An SMP for Coca-Cola's Guerilla Marketing Campaign

For those who have never seen this clip, it is one of my favorite examples of effective marketing. Coca-Cola has always had strong branding and good advertisements, but in my opinion, this guerilla marketing campaign takes the cake.

In my class we have been studying the single minded proposition (or SMP), and this is the statement that essentially guides the creative team toward creating good content or art that will be used in an ad campaign.  For this commercial, I would imagine that the SMP emphasized, as with all Coke ads, a theme of happiness. However, a good SMP also inspires the creative team, and in this case it is clear that the creative team was incredibly inspired.

I think that Coca-Cola leveraged the insight of how happy and joyous people get when they get free items from a vending machine and then ran with it. So the SMP may have been as simple and connected as, "Show that Coca-Cola brings the same joy that free items from a vending machine does." This SMP may be closely linked to the actual creative that was produced, but I think that's what made it so effective and compelling. The team identified a terrific insight and then enlightened the creative team and allowed them to take it to the next level. Sometimes the situation requires less structure or required elements for the campaign, but sometimes it takes a bit more guidance when you identify something that resonates as well as this campaign does. In this case, I think Coke nailed a great insight and translated it into their SMP, and the result is a campaign that makes consumers gleeful just watching it. Good SMP's lead to good creative, and this example showcases that principle.

Guest Speaker from Publicis

In my advertising class this week, we learned more about creative briefs from the Chief Marketing Officer from Publicis, Chris Shumaker. In preparation  I did some analysis about a current strategic issue, consumer perceptions of the company, as well as a question I had for Mr. Shumaker. All three elements are below:

1. As a major agency that is constantly acquiring smaller firms (most recently LBi international and Arachnid). This may pose issues merging new staff, contracts and clients since there are often conflicting clients with the new agencies.

2. Although there is little public groundswell regarding a company that serves businesses, Publicis is seen as one of the most successful and well established agencies in New York. There are thousands of likes for their Facebook page and no negative comments on either Twitter or Facebook.

3. Usually how big are the teams that assemble a creative brief, and what different roles or skills does each team member possess?

Television is Still King...For Now

According to a recent study, television is still the most influential medium in terms of marketing toward consumers. Details can be found here, but the takeaway is that television still earns the most revenue from advertising spots and that is because it was ranked as the most influential. 37% of respondents reported that they rely on tv advertisements more than any other channel, and it was almost quadruple the second highest choice. Newspapers came in second place, followed by the internet.

Although I can't say it's surprising that television takes the cake, I can't believe how low internet was rated on this survey. In an industry that is growing at such a rapid pace, they have struggled to gain influence and trust in the consumer's mind, and this is a problem. Until they are able to gain some trust, consumers will ignore ads from the internet. Social media outlets like Twitter and Facebook offer huge potentials in advertising because of their massive audiences, and I think we will see more of a push to boost credibility and quality of ads seen on these sites. Like an article I discussed earlier, these outlets are already working to make ads more relevant to the individual user, and I think this is a reflection of the industry's goal of moving the internet higher up on this list of influential mediums.

We will see what the next 3 to 5 years brings, but with the growing availability of TiVo and products like it, matched with an intense movement from the internet industry to improve their standings, I would be surprised if the internet had not taken over as the most influential ad medium by 2020.

Wait, What was that Commercial For?

Ketel One may be a classy brand of alcohol, but in terms of their branding they are nothing more than average.  I understand that alcohol can be a more tricky advertising challenge since you can't show anyone drinking the product, but there can still be good ways to tie your brand to an idea or quality. In this commercial (which was actually a single spot in a line of three) Ketel One simply links their product to "enjoying the night" type of philosophy. Not only is this incredibly cliche and overdone, but 30 seconds after this commercial had played I had already forgotten which brand of alcohol was in the commercial!

Other brands like Guinness, Corona and Jameson have set an example of creating strong branding that is also creative and unique. When you watch a Corona commercial, you could actually name what beer was being marketed without seeing the label or hearing the name. In the Ketel One commercial, it seems like any other vodka could replace the brand, and therein lies the major problem. Hopefully Ketel One can reevaluate how they want to brand their product, because as things lie they may as well call themselves Ketel None.

Exercise in Class

In my advertising class last week, we did an exercise that I found to be insightful and thought provoking. Using different masterpieces from the ancient world including the pyramids and the Sistine Chapel, we imagined what sort of creative brief would be given to each of the teams that executed the work. We learned about the balance between being too vague and open ended with directions and being too specific and not allowing for any imagination and creativity. A good creative brief should inspire, and give some guidance as to the key aspects to use, but it should not be limiting or bossy.

For the pyramids, one of the best examples generated was "Build a magnificent tomb that will honor the great and powerful leaders, and immortalize Egypt's glory as a center for knowledge and trade." This type of rich language fuels the inspiration for unbelievable works of creativity like the pyramids. It leaves room for creativity, but doesn't leave the team guessing as to what the end goal is.

I really enjoyed this assignment and it has left me imagining what other good briefs inspired. As we move forward this semester and work on creating our own creative brief, I will be using this lesson to help make a better brief myself.

Cleaning Products Can be Funny!

Finally, a cleaning product company reviewed by the Neat Freak! Windex (one of my most trusted weapons in the arsenal against filth) is not a product many people would classify as sexy. It's not a hip product, it isn't young, and it isn't flashy. SC Johnson understands this, and they released this commercial keeping its identity in mind. 

There are so many positive aspects of this commercial, but the most important is simplicity. The company didn't try to do too much here, and that is an key strategy that too many other companies forget. The concept is clever and witty, and it plays off of a classic scenario that everyone can relate to. Also, the company adds a product feature and a reason to believe with the video time lapse showing how Windex begins working before you do. It differentiates the product from other glass cleaners, which makes viewers even more likely to remember the product itself and not just the commercial. This can be a major flaw when using humor, but I think Windex avoids this with their execution.

The effectiveness of this commercial can be summarized with one of the most liked comments; "funniest commercial ever. i tried this on my mate and it was hilarious. windex works. thanx guys." It shows how not only do people appreciate the humor, but they recognize it is a Windex commercial, and also recognize Windex's effectiveness. Excellent job by SC Johnson. I didn't think I could respect this product anymore, but after this commercial I certainly do!