Flags Of Advertising

As I'm sure you are all aware, NHL playoffs are coming in close and fans are supporting their teams in any way possible. From painting their faces, creating their "man-cave" hockey room, posting signs outside their homes, and let's not forget the clip-on flags on almost every hockey lover's automobile. The concept of the car flag is very interesting because it is showing support for a hockey team, but what if this support could be applied in a marketing sense?

There are thousands of outdoor advertisements that are seen each and everyday. We see billboards, transit posters, and taxi advertising. This is where the flag concept comes into play. Instead of just taxis and buses showing off paid advertisements on the windows and body, a flag can be put on the windows that advertise a specific brand or promotion. The overall concept is something I have been thinking about for the past few days and have yet to find examples of it. Not only can public transportation advertise and use the flags, but also employees of certain companies can have the option of promoting their workplace and possibly receive payment if their flag was the cause of a sale. 

Linsanity Advertsing Fail

So as many of you know there is a massive social movment supporting Jeremy Lin and his career with the Knicks. this movement or should I say sanity is Linsanity. Companies are jumping on the bandwagon and capitalizing on this social icon. Ben & Jerry's launched an ice cream flavour called Lin-Sanity. The treat entails frozen vanilla yogurt, vanilla ice cream, and lychee honey. Unfortunatly there have been some flops with companies attempting to capitalize on the Linsanity.

A company called Beachbody created a unique social campaign that helped promote the brand and spread massive awareness during the Knicks versus Heat game. The fitness company coined the hashtag #linsanity for one night. The hashtag appeared on the screen during stoppages of play and users tweeted it. The catch was though that every time a user would click or searched for the term, they were sent to a promotional video by Beachbody. this was a great strategy to spread awareness, but it didn't follow regular marketing principles.

Firstly when I searched for the term to find out more, I didn't realize I was going to be subjected to a youtube video, let alone a promotional video. This was a bad strategy in the sense that they failed to gain trust with the audience because they sprang the advertisement on them. Finally, the term Linsanity hardly relates to the company at all, nor do they feature Lin in the advertisement. Over all it was a great strategy for awareness but a major failure with consumer connection and trust.

Music & Advertising (The Codependent Couple)

Advertising and music have gone hand in hand for many generations. Advertisements have evolved creatively, as well as the types of music. At one point, music and ads consisted of catchy jingles and self generated genres. As music evolved, and advertising became less limited, music and advertising have become codependent on each other for numerous reasons. The first being music's ability to create a memory where listeners can remember a certain time and place they were when hearing a particular tune. Advertisers are now using mainstream music to stimulate the memory and remind listeners about a particular ad they have seen on television. However if the music selected does not relate to the product or ad campaign, then it will not resonate within the target audience. I remember as a young child hearing the Oscar Myers wiener song, and recently saw an ad for the same product, but the music involved was a remixed version of the song that featured a bit of techno. The second ability that music has is that it creates entertainment, so viewers of television ads may watch the ad, just to hear a particular song that the viewer likes. This helps advertisers break through the clutter of ads and distractions viewers are faced with when watching television. 

Guerilla Marketing - Ice Sculptures & Advertising

I recently travelled to Ottawa to visit family and friends. I was extremely ecstatic when I learned Winterlude was taking place while I was in town. I remember as a child seeing the unique ice sculptures and skating on the canal; the beaver tails and play structures made of ice. However my recent visit to Winterlude left me in astonishment. I saw interesting guerilla marketing tactics by Beavertails, Rodgers, and the Ottawa Art Gallery. 

 

          

It is extremely interesting to see how brands are now finding intricate ways of interacting with consumers. Samsung had an ice sculpture depicting their latest smartphone where consumers could have their picture taken inside the screen of the ice phone. Not only was this a brilliant strategy to attract consumers to their product tent, but it also created mass awareness. Participants posting their ice phone photos on sites such as Facebook and Twitter help boost awareness amongst the Y Generation. Rogers created a full ice home that featured their latest home security system and phones. On the canal, Beaver Tails had their logo carved out of the ice near their concession stand, which had skaters taking pictures and grabbing a bite to eat. The interesting tactic that Beaver Tails used was the rough ice around leading to the logo to warn skaters and lead them to the concession stand.

Telemarketers & Mobile At The Dinner Table

Do you remember the days when we would talk to our family and friends around the dinner table about our day, stories, and converse? Today that once family tradition is slowly dying away with the rise and portability of electronics. We now have mobile phones and tablets. Due to these devices being attached to us at the hip no matter what time of day, telemarketers are now realizing that the landline is not effective as attacking someone’s mobile device with ads, pitches and offers.

 I’m sure many of you have experienced the classic telemarketing call on your landline at dinnertime where someone offers you useless junk or an insurance policy that means nothing to you. However telemarketers are getting smarter by attacking people with offers via mobile phones. I recently was a victim of answering my phone at the dinner table thinking it was one of my friends, due to the unknown number that was calling me. If telemarketers were to ditch the landline marketing where blocking numbers and digital display are available, then the revenue in the telemarketing industry should multiply by the ten folds. This strategy is effective because when telemarketers attack your mobile, they make their messages more personalized instead of asking to speak to Mr. or Mrs. so and so. There is also the ability to send video, images and text messages directly to a smartphone or tablet. This alone allows for a new standard of telemarketing and creativity for telemarketers and advertisers. 

Online Gaming - An Advertisers Untapped Goldmine

 Marketers and brands are trying to find out the latest trends and marketing ideas that captivate an audience and makes them loyal to the brand while others go for impression rates and reach. Marketing and advertisements are everywhere; at home, on the television, the Internet, even in public bathrooms. However there is one medium that is still untouched; online gaming.

 The other day I was playing Xbox Live, and realized that the wait times between games is quite annoying and occasionally long for all gamers. There is nothing going on but a loading screen or being able to do repetitive tasks during the loading screen. EA Sports games are what I would consider the grandfathers of advertisements within games. In recent years they have allowed gamers to use an athlete during the loading screen while exposing the gamer to multiple ad placements; but what if we could take it a step further?

People purchase games to have fun and connect with friends online. If marketers were to create advertisements that directly link and relate to the game and audience, then gamers would be forced to watch them instead of a loading screen that lasts anywhere between fifteen and one minute. This would easily be the most effective way to reach your audience directly compared to television due to the fact that most viewers will not leave the screen due to them wanting to play online. However advertisers must be careful not to alienate their loyal fan-base by placing ads that aren't catchy nor repetitive. In regards to games that require players to interact during the load-times, ads can be placed along side the screen, similar to a banner ad that plays video. Advertising is all about finding the next big thing that can launch your brand to the forefront of the market and surpassing all competition. The first brand that can properly capitalize on online-gaming will surely reap the rewards.

Social Media & Dating - When Is It Right To Make The Next Step

Have you ever seen one of those old corny pioneer movies that portray a man asking the father to go on a date with his daughter? What if life was like that today? Fortunately it's not. However there are stipulations in which the dating world follows and these stipulations are quite odd indeed. Welcome to The Oddities In Life.

I remember when I was growing up and going out dating that there was no Facebook or other social media platforms existing to enslave our titles when dating.  In today's society, before a couple can be officially declared a couple, they apparently now have to post it on their status saying they are dating so and so, and occasionally will even see the dates in which they began dating included. The kicker is if you knew that couple before they posted their relationship status to Facebook, then you get the joy in laughing at the fact that this so called “new couple” have actually been dating or “seeing each other” for the past several months. There is also the fact in which I'm sure many of you have been asked; are you and ... Facebook official yet? This question continually haunts every relationship as to when it is appropriate to post it on Facebook. This to me and I'm sure many of you readers will agree, the relationship status declarations on Facebook is one tedious tasks that has integrated itself into our relationships.