Breakaway Brands

I saw this article in Fortune Magazine and wanted to share it with everyone. Well its pretty late so I doubt anyone will still be able to read the article. I had a hard time posting it up. So the article is small but you can save it on your computer and enlarge the image. Happy Holidays everyone. - Jose Espino

Microsoft: Unorthordox Brand Equity

As reported by Business week (http://bwnt.businessweek.com/brand/2006/),
Microsoft was Interbrand's #2 brand for 2006 (Coca-Cola was #1). Brand
consultant Millward Brown Optimor actually placed Microsoft at the top of
their list. This is interesting considering that anti-Microsoft sentiment
often runs high among consumers. Consumers don't love Microsoft like they
love other brands such as Google, but they have a great deal of respect for it
(http://software.silicon.com/applications/0,39024653,39157840,00.htm?r=1). I
think that some consumers feel uneasy with the fact that Mr. Bill Gates has
built a money-machine enterprise that, in many ways, tends to monopolize the
industry. At the same time, however, consumers recognize the importance of
Microsoft to their daily lives. Where would business people be without
Microsoft products and services? In other words, consumers hold the Microsoft
brand in high regard, but it seems to be in a league of its own as compared to
other top brands.

The point that Microsoft's brand equity comes from consumers' respect for the
brand is very different than the equity built by the Coca-Cola brand, for
example. The Coca-Cola brand is strong because its consumers use its products
by choice, despite a plethora of direct competitors. If all Coca-Cola
products magically disappeared tomorrow, consumers would eventually move on
and begin to drink other products. On the other hand, I don't think anyone
knows what life would be like without Microsoft. An argument can be made that
a key component of Microsoft's brand equity is that consumers recognize their
dependence to its products. A slightly more far fetched theory is that consumers fear life without Microsoft.

While there are direct competitors to Microsoft products, consumers fear using them due to reliability concerns and the amount of time it could take to become acclimated to the new product. In short, Microsoft’s monopolistic characteristics have led to equity centered around sheer respect for the brand. As smaller competitors continue to enter the market, will Microsoft lose its unorthodox brand equity? Can the Mozilla Firefoxes of the world ever capture significant market share?

Robert Cusumano

How The Movies Can Affect Consumer Behavior

In an article called "Panned on Screen, Merlot Shrugs and Moves On" the author states:

"WHAT’S the best thing to happen to merlot in the last few years? Why, “Sideways,” the movie that so roundly trashed merlot while genuflecting before the new god of red wine, pinot noir.

The movie gave shape to an inchoate movement away from American merlot in the marketplace, and spoke the truth in caustic terms: namely that most merlot produced in the United States is not very good. As a result, the anti-merlot trend accelerated. Fewer people bought it, and producers bottled less of it. "

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/12/13/dining/13wine.html?em&ex=1166245200&en=bea73a7c1c0fb7a8&ei=5087%0A

In this day in age product placement has become a huge trend amongst marketers. Usually the placement is in efforts to support the brand and aid the entire marketing mix. But what about when a movie decides to include your product category but speaks of it negatively. According to this article it can create many negative associations with the category that might not have been there before. In the case of merlot, it actually resulted in a decline in sales! As marketers, let me ask you: Is this fair? What should marketers do in response?

~Sabrina Wells~

It's That Time of Year Again...

As the holiday draws ever nearer, I have to wonder if all of the holiday commercials that are churned out, actually make an impact on what and where those precious gift purchases are made. After reading a recent article in the NY Times detailing the creation of the Cingular Wireless commercial spoofing the beloved "A Christmas Story", I am drawn even further to wondering just how effective will this advertisement be when consumers begin to think of what brand of cell phone should I get for...

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/11/27/business/media/27adcol.html?ex=1322283600&en=02c9670e5d7f92dd&ei=5088&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss

Commercials serve many purposes, however one of the main purposes results in creating awareness for brands, so that when consumers enter the marketplace they can associate ideas, feelings, emotions, and memories to their purchase. Does holiday advertising, in such abundance, actually help out the brand's chances of being chosen? Or does it come down to what the brand stands for and displays during the other eleven months of the year? Will one month's worth of snowy-fire glowing-gift wrapped-sing songy images change the brand's image enough to make it the perfect holiday treat?
-Katie David

Branding = Cheaper Advertisements?

Prior to the premiere of the film "The Corporation" (which I highly recommend - a little long but very interesting) at the Toronto film festival, the marketing team only had $8000 to promote the film. Because of the low budget, they decided the best way to go was to brand the film. They created this "cheeky and smart" logo of the silhouette of a business man carrying a briefcase with a halo and devil tail. They made stamps, pins, fake dollar bills, posters, and stencils (for street art) with the logo on it. The whole campaign was very grassroots but effective. Do you think this strategy is applicable to all products?

-Priscilla Li

Should Vera Wang be Very Wary?

In an October issue of Brandweek, Chang discusses about how Vera Wang is launching a new line called “Very Vera,” that will bring her designs to the masses. Known for her high-end, glamorous, Cinderella-esque wedding dresses, there’s fear as to what Very Vera would do to her brand image. Although there has been a growing list of designers appealing to the masses with a lower priced design line (Isaac Mizrahi, Michael Graves), there’s a difference between what they did and where they placed it in comparison to what Vera is going to do. According to Chang, “Kohl’s doesn’t really have a distinctive apparel positioning. The strength of Wang’s brand lies in her adherence to cutting edge fashion—and to the allure and mystique associated with a fairy-tale wedding, something that is an once-in-a-lifetime event. These things could prove incongruous with Kohl’s proposition of everyday brands for everyday occasions.” He also believes that the store experience at Kohl’s will not be consistent with the store experience people perceived her brand to have, and thus, disappoint.

When I first heard that Vera Wang was selling to the masses, I personally was so excited because I would finally be able to buy something made by Vera Wang. But on the same point, the fact that her brand will be sold at Kohl’s stores seem a little off. Every girl dreams of having their fairy-tale wedding, and buying a Vera Wang wedding gown eludes you to feel just that. With Vera Wang selling at Kohl’s, her brand just doesn’t have that same special feeling. I realize that many designers have already been down this path and have done very well for themselves, but I think that because of what Vera Wang has made of her brand, that this route may not be the best for her. What do you guys think?

Jennifer Tsai

What's in a name?

“ 'Brand promise is created by a name, especially where fragrance is concerned,' says James Craven of Les Senteurs, a specialist perfumery in Belgravia. 'Scent itself is ethereal and almost subliminal, so good names are powerfully suggestive; do they conjure up an image or suggest emotional implications or attributes?' ” (http://www.whisperbrand.com/blog/category/packaged-goods/)

Reading this led me to reflect on my own purchasing decisions. Not just for perfumes but for everything. Deciding what to buy and even which stores to shop in are ultimately influenced by brand. But influenced by how much? Can a brand become so strong that it overpowers the product?

For example, I've been so convinced by Colgate's "12 hour total protection" comercials that I automatically reach for Colgate whenever I purchase toothpaste, even if I'm not buying the "12 hour total protection" one. This could be a serious problem. I've made such a strong association between this feature and the brand that it's even transferred to products that don't have this feature.

Brands allow consumers to make quicker decisions, because we think the brand name represents some sort of gaurantee. However, this isn't always the case. You might say that brand names have more influence on cheaper products, like toothpaste. But nothing's keeping the same thing from happening to expensive products. Calvin Klien jeans consumers were so jaded by the brand name that they didn't even realize they were purchasing a lower quality product. And what about schools? Are we really getting what we think we're paying for?

-Priscilla Li

General Motor's EV1

I recently watched the documentary "Who Killed the Electric Car?" (official movie website - http://www.sonyclassics.com/whokilledtheelectriccar/ )It's about how GM introduced the EV1 (electric cars that could run up to 100miles per charge) in response to the zero-emissions vehicle mandate in 1990. Although only 800 EV1's were leased, people who leased them fell deeply in love with them. In 2003 when the ZEV mandate was removed, GM promptly recalled and destroyed all the EV1's.

In the beginning stock prices continued to rise, but have been on a steady decline since 2004. Clearly, GM is going through more than just a rough patch. Doing what has made it a successful company in the past just isn't working anymore. Economies of scale doesn't build brand equity. The company needs to take some extreme measure to pull itself out of this rut. Could this "extreme measure" be re-introducing the EV1?

I think that re-introducing the electric car could add significant value to the GM brand. The EV1 was a quality car that looked "cool," was very quiet to drive, and environmentally friendly. Previous owners raged about the superior driving experience, which is really a major determining factor in selling a car. GM claimed that it was losing money from the EV1's (lease payments were based on car prices of $34K-$44K but the car cost $80K to build). So why couldn't GM just charge more? With electricity costing 2/3 less than gas, tune ups costing less, and essentially having no parts to be replaced, consumers would savie a lot of money in the long-run and therefore probably be willing to pay more upfront. EV1 leasees loved the car so much that hundreds begged to renew their leases and even purchase the car. There was even a waiting list of 5,000 people. GM refused and destroyed all the EV1's (minus a few donated to museums).

So, let's recap here - great car, great driving experience, very satisfied customers, high demand, and environmentally friendly. Sure GM will suffer losses in the beginning, but overall how does this not sound like a successful product? The GM brand is taking a beating and the electric car could be an endeavor that will ressurect its brand.

-Priscilla Li

Cisco trying to reinvent itself...

http://www.marketingshift.com/2006/10/new-cisco-logo-thoughts.cfm

Its funny that Cisco is trying to reinvent its image, even though its largely a B2B solutions provider. To me, it seems like the company is going to take the brand name into more consumer driven markets or the company just wants to start fresh from the DotCom crash of the late 90's. If IT employees recognize the brand name when they're in Best Buy or Circuit City making a personal purchase, the better for Cisco I guess.

The company released the new logo in October, and a quick search in Google Images of "cisco logo" or even "new cisco logo" elicits results corresponding to the old logo and not a single result displaying the new logo. Actually, the first result for "new cisco logo" in Google is this one attached to the left. I suppose its going to take a little time before the new logo begins to gain some popularity.

-Hasan Syed

Barbie's legal battle with those little Bratz

Mattel, maker of Barbie dolls, is currently attempting to lay legal claim to its rival, Bratz dolls, by arguing that the original idea for Bratz dolls was stolen by a Mattel employee and hence belong to Mattel.

First of all, I would just like to say that this lawsuit is a completely bogus and desperate attempt by Mattel to slow down the Bratz dolls' phenomenal growth. This isn't Wonka candy here...it's just a sassy doll with a big head and lots of make-up.

Anyways, if Mattel were to acquire the rights to the Bratz dolls, what do you think would happen? Do you think that Mattel would keep the extremely popular Bratz product line in tact and continue to eat away at Barbie sales, or would they harvest the brand and let Barbie reign supreme once more? And what meanings would come to mind if one knew that Barbie and Bratz were sisters in the same family?

-Ryan

It was only a matter of time....

http://www.cosmeticsdesign.com/news/ng.asp?n=72350-paris-hilton-parlux-fragrance

Paris Hilton targets beauty market

International heiress and socialite Paris Hilton is set to expand her lucrative empire in a bid to take over the beauty industry with the intended launch of a cosmetics range manufactured by Parlux Inc.

Parlux released a statement that indicated that through unprecedented sales of the Paris Hilton perfumes there was a noticeable gap in the cosmetics market for the Hilton brand.

Parlux chairman and CEO Llia Lekach said in a statement “Paris Hilton is an extraordinary young lady with an ever-growing international following. The demand for Paris Hilton fragrances has encouraged us to complement our fragrances with an exciting line of Paris Hilton cosmetics’.

How did this all come to fruition? A sex tape? Guest appearances at nightclubs? The willingness to take photos with anyone and everyone? A reality TV show? I would have never been able to guess that Paris Hilton would be able to create an intrinsically valuable brand. On her reality TV show, she made some comments that made her look fairly unintelligent, but it seems like she gets the last laugh, in that you're always going to be seeing her or hearing about her (and now in department stores). I don't understand how she's been able so successful in staying in the public eye for this long, despite using the same shock and awe tactics. I would have thought that her fame would have died off long ago.

-Hasan Syed

Disadvantage to Google's brand awareneness

http://networks.silicon.com/webwatch/0,39024667,39161395,00.htm

Google spells out its verb case scenario

Internet search giant Google has said it intends to crack down on the use of its brand name as a generic verb, saying phrases such as 'to google' somebody or something are potentially damaging to its brand.

But it's unlikely the search giant will prove successful in its attempts and is only setting itself up for a fall, according to experts.

A spokeswoman for Google said: "We think it's important to make the distinction between using the word Google to describe using Google to search the internet and using the word Google to generally describe searching the internet. It has some serious trademark issues."

Google's efforts most likely won't stop people from using Google as a verb, but I find it interesting how the company doesn't want to be associated with a verb that is closely related to web searching. If Google plans on spending some of its $10 Billion war chest efficiently, they're going to have to take on other projects that are unrelated to web searching. Digging in and just entrenching itself in the search engine game, as just a branded house, would make it a little more difficult for the company to diversify into other industries and solutions, especially if it were completely unrelated such as energy. The converse of that strategy would be then to promote the new brands using existing brand equity or to create new brands and spend heavily in promoting them.

-Hasan Syed

Faith Hill: Country Music's Queen to Sore Loser?

Faith Hill, generally known for her commercial success as a country singer, has been through much controversy since her incident during the CMA awards. In the following clip, you can see Faith Hill, posing for the camera while she awaits the announcement of the horizon award. As the announcers say the winners’ name, Faith Hill lifts up her hands as though she has won, and screams out “what,” once she has realized that her name was not called as the winner of the horizon award.

People perceive her brand to be as the down-to-earth, friendly, family women, who is always gracious. However, after this incident, people can’t help but think that she seems like quite the sore loser. Although Faith Hill’s management has stated that it was meant to be taken as a joke, the video certainly does not seem like she’s acting. As Chris Evans (a blog critic) put it, “even if Faith was joking, you have to admit it was a pretty stupid move on her part. With her big voice fading as fast as her sales, Faith now comes across as a bitter woman jealous of the young prolific starlet.”

I feel like my opinion of her changed the second I saw this tape (however, hilarious I thought this was). I would expect something like this who celebrities like Kanye West (who made a ruckus in a European Awards show) to do something like this, but given what Faith Hill has made her brand to be (sincere, caring, friendly, family-oriented), it seemed like a very “diva” thing to do. What do you guys think? Do you think that this incident will hurt her career?

Jennifer Tsai

HOW FAR would you go for a Play Station 3? vs. a NIntendo Wii?

How long would you wait in line or pay someone for their place in line to get a hold of one of these precious commodities? With Christmas just around the corner it seems like this year's Tickle Me Elmo is the Play Station 3 gaming system. Playstation has etablished its brand as an innovator of graphics and technology while also housing a plethora of games with a very large fan base. It competes with sytems like Xbox and this years Nintendo Wii, which in itself is quickly developing a loyal set of fans. Nintendo is a more lighthearted and user friendly system vs. playstation's strong graphics making both gaming systems loyal and consistent with what their brand continues to represent.

Now although die hard fans willing to wait two days in line for a system no doubt deserve it, what about everyone else. People can view the scarcity of the product and waiting in line as part of the appeal, but the majority are not into the whole going to Best Buy at 5 am on Black Friday to get an amazing deal feeling. When does a shortage lose its excitement and just become annoying. Nintendo Wii for example had about 4,000 systems at the Toys R' Us in Times Square for approximatelty 3,000 people. The line was wrapped around more than the ntire city block. "Wii came, Wii saw, Wii conquered. After hours in line getting worked into a frenzy, the unwashed masses were finally admitted into Toys "R" Us to pillage the store and escape with their Wii." http://www.engadget.com/2006/11/19/wii-launch-wrap-up/

The Nintendo Wii still managed to have the excitement and scarcity that the playstation had, while simultaneously being able to sell every single customer a system. This potentially builds a greater loyalty to the brand than waiting in line for two days to get a playstation and then not getting one because the guy in front of you bought five to sell on E-bay. With the Nintendo Wii getting great reviews and happy consumers, play station may be treading water in the deep end of the pool.

Marketing practices rub off on people and change their perceptions of the brand. Brands must be developed and evolve with the needs of their consumers. As mentioned before, the majority of playstation purchasers aren't the crazy fans who want to wait for hours for a system, but they are customers who get frustrated and potentially generate negative WOM because they can not find one for their son. There must be a balance in order to keep consumers happy, but who knows, sometimes the challenge just makes you keep going back for more.

-Yvette Hakim

Sony's fake blog promoting its PSP

http://www.linuxworld.com.au/index.php/id;1421699838;fp;2;fpid;1

Sony fesses up on fake PSP blog

Sony Computer Entertainment America (SCEA) has confessed it hired a marketing company to create a fake blog to drum up Christmas support for its PlayStation Portable (PSP).

The www.alliwantforxmasisapsp.com blog had all the makings of a genuine but amateurish fan-site replete with YouTube rap videos, but excessive Sony spruiking and a poor cover-up by the marketing company employed to create the site, Zipatoni, unravelled the doomed stealth campaign.

"Busted. Nailed. Snagged. As many of you have figured out (maybe our speech was a little too funky fresh???), Peter isn't a real hip-hop maven and this site was actually developed by Sony," now reads the www.alliwantforxmasisapsp.com blog.

Sony would be better off just creating an honest blog featuring a chief desinger, engineer, manager, etc. Having a blog on the product isn't necessarily passé. If there's good content, then people will read and post especially considering that their target user most likely is an active user of the internet. However, contracting an advertising company to think like teenagers and post about how much they love their PSPs is desperate, dishonest, and makes Sony look disinterested in what the users really think.

-Hasan Syed

Viral Marketing: How 10 emails can drive 10 million to a website

I found an article in MarketingSherpa’s website that really worths the time of reading it. You’ll surely enjoy it. “Viral Hall of Fame 2006” analyzes the 12 greatest and most succesful viral marketing campaigns ever. All are great...but my favorite is Beer.com’s bartender. (http://www.marketingsherpa.com/vas2006/2.html)

The idea appears to be so simple and certainly not original...and a bit tasteless too. But I guess guys & beer & sex will always be a success-guaranteed recipe.

Virtual Bartender was a beautiful blonde beer.com girl ready and waiting to respond to some pretty bizarre requests. Aside from the beautiful model, the fun was in figuring out what she would and wouldn't do. Apparently, people even posted lists of commands that they had tried on the many blogs around the world.

The goal of the campaign was to drive millions of 18 to 26 year old males to beer.com which will, in turn, help establish the site as a vehicle for advertisers trying to reach this target.

But the reason why I’m so thrilled by this campaign is HOW it succeeded. It is one of the best examples of snowball action I’ve ever seen. They did it with seed strategy: JUST 10 EMAILS WERE SENT out to friends of beer.com. No other marketing tool was used and there weren't any links from our home page or any other sites. Its success was purely driven by people forwarding the link to others...

The success of this project was overwhelming! Those 10 simple emails led to 75 sessions later that night, 15,000 the following day and then began to double, then triple. Beer.com became the most popular website in the world for the month of November 2004 and achieved more than 800% growth in traffic with more than 10,000,000 user sessions in only 28 days!!!!!

The power of consumer-to-consumer interaction... apparently this was certainly a story to tell!

http://www.beer.com/beer.com-Content_C-section_id-1126642896690_vb.html

-Lorena Roque

CORE Culture

SMG Student Government’s Junior Class Officers recently released the CORE hoodies. Thinking back, I’m sure you all remember what has written on the hoodies last year. They read, “You think you know, but you have no idea.” This year, in addition to spoofing the all-so-famous MasterCard line, a top brand has managed to make its way onto the core hoodies. It reads something like this: “Tuition… $42,000, Text Books… $540, Red Bull… $2 x 48. Spending 174,320 hours with your team… Priceless.”

We learned a lot this semester about ways in which brands become a part of culture. Red Bull did not pay for this spot. So how did it end up on a sweatshirt that business students at BU will remember for years to come? It has become part of the culture, meshing well with the existing culture of hard work, late nights, and minimal sleep. Red Bull fits right in as the fuel that keeps many students afloat.

So in the days of “Google it,” “Facebook me,” and “Febreze it,” brands that really resonate with their target, that can really find a way into their lives, and that can become the "only" and best way to fulfill a need may find their path to success laid for them.

-Nadia Schwartz

Cold Stone tests out new branding

So I was reading Brandnewswire, and being the ice cream lover that I am, this article about Coldstone caught my attention. The company is expanding globally into Japan and completly rejecting the use of traditional media to ellevate the brand and product as a higher class 'dessert'. The company is using things like samples at nice department stores to create buzz and generate word of mouth.

"Shunning traditional advertising, Cold Stone is giving out samples in upscale shopping areas and trying to get trendsetting young women to spread the word about its desserts. It is even snatching up posh retail space near Louis Vuitton."
http://users1.wsj.com/lmda/do/checkLogin?mg=wsj-users1&url=http%3A%2F%2Fonline.wsj.com%2Farticle%2FSB116604025540449254.html

Can a brand like Coldstone succeed in this effort to pull the brand up? Or since it is already being introduced in Japan at a higher level would it even be moving up? By being introduced in consumers minds from the begining at a more "luxurious" level it will create a completely different frame of associations and meanings for Japanese consumers in comparison to the consumers in the US; Versus stores in the US trying to upgrade to a higher level, which would be much more difficult. Cold Stone would be grabbing a new market while creating new and potentially beneficial associations. But does the store design or names of flavors reflect this opward move? The only conflicts that may arrise are the disjointed meanings that could result between the cool stores and the old stores and traveling consumers who may feel the old stores 'bring down' the image they have created of the brand next to Louis Vuitton and not Best Buy in their minds.

-Yvette Hakim

And don't you feel used?

In the Dec 11-25 issue, Brandweek published their votes for this years “Best and Worst Marketing Ideas for 2006.” Despite the hodgepodge of successful and not so successful marketing moves executed this past year, I was most intrigued by Brandweek’s “Best Question to Ask a CMO.”

Do you feel used?

As the advertising industry makes it slow and steady shift away from traditional media and towards interactive, companies are pouring their marketing budgets on hotter and hotter features for their websites. Despite increased traffic, $$ from advertisers, and loads of customer data, there is a negative side to this pretty picture. It lies in the fact that there is no easy way to measure the relationship between online traffic and in-store sales.

So while it is safe to sit back and assume that the crowd in your store is the same group of people surfing your site when sales are good, what about when they take a turn for the worse? Your store is empty, but people are still online using your free features. You’ve got a free-rider problem.

Brandweek’s article suggests that Chief Marketing Officers have been hopping on the bandwagon to build the best websites. By using tactics that aren’t proven to increase sales, are CMO's changing the business models of the companies they work for? Will a strong online presence convert store sales to ad $$? What actions should these companies take to ensure their online users don’t just run off to Wal-Mart to buy the product they just research on your site?

-Nadia Schwartz

Does That Bing Crosby Go With These Pumps?

This is kind of a summary of an article I read in Sunday Styles of last weeks NYTimes, thought it was very interesting and not something too many people think about:

H&M has been playing old 40s and 50s music in their stores for several reasons. First, it wants to play music that compliments the current trends of black and white tuxedos and couture-ish cocktail dresses. But, the store is remixing the songs to make them more upbeat and able to dance to, like you're in a club. Secondly, it wants to encourage “an upbeat and inviting shopping atmosphere,” says H&M spokeswoman, Lsa Sandberg. In the past, holiday music has only been used to motivate tired employees and get them into the holiday spirit, but recently, holiday tunes have been used to keep shoppers moving about the store. Pottery Barn, Crate and Barrel, the Gap and many more are also initiating modernized upbeat holiday songs, but Abercrombie and Fitch refuses to because the company thinks that there is already enough holiday music in the air and doesn't want to overdo it. A representitive at Crate and Barrel disagrees though, and claims that it puts people in the mood to shop. Incidentally, stores also keep in mind the kind of clientelle they have at certain times of the day. In the morning, it is unlikely that one will hear a remixed song at a store because older crowds tend to shop there, but after school gets out, the stores pump up the jams! More stores are also more concerned about selling lifestlyes, so the type of music they play, really is a big deal. I guess this means that I won't be able to hear Bob Rivers' "Osama Got Runover By a Reindeer" when I walk into Williams Sonoma in Westport, CT mid morning with my mother. Happy Holidays!

--Lauren Wettenstein

Brain Branding?

Last week I was researching JetBlue for another project I was doing and I came across an article (which of course I lost) that involved brain branding. I stopped to read it and was fascinated. Basically, it said that your brain can actually be branded, meaning that it releases positive endorphins when you are exposed to a strong brand. Nike was mentioned as a strong brand (duh) which made people feel secure and happy, as oppsed to being exposed to a not so strong, say, generic brand. There was a study at the Radiological Society of North America, which indicated that strong brands activate parts of the bran. I googled the artice again, but I was only able to find something mentioned in BlogCritics Magazine ( blogcritics.org). It said this: a strong, identifiable brand is a powerful tool that in its purest form stands apart from the individual products it informs and casts a positive glow over them...strong brands appear to create a kind of mental "groove," and are processed with less effort than weak brands, which require higher levels of activation in areas of working memory and negative emotional response. I mean come to think of it, it makes sense that it takes less brain activity to recognize a known brand, rather than process a new one, but still, very interesting.

--Lauren Wettenstein

My Card is American Express

I just wanted to discuss the amazing American Express commercials with Ellen Degeneres that have been airing lately. The one that I am referring to has two different variations, but it is her going into work and her co-workers are all animals. She is talking to them, and they are all sitting around the conference room, one is doing her hair, another is on the type writer- it must have taken sooo much time to create but it is wonderful. The ending line is "My dream is to wrok with animals, my card is american express". This campaign is relatively old for Amex but is seems to be working very well. I have seen several other companies imitate the interactive types of campaigns that involve peoples personal stories and filling in the blanks. Secret deodarant for example has recently come out with the "Share your secret" campaign. One add shows two old ladies that are sharing their secrets how one took the other one's brother to prom and they ended up getting married, but the secret was that he was bribed to take her to prom in the first place. My team in MK469 also used this technique when we had to redesign an ad for True Religion jeans, and we made it interactive. I think that we made a campaign that went, "my religion is (whatever hobby he/she loves- ie: Sunday Brunch with my girlfriends), my jeans are True." It turned out really well. I hope that the interactive trend continues to thrive.
--Lauren Wettenstein

Wal-Mart Fires Marketing Exec

I remember reading this article in the newspaper last week and here it is again in BrandWeek. Julie Roehm, Wal-Mart's svp marketing was fired after allegations that she vilotated Wal-Mart's strict ethics policy during it's recent review of agencies. From what I gather in the article, she was kind of crazy. Roehm was very into sexy type ads which are not really Wal-Mart's style and there was a culture clash. she used to work at Dodge who in 2004, sponsored a "Lingerie Bowl as a half time show for the SuperBowl. She also came up with Chrysler ads that alluded to people having sex in their car, and also two men talking about size while standing at a urinial. I am all for sex appeal, in fact we even tried to use it for our core project. I think that most of the time, if advertisers use it right, it works. Remember that ad for Dentene Fire gum? There were 2 people paying at the same time and they each kept putting different items on the register and they were looking at each other, then they started making out. It was a really good commercial. Wal-Mart though- I feel like this isn't the best idea. It should also be said that Roehm was defending Wal-Mar'ts usage of "Merry Christmas" instead of "Happy Holidays" which nowadays, could turn people away from Wal-Mart. I could understand how she wanted to re-vamp Wal-Mart from being kind of an icky store whose managers are stingy with employee health benefits, but she is taking it a little too far. Draft's new agancy model will feature traditional agency creativity with an emphasis on direct marketing. Draft hosted a party at trendy Nobu restaraunt in NYC and Roehm was there and seen sitting on different men's laps and downing drinks. Sounds like maybe Wal-Mart is better off with out her.
--Lauren Wettenstein

K Mart advertisment - JQ

Hey guys, do you remember the Martha Steward case Prof. Fournier talked about?
I just saw a K Mart advertisement on tv and it caought attention because K Mart is
using Martha Steward in their music.
"make Martha Steward proud!"
I believe these were the words on the advertisment.
It is interesting that they are using various methods to rebuild their brand equity.
Check the ad out.

- Jinkyoo Park-

Futurama & New Coke - CLee

I happened to be browsing through Youtube when I came across an episode of Futurama. The episode was titled "Fry visits the Slurm Factory". As I watched the episode I saw a funny clip and what did I hear? A joke about New Coke.
The leader of the company known as "Slurm" comes up with a brilliant plan. That plan is to create a "New Slurm" with a new taste and when consumers begin to protest and want to the original back, the company will then bring back the original recipe.
I still find it shocking that Coke could have so much meaning for consumers that an uproar over New Coke could occur as it did. Not to mention that a cartoon would reference this time in history. If you wish to view this episode you can click here

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SwjXML0IQCY

Chris Lee

Can you personality become your own personal brand?

In the beginning of the year, Wal-Mart headhunted Julie Roehm to be the new marketing executive. Julie Roehm seemed to be a brave but appropriate choice for their new strategic move toward a more trendy image. Julie Roehm had a reputation of re-energising brands and their sales through confident advertising with a strong emphasis on the sex appeal. Her work with Daimler-Chrysler exemplifies her marketing style and how it proved successful by reviving their brand.

Now, only 11 months after Julie Roehm started working for Wal-Mart, she was sacked for breaking some of the company’s ethical rules. Wal-Mat employees are not allowed to accept any gifts or gratitude from their customers, as this might cause priority treatment, thus further conflicting with the company policies. Even though, Roehm denies to have broken any ethical rules, she does recognize the event and her actions. Only, she has a different interpretation of the reasoning behind and the details of the case.

At first, one might think that this has hurt her future career. However, in fact it looks like she is getting even more offerings from very big and interesting companies. When Roehm said yes to the job at Wal-Mart, she knew what type of company it was, however, her self-confidence convinced her to do it her way, and her way only. Wal-Mart hired her marketing expertise, but they also hired her personal brand as well. Roehm’s work at Wal-Mart might not have been coherent with the company profile, but it was indeed consistent with her personality, and thus her brand.

The fact that she was fired from Wal-Mart only enhances her brand meanings as being a marketer focusing on confident, attention grabbing and provocative/sexy advertising. By distancing herself from Wal-Mart, a brand that for may people has a negative connotation to it, and augmenting the meanings of her brand, she comes out as the absolute winner. Roehm is overwhelmed with big shots in the business industry, who wants to offer her a job and make their company benefit from her unpredictable and savvy marketing strategies.

I think this is an interesting example of how you should not try to fulfil the company’s expectations, though instead, you should be confident and follow you own ideas and beliefs, as this will bring you further. On the other hand, only few will be as fortunate as Julie Roehm, so maybe it is better to start off by considering whether a certain company in fact fits with ones own beliefs…?!


Christina Fahrenholtz

You don't always need to advertise

Kiehls is a company owned by L’Oreal which sells skin and hair products.
Haven’t heard of them? -maybe that’s because they don’t spend any money on advertising.
They rely entirely on word of mouth and generating awareness through their philanthropic activities. Rather than spending money on advertising, Kiehls focuses their energy and money on improving their products and increasing their personal service.

Although this may be seen as a risky move by some, Kiehls has profited from this tactic. I think because of this, many of their customers are very brand loyal and feel that Kiehls personally caters to them. They have built up their brand equity based on honesty and the utmost dedication to serve the community. By not advertising in mainstream media, Kiehls gives off the appearance that they are a small town company who cares about their customers and does not solely care about their profit margins. Although they are owned by a huge corporation (L’Oreal), they have done a great job with managing their brand image by separating the two companies in consumers’ minds. Overall, I think Kiehls is a great example of how you don't always need to advertise to build a strong brand equity.

-Sri Reddy

Branding: A Risky Business

In regard to Daniil's post titled “Sports and Brands: Athlete Endorsements,” I agree that athlete endorsements can be very risky for brands that strive to build long-term equity (most, if not all, brands fall in that category). Whether the endorsement is for a small company in Boston or a leading global brand, negative publicity created by the athlete can destroy brand equity. Since endorsements with current athletes are the riskiest due to high probability of changing teams, endorsements with retired, well-known athletes could be a better decision.

On the other hand, endorsements with golfers provide an exception to this risk theory because golf is an individual sport. Further, endorsing with a global icon such as Tiger Woods, who will not “change teams,” has already accomplished more than most golfers in history, and is extremely unlikely to generate negative publicity, is almost risk free. Such an endorsement, however, comes at incredible cost.

Nike has leveraged its endorsement deal with Tiger Woods, as well as its unparalleled brand equity in other categories, to become the leader in golf apparel in the U.S. and worldwide as well as in the top three in the U.S. in balls and footwear. As mentioned in the December 11 Brandweek in an article on page 10, Nike has accomplished this leading market position just 8 years after entering the industry. Nike used its equity as a leading brand in numerous other categories in hopes of dominating the lucrative golf industry. Now with Tiger Woods and other top golfers on board, Nike will launch a $20 million campaign in January to feature many new products, most notably the SUMO “square” driver. Nike strives to be the top brand both on tour and for amateurs, offering equipment and apparel. Nike golf apparel even attracts non-golfers. Exclusive golf brands such as Callaway and Taylor Made continue to lose market share to Nike.

The lesson here is that leading brand equity can be leveraged in almost any market. However, the risk of failure could destroy equity in the new category as well as existing categories, potentially ruining the brand. Adding an expensive athlete endorsement to that equation adds even more risk. Nike is an example of a brand enjoying incredible success in both new and mature markets, but not all brands are so successful. There are numerous factors to consider before brand bridging and even more factors to consider before signing an endorsement of any type.

Robert Cusumano

Companies are Catching the Brangelina Fever

After the high profile African adoption of Brangelina, slews of companies are forking over dough for African relief. Though African AIDS awareness has always been a know topic, it seems that the pop-culture focus on it definitely increased its visibility. Gap, Apple, Converse, and Emporio Armani are joining the AIDS-relief cause with their "Product(red)" campaign (backed by Oprah and U2's Bono). I think this is an excellent opportunity for the companies since they will be able to co-brand with a worthy and important cause while extracting meanings from Oprah and Bono--both HIGHLY influencial figures--to bolster their own. Supermodel Iman also launched the "I am African" campaign featuring stars (regardless of race) in African war paint and feather head dresses. This African relief cause can also lend positive association to the Iman Cosmetics line. Shoe retailer ALDO also launched the "Speck", "See", "Hear" AIDS relief campaign starring stars like Michelle Yeoh and Avril Lavign.

All these efforts seem to be an effort to shape the consumer's meaning making process by surrounding the brand with positive associations. My only question is when will this become so excessive that the consumers are numb and no longer interested. Also when the charity efforts are not congruent with the brand meaning, does it still have the same positive effect/ (e.g. Emporio Armani is a purveyor of luxury Italian fashion, they use furs and leathers. but now they are supporting an African relief campaign?)

Everyone Wants to be a Star

BLOG BY DAVE CHEN
With the success of Startbucks brand extension of producing "Akeelah the Bee" through Starbucks Entertainment, companies seem to be jumping on the band wagon.
Grey Goose Vodka partnered with Sundance Channel to produce a series called "Iconolclasts" in which two innovators with similar visions share their expertise (comedian David Chappell and writer Maya Angelou are featured in an episode). Given the fact that Sundance Channel will not allow Grey Goose to air their commercials on the ad-free chanell, Grey Goose Entertainment is clearing borrowing hte meaning of the Sundance Channel and the iconoclasts to strengthen Grey Goose Vodka's own meaning via off-air commercials.
Mass retailer Target is also venturing into the entertainment arena by producing "Target Presents 'Tony Bennett: An American Classic' World Premiere
". This MTV Divas Live-type production was aired on NBC and freatures today's young artists such as Christina Aguilera, Michael Buble, and John Legend. To me, this brand extension of Target's seemed to be an effort to attract the older baby-boomer audience that are fans of Tony's. This seems natural since the current ad campaigns are edgy, hip, and focused on the younger demographic. (The show's rating was horrible according to Nielsons, since the network placed the even in the same time slot as another networks highly popular award show)
For me, I think these were less than successful brand extensions. Though I understand why Grey Goose would want to attract the intellectual clientelle since the Grey Goose image has always been one of sophistication and urbanity. However, the audience of Sundance seem to be more indie-film buffs and less main stream than Grey Goose. As for Target, i think the Tony Bennet event was a flop mainly due to netweork politics. I think if Target can debut a sophomore production that is in sync with its modern image and the hip "Target experience", they might fair better.

What do you guys think?

The Army is Confused....

BLOG BY DAVE CHEN
During the past Veterans' Day weekend, the US Army changed its long running slogan of "An Army of One" to "Army Strong". In the current campaign, the ad shows parents being worried about their child being in the army and facing the almost-definite chance of deployment; the ad ended with the main tag line: "You made them strong; We'll make them Army Strong"

Personally, I thought this completely altered the Army's core meaning. Granted, although EVERYONE knows that when you're in the army, you life is in the hands of your commanders, the "An Army of One" ads seemed to suggest a certain degree of individuality. After years of airing ads showing a single soldier battling wars or harsh conditions, the concept of "An Army of One" (launched Jan 2001) and the nuanced idea of individualism is deeply engrained in the public's mind. In a Boston.com article, "Loren Thompson, a defense analyst at the Lexington Institute research group, said the previous slogan seemed to promote the notion that you could join the Army and preserve your individuality. 'If you want to be an `Army of One' you probably want to join the Hell's Angels, not the U.S. Army,'"

I think the new $1billion "Army Strong" campagin is a poorly thought out campaign despite the high effectiveness testing results because the master brand of US Army is altering its core meaning that it's conveying. With the new "Army Strong" campaign, the Army is almost communicating the idea of once a parent's child is in the army's hands, they relinquish control of their child's life. This is a sharp contrast with the previous campaign that was a softer pitch that still allowed recruits to retain their individuality.

Also, the US Army is one of the most powerful organizations in the world, and it seems rather fickle for them to change the slogan that the public associates the Army with after a short 5 years.

This is what happens when you're the weaker brand....

Emap Consumer Media, owned by Emap in the U.K., announced this morning that it has suspended publication of the U.S. edition of FHM, which launched in 1999 during the height of the "laddie" magazine craze. Always second to Maxim Magazine in the U.S., FHM was to act as a launch pad for more trendy Emap titles such as Q, the hot British music monthly published in the U.K. In a statement, Emap CEO Paul Keenan said, "Trading conditions in the U.S. market have deteriorated over the past 12 months and we do not expect an improvement in the near term. In these circumstances we do not anticipate that the title would be able to trade on a profitable basis going forward." Keenan further noted, "The magazine has battled to establish a profitable presence in a hugely challenging and competitive market. With conditions in the U.S. worsening, we have decided to focus our resources elsewhere on faster growth platforms."

FHM's total paid and verified circulation fell 3.2 percent to 1.25 million in the first half of 2006 compared to the year prior, according to the Audit Bureau of Circulations. Newsstand copies fell 6.6 percent. Archrival Maxim rose 1.9 percent to 2.58 million in the same period. Single-copy sales fell 14.1 percent. As for ad pages, in 2006 FHM was down 21.4 percent to 735.

I can personally I'm not exactly in tears over FHM's demise. They were always at the bottom of the "Gentleman's" magazine market, pandering to brands like Maxim, Playboy, GQ, and others. I say good riddance. The only good thing they ever did for me was publish one of my stupid friends pictures in their magazine, which gave us good laughs for a few hours.

-Adam Herzog

Coldstone holds dance-off contest to promote products

Coldstone is gave its consumers a chance to enter their Shake it Up contest in which participants showed off their hottest dance moves in a one-minute video. Seven regional finalists were flown to New York City to compete for $15,000 and free ice cream shakes and smoothies for life. The contest was launched in hopes of promoting Coldstone's new line of ice cream shakes and smoothies, which since July has rolled out in more than 1,300 Coldstone Creamery stores in the U.S., Puerto Rico, Guam and Japan. In all, Coldstone has launched nine shake flavors and eight smoothie recipes—the first time the Scottsdale, AZ-based ice cream chain has introduced smoothies and shakes on its menu. The launch was part of Coldstone's celebration of July being National Ice Cream month.

Coldstone Creamery's new shake line includes the Cake 'n Shake, made with the cake batter ice cream, milk and yellow cake pieces, and the PB&C, which consists of chocolate ice cream, milk and peanut butter. Its new smoothie line features Man-Go Bananas, made with yogurt or soymilk, sorbet, mango puree and banana, and Berry Lemony, which includes sorbet, raspberries, strawberries and lemon. To give their drink an extra kick, customers can add a free supplement to any smoothie.

I thought this was a great idea. Other than a million dollars, I don't think there is a better prize you could win than a life-time supply of ice cream. Pure brilliance.

-Adam Herzog

seriously? again also

again forgot my name...


rock paper scissors by sara barr.

Lost - The best show on tv

As a big fan of the television show Lost, I was surprised to see this article talking about how the show was in trouble. Apparently viewership dropped half a million for the second season after the first season raked in 16 million viewers. They surveyed many of these consumers who stopped watching and they explained that they were tired of the muddled plots and constant reruns. In order to make sure the dropoff wasn't going to be repeated for the third seaon this year straightened out the storylines and scheduled a 13 week hiatus inbetween the fall season (8 episodes) and the spring season which will be returning in February. They also pumped up a large promotional marketing campaign. First they launched an online buzz marketing campaign this past summer called "The Lost Experience". This website sent fans on a scavenger hunt to find clues imbedded in TV spots and online. Tens of millions of people participated, driving awareness for ABC and beginning the trend of online mystery promos for other companies like Verizon, Spring, and Jeep.

I like the idea of this promotion although I can't believe how many people really took to the mystery idea with such vigor. I consider myself a huge fan of the show, to the point where all cell phones must be silenced during the episode, but I don't think I would ever take part in such a promotion. I don't know what it is, I guess I have just never been one for advertising or crazy promotional ideas. What do you think about online mystery promotions?

-Adam Herzog

actually ridiculous. what will they get their hand on next?

anheuser-busch is again sponsoring the "BUD LIGHT/USA ROCK PAPER SCISSORS LEAGUE". this just goes to show that someone will sponsor nearly anything as long as it gets their name out there...all buzz is good buzz i guess, however i don't know if they're trying to make RPS a "manly, competetitive" sport - i just don't see that happening. Finalists apparently compete on television for a $50,000 grand prize in the championship in Las Vegas. Over 10,000 RPS enthusiasts participated in 2006.

just to give you an idea of what it's like:

oh also.

cocaine blog by sara barr.

User Generated Commercials from Quiznos and iFilm

So Quiznos is partnering with iFilm, an online video network similar to U-tube, to launch a contest where fans, consumers, or anyone with a video camera can attempt to win the grand prize of $10,000 dollars, a year supply of Quiznos, and have their commercial aired in on the year ending, wrap up episode of Best Week Ever's "Best Year Ever" as well as in Times Square on New years Eve. The videos need to be aligned with their current campaign of quiznos vs. subway. You may have seen some of these ads on television, where quiznos takes to the streets to compare the sandwhiches, the outcome always being people prefer quiznos subs because they have more meet. The promotion is one of several contests framed around consumer-generated ads, all playing into the buzz around popular social networking sites like YouTube and MySpace whose users frequently incorporate brands in their own videos posted on the sites. Doritos rolled out a contest that let consumers create a 30-second spot to air during Super Bowl XLI on Feb. 7. The part that gets me is the "grand" prize of a years supply of Quiznos food. Read into the quotation marks as you will.

-Adam Herzog

I scream, You scream, we all scream for....cocaine?

An awkward silence falls into the conversation....
"you, uh...did WHAT last night?"
"oh, i did cocaine - no big deal though"
"oh...right...hehe."

This conversation could be going one of two ways:
1)
"so yeah... i gotta go - have fun with your cocaine"
2)
"what do you mean?"

if conversation #2 is chosen, the apparent drug fiend will go on to say that it was, in fact, not actual cocaine they were "doing" but a new energry drink titled after it's more illegal namesake/counterpart. This new energy drink called simply "cocaine". It is supposed to be a huge energy rush - apparently 350% stronger than redbull. so the question is - why? whywhywhywhywhywhy? and the answer is - because energy drinks are old hat - everyone and their mother has spent a night hopped up on redbull to finish a paper - but has anyone taken it farther? The fact is that redbull, while giving you a short burst of energy - doesn't continue the job into the deep, dark hours of the night. But apparently "cocaine" does.

a news.com article gleans the following information:
"
"When a person sees the name of the drink, some psychological effect happens and the person is already experiencing the energy buzz before they even open the can," speculates Cocaine inventor Jamey Kirby, whose company, Redux Beverages, is based in Las Vegas.

"I can think of no other product except real cocaine that could have that effect on the public."

Taste-testers say the drink hits hard. "It does give you a little rush," one sipper said.

Another hated the feeling the drink gave her. "I don't like the tingly feeling in my chest. I feel my heart racing and I'm not being paranoid . . . I feel looped."

Kirby said an ingredient was added to slightly numb the throat to add an oral sensation much like cocaine does."

so i guess the rest is left up to you, partygoers - it's time to decide, to be or not to be...BUZZED?

Building Interest in "Dreamgirls"

In order to promote their new movie "Dreamgirls," Dreamworks has been paying the licencing costs for noncommercial theater groups to put on the stage version of the production since the summer of 2005. The marketing department for Dreamworks felt that everyone involved in the production of the show (ie: cast, crew, directors, stagehands, ushers, etc) would be more inclined to see the movie and create buzz. In addition, the organizations putting on the musical performances would be promoting the show to local patrons, and would create buzz for the movie title. Dreamworks plans to invest $250,000 in this project.
Because Dreamworks has agreed to pay the licensing fees, the number of "Dreamgirls" productions has vastly increased nationwide.
I think this is a great way to promote the movie. Promotion through various media outlets is a great way to promote a new film. For example, if a book is extremely successful (ie: The Devil Wears Prada or The DaVinci Code), then the movie is generally successful as well. By stimulating press surrounding the title, the movie has a head start in creating awareness and buzz.

Check out this article at: http://www.latimes.com/business/custom/admark/la-et-dreamgirls12dec12,0,4664871.story?coll=la-headlines-business-advert

- Samantha Bichler

First Class Cabins

I found this article about American Airlines upgrading their first class cabins. American Airlines is spending $20 million to improve their Boeing 767 aircrafts that fly the longest US routes. The first class cabins will include flat-screen televisions and personal entertainment devices offering movies, TV, music and video games. They will also replace bulky analog tape systems and cathode-ray tube monitors to make more space.
This article reminded me of Experience Engineering’s Lou Carbone because the airline industry relies heavily on the “experience.” The fact that American Airlines is trying to improve their first class experience is a step in the right direction to having a competitive advantage over other domestic airlines. This article also reminded me of my first experience flying first class. It was amazing. I sat down in the leather seat and was able to fully extend my legs without hitting the seat in front of me! Immediately, I was served a cup of warm pistachios and cashews, and then the flight attendant walks over to offer me a beverage. On airplanes I love Ocean Spray’s Cranapple Drink and the difference between first class and coach is that when you are done with your drink, in first class you are immediately offered another drink. In coach, you rush to finish your drink so that you can throw your cup away when the flight attendant walks by with the trash bag (well at least I feel rushed).

Erica Lee

Red Bull Gives Us Wings For Finals

Hey everyone
I was sitting in the government office and happened to find a very interesting flyer:

"Up, up and an A! Need some Wiiings to help carry you through exam week? TXT "wiiings" along with your location on campus to 781-526-2984 this Thursday between 8pm-10pm!"

As much as I love cool ways of advertising and promos, i.e. the Chase Bank Facebook pedicabs (SO COOL); this redbull flyer is definitly at the top of my list. Redbull is promoting and advertising exactly what it does best. Keeping you awake when you can't do it by yourself anymore. All while staying in tune with one of their core target markets. The brand is so alligned with their consumers views and uses of the product that they chose a brilliant time "exam week" to satisfy consumer needs and take away attention from competing products.

Redbull was among the first of its kind and continues to lead the pack by reinforcing its purpose and product features as well as linking associations to specific situations in which Red Bull can be used to keep you awake. This linking of associations adds value to the core brand and makes it easier for people to think of situations in which to use the product. So if anyone needs red bull this Thurday try it out and see if you develop a little loyalty.

Yvette Hakim

Building a Sopranos Online Community

The Arts & Entertainment cable channel will be airing reruns of the series “The Sopranos” in order to get viewers to watch the reruns with renewed interest “A&E created a game to gain viewer interest and build a “Sopranos Community.” This article sparked my interest because from our guest speaker Diane Hessen and what we’ve learned in class, there is a trend growing towards brands building online/social communities.

This Sopranos game is similar to a fantasy football league, in which “actual football games supply the raw data for parallel competitions for points and rankings. The Sopranos game depends on action in the series to win points and rankings in the online game.” Players must find virtual tokens that represent characters, objects and places that are central to the series, and they are rewarded with bonus points if the pieces are arranged in order that reflects the same order in the episode. This game is user-friendly to all viewers. It doesn’t matter if you’re a Sopranos enthusiast or if you’ve never seen the series before.

I think this online game is a great idea because it generates a buzz among viewers and it enhances the experience of watching the television series. Honestly I don’t know the details of the fantasy football league but I have friends that actively participate in it. If there is a deadline to choose your “fantasy team,” my friends would literally stop and drop what they are doing to “draft” a team for the game. If the Sopranos can mimic the user participation for the “Fantasy Football League” and create a “Sopranos Community,” this online game will be successful.

Erica Lee

Are Hotels Becoming Mini-Malls?

I read this article in the New York Times called “Take the Hotel Room Home” and it sparked my interest because it talks about how hotels are bridging and bundling their brand by offering “more than just sleep…terry cloth robes, mini bar items, and overpriced jewelry for sale in the lobby shops.” Now, hotels are putting price tags on everything you hear, taste, touch and smell during your stay.
If you lose your luggage on a flight, or if you need a new evening gown for the night’s event, the W Hotel will provide you with a selection of women’s apparel to choose from. Other hotels are selling such as the Westin Hotels, Ritz-Carlton’s, Kimpton Group, and Sofitel are selling mattress sets and bed collections. Another trend hotels are capitalizing on is selling different scents and sounds (music) found in the hotel lobbies.
I think this growing trend for hotels to bridge and bundle their brand by placing price tags on everything found in their hotel is a great idea because it fortifies current brand meanings and creates new associations with the brand. For example, I’ve stayed at the Westin Hotel and I absolutely love their “Heavenly Bed.” After seeing it in stores at Nordstrom’s, I associated meanings of comfort and relaxation with the bed which then transferred over to the Westin being comfortable and relaxing.

Erica Lee

Reef's subliminal buzz

There’s a great article in Brandweek this week, about the Best and Worst Marketing Ideas of the year. One that really surprised me was Reef’s.

From about a year, they have been commercializing sandals with a special feature... a bottle opener on the heel!!! Moreover, the funny thing is they don’t mention this “feature” anywhere. Not in the ads, not even in the packaging.

They left to consumers’ imagination the issue of wondering why there was a small metal piece in their sandals and what they could use it for... think about it, and the amount of buzz it must have generated! Would you have the courage to say to your friends, “hey, I have a bottle opener in my shoes; I can open your beer!” Obviously, it is there just for fun and to generate confusion and discussion, because who on earth would use a shoe, which is in contact with the dirty ground, to open something you put in your mouth!”

As I said, striking...you can see the sandals (and opinions of some users!) in these blogs
http://www.popgadget.net/2006/06/reef_fanning_sa.php
http://www.7nights.com/asterisk/archives05/2005/06/reef-fanning-bottle-opener-sandals

-Lorena Roque

A Red Chrismas

An article from Brandweek this week, "Gifts That Keep on Giving" discusses about the population of people who rather purchase from retailers that support a good cause than the retailers who don't have increased by over 10% from last year. The article shows that due to the Oparah and Bono-sanctioned Red, many consumers are encouraged to purchase from Red-Branded retailers, such as Apple, GAP, Motorola, and etc. The article reminds me of the GAP presentation one of the team presented. Recall the presentation, one of the recommendations was to drop the association of Red-Brand due to the higher price. I'm just wondering if GAP should really drop the line if supporting a good cause has such positive image on brands. Also, do you think the willingness to purchase brands that support good cause is only seasonal (due to Christmas and New Year) or the willingness stays the same all year round?

by Alice Lee

Scandals in Wal-Mart

In Brandweek this week, there's an article about the scandal in Wal-Mart. The summary of the story is that the top marketing executive of the company, Julie Roehm violated the ethics policy of Wal-Mart by receiving free drinks and dinner from one of Wal-Mart's supplier, Draft. According to the article, Roehm was also caught sitting in the laps of two Draft's male guests. The key issue here is not only about Roehm breaking the company's ethic policies, she is the marketing personal who is working on moving Wal-Mart to an upscale image shop. Therefore, what will Wal-Mart do next will definitely affect its brand image. Should Wal-Mart continue hiring her even though she broke the ethic policies? Or should Wal-Mart let her go and give up on the moving upscale image strategy?

Personally, I think that due to the majority of conservative consumers Wal-Mart has, no matter the company fires Roehm or not, it will have negative effect on the company image.

by Alice Lee

Brandweek, 12/11/06, p10 - JQ Park

AmEx Hit Corporate Links In Exclusive USGA Pact

According to this article American Express is the first corporate partner in the 112 year history of U.S. Golf Assn. By doing so American Express will receive tickets to US Open games, chance to play in US Open courses, and other variety of benefits to their members.
Some time ago, I read an article that American Express are opening their service centers in malls for their members' convinience. Nowadays, it seems credit card companies are not just credit card companies. In fact, there are thriving for financial service companies. I am just curious, in about 10 to 15 years, what kind of services a credit card company will offer to members?

Brandweek 10/30: New Health Drinks Flood Market

Remember when the Atkins’ Diet was the “in” thing to do? Not eating anything but meat was guaranteed to make you drop pants sizes. What about the South Beach Diet that promised you weight loss as you progressed through carbohydrate-increasing phases? When I think of a particular weight loss program I think of the Zone Diet. MTV did a special on celebrities using this diet to mail order each of their “balanced meals” for three weeks at a time.

Forget the diets, a new trend is growing and in 2007, beverage makers Coca-Cola, Pepsi, Glaceu, and Snapple are introducing drinks that “guarantee weight-loss, cell damage-reducing antioxidants and natural energy.” The Wellness and Functional Beverage Market has seen tremendous growth-sales up from $41 billion in 1999 to $55 billion in 2005 (Beverage Marketing, NY).

An example of new health drinks:
Coca-Cola is introducing:
Enviga-sparkling green tea that burns calories
H2Odwalla enhanced water
Nutraceutical versions of Diet Coke
New juices designed to help women with skincare, weight management detoxification

I was amazed when I first read this article because being an athlete, I know that weight loss involves physical activity and monitoring your nutrition, but these new products make running and lifting weights unmotivating. I think it would be great if I could sit on my couch, watch television, and lose weight doing it but I don’t think these drinks will be effective. Slim Fast is a weight-loss drink but you still have to work out and eat smaller portions. I think these new health drinks are making society lazier. I don’t understand why people can’t put aside a half-hour of their time and commit it to exercising.

Erica Lee

Can Mainstreaming Cause Erosion?

As the Holiday season kicks in to full gear a whole new variety of commercial ad campaigns are released by companies. It is also a great time to launch a campaign to reposition the brand like the Gap team had explored in their branding project. Campaigns could also be used to reach or connect with a different target market such as Jay-Z in the new Budweiser commericals. These partnerships create immense opportunities for the brands, but what is the reverse effect on the brands that Common and Jay-Z have built. When has a rapper crossed the line from promoting something they truly support to "selling out".
Common is seen as a a more niche rapper and is one of the few who has achieved his success without entering mainstream rap culture. Many would say this culture glorifies money, and women, but he instead stuck to the root of hip hop and other more serious issues. Common's credibility lies in his image as a non- mainstream rapper, but the very commerical Gap campaign could easily erode his main brand meaning.
Unlike Common, Jay-Z is a more mainstream rap artist and has created an empire in the entertainment industry. "As if overseeing Rocawear, running a record label, part-owning the New Jersey Nets, and coming out of retirement to rap wasn't enough, Jay-Z is also now Co-brand Director for Anheuser-Busch's Budweiser Select". The transition for Jay-Z may seem a bit more natural and in fact a good business decision seeing that the commercials were released the same time he released his new cd. Will the budweiser decision erode Jay-Z's Brand meaning as well?

-Yvette Hakim

Shop til You Drop

I remember back in the beginning of the semester we discussed in class some interesting marketing tactics that certain brands use to get you to buy their product or stay in their stores...for example the structure of Disney World - making the buildings look long and plentiful when you are entering and on the way out it looks like a short walk. Well, there was an interseting article in a magazine I was reading about similar marketing tactics used by stores...Thought you'd be interested to know.

Burberry - Music Marketing Director Rishcel Granquist recently decided in order to sell the new London glory days-inspired collection, the store should only play British music both old and new.

Ann Taylor - To go with the black and brown basics, creative director Dave Keller insists that female customers must listen to female artists or if it must be male, he must sing about love or getting dumped. The music is light and airy (think Lillith Fair).

Abercrombie and Fitch - The theme of abercrombie is "outdoorsy casual." The chocolate walls, palm trees, and moosehead hanging from the wall give it the outdoorsy feel. The store also insists that loud music with a thumping baseline always be playing to fill the store with energy and give customers energy to buy products.

Macy's - Ever been to the young women's fashion section of Macy's? If you have, you've probably noticed the rap/hip hop music. In Herald Square there is even a DJ behind glass pumping out hip hop, R&B, and reggaeton. He cranks the music up as the store becomes more crowded.

So the next time you feel the urge to buy everything in a store, make sure its not just the music playing that's pumping you up.

-Heather Campbell

"Tell Someone" and "One Less" campaigns

I'm sure many of you have heard or seen the "Tell Someone" Campaign that was launched on television and in print ads this summer. The "Tell Someone" campaign, funded by Merck, was promoted to increase awareness surrounding a link between HPV virus and cervical cancer. Little did I know, that when this campaign was originally launched, Merck was in the works of creating a vaccine to cure the HPV virus and was in the process of seeking FDA approval. Mentioning the vaccine in an ad before it was licensed would have violated FDA guidelines, so in order to get around those rules, they came up with a campaign that merely informed and educated viewers about the dangers of the virus.

In November this year, Merck's drug was finally FDA approved and the company came out with a drug called Gardasil which claimed to cure this disease. They started a new campaign called the "One Less" campaign (as in 'one less' life affected by cervical cancer.

I'm not sure about the ethics surrounding the campaigns but I do think this was a great move on Merck's advertising department. In order to increase sales, they had to inform the general public of a problem and a need for a drug to cure that problem. By creating a frenzy and concern about the HPV virus, Merck was able to capitalize on this panic and introduce a drug to solve the problem. Since they were not allowed to mention Gardasil until it was licensed, Merck did a great job of working its way around the rules.

For more informations check out http://www.vaccineethics.org/2006/05/more-on-mercks-tell-someone-hpv.html

-Sri Reddy

Neutrogena Shave-His-Face Promotional Event

Typically, Neutrogena is thought of as women's beauty product brand. They sell body washes, shaving cremes, moisturizers, make-up remover, etc. However, this year, Neautrogena launched its Neautrogena Men line. The company created shaving creme, shampoo, deodorant, etc, targeted to men.
Because this brand is typically seen as feminine, Neutrogena launched the Shave-His-Face promotional event to promote the mens line on college campuses across the country. The company hired two representatives from universities all across the country to organize the event on their campus. (The BU reps were my roommates, which is how I know about this.)
The representatives' jobs were to get girls to nominate attractive guys with facial hair on the "Undercover Hottie" site and submit their picture with facial hair. Then girls from BU were encouraged to vote on these guys to determine who would win as BU's Undercover Hottie and win $200. The top 30 guys with the most votes were invited to the Shave-His-Face event, where local barbers came and gave the gentleman free barbershop shaves and sample Neutrogena Mens products. Girls were also invited to watch the shaves and pick up free samples as well.
I thought this was a great event and a good way to promote Neautrogena's new sub-brand. The event attracted over 200 college students who took home samples and spread the word all over campus. Holding this event in 40 schools around the coutry definitely impacted the brand's awareness. As we learned, interactive marketing allows consumers to feel engaged with the product and therefore more inclined to purchase.

-Samantha Bichler

Chocolate, Healthy?

So in the last issue of Brandweek we all got, there is an article titled "Healthy Chocolate Comes to the Cereal Category." While many consumers know that dark chocolate is a healthier form of chocolate and that the actual chocolate cocoa bean is not bad for you, Chocolate still has a fattening and unhealthy negative association to it. Quaker oats and Kellogs believes that chocolate's image has transformed into something more positive and health related, I don't agree. The introduction of cereal's with chocolate, in my opinion, creates a more kid oriented product, which is not who these cereal brands are trying to target. Although they are having promotions and weight loss contests to prove that they are healthy and yummy, I think consumers will see it as a cocoa puffs kind of cereal that is made for kids and not at all healthy. It's like when Kellogs came out with their Special K with strawberries cereal and claimed that it will help you lose weight, yea if you substitute one bowl of cereal for two of your meals (real healthy huh). So anyways, I agree with the author Sonia Reyes and I think that "for the cereal industry, chocolate is just the latest attempt at pumping up sales." In addition, since they are targeting health conscious adults with this new product, it might hurt they brand meaning associated with their other healthy cereals.

-Shauny Lamba

Marketing to Men- Karin Riefkohl

On Dec. 5th a Marketing to Men Summit took place at the MGM hotel in Las Vegas, NV. A diverse group of people and speakers were present at this event, where the conclusions were that, when it comes to marketing to men, most simply have it wrong; the either 'diss' men, or view them as 'defective women', etc. It seems that many simply 'redesign women's product for men.' Yet, a few have been able to capture the elusive 18-34 year-old male market. These include: Michael Jordan and Ludicris. They both seem to focus on the fact that when it comes to this market you have to keep your goals aligned to your brand. For Michael Jordan this means maintaing his credibility and appeal to a young market. For Ludicris this means staying ahead of trends and focusing on "the growing union between marketing and rap." Yet, why have these two icons been able to tap into this market and focusing marketing efforts to this group so effectively when others have not? Does this mean you have to be a man in order to effectively market to this group of consumers? And, since when is understanding what men want harder than understanding what women want?

I thought this was an interesting article to share. To view, copy the following address to your browser:

http://www.brandweek.com/bw/news/spotlight/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1003495594

Dove Campaign

Real beauty VS Reality

Real beauty: “You are beautiful the way you are. There is no need for cosmetics or surgeries.”

Reality: All girls/women want to be beautiful, like to be commented on being beautiful. They do so by buying beauty products, putting on cosmetics, going for plastic surgeries.

Dove currently has a campaign promoting real beauty. Is this super brand successful?

This campaign is designed to build people’s self esteem, suggesting that beauty is just an illusion. I find this campaign is inspiring, but to what extend can people be inspired?

Dove has been promoting their campaign extensively. They have magazine print ads, TV commercials, etc. Check out this youtube: this is one of their marketing efforts to emphasize that beauty is distorted through technology.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I09Mud8kguQ

The Dove Campaign is trying to build each person’s confidence, telling them that they are beautiful as they are. I don’t know if they are successful. Can this campaign actually impact a change in women’s lives? Or will this just create buzz ‘Hey have you seen the new Dove commercial where the models are of real people?’

To my female classmates, will this campaign impact you great enough to go out without makeup, even on special occasions? Do you think Dove’s campaign is successful?

- Joanne Cahyadi

Saks' Logo Gets a Makeover- Karin Riefkohl

Saks Fifth Avenue's new CEO has decided to makeover Saks classic logo (shown in both script and block lettering on the left-hand side of the page). This is part of a revitalization strategy this CEO has undergone in order to try to have the company bounce back from the previous CEO's strategy to appeal to a younger market. However, if they are trying to maintain their 48 year-old clientele, wouldn't they prefer the classic, clean logo? I mean, already this year they have re-done the Boston store, and it looks more younger market oriented than 48 year-old market oriented; and, they have re-done other stores (though, I cannot testify to their appearance, but I would assume they are all somewhat consistent with each other). I just don't understand how these actions re-affirm the company looking to maintain their 48 year-old clientele and step away from the younger market (which the previous CEO had started to market towards).

To see the article, copy the following url to your browser:

http://www.brandweek.com/bw/news/recent_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1003495579

Sports and Brands: athlete endorsements

I guess I could have spoken of the larger topic of celebrity endorsements, but simply because I love and live sports I am narrowing it down to just athlete endorsements.

Just to get you on the right track, Tiger Woods made $87,000,000 in endorsements in 2005 alone. As a comparison he only made $10 million in actual winnings. $10 million is a lot of money, but he is making 8.7 times that just from doing advertisements and promotions.

You don't have to even be that great of an athlete to get endorsements. Andre Agassi, who was great at one time, but only earned about $1 million from actual winnings in 2005. He can not win much at all in tennis, but I doubt he's too worried, considering he is making $25 million from endorsements.

The endorsements used to be all sports related or apparel related. Now athletes endorse everything. For all of you Boston sports fans, I have a great example. Adam Vinatieri, during his stay in New England, endorsed absolutely everything. He did commercials for restaurants, furniture stores, credit cards, cars, pizza, and everything else they would pay him to do. He kept getting deals and he was a kicker. He was a great kicker, but he was a kicker nonetheless.
He changed teams in the offseason, so all the local endorsements he did became obsolete.

That brings up the issue of athletes being unreliable. Athletes constantly change teams, get injured, get worse, do stupid things, and get in trouble. It happens with all celebrity endorsers, I guess, but it seems to happen more with athletes. Kobe Bryant was a great example. He got accused of rape and 10 of the 20 different companies he was endorsing dropped him as their spokesman. He was found not guilty, but the companies still lost money and tarnished their brand image by being involved with him. Athletes can hurt brand images greatly, but companies take those risks anyways. It's because there is so much awareness and respect for athletes.

If you had your own company with a strong brand, would you use an athlete to endorse it? I know, as much as I love and know sports, I would think twice.

Daniil

The brand of Britney Spears

Fact: Between November 22 and December 2, Britney Spears has flashed her front, rear, and C-section scar five times to paparazzi.

Fact: Following her recent divorce to pop sensation (cough cough) Kevin Federline, Britney seems to be trying to reposition herself as the sexy independent hipster she once was. On her website, she writes, “I look forward to a new year, new music and a new me.”

Seriously Britney Spears, five times in less than two weeks?

It is true that these shenanigans are creating buzz and getting people to talk; but I don’t think that this is this is the direction the Britney Spears brand, or any other celebrity brand for that matter, should go. Not only is she depreciating her own brand image to the point where people don’t respect her, but she is also negating all the glitz and glamour that made her a celebrity in the first place. I guess from a marketing standpoint, one can argue that Britney Spears has done an exceptional job of building buzz and getting in the spotlight again. From a branding standpoint, however, she is lowering herself to the level of a harlot.

Thanks for reading,
Ryan.

Bouchee @ Newbury Street

How can a new brand/restaurant compete with already established names?

Boston’s Newbury Street definitely is the place to see and to be seen. They have salons, boutiques and fabulous dining. When I think of Newbury, I think of high end boutiques like Chanel, Emporio Armani, Louis Boston, etc. Going from there will be: FCUK, G-star, Jasmine Sola etc. When I think of dining, I think of Stephanie’s on Newbury (the best), Sonsie (the best breadpudding), Armani Café (for people watching), Tapeo etc.

I guess the main point of my blog is: how can you compete with these already established names on Newbury?

How many of you have heard of the new restaurant on Newbury Street called Bouchee? I bet many haven’t heard. It’s a French bistro with a fancy interior layout. It opened couple of months back, but I wonder how many people have already been there. I wonder if their name is even out there. I tried Google-ing it but there is few results. I got to know about Bouchee when I was parking my car next to the restaurant.

Bouchee offers upscale French food. But with their presence at Newbury, are they trying to sell food, or are they trying to sell the ‘people watching’ experience?

If they were trying to sell the ‘people watching’ experience, I think they have failed. Their restaurant is not visible from the walkway. The only visible part of their restaurant is the ‘Bouchee’ sign on the walkway, and a group of valet personnel standing on the street. On the other hand, if they were trying to sell food, they are also in the wrong location. French, upscale fares are mostly located at the South End (Tremont St), where there are endless choices of French, well-known restaurants (Mistral etc).

They say the restaurant business is a cash cow. I think Bouchee has to make some efforts to market their restaurant, or their ROI will be very slow, or even negative. Come to think of it, how did Johnny Cupcakes create so much buzz? Is it because they match the genre of the kind of shops in Newbury St, or are they visible (located at upper level of the shops, easily seen from the walkway), or do they differentiate themselves successfully? For Bouchee, they are just a restaurant. They are countless typical restaurants like that. What differentiates them, can they even differentiate themselves? Can they have returning patrons?

- Joanne Cahyadi

Smells like Play-Doh Perfume

This week’s BrandWeek issue has an article about the best and worst brand extensions of 2006. After reading the article, it becomes clear that many people in the business need to take MK487 with Professor Fournier. Play-Doh Perfume? Chicken Soup for the Soul Pet Food? I mean when you see this you have to think about if the company even used any sort of evaluation criteria to select a proper brand extension. Let’s try to evaluate Play-Doh Perfume with three criteria:

Size of Jump- Enormous
Consistency w/ Brand- Not at All
Relevance to Target Market- Unfortunately, kids aren’t the most hygienic beings.

One of the brand extensions that were praised was a Vera Wang Suite at the Halekulani Hotel. The association of luxury that Vera Wang has built over the years is an appropriate match to the luxury hotel. Another appropriate brand extension was the line of Red Cross radios, each with a hand crank, a cell phone charger and a siren. These emergency radios are closely linked with the American Red Cross’ message. As discussed in class, it is important to analyze the possible extensions through different criteria such as Size of Jump and Relevance. Trying to milk your brand only hurts the brand and deteriorates its meaning.

-Jose Diaz

Herb Chambers ad - JQ Park

Boston Herald 12/10/06, Sunday, page B7

If any one of you have purchased a car in Massachusetts, you may have heard a car dealership that is called Herb Chambers. Herb Chambers is well known for its stubborn sales techniques.
They do not discount the car sale prices. However, they try to satisfy their customers by providing extensive services.

The ad runs like this:
Herb Chambers didn't get to be New England's biggest car dealer just by selling cars.

In fact, we don't really sell cars at all. Instead, we help you buy them. It's a subtle distinction, but a telling one. You see, we're a different kind of car dealer. Our aim is to help you into the vehicle that's right for you. We don't want to sell you one car. We want to help you choose every car for the rest of your life. Because what really matters to us is the opportunity of providing many years of service. At all levels. Come and see for yourself. We think you'll be pleasantly surprised.+pictures.

The reasons this advertisement caught my attention were that, generally, not only consumers are not aware that Herb Chambers own thirty different kind of car brands in thirty different locations, but also consumers are have different priorities when they purchase automobiles.
For example, a car buyer who is in a Mercedes dealership, he/she may be looking for extensive service, quality, or prestige; however, a car buyer in a Scion dealership may be looking for deep discount, economical value, or simple satisfaction. Thus, it is not a good strategy to apply same strategy to every dealership. I guess this is revisiting the Black & Decker case.

Harley Davidson Ad

Hey, I recently saw Harley's new ad- black sheep
I found it on this website
http://www.adweek.com/aw/creative/best_spots/index.jsp
And this is the link to the actual video
http://smilparse.real.com/showcase/ads/adweek/best_spot.ram?spot=Oct2006_HarleyDavidson
I just wanted to talk about how they are keeping with a constant brand image with this ad. Its a great ad, i really like it. Its about freedom, and being differnet from everyone else, in a good way. They dont even show the bike until the end. So to them, its not about the actaul bike but the experience behind it. As we have talked about harley in many classes, what do you guys think of the ad? Do you think they should be focusing on something else?