Labels: Advertising, Marketing, Social media

Image by MSVG via FlickrNow THIS is creative marketing we can all learn from! Hyandai, the auto maker that purports to have come up with America's most creative warranty a decade ago, which still may be the industry's best at 100,000 miles or ten years, has now upped their game for the current economy offering the following:

A decade ago Hyundai pioneered America's best warranty to show you the faith we have in our cars, Today, in addition to our warranty we're introducing Hyundai Assurance, to show you the faith we have in you. Right now, buy or lease a new Hyundai, and if in the next year you lose your income* we'll let you return it. That's the Hyundai Assurance.

*And the fine print is even great. Ironicallly, it's not a bunch of legal-ease and states:

Involuntary unemployment
Physical disability
Loss of driver's license due to physical imparment
International employment transfer
Self employed personal bankruptcy
Accidental death

I am sure the legal ramifications are there when you sign up, but to keep them away from the markting is smart and bold. In total there are several great lessons to think about here as marketers. Of course the first is to be creative with the offer. This sells itself. Secondly, I love the tone and the way it makes me as the consumer feel. I have not seen any ads, just the web site, but it is clean and simple. And, as they state, It DOES give me confidence. As we all know consumer confidence is the key to selling right now. Third, the wording is so crisp and straight forward that committees and legal meetings must have been managed well so the copy could SELL. Congratulations to the Hyundai marketing team. Nicely done.

This is the best I have seen in the first few weeks in 2009. You?

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• For the first time ever Toyota outsells GM globally

Labels: creativity, Hyundai Assurance, Marketing, Warranty

This headline is how Scott Monty at Ford Motors describes social media. Brilliant, I think, as we all play a role in it--I know here, at DC, we do. Much of the social media work falls to or is centered around PR, as Scott mentions in this Q & A, but all departments are touched by/contribute to the work. Who would have guessed a year ago that Ford Motors would have a social media strategy, a full-time strategist and a staff and agency backing him? Anyway, if you want a quick education, read the Q&A. And, if you're interested, check out Scott's blog.

Labels: Advertising, Marketing, Public Relations

Image by Getty Images via DaylifeGreat article from Dave Chase (Sun Valley Online, New West Media) pointing out that companies can and do prosper during economic turmoil. Worth the read when thinking about grabbing market share during this downturn. Ok, during this recession...

Here is the story.



-jamie

Labels: Advertising, Marketing

Image via WikipediaI have been recently checking out www.mobilemarketer.com . It is an informative web site on (I bet you guessed it) Mobile Marketing. There are some good case studies and it seems like a pretty good way to quickly educate yourself on what is going on in this space.

Labels: Marketing

Image by Getty Images via DaylifeLike everyone, I have tried to read about and understand this big ol' financial mess our country is in. This podcast has been one of the best sources of learning for me. It's almost an hour long, so check it out when you are knitting or out for a walk or something.

From Ira Glass, This American Life. Click HERE.

Host Ira Glass talks with an NPR business and economics correspondent about two gatherings he attended—one at the Ritz Carlton and one at a community college in Brooklyn. The first was an awards dinner for finance professionals who created the mortgage-based financial instruments that nearly brought down the global economic system. The other was a non-profit conference for people facing foreclosure.

Labels: Marketing

DC Report on Magnet Creative Conf. in Chicago.
Drake Cooper affiliate agency network, Magnet Global, recently assembled at the Hard Rock in Chicago, hosting creative leaders from the Martin Agency, Cramer Kresselt, and The Concept Farm; and Drake Cooper was in attendance.

This year’s theme, ‘The Craft of Creative’ kicked-off with The Martin Agency’s Bob Meagher, enlightening Magnet agency creatives with very cool insight on his work on the Geico account. Bob shared the gorey details of shooting the ubiquitous ‘but I do have good news...’ spot series and the ‘paid celebrity interpreter’ campaigns to boot -- including some sweet backstory on shooting with Burt Bacharach, Little Richard, and managing the artistic demands of Miss Butterworth.

Next, Bill Hallgren of Cramer-Kresselt featured a case-study on launching the Rozerum sleep-aid brand on the shoulders of Abraham Lincoln, a talking beaver, and random scuba diver dude. Rozerum’s “Your Dreams Miss You” campaign is a perfect case study on how bold, weird, and oddly familiar (see title) creative truly gives clients more bang for their buck -- being outspent 2-to-1 by pharma competitors and, ultimately, netting a higher brand ranking and exceeding sales goals for Rozerum.
Our final guest slots featured Jesse Coane and Rich Browd, both affiliated with The Concept Farm in New York. One a director/editor cutting his teeth with ESPN sports and BMW motorcycle; the other a renaissance artist leading branding and merchandising for MTV, along with any other creative muse which strikes his fancy. Here, the great takeaway for those in attendance was the completely open landscape for the next generation of creatives and the many paths available to anyone with a creative itch (Browd developed his own line of women’s underwear in the 8th grade).

All in all a most excellent gathering with DC’s fellow Magnet creatives, including great discussion, the sharing of ideas, and even a little friendly competition -- where DC won one of three awards for our new Northstar Cycle Courier campaign. Our thanks to Magnet for providing such a cool and stimulating forum for creatives. Looking forward to next year.

Labels: Drake Cooper, Marketing

Drake Cooper loves celebrating break-through creative work. We get involved in our local and regional shows, join our clients' industry award events, and participate nationally whenever we can. And we've been fortunate to win a time or two along the way. So it was very exciting to us when John Drake, our Director of Campaign Planning & Business Development, was asked to help judge the San Diego ADDY awards this year. Joined by representatives from Portland's Ziba Design and WONGDOODY/LA, John helped judge a wide collection of work performed by San Diego firms throughout 2007. Winners will be unveiled at the San Diego ADDY Creative Show on April 4th.

Labels: Drake Cooper, Marketing