May 9th, 2013 by Ryan Wilensky
You know that old keychain you have with your name on it? You know the one I’m talking about, it’s the one that your parents bought from the tchotchke store when you were a kid that you’ve been holding onto all these years. Well, Coke in the UK is taking this idea of personalization up a notch in the by offering personalized bottles and cans. The products will feature 150 of the UK’s most popular names[1]. So
for all you Sophias, Emmas, Olivias, Aidans, Jacksons and Ethans: you’re in luck! (Top names from 2102 according to babycenter.com[2]) Sadly, there are those that may not be as lucky. For instance, Jason Lee named his child “Pilot Inspector” and I suspect a branded can will not be available featuring said name.
For those folks whose names were not chosen, the company will also have cans available that read “Share a Coke with Friends” as well as a website where users can customize their own bottle and share it virtually.[3]
The campaign is quite intriguing from a branding perspective. As one Coke spokesperson put it: “it’s quite unusual and arresting to see your name replace a brand as iconic as Coke.” It certainly creates a buzz around the product and perhaps even makes a subconscious connection with the consumer that this drink is special because it is personalized especially for them.
However, from a Sales perspective, it seems they also run the risk of distributing a product that many people won’t purchase. In the digital world, often times the more specific you can be to a user, the better, but does that same thinking hold up with a product? Rather than drinking a generic Coke product, perhaps consumers will feel alienated when they cannot find the bottle or can that is specifically theirs.
One thing I would assume is that the average soft drink consumer will likely spend just that little bit more time in front of the cooler before choosing the soft drink. And perhaps the next YouTube sensation will be hidden camera videos of people sifting through bottles upon bottles to find their very own personalized version that they can drink, enjoy and place the empty bottle right next to that old keychain they’d been holding onto.
[1] http://www.psfk.com/2013/05/share-a-coke-uk-campaign.html
[2] (http://www.babycenter.com/top-baby-names-2012)
[3] http://www.thegrocer.co.uk/fmcg/drinks/in-the-latest-coca-cola-promo-names-are-the-game/342741.article
Tags: Advertising, Brand Awareness
Posted in Advertising, Brand Awareness | No Comments »
May 8th, 2013 by David Gibson
Target Cartwheel Home Page
Launching this week is Cartwheel, a new deals program from Facebook and Target that will initially offer more than 700 deals that are redeemable only in Target stores. And every time someone claims a deal an automatic Newsfeed post is generated unless the user has elected to turn off that option.
This sounds like an earlier Facebook program, Beacon, that generated so much user dislike that Facebook had to end the program almost before it began. Both companies claim that Cartwheel is different because the user has the option to disable the Newsfeed post. And, just for the record, purchases of some items like underwear and personal care products are automatically kept private.
But this is an interesting attempt at integrating the online world with brick and mortar locations. Each user can add 10 deals from a variety of collections (groupings of offers themed around events or product categories), the deals are valid for a month, and can be used four times per transaction as well as multiple times throughout the month. Users can also stack the deals with manufacturer’s coupons for increased savings. Cartwheel apps for IOS and Android are due out this summer but the main site was built using responsive design so it can be accessed from your mobile device now.
What are your thoughts? Will this be another Beacon-like meltdown for Facebook or will savvy shoppers flock to the site?
Tags: advertising tactics, Facebook, Marketing, online marketing, Social Media Marketing, Social Networking
Posted in Advertising, Facebook, Marketing Trends, Social Media, online marketing | No Comments »
May 1st, 2013 by Shane Kelly
I eat out quite a bit, and I have avoided a lot of restaurants that offer up a subpar web experience. Even though many of these establishments might have great food, if I can’t accomplish simple tasks like finding out if you are open, looking at your menu, or finding your location, I am probably not going to make the effort to come in for dinner.
It is understandable that restaurants don’t always have the greatest websites. The owners and operators are passionate about food and the experience they offer, and don’t often have the expertise or time to focus on marketing or technology in general. That being said, there are plenty of major high end restaurants with plenty of resources (even including expensive top end chains) that are losing a lot of business because of poor website experiences that lack basic information about the property.
All restaurant websites should include the following to ten items, while ensuring these basic items are easily accessible from the homepage.
- Restaurant address / link to map & directions
- Restaurant phone number, contact email, and online reservations if possible
- Hours of operation
- HTML and PDF versions of the menu
- Current specials or offers
- Links to social properties/ offers, or social status updates posted by the restaurant
- A description of the food/experience/niche
- Misc. items of importance (dress code, credit cards taken etc…)
- A mobile version, or responsive/mobile-viewable capabilities, with a click-to-call enabled phone number
- Optimized meta data – Avoid generic tags like “Welcome” or “Home” and include the name of the establishment along with the type of cuisine and the location i.e. “{Restaurant Name} – Boston Italian Restaurant”
Once main requirements are taken care of, there are also a few items that would be considered “nice to have”:
- Photo gallery – Include pictures of the establishment, cuisine, etc…
- A description of the background of owners, chefs etc…
- Information about nutritional information, or details for ingredients in menu items – in some cities and states restaurants are actually required to include things like calorie counts for menu items
- A page with reviews, testimonials, links to 3rd party sites like Yelp (if reviews are positive)
- Online ordering capabilities (for restaurants with a good amount of takeout/delivery business)
And there are a few common things you might find on restaurant websites that should never be there.
Three things restaurant websites should never have:
- Music or sound
- A welcome or splash page
- Heavy flash based content
Making some simple changes to a restaurant’s website could lead to a lot more walk in traffic, reservations, and ultimately sales.
Tags: restaurants, website design
Posted in Advertising, Mobile Web, Website Development | No Comments »
