The Boston Red Sox may have swept the World Series, but Taco Bell was the biggest winner of this year's Fall Classic. With their promotion, "Steal a base. Steal a taco", Taco Bell gave away a taco to every American who visited a participating store between 2-5 p.m. on Tuesday, October 30. That is the best deal since the Louisiana Purchase after the countless times they were recognized during the four games of the Series.
Add in numerous conversations between Joe Buck and Tim McCarver over this silly promotion and the fact that almost every person who goes into a store during a slow time of the day is going to buy something to go with their one measly taco, and Taco Bell is the advertising genius of the decade.
This week, fans of the wildly popular CBS franchise, CSI, got the opportunity to don their detective gear and wrangle up "perps" in Second Life. Fans of the wildly popular web world, Second Life, I would imagine, are probably getting antsy. Who's killing all the avatars?
CSI: New York this week kicked off a story line where the shows' detectives began a man hunt (can you really call it that? Avatar hunt?) to catch a killer using the virtual world. Fans of the show are encouraged to sign up for a Second Life "life" and help bring the criminal to justice. According to reports, this will be an ongoing storyline that culminates sometime next February with the killer being apprehended.
Second Life is certainly gaining in popularity, but it won't fully be considered mainstream until Chris Hansen hosts an episode of "To Catch an Avatar."
Jose... sure. Patron... yes, please. Partida? I've never heard of it, but perhaps more seasoned tequila-philes have. Fortunately for those of us stuck in a Cuervo rut, Partida Tequila has launched an interactive marketing campaign to advance awareness of the benefits of fine tequila. Here, you can view short videos of people recalling their cheap-tequila induced experiences. One New Yorker notes his tequila-fueled indiscretion left him with a child in Chicago... You can also watch bartenders' stories and submit your own tequila confession, which, if awesome enough, they might come to your hometown to film.
Another portion of the site concerns "Tequila Re-Education," and provides web casts on the tequila-making process in Mexico, proper beverage consumption, and quizzes that dispel common tequila myths.
Knowing that there are a few good tequila confessions floating around this office, I'm thinking this is a smart, universally engaging campaign. I propose our next conference room be dubbed "Partida."
Allow me to rant about my utter disdain for the bundling concept - the inclusion of a bunch of crap that isn't wanted or needed along with the thing that actually is wanted, all in the name of "added value."
You know the drill. You only want a burger, but you're strangely shamed into adding fries and a 20-ounce soda because apparently those items only add, like, 11-cents to the transaction. You don't want it, but now the burger alone seems like a colossal rip-off. In reality, you would pay slightly more per item for smaller portions, flexibility, and no pressure to enorma-size something.
In September, we helped itSMF USA add some "Sizzle" to their annual conference. Charlotte, NC, was home to the event, so what could be better than a stockcar theme including a "race" to energize the attendees. Every attendee was assigned to a racing team and participated in networking and activities – like going head-to-head on X-BOX 360 and racing against one another on a slot car set.
Perhaps the most un-conventional part of the approach was the use of video and audio to introduce keynote sessions.
Advertising is still highly effective at reaching and influencing customers... But only when it's done right. Ads on TV or in the newspaper may not be the best choices anymore. To make advertising work, you have to focus on your target. I see advertisements on TV all the time that make me think, "how dumb do they think I am?" Well, I'm probably not the target for that ad.
Spending the time to clearly define your target market will pay off – when you identify how to best reach them and what to say to them. Maybe a video on YouTube is the key to your future profits, or the answer could be an ad on The History Channel. Or maybe it's something completely new. In any case, you need to figure out the best way to talk to the right people, by saying the right things, and not be tempted by the lowest common denominator. If you do that, then advertising is alive and well and here to stay.
Would you want to know? How would you spend the "last moments" of your iPod's life? Perhaps a farewell road trip adventure, maybe an extra lap around the track. Or, if your iPod is deemed doomed, would you immediately begin shopping for a shiny new version? (You already have, haven't you?)
New York City is launching a new global marketing campaign to draw 50 million tourists by 2015. Along with the marketing campaign, the city is launching a new logo that was designed by the same firm (Wolff Olins) that designed the infamous London Olympics logo.
Google now has a 411 service - GOOG 411. Nice free alternative to the dollar per inquiry most cell phone carriers charge. The service could replace toll 411 calls. About 2.6 billion 411 calls are made in the U.S. each year, and it is a $7 billion/year market.
The paid 411 market is almost obsolete so these free alternatives could easily take at least 50-percent market share very soon.
Burnsmarketing.com
