Bruno rolled up to his Australian Movie Premiere in Sydney in a hot pink Hummer limousine and stepped out onto the red carpet wearing bright green lycra and cow boy boots. He was surrounded by good looking girls. The girls started covering themselves with red paint and unravelled signs that said something about ‘Nando’s uncovers chicks with Peri Peri’
Who is Peri Peri? and why does he/she get to uncover the hot chicks?
Bruno didn’t roll up to the Sydney premier of his movie in a hummer, he had a horse and he didn’t wear lycra and cow boy boots, he borrowed Brad Pitts costume from Troy…and there was no paint… I mean sauce.
This was all an attempt at the perfect guerrilla marketing stunt. Not a bad attempt at all. It had all the elements that could make it a very infectious news-worthy story- semi creative, semi daring, humorous and entertaining. The coming of Bruno, before Bruno- I love it. I just wish the news loved it…
My only criticism is less brand presence- The audience will work out what all the fuss was about, let them connect the dots and keep them guessing.
Guessing = search for answers = research = discovering= networking = conversation about your brand.
I love guerrilla marketing and I really liked this attempt. The difference between a failed marketing stunt and a successful one, besides the creative of course is the back end- work on working and integrating the media, not the audience.
Client: Nando’s
Agency: The Sphere Agency (Australia)
Link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BkJPDHQ9djo
Monday, June 29, 2009
Sunday, June 28, 2009
Some good reading and seriously good lessons
The Mckinsey Quaterly asks Brad Bird from Pixar: what does stimulating the creativity of animators have in common with developing new product ideas or technology breakthroughs? Apparently, a lot.
check out the interview here: http://www.mckinsey.it/storage/first/uploadfile/attach/140140/file/inle08.pdf
Interestingly, Brad Bird has left Pixar to work in Live Action on 1906 (which is another story for another day) and Steve Jobs is no longer the CEO, but sits on the board of directors.
check out the interview here: http://www.mckinsey.it/storage/first/uploadfile/attach/140140/file/inle08.pdf
Interestingly, Brad Bird has left Pixar to work in Live Action on 1906 (which is another story for another day) and Steve Jobs is no longer the CEO, but sits on the board of directors.
Supermarkets have to become more super
Supermarkets will become a lot more ‘super’ in the next decade. Rightly so, they can’t just give in to their fast emerging competition- online. Internet retailers are attracting more unique visitations and selling more products than ever before. Do the research on how Woolworths are tracking compared to Amazon.
Supermarkets and retailers will always survive, in what capacity I am really not too sure. I think a few of the big guys will hang around and withstand the online storm a while longer, but I think it’s a case of, for how long?
Consumers are becoming more forward thinking; their modern networked lives are very automated, regimented and planned. Therefore they are purchasing accordingly and taking advantage of online shopping. Where you can take as long as you like, compare all products in the category, make an informed purchase decision, pay immediately and then instruct where you want the goods delivered all the while sitting in your comfy chair with your unfinished work document still open on your desktop. Make sense?
So just how do the supermarkets and retails compete? Technology- think online, in store. Think about how you can generate revenue when your sales are dropping and online figures are sky rocketing. Think about:
- Loyalty smart cards- Triggering a whole new shopping experience that remembers your past purchases, brand favourites and alerts you of promotions of the day.
- Eye ball tracking- Cameras that detect the gender of a consumer and digital adverts change accordingly.
- Intelligent Trolleys- equipped with GPS, navigation style on board screen and infrared scanning also linked to adverts that are aisle specific. This is also to cater for a proposed 'personalised shopping' experience- The more you shop the cheaper the items.
- Self replenishing shelves
- Smart phone compatible products.
- Self check out.
So stay tuned for the next developments in high street shopping. The day is not far away when we can enter a shop, scan our smart card, pick up a trolley or basket, use our smart phones to research promotions and specials, load our basket then push it through an infrared beam which totals the sum of all products and then commence a self check out. Hang on…isn’t that what I can do online right now?
A Kodak Moment in a few days
Well, for those of you who have been following the "Megan Fox snubs boy" story you will be glad to know that there are even further developments and to no surprise, a big brand has got involved.
For the rest of the world that has at least heard about it you will be entertainment about what Kodak have propositioned the online community.
All those marketers out there will be staying close to this one, or at least they should be- do yourself a favour and google it.
It seems a Kodak moment is only days away and a pure genius marketing attempt to align a brand with a 'celebrity of the moment' for next to nothing is unfolding as I type.
Thursday, June 25, 2009
Cold Hearted Dollars
A good friend was moving into his new house, I offered to help him so he could finish the job in good time and we could head down the coast for a few nights- this never happened.
Most people I know, for the better parts of their employment make reasonable amounts of money in positions where they are required to void themselves of emotion.
It is fair to say that the high earning positions in the business world require limited emotion when in work mode- a very calculated and measured mode. They make the decisions based on in depth analyses, statistics, facts and forecasts etc- emotion very rarely plays a part.
The majority of people assume a similar disposition with their day to day occupations. This is a good thing…until people start spending their hard earned cold hearted dollars.
Money should be used with the same attitude that it was acquired- calculated and measured.
So often people make purchases, investments and take on liabilities with an emotional mindset. So often people spend their money on things that they do not need and over time these things will only gather dust.
This is the role of the great marketer/advertiser- To play the consumer off against their needs and wants.
The great consumer earns and spends money with similar mindsets to avoid a life of dusting but we all know this already, don’t we?
My friend certainly does now after taking 3 long days to move his dust covered belongings 2km down the road.
Most people I know, for the better parts of their employment make reasonable amounts of money in positions where they are required to void themselves of emotion.
It is fair to say that the high earning positions in the business world require limited emotion when in work mode- a very calculated and measured mode. They make the decisions based on in depth analyses, statistics, facts and forecasts etc- emotion very rarely plays a part.
The majority of people assume a similar disposition with their day to day occupations. This is a good thing…until people start spending their hard earned cold hearted dollars.
Money should be used with the same attitude that it was acquired- calculated and measured.
So often people make purchases, investments and take on liabilities with an emotional mindset. So often people spend their money on things that they do not need and over time these things will only gather dust.
This is the role of the great marketer/advertiser- To play the consumer off against their needs and wants.
The great consumer earns and spends money with similar mindsets to avoid a life of dusting but we all know this already, don’t we?
My friend certainly does now after taking 3 long days to move his dust covered belongings 2km down the road.
Wednesday, June 24, 2009
The Formula- Making your brand go 'chk chk' BOOM!
If an online viral campaign’s success could (which it can’t) be boiled down to a formula it would be:
A very short creative story (which creatively involves your brand) + loveable/hateable personality + entertaining/engaging/user friendly content vehicle = online viral campaign success.
If you really want to create a super successful viral then ensure your content can evolve and continue to capture your audience time and time again.
A great example of this, although not involving a brand or proposition but an inaccurate account of a crime was- The infamous ‘Chk Chk Boom’ story from Australia.
The community went crazy by watching and distributing the video amongst their peers and within 24 hours it had well over 2 million hits worldwide. The mainstream media followed, the story was in almost every newspaper on newstands and interviews with the girl at the centre of it (personality) on TV screens accross the country.
So here we have a short creative story, a loveable or hateable (debateable) personality and sensationally entertaining content. Added to this, the content was evolving-. Everyone wanted to know about the ‘Chk Chk Boom’ girl and her story.
What unfolded was outstanding. The media played on the story for a good week and it was finally established that Miss Chk Chk Boom had in fact created the story herself and didn’t actually witness any ‘Chk-Chk boom’ at all.
Nonetheless- the formula was correct and it saturated the media for just over a week.
A current guerrilla marketing and viral campaign well worth checking out is:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=p797QYActtU
http://www.tictacmicha.com/
A very short creative story (which creatively involves your brand) + loveable/hateable personality + entertaining/engaging/user friendly content vehicle = online viral campaign success.
If you really want to create a super successful viral then ensure your content can evolve and continue to capture your audience time and time again.
A great example of this, although not involving a brand or proposition but an inaccurate account of a crime was- The infamous ‘Chk Chk Boom’ story from Australia.
The community went crazy by watching and distributing the video amongst their peers and within 24 hours it had well over 2 million hits worldwide. The mainstream media followed, the story was in almost every newspaper on newstands and interviews with the girl at the centre of it (personality) on TV screens accross the country.
So here we have a short creative story, a loveable or hateable (debateable) personality and sensationally entertaining content. Added to this, the content was evolving-. Everyone wanted to know about the ‘Chk Chk Boom’ girl and her story.
What unfolded was outstanding. The media played on the story for a good week and it was finally established that Miss Chk Chk Boom had in fact created the story herself and didn’t actually witness any ‘Chk-Chk boom’ at all.
Nonetheless- the formula was correct and it saturated the media for just over a week.
A current guerrilla marketing and viral campaign well worth checking out is:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=p797QYActtU
http://www.tictacmicha.com/
Good news travels fast- bad news is travelling a hell of a lot faster.
In this modern networked world, where the majority of us are living online and communicating with friends and complete strangers through various social utilities, hubs, forums and websites- Bad news is travelling at a rapid rate.
If you’re a celebrity or a somewhat famous brand, watch out!. If you don’t want to be a celebrity or a world renowned brand then watch out too!.
Megan Fox allegedly snubbed a young boy that was attempting to pass her a rose as a sign of his undying love for her body… I mean work. Hours later, photos circulated the web of Megan looking amazing as she stepped out at the launch of ‘Transformers’ and there were some photos of the little boy looking rejected in the background too.
That was all it needed for the online voice to turn negative. So negative in fact that Megan has come out and released a video of her apologising to the ‘sweet boy’.
"There were, like, 80 million people everywhere. It's dark, all I see are flashes. Everyone's yelling different things... and I didn't know that was happening," Megan said in her video.
Megan was right, there was “like, 80 million people everywhere.” They just were not all at the movie launch…they were sitting at home in front of their computers, reading, watching, blogging, emailing, twittering, facebooking, youtubing and networking about Megan..
Good news travels fast -Bad news is travelling a hell of a lot faster these days.
To see the video apology:
http://www.usmagazine.com/news/video-megan-fox-apologizes-for-snubbing-boy-fan-2009226
If you’re a celebrity or a somewhat famous brand, watch out!. If you don’t want to be a celebrity or a world renowned brand then watch out too!.
Megan Fox allegedly snubbed a young boy that was attempting to pass her a rose as a sign of his undying love for her body… I mean work. Hours later, photos circulated the web of Megan looking amazing as she stepped out at the launch of ‘Transformers’ and there were some photos of the little boy looking rejected in the background too.
That was all it needed for the online voice to turn negative. So negative in fact that Megan has come out and released a video of her apologising to the ‘sweet boy’.
"There were, like, 80 million people everywhere. It's dark, all I see are flashes. Everyone's yelling different things... and I didn't know that was happening," Megan said in her video.
Megan was right, there was “like, 80 million people everywhere.” They just were not all at the movie launch…they were sitting at home in front of their computers, reading, watching, blogging, emailing, twittering, facebooking, youtubing and networking about Megan..
Good news travels fast -Bad news is travelling a hell of a lot faster these days.
To see the video apology:
http://www.usmagazine.com/news/video-megan-fox-apologizes-for-snubbing-boy-fan-2009226
Tuesday, June 23, 2009
Dr Media
My friend was feeling very ordinary the other day. She complained of feeling a little run down and a bit flat.
“Maybe I should go to the doctor?’ she said after 2 days.
“…and see someone that read text books composed by someone else whom they probably have never met and more than likely graduated more than a decade ago?’
She laughed and proceeded to make an appointment anyway.
3 hours later and $90 out of pocket my friend called me.
‘The doc thinks I could have Swine flu’
Isn’t it interesting that after more than 10 years studying and absorbing a wealth of information and practicing medicine for 5 years, this Doc was more influenced by what was circulating in the media at present than the last 15 years of her life.
My friend’s test results came back; she is ok and just burning the candle at both ends.
I was relieved because we had Mexican tacos for dinner the other week.
“Maybe I should go to the doctor?’ she said after 2 days.
“…and see someone that read text books composed by someone else whom they probably have never met and more than likely graduated more than a decade ago?’
She laughed and proceeded to make an appointment anyway.
3 hours later and $90 out of pocket my friend called me.
‘The doc thinks I could have Swine flu’
Isn’t it interesting that after more than 10 years studying and absorbing a wealth of information and practicing medicine for 5 years, this Doc was more influenced by what was circulating in the media at present than the last 15 years of her life.
My friend’s test results came back; she is ok and just burning the candle at both ends.
I was relieved because we had Mexican tacos for dinner the other week.
FIGHT FOR KISSES
Wilkinson Sword Razor Blades (owned by Energizer holdings) have launched a very entertaining TVC advertisment in France linked with online marketing.
The TVC scores very highly for creatively thinking outside the square and bonus points for their campaign execution. 'Fight for kisses' has a very engaging story line brought to life with just above average 3d animation. The TVC was heavily supported by Digital marketing- the campaign created by French Agency JWT Paris became an instant viral overnight and attracted huge traffic to their microsite.
http://www.ffk-wilkinson.com/
Advertising Agency: JWT Paris, FranceArt Director : Xavier BeauregardCopywriter : Vincent PedrocchiDirector : AkamaProduction : Wanda
The TVC scores very highly for creatively thinking outside the square and bonus points for their campaign execution. 'Fight for kisses' has a very engaging story line brought to life with just above average 3d animation. The TVC was heavily supported by Digital marketing- the campaign created by French Agency JWT Paris became an instant viral overnight and attracted huge traffic to their microsite.
http://www.ffk-wilkinson.com/
Advertising Agency: JWT Paris, FranceArt Director : Xavier BeauregardCopywriter : Vincent PedrocchiDirector : AkamaProduction : Wanda
The Creative Movement
If Pablo Picasso lived in today’s society he would be prosecuted by media. At any one time Pablo had 20 female girls (mostly under the age of 18) on the go. He would paint them, have sex with them and never allow them back into his studio. His thousands of sculptures, paintings, collages, drawings and mixed media’s would struggle to fetch over 1000k inclusively. Now we look back and call that the behaviour of a flawed genius-
If William Shakespeare lived today he would be writing plays, love sonnets and poems about how Jacky was in love with Phil until Phil invited Jacky to a house party and she got triple-teamed by the wingman, waterboy and the coach while Phil filmed on his Iphone and sent it to all his team mates for their enjoyment.. It would be a love story always destined for failure, full of beautiful turn of prose and skanky MMS. It could even be called ‘Mid Summer nights dream- until Jacky realised she could make money from telling the media her Nightmare”
If Claude Monet lived today he would be painting stunning landscapes of Coca Cola bottles and cans, slightly discoloured floating in every single one of our polluted and drying up lakes, rivers, waterways and ponds around the world. He would also paint landmarks, landscapes, and seascapes with a beautiful plume of pollution hovering in the distance.
And food for thought...
If humans got wiped out, say by the Swine flu and literally all human beings became extinct. It would be another few hundred thousand years before another life form became intelligent enough to dominate all the other life forms.It would be at this point that they will learn how to understand our languages and derive meaning from their findings. Harry Potter would be found (JK Rowling would be Mathew, Mark Luke and John all wrapped in one ) and a new religion would evolve and unfortunately wars would break out against Starwarism
If William Shakespeare lived today he would be writing plays, love sonnets and poems about how Jacky was in love with Phil until Phil invited Jacky to a house party and she got triple-teamed by the wingman, waterboy and the coach while Phil filmed on his Iphone and sent it to all his team mates for their enjoyment.. It would be a love story always destined for failure, full of beautiful turn of prose and skanky MMS. It could even be called ‘Mid Summer nights dream- until Jacky realised she could make money from telling the media her Nightmare”
If Claude Monet lived today he would be painting stunning landscapes of Coca Cola bottles and cans, slightly discoloured floating in every single one of our polluted and drying up lakes, rivers, waterways and ponds around the world. He would also paint landmarks, landscapes, and seascapes with a beautiful plume of pollution hovering in the distance.
And food for thought...
If humans got wiped out, say by the Swine flu and literally all human beings became extinct. It would be another few hundred thousand years before another life form became intelligent enough to dominate all the other life forms.It would be at this point that they will learn how to understand our languages and derive meaning from their findings. Harry Potter would be found (JK Rowling would be Mathew, Mark Luke and John all wrapped in one ) and a new religion would evolve and unfortunately wars would break out against Starwarism
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