Fifth Third Bank is expanding its Hispanic-focused marketing campaign to seven markets. The campaign was soft-launched in Orlando, Fla., in April and the initial results have been positive, says Stacie Haas, the Cincinnati-based bank's vice president of public relations. The campaign will appear throughout the year in markets that are part of the bank's footprint: Orlando, Tampa, Ft. Myers and Naples, Fla.; Grand Rapids, Mich.; Indianapolis and Chicago. "The programming we've offered in the Orlando market has been well received and attended," Haas tells Marketing Daily. "One of the primary goals of this campaign is to position Fifth Third Bank as a trusted advisor, and we expect to see that happen over time as we deepen relationships with our customers." The theme, "Las cosas que hacemos por los suenos" or "The Things We Do for Dreams," is a part of the bank's overall marketing strategy and vision, Haas says, adding: "We are adapting those universal messages for the specific Hispanic market, which includes translation into Spanish." The campaign combines advertising, community programming and public relations efforts. The bank has had previous Hispanic-aimed marketing, "but this campaign is a more comprehensive and concentrated effort than in years past," Haas says. "Partnering with The Vox Collective has helped raise our visibility in this area." The ads will run in radio, print, out of home and online in Spanish language media. Part of the campaign is a series of financial workshops and television vignettes providing tips on how to best handle one's finances during the current economic climate and beyond. A comprehensive public relations push will support all initiatives. The creative executions, from New York-based Vox, show variations of the "American Dream" such as owning a home or taking a family vacation, along with the Bank's tips regarding how to make those dreams a reality through proper financial planning. An African-American-focused effort will be launched later this year, Haas says.
Seems like it's been ages since someone asked you if you'd care for freshly ground pepper or grated cheese on your entree? You're not alone: A new report shows that Americans are continuing to shun restaurants, with the spring quarter showing the sharpest decline since 1981. At quick-serve restaurants, which include fast-food chains, traffic fell 2% in the quarter, compared to the same period a year ago, "marking seven of the last nine months with declining customer counts," says the NPD Group, a Port Washington, N.Y.-based market research company. Those who are stepping out for a meal at a casual dining spot dropped by 4%, and traffic at mid-scale eateries fell 6%. While average check size did rise 2%, it was not nearly enough to offset the weaker attendance. NPD says total industry traffic for the quarter slipped 2.6%, and that unemployment seems to be increasing consumers' commitment to eat at home. It also marks the third straight quarter that diners with kids -- which typically represent a third of restaurant traffic -- have cut back. And more than half of the industry's decline can be traced to fewer supper visits from families. Visits by households without children, however, were stable. And while an evening out for families was the biggest loser, other meals suffered too, including takeout and quick-service restaurants. "Morning meal and lunch also declined across all three segments this spring, and each contributed about a fourth of the industry's loss," the report says. Fast-food restaurants did a little better with lunch and breakfast, but were still soft. Not surprisingly, the report also finds that restaurants are fading away, with the total number shrinking 1%, or about 4,000 units, in the quarter. "Dealing, value menus, and attractive price points seem to be supporting some operators who are holding on," the report says. "It is going to take continued innovation, creativity, and perseverance to capture share in a market where the pie may not be growing in the near term." At Starbucks, for example, which announced Tuesday that its third-quarter revenues fell to $2.4 billion from $2.6 billion in the same quarter last year, same-store sales fell 5%. However, the company says that decline, is an improvement from the 8% decline it saw in the second quarter.
New York City's marketing and partnership agency, NYC&Company, is launching a campaign supporting its association with Google Maps' new "Favorite Places" feature. New York is one of more than a dozen cities worldwide that have signed on with the program, including San Francisco, London, Paris, Moscow, Hong Kong, Tokyo, Madrid and Prague. The just-launched function on Google maps embeds local businesses and the endorsements of celebrities who suggested them into virtual maps on www.Google.com/FavoritePlaces. For The Favorite Places campaign, the NYC map includes recommendations from 28 local experts. On Google's "Favorite Places" map of New York, for example, Chef Nobu Matsuhisa recommends his favorite restaurants; Diane Von Furstenberg and Isaac Mizrahi share their favorite places to shop; and Yo-Yo Ma, Mark Morris and Maya Lin list where they most enjoy art exhibits and theater. Others offering their two cents include Jimmy Buffet, Cynthia Rowley, Danny Meyer, Al Gore and Alice Waters. Steve Flatow, SVP business development at NYC&Company, says the organization's Partnerships Group division developed a relationship with Google early this year as part of the NYC&Company visitor's center near Times Square. Google helped develop the interactive displays in the center, including things like interactive map tables and Google Earth 3D views of the city. "When they conceived this Favorite Places campaign, they came to us and discussed it early on," he says. He says that businesses get on the Favorite Places map when well-known New Yorkers recommend them. Nathan's Famous Hot Dogs is there because of Mayor Bloomberg's recommendation, for example. Flatow says the effort is aimed both at tourists and locals. "Our focus has shifted a lot recently from purely marketing to tourists to helping them navigate to also helping locals," he says, explaining that the shift included changing the name of the city's information Web site from NYCVisit.com to NYCGo.com. The effort is supported by an out-of-home campaign on New York City bus stop shelters and street pole banners; window decals of the Google Maps "My Map" pin appear in stores, restaurants, galleries and other venues. The favored locations are also on NYCGO.com, and the site links to Google Maps as well. San Francisco has life-sized red-tipped pins like those on Google Maps that appear in front of businesses selected as favorite places; mobile elements are available for iPhone, Android, BlackBerry, Windows Mobile and Symbian S60 handsets.
Sales of consumer electronics will decline nearly 8% this year to $165 billion, thanks to the recession and dropping prices on some of the most popular products, according to the Consumer Electronics Association. That's the bad news. The good news, according to the CEA, is that the sector is doing better than other areas of the economy -- like real estate and the auto industry -- and next year will see slight (as in less than 1%) growth. "Consumer demand for electronics remains intact," Steve Koenig, the CEA's director of industry analysis, tells Marketing Daily. "But revenue growth is hard to come by." The biggest revenue driver for the industry remains digital displays and televisions, comprising 15% of all industry sales. While shipments are expected to increase 8% in 2009, declining price and increased demand for smaller size will cause revenues to decline 6% during the year to $24 billion. Such "trading down" is common across the industry, Koenig says. "Consumers are moving from national brands to private-label brands," he says. "They're buying fewer jumbo screen televisions and buying netbooks rather than notebooks." According to the CEA, netbook shipments have risen 85% to eight-and-a-half million units. The product's lower price point is having resonance with consumers who are trying to cut spending during the recession, Koenig says. There are other bright spots as well. According to the CEA, Blu-ray DVD player shipments have increased 112% this year to nearly six million. And even as prices drop, revenues from sales of those players are expected to top $1 billion, up 48% over last year. However, prices are dropping faster than expected for those players as well, which may lead to less revenue growth, Koenig says. Smartphones also continue to grab consumers' attentions. According to the CEA, one of every four handsets sold this year will be a smartphone, and shipments are projected to increase 3% for this year. Overall, however, the fact that consumers are continuing to buy consumer electronics in the current economic climate indicates that the perception is that consumer electronics are more a necessity than a luxury, Koenig says. "Technology is woven into the fabric of our society," he says. "Even in this challenging economy, consumers are going to keep buying, though they may fine-tune that a bit."
Athletic gear company Under Armour has launched a campaign for its new UA Fierce football cleats. The campaign includes a Web video on YouTube and a national TV spot featuring football greats Deion Sanders and Devin Hester. The national TV spot follows Hester's life on and off the field, showcasing the Windy City in the process. Shot at Chicago's Wrigley Field and Soldier Field, the ad debuted during ESPN's telecast of the 17th annual ESPY awards on Sunday. It will run through the NFL season on ESPN properties. The minute-long ad is set to "On a Mission" by Def Jam artist Q da Kid, who joins San Francisco 49ers linebacker Patrick Willis for a cameo appearance in the commercial. The ad, which highlights retailer The Sports Authority, also touts Under Armour's High School Combine Series, the company's national program in which high school athletes get mentoring and training from pros. In one segment, Hester and Sanders tutor high school football players. In the Web video, "Fierce Speed," via New York and L.A. production company Shilo, the shoe coalesces as it flies, comet-like, through space. The spot is part of Under Armour's sponsorship of ESPN's new YouTube channel at www.youtube.com/ESPN. The company is joined by LG Electronics as the first to advertise on the all-things-sports Web channel. The "UA Fierce" shoe is one of three designs under the "Speed Generation" collection, which also includes the "UA Soflo" and the "UA Nitro" cleats. "Under Armour was built on the platform of providing advantages for athletes, and, through this commercial, we wanted to show how our new generation of speed cleats can make one of the fastest guys in the NFL one step faster," said Steve Battista, SVP of the Baltimore-based company, in a release. The company, which launched in the 1990s as an athletic apparel company, first got into footwear in 2006 when it launched football cleats. After that came a line of baseball and softball cleats in the fourth quarter of 2006, and then in 2008, performance-training footwear -- and finally, a line of running shoes early this year. For the latter, Under Armour launched a marketing campaign in January with TV spots on MTV, ESPN and NFL Network. That campaign features athletes like NFL star Brandon Jacobs, and U.S. National Women's Soccer Olympic Champion Heather Mitts.
Top 10 DMAs in which live adults who used paper towels in the last six months: 1 Wilkes Barre-Scranton, Pa. 2 Albany/ Schenectady/ Troy, N.Y. 3 Portland/ Auburn, Maine 4 Harrisburg/ Lancaster/ Lebanon/ York, Pa. 5 Pittsburgh 6 Burlington, Vt./ Plattsburgh, N.Y. 7 Johnstown-Altoona, Pa. 8 Syracuse, N.Y. 9 Paducah, Ky./ Cape Girardeau, Mo./ Harrisburg, Ill. 10 Rochester, N.Y. Source: MRI's Market-by-Market study, www.mediamark.com
Brand managers are facing a huge shift in power from brands to retailers. So it makes sense that they are pondering the questions: What is the difference between consumer and shopper marketing? When should we use one or the other? Are separate agencies even necessary? These are good questions, but not the right questions for today's marketplace. Building brands while driving volume is not about the differences between consumer and shopper marketing. It's not about separating the two or focusing resources on one or the other. It is about Good Marketing -- marketing that turns consumers into shoppers by building brand equity all the way to the point-of-purchase, wherever that may be, in home, away from home, or at retail. Good Marketing demands two kinds of expertise -- one in brand and the other in retail -- converging to create experiential brand ideas. It requires understanding how consumers relate with the brand within the context of their everyday lives, as well as how they -- or someone shopping for them -- relate to the brand within the context of a particular retailer. This means gathering and applying insights at every touch-point along the path to purchase. To simplify things, we created six questions that should be answered to build a brand all the way to retail. While deceptively simple, unanswered questions can often explain why Good Marketing was left behind. 1. What is the brand's and the retailer's key source of differentiation? Most marketers believe that differentiation is the "engine" of any successful brand effort. While true, differentiation can't stop with an understanding of the brand's equity. Today, the retailer often has a bigger draw, a bigger voice and more control than the brand. The new goal is to create communications, products and packaging that serve both the brand and the retailer. For example, Kashi has actually created different products to target different segments at Bashas' supermarkets. 2. Where is the purchase decision made? Knowing where this decision is made connects the brand to the consumer and shopper in a relevant way. This requires investing in the necessary research to gain that knowledge -- not only in home, but also quantitative, ethnographic research in store. 3. Who are the targets pre-store versus in-store? The consumer is often not the shopper: Consider a mom who buys energy drinks for her teenage son. Communications can introduce a brand to both mom and her son, motivate trial with the son and lead mom to the category in a store, while convincing mom that this is the brand to buy. This requires insights about the mom, the son, the brand and the retailer. It requires an understanding of barriers and bonds to trial and to purchase. It also demands that brand managers uncover where and when to best reach the mom and the son, which is most likely in different places and at different times. 4. What is the desired brand experience and how do we maximize participation? It takes a great brand idea to recreate a brand's essence and serve up an experience that people recognize as true to the brand and relevant to their lives. A great engagement strategy ensures that people come across that brand experience again and again and are enticed to become loyal users. 5. What is the role of advertising, digital, promotions and merchandising? Start with merchandising, which is not where most start. Merchandising is about connecting the brand to the shopper, not about waiting for the shopper to come to you. If merchandising gets your product into the hands of your consumer, then your advertising, digital and promotions can be used to close the deal. Finally, it is not about having the most touch points, but about using the touch points that are the most effective, most effectively. 6. What are the drivers of impulsivity? The word "impulsivity" describes what in-store experiences need to accomplish to turn consumers into shoppers. Why argue whether the percentage of purchase decisions made in-store is 70% or 20%. In truth, it varies. The key is to understand the dynamics in play because they give us opportunities to drive impulsivity -- and sales -- at retail. If you can answer these six questions, you're on track to innovate your way to growth based on measurable ROI. Moreover, you are well on your way to marketing to the consumer and the shopper most effectively - and that is Good Marketing. Editor's note: If you'd like to contribute to this newsletter, see our editorial guidelines first and then contact Nina Lentini.