How We Work : Blog

Adidas recently launched a marketing campaign to bring fans closer to New Zealand’s popular All Blacks rugby team by sharing samples of the players’ blood. Showing how creativity can make most of a small marketing budget, minimal bloodshed and 95,000 hits later - no one's complaining this was an anaemic idea.

The moment the authorized reseller stores were open, I rushed down to get my grubby hands on one.

But would you believe it, one reseller in town didn’t have it and had no clue when it would reach Singapore, the other had a 2 week pre-order waiting list. In the end, I had to get my baby through the online store. They gave me an estimated 6 days waiting time before I could get it. Oh the suffering!!!!

But I digress. My bug bear here today is not how come I have to wait for my new toy when Steve Jobs specifically states that they are “in store right now” but how come every time Apple barks I jump, but when one of our very own local brand announces a new spanking portable video player, I don’t even lift and eyelid.

Claiming to have won a consumer’s choice award (I wonder who these supposed consumers are that always seem to think the products from this local brand, let’s call them brand C, are so great that no one seems to want to buy them), this new portable video player made its debut at the recently concluded Comex show.

I can’t for the life of me understand how understated Brand C’s launch of their new flagship product was. Feature wise, it’s got to be one of the leaders in its product category. It has got a big bright widescreen, great storage capacity and a reasonable price point, all the things that consumers have been clamoring for. Is it going to sell the millions needed to make it an entrenched incumbent, don’t hold your breath on this one folks.

Being a trailblazer in the portable video player market is not enough, where is the bloody marketing. Are people excited about Brand C’s new product? Outside of a few review sites who find it quite brilliant, there is just no consumer buzz about it. Apple announces a “show” press conference and the world waits with bated breath.

I know many companies that will pay through their noses to find out that secret. Come on folks, it’s not all that difficult. People love to be entertained, give them what they want. Create a spectacle, have a good front man and some nifty (it doesn’t even have to be revolutionary) products to show and, most importantly, start creating some grassroots buzz.

Its not who has the biggest, best, most feature filled time machine. No one gives a hoot if it does not give them the tingly feeling when they think about owning one. Time travel can be cool but who in the right mind wants to do it in a Volvo?

Listen up people. The war against terror is already lost!

As we remember the events that happened on 9/11 5 years ago today, we surely must reflect on how successful the world has been in this war against terror. The western world has brought together its collective might to fight wars in Iraq, Afghanistan and many more parts of the world with the singular aim to make us feel safe again.

How many of us feel more secure now than we did 5 years ago? We live in a world that is filled with “caution”, though some might call it paranoia. The aim of terrorists is not to kill every single human being on earth, that’s just simply not efficient.

Their one greatest weapon is to disrupt our daily lives with the threat of random violence. A single bomb killing thousands is nothing compared to the millions of lives that are affected due to the threat of a bomb. Look at the recent British airport scare, they didn’t even need a successful detonation to inflict significant loss of time and money to.

We live in a different world now. Our mindset against the people that use terror as their arsenal is not “if they will strike” but “when the strike will come”. No matter how secure our defenses or how informed our intelligence agencies, how can we stop a single minded person willing to sacrifice his own life for a greater cause.

Its time to face the truth. We will never be able to live in a world where we can go about our everyday lives without some kind of paranoia. It is this fear that is the true measure of the victory of terrorism and not the number of bombs that goes off.            

Daniel

Nivea recently expanded into the premium product arena with the launch of its new anti cellulite product, Goodbye Cellulite in Singapore.

What is interesting about this that while it encompasses TVCs, print and outdoor creatives – there was no mention of online. It would seem to me to be a product ripe (no pun intended) for the online medium. Users would appreciate having access to product information, testimonials and perhaps register for a sample or 2. With the end customer invisible to most consumer marketers, the web is a good means to get information about and from them. The messaging of this campaign: centered around friendly, confident girls also makes an online grassroots marketing effort appealing.

A recent campaign by J&J’s Neutrogena, Visibly Pretty, saw more than 1,500 video blogs submitted within a 2 week period. Girls liked sharing and talking about their beauty secrets. The company leveraged a community blogging site, skyblog and used its sister radio station to drive girls to the site. Consumer generated content raised awareness about the brand and also provided the company with an opportunity to interact and learn about their audience.

Especially among women, sharing experiences and word of mouth play a significant part in how we make purchase decisions (Dove’s Campaign for Real Beauty springs to mind). Get your audiences and customers involved and they will respond in helping you drive the brand (and the product – check out Brewtopia and Jones Soda). With the persistent popularity of social networks and consumer generated content, it’s a better time then ever to utilize such mechanisms in the marketing mix.

Joanne