Digital Hive

Here's what's next: debuting TV spots on the web

An article in CNN Money breaks big news - cosmetics maker Coty Inc. is launching the commercial for its new fragrance "Lovely" with actress Sarah Jessica Parker online, not on TV. Coty's Lancaster Group division ran the commercial on Vogue magazine's Internet site Style.com this week, hoping to attract the site's fashion and celebrity-obsessed readers well before airing the same ad for a broader market on television during the winter holiday season.

"It speaks to how far we've come as a medium that it's important enough to run it first on the Internet," said Elizabeth Stafford, head of marketing for CondeNet, the online division of publisher Conde Nast which runs Style.com. Stafford also said several luxury goods marketers were planning online campaigns ahead of the September fashion shows.

The "Lovely" campaign also gives insight into

I'll take the lowfat yogurt - but please add chocolate syrup

Thanks to Brand Noise for a great post on today's casual restaurant customer behavior (original material sourced from Washington Post).

Ruby Tuesday's customers were given the chance to eat healthy. After all, they'd said in research that they wanted healthier options. So, the chain added a low-fat Blueberry D'Lite yogurt parfait to its menu more than a year ago.

Problem is, folks didn't order it. Or the more than 40 better-for-you offerings also on the menu. Responding to their customer like any smart marketer would, Ruby Tuesday then dropped the new offerings from the menu, moved all the healthy stuff to the back, and deleted all references to calories and carbs.

What's the lesson here? It comes down to customer insight.

A special shout out to Generation C

Are you creative, opinionated, and techno-fluent ? Do you have access to professional hardware, software, and online distribution channels? If you answered yes to all of these questions, you may be a part of Generation C: a growing segment of creative people with MCs (Masters in Consumerism) that are directly interacting with companies and influencing their product development.

Let the Blogger Beware

...or something like that.

If this is the Era of Customer Empowerment, Marketers should realize that it is also be the Era of Corporate responsibility. That's really just an up-to-date rephrasing of the old adage that nothing kills a bad product better than good advertising.  Today, "product" goes beyond that physical thing you buy. Whether you're buying a credit card, a new car or as noted in the article below, a new PC, you're really buying an entire ownership experience.

Dell: In the Bloghouse

A PC-owner's Web diary of complaints about customer service has yielded heavy traffic and some near-contrition from the computer maker...

Harry Potter and the Vault of Viral Marketing

My readers may be disturbed to know that I can access all kinds of web metrics about what they read on this site, and how long they spend reading it. Before you go freaking out about your privacy and cancel your internet subscription for ever, you should know that I intend to use this knowledge for good, and never for evil (its some kind of blogger's version of the boy-scout code).

What has this got to do with viral marketing? I recently discovered that you all click on the 'viral marketing' link on this site so many times that you have practically worn it out. I took this to mean that you are interested in this topic and decided a fresh post on it was long overdue.

I am guessing that each time you click that link, you are a little disappointed. I know I am! We're all looking for that secret sauce. The magic that will turn our half-baked ideas into the next Harry Potter phenomenon. So I'm going to give the punters what they want: I'm going to have a crack at the magical secret sauce...

Gucci RIP

Tom Ford would be rolling over in his grave. If he were dead, which he isn't (thank goodness). An article in today's Wall Street Journal lays out the shift his prior employer Gucci is making now that Tom's moved on to greener pastures (producing movies, etc.)

The new company head (Tom Polet) hails from package goods - so he's (predictably) focused on metrics like store traffic and shelf space. These things drive revenue per square foot, which makes a lot of sense to focus on when you're paying top dollar for retail venues.

But is that all you need to focus on if you're at the helm of one of the globe's most prestigious, trend-setting brands?

Just when you were getting bored of the disruption...

I think the ad industry has had its fill of disruption these days. I get the feeling that a lot of people are getting sick of hearing about 'in control' consumers, ad-blocking technologies, de-sensitized audiences and the like. I imagine people harking back to the good old days: if only consumers would just sit still and behave! they whisper to themselves. (The analogy of the farm hands chasing the greased piglet around a farmyard comes to mind: sit still dammit!)

So it is cold comfort to think that the biggest disruption may be yet to come (yep, that's right, its just around the corner: 12 to 24 months away). Having put that controversial statement out there, I suppose I ought to back it up. Here goes...

Play nicely!

I attended the AAAA account planning conference this week. One of the presentations that caught my attention was Mark Earls of Ogilvy Europe, talking about co-creativity. One of the interesting things about this talk was the notion that good advertising does not 'target' individuals for treatment, but that it facilitates (for want of a better word) 'play' between individuals.

A little background: humans have evolved into the species we are today due to our ability to co-operate and work together. Chimps, it turns out, find it hard to stay together in large groups for long periods of time. A mutation that enabled more complex and long-lasting group activity was the key adaptation that first separated humans from chimps.

What does that have to do with the business of communications? Everything, as it turns out. Human power, throughout history, has been driven by our ability to play together, work together and co-create. With the advent of the internet, we now have more opportunities than ever for co-creation, un-restricted by the bounds of space, time or infrastructure.

Turning beauty inside out?

America is awash in reality TV that's focused on making yourself look better - whether it's "Nip/Tuck" or my favorite new BBC import "Brand New You" (who knew you could drop $200K on fake teeth?)

In fact, it's downright difficult to get away from all the scalpels and canulas.

But what impact is all this content having on the way real people think - and act? Not as much as you might think, according to Yankelovich.

The proportion of adults who strongly feel the need to improve their physical appearance has fallen from 80% in 1994 to 67% today. And, being happy with yourself, having a positive self image, and having an optimistic outlook on life all continue to be more important to people than looking stylish or paying a lot of attention to your appearance. Only a quarter of people say they work hard at looking young. And only 4% have actually had plastic surgery.

Sure these surveys are a little biased  - who wants to admit they're vain? But I do find it interesting that despite the media's constant blaring about achieving personal perfection, people seem to be recognizing all this content for its entertainment value and not taking it to heart.

PS - a prize (of unspecified value) goes to the first brave reader who can identify the reality TV beauty in the photo.

Don’t want to date me? At least work with me!

  Is this multichannel stunt just a silly prank, the last desperate effort to help a friend or a brilliant guerrilla marketing campaign?  It certainly got a lot of attention, because the story made it out to CNN and from there to several blogs.  Here it is.

LogoWorks, a design company in Utah, bought a billboard on a highly trafficked highway.  The billboard was a personal ad for a guy who should be the ideal catch, highly targeted to the local mormon market: returned missionary: check. Ex BYU basketball player: check. Harvard MBA: check. Loves kids: check. Sense of humour: question mark.  Next to this list, the candidate’s smiling face holding a sign ”I am Lance, go out with me!” . And,of course,  the URL to the Date Lance site.