Scion, Toyota's GenY auto division, has a busy year ahead. The Torrance division of Toyota Motor Sales, USA is in the midst of rolling out its iQ matchbox coupe, and is gearing up to launch the FRS sports car. Television ads are running now for the iQ. And the digital side of things is up to date. At least it is now. The automaker until fairly recently had a bit of a problem, and a particularly difficult one for a brand whose demographic is young: the website was outmoded, had no social elements, wasn't terribly scalable to mobile screens, and couldn't really be used on iPads because of its heavy use of Flash. That's all fixed. Scion last year handed all web duties to its creative AOR, Attik, which rebuilt the eight-year-old Scion.com from grill to tailpipe in HTML5 and CSS3 so it can be used with devices that are becoming the de facto interface for the Web: tablets, smartphones and other mobile screens. The agency says the navigation and layout structure is intended to be tablet- and touch-friendly. The idea is to make the site accessible from any screen, easy to navigate, scalable, and easy to alter to reflect integrated creative. Attik, which began as a graphic arts house in Huddersfield, UK (literally in the founder's attic), and has been AOR for Scion since the brand's inception, has been spending the last couple of years building out its digital talent. Among other big changes is that the site now has navigation functions that are never subsumed by other programs, and it also has social-media integration. The new site is also scalable, according to the agency, so that it can be easily altered or expanded with replaced content or shifted sections. The scalable part of it makes it easier to change the site to reflect national ad campaigns, promotional units and such. Owen Peacock, Scion national marketing communications manager, tells Marketing Daily that while it is a challenge for Scion to have an "unbundled" marketing-agency structure (meaning that while Attik is Scion's agency for creative, Scion has never really had a traditional AOR handling every aspect of marketing communications), it has worked. He says the company isn't changing that approach by having given Attik domain responsibility. "It's a challenge for product management and cohesiveness across vendors," he says. "And with advertising driving people to scion.com, we just realized that if they are seeing print, and TV when they get to online it should have the exact look and feel." Peacock says the change doesn't mean Scion is moving away from its unbundled approach. "I'm going after quality first and cost savings second; more than anything it's about customer experience. If it's best to bundle it at Attik, fine. If not, that's fine, too. I'm more for going best execution, period." He says Scion has the youngest customers in the industry. "When we are looking at that target, they are interfacing with the brand from desktops, tablets, mobile devices. And when they want fast access. That's top of mind. The old site took a long time to load. Now it's extremely fast." Attik's interactive creative director Jacob Ford said the new site is able to bend to marketing and campaign needs. "If they decide to have national campaign the next day we can adapt it quickly. The site architecture reflects how we wanted to make it easier for consumers to get information; everything is a click away." Ford says last month 50,000 people accessed the site via iPad. "It was scary to think that 45 days ago they would have been met with 'Flash not supported.' We are really trying to kill as many birds as possible here, getting ahead and addressing things that old site didn't have: a search function, or social or sharing function, for example.”
LifeStyles Condoms, a division of Ansell Healthcare Products LLC, is launching a global campaign for SKYN, its three-year-old condom line. The U.S. portion of the campaign, called “This Changes Everything,” includes television, out-of-home and digital elements, and sampling events in major U.S. cities. The campaign kicks off in New York this week at the Fashion Week event Style360, in the Chelsea section of Manhattan. Among other things, teams will hand out samples of the new product, which is made out of polyisoprene instead of latex. Advertising creative for the effort, developed by London-based Blac and executed for the U.S. by Boston-based AMP, relies on testimonials and sensuality rather than overt humor, with digital and TV ads showing scantily dressed young women relating statistics and anecdotes from SKYN brand user testimonials, which the company says were gathered internationally. Examples: “Love Sex. Hate Condoms. Love SKYN” and “It looked like a condom, but it sure didn’t feel like one.” Carol Carrozza, VP of global communications for Ansell Healthcare, says that even though SKYN launched in the U.S. in 2008, the time has only now arrived for a global campaign, since the rollout has been executed in stages. "It's our first global campaign, and a reflection of the company's view about marketing that some things are universal," she says, adding that the brand is in -- or will soon be in -- markets like China, Brazil, India, Australia, France and Thailand. She points out that the women in the ads are intended not to seem specific to any global region. "The original intent was to try to get that cross-cultural view. The irony of it is that when I look at it -- and I'm in the U.S. and heading global communications -- I could use all of it in the U.S." She says the "This Changes Everything" theme came from results of clinical testing with the polyisoprene product. "We did blind clinical trials with SKYN, and latex and polyurethane condoms. People came back saying it just felt different, so we knew we had a winner, a game changer." Television ads will air on MTV, and Comedy Central. There are also out-of-home and digital elements, including online advertising plus a mobile app and viral video campaign launching in the coming weeks. Major metropolitical sampling efforts will be run by teams of so-called “SKYN Girls,” and the grassroots elements include a "Make Out Booth" that will be in bars and nightclubs in New York and Chicago. The booths dispense a strip of SKYN condoms with every photo strip. The company is selling the new product at big-box retailers, drugstores, grocery and convenience stores and online at sites like drugstore.com, soap.com and amazon.com. Carozza says the campaign, which initially eschews obvious humor, targets more mature men -- which is not to say older men, necessarily. "This isn't the sophomoric positioning you might be used to," she says. "It’s for someone who is probably a monogamist, has been with that person maybe a year or two, and is probably mid 20's. But we are also not alienating other audiences." Yet there will be humorous elements, including the forthcoming viral video, in which several beautiful women remake a nerdy guy's bedroom. Carozza says the ongoing campaign will have a second phase later in the year, and hinted at a program launching on Tuesday that extends SKYN to fashion with a play on the product as another form of evening wear.
Cabot Creamery is launching Reward Volunteers, a mobile app allowing volunteers to log hours, post to Facebook and earn rewards for themselves and the nonprofits they serve. Cabot, the Vermont-based dairy farmers’ cooperative, developed the app, which works with Facebook Connect, with social business startup ChaloApps.com. It can be downloaded free on iTunes for use on iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch, or as a Web-based program on RewardVolunteers.coop and the sites of partnering organizations. Between Feb. 14 and July 7, volunteers can use Facebook Connect to track their hours, tag organizations, share photos and post activities. The more service hours accrued and sharing and “likes” generated for an organization, the more chances volunteers have to win prizes and the more chances their organizations have to win money. Between March and July, Cabot will hold monthly drawings to select winners of prizes such as gift baskets with Cabot cheeses and other items, Vermont ski passes, vacations at Liberty Hill Farm or Smugglers Notch, Keurig brewers, and $3,000 cash prizes. All participants also receive a $2 Cabot coupon. On July 7, five qualifying nonprofits will each be awarded $3,000. In addition to Cabot, organization sponsoring Reward Volunteers include AARP’s Create the Good, All for Good, Marriott, The National Cooperative Grocers Association and The National Cooperative Business Association. Reward Volunteers coincides with Cabot’s May through July Community Tour, during which the brand will hold events to celebrate co-ops and community service efforts at stops all along the East Coast Greenway, which stretches from Florida to Maine. The programs tie into the U.N.’s designation of 2012 as the International Year of the Cooperative.
Brands are spending a lot of effort (and money) trying to get consumers to “Like” them on Facebook, but there are only a few brands consumers truly “love.” According to a survey of 1,000 people conducted by New York-based brand agency CBX, Apple is the brand they “love the most,” followed by Sony, Coca-Cola, Nike and Pepsi/Mountain Dew. The reasons listed for loving those companies ranged from “innovative” (Apple) to “reliable and dependable” (Sony) and “great/good taste” (Coca-Cola). Rounding out the Top 10 list were: Wal-Mart, Samsung, Chevrolet, Dell and Amazon. Apple was the clear winner among both men and women, although men were more likely to choose Nike and/or Sony as their second and third choices, while women picked Coca-Cola second. “‘Love,’ in all aspects of life, is about having a deep affection for something or someone. As love gets deeper, you start to develop feelings of trust, comfort and stability for/from that person or brand,” Greg S. Lippman, managing partner of CBX, tells Marketing Daily. “In the case of this survey, I think that all of these brands provide something to people that they believe they cannot get elsewhere. And in most cases, they also get that feeling of trust, comfort and stability from each of these brands.” Among other demographic breakdowns:
Burt’s Bees may have a loyal customer following among 30-something women with a razor-sharp sense of “good” and “bad” ingredients. But the personal-care products company, which is owned by Clorox, says the special needs of Gen Y warrants the first spinoff in its 25-year history. Güd is aiming for women in the 18-to-24 age range, who are less “crunchy” and “just want to smell good,” Garrett Putman, global marketing manager for Burt’s Bees, tells Marketing Daily. “We wanted to provide something for these women, who are very sensorial. They may make great choices to protect the environment, but they’re not as on the lookout for villain ingredients, or worried about wrinkles, as the Burt’s Bees shopper is. She is the kind of woman who will pop open the cap in the store looking for an indulgent fragrance.” The 32-product line, available in four fragrances, says “From Burt’s Bees” right on the label, he says, “which gives us instant credibility as far as a natural product. So we can be fun and playful.” Three of those fragrances, Orange Petalooza, Floral Cherrynova, and Vanilla, are rolling out among retailers that already carry Burt’s Bees, and Putman says 28,000 end caps will move into such chains as Walgreens and Kroger. A fourth fragrance, Pearanormal Activity, is scheduled to be available exclusively at Target for 12 months. Güd -- which will be marketed with a “Güd happens” campaign online, in social media, with PR, and via print ads in such magazines as Allure and Lucky -- is being positioned with “a refreshing perspective that being happy makes women beautiful, not the other way around.” The positioning, via agency Baldwin&, based in Raleigh, N.C,, is described as “peachy, not preachy.” Prices range from $5 to $12. The line includes peppy little aphorisms on the packaging, such as: “For hair that says ‘Touch me.’ Talking hair, pretty nifty;” “He’ll hold your hand. Heck, you’ll hold your hand,” and “If you don’t sing in the shower, you will now.” That tone is important, he says, “because we know how social these Millennials are. Her iPhone is the fist thing she looks at in the morning and the last thing she sees before she goes to bed. We wanted to speak to her about Güd the way she speaks to her friends.”
It's Valentine's Day, which got us in the mood for -– you guessed it -– love. In particular, brand love. We went out to the street and performed a down-and-dirty survey to find out just what brands make us weak in the knees, who is worthy of a long-term commitment, and who we want to break up with. Here's what people had to say: Brand You'd Buy A Drink Pinterest. You've been hearing all about her for a few weeks now -- she's the girl on everyone's lips; she’s the next big thing. But is she really as cool as everyone says she is? After one drink, you’re sure to find out. Brand You'd Take Home For The Night Twitter. It’s destined to be a brief encounter (no more than 140 minutes, tops), but it’ll likely be pretty fun while it lasts. He’s certainly hot right now, but you wonder if he’ll be around in five minutes -- let alone five years. Brand You'd Kick Out The Next Morning Wal-mart. The night before, you were wooed by all the talk of mega-this and mega-that, of all the low prices and special offers. But the next morning, you realize: sometimes bigger is not always better. Brand You're Most Likely To Bring Home To Mama Chrysler. He's got All-American good looks, wholesome values, solid parts, diehard attitude and undying loyalty. Plus, he's proven that he can come through a crisis with flying colors, and regain his footing as a leader. Mama will call him a “stand-up guy” (like Clint Eastwood, the guy who voiced his recent Super Bowl commercial). Brand With Whom You'd Like A Fling JetBlue. You don’t have an occasion to see her all the time, but when you do, it's always a whirlwind experience. She always seems to be thinking of just the right things to do and say, and who cares if she’s always on time or not…there are always plenty of things to do and see while you wait. Brand You Want To Marry Apple. He's smart, he's cool, he's stable, he's ambitious, he's successful, he knows who he is, and he’s always trying to better himself. He loves to have a good time, but he’s not so slick that he’s going to fail you in a time of need. Brand Whose Kids You'd Like To Have Whole Foods. She always has your best interests in mind and wants to make the world a better place. She’s eco-conscious and truly cares about the next generation. Her idealism sometimes comes at a high price, but she’s so good that you’re willing to take the leap with her. Brand You'd Take To Couples Counseling Tylenol. After last year's recall fiasco, you found yourself untrusting of her, after many years of having her be your go-to gal. She did right by you forever, but then she fell off the wagon, and you found yourself questioning the whole relationship. But if she got her act together, you’d probably go back in a heartbeat. Brand You'd Like To Break Up With Verizon. After years of spotty customer communications (or lack of communications altogether), you’ve had enough of his lies and unreliability. In fact, he’s sometimes so hard to reach that you might have to send him a text message to let him know you're splitsville.