Oh I’m sorry…did I break your concentration? Along with being one of the best movies in the last 20 years, Pulp Fiction is chock-full of marketing insights if you look at it in the right light. Here, we pull out just a handful to discuss what brand marketers can learn from the film.
As a child of the 90s, one of the most lauded and influential films of that era for me was undoubtedly Pulp Fiction, thanks to its mix of dark humor, action, irony, and a unique tempo of scenes. It wasn’t a conventional movie when it came out, and even then I remember it sparking a lot of debate and discussion on topics like “is it too violent” or “what’s in the briefcase” or “should you ever take out your boss’ wife under any circumstances.”
Rather than trying to peel through the layers of the movie itself though, let’s take a look at what brand marketers can learn from Pulp Fiction. Here are seven of the best marketing lessons that Vincent Vega, Jules Winnfield and friends have for us. NOTE: Spoiler warning for those who have yet to watch the movie.
Be smart about working relationships – Choose your business partners and your... Read more
Tags: b2b marketers, b2b marketing, b2c marketers, b2c marketing, big kahuna burger, brand marketers, jules winnfield, marketing strategy, marsellus wallace, networking, planning, pulp fiction, Social Media, social media marketing, social networks, vincent vega
Posted in Opinions, Social Media, Word of Mouth | No Comments »
A brand is more than just a logo and a tagline. When different pieces of the marketing mix can be brought together with cohesive planning and execution, an enduring and profitable brand platform is created. Chipotle's first national commercial succeeded in strengthening their brand thanks not only to creative, but because its messaging linked back to the company's core promise.
For the sake of full disclosure, let me start by saying that I love Chipotle. I enjoy their food, I use their iPhone app to order without waiting in line, and I appreciate their insistence on making “food with integrity.” That said, it may come as no surprise that I also very much enjoyed their new commercial.
Not only was this commercial more impressive and interesting to me than any of the commercials during the “big game” this year, it also managed to be touching and memorable without straying from Chipotle’s core message and brand promise.
From the simple-looking geometric animation, to the perfect song (which became all the more appropriate when warbled by the legendary Willie Nelson), to the wordless but crystal-clear storytelling…everything in this ad hit exactly the right note. Head over to their website and the brand message is there, loud... Read more
Tags: advertising, advertising best practices, b2c marketers, b2c marketing, brand design, brand loyalty, brand marketers, chipotle, fast food advertising, willie nelson
Posted in Creative Best Practices, Opinions | 1 Comment »
What do businesses and brands have to learn from the Santorum/Savage “Google Problem”? Unwanted search results will always be alive online, and it takes an active approach to keep them managed as much as possible. With the right tactics, it’s possible to minimize reputational threats, but simply complaining about them will not find a resolution.
(Author’s note, this post is not meant to advocate for one political party or any single politician vs. another.)
Without getting into the frothy details (which you can find out about through the article links that follow in this post), Rick Santorum has become a high profile example of a common problem for many brands, businesses, and business leaders dealing with unfavorable search results that stray WAY off-message. Essentially, the candidate is dealing with a competitive attack page aimed at undermining his campaign and throwing a wrench in his own messaging.
What Santorum has NOT been doing over the past 8 years of the existence of columnist Dan Savage’s rogue page, is deal with it by creating more relevant content and employing even basic SEO tactics. Instead he has protested to Google (no word if he has also complained to Bing) to remove the page in question from its search rankings. ... Read more
Tags: brand managers, brand marketers, crisis communications, crisis management, dan savage, google, PR, product managers, public relations, rick santorum
Posted in Search, Social Media | No Comments »
QR codes represent a unique mix of technology and advertising that is steadily improving with evolving new forms and functions. But their functional improvement is meaningless if the platform is not applied with the right strategy and tactics in the real world in order to connect with consumers.
Most people within the marketing community are no strangers to seeing QR codes attached to advertisements and products these days. Even many tech-savvy consumers know how to create QR codes for promotion or information sharing, which is the beauty of their open platform design. Anyone can use them, read them, and get creative.
QR codes have created a new way for brands to engage their audience with products and services, and there are already quite a few examples of ways that “traditional” QR codes are getting pushed further, including the logo-friendly SnapTag. SnapTags are a gussied up version of the mobile interactive code options. Instead of the static-like appearance of QR codes, they’ve created a sleeker option that focuses more on branding with a cleaner code look based on gaps placed throughout a ring. Digimarc, another QR code boundary pusher, takes the cake by attempting to create mobile interaction with everything from an image to sounds.
Clearly, this mix... Read more
Tags: b2c marketers, b2c marketing, brand design, brand engagement, brand marketers, mobile communications, qr codes
Posted in Ad Serving, Emerging Platforms, Targeting | 8 Comments »
Posted by
Adam Leiter on January 27th, 2012 at 10:12 am
Engaging your customers across a wide array of channels and in the process offering the chance to buy your product at the same time... that's a winning recipe for the music industry, and brand managers and product managers would be wise to do the same.
After multiple years of declining music sales, 2011 finally saw a stabilization and slight growth, but most reports trying to decipher the reason have it all wrong. By trying to match the industry’s success to the success of certain artists, even experts are missing the point. The music that artists created wasn’t necessarily more compelling… but through more engaging delivery channels, the industry made a better connection in the way that it could be purchased.
No, musicians last year, yes even the much-lauded Adele and Katy Perry, did anything so radically different than in years past to be the cause of better music sales. The music didn’t suddenly become better in 2011, but the channels in which we can get music certainly did. It all comes down to the downloads, and the increased adoption of smartphones along with better delivery systems like Spotify and Pandora. Analyst Philip Leigh hits the nail on the head in a recent Marketplace interview, saying, “The good... Read more
Tags: brand agency, brand managers, brand marketers, brand marketing, Digital Marketing, katy perry, product managers, product marketing, • adele
Posted in Emerging Platforms, Entertainment, Opinions, Social Media | 1 Comment »
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