Hasta La Creative!

Embora não tenha tido nenhum anuncio único e oficial, a mídia norte-americana revelou que a Blockbuster está mesmo planejando mudar completamente seu modelo de negócio para driblar a falência. O problema se remete principalmente aos novos hábitos dos consumidores, que preferem alugar filmes através da internet e outros meios alternativos.

De acordo com a Reuters, a Blockbuster pretende fechar 960 lojas até o final de 2010. Um número maior do que o esperado. Afinal, pra que pagar a mensalidade por grandes “mansões” se o produto comercializado pode ser oferecido virtualmente?

Primeiramente, a Blockbuster está analisando seus concorrentes principais e mais ascendentes: NetFlix e RedBox.

Um dos primeiros modelos que a empresa deve assumir é algo semelhante ao adotado pela NetFlix, que não tem lojas físicas e faz todas as suas entregas à partir de pedidos feitos pelo site, oferecendo filmes também via streaming. Sendo assim, a empresa já desenhou seu plano de oferecer vídeos on demand por meio de provedores online. Outra opção, também estudada pela Blockbuster, é substituir o arrendamento de imóveis, colocando quiosques em lojas e outros locais (como faz a RedBox). Um relatório oficial da empresa foi encontrado no site da Comissão de Valores Imobiliários dos Estados Unidos, e ratifica o plano da Blockbuster em busca de renovar sua estrutura, transformando-se numa empresa de conteúdo e entretenimento. Anytime, Anywhere.

As boas novas começarão a ser percebidas ao médio e longo prazo. Sendo para o bem da empresa e dos consumidores, vamos torcer para que dê tudo certo.

| Com fonte do The Big Fat Marketing, US. Securities and Exchange Commission, CrunchGear e Link.

Football is here, the glorious season of games, players, stadiums, grill-outs, and beer. What many people don’t realize is that it’s also the beginning of the newest advertising campaigns. Yes, we all know that the Superbowl is a haven for new, witty commercials, but what about the rest of the season?

You may be surprised to know that many of the greatest commercial campaigns have been started during football games during the typical season, and for advertising companies, this is the perfect time to showcase their top A-game commercials (pun intended).

Football is something everyone watches, and it’s seen as a reason for everyone to get together. This makes it the perfect time not only to target an audience, but to also reach out to even more people that may not usually be interested in your product.

Take, for example, the coming of the Geico caveman. More than likely, this first commercial was aimed at men (hello, caveman?!), but because it was broadcast during football, female viewers also saw this commercial and found it funny. It was witty, unique, and most importantly, it started a conversation.

I know what you’re thinking – Wait, guys don’t watch commercials, they flip through channels on breaks – but hold on, they do watch commercials when they don’t want to miss those first few moments after the break when the game comes back on, especially if a call or penalty will be made. What better time to target that demographic?

Probably one of the most notable commercials broadcast during football season is Budweiser’s frogs. Remember? “Bud. Weis. Errrr.” An epic commercial. And because everyone watches, the campaign can then expand and become bigger, targeting those who didn’t catch the game or those who don’t watch football (weird, but true). There was a plethora of Budweiser frog commercials after that aired, it was so huge. It also prompted other talking animals – Quiero Taco Bell, anyone?

A few things to remember when airing or planning to air a commercial during football is this:

1. Air the commercial during the first half of the game. Most of the time the games are good, but sometimes there are a bust after the first half and people stop watching.
2. Time the commercial so that it is aired before football comes back on air, or directly after the game goes to a break. People are still watching at this point or are getting prepared to watch the game as it comes back on.
3. Make the commercial witty, and most importantly, funny. Male brand advocates are made this way, because once they see a commercial they find hilarious, they’ll point it out to their friends or even mention it when it isn’t on (trust me, I’ve seen it happen).

Let me end this post with this one remark: plan a commercial or new campaign during football season, and it’s sure to be a touchdown (I didn’t say it wasn’t cheesy).

A água vitaminada VitaminWater é líder de mercado nos EUA, no segmento das águas funcionais e já foi introduzida em países como Austrália, Reino Unido, Portugal e Japão.

Investindo pesado em comunicação alternativa, a Vitaminwater está se voltando agora para os fãs no Facebook a fim de encontrar um novo sabor para suas águas vitaminadas.

O “Flavorcreator” Facebook app foi lançado esta semana e vai até 20 de outubro.

Esta primeira fase, a empresa vai “escutar” as conversas no FB e no Twitter sobre quais os sabores mais almejados. Depois disso, a empresa vai diagnosticar quais as vitaminas e minerais os consumidores preferem, em um questionário integrado no FB. Finalmente, os fãs vão ser chamados para desenvolver um nome e o design da embalagem.

O novo sabor concebido graças ao crowdsourging será lançado em março de 2010.

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.:: Com fonte do Brandweek

(TrendHunter.com) Websites are competing more and more to upgrade the experience for their audience. With so many choices on the web, a truly successful website needs to round out the Internet experience for everyone that…

Justin Timberlake is not one to let the grass grow under his feet. An extremely popular solo artist, he’s also launched several “brand extensions” of himself that have been well received by critics, fans, and the public. His first new venture was Tennman Records, which began in 2007. Then, in February of 2009, he and best friend Trace Ayala announced William Rast, a clothing line that “is an extension of you.” Unlike most new designer lines, William Rast not only gained notice, but also received praise from the fashionistas.

His latest venture? 901 Silver Tequila.

901 Silver is either named in tribute to the area code in which Timberlake grew up (Memphis) or for “that moment when your evening ends but your night is just beginning.” However, more than the Timberlake name is attracting attention. The tequila has been reviewed favorably by those who know tequila. According to the NY Daily News:

Timberlake’s new tequila, called 901, passed the sip test – and then some – among three New York tequila aficionados with very discerning tastes.

What makes 901 Silver Tequila unique is the method they chose to kickoff the first major promotion. Known as 901at901on901, and translated to 9/01, at 9:01, on www.901.com, it’s an invite to the public to creatively craft  ”The Big Idea” to aid the launch of this relatively new brand. The winner will become Executive Vice President of Big Ideas for 901 Silver Tequila.

To the victor go the spoils, which include the lengthy job title, a trip to Vegas (round-trip airfare for two, hotel stay and, of course, two tickets to the Justin and Friends concert), VIP access to all parties, $25,000 in “bonus” money, plus the chance to show off his or her creative skills among an elite group of people.

According to Kevin Ruder, President of 901 Silver (Timberlake is CEO):

We like to incorporate consumer feedback as part of our normal business practice at 901 Silver. We’ve turned that premise into a contest.

The following video outlines the challenge:

The contest ends on November 30th and the winner will be chosen by a panel of experts on December 4, 2009.

Jeff Louis: Media Planner, Brand Project Manager, blogger, and aspiring writer. Please leave a comment, follow him on Twitter or check LinkedIn for his profile. As always, thanks for reading.

Anheuser-Busch InBev has thrown down the gauntlet. Consumers in China must answer. An opportunity has presented itself for Budweiser enthusiasts to play creative director and develop an ad to commemorate the 2010 Chinese New Year.

There is one rule in this contest: the ad must feature ants. For the past decade, A-B InBev has incorporated the ant motif in every ad campaign for the Chinese New Year.

Paul Wong, the director of the Budweiser ants TV spots since 2003, said the ants depict “the Chinese national spirit of diligence, solidarity and intelligence.”

The digital contest was developed by A-B InBev’s marketing team in Shanghai to better engage the Chinese people by utilizing the Chinese video-sharing site, Tudou.com. The site will allow participants to write, draw and edit storyboards for a TV spot.

“We realized user-generated ideas and online video are both very popular among internet users at this stage, so this is the area that we want to use as well,” said Vivian Yeh, A-B InBev’s Shanghai based new media manager.

The grand prize winner will receive 100,000 RMB ($14,637) and will help produce the ad.

Note: I’d submit my own Budweiser Ants TV ad if it weren’t for my locale. I actually have a great idea for a spot. But to maintain the peace of mind of the contestants, I won’t divulge. However, I’ll tell you this… it involves myriad ants, an ant farm that extends across China, a sea of Budweiser brew, an eccentric panda and O’Hara from Enter the Dragon. Now, let it play out in your head…

Rohan Raj. Syrupy schmaltz. Finessing perpetual cadence. Boundless behemoth. Absence of mutual exclusivity? Priceless…Reach him via Twitter or LinkedIn.

Uma tendência que se firmou com bastante intensidade de uns anos pra cá foi a da colaboração, a também chamada tendência do crowdsoursing. Empresas dos mais variados setores já foram atrás do talento criativo e analítico do grande público, afim de aperfeiçoar e/ou mudar algo que houvesse necessidade. E como não há limites em um mundo participativo, até mesmo cidades estão apostando no apoio vindo de seus residentes.

Londres deu início ao concurso que busca as melhores idéias enviadas pelo público para a construção de uma nova identidade visual da cidade, que passa por uma crise de branding.

Sugestões bem criativas e algumas irreverentes estão sendo enviadas pelo público, convidado através do Twitter e de um blog.

A idéia de criar uma competição foi levada pela prefeitura de Londres à MovingBrands, um escritório especializado em arquitetura de marca e design.

Um vídeo que mostra o dinamismo das rápidas mudanças enfrentadas pelo nosso mundo, foi criado pelos caras da MovingBrands, e você pode conferir na sequência.

Moving Brands/ Moving World from Moving Brands on Vimeo.

Todo mundo já sabe que o Branded Content é uma poderosa arma de comunicação, que se utiliza de vários formatos, quer seja TV, rádio, eventos e internet, com a ambição de dar às marcas a oportunidade de promoverem sua identidade, seus produtos e serviços de modo direcionado e sempre aliando conteúdo pertinente ao entretenimento.

Lá nos EUA, a Pampers lançou uma websérie de 12 episódios. A história se passa nos dias de hoje, e conta detalhes de um dos processos mais nostálgicos da vida de um casal: os preparativos para o nascimento do primeiro bebê.

A Pampers disse que a websérie, hospedada em (http://www.pampers.com), não é um branded video, nem mesmo utiliza product placement. O que é, então? De acordo com Patrick Kraus, diretor de marketing da Pampers, a marca está se promovendo também como uma plataforma de conteúdo. Ok, só mais uma filosofia corporativa, mas que não deixa de ser Branded Content.

Uma verdadeira fidelidade à marca é constituída por aquele consumidor que não a abandona, nem em último caso.

Nunca descontinuar a compra de produtos daquela marca, vestir camisas, bonés e outros vestuários que estampam o logo da marca favorita são indícios básicos e comuns de fidelização à uma marca. Porém, como tudo nessa vida, existe o indiscutível radicalismo. Da mesma maneira que uma religião, algumas marcas podem influenciar e redefinir os hábitos de um consumidor. Alguns chegam ao ponto de tatuar as marcas em seus braços, pernas, peitos e até nas suas partes íntimas.

Existe explicação para isso? Podemos afirmar que sim. Da mesma forma que existem marcas de personalidade – aquelas que conseguem gerar um relacionamento mais efetivo e próximo com o seu consumidor, a ponto de fazer com que as pessoas tatuem seus logos – existem também as pessoas de personalidade. Não é qualquer um que tatuaria uma imagem “comercial” em seu próprio corpo.

Dá uma olhada na quantidade de fotos de tattoos que foram encontradas na internet. E a pergunta-reflexão que fica é: Você tatuaria uma marca no seu corpo? Sim? Qual? Não? Por que?

If there are two things Americans don’t like, it’s paying taxes and not being the best at something we invented. Unfortunately, the government’s recent takeover of  General Motors handed us both of these bitter pills. As a result,  the GM brand has suffered tremendous damage, with many people being openly hostile towards the company.

Is it right for us to direct our anger at GM for not recognizing the changing auto market? Sure. Is it productive? No.

As painful as it may be for some to hear, now that “We the People of the United States of America” own a 61% share of General Motors, it’s in all of our best interests that the company succeeds. Part of that success will come from GM’s future marketing efforts.

On August 11th, at a GM press event, Vice Chairman Bob Lutz talked about the changes that are coming to GM marketing, his opinions on GM’s current commercials, and his desire to address the perception of a quality gap between GM and foreign cars.

Quoting from the Detroit Free Press:

Bob Lutz, in his new role as GM’s chief creative guru, already is shaking up advertising and marketing to close what he has long argued is a huge gap between the quality of GM cars and trucks and the public perception of them.

Asked how advertising will change, he contrasted a current Buick ad — one he doesn’t like — with a new Chevy ad.

The “Photo Shoot” TV commercial, which shows a Buick LaCrosse and an Enclave and a snooty film director at a fashion model pool party, reminds Lutz of old GM ads when its products weren’t so good.

“There was a natural tendency,” he said, “to do charming stories of the family washing the car and the kids putting the beach balls in the back, to give the viewer a kind of a warm feeling. That’s one type of advertising, and you’re going to see way less of that.”

By contrast, Lutz likes a new Chevy spot in which ex-football star Howie Long compares the fuel economy of several Chevy models favorably with Hondas, before cutting to a Honda product GM can’t compete with — a lawnmower. Lutz said the ad dispels “this commonly held myth that in every category the Japanese are the masters of fuel economy, when in fact they’re not.”

Here’s the commercial Bob Lutz doesn’t like.

Unfortunately, I cannot post the commercial Bob Lutz does like without a “written approval from GM.” But here it is via YouTube.

I agree with Lutz’s ad strategy, but it’s a strategy that should have been implemented a decade ago when fuel-efficient imports first started hitting the roads. Nevertheless, it’s no use looking in the rear-view mirror (automobile pun intended).

As an American taxpayer, you’re part-owner of the company. What do you think of the spots? Is Bob Lutz right to gear GM marketing away from high concept ads and toward direct comparisons?

Rob Frappier is a marketing copywriter and blogger working in the social media sphere. To reach Rob, visit his blog, or follow him on Twitter.