Second Law Marketing

Hard Knox Life - My new blog

2008-02-24T21:46:00.003-05:00

Well I have decided to get back into the game with a new blog. It has been 2 years since I retired Second Law Marketing but I am ready to give it another shot. If you are interested, please visit my new place on the web at Hard Knox Life. Hope to see you there.

Time to start listening to my own advice

2005-07-19T08:53:00.000-05:00

The other week it was Viacom buying Neopets. Now I hear that MySpace (or more appropriately, their parent company Intermix) is getting bought by News Corp. I'm starting to realize that I should listen to my own advice and buy stock in companies that I believe will be on the leading edge of today's marketing revolution. The :30 TV spot (in it's current format), won't be around much longer and companies/sites like Neopets, MySpace, Habbo Hotel, etc will be leading players in tomorrow's media landscape. This trend of consolidation is bound to continue as big media wakes up to the harsh reality. Now if I can just figure out who Time Warner or GE will buy next in order to compete....

Viacom positioning for future growth

2005-06-29T14:56:00.000-05:00

So last week we had the news that Neopets was bought by Viacom and now MTV has officially created MTV Games, jumping on the video game bandwagon. Both of these are truly bold moves by Viacom to shake up the media landscape and get out as the leader in emerging media. If you think about it, both these moves seemed tied to the Viacom vote to break into two companies, one focusing on high growth potential and the other acting as a cash cow. With the Neopets and gaming moves, you can bet you are already seeing two cornerstones of this future high growth company. The MTV Games move is particularly interesting for two little things buried in the press release. First off, they reference in-game ads. If Viacom can leverage their existing media sales force, they will be the first player to really capitalize on in-game advertising. Massive is trying to get in the game, but they aren't part of the old boy advertising network. And EA is leading from the publisher perspective, but I've read that advertising revenue is still less than 0.01% of their revenue. The second big thing is the reference to embedding music in-game. Anyone that has played Madden, SSX or any other EA Sports game knows how big music has gotten now. In fact, these games have been credited for even breaking one or two artists. Think about all the touchpoints MTV can now offer the music labels and you see the tremendous potential for that revenue stream. It will be interesting to see how this things shapes up.

Viacom looks for growth through digital pets

2005-06-21T12:35:00.000-05:00

Word hit the street that Viacom is buying privately held Neopets in a deal valued at $160MM. I've talked before about Neopets and how solid of a model they have, supported with a great managment team. Having worked with both MTV and Neopets, they have two very different styles of business. It will certainly be interesting to watch this unfold and the integration take place. I think it's the right move as long as the price tag makes sense financially. Neopets brings an extremely strong brand to the table and a history of overdelivering results to their corproate partners. And Viacom will be able to integrate a host of their businesses very naturally into Neopets.

One thing of interest...Disney has a pretty big presence on Neopets with their movie theatre integration. I can't see Viacom wanting that valuable piece of property to stay in the hands of Disney.

Style on a budget

2005-06-09T14:16:00.000-05:00

As a loyal Starwood member and a huge fan of W Hotels, I couldn't be happier after reading about Starwood's expansion plans for a low-budget style hotel codenamed "XYZ". Design is becoming so important in everything even categories like deodorants and dishsoap, as consumers are looking for style everywhere in the lives. It's great to see companies like Starwood and Target paying more attention to design. These days, a great product alone won't sell. It has to be a great looking product as well.

Brand Immersion hits NYC

2005-06-09T13:55:00.000-05:00

The Tribeca Grand Hotel, a place that many consider the hippest hotel in NYC, has created a true brand experience with their iStudio Director's Cut hotel room. Branded hotel rooms have been popping up all over the place with even companies like Nickelodean getting into the game with Holiday Inn. I find this to be a great thing for both hotels and for brands. For hotels, you offer something different and a chance to underwrite the cost of upgrading rooms. Plus you can likely charge more this unique room. For brands, you get hours of exposure with consumers and a chance for your consumers to try your products. I especially see this as a great opportunity for tech companies. Think of a Microsoft/Xbox 360 suite where consumers can play games before you see they are released, a sampling with thought leaders where they pay to experience your brand. The opportunities are endless, as long as they are done right that is.

A little bragging

2005-06-08T22:18:00.000-05:00

Just have to send props out regarding Secret Sparkle's win at the EFFIE Awards last night. The team won a Silver EFFIE, the second in the brand's history (the first a Hispanic ad won in '93). The credit really goes to our agencies (Leo Burnett, Starcom, Landor, IMC2 and MMC) who delivered a great campaign. Nice work team.

Brilliant!!!

2005-05-20T14:04:00.000-05:00

Yeah I know, brilliant is the Guiness thing but that's the only word to describe the new online campaign from Budweiser. The King of Beers teamed up with the Jib-Jab, Kings of Online Political Satire, to create a great online spot called "Roll Out the Barrel." Fun, to the point and in my opinion, really damn effective. Who can't laugh out Clydesdale running over the Miller Beer Guy or the line "that import in your glass, tastes like a monkey's ass"? Tasteless humor...what the Internet does best.

MySpace defining new music

2005-05-19T07:19:00.000-05:00

Over the past few weeks, I've seen Myspace getting a ton of buzz in the press about what they are doing in the music industry in terms of supporting/breaking artists. I've worked with these guys on a few projects and I have to say, they really do have their stuff going for them. What is great about MySpace (and sets it apart from sites like Friendster) is the connection they have with artists. For instance, I just received a note that Aware was setting up their Reps on MySpace and also supporting their new artists like Kyle Riabko on the site. The site allows fans to feel a true connection with their favorite bands. And then on the flip side, the artists feel like they have a true connection with their fans. It's a win win all around. Not too bad for a site that is barely two years old...

XBox 360 Revealed

2005-05-12T21:30:00.000-05:00

Microsft just finished announcing the new XBox 360 on MTV. While the special was actually pretty lame (you can tell MS played a bigger role producing then MTV), the system looks amazing!!! I was hoping Microsoft would try and make the 360 the center of the digital entertainment living room and they didn't let me down. Here are the highlights in my opinion:

Built in Wi-Fi to easily tap into home networks
A 20 gig hard drive that is upgraded
A free level of XBox live for game downloads and micropurchases (a potentially huge revenue stream)
Built in Windows Media Center Extender making the XBox a stereo, DVR, etc
An interchangeable faceplate so the box can blend into your decor (and your signficant wife won't yell about it sitting out)
HD capabilities (and what appears to be a partnership with Samsung based on the co-branded commercial that ran during the MTV special)

The biggest question that went unanswered is whether or not the box will be backwards compatable with current XBox games. Big mistake if it isn't. Also, rumor has it that Halo 3 is coming out in 2005 for the launch. While MS didnt confirm the rumor, it would explain why Halo 2's storyline ended so abruptly. Overall, marketers take note. If gaming wasnt on your radars yet, it better be by Holiday 2005.

Much ado about nothing

2005-05-08T14:27:00.000-05:00

Today's NY Times features a story in which Nick Denton, the much hyped publisher of Gawker and other high profile blogs, claims the hype of blogs is overstated and overrated. Here are just a few of the thought provoking snippets:

"The hype comes from unemployed or partially employed marketing professionals and people who never made it as journalists wanting to believe," Denton said. "They want to believe there's going to be this new revolution and their lives are going to be changed."
"There are too many people looking at blogs as being some magic bullet for every company's marketing problem, and they're not," Denton added. "It's Internet media. It's just the latest iteration of Internet media."

The debate continues

2005-05-06T12:57:00.000-05:00

So it seems as if the debate over character blogs just won't die down. The discussion kicked up again today over on AdRant's when Steve Hall posted about our "blog". Love to hear your thoughts? Are we marketing devils for putting the site up? Or are we just following a consumer is boss approach? And if you fall in the middle, what do you think we need to change to make it better?

Ford has a news leak

2005-05-04T16:17:00.000-05:00

Looks like Ford is getting into product placement in a big way and now everyone knows it thanks to a memo leaked by a Ford employee. Just goes to show that in today's age, if you are going to e-mail a memo to your employees, you might as well do a press release to the public at the same time.

Odd sounding numbers

2005-05-02T20:49:00.000-05:00

So Pew has a new study out that says 25% of Internet users read blogs. No way these numbes are right. Now I work in marketing, surrounded by incredibly bright people that are on top of where consumer trends are going. Yet if I look around just my immediate marketing group of 13 people, I would say only one or two read blogs (or have ever read blogs). That's no where near the 25% that Pew claims. Dig a little further and I bet the question was worded to the effect of "have you ever read an online commentary". Call me a skeptic, but something just doesn't seem right...

M&M Goes to the Dark Side

2005-04-27T09:06:00.000-05:00

Flipping through the pages of People this month, I came across a great branded entertainment intitiative by M&M for the latest installment of Star Wars. As brands struggle to figure out how to partner with movies and music, I think M&M showed a solid way to make it happen. First, they fully integrated the movie into their print ads. By integration, I don't mean they put the movie logo/1 sheet on the ad. Instead, the themed the entire ad Star Wars, even featuring Darth Vader in the ad itself. Second, they created a promotional product around the movie, creating a great opportunity for in and out events with stores (and getting Star Wars collectors to stock up as well). Finally, they gave the campaign PR legs, with an unveiling in Times Square of NY. Too often brands get involved with a property and just don't give the partnership all that they can. They think the movie logo alone will sell their product. M&M shows that a little extra effort can really make a difference...now the real test is to see if the product moves off the shelves.

Character Blogs

2005-04-14T16:23:00.000-05:00

So it seems the discussion on character blogs/fake blogs is one that keeps on going and going. The lasted is thanks to a Moose over at Moosetopia. I already posted my thoughts a couple of weeks ago but thought it worthwhile to include the thoughts of some other sensible bloggers:

"If a character blog is funny and revealing about the company, great. If it sucks, then I'll stop reading it. If everybody stops reading and clicking, then the company will--hopefully--figure that out and either change things or stop. We're all still experimenting with blogs as tools for businesses and I reiterate that I don't think all blogs have to fit the mold of a person blogging as themselves. Alter-egos are fine." -Tris Hussey at View from the Isle

Now the reason I'm so hot on the subject is that we just launched a character blog here at P&G to support our new Secret Sparkle Body Sprays. The site is "Where the Sparkle Girls Get Real" and is meant to be just a fun little promotion where the characters on our bottles are played out. This isn't a blog that is meant to be a way for Secret to talk with our consumers about their likes/dislikes. Instead, it is meant to be a promotional tool where consumers (teens in particular) can learn about the Body Spray scents and interact with the characters. It's just meant to be fun. Why can't certain bloggers realize this?

Immersive Advertising

2005-04-14T12:12:00.000-05:00

First off, apologies on the delay in any posting. Been out in Vegas for the past week at an interactive conference and then a bachelor party for a friend of mine. And let's face it, after a week in Vegas, you need a break :)

Anyways, we're in the midst of a campaign with Neopets right now. If you don't know what Neopets is, well they are one of the stickiest sites on the Internet with the average user spending over an hour on the site when they visit. For the marketer, they practice something called Immersive Advertising....think of it as a more natural product integration. For instance, on the site you can visit the Disney theatre and see movie trailers or go play a Secret Sparkle Body Spray themed game. Pretty cool stuff and it works too! Just in the first couple of days of us launching our game, we didn't just see thousands of game plays, but hundreds of thousands of plays. I'll take that type of brand immersion any day.

Blue Collar Energy Drink

2005-03-31T08:53:00.000-05:00

According to MediaPost's Out to Launch, Coca-Cola is going after the worker crowd with their new energy drink Full Throttle:

"Targeting a blue collar demographic, Coke wrapped 14 brand new Cement Trucks with Full Throttle creative and equipped each truck with a Female Full Throttle Brand Influencer/Sampler. Each Full Throttle Cement Truck drives a specific route and stops at construction sites, manufacturing plants, Home Depots and other relevant locations/events."

For me, this is a really interesting case of targeting. During college, I worked for Red Bull as a Student Brand Manager. Now for Red Bull, it's all about the young adult influencer...the extreme sport athletes, the all-night club goers and the big men/women on campus. For years, Coke & Pepsi tried to hit the same target with their Amp and KMX products and met with no success. It looks like Coke has finally faced that fact and is going after the blue collar beer drinking crowd instead. It will be interesting to see how it work, especially as blue collar brands like Budweiser launch their energy beer "B to the E". But nonetheless, it looks like finally companies are accepting that they need to use targeting to carve up the energy drink market instead of doing a one-size fits all approach.

Some people do get it

2005-03-30T09:01:00.000-05:00

After all the rants about "commercializing blogs" yesterday, I decided to ask the AdRants community over at Soflow what they thought. Turns out there are plenty of people that "get it" when it comes to how blogs can be multi-dimensional in their purpose. Read the talk yourself, but here are some great insightful highlights.

Harry Webber, one of the best minds on Madison Ave kicked things off when he wrote:

For the most part the so-called "blog community" are far from sophisticated marketers. They are generally enraptured by their own recent notoriety ( not to mention the sound of their own movable type). The blog community is just one more affinity group looking to define its place in a media-saturated universe by screaming as loud a s it can, rather then as effectively as it can.

Steve Hall, the guru of AdRants, added that:

"There will always be a a non-commercial blog sub culture as well as a very commercialized blog culture. It's the same with every other segment of life. It's inevitable."

Get off the soapbox already

2005-03-29T19:50:00.000-05:00

I have a ton of respect for bloggers like Steve Rubel over at Micro Persuasion and Hugh Macleod at Gaping Void, but I'm getting a little annoyed at the soapbox that so many bloggers seem to be on right now. It seems that they've taken Captain Morgan's new blog as an offense to the blogging community. Now let's get real here. A brand blog like this is meant to be a promotion. It is not meant to be a conversation with customers any more than a TV ad is. These "blogs" are promotional webpages that are designed in a template that allows for a more conversational and lighhearted tone than traditional brand websites. I can't even begin to count the number of bloggers that say "marketing people just don't get it." Well guess what...we do. We know that there are two types of blogs: those that are meant to be conversational (like Channel 9 for Microsoft) and those that are meant to be fun (like Captain Morgan). These promotional websites are just like the Anchorman profiles on Friendster or RecipeBuddie (or SecretSparkle to plug my own thing) on AOL IM...they are innocent and not meant to be serious. Certain members of the blogging community need to stop drinking the Kool-Aid and not take themselves and their "art" so damn serious all the time.

I'd like an omelet with a dozen egss please

2005-03-29T08:44:00.000-05:00

First the Hardee's Monster Thickburger, now the Burger King Enormous Omelet Sandwich. At one point, restaurants worried about making good food. Then they worried about making sure they caught the latest craze (low carb anyone?). Now it seems that restaurants, and in particular fast food restaurants, only care about products that make a big PR splash. And what's the best way to make a splash? Contradiction of course. So in this case, contradiction is making the most unhealthy, disgusting food in the world. I mean come on, does anyone actually eat this stuff???

Chick Flicks and Product Placement

2005-03-27T21:34:00.000-05:00

Every guy has been stuck in the situation before...a Saturday night couples night where the girls are picking the movie. Basically it's a roll of the dice when it comes to how bad the "chick flick" of choice will be. Well thanks to Blockbuster being out of every good movie this weekend (can't they learn to order just a few extra copies of Oscar nominees), I ended up spending my Saturday night watching not only a horrible movie, but a horrible product placement as well. The culprit was Little Black Book and the product was Palm. I can see it now, a Brand Manager at Palm gets offered the opportunity for his/her product to be fully integrated into a movie...it gets verbal and visual mentions...it gets integrated into the plot...it even ends up on the movie poster! And as if this wasn't enough, the lead characters are played by that guy from Office Space and that girl from Clueless. I can see the marketing wheels spinning already. But let's do a reality check here...we aren't PT Barnum. To paraphrase, not all marketing is good marketing. Learn to pass when an opportunity seems to good to be true because it probably is.

Damn basketball

2005-03-20T09:40:00.000-05:00

Well I haven't been the best at posting this week thanks to March Madness. Apologies for that.

Friday I received an invite to an interactive agency's client summit in early April. The premise is a two day meeting where the company brings in all of their clients and hosts a conference on interactive and where the space is going. This is really a great idea for a company for two reasons. First off, agencies are meant to be experts on a subject and to lead strategic thinking in a space. Often though, the clients are so caught up in the tactical executions, that they don't give agencies the chance to show what they can really do. Second, this is a great value add for clients. You could pay $1000 or more for a similiar conference but instead your partner is giving this to you. Plus let's not forget it's also a sales opportunity. They can invite potential clients, show off their capabilities and get endorsements from current clients that are having a great time out of the office. Frankly I'm surprised more agencies or vendors even don't do similiar events. Sure some sponsor conferences....but why sponsor when you could host and make the whole event about you?

The best time of the year

2005-03-14T17:18:00.000-05:00

March is hands down the best time of year. Why? Well first off, Spring is right around the corner and I might finally get to stop shoveling snow out of my driveway. But more importantly, it is March Madness...the time of cinderallas, upsets and office pools. As ESPN put it in a column today, it's the time of year where the guy controlling the office pool becomes more powerful than the CEO.

While I was filling out my own bracket today and reading all the expert analysis, I was amazed at how many brands are doing something with brackets this year. On ESPN, you have Mountain Dew, Old Spice, Pontiac and HP, while over at CBS Sportsline there is Cingular, Lincoln and CDW. At first I was a little confused about HP and CDW, that is until I remembered that almost every bracket is filled out during company time at the office. I know the traffic on these sites is amazing at this time of year, but I have to wonder about the strategy. I've heard that sponsorship of a bracket is going to run a brand 7 figures and is booked months in advance. Is worth it? I mean you're talking about a sport where nothing is a guarantee (as Kentucky fans that past two years will tell).

A whole new way to listen to consumers

2005-03-11T16:06:00.000-05:00

Not too long ago, consumer research meant focus groups...sitting behind a one way mirror as eight consumers talked about what they love and hate about your brand. And not too long ago, word-of-mouth meant someone talking to a few friends and saying good/bad things about your brands. Blogging has changed this. Now anyone can spread their praise/complaints about your brand to a worldwide audience. And now thanks to a great little site called Technorati, consumer research means listening to those consumers as they blog about the world. I just spent an hour doing just that, typing in every possible word combination about my business. An hour later, I know that:

A girl named MediumFrosty loves our "Mystic Rain" scent.
An older woman is requesting samples at Beinggirl that are meant for teens.
Consumers really do notice when we change our taglines, even just a little.
Teens are noticing and liking our new ads for Sparkle Body Spray

Sure I might not know all the demographics associated with each of these consumers, but I don't need to. I can get a quick read on what's working without spending thousands of dollars for a formal focus groups. I've said it before, and I'll say it again....isn't technology great!

Follow the eye

2005-03-11T10:53:00.000-05:00

Seth Godin points out an interesting study on how people view websites.

The thing that hits me is that it is much the way they view print ads as well. No matter the medium, things don't seem to change that much.

New life for books

2005-03-07T21:17:00.000-05:00

Came across an article on Wired News about a library in NY loaning out iPod Shuffles. I've never really thought of public libraries as being on the bleeding edge, but this library bought a handful of Shuffles just a couple of weeks after they came out and are using them to change the way we experience books. Use to be you had to read a book...then you could get an audiobook and listen to it your car...now with the low cost Shuffle, you can listen to an mp3 of a book anytime, anywhere. Amazing use of new technology...and the library says it saves them a ton of money (at least $50 per book). Damn I love technology.

Sir Richard is the man

2005-03-03T20:44:00.000-05:00

Richard Branson is the man...flat out. He continues to be the king of over the top product introductions and just adds to his empire each day. Just look at his latest move where:

"A costumed Branson drove a big-wheeled monster truck over three cars to demonstrate - with his usual flamboyance - his intention to crush the competition. "

I mean, who can't respect a guy that drives a tank down Wall Street, promises space travel and works on his own private island.

The proof is in the numbers

2005-03-03T10:06:00.000-05:00

Earlier this week I mentioned that I think T-Mobile staged the hack of Paris Hilton's Sidekick. Well the proof is in the numbers this week with Sidekick sales going through the roof.

Out of Home Media the Right Way

2005-03-02T17:52:00.000-05:00

Mediapost's Out to Launch talked about a campaign by HBO to promote the latest season of Deadwood. The campaign, centered around transforming a NYC subway car into a 1870's Western saloon, is one of the best examples of Out of Home that I've seen in awhile. It's not often that an ad really stops you in your tracks but this one sure does. Reminds me alot of the old "Curiously Strong" campaign by Altoids when they wrapped tugboats in NYC. Right Medium + Right Message = One Hell of a Campaign.

Is TV witnessing a slow death?

2005-03-02T11:13:00.000-05:00

Great blog by ANA CEO. Clearly outlines 4 reasons (clutter, cost, measurement, creative) why the tv commercial is having some serious heart trouble. Do his words ring true? What can we do to fix it?

Everyone Needs a Sidekick

2005-03-01T22:20:00.000-05:00

Just got back from the screener of the new Travolta movie Be Cool. First off great book, equally great movie. But what caught my eye the most (besides Uma Thurman) was that the T-Mobile Sidekick could be up for best supporting actor with the film. Every damn scene had the Sidekick not only it, but as part of the script. Hell at least 5 main characters had the thing. Must have set T-Mobile back a pretty penny.

That reminds me...now I might be cynical, but I still think Paris Hilton having her Sidekick hacked was just another brilliant marketing ploy by someone over at T-Mobile. I mean come on, what article did you read that didn't call out the Sidekick by name.

Debate on Word of Mouth Marketing

2005-03-01T08:56:00.000-05:00

Fun debate taking place over at the Adrants Network on Soflow

WOM marketing is just like any other form of marketing out there. If used the wrong way...or more likely, used stupidly by marketers that don't understand the method...it can have horrible consequences for the brand. But used the right way, it can be the most honest form of marketing out there and can build not only business, but a brand's image.

A few years ago, I was Red Bull's Student Brand Manager at Miami University. I think a lot of us would say this job was all about WOM. My job was to praise the glories of Red Bull with the goal of getting bars/stores to carry it and students to drink it. Now there could have been a fine line here if I wasn't honest with my association with the company. But in all activities, I would start off by saying I worked for Red Bull. The key thing with all of this is that I loved the brand and wanted to talk about it. It wasn't just some brand paying me to talk about a random thing. So in a way, this wasn't WOM, it was true 1:1 marketing when I talked with my fellow students and gave them a can to try.

Now contrast that with a company like BzzAgent. I've actually been a BzzAgent with them for close to two years now, ever since Seth Godin worked with them on Purple Cow. The campaigns I sign up for are a lot like Red Bull....I only do those that interest me and I want to talk about. If I sign up for a campaign and I either A.) Hate the product, or B.) Think the messaging is fake, I just don't bzz. Simple as that. But I know there are BzzAgents that aren't doing that. They are just talking up every campaign they can find. That is where the line gets iffy. BzzAgent has the potential to either continue being a great company or fall into a dangerous trap of fake WOM. I think they will come out on the good side, but the second that starts slipping is when I'm not bzzing anymore.

WOM is about giving brand evangelists the tools to talk about your product. If they love it, they will praise it all day long. The danger is when people start talking about your brand just because they are paid to do it, or get rewarded in some way. All of us as marketers have the duty to not cross the line, no matter how tempting the reward might be on the other side.

Podcasting - Potential all over the place

2005-02-28T20:31:00.000-05:00

Read about the story behind Odeo over at evhead. Despite all the hype, Podcasting is still just getting off the ground and I haven't really seen a brand take full advantage of it. Sure, Heineken has theirs going, but that is it.

What marketer is going to jump on board and figure out the right way to support the new medium?

And at the same time, which marketer is going to be the first to jump in and do it wrong, getting blasted for being "fake" (McDonald's Lincoln Fry anyone?)

The future of gaming and marketing

2005-02-28T13:45:00.000-05:00

Fortune recently had an article about Electronic Arts not getting their dues in the market...and you know what, it's about time someone called it out. I've been playing EA Games since the early 90's when I made the huge switch from Tecmo Bowl to Madden Football. If you did the same, you know how freakin cool it was to go run left/right and pass short/long to actually having a real playbook. Huge doesn't even begin to describe it. So with the hours I've spent in front of a tv playing EA's latest game, it doesn't surprise me that people are finally talking about gaming and marketing.

For my generation, video games are our tv, board game, card game, whatever...take your pick. With games like Madden, we played as our favorite football players instead of just pretending to be them. And I bet you'll find plenty of guys whose best friendships were forged over video games, be it Mario Brothers, Bond, Halo, Madden or any other. Games are a social network all in themselves. And hell, the proof is in the numbers. The video game industry pulled in more money last year the movie box office.

So the importance of gaming is pretty evident but what role does marketing have in gaming? Well it's a line that marketers need to tread lightly so that we don't screw it up. Essentially we (brand marketers) need to follow some simple guidelines:

Only put your brand in place that adds value to the gameplay - For instance, Old Spice Deodorant has a long tradition with sports and football. In fact, they even have a product line named Red Zone. So it made total sense when they were in NCAA Football 2004 and had a feature called "Red Zone: When Performance Matters Most". The same holds true for the integration that Sony-Ericcson had in Ubisoft's Splinter Cell. The games that make the most sense are those set in today's world. Sport games like Madden are easy...same for "city-scape" games like The Sims or Grand Theft Auto (though not many brands are willing to take the risk to be associated with GTA and the controversy it offers).
Work with game developers so you are more than just a pocketbook - Games cost a ton of money to produce these days so I could see studios turning to brands just for money. End of the day though, that isn't good for anyone. Think about how you can help the studio...what can you bring to the table? Well how about, an intimate knowledge of branding or a strong retail presence (ie shelf space) that studios could only dream about? What about some solid media support or killer consumer understanding? Let's figure out how we can both help each other and at the end of the day, sell more games AND more brand products.
Be in games for the right reason...not because it is the "thing" - Think about your real reason for being in a game. Is it to drive awareness? Trial? Loyalty? Or are you hoping to build your brand's equity with a target consumer. Certain integrations can help with each of these but some are easier than others. Awareness will always be an easy one, but trial or loyatly? Well, think back to the Splinter Cell example above...I didn't have to go and buy a Sony Ericsson phone to try it out and see the features.

At the end of the day, marketers need to not ruin a good thing. Gaming can be an amazing branding tool but we need to be careful. Think of the right way to market...and follow EA's lead because they are already following Rule #1 and thinking about the right brand combinations.

Every new beginning...

2005-02-26T15:05:00.000-05:00

I figure it's necesary for the first post on here be an introduction of sort. Well for the summary of me, check out my profile. As for this blog, it's going to be my chance to talk about the world of marketing today. What's the good...what's the bad...and what's the ugly. Marketing has changed since the days of where you could reach everyone with just a few :30 second commercials. Hell, even just a couple of years ago, a guy like me would have to work for a newspaper just to share my thoughts in writing. But that's not the case anymore (but you already know that since you're reading). Now the world is filled with blogs, , text messaging, podcasting...the list goes on and on. This is going to be my chance to talk about things. Hopefully at the end day, you'll like what I write more than you don't...but we'll just have to see.