Marcom this week: From A to zinc – 1/14/11 edition

From the downfall of celebrity endorsements to eco-friendly TV ads, here is a look at what made headlines this week in the integrated marketing communications industry.

Celebrity Ads Miss the Mark
New research from Ace Metrix may finally dispel the myth that celebrity ad endorsements enhance persuasion and improve advertising effectiveness. According to the 2010 Celebrity Advertisements study, in 2009 celebrity ads either performed below average or merely equaled it. On average, celebrity ads resulted in a -1.4 percent lift, while non-celebrity ads generated an 8 percent lift. Those topping the list of worse ads included Tiger Woods for Nike in “Did You Learn Anything?”and Lance Armstrong for Radio Shack in “No Emoticons.”

Why the lack of love for these hot shots? Participants reported that many celebrity ads lacked information and relevancy. It is not surprising consumers do not appreciate celebrities pushing messages at them. Today, consumers control the flow of information. They pull what they need from a variety of sources – most importantly, their social networks. Celebrities are not part of these networks, so push as they might, it is unlikely consumers will budge.

In fairness, 12 percent of celebrity ads did achieve a 10 percent or greater lift. These included spots from Progressive featuring Oprah Winfrey and Snickers featuring Betty White and Aretha Franklin.

CBS Gives “Green” Advertisers Stamp of Approval
Beginning next week, CBS will include an EcoAd visual “digital” leaf on TV commercials for green advertisers. These advertisers are participating in the network’s sustainable media program, managed by EcoMedia. By purchasing these value-add spots, a portion of the advertisers’ dollars go toward urban reforestation projects, solar installations and affordable housing projects in cities nationwide. Sponsors include Chevrolet, Safeway, O Organics and Boston Scientific, among others.

EcoMedia launched in 2002; however, this is the first time we've heard about the EcoAd program. With EcoAd sponsors set to receive primetime attention, we are curious to see how CBS grows this program.

Working Out with “The Captain”
According to Captain Morgan, pirates are famous for three things: looting, pillaging and developing high-intensity, low-impact resistance training programs. What better way to market the latter of these skills than with a workout video? This three-minute web video produced by Pereira & O’Dell features The Captain in an infomercial about his life-changing workout routine. You do not want to miss the testimonials.





Captain Morgan was not the only adult-beverage company hitting the web with a film short this week. Heineken debuted a 90-second video entitled “The Entrance.” Produced by Weiden & Kennedy, the spot features a man with perfect party-entrance timing. Both brands pumped significant marketing dollars into the production of these web-only videos, strengthening the argument that marketers are placing greater importance on the web.

Marcom This Week: From A to Zinc is compiled by the Vitamin IMC editorial team. They can be reached at vitaminimc@gmail.com. Miss your vitamins last week? View January 7th's “Marcom This Week."

Earth Day Buzz

It’s Earth Day and everyone from NBC to Google is going green. Some companies are even taking this opportunity to educate consumers and promote awareness of Earth-friendly initiatives.

One example is the ‘Haagen-Dazs Loves Honey Bees’ campaign. The interactive site has information on the bee crisis and how this crisis will effect consumers' favorite foods (such as Haagen-Dazs ice cream). Visitors can help spread the buzz by creating a bee to send to family and friends. Haagen-Dazs has a sister-site for college consumers. Yesterday, on campuses across the country, the company gave out free ice cream and buttons to promote awareness, drive students to the campusbuzz Web site, and hopefully pollinate the Web with dancing bee videos.

Haagen-Dazs has also involved other companies. Anthropologie's initiative brings the message to where the consumers are. The company has an interactive learning tool on its homepage. The tool provides bee facts, links to resources, and a link to the Haagen-Dazs bee site. The bee awareness initiative extends to the in-store experience with bee awareness facts and displays incorporated into each store and photos of the displays accessible on Flicker.

Do you have a favorite Earth Day or green campaign? If so, please share by adding a comment!

--Marina Molenda

Green Marketing: Be Authentic and Never Underestimate Your Consumer

On February 19, the American Marketing Association’s conference “Sustainable Marketing: Fad or Future?” concluded with the statement that blue is the next green. Although green marketing is growing, it will become a fad if marketers attempt to fool consumers into believing that products and services are green, when they’re not. Over time, consumers will stop listening.

There is a future for companies that take sustainable development and/or green issues seriously. With environmental concerns taking precedence in today’s businesses, political and personal agendas, the skies look pretty bright for green marketing. In fact, businesses investing in green efforts are seeing rapid growth, as mainstream consumers demand green products across all industries. For example, SC Johnson developed a more environmentally-sound version of Windex.

Even the financial sector has developed green products and services (e.g. green mortgages and green financing). In the UK, green financial products are ubiquitous. Green products have captivated consumers’ fleeting attention, but there is always the question of authenticity. Due to “greenwashing” in the past, consumers are becoming more skeptical. A plethora of businesses have jumped on the bandwagon and consumers quickly sneer at those who do it for publicity. However, the advantage lies in developing legitimate green/ethical products, not in merely branding them as green.

The IMC process starts by understanding consumers. Today, consumers are more informed and aware than ever before. Since there are now plenty of segments within the green market, marketers also need to know how green or ethical their consumers are, in order to target them appropriately. Are consumers making behavioral and lifestyle changes to reduce their carbon footprint? Or, are they just beginning to learn about green issues? How do they feel about paying more for green products? What are their attitudes regarding sustainable development? How do they perceive the quality of green versus conventional products?

Marketers need to be cautious in the way they promote products and services, because consumers often know more than what marketers assume - never underestimate their love for the environment.

--Guest Contributor: Lynette Villalobos, IMC Graduate Student