Corporate Eye

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Susan Gunelius

Susan Gunelius

Moms Represent 20% of Online Users – Is Your Brand Reaching Them?

mom-computerThere is no denying the statistics that repeatedly tell us mothers are one of the most powerful and influential consumer groups.  A new study from Nielsen has found that nearly 20% of the active online population is women between the ages of 25-54 with at least one child. 

What does this tell us? 

First, that the Internet is a great place to reach this highly coveted audience of consumers and influencers, and second, that your brand needs to be connecting with that audience where they already spend time – online.

Next, the Nielsen study identified differences in online behaviors between segments of the audience as follows: [Read more…] about Moms Represent 20% of Online Users – Is Your Brand Reaching Them?

McDonald’s Unleashes McCafe Marketing Blitzkrieg – Will It Work?

According to an article on AdAge.com, McDonald’s has launched its biggest marketing push in history for the new McCafe coffee products.  I just received a direct mail piece on Wednesday for McCafe, but I swiftly threw it in the trash.  Why?  Because my local McDonald’s can’t even get their standard products and service correct, so McCafe has no hope in my mind.  But I digress.  Back to branding …

With the onslaught of McCafe marketing, I thought it would be interesting to see how McCafe is doing in Google Trends, which tracks the most searched for terms online, in comparison to its top competitors.  I got the idea after reading a post on the Official Google Blog about the accuracy of Google Trends in determining past winners of American Idol in the United States (hint – if the Google Trends success continues, put your money on Adam Lambert).

Let’s take a look at the search trends of McCafe vs. Starbucks and Dunkin’ Donuts over the past year.

mccafe_google-trends-12_months

Now, let’s take a look at the search trends of McCafe vs. Starbucks and Dunkin’ Donuts over the past 30 days since the marketing push began.

mccafe_google-trends

If Google Trends is right again, I don’t think Starbucks has anything to be worried about from McCafe, but did anyone really think there was cause for concern in the Starbucks camp?

Honestly, I think McDonald’s biggest problem with McCafe is brand positioning.  Your thoughts?

From Klingons to Kingons – Star Trek and Burger King Team up for Promotion

Burger King is investing a lot of its marketing budget into blockbuster movie sponsorship this summer.  According to The Wall Street Journal, Burger King will tie its products to Paramount Pictures’ Star Trek, Transformers 2 and G.I. Joe: Rise of Cobra.  The 3-film partnership is new for both Burger King and Paramount Pictures, and it seems like a home run for Burger King.

Burger King has released one of the company’s new ads for Star Trek glasses, which will be available at Burger King locations soon.  Certainly, both die-hard Trekkies and anyone who hasn’t lived under a rock for the past 30+ years, will recognize the parody of Star Trek Klingons appearing as Kingons in the new ad.  It’s clever, and as much as the Burger King character freaks me out, this rendition does seem to work. 

So often product placement seems haphazard and inappropriate resulting in a missed opportunity.  I think the Burger King and Paramount partnership is a good one.  It’s nice to see fast food restaurants tying their brands to movies that don’t have a G rating.  In other words, there does appear to be a place for fast food sponsorships in movies that aren’t cartoons (it worked for Burger King and Paramount for both the original Transformers movie and Iron Man).  I suppose these movies are based on comics and cartoons, but the audience for these movies is not likely to be made up primarily of the preschool demographic. 

What do you think?  Is the Burger King-Star Trek partnership a good one?

Image: Flickr

Disney’s Discount Slight of Hand

cinderella-castle-disney-worldI’m a big Disney fan.  I moved from the hustle and bustle of the New York City metropolitan area to live in Central Florida for both better weather and to be able to go to Walt Disney World whenever I want.  My family has lived here for 4 years, and we still visit Disney World at least once a week.  Until recently, I’ve had just a handful of negative things to say about the Disney theme park experience.  With the recession, my perception has changed quite a bit.

Let me preface this by saying most people who visit Walt Disney World would never notice the little price increases here and there that Disney has implemented at its theme parks over the past few years, but since I’m there so often, I notice.  For example, the price of drinks and snacks sold at the multitude of carts and kiosks around the parks went up first by a quarter and then by another quarter.  Next, the food portions at restaurants became noticeably smaller while prices stayed the same or increased.  When I moved here in 2005, the price to park each day was $3 less than it is now, and a new array of park ticket packages make the short-term visitors pay a lot more than anyone can truly afford even in the best of economic times.  Luckily, I’m a Florida resident so my annual pass is a decent value given how often we visit a Disney theme park (and parking is free), but it kills me to have to pay over $300 for each of my 4-year old triplets’ annual passes.

These are just a couple of examples of the little price hikes that Disney has implemented over the course of the past year or two to make up for attendance losses.  At the same time, the company has been discounting hotel rooms and packaging in their dining plan to resort bookings.  For example, a current promotion allowed families to stay for 7-nights but only pay for 4.  There is no doubt these discounts are working to boost attendance.  I have never seen the Disney parks so crowded at all times throughout the year as I have over the past year or so.  There simply isn’t a “down time” anymore.  I’m constantly amazed by how busy the parks are!

So what does this have to do with corporate branding? [Read more…] about Disney’s Discount Slight of Hand

Nielsen Report Shows Twitter Lacks User Retention

twitter-badge-follow-meTwitter might be growing to astronomical heights at record speed, but that growth isn’t as mind-blowing or valuable when you look at Twitter’s user retention rate.  A new report by Nielsen shows that Twitter is getting a lot of new users, but 60% of people who sign up for a new Twitter account don’t come back to the site a month later. 

According to the report, Twitter’s retention rate at 40% is higher than it has been in the past (previous months reported just 30% user retention rate).  However, according to an article on MediaWeek, both, “MySpace and Facebook had double Twitter’s retention rate at a similar growth stage, and their retention increased over time.”  [Read more…] about Nielsen Report Shows Twitter Lacks User Retention