Vitamin IMC turns one year old!

Today marks the first birthday of Vitamin IMC. What started as a two-person endeavor to bring Medill IMC program topics to the blogosphere is now a 20+ operation run entirely by enthusiastic students. In honor of our one-year mark, we’d like to share a bit of our history with you.

The Vitamin IMC Story

By Founders Stacy Cohen & Marina Molenda, IMC 2009

It all began with a question: how can current IMC students educate marketers, potential students and companies about IMC? We wanted to offer a “fresh squeezed” perspective on marketing topics while educating the business world on the true definition of IMC. We needed a platform to show that IMC is the new and best approach to marketing communications by providing insights and analyzing cases where IMC should have been implemented. We required a format that allows for an interactive relationship, uses a channel that directly reached our diverse audience and is easily accessible. The answer to the question was the “Vitamin IMC” blog.

In December of 2008 we began developing the identity, mission and overall editorial and promotional strategy for Vitamin IMC. After posting some juicy content, the blog was launched February 5, 2009 to IMC students and faculty. This was followed by promotion and outreach to influential marketing bloggers. The content is written primarily by members of the blog team, with guest contributions by current IMC students and faculty. Written through an IMC lens, the posts discuss marketing hot topics and trends as well as insights from class.

In just one year, Vitamin IMC acquired several hundred (over 700) followers on Twitter (@VitaminIMC) from IMCers to social media marketers and companies. We are flattered to have received positive feedback from top bloggers such as David Berkowitz, Greg Verdino and Barbara Lippert.

We’re excited at the success we’ve seen in just one year and look forward to expanding our readership and influence. We hope the blog continues to grow along with the program and reflect the changing state of marketing. We want Vitamin IMC to establish a place in the marketing world as an interactive resource for both IMC students and innovative marketers. Thanks for visiting the blog, please leave comments and let us know what you think. We look forward to hearing from you!

Medill IMC

About our Graduate Program

The study of Integrated Marketing Communications was pioneered at Northwestern University’s Medill School, and some of the greatest minds in the industry are among our professors. We learn to create marketing communications that engage and connect brands and consumers with stakeholders. We experience the challenges of real-world marketing environments, and have the opportunity to work on projects that carry real social impact. To learn more about the program, check out the Medill IMC Web site at www.medill.northwestern.edu/imc.

What's the secret formula? A Happiness Machine

Coke’s “open happiness” campaign is an ambitious brand building effort. “Open happiness” can be interpreted in many different ways and has the potential to fall flat to fluffy efforts. But with this new viral video, Coke shows us all why it is a top global brand. By simply delivering on its brand promise and understanding how to connect with its target consumers, Coke successfully brings “open happiness” to life.

Not only do the people interacting with the machine get a dose of happiness, but watching the video will undoubtedly bring a smile to the viewer’s face, which most likely will lead to sharing this cool video with others. This is a recipe for viral success -- anyone, anywhere in the world can appreciate the happiness in this video. And that’s truly the mark of an iconic global brand.

What will be interesting to see is if Coke can keep consumers buzzing and if the happiness machine pops up at other college campuses. There’s a great opportunity here for Coke to further engage with this target group. How about creating a contest for college students to select the next secret location for the happiness machine? Or what about extending the life of this idea and integrate it with Expedition 206?

--Stacy Cohen

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Stacy Cohen is Co-Founder and Alumni Advisor of Vitamin IMC and recently graduated from the Masters in Integrated Marketing Communications program at Medill. Currently living in Atlanta, Stacy does not miss the winter she left behind in Chicago. She can be reached at StacyCohen2008@u.northwestern.edu

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The Evolution of Marketing

David Armano created this fantastic visual explaining how changing consumption habits have changed the way marketers need to think.The visual nicely sums up the key points of a recent Economist article discussing how the recession will change the way people shop. In this new post-consumer era marketers need to really understand the needs of their customers, a key tenet of the IMC approach.

How do you think the recession will change marketing? What are you thoughts on this visual representation?

-- Stacy Cohen

OfficeMax Case Study: IMC done right

Ideas are the fuel that drive marketing ROI – great ideas can overcome a challenging market problem or a small budget. Great ideas are exactly why OfficeMax has built a brand that is seen as fun, innovative, and caring about its customers. Did you ever think an office supply store would be the one to create the single most successful viral marketing campaign in history? Do you know anyone that hasn’t Elfed themselves?

OfficeMax’s CMO, Bob Thacker, spoke to our Brand Communication Decisions class and discussed how OfficeMax’s recent campaigns show the power of creativity. By understanding the needs of their consumers and appealing to their hearts, OfficeMax saw great success in its Schooled, Elf Yourself, and Power to the Penny campaigns. Viral marketing can be a solution for small budgets. And if done right, you can benefit from the powers of social media – everyone else will do the marketing for you. Brands can see great returns from creating campaigns that really connect with their consumers. Even in this economy, OfficeMax is continuing to fund it’s a Day Made Better program which make surprise donations of supplies and gifts to teachers across the country. 

Thacker told us that advertising is a party crasher and “if you’re going to crash a party, you’d better bring a bottle of wine”. Advertising needs to be memorable and enrich the experience of consumers. It’s no longer about what marketers can sell to consumers – it’s now about how marketers can help consumers. 

OfficeMax clearly understands this. Recently the brand revamped its look, products and advertising because of research showing that women are the primary purchasers in the office. By infusing excitement and style into everything from the layout of the store to the website to its catalogs, OfficeMax has moved away from the common perceptions of work space as dull and boring and is off to a great start with its Life is Beautiful, Work can be too campaign.  

Thacker’s words are a lesson to all marketers. The recession poses a challenge to marketing and the only way to overcome it is with creativity and a little heart. A bouncing rubberband ball can’t hurt either.  

-- Stacy Cohen

P&G's Digital Hack Night

Last night, P&G held an experiment combining digital marketing experts with the power of social networks for a cause. The first-time event, called Digital Hack Night, hosted 40 people from Facebook, Google and several agencies to share the hands-on experience of reaching a market digitally through viral means. 

Instead of marketing the Tide product, the teams were competing to see who could sell the most vintage T-shirts; proceeds benefited the Loads of Hope program which partners with Feeding America to provide clean clothes to victims of natural disasters.

*image from www.polyvore.com

Information about the event showed up on popular blogs, on Facebook, and on Twitter  with the tags #pgdigital and #tide. In just a few hours sales of the shirts reached $50k and Tide matched $50k, raising $100k before midnight.  

Partnering with a cause can be a great strategic move for a company, as both sides reap benefits. P&G has been actively using cause marketing to enhance the value argument it is making for its products in this recession . 

Using social media for good is an increasing trend. Coupling this action with a marketing effort just might be the next big thing. If used appropriately, causes may help companies show authenticity to their customers and improve the strength of relationships.

IMC campaigns embrace the power of social media for marketing. By leveraging the power of word of mouth and the instant responsiveness of networks like Twitter, messages can spread quickly and reinforce a brand's image. However, social media must be utilized correctly in order for a campaign to be a success. Not every channel is appropriate for every company, brand, or campaign.

P&G set a great example with this challenge - marketers need to engage with social media to learn best practices to incorporate into future campaigns. The best part about this event was that it was organized by P&G, not an agency or a social media expert. And P&G chose a cause that fit with the Tide brand. By making the effort to learn how social media can best be used for its products, P&G went straight to the best minds in the industry, and emerged with knowledge it can use to market its other products and a successful charity event that will bode well with its consumers. I know I'm more likely to purchase Tide or other P&G products now - how about you?

--Stacy Cohen

Tropicana Needs Some Vitamin IMC

There's been a backsplash in the orange juice world. Today NPR and the New York Times reported on the consumer outrage against the new packaging for Tropicana. It appears that Tropicana overlooked the strong emotional connection their core consumers (those who are passionate about and loyal to the brand) had to the original packaging. 

As marketers, we think the re-

design brings a fresh, modern look to the packaging. As consumers, we understand the backlash because in this economy, consumers are seeking the comfort of their favorite brands. When times are uncertain, consumers look for stability and familiarity, not radical changes. 

As IMC students, we understand the necessity of consumer-centricity when developing brand strategy. Brandweek's report of the survey Being Consumer-Centric: A Retailer and Manufacturer Update says that "most retailers (75 percent) and consumer products manufacturers (58 percent) rank consumer centricity as a top-three success factor." The report also says that "the limited availability of team resources is the largest impediment to consumer-centric success for both retailers (37 percent) and manufacturers (43 percent)." To solve the problem of limited resources, retailers and manufactures need to turn to integrated marketing communications experts in order to develop effective campaigns and maximize ROI.

Clearly Tropicana is consumer-centric because they re-desinged the packaging based on consumer research, and are now swtiching back to the original design based on consumer feedback. In Tropicana's case, it appears the issue arose from not putting enough weight on the opinions of its most passionate consumers. Even though they represent a small fraction of their consumer base, Tropicana understood the importance of keeping them happy because these are the people who will be talking about the brand the most. Tropicana can teach marketers a lesson on the importance of understanding how your consumers feel about your products. Marketers need to monitor what is being said about their brand while also bringing their core consumers into the conversation to develop effective campaigns.

Give us your fresh squeezed thoughts on this issue by taking our poll and leaving your comments below. 

--Marina Molenda and Stacy Cohen

UPDATE: Tropicana received a second hit from its rebranding blunder. Sales from January to February dropped 20%. Read more details at AdAge.

Wonderful World of Widgets

Widgets. No, we're not talking about those fictional products that you use to read about in story problems for math class. We're talking about those little applications that countdown to your wedding, add a cyber pet to your blog, or help you find a restaurant on your iPhone.

Many widgets are created by developers as a hobby, however, widgets are now being created by marketers and nonprofits as a way to share information about their organizations. When implemented properly, widgets can be a great tool because they allow for the benefits of word of mouth. If the message or product featured in the widget is something that people are passionate about, they will want to talk about it. A widget is like a digital bumper sticker that allows the audience to show their support by sticking it on their Web site, blog, Facebook page, etc with the added benefit of being a convenient and interesting way to share the message (and it won't ruin your car!).

One example is the Deadly in Pink widget from the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids. Advertising from tobacco companies is a topic many people are passionate about and the widget is a way to show their stance on the issue, spread the word, and obtain additional information. 

Just think, maybe in the future "My kid is an honor roll student" bumper stickers will be replaced by widgets displayed on proud parent's blogs and, of course, shared with all their family and friends. 

Ready to test out some widgets or create your own? Check out these sites, and let us know what you think: Zembly,iWidgets, Sprout, Widgetbox

--Stacy Cohen and Marina Molenda

Twestival: Meet and Tweet For a Cause

Last night communities of Tweeters met in over 175 cities around the world to raise money and awareness for charity:water, an innovative non-profit dedicated to providing clean water to developing communities in desperate need. What started as a small gathering to benefit a local charity in London last year has evolved into a global fund raising event that is 100% volunteer organized. Early reports are predicting $1million was raised. Vitamin IMC attended the Chicago Twestival at Catalyst Ranch, a cool and funky converted loft that oozed creativity from every corner. 

Meeting other twitter users face to face was a great opportunity to network, share ideas and discuss the endless capabilities of Twitter. We'll explore these capabilities ourselves and how Twitter can be used as a marketing tool in an upcoming post. 

Referred to as the Live Aid of the tech world , Twestival's success highlights the power of social media. Not only does it allow you to share and connect with other users, but it can also be used to mobilize its users to effect social change. Social media is an important aspect of developing an IMC strategy, and as shown by Twestival, when used properly can yield great returns. We expect to see more events like Twestival in the future as the true value of social media is realized by more people.

So tell us, did you attend Twestival? What do you think about the power of social media?

--Stacy Cohen

VitaminIMC - What Marketing Doctors Are Now Prescribing

A new year brings reflection on industry trends. 2008 saw a rise in social media use and also a shift in the marketing world. In 2009 we will see the effects of this shift. Traditional views of marketing are being challenged so it is important now more than ever to grasp the idea of customer centricity. This idea lies at the core of integrated marketing communications (IMC). By focusing on understanding customers, marketers can create strategies that will increase ROI and continue to build strong brands. Marketers also need to adapt to changes that Web 2.0 has brought about. When properly implemented, social media use can be of great value to marketers and a key route to building relationships with your consumers.

Already in 2009 we've seen companies putting IMC into practice:

On New Year's Eve, Nivea launched the "Kiss and Be Kissed" campaign to create an emotional, rather than functional, connection with its consumers. From product sampling in Times Square, to pamphlets on the art of kissing, to an interactive Web site urging viewers to submit their own photos of affection, the campaign seeks to build a relationship between Nivea and their consumers in a category where this is not commonly done.

Kellogg's revamped its Special K Challenge to better reflect the needs of its consumers. The "Wake-Up Call" campaign highlights the importance of using consumer insights to drive brand strategy and innovation. To better meet the needs of their consumers, Kellogg's expanded the Special K product line to offer more variety for meals and snacks. They also changed their advertising messaging to target the trigger points of consumers ready to begin a weight management program.

Pepsi is harnessing the power of social media to make the final decision on which spots it will run during the Super Bowl. Brandweek reports that Pepsi execs are waiting to see which brands get the most buzz on the internet and are closely tracking the blogosphere to decide which brands to highlight in Sunday's big game.

How successful marketers will be in 2009 will depend on how well they can incorporate IMC strategies and philosophies to build relationships with their consumers. The use of social media and the internet will be an extremely useful tool, but other outlets need to be used as well in order to truly understand your customers. The best way to ensure marketing success is to remember to take your vitamins, especially the essential nutrient of vitamin IMC!

-- Stacy Cohen