Stolichnaya Vodka is generating plenty of buzz -- no doubt on social media, as well as in the press -- by having snagged Twitter cofounder Biz Stone as the latest "star" of its Stoli Originals ad campaign. The first two executions of the Ogilvy & Mather campaign, which launched in late May, used split screens to show Playboy founder Hugh Hefner interviewing himself and a conversation between the "celeb" persona of actress Julia Stiles and her more everyday self. The ads declare: "The most original people deserve the most original vodka -- Stoli," and seek to get consumers to examine how "authentic" and "interesting" their own lifestyles are by asking: "Would You Have a Drink With You?" The just-launched Stone versions show his somewhat cooler "Twitter Pioneer" persona and his "Nerd of the Year" side (each clearly labeled) debating the Twitter phenomenon while drinking Stoli in an upscale bar. Nerd Stone: "Has it ever occurred to you that maybe Twitter is just a constant stream of meaningless babble?" Pioneer Stone: "You're not seeing the big picture. Astronauts are tweeting from space ... and the pace of business [has been] changed forever." In a statement announcing the ads' launch, Stone said he agreed to be featured because he viewed the "fun" script as a way to "do some myth-busting about Twitter." (He also told The Wall Street Journal that the money earned would go to a nonprofit that he and his wife are setting up to support causes such as arts, education, health and the environment.) As for Stolichnaya, with basically all spirits (and other) brands vying for those precious minutes with social media junkies, could there be a better personality than Stone to generate engagement? Stoli will build on the buzz by featuring creative from the campaign on Twitter, as well as hosting a virtual cocktail party with interaction via both Twitter (#stolicocktailparty) and its Facebook page. The brand also recently launched an online casting call through its Facebook page to select the next featured subject for new digital components of its Originals campaign, to launch in 2011. The winner, who will be chosen from among finalists' short videos illustrating their originality and "pioneering spirit," will receive a $25,000 fee, as well as time in the virtual spotlight.
Kia's partnership with the National Basketball Association is its biggest sponsorship program in the U.S. The automaker, which has renewed its association with the league for the 2010-11 season and beyond, has had a top-tier sponsorship association with the NBA for three years and has been involved as a sponsor in different capacities for many more. This year, Kia is expanding its involvement to sponsorship of the MVP Awards, the 2011 All-Star game at Los Angeles' Staples Center and the league's NBA Cares cause-marketing effort. The Irvine, Calif. automaker's Tim Chaney, director of marketing communications for Kia, talks to Marketing Daily about what's different this year, and how the automaker is marketing its vehicles around the court. Q: How is this year's sponsorship of the NBA different from last year's? A: This year, we came off the first three-year period for this, and we consider this renewal an extension and expansion. What is different is that we have added platforms we didn't have before, such as the All-Star game and in particular, title sponsorship and the awards around the MVP, and official auto partner of NBA Cares -- something we have always wanted to get involved in. We also upgraded a couple of existing platforms like Tip-Off Week. Q: How are you activating against the All-Star game?A: The All-Star game is in Los Angeles in February, in our backyard -- not that that was a deciding factor, but we are planning to activate in L.A. We will have meetings with the league and will go over a number of ideas about that. One thing I will say is, we are fully committed to this; we don't want to be a sponsor who signs a contract and never activates. We are really just getting started. Q: What are you doing around sponsorship of individual NBA teams?A: We have 13 teams; we did have three teams in the off-season that were up for discussion and renewal and we renewed all three: Portland, the L.A. Clippers and Orlando Magic. The Magic moved into a new, fabulous arena and inside, they built for us something called Kia Motors Terrace, an upper-level hospitality and display area. We hoisted the Optima up there, and it's on display and visible from the court. It was quite interesting. We had to get the car up there with a crane. Q: Is team sponsorship a national program?A: No, we view these 13 teams not just as NBA sponsorships but also as platforms for local market activation. Local dealer groups are very engaged and enthusiastic about team relationships, so we tend to somewhat decentralize the team activities and have regional offices and dealer groups get involved, and our role is to support them. Q: Beyond the new platforms, how is Kia leveraging its status with the NBA for advertising in the regular season?A: We handle the ad buy separately with ESPN and TNT, and we will have a significant presence on both networks this year. We have had a long-time NBA programming sponsorship relationship with ESPN going back seven years, where we have a Wednesday and Friday night pre-game show called the Kia and NBA Shoot Around. This year it's called the Kia and NBA Countdown. And we will also have a presence on TNT; they cover NBA All-Star Weekend. Q: What are you doing to support Optima around the NBA relationship?A: Optima will be the hero model or focus model both in our local team sponsorships and nationally. Some of this involves in-arena display opportunities, promotions and courtside signage. On the league front, starting next week we will introduce broadcast and print ads for Optima as well as courtside signage. We will do something to integrate Optima with the All-Star Performance awards. Q: This is Kia's biggest sponsorship program. What has it done for you?A: In this country it is the biggest -- yes, but globally, the parent company has a large relationship with the FIFA World Cup. We have proprietary data that shows there is a very strong indicator among NBA fans for rising Kia awareness, positive opinion and purchase consideration, which are paramount for us, and we feel it has helped elevate the brand image in people's eyes. In the beginning of our relationship with the NBA a few years ago, people were surprised to see Kia, but now we do not see that. We have a strong presence; people see us as a regular part of the game. It has boosted brand image, purchase consideration, and positive opinion of the brand and elevated the Kia brand into the mainstream. It's a great way for us to increase share of voice in a sport that is on the upswing. Q: The NBA has put a lot of effort in the past couple of years into growing its international footprint and fan base. Is Kia corporate considering taking a sponsorship role beyond U.S. borders?A: Well, the NBA is very popular in China, Europe, and Korea, in more and more markets. I think, of all the professional leagues, they have the biggest fan base globally and the most coherent strategy. There have been discussions but nothing imminent. I would never say never, though, because Kia globally is very in engaged in sports. We sponsor the Australia Open tennis tournament, FIFA, women's golf; we got involved in sponsoring Michelle Wie in the past year.
With titles like "Tiger Woods PGA Golf," "NCAA Football" and "Madden Football," EA Sports is accustomed to marketing its games from a top licensing position. But when it comes to its latest sports title, "MMA," the company had to operate under a different set of guidelines. THQ, a rival game company, holds the licensing for UFC (Ultimate Fighting Championship, which uses Mixed Martial Arts). So rather than rely on endorsements and association, EA -- along with its advertising agency Heat -- is stressing the intensity and training it takes to become a Mixed Martial Arts (which combines judo, jiu-jitsu, Muay Thai kickboxing and boxing) fighter. "UFC is one take on the bigger sport of MMA," Heat client services director Aaron Lang tells Marketing Daily. "The strategy here is showing a bigger picture of MMA and its global aspects. It's not just the glitz and glamour of Las Vegas. It's learning judo in Japan and jiu-jitsu in Brazil." Accordingly, a 30-second television spot that made its debut this week showcases two fighters squaring off, and then taking their bout to other exotic locales. The commercial ends with the fighters appearing in the Strikeforce league arena, with the tagline "The world of MMA has never been bigger." "One of the great aspects of this game is the training," Lang says. "You get to learn all these unique styles in all these exotic locations. The intention of the spot is to showcase that." The campaign is targeting males 12-34, with the commercial running on traditionally male-skewing lifestyle programming (such as Comedy Central and MTV), sports and fight-specific cable shows. Wieden + Kennedy in Portland, Ore. is EA's media agency. The television commercial will be supplemented with a robust advertising campaign. EA has also partnered with Sherdog.com, a mixed martial arts Web site, to create a marketing program called the "MMA Exchange," Lang says. The program takes four up-and-coming MMA fighters, pairs them with more experienced and well-known fighters and sends them around the world to train. "They're all learning the styles of the particular regions," Lang says. "It takes that notion that the world of MMA is big and diverse and goes into more depth." The teams' experiences will be chronicled throughout the training process, and the four apprentice fighters will square off in an undercard event in December. Sherdog will stream that event live on Dec. 4.
While fashion bloggers have been wielding more power with each runway season, Hanes' Just My Size is betting the plus-sized bloggers have even more to say, wooing them with a fashion event this week in New York. And it's just part of an effort, the Winston-Salem, N.C.-based company says, to use social media to build its connection to one of America's largest -- if most-spurned -- consumer groups. Marketers, retailers and even mainstream fashion media have certainly stepped up efforts to connect with heavier women, yet "she is getting tired of being ignored," Marie Teza, director and general manager of JMS, tells Marketing Daily. Even though more than half of American women are plus-sized, with the average woman wearing a size 14, "it's still a very underserved market." By beefing up its social presence through events like this, its digital ad programs, and use of Facebook, "we're hoping to increase our connection and presence and expand beyond traditional print. We know how much time the plus-sized woman spends online, and we know how passionate she is about finding clothing that fits and looks good." Those blogging about plus-sized fashion probably have more even more credibility with real women than the typical fashionista. "So many plus-size consumers look to these bloggers to give their opinions about new and existing collections," Gwen DeVoe -- a former model and fashion-show producer, who founded "Full-Figured Fashion Week" last year as a way to get more attention for the category -- tells Marketing Daily, particularly because these lines get less coverage in other press. "And the fact that most are actually plus-size helps the credibility. It's one of the best ways for women to find out what's new in the industry." Just My Size's 80,000 Facebook fans are also vocal, says Teza, and quick to make suggestions to improve the products. "Recently, we had several women comment about how they'd like tops that were a little longer. As a result, we've added about an inch and half to tops." Teza estimates the size of the market at $18 billion, but DeVoe -- who is rolling "Full-Figured Fashion Week" out to Los Angeles -- thinks it may be as high as $25 billion this year. "With the addition of plus-size collections from mainstream designers such as Jean Paul Gaultier, and retailers such as Faith21+ [from Forever 21], plus-size consumers are shopping more and more." Still, the category has not snapped out of its recessionary slump yet. The NPD Group reports that while the overall women's apparel business is up almost 4% for the 12 months ending in August, sales of plus-size clothing are up just 2.4%.
In past years, Jeep marketers devoted considerable amounts of time to getting the Jeep name and virtual Jeep vehicles in digital games like Tony Hawk Pro Skater. Now, the Chrysler division is going a step further: not only do Jeep Wranglers figure in the story line of the forthcoming Black Water-esque "Call of Duty: Black Ops" game, Jeep is actually creating a limited-edition vehicle based on the Jeep that appears in it. The game, by Santa Monica, Calif.-based Activision Publishing, Inc., is designed to be played on Xbox 360, PlayStation3, Nintendo Wii and Windows PC. In conjunction with the release of the game on Nov. 9, Jeep will produce a limited-edition 2011 Jeep Wrangler called "Call of Duty: Black Ops Edition." That kind of 3D realization of a 2D Jeep is a first for the company, but a spokesperson for Jeep says another first is the fact that the division will support the game and the limited edition with advertising. Said Brad Jakeman, CMO of Activision, in a statement: "This is a dynamic and fully integrated partnership that brings together two iconic brands across a full array of consumer touchpoints." The Jeep spokesperson says the company is not ready to talk about what those touchpoints will be, but she says it will go beyond advertising. The Jeep Wrangler Black Ops Edition comes in black. It has "Call of Duty: Black Ops" graphics on the roof and front quarter panels, per Jeep, and also features taillamp guards and a fuel-filler door from Mopar inspired by the virtual car. Wrangler is Jeep's go-to vehicle for limited editions around a theme. There has probably been only one limited-edition Wrangler whose styling was directly tied to an entertainment property. That would be the 2003 Wrangler Rubicon Tomb Raider model, released with "Lara Croft Tomb Raider: The Cradle of Life." The company made about 1,000 of the vehicles. Last year, the company launched Mountain and Islander versions of Wrangler, supporting the latter with a national "Jeep Wrangler Islander Tiki Hunt" contest, a social media campaign where Jeep hid three icons somewhere in the U.S. and gave people clues on social media sites like Facebook.
The Federal Trade Commission's upcoming report about behavioral advertising will include suggestions for how online ad companies can better protect consumers' privacy, but won't recommend that Congress enact new laws, commission member Julie Brill said on Tuesday. "The Commission isn't calling for regulation right now," she said in a speech Tuesday at a privacy conference held by the law firm Proskauer. "We're talking about a new self-regulatory framework." Brill elaborated that the behavioral targeting industry should improve its privacy efforts in several key areas. Among others, she said that companies should provide consistent and simplified notice about online tracking and ad-serving when the data is collected or used. She also said she would like to see notices focus on the unexpected uses of data, as opposed to obvious ones -- such as an ecommerce company's transfer of consumers' addresses to a shipping company. In response to a question from the audience about whether the FTC was calling for a behavioral-targeting "Schumer box" -- or the box (named for New York lawmaker Chuck Schumer) that appears in credit card mailings and has information about the cards' terms -- Brill replied that a Schumer box, as well as nutritional labels, demonstrate the type of consistent notice the FTC supports. Brill also said she personally would like to see the development of a do-not-track mechanism. Earlier this year, FTC Chair Jon Leibowitz told Congress that the commission was considering proposing the creation of a do-not-track mechanism that would allow consumers to easily opt out of all behavioral targeting. While Brill said she was "encouraged" by the industry's recent moves forward with a self-regulatory program, she added that the FTC intends to assess the initiative after the compliance portion of the program launches. The agency will examine whether consumers can easily understand and use the opt-out mechanisms, whether there is a robust enforcement mechanism and the breadth of industry participation, Brill said. Brill also distanced herself from the FTC's previous approach toward privacy, which focused on tangible harm to consumers -- such as identity theft. That model, she said, "may not adequately address other less quantifiable harms, which are nonetheless real," such as those that result from disclosure of information like medical conditions or sexual orientation.
Carol Bartz, CEO of Yahoo, and Peter Sachse, CEO of Macy's, spoke at the New York Athletic Club earlier this month. According to Sachse, digital marketing is the only component of the media mix where Macy's is spending more money. "It's where [the consumers] are," he noted, while in the same breath claiming to be media agnostic. Wait a minute ... is anyone really media agnostic? Since digital is so incredibly important to a brand's strategy and customer experience, should any online retailer claim to be agnostic? While the big idea used to be the hero, I hope we have entered the Age of Good Experience, and whether you live in New York City or Bozeman, Mont., you engage with your favorite brands online. Furthermore, with display advertising driving people to stores, Macy's is cognizant of creating a consistent and personal experience when the brand is face to face with a customer or nurturing the relationship in a digital environment. With digital touchpoints like "My Macy's" and the Back to School fashion design promotion this season, Macy's hyper-localized approach online is both effective and personal. In the realm of dynamic, custom home pages and online dominance, it is easy to see digital as the weapon of choice for retailers, but what is missing? Creativity. Bartz explains that historically, digital has been viewed as a place for information rather than a place for creativity. "The whole concept of great advertising is great creative," Bartz champions. "There is not enough of that. Yahoo needs to be a great experience. It needs to hit you emotionally." Bringing more motion, interactivity and beauty to the digital space is important. In order to achieve this, more brands need to look beyond standard online approaches such as viral videos. Let's think profoundly about what makes users feel excited and then connect with them in a way that makes them feel special. Part of this objective is delivering customized, relevant information as Yahoo does. However, that is not the whole story. Clients have a number of screens to use, and as Bartz underscores: "If you are going to use the space, use it well." This is where some marketers begin to feel overwhelmed, and the temptation is to take the same creative concept and re-fit it for the remaining targeted media channels. It is an over simplification to assume that one big idea will translate well online, on-air and on mobile. When it comes to creative, both traditional and digital agencies need to present better, break the rules and forget about some of the legacy we see week after week on TV shows like "Mad Men." Advertising campaigns should break your peripheral vision and engage consumers on all screens in a way that is genuine, sincere and, above all, creative. Clients need to challenge agencies and agencies need to educate brands. As industry experts, we need to think about a more evolved or nuanced notion around what a campaign is -- perhaps as a more dynamic and less linear experience. As we look toward 2011, let's bring back the excitement and the promise of a good consumer experience in our online and analog lives.