August 31st, 2010
With the the launch of the third part of the history of Aleksandr Orlov’s family (The Streets of Ambitiousness ) comes the rumour that there may be a full-length movie in due course.
While Churchill’s nodding dog has been on tour and has even ’starred’ in Christmas pantomime last year and at Pontin’s this summer, a whole film of ‘oh yes’ would probably be too much!
Where agency VCCP have been so clever with the Meerkat marketing is that they have created a complete ‘back story’ for Aleksandr and his family so harnessing our sympathy for the struggles of his ancestors and further engaging with us.
In the ‘Battle of Fearlessness’ advert (part two of the triology) there are great lines such as ‘its only a fur wound’ which make everyone laugh.
Like Wallace & Gromit , a film ‘(The Adventures of Aleksandr Orlov’? ) would be popular with all ages regardless of background.
Could Aleksandr be that rare being – a brand concept that started as an advert but becomes an entity independent of Comparethe market.com?
Now that would be subliminal advertising! Simples!
Posted in PR, branding, design, management, retail | No Comments »
May 25th, 2010
Marketers are sometimes scornful of large corporations lending their name to promotions and events that really do add value to the brand.
But in the case of Red Bull and the Cliff Diving World Series 2010 such criticism does not apply. In fact, it is a case study on how to get it right!
A recent short break in mid-May found us in La Rochelle on the South West coast of France. Arriving at the historic port early afternoon we were surprised to find the roads closed and many people milling around but assumed that it was a usual Saturday in a tourist location.
We were swiftly told how wrong we were by the hotel receptionist who told us proudly that the town was ‘en fête’ due to the ‘plongeurs’.
To call the guys who so dived so beautifully off one of the historic towers (over 90 feet or 27.5 metres high) merely ‘divers’ is to do them a disservice. Their dives were breathtaking, of Olympic standard and the whole event an amazing spectacle. 
See the videos at Red Bull Cliff Diving Series 2010 La Rochelle May 2010
But in branding terms it was a triumph. Not only were the guys (dressed in Red Bull swimming trunks) gorgeous to look at but when they dived they literally had wings – reinforcing in a visual way the brand message of the drink!
The resulting pictures and videos are stunning but the attention to detail was impressive.
All the cafes had special Red Bull promotions. Everyone could see the action due to the location and the huge television screen linked to a camera above the diving platform.
The usual hospitality village was located away from the main viewing area and the whole event was free.
Despite the massive scale of the competition, next morning virtually nothing remained, all the structures – including the diving platform – having been taken down overnight.
The result was a great event which can only have added to the audience’s positive impression of the brand.
Posted in PR, branding, marketing, public relations, travel | No Comments »
March 18th, 2010
Social Media appears to be now stabilising as a Marketing channel with the six key players e.g. Facebook, YouTube, Flickr, Google, LinkedIn and Twitter consolidating their position in the marketplace.
Obviously there are lots of other platforms – and new social media sites – but the main players continue to dominate the social media space.
That said, as the market stabilizes it is time to use the tools more strategically and concentrate on the message rather than the shiny new medium.
At Cerco we are increasingly being asked to devise a social media strategy for clients. Only this week we advised on the use of a private Twitter group for passing information around a group of multi-national and multi-discipline salespeople.
The client was astonished at the versatility of Twitter and how the real time information would supplement their intranet – all free of charge.
For an excellent article on Twitter best practice see: http://blog.spurinteractive.com/2010/03/07/twitter-best-practices-for-social-media-marketing/
Author Steve Latham makes the valid point that too many tweets are about me, my thoughts and my status.
If you are using Twitter for business, do not tell us that you are standing in a supermarket queue. Your (business audience) does not care.
We have recently witnessed two cases of ‘careless (Twitter) talk costing sales’ – to paraphrase the old WW2 saying.
In both cases the Twitterers forgot they had potential clients following them and made totally inappropriate comments, losing themselves future work and attracting much negative ‘buzz’.
So the old Marketing adage of the message being as important as the medium still holds good!
Posted in CRM, PR, Uncategorized, branding, facebook, marketing, public relations, social media, twitter | 1 Comment »
January 15th, 2009
This morning Simon Fox, CEO of HMV Group, was featured on the Radio 4 Today programme explaining his group’s Christmas figures.
Amongst the information discussed, he mentioned that sales of travel books were down yet sales of celebrity memoirs ‘held up well’. He sounded quite surprised by the fact.
This leads one to consider why one would buy the (ghost-written) memoir of a minor sports celebrity as a present rather than that lovely Lonely Planet book on the Galapagos Islands!
Is there a message here for marketers and PR experts? Has the travel book lost its allure in the face of the wealth of Z list autobiographies or have people stopped buying travel books in the winter as an instant ‘escape’ for themselves or their loved ones? Food for thought!
Posted in PR, marketing, public relations | 1 Comment »
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