Campaign Planning

Great Work

Here's some great work found over at Social-Creature. I won't spoil the scenario--you'll just have to watch--but it's one of those ideas that can go on and on. Kind of like this and this. Entertaining yet focused ideas, for mass-use products, that can keep an audience engaged for quite some time.  

Great Work

I love it when work just makes me you feel good as you get intrigued by a product. Here's a great piece of work from Discovery Channel and 72andSunny. Go ahead, watch it a few times. 

(Funny side note about Discovery Channel--I've run a fair amount of focus groups in my time and when respondents are asked what they typically watch on TV it seems nearly everyone says: "Discovery Channel." Or "The History Channel." Doesn't really matter the group. Of course, if nearly everyone did indeed watch the ratings would be in the stratosphere but, regardless, it says something about the brand perception of these stations and about how people want others to view them.)

Anyway... I for one am excited to check in on Discovery (for real) and see what's on these days. 

Keeping Perspective

A short while back Russell posted this thought up on his blog and I wanted to pass it along...

So wise.  

As we develop marketing solutions and recommendations, always best to keep this in mind.

Great Brand Tone

Brand tone (how something feels and the impression it leaves) is one of the most important things that separate good marketing from great marketing... And it's surprisingly difficult to articulate and manage consistently over time.

Apple has been terrific at this. Most recently, Intel and agency Venables Bell + Partners have also created a campaign that has a wonderful, smart but playful tone... Enjoyable to watch and pay attention to.

And then, of course, from earlier this year...

Maybe TV Is More Than Just "TV"

On Sunday 29.8 million people watched Brett Favre's return to Green Bay as his Minnesota Vikings battled the Packers. Such an audience was not only the second largest of any weekend NFL game, but was also the most watched telecast this year since February's Academy Awards. Interestingly, elsewhere in sports, the World Series has increased its viewing audience by 46% over last year. Across many measures we are simply watching more sports on TV.

Reading these numbers makes one ponder TV... and where our TV watching habits might be going.

First, let's start with the DVR. Currently, over 1/3 of US households have a DVR. What are we typically DVR-ing? Turns out it's largely scripted shows that we watch on our time one to seven days after airing. For example, after the time shifting numbers are added "The Mentalist" tacks on 2.8 million viewers while the "Grey's Anatomy" audience climbs 17%. In all, 36 shows now add 1 million or more viewers once time-shifting measurements are included (according to USA Today). 

Next, moving to the computer, Hulu and online video is seeing tremendous growth with traffic to Hulu.com outpacing the websites of NBC, Fox and ABC. Additionally, according to a November Fast Company article, online ad spending on video is up 43% this year and Hulu will bring in roughly $120 million in ad revenue to the networks for 2009. While this is a far cry from revenue gained from broadcast advertising, with US broadband penetration currently at 60% more growth is surely coming soon. 

So what might it all mean?

It seems that TV is splitting from just "TV" and into two things: "Event Programming" and "Scripted Shows". Two different products. Two different ways of watching. We're trending toward watching live for events and time shifting scripted shows. Hulu's Jason Kilar put it best recently: "Customers won't tell you what they want, but their behavior will tell you if you capture and analyze it." (That's a great quote for many things, isn't it?)

It seems as if, for now, consumers will continue watching Event Programming in mass in front of the TV when it airs: sports, news, award shows, speeches, reality competitions and the like. Live TV is an event and we want to know when it happens. And we like to talk and tweet about it right then... (Considering that 31% of home web use currently occurs in front of the TV.)

But when it comes to Scripted Shows, we're treating them more and more like movies... We choose when, where and how we watch. Just like a weekend matinee we select the viewing time that works best for us. Sure we like opening weekends but opening weekends span several days, multiple theaters and a range of viewing times. 

Who knows where TV is ultimately going?! But for the near term, perhaps we should start looking at TV as "Event Programming" and "Scripted Shows". It just seems like that's the way viewers are starting look at it...

Try An Informercial

Last night during Letterman, Subaru occupied an entire commercial break using an infomercial. And why not? An infomercial is a tactic often entirely dismissed as an option because of the stigma attached to it. But done effectively they can really get into our minds... Quality brands just need to make sure to invest in both the idea and the production, like Subaru did.   

It's also worth pointing out that once you visit OutbackDetergent.com you arrive at a site within a site. This is important because the visitor is still among the product and creative idea yet easily able to view the entire Subaru line. No need to jump out of the microsite and into the normal site for shopping. OutbackDetergent.com benefits the entire portfolio, not just the Outback. 

The Closet

Canal+ is a French premium pay television channel, and this is a pretty funny ad.

Agency: BETC Euro RSCG

Why People Buy Online

In marketing we are bombarded with facts, figures, research and over-analysis. So much so that it's often difficult to reach a decision of confidence. That's why it's important to center ourselves whenever possible.

Forrester Research just completed a survey regarding the main driver(s) of why people buy online. The two most important things: Low Price / High Product Quality. Combined together, of course, we get to value. And value is, predictably, all over Brand Keys' recently released 10 trends for 2010. 

Seems natural that "low price" would rank highest. But it's interesting that "high product quality" is so far separated from ""well-known brand names". This learning should build confidence for smaller online sellers. It infers that if a brand is new or under-developed that showcasing product uniqueness, investing in photography, offering generous warranties, and whatever else backs up a "high product quality" presentation all have the ability to push sales past better-branded rivals.

EMMY Ratings Up

Did you watch the EMMY Awards on Sunday night? It was a great show and if you saw it you joined 13.3 million other people who also watched. Compared to last year's show, 13.3 million represents a 6% increase in viewership and marked the best delivery in households and viewership for the EMMY Awards since 2006. (Interestingly, that year the show didn't face off against Sunday Night Football, which it did this year.)

The EMMY viewership rise is not alone... throughout '08 and '09 we've seen TV viewership increases in sports, other award telecasts and network shows alike. (Consider: the '09 Superbowl was the most watched TV event of all time, the Oscars were up 13% and the Grammy Awards were up 11%.) Appointment viewing still gets the eyeballs.

Part of this viewership increase is, most likely, the economy. Cocooning = more people at home in front of a screen. 

But in a time where some are chatting about how "no one watches TV anymore"... don't buy it. The numbers don't support that. TV certainly isn't the beacon it used to be (and marketing is much more fun to think about with so many other tools out there)! But when planned and executed correctly, be confident that TV can still acquire mass awareness.

Underwater Billboards

There's something interesting going on in Seattle with Ivar's Seafood. The Seattle Times reported on Friday that the company is fishing out underwater billboards in the Puget Sound that were placed there by the brand's late founder--Ivar Haglund--in the mid-1950s. Apparently the company just recently found out about the existence of the "submarine billboards" by going through some of Ivar's personal possessions/artifacts. In the past month divers have brought up 3 billboards.

The company is promoting the findings on their website. And while it could be a hoax, apparently historians, etc. are calling the boards authentic.

Talk about a random idea... Funny. But how many brands could actually pull this off?

I mean, if this was a multinational corporation planting billboards in the sea, I bet people would be kind of upset. But Ivar's is a local seafood chain so being underwater is kind of endearing. And the company's founder apparently had a history of being lovably self-promoting...

So here we are, over 50 years later, writing about, talking about and thinking fondly of (see most of the 'comments' tied to the story) a brand that has been serving a community for a very long time. And interestingly, because Ivar's has remained consistent over the years, the brand and tone of these 1955 boards still re-enforce the brand of 2009.

Keep Clam, as they say.