Thursday, December 17, 2009

Who's Supporting The Arts?


Who's Supporting The Arts?

Top 10 DMAs in which adults reside who contributed money to an arts or other cultural organization in the past year:
1 San Francisco/ Oakland/ San Jose

2 Seattle/ Tacoma

3 Boston

4 Washington, D.C.

5 Hartford & New Haven, Conn.

6 Albany/ Schenectady/ Troy, N.Y.

7 Rochester, N.Y.

8 Minneapolis/ St. Paul

9 Honolulu, Hawaii

10 New York

Source: Scarborough Research

Monday, December 14, 2009

Top 10 Most Talked About Brands....Heading into the holiday season.


1 Wal-Mart

2 Ford

3 Target

4 Home Depot

5 Apple

6 Lowe's

7 Verizon Wireless

8 Toyota

9 Walgreens

10 Best Buy



Source: BrandIndex

Wednesday, December 2, 2009

State Farm Fuels Game Day Rivalry






State Farm activated its title sponsorship of the Border Showdown Nov. 28 with pre-game interactives that fanned the flames of competitiveness between the University of Missouri and University of Kansas football teams.

Taking a two-tiered approach, State Farm created activities for both the 18-24 and 30-49-year-old targets. For the young adult segment the company set up the State Farm Border Showdown Lounges at a hotspot near each campus three days before game day. The lounges were equipped with five Xbox Live stations that allowed students from each university to play NCAA 2010 against each other in real time. Participants were given headsets so they could trash talk their opponent on the other end of the game. Crowds hung out to cheer on the players. The goal was to accrue enough points to beat the other team (Kansas beat Missouri 90 to 87). State Farm spread the word to register online via a State Farm Border Showdown Facebook fan page as well as on statefarmthrowdown.com where the scores and other related information were posted throughout the events. On the campuses, State Farm generated buzz through student organizations, hung up posters and handed out cards.

On game day at Kansas City’s Arrowhead Stadium, State Farm appealed to all ages by bringing its Whack-a-Mascot (like Whack-a-Mole) mobile fan experiences to tailgaters. Instead of whacking a mole, each team could whack their opponent’s mascot, either a Kansas Jayhawks or Missouri Tiger. Those that provided personal information received branded merchandise like a Koozie or eye decals reminiscent of the black patches football players wear under their eyes. Of the consumers that went through and did the Whack-a-Mascot game about 25 percent provided their data; 80 percent of those opted in to be contacted by an agent

“This year we have been trying to use our sponsorship as more of a platform versus just going in with some type of mobile unit on game day and having that be it,” Jerry Nevins, marketing analyst at State Farm, told Buzz. “The number of hot leads generated on game day far exceeded what was done previously. At least three times more than in 2008.”

During the game State Farm also executed a MU versus KU text promotion. Each team was provided a short code on the video board to see who could strike a virtual mallet (like at a carnival) by texting the most. When it was over State Farm sent each player a thank you message and chance to enter a $250 sweepstakes.

Baby girl Ezri!

The free calendar has been a marketing staple..

The free calendar has been a marketing staple for as long as anyone can recall, a branded thank-you extended by businesses ranging from banks to fast-food chains to car repair shops. Now cable TV provider Comcast has made the old new, crafting a recent mail campaign that integrated the time-honored calendar with a fresh digital twist.

Just before the year began, Comcast began sending out branded calendars to customers in select areas in hopes of engaging its audience via bold graphics and some money-saving offerings. The calendars are filled with coupons for on-demand movies and discount offers on Comcast digital video recorders. They also provide links to free software and invitations to create a personalized link on a Comcast Web site.

Comcast also cleverly tied in monthly events or holidays with a message that promotes Comcast products. For instance, on the date a pro football championship was to be played, the message on the calendar read: “Enjoy the big game in Comcast HD.”

Breen says the calendar — which was mailed to customers in several states in the Northeast and Midwest — is largely a gesture of appreciation, but it also allows the cable giant to communicate more intimately with its audience about the value of the cable service. “We’re happy with what our customers have bought, and we want them to get the most out of what they have,” says Karen Breen, vice president of marketing strategies for Comcast’s North Central Division. “This is really important in tough economic times for people to realize the value they have.”

The calendars also allow Comcast the chance to educate recipients about its array of offerings beyond its cable service. “Direct mail enables us to have more room to say what we want, and we do leverage it quite a bit,” notes Breen. “We were trying to think of an innovative way to talk about our product benefits and features that would have a life and context to it.”

In the first few months of the campaign, Breen says, anecdotal feedback has suggested that the effort will prove fruitful. Customers have called Comcast to get their own calendars and are also asking to be added to the mailing list for next year’s version.

As the year progresses, Comcast will track redemption of the on-demand video coupons, which are sprinkled throughout the calendar, to determine how many calendars are prompting consumer action. Breen says the company will also study Web traffic to determine how many calendar recipients are being driven online.

Breen says the idea for the calendar grew out of a series of creative direct mail pieces that Comcast designed in 2008, featuring bold graphics that promoted the Comcast user experience. Many of those images were included in the calendar.

In addition to the mailings, the calendar was also used as a free-standing insert in newspapers and given away at Comcast service centers in the targeted states.


Source: Deliver Magazine