Advertising « Marketing Stylee Blog

Lexus Precisely Illustrates Precision

September 10, 2010 Leave a comment

It isn’t real performance, unless it’s wielded with precision.

Lexus’ most recent spot, coined ‘Music Track’, features the new 2011 IS zooming around a warehouse…all the while creating a beat by using its four wheels to play the drums. (see ad below)

To say this is just another ad would be non-sense. It brilliantly appeals to the viewer’s senses (visual and auditory) to give them a feel for what it’s like to drive the vehicle.

More than just the sheer awesomeness of this ad, what really caught my attention was its message. The IS is all about precision; its handling, the engineering that went into it, it is a precision machine.

Sure they could have shown the car zooming on the Autobahn spewing off specifications that only gearheads would be able to comprehend.

Engine: 60^o V6, aluminum block and heads, direct and port fuel injection.
Valvetrain: Four cam, four valves per cylinder, with dual Variable Valve Timing with intelligence (VVT-i).
Brakes: Four-wheel power-assisted discs, four-sensor, four-channel Anti-lock Braking System (ABS), Electronic Brakeforce Distribution (EBD) and Brake Assist.

Performance is important to their customer, but their no gearhead. Instead of talking about these specs, the automaker illustrated them in a way that appealed to their target market.

As VP of Marketing Dave Nordstrom explains:

“We wanted to create a dynamic way to illustrate the IS’s agility on the road. Our engineers strive to develop innovative technology that provides the driver with an exhilarating experience. The concept of creating a music track using drums, levers and the IS showcases the car’s precision on the road and offers viewers both an auditory and visual feel for the excitement of getting behind the wheel of an IS.”

The lesson behind Lexus’ latest spot is this — if you are selling something complex, simplify it with an illustration or metaphor.

A behind the scenes look at making the ad.

Filed under Advertising, Branding, Sensory Branding Tagged with Advertising, Lexus, Sensory Branding

Simplicity in Marketing — Walking the Talk

July 2, 2010 Leave a comment

During the past few years, many brands have adopted “simplicity” as their core marketing message.

UPS’ popular “Whiteboard” campaign is dedicated to showing how they simplify what many believe is an extremely complex task.
Charles Schwab has made investing as simple as having a conversation with their “Talk to Chuck” campaign.
Staples advertises “That was easy” with their popular Easy Button spots.

This focus on communicating simplicity is no surprise. With the world getting more complex and unpredictable by the minute, consumers are now drawn to products and services that make their lives easier. They no longer want to sort through 50 brands and varieties of toothpaste…they now crave ease and simplicity.

Meeting this need is more than creating advertising slogans and campaigns that focus on ease and simplicity…you must make this idea the cornerstone of your product or service. This means talking to and listening to your customers in order to design products and services that are easier and simpler.

The results of this “simplistic” approach is a unique competitive advantage. Google, Nintendo’s Wii, and Apple’s iPod have all gained tremendous competitive advantages that have stemmed from their focus of making their products easy to use.

Another product that has benefited from being simple-centric is the Vibram Five Fingers, the shoe that lets you walk and run barefoot.

Filed under Advertising, Branding, Competition Tagged with Marketing, Simplicity, Strategy, Vibram Five Fingers

Ambush Marketing: Cashing in on World Cup Fever

June 15, 2010 Leave a comment

With the World Cup in full swing, savvy brands have again proven that marketers don’t need to pay the big bucks as an official sponsor in order to cash in on the event’s popularity.

It wasn’t supposed to be this way. FIFA patented and put international restrictions on multitudes of word combinations and has been a ruthless enforcer at this year’s World Cup location of South Africa. But apparently somebody forgot to tell FIFA about this thing called social media. (even if they did, I’m not sure what FIFA could have done about it)

YouTube, Facebook, and Twitter have created this scenario where ambush marketing can net you better results than being an official sponsor.

A Nielson study found that almost one-third (30.2%) of the online buzz around the World Cup in
the month running up to the soccer tournament was focused on Nike. Bear in mind that Nike is in no way affiliated with the World Cup; in fact, of the 32 teams present, none wear Nike gear. Compare those buzz numbers to official FIFA sponsor and rival Adidas who only scored 14.4% of buzz.

Carlsberg beer was another successful ambush marketer who was the #6 most discussed brand; official sponsor Budweiser did’nt even make the top 10. Non-sponsors Pepsi and Panasonic also ranked high in World Cup buzz at 2.5% and 1.9% respectively.

This goes to show that “compelling, savvy marketing can establish this sort of connection in the eyes of consumers without having to write that expensive sponsorship check” said Pete Blackshaw, Executive VP at Nielson.

Filed under Advertising Tagged with Ambush Marketing, Guerilla Marketing, World Cup

Don’t Target the Many. Target the Few Who Influence the Many.

June 11, 2010 Leave a comment

When consulting with small businesses, the biggest marketing blunder that many make is they try to market to EVERYONE.

Mass marketing using newspaper advertisements, direct mail, as well as radio and TV commercials.

A waste of money if you ask me.

Instead of targeting the masses, why not target the few who influence the masses. For instance, don’t target the entire church congregation, target the pastor or priest.

This is the same with your business, you should be investing your marketing dollars targeting influencers.

» If you do wedding catering, you should target planners.

» If you sell sports equipment, you should target coaches.

» If you sell dance shoes, you should target dance instructors.

Don’t worry if there is no real influencer for your target market. Think back on the church example; outside of the minister, who interacts and communicates with church goers most? Greeters. We call these people talkers; those people who are most likely to tell a friend about what you do. Talkers can be anyone; bowlers, bloggers, stay at home moms.

So stop wasting your valuable marketing dollars. Identify your influencers and talkers, and let them do the marketing for you.

Filed under Advertising, Business, Word of Mouth Tagged with influencers, small business, talkers, Word of Mouth