Campaign on iPad

 

Campaign have launched their weekly version on iPad available from the App Store. This relates to my earlier post (Christmas shopping) about how brands are having to become more technology savvy and more accessible to tablets and mobile devices because more and more people are using these devices within their everyday lifestyle. It seems the norm to own an iPad for both business and personal uses so I think campaign have done themselves a favour by being more accessible. 

im lovin' it

Mcdonald's have released yet another festive menu for Christmas 2012 accompanied with a tv advert. When I first watched the advert, created by Leo Burnett, it wasn't immediately obvious the ad was for McDonald's and if I'm honest I thought it was an advert for Royal Mail which is why I like it because it's not McDonald's screaming out with an obvious advert. I like the unexpected surprise when the postman is given the parcel of a 'winter warmer' and then McDonald's becomes clear.

Analysing the advert in more detail it has all the elements of winter with the icy temperatures and snow on the ground which makes McDonalds seem even more inviting because the restaurants are portrayed as warm and welcoming in the advert. However as an advert it fits in with the stereotypical Christmas advert with a backing soundtrack that no doubt people will be wanting to download and the feeling of nostalgia and community during Christmas, similar to ASDA's advert. http://www.campaignlive.co.uk/news

Christmas shopping via tablets

A new survey by IBM has confirmed that more people are now using mobile devices and tablets for their online shopping. The study assessed users on Monday 26th November 2012 compared with users from Monday 28th November 2011. From this the study resulted in online sales being up 18% with the ipad accounted for 10.8% alone, 205% more than in 2011. This clearly demonstrates how people are seeking more accessible ways to shop and the mad rush of shops and high streets has converted them to simpler and often quicker ways of shopping. This could impact onto many stores who will see a drop in footfall. It could also mean many more brands have to make their websites more accessible and easy to use on mobile devices allowing people to shop easily.

Ipads and tablets have become more and more popular during 2012 with the release of the smaller ipad and Microsoft's new Surface tablet being released which could mean for the rest of this year's christmas period and next year's christmas shopping centres and retailing areas will have to come up with incentives to make people go out shopping rather than just using their tablet.

I originally found this article on http://www.marketingweek.co.uk

SportsAid

 

SportsAid are launching a new campaign to promote Britain's upcoming and new athletes. The charity provides financial support to potential athletes with their training and equipment in preparation for future events such as the Commonwealth games in 2014 and the 2016 Olympics. The slogan "I will be next" is carrying forward the campaign and follows on from the Olympic slogan which was to "inspire a generation".

I feel this campaign could become successful and have backing from the public because since the Olympic there is a sense of pride and community within the UK of our sportsmen. It also highlights how although the Olympics are over for 2012 the work for the next Olympics is continuing behind the scenes and we shouldn't forget the athletes who are hoping the make the next games. This could therefore encourage more people to donate to SportsAid because there is a strong need to carry on the positive feeling we all got from the Olympics.

As an advertising campaign it will be integrated across print, digital, experiential and social media marketing which I think reflects the wide scale audience SportsAid are hoping to aim the campaign at.

More information on the new campaign and more about SportsAid can be found at http://www.sportsaid.org.uk

Vinnie saves lives

Vinnie Jones is back with the British Heart Foundation and their new ads for 2012. Made by Grey London the next phase of the campaign shows ads featuring people whos lives have been saved by the original Stayin' Alive campaign. The example above is of Alan Linton who tells his story of how his friends managed to save his life by remembering the instructions Vinnie gave on the ad. This is just one of the ads from a series featuring different people that will be shown across our televisions in the future.

 

The original YouTube ad has been watched by 2.8million and from the new ads has clearly helped save people's lives, however the survival rate from cardiac arrest still remains at 1 in 5 (taken from the British Heart Foundation) which is why the BHF wanted Grey London to bring back the ads. I think they have done the right thing in creating new ads rather than just continuing to run the original one because it then becomes fresh in people's minds and people will actually pay attention if it's made aware how successful the Stayin' Alive ad was. Although these new ads aren't directly telling people how to perform CPR they work well in making people think back to the original ad to which they will remember the instructions VInnie Jones gave which is a clever way of continuing to get the message across without repeating the original ad. The overall feel of the ads is a light hearted and slightly fun approach despite the subject being a serious matter. This then allows people to connect with the ads unlike if they were faced with a hard hitting ad that emphasised how many people die, they would most likely avoid watching the ad because the message is being delivered in a way that's too hard to connect with.

 

Reference - www.marketingweek.co.uk/

Save the Children christmas jumpers

 

Celebrities this year are supporting Save the Children's charity day on December 14th by swapping their usual glamourous outfits for traditional christmas jumpers. Myleene Klass, Mark Wright and presenter Jon Snow are just some of the celebrities taking part. The campaign is encouraging people to donate £1 to the charity and join in the festive spirit by wearing their favourite christmas jumper on the 14th. 

I personally like how the charity has chosen to take a fun approach and actively involve their audience rather than placing a hard hitting or ineffective ad in a newspaper or on television. Often around the christmas periods it's charities which may be forgotten or over shadowed because we as an audience are faced more with glamourous Coca Cola ads or the latest John Lewis ad. Having celebrity endorsements as part of the Save the Children campaign creates more attention and is more likely to be successful because fans of the celebrities are most likely to follow suit. More information on the campaign can be read at http://www.savethechildren.org.uk/christmas-jumper-day 

Pinterest business accounts

Pinterest have now expanded their services allowing businesses to create accounts. This now allows companies to place Pin It onto their websites and let users Pin things from the website to their own personal account, creating wider knowledge and interest of that company. Debenhams and Victoria Secrets are just some of the companies to have already signed up to Pinterest.

I think this works well both ways because Pinterest are expanding themselves as a brand because they are now targeting a wider market of business users and are wanting to be associated more with business and not just personal users who use the website for social purposes. However the individual companies will benefit from this because their audience is being increased, for example if a regular Debenhams customer Pins from the website onto their personal Pinterest account it is then viewable by their friends who might like what they see and then visit the shop. Although Pinterest have opened up their brand to businesses I'm not sure all businesses will open up to them because they are more likely to still go with more popular social networking sites such as Twitter and Facebook when producing integrated campaigns as the number of users on these websites is much higher than the users on Pinterest.

Reference - http://www.fastcocreate.com