ADS ON CARS

Cutting through advertising clutter is a perennial problem for marketers. Most people avoid adverts unless they are looking for something specific: people switch channels during TV adverts, flip the pages of magazines to get past the ads, and talk through advertising breaks on the radio.

There are many ideas for getting past this process, some of which work well and others that simply irritate the paying customers—but some of the best ones involve putting the message exactly where the interested customers will see it.


Most people find driving an expensive necessity. There is little one can do while driving except look at the other cars—which is not usually all that interesting either. This does raise an opportunity, though. Recently, several firms have appeared that can arrange to have private cars liveried (decorated with advertising messages). The motorists are paid a small amount for having their cars liveried, and naturally this helps defray the costs of motoring. Of course, the drivers are allowed to choose the companies—it would hardly be appropriate for a vegetarian to advertise McDonald’s—but in general there are few problems of this nature.

The key advantage for the advertiser is that the cars will be seen in traffic, in parking spaces, at golf clubs, and so forth: sometimes this is a way of reaching people who would otherwise be difficult or impossible to contact any other way.


The ads are applied as a plastic wrap, so they can be changed easily: drivers are chosen on the basis of the cleanliness of their cars and the kind of places they go, so it is perfectly feasible to advertise on golfers’ cars or on frequent flyers’ cars if the company wants to approach that type of audience.


Practice
•Adverts need to be punchy—often observers will only have seconds to see the ad as a car drives past.
•Choosing the type of driver is often crucial, because this will determine the audience for your advertising.
•If possible, recruit drivers who are already fans of your product—this gives them an excuse to talk about you to their friends and acquaintances.

WHAT’S THE BUZZ?

Consumers have long had a love-hate relationship with advertising. We enjoy watching music and celebrity laden commercials that are often more entertaining, humorous, or interesting than the programs they are sponsoring. We purchase magazines such as Glamour, Vogue and GQ, which contain more ad pages than articles. But many consumers are tired of being bombarded with sales messages and are turned off by advertising. This is especially true of Generation Y, the age cohort born between 1979 and 1994, which is 60 million strong. The Generation  Y cohort is three times the size of its Gen X predecessor, and its members constitute the biggest group to hit the U.S. market since the 72 million baby boomers, who are their parents. Having grown up in an even more media-saturated, brand-conscious world than their parents did, they respond to advertising differently and prefer to encounter marketing messages in different places or from different sources.

Marketers recognize that to penetrate the skepticism and capture the attention of the Gen Ys they have to bring their messages to these people in a different way. To do so, many companies are turning to a stealth type strategy known as buzz marketing, whereby brand come-ons become part of popular culture and consumers themselves are lured into spreading the message. Marketers are turning their brands into carefully guarded secrets that are revealed to only a few people in each community. Each carefully cultivated recipient of the brand message becomes a powerful carrier, spreading the word to yet more carriers, who tell a few more, and so on. The goal of the marketer is to identify the trendsetters in each community and push them into talking up the brand to their friends and admirers. As the senior vice president at Bates U.S.A., who developed a buzz campaign for Lucky Strike cigarettes, notes, “Ultimately, the brand benefits because an accepted member of the social circle will always be far more credible than any communication that could come directly from the brand.”

A number of marketers have used buzz marketing successfully. Rather than blitzing the airways with 30second commercials for its new Focus subcompact, Ford Motor Company recruited 120 trendsetters in five key markets and gave them each a Focus to drive for six months. According to Ford’s marketing communications manager, who planned and implemented the program, “We weren’t looking for celebrities. We were looking for the assistants to celebrities, party planners, disc jockeys—the people who really seemed to influence what was cool.” The recruits’ duties were simply to be seen with the car, to hand out Focus themed trinkets to anyone who expressed an interest in the car, and to keep a record of where they took the car. The program helped Ford get the Focus off to a brisk start, selling 286,166 units in its first full year.

Vespa motor scooter importer Piagio U.S.A. hired a group of attractive models to find the right cafes in and around Los Angeles and to interact with people over a cup of coffee or iced latte and generate buzz for the European bikes.

Even ad agencies that are heavily invested in traditional brand-building techniques acknowledge that buzz marketing has become a phenomenon. Malcolm Gladwell’s book The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference—which describes how a small number of consumers can ignite a trend, if they’re the right ones—has become must reading among ad agency personnel. The chairperson and CEO of Grey Global Group notes, “Everybody has read The Tipping Point and is trying to figure out the underground streams to reach consumers. Everybody is experimenting with it.” For example, Reebok conducted more than 1,000 interviews to identify young Canadian women who were trendsetters among their peers. The company then gave 90 of these women a pair of $150 UShuffle DMX cross-trainers to get the funky shoes on the feet of these urban trend setters. The product seeding campaign helped make the product-line launch one of the most successful in the company’s history.

Some experts note that the growing popularity of buzz marketing could well spell its downfall. If everyone does it, it will no longer be buzz; it will simply be obscure and annoying advertising. And when consumers recognize that every company is trying to create a buzz for its brand, they are likely to be turned off to the technique. By then, of course, marketers will have found another stealth way to deliver their sales messages.

Sources: Garry Khermouch and Jeff Green,“Buzz Marketing,” Business Week, July 30,2001,pp.50–56; “Firms Reap Fruits of Product Seeding,” The Montreal Gazette,Sept.11,2001,p.D6.

WANT TO NAME A CAR OR DEVELOP AN AD CAMPAIGN? TRY ARCHETYPE RESEARCH,HYPNOSIS, OR SOMETHING ELSE UNCONVENTIONAL

Marketers are constantly trying to determine what goes on in the mind of consumers when they consider purchase decisions,view advertisements, and so on. Packages, brand names, ads and commercials are commonly researched in an attempt to improve their likelihood of success. Surveys, focus groups, in-depth discussions and a variety of other methods have been employed to find the “holy grail” of research that will provide insight into consumer’s minds. Recently some companies have turned to mind probing through less traditional methods including hypnosis and “archetype research.”

Take Daimler Chrysler for example. In searching for a “breakthrough” car, the company shunned traditional marketing research techniques and instead employed an unconventional approach known as archetype research.With billions of dollars of investments on the line, Chrysler recently shifted the bulk of its research to this methodology which was developed by a Frenchborn medical anthropologist, G.Clotaire Rapaille, whose previous work involved working with autistic children. To gain insights from deep inside consumers’ minds, Rapaille conducted three-hour focus group sessions, in which—with lights dimmed and mood music in the background—consumers were asked to look at a prototype of the newly designed PT Cruiser and to go far back into their childhood to discuss what emotions were evoked, as well as to write stories about their feelings. After the sessions, Rapaille and a team of Chrysler employees read the stories, looking for what they refer to as “reptilian hot buttons,” or nuggets of revealing emotions. According to Rapaille, remembering a new concept is dependent upon associating it with an emotion, and the more emotions evoked, the greater the likelihood of recall. The process led to significant design changes that resulted in a less-than-traditional-looking car that won an award as North America’s Car of the Year.

Actually, Chrysler was not the first to employ archetype research. Archetype research has also been applied to the naming of SUVs. What comes to your mind when you hear Bronco, Cherokee, Wrangler, Blazer, Yukon, Navigator, or Denali? What about Tahoe, Explorer, Range Rover, or Bravada? As SUVs are increasingly adopted by women (men are going for trucks), it is important to convey some image of the vehicles that meets the target market’s needs—conscious or subconscious. According to archetype research, these SUV names conjure up the wilderness, ruggedness, and the new frontier. To women,the size and safety of these vehicles are what they need to compete in this “less than civilized” environment. Does it work? No other product class has seen greater growth over the last 10 years.

But don’t think that it’s only the auto companies that want to know what’s in your head. The list of subscribers to archetype research includes AT&T, Boeing, GE, Lego, Kellogg, and Samsonite, just to name a few. At least 10 years prior to Chrysler’s use of the technique, Procter & Gamble employed Rapaille to determine that aroma sells more coffee than taste because of the emotional ties to home. The Folger’s coffee ad in which a young soldier returns home and brews a pot of coffee that causes his sleeping mother to wake up and sense that he has returned is a direct result of that research. General Motors has also used this research methodology.

In an equally unconventional approach, California wine maker Domain Chandon and its ad agency D’Arcy Masius Benton & Bowles of Los Angeles conducted focus groups of hypnotized consumers. In the groups, participants were asked to discuss their experiences and feelings about the first time they drank champagne and/or sparkling wine. According to Chandon and D’Arcy, traditional focus groups lead to “surface” discussions whereas drinking champagne involves more of an “inside”-driven and emotional response. By hypnotizing the participants, they felt they could get behind the barriers set up in conscious minds. The approach apparently worked; as noted by Diane Dreyer, senior VP at D’Arcy, some participants revealed romantic and sexual experiences that “I’m sure they wouldn’t share in the waking state.” The input from the groups was used in the development of a new advertising campaign that featured a sexual and passionate appeal, as well as a new logo. Essentially, the research led to a whole new positioning for the brand, with ads placed on billboards and in travel and epicurean magazines, as well as a move into e-commerce.

Retail consultant Paco Underhill attempts to explain why consumers buy. With a degree in Chinese history, Underhill shifted his emphasis to environmental psychology and like Rapaille, found the consulting world much more lucrative. Equating the modern-day shopper with the “hunter-gatherer” mentality of the past, he sees men as shopping because of an obsession with a single item. Women, on the other hand, look upon shopping as a social occasion that provides a sense of liberation. At the mall they can escape their husbands and families, exercise their judgments and see and be seen. Is this what women did in the caveman days?

Traditional or not, millions of dollars are now being invested in previously unheard-of techniques. Billions more are riding on the results. Are you willing to take the risk?

Sources: Phil Patton,“Car Shrinks” Fortune,March 18,2002,pp. 187–190; Alice Z.Cuneo,“Domain Chandon Looks beyond the Celebrations,” Advertising Age,July 19,1999,p.9; Abigail Goldman, “Expert Offers Retailers Glimpse into Shoppers’ Minds,” Los Angeles Times,June 3,1999,p.C5; Jeffrey Ball,“But How Does It Make You Feel?” The Wall Street Journal,May 3,1999,p.B1.

ENERGY DRINKS: THE REAL THING OR JUST BULL?

Forget about the cola wars between Pepsi and Coke. The new threat to the stagnant cola market is an international cult drink—and that’s no bull—it’s Red Bull, actually. And the large soft drink manufacturers have taken notice.

Red Bull is just one of the many “energy” drinks now on the market. Others include Extreme Energy Shot, Venom, Dark Dog, Energy, AMP, and KMX, just to mention a few. In fact, it seems that every company wants to introduce its own energy drink in an attempt to take advantage of a new market that is growing at an amazing rate. Consider that when Red Bull first introduced its product in 1997, there was no such thing as an energy-drink category. By 2001, estimates are that the market was somewhere between $140 million to $200 million, with forecasts that it will be $500 million in just a few years. Also consider that Red Bull has about 70 percent of the market share. While these figures may pale in comparison to the overall carbonated-beverage market (approximately $45 billion), there is enough concern for competitors to take notice.

Red Bull has been variously described as “an international cult drink,” “a kinky concoction,” and “the new sex drink,” all of which suit the company just fine. It is exactly the mystique attributed to the drink that helps create the “buzz” that makes it sell. Many marketers feel that it is Red Bull’s alternative image that accounts for much of its success. Even the company’s marketing department likes to maintain the illusions while claiming the product is a “non marketed brand.”

But while the mystique part of Red Bull may be true, the “non marketed” claims may not necessarily be so. As noted by the Economist, it takes a lot of marketing money to sustain this image. The magazine notes that Red Bull’s founder, Dietrich Mateschitz (an Austrian) “spent three years developing the drink’s image, its packaging and its low-key, grassroots marketing strategy.” Further, Red Bull puts about 35 percent of its revenues back into advertising—about $19 million according to Advertising Age. And advertising is not the only IMC component the company successfully employs. At launch in Europe, students were persuaded to drive around in Volkswagen Beetles or Minis with a Red Bull can strapped on the top and to conduct Red Bull parties using wild and unusual themes. A marketing director from Procter & Gamble was hired to oversee strategic planning for the brand in North America (he later was named one of Brand week’s Marketers of the Year).

At present, Red Bull’s marketing efforts still employ grassroots efforts but have expanded to include more traditional media as well. What seems to make Red Bull successful, however, is that the efforts assume a very nontraditional approach to its messages—essentially attempting to do the opposite of what everyone else does. The first order of business in any market is to determine four or five accounts in a particular market area that sustain the image—underage discos, surf shops, and so on—rather than attempting to gain widespread distribution. Spokespeople (deejays, alternative sports stars, etc.) are recruited to spread the word and to be seen using the product. Sponsorship of alternative sports like the Red Bull Streets of San Francisco (a street luge event) and Red Bull Rampage (a free-ride mountain bike competition) has also been shown to be effective, as has the use of “education teams”—hip locals who drive around in a Red Bull auto handing out samples and promoting the brand.

The more mainstream media are also used though on a market-by-market basis rather than through mass media. And even these traditional efforts may take on a less traditional form. For example, the advertising campaign (“Red Bull gives you wings”) uses animated television and radio spots featuring the devil trying the product and sprouting wings. The company also sponsors a number of more traditional events ranging from soapbox derbies to Formula 1 racing cars, as well as extensive public relations programs to reach youth.

Now that Mateschitz and Red Bull have created a new beverage category, can they hold on to it? Success attracts competitors—many who have the potential to provide more marketing clout than Red Bull. Coca-Cola, Pepsi, and Anheuser Busch have all recently introduced their own energy drinks. Hansen Beverage’s “Energy” and Sobe have both been gaining sales, and Snapple’s “Venom” is getting more marketing support from Cadbury. Mateschitz is not oblivious to the competition. He and his marketing team are continually developing more wacky ideas to maintain Red Bull’s alternative and mystical image. Others feel that expanding the category can only benefit Red Bull. It may depend on how large the cult grows!

Sources: “Selling Energy,” Economist,May 11, 2002, p. 62; Kenneth Hein, “Red Bull Charging Ahead,” Brandweek,Oct. 15, 2001, pp. 38–42; Hillary Chula, “Grabbing Bull by Tail,” Advertising Age, June 11, 2001, pp. 4-6; David Noonan, “Red Bull’s Good Buzz,” Newsweek,May 14, 2001, p. 39.

WHIRLPOOL CONNECTS WITH 21ST-CENTURY WOMEN

Household appliances are a product category where the advertising has traditionally been pretty bland, with most ads appealing to consumers’ rational, functional motives. Television commercials generally would show the capacity of a refrigerator, explain how a washer or dryer works, or tout their reliability; while print ads would feature a shot of the appliance and give a detailed description of how it functions. For example, among the most memorable appliance ads are those from the campaign featuring the Maytag repairman who would wait in vain for a repair call. The campaign was created more than 30 years ago, and the lonely Maytag repairman is still waiting for the phone to ring.

In recent years appliance companies have been focusing on form as well as function and have been touting the design of their products as much as their functionality in their ads. However, one company that has taken a very unique approach to its advertising is Whirlpool, whose “Just Imagine” campaign features Household Goddesses—five ethereal female figures who use water, fire, or air to take control of their environments while promoting various Whirlpool appliances. The campaign is designed to connect with the modern-day “supermoms, ” working women between the ages of 25 and 54 with children. These women’s homes are very important to them; the women are challenged, yet capable of handling a very demanding and busy lifestyle, and they want control of their lives and acknowledgment for all they do and for being very capable. They set new standards and appreciate beauty in their environments. They do not give appliances a great deal of thought until there is a moment of need, such as a broken appliance or a home renovation. Innovation, style, and time saving are all important factors to these women.

The idea for the “Just Imagine” campaign originated in the late 90s in Europe,where Whirlpool was eager to build its brand name and capture a larger share of the appliance market, having acquired the appliance division of the Dutch firm Philips Electronics. The campaign connected well with women in Europe, so in 1999 Whirlpool and its French agency Publicis decided to adapt it to women in the U.S. market. However, before bringing the campaign to the States, Whirlpool conducted more than 20 focus groups with women throughout the country to test their reaction to the goddesses.

According to Whirlpool’s manager of brand communication, the ads with the goddesses celebrate the growing power of women in the 21st century. They are aimed at striking an emotional cord with modern-day women, showing them as strong females in control of their environments who can be made even stronger through the latest Whirlpool technology. The mythical figures in the ads include a blue-skinned ice diva who represents the Whirlpool Conquest refrigerator, a silkenrobed water nymph who appears in commercials for the Catalyst washer, a heat maiden in cascading red robes who promotes the Senson and Duet dryers, a firebreathing goddess who helps sell the Speed Cook range, and a flying blonde clean-air angel who extols the virtues of Whirlpool’s dehumidifiers and airconditioners. The goddesses promote many of the innovative features found on Whirlpool appliances, such as a dryer that gently dries clothes in the time it takes to wash them, a washing machine that does not require pretreating because concentrated water and detergent spray through clothes before they are washed, and a refrigerator with more space inside.

The goal of the “Just Imagine” campaign is to use the stylish and dramatic commercials to get consumers to take notice of Whirlpool appliances and make them feel the brand is in tune with their changing needs and values and thus has something more to offer than competing brands. In addition to being in the television commercials, the goddesses appear in print ads, on the Whirlpool website, on company brochures, on billboards on the side of the company’s trucks, and in point-of-purchase displays for local retailers. The campaign is the biggest in the appliance maker’s history. To many women, using a washing machine or dryer means nothing more than cleaning clothes. However, Whirlpool hopes this campaign will help them feel they are taking control of their lives when they use its appliances.

Sources: “Whirlpool’s Worship-Worthy Goddess,” Brand Marketing, June 2000,p.33; Katheryn Dranhold,“Whirlpool Conjures Up Appliance Divas,” The Wall Street Journal,Apr.27,2000

THE DELL DUDE CONNECTS WITH PC BUYERS

Every so often an advertising character jumps out of the television screen and into the hearts of consumers. A few years ago it was “Stuart”—the geeky, red-headed know-it-all who appeared in commercials for online stock trading company Ameritrade—who struck a chord with viewers. The latest ad spokesperson generating the buzz is “Steven,” the lovable blond surfer dude who gives expert advice to people shopping for a home computer. The “Dell Dude” is played by Ben Curtis, a 21-year old student who studies acting at New York University and hails from Chattanooga, Tennessee. Curtis got the role after an audition, and his first appearances in a Dell commercial came in late 2000 in a spot in which he makes a video for his parents explaining why they should buy him a Dell personal computer. Although Dell switched ad agencies a few months after Curtis was hired, the company and its new agency, DDB Chicago, knew they had a star in the making and retained the Steven character as its “spokes dude.

Over the past two years “Steven” has appeared in more than 10 commercials for Dell including a popular spot where he hawks Dells while driving his dad’s convertible with a hot brunette seated next to him. The commercials use a clever blend of humor and salesmanship by portraying Steven as a hip teenager who convinces his parents, his friends’ parents, and even random people he meets to buy computers from Dell. Shortly after taking over the account, DDB’s creative group added the quip: “Dude, you’re gettin’ a Dell” to Steven’s pitch and the phrase has slowly been seeping into pop-culture vernacular. The ad campaign has helped Dell put a friendly face on its personal computers—a product category that is often intimidating to consumers. Dell’s senior manager of consumer advertising says that Steven “has changed our image into that of an approachable company, a company that makes technology easy and fun.” The ads have also helped sales, as Dell’s share of the home segment of the personal computer market has increased significantly since the campaign was launched.

Curtis’s success as the Dell Dude demonstrates the importance of casting in creating effective advertising. The creative director at DDB notes that the right casting is as important as the right message since you need somebody to bring it to life. Curtis clearly brings the Dell Dude to life as “Steven” is described as a modern-day Tom Sawyer who appeals to a broad range of consumers. He receives fan mail from teenybopper girls who want to date him as well as from seniors who like his Eddie Haskell–like charm. The “Dell Guy,” as he is often referred to, boasts one of the largest advertising fan-club message boards on Yahoo, with over 500 members as well as numerous fan websites. Curtis has been interviewed on the Today Show, CNN, and ABC’s 20/20 Downtownand been featured in articles in The Wall Street Journal, USA Today, and many other publications. Curtis also makes appearances at Dell events to rally employees as well as at industry trade shows such as Comdex. In recognition of his celebrity status, Dell created a new web “sitelet” that fans can visit to find out more about Curtis and his latest ads.

In late 2002 Dell announced that “Steven” would be playing a smaller role in its advertising, although the company still plans to use him in the future. However, some analysts note that the company may not want to use “the Dell Dude” as it focuses more on selling its computers to businesses. Curtis knows that the fame he is currently enjoying may be short-lived but hopes he can use it as a launchpad for his ultimate goal of becoming an actor. He worries somewhat about being typecast as a surfer dude but says that the pay helps with school and the expense of living in New York. So goes the life of Madison Avenue’s newest mini-celebrity.

Sources: Michael McCarthy,“Goofy Dell Guy Exudes Star Power; ‘Steven’ Wins Over Bunches of Computer Buyers,” USA Today,Jan. 14,2002,p.B5; Suzanne Vranica,“Dell,Starting New Campaign, Plans for Life Without Steven,” The Wall Street Journal,October 16, 2002,p.B3.