Regional grocery chain Piggly Wiggly is proclaiming itself “Local Since Forever” in its first new brand campaign in six years. The Charleston, S.C.-based chain is using a two-minute spot to kick off the new positioning, spokesperson Christopher Ibsen tells Marketing Daily. It plays off the area’s special beauty, as well as the chain’s 65-year history of local ownership. “It taps into this deep sense of pride and commitment to what we’re trying to accomplish,” he says. “Besides plenty of imagery of the Carolinas and coastal Georgia, there are familiar images of our stores, and the commitment to local communities, whether that’s sponsoring church picnics, Little League games or parade floats.” The two-minute spot break will break on all four local network stations, leading into the NCAA’s Final Four Men’s Basketball Championships on April 2, and will continue to run for several weeks, before switching to shorter versions of the ad. “There will be no escaping it,” he says. And the new theme will also appear in radio ads, billboards, newspaper circulars, store signage and collateral, social media spaces -- and later this year, on the company’s new Web site. The positioning stemmed, in part, from the 100-store chain’s long commitment to local gastronomy, which it began touting more prominently this year. Pig Swig, for example, its private-label beer -- which includes Pig Tail Ale and Pig Pen Pilsner -- was launched nine months ago, and has significantly exceeded all forecasts, he explains. And at about the same time, it began running weekly “The pig makes local happen” ads in papers, each focusing on a local product and the people behind it, from simmering sauces to local frozen biscuits and area cheeses. Ibsen says the time seemed right for the new campaign, because as customers settle into the new realities of continued high food and gas prices, “the shopping trip to the local supercenter doesn’t offer the value many shoppers thought it might. Our studies have shown a great deal of self-loathing that comes from shopping at supercenters, including longer drives, walking across immense parking lots and through enormous stores. We offer a more consistent value in terms of pricing, as well as the satisfaction of shopping at an employee-owned store, which our customers say makes a big difference to them.” The positioning also taps into an ongoing effort from the South Carolina Department of Agriculture, encouraging people to become Palmettovores, eating South Carolina-certified products.
Mazda is launching what it is calling an “inside-out” ad campaign in support of the new 2013 Mazda CX-5 crossover. The effort, which mines the central theme of that ‘70s show "The Six Million Dollar Man," starts on March 28. In a sense, however, that date is really a pre-launch -- since the new creative for the CX-5 is to be initially directed toward Mazda’s North American employees and key brand influencers, bloggers and the like, who represent the "inside-out" buzz-generating part of the effort. About a week later, the campaign hits the national stage. The way the buzz part of the campaign works is that insiders get first dibs on the ad. Mazda says that diverse group will be nudged to share the content they have generated on it, broadcasting it from inside the organization out to consumers. The April 2 rollout of the traditional national campaign hits with television, cinema, print, digital (display, mobile and video) and place-based video in health clubs, airports and other locations designed to reach the active CX-5 target. The idea, per the company, is to create a large presence able to touch the target where they work and play -- not just when they are in front of the TV. The effort, which is via Mazda's dedicated ad shop The Garage/Team Mazda, features a launch ad in 60-second and 30-second versions that uses "Better. Stronger. Smarter,” a theme line playing off of the TV show’s original banner. Also suggested by the TV show is a ’70s aesthetic, which is not only retro, but probably antique at this point, given that the target consumers were not born when the show was as huge as Farrah Fawcett's hair. John Abel, Mazda’s director of marketing, explains that while Mazda has a young owner demographic, many of whom may not remember the show, the link to the TV show works because the positioning is around innovative engineering, and Mazda’s SkyActiv powertrain technology in particular. "It implies a breakthrough, a re-imagining of technology. Because we are talking about SkyActiv, we wanted to make that link right up front." The initial ad also borrows from the TV show's introductory segment, where scientists are shown working to rebuild -- in this case -- the common crossover, "The embodiment of compromise," notes the voiceover. The ad shows a claptrap SUV rolling over the desert as pieces of it fall off and blow up. "We can save it, we have the technology," (cut to a laboratory with the SkyActiv banner) as the VO touts fuel efficiency and performance and engineers in front of banks of dated computer gadgets test the "reborn" CX-5 in the desert. There will be three follow-up spots examining CX-5 product attributes like the 35-mpg fuel economy (which puts it atop the segment, per Abel), onboard technology and safety. The campaign uses the "We Build Mazdas. What do you drive?" tagline that the automaker introduced a year ago. Abel adds that the three ads following the launch spot will keep the same theme. "It's a big launch, and we love integration, so we are keen to pick up where we lead off." Abel tells Marketing Daily that the social-media jump start has a track record: the company took that tack when it pre-launched SkyActiv over Super Bowl weekend with a social-media push that he says garnered 2 million views on YouTube, Facebook, enthusiast sites, owners clubs, dealer sites and the like.
For Earth Day, Chipotle is turning old marketing into sustainable goods that are in turn part of new marketing plus some philanthropy. Specifically, the Denver-headquartered QSR, which emphasizes fresh, sustainably sourced ingredients, is “upcycling” its old billboards into reusable lunch bags. Fans who buy a bag between March 26 and April 14 -– selling exclusively on Chipotle.com ($18) -- will receive a barcode with the bag that’s redeemable for a free Chipotle menu item (burrito, bowl, salad or taco) on Earth Day (April 22). In addition, a portion of the lunch bag sales proceeds will go to The Chipotle Cultivate Foundation, which provides funding to support sustainable agriculture, family farming, and culinary education. That foundation was launched last August with the debut of “Back to the Start,” an animated short featuring Willie Nelson’s cover of Coldplay’s “The Scientist.” (Each purchase of the song on iTunes generates 60 cents for the foundation.) The video, which was shown online and in movie theaters before making a splash as a commercial on this year’s Grammy Awards, has now been viewed more than 6 million times. The lunch bags were designed for Chipotle by sustainable apparel firm Loomstate, and made by Denver-based Billboard Ecology Partners. Actual parts of Chipotle billboards can be seen on the bags’ side panels, making each bag unique. Billboard Ecology, which recycles billboards into a variety of items, most of which are then sold for fundraising by schools, has to date diverted more than 1 million square feet of Billboard and banner waste into durable products, using less energy than traditional recycling methods. Every 20,000 bags made for Chipotle –- which are printed on tree-free stone paper made from limestone salvaged from construction sites and quarry waste -– will keep 78,000 square feet of billboard vinyl (the equivalent of 2.7 Olympic swimming pools) out of landfills. The number of bags available for sale is limited.
Smartphones have been good for consumers, giving them the chance to access more data and information at all times. And they have been good for the wireless companies that have been making money off the increased data charges. But as adoption continues and usage increases, the industry may have to look for new models to keep its revenues up. According to a new survey by PwC of some of the largest wireless carriers, the increasing number of people purchasing subsidized smartphones (in exchange for being locked into a long-term contract) will begin to weigh on the carriers’ bottom lines. “Smartphones have delivered on the carriers' desire to drive new revenues from data,” Dan Hays, U.S. advisory wireless leader, PwC., tells Marketing Daily. “But it’s a little akin to the dog that caught the car. Now, operators are faced with ballooning data usage and they have to rationalize the economics of delivering large volumes of data with the realities of their already strained networks.” The ramifications of shifting consumer needs and desires are already being felt. According to the survey, the average length of a postpaid (i.e., contract) customer relationship has dropped nearly a year from 2010 (48 months in the 2011 survey versus 59 months in the 2010 survey). At the same time, smartphone sales have increased to 48% of total device sales (up from 30% in 2010), and accounted for 51% of upgrades (up from 36%). “In general, the wireless operators have been able to generate revenues from their investments in data networks. However, it’s requiring extremely diligent management of their phone [subsidies] in order to remain profitable,” Hays says. “As we see this decline in customer loyalty, it becomes a challenge for the operators because they have to recoup the network costs in a shorter period of time.” As more and more customers turn to smartphones and tablets as another information-gathering device, wireless carriers will do well to emphasize digital ecosystem solutions over plans that stress minutes, Hays says. Consumers are already becoming less loyal to the “operator” and more loyal to the “operating system." “I think the question now will be less about the phone itself and more about the ecosystem. Really, the bigger question now, is what can happen to disrupt those ecosystem plays,” Hays says. “That’s probably the greatest opportunity for the providers: to become a provider not of phones, but of connectivity in general.” Finally, one area that stands to see significant growth in the future for wireless carriers will be those offering prepaid or monthly plans. According to the survey, prepaid services represented 29.2% of total service revenues in 2011, compared with 22.5% in 2010. “Prepaid is going to be a very attractive pricing option for price-sensitive consumers as well as for secondary devices that may not always need to be connected to the cellular networks,” Hays says. “We definitely think prepaid is going to have a big play in the data device market. … We [also] expect operators are going to start to introduce more multi-device plans to enable users to pool their data services across devices.”
Corona Extra is striving to evolve the “Find your beach” tagline that the brand has been using since 2010. Two TV spots and out-of-home advertising aim to strengthen the connection between the physical beach and the beach “state of mind.” Corona Extra’s 2012 out-of-home advertising depicts beaches in unexpected places -- in a city bar, on an urban rooftop or on a snowy mountaintop. Four executions designed to broaden brand perceptions and expand drinking occasions will break in May on taxi toppers, bus shelters and other outdoor displays in 10 key U.S. markets including New York City, Chicago, L.A., San Francisco and Washington, D.C. “Spotlight,” the first new TV ad of 2012, will debut during NBA and NCAA basketball programming. “Spotlight” is set under the stars on an iconic Corona Beach, where the indie band Everest emerges from the dark to welcome an intimate party of three before launching into their hit single “Let Go.” The spot then cuts to a crowded club where the three friends toast one another and closes with the band playing a private moonlit performance on the picturesque Corona beach. “Taxi,” a spot scheduled to debut this summer, opens with a cab rolling down a Corona Beach setting at sunset, trailed by a rain cloud. As the passenger opens the taxi door, the ad cuts to a rain-soaked cityscape. He then dodges raindrops across the street and into a bar where a group of his friends await to hear the results of an important meeting. Upon hearing the good news, they toast his success and return to the beachside bar. The campaign resonates with current consumers while helping connect with new conquests, said Jim Sabia, chief marketing officer, Crown Imports. “As our lives get busier, we realize the importance of taking a step back and relaxing to keep us feeling positive and upbeat.,” Sabia said in a release. “Finding these moments -- or ‘beaches,’ as we call them -- wherever you are is what Corona Extra is all about.” Corona’s movement off the beach began in 2010 with the groundbreaking TV spot entitled, “Moments.” This spot marked the first step toward expanding consumers’ beach state of mind by inviting them to experience the brand in new settings and challenging them to “Find Your Beach.” In 2011, Corona continued the off-the-beach shift with three new ads: “Flight,” “Commuters,” and “Snow/Sand.” Each spot helped remind consumers that Corona is appropriate for every occasion and that “the beach” is also a state of mind. Now, the Corona beach has evolved into an “iconic mental playground” that allows the brand to introduce unexpected elements, said Marshall Ross, executive vice president/chief creative officer, Cramer-Krasselt, the agency that created the spots.
The Sierra Club is launching an advertising campaign that talks about the dangers of coal. The effort uses humorous and (hopefully) viral videos that feature TV personalities and shows from the 1980s. The Sierra Club says the ads use irreverent humor to address and bring attention to the harm caused by coal pollution. “These ads aim to do for coal what the Truth campaign did for tobacco -– expose the fact that coal pollution is dirty and dangerous, and that coal executives will say anything to make people believe that coal is safe -- while making our kids sick,” said Michael Brune, the Sierra Club’s executive director, in a statement. The new effort extends the organization's two-year-old "Beyond Coal" campaign. The Sierra Club says the effort, intended to promulgate the virtues of wind and solar, has helped retire 106 of the nation’s over 500 aging coal-fired power plants. It is the first major video campaign that the Sierra Club has launched following a $50 million grant from Bloomberg Philanthropies in July 2011. One of the videos is a take on a badly dubbed TV show on how to draw nature paintings. Bob Ross is a pro-coal voiceover guy, dubbing the artist's voice. The artist has rendered a scene of beautiful mountains, except for one that has been strip mined for coal. Text says: "Coal companies have destroyed over 500 mountains in Appalachia." Mary Anne Hitt, director of the Sierra Club’s “Beyond Coal” campaign, characterizes coal as: “Dirty, outdated, and bad for our kids’ health. Coal is a 19th century fuel that is making our country sick and getting in the way of a prosperous future and clean energy jobs,” she said. The effort is by San Francisco-based Mekanism -- the first time the firm has teamed with a major non-profit organization. “We wanted to work with the Sierra Club because we believe in the message of moving the nation beyond coal and towards clean energy, using humor and social media,” said Tommy Means, Mekanism’s ECD.
One of the biggest problems for mobile Web shopping is that the steps to purchasing simply take too long -- far longer than on the familiar Web. And that's because of the way that mobile devices work. Just clicking a button to “add,” “delete,” or “change quantity” on the mobile Web requires sending transaction data from the shopper’s mobile device to the vendor’s server (average 3-5 seconds) via cell towers, not high-speed cables. These interim steps -- which take place long before checking out --are the challenges. It's all about time. A study commissioned by Adobe in October 2010, titled “In-the-Know about On-the-Go: Adobe Captures What Mobile Users Want,” indicated that 67 percent of shoppers “strongly prefer using mobile websites over mobile apps for all shopping-related activities.” Was that just an isolated data point or the beginning of a trend? A more recent survey -- released in January 2012 by ZMags, titled "Meet the Connected Consumer" -- goes even further by showing that 87% of connected consumers now prefer to use Web sites and browser-based mobile sites for browsing and shopping, whereas only 4% prefer smartphone and tablet apps. ZMags even concludes that “retailers need to think about the purpose of these apps and determine the role of the app in the customer lifecycle.” The reality is that consumers have a hard time keeping track of multiple apps, and would much rather keep more space for music and photos on their smartphones. Other studies released soon after last year’s shopping season indicate that over 40% of mobile buyers reported being unhappy with their shopping experience, and consumers still routinely abandon their online shopping carts up to 70% of the time. What can the industry do to demonstrate that it is actually listening to its users? The first wave of mobile commerce development has favored massive investment in apps for different platforms and different purposes such as special promotions, comparison shopping, and loyalty programs. As in any new product introduction, now is the time to evaluate customer feedback via real-life behavior, make changes accordingly and look at the bottom line. The “connected consumer” study shows that it makes sense to separate the wheat from the chaff and streamline the number of apps, so that a portion of development resources can be reassigned to improving site design for the mobile Web in favor of the customer’s experience. A number of organizations perform regular tests on retailers’ site performance, so we know what the main candidates for improvement are. Here are a few key questions that Internet retailers, large and small, should ask themselves: How good is your site’s response time? This is most critical when the consumer comes in on a smartphone. (One key issue is how many images you have per page and whether their definition is compatible with the 2G or even 3G speed most phones still provide.) How complex is your navigation? How many clicks does it take to get to the desired product? Have you looked at how long it takes, on average, for transaction data to be sent/confirmed between a mobile device and your server? How many page changes or re-loads are required for a customer to “add to cart”? Must they be forced to see a “view cart” page every time? How is the “shopping flow” on your site? Psychology researchers have demonstrated that not interrupting the actions of a particular consumer may provide a much higher percentage of completed transactions. Have you investigated alternative solutions to reducing the time it takes to use your cart? Research shows that despite the availability of time-saving options, such as AJAX, less than 5% of the top 500 retailers actually use it. What if you could just place a checkmark next to the item you wish to purchase with no page reload required and not one change to the page you are looking at except a message that pops up: “item added." What if you could navigate around your site with no interruption at all, focused only on your intentions, undistracted? Will HTML5 solve all problems? Not quite. The most likely advantage from HTML5 will come in the form of quicker display of information of interest. But the design of a commercial site that favors the user experience will still be an issue for the reasons mentioned above. In conclusion, retailers need to look closely at how they allocate their 2012 budgets, reduce the amount spent on apps and increase development resources dedicated to improving their mobile sites.
Brand architecture often comes down to an evaluation of tradeoffs. In my experience, there’s rarely a cost-free benefit or a no-foul cost. That’s why I have found the concept of brand value so helpful. It focuses on the net effect of an initiative -- are the benefits worth more than the costs of getting those benefits or are cost-saving initiatives doing more harm than good? Brand value has been defined by C.W. Park, professor of marketing at USC Marshall School of Business, as: “The difference between customers’ willingness to bear the costs to obtain the brand’s benefits and the firm’s costs expended to create these benefits.” A house of brands strategy -- as exemplified by P&G and its huge range of brands, from Tide to Crest to Gillette -- benefits from the fact that each brand has a focused positioning, but it costs a lot to market all these different brands. So P&G (and other packaged goods manufacturers) have been aggressively reducing their brand portfolios. This strategy has a cost -- there are lost sales and share from the discontinued or sold-off brands, and the remaining brands can become overextended. But so far, the benefits seem to be worthwhile, and brand value has been increased. On the other side of the spectrum, the single brand strategy of Accenture is very efficient, and pours all the equity into a single brand. But the downside is that it’s more difficult to highlight specific areas of competitive advantage. Single branded companies typically allow brand architecture “exceptions” when they decide that, for example, folding an acquired brand into the existing business will cost too much in terms of lost brand equity -- or that one business does not fit well with the remainder of the portfolio and must be kept at a distance. Some common drivers of the benefits and costs of brand architecture initiatives are: Increasing benefits 1. Targeting the drivers of specific product categories 2. Targeting the needs of specific consumer groups 3. Focusing attention on product innovation or other areas of competitive advantage