Tuesday, September 16, 2008
Crayola
Why would crayola remove it's smell from its crayons? Seams dumb to lose the sensual branding they have built upon for years.
Monday, September 8, 2008
Social Media
http://socialmediatoday.com/SMC/46113
Here is a link to an article: "A List of Social Media Marketing Examples." In particular, I thought Shonda might be interested.
Here is a link to an article: "A List of Social Media Marketing Examples." In particular, I thought Shonda might be interested.
Microsoft New Campaign
I dont know if any of you have seen this ad: Critics say Gats-Seinfeld Duo No Lauging Matter (Text included below for those without access to the Wall Street Journal).
It seams like an interesting campaing. I, as most of you know, am not a fan of Microsoft. In the Marketing Mix, they have clearly let their prodcut slide from a great tool, to almost virus like hog that prevents people from doing what they want to do on a pc. Either way, it looks like they are trying to change their image. I wonder what is next in this IMC - what were the goals and was I even a stakeholder they were looking to win back?
-----------------------------------------------------
Critics Say Gates-Seinfeld Duo
No Laughing Matter
Microsoft Ads Draw
Attention, Not Praise;
Missing the Creativity?
By NICK WINGFIELD and SUZANNE VRANICA
September 8, 2008
Jerry Seinfeld's long-running sitcom is often described as a show about nothing. The same might be said of a baffling new Microsoft Corp. commercial featuring the comedian and Bill Gates -- not, as "Seinfeld" characters might say, that there's anything wrong with that.
The first highly anticipated commercial in an ambitious $300 million campaign to burnish Microsoft's Windows brand was mostly panned by early viewers. The TV spot -- which began airing during an NFL game on Thursday and was later seen hundreds of thousands of times on YouTube -- follows Messrs. Gates and Seinfeld around a shopping mall as the Microsoft chairman tries on shoes, but doesn't mention Windows once.
A blogger for Computer World wrote: "It's one of the worst, most pointless ads in history" while a headline in the Sydney Morning Herald read: " 'Bizarre' Microsoft ad misses mark."
Microsoft
Bill Gates and Jerry Seinfeld star in a new Microsoft ad campaign.
Still, some ad-industry professionals praised the quirky commercial for not using Mr. Seinfeld in a more conventional way to, say, directly hawk Windows Vista, a current Microsoft operating system that has been criticized by many reviewers. Despite the negative online chatter about the ad, Microsoft has succeeded in getting people talking about the commercial, ad experts say.
"The initial reaction might be on the fence or leaning negative but the ad did its job," says Dean Crutchfield, a brand consultant. "Most companies would have to spend a billion dollars on advertising to get this kind of attention."
"The fact that they have the blogs, the business community and mass media talking about it means they hit a nerve," says Allen Adamson, managing director of the New York office of Landor Associates, a corporate branding firm owned by WPP Group.
Microsoft spokesman Tom Pilla said the company was pleased with the initial reaction to the ad. "It's exactly what we were trying to achieve, which was to drive buzz," Mr. Pilla said.
In an interview Friday, Bill Veghte, senior vice president of Microsoft's Windows and online services business, said the first commercial was a "conversation starter, an ice breaker" that will be followed by further ads that he declined to describe. Mr. Veghte says the campaign is intended to create more excitement around what Windows can do.
"Some of that magic has faded into the background a bit," Mr. Veghte said. "I though it was absolutely essential we amplify not only the practical but the magical."
Microsoft is seeking to counter the bad buzz around Windows that Apple Inc. has egged on in a long-running advertising campaign, which features a young, hip character representing Apple's Macintosh and a clueless oaf who stands in for Windows personal computers.
Mr. Veghte says the ad campaign is part of a much broader push to boost Windows, including more extensive testing of Windows Vista PCs aimed at speeding up the time it takes to start up and shut down the machines. Microsoft is also cooperating with major retailers, including Best Buy Co. and Circuit City Stores Inc., to create stores-within-a-store that will showcase Windows-powered PCs, Internet services and mobile devices. Mr. Veghte said the company is also evaluating whether to do its own stores in addition to partnerships with other retailers.
Microsoft went to great lengths to keep its ads a secret including having some employees at the Everett Mall in Seattle -- where the ad was filmed earlier this summer -- sign confidentiality agreements. Mall management declined to comment last week about the ad effort and referred calls to Microsoft.
The first commercial didn't give viewers many clues about how Microsoft intends to make Windows more appealing. The ad concludes with Mr. Seinfeld asking Mr. Gates if a day will come when computers will be "moist and chewy like cake so we can just eat them while we're working."
Madison Avenue ad experts say they're eager to find out what else Crispin Porter + Bogusky, the ad firm behind the new spot, has up its sleeves. Crispin is known for giving new life to tired brands, including Burger King.
In the advertising business, the first commercials that launch a bigger campaign -- dubbed "teaser ads" -- are often greeted harshly. They often are designed mainly to attract attention, and are followed by other ads that explain the true message of the marketing effort.
Still, some brand experts gave the initial work a failing grade. "Despite this attempt to be cool, the commercial does nothing to change Microsoft's brand image, says Leslie Smolan, chief strategy officer at Carbone Smolan Agency, a New York-based branding firm.
"It's big, it's got deep pockets -- certainly deep enough to buy any celebrity it wants," Ms. Smolan said. "What it doesn't have is creativity, the key ingredient Microsoft has always lacked."
----------------------------------------
The ad itself:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uz6amk3P-hY
In the meantime: Get a Mac
It seams like an interesting campaing. I, as most of you know, am not a fan of Microsoft. In the Marketing Mix, they have clearly let their prodcut slide from a great tool, to almost virus like hog that prevents people from doing what they want to do on a pc. Either way, it looks like they are trying to change their image. I wonder what is next in this IMC - what were the goals and was I even a stakeholder they were looking to win back?
-----------------------------------------------------
Critics Say Gates-Seinfeld Duo
No Laughing Matter
Microsoft Ads Draw
Attention, Not Praise;
Missing the Creativity?
By NICK WINGFIELD and SUZANNE VRANICA
September 8, 2008
Jerry Seinfeld's long-running sitcom is often described as a show about nothing. The same might be said of a baffling new Microsoft Corp. commercial featuring the comedian and Bill Gates -- not, as "Seinfeld" characters might say, that there's anything wrong with that.
The first highly anticipated commercial in an ambitious $300 million campaign to burnish Microsoft's Windows brand was mostly panned by early viewers. The TV spot -- which began airing during an NFL game on Thursday and was later seen hundreds of thousands of times on YouTube -- follows Messrs. Gates and Seinfeld around a shopping mall as the Microsoft chairman tries on shoes, but doesn't mention Windows once.
A blogger for Computer World wrote: "It's one of the worst, most pointless ads in history" while a headline in the Sydney Morning Herald read: " 'Bizarre' Microsoft ad misses mark."
Microsoft
Bill Gates and Jerry Seinfeld star in a new Microsoft ad campaign.
Still, some ad-industry professionals praised the quirky commercial for not using Mr. Seinfeld in a more conventional way to, say, directly hawk Windows Vista, a current Microsoft operating system that has been criticized by many reviewers. Despite the negative online chatter about the ad, Microsoft has succeeded in getting people talking about the commercial, ad experts say.
"The initial reaction might be on the fence or leaning negative but the ad did its job," says Dean Crutchfield, a brand consultant. "Most companies would have to spend a billion dollars on advertising to get this kind of attention."
"The fact that they have the blogs, the business community and mass media talking about it means they hit a nerve," says Allen Adamson, managing director of the New York office of Landor Associates, a corporate branding firm owned by WPP Group.
Microsoft spokesman Tom Pilla said the company was pleased with the initial reaction to the ad. "It's exactly what we were trying to achieve, which was to drive buzz," Mr. Pilla said.
In an interview Friday, Bill Veghte, senior vice president of Microsoft's Windows and online services business, said the first commercial was a "conversation starter, an ice breaker" that will be followed by further ads that he declined to describe. Mr. Veghte says the campaign is intended to create more excitement around what Windows can do.
"Some of that magic has faded into the background a bit," Mr. Veghte said. "I though it was absolutely essential we amplify not only the practical but the magical."
Microsoft is seeking to counter the bad buzz around Windows that Apple Inc. has egged on in a long-running advertising campaign, which features a young, hip character representing Apple's Macintosh and a clueless oaf who stands in for Windows personal computers.
Mr. Veghte says the ad campaign is part of a much broader push to boost Windows, including more extensive testing of Windows Vista PCs aimed at speeding up the time it takes to start up and shut down the machines. Microsoft is also cooperating with major retailers, including Best Buy Co. and Circuit City Stores Inc., to create stores-within-a-store that will showcase Windows-powered PCs, Internet services and mobile devices. Mr. Veghte said the company is also evaluating whether to do its own stores in addition to partnerships with other retailers.
Microsoft went to great lengths to keep its ads a secret including having some employees at the Everett Mall in Seattle -- where the ad was filmed earlier this summer -- sign confidentiality agreements. Mall management declined to comment last week about the ad effort and referred calls to Microsoft.
The first commercial didn't give viewers many clues about how Microsoft intends to make Windows more appealing. The ad concludes with Mr. Seinfeld asking Mr. Gates if a day will come when computers will be "moist and chewy like cake so we can just eat them while we're working."
Madison Avenue ad experts say they're eager to find out what else Crispin Porter + Bogusky, the ad firm behind the new spot, has up its sleeves. Crispin is known for giving new life to tired brands, including Burger King.
In the advertising business, the first commercials that launch a bigger campaign -- dubbed "teaser ads" -- are often greeted harshly. They often are designed mainly to attract attention, and are followed by other ads that explain the true message of the marketing effort.
Still, some brand experts gave the initial work a failing grade. "Despite this attempt to be cool, the commercial does nothing to change Microsoft's brand image, says Leslie Smolan, chief strategy officer at Carbone Smolan Agency, a New York-based branding firm.
"It's big, it's got deep pockets -- certainly deep enough to buy any celebrity it wants," Ms. Smolan said. "What it doesn't have is creativity, the key ingredient Microsoft has always lacked."
----------------------------------------
The ad itself:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uz6amk3P-hY
In the meantime: Get a Mac
Tuesday, September 2, 2008
Some new things from Google that are free and might be useful
I saw on BBC America about the launch of Google's new web browser "Chrome". So I went to Google labs and saw some other things that might be useful:
- Google Scholar - search scholarly publications
- Google trends - gives updated stats on Google search terms
- Google transit - gives directions using public transportation options only
- Google Chrome - Google's new web browser. You might want to check out "incognito mode" for those developing web marketing for CRM
Monday, September 1, 2008
When to Study IMC
I was talking to my boss about the IMC class we just completed and where it fell within the overall sequence of our classes. He gave me a quizzical look, and said that the only master’s level course he had taken so far (the man has five young children…it’s amazing he got through one class) was Integrated Marketing Communications. After a brief pause, he said that it did make more sense to him to take the IMC class later, the way our program is designed.
After thinking about his comment, it dawned on me that his choosing the IMC course first, without first taking any “building block” classes, is rather consistent with people’s natural tendencies to jump right to the tactical elements of a campaign before identifying the goals, objectives, and strategies first. As awkward and as unglamorous defining these elements may be, I believe this point has finally gotten through my head.
And now, onward to metrics! They look downright painful!
After thinking about his comment, it dawned on me that his choosing the IMC course first, without first taking any “building block” classes, is rather consistent with people’s natural tendencies to jump right to the tactical elements of a campaign before identifying the goals, objectives, and strategies first. As awkward and as unglamorous defining these elements may be, I believe this point has finally gotten through my head.
And now, onward to metrics! They look downright painful!
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