Honda got into, and around, Sunday’s Grammy Awards on CBS to spotlight the new Honda Civic. In addition to traditional advertising during the awards show, the automaker will launch a social media and in-game contextual marketing campaign with -- what else? -- a music theme. The new effort -- actually the second social-media centric campaign under the “Honda Innovator” platform -- was coordinated by in-game social and mobile advertising company MediaBrix. It brings the virtues of the new Civic to a music and trivia digital game that lives on Facebook, and apps for mobile and tablet devices. The program centers on a Honda Civic-branded playlist within FreshPlanet's SongPop music game. The Honda playlist happens to feature the song "Disparate Youth," by Santigold, which served as the backing track for the new "Honda Innovator" ad campaign for the car. The new music effort parallels another big digital and social media play for Civic, #HondaInnovator, which focuses on the inventors and designers featured in a raft of TV ads that launched in early January. Todd Bowman, chief revenue officer at New York-based MediaBrix, says the cross-platform advertising units, in addition to being in Facebook game format, will appear in the SongPop mobile game on iOS and Android platforms. The whole program runs Feb. 10 to 14, he notes. "The Honda brand becomes an integral part of the gameplay through the free, branded playlist, inspiring positive brand recognition and association among the SongPop user base," he says. Per MediaBrix, SongPop has some 60 million users. Mike Accavitti, VP of national marketing operations at Torrance, Calif.-based American Honda, tells Marketing Daily the automaker also has a presence in the Grammy Awards broadcast itself: the automaker will tout the new Civic during the show with two 30-second Civic spots in 60 top markets. And there will be a custom gatefold print in Entertainment Weekly plus a YouTube masthead takeover the day after the show, he says. The program with MediaBrix, he says, allows Honda to "further extend the Civic's presence surrounding the Grammys," he says. "This is a valuable opportunity to engage with social gamers who love music and trivia."
The possible ending of mail delivery on Saturdays will force direct marketers to make adjustments to already established plans, but the biggest question facing them right now is whether the plan will happen on its current timeline. Although the U.S. Postal Service announced it would no longer deliver mail on Saturdays beginning in August, there’s some question whether the quasi-governmental unit can make such a change without congressional approval. The longer a discussion takes on the matter, the tougher it will be for marketers to adapt. “Anytime there’s confusion in the business customer ranks, it can have an effect on mail volume,” Jerry Cerasale, senior vice president of government affairs for the Direct Marketing Association, tells Marketing Daily. “You have to eliminate that legal uncertainty and do it quickly. Otherwise, you’re going to have a significant problem.” But even if any approvals given come quickly, many marketers will still have to adjust the plans that had been laid out a while ago, says Lisa Formica, president of direct mail company FMI Marketing Solutions. “They’ll have to change some scheduling and game plans,” she says. “I don’t think anyone expected this to happen so quickly.” The DMA has taken a neutral stance on the Saturday delivery issue, with some members saying the Saturday delivery is crucial and others feeling the adjustment is necessary for the USPS to remain viable. “Every single one of our members who use the mail will have to make some adjustment,” Cerasale says. “For some, it will be relatively easy. They’ll have to put the mail into the mail-stream a day or two earlier.” Retailers will be the ones who will have to adjust most, Cerasale says. Stores promoting weekend (or Sunday) sales will have to adjust their schedules to ensure the promotional materials hit mailboxes with enough lead time. And they’re going to have to create new evaluation models to be sure they’re getting the response they want. “They’re going to have to pull back to Thursday or Friday delivery,” he says. “[And then determine] what’s the efficacy of that ad when it arrives on Thursday rather than Friday?” Marketers may also be looking to adjust their print schedules as many magazines, which had been scheduled for a Saturday delivery, may arrive either on a Friday or a Monday, Cerasale says. Others, he says, will look to other channels to get their messaging to consumers, as they have been for a while. “If this were done 20 years ago, it would be a much greater issue and a much greater problem,” Cerasale says. “There are now other channels of marketing. [Though] there’s no doubt in some instances, the mail is still king.”
Susan Boyle and heavy metal rockers in the same video? Yup. The more than two-minute-long video that’s the kickoff centerpiece of Miracle Whip’s latest campaign -- “The Year of a Million Mouths” -- features a remarkably eclectic lineup of musicians. In addition to Boyle, there’s guitarist Gilby Clarke (formerly of Guns N’ Roses); heavy metal vocalist Don Dokken; ’80’s pop star Tiffany (now reinventing herself); rap/hip-hop artist Chali 2na; Phillip "Fish" Fisher (drummer for the alt-rock band Fishbone); ‘N Sync vocalist Lance Bass; country legend Wynonna Judd and The Village People. In the video -- a takeoff on music-industry concert benefits (“We Are the World,” Band Aid, etc.) -- the singers/musicians join together to deliver an original “anthem” that’s a plea to consumers to try the much-misunderstood alternative to mayonnaise, rather than unfairly “prejudge” it. The YouTube-hosted video will be embedded in Miracle Whip’s Facebook page -- the hub of the campaign -- on Sunday, Feb. 10, timed to coincide with the annual broadcast of the Grammy Awards that evening. The campaign, to run throughout 2013, is an evolution of Miracle Whip’s 2012 “Keep An Open Mouth” campaign. That campaign included videos (starring Judd, actor Jeffrey Tambor and comedian Michael Ian Black), humorous TV ads and other elements that also drove home the “try it before you decide” message. That was supported with heavy sampling (Miracle Whip distributed more than 1 million samples during the 2011-2011 time frame). The anthem used in the new centerpiece video is titled “Keep an Open Mouth,” and that phrase is frequently integrated in other elements of the new creative, again from Mcgarrybowen, Chicago. This time, however, the efforts key off Miracle Whip asking consumers to “fight the prejudgment of Miracle Whip” by helping the brand achieve its mission of getting the spread into “a million mouths” this year. Entertaining, While Drawing a Parallel Why bring these artists together for a video? Kraft Foods -- which has “stabilized” the brand since it began reinvesting in Miracle Whip’s marketing and advertising starting in 2009 -- wants to keep building on the momentum realized through the 2012 campaign, in particular, says Scott Glenn, senior associate brand manager for Miracle Whip. Like the “Keep An Open Mouth” campaign, the new one is more focused on behavioral than demographic audience targets: “People who enjoy a flavorful experience, and seek to be individuals in all they do,” Glenn explains. The continuing, “authentic” core message is: “Not everyone’s going to like Miracle Whip, but firsthand experience trumps second-hand information. Be the kind of person who makes your own decisions,” he sums up. The marketing challenge is that sandwich spreads are “not a particularly high-involvement category,” so Miracle Whip needed to find a way to “elevate the conversation” to being about more than just sandwich spreads, Glenn says. Miracle Whip’s research showed that music is a “passion point” for its fans and its prime target prospects, he reports. So the video and other musical-artist elements of the new campaign were designed to engage and entertain, while also conveying a point: There’s a parallel between how people tend to make passionate but sometimes misinformed or little-informed judgments or assumptions about certain music genres and performers, and how many people tend to “prejudge” Miracle Whip. Hence, the artists chosen for the campaign are ones that evoke passionate reactions because of their styles or genres, or have been misunderstood or underestimated. Boyle -- whose debut TV performance famously astonished “Britain’s Got Talent” judges who were expecting the worst based on her frumpy appearance -- is a prime example, notes Glenn. All elements in the campaign drive consumers to Facebook to “get your taste and be counted” -- the “taste” being an online $1 coupon that is available there, while supplies last. Prior to the “anthem” video’s debut, Miracle Whip has been doing teaser promotions on Facebook and Twitter (all campaign elements also mention the hashtag #KAOM, for “Keep An Open Mouth”). The brand created two 15-second teaser videos -- one a spot featuring Judd telling viewers not to “prejudge” her hair (those who click on her hair are taken to Facebook); and one a condensed version of the “anthem” spot, which is also being used in rich-media ads and as a pre-roll. While the campaign will employ some media typically used by food brands, it will also be using music and entertainment media. In fact, to drive traffic to the “anthem” video and Facebook site, Miracle Whip’s team employed “a lot of targeting” to incorporate a number of music and entertainment sites for its rich-media banner and pre-roll ads -- and expects to reach about half of the total Grammys audience through these efforts, according to Glenn. (The campaign does not include a Grammys broadcast ad, or any television ads.) Similarly, the campaign’s print element includes women’s lifestyle, parenting and food magazines (such as Family Circle, Glamour, Redbook and Kraft Food & Family) , but also a significant lineup of music and entertainment titles, including Rolling Stone, Filter, People, US Weekly, Entertainment Weekly, Star and In Touch Weekly. (Several sports and fashion magazines -- including GQ -- are also in the mix.) Where possible, Miracle Whip will also appear in the magazines’ digital tablet editions. While the media mix is designed in part to reach Gen Y, there’s no “laser focus” on that demographic, reports Glenn. The campaign also includes two radio spots (one featuring Judd, another featuring Bass), plus in-store promotions and some regional at-retail sampling events.
Delta Air Lines and Starwood Hotels and Resorts Worldwide are linking their loyalty initiatives in Crossover Rewards program. Beginning March 1, travelers enrolled in the two loyalty programs no longer have to choose between hotel points and frequent flyer miles, as they will now earn both, along with a host of other crossover perks. The new program provides elite members of both loyalty programs with reciprocal benefits. Starwood Preferred Guest Platinum Members and Ambassadors will be treated as Delta Elites at the terminal with priority check-in, priority boarding and one free checked bag. Delta Diamond and Platinum Members will receive benefits on par with SPG Gold members, including SPG check-in, late check-out and free high speed internet. SPG Elites will earn incremental Starpoints when they fly Delta and Delta Medallions earn incremental SkyMiles when they stay with Starwood. This is in addition to the current Starpoints and miles earned as a member of each program. The companies’ global alignment was key to uniting the two organizations for the creation of Crossover Rewards. With flights to more than 300 destinations and hubs in markets like Tokyo, Paris, New York City and Atlanta, Delta’s global reach complements Starwood’s worldwide hotel footprint, including nine hotel brands in 100 countries around the world. “SPG continues to invest in one-of-a-kind benefits to truly reward those who reward us with their unwavering loyalty and business,” said Mark Vondrasek, senior vice president of distribution, loyalty and partnership for Starwood, in a release.“More and more we look to extend our relationship with our guests beyond the four walls of our hotels, which we believe is a way to cultivate ‘loyalty beyond reason.’” Beginning March 1, customers can register for Crossover Rewards by linking their Delta SkyMiles and SPG accounts at delta.com/crossoverrewards or spg.com/crossoverrewards. Benefits will begin once Delta Medallion or SPG elite status is reached.
Nearly one-third of viewers to the Super Bowl were so taken with commercials during the game that they watched at least one of the spots again online afterwards. A new survey from media shop Mindshare polled nearly 2,200 adults in the days following the game (Feb. 4-6) and 31% of those who watched the game indicated that they watched a Super Bowl commercial again online. The survey also found that viewers to the game engaged in a substantial amount of social media chatter about the commercials during and after the game. Nearly a quarter of the respondents (24%) posted a comment on Facebook about a Super Bowl commercial. And nearly as many -- 21% -- said they texted someone about a spot that appeared in the game. Some 20% said they “liked” or followed a Super Bowl advertiser’s brand Facebook or Twitter page, while 19% said they shared a link to a Super Bowl commercial with a friend or family member. Fourteen percent said they tweeted about a spot in the game. Of those polled, 72% said they watched the game. Among Super Bowl viewers, 27% said they had purchased or planned to purchase at least one of the products featured in a Super Bowl spot. More than half of the audience watched the big game on traditional television sets at home (56%), per the survey, while 9% watched via Web-enabled TV sets.
Smithsonian is a good magazine. The January issue has a fascinating piece about the genetic components of morality; the convergence of politics, urban planning and organized crime in the slums of Rio de Janeiro and a Ron Rosenbaum interview with Jaron Lanier about the Web dystopia he helped create. The ads are kind of fascinating too. Nothing in the automotive category or consumer goods. No fashion, no financial services, no tech, no airline, no alcoholic beverages, no retail. But for a back page from V8 vegetable juice, the issue is financed wholly by direct-response advertisers and a mess of house ads for various Smithsonian enterprises. That’s a function of two factors: 1. The overall media economy. The magazine business as a whole is circling the drain. 2. Demographics. The average Smithsonian subscriber has been dead since 2008. The question becomes, then: what price survival? Smithsonian is, after all, the official magazine of the Smithsonian Institution, which is in turn the cherished (tax-supported) vault of the nation’s knowledge, culture, technology and history. As such, it both enjoys and confers the priceless prestige of the institution. It is a significantly greater honor to be featured in Smithsonian than in, for example, High Society. But just as the cachet of Smithsonian rubs off on its advertisers, the nature of the advertisers rubs off on Smithsonian. The Alaska cruises and self-help videos are probably neutral in that regard. The large-font, intentionally-dumb cell phones and VideoEye magnifier are a bit geriatric, but demographically on target. But that is a telling fact. Seniors are not merely more informed than the rest of the population, they are also as a group more vulnerable. Fixed incomes, fear and gathering confusion combine to define a cohort at risk -- at risk, for example, from sleaze. The New York Mint, a private direct-response outfit in no way connected with any government, is peddling the Gold Australian Kangaroo coin to those rare collectors clever enough to snap up $26.80 worth of gold for only $74.50 plus shipping and handling. Thanks to the miracle of magnification, the 3-inch-wide image shows off every detail. The actual coin is the size of an M&M, albeit not as thick. If that opportunity isn’t exciting enough, the same advertisers offer a “full Quarter-Pound Bag” full of vintage buffalo nickels for only $49 plus S&H. That’s 22 or 23 coins, worth -- if they are in good numismatic condition -- between $5 and $25. If not in good condition, their copper and nickel scrap value for the whole bag is $1.15. “Supplies Limited – Order Now!” Presumably, this does not constitute criminal activity, but it should be disqualifying conduct for doing business with an arm of the (tax-supported) Smithsonian Institution, should it not? And if bilking people on gold and collectibles isn’t disqualifying, consider perhaps “Grow Young with HGH…The Reverse Aging Miracle.” Continued use of HGH will make a radical difference in your health, HGH is particularly helpful to the elderly who, given a choice, would rather stay independent in their own home, strong, healthy and alert enough to manage their own affairs, exercise and stay involved in their communities. (Note to Federal Trade Commission and the Food and Drug Administration: The Smithsonian is just across the street.) Incredibly, in January’s Smithsonian, that’s not the worst of it. Two pages later comes a crackpot screed from John Ellis, proprietor of WaterCuresAnything.com, who has luckily defeated one or two laws of physics to reconfigure the water molecule to stop disease and enable energy independence. Pay heed -- he went to the same prep school as JFK and sold one of his machines to the cousin of cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin. So… There is in his incoherent ramblings, however, one trenchant sentence: “We advertised in the Washington Times, Popular Mechanics and now Smithsonian that are read by our world’s top scientists!” Yes, he explicitly trades on the prestige of the publications cynical or desperate enough to take his money. Even as you read this, some gullible senior is paying $2,800 for a miracle water machine because it has the Smithsonian’s imprimatur. Which is just disgusting. This is what I mentioned to Lori Erdos, the magazine’s business development director, and she did not disagree. “We’re on it,” she said. “That ad will never appear in Smithsonian again.” But if John Ellis is disqualified, what about the rest of them? If all the sketchy ads are culled from the magazine, there had better be a very big upswing in Alaska-cruise demand, or there will be very little left. And so once again, the question: What price survival? I’m not sure -- but I know there is life, and life with dignity. If a miracle water machine is what it takes to keep Smithsonian alive, it pains me to suggest, maybe it’s time for someone to think very seriously about pulling the plug.
It’s hard work to change people’s cognitive patterns. Companies try to do that all the time by kneading their brand images, logos, names, creative teams, ads and spokespeople. Take trucks. Brand image may not be a huge deal to me (here in Brooklyn), or to a lot of other people. But it does tend to haul a lot of weight for truck owners. "I love my truck," as the song goes. Truck owners are probably as passionate and loyal to their truck’s maker as they are to their own. You think it’s hard for an automaker to conquest car customers? Trying to get truck owners to shift brands is like putting a steering wheel in a locomotive. Good luck, pal. Long story short(er): the emotional vector around truck branding and identity is really important, maybe more than the rational items around capability and features. On that front, Chrysler Group has spent the last four years remolding its Ram truck brand identity -- a lot of time and lots of money getting that message out there, starting with "My Name is Ram," back in, I think, 2009: Ram is not part of Dodge. Since then, it has been hammering at those train tracks with ads, logos, tags, events, announcements, partnerships, sponsorships, affinity marketing, and on and on. Millions spent to change the idea in people's minds that its truck ain't a car. Parenthetically, the shift helps Dodge, too: Chrysler needs to establish the car line as a somewhat rebellious brand versus the more laid-back Chrysler division. A pickup just doesn’t fit in that equation. Neither does a Dodge minivan, probably, but that’s another story. Well, I have some totally anecdotal evidence that maybe it’s not there yet: just two words in a press release. It’s really nothing. A lexical rounding error. The release, from a metrics company, said the ad from "Dodge Ram" garnered strong results in the big game with the oblong ball. I think a lot of people are making that mistake. I do it. Our minds are still aligned that way. It’s a habit. It’s wiring. I recall a year or so ago being at a Ram event in Nashville. One of the brand folks admitted that changing the Ram mindset hadn’t been a cakewalk inside the company, either. I would say I no longer automatically think "Dodge Ram." I mean, I know they really are separate brands. Which is damned good because I write about this stuff every day. But consider this: I just wrote a story on the media firm’s findings, and guess what? I actually wrote "Dodge Ram" in the first draft too. Then at 1 o’clock the next morning (when I should have been asleep), I reread it and corrected the mistake. And I'd just done a Q&A with Chrysler's head of marketing in which he made a point about separating Dodge and Ram. Was this the first evidence of mental decline? I'm not that old. Maybe I should drink less bourbon. By the way, have you read The Shallows, that bestseller about how the Internet changes our cognition? Don’t, or you’ll go back to typewriters. The author, Nicholas Carr, writes about the malleability of the workings of the higher brain, and how the physical structure -- on the cellular level -- literally changes based on how we think, what we perceive, what we do repetitively and habitually, and how we take in information. But like rewiring a house, rewiring the brain is hard. It takes a lot of time and work. Carr uses the phantom limb phenomenon as an example: People who have lost a limb know intellectually that they have lost a limb, but they still feel pain in that “arm” because the brain is still running, electrochemically, through the old circuits. It takes a lot of repetitive exercises to change that. I think this grey-matter issue may have something to do with why it is so very hard to change peoples' perceptions about things like brands (not to mention a lot of other things), and their identities. I guess Dodge … Ram … I mean Chrysler Group has to keep hammering on those rails for a while longer.
Marketers in many industries have a “push-pull” problem: They spend a lot of time devising ways to pull in customers -- identifying the right buyer segments, crafting messages and making promises. But their efforts are frequently undermined by company behaviors that push customers away. Companies push customers away? According to results from our recent research, that's what consumers think their providers are doing. Consider, for example, that of all survey respondents who changed product or service providers in the last year, 85 percent said the company could have done something to keep the switch from happening. What's more, 67 percent said they might not have left if the company had resolved a sticky issue during the first interaction. Fifty-four percent believe that being recognized and rewarded for their level of business could have prevented their leaving. This is money walking out the door -- money that probably wanted to stay! Companies may not be doing enough to hold onto customers. But is that the same as pushing them away? Maybe not. Our research has also identified a slew of common corporate behaviors that are likely to repel customers: