VB's marketing imitates Taco Bell

VB's latest marketing ploy of vowing to shout Australia a free  375ml can of VB if Australia wins the ashes, reminds me of the famous Taco Bell ambient advertising campaign. 

Taco Bell offered free taco's to all of America if the MIR when re-entering Earth lands on  a sheet in the South Pacific Ocean. 

This campaign was practically free for Taco Bell and had many in America chanting Taco, Taco, Taco.

This campaign was amplified and gain millions of Dollars in free PR for the company.

This campaign is likely to find favour amongst the Australian public, and cleverly links an iconic Australian beer, with an iconic sporting event.

Will this end up costing VB more than they bargained for, or do they like Taco Bell think the chances of winning the Ashes are unlikely as the MIR landing on a sheet in the middle of the pacific ocean. 

Would love to hear what you think about this campaign.

Is VB being too cleaver for their own good? 

What the F**K is social media: One Year Later

What the F**K is Social Media: One Year Later

View more presentations from Marta Kagan.

Product Placement in Australian Television

"...They've used the Telstra T-Box that's a great move as they are the way of the future"

Flicking through various television shows I found my self watching Channel 9's program "The Block", a reality television shows that has four teams of two renovating an apartment to go up for auction, the winning team the apartment that sells for the most money.

The presenter together will a real estate expert was inspecting the apartment, only for one of them to remark that, "...They've used the Telstra T-Box that's a great move as they are the way of the future"

I then proceed to make a bet that during the next commercial break the Telstra-Tbox will be advertised and sure enough I was correct. The show was sponsored by the Telstra -Tbox!

This is a prime example of product placement done badly, I almost felt insulted by channel 9.

Channel 9 took the realm of product placement one step further as they "sold" it to the television audience via testimonial from a real estate agent. Testimonials are only ever effective when the audience believes who they are listening to, this is usually why normal  testimonial television commercials usually use industry experts or celebrities to sell their product. However, by interweaving product placement with testimonial account whilst at the same time overtly sponsoring the show, Telstra loses all credibility, as does the agent, as well as channel 9 and its television show.

As we have seen time and time again the consumer is too savvy for such attempts of trickery, this is clearly an ineffective way of marketing a new product!

The marketing mix and the future of digital marketing

The world is progressing and advancing at a supersonic rate, what in 1990 seemed only possible in Hollywood, is today seen as archaic.

Today new technology is being adopted in a matter of months, as opposed to the many years it used to take.

This image clearly illustrates just how long it many technologies took to reach critical mass. There is a clear trend the more recent the product was invented the quicker it is to be adopted.

http://techliberation.com/2009/05/28/on-measuring-technology-diffusion-rates/

Social media networks like Twitter, Youtube and Facebook, are accessed and used every day by hundreds of millions of users world wide.

However, more on more of these technologies are being integrated on the mobile phone, this is part of the theory of convergence which basic premise is that all technologies will eventually merge into one.

This means that users will have access 24 hours a day 7 days a week, and as mobile internet and wireless  capabilities there will soon be no limit to where the user can be!

There is no doubt that technology is advancing but what are the effects on the marketing mix in the world of retail?

The four P's is one of the most famous marketing principles. Developed in the 1960's its message is still relevant for any marketer today.

Let us look at each of the four P's individually: 

Price:  The power of search is rapidly changing the way we make purchasing decisions, if is see a pair of Nike runners in a shoe shop instead of paying the offered retail price I can search the model online and view what the going price is I can quickly check if the deal I am being offered is competitive. Furthermore, price compare websites list a range of retailers and the price being offered by each retailer. The internet is advancing and technologies are already being developed that all one needs to do is take a picture of a product or even the barcode and list of stockist will become available.

It is clear that with the ease of information and portable information that is being offered, price is becoming increasingly more relevant and important.

Place: the old real estate catch phrase location, location, location whilst may be important for residential houses is it really that important for retailers.

The answer is currently it is still a very important part of business, however, this importance is changing.

Online shopping is becoming increasingly more relevant to the consumer and increasingly more popular, was at its current stage it is not the highest priority of the Australian market it is growing (please see digital life for more information). Online shopping is taking away the relevance for even having a shop, although the bricks and clicks model (i.e having both a virtual/online shop and a retailer such as Coles and Colesonline.com.au) is still important there are many retailers that only operate online.

Furthermore, with technologies being developed that you can scan and use your finger print to sign for goods purchased on the internet using your iphone, the point of sale is no longer limited to the position of the shop it is everywhere. (Please see The Age for more information).

So what is the role of position in the modern era? The role of search, Google Adwords and other paid search functions are becoming increasingly more important for businesses to cut through the clutter. Search Engine Optimisation is an increasingly important and demanded trade, as to be on that first page of a Google search is the number one aspiration of any business with a website.

This leads us into promotion:

Advertising is playing an ever growing significant part of our lives however, as the amount of advertising that as consumers we are exposed to increases so to our likelihood to actually hear the message decreases. Business and companies are trying harder and harder to break through the clutter, with Integrated Marketing Campaigns (IMC) set up to target the user at as many touch points as possible. Marketers are trying harder and harder to reach the consumer. So much so, that privacy laws are being forced into legislation on a regular basis . Laws such as the "Do not call registry" are set up to protect the privacy of the general public. 

Online advertising is shaking up the traditional advertising format with reports that online advertising is growing at over 28% (please see businessweek for more information.) However, paid advertising is less relevant when compared to the power of social media marketing. (please see my previous post for more information).

So that leaves us with product:

Whilst, we can not make any general comments on the different products in different industries what is clear that any business must offer a product that information on it can be found online, and if possible integration with technologies is highly recommended. "Branded Apps" is just one area that brands can use to integrate their product  with the users dynamic and technologically advancing life.

Take the branded Mazda app

The you cruise MX-5 app allows users to take the car for a virtual test drive in a gaming format

To conclude, it is unclear where the future is heading however, what is clear that a critical success factor for all businesses is going to be the ability to stay relevant and in-touch with the rapid growth of technology. After all we are all marketing in a new era. 

Yahoo paid search advertises with Google Adwords

Advertisement seen on Blogger

What does this say about Yahoo's brand that they are advertising their version of Google Adwords on Google??

Is this a smart paid search marketing strategy? I personally find it some what ironic and strange but that's just me what do you think?

The effects of 'web 2.0' on business

Web 2.0 is a buzz term that highlights the way in which the internet is now understood and absorbed. Formally Web 1.0 was all about receiving content that is a company, individual or group would place information on the web and a consumer or user would access that information it was a one way process. However, with web 2.0 suddenly the internet and the www is far more dynamic as users are able to communicate with each other as well as will other companies. Social media networks is a prime example of how web 2.0 works as users can share links, publish content and even respond and write to each other in either a formal or informal manner.

This has many positive ramifications for companies as well as some negative ones.

Firstly, the positive: Companies can now truly understand what consumers are looking for out of their brands, what elements of the product work and what elements need changing. This can allow them to tailor are product that best suits the user. Furthermore,  as 'Web 2.0' is dynamic, it allows companies to not only tailor the product to suit the masses, but tailor the product to suit the individual. Take YouTube for example; YouTube automatically stores a record of clips and videos that you have watched and compiles a list of recommendations, the same can be said for online book stores such as Amazon which can suggest to you other books in the product category or other products users have chosen.

Many other online shopping stores, and even blogs are using this form of personal recommendations to drive sales. 

Moreover, this concept of targeting the individual extends to the long tail theory, this theory highlights how online stores can tailor their product not only to benefit the majority but also a minority of users. For example netflix, or itunes can store a far greater selection of movies online then it would be possible for a  store of bricks and mortar to stock. This means that movies that normally appeal to a very small niche of the customer base can be sold and even stocked as with the internet it becomes viable. The same can be said for online clothing shops as the internet is their shop-front the can keep far more stock in wear-houses without a smaller need to run stock clearances. 

Despite this abundance of positives there are some negatives that come along with user generated content.

Due to the nature of the user generated content, the overall content is out of the hands of the companies. Word of mouth and the freedom of speech the internet allows dictates that companies cannot control all that is said about  them. 

PR disasters run wild as the gain momentum through the voices of the many users of the internet and social media

A prime example of this is how the BP oil disaster was highlighted on Twitter.  

A Twitter user created a satirical BP twitter account this account became extremely popular during the high of the BP oil spill disaster earlier this year and reached far more followers then the real BP did. Many people experienced the company almost uniquely through the eyes of this satirical BP twitter.

a quick look at the Twitter accounts stats indicate just how popular it is:

What’s more users can share negative PR and publicity like the Greenpeace campaign to put pressure on nestle to stop using Palm oil in the kitkat and look for an environmentally friendly alternative. 

This Greenpeace youtube led to the Nestle fan page being flooded with negative publicity!

The effect of this campaign is clear with Nestle bowing to the pressure of Greenpeace and changing the way they Nestle makes the confectionary.

This is clearly the way Web 2.0 is clearly the way the web is meant to work!

If your a business make sure its working for you and not against you!

Just a bit of viral fun