Cool Front Moves In
Aug 1, 2006 12:00 PM, By Amy Johannes
PART 1) As TV cools, brands pump marketing into alternative platforms
You may not have heard about upcoming singer/songwriter Ne-Yo, but Coca-Cola has. It has put its marketing muscle behind the artist this spring banking on an online film to reach thousands of teens and young adults.
The 12-minute video featured Ne-Yo on stage, behind-the scenes clips and a Q&A with fans. The up and coming R&B star bolstered the brand with his fresh appeal, silky smooth voice and upbeat personality.
And this month, Coke will up the ante with its second short film featuring hip-hop star Jay-Z in concert and a one-on-one interview at Stageside.tv. The film expands the reach of the new global Welcome to the Coke Side of Life campaign, which launched with TV spots in March, to a digital medium rich with the hip audience Coke is trying to reach.
Coke, like many other brands, is not abandoning TV spots — despite the cooling off of the upfront — but is instead pumping marketing dollars into in a host of other mediums to inject its message into consumers’ lives where and how they want to be reached. The new push is all about trial and error, experimenting in ways that surprise and delight the consumer with an unexpected treat in an unexpected fashion.
“We’re not walking away from [TV spots], but looking at how we can make ads work harder,” Coca-Cola spokeswoman Susan McDermott says. “We’re more about spending the dollars wisely and really being strategic about where we are placing our ads.”
Coke spent $147.8 million on TV advertising in the first quarter of 2006, a 70% increase from $86.3 million in 2005, per TNS Media Intelligence. Despite the increase, Coke is boosting its online spending 78% this year for efforts like the Ne-Yo exclusive films. Its first quarter online spending jumped to $2.1 million, from $929,600 one year ago.
“It’s all about having the flexibility to be able to adopt to new trends especially with the way new media is emerging,” McDermott says.
This year, Ford too increased its TV spending (up 2.5% from first quarter 2005 to 2006) but has continued to diversify its marketing mix.
“Marketers, Ford included, are scrutinizing their television investments more so today than they ever have before,” says Mark Kaline, global media manager for Ford. “Whether it’s through events online, mobile devices or video games, all of those things allow marketers to reach out and touch a customer…and engage them in some sort of dialogue. It’s a brave new world.”
Ford began experimenting in ernest on the Web bumping its online spending from $9.2 million in the first quarter of 2005 to $13 million in 2006. It kicked off Webisodes for its Lincoln and Mercury brands, followed by an online sweepstakes that dangled a 2006 Lincoln Zephyr and a 2006 Mercury Milan.
“It’s a good time to experiment and make mistakes,” Kaline says. “Marketers will find there are different ways to communicate with people.”
Under its marketing alliance with popular country crooner Toby Keith, the brand adds a new spark at each of his tours to keep its message fresh.
For example, during one tour, Ford drove its new F150 truck onto the stage where Keith, a loyal Ford Truck driver, performed in the back of the truck.
Keith’s Hookin’ Up and Hangin’ Out Tour, sponsored by the Ford F-Series, begins Aug. 11 in Cleveland and will make more than 60 stops nationwide through the fall.
“It allows us to have a much deeper connection with consumers,” says Todd Eckert, Ford Truck marketing manager. “We want to be everywhere that makes sense for our customer. We go to the places they are.”
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