The always hilarious Diego posted this fabulous set of analogies in his blog to describe different principles of marketing, originally taken from this blog. In honoring the spirit of personal selling, I would like to kick this dead horse some more.
Let's restate the original premise: You see a gorgeous girl at a party; you are rich, and you want her to marry you...
Step 1: Generate and Qualify Leads
She's gorgeous, OK? That's all the qualifications required to be considered a potential wife. Up to this day, she is the most gorgeous girl you have ever met, and you are convinced that she will remain to be the most gorgeous girl you will ever meet. 'Nuff said.
Step 2: Preapproach
What are your qualifications? Oh, right, you are rich, filthy rich to be exact. What kind of gorgeous woman doesn't want a man with money? Think about it. Breakfast in Moscow; take a plan to Paris; lunch, then attend a fashion show; buy some expensive haute couture; fly to Barcelona for dinner, and enjoy the Mediterranean sunset in style. Yep, life is beautiful with lots of money available.
Step 3: Sales presentation and overcoming reservations
Go up to her and propose. Yep, it is just that simple. There is no such thing as obstacles. Resistance is futile. Who could resist a man with money (and no shame)? Okay, so she's taller than you. No problem, it worked for TOM CRUISE. And you may not be the best looking dude around. Plastic surgery can fix that. That's right, money makes the world go around. That is all the justification you need to ask her hand in marriage.
Step 4: Closing the sale
Get her drunk! Get her to VEGAS! And before she wakes up next morning, get her married, The Hangover style! Remember, she doesn't have to remember that she said "I DO",
Step 5: Follow-Up
As they say, "It ain't over till it's over." How do you make sure that it's really over? Make sure you get her PREGNANT while she is drunk and had said "I do". Once you get a baby out of her, there is no going back.
Hey, this is marketing related, right?
Tuesday, November 30, 2010
Monday, November 22, 2010
License to laugh
Recently, I was trolling on Brent Carpenter's boBlog and found this gem.
Hey All!
I’ll start this post off with a joke:
“A man is exhausted after a long day. He decides to go to bed and right just as he slides into his bed he hears a knock at the door. After getting up to answer it he sees that it’s a snail who then says to him “Hello, would you like to buy some magazine subscriptions?”
Furious that his sleep has been interrupted he winds up, and kicks the snail with all his might.
Two years later.
The man is sitting at home, watching television when the doorbell rings. He gets up to answer it, and it’s a snail who says to him “What the f@*k was that about!?”
His post was about how humor in advertisement makes us remember the ads better. Well, likewise, I remembered his otherwise run-of-the-mill post because of this joke. That is to say, I agree with his post and think humor is quite affective. For example, my favor ads are the ones for the French premier movie channel, Canal+
But humor isn't everything. While I agree that humorous ads makes the brand memorable, it takes more than a good joke to entice people to buy a product. In my opinion, a commercial needs, more than anything, an assertive image that is desirable. An ad that is merely funny would only place the product in the invoked set of product in the consumers' minds, but it wouldn't be in the retrieval set. While browsing on Youtube, I saw a funny ad from Mercedes that played on the stereotype of a dumb blonde, with a tagline that goes, "Beauty is nothing without the brain", then it cuts to a new Mercedes car. The message is clear: a Mercedes is not only beautiful, but also has powerful technology and engine. But does this message do what it set out to do, that is, to sell a car? I think not. In my opinion, this ad adds no value to the brand. It may provoke some cheap laugh from first time viewers, but it doesn't stimulate any deeper emotions or attachment. This is another ad from Mercedes. It is funny with a great sense of irony, but more than that, it sells on a certain lifestyle - dangerous, out of bound, adulterous, excitement.
Tuesday, November 16, 2010
The rise of Alpha Male commercials
So, I'm not quite sure which company started the trend of promoting their product or servicing using a fictitious alpha man, but boy did it open a huge can of worms. Nowadays, it seems like every other company is hopping on this, shall I say, ridiculous bandwagon.
For example, FedEx's newest commercial features an exec who creates a sculpture of himself, operates a open-heart surgery, and beats two chess masters simultaneously while giving himself a tattoo on his lower back, all while regurgitating ridiculous lines such as, "FedEx? I thought they just did argent shipping." "What, you think being amazing at one thing means they can't be amazing at other things too?" The idea of this ad seems mostly a knee-jerk reaction to the many other ads of similar natures popping up all over the place and going viral over the internet. It has very little intrinsic qualities (not really that funny or original), but relies solely on a popular trend going around at the moment. This would seem strange, because FedEx's target audience should be businesses, not the average young people or internet junkies who may find this ad amusing to talk about between friends during a commercial break.
This ad shares similarities to Sony's Playstation 3 "It only does everything" campaign. In Sony's ads, a fake executive, Kevin Butler, is a douche, chauvinistic, arrogant alpha male who answers "fan mails" in a satirical, belittling manner. For example, in one particular ad, a fan girl calls in about his boyfriend ignoring her due to the recent release of 'God of War 3", and Kevin gives her the exact treatment, not even speaking to her, and only says "thanks for coming" at the end without looking at her. The PS3 ads, however, are all pretty funny, and the jokes are original in their set up and delivery. It is also highly "copy-able", which I am sure is intended, in hope of inspiring other amateur copy-cat videos to make the campaign go viral.
The most famous and successful marketing campaign of late is the Old Spice campaign, featuring the Old Spice guy, played by Isaiah Mustafa, Terry Crews and Ray Lewis, all NFL football players. This campaign DID go viral, and it it plays deeply with young people's psyche of wanting something different, over the top, and stupidly funny. The image of a hyper-sexed, ridiculously over-the-top self-idolizing Mustafa "Look at your man, now back to me, now back to your man, now back to ME. Sadly, he isn't me." plays on the imaging of a sexy, chauvinistic asshole that is irresistible to women. The guys at Old Spice understands that their viewers consider this over the top and stupid, but they do it so blatantly and boldly that it somehow justifies itself. For example, at the end of one such video, Mustafa, out of nowhere, is randomly sitting on a horse, and states "I am riding a horse." This image is complimentary to Crews' ultra machoness (abs that can talk) that appeals to young men's inner machoness.
It seems to me this entire trend was started by the guys at Dos Equis, with their "Most interesting man in the world" ads. God knows where their inspiration came from, possibly ripping off another ad of the similar nature, but as far as I can tell, they were the first to start the "fake ridiculously awesome alpha male producer endorser" trend. ( I'm guessing their idea came from the millions of Chuck Norris jokes and watching 007 over and over again). This ad campaign is particularly intriguing, however, because it is very psychological in nature. It targets' consumers' need for self-actualization (Marlow's hierarchy). The character they create is so ridiculous, non of his deeds make sense, but they all are somewhat awe-inspiring in an irrational sense. "He can speak French, in Russian." This character embodies everything a young person might dream of (be it a boy or a girl) - smooth, impossible, charming, experienced, weathered, suave, mysterious...
For example, FedEx's newest commercial features an exec who creates a sculpture of himself, operates a open-heart surgery, and beats two chess masters simultaneously while giving himself a tattoo on his lower back, all while regurgitating ridiculous lines such as, "FedEx? I thought they just did argent shipping." "What, you think being amazing at one thing means they can't be amazing at other things too?" The idea of this ad seems mostly a knee-jerk reaction to the many other ads of similar natures popping up all over the place and going viral over the internet. It has very little intrinsic qualities (not really that funny or original), but relies solely on a popular trend going around at the moment. This would seem strange, because FedEx's target audience should be businesses, not the average young people or internet junkies who may find this ad amusing to talk about between friends during a commercial break.
This ad shares similarities to Sony's Playstation 3 "It only does everything" campaign. In Sony's ads, a fake executive, Kevin Butler, is a douche, chauvinistic, arrogant alpha male who answers "fan mails" in a satirical, belittling manner. For example, in one particular ad, a fan girl calls in about his boyfriend ignoring her due to the recent release of 'God of War 3", and Kevin gives her the exact treatment, not even speaking to her, and only says "thanks for coming" at the end without looking at her. The PS3 ads, however, are all pretty funny, and the jokes are original in their set up and delivery. It is also highly "copy-able", which I am sure is intended, in hope of inspiring other amateur copy-cat videos to make the campaign go viral.
The most famous and successful marketing campaign of late is the Old Spice campaign, featuring the Old Spice guy, played by Isaiah Mustafa, Terry Crews and Ray Lewis, all NFL football players. This campaign DID go viral, and it it plays deeply with young people's psyche of wanting something different, over the top, and stupidly funny. The image of a hyper-sexed, ridiculously over-the-top self-idolizing Mustafa "Look at your man, now back to me, now back to your man, now back to ME. Sadly, he isn't me." plays on the imaging of a sexy, chauvinistic asshole that is irresistible to women. The guys at Old Spice understands that their viewers consider this over the top and stupid, but they do it so blatantly and boldly that it somehow justifies itself. For example, at the end of one such video, Mustafa, out of nowhere, is randomly sitting on a horse, and states "I am riding a horse." This image is complimentary to Crews' ultra machoness (abs that can talk) that appeals to young men's inner machoness.
It seems to me this entire trend was started by the guys at Dos Equis, with their "Most interesting man in the world" ads. God knows where their inspiration came from, possibly ripping off another ad of the similar nature, but as far as I can tell, they were the first to start the "fake ridiculously awesome alpha male producer endorser" trend. ( I'm guessing their idea came from the millions of Chuck Norris jokes and watching 007 over and over again). This ad campaign is particularly intriguing, however, because it is very psychological in nature. It targets' consumers' need for self-actualization (Marlow's hierarchy). The character they create is so ridiculous, non of his deeds make sense, but they all are somewhat awe-inspiring in an irrational sense. "He can speak French, in Russian." This character embodies everything a young person might dream of (be it a boy or a girl) - smooth, impossible, charming, experienced, weathered, suave, mysterious...
Monday, November 8, 2010
Farewell, Get a Mac campaign
For those who don't know, Apple ended their long-run series of "Hello, I'm a Mac, and I'm a PC" commercials this past May. It was definitely one of the more impressive run of TV advertisement in recent memory. So, as a tribute to Apple and their awesome ads, I will dedicate this post to them by dissecting Apple's marketing strategy.
BTW, for those who haven't seen all of them, the good people at AdFreak.com has them all packaged neatly on one page, here, http://adweek.blogs.com/adfreak/get-a-mac-the-complete-campaign.html.
Mac has long since given up the fight to compete head to head with Windows, and has embraced the role of the underdog. It they adopts a differentiated positioning strategy to market itself as the cool, hip, fun computer as oppose to the robust, nerdy, uncool Windows. Whereas the giant Microsoft tries to create a system that would fit everyone's needs in one package, Macs target specifically the young and the artistic crowd with its easy and intuitive features that simplifies a lot of the mundane tasks required to navigate the operating system.
Although I liked the Get a Mac ads for its humorous and clever ways to exploit PC's weakness, I also disliked it for pretty much the same reasons. The routine of Justin Long poking fun at John Hodgman gets old. It is like watch a smooth talking music kid repeatedly making fun of the nerdy keener. What seemed tongue-in-cheek fun slowly feels more and more like mean-spirited, passive-aggressive bullying. The problem with the ads are, Mac embraced the role of underdog too much, and almost seems to use PC users' frustration with Windows as an competitive advantage over Windows, which is not a good idea. Hey look, Windows is complicated. Hey look, Windows has viruses. Hey look, this Windows feature is useless. At first, the ads were careful not to mention Windows specifically, even though it is obvious who they are poking fun at. But later on, the brain trust behind the campaign seems to lost all humility as the ads became more and more popular. In the very last group of ads, they were as bold as to attack Windows 7 directly, just before its release, as if to launch a preemptive strike. They either got really stupid, or risked on a huge gamble. Either way, they lost the bet, because Windows 7 is everything that they have to offer add more. Sure, there are some minor lingering issues, but they are minor, and Apple can no longer capitalize of people's frustration of Windows.
The Get a Mac campaign was a success in sense because it generated a lot of publicity and interest in Apple computers. However, it was also a failure, because the message it sends across deviated from what Apple stood for. Apple stands for innovation, creativity, simplicity, and fun. I rather see an add that is pro-Apple as oppose to anti-Microsoft. Instead of spreading a positive message about why buying a Mac is in your best interest, the campaign felt more like a smear tactic about why Windows sucks.
BTW, for those who haven't seen all of them, the good people at AdFreak.com has them all packaged neatly on one page, here, http://adweek.blogs.com/adfreak/get-a-mac-the-complete-campaign.html.
Mac has long since given up the fight to compete head to head with Windows, and has embraced the role of the underdog. It they adopts a differentiated positioning strategy to market itself as the cool, hip, fun computer as oppose to the robust, nerdy, uncool Windows. Whereas the giant Microsoft tries to create a system that would fit everyone's needs in one package, Macs target specifically the young and the artistic crowd with its easy and intuitive features that simplifies a lot of the mundane tasks required to navigate the operating system.
Although I liked the Get a Mac ads for its humorous and clever ways to exploit PC's weakness, I also disliked it for pretty much the same reasons. The routine of Justin Long poking fun at John Hodgman gets old. It is like watch a smooth talking music kid repeatedly making fun of the nerdy keener. What seemed tongue-in-cheek fun slowly feels more and more like mean-spirited, passive-aggressive bullying. The problem with the ads are, Mac embraced the role of underdog too much, and almost seems to use PC users' frustration with Windows as an competitive advantage over Windows, which is not a good idea. Hey look, Windows is complicated. Hey look, Windows has viruses. Hey look, this Windows feature is useless. At first, the ads were careful not to mention Windows specifically, even though it is obvious who they are poking fun at. But later on, the brain trust behind the campaign seems to lost all humility as the ads became more and more popular. In the very last group of ads, they were as bold as to attack Windows 7 directly, just before its release, as if to launch a preemptive strike. They either got really stupid, or risked on a huge gamble. Either way, they lost the bet, because Windows 7 is everything that they have to offer add more. Sure, there are some minor lingering issues, but they are minor, and Apple can no longer capitalize of people's frustration of Windows.
The Get a Mac campaign was a success in sense because it generated a lot of publicity and interest in Apple computers. However, it was also a failure, because the message it sends across deviated from what Apple stood for. Apple stands for innovation, creativity, simplicity, and fun. I rather see an add that is pro-Apple as oppose to anti-Microsoft. Instead of spreading a positive message about why buying a Mac is in your best interest, the campaign felt more like a smear tactic about why Windows sucks.
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