom of a possible zombie apocalypse). This week the FBI aired 30 second spots on daytime TV shows like "Ellen" and "The View" - nabbing a fugitive and his accomplice who had evaded them for 16 YEARS in a matter of DAYS. So it does beg the question - what's the next step for companies that already embrace traditional advertising? What will agencies do to push the envelope?

Tea Partiers Create Their Own TV Show

2011-06-24T11:18:00.003-04:00

Tea Partiers Create Their Own TV Show and Production Company (Exclusive) - The Hollywood Reporter

Brilliant? Or a disaster in the making?

Now don't get me wrong. The concept of history + soap opera is something that really appeals to me. Not only that, but I'm Chinese, and I can't count the number of soap operas I've followed about the Ming Dynasty, Yuan Dynasty, etc.

Still, watching those soap operas doesn't make me want to start binding my feet and throw on some lily shoes. And from what I gather, the premise of the show is to display the "good old days" when federal spending was practically non-existent (besides a couple of local militias) and taxes unheard of. Also unheard of would be a state-run health program, so let's grab some popcorn and watch all those young Betsy's and Johnny's die of cholera, measles, and smallpox!

In all seriousness though, do you think this is a smart move by the Tea Party? Brands have gone this route before, to moderate success (take "In the Motherhood" for Suave and Sprint, or "The Rookie" for Degree deodorant), but for a political party? Is this pushing the boundaries or jumping off a cliff?

IBM100 - Innovating the Fan Experience @ Wimbledon

2011-06-21T13:22:00.005-04:00

IBM100 - Innovating the Fan Experience:

"The 2010 IBM Seer application-enabled iPhone and Android users to virtually see through the walls at the Wimbledon Championships, showing live video feeds of matches when users pointed their phones at Court 1, 2 or Centre Court. The “augmented reality” app was an effort to find smarter ways to improve the Wimbledon fan experience, enabling fans to use their phones to not only follow the matches, but also scan the area for food vendors, restrooms and drinking fountains—all amenities at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club were plotted through GPS."

Awesome.

Mobile-TV Advertising to Reach $1.4 Billion by 2015 | MediaWorks - Advertising Age

2011-06-15T11:52:00.005-04:00

Mobile-TV Advertising to Reach $1.4 Billion by 2015 | MediaWorks - Advertising Age

PWC's Annual Global Entertainment and Media Outlook was released yesterday, and it features some interesting predictions about the rise of tablets and, with it, advertising revenue for devices:

Tablets are poised to help U.S. newspapers increase paid digital circulation to 4.6 million in 2015
The number of people viewing mobile TV in the U.S. will grow to 52.5 million in 2015 from 17.6 million in 2010
Mobile-TV ad spending in the U.S. will grow to $1.4 billion in 2015 from $370 million last year
Traditional TV ad revenue in the U.S., meanwhile, will grow to $89.8 billion in 2015 from $70.7 billion last year
Online TV, excluding mobile, will see U.S. advertising grow to $4.1 billion in 2015 from $1.6 billion last year

WPP to Allocate $325 Million in 2011 for Acquisitions, CEO Sorrell Says - Bloomberg

2011-06-13T18:25:00.001-04:00

WPP to Allocate $325 Million in 2011 for Acquisitions, CEO Sorrell Says - Bloomberg

WPP was born from hundreds of acquisitions and Founder/CEO Martin Sorrell's believe that assembling a group of smaller, "below the line" marketing services firms would provide the platform for full-service marketing delivery. It has consistently bet on non-media, non-traditional, and emerging market small shops. Therefore, it's inconceivable to me that WPP will DOUBLE its budget for acquisitions. There'll be nothing left come 2012!

Sweating Ad Copy Like 'Mad Men'

2011-06-13T18:19:00.002-04:00

David Droga, Ad-Agency Chairman, on Memorable Copy | Word Craft - WSJ.com:

140 characters? Forgetta 'bout it!

"The average billboard has no more than eight words. It takes a lot of effort to make a beer, rice or shampoo seem special in eight words."

It's amazing that some brands really come down to just a couple of words. "Where's the beef?" "A diamond is forever." "Every kiss begins with Kay." Iconic!

Faux McDonald’s Signage Causes Twitter Kerfluffle

2011-06-13T12:46:00.003-04:00

Faux McDonald’s Signage Causes Twitter Kerfluffle from Zagat

No, not all PR is good PR. Especially for a company that refocused all of their mainstream marketing on ethnic diversity last year, featuring African Americans, Hispanics, and Asians in all of their advertising and shaping the menu around minority preferences. From BusinessWeek:

"The ethnic consumer tends to set trends," says Neil Golden, McDonald's U.S. chief marketing officer. "So they help set the tone for how we enter the marketplace." Golden says preferences gleaned from minority consumers shape McDonald's menu and ad choices, which are then marketed to all customers.

Golden went on to create a strategy for the U.S. business that he calls "Leading with Ethnic Insights." Working with Jonah Kaufman, a McDonald's franchisee who has 13 restaurants on Long Island, N.Y., Golden doubled the spots designated for minority franchisees on the national advertising committee, which advises on and approves ads. McDonald's also uses a disproportionate number of blacks, Hispanics, and Asians in focus groups. Later, marketers are asked to imagine how they would sell a product if the U.S. population were only African American, Hispanic, or Asian. They look for differences to McDonald's general market plan.

So no, this faux picture is not good PR. And it doesn't do much for business either.

If you can't track right, you might as well not track at all!

2011-06-13T11:25:00.001-04:00

One thing that REALLY irritates me is when a website has a terrible web content management strategy. They piecemeal their tracking devices (cookies, clicks, pageviews) to a bunch of different outsourcers and thus relinquish their ownership over the user experience.

How many times have you tried to open a page that took FOREVER because an ad wouldn't load properly? Or email/tweet/share an article but the sharing mechanism wouldn't function properly? SO ANNOYING!

It really makes you never want to visit that page again! Now a site like WSJ or CNN? I can't help but visit again because that's where the content is. But a more boutique or niche site that I visit once in a blue moon? Don't even think about it. It's gone from my bookmarks.

Turning Technies into Marketing Prophets

2011-06-10T16:53:00.003-04:00

James Governor's Monkchips - An industry analyst blog looking at software ecosystems and convergence

I love the concept of turning techies into marketing prophets. After all, who knows the product (and likely end user) best?! The idea of "pervasiveness" within the enterprise is a hugely hot topic, esp @ IBM.

Google's Les Paul Doodle Turns Everyday Citizens into Rockstars

2011-06-10T16:52:00.001-04:00

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/blogpost/post/play-les-pauls-google-doodle-with-these-guitar-chords/2011/06/09/AGygMCNH_blog.html

Google's new doodle is clearly one of its best. Possibly even topping the productivity killer Pacman, which I wrote about last year.

I particularly heart this guy who attempts Stairway to Heaven (WHA?) and the fun Pirates theme. You rock, OooooooooMEooooooooO!

McCann on Millennials, Social Media, and Brands | Adweek

2011-06-09T12:32:00.003-04:00

McCann on Millennials, Social Media, and Brands | Adweek

Brought to you by the collective genius of McCann... a study that polled 7000 16-to-30 year olds to understand the new "social economy." The conclusion is that the millennials define themselves with the brands they share and recommend, not just physical possessions or experiences.

Here's the actual McCann study if you want to read it. Some pretty interesting graphics like this one:

Angry Birds Live (TMobile)

2011-06-09T10:10:00.007-04:00

Wouldn't it be amazing if they really did this in Times Square? I think yes. Selfishly because I would like to play!

3 hours after I made this blog post, it appears that my friends would agree:

What the Heck Are We Doing on Twitter? - 5 Groundswell objectives (HBR)

2011-06-09T10:02:00.001-04:00

What the Heck Are We Doing on Twitter? - Josh Bernoff - The Conversation - Harvard Business Review

"What makes Twitter unique is that it accomplishes all five of what we called the Groundswell objectives — the essence of relationships formed through social applications. But companies must still start by picking the one that works best for them. Here are some examples of how to tap each with Twitter:

Listening. Use tools like Twitter Search or Radian6 to keep an ear on what customers are saying about your brand... shifts in Twitter sentiment — a surge in mentions of your competitor's brand, for example, or a rise in posts that associate your product names with words like "love" or "sucks" — are indicators that changes in sentiment are brewing.

Talking. It's absurdly easy for your company to Tweet about how great it is. It's also pretty close to worthless: no one is going to sign up to follow a Twitter account that does nothing but tweet links to your press releases, positive reviews, and product announcements. But if your tweets are actually helpful to customers, they will follow you. For example, Dell has attracted 1.5 million people to follow its tweets about deals on overstock and refurbished computers at @DellOutlet.

Energizing. On Twitter, energizing comes down to finding people who love you or write about you and retweeting them — or persuading them to retweet you. For example, San Diego State University uses Twitter to connect with its alumni, while Dunkin Donuts seeks out and retweets fans writing about it online — like a pair of guys who were attracting fans by blogging as they flew JetBlue to 25 cities in a month.

Supporting. Twitter is perfect for identifying and helping customers who need problems. AT&T has a team of more than four people responding to service requests, which has helped keep them off the Twitter "Trending Topics" from people complaining about holes in the company's mobile network. Comcast heads off service problems at @comcastcares. Best Buy has over 2000 staffers responding to Tweets for help at @Twelpforce, reinforcing the company's helpful reputation.

Embracing. Can you use Twittter to get ideas on how to improve your products? It's not easy, but it can be done. Intuit's all-hands-on-deck response to tweets about its TurboTax products during tax season not only help keep stressed customers happier, they provide insight into the software's sticking points that the Intuit team uses to improve the product for the next release.

We've seen many companies succeed in each of these objectives with Twitter. We've seen lots of others fail, by setting a Twitter account that is unevenly staffed, or doesn't have a strategy behind it. So if you want to succeed, don't ask, "should we be on Twitter?" Ask "what are we going to do with Twitter?" Then you'll be on a path to a successful strategy."

Should Marketers Like Puma Embrace Lifestyle Branding? | CMO Strategy - Advertising Age

2011-06-08T17:47:00.002-04:00

Should Marketers Like Puma Embrace Lifestyle Branding? | CMO Strategy - Advertising Age

This is an interesting story, particularly because I just heard Alexandra Wilkis Wilson (cofounder of Gilt Groupe) last night speak about how careful she was about protecting the luxury aspect of Gilt's brand. She wanted merchandise sold at high end department stores like Nieman, Bergdorf, and Barneys - not the lifestyle or casual brands sold at Macy's et al. Yet as Gilt's customer group changed over time, so did the types of merchandise and brands that they carried, and Wilson fulfilled her dream of creating an online version of Woodbury Commons - where brands like Fendi and Tory Burch stand just across the way from brands like Gap and JCrew. The ultimate litmus test for inclusion? The "cool" factor. Not cool? Not Gilt.

So it's interesting to read about Puma's foray into lifestyle branding, particularly since I didn't realize until reading this AdAge article that they are owned and managed by a company (PPR) whose portfolio includes very luxury brands like Gucci, Yves Saint Laurent, and Boucheron. Even more surprised to learn that PPR's core competency is lifestyle branding (i.e., appealing to a customer's need for self-expression).

"The competitive landscape is rapidly evolving and is no longer constrained by the boundaries of category. Now brands are competing across categories for a share of consumers' identity. Fulfilling individuals' need for self-expression is becoming the new frontier of brand competition.

The problem, however, is that consumers' need for self-expression, like many other needs, can be satiated. This means that as alternative outlets for self-expression continue to proliferate, the marginal importance of many lifestyle brands will likely decline. Thus, by switching to lifestyle positioning, Puma might be trading traditional in-category competition for even fiercer cross-category competition."

So, just how far should you go with your brand? And is it really smart to devalue the quantifiable and measurable aspects of your brand (strongest endurance, best suction, top performance) in exchange for something so intangible?

TOMS - the Philanthropic 1:1 Company

2011-06-08T17:30:00.003-04:00

In 2008, I covered a company called TOMS who truly personified the future of corporate social responsibility (CSR). TOMS was founded on a mission to donate a pair of shoes to needy children all over the world for every shoe purchased from them by residents of wealthier, more developed nations. Last September, TOMS handed out its 1 millionth shoe! Quite the accomplishment!! So what's the next step?

Well it looks like TOMS is now moving beyond shoes, and beyond even its newest product (glasses), to become a bigger, better, and more robust "one-to-one" company that demonstrates the true charity and "pay it back" principle at a corporate level that many of us strive to do on a personal basis.

"Like their shoe program, for each pair of TOMS' eyewear sold, the company will help give sight to people in need through medical treatment, prescription eyeglasses or sight-saving surgery, administered by its first giving partner, Seva Foundation. The foundation has a long history in the field, having given site to millions worldwide for the past 30 years. Initially, the program will support Seva's efforts in Nepal, Tibet and Cambodia.

The sunglasses come in three style and have three hand-painted stripes on the side, with each line telling a story. The first stripe represents you, the purchaser. The stripe on back is the person you've give sight to. And the white stripe in TOMS. It's important for the TOMS community to be reminded that every time you put on our shoes and, now, eyewear, you've changed someone's life," Mycoskie said by phone after the announcement."

Mcgarrybowen Has 'It' Agency Moment | Adweek

2011-06-07T11:59:00.001-04:00

Mcgarrybowen Has 'It' Agency Moment | Adweek

Like in politics, catering to the middle has its (financial) rewards as middle-of-the-road mcgarrybowen wins both Sears and Burger King in just 8 days.

Creatively, mcgarrybowen is seen as middle-of-the-road—or “populist,” as chief creative officer Gordon Bowen puts it—with a fondness for glossy production values, jingles, and smiling faces. This is the antithesis of BK’s previous lead creative agency, Crispin Porter + Bogusky, whose quirky ads for the chain catered to young males with humor and occasional creepiness.

In the past two years, however, BK’s sales shrunk in a category that grew as families sought cheaper options. Also, new BK owner 3G Capital wants to broaden the brand’s appeal to moms and kids. In short, sales growth is the top priority, and 3G executives are fixated on ROI. They’re not particularly concerned with winning creative awards. Good thing, because neither is mcgarrybowen.

Mars.com - Candy, Snacks, and... Pet Food??

2011-06-07T11:53:00.002-04:00

I had no clue that the same company that manufactures delicious treats like Mars, Snickers, M&Ms, Dove, and Flavia ALSO manufactures pet foods like Pedigree, Whiskas, Royal Canin, Frolic, and Schmackos. Also, doesn't Schmackos sound like a good candy bar name? In either case, mass confusion for this little snack lover.

In other news, Mars is consolidating their global creative work to 2 agencies: DDB and BBDO (who created their successful Snickers ads with Betty White, Rosanne, et al). Guess the execs at Mars love acronyms too :)

Retailers Move to Greener, Easier-to-Open Packaging - NYTimes.com

2011-06-01T17:43:00.002-04:00

Retailers Move to Greener, Easier-to-Open Packaging - NYTimes.com

Plastic - the unlikely victim of higher oil prices. Definitely a welcome change for this customer who finds "child-proof" packaging to be equally "adult-proof." I don't deny it :)

What's interesting to me is that the companies spotlighted in the article are all low-cost, everyman kind of retailers. So will this trend follow to mid-to-high end retailers, or will they eat the cost to avoid any impact to their branding? This also presents an opportunity for all retailers to develop a more sustainable image while lowering the expense for raw materials. For example, there's no reason why Target needs to sell socks in plastic bags vs. using a paper holder - and the opportunity to brand this as more than a cost issue is definitely there, especially if they use recycled paper.

125 Years of Coca-Cola: Designing a Brand

2011-06-01T16:30:00.003-04:00

125 Years of Coca-Cola: Designing a Brand

Amazing to see a company stick around for so long, and still stay so true to its original branding and messaging.

Interbrand | Internal Brand Engagement

2011-06-01T16:29:00.001-04:00

Interbrand | Internal Brand Engagement

Great resources about internal brand engagement - aka the red headed step child of engagement initiatives. Love the example about Vitamin Shoppe creating a university to turn its employees into "Health Enthusiasts."

Guess that explains why I keep seeing less and less of my paycheck..

2011-05-29T15:00:00.002-04:00

Sent via BlackBerry by AT&T

Google Grabs P&G Exec to Head Video Sales for YouTube | Digital - Advertising Age

2011-05-24T11:20:00.001-04:00

Google Grabs P&G Exec to Head Video Sales for YouTube | Digital - Advertising Age

You know your campaign is awesome when Google comes knocking at your door to hire you. Just another reason why the Old Spice man is so freakin' genius and why so many other companies are trying to catch the same lightning in the same bottle <see DQ post>.

The.. DQ Man?

2011-05-24T08:09:00.003-04:00

Not quite as funny as the Old Spice Man, and not nearly as original... but I do like having rainbows ON FIRE!

CDC EPR | Social Media | Preparedness 101: Zombie Apocalypse - Blog

2011-05-22T10:18:00.002-04:00

CDC EPR | Social Media | Preparedness 101: Zombie Apocalypse - Blog

Absolutely amazing PR idea by non-PR-brainchild Ali Khan of the CDC. His posts typically get 1-3k views a week and this one got about a million page views since he posted it a week ago. Whimsical, trendy, but also very practical in spreading the message for what to do in an emergency... this is really an amazing piece. I have to give the CDC props - for a federal agency that one wouldn't expect to be down with what's hot and fresh in digital, they have a fantastic twitter account and now a very viral blog post. Who are these guys?? Should definitely be in the recruiting list for any major marketing firm.

China’s McDonald’s Will Give You a Discount, Just for Being Male - TIME NewsFeed

2011-05-20T19:01:00.001-04:00

China’s McDonald’s Will Give You a Discount, Just for Being Male - TIME NewsFeed

Appropriate for a company where men outnumber women? Yes.

ESPN Outlines Its NFL Lockout Contingency Plans | Special Report: TV Upfront - Advertising Age

2011-05-18T11:19:00.001-04:00

ESPN Outlines Its NFL Lockout Contingency Plans | Special Report: TV Upfront - Advertising Age

I thought the bit on ESPN W and their ad/content strategy for women is of particular interest:

And keep an eye out for more female programming on ESPN's airwaves. ESPN W, a new content initiative and website that formally launched last month, will be featured heavily in ESPN's cross-network coverage of the 2011 FIFA Women's World Cup from June 26 to July 17. It's also behind a new series of short films, "HERoics," about women's contributions to the soccer world. The films will debut on ESPN and also air on ABC leading up to the World Cup.

ESPN W also opens up ESPN to female-targeted advertisers, a category the network hasn't interacted with much in years' past. Early sponsors include Procter & Gamble's Venus and Secret brands as well as Nike and Gatorade. "These companies have done tremendous business with us over the years, but they've started more products aimed at women in the athletic and active space, i.e. Nike and Gatorade," Mr. Erhardt said. "Now we're able to take the business relationship we have with those two brands on ESPN and build on that."

And with married women outweighing married men in sports consumption on social-media -- 63.7% to 36.3%, per a recent Ad Age report -- the need for marketers to reach female sports fans on a dedicated basis is only increasing. "This new generation of women that are super active, very competitive and have always grown up playing sports are now more decision-makers in the household," ESPN W VP Laura Gentile told Ad Age. "We want to start talking to [the female consumer] and engaging her in conversation. The advertising marketplace has been willing to work with us and talk to us. All the conversations so far have been very positive."

New Malware Wants Your Life, Not Your Passwords

2011-05-17T14:02:00.004-04:00

New Malware Wants Your Life, Not Your Passwords — ecrmguide.com

Anyone who's had an account compromised knows what a pain it is to get everything back in order. I think with the theft of behavioral patterns (and hackers who actually speak English), the threat of malware increases exponentially through your online accounts and also your social network.

And because this illegal version of what amounts to a blackhat social CRM database doesn't cause a computer or mobile device to crash or result in the immediate loss of an antivirus application or the theft of money from a bank account or a gift card, the surveillance would theoretically go unnoticed and therefore garner even more valuable and meaningful behavioral information as time passes.

When a malware campaign successfully hacks into a person's email account or bank account, it's costly and frustrating but ultimately it can be rectified and the victim can get new accounts.

But if someone steals your behavioral patterns, it's much more daunting to change your network of friends, family and coworkers to start over fresh without someone tracking your every digital move.

IBM Releases ‘The State of Marketing 2011,’ Analyzes Usage of Social & Mobile - MarketShare - Advertising marketing & media - Forbes

2011-05-17T13:37:00.003-04:00

IBM Releases ‘The State of Marketing 2011,’ Analyzes Usage of Social & Mobile - MarketShare - Advertising marketing & media - Forbes

This was the most interesting question IMHO:

What is the biggest challenge facing today’s marketer?

Marketers have made it clear that bridging the “Data Analysis to Action” Gap is their biggest challenge. They appear to have more data than they know what to do with. According to our research, nearly 60% of respondents listed “measurement, analysis and learning” as their top information technology (IT) bottleneck. The study also found that more than 60% identified “turning data into action” as their top organizational issue. What’s interesting is that despite this appreciation for the value of Web data, half or less of respondents said they currently use data regarding individual online visitors/behavior to perform analytics or make decisions regarding offers and campaigns. Furthermore, while about one-third or respondents plan on doing both in the next twelve months a surprising 14% have no plans to use this data at all.

The transformative power of data and analytics to aid in decision making is something that shouldn't be short sighted. I feel bad for those 14%.

Key Findings of the State of Marketing 2011 Study

Marketers ready to bridge the gap between analysis and action.
More progress is needed in interactive marketing.
Social media marketing experiencing growing pains.
Web data is highly prized yet puttin it to work campaign decisioning lags.
Mobile marketing continues to rise

To read the full report, click here.

IBM - From social media to Social CRM: What customers want - United States

2011-05-17T13:27:00.003-04:00

IBM - From social media to Social CRM: What customers want - United States

IBM conducted thorough research on social CRM last fall. They first surveyed 1056 consumers in the US, Canada, UK, France, Germany, India, China, Australia, and Brazil. They then surveyed 351 business executives from the same countries, with the exclusion of Canada. The findings were quite interesting, and broadly segmented into answering 3 questions:

1. What triggers a customer to seek out a company or brand via social media?

2. What would make a customer reluctant to interact?

3. And does social engagement influence customer’s feelings of loyalty towards a company as businesses?

More importantly, how does the customer's point-of-view differ from that of the executive?

I had an opportunity to interview the author, Carolyn Baird, and she says:

For businesses, the challenge is how to engage more customers in this channel where the customer is in control. Today, when consumers do engage with companies via social sites, they say they are looking to buy products or services, get discounts, gain information or provide opinions, not to become intimate with, or advocates for a specific company or brand. This is in stunning contrast to the majority of business executives who reported that consumers were following their companies and brands through social media out of a need to feel connected to a community. In fact, this was ranked by consumers as the “least likely” reason for participation in business-associated social media. Consumers want tangible value – coupons, rebates, better service -- while businesses are looking for relationship value – loyalty, intimacy, and advocacy.

There is an important take-away here. The level of engagement among social media participants is bound to increase – probably exponentially over a relatively short period of time. Therefore, the opportunity for businesses is to adapt their social media initiatives in such a way that they resonate with what the customer actually wants. If the customer experience is on target, the brand intimacy and advocacy will be won through the interactions themselves. Take social commerce, for example. Clearly, consumers are saying they want it, and businesses are looking for ways to monetize social media. It’s a win-win.

To learn more about Social CRM, you can read the full report here.

Obama Bin Laden sleeps with the fishes...

2011-05-16T14:41:00.004-04:00

...thanks to our Navy SEALs! I think this video sums it all up:

Fortune Keeps Apple Story Off Web, On iPad and Kindle | Peter Kafka | MediaMemo | AllThingsD

2011-05-09T15:09:00.001-04:00

Fortune Keeps Apple Story Off Web, On iPad and Kindle | Peter Kafka | MediaMemo | AllThingsD

I love the premise of what Fortune is doing - after all, today's digital ecosystem requires a multi-device set of offerings that is well linked to the end consumer and to one another. Plus, Fortune is clearly getting a ton of lip service and press coverage for their "Smarter Commerce" gamble. Honestly, when's the last time an article or publisher has received this much buzz? Will be interesting to see how this plays out!

Domino's Earns Big with Pizza and Chicken Ads - TIME

2011-05-06T08:41:00.001-04:00

Domino's Earns Big with Pizza and Chicken Ads - TIME

Pizza chain of the year - for the second year running! I love these ads and I think this paragraph really captures it all:

The Domino's example offers lessons for marketers everywhere. "People are tired of companies talking at them instead of with them," says Doyle, the Domino's CEO. "I think customers are, frankly, just tuning companies out. Great brands in the future are going to be built by engaging customers in a dramatically new way." Domino's actively solicited feedback on its Facebook page and posted all Twitter comments — good and bad — about the new pizza on the company website. Social media, Doyle says, have empowered consumers.

Why 5 Big Brand Marketing Campaigns are Betting Big on Social Gaming

2011-05-03T16:14:00.001-04:00

Why 5 Big Brand Marketing Campaigns are Betting Big on Social Gaming

Not surprising - although the "social" element is not always clear in these 5 examples. Having the game in Facebook isn't really enough - you need something that has some sort of network effect or else it's just online gaming, which has really been around for ages! I remember there used to be an old Herbal Essences website that was kind of like an online tamagotchi/virtual pet. You could feed, water, and makeup different flowers that aligned to their floral scents at the time. I LOVED that game!

I think one thing that's definitely missing from this list is mobile gaming aka location-based gaming. A few years ago I pitched Mobile Dead to the digital department at MindShare, and I'm surprised that it hasn't caught on more. Would love to know what other games are operating in the mobile space.

Big Data: How New Technology is Helping Marketers Create Better Consumer Experiences

2011-05-02T17:23:00.001-04:00

Big Data: How New Technology is Helping Marketers Create Better Consumer Experiences

Very techie-chic article about a major opportunity for online advertisers:

"A few years back, Google shared its design for dealing with huge volumes of data in a paper called “Big Table.” Yahoo took this paper and wrote an open source implementation of it called Hadoop. Amazon Web Services customized Hadoop and called it Elastic MapReduce.

As a result, any marketer can rent the same technologies that these big companies use on an as-needed basis to churn through huge amounts of data without a huge investment. This has dramatically increased a company’s ability to personalize their experiences."

...maybe time for IBM's Watson to take a swing?

Agencies place focus on digital hires

2011-05-02T11:59:00.001-04:00

Agencies place focus on digital hires - Direct Marketing News

Speaks to the heart of the problem - most agencies don't view employees as investments. Ironic when their main assets are talent. Get a grip - you're a services industry! Smart move Arnold!!

Hotels.com Campaign Nods to ‘The Hangover’ - Advertising - NYTimes.com

2011-05-02T11:44:00.001-04:00

Hotels.com Campaign Nods to ‘The Hangover’ - Advertising - NYTimes.com

Very clever... I'd like to see how this plays out, but interactive digital campaigns (dating back to the submissive chicken) are usually a good way to go. Good tie-in to a very popular movie, especially with the sequel preview showing in movie theaters right now.

15 Unfortunately Placed Ads - Oddee.com

2011-05-01T10:36:00.002-04:00

15 Unfortunately Placed Ads - Oddee.com

An oldie, but goodie. Just dug this sucker up while transitioning my del.icio.us bookmarks to their new owner (Yahoo!). I think these are the best ones:

This is an example of really poor choice of search word placement...

Ad on the bus reads: "If you don't have GIO Third Party Property Insurance, we suggest you don't hit this bus" - yikes! Guess that guy missed the moving memo :/

Appropriate, especially with the del.icio.us purchase!

Lenovo Aims a Campaign at the Apple Crowd - NYTimes.com

2011-05-01T10:15:00.001-04:00

Lenovo Aims a Campaign at the Apple Crowd - NYTimes.com

Very interesting story, especially from an IBM perspective. Because we sold our laptop business, we were worried that there'd be a disconnect with younger audiences because they wouldn't possess IBM assets and build that brand association. Looks like Lenovo is on that same thoughtwave.

TWC Installation for NYC Tribeca Film Festival

2011-04-26T09:41:00.002-04:00

Absolutely stunning. Such an amazing idea for tourism! Wish we'd come up with something like this for NOLA in AMA 2006-2007!!

Microsoft SlideFest

2011-04-22T12:37:00.002-04:00

Ever thought your slide deck was the finest deck at the ball? Well with Microsoft's SlideFest, you can submit your nominee for each of the following categories: Best Graphics, Best Animation, Best Color, Best Video, or Best Synopsis. Each category winner wins an XBOX 360 Kinect Bundle and 2010 Office Professional.

Unfortunately, if you're like me, you're dying to submit a deck but it's client confidential. Oh the woes of being a management consultant - so many decks, all behind locked boxes.

Still, I think the rest of the site is a great way to learn how to use ppt, especially if you haven't been through ppt bootcamp yet. Funny, entertaining, and GOOD advice!

Brand-New Manly Man Freshens Up Old Spice Campaign | Adweek

2011-04-21T12:17:00.001-04:00

Brand-New Manly Man Freshens Up Old Spice Campaign | Adweek

I guess suave Isaiah Mustafa wasn't enough for Old Spice... time to add a kick of danger? But in all honesty, I do like the new spot.

In Online Games, a Path to Young Consumers - NYTimes.com

2011-04-21T11:06:00.001-04:00

In Online Games, a Path to Young Consumers - NYTimes.com

Sometimes marketers have to think above the fray. This could have easily been a piece praising marketers for using online media to teach children about nutrition in an interactive way. For example, breakfast cereals helping children understand the food pyramid and where cereal fits. Or creating a game where children actually know what the vitamins in their cereals do for their bodies (e.g., vitamin D construction game b/c they build healthy bones and bones support your body). Candy companies can make games advocating dental hygiene and brushing your teeth after eating candy. Like a superhero toothbrush fighting cavities. These are just the purile ideas off the top of my head so imagine what could happen once marketers focus on what really matters.

Luxottica Tweaks Its Ray-Ban and Oakley Sunglasses to Better Suit Asian Faces

2011-04-20T22:32:00.001-04:00

Luxottica Tweaks Its Ray-Ban and Oakley Sunglasses to Better Suit Asian Faces - WSJ.com

Can I buy this in the US?!?

How Far Off Are Local Chinese Luxury Brands? « Jing Daily : The Business of Luxury and Culture in China

2011-04-19T17:38:00.002-04:00

How Far Off Are Local Chinese Luxury Brands? « Jing Daily : The Business of Luxury and Culture in China

Become Someone Else: Posters for Mint Vinetu Bookstore by Love Agency

2011-04-17T22:13:00.001-04:00

Become Someone Else: Posters for Mint Vinetu Bookstore by Love Agency

Fabulous book cover designs - with visually impactful ads to boot!

9 Digital Marketing Lessons From Top Social Brands

2011-04-12T10:57:00.001-04:00

I like how this article focuses on having a real strategy for digital marketing. No, you can't just create a FB group and let it "do its thing." Those days are over. If you're really serious about digital/interactive, you have to have a long hard think about what you want to get out of it and which platforms are best for achieving your goals. This also sets the stage for better benefits tracking and ROI measurement.

9 Digital Marketing Lessons From Top Social Brands