jack jones

lessons in marketing

RILLIANC BY JENNIFER WANG

During the height of her popularity, Paris Hilton once fired this retort at critics: "It will work. I am a marketing genius." Sadly, those of us who aren't as blessed must face the fact that creating a campaign that captures millions of eyeballs and produces millions in sales is about as likely as Hilton's big Hollywood comeback.

Still, each year there are marketing initiatives that hit on that win­ ning combination of great idea, perfect timing and flaw less execu­ tion. From viral campaians to, well, virus campaigns, we've picked 10 marketing marvels of 2011, pulling out a few lessons to help you create brilliance. You ' re welcome-now the rest is up to you.

[> LESSON: GO CUERILLA Things can go viral if you break the mold, so to speak, of a traditional campaign. Ryan Lum, creator of the blog Creative Guerilla Marketing, says the virus billbo a rd is a great example of guerilla marketing done right. "It makes people on the street who see it wonder, and raises questions about

1. THE CONTAGION BACTERIA BILLBOARD Warner Bros. Ca nada , Curb Media and ad agency Lowe Roche took their promotion of Contagion, Steven Soder­ bergh's film about a mysteri­ ous airborne virus, to new heights of literalness. They hired a group of microbiolo­ gists and immunologists to inoculate a billboard with penicillin, mold and pigment­ ed bacteria that grew (thanks to light and temperature con­ trols) to spell out the name

of the movie, and set it up in an a bandoned storefront window in Toronto. Some passers-by were squicked, but the campaign got a ton of press, won media awards and served as inspiration to industry peers like John Laramie, the CEO of New York City-based Adstruc, a startup with a tech platform for outdoor advertising. "Pretty cool," he says . "It was probably one of those crazy ideas somebody just came up with, but planned and executed perfectly."

what it's trying to pro­ mote," he says.

2. 7-ELEVEN's sLURPEE UNITY TOUR During the contentious midterm elections, President Obama accused Republicans of "standing, watching us, sippin' on a Slurpee" while Demo­ crats did all AMthe work. Post-eJection, and in a better mood,

Obama joked about host­ ing a Slurpee Summit at the White House with incoming Republican Speaker of the House John Boehner. 7 -Elev­ en took this as a product endorsement from the most powerful man in the world and ran with it with all the marketing power it could muster. The convenience- store franchise tapped agency FreshWorks to create the Slurpee Unity Tour. Trucks bearing the campaign logo, picturing an elephant and a donkey sharing a Slurpee cup, made their way across America giving out samples, including a special Purple for the People Slurpee, made from a mix of the red and blue frozen treats.

[> LESSON: ~'AY ATTE.NTION You can score big if you keep up with current events and speak to what's on people's minds. " This cam­ paign was timely, effective, entertaining, memorable ," says Mark Schaefer, market­ ing consultant and founder of Schaefer Marketing Solutions. "They essentially turned the president into a brand advocate. How can you lose with that?"

3. LULULEMON ATHLETICA's AMBASSADOR PROGRAM Instead of mimicking bigger brands like Nike and Adidas by spending hundreds of millions of dollars on fancy campaigns with star ath­ letes, Vancouver, British Columbia-based JuJulemon athletica went grassroots to generate buzz-and major sales of its $100 yoga pants. Since its founding in 1998,

the con ed an a recruiti fitness i but givi and gea wear th Impress lead cia "We w i ambass; says Eri of bran( new rna move, a consider projecti( $1 biJJio says Ton editor-in ing mag~ "strengtl cause tht accessibl and shov IS glVll1g

C> LESSO INFLUE" Find a w best cust! evangelis made. "J mon is Ie carry the j stars, not says Scha on marh Return 01 to be pub Hill next thing if a they're gr better w~ tomer tell:

4.1 THEMU To adverd

its second­ objectives," says Kent Huff­ be helping them help you. generation Core man, co-publisher of Social Christopher Renz, co-found­ processor, Intel Media Marketing Magazine. er of Miami-based new-me­ came up with dia agency The brpr Group, the "Visually notes that the campaign Smart" cam­ 5. ABOUT.ME'S leveraged the inherent vanity paign. Then, to BILLBOARD CONTEST of social media users-him­ make the con­ The popular AOL-owned self included-who pushed nection that the service about.me, which their profiles through Twitter product could enables users to create a and Facebook. "Much of the

v- the company has implement­ help "visualize" a person's landing page that aggregates feedback I received was not ed an ambassador program, life, the company worked all their online profiles, came about my profile, but people recruiting local athletes and with Japanese digital agency up with a simple but far­ asking, 'What is about.me?'" fitness instructors (unpaid, Projector for five months reaching contest to raise its he says. "Mission accom­ but given $1,000 in clothing to create The Museum of profile: People who got the plished for them." and gear) to test products, Me . The Facebook app most votes on their about.me wear the brand in front of accesses a user's account, page would win a spot on a impressionable students and scours it for photos and billboard in Times Square, 6. SPOTIFY'S lead classes in local stores. content and, in a matter of plus a trip to New York U.S. LAUNCH "We will go where our seconds, displays a polished to check out their prize. When Spotify, a music­ ambassadors tell us to go," short film that archives the Motivated contestants got to streaming service that boasts says Eric Peterson, director

ICY

more than 10 million users in of brand innovation in Europe, arrived stateside last new markets-a smart summer, it deployed a launch

>, strategy that catapulted it considering 2012 revenue move, and a lucrative one,

to the top of an extremely Ie competitive playing field

$1 billion. The campaign, projections are around

populated by the likes of says Tom Gierasimczuk, Pandora, Rhapsody and editor-in-chief of Market- Google Music. First the com­ ing magazine in Canada, pany focused on getting early "strengthens the brand be­ adopters and influencers with

ts high Klout scores to "tell accessible to the community, cause the ambassadors are so

everyone they know." Then and show that the company there were the limited beta is giving back to its buyers." person's life in a virtual gal­ work rweeting and posting invites, which controlled the

lery. The initiative became to Facebook, driving five number of free subscriptions 't- l> LESSON: woo " CITIZEN a viral sensation, with more times the usual amount of and elevated demand for the

INFLUENCERS .. than 1 million hits in five visitor traffic to about.me. service. When September Find a way to turn your days-all achieved without Some even designed You­ rolled around, Spotify joined

y best customers into brand any paid media promotion. Tube video campaigns and forces with Face­ evangelists, and you've got it "We tapped directly into old-fashioned paper fliers to book. By now, made. "I love that lulule­ people's emotions and what hand out at school football the only holdouts mon is letting customers they cared about, and found games. Ryan Fujiu, who are probably carry their story-not movie a way to tell a personalized heads up about.me's partner­ people too afraid stars, not celebrity athletes," story," says Pam Didner, ships and user acquisition, to out themselves says Schaefer, whose book Intel's global integrated says the contest turned as Taylor Swift on marketing via citizens, marketing manager. about. me users into a team fans to everyone Return on Influence, is due of word-of-mouth market­ on their social to be published by McGraw­ t> LESSON: GEl P .. RS NAI ers. "Marketing on the nerworks. Hill next month. "It's one Obviously, relating to cus­ social web," he says, "is all thing if a brand tells you tomers is vitally important about giving your users an l> LESSON: BE EXCLUSIVE they're great, but it's much for any marketing effort. incentive to talk about your Two words: invitation only. better when another cus­ Intel was able to "successful­ product with their friends, "Those invites were in high tomer tells you so." ly communicate the human co-workers and family." demand, and it got users

benefits of using a somewhat clamoring to be a part of technical and complicated l> LESSON: RAISE the cool crowd," Renz says.

4.'NTEL'S product in an easy-to-under­ THE STAKES Equally important, Schaefer THE MUSEUM OF ME stand way and .,. accomplish Give your customers a adds, was the campaign's To advertise the power of solid, measurable business reason to care, and you'll sustainability: "When Spotify

interesting things that blurred the lines between don't go anywhere if art, advertising and edito­ people-especially young rial content with its "Dream people-don't feel inclined Portraits" campaign . The to show it to their friends." company books A-list pho­

launched, I was surrounded by bu zz from all directions- friends, my kids, Twitter- and it didn't let up, because the product delivered. "

7. METHOD'S COMMERCIAL When Method, a San Francisco-based producer of eco-friendly cleaning products, entered the laundry detergent market, it seemed a Herculean task to change buying habits and convince Tide users that a small, 20-ounce bottle could do 50 loads of laundry-all with a puny marketing budget of $200,000 . Method co-found­ er and brand architect Eric Ryan decided the best way would be to enlist the help of customers. The company hired media agency Me­ kanism to produce a crowd- sourced commercial, asking people to record themselves performing specific actions from a storyboard and submit those clips for a final edit. A total of 332 cons um­ ers participated, along with those who showed up for an open casting call. When the infinitely watchable video aired, it was the week's 93rd most-viewed YouTube clip and resulted in a 68 percent increase in the number of Method's Facebook fans. Brpr's Renz, who has worked with Method in the past, says the beauty of crowd - sourcing here meant there . was a built-in distribution network for the commercial once it was complete .

[> LESSON: HAVE A CC)Nv'E:RSATION Talk to your customers; a brand that engages in

dialogue will do better than one that prefers to lecture. "As a mission-driven brand, we have great consumer advocates, " Ryan says.

8. PERRIER'S YOUTUBE CAMPAIGN After keeping a low profile in North America for more than a dozen years, Per­ rier made a big splash in 2011 with an edgy digital and social media push that captured the a ttention of a younger demographic. With the help of Ogilvy & Mather and ZenithOptime­ dia, the beverage company made a series of YouTube videos under its "Melting" campaign called "Le Club Perrier," featuring scantily clad dancers partying in a melting nightclub . The scene, it promised, would become "sexier, steamier and wilder" as more viewers tuned in and additional videos were

unlocked. More than 11.5 million viewers took the (rather attractive) bait.

I> LESSON: r>1AI<E IT SHARE-WORTHY It's all about the "pass-along value" in social media . "Rather than putting the videos out there and ask­ ing people to send [them] around, there was enough incentive for them to start clicking on their own, " says Natalie Zmuda, an Advertis­ ing Age reporter. "You can make creative, beautiful,

9. APPLE'S SIRI SPOTS No marketing-brilliance list worth its salt would leave off Apple and longtime agency partner TBWA . In 2011, the release of the iPhone 4 kicked off with commercials starring Siri, a voice-driven assistant who takes dictation, schedules appointments, sends e-mails, searches the web and directs users to the nearest Starbucks. One 30-second TV spot ran through a dozen scenarios demonstrat­ ing how Siri works for everyone from soccer moms to CEOs, and showed Apple products doing what they do best: making your life easier. (Plus, making you shell out for things you never knew you needed.)

[> LESSON: . { LVE A PRuB Er It's always a good bet to focus on how a product or service helps customers, rather than bragging about your best features, no matter how cool they are. "Whether the target audience is a con­ sumer or another business, you have to explain how you can fit into work flow and improve lifestyle," says John Obrecht, editor of marketing strategy magazine BtoB.

1o. DISNEY'S DREAM PORTRAITS Since 2007, Disney has

tographer Annie Leibovitz to capture some of the world's most beloved stars as legendary Disney char­ acters. The latest: Penelope Cruz as wide-eyed Belle and Jeff Bridges as the trans­ formed Beast, Queen Lati­ fah as the villainous Ursula from The Little Mermaid and Olivia Wilde as the Evil Queen in Snow White. " It's a big, big idea that

took a lot of soul-searching and deep analysis of the brand. It's executed simply and deeply, incorporat­ ing actors, who are agents of escape that epitomize fantasy," says Marketing magazine's Gierasimczuk.

[> LESSON: ,NOCK IT OUT OF THE PARk.. Few companies can rival Disney's ad spend, but no matter your budget, a traditional, well-executed campaign with one stun­ ning narrative can be more effective than one that's fragmented across contests, Facebook fan pages and a multitude of other chan­ nels. According to Gierasim­ czuk, the Leibovitz por­ traits, like Absolut Vodka's classic ads, demonstrate how the best concepts can lend themselves to long- running campaigns . E