Old Spice – the archetype of THE integrated marketing campaign?
July 2010 in the US was marked by the Old Spice wave. This 72 year-old P&G brand comprehends a large product range, from (grandpa’s, as it is widely perceived) Cologne to deodorants, through body wash products.
The launch
To rebuild a brand awareness and consciousness, Old Spice contracted the agency Wieden + Kennedy to create a new media campaign. A poster campaign was launched and Old Spice first commercial was broadcasted in February 2010 on the main US TV channels during the Super Bowl, THE sports event of the year in the US. Full of humour and charm, this first video won the Grand Prix at the Cannes Lions International Advertising Festival in June 2010.
Companies and brands have been quick to adapt to social marketing principals and delve beyond the banner advertisement. Online communities present a significant opportunity to engage people around a topic they care about. Whilst many brands are building their own communities online such as Nike+, BeingGirl and Lego, human beings will spend their time and attention across multiple communities. So how does a brand capitalize on their own community and participate in other like minded communities?
The video was made by netinfluence at Lift 10 where Maria was giving a workshop about the challenges brands face to edge their way into the sacred space of conversation. Download her presentation on Slideshare and retrieve the pictures of her workshop on our Facebook.
Every person involved in marketing, communications and web like to try and predict the future. The expression 3.0 is already used for the contextual web but have we already exploited all the opportunities that the current technologies offer us? In regard to marketing, the future first passed by the web, blogs and then social media. The latter opened possibilities of direct contacts with the consumers. Thus web-orientated agencies use social media as new direct marketing tools and don’t systematically think they must be opposed to traditional communications tools but rather consider them as being very efficient complements that aren’t necessarily expensive if well used.
At the time of Avatar, of augmented reality, of multiple web identities, etc and in a world where everything seems to become virtual, what place is left for what’s real? The first and most important one, of course.
Most of online successes are but a reflection of reality. Our marketing strategies, now called 2.0 strategies, are based on our emotions, experiences, reactions and not on those of machines or computer programms.
Engaging in a social media strategy is both an opportunity and a risk. As always, when a situation is complex and produces fear, people who doesn’t understand it and use general fear of a catastrophy often know better how to make themselves heard. The lines that follow should help you demonstrate these opposing people that real opportunities exist and that risks are well manageable. Therefore let’s review the main issues:
It’s a frenzy! After some hesitations finally almost every web user realize that the rise of social media is changing their behavior. We won’t repeat it enough: it’s not a revolution but an evolution. Social media should definitely not be treated in a separated silo but we should have a good understanding of how they influence and change all communications and marketing jobs. We should not repeat the same mistakes as at the beginning of the web, when some brands found themselves with two types of communications: an offline and an online.
A very interesting view from Pete Blackshaw, The Nielsen Company, on what to do and how to prepare for the future of online marketing. Responsiveness is key to success, but also being aware of what you need to respond to and planning for what the consumer might do next. Pete suggests “that there is a new accountability standard that has been put on the table by consumers and that may lead to better advertising” . He also cites the Nielsen research that suggests that “consumers trust each other more than they trust advertisers” , ” if advertisers can figure out a way of co creating with consumers, everybody might win”. Brands should be both reactive and proactive in planning for what consumers might do through better websites and better feedback loops.
As the digital shift continues to move marketing communications to more direct and dialogue driven channels companies should adopt a simple methodology in identifying what will work for them and their consumers. The dialogue idea is as unifying concept that aligns relationship or socially driven programs with other communications as a part of an integrated marketing approach. As more participatory channels for consumers are developed the need to establish consistent, non-campaign driven dialogue points becomes critical in the marketing mix. These are not just limited to the direct channels, as we know them; (CRM, DM, email, websites), but really extend across any personal contact that can be associated to the “ brand experience”; customer and consumer services, in store demonstrations, events etc.
A real world experience with a brand is only mirrored in the participatory platforms online and this mirroring reflects the sentiments it arouses in real world conversations. (more…)
One of the more interesting pieces of news I read in the last week was that the Paris-based holding company Publicis Groupe said it has acquired Pour Tout Vous Dire, the French customer relationship management program of a key client, Unilever. While the exact figures have not been disclosed Publicis has obviously seen this as buying a solid media entity that you can build upon. In its original form the CRM program was a direct to consumer magazine that has since morphed into a lifestyle portal online with over 5 million subscribers. (more…)
The behavioral advertising tracking platform Phorm hits the news again last week as the UK ISP Talk Talk followed a move by BT (British Telecom) when they canceled their trial with the company.
It comes as no surprise to me. Phorm has developed technology which collects information on web use in order to serve Internet users with highly targeted adverts and serves ads to people based on their web-browsing behavior. Relying on deep packet inspection, in which every data packet is opened and examined, Phorm builds a profile of consumer’s web-surfing habits. The service surreptitiously tracks and interpolates their behavior without disclosing itself or without asking permission. (more…)
From advertising and brand identity (brand management) to development of information technologies solutions (business intelligence), via web, multimedia & social media, LABEL delivers a fully integrated services offer.
With 60 experts based in Geneva, LABEL not only advises more than 100 customers such as Nestlé, Baume & Mercier, Tag Heuer, CIO, Swissquote, Veolia, Hayek, ..., it conceptualizes, develops and implements business solutions.
Brian Solis, l’un des auteurs de référence dans le domaine des Médias Sociaux, introduit dans son dernier livre, intitulé «Engage», le concept du SRM (Social Relationship Management). L’article qui suit s’inspire fortement d’un article lu récemment sur son blog – www.briansolis.com et que je vous recommande. […]
