Marketing Thoughts by Domus Inc.

Although NBC continues to trumpet its success broadcasting the Olympics, a little analysis makes those claims suspect. Let’s highlight a few of these.

NBC claims that their Olympic coverage is reaching more people than any previous Olympics. Maybe, but that does not take into account the growth in the US population. (For example, John McCain got more votes than Ronald Reagan did. Was McCain the more successful candidate?)

NBC claims that they are getting relatively high ratings. Relative to what? The other networks are mostly showing repeats (with some notable exceptions) so there is not much competition. How about compared to previous Olympics? NBC actually is getting a lower percentage of households than prior Olympics (except maybe 2006 in Torino, which NBC also ran). And remember – this year the Olympics is taking place in a North American time zone, which always helps coverage.

So, could they do better? It’s a theoretical argument that might not have an answer. The world changes every year so comparing one Olympics to prior ones is not quite valid. Not only is the sporting world different (e.g., the U.S. hockey team this year is doing very well, but U.S. figure skaters aren’t as dominant) but the viewing world is different. Television is more fractured (cable, internet, etc.) and involves more technology (e.g., DVRs). NBC itself owns several media properties and shows coverage across them.

But the biggest question is whether NBC is correct in treating the Olympics as something other than a set of true sporting events. NBC tape-delays anything that they feel is better shown in prime-time. NBC also gives preference to female-friendly events and human interest stories, believing that they will capture the female audience who will in turn keep the male audience sitting with them. Are these good moves? I don’t know, but they do counter some basic marketing principles. NBC is hedging its bets, trying to appease two audiences but not committing 100% to either.They are straddling their position, which is generally not as effective as focusing on one. (They could, though, try to claim both positions by dividing its coverage across its media properties, but it would need to build up the media properties’ brand positions ahead of time.)

Domus is a marketing communications agency based in Philadelphia. For more information, please visit us at http://www.domusinc.com.

Volkswagon Automotive Group (VWAG) is already neck-and-neck with Toyota to be the largest automotive company in the world, and with its planned takeover of Porsche later this year, it might well solidify its position. VWAG owns the prestige brands of Audi, Bugatti, Lamborghini, and Bentley, but its largest brand is its mainstay, Volkswagon. In the US, though, the VW brand is no way near as successful in other countries, especially Western Europe, Brazil, and China.

VW is trying to address that by investing in new dealerships, a new US production plant (VW has not had a manufacturing presence in the US since 1988), and a new set of advertising campaigns. But other than increasing brand awareness, are VW’s marketing efforts coordinated to solidify a brand position in people’s minds? VW used to stand for inexpensive, solidly built and engineered automobiles, but what does it stand for now?

Let’s take a look at two of its higher profile advertising efforts, one on-line and one in traditional media. In traditional media, they have their “Punch Dub” commercials introduced at the Super Bowl. I like them – they are catchy, funny, and memorable – but I’m not sure what message I’m supposed to remember, other than to just be aware of VW cars. That would be OK, but it would be more powerful if they provided a reason – other than a fun game – to be more aware of them. And the tag line at the end of the spot is “That’s das Auto” (“That’s the car”). I’m not sure what that means.

On-line and in real locations, VW has been running a series of concepts and viral videos called “The Fun Theory”. This is their “experiment” showing the easiest way to get people to change their behavior (in good ways) is to make the new behavior fun. As such, they’ve created a piano staircase leading to/from a subway station, a pinball exercise machine at a bus stop, and others. Again, these are enjoyable spots, but what is the message? That VW is a responsible company? I’m not sure.

About the only commonality I find between the two sets of spots is a sense of “fun”. Is that their new brand position? I’m not quite sure. But I do think they would be better served if they knew and made it a little clearer to their intended audience(s).

Domus is an integrated advertising agency, public relations firm, social media agency, and internet marketing agency based in Philadelphia. For more information, please visit us at http://www.domusinc.com.

Volkswagon Automotive Group (VWAG) is already neck-and-neck with Toyota to be the largest automotive company in the world, and with its planned takeover of Porsche later this year, it might well solidify its position. VWAG owns the prestige brands of Audi, Bugatti, Lamborghini, and Bentley, but its largest brand is its mainstay, Volkswagon. In the US, though, the VW brand is no way near as successful in other countries, especially Western Europe, Brazil, and China.

VW is trying to address that by investing in new dealerships, a new US production plant (VW has not had a manufacturing presence in the US since 1988), and a new set of advertising campaigns. But other than increasing brand awareness, are VW’s marketing efforts coordinated to solidify a brand position in people’s minds? VW used to stand for inexpensive, solidly built and engineered automobiles, but what does it stand for now?

Let’s take a look at two of its higher profile advertising efforts, one on-line and one in traditional media. In traditional media, they have their “Punch Dub” commercials introduced at the Super Bowl. I like them – they are catchy, funny, and memorable – but I’m not sure what message I’m supposed to remember, other than to just be aware of VW cars. That would be OK, but it would be more powerful if they provided a reason – other than a fun game – to be more aware of them. And the tag line at the end of the spot is “That’s das Auto” (“That’s the car”). I’m not sure what that means.

On-line and in real locations, VW has been running a series of concepts and viral videos called “The Fun Theory”. This is their “experiment” showing the easiest way to get people to change their behavior (in good ways) is to make the new behavior fun. As such, they’ve created a piano staircase leading to/from a subway station, a pinball exercise machine at a bus stop, and others. Again, these are enjoyable spots, but what is the message? That VW is a responsible company? I’m not sure.

About the only commonality I find between the two sets of spots is a sense of “fun”. Is that their new brand position? I’m not quite sure. But I do think they would be better served if they knew and made it a little clearer to their intended audience(s).

Domus is an integrated advertising agency, public relations firm, social media agency, and internet marketing agency based in Philadelphia. For more information, please visit us at http://www.domusinc.com.

When Toyota’s first recall was announced a few weeks ago, their brand image took a hit, but not enough to destroy what had taken decades to solifify. But then they got hit with another recall and another, with the most recent being steering problems with the 2009-2010 Corollas. Not only has one after another problem arisen, but most of them affect newer models, which is indicative of the current state of the automaker’s quality. And, if that weren’t enough, a former Toyota lawyer is alleging that Toyota had been involved in “a calculated conspiracy to prevent the disclosure of damaging evidence.”

The damage now is severe, especially given that the U.S. Congress has decided to hold hearings, which means that the news will drag out for a long time to come. Moreover, Toyota’s President, Akio Toyoda, initially stated that he would not appear before Congress, although he just reversed course given the mounting bad news.

So, can Toyota recover? It will be difficult and costly – a PR nightmare – but they have no choice. They became an industry giant by owning the word, “quality”. This will be the beginning of a long decline if do not take immediate and long term steps to regain that brand position in people’s minds.

Domus is an advertising, public relations, and internet marketing agency based in Philadelphia. For more information, visit us at http://www.domusinc.com.

Microsoft might well have hit a home run with its Windows Mobile 7 announcement this past week at Windows Mobile Conference, and well into the 9th inning at that.(Nice baseball references with Spring Training just a couple of weeks away…) Although the first phones based on the platform won’t be out until the fourth quarter, they seem worth waiting for. The user interface looks sleek and fluid, similar to the Zune’s. Strong support for social media, photos, music, and videos is built in. Even some XBox Live integration is included. And for business users, the phones will support mobile versions of Office, including OneNote and SharePoint.

Moreover, Microsoft has not yet announced everything. At next month’s MIX10 event in Las Vegas, they will probably announce Silverlight 4 support for Windows Mobile 7. More specifically, they’ll probably announce that Silverlight will be the native platform for Windows Mobile 7 application development. That unleashes a huge army of .NET Windows developers onto the market, and it also means that Windows Mobile 7 phones will have full rich media web capabilities.

Coming into 2010, it seemed like the Apple recently announced iPad was going to be the year’s technological game changer, but the real game changer might be Microsoft’s Windows Mobile 7 phones . It will be a long wait for the fourth quarter, but an interesting one.

Domus is a full-service marketing communications agency based in Philadelphia. For more information, visit us at http://www.domusinc.com.

The Jerusalem Post is reporting that the Coca-Cola Superbowl ad showing a someone sleepwalk through the African savannah might have been a rip-off of an Israeli dairy ad that ran several years ago. The storyline, cuts, and even background music (Ravel’s Bolero) of the two are almost identical. (Below is a youtube comparison of the two.)

Whether it is plagiarism, creative borrowing, or an unusual coincidence remains to be seen, but whatever the outcome, Coke’s reputation is being tarnished. Will they or their agency (Wieden+Kennedy) feel the worst of it?

Domus is a full-service marketing communications agency based in Philadelphia. For more information, please visit us at http://www.domusinc.com.

Roughly 65% of the Super Bowl viewers are male, and making under $100,000 per year in household income. This year, though, a majority of the ads didn’t really seem to effectively target that demographic. Most were not funny or interesting to the average male football fan. On the other hand, several were emasculating (FloTV, Dodge Charger, Audi), one exhorted men to pamper their skin (Dove), and another showed males as ignorant (Bud Light).

Some ads tried (GoDaddy, E-Trade), but they weren’t really original. They were mostly just the ump-teenth repeats of concepts that succeeded a long time ago, as if it isn’t necessary to come up with original material for this demographic.

In my opinion, it’s not that marketers don’t know who their demographic is. Rather, it seems that they don’t think that they need to cater to it. Any other thoughts out there?

Domus is a full-service http://www.domusinc.commarketing communications agency based in Philadelphia. For more information, please visit use at http://www.domusinc.com.

Creating any print ads this year? Then it’s worth taking a look at Microsoft Tag. It’s a free technology both for advertisers and consumers, and it’s starting to get some traction in the marketplace.

Basically, as an advertiser, you can create your own 2D barcode design, which you embed in your ad. Then consumers who have downloaded Microsoft’s free Tag application for their web-enabled phones can snap a picture of the ad and go directly to your targeted web site landing page. It’s a pretty interesting way to merge the print, mobile, and internet worlds.

Domus is a Philadelphia-based advertising, public relations, and internet marketing agency. For more visit us at http://www.domusinc.com.