October 2009

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Monster Mash

October 28, 2009 in Online, Social Networking by Lauren McCabe | No comments

Jib Jab Watch my video: The McCabe’s Monster Mash

 To celebrate Halloween, the creative geniuses at Jib Jab have created a customizeable “Monster Mash” video where users can upload their own photos, become stars of an internet video and then share the end product with their friends. 

This concept has been around for years as Office Max has had their annual “Elf Yourself” videos and Burger King had the “Simpsonize Me” creator to help promote the 2007 Simpson’s movie.  But this is the first time I’ve seen the technology actively collaborate with Facebook to be a part of the creative process. 

Users can connect to their Facebook accounts to upload photos to be used in the video and once the video is complete, can post it to their profile page, their friends’ pages and email it to everyone they know.  For Jib Jab and Facebook, it’s a great way to create buzz and celebrate a fun holiday.  I just hope my brother doesn’t mind that I turned him into a hairy wolfman!

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A Whopper for Windows

October 26, 2009 in Integrated Marketing, International Marketing by Lauren McCabe | 1 comment

 

BK Windows 7 WhopperIn Japan, Microsoft is teaming up with Burger King to introduce Windows 7, the latest update for its ubiquitous operating system.  The move has me scratching my head, but for this technologically advanced country it could be a Whopper of a marketing move.

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From Golden Arches to Olympic Rings

October 25, 2009 in Integrated Marketing, Medill, Sports by Lauren McCabe | No comments

Chicago 2016There are very few people in the world who can say they have a working relationship with President Barack Obama, Oprah Winfrey and Ronald McDonald.  However Mike Roberts, vice chairman of the Chicago 2016 Olympic Bid Committee and former president and chief operating officer of McDonald’s, is one of them. 

As part of our Medill IMC Professional Speaker Series, Roberts discussed the process in presenting Chicago to the International Olympic Committee and the decision to bring President Barack Obama, First Lady Michelle Obama and Oprah Winfrey to Copenhagen for the final IOC vote.  For Roberts, Chicago needed to present itself as a global player who had the backing of the public, major corporate investors and the President.  Roberts’s extensive career at one of the world’s most successful companies certainly made him the right person for the job.  He was able to leverage his business expertise and the relationships he has made over the years.

While Chicago did lose out to Rio to host the 2016 games, Roberts thinks that this is the perfect opportunity for the city to continue branding itself.  Roberts, a self-described “Chicago Guy”, sees the beauty of the lakefront, the diversity of the architecture and the spirit of the people as reasons why he loves this city.  For Roberts, it is now the perfect time for peoeple all over the world to experience that, too.

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Good News for the Dual Brains

October 23, 2009 in Integrated Marketing by Lauren McCabe | No comments

eMarketer Chart

If you’re someone like me, a recent study conducted by King Fish Media may have you cheering.  According to the survey, 86 percent of their corporate respondents said their companies were currently creating or planned to create original content for consumers.  For those of us who can think in terms of business strategy, but also enjoy and have skills in content creation (writing, filmmaking, fingerpainting … whatever), this is great news, especially as we are looking for jobs.

These companies are looking for ways to be more engaged with their consumer.  Marketing is no longer solely about the product or service, but the experience surrounding it.  It’s the perfect time for companies to look at marketing professionals with that creative streak in them to help create those experiences.  As  74 percent of the surveyed companies believe that creative content is more effective than traditional advertising at generating marketing ROI, hiring marketers like us increases revenue and brand appeal.

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Weather with a Chance of Popcorn

October 22, 2009 in Film, Television by Lauren McCabe | No comments

The Weather ChannelToday The Weather Channel announced it will be showing weather-themed films on Friday evenings.  According to the New York Times the series will be called “The Weather Channel presents…”.  The series will start on October 30 with The Perfect Storm starring George Clooney.

The move initially seems kitschy with films like March of the Penguins, Deep Blue Sea and Misery (yes, you read that right) added to the line-up.  But according to The Weather Channel, weather-related news watching tends to drop off on Friday nights.  This may help increase ratings during that daypart.  However, I’d be interested to see how the network reacts if a major weather event takes place at 8:32 pm on a Friday night.  Will Jim Cantore interrupt the drama of Twister with a live report from a wind-blown beach?

I think this idea is pretty clever, but the network may have a difficult time finding an extensive list of movies to air.  The main mission for The Weather Channel is to make sure it can maintain its core competency of providing weather information and not weaken the brand by showing films that are a stretch.

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Mini Upfronts … Right on Your Computer

October 21, 2009 in Integrated Marketing, Online by Lauren McCabe | No comments

LA OfficeThrough a recent posting on the LinkedIn Branded Entertainment group I found The L.A. Office, an agency geared to facilitate conversations between marketing and entertainment professionals.  Primarily, they work on getting sponsors associated with film, television, DVD and video game platforms.  However, The L.A. Office has not only created a business based on partnering brands with entertainment media, but it has also created a social networking community for professionals called The Lounge.  

Part of The Lounge is a weekly Roadshow webinar where entertainment companies give a 45-minute presentation on partnership opportunities they have done and what is available in the future.  Today I sat in on a WebEx presentation by Sandra Szahun, vice president of partnerships at Disney/ABC Domestic Television.  She outlined the upcoming partnership opportunities available for four of its television programs:  Live! with Regis and Kelly, Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?, At the Movies and Legend of the Seeker.  Through this series and The Lounge community, marketing executives can understand more about the programs and decide if their brands are a good fit for the program.  It’s just like a traditional Upfront presentation, but on your computer!

For anyone interested in learning more about marketing partnerships and promotions, I would highly suggest checking The Lounge out.  Plus, throughout the months of October and November, Roadshow webinars are free!

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Domo Attack!

October 20, 2009 in Games, Integrated Marketing by Lauren McCabe | No comments

Domo KunWho is Domo?  This cute, little (Japanese?) character has been popping up everywhere.  I’ve seen him promoted on billboards and coffee cups for 7-Eleven and now just read that he’s be featured on a new series of Nintendo DSi games.  Ok, now I understand the partnership with the convenience store chain.

But, not so fast.  Domo is not being advertised at 7-Eleven because of his new video game release, as you would typically think.  The partnership is just because he is who he is.  In fact, 7-Eleven makes no mention of the video game series in its press release.

To be honest, I really didn’t know who he was before writing today’s post.  But with some research I found that Domo has been exposed to American consumers for quite some time.  He was first introduced in :30 second station ID spots for NHK television back in Japan and then last year he was featured in two-minute shorts on Nickelodeon.  Target even sold Domo Halloween costumes in 2008.

The Domo invasion indicates not only the increased influence of Asian culture in America, but also the revitalization of video game character strength (even if 7-Eleven doesn’t want to acknowledge it).  The gaming industry has seen exponential growth with the introduction of popular gaming consoles (XBox 360, PSP, Wii) and games like RockBand and Guitar Hero.  It is with characters like Domo, Mario & Luigi and Sonic the Hedgehog that will allow the industry to realize additional revenue streams and make a larger attack on the marketing world.

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Tapping Into Paranormal (Online) Activity

October 19, 2009 in Film, Social Networking, word of mouth by Lauren McCabe | No comments

Paranormal Activity Despite seeing Paranormal Activity over a week ago, I still find myself having trouble falling asleep at night, especially after reading articles about this creepy movie.  In this week’s Time magazine, Richard Corliss writes about how this low budget flick (reportedly $11,000) has become a not-so-sleepy hit. 

Instead of giving the film a traditional marketing plan, film distributor Paramount Pictures released the film as a midnight movie in only 13 college town.  In an age of Facebook, Twitter and blogs, that got the buzz going.  But this isn’t a new tactic.  We’ve seen movies in the past being promoted with their MySpace URL at the end of their trailers. 

What Paramount did was take word-of-mouth to the next level.  The studio made word-of-mouth essential.  In order to see the film, audiences need to request it online.  This decreases the studio’s distribution costs and increases the audiences’ percpetion of power. 

Overall, it has created a true pop culture phenomenon.  Cities all across the country, including Evanston, IL and Norfolk, VA, are getting their chance to cover their eyes and scream with their fellow movie-goers because they are talking about it online and in person.  According to Reuters, the movie has grossed $33.7 million in total box office revenue so far, an amazing feat since it’s only been in 800 theaters nationwide.  I wouldn’t be surprised to see this number go higher as we get closer to Halloween … as long as the buzz continues.

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Blogging for Public Broadcasting

October 16, 2009 in Online, Social Networking, Television by Lauren McCabe | No comments

This weekend PBS and NPR will be teaming up with American University’s Center for Social Media for the PublicMediaCamp (PubCamp).  According to its website, PubCamp is an initiative to strengthen the relationship that public broadcasters have with their communities through the creation of collaborative projects. 

As a former employee of PBS, I think an initiative like this is right on.  The beauty of public broadcasting is the connection that each local station has with its community.  Sure, as the marketing lead for school-age children’s programming like WordGirl and Martha Speaks I was sometimes frustrated when implementing  national campaigns since it’s not guaranteed that all PBS stations would use the materials we provided.  However, these stations know their cities best.  What’s good for WETA (Washington, DC) may not be best for KUAT (Tucson, AZ).

Getting local stations to have more direct conversations with their local viewers through social networking is a win for stations and a win for public broadcasting as a whole.  Direct viewer feedback and conversations will not only allow stations to create more targeted messaging about their programs, but also create more successful programming overall.

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Am I Still an “Early Careerist”?

October 15, 2009 in Uncategorized by Lauren McCabe | No comments

Today’s Brandweek article entitled “Value Brands Click with Young Adults” made me realize for the first time that I am leaving the uber-coveted 22-29 age demographic next year.  Although I recently turned 29 last month, I have been wanting to see myself as still being part of the trendsetting “Millennial” generation.  I’m on Facebook.  I Tweet.  I try to learn about all the cool new iPhone apps even though I don’t own an iPhone.  But the article examining J.D. Power and Associates’ latest study reminds me how old I am becoming.

I agree with the overall Twentysomething assessment that while we feel the need to move out in order to move up, there is this constant wanting of stability and familiarity in our careers.  Also, as the article implies – I love Subway, too.  Who doesn’t?

But I guess what is moving me out of the coveted “Millennial” generation and more into my own Generation Y moniker is that I’m more Banana Republic than Old Navy.  I’ve been out there in the post-collegiate working world for six years.  I have money in a Roth IRA and a couple company sponsored 401Ks.  Plus, at 29 I don’t know if moving back in with my parents is an ideal move.  I couldn’t do it at 22, never mind now. 

However, with the job search still underway and graduation looming (December 12, for any recruiters taking note), my old bedroom in Bayonne, New Jersey may be waiting for me.

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