While NASCAR fans are a hugely fertile and loyal marketing target for innumerable products, including beer, one wouldn’t necessarily associate them with being big wine lovers. But for Banfi’s Riunite, that spelled an opportunity. In 2009, the wine brand began sponsorships with NASCAR tracks around the country (it’s not an official NASCAR sponsor) centered on offering sampling events, and it’s been expanding the initiative each year. Last year, the program took place during seven races at six tracks and distributed some 69,000 samples. This year, it will have a presence at nine races at seven tracks, and Riunite projects that it will distribute at least 80,000 samples, reports Charles Dellavecchia, European portfolio director for Banfi, one of the U.S.’s largest wine importers. Rationale? Women account for about 70% of U.S. wine consumption, they make up 40% to 45% of NASCAR fans, and Riunite has found that they’re indeed open to trying wine as a refreshing alternative to beer and other alcoholic beverages commonly found at the tracks, says Dellavecchia. In addition, both men and women are considered a target for conversion to buying the brand for at-home enjoyment. Riunite may not be the choice of oenophiles, but according to Banfi, its sweet, fruity Lambrusco (which represents 90% of Riunite’s sales), introduced in the U.S. in 1969, was the #1 imported wine in the U.S. for 26 years (1974 to 2000), and remains the #1 Italian red import and within the top five of all imported wines. At the tracks, the brand samples both Riunite Lambrusco and its white D’Oro Moscato through branded RV’s outside the track and (where allowed by law and the track sponsorship) through teams that pass around sample trays inside the tracks. It also hands out coupons to encourage buying the wines for at-home consumption. Outside the on-site events, Riunite generates NASCAR tie-in interest through a sweepstakes offering grand prizes of trips to the Richard Petty Driving Experience (which includes fans getting to sit next to a professional NASCAR driver as the driver does high-speed laps). Last year, more than 200,000 fans entered online and at retail locations, according to Dellavecchia -- a big boost for the brand’s opt-in promotional database. In addition, Riunite promotes the at-track sampling opportunities and sweeps in stores and through its Facebook and Twitter presences. And this year, it will gain additional exposure through Riunite billboards inside the tracks where it’s a sponsor – the billboards will be picked up by TV cameras in the course of TV coverage of the events. Starting last year, Riunite also began to be sold by the glass at tracks, where allowable. About 2,800 glasses were sold during the 2011 racing season, even as free samples were being given out. That, along with data showing significantly increased awareness of the brand among the NASCAR audience, adds up to this being a winning marketing proposition for Riunite, says Dellavecchia. “From race to race, the fans at the tracks come back to us to tell us that they have tried and enjoyed Riunite at other races, and continue to enjoy it,” he says. “And a NASCAR fan’s loyalty, once won, is extremely valuable. Many brands try NASCAR-related sponsorships and give up after a year or two. We’re very pleased with our results, and we’re in this for the long haul.”
Volkswagen has a new sports car and it isn't wearing an Audi nameplate. The factory-tuned 256 hp Golf R hatch is here, and mercifully, there's no automatic tranny available, which says everything about who this car is meant for: enthusiasts. The car also goes against the grain for the automaker, which has been focused on going mainstream in the U.S. The R is very much for loyalists. They aren't a tiny group. The main non-VW fan site, VWVortex.com, says it gets 120 million hits each month. To tout the top-of-the-line Golf, which starts at around $33,900, to that core group of fans, the automaker has launched a new iPad app to talk up the vehicle. The Herndon, Va.-based U.S. division of VW is firing up a U.S. promotion “Golf R Ultimate Fan Experience” for the 2012 version of the car, which it is calling its most powerful vehicle ever in the U.S. The program is also a way to get R fans to download the new VW Golf R iPad app, which is the portal for entering the promotion. Fans of the Golf R, which replaces the R32, get an opportunity to share what they love about the Golf R and describe why they are “the ultimate fan” through the Golf R Drivers Forever iPad app. One winner and a guest gets a seven-day, six-night trip for two to Germany in September. The trip includes a stop at VW global headquarters in Wolfsburg to tour the Autostadt and Volkswagen AG; a visit to Nürburg to drive the Golf R on the Nürburgring motorsports complex with instruction from professional drivers; a visit to Berlin for an exclusive sightseeing package Luxury hotel accommodations in each city. The Golf R Drivers Forever app, which is free, has a link to the Sweepstakes, where entrants have to describe in 256 words or less why they want to win. The app also has Golf R videos, photos, footage and interviews about the heritage and performance of the R. Mail-in entries (does anyone still do this?) are also accepted. The Golf R will compete with vehicles like the Subaru Impreza WRX STI and Mitsubishi's famed Lancer Evo GSR. For enthusiast motorists looking for the biggest muscle over weight ratio, the two competitors beat the Golf R. But the automaker's U.S. chief, commenting on the vehicle's fan base and the fact that the promotional campaign is focused squarely on R enthusiasts, makes it clear that it's not a numbers-comparison game for shoppers, and there is probably less cross shopping. The company reported a 34.6% increase in sales last month, also saw a 19.2% increase in sales of Golf R, GTI and R32 variants.
As April 22 draws closer, Target says it will celebrate America’s 42nd Earth Day by handing out 1.5 million reusable bags to customers, which swirl the words “Fill. Refill. Repeat” into its bull's-eye logo. It’s also readying an Earth Day website, which will offer consumers $50 in savings on some 40 sustainable products, through April 28. In addition, the Minneapolis-based retailer is partnering with Recyclebank, an organization that promotes sustainable decisions by allowing individuals to earn rewards for actions like recycling and reducing water use, with two online gaming modules. And the chain continues to offer a 5-cent discount for every reusable bag shoppers use, a program launched in November 2009. Of course, plenty of other brands are tailoring Earth Day offers, even if they are not on as grand a scale as Target. Origins, for instance, will reward anyone bringing any existing skincare product (empty or full) for one of two earth-friendly cleansers at its Macy’s counters. And Disney, which is selling organic t-shirts that kids can track right to their very roots of origin, is encouraging shoppers to trade five disposable shopping bags for a free reusable tote, as is grocery chain H-E-B. And Joann Fabric stores will hand out 50 free totes to early Earth Day shoppers. While this year’s Earth Day on the National Mall event in Washington, D.C., will be somewhat smaller than the 40th anniversary celebration in 2010, Kathryn Stoddard, VP/ corporate development and partnerships for Earth Day Networks, tells Marketing Daily, “this will be the biggest Earth Day ever, with thousands of events around the world.” Bridgestone and Best Western are co-presenting sponsors of Earth Day on the National Mall. In total, she says, the Earth Day event has 27 sponsors and exhibitors this year, including nonprofits, including Calvert Investments, Whirlpool and Patagonia. The organization also lists Wells Fargo, University of Phoenix and UPS as corporate sponsors.
Western Union is launching a new campaign with the goal of evolving the brand, which is best known as a communications company, to that of a leader in global payment services. The campaign, with the theme line “Thanks a Thousand,” invites consumers in the United States, Canada and Mexico to say thank you to family, loved ones, friends or anyone in their life. One participant will be selected daily through June 17 and will win $1,000. Consumers can upload a personalized video, photograph, or brief essay to thank anyone they know for being special in their lives. Eligible participants can visit www.thanksathousand.com (in English) www.westernunionmilgracias.com (in Spanish) or www.mercimillefois.ca (in Canadian French) to share their story of appreciation. The campaign allows consumers in North America to share their appreciation for family, loved ones and friends no matter how far away they are or where they live, said Victoria López-Negrete, Western Union's senior vice president and general manager, North America. “At the core of Western Union is our profound commitment to enable Western Union consumers every day to express their love and gratitude with the perfect gift -- the Western Union gift of cash -- for Mother’s Day, graduations, weddings, Father’s Day, and nearly any occasion,” López-Negrete tells “Marketing Daily.” The actor and musician Common are part of press and social media efforts for this campaign. A series of radio, TV, out-of-home, online and mobile ads were created by Moroch. Much of the creative is themed around Mother’s Day. Western Union’s larger platform is “moving money for better” and late last year, the company brought back the Singing Telegram idea with a modern twist partnering with K’Naan, Timbaland and Snoop Dogg -- and that program had a number of purpose-driven components. “Moving Money for Better, our new global brand platform, is an invitation to create a moment of “better” in every day via the movement of money,” López-Negrete says. “The Western Union 'Thanks A Thousand' campaign further supports our efforts to enable, celebrate and create moments of joy.” In 2011, The Western Union Company completed 226 million consumer-to-consumer transactions worldwide, moving $81 billion of principal between consumers, and 425 million business payments. As of Dec. 31, the Western Union, Vigo and Orlandi Valuta branded services were offered through a combined network of approximately 485,000 Agent locations in 200 countries and territories.
You know your brand is huge if society's fringe elements name a drug after it. Aftermarket fuel additive STP used to be that brand. It was part of our collective unconscious and was ubiquitous in racing: No respectable stock race car or top fuel dragster was without that oval "STP" logo painted somewhere on its nacelle. Now, after several years of little to no advertising, parent Armored AutoGroup is preparing a campaign to reintroduce the brand. The company is launching a TV, digital, radio and event marketing campaign this week, via the San Francisco office of DDB, which won the account last fall. The campaign, with a $6 million media budget, stars NASCAR legend Richard Petty's 2010 Dodge Challenger, with a Fight Club-esque message that if you have to ask whether you belong in the left lane ... you don't belong in the left lane. Back in STP's (and Petty's) halcyon days, the driver raced an STP branded Plymouth Road Runner Superbird. The campaign, promoting STP's "Complete Fuel System Cleaner" and its ability to maximize driving under all conditions, comprises a 30- and 15-second TV spot in which Petty's Challenger zooms down the highway, in the left lane, while slowpokes get out of the car's way. Voiceover is by Mike Cooley, lead singer of Southern rock band Drive-By Truckers. Another version of the spot is going live this weekend with Petty doing voiceover. The band also does the music for the TV spots. The ads direct viewers to Facebook, where visitors are encouraged to join the “Left Lane Club” and enter a chance to win a Richard Petty-autographed car. The TV spots will be on ESPN, Fox, Speed, Fuel, Versus, Spike, TNT, CMT and TBS. There is also a web-based "making of" video about the TV ad. It shows the process of "casting" Richard Petty’s Dodge Challenger, and includes interviews with Richard Petty at his garage in North Carolina, where he talks about his nearly half-century relationship with the STP brand.
AT&T brings together technology and family for a Mother’s Day-themed advertising campaign targeted at Hispanic consumers. “Mother’s Day appeals to everyone, but Hispanics are very family oriented,” Roberto Garcia, executive director of Hispanic marketing for AT&T, tells Marketing Daily, adding that Mother’s Day ranks only behind Christmas and Valentine’s Day as top “gift giving” holidays among Hispanics. “We thought this was giving something with an emotional weight.” The campaign, the Hispanic portion of AT&T’s new “It’s what you do with what we do” general market campaign, features a Mother’s Day-themed commercial in which a teenage boy uses his Nokia Lumia 900 phone to record a performance by Guatemalan singer Ricardo Arjona. The boy later shows that performance (in addition to many of the phone’s other features) to his mother. The commercial features Arjona’s song, “Mi novia se me esta poniendo vieja,” which Garcia described as an emotionally powerful song that appeals to women of all ages. “For Mother’s Day, I couldn’t think of anything better,” he says. “Our celebrities are part of the daily life of Hispanic Americans in the U.S.” The commercial, which will be running through the May 13 Mother’s Day promotional period, is an extension of AT&T’s recently unveiled general market campaign. That campaign is meant to show AT&T as not just a service provider, but as a company that provides a platform for people to use technology to their advantage. “We provide a service, but it’s really our customers that innovate,” Garcia says. “The concept [of the Hispanic campaign] is the same. It’s about how people innovate with our products and services.”
Intuitively designed devices continue to dominate the market and shift consumers’ expectations for simple interfaces. Will your marketing programs deliver similarly seamless and natural experiences? According to a report published this January from the Pew Research Center’s Internet & American Life Project, ownership of e-readers and tablets nearly doubled in the U.S. during the recent holiday shopping season. Combined with the almost fifty percent of Americans who now own a smartphone, we’re quickly becoming a nation of consumers accustomed to instant and on-the-go access to information and entertainment. A recent 2012 trends report described this shift to seamless technology, and most importantly, the digital behaviors that more Americans are embracing. Connected, we can share our immediate thoughts via Facebook and Twitter, post our photos to Instagram, pin and share all we love and covet on Pinterest, download that important Johnson file from the cloud, shop for a fabulous new handbag (comparing prices all the while), and stream the season finale of "Downton Abbey." Such examples represent the increasingly simple and seamless experiences that more and more consumers are not just enjoying, but are coming to expect via their digital gadgetry. Our expectations as consumers, customers, and shoppers are shaped by our experiences across all facets of our lives. As more of our digital tools respond to our spoken words and a “Minority Report”-style wave of the hand, not only will Siri have some serious competition for our affection, but our patience for all types of experiences that are frustratingly complex or multi-stepped will continue to decline. Consumers who are accustomed to the immediacy, simplicity, and seamlessness of today’s (and tomorrow’s) technology are certain to carry over those expectations to their other experiences in the marketplace. Marketers who want consumers to interact with their brands in anything beyond a transactional manner will need to deliver on consumers' new "great expectations" and ask themselves if they are delivering the marketing equivalent of a “natural user interface.” Now that your brand has a presence across digital platforms, social media, and mobile, does the content you provide align with a consumers’ expectation of that particular medium? For instance, your mobile presence must address on-the-go needs like location, practical information, and entertainment. Consumers expect a brand’s social media presence to be a dialogue and not a one-way communication. How hard are you making members of your loyalty club work? Your brand should deliver information about members’ rewards, status, and options via a variety of touchpoints, including mobile. And today’s best loyalty programs are integrated with social media to deliver the most reach, relevance, and influence. Does your brick-and-mortar experience promise service, education, entertainment, or some other uniquely interpersonal promise not available online? A shopper accustomed to researching and shopping for a growing number of their wants and needs online will demand more of their in-store experiences. More and more often, this means providing them with opportunities to use their mobile devices to expand their in-store experience. Do you offer multiple points of entry for your consumers to participate in promotions, such as contests and sweeps? With time becoming consumers’ most valuable currency, we cannot expect them to complete a lengthy form that has more to do with a brand’s desire to capture information about the entrant and less to do with creating a sense of excitement about winning fabulous prizes. As technology becomes a more personalized, natural, and immediate part of our lives, consumers will expect brands to deliver similarly intuitive and seamless interactions. As marketers, it’s a great time to examine whether we’re ready to meet these expectations.