4/20/09
LG has announced that it is launching 2 focused campaigns for its phones based on the company’s brand positioning which is “all about self-expression”.
The first campaign, for the Xenon phone, is targeting “social networking-happy Gen Yers” with a tv, print, and online campaign featuring 19 year-old Heroes star Hayden Panettiere and placement in Jason Timberlake’s MTV series The Phone.
The second campaign, for the Rumor2 phone targets “style conscious teens and young adults”. It features Heidi Klum who designed custom backplates for the phone. (Wasserman, 2009)
The fact that they have a good sense of who their target is and have created plans that should speak directly to their interests/emotions is definitely a good start.
But, as we have discussed previously the use of celebrities is tricky. While they may stimulate interest, they also can easily overwhelm the message. And of course over exposure can be an issue.
What do you think? Will either of these campaigns prove to be effective?
Wasserman, T. (2009, April 18). LG Ready for Its Close-up. brandweek.com. Retrieved April 20, 2009 fromhttp://www.brandweek.com/bw/content_display/news-and-features/direct/e3if46ca983d59bcb8f960417fa8f52a9c6
The first campaign, for the Xenon phone, is targeting “social networking-happy Gen Yers” with a tv, print, and online campaign featuring 19 year-old Heroes star Hayden Panettiere and placement in Jason Timberlake’s MTV series The Phone.
The second campaign, for the Rumor2 phone targets “style conscious teens and young adults”. It features Heidi Klum who designed custom backplates for the phone. (Wasserman, 2009)
The fact that they have a good sense of who their target is and have created plans that should speak directly to their interests/emotions is definitely a good start.
But, as we have discussed previously the use of celebrities is tricky. While they may stimulate interest, they also can easily overwhelm the message. And of course over exposure can be an issue.
What do you think? Will either of these campaigns prove to be effective?
Wasserman, T. (2009, April 18). LG Ready for Its Close-up. brandweek.com. Retrieved April 20, 2009 fromhttp://www.brandweek.com/bw/content_display/news-and-features/direct/e3if46ca983d59bcb8f960417fa8f52a9c6
1 comment:
COMMENTS (2)
Emy Kanashiro:
Although the use of celebrities is tricky, companies keep using them. Why? Because it works. If this tactic wasn't effective, we wouldn't see so many celebrities promoting products. I think LG has done a good job at selecting these two celebrities, as they really resonate with each of the target audiences. As mentioned before, this might be a tricky move, but the payoff is obviously worth enough for LG to be willing to gamble on it. More and more, the general public seems to be infatuated with Hollywood celebrities, so why not use this infatuation to their advantage? People like to see celebrities engaging in activities they too do and using products they too use. We like to believe that celebrities are not much different than us. It's all about perception and connotation.
Posted by Emy Kanashiro | April 21, 2009 10:48 AM
Posted on April 21, 2009 10:48
mike jowza:
i think there's a certain trust factor involved with celebrities. even if we don't consciously trust them, we recognize them and are therefore more open to listening to them or their sales pitch. plus, there's the added benefit of providing consumers with a memorable point of reference for your product (for example: "I remember that hayden uses neutrogena, and she has good skin, so maybe i will use it too.")
If you want to make your product more visible to a certain demographic, associating it with other "products" (in this case, celebrities) that your target is already consuming makes sense. And if the partnership makes sense, why not relay your message through someone that'll appeal to your target?
That said, a celebrity alone won't make any campaign. If your product, or the ad idea itself, is no good, a celebrity isn't going to be a quick fix. And of course, there are huge risks involved with celebrities (--case in point: double mint pulling their chris brown ads after he beat up his girlfriend--) so the importance of choosing the "right" celebrity shouldn't be underestimated.
Posted by mike jowza | April 22, 2009 10:40 AM
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