I am a marketing communications professional from Baltimore, Maryland. I currently work for The Sutter Group, a communications design firm just outside of Washington, DC in Maryland. The Sutter Group does integrated brand communications, brand development, identity development, advertising, Web design, graphic design, marketing strategy and environmental graphics. Visit us at http://www.sutter-group.com.
I've never been a huge General Motors fan (owned one, probably never again), but I really have to give them credit for their latest marketing move. In their first true foray into the minicar arena, GM has done something very interesting. Rather than relying on designers and engineers to pick the next GM micro-car, they've decided to poll the audience on a few of their design concepts.
The choices that will be voted on (3) will be presented to the public amid much fan fare at the New York International Auto Show. Then, they'll be prompted to visit the Web site at www.vote4chevrolet.com to cast their vote for their favorite. The car with the most votes at the end of the contest will be produced by GM.
I think it's a very cool idea - one that should produce a car that will sell. If they're smart, they'll poll people also on what they like and what they don't like about each design and use that feedback to take design cues from the 2nd place car and implement them as well. As long as they can keep it from making the car look like a hodge-podge, I think it might help increase sales of the new vehicle. They should also use this site to collect potential customer information (for upsell), but I'm sure they have already thought of that!
Here's a picture of one of the designs that GM released. It's called the Trax:
Here's an interesting bit of consumer research that I wanted to pass along that we pulled from Ad-Ology, one of the research services we subscribe to. These numbers are interesting, and they pose a lot of both challenges and opportunities to internet service providers and other companies associated with consumer internet use.
It seems that everyone is online these days - make that almost everyone. Parks Associates' recent study indicates that almost 1/3 of US homes, 29% aren't online. Contrary to popular belief, cost is not the issue. Here's why these US consumers say they don't want an Internet connection:
Not interested in what's online 44% Not sure how to use the Internet 17% Have Internet access at work 14% Can't afford computer 14% Can't afford service 8% Not available for my home 3%
Whether you're working with computer software firms or training companies, the 17% of offline users who don't know how to access the Internet comprise market potential. And the consumers who say they're not interested in being online might be convinced otherwise by the right marketing campaign. The study indicates that 34% of consumers at the end of 2005 noted they had no interest in being online. Clearly, 5% were persuaded to change their minds as that number now stands at 29%.
Parks Associates research also indicates that broadband Internet users became the majority (52% of total user base) for the first time in 2006 and 4% of consumers plan to migrate from dial-up access to broadband access in the near future and an additional 2% of consumers intend to sign up for online service.
Now I love a good PR stunt as much as anyone, but it hurt to watch this one unfold. As you know from reading my blog daily (right), I am a bit of a gear head/car lover. If you don't believe me, all you have to do is to look at all the cuts and cracks in my hands - or reference THIS blog post. So when I saw this video, I cringed.
What you're seeing is Eddie Griffin, actor and comedian, crashing a car that retails for over $1,500,000 as he promotes his upcoming movie Redline. And with a car like this, a little front end damage is unrepairable. The skin is made of carbon fiber, and much of the car's structure is composite. Did I mention they only made 400 of them? Ever.
Granted, this PR stunt drew news coverage all over the world, and will probably sell a few more DVDs and movie ticket stubs, but I doubt it will make up for the cost of the automobile. I'm willing to bet they didn't figure it into the budget!
Note to self: If we ever orchestrate a PR stunt for a client that involves a supercar, make sure there are NO WALLS ANYWHERE NEAR THE CAR. EVER.
This was written by a colleague of mine, Jim Astrachan, one of the partners at Astrachan Gunst Thomas, P.C. here in Baltimore. I thought it was very well written and relevant enough to pass along.
If you're an agency or an advertiser and are looking to hire a law firm, by all means, AGT is that firm. They are renowned for their knowledge in this area.
It's a cool idea, and I think it will work. It will greatly increase the amount of impressions for each ad placement, and for right now, will have a pretty hardcore "cool" factor. Here's what it looks like:
My favorite part, though, is that it's a technology that was developed for military applications that's now filtering into everyday life.
I'm a huge fan of microsites. As a matter of fact, I'd like us to do more of them, so if anyone is interested in having us develop a microsite to promote something specific on the Web, give me a call - 410.280.4551.
Talk about harmful to the brand! I can't imagine something that could be any more harmful to a brand than the news on the front page of CNN this morning about everyone's favorite banana brand, Chiquita.
If you read the story, it's clear that Chiquita doesn't deny wrongdoing. They are pleading guilty to funding Columbian terrorist organizations, and are being fined $25,000,000. To me, that's not enough.
I foresee boycotts, and I for one, will start. No more Chiquitas for me!
I'm sure everyone by now has heard of the leaked memo from Starbucks Founder and Chairman that was written to other executives of the company that was "inadvertantly" leaked to the press, and has caused quite a stir.
The big debate with the leaking of this memo, was the "inadvertant" leak, actually on purpose. Why, you ask, would they do such a thing? Let's wax philisophically for a minute on the potential benefit of such action.
While the content of the memo was less than flattering, the leak really got people talking about the Starbucks brand. By just GooglingStarbucks memo, one could browse well over ONE MILLION Web pages with relevant content. That's pretty insane when you think about it, and it has brought Starbucks, a company that became famous for its lack of marketing, very much back into the spotlight.
So how about the downfalls of doing this? For me, when I first read the memo, the first thing I could think was "EUREKA." I knew that what Mr. Shultz had written as his concerns for the brand was 100% on target. The brand had become a commodity - the things that made the brand experience so amazing for its loyal customers, seemed to have been lost. I was never really conscious of this, but check it out - here are some pics of Starbucks - it LOOKS like a chain now, not a hardcore coffee shop for coffee lovers:
My take on this? I think the memo was leaked on purpose. And I think the executives at Starbucks carefully planned this, after weighing the pros and cons. The pros (taking into account the old adage that no publicity is bad publicity) probably way outweighed the cons.
What do you think? I'm interested in hearing your take on it!
I just wanted to do my part to spread the word about a local issue that is causing quite a stir in the advertising and creative community. Recently, House Bill 448 was introduced in the Maryland General Assembly. If passed, HB 448 would alter the definition of “taxable service” under the sales and use tax to impose the 5% tax on thirty-one (31) new services (many are already taxed) bringing the total forty-three (43) services, including:
Public Relations
Business Consulting
Art Services
Photographic Services
Direct Mail Services
So I'm sure you're asking yourself at this point, "what does it all mean?" Basically, it has several undesirable effects on the creative community, including:
Increase the cost of creative services in Maryland.
Reduce supplier sales as a result of increased cost.
Decrease employment as a result of reduced supplier sales.
Cost thousands of creative professionals their jobs.
For me, the worst part is that this makes hiring an in-house agency or design team even more attractive for clients. Yikes. So, please visit the Web site below to learn more, and by all means, GET INVOLVED. We have to stop this now, before the General Assembly unleashes it.
