KFC‘s CMO is pointing the finger of blame at Oprah Winfrey for last May’s grilled chicken promotion/fiasco, claiming that they were given very short notice of their upcoming appearance on the show, thus giving the chain less than a week to prepare franchises for the sheer volume of the giveaway. According to an article by AdWeek Media, the fast feeder had planned for 4 million people, tops, to redeem their coupons. Instead, within 24 hours, 10 million people had tried to get their free Kentucky Grilled Chicken meal.
A Commercial That Will Change Your Life
Once in a while, you see a commercial that makes you stop and think, and possibly shed a tear or two. This spot from Thai Life Insurance celebrates the human spirit and embraces life in a way I have never seen before by telling the story of Toi, a young cancer patient who won’t let her disease stop her from celebrating life with the three most important people in the world.
This spot also took the Grand Prix for TV at the Asia Spikes last week.
Coming to a Geek Near You Microsoft doesn’t just want to sell you software, they want to make your life a little easier, too, by helping you manage those pesky social platforms by aggregating monitoring tools and combining them with the rest of your organization. Looking Glass, which is still in the testing phase, will then connect that data into Microsoft’s enterprise platforms, such as Outlook and Sharepoint. Microsoft officials describe Looking Glass as a “bridge between IT and the marketing organization.” For example, a CMO gets an email in the middle of the night about increased chatter on twitter about his company’s product. That information is then linked to the company’s customer relationship manager system to decide if a PR response is warranted.
If you spend any kind of twitter, then you know the Fail Whale: the eponymous whale that lets you know when twitter is having issues. This is especially frustrating when you’re in the middle of a conversation, promoting your latest project, or trying to track down an old friend. To vent your frustration, Andrew Conn has graced us with a Flash game that lets you take out your frustration.
Speaking of Twitter…
If you’re tired of having to do detective work every time you receive a follow request, then Twimailer is for you. Once you sign up, you will receive an email from Twimailer with a the potential follower’s user name, avatar, bio, and recent tweets, as well as links that will allow you to follow or block the user.
So What Should I Write About?
I think by now we’ve cleared the question of whether or not your company should blog, so next comes the Big Hairy Question of what you should write about. I’m asked this all the time by my clients, who are terrified of blogging because all they know are spreadsheets. Remember, blogging is about building relationships, so here’s a list to help you get started.
Check your inbox. What are people talking about? Are there any questions you can answer?
Comment on someone else’s blog. What blogs are you reading? Do you have an opinion about what they’re saying?
Offer advice. Most of the time, people read blogs because they’re looking for ideas and advice to help solve their own problems. Are there any services that you can offer to help solve these problems?
What have you been up to? Can you offer behind-the-scenes stories or insights?
Comment on the state of the union. Are there any new developments in your field? Can you discuss real-world applications?
Photos and videos are absolutely priceless. People love to see the proverbial “man behind the curtain” at work. Be transparent and let your clients in on what you really do.
E-books are incredibly valuable when you offer something that your readers can’t get anywhere else, plus they are a natural blog entry.
Share your presentations with your readers. Have someone video your latest presentation or upload your slides on slideshare and let your readers get a feel for what you presented.
Be the News. A blog is a great place to announce the latest developments at your company – new hires, awards, new developments, technology updates, etc.
Dialog is the New Black. Use your blog to generate debate and/or discussion with your readers. This will help spark future topics, as well as generate reader loyalty.
So Much for What we Leaned in College
Remember the basic advertising classes we took in college and they beat into our heads what differentiates a good spot from a bad one – clear call to action, make your product memorable, etc? The latest spot for Chi Chi’s Salsa breaks those rules, but still works because it’s clever, repetitive, and funny as hell. Plus, if you’re a dork like me, you’ll imitate the robot in the ad for days. Enjoy it here.
A Little Burst of Happiness
Now that the 4th of July holiday weekend is over, it’s time to get back to the business of life, in general. But, before we get back to work, I wanted to share the following with you – a commercial for the Columbus Zoo, which was recently named the best zoo in the country (after years of being #2) by USA Travel Guide. The choreography and the lyrics are an absolute riot and I can’t help but laugh every time I see the spot on TV. Enjoy!
For those that haven’t been following the Amazon debacle, allow me to recap: In what Amazon refers to as a “glitch,” last weekend, the online retailer removed from its listings many gay and/or lesbian-themed books by authors such as Gore Vidal, James Baldwin, and Jeanette Winterston, thus prompting a social media frenzy unseen since the “Motrin Moms” firestorm in 2008. Amazon has since responded, calling the incident an “embarassing and ham-fisted cataloging error,” but it was too little, too late. Using tags like “#amazonfail” and “#glitchmyass,” twitter users taught Amazon a valuable lesson: monitor your brand at all times, especially via social media, and especially on weekends. Had Amazon done just that, the company might have responded in a timely fashion, rather than having to do massive damage control, following a weekend of awkward silence.
Do you have a plan in place, should your brand be put in a similar situation? Here are some things to keep in mind:
First of all, decide if this is a situation over which you have any control. For example, when a company is faced with content released by disgruntled employees, making a public statement could potentially draw attention to content over which the company has no control.
Find out what is being said and by whom. In these types of situations, the marketer needs to know how many people saw the questionable content and how likely they are to be customers, and then react accordingly.
You don’t have to have all of the answers all at one time. There is no shame in saying, “we’re aware of the situation. We don’t know how it happened, but we’re dealing with it.” It shows the brand’s human side, provided that a tone of genuine remorse is also conveyed.
Don’t draw more attention to the problem than the situation warrants. For example, had Motrin kept their statements geared toward the twitter users that were specifically discussing the campaign they found offensive, the situation could have been contained, rather than garnering national media attention.
Focus on the future and what your company will do in the future to prevent the situation from happening again. Once you convey this information to your customers, learn from your mistakes and move on.
Can I Have a Side of Snot With That? Domino’s Pizza is learning the hard way how harmful one person with a video camera and a web uplink can be to a brand. A now-former employee and his friend uploaded a series of videos to YouTube, depicting them defiling the very food products they were making for customers (though the co-hort claims they didn’t actually serve the items to customers). Domino’s is not currently planning to make a statement about the videos, however, I’m sure that after viewing a video of a Domino’s employee shoving mozzarella cheese up his nose before putting it on a sandwich will cause at least a few customers to think twice before picking up the phone.
Fast Food Frenzy
Fast feeder Burger King is taking flak for its latest print ad, which features a squat Mexican wrapped in his nation’s flag and standing next to a tall American cowboy. Cultural stereotypes aside, the company is accused of improperly displaying the Mexican flag, which is protected by law. BK plans to scrap the creative and come up with something less offensive for the Texican Whopper.
Speaking of Burger King, in case you missed my post last week, The King is now hawking Sponge Bob Square Pants-themed kids’ meals to the tune of “Baby Got Back,” complete with the creepy ruler singing about his love of square butts and his urge to “get with” Sponge Bob, while scantily-clad women are shakin’ it in the background. Parents will be thrilled to know that the spot (shown here in its HD glory) was made in partnership with Nickelodeon.
Legal Stuff You Should Know
Sure, word-of-mouth advertising and blogs are hot right now, but the Federal Trade Commission may have something to say about it. The FTC is planning to monitor blogs and viral marketing, holding writers and marketers accountable for any false statements about products. At this point, the new policy only applies to bloggers and others who are compensated to promote or review a product.
Image Upgrade
Calling all art nerds: Iconic champagne manufacturer Veuve Clicquot has released its new posters created by French artist Florence Deygas. These represent a shift from the current, more contemporary Global Light campaign for their Rose Collection. Deygas has also created promotional art for Nokia, YSL, Vogue, Fendi, and Lacoste.
While many complain about being out of work, I am grateful for the opportunity to think about the things that are truly important in life – and by life, I mean marketing and advertising. I think that we can’t grow as professionals until we are able to take a step back and put things in perspective, so, without further ado, here is my list of Universal Truths that I have embraced this week:
Be all about the love. Never be afraid to establish an intimate, one-on-one relationship with your customers. I discovered this Truth during a recent trip to a mall. I happened to wander in because I was in the neighborhood and had some extra time on my hands. As I strolled past the stores, I was approached by several different kiosk vendors who desperately wanted to sell me their wares at unbelievably discounted rates. While eventually I wanted to run from these people, I was impressed by their assertiveness. Yes, they were aggressive in their approaches, but they managed to tailor their messages specifically to me. For example, there was a guy who wanted to sell me a manicure set. When I told him that I did not have the money for the kit because I’m out of work, he altered his guilt-laden pitch by reminding me how important details like nails are when you’re in an interview. Tricky? Yes, but it was effective and memorable. One important thing to note is that your customer is so bombarded by sales messages that s/he tends to tune them out. Stand out above the noise by becoming a brand that your customer trusts because you have their best interests at heart and aren’t just out to make a sale.
Be true to yourself. Take a lesson from one of the most hated men in America, Jason Mesnick (aka “The Bachelor“), and be completely honest about your brand and what you’re all about. Never misrepresent yourself to your customers, they will catch on and tell their friends. But, should you hit a bump in the road, make like Jason’s jilted fiancee, Melissa – make the best of it , but don’t wallow for too long.
Embrace your business with child-like enthusiasm. This Truth came to me last week as my husband and I took our daughter to the playground. During this 45-minute trip, she was in perpetual motion, making new discoveries and new friends, only stopping when she was completely exhausted. At the age of 3, there is always something new to discover and someone new to meet. This is what I believe to be the most important Truth in life and in business – you either have passion or you don’t.
Ultimately, it is up to you to look for new ways to breathe life into your brand – don’t wait for someone else to do it for you. You need to meet your customers, get to know them on their level, and become relevant to them. Make new discoveries about your brand and what it means to your customers, and, most importantly, enjoy what you do or else it’s time to look for a new line of work.
For those of you who are movie geeks, you’re probably still overjoyed that “Slumdog Millionaire” won Best Picture at last night’s Oscar’s. I know I am. One of the things that I love about this movie is that it is a story of hope, despite what appear to be insurmountable odds (no, I will not give away the plot, but click here for details, if you’d like to know more).
I think hope is one of the things that will sustain us in this uncertain economy – we have to keep hope alive if our businesses are to survive, let alone thrive. We are entering a new era and we need to be smart, but how?
Hope is hard to come by. There was a story on the news today about how the economy will continue to worsen this year, but eventually get better in 2010. Meanwhile, unemployment claims continue to grow as cutbacks deepen. The Academy Awards scaled back its hoopla last night and even Fashion Week took a hit and showed some rather depressing styles last week that suggested the end of parties and long periods of staying home and wallowing.
I’m sure that by now, you have heard some of the details of the economic stimulus package. From lowered payroll taxes that should result in increased retail, restaurant, and entertainment traffic to federal money that will allow college students to buy computers, the package promises steady and gradual growth in many sectors across the board.
How will this affect marketers? Is it time to pull out all the stops and pretend the recession never happened? Hardly. We’re poorer these days, but definitely smarter. Your customers want a personal relationship with your brand, rather than a series of messages that aren’t targeted specifically toward them.
This is the time to ask critical questions – what brand impressions do you want your customers to remember once they have disposable income again? Are your marketing efforts reactive or proactive? How will you grow your brand as the economy continues to evolve?
While I can’t say when the economy will improve, it will happen. The rest is up to you. It is written. In the meantime, here is some inspiration – a song of hope that also happened to win Best Song.
If you spend any kind of twitter, then you know the Fail Whale: the eponymous whale that lets you know when twitter is having issues. This is especially frustrating when you’re in the middle of a conversation, promoting your latest project, or trying to track down an old friend. To vent your frustration, Andrew Conn has graced us with a Flash 
For those that haven’t been following the 
