A Marketing Mokuso

mokuso /mohk-so/ - Meditation or meeting of the minds. This is an open forum about the world of marketing. Please feel free to visit, comment, or post.

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  • Tuesday, August 29, 2006
    Alliance of Marketing Bloggers (AMB)
    I'm creating a blogroll for marketing bloggers. At this point, there isn't a clear network of marketing bloggers or resource sites for us to access. I'd like this to be a network that bloggers and marketers can use to access a variety of information from experienced professionals in the field and other outlets deemed fit. Please email me at amarketingmokuso@yahoo.com to be added to the blogroll. I'll need your site's name and URL and evidence that you've uploaded this image and code. Here's the logo to post on your site:


    Please attach this to your site and add this code found below. Note: the code's brackets have bee replaced with parentheses so you need to replace them when putting it on your site.

    (script language="javascript" type="text/javascript"src="http://rpc.blogrolling.com/display.php?r=37040f18d18def9b03fbd301db8e7775")(/script)

    Thanks for your support and helping spread the AMB to new heights.

    posted by Marketing Sensei @ 6:12 PM   0 comments
    Interesting take...
    In iMedia's newsletter, I came across an article on branding. The author, David Yovanno, has some clear-cut methods of how to grow your brand and the necessary strategies. It begins:

    "For advertisers trying to build awareness and drive other brand-related initiatives, ad networks offer a valuable complement to portal and single site strategies. Today's leading ad networks offer comparable and complementary audience composition, reach and frequency, with stringent quality controls and the ability to demonstrate measurable lift in key brand metrics.

    The key to successfully working with ad networks is to select a partner you can trust to protect your brand online and to form a close working relationship that takes advantage of their account management expertise and their technology, media planning, targeting and creative capabilities. The end result will be a measurable impact in the efficiency of your overall online brand marketing objectives.

    Here's how to do it..."

    Yovanno touches down on some key points to really utilize multiple channels of ad networks will keeping the necessary image. If you want to know the basics and how to dive right in, this is the article for you. If you think you’re a seasoned veteran, this is quite the refresher.
    posted by Marketing Sensei @ 6:10 PM   0 comments
    Monday, August 21, 2006
    Anheuser-Busch going Hollywood?
    I really want to touch down on this topic for a variety of reasons but most importantly because of the big step that A-B is taking. By moving into the "content creation" market, they can focus on online shorts and commercials. Ad Age reports:

    "The country's largest brewer is launching its own in-house film and TV production company that will make humorous shorts and sitcom-type programs to be broadcast over the internet and to cellphones, according to four people familiar with the matter, and could branch into full-length films."

    A-B is widely known for their successful Bud Light commercials, and for their 'slightly more serious' Budweiser commercials. A-B is a pioneer in the advertising industry for a variety of campaigns but in the limelight would have to be their "Real Men of Genius" campaign that they recently resurrected. I have no doubts that they will integrate these campaign efforts across all marketing channels and really capture their target demographics.

    The biggest challenge that they'll be facing will undoubtedly be the management of both sides. This is a big gulp for the market leader but they cannot afford to lose attention on this highly elastic industry. Coors and Miller will be keeping close on A-B to see if they falter and patiently waiting for the opportunity.

    I'd like to see this in full fruition to really see the success that A-B will definitely achieve. As mentioned, they will be under the spotlight over the next year or so and expect this to be in full swing by this season's Superbowl. I for one am a High Life fan but I'm looking forward to A-B's success.

    Related Links:

    Adotas
    Ad Age
    posted by Marketing Sensei @ 7:22 PM   0 comments
    Monday, August 14, 2006
    Blogging at its finest.
    This is the new era of blogging and we're seeing it in full swing. Many large corporations are using blogs as a channel for both advertising and consumer opinion. By creating a blog that both links to your corporate site, you can benefit ten fold.

    To begin, Internet shoppers can both rate and read reviews of your current product, post questions, and inevitably, make the purchase. This was the story behind Ice.com(R)'s Pinny Gniwisch, the EVP of the Marketing department. Gniwisch learned the power of the blogosphere but more importantly, the power of appreciation.

    Ice.com(R) learned that by blogging and linking with a low budget can really be beneficial and profitable. Marketing Sherpa covers the case study in great detail but I've taken some important excerpts to reflect on:

    CHALLENGE
    Two years ago, Ice.com(R) Marketing EVP Pinny Gniwisch noticed from his site traffic logs that he was getting an unusual amount of traffic from independent blogs. Turns out dozens of bloggers who loved fashion frequently linked to SKUs they admired in Ice.com(R)'s jewelry selection.

    (snip)

    CAMPAIGN

    Gniwisch decided to test several very different blog ideas. Each, however, shared the same seven rules of thumb:
    #1. Look like a blog -- not a company site. The templates used were absolutely prototypical of average consumers' blog templates. On first view, these looked like "normal" blogs.
    #2. Don't totally hide ownership It's one thing to look like a blog, it's another to mislead the public. If you poke around at any of the blogs, it's clear who the owner is.
    #3. Hotlinks are your friendsUnlike landing pages and merchandising pages where outside links are verboten because you don't want to confuse traffic, blogs link to all sorts of places as part of the value of their content. Instead of fearing the outside links, Gniwisch decided to embrace them, both to provide a more realistic blogging experience and also to encourage other bloggers to link in.

    (snip)

    RESULTS

    Results were mixed, but upbeat. The good news is Sparkle Like The Stars alone brought in $50,000 worth of sales in December 2005. Sparkle Like The Stars is currently getting between 10,000 and 15,000 unique monthly visitors, 31% of whom click through to the main Ice.com site. The conversion rate on clickthroughs is about 1%, which Gniwisch says is "higher than many affiliates but lower than search marketing which converts at 2%."This blog also continues to get higher and higher search rankings for terms such as celebrity jewelry," which has helped traffic arc upwards by roughly 30% per typical month this year.

    All in all, the blogger test was a great success and many other large corporations are jumping on the bandwagon. Blogging is definitely a new avenue for marketing and it's here to stay.
    posted by Marketing Sensei @ 8:23 PM   0 comments
    Wednesday, August 09, 2006
    Duh!
    Ad Age lays it all out for us...

    http://adage.com/article?article_id=110968
    posted by Marketing Sensei @ 8:51 PM   0 comments
    Monday, August 07, 2006
    Hats off to Ernie
    Starburst Candies began a promotion about three months ago with a whole new ad campaign and I want to commend them for it. To this point, I feel the campaign is very effective, humorous, and it definitely breaks through the clutter. Now, they weren't necessarily promoting a specific new product but it was aimed at the candy line as a whole. It began with a commercial called "Ernie the Klepto" and followed with three more: "Friends", "Factory", and "Tashi". All four had different story lines and characters but amazingly, one would know immediately that they're Starburst ads.
    All of the ads are filmed with a slight grayscale cinematography, a hilarious 'Napoleon Dynamitesque' humor, and all had a storyline focus (in other words, they didn't pummel the viewer with the candy). The candy was obviously a focal point of the ad but had no direct verbiage about it - only the undertone of its demand. My favorite ad of the campaign was "Ernie" as it got great reviews across the board from all critics and a award from CLIO. Following that, I'd have to say that the "Factory" ad was a close second. They both drew quite a laughter over the utter stupidity of the characters and the bleak filming. The other two, Friends and Tashi, are both humorous as well but won't be recognized like the aforementioned.

    I have to say that up to this point for the year, Starburst's campaign is my favorite choice for humor. The audience enjoys the ads; they undoubtedly were reasonable in cost and Starburst as a whole is reaping the benefits.

    It just goes to show that ads don't necessarily need to reverberate the same message; all the ad needs to do is create a buzz.
    posted by Marketing Sensei @ 8:59 PM   0 comments
    Friday, August 04, 2006
    "Never Say Die"
    Then why did you kill your logo? Just recently, the Milwaukee Admirals hockey team launched their new logo and colors for the upcoming season. Originally, the Admirals team had a logo that looked like this:

    The logo is very masculine, good use of colors, and is symbolic of the 'good guy.' I've always found it to be a good representation of the team and very recognizable. Now, they've changed their look to something rather different, shown below:

    Now, I see where they're coming from (hopefully). It seems as if they're marketing towards a younger crowd because their current audience is diminishing and they need to get new viewers. With that said, I understand. On the other hand though, I'm really not impressed with the logo or image at all. The colors are very soft, almost weak while the "cartoonish" skull is far from masculine. The logo isn't representative of an admiral, much less a hockey player.

    Below is an excerpt from the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel's coverage of the story:

    "In conjunction with its new slogan "Never say die," which has been teasing local billboard readers for the past month, the Admirals introduced the new logo: the admiral of a ghost ship. A pirate explained to the crowd that the admiral had been at the bottom of Lake Michigan for the past 20 years and that this was what was left of him.

    The new logo is quite a bit edgier than the last logo of the salty seaman admiral. The new admiral, designed by Joe Locher of Yes Men of Milwaukee, is a skull with a black admiral's cap with ice blue trim.

    The team's new colors will be black, ice blue and silver, replacing the old red, white and blue. "We wanted to do something that would be really popular with the younger crowd," Locher said. "We wanted to avoid the idea of a trendy logo, yet we wanted to tie it in to the heritage of the team to have it make more sense.""

    It's not going to go over well and it's apparent in this poll taken by the MJS. If that doesn't say "Die," then I don't know what does.

    Related Articles:

    Press Release

    Blogs:

    Milwaukee Sports Online

    posted by Marketing Sensei @ 11:20 PM   1 comments
    Thursday, August 03, 2006
    "Dr. Z, does that thing got a Hemi?"
    Someone needs to supercharge Chrysler's ad campaign because not only is it obnoxious, it's now proven to be ineffectual. Chrysler's sales numbers have plummeted 37% and currently have more 2006 models on hand than ever. Furthermore, "Employee Discount Pricing" is not cutting it.

    Dr. Z was an apparent effort to try and associate German engineering to Chrysler products. The agency involved decided to use the CEO of the company, making him act childish and funny to suggest a point. Not only are the ads horrible but also I don't feel they conveyed the point at all. Who would think to equate humor to German engineering? Do you want to laugh when the CEO talks about safety? What about value? They were too busy trying to be catchy and fun while they should be touting the cold, hard facts.

    In this effort, I feel Chrysler needed to put down some numbers, avoid the Integrated Marketing Campaign that pummeled all possible channels, and deal with the facts. Sometimes marketing needs to be stoic and serious, hitting the viewer from a different angle. Think about it, I feel a really serious auto ad would break through the clutter, causing the audience to seriously consider the product. Car buying is a serious matter and Chrysler's product should be too. Leave the humor to the market leaders; Toyota could use a funny ad to spice things up.

    Moreover, inundating your audience will get you nowhere and I'm nowhere near moved to buy a Chrysler. They've pummeled their target demographics with TV, radio, print, and web, leaving their audience nowhere to breathe. The ads are so frequent; I don't think I'm done shaking my head at the first one before the second one chimes in. Ad Age sums up the Chryslers effort to a tee:

    "Chrysler is pushing ahead with its 'Dr. Z' ads, despite widespread criticism and the fact that the campaign has failed to halt the automaker's sales slump."

    That one line by Ad Age is more efficient at explaining a point than all of Chrysler's investment in Dr. Z. This was a $225 million advertising debacle, and they need to cut their losses. Chrysler needs to reorg and get back on track - even if that means actually listening to their audience.

    Check out Left Lane News for videos.

    Related Articles:

    Chrysler to Continue Employee Discounts and 'Dr. Z' Ads
    Chrysler's 'Dr. Z' Campaign Fails to Halt July Sales Slump
    posted by Marketing Sensei @ 10:13 PM   0 comments
    Off to a good start...

    Just had to try it out.

    HT: bannercreator.nu
    posted by Marketing Sensei @ 10:08 PM   1 comments
    Glossary of Terms
    If you have any to add, please post them in the comment section or send me an email.

    Mokuso - Meditation or meeting of the minds
    Yasume - At ease
    Jinkaku kansei ni tsutomuru koto - Seek perfection of character
    Sensei - Teacher
    Oss - Respectful acknowledgement
    Domo - Thank You
    hajimemashite - I'm pleased to meet you
    Hai - Yes
    Ichiban - Favorite
    Iie - no
    Kenshin - devotion
    Ureshii - happy
    Yakusoku - Promise

    Return Home
    posted by Marketing Sensei @ 9:48 PM   0 comments
    About the Sensei
    Really, I don't have much to say except that I truly enjoy marketing. In my job, I get to really perform all aspects of the trade from stuffing envelopes to graphic design. I've been blessed with a passion for the industry and I'll never tire of going to work.

    Currently, I have a Bachelors degree in Marketing from the University of Wisconsin at Milwaukee and am actively considering options for my next degree in Graphic Design. I'm a member of the AMA in Milwaukee and receive a variety of marketing newsletters from many associations. I'm different from your average marketing blogger as I'm doing this on my own and in my spare time, so I don't expect much traffic or recognition.

    To me, marketing is much more than dollars or theories; it's a way of life. Yasume. Jinkaku kansei ni tsutomuru koto.

    Return Home
    posted by Marketing Sensei @ 9:46 PM   0 comments
    Welcome
    Welcome to A Marketing Mokuso. This blog is dedicated to the world of marketing and a place where you can go to unwind - maybe read an article, post a story, or find a new website. I've designed it for all marketers at any level to really keep current with what's going on 'in da biz.' I'm merely the owner; I want everyone to be involved in the maturation of A Marketing Mokuso.

    On that point, this blog's email address is amarketingmokuso@yahoo.com and I want anyone to feel free to email for any reason. Be it a complaint, a compliment, a suggestion, or perhaps you'd like to submit a column to be posted on the blog. For all submissions, I'll review them personally and if I deem it fit for our readers, I'd be happy post it. This can be anything as long as it's objective, appropriate, and relative. I encourage people to post about anything whether it is current events, marketing questions, or business solutions.

    Also, I'm currently in the process of writing code for a banner ad to the site. When it's available, it'll be open for anyone who'd like to advertise A Marketing Mokuso on his or her site. We'll appreciate any and all support in spreading the word about A Marketing Mokuso. But until that point, feel free to link our site and if you do, make sure to email me, as I'll return the favor.

    So, please go enjoy yourself on the site and don't forget the definition of Mokuso... a meditation or the meeting of the minds.

    Return Home
    posted by Marketing Sensei @ 9:38 PM   0 comments
    About Me

    Name: Marketing Sensei
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