Tweet This Book

Vaughn Davis, former Creative Group Head at Y&R New Zealand has written a great little eBook about social media, called Tweet This Book I used to work for Vaughn as an intern when I studied abroad in NZ, and he is a brilliant man! I highly recommend the book, and the best part is it's free. Vaughn is actually using a social payment system called Pay With A Tweet.

One thing that Vaughn talks about in the book, is that social media is not any type of silver bullet when it comes to marketing. As he says, advertising is a wall, and social is a window. Social media is a great way to build communities of supporters, but if the heart of your business is not attractive, people will see that and walk away.

Jimmy Dean Shine On! Float

The Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade just happened for the 86th time! The American spectacle that is seen by over 3 Million people on the streets of New York City, and 50 Million more on NBC (that’s almost half as many viewers as the Super Bowl), has been said to be one of the earliest forms of “Branded Entertainment”.
Macy’s certainly is not the only corporation to get in on the marketing action. Kiernan Maletsky, of the Denver Westword Blog, recently claimed that the Parade is “little more than a really long advertisement for kids movies and food companies.” I can’t say that I disagree with her, but I do disagree with her assessment of the Jimmy Dean float. She said, “The marketing message here is that, if you eat the protein-rich Jimmy Dean breakfast sausage, you will be able to Shine On! throughout the day. That works if you're a protein bar company or a health food pusher or something, but whenever we eat Jimmy Dean for breakfast, we just want to take a nap.”
To give you a little background, the Jimmy Dean Shine On! Float was introduced in 2008, the same year that Sara Lee introduced the Jimmy Dean brand to the U.S. market. The brand has now become the company’s best-selling frozen processed food offering.
CMO Philippe Schaillee was quoted in Adweek this past March, saying that through research and focus groups they were able to narrow down their target to what Schaillee described as the “chaotic compromiser." She is a hardworking mom, and breakfast for her consists mainly of frozen meals because “her family likes them." According to Schaillee, “moms subconsciously know there are better breakfast options out there than the ones they [serve up] in the morning.”
In 2009, in light of this insight, Sara Lee added Jimmy Dean D-lights Turkey Sausage Whole Grain Bagel Sandwich and Jimmy Dean D- lights Turkey Bacon Breakfast Bowl. Both were billed as calorie-controlled other frozen processed food options, offering a filling meal option for “under 300 calories.” The development of Jimmy Dean's breakfast offer has been a shift in emphasis from a traditional breakfast brand to one focused on the provision of protein and convenience in line with prevailing consumer interests. Also in line with this strategy, the company launched Jimmy Dean Breakfast Entrées - croissants or scrambled eggs combined with sides of potatoes and fruit.
The brand promise has subsequently shifted from a “happy breakfast” to a “lasting breakfast.” Instead of focusing on cheering people up, the most recent ads still feature a man dressed up as the sun, but they emphasize the energy component of what is considered the most important meal of the day.
This year’s Shine On! Float featured the country music band Gloriana singing the very energetic song, “Wild At Heart”, which is about “a couple kids running loose and wild.” The obvious implication being that their energy came from a Jimmy Dean breakfast!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Jesse Thomas of JESS3 created this infographic, which displays what people are most thankful for based on their posts on thankfulfor.com. I think it's no surprise what came up as number one. The people in my life are personally what I am most thankful for. The fact is, we may have a lot going on in our lives, but at the end of the day what most of us care most about are the people in it. This also explains the success of Facebook, which in essence is a product built around people.

Web 2.0 Summit 2010: Mark Zuckerberg, "A Conversation with Mark Zuckerb...

Marketing to Foodies

"Foodies" are a very marketable, growing consumer segment. Foodies are not professional food people, food is more of a hobby for them. Unlike "gourmets", they don't just eat good food, they want to learn everything about it that they possibly can!

Who are Foodies?

• Passionate about good food made from high quality ingredients.
• Possess a lot of food knowledge.

Typical foodies:

• Women
• Married
• No children
• Live in suburban areas
• Enjoy watching cooking shows
• Read the Food Section of the newspaper

Despite economy, 56.4% said they are unwilling to compromise on quality to save money.

Foodies are Online!

More likely than the average American to:

• “Friend” a brand on Facebook.
• Subscribe to a brand’s eNewsletter or RSS Feed.

Interested in using the internet to:

• Get “exclusive deals”
• Order food from a restaurant. (36% more likely than Average)

What else do they like?

• Fine Arts & Antiques
• Home Decorating
• Entertaining/Hosting Parties

Marketing Recommendations for High Quality Food Brands:

• Send Press Releases to Food Newspaper writers, Food Network Producers, and Foodie Bloggers.
• Offer fresh content on Website such as recipes, party ideas, and information on the science and history of your food or drink.
  
• Become involved with fine arts, and interior decorating. Sponsor events, advertise in publications etc.
• Create offers and contests available only to Facebook group members.

Data Source: Audience Interests + Attitudes: Foodies. Ad-ology Research. 2010.

Trains, Plains, and Automobiles

In my last post I mentioned that toy trains are making a comeback for young boys this year. I would like to point out a commercial that is currently running for Amtrak, which I feel is right on. The spot begins by showing two boys, one playing with toy cars and the other toy airplanes. As they reenact less than desirable travel scenarios that we have all faced before, we are reminded of things like the costs to travel by plane or car, our inherent distaste for flight delays and the agony of getting stuck in traffic. Then we are shown a smiling boy playing with his train set who says, "the train is now arriving." I am definitely transported back to my childhood when I myself would make up funny stories like this as I played. Not only does Amtrak echo the current American sentiment, but they are featuring toy trains which are currently very hot in the marketplace! A fortunate coincidence I'm sure, but I found it interesting nonetheless.

Cute, Cool, Collectible

Above: Photo of Nerfuls by Guillermo Lucero.

Toys ‘R’ Us has recently announced their 2010 Holiday Hot Toy List. Many of the trends going on right now are reflective of what was happening 20 or 30 years ago. Dolls with their own stories are big for girls, and for boys trains are making a surging comeback. A current trend cited in their report is that the hottest toys are, “Cute, Cool, and Collectible”. This made me think of some of my favorite toys as a kid that also possessed those characteristics. Do any of you remember Nerfuls? According to Wikipedia they were a line of toy figures produced by Parker Brothers in the 1980s. They were typically constructed of three or four pieces including a plastic ball for a head and a bowl-shaped body in which the head would sit. Nerfuls definitely fell into the very profitable category of collectible, and at the end of their commercials they made sure to let you know that “you can collect them all”. As far as being cute, and cool, well I sure thought they were.

One toy that made the list this year for the 2-4 year old category is Pillow Pets. Despite the category Toys ‘R’ Us put them in, I actually have witnessed the popularity of this item firsthand among children who are older than 4. Pillow Pets are one of the most basic items you could design for a child, but like a lot of toys they also make you ask the question, “why didn’t I think of that?” All they are is a soft pillow that when folded and velcroed becomes a stuffed animal. They actually remind me of something we had growing up, called Pillow People, which were square pillows with arms and legs and faces on them done in decals. In a sense they were also like stuffed animals but the characters were people. However, I am reading online that there were cats and dogs in the product lineup, and other things such as bed sheets, which came out with the Pillow People characters on them. The pillows were so popular that one was actually featured on full house as D.J Tanner’s most prized possession

I think one of the reasons that the marketing of toy/pillow hybrids has been so successful is because they comfort children in one of their most vulnerable places, when they are all alone in their room trying to fall asleep and are scared of what lies beneath their bed or in their closet. Stuffed animals were a great invention, but if that soft furry animal can double as something kids can lay their heads on and become that much closer with, you truly have a win-win.

James Colistra is a freelance Brand Strategist based in New York City.

[Source: “Toys “R”Us Announces 2010 Holiday Toy Trends.” Toys”R”Us company release. 7 Oct. 2010. Web. 15 Oct. 2010.]