Focus On: Thanksgiving Marketing

In the spirit of Thanksgiving, I rounded up a few Thanksgiving related marketing tactics that have been catching the attention of holiday shoppers everywhere.

                                                           

Nordstrom

Nordstrom is an upscale retail chain in North America initially founded as a shoe retailer.  Today the company sells clothing, accessories, handbags, jewerly, cosmetics, fragrances and home furnishings.  Nordstrom is known for their five major sales, outstanding customer service and return policy, and always eye-catching displays of the latest fashion trends.

Most stores begin decorating for Christmas right after Halloween.  But Nordstrom takes a noble stand against making their stores look like the North Pole prior to November 25th.  This advertisement, seen throughout stores over the years, has made a huge impact with fans and customers.  It also gives customers something to look forward to - knowing exactly when they can walk into their favorite store and feel like they are in a winter wonderland.  

PETA

This PETA advertisement, aimed at children, has been put up in various US cities near elementary schools.  Most PETA advertisements are so shocking and extreme that they would never get approved to be on a billboard.  The Project Manager of this campaign stated in an interview that, "children have a natural compassion for animals.  [...] They are also bombarded with constant fast food advertisements and we'd like to offset that negative influence with a message of kindness."  The dogkey (dog/turkey hybrid) allows children to instantly recognize a Sparky just like their own and hopefully make the connection that the turkey they enjoy every year is also an animal.

Target

Target does an excellent job advertising their low prices and special promotions during the holidays each year.  Remember the crazy red jumpsuit lady?  The company got themselves into some hot water after deciding to start Black Friday early this year.  But they are not the only company starting Black Friday sales on the 24th.  Wal Mart, Best Buy,  and Macy's are also opening their doors early to let shoppers get a head start.  While some retailers feel the pressure to keep up with competitors many employees and customers are rejecting the early shopping hours.  An online petition, that gained over 200,000 signatures, urges Target to put families before their sales.    

What other companies have used controversial (or viral) marketing/advertising techniques during the holiday season?  Does it affect where and how you shop this time of year?

  

3 Non Traditional Ways to Follow the Hofstra Debate

YOUTUBE

YouTube, in partnership with ABC, will livestream the debates worldwide.
To view them, click here.

XBOX LIVE

Xbox Live subscribers are invited to watch the debates live via the game console. Users can submit poll questions on Twitter by using the hashtag #Xboxpoll.

TUMBLR

Any potentially viral moment during the debate will be turned into a "live-GIF" thanks to Tumblr.

Using Interactive Marketing to Make Your Product a "Common Sense" Purchase

Common sense is what we call our good decisions, the times we acted rationally, or the times when everything we did was justified. Leonardo Da Vinci said, "Common Sense is that which judges the things given to it by other senses." 

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We tend to only think of poor choices as foolish, crazy, or insane; and most good decisions are considered common sense. In addition, we listen to our common sense and react to our emotions based on it. Therefore, the best way to gain new customers is to make your product a "common sense purchase." The most effective way to do that is through an interactive multichannel marketing campaign. 

A well-coordinated multichannel approach engages customers through multiple mediums and stimulates multiple senses. This form of marketing can be effective in its own right, however if you are in an industry where humorous ads are appropriate, you will see far significant growth using humor in your ads. 

Even if you didn't realize it before, markets have employed this technique for decades; however, with the growth of the internet and social media in the last 10 years, an interactive multichannel approach has become commonplace and obvious to everyone. 

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Everything from the GoDaddy.com ads convincing you to "go to this site to see more 'unrated' content" to your local restaurant giving you a flyer instructing you to "like us on Facebook for online-only specials" is interactive marketing. 

For small and medium size businesses, a national tv spot and internet tease with a high-priced spokesperson is clearly not the sort of multichannel approach you need. However, a postcard mailer with a Personalized URL for the person to go to in order to get a special deal is quite effective. You've engaged them to check out your website, maybe fill out some questions (if you do this, always keep it short), and then at the end they can print out a coupon or get an online code for your offer.

Make your landing site an interesting place to stay and your brand will become more important in the lives of all the consumers who visit your page. 

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However, don't over do it. People like things that are visually simple! (Why do you think Google became so popular? It is because of the simplicity of their landing page.) 

Offer a fun Facebook photo album, such as our funny mailers album or interesting tweets relevant to your business and your customers. Then, use traditional mediums to advertise to and encourage people to check out your online content. 

As previously mentioned, this interactive multichannel approach is an effective way to market your business. However, if you can infuse this dynamic style with a humorous tone, you will generate substantially greater results.  Humor breaks down the natural defenses consumers have about being 'marketed to,' and humanizes your message which inevitably will lead them to interest in your brand.

Recently, Tipp Ex, a company producing liquid eraser, introduced a viral video which has had huge success because it is humorous and interactive, despite the fact that it has little to do with their product. But, it has widely exposed their brand nationwide.

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The ad is a featured YouTube video (seen here) in which a hunter is camping and a bear sneaks up on him. Then a link pops up and you decide whether to "shoot" the bear or not. No matter which option you click, the ad takes you to a page which uses a technique employed years before in a Burger King marketing campaign with a unique twist.  A video instantly plays and the man uses the liquid eraser style product to erase "shoots" with a blank space in the video title. Then, like the Burger King ad, you can write in anything you want. Such as, "a hunter dances with a bear." Click play and a video of what you typed will play.

Of course not all keywords hit, but this type of advertising engages the audience and, while not directly promoting the product, offers wide ranging exposure at a relatively low cost. This video is now viral, but before it had 20 million views they had to get the video exposure somehow. That was when the other media channels were used in order to create that truly interactive approach. 

Nowadays most interactive campaigns are focused online. While you should not fear using other mediums (tv, radio, billboards), for most businesses, online advertising is the most cost effective way to utilize interactive marketing. Moreover, in order to grow your interactive marketing, other mediums must be used. If you can coordinate your mailer, social media sites, and a video together to create an entertaining and interactive experience with your customers, then using your brand will become common sense.

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By: Will Pearlman

The Correlation Between Humor Appreciation, Personal Coping, and Effective Advertising

Humorous ads are by far the most successful when the jokes "hit". However with great reward comes great risk and most people avoid humor in advertising as a way of controlling risk. The risk that is expected though, does not exist if you find the right target. Of course, when you target a demographic, presentation is key - you must say the right things in the right way to the right people - in order to convince your demographic to purchase your product. 

This Billboard Comically and Effectively Sells this Toothpaste
Company's Claim that their Product "Builds Strong Teeth"
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Using the Multidimentional Sense of Humor Scale (MSHS) created by Dr. James Thorson, Dr. Carolyn Costley and Dr. Scott Koslow - from the University of Waikato (New Zealand) - along with Dr. Graeme Galloway, La Trobe University (Australia), rated the effectiveness of various advertising styles and compounded their results into a Humor Appreciation (HA), rating. 


Quoting from their study report: "Humor appreciation (HA) appears to measure the degree to which an individual likes humor from others. Thus, scores on this could correspond to ratings across the board, a general tendency to find someone else’s humor attempts amusing. "

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In the study, they considered factors such as using humor as a survival adaptive strategy; to cope with stress or denial of embarrassing emotions. While they admit that the HA scale " is in its infancy of study", they do show that humorous ads themed towards personal coping tend to be the most effective in reaching potential consumers. Of course, you want your ad to be strongly tied to your product. Therefore, depending on your industry, finding a way to humorously express how your product helps consumers cope with personal or daily problems (anything from their mortgage payments to their family problems to not being able to scrub the last bits of egg off the frying pan) is the best way scientifically to market to your target demographic. 

This Got Milk? ad plays on a common household situation
and comically expresses how milk can help solve the situation
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Find out the problems they are struggling with and design a campaign that: A) enables them to laugh at their problems, B) expresses how your product will solve their problem. If you can design an advertisement that hits these two points you will have demonstrated the value of your product and the comedy will leave a lasting impression.  The other key is to make sure "the humor appeals to the targeted audience; otherwise, it is just not funny." Of course some might say this is the most difficult part, but that is where it is up to you, it is what makes marketing a fun challenge! And if you are successful in creating an advertisement using these principals it highly likely that your product will be the one people are reaching for.






Reference: Carolyn Costley, Scott Koslow, Graeme Galloway, "SENSE OF HUMOR AND ADVERTISING: A FUNNY THING HAPPENED ON THE WAY TO THE MODEL", in Advances in Consumer Research Volume 29, eds. Susan M. Broniarczyk and Kent Nakamoto, Valdosta, GA : Association for Consumer Research, Pages: 225-226. 

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By: Will Pearlman 

Laughter: The Best Medicine for Your Postcard Mailer

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There is no doubt about it: if someone laughs at your ad, it has been received favorably. Obviously humorous advertising does not work for every industry (sorry to those of you in the mortuary business). But for most, laughter is the best medicine. Moreover, if you can target your humor into a cogent message that promotes your product, your marketing campaign will undoubtedly exceed expectations. Personalized postcards are a great way to connect with your potential customers on a direct level and cost effectively reaching a large demographic. Postcards combine a widespread reach and personal touch with a direct way to catch your customers attention without breaking the budget! Additionally, if you can make someone laugh with your postcard, you'll have peaked their interest in your brand. Here are 4 keys to designing a humorous postcard mailer:

1. Everyone won't get your joke!

Just as in all advertising, you will not get a 100% response rate. Some people might not find your ad funny, or might not get your reference. This is OKAY. Some people are afraid to go with comedy because they think humor will isolate those who do not find the joke amusing. THIS IS FALSE! If you and the other members of your marketing team think your ad is amusing, I guarantee plenty of the people you're mailing it to will find it amusing as well. They aren't different from you, they are human too! Sure some people will not get it, but they will still see the offer and a few will still respond. More importantly, the majority who find your ad amusing will remember it much longer than a standard piece of direct mail. Some humor is more obvious and some industries lend themselves to jokes better. You need to find the right balance for your product and market. Here is a great example from a local pizza franchise:

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2. Humorous Ads Can Inform 

Just because not everyone will get the reference, doesn't mean you should avoid a humorous advertisement. As long as your scope is not too narrow; if your reference is historical or pop culture related, don't be afraid to use it. If your worried about it, you can always add a caption or postscript (p.s.) with a one line explanation. Some people might look up something you referenced in your joke and remember the ad that peaked their curiosity. Others can be more thought provoking, such as this Whiskey ad referencing Sir Bedivere - One of Sir Arthur's Knights of the Round Table - and his infamous Cask.

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People are more likely to remember an ad that educated them about something, peaked their curiosity or interests, AND made them laugh rather than just the latter. 

3. Using Personalization

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So once you've identified who you want to market your product to, you need to have an idea about their interests. Personalize your postcard using names and local references if you can. Even if your working on a nationwide campaign, try to create unique themes for regions and timely themes for holidays and seasons. 

4. Keep It Simple

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Especially with advertising, people want to be entertained and informed about the offer, quickly. Most people become bored with statistics and prolonged sales pitches. So using a funny postcard with a personal touch inevitably will generate more interest in most industries. 




Postcards are a great way to use humor, convey your message, generate business/brand interests, and more importantly, mass expose your product. Mailers in postcard form can be more effective and less costly because your message is in front of the recipient as soon as they view the piece. With a postcard, you can catch their eye much more effectively than using an enveloped mailer. 


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By: Will Pearlman

Marketing: Bests and Worsts

Pretty in love with this Infographic from MarketingDegree.com. Thanks!

Infographic by

Guerrilla marketing- What Marketers can Learn from Street Artists

Most of us have gotten the email - the super dimensional chalk drawings done on sidewalks, streets, and alley ways has virtually circled the globe a few times, and with good reason. Instead of going to Gallery owners, art brokers, and museums, this talented artist took to the streets and started putting his temporary chalk images in the center of busy civic centers and walkways, gaining permanent recognition in not only the art community, but the advertising community as well- and corporate giants are now following suit, putting branded images in unexpected places.  (Thank you to redjellyfish.com for their collection of street art pics, I borrowed a few)

But there is more to be learned from street artists than just how to get your images seen, street artist are masters of "Guerrilla Marketing"- getting their opinions, messages and art to the masses without breaking the bank or utilizing tired and dated tactics. Street artists are very 'avant garde' in their approach, and the world of  advertising and marketing could take a lesson or two.