Integrated Marketing

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What’s in Your Wallet?

April 28, 2010 in Integrated Marketing, Online by Lauren McCabe | 1 comment

 

CardlyticsThat VISA or MasterCard in your pocket may not just help you to buy those cute little sandals from Macy’s or make a quick run for office supplies at your nearest Staples store.  Your credit card, along with the help of a company called Cardlytics and its marketing partners, may also earn you some extra money.

The Cardlytics system is based on tracking purchasing data and then offering you, the consumer, special discounts based on what you buy – kind of like using your loyalty card at the supermarket or convenience store.  According to a recent article in AdAge, Cardlytics has signed up with a wide range of companies to offer special discounts to customers directly on their credit card statements.  For example, if you purchase a Big Mac from McDonald’s, then on your next credit card statement where you see that purchase transaction listed, you’ll also see an offer for 10% cash back on your next purchase.  In order to redeem the offer, you just need to activate the reward online and the next time you use the same credit card at a McDonald’s, the offer is automatically applied.

There are some critics that say that the Cardlytics program is an invasion of privacy since it tracks what you buy, from where and how often.  However, if you think about it, it’s no different than the loyalty programs that retailers like Safeway, Best Buy and CVS have been using for years – just without the coupons and loyalty card you usually keep on your keychain.

In my opinion, data systems like these are the key in creating more effective and personalized marketing messages.  It will not only enable marketers to reach the customers that are of value to them, but also help consumers hear about the products they want and help save some money at the same time.

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Retail’s Innovative Cheat Sheet

March 11, 2010 in Integrated Marketing, Mobile, Online, Outdoor, Product Development, Social Networking, Television, word of mouth by Lauren McCabe | No comments

The Retail Innovation and Marketing ConferenceThanks to my experience working with Best Buy last summer, I’ve been able to discover how I can use my passion for media to market companies and products that one would not normally consider “media” entities.  As the market is currently seeing with the creation of the Pepsi Refresh Project and the millions of iPhone applications and Facebook fan pages as examples, marketers are looking to expand their brands not only with their products, but also with entertaining and informative content.  I feel this is truly the future of marketing and communications.

Apparently I’m not alone.  Last week the National Retail Federation held its inaugural Retail Innovation and Marketing Conference in San Francisco.  For anyone who wasn’t able to attend (myself included), they have posted the most amazing blog that shares the highlights of the conference and the little golden nuggets of information shared by some of the industry’s most connected and digitally-savvy professionals.

It’s truly a valuable resource for anyone wanting to learn what’s going on in the industry, but can’t pay the conference fee.  (Me again!)  Enjoy!

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The Proof is in the Pudding

March 5, 2010 in Integrated Marketing, Online, Social Networking by Lauren McCabe | No comments

Earlier this week I wrote a post discussing the question that so many marketers are asking: How do you monetize social networking?  Well, in this month’s Harvard Business Review, Utpal M. Dholakia, an associate professor of marketing at Rice University’s Jones Graduate School of Business, describes an experiment he did with local Houston-based bakery Dessert Gallery on Facebook.  Yummmmm!!  (Ok, it wasn’t a taste test.)

Professor Dholakia discusses how he used Dessert Gallery customer survey responses to determine whether or not promoting the bakery chain on Facebook caused great interaction with customers and, ultimately, greater income.  According to the article, people who replied to the survey and who had also become Facebook fans with the bakery wound up being Dessert Gallery’s best customers.  “Though they spent the same amount of money per visit, they increased their store visits per month after becoming Facebook fans and generated more positive word of mouth than nonfans. They went to DG 20% more often than nonfans and gave the store the highest share of their overall dining-out dollars. They were the most likely to recommend DG to friends.”

Using a net promoter score, Professor Dholakia was able to identify Dessert Gallery’s most valuable customers.  This gives the bakery the information it needs to know which customers will be the greatest return on their marketing investment.  While the article points out that further surveying is needed to determine whether this response continues and can lead to long-term decision making, it does show how connecting with customers where they can be talking about your product can absolutely lead to greater business success. 

Sure, being on Facebook and any other social network is an investment of time, but it’s also free.  That tastes good to me!

 

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It’s Hip to Be Square

February 27, 2010 in Games, Integrated Marketing, Mobile, Online, Social Networking by Lauren McCabe | No comments

FoursquareI am the “Mayor” of the Evanston Athletic Club here in Evanston, IL.  Never heard of me?  Well, you must not be one of the hundreds of thousands of people playing Foursquare.  Ok, even if you are, you probably still don’t know me, but if you are a marketer for Chicago Athletic Clubs, Lululemon, Nike, Les Mills Group Fitness Programs or any other fitness-oriented organization you should know me.

Why?  Well, as the “Mayor” of the Evanston Athletic Club, I’m self-identifying myself as the most frequent user of the gym through the mobile location-based-service (LBS) Foursquare.  I’m pretty much giving you information on where I’m going, how often and who I’m meeting up with.  That’s the beauty of LBS platforms like Foursquare.  It’s a consumer data oasis.  All it needs now is more people buying in.

I first learned about Foursquare last year at the MBA Media and Entertainment Conference at Columbia University.  Even after being one of Dennis Crowley’s first followers it did take me almost a year to really get into it.  What did I need?  More friends participating!  But now many of my friends, especially from my Medill IMC program, are getting into it.  And we’re not alone.

Already there are more people using Foursquare in the first year of its inception than what Twitter had on its first birthday.  Plus, A number of marketers like Pepsi, Bravo TV and Zagat guides are already jumping on the bandwagon by using the platform to reach the early adapters.  These marketers are reaching out to users when they “check in” to offer free samples of products and tune-in reminders.  For example, to promote the new movie Valentine’s Day, Warner Brothers reached out to Foursquare users who had checked in at one of ”Makeout Spots” locations listed on the movie’s website.

It’s examples like this that show how much of a gold mine Foursquare can be for marketers.  You are reaching an already engaged and interested fan.  The price of a coupon you can send to that person’s mobile phone is so worth acquiring that person’s loyalty. 

I’m still going to go to the Evanston Athletic Club to work out (I’ve signed a contract), but it wouldn’t hurt getting an occassional free massage or a free pair of yoga pants from Lululemon. (HINT! HINT!)

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Coca-”Cool”-a

February 3, 2010 in Integrated Marketing by Lauren McCabe | No comments

Coca ColaSoft drink giant Coca-Cola is collaborating with advertising agency Ogilvy to engage with teens through branded media.  Part of this year’s MIPTV Content 360 Challenge, Coca-Cola will award a 1,000 euro development contract to whoever can come up with the most innovative tv show, web series, mobile app, game, etc that gets kids engaged with the brand.

The MIPTV conference has been hosting this contest for the past five years and Coke certainly isn’t the first major corporation to get involved.  But what it shows is how marketers are continuing to think outside the box to get their brand and their product in the hands of potential customers.  Plus, it allows advertising agencies like Ogilvy to come up with new ideas without the expense of hiring new talent (not sure how I feel about that argument right now). 

 

If you are interested in entering the contest, just go to http://www.mipworld.com/en/MIPTV/conferences-and-events/content-360/

Good luck!

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Should I Give to Myself?

January 28, 2010 in Integrated Marketing, Online by Lauren McCabe | No comments

 

DNC State of the Union Email

Since taking a database marketing models class last year as part of my masters program, I have been very aware of data hygiene issues, especially as it pertains to direct marketing initiatives.  The email I received this morning from “President Obama”, ok, really the Democratic National Committee, clearly demonstrates the need for marketers to reach specific targets, not just everyone in your mailing list.

I signed up to recieve emails from the DNC during Sen. Barack Obama’s historical presidential election campaign.  They know I was interested in change and a new political leadership in the White House.  However, what they should also know about me is that I am part of the middle class that “the President” is looking to help by asking supporters to contribute $15.   Well, I’m one of those members of the middle class who needs to keep her $15 to help pay off my students loans, find a job and become a more productive member of society. 

I was deeply moved by what President Obama had to say in last night’s State of the Union address, especially during those last five minutes.  However, the Democratic party’s follow-up has left me with a bitter unhygenic taste in my mouth.

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Shake Your Booty for a Great Cause

January 20, 2010 in Integrated Marketing by Lauren McCabe | No comments

Chicago Dance Marathon

For the past couple of months I’ve been working to help kick off the first ever Chicago Dance Marathon.  It’s been a great opportunity to make new friends, become part of the Chicago community and help a great cause – Chicago’s Childrens’ Memorial Hospital.

On March 6, we’ll be dancing for 13.1 hours to raise money that will help purchase medical supplies, equipment and fun games and activity materials for the infants, children and teens who find themselves in the hospital.

Our integrated ad campaign just hit Chicago with ads in CTA trains and at stations, local radio spots, flyers at local businesses and, of course, a multitude of events to take part in to help raise awareness of this great event.  Here is a schedule of some of the events already planned by the committee:

  • Tuesday, January 26:  Wine Tasting at Quartino presented by the Players Sports Group from 6:30 to 9:00 pm

 

  • Saturday, February 6: $30 Wristband Night at STATE from 9 pm to 12 am ($10 of each wristband sold goes to Chicago Dance Marathon)

 

I hope to see you there!

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Marketing Touchdowns?

December 30, 2009 in Integrated Marketing, Sports by Lauren McCabe | No comments

Pacific Life Holiday BowlMy beloved Arizona Wildcats are facing the Nebraska Cornhuskers tonight in this year’s Pacific Life Holiday Bowl.  The Cats won this bowl and beat the same opponent back in 1998 when I was a freshman at the UA.  In honor of the only bowl game I really care about, today’s post is about the corporate sponsorships surrounding the college bowl series.

For anyone watching the bowl games for personal or financial (yes, that means you office pool pickers) reasons, you can’t help but notice that every bowl game has a sponsoring company name in its title.  These deals are big bucks for the schools that play as it has created more bowl opportunities in recent years, but it is also an easy way for businesses to get their names in front of the millions of football fans watching the games.  But, sometimes you have to wonder if the San Diego County Credit Union really gets anything out of sponsoring the San Diego County Credit Union Poinsettia Bowl other than fans rolling their eyes or ESPN’s Chris Berman tripping over his tongue while trying to say the game’s name.

U.S. News and World Report’s Rick Newman shared his thoughts earlier this month in an article entitled “The Worst College Bowl Sponsors.”  Some of Rick’s points are spot on.  I agree that Tostitos is a natural fit to sponsor the Fiesta Bowl, especially as I’m eating those tasty chips with salsa while watching the big game.  But why not the PapaJohns.com Bowl?  I could easily be trading those chips in for a nice slice of veggie pizza I ordered over the internet.  His argument is not consistent here.  But the main point I agree on is that there are sponsors in these bowls that have nothing to do with football.  Their brands do not fit in with the sport, its players, the fans and the game’s excitement.  Companies, especially financial ones like the San Diego County Credit Union, Citi Bank and GMAC, could easily find something better and more relevant to do with their money.

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Advantage: Data

December 23, 2009 in Integrated Marketing, Medill, Online, Television by Lauren McCabe | No comments

Like a tennis match, the debate over the DVR’s place in television watch as been going back and forth for the past couple of years.  But now that, according to Nielsen, one in three household uses a DVR (including  TiVo and those provided by your cable company), its importance in measurement and actual content production is even higher.

This past quarter I had the opportunity to work on a project for Cisco Systems as part of my Entertainment Marketing class at Medill.  Due to the non-disclosure agreement I signed I can’t go into  much of the data details, but what I can say is that  having  data from individual DVR devices and cable set-top boxes will revolutionize what we watch, how we watch and when we find out what’s out there to entertain us.

As owners of Scientific Atlanta,  a leader in cable box devices, Cisco provided us with actual household data from one of its cable hubs in order to create new online marketing and content creation to supplement on-air programming.  The data set my group obtained contained hundreds of thousands of data points that told us what channels were watched, for how long and at what time of day.  That’s a lot of great information for a marketer and a programmer.

With Comcast’s recent joint venture with NBC Universal highlighted in a recent article in Entertainment Weekly, it’s safe to say that media companies know that the power is in the pushes – from the remote control and DVR that is.  Sure, it’s a little Big Brother is watching, but what data like this will do is provide viewers with new programs and new ways to watch it – according to what they are actually doing now.  In my opinion, it will make for better television and entertainment experiences.  Game.  Set.  Match.

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Medill IMC Graduation

December 16, 2009 in Integrated Marketing, Medill by Lauren McCabe | No comments

Medill IMC Graduates: Don and Liz Wortley with MeI am pleased to announce that I am a graduate of Northwestern University’s Integrated Marketing Communications masters program.  On Saturday, December 12 I received my degree with concentrations in Brand & Advertising Strategy (Global Emphasis) and Direct & Interactive Marketing Communications.  I also received a certificate in Media Management from The Media Management Center and the Kellogg School of Management.

Over the next couple of weeks, I’m going to recap some of the projects I worked on during course of my studies so that you can get a better understanding of the work that I have done as well as the clients that I had the opportunity to work with.  Enjoy!

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