ADdideas 241006

WWF Catalog Includes $2.5 Million Gift

The World Wildlife Fund will send its first-ever holiday gift catalog offering gifts, "symbolic animal adoptions,"
and opportunities to support specific conservation projects....

Office Depot Expands 'Green Book' to Europe

Office Depot Inc. has expanded distribution of its b-to-b catalog of environmentally friendly products to five
countries in Europe, including Britain, Germany, France, the Netherlands and Belgium.

The catalog, called The Green Book, launched in the U.S. in 2003, with the goal of helping companies
understand the environmentally friendly products offered by Office Depot, writes DM News. Since then, the
company has experienced growth in "green sales," according to Yalmaz Siddiqui, environmental strategy
adviser for Office Depot.

About 15 percent of the catalog is dedicated to education, and offers tips on making decisions about green
purchases. The catalog will be mailed to existing accounts and prospects, and sales reps will use it as a
sales tool.

If successful, Office Depot will consider expanding The Green Book to more countries.

Related topics: Direct, Europe, Promotions, Signs of What's to Come...   

Moms Want WOM Marketing, Not Celebs

Harris Interactive: Cell Phone Users Open to Incentive-Based Ads

Source: Harris Interactive

Click to enlarge

Some consumers would support advertising on their cell phones in exchange for
free features, were the option to be offered.

A new Harris Interactive survey found that 26 percent of cell phone users would
be willing to watch incentive-based advertising on their cell phones, writes Direct
Magazine. About 7 percent of cell phone customers said they would be interested
in receiving relevant ads via text messaging.

The survey also found that 9 percent of consumers use cell phones exclusively
and have discontinued use of landlines. On the other hand, about 39 percent of
those surveyed said they would never disconnect their landlines.

Related stories:
  U.S. Mobile Ads Have Catching up to Do
 College Students Wired from Dorm Room to Classroom
 Casual Game Play Replacing TV Time
 College Students Spend on Socially Responsible Brands

Related topics: Demographics, Interactive, Outdoor, Planning, Research, Signs of What's to Come,
Telecom, Wireless...   

New MRI Service to Measure How Fast Mags Build Readership

Beginning in May, Mediamark Research Inc. plans to test a new service that will reveal issue-specific data
on the rate at which magazines accumulate readership, MediaWeek reports.

With the new service in place, advertisers will be able to better define variables that influence the
performance of individual issues and determine the how efficiently and quickly certain issues reached their
target audiences. The data generated could help media buyers and advertisers more effectively plan both
longer-term and time-sensitive print branding campaigns.

"Say you picked up the most recent copy on the newsstand, but you're sitting at the doctors and picked up
an old one," said Kathi Love, president and CEO of MRI. "When all the data are collapsed, you'd see not
only does this week's copies accumulate in a short period of time, but an old issue is also still adding to its
audience. If you were an advertiser in the old issue, you're still reaching new readers."

After testing the service for two months, MRI will present the results to clients for feedback. The company
plans to debut a complete study with weekly updates before the end of third quarter.

Related topics: Account Service, Buying, Demographics, Entertainment, Magazines,

Measurement/Analytics, Media Department, Planning, Print, Research...

Mall Advertising Booms, Has Room to Grow

Mall developers have begun to reach out aggressively to media buyers, offering increased media
opportunities, in order to supplement cash flow.

Though rent from retailers continues to make up the largest portion of revenue, mall developers are
generating extra cash flow from advertising, writes the Indianapolis Star. For malls, the selling point is critical
mass. For example, malls owned by Indianapolis-based Simon Property Group sees 2.4 billion visitors
annually - four to five times more than the total attendance at all professional and college sports events
nationwide, according to the company's CMO.

Simon Property Group's revenue from sponsorships, media and marketing events has climbed 79 percent
since 2003, and the deals have generated such good results that the company is now offering naming rights
to sponsors, according to the article.

Part of the reason malls are reaching out so aggressively to advertisers is the fact that mall traffic has
declined 30 percent in the past decade. Developers have to be creative to supplement revenue. Some in the
industry say the advertising strategy is more effective than television or billboards because consumers are in
the buying mindset and are in a place where they can make purchases.

According to Stanley Eichelbaum, president of Cincinnati-based Marketing Developments, advertising

dollars make up 37 to 38 percent of a mall's total revenue. In the U.S., those figures hover just below 10
percent, which indicates that the industry may still be in its infancy.
Related stories:

 Nivea's Human Billboards Send Customers to Showroom

 Arbitron, Scarborough Release '7-Day' Mall Audience Metric
 Pop-up 'Stores' Busting out All Over
 'Tis the Season for Mall Advertising
 Clear Channel, Yahoo Partner for Mall Advertising

Related topics: Demographics, Europe, Latin America, Outdoor, Planning, Real Estate, Signs of
What's to Come...   

MyNetworkTV Launches In-Store Marketing Push

MyNetworkTV, just six weeks old, is concerned that its target demographic still doesn't know that the
network exists.

It has renewed a marketing push that will help it attract bigger audiences, executives hope. The network will
promote itself in 5,000 supermarkets over the next three months via a deal with sibling unit News America,
which specializes in newspaper and in-store promotion, according to AdAge.

The network is also buying additional billboards in markets such as Atlanta, Cincinnati, Los Angeles, New
York, Philadelphia, and Portland, Ore., and is involved in a partnership with Wal-Mart stores to promote the
retailer's Metro 7 line of clothing.

Media buyers are being offered the opportunity to buy ads at whatever price will get them in the door,
according to sources. One media buyer said one offer had been below the $20,000 level. (AdAge's pricing
data shows that the network is charging between $20,000 to $35,000 for a 30-second spot.)

Related stories:

 Successful WOM Campaigns Include Instore Elements

 Nielsen: In-Store Ads Sway 68 Percent of Consumers
 MBP Overview: In-Store Advertising
 Wal-Mart, MyNetworkTV Team for Apparel Push
 MyNetworkTV Ratings Dismal
 Media Buyers Impressed with My Network TV
 MYNetworkTV Clears 91% of U.S.
 MyNetworkTV Upfront Offers Less Clutter, More Integration

Related topics: Campaigns of Note, Demographics, Entertainment, Outdoor, Planning, TV Network,

Television...   

Video that Expresses-- and Educates By Rob Campanell

Through a case study on a video-based promotion for the HBO series, "The Wire," urban
entertainment video site Blastro outlines five key elements to creating a successful user-generated
video campaign.
The internet is a hotbed for self-expression, and marketers are learning new ways to weave interactive user
campaigns into targeted online communities. Knowing how to target specific audiences with relevant
campaigns is an invaluable marketing tool. One such method, popular for its creative potential, centers on
user-generated content.

Blastro Networks, an independent operator of internet destinations for music videos, movie trailers and
original animation, and interactive agency Deep Focus, recently created a user-generated video campaign
for the HBO series "The Wire." Season 4 of this critically acclaimed drama explores the role of urban
educational systems, and thus the campaign, The Wire Spoken Word Battle, was designed to spark
discussion around the show's central themes. It asked slam poets, hip-hop and freestyle artists to speak out
about how they were educated.

In developing this campaign, we used five key elements for successful user-generated video. Here are the
steps we took to turn a promotional strategy into a participative destination. 

Attract the right participants

A successful user-generated video campaign must be built around a community with a creative passion for
self expression. In order to attract relevant participants, promotion must be geared specifically to the
targeted audience in mind. In the case of "The Wire" promotion, for instance, the spoken word competition
aligned perfectly with the urban audience targeted.

Build the video site

The video site is the foundation of a user generated content campaign, and creating a successful campaign
requires key elements when developing the site. For example, the site must be able to accept various video
formats to increase the possible pool of participants. Webcam video is the simplest and easiest way for
participants to create content, but this will narrow content to use of the "talking head." Entries shot with
digital video cameras will have more diverse content, but require more technical sophistication, since the
creators are next level up with intermediate digital video production skills. For a site to attract the desired
amount and variety of videos, it must be designed to accept video clips from both types of cameras and then
transcode the multiple video formats from the user uploads into a single web streaming format.

Another consideration when building the site is distribution. In order to generate effective word-of-mouth
marketing, participants must be given the means to promote and distribute their content themselves. In our
case, we used video codes to allow participants, their friends and other viewers to embed the videos into
their social networking web pages. When doing this, remember that the videos should always link back to
the promotion. When building the site be sure to give participants the ability to email their video link to
friends. Also, most participants will not be tech savvy, so develop an easy and intuitive interface for
registration and video uploading.  A simple one-two-three step process should be the goal.

Administer the site

Marketers need the ability to screen content before it goes live in order to prevent the uploading of
potentially offensive video, or video that violates copyrights. An effective campaign will have a clear set of
rules for complying with these guidelines, and a limit on the length of the video clip-- we found that one to
three minutes works best for internet video on demand. To facilitate usability and consumer satisfaction with
the experience, invite participants to re-submit any content that did not pass initial screening. Finally, be sure
to collect data for return-on-investment analysis.

Market the marketing site

Remember, users can't participate in a campaign if they don't know about it. In order to generate buzz,
design the site around the product's branding, and support the promotion on the brand's existing websites.
Another strategy is to run pre- and post-roll video commercials on the content when it plays. We found it's
best to keep the pre-roll to around 10 seconds; a longer post-roll can follow the video play to reinforce the
message.

It's also a good idea to reach out to the community and post information about the promotion on related
message boards. If your brand has an email list, use it to drive traffic and generate video plays.

Program the content

With user generated content, marketers should think long term. After all, you are creating a channel with
entertainment value. Video-on-demand content can live for years. Blastro.com has titles in its archives that
have consistently ranked in the top 200 for five years. When building the content library, make it easily
searchable and provide taxonomy for content listings.

Conclusion
The most important way you can extend the success of a user-generated campaign is to use the campaign,
not only as an end in and of itself, but as a way to build and maintain a relationship with the targeted
community as well. User generated video gives marketers a valuable opportunity to integrate their brands
into communities, and sponsoring a campaign requires only modest financial resources. When marketers go
the extra mile to earn the respect of communities, the communities will remember their brands.

Rob Campanell is co-founder of Blastro Networks. He has been programming internet video-on-demand for
ten years. Rob produced the internet's first streaming video soap opera, "Austin", in 1997. He holds a BS in
civil engineering from Ohio State, and a masters degree in engineering management from George
Washington University.

Howard Stern Show to Stream on Web for Free

Starting next week, fans of Sirius Satellite Radio can tune into their favorite shows - including Howard
Stern's - on the internet, even if they aren't subscribers, announced the company today.

The Howard Stern Show will be broadcast online for free on October 25 and 26 - the first time this year that
the shock-jock's show can be heard for free, Reuters reports (via MarketingVox). Four hours of
programming from Stern's show will be available online both days.

The promotion, which is being held in conjunction with the launch of Sirius Internet Radio - an internet-only
version of its satellite radio service - will mark the first time that non-Sirius subscribers have had access to
the company's programming over the internet, and it will also be the first time since December 2005 that
Stern's show has been available to a non-paying audience.

Sirius will be offering some 75 channels of programming online for $12.95 a month for non-subscribers;
Sirius satellite radio subscribers can access the online service for $6.95 a month. XM offers an online
version of its service for $7.99 a month.

Related topics: Branding, Demographics, Entertainment, Interactive, Planning, Radio...   

Nivea's Human Billboards Send Customers to Showroom

Skin care giant Nivea has used "human billboards" wearing high-tech, internet-enabled packs that feature an
interactive video to invite consumers to their "Nivea Touches New York" exhibit in Manhattan.

The company used Adwalker, the New York-based arm of a Dublin company, for the campaign, which
successfully drew 6,600 new customers to the exhibit.
The Adwalkers walk about in public places, malls, or other venues where the client's target audience is most
likely to be, wearing a high-resolution video screen bearing the client's message across their chests. They
are trained to have friendly conversations with interested consumers in order to qualify them for offers and
promotional messages.

Daimler-Chrysler recently used Adwalkers to promote its Dodge Nitro automobile at the Men's Health
Urbanathlon at Manhattan's Pier 54, while Bank of America deployed 50 Adwalkers around Manhattan on
October 11 to introduce "no-fee" stock trades.

Related topics: Automotive, Campaigns of Note, Integrated/Cross-Media/Convergence, Interactive,

Outdoor, Planning, Signs of What's to Come...   

Launch Online, Hit the Bull's-Eye

Kelley Blue Book's VP of advertising reviews the exclusively online launch of the Pontiac G5, and
shows how GM uses trust in third-party sites to direct in-market buyers to its vehicles.

Just a few short months ago, when Pontiac announced that all of the advertising for their newest model, the
G5, was to be done online, a lot of eyebrows raised around the industry. With the cost of introducing yet
another new model into the crowded marketplace that is today's automotive landscape, Pontiac made the
distinct decision to harness the power of the internet to better reach their target market. 

It's a "radical experiment," said Mark-Hans Richer, Pontiac's marketing director. Because they know who is
most likely to buy the G5 -- namely younger men -- they can target their ads to where they can be found.
"We know where the bull's-eye is," he added, "so it's easier."

General Motors gets it. They understand that the internet can reach in-market car buyers and specific
demographic audiences more effectively than most other advertising types combined. This, of course, is not
GM's first foray into the online "test" world. Earlier this year GM's Chevy, GMC, Buick and Pontiac brands
ran national TV ad campaigns inviting vehicle shoppers to visit third-party internet websites to compare their
vehicles to others in the marketplace. The campaign was a success, driving thousands of in-market car
buyers to in-market sites-- which vehicle shoppers already know and trust.

The January 2006 program, dubbed "Delta," had GM partnering with in-market sites to generate interest in
GM products. As part of the program, Kelley Blue Book built custom microsites for the GMC, Buick and
Pontiac brands. These sites included Kelley Blue Book's trusted data-- such as new vehicle pricing, options,
safety features and quality ratings; they also invited shoppers to compare GM brand vehicles to their market
competitors, and enabled this comparison with online tools right on the site. What made this campaign so
powerful was that it was from a credible third party-- not from GM itself. The validity and factual comparisons
from a third-party site made the comparison tools for Buick, GMC and Pontiac all the more substantive. 

A national television and print campaign for GMC drove shoppers to "Compare at kbb.com"; when shoppers
visited the site, they had already gotten "the message" from the broadcast and print campaigns and followed
up by comparing GMC vehicles on kbb.com's side-by-side comparison tool. If shoppers clicked from an
online ad, they'd go to the GMC customized microsite featuring the same side-by-side comparison tool. (The
microsite KBB developed also "lived" -- and continues to live -- on the GMC.com website.)

Because of kbb.com's relevancy and ability to reach in-market car buyers, the goal of increasing
consideration -- and "dare-to-compare" -- was a success. During the promotion, more online comparisons
were completed for GMC trucks, and pricing report requests for GMC products increased significantly.
With regard to Pontiac's online campaign for the G5 and G6, they ran a "Spotlight" feature on the kbb.com
home page, as well as other home page ads. The G5 and G6 campaign on kbb.com ran three separate
weeks in March, June and July. Again, Pontiac's overall pricing report requests spiked during the campaign.
And in August 2006, G5 sales exceeded Pontiac's goals by 185 percent.

Other automakers can find that same bull's-eye online, just as Mark-Hans Richer did. Where better to find
people interested in buying a car than on third-party automotive research sites? Kbb.com alone sees more
than 10 million unique visitors each month, with more than 70 percent of them planning to buy a new car
within six months. Buyers easily access and navigate these third-party sites, entering their zip codes and
communicating their vehicle purchase interests. It's difficult to get more targeted than that.

With the launch of the G5, Pontiac now knows the level of success internet campaigns offer, and the ability
this specific campaign had to reach potential G5 shoppers. The online-only campaign resulted in a
successful new-nameplate introduction in a way that was not only targeted, but shaved millions from their
budget as well.

Robin Cooper is VP of advertising and business development at Kelley Blue Book. Read full bio.