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U.S. automakers are now seeing an upsurge in demand for their vehicles.  But the big three cut production and now dealer inventory is running low.  This video describes the current situation and might work as a short video (1:30) to show when talking about channels, logistics, or even implementation and control (topics covered in chapter 19 in our Basic Marketing book).

The video could also fuel a little discussion of cross-functional business relationships.  I like to use the first few classes to show non-marketing majors why marketing is important to them.  I will probably show this in the first couple of weeks of class and ask:  1) Supply chain and operations majors — how does this show why marketing is important to you guys? (the links here are pretty straightforward) and  2) How about finance majors?  What can you learn?  (They might bring out that cutting production saved costs — but what is the cost of lost sales?).

One of the primary reasons for this blog is to keep you up to date with the latest happenings in marketing — like how marketers are using Facebook.  This short (3:57) video from the Wall Street Journal explains how the “Like” button is working.   While many firms are jumping into the fray, it is not clear if Facebook pages deliver results.  [Also posted at Learn the 4 Ps.]

Here at Teach the 4 Ps we have reported a few times on Old Spice and the wildly successful viral video campaign for Old Spice – “The Man Your Man Could Smell Like.”  See our previous posts “Old Spice Commercial Goes Viral…” (Teach the 4 Ps, March 15, 2010) and “Old Spice Revitalizes the Brand with Trendy Advertisements,” (Teach the 4 Ps, July 5, 2010).

Here is an update — the campaign seems to be working to sell more Old Spice.  We knew the viral videos generated views and now we know that sales of Old Spice are going up as well, see “Old Spice Campaign Smells Like a Sales Success, Too” (Brandweek, July 25, 2010).

Now Old Spice and its star Isaiah Mustafa have stormed to the top of the Ad Age Viral Video chart hitting #1 with almost 3 million views in one week in July (and more than 11 million as of this post).   The latest viral video is more of the same but different.

That could be a nice video to show the first day of class — at least the young women in your class will like it.  You could show one of the Axe ads (search YouTube for ideas) to appeal to some of the young men in your classes.

Looking for some advertising examples to show on that first day of class?  Here are last year’s best according to Cannes.  “The 18 best commercials of 2009-10 as chosen by the Cannes ad festival” (courtesy of Adweek).  We have featured several of these ads over the last year.  I like to show award-winning ads in class and then ask students a series of questions:  1) Do you like the ad?  2)  Why?  3) Is this a good ad?  4)  What makes for a good ad?

Then I like to turn it around and make sure they realize that in the end, great advertising achieves the advertiser’s objectives.  Just because an ad is entertaining, that does not make it a good ad.  You can tie this into the AIDA model as well.   Believe it or not — as I write this I get great support for that proposition.  I just heard a story on Marketplace Morning and after googling it found this story, “Old Spice’s Viral Ads Got Attention, Not Sales” (Time, July 20 2010) — Old Spice won the Cannes Grand Prix Award — generating Attention and maybe Interest — but apparently not any Action. [UPDATE, July 27, 2010:  Never mind this last comment.  Time has also updated its article -- sales of Old Spice are taking off see my more recent post "Old Spice Campaign Smells Like a Sales Success, Too."  [NOTE:  This post is also featured at our companion blog for marketing students - "Learn the 4 Ps".]

Here at Teach the 4 Ps we often highlight stories on the selling power of online reviews and personal recommendations.  Last year’s Nielsen survey on trust showed that we really trust recommendations from people we know.  But how can they leverage that at Facebook.  If Facebook masters it, they will have the keys to a new direction for Promotion.  This recent Wall Street Journal article “Facebook Touts Selling Power of Friendship” (Wall Street Journal, July 7, 2010 – subscription required click here for a back door link, follow the search results).  The video is 6:52 long, but the most interesting stuff for class would be the first 3:30 or so.  It could be assigned to students or shown in class.  You could show it in class and natural discussion opportunities will follow — there are the effectiveness issues and the privacy issues as well.

We have just finished up the next edition of Basic Marketing which includes our take on this transformation and how it fits into teaching the introductory marketing class.  Look for the book in October.

A few months ago, we reported on this great Old Spice video climbing up the viral video charts.  As a follow-up, you can read about the campaign’s success in this USA Today article, “Old Spice revitalizes brand with trendy advertisements” (June 30, 2010).

I just love this ad (1:48) for the Olympus Pen camera — PEN Giant. The stop-motion video useds 355 pictures (taken of course with the Olympus Pen camera) blown up to billboard size and arranged throughout city streets. Very cool. This ad is a follow-up to one the Olympus put together last year – The PEN Story– which is quite different but equally amazing.  I especially like the PEN story because it does a great job promoting photography — I am not sure the PEN Giant (below) does as good of a job there.  It also had more than 2.5 million views.  On the other hand, PEN Giant probably resonates better with the more important young adult market.   What do you think?  What will your students think?

As regular readers of Teach the 4 Ps know, I like to bring non-traditional examples into the classroom.  I think it helps when students realize the different types of problems that good marketing practice can help solve.  This Wall Street Journal article “New Ads Try to Shock Men Into Going to See the Doctor,” (Wall Street Journal, June 15, 2010 – note, the link takes you to a search result that should allow non-subscribers to the Journal to access the article through a back door) and the video below discuss the issue and a new advertising campaign.

[NOTE:  This was originally published a couple weeks ago - but I added a new link and with the World Cup now in full swing, I moved it back to the top of the blog]

As you probably know, the biggest sporting event on the planet starts in just a couple weeks.  And maybe the biggest sporting brand on the planet is not a sponsor (Adidas sponsor the World Cup).   That certainly doesn’t mean that Nike is quietly standing by.  Its new soccer (or should I say football for our non-American readers) ad is a three minute epic that was directed by Alehandro Iñárritu– who has also directed movies “Babel” and “21 Grams.”  Trevor Edwards, Nike VP, earlier this month said the ad was “among the best we’ve ever done.” By the way, the ad, titled “Write the Future,” broke the AdAge viral video first week record with 7.8 million views. Check it out…

ADDED 6-15-10:  Read Seth Stevens’ praise for this ad at Slate.com (June 7, 2010), “The Greatest Ad I’ve Ever Seen.”

Sometimes I like to show students examples of campaigns — showing them for example a print ad, website, Facebook page, and television commercial that all work together to achieve the same or related promotion objectives.   Over at Social Media Today, Matthew Gain, provides a brief overview and critique of a Microsoft campaign to support the launch of its new phone Kin.  You can read about the campaign and link to examples at “Case Study: How Does Microsoft Do Social Media Marketing?” (May 24, 2010).