Pizza Hut is expanding its “Hut. Hut. Hut.” Super Bowl campaign by offering all Americans a free sample of its latest “product innovation” -- assuming one of the quarterbacks yells “hut” during the game. That is, of course, extremely likely. (“Hut” is heard an average of 90 times per football game, according to a Stats, Inc. statistic cited by Pizza Hut.) If the “hut” comes through, consumers can pick up their free samples (through carry-out or dine-in) at any of Pizza Hut’s 6,200-plus U.S. locations between 4 pm and 7 pm on Tuesday, Feb. 5 (no registration or membership required). The nature of the new product will be revealed during CBS’s pre-game show (integrated into the content). Pizza Hut is one of the show’s official sponsors. Meanwhile, the QSR is promoting this latest twist through its social media presences (including Facebook, Twitter, Instagram) and through media relations outreach, reports Doug Terfehr, director of public relations for Pizza Hut. Additionally, the chain announced that fans will be able to earn chances to win other prizes by following the action on Twitter during the game using the hashtag #PizzaHUT. These new promotions follow on the campaign’s now-closed social/UGC competition, in which consumers could submit (between Dec. 10 and Jan. 20) creative 15-second videos that included someone saying “hut” through the pizza chain’s Facebook page, for a chance to have their clips chosen to be included in a TV spot to air immediately before the Super Bowl’s kick-off. In addition, videos not chosen to be in the commercial had the chance to be chosen for one of several cash awards totaling $25,000 ($5,000 for 1st place, $3,000 for 2nd place, $2,000 for 3rd place, $1,000 each for 4th through 13th place, and $500 each for 10 honorable mentions). According to its Facebook page, Pizza Hut has already chosen the winning video clips (18 clips featuring 56 fans will be in the commercial). The nearly 500 videos submitted are viewable in a gallery on the Facebook page. Pizza Hut estimates that it will sell more than 2 million pizzas and 5 million wings on Super Bowl day this year. On Bowl day, the chain is offering any pizza (any size, any toppings and any crust option) for $10, as well as promoting its Big Dinner Box ($19.99) and its $10 Dinner Box. The Martin Agency handled creative for the UGC TV spot, while Zeno Group is handling PR and social media for the Super Bowl efforts, according to Terfehr. The Super Bowl efforts are part of a broader campaign launched last April, based on Pizza Hut’s helping its fans have “Make it Great” moments throughout the year.
Having previously seen the providers of free “over the top” (OTT) communications service (such as Google, Skype and Facebook) as competitors, many marketers within telecommunications companies have turned a corner and are starting to view them as partners for other sources of revenue streams. According to a new study from the CMO Council, 44% of the telecommunications marketers said they are actively exploring partnerships and other revenue-sharing opportunities with OTT companies. The findings are a turnaround from last year, when a similar study showed only 6% of executives exploring such partnerships and 88% considering the OTT companies direct competitors for their business. “Marketers are realizing OTT isn’t going away, and they’re very aware that OTT is going to change the face of their industry,” Liz Miller, vice president of programs for the CMO Council, tells Marketing Daily. “Now, all of a sudden, brands are going to be OTT players. [Soon,] you’re going to see brand players asking people to come to a mobile-driven destination.” Indeed, the research shows many of these communication service providers (a.k.a. CSPs, a designation that includes wireless communications, Internet service providers, fiber optics companies, cable TV operators and commercial satellite companies) are beginning to look at the OTT companies as new revenue sources, with nearly a third (31%) identifying potential revenue streams from new products and services that can be offered to these former competitors. And what they’re offering is valuable consumer insights. “From a CSP perspective, this has become the time to change or perish. [They’re] either going to find new opportunities, or we’re going to see margins diminish,” Miller says. “It is the [telecommunications industry] that is perfectly situated to provide some of the most robust customer behavior data in the world. Who else has insight as to how we’re engaging and where we’re engaging?” At the same time, the telecommunications companies (and the marketers within them) have experience and insights about how to communicate the benefits of products and services without going over the “creepy line” that consumers might view as a violation of privacy, Miller says. “They have the most amazing repository of customer behavior data than anyone in the world,” Miller says. “[They] understand that the entirety of our population isn’t going to react to the same offer in the same way.” All of this comes at a time when telecommunications companies (like so many other marketers) are evolving from communicating to consumers through a limited number of media to having a dialogue with them through a growing number of outlets. That shift is giving marketers more power and input when it comes to boosting the bottom line, Miller says. “Up until this point, marketers within telecom companies haven’t felt they could be the champion of the customer-driven viewpoint,” she says. “I think this shows they can own the customer experience and be the champion of these products and services.”
Grammy award-winner Miranda Lambert is teaming with Pedigree to launch a search for the next communities to benefit from an initiative that supplies participating shelters with all of their core dog food needs for free. The Pedigree Feeding Project started last year in Nashville and Chicago. Pedigree chose to focus on where it can make the biggest immediate difference -- cities with an abundance of homeless pets. Already, more than 4,000 shelter dogs are receiving the professional nutrition through the initiative. "When shelters don't need to worry about how they are going to be able to feed their dogs or pay for the food, resources become available to expand and promote adoption programs," said Jeff Hingher, senior brand manager, Pedigree Brand, in a release. The shelters in Chicago and Nashville were able to save anywhere from $40,000 to $100,000 a year, which allowed them to participate in activities such as off-site adoption events, expanding the audience of potential adopters; as well as update their facilities to provide a more homelike environment for the dogs, which helps the dogs transition more easily into their new loving home. Lambert, who is mom to six adopted dogs, officially opened The Pedigree Feeding Project "Choose the Next Community" nomination period last week at The Americana at Brand in Los Angeles, Calif. She unveiled her latest video project that showcases her love of dogs and why this initiative is important to shelter dogs. To nominate a community, consumers visit Facebook.com/Pedigree and click on the "Choose the Next Community" tab. They then watch Miranda Lambert's video on why the project is so important to her and then they can nominate a community, submit stories of special dogs in their life and share photos and videos. Users can also share Miranda's video with friends and encourage them to nominate their community, too. In March, Miranda and the Pedigree will announce the names of the five communities that have been selected as finalists in the search. America will then vote to determine the next communities to participate in the project. The winning communities will be announced mid-2013.
Diet Coke and six-time Grammy winner Taylor Swift have officially announced a multi-year partnership. Swift announced the news first to her Facebook fans (38.7 million “likes), via a YouTube video posted Sunday. That followed an Advertising Age story on Friday leaking the news that Swift would become a “brand ambassador of sorts.” Now, the brand and Swift have revealed some of the specifics, described as an “evolution” of Diet Coke’s “Stay Extraordinary” campaign. Swift will be featured in television, print and digital advertising schedule to launch this spring. Diet Coke’s social channels, including Facebook (nearly 2 million “likes”), Twitter (about 240,000 followers) and Instagram, will serve as a “backstage pass,” providing access to all of the partnership initiatives. The activations will include “extraordinary” access to Swift online and in person throughout her Red Tour, which kicks off March 13 in Omaha, Neb., according to the brand. Swift’s “I Knew You Were in Trouble” is currently in its second week at #1 on Billboard’s Mainstream Top 40 chart, the second song from her 5 million-selling current album “RED” to top worldwide charts. In the video, Swift calls Diet Coke “one of the loves of my life” and encourages fans to “like” Diet Coke’s Facebook page to experience “so many fun things” -- including behind-the-scenes looks at a commercial shoot. Swift and Diet Coke will, of course, now be engaged in a marketing duel with Pepsi and its spokespersons Beyonce and Sofia Vergara. Since becoming Pepsi’s spokesperson last month, Beyonce has been more in the public eye than ever, with her (reportedly lip-synched) performance at President Obama’s second Inauguration Ceremony. She is also scheduled to headline the Pepsi-sponsored Super Bowl halftime show. The Pepsi/Beyonce partnership has also come in for criticism from groups working to reduce Americans’ consumption of sugary beverages -- an issue that is presumably less problematic in the diet beverage realm. Meanwhile, in European markets, Diet Coke has just unveiled a “hunk” commercial starring British model Andrew Cooper -- a new entry in the now-legendary campaign that debuted in 1994 with Lucky Vanous featured as a sweaty construction worker. The new spot -- showing Cooper as a gardener who doffs his shirt after a can of Diet Coke splashes all over him (inspiring awe among a group of young women picnicking nearby) -- is expected to be rolled out worldwide if it’s a hit, reports BusinessInsider.
Like the auto business, the two-wheeled category, in recent years, has been putting an emphasis on less expensive machines with smaller-engine displacement, but that share some features with their bigger, more powerful brethren. And like autos, the point is to give non-riders a less expensive gateway to the brand, and create lifelong loyal customers in the process. Ideally they will be loyal and move up the ladder to more advanced bikes. Just like cars. That was certainly evident at this year’s New York International Motorcycle show this month. Ty van Hooydonk, director of communications for the Motorcycle Industry Council, says the demand is there. "It does present a value: you can save thousands [of dollars] going from four wheels to two by lowering maintenance and insurance costs while boosting mileage -- up to 75 mpg in some cases. So we are seeing a lot of two-car families going to one, plus a motorcycle or scooter." The council, which gauges the industry by such statistics as the sale of new tires, is seeing a big spike in ridership, per van Hooydonk. "It comes down to economics for a lot of people." Indeed, Honda promotes its CBR250 with a video touting the bike as a fun way to commute: a young professional describes his three-mile daily ride. Kawasaki's Ninja 300 and the CBR250 are prime examples of successful entry bikes, notes Robert Doyle, editor of MotoSavvy US. "The Ninja 300 has a parallel twin engine, which is very user-friendly, and the CBR250R has ABS, which is really an option on all these new, smaller bikes." And Honda, he notes, unveiled a new line of 500cc motorcycles at the show, as well. "They are not too big, and Honda will really put a focus on that line this year." Jon Seidel, who handles communications for Honda's motorcycle division, says the brand is really adhering to a full-line focus it has always had. "There was a slogan back in the ’70s, 'From Mighty to Mini.' So we have high-end, very technical products, down to entry-level products for new riders. It's the way you keep a customer for life: you give them stepping-stone products; it works." Maybe it's a stretch, but Seidel also says building Honda loyalty in one category builds it for others. "Hopefully, they'll love Honda products, experience them and say, 'You know what? We need to go take a look at that new Accord.' Or, ' I need a Honda lawnmower. And when the power goes out, let's have a Honda generator.' It's kind of an oversimplification but, truthfully, it works." Greg Lasiewski, supervisor of communications at Kawasaki, says the late-model Ninja 250 was the largest-volume motorcycle, and a lot of it is based on price. “It’s a great entry bike because people who don't want to spend a lot of money have a way to get into motorcycles. When fuel prices were really spiking we couldn't keep them on the floor. When new riders want to get into motorcycles, most just not are not going to go spend $16,000 on a new motorcycle."
Chalk it up to one of those industry incongruities: While newspapers have lost something like 30% of readers in the last 20 years, the free-standing inserts that fatten them up are still gaining weight. (Kantar reports that last year, FSI coupon activity gained 0.8%, with CPG coupons up 2.4%.) John Andrews, CEO and founder of Collective Bias, a Bentonville, Ark.-based social shopper marketing company, tells Marketing Daily what’s afoot in shopper marketing, and why he thinks it all is about to change. Q: So shopper marketing is odd. Much of it pours into print, and, while for years people have predicted a bigger shift to digital, it hasn’t really happened. Yet, you think this is the year. Want to explain? A: Sure, I call it the “print cliff,” and this is the year. There is something like $10 billion spent on FSIs each year, and another $4 billion or so in-store circulars -- $15 billion can’t be wrong. Brands need to get information about new products and promotions and coupons out there. And they know purchasing FSIs are inefficient. As soon as those dollars can find a good situation, and if they can accomplish the same goals, they are going to flow in that direction. And yes, I think this is the year that this economic reality will hit advertisers. Up until now, they haven’t seen a scalable option. And of course, they want to know how to measure ROI. Advertisers want to be where consumers are, and that’s not newspapers. The eyeballs just aren’t there. Q: And your company is an alternative?A: Yes, companies like this one. It’s its own kind of shopper marketing. We are targeting the same trade dollars going into FSIs. The rise of social platforms created a huge need for media that wasn’t there. When I worked in emerging media for Walmart, we started looking at blogs that talked about Walmart’s core brand promise of saving money, and put that together as the ElevenMoms program, which has now been rebranded as WalmartMoms. And at Collective Bias, we sell media designed to travel across social channels, whether it’s YouTube, Pinterest, Instagram, whatever -- anything that’s along the consumer’s path to purchase. We have a community of something like 1,400 influencers, with an average of 40,000 followers. Our average campaign will generate between 8 and 12 million in measured reach, and of course, we’re tracking overall share of voice. Q: So what makes social content a better way to connect? A: Take Duane Reade, a client of ours, as an example. One of our members may choose to participate in a campaign for a new fresh food it’s selling. And that influencer will get paid, usually between $200 and $500, for creating something his or her audience wants. So they create content that has some value to the user, maybe it’s a recipe or a how-to video or a photo montage. If I’m an advertiser, I don't really want an interruption-style advertising message, which is just some old ad model put on new technology. The quality of the content has to be compelling in order to get consumed. Q: You don’t think that makes consumers leery? After all, aren’t many trying to research brands without bias?A: Our influencers have curated an audience, and if they break the trust of that audience, and provide something that is not valuable, they won’t keep the reader. We are careful to make sure it is disclosed, so in effect it becomes known as a piece of advertorial content, and something I may choose to engage with. It’s something I might find valuable.
Ford is the leader. Honda is strong, but Toyota has improved the most, with Lexus doing well, too. In quality? Products? No, in buzz. The YouGov BrandIndex 2012 perception numbers are in, and the results are good for several automakers, but especially for Ford. For the second year running, the Dearborn, Mich.-based automaker is leading the best-perceived pack in positive buzz, per YouGov. Its BrandIndex study reports the automaker has the sixth-best perception of all consumer brands, not just cars. The automaker is, in fact, the only car brand to land in the Top 25 best-perceived brands of 2012. Who's down? Chevy, which dropped out of the five best-perceived car brands for 2012 in the perception gauge. Replacing Chevrolet at number four last year was Volkswagen, now right above BMW. Toyota -- which was in the tank in 2010 from recalls and other issues -- did the best last year in reputation recovery. Chrysler saw a strong climb too, after a strong Super Bowl ad campaign and news that the brand was able to repay all bailout loans. Overall, the five brands with the best buzz were Ford, Honda, Toyota, Volkswagen and BMW. The top gainers were Toyota, Chrysler, Kia, Dodge and Volkswagen, per the study, based on responses culled from 5,000 people each weekday from a representative U.S. population sample. The key question to survey subjects: "If you've heard anything about the brand in the last two weeks, through advertising, news or word of mouth, was it positive or negative?" If reputations are varied, the sales outlook is good news pretty much across the board. J.D. Power & Associates LMC Automotive division says January is, in fact, likely to enjoy its highest retail selling rate in five years, climbing to 812,600 vehicles delivered at retail. TrueCar predicts Volkswagen and Honda will lead the year-over-year gains with 26.5% and 21.1% improvements, respectively, versus January last year. Chrysler, Ford and Toyota will see 18% to 19% gains if TrueCar is right. While the industry is on track to see a 15.1% improvement versus last January, TrueCar predicts a massive 22.1% drop for the industry versus December, which is actually not surprising given that last month was the best December in many a year.
How far will this man go to save his favorite shirt? Let the guessing begin in today's Super Bowl edition of Out to Launch.
In the celebrity PR playbook, making a trip to Oprah is not always something to be proud of. Visiting ‘O’ usually means you’ve gone off the rails of public appropriateness, made an arse of yourself and you’re seeking absolution, a springboard for a second act if you will. Oprah’s “magic touch” has a great track record, but considering the cloud of scandal and half-truths encircling Lance, not to mention a fierce public and media backlash, what’s left for the 41-year-old former cycling mega star after his two-part performance last week? Having an Oprah “moment,” is no guarantee of a successful second act. No jumping on the sofa Although there was no sofa-jumping by Lance, the Twitterverse was abuzz with comments when he finally fessed up about his doping to Oprah. Yet the millions of Oprah viewers, media commentators and some of his former teammates felt that he glossed over bullying them into doping as well -- most likely to minimize legal repercussions. He was evasive at best. Most of all, he lacked a deep sense of regret -- a must for any celebrity going into public rehab and looking to come out clean on the other side. Then of course, there’s the added irony of whether Oprah’s struggling network and her stardom didn’t overshadow the story she was trying to tell. Already many have said that Oprah’s breaking of this story was critical to OWN viewership and revenue. It makes sense, two parties each struggling for a different kind of attention. But back to Lance. I’ve written about him before. In September 2012, I analyzed an arresting pose the athlete struck, which was featured in a Businessweek article. Armstrong's ambiguous body language spoke volumes. With his blues eyes off in a stare, his arms and his hands formed the "V" symbol. Whether he was implying ‘"victory" or "peace" was up for debate. It was also eerily reminiscent of Nixon’s infamous helicopter pose. Around the same time, bellicose language from a defiant Lance -- likely written by his PR team -- may have tipped the scales to the former ‘"V." “Over the past three years, I have been subjected to a two-year federal criminal investigation followed by Travis Tygart's (USADA’s CEO) unconstitutional witch hunt,” read a portion of his August 23 statemen. The toll this has taken on my family and my work for our foundation and on me leads me to where I am today -- finished with this nonsense.” Replacing symbols with substance Now we know the above statement was nonsense, not the doping investigation. Faced with the realities of personal and professional oblivion (Armstrong stepped down as chairman from his cancer fighting nonprofit, Livestrong in October ‘12) Lance is seeking peace and reconciliation. And he chose Oprah and her struggling OWN network to be the dove deliverer in owning up to his mistakes. I am reminded of the Nixon parallel. It's been 39 years since the 37th American president resigned from office. Earlier this month some 400 of his friends, family and supporters gathered in Washington DC, to celebrate what would have been his 100th birthday. Hosted by the Nixon Foundation, the event served as rallying point in the group’s efforts to improve Nixon's image. While many Americans still rank him as one of the all-time worst presidents, politicians from both parties continue praising his accomplishments. On his death in 1994, President Clinton spoke of “his desire to give something back to this world.” "No less than a month before his passing, he was still in touch with me about the great issues of the day," he said. Lance Armstrong doesn’t have to worry about the great issues of today. He only has to worry about the great issue of the moment: can Armstrong go on from here? Possibly. But not through strong-arm tactics or a defiant stance. If he wants a second act, Lance must throw himself quietly into the causes he still cares about most: cycling and cancer research. Then, over time, the media and public will lose interest. Who knows? There could be Lance “check-ins” as anniversaries approach: one year since his partial admission of guilt, 25 years since his departure from professional cycling, his 50th birthday and eventually his death. As with many fallen icons, he will learn the hard way that life’s second half is where the true measure of a person’s strength, courage and determination finally becomes clear. Your finish line has many miles to go.
Many of us resolve to put our houses in order at the start of a new year, both personally and professionally. But some challenges can seem so daunting -- we don’t know where to start even though we know we need to make a change. Sometimes it takes tough, direct feedback on what we’re missing and what we could gain by taking even the smallest steps toward doing things differently to get better results. For example, if you’re a national brand that relies on local sales and marketing channels, chances are you’ve got your work cut out for you. Competing priorities, a plethora of new media channels and digital tactics, and little-to-no time to explore new processes, tools and technologies can seem like insurmountable obstacles hindering your efforts to grow sales and your brand presence at the local level. But you know if you don’t do something about it, your brand will lose valuable sales to competitors. So there’s no time better than the present for a fresh start and to get your local marketing “house” in order to increase top-line business growth in 2013. Here are three must-do tips to help you jump-start your local marketing efforts and stop missing revenue opportunities at the local level. 1. Stop putting demand generation first. It sounds counterintuitive, but many brands jump in headfirst to demand generation activities when engaging in local marketing. However, lack of demand is usually not the issue. The issue is capturing the customers who are already looking for your brand’s products in the local marketplace, but instead end up buying from your competitor. You need to first help your affiliates (dealers, retailers, agents, etc.) get found when people are researching a purchase or ready to buy. But that’s only half the battle. You also have to ensure that your affiliates have the marketing materials and tools they need to effectively represent your brand. It’s also important to build the infrastructure to scale local efforts across multiple markets and track aggregated metrics. Demand generation should come only after you have captured the lower-hanging fruit and are ready to accelerate. 2. Stop building programs solely for your top-tier affiliates. Once you take the time to understand the needs of all segments of your sales channel, you will see that while the top-tier players need some component-level support, it’s the 75 percent of your affiliates in the “meaty middle” of your revenue base who need your help the most. Although this large group of resellers or agents may not individually make a large revenue contribution, together they represent a real opportunity to grow the top line. These partners are looking to grow, but don’t have the resources or knowledge to execute effective co-branded local marketing activities. And they are desperate for your help -- especially in digital channels that require significant technical knowledge. Make them the focus of the majority of your efforts. Deliver true automation to them. While you may only see incremental gains from individual affiliates, in sum they will represent significant growth. 3. Modify outdated co-op programs. Most national brands’ co-op efforts today are not keeping pace with the evolving marketing landscape -- and it’s hurting their bottom line. It’s time to elevate co-op programs from an expense line-item and instead implement them as measurable, strategic marketing investments that are integrated and coordinated with the national marketing strategy. These programs must embrace digital tactics in order to take advantage of the tremendous revenue-generating potential that digital offers. Educating your local affiliates on how to use digital effectively is also important. Give them the tools, technologies support and ROI incentives to encourage participation so that they stop leaving local sales revenue on the table. Brands that realize the importance of enabling effective local marketing with strategic planning and a focused infrastructure will win out in the New Year.