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
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.
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 those of my generation as well as generation X, Mortal Kombat was the ultimate rebellious game that pushed the limit of mature video game content and as a result opened the door for more brutal, violent and dark video games to exist.
I strongly believe that the Mortal Kombat franchise as a whole is underminded, while stating that, the franchise has the capabilities to come back around and prosper once again not just within the video gaming industry but also in motion pictures.
Before I get into that, I want to mention some historical highlights that occurred when Mortal Kombat was released.
Due to the franchises use of digitized sprite, blood and gore, Mortal Kombat caused the creation of the Electronics Software Ratings Board in 1994 after Mortal Kombat II was released.
Lets be honest traditional Mortal Kombat gamers, this was a bumber since it restricted the game against young video game enthusiasts, but from a marketing standpoint, the controversy of MK's strong violent gaming content helped construct the Mortal Kombat brand as the rebellious game for kids to play.
Much like the controversy with Charlie Sheen, I find this to be one of the underlying variables as to why the young franchise at the time recieved so much attention and publicity to where it was an advantage for it against other video games.
However, due to newer, more fun, interactive, and violent video games; the franchise lost its touch and is now a laggard within the gaming world. However, I believe one thing can be used to revitalize Mortal Kombat and bring back the good old days into the new and more technologically advanced world; an in-depth and integrated storyline.
Storylines are key when it comes to any form of entertainment. This is what made Metal Gear Solid a huge success. It is the lifeline of any form of entertainment/media. If you don't have an intriguing story, you lose the attention and interest of the audience. Another example of a video game franchise that utilized a compelling storyline to become almost a conglomerate within the gaming world is the legendary Halo series.
Like Halo, the MK franchise should develop better quality literary material that will strengthen MK whether it's through novels or the continuation of the Mortal Kombat comic book series.
The key is it needs to contain literary elements of deep characterization that will make audience relate to the characters. This is what moves and attracts an audience. The more they can relate to a character's situation or problem, the more intrigued they are. For instance, in the comic book series Battlewave, Liu Kang faces personal issues of wanting to live a normal life as he attempts to pursue his passion as an architect back home in Chicago instead of a champion fighter in Mortal Kombat. This is a personal struggle of a person unwilling to accept their own fate and responsibilities. It would be interesting to develop in literary material a more in-depth story of this as well as other personal challenges in a dark, realistic and gritty form.
What will help the franchise in making the necerray changes to do this is the current production of the third installment of the Mortal Kombat motion picture series Mortal Kombat: Rebirth.
What I think will be cool is if a literary novel was made that complemented the mini-tv web series (Mortal Kombat: Legacy), which is a prequel to the upcoming movie and another literary series that followed the outcome of the movie.
The novels can focus specifically on each character's past while being realistic, dark and gritty. I think traditional Mortal Kombat fans would actually take their time and read the novels because the personal lives of the popular Mortal Kombat characters have never before been told. This will increase its awareness and carry along a compelling story that can be applied to all the Mortal Kombat characters in the long-term. Imagine how successful MK would be.
This is what made Batman Begins such a huge success! Christopher Nolan took a dark, gritty and often realstic approach to the prequel and re-defined the Batman franchise by focusing upon Bruce Wayne's troubled past and presenting it in a form where the audience can relate to the character on a deeper level.
If the MK franchise implemented the approach of a deeper, darker, and empathic storyline within the characters and the tournament as a whole within literary novels and even newly developed video games (like the continuation of such games as Mortal Kombat Mythologies: Sub Zero) then the franchise will be extremely successful and prosper with future MK projects.
Last Thursday, Bloomberg Businessweek posted an article about Ben Silverman; famous former NBC TV Dealmaker who developed popular shows such as The Biggest Loser, The Office and Ugly Betty; announced he plans to mix advertising and TV entertainment together to where they are "inextricably mixed." Silverman mentions he wants to make advertising inescapable by bringing major corporations such as Procter & Gamble, Subway, Pepsi and State Farm Insurace into the writer's room and put their brands directly into the shows they are sponsoring.
Theoretically, a very creative idea that Marketer's and Brand managers would love to be a part of. However, in reality, a very difficult idea to implement, especially if it's a TV show that only symbolizes the product itself.
For instance, in the fall of 2010, Centric, a spinoff channel of Black Entertainment Televison, aired a show titled Masters of the Mix, a DJ competition reality show that Electus co-produced with GTM, an Atlanta-based marketing agency. The show was integrated with Smirnoff with seven DJs who were competing to become the next Smirnoff-sponsored DJ, who will spin at company-promoted events around the world.
Unfortunately, Masters of the Mix only aired eight episodes because it failed to meet Centric's "minimum reporting standards" since not many people watched the show. Part of the reason for its failure was due to Smirnoff not blending into the show's narrative and due to plenty of commercial breaks, viewers mentioned Smirnoff just loaded the series down with additional advertising.
This shows you can not integrate pre-mature TV shows who's sole purpose is just to promote a product. Advertainment needs to penetrate a deeper meaning and message that viewers can sympathize with.
One company has been successful within Advertainment by searching for their core perceptive meaning and effectively communicating it to TV viewers.
According to Retail World, in 2010 Mars Petcare used an integration with the Network Ten TV program 'The Biggest Loser' to associate its Pedigree Light & Mature brand with weight-loss and healthy eating for dogs. Shown to be a great compliment to a show that advocates a healthy life-style that envokes eating healthy and maintaining a healthy body, Mars Petcare's sales of the Pedigree Light & Mature increased by nine percent within stores that carry the brand.
This shows that the key to successful advertainment is the correlation of each subject's content and a deeper meaning that goes beyond selling a product. This is something that can only be done after a TV show is successful. Like any product, it needs to first establish its desired perception among the audience and only then can it be co-branded with another product of similar perception or content. In essence, advertisers nowadays need to connect with consumers by supporting the message an already established TV show is sending.
Take for instance Sons of Anarchy, an FX television series that explores the dangerous lives of a biker gang involved with illegal arms-dealing. The gang rides around in low-ride Harley-Davidson motorcycles as they come across obstacles of survival from antagonsists such as the FBI, the IRA and other biker gangs.
If I were the CMO for Harley, I would make sure to place all the Harley-Davidson's that I could on that show just because of the brand image of both SOA and Harley. Both encompass the meaning of being a tough and rugged outlaw or rebel who finds their purpose by riding through the world as a loner, or one can say, a gang of independent loners who go against what they percieve to be a flawed governmental system and uphold their own sense of individual morals and codes.
This is the imagery that both SOA and Harley communicate to people.
Harley is such a well-established American brand that can be integrated extremely well with such a show as SOA. The key is to by-pass the direct sell of the product to pitching the meaning behind both the product and the show. Only then will one achieve a successful and effective Advertainment and increase consumer loyalty.
In regards to Ben Silverman, I think it is unwise to integrate advertising and content production of pre-mature TV series. It is best to co-brand already established TV shows and product brands that when put together communicates a deeper meaning that goes beyond the product.
It's not just about exposure and financial sponsorships from advertisers, it's about effectively exposing the brand through the right form of product placement.
Please post any comments. I'd love to hear others thoughts.
I love the effect nostalgia can have when you turn on the TV and Terminator 2: Judgment Day is playing. I remember being 10 years old and my big brother and I would be at my grandmother’s big house over the summer and we would go swimming in her humongous pool with our cousins and order pizza at night and watch movies like T2 back in the day. It ignites a sense of warming comfort like hot chocolate with the right mix of Baileys.
I feel like nowadays everything is becoming nostalgic. In the film industry, re-makes of famous movies and iconic symbols such as Wall Street, Rocky Balboa, Terminator, Batman, Superman and James Bond are reaching out to movie fanatics.
Much like how Advertising is utilizing historic celebrities to grasp older consumers who loved watching shows like the Golden Girls from back in the day (e.g. the 2009 Super Bowl Twix commercial with Betty White).
At first like many, I thought creators were lacking uniqueness and just wanted to revitalize these classic figures to give their own version of them. But then I kept thinking, what if these figures are being “re-branded” not for the creators personal pleasures to having them fit in with today’s modern perspectives but to having them reflect society’s perspectives of today .
This started to make sense when I realized that back in the fifties during the Cold War, comic book characters like Superman, Batman, Spiderman, Captain America and even James Bond were introduced to the world. These characters were made to reflect the heroic Democratic societies of the West against the threatening Soviet Union’s of the East.
Now with the crisis in the Middle East that has been occurring since 2001, the Financial Crisis of 2008 and so on, we are seeing the return of these long-standing icons.
I predict within the future to feeling that same warming comfort. Maybe I should grab some Baileys, kickback and watch “the Governator” kick some T-1000 butt!
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