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Archives for July 2008

Kissing and Ketchup Don’t Mix

Heinz’s Controversial Ad (video)

At least, that’s what the American Family Association had to say about a Heinz ad that was featured in the UK. It seems that the ad featured a homosexual family with a homosexual couple sharing a kiss as the male part of the union left for work. The AFA Christian group lodged several complaints that had the computer systems bogged down for hours at the Heinz headquarters. They were greatly offended and asked for not only the immediate removal of the ad but also for an apology to customers. Was this a good idea gone bad?

It seems that perhaps Heinz smeared it’s good name with the folks at the American Family Association, but quickly offered an apology with promises to never run the ad again. It’s almost like a little kid who got caught raiding the cookie jar – that unbelievably wide-eyed look as if they didn’t notice that anyone was looking. Is the apology too little too late, or was this a strategic effort to increase their sales? The ad featured a new product line that Heinz is introducing, so perhaps they wanted as much exposure for this new product as they could get. Although the ad has not run in any US outlets, the Christian group’s ties and interests ran deep enough that the UK media for Heinz took note. What were they thinking?

The media has ties to several varied special interest groups who want to get their message out and sensitize certain niche audiences. They use several media outlets to achieve this, including television, radio and print materials. They approach their message from certain angles and usually settle on one that will create buzz and get them lots of attention. While everyone doesn’t always agree or think the same on certain issues, the media has a financial need to cater to what their customers want and what the majority of their customers are seeking. This doesn’t always fare too well with the general population, as is the case in this news story, but being aligned with proper or “right” thinking isn’t always what the media seeks to do. Since right thinking is definitely relative thinking, it would stand to reason that they felt “right” in their choice to make and run this ad in its context.

Heinz will definitely garner attention from this use of advertising. How can they not? Whether they get new customers, lose faithful ones or just get a chuckle from it, they have definitely received attention. If nothing else, folks will want to try this new product just to see if it was really good enough for Heinz to put themselves on the firing line like they did. And, if it was worth it, perhaps other companies will take note and start producing “edgy” ads in an effort to reach customers. All in all, this was definitely a strategic move made by a company who carries a household name with their product alignment. Time will tell whether or not it was worth it.

Ketchup anyone?
 

Watch What You Say: Words Mean Things

The saying. “words mean things” goes beyond the general idea of the simple dictionary meaning of words. Words carry weight, intent, meaning and attitude. The “way” words are spoken are just as important as the words that are chosen. When choosing what words to use, in what context and to what audiences, media outlets should be careful in selecting words that can enlighten, entertain or even harm their readers.

The media has a huge responsibility when reporting the news, although they may often think that they do not. The public and private sectors rely somewhat heavily on what the media has to report, how they report it, what new evidence that they have found regarding products or even what the latest corporate hush-hush gossip is all about. The bottom line is although people are responsible for what they choose to believe, the media is responsible for reporting accurate and genuine facts. [Read more…] about Watch What You Say: Words Mean Things

Measuring Word-of-Mouth Marketing

There is an online debate in the marketing world related to measuring word-of-mouth marketing.  The online and offline buzz surrounding a brand or product has been nearly impossible to measure accurately, but the Word-of-Mouth Marketing Association (WOMMA) is trying to do just that by developing a standard metric system to accurately measure the success of all word-of-mouth initiatives.

Some marketers and brand managers argue against creating this type of metric saying that true word-of-mouth is earned by spending time, money and effort in building a relationship with customers.  I have to concur with that theory, but at the same time, with the explosion of viral marketing and social media marketing, both of which lend themselves perfectly to word-of-mouth marketing and generating an online buzz, there certainly is an abundance of new opportunities to connect with people through the social web. [Read more…] about Measuring Word-of-Mouth Marketing

Green Without Sustainability

South Sea Company
Share Price Bubble

Once upon a time, on the edges of Fangorn Forest, Gimli son of Glóin grasped the haft of his axe and eyed up the tree next to him.

He was in full flow about this “horrid, dark, dank, tree-infested” forest when a threatening rumble from the forest itself brought him up short.

Suddenly the dwarf realised the trees around him were in fact “charming, quite charming”, and in all likelihood avoided the environmental disaster of a-branch-dropped-on-the-head as well.

So the tension between dwarf and tree was interpreted by Peter Jackson in his film adaptation of JRR Tolkien’s “The Two Towers”.

It appears a similar rumble is starting to be heard amongst investors and those who serve them, the index companies. The most recent response comes from FTSE, who have just launched a new “Green Index”.
[Read more…] about Green Without Sustainability