The Art of Progress - Audi A8

Audi's newly updated flagship sedan in the A8 has now got communications backing. It's interesting to see the idea of vorsprung/progress interpreted in various different ways to align the product's positioning with that of the intended target market. Where Audi's executions differ from many other premium auto-manufacturers, however, is that they don't seem to only pay homage to the mentality of their market, but push further in their executions to ensure that their ideal drivers' aspirations are reflected. The scene with a young, funky looking DJ would probably not be found in communications for other cars aimed at the older business executives.

Another great execution from Audi.

Via - YouTube

Luxury Goods & The Irrational Brain - Research

According to a study by Henrik Hagtvedt of Boston College and Vanessa Patrick of the University of Houston to be published in the Journal of Marketing Research, customers who purchase luxury items that don't blend in with either their wardrobe or their home tend not to return these products. Instead, they buy more - usually cheaper - products to complement their new acquisitions. The cost more often than not exceeds that of the original purchase, creating a vicious cycle of consumption.

Over three years, the 125 participants' spending habits for shoes, necklaces and furniture were tracked. Participants were given high-end products from either “designer” labels or from luxury retailers that frequently clashed with their aesthetic tastes. After a period of time, subjects were offered the chance to return the products in exchange for money or to keep the product obtained through the study.

The vast majority of participants opted to keep the luxury goods instead of returning them - and also admitted to buying a host of cheaper items to complement their luxury product.

Via - FastCompany

Affordable Car Deserves Affordable Ad Campaign

In a novel attempt to highlight the Chevrolet Cruz's low price point, GM decided to go free-hand for the billboard execution and armed an artist with a blue marker and a blank canvas to bring the message to life.

Via - YouTube

Smart Clothing By Reebok

Having experimented with apparel and footwear that aims to help athletes in every way in products such as Easytone, Reebok has announced a further partnership with flexible electronics start-up, MC10, to integrate their thin, conformable, and stretchable electronics into future versions of Reebok sportswear.

The technology would enable athletes to monitor heart rate, blood pressure, sweat pH, body impacts, and joint stress. The goal is to provide more data to athletes using embedded sensor arrays that would communicate.

The partnership hopes to bring product to market within 2 years.

Via - Technology Review

Around The World In 225 Days

In a first for Coca Cola and FIFA, the beverage company is taking the authentic FIFA 2010 World Cup trophy to 86 Countries in 225 days. The original trophy is seldom seen by the general public, and Coca Cola’s campaign will be the first of its kind.

The Worlds most sought after soccer possession, will travel 134,017 kilometers around the globe, the trophy will visit every nation in Africa, giving the fans a once in a life time opportunity to get a picture taken with the prestigious award. "Through this event, we are really engaging football fans on a global scale, giving them the unique opportunity to have their picture taken with the most prestigious prize in world football and to embrace the excitement surrounding the FIFA World Cup," said Sep Blatter on the FIFA website.

via - FIFA.com

S.A Business Schools Defy Recession

While a majority of the business sectors are experiencing the negative effects of the economic downturn, with many businesses struggling to survive; the South African business school environment is defying the recession.

Although these institutions are modest about declaring their worth, the income generated annually by Wits annual is estimated at R1bn. Some Business schools' annual turnover is well over R100m. Wits signed a single R23m contract with a parastatal last month. The University of Johannesburg (UJ) has begun work on a new R450m campus at their Soweto Campus. Pretoria University's Gordon Institute of Business Science (Gibs) has recently completed a R100m expansion. All of this proves that Business School brands are recession resistant.

Demand for executive programs such as the MBA qualification has never been so high in South Africa. This demand is in line with International trends. Jeanette Purcell, CE of the London based association of MBAs states that, “International demands for executive education have hit record levels”. The result is a greater demand on business school brands to ensure effective communication to gain control of this booming industry.

Via: Financial Mail

Pay As You Want Advertising Agency

With the recent global recesion, businesses have had to adopt strategies that will enable them to survive this economic downturn. One of the uncharacteristic business behaviors as a result of the recession is businesses are adopting pay-as-you-want schemes. Magazines, restaurants and hotels have led the way, now an advertising agency in the U.K is offering its clients a payment option that allows them to pay what they think the work is worth.

The briefing process begins when client submits a work request form with Agency Nil. Using temporary, freelance staff and recent graduates, the agency gets the work done by the deadline requested. It's then up to the client to decide how much the work is worth. There are standard costs that are agreed on before work commences these include: travel, proprietary research tools and production.

Lebber the co founder of the advertising agency states “The system has been terribly lopsided for a while now, and I hope this can be the start of a breaking point in the industry on some level. It won't depress the market—the price will still come up and down, and work will get done just the same. Except now, it won't be based on a set amount of hours to fill or stay under, and work can get done for work's sake. For quality's sake. For the client's sake."

Via: agencynil.com

Bad Times Boot Camp For Retrenched Professionals

The American economy contracted at a surprisingly sharp 6.1 percent rate in the first quarter as exports and business inventories plummeted. Former U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan said the current global recession will "surely be the longest and deepest" since the 1930s.The global recession has resulted in more than one million job losses in the U.S.

An American personal trainer Alex Light has created free boot camp classes for retrenched professionals. The concept aims to help unemployed people get fit and boost morale during the hard times. Light himself a victim of the recession states “the training is held 3 times-a-week, we aim to get fit and meet new people. With hard work and dedication together we will find the solutions to our individual problems.”

Light now hopes to spread the concept across the globe, pursuing sponsorships in order to keep the classes free and become self employed. Light hopes that when the recession ends the people will get employment and continue training as paying customers.

via:Badtimesbootcamp.com

GM Re:Invention

General Motors hasn't wasted anytime in repairing it's tarnished image shortly after filing for bankruptcy, aimed at explaining the "New GM" to the American public, highlighting the brand's new promise for more transparency amid their recent troubles.

Whilst the new campaign wasn't scheduled to launch until later this week, the automaker has already posted the 60-second spot online, including on YouTube and Facebook, a few hours after their filing for bankruptcy.

With promises of fewer, stronger brands featuring newer and greener technology, it would seem that GM is serious about this reinvention of the brand.

At the end of the spot, consumers are driven to a new website, which includes GM's FastLane blog. According to some of the posts on the blog, a key part of the new GM is transparency with consumers. In support of this new value, various GM leaders will host a series of live web chats, with the first breaking on the 4th June.

Via - AdAge

Mac vs PC Round 2

It would seem that the shift back towards value-focused perception of brands among consumers has benefited Microsoft - albeit temporarily. Oh yes, and advertising helped.

According to research, the perceptions of value Microsoft and Apple offerings has shifted dramatically in the eyes of 18- to 34-years-olds since Microsoft began running its "Laptop Hunters" campaign in March. Apple's "value perception" has fallen considerably, while Microsoft's has risen among this group of consumers.

According to AdAge:

"Based on daily interviews of 5,000 people, BrandIndex found the age group gave Apple its highest rating in late winter, when it notched a value score of 70 on a scale of -100 to 100 (a score of zero means that people are giving equal amounts of positive and negative feedback about a brand). But its score began to fall shortly after and, despite brief rallies, hovers around 12.4 today.

Microsoft, on the other hand, has risen from near zero in early February to a value-perception score of 46.2."

Of those in the older age groups, the 35- to 49-year-olds saw a marked increase in preference for Microsoft around the second or third week of the campaign and momentarily overtook Apple; at the same time, Apple's "value perception" took a dip among this age group. Apple has since clawed it's way back as the top-choice for 35 to 49 year-olds. Among 50-plus consumers, the two brands are virtually neck and neck.

Via - AdAge

Change In Media Focus Increases Sales

Asics, traditionally a print advertiser in the US, has had a taste of TV and can't seem to get enough of it.

The brand tried TV for the first time last year, spending about $5 million of its $27.6 million U.S. media budget on TV advertising. The spend came primarily at the expense of magazines, which have traditionally dominated Asics' budget. Magazine spending fell $2 million, to $21.7 million, despite a $3 million spending increase overall, according to TNS Media Intelligence.

The trial has seemingly paid off for the brand, with Asics' sales rose 11% last year, according to SportsOneSource. Considering the major push by traditionally strong running-focussed brands such as Nike and new-comers Body Armour during the Olympic year that was 2008, Asics' gain appears even more impressive.

A spokesperson for the brand has said the they will continue to invest in TV this year, although primarily concentrating on the major US cable networks.

Via - AdAge

Depression & Insanity Has Certainly Set In

The world is certainly a depressing place to be right now. With people questioning fundamentally everything that has come before the economic meltdown, brands have enjoyed far less success with the declining sales.

But not everyone is suffering. Certainly not if you are in the business of manufacturing or distributing firearms. And not if you're a pharmaceutical company making anti-depressants and sleeping pills.

According to AdAge, despite the weakest holiday season on record in the US, outdoor-products retailer Cabela's turned in strong fourth-quarter sales, largely as a result of an increase in firearm and ammunition sales. Smith & Wesson is reporting pistol sales up 40%, and Sturm, Ruger & Co. reported an 81% increase in firearm revenue.

People seem to be losing sleep too. Research from IMS Health indicates that prescriptions for major sleeping-pill brands rose 7% last year, while antidepressant-brand prescriptions jumped 15%.

Brands are in place to make people feel better. It's just rather ironic that the types of brands that are encouraging for many consumers are some of the most depressing ones too.

Get Free Product By Purchasing Competitors' Offering?

Pepsi's Mountain Dew soft drink has had a fantastic following over the past few years, especially in the US. The brand has managed to connect with young consumers through innovative product placements and new media-based campaigns. According to Advertising Age, the brand currently enjoys around 80% market share of the citrus carbonated soft-drink category in the US.

Coca-Cola isn't sitting back, however. In an unprecedented campaign to induce trial of Coca-Cola's own offering, called Vault, Coca-Cola has launched an aggressive campaign known as "Don't Dew It".

An interesting element in the campaign is the "Vault Taste Challenge". During the promotional period, Mountain Dew purchasers with a Vault coupon are offered a Vault, absolutely free of charge.

With the current economic climate, coupon-redemption rates are on the rise, jumping 10% in the fourth quarter after years of declines. Experts estimate redemption of the Vault coupons could reach as high as 40%.

Via: AdAge

Certainty (And Brand Building) In Uncertain Times

In the face of so much doom and gloom for all brands, especially in the automotive industry, Hyundai in the US has again innovated in an attempt to set them apart from other manufacturers.

Hyundai's new "Assurance Program" allows new-vehicle buyers or those who lease to return their cars for up to a year after purchase if they lose their income due to a job loss. The free coverage is available to all buyers at participating dealerships and covers up to $7,500 in a buyers' negative equity. A reassuring thought for potential buyers and a great way to ensure that stock continues moving off Hyundai's showroom floors without cheapening their brand in any way.

Hyundai's Assurance Program, when compared to some other US manufacturers who are offering two cars for the price of one comes across as far more cerebral and certainly doesn't have the same smell of desperation as that of the GM Dodge offers.

Communications for Hyundai US are created by Goodby, Silverstein & Partners and broke earlier this month throughout the US. Click here to see one of the new spots.

Via: AdAge

Whiskey Ad Literally Speaks To Consumers

Beginning on Dec. 4, Jameson's Whiskey will launch an outdoor projection-media campaign in high-traffic areas where many of Jameson's target consumers will be out and about, around restaurants and bars.
The interesting angle to this outdoor campaign is the seemingly live interaction the billboards will have with potential consumers. AdAge reports that the projected screens will look as if someone is typing out messages to passers-by, even though most of the communications have been scripted and automatically programmed on a seven- to 10-minute looping movie file. In New York and Los Angeles, however, a copywriter will actually type out messages in real time via a laptop to interact with those near the projection.

It sounds like it could potentially be a very fun campaign, especially for the copywriters who are typing live and interacting with passers-by. The campaign is set to launch in New York, where it will run for three nights before touring the rest of the US for the remainder of December.

Via: AdAge

In-Store Displays To Save Retailers?

Price discounting, while an obvious choice in times of economic downturns, not only are damaging to brands, but are also not very effective in promoting sales, according to research by shopper-marketing agency OgilvyAction.


OgilvyAction's research also indicates that 29% of U.S. shoppers impulsively buy from categories they didn't plan to when they entered the store. Of that group, 24% said they were influenced by secondary displays (away from the product's usual aisle), 18% by in-store demonstrations, and only 17% by price promotion.

The study also found 39% of U.S. shoppers have a category in mind but pick their brand in store, and of those, 31% were influenced by in-store demonstrations - more than the 28% by price promotion and the 27% influenced by some other form of consumer promotion.

In each case, however, more than twice as many consumers said they bought impulsively because of display or some other form of promotion as said they did so because of price.

Via: AdAge

Wise UK Shoppers

The findings from a new Jupiter survey commissioned by LinkShare show that U.S. online shoppers are being "outshopped" by their U.K. counterparts, with U.K. consumers spending 40% more money and making 24% more purchases online than U.S. shoppers.

U.S. consumers are also behind when it comes to online shopping tactics: They are much less aggressive when hunting bargains, with U.K. consumers eight times more likely to conduct research on multiple sites before making an online purchase.

U.K. consumers are also 13% more likely to be frequent online buyers (purchasing products or services more than 10 times in the last 12 months) than their U.S. peers.

Interestingly, neither U.K. nor U.S. online consumers seem ready to embrace their cell phones as shopping devices. Only 10.2% of U.S. and 10.4% of U.K. consumers agreed with the statement, "I would like to be able to shop and make purchases on my mobile/cellphone."

Via: AdAge

McDonald's - But Not

McDonald's has recently re-launched the Quarter Pounder burger in Japan, after a failed attempt in the 90's. Instead of the usual Golden Arches, however, the fast food giants decided to promote the product in a very different route.


McDonald's has converted two of their restaurants into Quarter Pounder shops. The restaurants offer only two choices on the menu: a Quarter Pounder set for 500 yen, and a Double Quarter Pounder set for 600 yen. The restaurants have taken on a slick, minimalist look with no visible signs of the usual McDonald's branding.

There's also a competition element to the launch, where entrants stand a chance of winning a grand prize of a sightseeing trip to America. To enter the contest, applicants must answer a single question: Which fast food chain launched the Quarter Pounder in Japan?

Via: FiftybyFifty, PSFK

Brands Associated With US Presidential Hopefuls

In the 2008 US Presidential Image Power Survey, released by branding agency Landor Associates in conjunction with Penn, Schoen & Berland, voters were asked to associate the potential presidential and vice presidential candidates with brands including fictional spies, retail outlets, snack foods and cars - with some interesting results. The survey polled 1,002 registered Democratic, Republican and independent voters between 1st to 6th Oct 2008.

AdAge reports that voters associated Obama with BMW, Google and Target, while McCain was compared to Ford, Wal-Mart and AOL. While you would expect the two candidates to have very different associations, there were some similarities too. Some common characteristics between the candidates were associations with brands such as iPod, Starbucks and MySpace.

Scott Siff, exec VP at Penn, Schoen & Berland, said "This shows that the candidates have a lot of similarities from a branding perspective, most of all the notion that they are both game changers."

Sim City To Be Invaded By Advertising?

The Sims 3 is set for launch in February 2009. The makers and developers of the popular video game promises that the new version will be more realistic than ever, thanks to improved graphics, better processing power and an increase in ads.

Electronic Arts, maker of "Sims 3," is working with IGA to provide dynamic in-game ads - which can be switched in and out of the game via an internet connection - to the latest version of what has become the world's most-played PC game.

In its first new version in five years, "Sims" players will be able to venture beyond their houses and lots out into Pleasantville, where they can go to the movie theater, the sports arena or the grocery store. It's a more open experience, akin to newer online virtual worlds, although it's still a single-player game.

With the average time spent by Sims players measured to be about 1.7 hours with the game per sitting and spending 47.6 hours with the game in total, a serious amount of one-on-one contact with potential targets can be had by various brands.

The ramification for brands is rather exciting. Imagine helping the players' Sim feel better through the purchase of your headache tablet brand, or become more sociable and confident through the purchase of your new sneakers, new opportunities are abound for brands out there who are paying attention.

Via: AdAge