Marketing Brands: Coca-Cola and Apple

While studying for today's prelim I came across an article featured on the Yahoo.com homepage talking specifically about brands. The real story is the fact that Coca-Cola is no longer the world's most valuable brand, having been "dethroned" by Apple. The change in the rankings follows a 13-year streak for Coca-Cola and estimates the value of the soda-maker at $79.2 billion, while Apple has a brand value of nearly $98.3 billion.

Of note is the fact that Google moved into the number two spot on this list, up from fourth last year. Five of the top ten brands are technology firms, further solidifying the increasing role of such companies in our everyday lives.

When we think about some of these specific brands, what comes to mind? What images and feelings are invoked and how does that relate back to a company's success?

Here's the link to the original story:
http://finance.yahoo.com/news/apple-passes-coca-cola-most-232758587.html

Information from the "Informal Economy"

I found another interesting TEDtalk (I think I'm in a TEDtalk binge phase). It's actually a pretty long one about the "informal economy" and piracy. I don't agree with everything the speaker poses, but there was an interesting line that made me think of HADM 2410:

"Now, businesses tend to complain about this, and I don't want to take away from their entire validity of complaining about it, but I did ask a major sneaker manufacturer earlier this year what they thought about piracy, and they told me, 'Well, you can't quote me on this, because if you quote me on this, I have to kill you,' but they use piracy as market research. The sneaker manufacturer told me that if they find that Pumas are being pirated, or Adidas are being pirated and their sneakers aren't being pirated, they know they've done something wrong."

Save the Polar Bear

Discussing in class about Green Marketing, I remembered that this was an advertisement that I thought did very well in terms of catching someone's attention for a cause. I wanted to start a discussion on how effective advertisements like this would be realistically in persuading people from using less toilet paper.


Also, if anyone is interested in saving polar bears...

WorldWildLife is an organization whose mission is "to conserve nature and reduce the most pressing threats to the diversity of life on Earth."

404 Pages and Marketing

I just happened to stumble across this short clip today -- 404 Pages becoming a new relationship building opportunity. Those dead-links that used to make companies seem uncaring and unprofessional are starting to turn from unappealing black-and-white sites into relatable, laughable, and sometimes wittily put expressions that tell readers companies know what they are going through with a 404. While I think I would still be put off by deadlinks, I think this is a pretty smart move and would appreciate the extra thoughts and brand personalities for the extra laugh or two.

http://www.ted.com/talks/renny_gleeson_404_the_story_of_a_page_not_found.html

What does the fox say? - Abercrombie & Fitch

Personally, I find this aversive. Many of these scenes are much too overtly sexual and this video only makes the already declining public opinion of this brand even worse.

http://www.adweek.com/adfreak/abercrombie-fitch-covers-what-does-fox-say-mind-blowing-parody-152671

Pepsi vs. Coca-Cola & Chobani

Pepsi's mocking commercials are great examples of market challenger strategy.

Chobani's Chobani | Kitchen infomercials very successfully reflect their mission and differentiation. This is one of my favorites:

Bing vs Google

Here is an example of a market challenger (bing) attempting to attack the market leader (google).

While I find the video cute and catchy, I think bing failed to really accomplish anything. The advertisement did not place enough emphasis on the new roll over video feature, thus failing in their attempt to look better than google.

Chipotle's New Ad Campaign

Last week in class, we discussed Chipotle's marketing strategy to differentiate it's products from other companies. By focusing on freshness and high customizability, the company has been extremely successful with the growing demographic of people who are health conscious and environmentally aware. Recently, the company has come out with a new online ad campaign that has been described as  "the most beautiful, haunting infomercial you'll ever see." After watching it, I can definitely agree! The video definitely appeals to the senses and raises social awareness. 

There are a billion reasons to believe in Africa

Inspired by coca-cola commercial we saw in class today i remembered this commercial broadcasted in Africa last year or early 2013. Coca-Cola's marketing campaign in Africa especially East Africa is geared towards Maintaining  peace in the region. Soda is often seen as a celebratory drink or something you share when you have friends over in East Africa and i feel these commercials are just trying to highlight that fact, along the lines that the next time you have a small victory you need to drink Coke.

For those that wondered who the most admired person was they were talking about Nelson Mandela. Also below is another commercial with a similar concept. However i don't like this as much as the previous one.

On the ESPN Homepage for college football, you can see advertisements for Cooper Tires. If there's one thing that blue collared guys from rural areas care more about than football, it's their tires.

Virgin Mobile Blinkwashing

I'm surprised I haven't seen more interactive campaigns/commercials like this. Then again, it does come across as quite frivolous. If you know of any I would be really interested to see them.

What are your thoughts?

http://www.youtube.com/user/virginmobileusa

- Denay Mack

This is similar to some videos we watched in class yesterday and is great example of a market challenger.

Coca-Cola Twitter Commercials

http://mashable.com/2013/09/09/coke-ad-live-tweets/

We've all watched live shows where you can tweet and potentially see those tweets pop up on the screen, but how about on commercials?  In Romania, Coca-Cola has started a campaign where tweets can appear real-time in their commercials.  They are connected with the hashtag #LetsEatTogether.  With this hashtag they are trying to stress the idea of family dinners, as many people apparently eat alone in front of their screens.  While most companies are learning to incorporate social media more into their campaigns, it is extremely interesting how this is translating to live commercials.  The video in the link explains more about the campaign and how it works.  I found this campaign to be a very innovative and seemingly effective approach to marketing, as many people would love to see their tweets come up on television

Great New Chipotle Marketing Campaign

TrueMove Communications Commercial

Video: This Three Minute Commercial Puts Full-Length Hollywood Films to Shame

TrueMove Communications tackles the organizational mission of their business by connecting their company values to an inspiring story. The anecdotal aspect of the commercial connects to the audience on a personal level by portraying itself as more than a TV, internet, and wireless provider. Rather, it establishes the importance of communication and the company's continual belief in "the power of giving without expecting a return."

Guinness Wheelchair basketball Ad

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xwndLOKQTDs

 

Guinness has recently launched a new heartwarming commercial. The commercial follows an intense wheelchair basketball game, and in the last quarter of the commercial the video takes the viewer on an unexpected route, when all but one of the men in wheelchairs stands up and unbuckles himself from the seat. The narrator of the commercial says the following: “Dedication. Loyalty. Friendship. The choices we make reveal the true nature of our character.” I find this commercial to be interesting because Guinness is taking a very different direction than most other beer commercials that usually rely on humor to draw in an audience and customers. Secondly, this also is very relevant to our discussion about missions and values in class. Guinness chose three words to incorporate in the commercial, “Dedication, loyalty, and friendship.” They chose values that are unrelated to the product, but rather to hone in on feelings, emotions, and a sense of community.

Nudge Marketing

NYTimes article: How grocers may help us eat more veggies

Left, right, eye level, end of aisle... small details affect how we shop. I am particularly intrigued by the finding that consumers participating in the study were nudged, but still mindful of their budgets: produce sales went up, total sales remained constant. This suggests that consumers may be driven to healthier eating habits.

Extra's new commercial - Origami

Extra, the gum company, just recently launched this commercial, which definitely tries to tap into the consumer's emotions. Rather than the gum, this commercial seems centered on the father-daughter relationship enriched by the paper crane gum wrappers that were gifts or pick-me-ups for his daughter as she grew up. I personally think it is inventive and effective because they are no longer just relying on the physical/sensory attributes of the gum, but the experience that comes along with it.

Other thoughts?