Posts Tagged ‘Public relations
Twilight fans show online marketing can be simple
Online marketing is one of the latest frontiers for us marketers. We constantly try to figure out ways to leverage this potentially powerful tool. This past weekend showed us that online marketing is really no different than any other type of marketing: know your consumer, target them, and get them involved.
Twilight opened big last weekend. The extensive online marketing was credit for such results. However, if you break it down, it’s really no surprise why online marketing worked for Twilight.
In case you live under a rock, Twilight is a Romeo & Juliet type love story between a teen girl and a vampire. The movie wants a wide audience, but primary target is the books’ teen girl fan base. What do they do with their free time? They play online! So, of course online marketing is one of the best ways to reach them. It is that simple.
Twilight trailer premiered on dedicated MySpace page
An American icon… gone.
So, it’s final. An American icon… gone.
Today, I was forwarded the new logo for ABInbev. I couldn’t believe it. Anheuser-Busch long stood for American tradition, and the new logo seemed almost soulless in that way. Nothing American, and nothing traditional (even though the eagle stayed).
Photo credit: company website
I couldn’t understand it till I came across the MillerCoors logo. Then it clicked.
The beer industry is going through an evolution, and the new logos reflect that. Traditions didn’t pay the bills, and now the beer companies are looking to the future.
However, for a company such as Anheuser-Busch, it must be careful in how it handles such a transition. To have a contemporary logo is one thing, to alienate die-hard fans is quite another. So, to have a parent company that’s looking toward the future may be acceptable. However, the brands must remain undeniably American. A Bud is still a Bud, at least I hope so.
Be creative and stay true to yourself!
Stock is down today. But that’s such old news that it’s hardly even worth a blog mention.
The economy is in trouble, no doubt about it. And everyone is trying to figure out how to get a share of consumers’ shrinking wallets.
I subscribe to several Smartbrief newsletters (if you don’t, you should.) And one of the top headline is “Kraft Tests Recipe for Selling in a Recessionâ€. (Full article is available with subscription to Advertising Age. Once again, if you’re not currently subscribing, you should.)
The same day, I was emailed an article from New York Times â€Goodbye Seduction, Hello Couponsâ€.
And of course, last but not least, I’m working on a value proposition campaign at work myself. I’m sure many of you are, one way or another.
So, how do we sell ourselves out of this mess?
Stay true to your brand! If you got it, flaunt it!
If you’re an economy brand – flaunt it! You’re cheap, and there is no better time to be cheap.
If you’re a lux brand – flaunt it! The rich won’t cheapen themselves…
If you’re somewhere in between… well, flaunt what you got.
Consumers bought you for a reason. Take Target for example. Everyone is now worried about them, including Target themselves. However, it’s not like consumers used to shop there BECAUSE it was more expensive than Wal-Mart. They shopped at Target because they enjoyed the shopping experience better, because they enjoyed the selection better. And now is the most important time to remind them. Now is NOT the time for Target to become Wal-Mart. Otherwise, people would just go to Wal-Mart 
So, remind consumers why should choose you. Flaunt what you got.
Look at it another way. If you consider yourself to be a fashionista and you can’t afford to shop at the designer stores at the moment, you get creative! You shop vintage. You won’t all of a sudden ditch your “brand†and start shopping at the Gap. So, be creative, but stay true to yourself!
Jeannie Chan is a Brand Manager for a Fortune 500 consumer goods company. She considers herself a marketer, a traveler, and a foodie. Jeannie lives in NYC. 
