Soap Strategy Blog

A Subscription Model For Everything

2009-10-14T08:03:27Z

Great article from NY Times around the subscription model.

“When a product has built-in obsolescence, like new versions of software or a magazine with a short newsstand life, subscriptions extend the ownership period. “It removes the impedance to upgrading,” says Erica Mina Okada, an associate professor of marketing at the University of Hawaii.”

[image by Tiago Rïbeiro]

Nice outdoor experiments from VW

2009-10-08T03:20:17Z

‘The Fun Theory’, what a great territory! Some simple and effect outdoor ideas from VW.

Coming soon…

87 cool things

2009-10-07T00:02:48Z

This is a must see!

Andy Berndt, MD of Google Creative Lab and Tim Uglow, Creative Lead did this amazing presentation on day 1 of Ad Week.

Some of the examples you might already be familair with however I’m guessing, (like me) you’ll come across some mind blowing experiments that went under the radar.

Some of my favourites…

(love this service, love the simplicity, imovie in browser. Sorry Brad, couldn’t resist a wee test).

Please… check this out:

Podcast can be listened to here.

Preso here.

Really solid campaign for Honda Fit

2009-09-28T20:38:52Z

Came across a really well thought out and delivered campaign for the Honda Fit.

For those of you not familiar with the car, courtesy of Wikipedia…

The Honda Fit is a five-door hatchback subcompact car, manufactured by the Honda Motor Company of Japan, first introduced in June 2001 and now in its second generation. The Fit uses Honda’s Global Small Car platform, also used by the City/Fit Aria, Airwave, Mobilio, and the Mobilio Spike.

The marketing team obviously had a core target market (young guys) and knew what made them tick, (gaming, movies, scifi…). The end result is a campaign site with a strong and engaging story, slick execution (design, development, script, game-play).

They did their homework and included nice touches like:

• Quick keys that enable you to make a wallpaper anytime during the game/journey.
• Similarly the ability to make an icon.
• Achievements and locked off sections of the site.
• Fun quick games that don’t required overly complex instructions.
• Extensions into facebook. Which, from what I can tell ran a nice ‘Fit’ competition around how much you could physically fit into the back of their car.

All in all well thought out campaign. I’d love to see how they extended this idea in banner and other media channels (couldn’t find anything in Google).
http://automobiles.honda.com/2009-fit

Presidential Teas & Twitter

2009-09-06T23:39:20Z

Nice example of a brand listening into its audience via twitter.

First this...

Then this….

How Cadbury re-launched the Wispa bar

2009-08-13T11:29:37Z

Love the simplicity of the post campaign vid.

Oooh feel like a Wispa now…

Full recap here…

Link dump

2009-08-11T23:15:03Z

Haven’t had time to blog for a few days so here’s a quick link dump of things I found interesting of late…

(ignore the interviewer lol)

http://www.threadless.com

Michael Jordan + Gatorade + Facebook = Win

Next month, Michael Jordan goes into the Pro Basketball Hall of Fame. As perhaps not only the greatest basketball player of all-time, but also the greatest pitchman, it’s not too surprising then that one of the brands Jordan is most associated with - Gatorade - is using the opportunity to stir up some Jordan nostalgia….

Your Facebook Inbox Could Soon Get Much More Interesting

Facebook has introduced two new APIs: Inbox and Notifications. For users, what this means is that developers could soon launch desktop applications that integrate features like checking your messages and receiving app notifications. For example, an app like TweetDeck or Seesmic Desktop could now offer alerts when any of these activities take place on Facebook…

10 Creative Contests Powered by Social Media

With creativity and a thoughtful connection to your audience, a contest can provide a host of benefits beyond just a list of names. Read on for ten examples of companies that ran social media-enabled contests, each successfully achieving a different goal…

Southern Comfort Pours Entire Media Budget Into Digital

2009-08-04T00:01:46Z

Very intresting article in Adnews. I’ve cc’d below…

I’d be keen to hear from anyone that has seen a similar bold shift in channels in Australia. To date I haven’t heard of a brand of this size and spend turning its back on traditional channels to engage with a younger audience in digital.

OR is this move not possible in Aus due to digital reach? (playing devils advocate as I don’t believe this is the case however thought I’d include it as I hear it often).

Media buyers, what do you think?

Southern Comfort Pours Entire Media Budget Into Digital

Move Allows Brand to Buy Popular Network Shows Online Instead of Overcrowded Cable Fare

CHICAGO (AdAge.com) — Brown-Forman’s Southern Comfort brand — weary of jostling for notice with other spirits brands during the narrow nightly window when they are permitted to advertise on cable — is taking its entire media buy digital, allowing it access to programs online it couldn’t touch on TV.

SoCo is a presenting sponsor of Playboy’s ‘Uncovered.’

Last year, SoCo spent $6 million of its $8 million measured media outlay on cable TV, and another $1.5 million on magazine ads. This year, both those numbers will drop to zero in favor of online properties such as Facebook, Spin, Fader, Pitchfork, Thrillist and Hulu.

Lena DerOhannessian, the brand’s U.S. marketing director, said SoCo’s tight focus on the youngest legal-drinking-age consumers drove the shift. “As we’ve focused more on 21 to 29, TV becomes less and less effective at reaching that audience,” she said. “It was getting harder and harder to hit our target without so much waste.”

The issue, Ms. DerOhannessian said, was the intense crowding of spirits brands within a few nightly cable shows, a result of restrictive rules about where and when spirits companies are permitted to advertise. (National networks still do not accept liquor advertising, although a growing number of affiliates have been breaking with that practice of late.)

“You’re usually in the same program, if not the same pod, with another spirits advertiser,” she said. “That was just a game we didn’t want to keep playing.” Instead, SoCo is opting to grab digital properties where it can be the sole alcohol sponsor. And those include network programs that the brand would’ve been forbidden from touching on TV (see the full list at the bottom of this story).

It’s also cheaper. Ms. DerOhannessian said savings from the switch to a 100% digital media buy will allow the brand to bolster its presence in bars and at retail, as well as through events. It will also give it a significant footprint online, where a $10 million budget stretches very far.

The media-budget shift comes amid tough sales trends for the brand. It suffered a mid-single-digit sales decline during the fiscal year that ended April 30, Brown-Forman Chief Financial Officer Don Berg told Wall Street analysts on a June earnings call. “Southern Comfort has suffered from the consumer switch to the off-premise, where consumers are less inclined to make complicated drinks,” he said.

The brand’s media agency is Interpublic’s Universal McCann, and its creative shop is Havas’ Arnold Worldwide.

Southern Comfort’s digital partnerships Facebook: Fan page featuring custom video, exclusive events, party pics, SMS programs, news, recipes and video clips. Spin: Sponsorship of the top 50 cover songs of all time, with 10 free downloads, “tab covered by” Southern Comfort. Playboy: Presenting sponsorship of the Playboy “Uncovered” series highlighting artists paying tribute to legends who have inspired them.

Fader’s ‘At the Bar’ series The Fader: “At the Bar” with Southern Comfort series featuring 10 pop-up sessions with local artists performing acoustically and discussing their musical influences.

Pitchfork: “Faces in the Crowd” series featuring artist interviews by fans, Pitchfork Music Festival, Monolith Festival and Voodoo Experience.

Thrillist: E-newsletters touting the brand, story, events and drinks.

NBC: Online spots running in and around prime-time NBC shows such as “30 Rock,” “The Office,” “Jay Leno,” “The Tonight Show With Conan O’Brien” and “Saturday Night Live,” among others.

NBC Local: Friday-through-Sunday takeover of the “What You’re Doing Tonight” section, with home-page coverage before each Southern Comfort music-series event.

Break.com: “Southern Comfort House Rules!” original series featuring a cast of characters showcasing how they prepare for, host and entertain during various themed house parties.

My Damn Channel: Sponsorship of “Grace Crashers,” an original series starring Grace Helbig as the ultimate party crasher as she and her crew show up unannounced at parties around Halloween, Holiday and Mardi Gras.

Comedy Central: “Holiday Survival Guide” featuring Comedy Central comedians providing tips for getting out of sticky holiday situations.

Hulu: First spirits advertiser to run the Ad Selector model, where consumers will be able to choose the Southern Comfort message they want to watch.

CBS, Fox and FX: Full player takeovers around top-rated prime-time shows such as “How I Met Your Mother,” “Late Show With David Letterman,” “Rules of Engagement,” “CSI,” “24” and “Arrested Development,” among others.

Watch 'mYgeneration' on SBS

2009-07-20T08:12:22Z

If, like me you missed mYgeneration when it aired on SBS, its well worth watching the episodes online.

I’ve never been much of gamer so really enjoyed getting a glimpse into the life of people who are. Great human angle (or is it angel, never can remember) on a topic that is loaded with misconception and clichés.

Think of it as a refreshing break from watching talentless freaks burning ice in front of knob jockey judges.

What the F**K is social media?

2009-07-20T02:07:16Z

63% less bullsh*t preso around marketing in the context of social media.

What the F**K is Social Media: One Year Later

View more documents from Marta Kagan.

Nothing earth shatteringly new but solid way to communicate the challenge/opportunity.

Thanks to @AngGraham who tweeted this preso.

Red Bull Ingredients in the Raw

2009-07-16T07:08:28Z

More genius from Red Bull. As always an amazing eye for talking an alternative approach. How do Coke compete against this… (guessing not surf camps and super star sponsorships).

Red Bull Ingredients in the Raw

23 Personal Tools to Learn More About Yourself

2009-07-15T23:15:38Z

More interesting approaches to data viz.

From managing your ‘sexy-time’, mood swings, weight gains…

23 Personal Tools

Came across this old post whilst looking at, Collect Data About Yourself with Twitter.

Aardvark - What Yahoo Answers should have been

2009-07-08T23:58:02Z

Aardvark, its kind of like Yahoo Answers however not restricted to the walled garden of Yahoo members.

Matt (@griswold), our LA office strategist, VP, seaman and all round Renaissance man pointed me in the direction of Aardvark. I’ve always been a fan of Yahoo Answers and love the notion of mining answers across a broader community and multiple digital channels.

Opening this collective Q&A across site, messenger and twitter feels like a far more powerful offering

I especially like the inclusion of Messenger in the channels, really enforces the idea of an instant, online community, ready to assist. Especially in the younger audience, Messenger is the most ‘constant-on’ digital channel. I also found that rather than say Yahoo Answers, having real time Messenger chat enabled a more conversation approach, far closer to real life I guess.

Well worth taking 5 mins to sign up and test.

Wonder how long this stays independent. The guys behind it are ex Google and you can see how this would be a nice addition back into the Google stables.

My contribution to Man Week

2009-07-03T03:36:03Z

You might have already seen my earlier post about triple j & Reach Out working together to promote Man Week.

I’ve been surprised by how whole heartedly this has been embraced and just how much blogging/conversation this has initiated.

On this tenuous digital strategy link and after recently receiving queries asking for my contribution to Man Week I’ve expanded what started as a comment on a post over at Brand DNA.

The notion of dads not understanding what their sons do for a living definitely struck a cord. However I’m sure (and kind of hope) that as my kids grow up I’ll be just as confused.

I loved Ken Robinson’s observation that technology is moving so fast and the means in which it becomes interwoven into our lives, almost guarantees that a vast majority of industries and jobs that our kids might end up working in have yet to be invented.

When I was born my old man painted and repaired cars. Had you told him that his newborn son would be a digital strategist, spending the majority of his time understanding how people strive to become social whilst never actually meeting face to face, he would have thought you were on crack!

God love my dad who helped fund me through almost 6 years of Uni studying (fine art) sculpture knowing fine well that there wasn’t a great demand sculptors in the 21st century.

After 6 years and a graduation show that consisted of a fake cleaners cupboard and not a single piece of sell-able ‘art’ he was still none the wiser but never objected to my decisions. Sure, he challenged me and forced me to face up to uncomfortable truths but never played the heavy hand.

To this day, I catch him describing my Uni days as ‘Ross doing something with Playdoh’

He’s almost as confused these days since I sold my soul to the devil to advertise stuff that nobody really needs nor wants (ok maybe a little harsh) but always comes across curious and questioning.

Hope I’m as understanding!

Soap can on times be perecived as a ‘sausage factory’ (98% guys to girls at Soap), so with this in mind I hope that some of my fellow male Soapers take 5 mins and comment on what they think of when they see ‘Man Week’.

Nike, Livestrong ChalkBot

2009-07-02T07:19:13Z

Superb! Post your custom message via website, sms, twitter and ChalkBot will write it on the road at the Tour de France.