Final Blog Post

The semester has come to a close and with it, my blogging assignment. Writing the 26 blogs, although a required task, was an overall enjoyable experience. Not very familiar with the blogosphere before this was assigned, I learned a great deal. The learning was actually two-fold for me; I became informed about word of mouth and buzz marketing while I also learned the components of a blog.

Blogs are a neat method of receiving information and keeping track of industry trends. They are considered an up-and-coming medium, and a respected one at that. One need not be a professional to create a blog, but a great deal of the media or marketing centered blogs seem to be written by individuals employed or involved in those fields. Some of these media or marketing employees are blogging simply for personal enjoyment, while others represent their respective companies on posts to a company blog. By reading blogs and writing entries, I learned about the writing style typical of blogs, how to handle posted comments, and how to promote the blog.

Blogs are meant to be written in a style that is easy and informal. This is what makes blogs the information source of choice for many due to the fact that the very nature of the writing makes the content more interesting. Throughout my posts, I tried to relax and not think of the post as a report, but rather a conversation. Although I at times succeeded and at others failed at this task, writing the entries became enjoyable because it was my own interpretation of material, free of stylistic restraints.

An exciting aspect of the exercise was the comments garnered by other blogger.com members. Although these comments were few and far between, with only about 6 comments for the whole semester, they were by far the most rewarding aspect of the blog. Blogs are not meant simply to be read, but to be interacted with as well. When someone posted a comment, even if it was my professor, it was special; it meant that someone out there in the web looked at my writing and that short piece of writing invoked some type of response. I received some thoughtful reactions to articles, updates on information, and suggestions of sites or products to consider. At first I wasn't sure what to do in return for the posters, then I realized that the best method was probably to post a response directly underneath on my own blog. Hopefully this was an effective means for providing feedback to individuals who took the time to visit the site and look over the entries.

In order to attract readers to comment, promoting the blog is necessary. This proved to be a very enlightening activity. I found out about blog monitoring cites like blogdigger.com, where users can search for types of blogs and entries. I also got a sense of the direct correlation between promoting the blog and receiving comments. Towards the end of the semester, after I had promoted my blog through posting on other blogs, advertising it on my Facebook, and subscribing to Blogdigger.com, I began to get more comments. With the blog model ideally being a conversation, it is necessary to seek out other opportunities to involve readers.

Becoming comfortable with the format and upkeep of a blog was an important aspect of the overall assignment, but the other major component was to acquire knowledge on a particular topic, which for me was viral, word of mouth and buzz marketing. Through reading blogs and articles online, I became informed of the channels of buzz marketing and some general guidelines for what makes a marketing endeavor buzz worthy.

Throughout the semester I observed different forms of creating buzz. In my posts I covered viral video, news media, advergames, and events or contests. Viral video and advergames are extremely popular right now and spread particularly fast with the younger generations. YouTube has continued to dominate the scene with companies creating outlandish extra commercials to post or just weird clips. I was introduced to advergames for the first time doing this assignment, and they are very effective due to their extreme addictiveness. News media continues to be a tried and true method of spreading the word about something. This method was reinforced, however, by recent data from Neilson demonstrating a direct link between media coverage and increased sales. Finally, events and contests are often utilized by companies as well. This is a great way for costumers to get excited about a brand and to talk to others about it.

Of course I wrote about other means of creating word of mouth too, be it a conscious effort of the company or not. Often times negative feedback can spread about a company or product in a manner that the company did not anticipate at all. An example of this was when Proctor and Gamble's logo was interpreted as a Satanic image. Another spread of negative buzz came from the unappealing appearance of the KFC famous bowl. On the other hand, positive feedback can come from accidents, like JetBlue and their handling of the recent runway crisis. Their actions helped to spread positive news and images of the company.

Reading through blogs, articles, and press releases over the course of the semester, I began to notice some basic guidelines for buzz marketing endeavors. If a company wants people to talk about something, it needs to be timely, or pertinent to current issues. An example of this is the recent green and sustainable activities of Wal-Mart, HSBC and Home Depot. Their efforts are getting attention because of the national concern over global warming. Another requirement of buzz worthy happenings is that they need to be very different, following the "dog bites man" model. The "Quiznos Coyote" that I covered in one of my posts received substantial amounts of coverage simply because it was so incredibly unusual to have a coyote walk into a sandwich shop. A final component of buzz success is utilizing the current technology to generate reactions. Advergames, contests off of company websites, and viral videos are all examples of using the Internet to build buzz.

Word of Mouth and viral advertising are proven methods for garnering attention for a brand. It is so successful, in fact, that some companies use WOM as their only means of advertising. It is a powerful method as well, because it brings truthfulness and importance to a message if someone hears it from a friend. This blog has been a tremendous opportunity to read about and analyze the instances of viral, word of mouth and buzz marketing. Furthermore, it has brought me up to date on the dynamic world of blogging.

Fast Food = Scandalous

When patronizing a fast food establishment, I never really ponder the big questions like:

• "Who developed the menu of this fast food joint?"
  
• "Who's the genius behind this limited time only super-tasty-hungry meal?"

As a fast food developer I certainly would never ask myself:

• "If this ends up being too many calories, is this going to create negative word of mouth for the company?"

Well, I guess the food mastermind at KFC should have considered that one when he brought into being the KFC Famous Bowl, a dish that is used as an example of gluttony to the extreme. In a blog I recently came across that is all about current culture, Culture Blog, young women and their propensity to continually gain weight, yet insist on wearing skin tight fashions, was the focus of an entry. The entry blames a number of factors such as current fashions, self-consciousness...and the KFC Famous Bowl.

A picture of the dish is displayed on the page to support the statement that we live in a hypocritical society that promotes "Victoria Secret models as ideals, while simultaneously advertising the KFC Famous Bowl of mashed potatoes, chicken, gravy and cheese." The calories and fat content are supplied as evidence of the excessively unhealthy lifestyle of Americans: the bowl contains 700 calories, 31 grams of fat and 2110 grams of sodium.

That's some negative WOM if I've ever read/heard it.

Another aspect of the food industry is the difference in quality/attractiveness of advertised food items versus the actual product. The KFC Bowl once again served as a bad example, this time the epitome of food that does not appear as it was advertised. I came across it first on AdFreak.com where an entry highlighted the sometimes extreme difference between the food item in the picture, and the one in the take out bag. KFC Famous Bowl, once again, was the poster item for ugly looking fast food in real life. The blog links to Fast Food: Ads vs. Reality, where other less than desirable looking fast food can be viewed.

But in actuality, according to some responses on chowhound.com, people didn't like the look of the Famous Bowl even when it was at its glamour-shot best in advertisements. In fact, those who left comments make references to throw-up and other foul things to describe the look of the dish. This proves that a food product's overall presentation and look is very important in garnering desire for a product and maintaining the integrity of the entire brand.

The KFC Famous Bowl is an interesting study in how to get people talking, in all the wrong ways, about a food item. Next time Mr. Mastermind, keep calories, actual presentation and overall attractiveness in mind before rolling another special meal out to the global chain.

Buzz Word: "Green"

With Earth Day around the corner, a number of companies are rolling out or hyping-up their efforts to become "green" or "Eco friendly." With more and more of the U.S. population becoming environmentally aware, this is a brilliant marketing strategy that not only is effective, but constructive as well. What makes this buzzworthy is the fact that big name, big box stores are among those taking the plunge and they are supporting it with incentives, events and advertising campaigns.

Wal-Mart, as mentioned in the article Wal-Mart: The Average Joe is Greener Than You Think, "more or less represents the devil" in the eyes of some consumers. When certain people look at Wal-Mart, they see the embodiment of "the man", mistreated workers, and waste on a giant scale. This is why Wal-Mart, in correlation with Earth Day, is launching its "Live Better Index." There is an explanation of the push in a press release that can be found on the website dedicated to busting Wal-Mart myths, Wal-Mart Facts. By really making a commitment to environmentally friendly practices, Wal-Mart hopes to decrease its ecological footprint while probably at the same time improve any unpleasant associations with the image of the company. The corporation has actually been working on this environmental initiative for quite some time, but Earth Day provides a timely way of spreading the word about it. The hope most likely is that people will see new products in the store, take the survey, and then talk about Wal-Mart with others. I remember when I first read about Wal-Mart's work with sustainable production; I was very surprised and shared that news with others.

Another big box store looking to change in a big green way is Home Depot. According to the article Home Depot Steps Up Its Eco-Friendly Game, the store is relabeling 2,500 products already in stock with an "Eco Option" sticker. This label allows consumers to recognize what they can purchase to live sustainably. The underlying purpose of this service though, is most likely to show that Home Depot has a global conscience and helps a consumer purchase responsibly. Not only is Home Depot bringing value to the environmentally conscious consumer by offering a variety of sustainable products, it is also "walking the walk" as far as its corporate behavior by fighting against carbon emissions and refusing to harvest trees from vulnerable plots. Home Depot is turning the launch of the "Eco Option" label into an event, creating some discussion by passing out 1 million free CFL bulbs on Earth Day. As of right now, one can see the CFL bulbs featured on the front page of the Home Depot website.

Initially, this blog post was focused on big retailers and the push towards providing more organic products or materials made of recycled fibers. However, there is another way for non-retail corporations to get a piece of the goodwill that comes with sustainable business practices. Featured in the article HSBC Sees Green in Green, HSBC is familiar with the good image of sustainability, and moreover, how such tactics can translate to an improved bottom line. One method utilized by the London-based bank is cutting paper costs by switching to online transactions. HSBC was actually named "Sustainable Bank of the Year" for their efforts. HSBC will be rolling out an entire campaign with the tag line "There is No Such Thing as Small Change" over the next few months, starting with Earth Day this Sunday. HSBC will be offering various sustainable events until June 8 and passing out a "Green Living Kit" to those who pay their bills online three times. You can check out their sense of corporate responsibility and sustainable initiatives on this page of the HSBC website.

I couldn't help but cover these interesting promotions/campaigns/events for Wal-Mart, Home Depot, and HSBC. I have never seen corporations develop entire campaigns for Earth Day.

The cases are interesting to compare because:
All three companies have the same idea in mind, to establish themselves as green companies in order to enhance customer opinions and to fulfill their duty as a an active member of the global society. I know it is trendy to be sustainable, so perhaps that isn't so strange come to think of it. However, the fact that all decided on a major push for Earth Day is kind of humorous. Each is trying to promote discussion about earth friendly habits, and at the same time involve themselves in that discussion. I will be curious to see if there are any news stories on Sunday or Monday about the events these companies have planned.

All three articles were featured in Marketing Daily this week.

Lexus on Fire

Lexus is one of many car brands searching for new ways to create interest in its models. With the automobile industry definitely at the maturity stage in its product life cycle, the market is absolutely saturated and any amount of market share is fought over fiercely. Wanting to position the brand as a performance one rather than simply luxury vehicles seems to be the focus for Lexus, particularly before rolling out some supped-up models. What is really cool are all the ways that Lexus is planning on promoting it with the goal, as far as I can gather, of making the brand popular among a younger audience as a performance import.

A virtual opportunity to drive the Lexus was the discussion of a Marketing Daily article, describing how the brand decided to work with Atari to get into that company's "Test Drive Unlimited" game. Owners of the game and an Xbox 360 will be able to download a free "Lexus Car Pack" that enables them to drive 5 models and then new models as they come out. In the game there is a Lexus dealership where the gamer can exchange the points they win in game for a new car. With a huge amount of people owning an Xbox and keeping hooked to the Internet for continual updates, this marketing endeavor is amazing opportunity to reach large percentage of the younger demographic. Atari will be promoting the Lexus addition to the game through online ads resembling previews, and also in the game they will be sponsoring Lexus races. Lexus in real life will be participating in more performance oriented car shows.

Another interesting marketing effort from Lexus: an online serial novel. Lexus enlisted the help of L.A. author Mark Haskell Smith to write the novel that I learned about on Random Culture . "Black Sapphire Pearl" is available online and off of the Lexus Online Magazine; a very interesting approach, perhaps livening up their magazine. I read a little bit of it and I'm not sure if it is something I would read or get hooked on, but maybe an older audience member or Lexus enthusiast would be caught by it. Still, very cool and different way of associating a brand with a particular lifestyle/adventure.

Podcasting is another avenue Lexus has been exploring to reach the "younger, hipper consumer." Based on information from Flytip, Lexus signed a deal at one point with a California public radio station to advertise on podcasts for 26 weeks. I could not determine if this campaign was successful or something Lexus continues to pursue, but it is still another way in which Lexus has been committed to finding different ways to reach consumers. Podcasting is actually a popular method of auto advertising, with Audi on that scene as well.

Way to go Lexus, it will be fun to read about the success of the "Lexus Car Pack."

Interactive Killed the TV Star

BuzzMarketing.com claims there are "7 things you should know about traditional advertising," in comparison to the alternative media services they offer. Upon clicking the link, the reader is basically told the same thing seven times, that TV advertising is dying. In class we briefly discussed that big name companies are gradually moving to more interactive, guerrilla and viral initiatives, but BuzzMarketing.com puts this claim into numbers quoting that "78% of the top 133 marketers" feel that their television advertising fails to pack a punch. Furthermore, they definitely justify the rumor that "big name companies" are movie out, by stating a fact from AdAge that both Coca-Cola and Johnson&Johnson decided not to participate in television upfronts this go around. I knew that television was part of a traditional advertising model, but I did not recognize television to be the embodiment of it.

Brad Templeton, EEF chairman, software entrepreneur and self-proclaimed troublemaker, has a blog about ideas. These ideas range from "backwards middle airplane seats" to "making instruments with the human voice". With his thoughts running the entire gambit, it makes sense that he would also come across the conundrum currently facing TV advertisers and advertisers in general. He presents his opinion of the latest phenomenon in TV, Tivo, and makes some possible suggestions of how to increase the interactivity, most already employed: product placement, DVD encryption and interactive ads. Basically, Brad is saying "TV, you better come up with some ways to force me to watch ads, because with the current technology, I simply don't have to." This is really at the root of the problem with TV. But, even if viewers were forced to watch commercials, the engagement factor would be nowhere near the level of viral videos or advergames which consumers actually elect to be exposed to.

Interestingly enough, at the same time that big business is thinking twice about TV advertising, Television Advertising.com is focusing on convincing small businesses to break onto the TV scene. They site a major difference in the type of Television advertising they are advocating, which is "Immediate Response TV" versus those focusing on brand image. It makes sense as being a quick way to reach a lot of people. However, it must be tough encouraging small businesses with equally small budgets to invest in a historically expensive media...especially when cheaper, more engaging media exist.

"Gump Marketing" and the "Quizno's Coyote" Viral Video

Viral videos range from zany commercials, to silly skits, to news footage.
Well, the viral video topping charts today is that of the "Quiznos Coyote." The coyote apparently traipsed into the propped open door of a Chicago Quiznos, and sat himself/herself in a beverage cooler. If you can imagine, the customers were frightened at first and exited the store. But, they soon became part of a large group watching the coyote from the windows, absolutely transfixed. The coyote was eventually removed, excuse me, "Adrian" was eventually removed. Yes, somehow the coyote managed to receive a name in this process.

A media frenzy ensued; a simple search of "Quiznos Coyote" returned several pages of links. The coverage spanned the major broadcast network affiliates: ABC, NBC, Fox and CBS. It also went on to reach The Star and the Chicago Sun-Times, along with the ever popular YouTube. Everyone wanted a little piece of the action, even the wildlife preserve that handled Adrian's release gave continual, almost unnecessary coverage of the coyote's status. Their site includes an action shot of Adrian jumping the crate in his return to the wilderness.

Quiznos absolutely jumped on the media coverage, putting out a media release and making jokes about broadening their customer base.

Quiznos has had some interesting campaigns in the past, the "spongemonkeys" and "baby bob" come to mind. Adweek hailed the strange hamster-esque figures as one of the best ad campaigns, although personally the spongemonkeys really did NOT make me want to buy a sandwich, or make me want to eat anything for that matter. Then, Quiznos went back to the classic and equally strange "baby bob". That was back in 2004, but what has happened to the advertising/marketing strategy of this sandwich shop?

Chris Houchens on the Shotgun Marketing BLOG likes to call this type of approach "Gump Marketing". More explicitly defined, the Forrest Gump Marketing Philosophy means that "you're not taking care of the marketing side of business, but you're still growing and opportunities are presenting themselves because of destiny and/or blind luck." It's a, "we'll get what we get" sort of mentality. Well, that is precisely what is going on with this viral footage/story of the Quiznos coyote. Fate brought Adrian to the Chicago store, spreading the name of Quiznos nationally with an endearing vibe. Quiznos realized what had fallen into their lap, and based on a Marketing Daily article, took advantage of this opportunity to push media coverage and "strike a chord with animal lovers" by donating to Chicago Animal Care and Control.

Viral marketing is a fascinating phenomenon, and what makes it so intriguing is that you never know what crazy antic will catch the eye of the public or how fast it will spread. Viral also has more of an opportunity for the Gump factor, because it is typically cheap to produce and spread.

The Connection: Press Coverage and Buzz

There is most definitely a connection between what people are talking about and the latest news coverage. Local and national news outlets give individuals a sense of what is going on in the community, the nation and the world. Although it seems that media consumers are becoming more savvy and critical, they still trust and depend upon the news hour , the local paper, etc. that they patronize to give them truthful, unbiased information. Therefore, topics of discussion in the news become topics of discussion on the street; this discussion is the payoff that press releases seek and that show sponsors desire.

A brilliant example of the buzz power of the news media deals with the story run on the health benefits of red wine. An article in the Chicago Tribune from about a week ago states that since the 60 minutes story on Red Wine was aired in the early 90s, red wine figures have been on a "healthy roll". And in November 2006, after Harvard released to the press that the reservatol in wines has health benefits, red wine sales jumped by 8% in four weeks. Furthermore, red wine, that typically trailed behind white wine, has now surpassed white in sales as result of its upwards climb since right after October 2006. According to an article in Marketing Daily, blush wines have actually decreased in sales. This same article says that the newest figures from the Neilson Company appear to show a direct link between the the coverage of the red wine health news and volume sales for that type of wine.

Danny Brager, vice president of client service for ACNielsen's Beverage Alcohol Team, said that the marketing efforts of the wine industry have really been a huge factor in increasing sales. Box wines are on the rise by 40% at the same time that many consumers, based on the Neilson data, are also favoring more expensive brands.

But, the point here is that there is definitely a connection between news coverage, particularly television news coverage and creating buzz. It is a powerful medium that carries a great deal of weight. That is why many companies jump at the chance to be sponsors, occasionally putting news programs under pressure to cover or not cover certain stories, for example. The Line Between News and Sales, is a compelling compilation of guidelines that some news station executives put together with the support of Newslab and the Committee for Concerned Journalists. This must mean, unfortunately, that broadcast journalists have folded under pressure once or twice, and that the "line" has been crossed before.

In no way am I insinuating that the wine industry paid for the news coverage previously discussed, but it is a perfect illustration of how news carries and translates to sales.