Billboards Ignite Curiosity

For the past two or more months I've seen this outdoor advertisement (a billboard) advertising a phone. It starts out with Meet Gwen... Out of curiosity I wondered if there were any other billboards with personalities.

Today I finally decided to find out. Interestingly, the hot pink billboard 'Meet Gwen' actually means meet Gwen Stefani. That is so cool!  I had no idea that the Meet Gwen billboard I saw almost everyday was about Gwen Stefani using the Windows 8 HTC smartphone - which is supposed to be, "centered around you." I thought the ad campaign was just featuring random people who use the Windows smartphone.

Just in case you don't know who Gwen Stafani is, she is an American singer/songwriter and a fashion designer. No doubt Stefani is a busy woman so with the Windows smartphone I'm sure it's helping her remain connected with family and friends all while getting work done...that is if she is actually using the smartphone she's endorsing. For more on Gwen visit these pages Gwen Stefani  Biography.

Who else is there to meet?

Let's take a quick look at the WindowsPhone site!

GRANT HILL!

Grant Hill holding the Nokia Lumia 920



I didn't know who Grant Hill was until today. Turns out he's a basketball player, but not just any regular street basketball player, he's a NBA All-Star Professional! He currently plays for the Los Angeles Clippers, but he may retire after the 2012-2013 season. For more on Mr. Grant's Professional Basketball Career or Mr. Grant's Bio visit these links.

I had no idea Tamia (whose music I used to listen to) was married to Grant Hill!!

I knew Tamia (rather her music) back when I used to listen to R&B! And they have children!Wow! Anyway, here's a Youtube video showing how Grant and his family use the Lumia 920.



I've also seen a Meet Jessica (Jessica Alba) on the web.







 

Jessica Alba shares her thoughts on the new children geared app Kid's Corner





Currently there are nine different Windowsphones. What I like about Microsoft's Windows Phone is the "Live Tiles" interface, although I haven't used one yet I like the idea of having a new kind of interface to work with.  For more information on the WindowsPhone visit the last link below and the link titled, The Smartphone Reinvented For You.

Sources:

• Meet Gwen. See Her Windows Phone. 
• Image Meet Gwen [http://cdn.ispot.tv/image/ad/77Jb~1~800.jpg]
• Gwen With Windows Phone [http://www.gadgetfreak.gr/wp-content/uploads/2012/11/Gwen-Stefani-Meet-Her-Windows-Phone-TV-spot.png]
• The Smartphone Reinvented Around You
• Grant Hill With Windows Phone [http://cmsresources.windowsphone.com/windowsphone/en-us/home/granthill-video-hero.jpg]
• MSN Fox Sports
• Grant Hill on Retirement
• Meet Jessica Image [http://www.bing.com/images/search?q=%2bjessica+alba+windowsphone&FORM=RCIR&adlt=strict#view=detail&id=7570CA158DE4D4CE5BACCAA7A0E375675B65ACB6&selectedIndex=18]
• Various Windows Phone
• Windows Phone 8 Launches on 3 of Top 4 U.S. Carriers With "Killer" Hardware

Target & Focus

As an advertiser you must have a focus group or a set of people whose attention you want to grab when they see your product. After reading You Can't Change Everything or Everyone, But You Can Change The People Who Matter, Seth Godin has made clear what I've been wanting to tell a friend in the music business, but have been unable to.

The dream of some or even many is to reach the masses. That is everyone. But those days are long over in the business of advertising and I'm sure many other businesses as well. Who marketers and advertisers focus on is the set of people that hold a specific trait, character, personality and/or need; they find their target market. It may seem like a limitation, but once you've got your focus group (or target market), you can go ahead and start building the product, fix it up, sell it and promote it.

Without studying and researching who the product is for, what is there to work with? What will guide your actions and decisions in regards to the product? It's like a business not having a mission statement, an athlete without a goal, or a dreamer without a vision.

First things first, find your target and your focus.
And move with that.

Mountain Dew (the soft drink), for example, targets mostly males, between the ages of 18 and possibly 35, who live in urban/suburban neighborhoods. To take this a step further, males who have a heavy interest in sports, skateboarding, snowboarding and music.

Reference:
PepsiCo Aims To Bring Urban Cool to Mountain Dew Image

Tid Bit...

...of how advertsing and marketing are connected.

In Marketing ther are 4 P's that are very important because they direct the flow of marketing.

• Product   
• Price
• Place (Distribution)
• Promotion

It should be obvious that the first 'p' represents the product; which is a tangible or intangible object.

Tangible is a product that you can hold, feel, and even touch. Intangible is a service; like an insurance service or a visit to the doctor or dentist. Without the product there is no need to worry about the other three p's.

 

Price is how much the product will cost.

Place is where the product will be sold. It is asking, "Where will consumers purchase the product?"

 

Promotion is where advertising comes in. Advertising is not alone under the category of promotion; with it is Public Relations, Personal selling, and Sales Promotion. Without promotion how will consumers* know about the product, its price, or where it is sold?

 

This is how advertising connects with marketing.

 

*Consumers are those who make purchases, in other words those who buy things. Consumers can be personal and business.

Sources:

• Promotion
• MKTG5
• Essentials of Advertising(2nd Edition) Textbook

 

 

Pay On The Go

What is PayPal Here? It's something like a payment system, only without handling cash you can use your credit or debit card. Check out this post (Your Wallet Is Your Phone...) to find out more about how your phone can be used to make payments instead of your wallet.

Wondering how PayPal Here works?
Check out this video:

 

Possibility of Change in Advertising

In all the hype of the Google Glass, I don't find it surprising that a Google rep has said that there are no plans for advertising on the Glass because ads are literally everywhere!  In other words when an owner of the Glass uses it, they won't be seeing ads. Hopefully, no plans will be made to include ads when a person uses the device. When a smartphone was first laid in my hands I was surprised to find that the box above the game I was playing said, "You have 5 unread messages, click here to read." was actually an ad; the same kind that's found when a browser is open on my computer. How much more irritating would it be to click on a pop up window that seems important while I'm using the Glass only to find out it's an ad!

However, seeing as how making ads is how advertisers receive an income, ads on the Glass may be useful. Especially in the scenario given at the beginning of the article linked below. If the ads come in handy and quite useful at the time when it's needed then there is no need to completely shun advertising from being placed on the Glass. Yet, if this does happen it would be best for the ads to be shown at a slower rate. In other words, for the total sum of ads on TV, only 5% of ads should be on the glass. Or maybe ads should be placed in the hands of the beholder of the glass...

The article sourced below shares multiple scenarios for how the Google Glass can possibly change advertising, out of approximately four scenarios the Game-ification of Everyday Life seems to be the most appealing, even though it would seem silly in the lives of those who have better things to do and much work to complete. Here's a video of what it would be like to play a game on a tablet and receive mini-rewards in reality (as you watch think of what it would be like to use the Google Glass instead of a tablet):


Sources:

• How Google Glass Could Change Advertising

Ads From You

For the 2014 Ford Fiesta Ford will use crowdsourcing as a way to create advertising.
According to Stuart Elliot, crowdsourcing has been around for years - seven to be exact, through this method of advertising marketers are able to draw closer to consumers.

Here is a video on Crowdsourcing; hopefully it sheds light on what crowdsourcing is.

________________________________________

 

 

Fiesta Movement: A Social Remix

________________________________________



An introduction to the movement!

 

Although the advertisements for the 2014 Fiesta will come from consumers the quality of the ad will still be professional and its focus will be on the attributes of the new Fiesta. 

 

This will be the second ad campaign by Ford that involves crowdsourcing. The first was done in 2009. One-hundred cars plus benefits (gasoline, insurance, and cameras) were given/lent to young men and women to sample the Fiesta through their sample these young men and women were asked to document their experience with the car by using social media.  The same strategy is being done with the development of the 2014 ad campaign. What a great way to advertise!

 

Interested in sharing being part of this experience? Visit fiestamovement.com

Source: Ford Turns to the 'Crowd' For New Fiesta Ads

Social Media & Product Sampling Blends

MegaRed is a brand of krill oil that is sold by Schiff nutrition, a company that was established way back in 1936. What's important to note in regards to the advertising field is that the MegaRed campaign is using social sampling. MegaRed is using its social media account on Facebook to allow those who are fans of their product to send samples to family members and friends by using the  Facebook fan page. This is where social Media and social sampling blend because the sampling is being done through social media. The benefit of those who send family and friends samples is that they themselves will receive a sample packet as well. Another benefit is that if 100,000 samples are given away Schiff will donate $100,000 dollars to the National Coalition for Women With Heart Disease.

Advertisers generally have a goal to reach. MegaRed's ad campaign is to raise awareness of their product since they are still considered a new product on the market. When there is a new product and the brand isn't widely know then the advertising department will work to get the product known and spread the benefits of the product.

Because this campaign uses social media as its main outlet it has the advantage of receiving involvement from YouTube, Facebook and Twitter communities.

In taking advantage of the holiday, Valentines Day, MegaRed's theme design layout is a blend of hearts and the color red.

The punchline for this campaign is,

"Whose heart do you love?"
 

 

Sources:

• MegaRed Promotes 'My Healthy Valentine'
• Schiff MegaRed
• About Schiff