JACK: Experience Brands

Today, a Chevy AD caught my eye on youtube. This one featured...

Thu, 02 Feb 2012 12:58:19 -0500

Today, a Chevy AD caught my eye on youtube. This one featured Dwight from the Office-I couldn’t resist. Through a series of clicks and some video watching, I made my way to the Sonics “Lets Do This” site where I am presented with the Chevy Sonic in a whole new light: bungee jumping, used as a musical instrument, jumping out of planes and more (who knew a car could do all this?). I came across this one video where they have a 3D Projection of that good ‘ol classic game of the Claw and they take it to an Interactive Level where the audience has the chance to win the prize they grabbed in real time. Among the prizes? a Snowboard! Oh, and a Chevy Sonic…how cool is that? Overall, I really like how playful and fun they are presenting this car to the consumer. Almost makes me go out and get one.

Six New Realities of Corporate Reputation

Thu, 02 Feb 2012 08:35:50 -0500

Just in case anyone was still wondering, yes, your reputation does precede you (especially in crucial emerging markets China and Brazil).

A recent international study on brand reputation from sister agencies Weber Shandwick and KRC Research uncovered just how important a good brand reputation is to consumers across markets. Nearly 9 in 10 consumers in China (87%) completely or mostly agree with the statement, “More and more, I check labels to see what company is behind the product I’m buying.” In Brazil it was 3 of 4. This contrasts sharply with the responses of comparatively jaded consumers in the US (only 57% completely or mostly agree) and UK (48%).

Roughly the same percentages said they try to buy products made by a company that does good things for the environment or community. The study’s “Six New Realities of Corporate Reputation” are great reminders that your brand is what your brand does.

We’ve all become used to brand messages sneaking in under...

Wed, 01 Feb 2012 06:26:11 -0500

We’ve all become used to brand messages sneaking in under the radar and appearing in more obscure and ambient ways, whether that is with the use of social media, sponsorship or pop up events. But, how about a brand that is so powerful that it can’t be restrained by it’s own advertising and has to literally smash its way into other brands adverts?

That is the premise of the new campaign for Old Spice, where adverts for Charmin and Bounce, are interrupted by the Old Spice guy. Of, course this is a clever piece of co-branding as they are all part of the P&G family. But, it’s a fun piece of pseudo-anarchy that grabs the attention of viewers.

What other brands could start to invade other brands environments? Could this be the beginning of a new brand trend?

With a url www.youmaydie.com, it’s not hard to understand the...

Tue, 31 Jan 2012 08:28:07 -0500

With a url www.youmaydie.com, it’s not hard to understand the brand experience you can expect from the people over at Spartan Races. With distances from weekender-level 5ks to the 40-mile Spartan Death Race, the Spartan Races are perhaps the best known of the newly popular mud-running obstacle course outfits.

For runners, the brand experience is no simple stroll through the woods, while for sponsors like Dial soap, Merrell, Clif, Under Armour, and Dos Equis, the races are an opportunity to reach a decidedly outdoorsy target customer by the 10s of thousands.

Last year, more than half a million people participated in a mud race like the Spartan Death Race, Spartan Sprint (5k), Super Spartan (8 miles) or Spartan Beast (10+ miles); RunAmuck Mud and Music Festival; and, ToughMudder. The overall experience is so much fun – with racers tangling with cargo nets, wall climbs, barbed wire, blazing hay bales, and, of course, a mud pit – that organizers are able to charge admission not just to participants, but to spectators as well.

You have to admit these brands have tapped a need today’s fat-bottomed desk jockeys have to get down and dirty, special-forces style. Plus, getting people to pay $20 to watch a bunch of weekend warriors struggle through obstacles and crawl through the mud? Pure genius. (Check out a roster of races at www.mudrun.com.)

Borrowing Capital becomes a Sweet Brand Experience

Mon, 30 Jan 2012 16:38:00 -0500

I heard a great story this morning on Marketplace about a British chocolate maker, Hotel Chocolat. They needed capital to expand, but had little hopes of closing a deal in the current European economic environment. So instead, they contacted their list of over 100,000 mail order customers with a proposition: loan us $3,000 and we’ll pay you 6 boxes of chocolate each year as interest. That works out to about 7% interest based on the retail price of the chocolate, but of course, it costs the company a lot less. So far, they’ve raised $7 million.

Creative financial move, but I think it’s even better as a brand experience. It’s authentic, transparent, gives its best customers a chance to literally invest in the brand — oh, and it’s buzz-worthy.

Are you serious about incentivizing WOM?

Mon, 30 Jan 2012 10:55:00 -0500

A lot of companies and brands will willingly sing the same song as Jack Morton’s New Realities 2012 research: word-of-mouth (WOM) is the most powerful form of advertising. But is your brand really serious about incentivizing WOM among your customer base? Fab.com, a daily deals site focused on design, has taken an aggressive approach showing that it is deathly — dollars and cents — serious about its peer-to-peer recommendation engine.

Through the option presented to users in this menu panel on the site, Fab.com offers users $10 credits every month just for sharing their purchases on Facebook and their usernames (not even their real names) on the site. Clearly, Fab.com is finding out, and putting money behind, what EventBrite, GE and Rubbermaid have issued studies showing: Socializing commerce can lead to some serious ROI.

Yet, there are still generally two schools of thought when it comes to incentivized WOM:

Consumers aren’t stupid. They get that when you ask them to “like” something on Facebook or rate a brand on Yelp, they are acting as your company’s best (and free) source of advertising. They expect to be recognized (compensated) for helping you out.
Your brand should be good enough that people want to rave about you. Compensating them for their efforts makes the WOM illegitimate and consumers know when their friends are essentially acting as paid spokespeople for your brand.

Emerging somewhere in between is a more fluid, less black and white way of asking consumers to spread the word. We’re not talking about a pay-per-review program that’s going to lead to a Belkin-like horror story. Fab.com is part of a new crop of sites that are finding ways to reward customers for embracing a broader social layer over their entire shopping (and yes, buying) experience. In other words, it’s a new crop of brands that have made the decision to invest in its consumers’ brand experiences, instead of spending on pushy messaging that consumers tune out.

In a world when sites like Fab.com are willing to pay up in a big way to get consumers talking, marketers have to start asking themselves some big questions. How serious is your brand about making its WOM engine work harder for your marketing objectives? How will you create a brand experience worth talking about?

Huge fan of Seth Godin’s blog, but today’s was...

Mon, 30 Jan 2012 09:59:00 -0500

Huge fan of Seth Godin’s blog, but today’s was especially relevant to the type of work we do here at Jack - and spot on….

(What you get) - (What you were hoping for)

This might be the simplest possible explanation of customer satisfaction. Dissatisfaction occurs when salespeople and marketers tend to try to amplify the first part (what you’re promised) while neglecting the second.

The ability to delight and surprise is at the core of every beloved brand (product, politician, teenager…). Overhype and shady promises will undercut that before it even has a chance to get started. Yes, of course you have to make promises to earn attention and trial. The mistake is when you put more effort into the promises and less into what you deliver. Promise a lot but deliver even more.

[One really important amplification: Research shows us that what people remember is far more important than what they experience. What’s remembered:

—the peak of the experience (bad or good) and,

—the last part of the experience.

The easiest way to amplify customer satisfaction, then, is to underpromise, then increase the positive peak and make sure it happens near the end of the experience you provide. Easy to say, but rarely done.]

Anticipating is part of the experience

Fri, 27 Jan 2012 10:54:47 -0500

Anticipating is part of the experience:

Props to JCPenney for their recent commercials and editorial coverage of their new store and sales model launching on 2.1.12 (nice date selection as well). I’ve seen coverage in WSJ, Bloomberg, Ad trade magazines and more…some are even calling JCP the “most interesting retailer” of the year. There’s a lot of consumer buzz online and best of all, the stock is way up since the company’s announcement of the changes and new logo on Jan. 26. Thus far, Ron Johnson is delivering ROI for his brand…let’s see if customers embrace the experience “JCP” aims to create.

Here’s a great example of an esteemed public...

Fri, 27 Jan 2012 09:33:00 -0500

Here’s a great example of an esteemed public institution—the New York Public Library—embracing technology to do something unexpected and innovative with its collections, and opening it up so everyone can take part. It’s the opposite of the dusty, fusty, just-for-the-scholarly attitude they *could* have, and all the more refreshing as a result. Rather than punishing the guy who on his own decided to build an entire site allowing consumers to animate 19th-century stereograph photos (the 3D TV of their time), the NYPL turned it into a bragging point that adds lustre to their brand.

Photo: NYPL stereograph of the St. Louis World’s Fair, 1904

THE POWER OF WHY: HOW CHILDLIKE HUMILITY AND CURIOSITY CAN INFORM, INSPIRE, AND UNLOCK NEW IDEAS

Thu, 26 Jan 2012 12:37:57 -0500

THE POWER OF WHY: HOW CHILDLIKE HUMILITY AND CURIOSITY CAN INFORM, INSPIRE, AND UNLOCK NEW IDEAS:

I came across this really good blog post by the agency Bulldog Drummond about the idea of coming into work (and life) with an open-minded attitude and a curiosity that is SO prevalent in children vs. our desire to come to work “ready to compete for attention and credit”.

People have talked about “asking why” and “question the status quo” for some time, but this post got me thinking about how we explain/think about our answers. As the parent of a 4 year old, just this morning I was asked why I was wearing jeans with green shoes (I’m cool), why she had to go to school (its fun and you learn stuff) and why it wasn’t Saturday (insert pre-school ‘days of the week’ song).

What this hourly onslaught of questions has taught me—besides patience—is to think about my answers, question the idea myself and work hard to articulate an answer in a thoughtful way that explains my argument so it can be understood (and accepted) by any audience.

Also, one of my favorite parts of the post was the section Wake Up Stupid…I’ve been doing this for years—-they just made it sound smarter (and intentional).

As the media attention surrounding the 2012 International...

Tue, 24 Jan 2012 16:42:09 -0500

As the media attention surrounding the 2012 International Consumer Electronics Show (CES) dies down, many onlookers, exhibitors and even attendees themselves are wondering: Where does all that leave us? Indeed, CES 2012 was made up of a series of contradictions.

At Jack, we set out to find a way to simplify the commentary, tune out the noise and end up with a defined point of view on the direction of the show and what brands can do to create experiences for the people that matter most to them.

Written for brands, exhibitors, marketers and interested attendees, this overview gives just that: Jack Morton’s POV on CES 2012, an overview of the trends and some tips to help brands prepare for CES 2013. Features include a profile of trends spotted at this year’s show and tips for an effective approach to CES 2013.

During a show where it seems that attendees increasingly don’t give a %&*# about the products, will your brand provide an experience that is talked about once Vegas clears out in 2013?

OK. It’s simply part of cultural literacy to know the...

Tue, 24 Jan 2012 14:34:50 -0500

OK. It’s simply part of cultural literacy to know the alter(super)egos of Bruce Banner, Clark Kent and Bruce Wayne. But how about Britt Reid, Matthew Michael Murdock, Donald Blake, Diana Prince and A.C. Curry? Know who they are and you’re edging dangerously close to comic-book nerd-om.

Alter egos are such a key part of superhero-ness that D.C. Comics (who along with Marvel command about 80% of the market), has worked it into their most recent logo redesign. The logo is a cool reveal that is both functional and meaningful to the brand. But perhaps most creatively, it was created from the ground up to be used across media, as today’s brands need the super-strength to go from print to digital to TV to mobile. Check it in the upper left corner and here w/a Batman reveal.

(Wondering which superhero belongs to which alter ego from above? In order you have The Green Hornet, Daredevil (my fave), Thor, Wonder Woman, and Aquaman.)

There are many defining qualities of a brand. At Jack Morton, we...

Mon, 23 Jan 2012 08:30:06 -0500

There are many defining qualities of a brand. At Jack Morton, we often talk about the fact that a brand is not defined by a logo or typeface. Indeed, it takes far more than those elements to become a true experience brand.

That said, I caught this Mad Men transit ad in the subway of NYC this weekend and thought it was some of the best creative - and uses of brand - I’ve seen in a long, long time. On its surface, this ad certainly does rely on the show’s visual identity to trigger brand recognition, but I would argue that the ad itself (despite how traditional the medium) is a qualified brand experience.

Why? It creates a brand experience for the people who matter most to the brand. In this case, Mad Men is making a play to reach the people who matter most to the show: its evangelists - the past viewers who have been tapping their toes for the excruciating 525 days the show will have been off the air. The creative, which references the shows introductory sequence, treats past viewers and fans as insiders, providing just enough information so that they are able to understand the message, but not enough so that everyone is in on the experience.

This ad is authentically Mad Men. Thematically, it’s appropriate to create a sense of an insiders club… a group of viewers who don’t even need to know what time the show is on and who are just being given a subtle reminder of the show’s return date. It’s inviting me (and other passer-by fans) to engage, by assisting the show to spread the word. Perhaps even translate the ad for a friend you’re with. In the end, this Mad Men work just goes to show that brand experience and be created even in the most traditional and simple media. Kudos to Mad Men. It probably goes without saying, but I’ll be tuned in.

I’m not a big fan of outdoor advertising, but this one...

Fri, 20 Jan 2012 11:55:43 -0500

I’m not a big fan of outdoor advertising, but this one (spotted at a stop light) called me “traffic buddy” and said something relevant to the fact that I was commuting. Good use of owned media — they have to have delivery vans, why not use them as a brand touchpoint?

wikipedia's sopa/pipa blackout = genius

Fri, 20 Jan 2012 11:41:04 -0500

not only did wikipedia bring the internet information world to its knees with its highly visible & much talked about sopa/pipa blackout (and also freaking out otherwise unaware high schoolers, double bonus…”DUDE WTF IS UP W/ WIKIPEDIA OMG!!????”), but it did so in a way that was true to its brand and reflected its core purpose: it blacked out in protest…but also asked what your zip code was, and served up the names, twitter handles, emails etc of your senators and representatives. so it was still providing useful information, even in a blackout!

i for one thought this was hugely convenient and pretty genius…i took advantage of it, tweeted one of my senators and my house representative (my other nj senator is not on twitter yet apparently…get with the program senator lautenberg, jeez), and then once i tweeted them, i shared the fact that i had done so on my own twitter wall as well, again using a tweet that wikipedia had already drafted for me:

I just contacted Sen. Robert Menéndez to oppose #SOPA/#PIPA - Join me! http://tinyurl.com/7vq4o8g #wikipediablackout

so wikipedia actually facilitated every step of the process, and made it much easier for me to participate in voicing my outrage, and also provided me with useful info. now that’s what i call smart social media integration…and apparently very effective, as you can see in wikipedia’s follow-up landing page, pictured below.

so kudos to you wikipedia! and thanks for freaking out america’s high schoolers! someone had to do it.

"If all marketing is local (not global), then are all experiences personal?"

Thu, 19 Jan 2012 09:01:44 -0500

“If all marketing is local (not global), then are all experiences personal?”

- This book challenges the conventional wisdom that the world is flat and that globalization should dominate our thinking. The reality is, location matters now more than ever. It’s possible for all businesses - from mega-brands to small-town stores - to use localization strategies to influence their customers more effectively. The key is to make “place” a part of every strategic decision.

To make his case Mr Quelch explores what he calls the “psychological place”, which means consumers’ mental associations with places. He then goes into the “physical place”, looking at the ways the environment influences a consumer’s needs and wants. He also discusses the virtual and physical marketplaces.

The book highlights examples of brands who are getting it right - from Colgate to Nike, from China to the USA - and show how you can implement think local strategies yourself.

http://www.economist.com/node/21542733

As over 153,000 attendees settle back into their day-to-day...

Wed, 18 Jan 2012 13:41:27 -0500

As over 153,000 attendees settle back into their day-to-day after the record-breakingly large 2012 International CES, many of them have found themselves asking: What product can I tell my family and friends about?

I’ll admit what many other attendees already have: It wasn’t a wealth of amazing innovation. But one product did stand out in my mind, by approaching innovation differently. A product is only truly revolutionary when it combines modern technology with a lifestyle gap that consumers are receptive to changing.

4moms revolutionized strollers by doing just that with the Origami stroller. None of the technologies are revolutionary individually, but their integration into a stroller is:

- Power-Folding (open and close)
- Built-in Generator (powered by pushing)
- Daytime Running, Pathway Headlights
- LCD Screen (distance tracker, child sensor and more)
- USB Power Adapter (charge your phone while you walk)
- Adjustable Seat, Peeking Window, Four-Wheel Suspension

Forget parking! It's time for a brand experience.

Wed, 18 Jan 2012 12:04:47 -0500

There’s a terrific article in the WSJ on high-end garages in Miami, designed by world-famous “starchitects,” that are being used as spaces for over-the-top events and experiences. Check out their slideshow and video.

This rendering shows what the interior of Zaha Hadid’s 23rd Street garage might look like:

Here are interior and exterior shots of Enrique Norten’s perforated Park@420:

ces...still relevant today?

Tue, 17 Jan 2012 16:40:34 -0500

now that the dust has settled and i’ve had some time to ruminate on my experience of attending ces, i’m still wondering whether or not the whole thing is still relevant in this day and age.

there’s some inherent irony behind a technology-focused event being put on in an old-fashioned, 1950’s tradeshow kind of way. granted, many of the booths attempted to dazzle and amaze the in-person observer, but i found myself being more impressed by what i was reading about the show on the internet than what i was actually seeing in person.

which leads me to think that the most important ces attendee is the press who can get the word out…otherwise it seems like the biggest draw of attending ces is being able to conveniently schedule face-to-face meetings with clients/vendors etc.

but as far as brand experiences go, very few delivered something that i felt like talking about later on. after coming home and being asked by my friends/family how the show was, i found myself wracking my brain to come up with something relatively “exciting” to tell them…ummm…i saw the guy who created csi speaking on a panel…also apparently innovation is important…and did i mention youtube is pretty popular?

otherwise for the most part (there were a few standouts), i felt like i was walking through a giant best buy.

now with microsoft pulling out - what does the future hold for ces?

what do you think? am i being unfair or too cynical?

Why Brands Like Puma and GE are Flocking to Instagram

Tue, 17 Jan 2012 12:11:53 -0500

Why Brands Like Puma and GE are Flocking to Instagram:

As a user (and believer!) this is ONLY going to get bigger with more brands using it in really creative ways. I love the aspect of creating a community online and then taking that content and curating it into something bigger.

So far, Jack’s using it as a peek behind the curtain but we’re looking forward to blowing it out in 2012.