Catherine Guan's Blog

Setting the blogosphere ablaze, the passing of Steve Jobs seems to have resonated Apple evangelists and many besides.  As the tributes flow in, the man and his legacy are the subject of furious debate.

According to Andrew Potter, Ottawa Citizen, “for all his success as a business executive, Jobs’ most enduring legacy is not as a corporate but as a cultural visionary”.  Indeed, Job’s greatest creation is arguably, neither the iPod, nor the iPad, but Apple’s brand.

Targeting the contemporary creative class, Steve Jobs has created a brand synonymous with networked independence and stylish non-conformity. Despite being a gargantuan corporation, the Apple somehow positions itself as a defiant rebel against the corporate world.

In her blog, Robyn marveled about Apple’s consumer generated marketing, made possible by devoted fans. More than its sleek design and cutting-edge technology, it is this distinctive brand identity that has inspired such fervent loyalty.

The “Get a Mac” campaign with Justin Long made pop cultural splashes quite recently, but it was the watershed “1984” commercial that best encapsulates the Apple positioning strategy.

Airing once during the Super Bowl XVIII, “1984” introduced the Apple Macintosh personal computer for the first time. Directed by Ridley Scott, the commercial’s hammer-heaving heroine was used to represent the coming of the Macintosh as a means of saving humanity from Orwell’s Big Brother, a not so subtle reference to IBM. Thanks to the Apple Computer Corporation, we are assured, the year 1984 will not be like the book 1984.

Ever since, the brand has stood as the definitive rebel sell: “the individualized resistance of political authoritarianism and cultural conformity through the adoption of non-standard consumer goods’.

Here’s to you, Steve Jobs.

Cinema. It’s the realm of imagination. It’s the empire of fantasies. Indeed, Humphrey Bogart could have been describing film-making in his immortal line, “It’s the stuff that dreams are made of.”  Or, if we are discussing The Blair Witch Project, nightmares.

The Blair Witch Project‘s marketing campaign, a sensation in its use of the Internet twelve years ago, remains influential today. Creators Eduardo Sanchez and Daniel Myrick perfected “the Art of the Hype” when the public initially believed the footage was real.

One of the reasons behind the campaign’s success is its ingenious use of the marketing channel. Online marketing was perfect for its target market of 18 to 24 year-olds, particularly the niche audience of comic, sci-fi and fantasy enthusiasts. They drove the campaign by creating a veritable fervor in online forums even before the release. The resulting “buzz” caught the attention of mainstream media.

Further, it proved expensive visuals and designs aren’t necessary. The minds of teens were saturated by fantastical blockbuster productions and this campaign broke through with its semblance of reality.

And it paid off in a big way. Blair Witch went on to become one of the top grossing independent films of all time, earning more than US$248 million worldwide.

Now, the question is if Blair Witch‘s success can be replicated. When every major production has a online presence, an exact duplication of the campaign is near impossible. Even when campaigns become viral, it doesn’t always translate into big box office numbers. For every success like Cloverfield, there are failures like Snakes on a Plan.

According to Fast Company, the guys behind Blair Witch have formed a marketing company called Campfire. This raises an intriguing question: Could story-based viral marketing be used for different products and services?

Moments of euphoria and anguish, tears of heartbreak and joy, this year’s World Cup provided them all in abundance. My favorite memory was surprisingly not the triumph of La Furia Roja, the return of Maradona, nor the god-like abilities of Messi. It was a group of miniskirt-wearing women.

A daring marketing ploy by the Dutch brewing company Bavaria saw of group of young women arriving in red outfits that seem to be in the Danish colours to the game between Netherlands and Denmark; then stripping off those outfits to reveal the orange dresses with the Bavaria logo underneath. In the second half, the young women were removed from the stadium, questioned by FIFA and then by the police before being released.

This is can be considered as an instance of ambush marketing, because the official beer of the World Cup is Budweiser. FIFA is seeking to protect its sponsor’s interests by forbidding any promotional activity by competitors that uses fans to advertise products.

While I admire the audacity of Bavaria, finding legal loopholes is a dangerous game to play. FIFA, likewise, finds itself in a dilemma. There are boundaries as to how far it can punish offenders, because prison sentences of up to three years under the law seem too harsh. In 2006, FIFA ordered fans wearing Bavaria-branded Leeuwenhosen in 2006 to take them off and watch the game in their underpants. Thankfully, that option was not chosen this year, or there might have been more than great footwork to boggle the eye.

Criticizing Walmart is quickly becoming a national past-time, second only to mocking Sarah Palin. There were individuals who were so considerate as to provide a channel for our Walmart-bashing—hence the creation of People of Walmart. For the uninitiated, this is a website dedicated to user-submitted photos of overweight, poorly dressed or simply awkward shoppers at the supermarket.

I am ashamed to admit, the site tweaked a few chuckles out of me. But, I have to wonder, why is there such an outpouring of hatred towards Walmart? Perhaps the competition between “mom and pop shops” versus the international conglomerate is too easily compared to David versus Goliath. As consumers, our sympathies go to the underdog. Allegations of predatory pricing and employee mistreatment certainly don’t help Walmart’s public image.

If any corporation is in urgent need of Community Relations 2.0, it is Walmart. In a SWOT analysis of the supermarket, negative public perception would be a blindingly obvious weakness. Social media is an important tool that the company needs to utilize to win over the public. I’m sure we won’t have to wait long before Walmart starts sending out friend requests on Facebook. Meanwhile? I’ll be a regular visitor of  peopleofwalmart.com.

Here, we grumble and mumble about Tourism B.C.’s expensive star-studded “You Gotta Be Here” Campaign. Millions of tax-payers went to movie stars and sports legends to hock our coasts and mountains. Our neighbours over in Alberta are rumbling about quite the opposite. An advertisement campaign launched by Corporate Ethics International is urging travelers to stay away from the Rockies and Lake Jasper.

Displeased with the provincial government’s support of oil sands, “Rethink Alberta” compares Alberta to the recent Mexican Gulf Oil Spill and the plundering of Pandora. Pulling at heart-strings and attracting eye-balls, our sister province has gained plenty of unwanted attention. Alberta’s brand image has been tarnished. Regardless of what the reality of the oil industry may be, it is the perception that matters. Many American and British travelers are choosing another destination.

Conceded, we do need to consider the moral implications of our choices. What troubles me, however, is the people who are impacted by “Re-think Alberta”. Instead of Big Oil, it is the ordinary Albertans in the travel and service sectors who are suffering.

This campaign needs to rethink.