The Hauser/Burns Report

Spend Your Money Where Your Intended Audience Spends Their Time

2012-04-10T12:30:24+01:00

Spend Your Money Where Your Intended Audience Spends Their Time Erik Hauser We live in a world where the only number that surpasses the birth rate of newborn children is the unbelievable number of new born technologies. When we truly understand this point we must recognize the tell tale signs that we’ve all, at some level, given ourselves over to the “cult of speed” that’s quietly emerged around us. I mean - It’s April already - how could you not feel that the we’re living in fast forward? In the past, looking at it through the lens of the consumer, new technologies and technological platforms came to market at a very accommodating speed. As consumers we’d all transform our media and other files to the newer, more advanced, more widely embraced technological platforms. Even at these once slower speeds, it felt like we could barely migrate our media in time to the “newer” platform. It felt like it was just in the nick of time for a newer, bigger and brighter technology to enter into the game - eight track, tapes, cd’s - I know you understand what I mean. I can speak for many...

Bravo To MLB 2012

2012-04-09T10:58:24+01:00

Bravo to MLB 2012 Seldom do I watch TV and have an advertisement come across the screen that leaves me proclaiming - What a brilliant promotion! Of course, your inquisitive mind is going to immediately ask which advertisement that I am referring to. If you happened to notice the title of the article then you correctly came to the conclusion that I am referring to the MLB 2012 video game. What’s so brilliant about the promotion? Drum roll.............. If you throw a perfect game - you win $1,000,000.00 ! Sometimes the most ingenious ideas are the ones that seem so simple to come up with. Then, guys/gals like me see it and proclaim that someone, somewhere deserves a round of advertising awards. Let’s first address the most obvious, brilliant point here. If you are a consumer that is going to buy a baseball game - then MLB 2012 just rocketed up your purchase consideration set to number one. Secondly, you can safely assume that those that fit into this niche audience are going to talk to each other - which, in turn, is going to hit the bulls-eye/ holy grail of advertising....

Desperation : A Cologne That No Brand Wears Well

2012-03-15T12:33:18+01:00

Desperation : A Cologne That No Brand Wears Well I happen to really like that title as it’s a saying that I developed many years ago. A brand acting desperate always raises some red flags. It’s along the same DNA lines as the statement, “ If you look hungry, then you won’t get fed.” While I feel that both of the statements are crafty and clever -they’re also extremely relevant for the current marketing landscape. Please allow me to explain. As individuals, we all handle our relationships differently. Some of us are passionate, some are boring and others are thoroughly engaging and have an innate level of magnetism when it comes to relationships. One thing that people never want to appear is desperate. Hence the title of this piece. We maintain relationships with both animate and inanimate objects. We tend to treat both relationships the same way considering that, as humans, we only have one notion about relationships. Why am I setting the stage to speak about this topic? Certain brands have been handling new, social medias with an air of desperation. Allow me to explain. Let’s create a typical,...

John Carter _ Failure to Connect

2012-03-14T10:52:03+01:00

John Carter - Failure To Connect Erik Hauser As I was flipping through the television from one channel to the next - I couldn’t help but hear the Disney execs comment on the total failure of Disney’s $250 MM John Carter Movie. “We thought that the movie would connect with audiences,” they all said. Did the Disney execs take a look at the trailer that was being run during their thirty/sixty second spots ? I believe that if they had - they’d have easily foreseen the impending doom at the box office. The issue that I’d like to touch-on in this article is the notion of “connecting with the consumers.” It’s an omni-present issue, and when you spend 250 MM for the production of the movie - you’d be well advised to check your “connection cables” to insure that it will connect with the audience. We all know that one of the most important things that we do as experiential marketers is to form a strong “connection” with the consumers. We do this properly by building a consumer touch-point map and building a well thought campaign that connects and engages the consumers on...

Experiential Marketing - De-Branding

2012-03-12T10:39:38+01:00

De-Branding? There are many things in life that are fascinating. These things include, but are not limited things such as, Old Faithful, Stone Mountain and the process of De-Branding. What’s de-branding you ask? It’s something that’s quite simple, and something most people would find either comical or just plain rude. There has always been the somewhat ironic existence when one achieves a certain level of fame person in the US. The irony comes into play when the person that has worked so hard to buy expensive things - gets them for free! Yes, that’s correct, these people work so hard to get what they want - then the people that run the brands want these people to be seen wearing, driving or simply using their product or service. In theory, if you see a famous person that you admire wearing the new Levis jeans then you will want to wear the jeans. It’s simply setting up the marketplace on an inspirational platform. However, what happens when a pseudo celebrity is wearing a brand that the brand managers don’t want them being seen in? The answer to this question is actually quite funny. If a brand manager for hmmmmm. let’s say...

Pitch Process- From A Great Blog

2012-03-07T12:28:49+01:00

Hello from 65 and Sunny, your thoughts on this one. personally, i laughed out loud just after the first two paragraphs http://www.goo.gl/dF8xR (http://www.goo.gl/dF8xR) -- Erik Hauser http://www.experientialforum.com

We�re Living In An Event-Centric Content Created World

2012-03-05T13:06:32+01:00

General (http://bigfatmarketingblog.com/category/general/)You say you want marketing news and commentary? Well, you came to the right place. The Big Fat Marketing Blog is updated daily by the editors of Chief Marketer, Direct, Promo and Multichannel Merchant. Opinions? Oh yeah, we got em'. Don't say we didn't warn ya'.We’re Living In An Event-Centric Content Created WorldERIK HAUSER (http://bigfatmarketingblog.com/?author=314)March 1st, 2012A very long time ago there was a tested, tried and true, formulaic approach to creating fresh marketing content that could be multi-mediated across the proliferation of new media channels popping up daily. Then, after that archaic process had been completed, if there was any money left the brand experience, BTL, event and field marketing companies would rightfully get tasked to do something by the lead agency. Unfortunately, what the ATL agency passed down was usually off-message, off-strategy, ridiculously stupid and a waste of the remaining clients’ money - live was just thought of as an afterthought.This process, that was so long ago, was run by the ATL agencies - which ironically are all now running to brand themselves as brand experience shops - apparently didn’t understand how their “big ideas” translated correctly into the brand experience in the live space and...

Visit the EMF

2012-03-05T12:23:54+01:00

http://www.experientialforum.com

CVS Strategically Strikes A Blow On Walgreen�s Chin

2012-01-16T14:42:06+01:00

CVS Strategically Strikes A Blow On Walgreen’s Chin Earlier last week I reported that Walgreen’s defied every single one of their “supposed” brand attributes and essentially told 47% of their customers to go elsewhere. Well, CVS took an immediate, strategical advantage of the horrendous move by Walgreen’s. CVS immediately began to put a banner on the bottom of their TV spots informing the public that they indeed take Express Scripts along with 5,000 companies. Advantage to CVS I’m not exactly what kind of game of chicken that Walgreen’s was in with Express Scripts, but I do know that If I was a stock trader that I’d be urging my clients to short Walgreen’s coming into the close of the 1st fiscal quarter. Now the question is, “When Will Walgreen’s re-align their “brand” with the stark contrast of the reality? And, furthermore, how will they stop this bleeding?

Walgreen�s Says F$%^ You To 47% Of Their Customers - What a Holiday Greeting!

2012-01-11T11:29:16+01:00

Walgreen’s Says F$%^ You To 47% Of Their Customers - What a Holiday Greeting!Happy New Year! While most people are situating their unwrapped gifts in the perfect spot where they’d like to have them - Walgreen’s has a VERY different way to ring in the New Year for 47% of their customer base. If you’re guessing that they gave us all gifts - you’d be wrong. Walgreen’s has decided to get into a game of chicken with one of the world’s largest prescription companies. The result? An enormous mass of customers walking into their local “we care so much about you” Walgreen’s. Only to be greeted with the nonsensical statement that they no longer honor express scripts under the umbrella of any insurance company. Did I mention that currently represents 47% of their customers? Here are a couple of questions to ponder.1. When will Walgreen’s realize that they have the weaker hand and fold so that they actually deliver on their promise of putting the customer first?2. What will CVS do to make a strategic strike to attain Walgreen’s high CLV customers?Well, again, I’m wishing you a Happy New Year...