Do you still have faith in :30 second commercials?

The reason I ask is that Coke has announced that they no longer do.  (Goetzl, 2012)

Based on the CFO’s DVR habits the company has decided to focus its ad spending on live events and sports.  But Nielsen data from earlier this month showed that while 40% of US tv viewers have DVRs only 8% of overall tv viewing is time-shifted.  And then mostly because consumers want to watch two shows at the same time. (Friedman, 2012)

I don’t know off hand who Coke’s primary consumer is, but sports programming tends to underdeliver women, where only about 1/3 of viewers are female. (Ripper, 2011)  (The Olympics are an exception as they draw more women than men.) So that could be a concern.

And then there’s the fact that when Pepsi cut back on tv advertising last year they fell to the number three brand. (CBS News, 2011)

What do you think?  Will this strategy be a winner for Coke?

Goetzl, D. (2012, March 22).  Coke To Focus On Events, Loses Faith In 30-Second Spot.  mediapost.com.  Retrieved March 29, from http://www.mediapost.com/publications/article/170853/coke-to-focus-on-events-loses-faith-in-30-second.html?edition=44899

Friedman, W. (2012, March 1).  Live View Numbers Drop, But DVR Jumps.  mediapost.com.  Retrieved March 29, from

http://www.mediapost.com/publications/article/169188/live-view-numbers-drop-but-dvr-jumps.html

Van Riper, T. (2011, September 30).  The Sports Women Watch.  forbes.com.  Retrieved March 29, from

http://www.forbes.com/sites/tomvanriper/2011/09/30/the-sports-women-watch/

(2011, March 17).  Pepsi slips to No. 3 in cola war.  CBC news. Retrieved March 29, from

http://www.cbc.ca/news/business/story/2011/03/17/pepsi-coke-cola.html

Selling the target, not the medium.

As we approach the upfront season, Viacom has announced that they are bundling their tv and digital media properties together to provide clients with integrated media solutions for their communications needs.

Called Surround Sound, the new packages allow advertisers to reach targets such as “politically savvy, 20-something guys,” with commercials on The Daily Show and The Colbert Report, online video and display ads, mobile and email on the shows’ websites and other relevant Viacom properties such as spike.com.

It’s an interesting idea.  What do you think?  Will it be a successful one?

Peterson, T. (2012, March 21) Brands can target audience segments across platforms.  adweek.com. Retrieved March 21, 2012, from http://www.adweek.com/news/television/viacom-bundling-tv-digital-buys-139096

Will a change of strategy be a big hit for MGD64? Oops, I mean Miller64.

The launch campaign for MGD64 focused exclusively on the fact that the product has fewer calories than other alcoholic beverages, often using clever visuals to demonstrate comparative serving sizes.  It also featured women more often than men.

I guess it didn’t work. 

MillerCoors has announced a complete revamping of the product, including a new name Miller64.   

The inclusion of Miller in the name suggests that they are trying to convert users of other Miller brands to Miller64.  And since more beer drinkers are male than female, it’s likely that they are also reacting to the success that Dr. Pepper has had with Dr. Pepper 10, a reflection of a new awareness of  the fact that men are concerned about calories too.

And rather than head to head calorie comparisons – a very rational approach – their new campaign focuses on the product as part of a lifestyle that includes minor health adjustments such as taking the stairs instead of the elevator.  The beer is then positioned as a guilt-free treat.

Interesting.  What do you think?  Will this approach be more successful than the last one?

Irwin, T. (2012, March 13)  MillerCoors Relaunches Low-Cal Beer.  mediapost.com. Retrieved March 14, 2012, from

http://www.mediapost.com/publications/article/169914/millercoors-relaunches-low-cal-beer.html

Was sponsoring Pandora’s workout stations a smart move for Puma?

Last September Pandora launched a series of workout stations.  They currently have 1.9 million listeners. 

In February, Puma launched its new lightweight running shoe – Pumagility – by sponsoring all the Pandora workout stations for the month.  People who listen to the stations using mobile devices and the web saw ads and banners.  And everyone heard one minute of audio ads for every hour of music.  (Corr, 2012)

Do you think this was a smart decision?  Do you think it was successful?

Corr, A. (2012, February 27)  In Natural Tie-In, PUMA promotes Running Shoe On Workout-Themed Radio.  mediapost.com. Retrieved March 7, 2012, from
http://www.mediapost.com/publications/article/168780/in-natural-tie-in-puma-promotes-running-shoe-on-w.html

What do you use the internet for? How old are you?

First we discovered that device preferences vary by age.  (See “What’s Your Favorite Gadget?” posted 8/4/11.)

http://pjlehrer.blogspot.com/2011_08_01_archive.html

Now we are discovering that internet behavior varies by age as well.  According to a recent study about women by Scarborough Research here’s how the different groups behave…

Gen Y (18-32) listens to music, watches movies, and plays games

Gen X (33-47) visits auction and coupon sites, gets financial information, pays bills and reads news

Baby Boomers (48-66) get medical information, make travel reservations, and play casino games
(Adweek, 2012)

That’s particularly interesting in view of the research that has been done lately about how much we are driven by habit and how difficult it is for marketers to change those habits. (Duhigg, 2012)

But what do you think?  Are your habits consistent with your demographic?  And what about the guys?  Are your patterns entirely different?

(2012, February 29) Data points: Women by the Ages.  adweek.com.  Retrieved February 29, 2012, from

http://www.adweek.com/news/advertising-branding/data-points-women-ages-138372

Duhigg, C. (2012, February 16)  How Companies Learn Your Secrets.  nytimes.com.  Retrieved February 29, 2012, from

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/02/19/magazine/shopping-habits.html?pagewanted=all

Will Fear Motivate You to Back-up Your Computer Files?

A 2010 global survey found that 89% of home PC users do not perform regular backups, and 67% have lost digital pictures.  (Global Data Backup Survey Results, 2010)

Yet to quote Tom Murray, SVP of Marketing at Carbonite, the company’s advertising efforts to convince potential customers to use them for storage backup, which featured testimonials from satisfied customers, “wasn’t breaking through the way we needed it to.” (Baar, 2012)

So, they’re changing strategies and focusing on consumers’ fears of losing pictures.  It sounds like a good idea considering the 2010 survey also said that 69% of home PC users are most worried about losing their digital pictures.

What do you think?  Are you backing up your photos?  If not, will you after seeing this commercial?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K4QAA4VQniw

(2010, June 25)  Global Data Backup Survey Results.  consumerstatistics.org. Retrieved February 22, 1012, from

http://www.consumerstatistics.org/global-data-backup-survey-results/

Baar, A. (2012, February 21) Carbonite Encourages Planning For Loss.  mediapost.com. Retrieved February 22, 1012, from

http://www.mediapost.com/publications/article/168238/carbonite-encourages-planning-for-loss.html

Do Gen Y women only care about smelling good?

This week Burt’s Bees launched a new line called Gud targeted to Women 18-24.  While their existing products are bought primarily by Gen X women who are avoiding parabens and worrying about the environment and their wrinkles, this new line will go in a totally different direction and focus on Gen Y’s desire for indulgent fragrances. (Mahoney, 2012)

They’re going to hedge their bets by keeping the Burt’s Bees name on the products, but with fragrances like Floral Cherrynova, it’s pretty clear that they are looking for younger consumers.  While that certainly makes sense in terms of demographics, I can’t help wondering if such a departure from their core competency is a good idea.

What do you think?  Are Women 18-24 totally focused on indulgence and products that appeal to their senses?  Will the presence of the Burt’s Bees name hurt or help the new line to add Gen Y’s to their customer base?  Will these new customers migrate to the basic product line as they age?  Are you going to try Gud?

Mahoney, S. (2012, February 14).  Burt’s Bees Launches Gud, Aimed At Gen Y.  mediapost.com.  Retrieved February 15, 2012, from

http://www.mediapost.com/publications/article/167720/burts-bees-launches-gud-aimed-at-gen-y.html?edition=43394