Fair Go Bro

Virgin Mobile has chosen to use Doug Pitt as their latest celebrity endorser.
Who is Doug Pitt? Yes, that's right, he is Brad's brother. But enough about Brad.

'Unlike his famous brother, Doug's never been the star of anything. As believers in a fair go for all Virgin Mobile has decided to make things a little fairer in the Pitt family and we are also asking Aussies  to get behind Doug and show him some 'like' at FairGoBro.com.au' (http://www.campaignbrief.com/2012/07/virgin-mobile-announces-celebr.html)

Virgin have attempted to challenge the regular celebrity endorser campaigns, and give a bro a fair go. If you haven't seen the ad yet, here it is:

The video has nearly 1.4 million views on YouTube, and encourages consumers to interact with the campaign. 

In an article from campaignbrief.com, David Scribner, marketing director at Virgin Mobile explains 'With consumer engagement paramount to success, we wanted push the boundaries and develop a campaign that had social and mobile at the heart of it and is supported by a significant ATL campaign, rather than simply leading with a TVC'

Personally, I think the ad is fantastic. It creates a 'what the?' factor that gets people talking, and truly outlines Virgin's marketing objectives to give everyone a fair go. Yes celebrity endorsements have proven to be effective in many cases, however are often over done. This is still a form of celebrity endorsement, because if it wasn't for Brad, Doug would not have been selected...I think it is very clever of Virgin and I have never seen anything like it! (correct me if i'm wrong?)

Would it have been more effective to just get Brad to endorse the Virgin brand? I don't think so, but everyone can have an opinion.

Do you like the ad? Let me know what you think!

A new form of Social Networking

Svpply

A friend recently introduced me to an iphone application called 'Svpply'. It is kind of a mix between online shopping, Instagram and Facebook. The app displays a range of products from clothing to home wears along with an approximate price. Users can select 'want' and they will be shown other items they may also like. Users can also follow other users and be followed. When you follow someone, items they 'want' show up in your newsfeed and vice versa. Here are a few screen shots from the app:

The first image shows the shopping page, where users can browse items and click 'want' to anything they like. The next two images are a users profile. They have followers, are following people and currently have 12 items they 'want'. The products on the site are updated every day, with over 3000 new items being added daily, from 70,000 stores and brand. 

The products are selected by the members of Svpply, and stores can get on the site by adding an Svpply button on their website. 

Svpply is another social network, allowing communication and sharing of information. How many social networks is too many? 


Has anyone else ever used Svpply? Or bought anything from it?

What makes you shop online?

The rate of online shopping is increasing dramatically with eBay and ASOS, as well as bricks and mortar retailers taking their stores online. I personally love shopping online, its generally cheaper, easier and is you don't have to leave the house!

Do you ever walk into a store and not purchase something because the shop assistants are rude, in-attentive, or un-helpful? I have. I walked into a store (which will remain unnamed) was not greeted, and when I asked a question, they shop assistant responded in a condescending 'you're an idiot for asking that' kind of way. This is not to say I don't enjoy shopping in store, I love walking around the shops for hours, but customer service does influence whether I purchase or not. Has customer service always been like this?

Or has the rise in online stores compromising the in-store experience and customer service?
A recent Choice survey says yes.
They put 10 retailers to the test including department stores, specialty retailers, discount department stores and franchises. The conducted a 'shadow shop' to observe customer service. Here are the results:

In-store experience comprises of a number of things including store layout, atmosphere, smells, sounds, colours and customer service. Customer service is a key component missing from online shopping, so it is vital for in-store retailers to master to ensure they do not loose customers to competing online retails. Many negatives of customer service have been outlined in the above survey including poor product knowledge and customer engagement. If you ask a shop assistant a question, you expect them to know the answer, is it really that hard to know about the products you are selling? In other industries workers are expected to have in-depth knowledge about their job, for example builders must know about tools, hairdressers must know how to cut hair, bartenders need to know in-depth knowledge about wine, and of course marketers must understand principles behind creating consumer value!
Why should people in retail be excused from knowing details about their job?

Have you ever not purchased from a store due to the in-store experience or customer service?
Do you think the rise in online stores is compromising customer service?

The Next Big Thing - Rivalry Ads

The Next Big Thing... Is it already here?

Samsung has released a new campaign ‘The Next Big Thing’ inattempt to combat the hype around the new iPhone 5. It follows the recent failof a series of Apple ads involving the Apple ‘Geniuses’.

http://adland.tv/content/apple-genius-ads-basically-telling-you-youre-not-genius

The Samsung ‘The Next Big Thing’ ad features a mock up of a typicalscene outside an Apple store before an iPhone release – deck chairs, longlines, excited nerds. The ad shows people discussing the new features of theiPhone (without specifically stating the word iPhone). Passers by are seenwalking with the latest Samsung Galaxy phone, and people in the line begin totalk, and ask questions. For those of you that haven’t seen it, here it is:

This advertising technique is common amongst rival brands,and can be both very effective and damaging to a brands image. Mentioninganother brand in your advertisement is always a risk, because it puts yourcompetitors brand in the mind of consumers. Unless done well, it can be asource of free advertising for your competitors. Brands often use rivalryadvertising as a means to emphasise the competitor’s flaws. It is a way for onebrand to challenge another.

Another common rivalry is Coke and Pepsi. There are a numberof ads that go back and forth between the two brands, where Coke makes fun ofPepsi, and vice versa. This is one of my favourite ads between Coke and Pepsi:

The Pepsi ad can be seen as more risky than the Samsung one,as it physically shows the competitors products. In the Samsung ad, it simplymakes reference to the line of people, which is assumed to be for the iPhone 5, the Applebrand is never mentioned.

Do you think this type of advertising is effective? or have any other examples. 

Is it more risky mentioning your competitor’s brand inyour ad?

Coke and Social Media

The Masters of Social Media

Coca Cola is a brand that has used social media very effectively. Aimee and I chose to do our instructional video on Coke's use of social media throughout their 'Share a Coke' promotion. The promotion began without any explanation, bottles began to have 1 of 150 names printed on the label, which created hype around the brand. People began asking questions on Twitter and Facebook. Coke then released a TVC promoting the campaign. They used Facebook to allow fans to create custom Coke cans, and both Facebook and Twitter lit up with excitement around the campaign. 

                       

Now, rather then me keep writing about what is in the video...

why don't you just watch it? here it is:

Let us know what you think!!

It's almost here.

The long awaited iPhone 5 is almost here. Apple sent out invitations last week for the latest keynote speech due to be held on September 12. Apple is well known for their secrecy with product releases, keeping consumers on their toes. It is rumored the new smart phone will have a bigger screen than previous iPhones as well as 4G connectivity. 

There has been numerous video and photo leeks circulating the internet, however nobody knows for sure what the new iPhone will look like. This is one of the videos circling, showing the new iPhone compared to the iPhone 4S, fake or not? you can decide: 

The hype around this new phone is crazy in the social media world, with the video above getting over 3 million views. Just 2 days to go and we will all know for sure. Lets hope nobody has just locked into a 2 year contract with an old iPhone!

Boss Hunting

“Boss Hunting” is an online community for sharing photos that are considered “Boss”. For those of you who are unfamiliar with the term, urban dictionary gives a (#debatably) great definition:

So, as per the definition, the page provides incredibly awesome, miraculous and great photos from women, hotels, beaches, cars, houses. If you haven't seen the page, check it out: www.facebook.com/bosshunting 

The site was first created as a Facebook page by an Australian boy, and now spreads to Twitter - www.twitter.com/bosshunting, Instagram - bhofficial and Tumblr - www.bosshunting.tumblr.com. With nearly 111 thousand Facebook “Likes” alone, the site has contact to a very large audience. 

Although the site first began as an outlet to share and comment on interesting and cool photos, I’ve begun to notice some small changes. It has become an outlet for advertising. Jack, the creator, allows anyone to email him photos, and he selects which ones he would like to share with his loyal Boss Hunting followers. 

The other day, 

I noticed this photo was uploaded:

Within minutes, the title was changed to this:

Notice a difference? Yes, a link to the website is now available – Free advertising for the Villa in Phuket, Thailand. So couldn't business owners send "boss" photos of their own resort or destination to Jack, with a website link for advertising purposes that will reach thousands of impressionable people, for free?

I am in no way saying I dis-like the page, I regularly look at and enjoy the photos posted. A personal example of the power of Boss Hunting, was a result of a post of a resort in Santorini, Greece:

I was in Santorini this year with a group of friends, and some sought out this resort, went to check it out, and ended up buying lunch there, due to Boss Hunting. The girls went to this resort simply to say "I went to that awesome resort that was on boss hunting the other day", and ended up spending money there.

Yes, it was only lunch, which would have added up to less then 100 euro, but I am sure there are people out there who have booked a resort because they became aware of it on Boss Hunting. Surely some of you have also been to a place because you saw it on Boss hunting? Did anyone else notice how some posts now have a link to the website?