Mini Car, Giant Voice: A Look at the Mini Cooper's Advertising

I think that there is a contest among all car manufacturers and advertising agencies to see how many boring, uninspiring, and cliche ads that they can produce. So far, I'd say that they are well on their way to a new record. Man, I am tired of seeing the same old car ads that show the car driving somewhere, then at the end just showing the most flattering view of the car and stapling a tag line on the screen or page. Half of the time I can't even tell you what car it is until the brand name is shown, and if I were either the car company or the agency producing the ad, I would think that that sort of reaction to what you are putting out would raise some sort of a red flag. Don't you? Now, of course some ads are more interesting and unique than others but I just feel that the whole car-ad world is becomming irreversibly monotonous...until the MINI came along!

I LOVE the Mini ads. They are so proficient at grabbing people's attention and creating an entire unique experience simply from an immovable, yet suggestive visual. Combined with a few guerrilla marketing tactics, Mini has implemented the most interesting, engaging, and out-of-the-box advertisements that I have seen. And just when I was giving up on car commercials and ads, Mini brought me back.

They already have an untraditional style and appearance from what us American car consumers are used to seeing and experiencing..."experience" being the key word here. That is how Mini has positioned itself in the market. They are selling an experience, rather than useless features or a sleek body, and their advertisements depict that flawlessly. Let me show you a few examples of what and how Mini is doing this:

  

How cool are these? Can you think of another car brand that you have seen a previous ad for that could fill this space that Mini has taken over? I sure can't. From the "moving" billboard to the caged Mini to the personalized driving messages, Mini is invading the minds of its consumers. While although it is still a car and it needs to have certain functional and operational benefits or else a consumer will not buy it, Mini is showing off these functions in a totally different way. They are creating an entire experience with each ad that pretty much any consumer can relate to and it's so refreshing to see. Keep it up Mini! I think we all can learn a lesson from these Mini ads. Don't settle for what everyone else is doing because that is how you get looked over and forgotten. Dare to be different, dare to be wild, dare to be YOU! No matter how "mini" you may seem, you can always have a giant voice.


Check out some of the other past Mini ads:
http://inventorspot.com/articles/mini_cooper_no_small_advertising_6530

What Are You REALLY Getting From Your Advertising?

I have thoroughly enjoyed my time so far studying marketing and advertising here at school and it is the field that I want to build a career on someday. Learning the ins and outs of what lies behind truly great advertising and marketing strategies is rewarding and extrememly beneficial to me. I stumbled across an article on The Brand Builder Blog the other day and I had to share what I read. The article was about Proctor and Gamble (P&G) and how they are being pressured by shareholders to look deeply into their advertising behaviors due to recent sub-par quarterly numbers. P&G CEO, Bob McDonald's seat is 'heating up" as a result and is forced to find a cause, or more importantly a remedy, for the current situation. P&G is the world's largest marketer and the recent spending on advertising mixed with a decline in sales is making a lot of people unhappy; not to mention the 1,600 employees that have been laid off. The article is lengthy but there were some amazing and thought-provoking realities that were adressed.

The whole article revolved around the concept of advertising and marketing budgets vs. their ROI in terms of sales. In the monster of a trend that is social media, ROI for advertising and marketing camaigns are not being measured by "likes," "tweets," "follows," or "shares." No. P&G's main problem is that these ads and strategies are not resulting in increased sales. The article claims that so many of today's advertising goals have drifted away from the elementary goal of increasing sales and is now more concerned with public perceptions and making as many "impressions" on consumers as possible. This simply is not good enough, especially by a goliath company such as P&G. It needs sales and lots of them. P&G's "spend more, sell more" approach to advertising has gotten them in trouble, although this concept is not without some past merit, it cannot be applied across all landscapes. For example, in just the past two years, P&G's ad spend budget increased by 24%, which is great but how much of an increase in sales to you think P&G experienced? Double digits? Nope. As a result of the increase in spending, P&G saw only a 6% increase in sales.

It is more clear today than ever before that communications channels have changed, along with technology. Consumers have access to more information than ever before and are more informed and smarter than any time in history. Now, P&G has obviously had success in the past when dealing with these extreme cultural shifts. Just look at the success of the Old Spice advertisements through viral videos and word of mouth, for example. Success can obtained, it's just a matter of finding the formula for consistency.

Back to the concept of impressions vs. sales, which is at the root of P&G's issues in my opinion. The article deciphered the two concepts perfectly:  "Impressions are not transactions. Sharing content isn't buying...Stick to numbers that matter:  Spend and sales." While impressions and perceptions are extremely important to establish and use to build equity for a company, they are not the necessary metrics on which to assess success of advertising. Sales is. Lastly, the article illustrated a scenario that really drove home the main idea:  Which campaign would you rather choose?

Campaign A - Cost:  $2,000,000. Revenue:  $20,000,000
Campaign B - Cost:  $50,000.  Revenue:  $20,000,000
Campaign C - Cost:  $50,000. Impressions:  100,000.  Revenue:  unknown.

Ask yourself which on of these campaigns you would hang your career on come reporting time?

Got Chocolate Milk?

Last week, our class was visited by Kelly Fisher from the got milk? campaign. Their new marketed idea that has already been launched is about chocolate milk and its benefits in terms of post workout rehabilitation and recovery. This was actually the first time that I have seen or heard of any of these ads so it was quite interesting to learn about it in class.

We talked about the planning and research that was behind the campaign and discussed the process of how they took the idea and made it into a creative communication. After talking about this process throughout the semester so far, it was fun and helpful to look at a real-life example and be able to analyze all of the aspects of the campaign with some knowledge of what to look for. There were some aspects of the campaign that were very unique and innovative, but it also had some aspects that required more attention. With competitors such as Gatorade and Muscle Milk, standard chocolate milk has some work to do in order to take over some of the consumers' perceptions about what they use to treat their body after a workout. Gatorade and Muscle Milk are heavily manufactured and scientifically formulated to aid the body during the recovery stage of a workout, but chocolate milk argues that whatever Gatorade and Muscle Milk give your body, chocolate milk comes with it already in stock. Chocolate milk has all of the necessary ingredients to help your body already inside of it and does not need a lab to concoct it.

The best part of the class was going through each of the creative team's ideas and evaluating them based on what was outlined in the brief. With so many competitors, chocolate milk has a very tough task when it comes to making sure this campaign is and remains completely integrated and consistent. If they produce an advertisement in which the chocolate milk could easily be replaced with a Gatorade logo, then they must go back to the drawing boards. Finding that "white space" in the consumers' minds is so difficult to do. After evaluating the creatives on consistency, the message, integration, and aesthetic parameters, we were then asked to choose which one we thought was themost effective communication for chocolate milk.

The "My After" idea was the communication idea that they chose to go with. This highlights the personalization aspect of how each person individually chooses to treat their bodies after their particular workouts. This campaign utilizes both professional athletes and also "regular" people to show that chocolate milk is effective for even the most renowned athletes, but also it is just as effective and beneficial for the "weekend runners" and heavy lifters that are working out just to make themselves feel good. This was a great experience to have in class and it was beneficial to assess a real-life creative process. It has made me think outside the box a little bit when it comes to what I do after workouts. Rather than just reaching for the most popular Gatorade bottle and drinking because some scientists say its good for me, I may turn towards the more natural solution that is chocolate milk. Plus its delicious!

Mama "Mio!"

Last year, Kraft Foods Group launched Mio, a nationally marketed "liquid water enhancer." Its introduction to the market left many skeptical about its quality and purpose, including myself. But the seemingly hesitant consumer attitude has proven to not be as strong as what we may think. Within the first 52 weeks of its introduction, Mio had over $140 million in sales, a number that continues to grow and it expected to double in the next year. Despite all of the doubts and harsh critics, Mio has become one of the leading products in the bevarage enhancer category which has gotten the attention of other major food and beverage companies.

Mio's strategy is rooted in the fact that it is the millenium product; a new-age beverage enhancer for the individuals in our society and those who value the ability to customize many aspects of their lives. Mio gives the consumer freedom by allowing them to choose the flavor, amount, and application of the product to their beverages and even some foods. Whether you like a lot of flavor or just a hint, Mio delivers.

Mio's target and objective are very clear and concise and when you think about it, very clever and practical. Until now, one of the only products that offered enhancements to your water were Crystal Light packets and tea bags. Mio has brought a new and refreshed look to the simple and necessary act of drinking water. Its small container and portability enhances the ability to customize the consumers' water quickly, easily, and while on the go. Kraft has added and extention to the product line by introducing two new flavors with caffiene for a quick and delicious boost of energy. With the fast-paced lifestyles of today's "millenials," the energy line is a very smart move by Kraft.

Since Mio's birth, other companies have been keeping their eye on its success. Coca-Cola is one of those companies. This fall, the most recognizable brand on the planet plans to release its own line of beverage enhancers, called Dasani Drops, under the Dasani sub-brand. Hmmm, I wonder how they came up with this idea! If you looked up the terms "desperate", "panic", or "copy-cat" in the dictionary, Dasani Drops would be there. This is such a typical and predictable move by Coca-Cola and it is a move that I think consumers are too smart to dive into. Mio better be hiring some good lawyers and patenting the you-know-what out of their product to prevent the bully that is Coca-Cola from copying Mio and taking market share.

Reading this article devalued Coca-Cola in my mind. While it is a necessary business move that Coca-Cola is taking, I have just always been one to root for the underdog. I have not yet tried Mio but be assured that I will, and will continue to support their fight against Dasani Drops and other imitation products. A good idea deserves to be preserved, and that good idea is Mio.


http://adage.com/article/news/kraft-s-smash-product-mio-attracts-rival-coke-s-dasani/238110/

What is a Car Company?

Recently I have seen the new Firestone Tires commercial on television and rather than tuning out or changing the channel, as I often do when another boring and redundant (and sometimes misleading) car commercial comes on, this one made me listen. The opening line just grabbed my attention:  "There's only one car company in America that's never made a single car." It left me thinking and wanting to know how that is possible and I asked myself, "What is a car company?'

Now, although I drive a steel grey (that is fading) 1986 Volkwagon Quantum with 13-inch wheels that could be used as training wheels, I am very interested in cars. Also, throughout my time in college studying marketing and advertising, I have been reduced to having little faith in the automobile marketing world, or scheme if you prefer that I'm honest. Car commercials are all about saying what is flashy and attention-grabbing while disguising all of the downfalls. This Firestone commercial, however, just struck my as being boldly honest and confident, and that was kind of refreshing for me and maintained my attention.

 

 

The message in this ad is crystal clear:  if you drive cars for their performance and "value your car because of what you do with it," make sure that you are getting all of the performance that you can possibly get by putting Firestone tires on your car.

The problem that Firestone could be facing is that the majority of people use their car strictly as a means of transportation to get from point A to point B. And because of this, those people do not value or take the time to search for the best tires, they simple go with what is the cheapest. Cutting back on expenses is the new trend and necessary action in this country with the state of the economy and Firestone wants to make sure that people don't "cut back" on the love for their cars and their driving experiences along with it.

What Firestone is trying to do with this ad is to reinstill the attitude that driving is fun and that you should enjoy, take care of, and experience your car for all that it is worth and that you should not hold it back. With their expert knowledge and passion for cars, even though they don't manufacture the cars that you drive themselves, they are still a "car company."

I have known that Firestone makes tires but this is really the first advertisement that I remember seeing for Firestone, and in my opinion, it is very powerful and will resonate with the consumers. So as the "new car smell" and the paint start to fade from your cars, make sure that the performance and the thrill of driving doesn't fade with it.

Wings. Beer. Sports.

"Wings, beer, and sports." What else could a sports fan want? Those are the essentials for enjoying any team, any game, any time. And can you guess who created this simple, yet so thorough tagline? Yup. Buffalo Wild Wings, a.k.a. B-Dubs. Sports is a common language that can be spoken between any person today and it can even bring mortal enemies under the same roof. Sports are such a fixture in today's society and almost every person can relate to or understand the rollercoaster of emotions and the amount of pressure and excitement that they can deliver. There are countless restaurants or bars that try to capitalize on this, one of them being B-Dubs. So, before its creation, where does the idea for a restaurant and "hang out" spot like this come from? What is at the heart of B-Dubs?

What may be the problem or pain that this place can solve?

People spend days, sometimes weeks, anticipating a big sporting event. Whether it is their favorite team that they have so loyally loved for years or just simply the love of the sport, people take sports very seriously. They often arrange parties and events around sports and it is a special time that people and friends can come together and share an experience. However, most people dread the preparation, planning, time-consuming chores, and ultimately dealing with the aftermath and destruction that one of these said parties can manifest. The effort and coordination is enough to deter some people from setting these events up so they just may never happen.

What is the objective of B-Dubs?

B-Dubs wants to provide the atmosphere, food, social-belonging, and excitement back to the art of watching sports. Since many people take these games so seriously, they want a place that can allow them to be expressive about their team, serve them the best sports food known to man, and a place that they can bring their whole rowdy crew to enjoy the game together. They want you to forget about the stresses of planning a party, preparing the food, and dealing with the cleanup. They want to make watching the games about the games themselves, not any of the extracurriculars. Just sports.

Who do they want to come to B-dubs?

Any and all sports fanatics. The "wear my jersey to work" fans. The face-painted and die hard people that only have their teams success and lives in their hearts. Those who win and lose as their team wins and loses. The trash-talkers, bet-makers, high-fivers, and fist-pumpers. The superstitionists that believe all of their actions instill greatness in their teams. No matter what name is one their jersey, they love the meaning of sports and like to share it with other fanatics.

The essentials?

Wings. Beer. Sports. Period.