Several ominous orange billboards appeared in Toronto last week, posing a strange question: “Do you #smallenfreuden?”
They feature no tagline, no brand logo and no call to action. Just a question with the term smallenfreuden (an English/German portmanteau meaning “the joy of small”) styled as a hashtag.
So what is it for? I'm not that curious, really. I'm more interested in seeing if such an old-school teaser campaign can still work, without either being prematurely outed or simply forgotten about before it reaches critical mass.
What do you think? Is this approach stuck in the 20th century, or will people pay attention long enough to be a captive audience?
David Bowie is 66 years old today. And, after almost a decade of reclusive retirement, he's throwing a surprise party for his fans.
Why am I writing about this on my advertising blog? Bowie has always been a keen self-marketer, and this is no exception. He played the gay angle masterfully to get publicity at a key point in his career, then continued to push music, fashion, media and technology throughout the 70s and early 80s. Then he had a slump, but re-emerged as a more mature and mellow musician comfortable with his past. And he kept doing neat things. I'm a huge fan.
He was an early music video pioneer, because he understood the importance of image in selling late-century pop. He would go on to blow people's minds with an image that threatened to overcome the artist. Many years later, in 1996, according to his own site he was the first major act to officially release a song via internet download, "Telling Lies". (The new single is available on iTunes.) In 2004, he was on a roll, with a great new album, Reality, and a huge world tour. But then he suddenly succumbed to serious cardiovascular disease, requiring emergency heart surgery. The tour ended, and Bowie went into retirement. He started working on his back catalogue.
If there's one thing David Bowie excels at, it's getting people talking about him while remaining an unpredictable enigma. In 1973, he broke up his best band, the Spiders from Mars, on stage with zero notice (even to its members). The next year, he changed musical styles mid-tour, becoming a disco dude. Then it was on to German-style techno. Until his deliberate commercial sell-out with Let's Dance (and a couple of flaccid follow-ups) nobody knew what to expect next.
Now, he has suddenly emerged from several years of retirement with a brand new album and a song/video teaser. (Watch it here)
I just finished reading Neil Young's autobiography, and in it he laments how artists have no privacy to develop their ideas without them being leaked to and analyzed on social media. Bowie, who has never been a social presence outside his owned digital channels, somehow managed to record an entire album in absolute secrecy, shoot a video, and simply announce it to the world on his 66th birthday. It's a guarantee that he will dominate mainstream and social media for the day.
I have to admit, the first song is kind of a downer. And Bowie is finally starting to show his age. But the video is as weird-ass as you could hope for. And even the album cover — a minimalist recycle of the "Heroes" art from 1977 — is surprising. It almost looks like a joke.
The cover was designed by London graphic design studio Barnbrook. In his blog, Jonathan Barnbrook addresses its weirdness:
...we know it is only an album cover with a white square on it but often in design it can be a long journey to get at something quite simple which works and that simplicity can work on many levels – often the most simple ideas can be the most radical. We understand that many would have preferred a nice new picture of Bowie but we believed that would be far less interesting and not acknowledge many of the things we have tried to discuss by doing this design. Finally we would like to give David Bowie great credit, he simply did what he always does which is to go with a radical idea and that takes courage and intelligence. That is why we love his music and love working for him.
Although I'm not surprised Bowie has no plans to tour, I'm disappointed. The last time we saw him live, in 2004, my son was in the early stages of forming in his mom's womb. Now he's a fan, too. But this is David Bowie's show. We're just along for the ride.
Last week, I saw an interesting post on Burger Business, a fast food industry blog about how the word "premium" has become a popular adjective for burger chains:
According to data compiled for BurgerBusiness.com by Mintel, its use on menus has doubled since 2007 (and this is even before Burger King’s new items), and not just at quick-service restaurants. In an economy where consumers are looking for top value without necessarily paying more for it, “premium” connotes high quality or high price without committing to being either. “Premium” sounds upscale, special, with a sophistication that “deluxe” lacks.
McDonald's "premium" line (from their online menu)
But what exactly does "premium" mean, in the realm of junk food?
The Oxford American English Dictionary defines the adjective as "relating to or denoting a commodity or product of superior quality and therefore a higher price."
The problem, of course, is that "premium" is not part of the USDA's grading standard. It's an entirely relative term. If the fast food chains are being honest, it could imply that the meat is better than what they were giving you before.
But this is marketing. What they really want to imply is "better than the other guy's."
KFC Canada: "The premium chicken breast is marinated in our hot & spicy seasoning
for full flavor, then double breaded by hand for extra crunch."
It's total bullshit, of course. The word is absolutely meaningless in any real sense of food quality. But as a marketing term, it works. Hard.
Speaking at last week’s 2012 Protein Innovation Summit hosted by Meatingplace magazine, Technomic Executive Vice President Darren Tristano presented data on consumer attitudes to beef quality (not just burgers). According to Technomic’s 2011 Center of the Plate Beef & Pork Consumer Trend Report, 28% of diners say the amorphous descriptor “premium” would make them more willing to pay up to 5% more for beef at a restaurant or supermarket. Another 11% say that seeing that word would make them willing to pay more than 5% more.
Technomic’s findings come as many of the growing “better burger” chains strive to set themselves apart by promoting the high quality of the beef they use. Elevation Burger, for example, touts its use of “100% organic, grass-fed, free-range beef.” The Cheeburger Cheeburger chain adopted all-natural, additive-free Angus beef. Farm Burger in the Atlanta area proudly serves grass-fed beef free of antibiotics and hormones. These terms signal quality, certainly, but consumers like “premium” even better.
There's even a chart:
Source: Technomic Center of the Plate Beef & Pork Consumer Trend Report
Note that the three descriptors below "premium" are specific and falsifiable. But people are much more likely to pay "slightly more" (and almost as likely to pay ("significantly more") for an adjective that costs the fast food chains absolutely nothing.
Here's how those same consumers describe their expectations of what "premium" beef implies:
Note that the top two responses have nothing to do with the way the meat was raised or processed, but only the cut and breed. Specifics about hormones and antibiotics don't even make the chart.
If the chains were to move towards hormone- and antibiotic-free meats, they'd greatly increase their costs. If you were them, after attending this "Protein Innovation Summit," which way would you go? (Burger business recommends "premium, 100% Angus sirloin."
I've written before, on more than one blog, how Chris Frantz, legendary drummer in Talking Heads and Tom Tom Club, is my social media marketing hero.
To summarize, while big brands continue to screw up the basics of building a community, Chris simply joined Facebook as himself, accepted all friend requests, and let his network build through word-of-mouth among music fans.
This was no fanpage, though. It was (and is) just another down-to-earth Facebook presence where the mature rock star shares pictures of his family, his dog, classic music videos, pretty actresses — along with casual updates on Tom Tom Club‘s reunion tour and upcoming album.
The opening track is a nostalgic look at the 1970s music scene in New York City that birthed legends like The Ramones, Blondie, Television, and many more, including Talking Heads. The album cover is also a tribute to DIY punk design, from the days of those bands' street-level self promotion.
In a tradition that continues today, local indie bands and their friends paper every available surface with posters like this advertising their next gig. And that's exactly how Chris is promoting the new album.
A few days ago, he reached out to his Facebook community with a downloadable poster version of the album cover (which I love) and the message:
Hi Friends ! Download this flier and print out and post it on your favorite telephone pole or wall. Take a photo of it and tag me here. There will be prizes for our favorites!
It's just like asking your friends to help with street-level promotion, except this message is now everywhere:
I happily added an Ottawa shot into the mix (top). You can see them all at Chris' FB timeline.
It's fun, it's authentic, and it's participatory. My marketing friends, this is how it is done.
Vincent just sent me this funny Pepsi ad from Quebec, in which a gang of French Canadian stereotypes attack an American tourist stereotype for daring to drink Coke.
Pepsi has long played the market in Quebec very differently than the "rest of Canada" because the soft drink has a special relationship with the province. It far outsells Coke there now, due to a its dedication to homegrown Quebec-only campaigns that celebrate their unique culture and sense of humour. This relationship is so tight and well-known that, when I was a kid, "Pepsi" was also a derogatory term for our francophone neighbours to the east and north.
The new ad is pretty funny even to this anglo. Anyone have credits?
The Drovers Cattle Network reports on a big unveiling that happened at last month's "Protein Innovation Summit" in Chicago: The world's newest cut of beef.
Called The Vegas Strip Steak, it got the cattlemen pretty excited. But the way they talk about meat is pretty unappetizing, even to a steak fan like me:
With more than 30 years of beef carcass research and development, Mata, the self-proclaimed Meat Geek, approached Nelson and Oklahoma State University’s FAPC with the possibility of a new beef carcass cut.
Seriously. PETA couldn't ask for better framing than the repeated use of "carcass" when talking about what is supposed to be an appetizing food. But then again, the whole idea of "Protein Innovation" makes me think more of pink slime than of wholesome meat dishes.
The actual muscle used is still under wraps, as the innovators are hoping to win a patent on the cut.
There’s nothing else quite like steak and it epitomizes the pleasure of eating beef. That’s what prompted a meat scientist, a chef and a university to team up to find a new steak, saving an undervalued muscle from the fate of the grinder and moving it to a far more valuable place – the center of the plate.
In economically squeezed times, restaurants are looking for high quality at lower costs. It took the passion and innovation of our dedicated team to find a steak to fit that need.
So it's basically something that would otherwise end up as "trim" — which is where hamburger comes from. But how has this cut not been found before?
There are a couple of things that make me wonder:
First, look at this quote:
“The Vegas Strip Steak is the latest and perhaps last steak to be found from the beef carcass,” said Jacob Nelson, Robert M. Kerr Food & Agricultural Products Center value-added meat processing specialist.
"Value-added meat processing"? There's another thing that makes me think of pink slime. Could just be their shop talk, though.
Second, they keep referring to the steak as "fabricated":
“This steak can be fabricated from 4 ounces to 12 ounces,” Nelson said. “Versatility of this steak allows it to be utilized across a wide range of food service sectors.”
"...two suppliers are fabricating the cut and interested parties can be licensed to use the cut."
“Given the history of the beef industry, the discovery of a new beef steak that has never before been fabricated and marketed could appear to be an impossibility,”
Once again, this could just be industry jargon. But the "impossibility" part also raised my curiosity.
Is it possible that this steak isn't a solid cut at all, but reformed meat?
You see, the process of gluing together pieces on meat from the same (or different animals) using transglutaminase and beef fibrin to make larger cuts has been under media scrutiny of late.
The U.S. Agriculture Department says the enzymes, which are also used in imitation crabmeat and some pasta and dairy products, must be listed on the ingredient label of anything containing them.
But because most meat containing the enzymes is sold to the food service industry, critics say few consumers know they're eating them.
Critics have also suggested the enzymes, which are derived from beef plasma and other sources, could be used to deceive consumers by turning smaller, inexpensive cuts of meat into what appear to be premium cuts.
Note that the Vegas Strip Steak is being promoted directly to the service industry.
I don't really have time to delve further into this miracle meat discovery. But I sure will be watching how it unfolds.
We were picking up new shoes for our son at Kiddie Cobbler when I noticed this awful beast out of the
corner of my eye. As soon as I stopped shitting my pants in sheer horror, I wondered why the hell any person in Crocs' marketing department would think this awful thing would create any kind of positive brand association with children. That is, unless the brand promise is "I'm going to eat your face when you fall asleep, if you even sleep again."
There is a certain pathos to the horrible creature, however, similar to Frankenstein's monster. So I submitted it to Meme Generator:
She even has a campaign Tumblr. But what is her platform?
Okay, so she's not taking any strong stands on the GOP's War on Women's reproductive rights. But she did come up with a totally awesome nickname for her campaign ("Glam-paign").
Apparently, however, candidate Barbie will do something no other candidate can: she will bridge the racial divide in America by morphing herself into four different ethnicities!
The candidate as African American, Asian American and Latina(?) American.
Yes, I get that this is a toy. And the Miss-America-style platitudes are to be expected from a company that wants to sell to both sides of the political divide. But it's a shame that girls don't get a chance to see that women really can change the world.
This week, Malawi swore in Southern Africa's first female head of a country. She wasn't elected as such, but as Vice President took the position after President Bingu wa Mutharika died in office. (A scenario that could have happened with Sarah Palin, had John McCain won the Presidency.)
Ellen Johnson Sirleaf - President of Liberia
Doris Leuthard, Eveline Widmer-Schlumpf, Simonetta Sommaruga - Members of the Swiss Federal Council, Switzerland
Pratibha Patil - President of India
Cristina Fernández de Kirchner - President of Argentina
Dalia Grybauskaitė - President of Lithuania
Laura Chinchilla - President of Costa Rica
Dilma Rousseff - President of Brazil
Atifete Jahjaga - President of Kosovo
Monique Ohsan Bellepeau - Acting President of Mauritius
Slavica Đukić Dejanović - Acting President of Serbia
And:
Angela Merkel – Chancellor of Germany
Julia Gillard - PM of Australia
Yingluck Shinawatra – PM of Thailand
Helle Thorning-Schmidt – PM of Denmark
Portia Simpson-Miller – PM of Jamaica
Kamla Persad-Bissessar – PM of Trinidad and Tobago
Jóhanna Sigurðardóttir – PM of Iceland (Appointed)
Hasina Wazed – PM of Bangladesh
The United States has yet to elect a woman to the position. And while Canada has had two appointed female Vice-Regents, we have yet to elect a woman to the Prime Minister's Office. (Kim Campbell was nominated for the position directly by her party.)
So perhaps it's time for Barbie, who has been in every federal election since 1992, to campaign a little harder. Or for North American countries to catch up with the rest of the world and nominate and elect a woman of substance who isn't seen as just "another Barbie".
When I see retail booze maketing in its purest form, I am saddened that Ontarians are denied this kind of independent statement in our government liquor monopoly.
Dig the sunglasses and odd attempt at slang.
That will show the kids that this is an "extreme" snack.
Totally rad!
Laid up at home with broken bones, I just saw a version of this ad during Kitchen Nightmares:
Here's another one:
And then:
Apparently, this product was launched about a year ago in Canada by Janes Family Foods.
The pitch:
"What could be better than a high-quality protein snack straight from your toaster?! All the key things mom expects from a Janes product like no trans fats, low in saturated fats, all white meat chicken. And, all the things a teen needs in a snack - fully cooked, easy to heat, tasty, and portable. This is a mobile generation - and this is a snack that fits. A delicious hot snack that can ‘fill the gap’ after school with high quality protein that can carry kids to the next activity."
And the nutritional profile:
Yeah, I know. It's just a very wide and shallow chicken finger. But is it really such a good idea to have your kids cooking a congealed lump of chicken fat in your toaster? It seems messy. And dangerous.
Plus, it doesn't take a garbage food genius to realize these puppies were custom manufactured for homemade Double Downs.
Mother Jones recently ran an interesting exclusive: branding and packaging pages from a draft marketing plan fror Sara Lee about how they could reposition Hillshire Farm deli meats as a more sustainable and healthy option.
The scanned document looks like it was nicked from a recycling bin, but it's worth reading just for gems like this:
Give it up for pepper!
And this:
Good job, bees!
This off-the-cuff, conversational style is supposed to represent a new era of transparency and sustainability in megameat.
Well, aspiring to transparency and sustainability anyway. And buying up small farms so that their newly-pluralized brand name actually means something.
It's good, though, that consumer pressure is forcing big processors into at least wanting to be seen as wholesome and small.
They also want to break into the food snob market by developing two new premium brands, "Smith & Smith" and "Flat Iron Ranch".
"Size of the prize"? I'm amazed that agency people can present that to a client with a straight face. But they also committed the following atrocities:
I am so ashamed of my industry right now.
Does this look into the marketing minds behind Big Meat surprise you? Disappoint you? Or just confirm what you already suspected.
This kind of rebranding, dressing factory-processed meat in a neighbourhood butcher's apron, is happening throughout the packaged meat sector.
But the big question is, how much marketing spin are you prepared to swallow?
And note to self: shred all draft marketing plans.
A long time ago, like in the 1970s, there was an edgy band in New York City. And the name of that band was Talking Heads.
Talking Heads were a really popular group. But they didn't start that way. They were first a couple of guys in design school who wanted to start a band, and the singer had to talk the drummer's girlfriend into learning how to play bass. Then they hooked up with a guitar and keyboards guy who once was a Modern Lover. And they played gigs in grimy little punk clubs like CBGB until they had built a big enough following to get signed.
The band made it big. I mean really big. Every time they played, they were burning down the house.
But. like all good things, it couldn't last forever. The singer wanted to do different things, and work with other people. Talking Heads found themselves playing together less and less.
Around this time, the drummer and his bassist girlfriend, who were now married, decided to start a new band. They sounded like this:
That band did okay, and released albums sporadically long after Talking Heads broke up. But I hadn't thought about them for years.
And here's where the story gets personal.
One day, a couple of months ago, I noticed my old friend (and longtime pusherman to my teenage vinyl habit) Bill had made friends with Chris Frantz on Facebook.
"Chris Frantz from Talking Heads?" I wondered aloud. And yes. It was. And he only had a few friends. So of course I sent him a request. Within 10 minutes I, too, was friends with Chris Frantz. (From Talking Heads.) So I tried talking to him.
I wasn't the only one. Chris seemed to make friends with about 10 new people a day. Many of them wrote on his wall, and he usually wrote back. He talked about songs, and records, and gigs, and his wife, and their vacation in Bretagne. And it was all very everyday stuff.
Now, Chris is up to about 3500 friends, and he keeps making more in small batches, chatting with them, and sharing stuff.
And guess what? Tom Tom Club is about to embark on their first concert tour in years. I know because Chris keeps talking about his preparations.
That's right, kids, I've been social media marketed to. And I don't mind at all.
Why? Because Chris is just like anyone else on Facebook. He talks about his life, his loves and his past. He shares jokes and links and pictures of pretty actresses. He promotes his work too—but then again, so do I. This is the same guy who played for small audiences at parties and clubs in the mid-70s, and gradually expanded his network of friends and supporters. He's just updated his venue.
In short, he's doing it right.
The moral of the story is that there's no better way to sell yourself online than to just be... yourself.
