The return of real action heroes with a unique ad campaign

Written by Chris · Wednesday, 25 August 2010 08:24

Put away the tights and return to the good old days when HERO stood for muscle-bound, machine gun toting super soldiers who suppressed any insecurity and fought against entire armies in jungles, forests and deserts. For the last two decades, Hollywood has given us physically fit, average-looking people with martial arts training who often snuck into enemy territory with high-tech gadgets.

The Expendables arrived in theaters August 13, 2010 with the largest action hero cast ever assembled and marketed as a revival of the real action heroes of the 80’s. You won’t find any Oscar winning performances, elaborate character arcs or comedic humor here. You will find a great homage to what made Arnold Schwarzenegger, Bruce Willis, Jet Li, Dolph Lundgren, and Sylvester Stallone famous. And the ad campaign supporting this move is unique, starting with retro 80’s style ads – perfect for the genre and the cast - and now morphing into more current ads with a geographic focus also tailored to the global audiences and the movie’s stars.

While attending San Diego Comic Con in July, I learned that The Expendables was shot on location without any CGI and hardly any stuntmen. No actor left the film without two or more bones broken.

Stallone is the driving force behind this film and his attention to detail comes across through the various marketing campaigns around the world. North America teased people with a Heavy Metal-influenced weapons and skull poster, while Europe and Australia highlighted the romanticism style painted posters showing off a tattoo-covered back. Asia featured martial arts era movie posters highlighting Jet Li. Ramping up to the movie premier, ads, print collateral, movie posters, in-theater dimensional displays and billboards are fusing together with monochromatic character one-shots and a black and white poster featuring the whole cast.

Television commercials, radio spots, movie trailers and a free 8-BIT arcade game artistically mimicked the look and feel of the 1980s. Recently, the movie trailers are taking a more modern shape highlighting some of the newer action heroes from the last few years.

This transcending cross-pollination of action stars from all over the world is truly unique and an advertiser’s dream come true. Being able to take a dwindling genre and turn it around with great enthusiasm and validity is a great marketing success.

Mega Marketing at Comic-Con

Written by Chris · Thursday, 12 August 2010 18:23

I recommend everybody attend the Comic-Con International event at least once in his or her lifetime. I just attended Comic-Con in San Diego last week and engaged in the awe-inspiring multimedia, mega-marketing geek propaganda. Like the other 165,000 people attending, I bought into almost every advertising and marketing tactic imaginable from all types of companies, vendors and artists. As much as I hate to admit it, I snatched up every limited-edition poster, Comic-Con exclusive t-shirt, grab bag, lanyard, button, collateral, postcard, business card, flyer or coupon. Why? Resale value, memories, cool stuff and just because it was free! Did any of this help entice me to buy into any of the products or services each of these items represented? No – not immediately anyway - but it got me into their booths where their representatives graciously discussed in great detail what they were selling. With a highly targeted audience, this was a great opportunity for companies to push upcoming movies, television shows, graphic novels and other soon-to-happen events, with countless hours and inches of free press coverage, blog posts, forum topics, broadcast, newspaper and magazine articles.

If you like free swag, meeting celebrities, being the first to know about upcoming pop cultural events, witnessing some of the most humorous and bizarre costumes imaginable, or hanging out with 165,000 people with similar interests, spend a weekend in San Diego at Comic-Con.  It’s event marketing at its biggest and best.

Greenpeace fights with branding

Written by Jason · Friday, 06 August 2010 15:11

As communicators we know the importance of branding. We've read all the articles, seen the impacts a good branding strategy can have. But what about counter-branding. Greenpeace put together a contest to rebrand BP and some 2500+ people have answered. Now they are asking everyone to spread the logo through stickers, images and avatars.

While the action itself could be seen as cute, it seems to me that the initial publicity of the stunt will prolong the negative attention on BP as a brand, and add to the short term corporate image problem. Furthermore Greenpeace has created, for a small investment on their part, iconography that will, even if the project is stopped at the Greenpeace level, live on in social media circles. In the long term the icons could be used to gently remind viewers of the tragedy. Giving BP relations department a bigger hurdle to recover from than that of the pre-internet Exxon Valdez disaster.

It will be interesting to see how this counter-branding effort plays out. Will it be successfully adopted by the web community, or have the negative impact that it can potentially deliver.

Access Granted: Anywhere you need it

Written by Chris · Tuesday, 20 July 2010 16:01

People in many countries around the world have come to take mobile devices for granted. Given the explosive growth of devices, technology applications and connectivity, being able to communicate with friends, family and even business partners anywhere in the world has become a normal activity. The cost of mobile devices decreases as technology advances. This has made a significant impact even in less developed areas, particularly the poverty-stricken African nations. Mobile technology gives them the ability to instantly access agriculture, education and health information from all over the world. To learn more about the impact of mobile technology check this out.

C’mon LeBron – show the love, show the loyalty

Written by Kelly · Monday, 28 June 2010 15:15

To persuade LeBron to remain a Cavalier, many Clevelanders have turned to the Web and social networking websites to show their appreciation for beloved player. There are hundreds of websites, YouTube videos, Twitter accounts and Facebook pages all dedicated to persuading LeBron to stay in Cleveland. To give you an idea of how Clevelanders are enticing LeBron to stay, we evaluated several blogs and social networking websites that were created to keep LeBron in Cleveland. Here are just a few that you might enjoy:

Website

Two Kent State students developed this site to support their campaign, "Please Don’t Leave 23" which is “dedicated to keeping LeBron James in Cleveland for the betterment of all Ohioans.” On the site, the students promote their iPhone app, Witness Mobile Petition and YouTube video that features Cleveland fans begging for LeBron to stay. It’s definitely portrays a heartfelt message to LeBron, “Please don’t go!”

Blog

What would you do to keep LeBron James in Cleveland? That’s the question daredevil Brandon George asks after every challenge. So far, Brandon proved he would do just about anything to keep LeBron in Cleveland including, getting slapped by 23 women and brushing his teeth with hot sauce. The best part? It’s all on video on his blog at www.InLebronWeTrust.com.

Facebook

Michael Symon. Iron Chef. Cleveland Restaurateur. And, soon to be LeBron’s personal chef? On June 1, 2010, Symon made LeBron an irresistible offer. Symon wrote on his Facebook page a sincere note to LeBron that promises LeBron, his family and friends an Iron Chef meal once a month, only if LeBron decides to stay in Cleveland. Wow! LeBron, have you tried Symon’s Mac & Cheese lately? It’s beyond amazing.

YouTube

Cleveland kids show how much LeBron means to them during the "Fans for LeBron James” flash mob that took place at Tower City on June 17, 2010. The Boys & Girls Clubs of Akron and Cleveland along with the Shaker Dance Academy performed an incredible dance routine to the songs "Holding Out for Hero" by Bonnie Tyler and Usher’s “More.”

Twitter

With more than 55,000 followers, the @LeBron2010 Twitter account was created to raise awareness and interest for the “Keep LeBron in Cleveland Billboard Campaign.” The tweets encourage Cavs fans to share comments, info and website links about LeBron’s free agency rumors, Cleveland Cavs news and support for LeBron.

Then, there are Cleveland fans that would rather stick to Cleveland’s legacy as a city known for having losing sports teams. Plain Dealer reporter John Campanelli narrates his reasoning why, in his YouTube video, "Quit begging LeBron James to stay; our legacy is at stake."

Do you think these Internet sensations will persuade LeBron to remain a Cleveland Cavalier? Share your thoughts on our Facebook page.

How much does Mitchell Allen rock?

Written by Kelly · Thursday, 24 June 2010 20:52

The weirdest thing happened to me yesterday at work. My computer and desk started shaking and the painting on my wall was moving back and forth. For a moment, I thought I was in la-la land, or some sort of time warp. I walked into Jason’s office and he also felt the floor beneath him tremble.

To confirm that we weren’t sipping on some magic syrup in our coffees, we turned to the Internet to see if there was any buzz about an earthquake in Cleveland.  I checked Twitter and he checked USGS.gov. Instantly, we both discovered that Canada experienced an earthquake and we were feeling its aftermath. It’s truly amazing how the Internet can inform, communicate and connect people. Click here to see some interesting stats on social media activity regarding the earthquake.

Creating Facebook pages that attract the Millennial Generation

Written by Kelly · Friday, 04 June 2010 11:07

Using inbound marketing techniques to create effective and targeted Facebook pages

Similar to how the Baby Boomer generation can remember The Beatles invading the U.S., I can remember the exact date when I became a member of Facebook. It was my freshman year (2004) in college and one of my friends encouraged me to create a profile. So, I did and everyday, several times a day, I searched for new friends to add to my network. For most of my college career, Facebook was the most popular Internet tool for college students to create, develop and monitor an online social identity.

It was a bittersweet moment for students when Facebook allowed anyone and everyone to join. We could now connect with our high school friends who didn’t attend college and our…mom, or anyone else, and even businesses. It gave employers an opportunity to pre-evaluate potential candidates and marketers another outlet to promote products and services to a diverse audience.

Because of this change, many of my fellow Millennials adjusted their privacy settings so that they are unreachable. As a result, outsiders are unable view their profile or even search for them on Facebook, which can be troublesome to marketers. How can marketers penetrate this generation on Facebook? Try simple inbound marketing techniques and an understanding of the Millennial generation.

The Millennials are creative, wholesome young adults with an edge and are constantly keeping up with the latest trends. Joshua Glenn, former writer of the Boston Globe’s Ideas Section wrote a piece in 2008 entitled “The Millennials, 1984-1993” in which he evaluates the Millennial generation by exploring historical events and pop culture that have influenced this intriguing group. He describes the “admirable generation” as “ethical, sweet-natured, hard-working, thrifty, and public-spirited.”

With everything at their fingertips and the intrinsic ability to navigate the information superhighway, Millennials actively seek opportunities that are of interest to them. As a marketer, if you have a product or service that is interesting to this generation and it has its own Facebook page, they will find you and explore your offerings. However, some marketers need to seal-the-deal and get this generation to “like” their page. By doing so, marketers can apply simple inbound marketing techniques to create a page that specifically targets this generation and their interests. Consider the following inbound marketing techniques to attract the Millennial generation:

Present an incentive. Offer anything from a free t-shirt to a new iPad for “liking” your page. Millennials are young and often times poor – anything will be an attractive prize.

Create an exclusive page. Some Millennials miss Facebook’s initial uniqueness, a website created for just the college crowd. Make your page exclusive by using verbiage that Millennials use, explore their interests and encourage conversation.

Advertise your page on other sites. In addition to advertising on your own site, advertise your Facebook page on the sites Millennials often visit such as PerezHilton.com, CollegeHumor.com and YouTube.com.

Make your page interactive. Lots of videos, images and meaningful messages will hit home with Millennials, as they will be more likely to engage in conversation.

Creating a Facebook page and indirectly marketing it to Millennials will help get your business’ message across effectively and precisely. Remember, Millennials are extremely good at surfing the web, discovering new websites and setting trends. Just like in Field of Dreams, “If you build it, they will come.”

Can you hear me now? Good. The best-ever advertising taglines according to Forbes.com

Written by MAG · Wednesday, 02 June 2010 20:51

Forbes.com recently unveiled the top 25 best-ever advertising taglines and well, we couldn’t agree more. A group of 10 CMOs, advertising experts and Forbes’ “ad-watching” editors judged the best advertising taglines from the past and present. The judges deemed these taglines timeless because their message and relevance can be understood by all generations. The brands with the top advertising taglines include BMW, Nike and American Express. View Forbes.com’s best-ever advertising taglines.

People love shade and nobody makes it better than Tri Vantage

Written by Kelly · Friday, 21 May 2010 19:28

Mitchell Allen's "Squint!" video gets attention and generates excitement for Tri Vantage products at the 2010 HD Expo

The Hospitality Design Exposition & Conference (HD Expo) is the premier trade show for hospitality design professionals. It's where the buyers meet the industry's newest and most innovative products and services. Our client Tri Vantage was an exhibitor at the show this year and we developed their booth's messaging and promotional pieces. With the assistance of Glazen Creative and fellow Clevelanders, we created a tradeshow video that promotes the benefits of shade and Tri Vantage's products.