Social Media Campaign: Toblerone

Social media is an outlet that many companies use to expand their brand and message. Toblerone was the brand we focused on for our social media campaign challenge. Our group decided that we would allow individuals to use a combination of Instagram, Facebook or Pinterest to contribute pictures in our campaign.

Consumers are asked to upload pictures they took of landscape or object seen in the negative space that resembles the shape of the iconic triangular chocolate. For a better chance to win, they can also upload other creative content to other social outlets such as YouTube. The individual with the most overall likes and shares will win a Toblerone package with plenty of goodies for the Holiday Season.

   

iRoll

iRoll: Radio Commercial

SFX:                (Toilet flushing)

Daughter:        “Mom! I need another iPod, I dropped it in the toilet again”

Mom:               “That’s the 4^th one this month!!”

Daughter:        “Well what should I do? I’m always fumbling with my iPod while I do my nails or straighten my hair.”

SFX:                (docking station click sound with music playing)

MVO:              What you need is the new iRoll. Now convenittly takes the place of your old boring toilet paper holder and ads new features like high quality speakers as well as a docking station to charge your device. Why settle for a boring radio when you can enjoy your own music. Buy the new iRoll coming this holiday season to a store near you!

The end of interruption?

For my essay I will be considering the impact that interruptive advertisements have had on consumers. Whether through social or experiential ads, advertisers have had an effect on how consumers feel towards certain brands and services. Most of the media we consume each day consists of advertisements and many of whom are seen as obtrusive by consumers because they just want to throw their message at you instead of attracting the audience to them. I will also be researching if the consumers experiences towards these type of ads are positive or negative. Advertisers should use creativity to gain attention and spread their message through social outlets because that is the best way to reach a wider audience. If consumers need to be given more then 30 seconds worth of information, then its almost mandatory for the ad to be creative and engaging because most people will loose interest fast. In addition, I will be examining how online ads as opposed to  T.V. ads differ from each other in terms of consumer behaviors. Are people more likely to close an ad on the web as opposed to turning the channel on the television or radio stations. The essay will also cover how larger brands such as Harley Davidson and Red Bull have managed to engage with the audience through the events and activities they hold annually. 

Interrupting Advertisement

Advertisements have made their way into almost all of the media we consume and the way they get our attention is usually by abruptly interrupting our TV shows and pausing our radio station while we are enjoying the music. Instead of interrupting the viewers, I think that the advertisers need to find creative ways of drawing in viewers so that they want to watch it and allowing them to share it with their friends because they choose to. For instance, this ad for DermaBlend tattoo primer draws the curious consumers in while showing off the products features.

Both creativity and productivity is what makes a brand or product ad stand out not by bluntly throwing your product at the consumer and expecting any good results. In fact, many advertisers have had a bad reputation for being obtrusive and failed in communicating their message because viewers are becoming more aware of and are avoiding being subject to advertisements and would rather pay a fee to remove them completely.

The growing number of people adopting subscription services such as Pandora and Spotify are pushing abrupt advertisements in between songs which some think is unfair but they do offer a paid version of the service with fewer interruptions.

Skype, another service used by millions of people all around the world each day will be adding more and more advertisements in the middle of peoples conversations, successfully disrupting the callers. In a report from arc-technica, the ads are set to appear during Skype-to-Skype audio calls for users of the Skype for Windows client. It will only be targeted at non-paying users, those without Skype Credit or subscriptions, the company said. Skype promised there would be no degradation of call quality. "Skype call quality will remain the same. Ads will be silent, non-expanding and run after we've completed our regular detailed quality checks on your connection," the company said. I think that its only a matter of time before our own conversations will be paused for an advertisement with audio appears. My only concern is that there will no longer be any room for creative advertisements if all of the companies are pushing for instant/immediate advertisements that just yell at you until you are sick of hearing about it.

"Bring the Typewriter Back"

In order to bring the typewriter back into the homes of the not so tech friendly older generation of people, we need to tap into the nostalgic memories they had while using a typewriter and how the seemingly simple and distraction free device that once helped them achieve their goals along time ago can still get the job done. For us to achieve this turnaround, we have decided to use print ads, a television commercial as well as a radio broadcast.

Print: 

For our print advertisement we would have a man at his desk focused and diligently typing away with his typewriter and he has accumulated a huge stack of pages full of writing next to him while his wife is distracted and struggling to get any of her writing done while sitting on the couch on her laptop. Below is a rough illustration I put together of what the ad might look like.

Commercial:

The television commercial will follow a now successful older author that has a severe case of writers block and in his struggle, he decides to go  back to his old office from which he wrote his first successful book and finds his typewriter under a desk. He pulls it out and dusts it off, then puts a piece of paper inside then suddenly finds the inspiration he was looking for and it fades out with the noise of the typewriter.

Radio:

The radio ad will have a narrator talking about how the typewriter is so simple and distraction free, a blank canvas of sorts while the sound of the typewriter keys are in the background. In addition, we could have a 50's jingle such as an Elvis Presley song at the end to bring a sense of nostalgia to the older audience.

Print Ads

       Here are some notable print adverts I have come across. First is the STIHL print campaign from Australia, which is a garden power tool company that has set its focus on getting people away from their digital media and back into the outdoors. STIHL tools allow you to reclaim this nostalgic place that we have all seemingly left for the tweeting on social networks. The company has really targeted the joke to those of the younger demographic because more likely than not elderly viewers might not get the ad while flipping through a magazine. 

Second, is from the London Olympics when New Zealand matched its best-ever haul of metals and the proud sponsor Weet-Bix ran this full page cleverly worded press ad to remind the world that the athletes achieved their victories with the help of their breakfast. This print ad has great use of texture and the headline does stand out.

Lastly is an ad by Sony France, which has issued an advert that compares the handheld console, PlayStation Vita to a woman with 4 breasts. 
The advert shows the woman with 4 breasts alongside the slogan “Touch both sides. Twice the sensations” in French. It is of course alluding to the Vita’s front touchscreen panel and rear touch panel and is a somewhat desperate attempt by Sony to tackle the lower than expected sales of the Vita some believe. With respect to the art director involved in this particular print ad, I think that they could have gone with a more subtle description of the "sensation" we get from touching the screens.  However, the advert ran in several magazines and was posted online by several other sites. Those who were unimpressed with the advert took to social networks and Twitter to criticize it, one user said that it was a “disgusting marketing campaign” whereas another said that Sony had “time-slipped into the 1970's”! Whether or not this was an attempt by Sony to stir up controversy in the inter-webs is unknown but I think that Sony has done a great job with this print ad and having owned this particular product, I am glad to see it get the attention it deserves. A touch panel on the back is a really unique feature in my opinion.

Nostalgic Brands

Walt Disney is best known for the products of its film studio that mostly appeal to a younger audience. However, with there recent re-releasing of old Disney movies in 3D and the whole "Disney Vault" campaign have audiences rethinking who exactly is the target of the brand. In fact, it makes me wonder if Disney's target audience are the children who watch them or the adults who saw them as kids and want to revisit their fond memories.

Disney is one of those great nostalgia brands, I know for me when I see that palace in a Disney film's credits I feel like I am 6 years old all over again. What Disney have started doing by re-releasing such films as Beauty and the Beast (1991) in 3D, is that they are really reaching out to those who watched that film as children when it was first released. To see recycled Disney films still shown in theaters having success is astonishing and one of the reasons are successful is because they are appealing to the "grown up kids" with the feeling of revisiting there childhood along with the stories we loved as children while at the same time appealing to the younger generation with the 3D computer animation (PIXAR) which is entertaining for them.


In there Disney Vault campaign, the company has cleverly decided to seize the release of films such as "The Little mermaid", 'Lion King", "Beauty and the Beast", "Snow White","Pinocchio" so that they can be released in a few years. Disney says they do this to keep the movies fresh for a new generation, but it seems to me that by locking up there product away from the public, it will cause people to either completely forget about them or pass on those kids that haven't seen it yet and by the time Disney release them once again, they will have them because they grew up already. On the other hand, since they have many other new material coming out all the time, I think that the company can afford to do this and it almost seems like an investment or safety net just in case some of there new material isn't working out so well they can just go back to the vault and release that old content that is sure to bring back viewers. Some of the major disadvantages are that the vault doesn't make the films any more valuable, that it is pointless to attempt to lock something away when it is available online through legal avenues and most of all that if the films are broadcast on television, the whole idea of a limited-release vault seems pointless.

Overall, I think that Disney has successfully revived their brand by tapping into our existing memories and people have accepted and revisited the brand for the sense of nostalgia that it brings. In addition, I think that in an attempt to compensate for there overdose of new material and changing art, Disney have latched on to the idea that we long for and return to things that are stable and familiar. However, Disney really ought to re-think the limited-release strategy that they've branded as the Disney Vault because in this day and age, if people want to see the content, they will see it regardless.

Brand Communities/ Loyalty

I believe that brand communities like Harley-Davidson have in fact been greatly involved with the brand, and the reason being is that the more they are around the Harley-Davidson brand, the more it is discussed and new products will be desired by these communities no matter what. For instance, when a new android phone hits the market, the first people who order it are usually those loyal fans that have been talking about it on the forums or web pages of the internet community. I think that the fact that the Posse Ride is not regulated by the company employees but the riders themselves automatically gives a sense of freedom and carefree riding among the community. This strategy also helps to improve rider satisfaction by setting goals and checkpoints to achieve throughout the journey. It seems much more intuitive to let the riders enjoy the ride without being too involved because bombarding the consumer with constant regulations can easily make the experience stale. Create your own custom Harley-Davidson and compete with others to see who has the most unique design then encouraging riders to  share there unique designs with the community or even allow the customers to have input on what there newest model bike design should look like. Brand loyalty plays a large role in successful companies like Apple because some consumers have built an image which they feel is almost never going to fail and will support any product the companies makes (apple-fanboys / iSheep) no matter what it is or how good the competition is.

The sad thing is that people would actually this.

Coke Zero

I think that this was an example of deceptive advertisement used by the Coca Cola company and that they could have been more straight forward in there blog and didn't give the consumer enough information about the source of the campaign. I think that many other companies have positioned their product as "diet" instead of "low calorie" successfully but I think that "diet" drinks In North America have a preconceived notion that they have some sort of aftertaste which could take away from the overall perception of the product.

I think that this technique of a "fake blog" was superfluous and that the ad campaign would of had a more positive reaction from consumers with a more authentic ad campaign and this was a leap of faith that didn't really have as many positive outcomes as they might have thought or hoped for.

As a consumer, I know that there are advertisements out there that have backfired on a company and actually lost potential customers. For example, Apple's now removed 'Genius' TV ad campaign included three ads that aired during the Olympic Games London 2012 opening ceremony and received a very mixed reception. It portrayed the customer as clueless and in a way insulted the customer which made it unpopular with consumers, it was also seen as a very low point in the companies marketing and that is probably why Apple removed them completely. In general, when a company uses an advertising technique that doesn't work or is received with negative feedback, that it is the responsibility of the company to learn from that mistake and improve without having to resort to 'fake blogs' or insulting the consumer.

Bike Lanes

With the recent fall of the economy the rate of growth in bike commuting has risen dramatically. Many people who commute to work or school have used or seen a bike lane on the side of the street. As a frequent bicyclist, I have noticed that many cities including San Jose have not enforced mandatory bike lanes for all of the main roads and intersections used by bicyclists. Some of the benefits for having bike lanes include; a decrease in sidewalk riding; lower rate of wrong-way riding, as well as an increase in helmet usage. Out of the 70 largest U.S. Cities that have "Bike Commuters", San Francisco and Oakland are in the top 5. Downtown San Jose is full of students that commute daily and an increase in bike lanes will not only make it safer for the students, but it will also encourage others to ride which has obvious benefits (reduced pollution, healthier alternative). In addition, Drivers don't have to "Share the Road" and look out for any potential riders if there is a dedicated lane for bicyclists which they know to stay off of.

In August of 2010 San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom implemented a city wide campaign which would add 31 miles to the existing 48 miles of bike lanes in the City, an increase of 64 percent. I feel like the improvements have not continued since then and San Francisco's current mayor, Mayor Edwin M. Lee as well as San Jose's Mayor Chuck Reed have not done enough about this issue.

Stereotypes: Race

The topic of race hasn't always been sensitive issue in the media. In the past, using racism in advertising was an acceptable marketing strategy. Today, standards have changed yet it's not too difficult to find traces of racist attitudes in commercials and pictures.

Few races have been joked more about for their accent than people of Indian decent. The stereotype that all Indian people are tech supporters and speak with amusing accents is well known in our society. Advertisers have used this stereotype to add comedic value to their campaigns. For example, MetroPCS's Tech and Talk with Ranjit and Chad are spokesman that answer calls and tell customers about their great service while performing amusing antics. The ad features two middle-aged Indian men with accents dispensing advice on cell phone usage. The joke relies on the notion that Indians are disproportionately employed as tech-help jockeys or in tech-help call centers.

"How in any way is this appropriate? It makes Indians appear stuck in the 80s, in love with distasteful patterns and crappy techno."

"With bellydancers backing two dorky, fast-talking Indian American computer wizards, it's veritably stuffed with flat, racist stereotypes. Counseling a customer stuck in a cell phone contract, the tecchies use the lop-sided language of the third world"

In addition to advertisers, the popular late night show Jimmy Kimmel Live has a recurring segment of the show that outsources the joke-writing to an Indian call center. The segment portrays a group of Indians with relatively thick accents telling jokes on the topics given to them. These stereotypes are not really used to broaden a message but more as a comedic element that people have been exposed to. The general classification, although not really that negative do have their disadvantages when thought of as difficult to communicate with because of an assumed accent. 

Stereotypes: Gender

       

Google Nexus 7

      The topic of gender stereotyping in advertisement has been alive since the start. Advertisers have been known to target a group of individuals with similar characteristics and predetermined roles in order to send there message. As we discussed in class, women have been portrayed in a number of ways since the dawn of advertisements and none so more than the housewife/mother. 

      This ad campaign for Google's new 7 inch tablet demonstrates that this stereotype is alive and well. It portrays a mother and her daughter doing the following:

1.Mother reading a book from the tablet to her child
2.Mother using a recipe from the tablet while she "cooks".
3.Staying at home with her kid
4.Little girl having a tea party
      It is obvious that the company is trying to reach a wider audience with this ad and all of these activities portray a stereotypical stay at home mom/daughter. 

       In addition to the stay at home mom, another ad for the same product portrays a father and son exploring the wild frontier with a little help from their Nexus 7. This version of the ad is much more masculine and 'dirty' and portrays the following:

1.Father and Son backpacking in the forest
2.Father and Son catching frogs
2.Little boy and dinosaurs 
3.Father/Son eating simple hot dog on a stick type of meal
4.Kid getting a bruise on knee

     This ad does confuse me because I thought the whole point of going camping was to get away from all the technology that we use everyday. In my opinion, we should let the wilderness be one of the few places where we can think without a computer helping us.

     However, this ad does have a slight twist in the end as the camera pans out and we find out that they are actually right in their backyard next to their house. Which shows us the lack of 3g/4g connectivity in the product which pretty much eliminates the idea of using this product to the fullest without being next to a wi-fi hotspot. In an article about Google's influence on our lives, one reporter said "we don't think about the technology behind Google's products. We think about how we use it to connect to loved ones, or create special moments. And that's because the advertisements show the technology used in a realistic, albeit corny, way."

    In conclusion, the women are portrayed as clean and stay in doors, as opposed to the men who get dirty and explore the world. I think that this ad campaign has been successful because it does a good job of showing off its products as well as incorporating and involving a large audience (Mother/Daughter/Father/Son). I interpreted this ad campaign in a couple different ways, the Nexus 7 can be used as the ultimate Swiss army knife for the outdoors as well as a culinary tool full of books and information.

Semiotics

Axe,."Attracts Women" 

"The All-American (Tom Brady)"

Semiotics is an important part of advertising, it is what enables us to associate the brands with the messages we decode from them. Perfume, cologne and deodorant companies all use signs, symbols and icons to send there message. For example, a cologne ad portrays the football quarterback Tom Brady riding a Harley and the connotation people have is that he is an "All American". Axe has been known for its sexually explicit ads and here it simply shows cloths drying on a rack, but the ad requires the viewer to complete the meaning and make the necessary turns to give value to the brand which is saying the scent will attract women.

--Brands--

Brands have managed to creep into every crevice of our world without anyone having a say in it. From the clothes we wear to the food we eat. To me, brands are a way of differentiating between those companies that want to have a successful business to those that want to be even more than an iconic figure. For example, Heinz ketchup has dominated the world of condiments and their success has grown so large that they don't even have to try to sell their product like other companies, just remind you to buy it again...

No other ketchup tastes like Heinz because there is no other competition. Furthermore brands make us choose the type of product we buy based on their "quality" when in reality there aren't that many differences.
As Reshma Mohammed pointed out, Ray-Ban sunglasses cost much more than other sunglasses even though they offer the same thing.