Elisha Allen

This quirky advertisement by Swiffer reminds consumers to do what they do best: consume! Dusting is a household chore that rarely registers glamour or fun in the minds of consumers. For this reason, companies often have trouble engaging their target audience and creating brand loyalty. Take a look at this video to see how Swiffer included a modern spin on dusting to  entice consumers to purchase Swiffer products:

One of my favourite parts of the commercial is when the dust particle references “spending too many nights alone at the space bar.” That line alone led me to choose this commercial for my final marketing blog post. In my opinion, Swiffer could not have made dusting more hilarious.

One of the risks of this type of commercial is that customers remember to purchase dusting products but forget which brand to buy. Swiffer mitigated this risk by adding their jingle, “Swiffer gives cleaning a whole new meaning,” which instantly sticks in the listeners mind and acts as a constant reinforcement. The advertisement as a whole is short, informative, reminds customers to purchase  Swiffer products and is comical. What better advertising could you ask for?

I FINALLY WON ROLL UP THE RIM!!!! 18 cups of mediocre coffee in and I finally rolled up two winning cups in a row! I was the first in my friend group to get really excited to Roll Up the Rim at Tim Hortons and on the first day of roll up, I was running around Cannacord looking for a coffee partner. I found my friend Paul and promptly ran off to Timmy’s in search of a winning cup. Both Paul and I ended up with “please try again” messages, however I did not stop. As Lauren Bruce mentioned in her post, I became obsessed with trying to win.

Cup after cup of “please try again”, I continually marched over to Timmy’s determined to win. In between, while Lauren and every other customer under the sun was winning, I would go to Blenz or Starbucks and tell the cashiers how relieved I was to not have to “roll up the rim.” However, upon finally winning– not just once but twice in a row….it was all worth it! The fact of the mater is that I was going to buy coffee every day regardless and a free drink and free donut were just added perks. The best part was playing the game and getting competitive with regards to win/loss ratios. At one point I even changed the game around and was trying to loose 20 in a row. Turns out that just when you accept defeat…you win!

This campaign really is a winning marketing strategy for Tim Hortons. Photos of winning cups are all over Facebook and Twitter, and people are only too excited to tell their friends about their recent wins. Considering the fact that I went from 0 cups of Timmy’s coffee a month to 20 in one month, they certainly won me over. Are you ready to roll up?

Rarely do I walk up to a cash register and leave with only the items I had intended to buy. At the hairdresser I always buy an O.P.I. nail polish, at Staples I always grab a pack of gum and at the grocery store I usually pick up a magazine.

Considering I really DO NOT need any of these items EVER, why do I continue to purchase them? I think I am so susceptible to point of purchase sales because I really cannot stand lineups and instantly look for distractions. I look at the nail polishes because O.P.I. does a brilliant job of creating captivating names for all of their colours and to be honest I purchase entirely based on the name. With regards to gum, I justify it as being cheap, easy to cary around, and refreshing after walking around the grocery store. Magazines are simply an evolution from the time of reading Archie Comics in the store line-up and considering they promise to help you loose 5 lbs in “just one week!” how can anyone refuse?

If I were to stop purchasing at the cash-register I would honestly save hundreds of dollars a year but then where is the excitement of spontaneous buying?

Recently, MTV has created a future which accompanies their online TV shows. The feature allows viewers to interact and “chat” to each other via Facebook. If you are already singed into Facebook, it recognizes this fact and instantly logs you into the discussion. Therefore, you can add your comments and questions to the forum while watching the show and communicate with other fans.

Personally, I have never used this forum but I do see the appeal of gossiping with people from around the world and adding comments like “She really should get child support payment from him.”

Another great benefit is that the producers and executives at MTV can review the comments and get instant feedback on the show. This feature demonstrates the true power of social media by locking consumers into the MTV website while still giving them the comfort of their facebook and a medium to voice their opinions. The fact that it also provides exact feedback about the programs simply adds to the overall brilliance of the application.

The lululemon Ambassador program gets lululemon products out in the community in a subtle, yet effective way. Selected ambassadors represent the lululemon image and mantra by being active community members and leading active lifestyles. Thus, by providing these ambassadors with free clothing and lululemon support, the company can ensure that their product is being used in a visual way (ex: yoga teachers wearing lululemon in front of their class).

Jennifer Heil, Lululemon Ambassador

Lululemon also boasts an “elite ambassador” program which consists of world class athletes and Olympians. Currently, lululemon is being represented by skiers Jenn Heil and Emily Brydon as well as 22 other elite athletes. While lululemon does not pay these athletes, they do provide them with free clothing and athletic support including yoga classes and other strength training. One of the most integral aspects of the elite program is called LEAF (Lululemon Elite Ambassador Fan Club. The fan club consists of customers and community members who cheer on and stand behind the elite ambassadors in their quests for Olympic medals and world championships.

Through working with elite athletes and community leaders, lululemon gains customers attention and keeps their brand relevant in our day to day lives as well as visual in TV interviews and photographs which feature athletes preforming in their clothing.

Overall, the ambassador program at lululemon is an intriguing marketing effort because it connects real athletes and real people to the brand and demonstrates the practical uses of their products.

On my last trip to the grocery store, I found myself walking down the cereal isle singing the song from the old Mini-Wheats commercial:

Although this song is incredibly annoying and almost always gets stuck in your head, it is a marketing moment of genius. It is right up there with the Telus hippopotamus song. These commercials rely on their ability to stay relevant in our minds and then when we least expect it, they come back to haunt us. I don’t even like Mini-Wheats and therefore passed through the isle and headed to the checkout. After a few minutes still humming the song in the checkout line, I actually put my basket down, returned to the cereal isle and grabbed a JUMBO box of Vanilla Flavoured Mini-Wheats. What was I thinking? In retrospect I still don’t like them but it was fun to purchase them and come home laughing about Mini-Wheats to my friend.

This is not Mini-Wheats first marketing scheme. Since their original introduction, they have also added flavored Mini-Wheats (Strawberry, Vanilla, Cinnamon, Blueberry and Brown Sugar) as well as smaller Mini-Wheats Little Bites for kid’s sized mouths. The kids version is actually quite clever because it captures an entirely new market segment without harming their original sales. Mini-Wheats found that mother’s weren’t buying the product for their small children because the “bite-size” was too large. Therefore by making the pieces smaller, they can entice families to buy Mini-Wheats for the whole gang!

Another innovative idea is the Mini-Wheats Hot Hot campaign which encourages consumers to warm up the milk before poring it over breakfast cereal. This increases purchasing over the winter because it claims that Mini-Wheats can be a “lightly-frosted, high-fiber way to keep warm this winter.” Clearly, with all their flavors, sizes and uses, Mini-Wheats truly are hot right now.

Recently, Pantene has revitalized their product line by segmenting their shampoos, conditioners and styling products into three categories: Fine, Med-Thick, Curly and Colour. This allows consumers the opportunity to tailor their selection according to need while still paying a “drug-store price’.

By introducing four strains of their product, Pantene is able to expand their market share by targeting different sections of the market with individually tailored products. In an effort to capture consumers, Pantene has been generous in handing out free samples (ex: at the UBC Bookstore) and offering coupons in multiple magazines. By giving out samples and coupons, Pantene is able to maximize its trialability and hopefully create brand loyalty. Personally, I had so many small bottles of Pantene from the bookstore on campus that by the time I needed to purchase a new full-sized one it was a no-brainer that I would choose Pantene. Furthermore, each of the trial bottles was for a different hair type, which allows consumers to test out all of the products before choosing the one that is most suitable for them. I was grateful for their new line and the great effect it had on my curly hair. Thanks Pantene for showing me the ropes!

“We don’t tweet, we bark!” @AAWOA

Four days after Whistler Outdoor Adventures was found to have slaughtered 100 sled dogs, the Facebook page “Boycotting Outdoor Adventures in BC, Whistler” had nearly 45,000 members, demonstrating the vast power of negative word of mouth. The dogs were brutally killed after a dramatic drop in business following the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Games.

The story came to light this past week after a WorkSafeBC investigation became public on January 25th. Accounts of cruelty are very graphic and include reports that the dogs were killed in front of each other and thrown into a massive grave. Naturally this has lead to the massive uprise and media frenzy from animal lovers to random TV viewers.

From a marketing perspective, this represents the amazing power of word of mouth, especially when it is emphasized by the negative impact caused by this incident. A story about the killings is the fourth link when “Whistler Outdoor Adventures” is googled, a twitter account @AAOWA has been created to represent Advocates Against Outdoor Adventures Whistler, and numerous Facebook statues and groups continue to pop up about boycotting the company.

Most oustanding however is the fact that almost 45,000 people have liked the Facebook page in 3 days. This number is hands down higher than the number of people who actually use the sled dog service, and dramatically illustrates the rapid, wild fire effect of negative word of mouth.

As of Feb. 1, 2010, the Outdoor Adventures website states that they have “voluntarily suspended the operations of Howling Dog Tours.”

Read The Vancouver Sun Story here:

http://www.vancouversun.com/news/sled+dogs+slaughtered+Whistler+when+tourism+slumped+Report/4196610/story.html?tab=PHOT

Facebook page:

http://www.facebook.com/AAOAW

Twitter: @AAOAW

After a morning of market research in class I went home to look at the some YouTube videos of focus groups and true to Elaine’s word they did look fun. Two in particular, the DEVO Color Tests, were absolutely hilarious.

The study was conducted, “For the purpose of leveraging aspects of civilization that appeal to the greater majority (everybody).”

In reality, it was used to determine which color the iconic Devo hats and overall brand image should take on. Typical questions include, “What happens when you touch the color yellow?” or “What words come to mind when you think of the color blue?” or even more surprisingly “If red were a sound would it be high pitched or low pitched?” While these questions are all related to people’s interpretation of different colors, they illicit such varying responses that it seams nearly impossible to link the questions together and say…oh they point to the color green!

So while the Devo test provides some fun entertainment and certainly a good advertising scheme (hey, it got me interested), does it really represent a guided conversation typical of a focus group? My opinion is that the videos and online tests are more of a very clever way to get consumers interacting with the group than actually gaining any insight, but find out for yourself and take the Devo Color test:

http://colorstudy.clubdevo.com/