Blowing clouds away

Advertising as a service... in the extreme. Thanks Ads of the World

Driving a convertible in Halle (Salle) – at first glance this doesn’t appear particularly spectacular, but in reality it’s a small miracle. For Halle is statistically the rain capital of Europe, with 266 rainy days per year (2004). Sixt and advertising agency Jung von Matt/Elbe were evidently unwilling to accept this cold, wet situation, so they enlisted the help of former NVA fighter pilot Sandro Wolf who used the chemical silver iodide to “blow Halle’s clouds away”. This extraordinary feat can be witnessed in the film “Sun in Halle”, which is currently being exclusively screened at sixt.de. The film reveals the secrets of the pin-prick tactic, which Sandro Wolf uses to successfully combat rain and storm clouds. It also shows disturbingly beautiful images of a completely cloud-free Halle, as well as the city’s proud inhabitants enjoying the sun – in an affordable convertible from Sixt, of course.

App-vertising

Thanks mobile behaviour for this look at the rise of the app as an ad channel. Personally i think it's just the latest bandwagon for an approach that I support but has been long touted - less advertising and more delivering services that people find useful. Mobile and online apps provide handy ways to do this, but at the end of the day it’s common sense that being useful is better way to get people to favour you than yelling at them is.


As Attention Swings Towards Mobile, The Rise of "App-vertising"

Every week we see dozens of new applications released, with a few which manage to improve our lives in some shape or form. It's clear that developers are keen on creating the next big thing and user attention is obviously on the app store. Earlier this month USA Today even declared the existence of so-called app addiction, with possible health issues tied to excessive mobile app use. While the iPhone app store is still young, many marketers have noticed the number of eyeballs checking in during this shifting attention economy. Welcome to an age of "app-vertising."

Last week Volkswagen took a unique and cost-efficient approach to advertising its new GTI using just an iPhone app. Their reasoning included a comparison between a prime-time audience for a television show like NCIS (21 million), and reported iPhone and iPod touch customers worldwide (over 50 million). With a lower cost and an additional PR value, Volkswagen took the ladder, receiving both increased engagement and more for their money.

For musicians Alice in Chains, the app store was attractive in a slightly different fashion. To push their new album they are releasing an app, with videos, photos, news, and entire audio track-list included. If brands can advertise using apps, why not musicians? No matter what the product, marketers are being drawn to where the consumer user is, the app-store. This new destination is ripe with opportunity for those who are able to create a niche utility for enhancing our daily routine.

The Next App Store: Inside Cars

Thanks Psfk for this on where app stores might be heading

October 23, 2009

It is clear that the mobile web is a big deal. Which got us to thinking — what’s the next device for the internet to build and ecosystem around ? Well, BMW thinks it’s cars and they are in the process of developing a BMW Application Store (think iPhone Apps for your Car).

The store, which is still in the conceptual stages, offers apps that users can download on-the-move to the iDrive in their BMW or via Computer (apps are then transfered to the car system). Apps currently under development include: travel guides, geowikis, games, podcasts, Facebook, Xing, and Twitter. One of the unique features of mobile apps that will also apply to BMW apps is it draws on your location to deliver useful and timely information. For example, applications for social networks (Facebook or Twitter) can read your car’s navigation system to guide your car thru traffic or recommend a great restaurant en route to your destination. In addition, it is a vitual certainty that car related data — braking patterns or acceleration history — will be used to develop apps that help you stay safe or save gas.

Potential Application: Michelin Guide 2.0

Thinking about how brands can use technology to develop compelling experiences (not just products) to stay relevant, it occurs to us that Michelin Tires is the perfect company to develop an application for the BMW App Store. In a very early example of branded info-tainment, Michelin Guides were started to started to sell Michelin tires by providing “chauffeurs with practical information about where they could service/repair cars and find accommodations or meals.”

They later evolved to include the now famous star system:

• One Star (”a very good restaurant in its category”)
• Two Stars (”excellent cooking, worth a detour”),
• Three Stars (”exceptional cuisine, worth a special journey”)

Michelin will hopefully build an app around the story of its authentic automotive roots which will alert drivers (a century later) to exceptional experiences as they are on-the-road or planning a trip. It would make tremendous sense for both BMW and Michelin as brands that specialize in luxury experiences.

[via @TomiAhonen via PavingWays]

Want to show how agile your car is? Get it to design a font!

Read the post from PSFK here

iQ font - When driving becomes writing / Full making of from wireless on Vimeo.

Twitter powered car recommendations

Thanks Gerry.

Whether i'd buy one based on my tweets is another story, but nice idea:
http://caseyshultz.com/vw-ad.php

Cars, twitter and a new adserving model

Thansk Contagious and Adage for these posts on who some auto manufactueres are tapping into microblogging

First this overview from Contagious

Volvo's Multi-Purpose Banner Ad

---

21/04/2009

Swedish Automaker Volvo, has taught the old banner ad a few new tricks thanks to a campaign masterminded by Euro RSCG Worldwide. The new multi-purpose ad not only measures a whopping 950 x 250 pixels but also contains photos, videos, an advergame and regular Twitter

www.thevolvotwitterad.com

The initiative is in promotion of the new automatic braking or 'city safety' feature on Volvo's latest XC60 sports utility vehicle - a system which is being debuted at the New York Auto Show, from which the brand is providing constant Twitter updates that get displayed in the banner.This Twitter feed has been enabled thanks to Google's DoubleClick technology, which relays the 'Tweets' via an RSS feed. The most recent update is displayed, although users can scroll down to catch up on previous news. The brand launched its Twitter profile 3 months ago and currently has over 1200 followers.

www.thecarthatstopsitself.com

As the very best 'must-see' viral adverts have shown (think Cadbury's Gorilla) when content is engaging enough, its consumption can become something of an event. By squeezing its campaign into one banner ad, Volvo has streamlined this process for the user. Furthermore, the inclusion of a Twitter feed not only keeps it up to date, but also gives the initiative a human voice that should set it apart from the more standard intrusive banner ad.

In other automotive Twitter news this week, Tata-owned brand Land Rover has also been documenting its presence at the New York Auto Show using a Twitter hashtag, #LRNY, which filters conversations, aggregating chat and information about the brand.

updates.

During the lead up to the auto show, these tags were seeded in trade press publications, through online media channels and outdoors on billboards, taxis etc. Also, the brand enlisted (via direct-marketing firm Wunderman) the help of Twittad - a US-based Twitter advertising specialist which payed a selection of 15 popular users (typically with an excess of 3000 followers each) to feature extensive branding on their profile pages. James Eliason, CEO of Twittad reported that in total the effort was Twittered to more than 300,000 followers.

www.twittad.com

Then, this more in-depth piece of the LandRover work from AdAge

------------------

Land Rover Taps Twitter as Campaign Cornerstone

'Hashtags,' Fledgling Ad Network Help Get the Word out Across Microblogging Site

by Jeremy Mullman

Published: April 20, 2009

CHICAGO (AdAge.com) -- Land Rover last week became the first national brand to execute a national Twitter campaign in a bid to promote its newest models' debuts at the New York Auto Show.

While brands as diverse as Southwest Airlines and Smirnoff vodka have been tweeting and accumulating followers for months, Land Rover attempted to use the burgeoning social-media platform in a more ambitious way, seeding so-called hashtags (words used in tweets that make it easier to follow an ongoing conversation via online searches) on billboards, taxi TVs and other out-of-home venues; spreading word of the Twitter effort through auto-obsessed blogs and online publications eager for a peek at its latest bells and whistles; and paying a fledgling Twitter ad network to spread the word among its army of compensated, heavily followed Twitter users, all of whom wallpapered their Twitter profiles with Land Rover branding.

While it's too early to know what sort of return Land Rover will receive for its efforts, "it cost us virtually nothing," said Keith Rhodes, VP and account director at WPP-owned direct-marketing firm Wunderman, which orchestrated the effort.

Mr. Rhodes said he was particularly encouraged by the Twitter-fueled traffic to a blog post he wrote about Land Rover's initiative. Posts on his site typically draw about 30 views; this one grabbed more than 200,000 views.

Land Rover is not likely to remain the only national marketer doing this for long, said James Eliason, CEO of Twittad, the Des Moines-based "social-media affinity network" Wunderman tapped to boost Land Rover's launch.

Mr. Eliason said the next national effort using Twittad's roster of 4,500 Tweeters, whom it pays to post on topics and brand their profile pages, with nearly 5 million followers, will be for Elations, a glucosamine-enhanced beverage from the makers of Sunny Delight targeted at women over 40.

Twitter machine
All told, the Land Rover effort was Twittered to more than 300,000 followers, Mr. Eliason said. Twittad used 15 different Tweeters with at least 5,000 followers, although the majority had between 2,000 and 4,000 followers.

Most won't get rich doing this anytime soon. One paid Tweeter, willconley777, wrote on his blog that he was paid $2.50 for letting Land Rover sponsor his profile page for seven days. Mr. Conley has 1,160 followers. Still, for those few Twitter users with huge reach, real money might one day be possible. The most-followed Land Rover campaign participant, queenoftheclick, boasts nearly 25,000 followers and was paid an amount "in the hundreds" for her participation, Mr. Eliason said.

Other larger-scale marketers are also eyeing Twittad, which is in talks with Sears.

The appeal to marketers is obvious: It's a cheap way to reach people through their trusted contacts. And Twittad's technology is able to sort its users by geography, demographics and interests, which can both lead to more targeted appeals and, perhaps, prevent Twitter users from feeling under siege by advertisers, a major concern.

"We were worried it would be considered spam, but we didn't get a single complaint [about Land Rover]," Mr. Eliason said. "What that tells me is that our connectors have influence."

Less clear is whether the model is sustainable. Mr. Eliason, who launched Twittad eight months ago, said he expects it to break even by the end of its first year. He said he has contacted Twitter about a revenue-sharing agreement but has yet to hear back.

QR access to 3D content

Nice campaign from Ford Ka. http://www.gofindit.net/

Created some funky 2D QR codes that, if scanned using a reader app revealed a lifelike 3D model of car.

Really like the customised QR codes, and mobile, augmented reality angle


Ford of Europe is launching its first “3D interactive” mobile phone campaign through Wunderman, is for the new Ford Ka, and seeks to engage new young drivers and influence their choice of car.
The campaign is focused on stickers that look a bit like QR Codes, but aren’t. When a consumer points a cameraphone at one of the stickers, provided they have the right model, they see a mobile URL (gofindit.net) for a Ford Ka prelaunch site.
When they go to this site, users can see films and photos created for the campaign. They can also click on a link to go to another mobile site (fordka.mobi) from where they can download an application that enables them to see a 3D image of a Ford Ka when they launch the app and point their cameraphone at one of the stickers.
Wunderman says the 3D Ka is viewable on Nokia cameraphones released within the last two years, plus most Windows Mobile cameraphones. In fact, the fordka.mobi site lists 21 models of Nokia phone that the app will run on.
The stickers that the phone needs to be pointed at in order to see the 3D Ka are contained in packs that are being given out to individuals who match the Ford Ka target audience in bars, clubs, universities and other venues. Experiential youth marketing firm Don’t Panic is handling the distribution of the packs.
The campaign will launch initially in the UK and roll out across Europe. Wunderman says it is the first mobile campaign by an automotive brand to use ‘augmented reality’. As Wunderman describes it, this is: “a field of computer research which deals with the combination of real-world and computer-generated data (virtual reality) where computer graphics objects are blended into real footage in real time”.
“The people we want to attract look beyond the obvious to discover the hidden treasure and that’s the essence of the Ford Ka ‘Find It’ campaign,” says Ford Europe Small Car Communications Manager, Claire Hepworth. “Our augmented reality mobile campaign is a key component of the pre-launch activity ahead of the official launch in January 09.”
Perhaps the best way to fully understand the campaign is to check out the video:



Check out the mobi site here: http://fordka.mobi

Project splitwheel - user designed car

Thanks again Contagious for this great, if extreme example of people-involvment in product development.



How many of you remember that episode of the Simpsons where Homer is reunited with his long-lost half-brother, Herb, who also happens to be the CEO of a major US car manufacturer? Keen to create a car for the average Joe, Herb puts Homer in charge of a new project and relies on his distinctly common touch to create the next American classic. However the ‘Homer’ which looks like a cross between a lime green hearse and one of George Jetson’s wet dreams proves to be disastrous flop - ruining the company and prompting Herb to disown his brother.

Now that crowd sourcing and corporate transparency are hot topics, The Simpsons once again proves to be curiously prophetic, raising the valid question - do consumers really know what they want? It is with slight trepidation therefore, that we approach Project Splitwheel - described as a ‘revolutionary online project to design and build a new performance car based on collective decision-making.’

www.splitwheel.com

By signing up to join the online community, users will be able to vote on every significant stage of the car's development - making the finished article a truly collaborative creation. However, to avoid another ‘Homer’, Splitwheel’s creators have been careful to gently steer participants in the right direction; for those who are unsure which way to vote, the website contains a blog with expert articles and breakdowns of the trickier technical aspects. There are video podcasts showing performance tests of rival cars, along with forums where members can argue - or rather discuss - the finer points of automotive design. (God forbid someone should suggest running twin sequential turbos without a sufficient intercooling system. Pah!)

However, this is no conceptual exercise; the final design will be submitted to British sports car manufacturer and Splitwheel partner Caterham, which will turn the prototype into a fully-fledged production car by the year 2010.

Splitwheel is the brainchild of Wikitanium - a UK-based company operating online projects to design and build new products in partnership with manufacturers and consumers. Contagious spoke to founder and managing director, Piers Drake:

‘Whether you refer to it as "prosumerism" or "transparency", the fact is that consumers are now better informed, better connected and more willing to get involved with products - from design through to development. The automotive industry is perfect for such an initiative because people are spending large amounts of money on an extremely familiar product. There are countless owners’ clubs, online forums and message boards where people passionately discuss the merits/downfalls of their cars. Our thinking was to channel this activity into an actual outcome and gives consumers the chance to put their money where their mouth is.’

Exciting stuff this - we couldn’t help thinking that it was only a matter of time until someone stepped up and really put crowdsourcing to the test, building collaborative brands from the ground up. One thing’s for sure; projects such as this require a delicate balance between dictating consumer conversations and facilitating them. By harnessing the existing social networking activity and providing users with useful, engaging ways in which to learn and contribute, Splitwheel looks like it may have just struck the perfect balance. We’ll be sure to keep you ‘up to speed’ with any updates *contribute to crowd-sourced groan here*

www.wikitanium.com

Musical roads - the new media space?

When we run out of space for billboards on our roads' sides, we'll embed jingles into the pavement.

For those of you wondering, Honda tried to turn this into a promotion in Lancaster Ca by producing the William Tell Overture, only for it to be covered over a few days later to residents complaining it 'drove' them mad. Perhaps it was the choice of tune - maybe "Drive my car" would have been a more fitting song?

Read more about Honda's efforts here and here thanks to Wired. Or learn where it all began below:

Road as Medium

"A Japanese engineer by the name of Shizuo Shinoda was the first to come up with the brilliant idea of transforming roads into a playback medium. The system works by cutting thousands of little grooves in the asphalt that produce a sound when a vehicle drives over them. The grooves are a few millimeters deep and 6 to 12 millimeters wide, and the closer you bring them together the higher the pitch will be when driven over. Production cost is about $20 000. Mr Shinoda got the idea by driving his car over markings a bulldozer had previously scraped off a street and realized he was generating a series a tones."

Check out the Youtube demonstration below:



Thanks to FutureLab. The original post can be found here.

3 car brands spinning 'green' with innovative & relevant campaigns

Thanks to iMedia Connection for this post: http://www.imediaconnection.com/content/20863.asp

Eco-friendly campaigns that excel
By David Rossiter

Marketing opportunity can still knock -- even when the economy is taking its lumps. See which automotive companies are spinning "green" into gold with some innovative and relevant campaigns.

The price of fuel continues to climb, hitting record highs along the way. Everyone from airlines to movie studios, banks, bands and, of course, consumers are choosing to go carbon neutral in an effort to reduce their toll on our environment. Everywhere we look someone is touting the benefits of "going green." And nowhere is this more evident than in the automotive industry's marketing campaigns.

Their efforts are spurred by record low U.S. car sales across manufacturers. According to figures from Autodata Corp., July 2008 marked the worst month for sales in 16 years, and although August proved slightly more encouraging, sales were still more than 15 percent lower than the previous year. Research from TNS Media Intelligence, which tracks advertising spending, shows a shift in ad spending among auto manufacturers toward their smaller and more fuel-efficient vehicles and away from trucks and SUVs.Is a green-themed car campaign enough to turn things around? Some are betting it is by investing in clever and elaborate online marketing initiatives designed to educate, entertain and ultimately lure consumers back to the dealership.

MINI creates CarFun

When it launched in August, MINI Cooper's CarFun Footprint microsite became an instant viral hit. It had all the trappings of an impactful campaign: an intuitive interactive tool, humor and a clever play on the trendy term "carbon footprint."

At the site, users are asked to select their make, model and color of car to calculate their "Fun Score," based on survey data from consumer research firm Strategic Vision, and "Green Score," which is sourced from the Environmental Protection Agency's Green Vehicle Guide. Together, the scores represent one's CarFun Footprint, and prompt a post-quiz response this like one: "You're driving a nice, comfortable sedan. Nice. Comfortable. And not particularly exciting. You could be driving a 37 mile per gallon MINI Cooper that takes nice and comfortable and adds the excitement of go-cart handling, starting at just $19,200."

Prior to launching its campaign, MINI had already benefited from the halo effect of consumers' concerns about rising gas prices. (Autodata reports sales rose by more than 30 percent this year through July.) Its CarFun Footprint campaign, which includes print and outdoor advertising, further spotlights the brand's climate- (and wallet)-friendly design. It also puts the brand head-to-head with its competitors in an environment where the original small luxury vehicle is bound to come out ahead. Existing MINI drivers are sure to find validation in this playful initiative, while consumers interested in living greener (and having more fun in the process) can't help but ponder a buy.

Traversing our reliance on the pump

This summer, GM launched a collection of ecologically minded ads for its Chevy brand during the 2008 Beijing Olympics to underscore its more fuel-efficient vehicles. Among them were new ads for the company's existing "Gas Pumps Hate Us" series, where gas pumps were seen vandalizing cars in their frustration over not being needed. Also introduced were spots marking the upcoming launch of the Chevy Traverse, an eight-passenger SUV with impressive (relatively speaking) highway fuel economy.

Online, the campaign manifested itself with homepage takeovers and display ads. A new Traverse microsite makes the company's brand objective clear by featuring a background of silhouetted trees, and a section on the vehicle's fuel efficiency that pits the Traverse against its competitors.

Both campaign themes feed off consumers' common aggravation over the high price of fuel and endeavor to address their concerns, but in different ways. "Gas Pumps Hate Us" uses humor by personifying the pumps and creating an adversarial relationship between them and the driver not unlike that which we've all experienced -- albeit it in less tangibly aggressive way. The Traverse ads serve to address the more serious side of the issue with hard data consumers can really sink their teeth into.

Ford helps schools go green

Families have always been one of Ford's primary target audiences, and this fact is reflected in its recent "Educate to Escape" contest. Launched in March of this year, the effort found Ford partnering with ABC's "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition" to award one U.S. school with an eco-friendly makeover based on essay submissions outlining why each entrant deserved help in going green.

"Ford maintains a commitment to lessen our overall impact on the planet with our products and our manufacturing plants," said a Ford Motor Company spokesperson of the campaign. By linking itself to an altruistic effort focused on sustainability and environmental conservation, the company was able to create a positive brand association that's made even more powerful through its subdued emphasis on its vehicles.

Should the message have been missed, Ford made sure to lead contest microsite visitors to a section of the Ford brand site that further addresses environmental issues with articles on its environmentally sustainable soy foam seats and fuel cell hybrid electric plug-in car. The move was a smart one; as effective as contest sponsorships can be in relaying a brand message to consumers, it never hurts to carry their interest in the campaign through to one's more sales-focused online destination.

You have to hand it to the automakers. In the face of one of the worst sales slumps in recent years, confronted with a drop in market value of domestic brands and a dramatic shift in consumer demand from large, typically inefficient vehicles to more compact models, they've had to get very creative -- and fast.

While it's far easier for these marketers to modify their messaging than change their product mix, it isn't easy to develop green campaigns that truly resonate with their potential customers. The theme is one that's being manipulated by virtually every type of business in every market segment in one way or another. Kudos to these car manufacturers for getting it so right.

First ever E-ink ad

In this video Adverlab has documented Esquire's E-ink newspapers and possibly the first ever E-ink ad for Ford Flex. Production costs for the e-ink insert are reportedly $8-$10 per cover.

Visit http://adverlab.blogspot.com/2008/09/esquires-e-ink-cover-and-ad-for-ford.html to read the original post thanks to Adverlab.

BMW hourglass

What’s an hourglass? Oh yes, it’s an ancient time piece, flowing fine sand quietly marking time in a perfectly balanced glass. Or, as everyone should know by now, it is the main prop at Never Stand Still. 

It was the kick-off party to start the countdown for BMW’s European launch of the latest model of BMW 7 series, slated to take place this fall. The car, displayed in the world’s largest hourglass in the Red Square, has not received much coverage but as soon as the construction of the hourglass marvel began four months ago, online buzz about it has been consistent. The 12-meter-high glass contraption was the centerpiece of the party thrown to 400 invited guests and celebrities. At the start of the build-up, more than 180,000 silvery balls concealed the car that was gradually revealed as the balls fell to the lower level. 

Moscow is a strong and growing market for BMW, and what better place to strut its latest but the historic location against the backdrop of the Kremlin, St. Basil’s Cathedral and G.U.M. – all veterans of many a communist-era motorized military parade. By Tuija Seipell from TheCoolHunter: http://www.thecoolhunter.com.au/events

Never Stand Still.

What is the distinguishing factor of successful people? They always perceive achievements as the starting point for new levels of performance.

BMW took this approach as the central theme for a vehicle presentation of the most unusual kind.

BMW has created the world's largest hourglass at the Red Square in Moscow to showcase its new flagship: the BMW 7 Series. 

Design your own Volvo

Now you can match your Nike's with your Volvo... thanks to Contagious for this post, also found at: http://www.contagiousmagazine.com/News%20Article.aspx?REF=857&IsArchive=false

Design Your Own Volvo C30
What kind of a brand identity does Volvo have? Big, safe - the kind of vehicles you'd want your family securely nestled within when navigating an icy Swedish road at dusk? Perhaps it's the classless utilitarian appeal of owning a car which looks just as happy sitting outside the golf club as it does in the car park of your local Ikea, effortlessly swallowing up that new Jizz 3-piece bedroom suite you've just bought? Perhaps. However, admirable as these qualities are, they are not in the slightest bit funky, hip, or as MTV's Xzibit or Tim Westwood would say 'bang in ur face - straight blazin'. Quite.

All this is set to change though, thanks to a new campaign which has just launched in Sweden allowing potential customers to design their own Volvo C30. Before you get too excited, this doesn’t mean you can dream up a six-wheeled bubble-roofed monstrosity (anyone remember the ‘Homer’?) What you can do though, is choose from a selection of 20 different designs of applique film to cover every panel on the car. These include butterflies, zebra stripes, flames, wood-effect and even tweed and tartan. The film is guaranteed to last for two years - protecting the paintwork beneath as well as giving your Volvo that much-needed personal touch.

The fully integrated campaign utilises a dedicated microsite with possibly one of the most slick and intuitive car configurators we’ve seen in a while. Not only can you chop and change the different patterns on the bodywork, but there is also the option to specify different types of interior trim. Quite refreshingly, as you customise (or rather ‘pimp’) to your heart’s content, a running total of how much the car will cost is displayed to the side - ensuring no nasty surprises at a later stage.

http://www.volvoc30.se

RepairPal, It’s Like Google Health for Your Car

Thanks Techcruch for this post:

Going to the mechanic is like going to the doctor. When something needs to be fixed, for most people there is no easy way to tell if they are being charged the going rate or are being ripped off. Enter RepairPal, a new site launching publicly today where you can get price estimates for different parts and repair jobs for your car. You enter your car year, model, and mileage, and it spits out price ranges for your zip code. For instance, replacing the front brake pads on a BMW in New York City should cost between $158 and $310.

Not sure where to take your car? There is also a directory of 287,000 local mechanics, with each shop placed onto a Google Map. Members can rate each mechanic. Once a repair is completed, you can keep an online service record at RepairPal. It is kind of like keeping your electronic medical record at Google Health, but it’s for your car.

A lot of detailed information is included with each estimate, such as helpful tips, recommendations, and common problems related to that repair. Members can add their own comments and suggestions. But if you need to ask an expert a question, you can pay $9 to have a real mechanic answer your question online. All of these features are designed to help you keep your car healthy.

The startup raised an angel round in the “low millions” last November from James Currier, the founder of Tickle, Stan Chudnovsky, the former CEO of Tickle, Chris Michel from Affinity Labs, and a hedge fund.

The key to the site’s success will be the accuracy of its price estimates. Other sites, like Driverside, which we recently reviewed, also offer repair estimates. But int his case, whoever has the best data will win. DriverSide doesn’t even list the model of my car, much less the particular repairs I need estimates for. When I recently ran RepairPal through the paces with a real list of repairs (Front pads, front rotors, bracket sensor, air filter, spark plugs, fuel filter, marker filter, and oil service) it came up with estimates for all but two items for my model vehicle.

Now multiply 400 different car models X 80 different types of repairs X 17 different model years X 42,000 different zip codes and you get more than 10 billion permutations. It is really a number-crunching problem. The better the underlying data, the better the estimates. RepiarPal gets its pricing data from a variety of sources, including pricing surveys, expert input, car brand data, parts distribution data, labor time data, demographic data, econometric models, and proprietary algorithms. CEO and co-founder David Sturtz, who previously started his own hedge fund, Clear View Capital Management, says:

We want to provide critical information previously only available to mechanics. We can tell you whether to replace or fix your car. For advertisers, they can target by geography, brand of car, or problem. For dealers and local shops, we will send leads. In return, they will be reviewed and rated by members.

Sturtz still has some things he needs to fix himself. Right now, you cannot enter a list of repairs. Each on needs to be entered individually to get an estimate. (Sturtz says that is on his to-do list). And you also can’t get a quote from a mechanic through the site (that too will come later). But overall it is a solid site. The auto repair industry is a $150 billion industry in the U.S. and there are about one billion service visits a year, says Sturtz. All he’s doing is bringing some much-needed transparency to it.

minimize

CrunchBase Information

Targeting just got lethal

Cheers to AdAge for an interesting use of alternative reality gaming to target a very specific group of people:

Toyota: No One's Targeted Black Women Like This
Alternate-Reality Game Challenges Camry's Rep as 'Suburban,' 'Boring'

By Claude Brodesser-Akner
Published: June 09, 2008

LOS ANGELES (AdAge.com) -- With companywide sales down 8% this May compared with a year ago, every sale suddenly matters to Toyota Motor Corp. And so the carmaker is launching what it calls an "episodic interactive campaign" to connect with a car-buying audience it has never targeted: professional African-American women.

Toyota's 'If Looks Could Kill' interactive site will target African-American women.

The automaker's Camry has been the best-selling car in America for nine of the past 10 years, but it seems African-American consumers would rather hitch their wagons to just about any other brand.

"Here's this nameplate that's ubiquitous," said Monica Warden, account director for Burrell, Toyota's agency of record or African-American advertising. "But for an African-American woman, it's not even in her consideration set. Our preliminary testing found they think of it as suburban, not urban; as solid but boring. And for this woman, she doesn't see herself as boring."

To shift the car's perception and increase purchase consideration, Toyota and Burrell have turned to the Pasadena, Calif.-based 42 Entertainment, a company that specializes in creating alternate-reality games, including a recent innovative viral campaign for Warner Bros.' forthcoming "Batman: The Dark Knight."

In the game, which makes its debut today, Bianca, a good-looking assistant designer at an urban fashion house, finds herself -- and her new 2009 Camry -- enmeshed in a world of espionage. A $5 million print, radio and online campaign that will run in media primarily consumed by African-American women aims to drive the target demographic to iflookscouldkill.com, a site where "fashion and espionage collide," said Susan Bonds, president of 42 Entertainment.

Espionage, mystery

Naturally, Bianca's unwitting involvement in spy tradecraft will be assisted by Camry's onboard Bluetooth, navigation and push-button ignition system, all features that will be "seamlessly integrated" into the content, Ms. Bonds said.

Why Camry hasn't caught on with African-American women is something of a mystery.

If the demographic simply wasn't buying any midprice sedans, one could to point to U.S. Census Bureau statistics that show that black women are the least likely to marry (in 2001, according to the U.S. Census, 41.9% of black women in America had never been married, in contrast to 20.7% of white women) and also the most likely to divorce. Lacking a double income, they might opt for cheaper wheels.

Or one might look to a November 2007 study by New York University's Furman Center for Real Estate and Urban Policy that found that black and Hispanic borrowers were more likely to be steered into subprime loans than others, even adjusting for income, loan size and property location -- indicating they don't have money to buy a car.

But U.S. Census data from 2005 show that black and Asian women with bachelor's degrees earn slightly more than similarly educated white women. And a recent study conducted by Burrell found that black women do buy midprice sedans; they just tend to buy Altimas, Accords and Avengers. Indeed, the Camry was being outsold almost 2-to-1 by Dodge's Avenger among black customers -- a car that suffered from less horsepower and lower fuel mileage than just about every six-cylinder competitor, including the Camry.

Disrupting perceptions

The game developed by 42 Entertainment is designed to target exactly those professional black women between 25 and 40 who earn at least $70,000 a year -- the same group that, Ms.Warden said, had previously written off the car as a suburban yawn.

"They think they know the car, but we're going to disrupt those perceptions," she said. "When you think that someone actually cares enough to make their product relevant to you, it can change your mind."

She added: "No one has ever targeted African-American women like this."

http://adage.com/article?article_id=127615

In car advertising?

Thanks to AdAge for this post.

Why Your Car May Soon Be Driving Digital Advertising

Steve Rubel on Digital Communications
By Steve Rubel
Published: June 02, 2008

If you think there's already enough to distract you in your life, just wait. With Americans spending 100 hours a year commuting, according to the Census Bureau, the internet is coming to your car in a big way -- and not just to the front seat either.

Dashboard navigation systems provide a natural entry point. Year-over-year unit sales of GPS devices grew nearly 500% during the 2007 holiday season, according to NPD.

Several GPS manufacturers such as Tele Atlas, which supplies systems to the automakers, already display the logos of nearby fast-food restaurants' gas stations. However, the screens are quickly getting more useful -- or cluttered, depending on your point of view. Navigon's high-end model, for example, features helpful restaurant reviews and ratings from Zagat.

Soon, devices that can both send and receive data will hit the market. Dash, for example, is integrating Web 2.0 crowdsourcing into its systems, allowing cars to send information back to the company to improve traffic calculations. As mobile broadband becomes more ubiquitous, it's conceivable that these devices will soon talk to your cellphone via Bluetooth and, thus, talk to social networks as well.

With send/receive capabilities and overall bandwidth improving, local contextual advertising, perhaps rich-media-based, is just around the corner. Google already allows users in Europe to send directions from the web to maps on connected dashboards. Microsoft is working in a system through its Sync technology to provide ad-supported, location-based information for which users would normally pay. (Disclosure: Microsoft and Zagat are clients of Edelman, my employer.)

The back seat offers perhaps more immediate promise for TV advertisers in search of new venues. In March Sirius and Chrysler launched an in-car video network called Backseat TV. The subscription service carries kids programming from Nickelodeon, the Disney Channel and Cartoon Network. Kids weaned on the service will surely demand more as the technology gets more sophisticated, perhaps to the chagrin of parents.

And therein lies the rub: Marketers will need to strike a careful balance to protect privacy and to not push into a space that many consider sacrosanct. However, given the size and captive nature of the in-car audience, the digital-advertising potential is becoming very clear.

http://adage.com/article?article_id=127433

Just have to love Toyota Scion

Uber youth focused Toyota Scion have launched a website allowing people to create their own Scions crests. Not cutting functionality by any stretch, but looking at how it came about, and the final result, definitely a bang on way to deliver value and engage with their audience.

Here's how Contagious reports it:

This new campaign for Toyota's economy brand, Scion, is aimed squarely between the eyes of the marque's target demographic - the young, trendy and skint.

Created by StrawberryFrog, New York, 'Scion Speak' aims to take the 'brand ambassador' concept one stage further by turning every advocate into a genuine spokesperson - with their very own unique 'symbolic language.'

This language has been created by Tristan Eaton - renowned graffiti artist and favourite of us here at Contagious Towers. Having spoken personally with a whole host of Scion enthusiasts, Eaton has compiled a special design palette, both bespoke and user-generated which is now hosted on the microsite - scionspeak.com.

www.scionspeak.com

Here, users can then create their own personal coat of arms - as the artist describes, 'in thousands of variations to become something no longer mine, but yours.' Once completed, this coat of arms can then be downloaded, used as a computer desktop and shared with friends or other Scion fans.

The site also hosts a 40 second promotional trailer along with two 'making of' videos documenting Eaton's discussions with StrawberryFrog and the contributing brand advocates.

Scion evolved from the failed Project Genesis in 2002, which attempted to attract younger buyers to the Toyota marque. They eventually nailed their objective by creating the separate brand which offered cheap but extremely cheerful vehicles to ‘Generation Y’ consumers.
As well as advertising all models using their ‘Pure Price’ promise (the price you see is the price you pay) Scion cars are also available with a whole host of accessories such as subwoofers, decals and superchargers. Pimp indeed.

Starbucks, Chrysler and web 2.0

Seems more and more big brands are trying to get to grips with the 2.0 world (probably just in time for 3.0), but it still remains to be seen whether their efforts strike real chords with consumers, like Ideastorm, or just get ignored as corporate propaganda

New Blog, Social Networks Will Likely Reignite Debate If Move Is an Attempt to Empower Consumers or Advocate for the Brand
Published: March 24, 2008 NEW YORK (AdAge.com)

How many ways can its legion of latte-sipping loafers ask for free Wi-Fi? Starbucks is finding out.

Last week at its annual meeting, Starbucks announced the launch of My Starbucks Idea, a social network where consumers can post ideas for how the company can improve its service and products or comment and vote on others' ideas. Voting will be tallied online, with each idea assigned a point value.
onsumers will be kept up to speed on what Starbucks is doing with the proposed suggestions on a new blog, Ideas in Action.

Though the program sounds like a smart Web 2.0 move, it has already drawn a dart or two from observers of the company, and is likely to reignite debate over whether brand-created blogs or social networks are a smart attempt to empower consumers or a cynical attempt to advocate for the company.

Jim Romenesko, keeper of the Starbucks Gossip blog, said, "It looks to me that it's very repetitious. How many times do you want to read about people suggesting free Wi-Fi?"

Of course, Mr. Romenesko has something to lose here as the reigning champion of Starbucks blogging. But in terms of the repetition on the site, he has a point. Nearly every other posting was an "idea" for more free drinks, which probably isn't what Starbucks, which has been on a top-down mission to get back some of its customer-service mojo, had in mind. But it's not just clamoring for gratis internet connection and mochaccinos that's leading to criticism. Starbucks, after all, is something of a late convert to the customer-listening game, and there's some indication that it hasn't been paying as much attention as it should have.

Lending an ear
John Moore, a former Starbucks marketer, said this experiment will be interesting to watch because Starbucks has never really listened to online conversations, a charge Starbucks denies.

This sort of online listening post worked for Dell, whose IdeaStorm website resulted in a few concrete product developments and, in turn, helped to turn some of the computer-maker's fiercest critics. One of them, Jeff Jarvis, went from a state of high dudgeon on his blog to praise the company in BusinessWeek.

However, the coffee chain, which made a PR splash when it recently closed down its stores to retrain its baristas, isn't getting the same sort of raves. New York magazine, which called the network "the biggest and possibly worst idea" that came out of the company's annual meeting, said, after checking it out, that it resembled "a virtual suggestion box."

Starbucks Director of Digital Strategy Alexandra Wheeler disagreed in an e-mail response to questions. "This site allows users to engage in other people's ideas and vote those that they like to the top," she wrote. "Also, if you think about it, for years, Starbucks stores have served as the center of vibrant communities, welcoming customers and encouraging creativity and dialogue."

Then there's the other side.

'Corporate propaganda'
"It's simply a corporate propaganda site," Mr. Romenesko wrote on starbucksgossip.com, the site he launched three years ago to bring the barista/customer conversations "taking place in the stores to the web."

Speaking to Ad Age from a Starbucks, Mr. Romenesko said the company has been monitoring his site for years and that it launched My Starbucks Idea because it was growing tired of reading all the negative comments posted on his site. He guesstimates that 75% of the people on his site are Starbucks employees and the remaining 25% are consumers.

On brandautopsy.com, Mr. Moore's blog, one visitor commented: "I see no fun whatsoever in the initial rollout of this, and that's what they needed. ... A blog post from CEO Howard Schultz showing how 'fun' the concept will be. ... Right now, it's just a big Mission Review/Customer Comment tank of the same ideas over and over again."

Jim Nail, chief strategy and marketing officer for TNS Media Intelligence/Cymfony, called it an "excellent idea" for Starbucks. "It's a natural extension of their brand. And if they play their cards right they can open channels of communication to their detractors and by listening and responding ... dramatically change the tenor of those conversations."

And now some more from Adage about Chrysler's latest efforts

Chrysler Ready to 'Listen' on New Site
Published: March 24, 2008 DETROIT (AdAge.com)

Chrysler will begin recruiting U.S. residents in the next few weeks to participate in closed, online dialogues to gather insights for the automaker's marketing, product development, vehicle features and engineering.
hrysler expects to have an advisory panel of some 2,000 people willing to participate online once or twice weekly, VP-Chief Marketing Officer Deborah Wahl Meyer told Advertising Age. "It's a different way to be close to our customers and our future customers" without doing physical focus groups, she said. "We call it on-demand customer collaboration."

Ms. Meyer said the project will have a broad reach but will also offer micro-targeting, because the company would be able to break down the consumer advisers by categories such as sex, vehicle brand or vehicle-type ownership.

New site launches in April
A new site, chryslerlistens.com, will go live the first week in April to reach prospective participants, who must be 18 or older and have valid driver's licenses. To get the word out about recruitment efforts, the marketer plans to break corporate ads next month from its general-market agency, BBDO, and its interactive shop, Organic. Meanwhile, the corporate site, chryslerllc.com, already has an area on the home page where interested consumers can apply.

Chrysler teamed with Passenger, Los Angeles, for the effort, which will last at least a year, said Justin Cooper, Passenger co-founder and chief innovation officer. The company, which lists Nike, ABC and ABC parent Walt Disney Co. as clients, will provide the software-servicing platform and consulting on how to best optimize the program. Passenger will screen the volunteers, Mr. Cooper said.

'Competitive advantage'
Chrysler is Passenger's first auto client, and this move can give the company a competitive advantage, he said. "People feel empowered by becoming brand-advisory members, and brand advocacy is the byproduct of this."

The automaker, which went private last year when Cerberus Capital Management bought a majority stake from Germany's Daimler, started using the "Listen" theme as part of a big regional TV blitz tagged "New Day." The campaign broke last month, covering Chrysler's corporate message as well as all three vehicle brands.

Auto Dealers To Drive New Mobile Marketing Efforts

Some interesting ideas on how the auto industry is starting to use mobile to enhance other forms of communication

It's interesting how so many new mobile marketing platforms are either market specific, or making market-specific pitches.

Real Estate's been working mobile for a while - and increasingly, so are auto dealers.

Cincinnati-based mobile platform provider OneCommand, for instance, has launched a new mobile marketing platform custom-tailored to auto dealers.

According to OneCommand, the new solution enables real-time, two-way communication between a dealership and consumers in several ways:

• Service Reminders: A dealership can automatically send text messages to their customers to remind them of their upcoming service appointment. If the time is no longer convenient, the customer can request via a simple text message to reschedule, triggering the system to automatically return a message asking when the next most convenient time may be. The customer texts back a time, the dealership is notified and as a result the appointment is rescheduled.

• On-the-Lot Marketing: Customers visiting a dealer’s lot after hours can text for more information regarding a vehicle or the dealership itself and have the system automatically respond with a text description, color “brochure” of the vehicle or even video. The system also offers the customer the ability to request this same information be sent to them in email, thereby capturing and reporting to the dealership both the customers’ phone number and email address for follow up.

• Newspaper ads: Dealers can enrich their newspaper ad campaigns by including wording in their ads telling the reader to text for more information and the same process is then followed as above.

• Customer Satisfaction Surveys: After vehicle purchase or service a text message can be sent asking if the customer is satisfied and to please text “Yes” or “No”. If the customer responds “No” the system responds and asks the customer if they would like to speak to a manager. If the customer responds with a “Yes”, the system automatically connects a phone call between the customer and the dealership to quickly head off any customer service issues.

Read more about it, here.