Category Archives: marketing and promotion

hot rods in hi def – oh wow!

Got hi-def? Discovery Channel’s new ‘Rides’ series is a good reason to run right out and cable yourself into 1080 bliss if you haven’t done so already. Specifically, the segment titled ‘Rat Rods’, in rotation and airing next on January 7th.

Ever wonder what life would be like without reality show buffoonery and billet ad nauseum? Then you’ve found a new home. The almost hour-long episode focuses on the chopping of “bad news”, a resurrected T-model by a bunch of cats, the Burbank Choppers Car Club to be specific, whose idea of rods and customs doesn’t depend on a Black AmEx, just desire, imagination, skill – and a healthy respect for tradition.

Their site’s a piece of work to be admired for form and function as much as content. The same goes for snap-shooter Laurent Bagnard whose coffee table book about the club “The Electroline Diaries” sold out within weeks of publication.

Tag along on this respectful look at car culture the way it’s meant to be – without anybody ever mentioning “old skool” once.

here’s the forecast – online gets more traction

The Economist reports that London based ZenithOptiMedia is predicting internet ads, at a forecast 8% of all global advertising, will surpass the bucks now spent on radio in 2008. And by 2012, another research firm is estimating nearly 18% of European advertising will be online. This in the context of a domestic recession many think inevitable.

Where is print in this outlook? Weeeeeelll…newspaper profits are predicted to improve as a result of subscription increases and more ad revenue, even as many (see Herald, Miami) continue to cut circ and staff. Often refered to as eating the seed corn.

Big news, though, is the consensus that nearly 90% of marketing departments will or have already launched “social content” campaigns, and that by ’09 marketers will be targeting 25% of their budget for social media. What’s it all mean? At this point it seems that for all but a handful at the very top, online media’s a must-have of don’t have a clue how to.

valvoline’s promo blowout

Sweet! Valvoline’s summer promotion offering a pair of Mechanix gloves – MSRP $23.95 – in exchange for 6 proofs of purchase was a thumbs-up winner in the create a new customer sweepstakes. Valvoline’s always been my oil of choice and this just cemented the deal. I stripped off the plastic rings from the 60-weight already on my shelves and 4-6 weeks later the gloves were on my workbench.

This marketing promotion worked well on a number of levels. Actual retail value of the premium was easily compared by visiting any chain store and checking out the pricing. The gloves themselves have a known brand cache. The fact that the product was practical as well completed the reward expectations loop, justifying the effort to collect, fill out, insert and mail the qualifying bits and pieces. And this promo created a fair amount of blog and forum buzz, which never hurts.

Not every marketer can devote the resources needed to lay out a promo like this one. (Adobe just ran a buy two get an iPod shuffle to hype their stock art biz. I didn’t need another iPod but couldn’t resist taking the bait.) But if the audience is big enough, the rewards on both sides of the mailbox can be considerable.

why circuit city sucks

First some background. One of the essential Marketing Customer Commandments that’s emerged in the era of the internet has been a total focus on customer retention. My recent experiences with vendors ranging from Valvoline motor oil to Garden of Eatin’s line of organic chips convinces me that it’s not just a throwaway line. But then there are retailers like Circuit City, and this goes to the reason why Best Buy is clobbering The Other Big Red Box.
Continue reading →

ape + drums = cool

Like gorillas? We do. Phil Collins? Uh, depends. Drums? Way. Chocolate? Dumb question. Then hurry on over to Glass and a Half by Cadbury and ch ch check it out. This is what marketeers mean when they throw the viral adjective around. Don’t get it? You’re trying to hard. Stick around after the show to see what the larger point of the exercise is.

Check back later to get linked to the latest in French cartoon stripper porn that uses pole dancing flamingos to sell the hell out of chock full o’ vitamins fruit juicy delicious Orangina brand beverages.

online view vs. page view

The trade news is full of it. The “it” being the continuing defection of marketeers from print to digital. For instance?

According to Advertising Age, last week’s Association of National Advertisers meetup had as one highlight – or lowlight, depending – ConocoPhillips’ brand manager complaining about the lack of solutions for advertisers need to reach their market.

Formerly with LA’s Dailey & Associates (who also handle media for Honda) the company brought their account in-house in 2005. Since then they’ve gone from spending about $20 million in measured media to $18.7 million in 2006 to $3.6 million for the first half of this year. Looks like a trend.

But they’re not happy with a continuing lack of awareness by their market. And they don’t have a solution, either, other than to call out agencies in general for not solving their, and others, problem with communications.

All of which indicates a time that’s either quickly approaching or already on us requiring open minds and clever thinking when it comes to message creation and dissemination. Please stay tuned.

building brand buzz – ktm rewrites the book

With the mixed bag of marketing news currently rolling in – TMC to cut shipments, overall growth down in most markets – the swath KTM’s cutting in the media and the showroom is nothing short of astounding.

For a brand that’s seen its share of rudderless drifting, what’s happening now is something the Big 3 US automakers wished they could channel. Editorially, KTM’s all up in everybody’s face these days. And these days it’s orange and black. No, not over there. Over here. Lets take a look at this bad boy badge.

Continue reading →

jim vs jack – brand allegiance defined

A few years ago my decades long brand allegiance to Mr. Jack Daniels was severed when the iconic brand was outed for having diluted Old No. 7 without so much as a by your leave to the legions of faithful sippers.

As a result of that marketing gaffe – remember the Classic Coke disaster? – I switched back to a favorite from my, uh-hem, formative years – Jim Beam – to punish Lynchburg’s favorite son.

This is more than Tennessee vs. Kentucky. Charcoal filtered vs. charred barrels. In today’s online edition Ad Age reports the folks at Beam have announced a $100-million shift in media strategy aimed at really pushing the word-of-mouth category of unmeasured ad spending.

With social content media alternatives popping up like unwanted relatives at a family reunion, it’s no wonder traditional print feels threatened. All I know is the folks at Beam Global Wine & Spirits want to reward their evangelistas. Where do I sign up?

made in china fallout continues

No sooner had we wondered out loud about the problematic issue posed by the brand extension “made in china” than a report by Bloomberg News pointed towards a call for mandatory Federal regulation and oversight of the domestic atv market by an industry that’d fiercely opposed any such meddling in prior years. What changed?

Internet sales. Home delivery. And a tripling in unit sales to around 400,000 in 2006 for a Chinese product which costs roughly a third of their better branded counterparts. Who, by the way, saw same period sales slip by about 30,000 machines to 750,000 atvs. Some might see a trend at work.
Continue reading →

harley steps up, swings deep

In what looks like a particularly insightful move, TMC announced the hiring of their first Chief Marketing Officer with the appointment of 40-year-old Marc-Hans Richer to lead the manufacturer’s quest for a younger market.

Say adios to the iconic beret as the beacon in the marketing lighthouse. According to AdAge Daily News, the former head of Pontiac’s brand effort has his sights set on Milwaukee after several spectacular innovations with the GM brand he’s piloted since 2004. Like what? The most outrageous stunt was the giveaway of 276 G6 models on Oprah.

He’s been instrumental in linking the mature brand to a younger audience with pioneering web efforts, including the Second Life virtual marketing model. Among his challenges at HD: getting by with a $30 million budget instead of the nearly $150 million he directed at Pontiac, despite the legendary rep of Harley’s marketing reach. Other unknowns: a departure on the heels of a continuing Detroit automotive mega slump, including his much heralded Pontiac division, which was down 14% in the first half of ’07.

With this announcement, Harley acknowledges the obvious: concern for the future. Will fresh thinking and a contemporary approach move the meter? Watch Wall Street — and maybe TiVo Oprah — to find out.