I came across a great article today on ClickZ on how Zappos is using customer service to create Word of Mouth advertising.  The main idea is that by creating great service, customers are happy.  Happy customers become evangelists for your company and products.  Evangelists tell their friends about how great your company or product is, which in turn creates new customers.  Your new customers also become happy through your great service and the cycle continues on and on.

The benefits of creating great interaction points with your consumers is not only repeat business but the ability to spend less on advertising and other promotions to gain awareness or trial. The premise is simple but many companies overlook how important being customer focused is in all aspects of their business.  It’s not only about having a great service staff but also having the customer focused attitude and beliefs throughout your organization.

My former company, Aplia, did a great job of using customer service to its full advantage.  We believed in giving 24/7 support for our professors (customers) and students (users).  Our internal goal was to reply to each support email within 1 hour. Often we replied back to our users within minutes. It wasn’t only our support teams that had our customers in mind.  Our product development process was always customer focused.  Our goal wasn’t just to produce a great product but how we could support the needs of our users better.  We spent alot of time using customer feedback, usability studies, and sales force intelligence to gain insight.  We took the time to listen and our customers loved us for it.  We always overdelivered as an organization and it became a competitive advantage for us. 

Great nostalgic commercial for Pontiac’s new G8.  Pontiac used the popular 1980s game Spy Hunter as the theme of the advertisement.  It’s definitely something that I played as a kid.  Here’s why I like it:

1. The music and imagery is unmistakable.  If you hear or see the ad playing, it’s engaging and attracts immediate attention. 
2. Spy Hunter hits the target market of the Pontiac G8. People in their late 20s and early 30s will remember playing it and recognize it immediately.
3. It creates positive associations for the Pontiac G8.  Most people will probably remember Spy Hunter as being fun and cool.  It is also reminiscent of their youth.  These all create emotions that is positive for an emotitional decision like purchasing a vehicle.
4. The advertising shows off the Pontiac G8′s handling, power, and styling.
5. The commercial broke through the clutter.  I was engaged enough to look up the car and the commercial.  I would not have even put the car in my consideration set before.

For my Advertising and Sales Promotions Class, we were tasked with selecting an existing advertising campaign and developing a new one via a creative brief. I chose Gatorade and it’s introduction of it’s new sports drink Gatorade Tiger. Announced in October 2007, Gatorade and Tiger Woods have agreed to a 5-year licensing deal worth as much as $100 million[1]. In the deal, Gatorade will introduce the new sports drink in March 2008. Gatorade Tiger will be available in 3 flavors – Red Drive (Cherry Blend), Cool Fusion (Citrus Blend), and Quiet Storm (Grape).

Basic Problem – The advertising must introduce a new sports drink to the already crowded beverage market while taking into consideration Gatorade’s current offerings and advertisements. Currently, Gatorade offers a multitude of products including Gatorade, Gatorade Frost, Gatorade Rain, Gatorade All Stars, Gatorade Fierce, Gatorade X Factor, Gatorade AM, Gatorade Xtremo, and the newly introduced G2. As of May 2007, Gatorade accounted for 85.5% of the bottled sports drink market with Powerade as their largest competitor. Gatorade is also competing in the bottled water market. Their Propel Fitness Water offering currently holds 5.1% (Appendix B) of the market. One of their more direct competitors is Vitamin Water. Much like Gatorade, their marketing strategy revolves around the sports industry as well. Over the years, they have signed several marquee athletes such as New England Patriots’ Tom Brady, Chicago Bears’ Brian Urlacher, and Houston Rockets’ Tracy McGrady. They also have branched into the non-athlete promotion arena with rapper 50 Cent. Gatorade’s biggest challenge is to expand the bottled sports beverage/functional water markets and not cannibalize their own sales. A secondary challenge is take into consideration their current marketing efforts as well as the image that Tiger Woods has already established. Tiger has and is continuing to endorse several other products/brands including Accenture, Nike, Buick, and American Express.

Objectives of Advertising – For Gatorade Tiger, there are several important objectives that we need to attain:

1. Create Product Awareness and Introduce Gatorade Tiger – This is a new product that will be introduced in March 2008. Consumers need to be aware that this product does exist and what it looks like. This is the first sports beverage to be endorsed by Tiger Woods and the first one to relate to the sport of Golf.
2. Induce Trial – The advertising must also create interest in the product so that consumers will purchase and try Gatorade Tiger.
3. Leverage and Strengthen the Gatorade Brand – The advertising should add to and not deviate from the Gatorade Brand. According to Gatorade’s website, “Gatorade is scientifically formulated and athletically proven to quench thirst, replace fluids and electrolytes and provide carbohydrate energy to enhance athletic performance.”
4. Goal of $150M[2] in retail sales for Year 1 – This is an internal goal for Gatorade, which would require Gatorade Tiger to become the #3 bottled sports drink.

Target Audience – Gatorade Tiger’s target audiences differ slightly from the usual Gatorade consumers. Their Platinum Customers (Primary Target) would be males aged 18-35 with interest in sports, particularly golf. Most likely these would be weekend warrior golfers who are passionate about the sport, purchase high end golf equipment, and are looking for ways to improve their game. These are not professionals but rather those who enjoy playing the sport when they have the time. Gatorade Tiger’s Gold Customers (Secondary Target) are golfers of both sexes and of all ages. While Gatorade naturally skews younger, Tiger Woods has a presence that seems to transcend all ages. His current endorsements of Nike, American Express, and Buick definitely are attracting two sets of demographics. Nike skews younger whereas American Express and Buick skew towards the 50+ age crowd. Key Benefits – Gatorade Tiger has several key benefits that will resonate with their target customers:

• Tiger Woods Endorsed – Tiger Woods is the #1 Golfer in the World and is an aspirational figure for the primary and secondary targets.
• Quenches thirst – An 18-hole round of golf will take an average of 4 hours or longer. A constant flow of fluids is essential for peak performance.
• Replacement of electrolytes, vitamins, and mineral loss in sweat – Golf is a sport and requires athletic performance, stamina, and skill. As energy is exerted, carbohydrates, electrolyes, vitamins, and minerals might be replaced.• Great flavor – Gatorade Tiger comes in 3 great flavors chosen by Tiger Woods himself.• Sports shaped bottles – Gatorade Tiger comes in easy to grip bottles that are easier to use when trying to replace fluids. Future benefits might be enhanced through Gatorade Tiger’s relationship with the Gatorade Sports Science Institute (GSSI). According to the Gatorade Tiger press release, “As a first step in our relationship, Tiger recently underwent sweat analysis testing with the Gatorade Sports Science Institute (GSSI)…A measurement of sweat rate, sweat electrolyte concentration, fluid and electrolyte balance and energy needs were analyzed during a vigorous round of exercise.”[3] More research might unearth future claims and benefits of drinking Gatorade Tiger on golfing performance.

Brand Personality – Gatorade Tiger must personify two brands – Gatorade and Tiger Woods. Gatorade stands for high performance, thirst quenching, and science. The personality is intense, focused, and is a winner. Tiger Woods has a lot of these characteristics as well. He is the undisputed #1 golfer in the world today. He is on track to break every major golf record and stands for excellence, winning, determination, focus, hard working, and a leader. According to his agent Mark Steinberg – “We wanted to get away from a straight endorsement deal in the beverage category. We thought this would be the best fit for his first licensing deal. It’s authentic to what Tiger does every day, as hard as he works out every day.”[4] Tiger Woods is also has two personalities when he is on the golf course. He is very calm, collected, and focused when he is getting ready for a shot but is fiery and emotional when he makes a big putt.

Special Requirements – There are a several requirements that the advertisements must incorporate:

• Use of the Gatorade Lighting Bolt Logo and consideration for the color sweat design in current Gatorade ads.
• Use of the Gatorade tag line, “Is it In you?”
• Must adhere to Tiger Woods existing brand reputation.

Creative Development – For Gatorade Tiger, The Big Idea can be summed up as – “Getting the most out of your golf game and obtaining peak performance on the golf course just like Tiger does.” For the two print advertisement concepts, they will have similar but distinct messages. Both will incorporate The Big Idea.

Print Advertisement #1 – The first print advertisement is called “Eye of the Tiger”. It features a black and white image of Tiger Woods’ intense stare with color enhanced sweat. It emphasizes performance with the statement that “being a winner takes hard work and sweat.” There is also a large close-up image of the product with the tag line, “it’s in Tiger. is it in you?” For the verbal part of the message strategy, the intent was to emphasize four areas:

• Tiger’s Association and Endorsement – It was important to ensure that Tiger’s name was prominent and was accomplished through the text on the product itself and within the tagline.
• Reinforcement that Gatorade helps athletes compete at their highest level – Words such as “winning” and “peak performance” are there to associate the product with great athletic feats. Many individuals who participate in athletics such as golf want any advantage they can get in order to be at their best.
• Mention product features and attributes – There is text explaining that the product provides energy (carbohydrates) for performance and provides replenishment of vital nutrients and compounds that one would lose during strenuous activities.
• Association with previous Gatorade Ads – The tagline, “it’s in Tiger. is it in you?” is a modification on the “is it in you?” tagline on traditional Gatorade Ads. It is familiar to the consumer and creates the association that if the product is good enough for Tiger, it should also be good enough for the average consumer.

For the nonverbal part of the message, there were several intentional elements that were added to emphasize the key benefits and brand personality:

• Tiger’s Eyes – Tiger Woods is an asset and the use of his piercing eyes offer a dramatic backdrop. It also plays off of the “Eye of the Tiger” phrase which elicits images of the motion picture, Rocky. Rocky is a story of an underdog who succeeds in performing at his highest level through hard work, sweat, and determination.
• Red Sweat and Color – The colored sweat is a tie-in to previous Gatorade advertising. This creates an element of familiarity and understanding that this is a Gatorade advertisement. The red color is significant to Tiger Woods and stands for victory. Tiger Woods always wears the color red on Sundays when he is looking to win a golf tournament.
• Close Up of Product – The product of Gatorade Tiger is in a close up to emphasize the Tiger Woods association and to give the potential customer a good view of the new logo. Since this is a new product, the consumer needs to be able to identify the product while shopping.

Print Advertisement #2 – The second print advertisement is called “Be Tiger”. It features 3 consecutive statements that follow the same sentence structure. It also showcases Tiger Woods in his trademark fist pump and all 3 Gatorade Tiger flavors. The same tag line, “it’s in Tiger. is it in you?” is also used. Like the first advertisement, the 4 main areas of the verbal part of the message strategy is still the same – the words reinforce Tiger’s association with the product, the idea that Gatorade helps athletes compete at their highest level, product features and attributes, and an association with previous Gatorade Ads. Unlike the first advertisement, the second one uses a repetition of similar sentences. The use of the word “be” is there to be aspirational for what the consumer wants to be. All three adjectives “amazing”, “inspiring”, and “best” represent Tiger and invokes the desire from the consumer standpoint to be like Tiger. For the nonverbal part of the message, the second advertisement used different intentional elements to emphasize the key benefits and brand personality:

• Tiger’s Trademark fist pump – Tiger Woods is known to pump his fist after sinking a key and/or unbelievable pump. It is his emotional signature for success. The use of the fist pump is to bring this association of winning to the product as well as a reinforcement of the logo which also features the fist pump.
• Red Color – As with the first advertisement, the red color is to signify peak performance, winning, and Tiger Woods.
• All 3 flavors of Gatorade Tiger – All three flavors of the product are shown so that consumers understand what they will see in the grocery stores. The copy mentions the flavors of red drive, cool fusion, and quiet storm but it is hard to visualize what the names mean. Having product images, makes the flavors clearer to the consumers, while showcasing the unique shape of the bottles.

[1] http://sports.espn.go.com/golf/news/story?id=3066280

[2] http://www.cnbc.com/id/21332360

[3] http://www.gatorade.com/pdf/2007_gatorade_tiger_woods.pdf

[4] http://www.usatoday.com/sports/golf/pga/2007-10-16-tiger-gatorade_N.htm

The Fed had another rate cut this morning.  Will Wal-Mart do the same?  Last week, Wal-Mart annouced that it was cutting grocery prices some 10-30% in order to help consumers get excited about shopping again.  Just in time for the Superbowl, this smells alot like good ‘ol fashion marketing and promotions.  Known for Everyday Low Prices, Wal-Mart continues to build on its brand image as a low cost leader for the typical American family.  It also gets alot of free press by playing off of the Fed Rate Cuts.  Free, positive news when recession looks loomingly close is great, but will it bring the shoppers out?  I’m not sure if I would make an extra trip out to Wal-Mart but when I’m buying chips and sodas for the NY Giants victory  (ahem, cough, cough) this weekend, it’s definitly top of mind….and that’s exactly what Wal-Mart wants. 

Web analytics is definitely an important part of Internet Marketing.  Having tangible data to see trends, set goals, and measure impact of changes is vital to success.  It can lend to much insight into what does and doesn’t work and can shift your overall thinking and strategy. 

Vitally important is knowing what each specific metric means and how it gets calculated.  One metric that I look at on a regular basis is  Time on Page and Time on Site.  They measure how long a visitor is engaged on your site.  The convential thinking is the more time that is spent on a specific page or site as a whole, the better.  I came across a great summary by Avinash Kausisk, a Google Analytics Evangelist that really explains how Time on Page and Time on Site are calculated.  It’s a little bit different that I had originally thought and he dives deep into how opening links in tabs can affect the calculations.  Interesting stuff.