Kleenex and Charlie Sheen - A Wild Week in Marketing

Lots of really interesting marketing news this week and I couldn't pick just one story to share with you, so I picked two!

Kleenex had a BRILLIANT social media campaign that utilized social sharing.
It's called the "Softness Worth Sharing" campaign and it got over 1 million samples to consumers nationwide in less then 6 months. The campaign let people send samples of Kleenex to their friends and family from October -February through Kleenex.com and also let people send virtual Kleenex through Facebook. This campaign increased market share by over 1.7 points in less then 6 months! Sounds pretty successful to me ( :


Charlie Sheen Merchandise
Charlie Sheen is like a really bad train wreck - its horrible but you just can't look away. His barrage of insane interviews in the last week has created tons of social media buzz and some hilariously bizarre quotes. He is cashing in on his infamous interviews by signing merchandise deals with companies like Live Nation that hopes to put Sheen merchandise in stores like Wal-Mart, Target, and Hot Topic. Some of my favorites? Winning T-shirts, tiger blood coffee mugs, and Charlie Sheen warlock wands. He is unemployed now (he got fired yesterday from Two and a Half Men), so he has got to make money somehow ( :
















Any other awesome marketing stories this week? I'd love to hear about them!

From the Classroom to the Boardroom...

Right now I am studying for my last marketing exam of my college career. Practicing for my final marketing presentation. Writing my final paper. Next week I will be a college graduate and I will be taking 4 years of knowledge from the classroom into the boardroom.

It's terrifying! Everyone says that I should be excited because I have already found a job at Intrepid, a market research company in Seattle. Its my dream job - delving into consumers minds, doing primarily qualitative research, and working with exciting brands like Microsoft. But I can't help but be scared.






Will I remember all that marketing information I have learned in the last 4 years?
Will my skills easily transfer over to the real world?
Will I impress my bosses, coworkers, and clients?
Will I be good enough?

I know these are questions that we ask ourselves when we make a major profession change - whether you are in marketing or in medicine or any field. So I was wondering - what was everyone's experience moving from the classroom to the real world? How did you deal with the uncertainties?

I appreciate all advice ( :

Going Viral

Unfortunately there is no secret algorithm to make a video go viral. If there was every company, everywhere would be creating viral videos and I would be entertained by videos of awesomeness all day long. But we are bright kids, right? Maybe we can figure out the secret to making a video go viral and become the digital marketing gurus of the future! Here are a few of my favorite viral videos (that are related to a product, brand, or service). What do they have in common? What do YOU think makes them go viral?

1.Sony Bravia -  Is it Cute Bunnies? Stop Motion?

2. Nike's Black Mamba - Is it A-List Celebrities? Witty Commentary? Flaming anything?






3. Levi Back flip - Is it ridiculous stunts? Is it that "Oh Shit!" moment?






4. Cadbury Gorilla - Is it bold color combos and awesome drum solos?







5. Samsung Extreme Sheep - Is it Ridiculous Innovation? Dorky music?







On a more serious note, really, what do you think? What do these ads have in common? What makes the "viral"?

I couldn't Have Said it Better Myself

I definitely am not the most insightful being in this blog-o-sphere, so I thought I would put some of my favorite make a post about my favorite marketing quotes to make you think and to make you think I am oh-so-smart!


These are my ten favorite marketing quotes - I hope they inspire you as much as they have inspired me. I know with finals coming up and graduation, we can all use a little inspiration. 


1.The Importance Of Actionable Market Research
"Great wisdom not applied to action and behavior is meaningless data." -Peter Drucker


2. How to Really See your Customer
"If you want to understand how a lion hunts don't go to the zoo. Go to the jungle." -Jim Stengel CMO of P&G


3. Be Flexible in Your Efforts
"It is not the strongest of the species that survive, nor the most intelligent, but the one most responsive to change." -Charles Darwin


4. Making the World Better Through Innovation
"The best way to predict the future is to create it." - Peter Drucker


5. So This is Why I am in College!
“Marketing takes a day to learn. Unfortunately, it takes a lifetime to master.” - Philip Kotler


6. And so Are We All
"We're not in the hamburger business, we're in show business!" - Ray Croc


7. My Most Valuable Product
"Don't turn down the chance to go anywhere. Join clubs, do anything you can to get out there and meet people. You are your product. Advertise it." - Max Markson


8. Ethics are Great. So are Profits. 
"Next to doing the right thing, the most important thing is to let people know you are doing the right thing." - John Rockafeller


9. Initiatite and Incite
"The easiest thing is to react. The second easiest is to respond. But the hardest thing is to initiate." Seth Godin


10. Find Your True Fans
"Fans, true fans, are hard to find and precious.  Just a few can change everything. What they demand, though, is generosity and bravery' - Seth Godin (Yes, he is so awesome that he deserves to have TWO quotes on here!)


Is there any pearls of wisdom I missed? Share them!

Soda Companies New Moves - Yay or Nay?

I was reading Ad Age today and saw two really interesting stories about Pepsi and Dr.Pepper. I thought I would share their new marketing tactics with you and see if you think its brilliant or if it falls flat?

Skinny Pepsi Can 
See full article at https://adage.com/article?article_id=148982




















Diet Pepsi is coming out with new packaging, the "skinny can", and an entire marketing campaign to support it. The can will still hold 12 oz. but will be over 6 inches tall and much slimmer. I think the new can is very attractive and is an interesting way to differentiate their product. Coke already has their own, unique, patented bottle that everyone is familiar with, so it only makes sense that Pepsi will follow suit.
A few problems with this idea -

• -Women's groups across the nation are saying that the can celebrates being "skinny" and is offensive to larger women. They think it will increase America's obsession with being thin and may increase the incidence of eating disorders.
• -They might not work in vending machines, which makes up approx. 10% of their sales
• -People are hesitant to change...New Coke or Clear Pepsi anyone?

Dr. Pepper's Mid-Calorie Soda

See full arrticle at https://adage.com/article?article_id=14898




















Dr. Pepper is releasing a mid-calorie version of its soda to appeal to men. The new version has 10 calories per serving, but is not technically a "diet drink", which many men refuse to drink because they find it to be feminine. Coke and Pepsi have tried similar campaigns with Coke Zero and Pepsi Max. Marketing efforts surrounding the new version of the soda includes packaging targeted toward men, a mobile "man cave" that will travel to six test markets, and commercials with lots of action.
A few problems with this idea -

• Coke Zero and Pepsi Max both originally failed in their marketing efforts - people were simply confused. Will Dr. Pepper 10 suffer the same fate?
• Coke Zero has NASCAR as a sponsor. Pepsi Max has the NFL. Dr. Pepper 10 does not have masculine, well known, national sponsor. This puts them at a disadvantage. 
• It actually claims to be a drink that is NOT for women in its advertising. Will this alienate their female audience?

So what do you guys think? Yay or Nay for these two marketing moves?

Geico: Spreading their brand too thin?

I don't know if you have noticed, but there are SO many different Geico commercials on the air right now. I feel like they are trying to appeal to too many audiences and trying to get a laugh instead of creating a consistent brand message that people can relate to. They are simply spreading themselves too thin. Here are just a few of the commercial campaigns Geico has had on the air in the last 6 months. Which campaign do you think best communicates Geico's value propisition? Should they nix the rest of these commercials and concentrate on the line of ads that really communicates their brand?

Money Watching You

The Geico Gecko

"Does a.....?"

Even a Caveman Can Do It

Books I Think Every Marketing Student Should Read

A lot of the learning I have done in college hasn't been in the classroom - its been in my room, alone, with a good book in my hand. Some of the most important lessons I have learned about marketing have come from books I read in my spare time that were suggested by teachers, colleagues, and other students. Here are a few of my favorites, that I think every aspiring marketer should read.

"Buy-ology" by Mark Lindstrm
Great for market researchers - delves into consumer's subconcious to find out why they REALLY make certain buying decisions. Very interesting to read as a consumer as well - you'll rethink every purchase you make and wonder what your real motives were.



Ten Faces of Innovation by Tom Kelly from IDEO
Explores the different types of innovation and the personalities that propel them. I spent the whole book thinking, "I am an anthropologist...No, a collaborator! No definitly a set designer." Then I realized I could be and had once been in all of these roles and wore all of these faces. This book actually inspired me to think out of the box and its one I recommend to everyone I know

Any book and every book by Seth Godin!

There are so many great nuggets of information in his books, I couldn't possibly choose just one! He has some amazingly insightful views on ethics concerning marketing, market research, and customer realtions. Hiss book on Purple Cows (I know your curious now, go look it up!) and how firms must create remarkable products and remarkable campaigns to be noticed in today's market is also a insightful (and very fun!) read. I would also recommend looking up his blog and some of his TED speeeches - amazing!

Branding with Brains by Tjaco Walvis

Its an interesting mix of neuroscience, physcology, and marketing. Really helps marketers understand what drivers consumers on a deeper (almost instinctual) level.

Notable Mentions:

• "The 22 Immutable Laws of Branding" by Al and Laura Ries
• "Ethnography for Marketers" by Hy Mariampolski
• "Focused Interview" by Robert King Merton
• "Predictably Irrational" by Deckle Edge
• "Cute, Quaint, Hungry, and Romantic: The Aesthetics of Consumerism" by Daniel Harris

I am always looking for new reads - any good marketing, market research, anthropology, physcology, sociology, or general business books that you think will help me when I graduate and go into the big, scary world?