Guiness: Passport to Greatness

Mobile Marketing is a growing aspect of advertising, with 4 out of 5 Americans having cell phones mobile marketing is one of the easiest ways to reach consumers at any time of the day. An example of a successful company on the leading edge of mobile marketing is Guinness, as mentioned by GrowSomethingBigger.com

Guinness is the official sponsor of Hong Kong Seven's 3 day rugby tournament. With many of the 20,000 overseas visitors not being able to communicate in Cantonese or knowing where to go after the games to drink a Guinness, they created a brilliant mobile event guide that spoke Cantonese! It contained match schedules, a city guide and useful Cantonese phrases.  Thousands of people downloaded the app, and Guinness sales were driven up by 30%! 

As the video shows, the phrases weren't general sayings but it also had ways to flirt! Now the voice is female so I don't know how successful it was in actually picking up women, but how awesome would it be to have your phone talk for you?? I would definitely want an app like this if I was going to be in a foreign country!

-Karina

NBA tweets its way to the top

The NBA has positioned itself as the top sports league in social media -- No. 1 on Twitter, Facebook and YouTube in terms of respective followers, likes and views.

As I was combing ESPN looking for anything related to e-marketing, I hit the jackpot when I found a link to an article titled "The NBA's social media explosion."


The NBA is in the midst of a record-setting season. It's generating its highest TV ratings across networks (ESPN, TNT and ABC) and an all-time high in traffic to NBA.com, 2 billion video views on its website, and has one of the most-trafficked YouTube channels.

This surge comes as the NBA experiences unprecedented growth among its social media platforms. The NBA just surpassed 100 million combined followers and likes on Twitter and Facebook. That number is up from 63 million at the start of the season.

Approximately half of the NBA's players (220 and counting) are on Twitter, including 2 who were named among Time magazine's top Twitter feeds: Shaquille O'Neal and Steve Nash.

The NBA has embraced social media more than any other sport, making it an integral part of their day-to-day operations. David Stern, the NBA's commissioner, encourages social media and sees it as a "digital watercooler."

This digital watercooler allows the league to closely engage with their fans, keeping them filled in on the latest news, and most importantly, allows them to listen to their fans' wants and needs and respond in real time.

Social media has brought NBA fans closer to the action than ever before. Yet it is what social media offers that is key to understanding the tie between an explosion in social media exposure and explosion in league profits.

Social media allows fans what they desire most, access to professional athletes' world. Any fan who  can set up a Twitter account can gain access to the world of these superheroes. Social media allows fans an opportunity we have never had, the opportunity for anybody to interact with professional athletes. 

The NBA understands that social media affords mere mortals the opportunity to gain entry to the world of the gods. This previously unattainable feat being made available to anyone is the reason why seemingly EVERYONE is tuning into the NBA.


~Z

Puppies and Beer

Currently in our e-Marketing class we are running a Google Adword campaign for a dog pet rescue.  While we have been running this campaign I became curious whether any beer companies use puppies or dogs in their advertising, because everyone likes to see cute dogs right??  Many companies use animals in their advertisements, as they know that cute animals can sell products or at least give you a warm fuzzy feeling about the brand.

One TV ad I found that I thought used puppies perfectly to demonstrate the stereotype that women will be attracted to a man who has a cute puppy, was the Jim Beam "Rent a Puppy":

Budweiser has consistently used dogs in their ads, most recently the Dog Sitter which aired during the Superbowl this year:

I also really like the Budweiser commercial that shows two dogs fetching beer for their masters:

As I was researching these ads, I came across a Korean beer  called "Happy Lager" that is actually made for dogs.  Kinda strange honestly, I don't know if it actually has any alcohol in it, but would you buy beer for your dog?  I'd rather buy it for myself!

What are your thoughts about using animals in advertisements?  Do you think they are successful?

-Karina

NIKE vs ADIDAS

 SWOOSH OR STRIPES?

Both Nike and adidas have two newish ads that are pretty cool and interestingly enough are emphasizing a common theme 

Nike's new ad is titled "NIKE THROWDOWN" wherein Nike consumers attempt to one-up each other, challenging consumers to join them and show they're in the club.

adidas' ad is titled "ADIDAS IS ALL IN" wherein adidas shows the myriad of top schools, athletes, and artists they endorse in a series of quick cuts where they show flashes of their performance that crescendos into roaring crowds and ends with adidas listing all their endorsee's who are all in. Like Nike's ad, adidas is challenging consumers to join the list of impressive individuals who are ALREADY ALL IN. They are urging consumers to join the club. 

It's not surprising that these giant corporations would run ads that challenge the consumer to purchase their product. What I think IS interesting is that the first new ads of the year focus on identification. 

Within the first 3 months of the year adidas is running an ad that essentially says, "the cream of the crop is already all in...ARE YOU? This pushes the consumer to purchase their product so that they won't get left behind since these superheroes have already joined the club.

Nike is also conveying a don't get left behind message by showing that their consumers are currently involved in a widespread movement of one-upping each other, which urges viewers to quickly go out and join the club so they won't miss out on a movement that is already happening. 

I think it is brilliant that Nike and adidas chose this campaign strategy as their first ones of the year because as we set new year's resolutions and start getting comfy with 2011, Nike and adidas are quick to tell us that if we don't act now, we will miss out on the opportunity to be a part of the movement!

DOES URGENCY WORK?

WHICH AD MAKES YOU WANT TO JOIN THEIR CLUB MORE?

~Z

LeBron taking his talents to...Liverpool?

LeBron James is on his way to becoming the billion dollar name he has always desired to be.

Fenway Sports Marketing -- the sister company of the Red Sox -- said Wednesday it has signed James and the management company he helped create, LRMR, to a long-term deal to secure marketing and sponsorship opportunities. As part of the deal, James obtained a piece of Liverpool FC, one of the world's most famed soccer teams and a longtime marquee franchise in the English Premier League.

FSM handles the marketing for the Red Sox, Liverpool and Roush Fenway Racing, and now it will handle James, too.

"What FSM does for Roush Fenway, Liverpool and the Red Sox, we will now do for LeBron James," FSM President Sam Kennedy said. "We will aggressively pursue business opportunities for him."

The obvious goal of all parties involved with this deal is creating a GLOBAL BRAND

With the addition of LeBron James, FSM has essentially created a global marketing Holy Trinity in Liverpool FC, Boston Red Sox, and LeBron James, 3 HUGE globally recognized brands.

Haters may say LeBron has no business owning stock in soccer, and his avid love for the Yanks make his move to ink a deal with the Sox confusing. But in my opinion, the move is BRILLIANT.

WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT LEBRON'S NEW DEAL?

~Z

I Got a Feeling, WOOHOOO!

I am thoroughly convinced that marketers are more in the business of pitching an emotion and a feeling rather than presenting a product. Sure, in a car commercial you see the vehicle itself and hear of the features, but I think that the bells, whistles, lights and cityscapes in the background of said commercials are what the car companies are hoping stick with you.

Maybe I'm too simple for my own good, but in my mind, a car is a car. If it has four wheels, a motor and can get me safely and consistently from point A to point B, then I'm set. Okay, obviously there are certain very basic necessities that a reliable car has to have, but hold the in-dash navigation and DVD players, please... I digress. Feelings. Kia wants you to FEEL like you're getting a steal of a deal. Lexus wants you to FEEL luxurious. Jeep wants you to FEEL like you can depend on your vehicle in any environment. Hummer wants you to FEEL cool (I know they don't make Hummers anymore, but for a while there, you couldn't tan, have a tribal tattoo and drink Red Bull without too owning a Hummer). In the first commercial below, she even ADMITS it! It's not about the features anymore... It's about the emotions that you experience when you drive.

I think this idea of marketing feelings and emotions applies to every industry, but it is strongest in the auto industry because the market is so sharply divided in regard to class and quality. Here are some commercials that I think supports this theory perfectly... I just blowing smoke? Comment. What do you think? What are you FEELING?