Nissan is pulling the wraps off of five new U.S. vehicles in 15 months -- a frenetic plan that will result in the automaker having a U.S. portfolio that is 75% brand new in 2013. Also brand new is an ad campaign that will presage the arrival of the armada (no pun intended) of new Nissan vehicles. The effort breaks on April 5 to align with the New York International Auto Show, where the fourth-generation Altima will be unveiled. The campaign plays on the auto show tradition of revealing a new vehicle by whipping off a silken sheet that conceals it. But while the new Altima -- which goes on sale this summer -- is revealed in the ad, the other vehicles -- including the forthcoming Pathfinder, Sentra and Versa -- stay under billowing wraps. Jon Brancheau, Nissan's VP marketing, tells Marketing Daily that the campaign supports the overarching Nissan brand positioning around innovation and excitement, with the message that these five new vehicles evince Nissan's point position in terms of dreaming up and implementing new technology. Pointedly, it also moves away from subjugating the brand to the individual nameplates. "We are laddering messaging up to the brand," he says, "particularly because we are launching so much product so quickly." Rob Schwartz, chief creative officer at L.A.-based TBWA/Chiat/Day, Nissan's long-time AOR, tells Marketing Daily that there's always a bit of tension in the dichotomy between the brand and the vehicles. "It's about whether to focus on the fingers or the fist." The launch spot, which Schwartz calls the "trumpet call" ad, shows all five fingers (albeit gloved) and the fist: the five forthcoming Nissan vehicles, completely draped, are seen crossing a desert, through the wilderness and down West Coast mountain roads, their veils billowing. Cut to the cars rolling through town, veiled, to the admiring gazes of representatives of the multicultural, urban demographic to which the vehicles, and ultimately the brand, are intended to appeal: a 30-something white business guy looks at the Altima; an Asian-American woman and her two kids admire the veiled Pathfinder as it passes; an African-American guy in a sporty car admires the concealed Sentra, and a young woman on a sport bike tries to take a peek under the veil of the Versa sedan as it takes off down the road. Finally, the wind blows the veil off of the Altima. The second ad uses the illuminated-lightbulb icon to represent the way Nissan designers dream up innovations. One guy wakes up in the middle of the night with an idea and a lightbulb goes on over his head. Another guy is in the shower when you see the light go on. The third is pouring cereal when his floating, supra-cerebral lightbulb flickers on and, distracted, he pours cereal onto the floor. Cut to Nissan headquarters (not the real one, as the ad was shot in L.A. with actors), where the place is full of lightbulbs that get passed around like currency and turn into such tech innovations as a new 3D vehicle display that will be integrated on vehicle consoles, exterior design and avoidance-sensor technology. The message hones in on the five new products in 15 months. Brancheau says the effort will run for 30 days then transition to creative that, while specific to the launch cycle, doesn't depart from the main brand theme. "The message will still be around 'our most innovative Altima ever,' or 'most innovative Pathfinder,'" he says. There are also print ads whose visuals are simple and monochrome, a trend Nissan began with the launch of the Leaf electric car. Now, however, the Nissan badge is set against a bright red background. Copy says things like, "Introducing the all-new everything." "We are moving to have much more simple imagery for print and digital," says Schwartz. "And the Nissan badge on a red background is about excitement and passion." He says that it also differentiates Nissan, as "almost everyone puts their logo over a creative situation or on a white or black background." The effort also puts big billboards around New York, with humorous messages that play on the physical placement of the boards. One that will be on buses says: "You think this is crowded? Try our showrooms." One that will be on a phone booth (they still exist) says, "Competition: It's Time To Make That Emergency Call." Nissan will also begin a preorder program for 25,000 people on a first-come basis. Brancheau says the pre-order program will be as much about learning as revenue. "There will be massive learnings from this that we will apply to subsequent launches," he says. Meanwhile, Nissan will keep the lightbulb on over the Nissan Leaf electric car, with new advertising coming down the chute that focuses more on the practical benefits of the vehicle -- such as that it seats five and gets 27 miles on one buck's worth of electricity -- versus the more idealistic creative program for the initial Leaf launch in late 2010. "We will focus on what makes it cost-effective," says Brancheau, who adds that the effort will include a new microsite and media focus on L.A., Chicago and Atlanta. Nissan is also making a pretty big deal in the Big Apple about the manufacturer's having been chosen as the N.Y. Taxi of Tomorrow, beginning with the unveiling of the vehicle on the evening of April 3, the night before press days at the auto show. Mayor Michael Bloomberg and Nissan CEO Carlos Ghosn will preside at the event. The automaker will also take over the big billboard opposite the Jacob Javits Center that houses the show with a dynamic multi-sided display that features a mockup of the taxi's side, with a door that will slide open and shut. And on the rooftops of some 400 taxis Nissan will run two-sided toppers, one side of which has statements like "Taxi 2.0," and "Limousines Will be Jealous" and the other "Taxi of Tomorrow." Street teams will hand out pointing-finger gloves and offer $15 cash cards if consumers use the "Hail Nissan Taxi of Tomorrow"-emblazoned sponge glove to grab a cab. "We will have a lot of fun with this," says Schwartz. "We'll be tweaking this on Facebook and Twitter."
Despite having the word “film” in its name, Fujifilm Holdings North America is looking to remind consumers and business leaders that the company is about more than an outmoded technology. In its first-ever brand campaign, the company tells its brand story through innovation developed through various technologies over the decades. The primarily print campaign celebrates the company’s 78-year history in developing core technologies that simply happened to be grounded in the development of photographic products. The campaign showcases how those technologies are being adapted for the 21st century. “In the last decade, Fujifilm made many changes and investments to diversify its business. Now, the timing is right for Fujifilm to support those strategic business moves with an overarching brand message,” said Ray Hosoda, president, Fujifilm Holdings America Corporation, in a statement. “This new ad campaign illustrates how Fujifilm has extended it products and services into markets beyond the traditional film and imaging industries for which we are best known, such as digital cameras, and photo imaging and printing equipment.” The campaign acknowledges consumers’ perception as Fujifilm with the headline “Just when you thought you knew us.” The ads then showcase different technological developments the company has been a part of. The first ad, for instance, features a 3D medical imaging product marketed in the U.S. by Fujifilm Medical Systems. The campaign features the tagline “expect Innovation.” The campaign will run in major newspapers and magazines throughout the year.
When you have a name like Double Cross Vodka, April Fool’s Day is just too good an opportunity to pass up. The ultra-premium vodka brand -- distilled in Slovakia and launched (at least originally) specifically for the U.S. market in September 2008 -- will kick off its first official consumer campaign on April 1, premised on helping people “double-cross the mundane and frustrating moments of life.” The campaign’s hub is a microsite, Projectdoublecross.com, where fans can pick up tips for turning the tables on annoying types like arm rest-hoggers, at-table texters, telemarketers and chatty urinal neighbors. In addition, visitors can post and share (through the brand’s Facebook or Twitter accounts) their own “double cross” ideas. Examples: To double-cross a loud cell phone talker, stand directly in front of him/her, position your Double Cross martini to the side of your head as if it were a phone, and adopt the same tone/volume as the offending phone-talker as you actually respond to what he/she is saying. To double-cross a subway pole-hugger, put your face close to the pole and begin whispering seductively to it; then enjoy your newly created personal space. The campaign, initially focused in New York, New Jersey and Massachusetts, is expected to drive traffic to the microsite and build brand awareness through ads put up in publicly available posting spaces (“wild postings”) in metro areas, particularly sites near restaurants/bars carrying the vodka brand. In addition, promotional posters, napkins and coasters will be distributed to bars and package stores throughout the three states. The campaign, from DiMassimo Goldstein (DIGO), will be expanded to the rest of the U.S. and Canada later this year. In the U.S., Double Cross is currently available in 37 states, with strongest distribution in major East Coast cities. It is also available nationally at The Palm, Morton's The Steakhouse, Fleming's Prime Steakhouse & Wine Bar and Omni Hotels. Double Cross will expand distribution into Ontario, Canada, starting with the Toronto market beginning in May, Malcolm M. Lloyd, co-founder and CEO of its privately held parent company, Old Nassau Imports, tells Marketing Daily. The vodka, which retails for $39.99 for a 750 ml bottle and contains 40% alcohol by volume, touts exceptional quality based on being seven times distilled and seven times filtered. Lloyd and co founder John Gellner, recognizing an opportunity in the dearth of Slovakian-produced luxury goods, and vodka in particular, in the U.S., spent four years researching and working with Slovakian master distiller Jan Krak to produce the vodka, which uses locally grown winter wheat and mountain spring water sourced from local aquifers. The vodka has received a 95-point rating from Wine Enthusiast magazine and gold medals for taste and bottle design at the World Spirits Competition. Double Cross’s name derives from the double-cross symbol on the Slovak flag and coat of arms. Its distinctive, clear, engraved rectangular bottle features lines of Slovak poetry in that language –- a shape and design specifically intended to differentiate it from other vodkas, according to Lloyd. Up to now, Double Cross has focused nearly all of its marketing on trade efforts, including promotions for liquor stores and on-site events to build awareness with bar owners/bartenders and encourage patron sampling, says Lloyd. Many of those events have been co-sponsored by high-end partner brands, including Rolls Royce, Ferrari, Audemars Piguet Swiss luxury watches, and Flexjet. Double Cross is, of course, going up against long-dominant Grey Goose in the ultra-premium vodka space. But Lloyd notes that “with the possible exception of Ciroc,” there’s been little brand movement in top-shelf vodkas for the past 15 years. He believes that the time is right for the advent of “next generation” top-shelf vodkas, and Double Cross is positioning to be among them. So far, so good: In 2011, the three-year-old brand sold 20,000 cases, representing a 125% increase over 2010, Lloyd reports.
Small businesses are increasingly using social media channels to connect with customers and grow their businesses, according to a Citibank survey. Sixty-five percent of the 749 small business owners surveyed nationwide cited increasing marketing activities as a key step in growing their business. While the overwhelming majority (70%) used their company Web site as a marketing channel, 41% said they have used social media channels, such as LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter, in the last year. Notably, 62% have not used email for marketing purposes -- a figure that remains the same from when Citibank first surveyed small business leaders about social media and online marketing in April 2010. However, 38% report planning to use email marketing tactics to drive awareness and sales of products and services. As small business owners are moving online, and relying more heavily on their company Web site, online channels represent an emerging opportunity to help grow their businesses. In fact, many small businesses plan to use digital and social media tools in the coming year. Forty percent intend to use social networking sites such as Facebook, LinkedIn or Twitter for marketing or expanding their business -- up 10 points from 2010 – and 60% plan to increase activity on their Web site for marketing purposes. "Although small business owners have been slower to adopt online marketing channels, they are clearly warming up to using these tools to target customers," said Maria Veltre, managing director, small business marketing & customer experience at Citi, in a release. "They are seeing that social media platforms can be an efficient and cost effective means to increase awareness of their business, engage with customers and, ultimately, to drive growth." The use of social media tools, such as Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn, is up six percentage points since 2010. The survey also revealed that nearly three-quarters of small business owners who have a Web site find it very or somewhat effective in generating more business for their company. The demographics of the business owner influence their interest in using digital and social media, with small business owners under the age of 45 more likely to use those technologies to address their marketing needs. In the past 12 months, 54% of small business executives under the age of 45 used social networking sites such as Facebook, Twitter or LinkedIn, compared to only 36% of their peers ages 45 and over. Younger small business owners were also more likely to use a company Web site (72% versus 68% of older respondents) and search engine optimization (44% versus 33%). This Citi poll was conducted by telephone Jan. 17 to 27 among a national random sample of 750 small business owners/operators, age 18 and older throughout the United States with revenue over $100,000 and no more than 100 employees. The margin of error for the national sample is approximately +/- 3.58 percentage points at 95% confidence.
Macy’s says it is rethinking the way it approaches Gen Y, and is announcing a new initiative to build its relationship with the Millennial crowd, which it defines as being between 13 and 30. While the move may sound obvious (what department store doesn’t need to know what kind of jeans, jewelry and makeup these big spenders are buying?), experts say it is also a nod to the decidedly different preferences of this demographic, and to the increasingly precarious positioning of department stores in general. “The Gen Y mindset involves looking for a different kind of shopping experience,” Dan Schawbel, a founder and managing partner of Millennial Branding, a Boston-based consulting firm, tells Marketing Daily. “They are looking for something modern, so Macy’s history isn’t that interesting to them. They need to be engaged in a way that makes them feel a part of the experience. They want to be talked to. They want you to market just to them.” Macy’s, which says this group spends some $65 billion each year for the type of goods typically sold at Macy’s, reports that it will implement the new plan in stages over the next three years, and “significantly enhance Macy’s assortment and shopping experience in mstylelab (the merchandise area primarily serving customers ages 13 to 22) and Impulse (primarily serving customers ages 19 to 30).” Among the changes are a closer look at customer lifestyles, with the Cincinnati-based retailer now focusing on four distinct profiles for women and men, which define how they see themselves on the spectrum of fashion and newness, and using those to influence their merchandising, marketing and private label strategies, including a greater emphasis on local merchandising. Just as important, though, is the store’s increased focus on channels. While its e-commerce and mobile initiatives, including the extensive use of QR codes throughout the store and in TV advertising, are already somewhat ahead of many retailers, it says it will dial up those efforts, with more use of tablets, texting, tap-and-go transaction processing and offers delivered via mobile. It also intends to boost its site’s offerings, adding more microsites and bloggers. That will play well, predicts Schawbel. “Gen Y can be seen as selfish, in that they like to see things created just for them, and shopping via technology is very important to them.” Macy’s has 840 department stores in 45 states.
African-Americans rely heavily on online sources for brand information, and 95% of the demographic does online research at least some of the time before making a purchase. Also, smartphones are becoming an integral part of the purchase process for African-Americans, who are using the devices to do things like in-store price checking, and redeeming e-coupons and online offers directly from their phones. These are some of the results of a first-ever study of African-Americans' brand habits. The study, by UniWorld Group, Inc. (UWG), also involves One Solution, the integrated corporate marketing arm of TV One, Radio One and Interactive One. The study also shows that African-American men 18-34 years of age are most likely to engage in posting and acting on recommendations on social media sites. African-American women are more likely to engage with a brand by "liking" it on Facebook, because of special offers, discounts and coupons. The study’s directors said the objectives were to understand where and how African-Americans get information about brands; how African-Americans who use digital and mobile technology to engage in online conversations about brands differ from the general African-American population; and to explore African-Americans’ usage of digital media. The companies said they garnered data from Radio One’s “One Community” panel, which purports to being the largest representative online panel of African Americans with over 10,000 members, and from Vision Critical’s Springboard America panel through email invitations. The final sample was weighted to reflect the age and gender distribution of African-Americans 18-64, based on U.S. Census data. Data was collected from November 10 to 30, 2011, with a total sample size of 2,032, per a joint release. “We developed One Community to help create and disseminate timely, quality research on the African-American population. Compared to other ethnic groups, this audience segment does not have the same volume of consumer research. We’re hoping to change that,” said Latha Sarathy, VP Insights & Analytics at Interactive One, in the release. UWG and One Solution say they will present this study initially at the Public Relations Society of America’s 2012 Digital Impact Conference in New York City on April 2.
Marketing is in the midst of a seismic shift. It’s no longer sufficient for today’s marketing organizations to demonstrate value in intangible ways. In order to gain a seat at the table, CMOs must have a firm grasp on data -- everything from the data that shows who exactly comprises their target audience to the data that reveals how effective their marketing programs are. Enter the “digital CMO”: marketers who have evolved to meet the challenges of this new data-driven environment. But while many CMOs have made the leap, the reality is that some CMOs are evolving faster than others to address the challenges and opportunities presented by digital. Here are four ways CMOs can adapt their “DNA” to become more digitally savvy. Understanding Media Consumption Yesterday’s CMO only had a few ways to reach an audience, and media consumption habits were predictable. Today, a marketer’s target audience can be pulled in many different directions online, and with a finite amount of time in each day, companies must strive to be everywhere their prospects are consuming information in order to stay top of mind. Moreover, new devices and channels only add to the complexity. Social and mobile create a whole different ballgame. The digital CMO understands that his or her target prospects are no longer tied to a desktop, and knows how to use data to reach these audiences across multiple devices and media channels. Targeting the Right Audiences Ad targeting has evolved from pure site-based targeting to options including contextual, geotargeting, retargeting, and rich, granular audience targeting based on behavioral or demographic characteristics. To effectively reach target prospects online, digital CMOs must have a firm and detailed understanding of who their target audiences are, and they must be capable of using audience-data-driven strategies to target and reach them. This includes targeting based on the actions they take online; demographics; psychographics; and a wide range of other audience segmentation approaches. Only by having this information can the digital CMO achieve the level of precision required to target and cost-effectively access the most ideal prospects. While yesterday’s CMO might have been content to apply this level of targeting to emailing the house database, the digital CMO aspires to this same level of targeting across all marketing channels. Digital CMOs think about every hour they spend that’s not targeted as diluted. Regardless of the channel, it’s about understanding the “persona” and mapping a relevant message to that persona at the right time in order to achieve the best results. Marrying Branding with Lead Generation The line between brand advertising and direct response is blurring. Digital CMOs understand that while channels like search and email marketing are great for targeting and converting prospects that are lower in the marketing funnel (e.g., prospects looking for solutions to problems or evaluating vendors), brand marketing programs such as display or TV ads can be highly effective at increasing brand awareness and recall, and ultimately creating “lift” across the entire marketing mix. For example, studies consistently show that people who come across a display ad are more apt to visit Google or their search engine of choice to search on the company or product they saw highlighted in the ad. comScore found that “search alone produces an 82% lift in sales from visitors exposed to ads, compared to 119% when search and display are combined.” Nailing Value Attribution As marketers, the goals we set for a given marketing channel or specific campaign will inherently frame its success or failure. Applying the wrong metrics might have us optimizing in the wrong direction, and reducing the impact of our marketing dollars. The digital CMO is able to track and measure investments based on the value of every specific program in the mix, including how each investment amplifies the value of other programs. Let’s take the display ad example again. Given that display advertising is actually lifting all boats in the marketing mix, it’s not enough to evaluate the leads that a display campaign delivers. The digital CMO must also understand how many leads benefited from a display “assist” (i.e. when a user views an ad and doesn’t click on the ad, but returns to a Web site later and converts). In the words of John Wanamaker: "Half the money I spend on advertising is wasted; the trouble is I don't know which half." For the digital CMO, this is no longer a problem.