Posted by truecreek on November 3, 2010 under More Dam News, Research | 
By John Consoli
NBC Universal wants advertisers to know that when it comes to consumer spending based on what they see in television ads, the 55-64 demo is the new 18-34—or it’s just as important as that younger demo.
NBCU on Tuesday (Nov. 2) gave the media a sneak peek at a major presentation it will make on Thursday to its advertisers, their media agencies and Nielsen officials. The presentation will offer data showing that the adult 55-64 demo is as vibrant as younger demos in ad spending, and should be targeted (and not ignored) when television marketing plans are created.
Allen Wurtzel, president of research and media development at NBCU, presented evidence from assorted sources—including one-on-one interviews with adults in the demo—that dispel myths about how adults 55-64 respond to advertising and spend as consumers.
Wurtzel said the demo, which he’s labeled “AlphaBoomers,” “has been largely ignored by advertisers and marketers.”
“Every seven seconds someone turns 55 and once they do, they are eliminated from the highest-end Nielsen demo measurement: 25-54,” Wurtzel said. “It is the fastest-growing demo group in the country and now numbers 35 million people that account for close to $2 trillion in annual spending.”
Wurtzel said NBC research and a survey it commissioned of people in the 55-64 demo counters common perceptions that they make less of an income and spend less on advertised products; are technophobic and brand loyal, and therefore, cannot be motivated to switch brands.
“Our goal is to raise a discussion among CMOs at the various companies and to get Nielsen to begin offering ratings data for the 55-64 demo,” Wurtzel said. “They have the data. It’s just a matter of creating the software and adding staff to distribute it.”
Other findings include:
* AphaBoomers spend more on home improvement products, home furnishing, large appliances, beauty and cosmetics and casual dining than adults 18-49.
* A similar percentage of AlphaBoomers have high-definition TVs, use DVRs and broadband as adults 18-34
* 70 percent of AlphaBoomers buy at least one product a month online
* 59 percent of AlphaBoomers send text messages via their cell phones
“This is not something that is just going to affect NBCU,” Wurtzel said. “Down the road as more people leave the 25-54 demo, it will affect every network.”
More here.
Posted by truecreek on under More Dam News, Research |
I am not surprised at all by the results of this research. Men really do care about a lot of things that matter to all.
By Stuart Elliott
For many years, the assumption on Madison Avenue has been that cause marketing — doing well (selling products) by doing good (helping causes that matter to consumers) — plays more strongly with women than men. That may not be the case, according to a new survey.
The 2010 edition of the PR Cause survey, co-sponsored by the trade publication PR Week and Barkley, an agency in Kansas City, Mo., found that men were nearly as supportive of cause marketing campaigns as women.
Eighty-eight percent of the men questioned for the survey said they believed it was important for companies to support causes. When the question was asked last year of women, 91 percent of respondents said they agreed.
“Men do have a heart,” said Mike Swenson, president at Barkley. The agency suggested to PR Week that part of the survey be devoted to men’s views of cause marketing, he added, and the publication agreed.+
The survey, as usual, also canvassed corporate marketing executives for their opinions about cause-related promotions and advertising. Two-thirds said their companies engaged in cause marketing, versus 58 percent in the survey last year.
However, 68 percent of the marketing executives who were questioned for the survey said they had no plans to aim cause marketing efforts at men.
“It’s certainly an open door for brands that cater to men,” Mr. Swenson said.
A cause marketing program centered on breast cancer, which Barkley created for Lee Jeans, part of the VF Corporation, also has a male target audience in addition to the obvious female audience. The idea is to generate men’s help to fight a disease that affects the women in their lives.
The results of the survey showed that the economy “hasn’t affected corporate support” of cause marketing, said Erica Iacono, executive editor of PR Week in New York, owned by the Haymarket Media Group. In fact, it may have increased that support because consumers are more interested in causes after going through tough times.
“Last year, we had two clients that, while making other budget cuts, each started a new cause program,” Mr. Swenson said.
Posted by truecreek on October 27, 2010 under More Dam News, Research |
By Emily Fredrix
And now, a word from our sponsors. A very brief word.
TV commercials are shrinking along with attention spans and advertising budgets. The 15-second ad is increasingly common, gradually supplanting the 30-second spot just as it knocked off the full-minute pitch decades ago.
For viewers, it means more commercials in a more rapid-fire format. For advertisers, shorter commercials are a way to save some money, and research shows they hold on to more eyeballs than the longer format.
“It used to be that the most valuable thing on the planet was time, and now the most valuable thing on the planet is attention,” says John Greening, associate professor at Northwestern University’s journalism school and a former executive vice president at ad agency DDB Chicago.
So instead of seeing a lengthier plot line, viewers are treated to the sight of, say, the popular “Old Spice man” riding backward on a horse through various scenes for just 15 seconds.
Or the “most interesting man in the world,” the suave, rugged, Spanish-accented character pitching Dos Equis beer, appearing just long enough to turn his head and weigh in on the topic of rollerblading. (Verdict? A deadpan “No.”)
The number of 15-second television commercials has jumped more than 70 percent in five years to nearly 5.5 million last year, according to Nielsen. They made up 34 percent of all national ads on the air last year, up from 29 percent in 2005.
Commercial-skipping digital video recorders and distractions such as laptops and phones have shortened viewers’ attention spans, says Deborah Mitchell, executive director of the Center for Brand and Product Management at the University of Wisconsin. Viewers are also watching TV streamed on sites like Hulu, where advertisers have less of a presence.
Read the entire article here.
Posted by truecreek on October 26, 2010 under More Dam News |
Today’s zombie commute in NYC must have been really something to see. Hopefully, there were enough of them on the streets to really make a visual impact. Probably one of the more inventive uses of social media that I have heard about.
By Deepti Hajela
As if the morning commute wasn’t odd enough, intrepid New Yorkers trying to make their way to work on Tuesday had to battle past hordes of the walking dead.
Two dozen zombies, their clothes spattered with fake blood, were staggering up and down the block outside Madison Square Garden. Downtown, others shuffled across the Brooklyn Bridge.
Some pedestrians looked startled or amused by the ghost-white actors with bruised-looking eyes. Some people ignored them entirely. Others whipped out their cell phone cameras.
Horror movie fan Linda Emery was thrilled to see the creatures.
“I’m into zombies, anything with zombies,” said the 58-year-old home care provider from Brooklyn. It made a change from her usual commute.
“You see a lot of stuff, but not this stuff,” she said.
Erik Machado, an audio engineer heading to work in New Jersey, was unfazed and passed by the scene with nary a glance at the nightmares walking around.
“Gotta commute, gotta go where I gotta go,” the Queens resident said.
The stunt was part of a campaign in 26 cities worldwide promoting the Halloween premiere of the AMC television series “The Walking Dead.” The show is being broadcast outside of the United States on Fox International Channels.
Posted by truecreek on October 25, 2010 under More Dam News, Research |
Well, it was bound to happen. Someone was going to look at the relationship between a brand and a political party. Perfect study for this time of year, don’t you think?
This is only the top 10 for each and the only thing I don’t see is Apple on the list for the Dems. To me, that would be a no brainer, but I’m sure it’s on the big list somewhere.
I love Craftsman tools, but big with the liberals? Don’t know about that.
Fox New Channel the #1 brand with a bullet for the GOP. Who would have guessed?
Posted by truecreek on August 25, 2010 under More Dam News |
By Beth Kowitt, FORTUNE.
Apple’s retail stores aren’t the only place where lines form these days. It’s 7:30 on a July morning, and already a crowd has gathered for the opening of Trader Joe’s newest outpost, in Manhattan’s Chelsea neighborhood. The waiting shoppers chat about their favorite Trader Joe’s foods, and a woman in line launches into a monologue comparing the retailer’s West Coast and East Coast locations. Another customer suggests that the chain will be good for Chelsea, even though the area is already brimming with places to buy groceries, including Whole Foods and several upscale food boutiques.
But Trader Joe’s is no ordinary grocery chain. It’s an offbeat, fun discovery zone that elevates food shopping from a chore to a cultural experience. It stocks its shelves with a winning combination of low-cost, yuppie-friendly staples (cage-free eggs and organic blue agave sweetener) and exotic, affordable luxuries — Belgian butter waffle cookies or Thai lime-and-chili cashews — that you simply can’t find anyplace else.
Employees dress in goofy trademark Hawaiian shirts, hand stickers out to your squirming kids, and cheerfully refund your money if you’re unhappy with a purchase — no questions asked. At the Chelsea store opening, workers greeted customers with high-fives and free cookies. Try getting that kind of love at the Piggly Wiggly.
It’s little wonder that Trader Joe’s is one of the hottest retailers in the U.S. It now boasts 344 stores in 25 states and Washington, D.C., and strip-mall operators and consumers alike aggressively lobby the chain, based in Monrovia, Calif., to come to their towns. A Trader Joe’s brings with it good jobs, and its presence in your community is like an affirmation that you and your neighbors are worldly and smart.
The privately held company’s sales last year were roughly $8 billion, the same size as Whole Foods’ and bigger than those of Bed Bath & Beyond, No. 314 on the Fortune 500 list. Unlike those massive shopping emporiums, Trader Joe’s has a deliberately scaled-down strategy: It is opening just five more locations this year. The company selects relatively small stores with a carefully curated selection of items. (Typical grocery stores can carry 50,000 stock-keeping units, or SKUs; Trader Joe’s sells about 4,000 SKUs, and about 80% of the stock bears the Trader Joe’s brand.) The result: Its stores sell an estimated $1,750 in merchandise per square foot, more than double Whole Foods’. The company has no debt and funds all growth from its own coffers.
More about Inside the Secret World of Trader Joe’s here.
Posted by truecreek on August 18, 2010 under More Dam News |
What a brilliant way to market a bike store.
From Photoblog:
Co-owner Christian Petersen looks out of a window at his bicycle shop in Altlandsberg, north-east of Berlin August 17, 2010. The owners attached about 120 bicycles on the facade to advertise their shop.
Photo credit:
Fabrizio Bensch / Reuters
Posted by truecreek on under Research |
By Aaron Smith.
After several consecutive years of modest but consistent growth, broadband adoption slowed dramatically in 2010. Two-thirds of American adults (66%) currently use a high-speed Internet connection at home, a figure that is not statistically different from what The Pew Research Center’s Internet & American Life Project found at a similar point in 2009, when 63% of Americans were broadband adopters.
The lack of growth in broadband adoption at the national level was mirrored across a range of demographic groups, with African-Americans being a major exception. Broadband adoption by African-Americans now stands at 56%, up from 46% at a similar point in 2009. That works out to a 22% year-over-year growth rate, well above the national average and by far the highest growth rate of any major demographic group.
Read more about Home Broadband 2010, a Pew Study, here.
Posted by truecreek on July 14, 2010 under More Dam News |
By Elena Malykhina
Stella Artois has enlisted famous photographer Bert Stern to create Vogue-like images for a U.S. campaign that depicts the finer things in life.
The campaign, created by Mother New York, positions Stella Artois as “the most premium beer in the world.” It kicks off with an ad shot by Stern, which recreates a 1960 cover of Vogue. The ad shows a man enamored with a woman who is drinking Stella Artois beer. The tagline is: “She is a thing of beauty.”
That ad will run in print and out-of-home in the U.S. for six months starting this week. Michael Ian Kaye, a creative director at Mother, said additional ads—including TV—will break during the holidays (November/December timeframe).
Kaye said the U.S. effort builds on a Stella Artois campaign currently running in the U.K. Some of that overseas creative is currently featured on the company’s Web site, which also sports the new tagline.
“‘She a thing of beauty’ came from the work we’ve done in the U.K. It’s really about a brand that has been established with a sense of luxury,” said Kaye. “We were tasked with creating a U.S. print campaign that bring that notion to life.”
The ads are also meant reflect Stella Artois’ target consumer: a more sophisticated beer drinker. Kaye said: “While, it tends to be a slightly more female base, we’re targeting both men and women who lead a certain lifestyle.”
Posted by truecreek on July 7, 2010 under More Dam News |
A very, very smart move by Domino’s Pizza. Continuing with their new, honest approach. Also makes you wonder what the other guys do to their photography.
ANN ARBOR, Mich., July 5, 2010 /PRNewswire via COMTEX/ — Domino’s Pizza, the recognized world leader in pizza delivery, is continuing its honest, transparent way of communicating with customers by walking down a new avenue of authenticity: food photography.
In an effort to display Domino’s Inspired Pizza as authentically as possible, all Domino’s national advertising pieces will feature food photography without the fancy food artistry or fake food touch-ups.
Whether it be a commercial on TV or an advertisement in the local paper, the landmark advertising approach promises that all product shots of the Inspired Pizza have been untouched by stylists or model makers typically found on food photography shoots.
“How many times have you wondered why the products you buy don’t look as good in person as they do in TV ads?” said Russell Weiner, Domino’s Pizza chief marketing officer. “That’s because most of the time companies use artificial techniques to make their products look better than they do when served to you in person. At Domino’s, we’re proud of the way our pizza looks – and tastes – right out of the oven.”
The new approach to food photography follows the same line of transparency that began in late 2009 with the launch of the company’s “Pizza Turnaround” advertising campaign – sparking critical acclaim from media, and overwhelmingly positive consumer response to the pizza itself. The campaigns following the launch of the pizza have, in one way or another, been featured in almost every major media outlet, as well as more than 1,000 local TV affiliates.
“It’s a natural progression for us now to take this step,” Weiner continued. “If we’re going to be real and honest about the taste of the product, we want to be as authentic as possible about how it looks. And there’s nothing more mouthwatering than a Domino’s pizza straight out of the oven.”
Also part of the latest chapter in transparency is Domino’s launch of an online component called Show Us Your Pizza, inviting consumers to submit their best natural Domino’s food photography to earn one of four prizes of $500.
Customers can visit ShowUsYourPizza.com to learn about Domino’s Pizza’s “photo promise,” which prohibits any artificial manipulation of the product during shooting, among other rules. The best amateur food photographers who adhere to the photo promise might also have their shots featured in future Domino’s advertisements.
Posted by truecreek on June 22, 2010 under Opinions. Everyone has them., Research |
There is so much research on this topic already and more seems to come out every day. There needs to be a greater focus on advertising to combat this horrible trend. It will have to be powerful stuff, like Marsteller’s “Crying Indian” that featured Native American actor, Iron Eyes Cody. It was one of the most successful campaigns of its kind, with some suggesting it reduced litter by almost 90% in 300 communities.
Now that’s how you do it.
By Mary Madden and Lee Rainie.
Adults are just as likely as teens to have texted while driving and are substantially more likely to have talked on the phone while driving.
In addition, 49% of adults say they have been passengers in a car when the driver was sending or reading text messages on their cell phone. Overall, 44% of adults say they have been passengers of drivers who used the cell phone in a way that put themselves or others in danger.
Beyond driving, some cell-toting pedestrians get so distracted while talking or texting that they have physically bumped into another person or an object.
These are some of the key findings from a new survey by The Pew Research Center’s Internet & American Life Project:
- Nearly half (47%) of all texting adults say they have sent or read a text message while driving.
- Looking at the general population, this means that 27% of all American adults say they have sent or read text messages while driving. That compares with 26% of all American teens ages 16-17 who reported texting at the wheel in 2009.
- Three in four (75%) cell-owning adults say they have talked on a cell phone while driving. Half (52%) of cell-owning teens ages 16-17 reported talking on a cell phone while driving in the 2009 survey.
- Beyond driving, one in six (17%) cell-owning adults say they have physically bumped into another person or an object because they were distracted by talking or texting on their phone. That amounts to 14% of all American adults who have been so engrossed in talking, texting or otherwise using their cell phones that they bumped into something or someone.
More about Adults Text While Driving Too here.
Posted by truecreek on May 20, 2010 under Opinions. Everyone has them. |
By Joseph Young
They have been all over television over the past few years. You’ve seen them before. The beautifully art directed HD spots from BP. All those bright green and yellows flying around to that perfect music. It’s easy to find outstanding animated spots in just a few minutes on the web. And from what I have heard within the business, there were some spots produced recently that were in the $3 million per range. All of that backed up by a substantial national media buy.
All concepted and produced with one thought in mind: to position BP as a friendly, “we’re here with you” company that is working hard to make the world a much better place.
What a crock.
How long do you think it will be before the millions of dollars spent by BP to position themselves as the savior of our collective energy future just melts away?
When a brand screws us all like this, they become lepers. We cringe at the very thought of doing business with them. We now look at their brand as a ‘taker’, not a ‘giver.’ And in the case of BP, I suspect you will see a growing disdain for the company as the days wear on.
So I wonder when the first round of new TV spots will start up? It must suck for the agency that is responsible for producing what comes next from the company. If it were my shop, I would really have to do some soul searching before anyone spent another minute behind the lens on behalf of BP.
Posted by truecreek on May 4, 2010 under Opinions. Everyone has them. |
Summer is almost upon us, a time when the cinema industry generates over 40% of their total annual box office revenue. It’s a time when people go out to the movies in droves, choosing to watch the hot new movies of the summer rather than stay on the couch and sit through another season of reruns on television. According to Nielsen, the shift is dramatic, with a 13% tick up for cinema in share during the summer months.
Last year, the industry experienced a record-breaking summer, with huge hits like Transformers, The Hangover, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince and many others. Coming up this summer there will be another 13 blockbusters and remakes scheduled for release on the big screen.
Here’s just a few of the flicks you can expect to see this summer at a theater near you:
Iron Man 2
Shrek Forever After 3D
Sex and the City 2
Marmaduke
Toy Story 3D
The Twilight Saga: Eclipse
For most consumer marketers, cinema is the place to be this summer. And throughout the year, cinema advertising is a fantastic complement to any broadcast TV schedule. So if you are in the theater, consider yourself a smart marketer. If you’re not, give True Creek a call and let’s fix that.
Posted by truecreek on April 23, 2010 under More Dam News |
By Abbey Klaassen, AdAge
Today marks a quarter century of one of marketing’s biggest blunders — and the sixth biggest moment in 75 years of advertising, according to Ad Age: New Coke.
Still smarting from the 1975 “Pepsi Challenge” taste-test battle, Coca-Cola Co. launches “Project Kansas,” a top-secret mission to reformulate Coke. President-Chief Operating Officer Robert Goizueta appoints Coca-Cola USA head Brian Dyson, who taps marketing chief Sergio Zyman to head the endeavor. Mr. Zyman and company test a new, sweeter version of the flagship cola with 190,000 nationwide taste tests at a cost of $4 million.
At a bottlers’ meeting in Atlanta back on April 22, 1985, Mr. Zyman announced from the stage that Coke was changing its taste. The next day Coca-Cola revealed the new, sweeter taste to financial analysts and the media. But word of the new product finally leaks out and Pepsi dispatches its own press assault on the same day claiming victory. “The other guy blinked,” Pepsi says in ads saying Coke reformulated its brand to taste “more like” Pepsi.
The press hammers at Mr. Goizueta, now chairman-CEO, to explain the difference and what will happen to the old Coke, which 39% of consumers still favor. When Mr. Goizueta admits it will do away with the old formula, consumers revolt. Dazed by the backlash, management on July 11, 1985, just 79 days later, agrees to bring back the original formula, renaming it Coca-Cola Classic.
Some in the industry counter-intuitively suggested the blunder was actually good for the beverage giant — that its fans’ reactions to the idea of their beloved Coke going away, along with the reintroduction of the cola as Coca-Cola Classic, have created a fantastic new marketing strategy. But we think the lesson is pretty clear: Don’t tinker with success. Or at least think very, very carefully before you do.
Posted by truecreek on April 21, 2010 under More Dam News, Research |
By Ken Bruno
After a long winter and a grim recession luxury-faucet maker Brizo wants to give consumers “a license to dream.” Online videos and print ads created by Young & Laramore for Brizo’s high-end, touch-sensitive Talo, Venuto and Virage faucets feature vivid colors that morph into butterflies, flowers, mermaids and fish.
New ad campaigns suggest marketers are eager to shake off the gloom of tough economic times–and they hope consumers will do the same. While some economists aren’t sure the tough times are history, advertisers don’t seem to care. Companies are rolling out carefree ads that use humor, colorful images and upbeat language to get consumers to lighten up–and open up their wallets.
“What you make people feel is as important as what you make,” goes the voice-over in a commercial from BMW of North America’s “Story of Joy” ad campaign, which includes print ads featuring happy-looking adults, kids and dogs with headlines that lead off with “Joy is …” The campaign was created by GSD&M Idea City.
Procter & Gamble even seems to thumb its nose at money-pinching buyers of personal care products in ads for Old Spice. In TV spots, Isaiah Mustafa taunts women with recession-induced goodie withdrawal by offering “two tickets to that thing you love,” before the tickets turn into diamonds. Spots featuring Mustafa and his treats have racked up more than 8 million views since they broke in February.
Fun and games? Those are reappearing in ads. Interpublic agency Deutsch L.A.’s playful campaign for Volkswagen “Punch Dub,” invites consumers to play an updated version of the game “Punch Buggy,” in which the first person to spot a VW slugs his or her friend on the arm. Stevie Wonder and 30 Rock’s Tracy Morgan even get in on the game in ads.
Microsoft even promotes the idea of carefree travel in ads for the launch of its new mobile phone brand, Kin. In “The Journey,” by AgencyTwoFifteen, Rosa Salazar, a lollipop-loving Brooklyn comedian, hits the road to meet as many of her 824 social networking friends as possible.
Consumers and marketers were in the dumps last year when total U.S. advertising expenditures fell 12.3% in 2009 to $125.3 billion, compared with 2008, says ad tracker Kantar Media in New York but some agency executives say marketers are willing to spend again.
“There is a market turn toward the positive,” says Deutsch N.Y. Chief Creative Officer Greg DiNoto. “That’s a smart marketing strategy for any brand when you’re emerging from a recession.” Brands need to be associated with winning.”
A few advertisers hope upbeat taglines will do the trick. Amway’s latest campaign, one with an estimated $25 million behind it, features the tagline “The Power of Positivity.” Ads, created by Omnicom’s Element 79, feature friendly farmers and helpful neighbors and suggest that Amway is a company doing its part by creating jobs for those affected by the recession.
More here.
Posted by truecreek on April 8, 2010 under Opinions. Everyone has them. |
So, if these stats are correct, one could assume that as much as 17% of the population that has not adopted broadband would do so if they understood the nuts and bolts of how it works?
By Susannah Fox
A new report released today by John B. Horrigan, formerly of Pew Internet and now at the Federal Communications Commission, finds that 78% of adults in the U.S. are Internet users and 65% of adults have home broadband access.
Adults who do not have broadband at home fall into four categories:
Digitally Distant: 10% of the general population. Median age is 63. Half say that the Internet is not relevant to their lives or they lack the digital literacy to adopt broadband.
Digital Hopefuls: 8% of the general population. Low-income, heavily Hispanic and African American. Likely to say they want to go online, but lack the resources.
Digitally Uncomfortable: 7% of the general population. Likely to own a computer, but lack skills and interest in taking advantage of all the Internet has to offer.
Near Converts: 10% of the general population. Median age is 45. Cost is the biggest barrier to having broadband at home.
Posted by truecreek on March 26, 2010 under Opinions. Everyone has them. |
My wife and I are getting ready for our annual celebration of the finer things in life, Loveapalooza. As part of the decorating committee of two, I was charged with arranging for the flowers.
Several weeks ago we received a gorgeous bouquet as a gift from our parents. The flowers were from ProFlowers.com. So I went to their site and found a perfect deal: two for one on roses. Buy a dozen, get a dozen. Now that’s the ticket. So the order was in.
When the flowers arrived two days later, I quickly looked at the roses and determined it was only a dozen, not two. So, being the ever vigilant consumer that I am, the call went out. Immediately, the ProFlowers customer service rep jumped all into my perceived floral quagmire and took control. Two dozen fresh roses were headed out the door to me for overnight delivery. With the most heart felt of apologies. And thank you so much for being a ProFlowers customer.
A minute or so later, a very professional HTML email hits my box repeating the apology and giving me the tracking number of my complimentary order of two dozen red roses. Now that is the way you handle it.
Unfortunately, it was a call I should never have made. Later that evening, my wife discovered that there actually were two dozen roses in the package, they were just stacked in a way that only showed the tops of a dozen or so. Everything was there and they looked absolutely beautiful.
Ugh.
So this morning, I sucked it up and sent an email to customer service. Yes, I blew it and you actually did send the correct amount of flowers. And please don’t hurt Gabriella, the woman who packaged the gorgeous roses. And the email was off.
Five minutes later their reply. You’re very welcome!
I suspect the flowers will arrive shortly and will be just amazing. Plus, there will be another note inside with some sort of coupon for a future purchase. Trust me, that is one coupon that will never be used.
But I can tell you that ProFlowers has a customer for life.
Posted by truecreek on March 24, 2010 under More Dam News, Research |
There are times when no amount of advertising and marketing can pull you up from the floor. The issues facing Toyota right now are monumental in their entirety and really do have the potential to damage the brand beyond recognition. We’re talking years here, I believe.
USA Today: Yet another survey points to bad news for Toyota: A pollster says findings show Toyota has crushed its quality reputation.
In two short years, Americans having a positive perception of Toyota’s commitment to building quality cars has plummeted to 21.8% from over 80%, according to the findings of the latest survey by Britt Beemer at the BeemerReport.com
Only 31.8% of Americans believe Toyota can rebuild its quality image, the verdict is still out about their ability to recover. Some 22.1% are undecided whether they can rebuild the quality image and 18% don’t think Toyota will be able to do it.
“While their reputation is on the line, Toyota’s problems don’t stop there because buyers are now wary of the Toyota brand,” says Beemer. “Toyota has some real selling to do just to convince current Toyota car owners to buy another one.”
But will current Toyota owners save the day?
Maybe, the survey finds. The survey revealed that consumers who have purchased Toyotas in the past are evenly divided about whether they will buy another one in the future or not. Of these potential buyers, 52.6% will no longer consider buying a Toyota car in the future.
American car manufacturers may ultimately be the benefactors of Toyota’s quality issues, according to Beemer. Due to Toyota’s quality issues, 69.1% of car buyers are more likely to purchase an American made automobile. That number is up from 38% two years ago.
The survey comes from 1,000 telephone interviews conducted Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, March 12, 13 and 14, 2010, at ARG headquarters in Charleston, SC. The error factor is plus or minus 3.8%.
Posted by truecreek on March 23, 2010 under More Dam News, Research |
AP NEW YORK — The amount of time people spend on the computer while watching TV is going up sharply.
The Nielsen Co. said Monday that people who multitask this way spent an average of three and a half hours doing so in December. That’s up sharply from the two hours, 29 minutes that Nielsen reported only six months earlier.
The percentage of TV viewers who do this isn’t going up that fast. That increased by 57 percent to 59 percent during the same period. But those who are doing it spend much more time at it.
Television executives have pointed to this trend to help explain why big events like the Oscars, Grammys and pro football playoffs have been doing so well in the ratings – people watching and making comments to their friends through social Web sites like Twitter and Facebook.
More about TV, computer use multitasking up sharply: Nielsen here.
Posted by truecreek on March 12, 2010 under Opinions. Everyone has them. |
Tongue-in-cheek, but valuable none the less.
By Steve Cuno
We rarely hear about the fourth law of thermodynamics. In brief, it states that whenever a server says, “Careful, this plate is extremely hot,” an invisible force compels the customer to touch the plate. The compulsion grows as the cube of the number of decibels with which the server pronounces the word extremely.
It seems that, given a choice between heeding a voice of experience and sabotaging ourselves, many people do not just opt for, but positively execute, a mad dash for the latter. This can be as true of marketers as it is of other human-like creatures. So, for those who prefer wasting time and money, I offer the following personally witnessed, surefire shortcuts to screwing up your marketing. (I should add that narrowing it down to 12 wasn’t easy.)
Sabotage Tip 1: Don’t set firm objectives. You’re much safer stating that your goal is to “get your name out there” or to advertise because the competition does. That way, even if sales tank, you can sit back and say, “I did my job.”
Sabotage Tip 2: Put the goal where the ball lands. With a little practice, anyone can learn to retrofit objectives to results. Soon after a VP of marketing proudly showed me a new sales video, it became apparent that the video appealed to employees, but offended customers. No problem. The VP promptly claimed that the video was never intended for sales, but for training. George Orwell would have been proud.
Sabotage Tip 3: Write and design for internal approval. Authorize as many people as possible to revise or, better yet, outright veto creative work. This will ensure that creative people avoid trying to connect with the market. Instead, they will focus on creating what is sure to fly internally.
Sabotage Tip 4: It’s all about what YOU want. A major coffeehouse chain lost customers for years by refusing to fill the demand for lattes made with nonfat milk. Why did they resist? Because the CEO liked coffee the way it was made in Italy, and Italian baristas don’t use nonfat milk. Darned customers. What makes them think they should have a say in what they want in their coffee?
Sabotage Tip 5: Misuse research. Herd a bunch of people into a focus group and ask them to evaluate your campaign. Treat their comments, especially the ones you like, as if they’re statistically valid. You can also phone 5,000 people and ask them what they do, don’t, would and wouldn’t buy, and why. Assume they know.
Sabotage Tip 6: Don’t listen to your salespeople. The only thing that salespeople do is interact face-to-face, every day, with real customers who use your products. What would they know about marketing?
Sabotage Tip 7: If it’s wild and creative, go with it. If you have a killer concept that’s destined to take top honors at the next awards show, it would be a sin not to back it with your budget. Who cares whether it’s effective? It deserves to be shared!
Sabotage Tip 8: Avoid valid evidence. Proper testing and analysis let you reliably predict a direct mail strategy’s outcome before risking big bucks. But if nature had intended for us to conduct valid, predictive tests, we wouldn’t have hips to shoot from. Showing the concept to coworkers, friends, family and people in a mall, though not predictive, is faster and easier. And, only in the short run, cheaper.
Sabotage Tip 9: Don’t trust your agency. Your agency may have experts on staff, but you can still hobble them by overruling their expertise with your intuition. You can also focus on minutiae. For instance, make the art director change a border on that mail piece from black to dark blue.
Sabotage Tip 10: Trust your agency. Not trusting experts is self-sabotage, but so is trusting non-experts. Many agencies, figuring they can affix stamps as well as anyone, list “direct response marketing” as a core capability. If you are firmly committed to failure, this is no time for due diligence. Just hand them the checkbook.
Sabotage Tip 11: Mistake a slogan for a brand. Imagine a person who is fast losing friends. This person might do well to take an honest look, figure out what alienates people and make changes. But substance is such a bother. Surely this person could more easily regain friends by learning to say something like, “Hi, I’m Alex—where coolness is Number One.”
Sabotage Tip 12: Disdain proven techniques. For nearly two centuries, direct response marketers have amassed information on what works in the marketplace. Moreover, experience shows that what worked yesterday works today. But learning all that stuff is tedious, and using it might hamper your creativity. Mustn’t let that happen.
There are many ways to sabotage marketing, but this should give you a good start. If you fail to implement these recommendations, don’t come whining to me if your marketing succeeds.
