Atomic Ideas - Helping You Sell More Stuff!

Nissan DOES understand "Marketable Truths" after all!

2012-02-02T14:03:56-05:00

Hey, someone at Nissan reads our Atomic Ideas blog....well maybe not. Either way,they finally are advertising "marketable truths" - ie , things they can say about their products that are true and should appeal to their target markets. Take a look.

It's a far cry from their "Fantasy" of a snowbaording pickup that does things no mass produced vehicle can, or ever will, do. Or their out-and-out lie of a spot (called that becuase they purposely tried to make it look as if it were a real news event-- so much so that some people believed it) which had a jet liner with a stuck nose gear land by placing it in the bed of a Nissan pickup that zooms out onto the tarmack.

But credit where credit is due. This spot gives consumers with a couple dozen grand in their pockets some real reasons to buy a Nissan. Whereas their previous pickup spots gave these same people a reason to say "hey, look at that" but no real reason to part with their dough.

Fantasy is NOT a Marketable Truth, Nissan!

2012-01-16T11:58:35-05:00

Nissan is at it again. First they had a spot where their pickup races onto the tarmac to help a jet land by letting it put it's semi-extended front landing gear in the bed of the truck. Clearly fake, what does that say about the pickup? Since it's fantasy, NOTHING! I could just as easily (with a special effects budget and matting software) have my daughter's 2001 Chrysler Neon with a bent fender and 126,000 miles on it, race out and save the jet by putting it's landing gear on the roof. Both say the same for the Nissan pickup -- Nothing! Okay, you might remember the Nissan name. But once you think about the fact that they have no real benefits to talk about (which is why they present a fake scenario that no pickup could live up to) you're not going to seriously consider buying it. And isn't the whole reason advertising exists, is to try and put your product or service on top of someone's consideration list?

AND NOW...they come up with a snowboarding pickup. At least this time they try to avoid looking like they are LYING to us or trying to FAKE US OUT by clearly disclaiming it as FANTASY. So again, why should I buy the Nissan pickup??? Just because someone at their ad agency had a wet dream about depicting the vehicle like it was a snowboard and doing impossibly fake flips and jumps over snow covered hills? Substitute a Ford F-150, a Dodge Ram, or a rickshaw as the featured vehicle and the commercial would work equally as well, ie. not at all!

While you're at it, Nissan, if you're going to live in a fantasy world, why not just give your truck lazers, afterburners, and submarine qualities in your commercials, too? No real truck has those, either.

At least when I walk away from an F-150 commerical I remember a benefit or two, like Eco-boost. Or with Dodge Ram, towing capability. But with a Nissan Pickup commercial, other than the dubious entertainment value of "gee, I'd like to see a truck do that", there is no resaon to buy one, because, "gee, NO truck bound by the laws of physics can do that."

Sure a TV spot has to be attention getting, entertaining and likeable, but once the spot is over, if you want people to buy what you're advertising, it needs to have a marketable truth. In today's economy, it's not enough to have someone remember your product or service's name, they need to have a reason to part with their hard earned money to purchase it.

Meat and You -- A marketing message gone wrong.

2012-01-03T11:28:20-05:00

At Atomic Ideas, we're in the communication business. The stragegy of, the formulation of, the proper transmission of, and the tracking of, your marketing messages. So naturally, we appreciate when such a message goes wrong. Whether it is an actual ad, a parody ad or in this case, "an educational film" (which, when produced by a lobbying organization, is really just a long-form commercial) that was part of a Simpson's episode. Enjoy.

Happy New Year from Atomic Ideas!!!

2011-12-30T09:58:14-05:00

Here's to a happy, healthy, and prosperous New Year! And a look back at the last 34 New Year's Eves.

Happy Holidays!!!

2011-12-22T11:17:30-05:00

Spray-on hair and Social Media.

2011-12-16T11:00:29-05:00

Marketer's have long known the value of the customer testimonial and have done commercials and info-mercials based on that premise. Like for instance, Ronco's big-selling, but short lived, spray-on hair. (Click below.)

Now, let's face it, social media is basically cutomer testimonials on steriods. If people like you or your product or service, they will forward that 'thumbs up" to friends. The difference between social media and an infomercial is that in social media, REAL people are using the product (not paid actors) and everyone knows it. So for social media to work, your product or service has to actually deliver what is promised (and work in real-world situations). If it doesn't, REAL people will dump on it and your offering will be DOA. You won't even enjoy a short-lived success of the spray-on hair variety!

Challenge assumptions regularly when it comes to your marketing message.

2011-12-12T11:44:24-05:00

You've been marketing your product or service so long that you really know your customer... or do you? Economic conditions change people's values, new generations with different goals rise to prominence, people move, demographics change, neighborhoods turn over, and every year, some of your best customers leave the market completely. So what's a business, that wants to sell more stuff, to do? Simple. Challenge your assumptions about what your customers want....by asking them.

A little market research from time to time is a tonic for stale messaging. Challenge even your most basic, "everyone knows that" facts. This gem was brought home in an entertaining fashion while tooling around "You Tube." I, like everyone else on the planet "knows" that cats don't like water....or do we? Take a look:

INFOGRAPHIC: 5 Companies Doing Social Media Right!

2011-12-08T13:43:03-05:00

Thanks to Scott Monty, head of Social Media at Ford Motor Company, for this insightful infographic. For more awesome social media advice and info from an acclaimed master of the art and science, check out his musings at The Social Media Marketing Blog!

Created by Voltier Digital for ScottMonty.com

Occupy Wall Street -- an example of bad branding!!!

2011-12-01T11:48:58-05:00

Okay, so they had a chatchy name and they got thousands to follow. But then what? If they had better utilized the basics of brand-building, they might still be in business. Let's see how they did:

1. BRAND IDENTITY: This is where you differentiate your product or service. Calling themselves the 99% does not differentiate. The designation is so broad as to be nearly meaningless. Who are these people? Well they say it's 99% of the U.S. population. So I guess their group includes all kinds of people, including rapists, thieves, serial killers and the criminally insane, etc. I don't know about you, but I don't want to be grouped with those people. -- FAIL

2. BRAND MISSION: At the end of the day, what do they want to have happen? They can't tell you in one sentence or in a two-minute elevator speech, but even months after the movement has been in place, not one single person has even been able to outline their mission in any coherant fashion. (Now some might say that their mission was to gain publicity. But publicity is not a mission. It is a tool to help achieve a mission lke change minds, foster action, etc.) -- FAIL

3. UNIQUE SELLING PROPOSITION (USP): If you want me to "buy, join, or support" your product, service or position, you have to tell me how, in a simple way, how my life will be enhanced or my problems diminished if I do so. Hmmm, I can't think of a single part of my lfie that is enhanced or simplified when people invade pulic parks, deficate on sidewalks, refuse to shower, steal from each other, rape each other and make senseless and contradictory statements to the press. (If you can think of a benefit in there for 99% of America, please comment below!) --FAIL

4. VALUE PROPOSITION: Here is where you show me how your product, service, or movement will help me attain one of my personal goals better, easier, or more cheaply than available alternatives. Since we have no idea what the goal of Occupy Wall Street is, how can they possibly convince us that their way is the best path to make it happen? (In my humble opinion, living in tent villages, spreading disease, and basically posing a danger to themselves and their target audience (which is 99% of us, after all) is not the best way to achieve ANYTHING). --FAIL

5. BRAND ICON: This is where you develop a character, graphic treatment or logo that is recognizable to everyone. Like the Nike Swoosh or Speedy Alka-Seltzer. Our only visual touch-point has been unwashed, stinking, bum-like people living in tents. If I'm not mistaken, that's already the logo for "Squalor." --FAIL

6. BRAND FILTER: These are "focus words", the words you want your brand to conjure in the minds of your best postential customers. Talk to anybody about the Occupy Wall Street movement and one of their first thoughts is of....confusion! -- FAIL

7. BRAND VALUES: What are the core values of Occupy Wall Street. Some say it is "justice" -- getting a fair shake for the 99% of us. But is invading and befowling a public park justice? Is spreading disease, rape and theft, justice? Brand values can't just be stated, they have to be exemplified. And the brand values that Occupy Wall Street exemplifies and lives everyday are not justice, they are, if anything, criminal. --FAIL

8. TAGLINE: This is the catchy phrase that sums up what your product, service, or movement is all about. Occupy Wall Street Doesn't have one. (May I humbly suggest: "We won't be happy until everyone's not happy!) -- FAIL

The result of good branding is selling more products, services, or getting people to take a clearly defined action. Now you may disagree with our assessment of Occupy Wall Street's branding efforts above, but you can't argue with their results, which are....none!

Photos courtesy of Daily Mail Online:http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2046586/Occupy-Wall-Street-Shocking-photos-protester-defecating-POLICE-CAR.html

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

2011-11-21T11:50:23-05:00

Sure it's a little early, but let's face it, how many of you would actually be reading this ON Thanksgiving? So here's something for you to gobble, gobble up before the big day! Happy Thanksgiving from all of us at Atomic Ideas!

Black Friday illustrates the perils of "price-only" differentiation

2011-11-10T12:22:18-05:00

Well, it's two full weeks until Thanksgiving and retailers are already jockeying for postion on Black Friday. Since they are all competing on price, and prices can only be cut so far, the only tool they have left is to try to start their sales sooner than their competition.

Instead of sales starting at an ungodly early hour on Friday morning, Black Friday has crept into Thursday. Target has announced that their Black Friday will start at midnight on Thursday. http://www.target.com/c/Target-black-friday-2011/-/N-5q0f2. So...not to be outdone, Wal-Mart announced that their sales start at 10pm Thursday http://www.walmart.com/cp/black-friday-2011/1076614.I say we just take off the gloves and start Black Friday today...at lunchtime!

This is a microcosm of companies that rely on price to differentiate their brand. They put themselves at the mercy of a fickle consumer who will bolt the second they can find a lower price somewhere else. A brand, whether it is a product, a retail store, or a service, needs to stand for more than a low price.

Wal-mart and Target understand this. They can't offer much lower prices around Thanksgiving, so they offer something else, availability. But since their competition is trying to differentiate themselves the same way, this can only go so far! I mean, Black Friday can only be pulled up so far before it becomes Black Monday, or further back and becomes Black November, or Black Autumn starting September 1st, or heck, a Black Year starting at 11pm New Year's Eve!

At Atomic Ideas, one of the first questions we ask a potential client is: "If every one of your competitors had the exact same price, why would customers come to you?" If you don't have an answer to that question, you are doomed to compete on price...and your brand is simply...doomed!

BOO!

2011-10-31T15:38:26-04:00

Happy Halloween from all the Guys and Ghouls at Atomic Ideas. Enoy this video we found while Zombie-ing around the web.

Where are your best customers? (Maybe not on Facebook or Twitter!)

2011-10-27T10:52:14-04:00

Where your customers are is an important question. As the articles below point out, nearly 25% of Americans still don't use the Internet. Only about half use Facebook and only 7% use twitter. That's why we at Atomic Ideas continue to bang the drum for starting with a sound strategy. Even the right message is wasted if you're not using the right media. Just because everyone else is using a specific medium doesn't mean it's right for your brand...or maybe it is!

Nearly Half of Americans Use Facebook; Only 7% Use Twitter [STUDY]

February 24, 2011 by Jolie O'Dell 195

A new report from eMarketer finds that most adult Americans with Internet access use Facebook at least once a month, and a full 42.3% of the entire American population was using the site as of this month.

By contrast, Twitter‘s penetration rate was much lower, sitting at around 7% of the total population and 9% of the Internet-using population, according to the report.

Late last year, Facebook founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced that the company saw around 250 million daily users of its 500 million-strong user base. The young exec made the point that Facebook’s products — including Photos, Places, Groups and Messages — are features that people use more frequently than they use other, more established services with similar features because Facebook’s products are inherently social.

Twitter, on the other hand, is driven largely by so-called power users, and only 21% of registered users are actually active on the site. Another interesting and related Twitter usage stat: 22.5% of users are responsible for 90% of all tweets.

One important stat to note, however, is Twitter’s year-over-year growth. Last year around this time, Twitter’s penetration rate was around 7%, and by the end of this year it’s expected to be at 11% for American Internet users, or 16.5% of the population that also uses other social networks. In terms of the overall U.S. population, the numbers are still small, but the growth is steady.

An analyst for the firm said, “eMarketer’s new Twitter usage estimates are lower than our April 2010 forecast. Since then, Twitter has continued to gain traction but at more moderate levels than we had expected.”

The microblogging service celebrated 100 million new accounts created in 2010, and a lot of that growth was due to the company’s investment in official and device-integrated mobile apps.

What do you think it’ll take for Twitter’s growth to really skyrocket and reach more of the population? Or will this service remain a niche product for the web-using elite? Let us know your opinions below.

TOP 20 COUNTRIES WITH
THE HIGHEST NUMBER OF INTERNET USERS

TOP 20 COUNTRIES WITH HIGHEST NUMBER OF INTERNET USERS

Country or Region

Population,
2011 Est

Internet Users
Year 2000

Internet Users
Latest Data

Penetration
(% Population)

World
% Users

China

1,336,718,015

22,500,000

485,000,000

36.3 %

23.0 %

United States

313,232,044

95,354,000

245,000,000

78.2 %

11.6 %

India

1,189,172,906

5,000,000

100,000,000

8.4 %

4.7 %

Japan

126,475,664

47,080,000

99,182,000

78.4 %

4.7 %

Brazil

203,429,773

5,000,000

75,982,000

37.4 %

3.6 %

Germany

81,471,834

24,000,000

65,125,000

79.9 %

3.1 %

Russia

138,739,892

3,100,000

59,700,000

43.0 %

2.8 %

United Kingdom

62,698,362

15,400,000

51,442,100

82.0 %

2.4 %

France

65,102,719

8,500,000

45,262,000

69.5 %

2.1 %

Nigeria

155,215,573

200,000

43,982,200

28.3 %

2.1 %

Indonesia

245,613,043

2,000,000

39,600,000

16.1 %

1.9 %

Korea

48,754,657

19,040,000

39,440,000

80.9 %

1.9 %

Iran

77,891,220

250,000

36,500,000

46.9 %

1.7 %

Turkey

78,785,548

2,000,000

35,000,000

44.4 %

1.7 %

Mexico

113,724,226

2,712,400

34,900,000

30.7 %

1.7 %

Italy

61,016,804

13,200,000

30,026,400

49.2 %

1.4 %

Philippines

101,833,938

2,000,000

29,700,000

29.2 %

1.4 %

Spain

46,754,784

5,387,800

29,093,984

62.2 %

1.4 %

Vietnam

90,549,390

200,000

29,268,606

32.3 %

1.4 %

Argentina

41,769,726

2,500,000

27,568,000

66.0 %

1.3 %

TOP 20 Countries

4,578,950,118

275,424,200

1,601,772,290

35.0 %

75.9 %

Rest of the World

2,351,105,036

85,561,292

508,993,520

21.6 %

24.1 %

Total World - Users

6,930,055,154

360,985,492

2,110,765,810

30.5 %

100.0 %

NOTES: (1) World Internet User Statistics were updated for June 30, 2011. (2) Additional data for individual countries and regions may be found by clicking each country name. (3) The most recent user information comes from data published byNielsen Online, International Telecommunications Union, Official country reports, and other trustworthy research sources. (6) Data from this site may be cited, giving due credit and establishing an active link back to Internet World Stats. Copyright © 2000 - 2011, Miniwatts Marketing Group. All rights reserved.

Smarter Thinking from Honda?

2011-10-25T14:38:41-04:00

I saw this new Honda Odyssey TV spot the other day. I asked my colleague Greg what it meant and what just happened there. He said they were imitating the Ozzie Osbourne song, “Crazy Train.” Really? Why? Smarter thinking?

Usually when you imitate or parody a popular song in a TV spot you hope that it’s… well… popular and recognizable. Honda struck out on this one. It’s surprising because Honda has always been very solid in their concepts and cleverness over the years.

I like Honda. I’ve owned many over the years and currently drive one. But I have to ask, whom were they targeting in this spot? The worldwide fan base of Ozzie Osbourne? No offense intended, but just how big could that be? Is this a song tune people have stuck in their heads throughout the day? Or maybe Honda just wanted to tie in the song’s title with Honda’s unique mini-van attributes – a weak tongue-in-cheek connection. The visual production value is good - it’s the audio that stumped me. I did not understand what was going on until Greg told me it was an Ozzie Osbourne tune, (Hmm... how did he know that!)

By the way, I later discovered there’s a 90 second version on the web that features a lot more of the Ozzie song performed by all of the Honda’s eight passengers. But it’s the thirty second TV spot that’s the measure for successful selling. One shouldn’t have to rely on the rarely aired :90 to substantiate or fill in the blanks of the :30 concept. However, it’s still not clear what Honda is trying to say here. The new Honda Odyssey is a crazy train?

This is one of those spots where you wonder how it was presented to the client. Was it acted out? Did they go so far as to test it as an animatic? And, who said, “Go for it” on the client side? - An Ozzie fan?

The spot wraps up with the line, “Smarter Thinking from Honda.” I’m sure there was smarter thinking for the new Odyssey vehicle, I’m not so sure there was for the commercial.

On my Steeb-O-Meter (a rating system for evaluating projects on film, video, music, television and print on a scale of 1 - 63), I’m giving this spot a 26.

Great production can't save a flawed idea, as this Nissan TV spot shows.

2011-10-20T11:39:46-04:00

THE SPOT:

You've seen the commercial, a "simulated" news story about an Airliner with half-extended nose gear, is saved when it sets the wheel down in the back of a speeding Nissan Frontier. (No I didn't remember the name from the spot, I had to look it up).

Sure it was well produced. Sure it cost gazillions to produce (Not the least of which is all that CG work). And sure it got my attention... right up to the part when I realized it was...as the youtube title says "unbelievable" (ie NOT believable).

THE FLAWED IDEA:

Now the idea was to "demonstrate" that the Frontier is tough and can haul a big payload. But a fake story about a fake event leads viewers to wonder what else is fake -- like the sales points they desperatly want to convince us are true? I was so turned off, that I tuned the spot out before they even got to the name of the truck. With advertising already being suspect for false promises, why go out of your way to purposly make a false promise (exaggeration for humor, aside). This is especialy true if you are marketing to the GEN Y crowd who eschew being "suckered" into anything.

Also, since they went to such great lengths to make it look real, and never let on that this was a joke or exaggeration, it leads one to wonder if they expect us to believe it's actually true...thus, insulting our intelligence? Now they're not just fakers, they're rude fakers!

WHAT THEY COULD HAVE DONE:

Okay, now I didn't have the benefit of seeing the creative brief (and I'm not being paid to spend a couple weeks to create a killer idea for this -- although Atomic Ideas is available, give us a call!), but IF the idea is to convince us that the Frontier can carry a big load, then show us an impressive, entertaining, REAL load that it can carry! If it can carry a half ton, have it put down the tailgate and let a mini-car drive into the bed ("Hauls everything from a mini to a full-sized load") . Or lead a half-grown elephant into the bed ("Hauls a full-size load for peanuts"). Or fill it with 100,000 gumballs ("A mid-size pickup that hauls a full size load. Chew on that a while"). And that's three, off the top of my head, that make the point without pegging the B.S. meter.

THE IDEA IS THE THING!

Without a good idea and a sound strategy, you can throw all the money you want at a commercial and still have it go down the drain. Or in this case, having it "not land."