Kodak CMO Jeff Hayzlett summed up the company's new marketing strategy in an aside. Caught by cell phone on his way to the Pi Sigma Epsilon Pro-Am in Dallas Friday afternoon, having just stepped off a plane and after the wild end to his company's involvement with "Celebrity Apprentice," he quipped: "We don't have time to develop pictures anymore." No, they don't. Kodak has clearly moved beyond its iconic picture-taking base. These days the brand is marking time with the culture's swells, Trumps, actresses, singers, athletes and rock stars. On Thursday night, Hayzlett went virtually head to head with rock star Gene Simmons--beamed in from Tokyo--debating the winning slogan for the Kodak EasyShare 5300 All-In-One Printer versus the slogan Simmons preferred, and the reason he left the show in January. "Anytime you have 9 million people watching and you don't throw up, that's a good time," Hayzlett said, about his several minutes more of fame. He told Simmons and Donald Trump that Kodak believes it will triple sales this year after having doubled them since the January appearance of the product on "Celebrity Apprentice." The contests had been tasked with creating an advertising slogan. Simmons' team came up with "It's a Kodak World." The winning team delivered the "Ultimate Knock Out Experience" by focusing on the low price of the printer's ink. Kodak ended up using both slogans. Such product placements on TV shows cost between half a million and two million dollars, although Hayzlett isn't saying what Kodak paid. "We are really getting out there," he told Marketing Daily. "We're thinking big and acting bigger. We got our name out in so many different ways. I got calls from marketers from all over the world." Hayzlett described the placement cost as "a small fee for getting into the game. Once you're in, you hustle--you do all the things you need to do to get more court time." Kodak's involvement with the Trump program, he says, made for lasting bonds with some of the celebrities. Currently, there are three vignettes posted at Kodak.com, featuring three of the celebrities from the "Apprentice" show--Marilu Henner, Vinny Pastore and Nely Galán, the last of which is done in both Spanish and English. "It's a great way for Kodak to change its message and delivery," says Hayzlett. "We're having some fun. We've got a couple more things up our sleeve that are fairly aggressive."
Ouch. March is shaping up to be a left-hand lead following February's hard uppercut to the auto business. The industry, finishing round three of 12--making for the worst year-long bout in recent memory--will need a good cut man next week if Edmunds is right. Sales this month, per Edmunds.com projections, will be 1.33 million units--a 13.2% decrease from the month last year, although a 13.9% increase from February 2008. Still, it could be worse. This month actually has two fewer selling days than the month last year; with that figured in, the drop is only 6.5% from March 2007. Edmunds sees Chrysler LLC faring the worst. Adjusted for the two fewer days to sell cars versus the month last year, Chrysler will post an 11.4% drop, per Edmunds. Ford and GM--again with two days off taken into account--will be down 8.6% each; Toyota sales are likely to be off 6.3% versus last March. As Edmunds sees it, only Honda and Nissan will slip through the month-long odyssey relatively unscathed. Nissan's sales for the month will, per Edmunds, slip 1.3% versus the month last year, and Edmunds gives Honda a slight uptick of 0.5%. "Some shoppers seem to be waiting for dramatic incentive announcements that seem inevitable, while other consumers are likely more focused on general economic and personal financial concerns," it says. The firm sees market share for the domestics--Chrysler, Ford and General Motors--at 51.1%, down from 52.7% in March 2007 and down from 52.2% last month. "It's basically a continuation of the first two months: weak demand, the only bright segments being compacts and other, more gas efficient vehicles," says Jesse Toprak, executive director of industry analysis for Edmunds. He says the first half of the year is likely to be 6% off last year's numbers. And the second half will be stronger because of seasonality. "But there may also be some clarity and stability in the housing market, although we don't expect full recovery," he says. "Also, higher loan limits will help, and the introduction of significant new pickups." In the fourth quarter, Ford will roll out a revamped F-150 pickup, and Dodge its new Ram 1500. "When that happens, we may see an uptick in sales," says Toprak.
It never fails. Video games attract college kids. So when Best Buy and Motorola reached out to educated 18- to-24-year-olds, the companies opened their wallets to sponsor the video game spring tour G3: Games, Gear and Gadgets that kicks off today. Video-game tour organizer Game U planned the marketing campaign for the tour, which runs the gamut from colorful chalk drawings on campus sidewalks in front of the student union and fliers posted on buildings to online banner ads and 30-second television spots running on local cable networks. Tour director and event organizer Robin Davis says, "I typically hire a street team, but sometimes students take the marketing and promotions into their own hands." The basic media buy for television ads targets specific postal ZIP codes near college campuses where the event will take place. The ads will appear on local cable stations, along with 30-second spots that run in campus theaters just prior to each movie showing. This year, Best Buy tops the list as the title sponsor, followed by Motorola. Microsoft, which has been the title sponsor for the last two years, takes a lesser role in 2008, but still plans to spotlight Xbox 360. Apple will show iPod and iMac products, too. The six-week tour expects to reach more than 40,000 game enthusiasts at 20 major colleges and universities. Best Buy sponsored the event for the past two years, but this year the electronics retail chain moved up to top sponsor, replacing Microsoft's Xbox 360 as the lead. "We're similar to a music festival when it comes to sponsorships," Davis says. "Top sponsorship means you get more visibility at each event." This year's tour features the latest video games, technology and digital music. It showcases Best Buy's Plasma Lounge & Cyber Laptop Bar that sport interactive demonstrations and competitive gaming competitions. As a national technology tour sponsor, Motorola will demonstrate Motorokrtm S9 stereo Bluetooth headphones and the Motorokrtm T505 in-car speakerphone and digital FM transmitter. The company also will hold interactive competitions supported by the video game "Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock" on Xbox 360 and a "Name that Tune" Challenge, giving away Motorola Bluetooth Music Packages and assorted prizes. Also on tap, the Official Xbox Magazine returns this year to sponsor a "Halo 3 Challenge" held in the newly created Xbox 360 Arena. A one-on-one Halo 3 "Winner Take All" match offers unique game prizes at each college stop. Game U aims to reach the young adult game-playing audience--college students. These early adopters and game enthusiasts will get the first opportunity to play several newly released titles on the tour. The tour features spring titles from Electronic Arts division EA Sports, such as "Army of Two," "NFL Tour" and "NCAA March Madness 08." Ubisoft will have Tom Clancy's "Rainbow Six: Las Vegas 2." Midway plans to showcase "NBA Ballers: Chosen One" and "TNA iMPACT!." Sierra Entertainment features "The Bourne Conspiracy," based on the hit film trilogy. From Konami Digital Entertainment, students have a chance to try out "Pro Evolution Soccer 2008," "Silent Hill Origins" and "Target Terror." THQ features "Frontlines: Fuel of War." Xbox will have "Mass Effect," "Halo 3," and "Lost Odyssey." The games will display on more than 30 Sharp Aquos high-definition, liquid crystal display televisions.
This week the American Legacy Foundation (ALF) and the National Alliance for Tobacco Cessation (NATC)--a group comprising state departments of health and private organizations--are launching a first-ever national advertising, PR, grassroots campaign aimed at getting people to quit smoking. The $25-30-million campaign, "EX," aims at getting smokers to break the link between cigarettes and the daily rituals, habits and triggers that make one want to light up. It also aims to educate smokers about medications that can help, and directs them to join support groups. The Legacy Foundation, which last year tested the program in four markets, helped organize the NATC by bringing together 14 states and 8 national organizations, including the American Cancer Society, American Heart Association and the National Cancer Institute. The campaign, via Austin, Texas-based GSD&M, comprises television, radio and online ads and out-of-home promotions. Three TV spots each show someone trying to figure out how to do something without reaching for a cigarette. One shows a guy trying to drink a cup of coffee at a diner. He tries in various desperate ways to drink the coffee, but can't figure out how. Voiceover: "When you're used to always doing something with a cigarette, it can be hard to do something without one. But if you can relearn how to drink coffee without cigarettes, you can relearn to do anything without cigarettes." Another of the ads has a person trying to drive without a smoke in hand. The third deals with starting one's day without the benefit of a light-up. New York City-based PHD handled media planning and buying strategy for the campaign. "What we are trying to do with EX is offer smokers a comprehensive plan to quit, focusing on ritualistic, behavioral and habit elements of smoking," says Jeffrey Costantino, director of cessation marketing for ALF. He says the media push includes ABC daytime, late-night, ABC news, ESPN lifetime, Soapnet, as well as other networks like Fox News, CNN and A&E. There's also a grassroots element, an "EX Coffee Truck" that will visit various alliance-state markets handing out free coffee and how-to-quit information. Costantino says that the creative voice in the ads, in the text and online is intended to be in the voice of an ex smoker. "It's smoker-to-smoker communication. We did a lot of research beforehand, so a lot of insights in the copy are from actual smokers. It speaks to smokers in their own language." The site BecomeAnEX.org lets smokers develop a personalized quitting plan, has video testimonials, and a virtual support group/community, and links to quit-smoking Web sites of member states. The American Legacy Foundation has troubling numbers on quitting: Although 70% want to quit, only 5% of people who quit in 2000 are still off cigarettes. Next to driving, tobacco is the leading cause of preventable death in the U.S. "It's a huge problem," he says, explaining that the Legacy Foundation's "truth" campaign is a prevention message focused on getting young people never to start smoking. EX is for people who are smoking now and struggling to quit. There has not been a sustained public-health voice in quitting smoking in national media for a while. The best known is Philip Morris' Quit-Assist. And a lot of consumers are wary of it because it comes from a major tobacco company.
With businesses competing tooth and nail to get consumers to use their loyalty programs, the quest for ways to up participation levels is becoming intense. The latest twist, being launched today, is a technology solution that lets consumers use their existing credit and debit cards as multipurpose loyalty cards and also enables merchants to generate on-the-spot, transaction history-based promotional offers or rewards. By allowing real-time payment and loyalty program identification in a single transaction, Chockstone Inc.'s SingleSwipe program addresses the hassle of having to carry around numerous cards, eliminates reward payment processing lags, and lets businesses change customers' behavior by giving them savings coupons or targeted offers while they're still at the cash register, says Chockstone CEO Jeff Lipp. Other programs allow registering a credit card to earn discounts or points at a network of merchants, but rewards accrue on a periodic basis, such as on the month-end statement, rather than at point of sale. Any branded card that is accepted by a merchant--including American Express, Discover, MasterCard and Visa--can be used for SingleSwipe. Cardholders register with specific merchants to be able to use their credit/debit cards as loyalty cards. Chockstone, which provides turnkey solutions for merchants to design and launch targeted point-of-sale promotions through a Web-based campaign management tool, maintains and processes all SingleSwipe data through its network and platform. Its restaurant-chain clients--including Subway, Brinker International (parent of Chili's), Tully's Coffee Corporation, Boston Market, Plaid Pantry, CC's and others--collectively have 46,000 outlets in North America. In addition to encouraging program usage, restaurants are pleased at the prospect of giving consumers a reason to pull out a credit card, since it's documented that consumers spend about 20% more when they use cards instead of cash, according to Lipp. SingleSwipe also promises loyalty program operational streamlining and cost savings for merchants--and greater "stickiness" for credit card issuers. (The theory is that once they've got several loyalty programs on a credit card, people won't want to drop or switch cards.) Martin Walker, VP of marketing and merchandising for Tully's, says that the chain is "pretty happy" with the usage level of its Tully's customer loyalty card, but sees a major benefit in being able to use SingleSwipe to offer Tully's rewards to the much larger number of customers who use their credit cards to pay for food. That means being able to "easily encourage guests to try new products and reward our most loyal customers with even more cost savings," he says. "With the explosion of gift cards, we're conscious that at some point, people are going to start leaving these at home," Walker stresses. "But they're not going to leave their general credit card at home."
Mobile video site MyWaves has added a group of new advertisers and launched an in-house studio to help adapt TV spots for cell phone screens. Among the 25 brand marketers on MyWaves since it opened up to advertisers in December 2007 are Microsoft, Toyota, Mini and Paramount Pictures. This week, Microsoft kicks off a campaign on MyWaves that is geo-targeted to 4 million mobile users in India promoting the MS Office New Day product line. The general awareness effort developed with WPP/Quasar in India will feature animated mobile banner ads. In mid-March, a campaign promoting the new Toyota Matrix launched on MyWaves that included both mobile Web banners and 15-second pre-roll spots. The flight runs through April. Earlier this year, the mobile site also worked with British automaker Mini on a U.S.-focused effort tied to the launch of its new Clubman model. The campaign, featuring four 15-second video spots, is expected to attract 1.5 million views by the end of March. In partnership with Paramount Pictures, MyWaves is now preparing a campaign to promote the upcoming release of Iron Man that will include pre-rolls and click-to-video trailers aimed at young U.S. mobile customers. The company declined to say what the average spend on campaigns has been so far. Mobile advertising globally is expected to hit $4.6 billion this year, according to eMarketer. Overall, MyWaves says it draws more than 5 million unique visitors a month worldwide, and reaches more than 20 million mobile devices. The Silicon Valley startup offers ad-supported professional and user-generated video through a platform that operates across multiple carrier networks. It offers more than 400,000 video "channels"--including user-created ones--to mobile users in 175 countries. In an effort to boost mobile advertising, MyWaves has also created a studio to help clients repurpose 30-second TV commercials for mobile devices. The move followed an in-house study confirming that users prefer shorter ads. "We found that 15-second spots work really well in a mobile environment, given that the average clip is around 3.5 minutes long," said MyWaves founder and CEO Rajeev Raman. With its new studio, MyWaves aims to help advertisers reduce production costs in paring 30-second spots to 15-second or shorter units.
Every week, it costs a little more to gas up my Honda, and a little bit more to buy the same-old, same-old wagon full of groceries. Just about every month, it seems, our house is worth a little bit less. And in the event that we wanted to borrow money--against the shrinking-in-value house, on a credit card or even from a kind-hearted relation--I'm told it would be tougher than a year ago. And there are more and more headlines about downward woe, stories of paycheck-to-paycheck middle-class families sliding into poverty because of the slowing economy. The funny thing is, my husband and I were saying the other day, we seem to be trapped in a bubble of economic delusion. We're certainly not rich. But the checking account is generally well-upholstered enough so that no teenager goes unshod, no dog unfed, and no consumer electronics urge denied. Turns out we're not alone in our "times are hard--for other people" attitude. In an interview about the 35 million affluent households, luxury-spending expert Pam Danziger, president of Unity Marketing, made the same observation: Upper-middle-class shoppers are feeling the same economic squeeze as the rest of the country--we just haven't noticed yet. Costs are rising faster than salaries, which means we're all drawing more from that rubbery and mysterious slice of the family budget called "disposable income." "There are three drivers in my house," Danziger says, "and we're now spending $900 a month on gas. We're not conscious of it. But that money has to come from somewhere." Some cutbacks are easy to see: We recently begged off two family trips we felt might be too pricey, and even though plans had called for repainting the house, we're thinking we can stand it for another year. Let's hear from you. Where are you cutting back? What dropped out of your plans this year? Anonymity welcome!