The client: Turner Broadcasting System (TBS) Europe. Specifically, Turner Benelux.
The background: ‘To launch the high quality TV channel TNT in Belgium we placed a big red push button on an average Flemish square of an average Flemish town. A sign with the text "Push to add drama" invited people to use the button. And then we waited... “
The video:
The point: Was the promotion worth what was obviously a considerable effort? 30 million views so far, not even counting you. Plus those, like me, who are going to watch it again. So yeah, indeed a good idea.
Along with “FREE,” the words “NEW” and “IMPROVED,” separately or together, probably get the most attention from consumers. But it can be fraught with potential duplicity, as when a product claims, “New Packaging,” and neglects to mention that along with its new design, you are also getting a slightly smaller size at the same price point.
And though it is not strictly the use of the word “New” that is going on here, I am not certain what Procter & Gamble was trying to do with this claim for their Secret deodorant. Well, actually I think I do know.
Above is the old product, along with the new version on the left. The new package states, “Odor protection that outlasts your day. 48 Hours,” along with an icon of a clock. So it is implying, granted without actually stating it, that it is new, improved and lasts longer than their old product, which had no such claim on it.
Oh, but wait. Look at the images below. Each Secret, new and old, has exactly the same percentage and composition of its active ingredients.
I can “hear” the good folk at P&G saying to each other, “Well, we did further testing and found the product does indeed retain its efficacy for 48 hours, so why not let the consumer know? Let them infer what they want, we are stating facts, not implying improvement.” But if I am reading it correctly, even on their website they give customers a choice of extra protection, or basic, yet both have the identical active ingredients!
Now, in the scheme of things, consumers have a lot more problems to be concerned about. But for the six people who actually might notice the change, and the one or two who might actually blog about it, it somehow leaves an unpleasant taste.
What would I have done? Well, since this is one of many accounts P&G has not burdened my agency with, we’ll never know. More important, how would you have handled the new packaging?
Way back when, around 1910, Henry Ford was alleged to have said this about his famous Model T, "You can have any color as long as it's black."
I am not saying that the good folk at Thomas Pink shirts have ever heard this expression. And anyway, the statute of limitations has long since run out. So I really like what they have done with this campaign. “Any colour as long as it’s…PINK.”
And I even like the purposely affected, but relevant, English spelling of “color.”
Can you create something this clever with your brand name? “Porte advertising. The port for your creative storm” is a good example of a bad example. But we know you can do better than that. Just as Thomas Pink resisted “You’re always in the pink with PINK.” Or adapting the song from Funny face, “Think Pink,” shown below.
(Side note: It is amazing to me how you can get from Henry Ford to Kay Thompson in four paragraphs.)
Well, at least a vending machine hugger thanks to this Coke promotion. In case you missed it, there is a video below. Basically, if you (literally) hug the vending machine, you get a free can of Coke. Of course, you can only get this free can if you live in Singapore, but Coke has garnered free worldwide publicity from the idea.
Is there anything you can do like this with a product or service of yours? It needn’t be high tech. But the idea of giving something away in exchange for a warm, human (viral?) moment is very intriguing.
I admit I am a Francophile, and know just enough French to never be lost or hungry. And I also know that the nickname for Paris is The City of Light, NOT the City of Lights.
Granted, it is probably often misnamed. But if you were the publisher of what I assume are newly revised editions of the eyewitness travel series I sure wouldn’t want to hurt my credibility by calling Paris the city of lights, plural, anymore than I would call New York the big apples.
It’s seems that we always spend the most time examining the material we are not certain of. Which makes a lot of sense. But perhaps the lesson is that, though more difficult, the things you just automatically assume are right are the things you should examine the hardest. Especially if it affects your field of expertise.
I’m not suggesting you fact check every brochure you write. But then again, I am.
Stuart Elliott, the New York Times advertising columnist, wrote a column about various brands that are celebrating their anniversaries. Among them are Life Savers, 100 years; Motel 6, 150 years; Bacardi rum, 150 years; Cartier, 165; Glenfiddich Scotch whisky, 125; GMC trucks, 100; Kraft macaroni and cheese, 75; the New York Mets, 50; and Oreo cookies, 100.
Mr. Elliott says the campaigns are part of what he calls, “comfort marketing,” invoking misty, water-colored memories to woo consumers into buying products in the present. He also talks about “authenticity,” which is suggesting to shoppers that a product is worth buying because its quality has been tested for decades.
The column talks in detail about the anniversary marketing efforts of Motel 6 and Life Savers. I must admit I have a soft spot in my heart for Life Saver. When I was a kid, we used to go into a dark room and snap Wint-O-Green Life Savers in half, which would produce a very visible spark. (Though I think the main purpose was to see if we could lure any girls into a poorly lit room with us.)
I’ve worked on a few “Anniversary” marketing ideas, and to me, the most important element is a message that comes directly out of the brand DNA. Bacardi rum’s communication can’t be a bland and generic announcement of its longevity, one that might also be run by Oreo cookies.
Here are two specific examples of what I mean. When my ad agency did the advertising for Rapid Park garages, we realized it was their 50th anniversary. And since we were running a series of small space black and white ads, we thought we would run some that featured their anniversary. The question is, how does a parking garage announce its anniversary? Well, we created four different ads, the one below being my favorite.
And then came the 70th Anniversary of the Stage Deli, known for its hugely overstuffed sandwiches and hugely grumpy waiters. Certainly the communication must recognize that heritage, which the following two pieces certainly do.
The point is, the marketing of any celebration—birthday, anniversary, new store opening—can’t be crafted in a vacuum, focusing on the event while ignoring the brand. Its impact depends not just on the idea, but the relevance to your heritage.
Seal of the U.S. government's Small Business Administration. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Yes, it’s tough out there, particularly now. Let’s say you are a small business, which you probably are (according to the Small Business Administration, small firms with less than 500 employees represent 99.7 percent of the 23.7 million businesses in America).
According to a Dun & Bradstreet report, "Businesses with fewer than 20 employees have only a 37% chance of surviving four years.”
Very scary. And let’s say, more specifically, that you are a family-owned business. Well, according to the Family Business Institute, quoted in the New York Times in an article written b y Adriana Gardena, only about 30 percent survive beyond the founder’s generation.
But, I ask rhetorically, what can we do to increase our chances of survival? Since I don’t have a lot of arrows in my quiver, I will suggest, as usual, that perhaps a good idea can make a difference in your marketing, and therefore your business prospects.
I do not say this without any supporting evidence. Quoting from the same New York Times article, which talked to several small-business owners who have beaten the survival odds, the trait they listed first was a willingness to reinvent. The article quotes the third-generation chief executive of a printing firm as saying, “If you do the same thing for more than five years in a row, you’re going to fall behind.”
Sure, he was talking technology, where his company came up with some good ideas. But you and I know that this also applies to your marketing. No, not changing your creative direction constantly to avoid doing the same thing. That’s not marketing reinvention; that’s confusing.
But coming up with new strategically targeted ideas, refining your marketing messages, checking out all the new social media, taking risks…that’s the kind of reinvention that pays off.
I discovered a blog, 12 Most, that focuses on “Savvy smartitude for busy professionals in easy-to-digest list posts that mean business.”
Yes, it is a mouthful. And yes, it is a website composed of lists, concentrating on business, media and lifestyle. Recent business posts have titles such as 12 Most Memorable Business Quotes from 5 Days in the Blogosphere, 12 Most Practical Tips for Surviving an IRS Audit, and 12 Most Don’t Be a Dumbass Rules for Email.
Hey, I’m in favor of sparking creativity in everyone, but what a good idea to discuss how to do it with children. As Bruce points out, “It is said that kids are naturally creative. That may be true, but there are many ways to stimulate and encourage creativity in our children.”
As you assuredly expect from the blog’s title, he, (along with two co-authors), then gives 12 examples. Much of the ideas may appear obvious, but the point is to have you think about actually doing them. And, as is pointed out, “it is the simple things that can often stir the emotions and bring out the creative.”
I am not going to repeat any of the ideas that are discussed; I really want you to go to the site yourself. It is a guaranteed thought provoker, filled with good ideas.
Nissan is introducing 5 all-new models over the next 15 months, using the theme “Innovation for all.”
And while their choice of buying billboards and other Out Of Home in New York to support the introduction may not be particularly innovative, certainly the way they are using it is truly imaginative.
Each different ad uses a caption specific to the medium, which is a much better approach for OOH than “one headline fits all.” So, for example, the headline on the taxi topper is: “Soon you’ll hail your future.” On the side of a bus, we get this message: “Think this is crowded? Try our showrooms.” And, as shown above, on the phone kiosks we get: Call your mother.”
Now, each caption may not be the most innovative you’ve seen. And the idea does suffer slightly from being generic. (That is, anyone could be sponsoring the ads, and fill their brand’s names in rather than Nissan.)
But this is all just nitpicking. The good idea is still using the media in a specific manner, with each message custom tailored. And for all the left brainers out there, the good news is that production costs are not increased, since each medium has its own specs,and has to be produced separately anyway. So all it takes is a different, relevant idea for each poster.
Push Button (Photo credit: drip&ju)
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