Well, another conference on the books for today. Checking out AdAge's first digital focused conference on the West Coast. The morning started strong with the Global CMO and Digital Director for Levi's giving us their perspective on the world and intro'ing the Go Forth campaign. Here's a crappy cell phone pic of them for you to decipher:
Great article by Ian Yolles, chief sustainability officer of RecycleBank, a green rewards program that works with companies and brands such as Procter & Gamble, Kashi and Naked Juice to mobilize and reward consumers for taking environmentally preferred action while creating sustainability initiatives.
The article calls for consumers to take action against brands who are taking advantage of eco-conscious shoppers by pressing a "green" product with little "green" to it.
Accusations of greenwashing are rampant right now, and many are well-founded. Research shows that consumers are more likely to purchase products from a brand perceived to be more "sustainable"; that is, if faced with a choice (and price being relatively equal), they would select the "greener" product. To capitalize on this trend, some companies have cobbled together feeble marketing programs that have gotten them called out for greenwashing.
Yet today's consumer is increasingly savvy and quick to speak out against those companies they feel are falsely marketing themselves to profit from the eco-conscious shopper. Social media give anyone the ability to immediately amplify and propagate their dissatisfaction, which can serve as a forceful greenwashing deterrent. This, coupled with some outspoken independent groups, has created a bit of a wild west environment for greemarketing monitoring within the private sector.
On one hand, policing by industry and consumer forces is positive, weeding out those that are talking the talk but not walking the walk. On the other, I wonder if the fear of being labeled a greenwasher is preventing brands that are earnestly looking to do something positive from doing so for fear of a massive backlash. Is our desire to protect the consumer and police the industry hindering us from making real progress in moving toward a more sustainable future?
When it comes to the notion of a purpose-driven brand and being green, it is important to acknowledge that, in the absolute sense, there's no such thing as a truly green or truly sustainable product or company. It's about a journey, a continuum. Whether you're talking about individual products or brands and businesses, everyone is somewhere along the continuum of becoming more sustainable. The key is to be transparent about where you are.
On the spectrum, there are those that have green DNA intrinsically embedded in their businesses. It is their foundation, the core of their company, service or product. Others are trying to find a way to integrate sustainability attributes into their products and brands in a way that is meaningful and makes a difference. Moving along this continuum isn't something that happens overnight. It can be costly and time-consuming and sometimes is even fundamentally impossible. The shift often happens in small steps, especially regarding large brands, and each step needs to be taken one at a time.
So amid this climate of skepticism, how can companies move along this spectrum? Two ingredients can authentically translate corporate responsibility into a positive impact and help avoid accusations of greenwashing and a subsequent social backlash:
Take action: The process of change should reflect an "inside-out process." By that I mean start with your own house and take steps that move your business practices toward more sustainable solutions. As that process of internal transformation begins, it gives you permission to engage in a dialogue with your consumers. That creates an opportunity. It's even more powerful when the internal transformation inspires a shift in consumer behavior, moving individuals along the green spectrum as well. It's the "give a man a fish" strategy, and it can be accomplished through education or motivating action.
Make that action measurable and trackable: If you attach goals to your efforts, both internal and external, and are able to measure and track those goals, your efforts become more credible; the impact, more tangible. This also has a profound impact on consumer behavior. There are many different ways to motivate people. Given the magnitude of the issues we face, one of the most effective motivators is showing consumers the impact that their individual actions have in the context of the collective action of others.
I am the first to admit that this is not a magic solution. Despite having the best intentions, some companies still miss the mark when it comes to designing and executing sustainability-related programs and integrating them in a way that is relevant and meaningful from a consumer point of view.
Industry guidelines from the FTC and industry watchdogs can provide a useful framework and should inspire companies to create marketing campaigns that are authentically driven and are not misleading. But the creation of an official third-party validator in this domain is an unlikely panacea. If you are seeking credibility for your marketing initiatives by merely following regulatory bodies, you're missing the point altogether.
To appease the greenwashing cowboys and weary consumers—and to authentically align your brand with a larger social or environmental purpose—you should focus first on measurable internal actions and use those as a basis to engage your consumer audience in a dialogue that inspires them to act in accord with your brand.
Yes, it's from Wieden & Kennedy, as per usual with phenomenal spots. "The Entrance" received 2,084,195 views this week as per AdAge's True Reach measurement tool, a partnership with Visible Measures.
*The Visible Measures Top 10 Viral Video Ad Campaigns Chart focuses on brand-driven viral video ads that appear on online-video-sharing destinations. Each campaign is measured on a True Reach basis, which includes viewership of both brand-syndicated video clips and viewer-driven social video placements. The data are compiled using the Visible Measures Viral Reach Database, a constantly growing repository of analytic data on more than 100 million internet videos across more than 150 video-sharing destinations.
Note: This analysis does not include Visible Measures' paid-placement (i.e., overlays, pre-/mid-/post-roll) performance data or video views on private sites. This chart does not include movie trailers, video-game campaigns, TV show or media network promotions, or public service announcements. View-count results are incremental by week.
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| Model Julie Henderson appears in the Sports Illustrated 2011 Swimsuit Issue as well as Sony's 3-D video |
"Rise" by Nike was hands down one of th best creative spots I've seen in the past year or so. Wieden Kennedy continues to outwit and out-create their competition. I especially have a soft spot this week because two nights ago, I finally watched "More Than A Game." For those out of the loop, MTAG is a documentary filmed during Lebron James' senior year of high school, and tells the story of how he and his three best friends culminated a decade of playing together at the high school basketball national championships. While that description might paint a sports story, what you get is much much more. It's a story of boys to men, of race and city divisions, of father and son, and of the long pursuit of glory.
Anyhoo...Lebron is back on top of AdAge's Viral Video Chart. So check it out:
Digital advertising; it's blessing are also it's curses. Data, reporting, accountability, these are the reasons people advertise online. ROI, CTR, Conversions. These are the performance metrics that drove brands online in the first place, yet its always hampered brand advertisers because sometimes, there is no ROI. I can't always tell you how many people saw your ad or what they did after it (yes this sounds a lot like the TV ad experience). But with the advent of in banner video, brand studies, interactive rich media units, we are getting there. Bring content to your audiences. Bring them an ad experience where they can enjoy themselves and engage with information they care about. This is happening all over the place, and brands are doing it. But more importantly, the publishing side is providing the services to do so.
What is the easiest question for a media planner to answer? "Do you want me to put your brand in a beautiful creative unit that compliments the brand image and is chalk full of cool content?" Yes, of course.
I'm thinking about this today because I was working on putting an extremely dull brand into a branded entertainment package where 5 years ago it would have no place.
Great article in AdAge on a similar topic:
http://adage.com/digitalnext/post?article_id=141569
A great article by Bob Garfield for AdAge about the new "G" commercials and campaign by Gatorade. Created by the new agency of record, TBWA Los Angeles, the "G" commercials have been stirring some questions as to the brand direction and integrity now that "Is It In You?" has seemingly faded away.
Courtesy of AdAge...
After 10 years, Pepsi won't be bending it with David Beckham anymore. The soft-drink behemoth and the celebrity soccer star agreed to part this week, a decision both sides described as mutual in statements.
But Pepsi's decision to walk away from Mr. Beckham, coming as it does on the heels of a disappointing, injury-riddled second season with Major League Soccer's Los Angeles Galaxy, raises questions over whether Mr. Beckham's marketability is fading along with his footwork.
The soccer celebrity -- who is married to former Spice Girl Victoria Beckham -- signed a much ballyhooed deal with MLS in 2007 that could be worth up to $250 million over five years.
Shortly after that deal was signed, Mr. Beckham split with one of his largest sponsors, Gillette. Reports on the cause of the split differed: Some said Mr. Beckham wanted more control over his image than Gillette would allow. Others said the move to the U.S., where soccer is a minor sport, made Mr. Beckham less useful to Gillette because it lowered his profile in Europe and Asia, where the brand used him most.
Adidas, Motorola deals
Mr. Beckham still has global deals with Adidas and Motorola, but his pact with the struggling handset-maker expires in June.
In a statement responding to questions, Motorola, which recently featured Mr. Beckham as part of its RAZR2 phone campaign in Asia, said it was "very pleased" with him and his global appeal. The company declined to comment about its interest in renewing Mr. Beckham's deal or whether talks were already in progress.
While the actual cause of Mr. Beckham's splits with Pepsi and Gillette is unknown, it's worth noting that he's among the most expensive sports endorsers in the world, which may make it more difficult for marketers to fit him in tightening budgets. His expired Gillette contract, for instance, reportedly paid him upwards of $10 million over a three-year period, and a fourth-year option declined by Gillette would have been for at least $5 million more. Given the performance of his team and the relative obscurity of the league in the U.S., it may not be as cost effective as it once was for marketers like Gillette owner Procter & Gamble and Pepsi to link up with Mr. Beckham when a strong player in a higher-profile league may come a lot cheaper.
Mr. Beckham's split with Pepsi comes after reports during the summer that he was weighing launching his own line of bottled waters.
'Nothing but good memories'
In a statement, Mr. Beckham said: "I have nothing but good memories of my 10-year association with Pepsi. Along the journey, I've played a gladiator, a cowboy and a surfer, and worked alongside Beyoncé and Jennifer Lopez as well as some of the biggest names in world football. I hope everyone who has seen the work Pepsi and I have done together enjoyed it as much as I enjoyed making it and, who knows, there may yet be another chapter in this long relationship."
Pepsi said: "We wish David well with the many projects he is pursuing and look forward to the possibility of partnering together with him again someday."
They deserve any coverage possible in my mind. Good news bad news, whatever. I haven't slept a wink in the last two months without dozing off to an old Family Guy episode or some hilarious bonus clips from The Office.
Either way, turns out Hulu took a hit in unique viewers in November compared to October according to comScore. If it's any consolation to them, I still think they are fantastic. That should tide them over while they build their traffic back up.
This was news a little while ago, but AdAge got the inside story from Nike's Senior Creative Designer for Running, Kasey Jarvis about making a recycled pair of sneakers for Phoenix Sun's star Steve Nash.
Anyone whose been to Niketown recently knows they have bins located around the store where you can donate old shoes. The beaten up running shoes are being recycled for two purposes:
1) Make new shoes out of old material
2) Use the rubber to create playgrounds for children
Either way, it's nice to see notorious sweat shop runners Nike at least pretend to have some conscious. Click the photo to connect through to AdAge's 3 Minute News page.
Some of the less surprising news on the day is that a collection of marketing folk at the Association of National Advertisers have chosen Barack Obama as the marketer of the year.
Just weeks before he demonstrates whether his campaign's blend of grass-roots appeal and big media-budget know-how has converted the American electorate, Sen. Barack Obama has shown he's already won over the nation's brand builders. He's been named Advertising Age's marketer of the year for 2008.
Mr. Obama won the vote of hundreds of marketers, agency heads and marketing-services vendors gathered here at the Association of National Advertisers' annual conference. He edged out runners-up Apple and Zappos.com. The rest of the shortlist, selected by Ad Age's editorial staff, was rounded out by megabrand Nike, turnaround story Coors and Mr. Obama's rival, Sen. John McCain.
"I think he did a great job of going from a relative unknown to a household name to being a candidate for president," said Linda Clarizio, president of AOL's Platform A, the sponsor of the opening-night dinner attended by 750 where the votes were cast.
"I honestly look at [Obama's] campaign and I look at it as something that we can all learn from as marketers," said Angus Macaulay, VP-Rodale marketing solutions "To see what he's done, to be able to create a social network and do it in a way where it's created the tools to let people get engaged very easily. It's very easy for people to participate."
Jon Fine, marketing and media columnist for BusinessWeek, pointed to Mr. Obama's facility with engaging voters in social-media channels. "It's the fuckin' Web 2.0 thing," he said.
In introducing the winner to the crowd, Ad Age Editor Jonah Bloom joked, "I'm surprised. I thought you [all] made more than $250,000."
While Mr. Obama may have won the most votes, he didn't get them from several of the bigger marketers in the room, many of whom supported Apple, Coors and Nike instead. Procter & Gamble Co. had a split ticket. Outgoing Global Marketing Officer Jim Stengel, currently on special assignment as he prepares to leave the company at the end of the month, voted for Apple.
