Motorcycles and scooters are a discretionary spend? Maybe that was so in the past, but it’s changing. As gasoline prices remain relatively high (and may go up again this summer), scooters and small motorcycle sales may benefit. Ducati recently reported record sales numbers, as did BMW. And brands like Harley-Davidson, which had been a reliquary of aging consumers, are now getting the attention of younger consumers -- a feat that seemed impossible a few years ago. Ty van Hooydonk, director of product communications at the Motorcycle Industry Council (MIC), tells Marketing Daily that preliminary estimates suggest consumers see motorcycles as more than recreation vehicles. “More and more, what used to be a two-car family is one car plus a motorcycle and scooter,” he says. “Since the start of the millennium, we have tracked miles and numbers of riders in the U.S. and the percentage of households with at least one bike. All of those numbers are up -- in some cases, dramatically so.” The organization estimates scooter sales were up 11.8% last year versus 2010; sales of on-highway bikes were up 1.8%; and sales of dual-purpose bikes were up 14.2% Per the council’s owner survey, in 2003 the estimated number of people in America who operated a motorcycle at least once was 23 million. In 2009 it was 27 million. The number of total motorcycle miles ridden in 2003 was over 23 billion, per van Hooydonk. In 2009 it was 29 billion. “An important number is household penetration,” says van Hooydonk, adding that in 2003 5.4% of all American households had at least one bike. In 2009 that number had increased 7% to 6.8% of households. And the median age has declined for the first time in many years. In 2003, Gen-Y represented 13% of the motorcycle population. In 2009, 29% of motorcycle riders were in that age group. “It used to be that boomers outnumbered Gen-Y four to one,” he says. “Now it’s 1.25 to one. And among younger riders, there's a greater percentage of women and diverse consumers.” Part of the change is certainly driven by manufacturers. And that’s clear if one stands to the side of Honda’s display at the Progressive International Motorcycle Show in New York this past weekend at the Jacob Javits Convention Center. One can see 20-somethings lining up to swing a leg over Honda’s CBR 250. Why aren’t they over at the 1,000-cc sport bikes? Well, consider an analogy in the automotive business. Automakers -- partly because of gasoline prices -- but also to get younger buyers into cars, have been rethinking the compact and subcompact segment, restyling for looks and flexibility vehicles in a once- maligned segment (back when SUVs ruled). Next to the CBR 250 is Honda’s new NC 700x, a medium-sized motorcycle designed for multi-use urban mobility. The bike, for example, has a 21-litre storage compartment where the gas tank normally is, as the tank itself is under the seat. The bike can also be bought with digital shifting, and anti-lock brakes -- both options for people who are somewhat new to motorcycles. All of this represents an ideological shift for the industry, notes Lee Edmunds, national advertising manager for the motorcycle division of American Honda. He tells Marketing Daily that until recently, off-road bikes were viewed of as entry points to motorcycles, but that the company is putting more focus on traditional on-road bikes like CBR 250 and even the new NC 700x as rider-friendly machines for bringing a new kind of rider more interested in enhancing their lifestyle than maximizing the torque curve. “We see [NX 700x] as bringing in new buyers. It’s priced attractively ($6,999), gets good fuel economy (about 65 mpg) and is very versatile,” he says. “We have more and more bikes that appeal to other than just the enthusiast market. For a long time, entry to the Honda brand was through dirt bikes. Now we have a range of easier-to-ride products that appeal to a new buyer. We are definitely seeing a renaissance in smaller bikes.” Motorcycle makers are also rethinking so- called maxi-scooters (scooters with larger engines). BMW is -- for the first time -- rolling into the big-scooter category as part of an effort to focus some of its business on the urban mobility market, a strategy that the corporation is employing in its automobile business as well. Todd Andersen, marketing manager at the Woodcliff Lake, NJ BMW Motorrad, says the new C 650 maxi scooters will enter European markets this spring -- such as Italy, where big scooters are big business -- and in the much smaller U.S. market in the fall. Andersen says expanding into new segments such as scooters is necessary, even though the total maxi-scooter market was about 2,500 units last year nationwide. “Our strategy for years had been to play to our strengths -- GS, Touring -- but there are diminishing returns in sticking with only two or three categories,” he says. The first real effort to expand beyond touring and rugged-riding bikes was the RR superbike line, which competes in a hot segment, he says. Getting into maxi-scooters will help BMW expand its owner base overseas, and win new U.S. consumers to two-wheeled transportation, and BMW car owners, or “consumers who had never thought about two wheels,” he adds. Andersen says he will favor below-the-line marketing in key cities and regions where scooter sales are strong like California, Florida, New York, and -- surprisingly -- Pennsylvania and Ohio. “We want people to experience the scooters,” he says, adding that BMW will likely do test-ride events, and cross-branding and cross-promotional programs.
Budweiser’s magnificently predictable Clydesdales. A righteous pug kicking down doors for Doritos. Chimpanzee colleagues who misbehave in parking lots. Soulful beavers. Clearly, Super Bowls have a way of drawing out the beast in marketers. Marketing Daily asks Hope Fulgham, now CMO of digital media specialist firm E+M Advertising, why critter whimsy works so well during the big game, and what we might expect on Feb. 5. Q: I heart Spuds McKenzie, especially in his Miami Vice-era sport coat, and I don’t care that our readers in the 18-to-34 demo have no idea who I’m talking about. Tell us how you found him.A: I was working at D’Arcy Masius Benton & Bowles back in the late 1980s, and had to find a way to compete with other Budweiser advertising for a new Bud Light campaign. There were Bud Girls, and Bud Bowls. So we found this dog, a bull terrier, and it was perfect. Spuds was actually a she, and had been a show dog. Her real name, believe it or not, was Honey Tree Evil Eye, because of the patch. To create the character of Spuds, we wanted to humanize him, make him humorous, and relate him to the brand. He became the Super Party Animal, and showed up after skydiving and in submarines and in Hawaiian shirts. He didn’t have a voice, but the voiceover in the spots was always Robin Leach, so well-known from Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous. That dog had punch. Q: Are dogs the best animals to use in ads?A: Well, people love ‘em. Look at all the dog spots that made it to the final round of the Doritos contest for the upcoming Super Bowl. They are endearing, and people love clever dogs. The idea that they can speak is especially appealing. Take the talking husky everyone loves on YouTube. But people like all kinds of animals, real and animated. Tickling kitties. Horses. Geckos. Those hamsters for Kia. Q: So what’s the lesson for marketers? A: It’s all about finding a brand-appropriate match. I remember a toilet paper ad with a Golden Retriever puppy that just didn’t work for me, on so many levels. But when it is a good fit, polls have shown the right animal makes ads more memorable. I think the gecko for Geico is a perfect example. He’s smart and funny. Budweiser’s use of the horses is another good example. They were part of the original Anheuser Busch logo, and August Busch had Clydesdales pull his beer truck -- they’re an inherent part of the brand story. There’s a reason that Clydesdale Budweiser 9/11 spot remains one of the most famous commercials ever done. When the horses took a bow, with that moment of silence, everyone could appreciate it. It wouldn’t have been as heartfelt if it were human. Q: Speaking of Budweiser, when did the Dalmatians get in the act?A: There were always some Dalmatians hanging around the barn, and they went everywhere the horses did. Dalmatians have the additional advantage of being associated with firefighters. So both animals highlight what the brand stands for, that hardworking, blue-collar, and community spirit. It’s what makes Budweiser’s tributes to the troops so believable. Q: Has the use of animals in commercials changed over the years?A: Oh, yes. After the Michal Vick dogfighting scandal, there is a much greater sensitivity to any kind of animal abuse. Animal cruelty has become a mainstream concern, not a fringy one. Shows about animal hoarders and stories about puppy mills are really on consumers’ radar. That’s why I was surprised that Skechers recently made a spot filming a dog racing against greyhounds. If it had been us, we would have made the same point showing the dog in an agility test or at a dog park or something. The pendulum has really swung on this. Q: How so?A: While it is never OK to show people terrorizing animals, I think it’s funny that there are more commercials with animals terrorizing people. On last year’s Super Bowl, there was a funny McDonald’s spot where a father bear frightens people into abandoning their french fries. And there’s a new Carnival Cruise spot where a bear and a mountain lion trap a screaming couple in their car. It’s hysterical.
The end of the video store is nigh. According to the NPD Group, consumer rentals of DVD and Blu-Ray movies fell 11% in 2011, compared with the previous year. And those that were rented came from Redbox, which increased its market share to 12% over the year. In most metro areas, [the video store is] on life support at best,” Russ Crupnick, senior vice president of industry analysis for NPD, tells Marketing Daily. “I think Blockbuster’s latest move to close a lot of stores really puts an end to the video store as we know it.” According to NPD, Redbox’s unit volume increased 29% in 2011, and its share of DVD and Blu-ray rentals rose from 25% in 2010 to 37% in 2011. Many of these gains came on the back of Blockbuster, whose rental share fell 6% to 17% in 2011. Netflix, which famously gaffed in its attempts to get out of the DVD and Blu-ray rental business during the year, was flat at 30% (although the company’s share fell to 25% in the fourth quarter). “Redbox is the one bright spot in growing both in types of volume,” Crupnick says. “Their footprint is growing, and so consequently is their share.” Not all of Netflix’s fortunes are bad, however. The company is still the dominant provider of paid digital movie rentals, commanding a 55% share of those rentals in the fourth quarter. In total, nearly a third of all paid movie rentals are coming from video-on-demand services, a number that is likely to grow as more connected devices hit the home. “As more people get connected TVs and devices and so on, you’ll see Netflix rebound for that,” Crupnick says. “They’re the only game in town when it comes to [the Watch Instantly] plan.” “The movie-rental market is clearly undergoing a sea change, as consumers become better equipped to access on-demand and streamed movies and are more comfortable with available delivery options,” he says. “Even so, renting physical discs from now- ubiquitous kiosks in grocery stores and other venues has taken the lead as the most popular movie-rental method in the U.S.”
The new campaign from Kraft Cheese is unusual because it spans five product lines, and because of its scale: With a budget of approximately $50 million, it’s Kraft’s single largest cheese/dairy campaign in a decade. But its content approach -- and the creative process behind it -- also represent something of a departure from typical recipe-oriented cheese-category marketing, says Jill Baskin, senior director, marketing communications for Kraft Cheese & Dairy. The campaign encompasses Kraft’s Singles, Natural Slices, Natural Shredded Cheese, Grated Parmesan and Fresh Take (the last is a new line of cheeses blended with seasoned breadcrumbs) because Kraft’s consumer research confirmed that consumers keep multiple types of cheeses on hand to use for a variety of purposes. Importantly, the research -- which included spending time with consumers in their kitchens to “explore their relationship with cheese” -- also revealed significant changes in what constitutes meals and how people are cooking today. “People no longer feel tied to old rules, like needing to prepare full, traditional dinners,” says Baskin. “Dinner might be a plate of nachos, or a salad, that includes protein and vegetables. Also, they’re more comfortable now with winging it and getting creative. For instance, they might scan a couple of recipes on the Web, and then create their own hybrid recipes.” As a result, the new “Make Something Amazing” campaign is premised on providing today’s more flexible and sophisticated home cooks with restaurant-inspired recipes that encourage experimentation and customizing to personal preferences. “We’ve gone a little more up-market” to assist consumers who are looking for inspiration to take dishes to the next creative or taste level, through simple or more involved recipes, Baskin says. The campaign seeks to make an emotional connection by positioning Kraft cheeses as providing the spark of inspiration behind meals that create “amazing moments” with family and friends. The Kraft Cheese area within KraftFoods.com features 30-second recipe videos. Recipes using various Kraft cheeses, with links to the videos, are spotlighted in rotation, with bold inspirational messaging (“Make something brand new…Make something expressive…Make something outstanding…Make something game- changing”). Recipe examples include Southwest three-cheese chicken, homemade tilapia tacos, crispy-topped stuffed shells, savory turkey meatball salad and a variety of dishes and dips featuring artichokes with parmesan or other cheeses. “Many people are trying dishes with artichokes or other ingredients that they’ve enjoyed in restaurants, and now want to know how to prepare at home,” notes Baskin. “Cooking magazines offer these types of recipes, but that’s not the typical approach for recipes from food companies.” Like other elements in the campaign, the videos are big on visuals and light on copy, and the site encourages users to post their own recipe versions, as well as review recipes and share them through Facebook or Twitter. Agency 360i is handling the campaign’s digital components. Because driving consumers to the cooking videos is critical, in addition to extensive online advertising, Kraft is working on contests and other online/social media promotions designed to forward that objective, according to Baskin. Television is a major component of the campaign. Kraft kicked it off with a big-splash, 60-second anthem TV spot showing families having fun at home creating dishes with various Kraft cheeses, backed by an upbeat song (“Bright Idea”) composed and recorded by the popular Canadian indie band Mother Mother. The spot’s only voiceover messaging, at the end of the fast-paced visual vignettes: “At Kraft, we’re stretching our cheese as far as it can go. So go ahead…make something amazing.” The McGarryBowen agency employed somewhat non-mainstream methods for the creative, reports Baskin. The campaign’s theme song was chosen from original submissions commissioned from multiple artists, who worked from a creative brief provided by the agency. As of Jan. 17, the Mother Mother song is downloadable on iTunes (for $0.99), and Kraft is exploring other options for leveraging it, such as ringtones and Shazam. Furthermore, because the goal was to maximize the emotional connection by portraying “real,” relatable families and food (alluring but not “super-perfect” food, in Baskin’s words), the creative team scouted real homes/kitchens as potential shooting locations, and while doing so, identified real families who fit the desired demographic profiles (ages, diversity, etc.). Result: The people in the spots are indeed real families who agreed to participate, rather than actors chosen through a typical casting process. The 60-second, cross- brand spot debuted on the People’s Choice Awards (Jan. 11) and Golden Globes (Jan. 15), and will also air on “American Idol” on Jan. 25. A 30-second version of the multiple-brand spot is being created as a result of strong, positive consumer response to the long version (social media postings, buzz), according to Baskin, with its airing schedule to be determined. In addition, the agency created several 30-second spots for individual Kraft Cheese products. One is for the just-launched Fresh Take (offered in six varieties, such as chili-lime and panko, the cheese/breadcrumb product is combined with poultry or fish to create entrées with just five minutes of prep time). The shredded cheeses, shredded varieties that feature “a Touch of Philadelphia Cream Cheese,” and Big Slice Natural Slices (launched last year to complement now-common bigger bread slices) are among other products with their own spots. The individual-product spots were shot simultaneously with the cross-product spot, and have the same creative tone/overall theme and anthem song, but spotlight the specific products’ core benefits/USPs. These spots began airing in targeted markets on Jan. 9. In addition to running national TV ads and in-store activations/sampling programs throughout 2012 and launching various digital/social media initiatives, Kraft Cheese is doing couponing (a Super Bowl-themed FSI with reach to 34 million households ran on Jan. 12), and will run ads in national magazines later this year, Baskin says.
Dallas-based wireless company MetroPCS is sponsoring the Olympic USA Basketball team with a road show called the "USA Basketball Dream Tour." The tour, which started in Orlando, visits 15 markets twice each over the next seven months. The tour wraps USA Basketball events, and meet-and-greets around a showcase of MetroPCS services and Samsung phones. The USA Basketball team will compete in the Summer 2012 Olympics in London. USA Basketball is the Colorado Springs, Colo.-based national governing body for men's and women's basketball. Patrick Wong, director of field marketing and sponsorships. says MetroPCS’ partnership with USA Basketball is centered on grassroots. He tells Marketing Daily that the program focuses on MetroPCS’ newest Samsung phone, the Samsung Galaxy Attain 4G, which was recently announced and will be available soon. Wong says the company has a range of sports programs. "There are a lot of instances where sports sponsorships make a lot of sense for our brand," he says. "Some sponsorships are national in scope, while others are strictly local. For example, we’ve got great local sponsorships with the Orlando Magic and New Jersey Nets, and then just three weeks ago we made our biggest announcement yet -- MetroPCS is the Official Wireless Partner of the (Ultimate Fighting Championship)." The Dream Tour includes a MetroPCS-themed (purple and orange) mobile basketball court where consumers can compete. There are also mobile phone games, basketball trivia on Samsung phones, and photo and autograph opportunities with USA Basketball legends. Among other cities, the tour will visit Miami, Atlanta, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Detroit, Boston, New York, Philadelphia, Dallas and Las Vegas. The company is integrating the tour with a Web site at www.metropcs.com/USABasketball and social media at www.facebook.com/metropcs. Wong says the company takes a strategic approach when it comes to selecting sponsorships. "For example, we saw that UFC’s audience is a near-perfect match with our customer profile, so a partnership there made a lot of sense. The same goes for this partnership with USA Basketball. It really hits a sweet spot for our consumers, and was a great opportunity." MetroPCS' core markets include Atlanta, Boston, Dallas, Michigan (Detroit, Grand Rapids), Jacksonville, Los Angeles, Las Vegas, Miami, New York City, Orlando, Philadelphia, Sacramento, San Francisco and Tampa. Wong points out that last week the company launched a new advertising campaign. "We’ll also look to build awareness not only through continued sponsorships, like USA Basketball and UFC, but also through generating positive word of mouth," he says. "People are starting to talk about their positive experiences with MetroPCS -- the simplicity of our no-contract plans, our vast selection of Android-powered smartphones and even the freedom our customers have to scale their plan month-to-month." He says digital properties like Facebook and Twitter will "certainly play a big role." MetroPCS is the fifth-largest facilities-based wireless carrier in the U.S. with over 9.3 million subscribers, per the company.
Most marketers talk about “integrated” marketing, but too often what results from an “integrated” campaign is a combination of banners, brochures, billboards, posters, postcards, Web pages, newsletters, email blasts, and perhaps even in-store displays. Each piece is designed to reach a prospect in a different media environment, and certainly all share a theme as well as similar text and graphics. What can bring all these components together is the use of a dynamic link to propel the customer from a direct mail postcard or insert to a carefully designed or even personalized Web page. This is the space where Quick Response (QR) codes operate, adding a truly proactive and unifying dimension to your multichannel marketing efforts. QR codes can be included on virtually any printed material, from direct mail postcards, flyers and brochures to billboards, invoices, and merchandise labels and tags. By themselves, QR codes are printed squares with a checkerboard appearance. However, in operation, they take a consumer from your direct mailer to your Web site or a specific Web page for in-depth information on products and services, to make an online purchase, or to a video demonstration, discount coupon or newsletter offer, The key to the rapidly increasing use of QR codes is the ever-expanding public embrace of smartphones. The recent Nielsen 2011 third-quarter survey of mobile users revealed that 43 percent of all U.S. mobile phone subscribers own a smartphone. The majority of subscribers under the age of 44 -- and 62 percent of mobile users ages 25-34 -- own smartphones. Typically, these phones are equipped with cameras capable of scanning QR codes, while a built-in or downloadable app “reads” the codes and instantly directs the smartphone to a designated Web site or Web page. What can you do with QR codes to support your marketing effort? The possibilities are limited only by your imagination. Here are a few examples: *QR codes on postcards can direct potential buyers instantly to an online catalog, optimized for mobile device viewing, to review available products and services. *If your product or service is best presented via an active demonstration, a QR code can direct your prospects to an online video. *Hotels can include QR codes in direct mail to show conference facilities, video tours and dinner menus, and allow users to make inquiries online when their interest is high. *QR codes can link to different pages at a company’s Web site to test a specific promotion or approach to see what is working and what isn't. Similarly, you can offer different QR codes to different target groups to test response. *QR codes can be personalized by having them embedded with a personalized URL (PURL), which takes a user to a customized microsite. These can be made for every prospect on a mailing list. To maximize mileage from QR codes, be sure to provide online content that adds value for the targeted consumer and makes it worth their while to scan the code. You might, for example, promise a discount coupon for visitors to the site, a brief video product demonstration, a secure online site for ordering tickets to an event, or a social media page that provides positive testimonials about a service. Another consideration is that QR codes directed to smartphone users should link to Web pages that are optimized for display and navigation by these mobile devices. Web sites designed to be viewed by a desktop PC or Mac will be problematic for the mobile user and likely will contain too much information for easy access. It is also important to ensure that the mobile site is designed for multiple types of mobile Web browsers. As a special benefit for marketers, QR codes can provide precise measurements of your campaign, including the number of scans a code generates, the time of day of the scans, and which mobile devices are doing the scanning. While useful for every campaign as well as for testing a particular concept or a new audience segment, when QR codes are used in conjunction with PURL microsites, this back-end reporting can be even more detailed and useful, and may provide specific information for targeting your next campaign. QR codes serve as an immediate call to action at the moment of consumer engagement. They offer a bridge between the static direct mail piece and what can be a wide array of online information. When included on printed postcards, flyers, or brochures, they operate as a vehicle to deliver traffic to your Web site or to specific Web pages. And, of course, they make your sites instantly accessible to smartphone users, whether they’re at home, at work, commuting, just browsing their mail or actively looking to buy. QR codes provide an immediate, active follow-up means to establish a relationship with consumers and enhance the effectiveness of your direct mail campaign.