Luxury apparel and accessories company Louis Vuitton and global management services company Accenture have little in common except that both are keeping their marketing budgets intact despite the economy. For Theresa Poggenpohl, metrics are her ammunition. "If you have been successful, [senior executives] are much more likely to listen. In March we launched a secondary campaign related to our image campaign; we got increased money based on performance. Management must know every dollar counts." At Advertising Week's Best Global Brands Summit, marketing brass at the two companies and at Xerox and BMW held forth in general terms about the economy and how it is and isn't changing how they go to market. "I think what we did at Mini and BMW is to challenge ourselves," said Jack Pitney, VP at BMW. "You have to ask yourself what you would do if it were your company." Poggenpohl said measurement is key. "Measurement shows the value of marketing, especially when you have to cut spend," she said. "What I do doesn't correlate to a sale; we aren't selling consumer goods. We do sophisticated metrics around perception, consideration and preference of our brand. It's important because it helps management feel confident in the investments we are making." Heather Vandenberghe, vice president of marketing for Louis Vuitton, said the company began selling products online for the first time last year and supported it with online advertising. "Our challenge was to create ads so compelling that we could build the brand online. Our challenge as a marketing team is making the medium work for us. We found success by focusing on a call to action." The consumer home page is the hub of the company's entire marketing machine, per BMW's Pitney. "We will generate more than 225,000 leads annually on the web site; we track those leads to dealers and follow up. The Web is this wonderful place where you can explain who you are and what you're about and what you stand for: it's better than print, and TV because people will spend more time provided you are engaging with them." He said that in the last three years, floor traffic at BMW dealerships has dropped a lot, although sales have increased. "There's a reverse correlation online. Traffic is way up online. Dealers tell us they are getting floor traffic, but [those coming in] are much more qualified--they know what they want; they've done the research. It's a whole shift, so even dealers are focusing more on the Web because it's the Web leads that are generating traffic." Vandenberghe said Louis Vuitton was experiencing the same thing. "Sixty percent of people who visit our Web site are going into the store after doing their research online. They walk in and know what they want. Our average purchase has gone up since the Web site [launched]." Pitney said marketing support for brand identity efforts means fighting for budget. "Marketers have to advocate for the brand within the company. In the end, we are brand advocates." He said BMW assesses consumer perception of the BMW brand quarterly in the top six U.S. markets. "The essence of that needs to be consistent with what the brand stands for. We all help form that brand impression--so we, as brand advocates, have to make sure everything we are doing supports that ultimate goal. Strong brands are better than weak brands, so we fight," he says.
Banquet has become the latest in a stampede of brands hitching their wagons to country music stars and down-home themes. The ConAgra brand has signed Lee Ann Womack to be the face of its new line of value-priced ($1.50), health-oriented frozen dinners, Banquet Select Recipes. Banquet, which also used Womack to promote its Banquet 400 Nascar race in 2003, introduced Select Recipes last month as a move to revitalize the brand, which has received minimal advertising support in recent years. Banquet sales were up in ConAgra's just-ended fiscal first quarter '09, but its pot pie sales plummeted last year after a product recall. The new Select Recipes campaign, themed "So Good for So Little," kicks off this week with Banquet sponsoring the play of a single from Womack's new album on music stations nationwide. Associating a brand with country music and culture has been a big trend for years now, of course, but it appears to be getting even stronger. Looking at food brands alone, here are just a few of the other hook-ups announced since July: * Libby's using Sara Evans to promote September as "National Get Back to the Table Month." * Tyson Foods, Inc. donating a pound of fried chicken to America's Second Harvest for each person who clicked on a donation box on the Web site for CMT's "Country Fried Home Video" television show. * Milky Way cruising the country over the summer in a refurbished 1970s-era station wagon, bringing "Country Karaoke," family photos and product sampling to local fairs and festivals (particularly in the Midwest) to celebrate the brand's 85th birthday. Milky Way also sponsored this year's Great American Country Tour Bus, which stopped at large country music events across the country during the summer. Music fans sampled Milky Way products while listening to country artists. Why the upsurge? Country's overall reach is an obvious draw: Nearly 55% of U.S. women and 45% of men are country music listeners, according to the Country Music Association. And while whites/Caucasians still represent about 93% of country fans, the other 7% are African-Americans, Hispanics and other ethnicities. "Country is becoming bigger and more attractive to both whites and non-whites, and it's going to get even bigger," observes Roberto Ramos, president and CEO of New York ad agency The Vox Collective. He points to a growing number of crossover artists, as well as NBC's launch of "Nashville Star"-and its multiethnic range of participants. "Country is finally all-American," Ramos says--pointing out that current tough economic times, in addition to the pace of daily life and post-9/11 stress, are making Americans long more than ever for all things that speak to simpler, more authentic times. "As a result, New York professionals welcome a restaurant called Hill Country, and Texas hold 'em poker becomes one of the most played games online, as well as watched on ESPN," he notes. And of course, the elections are also adding to the country theme momentum, "as both Republicans and Democrats need to speak to that other disenfranchised group, the rural white," Ramos points out.
Undeterred by the current economic climate--with daily news coverage of Wall Street's volatility and money lost by investors-- OppenheimerFunds is moving forward with a planned effort. Marketing Daily. "They don't matter if the market is going well or not." The new effort is intended to continue positioning Oppenheimer as the "voice of reason and confidence," Dunbar says. The work, which includes television, print and online components, uses numbers to represent the financial data available to even average investors these days. Through digital animation, television commercials depict characters emerging from the numbers to embark upon a personal dream. When the goal is realized, the animated world transforms into a color, live-action world. Tagline: "You're in the markets, but what do you want your numbers to add up to?" "As an investment advisor, one of the things we can do is show consumers what all the data they get about their portfolio really means to them," Dunbar says. Oppenheimer had previously run a campaign that celebrated the company. One television spot depicted a kayaker navigating river rapids, while a voiceover said: "Challenge doesn't build character; it reveals it. ... For over 40 years, we've been able to prove we have what it takes to keep moving forward." But after seven years of building brand awareness, the company felt it was time to take a more consumer-centric approach, showing how the right planning can help them achieve their goals, Dunbar says. The new effort will continue several elements of the previous campaign, including its tagline, "The Right Way to Invest." In addition to the television and print campaign, the company is embarking on its first consumer-oriented online effort, with a microsite providing information about the company and its products. Oppenheimer is also investing in search-engine marketing for the first time, Dunbar says.
SanDisk is developing an advertising and marketing campaign to sell consumers on buying tunes on microSD memory card from some of the top music labels in the industry. EMI Music, Sony BMG, Universal Music Group, and Warner Music Group announced Monday they will pre-load music from top artists on formatted microSD memory cards dubbed "slotMusic." Consumers can listen to the digital rights management (DRM)-free music on cell phones, MP3 devices and PCs. EMI Music spokeswoman Jeanne Meyer says consumers can look for Katy Perry's "One of the Boys" and Coldplay's "Viva la Vida" on slotMusic cards this fall. While details on SanDisk's advertising campaign remain sketchy until tunes start rolling out, the message will complement the slotMusic launch and inform consumers of the new way to purchase and consume music, says SanDisk spokeswoman Carm Lyman. "The consumer campaign will begin when products hit the shelf," she says. SanDisk and participating music labels did launch a Web site comparing the new format to CDs and vinyl and promoting the amount of content that fits on one small card. It also emphasizes that consumers can play the DRM-free music on a variety of devices, playing back tracks at up to 320 kilobytes per second to offer high-quality sound. SanDisk has been marketing the media involved. It ran the campaign, "Wake Up Your Phone," to educate consumers about the microSD slot in its Sansa music players during the summer-long "Rock the Bells" hip hop tour. The company deployed teams of slot-spotters on the ground to talk with consumers about their phones and personal media players, and the options for consuming content through the microSD slot on their devices. Marketing and branding guru Al Reis says it's not an easy sell because people don't like to switch, especially if it works. "You may think you have a better coffee than Starbucks, but you need to give consumers a good reason to switch," he says. Reis says it would be easier if SanDisk and the music labels were trying to solve a problem--but the only problem that exists is dethroning Apple, which sells 80% of all digital music through iTunes, says Forrester Research principal analyst James McQuivey. MP3 player makers like SanDisk have suffered through DRM-locked music, making it difficult to sell their devices. The microSD card is not the future of music distribution, McQuivey says, but it will remind consumers they don't need an iPod to own digital music. "It may help slow the bleeding at retail, and it certainly cuts distribution costs," he says. "It's a good defensive strategy, but it is going to be hard for digitally minded consumers to think of this as the next logical step. It feels more like a step back." Consumers will find the slotMusic cards at brick-and-mortar and online Best Buy and Walmart stores in the United States, followed by Europe, in time for the holidays. SanDisk and the music companies have plans to announce a complete list of slotMusic albums, availability and pricing. Although tight-lipped on advertising and marketing plans, Walmart spokeswoman Melissa O'Brien says the big-box retailer plans to introduce the product in about half of its stores, which is typical for a product launch. "Consumers enjoy the fact that today's technology has allowed them to further embrace and enjoy their favorite music in more convenient and exciting ways than ever before, so we will monitor this launch with keen interest," she says.
Marketers are spending a lot of money on media research and studies, but not enough on innovating and listening to bounce-back from consumers. That was a key theme of the Advertising Research Foundation (ARF)'s Advertising Week workshop, "Transforming Research. Are You Listening?" Jeff Flemings, SVP/director of renaissance planning at Publicis' new account planning shop, VivaKi, says research has reached an inflection point. "It's hard to get a survey done today with validity. People share things and trust each other much more than [they do] brands," he says. That might sound simplistic--but, said Jonathan Carson, president, international, Nielsen Online, advertising's reputation is at stake because Web content has become fact for most consumers. He said that last year, Nielsen put the "brand" of advertising on its "brand association" map, which graphs the impact of word of mouth on brands. The chart revealed, target-style, which terms consumers used the most to describe advertising itself. At the bull's eye was the term "false." By contrast, he said, in a recent 47-country survey on trust in advertising, recommendations from other consumers came up as the greatest source of trust. "Number three was consumer opinions posted online," he says, adding that these opinions were posted in the same chat rooms that less than a decade ago were terra incognito for advertisers. "Now it represents a big opportunity for marketers and market research." Marketers are not there yet. Flemings cited findings from a July ARF panel that brought in major brands and researchers: About 80% of market-research money is spent on evaluation and testing, not innovation or consumer feedback. Marketers' marketing and research has traditionally been limited to the "brand backyard"--forums like customer care and the brand's Web site. He says it must be shifted to the "consumer backyard": Facebook, YouTube, Flickr, Tweet, Twitter and the like. Carson said Nielsen Online bifurcates buzz into two groups: "Speakers" are people who talk about brands and products to others, and post opinions on boards, forums, blogs, reviews, ratings, microsites and social networks, and "Seekers" are consumers, media analysts, regulators, lawyers, and competitors who use search engines, forums, boards, etc. to learn what Speakers are saying. "Both Speakers and Seekers are highly brand-responsive," said Carson. "Over 50% have given feedback directly to brands, 50% have participated in surveys, and 40% have participated in online discussion of brands. And when we looked at it, about 40% of the U.S. population fell into this group," he said. And, Carson said, "Counter to horror stories we hear" that Speakers have only bad things to say about brands, opining is driven by positive brand experience. He said that 55% of opinion makers say they use a product and like it. Eighteen percent talk about a brand's promotions; for 12%, TV or print ads generate ideas for online content. Also, when Speakers look for information, the first place they go is a company's own Web site or brand site. "Whether they know it or not, brands are already engaged in this conversation." TNS Cymfony's case study on HDTV awareness, sales, and buzz revealed, among other things, the power of discussion--whether word of mouth or online. For example, although Sony enjoys more brand awareness, stronger brand equity and unaided recognition in the category, Samsung is No. 1 in sales. "What we see," said Jeni Lee Chapman, EVP of TNS brand and communications, "is that Sony is more top-of-mind. There is a disconnect between awareness, discussion and share." TNS research revealed that the top drivers for sales were consumers seeing the TV brand in the home of friends, getting an in-store demo, and recommendations from friends. Jim Nail, chief strategy and marketing officer, TNS Cymfony, said Samsung gets more of its fair share of word of mouth compared with spend. "During the holiday period last year, Samsung passed Sony in buzz," he said. He acknowledged that Samsung was outspending Sony two to one during the season, but that in terms of online discussion, Samsung has twice as many brand advocates versus Sony--talking up aesthetics, picture quality and price. "Samsung is doing amazingly well," he says. "And even Panasonic's advocacy rate is pretty good. Samsung has all these pieces going for it when you look at specific blogs." Nail says the intersection of brand research and social media analysis does a lot to inform media strategy.
In its first time out with TV advertising, the city of Charlotte, N.C. is capitalizing on the "a lot" part of its name in new ads that feature specific attractions, as opposed to general branding. Headlines and motion graphics in a breaking tourism campaign for Visit Charlotte (a division of Charlotte Regional Visitors Authority) play with the different ways the eye reads dark and light type to relay two messages at once. The campaign, created by advertising agency BooneOakley, Charlotte, invites viewers to "Savor...," "Flirt...," "Roar...," and "Thrill..." to various local offerings, such as the Nascar Hall of Fame, the U.S. National Whitewater Center (world's largest artificial whitewater river), and Carowinds (the Carolinas's largest amusement park). The advertising's graphic hook is that the words "a lot" read clearly from inside a lighter-type "Charlotte," so that the "Savor" ad, for example, reads as both "Savor a lot," and "Savor Charlotte." It is a literal expression of the city's new tag, "Charlotte's got a lot," meant to imply that Charlotte is a destination, and not just a place to change planes, says a spokesperson. Executions include a wordless :30 TV spot, six 3:00 podcasts at charlottesgotalot.com, eight half-page print spreads, and four backlit transit posters displayed on airport escalators, shuttle buses, and phone booths. Media include broadcast and cable TV, and leisure/tourism and convention trade publications. Geographically, the campaign targets a five-state area including North Carolina and its four neighboring states for consumer travel, and the entire nation for the convention trade. Among the leisure/tourism publications that will carry print are USA Today, Southern Living, US Airways Magazine and AAA Carolinas Go. Convention trade publications include Meetings & Conventions, Successful Meetings, Association Now, Black Meetings & Tourism and USAE.
Nike will exit the elite swimwear market, although it still plans to sell suits to colleges and at the retail level. "Nike has made a strategic decision as part of the company's long-term growth plan to focus efforts against its successful swimwear business at retail," the company says in a statement, confirming published reports. Back in July, the Beaverton, Ore.-based sports apparel giant made the unprecedented announcement that it would allow its Nike swimmers to wear archrival Speedo's sleek, high-performance LZR Racer suit. At that time, Nike said it would not stand in the way of its swimmers seeking maximum performance. The suit--worn by medal-magnet Michael Phelps, among others--is so revolutionary that it has enabled swimmers to break dozens of records. "A total of 64 World Records now have been achieved at the Games by swimmers wearing the Speedo LZR Racer," Speedo says. "We will continue to supply coaches and collegiate institutions under Nike sponsorship with competitive Nike swimsuits including Nike Swift Swim," the Nike statement says. "But we will not invest in next-generation swim innovation, which is not in line with our stated category growth strategy." Previously, Nike has said it would focus its growth efforts on men's and women's training, running, soccer, basketball, and sportswear. The Speedo suit, fast becoming a performance icon, is about to fall into the hands of mere mortals. While the suit was unveiled back in February, it is only now becoming available to consumers. The men's version, on its Web site, retails for about $600.
Top 10 DMAs in which adults say they "regularly read financial news or financial publications. 1 San Francisco/ Oakland/ San Jose 2 Washington, D.C. (Hagerstown, Md.) 3 New York 4 Miami/ Ft. Lauderdale 5 Chicago 6 Monterey/ Salinas, Calif. 7 Atlanta 8 Norfolk/ Portsmouth/ Newport News, Va. 9 Philadelphia 10 Hartford and New Haven, Conn. Source: MRI's Market-by-Market study, www.mediamark.com