While charitable donations are down, online giving -- especially when goosed by social networking programs -- is growing fast. And just in time to cash in on the busiest time of year for gifts, Whole Foods Markets is launching a new cause-related campaign to leverage the trend. The new effort from the Austin, Texas-based food retailer encourages shoppers to share their New Year's resolutions in stores and via a Facebook application, generating buzz for three national non-profit food organizations. Themed "This is my year to ... ," the effort encourages shoppers to either Know Where My Food Comes From, which will direct funds to the Non-GMO Project; Choose Organic, with the goal of increasing the current market for organic food from 3% to 10% by the end of 2010; or Share My Plate, which provides sustainable food for needy people. The effort will funnel $10,000 each to the three groups, with an additional $10,000 to the group that gets the most votes on Facebook's thisismyyearto page. Marketing partners include Health Magazine and Odwalla juices. The campaign will run through January, and in-store and Web promotions will also highlight such healthy mantras as Eat My Greens, Know My Food, Learn to Cook, and Make Simple Changes. The campaign highlights major changes in good-deed marketing this year. A recent poll from the Chronicle of Philanthropy reports that consumers are giving less, with one-third of the 395 charities it surveyed expecting donations to fall by 10% or more by year's end, and 21% estimating donations will decline by smaller amounts. The journal reports that the Salvation Army, for instance, is 8% off in gifts to its Red Kettle Drive, while Catholic Charities USA is running $2.6 million behind its goal to raise $7.1 million by yearend. But online charitable donations -- which peak on Dec. 31 -- are up significantly, Tad Druart, a spokesperson for Convio, which makes software for nonprofits, tells Marketing Daily. A recent Convio study finds that online holiday giving may exceed $4 billion, with 111 million adults planning an online gift -- up from 89 million a year ago. All told, it says, 63% of online consumers plan to donate to charities online, up from 51% in 2008. And while 20% say they are still undecided about the size of their gifts, they are increasingly attuned to social media efforts, like the one Whole Foods is kicking off. Some 25% say that what family and friends say on social media and in personal emails influences the charities they support. Top causes, he says, continue to be human and social services organizations, including food banks and homeless shelters, followed by faith-based or disease and health service organizations, followed by animal welfare groups. The study found that younger Baby Boomers (44 to 53) and Gen Xers (30 to 43) are most likely to give online, at 66 and 65% respectively, followed by seniors (65-plus) at 60%, and Older Boomers (54 to 64) at 59%. Druart expects to see a flurry of requests, gearing up for the Dec. 31 cutoff. "Most people don't itemize, so it's really a mental deadline. Unfortunately, these gifts -- with an average of about $69 per donation -- aren't going to be enough to make us for losses in traditional channels," he says. "But we are seeing that the use of tools like Facebook and Twitter, particularly when it comes to event fund-raising, such as Relay for Life, are very successful. Americans get requests from multiple channels -- phone calls, direct mail, family and friends. It makes sense that they want to give through different channels, too."
American Honda Motor Co. and its advertising agency, Rubin Postaer & Associates, are being sued by environmental group Save the Earth Foundation for an alleged trademark violation. The San Francisco-based group alleges that Honda used its "Save the Earth" trademark without permission in a recent advertising campaign for the Honda Civic. The lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court in San Francisco, seeks to recover Honda's profits from the ad campaign and to stop future use by Honda of the trademark. Honda's use of the "Save the Earth" trademark in the commercial is likely to confuse the public into thinking that the foundation sponsored or approved the Civic, states that the complaint, filed Dec. 23 in U.S. District Court for the northern district of California. Many instances of actual confusion have been reported to the plaintiffs since the Civic commercials began airing, the complaint states. "In an era when green marketing is becoming more and more important, it is essential that corporations and their ad agencies not mislead the public by creating a false impression that they are endorsed by legitimate environmental groups, when in fact they are not," Save the Earth Foundation President Neal Pargman told Marketing Daily. Pargman has been selling merchandise bearing the Save the Earth trademark since 1972 and holds a U.S.-registered trademark. Honda's commercial, showing several uses of the Save the Earth trademark, used the foundation's trademark without permission. The Torrance, Calif.-based automaker has ignored cease-and-desist letters from the foundation, Pargman added. As for Honda, a spokesperson says the lawsuit is without merit. "American Honda merely depicted the commonly used expression 'save the earth' in our Civic ad to communicate the concern for the environment felt by many people who purchase fuel efficient and low emission vehicles. "American Honda believes that everyone, and not just the plaintiff, should have the right to remind people to do their part to help "save the earth." The TV spot features a man wearing a "Save the Earth" T-shirt getting out of his vintage Civic CCC. The spot then shows him and the Honda Civic morphing through time while he continues to wear the same T-shirt. Soon after the TV spot began to air, the foundation received telephone calls and other contacts from individuals who thought that the foundation had entered into a partnership or association with Honda, the complaint states. Some of the correspondence noted that the Honda Civic got better mileage in the 1970s -- when the T-shirts were first used -- than they do now, thus tarnishing plaintiffs' reputation among those who thought plaintiffs were "selling out" to a corporation cynically advertising goods that did not deliver what they promised, the complaint states. The foundation is asking for "profits on the Honda Civic line of products, together with plaintiffs' damages, trebled, costs of the action, and reasonable attorneys' Fees," states the complaint, although "no amount of money damages can adequately compensate plaintiffs if they lose the ability to control the use of their mark, or suffers damage to their reputation and goodwill through the false and unauthorized use of the "Save the Earth" mark."
On Dec. 28, Domino's officially unveiled the television component of the integrated "Pizza Turnaround" campaign that is announcing its new pizza recipe and brand revitalization push. Intended to suggest movie trailers, the spots convey the basic drift of Domino's makeover while also directing consumers to a four-minute online "documentary" about why and how the chain has reinvented its pizza for its 50th anniversary year in 2010. The new pizza debuted in Domino's locations nationwide on Dec. 27. In the TV spots, being aired on top-rated entertainment and sports programs, unseen consumers are heard to make a series of highly negative statements about traditional Domino's pizza ("Domino's pizza crust, to me, is like cardboard"), while the same statements are summarized in large white type against black backgrounds. Cut to Domino's President Patrick Doyle, who announces: "There comes a time when you know you've got to make a change." The online "documentary" provides a more detailed account of the true story of how Domino's went about the 18-month-long pizza/brand reinvention process, which involved franchisees and suppliers, as well as consumers and Domino's executives. The video includes clips of real focus groups interspersed with clips of Domino's employees absorbing consumers' critical messages and then using the insights to create a new pizza "from the crust up." The creative is from Crispin Porter + Bogusky. Social media play a central role in the campaign -- no surprise, given that Domino's says that the pizza/brand reinvention was inspired in large part by monitoring consumer comments about the brand on social media channels. The docu-commercial is housed in a new dedicated area of dominos.com dubbed "Oh Yes We Did" (pizzaturnaround.com), which also features live Twitter and Facebook feeds with consumer comments about the new pizza (not all positive), links into recent Domino's appearances on programs such as CBS's "The Early Show," and press releases. Also on Dec. 28, Domino's promoted its "Pizza Turnaround" message via a banner ad on YouTube's home page. The ad includes an embedded 15-second TV spot and a link into the full docu-commercial. For the relaunch, Domino's is offering two medium, two-topping pizzas for $5.99 each. The new pizza represents an opportunity for the chain to be known for quality as well as service, stressed Domino's CMO Russell Weiner, pointing out that the brand is backing its quality promise with a full-satisfaction guarantee ("If you are not completely satisfied with your Domino's pizza experience, we will make it right or refund your money").
Panasonic is going for a decidedly retro concept with its first iPhone application, a sort of digital update of the Wooly Willy game in which kids used a magnet to move metal shavings onto a cartoon face. In Panasonic's new application, the Panasonic Beard Buster, people can use an iPhone camera to take a picture of their own face (or upload an existing one), draw facial hair on themselves and then use a virtual Panasonic shaver to remove and design the facial hair. "It's a great opportunity to get a new look for the new year," Walter Taffarello, group marketing manager for Panasonic Home and Health Company, tells Marketing Daily via email. "Aside from the fun utility there is an educational part with links to [our] web site and an educational video." Developed by 360i, it is the company's first application of any type for Panasonic. While marketers are still sorting out how to best use the mobile technology "app" space, Panasonic felt it was important to reach out to people in "new and alternative ways," Taffarello says. "What we like is that this app is available 24/7, 365 days, and it's global," he says. Panasonic will promote the app through traditional public relations, digital word of mouth (through 360i) and online advertising, as well as through its Web site, Panasonic.com. Through the application, the company is hoping to raise awareness of its new product technology and "showcase that we indeed have the most advanced shaver in the market," Taffarello says. "The app is more geared toward young professionals -- early adopters that want something new and think differently about brand and are not afraid of trying something new."
Well, that's one way to cut down on mobile data traffic in New York. The iPhone is no longer available for sale via the AT&T Web site for residents in the New York metro area, according to widespread reports online late Sunday and Monday. People with ZIP codes in New York City, Westchester County and New Jersey suburbs who try to buy the Apple smartphone through the AT&T site receive a message that the device is "not available in your area." Asked about iPhone sales being blocked on its site for New York residents, AT&T issued a statement, saying: "We periodically modify our promotions and distribution channels. The iPhone is available in our New York retail stores and those of our partners." The Consumerist, the blog first reporting the halt to online sales, was initially told by an AT&T representative that the iPhone wasn't offered "because New York is not ready for the iPhone." The New York Times was subsequently told the iPhone wasn't available in certain ZIP codes "due to increased fraudulent activity," before being given the latest explanation about AT&T changing its promotions and distribution methods. Whatever the reason, the incident won't do much to dispel the view that AT&T is having a hard time keeping up with demand from heavy data-consuming iPhone users, especially in major markets like New York and San Francisco. Earlier this month, Ralph de la Vega, president and CEO of mobility and consumer markets at AT&T, promised to improve service soon in the two iPhone-centric cities through various network upgrades being undertaken into next year. He also suggested that AT&T might have to consider some type of usage-based pricing for smartphone users to help reduce the strain on its overtaxed network. AT&T on Monday did not say whether, or when, the iPhone would be available again through its online store for New York-area consumers. Update: By Monday afternoon, New York area residents were again able to purchase iPhones through AT&T's site. The company had no further comment on iPhone sales being temporarily suspended on the site.
Whether the spots score or not, insurance marketers continue to believe advertising in sports events is a ripe playing field. Notably in college football games. Take an October broadcast of Tennessee-Alabama on CBS. Eight different insurers ran a combined 20 spots in the game, led by Geico and TIAA-CREF with four each. But it wasn't just during the breaks that the marketers sought exposure. TIAA-CREF sponsored the pre-game show with its logo visible on the set. Aflac offered an on-screen trivia question-and-answer. New York Life had its logo virtually overlaid on the field during the action. Geico sponsored both the halftime show and a game recap. And John Hancock was behind in-game updates from other action around the country. The breakdown came from top TNS Media Intelligence researcher Jon Swallen in a presentation on insurance-category ad spending earlier this month. Swallen, however, raised the issue whether the heavy load of exposure for competitive insurers in a single broadcast can break through the proverbial clutter. "Do any of them stand out with viewers or do they just cancel [each other] out? Or to use a football metaphor, are they playing offense or are they just playing defense?" he said on the Webinar. To emphasize insurance marketers' attraction to college football, Swallen said that on average, 9% of all sports advertising on TV is spent in college football. But the insurance category spends about 16%. College football, however, is not the only game in town for the Geicos and State Farms. Overall, sports accounts for 15% of all TV ad spending; insurers spend about 24% of their dollars there. p> "The appeal of sports programming to insurance advertisers lies in the programming [and] the quality of audience it attracts," Swallen said. "And, most importantly I think, the opportunities for promotional and sponsorship tie-ins." He cited Nationwide as an advertising in auto-racing events, dovetailing with its title sponsorship of a NASCAR series. Both State Farm and The Hartford are NCAA "corporate partners" and involved in March Madness advertising and college hoops advertisers. Overall, the massive insurance category was down 8% in all ad spending from January-September in 2009. That yields a total 2009 spending estimate of $3.7 billion. But that decline is at a slower pace than for the overall ad market, down 15% for the January-September period. In the hyper-competitive auto category -- about half of the full insurance segment -- Swallen said consumers tend to view it as a "price-driven commodity." Helping sustain that is the Internet, which allows easy price comparisons. "A primary strategic goal for advertising is to build brand-name awareness, so when the policy comes up for renewal, their company will hopefully be on the consumer's short list," Swallen said. The auto category was down about 9% in the January-September period this year, and projected to come in at $1.7 billion for the full year. Swallen did indicate he expects leading auto brands to continue to spend liberally on national TV going forward. "The top brands still rely on national TV as the foundation of their media campaigns for building and maintaining awareness against their broadly defined target audiences," he said. Geico, the largest advertiser in the insurance segment with $620 million spent for all ads in 2008, apportioned about 60% of its budget on national TV. Allstate (87%), State Farm (73%) and Progressive (69%) had higher percentages in the medium. Swallen also noted that auto insurers have altered the tenor and messages of some creative this year. "The content of these TV ads has shifted over the past year with a much more direct, overt emphasis on price and savings; the recession has made consumers more value conscious."
1 Subway 2 McDonald's 3 7-Eleven 4 Hampton Inn/ Hampton Inn & Suites 5 Supercuts 6 H & R Block 7 Dunkin' Donuts 8 Jani-King 9 Servpro 10 ampm Mini Market Source: Entrepreneur magazine
Life in America is FAST. Everyone rushes to get to the next better, whatever. In America the future is NOW. One has to run just to stand in place. Nothing is left on the vine to mature naturally. Everything is plucked hard and green. Speed is a key aspect of the American aesthetic. Pragmatism and opportunity are two of its reflections. That's the American way, and for the most part, we like it like that. Now, however, the pervasiveness of the Internet and mobile devices, plus fear and distrust and our Ponzied economy, have us Americans voicing a new narrative -- maybe I should go a bit slower. Take convenience. It's a double-edged sword. People love convenience and hate convenience, because convenience itself speeds things up. We all live in a paradox of love it and hate it options. People are caught up in a force-field of two Mobiusly entwined vectors: 1. Offense
I see more, know more, and want more. This is an expression of a positive, exploratory mode; and2. Defense
I see more and know more, therefore I have to watch out for more. Too much is incoming everthing. Duck!People experience life as a series of staccato "nows" and must-do's that are metastasizing. A typical sentiment: "I used to have a list of chores to do that I could check off one at a time. At some point, my list was completed. Now, as soon as I get to the next chore, another has miraculously appeared at the bottom of my list. It's non-stop." Perhaps the best description of the present paradoxical context of the world was stated by a 44-year-old woman in a focus group in Kansas City: "Things are always advancing, getting better, sometimes for the worse." What's A Marketer to Do? The usual marketing response is to offer the consumer an expectation of convenience. It's easy. But this does not show a detailed understanding of the real consumer experience. The proliferation of communication channels and marketers' simplistic goal of maximizing eyeballs has created a frenetic ADDHD consumer. Content is now sliced and diced so thinly that narrative is abbreviated and fractured. Story is replaced by spectacle, gimmick or a "too much is never-enough" quick-cut snippet. The consumer finds himself at a cognitive impasse, where America is presently "between mythologies." We are not what we once were, and we do not yet know what we will become. This is a hard place for a culture. Worse, because of the speed of the culture, and the perceived complexity and unpredictability of things, people experience the world as a series of unconnected dots. Everything is commoditized -- connectivity, content, and time. In this context, context is lost, the familiar is the only thing that gets processed, creativity is subdued, there is no finding "YOU," your authentic self. What Should Marketers Do?
1. Provide Coherence to the "Dots": This takes more than bells and whistles. The opportunity marketers have is to help restructure peoples' experience of the extremely puzzle-pieced environment so they don't feel completely overloaded and splintered. 2. The Reassurance of Professionalism: Give the consumer a sense that your products and services can help them make better sense of the world and their world. Convert the pressure of time to a feeling of time well-spent. 3. Shift from the Available to the Valuable: Be a curator of "easy." Don't be a provider. Be a partner. Care for your consumer. In the transition from connectivity to content to context, offer a partnership in assembling and integrating a user-generated entity. Help transition the consumer from requirements to possibilities. 4. Be a True Leader: Don't just be a bullhorn for sales. Do not seek control. Seek to help provide for the consumer's self-expansion such that they are the center of their own attention, not yours. That's the archetype of the benevolent leader. 5. Own the Relationship: That is really what makes everything easier -- for the consumer and marketer, alike.Admittedly, there is no easy panacea. It's a long and winding road, but the quicker marketers reach the fork in the trail and contemplate the path less taken, the better off we will all be.