Coca-Cola is upping its own ante by “gamifying” its approach to this year’s Super Bowl, blowing out the social media and engagement elements, and dropping the highly successful polar bears-themed creative used in 2012’s big game. The 2013 Bowl campaign, dubbed “Coke Chase,” is based on letting consumers determine the outcome of a “chase” in real time, and therefore the content of a post-Bowl commercial, by using any screen (mobile, tablet or desktop). The creative premise of the campaign, from Weiden + Kennedy, is that three groups of people are lost in the desert -- “cowboys,” “showgirls” and “badlanders.” All spot a mirage of a thirst-quenching Coke in the distance, and commence to compete to reach it first. The marketing concept: Through second-screen voting -- plus the ability to “sabotage” their favorite team’s rivals -- consumers will determine who wins the Coke Chase game, with the winner and all results to be revealed in a TV spot immediately following the end of the Super Bowl. In addition, with post-game-viewership fallout in mind, the first 50,000 consumers who engage with the brand after the game, via MyCokeRewards, will receive a free Coke, according to Coca-Cola North America CMO Allison Lewis. The campaign, described to press in a Coca-Cola Webcast, launched Jan. 22 with the airing of a 60-second “Mirage” TV spot (on “American Idol”) that sets up the basic premise, and 30-second teaser spots across other mass-audience programs/television outlets. That will be followed, on Jan. 23, by a YouTube takeover encouraging fans to vote/participate early to influence the ultimate outcome. Users are directed to visit CokeChase.com from any device (the experience has been optimized by device) to view the 60-second ad and vote for their favorite team. CokeChase.com features bios/photos of each team’s members to help participants choose their favorite team. They can also participate by sabotaging rival teams -- setting them back in “fun and ridiculous ways” (e.g., a stoplight, or a pizza delivery from Coke partner Domino’s Pizza -- in the middle of the desert) -- and can then watch rival teams’ votes go down as their favored team gets closer to the finish line. Users who share the experience can unlock additional sabotages. Pre-game, Coke is employing multiple media and social platforms (beyond those used in 2012), including Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Tumblr and MyCokeRewards, plus Coca-Cola media channels such as out-of-home and vending machines. Coke has created “hundreds of pieces” of content, including photos, to optimize those experiences, reported Pio Schunker, SVP integrated marketing for Coca-Cola North America. Multiple-platform voting/sabotaging activities will continue throughout the Super Bowl, up to the closing whistle, with the results determining which of three 30-second Coke ads will air immediately following the game. Coca-Cola’s 2013 Super Bowl campaign reflects lessons learned from its 2012 campaign, which generated some nine million second-screen consumer interactions (with an average engagement time of 28 minutes), according to Schunker. In that campaign, the bears reacted in real-time to the Bowl game’s activities and ads, and viewers could share their reactions to the bears’ reactions via Facebook or Twitter, among other engagement activities. But for the 2013 Bowl campaign, Coca-Cola decided that this approach was “too passive,” and also that it had missed opportunities to follow up with the participants, said Schunker. The marketing team also consciously decided to take a risk with a new creative theme, despite the polar bears’ theme’s success, Schunker said. “After much discussion, we chose to walk away from [the polar bears]” to avoid the “temptation” or “trap-door” of a sequel, he said. Furthermore, C-C learned that it had used a creative theme (the bears) in such a way as to make it difficult to follow up with that theme through the year. The 2013 Super Bowl campaign -- which despite rumors, apparently does not include one of Coca-Cola’s new anti-obesity ads -- is intended to solidify the “brand credentials” behind Coke’s “Open Happiness” theme and so set the stage for its overall 2013 campaign, Schunker and Lewis said.
Whether it’s the intuitive ease-of-use, the availability of older (and cheaper) devices or just pure brand cachet, the allure of the iPhone continues to keep its grip on the U.S. smartphone consumer. According to data released by Kantar Worldpanel ComTech, Apple’s iOS-powered devices remained the country’s top-selling smartphone platform for the 12-week period ending Dec. 23. The devices had a 51.2% market share for the period, compared with Android-powered phones’ 44.8%. Meanwhile, Windows-operated phones accounted for a 2.6% market share. Apple’s attraction spread across various types of phone buyers, snagging both Apple loyalists looking to upgrade to the new iPhone 5 (35%) and those upgrading from feature (i.e., basic) phones to smartphones (30%) who wanted to partake in Apple’s brand cachet, says Kantar analyst Mary-Ann Parlato. And as new iPhones have come out, older versions can be had for less cost, making it easier to buy in for those who are upgrading. “You’ve got that brand equity with Apple. We’ve seen that loyalty remains high for their smartphone,” Parlato tells Marketing Daily. “A lot of these people are moving up to an Apple for the first time, and first-time smartphone buyers would like to spend less on their purchase.” At the same time, Apple is also able to entice other smartphone users. According to the data, 19% of iOS sales over the past year came from Android users, compared to 9% in 2011, Parlato says. This trend was most prevalent among Verizon customers, where nearly half (49%) of the iOS sales came from users of other smartphone brands. (Comparatively, at AT&T only 15% of iOS buyers came from other smartphone users.) This trend is most evident within Verizon customers, where half (49%) of iOS sales were derived from users of other smartphone brands, and 30% were derived from Android. These figures are much higher compared to AT&T where 15% of iPhone purchasers came from other smartphone users (6% from Android). Fittingly, AT&T was the market leader among smartphones sold, accounting for a third of the total devices sold in the 12-week period. (However, the company’s market share decreased slightly, and Verizon accounted for 32% of the phones sold during the time frame.) Sprint accounted for only 14.8% of the smartphones sold during the time period. “AT&T continued to utilize their large Apple[-owning] base with 55% of their iOS sales stemming from these users upgrading to a newer iPhone, while 37% of Verizon’s iOS sales were derived from their large feature phone base,” Parlato says. Despite the small market share, things might not be entirely lost for Microsoft and its Windows Mobile operating system. Though the 2.6% market share for the period is small, Parlato notes that the company is tied very closely to Nokia, which is a relatively small handset provider in the U.S. (In Europe, where Nokia is more established, Microsoft’s market share is higher, she says.) Should other, more popular handset makers (such as LG, which has been rumored to be developing a Windows-powered smartphone) begin making Microsoft-powered smartphones, the company’s market share could rise. “I’m interested to see whether other [companies] will pick up Windows and will help it,” Parlato says. “If it remains [embedded among primarily] HTC and Nokia, it’s not going to do as well.”
Esurance has launched a contest on Facebook as part of its South by Southwest 2013 sponsorship. The SXSW “Dream Gig” contest, hosted on the Esurance Facebook page, invites lovers of social media, film, tech, and music to apply to join the Esurance team onsite at its booth at the Austin, Texas music festival to help cover the event. The insurance company is promoting the contest with a 60-second explanation video on its Facebook page. The contest winner will star in daily videos that capture the excitement of some of the festival’s happenings, and the videos will be posted on the Esurance Facebook page, YouTube and through sponsored posts on Facebook and other platforms. The contest winner also will receive a 10-day hotel stay, $2,000 and a new iPad. To enter the contest, consumers need to “like” Esurance’s Facebook page between now and Jan. 25 and then enter a contest entry form on the page, which includes a list of open-ended essay-type questions. Esurance will judge all entries based on specific criteria, and three finalists will be selected by Feb. 4. The finalists will then create short videos explaining why they are the perfect SXSW Esurance correspondent. Between Feb. 15 and 22, the finalists’ videos will air on Facebook, and friends (and fans) can “like” Esurance to vote for their favorite entry. Anyone voting for the three Dream Gig finalists is automatically entered into a sweepstakes to win $500. SXSW 2013 offers attendees a unique convergence of emerging technologies, independent films, and original music. As one of the premiere venues for creative endeavors, the nine-day event draws media attention and participants from around the world. Last year, nearly 60,000 people attended.
Should you release your Super Bowl ad early? Everyone knows that the Super Bowl is the one night of the year that most viewers will turn the volume up for an ad. You hear it all the time: people who don’t like football will watch the Super Bowl just for the ads. After all, part of the ad hype is that everyone knows just how much an ad costs that year (this year it’s $3.8M for 30 seconds of airtime). So, will releasing your ad early ruin the fun for everyone, or is it a smart marketing move? It depends. “The Super Bowl has become like those old carnival barkers competing for your attention,” says JP Aguirre, communication strategy director at Goodby, Silverstein & Partners, whose ad for Doritos will air this year. “After a while, your message can be drowned out by the cacophony of competing ads. Sometimes, releasing your spot a little early to key influencers online helps to build some momentum going into the big day.” But if your ad isn’t great, you don’t stand a chance. “You better be confident that consumers will not only think it’s funny or interesting, but that it is so funny and interesting that they want to share it with family and friends,” warns Aguirre. “If not, you sort of just blew your wad before the curtains have even gone up.” Steve O’Connell doesn’t quite agree. “For sure, releasing your ads early can give your spot more time in the spotlight. And the notion of "blowing the surprise" is a myth,” says the partner and executive creative director at Red Tettemer + Partners, who also have an ad for real estate company Century 21 in this year’s game. He does agree that there can be a downside, but only one, to releasing your Super Bowl ad early. “The only downside is that if it's part of a bigger campaign, then it means your campaign needs to be over before the big game,” he says. “For instance, if you're launching a big campaign with the commercial as the culmination of your efforts, it's best to have that climax happen during the big game, rather than spoiling it earlier.”
In some ways, it’s a shame that A.G. Lafley and Roger L. Martin kick off their excellent Playing to Win: How Strategy Really Works (Harvard Business Review Press) with the oft-told tale of Oil of Olay, and the story of how Procter & Gamble transformed the once-struggling “Oil of Old Lady” into one of the dominant forces in the $50 billion skincare industry. It will give too many marketing hipsters a reason to dismiss this book as a relic of the 20th century, when just about everyone trying to market anything these days could profit from this careful, well-done text on how to craft a strategy. Using many real-life examples from P&G (Lafley, of course, is its famous former CEO, and Martin a close advisor), the two start with the premise that effective strategies require a tough cascade of choices, and break them down, one chapter at a time. What is your winning aspiration? Where will you play? (In China? Among older women?) How will you win? (Better products? Celebrity chefs?) What capabilities must be in place? And finally, what management systems are required? As they walk through the process of defining and communicating sound strategies, there are treats. There’s an in-depth case study of Pampers, for example, and how P&G came to pioneer the disposable diaper market back in the 1950s, continually refining its strategy in reaction to the growing market, intense competition, and the rapidly changing consumer demands. Or a compelling explanation of why Lafley tapped Martin as his alter-ego, and why relying on an outside advisor made it possible for him to better guide the company’s many brands. And there’s some terrific general business advice too, including how his years spent in Asia convinced him that internally, simpler and more compelling language always worked better: “Clear and simple, easily translatable choices were crucial to get 135,000 P&Gers in 90 countries operating with excellence.” Since Lafley got us in the mood for old-school marketing smarts, now is a good time to mention two other titles: Market Your Way To Growth: 8 Ways to Win, by Philip and Milton Kotler (Wiley) and Unrelenting Innovation: How to build a culture for market dominance, by Gerard J. Tellis (Jossey-Bass.) First, Market Your Way to Growth: The Kotlers, of course, are the Manning brothers of marketing, with Phil’s work at the Northwestern’s Kellogg School of Management earning him the moniker of “Mr. Marketing.” (His Marketing Management textbook, first published back in the 1960s, continues to be one of the most used textbooks in business schools around the world.) And Milton, based in Washington, D.C., is a leading expert on marketing in China. This book is a pragmatic look at marketing in a vastly changed global economy, with tactical advice about growing market share, whether it’s by strengthening a brand, expanding internationally or through strategic acquisitions. And pick up Tellis’ Unrelenting Innovation if you’ve ever wondereed -- as we have -- why many market innovators seem to move from hero to zero so quickly. The book offers a detailed look at why incumbents -- whether it’s Sony, Intel, RIM, Barnes & Noble or Kodak -- fail so often, and how to truly incorporate risk-taking in a company’s culture.
Change.org, the online petition site, says that 25 advertisers have pulled ads from TMZ’s Web site after the celebrity gossip news organization posted video of a Los Angeles student’s alleged brutal murder outside a nightclub. The advertisers include Chase, Toyota, LensCrafters, Velveeta, TBS, WeightWatchers, Fiksu, Xetum, Spike, Instaflex, Zappos and Turbofax. Lowe was reportedly shot and killed on Jan. 13 after a fight that began in the Empire Nightclub in Hollywood spilled out into the streets. Pleas from the victim’s family to TMZ to pull the footage went unheeded, according to Change.com. The family then launched a petition on the site, gathering 200,000 names supporting the request to pull the video. “We want to thank the companies that have stopped paying TMZ to turn Andre’s death into a spectacle,” stated Jason Andrews, the victim’s uncle. “Andre wasn’t a celebrity like TMZ usually covers. He was just a young student eager to pursue his love of music. It’s been traumatic to our family to see TMZ treat his tragic murder as entertainment.” According to change.com, the ads were removed after petition signers took to Twitter over the weekend, asking brands to drop their support for TMZ. The petition, started by Andrews, stated that TMZ had “no regard for the loved ones affected by this tragedy,” and that “nothing is off limits when it comes to gaining ratings.” In addition to removing the video, Andrews demanded an apology from TMZ. A TMZ rep did not respond to a query for comment.
A few short months ago, Facebook elevated a dozen Preferred Marketing Developers (PMDs) into an elite new class called Strategic PMDs (SPMDs). These folks not only drink the Facebook Kool-Aid, they dispense it without reservation, pouncing on the opportunity like grizzly bears in a salmon run. And despite my growls to the contrary, SPMDs and the companies they work with are more bullish than ever about Facebook’s future. As they see it, Zuckerberg and Company continue to enhance THE social network for both users and advertisers, leading me to these six tasty reasons why marketers will keep feasting in Facebook land. 1. Mouthwatering mobile monetization One of the big question marks for Facebook when it went public was whether or not it could monetize mobile. Lucy Jacobs, chief operating officer at Spruce Media (a SPMD), remarked: “Facebook is now on track to generate 20% or more of its ad revenue from mobile in Q4 ’12, up from just 3% in Q2 ’12.” Jacobs added: “The performance of mobile has plenty of room to grow, especially for price.” 2. Custom audiences are no mere appetizer Introduced last fall, custom audiences allow marketers to use their own email lists to serve up their Facebook ads -- an approach that Jacobs called “a game-changer in digital advertising.” “Facebook is the only platform that [now] enables accurate individual targeting on a large scale, shifting Facebook advertising to a very sustainable business model of reach and frequency,” concluded Jacobs. 3. Click-through rates are rising Defenders of Facebook’s change to its EdgeRank algorithm last year have pointed to the fact that click-through rates (CTRs) are on the rise. Jacobs confirmed this increase, noting: “Mobile newsfeed and desktop CTRs are up 34% and 49%, respectively.” Erica Barth, VP of products and partnerships for Resolution Media, noticed this too, calling Facebook “one of the largest drivers of traffic to a client’s new online product.” 4. Yummier optimization and reporting By designating a select group of SPMDs, Facebook does not appear to have starved out any of the other major players or decreased their appetite for Facebook. For example, Resolution Media, a digital agency with operations in 40 countries, simply partners with SPMDs “on a self-serve basis, using the SPMDs’ technology platforms to streamline management, optimization and reporting.” 5. Open wide for Open Graph According to Facebook, “Open Graph helps people tell stories about their lives with the apps they use.” For marketers, Open Graph creates the opportunity to align their “stories” with their targets, increasing the likelihood of positive interactions. Patrick Toland, chief revenue officer of Optimal (another SPMD), believes “this [tactic] is much better than the survey-based data [of other media].” 6. Marketers are eating it up Jacobs, Barth and Toland all served up satiating case histories, but alas, I can cover only one here. “Using a combination of our analytics and Custom Audiences, we helped a F100 financial services company refine their target demos and increase their fanbase by 350% while lowering costs by 60%,” Toland reported. “More importantly, we found them people who were more likely to be customers,” he concluded. Final Note: In preparation for our panel discussion on the impact of SPMDs at MediaPost's upcoming Social Media Insider Summit, I was delighted to be able to catch up with Jacobs, Barth and Toland. You can find my complete interviews with them now on TheDrewBlog.com.