How motivating can a free snack be?

5/27/10

Passengers boarding a recent Horizon Air flight from Seattle to Portland were treated to some free snacks courtesy of Creative Labs, a consumer-electronics company. In addition to chips, pretzels, and chocolate, the branded boxes also contained messaging directing consumers to text, email and check the company website to enter a contest and receive additional rewards.

The Seattle to Portland route was specifically selected based on the knowledge that fliers of that route tend to be techies, making $100,000+ a year. (Bush, 2010)

Do you think they’ll bother to check out the sponsor? Or will the only winners be the airlines who no longer supply food, and the snack manufacturers, who may pick up some new customers via sampling?

Bush, M. (2010, May 24). Ad-Supported Food Lands on Horizon Air Flight. Adage.com. Retrieved May 26, 2010, from http://adage.com/article?article_id=144047

Aflac Take 2

5/20/10

After finally acknowledging that viewers may recognize the Aflac duck, but still don’t know what the company does, the folks at Aflac are making some changes. First, they put the account in review. Now, they’ve arranged a summer blockbuster tie-in with Toy Story 3.

The tailored spot, featuring the Aflac duck mixing with Woody and Buzz Lightyear, will run in-cinema and in theater lobbies. In a nod to the growing importance of the Latino market, Aflac will sponsor People en Espanol’s screening of Toy Story 3 in five key Hispanic markets. And, they are also hosting a special screening of the movie for the children at the Aflac Cancer Center in Atlanta.

Other bells and whistles include a Toy Story/Aflac co-sponsored NASCAR car, a sweepstakes with a Hollywood trip for the grand prize, network, cable and online airings, and print ads in Parents Magazine. The end game? According to spokesperson Jon Sullivan “We are trying to reach families this summer with the family movie that everyone will see. As families see this movie, we want them to be thinking of protecting their family’s future with Aflac.” (Irwin, 2010)

What do you think? Will this be the effort that finally works?


Irwin, T. (2010, May 18). Aflac Partners With Disney For ‘Toy Story 3’ mediapost.com. Retrieved May 19, 2010, from
http://www.mediapost.com/publications/?fa=Articles.showArticle&art_aid=128443

Will dialing become obsolete?

5/13/10

This just in from Amsterdam – a radio ad for a local restaurant that does the dialing for you. At the end of the ad, instead of giving listeners the reservations phone number verbally, the spot broadcasts the tones that communicate the phone number. All the listener has to do is hold up their phone and ta da. They are connected. (Corr, 2010)

Interesting. Now if they could only beam you directly to the restaurant so you don’t get lost in the maze of streets with long unpronounceable names on your way.

Corr, A. (May 3, 2010). Hungry? This Radio Ad Dials Your Dinner Reservation. Mediapost.com. Retrieved May 13, 2010, from
http://www.mediapost.com/publications/?fa=Articles.showArticle&art_aid=127397

Another reason agencies need to perfect long-form content.

5/6/10

This week Kraft Foods began running two – to – three minute videos in movie theaters. Prior to the cinema debut of Alien Field Trip, the video had recorded 47,000 views in three weeks on YouTube. After the weekend, views leapt to nearly 124,000. (Lukovitz, 2010)

It probably didn’t hurt that the video includes a contest for free field trips. Now that’s synergy!

http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=alien+field+trip&aq=f

Lukovitz, K. (2010, May 3). Kraft Cinema Program Debut Drives Interactivity. mediapost.com. Retrieved May 6, 2010, from
http://www.mediapost.com/publications/?fa=Articles.showArticle&art_aid=127361&nid=113937