A Strawberry Focus Group at ICADE

Focus groups were originally founded during World War II in order to analyze and evaluate peoples response to radio programs. They were originally called “focused interviews” or “group depth interviews”. Since then, scientists have found focus groups useful in order to find out information about peoples beliefs, opinions and understanding on certain topics.

A focus group is actually defined as a group of interacting people which have certain characteristics in common and a brought together by a moderator. The moderator then uses the groups interaction in order to find out information about a certain topic or issue.

A focus group is normally formed by 7 or 10 people who are unfamiliar with each other. The participants are carefully selected so that they have certain characteristics in common that relate them to the topic or focus. The moderator encourages the participants to bring up different perspectives and ideas about the focus without making participants reach an agreement. The focus group is repeated several times with different groups that have different characteristics according to age, gender etc. This allows the moderator to analyze trends and patterns in perceptions. Finally, a careful analysis is carried out to find clues and insights as to how a product, service, idea or opportunity is perceived by these different groups.

Sometimes focus groups will allow companies to determine wether there product will be widely accepted in a market, wether only a small segment of the market will be interested or wether it is best to trash the product and begin research on a new one. Focus groups therefore allow businesses to localize there target markets from which they can then work on their communication, advertising, logistics and all variables of the marketing mix.

As I was interested in knowing more about focus groups, I decided to participate in one. At ICADE, older students were organizing a focus group in order to test wether strawberry Nesquik was going to succeed in the market (the product already exists). Here is a video of my experience in a focus group, I hope you enjoy:

I apologize for the fact that the language used during the video is Spanish.

AMAZING street marketing campaigns

The goal of street marketing is to use different methods and advertising spaces to get a greater amount of attention for an advertising campaign. Unlike guerrilla marketing that can take place online, street marketing is only present on streets and other public places. To show you how it works, here are some brilliant examples.

Two unsuspecting girls take the new Renault Clio out for a test drive with extra VA VA VOOM!

Win a Samsung Galaxy S4 using your eyes! But watch out, they are not going to make it easy for you…

Qualcomm decided to put up a poster with a URL in a bus top to give some suprises

Coca cola & bars

Coca cola, the most popular beverage Brand, was awarded with the Premio a la Eficacia, a Spanish price which was handed to the company in Madrid this year. The price was awarded to them due to their famous Spanish promotional campaign “Benditos Bares”, which helped not only the brand, but the hospitality Spanish industry to increase their income.

Coca Cola, new that many Spanish people drink their products in bars, and was also aware of the closing down of many pubs and bars in Spain due to the economic recession. Their campaign was based on their typical Spanish channel: Bars. The campaign achieved an increase in three points of the number of people who visited bars, compared to the figures in 2012.

Since the crisis began, bars in Spain have lost approximately 13 000 million euros in sales, and due to this astonishing figure, a total of 72 000 bars have closed down in Spain. Coca cola needs this channel to keep open, as to them it is one of their most important selling points, so they decided to create a campaign based on convincing the Spanish society to go back to their bars. To do this, the linked bars with emotional, friendship and family stories and tried to link the friendship in bars to the Spanish way of living.

The brand began to use new formats which they had never used before, and decided to involve all their staff in this campaign. They left the departmentalization and moved towards a matrix structure to make sure that all business areas were involved in the development of the campaign to ensure its success. One of the main innovations of this campaign, was the use of branded content. Coca cola developed mini tv shows such as “I+B ir más a los bares” and also programs like “Benditos Bares” which were shown on Spanish popular channels. They also introduced Line stickers with the “Benditos Bares” motto and these were downloaded more than 668 000 times by Line users.

The most surprising action, was the creation of the “San Bar-Tolo” day on the 29^th of June 2013. It was created as the saint of the bars and called customers to attend their local bars to celebrate the day. Many activities and shows were planned on that day such as special tapas, music concerts, children activities etc. Another important action was the creation of the bar anthem. The anthem became one of the most popular YouTube videos and the Coca Cola web site registered more than 110 000 visits in one week.

Results

Coca cola was seen as the most trustworthy company in spain after the campaign. People began to think that the company was not just working for their own benefit, but to help bars and to get people to go out, have a drink and be happy. This made people forget about their problems and associate the brand to the idea of friendship and family values, ideas which are typical of the Spanish way of living. 80% of the interviewed bars were very happy with the initiative and are willing to repeat the San Bar-Tolo day next year.

Check how it looks in YOUR HOUSE!

IKEA is planing to launch a new catalogue based on augmented reality so that customers can check how different models of furniture fit in their house without having to go to the store or to imagine how they would look if they bought them.

This is a clear way of personalizing their offerings to their customers. In my opinion it will result in an increase of sales, as no business has lauched an augmented reality campaign yet and everyone will be willing to try it, even if they don’t need new furniture, or will they? That’s exactly what the campaign wants to achieve. Even if people do not need new furniture, they will try out the new augmented reality catalouge, just to see how it looks. Then, if it looks good they might start thinking about buying the product.

It’s a way of attracting customers to your products by creating effective campaigns which poeple are willing to try out because it’s fun, easy and simple. The advert is actually based on those ideas. It’s a fun family activity that people from all age ranges can enjoy and it will help a family to decorate their house together. No more mom goes shopping beaceuse it’s boring for the kids, IKEA has been able to sell the shopping idea as an increadibly attractive activity. Would you try it out?

IKEA, folk and bachata

IKEA is presenting their new Trähus line, a Winter collection inspired in nature and a traditional style decoration. The new thing about this collection is that it’s limited edition, and that´s exactly what IKEA is triying to get across with their new advertisement campaign.

IKEA decided to emphasize on the fact that the line would only be in stores for a short time and that they would be available since the first of november, but they decided to incorporate a musical style to their message.

The campaign is composed of two televisión advertisements which focus on the temporality of the lines using folk and bachata musical messages as if the singers were customers which are emotively saying goodbye to the Trähus lines, wishing that they had stayed in the stores for longer. In the clips, the slogan is: “Beautifull, unique, but if you don’t hurry up, they will go for ever.” Romantic goodbyes always work!

In my opinion, even if the furniture and styles of the line are not shown in the advert, the way of getting the message across is so original and innovative that it imedeatly catches your attention. It is designed to focus on the temporality rather tan the natural style, as IKEA marketing specialists have considered that there are many other collections inspired on this, and something new was needed.

Axe: The twist

AXE advertisements are well known for making men actractive to women. They are sexual advertisements in which the main message for men is: use Axe and women will like you. Seems simple? yes, sex sells.

A little story

From 2003, Axe advertisements showed how the AXE products supposedly helped men attract women. In 2004, the advertising in the UK for the Pulse fragrance showed how it gave geeky men the confidence to dance and get women. In 2005, Consumer Expert Dr. Vince Wong, CEO of Insights Interactive, was hired to help explore cross cultural behavioral motivations of their young male adult consumers. This helped towards the development of the brand globally, resulting in award winning global communication campaigns. This was followed by Touch, Unlimited, Clix, and in 2007, Vice was marketed on a theme of making “nice” women become “naughty”. Dating coach Josh Pellicer (The Tao Of Badass) served as a consultant for the advertisements.

The twist

Due to the many years of sexual advertising from AXE, the latest ad was a big surprise due to the twist in it’s message: from sexual to love and peace.

“If it’s surprising, it’s designed to be surprising,” says Matthew McCarthy, Axe’s senior marketing director. “That’s one of the ways that we’ve found over the years is the best way to present an idea.”

McCarthy also revealed that AXE  often visits college campuses and talks to students to discover what topics and themes will captivate their main customers. Right now, McCarthy says, those topics are peace and harmony.

“The idea of making the world a more peaceful place is a pretty universal idea. Young people are saying, ‘Hey, this world’s pretty soon going to be my world and I’m going to be even more responsible for it.’”

The advertisement, which was developed by British advertising agency Bartle Bogle Hegarty, begins with   classic wartime images. A tank rolls through a devastated European city, an Asian dictator and a Middle Eastern ruler picks up a nuclear device. Halfway through, the story is turned on its head as each invader is revealed to actually be making a loving gesture toward a woman. If the typical Axe ad operates on the assumption that sex sells, this one attempts to prove that romance does.

The ad, which was shot in Bangkok, Thailand over 5 days, has become viral. It’s has almost 3.5 million views on YouTube and will be emitted during the Super bowl. The promotional campaign also has a #KissForPeace Twitter hashtag, through which users can upload photos of themselves kissing to Axe.The best photos will be displayed in a massive screen in Times Square on Valentines day.

Obamania

Barack Obama became a candidate to be a US president on the third of June 2008, after beating Hillary Diane Rodham by obtaining 2118 votes from his party members. Then, Obama started to launch a roaring, fierce and direct campaign to Americans so they would vote for him in the elections, and they did! How did Obama reach his objective?

Obama published two books: Dreams From my Father: A Story of Race and Inheritance (2004) and The Audacity of Hope (2006) before winning the presidential elections in 2008. These helped him to create a deep communication challenge as by telling his story and writing about his origins, he made his audience feel identified and he helped people to know more about who Obama was, transmitting confidence and trust. When it was time to vote for a candidate, people felt like they already knew Obama. He was able to sell himself as a real icon that represented the hope and progress for new American generations.

He counted with the help from David Axelrod, Robert Gibbs and David Plouffe, marketing professionals which helped him create a campaign made for people and by people (using personalized on-line campaigns). For them it was essential to know their target audience and potential voters and after deep analysis, they concluded that the young sector of the American population deserved a prior attention in the new campaign. Firstly they would attract them to register them as potential voters so that later they could gain their confidence.

2.0 Politics

Digital Campaigns were directed by Rishad Tobaccowala, and expert in digital publicity. He affirms that Obama won the elections due to the following reasons:

• Firstly, due to the excellent way in which his on-line campaign was executed
• Secondly, because he was able to use direct messaging to maintain his supporters informed and therefore gain their trust
• Thirdly as he used musical videos and many worldwide celebrities participated in his campaign. An example of this is the Obama anthem “we can” created by the Black Eyed Peas singer will.i.am

Maintaining communication channels with the use of e-mail allowed Obama to inform his followers about his activities, debates and meetings as e-mail marketing presents many advantages: low cost, interactive and can be used to target a large contact list. Facebook and Twitter allowed him to share even more stories, interact with users and proportion up-dated information.

Merchandising was also important it helped him to associate his image to projects and ideas. His logo was based in the “O” for Obama, and then, he decided to add a rising sun and a sea of red stripes (American flag), to hint at the image of a new beginning.

Keys to success

There are some main aspects of the Obama campaign which in my opinion, made the difference and were they key towards success:

1. He was the fisrt president that was able to create a strong link between a message and an image, himself. This is a personal-branding technique that Obama achieved by using simple, short, sharp and appealing messages such as “Yes we can”, “Hope” or “The change we believe in”.
2. The innovative use of 2.0 politics allowed him to reach a young sector of the American audience and offer a more personalized and interactive campaign. He made people see him as a person which was close to his audience and people began to trust him.
3. The sense of unity and internationality he used in his campaign, helped him to target people from all nationalities, races and ethnic groups. In some of his talks, Obama spoke in various languages and his main message was of hope, peace and unity. This caught the eye of Afro-Americans, Latinos and migrants.

What can we learn from the Ice-Bucket Challenge?

Whether you’ve laughed at your friend’s reaction to the ice cold water or taken the challenge yourself, postings about it are everywhere. This initiative has achieved something that’s every marketer’s dream: becoming viral and capturing everyone’s attention in just a few weeks.

How did this simple initiative turn into a movement in which celebrities such as Oprah, Bill gates, Mark Zuckerberg or Justin Timberlake participate?

The Ice Bucket Challenge helps the ALS Association, a charity which is dedicated to raising funds to research a cure for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. From well known established firms to small entrepreneurial projects, everyone has some marketing lessons to learn from the Ice-Bucket Challenge.

• Find a reason

The goal of the Ice Bucket Challenge was to get people to know ALS and to raise funds for its research. It’s success has been massive. The objective is simple and clear and the challenge doesn’t require much effort. You go online to donate or you pour a bucket full of ice water over your head, or you do both.

Consumers like simple and direct messages. They won’t take the time to read paragraphs about ALS. Simplicity is a marketer’s friend.

• Make it fun and easy

Everyone finds it hilarious when someone decides to pour ice cold water over their heads. Social networks have been flooded with funny videos of those who have accepted the challenge.

People like to laugh, so keep customer entertained with a video or photo that they would laugh at. Keeping things simple and connected with feelings makes people connect with an organization in a human way and this will normally encourage further engagement.

• Add a time constraint

People challenged to do the Ice-Bucket Challenge have only 24 hours to do it.

If you want an idea to succeed, keep a short time span in order to impulse action rapidly. By giving your audience a set time, the initiative, strategy or campaign will become a greater priority for customers.

• Create multiplication

The challenge makes participants nominate three other people to do the challenge.

Give consumers involved in the campaign the chance to forward the message with their network, so that they also have the experience of joining others and letting others join in.

• Make it social

News about the Ice-Bucket Challenge are being shared on many social networking sites like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube.

If you want an idea or campaign to spread out, make it easy for customers to share news across many social sites. Give people a reason to become involved.

• Give participants a chance to feel good

Everyone loves to feel good. The Ice-Bucket Challenge raises funds for a medical cause; this makes participants feel good because they’re helping others in need. The challenge also gives participants a sense of unity: sharing a positive feeling and a goal with the rich and famous.

The Ice-Bucket Challenge raised $168,000 in one week. The phenomenon was positive, authentic, compelling, entertaining and simple and those reasons determined its success.

The Tip Top case study

This case study can help us understand how important marketing strategies are. I think that when a business is going through a rough patch, marketing plans are vital towards heading the business towards success by creating innovative ideas to pursue customer engagement.

Neuromarketing in action

It all started with a simple question ¿Pepsi or Coca-Cola? In 2004 McCulure (McClure et al. (2004). Neural correlates of behavioural preference for culturally familiar drinks. Neuron, 44, 379-389) publishes his findings, a project in which cognitive processes behind decision making were evaluated. The decision taken in to account was simple: to decide between two beverages. The experiment was carried out on seventy people which were divided into three groups and each group had a different test.

• People belonging to group one were given two drink with no brand names, and had to decide which one they preferred.
• Group two were offered two identical drinks which were both Coca-cola and the brand name only appeared in one drink.
• People in group three were also offered two identical drinks which were both Pepsi, and the brand name only appeared in one of the drinks.

During the test, brain activity data was taken from the people involved in the experiment using functional magnetic resonance.

The results of this test are now part of the history of marketing. In the blind test (group 1), more than 50% of the candidates said that they preferred Pepsi over Coca-Cola, although when the candidates knew the brand, there was a strong preference towards Coke.

The data obtained using functional magnetic resonance show that during the blind tests, the ventromedial zone of the front lobe, which is an area that intervenes in the decision making process, was activated. In the test were the brands were shown, the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex and the hippocampus were activated. This suggests that when the brands were shown, the decision making process is affected by factors related to memory and past experiences associated to the brand. It was obvious that Pepsi had to change its marketing strategy.

Let’s now look at how neuromarketing works. Using a technique commonly known as neuro-trace which involves the use of electromyography and galvanic skin response, scientists tried to measure certain aspects related to the emotional response when subjects saw an advert, and the attention levels (or cognitive response) that the subject had towards the advert. Different version of the Sony Bravia television advert were analysed.

The index of emotional response towards the advert shows attention peaks that coincide with the presentation of visual stimuli. The moment when the frog crosses the street is a stimulus that causes a “positive response”, and that will later stimulate other attention peaks until the appearance of the second visual stimulus, the company’s logo and the television slogan.

In order to test the relationship between the presentation of the first visual stimulus (the frog) and emotional responses, a second advert was presents in which the frog scene had been omitted. The results showed a drop in the initial positive reaction, but also a fall in the attention levels and emotional response toward the second visual stimulus (the brand’s logo and the television’s slogan).

In this case, neuromarketing helps organizations to analyse and understand which elements of the advertisement campaign help the advert to be more effective by having a greater impact on the audience, and therefore cause a bigger emotional response and attention peaks.