Archive for the ‘Insights’ Category

Recently, I was challenged to think of a useless product. Easy, right? Case in point:

Among my first thoughts were trolls, Snuggies, Baby Wee-Wee Dolls, and of course, the Furby. These products were created for a specific reason and purpose, so it’s impossible to call them or any other product completely useless just because they’re not applicable to my lifestyle. Though lately, I have been puzzled by some newer products that have really set the bar low for innovation.

When competition among industries is strong, a company will usually try to differentiate itself. For consumers, competition provides the opportunity for better, higher quality products that hopefully meet and exceed our expectations. So what does a fast food restaurant do in a moment of weakness when the competition overshadows?

Burger King answered this question with their debut cologne, the BK Flame. The BK Flame is nothing like you’ve smelled before. It’s the beefiest, hottest, juiciest cologne you’ll spray on your man when you’re in the mood for meat. This scent is described as, “the scent of seduction with a hint of fame-broiled meat.” Vegetarians, approach at your own risk.

If a burger smelling cologne isn’t something you’re interested in, there are still plenty of products on the market that may be incredibly “useless” to the majority of the population, but for others, may be up to par. The Potty Putter is perfect for those who need an escape from their everyday bathroom routine. The Potty Putter is marketed to help improve putting, and as extra golf practice.

It’s been researched that we spend approximately 1.5 years in the bathroom, so why not make that experience pleasurable with the Potty Putter? Maybe because it’s totally ridiculous and slightly overpriced. But if you think that’s going to stop me from buying it, you’re completely mistaken. The Potty Putter — your 1-star golf resort.

When you go to the course to show off your recently acquired putting skills, you’re going to need some sort of eye protection. To follow with our tacky product theme, giant bug sunglasses probably come to mind.

But we’re taking this a step further with the most patriotic pair. The USA sunglasses scream rodeo-loving, red-white-and-blue-wearing, flag-waving American — for only $208.

Forget that Lake Huron subjects the wearer to severe UV exposure; they look too good to put safety first. These will make their debut at Frontier Days, so I can make sure I am of the caliber to call myself a true American Westerner. Whether that’s something I should strive for is debatable.

The last product I’ve seen pop up that makes quite a case for being beneficial is the “Infant Pillow.” This pillow replicates a parent’s hands on a child. Sure, this seems like a great idea and very comforting for a baby, but I can’t get past the terror I would undergo when I walk into a child’s room to check on him/her and see these hands emerging from the crib. These hands look like they could develop a mind of their own, or at least be the subject in a horror film.

But we can’t focus on things that only pertain to us. After all, what is one person’s trash is another’s treasure, and what may be useless to me may be of extreme benefit to you.

An original product idea is rare. It seems that inspiration is drawn to create products that are similar with only slight differences. However, whether these products are smelly or delicious, beneficial or time-wasting, stylish or strange, or just plain creepy, it’s great marketing that creates a need for the useless.

Lydia Jorden is a marketing intern at Burns Marketing.

In our March 6 entry we defined engagement marketing as a communications technique that enables brands to interact with their customers in meaningful, two-way dialog – when, where, and how the customers want to engage. Great, but what does that mean in real life? Join Tracy Earles, our digital marketing director, as he revisits the topic with a three-minute example of how not to do it.

And in case you’re wondering whether Tracy is a paper dress seamstress in his downtime, no, biking is more his speed. But he’s sitting in front of the Burns’ fashionistas’ entry into the Art Directors Club of Denver’s eighth annual Paper Fashion Show. Our dress took third place.

Every now and then one of the roughly 5,000 ads we’re exposed to in a day make an impact. Whether they make us cry, think, laugh, or miss the halcyon days of our youth, the nine that follow were worth our time.

9. Pampers – Everybody poops. That’s a fact of life – and a best-selling children’s book. Anyway, this Pampers spot rises above the potty humor and focuses instead on the miracle of life without crossing the line from poignant to maudlin.

8. iPad – Apple has given the world incredible technology, but that’s not what they’re selling here. It’s all about the experience. The why. And nobody delivers the why like Apple. What other brand elicits a religious reaction in fans’ brains?

7. Johnson & Johnson’s Campaign for Nursing’s Future – Showing always trumps telling, and this spot is a case in point. From the pace that shifts from the emergency room frenzy to the more subdued scene when the nurse returns to give the patient his good-luck charm, the video captures both the mundane and the meaningful in the world of nursing.

6. Travelers Insurance – A strong concept? Check. Catchy background music? Check. Adorable mutts that inject personality into the exciting world of … insurance? Check. If these ads were about people meeting, falling in love, moving in together, and having babies, I’d have gone to the kitchen for a snack. But dogs (and puppies = BONUS!) keep me in my seat.

5. Jim Beam – Willem Dafoe stars in a liquor ad that looks nothing like a liquor ad. Steeped in deep philosophical thoughts and challenges to make “bold choices,” the spot showcases Dafoe in a number of different careers, from chess player to fashion designer to sumo wrestler. The voiceover notes, “All choices lead you somewhere; bold choices lead you where you are supposed to be.” The implication: those who want to live a bold life choose Jim Beam.

4. Nissan Leaf – What if everything ran on gas? If this ad were any better at depicting a world powered by gas, you’d smell it.

3. Volkswagen Passat – Yes, it’s about the debut of the 2012 Passat, but Mini-Darth steals the show as he tries to exert his powers over an exercise bike, the family dog, and an uncooperative old-school baby doll. Eventually he wins, using the force (and Dad’s stealth remote starter) to fire up the engine. Did I remember the 2012 Passat? Not really. But revisiting an age when dressing up didn’t involve a business suit was fun.

2. Chrysler – Meet the underdog with swagger. This campaign validated Detroit’s flaws and yet, thanks to the puff-up-your-chest undertones of Eminem, made us proud to support a car company vowing to fight its way back to the top of the American manufacturing landscape.

1. Allstate Mayhem – The insurance industry has always been touchy-feely and the Allstate Mayhem ads turn this common approach on its head. Allstate is letting us know that they’ll be here for us when something bad happens. We love that the campaign focuses on the bad and makes us laugh. Chances are you can relate to at least one of the incidents they’ve shown.

Think we missed one? Let us know which ones resonated for you.

On November 7, Google announced with great fanfare that they expanded the Google+ platform to finally provide businesses, brands, and other organizations an official presence on this burgeoning social media channel. For those of you who maintain a Facebook page, you’ll find the creation of a Google+ page to be similar and easy to do, but that’s about where the features and excitement end.

We set up a page for our business on Tuesday, and we shared a collective yawn (Nice URL huh? https://plus.google.com/110082635138004379816/). Now after a week of reading a bunch of flimsy blog posts like “Get your Google+ Page Now” and “5 Tips for Google Brand Pages Success,” I thought I would end the week with a rant.

As a page administrator, I was shocked that they launched brand pages into Google+ with a total lack of rich administrative and analytics features, after all isn’t this Google? There’s no application framework for developers to make customizations to their pages and differentiate the experience from other business. Additionally, you might want to call your lawyer before running any promotions. Apparently Google+ has even more restrictive policies than Facebook. And worst of all, we can’t even make a lousy vanity URL. How are we supposed to get visitors from our next Super Bowl ad to our Google+ page?

There’s nothing that distinguishes the Google+ page offering from Facebook, or a Google+ profile for that matter. So for now, we’ll do little more than syndicate Facebook content to it… when we think about it. I’ve looked at other brands on Google+ and it appears that most are simply “dumping” content from their other social media channels as well, and why blame them? In a perfect world where more people outside of techie types actually used Google+, you might find an audience to differentiate your content for. However, most people I talk with find a trip to “Google+ land” like a walk through Second Life, it’s just not that relevant in the age of Facebook.

I think that Google is demonstrating a complete inability to deliver a coherent integration of their exceptional products into one powerful platform. This launch really shows how isolated the Google development teams must be from one another. Google+ just seems like another product of the Google empire and not an integrated system like we have with Facebook.

I expected more from Google, and as a marketer, couldn’t believe we didn’t get another Zuckerberg moment from a company with such vast engineering and technical prowess. Just a few weeks back, Facebook delivered so many cool features and platform changes that we didn’t know what to mess around with first. This launch was just a complete tease. Google, with all of your resources you can do better. Let’s hope that version 2 is much improved.

Still want to make a Google+ brand page?
How to Create a Google+ Business Page in 5 Simple Steps (HubSpot)

Things to consider with any new social media channel:

• What will the content focus of your Google+ brand page be?
• Will your content on Google+ be different than what you are doing on other channels?
• What technical features are available to build fan interaction?
• How does Google+ work into your overall social media plan?
• Be personal, yet remain true to the voice of your company.
• Do not overtly promote your products or company.
• Demonstrate your expertise.
• Join the conversation. Don’t be afraid to participate, answer questions, or comment on other comments.

The idea of “more for less” is something I can get behind. “Less for more?” Not so much. But that’s just what HERSHEY’S is asking me to do with its aerated HERSHEY’S Kisses Air Delight*, which hit store shelves this summer.

In case you haven’t heard of them, these little treats are the epitome of a marketing challenge. No doubt some executive was looking for a way to trim costs to fatten up the profit margin. “Eureka! We’ll add air, and then sell smaller packages for the same price as the traditional packages.” (Can you hear Dr. Evil cackling?)

Situations in which I might pay extra for air:
• When climbing Mt. Everest
• During a deep-sea diving expedition
• While flying (And I might even pay more if you could strip the airplane-food scent from it.)

Paying extra for gourmet air holes in my chocolate? Oh hell no.

Sure, aerated Kisses are creamy and chewy, and if they fell from the sky I’d probably eat them. But as an astute paying customer, I want my chocolate full fat, full flavor, and maximum density.

If I want air, I’ll chew with my mouth open.

*Disclaimer: Joellen only bought these because she had a coupon.

Before we pass any judgment, let’s be honest. Naming a company or product is exceptionally, extraordinarily difficult. It’s an emotional decision with many important stakeholders. To succeed, you need a proven, step-by-step process that allows everyone to get excited about a great end result.

So with that being said, consider the Doculex example. We at Burns Marketing would strongly advise against naming your new company anything that sounds even remotely like a leading laxative. And we mean anything.

In honor of “Just Say No to PowerPoint Week,” February 7–11, we’d like to share a few humble thoughts on the ubiquitous PowerPoint decks. Just because everyone’s using them, does that really make it right?

1. More isn’t always better: Yes, a picture can be worth a thousand words, but that doesn’t mean you should put five thousand on a slide.

2. Compatibility issues: Mac PowerPoint and PC PowerPoint don’t play well in the sandbox.

3. Transition distraction: Moving graphic elements equal the bright shiny objects that detract from your actual message. And if you don’t actually know what your message is, the shiniest object around won’t save you.

4. Inspired to bore: Filling the slide with all of your ideas makes it all too tempting to read the slide, thereby inspiring your audience to drool and head-bob in their fight to stay vertical.

5. Good bullets gone bad: In our time-starved society — when shorter typically equates with better — we tend to favor summary statements over the unabridged version. Be careful though, sometimes the effect lessens the impact of the content. Check out the Gettysburg Address in PowerPoint.

Want to chime in? Air your PowerPoint grievances here (in bullet points, of course, through the end of “Just Say No to PowerPoint Week”). But come Monday we’ll be back to waving the Microsoft flag — well except for our Mac users!

Well, we know someone who is. Matt Moniz, son of Circadence CEO Michael Moniz, was just nominated as one of National Geographic’s Adventurers of the Year — and the youngest one ever. We thought this was pretty cool — and if you do too, you can vote to help Matt earn the People’s Choice award. You can vote once a day through January 15.

As you’ve been walking through your office this week, do you keep hearing something… something very faint… something coming from the desks of the women-folk in the building?
Is it the heart-warming Old Spice whistle that you keep hearing?

It probably is.

The spark of the Old Spice commercials (jewel-encrusted scepter) that have snatched the hearts of so many (random crown) have fueled a viral impact unlike we’ve seen thus far (fresh water fish).

But it’s more than Isaiah Mustafa’s charm, perfect smile, abs, freshly washed towel that probably smells like a mixture of Old Spice and fresh laundry (too far?)… it’s the personalized feel of the messages. Yes, Old Spice is speaking to millions of people, but Isaiah Mustafa is simply speaking to me.

Check out this Read Write Web article that gives insight into how they pulled it off.

(Based on a true story)

Dad recently took grandma gambling for her birthday (typical destination for an 88-year-old woman).

A couple days later, I’m out and about in the car they took casino-hopping, and as I peer into the car’s designated catch-all of items, my eyes immediately lock in on a promo item. It’s a small, blue piece of plastic with a key-ring and cap. Expecting a USB-type gadget, I rip off the cap.

Only to discover it’s a screw driver with the casino’s information neatly printed on the side.

Perplexed, I holler at Mom, “Do you find it appropriate that the casino purchased screw drivers for promo items?”

“Very appropriate since they’re screwing old ladies out of their money.”

Good point.

Perhaps a coin purse would’ve been a better choice.