So, apparently despite being an burger lover, I missed the news back in October that to mark the release of Windows 7 in Taiwan, Windows and Burger King were teaming up to help the Taiwanese answer the question “Where’s the beef?” They were doing this through selling 7 patty burgers, for 7 days only, to the first 30 people at Taiwan Burger King, during the release of Windows 7 of course.
Forget your sweet tooth, feed your meat tooth
Apparently, the answer to that question is that all the beef is in this mega burger that I shudder to even write this blog about. I know that the Cattleman’s Beef Board and National Cattleman’s Beef Association have helped remind us that beef is in many ways, “What’s for dinner”, but I think this story makes clear that in this case, beef is what’s for breakfast, brunch, lunch, linner, dinner and all your daily snacks…
Thanks to the fine crew @ahamburgertoday on Twitter, I stumbled upon this story last night and my mind still can’t recover.
I get the idea behind the marketing tag-team that Windows and BK came up with here, but I just can’t comprehend why anyone would want to let their body take on this challenge. Again, this coming from a hamburger fan. I am a little bummed though that they didn’t unleash this on the United States.
I think it would do well at those BK Whopper Bars that are coming to South Beach in Miami, that we wrote about a few months back. Don’t you?
It was inevitable that this was going to happen someday, but it’s also kind of a bummer.
The beauty of Twitter to me has always been that it’s organic and allowed me to connect with friends, colleagues, bands and brands in unique ways.
Even as a follower of certain companies & brands, I never felt like I was being shouted at to ‘LOOK HERE! BUY THIS! CLICK NOW!’, but more that I was able to engage with someone from the brand directly in a digital conversation if I wanted to. Essentially I felt like I was getting a sneak peak at what was going on with the brand from a day to day perspective. Of course, not all brands using Twitter follow a model that embodies putting unique content out there for followers, some purely do just yell at people to buy their stuff. That’s a whole other story, but this advertising model could only enable that more.
That said, I’m not sure if the new Twitter advertising model is going to make its users very happy. The model will start out small apparently, but will closely mirror Google’s paid search advertising structure. So, when you go to look for Sue Smith on Twitter, you’ll find an ad for “Sue Smith drinks Joe’s Cola. Click here!” Well, maybe it won’t be that blatant, who knows, but that’s the model.
According to a story in the Wall Street Journal: “Twitter Chief Executive Evan Williams and co-founder Biz Stone have been publicly lukewarm about advertising, suggesting it could irritate users,” so only time will tell how this is going to go.
Based on that statement alone, this should be interesting…
Bold move because, boy, none of that feedback was nice; evident in the market research footage the brand shared. For fast food, chain style pizza, a buyer can only expect so much, but I’m not going to say the feedback the brand got (and showed in recent commercials) wasn’t accurate.
That said however, I respect what they’ve done by putting themselves out there and I gotta say the next evolution of that campaign, which shows the creative targeting and ultimate success with the ‘pizza hold-outs’ was pretty genius.
Supposedly everything they did in terms of trying to get the attention of 3 holdouts that wouldn’t try the new pizza after giving feedback to the brand, is accurate and true; this consisted of pretty much a full-on individualized ad campaign of the wackiest sorts targeted to each holdout in their town. Kooky yes, but talk about commitment to getting these guys to try it. The idea to capture it all in the process, also smart thinking.
It’s all documented via a quick reality style video that’s part of the social media campaign to promote everything.
Traditional advertising gets a little less traditional. Learn More
Google TV Ads is a flexible, all-digital system for buying more accountable and measurable TV advertising. Using the familiar AdWords interface, you can launch a TV advertising campaign in minutes.
…and the internet killed pretty much everything else.
A recent study conducted by the Chief Marketing Officer Council found that 64% of consumers find that promotional offers account for the bulk of the email and direct mail they receive and that only 41% consider them must-read brand communications. Of the opt-outs, 46% cite relevancy as the primary reason they no longer wish to receive that brand’s messaging. With inbox growth expected to double or triple within the next five years, how can you stay ahead of the curve (or at a minimum catch up)?
The first and last rule of email marketing: Stay Relevant
What do you know about your database? If the answer is “not much” then you have some work to do. Email marketing has evolved to a place where you no longer need to position your brand and message to the lowest common denominator. There’s no longer a need to simply say everything to everyone (and there hasn’t been for a while now) when you can say something to someone. Technology has enabled us to deliver extremely relevant information based on behavioral, demographic and psychographic information. And, most importantly, consumer choice.
Instead of inundating inboxes with branded “stuff” develop your online relationships and truly engage your consumers with meaningful, beneficial and segmented content. Imagine what happens when you take your email marketing to the next level. Increases in open rates and clicks, decreases in opt-outs and spam… what more could you ask for? The added value of this approach not only deepens the relationships you have with your regular users, but has the potential to re-energize and engage your less active users.
PowerPoint at its finest
So where’s the ROI? With the right acquisition and retention programs you build scale. With scale and proper motivation your database is no longer a faceless group of people referred to only in opens and clicks, rather, a powerful resource to leverage at a moment’s notice.
There is no doubt in most tech geeks’ minds that Augmented Reality (a video hologram technology that gives computer users the opportunity to interact with 3D images on their monitor, by showing a pre-specified image to their webcam) is cool. It’s been used recently by companies like GE, used to promote movies like Transformers 2 and MOST importantly, by everyone’s favorite singer/guitar god John Mayer, to give you a virtual concert in the comfort of your own home. All that said though, for all the coolness factors associated with it, many, including myself, still can’t decide if it is viable marketing option that will translate into success for the campaigns and brands that it’s used as a backbone for.
In an effort to determine what value Augmented Reality holds for them, McDonald’s and Coke have teamed up and are utilizing it as part of their advertising tied in with the upcoming movie, Avatar. Given the fact that these two brands are huge and the number of people that have webcams is fractional, it will be interesting to see what kind of interaction these AR campaigns get. I definitely give both companies kudos for taking the step into the AR world and am eager to see what the AR content they’ve had developed is like.
I guess in terms of seeing success with this, if people just don’t start running out to by a webcam so they can check out the content, maybe you’ll find one in your Happy Meal or Coke Zero 12 pack.
Many already know Method (a household cleaning supply company, specializing in natural, non-toxic, biodegradable products), due in part to their cool, minimalist-minded packaging that uniquely helps it stand out on shelf. Some may just know the company from walking through the cleaning products aisle at Target and catching a glimpse. Either way, it’s a product that is already very respectable and cool in my eyes, that I’ve been using in my home for a few years, and it just got even better. Why? Well, they are supporting initiatives called the “Household Products Labeling Acts” that would basically require household cleaner manufactures to list the ingredients in their products. This is good, because I’ve often found myself compelled to read the back of the various bottles of product in this category and never once can I say I remember ever seeing what the heck was in the stuff I’m spraying on my bathroom counter or in my shower. This kind of makes me think there is a general philosophy of ‘See No Evil, Hear No Evil, Speak No Evil” going on. I don’t like this, no sir I don’t.
So, this witty little video from Method struck a chord with me. It’s funny, it makes me think and it most importantly makes me question the safety of what I’m putting in my home and how it might effect me. All this of course, leads up to validating why I buy Method products. If Method markets this video in the right way, I’m sure many others, users and non-users may have the same feelings. Will it help get consumers to support the act and inevitably increase their favorability towards Method and yield sales? We’ll have to see.
One thing is for sure though, these chemical residue bubbles are funny….. but they are also perverts.
You have developed an innovative carbonated Omega-3 drink made with fruit and fish oil. You need a commercial, so you go to the nearest big city to meet with the local branch of a giant four-lettered ad conglomerate. They give you this and ask what you think:
So today is the 15th birthday of the advertising industries first banner display ads. They first appeared on Hotwired.com and got a 78% click through rate, unheard of today in times where banner ads are lucky to pull a 0.02% CTR. I guess age has taken its toll on the old banner ads a bit. Creatively speaking they weren’t the best looking ads ever (far from it), but hey, it was 1994 right? Oh well, Happy Birth banner display ads, it’s been an interesting ride so far and I’m sure it will continue to be.
Let’s not get ahead of ourselves, I’m not a parent nor plan to be any time soon but if I was, after seeing these Play-Doh ads I’d be sold. This ad from Singapore talks to parents directly to remind them that kids can be creative and have fun with Play-Doh but most importantly, have safe fun.
