Market View

Fodder for conversation

I like it. It is simple, but the idea makes perfect sense.  In an economy where everyone is trying to cut down on advertising spend, some of the simplest and least expensive ideas are the most alluring.  The idea: give away free paper cups (for coffee, tea, water) to company offices.  The only catch is that the cups have advertising on them for other companies and products.  How much time do you spend looking at your coffee cup next to your computer while you are working or thinking.  So, it actually should get a good amount of attention.  Furthermore, you can pull up the advertisers website, while sitting there.  Nothing complicated, but it follows the current theme...FREE!

Nike Run Hit Wonder

This is an old campaign, but it is still one of my favorite 'brand activation' campaigns.  It is awesome and well executed.  Essentially, it is a race for weekend warriors, non-marathoners, newbies, resolutioners (think New Year's resolution gym go-ers that drop off by late Feb) and anyone who dabbled with runnning but never gave it enough commitment to participate in a full on marathon.  The beauty of this is that it appeals to a very particular (and large) target market for Nike that may be inspired by Nike's aspirational athletic apeal, but has that grade school memory of when they were last part of a race....and yet has a sense of humor about it.  The race is enjoyed while listening to 1-hit-wonder bands.  The campaign is fun, reaches out to a broad audience, and it introduces humor.  It makes Nike a little more human, without diluting or even touching it's hard core 'atheletic precision' side. 

Recession, Recession, Recession

Recession, recession, recession.  We are all inundated with news and predictions about the recession.  when will it end

what will it affect

how will I be impacted

who will survive it

what will change as a result of it…

There are numerous questions and predicted outcomes, but one thing is consistent, EVERYONE is in a wait and see mode.  At some point, this mass mentality of wait and see has to give way to ‘make a move’.  And by not making a move, you have made your move.  In essence, you have opted for ‘pass’ on your turn. 

There are more opportunities to make bold statements about your brand and your products now, than there were 6 months ago, when everyone was fighting to get their message out.  With smaller budgets, we are forced to think harder about our campaigns, and push to get more impact with less.  This is great news, as it finally allows marketing teams to try some of the less conventional approaches (guerilla) and less costly mediums (digital) to move their brands forward.  The same old way of doing business is definitely not the way forward, but then again, standing still is not either.  

CSR...finally a must

 

Finally the time has come when CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility) initiatives are not longer a ‘nice to have’ but an absolute must.  As the current economic conditionshave caused numerous companies to layoff, the market sentiment is no longer about adoring their innovative product lines, rapid rise to fame, or their impressive quarterly profit growth (this is pre-Q4 2008).  Suddenly they have numerous ‘not so happy’ laid off employees and increasingly skeptical consumers, judging their actions on a daily basis.  Now, companies never promised to be philanthropic, and therefore their layoffs are a painful but sometimes necessary reaction to today’s challenging market conditions.   Yes, I too give pause when writing that (my liberal side combats my pragmatic side), but it simply is the way business is done.   In this current reality, it has never been more important to reach out to the community and give back, showing a human and compassionate side to their companies.  I understand, in the prevailing mindset of cost-cutting, CSR is potentially one of the first to go, but this would be self-defeating.  Now is the time, when companies must become more creative in how they contribute back to society, and economically efficient in their approaches.  Some of those ideas include:

• Giving employees 2 days off in their contract to work with already established social programs.  When business is slow, it is of less impact to allow this time off.

• organize food and clothing collection on their company premises

• take on 1 major pro-bono project for a chosen social cause

• look into negotiating lower nursery fees or gym fees, on behalf of your employees

• donate part of executive bonuses (5%) to a scholarship program for any current or ex-employees family members

Programs such as these can be debated and picked apart, but instead of analyzing them, let’s just do them and show the human side of companies.  And yes, in the true marketing sense, talk about them, but not in a self-important way, rather in a way that shows the company cares and raises the bar for other companies to follow suit.

 

Understanding Arab Youth -the young and the stressless

Recently the Dubai office of TNS completed an exhaustive study of the minds of Arab youth – a segment that comprises over 50% of the region’s population.  This study delved into their worlds and took an unbiased and in-depth look at how they are living, what they think and what brands are connecting with them and how.  It used a much more natural approach, by meeting with them in their natural environment, amongst their friends and allowing them to video regular moments in their daily lives.  The results were unbelievable…and below are just a few highlights

They are ALL-ABOUT fun, action, connecting, originality, guiltless spending and luxury brands.  Luxury is the standard and they don’t see it as a splurge.  It is simply the way it is…a guiltless purchase.  The word Kashka is used to describe luxury, but it really means luxury and cool…which shows just how luxury is viewed.

They like:

·         flirting and being naughty (still within reason under the cultural norms in the region)

·         cheeky brands that use humor

·         brands that connect with local role models –people they can connect with

It is all about connecting:

·         They use and buy and do things that allow them to better connect and communicate with others; facebook, n-series phones (snap a pic and send)

·         They are building networks more around common interests that vicinity and family, as was the tradition

Red Bull enters the movie biz

Viral marketing is a beast of its own, and clever agencies and companies are using more elaborate methods to grab the rogue audience’s attention.  This one is a cute one, Unflinching Triumph…a Red Bull viral mocumentary full-length film on ‘staredown’ competitions.  Available for free download.  It mixes up fairly believable moment and is supported by a National Association of Staredown Professionals website, filled with semi-believable content.  This certainly would fit with the typical cheeky approach that Red Bull is famed for.  Note the Red Bull periodic placement in the clip.  There is even a Wiki entry for this.  Bravo Akqa for creating this film.  Amazing….

Would love to see more of this going on here, where online downloads run rampant and youth market live, eat, sleep online.

Dubai metro and adverting

One of the fastest growing cities in the world, is about to embark upon a journey most other seasoned cities began decades ago..a metrorail. The metro is clearly in mid-construction, confirmed by a glimpse out of my office window, which reveals large sections absence the main metro line and no built metro stations to be seen.   In the true Dubai fashion, advertising space on the metro is already being negotiated as a closed meeting session held yesterday. 

This new era of travel in Dubai, also opens up new marketing opportunities.  In this new city, there are very few areas where a full cross-section of the public congregates.  There is no ‘down town’ to speak of, but rather new and disconnected mini-communities (Dubai Marina, Arabian Ranches, The Greens).  These areas are highly regulated, fragmented and policed to ensure no advertising is done without explicit permission of the authorities.  The main road strip has become so pricey that only the big players can afford outdoor space.  The metro, however, presents some opportunity for creative guerilla, non-intrusive, marketing activities.  This will allow creative and often not heavily funded companies to have an area to draw awareness via clever guerilla tactics.  For now we wait (1.5 more years) until the vision of a mass transit system becomes a reality, and then let’s see where it can go. 

First ever Midde East Social Media and Blogging conference

Finally, the first ever Middle East conference on blogging has been announced.  It is planned to be held in Jordan in June (exact dates have yet to be released) and it will discuss topics such as how blogs and wikis can work and become effective tools in the Middle East.  It will also begin to publicly tackle some of the thornier issues such as how governments legislate for the new media, the new rules of the game and defining what is “acceptable, unacceptable an tolerable in the new global context”.

Hopefully, this is the beginning of a bigger social media movement in the Middle East.

Advertising online in 2008, getting it right

emarket.com has predicted online spending to grow 10% in the US market for 2009.  Even though this growth is less than in the past few years, possibly due to the US recession, it still will exceed the growth in all the other major media.  (www.emarketer.com), and the lion share of that online marketing spend goes to online ads.  MarketingSherpa 2008 Online Advertising Handbook & Benchmarks study gives some great insights into increasing ROI for online ad campaigns.  As online continues to be a growing force in ad spend, it is incredibly important that companies are fully assessing the effectiveness and efficiency of their campaigns, by questioning and monitoring, simple yet often overlooked considerations such as:

Is the online ad creative effective for the targeted online audience?

Consider studies done on different creative routes to test effectiveness or using an online focus group.

Where is the ad placed on the page?

This is an incredibly important factor in any online campaign.  Based on a recent eyetracking study from EyeTools, that of the ads are placed above the page fold (those that can be seen without scrolling) only 60% of them are seen.  Only 25% of the ads placed below the fold are seen by viewers.  This downward visibility trend continues as the ads are placed under the fold and further left of the center. 

Is behavioral and textual targeting being used to better target audience?

Technology has and is rapidly improving in this area, making more real-time ad serving possible, thus eliminating an incredible amount of wasted impressions.  Targeting is the key to achieving an efficient campaign and focusing the online spend on the most receptive audience.

Is the campaign frequency too high or too low?

Too much frequency = advertising burnout

Too little frequency = underexposure

Frequency capping is the key to ensuring that your advertising campaigns gets the formula just right.  If the frequency is not capped, then the heaver users will consume the majority of the impressions (getting overexposed) and the remaining audience will be underexposed.   

Is Video Advertising being used effectively?

This is not the ‘next big thing’, this is the ‘current big thing’.  InsightExpress ad effectiveness studies indicate that instream ads that force exposure have an incredible impact.  Video messages are more likely to be understood.

from Status Symbols to Status Stories

Status brands have made an art out of carefully constructing and communicating their brand stories.  They are fully aware that the value of their brands are partially quality-based and a whole lotta perception-based…mostly around the perception that others will have of you, when you carry that brand.   Therefore, their story (real or fabricated) sits at the heart of their offering, their positioning and the association purchasers desire to buy into.   Armani=Italian style, BMW=German sports engineering, Rolex=Swiss perfection.  While their stories are interesting, the stories are owned and primarily told by the company itself and you are associated with it, buy owning it. 

Status stories, on the other hand, allow you to share the story and indulge your audience in the glorified details.  By owning the experience, you are telling more about yourself than just…I can afford it.   You gain status through telling the story. 

As noted by Trendwatching.com,

“STATUS STORIES: As more brands (have to) go niche and therefore tell stories that aren't known to the masses, and as experiences and non-consumption-related expenditures take over from physical (and more visible) status symbols, consumers will increasingly have to tell each other stories to achieve a status dividend from their purchases. Expect a shift from brands telling a story, to brands helping consumers tell status-yielding stories to other consumers.”

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