Posts Tagged ‘public relations’

July 19, 2010 | Lisa Wieting

Old Spice “Swan Dives” into a Game- Changing Social Media Campaign

The Google CFO referenced Old Spice’s viral marketing campaign in an earnings call, stating “It just gives you a glimpse of where the world is going.”

So true, Patrick Pichette, but I think it’s even more than that. The Old Spice YouTube Tweetathon altered the social media landscape in one day.

1. Corporate Libertarianism

Kudos to Procter & Gamble for trusting its team to attempt this epic experiment with little to no supervision. ReadWriteWeb wrote a great post about how the videos are being made. The company has entrusted a team of social media guys, marketers, scriptwriters, creative and tech support to create 87 short videos in 11 hours…7 minutes per video. This leaves VERY little time for an approval process. Social media is about real time, and Procter & Gamble gets it.

Side note: It’s incredible that all of these people could work together so efficiently and effectively. Walls between departments are falling fast, and lines are being blurred. To create a successful social media campaign, you need the skills of creative, PR, marketing, copywriters, tech and social media professionals to get the job done. I for one am psyched about this collaborative philosophy.

2.  “What’s Next?” Has Been Answered…for Now

Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, foursquare…these applications have established themselves as the giants. For the past six months, it seems that everyone has been regifting these concepts. Social media began to blend into the humdrum of everyday marketing until July 15. The Old Spice campaign took what was available and reinvented how these applications could be used together. What’s next? Looking at what’s available and pushing the limits of its capabilities. This will dictate future applications.

3. Human Nature Explored

Social media has made the idea of “15 minutes of fame” possible…except now it’s 15 seconds of fame. It has made the distance between celebrity and civilian shorter. Old Spice capitalized on both of these concepts. Social media users were invited to ask questions directed toward the “Old Spice Guy” – Isaiah Mustafa. The responses were tracked, and the most interesting or highest-profile inquiries were addressed via personalized video, doing the following:

  • Feeding consumers’ egos by utilizing their creativity/ideas to drive the topics of the videos
  • Giving consumers their 15 seconds of fame through personalized video
  • Bridging the gap between the brand and the customer
  • Closing the distance between celebrity vs. civilian by streaming videos for Alyssa Milano and Jonathan on Facebook as equals

Brands are going to need to refocus their attention from defining who “they” are to defining who the customer is and how to create a personal, engaging and lasting relationship. We are a self-centered, ego-driven, short-attention-span society, and now that we know what is possible, expectations are going to change.

Update: The Old Spice personalized videos have amassed more than 5.2 million views! That is more than some (many) television programs.

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July 1, 2010 | Lisa Wieting

An Ode to Gimmick Marketing in Honor of “Tasties” Greeting Cards

American Greeting Cards has just released its “Tasties” collection of greeting cards that include flavor strips. Simply peel and lick…the card. In honor of this recent development in greeting card marketing, I wanted to share some of my favorite (or at least most memorable) marketing gimmicks.

Pepsi goes after those looking for a clear and pure cola alternative...as well as those looking for a pop first thing in the a.m.

1. Crystal Pepsi – This came out when I was in middle school, and I admit, I completely bought into it without ever understanding the point. According to Wikipedia, Crystal Pepsi was a caffeine-free “clear alternative” to normal colas, equating clearness with purity and health. I just thought it was funny that a pop that tasted like Pepsi looked like water.

Honorable Mention: Pepsi A.M. This was marketed to those who like to drink pop in the morning. Side note: I consume at least two Diet Cokes before 9 a.m. each morning. I am the target market. I would not drink this.

2.  Beer Gimmicks – Beer companies put other marketers to shame in the “Gimmick” department:

Ignore the ice running down the bottle, the blue mountains tell you this beer is cold!

  • A label that turns blue when cold – I don’t know what to say about this…isn’t it cold when it feels cold?
  • The “wide-mouth” can – I always thought this was to help you drink it faster, but after doing some research it is apparently to help ventilation…who knew?
  • The “light beer” race – I was someone who looked forward to Michelob Ultra launching. And then the floodgates opened. Budweiser Select 55, Miller Genuine Draft Light 64…does it matter that none of these beers has any taste anymore? Give me a Guinness.

Honorable Mention: Dos Equis’ “The Most Interesting Man in the World” campaign. Did the announcer just say, “When he punches you in the face you will have to fight the urge to thank him”? It took me four times watching this commercial to figure out what it was trying to sell. I’m pretty sure I purchased this beer after that fourth viewing.

3. Cocaine Energy Drink – Who thought this was a good idea? We can guess what went on in that brainstorm session.

Honorable Mention: Red Bull “Gives You Wings.” The commercials are a bit offbeat, but I think it works for them, as they are a quirky brand. But more importantly, I love how they have taken this “gimmick” and translated it into the world’s coolest competition – Flugtag. This “homemade, human-powered flying machine” challenge is on my bucket list.

4.  Crayola – Quiz: How many times can a company sell you the exact same product? These are ALL markers in one shape or another.

A marker by any other name is just a marker...right? Not at Crayola.

  • Glitter Paper – Sparkle built into each fun-tastic page. Just use clear Color Wonder Markers to create colorful, shimmering masterpieces.
  • Color Wonder Light Up Markers – Simply connect the Color Wonder Marker into the light wand and click it. The barrels light up to identify each marker color.
  • Color Explosion 3-D – With just one clear marker, create images that leap from the page in cool 3-D effects.

Honorable Mention: 3D everything. My husband claims he can’t see 3D because of some vision dysfunction he “thinks” he has, yet he wants the 3D television. And he calls me a “marketer’s dream.”

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June 23, 2010 | Jeff Cohn

Slimy brand marketing, courtesy of Spirit Airlines

I’m not sure if there’s anyone minding the brand at Spirit Airlines. If there is, they have their heads in the sand, not at 30,000 feet. We all know Spirit. They are the geniuses that brought us the “pay for carry-on” idea. They show up in the news all the time with passenger dissatisfaction, employee upheavals, and general bad PR. But their foray today into the mindset of “any PR is good PR” is unconscionable. Clearly, this is a company that has no regard for the power of brand touchpoints.

Spirit Airlines Online Ad

I am a brand strategist and have been a marketing professional for the past 25 years. I’m not sure of the last time I saw such a display of bad taste in marketing. Today, Spirit launched a campaign touting its “Check out the oil on our beaches” campaign. The campaign shows a series of beaches in locations Spirit flies to. I didn’t think it was possible to outdo BP’s lack of PR and marketing prowess. Really? Are you kidding me, Spirit Airlines?

A little research informed me that Spirit’s CEO loves shock-value marketing. CEO Ben Baldanza says Spirit has cut its marketing and distribution expenses by more than 80% during the past three years “by using edgy viral marketing.” The savings have resulted in very inexpensive fares, he says. Spirit’s advertising “may be more colorful than some,” but it isn’t “out of the norm” when compared with many retailers’ ads, Super Bowl commercials and the content of TV series, Baldanza says. Well, I think it’s time to start spending some money on a brand marketing and PR agency that can knock some sense into this inane approach to marketing.

I have to cry foul. This is, to use your terminology, out of the norm, Mr. Baldanza. It’s shameful. Offensive. And an assault to the people, like me, who are proud of the impact brand marketing has had in building businesses, adding jobs and fueling the economy. Millions of people in the Gulf states are worrying every day and night about where their next dime will come from. The environmental impact of this spill is nauseating. And you, Spirit Airlines, want to make fun of it for the PR value?

Yet here I am, writing about it and giving them the PR visibility they would hope for. Well here’s my PR, Spirit Airlines: I will never fly your airline. I will tell everyone I can about this. And I will use my company’s communication platform to be sure the word gets out.

This campaign does nothing to represent the American Spirit I grew up with and my father fought for in WWII. I’m just one brand marketer, but I’m taking a stand. I encourage anyone reading this to do so as well by writing Spirit and keeping your dollars far away from them, now and forever. Let’s not let this tasteless approach to brand building win, low fares or not.

I was talking to a friend in Atlanta the other day who also happens to own an agency. I said, “Let’s get some friends together and go to the beach on the Florida Gulf Coast, support these folks down there and bring some much-needed money to the region. She jumped at the idea. Oh yes, we’re going. It’s the American thing to do. But you can be sure we won’t be traveling on Spirit Airlines to get there. Or anywhere. Their brand has no value as far as I’m concerned.

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January 20, 2010 | Robin Lybarger

“Tweet Me” = A Sign of Affection?

In my normal day of perusing the oodles of e-newsletters I subscribe to, I ran across an article in USA Today about how Sweethearts is debuting a “Tweet Me” Sweetheart candy for this Valentine’s Day. The article quotes the VP of Marketing for New England Confectionery, maker of Sweethearts, explaining that the inclusion of the Tweet Me Sweetheart is “in recognition that society is changing the way to say ‘I love you.’ ” Really, could it be?

As a PR professional, I am an advocate of social media, but as a human being I surely don’t agree that this is the evolution of how we show affection. I would love to know who came up with this statement. I think the idea to include the Tweet Me Sweetheart is clever, and the brand received a huge story in USA Today (also linked on the Huffington Post), as well as coverage in the Boston Herald. Also, I am blogging about it (as are others), Twitter is a partner, and there are tweets rolling in about it. But I would have recommended focusing on the fact that the brand responds to what is happening in the culture. The article also talks about its iPhone app, which sounds interesting and further demonstrates NECCO’s ability to evolve with the current happenings. For what is a smart partnership and a great campaign for building conversation about the brands, I would have expected a smarter statement as to the “why.”

In the end, the brands fit really well together … short and sweet. But I have to admit that personally, when it comes to showing affection, I prefer a call, a note, flowers or a hug.

6 Comments

December 18, 2009 | Lisa Wieting

The Pepsi Effect

“Pepsi to Skip Super Bowl After 23-Year Run” – New York Times
“Pepsi Not Advertising in next Super Bowl” – Toronto Star
“Pepsi Takes A Pass on Super Bowl Ads” – CNN Money

CNBC, CBS Sports, NPR, Chicago Tribune, Wall Street Journal the list goes on and on.

PepsiIf you haven’t heard (you must be living under a rock), Pepsi will not be advertising in this year’s Super Bowl for the first time in 23 years. Instead the soft drink conglomerate will focus on a new marketing effort that will appear mostly online. I can’t help but think…NOT advertising may be one of the most genius PR stunts in recent history.

Lets guesstimate that Pepsi spent $20 to $30 million in Super Bowl ads last year. I’m sure they were clever, well produced and probably featured super stars like Justin Timberlake. So, let’s tack on another couple million dollars just for celebrity endorsement, creative concepts and production. This year, Pepsi pulls their ads sending shockwaves through the advertising world. Not only are they focusing on an “online” marketing strategy vs. traditional advertising but also saving millions of dollars. On top of that, by simply announcing this decision, they have generated millions of dollars in free publicity for this yet-to-be-created online campaign. Everyone’s interest is peaked…what could be so big that Pepsi isn’t advertising in the Super Bowl. You can bet that I will be on alert for this new marketing campaign.

Looking at the bigger picture, what does this mean for traditional advertising? If Pepsi pulls out of the Super Bowl, will Budweiser soon follow suit? Is Pepsi realizing the power of online is more powerful than the Super Bowl? Is this truly a publicity stunt? Time will tell if this move will pay off for Pepsi but this football fan is much more intrigued by Pepsi’s “Non-Advertising” campaign than any 30-second commercial with Justin Timberlake.

Follow the continual stream of news about Pepsi’s big Super Bowl decision on Bing News: http://ow.ly/No97

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