In his 2007 novel Spook Country, William Gibson envisioned a word where virtual art installations were suspended in the real world using GPS coordinates, visible only to those wearing special goggles. Massive astral sculptures loomed in warehouses and recreations of celebrity murders stood on the streets of LA. Today augmented reality (AR) for the masses became a reality thanks to the iPhone and the Paris Metro App: check out the Fast Company article here.
Paris Metro Appliation, from Fast Company
For the uninitiated, augmented reality is a term for a live direct or indirect view of a real-world environment whose elements are supplemented with or augmented by computer-generated imagery. The most familiar example for US audiences is the first down symbol that appears in television broadcasts of football (Wikipedia). The new iPhone application allows users to peer through their camera screen at the surrounding neighborhood and directions to the nearest Paris Metro stop hover like beacons over the landscape.
Early adopters of technology include automakers launching new cars and publishers seeking new and better advertising vehicles. The June 2009 issue of Popular Science featured a cover highlighting GE wind technology that became 3-D and animated when held up to a webcam, using software by Metaio. Here’s a quick profile by Mediapost.
What’s next in AR? Surely retail businesses that depend of foot traffic will jump onboard (Find my Starbucks apps? McDonalds?) How long until personal navigators, worn individually, will replace my Garmin GPS? Will visions of my renovated home stand optimistically on the spot of my fixer-upper? The applications seem limitless. How would you augment your reality? Leave a comment below.
If you’re working in augmented reality, drop me a note!
It is a sign of the times that the two most prominent advertisers on Oscar night, one of the most glamorous nights of the year, were JC Penney and Hyundai. Both brands sought to align with the panache of the event by emphasizing style to a heavily female audience. JC Penney aired six spots promoting new lines of apparel: Allen B., from Allen B. Schwartz; Fabulosity, from Kimora Lee Simmons; and Nicole, from Nicole Miller. Each featured a new tagline “We’re stepping up our style. Style, quality, and price do matter.” New popular designers + good media + value should create a compelling approach to drive consideration among young women. However as an audience of one, the clothes and spots were what I would expect to find at JC Penney since the 1980′s: prints, polyester, and unfortunate denim vests. Girls dancing together for no apparent reason and a young man handing a young woman a flower. Were these outfits truly the best each line had to offer? The one exception was the spot featuring the I heart Ronson line, which felt current, youthful, and did not remind me of every other department store ad. To truly create consideration among those who have not shopped the store in the past, I’d like to see more work like Ronson and less Fabulosity. See the spots here:
Hyundai ran eight spots including a sexy ad featuring the new 2010 Genesis coupe on a track accompanied by music by famed cellist Yo-Yo Ma.
“The medium is part of the message,” said Chris Perry, director of advertising for Hyundai Motor America. “Showing that we belong with the top-tier brands is one of the reasons why we have been advertising in the Super Bowl, and now we are in the Academy Awards.”
The timing and ubiquity of their marketing push is more compelling to me than the shots of the Genesis on the track. In a time when most automakers are scaling back, Hyundai has the resources to invest in advertising (surely getting more bang for their media buck) and are savvy enough to address the uncertainty preventing most consumers from buying a new car this year.
December marked a painful low for the auto industry: the lowest annualized sales in 27 years. Carmakers acknowledged that the job outlook was a key driver: people worried about their jobs simply don’t buy new cars. And in a bit of “chicken and egg,” consumers don’t want to buy from a manufacturer that may not be around next year. For those of you who believe genius emerges from adversity, South Korean automaker Hyundai launched a timely promotion that doesn’t just drive short term sales, but may reposition the brand in the US marketplace.
In the past Hyundai was known as a value brand that broke into the US market with quality and a generous 10-year warranty. A car purchased with head rather than heart. However sentiment may be warming between the automaker and consumers. In early January Hyundai launched its Assurance Program offering customers the ability to return a car without penalty in the event of losing a job. On February 19th, Hyundai launched Assurance Plus, in which the company will cover up to three months of car payments if the customer loses a job and chooses to keep the car while job searching. Check out the Hyundai Assurance Program here.
Will it work? Critics argue the offer will attract those who are most likely to need to return the car, creating an accounting headache worthy of a CFO’s worst nightmare. However Hyundai has just joined a very select group of brands that consumers perceive as truly having their backs, a particular distinction in the category. Hyundai sales rose 14% in January, and they are positioned to overtake Nissan and perhaps even give Honda something to think about.
In sum, kudos to Hyundai for balancing a little bit of glamour on Oscar night with an offer that truly creates consideration, and please promote the creative responsible for the Ronson spot for JC Penney. They’re going to need more non-traditional clothing + creative to get me in the door.
U.S. Market Share by Manufacturer
May 2007 May 2008
GM 23.8% 19.3%
Toyota 17.2 18.4
Ford 16.5 15.4
Chrysler 12.8 10.7
Honda 9.3 12.0
Nissan 6.0 7.2
Hyundai 4.6 5.6
BMW (includes Mini) 2.0 2.3
Volkswagen (includes Audi) 2.0 2.2
Mercedes (includes Smart) 1.4 1.8
Don’t worry, I’m not referring to my own phone number. It’s a line of copy from a brilliant campaign by R/GA and the Ad Council to address dating harassment among teens. While many of us who have teens or young adults in our life are familiar with their dependence on texting and IM, who knew that harassment via texting, constant calling, and IM had become an epidemic? According to a recent article in the New York Times:
one-quarter of teenagers in relationships say they have been called names or harassed by their partner through cellphones and text messages, according to a study commissioned by the clothing company Liz Claiborne, which sponsors antiviolence programs.
Wisely, the campaign aims to educate and allow teens to take action in the medium where the behavior is taking place and that they thrive in: the digital space.That’snotcool.com features videos illustrating scenarios from both points of view in the relationship and Q&As that one might expect from a public service campaign. However the true innovation is in “call out cards”, electronic post cards that one can download, post on social networking sites, or send via email to let someone know they’ve crossed the line. The cards are witty but to the point, and kudos on the copywriting that sounds authentic and spares any of the zealous righteousness of the “Just Say No” campaigns many of us were raised on.
The callout cards are elegant in their ease/simplicity, and highlight how effective communication strategy has evolved from interruption (“let’s disrupt and breakthrough!”) to integration into the target’s habits and daily life. Traffic will be driven to the site from television, radio, and OOH advertising that begins on Feb 9th. In a unique media opportunity, posters of the callout cards will hang in schools and students are encouraged to take a photo with their mobile phones and send it to a friend. No doubt the posters will spark a few conversations! Now, go send the website to a middleschooler or teen you know! Here’s some suggested text: BTW a cool site 4 u www.thatsnotcool.com
My pulse quickens when I learn of a company that has identified a simple, human truth as a basis for their new strategy. So I smiled this morning when I received my Mediapost newsletter and learned that OfficeMax has identified cubicle misery as a universal phenomenon. (Hurrah! Cubes stink and someone outside of academia actually conducted research about it!) They believe they can differentiate themselves from their competition (Staples, Target, Walmart) and grow their business in a declining category by launching a line of products to beautify one’s cube. The campaign launched with cinema and is aimed at professional women 20-50.
The new cinema spot is lovely and relaxing, a Calgon-like moment with pretty graphics. But I have one humble question: does anyone have a budget these days to buy pretty office supplies? I imagine most businesses that have cubes have either centralized purchasing or expense policies, and I can’t seem to picture an office manager approving my new paisley file folders with a wink and a smile. Bob Thacker, SVP at OfficeMax indicates the target includes female small business owners and entrepreneurs, but again I question demand for products one could perceive as a luxury in the current business climate. Aren’t most small businesses sole proprietorships, who likely don’t suffer as cubicle-dwellers?
Perhaps this is primarily a branding attempt to differentiate and reposition themselves. While Target clearly dominates their position of “design for all” I applaud Office Max for introducing design in a category where it has been lacking since, well, the invention of manila file folders. Eager to explore the product line, I visited the OfficeMax website. Alas, there was no mention of the products on the home page! A few Google searches later, I discovered an article that Office Max launched four private label brands in October, one of which could possibly be the line in question. But here’s another simple truth: your consumers aren’t going to expend more than 3 minutes searching for a product that could be considered a novelty. In fact, every search term I could imagine would lead me to OfficeMax led me to paid search by Target. Yikes!
Trying to explore every angle, I thought “perhaps this is just a move to gain some incremental purchases from existing in-store traffic.” Buy why pay for creative development and media when you could just throw up some endcaps at checkout?
Okay, enough nitpicking. What have we learned here?
-Fantastic insight + good creative isn’t enough to build your business. If you’re going to invest in PR and advertising, make sure you reap the return on the investment by having a search and web strategy in place to facilitate research and purchase. Don’t let your competition benefit from your ad spend!
-Public relations, marketing, and e-commerce/web departments need to align on strategy and execution. What good is getting the message out if you’re unprepared to capitalize on it?
Beautify your cube: love it or hate it? Which companies have you seen execute integrated marketing well?
