Yesterday in our e-Marketing class our professor, Sven, reminded us of the requirements for our blog project. I was one of the many students who realized, "son of a mother duck, I should probably post some blogs on the required content." Well timed my German instructor.
Considering the nerds who run the pro blogging sites never post about sports, athletes, or any kind of ball, I turn to the only blog at my disposal that does mention this realm, the blog of 3 of my classmates, CommercialsAreUs, all 3 are athletes. Soooooooo I check out their ish a lot.
Their blog looks at, you guessed it, commercials, but also the TV industry in general. I noticed that some of the ads they were mentioning used sports as a vehicle to a successful campaign.
The two ads I saw were for beer, and fast food (Burger King). Which got me to thinking, these are two categories wherein the majority of consumption comes from men. Which then led to my breakthrough, that isn't entirely a breakthrough, considering its stereotypical public knowledge, that running ads that employ sports as the vehicle for portraying your message is a great way to make men buy your product.
This got me to thinking...why is that?
Gentlemen, why do ads that employ sports appeal to you?
Ladies, do ads that employ sports appeal to you? Do you feel left out the the sports marketing inner circle?
Here are some to think about...
~Z
Friday, May 6, 2011
Thursday, May 5, 2011
Cars. Mattresses. Cynicism. OH MY!
In the posts that I've done about the automotive industry, I've asked a lot more questions than anything else. I feel like this is because it is such a strange industry to nail down. Cars serve many different purposes, obviously. They have a functional purpose, they are status symbols, and there is a rich history of the automotive business in the growth (and recent demise) of the American economy.
I was watching TV the other day (a rarity, I assure you except for Mariners games) and one of those fun commercials for "The Mattress Ranch" came on. You know, the one where the guy in the Spongebob Squarepants tie is dancing around with money in his hands and telling you that you can "save more bucks at the Mattress Ranch." I got to thinking, "how do mattress companies even make money? Nobody regularly buys a mattress." Really, it's not just one of things you go out and get. Once you buy a mattress, you've got it for a while. The mattress companies recommend that you buy a new mattress every 5-7 years because in that time, mattresses go flat and are no longer usable, at least with a reasonable amount of comfort. This thought also got me thinking about the auto industry. It certainly doesn't seem like they'd be making a lot of money, considering that cars do in fact last a long time. I'm rollin' in a 1997 Mazda Protege... Just saying. Digging a little deeper, I found out that the average person changes cars every 5-7 years as well. But obviously this isn't because of loss of functionality (unless of course you drive a Pinto).
So what is it about cars that cause such a frequent turnover? Why is it that, even though we don't NEED a new car, is the average ownership of a vehicle 5-7 years? OK, I get that the life cycle of a car, if taken good care of, is probably longer than a mattress and is overall an issue of milage. So sure, that accounts for the similar ownership turnover. I'm questioning the necessity here. I really think that there is a lot of social pressure on Americans to have the best car available. They are symbols of wealth, power, and prestige. All of which I personally think are BS (this comment is not endorsed by the Dream Team as a whole). In a lot of ways I believe that a car is like a mattress; you don't need a new one all too often, and they are wonderful if you have one that fits your preferences. With that said, America seems to disagree with me.
When a person parts ways with a mattress, it's usually because it no longer can serve it's functional purpose. When a person parts ways with a car, in far less time (and at a far greater expense), it has to be for some other reason(s). Why is that we are willing to commit huge sums of money (and quite frequently according to the statistics) on something that we don't necessarily need to? I know we live in the land of overindulgence, but I don't really get this one. But then again, I often equate myself to a cynical old man... Help me understand, folks.
Enjoy some Ted Sadler!
I was watching TV the other day (a rarity, I assure you except for Mariners games) and one of those fun commercials for "The Mattress Ranch" came on. You know, the one where the guy in the Spongebob Squarepants tie is dancing around with money in his hands and telling you that you can "save more bucks at the Mattress Ranch." I got to thinking, "how do mattress companies even make money? Nobody regularly buys a mattress." Really, it's not just one of things you go out and get. Once you buy a mattress, you've got it for a while. The mattress companies recommend that you buy a new mattress every 5-7 years because in that time, mattresses go flat and are no longer usable, at least with a reasonable amount of comfort. This thought also got me thinking about the auto industry. It certainly doesn't seem like they'd be making a lot of money, considering that cars do in fact last a long time. I'm rollin' in a 1997 Mazda Protege... Just saying. Digging a little deeper, I found out that the average person changes cars every 5-7 years as well. But obviously this isn't because of loss of functionality (unless of course you drive a Pinto).
So what is it about cars that cause such a frequent turnover? Why is it that, even though we don't NEED a new car, is the average ownership of a vehicle 5-7 years? OK, I get that the life cycle of a car, if taken good care of, is probably longer than a mattress and is overall an issue of milage. So sure, that accounts for the similar ownership turnover. I'm questioning the necessity here. I really think that there is a lot of social pressure on Americans to have the best car available. They are symbols of wealth, power, and prestige. All of which I personally think are BS (this comment is not endorsed by the Dream Team as a whole). In a lot of ways I believe that a car is like a mattress; you don't need a new one all too often, and they are wonderful if you have one that fits your preferences. With that said, America seems to disagree with me.
When a person parts ways with a mattress, it's usually because it no longer can serve it's functional purpose. When a person parts ways with a car, in far less time (and at a far greater expense), it has to be for some other reason(s). Why is that we are willing to commit huge sums of money (and quite frequently according to the statistics) on something that we don't necessarily need to? I know we live in the land of overindulgence, but I don't really get this one. But then again, I often equate myself to a cynical old man... Help me understand, folks.
Enjoy some Ted Sadler!
NFL lockout is the best thing for college education
Does the NFL lockout have college professors rejoicing?
In a recent article from ESPN titled "Pac-10 announces ESPN/Fox TV deal" the Pac-10 -- soon to officially become the Pac-12 -- has agreed to a 12-year television contract with ESPN and Fox that will more than triple its media rights fees and be the most valuable for any conference in college sports.
The contract, which will begin with the 2012-13 season, will be worth more than $225 million per year -- or $2.7 billion over the life of the deal, Sports Business Daily and The Associated Press reported on Tuesday.
This got me to thinking...
With NFL owners using their billions of dollars to prohibit the happiness of the American people, NCAA football looks like the only football we will have for the 2011-2012 season.
This significantly drove up the price of media rights fees to televise these college conferences. With all that money going to college conferences, 3x more, this means that 3x more money is going to colleges than before.
How much of that money translates to the classroom is unknown, but it wouldn't be a far cry to say that after this deal was made public, chemistry professors in the Pac-10 probably got the OK from their university's president to put in orders for some beakers.
How do you think the NFL lockout will effect education, or America in general?
~Z
In a recent article from ESPN titled "Pac-10 announces ESPN/Fox TV deal" the Pac-10 -- soon to officially become the Pac-12 -- has agreed to a 12-year television contract with ESPN and Fox that will more than triple its media rights fees and be the most valuable for any conference in college sports.
The contract, which will begin with the 2012-13 season, will be worth more than $225 million per year -- or $2.7 billion over the life of the deal, Sports Business Daily and The Associated Press reported on Tuesday.
This got me to thinking...
With NFL owners using their billions of dollars to prohibit the happiness of the American people, NCAA football looks like the only football we will have for the 2011-2012 season.
This significantly drove up the price of media rights fees to televise these college conferences. With all that money going to college conferences, 3x more, this means that 3x more money is going to colleges than before.
How much of that money translates to the classroom is unknown, but it wouldn't be a far cry to say that after this deal was made public, chemistry professors in the Pac-10 probably got the OK from their university's president to put in orders for some beakers.How do you think the NFL lockout will effect education, or America in general?
~Z
Tuesday, April 26, 2011
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%!
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
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
Tuesday, April 19, 2011
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
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
Wednesday, April 13, 2011
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
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