Virtual Pumpkin Carving – How Cool Is That

Finally, the day that all kids – little and grown-up – have awaited since October began, came. It is Halloween. And what better present for your friends than a pumpkin that you personally carved for them to show them you haven’t forgotten them, that you care. But, unfortunately, it is impossible to send all your friends pumpkins, someone might say. Well, it turns out there is actually a way. Just go to http://www.theoworlds.com/halloween/ and you can carve as many pumpkins as you want and send them to as many people as you would like – virtually.

It is up to you whether to use free-hand cuts or, if your hand is a bit shaky (like mine), straight-line ones. What makes things even better is that if you make a hole that does not look quite like what you wanted it to be, you can always go back and redo the carve instead of having to come up with creative ways to turn your intended smiley pumpkin into a grumpy or an angry one (which can actually be part of the fun) or having to run to the nearest store for a new one when even the whole family creativity can’t turn the sieve-like pumpkin into something you would proudly put on your front porch. Once you have carved the perfect Halloween pumpkin you can go ahead and send it to its receiver. Here, again, you can choose between using the standard “Happy Halloween” message and customizing your own message to send to the specific recipient. Another good thing is that you could access your pumpkin whenever you like, using its ID number, and send it to different people with different messages. However, no matter whether you choose to use the standard message or write your own one, it will always end with a link to the site, prompting the recipient to go check it out personally. And that is why viral marketing campaigns are usually very successful – they are based on the assumption that if you get an e-mail from a person you know and who knows you and your interests, there is a great chance that the thing they sent you is not only going to attract your attention but is also going to be of interest to you. Once you received the e-mail, if you liked its content, you are then going to send it to your friends, then they – to theirs, and so forth. And if the ID number of the pumpkin I carved has anything to do with the number of pumpkins that have been carved (which I suppose is probably the case) it seems the viral idea is working for TheoWordls.com since more than 115 thousand pumpkins have been carved (and supposedly sent) through the web site.

As a marketing person to-be I am always curious to learn more about the people who stay behind the scene and who bring to live creative ideas like the virtual pumpkin carving. So who are TheoWorlds.com and what do they do? According to the information found on their website, they are a creative shop devoted to making your brand messages stand out in today’s cluttered media space. They believe in the power of fun for attracting people’s attention and that is why most of their online marketing products are Flash-based games – the perfect viral marketing tool in their opinion. Apart from Flash application development and design their services include illustration graphic design and animation; programming; web design and development; and concept developing and story telling. In their words their campaigns can help you attract more people to your website; increase your search position; promote your brand; and subscribe more people to your site newsletter.

Except for the Halloween e-cards they offer visitors to their website the opportunity to decorate their own gingerbread cookie Christmas e-card. They also have Coca-Cola’s brand placed in one of their award-winning games – The Office Space.

So if you are looking for a creative way to make people aware of the existence of your product or service for the upcoming holidays you may consider contacting TheoWorlds.com and working with them on your own viral marketing campaign. You are guaranteed that they will come up with something fun and catchy and as long as it is relevant to your brand you should not worry about attracting people to your site. The word will spread around on its own. Like a virus.

Product Placement in the EU – It Seems More Like It Won’t Be

This is a follow up on my post To Be, or Not to Be – That Is the Question from September 26. In that first post I discussed the fact that politicians in the European Parliament are considering to change the media policy of the EU which prohibits product placement. Now, a month later, as November 13th, the day when the European politicians will make their decision, approaches the situation is getting pretty heated.

In fact, there is a real possibility that the amendment, which will bring Europe in line with the U.S., won’t pass since it faces really strong opposition in some of the European countries. Public resistance is particularly strong in Germany. Even though the proposed change did not raise negative public opinion in Britain, product placement will not be permitted in the country if the opposition prevails in the Continent. If the liberalization of the rules is denied a market worth ₤100 million (nearly $190 million) will remain untapped by marketers.

According to Viviane Reding, the European Commissioner responsible for information society and media, “nobody seems to like it [permission of product placement]” For this reason she urges broadcasters to “fight it if you want to keep it [liberalization] as proposed”. Her comments and the overall situation on the Continent have caused British broadcasters to doubt whether the change will be committed as proposed.

On November 13th, broadcasting ministers across the European Union will have to take a lot of important decisions about the future of advertising in all its various forms in the EU. Besides product placement, they will be discussing other revisions of the Television Without Frontiers directive concerning the controversial regulation to the internet video.

On the same day it is also expected that a final opinion will be issued by the European Parliament on the Audio-Visual Media Services directive. Before they can make their decision they should receive the concluding report of the commission that has been appointed to scrutinize the new rules.

I can imagine that advertisers are expecting this date with somewhat mixed feelings. The acceptance of all proposed liberalizing changes will be a huge success for both European and American marketers who are now having difficulties tapping the European market. However, failure to pass the amendments will be, according to Dan Sabbagh from The Times, “another blow for advertiser-funded commercial television, which was hoping that product placement could help to offset softness in traditional advertising.” The author of the article makes the observation, which his U.S. colleagues have long ago made, that it is much harder to avoid advertising when it is embedded into the program content than just switch the channel or rewind the tape (in case you TiVo or another personal video recorder fan) during commercial breaks.

“To pass, or not to pass” that is the question broadcasting ministers throughout the EU are asking themselves. To broadcasters this probably translates as “To win, or not to win” millions if not billions advertising dollars, while to marketers it maybe sounds “To expose, or not to expose” millions of people, helpless to do anything to avoid it, to their advertising messages. How much do you think the voice of the viewer counts when such big money and interests are involved. US, democracy’s bastion, made its decision long ago, let us now watch and see what the EU thinks.

Pontiac Is Getting into Real Estate – Virtually

On October 20^th Pontiac announced that it was planning to become the first auto brand with presence in Second Life. For those of you unfamiliar with the gaming world, Second Life is a partly subscription-based, privately-owned 3-D game developed by Linden Lab, which allows players to live a virtual, “second” life free of the constraints of the reality. Today this virtual world has more than one million “inhabitants” and the number of players is increasing by 20 percent month over month. To enhance the feeling of reality, players in Second Life have developed a virtual economy, buying and selling staff, including real estate property, using Linden dollars, the official currency of the game, which can be obtained not only by participating in the game but also by using actual credit cards.

It seems Pontiac’s advertising agency, Leo Burnett Detroit, discovered the great potential for product placement this virtual world offers and made sure that Pontiac is the first auto brand to make use of them. In a partnership with the award-winning branded entertainment agency Campfire (New York City and Orlando), it developed a six-region land mass called Motorati Island, which will give car-lovers the opportunity to create their own community. To allow them to do that, Pontiac will offer free land for players.

If you are a Pontiac fan and you have an avatar in Second Life, all you should do to get your own piece of Motorati Island is go to MotoratiLife.com, the island’s micro site, and submit a proposal for your project devoted to car culture. Pontiac will review all proposals and appropriate land accordingly to Second Lifers. In November, players who had their projects approved can actually start implementing them. A grand opening event, leveraging several of Pontiac’s current media assets and partnerships, will accompany the brand’s launch into the game. The ultimate goal of the project is to “create a vibrant car culture within the community.”

According to Mark-Hans Richer, marketing director at Pontiac, their mission is “to create a place for car lovers that doesn't exist today.” However, the car manufacturer does not want its participation in Second Life to be limited to pure marketing. Rather they want to enhance the experience from the game by empowering players to create their own unique and meaningful experience. As Richer states “We're just providing the inspiration."

What is more, Pontiac will not limit its presence in Second Life to the community based projects. The car manufacturer will create its own presence by opening and operating a virtual Pontiac dealership where Second Lifers will have the opportunity to purchase customizable versions of the newly introduced Pontiac Solstice GXP. After they have designed your own Solstice players can then go ahead and test drive it on a high-performance test track. Proud Pontiac owners can even showcase their cars in a public gallery. To go with the dealership, on Motorati Island there would also be a replica of the Pontiac Garage music stage in New York City's Times Square where real artists, in the form of their Second Life avatars, will have the opportunity to perform live.

This campaign, developed by Leo Burnett Detroit, is an excellent example of an integrated marketing communications (IMC) program which aims to reach customers with a relevant message the way they want it, where and when they want it.

Axe Enters the Branded Entertainment World in Latin America


Axe, Unilever’s male brand of fragrances, has partnered up with Fox Latin America Channels to create a new nine-episode animation series centered on the deodorant and titled City Hunters. The series was produced for global distribution in Buenos Aires and directed by Carlos Baeza, also known as the director of some of the episodes of the world-famous show The Simpsons. The characters in the show, an aging playboy and a young man left by his girlfriend, were inspired by the designs of Italian illustrator Milo Manara. The first episode of the original production of Fox Factory and content development division Axe Attractions premieres on Fox Latin America on Monday, October 23rd, at 11p.m. The remaining eight episodes will air in consequent Mondays, all beginning at 11p.m.

City Hunters tells the story of Axel, a hopeless young man dumped by his girlfriend, whose entire life changes when he meets Dr. Lynch, a master creator of men’s fragrances, the epitome of the ‘70s playboy. Lynch is also a member and current guardian of Lodge X, a two-thousand-year-old top-secret society (notice any similarities with The Da Vinci Code?!) devoted to the study of women and how to get them who is looking for his successor. In the face of young Axel he finds an apprentice who has to walk the long way from being left and alone to becoming an expert in seducing women. This is a challenge for the expertise and mastership of Lynch who must turn the diamond in the rough into a “Seductor Absolutis” – man capable of conquering all different types of women, before passing on all responsibilities for the society to him.

Hernán López, president of Fox Latin American Channels and managing director of Fox Channels U.K., says that being able to produce such quality animation in Latin America is a great leap forward for the industry. He also asserts that teaming up with a partner the rank of Unilever for the production of branded entertainment fills everybody in his team with joy.

Christian Cores, marketing regional manager of Axe,

You Want to Watch a Real Good NFL Ad – Do It Yourself, Then

Last Friday, AdAge.com published an article announcing that, like Chevy and Frito-Lay, the National Football League has started its own competition for the best NFL ad made by fans. The promotion, entitled “Pitch us your idea for the best NFL Super Bowl commercial ever. Seriously.” begins on October 31^st with the launch of the site www.nfl.com/superad. The site will not only provide fans with complete information on the competition but will also make available to them online elements such as video montage of highlights from auditions, as well as interviews, commentary and commercial pitches from NFL stars and celebrities such as New York Jets linebacker Jonathan Vilma, NFL Network personality Rich Eisen and actor Don Cheadle, for use in their videos. Fans are allowed, or rather – asked, to be as creative as they can possibly be, however, with the strict restriction that all ideas should be exclusively football-related and the Super Bowl should be the only brand featured. The winner of the competition would see their ad turned into a 30-second spot directed by Joe Pytka that would run during the February 4^th, 2007, game.

On November 16^th, the NFL team will begin a tour in three major NFL markets to gather pitches from fans. The first stop will be the Giants Stadium East Rutherford, N.J. where on the November 17^th and 18^th the first pitches will be made. Following is Texas Stadium in Irving, Texas on December 1^st and 2^nd. The final stop is Invesco Field at Mile High in Denver just a week later on December 8^th and 9^th. The goal is to have all pitches reviewed and limited to 12 finalists, which will be posted on www.nfl.com/superad, by December 15^th when the final decision-making period begins.

The winner will be chosen by a final judging headed by award-winning director Joe Pytka . He will be reviewing the submissions during the contest and publishing his comments on the promotion website. The other members of the jury are yet unknown. Nevertheless, it was announced that it would consist of various members of the extended NFL family, including people in marketing, advertising, and media. Fans will also have the opportunity to take part in the election by submitting their votes online at www.nfl.com/superad between December 15, 2006 and January 7, 2007. The winner would be announced on January 8, 2007. They would have the opportunity to view the filming of the ad. Additionally, the winner and a guest will receive an all-expense-paid trip to Miami to see Super Bowl XLI as a special guest of the NFL.

Sounds great, doesn’t it. So all you football fans, let your imaginations fly and, who knows, it might be your ad we are watching on the BIG DAY.

Is the King of Burgers a King of Games, As Well!?

Recently, the fast food chain Burger King announced that for the holiday season its customers will have the opportunity to buy a unique collection of three Xbox/Xbox 360 games with the purchase of any Value Meal. Starting on Sunday, November 19, the Xbox Game Series will be available for a limited time until December 24 (or while supplies last) exclusively at Burger King restaurants throughout the country.

The series includes “Pocketbike Racer”, “Big Bumpin’”, and “Sneak King”. All three games are compatible with both Xbox and Xbox 360 and feature a number of Burger King mascots, such as the King, the Subservient Chicken, and Brooke Burke, into visually rich, three-dimensional environments that give players of all ages an entertaining, interactive experience on one of the most popular video game platforms on the world. They are based on some of the most popular game genres – racing, action, and adventure – and rated “E” for everyone.

The five levels of “Pocketbike Racer” will give gamers the opportunity to experience the wild world of Pocketbike racing, competing against the King and his crew on five distinct tracks with different levels of difficulty. The game will include multiplayer races for four people on the same Xbox or Xbox 360, or eight people online over Xbox Live.

“Big Bumpin’” again puts Burger King mascots into competition with one another, however, this time the emphasis is not that much on racing but rather on bumper-car ride. The game will also have a four-player action and online multiplayer support.

“Sneak King” takes the stealth action genre and puts into a friendlier use than usual. Rather than sneaking behind enemies in attempt to break their necks, players will surprise hungry people with offerings of Burger King menu items.

The three game were developed by Blitz Games, on of Xbox’s key development partners and Europe’s largest independent video game developer exclusively for Burger King. The Xbox Game Series is part of an integrated marketing campaign including television and print advertising, in-store merchandise, custom packaging, consumer events, and Internet micro site. A sneak preview of the games will be featured at the MTVU Gamorz Ball college campus gaming tour that begins on October 24. On launch day, the Burger King No. 00 Dodge will hit the track, debuting an all-new car design featuring the BK Xbox Games in the season-ending NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series race at Homestead-Miami Speedway.

This is not the first time Burger King is trying to enter the gaming sphere. However, this time instead of integrating Burger King products into already existing games, the food chain is having games exclusively designed to accommodate its products and symbols. It will be interesting to see how these are received by gamers who are known to be notoriously demanding and willing to condemn any game that does not offer them a satisfactory gaming experience. Many people are suspicious of the quality of games available for $3.99 each. If this campaign succeeds we may expect to see Ronald McDonald or Wendy entering the gaming world as well soon.

A Lesson in Product Placement

You are not quite sure what product placement is? Don’t worry, not a big problem. Just watch the last episode of CSI: New York and pay attention to the scene containing the words “edoc laundry”. By the time it is over you would probably have a perfect idea of what well-integrated product placement is.

So, what is “edoc laundry”? Probably the most concise answer to this question is – an apparel manufacturing company. However, this does not tell the entire story. Because it is not only about the shirts and hats edoc makes that are hipster enough to be found in shops in West Village. What makes the garments so attractive is the secret code enciphered in the fabric of each piece of clothing. The key to understanding the code is hidden in the underbelly of the shirt. As Noah Robischon from Entertainment Weekly puts it: “this mysterious line of apparel… mixes fashion, technology and gaming.”

What is the game, then? Before you can even get started you need a piece of edoc clothing. After you have deciphered the code hidden in it (which is not such an easy task) you should go to www.edoclaundry.com and click on “nothing to hide”. The introductory video to the link sets the props for the game.

“Once upon a time, there was a band called Poor Richard. “It started off as a dream” and “spawned a revolution.” However, it “ended in murder.””

Your mission is to find out who is the murderer – presumably, the cloths will tell you the story. Each bit of the story leads to other secret messages, which will eventually lead you to webpages or even mobile phone numbers that will reveal you the whole truth. You can start off by entering "Call me a patriot", the code revealed in the CSI's episode to get a better understanding of what the game is all about. Hypothetically, there is some truth to the whole thing, however, no one has gotten far enough into the game to claim that with certainty.

In the world of gaming this is called alternate reality game – a type of game that overlaps the game world with reality, by utilizing real world media, in order to deliver an interactive narrative experience to the players. (wikipedia.com)

Alternate reality games are an innovative combination of a game, commercial, and art. And the producers of CSI have always been into plot line involving edgy culture-related staff. And even though it is generally really hard to find a product that matches the plot of your program well, this combination seems to be very successful. And this is probably not the last time we’ll see edoc on CSI.

It Is McLovers Not McDonald’s – Believe It or Not

I am wondering, if you came across a site that had the golden arches, Ronald McDonald, and the logo “I’m lovin’ it!” on it, what would you think? McDonalds!? Well, it turns out you might be wrong and the correct answer be McLovers, or at least that is what the site www.creamaid.com/mclovers.html claims.

What is this entire buzz about!? The idea is really simple – you go to a McDonald's, buy an item on their menu and take a picture of your McDonald’s experience. Then you rush home, sit in front of your computer and write a blog post about your pictures. Along with your pictures, you attach the competition’s widget to your post and wait to see whether your post will be selected to earn a $10 prize. Even if your post is not among the winners you still have chances of winning some money if someone participated in the competition through your blog. Actually, you get $5 for every referral participation.

Who stands behind this? That is a good question to ask, unfortunately, I do not have a good answer for. However, if you make the effort to read all the information on the webpage, you would find out that the site is made using CREAMaid.com platform. So what is CREAMaid.com? As the company’s homepage claims, this is a service to help you:

“1. meet other bloggers with similar interest by simply writing blog posts.
2. even make money while doing that.”

The way to achieve this is by initiating a CREAMaid Conversation. Well, that looks like anyone can kick off a conversation, doesn’t it? If you are really devoted and click on all available links you might eventually find that this is not quite right. Why not? It turns out that by “conversation” the creators of CREAMaid.com mean a “promotion campaign”; “conversation starter” stands not only for the person who begins the “conversation” (as previously defined) but also for the person/organization that pays the money to the person (people) whose post(s) have been selected.

I do not know who the conversation starter in this case is, but one thing is for sure – they must be big McLovers if they are willing to pay all the royalties and referral fees for the contest. And all this out of good heart and love for McDonald’s. Believe it, or not.

And one last thing. I just went to McDonlad's homepage and - guess what?! They have a picture of a couple and the man is... holding a camera and taking a picture of them having a great time. What a lucky coincidence.

Beverage Companies Following the Trend

Yesterday, we talked about the tendency of seeding viral advertising into social-networking websites and the factors that determine whether or not these seedings are going to be successful. So I decided it might be helpful to look at several recent examples and evaluate them to the criteria we already set.

On August 2 this year Smirnoff released a video on YouTube.com advertising its new product – Smirnoff Raw Tea which comes in three flavors lemon, raspberry and peach. The video cost the company 200k and as of today has been viewed by more than 1.6 million people. The idea for the campaign came from Smirnoff’s agency Bartle Bogart Hegarty. The producer of the video that became an overnight success on YouTube is Julien Christian Lutz (aka Lil’ X and Mr. X) of HSI Production. After the video featuring white preppies rapping about their life and lifestyle was released it received wide mass media coverage including reports on the CNN.

The pros of the campaign: Generally, it is very hard to market a hybrid between vodka and ice-tea, however, Smirnoff does a pretty good job. Probably, the best hit is the choice of the protagonists in the spot. Ice-tea is famous for its geeky, snobby appeal and instead of trying to run away from it Smirnoff and BBH expose it upfront making fun of it. Most likely, this is the key to the video’s success. Had they chosen any other approach, the campaign would have had a little chance of success and the product would have been as appealing as a lime wine cooler. By confronting ice-tea’s established image upfront, Smirnoff gives its new product a good start because consumers are usually willing to grant honesty a chance. The popularity of rap culture among young people these days also contributes to the success of the video among the product’s target audience. The fact that it is really fun and entertaining also works to Smirnoff Raw Tea’s advantage.

The cons: Even though they made several pretty clever choices, Smirnoff and BBH did not manage to fulfill all the criteria to make the campaign an absolute success from its very beginning. One of their biggest omissions was the fact that although at the end of the video viewers are asked to visit the product’s website teapartay.com for several weeks people who took the action found nothing but a note announcing that the site is “coming soon.” You can imagine how many of the people who saw the video in these first days prior to the launching of the site were disappointed and never made a second attempt to find anything more about the Smirnoff Raw Tea. As Tom Ajello from Agency.com puts it "With viral, the thing you are building is actually never just about the video, game, blog, etc. at all--it is about the reaction and content that the seed catalyzes. Many marketers aren't prepared to act and react real-time according to what their target users generate. If you're not fast, you'll create great "seed buzz," but miss an opportunity in consumer-generated-content land. But then again, we're talking about this right now, so that's a success in itself.” Another thing that works to the product’s disadvantage is its label that has nothing to distinguish Smirnoff Raw Tea from the rest of the alcoholic beverages on it. Not even a trait from the preppies from the ad or at least something blink. And if you are selling an alcoholic ice-tea you have to have something that shouts “pick me” on it otherwise no one is going to notice it.

Some other examples: Vodka manufacturer Soyuz-Victan (SV) had the first episode of its online SV-TV show on October 2. The idea of the show is to attract members of the public to appear on TV as part of the advertising campaign in key U.S. cities. The TV series would also feature scripted and semi-scripted scenarios whose plots will be revolving around SV supreme nightlife experiences with the purpose to find the answer to the decades-old question “Which is the smoothest vodka?” The episodes of the series would appear exclusively on a dedicated site called AreYouSmooth.com which will link visitors back to the SV Vodka website. Additionally, outtakes and behind-the-scenes teasers will be leveraged as part of the viral marketing campaign to promote the series.

SV’s TV series came soon after the launch of the first online TV channel – SingleMalt.tv – devoted to a single malt scotch on the August 29 this year. The host and on camera presenter on the majority of the segments would be Charles MacLean. The channel is focusing on Scotland and the distilleries producing some memorable with all the favorite local characters. The site is launched by Visionmill Productions who say it is specifically targeted at single malt aficionados around the globe. However, since the Internet channel is subscription based it faces one big challenge – to find enough scotch lovers willing to pay more than $25 per year for downloadable programming. An important question that arises is “Is there enough news and information - that hasn't already been visited - to support continued creative and original programming?”

Viral Marketers to Conquer Social-Networking Sites

At the end of last month Jupiter Research released a report revealing that 20% of online advertisers wanted to enter into the social network’s world. Advertisers believe that seeding marketing messages in sites like MySpace.com, FaceBook.com, YouTube.com and the like is the future of online advertising. So far, the most popular viral marketing techniques have been:

• Tying online advertising into offline events (44%).
• Advertising within blogs (40%).
• Advertising that encourages consumer participation (38%).
• Advertising within games (35%).

This same report, however, also makes it clear that 69% of the people who visit social-networking sites do not trust the product information found on them. This fact naturally leads the writer of the report to the conclusion that social network campaigns will have to be included in “more conventional forms of online advertising” in order to be successful. Even though they have the potential of greatly increasing brand awareness, they cannot on their own guarantee the success of a product. In order to be most efficient, viral ads on social sites have to be supported by company websites and/or landing pages. Research data revealed that people are twice as likely to trust product information found on such thypes of sites than on their social-networking counterparts.

The main idea underlying the notion of viral marketing is that viral campaigns have exponential growth that heads ever onwards and upwards. In his speech Insights into Viral Marketing given recently in London, Chris Quigley, Marketing Director at Rubber Republic, argues that this is not true. According to him when a viral marketing campaign is launched on a social network site it gets enormous popularity and viewers’ exposure in what seems a blink of an eye, but then can as quickly fall into oblivion without leaving a trait if the creative is not of the highest quality and the media choice is inadequate. In Quigley’s view, reaching key opinion leaders in your chosen target market is as important as if not more so than achieving great publicity. This is easily understandable when you think about it. If you are releasing a product that is only going to be available in the U.S., you should not care about people in U.K. seeing your ad because they are not in your target audience and obviously are not going to buy your product (due to geographical restrictions if nothing else).

Bearing this in mind, a question that emerges right away is “How can I make sure that my viral marketing campaign leaves a lasting impression in people’s minds?” According to Bruce Seah, Marketing Consultant who has been in Internet marketing since 1999, there is a quick test for that. “Is there a buzz factor? Is it something that people cannot help but talk about it? Does it make people say wow? Is it so simple that even a child can do it? Does it add value to people’s lives?” If you answered “yes” to all of the following questions and you know that your viral campaign is supported by a well-developed, easy-to-find-and-navigate website, you need not worry – word-of-mouth will do the rest of the job. If, however, you think that your campaign lacks some of the previous, you probably need to do some more work to achieve the results you are hoping for.