Alex (@AlexBodman) our social media manager, copywriter, renaissance man has pulled together some thinking around Old Spice current shift in brand advertising. Well worth a read! Thank Alex.

Latest commercial from the Proctor & Gamble-owned Old Spice brand demands attention:

It firmly moves the brand away from its “Experience/Sophisticated”positioning into a “masculine/attractive to females” territory that although aimed at the older guy, could come to cause pain for the more youthful deo target market (Lynx, Rexona etc…).

The shift seems to have occurred last July, when the brand moved from witty ads featuring the likes of Bruce Campbell and Neil Patrick Harris to content with more of a youth focus.

New direction!

Online the brand has a solid site:

Where they leverage brand-appropriate sponsorship of racing:

And have even succeeded in generating ‘decent’ user generated content with the campaign Swaggerise Your Wallet:

Shame we can’t get a sense for the volumes of entries.

In the online store, consumers pay for branded goods:

On Facebook, Old Spice have a health 425k Fans. How this has been achieved (free, paid media, promotion etc… has yet to be confirmed) however the copy and brand tone is brilliant!

Not sure what the brand’s plans in Oz are and it’s still early days for this new brand positioning - but so far it’s an impressive move.

Marketing Vox article.

Target is on track to replicate its Facebook campaign success last year with a similar - and scaled down - promotion it just launched.

Marrying two big events in February - the Super Bowl and Valentine’s Day - in one promotion, the retailer has developed a football-themed e-card for Valentine’s Day.

Three guarantees in life, death, taxes and a very vocal response from the Soap team on anything to do with Star Wars and sneakers!

Original email:

http://bit.ly/6IQiQ8

Sure enough this opened the flood gates.

responses (capped it at 19)…

1. here’s the Skywalker shoes

…

Oh, just in case you’re wondering WTF is with the shark jumping title.

Nice simple idea around leveraging their vending machines and close proximity to consumers.

Love em or hate em, Coke are doing a solid job in touching their audience in a genuine fun and exciting fashion. (shame I can’t be as complimentary on their UCG forays).

www.facebook.com/CocaColaAustralia

Interesting article over at New York Times.

The Children of Cyberspace: Old Fogies by Their 20s

Image Oksana Badrak

“Researchers are exploring this notion too. They theorize that the ever-accelerating pace of technological change may be minting a series of mini-generation gaps, with each group of children uniquely influenced by the tech tools available in their formative stages of development.”

Dr. Ito said that children who play these games would see less of a distinction between their online friends and real friends; virtually socializing might be just as fulfilling as a Friday night party. And they would be more likely to participate actively in their own entertainment, clicking at the keyboard instead of leaning back on the couch.”

The notion of each generation being more tech savvy than the last is nothing new. What I find interesting is the speed in which technology is changing the landscape.

One thing that isn’t addressed in the article is that its not always the youngest members of the community that are the first to embrace technological advancements. For example its not school kids that are championing twitter or foursquare.

In some occassions the cost of the hardware dictates the segment of our society that are the first to jump onboard. iphone or gaming consoles are obvious examples. Will a significant shift to a cloud model change this condition? IF the hardware is cheap and readily available to the extent where a 10 year old can play with the same technologies as a working 20 something will this impact on current trends?

Vitamin Water’s Newest Flavor Tastes Like Facebook

Subtle undertones of stalker, hint of oversharing and heavy aroma of friend spam!

When Vitamin Water decided to let Facebook users create a new flavor we had no idea that the final product would pay homage to Facebook in so many ways. The new flavor, announced today, is called “Connect” (as in Facebook Connect?) and even carries the Facebook logo on the bottle label.

Ultimately Facebooker Sarah from Illinois was awarded the grand prize — a nice cash sum totaling $5,000 — for her role in designing the new Connect flavor.

Lastest in a long line of ‘U create our next product/tv/print ad….’. I’m all for the consumer inclusion into the product development and marketing, makes me very warm and fuzzy. However in the very competitive flavoured water space I’m not sure this activity would really make a change to consumer decision at the fridge.

Will I look cooler if I drink this brand of water? Will people make the connection between the facebook activity?

Hey if its good enough for ‘Curtis Jackson’ then I’m sold! Honestly.

Watch this space, ‘facebook Ford, U design our next car’ must be round the corner.

What will 2010 hold for digital? Being Australia based our predictions will be a little skewed towards our market but many will ruing true for everyone globally.

If you have a similar presentation or blog post post a comment. on Bannerblog as they’re rounding up the best and post in early Jan. For now here is Soap Creative’s 2010 Predictions.

Stay tuned for our 2025 predictions for digital in January :)

About 5 years ago I heard the then head of Mnet talking about the differences between advertising on the web vs mobile. He made some interesting simple observations around the fact that a mobile phone is personal and intimate device (even back then) and that the possible fallout from a misplaced ad or informal blanket brand message will be far greater than via receiving a message via the web or email.

When I read this Mashable post (Augmented Reality Advertising Is Here) I was reminded of these words.

Just because I’m outside a Starbucks and I’m the Mayor of a coffee shop across town I don’t necessarily want to see a Starbucks ad. In my opinion timing is a key element to contexual advertising.

I’m one of the most vocal lovers of GPS/contextual relevant messaging in the mobile space here at Soap however I think there needs to be far more consideration and sophistication given before brands and ads start being pushed.

I appreciate how import it is for a platform like foursquare to demonstrate a commercial and advertising value however I would have thought there would have been easier quick wins around offering real life rewards for engagement. If I’m the Mayor of the Aussie Youth pub, then I’d like cheaper drinks for spreading the word as a loyal customer.

Check out the article and let me know what you think. (if you’re not already off enjoying the festive sprit!).

Interesting post over at Marketing Vox:

New Barcode Apps Show Latest, Best Pricing

“Mobile Apps that use barcodes to find the best and more recent pricing are, not surprisingly, becoming very popular as consumers shop for the holidays. These Apps, some of which have just rolled out, are part of the larger success story that is mobile retail: namely, anything that offers shoppers a bargain or price cut at the point of sale - coupons for example - is a winning strategy.”

The first barcode reference is actually for RedLaser. I found this read and registered really well and picked up most grocery and fmcg items I had lying around the office. After reading the barcode it presents the name of the item. This feels like a basic first step, adding a link to the brand site would have been a nice addition however I imagine a logistical challenge.

iBarcode currently only services UK, US, Germany and France.

“Consumers don’t say to themselves, ‘This is a traditional moment and tomorrow I’m going to wake up and have a digital moment.’ So it’s about time we get beyond that ourselves.”

Great article in Advertising Age.

Stand outs for me being:

Just what is the impact of buzz?

Tia Lang

“As far as big name marketers go, Burger King may very well be the king of buzz. But there are critics who think all that noise doesn’t amount to much in terms of sales. Tia Lang, director-media and interactive at Burger King, respectfully disagrees and said it all depends on how you define buzz. “Social media is very important in today’s environment and we think that generating buzz is a positive result in and of itself,” she said. “We have done that with some innovative campaigns that have helped lead to* 20 consecutive quarters of positive comp sales*. We’re pretty proud of that and that’s how we would respectfully answer our critics.”

Mark Stewart

“Mark Stewart, VP global media services at Kraft Foods, said in today’s environment marketers have to provide utilities, solutions and real services to their customers, citing Kraft’s iPhone application. “There’s real connectivity between consumers, brands and content that they love,”