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Taco Bell: Going “Loco” for Doritos Locos Tacos

Posted on March 6, 2013 11:59 am by Lindsay Doscher Comment

About a year ago Taco Bell released their new Doritos Locos Taco and it was an immediate hit. It became Taco Bell’s most popular product and by early 2013, sales of Doritos Locos tacos topped $325 million. Due to such widespread success, Taco Bell created the new Cool Ranch Doritos Locos Tacos. The release date was set for March 7, 2013. Fans of these delicious tacos continuously commented and tweeted Taco Bell requesting that the date be made sooner. Yesterday, Taco Bell posted on Facebook and Twitter saying, “We’re letting our fans buy Cool Ranch DLT a day early! See you on March 6th.”

Almost 17,000 people liked their Facebook post and it was retweeted more than 7,000 times in 24 hours. These social media sites allowed dedicated fans to connect with Taco Bell and get this highly anticipated product launched sooner. No additional marketing techniques were even necessary to build up the hype of this taco. I know I’m going to get my Cool Ranch Doritos Locos Taco, are you?

This entry was posted in Advertising and tagged Advertising, Cool Ranch, Doritos, Fans, marketing, Taco Bell. Bookmark the permalink.
Procter & Gamble Marketing Towards Exactly Who You Would Expect Them To

Posted on February 22, 2013 4:57 pm by Sam Mozhgani Comment

We all know that Procter & Gamble has been a very successful company for a very long time, but its always interesting to see how they market all of the different brands and product lines they carry. In the past few years they have basically turned all their attention towards one family member; the mother! Think about it, even a few years ago when those funny old spice commercials for men deodorant came out, the commercials were directed at women! More recently, Procter and Gamble had their “Raising an Olympian” campaign featuring Gabby Douglas and her mother’s impact on her olympic success.

Now why would Procter & Gamble only focus on one out of a possible three to four family members? It would seem as if they are cutting into their potential market, right? Wrong! If you take a step back and look at it, all of P&G’s products are household products that would more often than not be bought in a grocery or retail store where women are the main people purchasing their products. P&G’s products range from toilet paper to dish detergent and from diapers to perfume. Although it may have seemed weird at first to target women with mens deodorant, P&G knows that if the commercial sticks in a women’s head, they will check out that product out time they go shopping.

This entry was posted in Advertising, Branding, Marketing - General, TU-AMA and tagged Branding, commercials, deodorant, Gabby Douglas, marketing, old spice, Olympics, P&G, Procter &Gamble, product line, TU-AMA. Bookmark the permalink.
Zipcar using social media to attract a young audience

Posted on February 15, 2013 4:51 pm by Sam Mozhgani Comment

Recently, Zipcar has started using social media to target young adults and college students. Their use of twitter and Facebook has grown rapidly, using the social media sites to answer questions or give away prizes. In case you are not familiar with Zipcar, they are a company that provides cars to their customers with an hourly or daily rate. They are mostly used in large cities where people can’t afford or do not see the point in owning a car, but may need one once in a while to get around or run errands. Zipcar makes the process very easy through their website. Once you sign up you receive a Zipcard and the right to make reservations for just a couple hours or an entire day. Once you make your reservation, you find the Zipcar station nearest to you and just hold the Zipcard up to the car you reserved and it will unlock and is ready for your use.

Zipcar’s use of social media has grown rapidly due to their desire to convert young adults to customers. They use Facebook to show where Zipcar stations are located and to give away prizes. Twitter is also used for giveaways, but also to answer any questions that customers or potential users may have. Some of the giveaways include free t-shirts or driving dollars and lets be honest, what college student doesn’t love free stuff. An added benefit is that there is no worry about insurance or gas because Zipcar covers it all. Zipcar has been continuously growing for the last few years and their attention to social media will be sure to add to the success they have right now.

This entry was posted in Advertising, Marketing - General, TU-AMA and tagged AMA, facebook, marketing, social media, TU-AMA, Twitter, Zipcar, Zipcard. Bookmark the permalink.
Game of Thrones: From the Shadows to Famous with a dash of Crazy Marketing

Posted on January 31, 2013 9:50 pm by bethbauer Comment

As a fan of Game of Thrones for years, I was surprised when the show erupted on HBO. Not that I wasn’t thrilled but suddenly this relatively low key series exploded into the public domain. It wasn’t just the series that peaked everyone’s interest, it was also the rather obscure marketing.

The HBO marketing team created a mini-game of their website, with a massive digital rendition of The Wall. The graphics are not only extraordinary but there is a whole adventure to be had within HBO’s website. The game is called Path Maester and for it being a free game, a lot of money went into it, that much is clear.

HBO also utilized a smart phone app. This app is very unique from my perspective. It is a weather app which also tells you where you are in the world of Game of Thrones. Are you a Northern Stark or a princess from Dorne?

The clever virtual tactics which went into this series are sophisticated and unique. Digital marketing pulled Game of Thrones into a new era. For a series which originated in 1996, it sure did fit right into 2013.

This entry was posted in Branding, Fox School, Marketing - General, Marketing News, TU-AMA and tagged Digital marketing, Digital Trends, Game of Thrones, Game of thrones HBO, Game of Thrones News, HBO, Interesting Game of Thrones Marketing, Maester Path, marketing, Philadelphia, Smartphone app, Temple AMA. Bookmark the permalink.
Is the iPhone Finally Coming to T-Mobile?

Posted on November 30, 2012 9:00 am by EmilyL Comment

Analysts of technology trends have been tracking the carrier pick-ups of the iPhone for several years now. After AT&T’s exclusivity with the iPhone ended, speculation came about as to which carrier would be the first to offer the iPhone. Most analysts suspected T-Mobile, but instead, Verizon picked the phone up in 2011. Later that year, both T-Mobile and Sprint were speculated to offer the iPhone, but only Sprint got the contract. One analyst notes that T-Mobile USA may finally get the iPhone next week due to heightened speculation that the parent company to T-Mobile, Deutsche Telekom, will announce its new carrier plans at an event next week. T-Mobile has been left out of an iPhone contract because its network doesn’t support the iPhone. Over the past several months; however, T-Mobile has upgraded its networks in 15 cities in order to be capable to support the iPhone, but many more areas still need to be upgraded. Is this speculation just a rumor that has continued to pop up over the past two years, or will T-Mobile finally become the next iPhone carrier? I guess that we will just have to wait until next week!

Read the full article here.

This entry was posted in Advertising, Branding, Marketing - General, Marketing News, TU-AMA and tagged Advertising, apple, cellphones, iphone, marketing, phones, rumors, speculation, t-mobile, Technology. Bookmark the permalink.
Michelin Man Bringing Michelin To The Top

Posted on November 30, 2012 8:42 am by Sam Mozhgani Comment

There are only three major tire companies that have a strong presence on television. Goodyear, Bridgestone, and Michelin. The one factor that puts Michelin above the other two is their “mascot,” the Michelin man. One commercial the Michelin Man is stepping up to giant gas tanks and in the next he’s replacing tires on cars by simply throwing tires at them. These commercials want to get the point across that Michelin tires can help you save money on gas and also help you stop shorter than other tires. Although Goodyear and Bridgestone do have many commercials none of them have a main character that you can associate with the company. The Michelin Man has helped build the Michelin brand.

The success that Michelin has gained since they started using the Michelin Man has been tremendous. Today they are up to second in market share in the tire industry and only 3% behind the leader, Bridgestone. Michelin obviously has one main market they target: drivers. However, they do a good job of changing up their commercials to target different drivers. They have commercials based on different seasons for people that live in areas where weather is more extreme. They have animated commercials, made for teenagers and young adults. They even have some funny commercials that try to get the viewers interested in Michelin and talking about the commercials with their friends. Michelin has done a very good job using the Michelin Man to grow into the company they are today and if they keep it up they can only keep growing from here.

This entry was posted in Advertising, Branding, Marketing - General, TU-AMA and tagged Bridgestone, commercials, Goodyear, Market Share, marketing, Michelin, Michelin Man, TU-AMA. Bookmark the permalink.
New Marketing Technique:Real-Life Pinterest Board

Posted on November 28, 2012 9:02 am by KelseyC Comment

Recently, in the Westfield UTC mall in La Jolla, California they have introduced a real-life Pinterest board. This board was placed in the mall to celebrate their recent 180 million dollar renovation. They will be marketing physical products from participating retailers in the mall and the board includes an interactive game. There is an online Pinterest board where consumers can create their own board titled “Escape Everyday” and win the products from the real-life board! What a neat way to promote their retailers.

Where else do you think this kind of marketing would be effective? What about at Temple?

This entry was posted in Marketing - General and tagged Advertising, Branding, Fox school of business, marketing, Pinterest, shopping, TU-AMA, TU-Owls. Bookmark the permalink.
The 11 Biggest Social Media Disasters This Year

Posted on November 27, 2012 10:39 am by Lauren Snyder Comment

Social media can make or break you. Facebook and Twitter interactions with customers can create a lot of positive hype for your company’s product or service. However if you make even one unintentional blunder, thousands of followers are bound to see it, thereby setting you back in both dollars and customer loyalty. Some companies have mastered the art of this customer-brand interaction, while others are still learning the ropes. Below are 11 examples of how not to generate buzz on social media.

1. McDonald’s: #mcdstories

In their January attempt to interact with customers and promote the brand, McDonald’s promoted two trends on twitter: #meetthefarmers and #mcdstories. Much to the company’s dismay, Twitter users took hold of the second of the two hashtags to dish their McDonald’s horror stories. Essentially, McDonald’s paid to promote a trend that only resulted in bad publicity.

2. Snickers Investigated for Paying Celebs to Tweet

Earlier this year, the popular candy bar company paid several celebrities in the UK to tweet pictures of themselves eating Snickers bars. While it was a good-intentioned attempt to promote the brand, the campaign did not sit well with the UK’s Office of Fair Trading, which requires companies to explicitly spell out when a product is being endorsed. Moral of this story: cover all your bases before launching a campaign.

3. NRA Posts Pro-Gun Tweet After Aurora Shooting

This blunder is all about bad timing. American Rifleman, a journal affiliated with the NRA, posted a pro-gun tweet just as the mass shooting in Aurora, Colorado was unfolding. Though the tweet had been pre-scheduled through Hootsuite, it still struck a nerve for many. Both the tweet and the account were deleted later that day.

4. Celeb Boutique Ignites Firestorm with Aurora Tweet

Online store, Celeb Boutique, posted a promotional tweet with the Aurora hashtag to take advantage of the day’s trending topic. Clearly, they neglected to take the time to research the story behind the Aurora hashtag, resulting in one insensitive tweet and tons of bad publicity.

5. The Chick-Fil-A Controversy

After the company’s founder openly stated that he is against same-sex marriage, critics blasted Chick-Fil-A on many social networks. In fact, the company’s Facebook page was briefly taken over by posts that had nothing to do with chicken. In this case, social media amplified an already negative bit of publicity.

6. Microsoft Gets Political

Instead of posting from his personal account, one Microsoft employee who manages the Twitter account dissed conservative talking head Ann Coulter. The accidental tweet was a response to former U.S. labor secretary Robert Reich and it went like this: “@RBReich your granddaughter’s level of discourse and policy > those of Ann Coulter.”

7. KitchenAid Anti-Obama Tweet

After the President mentioned his grandmother during the first presidential debate in October, an employee posted the following from the company’s account rather than his own: “Obamas gma even know it was going 2 b bad! She died 3 days b4 he became president. #nbcpolitics” The company quickly issued an apology and removed the tweet.

8. StubHub Drops the F-Bomb

Here’s yet another example of employees posting from the company’s account rather than their personal handle. This tweet was up for an hour before the company deleted it and issued an apology: “Thank f*** it’s Friday! Can’t wait to get out of this stubsucking hell hole.” Yikes.

9. American Apparel Teases Hurricane Sandy Promotion

The fashion apparel company saw a natural disaster as a promotional opportunity, by offering 20% off for those states affected by Hurricane Sandy, in case they were “bored” during the storm. Customers quickly criticized the ad on social networks such as Twitter.

10. Gap Angers Storm Victims with Hurricane Sandy Tweet

Similar to American Apparel, The Gap encouraged those hunkering down for the storm to get online and shop their boredom away. The company eventually took down this tweet and offered somewhat of an apology.

11. Macy’s Blasted for Relationship with Donald Trump

After offering to donate $5 million in exchange for President Obama’s college records and passport application, Macy’s customers pressured the company to sever its relationship with Trump. The retailer’s Facebook and Twitter pages were bombarded with anti-Trump comments as a result of his shocking publicity stunt.

[article via Mashable]

Which company do you think had the biggest disaster?

This entry was posted in Advertising, Branding, Marketing - General, Marketing News and tagged blunders, Branding, facebook, marketing, social media, Twitter. Bookmark the permalink.
How to Be Smart When Black Friday Shopping

Posted on November 16, 2012 9:00 am by EmilyL Comment

With Black Friday exactly a week away, those of us on the lookout for a shopping marathon of bargain hunting can get excited that the festivities are soon to begin. The name “Black Friday” came about as a way for retailers to signal a shift from losing money to a season of profitability from accounting’s “in the black.” Before you embark on your shopping adventures, there are several myths and traps that you should be ready to avoid:

1. The Doorbuster Trap:

Many stores advertise extremely low priced items that are offered to a certain number of customers that are the first in the store. Make sure you read the fine print about how many of these items are going to be handed out in the store. Most of the time a very small number like ten items are sold and tickets are distributed to early store comers way before stores even open at midnight.

2. The Apple Trap

It is common belief that you must visit an Apple store in order to get the best deals. In fact, the same deals are also available online. But don’t expect deep price cuts on any items, and don’t expect discounts in general on brand new products such as the iPad mini and iPad 4.

3. The Price-Matching Trap

Target just began a new price matching program that runs from November 1 to December 16. Customers can show a store employee a lower priced item on a mobile phone or bring in an original receipt from online retailers including walmart.com and bestbuy.com. Be aware though that Target will not match prices from Black Friday through Cyber Monday and there are a long list of product exclusions on Target’s website.

4. The I-Can-Return-It Trap

If you are not already familiar with a store’s return policy, you may want to check it especially during the holiday shopping season. Many stores change their policies and shorten the return period time specifically over Black Friday and Cyber Monday weekend.

5. The Cyber Monday Trap

Most people believe that the best online shopping deals happen on the Monday after Black Friday which is known as Cyber Monday. But, most of these deals exist way before Monday and begin at midnight on Black Friday. Don’t miss out on deals that happen online just by waiting until Monday.

Read the rest of the article here.

This entry was posted in Advertising, Branding, Fox School, Marketing - General, Marketing News and tagged Advertising, AMA, avoid, Black friday, deals, marketing, myths, shopping, thanksgiving, traps, tricks. Bookmark the permalink.
Predicted Marketing Trends For 2013!

Posted on November 14, 2012 8:54 am by KelseyC Comment
Can you believe how fast this year is going? Not only is the weather changing, but the way people are consuming is changing! Marketers have to stay on top of the changing behavior to keep their products popular and affordable. It may sound easy to use a new marketing technique, but ACTUALLY implementing that technique in relevant and profitable ways can be very difficult.

Peter Frisk, a global branding, marketing, and innovation expert shares some of his marketing trend predictions for 2013.

1. Marketing Fashions = New Concepts + tactical impact
- Freemium Pricing: from pps to games, customers are now familiar with the idea of getting the product free, and then paying for the addiction-driven updates and upgrades. Now its time to apply the modeel to every other market.
- Augmented Reality: from Google’s futuristic glasses that can tell you everything from product ingredients to special offers, to digital-wall shopping which has been a huge hit for Adidas Neo in Germany, or Tesco in South Korea.
2. Marketing Breakthroughs = New Concepts+ strategic impact
- Horizon Planning- forget trying to plan incrementally in fast and volatile markets. Start with a vision, then work backwards thinking about what you want to achieve by at each horizon with more flexibility with a set of principles and directions.
- Solomo consumers- the biggest shift in consumer behavior is guided by their smartphone, and everything it enables- to be social, and local, and mobile. Time and location-based marketing is now ready to absorb most marketing budgets.
3. Marketing Enhancements = Evolving concepts + tactial impact
- Predictive economics-data is a huge challenge and opportunity for every marketer. We can drown in on it, or dive deep and find amazing insights. But it’s most powerful when it can predict future behavior , and link it to commercial potential.
- Wellbeing Themes- more enduring that the happiness wave, is healthier and wellbeing which goes well beyond healthcare and food. It was the insight that drove the WiiFit from Nintendo and Nike Fuelband.
4. Marketing Transformations= Evolving concepts + Strategic impact
- Emerging markets- marketers are the growth drivers, and their biggest opportunity is obviously the fast-growing economies east and south, but don’t forget the other types of markets- women will grown faster than India and China.
- New Tribal Communities- community building in simple, you just create a Facebook page don’t you? No. Tribes grow around a common page , cause, and passion. You need to help them define it and share i t, in new ways.
It is interesting to think about how fast everything can change in the world of Marketing. Temple will probably be teaching completely different information in about 10 years!

Are there any new marketing techniques that have worked for you?
This entry was posted in Marketing - General and tagged Advertising, Branding, Fox school of business, Futuristic, innovation, marketing, New Age, TU-AMA. Bookmark the permalink.