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November 3, 2009

Most Brutal Sponsorship Ever

Though they're more prone to drinking beer and Jagermeister, a sneak preview of the return of the members of the world's most brutal metal band, Dethklok, has been brought to us by Coke Zero.

In fact, in addition to "Metalocalypse," which features the animated exploits of Dethklok, the non-caloric soda brand is sponsoring a host of previews of upcoming shows on Cartoon Network's adult-aimed programming block Adult Swim. The main goal appears to be promoting the "Facial Profiler," an application available at CocaColaZero.com that purports to match photos of people with similar facial features.

At this stage, Coke is in the building stage, looking for people to submit their photos to the database by connecting to the app through Facebook.

Posted by Kate Kaye at 5:22 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

October 1, 2009

Twitter Lists Present Cool Possibilities for Brands

If you haven't seen it already, Twitter has announced it's testing "Twitter Lists," essentially lists of users that can be categorized according to who they are or what they write about. According to a Twitter blog post yesterday, "The idea is to allow people to curate lists of Twitter accounts."

In non-pretentious language, that means eventually anyone will be able to assemble a group of Twitterers, allowing people to easily follow all those accounts.

So, I've been thinking about what this could mean for brand marketers. Well, if anything, it should mean that marketers will have a number of options when it comes to creating their own lists. For CRM or customer service, they can readily compile all their brand-related Twitter accounts into one. Think @ford/teamtwitter. Or whatever.

I also see a ready opportunity for cause marketing. Let's say a brand really wants to connect with charity activity around breast cancer, or wants to establish itself as a leader in the movement towards clean energy. If I understand Twitter's offering here, a brand could assemble a list of Twitter accounts associated with individuals or organizations it believes are influential in that particular category and promote the list on their own sites and through their own Twitter accounts. Think @google/netneutrality.

Of course, this could work for non-cause stuff, too. Say a brand wants to get noticed among running enthusiasts or among fans of Asian cinema. It could put together a list of Twitterers who post about those topics. How about @Asicsamerica/running?

This is akin to what Microsoft has already done in conjunction with Federated Media and Twitter in its ExecTweets site.

Then there's politics. The parties can compile lists of people or party organizations aligned with their side. Or a candidate could assemble a list of thought leaders he'd like to draw attention to (or he'd like to draw attention to him). Think @lpnational/thoughtleaders.

Though I think this offering alone presents some good opportunities to brands, it ultimately could become a good source of revenue for Twitter. A brand could sponsor an official Twitter List, for example.

So, now, before Twitter actually launches this feature, brands ought to start thinking about how they might want to use it.

Posted by Kate Kaye at 1:16 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)

May 7, 2009

Will Users Really Watch Last.fm's New Ad-supported Visual Radio?

Last.fm has re-launched its streaming music player to incorporate rich media content alongside its existing online radio offering. Users will now be provided with a stream of artist images, music videos, and other visual content as they stream audio from the site, and Last.fm will unearth a range of new ad inventory as a result.

The firm says the new player will provide "unique visual branding opportunities," and will create a more immersive experience than the audio ad spots currently being used by rival streaming services such as Spotify and We7. U.K. mobile network operator Vodafone is already making use of the new offering, running 15 second video ads in the player before some tracks.

In a release, Martin Stiksel, Last.fm co-founder, said, "Passionate music fans come to Last.fm for more than just the songs, and Visual Radio provides them with the enriching, full-featured music experience they demand. And the bold new music player allows brands and sponsors the opportunity to directly reach these users in a visually exciting way."

I disagree. I would have thought the majority of users visit Last.fm for just the songs, rather than a slideshow and some branding. What's more, many users run streaming music services in the background of other applications, rather than granting them their undivided attention. Ultimately, therefore, I'm dubious as to quite how "engaged" the consumer is likely to be with the new player.

Posted by Jack Marshall at 11:48 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

April 23, 2009

OfficeMax Thinks Out of the Box in Ad Campaign

The office supply retailer shakes things up in a new ad to promote a new line, [In] Place System created in partnership with workplace organization expert Peter Walsh. The ad, created by OfficeMax agency The Escape Pod, depicts Walsh reaching out of one area of the banner to grab a cluttered diorama, turning it into a minimalist work environment, and then walking into the space to have a seat. This ad was found on MarthaStewart.com.

OfficeMax has played up stylish products such as the Peter Walsh line to help people and businesses get organized. The Walsh line includes a file tote and interlocking hanging files, which are predominantly white accented by red, yellow, and green tabs. Design items come into play with the DiVoga line, which includes pastel patterned file folders and binder clips. Will there soon be ads for DiVoga online?

Posted by Enid Burns at 4:58 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

April 20, 2009

Ask.com Reverts to "Ask Jeeves" Branding

After three years "traveling the world in a quest for knowledge," Jeeves, the iconic butler, is resuming his role as U.K. front man for search engine Ask.

InterActive Corp quickly decided to ditch the beleaguered butler and the Ask Jeeves brand after acquiring the site in 2005, opting instead for the simpler, and perhaps more user-friendly Ask.com domain. Now, it seems user demand, and presumably diminished recognition of the new branding, has prompted a rethink.

"During my sojourn, research showed the public wanted me back, which I found jolly touching. And in that time the engineers toiled hard to make the site look better, work harder and be more personal...just like yours truly," Jeeves wrote on the site today, in answer to the question, "Why are you back?"

Jeeves himself, based originally on a character by PG Wodehouse, has also undergone a slight revamp, and is now presented in rendered 3D in place of the traditional cartoon- style illustration.

To support the new (or should I say old) brand identity, profiles on social media sites such as Facebook and Twitter are being maintained by Jeeves, much like the efforts of ComparetheMarket.com's Aleksandr the Meerkat.

Posted by Jack Marshall at 12:19 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

February 19, 2009

Bud.TV Postmortem: Here Ends the Dream of the Branded Video Site

When it launched in February 2007, the day after the Super Bowl, Bud.TV had already come to symbolize the new age of brand-as-programmer. BMWFilms was still semi-fresh in the ad industry's collective memory, and the entry of Anheuser-Busch's destination site seemed destined to carry the torch.

Two years later Bud.TV is gone, and with it the idea that major content destinations -- especially video centric ones -- can become preferred entertainment.

There are many reasons for this. One is the necessity for syndication. It was evident almost as soon as Bud.TV launched that the primary model for online video would be anytime/anywhere consumption, and that exclusivity would fall by the wayside. (A slow-learned lesson, as evidenced by this week's Hulu and Boxee decoupling at the insistence of video content owners.)

Another reason is the dominance of YouTube, where any self-respecting video programmer -- branded or not -- must have a channel. Indeed, Bud.TV still has a YouTube channel, which is where its one breakaway hit -- "Swear Jar" -- garnered most of its traffic.

Another, of course, is resources: production expertise, focus, and simple talent. "If the networks can't continuously produce that [volume of content], how can a beer company?" A-B VP of Marketing Keith Levy told AdAge.

(Image credit: schizoform. Licensed through creative commons.)

Posted by Zachary Rodgers at 10:56 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)

February 3, 2009

Quote of the Day: The $20 Million Banner Ad

"That's $20 million bucks for a banner you cannot click on."
--24/7 Real Media Chairman David J. Moore, at OnMedia NYC, referring to Citicorp's $400 million, 20-year marketing deal with the New York Mets that includes naming the new stadium.

Posted by Anna Maria Virzi at 1:34 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

November 2, 2008

Right Message, Wrong Time

So on Halloween, I dropped by my bank to deposit a check. Only my bank wasn't my bank any more. It was in costume. The red, white and blue Commerce Bank logo was replaced by something green and utterly unfamiliar: signage for something called the TD Bank.

I kept walking, aggravated that I'd have to make a detour to anyother branch. Then, something strange caught my eye: the bank's interior was identical to the way it looked last time I was there. So I entered and the security guard confirmed that my longtime bank had renamed itself. Effective today.

Today? But...but....you've already got the new signage up!

Well, thanks a lot for letting me know. It wasn't until the following day that the bank's Web site contained a notice, or that I found the Reuters story reporting the change, a story that predated the signage change at the branch I almost didn't enter, thinking this was an institution I didn't bank with.

Where's my e-mail notification? Where's the letter to customers from the bank? Why isn't there a sign in the window telling customers that yes, this is still their bank branch?

Banks build brands on foundations of trust, endurance and familiarity. This name change apparently has nothing to do with the economic fallout of recent weeks.

So how could management allow this to occur with zero participation from the marketing department? The mind boggles. And while I've always been more than a satisfied customer, the experience jarred me enough to consider relocating what remains of my financial empire.

Posted by Rebecca Lieb at 3:26 PM | Permalink | Comments (5)

October 30, 2008

LinkedIn, Amazon Hook Up

LinkedIn's getting more connected.

The business networking site is making a dozen or so applications available to LinkedIn members.

Of potential interest to marketers: the Amazon Reading List. It opens the door for other brands to develop a utility that LinkedIn members might find relevant.

Then there's CompanyBuzz. I tried to give the test drive this afternoon, but the application wasn't working. Stay tuned.

Posted by Anna Maria Virzi at 12:52 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)

September 22, 2008

Chrysler CMO: 30 Percent Goes to Digital

Chrysler CMO Deborah Meyer said the auto and truck maker has dedicated 30 percent of its advertising budget to digital.

"We think it's a good number. Now the challenge is to optimize on digital and what's in other media as well," she said in an interview with ClickZ after addressing the Interactive Adverting Bureau's Mixx conference in New York. She declined to disclose Chrysler's annual advertising and marketing budget.

Chrysler, she said, uses an assortment of technologies including Specific Media's targeting tools and Vibrant's in-text video.

Chuck Sullivan, director of Chrysler Interactive, said the company's investments in search engine optimization are paying off, too. "The better we do with SEO, the more effective we can be with our ad dollars," he said.

So what success metrics does Chrysler track? They include a dealer's performance on closing leads, response times to customer inquiries, and more. Chrysler has tested these metrics for several months and is about to expand the initiative soon.

Automakers have been hard hit by tightening consumer credit, and automakers are tightening their belts, too.

"Every dollar has to work 10 times as hard as it used to do. This is why [the shift to digital] is moving at an incredible rapid pace. There's no fat left in the system," Meyer said.

Posted by Anna Maria Virzi at 5:20 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

September 18, 2008

Smith Barney's Brand Goes 404

As one Wall Street behemouth after another topples like so many houses of cards, consumer confidence in large financial institutions is shaken -- if not utterly shattered.

And today, a 404 error page from SmithBarney.com. Servers that go down or overload are never a good thing, but the brand message subtext in this 404, this week, is jarring indeed.

Posted by Rebecca Lieb at 10:48 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

August 11, 2008

R/GA Builds New Digital Branding Shop, Hires TBWA's Shillum

R/GA set up R/GA Brand Design, to address the shift of branding in the digital age. The new division takes into account early consumer impressions, if not first impressions, including when a prospective customer lands on a Web site to find out more about a brand or product. "As brand-consumer relationships shift to the digital sphere, the responsibility of brand perception is shifting to digital agencies," R/GA said in a statement.

The agency's core competency has always been digital, and has later expanded to encompass TV and other media. The Brand Design shop will include branded interfaces for online, mobile, retail, and out-of-home. R/GA Brand Design takes into account user experience such as visuals, sounds, movement and navigation. Marc Shillum was hired by the agency as director of brand design to lead the practice. He was creative director at TBWA London, where he worked on the pan-European Sony Playstation software account. In the past he also worked at Wieden + Kennedy in London.

Posted by Enid Burns at 1:37 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

May 30, 2008

The Heat is on 50 Cent

Online video is a knife that cuts both ways for rapper 50 Cent.

While ClickZ today examined how 50 Cent uses online video to build brand loyalty, a video on celebrity gossip site TMZ is bringing attention to problems in his personal life.

A multi-million dollar home -- and the center of dispute between 50 Cent and an ex-girlfriend --- was destroyed in a suspicious fire. Six people, including 50 Cent's 10-year-old son, went sent to the hospital for smoke inhalation and were released, according to the Associated Press.

In a video interview on TMZ.com, 50 Cent's former girlfriend Shaniqua Tompkins said she and 50 Cent were fighting over the house. She also complained that 50 Cent "made no contact to see how his son is doing" after the fire.

Newsday.com reported that 50 Cent was in Louisiana at the time of the fire. According to reports, his spokesman said any suggestion that the rapper was involved in the incident is "outrageous."

Posted by Anna Maria Virzi at 9:21 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

May 22, 2008

Disney Resorts Going 3-D on Google Earth

From the folks who brought the Hannah Montana concert tour to the movie screen in 3-D, next up: Disney Resorts in 3-D on Google Earth.

Walt Disney Parks and Resorts has been working with Google to develop a virtual tour of the Magic Kingdom, Epcot, and other properties, USA Today reports. Visitors will be able to see rides like Splash Mountain, hotels, and other attractions in 3-D.

While the interactive map was to go live May 20, it's apparently not ready yet. "Mickey and friends are working away to make it great, but it's currently still in development," reads a note from the Magic Kingdom.

Posted by Anna Maria Virzi at 7:54 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

April 28, 2008

The WB Will Not Be Televised

"The next great network will not be televised."

With this, and other grandiose pronouncements, Warner Bros. Television Group unveiled two major new broadband sites, a couple of virtual worlds, and named some of the advertisers that will support the launch.

The WB.com, which comes out of beta in August, will be an online video-on-demand network featuring both library content and original Web productions. "We're in the digital storytelling business," noted Warner Bros. TV Group President Bruce Rosenblum, "and making a significant investment in our digital initiatives."

The company was more tight-lipped about advertising opportunities, but did reveal initial sponsors include Mattell, McDonald's and Johnson & Johnson.

In addition to distrubution partners including Comcast, AOL, Fancast.com, and some mobile carriers, WB created an application on Facebook. All content on the WB site will be available for viewing from within Facebook, and vice-versa: users can peruse Facebook from inside The WB.com.

KidsWB.com is the juvenile version of WB content on the Web. Integrated within the platform are two virtual worlds: Warner Zone, featuring characters from WBs extensive cartoon library, and DC Hero Zone, where Batman and his ilk can be encountered. It goes live sometime next month.

It's interesting to note that "mix, mash, share" is a motto. Give Tweetybird a mohawk, turn the Tasmanian Devil into a tutu-wearing avatar - WB doesn't care. That's massive, considering the proprietary attitude entertainment conglomerates have traditionally taken toward the sanctity of their characters. On the adult site, users will be encourage to re-mix episodes of, say, "Friends," and share them with their own friends.

Are you listening, Mouse?

Posted by Rebecca Lieb at 5:23 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

April 15, 2008

Kodak, Out of the Dark (Room)

Eastman Kodak's Jeffrey W. Hayzlett doesn't mince his words when he discusses the 128-year-old's company changing business model and marketing approach.

As the sale of digital cameras took off, Kodak saw the revenue from film sales slide.

So, the company had to reinvent itself.

In one major change in its product lineup, Kodak sells a photo printer with low cost ink refills that cost $9.99 per cartridge (black) and $14.99 (five-color) compared to the higher prices for rivals' products.

To promote its EasyShare printers, Kodak cut a deal to sponsor and be featured on NBC's "The Celebrity Apprentice." During the episode, teams of celebrity contestants were charged with creating a Kodak mobile printing station in New York City promoting Kodak's printer lineup. "We put the Kodak Moment experiment into action on the sidewalks of New York," said Hayzlett, Kodak chief business development officer, during the keynote speech today at ad:tech SF.

Sales of the printer doubled the week after the episode aired, according to Hayzlett.

"My job inside within the company is to create tension. To get people to the edge of the table, not go over the edge," said Hayzlett, who estimates that at least 10 percent of Kodak's advertising budget is allocated to online initiatives.

Kodak also recently launched an online video, which features Vincent Pastore (better known as Sal "Big Pussy" Bonpensiero from "The Sopranos" feeding a Kodak rival's printer to the fish.

Hayzlett especially liked a headline about that video. It reads: "Big Pussy Beats The Shit Out of a Printer in the Name of Low Ink Prices."

"I would love to write that headline, but I cannot," he said. "This is great. This is f*cking awesome," said Hayzlett.

Posted by Anna Maria Virzi at 7:47 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

March 31, 2008

Aquafina Jumps on Widget Bandwagon in Baseball Promo

Baseball, beer, peanuts...and water?

It's all baseball all the time today (when the rain doesn't ruin things, that is). Advertisers want to be a part of it all, too. Along with Bank of America, today's MLB.com Opening Day sponsor, and several other advertisers written about here today, Aquafina is running an MLB.com-related effort, extending its campaign featuring everybody's favorite curmudgeonly manager, Lou Piniella.

The water brand has created a widget featuring a digital bobblehead that's supposed to look like Piniella. It doesn't. At all. Bobble heads never look like who they're supposed to, though, so maybe it was intentional.

Anyway, the Aquafina branded widget features a new message from Piniella everyday, the type of peaceful, pleasant statement you'd never expect him to say. Today's is pretty ho-hum. I think I'd rather hear the angry Piniella personally.

I think it's smart that Aquafina is running an Opening Day related effort since it's campaign has a baseball connection, but I'm not sure what the value of this widget is exactly. How many of these things can people be expected to download anyway?

Posted by Kate Kaye at 5:14 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

March 24, 2008

The Purple Distinction

Marketing services firm Epsilon is rebranding as Purple@Epsilon. "We want a distinctive brand name for online and offline services," said Steve Cone, CMO at Purple@Epsilon. Purple combines Epsilon's interactive, agency, and direct groups including its creative, media planning, Web design, e-mail systems, delivery, and direct mail delivery. What's outside of the purple umbrella, though seen as too much of a separate entity, Epsilon's Strategic Database unit, which includes Abacus, which Epsilon acquired from DoubleClick. "All of those services compliment each other, but we wanted to let people know we are a much bigger agency than anybody realizes," said Cone.

While the company's color has always been Purple, this rebranding just plays it up. The company branding includes, "Marketing as usual. Not a chance." That's because Cone says, "We don't believe in marketing as usual."

Posted by Enid Burns at 6:14 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

March 7, 2008

Ziff Davis: Brand Identity Conundrum

Ziff Davis Enterprise, a print and online technology publishing business once part of Ziff Davis Media, must now be thinking twice about its identity brand strategy.

(Disclosure: I had worked for Ziff Davis Media's enterprise division, for six years when it was sold to Insight Venture Partners, a venture firm, in July 2007. I worked ever so briefly (two weeks) at Ziff Davis Enterprise before coming on board at ClickZ.)

Ziff Davis Media's decision to file for bankruptcy protection this last week had the folks at Ziff Davis Enterprise scurrying to engage in brand identity damage control.

Acknowledging the potential confusion between the two companies, Ziff Davis Enterprise CEO Steve Weitzner posted a statement: "Ziff Davis Enterprise and Ziff Davis Media are not the same company." It's now up to Weitzner's sales team to reinforce that message with advertisers as it looks to expand its business online and elsewhere.

When Insight Ventures Partner acquired the Ziff properties last year, it appeared it wanted to trade on the reputation of a company well known in technology publishing circles.

Should it have been more sensitive to Ziff Davis Media's looming financial troubles? Hindsight, as they say, is 20/20.

Posted by Anna Maria Virzi at 12:08 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

January 22, 2008

Disney to Japanese Women: Moshi Moshi!

The WSJ is reporting that Disney, in local partnership with Softbank Mobile, is launching a mobile phone service in Japan aimed not at kids, but at women in the 20-39 year old demo.

In the country of kawaii (define), Disney enjoys a particularly strong adult female base of consumers. According to the Journal, Tokyo Disney is a popular dating destination (26 million visitors in the fiscal year ending in March, 2007). The Mouse already offers close to 90 mobile Web sites in Japan boasting over 3.5 million subscribers, 75 percent of whom are women 20+.

Disney shuttered its U.S. mobile service, aimed at kids and parents in a partnership with Sprint last year after only one year of operation.

Posted by Rebecca Lieb at 4:23 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

November 1, 2007

PayPerPost Latest to Randomly Pair Consonant, Vowels

Maybe PayPerPost has realized sometimes it's better not to be so blunt. In the tradition of Philip Morris/Altria, Gator/Claria and Leaf/Joaquin Phoenix, the paid blogging service has changed its company name to the similarly nondescript yet vaguely airy and appealing "Izea."

Since launching its pay-to-post offering, the company has introduced a variety of additional services including blogger e-mail marketing app Zookoda.com and BlogInSpace.com, a service that purports to transmit blogs into space. Izea will act as the new corporate umbrella name for those and other brands, including PayPerPost.com, which will retain its brand name.

"The name change comes just days before the scheduled unveiling of IZEA's highly anticipated new service, codenamed Argus," notes a press release from the company. Set to be unveiled at the firm's annual PostieCon event for its paid bloggers November 10, the service looks to be some sort of social media marketing play.

I guess it makes sense to establish a new name under which several brand names live, but I can't help but wonder if there are other reasons. Could it be the name would be more appealing to the investor community? Even with the old name, the controversial company has startled many by scoring millions in investor funding. Could an IPO be next? I have no insider info, just speculating.

Posted by Kate Kaye at 2:42 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

October 11, 2007

Uniqlo Employees Jump for Ads

Japanese-based casual wear retailer Uniqlo enlisted 650 employees from its stores worldwide to act as models in its ads. The Uniqlo Jump Web site features a slideshow that is fun, but borderline seizure-inducing. It shows employees from the retailer's stores in five countries (Japan, U.S., U.K., South Korea, and China). The pictures are full of energy, mostly with the sales staff jumping in the air, and certainly having fun.

The campaign then extends to consumer-generated, or in this case employee-generated media including a blog on Hatena, photos on Flickr, and a collection of videos on YouTube featuring similar slideshow footage from each of Uniqlo's locations and other mash-ups. The Jump Web site also has map to locate each store. Uniqlo is using its staff's energy to sell its clothing, and sees recruitment as a secondary goal of the campaign.

Posted by Enid Burns at 12:19 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

September 27, 2007

Google Middle Earth

The road through Middle Earth is long and windy, and now it's been mapped by Google. For its "Lord of the Rings Online" game, developer and publisher Turbine, Inc. licensed the Google Maps API to map out world of "Lord of the Rings." And like all things Google, it's in beta! "We will keep it in beta as long as we're adding features," said Jim Drewry, director of marketing at Turbine. The map and wiki Turbine offers to its users is part of a retention-based marketing strategy.

When Turbine called Google to ask about licensing the map API to create a map for Middle Earth, Google was a little taken aback. When you use the API Google "almost assumes you will be mapping the earth. When it's not the earth, things get interesting," said Drewry. Turbine created the map with hundreds of thousands of map tiles stitched together. It's hosted by Turbine, and trafficked through Akamai.

link

Posted by Enid Burns at 5:16 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

August 28, 2007

HP Goes Online to Promote Print

What do a snowboard company founder, a pop star and graphic designer have in common? They've lent their names to Hewlett-Packard's $300 million Print 2.0 marketing campaign.

Singer Gwen Stefani, Burton Snowboards's Jake Burton and graphic designer Paula Scher are each featured on a separate HP Web site. Burton's and Scher's sites offer tips for small- and medium-sized businesses on how to build a brand, and of course, how to use printed materials to accomplish that. Stefani's HP site, aimed at consumers, provides templates to create greeting cards and other materials.

A spokesman representing HP won't disclose, at least for now, how much is allocated to online, television, or print ads. She says, in an e-mail, that the $300 million figure includes "not only advertising spending, but also spending on Web elements (e.g. the Gwen Stefani, Jake Burton and Paula Scher Web sites), in-store elements, alliances, etc."
HP, in touting those alliances, says it wants to make it easier to publish from the Web to printed media such as photo albums. Yahoo's Flickr, a photo sharing site, for instance, will incorporate HP technology, to create customized posters and other products.

No doubt, print's important to HP. The company's imaging and printing division reported $26.8 billion in revenue for the fiscal year ended Oct. 31, 2006; that represents close to 30 percent of HP's 2006 annual revenue.

A news release announcing the marketing campaign is sure to make a tree hugger cringe. HP says it's trying to capture a bigger portion of the 53 trillion pages it expects will be printed by 2010.

Posted by Anna Maria Virzi at 4:08 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

August 9, 2007

Name That Feed!

A name may not be everything, but it counts for a heck of a lot.

Variety (my former employer) very thankfully revived Kaiju Shakedown yesterday, the last-word-in-Asian-cinema blog, penned by the peerless Grady Hendrix. The blog had shut down earlier this year to the chagrin of Asian film freaks everywhere.

Rushing to subscribe to the feed at a new URL, I was shocked -- shocked -- to see the title of the feed show up in my Bloglines list as "Blog Entries."

Variety's a brand, for heaven's sake. So's Kaiju Shakedown, down where I live on the tail. Let's hope the error can be chalked up to Day 1 glitches.

Posted by Rebecca Lieb at 10:19 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Priceline Says Online Ads Do Drive Branding

Priceline talked online marketing during its earnings call Tuesday. The travel advertiser was asked whether it might move money into brand advertising in Europe, rather than doing more Web advertising.

Responded President and CEO Jeff Boyd, “"We believe that we're generating some significant brand equity through our online marketing and we really don't have any plans at this point in time to spend a significant amount of money in offline branding. It's very expensive and the complexity of the market makes it very difficult to efficiently roll out TV, radio campaigns and the like.”"

CFO Bob Mylod continued, "[We] don't view online advertising as pure dollar spend for customer acquisition. We think there's a lot of branding components to the things that we do and so a lot of our initiatives are focused on getting customers who do business with us to repeat with us or to come directly to our website and that's very, very important because it's extremely competitive in the online advertising market in Europe.”"

He went on to stress both the U.S. and European markets are competitive. “"We pay a lot of money to get these customers to come to our Web sites and so we have lots of conversion initiatives underway that have yielded some dividends and hopefully will continue to on an ongoing basis.”"

Posted by Kate Kaye at 9:38 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

July 27, 2007

The King of Beers to Do More Digital

Just in time for happy hour: Anheuser-Busch had its Q2 earnings call the other day. Not much by way of interactive marketing was discussed, but there was a nugget or two worth mentioning.

When asked whether the company is spending enough to push its core brands, CFO W. Randolph Baker said, "We think we are spending enough behind the brands. We do have increases behind them but we will be actually doing some increases selectively in the second-half of the year to stimulate sales."

And, said Baker, "We have a lot of changes...in our media plans as we are shifting. We are doing more digital media. We are doing less of network….We have changes that continue to go on in our message, in our creative and that will continue to change as we try to reach our consumers in the most effective way."

Posted by Kate Kaye at 4:42 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

July 17, 2007

Jostens Supplies Super Bowl Rings for Madden ‘08

The highly-coveted Super Bowl ring worn by NFL players is now available to players of EA’s Madden NFL 08. Those who reach a certain level of accomplishment can order design a ring through the game’s interface, then order it from Jostens. The “Ring of a Champion” can be custom-designed by the player, and not only signifies a player’s reaching a certain stature in the game’s rankings, but can also reflect extraordinary achievements pulled of in those winning games.

Like your old class ring, players can choose from non-precious metals, 10K white and yellow gold, and simulated gemstones. Prices range from $149 for a non-precious ring to $495 for 10K gold designs. If a virtual champion wants the full bling of genuine diamonds, instead of cubic zirconium stones, Jostins will do it for a few dollars more. Madden NFL 08 with the ability to play for and create your championship ring comes out on August 14.

Posted by Enid Burns at 1:19 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

June 21, 2007

Rise Up Against Squatting!

Fledgling online site YouChoose.net is touting itself as a social network for causes and petitions, and it's picked up on a continuing annoyance of an issue to get folks riled up about: Cybersquatting. YouChoose.net is still in Beta, but it's intended as a place for folks to post petitions for gathering signatures. Mike Dever, co-founder of YouChoose, is apparently going after ICANN President and CEO, Dr. Paul Twomey to rein in those malicious individuals that gather up domain names in hopes of a big corporate pay off, or culling money from ad networks like Google AdSense.

The petition reads:

"We, the undersigned, are concerned about domain name parking abuse and request that ICANN revisit the Anti-Cyberssquatting Consumer Protection Act and the Trademark Cyberpiracy Prevention Act to ensure that a domain names that are parked would be available for sale at a price tag that would not be considered extortion. We request that ‘Cybersquatting’ issues be discussed, reviewed and formalized this year into a written law to help stop the continuation of domain parking as an extortionist means that cause legitimate businesses to pay high price for the domain name."

Since it was created on June 12th, the petition has gathered 558 names as of today. Not a lot, but still not bad considering the site itself has only been around since February.

Separately, anti-typosquatting firm CitizenHawk has once again issued a "TypoAlert" to bring attention to how many slightly misspelled URLs close to major brands sites are being used to redirect viewers or trick them out of their personal data. Since launching its service in April, the company has gone on to warn about bank sites being targeted, and now has done the same for kid oriented sites.

The company found, for instance, that there are 628 potentially trademark-infringing domains listed around ClubPenguin, while Disney got 247, Cartoon Network got 537 and Nickelodeon got 318.

Of course, it behooves CitzenHawk to show the need for its services by listing potential violators, and it's most likely a good idea for firms to do their due diligence to keep folks from violating their brand identity, but even so I still can't get Maude Flanders' shrill "Won't somebody please think of the children?" out of my head.

Posted by MatthewNelson at 5:12 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

April 24, 2007

DoubleClick Green with BP Envy?

Sure, plenty of people consider online advertising to be a scourge on the Web's environment*, but is it really necessary for DoubleClick to put on this green façade with its re-branding campaign? On first glance at the new logo, all I could think of was the BP logo.

As you'll recall, the oil behemoth assumed the verdant position a few years back to escape its big, mean oil corporation image.

DoubleClick just launched its "Nerve Center" campaign, part of its "corporate re-branding exercise," as covered in BrandWeek. The
site, built by AKQA. The logo comes from Ogilvy. Apparently the campaign has been gestating for more than nine months, and has little if anything to do with the Google acquisition.

Why green? DoubleClick CEO David Rosenblatt answers his own question in a video on the site. DoubleClick, he says, is "a different company today than it was a year or two years ago." Also, he adds, green "represents springtime, obviously, growth, potential, freshness, originality and creativity."

Well, as for the originality and creativity part…maybe not quite as much.

*Oh, and just to make clear, we here at ClickZ think nothing of the sort....

Posted by Kate Kaye at 2:31 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

April 4, 2007

News Flash! Mandy Moore Breaks Ankle... Mashed Up with Photobucket

The buzz around the teen news sites today followed singer and actress Mandy Moore's recent mishap where she broke her ankle on a photoshoot in Mexico (and we hope she gets better), but perhaps the bright side is her ordeal will help get photo sharing Web site Photobucket some more attention as well.

While it might seem like an unlikely combination at first glance, Mandy Moore has partnered with Photobucket and teen social networking site MyYearBook.com to hold a contest with the ultimate prize being Moore singing at the winner's high school graduation. The idea being that Moore has placed her latest single “Extraordinary,” along with several pictures and other media, on the Photobucket site that her fans can then put together in a "mash-up" with their own content, and submit it through MyYearBook.com. Moore will then pick the winning entry at the end of the month.

Not being a Moore fan myself, or a teen for that matter, I was more intrigued with how Photobucket continues to position itself as a back end partner for social networking sites without betting on a single horse, is making specific efforts to reach out to the hard to target market of teens who use its service voraciously, and has begun making deals with content producers directly to promote its own capabilities.

"It's really getting the users the power and ability to spread things that they are passionate about," Photobucket CEO and co-founder Alex Welch told me. "And for the brand it's allowing the user to get involved and touch and do thing with their provided content. In Mandy's case it's being able to add your own photos and content to her music."

In addition to Moore, Photobucket has also recently inked deals with Yari Film Group to promote the ‘Kickin It Old Skool’ movie, and has done deals with Disney around Peter Pan and others. Welch told me that by getting more professional content, along with Photobucket's regular content, flowing through his service he hopes to provide a means for advertisers to reach out to the teen demographic.

"We look at the demographic and how do we get brand as and advertisers in front of the users not just in a banner format but in interesting ways," he said. "It's really about getting the users the power and ability to spread things that they are passionate about. For the brands and agencies are much more affective than the :30 spot."

I guess we can only hope that Moore will be up and about to sing at someone's June graduation.

Posted by MatthewNelson at 12:26 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

March 14, 2007

Hoops McCain?

Ya know how they say people choose their candidate based on who'd they'd rather have a beer with? Well, how 'bout whether or not you like his NCAA picks? On his Web site, John McCain has listed his bracket picks for the tourney, and the campaign has put forth a challenge, too. McCain "Team Members," a.k.a., people who register for the site, with the top picks will get goodies from the candidate. "First place will receive a McCain 2008 Fleece, second place will receive a McCain 2008 Hat and third place will receive a McCain 2008 Lapel Pin," according to the site.

I realize these campaigns need all the money they can get, but, what is this NPR? Where's the tote bag?

Anyway, if you want to submit your picks, or even if you want to see McCain's, you've got to register. If I'm reading his bracket correctly (and I honestly no zilch about basketball), it looks like he's chosen North Carolina as the champions.

Of course, my first thought was, "Hmmm…I wonder if he hopes to impress a particular primary state by choosing their home team." That would be lame and probably pointless, but politicians are known to kowtow to specific constituencies when necessary. Though NC will probably be among the growing number of early primary states this year, voters there were divided pretty closely down the middle in terms of which of the two major parties they went with, both in the '06 congressional and '04 presidential elections.

All right, enough of the conspiratorial theorizing. This is an interesting approach, and could serve to position McCain as a more approachable everyman, rather than the slightly gruff, distant, heroic image he casts now. Then again, maybe he's just really into basketball. They say he's a big sports nut, which he's evinced by taking legislative action to clean up sports including boxing and baseball.

Either way, I'm surprised there's no specific bracket pick sponsored link resulting when I search "John McCain" or "March Madness" or "NCAA" on Google. I'm sure the two tourney-related terms are expensive right now, but the folks doing interactive work on the campaign, Campaign Solutions, are all about search.

And another thing, I wonder if they considered tying the contest to fundraising somehow. I guess having money involved would seem too close to gambling, another McCain bete noir.

Another thing I can't help but wonder: Will it be long before we see Hillary making her NASCAR predictions?

Posted by Kate Kaye at 4:29 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

February 23, 2007

PS3: How to Kill Your Brand

Video game enthusiasts can be a fairly loyal and at times a very snarky bunch, so I wasn't too surprised when a few game developer friends of mine tipped me off to this video floating around the Internet about Sony's PS3 sales woes verses the Microsoft Xbox 360.

But as the song repeats its chorus of "How You Killed Your Brand" intermixed with samples of Phil Harrison, the president of Sony Computer Entertainment Worldwide Studios, supposedly hemming and hawing over answers to questions, and even several shots of PS3 declining sales charts, I was hard pressed not to chuckle at things as well.

A brief search on my part failed to uncover where the video came from, aside from the fact that it was recorded by someone named Doc Adams, but it's hard not to smell some of Microsoft's hand in things. If viral marketing is all the rage, was viral mudslinging not too far behind? Or perhaps some viral dancing on graves?

Still, it's a catchy tune!

Posted by MatthewNelson at 11:04 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

February 9, 2007

Dove Teaches New Branding Tricks to Old Broads

Or something like that. (By the way, since I'm a broad, I can use that term according to strict PC regulations.)

So, Dove has yet again extended its Real Beauty campaign, this time launching a line of "pro-aging" products. Yet again there's a video intended to shock and spur sharing among empowered women. This time it displays women over 50 in the buff, covering naughty bits, of course. Annie Leibovitz's camera zooms in on wrinkled skin, and women of many shades and sizes lift their heads in pride. Another video clip features reactions from women, most positive.

The site also features a sign-up to get free samples, info on the women in the ads, and a call-out for other women to be shown in future pro-age campaigns.

The forum discussion on the site is also laden with thankful messages, giving Dove hero status. One particular comment caught my eye: "Hooray for Dove. It is about time we concentrated on 'real beauty'. I do not see why this commercial cannot be on TV. We see many many more explicit things on tv."

Indeed, as each woman is presented in the ad, the screen flashed the text, “too old to be in an anti-aging ad.”

Hmmm…is that simply a statement meant to express the fact that women in anti-aging product ads typically tend to be younger than the ones who actually use those products? Or was Dove actually denied ad time?

Well, the site lists this among its "TV commercials," so I'm assuming they actually are running on TV. I have a call into Dove's PR firm on this, though, so we'll see!

Posted by Kate Kaye at 4:05 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

February 2, 2007

Bud.tv Shows, Coming Soon to YouTube

So on Monday we'll finally have Bud.tv, a project that has already gone down as a milestone for branded entertainment. It remains to be seen whether it will mark the true return of ambitious marketer-run content channels, a la P&G's early soap operas, or the moment advertising-as-entertainment jumps the shark.

The content Anheuser-Bush has slated for the channel is alternately low- and high-brow. Short form videos will be contributed by a high-falutin' passel of Hollywood auteurs, including Kevin Spacey's production house (Trigger Street) and Damon/Affleck studio LivePlanet. The site will produce some truly interactive content, including a "Finish Our Film" contest, plus predictable slapstick clips and high-concept shows. A story in The Times Magazine has many more details in a profile of the effort, which it calls "sotto voice" marketing.

A-B, which reportedly expects to spend $30 million on Bud.TV in its first year alone, is clearly shooting for a broad spectrum of programming – much of it high-caliber. The question is, will people see it on BUD.TV or on YouTube, and does Bud even care?

Posted by Zachary Rodgers at 9:58 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

January 18, 2007

Dove Man at Ogilvy Says Glitz Is Real Beauty, Too

So, I was able to chat with Dove agency Ogilvy today, after two days of trying for a ClickZ News story published today on the brand's sponsorship of awards ceremony content. The story hinged on the possibility that fans of the Real Beauty campaign might not appreciate Dove's connection to glitzy awards shows and overly primped celebrities.

Mike Hemingway, Ogilvy's global managing director in New York gave me a call this morning and I ran a couple questions by him. Does Dove run the risk of alienating women who truly appreciated the sentiments behind the Real Beauty campaign and its "Evolution" video? Could the success of those previous efforts be diluted by attaching Dove to red carpet critiques?

"We're not anti anybody," he told me. "If you happen to be size 8 and blonde, you're still welcome."

Of course, it didn't take long for him to mention the surprise Golden Globes winner America Ferrera, star of Ugly Betty. Hemingway didn't go so far as to call her ugly, but apparently she represents the new, less stereotype-driven Hollywood. "There may be some stereotypes that Hollywood did espouse of old, but there's a lot less now," he said.

Sure, and that's why Brad Pitt, Angelina Jolie, Katie Holmes and Tom Cruise are on every tab cover….

In the end, he stressed that the awards content ads and sponsorship simply recognizes the fact that people like to enjoy themselves by indulging in celebrity culture (girls just wanna have fun?). "Hopefully," he added, "When we see the online dialogue, we'll see people saying, 'hang on, stop being so literal.' "

He also told me Dove ran ads during the Oscars last year, after the Real Beauty campaign launch. Apparently nobody made much of it then.

"I think people know enough about us [Dove] to realize what we're doing and I doubt there will be a confusion of messages," he concluded.

Posted by Kate Kaye at 5:19 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

December 11, 2006

Power Points Ranging

My holiday this year was a bit more off the beaten track than usual. I can't say Laos provided any great revelations about interactive marketing -- it's nowhere near that point of development. What was mesmerizing was the never-ending display of brands -- and off brands -- in the local markets.

I wish I'd spoken enough of the language to learn whether or not the YongWei iPod mini headphones were outselling "Apple's" version.

And I'll long regret being way too big to fit into this Power Points Rangers t-shirt for my next conference presentation. If you're in the audience, would you please just pretend I've got it on?

Posted by Rebecca Lieb at 10:31 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

November 27, 2006

Yahoo's Peanut Butter and Microsoft's Ketchup

Ever since Yahoo's peanut butter manifesto became public last week, I've been harboring a theory that all the challenges faced by competitors to the ever-ascendant Google can perhaps be analyzed in light of their identification with a food spread or condiment. If Yahoo is peanut butter -- cheap, easily digestible and spread a little too thin -- then of course Microsoft is ketchup, perennially imitating the online innovators. Ask.com must be Grey Poupon, I think, in deference to the retired butler. eBay is, what, pepper? Grainy and zingy, yet common. FIM is probably maple syrup, favored by the young 'uns. If you want to get international, Chinese portal and Google nemesis Baidu would be soy sauce and Japan's NTT DoCoMo wireless carrier/portal, wasabe. But perhaps that's insensitive. It's so hard to be sure in this day and age.

I'm not sure about AOL though. A colleague suggests Aioli, the garlic mayonnaise popular in Valencia and Catalonia, since it's spelled and pronounced in a similar fashion. And, well yes, if you strip out the haute cuisine part, AOL is mayo all the way. Please leave your own suggestions in the comments.

So if I'm right, all the jabbering speculation about whom should acquire or join forces with whom in the online turf wars with Google can be reduced to the simple question of which spreads and sauces go best together. Mayo and mustard? Ketchup and Mayo? Soy sauce and maple syrup? I just hope all these players remember about the meat (or preferred meat substitute).

Posted by Zachary Rodgers at 10:26 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

October 31, 2006

Arnold CEO Pits Dove Against Smirnoff

Arnold Worldwide CEO Fran Kelly did a keynote/book plug yesterday at the IAB Leadership Forum Agency Summit here in NYC. His focus was that of his new book, what he calls "Breakout Brands." He talked about brands like Timberland, VW, Royal Caribbean, and the anti-smoking campaign, Truth, as brands that are breaking out. Many of them are doing interesting stuff online (cool sites, community-building, etc.) and, he thinks, integrating this stuff well with other media efforts. I'm still not exactly sure what a breakout brand is, but I figure it's a good enough excuse to write a book and tout your agency.

Anyway, Kelly alluded to something a few times throughout his talk that was worth mentioning: Smirnoff's "Tea Partay" rap video spoof that became a big YouTube hit. Kelly juxtaposed the video ad for the firm's Raw Tea brand with another video spot that's gotten lots of attention recently, Dove's Real Beauty "Evolution" video.

He wondered something many have wondered about such videos and viral campaigns (perhaps most of all, BK's Subservient Chicken). Does it inspire more people to buy the product or think more highly of the brand?

"I wonder if anybody's going to run out and buy Smirnoff Raw Tea," said Kelly, noting more than once that the agency that created the ultra-cliché white boy rap, Bartle Bogle Hegarty, has since been dropped by Smirnoff parent co. Diageo. Diageo has since returned to its previous agency, JWT in New York. It's not clear that the Raw Tea campaign had anything to do with it, though Kelly kind of implied it.

Kelly seemed to be going on instinct when he posited that the BBH video amounted to "brand disintegration" for Smirnoff. The Dove campaign, instead is an example of brand integration. The Dove Real Beauty message, said Kelly, is "something every communications partner can work with to try to push that brand ahead."

He may be right. Indeed, I figure a lot of other online branding efforts intended to garner viral and CGM steam could be considered off track with the overall brand message. I guess that's something marketers will continue to struggle with as they focus more and more on targeting niche markets.

Today, ClickZ's own Pete Blackshaw puts in his two cents on the effect of the Evolution video on the Dove brand. Not only has he watched it countless times and analyzed it, he believes, "Long term, this campaign may be a gift that keeps on giving," for several reasons (read the column to get the full scope.

Both the Dove and the Smirnoff campaigns have specific sites attached to them. Although, as opposed to the Tea Partay site, the Real Beauty site provides lots of opportunities for discussion and contemplation of the issues it raises, it makes sense for it to have those. The Smirnoff effort easily could have included an Evite-style party/community component, however, which it doesn't have from what I can tell.

Either way, there's no telling whether Dove will sell more soap because of this campaign. I have mixed feelings about it personally, but I can say for sure I'll continue to prefer other skincare products over Dove. In fact, the only person in my house who'll probably continue to insist on Dove is a dude.

Posted by Kate Kaye at 11:44 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

September 25, 2006

Monday Morning: The IAB & Naughty Lingerie

Maybe it's just an early Monday morning thing, but sitting at the IAB's MIXX event, I can't help but think that the logo and overall visual identity: languid, swirling, suspend liquid, is awfully reminiscent of the flowing inky black stuff that weaves through Agent Provacateur's not-particularly-worksafe Web site (this page is OK, though).

Maybe I'm wrong. Both might just be taking that water drop that was so ubiquitous c. 2001 another step forward.

 

Posted by Rebecca Lieb at 9:56 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

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