Ford is using some "app-titude" to create buzz around the forthcoming 2013 Ford Fusion, a new version of a car that, in some ways, was the initial salvo in Ford's efforts to cannonball back into the big crowded public pool of the U.S. car market. The automaker launched the Fusion in 2006, but it was the 2010 Fusion and Fusion hybrid models that grabbed headlines and won awards. For the third-generation Fusion, Ford is throwing sparks by letting consumers do virtual test drives of the new car via a mobile app leading up to the car's unveiling at the early January North American International Auto Show in Detroit. The app, developed with Moonbot Studios, allows people who download the app to "drive" the new Fusion in a kind of "Tron"- like virtual roadscape. The app includes videos about the design and features of the new version of the car. As part of the tease leading up to Ford's unveiling at the show, the app will show more and more of the exterior of the top-to-bottom redesign as the date approaches the press day. As part of the experience with the new app, consumers who "drive" the Fusion through a series of neon-lit virtual worlds unlock more and more of the car. Said Samantha Hoyt, Fusion marketing manager, in a release: “The app allows consumers to learn about the advanced technology and design of the car in a fun and easy-to-use way." People with Android and iOS on their smartphones or tablets can use the app: that means iPhone, iPad and Droid. The company says players start by finding and "capturing" a Ford Blue Oval logo using the mobile device’s camera. The Ford logo will appear on the screen as a button that starts the program. The video-game style app then allows consumers to drive a "digitally camouflaged" Fusion on a track toward video clips, each of which spotlight technology and design elements, with Fusion team members talking about each. The idea is that users get content rewards for "driving" every day, as a daily video clip on key car features unlocks a new enhancement to the app. There are three driving "worlds" in the app that players can unlock, leading up to the real-world reveal. The company says each world offers a slightly perspicuous look at the Fusion as well as the visual environments. All of this is backed by original music tracks and social network elements that allow users to post images to Facebook or Twitter. Needless to say, when Ford's new mid-sized car is unveiled at the 2012 Show at Detroit's Cobo Hall, users will have access to the full, clear image of the car: after viewing the final video in the driving experience, an image of the car will appear on the main menu. At that point users can drive any of the four Fusions on the track and can create a custom image of the car to share via Facebook and Twitter. The new Fusion will also have a role at the yearly Consumer Electronics Show (CES), where Ford's CEO Alan Mulally has been a fixture for the past three years. At next year's show, according to the automaker, the Fusion will serve as “Official Car of the 2012 International CES” and be introduced at the show by Mulally and Consumer Electronics Association CEO Gary Shapiro. The CES this year is in early January. Ford is also showing its EVOS Concept cloud-enabled vehicle at the show, where this year Mulally will be part of the 2012 Innovation Power Panel keynote at the Las Vegas Hilton.
The Obama administration’s proposed voluntary guidelines for food marketing to children have been dealt another blow, this time in the form of a Congressional directive that the Interagency Working Group (IWG) conduct a cost-benefit analysis. The requirement was included in a rider to the appropriations bill authorizing funding to keep the federal government running past this week. The food industry has lobbied heavily against the voluntary proposal, maintaining that it would be hugely costly to the industry, cause millions of job losses, and violate commercial free-speech protections. Republicans have been particularly critical of the proposal, although some Democrats have also voiced concerns. Rep. Jo Ann Emerson (R-Mo.), who wrote the rider, said the potential economic implications need to be studied. The Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) said that a cost-benefit study makes no sense, because there are no mandatory requirements and therefore no mandatory costs. “Unfortunately, both the House and the Senate have fallen for the industry’s faulty claims,” CSPI said in a statement. “I think the industry’s hope is that this will kill the food marketing guidelines, but it shouldn’t. It should just delay them,” Margo Wootan, CSPI director of nutrition policy, told The Washington Post. However, Dan Jaffe, EVP for government relations for the Association of National Advertisers, characterized the cost-benefit study requirement as amounting to Congressional appropriators telling the Federal Trade Commission and the other agencies in the IWG (the U.S. Dept. of Agriculture and Centers for Disease Control), “Don’t go forward in this direction.” The FTC had already indicated that it would weaken the original proposal, including likely making the guidelines applicable only to children under 12, rather than those up to age 17.
Sears Holdings is partnering with International Cruise & Excursions, Inc. to launch Sears Vacations, a full-service leisure and travel program designed exclusively for Sears customers. Sears Vacations will provide customers with the opportunity to opt-in to receive exclusive offers and values on travel and vacation packages primarily through an online platform. Sears Vacations is designed to appeal to a broad demographic of family-centric customers. The service launches in the first quarter of 2012, just in time to target customers who are planning their trips for spring breaks, a popular vacation time across many demographics. Sears is not the first department store to venture into the travel business. JCPenney launched a nationwide travel program in 1987. Regional department store Boscov’s Department Store has run a separate travel department for 37 years. The Reading, Penn.-based company has stores throughout Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, New York and New Jersey and also operates a travel website. ICE, a global leader in travel based membership and loyalty rewards programs, partnered with TravelBlox LLC., a Chicago-based company specializing in customized online vacation solutions, to introduce the Sears Vacations concept. ICE will design, implement and manage the web-based platform for Sears Vacations, while also providing travel fulfillment and customer support through its client services center located in Scottsdale, Ariz. and its supporting global offices. Sears Vacations will be merchandised and marketed by ICE through all Sears authorized touch points, including retail stores, partnerships with Sears' licensed business partners and Sears.com. The program will be geared toward the value-oriented Sears customer, said ICE President and CEO John Rowley. "Sears is an iconic brand with strong customer loyalty,” Rowley said in a release. “Sears Vacations aligns perfectly to Sears' history of providing customers attractive, valuable, high-quality products and services.”
Motorcycle retailers are getting better at customer service -- which is good, because that's pretty much the nuts and bolts of what they do. J.D. Power & Associates reports in its 14th annual U.S. Motorcycle Competitive Information Study that overall motorcycle customer satisfaction has increased versus 2010, driven by better sales experience, the products, and cost of ownership. The study, based on responses from 8,123 owners who purchased a new ride between September 2010 and May 2011, takes a "one down, five up" (motorcycle-ese for six gears) approach to the overall ownership experience: product; build quality; cost of ownership; sales; service; and warranty. The study shows that the biggest improvement came from the sales satisfaction component, increasing to 856 from 838 in 2010, based on a 1,000-point scale. Satisfaction with the product and cost of ownership also saw improvements versus 2010. "As satisfaction increases, so does owner loyalty and advocacy," said Brent Gruber, senior manager of the powersports and commercial vehicle practice at J.D. Power and Associates. Gruber said the market is showing recovery, as customers spent more for their motorcycle in 2011 than they did last year. The average owner-reported price paid in 2011 is $16,125 -- nearly $2,000 higher than in 2010. On average, owners this year are spending $1,340 more on aftermarket parts and accessories and $439 on riding gear, also an increase versus last year. "Manufacturers that focus on delivering high quality and superior service now will experience a long-term positive financial impact from their efforts." The study also finds that as satisfaction increases, the likelihood that an owner will repurchase their motorcycle brand and recommend their brand to others also increases. Among owners with high levels of satisfaction (scores averaging 900 or higher), 97% said they are willing to recommend their motorcycle brand to others and 81% said they intend to repurchase the same brand for their next motorcycle. By contrast, among owners who are less satisfied (scores averaging 700 or less), only 43% said they are willing to recommend their brand to others and 31% indicate repurchase intent. About half of respondents said they have had no problems with their new bike. But among owners who say they experienced two problems with their motorcycle, satisfaction with build quality declined considerably versus last year, per the study. The engine was the source of the greatest proportion -- or 27% -- of problems, although that's down somewhat from last year, per the firm. This is not surprising, given the proximity of engine to rider, excessive, unusual engine noises, and excessive engine vibration were 51% of all engine-related problems. The firm says Issues with fit and finish comprise the second-largest proportion of problems, followed by problems with braking and the ride.
Although Internet-connected entertainment devices (televisions, tablets, gaming consoles, smartphones) are all the rage among consumers, people are still not renting movies to play on them. According to new research from The NPD Group, only 5% of the 134 million consumers who own devices capable of playing rented, streamed movies (iVOD) have used them for those purposes. Even when it comes to devices whose sole purpose is streaming entertainment, only 14% have used them to rent movies. “The various connected devices needed to enable iVOD are already found in enough households to allow this distribution channel to grow well beyond early adopters,” Russ Crupnick, senior vice president of industry analysis, tells Marketing Daily. “To move the needle forward, though, iVOD providers must now leverage their content selection and search advantages and perhaps take a page out of Netflix’s playbook by offering more free trials to introduce potential users to their services.” The report, it should be noted, defines iVOD movie rentals as those that are rented from Apple iTunes, Microsoft Zune, Sony PlayStation Network, Amazon Instant Video, Vudu, Best Buy’s Cinema Now and Blockbuster.com. Netflix, which is the leader of streaming movies, was not included because NPD classifies it as a subscription streaming service, rather than iVOD. Those subscription services, as well as cable and satellite services, may be a major reason why iVOD may be struggling to catch on. According to the NPD, 56% of those who rented iVOD movies are also Netflix subscribers and 43% also used their providers’ VOD service. “[Consumers] get what Netflix or iTunes is all about, and same for Pay TV VOD. Most people are getting these devices and see a splash screen with Vudu or CinemaNow and don’t really understand what it is,” Crupnick says. “Add to that that Netflix is often the killer app for connected devices and you’ve got monumental consumer education and competitive challenges.” Yet, there’s a glimmer of hope for these companies. Some of them, like iTunes and Amazon already have strong brand recognition among consumers. With a big part of the challenge among consumers “just getting someone to register a credit card for the first time,” the companies could also take a page out of Netflix’s playbook and offer more free trials and other tactics to increase sampling. “We may have to sell this like a new detergent as unappealing as that might be to entertainment purists,” Crupnick says. “When I bought my DVD player decade ago it had a Netflix bumper sticker stuck to the top and a free trial offer. Why not do the same when I buy that Samsung Blu-Ray player or TV?”
With millions of homes in America immersed in cookie-baking and menu-planning mayhem, McCormick & Co. has engineered two new digital initiatives on Facebook: The Big Cookie Share and the Merry Merry Menu Planner. Knowing that recipe searches peak early in December, leading customers to stock up flavors like cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg and vanilla, the Sparks, Md.-based spice marketer wanted to inject itself into as many online conversations as possible. The menu planner app is intended to ward off kvetching relatives, and allows users to select a meal category, such as brunch, cocktail party or dinner, and choose among menu items. The user then posts two theoretical menus to their Facebook page. Friends and family can vote on, let’s say, orange poppy seed muffins at brunch versus a cinnamon crumb cake, or a herbed beef rib roast versus golden clove glazed ham for Christmas dinner. The Big Cookie Share app enables users to make digital cookies, add their own flavorings and a personalized message, which they can then send to Facebook buds, as well as post them on McCormick’s page: ”Sweet and nutty, just like you,” for instance, or “I make Gingerbread Schmucks every year.” Users can print the customized recipes to use themselves, but also share via Facebook with friends and family. To publicize the event, McCormick tapped Kim Ima, owner of The Treats Truck, to serve cookies from her bakery-on-wheels in New York City. Ima also created a series of cookie recipes just for the event. "At a time when laptops and tablets rival spatulas as the most-used kitchen tool,” the company says in its release, “we are offering our fans new ways to share the holiday spirit and create memorable taste experiences -- whether they're putting the holiday menu up for a vote or frosting Facebook cookies for faraway family members." McCormick says Americans buy some 540 million ounces of spices, seasonings and extracts during November and December, including 19 million ounces of cinnamon, 3 million ounces of ginger and 32 million ounces of vanilla extract.
You know by now that Lowe’s Home Improvement has pulled its advertising from TLC’s new reality show, “All-American Muslim.” As an expert in brand public relations and the Muslim consumer market, here are my thoughts: What’s done is done. Even if Lowe’s would do it, I don’t see any point in its trying to reinstate its spots during the show. If you have a conviction, no matter how ridiculous it may seem, you might as well stick to it in cases like these. The damage is already done, and the best thing to do now is to move on and try to carefully rebuild a relationship with the American Muslim community, as well as many others who see pulling the ads as a bad PR move and out of touch with American values. This controversy represents a teachable moment for other retailers and brands as they slowly, but surely, start to see the value in reaching America’s growing minority and multicultural consumer groups. This particular instance validates that not only are Muslim consumers important for what they buy, but they’re also important for what they don’t buy. Carefully weigh your options before making a hasty decision. Big companies like Lowe’s are used to controversy and are the subject of boycotts and pressure from special interest groups every day. Though I can’t speak to how much thought went into the decision to pull the ads, one lesson here is to carefully consider the credibility of the individuals or companies doing the complaining in the first place. Often, we see a lot of noise from groups who aren’t even shoppers at the company in question. Corporate America must determine who of its diverse customer base may be affected by its decisions and what implications those may have. It always disappoints me to see well-meaning companies get caught up in controversies and boycotts such as these, but in many cases they can be avoided with a little understanding. Had Lowe’s had a better understanding of the Muslim consumer market and been fully aware of the potential for backlash, its decision regarding advertising may have been entirely different. So, does Lowe’s have any chance of winning back the Muslim community and how can this type of controversy be avoided by other companies? If Lowe’s were a client, here is what we would recommend to them (and others) for starters: