Mountain Dew is beginning the campaign for the new flavors through their crazy ‘Dewmocracy’ program again.  Another three flavors and only one will win.

The most interesting part of the campaign are the ad spots.  Dew had a plethora of different small companies, from production groups to animators, try their hand at making 12 second clips.  These clips were then voted on by the fans until only six remained.  The final six made their pitch to Mountain Dew and three were chosen.

This is an awesome system because it let the fans really decide who was going to be behind the advertising.  Fans aren’t normally involved directly with advertising but now they are getting to pick the style and companies they like the best.  This really helps the advertising seem more true and less invasive.  The ads become something people are more interested to watch and pay attention to because it is something they were involved in.

This is also a great opportunity for these three companies.  Not only will they get paid exceedingly well, they each now get to represent one of the three new flavors of Mountain Dew.  They get a huge client on their resume and all sorts of exposure that will greatly help their future endeavors.

I think this is a cool program Mountain Dew has going here and I hope they can keep it interesting enough to keep it going in years to come.

I was browsing the web recently (does anybody even say that anymore?) and I came across some pretty cool urban bus shelters. Bus shelters can often be a pretty tricky advertising medium, and a difficult one to use to get your message across. These companies, however, did an excellent job!

-Chris

I found a fun little chart on adage earlier today that had a breakdown of what has influenced people into where to shop this holiday season.

Topping off the list by a huge margin is coupons at 45%.  Obviously shopping for discounts is a huge part of every holiday season and even more so this year given the state of our economy.

Tying with word of mouth at 27% are advertising inserts.  So one of the most simple and relatively cheap methods of advertising is pulling in the most customers.

Broadcast TV is next up at 23%.  While not the biggest number 23% is nothing to scoff at.  I would still say that it is worth the advertising dollars.

Newspaper ads next at 22%.  This one is very interesting and probably something newspapers should be happy about.  The  platform thought to be dying off is actually pulling more customers to retailers than most other advertising methods.  With this in mind newspaper advertising seems like a good buy for the price.

Following closely behind is direct mail at 21%.  These numbers are all sorts of crazy.  Direct mail is about large reach with a very low return rate.  But this chart tells it all different, 21% of the people interviewed were actually swayed by the direct mail.  Amazing.

E-mail advertising is also shockingly high on this list 16%.  I’m so used to deleting everything I get, I guess I didn’t realize how many people actually read that stuff.

Cable TV spots are sitting at a rocky 12%.  Considering the cost of TV spots compared to others on this list one may wonder if it’s even worth it.  When you really think about it though, should one really give up that 12%?  Even if lower than rest it’s still a substantial number.

Magazines and Internet ads are both sitting at 11%.  This is not the best thing for magazines as they are the MUCH more expensive cousins to the newspaper ad and they have HALF the response rate (in this survey).  Has everything been turned upside down by the economy?

And lastly on the list is radio at 10%… finally something that makes sense.  I’m not even entirely sure what to say.  This information is contradictory to much that I have been learning in school.

www.singingintheshower.co.uk

That is a website from Burger King where every morning at 9:30am you can watch a young lady shower while wearing a bathing suit.

Before I even start talking too much about the idea behind it and whether I think it’s a good/bad idea I want to cover something else.  The tag line: “The world’s first guilt free shower cam.”  I have a lot of problems with this statement… and I doubt any of them are what you are thinking.

1) Is it guilt free because it is not a hidden shower cam?  If so… I would sure hope it’s not…so… just.. what?

2) There are many other examples of females being filmed in a shower wherein the female is fully aware she is being filmed.

3) A bathing suit does not magically remove the guilt someone might feel.  You are either ok with watching someone shower or not… regardless of attire.

So basically my problem is that none of the statement is true or makes any sense.  It is not the world first anything and there is nothing to make someone feel any less guilty or dirty about watching it than watching any other similar video.

Now that I got the off my chest… if they removed that tag-line I probably wouldn’t have a problem with it.  It doesn’t particularly interest me in any way but I doubt I’m really the audience on this one.  I don’t think anything would interest me in Burger King very much.  I didn’t find the “King” ads funny either, but they worked with the audience.

This really is the key here, BK did their research and found out that the primary consumer of their breakfast food is men aged 18 and up.  So BK made the choice to market directly to them and forget about everyone else.  It makes sense.  It is also important to note that this is a UK website.  People are more comfortable with sexuality in the UK than they are here.

Some people will undoubtedly complain, but that will just drum up some extra publicity about BK being edgy.  I’m sure there are plenty of people who enjoy the site and take part in picking the young lady’s bikini and song every morning.  So honestly, I think this idea works.

This terrifying video here is currently topping the viral video charts.  Last week it was sitting at 1,043,538 week views.

What I see here is more a normal commercial.  This is not really what a viral video is about.  You don’t just make a commercial and pop it up on Youtube.  Viral videos are a diffierent medium, a medium that allows different kinds of advertising, not the traditional commercial.  A viral video should either be a really cool video that somehow relates to your product or a video that people spend weeks trying to figure out because it didn’t directly mention your product.

Obviously my complaining doesn’t mean much in the grand scheme of things.  The video is doing it’s job and getting around.  Heck I just posted it and have helped them out even more.

What I’m trying to say is… I don’t like rollerskating babies and I don’t understand why this is so popular.  I guess I’m the weird one.

-Wes

When I first heard about Twitter a few months ago it, it sounded like the most absurd concept ever. My first thought was, “Why would I care about what my friends are doing every second of the day?” Do I really need to know that Joe is taking the trash out right now? Will my life really be that much different knowing that Laura is watching reruns on Three is Company this weekend?

After “just trying out” my own personal Twitter page for one month, it started to grow on me. No longer was I one of the people making fun of the geeks who Tweet on their iPhones all day. I became a Twitter geek myself!

Allow me to share with you a few quick reasons why BeSeen has decided to join Twitter this week and why it may even be helpful for your firm as well.

Why Tweet:

• It’s growing: Nielsen.com ranked Twitter as the fastest growing site in the Member Communities category, with a monthly growth of 1382%. It is currently the third largest social networking website on the Internet. As a marketer, you need to be aware of what’s going on in the world and how people are communicating.
• Everyone else is doing it: Usually it isn’t too wise to change your marketing strategy basely solely on the fact that “everyone else is doing it,” but look who else is on Twitter. The CMOs and other marketing personnel of mega-brands like JetBlue Airways (831,000 followers), Starbucks (246,000), Target (9,000 followers), and Best Buy (8,000) are Tweeting on a regular basis. You can also find agencies like 160 over 90, BBDO, and CP+B Tweeting about what’s going on in their office or sharing their new favorite iPhone app that they are using.
• It provides open communication with your consumers: No longer is your brand something that is distant and out-of-reach, but consumers can now engage with your brand. Twitter and other social networking sites create the first opportunity for two-way communication with your consumers. If somebody has a question, all they have to do is ask. Responding to questions quickly and faithfully will help to strengthen the relationship between you and your customers.
• It strengthens your brand personality: Any company, big or small, has a stigma automatically attached to it. Consumers think that the companies are just out to get their money. When companies engage in social media, it shows that they are human. They finally have the opportunity to be funny, to voice their opinion about a current event, to post an article that they thought was interesting, to upload a picture of something that happened at the office, etc. Companies can now bring some life to their brand and show the world who they really are.

You can follow BeSeen on Twitter @BeSeenComms

Chris

I’m sure you’ve seen some of the infectious videos out there like “Evolution of Dance” or “Charlie Bit Me” that are taking the Internet by storm. Viewers seem to be falling in love with the videos, posting them on their facebook pages and blogs, and emailing them to all their friends. These videos end up spreading like a virus (hence the name) to millions of viewers within only a few weeks in some cases.

The big question is, can companies make their own viral marketing campaigns and succeed? Sure, it looks very appealing, but is it feasible? How will viewers respond when they see the Nike logo attached to a viral video?

Allow me to go through some pros and cons for making your brand viral.

Pros

1. They are cheap to produce. Most viral videos that are produced by companies look like they were filmed by a handheld camera. That’s the look they are going for. Take for example the “Touch of Gold” video produced by Nike, featuring Brazilian soccer star Ronaldinho.

2. After production, it’s free! Companies don’t have to worry about spending millions of dollars to place ads on prime time TV spots. Their message is being delivered without a huge bill at the end of the month.

3. If viewers like the video, it will spread like a virus. Check out this video by T Mobile that had over 9 Million views within 2 months.

Cons

1. The message can be easily lost. A company may come out with a great video that has a gazillion views within the first week of being posted, but if there’s no message or selling point about your brand that’s being communicated, you’ve lost a golden opportunity.

2. There’s a very high failure rate. Lots of companies are trying to go viral and are not seeing any success. Nike came out with an “Ankle Insurance” video featuring Kobe Bryant that had only 500,000 views. This is mainly due to the fact that the company/agency has no control over how much exposure the video will receive. When making TV commercials, you have the ability to set reach and frequency goals, and then to buy TV time that will guarantee you that exposure. With viral marketing, you have to hope and pray that videos will spread through word-of-mouth.

To wrap it up, I say that viral marketing is definitely a great opportunity to increase brand awareness and to ingrain your brand into the consumers’ minds. Where else can you get 9 Million viewers to watch a video about your brand for absolutely no charge? My only advice would be to make sure you include some kind of communications message in your video. You don’t want viewers to be confused after watching your video, wondering what just happened.

Chris

A little over-the-top? Companies all over the country are trying to turn their loyal customers into die-hard fans of their brands, but it simply isn’t working. With the advent of social networking sites, like Facebook, brand fan pages are becoming more and more popular. Pringles has over 2 Million fans on their Facebook page! Burger King trails slightly behind with over 300,000. While this is great news for some brands, it is devastating for others. The truth is that some brands are just impossible to develop a fan base for, no matter how loyal their customers are. Confused? Let me try to explain.

Let’s start first with brands that do it right. Take for example, professional sports teams. The Philadelphia Eagles has loyal viewers who watch the games on TV every week like it’s their religion. It doesn’t matter if it’s their sister’s wedding. They won’t miss out on watching “their team” play on Sunday. Not only are these people loyal viewers, but they are also fanatics. They are willing to sit outside in the freezing cold for four hours, paint their bodies green, and scream at the top of their lungs until their voice is no longer functional on Monday morning. You’re probably thinking, “What’s the difference?”
Well, a loyalists supports a brand because they prefer it over any other brand currently available in the market. You might hear, “I only shop at Walmart because they have the best prices in town.” A fanatic is much more. They support a brand because they are making a statement. It defines them. It represents who they are as a person.
If you walk into a fanatic’s household, you’re likely to find collections of Coca-Cola polar bears that have been passed down from generations, a bedroom full of Bruce Springsteen ticket stubs and posters, or a basement that has been completely remodeled into a Harley Davidson theme. These are their prized possessions and they are proud to show them off to anyone who dares to enter.

Now let’s take a look at some companies who are trying to create brand fanatics, but aren’t seeing much success. Take, for example, Visa. Visa’s customer base is full of millions of customers who have been using their service for decades and are completely loyal to Visa. For many of them, you couldn’t convince them to switch to Discover or Master Card if you tried. But let’s take a look at their Facebook page. Only 351 fans! Pringles’ 2 Million fans makes Visa look pitiful. How can this be? It’s because some brands are just nothing to get fanatical about. While companies like Visa, Lexmark, and Tide may provide fantastic products and services, they just aren’t worth getting excited over.

My advice to these companies: Ditch the Facebook efforts. Don’t even bother wasting your time trying to create a fan base for your brand if you are in an industry that is just simply boring. Spend your time and energy in endeavors that will yield you more results.

Chris