SGW Blog

What’s super about the advertising on this year’s Super Bowl?

 

Every year, I do media interviews on the subject of “Super Bowl Advertising.” This year is no different, except that I have more to talk about than whether the Clydesdales will be back.

For one thing, there is a lot of buzz about whether it’s the Year of the Women or the Year of the Automakers. With the appearance of Kim Kardashian for Skechers and Faith Hill for Teleflora (along with the regulars, Danica Patrick and Jillian Michaels, the Go Daddy Girls…and a new one to boot!), people will see more female celebs in Big Game commercials than ever before. More importantly, the new arrivals have been tested to be “crossover girls”, which means that they appeal to women viewers as well as men. I think it will be a big success and set a new trend for future spots.

As for the car makers, GM is back after two years with renewed vigor and sort of admitting that they were wrong to drop out in the first place. But, with the increased amount of advertising from American auto manufacturers, foreign car advertising will also be at an all time high split between cars made by Asian and German automakers.

As for the rest of the pack, look for the regulars to be back, the first-time appearance of Groupon (in the pre-Game show because they were too late to get into the Game) and the Doritos home-made spots. Lest we not forget, that famous beer advertiser will back as usual, taking advantage of their multi-year category exclusivity contract. As for now, let’s hope the Game lives up to the advertising!

Social media is not just in the news...it is making the news!

I recently read an article in The Crimson Hexagon which talks about social media in terms of being a newsmaker.  I couldn't agree more with the author's conclusions.  For example who can argue with the following statement?  "Now social media sources like the millions of Tweets posted each day are being mined for the actual news, trends and opinions that are becoming significant social, political and business headlines."  And for today's mid-term elections, more people have gone to social media sites to help get information about the candidates than anywhere else.

So, why is it still taking so long for so many businesses to get on board with social media?  Certainly, the numbers are there; and so, conseguently is are the efficiencies when compared to traditional media.  Some research studies conclude that B2B penetration is still somewhere around the lower 30 percentile level. 

I guess the answer is one of credibility.  Many companies and corporations still don't know how to use social media for commercial purposes, nor do they believe that business people use these sites to do business.  Well, they have to agree that businesses use these sites for valuable information about their industries and the competition.  They have to agree that no where can trend information be made available at low or almost no cost.  And, they have to agree that their competition can find out more about what they are up to without having to resort to industrial espionage.

It amazes me that the cultures of these companies and corporations can be so slow to adapt.  E-mail today ranks second to Facebook in written communications.  Over a half billion people have signed up for a Facebook account.  Plus, the fastest growth in signups is coming from people who are 40 and older.  I could go on, but the message I am making here should be pretty clear:  "Get social soon or you may not be invited to the table!"

 

 

 

 

Even the best of plans....

 
I was just about to began my class at Seton Hall's grad school of communications when the phone rang.  It was WCBS-TV's Late News Assignment Editor and it was about 6:45 PM when she called.  She wanted to know if I could go to their studios "right away" to do a segment on the announcement by Frito-Lay that they were eliminating their biodegradable packaging on five of their six SunChips flavors because consumers felt the bag was too "noisy".  I am not kidding.  It seems that what they refer to as their compostable bag which is environmentally friendly actually bothered people because it made so much noise when it was crinkled. 

I told CBS that I could do the segment, but that I had a class to teach and couldn't go to their studios on West 57th Street in time for them to do the taping and get it edited in time for the Late News that night.  When asked if I would be willing to do it from my classroom at 8:00, I naturally said I could.  And, that's what happened!

My class got to see the whole interview and now they think of me as a celebrity!  More importantly, this issue got a lot of attention, especially from a branding standpoint.  It seems some 44,000 folks complained about the noisy bags on Facebook.  The company said it was not the Facebook complaints but the great number of calls, letters and e-mails they received that made them decide to take most of those bags off the market.  You see, even it you are trying to do a good thing for your brand's image if something like the packaging (which has nothing to do with the main benefit of the product) can create tarnishment, you must protect the brand.  The decision was correct and it didn't hurt the company to issue a press release announcing that they will be working on a "quieter bag" to replace the one they have obviously had a lot of problems with from a marketing standpoint.  Amazing story, but true nevertheless.

 

 

The Best and Worst Logos Ever?

A freelance journalist contacted me to talk about logos, specifically not brands. He wanted to know what I thought the three best logos of all time are as well as the worst. Here’s what I told him:

Well, among the best logos of all time would have to be McDonald’s arches, the Mercedes Tri-Star in a Circle, plus Coca-Cola and Apple (with the bite marks). And, does one need to say anything more about the NIKE swosh? For my set of criteria as to what makes a logo stand out, I think the most important criterion would be memorability. If upon seeing the logo once or twice and I can remember it (and what it stands for), it’s a winner in my book. Of course, it should also be relevant, flexible, ageless and simple, but elegant.

Among the top of the worst heap is definitely the logo for Edsel. They did nothing right with that car from the start. The weird-shaped E with the name of the brand tucked more than half way down the letter did absolutely nothing to stand out. Occasionally, they used it without the brand name showing just the “E” with six (hard-to-count ‘em) circles around it. I never understood what the circles were for or why you would take the risk of thinking people would remember the car’s name from just the first letter. There are so many forgettable logos out there that it’s hard to comment on them. I do, however, appreciate it when a company has a not-so-great logo and decides to update it as AT&T did so well. It’s the “ageless” criterion that at times is hard to maintain, yet it has to be done without destroying the basic integrity of the original logo. Maxwell House has also done this well.

How do you think your company’s logo stands up to the criteria contained above?

Dallas is a strong brand, but look out for the double edge!

 

I recently responded to comments from a Dallas Morning News reporter about the double-edged nature of Dallas as a brand and what a branding expert would do to remove the negatives and build the positives.

My experience in trying to brand the state of NJ is somewhat akin to the question about Dallas. No matter what the tourism and commerce people in the state try to do in PR, advertising and social media to improve the image of NJ, it will never happen. How can the state's budgets and efforts overcome the power of "Jersey Shore", "The Sopranos", the NJ Turnpike, "Housewives of NJ", and on and on? The only saving grace is that when the brand image gets so bad, some people will think it has to be better than that or why would so many people continue to live there? At least, Dallas has the Cowboys. Our teams play here but they belong to New York!

The only way I can think of on the positive side and to prevent Dallas from sinking to a low brand image level is to link the city into the State of Texas, the great history of the Old West and The Alamo.

Whenever I go abroad and people learn that I am an American, I always get asked if I know any cowboys! Especially the ones from Texas. People (especially over in Europe) love the image of Texas and the big ranches and the gunslingers! So, my answer would be: "Onward with the past!"

Whither goest technology and marketing?

I was doing some thinking regarding new communications technology and how it may be affecting the marketing heads at agencies and elsewhere.

First of all, not many marketing people know much about technology software; or, for that matter, can't keep up with it if they try. The onslaught of social media sites, widgets, wikis, apps and rapidly changing software has obviously been somewhat overwhelming to marketing people in general. The effect that these new approaches has had on marketing budgets is also enormous. Marketing people, then, have had to approach technology with caution as a result. Certainly, metrics for monitoring and evaluation purposes and how they are derived have to be understood before a marketer will recommend a new tool or medium. The problem is the jury is still out on how effective all the new media is with regard to return-on-investment. Factoring in the lack of knowing the best ways to provide creative executions for some of these programs makes things just as critical. We are only at the early stages of so much untested, untried communications that it is difficult to learn more than one or two at a time in order to gain some insight and personal experience as to how to use them effectively and efficiently.

Most of what I have seen is that the tech guys are more aligned with the Web development groups than with the CMOs. This may not be a good thing in the long run since the marketing "generalists" can often be "out of the loop" on recommendations relating to marketing executions and strategic planning. Right now, if I had to say what the level of penetration technology has made into the world of CMOs, I would say it's more limited to the more popular social media networks and some basic mobile marketing approaches.

But, things will soon change as expenditures in non-traditional media keep growing at a huge rate (currently estimated to be over $2.0 billion. In short, change in this business was never swift…even when it had to be.

Are Music Videos Becoming a Format for Commercials?

 

This morning, I was interviewed by a reporter from USA TODAY about three new commercials that feature celebrity singers, almost as if they were doing a short MTV video of their songs. I was specifically asked to review three spots: the first one featured Martina McBride for breakfast beverage,Sunny D  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6bWm2swwjfk, the next spot was bit different starring  actress/singer, Zooey Deschanel, http://www.thefabricofourlives.com/TheFabricOfMyLife/campaign.html?vidId=z11 for the Cotton Council and the third was a Hertz spot with Amy Regan which is part of a broader campaign http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UN39rkphWqQ.

When asked whether I see this as a coming trend, I answered in the affirmative.  More importantly, it's not just the format that makes them effective, it's the right usage of these celebrities in each individual case.  First, Martina is a youngish Mom figure who probably buys Sunny D in real life for her kids and the song she sings is called "Shine On!"  It fits perfectly with the theme for the Sunny D brand which is "Open a bottle of sunshine!"  Perfect match of spokesperson, song and theme.  I ranked it best of the three.  But that doesn't mean to imply that there was a loser in the bunch.

On the contrary, I enjoyed watching Zooey Deschanels doing the "Fabric of Our Lives" jingle in her soft jazz style.  The Cotton Council has a winner here because Zooey is not only the right sex and age demographic they want to target, she is also a fashion inspiration.  Her love for vintage fashion is well-known to those who follow her.  She even endorses a line of sunglasses (in only five colors) that when you blow your breath on the lens a pair of kissing lips shows up!  Right person, right feel, right use of a celebrity---it all adds up to a whole lot of credibility for the brand.

Last, a new Hertz campaign features little mini-stories about going on a "trip" and then telling you about the "journey."  Amy Regan's spot shows vignettes of her renting a Hertz car, driving out Westward and having an auto breakdown...only to have a Hertz person arrive on the scene to get her up and rolling again.  Her journey was to appear in her first live concert.  The theme for the campaign is "Journey On."  It's done well and I think it will be most effective as part of a series of similar spots which do not use a singer/celeb.

I'll be interested in reading the article and seeing what the other "experts" say.

I Never Dreamed I Would Be on London Television!

Last Thursday in the morning, I got a call from a senior reporter from the New York Times.  He wanted to know what I thought about Tiger Woods giving a "pseudo-press conference."  He was especially interested in whether or not I thought it was a wise thing to do and how I felt Tiger would succeed (or fail) image-wise.  Over the course of 30 minutes or so, I gave him all my thoughts on the matter...knowing that these things rarely become a reality. 

On Friday morning, I read the article and I was the only one who was directly quoted since I had the extra credibility of being a "branding expert."  That started the day off with a flurry of phone calls and emails.  The net result was I supposed to do a PBS News Hour on the same topic that night.   I was to be notified if that would happen at noon.  Meanwhile, a crew from FOX came to the office and taped me for a brief appearance on WFOX-TV (Channel 5 between 5 and 7 on their news program) and on WWOR-TV (Channel 9) which both aired on Friday.  At noon, expecting to hear from PBS in Washington, I got a call from the BBC in London asking me if I would go into NYC and appear on satellite in their prime time programming!  I would have to go into New York anyway if I was to do the PBS News Hour, but I was afraid the BBC may have wanted me at the same time!  As I was talking to the PBS folks, I got the call from London that it was a "go."  I started to tell PBS that I couldn't do their show when they told me I was going to be bumped to do another show in the near future about branding Olympic athletes! Great timing all the way around!

As my wife and I drove into the City to do the BBC taping at 3:30 (8:30 pm in Great Britain), I got another call from a national radio syndicated show called the Jim O'Bannon Show (formerly Larry King's show).  It is heard on over 300 stations.  So, after I did the BBC segment which lasted for almost three minutes (which is much longer than I anticipated), I went home to prepare for the ten o'clock radio show.  Well, I didn't know that there would be only one other guest and that we would be on for the whole hour!  To boot, we did an extra five-minute segment for the same network which aired on the next morning.

Some time in the future, I will tell you what it was like to do the satellite feed.  It looks quite different on the "telly" than in real life.  Anyway, the BBC folks were very complimentary after the show and my day ending with some very nice accolades.

Just another day...unlike all the rest.  The interview can be seen at:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sagTueNh9Ro

More Evidence of the Importance of Social Media for Businesses

We have recently seen that many business people who were requested to join a company Facebook page politely declined. The main reason was they do not believe that Facebook is anything but a site that is somewhat frivolous and a place where you see pictures of your friends’ kids and relatives. In my opinion, I think some of these folks actually fear being on Facebook at the risk of appearing to be less than serious about their jobs.

Well, the fact is the world is changing and eventually they will have to come around. Facebook has now passed regular email as the number two means of communicating with people after the telephone. In an article that was just released in a Southwest business publication, the author points out that today, businesses can “instantaneously update customers through social media. Ten years ago many of us were still using dial-up Internet service or sending faxes to communicate.” In addition, MarketingSherpa, a research firm specializing in tracking marketing efforts, reports that most industries are increasing their budgets for social media marketing in 2010.

This is the year that professionals who learn how to strategically use social media to build brands and relationships will flourish. Everyday, there are new developments in the medium and getting with the times will most certainly prove to be critical for a perceptive professional and the role he or she can play for their respective company. Maybe that’s why a company like PepsiCo. shifted one half of its total marketing budget to social media. When asked why, they say the just get a better response from their advertising on and use of social media.