Bad Marketing Mix: Diddy’s New Fragrance

The new Sean John Fragrance and its accompanying marketing campaign is so saturated with Puff Daddy’s, I mean Diddy’s, I mean… whatever … His new fragrance called “I am King” is a bottle of concentrated Diddy Ego.

I’ve already come across three (1,2,3) accounts of people actually almost barfing after coming into contact with the stuff, some even after coming into contact with the advertising (see above pic, it’s disgustingly narcissistic!).  I can’t believe that this guy can be so full of himself!  No doubt this campaign makes me feel sick, Like most products and brands, they sell an idea.  Diddy’s idea and product are designed to sell him and his overinflated ego.  How a person like this can be a role model to kids, I have no idea.

He should stick to making beats (because his lyrics SUCK!) and so does most of his other products.

#FAIL on this marketing campaign, not on the choice of media or tactics but on the underlying idea and concept.

Holy Marketing

I love this joke… and it drives home a great point about the true essence of marketing, knowing your audience/customer.

Two beggars are sitting side by side on a street in Rome. One has a cross in front of him; the other one the Star of David. Many people go by and look at both beggars, but only put money into the hat of the beggar sitting behind the cross. A priest comes by, stops and watches throngs of people giving money to the beggar behind the cross, but none give to the beggar behind the Star of David. Finally, the priest goes over to the beggar behind the Star of David and says, ‘My poor fellow, don’t you understand? This is a Catholic country, this city is the seat of Catholicism. People aren’t going to give you money if you sit there with a Star of David in front of you, especially when you’re sitting beside a beggar who has a cross. In fact, they would probably give to him just out of spite.’ The beggar behind the Star of David listened to the priest, turned to the other beggar with the cross and said, ‘Moishe, look who’s trying to teach the Goldstein brothers about marketing.’

Courtesy JP Rossouw

Got this from David Donde

Digital Designers Face Off in Digital Drag Race Today

Intel’s Digital Drag Race launches today. It’s a competition in which professional digital designers go head-to-head at designing under pressure. The site also has a consumer-generated aspect for non-professional designers.

The Idea: a collection of professional designers will spend 70 minutes on a computer powered by the brand new Intel Core i7 Extreme Edition Processor using Adobe Creative Suite 4 to create a 17 second motion graphic using supplied assets; video, music, vector images. The content of the videos are to center on the themes of power, speed and innovation.

After each race, judges will select competitors with the best final product. The first two digital drag races will be unveiled on the Digital Drag Race today, site visitors will be able to view and vote for their favorite designs.

There is a cool Social Media Aspect to the campaign, other designers and artistsare able to download the same tools used in the competition to create their own 17 second masterpiece which can then be uploaded to a YouTube Channel and will also be featured on the Digital Drag Race site.

Razorfish developed the program and Ignite Social Media developed the social media portion of the campaign.

Link

Magazine Ad- Just Do(uche) it…

This is an interesting concept and funny as hell.  An international magazine (anonymous for now) is running a promotion utilising the picture above.  Here’s what Adrants sources had to say about the promotion…

“We prefer to keep the publication anonymous for now but this will be going to print in the very near future and we expect it to provoke some discussion and probably some threats of legal action.”

No shit, I don’t think anyone at Nike will sit by while an ad takes a dig at them with “Just Douche It.”

Okay, so how is Twitter going to make money if it’s free?

Just read a great post by Adrants on Twitter still seeking a business model and still getting slammed two years on. The getting slammed part came particularly from Simon Dumenco who is a definite non-believer in the benefits of Twitter, especially if its a project which fails to make any money.

While Twitter has said and continues to say it has every intention of creating a business model which will support it beyond seed money, reading the revenue-generating notion “one idea is to charge companies th at want to use Twitter as an official channel to talk with their customers and monitor what they are saying,” causes one to ROFLOL to the point of gut-busting pain.

Charge companies? Charges companies? For what? Any company with half a brain already has access to an endless supply of free “listening” tools that offer fairly deep insight into Twitter usage and what’s being said about a particular brand.

Dumenco concludes not so inappropriately, writing, “I don’t think every tweet or blurp or bloop or fart that emanates from a human can or should have ads sold against it or be otherwise monetized.”

Of course Twitter is far more than any “blurp or bloop or fart that emanates from a human” , but still the man has a point. Twitter could charge a yearly fee to use the service, but then what should they charge? I certainly wouldn’t pay to follow a bunch of people talking about what they had for breakfast, or if they just came out for the shower, refreshed. Then again, if you’re paying for the service, maybe people who are really interested in adding value would buy into it and utilise it instead of it being just another social media plaything for the ever-growing population of digerati.

Another benefit of charging for it is that it would save us all from a barrage of useless advertising should Twitter opt for the advertising route.

I don’t know… maybe there is some creative way in which Twitter can make a good business model out of what they provide without totally pissing us all off. I hope they find it!

What do you think they should do?

While I’m here… :)

Marketing in Ramadan

Functionally (mostly from an FMCG perspective), Marketing in Ramadan poses real business restrictions and opportunities. For example, you can’t flight certain TV ads during Ramadan, not because of content but because the space will already be booked out and it will be mostly food brands which market their stuff during this time. You have to also take into account that Muslims in general watch less TV during this time.

In terms of actual launches of innovation in the Middle-Eastern/Muslim markets, launching a product in Ramadan doesn’t ever happen. The local marketing teams in these countries will feed this back to anyone trying to push it. Project plans for any launches in or around Ramadan are generally shifted to be either a month before or a month after Ramadan.

Other things which need to be taken into account is that people generally work shorter days in Ramadan, also when it comes to the end of Ramadan, the festival of Eid, most people in the Middle East will be off for a week or two on holiday, very similar to what happens at Christmas time for the western world.

Interesting stuff, eh?

However there are brands that are increasingly starting to market themselves in Ramadan and specifically to a Muslim Audience…

This year, Ramadan really seems to have gotten marketers in a buzz with new product launches and even, as I had mentioned before, New artwork on current products (Coke). Starbucks has also jumped on the band-wagon by introducing a range of Arabic coffees and pastries for its Middle-Eastern consumers specifically for Ramadan. The new coffee range will feature its ‘Anniversary Blend’ coffee along with the traditional ‘Arabian Mocha Timor’ blend.

Rana Shaheen, CSR & Communications Manager, Starbucks Middle East & Egypt said:

Starbucks is committed to provide its customers with the best it can offer during this special time of year and there is no better way to welcome the holy month but with the Traditional Arabian coffees coupled with delicious pastries – a perfect treat you can enjoy after breaking your fast.

From Dubai City Guide, we get this glorious wonderful marketing verbiage on the range Starbucks is proposing for its Ramadan range…

Ramadan pastries include the ‘Fig and Coconut Bar’, a delicious fruity filling of plump figs blended with a taste of exotic coconut on a shortbread base. This marvellous combination of fig jam, walnut and biscuit base, topped with a layer of coconut, is designed to perfectly complement Starbucks featured coffees and iced espresso beverages.

Another treat includes the ‘Pistachio Delight’, a mouthwatering and delicious cake, flavoured with pistachio, creamy filling and rosewater, the perfect traditional combination for Ramadan sweets. Customers can also enjoy the ‘Date and Apricot loaf’, the home-made fruity flavor of Arabia with a hint of apricot and a twist of nuts.

The featured coffee beverage for this month is the classic Iced Caramel Macchiato, a sweet, indulgent treat, available hot as well. Sweet and rich with caramel and featuring a pronounced espresso flavour, Caramel Macchiato delivers an indulgent sweet coffee experience. The cold versions of the beverage provide a revitalising experience for the warm summer months.

It’s okay dudes… we like Starbucks, you don’t have to sell it to us like that… that’s just cheesy. When will Marketers Learn to talk to people and not AT people! The quote above looks like it comes directly from a product pamphlet or maybe even the PR department.
: Ramadan, Marketing, Middle East, Muslims, Fasting, Coke , Starbucks

Open up an Ice Cold Ramadaan Coke…

Coke’s new initiative to get at its consumers involves tailoring its product to hit the Muslim community in Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, Indonesia, Morocco, Tunisia, and other countries with a great many Muslims.

Check the image above which shows Coke’s Official Ramadan Packaging. Well I guess some Muslims would definitely agree that it is pretty good to break ones fast with an Ice Cold Coke. Interesting concept. Coke’s also targeting the 21010 World cup here in SA and also Christmas, etc. Some of these activities Coke’s been doing for ages, but this is the first time I’ve heard them targeting Muslims in Ramadan.

There’s no doubting that the opportunity is there, I just wonder how many Muslims would wise up and actually say… “WTF? I am NOT a Target Market!” Same tactics, different market. I would say that it does war m me up to the brand knowing they’re making something specifically for a Muslim kid like me, but there is definitely a piece of me that’s a bit uncomfortable being so blatantly targeted.

In all likelihood I don’t think we’ll see the Ramadaan Coke in South Africa. The Muslim population is too small to justify the change I would guess, although there is an opportunity if they target Muslim wholesalers and retailers, we got tons of those here.

Peace!
: Coke, Marketing, Ramadan, Ramadaan, Muslims, Advertising

Activia Adjam: Saying it like it is…

This is probably what would happen if Marketers told the truth. Sorry for the unimpressive alteration of the ad, but I have no access to Photoshop on this computer :P

I think it’s classic though. “Activia: Helping Women Shit Better.” hahaha.

I think I read this somewhere before, but I can’t remember exactly where.

About Time, A Phone Charger Powered by Movement.

We’ve all seen the citizen watches and others which are powered by movement and sunlight, etc. Orange, the mobile carrier, have developed a phone charger powered by “dance energy”.

Adrants points out that they got help from with development of the charger from GotWind, whose unfortunate name refers to renewable energy research, not the thing that happens when you pull Uncle’s finger. The charger works with a system of weights and magnets which creates an electrical current every time you move.

From the Press Release…

“The Orange Dance Charge is the result of months of research into alternate, sustainable energy sources to power mobile phones during summer music festivals…”

The Charger was tested at the Glastonbury Festival.

: Orange, Mobile, Cellphones, Charger, Dance, Movement

Another Cool Nike Football Ad

If video doesn’t load, click here for the video at Adgabber.

The ad is for Nike Football and shows a World Cup Italian national team footballer setting up an impossible shot and, with a bit of fancy footwork and intelligent use of physics, makes the shot.

No heavy branding, Just an entertaining shot for those who love the game.

via
: Nike Football, Advertising, Marketing, Video, Great Shot

« Previous Page — Next Page »