Andy Warhol would have loved it.

Andy who is probably as famous for saying “In the future everyone will be world-famous for 15 minutes” as he is for his pop art, would have loved this campaign. 

Campbell’s who at first was skeptical of the artist’s support, ultimately embraced him and sent him cases of tomato soup, commissioned paintings, and even established an art scholarship in his name.   Why not?  When he was asked why he chose to paint the soup can in 1962 he said that he had eaten the soup for lunch every day for the past 20 years; talk about a loyal user!

The promotion, which ties into the exhibit at the Metropolitan Museum of Art includes four limited edition cans available exclusively at Target.  A “15 minutes of fame” app will enable users to turn photos into Warhol-inspired works of art, and the best ones will be featured on Campbell’s Facebook page. (Lukovitz, 2012)

I have to admit that I am tempted to track down the cans for display purposes.  And I will visit the Met exhibit, which they sponsored, during member previews.  But I don’t think that it will make me want to consume Campbell’s soup again.  The last time I tried – it was way too salty.  What do you think?  Does it make you want to buy something?

 

Lukovitz, K. (2012, August 29)  Campbell Cans Salute Warhol’s Iconic Soup Art.  mediapost.com.  Retrieved August 30, 2012, from http://www.mediapost.com/publications/article/181808/campbell-cans-salute-warhols-iconic-soup-art.html?edition=50599

What social media do you use? What gender and age are you?

As social media matures, it is expanding and fragmenting, following in the footsteps of television.  And each network is now becoming more distinct in terms of the audience that it attracts.  So depending upon who you are trying to reach, a variety of new options are available.

According to a recent study by Pingdom, males like tech-oriented sites like Slashdot, Hacker News and Stack Overflow, while females like Pinterest, Goodreads and Blogger.   Marketers who want to reach 25-34 year-olds should consider Hi5, while those seeking 35-44 year-olds might want to check out Quora.

And, while the estimated age of the average social media user is under 37, LinkedIn’s average user is 44 and Facebook’s is 50! (Sullivan, 2012)

That surprises me.  How about you?

Sullivan, L. (2012, August 27).  Social Media Users’ Age, Gender Impact Site Choices.  mediapost.com.  Retrieved August 23 , from http://www.mediapost.com/publications/article/181368/social-media-users-age-gender-impact-site-choice.html

Why in the world would anyone care how old Walgreens is?

Maybe I’m just bitter because after they bought my local Duane Reade chain they slashed the loyalty program and dropped many of my favorite name brands for generic products that don’t taste or work as well. 

But as a marketer, I just don’t understand why any company would tout the fact that they are 111 years old – especially a retailer.  Apparently it’s so they can brag about being the inventors of childproof caps and drive-through pharmacies.  And that’s supposed to make me want to shop there now?  Why? (Baar, 2012)

Personally I think their new smartphone app for prescription refills sounds interesting.  So, why not just talk about that instead of ancient history?

Baar, A.  (2012, August 11)  Walgreens Campaign Touts Its History Of Innovation.  mediapost.com. Retrieved August 15, 2012, from

http://www.mediapost.com/publications/article/180610/walgreens-campaign-touts-its-history-of-innovation.html

And the gold medal goes to … Chobani.

According to Ace Metrix, the Chobani Olympics ad has earned the second highest Ace Scores in the competition.  Ace Scores which are based on user surveys, measure relevance, persuasion, “watchability”, information and attendance. (Lukovitz, 2012)

They go on to point out that like many of the other high scoring ads including those for GE and P&G, the commercial makes an emotional connection with its audience.  Given that they could have focused on the fact that they are currently the number one brand, kudos to them for resisting the urge, and remembering their audience. (Walsh, 2012)

I know the approach worked because after my husband watched the ad he announced that he liked Chobani better than Dannon because it wasn’t as sweet.  He then went out and bought several containers and declared red raspberry to be his new favorite.

Now that’s what I call a winning effort.

Lukovitz, K. (2012, August 7)  Chobani, GE, Coca-Cola, P&G Score With Olympics Ads.  mediapost.com. Retrieved August 8, 2012, from

http://www.mediapost.com/publications/article/180333/chobani-ge-coca-cola-pg-score-with-olympics-ad.html?edition=49867

Walsh, M. (2012, July 31)  Chobani Takes Gold in the Yogurt Aisle.  businessweek.com. Retrieved August 8, 2012, from

http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2012-07-31/chobani-takes-gold-in-the-yogurt-aisle

Can Gen Y be persuaded to buy Sweet ‘N Low?

At first it seems odd that a 50 year-old brand would think they had a chance to increase sales by targeting the variety craving Gen Y, but really what choice do they have?  Gen Y is now projected to be 80 million strong, larger than the Baby Boomers.  And since they are 18 - 33, they are the future. (Parekh, 2012)

But will they embrace a chemical product even if it tastes better than a natural one?  Perhaps.  A segmentation study of Gen Y from last April suggested that many segments of the group don’t particularly care about natural products.  While the 2010 Gallup survey said that 61% of women want to lose weight.  (Mendes, 2010)

So, what do you think?  Can this campaign be successful?

Here’s the link to the blog about the segmentation study.

http://pjlehrer.blogspot.com/2012_04_01_archive.html

Parekh, R. (2012, July 31) Why the Makers of Sweet ‘N Low are Trying to Target Younger Consumers.  adage.com. Retrieved August 1, 2012, from

http://adage.com/article/agency-news/sweet-n-low-target-younger-consumers/236402/

Mendes, E. (2010, November 24) In U.S., 62% Exceed Ideal Weight, 19% at Their Goal. gallup.com  Retrieved August 1, 2012, from

http://www.gallup.com/poll/144941/exceed-ideal-weight-goal.aspx