The winner gets to take care of a tropical island for a year. And gets paid.

Contestants created a buzz online, using social media sites and videos on YouTube.  Creating a bigger following got 16 contestants out of 34,700 entries into the finals.

How great is that?

The company said that the $1.7 million spent brought in an estimated $110 million in global publicity. As you can see, social media is prevailing as a great way to reach a ton of people quickly and affordably.

I’ve always been bemused by infomercials. I always wait for the drop:

This pair of scissors, which can cut through even titanium, are only $19.99.

But wait! if you call in the next 15 minutes, we’ll give you an extra pair of scissors absolutely free!!

They’re just…well, their own species. I’d never encourage a client to do one, but it turns out, they actually kinda work.

I read an article in Fortune Small Business (I couldn’t find the actual article online) entitled “If You Act Now…” companies are actually turning a pretty good profit (as much as 15% sales growth this year even) using infomercials. Who’da thunk.

While the prime time slots used to be astronomical, prices have dropped, what with everyone’s marketing budgets shrinking. So people can better afford a 30-second slot.

The article gave some specific advice if you’re considering an infomercial:

• Make sure it’s the right product. You won’t be seeing an Egg Marketing infomercial any time soon.
• It has to be affordable. Nothing over $20.
• Create a wow factor, and make it good and visual. Like Billy Mays showing you how Orange Glo can get rid of even the grossest grime.

What do you think? Are infomercials for your product? Have you used them before?

I want to use Old Navy’s SuperModelquins as an example.

I first saw this new campaign on Facebook. There was a short, amusing video with these vivacious mannequins (if mannequins can be vivacious) talking about how Old Navy jeans made their butts look good. I enjoyed it. (This isn’t that video, but it’s a great “expose” on the story of the SuperModelquins)

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WBQ49O-6eF8[/youtube]

Then I saw a commercial on television.

Then I got this direct mail piece.

I liked the way the message was consistent. It was clear how these mannequins were being used to sell me Old Navy products. I responded well (and that coupon will not be on my desk much longer. Shopping time!)

So my question to you is: are your marketing campaigns consistent? Do you take a concept and apply it to all the ways you reach people? If not, you could be wasting valuable marketing dollars and time.

• Identify all the ways you reach your audience: website, blog, email, Facebook, Twitter, press releases, videos
• Create a plan that uses all of these elements to spread your message
• Voila! Instant cohesiveness. Good job.

I dig what Pizza Hut has been doing. They recently rebranded, focusing on an updated red hut. We all know what that symbol means.

And they’re embracing social media in an awesome way. They are the largest restaurant fan page on Facebook, with 750,000 fans. And they are spending the money to reach those fans with contests and interactive applications that let you order pizza without leaving Facebook.

Read an interview with Bob Kraut, Pizza Hut’s Vice President of Marketing Communications to learn how they’re doing it.

I give them credit. They varied the amount to make it more…ahem, believable. One guy makes $110,000 a week. But another makes just $7,000 (poor guy). There are sparkling piles of cash, exciting music, and flashy colors. Enough so that you might even be distracted and believe that Jeff really wants to help you make money. Heck, you don’t even have to know how to use a computer to get rich!

Here’s a video of a guy revealing the scam behind this. While the product they push is just $39.95, once you’re hooked, sales guys will call to convince you you need to spend thousands more. Thus Jeff gets rich.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NdAMrY6YEm0[/youtube]

Let’s bring it back to the marketing. This infomercial is well-done, and I’m sure it gets its fair share of sales. I was almost convinced. But you have to look beyond the phony testimonials and understand that sometimes marketing is a liar. I hate saying that, but so many companies use unsubstantiated claims in their marketing like:

• Guaranteed to make you rich
• Lose up to 50 pounds in 3 weeks
• If Joe Blow can make $50,000 in a week, so can you!

There’s no rules that make marketers tell the truth. It’s more a code of ethics a few of us hold to. When you read those sales letters trying to get you to buy something, know that the numbers they put out there (what you’ll make, how many people have already signed up) are completely bogus. Yes, I said it. I have written sales letters (and taken a hot scalding shower after) and the numbers are made up.

So in doing your marketing, I ask you this: would you rather lie to get more sales (and then deal with the customer service nightmare after the sales) or would you rather find the real attributes of your products and use those as selling points?

If you watch the showand pay attention, you’ve noticed that there are subliminal advertising spots. For instance, a few years ago, a local piano company donated a piano to the Gosselins. Out of the goodness of their hearts? Probably not. The name of the truck was shown on screen, and the company was mentioned.

Likewise, the Gosselins have been invited around the world…for free. Hotels in Hawaii, New York, etc. have all invited the family of 10 to stay. And they always mention the company’s name.

So what do I think of this type of paid placement advertising? I think it’s smart. The Gosselins are America’s sweethearts right now, and if they endorse something (like the Tales of Despereaux; all the kids had little mouse dolls and Kate read the book) people will buy. It beats commercials, where there’s no one to really tell you if the product works or not. Kate is very honest, so if she doesn’t like it, I doubt they’d air it because she would knock it down! But if they like it, it’s clear on the program that they genuinely were pleased that they were given the trip/piano/gift and enjoyed it.

It’s kind of like when Epson sponsored the Sparkplugging team to go to BlogWorld in Vegas last year. Rather than pay for a $30,000 television spot, they chose to sponsor us. They gave us an experience that frankly, money can’t buy (but it can pay for the flight, hotel and conference fee!). And here I am STILL blogging about it, months later.

Companies need to look at experience marketing and paid placement advertising as a better way to create word of mouth buzz. It:

• Creates a better direct relationship between company and customer
• Is easier to track than shotgun marketing
• Creates a warm, fuzzy feeling that future customers will appreciate
• Gives a sense of trust; if Kate likes it, certainly I will too

Do you have examples of where you’ve seen this type of marketing work?

I read an interesting article in Parade Magazine a few weeks ago about subliminal advertising. No, I’m not talking about Mr. Subliminal from Saturday Night Live. I’m talking about those subtle ways advertisers are pushing you to buy things without you realizing. Here are some examples from the article:

• Bigger is better…isn’t it? In comparing a lightweight remote to a heavier one, consumers tend to choose the heavier one because it feels more substantial. Oftentimes, all the difference is a useless wad of aluminum, and the price tag.
• But it’s tradition. Do you squeeze a lime into your Corona? Why? Because it’s how it’s been done in Mexico for hundreds of years? Wrong. The ritual was started in the ’80s by a bartender who bet he could start a trend.
• Shop to the beat. When you’re shopping, pay attention to the music. Chances are there’s something calm and slow playing. That’s because stores know you will slow down and spend more if the music’s slow. (That doesn’t explain Old Navy’s loud, fast music, but I don’t think I’m the demographic they’re aiming at anyway).
• Where’s it from? People put a lot of stock into where a product is from. You want your high-end car to come from Switzerland or Germany, not Romania or Milwaukee. You want your big screen tv to come from Japan, not Little Rock. But is it made better because it’s from those places? You can bet not.
• Put stock in the shape. Products come in shapes that appeal to us. In the article, the example was given of a diet mayonnaise product that came in two shapes: an hourglass shape and a rounder version. Guess which one the dieting women bought? The one with the shape they wanted to look like, not the round one.

Here’s another example of how stores get you. Have you ever seen a product at the end of the aisle, like a can of corn, that is, say 4 for $1. Maybe this isn’t that great a deal, but then you notice the sign saying “Limit 8.” Suddenly you feel like you need to stock up on corn. It’s all subliminal marketing.

The next time you’re in the store, pay attention to what you’re doing and see if you can catch subliminal marketing at work!

SeaWorld is smart. Not only did they invite us, they invited 5 pretty big bloggers who got a special behind-the-scenes tour of the new roller coaster they’re building. But all of us were pretty darn excited about our experience, and of course, we’re telling everyone.

But we’re not just calling our friends to tell them. We’re blogging about it. And we have a wide reach of SeaWorld’s demographic: parents, families, and kids of all ages. If we would have had a bad experience, we would have written about (not an issue). And people listen.

It’s smarter than a billboard (only local Orlando people would see), and has a farther reach. It’s cheaper than print advertising, and better targeted. FINALLY someone is paying attention to bloggers as a viable marketing channel!

Thanks to IZEA and SeaWorld for making this happen.

]]> http://www.sparkplugging.com/marketing/seaworld-reaches-out-to-mommybloggers/feed/ 2 http://www.sparkplugging.com/marketing/burger-king-im-speechless-again/ http://www.sparkplugging.com/marketing/burger-king-im-speechless-again/#comments Tue, 03 Feb 2009 15:02:25 +0000 Susan Payton http://www.sparkplugging.com/marketing/?p=695 Boy oh boy oh boy.

I really thought Burger King hit a low with the whole Virgin Whopper thing.

But it turns out back in December, the company launched its own men’s fragrance…that smells like meat. Whaaaaat?

According to FireMeetsDesire.com, the site for the new spray called Flame:

The WHOPPER sandwich is America’s Favorite burger. Flame by BK captures the essence of that love and gives it to you. Behold the scent of seduction, with a hint of flame-broiled meat.

Oookay. So I get desperately hope that this is a tongue-in-cheek joke (although the product is actually for sale at a costume chain store in New York CIty), I’m sad to see that Burger King has resorted to using sex to sell burgers.

I’m also curious whether Burger King switched ad firms. I used to be a big fan of their King ads, and the Subservient Chicken. Now it seems they’re out in left field.

I hate blogging about bad advertising, because it still gets them publicity. But I beg you, don’t eat at a restaurant with such bad taste. You never know what’s in the burgers.

I thought, “Great! I’ll blog about marketing collateral and the importance of making it stand out.” But then I turned it around.

Every Great Day Starts with Breakfast and Coca-Cola Zero. WHAT??? Is it just me, or is there something inherently wrong with pushing soft drinks at people (kids included) for breakfast?? Come on, Chik-fil-A, I know you like those co-branded marketing dollars, but you’ve got to draw a line somewhere. Coke? For breakfast? I don’t care if it has real Coca-Cola taste and zero calories. It’s not for breakfast.

Shame on you.

The ad campaign comes as a mockery of the companies that pay $3 million for Super Bowl ads (which I unfortunately never see because I don’t watch football). It’s ridiculous, really. I wonder what the return on investment is. How many cans of beer can people buy from one commercial on during a football game to recoup $3 million?

Anyway, I like Miller’s take for several reasons:

• It’s funny
• The guy is believable as your average beer loving comedian
• They get the point across in 1 second
• It’s creating a buzz

And that is the makings of viral marketing, folks! Check out the site.

So, you’re a small business owner, right? You don’t have a lot of money for advertising online, but you want to put your dollars in the smartest place, right? This is the tool for you. Ad Planner lets you look at 250 of the most popular sites for advertising (including Facebook, AOL, Yahoo!, eBay, YellowPages, and so on), specify your target market (females in Florida between the ages of 25 and 34 with a Bachelor’s Degree, and so on). You then get to see how much of your traffic is visiting any of these sites. It’s great. From there you can add the sites you’re interested in to your media plan and get info on advertising.

I use it just for the statistics right now. As some of you know, I’m finishing my book on Internet Marketing, so I’ve been able to easily pull stats on things like Twitter and Facebook usage.

If you’re considering advertising online, check out Ad Planner.

• Weight loss products
• Hair removal
• Hair growth products
• Makeup
• Exercise equipment

All of these items are marketed to improve the way we look or feel. Marketers use an interesting technique; they make us emotionally vulnerable by pointing out our inadequacies, then showing how they can change those into assets. They play off the fear, uncertainty and doubt we have about ourselves.

I’m not commenting on whether this technique is right or wrong, but I do say it works. We always want to make ourselves thinner, have less hair, have more hair, dress better, et cetera. So in seeing ads like the ones below, we identify with the frumpy, hairy, hairless model, and want to look like the “after” shot. What do you think?

]]> http://www.sparkplugging.com/marketing/youre-fat-youre-frumpy-now-buy-my-product/feed/ 2 http://www.sparkplugging.com/marketing/jingle-all-the-way-to-the-bank/ http://www.sparkplugging.com/marketing/jingle-all-the-way-to-the-bank/#comments Fri, 09 Jan 2009 13:41:12 +0000 Susan Payton http://www.sparkplugging.com/marketing/?p=633 While I tend to put heavy emphasis on internet marketing, I have had to admit to myself that old school marketing is still relevant for many types of businesses. So today we’re going to talk about jingles. Those silly, stuck in your head components of tv and radio commercials.

I was driving this morning when I saw a Sara Lee truck, and an age old quandary of mine was solved. I was never sure if the jingle was “Nobody does it like Sara Lee” or “Nobody doesn’t like Sara Lee.” The truck told me it was the latter. Good jingle, but difficult to understand.

According to Wikipedia, a jingle is a memorable slogan, set to an engaging melody, mainly broadcast on radio and sometimes on television commercials. Did you know there is a jingle preservation society?

So why and how can a jingle successfully market your business?

• It’s Memorable. If you can’t get that annoying charming tune out of your head, the next time you buy toilet paper, guess what’s going to be playing in your head and getting you to buy the jingle brand?
• It’s Clever. There are a lot of bad jingles out there. But the ones that work say something amusing or witty, and those are the ones that work.
• It Puts the Brand Out There. A jingle should emphasize the brand name clearly. No question.

So if you’re considering a tv or radio commercial, pay a professional to create an effective jingle that will generate interest. Get feedback before you play it on air. Make sure the words are clear (I just read a blog post about a jingle for a burger joint whose jingle sounded more like “boogers.”). Get it perfect before you release it.

Here are some great examples of jingles that work:

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WHIo4VruGZY[/youtube] [youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s34b8T44514[/youtube] [youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ctNAs1K7nbo[/youtube]

Here is my original post about the shirt.

Imagine a worldwide trek to bring salvation to the masses. Make that hamburgers. Yes, Burger King has wasted thousands of dollars custom making a BK Broiler and serving hamburgers to indigenous people around the world, who, quite frankly, were completely happy prior to tasting the American crap we call food.

But wait, it gets better. They made a documentary of their journey. They show people timidly approaching a Whopper with a fork, or eating it layer by layer.

And they’re calling it Whopper Virgins.

Oh. My. F#$Ing God.

Sorry, BK, you missed the mark on this one. I don’t even like Burger King, but I’ve been very supportive of their advertising campaigns over the past few years. So we had Subservient Chicken, The Burger King, and now Whopper Virgins? Did they fire the ad company that was working with them? Did they hire art student dropouts? Seriously, BK I could have done you far better with far less money. And I wouldn’t have exploited innocent Nepalese to do it.

I hate even writing about this campaign because I do NOT want them to consider it a success due to all the links to the website. Surely they’ll read a few of the rants out about them and revoke the ad.

They’re hitting all the keywords of social media, which I think is interesting. They’re also pointing out that it’s easy to get your customers’ names, but harder to learn more about their interests and quirks.

I guess it makes sense that the Postal Service would offer more business services, seeing as they have the largest database of US addresses (all of them, in fact). I am curious to hear if any of my readers have used these services.

And just so you know? I love the shirt in the ad. I sent in for my free shirt. I’ll wear it in a future post if I get it!

Although…I have to wonder. Will OfficeMax have the success it had last year? Can you duplicate a viral marketing campaign? We shall see. I plan to count how many times I get an ElfYourself email from a friend. Not that that will be a true gauge of the campaign’s success, but it will give me something to do.

Ain’t my family cute?

It might be too small for you to see. But on the Post-It looking part, there’s a note to me! Susan! Telling me where I can buy this product! Down the street!

It was eerie. It’s like they knew…

So, yes, The Marketing Eggspert is impressed with this targeting, which prints the name of the subscriber and the closest retail store for the product. I “eggspect” we’ll be seeing more of this soon.

Have you seen examples of this in your magazines?

Sure, we’ve all noticed the strategically placed Coke can in the hand of a sitcom actor. Or the Nikes propped up on the coffee table. Or James Bond’s watch. His car. His computer (James Bond is kind of a brand whore. Don’t tell anyone).

But recently I saw a good example of product placement I wanted to bring up.

Are you a fan of “My Name is Earl?” If not, let me get you up to speed. There are a group of unlikely characters, the majority of whom have redneck tendencies. There’s a plot, and it’s good, but it’s not relevant. What is relevant is how Joy, the epitome of trailer trash (yet still you love her) sees a Kay Jewelers commercial with Jayne Seymour. Joy has to have the Open Heart Necklace Jane is hawking. She begins to hallucinate and see Jane talking to her in her bathroom mirror.

Long story short, Joy does everything she can to get that necklace, and her husband, Darnell, finally gives it to her.

Why am I writing this?

• I fast forward through commercials. I never would have paid attention to a Kay Jewelers commercial.
• It’s a neat product, and I’m more interested as a result of seeing it in one of my favorite shows.
• Jane Seymour makes fun of herself (going from actor to artist to jewelry hawker).
• Kay Jewelers is thinking creatively.

What about you? Have you seen any noteworthy product placements on tv? Tell us about them!