2007 Brought Marketers to their Senses...

Scott Cook (founder of Intuit) recently said that "A brand is what a friend tells a friend it is. Not what the company tells them." Kind of a scary sentiment for marketers, but I think arming consumers with information, entertaining them somehow unexpected and letting them spread the word is definitely the way of the future. And one of the best ways of doing this is by reaching them in viral ways and speaking to them in their own terms, acknowledging their power.

Which brings me to another thing that became apparent to marketers this year. Your product better damn well be awesome and live up to what you say about it, otherwise everyone will know in a millisecond. It is imperative that the way you speak to your consumer is AUTHENTIC and TRANSPARENT. According to Ad Age, our Experience Economy (where people are choosing products because of the experiences they incite/help create) has necessitated this non-phoniness in a big way.

Appealing to the senses (physically and metaphorically) has occurred a lot in the past year in interesting iterations:
Smell: For the relaunch of Weeds, Showtime created magazine insert ads with a scent strip, smelling like...what else? No word as to how they concocted/scent tested the fragrance. Also Kraft put out a scratch and sniff DiGiorno garlic bread card in-store to entice consumers to buy.
Sound: As previously posted, A&E's Paranormal-going-to-make-you-think-you're-crazy out-of-home ads. Also, TVs at grocery checkouts have directed sound systems that can be heard only by the first person in line, shielding the ears of cashiers from repeated messaging. One more: stores using sound waves that can only be heard by young ears to keep teenagers from loitering at their doors...
Touch: My favorite ad of the year - one for Fage yogurt (also a personal obsession as I eat one daily...) clearly shows (not tells) of the brand's main equity - the thickness of the yogurt. Check it out here:



Random facts:

Kraft boasts at least one product in 199 of 200 homes in the United States.



Window shopping 2.0: Polo Ralph Lauren created 67-inch interactive window displays that consumers could touch, explore choices of gear and even make purchases!


Most popular ringtone of 2007: T-Pain’s “Buy U A Drink,” followed by Mims’ “This Is Why Im Hot.”