Today, I received an exciting and enticing inter-office email offer that I was unable to ignore:
Leftover Pizza in the Kitchen!
Feeling the usual lunchtime hunger pains, I leaped from my desk and ran to the kitchen in plenty of time to snatch up my very own slice of delicious cheese pizza. While enjoying a break with coworkers, I was suddenly surprised by the packaging of the pizza boxes. Although delivered from popular pizza chain, Mellow Mushroom, the pizza boxes were covered with an advertisement from…The Wall Street Journal? Really? The messaging was: “America has chosen The Wall Street Journal the Nation’s #1 Newspaper,” “We Deliver Unparalleled Content, Unmatched Audience, Quality Solutions,” and “Read It and Eat.”
I wonder if the WSJ is specifically targeting all consumers or specifically business consumers (as the pizzas were delivered to an office building). I think it would be more profitable to target the latter as the content of the paper is business and financial news, which would fit better with corporate consumers. I wonder what the WSJ had to pay to get Mellow Mushroom for this. Hmmmmm…
But, I digress.
What I really would like to discuss is interesting ways brands are trying to reach consumers. I recall a news article from a while back in which a teacher or professor sold advertising space on the bottom of his exams to defer the cost of printing and paper. The WSJ concept is similar, except on a much larger scale. While interactive and traditional media are conventional (for lack of a better term), some brands, like the WSJ are stepping outside ‘traditional’ ways to expose consumers to products.
Daffy’s, a discount apparel retailer, recently played an interactive in cinema advertisement in which live dancers complimented three minute pre-movie commercial. See the ad here:
What I like about this ad is that it is literally spilling over into the audience and is able to really interact with them. The audience was also given coupons (hopefully ones that could be tracked) so that they would further be driven to shop at Daffy’s. What I dislike about the ad is the scope and targeting of consumers. While the ad ran for a full week—I’m sure it was extremely expensive to hire the dance troupe, and unless they can prove the ROI of the ad, I’m not sure if this was a worthwhile venture. Also, the audience was comprised of a diverse group of consumers. It can be assumed that (1) these consumers lived in the same geographic area and most likely shared some socio-demographic traits (although not specific enough to target), and (2) all wanted to see the same film (Amelia). Overall, and interesting, yet expensive and untargeted venture by Daffy’s, but one that is definitely unexpected and generating a lot of buzz.
DeBeers also launched an interesting advertisement last year—an installation piece in Madison Square Park (New York) which a couple would stand underneath a DeBeer’s diamond logo made of mistletoe, and be surrounded by a ring of high speed cameras. The camera would catch a couple sharing a kiss from 360 degrees, and would package the stills into a commercial with the phrase: Two things last longer than time. Love is one of them. A diamond is forever. Thousands of couples showed up to the spectacle and were able to be part of a really cool ad (and remember a moment in time forever). The best way to view come of these ads is to go to YouTube, and search for “DeBeers Unbreakable Kiss.” I liked this campaign because it included real consumers who could be integrated into the overall concept and really interact with the brand.
There are a lot of really cool concepts out there, and unfortunately, I don’t think I’ll be able to cover them all in one article, but hopefully the ads described above exhibit some of the new and innovative ways advertising is evolving. I am excited about the inventive ways companies are trying to go out and reach consumers and interact with them, thusly reaching a broader scope of consumers (who will hopefully become brand loyal consumers). I will definitely be looking to see what’s next!
I’m thinking that although this blog entry might be over for now, that this might be a recurring theme here. If you have any interesting ads that you think I should see—please send them to me at eckramer318@gmail.com.
References:
http://adage.com/mediaworks/article?article_id=139988
http://thefutureofads.com/when-forever-began-shares-a-moment-for-diamonds
About Me
- eckramer
- Growing up in Atlanta, GA, I moved to New Orleans, LA to achieve my BBA in Marketing and Management from Loyola University New Orleans. After being displaced by Hurricane Katrina, I spent a semester at Georgia State University, but was able to return to New Orleans to achieve my degree. Following graduation, I returned to Atlanta to pursue a coveted career in advertising. Currently, I am working as an assistant traffic manager at a prestigious advertising agency. I am a self-motivated, organized, detail-oriented, advertising professional with a strong sense of project ownership and proactive approach to issue resolution. Although my background has been primarily focused on online media, I have the ambition to learn and master new technologies, processes, departments, and other innovative facets of the advertising industry including broadcast and print production, public relations, communications, and strategy. I interact with a variety of people, personalities, and overcome unique challenges on a daily basis in a highly-dynamic environment under strict deadlines. I am always looking to increase success for myself, my agency, and our clients.