Endeavour Marketing & Media, LLC.

Very interesting campaign from Frito-Lay and great overview article by Tanya Irwin in MediaPost:

Lay’s is kicking off a nationwide experiential tour featuring the company’s potato farmers.

The PepsiCo’s Frito-Lay division brand is using a mobile greenhouse designed to bring a rural farm experience to city-based consumers. The six-city tour kicked off July 26 in New York City’s Times Square. Other cities on the tour are Boston, Detroit, Chicago, Los Angeles and Dallas.

Visitors to the 70-foot-long, 10-foot-wide and 14-foot-high traveling greenhouse can see plants that result in the ingredients in the potato chips and meet a Lay’s potato farmer. Interactive displays also are available. Consumers will find out about the tour via public relations, Facebook, Twitter and any local media coverage. The Lay’s campaigns are supported by multiple agency partners: Juniper Park (advertising) OMD (media buying), The Marketing Arm (events) and Ketchum (public relations).

The tour is an extension of the ad campaign that launched last year featuring the farmers that grow potatoes for Lay’s, says Linda Bethea, Lay’s brand manager, potato chip portfolio.

Read Rest of Article

Endeavour Marketing & Media: A Full-Service Marketing and Advertising Agency in Murfreesboro, TN

Great article from Mahesh Murthy for the Journal (click for original article)

By MAHESH MURTHY

From the WSJ’s India Chief Mentor blog, produced by a panel of Indian entrepreneurs and investors, at wsj.com/mentor:

One thing I learned from my days in traditional advertising is that a brand doesn’t exist on shelves—it exists in the hearts and minds of people. Your brand is the sum total of perceptions about your product in the heads of your relevant audience.

If that’s true, then online media are the most important place for your brand image to be established, defended and grown. This is where your offering comes face-to-face with your audience and where its responses can be measured, shaped and—if need be—countered in real time. This is where perceptions can be built, person by person.

This brand building is more effective that the mode we’ve employed until now: TV commercials with 30 seconds of well-produced fiction that try to sell a brand image. It is more credible and much less expensive. In fact, it can cost you nothing, if you have the knack and can do it right. Not too many TV campaigns can match that.

Zero-budget advertising is a phrase no traditional advertising firm wants to hear. The old ad business is predicated on your spending lots of money buying space and time in media vehicles such as this one. But if you look at recent times, it’s a model that is dying.

Look at some of the world’s biggest brands. Google, Amazon, Ferrari, Starbucks, Ikea, eBay, Zara, Yahoo, Apple, Harley Davidson, Reuters and Goldman Sachs are a dozen among the 100 top brands in the world per a recent study by brand management firm Interbrand, each with a “brand value” that averages $10 billion. Word of mouth played a major role in building those brands. We await the Apple iPad with no ads released yet, we talk of Google Buzz without having ever seen a Google ad, and we throng to a Zara outlet without seeing its commercials on TV.

Today, the best way to establish your brand among big-hitter rivals is to make it remark-worthy and generate conversations free of charge. See how Red Bull took on big-ad-buying Coke and Pepsi with a product that sold at a higher price for a smaller pack size and built it to a billion-dollar brand with little advertising? The new axiom, call it Mahesh’s Law, is this: your marketing IQ is inversely proportional to your marketing budget. (Read Rest of Article from WSJ)

From MediaPost (read original article)

Undeterred by the firestorm of criticism over Google Buzz, Microsoft is ramping up its social efforts through new partnerships with Facebook and MySpace.

Google BUZZ launched last week and it’s already shaking up the Social Media landscape.  Though Google has been launching a new product seemingly every week (Chrome, Wave, Droid Operating System, etc.) this one comes with more louder Thunder and more Lightning Bolts from atop Mt. Googlempus!

What is it?

If you have a Gmail account and have checked it the past week, you probably know but if not, Google Buzz is a simple tool to post, communicate and share through the Gmail service (which is free like Facebook, Twitter, Friend Feed, etc.).  Think about a cross between the ease of use and ability to follow anyone by Twitter and the deeper sharing and multimedia capabilities of Facebook.

Are People Using This?

Yep.  The first 2 days saw 160,000 Buzz posts PER HOUR and 300,000 Mobile check-ins PER DAY.

Why Would Someone Use This?

The most obvious answer is that it automatically shows up on your Gmail account (no need to sign up for it).  Think about how Internet Explorer became so famous – when you turned on a new computer, there was the IE logo begging you to click it. Also, it’s brutally simple to use. Lastly, it’s within your realm of usage every day, meaning that if you’re a Gmail user, it’s already tied in to other tools you’re using from Google like Calendar, Wave…heck if you have a Droid Phone (runs on a Google Operating System) – it’s there too because when you activate your phone it prompts you to provide your Gmail address or sign up for one!  Buzz is EVERYWHERE if you have a Gmail account.

What about its Mobile “Local” Feature?

This is really the coolest thing about BUZZ!  If you access Buzz through any GPS-enabled phone, it identifies your location and serves up the Buzz from people in a close proximity to you even if you’re following them or not.  You know what restaurant people are eating at around your location, what movie they are seeing, etc. (as long as they are Buzzing from their phone and close enough to you).

Any Stumbling Blocks?

Privacy concerns.  When Buzz first launched it auto-followed people IT thought you should and auto-suggested people to follow based on your Gmail habits.  Google responded FAST and quickly turned the auto-follow to auto-suggest and added a disable Buzz completely feature.  They probably should have taken a look at Facebook’s numerous stumbles in this area.

Will it Threaten the Big 2?

Yes, but not likely to do too much damage because Facebook users and Twitter users are loyal to their products.  It was instantly bigger than Twitter at launch based on number of users thanks to a built in Gmail user base to tap but has not come close to the total number of posts that Twitter has.  Plus Twitter has a great open API ensuring that more applications are in the pipeline at all times.  Buzz also has an open API ensuring innovative apps in the pipeline but with the Droid phone having a built-in  “marketplace” like the iPhone, this creates a potential revenue stream for Buzz because they could possibly charge for Buzz apps.

We’re still playing with Buzz at Endeavour Labs and it’s still early to tell how people are going to adopt it and how competitors will respond but it looks like Google has a bonafide hit on its hands!  We’ll keep you updated on how this thing progresses!

Endeavour Marketing & Media

The point of social media that most businesses still find uncomfortable is the fact that they CAN’T CONTROL THE MESSAGE!

While true, you can MANAGE THE MESSAGE!

Social Media, in the form of local business review sites (Yelp, Chowhound, Yahoo Local, etc.) continues to gain momentum and simply hoping that your customers will not engage with each other concerning your business, product or service is wishful thinking.  Negative reviews attract more negative reviews. If somebody gives your business a negative review then that is not only something you need to be aware of (think secret shopper) so that you can fix it, but also, this is an opportunity to truly engage the reviewer to make it right!  Avoiding Yelp is no different than if someone came to your place of business, told you of a problem and you simply turned your back and walked away.

So…as a business how can you manage Yelp (and other review sites for that matter):

1) Claim your Business – just go to Yelp, find your business and hit the claim button.  It’s as easy as submitting your information for verification.

2) Update your Business Listing – add your hours of business, photos, a weblink, etc.  Make certain that information is up to date.

3) Manage your Business Listing – when you claim a business, you put your email address in and you are automatically alerted when someone reviews your business.  When someone writes a positive review, respond and thank them both publicly in the form of the message board on your listing and also privately by sending them a direct message.  When someone writes a negative review, get a feel for who this reviewer is.  Are they an active Yelper or is their first comment just about your business?  They could be from a competitor so do a bit of research (Google) about who you are dealing with.  If you feel the review is legit, then address the problem head-on.  Try a direct message first to test the waters and see if you can make the problem right (the last thing you want to do is get into a back and forth on the message board!).  If you feel you can rectify the problem, do so and then post publicly so viewers can see that you are actively trying to resolve.  Also, if you make the problem right and the customer is now satisfied, ask them to UPDATE their review.

Folks, it’s all about communication.  Frankly, most customers that post a negative review have a legitimate concern. If you can solve it, you may have a customer for life.  On the other hand, you’re going to have people that just want to slam you for no good reason – they are always going to be there!  If this is the case, first try to handle it between the two of you and if that doesn’t work, complain to Yelp.  They remove reviews where there is a clear case of conflict of interest, hearsay, etc. (warning may take a while though.)

It’s a brave new world out there and consumers have an ever-growing array of tools to either reward your business or punish your business.  Take your head out of the sand and start actively managing your brand/business online…or else somebody else will do it for you!

Endeavour Marketing and Media – a Full-Service Murfreesboro, TN Advertising Agency

From Garrick Schmitt for Advertising Age -

The teams playing in this year’s Super Bowl have already been decided, but the Super Bowl shuffle for advertisers began in earnest last month when marketing mainstays like FedEx, General Motors and Pepsi made news by announcing they were opting out of this year’s ad extravaganza.

But for those looking to gauge the health of the ad industry, Super Bowl advertising is a bit of red herring. CBS is charging about $2.5 million for 30 seconds of commercial time — and rightly so. Rarely do you get so many Americans watching one event and actually enjoying the advertising. It’s a tremendous opportunity for most brand marketers and we’d be foolish to look at this year’s Super Bowl as proof of either the rejuvenation of the 30-second spot or the rejection of it.

That doesn’t mean some won’t try. After all, last year Hulu saw a 50% increase in site traffic after running ads during the Super Bowl and Denny’s traffic to its website soared nearly 1,700% as consumers sought information about its free breakfast promotion.

There certainly will be advertising winners (and losers) on Super Bowl Sunday but let’s hope that the Monday morning quarterback chatter doesn’t obscure the larger shift at hand for marketers this year. 2010 will be the year of the “platform” for advertisers. Read Rest of Article

NEW YORK (AdAge.com) — The mea culpa and brand-saving by Toyota Motor Corp. began today, as the embattled carmaker launched a public relations defensive on all fronts — print, TV and social-media networks — in a bid to salvage its image in the wake of the 2.3 million vehicle recall.

After buying full-page print ads in the 20 of the nation’s largest newspapers on Sunday, the Japanese automaker today sent Toyota Motor Sales USA’s president-chief operating officer, Jim Lentz, to the “Today” show, where he talked to host Matt Lauer about why the company halted sales and production of eight models over an accelerator-pedal-sticking issue. “This will be under control,” Mr. Lentz said, at the same time denying that Toyota dragged its feet on the issue. Read Rest of Article

From the blog – Groundswell

The Splinternet means the end of the Web’s golden age

by Josh Bernoff

The golden age of the Web is coming to an end. Prepare for the Splinternet.

As we all gird for the launch of the Apple Tablet, take a moment to step back and realize what all these new devices are doing. The whole framework of the Web (and Web marketing) is based around the idea that everything is in a compatible format. Any browser, any computer, any connection, you see pretty much the same thing.

Now with iPhones, Androids, Kindles, Tablets, and TVs connecting to the Web, that’s not true. Your site may not work right on these devices, especially if it includes flash or assumes mouse-based navigation. Apps that work on the iPhone don’t work on the Android. Widgets for FiOS TV don’t work anywhere else.

Meanwhile, more and more of the interesting stuff on the Web is hidden behind a login and password. Take Facebook for example. Not only do its applications not work anywhere else, Google can’t see most of it. And News Corp. and the New York Times are talking about putting more and more content behind a login.

Web marketing has grown since 1995, based on the idea that everything is connected. Click-throughs, ad networks, analytics, search-engine optimization — it all works because the Web is standardized. Google works because the Web is standardized.

Not any more. Each new device has its own ad networks, format, and technology. Each new social site has its login and many hide content from search engines.

We call this new world the Splinternet (with a nod to Doc Searls and Rich Tehrani, who used the term before us with a somewhat different meaning). It will splinter the Web as a unified system. The golden age has lasted 15 years. Like all golden ages, it lasted so long we thought it would last forever. But the end is in sight. Read Rest of Blog Post

Endeavour Marketing and Media, A Murfreesboro, TN Advertising Agency

CHICAGO (Reuters) – The marketing buzz that a Super Bowl television commercial creates is invaluable to advertisers, whether it gets broadcast or not.

With a national audience that could reach an estimated one-third of 300 million Americans on February 7, the National Football League’s championship game is more important than ever for companies and advocacy groups.

With a price tag of almost $3 million for 30 seconds, it can be just as effective for those submitting ads to have a spot rejected as inappropriate and use the attention generated from that to drive visitors and business to their websites.

“A whole cottage industry has grown up out of trying to make use of network turndowns,” said Martin Franks, executive vice president of planning, policy and government affairs at CBS Corp, which is televising the NFL game this year. “It can happen in the middle of July, but obviously this is a wonderfully high-profile opportunity.”

The commercial approval process has come under heavy scrutiny this year since CBS approved an ad sponsored by a conservative Christian group called Focus on the Family. Some U.S. women’s groups have urged the network not to air the ad — which stars college football star Tim Tebow — saying it has a strident anti-abortion rights message.

Industry executives and analysts recognize Internet domain company GoDaddy.com, which annually airs several ads during the Super Bowl as the best at attracting attention for its ads. On Thursday, GoDaddy in a press release invited consumers to view its latest rejected ad at the company website.

“GoDaddy was one of the first advertisers who set out to capitalize on the fact that ads get rejected and that there’s a PR opportunity in that,” said Tim Calkins, marketing professor with Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management. GoDaddy is one of the PR masters of the Super Bowl.”

Other companies that have had ads rejected as inappropriate this year include online jobs site CareerBuilder.com and gay male dating site Mancrunch.com. Last year, the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) garnered the spotlight for an ad General Electric’s NBC rejected.

The companies that have been rejected unanimously say they do not submit ads simply to have them rejected, but CBS’s Franks said a rejection and the attention that it generates can be as valuable as paying for a network ad.

“They’ve found a loophole in an otherwise well intentioned process,” he said in an interview.

Dominic Friesen, a spokesman for Mancrunch — whose ad CBS on Friday deemed inappropriate — sees it differently.

“It’s blatant discrimination,” he said. “The reason why it’s controversial to CBS is because they’re anti-gay.”

CBS also raised questions about the company’s credit history, although Friesen said Mancrunch offered cash and has no credit history as a new company.

In the ad, two men watch a football game on TV and begin to passionately kiss after their hands brush when they reach into a bowl of potato chips.

Meanwhile, CBS rejected GoDaddy’s ad about an effeminate ex-football player who launches a fashion design company online as potentially offensive to the gay community.

“We’re pretty used to being the fish in the barrel on this one,” Franks said.

However, Calkins said networks must look in the mirror. Read Rest of Article

By Susan Davis for the Wall Street Journal (read original article)

If YouTube video views were to decide today’s Senate election in Massachusetts, Republican state Sen. Scott Brown would win in a landslide against Democrat Martha Coakley.

A study conducted by the Emerging Media Research Council out today found that Brown had a more effective strategy of using social networking tools including Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube to promote his campaign and connect with supporters.

Here’s a look at the numbers:

Facebook Posts since Jan. 1: Brown (128), Coakley (58)

Facebook Fans: Brown (70,800), Coakley (13,529)

Tweets since Jan. 1: Brown (142), Coakley (144)

Twitter Followers: Brown (9,679), Coakley (3,385)

YouTube Videos: Brown (57), Coakley (52)

YouTube Video Views: Brown (578,271), Coakley (51,173)

The study concludes that Brown’s use of social media helped in several ways, including boosting his name recognition both in and out of Massachusetts. They note that just 51% of Massachusetts voters had heard of Brown in a Nov. 12 poll, by Jan. 14 his name recognition was at 95%.

The study also found that Brown more openly embraced social media sites on his campaign Web site, where he “prominently” features social networking channels including a Twitter feed while Coakley “gives social networks less prominent real estate.”

In recent elections, Democrats—including President Barack Obama–have gotten the bulk of the credit for using social media networks to boost their campaigns. However, other recent studies suggest that the tech divide between the two parties is narrowing.

A report released last week on lawmaker’s use of Twitter found that Republican lawmakers are taking advantage of the Twitterverse significantly more than their Democratic counterparts. In the House, GOP lawmakers send out 529% more tweets than Democrats.

Endeavour Marketing and Media, A Murfreesboro, TN Advertising Agency