Blog o' RAMA

What's in a Brand Name?

The other day I was driving by the Cingular store and the outdoor sign with the orange jack logo was gone.  It had been replaced by the blue AT&T sign.  It should not have surprised me since AT&T has been advertising this new change since the beginning of the year. 

The Cingular logo and brand name had been in existence for about 6 years.  According to brand identity consultants the Cingular brand name appeals more to youth than the AT&T brand.  But as long as AT&T delivers services that youth want, the brand name becomes secondary.  According to AT&T, the storefront rebranding phase resulted from research that indicates that consumer awareness of the AT&T brand name is high and is ahead of expectations.  AT&T's management hopes that a single brand name will convince customers that AT&T is a convenient single source to shop for all communications and entertainment, television, wireless, and high speed internet services.

By the way, the rebranding change is happening just before the launch of the Apple iPhone.  AT&T starts selling the phone at 6 pm on Friday, June 29 at 1,800 U.S. store locations.  I will write more about the iPhone in a future post.

Cannes Advertising Festival: Day 5, Last Day

Today was our final day at the advertising festival, and it definitely went out with a bang!

The first part of the day we spent in a seminar with IdeaManagement, Mike will talk to you about that one.

After that, we decided we'd check out the screenings of the winning commercials in the theatre. We were planning on attending another seminar in the early afternoon, but were drawn into the commercials so much we couldn't leave!

The winning commercials that we saw were in the segments of Food, Alcoholic and Non-alcoholic drinks, and automobiles. What was very interesting was the rise that the Ballpark commercials got from the crowd. These commercials were very "American" with their "in your face" style. The campaign was "hunger gets what hunger wants," and each advertisement showed an arm coming out of your stomach and basically beating you up until you eat. The crowd laughed so hard and applauded these ads every time.  Here is a YouTube link to one of the commercials. 

I also found the alcoholic ads to be very interesting. Much like the automobile advertisements I discussed in an earlier blog, there is a major difference between the campaigns in this segment, based on the type of product. In this case, it was the difference between liquor advertisements and beer advertisements. In general, the beer companies focused on humor and crass jokes in their advertisements, while more liquor companies would use very rich production, to convey the quality of their product.

A very good example of this was in one of the Johnnie Walker whiskey commercials. The commercial was an android discussing the differences between humans and robots, and how the robot wished he had feelings and emotions. Then, the end conveyed the quality of Johnnie Walker whiskey. It was a very well produced advertisement, and a very high-end feel to it. 

Here is the YouTube link to the Johnnie Walker ad.  This was a  major departure from what you would normally think of coming from in the alcoholic drinks segment. 

After these advertisements, we checked out the Al Gore seminar, which was extremely interesting and very inspiring, and I'll let Jess discuss that seminar. 

Overall, the festival was absolutely amazing, we've met some fantastic people from all over the globe that have been great friends and also inspirations to where this industry is going.

I'd really like to thank Dawn and Yvonne for all of their help throughout this process, and the support of the Rochester AMA, it has been a blessing working with your group, and we really appreciate everything. [Speaking for Dawn and myself, you're very welcome. We can't wait to see your presentation. Yvonne]

After this, Mike, Jess and I will be traveling through Monaco, Germany, Scotland and England, and soon after we return, we'll be presenting about the Cannes Festival, so I hope everyone is excited for this!  Thanks again, and we'll see you soon!

Au-Revoir!

-Todd

Last day at the Cannes Advertising Festival!

Hey everyone!

Well I guess it was inevitable; the Cannes Lions Festival is officially over. I went to the Idea Management seminar entitled How great ideas work even harder. Idea Management is a training company that focuses on advertising agencies. Essentially what happens is -- a client comes to Idea Management with their concept and the people at Idea help translate that concept into an advertisement.

Idea Management was responsible for the Volkswagen GTI "For boys who were already men" campaign which was a HUGE success in Europe.

VW Gti Commercial - Youtube

It was nice to see how ideas are conveyed successfully and that there are agencies out there who can help you get your ideas protected and produced efficiently and successfully.  Agencies such as Idea Management are a great asset to the advertising world.

We finished our festival by attending a seminar from former Vice President Al Gore.  He discussed the importance of advertisers in the realm of global warming and how they have an moral obligation to  influence positive change in the world.  It was a riveting speech and we were all amazed at the passion Mr. Gore has.

I would really like to thank everyone from RAMA who helped make this trip possible for myself, Todd, and Jessica. We appreciate SO MUCH all that you have done for us and the rest of the Alfred University AMA chapter throughout the past year. I would especially like to thank Dawn McWilliams for all her help and hard work in making sure we were comfortable and on the right track to success. 

Yvonne, thank you so much for going through our posts and helping us with the blogging process.  [You're most welcome - we are honored to have all of you writing such exciting content! Yvonne] You are a huge asset to the RAMA community.

I look forward to presenting to you all in detail all that we did on this wonderful trip and I'm sure you are all anticipating it (Just a hint, it might be one of the best presentations you have ever seen!).  Take care, and enjoy the rest of your summer.

Mike Heaney
Executive Vice President
Alfred University AMA

Conclusion of the Festival!

Yesterday (Friday) was the last day we attended the festival, and a full day it was! They were playing screenings of the award winning ads all day long, and we spent 2-3 hours watching those. Luckily, we got there early, b/c the room was completely filled, there wasn't a square inch of the floor open to sit on, let alone an empty seat.

We really enjoyed seeing all of the winners, and it seemed that Nike ran away with a good percentage of awards! This was interesting after attending two seminars involving the Nike rep.

Last night we were also able to attend a seminar hosted by Al Gore. This was extremely exciting! He  was mainly there to inform marketers what they can do to help with the climate crisis. He is part of a concert series taking place within a few days that is involving many celebrities, speakers, and performers, all with the intent to educate viewers on the crisis. The concert is taking place on the same day in 10 major cities, world wide. They expect over 2 billion people will see the concert, between viewing parties, attendants, television, etc.  Keep your ears open to hear anything more about it!

Today, we are getting some shopping and beach time in before we head out tomorrow morning. I cant believe our 10 days here are almost up! This was by far one of the most exciting and best experiences of my life, and a big thank you to the Rochester AMA for all of your support.

until next time,
Jessica

The more things you see The more ideas you have

Bill Ward, Collegiate Relations Chair for RAMA and Assistant Professor of Marketing at Alfred University reporting from the Cannes Lions International Advertising Festival. 

The theme for the Festival is "The More Things You See, The More Ideas You Have."  With over 26,000 creative entries and daily seminars, workshops from industry leader CMO and Brand Managers from Nike, Apple, American Express, Nokia, Frito-Lay, Unilever, Microsoft, etc. and the top executives from the marketing, advertising, public relations, media, and production agencies that support these brand and thousands of other around the globe. 

In addition to global representatives from 49 countries there were also presentations sponsored by Dentsu on Asian Diversity - "Know the Unknown" by Akira Kagami and Jimmy Lam.  Their  presentation included examples of cultural diversity from multiple Asian countries -- from India, China, Japan, South Korea, Mylasia, Singapore and Thailand, just to name a few, with many different languages and cultures.  To know one Asian country does not mean that you know Asia. 

Text Appeals' Global Marketing Disasters presentation included a wonderful panel presentation on how to spot global disasters and how to avoid them.  It is true, the more things you see the more you learn and the Festival is only one place you can experience such a range of global culture.

The students will be better prepared for the global marketplace and professional industry for attending thanks to RAMA scholarships and support.   

Cannes International Advertising Festival: Day 4

Today was quite the day!

We started the day off bright and early, as the automotive commercials were being screened at 9am.  Since I'm a bit of an automotive buff, I made sure we made it there as soon as they started.  I found the advertisements were really interesting, I think that automotive ads have the most variations based on manufacturers than in most markets.  It's very interesting, not only are there major differences in the advertisements based on where they were produced and broadcast from, but also in the manufacturers themselves, and what segment of the market they're attempting to attract.

I think the most interesting ad campaign, as far as high-end auto manufacturers go, would have to be Lancia.  The Lancia campaign, which aired throughout Europe, featured very dark tones, extremely contrasted images, and very surreal and dark themes, something not very common in automotive advertisements, especially in America.  Here is the YouTube link to an example of one of the commericials. 

I also found one of the Honda ads from Europe very interesting.  Normally, Honda commercials are associated with discussing the features versus the price of Hondas, converying more about economy and benefits rather than excellence in quality.  This commercial, however, was driven purely on the quality, and almost looked like a Lexus, or Mercedes-Benz commercial.  I thought it was extremely well done, of the highest production quality, and really brought Honda up to a whole new level.  I've got the YouTube link for the Honda commercial as well. 

After the screenings, we went to a Content Showcase Workshop featuring Leap Music and Vodafone.  The workshop discussed music production and copyrighting music for using in advertisements.  Vodafone, with the help of Leap, has been using a whole new approach to licensing material for using in commercials.  Vodafone now purchases the copyrights to the music directly from composers and producers, in order to ensure full usage of the material.  This way, they can keep the material as an asset, and are able to then distribute it as the need, making it much more flexible, and easier to recycle the material when they want. 

Matthew Gillard, of Marketing Operations and Evaluations, discussed all the pros of this new method.  What was very interesting about the workshop was that there were several people in the audience that were involved in the music business, whether as producers or in advertising.  They all had very interesting takes on this method of acquiring licensing, all with fresh ideas and thinking it was a progressive and impressive maneuver. 

After this workshop, we went to two seminars, one from USA Today and one from Ad Age and Nike Plus, I'll let Jess and Mike discuss those ones for you!  Well, that's all for now, we'll be posting again soon!

Au-Revoir for now,

Todd

Nike Plus gives A+ performance at the Cannes Lions Festival

''Change running forever.'' -Nike

Stefan Olander of Nike gave a fantastic presentation on the Nike Plus running shoes and transmitter.

For those of you who aren't familiar with this technology, it is a two-piece transmitter where one end goes into the sole of your specially made Nike Free shoe and the other end goes into the bottom of your iPod, where the charger/usb cable would normally go.

Once you are plugged in, you can listen to your own playlists while a pleasant voice lets you know how far you've run, how much further you have to go, and how fast you are running.  The technology is seamless, affordable (about $100 for the shoes and transmitters), and as Stefan put it, ''addictive.''

Nike has created an entire consumer culture with the Plus technology.  Runners can log onto the Nike site to blog about their runs, give tips, talk about their favorite running spots, and look at the leaderboards to see who has the fastest time's in their respective area(s).

So why was Nike so successful with this product?  There are a couple reasons:

First, Nike hit the three C's (Content, Commerce, Community) perfectly.  They created an entire culture around this product.  Runner's are a very rare breed of consumer.  They are passionate, critical, and knowledgable about their sport.  Simply put, there is no fooling them.  Nike knows the runner just as well as anybody else.  Their company was founded on running decades ago when Steve Prefontaine was in the scene.  Due to this knowledge, Nike was able to cater to the running community without fail; blogs were set up, maps were posted, and unique songs were created and available for download on the iTunes webstore.  Runners were instantly sold on this.  They could tell that Nike was just as serious about their sport as they were and they would not quit until they satisfied them.

Within weeks, runners were online uploading their running times, challenging friends to races via the special email forwarding system, and downloading songs of iTunes (The Rocky theme ''Eye of The Tiger" being the most popular).

To date, over 30,000,000 (yes, you read right) km's have been ran by Nike Plus users and that number is growing by the second.

Have you been wanting to get back into running but can't quite find that special 'push' needed to get you back on track?  Then check out Nike Plus and watch as your life is changed forever.

Click here to see the latest Nike Plus commercial!

Mike

Cannes Lion International Advertising Festival: Day 4

We just finished up the 4th day of the festival, and I would have to say it was one of the best. I'm beginning to think that they saved a lot of the best things for last!

This morning we went to a workshop with Leap Music and Vodafone, called "music sounds better with you." It was interesting, and filled with a lot of the industry's record producers and such. It was kind of hard to understand if you aren't in the industry though!

We then went to 2 seminars, one put on by USA today and the other about the new Nike+ brand.  Both  of these seminars were very interesting, and really well put together with a ton of visuals. USA today spoke about the consumer generated market. This includes big name companies that have put their marketing into the hands of their consumers. 

I'm sure most people would have seen the frito-lay commercial, with the man driving in his car by a woman on the street. You know, the one where she falls and hits her head and all of the chips go flying? We watched a bunch of clips like that, where a contest was created to make the best commercial for a product. It was interesting b/c we were told that people ages 13-24 years old spend 71% of their time looking at user created information and sites online.

For example, the huge YouTube boom. The seminar gave the general idea that this sort of marketing is not new, just easier b/c of the digital technology being released everyday. Websites like YouTube even make it possible to create more brand awareness, as a current Dove bodywash commercial has currently over 100 spoofs online. Conversation about your brand is good, no matter what people are saying.

We also had a chance to view a couple of hours of the automobile ads this morning. Thats more of Todds area, but it was esspecially interesting seeing all of the cars from around the world. The SmartCar is one of my favorites!

Tomorrow is the last full day of the festival, and then we leave France on Sunday. Its been an amazing trip so far!

Au Revoir

Jessica

Cannes Lion International Advertising Festival: Day 3

We are right in the middle of our 3rd day at the marketing festival, and we have enjoyed a busy morning so far. We went to 2 seminars this morning, one on digital marketing solutions with Jeffrey Cole, and the other was called BlackBag: Diary of a Creative Director.

In the Blackbag seminar, we watched a live interview of 3 of the worlds best creative directors, Tony Granger, Erik Vervoegen, and Marcello Serpa. It was interesting hearing from such accomplished marketers, and hearing how they feel about the business, and how they got into it. I was most drawn to Serpa, who is the CEO and creative director of ALMAP BBDO. He was actually origionally a fine arts major who studied design, just like myself.

He had a strong opinion that creative people should spend time working in a country completely foreign to them. He is Brazillian, and moved to Germany which he said was an amazing opportunity. I am actually spending 6 months working in London starting in September, and hearing this was a nice surprise. When asked what his main goals were, he said that having fun is the most important part of any occupation.

He was a very strong believer that the work should come before the money, and if the work is good, then the money will follow suit. He was funny to listen to, and he said something along the lines of "marketing should be fun, I'm not building bridges, no one will die if something doesn't turn out right." I really enjoyed his sense of humor and pure enjoyment for his job.

We are all very excited to go to a seminar at 5pm tonight (or 17:00..that never gets easy!) with the company Getty Images. They have a huge display outside with gigantic pictures, some scandelous, some disturbing, some sad, and then boards that you can write your opinion on. They are going to be speaking about pushing the limits of advertising, which sounds like it should be pretty interesting!

Au Revoir!

Jessica

Microsoft Advertising Solutions seminar hits Cannes Lions

Dr. Jeffrey Cole of USC Annenberg gave a brief seminar earlier today entitled The Web and Big Media: Friends or Rivals?

Dr. Cole discussed the importance and impact the internet is having on today's current media industry.

As of today, internet watching has been higher than television and because of this, the entire book on media advertising is being rewritten.  Gone are the days of focusing the majority of your efforts on television and radio!  To keep up, it's imperative that corporations implement and execute a strong internet campaign.

According to an extensive study conducted by Dr. Cole and his colleagues, dial-up internet users connect 2-3 times a day on average and spend about 30 minutes online each time.  Internet users that aren't still in the stone age, aka broadband users, connect 30-40 times each day for about 3 minutes each time.

Television advertising hasn't had it so well for the last few decades.  In the 70's, the remote control came onto the scene and users, or more importantly, consumers now had the power to simply change to a different channel to avoid an ad.  When cable was introduced in the late 70's and early 80's users had many more channels to choose from, making it even more difficult to grab their attention.  Finally, the VCR in the 70's allowed users to watch movies and/or tape shows and watch at their own discretion while being able to fast forward through commercials.

So what's next?  Dr. Cole believes that most internet and entertainment tools will be primarily mobile, allowing total viewing control to the consumer. 

This seminar was just another example of how rapidly technologies are advancing and how important it is for corporations to realize this fact and adapt accordingly.

In today's business environment, it really is ''evolve or die.''

Cheers!

Mike