Friday, March 27, 2009

Not all burger experiences are the same

Having just been on a stag weekend in Gosford the topic of fast food and burger joints has been at the front of my mind. Fast food is a bit of a misconception when referring to Hungry Jacks in Gosford. Due in a large part to the incompetence of one particular staff member it took my friend Ronnie 40 minutes to get his breakfast wrap. Surely this is some sort of record? It apparently wasn't worth waiting for although I could have told him that having been served 10 whole minutes earlier. To be fair mine was ready about 10 mins before that but it was beyond the staff member to give me it despite there being no other customers (who had been served). Even the guy who had gone to the drive through window had to get out of his car to see why his breakfast was taking 30 mins.

Maybe working there gets to you after a while...


Gratuitous Burger Ad to restore Ronnie's faith...

Tuesday, March 24, 2009

Qubik's 4 E's of experiential marketing

ENGAGE

Engage the consumer. Consumers are far more savvy, perceptive and aware of traditional marketing goals than ever before. To truly engage with them a brand has to be presented to them at the appropriate time and in the right environment.

EDUCATE

Educate them about the brand. A good experiential campaign will not only be informative but also create an emotional attachment using creativity to break through the clutter.

EVOLVE

Evolve their perception. Experiential marketing connects the advertising message and brand values in an interactive manner, reaching the consumer at a time when they are most receptive to the message. This 2 way communication aids in changing the perception of the brand in the mind of the consumer.

EFFECT

Effect their behaviour. Once consumers have tried the product, they are more likely to purchase as well as spread the word to their peers, utilising the golden word of mouth strategy. The end result is an emotional alignment which stimulates consumer consideration and adoption.

Tuesday, March 17, 2009

Are you looking after your brand ambassadors?

Firstly a definition: "A brand ambassador is an appointed representative of your brand that animates or brings to life your brand to your potential audience."

Brand ambassadors aren't merely promotional staff being paid a few dollars an hour to hand out samples. They are staff selected to represent the brand at the primary point of contact between your brand and the consumer. Whether this is at a tradestand, sampling in a train station or the check out person of your nearest supermarket they have a large influence on the perception of a brand.



Celebrities are often referred to as brand ambassadors however their main concern is not the profile of the brand. Celebrities accept endorsements either for the money or to increase their own profile or both. Whilst some celebrity endorsements can be very successful they have also been known to screw up on occassion, potentially damaging the brand.

Given that brand ambassadors can be so influential they should be shown respect and treated accordingly. By providing relevant training and explaining the brand objectives they will be better prepared to represent the brand. When given the correct tools they can have a very powerful and successful influence over the perception of the brand. If they don't meet the brand standards however they should be replaced immediately as you would with any other part of the marketing mix.

Supermarkets spend millions of dollars each year encouraging consumers to visit their stores. They publish weekly specials, discount vouchers and a raft of other initiatives to get consumers to buy from them yet the entire experience can be derailed by an unfriendly (perhaps untrained) check out person. Seriously, how hard is it to teach them to pack a bag? It is a frustration that could easily be eliminated and turned in to a positive experience.

Friday, March 13, 2009

Disabled dancer going with the flow for Visa

Saatchi & Saatchi London created this fun new spot as part of its European "Life flows better with Visa" campaign. It stars Bill Shannon, a freestyle dance artist who was born with a degenerative hip condition and has come up with a fascinating way of dancing on crutches.



It's a great feelgood spot in these troubled times. Maybe they've been reading my blog ...if you're happy and you know it

Source - Adfreak

Tough times...

It seems that times are tough for everyone.

Wednesday, March 11, 2009

Do you know who Craig is?





These great posters have started appearing in Melbourne. I hope Craig keeps it up and he manages to keep his identity a mystery. Once a secret identity is revealed it always ends badly...

How do people have the time?!

As soon as I start to work I run out of time to update my blog. How does everyone do it? Not to mention updating twitter and checking facebook, linked in et al. Guess they must be more organised. Memo to self - get more structure.

While I get my to do list in some sort of order here's a link to the only cool pop up I have seen. Merc