USPS Holiday Site Helps Consumers With Seasonal Shipping Stress

It's holiday season and consumers everywhere are stressing out about all the cards they have to send out and shipping gifts on time. Understanding the stress of the holiday season, the U.S. Postal Service created a fun, festive, and useful site to help consumers with their holiday mailing needs. This one-stop-shop has a lot of helpful features including tutorials for printing labels and scheduling pickup, custom card creator, locator for finding post offices with extended hours, and holiday countdowns for Hanukkah, Christmas, and Kwanza.

The site is effective because it provides value to consumers by making their lives easier and keeps them engaged with the Web site and the brand. The experience of using the site is great way to keep consumers coming back to USPS for their shipping needs instead of using other providers.

All-in-all it's a good site and next year's site could be even better by adding:

• Sharing: Make the site more shareable and increase word of mouth by adding functionality for sharing on Twitter, Facebook, Delicious, etc.
• Augmented Reality: USPS has a cool and innovative Virtual Box Simulator. It is a perfect fit for the holiday site and should be a featured tool.
• Branded App: An app that incorporates site features such as scheduling a delivery, countdown calendars, and post office locator as well as new features such as reminders and a to-do list would make for a very relevant and useful app.

--Marina Molenda

Babies, Puppies and Kittens! Oh My!

People can’t get enough of the economy. Aside from the usual subjects such as the chasm that is the Nation’s growing debt and the unemployment rate, a less obvious socio-cultural affect of the recession is taking place. I’ll give you a hint: it has to do with Pokémon, the Mini-Cooper and animals dressed in outfits.

In recent years, there has been a proliferation of user-generated videos of animals and babies, not to mention miniature versions of popular foods such as the slider and cupcake. In November’s issue of Vanity Fair, Jim Windolf claims that the economic downturn is fueling our fascination with all things small, cute and cuddly.

Sure, cute stuff has always been present and appealing. However, it wasn’t until recently, Windolf argues, that the phenomenon took off on a mass scale of present-day proportions. It’s as if Americans have reverted back to familiar, child-like comforts during a decade that brought us 9/11 and the war in Iraq.

This trend has seeped into advertising, media and product design. Think of the small and rounded body of the SmartCar, the Snuggie, animated movies like “Up” and mascots like the Geico Gecko (a creature that has become more anthropomorphic as the years progress).

However, a small but growing cultural backlash is occurring. The cuteness craze is being mocked and satirized – signs that the “age of cuteness” could be losing traction and, possibly, coming to a close.

The implication for marketing and advertising is this: as professionals, we need to be cognizant of these larger societal trends as they bleed into popular culture and daily life. Doing so will aid in the understanding of consumer motivations and, subsequently, the development of more meaningful communications.

­--Mike Witham

Cable Networks Vying for Shelf Space

Search For the Amazon Headshrinkers? When Crocs Ate Dinosaurs?

The National Geographic Channel really worked it to get your attention with the Expedition Week line-up, which aired November 15-21, its answer to Discovery Channel’s annual hit, Shark Week. Now calling itself simply Nat Geo, the network underwent a major makeover. Last month, it debuted a new call-to-action tagline: “live curious.”

Targeting 25-to-54-year-olds, Nat Geo has been able to grow ratings for the past six years. With countless more tune-in choices to compete with every day, how does the network do it?

The answer can be found in the snack food aisle. Steve Schiffman, the National Geographic Channel’s General Manager and EVP, recently spoke at the Cable Mavericks Lecture Series at Northwestern. He drew parallels between consumer packaged goods marketing and entertainment marketing.

For instance, Nat Geo benefited from the cross-promotion of two seasoned labels – its #1 show The Dog Whisperer and PETCO, the retailer of show host Cesar Millan’s products.

In true brand-follower form, Nat Geo imitates Discovery, hence “reactivating” its image to keep up. But Nat Geo must be careful not to discard its historic pedigree, its true differentiator.

Today’s cable distribution model, much like a supermarket, allows a multitude of networks the chance to draw in consumers. The downside is both carry the threat of the private label. What’s the Safeway Select of cable? Look to the potential merger of Comcast and NBC Universal for a whole new type of station with a more efficient subscription-to-advertising revenue model.

What can Nat Geo learn from CPGs in this case to maintain its market share? Better, more nourishing ingredients. The Discovery Channel has infused its brand with its show hosts, characters who viewers can’t get enough of.

How will Nat Geo combat this threat?

--Susan Monahan

Vicks' Tweak Marketing Move

When P&G advertises their brands, they leverage as much brand equity as possible. Take for example the new NyQuil commercials. There are two back to back spots. The first one shows a large man clearly knocked out in a deep sleep. The tagline reads: NyQuil: The nightime, sniffling, sneezing, coughing, aching, fever, Best Sleep You Ever Got With A Cold...Medicine. The next spot is a woman sleeping with an occasional light snore. The tagline reads: NyQuil Less Drowsy. Because everyone sleeps differently. This new product extension is clearly a result of a strong consumer insight. And it just might be the way to combat the rise of the private label.

So it's surprising to see this Twitter promotion on the Vicks Web site. There is no connection to the brand here and it's not integrated into any of their other marketing efforts. What aspects of the brand are reinforced by this promotion? A free trip to cheer on Team USA is a great prize, but how does that connect to any of the other marketing for the Vicks brand? Are consumers supposed to associate Vicks as something truly American? The Vicks brand means "you're taken care of." P&G is missing an opportunity with this promotion to forge a deeper relationship between their consumers and the brand.
The Twitter execution could also be a lot stronger. The promotion (that's hidden on the website) has you sign up with your email address and then encourages you to tweet a generic message every day for a chance to win. It was a mistake to use a generic message that again has no connection with the brand. Instead, Vicks could encourage consumers to tweet reasons why they deserve to win, or their favorite Vicks product, or how Vicks makes them feel, or pictures of them using Vicks products. Any of these would be a win for both Vicks and the consumer. It would encourage brand affinity but also provide Vicks with valuable information to use for future marketing efforts. The takeaway here: brands should always seize opportunities to develop stronger relationships with consumers and reinforce the brand they know and love.

--Stacy Cohen

Brown Delivers Through Social Media But Forgets to Ship Directions

Over the years, UPS transformed itself from a shipping service provider to a business solutions provider that offers shipping — adding value for customers. The transformation began with the “What can brown do for you?” commercials followed by the famous Whiteboard campaign. UPS continues to deliver value in its online engagement strategy—something many companies forget to do.

UPS’s strategy is to provide content that is relevant and useful to its B2B customers. At the center is a branded Popurls site. Here UPS is serving as a content curator for business news and tips. UPS also created a Populr Brown Edition YouTube channel. The channel features a series of short informational videos on business topics such as social networking and communication. Industry notables from Mashable, TechDirt, Small Business Trends, and VentureBeat provide the video lessons. Additionally, consumers can receive news stories by following @popurlsbrown on Twitter.

So, what’s the problem? Well, have you watched one of the videos, heard about the brown Popurl site, or followed @popurlsbrown? UPS is an international brand, yet the YouTube channel has just over 600 views and @popurlsbrown has 69 followers. While UPS is running banner ads on sites like VentureBeat, neither UPS.com nor the Whiteboard microsite have links to the popurl site, YouTube channel, or Twitter account. Additionally, the YouTube channel doesn’t link to the Twitter account or UPS.com. UPS is delivering value for its B2B customers by providing useful information in an accessible and easily digestible format. However, the full potential will not be realized unless UPS offers directions to and from these sites and does a better job integrating these elements into its overall marketing efforts.

-- Marina Molenda

From Neanderthals to IMC

There's a tectonic shift happening in the marketing world. Next week, Forrester will release a report that recommends doing away with "brand manager" and changing the title to "brand advocate". This recommendation signifies a larger shift in acceptance of the changes the digital era has brought as we see more and more companies embracing the customer-centric IMC approach. This Ad Age article is a must read for any IMC thinker and has some great insights by Denuo CEO Rishad Tobaccowala, who shared similar remarks to us last week during the Medill Marketing Conference. Let us know your thoughts below. What will branding mean in the next few years? How do you see the digital era changing the marketing world?

--Stacy Cohen

'A hole' breaks through the clutter

“A Nasty Commercial” - The Huffington Post

"Juvenile" - BNET

"Fast-Food Smutfest" - Advertising Age

"Tasteless and stupid" - Brandfreak.com

These are just some of the reactions to Hardee’s “Name our holes” campaign launched over the summer. No stranger to controversy, Hardee’s has a reputation for provocative commercials. Hardee’s is trying to be a guy’s guy and appeal to young, hungry dudes. So low-brow humor seems to be a fit with the brand’s desired personality and appeal to the target market.

The Holes campaign was to promote Hardee’s biscuit holes with icing. The A-hole vs B-hole commercial turns the blind taste test on its head in an unexpected and funny way. It is so simple and obvious it’s surprising that no one had done it before. It goes beyond low-brow humor to actually being witty. The commercial leads the viewer toward the joke, but the naughtiness of A-hole vs B-hole happens in the mind of the consumer. The interactive nature of wit is a pleasurable pay-off for the viewer – and they get a good laugh.

The commercial is also successful because it breaks through the advertising clutter in a way that makes consumers receptive to the message. As Beryl McAlhone and David Stuart state in their book “A Smile in the Mind”:

What a witty approach does is to focus as much on receptiveness as on what is to be received. It creates a welcome for itself. This is like persuading the goalkeeper to stand aside before you shoot at the goal.

Clearly the critics of the Hardee’s commercial couldn’t see past the so called sophomoric humor to see the commercial for the witty and clever piece that it is. But that’s okay, because the 525,700+ people that viewed the YouTube video did.

--Marina Molenda

MISSING: Brand Identity. Reward If Found.

Can a brand declare victory once its name is used in everyday vocabulary? Not in today's world. With consumers more price conscious and private labels creeping in to grab market share, brands need to work extra hard to communicate value to consumers.

Kleenex is well aware of this and is running banner ads to help protect "brand identity theft". We're all guilty of this crime. Everyone uses facial tissues, but not necessarily of the Kleenex brand. Most people will still use the word Kleenex when referring to facial tissues when Kleenex itself is not benefiting at all. This is also true with Band-Aid, Q-Tip, Xerox and Jello to name a few.

Marketers cannot forget about the equity in a brand name and need to work hard to solidify the brand's positioning. This is a key linkage to building strong relationships with consumers and needs to represent what the brand stands for. Keeping the brand relevant for today's consumers is also important to keep in mind.

Balancing relevancy and equity is not always an easy task. Take Radio Shack for example. In trying to modernize a dwindling company, they re-branded themselves as "The Shack" and threw most of their equity out the window. Yes, the "radio" part of the name is not really relevant today, but that's how consumers know of the brand. "The Shack" immediately brings to mind cheap images and a basketball player -- nothing remotely related to electronics. Radio Shack should have capitalized on the equity built into the origins of its name: “The phrase originally referred to the cabins aboard ships where the Marconi wireless was kept, and it had a built-in nostalgia for millions of servicemen after World War II, who would have known field communications centers as "radio shacks".

And what about Gatorade's new name,G? Why change something that's not broken? Gatorade's popularity and widespread consumption has given it vocabulary elite status like Kleenex. The name is derived from its origins - a quenching beverage for University of Florida athletes (Gators). By shortening it to G, the brand loses all the equity it had built up over the years.

Marketers need to make sure to leverage the equity of their brands, or they may end up on a MISSING poster themselves.

-- Stacy Cohen

Whole Foods Dives Into the Social Media Deep End

While some companies are slowly dipping their toes into the social media waters, Whole Foods Market has dove in! Over the past eight months, Whole Foods’ social media presence has grown from corporate accounts to over 120 Twitter profiles and 97 Facebook pages.

Whole Foods is often cited as a social media success, but the details of its amazing tactics are what make them unique – taking a completely decentralized approach to their social media strategy. They have taken the close interaction between Whole Foods employees and consumers, along with team member empowerment and applied it to their social media strategy to create local relationships. This grassroots approach has fueled the explosion of their social media presence while supporting their corporate values system.

Their social media accounts range from umbrella corporate accounts to individual accounts for store locations. There are accounts that cover the many locations for metro-areas (think @WholeFoodsCHI) and topic-specific accounts discussing such topics as wine or cheese. They even created a social media presence around their participation at Bonnaroo.

Some may criticize such a fragmented approach to their social media, but Whole Foods learned from their experiences with their corporate social media accounts and expanded to fit their customer’s needs. They started to see that customers had very specific questions about local stores and quickly adapted, adding social media into the local marketing mix. Liz Bootz, the marketing team leader for Whole Foods Oakland, provides support to customers on Twitter. "One of the things I like best about being on Twitter is if a customer has a question, I can tweet the answer to them and provide that information to 200 other customers at the same time," she said.

Other companies should follow their lead and apply unique company culture traits to social media, taking a personal and on-brand approach to their online presence. Their responsive, customer-centric method has seemed to work judging by the numbers. Whole Foods Twitter accounts recently reached one million followers.

--Brandi Heinz

5 Costs of Social Media to Consider

Are you a marketer considering trying social media to connect with customers and stretch your marketing budget? Are you intrigued by the low entry and exit costs and the potential to become a viral sensation or social media darling? Before you take the social media plunge there are 5 costs you should be aware of:

Design Costs. From your blog to Facebook to Twitter, your social media presence should be consistent with your brand. You can save money by repurposing current assets. However, you’ll still need resources for reformatting and/or creating new artwork, uploading art, and programming and designing pages.

Paid Model. Just because something is free today doesn’t mean it will be tomorrow. In March of 2009, Twitter co-founders announced they will probably move to a paid model and just need to figure out when. So if you’ve gained a big following on a free service, what is your plan if the service moves to a paid model? Find some room in the budget and pay up? Dump your customers? Try to migrate them to another free service? If you’re investing in a tool, be sure to consider what you’d do if it moves to a pay model.

Maintenance Costs. So you’ve got your account set up, your page is looking fabulous, and you’ve added some content. Great! Now you need to continuously engage with customers by posting content, replying to comments and questions, and monitoring chatter about your brand. The setup costs for social media are relatively low compared to other forms of advertising, but the high commitment level is unique to the medium. Do you have a budget for the hours needed to maintain your social media presence? Do you have someone in your organization with the time and skills to handle this responsibility or do you need to hire someone? Will you monitor chatter yourself, or pay for a service such as Sysomos or Radian6.

Costs of Doing it Wrong. Diving into social media and then abandoning it is a waste of time and money. But even worse is making a social media blunder that could damage your brand.

Costs of Not Doing it at All. You’ve heard it once, you’ve heard it twice, but in case you forgot: Your customers are out there talking about you already. They are in control and are increasingly expecting engagement and quick responses from companies they do business with. Consider some the consequences of not engaging with customers and listening to what they are saying: missed selling opportunities, lost consumer insights, angry or disengaged customers, misinformation spread about your brand, and fleeing customers. Recently Delta Airlines learned the hard way by not having a good strategy in place.

--Marina Molenda

Doritos and Denny’s Take on Rock

Longtime munchies staple Doritos recently unveiled its new “Late Night” products that include the flavors Tacos at Midnight and Last Call Jalepeno Popper. The names, accompanied by a commercial, evoke a new, edgy vibe—a definite departure from Doritos’ picnic-friendly competitors. The transformation doesn’t stop there: the brand is teaming up with artists that include blink-182 and Big Boi, who are part of the line up for the Doritos Late Night virtual concert. To access the concert, fans must point a special symbol (located on the back of all Doritos Late Night bags) at their web cam. When approved, fans can personalize their experience by holding, moving and shaking the bag.

This isn’t the first time music has made an appearance in nighttime staples. Last year Denny’s, recognizing its role as a late-night hangout, created the “Rockstar Menu,” as part of the Denny’s Allnighter program. Menu selections are available from 10 pm to 5 am and are created by bands, including Joel and Benji Madden of Good Charlotte (“Band of Burritos”) and Rascal Flatts (“Unstoppable Breakfast”). The Allnighter program is topped off by Adopt-a-Band, which offers free meals to artists on the rise and invites bands to use Denny’s as a meet-and-greet location for artists and their fans post concert.

Both Doritos and Denny’s recognize the value of their younger, hipper audiences, but which one is doing it better? Doritos certainly has the advantage of technology, a powerful lure for Generation Y. Its virtual concert provides incentives for snackers to log on to Doritos’ web site, but the relative newness of the campaign—it was unveiled this past April—means that results are still pending. Doritos may have the upper hand on the web, but Denny’s has the advantage of being located on the physical plane. By providing young hipsters with a late night hang out s that features rock-themed dishes, Denny’s isn’t just creating a campaign; it’s creating a persona.

Denny’s understanding of their consumers is allowing them to forge a real connection, one that Doritos is trying to mimic. But will this virtual reality drive sales in the real world? Their technology may be cutting-edge (the US Postal Service is using it to show consumers what size box they’ll need), but will rock concerts be valuable enough to earn the loyalty of consumers? Or will this virtual reality provide only temporary gains in sales until the “hipness” factor recedes?

--Guest Contributor: Megan Baker, Medill Undergraduate Student

Exciting News from Vitamin IMC

Hello Vitamin Fans,

Vitamin IMC recently celebrated 6 months of blogging and gaining over 500 followers on Twitter. Thanks to all of you for your support! Keep the comments and tweets coming -- we love hearing from you!

Also, we are excited to announce that Vitamin IMC is featured in the current issue of Medill Magazine. Check out the article to learn about the creation of Vitamin IMC.

And remember, don’t forget to take your vitamins!

-- Marina & Stacy and the Vitamin IMC team

Can Break-Dancing Babies Refresh the Evian Brand?

This week, Evian is launching a global advertising campaign entitled "Live Young" aimed to counteract the effects of the recession. Because of its premium price, Evian sales have been hit hard and it only holds 0.6% of the bottled water market. The campaign centers around adorable break-dancing babies who demonstrate the benefits of Evian's minerals in a video that is on a path to become a viral hit.



Complimenting the video is an interactive website with interviews, music, wallpapers, and links to Facebook profiles created for a few of the babies. Although Evian is bound to make a splash with this cute and amusing video, the rest of the campaign may fall a little flat. What would better help Evian's effort is if they provided additional tips on how to "live young" on the website. Consumers may be initially drawn in based on the premise of the video, but interacting with babies is not going to forge a strong association of Evian with living young in consumers' minds. Evian should consider partnering with a healthy living organization to provide tips on other ways to keep your body healthy and feeling younger. This will help position Evian as a lifestyle brand, more than just the bottled water brand that has minerals.

And they should also consider expanding their social media strategy. Being friends with a cute baby isn't going to convert consumers to loyal advocates. What would be better is to create a fan page for the campaign that incorporates more information on ways to live young and encourages interaction and user engagement. Letting consumers share ways that they live young will keep the campaign around for a longer period of time.

So what do you think? Will you buy Evian now with your anti-aging creams? Or is this just another cute dancing baby video?

--Stacy Cohen

Sharpie Hits the Mark

Who hasn’t used a Sharpie marker? Whether labeling something in black permanent marker or decorating something special in a rainbow of colors, Sharpie is everything from super useful to wonderfully creative.

The consumer marketing strategy behind Sharpie’s new interactive website, www.SharpieUncapped.com, takes the use of Sharpie markers to a whole new level.

From showcasing creativity on office nameplates to Surfboards to even a BMW, consumer engagement is taken to the next level with a celebration of the product and brand. With links to content on Flickr and YouTube, a Facebook Fanpage, @SharpieSusan on Twitter, and a corporate Blog, there are plenty of ways for consumers to showcase their creations and be reminded just how awesome Sharpies are.

Have you seen the new Stainless Steel Permanent Marker? Authors have been using them at book signings and celebrities have been using them to sign autographs. Who knew you could show some bling with a Sharpie for the low price of 5.99?

Consumer-driven marketing is always going to win. Sharpie has taken a seemingly simple, unglamorous product and turned the perception around to create an innovative, creative product line. It’s a brand that people are not just talking about; Sharpie enthusiasts are now engaged in a community revolving around creativity, inspiration and innovation.

--Brandi Heinz

Branding Blunders: Is Pepsi Maxed Out?

The Pepsi family is striking out left and right with its marketing efforts this year. From the widely panned logo redesign and "Refresh Everything" campaign that doesn't make a whole lot of sense, comes a repositioning of the Diet Pepsi Max product. During the 2008 Superbowl, the product was introduced with a call to "Wake Up People!" During the 2009 Superbowl, the new repositioning that targets "manly men" ages 25-39 was introduced with the "I'm Good" commercial.

What makes the product different from Diet Pepsi is added ginseng and more caffeine. And according to the product description on Pepsi's website: It’s a crisp, refreshingly delicious zero-calorie cola that helps wake up your mind and body! And now, the product comes in black packaging that looks like a carbon copy of Coke Zero. The Pepsi Max team is popping up at summer festivals, nightclubs, and car shows with the "Fantasy World" trailer, hoping that vampy women dancing in a see through cage, free poker games, and free samples will increase sales.

*taken at Chicago Summerfest June 20, 2009

There is no online component to the campaign (which is surprising given the target consumers' active engagement with social media), and the link to www.dietpepsimax.com just takes you to the main Refresh Everything page that isn't even fully functioning!

This new effort is confusing and disjointed. What really doesn't make sense is why Pepsi decided to change its targeting a year later--why take women out of the equation? Can they not handle they extra oomph in Pepsi Max? Will they not respond to the black package? In this day and age, are men really that afraid of being caught drinking a "diet" drink?

--Stacy Cohen

Skittles: Bite-Sized Attempt at Social Media

One of many companies to recently jump on the social media bandwagon, Skittles developed a Web site redesign and coordinating social media campaign. On March 2nd, Skittles launched its new website as a social media hub, transforming its homepage into a Twitter ‘Skittles’ search stream. The Web site also showcased the Skittles Facebook fanpage and showed real-time search results on branded YouTube and Flickr pages. Taking advantage of the Web 2.0 technology and user generated content set off an instant buzz across social media platforms – and in the online marketing world. Supporters and critics weighed in on how they thought the campaign would fare, and watched as Skittles replaced its Twitter feed with its Facebook fan page on the main homepage the next day, most likely due to profane and inappropriate comments tagged with Skittles on Twitter, a space that is difficult to control.

Now, nearly two months later, the buzz has died down and most praise has been replaced with criticism. After seeing a 1332% spike in web visitors on March 3rd (as reported by Hitwise), the Web site’s traffic is still double what it was before the social media blitz (according to Alexa).

Skittles should serve as a case study for any marketer attempting to bring social media into its brand strategy. The main principals of social media include conversation and engagement. Creating buzz and promoting your brand to consumers through social media is one piece of the puzzle, but don’t forget response, rewards and engagement with both fans and critics. Keep in mind the ‘what’s in it for me’ for the consumer. Be sure to provide relevant information and rewards for your brand advocates, sparking an ongoing relationship that provides long-term results.

What do you think the next step for the Skittles campaign should be? How will they begin to engage their consumers through social media?

-- Brandi Heinz

Making the World an Awesome Place, 12 ounces at a Time

Sunkist launched a brand repositioning campaign this week geared toward trend savvy teens and young adults. Understanding that this target group needs to be engaged at multiple touchpoints, Sunkist built an interactive website with videos (created by both Sunkist and consumers), free downloads, webisodes and a fun forecast map. The "Awesome Team" is also traveling to country promoting the new positioning and spreading the awesomeness. 

How successful this campaign will be largely depends on the ability of Sunkist to completely own "awesome". Can an orange flavored can of carbonated sweetness really stack up to the definition? Is Sunkist really the only awesome soda out there? 

--Stacy Cohen

From the freezer to Facebook: Klondike’s new marketing strategy

Last week, Facebook developers unveiled their new Application Directory--the latest of a string of new organizational developments. The directory centralizes all of Facebook’s “apps,” noting those that have been approved by the site. This means consumers can expect a more user-friendly Facebook, but can the upgrade also be marketer-friendly? 

Unilever should hope so. The company’s Klondike brand recently introduced a new line of ice cream bars that boast 25 percent more coating, and according to a recent Brand Week article, interactive media will play a large role in marketing the product. Current plans include a Facebook app (to be released next month) that allows users to test the thickness of their friends’ “shells” through tough questions. 

The use of social networking sites like Facebook isn’t new to the marketing world. Although success has yet to be proven, Facebook’s step toward organization looks promising for brands like Klondike, which before risked being lost among a slew of other applications. Now, with new categories that include a Business & Finance section, Facebook seems to be opening itself to more marketing possibilities. In addition to the “fan page,” many brands may pursue applications as a new form of interactive marketing. 

The centralization of Facebook’s apps could allow for a more organized marketing platform, but time will only tell whether Klondike’s campaign--which also includes a new, interactive web site--will benefit the sales of its new line. Unilever’s reliance on interactive media and social networking sites makes consumers responsible for marketing the brand through their interactions with each other. This multi-level communication may prove helpful for Klondike’s sales--word of mouth is a powerful tool indeed--but it may mean a slow start for the ice cream brand. 

How do you think the new Application Directory will affect brands like Klondike? Is this new format useful for businesses, or will the Facebook marketing well run dry? 

--Guest Contributor: Megan Baker, Medill Undergraduate Student

Worth your wit? Zing it!

Miracle Whip has been adding a little zip to people’s lives since 1933 when it was introduced at the Chicago World’s Fair. In recent years the zesty condiment hasn’t had a strong following from young consumers. To capture the 18 to 35-year-old segment Miracle Whip created its “We are Miracle Whip and we will not tone it down” campaign. 

Miracle Whip recently launched a branded social application as part of its bold, new campaign. The spunky app is aptly named Zingr and allows users to zing almost anything on the web. Zing notices are automatically posted to Facebook and Twitter with a link to the zinged page so all your friends can view your witty remarks. 

Will Zingr be a success? The Zingr application fits with the current messaging and shows consumers that Miracle Whip is a modern brand. With Zingr, Miracle Whip is meeting consumers where they are and offering them a value-add application. Zingr’s blend of fun, interaction, and uniqueness with a touch of sarcasm is likely to appeal to the target audience. The Facebook fan page already has over 400 fans and Zingr was featured in Ad Week. Zingr has yet to be covered by Mashable, but that may be a good thing due to the Mashable Effect (Mashable mentions your site and Mashable’s numerous and eager fans all flock to the site at the same time. This overloads the site causing it to crash or load very slowly). 

However, there are a few barriers to success. Zingr requires a download and only works in Firefox. Miracle Whip decided to launch a beta version, but made it accessible to everyone instead of just a few special testers. Users have already posted issues to the fan page. Currently, one of the main issues is that it’s not working on Macs. Experiencing errors and having to read long posts about how to use what should be a simple application could turn users off and halt the hype before it really takes off. 

Miracle Whip definitely has the first mover advantage with the launch of Zingr. However, do they have the right balance of ‘speed to market’ vs. ‘perfected product’? Let us know your thoughts and tell us about your experience with Zingr by leaving a comment below. 

--Marina Molenda

And They’re Off….and on Oprah

This week was a pretty busy marketing week for Yum! Brands, the umbrella company of KFC, Pizza Hut, Taco Bell, Long John Silver’s and A&W All-American Foods.  Just with two very key media placements, the Kentucky Derby and The Oprah Winfrey Show, Yum! was seen by approximately 20+ million Americans* – and that’s just through live television!   

However, that figure doesn’t take into account millions of additional consumer touchpoints:  the thousands of spectators at Churchill Downs surrounded by Yum!’s red speak bubble logo on signage and the numbered blankets each horse was wearing, and the 2,000 coupons for Kentucky Grilled Chicken downloaded from Oprah.com each minute since the announcement.  Even Twitter lists the KFC promotion as the third most tweeted topic as of this past Wednesday. 

However, Yum!’s high profile sponsorship of the Kentucky Derby and its Kentucky Grilled Chicken promotion on Oprah may have some scratching their heads.  First, many consumers may not have been aware that Yum! owns KFC, and for those who did, they may be questioning Yum!’s strategy: Why sponsor “the two greatest minutes in sports”?  Why promote on Oprah?  What are they selling?  Who’s their target? 

Jonathan Blum, senior vice president and chief public affairs office for Yum! Brands, told vitaminIMC that both campaigns make sense and “the introduction [of Kentucky Grilled Chicken] wasn’t timed to coincide with the Derby – that was a coincidence.”   

Nowadays, any product featured on Oprah is going to get great traction.  As Blum said, “[the Kentucky Grilled Chicken promotion] was a homerun!”   Plus, Yum! has been sponsoring the Kentucky Derby since 2006 and uses the event to “reach high-net-worth individual investors” at a price that costs less than half the price of a 30-second Super Bowl commercial. Yum! also uses the Kentucky Derby as a corporate event to entertain franchisees, investors and hardworking general managers right in its own Louisville, KY backyard. 

But, while Yum!’s goal is to sell as many drumsticks, personal pan pizzas and chalupas as they can, this week should make large multinational and multidivisional corporations wonder if they could have done more with opportunities such as these.  Sure, Yum! couldn’t ask for anything more by getting Oprah to promote one of their products.  But, should a company like Yum! look into how they communicate across divisions and see if leveraging its assets can sell more product and strengthen the overall brand?   

--Lauren McCabe 

*Note: Total audience measurement compiled from Nielsen’s estimates of 14 million viewers of the live broadcast of the 2009 Kentucky Derby on NBC and the average 6 million viewer The Oprah Winfrey Show receives each week with Live + SD ratings measurement.

Coffee Wars Development: Battle of the Blitz

McDonald's launched a marketing blitz today aimed at taking market share away from Starbucks through its line of McCafe drinks. The multi-channel campaign features TV and print spots with online components of a microsite and Twitter feed.  

Starbucks prepared for this battle by rolling out full page ads in this past Sunday's New York Times. The ads aim to reinforce the premium quality of Starbucks coffee and move consumer perceptions away from coffee as a commodity.

Price is McDonald's weapon which will be hard for Starbucks to overcome. They can really only hope that haven't permanently damaged their brand by introducing Via instant coffee in weak attempt to get down to their competitors levels - earnings tumbled 77% in the fiscal second quarter. This move might have proven to be its Achilles heel - McDonald's is entering the battle just as its opponent is slightly wounded.

Do you think the McBlitz will work? Will McDonald's emerge as the winner of this battle? Is Starbucks' brand tainted too much to ever regain market dominance?

--Stacy Cohen

Mickey Mouse Adds English Teacher To His Resume

It appears Mickey Mouse has a new job in China – teaching English to Chinese children in Shanghai at schools owned by Walt Disney Co. The company says the initiative is primarily about teaching language skills to children, not a marketing push or about extending its brand in the worlds’ most populous nation, but what do you think? 

According to a recent Walls Street Journal article, a child enrolled at one of the Disney schools in China will encounter a Mickey Mouse sculpture in the foyer, receive diction lessons with Lilo and Stich, take classes in rooms named after Disney movies, complete exercises introducing Disney books, TV shows and movies, and receive magic tokens as reward gifts that can be exchanged for Disney products which are available at the store on site.  

Given Disney’s current presence in China, which is limited by the Chinese government’s constraints on foreign media; the Disney English schools seem like an innovative way for the company to expand the global reach of its brand while also entering the booming niche industry of English language instruction. From an IMC perspective, clearly Disney discovered a consumer need that the company is fulfilling in a relevant, original and impactful manner. Let’s just hope these kids don’t develop Mickey Mouse or Donald Duck accents!  

So weigh in below - do you think Disney is overstepping the line or being innovative in China?

--Guest Contributor: Divya Chopra, IMC Graduate Student

General Mills' Innovating Marketing

Many CPG organizations are still set in their old marketing ways. IMC is not always a mentality or common practice. One CPG that is paving the way with innovation in marketing is General Mills. Just yesterday, Mashable and AdWeek talked about how General Mills is getting the word out through MyBlogSpark - a network of bloggers (many of them mommy bloggers) who get access to new General Mills products and review them on their blogs.

In our Marketing Mix class, we got an insider perspective on how General Mills continues to innovate and expand their marketing efforts to meet consumer needs. Our class was also tasked with three projects: extending CRM to social media, online coupon yield management, and email subject and content optimization. The results and recommendations will be presented in June. VitaminIMC had a chance to sit down and chat with out guest speaker, IMC alum Geoff Johnson ('97), Director of Household Marketing at General Mills. Here are his thoughts.

Incorporating IMC at General Mills
It's easy to fall into the trap of 'what we want to do to the consumer' instead of focusing on the benefits to them. Understanding IMC helps maintain that consumer focus. From my degree I learned the importance of data and analysis. For example, the first time I encountered decile analysis was as a student at Medill. By using that tool to analyze the entire General Mills portfolio, I was able to uncover valuable insights.

Effect of the recession on marketing efforts at General Mills
Everyone has to eat, and the recession has forced people back into the home (instead of eating out). But consumers are still hurting. We're focusing on the value of our products for consumers by providing solutions such as helping to plan for leftovers, coupons, and turning meals into family time.

The post-recession marketer
You need to focus on goals and what works. It's also important to have break through ideas that differentiate you and connect with the consumer in a compelling way. There will probably be hyper competition post-recession and those that have their game on now will be able to create a long term advantage.

Advice for new IMC graduates
Be curious and don't be afraid to ask questions. Share your ideas and don't be part of the status quo. The people that are able to do this are the most successful in an organization.

-- Marina Molenda and Stacy Cohen