brandeo -

Brandeo Weekender: Got Milk & Cookies?

anne — Sat, 19 Jul 2008 13:18:34 -0500

Got Milk and Cookes?
I know, everyone’s sick of the eternal riffs on the “Got Milk?” line, but hey, I’m easily entertained. Anyway, take a look at how Oreos used a glassed-in elevator shaft and an elevator to reinforce the milk-dunking equity of Oreos cookies. Yummily brilliant. Source: Beyond Madison Avenue

Oreo Elevator from CL on Vimeo

BrideClick Ad Network Launches

anne — Fri, 18 Jul 2008 01:31:36 -0500

LifeStage Media has launched “BrideClick,” which they claim is the “world’s largest bridal advertising network.” BrideClick includes flagship site OurWeddingDay.com, and more than 50 additional partner wedding businesses. The company forecasts an advertising inventory double that of TheKnot.com

Source: LifeStageMedia Inc./PRNewswire.com

What's Your Technology Q?

anne — Fri, 18 Jul 2008 00:00:00 -0500

Are you an “Omnivore,”, “Connector,” or “Mobile Centric”? Where do you fit in the ten typologies of information and communication technology users developed by the Pew Internet Project. Click here to take this quick quiz and find out. Also provides an overview of the ten technology typologies and key characteristics of each.

Travel Brands Beware: “Economic Woes Cause Americans to Hit Brakes on Travel”

anne — Thu, 17 Jul 2008 14:00:00 -0500

Leisure travel expectations off sharply. Staycations on the horizon.

The tourism industry risks being hit with significant declines in leisure travel volume and spending according to the findings of Destination Analysts' bi-annual The State of the American Traveler survey released today. The survey of 1,000 American leisure travelers shows that 45.8% expect to reduce the number of leisure trips they will take in the coming year in direct response to the overall economic climate. General travel spending expectations are also depressed, with 29.8% saying they will spend less for leisure in the next 12 months, a figure that has more than doubled from just six months prior.

In the past 12 months, nearly one-in-four (23.6%) say they have taken a "staycation" -- a vacation spent at home -- in response to gasoline prices. 28.5% of survey respondents said they plan to take a staycation in the next 12 months.

"We expect to see travelers taking fewer leisure trips and visiting destinations that are closer to home. With more than half of travelers saying they will actively look for travel bargains and discounts and another third saying they will visit less expensive destinations, affordability is certain to be top-of-mind. In this climate, destinations, hotels, and others that market to leisure travelers must provide compelling offers that promise and deliver value," says Erin Francis, Managing Partner of Destination Analysts.

The average number of trips the typical American has taken in the past 12 months has already fallen 7.3% to 5.1%. The top impediments to travel continue to be high gasoline prices (57.8%), personal financial reasons (49.5%) and expensive airfare (35.2%). The percentage of survey respondents who have cited these factors as having prevented them from traveling as much as they would have preferred have all grown significantly since the survey was first conducted in July 2006.

A four-page summary report of findings can be found at http://www.destinationanalysts.com/SATSJuly2008.pdf

Source: Destination Analysts/PRNewsire

Brands: Chock full o' Nuts Coffee Cans As Burial Urns?

anne — Wed, 16 Jul 2008 23:46:24 -0500

Some consumers are using Chock full o'Nuts coffee cans as burial urns for loved ones. Apparently they've been inspired by the recent Warner Bros. movie, "The Bucket List" about two terminally ill men, played by Morgan Freeman and Jack Nicholson who go on a road trip to do the things they've always wanted to do before they 'kick the bucket.' After their deaths, two Chock full o'Nuts coffee cans were used as burial urns.

Massimo Zanetti Beverage USA (MZB), manufacturer of Chock full o' Nuts coffee, reports that when an Ontario, Canada woman was unable to purchase Chock full o' Nuts coffee in her area, she asked the company for help. "My husband has terminal colon cancer,” she explained. “We went to see the movie 'The Bucket List'...my husband was deeply impacted by the end of the movie, so much that he said that's what I want at my funeral ...a Chock full o' Nuts coffee can for my ashes to be placed in."

Another woman wrote, "My Dad died of cancer a little more than two years ago and we thought it would be fitting to put him in a coffee can, too, as he was an avid coffee drinker... We have been shopping for a vintage looking Chock full o'Nuts coffee can in which to place my Dad's ashes since we saw the movie."

And a Florida father contacted MZB informing the company that he too had recently memorialized his son in a Chock full o' nuts coffee can and requested permission to use the Chock full o' Nuts coffee logo on a memorial patch that he planned to create in memory of his son.

Noting that “Inspiration can be found in the most unlikely of places,” the company has established http://www.chockfullonuts.com/stories/ where people can read and share stories of how they’ve memorialized their loved ones.” Besides, Chock full o’Nuts for years has been known as “The Heavenly Coffee.”

I’m sure that lots of people will read this story and think its just plain odd to use a coffee can as a burial urn. But if it comforts people to honor their loved one in a way that is meaningful to them---well, why not? Nice to see, too, that the company has embraced the family’s wishes instead of getting freaked out over whether this is appropriate for the brand. Any brand should be so lucky to be honored this way.

Source: Massimo Zanetti Beverage USA/PR Newswire

Image Credit: Massimo Zanetti Beverage USA /Newscom