Sometimes, Less is More

Written by: Greg Romano

Acknowledging the high Uncertainty Avoidance Index (UAI) of Saudi Arabia, Silvikrin Shampoos is able to convey the beauty afforded to those who use their product with a much more traditional approach than its Western counterparts.  The use of the hair, doubling as a traditional hijab, pays homage to the modesty of Arab countries while devoting the majority of the ad space to the benefits of the shampoo.  Mystery, coupled with a seductive glance, expresses the sexuality that is normally excessively depicted in countries with lesser rated UAI on the Hofstede scale.  Simple copy and imagery evokes nationalistic pride in Arab modesty, catching the eyes more, with less.

Greg may be contacted @ greg_romano@emerson.edu

Monotonous Social Collectivism Spurs Youth in Asia

Written by: Greg Romano

This ad by Converse Japan recognizes the heavy collectivistic influences in its society.  The campaign acknowledges traditional Japanese culture, one that encourages homogenous assimilation, yet seeks to offer compromise.  Converse shows sympathy toward Japanese youth, traditionally stifled by conservatism and offers a simple solution: the individual.  The message manifests itself in the students’ choice of footwear.  Bright and colorful Chuck Taylors clash against the dull school uniforms, contrasting what would normally obscure one into a sea of conformity.

The beauty of the ad is the simplicity of its call to action.  Short and clever copy calls the consumer to create their own sense of identity by purchasing their favorite pair of Converse sneakers.  On top of that, it’s not overly bold so not to offend those of a more conventional Japanese mentality.  Walking a fine line, Converse Japan was able to deliver both effective shoe marketing and a positive message to Japanese youth.

Greg may be contacted @ greg_romano@emerson.edu

Inference, Inc: Experiential Marketing at its Best

Written by: Cat Erwin

Ahhh, the dreaded internship. Most of GMCA is still searching for the perfect fit and with less than 3 months to go and many deadlines having come and gone, pressure is rising. In my personal quest to find that perfect job I have come across a few really great companies. The latest of which is Interference, Inc.*

Interference, Inc is a small boutique marketing company that specializes in guerilla and experiential marketing campaigns. Started in 2001 by Mr. Sam Ewen, an experiential marketing expert with over 17 years of experience, the company has worked with an incredible range of companies, people, and corporations. Sam was gracious enough to answer a few of my questions and this is what he has to say:

What inspires your ideas?

I take my inspiration from many different sources – I follow many local blogs that discuss marketing and brand experiences in regions all over the world. I also try and meet and talk with those people covering or creating those campaigns in order to have a network of thought leaders on the topic and with whom we can bounce ideas off of. I also take a lot of inspiration from the art world and what is generally bubbling under the surface of society, the sub-cultures. I look for emerging trends and try and see if there are qualities of those movements that are adaptable to my craft.

How far are your final projects from your original ideas? And what goes into these transformations?

Any idea is unfinished when originally pitched. As they are chosen and you start figuring out logistics they will inevitably change and/or be adapted to their chosen venue, business goal and desired final experience. We do our best to take the creative idea and look for the hooks that will get consumers, the press and any other target group to respond to the experience positively, while also staying true to the essence of the idea and the brand.

What makes your approach to marketing better than anyone else’s?

We would never claim that our approach is better or worse. Different business problems require different business solutions. We try to be the best at what we do in both creativity and execution.

How did you get into Brand specific marketing? And what is most important when focusing on branding?

I have been building brands in one way or another for almost 20 years. The brand is always at the heart of any campaign, even when you are promoting a specific product or service, you cannot lose sight of what the brand represents. With that said, years ago I saw an opportunity to create marketing for brands that was non-traditional in that you could not buy it from a specific media company. I wanted to create my own media channels and not be married to any one outlet. I believed then and still do that brands benefit when customers have unexpected interactions with them and when you encourage them to talk about and share those experiences, that those messages have power. Social Media has only amplified this opportunity, as the reach of any one person is as broad as not only whom they know and talk with, but the size of their social circle as well.

What do you think are the most important elements of a marketing campaign?

To me the most important thing you can keep in mind is what you want your target consumer to take away after experiencing the campaign. It is one thing to entertain, shock, educate, etc. It is another thing to create a desire in them to take some action on what they have just seen. Think about participation, not broadcast.

What advice would you offer to people trying to get into creative, non-traditional marketing?

There is a huge wealth of information out there, primarily on blogs, that cover non-traditional marketing around the world. Start by seeking, reading and understanding those campaigns. Ask yourself if you think they work or not. Figure out how you would do things differently if you were executing the same campaign. When you are ready, start concepting ideas. Start executing ideas. And see how people react to those. You have to be willing to learn, fail and re-think in the effort to create success.

Let me begin with one single fact. Specifically, I am head over heels for Interference, Inc. Now, as stated in my last piece (here), I am particularly interested in experiential marketing so I have biased opinions when it comes to both this topic and companies that specialize in this field. However, that being said, not only is the founder and CEO, Sam Ewen, particularly down to earth, accessible, and knowledgeable, but it seems that he has brought those same attributes to his company. What’s not to love?

From the great Shark Week campaign to the environmentally friendly Vespa promotion, Interference, Inc knows what it is doing and, more specifically, how to get people to not only pay attention but to interact. I strongly encourage all of you to check out the company’s website and Sam Ewens blog.

Lastly, I want to thank Sam for taking the time to speak with me. As a CEO, it is safe to assume he has relatively little free time, so I really appreciate him using it to help me become further addicted to Experiential Marketing. Thanks again Sam!

*To all my GMCA classmates: Back off, you vultures. This one is mine.

Cat may be contacted at cathryn_erwin@emerson.edu.

The Power of Word of Mouth

Written by: Jessica Lowe

Word of mouth, word of mavens, word of mavericks, word of mind, or perhaps considering the digital age we’re in today, “word of mouse” marketing. Whatever you want to call it, it is undoubtedly a part of marketing today.

By definition, word of mouth (WOM) marketing is people sharing information with others. WOM marketing has become so influential that the Word of Mouth Marketing Association (WOMMA) was founded in 2004 to advance and reinforce “the discipline of credible word of mouth marketing”.

I cannot say that traditional advertising no longer influences me, however, if I’m actively seeking a particular product traditional means won’t sway me. Rather, I instinctively turn to my laptop to look up product reviews, most likely on Amazon. If I’m looking to try a new restaurant, I turn to Yelp reviews for suggestions. Just the other day, my boyfriend needed to get his car repaired. Being new residents of the Boston area, we didn’t know where to go, so we turned to Yelp for help.

WOM is not a new idea; people have always been most influenced by recommendations whether from family, friends or professionals. Today, however, WOM marketing has been taken to a much higher level because of the increasing Internet and social networking usage worldwide. Consumers are willingly sharing their opinions with marketers (even if only intended for their friends’ eyes) through various social networking sites, blogs and review sites.

Marketers now have access to a plethora of information generated by consumers of their products. Not all reviews are good of course, but it is always arguable whether there is any such thing as bad PR. Nevertheless, because of the instantaneous nature of the internet-age, marketers must monitor their WOM marketing since a brand can be ruined very quickly online. Companies can utilize social networking platforms like TweetDeck or Hootsuite to conduct a real-time search of everyone mentioning their brand. Because of these applications, marketers can get immediate feedback on their products, which can help them improve the products if necessary.

Tempur-Pedic is a company that recognizes the power of WOM marketing. They created a commercial  specifically encouraging potential customers to engage in WOM with current Tempur-Pedic customers via Facebook and Twitter.

WOM marketing is a very powerful tool that, if utilized correctly, can create a buzz about a brand within hours. Companies cannot ignore the channels such as Facebook, Twitter, Yelp, blogs, and so forth, that their customers are using for WOM today. Online WOM marketing can quickly damage or enhance a brand, so companies must regularly monitor the Internet to make sure their brand stays in a positive light, and if it starts to dim then they’ll be able to realize that changes need to be made.

 

Jessica may be contacted at jessica_lowe@emerson.edu

Equator M4D: Mobile Solution for Kenya

Written by: Cyril Urbano

Our Global Brand Management group, composed of David Simons, Wan-Hsuan Luo, Jing Luo and myself, dug deep into Kenya’s mobile phone market to mine valuable insights that will set the stage for our mobile phone solution. In our research we found three compelling findings: a mobile market that is hugely growing and revolutionizing Kenyan life, human development issues that afflict the society and the rise of the informal labor sector.

With the mentioned insights, the market needs a catalyst for change. Our group proposed a mobile phone solution called, Equator M4D. It is a mobile phone for development loaded with functional and transformational features that will positively impact Kenyan life. True to its name, it boasts four features that, as one, differentiates it from the current market offerings (solar panel, flashlight, two-way radio and M-power applications). Moreover, M4D has co-branding partners that will allow for better market penetration. These partners include Coke, Pur (P&G’s water purifier), Nakumatt (a local supermarket chain) and Total.

The video below is an animated version of the television launch ad. The big idea revolves around transformation. In this ad, transformation is used as a metaphor that will drive our public messages. As Zaltman would assert in his book, Marketing Metaphoria (2008), “…transformation is an important by-product of the many experiences that drive our physical, mental, and social development.” Furthermore he asserts that it is the most pervasive deep metaphor among consumers as nearly all products facilitate a passage from one state to the other. The ad is a product of about 250 images each one painstakingly drawn, cut, arranged, moved and rearranged by our group to illustrate the big idea.

Cyril Urbano may be contacted at cyril_urbano@emerson.edu or through Facebook.

Ad of the Week – Super Bowl Edition

Ah, the Super Bowl, a time for football, friends, food, beer and most importantly, commercials! These aren’t just any ads. Since the Super Bowl is the most watched television event in the United States, commercials cost around $1,000,000 per 10 seconds, each averaging around $3,000,000.

In honor of this special occasion, each of our editors has picked his/her favorite from this past Sunday.

Suchi: Volkswagon 2012 Pasaat

The tiny Darth Vader was the most adorable thing on television that night. This commercial was heavily advertised virally with a 1 minute version hitting the internet a week before Superbowl and garnering more than 14 million hits. Then the same commercial aired during the game with a 30 second spot. Very smart and clever strategy by Deutsch LA which not only managed to save millions by doing that but also created an infectious pre-game buzz.

 

Greg: Doritos

I’d have to say that the best overall showing for a brand’s advertising efforts at the 2011 Superbowl would be Doritos.  Personally, there’s not much more that I ask of in an ad then chip induced reincarnation, awkward office encounters and of course, a pug shot in epic slow motion.  Doritos quite possibly hit the marketing trifecta and shame on you if you were left wanting.  Doritos was one of the first companies to implement a sweepstakes awarding the best user-generated content featuring the product and it has certainly paid off.  “Crash The Super Bowl” (started several years ago) has been quite successful, generating some of the cleverest consumer created ads.  Don’t believe me?  Visit http://www.crashthesuperbowl.com/ to see a list of this year’s winners as well as the many runner up candidates.  Mmm cheese….

Julie: Chevrolet Silverado HD

After a four year long hiatus, Chevy has returned to the Super Bowl with the help of  Goodby, Silverstein & Partners. The “Chevy Runs Deep” campaign features the all-new 2012 line up. With a record amount of car advertisements during the Bowl, Chevy had some fierce competition from VW to KIA to Audi (loved the Kenny G). I chose the “Tommy” ad of the series, because it used nostalgia to get Americans thinking of the good ol’ days, when Lassie was on TV and Detroit (and the economy) was booming. It was a creative way to showcase the capabilities of the Silverado HD, while engaging the audience with fond memories. I liked the entire campaign, but the cherry on top was the MVP of the game, Aaron Rodgers receiving a Camaro and a GLEE episode about making a Chevy commercial.

Ad of the Week – Yo Quiero Taco Bell

Taco Bell - Thank You For Suing Us

Written by: Suchi Mohapatra.

This is how Taco Bell decided to respond to the fast and furious allegations that haven been flying all around the fast food chain for the past couple of weeks.

Taco Bell is faced with a highly publicized lawsuit accusing the chain of falsely selling their products as beef, while its “beef” tacos do not contain the reported 88% beef, but rather contain less than 35%.  According to the Alabama lawsuit, the taco “beef” is made up of other ingredients in much higher quantities such as modified corn starch, wheat oats, soy and anti-dusting agent. Not exactly what one would call a very appetizing list of ingredients.

The fast food company took a huge hit with this lawsuit, but has now decided to bounce back with this ad. They stand behind their product and are refuting the claims made by the lawsuit, calling them groundless and completely false. The only unknown ingredients that they use apart from their 88% of beef is a special ingredient. And of course some beef flavoring.

What do I think about this ad? It becomes a little difficult to judge, mostly due to the timing of this ad. It is quite clear that this ad is supposed to be informational and not promotional. The layout and clean copy style supports that. The color scheme is basic, in line with brand standards. Having said that, it could have been more visual and less textual. Based on the current interest, however, this ad will most likely prompt viewers to read the entire copy, but it does not win any awards for ‘creativity’.

The copy itself is not all that great. Intended to be sarcastic, it comes off as trying too hard. It sounds unoriginal and does not really deliver the expected punch so to speak. The signature of Taco Bell’s CEO and making it look like a letter in the end is a nice touch though.

Not all that beefy, considering it’s less than 88% actual beef, I would say. How would you rate this ad?

Suchi may be contacted at suchismita_mohapatra@emerson.edu

Experiential Marketing: Meet Hotcow

Written by: Cat Erwin

In order to graduate from GMCA, each and every student needs to complete an internship or some sort of work equivalent. This has recently proven particularly stressful for me, because there are just so many options; too many agencies, companies, divisions, and specializations for a girl to wrap her brain around. So I figured, why not just start e-mailing the most interesting companies I come across and see if I can a) learn more about them and b) finagle an internship.

The first agency that I have become mildly enamored with is Hotcow, an experiential and guerilla marketing company based out of London. Experiential and guerilla marketing, for those unfamiliar, focuses on the entire customer experience through things like product sampling, live promotions,  and the use of street teams rather than mass advertising and sales.  While Hotcow markets to anyone and everyone, the agency specializes in marketing to women. I had the pleasure of e-mailing with Sally Durcan, one of the directors, about the company and this is what she had to say:

 

What makes experimental/buzz/guerilla marketing better than any other marketing tactic?

It is relevant in today’s market place. It is getting face time with consumers. It is then taking that face time and using the interactions to great real connections with more people online or in the press.

What inspires your ideas?

The companies themselves, what they stand for and “making it real”.

How far are your final projects from your original ideas? And what goes into these transformations?

Some get all the way through and others get dissected into smaller chunks. Most the time it is about what the marketing team within the company want to happen, which is based on their internal insights.

What do you think are the most important elements in a marketing campaign?

Understanding the core reason for conducting an activity, otherwise it will fail before it begins. You also need an understanding of where a company is now and where they want to go, and how your piece of marketing activity is going to help them bridge the gap.

You say on your website that you are exceptionally knowledgable about marketing to women. How did this develop and what is most important when marketing to this demographic?

Lots of our work is targeted at women, so it naturally evolved into this area. We know visually what women expect and how to deliver the messages in simply platforms that creates attention and clear calls to action.

What advice would you offer to people trying to get into the field of experimental/buzz/guerilla marketing?

Creative Marketing is not about following text book tactics, but about understanding your audience and what would be interesting to them. Marketing measurement is then about showing why and how this idea would work and create business. Begin to record and understand all different ideas and tactics that are created around the world.

 

In the interest of complete honesty, it should be noted that I am particularly interested in guerilla and experiential marketing and am obviously biased. That being said, however, I am thrilled to have been able to interact with Hotcow. The agency is encouraging and supportive of its employees and they have come up with some really creative and fun campaigns. From media and PR stunts to viral videos to guerilla activities, Hotcow knows how to get people, myself included, to pay attention. I encourage anyone and everyone to check them out and, perhaps, get them to open a branch in the States. I would be MORE than happy to head the US division up!

Lastly, while I have many more questions for Sally Durcan, I cannot thank her enough for taking time out of her day for a curious graduate student with no marketing experience shy of organizing meetings for a CMO.  Thank you again Sally!

Cat may be contacted at cathryn_erwin@emerson.edu.

Jing “Jane” Lou

Name: Jing “Jane” Luo

Hometown: Wuhan, China

Why did you choose GMCA? Since my childhood, advertisements have always caught my attention. In those excellent ones, I sensed the creativity, as well as the endeavor the designers had made, which shocked and affected me. This was why I chose advertising as my major at the university, without any hesitation. Thus began my systematic learning in this field, through which I not only established a solid professional ground, but also had a better understanding of the need of the consumers.

With the deepening of my cognition of this specialty, coupled with the broadening of my professional knowledge, advertisement no longer just means those ones presented over television or magazine. In my point of view, every respect of our life is a potential carrier of advertisement or even the advertisement itself.

The GMCA program compliments my undergraduate studies. I have some knowledge about advertising, but I wanted more combination with marketing. I was also eager to understand the gap between the advertising industry in China and America. Therefore, this program satisfies me, through the combination of international communication and marketing.

Career Goals? I want to be a marketing planner in an agency or enterprise, and then come back to China to be a teacher in university.

Have you ever worked in your industry? Yes, actually I have interned at four advertising agencies. The most famous agency of these is Ogilvy. During my time there, I was in the Kangnai shoes group of customer department, taking charge of products, analysis and interacting with customers.

In this multinational agency, the most impressive thing to me is the emphasis on internal public relations. Every detail in this company could reflect its culture. It has very complete department set, and already holds certain modes to do business in this industry.

When you work for this kind of agency, the job may be so detailed that the theories we learned in school can’t be used at all. In that situation, I would suggest first focusing on those details perfectly, and then catching a chance to express our ideas bravely.

If you could be any fictitious character, who and why? Doraemon. He is a cat-like robot from 24th century in the future.  Doraemon has a pocket from which he produces many gadgets, medicines, and tools from the future. Those inventions are so creative and useful to solve problems effectively, so I hope I have the some value when I work in company. Also I love Doraemon’s personality so much. He is cute, warm-hearted, edacious, and hates mice, which I can relate to.

NBCUniversal – Do you like the change?

NBCUniversal

NBC Universal has been a part of GE for the longest time. 30Rock reinforced this symbiotic relationship over the past four years numerous times. Its the sort of thing you don’t want to change – somewhat like the Starbucks logo.
But in real life, cable giants take over an almost perfect broadcasting company and that is exactly what Comcast did. After a 13 month review, Comcast finally acquired 51% from General Electric Co. and converted NBC Universal to NBCUniversal. It now has complete control over its TV shows, movies and their delivery to the public.

As if that is not enough, the logo has been changed. While the broadcaster will retain the peacock and the globe will be part of the graphics, the NBCUniversal logo has been changed to the purple and white unfamiliar logo without the colorful bird. Call me biased, but as a NBC loyalist, this metamorphosis hurts as much as the takeover did.

The logo change may only just be the beginning of series of changes that are inevitable. Will NBC remain the same? What do you think?

Written by: Suchi Mohapatra

Suchi may be contacted at suchismita_mohapatra@emerson.edu and found rambling on her blog or twitter.