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When your CEO calls Brazil his first home, you sometimes end up working on some pretty interesting (read: Portuguese) projects. The project we recently worked on came from Duailibi Petit Zaragoza Propaganda (DPZ) in Sao Paulo, Brazil.
Dream Factory was tasked with not just translating, but migrating the message of a video from Portuguese to English. This resulted in several sessions in the edit bay between Paulo, Jim and Matt going through the video in five second intervals to get the direct translation of what was being said and then deciding exactly what was meant by the translation.
The video was for a program called Instituto Jatobas which visited Pardinho, a town in Sao Paulo, and helped influence the city to be self-sustaining. In the video, the changes made in Pardinho are highlighted and used as an example for what Instituto Jatobas hopes to do in the future for different towns.
A fun and interesting project for sure. If you need help migrating your brand message across different cultures, that is something DFP is certainly experienced in handling. Contact us to talk more about it!
————————————————————————————————————————- The Dream Factory Blog is managed by Matt Ruecker. To ask Matt any questions about what you’ve read here, please send him an email at media@dreamfactoryproductions.com.
AT&T and Verizon are not friends right now. The reason why? This commercial:
As you can tell from the commercial, Verizon has taken a shot at AT&T’s spotty 3G coverage by playing off of the iPhone’s ubiquitous phrase, “There’s an app for that.” The iPhone is of course only available to AT&T subscribers.
So that hurts. The holiday season is fast approaching, and nobody wants to lose market share now. The commercial highlighted a significant problem for iPhone users though, and it’s a problem that hasn’t exactly been a complete mystery in the past. If you don’t live in a major city, your 3G coverage is probably going to be spotty if you are an AT&T/iPhone user.
How should AT&T have responded? Well, they probably should have just waited it out and continued to highlight in their advertising what makes the iPhone the most desirable smart phone available. That’s not what they decided to do, and it’s a decision that could haunt them.
AT&T decided instead to sue Verizon claiming that the commercial misleads consumers into thinking that they won’t get AT&T wireless service in large parts of the country.
Why is this probably a mistake? There’s a number of reasons. First of all, filing a lawsuit tends to bring more attention to the issue. A lot of people are looking at smart phones as holiday gifts, and if they do a little bit of research they’ll likely stumble upon this issue. It’s even more likely now that a lawsuit is involved. Do a Google search for “at&t coverage” and see what comes up. About half of the results are about the AT&T and Verizon dispute.
Another reason to avoid filing a lawsuit is that you could lose and suffer the consequences. In this case, the consequence of losing is belittling your brand image. AT&T claims that the ads mislead consumers into thinking they won’t get AT&T wireless service in large parts of the country, and that might be true. However, the ad makes it very clear that the map comparisons are for 3G coverage. Some people may not understand that there are levels of service beneath 3G available in those areas of the country, so perhaps they are the ones AT&T believes are being mislead. Even if the ads are ruled to be misleading, they definitely do not lie.
This brings to light a third reason to avoid lawsuits (at least in this situation). Perhaps you win the lawsuit. Punishment for false advertising often is to run corrective advertising. Can you imagine what the corrective advertising might say? Here’s my shot at it:
Verizon recently ran a series of ads that may have been misleading to the public. We claimed in these ads that Verizon’s 3G network had better national coverage than AT&T’s. While this is true, it may have lead you to believe that AT&T does not have coverage in large areas of the country. AT&T does have better national coverage than our ads might have let you to believe. It’s just not all 3G coverage, like ours.
Even if AT&T wins the lawsuit, it doesn’t change the fact that their 3G coverage is inferior to Verizon’s. The added attention brought on by the lawsuit also doesn’t help the growing perception that maybe something is wrong with AT&T’s service or coverage that needs to be inspected by the consumer before purchasing a smart phone.
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While writing this blog post I crossed an adage.com article about the same topic. Here’s what they had to say about when is the right time to go for the lawsuit:
When should you sue on a competitive claim?
There really are just two instances that call for the courts, according to Marc Hausman, CEO of Strategic Communications Group. One occurs when a larger player faces a serious competitive threat from an innovative but smaller, less well-financed rival. A suit can stop the latter fast in its track because it doesn’t have the deep pockets to defend itself. Legal action is also warranted when a company wants to call attention to an issue so important that litigation is the only venue that can attract any real mind share.
Legal recourse could also be an option when a brand has to defend its reputation, and wants to make a statement that sends a message not only to customers, but vendors, regulators, and the government, said Scott Sobel, president of Media and Communications Strategies. But avoid suing on an issue that could potentially call attention to your weakness, as AT&T did.
Also be careful not to file a frivolous suit, Mr. Sobel said. “Suing for the sake of suing is a bad idea; it sends a message that you’re litigious, petty and you don’t have the consumers’ interests in mind.”
————————————————————————————————————————- The Dream Factory Blog is managed by Matt Ruecker. To ask Matt any questions about what you’ve read here, please send him an email at media@dreamfactoryproductions.com.
Online monster eBay is partnering with Delta Air Lines in a promotion that will provide free WiFi to passengers on nearly 300 planes for seven days starting on November 24. Passengers on these domestic flights will be given a promotional code that will direct them straight to eBay’s holiday homepage. Of course the plane passengers will be able to browse to other websites and use the WiFi to their hearts’ content, but the first page that everyone will see is eBay’s.
Here are some quick bullet points about why it’s a smart idea:
The seven days that the promotion will run coincide with one of the busiest flying weeks of the year (no doubt due to Thanksgiving travel).
Thanksgiving is, at least in my mind, the official beginning of the holiday season. People will be starting to think about buying gifts for family and friends, and then realize they have the next 3 hours to either get ideas for presents using eBay, or make their purchases in the air.
Because eBay’s page is the first to come up visibility is ensured for everyone using the free service, including people who may not have ever considered using eBay.
Cell phones with Internet capability are so ubiquitous now, and they’re the perfect tools for bored passengers looking to kill some time. People don’t need to have a laptop to be on the Internet while flying anymore, so eBay’s promotion will be used by a ton of people.
This promotion by eBay is being done in order to generate new customers. Involving the passengers rather than just putting an advertisement in the airport terminal was definitely a smooth move, so this promotion gets the SMART stamp of approval.
Plus, I think it would be super cool to say you bought something off eBay while flying in an airplane.
————————————————————————————————————————- The Dream Factory Blog is managed by Matt Ruecker. To ask Matt any questions about what you’ve read here, please send him an email at media@dreamfactoryproductions.com.
Dream Factory CEO Paulo Cigagna recently returned from a brief trip to Canada. While flying all over the place, Paulo got sucked into the same routine we all do. Board the plane, sit down, fidget into a semi-comfortable position, get bored, flip through the Sky Mall.
This was no ordinary Sky Mall, however. This Holiday 2009 edition Sky Mall is different because within its pages is an advertisement created by Dream Factory Productions for Bolt projector phone from client Logic Wireless. Paulo brought a copy back with him to DFP (they’re free to take, I swear) and I chatted with Danielle Fleming who designed the ad. Here’s a link to the ad followed by some of Danielle’s thoughts regarding it:
The ad needed to communicate the phone’s usability and simulate the use of its primary differentiator, that being the phone’s ability to project images and videos onto walls.
We decided that the ad needed to be straight to the point and list the phone’s benefits and features. That’s the best way to get the message across in Sky Mall where attention spans are limited.
When creating the logo for Logic Wireless, I went through a number of different images, but always came back to the owl. This is because owls are a symbol of intelligence, and by extension, logic.
I used blue as the color for the owl and the Bolt name to give the phone a business-like feel. This phone is not just for gadget geeks, but also for businesspeople, so the logo had to reflect that
Things tend to come and go in cycles. Right now there’s a craze for anything and everything having to do with vampires, a fact that can no doubt be attributed to the Twilight books and films. Though it seems every movie, tv show and book coming out now involves vampires in love, in another year or two I’m assuming we will see much, much less of it. Or we will see ultra-violent vampire movies emerge as a backlash to the romantic, pre-teen appeal of Twilight.
Rock music is also a thing guilty of having a cyclical nature. When it gets too happy and smiley, a genre like grunge rears its head in response. When that overstays its welcome, a return to breezier, sunshine-ier music is likely around the corner.
That’s just how things work. And, come to think of it, advertising is a thing, too.
Let’s look at how strategy has changed for advertising in the alcohol industry, because if you saw an ad for a vodka brand five years ago and then saw one today, the message would be completely different. Five years ago, advertising for the non-beer alcohol sector was reflective of a more extravagant culture, obsessed with the idea of sipping fabulous pink cocktails while hopping bars and clubs, an image glamorized by Sex & the City. Ultra-premium brands like Grey Goose and Patron gained market share fairly quickly amid the hoopla, but things are starting to change now.
Blame the economy.
There’s less money to throw around today for most consumers. People are going out less, and bar/club hopping can be more expensive than staying at one spot. Advertising should reflect culture, and when the culture changes the advertising should change, too. Here we are in a recession largely cause by greed, so the advertising for booze brands should try to come off as more workmanlike and less flashy. That’s what’s happening. There has been a backlash against brands like Grey Goose and Patron instigated by the advertising of brands like Ketel One and 1800 Tequila. These two brands – and they’re not the only ones – are pushing this workmanlike image with “be a man” sentiments.
There’s an AdvertisingAge article about this shift in focus for spirits advertising, and it identifies several trends that marketers are trying to capitalize on as people’s purchasing criteria change
Timeless masculinity is comforting during unstable times.
Challenger brands see opportunity.
Consumers are going out less, and staying in more.
Look at these recent tv spots from Ketel One and 1800 Tequila and see if those bullet points ring true.
Looks like guys being guys, or at least how guys picture ourselves in our own minds (check 1). The 1800 Tequila commercial specifically attacks Patron (check 2). Neither advertisement is from a crowded bar or club (check 3). And they’re both gritty to boot, a far cry from the glitz and glamour of five years ago.
The best marketing strategies should always be in tune with what is happening in the world. Trends are important, and not just for vodka and tequila brands. If you’re looking to develop a marketing plan or even just a few ads that are in tune with people of today, venture no further. Visit our website today and give us a call.
————————————————————————————————————————- The Dream Factory Blog is managed by Matt Ruecker. To ask Matt any questions about what you’ve read here, please send him an email at media@dreamfactoryproductions.com.
I read an article this morning from an issues of Advertising Age about a recent trend happening with high school Facebook users. Apparently students are increasingly un-identifying themselves as being in high school. The explanation has something to do with not wanting to put personal information on the site in order to essentially keep secrets from Facebook-savvy moms and dads and other “weird people.”
Oh, high school.
After reading the article, I decided to do a little looking around on the web to see if there were any other current trends or expected future developments with the world’s top social networking site. Here’s what I found instead:
Facebook and Google are at war.
They do not like each other one bit, and the story for why starts back in 2007. Google wanted to make a major investment in Facebook and the company considered it. However, Facebook eventually cancelled and instead cut a deal with Microsoft, arch-nemesis of Google. Microsoft purchased a 1.6 percent stake in the company (which means Facebook is valued at more than a whopping $15 billion), and Google’s bid only served to drive the price up. So in fewer words, Google is not happy.
Facebook never really considered the deal with Google because they apparently don’t care for the folks at Google. “We never liked those guys,” says one former Facebook engineer. “We all had that audacity, ‘Anything Google does, we can do better.’ No one talked about MySpace or the other social networks. We just talked about Google.”
So the two most important Internet companies don’t get along. It’s not unusual for competitive feuds to arise between two companies in the same industry, but the Internet is not really an industry on its own. It’s way to big for that; it can be broken down into parts. Google is a search engine and Facebook is a social network. The two are not directly competing with each other, really. These two companies are so influential when it comes to the Internet, however, that they are both capable of shaping the future of the Web. And that’s why we have a rift, Facebook and Google have different visions of the future for the Internet and they both have their sites set on global online domination.
For the last decade or so, Google’s algorithms have defined the Web and the way we search. I’m not much for math, so I don’t really know what an algorithm is; I just know the people at Google are really, really smart. Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg, however, envisions a more personalized, humanized Web. He sees an online community of friends, coworkers, family and peers who become our primary source of information – just as they are offline. Shades of this are happening now on social networks like Facebook and Twitter. When a news story breaks (the death of Michael Jackson, for instance), Facebook and Twitter disseminate the information just as quickly as television and radio, if not faster. If you want to know what your friends think of a movie, you can update your status in the form of a question and then your peers can respond with an opinion you trust. This vision of a “social graph” is a complete rethinking of how we operate and navigate the world of the Internet.
What does all this have to do with advertising?
Both entities are racing each other to get to the promised land of online brand advertising. Facebook might be closer because of the nature of the website. Personal demographic information for their millions of users is readily available, and that kind of information is not as accessible to Google. Online brand advertising to this point in time has only been sparsely done, and if it’s going to become a viable form of advertising, it’s going to need to be specifically targeted. This of course does not mean Google can be counted out of the running. After all, Facebook hasn’t even begun to make money yet, and Google has the market cornered in search advertising. Search advertising is the little text ads that pop up in your Google searches, and they account for 90 percent of Google’s revenue.
Things could have been different had Facebook and Google started working together. Instead it’s a race to the future between the two. Competition tends to breed the best results in most things, but part of me wishes the minds at Google and Facebook could have just teamed up and created something spectacular together. Oh, well.
At least we get to watch.
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The Dream Factory Blog is managed by Matt Ruecker. To ask Matt any questions about what you’ve read here, please send him an email at media@dreamfactoryproductions.com.
The movie Paranormal Activity has movie goers everywhere scared out of their mind. It’s also got marketers everywhere, especially in Hollywood, watching very closely. Let’s discuss.
First of all, a brief recap of what Paranormal Activity is about (I haven’t seen it yet, so no spoilers) and the story of how it came to be released. The movie is about a couple living in a house that might be haunted. The husband is more skeptical than his wife, so he sets up a video camera to prove to his wife that nothing unusual is happening. He’s wrong, and much, if not all, of the movie’s footage comes from that camera.
The movie was cheap to make ($11,000) and was a hit at some film festivals in 2006. DreamWorks got a hold of the film and from there it fell into the hands of Steven Spielberg. After considering doing a remake of the film with better known actors and a much bigger budget, DreamWorks and Spielberg decided that Paranormal Activity was fine as it was (though director Oren Peli made it shorter and changed the ending before its major release). DreamWorks was purchased by Paramount, and here we are.
Now for the marketing stuff.
When you hear people talking about Paranormal Activity, you’re likely to hear comparisons to Blair Witch Project. These movies are alike because of the low-budget, shaking-camera aesthetic they both utilize, but also because both films have relied on the viral capabilities of the Internet.
Blair Witch came out in 1999 and was one of the first movies to really use the Web to create a word of mouth campaign. The reason it was so successful is because it took complete advantage of the underground/urban legends loving side of the Internet to imply that Blair Witch was an actual documentary. Paranormal Activity is taking a different route.
Visit the studio website for Paranormal Activity. You will notice in the top right hand corner there is a box that says, “Demand it!” When the movie was still new, clicking on this box would take you to a site where you could vote to have Paranormal Activity released in your city. Once a certain amount of votes were established, midnight viewing of the movie would start appearing where you lived. In other words, the power of movie distribution was put in the hands of the audiences.
After voting, the official page gives you the option to “Tweet Your Scream” on Twitter. This feature allowed voters to post a message on Twitter that drives traffic to the Demand It page. After all, if you wanted the movie to be brought to your town, you were going to need more than just your vote. There’s also a Facebook page that includes some information about the movie and links to the Demand it page.
Note: The “Demand it!” button now brings you to a different page. The first 10 theaters to sell out the midnight showing of the movie on October 23 (12:01 AM) will receive a special party. How cool is it that this movie has been out for about a month and is still selling out midnight viewings?!
The buzz created by the idea of consumers demanding the product is definitely worth noting. As you might have guessed, the larger cities garnered the most votes fastest. Larger cities like New York City and Los Angeles tend to house more early adaptors than smaller cities. An early adopter is that friend who had an iPod months before anyone else had even heard of it. They get into new electronics, fashions, restaurants, movies etc. before anyone else and then serve as an influencer. If they like it, they tell people about it and are rewarded by being credited for “discovering” something before the rest of their friends. They are trend setters. When early adopters sink their teeth into something, as they did with Paranormal Activity, everyone else tends to follow suite at their own pace.
Living in a city like Orlando, a little town that thinks it’s bigger than it really is, I’m usually jealous of limited movie releases in big cities. I can see how a lot of other people might also feel this way and have to believe this jealousy is part of what has brought Paranormal Activity from just a handful of theaters across the country to just about every city in the United States. Even if you didn’t vote for it to come to your town, you might be inclined to see what all the fuss is about. I know I’m interested.
Interesting strategy, right? Consider the fact that the movie only cost $11,000 to make and you realize that Paranormal Activity is raking it in at the box office right now. Kudos, Paramount pictures. Let this serve as further proof that a strong strategy can do wonders for a brand/product/service.
Also I heard the movie is pretty good, too. That usually helps.
The Dream Factory Blog is managed by Matt Ruecker. To ask Matt any questions about what you’ve read here, please send him an email at media@dreamfactoryproductions.com.
Andres Goyanes, our CMO here at Dream Factory, is known around the office for not-so-secretly hoping he might still become an astronaut or a rock star (we can all hope, can’t we?). Well, I think it’s safe to add another dream profession to Andres’ list: secret double agent. You see, a few weeks ago an email was sent from Andres’ computer which contained the following list:
The Moscow Rules: A field agent’s guide to staying alive.
Moscow Rule # 1: Assume nothing. Moscow Rule # 2: Murphy is right. Moscow Rule # 3: Never go against your gut; it is your operational antenna. Moscow Rule # 4: Don’t look back; you are never completely alone. Moscow Rule # 5: Everyone is potentially under opposition control. Moscow Rule # 6: Go with the flow, blend in. Moscow Rule # 7: Vary your pattern and stay within your cover. Moscow Rule # 8: Any operation can be aborted. If it feels wrong, it is wrong. Moscow Rule # 9: Maintain a natural pace. Moscow Rule # 10: Lull them into a sense of complacency. Moscow Rule # 11: Build in opportunity, but use it sparingly. Moscow Rule # 12: Float like a butterfly, sting like a bee. Moscow Rule # 13: Don’t harass the opposition. Moscow Rule # 14: There is no limit to a human being’s ability to rationalize the truth. Moscow Rule # 15: Technology will always let you down. Moscow Rule # 16: Pick the time and place for action. Moscow Rule # 17: Keep your options open. Moscow Rule # 18: Once is an accident. Twice is coincidence. Three times is an enemy action.
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In honor of Andres’ desire to juggle his marketing career with his secret agent man aspirations, some of us in the office compiled our own list:
The Factory Rules: An advertiser’s guide to staying alive.
Factory Rule #1: Learn to read your client’s mind.
Factory Rule #2: Ogilvy is right.
Factory Rule #3: Never go against your research; it is the backbone of creativity.
Factory Rule #4: Make the logo bigger.
Factory Rule #5: Everyone is using some form of social media.
Factory Rule #6: Don’t go with the flow. Stand out as best as possible.
Factory Rule #7: Vary your media to stay ahead of the game, but don’t forget the message.
Factory Rule #8: Follow through and complete every objective.
Factory Rule #9: Make the deadline. Always.
Factory Rule #10: Inspire them into action. Complacency is not an option.
Factory Rule #11: Factor in the up-sell, but use it wisely.
Factory Rule #12: Be like a duck. Calm on top, but paddling like hell underneath.
Factory Rule #13: Don’t harass the public.
Factory Rule #14: Don’t lie. It’s wrong and you will get in trouble.
Factory Rule #15: Keep up with new technology.
Factory Rule #16: People, Product, Price, Place, Promotion and Performance.
Factory Rule #17: Keep your mind open.
Factory Rule #18a: Once is an accident. Twice is coincidence. Three times you’re fired. Factory Rule #18b: Once is an accident. Twice is coincidence. Three times is profit.
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Best of luck to any future spies or advertisers out there. Follow these guidelines and you should be alright!
Contributed by Danielle Fleming, Kim Hopf and Matt Ruecker.
In the past month or so, two of our “Chiefs” have traveled to far off lands. CEO Paulo Cigagna stopped by Brazil, and CMO Andres Goyanes kept it in the states when he spent a few days in Boston. What were they up to?
I think it’s time for a recap.
Paulo’s up first. Paulo’s from Sao Paulo, Brazil, so his trip was more like a homecoming of sorts. He undoubtedly spent most of his time catching up with old pals, speaking Portuguese to anyone who would listen and going to Carnival every night. Those are things you do in Brazil, right? Paulo did find time to visit a couple of prominent advertising agencies while he was there though.
First was agency W/Brasil. It was at this agency where Paulo met with Washington Oliveto, Gleidys Salvanha and Ronaldo Gasparini.
Of course they talked about advertising stuff and Brazilian stuff and what have you. Paulo returned to us here at DFP revitalized and excited about his visit.
On to Andres. Mr. CMO came back to us raving about an eco-friendly building in Boston where a friend of his works. The Genzyme Center located in Cambridge, Massachusetts is one of the world’s foremost biotechnology centers with over 900 employees (Genzyme Corporation is home to 10,000 employees worldwide).
The building was designed by a prestigious architecture firm from Germany, is 12 stories high and is one of the most environmentally responsible office buildings ever built in the United States.
Let’s do some bullet points:
Its energy costs are an estimated 42% less than a comparably sized building.
It uses 37% less water than a comparably sized building.
Over 75% of the materials used to build it contain recyclable materials.
Over 90% of the construction waste was recycled during the building process.
Pretty cool stuff. You’ll be able to see this in the pictures below, but the part of the building that Andres seemed most drawn to was the atrium at the entrance the building. The sunlight pours in from the roof of the Genzyme Center and a chandelier of reflective pieces sends the light into different areas of the building, reducing the amount of artificial lighting needed.
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The Dream Factory Blog is managed by Matt Ruecker. To ask Matt any questions about what you’ve read here, please send him an email at media@dreamfactoryproductions.com.
Last night I was watching a college football game between Boise State and Tulsa. The home team must have been Tulsa because I don’t recall seeing Boise State’s signature blue field (really, look at it). Funny I should mention that blue field, because I wanted to talk today about market differentiation, which is creating a distinction in the minds of your consumers that makes your product, brand or service stand out from your competition.
Usually you want that differentiation to have something to do with the quality of your brand/product/service. The blue field was used mostly as a way to grab attention. However, in college football this is a good strategy. It’s hard to steal attention away from the big schools with rich tradition and loyal fan bases. It’s also hard to get the attention of the nation’s top recruiting prospects that typically go to the best schools, especially if your games are not televised. Having a blue field helps to get your games on tv, even if it’s only out of novelty.
Boise State won a lot of those televised games and started working their way up the recruiting ladder. With better athletes on their team they started beating some of those big schools with rich tradition and loyal fan bases. For example, Boise State beat Oklahoma in the 2007 Fiesta Bowl in what is widely considered one of the greatest college football games of all time.
In the 20 years that Boise State has had the “smurf turf,” they’ve gone from a relatively unknown football program to a team that has an outside shot of making it to the national title game every year. When people see the blue field on their tv screens, they no longer stop and watch because it’s so weird to see a blue field (although it is still a bit strange in my opinion), they stop because they know Boise State is playing and Boise State is a good football team.
So maybe the blue field as a point of market differentiation originally had nothing to do with the quality of the football program, but it is definitely synonymous with it now. There is no other field in college football that is blue (or any color other than green for that matter). It would be like if all the fast food restaurants in the world were painted black and white, and one day Matt’s Burger Shack opened with an orange and purple color scheme. Matt’s Shack wouldn’t immediately hurt the fast food titans with rich tradition and loyal eaters, but slowly people would stop in to see what the fuss is about. Make some good food and provide decent service, and eventually my orange and purple color differentiation becomes synonymous with those qualities.
Then the big boys have something to worry about.
If you want to do some marketing/advertising, you better know what sets your products/service/brand apart from your competition. We can help you figure that out and we know how to let people know how you’re different. Contact us today.
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The Dream Factory Blog is managed by Matt Ruecker. To ask Matt any questions about what you’ve read here, please send him an email at media@dreamfactoryproductions.com.
————————————————————————————————————————- The Dream Factory Blog is managed by Matt Ruecker. To ask Matt any questions about what you’ve read here, please send him an email at media@dreamfactoryproductions.com.
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