Friday, March 12, 2010

KitKat goes 'glocal'

By Lavanya Ashokkumar

Think global, act local. The “glocal” approach to marketing is an effective way for brands to stay focused on the consumer in worldwide markets.

KitKat, one of the world’s best-selling chocolate brands, launched several varieties of its famous crème-filled wafer bars in Japan, providing an excellent example of the glocal approach. Among them are KitKat Soybean, Wasabi and Iced Tea. KitKat launched 19 other flavors to connect with its Japanese audience. The company has also collaborated with the Japanese mail system to create packages of the chocolates that can be sent as postcards for special occasions. This caters to Japan’s gift-giving culture, called “Omiage,” where people are expected to bring back something unique for their friends and family when they travel.

How did KitKat effectively use the IMC approach to become a successful brand in the Japanese market?

First, KitKat conducted extensive consumer research to come up with flavors that satisfied the palate of Japanese consumers. With this valuable data in place, KitKat was able to uncover the needs of Japanese consumers and build relationships with them.

Second, these chocolate flavors are marketed only in the Japanese market. By practicing the IMC concept of sub-segmentation, KitKat was able to create contacts that allowed for specific sub-segments to connect with the brand in a more individualistic and idiosyncratic way.

However, many of the varieties sell only for a limited time in specific seasons. For example, the flavor Cherry Blossom is available only in spring. While this is a good strategy of manufacturing chocolates unique to a particular season, will it be successful in the long term? Only time will tell.

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Lavanya Ashokkumar is a blogger at Vitamin IMC and a student in the Masters in Integrated Marketing Communications program at Northwestern University's Medill school. She is interested in brand management and strategy. She can be reached at lavanyaashokkumar2010@u.northwestern.edu.

Friday, March 5, 2010

Fashion marketing's new line: Customer engagement

By Megan O'Malley

The front row seats at New York Fashion Week this year weren’t filled with the usual suspects. A new generation of style bloggers and influential social media gurus are gaining access to the coveted front row as the world of fashion marketing is going digital.

Just ask Andrei Najjar, a Medill IMC graduate and founder of Atelier Collective, who spoke at Medill about how new media is transforming the fashion and luxury goods scene. According to Najjar, “fashion marketing is moving into new media marketing more aggressively than ever. Designers are realizing that tools like Facebook, Twitter, mobile apps and YouTube are increasing ways to dimensionalize their brands, dramatically increase their audiences, and communicate more directly with their fans.”

Fashion houses, retailers and designers are joining the social media phenomenon, which is reshaping consumer dialog and how apparel, accessories and beauty products are marketed and sold. The Internet provides a platform for a new generation of style arbiters to blog or tweet about new trends from their living rooms, and designers are joining the conversation.

Even the most elite designers are starting to model an approach all marketers should mimic—direct engagement with their customers. From Diane Von Furstenberg to Gucci, brands are using Twitter to directly converse with customers. Other labels such as Burberry are streaming their shows in live 3-D, bringing the runway straight to potential buyers.

With instant media tools consumers don’t have to wait for next month’s Vogue to know what’s hot. The fashion industry is learning how to engage with consumers on real-time global platforms, integrating their communications strategy in a way that will never go out of style.

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Megan O'Malley is a blogger at Vitamin IMC and a graduate student in the Masters in Integrated Marketing Communications program at Northwestern University's Medill School. She thinks online shopping is more dangerous than living close to Michigan Avenue. She can be reached at meganomalley2010@u.northwestern.edu

Wednesday, March 3, 2010

Game-savvy consumers bring new challenges for marketers

By Susan Monahan

Whether they’re Farmville addicts or Guitar Heroes, marketers of all kinds can reach game lovers with the right interactive element. Within a hit-based industry that continues to consolidate, what opportunities lie ahead for marketers to work with games?

As part of Medill IMC’s Professional Speaker Series, President and CEO of Midway Games Matt Booty presented a look at the $50 billion worldwide gaming industry through an IMC lens.

Last summer Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment acquired Midway Games’ assets, including the popular Mortal Kombat series. It’s another move in game manufacturing’s rapid consolidation. Booty described just how hit-driven his business is: “Last Christmas, about 90% of console game sales came from the top 10 games.” Similar to films, these blockbuster games infiltrate our culture and build distinct fan-communities.

Who is this consumer? The average U.S. game buyer is 38 years old. There’s increasing demand for Teen- and Mature-rated content. Other media companies hoping to increase sales have allied with game manufacturers; most recently, publisher Random House created a division to write story content for games. This partnership is intended to enhance the game product while providing a direct link to a complementary book series.

Outside the console game market, “casual gamers” include those who play on social media sites like Facebook. They represent a market segment that likes competition with friends, as opposed to MMO players (massively multiplayer online games), who go online to combat strangers in group play like World of Warcraft. Facebook’s Farmville has 60 million active users, and includes a pay-to-advance model. The game’s parent company, Zynga, undoubtedly found its own monetization of the social medium. In the future, strategic sponsorships may form with social media games and consumer products.

The lesson here hearkens back to Michael J. Wolf’s Entertainment Economy. As marketers turn to entertainment content for a competitive edge, learning the codes that appeal to game-savvy consumers could advance them to the next level.

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Susan Monahan is a graduate student in Integrated Marketing Communications at Northwestern. She serves as Vitamin IMC’s liaison to the Medill IMC Professional Speaker Series. Please email her if you have a suggestion for a speaker, or would like to speak at an upcoming event at susanmonahan2010@u.northwestern.edu.

Tuesday, March 2, 2010

Foursquare: Location-based consumer insights?

By Johnny Schroepfer

Foursquare is one of the best iPhone applications to date. The idea is simple: check-in on your mobile device at various restaurants, clubs or stores to receive points, unlock badges and even become “mayor” of the venue.

Foursquare also encourages competition amongst your friends to see who can rack up the most points in the same city. This “location-based” social networking app has great potential for brands in terms of understanding and rewarding their customers.

While some major brands like Pepsi have taken advantage of sponsoring leader board pages, local businesses are using the app by offering specials for the“mayor” of their venue. For example, I’ve checked-in to bars and received messages similar to “The mayor of Bar X drinks for free from 8pm-10pm” or “The mayor of Restaurant X receives a free appetizer with purchase of $9.99 or more.”

These location-based promotions are a great way to interact with and reward your customers. The application not only tracks where users are checking-in (and how often) but also allows users to write tips and to-dos for each venue.

Local businesses have the opportunity to understand how often users are visiting their store or restaurant, what they’re saying about the service and what they’re suggesting to other users.

Location-based services like Foursquare will help the mobile industry grow in the United States by increasing engagement and providing value to its users.

Would an app like Foursquare make you more engaged with a local business or major brand?

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Johnny Schroepfer is the strategy & content director at Vitamin IMC and a student in the Masters in Integrated Marketing Communications program at Northwestern University's Medill School. He can be reached at johnnyschroepfer@u.northwestern.edu.

Monday, March 1, 2010

American Apparel: Building brand identity through controversy

By Mike Witham

American Apparel is no stranger to leveraging sex in advertising. Their latest contest titled “Best bottom in the World gave another example of how the brand is managing to build its identity by pushing the envelope.

In the contest, American Apparel invited women and men to submit photos of their butts, which were rated by viewers on a five-point scale. Two winners will be flown out to LA to participate in an American Apparel photo shoot.

The contest stirred up controversy with women’s activist groups who called it demeaning to women. However, this is not the first time American Apparel has created controversy over its advertising tactics. In 2007, billboards in Manhattan were taken down because of the overt sexual imagery.

American Apparel is not the first company to use highly sexual photos to sell their product. Abercrombie & Fitch was strongly criticized for its catalogs that featured semi-nude models. A&F tried to downplay the scandalous content with black and white artsy photography and only allowed individuals 18 and older to purchase the catalogs.

In contrast to A&F, there’s something refreshing about how unconcealed American Apparel is about their brand identity. American Apparel makes no attempt to run from their sexually explicit reputation that has helped the company thrive as a global brand. This speaks to CEO Dov Charney’s dedication to authenticity—even if the messaging is offensive to some. From a marketing standpoint, the contest is right on strategy for American Apparel—whether we like it or not.

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Mike Witham is a blogger at Vitamin IMC and a student in the Masters in Integrated Marketing Communications program at Northwestern University's Medill School. She can be reached at michaelwitham2010@u.northwestern.edu.