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Air New Zealand’s creative agency, .99, put together a funny pre-flight video that took off as a viral video.  Within a few hours of posting the video it was the ninth most tweeted about video on Twitter.  It features Richard Simmons — many of our students may wonder who this guy is — so maybe it won’t work in class without a bit of a history lesson (click here for Simmons’ Wikipedia entry to learn or refresh your memory about the fitness guru.).  It could be fun to show in class.

I wondered if the quirky humor fits Air New Zealand’s personality.  I didn’t know much about the airline’s positioning, but one of the “Guiding Principles” at its website indicates:  “Our workplace will be fun, energising, and where everyone can make a difference.”  Their This suggests that the video may fit and reinforce their positioning.  Then I read about the airline’s risque and fun “Nothing to Hide” advertising campaign — featuring real employees in body painted uniforms.  Also posted at Learn the 4 Ps.

OK, we don’t intend to turn this into a Coca Cola blog.  But as I searched around for more information on the “Happiness Machine” (see previous post below), I came upon this great interview at Mashable, “How Coca-Cola Created Its “Happiness Machine” (July 21, 2010).  Meaghan Edelstein interviewed Coke execs and creative folks at Definition 6 the ad agency behind the original “Happiness Machine” on campus at St. John’s University.  The interview is great and filled with useful insights on how Coke and Definition 6:  1) came up with the idea, 2) executed on the idea, 3) put it all together, and 4) got the video to go viral.  What a great classroom exercise — show the video and discuss it in class.  Then give students this additional back story to show how creative ideas are brought to life.

A little more than a year ago, we first reported on Coca Cola’s efforts to creatively deliver happiness from a vending machine on a college campus.  I haven’t noticed any of these viral videos since this time — but apparently there have been about a dozen so far — do a search at YouTube to see more.  This time a truck delivers happiness on the streets of Rio de Janiero.  Also posted at Learn the 4 Ps.

Colgate Max White One excels at getting your teeth white.  So the company created an integrated marketing communications program that positions a woman’s smile (and therefore its whitening toothpaste) as a fashion “Accessory.”  Clever idea — see how they pull it off below.  This short (2:11) video fits nicely as a creative example of positioning and marketing communications in Europe (adding an international dimension) no less.  Also posted at Learn the 4 Ps.

Here it is, the ultimate proof that advertising can work.  Believe it or not, minivans are becoming cool again — and credit is going to some great advertising.   You might have seen the viral video Toyota posted and featured here at Teach the 4 Ps last summer – “Toyota’s ‘The Sienna Family’ Video Catches the Viral Wave,” (June 1, 2010).   Honda’s advertising for the Odyssey soon followed suit.  This article, “Mocked as Uncool, the Minivan Rises Again,” (New York Times, January 3, 2010) describes the madness.

Diesel’s sneakers are not designed for running — they are made for fashion, or as Diesel would say, “for kicking a**.’  This ad sure reinforces that positioning — in a very humorous way.

This TED talk from Dan Cobley links physics concepts like Newton’s second law, thermodynamics, Heisenberg’s uncertainty principle, and more with marketing.  Cobley makes the physics concepts accessible and uses some interesting marketing examples to make his points.  There are lessons for branding, advertising, positioning, and more.  The video, “What physics taught me about marketing: Dan Cobley on TED.com” (TED, August 27, 2010) is only 7:39 — check it out below.

We have always enjoyed how Harvard Business School professor Youngme Moon things.  We have read her articles in the Harvard Business Review and used some of her business cases in our classes.  I am looking forward to reading her new book, Different:  Escaping the Competitive Herd, which is getting great reviews at Amazon.com and over at Bloomberg BusinessWeek “To Hell with the Herd,” (August 12, 2010).  We think breakthrough products come from thinking different and look forward to reading some of Professor Moon’s thoughts on this subject.

I believe that the discussion of a “green premium” makes for a great marketing discussion.  In essence we are trying to teach our students to address target customer needs by designing a marketing mix that addresses customer needs.  We also talk about the importance of differentiation.  This article “Shoppers weigh up green premiums,” (CNN.com, May 4, 2010) includes an example of a shop selling organic produce in London.  The video describes the results of a survey that offers surprising results on the number of people willing to pay a green premium.  I found a bit more on that survey in this article, “UK consumers will pay more for green, but not much more” (Green Wise, September 29, 2009).  A class discussion might also be an opportunity to raise the point (alluded to in the video) about whether attitudes expressed in a survey align with behavior.

This is a great little viral video you might enjoy showing in class.  Our students love rap — and I find that Nike is a favorite brand.  Teh video was made by Wieden + Kennedy’s (ad agency) Tokyo office.  I predict viral success.  The video was just posted to YouTube today.  As of this afternoon there are less than 750 views.  That will not last long.  It might be fun to ask students, “What does Nike get out of efforts like this?”  I believe that it helps position the brand as hip to today’s youth — a good space to be in.