• Home
  • About
  • Archives
  • Our Book
  • Contact

Advertising in a Pandemic…

April 20, 2020 by Joe Cannon Leave a Comment

A few weeks ago we posted on a couple of articles discussing the question about how to advertise in a pandemic. This week, I thought I would share some favorite advertising that directly addresses the pandemic. It is amazing how quickly some brands (and their agencies) have created powerful ads in a short time.

Check out these ads (links to a YouTube video of the ad you can watch and show your students):

  • McDonald’s: Unskippable Ad is a handwashing reminder that runs pre-roll (before online video). While such ads are usually skippable after 5 seconds, this one cannot be skipped. It was part of a McDonald’s Russia campaign “We are for safety. With both hands.” The ad educates while also letting everyone know that McDonald’s is a safe option.
  • The Ohio Department of Health created “Flatten the Curve” to educate Ohioans (and others) the theory behind social distancing. A great example of how a short video can communicate a great deal. It is also a nice example of Marketing for a Better World (#M4BW). This simple video communicates a lot.
  • Nike: Play for the World, You Can’t Stop Us shows Nike athletes and everyday people who are still playing — though now indoors. Nike has long used its advertising to encourage us to “Just do it” or get out and play. This ad fits the times.
  • Dove has long been a leader (that link shows they have been doing it for more than 15 years!) in re-defining beauty. In a pandemic, they show some “beautiful” front-line healthcare workers in “Courage is Beautiful.” Great fit with its image. Authentic. But maybe uplifting for some of our students who are struggling with the current situation.

Filed Under: #M4BW, Advertising, Chapter 13, Chapter 15, Chapter 16, Promotion

Marketing Communications in a Pandemic…

April 3, 2020 by Joe Cannon Leave a Comment

What does a brand do in a pandemic? Marketing managers all over the world are trying to figure out how to manage their brand in the pandemic that is Covid-19.

This might be an interesting discussion to have in your marketing class — it is certainly timely. Here are a couple of short articles (4 minute and 7 minute reads) recently published by Fast Company that try to explain how some brands are approaching this moment–and how they are communicating with customers.

In “Why every brand you’ve ever bought something from is sending you coronavirus emails” (March 20, 2020) you can read what some brands are writing to their customers. The article notes three types of emails. Some are helpful, letting you know how its service might be changing because of the virus. The second type is the “brand friend” that maybe tries to reach out with the “we’re all in this together” type of communication. Finally, the last type is more random and makes you wonder why it was sent out. The article goes on to discuss the right way to send emails. I think you can tie this into Chapter 13’s promotion objectives and perhaps link it to a discussion of ethical communication. You might also want to talk about how to use different media (social media, email, advertising) and what might be the advantages and disadvantages of each. With brand managers struggling with this issue, it might be an interesting exercise getting your students critically thinking about it as well.

In the second article,”‘We’re all in this together’? Why brands have so little to say in the pandemic,“(March 30, 2020), the same author as the article above provides a similar categorization of advertising. With links to some of the ads, it might make an interesting topic to discuss — and then to show some of the better (and worse) examples. Nice tie to Chapter 15.

 

Filed Under: Chapter 13, Chapter 15, Chapter 16, Integrated marketing communications, Promotion

Adweek’s “The 25 Best Ads of 2019”

January 30, 2020 by Joe Cannon Leave a Comment

Earlier this week I posted a list of the “8 Best Brand Moments of 2019” from CMO by Adobe. Today, I have Adweek‘s “The 25 Best Ads of 2019” (I am not sure if you will have to sign up to get access — but you should not have to subscribe because I don’t but I do get 5 free articles per month). Once again, an expert identifying a bunch of great examples. Of course advertising examples can fit anywhere (the McDonalds ad below could add to our Place Chapters 10, 11, or 12), but work particularly well to demonstrate positioning (Chapter 4), segmentation (Chapter 4), branding (Chapter 8), Promotion (Chapters 13 and 15). Check out the full list.

I love this commercial for Jif Peanut Butter…

And of course McDonalds always has great advertising campaigns…

Filed Under: Advertising, Chapter 04, Chapter 08, Chapter 13, Chapter 15

“8 Best Brand Moments from 2019” (including some good #M4BW examples)

January 27, 2020 by Joe Cannon Leave a Comment

It’s that time of year when “best of” lists come around. I enjoy these lists because an expert (hopefully) pulls together some great marketing examples from the last year. The result is “brand storytelling [examples]… from the deadly serious to the seriously silly.” The list includes a bunch of examples that slipped past me–maybe I am not the target market, but it looks like our students often were. So check out “8 Best Brand Moments from 2019” (CMO by Adobe), where you can learn more about fascinating campaigns from Gillette, Taco Bell, Volvo, Nike, IKEA, P&G, Adobe, and Wendy’s — most of which have pretty cool videos you could show in class to stimulate laughter and/or discussion.

To whet your appetite, I am posting the Volvo video, “The EVA Initiative: Equal Vehicles for All” (#M4BW) below:

Filed Under: #M4BW, Chapter 08, Chapter 13, Chapter 15, Chapter 16, Video, Viral campaign

More fake reviews at Amazon…

January 9, 2020 by Joe Cannon Leave a Comment

We have talked about the “Gray World of Online Reviews” here at Teach the 4 Ps several times in the past few years–and of course in Essentials of Marketing. I am still shocked at the different unethical techniques used to continue this misleading practice. I am also surprised that Amazon and others that rely on their reviews to (in part) drive traffic have not figured out how to better police such behavior. With all that in mind, here is one more example, “Her Amazon Purchases Are Real. The Reviews Are Fake,” Buzz Feed News, November 20, 2019.

From a personal standpoint, I used to just assume that a product with a few dozen reviews and a 4.5 star (or higher) average was worth buying. I still trust reviews, but I am much more likely to check out a few of the one-start and two-star reviews to see if they are the few honest ones. I also believe that fake reviews are eventually sorted out. If those five-start reviews attract buyers — they will also attract frustrated critics who shower the product with one-star reviews.

Filed Under: Chapter 13, Chapter 16, Ethics

  • 1
  • 2
  • 3
  • …
  • 6
  • Next Page »

Categories

  • #M4BW
  • Advertising
  • B2B
  • Chapter 01
  • Chapter 02
  • Chapter 03
  • Chapter 04
  • Chapter 05
  • Chapter 06
  • Chapter 07
  • Chapter 08
  • Chapter 09
  • Chapter 10
  • Chapter 11
  • Chapter 12
  • Chapter 13
  • Chapter 14
  • Chapter 15
  • Chapter 16
  • Chapter 17
  • Chapter 18
  • Chapter 19
  • Competition
  • Consumer behavior
  • Cross-functional
  • Customer service
  • Demographics
  • Ethics
  • External market environment
  • Flip Exercise
  • Integrated marketing communications
  • International
  • Legal
  • Logistics
  • Market research
  • Marketing strategy planning
  • New-product development
  • Place
  • Positioning
  • Price
  • Product
  • Product life cycle
  • Promotion
  • Publicity
  • Retailing
  • Segmentation
  • Selling and Sales Mgmt
  • Service
  • Social media
  • Social responsibility
  • Strategy planning
  • Sustainability
  • Teaching Technology Tips
  • Tips for Teaching
  • Tips for Technology
  • TV Commercial
  • Uncategorized
  • Video
  • Viral campaign
  • What's Now?
  • Word-of-mouth

Archives

  • June 2020
  • May 2020
  • April 2020
  • March 2020
  • February 2020
  • January 2020
  • December 2019
  • November 2019
  • October 2019
  • September 2019

Copyright © 2021 · Lifestyle Pro Theme on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in