With Toy Fair 2012 just days away, Mattel says it is introducing a new global campaign for Barbie, designed to appeal to the fashion sense and imaginative skills of little girls around the world. Mattel, based in El Segundo, Calif., says “See What Happens When You Play with Barbie” invites girls to walk “through the giant pink doors to Barbie’s Dream Closet” in TV advertising. There’s also an augmented-reality online destination, a new line of apparel, and new products, all meant to encourage girls to experiment with fashion. “In Barbie’s world, role play often leads to real life,” says Stephanie Cota, SVP/global Barbie marketing, in the company’s release. “Barbie gives girls the opportunity to be anything they want to be, from a princess to a president.” Toy buyers, gathering for next week’s event, are getting ushered into an actual closet in New York’s Lincoln Center, with jewel-encrusted 24-foot doors, and 9,000 square feet devoted to various fashion vignettes. But Barbie, which saw a 6% increase in worldwide sales in the fourth quarter, is facing some midlife speed bumps, including younger competition from other toy companies, as well as global resistance. “Barbie's challenge is how to change an iconically blonde doll with a literally unmatchable figure into a global brand that attracts all ethnic groups and body types,” Richard Gottlieb, CEO of Global Toy Experts, tells Marketing Daily. “The closing of the widely heralded six-story Barbie store in Shanghai after two years shows that something did not click. I believe that Barbie was too sexy for China,” says Gottlieb. “They like cute: Think 'Hello Kitty.' And Barbie is too Western in its facial construct.” TV spots, directed by Floria Sigismondi, best known for the popular music videos of such artists as Katy Perry and Christina Aguilera, are scheduled to run in the U.S., France, Brazil, Australia, Mexico, and Germany. The online destination, BarbieWow, is designed for fans in more than 30 countries, with new media channels for “sharing and trending,” enabling girls to raid Barbie’s closet in real-time. Augmented-reality “mirrors” let girls dress themselves up in her clothes, and using such digital and style destinations as Polyvore, Pinterest and Rent the Runway, “girls can take inspiration from Barbie to create real-life looks and designs that are all their own,” the company says. And in “Behind Pink Doors,” top fashion influencers share stories from their personal closet “as an example of the transformative power of fashion.”
Doritos’ “Sling Baby” ad earned the “rare distinction” of being both the most memorable and best-liked ad in this year’s Super Bowl, indexing 177 on the former and 190 on the latter, reports Nielsen. In addition, Doritos’ “Man’s Best Friend” pulled a second-place ranking on best-liked (indexing 182), and a third place on best-remembered (indexing 173). As in recent years, the ads were user-generated winners of Doritos’ “Crash the Super Bowl” video contest. “Sling Baby” also emerged as #1 in the USA Today/Facebook Super Bowl Ad Meter. This year marked the first time that viewers (rather than a preselected panel) determined the meter’s results. M&M’s’ “Just My Shell” was close behind Doritos in the Nielsen results, scoring second in the remembered rankings (175) and third among best-liked (171). The rest of the best-remembered winners: #4, Skechers’ “Go Run Mr. Quiggly!” (164); #5, Coca-Cola’s “Catch “ (163); #6, Bud Light’s “Rescue Dog-Weego” (161); #7, Pepsi’s “King’s Court” (155); #8, Budweiser’s “Eternal Optimism” (150); #9, GoDaddy.com’s “Body Paint” (149); and #10, Budweiser’s “Return of the King” (145). The rest of the best-liked winners: #4, E*Trade’s “Best Man” (158); #5, Coke’s “Superstition” (152); #6, Bud Light’s “Rescue Dog-Weego” (143); #7, Audi’s “Vampire Party” (139); #8, Chrysler’s “Half Time/Clint Eastwood” (137); #9, Chevrolet’s “Happy Grad” (130); and #10, Honda’s “Matthew Broderick’s Day Off” (129). In the USA Today meter results, Bud Light’s “Rescue Dog-Weego” placed a close second, and the Chrysler Eastwood ad and Kia’s “A Dream Car. For Real/Adriana Lima” tied for third.
Crown Imports’ Corona Extra and Corona Light are teaming up to support The V Foundation for Cancer Research in raising money to find a cure for cancer. From March 5 through April 3, the “Find a Cure” donation campaign will invite consumers to make charitable contributions at participating bars, restaurants and store locations, or by visiting the donation page at www.jimmyv.org/findacure. The V Foundation awards 100% of its proceeds towards cancer research. In addition to donating online at www.jimmyv.org/findacure, consumers can also visit the Corona Extra and Corona Light Facebook pages to contribute to The V Foundation directly, as well as share the “Find a Cure” promotion with their friends. Coinciding with the college basketball tournament in March, patrons at thousands of partnering bar or restaurant locations across the country can show their support in the quest for a cure by filling out a “Find a Cure” paper basketball donation recognition decal complete with their name and whom their donation supports. Earlier this month, Crown Imports gave the foundation $75,000 to help the organization raise funds for cancer research and related programs. Crown has supported the foundation since December 2010. Initially, the partnership included a Facebook contest where Crown Imports donated $1 to the V Foundation for each user who clicked the “Like” button, Crown Imports will donate $1 (up to a maximum of $20,000). Since its inception in 1993, The V Foundation, founded by legendary North Carolina State basketball coach Jim Valvano and ESPN, has raised more than $120 million for cancer research. Administrative and fundraising expenses are paid by the foundation's endowment. The foundation awards grants through a competitive awards process supervised by a Scientific Advisory Board.
This week, Marketing Daily brings you exclusive coverage of the Brand Keys 2012 Customer Loyalty Engagement Index. Each day, expect a full report on key product/services categories from among the 83 surveyed for this year's study, including automotive, electronics, retail and technology. This part of the fourth installment focuses on highlights from the Major League Online Gaming category. Major League Online Gaming is a new category this year in the Brand Keys 2012 Customer Engagement Loyalty Index, represented by entrants like “Halo,” “Call of Duty,” and “Madden Football.” The category is represented across all brands and categories in this year’s index by "Call of Duty," which enters at No. 11. Robert Passikoff -- president of Brand Keys, who says the firm created the new gaming category because of the explosive growth of the segment -- also said there's a definite skew in the top games for shoot-’em-ups with three major experience components driving favorability. "If you look at the top five, most are 'let’s go kill someone,'" he says. "But what's interesting about it is that the driver is storytelling. The truth is, it's not really just go out and shoot people. You have to create a brand -- you have to maintain something to involve people in terms of the story. And the requirement of real skills has to be a driver." Passikoff says that the game must also have, built into it, a certain organic quality. "The people who participate in this are part of online teams worldwide; they’re playing as groups. A game has to be able to offer that kind of function, where there is an expectation among players of a certain level of skills." The third major driver for favorability is the social aspect, per Passikoff. "It's not just you playing alone, it is you sitting in a living room playing with 40 other people from all over the world. This has become a real social event." He says that among respondents, who constitute players whose ages range from 18 to 65 years of age, the core group of players is 18 to 34 for most games, but it skews older for multiplayer games with a pro-sports theme. Here is the list of top brands in this category: 1. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2. Halo 3. Battlefield/Madden Football (tie) 4. World of Warcraft/FIFA 2012 (tie) 5. Starcraft 2/Batman Arkham City/Diablo/NBA 2K12 (tie) 6. Crysis 7. Gears of War 8. Elder’s Scrolls Skyrim
This week, Marketing Daily brings you exclusive coverage of the Brand Keys 2012 Customer Loyalty Engagement Index. Each day, expect a full report on key product/services categories from among the 83 surveyed for this year's study, including automotive, electronics, retail and technology. This part of the fourth installment focuses on highlights from the automotive category.Hyundai Motor is on top of Brand Keys' customer loyalty index this year. That's no surprise. The Fountain Valley, Calif. automaker has infused design and content into everything from the entry-car Accent to the luxury-entrant Equus, and has redefined the customer experience from top to bottom. Beyond just the automotive category, Brand Keys' 16th annual Customer Engagement Loyalty Index (CLEI) puts Hyundai at essentially sixth place (versus fifth last year) among 598 brands across 83 categories. Hyundai is also the only auto brand in the top 20. Nipping at Hyundai's heels in the auto category are, in descending order, Ford, Honda, BMW, Mercedes-Benz and General Motors (tied), followed by a three-way tie among Nissan, Chrysler, and Toyota. Here is the full list:
With more than 200 million roses produced for Valentine's Day (according to online floral merchant Organic Bouquet) in 2011, and nearly 200 million cards shared between paramours (according to Hallmark Corp.), it's pretty evident that the holiday tugs the heartstrings of Americans everywhere. But that's not all -- according to the National Retail Federation's 2011 Valentine's Day Consumer Intentions and Actions Survey, it seems to be pulling their purse strings as well: Men, on average, spent $159 in 2011, and women came in at roughly half that number ($76). These figures are drawn from the results of the NRF 2011 Valentine's Day Consumer Intentions and Actions Survey, conducted for NRF by BIGresearch. The survey was developed to measure consumer behavior and shopping trends that are related to Valentine's Day. This consumer poll of 8,913 consumers was conducted from January 4-11, 2011, with a margin of error of plus or minus 1.0%. With total holiday sales possibly exceeding $16 billion in 2012, those of us in the e-commerce industry are looking back on 2011 to determine how local businesses -- particularly those in the service space -- can position themselves most effectively to boost sales. Which businesses do best by extending discounts during Valentine's Day? Do exclusive tasting menus at fancy restaurants sell? And exactly what are men and women looking to buy for each other (and -- as it turns out -- for themselves)? Read on -- some of the lessons might surprise you! When you're in love, everything's better: In 2011, there was an average offer performance increase of 180% during the holiday. Broadly, this highlights the size of the opportunity available for businesses during Valentine's Day. By simply choosing to run an offer at the right time, potential revenues are nearly doubled, regardless of the product or service type. If you've got something to sell, celebrate: Shopping and product offers outperformed ARPO (average revenue per offer, our standard measure) by 9.8x. Compared to the standard increase in performance of 1.8x, those offering discounts on products should be more aggressive in making offers – as opposed to those selling services (such as spas and restaurants). Beyond the obvious (such as flowers, candy, chocolates), gifts of a sentimental nature -- such as picture frames -- also performed well above average. Self-love is the greatest love of all: One example of a strong performer was an offer for 50% off $40 worth of merchandise at Babeland, a chain of female-focused adult stores. This deal ran on a curated lifestyle guide for young women, demonstrating the power of matching the right offer with the right audience at the right time. Of course, when the offer was conceived, it was done so under the assumption that it would do well -- but not quite as well as it did. This reinforces the value of experimentation for e-commerce providers, and is a good reminder that resonance with the consumer is a moving target. Purchasers are up late -- for the right deal: Eighty percent of those buying the Babeland deal made the purchase between the hours of 12 a.m. and 4 a.m. -- a critical reminder that timely promotion of certain deals (via SEM, display ads, etc.) can make all the difference -- alongside contextual content targeting the late-night shopper. What's yours is mine: Tasting menus and date specials (like couple's massages) are notoriously difficult for local businesses (such as restaurants and spas) to promote, as they often lack the online assets and 'reach' to do so. E-commerce provides an incredible vehicle to leverage the audiences of big publishers, allowing local businesses to take advantage of market forces once that were only accessible to bigger brands. Taken together, these findings can form the foundation of a strong merchandising strategy for your business this Valentine’s Day. Holidays have always been a source of major revenue for retailers, and e-commerce participants now have access to powerful analytics that provide the data necessary to deliver the right offer -- to the right customer -- at the right time. It’s a welcome development for all involved, and one that’s certainly in keeping with the spirit of the forthcoming holiday -- celebrating that special someone (with something)!