Last year, real estate company Century 21 made its first appearance during the Super Bowl, with a television commercial that featured celebrities such as Deion Sanders, Donald Trump and Apollo Anton Ohno, working with a super-competent Century 21 agent, who bests them in negotiations, house displays and speed skating. In this age of one-to-one marketing through digital channels, it might seem incongruous for a realty company to employ such old-school mass media tactics, but as CMO Bev Thorne explains, the significant investment (30-second spots are going for $3.8 million this year) is more than worth it. Q: Why return to the Super Bowl?A: We had a fabulous set of results in the 2012 Super Bowl. That return to the Super Bowl showcases our Century 21 agents in front of the largest television audience possible. What we really love about it is that those conversations and that showcase for our agents are in the American home, which is the center of the service we provide. Q: What’s the value in being on such a big event? Obviously, it’s a big investment you have to make.A: The value is -- it’s a lot of people to be in front of. It’s the largest TV audience of the year in a single day. Last year, it was over 111 million people, and so it positions our agents as “Smarter, Bolder, Faster” right in the center of the conversations in the home. There is no better opportunity or place for us to showcase our brand and our agent capabilities. Q: Is there value in big events, or is money better spent in digital or some other medium, especially when it comes to home buying, where a lot of research is done online? Would your investment not be better in one of those areas?A: We certainly utilize online as well. It’s a far more targeted approach. An advertisement on the Super Bowl is a brand play, and so we’re speaking not only for those that are in the process of buying or selling a home, but to the broader audience as well. It is a brand preference play. We follow that up with a 360-degree marketing campaign. We certainly advertise appropriately to those buyers and sellers who are active in the market. And they’re typically doing their shopping online, and we advertise in front of them as well. We don’t do one in lieu of the other. We do both. This kind of investment more than pays for itself in terms of the returns we saw in 2012. Q: What did you learn from last year’s appearance that you’re applying to this year?A: I think we learned a lot of things. We learned that there are really two audiences that we’re speaking to in the Super Bowl ad. One of them is the industry, and that includes our own system members. The second audience is consumers. We learned that the excitement and reaction of the industry players -- not only our own, but the industry at large -- can have a very, very important impact on consumers as well. Can you be more specific?A: The excitement and the re-energizing of the brand that begins with Century 21 agents seems to have spread to the rest of the industry as their looking at the brand. They’re saying, “Hey, it’s a little different than we thought it to be.” It creates a buzz. It creates a conversation, and those conversations spread. And for us, we’re gratified to tell you that those conversations led to leads, they led to appointments, and they led to Web searches. And they led to more closed transactions for us. Q: How will this year’s appearance be different from last year’s?A: Let me tell you one way it’s the same. We will absolutely utilize our same national campaign and theme, which is “Smarter, Bolder Faster.” We will again work to showcase Century 21 agents and their capabilities front and center, so that the consumer understands what they get, and why we’re encouraging them to reach to a Century 21 agent if they’re involved in a home-buying activity. One way that it’s different: Last year, we were at the tail end of the third quarter. In terms of making bets, that one paid off. But as you know, that’s [something] we couldn’t forecast in advance. We were very gratified that the audience peaked at the tail end of the third quarter, so we were right where we wanted to be. This year, we’re betting that it will be equally appropriate to be in the pod that comes shortly after the end of halftime. We will be at the end of the first group of ads that play after halftime. Q: Why is that?A: We don’t think lightning strikes twice. We think that’s when everyone checks back in. To be honest, they’re all safe bets, if you will. We’re in the Super Bowl. We’re breaking down to a finite assessment here. Q: A lot of Super Bowl advertising is about increasing the conversation during that run-up to the game and immediately after. What else are you doing to increase that conversation among the general public?A: That will become defined more and more as we get closer to the game. We will certainly reach out via social media platforms, and perhaps more importantly, we will reach out through our system members for local activation. We’ll magnify and multiply that impact in each local market, as independent brokers so choose to activate. Last year, we were gratified to receive a tremendous amount of coverage, perhaps in large part to the inclusion of celebrities in our ad. There are a lot of ways to do that, and we’ll seek to do that again this year. Q: Will you be using celebrities again?A: We are still in the process of weighing all of our options, and have made no decisions yet, other than the very clear decision -- and we will be there. Q: Are you planning to advertise during other event programming, such as the Academy Awards? Have there been discussions about the rewards of these event programs paying off in terms of advertising?A: That is literally our strategy. Our strategy is to position our Century 21 agents in the middle of what I call “iconic media events.” Those events are not only sporting events, but they are many times sporting events. Hence our engagement last year in the Olympics, our sponsorship of the U.S. men’s and women’s soccer teams. And yes, you cited another one of those iconic media events that absolutely we are looking at, but I have no announcements to share with you today.
To reach women during the holidays, maybe marketers should turn up the “meh” and tone down the “merry.” A new study from Media Behavior Institute reports that for the average American female, the holidays are emotionally complex, and portraying them as stoked-for-the-holidays shopping machines may backfire. The consumer insights company tracked women 18 to 54 throughout last year’s holiday season, and reports that while women’s enthusiasm is indeed genuine, their happiness is frequently tinged with frustration, a sense of being overwhelmed, and out-and-out sadness. During Thanksgiving week, for example, 100% of the women included in the research say they were excited, with 93% describing themselves as “happy and loving,” and 62% saying they feel confident. While that certainly fits with the relentless merriment marketers include in their Black Friday-weekend messages, it doesn’t take into account that in the same week, 72% of the women also said they felt sad, 69% overwhelmed, and 52% exhausted. As December wears on, the women in the study did maintain many of those warm-and-fuzzy feelings, but their confidence declined steadily, bottoming out at 48% by Christmas. And feelings of frustration and being overwhelmed kept climbing, reaching 81% and 68%, respectively, by Christmas Day. Once the crunch of the holiday passed, women did hang on to the positive emotions, with 94% saying they were excited and happy during the week of Dec. 26, 82% saying they felt loving, 70% hopeful, and 53% confident. (Not to mention relieved, an emotion claimed by 70%.) “While the holiday season is definitely enjoyed, it also represents an additional burden in terms of shopping, household management, cooking and fitting in more social activities related to work and family” writes Alice K. Sylvester, COO of the research company, in its report. “All that creates pressure, so we see the woman of the house not only juggling different responsibilities but also the different and conflicting emotions that the situation creates. Perhaps more brands should demonstrate they understand both the ups and the downs of the holiday season.”
Honda is joining the year-end sales mix with “Happy Honda Days.” The effort, which has an oddly ’60's color-TV feel, features the odd parent or two, with an obstreperous mother saying the wrong things to her son at the wrong time, among other wackos. Each ad has someone thanking Honda for a great deal. The effort, ending Jan. 2, features six TV spots that feature the Honda product line plus rearview camera, Pandora Internet radio and Bluetooth HandsFreeLink. Sarah May Bates, RPA's assistant creative director on the account, concedes that this isn't exactly buying season, though it's critical for automakers for a couple of reasons: it pulls sales out of the hat to make year-end volume. Automakers in recent years have moved away from hard-sell to humor, and Honda's no different. Bates points out that the Honda Days effort "pulls consumers in with a brighter, more fun approach than the screaming ‘buy it or die’ messaging,” she said. “These are humorous and relatable stories filled with colorful characters—mischievous kids, moocher roommates and hard-to-read fathers-in-law—that will hopefully be more entertaining for car shoppers this holiday season.” Spots will air on appointment shows like “Modern Family,” “The Good Wife,” “How I Met Your Mother,” “The Office,” “X-Factor,” and on ESPN, TNT and TLC. The company says creative will also be integrated on display ads running on car-shopping sites and network radio. There are also two Spanish-language TV commercials (the company has used La Agencia de Orci' & Asociados for years to handle Hispanic market efforts.) Print will run in magazines like Entertainment Weekly, People, Sports Illustrated, Time, Us Weekly, USA Today and Wall Street Journal. The company says there will also be Tier III elements that give dealers and, presumably, regional dealer groups access to customizable TV, print, radio, banners and social media assets.
Ocean Spray and the cranberry industry are pumping up their efforts to get cranberry drinks exempted from a potential ban on sugar-added beverages in school venues like vending machines and snack bars. Proposed new U.S. Department of Agriculture regulations governing what beverages and snacks can be sold in schools outside of meal programs are now due out next spring. If they are consistent with the USDA’s rules for National School Lunch and Breakfast program meals rules -- implemented in January under the “Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act”-- sugar-added fruit drinks would fall under the sugary drinks prohibited. The meals rules allow only 100%-juice fruit beverages, although many juices, of course, contain natural fruit sugar. Ocean Spray makes a variety of no-sugar-added (its 100% Juice line) and sucralose-sweetened (its Light and Diet Juice Drinks lines) products. However, many of its (and other makers’) cranberry products, such as cranberry juice cocktail, contain added sugar to offset the tart taste of the naturally-low-in-sugar berry. Sugar grams (4 grams equal about one teaspoon sugar) and calorie counts for 8-ounce servings of some of Ocean Spray’s products, according to the brand’s site: Cranberry Juice Cocktail: 30 grams sugars , 120 calories; 100% Juice Cranberry: 36 grams, 140 calories; Light Cranberry Juice Drink: 11 grams, 50 calories; 100% Juice White or Ruby Red Grapefruit, both 17 grams, 90 calories. A typical 8-ounce glass of 100% (non-sweetened) orange juice contains 21 grams of sugars and 110 calories, and a typical 8-ounce serving of a regular cola soft drink has about 27 grams of sugar and about 110 calories (no vitamins or other nutrients). Ocean Spray and the cranberry industry say that the industry will be damaged if the USDA “lumps” their drinks in with other sugar-added beverages -- as much or more by the broader perceptions created as by lost school sales. "We obviously would want to be on the list of things USDA and other agencies buy," Ocean Spray CEO Randy Papadellis told USA Today in June, but “our concern is more the signal a standard that says cranberries are unhealthy sends out to other constituencies. Many people take their cue from USDA in terms of what is healthy." Also not lost on the cranberry industry, of course, is the growing number of state and local policy makers implementing, or considering, taxes or restrictions on sodas and in some cases other sugar-sweetened beverages. An Ocean Spray-spearheaded policy campaign has been arguing that the nutritional value and health benefits associated with juice beverages made with “The Exceptional Cranberry” should differentiate them from other sugar-added drinks. The campaign’s hub is an industry-sponsored "Cranberry Health" site that offers plentiful content about scientific studies on the cranberry’s health benefits (particularly urinary-tract health, but also its antioxidant properties), and asks consumers to sign a petition to help make cranberries “the exception in added-sugar policy and practice.” “While efforts to reduce the consumption of sugar are commendable, the unintended result has been the lumping of cranberry juice with beverages that offer little or no nutritional value,” reads the messaging accompanying the link to the petition. The cranberry industry’s concerns also led this past June to the formation of a 17-member congressional caucus, spearheaded by senators from major cranberry-growing state Massachusetts, “to provide a platform for the cranberry industry to educate members of Congress and the public about the health benefits of cranberries.” Bringing in the ‘Big Guys’ Now, Ocean Spray has created a two-and-half-minute video, featured on the Cranberry Health site and YouTube, showing Papadellis enlisting the “cranberry grower” duo from its advertising to help convey its “exception” messages and urge consumers to sign the petition. The video starts with Papadellis noting that consumers may lately have been getting "mixed messages about the place of cranberries in a healthy diet, particularly with all the noise about added sugar in beverages like cranberry juice." He is then shown calling the two growers (who are, as usual, standing knee-high in a cranberry bog) to ask them to help “remind” people that “unlike grapes, apples and oranges, cranberries are naturally low in sugar and require some sweetening to be enjoyed,” and that “products like cranberry juice offer many dense nutrients as well as many documented health benefits that set them apart from other sugar-sweetened beverages.” Cranberry products, says Papadellis, “contribute to whole-body health” and can “help to fill the nutrition gap for many Americans who have trouble meeting the daily recommended amount of fruits and vegetables.” The primary message: Cranberry products, particularly cranberry juice, “can be an important part of a balanced diet and healthy lifestyle.” At the end of the video, the elder grower character says: “Cranberries are an exceptional fruit, and you can help us make cranberries the exception in added-sugar policy and practice. Learn more and sign our online petition by visiting CranberryHealth.com -- then spread the word to your friends and family.” The site also encourages visitors to “continue the conversation” online on “cranberry-health”-branded Faceboo k and Twitter pages. In addition, the brand is driving awareness of the video and petition campaign through Ocean Spray-branded social media assets. Meanwhile, some experts question the validity of asking for an exception for cranberry drinks. “All juices have antioxidants and vitamins. The research shows none do anything special,” Marion Nestle, nutrition, food studies and public health professor at New York University, told Bloomberg Businessweek. "There's some evidence to show that cranberry juice can prevent urinary tract infections, but that doesn't mean everyone should be drinking cranberry juice every day," Margo Wootan, director of nutrition policy for the Center for Science in the Public Interest, told USA Today. "Only 3% of kids a year have urinary tract infections, compared to one-third who are overweight.” Wootan added: "There's no evidence of any particular public health problem to suggest that cranberry drinks should get a special exemption. It's curious that the cranberry industry is pressing Congress for nutrient standards that are weaker than what Coke and Pepsi have already agreed to." Massachusetts-headquartered Ocean Spray -- a cooperative of more than 700 cranberry growers in North America, plus grapefruit growers -- is North America's leading producer of canned and bottled juices and juice drinks, and has been the best-selling brand name in the canned and bottled juice category since 1981. Ocean Spray posted fiscal 2011 gross sales of over $2 billion and net proceeds of $321 million.
With the Los Angeles Auto Show coming up, pundits are talking about auto trends. That’s not too surprising -- as the show will have a record 50 debuts, half-and-half global and domestic, but more skewed toward luxury and imports. Most of the Japanese and all of the Korean brands are in SoCal, and it's a huge luxury market. Peter Nesvold, auto and transportation analyst for global securities firm Jefferies, pointed out that the big debut next week will be the new Honda Civic. The car is a mid-cycle redesign -- which is much-needed as the current car, while selling well, has gotten lackluster reviews, he notes. "So we are getting a re-skinned version after only 18 months on the market; but as it's a 300,000 unit-per-year product, it's very important they keep it updated." The other big car of the show is the redesigned Toyota RAV4, whose styling, Nesvold notes, aligns with the new look for the 2012 Camry and Venza. "It will probably have edgier lines." The other -- obvious -- theme, given California's green orientation and tight CAFE standards, will be fuel economy. There will be 12 hybrid and two plug-in electric reveals, including a plug-in version of the Fiat 500 and Chevy Spark, called the Spark EV. Edmunds.com analyst Jessica Caldwell added that the show is in a market that represents 11% of retail auto transactions, and tends to be the first to adopt new automotive trends. "Los Angeles is also the second-largest auto market behind NYC, but the New York City market includes parts of New Jersey, Connecticut, and Pennsylvania, so it's a bit skewed," she said, adding that Los Angeles accounts for about 500,000 retail sales, more than half of the entire state. Honda and Toyota are the biggest brands there, she said -- adding that of domestics, only Ford and Chevrolet are in the top 10 in L.A., she said. Caldwell offered fairly optimistic sales predictions for the end of November and December. She acknowledged that November -- down from last month -- has been the lowest sales month of the year so far, but that year-end campaigns might spur showroom activity. "We will end-of-year ads kicking in, and consumers won't have to wait till the end of December [to get deals.]" Secondly, she added, while the storm effect cut sales 10% early in the month, demand will be strong in coming weeks as auto insurance for ruined cars pays out. "The replacement demand is there." Interestingly, while the trend has been toward small cars, the new Nissan Pathfinder has gotten huge attention, based on activity on Edmunds.com, per Caldwell. "It's attracting a lot of eyes; Pathfinder is the top considered vehicle on over the past two months [on Edmunds]. We normally see that with compact cars, but we don't normally see SUVs getting so much traffic."
An Obama 2012 campaign promise to emphasize education has already been fulfilled in some respects: The president’s team schooled Romney’s on how to run an effective, analytics-driven campaign, and educated marketers on best practices for analytics-enabled marketing using Big Data and social media. Whatever your political affiliation, if you’re a marketer, it’s worth studying how the Obama team leveraged analytics to win the election. 1. Treat analytics as a creative force. It takes creativity and broad thinking to consider whether a phone call from a local person versus someone in a non-swing state makes a difference, then analyzing the impact. This was one of many ways that the Obama team was creative in the application of analytics. Since your competitors are likely to have similar data, software, and analytics expertise, the game-changing difference is in uncovering key insights by thinking broadly and creatively about how the world works and how to influence consumers. 2. Target customers with highest potential. The Obama team was masterful at identifying the swing voters who could be persuaded in granular key battleground geographies. Who are your most persuadable “swing voters”? Which customers offer the highest upside potential? Marketers too often focus investments on their current most valuable customers, which often is not where the real opportunity lies. Developing detailed customer profiles, predictive models, and experiments reveals customers who should be targeted for their potentially greater share of wallet and responsiveness to marketing. 3. Drive relevance through analytics to win. The Obama campaign understood the relevance equation. Its robust customer database and profiles guided all marketing tactics. Which target voters got phone calls, emails, or door-knocks? Which social media channels are most relevant? What was the right content in terms of messaging and creative? Aligning with Sarah Jessica Parker engaging on Reddit, and highly targeted television ads further showed the campaign had answers to the who, what, when, where, and how of communications and engagement. 4. Make testing part of the culture. When you have office pools about whose email will perform best, as Obama’s team did, testing is imbedded in the culture. World-class, analytics-enabled marketing programs incorporate testing in every facet in two ways: Experimental designs that answer fundamental questions about resource allocation and test a broad set of ideas. Ongoing A/B tests drive continual performance improvements around individual tactics such as email. 5. Set clear, measurable objectives for social media. The Obama team demonstrated this with its creative use of Facebook, where photos of users’ friends were posted in swing states to influence such behaviors as registering or voting early. It’s critical to have clear business, brand, and marketing goals for each channel across paid, owned, and earned media. A holistic measurement plan will account for cross-channel interactions tied to these objectives. 6. Use robust data and apply context to improve models. Those looking at more robust data did not believe the election was a toss-up -- including both Team Obama and New York Times blogger Nate Silver. The Obama team's predictive accuracy was rooted in very large sample sizes and analysis of very granular but key geographic areas. Having less data to work with, Silver filled the gaps by incorporating judgment and context. The lesson for marketers is that the right Big Data plus simple algorithms can be a powerful predictor. And filling in data gaps with smart, informed assumptions can result in highly accurate predictive models. 7. Leverage analytics across all stakeholders. The Obama team leveraged analytics to drive both fundraising (raising $1 billion) and voting behavior. Similarly, marketers and businesses should consider how they can leverage analytics broadly across stakeholders to drive overall results. For example, analytics can also be leveraged for internal employee engagement to segment employees and target them for increased engagement, skill development, and a variety of other objectives. Clearly, Team Obama has set the bar for analytics-driven campaigning. It took outstanding analytics as well as a multidisciplinary approach to help achieve the victory.