In the latest manifestation of the newly independent Kraft Food Group’s increased marketing investment and edgier campaigns for its classic brands, Velveeta cheese is targeting “traditional” moms with a new, tongue-in-cheek campaign tag-lined “Liquid gold diggers love liquid gold.” The campaign, from Wieden + Kennedy, takes a new twist on the “liquid gold” brand concept featured last year in a W+K campaign marketing Velveeta Shells & Cheese and Cheesy Skillets dinners to guys (“Eat like that guy you know”). The new campaign spotlights mac and cheese and other favorite recipes made with the classic Velveeta cheese “loaf,” as well as Velveeta Toppers cheese sauce pouches (launching this spring), by cautioning moms that some people in their lives may be “liquid gold diggers” looking to win their favor mainly to enjoy their Velveeta dishes. In one of three TV spots, “Friends” (15 seconds), one woman warns another that her significant other is a liquid gold digger, as he enters the kitchen requesting a batch of Velveeta cheese and broccoli soup (perfunctorily adding, “Oh, and you are so pretty”). In another, 30-second spot, “Jay,” a stranger, approaches an older woman at a pot luck dinner, flattering her about how young she looks in order to get a plate of her Velveeta mac and cheese. The last spot, also 30 seconds, features a teenage boy showing up at a friend’s house for a made-up sleepover (knowing full well that the friend’s at camp), just to get the friend’s mom to make him a hotdog with Velveeta Toppers on it. The campaign also includes in-store activations and flash banner ads that follow the stories of liquid gold diggers, driving viewers to Velveeta’s redesigned Web site for recipes. Social components include a quiz on the brand’s Facebook page to help fans identify and tag the liquid gold diggers in their own lives.
Handing a victory to Facebook, a divided federal appellate court has decided against hearing additional arguments challenging the company's $9.5 million Beacon settlement. The decision, issued Tuesday, leaves in place a prior ruling approving the deal, which calls for Facebook to fund a new privacy group. The agreement also requires the social networking giant to pay the 19 consumers who filed suit amounts varying from $1,000 to $15,000, while the company will pay around $3 million toward court costs and fees for the plaintiffs' lawyers who brought the case. Facebook user and privacy advocate Ginger McCall challenged that settlement, arguing that Facebook would have too much control over the new organization, dubbed the Digital Trust Foundation. The foundation will be directed by a three-person board -- and Facebook will play a key role in selecting those people. (One of the board members was supposed to be Facebook's former public policy director, Tim Sparapani, but he left the company before the foundation was created.) McCall also argued that the deal didn't compensate users who were harmed by the defunct Beacon ad program, which shared information about people's ecommerce activity with their friends. Last year, a panel of the 9th Circuit voted 2-1 to uphold the settlement, originally approved by U.S. District Court Judge Richard Seeborg. The two judges in the majority wrote that the settlement was "fundamentally fair," while Senior Circuit Judge Andrew Kleinfeld dissented. He wrote that the deal "perverts the class action into a device for depriving victims of remedies for wrongs, while enriching both the wrongdoers and the lawyers purporting to represent the class." McCall then asked the entire 9th Circuit to consider the case. On Tuesday, a divided court declined to do so. Six appellate judges dissented from that decision. They said in a written opinion that the settlement "failed to be reasonably certain to benefit the class," or to "advance the objectives" of the wiretap law -- the statute the consumers cited in their lawsuit. A Facebook spokesperson said the company was "pleased with the court's decision upholding the settlement" and looks forward to establishing the Digital Trust Foundation.
Jagermeister has launched a social media-based competition with messaging focused on drinking responsibly. Jagermeister -- America’s #1-selling imported liqueur and one of the world’s top shot brands -- partnered with Hall of Fame boxing trainer Freddie Roach to challenge consumers to share stories of how they demonstrate “The Jager Code “of having "A Brother in your Corner" when drinking responsibly. Those who share their stories on the JagerUSA Facebook page (also accessible through Jager.com) earn a chance to win a trip to Las Vegas with three friends, a private training session and dinner with Roach, boxing tickets and access to a VIP party. Each week for eight weeks, through Feb. 19, two entrants will advance to the final round -- one based on popular vote and one a Jagermeister-chosen wildcard. Those who advance through popular vote will also receive boxing memorabilia signed by Roach. The winner of the grand-prize trip will be selected by Roach and announced the week of April 21st. A video promoting the competition, by the brand’s agency, Mistress, features Roach relating a story about how boxing trainer Eddie Futch sought to protect Roach near the end of Roach’s boxing career (Futch’s widow, Eva Futch, also makes an appearance in the video). Amanda Blanco, VP of marketing for Jagermeister at Sidney Frank Importing Company, Inc., said the competition is intended to “effectively communicate the power of knowing when you've had enough -- that it's better to sit out a round." The competition is an extension of Jagermeister’s “Stronger Bond” campaign, also from Mistress, the brand’s first television and multi-platform integrated campaign in the U.S. Launched in May 2012 and targeted to males 21-29, that campaign brought together Roach and six other men “at the top of their respective crafts” to form “the ultimate bond.”
In the latest manifestation of the newly independent Kraft Food Group’s increased marketing investment and edgier campaigns for its classic brands, Velveeta cheese is targeting “traditional” moms with a new, tongue-in-cheek campaign tag-lined “Liquid gold diggers love liquid gold.” The campaign, from Wieden + Kennedy, takes a new twist on the “liquid gold” brand concept featured last year in a W+K campaign marketing Velveeta Shells & Cheese and Cheesy Skillets dinners to guys (“Eat like that guy you know”). The new campaign spotlights mac and cheese and other favorite recipes made with the classic Velveeta cheese “loaf,” as well as Velveeta Toppers cheese sauce pouches (launching this spring), by cautioning moms that some people in their lives may be “liquid gold diggers” looking to win their favor mainly to enjoy their Velveeta dishes. In one of three TV spots, “Friends” (15 seconds), one woman warns another that her significant other is a liquid gold digger, as he enters the kitchen requesting a batch of Velveeta cheese and broccoli soup (perfunctorily adding, “Oh, and you are so pretty”). In another, 30-second spot, “Jay,” a stranger, approaches an older woman at a pot luck dinner, flattering her about how young she looks in order to get a plate of her Velveeta mac and cheese. The last spot, also 30 seconds, features a teenage boy showing up at a friend’s house for a made-up sleepover (knowing full well that the friend’s at camp), just to get the friend’s mom to make him a hotdog with Velveeta Toppers on it. The campaign also includes in-store activations and flash banner ads that follow the stories of liquid gold diggers, driving viewers to Velveeta’s redesigned Web site for recipes. Social components include a quiz on the brand’s Facebook page to help fans identify and tag the liquid gold diggers in their own lives.
Handing a victory to Facebook, a divided federal appellate court has decided against hearing additional arguments challenging the company's $9.5 million Beacon settlement. The decision, issued Tuesday, leaves in place a prior ruling approving the deal, which calls for Facebook to fund a new privacy group. The agreement also requires the social networking giant to pay the 19 consumers who filed suit amounts varying from $1,000 to $15,000, while the company will pay around $3 million toward court costs and fees for the plaintiffs' lawyers who brought the case. Facebook user and privacy advocate Ginger McCall challenged that settlement, arguing that Facebook would have too much control over the new organization, dubbed the Digital Trust Foundation. The foundation will be directed by a three-person board -- and Facebook will play a key role in selecting those people. (One of the board members was supposed to be Facebook's former public policy director, Tim Sparapani, but he left the company before the foundation was created.) McCall also argued that the deal didn't compensate users who were harmed by the defunct Beacon ad program, which shared information about people's ecommerce activity with their friends. Last year, a panel of the 9th Circuit voted 2-1 to uphold the settlement, originally approved by U.S. District Court Judge Richard Seeborg. The two judges in the majority wrote that the settlement was "fundamentally fair," while Senior Circuit Judge Andrew Kleinfeld dissented. He wrote that the deal "perverts the class action into a device for depriving victims of remedies for wrongs, while enriching both the wrongdoers and the lawyers purporting to represent the class." McCall then asked the entire 9th Circuit to consider the case. On Tuesday, a divided court declined to do so. Six appellate judges dissented from that decision. They said in a written opinion that the settlement "failed to be reasonably certain to benefit the class," or to "advance the objectives" of the wiretap law -- the statute the consumers cited in their lawsuit. A Facebook spokesperson said the company was "pleased with the court's decision upholding the settlement" and looks forward to establishing the Digital Trust Foundation.
Jagermeister has launched a social media-based competition with messaging focused on drinking responsibly. Jagermeister -- America’s #1-selling imported liqueur and one of the world’s top shot brands -- partnered with Hall of Fame boxing trainer Freddie Roach to challenge consumers to share stories of how they demonstrate “The Jager Code “of having "A Brother in your Corner" when drinking responsibly. Those who share their stories on the JagerUSA Facebook page (also accessible through Jager.com) earn a chance to win a trip to Las Vegas with three friends, a private training session and dinner with Roach, boxing tickets and access to a VIP party. Each week for eight weeks, through Feb. 19, two entrants will advance to the final round -- one based on popular vote and one a Jagermeister-chosen wildcard. Those who advance through popular vote will also receive boxing memorabilia signed by Roach. The winner of the grand-prize trip will be selected by Roach and announced the week of April 21st. A video promoting the competition, by the brand’s agency, Mistress, features Roach relating a story about how boxing trainer Eddie Futch sought to protect Roach near the end of Roach’s boxing career (Futch’s widow, Eva Futch, also makes an appearance in the video). Amanda Blanco, VP of marketing for Jagermeister at Sidney Frank Importing Company, Inc., said the competition is intended to “effectively communicate the power of knowing when you've had enough -- that it's better to sit out a round." The competition is an extension of Jagermeister’s “Stronger Bond” campaign, also from Mistress, the brand’s first television and multi-platform integrated campaign in the U.S. Launched in May 2012 and targeted to males 21-29, that campaign brought together Roach and six other men “at the top of their respective crafts” to form “the ultimate bond.”
If you want to know what’s going on in social media, watch “the Chew.” If you’re not familiar with it, it’s a new format talk show that blends together on-camera food demonstrations and celebrity dialogue with online conversations and connections. Just a few years ago, I would have only been able to view that show and possibly visit their Web site to download recipes. Today, their viewers are interacting directly with the featured chefs in real-time and providing instant feedback. That instant feedback is confirmation that the program IS listening to their viewers. Viewers matter. Social matters -- and it’s enabling deeper, richer relationships. That’s daunting if you think about it. Broadcast networks and programs cannot simply put out one-way programming anymore and expect success. Programming has become one element of an aligned, multichannel, multiplatform content stream. People are not compelled to just listen or watch anymore; they want to participate. They want a two-way dialogue. They want to be immersed. In a recent Hollywood Reporter study, 80 percent of survey respondents used social media as a new form of entertainment. This isn’t an isolated incident. Social will drive much of our economy in the next 5-10 years and how it will take shape will change your destiny. The rear-view mirror A decade ago, brands paid big bucks for exposure on mega portals like MSN, AOL and Yahoo to initiate awareness (Remember the AOL Start Page?). It was how we focused on "getting eyeballs" to our sites. Then came Google search ruling the Internet and YouTube videos we hoped would go viral. And now, we have volatile yet incredibly successful exchanges of ideas happening billions of times a day on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and other social networks. One day you have millions of new referral traffic to your site, and the next it’s taken away from you and you weren’t involved in the decision. Take it personally So how do you manage that? There’s an old cliché -- "don’t take it personally." Today, nothing could be further from the truth. We are in a new era that screams "personal." Relationships matter more today in business and beyond than ever before. Brands should be striving to create their own ultimate experience and think big on every platform: Web sites, mobile apps, second screens, even a times square billboard and not be beholden to a new Facebook tool, or a new algorithm change on Google. As more and more brands and publishers deliver innovative experiences on their own platforms, they’re striking a deeper, intimate chord with their customers -- one that can be monetized over that customer’s relationship. Social conversations, photos, and videos that fans are generating quickly become the real-time lifeblood of the brand, expressing a new sort of energy and pulse for the brand of tomorrow -- done Today. You can take it wth you Just 18 months ago, brands said only five to eight percent of their customers were using or requesting their mobile-connected apps. Today that number is north of 30 percent or more. That’s a huge jump -- and illustrative as to why brands need to deploy a full, end-to-end social strategy across all their platforms. Experiences should follow the user wherever they go. For example, if I deploy real-time comments, they should be visible on a Web site, tablet and other smart devices. Be a "super brand" to your "super fans" by offering anytime access on any platform -- deliver the "ultimate experience" to a fan, no matter if they are at home, at a ballgame, or 30,000 feet up in a plane. It’s as simple as that. What began as a simple promotional tool over a decade ago is growing into a powerful, interactive experience that is driving new streams of revenue. It’s encouraging to see brands like ABC, USA Network, and WWE harnessing the power of real-time Web solutions to scale their on-demand views and ratings. These examples deliver a huge payoff when it comes to driving new ad dollars. Social is open for business -- and it’s opening the doors for new revenue streams.
Whether they're working in or out of their homes, moms are busy. How do they manage to take care of themselves and stay fit? And what’s the best way for marketers to reach moms who are striving to get in shape? We recently conducted a survey (via social media) where we asked moms how fit they are and how much they exercise. Out of 230 moms (214 with children 0 to 13), only 3.5% describe themselves as “very fit,” while 8.3% say they are “totally unfit.” Nearly 47% of respondents said they are “sort of fit” and 40.6% said they are “not very fit.” In other words, very few moms consider themselves very fit, and a majority considers themselves unfit—which presents a huge opportunity for companies that market products that could help moms get fit, stay fit, and feel good about themselves, such as fitness apparel and gear, nutrition and power bars, exercise videos and fitness apps. The vast majority of moms (72.5%) said their bodies "could use some work," and 23.1% said they "can't stand the way I look and feel." Only 3.1% of moms responded that they feel great about their body, saying they "never felt better." Amazingly, even though moms are so busy, the majority of respondents (35.8%) say they manage to exercise twice a week. Another 30.6% said they only exercise once a week if they can find the time, while an impressive 7.9% exercises daily. Twenty-three percent said they couldn't remember the last time they exercised. While moms are generally too busy to watch much TV, they do manage to find time to check their social networks and mobile phones. Marketers trying to reach these busy moms are smart to invest in a strong mobile and social strategy. Some moms follow exercise routines using social media or fitness apps to post their regimes and track their progress. The popular running app Runkeeper, for instance, has social features so that users can connect with friends and fellow runners. Apps like MyFitnessPal allow users to track their food intake as well as their exercise. Pinterest, meanwhile, provides motivation in the form of healthy recipes, exercise tips, and inspirational quotes. Moms looking to lose weight and get in shape also turn to other moms for advice, specifically mom bloggers who provide inspiration. Marketers should keep in mind that moms want to take care of themselves, but need the kinds of information, tools and forms of communication that best fit their busy lives.