After you transformed yourself into Professor X did you go see the movie?

Snapchat's "sponsored lens" lets you turn yourself into someone else or something else, dump Gatorade over your head or turn it into a taco.  Hmm.  Could be fun I guess.  

And since Snapchat reaches 41% of American 18-34 year olds daily marketers are giving it a shot.

According to Twentieth Century Fox, their X-Men campaign received 298 million views and reached about 42 million people.  But at $450,000 to $750,000 a day it's not cheap.  And I can't help wondering if radio would have been more efficient and effective.  (See last week's post.)

Perlberg, S. (2016, June 22)  Snapchat: How Brands Reach Millennials.  wsj.com.  Retrieved August 12, 2016, from  http://www.wsj.com/articles/snapchat-how-brands-reach-millennials-1466568063

Do you love radio? Are you a Millennial?

Radio is the most ubiquitous medium.  It has the most active users per month - totaling 240 million, and AM/FM stations reach 97% of U.S. adults.  And while you might think that more people are listening to Pandora and Spotify, turns out that only 15% listen to Pandora and 6% choose Spotify.

Why?  It turns out that consumers have a deep emotional connection to their favorite stations and local personalities. (Murphy, 2016)

Does this resonate with you?  Do you listen to AM/FM radio?  Do you have a favorite station and personality?  And what about Pandora and Spotify?  Do you listen to them too?

Murphy, T. (2016, August 3)  Millennials Love Radio.  Wait, What?  mediapost.com.  Retrieved August 4, 2016, from http://www.mediapost.com/publications/article/281359/millennials-love-radio-wait-what.html?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_content=mostread&utm_campaign=95249

Will you visit Subway and buy Dasani for a good cause?

Subway and Coca-Cola are partnering on a clean-water initiative.  For every bottle of Dasani sold in participating Subways by August 31, Subway will donate 30 cents to World Vision - up to $125,000.

In order to humanize the effort they are telling people that a 30-cent contribution is enough to supply clean drinking water to one person for one month. 

The dedicated site for the program http://freshwater4all.com/tallied $38,000 in donations in the first 24 hours, and was up to $45,673.08 at posting. (Lukovitz, 2016)

Will this promotion motivate you to visit Subway and drink Dasani?  Will it motivate anyone else?  And, what happens when they reach their goal?  Will they inform people still coming to the stores that their donations are now being made to Subway and Dasani?  Why cap the effort at all?  Is it misleading that they do?  Will it affect your participation?

Lukovitz, K. (2016, July 26)  Subway, Coca-Cola Launch Clean Water Cause Marketing Campaign.  mediapost.com.  Retrieved July 29, 2016, from http://www.mediapost.com/publications/article/281110/subway-coca-cola-launch-clean-water-cause-marketi.html?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_content=headline&utm_campaign=94987

Who needs a human when there's Watson?

Macy's is partnering with IBM to use Watson to answer customer questions in the store.  So the next time you visit you can just ask your smart phone - where is the ladies restroom?  And if you are in Miami, you can ask in Spanish. 

Meanwhile Lowe's is experimenting with OSHbots that roam the store and North Face is using the technology to generate a list of shopping suggestions based on customer responses to a series of questions. (Mahoney, 2016)

So what do you think?  Are you ready for more in-store technology?  Will it enhance your experience?  Will you start shopping in department stores again?  Will anyone else?

Mahoney, S. (2016, July 20)  Macy's, Watson Offering AI In Stores.  mediapost.com.  Retrieved July 20, 2016, from

http://www.mediapost.com/publications/article/280690/macys-watson-offering-ai-in-stores.html?edition=94829

You go girls!

The Olympics are rapidly approaching, and marketers are ready.  Word has it that the women will be winning most of the American medals.  And sales to women are driving the profits of sportswear companies, so it's no surprise that they are mounting a major effort for the event.

Here's Simone Biles for Nike...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LZmHTaMWse0

Ronda Rousey for Reebok...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RZNFH-jH-eo

And, Allison Schmitt for Adidas...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EXfTLnM0ZL4

So, what do you think?  Do any of them make you want to buy something?  Will they make anyone else want to?  Which one?  Why?

Mahoney, S. (2016, July 13)  Reebok, Nike, Adidas Unleash Mighty Women.  mediapost.com.  Retrieved July 14, 2016, from

http://www.mediapost.com/publications/article/280178/reebok-nike-adidas-unleash-mighty-women.html?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_content=headline&utm_campaign=94626