Search Engine Optimization, also known as SEO, is becoming more and more common in a brand's media strategy as consumer internet usage skyrockets. SEO is used by thousands of companies in order to ensure that their company's website appears high up on a search engine's results page. This can be beneficial to a business because it is always good to be the first result in the consumer's mind.
When you make any search on Google, Yahoo, Bing, or any other search engine, the odds are that you are seeing SEO in action without even noticing. Say your washing machine broke down and you need a repair man. You quickly take to Google and search for "Washing Machine Repair" and look at the results.
Other than the first three results that show up using Google Ads, the next two results on the Google search results are both for a website called Washing Wizards. From the looks of these results, it seems like Washing Wizards are utilizing a successful media plan by using search engine optimization. Not only do they come up as the first result, but also the second. This shows how SEO can really help a business get their name out there and use brand reinforcement in order to stay in the consumer's mind.
What other examples can you think of? Try searching for your name and see how far down you appear on the search results.
If you work for a marketing agency, the odds are you'll usually be working with a client. Depending on how popular your agency is, finding big-name clients can be a difficult task. Clients often want things done to their exact specifications, and this is can often times be extremely frustrating. On many occasions, you will require necessary information about the client's product and their desires that they refuse to give you because they are not being specific enough.
Working on this mock project for the Springfield Chamber of Commerce, I have run into this problem withing with our other class "client." When designing our creative brief for the client, there have been more than a few occasions where we need to know the client's exact thoughts on a matter and their distinct objectives regarding what they want this new campaign to focus on. Every time we have questioned them about their wants and needs, the client has avoided giving us a set answer, which is extremely frustrating.
However, this happens all the time in the real world, so it is important to remain calm and not lash out on the client. In many occasions, the client has invested a lot of time, money and resources on this campaign, so it is important that you take their best interest into account as best as possible in order to provide them with positive results.
Have you seen this man? If you're like thousands of other Americans, the answer is "yes." Isaiah Mustafa became the face of Old Spice's "The Man Your Man Could Smell Like" campaign in early 2010. This campaign is a great example of media selection and how it can totally redefine your brand.
In addition to creating memorable TV commercials that quickly went viral, Old Spice continued to make their recently re-branded company known on social media. The company's YouTube channel features dozens of videos of Mustafa answering user-generated questions through Twitter. Some of these interactions include conversations with celebrities like Alyssa Milano where Old Spice even went as far as to send flowers to her house.
By continuing this campaign on a medium other than television, Old Spice is fitting with their new brand image of a younger demographic that heavily focuses on social media. Because they took the effort to incorporate many different mediums into this campaign, Old Spice has seen a huge increase in sales and has managed to stay relevant among the competition.
Choosing the right form of media to use for your product or service can be a difficult task. Certain types of products and various target markets are only suitable for certain types of media. An example of knowing your target market and utilizing them properly is through Toyota's promotion of their 2003 Corolla.
Toyota set out with the goal of marketing their new Corolla to a younger market. Taking into account that television viewership of young adults was slowly declining, Toyota wanted to do something different. One thing that Toyota's agency, Saatchi & Saatchi LA, knew was that in order to appeal to this young demographic, the brand needed to move online.
Moving to a campaign heavily based on social media and online was difficult for Toyota as they were one of America's top-spending brands on television. The particular challenge that Toyota faced through utilizing online media was finding a platform that would accept interrupting ads without detracting from the viewer's content. Their solution? Utilize YouTube. Toyota understood that the videos people look up on YouTube differ greatly from content they like to view on television. The types of videos normally viewed on YouTube are short and funny clips, so Toyota decided to move their marketing campaign in this direction. Toyota decided to release short YouTube video initiatives titled "Best in Jest" and "Sketchies."
The "Best in Jest" featured the best funny videos of the week while still pushing the new model Corolla to their audience. "Sketchies" was a site where the viewing community can submit their own user-generated content and put them up to a vote for the best video while still having the Corolla brand gently pushed upon them.
These two campaigns had extremely positive results and really boosted the brand's image and favorability to the younger market. By choosing the right media to advertise on and knowing your target market, Toyota was able to gain new customers that could remain loyal for life.
As discussed in Anthony Young's Brand Media Strategy, one of the most important things your brand can do is properly engage your target audience. One campaign that successfully engaged their fans on its way to becoming highest grossing films of all time was The Dark Knight.
The main tactics used by TDK in order to increase buzz regarding the film was the use of viral marketing. Warner Bros. used many interactive elements that went viral immediately in order to really engage their hardcore fans. One example of this was when they created WhySoSerious.com which lead readers to an online scavenger hunt that ended up leading them to real-world bakeries in 25 different cities. Once at the bakery, participants would ask for an order left for "Robin Banks" and the cashier would hand them a special cake with a number on it. Inside the cake was an evidence bag containing a cell phone and a joker playing card along with clues to the next location. This is a great way of getting fans involved with your brand while also using teasers as to what the film is about. In this case, engaging participants to get involved in the scavenger hunt shows how much hype existed for the release of this movie.
Warner Bros. also created an online newspaper for The Gotham Times where the movie takes place that was only promoted via social media rather than traditional methods. This further engages their audience because the film's target audience relies more on social media rather than traditional means like TV and radio. The results of these viral campaigns were staggering with millions of Google searches and YouTube hits.
The main point of this is that engaging your audience can be vital to your brand's success. By utilizing the proper channels and creating a campaign that is interesting and entertaining, The Dark Knight was able to captivate millions before the film was even released which lead to its outstanding box office success.
From a marketing perspective, buzz can be defined as a method of advertising that gets consumers talking about your product, service or idea in order to increase sales. Uses of buzz can be seen every day through teasers, press conferences, and commercials. While buzz is usually beneficial, it can also be detrimental if used improperly.
Such is the case with the Ford Edsel in the late 1950s. Ford tried to create buzz by parading an Edsel across the country via train but covered by a tarp. This concept was designed to stir consumer's curiosity as to what the car might look like. Although this did create buzz, the actual car did not live up to the wild expectations that this campaign created for consumers, and the model did not sell very well at all.
To this day, buzz marketing is still used by many brands in order to create excitement about the release of a new product. One company that has utilized buzz more than any other is Taco Bell with the introduction of their new Doritos Locos Tacos. After the success of the Nacho Cheese Doritos Locos Tacos, the public demanded the product expand to feature the Cool Ranch flavor of ideas. Taco Bell then released the following commercial called "The World's Most Obvious Idea" as a teaser for the release of the Cool Ranch Flavor:
In this case, it was easy for Taco Bell to create buzz because their consumers were already demanding this product. Taco Bell chose to acknowledge this in the commercial by portraying various situations of customers saying that they should make a Cool Ranch flavor. With the success of this new flavor, Taco Bell released yet another teaser trailer for their newest brand, Fiery Doritos Locos Tacos, titled "The World's Most Hottest Idea" which can be seen below:
This created a lot of buzz amongst the brand's consumers because the Doritos Locos Tacos have become so successful during their short lifespan. In order to create buzz, Taco Bell really needed to know their market. With the success of the nacho cheese and Cool Ranch versions, it was a no brainer for Taco Bell to release a new version. Because the Fiery DLT is relatively new, it may take a while to see the success of this teaser trailer.
Even if your company spends millions of dollars on the perfect ad campaign, your efforts could be completely wasted if you are not reaching your intended target market. Consumers used to act in a very precise way that could be easily represented through the Consumer Pathways model which goes as follows:
Traditionally, the the process that the consumer would complete in their head went from step to step starting with awareness and ending with brand advocacy. However, with all the conveniences of a modern day society like the availability of the internet as a shopping hub, consumers no longer have to start at one particular stage over another in order to purchase a product.
For example, over this past summer I was browsing the internet looking for a new TV for my dorm room. After checking a few sites, I finally found a brand I've never heard of for a really low price. Being a college student, I am naturally broke, so having a low price is an important quality to me, so I decide to purchase this no-name brand. This puts my involvement stage, active consideration stage, and purchase stage all before my awareness stage because I had never heard of the brand. Being a naive college student, I didn't even think to look into the brand to see if they are a reputable company. Naturally, the TV was poor quality, my parents got mad at me, I returned it and thus ended the brief relationship stage I had with this company, which means the odds of me becoming a brand advocate for this company are slim to none.
As a marketer, you cannot always assume people will follow the traditional model properly. In order to combat this, marketers need to be proactive in the way they engage their consumers. You may think you have a big idea that is going to make your company millions, but if it is not made readily available for all consumers to access in their own methods, you may find yourself unsuccessful. Customers buy products for various different reasons including emotional attachment, functionality, and even price. If your brand media strategy does not adhere to your target market's motivation for purchase, they will not be your customers for much longer!
The Product Color Matrix (PCM) is a tool that marketers can use to model their products in order to appeal to a certain demographic. Products are assigned a color based on their segment of the matrix and the different colors represent which type of product it is.
For example, "White Goods" are large tools like appliances and insurance that carry a high risk and are purchased solely for their functionality.
"Red Goods" are large toys like sports cars, motorcycles, and fashionable clothing. These products carry a high risk because of their large price tag but are more of an expressive product.
"Blue Goods" are functional products described as little tools that are used every day like gasoline and laundry detergent. These carry a very low risk and are purchased for their functionality rather than their expressiveness.
"Yellow Goods" are little treats that are purchased for their expressive values like snack foods, desserts, and beer.
In many cases, a product can often fit in to multiple sections of the matrix depending on their intended or actual use.
The commercial I chose to analyze was a recent Taco Bell commercial that is a part of their "Live Más" campaign featuring their Cool Ranch Doritos Locos Tacos. In my personal opinion, I think that Taco Bell is considered a "Blue Good" because it is very low risk (inexpensive) and is mostly purchased for its functionality (to satisfy hunger). However, after watching this commercial, one could argue that Taco Bell could be considered a "Red Good" because it is almost used to express individuality. The "Live Más" campaign is geared towards young adults and focuses on living life to the fullest, focusing on expressiveness.
I think that this commercial does a good job at showing the expressiveness of Taco Bell even though it is generally considered a "Blue Good." It clearly shows a nervous young couple on their first date, and the boy finally gathers the courage to kiss her while eating the new Doritos Locos Tacos.
Another Taco Bell commercial titled "Grande Papi" takes a similar route in showing the expressiveness of their new "Live Más" campaign.
This commercial features a father walking through the streets of a city eating a new Cantina Steak Burrito from Taco Bell. Even though he is carrying his child on his chest, he still has his "cool factor" by eating Taco Bell, thus adding to his expressive individuality.
I think Taco Bell is using these types of commercials to try and change their brand image. In the past, Taco Bell has received criticism for being extremely low quality food that is only good for a quick snack or a drunken late-night purchase. The Live Más campaign focuses heavily on youth and young adults and recognizes their desire for expression. I think that the marketers knew this when designing these ads to appeal to their desired demographic.
To me, an Oreo represents more than a delicious, fattening snack, but also an important part of my childhood. I can remember when I was a kid opening my lunch at school to find three Oreos as a dessert nearly every day. In fact, the best times of the year was when the Oreos started having the seasonal-colored creme like orange for Halloween, red for Christmas, and green for spring.
When asked to write about our own personal Oreo experience, I immediately remembered an awful situation I had as a child. My mom had just taken me to get my teeth cleaned at our dentist right down the street. After waiting approximately zero seconds after getting home, I dove head first into a package of Oreos, completely erasing the positive cleaning effects of the fluoride treatment I had gotten just ten minutes prior. My mom (who was absolutely furious) sent me directly to my room after scrubbing my teeth for what seemed like an eternity. The next day, I opened my lunchbox that lacked the one thing I had grown accustomed to--Oreos.
What is surprising to me is how a brand can become so iconic and represent a big part in millions of people's lives. The same phenomenon is present with Twinkies and how people were outraged when the company went bankrupt last year. You could ask anyone what an Oreo means to them and would end up hearing countless stories of childhood memories like my own. Oreo has reached this level by continuing to deliver a beloved product year after year. People have been able to create an emotional attachment to a product which is not easily achieved by many brands. However, if a marketer can get this to occur, they should have no problem establishing their brand as a leader in the marketplace.
In this weeks class, we focused on legendary advertising executive, Leo Burnett. Burnett is best known for his work with Kellogg's, Maytag and Marlboro. Most notably, Burnett's firm created the iconic Marlboro Man which served the brand from its creation in 1954 all the way until 1999. Burnett's marketing strategy was based on a few different concepts. Simplicity was one of the most important elements involved in the majority of his works. What made the Marlboro Man so iconic and successful was the simplicity behind it. Marlboro was originally made for women and wanted to shift their brand image, so Burnett created a relatable, blue-collar, American man that could attract the male market. The simplicity behind this idea was that men would be inspired to buy Marlboro cigarettes if they knew other "common" men were doing it too. This concept blends nicely with another one of Burnett's critical elements; knowing your brand. The Marlboro man was not only memorable, but also became successful because he was a representation of the brand itself. Burnett studied who Marlboro's desired target market was, analyzed them thoroughly, and created a memorable campaign that was a successful image of what the brand represented.
Even though the Marlboro Man represents the rugged side of Burnett's genius, he also had a softer side as evident through his work for Kellogg's. Burnett is known for creating the characters of Tony the Tiger for Frosted Flakes and Charlie the Tuna for StarKist Tuna. These characters were designed with one thing in mind: simplicity. The characters are relatable, memorable, and fun which is partly what made them so successful. They made something as boring as breakfast cereal or tuna fish into something that made people want to purchase the product, which was of course Burnett's goal.
A creative process can be a difficult concept to comprehend. Everyone works differently, therefore everyone has a different interpretation of what the creative process means. While some people find it easy to put their process into words, I personally found it pretty difficult. However, here is what I came up with for how I work best when trying to creatively:
The Creative Process
Take a seat somewhere comfy and assess your task at hand.
Clear your mind of all distractions.
Forget that . . . take a five minute break to watch some cat videos on YouTube.
Got enough inspiration? Get back to work!
Brainstorm, brainstorm, ask questions and brainstorm again.
Congratulations, you have your first small idea!
Wait, that idea is garbage . . . back to the drawing board! There will always be roadblocks.
Clear your mind again and repeat steps 3-7, then see step 9.
A genius idea!
Write absolutely everything down for further inspiration. You won't regret it.
Keep adding to your genius idea until your problem is solved!
Like I said before, the creative process is different for everyone! Personally, I work better when I take multiple breaks and I can find inspiration at literally any time--even in the middle of the night. The point of the creative process is that with enough brainstorming, questioning, and creative thinking, you will eventually reach that big idea that will solve your problem.
You may not know her name, but chances are you have come in contact with some of her work. Throughout the 1950s, Shirley was instrumental in the adaption of hair coloring product Miss Clairol into the United States marketplace. Previously, coloring one's hair in the US was considered taboo--a practice only used by actresses and prostitutes. Polykoff's visionary taglines "Blondes have more fun" and "Does she . . . or doesn't she?" captivated women across the country and made the process of hair coloring a natural thing, because with Miss Clairol hair coloring products, no one could tell if you were using their product, eliminating the negative stigma. After the campaign was launched, hair color sales in the United States increased by 500%. Polykoff's slogan used persuasion to help sway an entire nation's opinion of a product.
The lesson I took from this week's class is that a catchy slogan can turn your brand into a huge success. This got me thinking of many different brand's slogans. Which ones are successful? Which ones are forgettable? Whenever I hear "I'm lovin' it," I immediately think of McDonald's--making this an effective slogan. However, there are many companies with slogans that actually cause some people to think of their competition--making these poor choices for a catchphrase. Some slogans have been so played out that they are no longer effective and can often give people a poor image of the brand. For example, (continuing with my hatred for anything Geico-related), Geico's slogan "So easy, a caveman could do it" has been completely played out and has become extremely annoying in my opinion.
What are some of your favorite brand slogans? Least favorites? Comment below!
Now that we have narrowed down who buys a Twinkie in an "I am" statement, we can also express this data along with additional information in a statement called a "buyer persona." A buyer persona is basically a template that explains who it is you are trying to target your marketing efforts towards.
According to the Simmons data, the average Twinkie buyer in the United States is a Caucasian female between the ages of 45 and 54. In addition, they are much more likely to live in the Mid-West United States or the Pacific Coast. The majority of Twinkie buyers are high school graduates and are either full time college students or hold a full time blue-collar job. For those Twinkie buyers who work full time, the average salary is under $30,000/year. A Twinkie buyer is also more likely to live in a home with more children who are under sixteen years of age. From a political perspective, Twinkie buyers tend to take the middle-of-the-road stance. Many Twinkie buyers are often on the go, so they rarely have time to bake desserts of their own. In this case, Twinkies are the perfect substitute to feed younger kids. For entertainment, 22% of Twinkie buyers find an interest in the National Football League which could directly correlate to the higher amount of free time on the weekends when football is generally broadcast. The average Twinkie buyer does not have much interest in NASCAR, Rodeo, or Professional Wrestling.
The sports/entertainment data used in this buyer persona is presented in the following cross tabulation:
Through the Simmons database, there are countless fields that have data regarding buyers of Twinkies that you could also incorporate into the buyer persona or "I am" statement including what kind of books they like to read, what movie genre they prefer, and what types of TV shows they usually watch. Buyer personas can be extremely helpful to marketers because it provides them with the information regarding exactly who they want to target their ad campaigns towards.
In class, we were faced with the interesting question: Who really eats a Twinkie? In order to answer this question, we first needed to look at and analyze the Simmons data that we were given in class. Once we took a closer look at the data, we were able to paint a fairly clear picture of who purchases a Twinkie in the United States. In fact, some of the findings based on the Simmons data were really interesting and not exactly what I expected. The following represents an "I am" statement about the consumer profile of someone who purchases a Twinkie. Obviously, this is not from my own personal point of view, because I am not a middle-aged woman!
"I am a white woman between the ages of 45 and 54 living in the Mid-West United States. Even though I live in a rural area, I still make sure to buy a box of Twinkies every time I go to the grocery store. I am a high school graduate and am employed full time with an annual income between $15,000 and $30,000. I share my home with my husband and two children--both of which are under seventeen. They have loved Twinkies since they were little, and still do today. Even though I do not personally eat Twinkies, the rest of my family can't get enough of them!"
Based on this "I am" statement, it is clear that this is only taking into account a small sample that was used for the Simmons analysis. While the survey did not take into account everyone in the United States, it paints a clear picture of who the average Twinkie consumer is in the United States today. There are plenty of other criteria that could be used to narrow this down even further, but based on the data we were given, it is a pretty clear description!
This week and class we delved further into the world of advertising campaigns and the people that created them. Specifically, we focused on David Ogilvy who is best known for his creation of countless ad campaigns for major companies. One of the most important points Ogilvy made was that brand image is everything. Without a positive brand image, no one will want to buy your product. In order to improve a brand's image, Ogilvy stressed the concept of telling your customers the truth while making the truth sound fascinating.
The most prominent use of this tactic by Ogilvy is the "The Man in the Hathaway Shirt" campaign. Ogilvy was able to take something as common and dull as a dress shirt and make it exciting simply by using the right character. Each ad for Hathaway Shirts featured the same man in a common situation. The appeal to these ads was that in each ad, the man was wearing an eye patch. Immediately upon seeing the ad, I wondered why the man was wearing an eye patch and it made me want to know more. This ads to the intrigue of the ad and makes the customers want to know more, all while improving brand image. In my opinion, Ogilvy's campaign would not have been nearly as successful if he had used a model without an eye patch because it lacks intrigue and is simply ordinary.
Currently, I can think of countless companies that have a poor image, yet aren't doing anything to fix it. In my own opinion, I view pretty much any insurance company negatively because of the horrible ads they create (I'm looking at you, Geico and Progressive). Although, I do have to give them credit for trying to turn something as boring as insurance into something interesting by using different commercials. However, it is the commercials themselves and the ad campaigns they are coming from that make me hate these companies because the campaigns are so over the top. Honestly, I wouldn't even consider using Geico for insurance simply because of the Gecko and I would never use Progressive because of Flo and her obnoxious antics. This just goes to show that your brand image can make or break your brand, and in my own mind, both Geico and Progressive are broken brands to me.
My name is Brian Lamy and I am a senior marketing-communications/advertising major here at WNE. I have always had an interest in marketing--specifically social media and television advertisements. Although I am still undecided on which career path I would like to take, ideally I would love to be an account executive for Anheuser-Busch, or possibly a career in public relations.
During our first week of class, we were posed with the question "What is the point?" This may seem like a very broad question, but when viewed from the perspective of a marketer, it becomes more clear. The first thing we talked about on day one was the Hostess company's Twinkie and the cult following that the snack cake has gathered over the years. What did Hostess do right to create such an iconic snack with millions of loyal customers? Why were these customers so outraged and even heartbroken when the company declared bankruptcy and the Twinkie was no more? This directly back to the question "What is the point?" The point of Hostess' marketing efforts was to create an iconic snack cake that people would love for years. The Twinkie has the power to bring back memories of childhood and "the good old days" even though it is just an unhealthy snack. This point was highlighted even more when Hostess declared bankruptcy and people were no longer able to buy Twinkies or other Hostess products for that matter. People were actually physically upset that this part of their life had been taken from them, showing how meaningful Twinkies are and how effective the Twinkie is as a brand. In my opinion, any brand that can develop a cult following is a successful brand, and Hostess has done so with the creation of the Twinkie.
In our next class, we talked about Claude Hopkins who popularized the revolutionary marketing strategy of pointing out a unique selling proposition (USP) or competitive advantage that one brand had over another and highlighted this advantage in the company's marketing efforts. Hopkins created advertisements for the Schlitz beer company which highlighted the fact that Schlitz beer is legitimately "pure" because of all the steps they take to ensure the best product possible. For Hopkins, the "point" was to differentiate your brand from the competition in order to strengthen your public image and attract new customers. By highlighting was your brand does differently over the competition, you are setting yourself apart and possibly improving your brand's image.
In my opinion, the "point" of this weeks lesson is that there are many different elements of marketing that all need to be taken into account when trying to create a successful campaign. While a USP is extremely important, it is also equally as important to create a solid product that can develop a cult following like the Twinkie. Each element plays a role in the success of other elements, and without all these elements working together, your brand may find it very challenging to become successful.
