Posts Tagged ‘Branding’

Don’t you dare call me the “Egg McMuffin” of anything !

January 18, 2012

Punch line: In the old days, Cadillac was the badge of excellence.  Calling something the Cadillac of its category was high praise.

Well, Mickey D. wants to fill the void with the Egg McMuffin … suggesting that this breakfast sandwich is somehow synonymous with excellence.

Based on social networking indicators, the idea is getting some traction.

Gotta make you proud to be a marketer …

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Excerpted from adweek.com, “Is This Egg McMuffin Ad the Egg McMuffin of Ads? Breakfast sandwich gets new catchphrase”

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=nn1IGSCp2yI#t=0s

Casting the Egg McMuffin as shorthand for excellence is about as odd as grouping it with healthy foods and casting it as a wholesome dietary choice.

But McDonald’s latest commercial for the breakfast sandwich does just that, starting with a girl telling a guy that he’s “the Egg McMuffin of boyfriends” and proceeding from there.

That phrase has caught on quickly, with the Boston Globe reporting on the adoption of the phrase in social media — used ironically or not — with something like 11,000 tweets and 1,200 Facebook mentions.

Check Twitter for various clever uses. It even made Craigslist, where a New Jersey residence was described as “the Egg McMuffin of 2 BR apts in downtown Hoboken.”

Returning to the ad, my favorite part is the Egg McMuffin of cars bit.

That’s how a friend of mine used to describe his old vehicle because it leaked oil and smelled gross.

click to view the commercial
image

Edit by KJM

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Posted in Mktg - Brands, Mktg - Buzz - Word of Mouth | 1 Comment »

Looks like a hybrid, runs like a hybrid … it’s eAssist.

January 17, 2012

Punch line: Buick is ducking some common perceptions by calling its new LaCrosse hybrid a “LaCrosse with eAssist”.

Excerpted from BrandChannel …

American consumers remain decidedly lukewarm to hybrid vehicles.

Buick is hoping to get around this obstacle by positioning its latest hybrid, a version of the LaCrosse sedan, as a non-hybrid. Instead, GM is touting the “light electrification” system it uses for the car and has come up with a unique brand name for it: “eAssist.”

“When you say ‘hybrid,’ many times that comes with baggage.”

“So for us, the focus was to put an emphasis on the car itself and what this car delivers and how technology enhances the ownership experience.

We’re selling a LaCrosse that happens to have this great [eAssist] technology.”

For example, Buick and its dealers are emphasizing: the quiet ride… and the car’s  “start-stop” capability which halts operation of the engine at stoplights, saving fuel, and then starts it up again when the driver punches the accelerator.

The LaCrosse with eAssist retains a feature that has proven popular with most hybrid purchasers: a screen on the instrument panel that helps them track …  fuel economy.”

The eAssist gauge “is a way for people to show they’ve got something unique, and they can show their friends and families.”

That’ll fool a lot of folks, won’t it?

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DIY Shoppers…..RadioShack is Sorry!

November 23, 2011

TakeAway: RadioShack’s emphasis on  mobility products (aka. cell phones) turned away their core customers – parts & gadget buyers. Now, RadioShack is trying to get these customers back.

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Excerpt from AdAge: “RadioShack’s Journey to Bring Back a Forgotten Customer”

In a candid presentation, RadioShack’s CMO Lee Applbaum described how the marketer abandoned its core do-it-yourself customer, in a bid to embrace mobility.

As the mobility business grew, the “signature” business, which includes things like accessories and power products suffered, falling from 38% of the business in 2009 to 32% in 2010.

Shareholders and analysts took note of decline, considering the category has very high margins, drives frequency and encourages loyalty.

Initially, RadioShack told itself that people just weren’t buying those products anymore.

But, as evidenced by the Wired article and a slew of blog posts, it quickly became clear that wasn’t the case. 

“For all the work around the rebranding, we didn’t spend ample time understanding our customers.”

Once RadioShack acknowledged the problem, it moved quickly to re-establish connections with the DIY shopper.

RadioShack began asking those consumers what they wanted, reaching out via its blog and social media. The response was swift.

A program called “The Great Create” leveraged RadioShack’s roots and attracted 110 million impressions in the first 30 to 45 days.

Edit by ARK

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Dot-com is so yesterday … now, dot-brand is what’s happening.

September 26, 2011

Punch line: You can register a dot-com domain name with GoDaddy for about 10 bucks.

For an additional $184,990, you’ll soon be able to register a “dot-brand” domain name like “.homa”.

Tempting, but I think I’ll wait until the price drops to $19.99

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Excerpted from CnnMoney …

Trusty old Internet addresses we know and love — the .coms, .nets, .orgs — are about to get some new competition.

Way back in 2000, the organization decided to expand the domain-name system. Since then, it has gradually rolled out a handful of new domains, including the controversial .xxx domain that got the green light in March.

ICANN (the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers) – the Global Internet regulator – is finalizing rules for a major expansion of “generic top-level domains,” that will clear the way for new offerings like .law, .coke or .nyc. Sites with those endings are expected to start rolling out late next year.

Experts think dot-brand sites will be a hit with major companies.

“The decision will usher in a new Internet age … a platform for the next generation of creativity and inspiration.”

In addition to marketing benefits, they could help on the security front: HSBC, for example, could tell customers that a purported HSBC site isn’t legitimate unless it ends in .hsbc.

But these benefits don’t come cheaply — or easily. ICANN charges at $185,000 per domain application, which Crawford says typically must include about 150 pages of policy documents.

Technical setup takes another $100,000 or so, he says, and upkeep can cost an additional $100,000 each year.

ICANN is slated to begin reviewing applications in November or December, and says that new domains should roll out in July 2012.

Thanks to MET for feeding the lead.

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