Wanted: larrikin social media marketers

I would like to draw your attention to this blog posted by Steven Noble from Forrester in the US; 1. because it features our ads and 2. because its a warm fuzzy 'pat on the back' to all of us here in Australia for just being us. Let's keep up the larrakinism.

If brands have personalities, then Australian brands often aspire to be larrikins.

Larrakins are much-loved figures in Australian society. In the 80s, we even elected one as Prime Minister. The larrikin is the one who knowns when to work and when to play, with an emphasis on the latter. The one who sees everyone as their equal — especially when it comes to humour. The centre of attention at every barbecue, flipping sausages and telling tall tales. The plain speaker with a big heart, a dry wit and a sore and sorry liver.

No surprises: Australian advertisers often use larrikin themes in their work. For example, BBDO Clemenger created the Four'N Twenty Magic Salad Plate, so larrikins can pretend their Aussie meat pies are surrounded by greenery. Likewise, ex-footballer Sam Kekovich plays the larrikin superbly in Meat & Livestock Australia's Eat Lamb campaign, poking fun at everyone from hippies to New Zealand Prime Minister Helen Clark. (Of course, he's actually mocking the traditional Australian values that he pretends to spruik in the ads.)

But here's the thing: a true larrikin doesn't need the big budgets and great production values of traditional television advertising. The Paul Hogan Show proved that. The production values were low and the jokes could have been written by any larrikin in the country, but it was hysterically funny and an Australian television favourite for more than a decade.

With a camcorder, a supportive boss and some fun-loving staff, larrikin brands could do the same. They could be dry wits on Twitter, inspiring the rest of us to LOL. They could be YouTube superstars, and the Paul Hogans of tomorrow. They could say the things the rest of us love to hear, but never say ourselves. They could bring larrikin brands to life for their irreverent fun-loving customers.

http://blogs.forrester.com/marketing/2008/07/posted-by-steve.html

How to test if you're accidentally sending spam

Found a great little spam-testing tool at http://www.localnews.biz/SubjectLine/ValidateSubjectLine.asp which lets you enter any given subject line you intend to send out on your client's behalf and gives it a range of tests to see if the spam filters would pick it up and block your campaign.

Fontshop launches Fontstruct

Fontshop has just launched a new website, FontStruct, which enables users to create, download and share fonts for free.

FontStruct lets you quickly and easily create fonts constructed out of geometrical shapes, which are arranged in a grid pattern, like tiles or bricks.

You create ‘FontStructions’ using the ‘FontStructor’ font editor.

Once you're done building, FontStruct generates high-quality TrueType fonts, ready to use in any Mac or Windows application.

You can keep your creations to yourself, but users are encouraged to share their "FontStructions". Explore the gallery of fonts made by other FontStruct users and download them or even copy them and make your own variations.

You can also use the FontStruct widget to show your FontStructions on your own website or blog.

Check it out at http://fontstruct.fontshop.com/

Findings: Why Companies Should Talk to Customers

Thanks again Jeremiah for sharing yet more light in the role fo social approaches in business

ExpoTV recently ran a research study to determine how do consumers relate to each other. While this isn’t Forrester Research, so I will not defend, nor explain their methodology. It’s rare that analysts point to research other than their own, if I put your interests first, you’ll continue to come back to me.

Blog ExpoTV found that:

55% of customers in their survey want to have an ongoing discussion brands

Respondents were most anxious to talk to the product design (49%) department, followed by customer support (14%), marketing (14%) and pricing (13%)

89% said they felt more loyal if they knew the brand was listening through a feedback group (attention insight community vendors)

WOM: Sixty-one percent of survey respondents said that they told at least 10 people about the last brand they liked.

WOM: Eighty-one percent of respondents will tell at least five people.

Despite this evidence, it’s interesting to note that a recent WSJ Article that Most Corporate Blogs Are Unimaginative Failures featuring a Forrester report shows that many corporate blogs (a common way companies talk to customers) isn’t going that well. One common mis-step is that corporate blogs are focused on pushing their own agenda, not that of the readers/customers.

Every Print Ad Has Mobile Interactivity In New Issue of Men's Health

Thanks Branding Unbound, for this follow up on the launch of the first totally interactive print mag

It's finally here: The new issue of Men's Health is hitting newsstands and making history at the same time.

Back in April, I posted about how every ad in the July/August issue of Rodale's Men's Health title will enable readers to snap pics of the ads using their mobile phones and send to SnapTell to get instant promotional responses from marketers.

Now, the issue is hitting the street, and is being billed as the "first fully interactive advertising magazine" in American magazine history.

According to SnapTell, the technology is compatible with all camera phones, does not require special software for downloading advertiser images and is an opt-in solution for the reader.

“As technology continues to proliferate our everyday lives and devices become more advanced we are always looking for innovative ways to stay competitive in the industry,” says Jack Essig, VP/Publisher of Men’s Health in a statement. “[This approach seems] easy and appealing to our readers, yet compelling and novel to our customers.”

There's even a built-in mechanism for promoting reader/advertiser interaction. Each "Snap and Send" enters readers into a drawing to win a trip for two to the Wyndham Rio Mar Beach, Golf, Casino and Spa resort in Puerto Rico for 5 days and 4 nights plus round-trip airfare. And three runners up will win brand new iPhones.

Some of the nearly 100 advertisers participating in the July/August issue include AT&T, Anheuser-Busch, Honda Motors, Louis Vuitton, Quaker Oats, The Coca-Cola Company, Procter & Gamble and Unilever USA.

As I write in BRANDING UNBOUND the book, this is the future of print magazine publications (with or without the "snap a photo and send it" model), and a view of how mobile marketing works best - as a interaction mechanism to commercial messages we experience in print, broadcast, outdoor, direct mail and more.

In this particular case, the initiative offers a great deal of flexibility for marketers to provide instant brand messaging, sales incentives such as product samples and discounts, sweepstakes information, and links to websites, photos and videos.

To be clear, this is hardly the first such initiative to bring this kind of interactivity to American publications.

Jane, for instance, is just one of the U.S. publications that long ago started enabling readers to interact with brands by snapping and sending ad images.

And just in the last few months, Wenner Media's Rolling Stone started offering similar mobile marketing solutions for groups of advertisers in an issue.

But this is perhaps the most expansive to date, in that it includes every ad in an issue, and is promoted throughout on behalf of every advertiser therein.

Kudos to Rodale and SnapTell for giving us a, er, snapshot of tomorrow's print pub, today.

Read more, here.

SMS mobile coupons

MCDONALD'S REVEALS RESULTS FROM MOBILE COUPON PROGRAM

Did somebody say McCoupons?

As I've posted here, McDonald's is running a number of sms-based mobile coupon solutions worldwide, including here in the US. Now, at least one of the programs is releasing results.

The MMA is reporting that 12Snap's SMS Lounge in McDonald's enables customers to send an SMS message to begin receiving embedded QR codes on their handsets that they could redeem in-restaurant.

According to 12Snap, since the program's launch last summer, more than 10.000 participants have used the service, and at least 29% of recipients redeemed at least one coupon.

I think in general, these kinds of offerings could be boosted by tying them to third party solutions like Mobo, which allow consumers to sign up for SMS ordering at several participating fast food chains, and enables them to opt-in for coupons.

That way consumers can deal with one entity instead of signing up for a separate solution at each restaurant they frequent - and even order food while they're en route, paid for by pre-set credit card. Now that's what you call fast food.

Thanks to Branding Unbound for this entry which can also be found at: http://maverix.typepad.com/brandingunbound/2008/06/mcdonalds-revea.html

Example of a dedicated MOBILE website

UNILEVER LAUNCHES BRAND-SPECIFIC MOBILE SITE FOR POT NOODLE.

A UK-based Unilever brand is getting what's billed as the personal care giant's first dedicated mobile web site.

According to Brand Republic, Pot Noodle - which I take to be a packaged noodle meal - will be the subject of potnoodle.mobi, a new site that offers branded entertainment, including ringtones (think "Moussaka Rap"), wallpapers, and more.

One offering: a short film called "Tipping Pot," which describes its plot thusly:

"Who needs Argentineans and a massive budget when you've got a flatulent drunk and some old shopping trolleys?"

It's unclear if that's a dig at Argentineans, whom the Brits went to war with in the 1980s. But either way, it's clearly meant to bring something different to a noodle brand.

Apparently the launch is getting support from The Sun, which is sending videos via Bluetooth at Cineworld and other movie theaters.

Unilever has always been a leader in mobile marketing - and in fact, since I posted this, at least one reader has pointed to Unilever's sedateens.mobi as an earlier brand-specific mobile site, in that case a social network site for a hair care product).

As for the Pot Noodles site, it's kind of funny to think of packaged noodles having enough of my attention for me to bother going to any website - mobile or otherwise - to download a branded ringtone or wallpaper. But in many nations, this is a primary way of interacting with the brand.

In fact, as I talk about in BRANDING UNBOUND the book, Unilever and others have long placed short codes on packaging so that shoppers can use their mobile phones to instantly get recipes or menu ideas.

I think adding that kind of capability here could make this particular mobile offering more useful to its target audience.

http://maverix.typepad.com/brandingunbound/2008/06/unilever-launch.html

Brands punk'd by social media sites

This is a neat list of brands that have been brand-jacked by social media... in other words, when online turns bad. Let's learn from them and hope we never join them:

http://www.web-strategist.com/blog/2008/05/02/a-chonology-of-brands-that-got-punkd-by-social-media/

The new billboard - Advertising in store windows

Selling Ad Space Into Store Windows: The New Billboard Business

As marketers and media buyers scramble for more street-level advertising space in big cities, store windows are emerging as a new kind of billboard business. Store operators and building owners are going for the idea because it turns underused window space into cash. A growing number of marketers like it because new technology can make window advertisements three dimensional and interactive -- and more likely to directly engage pedestrians.
--

Again, thanks to AdAge for this insight into the newest way that advertising will start to invade our lives and our sanity... although I do think that the interactive 3D animations would be fun and could hopefully provide some higher purpose. Combine this space with the technology of billboards with eyes* that I posted an article about ("Billboards that look back" June 2) a few weeks ago, and it is also a highly targeted media.

*These 'eyes' are cameras that capture data about passers-by, e.g gender, approx. age, etc

http://adage.com/brightcove/lineup.php?lineup=1266084202

Burger King cooks up world's most expensive burger $190

http://adage.com/article?article_id=128056 This is a great example of PR and stunt marketing... thanks to Emma Hall and AdAge.

Is BK's $190 Burger Worthy of a King?
London Store Offers Customers VIP Dining Experience to Change Perceptions of Chain's Quality

LONDON (AdAge.com) -- The world's most-expensive burger -- at $190 a pop -- is not to be found in an exclusive Manhattan restaurant, but in a tiny branch of Burger King in West London. The $190 Burger from Burger King is available only on Thursdays at a single location in West London.

Yes, Burger King. Determined to show the world that it takes meat quality seriously, the fast-food chain is marketing a limited-edition gastronomic glory available once a week, Thursdays only, in this single location. All proceeds go to a local children's charity.

"The idea is to change perceptions by pushing the envelope to raise awareness of our ambitions," said Mark Dowding, Burger King's head of product and innovation for Europe, the Middle East and Africa. "We have emphasized the quality to create noise and interest in the market."

Flurry of publicity
Enough noise, in fact to draw a flurry of publicity in the U.K., stoked by Burger King's PR shop, Cow PR, and the curiosity of this Ad Age reporter.

With scaffolding outside and part of the entrance boarded up, the Gloucester Road branch does not inspire culinary confidence. It has been chosen because it's the nearest branch to Harrods and the wealthy people who shop there.

Inside, $190 burger customers, who have pre-ordered by telephone, are ushered through a red velvet rope and up some steps to a more upscale dining experience than the regular diners. There is crisp table linen and free-flowing 2003 Tapanappa Cabernet Shiraz from the Whalebone Vineyard in South Australia.

A free limited-edition bottle of Coca-Cola, declared by the attendant on duty to be worth $300, is presented on arrival -- as if the hope of a quick sale on eBay will make up for the price paid for the burger.

Made from Wagyu beef, topped with white truffles and Pata Negra ham (which owes its nutty flavor to the fact that the pigs are fed on acorns), the burger nestles in a bun spread with organic-white-wine-and-shallot-infused mayonnaise, plus pink Himalayan rock salt, and dusted on top with Iranian saffron. It is served with Cristal champagne onion straws (inspired by the "angry lobster" dish at David Burke & Donatella Manhattan restaurant) and a garnish of lamb's lettuce.

The customers' take
While I wait, I chat to some fellow customers. The first is Ireen Esmann, who won the burger in a newspaper competition. She shrugged, "It's a burger." Then she whispered guiltily, "It's very dry. The Pata Negra and champagne onion straws are nice, though."

Next up are two Leo Burnett employees (who preferred not to be named). They were sharing a burger on expenses, checking out the competition on behalf of client McDonald's. "The experience is terrific," they said, "and it's a unique occasion, but the presentation and the service are better than the burger -- the ingredients are good, but it's overrated."

Anna Martin and Bernard Coyle, both employees at Because, an experiential-marketing agency across the road, won an in-house competition to taste the world's most-expensive burger and were also on expense accounts. Ms. Martin said, "It's a nice combination of flavors. It's very meaty and you can taste the truffles. It's a treat and a real brand experience."

My burger arrives, beautifully presented, and I tuck in nervously. Mr. Dowding ("Call me chef," he said), is waiting to speak to me about the product that he has spent six months developing and personally prepared for me this lunchtime.

Not about the meat
Unfortunately the meat has to be cooked to U.K. Food Safety Standards at around 74 degrees Celsius (165 Fahrenheit), so it's overcooked by anyone's standards and pretty dry. Mr. Dowding acknowledges that he's more of a "medium" person. "But food safety and consumer protection are more important to us," he added.

So the meat's not perfect but you can really taste all the other stuff -- the mayonnaise, truffles and Pata Negra are something special. The bun is dry but the saffron coating is a new experience. I'm even finding myself convinced by Mr. Dowding's suggestion that "the saffron's aroma puts your nose in synch with your taste buds."

"Food to me is entertainment; the emphasis is on igniting the senses," he said. So far the chain has sold 30 of the burgers in the U.K. and plans to introduce the $190 burger in Spain and Germany, also for a limited period.

Coming next
Burger King's other big initiative in Europe this summer is the 6-Pack, which challenges KFC and Pizza Hut in the "sharing" category. The Angus 6-Pack consists of six mini-burgers set inside six rolls that are joined up so that consumers can tear off their own portions. There are three different types of burger to choose from -- plain, with cheese or cheese and bacon.

David Kisilevsky, Burger King VP-marketing, EMEA, said in a statement, "It has been developed as a new menu item that can be shared and enjoyed sociably amongst friends and family at home as well as in restaurant. With a summer jam packed full of tennis, football, the Olympics and cricket, the new 6-Pack is set to be a sporting success."

What McDonald's has planned
Rival McDonald's will not admit a similar move upmarket, but has hugely increased its appeal to the British middle classes with stylishly refurbished restaurants, healthier, better-sourced menus, and staff uniforms designed by Bruce Oldfield -- a favorite of Diana, Princess of Wales, Queen Noor of Jordan, Faye Dunaway and Angelica Huston.

The modernized restaurants, a cheerful homage to the classic Danish designer Arne Jacobsen, are showing an average sales uplift of 6%. The modernist setting, combined with organic milk, Rainforest Alliance-certified coffee, free-range eggs and "locally" sourced produce, have made the middle classes feel more comfortable at McDonald's without alienating its traditional customer base.

Aspirational eaters can also bask in the kudos of McDonald's new U.K. head of food, Mike Faers, who has worked with the Roux brothers and done time at two of Europe's most-celebrated restaurants, Le Gavroche and Le Manoir aux Quat'Saisons. He is currently developing the "M," a more fanciful burger, where "the beef is the hero."

Does this economy make my butt look big?

Weight Watchers, Jenny Craig Suffer as Consumers Have Less Money to Spend on Losing Weight

Thanks to Emily Bryson York - CHICAGO (AdAge.com) -- The economy is making you fat.
As gas and commodity prices rise, consumers are finding themselves with fewer spare dollars to reduce their spare tires. As a result, marketers of organized diet programs such as Weight Watchers and Jenny Craig are expected to feel the pinch.

No dearth of dieters: according to Marketdata Enterprises, 72 million Americans are or will be on a diet this year, up from 55 million a decade ago.

"It's definitely a discretionary dollar," said Michael Binetti, a UBS analyst who lowered earnings-per-share guidance for Weight Watchers last week. Even though the iconic diet program enjoys an advantageous position in that it has strong brand equity and low start-up costs, Mr. Binetti said the 20% of Americans who describe themselves as being on a weight-loss regimen have increasingly been reporting that they are "on their own diet."

Weight Watchers President David Kirchhoff told investors last month that he remains confident in his company's ability to deliver strong results despite "uncertainty in the economy."

What they cost
Other dieting programs such as Jenny Craig charge several hundred dollars in start-up costs, and then members must pay for their food. Weight Watchers charges monthly membership fees between $10 and $15 per week, and their dieters can choose to buy food from the company, products made by licensed vendors, eat out or cook at home.

Jenny Craig is a closely-held private company that declined to comment for this story. Weight Watchers did not respond to requests for comment.

John LaRosa, research director of Marketdata Enterprises in Tampa, Fla., said dieters don't "give up" on losing weight when they need to tighten their belts, "but they will shift toward less expensive do-it-yourself methods instead of doing a structured program like Jenny Craig that might cost $1,100 to $1,200 over three to four months." Mr. LaRosa said some penny-pinchers will go out and buy the hot new diet book, get supplements from GNC, diet pills from the drugstore or join one of the many free online programs.

There's certainly no dearth of dieters. Mr. La Rosa said 72 million Americans are or will be on a diet this year. That's up from 55 million a decade ago.

Success in past recessions
Recessions haven't always been bad for Weight Watchers. The company launched its highly successful "points" system in 1997, but the program was still popular in 2001. Under the system, every imaginable food from celery sticks to banana splits has been assigned a points value. Members are given a number of daily points to eat based on their height, weight and activity level. The system attracted members, Mr. Binetti said, but there just hasn't been much innovation since then.

Despite a flashy new campaign from agency McCann Erickson, New York, this year, Mr. Binetti said that Weight Watchers is still grasping for "new news." The company, which spent $127 on measured media in 2007, according to TNS Media Intelligence, has been outflanked by Jenny Craig in the past year.

Need to reconnect
"They've seen a multiyear slide," Mr. Binetti said of Weight Watchers. "What they need to do is reconnect with new dieters and make it more convenient for customers to embrace the weight-loss plans."

After controversial but highly publicized campaigns with Kirstie Alley and Valerie Bertinelli, Jenny Craig moved its $55 million account from JWT, New York, to Y&R, Irvine, last winter. The company, which still works with Ms. Bertinelli, has added Queen Latifah to its roster.

Jenny Craig has had its share of bad news lately. Unconfirmed reports have circulated that Ms. Alley, who lost 75 pounds on the program, has ballooned up to 240 pounds. Though she is no longer under contract to Jenny Craig, publicity about a weight gain is the last thing the company needs. "If she gains it back, [potential clients] say, 'I guess Jenny Craig wasn't that successful over the long term,'" Mr. La Rosa said.

Stop Driving Traffic, Start Capturing Leads

By Chris Chariton, thanks to Online Media Daily by Media Post Publications.

It's time we re-framed the concept of "driving traffic" to Web sites. Just what is traffic anyway?
Once upon a time, it wasn't much more than a bunch of anonymous vehicles, people or things moving from one place to another. But since the dawn of the Web, it's what companies receive when visitors click from one place to another. And that's the dissatisfying result: If your Web strategy focuses on driving traffic, you end up with anonymous clicks and page after page of site traffic reports of limited value.

In short:
a) Think customers, not clicks
b) Try online directories, e-newsletters, banner ads
c) Convert from Visitors to leads

In full:
http://publications.mediapost.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=Articles.san&s=85636&Nid=44429&p=948634

Crackle.com

I love this idea! How cool would it be to launch Renault's new SUV in Australia by spelling out Koleos - imagine the terrain the vehicle would have to cross, great for product demonstration and PR... if only we came up with it first. 

Thanks to Media Post Publication for this article found at: http://publications.mediapost.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=Articles.san&s=85700&Nid=44429&p=948634

Crackle.com Hopes For Another Hit
by Tanya Irwin, Monday, Jun 30, 2008 7:00 AM ET

Most of us might not be able to afford the gas to drive around aimlessly this summer, but we can point our browser to Crackle.com and watch comedian Marc Horowitz do it instead.

"The Marc Horowitz Signature Series" chronicles prankster Horowitz as he drives the shape of his signature on a map of the U.S., stopping in 20 towns along the way to stage one-off "community building" (read totally off-the-wall) experiments. In one town he goes door-to-door to personally serve residents a fancy breakfast in bed, and in another, invites residents to gather for a ceremony to "bury their problems"--photos of ex-girlfriends and video game consoles welcome.

The exclusive biweekly series will air new episodes on Tuesdays and Fridays on Sausalito, Calif.-based Crackle, a Sony Pictures Entertainment company. "Marc's latest journey is unpredictable, smart and hilarious--exactly the kind of entertaining original content Crackle's unique audience appreciates and has come to expect," said Crackle GM Jonathan Shambroom in a statement.

"Signature Series" joins Crackle's instant hit "The Jace Hall Show," a comedy and lifestyle interview show hosted by video game personality Jace Hall. In the first 48 hours after the launch on June 5, more than half a million viewers tuned in to Crackle to watch the first show. Since the show's launch success, the first two episodes and their outtakes have gone on to attract over one million viewers.

The show is a 13-part original series with exclusive behind-the-scenes footage from the hottest game developers, and features rare interviews in which actors, musicians and athletes discuss their lives in the context of the entertainment convergence world.

Part of the viewing frenzy at launch time was fueled by rumors and speculation around Hall's "special glimpse" of the long-awaited "Duke Nukem Forever" video game, which he delivered in episode one. Episode two featured singer/actress Christina Milian as she challenged Jace's gaming skills.

Sony relaunched Grouper as Crackle last summer and turned the video-sharing Web site into a streaming entertainment network geared toward discovering new online talent. The site has some of the highest click-through rates on the Web. Crackle delivers programmed and customized video streams to a global audience via a multi-platform syndication network that includes Sony devices, IPTV, leading social networks and one-click viral Web distribution.

Everybody loves "Family Guy" - but do they love watching ads online?

Google in LA is experimenting with a new method of distributing original material on the web, which involves a plan to syndicate a new program by the creator of "Family Guy", Seth MacFarlane, called "Seth MacFarlane's Cavalcade of Cartoon Comedy", using its AdSense advertising system to thousands of websites that are predetirmined to be gathering spots for Mr MacFarlane's target audience. 

Instead of placing a static ad on a Web page, Google will place a "Cavalcade" video clip. Advertising will then be incorporated into the clips in various ways.

I don't know about you, but the clips would have to be pretty freakin' hilarious for me to sit through the ads just to watch a two min clip online.

Thanks to the NY Times for this post. To read more, visit:
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/30/business/30google.html?_r=1&th=&adxnnl=1&oref=slogin&emc=th&adxnnlx=1214874203-XpPyo0ZQXLn5mY3x5XVnjw

10 Commandments of Web Design

The Internet is constantly changing. BusinessWeek.com spoke to a bevy of experts and distilled the must-follow rules top online designers live by in 2008 [by Matt Vella]. 

Content found in full at: http://www.businessweek.com/innovate/content/jun2008/id20080623_750025.htm

1. Thou shalt not abuse flash
2. Thou shalt not hide content
3. Thou shalt not clutter
4. Thou shalt not overuse glassy reflections
5. Thou shalt not name your Web 2.0 company with an unnecessary surplus or dearth of vowels.
6. Thou shalt worship at the altar of typography
7. Thou shalt create immersive experiences
8. Thou shalt be social
9. Thou shalt embrace proven technologies
10. Thou shalt make content king

And for something a little more fresh, check out this rap found by the lovely Spence:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a0qMe7Z3EYg

The digital influencer

Thanks Elizabeth Ball for forwarding this study from Fleishmann- Hillard: "Understanding the role of the Internet in the lives of consumers in the UK, Germany and France"

http://www.fhdigital.net/InfluenceIndex/The-Digital-Influence-Index-2008.pdf

Some good insights ans figures around the role of digital in decision making