June 27th, 2009
Michael Jackson is an icon of our time who will always be remembered as the King of Pop. Pepsi is the King of (Soda)Pop, especially in social media. The combination of these legendary icons resulted in a series of commercials that will go down in branding history as a marriage made in heaven.
Here is a sampling of their work together:
Pepsi continues to be influenced by Michael Jackson even today and is primed to make the most of their heritage:
If Pepsi can create a Jacksons World Tour can back in ’84 they surely can create a
Michael Jackson Tribute can. This is an epic moment in history for everyone especially them:
Generation Y.
Millenials.
Me, I’m a part of the Pepsi Generation.
RIP MJ.
Tags: brand, branding, commercials, consumer, consumers, core values, design, generalities, generation y, heritage, influencer, interactions, jacksons, king of pop, legendary icons, marketing, marriage, marriage made in heaven, media, michael jackson, mj, origins, pepsi, pepsi generation, personalities, personality, sampling, selling, social, soda pop, tribute, video
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June 18th, 2009
On June 8th 2009 Microsoft took an unprecedented move in advertising their new search engine Bing. They subsidized all commercials on Hulu for a limited time period. In exchange for that they produced something akin to a telethon meets an infomercial- the Bing-a-thon. The Bing-a-thon is something that has never been done before online.
Microsoft is getting it right with the marketing of Bing. They understand that search should be easy. They understand that in order to learn about something it should be fun. People don’t want to be lectured. We want to be entertained. Disguise learning in entertainment and you have just created an educated consumer. Here’s what some of you took away from the Hulu Microsoft Bing-a-thon:
Some of you were:
Compelled
destroytoday The Bing a-thon is like a gruesome car accident. I keep wanting to look away, but can’t seem to close the window: http://bit.ly/zHpPT
RobLaughton is bing-a-thon really made by the one of the most powerful company in the world? It’s sooooo bad, yet strangely compelling……
latitude46 Bing-a-thon is simply terrible, but I just can’t look away. God help us all.
JaysonElliot Watching the live “bing-a-thon” on Hulu right now. I can’t tell if they’re attempting irony or not. It’s all too self-referential.
Informed
mariogvasquez watched the bing-a-thon on hulu.com. Sudeikis is funny Olivia was hot. Fred Wilard was awkward. Did learn some cool stuff about bing.com
aznsclboi Bing-a-thon over… I’m not sure I’m smarter for watching this… but eh, at least I know how to Bing now.
Repelled
johnyjuice OMG….wth #bing-a-thon that is time spent I WILL NEVER get back! Thank you #Google for not EVER doing that!
jbruin @AlexBurdz I’m really hoping that MS spent most of that 80/100 mil on ads cause bing-a-thon was an epic disaster
Interested
arturot the Bing-a-thon is awesome, haha so cheesy but actually very fun. I hope they make the entire event available later on.
bajanx What an idea by Microsoft having a Bing a Thon on such a recognized website like HULU. How much will this help popularize “THE BING”?
{The interesting thing to note here is that Microsoft made it easy to share the telecast in Facebook and Twitter AND the message that was shared was updated according to what was happening on the Bing-a-thon. Notice the same bit.ly link.}
Promoters
Radums I just made some dude eat like 40 cupcakes. Go to hulu and check out the Bing-a-thon. http://bit.ly/avTj0
yotobari288 I just finished watching the Bing-a-thon with Olivia Munn, Jason Sudeikis, and Fred Willard. It’s running again on hulu http://bit.ly/avTj0
lakkineni Olivia Munn is live on hulu’s Bing-a-thon right now. Come watch it. You’re welcome. http://bit.ly/avTj0
{Of note here is that some found such value in the automated shared message that they reshared it. Some (myself) changed the message & left the automated link only to have others share that message as well.}
Sharers
SanjayJain369 RT @astanton: Fred Willard from Best in Show and Waiting for Guffman is on hulu’s Bing-a-thon right now. Come watch. http://bit.ly/avTj0
katriord RT @db It may not be ‘cool’ to like Microsoft but they get relevant marketing = Live Bing-a-thon http://bit.ly/avTj0
My conclusion? Microsoft made the right decision to market Bing the way they did. People were clearly informed. These are the people that are likely to use Bing over and over again. The people who were compelled (as well as the promoters/sharers) are likely to tell their friends of the funny cool thing they saw and interacted with. Bing has a funny name. It can make you think of Friends’ Chandler Bing or evoke a sound. The bottom line is this: Microsoft wanted to educate its consumers and brand Bing’s personality at the same time. Mission completed.
Only time will tell if people adopt Bing as their default search engine. Right now people have turned the proper noun ‘Google’ into a verb by saying ‘google it’. I can definitely see people adopting Bing in the verb sense. They may say ‘bing it’ if someone wants to know specific information about something or ‘bing’ as a verb may just eclipse ‘google’. Google may provide tons of search results but that’s also its downfall. Microsoft may not say Google in their ad but they might as well, as I’m sure many of you have felt the same frustration:
Microsoft’s differentiator? Their tagline: “It’s not just a search engine. It’s the first ever decision engine, from Microsoft.”
While Google is focusing on Wave, Microsoft is taking this chance to make search more relevant. Yes, many of us are excited for real-time email etc etc BUT frankly I’m more excited with relevant search. The internet has become our default for information. I’m hard-pressed to find anyone who actually uses encyclopedias and dictionaries in dead-tree format. I already have Twitter for real-time info as well as instant messages. E-mail and document editing are fast enough for me now.
Make your customer’s life easier in a timely and relevant way and you’ve won their hearts. I’m sure Google has something up their sleeve for semantic web but until that day you can just Bing me.
Tags: attempts, automation, Bing, brand, branding, car accident, commercials, consumer, consumers, cool stuff, differential, disaster, disguise, email, event, excitement, Facebook, friends, frustration, fun people, god, Google, heart, hearts, Hulu, infomercial, interaction, interactions, irony, life, limited, limited time, marketing, Microsoft, noun, personalities, personality, powerful company, promotions, referential, relevance, tagline, technology, telethon, time period, twitter, unprecedented move, update, Value, video, wilard
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May 16th, 2009
I’m simplifying my life. In order to focus on what matters I am getting rid of what does not. It was really timely when I came across Clear Your Clutter, Find Your Life. The article makes a major point under the sub-head ‘Chip away at what isn’t you’:
Go through each shelf and drawer and remove absolutely everything that detracts from your brand or drags you back to some old idea of yourself.
An article focused SOLELY on cleaning out the clutter in your personal life and space refers to YOUR BRAND.
This should NOT be forgotten. You are what you surround yourself with. Does everything in your life reflect who you truly are? If not get rid of it. Less IS more.
This brings me to another resource I came across while I was doing a little digital cleaning: John Maeda‘s Laws of Simplicity. To live holistically, apply the Laws of Simplicity to optimize your brand.
Here’s a video someone made that showcases the Laws:
The Laws of Simplicity listed below can be read in fuller depth here
John Maeda talking about the Laws of Simplicity at a TED talk
If you’d like to buy the Laws of Simplicity in a physical copy:
What you focus on is what you will get more of. You have to decide for yourself what truly matters.
Clear the clutter in your life by applying the laws of simplicity. Your brand will be better for it.
GET IT?
ADDENDUM:
[this was posted on Twitter right after I finished this article]
@donforan: RT @db: “If you don’t know what you want,” the doorman said, “you end up with a lot you don’t.” ~Fight Club
Tags: brand, branding, clear the clutter, john maeda, life, lists, optimization, optimize, personal life, personalities, personality, reading, reflection, showcases, simplicity, ted, video
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April 22nd, 2009
© Sydney A
Syndicated as a guest post originally from Lisa Hickey’s The Hurricane Inside My Brain
The title of the article is meant to invoke a sense of what is to come, not to just talk about advertising but branding and marketing.
In this article I’ll take a look at what I feel is coming down the pipeline for these areas. The future isn’t set in stone and neither are these predictions. Companies are already starting to track your habits. In the future it will just get more intuitive. Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: advantage, aggregation, benefit, brain, brand, branding, breadth, business, communicating, communication, communications, communications companies, consumer, consumers, desire, evange experiment, exact moment, experiences, feelings, functionality, grouping, habit, hurricane, integrity, interaction, interactions, iphone, life, life profiles, lists, marketing, mobile, mobile providers, mobile technologies, nuances, pipeline, plans, point of purchase, privacy, productivity, promotions, set in stone, signs, technology, thoughtfulness, Value, video
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April 9th, 2009
By Lisa Hickey (@lisahickey)
© Arturo de Albornoz
There’s been lots of talk about the “death of advertising” and the increasing ineffectiveness of the media. There’s a tremendously well-researched, insightful and informative Bob Garfield post in Ad Age, with lots and lots of numbers supporting his version of “Apocalypse Now” for the ad industry. There’s no doubt that there’s agency layoffs, and client cutbacks and fear and uncertainty. So who am I to be the bearer of even an ounce of good news for the ad industry?
Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: authenticity, benefit, brand, branding, collectibles, consumer, consumers, conversation, etiquette, Facebook, friends, garfield, hyperlinks, jargon, layoffs, little music, martha, media, music, musical, network, networking, no doubt, ounce, palms, paragraph, productivity, radio commercials, radio dramas, second stories, selling, soap opera, social, Television, tv commercials, twitter, uncertainty, Value, video, words, youtube
Posted in featured, social media | 16 Comments »
March 25th, 2009
Macy’s has an amazing commercial running on TV right now. It utilizes their rich 150 year history for material by tapping foregone stars who have mentioned their brand on film.
Macy's Clinton Kelly Contest Banner
I instantly felt connected to this commercial because it rang true with me. Aggregating different mentions by famous people throughout the ages is not just classy, it feels familiar. It speaks to me where I function the most- in media. Taking all this into consideration I was more than excited to share it with my friends, except… I couldn’t. Not officially anyway. Here’s how Macy’s failed after they flew. Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: aggregation, brand, branding, business, communicating, communication, communications, consumer, current advertising campaigns, Facebook, flickr, foresight, friends, functionality, Google, Hulu, interaction, interactions, linkedin, lists, macy, marketing, media, mentions, Myspace, network, networking, optimization, optimize, present, search engine, signs, social, subscribers, tech, Television, twitter, video, youtube
Posted in branding, featured, social media | 11 Comments »
March 17th, 2009
Throwing a huge party you have to invite some funny guys. They inevitably become the life of the party. 
I was going to talk about them but I’m not. Hulu added old Saturday Morning favorites Voltron, Felix the Cat, Fat Albert but with their “added bonus” of the feature-length anime? Origin: Spirits of the Past they completely dropped the ball on this one. Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: branding, business, communication, content provider, content rights, digital content, digital media, Fat Albert, Felix The Cat, Hulu, Origin: Spirits of the Past, reviews, social media, streaming video, tech, technology, tv, video, video 2.0, Voltron
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March 17th, 2009
Seven days is a little much to ask for original content in every gift. Inevitably around the middle you’re going to have some old standbys trotted out. That’s why at this party Hulu has invited your long-winded, boorish old schoolmates. A great host always knows the appropriate time to start thinning out the riff-raff from the quality. Eventually what you’re left with are the true believers who stay with you til the end. If you pay attention close enough you’ll see the true pearls of wisdom within. Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: branding, business, communication, content provider, content rights, digital content, digital media, discussion, Hulu, In the Line of Fire, Last Days of Disco, moderation, No Way Out, reviews, Single White Female, social media, streaming video, tech, technology, The Blue Lagoon, tv, video, video 2.0
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March 14th, 2009
So even though you forgot Hulu’s anniversary with you (you cad!) she wanted a party to get to know all of your friends better. The party is a little slow to take off but being the good hostess she’s supplied party favors, refreshments and food- a little something each and everyone can sink their teeth into. Hulu’s giving you more of what you already know, which is access to many more episodes of old TV shows. But even with something as familiar as this comes a kink or two. Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: Battlestar Galactica, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, business, Chicago Hope, communication, content provider, content rights, Deserving Design, digital content, digital media, Flipper, Heroes, Hill Street Blues, House Hunters, Hulu, Lost, Lou Grant, music, Remington Steele, social media, streaming video, technology, The A-Team, The Outer Limits, The Pretender, tv, video, video 2.0, Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea
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March 13th, 2009
This week marks Hulu’s one year anniversary with us. What? You forgot? Don’t worry. Hulu’s got us covered. She doesn’t mind our cheatin ways. She even got us a gift for each day of the week. How thoughtful.
For Day 1 Hulu wants to get to know your friends a little better. She’s getting a little tired of watching movies at home with? your bum ass. She wants to go out, party with your buddies, chat them up. She really cares, she really does. Hulu wants to know what your buddies are watching. She’s so thoughtful she Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: Delicious, Digg, Facebook, friends, Gmail, Hotmail, Hulu, Myspace, social media, video, video 2.0, Yahoo
Posted in business, featured | No Comments »
