Looking to tap into its key demographic of women 25-54, T-Mobile is moving into the social gaming world, by sponsoring a social networking version of King.com’s “Bubble Witch Saga” on Facebook. The primary focus of the campaign is to build awareness around the launch of T-Mobile's new myTouch devices by advertising on Bubble Witch Saga, which has more than 17 million monthly players, most of whom are women ages 25-54. Using technology developed by MediaBrix, the campaign will utilize video advertising within the game to promote the myTouch devices. Bubble Witch is a puzzle game in which players match similarly colored bubbles with each other to pop them and gain points. T-Mobile’s sponsorship includes a pre-game advertisement noting the game is now available on mobile devices (and displayed on several T-Mobile devices), as well as a logo in the upper right-hand corner of the game during game play. "King.com's Bubble Witch Saga is a natural fit with T-Mobile, given the audience demographic, the large player base and the high engagement levels of players of the game,” said Mark Charkin, executive vice president of advertising at King.com, in a statement. “Over a year following its launch, there are now more than 17 million monthly players of the game and the average user plays many times a day.”
If Millennial men and women are from Mars and Venus, the latter inhabit a much more collegial planet, while Martians probably like to see emissaries from Earth crash land, or show up with DVDs of “Bum Fights.” That might be a tad extreme, but marketers should pay heed to gender nuances when it comes to reaching Millennials. In markets like autos, for example, 20- and 30-somethings are a critical demographic for the all-important mid-size segment, and for smaller vehicles like Chevy Sonic and Spark, the new Dodge Dart, Ford's Fiesta -- not to mention high-end vehicles like the new Caddie ATS and BMW 1. The golden chalice is filled with consumers 18 to 35 for the simple reason that it costs a fortune to conquest a consumer from another auto brand than to make them your loyal customer when they are young. Auto marketers have to speak to men and women when advertising to consumers in these vehicle categories. What are the differences between men and women when it comes to TV advertising? New research from Nielsen shows that Millennial males and females diverge when it comes to what appeals to them on the traditional tube. The firm finds, for example, that in terms of tonality and theme, men are looking for revenge, while women identify with imagery of strong, female celebrities in fun, high-energy situations. Guys? We like action-oriented, competitive scenes and extreme images. And men like slapstick, edgy and sarcastic humor. Silly, offbeat humor that’s not mean-spirited appeals to young women. And it might make sense, when talking to men, to advertise that car on a web-stream of UFC fights, versus on TV. Nielsen finds that women ages 18-49 watch roughly 11 more hours of traditional TV per month than men. The study breaks preferences down by differences between men and women in tonality, theme, humor and characters. Women prefer tonality that has lively, hip music and high-energy scenes, while men like a whimsically humorous tone. Women like generally happy situations and characters with whom they can relate. "Women relate to a more aspirational approach, connecting with happy situations that feature characters who allow a woman to imagine herself in their shoes," says the report. Men like the offbeat humor embodied by "normal guys" in exaggerated situations. Image by Shutterstock
Most of the time, fashion and capitalism are a good match: Women need clothes, brands sell them, and everyone is happy. But when the need is making clothes for bigger-than-average women, it just doesn’t work that way. A new study from NPD Group reports that while two-thirds of women 13 and older describe themselves as “special sized” -- a statistic that dovetails nicely with the two-thirds of American women who are overweight -- mainstream retailers and brands continue to ignore them. Marshal Cohen, chief industry analyst, tells Marketing Daily why big women should continue to expect the cold shoulder. Q: America’s obesity epidemic is old news. Why are marketers so slow to adapt to this change in consumers?A: One of the biggest concerns is image. A lot of brands and even the retailers look at the stigma of the plus size, and it’s not necessarily the image they want for their businesses. And stores were expanding in plus-size before the recession, but when the economy went sour, it was one of the first businesses to be cut back on. It’s a niche business, and not the most profitable one. So it’s first to be cut and last to come back. That creates an even greater vacuum in the market. Q: How big is the gap?A: The plus-size business represents just 16% of all of women’s sales. But two-thirds of the population is overweight. Of course, not all of them are a plus-size, but let’s say just 50% are -- that shows how underserved this market is. Q: Why the reluctance?A: There is an emotional reason: many brands don’t want to be in that business. There is also a physical reason, in that they don't have the floor space. Technically, it’s a harder business to be in. It’s not as simple as taking a size 8 and making it bigger. You have to completely reinvest in a whole new set of patterns. Then in order to be profitable, you’re going to have to sell a lot. But I think the biggest reason for their reluctance is that they say, “I can get the growth in some other market.” Q: What kind of fashion consumers are plus-size women?A: It is a hard market to break into. You have to hit a home run right away. They are very loyal to brands that exist. Women that are plus-size are saying, “You haven’t been selling to me for years, what do you know?” When stores that had been getting aggressive about plus sizes cut back five years ago, it was like a tease -- they will remember that those stores backed out on them for the rest of their lives. Q: Which brands have the best opportunity to win?A: The better known a brand is, the easier it will be, because there is a trust factor. And these women are very clear that they want the same styles and brands and color as their regular-sized friends. Q: Are we getting any closer to fashiony brands giving them what they want?A: No. Until their business is so evolved there is nowhere else to expand, they won’t do it. They’d rather expand into kids’, into men’s, into accessories. It will take years of a continued, healthy economic retail environment to force them into it, and they will put it off as long as they can. Q: What was the most unexpected element of this research to you? A: I always knew the plus-size consumer wanted similar fashion to other women, but I didn’t realize the desire was that big, with 86% saying they want similar colors and 79% saying they want similar styles. We have all been led to believe she doesn’t want to wear bold flowers or colors or stripes, but she does. She doesn't want us to tell her what she wants, and those old-fashioned rules are getting thrown out of the window.
Lexus is backing the latest iteration of the Hispanic-focused HBO documentary “The Latino List: Volume Two” with co-sponsor AT&T. The documentary, which features a series of high-profile Latinos speaking about their lives and challenges growing up, is intended to examine what it means to be Latino. Marketers are paying attention -- as the Hispanic demographic, broadly speaking, is the fastest-growing population segment in the U.S. and will become the majority. The first iteration of the series featured the likes of U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sonia Maria Sotomayor, comedian John Leguizamo, and Armando Christian Perez (Pit Bull). The series, which begins on Sept. 24 on HBO and HBO Latino in celebration of Hispanic Heritage Month, includes interviews with Christy Turlington Burns, Victor Cruz, George Lopez, Soledad O'Brien and Raul Yzaguirre. Lexus has title sponsorship of the show's premiere on Sept. 17 at The Belasco Theater in Downtown Los Angeles. In addition to title sponsorship of the event, Lexus will host an after-party. The automaker has a Spanish-language Web site as well at VidaLexus.com. Lexus this year has been busy sponsoring a number of Hispanic events in Los Angeles under the Vida Lexus banner. The company sponsored the Latina Style Diversity Conference in February -- the third year in a row it has sponsored the event. In April the automaker had Latino artists from L.A. used the CT 200 car as a basis for an art piece unveiled at a graphics gala. Also in April this year, Lexus sponsored the publication of a new L.A.-based Latino culture publication, Alegria Magazine. In Miami, Lexus was official sponsor of the 28th annual Miami International Film Festival. Another automaker is also focusing on the Hispanic market, becoming the first to offer complete vehicle-information kits in Spanish for the U.S. market. Chrysler, LLC is offering Chrysler, Jeep, Dodge, Ram and Fiat kits electronically in both English and Spanish on brand Web sites by end of year. "The Hispanic population accounts for more than 50 million people in the U.S.," said Pietro Gorlier, president and CEO of Mopar, Chrysler Group LLC's service, parts and customer-care brand, in a statement. "We want to establish clear communication with our customers in their preferred language and enhance their overall experience with our vehicles, dealers and brands."
Daniel Craig as James Bond is featured in a global Heineken campaign tied to the new Bond movie “Skyfall.” Another actor from the movie, Berenice Marlohe, also is featured in the TV and digital effort, both of which launch Sept. 20. The interactive experience begins where the TV commercial leaves off. Marlohe invites viewers onto a train before it embarks on a voyage through a spectacular vista of snowy mountains. During the journey, a series of grueling tests will lead participants to “Crack the Case” while protecting its contents from ferocious Bond villains. The campaign will launch globally on multiple platforms through a combination of a 60-second film (TVC & online) with a personalized interactive experience. This combination of ATL, digital, PR and experiential aim to put both the Heineken and Bond brands in front of more consumers than ever before. The campaign was created by advertising agency Wieden + Kennedy Amsterdam. An exclusive online teaser will be released ahead of the campaign launch to a select group of global Bond “super fans.” The offline execution of the campaign will bring the drama of the virtual experience “live” to a broader audience across the globe in October. Several markets will host unique Heineken experiences in iconic locations, inviting members of the public to test their nerve, win exclusive prizes and share in the excitement of the global release of “Skyfall” in November. "The creativity and progressiveness of the Heineken brand combined with the legendary James Bond franchise will provide viewers with high entertainment values,” said Alexis Nasard, Heineken chief commercial officer, in a release. “Not only a hero, Bond is the ultimate 'Man of the World' -- confident, resourceful and ready for new experiences, personifying the values of the Heineken brand." Heineken has developed a strong and successful relationship with James Bond spanning global partnerships with “Tomorrow Never Dies,” “The World is Not Enough,” “Die Another Day,” “Casino Royale” and “Quantum of Solace.”
Starting Sept. 17, Kraft American Cheese will donate a meal to Feeding America for each Five Guys customer who uses a mobile device to check in on Foursquare or Facebook through KraftCheese.com/checkin. Those who complete the check-in process will also receive a confirmation email with a thank-you coupon for Kraft Singles. The goal is to donate 100,000 meals to those in need, in honor of Hunger Action Month. The promotion also ties in with National Cheeseburger Day, on Sept. 18. The promotion is being supported by “Check-in Here” signage posted near the entrance and registers at Five Guys’ restaurant locations. Five Guys has been using Kraft American Cheese slices on its burgers since it opened in 1986. (Fun fact: In 2011 alone, the amount of Kraft cheese sold at the chain’s locations, if layered side by side, would reach up and down Mt. Everest 1,546 times.) Kraft Foods has provided more than a billion meals over its nearly three-decade partnership with Feeding America.
This is about my own personal spouse totally freaking out. Pay very close attention. The future of your business hangs in the balance. A few months ago, I returned home with some supermarket items and was putting them away when I was accosted by my life partner, who, for the record, hails from a strange and distant land. "Garfield!" she said, grabbing at the refrigerator door as it was swinging shut. "Vat is this?" She pointed at one of my purchases. "Milk," I replied. "You bought this?" she asked, in a fashion that didn't seem like a question so much as a war-crimes accusation."This? This poison? This is vat you buy for your child?" It was her inner European speaking. You know, Europe -- that place with all the fashion capitals swarming with people in ill-fitting, mismatched clothes? It's also where random strangers will lecture you on the evils of genetically modified organisms, pausing only to light another cigarette. They take their foodstuff-purity very seriously there. I had purchased 1% milk, but not Horizon organic 1% milk, and therefore the source dairy cows were surely riddled with leprosy, or worse yet, antibiotics. Might as well have walked into the kitchen with an AK-47. The carton went right into the trash. But that is not the freakout of which I speak. Just the other night, I returned from abroad to find our fridge strangely devoid of Horizon milk. Also absent were the Horizon eggs, the Horizon butter, the Horizon cheese and the Horizon sour cream. We were, for the first time in a decade, Horizonless. And my dearest was seething. In fact, she all but lashed me with Friday's New York Times, which contained a story about California's Proposition 37. That's the ballot measure that would mandate the labeling of genetically modified foods. Turns out there's a multimillion-dollar, industry-funded lobbying campaign to defeat Prop. 37 -- a campaign funded in part by Dean Foods, parent company of Horizon Organic. "This is verse than poison!" exclaimed my one true love. "This is betrayal!" Now, reasonable people can argue about the merits of Prop. 37. The industry raises some legitimate issues about costs, for instance. I happen to support the ballot initiative. (Experience tells me that when industries warn that regulation will cost consumers at the cash register, it is a really good time to regulate.) But my point here is not to litigate a California food reg. My point is about betrayal. My wife, in the time required to read an 1200-word newspaper article, lost trust in a brand she had hitherto been passionate about. Scarily passionate about. And she was not alone. According to the Times, Dean Foods and the corporate parents of other organic brands were inundated by expressions of online outrage for joining the battle against GMO labeling. Which is to say: the Relationship Era in action. As trust assumes an ever larger influence on purchasing decisions, brands as never before can build a following so devoted that customers will throw the competition's unused product in the trash. But this is a double-edged sword. In today's environment of mega-transparency and social chatter, those same brands pay a huge penalty for straying from the values that engendered such trust. It's what happened to Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure. It's what happened to Progressive Insurance. It's what's happening to Johnson & Johnson. And now, it would seem, to Kashi, Cascadian Farm and Horizon Organic. These brands have a lot of deep thinking to do, and I guess, in terms of the Garfield family's dairy needs, so do I. But I am optimistic. As Franklin Delano Roosevelt so encouragingly put it: "We have always held to the hope, the belief, the conviction that there is a better life, a better world, beyond the horizon."
Ask a hotelier if they would spend marketing dollars on an Online Travel Agency or a Global Distribution System, and you’ll likely hear “why would I pay them more than I already do?” Understandably, many hoteliers feel that between net rates, commissions and segment fees, their distributors are already being handsomely rewarded. In most markets, however, sales channels like OTAs have many hotels that they can serve up to their users, and the sort order is largely at their discretion. So finding ways to stand out from your competitors inside of these marketplaces can be critical to shifting share to your property. In addition to the table stakes -- like compelling images and competitive pricing -- you must also ensure you are in the consideration set of your target customers in the first place. In fact, marketing through a sales channel like an OTA or GDS can be an extremely effective way to secure incremental bookings, provided that certain conditions are met -- in particular, that the marketing program delivers timing, transparency, and targeting. The first is to be certain you get in front of potential buyers at the right time. This may seem self-evident, but the marketing landscape abounds with tenuous claims of relevance and timing. My advice is to be directly in the booking path at exactly the moment when someone is searching in your market. That’s as relevant and timely as you can get. Second, you want the ability to transparently manage your spend and monitor its performance, ideally via a cost-per-click (CPC) auction model. With CPC models, you can set bid ceilings, spending limits, and have clear visibility into how your campaigns are working. Last, you want to be able to target specific needs periods. Hotel sold out in July? You should not be forced to spend on consumers wanting to check in then. With the ability to limit your marketing to dates when you have availability, it’s relatively straightforward to manage to an acceptable ROI. This isn’t a utopian future state. In the past couple of years, leading OTAs have added programs where hotels can secure the top search results via a CPC model. And thousands of hotels are taking advantage of the opportunity. Lee Byrd from JHM Hotels described it as follows: "The OTAs have landed on the right solution. Being able to secure the top search result when I need it -- and only paying when I get clicked -- works for us. It’s spend that I can manage tightly and so I don’t get hung up on philosophical objections about paying more to a commissioned sales channel. This is money I’d gladly spend somewhere else to fill up room -- it just happens that it’s an OTA that has provided me with the means." Good news for hoteliers is that these types of programs are easy to test. A hotel can dip a toe in, see the results, and then proceed or not as they see fit. So…. know your target ROI, and then go after it. Don’t assume that existing distribution relationships are performing as well as they could. With intelligently deployed marketing spend, you can increase your bookings from OTAs -- and hit your target ROI.