This commercial created by Wal-Mart uses a cat to help promote Wal-Mart's new online shopping application. It is designed to help seasonal shoppers find gifts for friends and family through Facebook. While this seems like a great idea to promote Wal-Mart, this particular Shopycat commercial is confusing to the viewers due to no real call to action. Although Wal-Mart is a top competitor in the market, this commercial does not seem to be very effective in promoting the Shopycat application. With only a cat yodeling for 50 seconds, there is no explanation to the Shopycat app adressed in the commercial.

One way to improve the commercial could be to add in a section where the Shopycat app is explained. The cat in this commercial did not look very friendly because it is unusual to see a cat with a human mouth. Wal-Mart was strategic in using a Christmas carol during the season, but they might have bit off more then they could chew with regards to making the commercial humerous.

This is an example of how not to make an effective advertisement. If there is no call to action and the spokes person for the ad is not attractive with regards to gaining the veiwers attention, then you will have wasted money on that particular ad.

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

Google has Launched Advertising for Tablets

Earlier today, Google introduced two new tablet-specific advertisements for current marketers.  Google states that new research shows that people are using their tablets more and more to shop online, and their activity is continuing to increase. Now when using items such as Google Maps on your tablet, advertisements will pop up that may match the users interests from their recent searches (as shown below).

Google hopes that these new ad formats will make it easier for advertisers to connect with consumers and their individual needs. These new ads introduce six new formats to make advertising more vibrant and interactive on tablets. These new formats let the user not only see video, slideshow pictures, and 360 degree image viewing, but also the ability to get directions to the location of the business straight from the ad.
Google is hoping to increase the convenience of advertising for both the marketers and the consumer. Although this all seems fine for the marketers, is it going to cause a hassle for consumers who thought that their tablets were limited from ads, and now suddenly are getting bombarded? Or will consumers appreciate the accessibility and convenience of these new and enhanced ads?

Source: Ad Week

The Original Old Spice Man is Back

Isaiah Mustafa the original Old Spice has come back for the holidays. Isaiah going by the name of MANta Claus has once again captured quite an audience. In COMM 222 we talked extensively how viral videos can be a successful form of marketing. We then watched several viral videos and I believe that  MANta Claus will be successful viral video, take look for yourself. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RXPrkOuy8r8.

Adweek stated that this video was first launched on Twitter and is about to explode on the internet and go viral. The biggest reason that this will be a success is that MANta claus will reach its target audience. I believe their demographic is men ages 15 to 25  and the use of humor is appealing to them. Some people may argue that humor takes away from the main message of the commercial and that might be true in this cause. I think that it is acceptable that MANta Clause doesn't talk about the benefits of Old Spice. Old Spice is trying to build awareness about their product and viral videos such as this do a good job in that regard. Old Spice is known for having comical commercials and is viewed as a "cool" brand because of their commercials. Old Spice has done a good job of reaching their target audience weather that be through television, print, internet and video games. In the popular football video game "Madden" Old Spice was featured extensively. The "Old Spice Redzone" was an excellent way to reach their target audience and was always in my mind when I played the game daily last year. Old Spices future looks bright if they keep finding innovative ways to reach their audience.
http://www.adweek.com/adfreak

Holiday Shopping with Walmart and Facebook

To help shoppers find the right gifts this holiday season, Walmart has launched Shopycat, a Facebook application that provides gift suggestions based on friends' profiles and news feeds.

Developed by @WalmartLabs, the app is part of the company's effort to bring social and mobile technologies closer to Walmart's operations. Shopycat takes advantage of Facebook users' public data - interests, email, activities, news feeds, location, and relationship status - to generate the list of possible gifts.

Shopycat is one of those ideas marketers had thought to make a reality once they saw the possibility to reach customers through Facebook. While research shows that "a majority of consumers in developed markets do not want to engage with brands via social media," apps like these could change the idea of communicating with brands and buying products through social networks.

The fact that social media doesn't seem to create desired relationships between brands and consumers  might be due to many brands' monotonous approach with social networks, like increasing brand awareness by collecting as many "likes" as possible or simply for advertising purposes.

With this app, Walmart has developed an experimental business strategy that could either be a success and adopted by other brands or just become another failed attempt at social media integration.

Source: Ad Age

Marketing Trends for 2012

In a fast-paced digital age, marketing is becoming more targeted through a variety of channels...but also more cluttered. With competitors vying for the same parts of the market share, it's becoming more difficult for companies to distinguish themselves and be successful at selling products.

Socialmediatoday.com recently posted an entry on how companies can set themselves apart in the coming year. They outline the top communications and PR strategies for 2012 and what they feel can be the most innovative ways to sell products.

5 tips are outlined for marketing success in the coming year:

1. Digital First
2. Decentralize Social Media
3. "I Get By With a Little Help From My Friends"
4. Customize This!
5. Brand News World

These 5 tactics will help companies get their part of the intended market share, according to Socialmediatoday.com's research.

They say that by getting content online first before any other medium is crucial. Potential customers look at the web first, so to appeal to these eager customers, companies need to post first and print later.

Secondly, companies need to decide if social media will give them return on their investments. Social media only works if the target audience is active on these platforms, otherwise the time is not well spent here.

Companies should also use buzz marketing and use their friend contacts to help get the word out about their products. Positive personal testimonials often go a lot farther than ads.

By using customizable advertising tactics, companies can appeal to customers who appreciate novelty. The less generic, the more products can stand out and appeal to potential buyers.

Lastly, companies should begin to think like journalists: tell stories instead of creating graphic adds. People are more socially inclined and are captivated by stories. No one wants to be conned into buying a product by coerced and manipulative ads. But people can relate to and be moved by stories.

Socialmediatoday argues that using these ideas rather than traditional marketing has a potentially higher affect than the tactics in the past. I in part agree. Eventually customers will be conditioned to old ways of advertising and will be less likely to buy. Companies need to be innovative if they are to survive in a dog-eat-dog market.

*Photo courtesy of Socialmediatoday.com

Google on the rise

This week, Brandweek claimed that Google was coming out with a new invention to help consumers stay in touch with their friends and to make surfing the web easier. Google is soon going to become more permanent in your minds through a different medium. Samsung is going to be signing a contract with google that allows them to have their own smart TV. This tv will allow consumers to stay connected with other people while offering them a tv from a brand they trust.

By the creation, google is building their customer database and creating another way consumers can establish trust with their company. Since google is used by many individuals everyday, they gain customer trust through their search engine. The tv will be an additional way they will stand out from other search engines because no other search engines have created a smart TV to go along with their search engine.

This integration will help google stand out in the consumers minds through other companies selling TVs and by the use of other search engines. Based on how well this tv does, google will achieve their mission, which is to become more popular in the consumers minds.

Social Media Failing in Marketing. What?

According to research conducted by TNS, the world leader in market research, social media is failing.  In an article titled, "Hard Evidence of Social Media's Failings," from MarketingWeek by Mart Ritson, there are surprising results about social media's place in marketing. 

After 72,000 consumers were interviewed across 60 countries, TNS found that a "majority of consumers in developed markets do not want to engage with brands via social media."  This is shocking because many brand managers are implementing strategies to engage with their consumers through social media.  Another shocking result of the study was that "just a quarter of consumers in developed markets see social networks as a place to buy products."

So what do brand managers need to understand about social media?  TNS chief development officer, Matthew Froggatt, suggests that they need to realize that "social media is consumer space, and brand presence needs to be proportionate and justified."  Unfortunately, as more companies begin entering social media with its brand, there will be more clutter, and thus consumers will begin ignoring almost everything related to a brand.

This is important information to know as a brand manager when creating an integrated marketing strategy.  Brand managers need to somehow differentiate their brand via social media, or lessen its presence on social media because the clutter is not a benefit to consumers. In fact, it seems to be decreasing consumers' interest, which is the opposite of what they're trying to accomplish.  Hopefully brand managers catch on to this survey and begin thinking about how they should incorporate social media into their IMC plan. 

McDonalds Fry Billboard

Photo Credit:  Brandweek

Brandweek shows how McDonalds has once again set themselves apart from other fast food restaurants by putting a unique twist in their advertising strategy.  Imagine this, it is 2 am and you are drunk and hungry.  The first thing that comes to mind is that you want food that you could receive as soon as possible, but for cheap since you just spent half of your money at the bar.  Well, McDonalds without a doubt will catch your attention, being that they have put up a billboard in Chicago for the regional “Best Fries on the Planet” campaign, that is visible up to three miles.  The trouble with this billboard is that it resembles the Tribute in Light, which is the 88 searchlights that are shone into the sky where the World Trade Center site used to be.  As the article stated, “instead of a somber memorial to a national tragedy, the McDonald's ad is a shining lure for the sloshed, stumbling and hungry.” 

Personally, I believe that McDonalds is on the right track when it comes to making their advertising strategy stick and from others.  Not only does it make them stick out, but also it makes the customers attracted to it because of the impact of how appealing it is and that it allows the customers to find the location based on the noticeability.  I do not think that McDonalds had any intention of disrespecting the World Trade Center, they were just trying to set themselves apart.  Overall, do you think this is a good type of advertising strategy that McDonalds is using, regardless of it resembles the World Trade Center?  

When a business doesn't have a crazy lady to advertise for them on Black Friday...

It's a bargain hunter's dream; a salesperson's nightmare : Black Friday, the one day of the year where people get up in the middle of the night to hunt down great sales. 2011 has been a crazy year for television advertisements with the Target lady doing pushups and stretches to get ready for when the clock strikes midnight and the Home Depot commercial announcer shouting "on" before every appliance brand as if he was calling Santa's reindeer. These big companies have a job to come up with something fresh and creative every year for Black Friday advertisements but their work is halfway accomplished as consumers know about the company beforehand.

What about those small businesses that not many people know about that have discounted items for sale on the day after Thanksgiving, too?

An article titled "9 Small Marketing Business Tips for Black Friday" lists some things a small company can do to keep their heads above water to compete with the Targets and Home Depots. Numbers two and three caught my eye the most : Offer Extended Support and Service and Reward Your Most Rewarding Customers.

One advantage that small businesses have over bigger companies is the ability to connect with the customers on a more one-on-one level and helping them through the purchasing process. On Black Friday, many of the deals are non-refundable and if it doesn't work once the customer buys a product and gets it home, they are out of luck. A small business has the opportunity to work with someone making sure they have the right cables and connectors for an electronic purchase, for example, before taking it home and saving some headaches.

Another advantage small companies have during Black Friday is the ability to reward frequent customers with coupons or other incentives for coming in and purchasing products. A bigger company is more worried about the total amount of revenue they are able to bring in or even that customers don't end up in the hospital after a brawl over one of their products!

Before reading this article, I always thought that because bigger companies were better known, they had a better advantage on Black Friday and other holidays. Now I know that even if there's not a lady like on the Target commercials advertising for them, a small company will do just fine. What are some of your thoughts?

http://www.infusionblog.com/small-business/9-small-business-marketing-tips-for-black-friday/

Domino's: Create Pizza on iPad and Order for Delivery

Domino's Facebook

Domino's Pizza Hero app virtually allows customers to make pizza on their iPads.

The Domino's Pizza Hero is an app for the iPad that is essentially a game that teaches you how to make pizzas. The app leads you through the steps of making a pizza such as kneading the dough, spreading the sauce, sprinkling the cheese etc. Go through pizza school, play through 11 levels and survive "the rush."

The game is great, but is there more to this than just making a virtual pizza to get the highest points? Actually, there is! The app also allows consumers to create their own pizza to be sent in and ordered for pickup or delivery.



For integrated marketing and communications, creativity and changing with the times is essential for a business to be successful. Domino's of an app on a device that is always growing such as the iPad, is very smart. Not only does the app intrigue the consumer to play the game and compete with others, but it entices them to order pizza as well.

This app is one of the first that has a game involved while still allowing the consumer to order a pizza in the middle of the fun.

Esquire Pondering What It Is Like to Be a Man Today?

The editors in chief and the publishers of the worldwide edition of Esquire Magazine recently met to discuss what it is like to be a man in the 21st century. While you may be wondering why this matters in marketing, it really does have a significant effect on how companies target their audiences.

Esquire is using these ideas to make a magazine that is more attractive to their audience to hopefully better relate to their readers and give them more helpful and interesting information. Esquire is also using this idea to relate to readers around the world. The editors that met discussed the idea that many American males feel that the U.S. has lost some of its authority because of some of the ways the country has handled recent issues. Such as the conflict in the Middle East or the economy issues in the homeland. Jeremy Lawrence the editor of Esquire-Middle East still believes that the rest of the world sees America as a trend setting country."They still have holiday homes in the U.S., they still drive GMC trucks.”  Lawrence noted while talking about the upper class males in the Middle East.

As Antonin Herbeck, editor of Esquire Czech Republic, said of his readers: “They would all like to be more like Bradley Cooper in Limitless and less like Bradley Cooper in The Hangover. I think that’s pretty much the international goal for a young man.” This raises the questions for many companies of how they are targeting men. Designer companies like Coach are using social media to bring in new members to the target audience.


Coach started a male-targeted Facebook page five months ago that now has almost 14,000 fans. Features such as “Product of the Week” and “Did You Know?” have been used on the page, which highlights interesting facts about Coach’s product quality and brand history, such as how the inspiration for the first briefcase came from a baseball glove. These kinds of ideas is what keeps bringing in new fans and customers which ultimately will turn into more purchases. Recent “Product of the Week” items have included the Exotic Slim Billfold in shocking blue alligator skin and the Bleecker Leather Electronic Cord Zip Pouch because “Coach understands that guys can never have too many gadgets, and they all come with cords.”

 These are just two examples of how companies are keeping up to date with the times and changing their approaches to not only the changing target audience, but also the changing technologies and ideas of today's American culture. Look for more studies being done on what males, and females as well, are interested in and how they go about their business on a day to day basis.


http://www.adweek.com/news/press/esquire-ponders-state-men-136599
http://www.wwd.com/media-news/digital/brands-embrace-the-nuances-of-marketing-to-men-5375156

What’s in a Color?

When you think of big chocolate companies, what are the major companies that you think of? The ones that come to mind are Hershey, Ghirardelli, Nestle, and Cadbury. Each of these big companies, or even any big companies for that matter, has a certain brand image. Apple has the whole i-thing going for them…iPod, iTunes, and iPad, along with an apple for a logo too. McDonald’s has the golden arches. Nike has the swoosh. Cadbury’s brand image is a color: Pantone 2865c. For those of you who don’t know what Pantone 2864c is, well, it’s the color purple.

Cadbury has been using this distinctive color since 1914, according to this Marketing Week article, and now has won the battle with Nestle. What Cadbury had to do to win the battle was show that they have been using this color for a long time, and that this color is what people think of when they think of the company. The lawyer for Cadbury in the case, Fiona McBride, says: “Color registrations are notoriously difficult to obtain, largely because it can be difficult to prove sufficient use to demonstrate that the color has become synonymous with the brand in the mind of the consumer. Brand owners should definitely continue to consider registering a color for trade mark protection where they believe that it has become a powerful and distinctive part of their brand.”

Cadbury thinks that if its competitors gain access to this trademarked color, the other major players in the market would use this color with their products as well. When Cadbury goes to such lengths as a legal battle to protect just a color, it shows us how important that these little things are to a company’s brand image. And these companies will go to all lengths to protect them.

http://www.marketingweek.co.uk/sectors/food-and-drink/cadbury-wins-trademark-battle-over-the-colour-purple/3031967.article