Aflac is kicking off the college football season with a TV spot, an online sweepstakes and a partnership with 1991 Heisman Trophy winner Desmond Howard. The spot, “The Paymaker” debuted on the SEC Network during the No. 21 Texas A&M versus No. 9 South Carolina game, which aired Aug. 28. The spot also ran on ESPN during the Boise State versus No. 18 Ole Miss game, also Aug. 28. Many Americans look forward to football season all year long, said Michael Zuna, executive vice president and chief marketing officer at Aflac. “To reach this captive audience, our new commercial offers an entertaining look at how the Aflac Duck may not be a playmaker on the field, but he’s a ‘paymaker’ when it comes to paying claims fast,” Zuna says in a release. The film room is full of surprises when the Aflac Duck takes control of the practice film and confuses both players and coaches with creative interpretations of the flea flicker, double-wing formation and play action – as well as a few extra “Aflaaacs!” The head coach quickly realizes that the Aflac Duck “doesn’t know much about football.” But when the assistant coach tells the head coach how quickly Aflac paid his claim when he got hurt, the head coach realizes the Aflac Duck might be worth keeping on the team as long as he’s not operating the film. Throughout football season, the Aflac Duck will attempt to share his football knowledge in the film room. Aflac is an official partner of the Heisman Trophy. In addition to the spot, Aflac also is partnering with Howard to launch an integrated marketing campaign, including digital ads, public relations outreach and social activations on the Aflac Duck’s Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube pages. The Aflac Duck took over the YouTube homepage on Aug. 28 with an interactive football game featured prominently on the popular video site. Beginning that day, consumers could enter for a chance to win the Ultimate College Football Experience sweepstakes on the Aflac Duck’s Facebook page. Three fans will win a one-on-one meet-and-greet with Howard, plus two tickets to the biggest college football game of the weekend, round- trip airfare, hotel accommodations, ground transportation to and from events and $500 prepaid debit card for food and other expenses. One prize package will be awarded for three of the season’s biggest match-ups in November. Game destination will be announced the Sunday prior to the game and the winner will be announced the Tuesday prior to the game. Fans can enter once every 24 hours on Facebook and earn bonus entries once every 24 hours by sharing the sweepstakes on Twitter. Consumers are encouraged to spread the word via the hashtags #GameOn! and #AflacSweeps,
While the ad industry has embraced conventional audience ratings as a method for determining the reach of their online ad campaigns, new trend data from Nielsen indicates that brands are basing their digital audience buys on increasingly narrower targets. The data suggests that marketers target more narrowly with digital media than with television, and that as more advertisers begin utilizing digital media ratings, they gravitate toward increasingly narrower segments. The data, which comes from the second annual Online Campaign Ratings Benchmarks report being released today, shows that the percentage of campaigns targeting broad demographics declined from 40% when Nielsen first benchmarked the marketplace last year to 36% this year. The shift doesn’t necessarily represent a change in the behavior of specific marketers, but may represent a shift in the composition of marketers utilizing the OCR ratings. Nielsen executives say the number of campaigns being tagged for OCR ratings has doubled in the past year to more than 10,000 currently. Regardless of the reason for the shift toward narrower targeting, the result is that a lower percentage of online campaigns are reaching their intended targets. The percentage declined from 69% of all campaign impressions being tracked last year to only 59% this year. “It’s mostly due to the fact that there has been a change in the diversity of the kind of campaigns that are being tracked,” explains David Wong, vice president-product leadership at Nielsen. While the decline in the overall percentage of targets reached with online campaigns dropped 10 percentage points in the past year, Wong says it actually reflects a positive trend from Nielsen’s point of view, because it means more brands are utilizing the data to target their audiences more narrowly. “It means they are using OCR to measure their ROI,” he says. Wong says the next development to keep an eye on is Nielsen’s next report, which will include data on mobile audience exposure, which Nielsen began tracking in July. The next report including the mobile audience data should be released near the end of 2014.
A new fall Subway campaign is tweaking odd fitness regimes, including attempts to return to our ancestors' lifestyles in pursuit of health and immortality. The integrated campaign, dubbed "Crop Fit," is from creative agency MMB. In the television spot launching on Labor Day, a young man tells his meal partner (they're eating at Subway) that he's currently doing "Crop Fit," a hardcore fitness program "based on 19th Century farming practices." The spot then shows him engaging in exercise like pulling a plow and pushing a huge pumpkin. The messaging points out that Subway's better-for-you meal options are an easy way to help the health-conscious stay on track whatever their physical fitness regimes may be. The integrated campaign, from MMB, will air on broadcast and cable networks for an indefinite period, supported by promotion on Subway's social media channels and inclusion in its fall digital advertising rotation.
Hyundai is returning for its fourth year as NCAA college football sponsor with an integrated campaign touting the brand’s car lineup. The effort also has a strong regional focus around the 17 college football programs it sponsors through IMG College. The campaign -- comprising TV, print, radio, digital, and social media -- also brings in Santa Monica, Calif.-based YouTube and social food network Tastemade, adding spice to an experiential component at each of the schools it sponsors. The campaign, via Innocean U.S.A, Hyundai's agency of record, includes a national TV spot and a raft of regional ads to air in college markets where Hyundai-sponsored teams are located. The national spot, “Hands,” examines fans’ hand signals representing their teams, with footage of fans in stadiums making the hand signals (like University of Texas' “hook 'em” sign) culminating in the "number one" sign for winners. The spots air during the 18 SEC on CBS national games. At schools like Alabama, Clemson, Florida, Ohio State, Penn State, UCLA, USC and Wisconsin, Hyundai will have a grassroots program comprising some 114 events, via Advantage International. They center on a "Hyundai Fieldhouse" experience at games like Auburn vs. Alabama, Oregon vs. Stanford, Penn State vs. Ohio State, and USC vs. Arizona State. The 2,400-square-foot setup has TVs, lounge seating and appearances by college notables. Hyundai will also have its lineup of cars at the events with a focus on a modified Santa Fe crossover, the 2015 Sonata, and Tucson Fuel Cell car, which will be featured at California games. The regional team-sponsorship arrangement includes Tastemade making a 13-episode “Grill Iron” series on YouTube about each schools' epicurean habits around football. At the grassroots game-venue Hyundai Fieldhouse events at featured games, Tastemade will have local chefs doing cooking demos in a "Tastemade Kitchen." At the end of the regular season, Hyundai will host a cookoff in Los Angeles with the season’s best chef selected by the viewing audience at Tastemade’s studio. Hyundai says it is also continuing sponsorship of the Hyundai Sun Bowl in El Paso, Texas on Dec. 27.
Aflac is kicking off the college football season with a TV spot, an online sweepstakes and a partnership with 1991 Heisman Trophy winner Desmond Howard. The spot, “The Paymaker” debuted on the SEC Network during the No. 21 Texas A&M versus No. 9 South Carolina game, which aired Aug. 28. The spot also ran on ESPN during the Boise State versus No. 18 Ole Miss game, also Aug. 28. Many Americans look forward to football season all year long, said Michael Zuna, executive vice president and chief marketing officer at Aflac. “To reach this captive audience, our new commercial offers an entertaining look at how the Aflac Duck may not be a playmaker on the field, but he’s a ‘paymaker’ when it comes to paying claims fast,” Zuna says in a release. The film room is full of surprises when the Aflac Duck takes control of the practice film and confuses both players and coaches with creative interpretations of the flea flicker, double-wing formation and play action – as well as a few extra “Aflaaacs!” The head coach quickly realizes that the Aflac Duck “doesn’t know much about football.” But when the assistant coach tells the head coach how quickly Aflac paid his claim when he got hurt, the head coach realizes the Aflac Duck might be worth keeping on the team as long as he’s not operating the film. Throughout football season, the Aflac Duck will attempt to share his football knowledge in the film room. Aflac is an official partner of the Heisman Trophy. In addition to the spot, Aflac also is partnering with Howard to launch an integrated marketing campaign, including digital ads, public relations outreach and social activations on the Aflac Duck’s Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube pages. The Aflac Duck took over the YouTube homepage on Aug. 28 with an interactive football game featured prominently on the popular video site. Beginning that day, consumers could enter for a chance to win the Ultimate College Football Experience sweepstakes on the Aflac Duck’s Facebook page. Three fans will win a one-on-one meet-and-greet with Howard, plus two tickets to the biggest college football game of the weekend, round- trip airfare, hotel accommodations, ground transportation to and from events and $500 prepaid debit card for food and other expenses. One prize package will be awarded for three of the season’s biggest match-ups in November. Game destination will be announced the Sunday prior to the game and the winner will be announced the Tuesday prior to the game. Fans can enter once every 24 hours on Facebook and earn bonus entries once every 24 hours by sharing the sweepstakes on Twitter. Consumers are encouraged to spread the word via the hashtags #GameOn! and #AflacSweeps,
What if there was a parallel universe with no Facebook, no Twitter, no hashtags at the end of TV commercials, no “tweet here for customer service” -- and that world worked just fine? I love advertising people: our ambition, creativity and most of all, our focus on the future, as we experiment, pioneer and embrace the new. But sometimes, we become blinded by the shininess of the new toys. We tend to be all or nothing, and we love hyperboles, whether it's that “everything has changed,” that “TV is dead,” or that “iBeacons will change everything.” We would benefit from a more balanced approach. What is new is often great, but it’s not a zero sum game, and it doesn’t make time-tested methods useless. The newness of a technique isn’t that important to people in the real world--only your boss. Social media hasn't come easily to most brands, but they’ve gotten there, they have their tens of thousands of Twitter followers, their Facebook page, and their content marketing strategy in place. They’ve done their “like to win” competitions, boosted engagement, and entered their case study films at Cannes. They may own rapid-response newsrooms, they may have a hashtag floating around, and they may be be doing customer service on social media. But have they accomplished much? Or anything? For all the talk of Oreo retweets, Pepsi refreshes, or Oscar selfies — I'd love to mention more, but those are all the “big” successes I can think of — I have not once come close to seeing a strong case study that shows the real world effect of such work for a sizable brand. I’ve seen plenty of small cafes who did well, or legal firms that won the Twitter lottery, and I’ve seen a billion examples of “boosting engagement” or “most liked in the competitive set,” but nothing that’s ever boosted sales or driven awareness or likeability. The things that actually matter. Most social media efforts seem to be in a quadrant marked as very cheap but pointless. Many people talk about its cost effectiveness, but that seems to miss the point. A typical Twitter account for a typical brand has around 90,000 followers, and of these, typically about 50% are real life people that use Twitter, and typically, a small percentage of these people may actually see a tweet. Which, as messages go, isn’t the most powerful bit of advertising known to man. But I wonder if social media really is that cheap. In order to do social media properly these days, dozens of people are assembled, newsrooms are built in an effort to be “always on.” We have legal staff on standby, we have crisis management people on speed dial because above all else, when you have an active Twitter feed, people now expect you to do stuff. A truck bearing your brand name crashes and you need a statement, an athlete you sponsor does something odd and you need a response. You’ve set up your own rope to hang yourself with. It’s harder not to comment when you’re clearly there and paying attention. Then there are the millions of people who now see your account as a chance to air their frustrations, whether you’re a bank, an insurance company, a mobile operator, a retailer or one of the myriad of service industries; you’ve now created a forum where people can target their anger, and in the most public of forums. Whether you have an official customer service handle or not, you’ve given your angriest customers a microphone.You’ve given palm oil protesters a place to meet and share stories, and it’s got your name attached indelibly. We only hear of brands on Twitter when things go wrong. When people slate the populations of cities, when they make racist comments, celebrate war, back the wrong side of the gay rights movement, or go quiet. The real secret to social media seems to be to mess up and cause offense. That is, if you want anyone to notice. There can be exceptions -- if your brand stands for something very strong, if it’s beloved, if it’s small and you have no other ways to communicate key information to your customers, or maybe if you have something deeply interesting to say, or you have a great stream of the world's best content. But for most brands, this isn’t cheap, it’s an opportunity cost and a distraction, so why not save the time and focus on simple things done right? The future of your brand comes from navigating these tricky times, and perhaps now is a good time to look further ahead and focus on the real issues--not how many followers you have.
Only digital marketing and advertising professional could come back from the summer holidays to ask whether the August "ice bucket challenge" was a phenomenon worthy of note or simply a flash in the pan fad. For an industry that routinely runs campaigns that are only going to ever last a month or so, it seems an odd question to ask of a viral campaign that has far exceeded the poster child for such charity phenomenons, the "no make-up selfie." Why should such a massive viral success have a question asked of it that you would never ask of a six-week car launch? Have you ever asked whether that banner ad or TV spot is a fad? The challenge was a surprise for anyone who, like me, turned data roaming on while holidaying this August (thanks to the European Commission for some long overdue sensible pricing). It soon became repetitive, but the egotist in us all was, very secretly, shifting from dreading a nomination to wondering why one was yet to arrive. Like many, I forewent the extended family's G&T ice supply to follow the crowd. While everyone's dissecting the challenge to bits, it's worth noting that the ALS Association is knocking on the door of $100m donations (more in a month than it would typically make in a year) and both the Macmillan and Motor Neurone Disease Association (MNDA) have received more than GBP3m. So, the realist in anyone not navel gazing is that a condition which few had heard of has received a massive injection of cash and public awareness, and two well-known UK charities have acted in that old favourite, "real-time," to increase their own awareness and contributions. Anyone surprised by or castigating either charity -- Macmillan has come in for some serious scrutiny, in particular -- probably doesn't realise what a competitive space this is or how social virals will rarely remain in the control of their originator. I wouldn't be exaggerating if I were to say when I've worked with some charities you'd be forgiven for thinking a rival organisation was viewed as big a problem as the health condition several charities were all supposedly aligned in fighting. The quip in Monty Python's Life of Brian about the Peoples' Front of Judea dislike for The Judean Peoples' Front rings particularly true. So if the ice bucket challenge taught us anything, it is this. 1. Of course it's a fad People like to show off on social media -- no surprise there -- but also a social viral phenomenon will run out of steam as people get fed up with endless videos of the same event. By definition, all campaigns, viral or not, will come to an end. They are designed to be fads. 2. Real-time is a must It also showed that the originator of a fad will come out on top -- $100m in donations compared to roughly $5m for two UK charities speaks for itself -- but also it shows marketing departments really do have to live more in "real-time." Like any viral, the ice bucket challenge pretty much came out of nowhere, and during the August lull in marketing and advertising. Those who jumped on it quickly may well have got some stick for steering donations their way, but do you really think any less of Macmillan's wonderful work because they were clever enough to react quickly, in real-time, to seize an opportunity? 3. Cheaper roaming means social is "always on" What it truly showed is that the social channel remains on, even during the newspaper's "silly" season and the accompanying dip in TV viewing accompanying better weather and holidays. This is, I believe, largely down to the EU ensuring that data cannot be charged at more than a fifth or a Euro per Mb. If anything, the challenge showed what is possible when attention is allowed to remain on social when it naturally dips on traditional media. 4. Social pester power Of course, the majority of nominations came from people who had completed the challenge. Anyone watching videos, however, will have noticed in its latter half that children were co-driving the phenomenon, nominating their friends -- and if my experience is anything to go by, insisting that parents took up their nominations. 5. New combination So if the ice bucket challenge gave us one thing, it showed us how social is by definition a fad, that it is endures dips in traditional media attention (thanks to affordable data roaming) and that marketers cannot underestimate the influence of pester power among those too young to hold accounts but whom can apply pressure like nobody else on those who do. To think charities did so well, in financial and awareness, demonstrating these points makes it a double win-win.
While the ad industry has embraced conventional audience ratings as a method for determining the reach of their online ad campaigns, new trend data from Nielsen indicates that brands are basing their digital audience buys on increasingly narrower targets. The data suggests that marketers target more narrowly with digital media than with television, and that as more advertisers begin utilizing digital media ratings, they gravitate toward increasingly narrower segments. The data, which comes from the second annual Online Campaign Ratings Benchmarks report being released today, shows that the percentage of campaigns targeting broad demographics declined from 40% when Nielsen first benchmarked the marketplace last year to 36% this year. The shift doesn’t necessarily represent a change in the behavior of specific marketers, but may represent a shift in the composition of marketers utilizing the OCR ratings. Nielsen executives say the number of campaigns being tagged for OCR ratings has doubled in the past year to more than 10,000 currently. Regardless of the reason for the shift toward narrower targeting, the result is that a lower percentage of online campaigns are reaching their intended targets. The percentage declined from 69% of all campaign impressions being tracked last year to only 59% this year. “It’s mostly due to the fact that there has been a change in the diversity of the kind of campaigns that are being tracked,” explains David Wong, vice president-product leadership at Nielsen. While the decline in the overall percentage of targets reached with online campaigns dropped 10 percentage points in the past year, Wong says it actually reflects a positive trend from Nielsen’s point of view, because it means more brands are utilizing the data to target their audiences more narrowly. “It means they are using OCR to measure their ROI,” he says. Wong says the next development to keep an eye on is Nielsen’s next report, which will include data on mobile audience exposure, which Nielsen began tracking in July. The next report including the mobile audience data should be released near the end of 2014.
A new fall Subway campaign is tweaking odd fitness regimes, including attempts to return to our ancestors' lifestyles in pursuit of health and immortality. The integrated campaign, dubbed "Crop Fit," is from creative agency MMB. In the television spot launching on Labor Day, a young man tells his meal partner (they're eating at Subway) that he's currently doing "Crop Fit," a hardcore fitness program "based on 19th Century farming practices." The spot then shows him engaging in exercise like pulling a plow and pushing a huge pumpkin. The messaging points out that Subway's better-for-you meal options are an easy way to help the health-conscious stay on track whatever their physical fitness regimes may be. The integrated campaign, from MMB, will air on broadcast and cable networks for an indefinite period, supported by promotion on Subway's social media channels and inclusion in its fall digital advertising rotation.
Hyundai is returning for its fourth year as NCAA college football sponsor with an integrated campaign touting the brand’s car lineup. The effort also has a strong regional focus around the 17 college football programs it sponsors through IMG College. The campaign -- comprising TV, print, radio, digital, and social media -- also brings in Santa Monica, Calif.-based YouTube and social food network Tastemade, adding spice to an experiential component at each of the schools it sponsors. The campaign, via Innocean U.S.A, Hyundai's agency of record, includes a national TV spot and a raft of regional ads to air in college markets where Hyundai-sponsored teams are located. The national spot, “Hands,” examines fans’ hand signals representing their teams, with footage of fans in stadiums making the hand signals (like University of Texas' “hook 'em” sign) culminating in the "number one" sign for winners. The spots air during the 18 SEC on CBS national games. At schools like Alabama, Clemson, Florida, Ohio State, Penn State, UCLA, USC and Wisconsin, Hyundai will have a grassroots program comprising some 114 events, via Advantage International. They center on a "Hyundai Fieldhouse" experience at games like Auburn vs. Alabama, Oregon vs. Stanford, Penn State vs. Ohio State, and USC vs. Arizona State. The 2,400-square-foot setup has TVs, lounge seating and appearances by college notables. Hyundai will also have its lineup of cars at the events with a focus on a modified Santa Fe crossover, the 2015 Sonata, and Tucson Fuel Cell car, which will be featured at California games. The regional team-sponsorship arrangement includes Tastemade making a 13-episode “Grill Iron” series on YouTube about each schools' epicurean habits around football. At the grassroots game-venue Hyundai Fieldhouse events at featured games, Tastemade will have local chefs doing cooking demos in a "Tastemade Kitchen." At the end of the regular season, Hyundai will host a cookoff in Los Angeles with the season’s best chef selected by the viewing audience at Tastemade’s studio. Hyundai says it is also continuing sponsorship of the Hyundai Sun Bowl in El Paso, Texas on Dec. 27.