An exercise that ends with more than three quarters of your consumers calling you a liar is probably not good business. The votes are in on the Vegemite iSnack incident, suggesting that democracy and marketing might not always mix.
Never before has an Australian brand been subjected so thoroughly to the will of the people. And possibly, never again will a marketer throw his or her brand (and career) so carelessly to the mob for appraisal.
You know the story but lets look quickly at the numbers.
48,000 suggested names were entered into the ‘give this stuff a name‘ contest. The winner, iSnack 2.0 lasted 4 days before being dumped by Kraft.
30,357 people then responded to a short list of alternative names. 10,928 agreed on an OK alternative, CheesyBite. But nearly as many disliked ALL the choices offered.
So the cheesy vegemitey substance now has a name that a substantial minority don’t hate.But a stat that really shook me was found by a crowd called BCM. Their online survey of 1250 people found that 77% thought the whole iSnack thing was a “carefully crafted media stunt”. Most TV, radio, print and online media commentators seemed to agree.
This, despite Kraft spokesman, Simon Talbot claiming, “At no point in time has the new Vegemite name been about initiating a media publicity stunt…The new name has simply not resonated with Australians. Particularly the modern technical aspects associated with it.”
Have Australian consumers become so used to stunt marketing that they now see hoaxes and tricks where none exist? Do they expect the custodians of trusted brands to mess with their heads as a way of selling product?
A stuff-up is one thing. God knows, we all make mistakes. But to essentially be called liars by three quarters of your consumers is incredibly concerning, I would have thought.
Kraft’s good-natured naming experiment has highlighted a very worrying development. And that’s that our consumers no longer trust us. They are not only prepared for trickery and sleight of hand, they expect it.
Marketers, creatives, account service and channel planners will have to think differently in the future. We will have to factor in the possibility of very public consumer backlash and distrust to any communication we create from now on.
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Friday, November 6, 2009
A matter of Trust
Monday, October 5, 2009
iSnack 2.0 - Fiasco or clever marketing ploy?
Does 'iSnack 2.0' ring a warning bell for marketers, about the pitfalls of consumer engagement?
I think it does, so I wrote a piece exclusively for Crikey.
Pop over there for the full catastrophe.
http://www.crikey.com.au/2009/10/05/is-isnack-2-0-a-marketing-success/
Sunday, September 6, 2009
Not more ideas!
- I recently discovered a firm that will, if supplied with a brief, provide a client with 100 ideas … overnight! They use Twitter to contact hundreds of ‘ideas people’ internationally.
- Creative agencies now provide media ideas as well as creative ideas. Media agencies now provide creative ideas as well as media ideas.
- Large supermarket retailers have in-house creative departments that can provide ideas and advertising for their supplier’s brands, rather than the other way around.
Marketers have more access to ideas than ever before. Everyone now seems to be providing ideas. As a creative person I’ve been raised to believe that the more ideas on the table the better.
But now I’m beginning to wonder.
Take Nandos Chicken. They’ve tried every bizarre idea you can think of. They had a stripping Mother wearing a Nandos Nicotine patch on TV.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pxsjhREHH3M&feature=related
They’ve created a radio ‘satire’ of Clare Werbeloff, the Chk Chk Boom girl.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uJ-pt95BNZU&feature=related
They’ve even got into the latest craze of creating a disruptive PR stunt, that disrupted the king of disruptive PR stunts: Sacha Baron Cohen’s, Bruno.
(The raw footage has been removed from YouTube but you can see some of the news coverage at the following link)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nIUlpkPKGvA
Some are funnier than others - I quite like the stripping Mum spot for some reason. But what story do they tell? What problem do they solve? What brand image do they build? What, as a consumer, am I supposed to think of the brand?
I honestly can’t tell. In Nandos I see dozens of random ideas and not a single brand message.
Possible taglines like, “We’re a little bit different”, “Unexpectedly delicious chicken” or even “We’re not for everyone” would tie the zaniness together. But we don’t get any help at all.
A visit to the website makes you think your dealing with a different brand altogether. It shows a low tech, hand drawn, food focussed, ethnic style brand. Nothing like the TV, radio and PR communication. I’m even more confused now!
http://www.nandos.com.au/
Many other brands are excitedly experimenting with channels, executions and ideas. Which is fantastic … as long as each piece of communication supports and builds on a consistent brand message. The beer people are particularly good at experimentation without losing sight of the message and target consumer.
When consumers are forced to re-evaluate a brand every time they see a new piece of communication, they just don’t bother.
Potential consumers of Nandos know the brand exists, and sells chicken. But they have no idea what it stands for and therefore why they should consider it.
When it comes to brand communication, dozens of random ideas won’t help you, one correct one will.
Tuesday, August 4, 2009
History of the Australian Web
If you have 30 seconds check out this wonderful site. One of the best graphic interpretations of boring old numbers I've seen in years.
http://avant.interactionconsortium.com/australian_internet/#
Sunday, August 2, 2009
Marketing tips from your local butcher
What do cuts of meat and advertising have in common? Quite a lot these days.
A few weeks ago I was treated to a roast ‘shoulder of lamb’. I’ve never had the cut before. My host explained that it was inexpensive and pretty fatty. Fresh from the supermarket, the shoulder of lamb didn’t look that appetising. The trick, I was told, was to cook it for a long time, tenderising the meat and allowing it to roast in it’s own juices.
The result? Absolutely delicious!
Then I heard a café owner on the radio saying that he was using much more ‘shoulder of lamb’, and his customers loved it.
Why my sudden interest in Butchery and what does it have to do with advertising, you may ask?
The global financial crisis may or may not have blown over. (I’m old enough to believe that wars and recessions seldom ‘end by Christmas’)
In fact financial crises have always affected marketing and advertising in the same way. Clients cut budgets, advertising agencies and other creative suppliers cut staff. This is what has happened in all past recessions.
The difference this time round is that there are a lot fewer staff to fire. All creative suppliers are already cut to the bone.
Most large TV commercial production houses, photographers, designers, digital developers: in fact any creative supplier will be struggling. Several production houses and agencies have already closed.
So, you’re a marketer and the order has come in from head office to cut costs and grow sales. (Huh?) Your big creative suppliers just can’t do it any cheaper. What can you do?
The answer is meat. Scotch fillet makes a great meal, but it’s expensive. Shoulder of lamb makes a great meal, you just need to know about it and cook it properly.
It’s the same creatively. Let me give a recent example.
I took a TV script and a decent budget to a ‘Hot’ production company. These people had a big reputation for shooting well known TV commercials. They had an amazing office, cool people … and a crazy quote. Their ‘ballpark’ estimate was double my stated budget. Their overheads meant that their costs had a certain ‘floor’ that they couldn’t go below.
Luckily I had also approached a very experienced director who had left his production company and was working from ‘no fixed address’. I didn’t care. We could meet anywhere. I didn’t need a boardroom and a receptionist, I needed great talent at a good price.
He and his producer did everything by laptop and mobile. They had no fixed overheads. They hired suppliers as needed. They did the job on budget (which is half the price of the Hot Shop), they were keen and helpful AND the result was first class!
Steak or shoulder of lamb? It depends on your budget and your knowledge.
Friday, July 31, 2009
Tuesday, July 28, 2009
Mama Mia - Here's the news
A bit of a random thought today. I work out in a gym about three mornings a week. They have a dozen or so TV monitors playing various shows. You can plug in your headset and listen to one channel like a normal person. Or like me, you can look at them all at once and try to figure out what's going on. I can now lip read the Family Guy cartoon quite well.
But something hit me this morning after months of silent viewing. The news in Italian is filmed differently to any news show I've ever seen. It's shot wider so the news reader is smaller in frame. BUT unlike all other countries' news you can see their hands!
These men and women lean and wave and flap like there's no tomorrow. It's great. And quite personal as well.
