Geico & Guardians Team Up

Co-branding has been a recently new trend that has taken the marketing scene recently. Co-branding allows two companies to work together to create a mutually beneficial partnership. Successful examples include GoPro & Red Bull, Apple & PRODUCT (RED), and Genius & Spotify. Red Bull encourages consumers to film their adventures with GoPro who uses content in their commercials and website. Apple supports the PRODUCT (RED) fund with unique red products on their website, recently launching a limited edition red iPhone. Finally, Genius partners with Spotify to show song lyrics and information while listening to songs on the Spotify app.

This is another example of successful co-branding. Geico and Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 2. partner together to create an adorable commercial between the Geico gecko and Groot. The gecko tries to explain his line, and Groot can only say his infamous "I am Groot" line. Both brands should benefit positively from the commercial, promoting people to switch to Geico and to watch the movie when it releases in May.

Wendy's Fries McDonald's

.@McDonalds So you’ll still use frozen beef in MOST of your burgers in ALL of your restaurants? Asking for a friend.

— Wendy's (@Wendys) March 30, 2017

On March 30th, McDonald's announced that all Quarter Pounder burgers at their locations will be using fresh beef versus frozen beef. Immediately following their tweet, less than three hours later, Wendy's replied "So you'll still use frozen beef in MOST of your burgers in ALL of your restaurants? Asking for a friend." Wendy's is most known for their slogan "Fresh, never frozen" when talking about their beef for burgers.

I think this was a great response on Twitter for Wendy's. The initial McDonald's tweet, with intentions to increase company image, only compiled 5.9K retweets and 7.6K likes. McDonald's attempt created even more questions, where customers asked what is in the other burgers or what was being done previously.

Wendy's capitalized on McDonald's tweet with their reply, compiling 72K retweets and over 174K likes. They also replied to fans with quick witted comments that consumers loved to share with fans and friends. Wendy's was able to take McDonald's attempt to try and create stronger company image, and spin it in a positive light for their company.

Home For Pizza

Domino's newest campaign focuses on pushing awareness for their innovative pizza tracker. They create a full length video, creating a unique spin on the famous race home scene from Ferris Bueller's Day Off. Domino's also created a 15 second spot to air on television.

I think Domino's does a fantastic job with the new advertisement. Joe Keery is a familiar face with new and young audiences as he stared in Netflix's original series "Stranger Things". He races home to beat the Domino's delivery vehicle and follows the exact route from the hit movie. Alan Ruck, Cameron from the original movie, also makes an appearance hitting the nostalgia factor.

The advertisement focuses on the excitement of tracking your pizza. They modernized the scene with Domino's and their car, but everything else stayed true to the original movie scene. In addition to the iconic running home scene, Domino's produced another advertisement that focuses on the technology to track and order pizza (Alexa, tablet, smart tv, wearables, etc). 

Domino's new campaign with a Ferris Bueller twist should resonate well with all consumers and prove to create strong gains, reputation or monetary, with the company. 

New York City Advertising

For spring break this year, my best friend Nick and I had the opportunity to spend five days in New York City. We took in the usual touristy sites and sounds like Empire State Building, Statue of Liberty, and Natural History Museum. For me, I think one of the coolest experiences was just walking around the city, especially late at night, to see the city that never sleeps.

I remember walking around the city wondering how much billboards, real estate, signs, etc cost and whether companies were getting a positive return on their investment. As of now, I can only remember McDonald's, Macy's, H&M, Disney, Planet Hollywood, Hershey's, and M&Ms signs in the immediate Times Square area (surprising fact: there's an Olive Garden directly behind the "Red Steps"). 

 I think for well-known and established brands, advertising in Times Square can be worth the investment. Customers will flock to not only to shop at the stores, but also to take pictures to share online. For Nick and I, although we had no intention of purchasing anything, a stop to Macy's was necessary just to say we did. Brands that are not as well known would be wasting money to advertise in New York City, in particular Times Square, and could devote resources elsewhere if they are not getting the return. Engagement on social media can provide a wider reach and impressions and is a much cheaper alternative to expensive billboards and store property.

Legend of Tom Brady

Following Super Bowl 51, the city of Boston began celebrating their 5th Super Bowl championship since 2000 and second in the last three years. Under Armour decided to capitalize on New England's quarterback, Tom Brady, success by running an advertisement that was posted to YouTube immediately following the Super Bowl.

The advertisement itself shows Boston's historic landmarks with average every day citizens speaking of Tom Brady. They tell stories of Brady throwing a football across the Boston Harbor, the city and fans actually getting younger with each championship, children having to be legally named "Tom" or "Brady", and finally that we should enjoy him while we can... because he'll "only be playing nine more years".

Droga5 Studios and Under Armour definitely took a risk in paying for the advertisement and getting it filmed and created before the Super Bowl. However, the risk paid off and allowed Under Armour to get first advertisements into the market following the Super Bowl. Tom Brady is one of Under Armour's most highly touted athlete and should use his success to further promote the brand.

Athletes Back Oakley

On February 8th during the Knicks home game against the LA Clippers, Knicks legend Charles Oakley was arrested after failing to cease yelling at owner James Dolan, who sat a few rows ahead (according to NY Knicks). In his statement, he disputed that he never yelled at Dolan and was confronted by Madison Square Garden security asking why he was sitting so close to Dolan.

Here is the video that went viral shortly after:

Charles Oakley will throw hands any time any place (via @ischafer) pic.twitter.com/MUOfDv4aAv

— Barstool Sports (@barstoolsports) February 9, 2017

Following the video, NBA players took to social media to describe their disgust with the events that occurred. The Knicks organization has had issues recently, but forcefully dragging a Knick legend and All-Star, out of the arena was a disgrace. LeBron James and Chris Paul, two of the league's face figures, took to Instagram to share their feelings on the situation. Athletes more and more have been taking to social media to share opinions and thoughts on current issues.

Although what LeBron and Chris posted was not negative, it makes one wonder if teams will begin to monitor or add social media clauses in contracts to control what athletes say to prevent any possible negative response on the organization.

Mood!! #Legend

A post shared by LeBron James (@kingjames) on Feb 8, 2017 at 8:23pm PST

"Hope that he gets some help soon??" Don't like the way they're trying to portray Oak...ALWAYS had my back and the realest person our league has seen! #UncleOak

A post shared by Chris Paul (@cp3) on Feb 9, 2017 at 10:30am PST

Mr. Clean sweeps top Super Bowl commercial

Obviously, all marketing and social media professionals' eyes were focused on the biggest platform for advertisement during last night's Super Bowl 51. When I was watching with my friends, we tried to guess each brand or company before the big reveal, often to little success. Watching Super Bowl commercials has become a cultural and worldwide phenomenon and has given companies a way to reach millions of consumers who actually want to see the advertisement.

One ad that stood out for me last night was Mr. Clean "Cleaner of Your Dreams" commercial. Mr. Clean goes through the house cleaning much to the delight of the female lead. At the end, Mr. Clean transforms into the standard male husband lead and female cannot keep her hands to herself.

Personally, I enjoyed this commercial the most last night. The song is catchy and plot is playful and enjoyable for consumers to watch. The ad finishes with the tagline "You gotta love a man who cleans" which directly targets couples and families. I think Mr. Clean will expect a solid return on their Super Bowl investment, and hopefully produce strong quarter revenues.

House of Cards' Perfect Trailer Release

We make the terror. pic.twitter.com/VpChwGOSMj

— House of Cards (@HouseofCards) January 20, 2017

Donald Trump was recently inaugurated and assumed office as the 45th President of the United States on January 20th, 2017. The ceremony began at 11:41am (according to Wikipedia article). At 10:30am, the Netflix original series "House of Cards" released its first trailer for the upcoming season. As seen in the video above, the video features an upside-down waving American flag in a dark, stormy day with children reciting the national anthem. The tweet was labeled with "We make the terror", a quote from the Netflix series character President Frank Underwood.

Frank Underwood is described as a "manipulative, sociopathic, evil" political figure who will run through anyone in his path in his pursuit of success. He personally commits murder twice, arranges another, and constantly threatens anyone who stands in his way.

Throughout the election, fans of the acclaimed TV series could find tweets from the official Twitter page, describing the election process. They released tweets for election night, debates, and responses to various media outlets.

I hate being kept in the dark. Waiting. Speculating. Useless. #ElectionNight

— House of Cards (@HouseofCards) November 9, 2016

Will it get a little bloody? Yes, but that’s what people want in their debates. #debatenight

— House of Cards (@HouseofCards) October 20, 2016

I think the release of the ominous trailer on Trump's inauguration day was perfect way to promote the upcoming season. I think it's fair to say that some fans find some similarities between Underwood and Trump, and the video accurately describes how some Americans felt. The Netflix show capitalized on the historic day, and promoted the upcoming season in a very simple, yet effective video that became viral nearly instantly.

"It's a trap!"

It's official. STAR WARS: THE LAST JEDI is the next chapter of the Skywalker saga. This December. #TheLastJedi https://t.co/ySkVwQcMTP pic.twitter.com/eHrPgbsRJq

— Star Wars (@starwars) January 23, 2017

In a somewhat surprise move Monday, the multibillion dollar movie franchise "Star Wars" released the title for its upcoming Episode VIII, now dubbed "The Last Jedi". Immediately, the post was picked up and spread around frantically accumulating over 164,000 retweets on Twitter in 8 hours, over 547,000 likes on Instagram, and another 258,000 likes on Facebook (all at time of posting).

The post laid the perfect "trap" for fans, the post is the first campaign feature for the movie scheduled to release on December 15th. The Star Wars franchise had just released Rogue One: A Star Wars Story in December and, most likely, did not want to interfere with the box office success by promoting two different Star Wars movies at the same time. It gave fans a little more Star Wars to keep in mind as Rogue One flair wears off. The title is the first taste fans get from the sequel to "The Force Awakens" which grossed over $2B worldwide, and saw return to the Star Wars universe in over a decade.

The marketing for The Force Awakens, and The Last Jedi should have significant differences. For one, the producers do not have to build up the hype of a return to the Star Wars universe, consumers know it's back and are aware. I think the post was a perfect timing to begin the hype for Episode VIII. The title is simple, yet fans are already speculating its meaning, who is the Jedi? Does the use of Jedi imply singular or plural? Also, the title release is the first time the words "Star Wars" has been written in red, also stirring up complex fan theories. A post from John Boyega, lead actor, includes the hashtag #Timetogotowar and will almost certainly keep fans coming back for more and more.

Star Wars fans may hope to see a potential spot during the Super Bowl, as with Force Awakens released a TV spot about two weeks after the title release. However, I think this would be a waste of resources that could be spent elsewhere. Disney does not need to spend the money on a Super Bowl advertisement to promote the world renown movie series. More likely, Disney will spend the majority  resources on Beauty & The Beast, or Guardians of the Galaxy: Vol 2, which are slated for summer releases.

The Star Wars universe received it's first taste of Episode VIII Monday, and I'm sure Disney marketing professionals will continue to keep fans on their toes throughout the year, and especially as  Star Wars Celebration weekend comes around mid-April. 

Coca-Cola Chinese New Year

My first blog post this semester is about a Coca Cola advertisement I stumbled upon. During the holiday months of 2016, many companies run advertising campaigns that really strive to capture the feeling of the season. Coca-Cola consistently is mentioned at the top, or near the top, of companies who always produce top quality holiday ads. The season can be important for businesses to create capital gains, while also at some level promote corporate social responsibility. 

This ad produced by Coca-Cola will air nationwide in China at the end of December and continue through the Chinese New Year. The commercial features animated characters that have been used in China since 2001, hoping to build familiarity with the characters like the polar bears in the United States. Those characters build a family for a lonely snowman to enjoy the season with. 

The ad promotes the unbreakable bond within a family, and satisfies the mission statement of Coca-Cola. Coca-Cola strives to "refresh the world, inspire moments of optimism and happiness, and create value and make a difference". This advertisement fits well with the corporate mission and values, and will be a successful campaign in China in the next couple of weeks.