How a Marketer Views a SouthPark Episode

So I started off my weekday doing my normal routine of job-hunting, until I decided to take a break and watch a random episode of SouthPark.

While I sat at my desk with my cold Big Red in my hand with left-over Valentino Pizza, I ended up watching season 10 episode two aka Smug Alert.

Season 10, Episode 2: Smug Alert

The synopsis of this episode is how Kyle's dad, Gerald Broflovski, buys a hybrid car and showcases the vehicle throughout the town of SouthPark. Since he believes he is ahead of the curve in being more green and fuel efficient resulting in him thinking he is better than others (showcasing his smug), Kyle's Dad soon becomes alienated by the locals of the town. He decides to move his family to San Francisco where he aspires to live among the progressors of the new-age liberal city who also drive hybrids and think they are better than others. A marketer would surely conclude this DMA's social class as innovators.



The Broflovski's interacting with new neighbors in San Francisco

 As Stan, Kyle's friend and confidante, finds out about his move he attempts to bring his friend back by getting the town into accepting and driving hybrids. In marketing words: he attempts to change the town's social norms through altering it's socio-cultural influences. He does this by making a song about buying hybrids and promoting it through the towns local radio station, a standard and traditional grassroot publicity tactic.

Random and weird for a person to see: YES. But is it strange for a marketer to see this: NO.

What triggered this thought process of mine was a particular scene where Randy Marsh drives around town with his new hybrid and comes across other locals who drive hybrids. I noticed their acknowledgement and acceptance of each other's vehicle and the fulfillment of being among a higher elite group/social class. Each person driving a hybrid felt accepted among their peers which is an effective marketing tactic if implemented well.

Implementation is the difficult part in this process since the message is extremely viral and vague to measure. What makes a message viral is that consumers can be very irrational and motivated more so by their family-cultural norms, consumer behavior patterns and their surroundings. This is also shown through the SouthPark episode.

Only in a crazy world like SouthPark would a little song work in changing the town's perception and acceptance of hybrid vehicles. However in the real world, multi-million dollars are spent doing this through a trickle effect of what most marketers call the Integrated Marketing Communications plan.

Deemed a curse at times, a marketer will always view their surroundings (even a cartoon show) from a marketing perspective.

Feel free to watch the full link episode: Smug Alert

Exploitation of the REAL Captain Morgan's Life, Love and Loot

I was recently on Facebook today and I noticed the new Captain Morgan USA video. After watching it, I was intrigued so much with the new brand positioning that Diageo, the world's leading premium drink business took with the real-life privateer that I had to make a blog about it.

Last month I remember posting a blog in regards to Ben Silverstein and his idea of advancing TV production companies into the undeveloped realm of advertainment. I barked down on the idea because their needs to be an underlying story of the brand. Also the brand needs to have a strong rememberance of the characteristics the brand encompasses among consumers in order to implement this. If not, then the content would not be effective in growing the market share of participating companies optimizing their brands and all their money wasted in producing, marketing and exploiting it through TV networks would all fall to pieces.

But in the case of Captain Henry Morgan, I find it to be possible. This is because Captain Henry Morgan, as mentioned earlier, was a real-life privateer!

According to the Captain Morgan website, "In 1654 a young Henry Morgan left his native Wales for the West Indies...A born leader, he quickly became Captain Henry Morgan and became famous as a legal pirate or Buccaneer, defending British interests and generally rocking the Caribbean...exploits on the high seas earned him a knighthood and by 1680 Sir Henry Morgan was a plantation owner and Governor of Jamaica. There he lived out his final days until his death in 1688."

Because there literally lived a Captain Henry Morgan, I can visually see a motion-pictured mini-series with what Academy-Award winning Director Tom Hooper, is in the mist of creating.

This works because you already have a story embedded within the brand. And not to even mention, rarely any consumer, especially those who drink Captain Morgan's Spice Rum, know about that story. So why not exploit it with the product to grasp more of the Rum Market?

PRNewswire ran a press release last month of the production of the new AD campaign Captain Morgan USA was taking with renowned director Tom Hooper. As mentioned verbatim in the press release by Tom Herbst, Brand Director of Captain Morgan USA, "For the first time, we're bringing to life the mystery and intrigue surrounding Henry Morgan...we are ecstatic to have Tom play an integral role in revealing an exciting new side of the brand."

PRNewswire also mentioned this is the first within a series the company will produce in broadcast televison later this month of May. I find this campaign to be much more effective than the other commercial broadcasts in penetrating a market.

I can see the company really going far with their new take of the brand, and while doing so, really grasp a new market share with the Spicy Rum.

Why, I can even see their new film content being cross-sold or product placed on Pirates of the Caribbean. (Makes me wonder who can outdrink the other: Captain Jack Sparrow or Captain Henry Morgan???)

Either way, I definitely see so much potential for the new positioning of this brand and I most certainly see advertainment being utilized within it.

Thoughts??

Microsoft Buys Skype, What Now?

According to Bloomberg BusinessWeek, Microsoft will be acquistioning the world's most popular Internet calling service as well as its 663 million customers for $8.5 billion. The acquisition is the biggest Internet takeover since the age of the Internet bubble.

The reason for the purchase was for both companies to catch up in the online and mobile advertising realm. This takeover could help Steve Ballmer, Microsoft CEO, tempt Skype users to try Microsoft's phones and software in order to limit Google Inc.'s market share in internet and mobile advertising. This will also help Skype in finally obtaining revenue.

According to Skype's financial statements, in 2010 it recorded a loss of $7m on revenues of $860m – $1.30 per registered user a year, or $5 per "connected" user a year. While revenue loss have been decreasing for the past year-on-years, it has been able to negotiate better call termination rates around the world with telephone companies.

Ballmer mentions, ""Skype is a phenomenal service that is loved by millions of people around the world. Together we will create the future of real-time communications so people can easily stay connected to family, friends, clients and colleagues anywhere in the world." This will be implemented by Microsoft connecting Skype to Microsoft Outlook e-mail, Xbox and Kinect game consoles, Windows mobile phones and corporate-phone software.

Skype CEO Tony Bates will be president of the Microsoft Skype Division and will over-see the newly established Microsoft strategic business unit.

All of this is very great news and due to the high volume of "Skypers" out there, it also poses some trouble.

Due to Skype's partnerships with AT&T and Verizon Wireless, Microsoft may a have a difficult time in convincing wireless operators to support mobile phones with Windows mobile software, which is deemed a laggard within the mobile telecommunication world. The acquistion also poses a threat to AT&T Inc. and Verizon Wireless because it could cut into their voice revenues since Skype lets members make free voice and video calls to each other as well as to outsiders for on average 2.3 cents a minute.

It would probably be ideal for Microsoft and Skype to still maintain good relationships with cell-phone carriers in order to drive a possible adoption of Windows Mobile. But while pursuing this, I would strongly focus on effectively embedding Skype within the Xbox and Kinect game console in order to increase sales of the console and usage of its Xbox network. Imagine not just playing a controlless home video-game console while video chatting with a friend through Skype's premium VoIP, but through the Xbox network being able to view your buddy playing Call of Duty: Modern Warfare! How cool could that be!!

Microsoft could make Xbox members become Skype users and enjoy all the services both the Xbox and Skype already offers.

Dut don't forget Tablet PC's.

Traditional PC's are being replaced with tablets and if you throw Skype into the mix Microsoft will have a unique edge compared to its competitors Apple and Google.

In the near future, I predict wireless operators such as AT&T and Verizon Wireless lowering their prices in order to compete in this dynamic market.

For more information on the acquistion, please click here: Bloomberg BusinessWeek and Guardian.co.uk