Brand Mascots - New Form of Entertainment?

Until the unveiling of Ms. Brown by M&M at this years superbowl I never thought that a brand mascot would have its own Twitter account or personal story (especially a newly created mascot). Never before did I think that a mascot would take on a life of its own and have a fully developed back story. A google search of "Ms. Brown M&M" reveals that she is a feminist, she attended an Ivy League school and majored in business, is single with no kids and the New York Times calls her "an intelligent woman with a sharp wit who finally decided to reveal herself after working for decades behind the scenes as 'chief chocolate officer.'" 

Ms. Brown's business card is even posted on the M&M USA Facebook account which links you to her Pandora station, YouTube station and Twitter account. 


This made me interested in other companies and if they are using the same tactic as M&M - developing brand mascots into more than just a drawing with a tagline but an actual personality. 


AdAge published an article this week that talks about this idea and how advertising companies are reviving some classic mascots, and creating new ones, to give brands a voice and presence on different social media platforms. Some of these new mascots exist entirely online and will never been seen on traditional TV commercials. And other, more prominent mascots, are developing complex story lines through the Internet. 


The article then talks about how companies that develop new mascots are able to spend very little money while determining how effective they are.


While I think that this is very clever of advertising agencies and gives consumers a way to relate to certain products more - I also think it's somewhat weird but also entertaining.


What do you guys think? Would you ever take the time to learn about your favorite mascot? Do you think creating more complex characters is an effective form of brand marketing?


http://adage.com/article/news/mascots-brands-social-media-accessories/233707/

New Vending Machines?

While clicking through the odd news stories that are featured on the Yahoo! homepage I came across one that caught my eye. It was called "Vending machines being filled with iPods, Rx". It was not the iPods that threw me off but the Rx - I'm sure we are all familiar with the vending machines seen in airport terminals selling iPods, portable DVD players, disposable cell phones, etc. but I can't imagine walking past a vending machine filled with prescriptions.

I am still somewhat weirded out by the concept of buying an iPod or other expensive electronic device from a vending machine (I can't imagine charging $300 to something I usually buy candy out of) but I didn't think I would ever trust or buy one of my prescriptions from there until I researched the vendor. 

The company is called InstyMeds and they provide "outpatient medication services at health care centers 24 hours a day, 7 days a week." Not only will this save this hospital money, not having to ensure that a pharmacist is available 24 hours a day and it will improve customer satisfaction at locations offering this service since they will always have access to filling their prescriptions and will have the ability to immediately take their medication.

The down side to this is the lack of personal interaction between pharmacist and patient which could pose problems related to the patients full understanding of their meds or the interactions with others meds that they are currently taking.

Personally, I would love to have access to a machine like this. The CVS near my house at home is always busy and they always make a mistake. I would love to be able to walk up to a machine and leave 2 minutes later with my prescription without having to wait in line for 15 minutes. 

What do you guys think? Could you get used to this?

Yahoo! article:

http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/upshot/vending-machines-being-filled-ipods-rx-201026121.html

InstyMeds website:

http://www.instymeds.com/

I recently saw a JC Penny ad on TV that featured Ellen DeGeneres – I thought it was funny (and I love Ellen) and my Mom told me that she was there new spokeswoman but that there was some recent controversy over this. I’m not sure if I am just out of the loop on this one but I looked around on the Internet and saw that this was, in fact, true. A group called “one million mom’s” is outraged that JC Penny has decided to use a gay woman in their ad campaign. Some of the comments that they have issued are completely absurd as they are trying to get JC Penny to pick a new spokesperson. In the end, JC Penny stuck by and supported their decision.

After reading some news articles I took a look at one million mom’s website and have to say, it was pretty funny. A good portion of the website is devoted to trying to get ad campaigns pulled and asking others to email various companies asking them to stop. However, after reading through a bunch of these requests (which are very funny) I noticed that some of them have actually been successful. Including some companies pulling their ads when Modern Family is on due to profanity used by a young cast member. 

Here is the one million mom's website: 

http://onemillionmoms.com/

Bathroom Advertisements

This past weekend I was home and stopped by the Natick Mall to do some shopping. In the past four years they have completely renovated the inside and have made it ten times nicer than it ever was before. I went into the bathrooms and while I was washing my hands I noticed a sign on the mirror. It said "if you like the soap that you are using, you can purchase it at the Aveda store on the second floor"

I have never seen anything like that before and I thought that it was really weird but also really clever. After I saw the sign I actually noticed the soap that I was using and thought about how much better this soap seemed compared to other bathroom soaps. This is probably not true but the fact that I saw that the soap was from Aveda, it made me think about stopping into the Aveda store - a store I would not otherwise think to go into.

So, even though this advertising strategy did somewhat weird me out, it was very effective and made me think about purchasing something or at least going into the Aveda store while I was at the mall.

Text Message Advertising?

Last week I purchased an Adobe software program and, as always, I was asked for my billing and other standard information. I also gave them my cell phone number which I did not think twice about at the time. Since then, I have been receiving at least two text messages a week from Adobe promoting different products or how to contact them if I have any questions or concerns. I don't know if this is a new advertising strategy that Adobe is trying but it is definitely not working.

I have called the 1-800 number a few times to ask them to take me off of the text message list but each time I have been put on hold and given up after ten minutes or so. Not only have I been receiving text messages from Adobe but other mass messages from companies asking if I want to make "fast cash". These text messages are annoying and have done nothing but discourage me from purchasing Adobe software in the future.

Has anyone else experienced this or something similar?

What Will You Be Watching Sunday Night?

As always, Sunday nights Super Bowl has been in the media spotlight for the past two weeks and it seems even more so this year since it is once again Patriots vs. Giants. For many people, the Super Bowl is an opportunity to critique new commercials and to get a good laugh.

While looking at NPR this morning, I noticed an article about three "hidden themes" of this years Super Bowl ads. It was very interesting and has made me very excited to see the commercials that will be aired on Sunday and to see how many of them incorporate one of these "hidden themes".

According to the NPR article these three themes are: 1. The quest for our inner child 2. Our affection for animals and 3. Sex --  I am very interested to see how many of the commercials played throughout the Super Bowl use one of these three themes and to see how they are used.

Did you see any of these themes being used and if so, how? Do you think it was effective?

NPR article: http://www.npr.org/2012/02/03/146336389/3-hidden-themes-of-this-years-super-bowl-ads