I never really questioned why a certain song played in a movie would seem appropriate for the tone and theme of a scene. Now I know! It is known as defining an ‘audio personality’. It requires selecting not only the correct, but the best possible match between a song and a movie scene. Did you know that this is also what happens in video games? The electronic arts business is quiet, but it is huge. I have previously touched on how big of a hit in-game advertising has become. But the world seems to offer endless opportunities. Electronic Arts (EA) Games, the world’s largest video game company, has delved into making the virtual world as comfortable for players as possible. Taking it as far as compiling research on the listenership profile and game-player profile and matching that up with a sound! How incredible! In a marketing sense, the marketer takes into account many aspects of an individual – race; age; gender; income, etc. However, couldn’t we learn a few lessons from the guys at EA, such as take more than the obvious into account?

The movie, 2012, has generated so much hype that my dad asked me to show him the teaser trailer to the movie on ‘Tube Yube’ this past weekend. The movie’s big draw-card is that it is another ‘end of the world’-type movie, but it differs from the ‘been there, done that’ feel ofDay After Tomorrow in that it’s supposedly based on real predictions and the fact that the traditional Mayan calendar ends on 21 December 2012. Scary stuff.

So the movie is based on a good premise, but does it live up to the hype? Seeing as it’s not yet out in South Africa, I’ve had to go with what’s out there in the social net… there is a surprising amount of commentary about the movie, and.UK’s The Guardian goes so far as to say it feels that viral marketing is getting too clever for its own good. The movie trailer alone is sure to interest many who would usually give this type of movie a miss, by stating “search ‘2012’ for the truth” – a quick Google search brings up over 1 000 websites and 175 books based on the idea that everything will come to a halt in 2012. It’s not often that a movie IS based on a form of truth. Lots of past events, and many common fears, yes. Potentially catastrophic future events… not so much.

The Guardian article goes on to state that 2012’s hype was linked to a web campaign on the Institute for Human Continuity (IHC) site. This gives readers a chance to enter the ‘IHC lottery’, which ‘guarantees every citizen on the planet an equal chance of survival in 2012”.

We’re not supposed to believe everything we see on TV or on the net, but if a website looks legit, people will start quoting it and passing links on to others. Before you know it, there’s mass –if not global – worldwide panic. This is what actually happened. The IHC website sparked many people to contact NASA – good old security system of the skies – asking them to stop the destruction… so many queries were made, in fact, that NASA in turn set up a specific site to deal with these concerns, comparing the hype about 2012 to that of ‘Y2K’. This was all about the movie, before it had been released, with the NASA page last updated on 9 November, and the international release date of the movie between 11 and 13 November.

My verdict? A very effective campaign by Sony, in that it definitely sparked people’s interest in the movie… if not a bit out of control in terms of mass hysteria. See it in SA from 2 December and decide for yourself whether the movie justifies the hype.

For more on the movie, visit www.whowillsurvive2012.com.

by Leigh Andrews on 26 November 2009

Neuromarketing is a relatively new field of marketing that is slowly gaining acceptance worldwide. In layman’s terms, an audience watched a pre-selected advert, and instead of verbally stating whether they liked the ad or not, their body’s physiological response to the advert is measured through sensors in specially-designed helmets and soft gloves – think scans to measure activity in certain areas of the brain; changes in heart and breathing rate; and galvanic skin response.

There are concerns about the use of neuromarketing, but generally only among those who do not fully understand its use – neuromarketing is not in place to glean hidden information from respondents, rather to improve the quality and accuracy of marketing survey results. While it provides deeper insight into the human brain, the results make for more effective advertising and brand loyalty campaigns, as marketers are able to pinpoint the specific aspects of the ad that stimulated a response in the audience – as well as whether the response was favourable or not.

For more on neuromarketing, click here.

What do you think the implications of neuromarketing will be? Feel free to post your comments below.

I’ve recently looked into the topic of mobile marketing – as in, the use of cell phones as yet another means to reach targeted consumers. In my opinion, mobile marketing works well when done with a clear strategy in mind, so as to not come across as spam. This means knowing from the outset specifically who your campaign will target, and why. Think beyond the initial ad line at the end of ‘Please Call Me’ SMSes – the opportunities are endless, ranging from advertising in mobile games (which are often downloaded), to using mobile short codes to find out more about campaigns featured on TV or radio.

The biggest selling point of mobile marketing lies in the fact that each cell phone typically has one unique user. So, unlike mass media such as TV and radio, the mobile phone (as with other forms of online advertising) is a specifically targeted communication channel, where users are highly engaged with the content received.

What do you think of mobile marketing – nuisance or a necessary evil? Leave your comments below.

When you talk about ‘green’ or CSR, do you mean it? Or is it part of your plan to fit in with the latest industry conversation? Perhaps I’m being unfair – some don’t believe that the whole ‘green’/sustainable ‘thing’ will even pick up. Yes, sure they say, it will be used, spoken about and then we will continue to do business the way we always have.

So I guess my question to you is as follows: firstly, are you a ‘green-washer’ or a ‘green-doer’?; have you taken real, meaningful initiatives to make a difference to the way your business activities are undertaken?; and, if yes, what’s driving you?

I looked at examples where Coke; Woolworths; Avon; Ariel and many other large organisations have really targeted a niche community to approach and uplift, something that falls right within their scope of work. It seems amazing to me, how every time I think we’ve hit the next big ‘thing’/challenge, people come up with the most phenomenal ideas.

So I’m curious: how are you going to flow with change?

BurrellesLuce.com recently published an article with tips on how PR and marketing professionals can boost their value through Facebook.

PR and marketing specialists have found many purposes for Facebook. In addition to general public relations and marketing initiatives, others include: internal communications; recruitment; coalition building; advertising; customer service; media outreach; and professional and personal networking.

BurrelesLuce.com say that by following these 10 steps, marketers and PR specialists should be well on their way to boosting their business value.

1. Define your goals for engaging clients through Facebook. Let your clients and connections know whether you’re planning to use the platform for professional, or personal reasons, or a combination. Then stick to that plan.

2. Choose your company’s representative carefully. Remember, the profile of the person who creates the page cannot be deleted without deleting the page itself. (Here, you probably won’t want your intern to create the page).

3. Protect your privacy. If you’re going to network with both professional and personal contacts, be sure to filter your lists and set privacy settings accordingly.

4. Treat your fan page or group like a mini-web page. Think of your fan page as an extension of your official website or blog. Provide links to become a Facebook fan, or join your Facebook group on your corporate site. Let your fans know of important updates, events you’ll be attending, and helpful resources via your page or group.

5. Engage your fans/group members with compelling content and discussion. It will help ensure that they return, interact, and possibly suggest your fan page or group to their connections.

6. Don’t pitch. Instead, focus your initial efforts on connecting with current clients and contacts. Then expand your relationship to others in your industry or to targeted niche markets.

7. Consider adding relevant pages to your ‘favorites’ on your fan page. This helps in networking; broadening brand exposure; and providing useful information to your fans. In addition, the companies; brands; and products you praise just might return the favour by including you as a favorite on their page.

8. Be careful of what and how often you post. Facebook has several measures in place to prevent the sending of spam. Familiarise yourself with Facebook’s write-up on warnings and its terms and conditions, so that you don’t inadvertently misuse the site and have your content removed or, worse, have your account disabled.

9. Use a current profile picture or custom images. This makes your page more personable; participants may be more likely to interact with you if they aren’t seeing a logo.

10. Advertise your enewsletter; contests; and promotions. Touting your giveaways and special events will help generate buzz and create interest in your offers.

Imagine that you willingly placed your brand on a website where people could write down the first word or phrase that popped into their mind about your brand? A bit unnerving, but perhaps helpful if you want to take initiative and turn your brand around.

This has actually been made possible by an initiative from Noah Brier, in the UK. He started out by taking a few brands and placing them on a website where people could leave the comments of their first impression. The more often a comment appeared, the larger the format it appeared in, in a tag cloud. This means for instance, that many people have thought that Wal-Mart is ‘evil’. The project has grown and is extending to Brazil and to Spanish-speaking countries.

Imagine if this initiative launched in South Africa. Would you be nervous?

Google defines the word ‘habit’ as an established custom or an automatic pattern of behavior in reaction to a specific situation (inherited or acquired through frequent repetition).

The book by Neale Martin, Habit: The 95% of Behaviour Marketers Ignore, is a good point of reference for marketers who may have forgotten, but need to refresh on consumers’ attachment to established habits. The book highlights that the human mind works in both conscious and sub-conscious levels, known as the ‘executive’ and ‘habitual’ levels, respectively. The ‘habitual’ mind controls about 95% of human behaviour and this is important as habit, and not rational thought dominates buying decisions. The habitual mind learns through repetition and reward and works automatically, and marketers can create habit-forming behaviour by making a product’s design intuitive. This requires building brand awareness and building customer trust.

According to Mis-Asia, habits apply to almost anything, even to habits that related to reading emails. For instance, the Global Consumer Email Study indicates that half of the Asia Pacific respondents feel that ‘subject’ lines are the most compelling feature, more than two-thirds of North American and European respondents select the ‘from’ line.

“This implies the need for individual targeting, timely/trigger delivery and relevant content, indicated the study. Additionally, discount offers, free product offers, familiar brand names and personalisation of subject lines increase the likelihood of opening e-mails among all respondents,” says Mis-Asia.

As marketers, how aware are you of your consumers’ habits? Or has forgetting about their habits become your habit?

It’s really creeping up on the advertising world. In-game advertising has steadily risen and is bringing in millions in profits. The beauty of this offering is the array of avenues that are available.

Advertisers can place ads in the game through labeling their products; by showing ads while a game is uploading; and also through the exposure when a game is converted into a movie. Music bands; advertisers; and pretty much anything visible in a game has the potential to catch the attention of millions of active viewers. This is positive for the industry, which is seeing a decline in TV viewership, as viewers are steadily shifting to the gaming space. This is certainly an area for advertisers to seriously consider.

On 28 October, I had the opportunity to join Draftfcb Worldwide’s Global Chief Strategy Officer, Michael Fassnacht, for lunch and a brief presentation on the Future of Communications, and how agencies need to adapt and learn from the changing nature of the media. Fassnacht was in South Africa to update the local Draftfcb team on global initiatives.

Beginning the talk, Fassnacht mentioned that he feels a strong need to move from transactional to relational advertising. He went on to discuss what he sees as seven key views for advertising communication of the future. These include the fact that while TV remains a strong advertising force, the means of advertising on TV are changing – now TV advertising is littered with website addresses and short codes to be SMSed for more information.

Another key point is that marketers need to react to the fact that each person is comprised of multiple individual personality types and roles – be it father; worker; dad; athlete – and each micro-segment can be individually targeted in advertising. This is increasingly becoming the case.

What’s your opinion on the changing nature of consumers, and advertising as a result? Post your comments below.