Kids' Favorite Colas

According to a study done by Simmons Research (An Experian Company), a brand research company, here are the top 10 brand preferences of kids ages 6-11 who drink soda.

1. Coca Cola Classic (65%)

2. Other Brands (47%)

3. Pepsi-Cola (46%)

4. Cherry Coke (40%)

5. Wild Cherry Pepsi(29%)

6. Coca-Cola With Lime (21%)

7. Pepsi Vanilla (19%)

8. Caffeine Free Coca-Cola Classic (18%)

9. Pepsi Lime (15%)

10. Caffeine Free Pepsi (15%)

In honor of Coca-Cola taking the top honors, here's a vintage Coca-Cola ad I found online. Pretty crazy, huh? Something so full of caffeine and calories is touted as something to drink while you're "chillin'."

Radio & Internet Advertising, Together In Perfect Harmony

Hi all -

I just wanted to pass along another Center for Media Research study that just came out concerning radio and internet advertising. It's pretty cool and backs up the notion that integrated media really works the best. Consumers just recall the information better when they're getting attacked from a number of different angles.









Garret

Unaided Advertising Recall Significantly Higher With Mix of Radio and Internet

According to research from the Radio Ad Effectiveness Lab (RAEL) released at the Radio Advertising Bureau's (RAB) Management & Leadership Conference, recall of advertising is dramatically enhanced when a mix of Radio and Internet ads is used together compared to website ads alone.

The report demonstrated that unaided recall was four-and-a-half times higher, and aided recall was more than twice as high with consumer exposure to one radio and one Internet ad compared to two Internet ads alone. Furthermore, the report states that a mix of radio and Internet exposures revealed a clear potential to elevate other kinds of consumer impact, ranging from website visitation to emotional bonds.

The study first examined existing data about radio and Internet advertising to determine how the two media are likely to intersect. Several key points on how Radio and the Internet might work well together in a media mix emerged:

• Both radio and the Internet reach light users of other media
• Radio and the Internet connect with consumers differently and in potentially complementary ways
• Radio can drive traffic to websites
• Radio and the Internet have unique reach patterns, and that can make them work powerfully in combination. On a daily basis, Radio and the Internet together reach 83 percent of the 18-54-year-old population
• Consumers often use Radio and the Internet simultaneously, with up to a third of Internet usage being accompanied by Radio listening during some times of the day

Michael Orgera, Vice President, Director of Research, Universal McCann, said "... With so many media choices and so many ad messages... understanding how radio and the Internet together can significantly boost advertising attention levels is a tremendous advantage when creating a multi-platform campaign."

And Rex Conklin, Media Director, Wal-Mart, and member of the RAEL Research Committee, noted, it's been gratifying to see advertisers and agency representatives work closely and candidly with broadcasters to establish clear direction for research studies..."

The full study, plus previously released research from RAEL, are available here.

Good Web Site. Honest.

I found a pretty cool Web site for a local company (Bethesda) that makes organic iced tea. It's great stuff - I've had it and I love it. Actually, my favorite is Honest Ade and isn't even an iced tea. It's a lemonade with much less sugar than normal lemonades (excess sugar is the enemy!).

They're a small company, but they've got a great concept and I think they're going to go far. I've read a few recent articles about them in the trade rags, but this is definitely a buzzworthy brand in my opinion, so I'm sure I'll start to hear some consumer chatter in the next couple of years. Especially by using grassroots tactics like this (oh yeah, you bet it's a hybrid):












Check out the Honest Tea Web site HERE. I like the design of the site a lot - it's a bit different than the normal static Web sites that you usually see these days. I think the structure and navigation could allow you to do even more fun stuff, too.

::Shameless Plug Alert::
I'm hoping to get on these folks' radar screen in the next few months. I'm not sure what their agency situation is, but I think it would be super-fun to work with them. Much more fun than a stale, stodgy bank client I'm sure. And judging by what I've read, they have a great corporate and marketing philosophy that I think would fit in well with our target-audience focused marketing approach.

Later people,

Garret O.

Superbowl Ad Review

A few people have asked me what I thought about this year's Super Bowl ads, so I wanted to take a few minutes to give my professional (at least I think so) opinion on what I saw, what I loved, what I hated, and what I would have forgotten, had I not been a huge ad dork and wrote everything down.

My top pick for the Superbowl ad that was the most entertaining had to be a toss up between the Snickers "accidental kiss" spot, and the Sierra Mist Free ad that featured a man that didn't fit into the workplace due to his cutoff shorts and BEARD COMBOVER. Both ads had me in stitches, but if I had to pick, I'd pick Snickers because it made me remember the product, whereas the Sierra Mist spot was a little harder to remember what was actually being advertised.

Here's the Snickers ad for your satisfaction:



I should mention that this ad and the corresponding Web site www.afterthekiss.com were discontinued because it offended many gay rights activists. I'm not sure - it didn't seem derogatory to me, but who am I to judge?

I also really liked Sprint Mobile Broadband's "connectile dysfunction spots." I thought the message was strong and very well executed. The use of humor was slightly low-brow, which I enjoy, but it wasn't over the top. It did a great job of communicating the product's unique point of difference. I have to say that I was not impressed by USA Today's best pick, Budweiser's "Crabs." I forgot about it before the game was over, and even when reminded, I didn't know which beer maker produced the spot.

So who were the big losers in my mind? I thought Coke's spots were boring (sorry, Joe - my brother-in-law who works for Coke) and uninspired. I thought GoDaddy's spots were lame and predictable. I didn't get Chevy's HHR commercial. Schick gets two thumbs down for using spots that I had already seen for the last 8 months, and the same goes for Acura. Toyota's Tundra spots were bland, especially for a brand new product launch!

On the local front, several big advertisers ponied up for spots during the Super Bowl, but I have to admit, none were any good. Most of them LOOKED like local spots, and didn't really do a great job of communicating their message. Particularly bad were the Maryland Lottery spot and the 1st Mariner spot. Both very forgettable. Mr. Hale - if you're looking to run some solid ads for the Superbowl next year, call me!

I really hope next year is better. I want to see some innovation...I want to see someone truly use a multiple media approach to advertising (for example, use a billboard campaign as a teaser, TV spots, and the payoff on a Web site). I want my mind blown like I expect it to be come Superbowl time.

The order is tall. I'll revisit this post after Super Bowl XLII to see if any of these advertisers redeemed themselves.

I'll leave you with this spot that was also pretty solid from E*trade:




Garret Ohm
Ad Dork

Good Article From MediaPost's Marketing Daily on Anti-Valentine's Day

Marketers Tap Cupid-Bashing Sentiment

by Sarah Mahoney

ADMIT IT. ALL THOSE DIAMOND-EARRING ads on TV make some people you know cry, and others choke on venomous tales about their ex. And this year, a few companies are showing some extra love to Valentine-averse. American Greetings, the Cleveland-based card marketer, is selling 10 different "Anti-Valentine's Day" cards, aimed straight at everyone who will spend this Wednesday at odds with Cupid. "Don't worry, you won't be alone forever," says one, with a picture of a woman on the front of the card. Inside, the same woman is surrounded by dozens of cats. Another shows a vintage photo of a young boy holding a handmade Valentine, which says, "The next day, little Timmy has his heart broken." Inside is a sentiment that sums up the holiday for plenty of people: "Valentine's Day Sucks." The Wm. Wrigley Jr. Co. is jumping on the bandwagon with its new Dark Chocolate Dipped Mints, "embracing the bruised, blackened and broken hearted with a message that communicates what many people think yet are too polite to say," the company said. Until Feb. 14, consumers in New York, Chicago and Miami can browse at the "Altoids Curious & Original Chocolate Shoppe," sample the new mints, get a free coffee, and browse through postcards that say things like "Here's a little something to say, 'Let's stay together for the kids'" and "Another day closer 'til death does us apart." Online, consumers can go to www.sayitwithaltoids.com, and personalize e-cards with messages like, "I slept with your girlfriend," "I don't think I can be with someone who doesn't floss" or "It's you. Not me." And even among its traditional Valentine's cards, American Greetings is working hard to shake off the doily dust. Images include tattoo-inspired cards, kissing armadillos, and happy rhinos. Hallmark is also expecting humor and causal cards to sell well this year, but believes its top trend will be musical cards. ("Ring of Fire" and "Wild Thing" are expected to be top sellers, the company predicts.) True, most people will celebrate, and in a big way. In all, 190 million Valentines will be purchased, says an American Greetings spokeswoman--not including the class Valentines kids give out at school. And they'll do some serious spending. This year, the National Retail Federation predicts Valentine's Day spending will top $16.9 billion, or about $120 per person. But that doesn't mean they like it. In fact, a new study from NPD shows that only one in four think of the day as a strictly romantic holiday. About 30% believe it's a great day to show appreciation for your sweetie, but 26% say it's too commercial, and another 19% write it off as "just a Hallmark holiday." Meanwhile, 14% say it's "silly." Then, of course, there are the cowards: 8% of the respondents in the NPD poll said they celebrate because "If I don't, I'll get in trouble." ___________________

More great marketing articles later!

Garret Ohm