Post #10 International Advertising-Does Virgin Mobile go too far?

I was checking youtube again for this weeks blog post on international advertising and came across this one commercial by Virgin Mobile in India. I am always looking for a good laugh, and this one is funny, but It definitely goes to far for advertising on network TV. I don’t know what the response to this add has been in India, but I strongly doubt it would be aired in the US.

Virgin Mobile is currently available in Australia, Chile, Canada, Columbia, France, India, Poland, South Africa, the United Kingdom, and United States. Virgin Mobile was launched in India in 2011. I am not surprised by Virgin Mobile’s decision to expand their products and services to India, which in recent years has been experiencing an emerging middle class and younger demographic. The always interesting founder of Virgin Mobile, Sir Richard Branson, thrill-seeker adventurer philanthropist billionaire, who has the ability to turn ideas into reality. Richard Branson is a business tycoon of the Virgin group.

Companies are aware of the opportunities that exist in foreign markets to market their brand internationally and grow sales. US companies must analyze the foreign market before even deciding to compete in that market. Factors such as: the economic environment, the demographic environment, the cultural environment, and the political environment.
Their are many advantages for companies to develop a global marketing strategy, and they are:1)economies of scale in production and distribution, 2)lower marketing and advertising costs,3)lower advertising production costs,4) Ability to capitalize on good ideas on a worldwide basis, 5) a consistent international brand, and 6) simplification of coordination and control of marketing and promotional programs.

This Virgin Mobile ad leads me to believe that that specific commercial was chosen for India, possibly because that was determined to be appropriate to their target market, in terms of demographic and cultural environment? I do understand the need to do that for marketing purposes, but at what point does it go from being appropriate for that group to being just too risqué? I was curious so I checked other Virgin Mobile ads in India, and they all are fairly similar as far as being borderline inappropriate.

Who knows…maybe this is their strategy of getting attention in a very competitive market?

Post #9 Corporate Advertising

So, this weeks blog post was challenging for me. Normally, I can easily find an example for the topic of our blog and write about it…NOT this week! I was looking, but I just was not finding anything, so I went to Youtube.

ConocoPhillips and fly-fishing ; I had to choose this one. I think as far as image advertising goes, this is a great example. I don’t think there is probably any one industry more than the oil and gas industry that needs an image overhaul, especially with gas closing in on $4.00 a gallon and all the environmental concerns. ConocoPhillips specializes in exploration and production of oil and natural gas.

The goal of corporate advertising is to promote the firm and improve its image, rather than any one product or service. There are a variety of types of corporate advertising. 1) Image advertising’s goal is to create goodwill both internally and externally. 2)Event sponsorships are when a company develops a marketing-oriented sponsorship relations with an event or concert.3) Advocacy advertising addresses social, business,  or environmental issues. The company or organization is concerned with propagating ideas on social issues, rather than promoting the organization itself.  Issue ads fall into this category and I believe that issue ads are a powerful tool that brings attention to any issue. The example of the Humane Society creating an issue ad to get Trader Joe’s to stop buying non-cage free eggs made a huge impact. 4) Cause-related advertising is  when a company partners with charity  or non-profit as contributing sponsors. This a win-win for both the company and the charity.

Some of the advantages of corporate advertising include,  an excellent way to position the firm,  it takes the benefits from public relations, and the ability of reaching the target market. Disadvantages are questionable effectiveness and ethics.

This ConocoPhillips  ad /video of the grandpa and grandson trout fishing  while talking about alternative fuel solutions is,  what I think, a classic case of one organization’s  attempt to enhance its image in the eyes of the public. Is it possible for a company such as ConocoPhillips to communicate and possibly change the public’s mind that they are a company committed to protecting the environment and exploring for oil and natural gas at the same time? I don’t know if that’s possible, but look at the position they are in. Most of the world has become dependent on energy and oil for almost everything we do and have, somebody ( or company) needs to make the investment to bring the product to market

Post #8 Ravelry…Even Non-knitters think it’s cool!

Knitting… it isn’t just for grandmothers anymore.

I can’t tell you how many times I have gone out of my way to not have to sew, knit, crochet, or do anything like that at all. I just have never been interested in that kind of stuff, until I began researching Ravelry. Ravelry brings together yarn artists and resources on a single networking website. Ravelry allows  knitters, crocheters, spinners, and weavers to share ideas and find inspiration. Members, which range from  hobbyists to professional dealers,, can find patterns, keep notes on projects, see what others are making, and  keep track of their yearn. Ravelry’s members can create their “notebook,” which organizes their projects, yarn stash, needle inventory sheet, patterns,  and other resources. All of the content on Ravelry is user-driven.

Ravelry was founded in 2007 by Jessica and Casey Forbes. Their dog, Bob, is the Ravelry mascot. Ravelry has over 3 million registered users and membership is free.  Ravelry has 53,563 followers on Twitter (@ravelry) and a blog. There is also a mobile site.  Wooley is their Apple iOS app, and Ravulous is their Android app.

Advertising  for your business on Ravelry can be very lucrative. Ravelry offers advertisers a very clear target audience to promote their products. Additionally,   Ravelry gives advertisers flexibility, reasonable prices,  good exposure, and a captive audience. There are several advertising options to choose from: 1) Marketplace, is a business-card style ad that can appear in fiber-related categories and it is also inexpensive. 2) Forum banners display at the bottom of each page in forum discussion treads, it is also inexpensive and high traffic. 3) Group banners, which are the same as forum banners, but are geared toward groups, 4) Feature pattern is a prominent spot to showcase your pattern, and  5) Feature yarn is a prominent spot to showcase your yarn.

The buzz online about Rivelry is mostly positive.  The issues or challenges that I could find for Ravelry was that they have competition from other sites that offer a larger variety of free patterns and they have limited resources when it comes to technology, especially for their apps.

All in all, Ravelry is a really cool niche social network for the yarn enthusiasts. Ravelry is a tight-knit community (no pun intended) that has enabled people who share the same passion for yarn to connect with one another. Who knows, I just might become a knitter, when I’m done with school, of course.

Post #7 Yeah! My Penzeys Catalog is Finally Here.

Welcome to the wonderful world of Penzeys. A catalog devoted to every spice and seasoning you could possibly need from A-Z. I always enjoy my Penzeys catalog and especially appreciate the coupon for a free sample of the featured spice of the month in every issue.
In addition to Penzeys, I also get direct mail from Lane Bryant, Cub Foods, Rainbow, Aldi, Byerly’s, credit card companies, mortgage companies, and the list goes on and on and on…
By email , I get Walgreens, CVS, Target, and Groupon to name a few.
Typically, any ads that have a coupon or a free offer gets my attention and a direct response is sure to follow, which is normally a sale.
Lastly, I need to mention Infomercials, one of my guilty pleasures. Every once in a while I enjoy zoning out for a while in the world of Infomercials. I particularly like to watch Infomercials for food gadgets and cleaning products. Perhaps it’s the demonstrations or the problem/solution aspect that compels me to watch. Eventually, the excitement of “buy now in the next 10 minutes and we’ll throw in a…” takes over and I grab the phone and make the purchase. My most recent purchases have been the Shark Vacuum and the Magic Bullet.
I know I am the target market for these advertisers. I do fall in their demographic of a married female, mean age of 45, Caucasian, working full time with an annual household income of at least $55,000 per year. It is clear to me that this advertising medium is very effective.
The direct selling approach is also effective for me. I like to go the party plans, such as PartyLite and Pampered Chef. I will usually always buy something at those parties.
There are many advantages to direct marketing which include: selective reach, segmentation capabilities, frequency, testing, timing, personalization, costs, and measure of effectiveness. Some disadvantages include: image factors, accuracy, content support, rising costs, and do not contact lists.

The field of direct marketing is extremely versatile and offers many different types of companies a powerful promotional tool. I think direct marketing will continue to grow rapidly.

Post #6 Kemps…it’s the Cows.

There is no need to be alarmed, I did take this picture while I was driving. I drove by this truck near the Kemps distribution center near my house in Minneapolis.

This is an example of support media further categorized as transit advertising, a form of out-of-home advertising. Transit advertising is targeted to the millions of people who commute everyday. Transit advertising includes: buses, taxis, commuter trains, and subways. Transit advertising remains to be an effective medium for advertising. There are three types of transit advertising: inside cards, outside posters, and station, platform or terminal posters. Like any other medium, there are advantages and disadvantages to transit advertising. The advantages are exposure and frequency. The disadvantages are reach and mood of the audience.

The ad on this truck for Kemps is visually appealing and familiar. Most everyone has heard the slogan, “the secret to Kemps is the cows.” This add reinforces their message of the cows and local family farms. I think it’s only logical that Kemps, or any other company, would advertise on their trucks, when moving their products to market-it’s free advertising!

Post #5 Clinique and Candy?

So, there is one huge advantage of going to my dentist. It’s not they way they clean my teeth or that they give me a free toothbrush and floss…it’s the table after table of magazines fanned out in the waiting room! I’m not kidding, everything from Woman’s World to Reader’s Digest. It makes my waiting time actually enjoyable. I don’t subscribe to any magazines and seldom purchase them ( I just can’t justify the expense) however, for this assignment, I thought I would browse for a while. Because I am a foodie, I am always drawn to food magazines. I picked up the April 2013 issue of Food Network Magazine.

The Food Network Magazine is a monthly gourmet food entertainment consumer magazine that made its debut in 2008. Although it started out as just a magazine sold in stores, it is now available through a subscription. It is estimated that this magazine reaches 3.5 million people and has a total circulation of almost 1,500,000 readers. This magazine, as with any other magazine, has the ability of reaching their target market because of selectivity. Selectivity is the main advantage of using magazines as an advertising medium. Other reasons advertisers would choose to advertise in magazines include: reproduction quality, creative flexibility, permanence, and prestige. Permanence is very important for  advertisers. Unlike TV and radio, which are characterized as having a fleeting message,  magazines have a long life span.

I chose this Clinique  ad for my blog assignment for a few reasons. First, this ad’s reproduction quality helps make this ad visually appealing. The high quality paper, bright colors, and contrasting white background give it a dramatic effect. Second, the creative use of bleed pages also grabs your attention. I think it’s clever how this ad specifically , of wrapping Clinique’s Chubby Stick Shadow in colored paper, to look like candy, fits so well with  Food Network Magazine. What a perfect way of delivering a message of Clinique products in a food magazine to their target market. Third, I also think Clinique really capitalizes on the permanence factor. Especially in a food magazine full of recipes and cooking tips, would a reader keep their magazine as reference.

As I mentioned previously, there are many things that make this ad work. I think this ad breaks through the clutter and draws you in, well, at least it drew me in. The creativity of this ad in this particular magazine work so well together at delivering a message to their target market. I believe the target market, in this case, is me. So I would have to say that Clinique, through Food Network Magazine, was effective at getting my attention and a possible sale.

Post #4 Marvelous Mayhem

Boy, there are a lot of bad commercials on TV these days! . I have mastered the art of zapping, so I can pretty much avoid most of the commercials on TV. I must admit, however, there are a few commercials that I consistently enjoy; and they are the Allstate  mayhem commercials. They are all very funny,  but I specifically like the mayhem guard dog commercial. This commercial debut on network television  about a year ago, and according to YouTube, it has been viewed by choice over 97, 000 times.

From on advertising perspective, this commercial is used to deliver their message to a very large and broad target market, basically anybody who needs insurance.  Allstate has 30 seconds to cut through the clutter and get your attention. I think this commercial successfully does just that. If  not, why would anybody go on YouTube and search for it? Everyone that I talked to about this commercial or have watched it with me, think it is creative and funny. The “mayhem” guy uses a combination of choice words with a commanding tone to deliver a clear picture of what “mayhem” would look like. The mayhem guy as the guard dog is complete with a spiked collar and huge dog bone. This commercial closes with humor as the shock-collar goes off and dramatically throws mayhem down to the ground. The scenario itself is ingenious. The combination of audio and visual work in perfect harmony to deliver a dramatic and cohesive message.

I think that Allstate’s mayhem dog commercial is effective with delivering a creative and funny message that grabs your attention that keeps you engaged. You actually want to find out what happens next, and I think that is rare for a TV commercial.

Whether or not this creative 30 second commercial translates into increased sales or revenue for Allstate is the question?

Post #3 Creative Strategy-Target

Everyone knows Target, but the question is, does everybody shop at Target? Come to think of it,  I don’t know anybody that doesn’t shop at Target.

Through their marketing strategy, Target, with its bright red bullseye,  has been able to build one of the most recognizable and well-respected brands in the U.S. Target is synonymous with trendy, style, and value.  Target has positioned itself as the leader in the upscale discount retail segment. Target guests know to, “Expect More, Pay Less.”

What differentiates Target from some of their competitors, is that Target offers a vast array of product offerings. Target guests know they can pick up just about everything from paper towels  to expensive jewelry , all under one roof. Target has strategically partnered  with top designers and celebrity chefs to be able to  provide their customers with trendy clothing and cookware at reasonable prices. The Target/Starbucks partnership, that enables me to enjoy a cup of coffee while shopping, is most important to me!

Target, through their creative advertising strategy, is able to convey their differentiation in the discount market segment. I believe Target’s advertising creativity and process includes elements of divergence and relevance. Divergence because Target utilizes originality and artistic value and relevance with their use of celebrities/designers that capture interest.  I believe Target has mastered the art of executing their creative strategy through effective communication.

Target’s advertising message focuses on  both informational/rational and emotional appeals. Target recognizes that something as functional and boring as laundry soap, can have an emotional appeal. Their creative execution is presented in several different ways that include: straight/factual message, slice of life, personality symbol, humor, imagery and a combination there of. Target mostly uses non-personal channels of communication through mass media to reach their target market. Some of their tactics used include print ads, billboards, and TV commercials. Target’s ads are  bright, cheery, informative, and in red-their signature color. Target’s TV commercials are creative and grab your attention. They are visually appealing with bright colors, symbols and celebrities.  The audio component of the commercials fist perfectly with what is on-screen. The musical composition is tempo and contemporary. A perfect example of this is the commercial I saw last night. It is a feel-good commercial with great music! Together, the audio and visual deliver a clear message of Target, as a brand, and their product offerings.  Their website is a great tool used to display their product offerings to their customers.

Another interesting tactic that Target has used to further promote their brand is through corporate sponsorship and community outreach, especially in the Twin Cities. Target Field, Target Center, and their pledge to give back 5% to local schools, are just a few examples of this.

So, basically what it comes down to is that, Target is able to effectively communicate the right product to the right person using the right medium. I consider Target’s success and customer loyalty proof of that.

Extra Credit: Vine

Vine  is a six-second video app by Twitter available on iPhone and iPod Touch. The basic idea is to create a fun and quick short film to share on social media. The film can be recorded in six seconds continuously or you can stop and start as many times needed within the six-second filming. The video can also record sound. What is unique about Vine is that the video plays over and over in a continuous loop.

I see Vine as a powerful and creative tool to express yourself and/or  your company’s message.

Enjoy the short video demonstration.

Did somebody say Oscars?

Post #2 Did you say spinach and artichoke-stuffed mushroom caps in 30 minutes?

While most people enjoy reading novels, magazines, or newspapers; I, however, enjoy reading my cook books. I have been a foodie for as long as I can remember, so as you can imagine, I have a vast collection of cook books at my disposal. There is one cook book that is set apart from the rest from my collection and is prominently displayed in my cook book stand and it is my, “30 Minutes Meals Get Togethers,”cook book signed by Rachael Ray. This cook book is one of my very favorite things.

It was approximately 10 years ago that I met Rachael Ray at the Mall of America. She gave a cooking demonstration and made her “chili mac,” which is from page 125 from her book. Rachael stayed after the demonstration and signed autographs. So after several hours of waiting, my friend Kristine and I, were able to talk to her and get her autograph. At that time, Rachael Ray was not really well-known and had only 2 shows on Food Network, “30 Minutes Meals” and “$40 a Day.” I asked Rachael if she would consider coming back to the Twin Cities to shoot an episode of “$40 a Day,” and if so, I could give her some suggestions. She thanked me for my suggestions and signed my book and it reads, “Chow Time! Rachael Ray.”

This book has many interesting recipes, and I have tried many of them. I appreciate Rachael’s cooking philosophy of simple ingredients and simple recipes. I also like that this book gives an entire menu for a particular themed meal,  and I am all about themes when it comes to cooking. For example, if you wanted to throw a, “Big Burger Lunch,” beefsteak tomatoes and Vidalia onion salad with steak sauce dressing, outside-in bacon burgers with green onion mayo, and Kahlua chocolate chunk cookies would be on the menu. Sometimes there is a “quick” dessert on the menu, but because Rachael doesn’t like to bake, they are extremely simple. I also don’t like to bake, and I often exclude dessert or just pick something up. Additionally, most meals can be made from start to finish in under 30 minutes.
I don’t believe Rachael Ray is a chef nor has had any “formal” culinary training, however, she has many years of experience working alongside her mother in her restaurant. Her recipes truly cater to both the experienced and inexperienced alike.

My cook book signed by Rachael Ray is one of my favorite things that I have because of my passion for food and that I was able to meet Rachael Ray in the process.

What more could a foodie ask for?