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On the topic of public relations I realized that marketing really has to do with everything.

Relation of the publics–the part that applies to us consumers the most is company relations to us.
For a TV show like Top Gear, relations with the audience is a part of its promotions and public relations.

So, obviously, when an incident such as Ben Collins being exposed as The Stig happened, there was a lot of patching up to do by BBC.  What was to happen to the carefully constructed mystique around The Stig?

The Stig, as a concept and idea, had been expanded into merchandise playing on the unknown identity of the character (with t-shirts declaring I AM THE STIG being sold in the BBC Store) and was obviously a very profitable product line for BBC as well as a source of promotion and hype-building for Top Gear.  When Ben Collins stepped out to announce himself as The Stig, the mystery was shattered–the whole concept was shattered.

How would BBC patch relations with the public after that incident?
BBC could be seen as the “bad guy” because Ben Collins appeared to be dissatisfied with the conditions he had to work under and keeping him mum was apparently painful.  BBC also had to suffer the repercussions of having to find a new “Stig” and by then, the mystery was already gone.

This was BBC’s reply to the situation. (I’m sorry I can’t paste the video here)

edit:  I FOUND THE VIDEO ON YOUTUBE!  😀

In one video, BBC addressed the concerns over the image/concept of The Stig as well as created hype for its upcoming Season 16.  I’m not sure if it was on purpose, but it also made a slur at Ben Collins when it said that some Stigs even think they could write books.  (Ben Collins was going to release an autobiography)

Point is–I found the video really funny and clever of BBC because instead of eradicating The Stig completely, they took the idea and informed fans that they could produce a new Stig and further added to the concept of the Stig as being non-human (and maybe even super-human).

Today, I was bored so I went to the airport.  (I know… I’m kinda random)
It was there that I noticed that there was an ad for the Sauder School of Business.  I then remembered seeing an ad for a Hong Kong business school at the Hong Kong airport.

Why do business schools put their ads in airports?

I’m thinking that their target market probably consists of:

• prospective students (people looking for BCom, MBAs, or other professional degrees)
• business professionals (networking opportunities for their own students)

Having an ad at the airport would enable a business school to reach international audiences in ways that placements elsewhere would not.

I was in accounting class the other day with Catherine Hsu, when she showed me this really cool application on the iPhone and since I wanted to find out more, I looked up her post about it on her blog.

Now, instead of marvelling at the awesomeness that is the Google app, I’m wondering about the wealth of information that Google could get from these applications!

As soon as I opened the app to take a picture for searching, it prompted me to agree to certain terms and conditions as well as asked if I wanted to save search history.  No big deal… until it said that it would save this data for use later on to improve the app and stuff like that.

Now, imagine how useful that information would be to marketers.  Search engines are very good indicators of social trends (such as Justin Bieber being one of the top searched terms of 2010) and adding picture/sound search that would just bring things to a whole new level!

I find it kinda scary.

Sometimes we see some truly ridiculous ads and commercials that make us go “HUH?”

But you see– it gets us talking.

At what point does it become truly “wtf” and reflect negatively on the product rather than invoke interest?

Here’s a video that made me really go “HUH?” but it sure got my facebook newsfeed abuzz.

I found this new motto interesting because it sparked up something that I heard from watching an old episode of Top Gear the other day.

Did you know that the first car to have anti-lock breaking system (ABS) is the Mercedes Benz S-Class? It was also the first car to include airbags.

This new ad campaign highlights Benz’s strengths– its already potent market presence.

I wonder what opportunity this ad campaign is trying to strategically target.  Obviously, it’s trying to portray an image of traditional excellence, but how does that relate to the more aggressive styling of the most recent generation of vehicles?

As much as I love cars, I know I often take for granted how much engineering, art, and mathematics goes into a car.

This incredible commercial showing a Rube Golberg machine (I think that’s what it’s called) reminded people of how incredibly intricate a car is as well as created a lot of buzz.

Afterall, years after it was first aired, I still see it on my classmate Brian Chan’s blog post.

Notice how the commercial didn’t focus on the specs of the Accord like a typical car ad.  I think that’s because, as an established car model, the commercial acted just to remind consumers “Hey, we’re still awesome!”

A quick post I’ll add more to later. Had tons to think about after I read this article.

Charity Doesn’t Solve Anything

I remember driving past a billboard advertisement for the new C-Class from Mercedes Benz and thinking that Benz has lowered itself in status.

Why?  Why did I have such a thought?  Perhaps it’s because to a certain extent, a brand’s prestige, especially for a luxury car manufacturer, is due to not having to advertise at all.  Why would they have to go out to look for customers?  If they were good, the customer would find THEM.

But you see, that’s where I am wrong.  Even Aston Martin goes on ad campaigns, as I found on an interesting blog article at Adrants.

What’s the difference between an Ford ad and an Aston Martin ad?

I can’t direct link the image because it’s on flickr, but here’s the link to a magazine ad for a Ford Focus.  (I found that album full of Ford adverts and it was really intriguing–will probably look more into it when I have more time!)

The advert focused instead on comparing the Ford to its competitor the Toyota Corolla in terms of mileage and fuel economy.  Practicality and every-day-person were the focus of this ad.

I will end this post then with an interesting Aston Martin ad.  I noticed how the specs and financing were in small, light grey print in an out-of-the-way area on the ad.  The focus of this ad was on how, as the article on Adrants noted, an Aston Martin could bolster your image.

Whoever is reading this… please buy me a Vantage.  I will love you forever and ever and ever.

I was watching old seasons of Top Gear the other night when I came upon the episode where Jeremy Clarkson and James May tried to create a tv commercial for the Volkswagen Scirrocco TDI.

As they struggled with trying to find something exciting about a diesel-engined small family car, it occured to me how difficult it really is to captivate an audience.

The marketing experts advised Jeremy Clarkson and James May to find a truth about the car and market it to the audience from that point.  I didn’t quite understand how to do that (seriously, all the facts about a small three-door family compact are incredibly boring and uncaptivating) until Clarkson and May complained that diesel made the car boring.

Cleverly, the experts said that they could instead say that the scirocco made diesel more exciting.
Attitude, I have learned, is key to approaching a product.

The Scirocco TDI isn’t an R8, it isn’t even a GTI.  There’s nothing exciting about it, but depending on the attitude with which you approach it, you could find a great selling point.

What turns a simple idea into a phenomenal force promulgated throughout society?
The life force of an idea lies not within the idea itself, but with whispers, discussions, and proclaimations.  An idea exists as long as it is in someone’s mind, but it takes many minds to make it flourish and spread.

The end of the last decade was marked by the emergence of social media.  With the new decade, corporations and individuals alike rapidly caught onto the idea of using the internet through sites such as YouTube, Facebook, and Twitter, to market their products and themselves.

Today, the internet provides a channel for individuals to market themselves.  We see the rise of YouTube celebrities and MySpace socialites who capture the interest of the masses. Unlike massive corporations such as Coca-Cola and Starbucks (I’m currently deprived of caffeine), these individuals do not have dedicated marketing teams to promote their message, but they are still able to establish their name in mainstream society.

How do they do it?

As an excuse to spend more time on YouTube, I will be looking for a common thread in successful YouTube celebrities such as communitychannel and Peter Chao as well as marketing campaigns made successful through YouTube such as the Old Spice commercials.

To end on a musical note, here’s a song from someone who was made famous through YouTube.  I drive to this music.

Remix to a Remix by Ronald Jenkees