Tag Archives: viral

Red Bull Stratos Reminds us that Content is Still King

16 Feb

This is simply brilliant work by the Red Bull team.  If you haven’t heard about Red Bull Stratos, do yourself a favor and watch this 4-minute video trailer.  In a nutshell:

  • Felix Baumgartner will attempt to free fall then parachute from 23 miles above Earth
  • If successful, he will break several 50-year old records held by Colonel Joe Kittinger
  • This project is completely underwritten and produced by Red Bull

Yes – Red Bull has upped the ante in the content department with a pretty compelling story.  In fact, this trailer feels very much like what you’d expect to see as a high quality movie preview.  But what’s most amazing here is that Red Bull is producing this alone – no big corporate media halo, no online media partner to ensure distribution, no A-list Hollywood producer name to lean on.  It’s Red Bull’s gig and they’re going all-in.

The “safe” thing to do would have been to partner with some big media outlet, if for no other reason than to guarantee coverage and distribution.  But the story is so darn compelling, that Red Bull has the license to go direct.

I see this as the wave of the future — brands investing in world-class content that is intimately linked to their equity and serving it straight up to consumers.  Not all brands, but those like Red Bull, Porsche, Nintendo and others that have authentic products, a crystal clear positioning and a base of die-hard loyalists.

Kudos to the Red Bull team and to @kdoohan who leads digital marketing (Kevin is also a ConAgra Foods alum).  Should be fun to see this unfold.

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Making Points-Based Rewards Programs Really Work

17 Feb

pitcrewI’ll come right out and say that I am an avid supporter of points-based rewards programs for CPG brands.  If planned and executed properly, rewards program can reach your most valuable consumers and measurably drive incremental volume.  At SoftCoin, we designed and implemented a number of highly successful rewards programs for Welch’s, NASCAR, Nestle, DPSG, P&G and others.  These programs were engaging, reached a mass market audience, and were rich with data and insights.

But for any CPG marketer pondering a points program, there are three things you’ll want to make sure you really get right: optimizing purchase validation, assembling a solid rewards catalog and mining the database.

The most scalable method to validate purchase is via secure, on-pack alphanumeric codes.  Sure, there is an up-front capital investment in equipment to apply the codes (~$25k to $100k) and there will likely be a short-term disruption to the production line, but this is really the way to do it.  The MyCokeRewards program has been using secure on-pack codes for 3+ years now, so the business case exists.  Other methods include tracking purchases through a store club card (doesn’t scale beyond that one retailer) or via credit card data (bad if you are strong in C-store distribution given the bias toward cash transactions).  And whatever you do, don’t digress with mail-in UPC code redemption.

The rewards catalog must be relevant and compelling to get your best consumers excited about participating.  There should be a mix of digital asset rewards (music, special content) and some cool aspirational prizes.  There should also be enough redemption opportunities to keep consumers engaged, without breaking the bank so to speak.  NASCAR offered a highly coveted “pit crew captain for a day” reward that money simply can’t buy along with a number of other lower level digital assets.  Talk about resonating with a core audience and really driving consumption.

Finally, solid analytics and segmentation are essential to getting the most out of these programs and driving the right behaviors.   Big CPG points programs can easily attract 2 million+ unique / authenticated consumers, so expect to see a broad array of behaviors.  A core set of heavy users (as measured by code entries and/or self-reported survey response), will sit alongside a  long tail of single code entry consumers.  Developing the right analytical framework to reward heavy consumers for their loyalty and encourage casual consumers to buy more is essential.  Brandweek recently highlighted that loyalty program participants are 70% more likely to actively recommend a product, so segmenting and supporting the brand champions is key.

Web-based loyalty programs are excellent vehicles for CPG brands to drive, measure and reward consumer behavior.  If designed properly, these programs can deliver profitable results.  Just pay attention to these three key areas before moving too far down the path of execution.

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Digital Promotions + Targeted Advertising = Success

16 Feb

This is a great presentation on digital promotions and the role they play in the marketing mix for CPG brands.  The key takeaways here that I have also observed from own experience include:

1. Now more than ever, consumers are responsive to online promotions.  All the data I have seen supports this reality.

2. Integration, integration, integration — into the broader media plan, into mobile, via social media, onto packaging.  The digital promotion carries the conversation beyond the initial dialog.

3. Online promotions can be messy and wrought with legal complications.  Hire a good promotion attorney to keep you out of hot water.

Thanks to Team Digital for posting this to SlideShare.

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Cracking the code on word-of-mouth marketing

14 Jan

At an industry conference last year I saw a fantastic live keynote presentation on buzz marketing from Steve Knox, CEO of P&G’s Tremor division.  Steve’s keynote highlighted the emergence (and critical importance) of word-of-mouth marketing in the CPG sector, and how brand franchises are benefiting from a groundswell of loyal consumers who behave as self-appointed ambassadors.

These “connectors”, as Steve calls them, form the fabric of word-of-mouth and social media in general.  These are the folks that tend to be early adopters (but not always), have distributed groups of friends and acquaintances, and just generally like to be heard.  The key message that Tremor has for brand marketers is to identify these connectors and nurture real relationships with them.   From there, good things will happen. Sounds easy to do, but there is clearly a lot more to it than that.

But once you do identify the right group of connectors, how do you forge meaningful relationships?  Bring them into the product development process.  Let them have a real say on which line extensions, flavors, colors, varieties and form-factors are on the roadmap.  Let them be the first on their blocks (and in their social networks) to try a product pre-launch.  Allow them to critique advertising.  Communicate with these folks often and early, and they will pay you back many times over.

One of the key take aways that Steve shared with the audience has stuck with me.  It was something to the effect of: “Don’t confuse word-of-mouth marketing with the internet.  The internet can be an enabler to this discipline, but is not a requirement.”  Great advice from someone who is clearly deep in the trenches.

On an interesting side note, it’s important to recognize that Tremor serves not just P&G’s portfolio brands, but also brands from non-competitive CPG organizations.  The Tremor business website highlights customers from Hershey’s, Del Monte, Ford, Kellogg’s and more.  Good news travels fast.

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Brand U.O – The power of influencers on consumer brands

26 Dec

I’ve become a fan of David Armano, author of the Logic + Emotion blog and VP, Creative / Design Evangelist at Critical Mass.  He has an uncanny ability to distill complex thoughts into really simple, informative visuals.

David recently posted a presentation (embedded above) on the social movement of personal brand builders who can influence large spheres of followers.  Think Guy Kawasaki and Seth Godin as two prime examples.  This introduces some real opportunities in the CPG marketing community, as outspoken  individuals who have achieved “micro-celebrity” status online have the power to quickly and efficiently influence a defined market.

Perhaps the strategy for CPG folks is to cultivate relationships with the right micro-celebrities to help proliferate market test opportunities and evangelize new item intros to their vast networks.  I’m thinking Phil Lempert can play that role quite well.

A very interesting topic delivered through an easy-to-digest presentation.

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