Thongs for little girls?

When back in 2002, Abercrombie & Fitch introduced a line of thong underwear for young girls of age 10-14 and a line of T-shirts featuring Asian caricatures it failed to predict the trouble, the insults, and the boycotts that they would have caused.   Part of their ineffective and wrongly approached PR campaign was to publicly state that the Asian caricature T-shirts would assumingly be liked by Asians and that the girls’ thongs would be cheerful and cute, just like the potential consumers…

When involved in a socially irresponsible move, strategy or product launch, your immediate action should be to publicly admit your faults through an appropriate PR campaign, instead of coming up with unprofessional, selfish and damaging to your image comments.

Refreshing of brands during the economic crisis

The economic crisis has affected all companies in all industries.  Even the fast food industry has been facing difficult times, more specifically in the American market which has been stagnant for a long period now.

Wendy’s, the no. 3 in the industry, is freshening its brand, packaging, logo and products in an attempt to increase its customer attraction and sales.  Its new logo will appear on packaging, advertising and employees’ uniforms as of next week.  New products on its menu like the new cod sandwich will also be featured in its new advertising campaign.  McDonalds and Burger King, the nos. 1 & 2 of the industry, also follow similar strategies.

Tiffany jewelry at Costco?

Well, here is another battle between companies…Tiffany’s at court against Costco that has been marketing diamond engagement rings under Tiffany’s name and trademark, when in fact the rings had nothing to do with Tiffany’s.  In addition, Tiffany had similar cases in the past with Overstock and ebay.  How can a low cost seller be distributing high end, luxury products?  Many consumers have fallen into that trap, though, and Tiffany’s image has been endangered.  Exclusive distribution rights have to be allocated when dealing with such high-end products and names.  Luxury brands and distributors have to be alert to protect their image positioning, as well as consumers.

Adidas BOOST

Be innovative...That is a must in the effective Marketing world.  Innovativeness is what Adidas is promoting in its latest campaign.  Running is about to enter a new era with Adidas Boost trainers as shown in the teaser video with the three metal balls thrown on three different surfaces, Boost, EVA (ethylene vinyl acetate) and concrete.  The ball thrown on the Boost surface of course bounces the highest!It is all about innovativeness…

 

Snakes for Chinese...

Part of effective and successful Marketing campaigns is to tailor your products and advertising campaign to your target market.  Considering the growing number and power of the Chinese market, many companies are studying and reflecting the Chinese culture in their Marketing strategies.  Nike, McDonalds, KFC, Starbucks, Gucci, Mac Cosmetics among others have recognized the importance of the Chinese “Year of the Snake” and have incorporated it in their products and campaigns. 

 

 

TV commercials costing $4 million/30''

Would you think that $4 million for a 30 second commercial is a lot of money wasted by a company?  Well, that is how much 2013 Superbowl commercials have cost this year and if you do the simple maths it is really not that expensive.  Considering a smart scenario, 111 million global viewers on the day of the Superbowl game plus additional viewers from national reruns and global circulation over the various social media, then that is a cost-effective and fun form of marketing communication.

Taco Bell, M & Ms, Mercedes Benz, Oreo, TIde, Bud Light, Audi are a few names that stood out this past Sunday. Enjoy that Taco Bell's one below:

Burberry's Romeo

David and Victoria Beckam’s third son, 10 year old Romeo, is now starring in Burberry’s Spring/Summer 2013 advertising campaign.  Romeo’s personality and image coincides with Burberry’s.  He also has another pro that Burberry is taking advantage of.  He is a strong and growing brand himself!  This is actually a mutual benefit partnership where they are both trying to enhance their popularity with each other’s brand power.

You can, therefore, combine branded people and branded products for enhanced results.  They will both benefit!