Follow-up to the Gap logo fiasco

So, in a previous post I talked about my biggest issue with the new Gap logo: they should not have abandoned the old design completely. They should have improved it, but not abandoned it.

AdFreak put together a list of 30 recent redesigns, which is an interesting examination of this design issue.

To me, Burger King, Cisco, KFC and UPS got it right

AOL and Kraft... not so much.

Now here's a twist on the whole issue. The exception to prove the rule if you will. See what Sprint did? They completely abandoned their logo, but with good intention. They redesigned the logo in conjunction with a major rebranding effort, supported with extensive mass media. Remember the pin-drop ads? Me too. The logo was redesigned to support that re-branding. The lesson being: if you are overhauling your brand, you have permission to overhaul your logo in support of it.

But only if you have Sprint money to do so.

SuperBowl Advertising Award Winners

Well, it feels like Boxing Day all over again.

So much excitement was built up about this year's SuperBowl ads, and now that it's the day after, we are left to sort through all the gifts - to spend some serious time with the best ones and to re-wrap the crappy ones and send them back.

Here is my take. Enjoy! Comment. Share. Whatever!

1) Just Plain Hilarious Award:

- Best Buy "Ozzy vs. Bieber" (I mean c'mon, they got Bieber to admit that he looks like a girl!)

1.1) Just Plain Hilarious Runners Up:

- Doritos "Best Part" (he licked the dude's pants!)

- Snickers "Logging" (the actors are dinosaurs, but if you're old like me, you get it)

2) Awesome On So Many Levels Award:

- VW "The Force" (just watch and enjoy)

3) Marketing Fundamentals Award:

- eTrade "Cat" and "Tailor" (because they realize that with advertising, frequency and consistency is key)

4) More Damage Than Good Award:

- BMW "Defying Logic" (yup, this ad defies logic - BMW is successful because they AREN'T from USA... yet they go and do this?!?)

5) What the $&%# Award:

- GoDaddy.com "New .CO Girl" (...is Joan Rivers?!?!? Some things can't be unseen)

5.1) What the $&%# Runners Up:

- GM/Chevrolet "Status" (I get FaceBook, but does anyone REALLY want FaceBook updates from OnStar?... something about that just isn't right)

- Coca-Cola "Siege" (they usually get SuperBowl ads right, but I have to admit, I scratched my head on this one)

6) Taking the 'Sex Sells' Concept WAY Too Far Award:

- GoDaddy.com "The Contract" (I'm at the point where this offends me, so no, I won't go to your site to see more)

and the winner is......

7) The Best Overall SuperBowl Ad Award:

- Chrysler "Born of Fire"

I can't believe I gave Chrysler the highest honour, but I gotta hand it to them. They get TV ads. They understand that with this medium, you have to make a compelling brand promise, make it memorable, and glue it to your brand. I see too many ads that say something funny, but not compelling. I see too many ads that are so generic and bland that I have forgotten them before their 30 seconds are up. I see too many ads that are well done, but we forget who made them.

Chrysler got it all right.

They made a very strong statement, and they made it because they know that if they are to survive, they must appeal to the audience to whom the statement was directed. They made it memorable by conjuring up a new concept - that Detroit is back - and reinforcing it with a striking closing tag line: "Imported from Detroit". Finally, they imbedded the Chrysler brand in your memory by spending a good portion of their 2 minutes on the logo, including a fairly impressive, lengthy shot of a Chrysler grill.

It may not end up saving them, but given the challenges they face and the objectives they were surely given, this is the best possible execution. And it's better than the rest.

Soooooo....? Agree? Disagree?

Small Biz Tip: uber-simple landing pages

Do you want more from your email and social media marketing efforts? First look at your landing pages.

Most of what you do online - especially email and social media campaigns - include links back to your web site. You have most likely designed the best campaign you can to encourage people to respond - to click on that link! But have you spent as much time designing your landing page as you did designing the campaign?

A landing page is the web page people "land" on when they click your link.

But what happens next?

That's the key to effective online campaigns - making that 'next step' as interesting and as effortless as possible.

If the browser lands on your Home page, they still have work to do. They have to navigate through the site to find the offer / product / information that inspired them to click-through in the first place.

If you ask the browser to do more work to find what they're after, they most likely won't. So all your efforts to inspire them to click-through are wasted!

Design a landing page that points them directly to the topic of the originating link. If you're offering a 50% discount on wrapping paper, create a page with a huge image of wrapping paper, a huge confirmation of the 50% offer, and a huge "Buy now" button. All they have to do is click the button - no real effort required. If you directed them to your web site and made them find the gift-wrap section, you're asking them to do too much.

Here's an example from Staples. If you were so inclined to click the link on the email for a refurbished computer, optical mouse or printer paper, you're only one more click away from having the product in your shopping cart. Simple. Effective. Effortless.

That's how you increase your chances of online marketing success.

LESSON FOR SMALL BUSINESS:

• Every link you put out there through your marketing efforts should have a dedicated landing page.
• Those landing pages need to be simple, obvious and effortless.
• Don't forget to use web analytics to track campaign effectiveness (how many people land on the page; how many of them click to buy; how many of them actually buy and so on). Contact me for more information about web analytics tools and how to implement them (I don't sell them, so it's not a blatant pitch).

YOUR TURN:

• Any favourite landing pages... or bad ones?

Recession's over - how is your marketing positioned to capitalize?

Yes, we've been in a recession.

As I talked about that with clients over the past couple of years, there were two primary responses:

1. "I have no money to spend on marketing - talk to me when the recession is over."
2. "I want to invest in marketing now so that when the recession is over, people will buy from me first."

Both are valid responses, although I'm sure you can guess which one I think is better.

Since the summer started, the TSE has risen consistently (from 11,093 on July 4th to a high of 13,052 on November 7th - that's over 17% growth in 4 months). Since March 2009 (7,567 on March 8th), it's up 72%. I'm thinking things are looking OK right now.

Sooooo....

1. OK, the recession is over, is your business investing in marketing again? How, exactly?
2. OK, the recession is over now, how did the marketing go? Are people buying from you?

The future is now, at least as it relates to the recession. What are you doing about it with respect to your marketing spend?


LESSONS FOR SMALL BUSINESS MARKETERS:

• Marketing in down time is advantageous - just pick the inexpensive tactics!
• Choosing not to market in down times puts you at a clear disadvantage (assuming at least a portion of your competition has decided otherwise)
• Remember, marketing is the art and science of creating demand for your product. If you're not marketing (regardless of economic conditions), no demand is being generated. And without demand...

YOUR TURN

Any marketing success stories from the recession?

What Rogers' $10-million fine teaches us about advertising

The competition bureau has ruled that Rogers Communications has misled consumers with advertising that claims their new Chatr service is more reliable than its competition's services. It was found that despite Rogers' claims in their advertising, there was no discernible difference in dropped calls between their service and the ones offered by new entrants. This was deemed to be misleading and unduly damaging to the competition, and could end up in a fine of $10-million or more (if the judge agrees to retribution for consumers).

Now, Rogers is certainly being held up as an example, and it's easier to pick on the big boys, but it does bring to light some important lessons that small businesses and marketers should remember as you advertise:

1. Don't make a claim you can't support. Simply saying that your product is "the best" without backing it up is lazy and, it would seem, potentially costly for you!
2. If your competition is making claims that you know they can't support, you have an avenue for challenging their claims.
3. If you do have data to support your claim, make sure it's good data. Rogers is fighting this ruling, but I wonder how valid their data is. Don't just go ask 3 of your friends if your pizza is the best pizza they've ever tasted then call it the "Best tasting pizza in _____" (makes you wonder how many dentists were actually surveyed to support the claim "4 out of 5 dentists recommend ____" - perhaps 5?).
4. Be specific with claims. Don't say you have the best pizza, say you have the best Hawaiian pizza East of Hawaii. Helps your product stick out in the consumers' minds.
5. If I read/see/hear one more company claim to have "the best quality, price and service", I'm going to... You can't be all 3!
   

The top 2 rules for advertising

Rule #1: Advertise where your customers shop

Rule #2: Make that ad stand out from all the other ads

Rolex puts both rules into play with this clever ad on pgatour.com










See what they did there? They advertised on pgatour.com, since (presumably) male golfers are their target audience. And to stand out from the other online ads on the site, they did three things. First, the hands of the watch move in real time (take my word for it). Second, the ad shows the time zone you're in and compares it to the time zone of the tournament you're watching. Third, their ad showed up when I clicked on tee times. Get it?

It's a very atypical ad, in a good way. Noticeable. Clever. Well done Rolex.


LESSONS FOR SMALL BUSINESSES:

Well, to reiterate:

1. Advertise where your customers shop
2. Advertise cleverly; creatively

Gap: "We have a new logo?"

This is part 2 of 2-part blog about Gap and their recent logo redesign. Part 1 focused on the design itself. This part focuses on the roll-out of their logo redesign.


"We have a new logo!"

"We have a new logo?"

How would you rather announce to the world that you have a new logo?

Gap appears to have taken the timid, experimental, almost apologetic approach to a logo redesign.

In a recent Advertising Age article, Gap's spokesperson: 1) confirmed that the new logo was NOT a joke (as many people believed), but more importantly 2) confirmed that they had planned all along to roll out the new logo by placing it on their North American web site... ONLY.

That's just the wrong way to roll out a logo redesign.

It's as though they're standing outside of the meeting room, sliding the idea under the door, then listening through a glass pressed up against the door to see how people will react.

Now they've gone so far as to: 1) admit it was experimental in nature ("to monitor responses") and 2) write a FaceBook post that solicits new logo ideas!

As though they burst in to the meeting room yelling "Psych! We weren't really going to do this!" when they really were.

Now it just so happens that the design is in fact poor, and that the response has been overwhelmingly negative, so they've paved the way for retracting their new logo experiment without too much invested. But they were setting themselves up for failure by the method of the roll out.

They didn't do anything other than post the new logo on the web site. Their corporate FaceBook page had the old logo. And the challenge page (where you select your country) on the web site even had the old logo!

Exceedingly poor execution of a strategically monumental undertaking, with an overwhelmingly negative impact on their brand reputation.

LESSON FOR BUSINESS OWNERS / EXECUTIVES:

• Create a detailed, coordinated, thorough (internal) roll-out plan (including FaceBook page updates!) for re-branding roll-outs
  
• Have a similarly coordinated internal communications plan
• Have a similarly coordinated media launch
• Announce your new logo with pride and conviction!

First rule of marketing: advertise where your customers shop

I talk a lot about companies that waste money on advertising in markets where only a small portion of the audience is in their target market or worse, to people that aren't in their target market at all.

Here's a previous post about a company that got this HORRIBLY wrong (Lab Safety Supply), very expensively.

Today's post is about a company that got it BANG ON (Pfaff Porsche).

I can hear the decision process perfectly. "Where would our potential car buyers shop? Well, some of them would be on AutoTrader, and they likely did a search for 'Porsche'".

Ah, music to my ears! Much like the sound of their engines.... not like I'd know!

TAKEAWAY FOR YOU:

It's a simple question. The answers you come up with form the foundation of your marketing plan.

Burger King ad - do you like it?

In this ad, Burger King comes right out and admits they stole their new idea from an existing McDonald's product.



I like the honesty and creativity. I like the bravery. I like the fact that their sticking an idea out there and saying "deal with it". I like that they're trying to stick out from the crowd.

There are lots of reasons it's a terrible ideas as well (imagine you're BK's ad agency, and you decide to pitch an idea where you admit on TV that you stole an idea from McD's - oh, to be a fly on the wall), but I'm on the "like it" side.

You?


TAKEAWAY FOR YOU:

• In heavily competitive markets (anyone know one that isn't?), you have to give someone a reason to buy from you as opposed to your competition. BK took a stab at that by offering theirs for $1.
• Copycat product marketing is essentially admitting that you are lesser in some way than your competition. Just be aware of that and address the issue accordingly.

Credit where credit is due - they fixed their mistake!

In an earlier post I called out McNain TV for creating possibly the worst flyer in history (NO contact information - had no idea where they were located or how to reach them).

Seems they have realized the error in their ways. Their most recent flyer clearly displays their locations, phone numbers and web site. I'd like to think they read this truly influential marketing blog and discovered their blunder in the post and corrected it immediately, but I'm sure they figured it out on their own. After all, it couldn't have been that hard to notice an oversight like that!

TAKEAWAY FOR YOU:

• Proof read, proof read, proof read.
• Have someone not connected to the project look it over. I'm sure someone from Accounting would have said something about missing contact information.

It has started: the death of web sites as we know them!

Check out this online ad for Heineken Light

















Notice anything odd?

1) Prominence of Facebook link
2) ABSENCE of any Heineken brand web address

Not even the slightest reference to www.heineken.com.

This is not the only example I've seen lately. Many brands are using Facebook as their landing page for ad campaigns. And it's not limited to online campaigns - I'm noticing this development on TV too.

Wow.

The power of Facebook.


TAKEAWAY FOR YOU:

Get a Facebook page... NOW! If you have one already, use it more!

Irresponsible advertising - Ford's turn

In recent posts I've called out BMW for irresponsible advertising (talk about one car, show a picture of another, and pass them off as the same car) and Ford for competing with itself.

Well, time to talk about Ford's irresponsible advertising.

In this ad, their headline is: "Ford sweeps North American Car and Truck of the Year Awards"

So, how would you interpret that? To use the word "sweeps" implies that several awards were won, across several categories, and from several reviewers.

But no.

They had one car that won one award in one category, and one truck that won one award in another category. That's HARDLY "sweeping" the awards, as the headline claims. Plus, you can't tell who awarded these titles.

They're clearly trying to create an impression that they win all kinds of awards for their cars by stretching the truth and using carefully selected words to deceive the audience.

Sadly, it's probably working (because the ad itself is so boring that it's unlikely that anyone, other than me, will read the copy).

Doesn't mean it's not irresponsible.


TAKEAWAY FOR YOU:

• Don't try to be something you're not. Let your product/service do the talking.
• Maintain your integrity.
• Maintain your ability to look yourself in the mirror.

Your brand reputation will thank you.

Here We Go - 2010's Best SuperBowl Ads (and worst!)

Here are my choices for the best SuperBowl Ads in 7 different categories, including "Best All Around Ad" (at the end)... ENJOY! COMMENT!

1) Most Humourous

Winner:
~ Career Builder - "Worst Seat" (the look on her face is priceless!)

Honourable Mention:
~ KGB - "Sumo"
~ Bud Light - "Book Club"


2) Most Effective (at getting the message across):

Winner:
~ Google - "Parisian Love"

Honourable Mention:
~ Coca Cola - "Hard Times"
~ Audi - "Green Car"


3) Worst:

Winner... er.. Loser:
~ Boost Mobile - "Boost Mobile Shuffle"

(Dis)Honourable Mention:
~ Dr. Pepper - "Little Kiss"
~ Miller High Life - "Little Guys"


4) Blatant Teaser to Drive Web Traffic:
~ GoDaddy.com - "News"


5) So Much Promise, But Failed to Meet Expectations:
~ eTrade - "Girlfriend" and "First Class"


6) That the...?!?
~ Taco Bell - "Poem" and "It Rocks"


And the winner is.......


7) BEST ALL AROUND AD

Winner:
~ NFL - "Best Fans"

Runner Up:
~ FloTV - "Moments"



So, what do you think?!?!?

Avatar as an examination of marketing

According to BoxOfficeMojo, Avatar has grossed more than $1.4 BILLION, and counting! There is no definitive answer at the time of writing this, but production costs for the movie appear to be close to $300 million, and marketing costs close to $200 million.

So, here's a question (for which there is probably no answer):

How much would the movie gross if they had spent less on marketing? Or more on marketing? How much would the movie gross if they had spent less on production (presumably weakening the quality of the product)?

This is a very common question - one that we grapple with all the time. Will more marketing lead to enough sales to earn our money back? Is the product good enough on its own to be successful without extensive marketing?

And here's another thing business owners and marketers need to keep in mind: It's possible that the movie would have grossed, say, $1.25 billion with no marketing, putting them $50 million ahead of where they are now (saving $200 million on marketing but earning $150 million less). Would that mean the marketing was a waste? It's tempting to say yes, but think of all the awareness for the movie and for James Cameron and for Fox that was generated!


All marketing has benefits beyond its direct impact on sales.


Remember that as you consider investing in marketing.


Your turn: What's your guess about the box office sales with more (or less) spending on the product or on the marketing?

Auto industry ads suck, and this auto exec knows it!

There are a few bright spots in the auto advertising business (see Porsche), but for the most part, auto ads suck (see BMW). I have often written/spoken critically about advertising in this industry and to my delight, someone inside the industry is speaking my language.

I am referring to Scott Keogh (Audi CMO), who recognized the fact that most auto industry ads are bland, programmatic and ineffective. Audi broke out of the mold this year in a risky, but crucial attempt to be different, to be memorable, and to be successful.

In this video (it's 8 minutes, so I'll summarize) he gives 3 examples of some truly creative creative that helped Audi stand out in the sea of blandness:

1. A powerful campaign (with impactful imagery) that espoused the virtues of clean diesel and defiled traditional fuels and the oil-producing Middle East.
2. A decision to "buy-out" all the TV spots on the three major US networks during Obama's inauguration... but to also agree to simply sponsor the newscasts and run them commercial-free!
3. A documentary, produced by NFL Films, about the Audi racing experience at Le Mans which they pitched (successfully) to ESPN... before they knew how they would finish in the race!

These are three risky, even radical, approaches to advertising in an otherwise tedious market. In advertising, taking a risk is hard, but it's the best way to create impact.

Turns out that Audi's market share is up, and their profits are growing (that's right, I said profits)! Coincidence?

Another topic I write/speak about often is the importance of creativity (see Apple), and this is a shining example.

Well done Scott and your Audi Marketing team.


Your turn: What are your thoughts about auto ads?

Creativity counts - just look at this Mac ad

In my marketing seminars and engagements I preach the importance of creativity. Marketing ideas, and in particular advertising ideas, need to stand out and make you notice. They need memory glue. They need to be different.

There are lots of examples that work, and this Mac ad is a recent example.















Most online ads take up one location on a web page. Most have some kind of animation. Mac took it one step further by buying TWO prime locations on the page, but then also integrating the ads so they work together.

In this ad, PC leaves the right-hand, vertical spot to participate in what's going on in the horizontal spot, while Mac watches (I'd show it to you, but the ad rotates so if I sent you a link, you might not see it).

Genius.

That creative thinking about how to make people notice really works.

Most ads are noise. This ad is memorable.

And that's the whole point: how can you think creatively about how you advertise or market your brand that makes it truly stand out from the noise?

Think Diamond Shreddies

Think Bic razor billboards (click to view).


THINK CREATIVELY


Your turn: what are your favourite ads that truly stood out from the rest - that were truly creative?

Auto industry ads continue to drive me crazy

The auto industry is notorious for stretching the boundaries of acceptable advertising practices.

From price wars among dealers from the same auto maker (see post) to price promises that aren't really promises (see post) to mice type that no one can possibly read (don't get me started!), this is a new low.

BMW (who otherwise does everything right if you ask me) is running a campaign to promote their 2010 323i. This ad CLEARLY promotes the 323i, and the 323i only. You can tell this by the headlines and copy, and they even go so far as to break down the lease rates for the 323i specifically.

But the image, which is predominant, is of the 335i. If you look closely (click image below to enlarge), there is a line of mice type (don't get me going!) that admits they are showing a picture of the 335i!! How can they be allowed to do that?! The 335i looks better, performs better, costs more, and has clearly different lease rates.

Now, the 323i is from the same family as the 335i, but that doesn't excuse this manipulative advertising practice.

They need to advertise more responsibly.

People that aren't car fanatics like me or that don't pay as much attention to advertising as I do would understandably go to the dealership looking for a car that looks like the 335i for the price of the 323i. Such a car does not exist. "Sorry consumer. But since you're here, why don't I put you into this more expensive car?" Oh, sorry, it's more like "What do I need to do to get you into this more expensive car?"

I know they're legally allowed to do this, but they shouldn't.

They're not the only perpetrators, but I just happen to be picking on them because they are advertising fairly heavily.

My new favourite print ad.

It's true - a picture says 1,000 words. This ad is from Lazer Bike Helmets.























So succinct. So precise. So effective. So simple. So good.


Your turn: I want your input - what are some memorable SIMPLE ads like this?

Worst flyer EVER?

I wish this wasn't real.

It's sad to me (as a Marketing Consultant) that this would even happen. That something so truly fundamental could be overlooked.

As you flip through this flyer, there is NO WAY TO CONTACT THE COMPANY!

No phone number.

No web address.

No street address.

Nothing.

Nothing on the inside pages. Nothing on the back cover. Nothing.

So as a consumer, if I am at all compelled to respond to this flyer (which I received in the mail), I would have to Google the company name (McNain TV and Communication) and try to find them. Do you think ANYONE would do that? NO!

It would appear that they are assuming we already know how to contact them! What a colossal blunder. I live in their retail footprint, and I have never even heard of them (I Googled them out of sheer morbid curiosity - they have 4 locations in south/central Ontario). And I'm in their target market (I buy too many electronics products).

In some ways I'm sad because it's possible that my profession - the collection of marketing advisors across the globe - has failed them somehow. How could they not have known to include this information?!

Imagine building a car with no ignition.

And it gets worse: a graphic designer likely did the layout for them and didn't notice it or say anything, and someone obviously printed it and didn't notice it or say anything either.

It's just sad all around.

I guess I have more work to do! To spread marketing best practices across the country!

At least now I know where to start.

Blackberry: the good, the bad and the spectacular

Blackberry's running a new "Blackberry Loves U2" campaign, and I'm not quite sure if I like it or not.






The good:

It's different.

I'm really tired of the "me-too" ad. Too many industries include brands that just copy each other's ads. Watch any car commercial and you'll know exactly what I mean. With the exception of the iPhone, advertising in the mobile market is fairly repetitive. All about features. "My phone has this, my phone has that, my phone flips this way, my phone flips that way". It's no wonder the iPhone does so well - their ads really stand out. Well, now so do Blackberry's. Their TV spot in particular is intriguing to say the least. And it doesn't list one feature.

The bad:

You can't tell what it is. The TV spot shows only U2 in concert, and closes with a "Blackberry Loves U2" teaser line.

OK.

So what!

I'm happy for you that you like U2, but that doesn't do anything for me - the consumer. What are you trying to tell me? What are you trying to sell me? All I can do is go to the dedicated url to learn more. But that's asking the consumer to do quite a bit. The more you ask them to do, the less they will be inclined to do it. I would have at least liked them to tell me what it is they're trying to promote. The ad is memorable, but all I remember is that Blackberry thinks U2 is cool.

The spectacular:

This ad is far from ugly. The production quality is outstanding and if nothing else, you come away from it feeling impressed by Blackberry for such an undertaking. And that's saying a lot. Do something impressive and people will remember you for that reason alone. It's not cheap, but it works. Remember the launch of Windows and the whole Rolling Stones "Start Me Up" thing? I thought you would.


So while there are some holes in the approach, Blackberry is certainly taking a leap. And getting noticed in the meantime. As a marketer, I just think they needed to tell us more while they had our attention.

Agree?