Dos Equis: The Most Interesting Man in the World

"I want to be that guy," says every man that views this spot for Dos Equis. In associating the brand with The Most Interesting Man in the World, Euro RSCG brilliantly positions Dos Equis with an aspirational appeal.

With a Bond-like feel, an translucent splash of humor, and a phenomenal title, this commercial takes the cake. In advertising alcohol, aspirational appeal is crucial (unless you're McCormick's or something then price is the key selling point), an aspect that is exemplified perfectly in this spot. Sure, you could highlight taste and other product attributes, however that's not going to evoke emotion from the consumer. People don't drink for taste, they drink for status, for appeal. They drink the drinks that they're "supposed" to drink, which is determined by the advertising and branding efforts of each brand. I'd say it's an effective advertisement, and it seems the people agree as this commercial received over 185,000 in the first week of June.

T-Mobile Dance

Brilliant. It's like a 2 for 1 deal. Buy one great publicity stunt, and get one commercial free. And if you order now, we'll throw in a viral buzz for free.

Well played Saatchi & Saatchi.

Barbeques Galore Retail Analysis

The following is a selection from a marketing analysis report over Barbeques Galore. The full analysis provided a full description of the product lines, target market, positioning, physical look, and personell.

The Consumer Experience

Along with the physical location and look of the store, the customer service brilliantly completed the consumer experience. In order to accurately vivify the total package, a rendition of one of John’s monologues must be provided. The below is a picture that John painted me upon inquiring further about the grilling process and what all can be done on certain grills.

Monologue: Grilling is really making a comeback, and it’s no surprise. It allows families to spend their leisure time together in the serenity of the outdoors preparing the food they need to survive. Grilling keeps the traditional family at ease taking the workload off of the mother while allowing the father to spend time with his family while providing a necessary service to the household. It gets him out of the office, and out of the taverns, and is the relaxation that so many people need after a tough day at work. To grill is to relax, and to relax is to bond with those around you. Aside from the peripheral benefits, grilling is just as capable of preparing an array of foods like any indoor appliance. With proper training, you not only can cook meat, but bread, vegetables, and near anything else. The difference is that with grilling, you also get that smoky hint of flavor that we all know and love. Grilling is a lifestyle, one that not only provides a benefit to the individual, but those around him as well. This is why our stores have done so well over the past 11 years.

In saying all this, John gave me so much more than just product features, he gave me a vision. He sold me a set of associations that would be triggered each and every time I opened my potential grill sending me back into the utopian world of grilling that he seemed to believe in. After talking to John, my choice to buy a grill was no longer based on the physical nature of the product, but the emotional ideals attached to the process as well. My mindset went from browsing to actually considering a purchase, all because John generated the emotional experience necessary to arouse the consumer buying habits.

Needless to say, my consumer experience was top notch.

Introduction to The Hub

The Hub or Hubba-U.com

What is the Hub?

The Hub is an entertainment-based online magazine catering to the TCU community. Set to launch in August of 2009, its goal is to be the trendsetting publication for the student body focusing on interests and fads including, but not limited to: Fashion, Business, Campus Gossip, Featured Videos, New Music, On and Off Campus Events

By covering the above topics, The Hub will strive to embody all that is TCU culture drawing a devoted following through continuous updates and relevance.

Vision

To create a liberal social hub for TCU students. Functioning as a satirical, entertainment-based alternative to the Skiff, this website will focus on the trends and interests specific to the TCU demographic.

Goal

To provide a central location for TCU culture, encouraging community through entertainment. To give everyone involved an unbelievable experience and a tangible asset to showcase to future employers. To live the dream by creating memories through hard work and time well spent.

Full Official Launch: August 15^th (start of school next year)

Goals:

1) Make it interactive. Encourage student submission of articles, videos, music etc.

2) Identify / Report / Set trends.

3) Provide Edu-tainment.

4) Promote the best kept secrets on campus. The things that deserve recognition, the people that are doing big things, and the people whose creativity never gets the visibility it deserves.

5) Start something that we can all be proud of. Something to help us learn and grow, but more so something that will bring fond memories for years to come as our team became something much more than a website.

Overall:

I want this to be a somewhat controversial, intriguing publication that gets people talking. I would like to satirize yet glorify TCU culture, and act as the central hub for all the gossip-savvy students.

It will not be trashy. It will be well-written, well-organized, which will differentiate it from juicycampus.com or frattinghard.com. We will encourage funny content, but not celebrate ignorance and irresponsible actions.

Photograph in Time 6/9/2009

Last night, I watched "Notorious" with my good friend Ryan. The movie was about the rise of the great rapper Notorious B.I.G., how he rose from a crack dealer to one of the most recognizable hip-hop icons of all-time. The theme of the movie is how dreams can come true no matter how big. "You can change the world, but only if you change yourself first."

I have a lot of dreams. In fact, they're the basis of my existance. So after watching the movie, my thoughts grew deep, and I began wondering if any of those dreams would become reality, and if so, what would I do when they did? Then I starting wondering if those dreams would ever change. So I figured the only way to find out is to implement a tracking system, which from now on I'll refer to as my "photographs in time". They'll be screenshots of my thoughts and dreams in various time periods, and below will be my first installment.

Today, Tuesday, June 9th of 2009:

I want to make the Hub a success. The Hub will be an online magazine for the TCU community and will surpass all other media sources on campus. I will need to maintain the website; manage the staff; and sell then satisfy local advertisers. But this will not be possible by myself, especially working 15 hours a week at ThinkCash, therefore I will need to build a management team and empower them to take charge. With Level 19 and LOUD, I tried to put everything on my shoulders, but with The Hub I will not make that mistake. I will surround myself with the most talented people I can find, and then push them to learn, grow, and dream. Together, we will build a powerful advertising medium for the affluent, niche market of TCU students. Although the reach will be limited, and the money will be meager, the experience and memories will be my reward.

I want to be fluent in Spanish. I'm going to study abroad in Sevilla, Spain this upcoming Spring semester and I'm going to be become fluent. Is it a long shot? Yes. But it something I've always wanted, so it's something I will forever regret if I don't.

I am determined to work at a top-tier advertising agency in the Summer of 2010. New york is preferable as I feel I could learn the most in that market. However, the quality of the agency trumps its geographical position. If I'm going to accomplish it, I need to do two things:

1. Build contacts at an array of agencies. Without that, I stand no chance. A TCU education and solid resume won't be enough. They need to hear my voice, my story, my drive.
2. Become tangible. This blog, a 30 page paper on the Emergence of Online Media, and The Hub are all projects that will not only help me grow through experience and knowledge, but they will stand as a testament to my self-initiative and committment to excellence.

I will do all this because advertising is what I want to do with my life. I want to effectively communicate messages to the consumer. I want to bring brands to life. Because it doesn't matter how great an idea is if the consumers aren't aware of it or don't understand it.

Those are my goals for the upcoming year. Those are the things I think about everyday. Those are the things that I will reflect on as this next year passes along. And after it's all said and done, I'll finally know if dreams really do come true, what it's like when they do, and if my dreams have changed.

GM Reinvention: Close, but not Quite

The new hot topic in advertising--The GM Reinvention Campaign-- goes something like this.

Although our country is a jumbled mess at times, one thing we all agree on is a love of country. With this love of country is a set of symbols that we all associate as devoutly american--all of which are included in this advertisement.

The emotion appeal is outstanding. The narration is brilliant. It acknowledges their faults, and effectively counters them with the "getting down to business" and the "chapter 1" lines. Although I've been a firm supporter of foreign models, It makes me want to believe in the change (Obama allusion?).

This effectiveness doesn't go 360 however as the GM Reinvention website falls short. They got my attention with the commercial, so I went to the URL they directed me to in order to learn more about the movement. But when I get there, the emotion is gone. It's cold, cluttered, and corporate. Sure, there's plenty of content, but where's the mystique, the patriotism, the innovation?

There's definitely a material disconnect between the mediums, which could be caused by a deviance from their campaign goals. The commercial's goal seems to be a re-courting of the everyday consumer via emotion, while the website looks as if the company sells B2B delivering nothing but information. Therefore, Deutsch/LA, I'd advise giving it a second look.

Nothing better than a Jimmy Dean Breakfast

So I'm just surfing around on Adweek, and I come across a TBWA/Chiat/Day advertisement. For thirty seconds, I'm absolutely zoned in. Starting off perplexed, then shifting to hysterical laughter, and ending with a devout hunger for the product, this is what I call effective advertising.

Although the content is simple and to the point, the vehicle in which they deliver it is brilliant. It's that dry humor that entertainment is shifting towards (hence the success of the office), with a slice-of-life setting, and a creative twist through the costumes and wordplay.

What makes this advertisement so great is how it seamlessly integrates humor with an effective message.

1. The costumes grab your attention, which
2. Gets you to tune into the dialogue.
3. The dialogue exposes the problem of not having a good breakfast, and then
4. Proposes Jimmy Dean as the solution.
5. Then it finishes strong with the pun on "full".

As the commercial fades, not only do I have a smile on my face, but I explicitly remember the product and the message they're trying to send, which is something that is often lost with humor-driven commercials.

Next time I'm at the grocery store, I'm definitely picking up a Jimmy Dean breakfast sandwich, and maybe everything else they have in their product line. Because every productive day starts with a healthy, fufilling breakfast.

And for those who on always on the go...

Back In the Blogging Game

Ladies and Gents,

I'd like to proclaim my re-entry into the space.

Update: After an array of interviews, I landed at the one I had perceived as most unlikely: ThinkCash Financial. It's a short-term lending service consisting of three products: PayDay One, ThinkCash, and Elastic, which will be launched in Beta later this month.

The reason I perceived it as unlikely is because it wasn't an advertising agency. I had spent weeks researching to stay relevant on all that was advertising in hopes of obtaining a position at an agency, yet here I am, a proud new employee of the ThinkCash team.

What do I do?

An array of things. Every Tuesday and Friday, I generate reports measuring returns on paid search, affiliate programs, and e-mail campaigns. From this, I now fully grasp the importance of metrics, and why the online space has such an advantage in that regard. It's amazing what it can do.

I create GCID's for the embedded links, and from those we can read the number of opens, unique opens, delivered pieces of mail, application derived from those opens, as well as funded loans. From there, we calculate cost per loan and figure out what's working and what needs to be optimized.

For years, I was ashamed of my father's love of spreadsheets. Only engineers liked that kind of stuff. But now, here I am, publicly stating that I was wrong. They're not so bad after all.

In addition to the reports, I am:

1. Working with a co-worker in developing an affiliate program, which is harder than you'd think when you have the stigma of 'payday loans' hovering over you.
2. Learning paid search: how to bid, how to gather the results, and how to work with the search representatives on optimizing the searches.
3. Best Practices for E-mail Campaigns to improve deliverability: DKIM, SS, IP4, FBL
4. Haven't started yet, but will begin leading more about lead generation sooner than later as well.

Although the subject matter doens't make for great conversation, it's captured my full attention. I'm blessed to have gotten this job, and couldn't be happier with it. The online space is such a dynamic environment, and the skills I'm getting here will be of great use in the future as online becomes more and more important in the marketing/advertising world.

Emergence of Online: Criticism of Social Media

Another excerpt from my research.

Criticism of Social Media

In my attempts to stay relevant with the industry, I’ve been overwhelmed by the attention that social media has gotten. Article after article, praising its name as if a new marketing deity has risen – then one day that all changed. I came across a few articles that weren’t so sure about the whole thing. In fact, they really didn’t think it was that special at all. One of them even compared it to alcohol: it seems to great at first, but then you come to find out that it may not be so great after all (Doug deGrood, Adage) Here’s why:

1) It’s a social platform. Therefore, the users visit the websites etc. in order to do social things. After all, that is their purpose isn’t it? Statistics were recently released stating that less than 5% of social media users “regularly turn to these sites for guidance on purchase decisions” (Knowledge Networks), which could leave all those jumping on the social bandwagon wondering if it’s really the right choice for their company. So while the industry is screaming from the mountaintops about the importance of conducting a dialogue, rather than a one-way conversation; there is an abundance of consumers that have no interest in joining in on the fun. They just want to talk to their friends and family, not to brands. They want the companies to satisfy their needs, but the companies have been doing that for years even without the social platform, or else they’re out of business. In concession, social media does make it quite a bit easier to understand the consumer, their lifestyle, their preferences, and their purchasing behavior.

2) It’s a medium, not the cure to all ills. Years ago, television came along and the advertising industry got flipped upside down. People sung its praises, and everyone hopped on board. But in the end, it was just a medium. Yes, its reach allowed the brand’s message to spread faster, however a broader reach doesn’t equal higher sales. Ideas do. Regardless of the competitive advantages offered by social media, the agencies still have to accurately interpret the research, generate innovative ideas from that research, and communicate those ideas with a finely-tailored message. Therefore, the only thing social media really does is help collect the information, and act as one of many avenues to communicate it. Is that useful? Yes. Is that an advertising revolution? No. The fundamentals have not changed. They remain steadfastly in place, only now there’s another tool in their utility belt.

3) It has no business model. DeGrood stated it perfectly in saying, “Currently, the only thing [social platforms] are generating is more users, which requires more bandwidth, which requires more capital, which, at some point (soon?) will require a boatload of ad revenue to satisfy the venture capitalist folks who ponied up the money for this worldwide digital kegger in the first place” (Adage). So where is this revenue going to come from? We’ve already established that consumers don’t use it to research purchasing decision, so unless this statistic is kept on the hush for years to come, the revenue from banners ads etc. won’t be able to support the providers. Forcing consumers to pay subscriptions isn’t likely either, as once it’s free, there’s no turning back. That leaves the research and communication attributes to save the sinking ship, both of which have potential. For research, the biggest obstacle to overcome will be the legalities of consumer privacy. For communication, the balancing act between implementation and intrusion will be the deciding factor. Will they work? I have no idea, however I wish the executives of those companies the best in figuring it out.

Emergence of Online: Effective Social Media

Disclaimer: The following is an excerpt from a paper I am drafting titled "The Emergence of Online". I'll be continuing research all summer, and revising the entries as I gain more insight on the various matters

Effectiveness of Social Media

Social Influence Marketing can be considered a complete third dimension of marketing – after brand and direct response marketing. This classification is due to its reach amongst consumers. From December 2007 to December 2008, global time spent on member community sites increased by 63% to 45 billion minutes. That just under 86,000 years of time spent within a year. Facebook alone rose from 3.1 billion minutes to 20.5 billion minutes in that same time period (Nielsen). That’s what all the hoopla is about. That’s why companies are shifting to this medium.

Due to the quick diffusion of the medium, companies have been in a scramble to learn its uses, and the best strategies to connect with their markets. Although there is no definitive answer, experts do agree on these basics:

1) Social media is founded on the idea of sharing – including ideas, preferences, and platforms. If a company is going to delve in the social space, it has to be just that – social. The idea of a commercial being entering a network of individuals is a huge turn-off to the consumer. They engage in the sites to stay connected to friends and family, as well as making new connections, therefore companies must share that space on the terms of the consumer. They can not preach to the masses, they need to join the discussion. They need to be personal, real, and involved. They need to humanize themselves evoking emotion from those they encounter by being there when a need is recognized. This emotion can not be bought like other media, it can only be earned, by sharing the space, and only being present when necessary. It is then when the brands stop intruding, and effectively connect with consumers through social media. Then, upon making the connection, the consumers will pay it forward sharing their experiences with others in their community (ShivSingh.com)

2) Focus on the community. It’s all about social dynamics. Who are the leaders? Who are the influencers? What role does each consumer fall under? Marketers have asserted for years that the key to effective diffusion is persuading the opinion leaders, the experts in the product category, to buy their product. To an extent this is true, but in the realm of social media, the community as a whole plays a bigger role. This shift occurs as the clarity of opinion leaders has blurred. The proliferation of media has revealed that there is no clear cut strategy in identifying the leaders, and that people play different roles in different situations. Therefore, corporation must get the whole community talking, not just one person. They need to be the talk of the town, generating forums, not focus groups, speaking about their industry, the product category, and their product lines as a whole. Focus groups aren’t compatible with social media as it isn’t a social thing. It’s commercial. Forums are preferred as with open discussion comes effective diffusion. There is no faster form of communication than word of mouth. Viral approaches can work wonders. All the company has to do is engage the community as a whole, and their message will be spread. Although offline mediums have seen some declines recently, I doubt consumers are going to stop talking anytime soon. (Shiv, Razorfish)

3) Make it seamless. The internet has been prevalent for over a decade now, and just as consumer roles have blurred, so have the lines between mediums. The consumer doesn’t see advertisement as online or offline, they just see it as advertising. So although Social Influence Marketing is a whole new dimension to you, that’s not how the consumer sees it. To them, it’s all the same, and they want to consume it as such. So don’t abide by a new set of rules just because it’s another format. Stay true to your campaign, its goals, and the two previous assertions and you’ll have a good start to unlocking the potential effectiveness of Social Influence Marketing.