Yahoo Music this week launched its latest concert series on its first-ever branded music channel, Ram Country on Yahoo Music. The quarterly series of four concerts backed by Chrysler Group’s Ram truck brand kicked off with an invite-only, eight-song set on Feb. 29 at the Sound Kitchen in Franklin, Tenn. The artist was Kellie Pickler, a charismatic singer/songwriter who toured as a finalist on “American Idol” and has become a marquee name in the genre. Yahoo, which handled just about every aspect of the production and its filming for the March 14 digital launch on its Ram Country channel, has gotten a lot of miles on the odometer in recent years by putting brand-supported content on its multifarious verticals: Yahoo Music launched Nissan Live Sets in 2006 with a concert by Incubus and Christina Aguilera; the channel also hosted “Pepsi Smash”; and Yahoo News launched a “Weekend Edition” channel for Buick in 2010. “Nissan Live Sets sort of established our reputation and gave us the experience and relationship with artists to pull this kind of program off,” says Anna Robertson, who heads Yahoo Studios. “Artists love working with us; they build up that trust, and they know we have the background and experience.” What’s different about Ram Country is that it’s Yahoo First genre vertical “owned” by a brand. Robertson tells Marketing Daily that it serves both the automaker, which needed to reach a core truck constituency in country music fans, and Yahoo because “we realized we weren't reaching them the way we wanted to.” Ram Country isn't a competitor with, say, Pandora or Spotify because it isn't so much a music channel as a digital version of a country music lifestyle magazine, she says. “We have lots of musical performances like Pickler, so you can watch and listen to music, but it's more a lifestyle experience, and wrapping music into that larger experience,” says Robertson. Robertson says Yahoo chooses the artists for (obviously) their talent, and also for the serendipitous alignment between "anchor events" in their careers and the open dates on Ram Country's calendar. In Pickler's case, putting her in the first slot made sense, given that it aligned with the release of her album, "100 Proof." “We think this model is a great way to meet audience needs and help advertisers align with their demographic,” says Robertson, who adds that Ram Country, which launched in October 2010, has garnered some 500 million impressions. “It's year by year, and we will be adding more to it every time we renew. We are constantly thinking about ways to make it better and bigger, such as adding these quarterly events in 2012.” Randy Ortiz, who heads up media, social media and CRM marketing at Ram Truck division, says the Yahoo Program is part of a broad attempt by Ram to cultivate social media clout. “Social and digital programs are the future partly because of their potential to reach people in real time with fresh content,” he says. “What we pride ourselves on at Ram trucks and all Chrysler Group brands is providing fans and followers exclusive content they can share with their friends and followers. Social media is one of the most important forms of communication for that.” Ortiz tells Marketing Daily that the brand more than doubled its fan base on Facebook from December, when it had about 108,000 fans, to 275,000 by late February. The brand's growth in fan base on Twitter went from 6,000 followers in December to over 22,000 by the end of last month. “It's a great place for owners to be advocates for us on their behalf. If we post a story on Facebook, we notice a lot of our current Ram owners will come and make positive comments about what we are doing. For us that's priceless advertising because they are telling the world how great Ram trucks are.” Last year, Ram ran a social-based sweepstakes wherein the automaker gave away about 5,000 prizes, mostly inexpensive items tied to truck-friendly lifestyles (including things like Mossy Oak outdoorsman products, Skil tool gift and gasoline cards, and Ram-branded accessories.) Ortiz says that the focus on offering a lot of prizes instead a handful of big ones helped build the brand's fan numbers. “In the month of December alone, we gained almost 50,000 new fans,” he says. Ortiz says that because truck drivers are avid smartphone users, mobile advertising will be a big part of what Ram does going forward. “We will do media buys that involve mobile ads, because truck owners use their trucks as mobile offices, and rely on smartphones when they are on the job.”
All those complaints about battery life are weighing on consumers’ satisfaction with their devices. According to the latest J.D. Power and Associates Smartphone Customer Satisfaction Study, battery performance satisfaction has declined significantly even in the six months since the last study was released in September 2011 (6.7 on a 10-point scale in 2012, compared with 6.9 in 2011). The satisfaction levels are lowest among owners of 4G-enabled smartphones, where the battery performance ratings were 6.1 on the 10-point scale, compared with those of 3G-enabled phones, where satisfaction levels averaged 6.7. According to the study, the difference correlates directly with the 4G phones' use of battery life searching for scarcer next-generation signals. People who have 4G-enabled phones do more with their devices, which also drains the batteries faster, according to the findings. Also, says Kirk Parsons, senior director of wireless services at J.D. Power, the 4G devices expend more battery power searching for the next generation signals, which are scarcer than 3G signals. “There’s a lot of education that carriers and manufacturers need to do,” Parsons tells Marketing Daily. “And as the 4G LTE coverage becomes more pervasive that problem should go away to some degree.” Nevertheless, battery life satisfaction correlates directly with brand affinity, which underscores a sense of urgency in improving overall battery performance. Of the owners who were satisfied with the battery performance of their 4G-enabled phones (rating them 10 on 10-point scale), a quarter said they will “definitely” make another purchase from the phone manufacturer. Among those who were less satisfied (with ratings of 7-9 on the 10-point scale), only 13% said the same. All that said, even Apple’s well-publicized battery problems (although the company doesn’t make a 4G device) haven’t kept it from the top spot among smartphone manufacturers. Apple received a score of 839 on a 1,000 scale, ranking particularly high in ease of operations and features. HTC followed Apple with a score of 798. “What they’re all about is ease of use and intuitive use,” Parsons says. “There’s still a decent enough gap between the [battery] satisfaction and ease of use and intuitiveness … That gap between an iPhone and an android device gives you a sense of how far away the competition is.” Elsewhere in the study, 70% of smartphone owners said they accessed social networking sites on their devices, and nearly three-quarters (72%) said they have the ability to download and view video or movies. Only 21% said they have had software or device malfunctions. Among those who say they’ve experienced crashes at least once a week, satisfaction levels average only 691 on the 1,000-point scale.
No wonder Oreo is still going strong after 100 years: It’s the single-most-loved brand among American families, according to a comprehensive study of 215 leading children’s/family food and beverage brands from Norwalk, Conn.-based marketing and branding consultancy The Family Room. And it’s also perhaps no wonder that McDonald’s has launched a major integrated campaign for its now-healthier Happy Meals: Perceptions of McDonald’s lag those of Subway on “family love,” taste, value and particularly health/nutrition, according to the Brand Compass consumer survey, which was fielded last August and recently completed. The Family Room conducted an online survey of a geographically and ethnically representative sample of 4,320 moms and kids (ages 6 to 17, evenly distributed by age, gender). Moms’ and kids’ individual and combined perceptions of each brand were measured based on multiple components within four purchasing-influence factors: “family harmony,” “kid delight,” “convenience/value” and “health nutrition.” The data reveal the relative strength of each of these factors in the purchasing decision for a given brand. Oreo ranks as “most-loved” because it shows by far the highest score among all 215 brands for “entire family likes,” one component within family harmony. Fully 92% of moms and 89% of kids agree that the entire family likes Oreos, for a combined average score of 90.6%. On the other two “family harmony” components -- “brings us together” and “helps mom feel good” -- Oreo’s average scores are 66% and 52%, respectively. Within the “kid delight” factor (which has a 60% influence on purchases of the brand, versus 16% for family harmony, 14% for health/nutrition and 10% for convenience/value), 96% of moms and 87% of kids agree that “[the] child loves” Oreos. Further, 96% of moms and 94% of kids agree that Oreos “taste great,” and 90% of moms and 89% of kids agree that they “make the child happy.” The study adds to the growing body of evidence showing that most family food and beverage purchasing decisions today are collaborative, that an item’s appeal to the whole family is increasingly important, and that kids are strongly influencing what the entire family eats, says George Carey, founder and CEO of The Family Room. Carey notes, however, that the influence of moms versus kids varies by specific brand/product. Top Foods/Beverages Most-Loved By Families Ranked by “entire family likes” scores, across all food brands studied, Oreo is followed by Nestle Toll House Morsels (88%), Drumstick (87%), Pillsbury Cinnamon Rolls (87%), Ritz (86%), Tropicana (86%), Hershey’s Chocolate (86%), Baskin-Robbins (86%), Cheetos (86%) and Pillsbury Refrigerated Cookie Dough (85%). Across all beverage brands studied, the leaders for the same factor are Tropicana (average moms/kids score of 86.3%), Nestle Pure Life (78.7%), Dannon Spring Water (78.2%), Minute Maid (76.5%), Mott’s Apple Juice (74%), Nesquik (73.3%), Dasani (72.4%), Aquafina (71.9%), Gatorade (66.4%) and Juicy Juice (65.5%). Within specific food categories, Eggo Waffles scored highest (77%) on “whole family likes” among breakfast brands surveyed; Heinz Ketchup scored highest (83%) among lunch brands; and Kraft scored highest (89%) among dinner brands. How Subway and McDonald’s Compared Among the 11 restaurant brands studied, Subway came out on top on the “entire family likes” factor, with 86% of moms and 81% of kids (combined average of 83%) agreeing. Subway’s average moms/kids scores were 87% on “tastes great,” 82% on “child loves” and 78% on “makes child happy.” Within the health/nutrition factor, Subway’s average scores were 79% on “healthy balance in diet,” 80% on “establishes good habits,” and 77% on “reinforces good habits.” Within the convenience/value factor, its average scores were 84% on “quick/easy to prepare,” 85% on “consume on the go,” and 72% on “good value.” In comparison, McDonald’s scores on “entire family likes” were 69% for moms and 74% for kids (71% combined average). McDonald’s’ average scores were 74% on “tastes great,” 83% on “child loves” and 82% on “makes child happy.” Within the health/nutrition factor, its average scores were 31% on “healthy balance in diet,” 27% on “establishes good habits,” and 24% on “reinforces good habits.” Within the convenience/value factor, its average scores were 85% on “quick/easy to prepare,” 85% on “consume on the go,” and 65% on “good value."
In the faltering economy, the importance of customer service has reached new highs, overtaking even price as a purchase determinant, according to a J.D. Power report. Many businesses cut costs and turned to automation technologies to handle customer needs, which had the effect of raising the importance of people in the service experience. "While value is important, consumers want more than simply the lowest price or a product that is just good enough,” said Gina Pingitore, chief research officer at J.D. Power and Associates. “They expect a superior product that is delivered in a compelling presentation, through fast and easy-to-understand processes that are supported by responsive and concerned people. In addition, the price must be perceived as fair and competitive." The report, "Beyond Satisfaction: J.D. Power 2012 Customer Service Champions--Brands That Deliver Service Excellence to Maximize Business Results," also identifies 50 brands as J.D. Power 2012 Customer Service Champions, based on customer feedback attesting to their service excellence. Brands that receive J.D. Power Customer Service Champion designation are among the top 5% percent of more than 800 evaluated brands, based on their performance in five key areas: People, presentation, price, process and product. The brands not only excel within their respective industries, but also stand out when evaluated across multiple industries. These companies tend to consistently employ certain key practices, including being consistent in branding and delivery of the service experience, particularly across various channels and customer touchpoints. They also tend to hire the right people and empower them with the best processes, as well as the ability and authority to make judgment calls to resolve issues on behalf of their customers. Finally, these companies understand customer differences to offer the right products through the right channels in ways that truly resonate with them, according to the report. The 50 brands are:
Volkswagen, Hyundai and Ford are leaders in Strategic Vision's newest Total Value Index study. But for the first time in over a decade, American manufacturers lead the number of Total Value winners in vehicle categories, with 11 segment leaders. Another big change: four alternative fueled vehicles -- Chevrolet Volt, Honda Civic Hybrid, Nissan Leaf and Lincoln MKZ Hybrid -- led their respective segments. The firm says that in the past, alternative-powertrain didn't lead because simply offering better fuel economy did not provide enough overall value to make a difference. The Tustin, Calif.-based market research firm says the change implies a watershed moment for acceptance and desirability of hybrids. “Even though the median price of a Chevy Volt was $43,000, owners believe that for every dollar spent, they got more than did buyers of other vehicles,” said Alexander Edwards, president of the company. “Customers had tremendous value appreciation for [the vehicle's] technical innovation, warranty, standard equipment and certainly fuel economy.” In Strategic Vision's study, Volt not only had the highest Total Value score in the Mid-Size Car Segment, but also the highest score of any vehicle in Strategic Vision’s study. Owners may have a predilection to love cutting-edge technology, as they had a median annual income of $133,000, with 37% having post-doctorate degrees, putting them solidly in the early-adopter category. Another alternative-engine vehicle, the all-electric Nissan Leaf, won in its segment for technical innovation and standard equipment. But Edward -- giving a nod to the fact that such vehicles still make up only a couple percent of the U.S. auto market -- said cost benefits, not emotions, will be what drives broad acceptance and larger volumes. “A word of caution to manufacturers is to realize potential buyers are smarter and more empowered with information than ever before. A hybrid needs to make sense for larger sales volumes to occur. Hybrid ownership is still primarily 'statement'-driven, but things are changing.” General Motors also had segment winners with Cadillac CTS and CTS Coupe, Chevrolet Corvette Coupe and the GMC Yukon. Honda had several winners as well, with the Honda Civic Hybrid, Accord Coupe, Odyssey, Ridgeline and Acura TSX Wagon. Hyundai continued its winning streak because of design, features and mileage from models like Tucson. Ford topped domestics with Lincoln MKZ Hybrid, Mustang Convertible, Flex, and the F-Series trucks. Dodge Durango was another winner; Volvo won because of strong product and comprehensive warranty with several of its vehicles, and Mini Cooper won for the seventh year in the Specialty Coupe segment, per the study. Strategic Vision says the Total Value ranking is a combination of subjective owner statements on 442 attributes combined with what the firm characterizes as immediate and long-term economic factors like warranty, technical innovation, standard equipment, and vehicle mileage ratings. The survey side of the study gets into political party affiliation, personal media habits and hobbies, and any ethnicity they claim. “The way you become a value leader in this economy is to create an exceptional product that is affordable. Price alone will not determine value," said Darrel Edwards, founder and executive director of Strategic Vision.
NY agency Bartle Bogle Hegarty (BBH) launched the world’s shortest national branding campaign through their recent SXSW #HomelessHotSpot program, successfully positioning themselves as faux altruists and national marketing pariahs in record time. Clearly this campaign is slated for Gold when the AAF adds the “self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head” category to their ADDY awards program. Literally within minutes of turning Austin’s homeless population loose (during SXSW) with WiFi routers strapped to their bodies, the Agency’s efforts were garnering cyber reams of disdain. Comments like “dehumanizing,” “exploitive,” and “shameful” were the norm -- however, the Agency plucked a few nuggets like “creative” and “innovative” to justify their efforts. In no time the national press was covering the story (so much juicier than writing about another gathering of face-painting startup wantrapreneurs), and BHH emerged from the shadows of their efforts to claim the microphone. After all -- why bother with altruism if there’s no payoff! The agency positioned the program as an initiative strictly to help the homeless (not themselves, of course), with spokesperson Emma Cookson telling CNN on March 13: “I work for a communications agency, and inside the agency there are a lot of people who are just very interested and passionate about the homeless issue generally.” Cookson’s defensive attitude during the interview wasn’t helped by her snarky British accent and implication that their efforts were just misunderstood, adding that “there's been some (comments) that were a lot more positive than the ones you read on the air.” Ms. Cookson’s training at the Newt Gingrich School of Tact and Humility was clearly paying off. Canny listeners got the message: BHH employees care so much about the homeless that they probably tweet every time they gift a panhandler with a quarter. Shortly after this piece aired, the firestorm erupted. By the evening of day two, BHH was in full crisis mode -- sticking to the message that they were just trying to help the homeless, for Ghandi’s sake: “We are not selling anything. There is no brand involved. There is no commercial benefit whatsoever,” they cried -- as the general mass misunderstanding continued. Within a scant three days of launching the campaign, BHH swallowed the poison pill and pulled the plug on their philanthropic Trojan Horse. They claimed in true “you’re not firing me, I’m quitting” fashion that they planned to end their non-commercial, purely altruistic campaign all along. Perish the thought that an Agency that wears its nobleness on its sleeve would ever use the homeless population as a marketing tool! Instead of attempting to turn their dead dog of an idea into a Best of Show, BHH could have played their hand for what it was: marketing roadkill. BHH knew their campaign could go south but pursued it for the sheer sake of publicity. They might as well have stuck sandwich boards on the homeless that said “buy marketing from us because we feel bad for the person we’re paying to wear this sign.” It wouldn’t be pretty, or disguised with a lot of shallow faux altruistic fluff -- but it would be true. An honest campaign would have provided Ms. Cookson with a much simpler set of talking points: “We’re using homeless people to sell our stuff. You got a problem with that?” This might have led to an interesting conversation on BHH’s open door policy of hiring anyone -- even the homeless -- to represent their agency…just in time for the Summer Intern program. Instead they took the high road to the gutter. True altruism is defined as sacrificing something for someone with no expectation of compensation or benefits -- like national press and potential new business. Are the geniuses at BHH wondering what fine, upstanding clients Cadillac, Burburry, Johnny Walker, Sprite and Vaseline are thinking about this gambit and the grimy ring it might leave on them? Presumably any potential campaigns to “raise awareness,” like using burning Tibetan monks in marshmallow roasts for peace (for example) have been shelved as the agency rethinks its altruistic “Skunkworks program.”
Don’t miss anthropologist Grant McCracken’s Culturematic: How reality TV, John Cheever, a Pie Lab, Julia Child, Fantasy Football, Burning Man ….will help you create and execute breakthrough ideas (Harvard Business Review Press). McCracken has a fine old time identifying hundreds of these nifty culturematics, as he calls them, “little machines that … test the world, discover meaning, and unleash value.” By definition, these ideas are a little wacky, but built on questions that spark some kind of curiosity. And while they are most likely to occur in small groups or people working on their own, these shots-in-the-dark do sometimes work for large marketers, and readers will love the backstories. What if we put a bunch of real people, not actors, in a house with a camera on them all the time? Meet MTV’s “The Real World.” What if we gave a Fiesta to 100 people to do whatever they want, as long as they post about it on YouTube? Thank you, Ford. Suppose we replay a high school football game that ended in a tie, back in 1993? It worked for Gatorade. What if we acted like we cared that someone was unhappy with our product, and tried to fix it on the spot? Enter the Apple’s Genius Bar. But for the most part, he concedes that the tricksters, time travelers, curators and practical jokers most apt to invent these little idea machines aren’t likely to be embraced by companies, or even their ad agencies. People’s closest friends probably mocked such ideas as Fantasy Football, Wordle and smart mobs. (In fact, if you’re a depressed corporate type trapped in the suffocating silos of a soulless large company, you probably shouldn’t torment yourself with this book at all.) While you’ll get some how-to advice, the final chapter is enough to make an earnest Culturematic-crafter wanna-be heave the book across the room. His advice is to be more like … Nike. Or Starbucks. Or Apple. Still, this book will definitely lead you to a greater appreciation of your own inner curiosities. _______________ The Face-to-Face Book: Why real relationships rule in a digital marketplace, (Free Press) due out in May, is another don’t-miss-it read, if not as amusing. While much of the territory covered by Ed Keller and Brad Fay (CEO and COO of word-of-mouth agency the Keller Fay Group) is familiar, the detailed examples will hammer home the duo’s main point, over and over: All media is social media. Insights about what makes brands talk-worthy, the role of positive and negative word-of-mouth, rethinking your brand’s influential, and the best routes to earned and owned media are straightforward and helpful. _______________ Finally, we’re late to the party with Brand Rituals: How successful brands bond with customers for life, by Zain Raj (Spyglass Publishing). Raj, late of Euro RSCG and now CEO of Hyper Marketing Inc., starts with the premise that whether we like it or not, the only real rule that applies in marketing today is speed. As the pace of life gets faster, sound bites get smaller, making it clear that old ideas about marketing (we can change the consumer’s mind, for example, or that either advertising or social media can build a brand) simply don’t apply. What does, he maintains, is using the power of habit to create brand rituals that are enduring and beloved. Shepherding your brand from habit to routine to ritual, he says, requires constantly making it interesting and relevant, while working every digital angle available.