:Face Palm:

"I don’t know quite what we’ll be selling yet. Maybe niches. I’ve heard the niche market is doing really well."

Hahaha... check out Clients From Hell for a good laugh and some relief from your miserable clients.

Listen up Marketers!

The Oatmeal lays it out for you on how not to sell something. Perhaps there are a few key ideas we can take away from the humor piece.

Like, don't be pushy like a used car salesman. Don't be over familiar like a used car salesman. Don't offer limited time offers that are not real like a used car salesman.

Basically, think of everything you would do that would be equal to a used car salesman's tactics and back it off that just a little. So maybe a notch below a used car salesman. A new car salesman? They wear better suits, right?

Uh Oh. Coca-Cola is set for World Domination

I just heard the news that Pepsi is no longer the number 2 soft drink in the world. It has been over taken by Diet Coke!

According to the WSJ, Pepsi's marketing is to blame and I agree. In the 2010 Superbowl they opted not to have a commercial in order to focus on the Pepsi Re-fresh project. They took a similar approach 2011 and are now possibly seeing the effects. Or maybe the Super Bowl has nothing to do with it - they did have a few ads, but they were for their Pepsi MAX product line.

I wonder if this means we're going back to Genertaion NEXT. Remember when Britney Spears sang the catchy Pepsi tune during a Super Bowl commercial? Yeah. I like those days too. 

You can read all the details on the WSJ article here.

Viral Mash-up

If you haven't already, check out this marketing video from Smart Water. It's title: Jenn Aniston sex tape. (Don't worry, it's complete SFW.)

The Birthday to End All Birthdays

My favorite part: "Below the line execution such as cake decorations and even the family dog."



Very Clever.

Doritos declared Superbowl Ad winner!

In an article from Brandweek, the Superbowl ad's are ranked according to ad tracker Ace Metrix.

Their top 6 are as follows:

1. Doritos' "Pug Attack"
2. Pepsi Max "Love Hurts"
3. Doritos' "House Sitting"
4. Pepsi Max "Torpedo Cooler"
5. Bridgestone Tire
6. Snickers with Richard Lewis and Roseanne Bar

I am surprised the Darth Vader ad didn't make it further up with list- it is ranked 8th. Apparently, the "Pug Attack" ad was very appealing to children. Maybe the Darth Vader ad just didn't appeal to a wide enough variety of people?

And the winner of Super Bowl XLV is...

Volkswagen! They had the best commercials and the best strategy. They actually released the Star Wars themed ad on-line the week before it aired. To date, it has 15 million views on You tube! Compare that with the Eminem/Chrysler commercial at 500K or the Doritos pug commercial at 625K. (I am partial to pugs though.)

Check them out below, in order of views:


1. VW - Darth Vader with 15 million views


2. Chrysler/Eminem Ad with 500K views



3. Doritos pug commercial with 625K views




Which ones were your favs?

Ad Campaign FTW

I recently came across this wonderful ad campaign in Daily Dawdle. The link to the original website is here.

It's aptly titled "Life's Too Short for The Wrong Job." For a promotion, it does a great job of conveying the message of what their company offers, but I'm not sure about the locations- it looks they were everywhere. I also think they were targeting hourly workers, but I can't be sure. It's a fun campaign. I just don't know if it did what they wanted.

You can catch the rest of them on the websites listed above.

Danke! (for visiting)

Christina Aguilera - FAIL

I recently wrote an article for my school's blog on branding and used Christina Aguilera as an example.

You can check out the article here OwenBloggers or read below. It combines 2 of my fav things: marketing and pop culture.

Selling More than Albums

If you listened to pop music during the 90’s, then you’ve heard Christina Aguilera’s music.  She has been wildly successful with 4 Grammys and more than 43 million albums sold.  When she first appeared on the scene, people thought she was another Britney Spears copycat with her bubble gum pop music.  Later, Aguilera was able to generate her own buzz and establish herself as a pop icon with a different sound.  Her sophomore album, Stripped, could best be described as raw and provocative.  She dyed her normally blonde hair dark, wore risqué clothing, and shook her hips while singing about getting “Dirrty.”  The album was a hit and even though she greatly changed up her image, it was accepted by her fans.  

Her most recent album, Bionic, was another re-invention of Aguilera.  This time, she dyed her hair platinum blonde, wore skin tight cat suits in promo shoots, and her first single told of “kissing all the boys and girls” on the dance floor.  Unfortunately, the recipe was a failure and Bionic was certified a flop; Aguilera isn’t even going to tour to promote her album. To make matters worse, media outlets complained that Aguilera was trying to be too much like Lady Gaga with her party attitude and crazy clothes.  Aguilera has spent more time defending her Lady Gaga look-a-like style than selling singles in the past 6 months. 

With all the bad pop music on the radio today, why was Aguilera’s album a failure?  Since the release of Stripped, Aguilera’s life has changed dramatically.  She got married, had a child, and took a few years off to be with her family.  Clearly, Aguilera’s main focus is no longer the club or party scene.  She’s probably had more early mornings than late nights and, like most new moms, hasn’t seen a non-cartoon movie in ages.  The problem with the new album is that Aguilera isn’t being authentic.  Nowhere in Bionic did she mention life as a married woman or a new mother.  She certainly has other things in her life besides her family, but no one thinks that those things are clubbing and promiscuity.  Perhaps if Aguilera was a tabloid staple like Lindsay Lohan or Britney Spears, she would have had a better chance of selling herself as the party type.  There is a discord between the paparazzi images of her with her son or now-former-husband and the image she tried to sell with Bionic.  

Aguilera is the example of a failed branding effort.  Like a parent trying to wear youthful clothing so that they would still be considered cool, Aguilera tried too hard to be something she wasn’t.  Branding is about not just selling a product, but selling you.  Aguilera’s story exemplifies the dangers of deviating too far from yourself for a brand or of misbranding in general.  This has the potential to be an issue for everyone, even if we all aren’t trying to sell albums.  The goal is to align who you are with what you hope other people to see. 

Now sure how to determine your brand?  First, write down 3 key characteristics you feel best describe how you want others to perceive you.  Next, ask your friends what 3 key characteristics they would use to describe you and compare.  Maybe you will learn that people think you are very serious, but you had humorous as a characteristic.  If you see a discrepancy, try to reconcile your brand.  A good place to start is to find out why people think this about you.  It’s not about changing who you are, but figuring out how others see you and what you can do help them see you the way you want them to.  So, if you are Christina Aguilera and you want people to believe you stay out all night in a club, then you may just have to do that.

Health care and Social Media

Pharma and other heath care companies are usually quiet when it comes to social networking. To date, the best effort I have seen is from Humana (insurance company). They actually aren't present on the social networking sites, but they have built some great online content in the form of informative and interesting videos about healthcare. You can catch those here.

But, there are hundreds of companies out there that participate in health care. A recent article from BNet reports that Pfizer is making it's move into the world of social media with an active facebook page. (Some companies like Genentech have facebook pages, but no content.) Additionally, they have a blog for their scientists. Understandably, pharma companies are hesitant to enter a world where the content and messages can be generated by the customers. On the other hand, this is why being a part of social networking is so crucial. Most companies use it to connect with their customers and get feedback they wouldn't otherwise hear. The though part about pharma and healthcare participating in these forums is the lack of regulation.

Right now, the FDA and other government regulators decide what companies can say and how they can say it. The best example of this is the recent commercials for the birth control pill, Yaz. The original commercials aired, but apparently were found unclear by the FDA. So they had to release another commercial to straighten things up.
Check out the commercial:



Other errors or instances of misinformation have much more severe repercussions for the company. Fines are good example. Given the sensitive nature of their communication, Pfizer is taking great strides in connecting with customers while trying to maintain some level of regulation. As the article notes, they have launched a playbook for employees to help them make informed decisions about responding to customers and posting content. There are no re-shoots for social media so let's hope it works.