Puma is introducing Pumagility, an extra-lightweight cross-training shoe for both men and women, just in time to jog through the holidays. The German shoe company says the launch is the largest investment it has made in the U.S. this year, and that the new sneaker offers maximum stability and flexibility, with funky foam shapes that compress on impact to widen the base of the shoe. Puma could use a lift, says Matt Powell, an analyst who follows the sneaker business for Princeton Retail Analysis. “Right now, Puma isn’t doing very well in the U.S.,” he tells Marketing Daily. “But it’s a very resilient brand that always has a place in the market.” The campaign, themed “Get A Move On,” includes TV, with a spot created by Droga5 scheduled to run on ESPN, Comedy Central, MTV and VH1, as well as live sports broadcasts, such as Monday Night football and prominent NCAA games, and late night on "Jimmy Kimmel Live." Print includes Men's Health, Women's Health, and ESPN The Magazine. And there will be public relations and social media efforts as well. Puma is also using a large experiential component, heading to malls to give consumers a chance to try on the futuristic new shoes, as well as play a video game based on the Pumagility concept. "Today, consumers want to know what a sneaker can do for them,” Tara McRae, VP/marketing for Puma North America, says in the company’s release. “We wanted to highlight those end-user benefits while fusing the best of the brand attributes, from our use of color, design, humor. This is a true product-focused campaign and it’s brought to life in every step of our marketing mix."
Ramping up for the 2012 U.S. elections, Pandora became the latest Internet publisher to announce it will begin accepting political ads. The streaming Internet music service follows in the footsteps of Facebook and Twitter. The targeted local and national personalized ads will be served to voters during the audio breaks based on their ZIP code entered at registration. The targeted political ad message will tap into who, what and where we are at any given moment through search, interest-based keywords, and social signals. Pandora might have been the latest to tap into political ad targeting, but it won't be the last company. In 2008, John McCain and Barack Obama spent a combined $370 million just on TV ads. This figure is bound to increase during the 2012 presidential election. Mogreet also plans to provide support for politicians. The company's CEO James Citron said next year one of the more exciting forms of mobile technology will target and market politics through video. In 2008, President Barack Obama used text messaging to change the perception of the political world. Politicians will begin tapping into the next generation of mobile, such as location-based services. In early November, Bizo teamed with Vizu to better understand where political allegiances fall before rolling out a targeting solution that could secure donations and influence voters. It turns out small-business executives are 26.6% more likely to donate to political causes then executives at large companies. Big business executives are evenly divided between the parties, with 33.8% claiming to be part of the Democratic party; and 35%, Republican.
Puma is introducing Pumagility, an extra-lightweight cross-training shoe for both men and women, just in time to jog through the holidays. The German shoe company says the launch is the largest investment it has made in the U.S. this year, and that the new sneaker offers maximum stability and flexibility, with funky foam shapes that compress on impact to widen the base of the shoe. Puma could use a lift, says Matt Powell, an analyst who follows the sneaker business for Princeton Retail Analysis. “Right now, Puma isn’t doing very well in the U.S.,” he tells Marketing Daily. “But it’s a very resilient brand that always has a place in the market.” The campaign, themed “Get A Move On,” includes TV, with a spot created by Droga5 scheduled to run on ESPN, Comedy Central, MTV and VH1, as well as live sports broadcasts, such as Monday Night football and prominent NCAA games, and late night on "Jimmy Kimmel Live." Print includes Men's Health, Women's Health, and ESPN The Magazine. And there will be public relations and social media efforts as well. Puma is also using a large experiential component, heading to malls to give consumers a chance to try on the futuristic new shoes, as well as play a video game based on the Pumagility concept. "Today, consumers want to know what a sneaker can do for them,” Tara McRae, VP/marketing for Puma North America, says in the company’s release. “We wanted to highlight those end-user benefits while fusing the best of the brand attributes, from our use of color, design, humor. This is a true product-focused campaign and it’s brought to life in every step of our marketing mix."