Ever thought about naming a star? How about owning a nice plot of land on the dark side of the Moon? Fancy sponsoring a three-toed sloth in Costa Rica?

As PT Barnum famously never said, “There’s a sucker born every minute” – applying Newton’s Third Law (he’ll now be spinning in his Westminster Abbey sarcophagus) would suggest an equal and opposite reaction. After all, you only know you’re a mark once you’ve been conned, right? Therefore every sap needs a swindler, and in today’s society, there always seems to be someone out there ready to sell you something:

a) That isn’t theirs to flog

b) The customer can never really own

c) With strong virtual but low actual value

So it’s nice to see a company turning the tables on the snake oil salesmen and scammers: why buy something that’s worth nothing, when you can use something that costs nothing?

The company in question is Intel, whose 2009 ATL campaign, set to roll out over the next three years, sees the technology giant using the sign-off “Sponsors of Tomorrow”. I mean, who’s going to monetise ‘Tomorrow’…Annie?

It’s interesting that Intel should be using the collective plural ‘sponsors’ here, a move, in line with the content of their ATL, to both humanise the company and express the broad range of areas across which it – I mean ‘they’ – work.

Neatly turning things on their head, the campaign is less ‘Intel Inside’, and more ‘Inside Intel’. The execution below might aim at geek-chic, but it also emphasises who makes up the company, not just what the company makes.

You’ll notice that even the brand-defining/ubiquitous/maddeningly annoying Intel ‘chimes’ are now performed in the new ads by company employees (okay, the actors portraying company employees), reminding us of a company’s most important asset – its people.

As “Sponsors of Tomorrow”, the casual perspective of Intel being just a sticker on your PC may have had its chips.

By Jonathan Izzard on June 12th, 2009

Tags: Advertising, Ambush campaign, Brand marketing, Branded content, Digital marketing, Employee engagement, Media, New Product Development, Sales promotion, Sponsorship, Viral Marketing

No comments

There are few things more irritating than a tube strike - probably only Wales losing at rugby for me - but I do like to see a brand making the most of a bad situation.  My good friends at Streetcar, a pay-as-you-go car share scheme, have just sent a great little email to offer a discount to all members who may be stranded at work because of the latest tube chaos.

By Ben Wilkinson on June 10th, 2009

Tags: Ambush campaign, Brand marketing, Digital marketing, Public relations, Sales promotion, Viral Marketing

No comments

Certainly not a new topic in this forum, but yet again David Beckham is at the top of his marketing game. Tomorrow (11 June) he makes a rare public appearance in London, at Selfridges on behalf of Emporio Armani.  As Dom mentioned in his post on Becks, he’s a marketing certainty, and I have no doubt that tomorrow’s event will be mobbed.

For me DB is a fantastic sponsorship opportunity.  He’s always been a gifted footballer, and it’s fair to say he’s a bit of a looker too, but he’s certainly not short of company in that bracket.  He has that little something that no-one can quite put their finger on, an aura that surrounds him that makes him appeal to so many different people all over the world.  This is what makes Beckham so unique and has seen him take footballers beyond being just footballers.  He has become his very own brand, but his brand is one that can be so powerful when used in partnership with others, just ask his current sponsors at adidas, Cabo Sao Roque, Coty, Emporio Armani, Motorola and Sharpie.

Armani’s use of Beckham should be admired, as the brand consistently leverages a very strong relationship between the brand and the icon.  Armani’s integrated approach drives consumers affinity with the brand, and importantly offers an emotional experience beyond the ATL campaign. For fans all over the globe the opportunity to meet Beckham is a once in a life time experience and this week some of those fans will get their chance in London.  The experience will also provide a great PR platform to extend the campaign into the all important column inches.

So tomorrow sees the man at Selfridges, and whilst it will be a small duty in the life of David, I’m sure it will provide incredible excitement for those that meet him.  May even help sell a few pairs of pants too.

By Ben Wilkinson on June 10th, 2009

Tags: Advertising, Brand marketing, David Beckham, Experiential marketing, Fashion, Football, Football Sponsorship, Product placement, Public relations, Sales promotion, Sponsorship

No comments

When we started out as Karen Earl Sponsorship in 1984 we had little idea what the future held, nor did we realise just how far sponsorship would develop as a global marketing phenomenon.

What a ride it has been. So many wonderful clients and sponsorships, so many great friends and memories. Lots of hard work too of course, but always great fun - and is still. I’m so proud of our work, our people, and the unique reputation we’ve built.

Looking ahead, we’ve never been in better shape. We have the most talented and committed group of people in our history, and a client list that’s unrivalled in the industry - and growing. Our international work has grown exponentially in the last few years. And as part of The Engine Group, we are ideally placed to continue to spearhead sponsorship’s unique role in modern marketing.

Easy to say, but let me explain.

We evolved into Synergy a year ago and moved into Engine’s new building just north of Oxford Circus. This meant that, as well as our three existing specialist units - Consultancy, Experiential and Communications - we were able to offer four new services: Branded Content, Digital, Employee Engagement and Sales Promotion. And all under one roof.

Our clients all tell us the same thing: they love it!

We now provide them with the broadest, most flexible and most relevant toolkit for 21st century sponsorship. Successful sponsorships are those which are truly integrated into brand marketing campaigns. Truly outstanding sponsorships are those which act as a catalyst for this integration using compelling ideas which both cut through the media clutter and effectively engage consumers.

We help our clients do that every day.

You can see numerous examples on our website. Two that immediately come to mind are the Guinness Premiership and the Powerade InnerGear campaign, each of which completed a clean sweep of the three major sponsorship awards in the last two years.

Our 25^th year makes this a landmark year for Synergy, but there’s going to be a lot more to shout about. We’ve already announced, for example, that we’re now working with Philips on their global Formula 1 sponsorship and with Betfair to develop their sponsorship strategy and portfolio. There are more announcements in the pipeline - watch this space.

Here’s to the next 25 years!

Karen Earl, Founder and Chairman of Synergy

Ed Kemp from Marketing spoke to Karen about the last 25 years - read his blog here

By Karen Earl on June 4th, 2009

Tags: Branded content, Communications, Consultancy, Digital marketing, Employee engagement, Experiential marketing, Guinness Premiership, Olympic sponsorship, Sales promotion, Sponsorship, Sponsorship consultancy, Synergy

2 comments

No, not that Wolves.

In an unlikely turn of events, a single T-shirt, sold on Amazon.com has become one of the most popular items in the online retailer’s clothing section, experiencing a 2300% sales boost in a matter of months.

But what manner of apparel could be doing such incredible business? Is it a niche limited edition…? Is it the work of an up-and-coming Harajuku enfant terrible…? Was it worn by all four Beatles during their final tour of the US? I’m afraid not.

The item in question is in fact the ‘Three Wolf Moon T-Shirt’ - the kind of outerwear normally reserved for heavy metal concerts and sci-fi conventions. If you don’t believe me, have a quick look at it here.

Nothing special, you might think (if you do think it’s something special, you might want to stop reading). In fact, thanks to a jokey post from one satisfied (alleged) owner in the product’s ‘Customer Reviews’ section, with feedback on said T-shirt including “Pros: has wolves on it…attracts women…Cons: could probably have used more wolves on the ‘guns’…”, the item has become an internet hit.

Thanks to the wonders of viral email, the product now sports over 300 reviews from satisfied customers, ranging from the humorous to the mildly disturbing. At present, Amazon has not appeared to overtly censor user comments, perhaps content that the phenomenon is translating into an unlikely sales lift.

Whatever way you look at it, there’s no denying the power of a the odd well-placed, web-based witticism - even more so, given that this has led to hundreds of people parting with their hard-earned cash on the back of it.

N.B. Crushingly for UK-based lupine aficionados, the ‘Three Wolf Moon T-Shirt’ is not currently available on our shores. Amazon.co.uk are stocking a single wolf variant, however. I guess you could always buy three of them…

By Jonathan Izzard on May 21st, 2009

Tags: Default, Fashion, New Product Development, Product placement, Sales promotion, Viral Marketing

No comments

This morning Twitter alerted me to a quite brilliant piece of advertising in the USA.  Audi is running a national ad campaign featuring their new A4.  The ad, on the left hand side of the steet in the image below, features the tag line “Your move, BMW.”  In a fantastic riposte, a local BMW dealer has bought the billboard opposite featuring an M3 ad with the comeback strap line of “Checkmate“. Fabulous.

Checkmate

By Ben Wilkinson on April 16th, 2009

Tags: Advertising, Ambush campaign, Sales promotion

1 comment

In the week before the first F1 Grand Prix of 2009 it was interesting to see reigning F1 World Champion Lewis Hamilton come top of a poll of UK consumers on their favourite brand ambassadors, in an annual survey by UTalkMarketing. Hamilton polled 15% of the votes, beating last year’s favourite, Jamie Oliver, into second place with 12%.

Good news for Hamilton’s various personal and team sponsors, albeit that with his McLaren reportedly lacking pace in pre-season testing, success on the track this year may be more elusive.

However, given the perennial reliance by so many brands on celebrity-fronted ad campaigns, I found the survey’s insights into consumer attitudes to celebrity endorsement even more instructive, with 72% of consumers saying that the use of a celebrity has no impact on their propensity to purchase, and 70% agreeing that there are too many celebrity-endorsed products on the market.

You can read the full survey here.

By Tim Crow on March 23rd, 2009

Tags: Advertising, Default, Formula 1, Lewis Hamilton, Sales promotion, Sponsorship

No comments

Demonstrating that green initatives are continuing to top brand agendas, McVitie’s Penguin has partnered with The Zoological Society of London. The campaign will be supported by on-pack promotions offering the chance of winning a family holiday in South Africa to view Penguins in their natural habitat.

McVitie’s will also be donating £50,000 to send ‘Penguinologist’ (what a job title!) Tom Hart to visit the Penguins in Antarctica and to study how climate change is affecting them.

Last night the BBC screened the first of its ‘Nature’s Greatest Events’ documentaries which concentrated on ‘The Great Melt’. Watch it here on BBC iplayer.

By Lisa Woodward on February 12th, 2009

Tags: Environment, Sales promotion

No comments

Barack Obama may have decided against signing corporate sponsors to help fund the estimated $40m costs of official events around his inauguration, but brands are deploying an array of marketing techniques to attempt to gatecrash the moment.  Here’s a selection.

IKEA has led on experiential, via a mock motorcade touring Washington DC and an IKEA-furnished virtual Oval Office in Washington’s Grand Union station. The latter is replicated online at embracechange09.com, where consumers can add virtual IKEA furniture to the Oval Office and send their suggestions to both their friends and the White House.

Dunkin’ Donuts are selling red-white-and-blue-sprinkled ‘Stars & Stripes’ doughnuts in the chain’s stores nationwide from for 89 cents during inauguration week, and the brand’s blogger, Dunkin’ Dave, is pushing the initiative on Twitter.

Honest Tea, who struck marketing gold when Obama was seen drinking its Black Forest Berry tea on the campaign trail, has launched a limited-edition range renamed “Barack Forest Berry”, and will be sampling around DC all week.

And Audi of America is going seriously big with a raft of broadcast, online and print sponsorship initiatives, including an unprecedented broadcast sponsorship of the ABC, CBS and NBC evening news bulletins on inauguration evening, all to launch a year-long ‘Celebration of Progress’.

By Tim Crow on January 19th, 2009

Tags: Ambush campaign, Brand marketing, Branded content, Broadcast sponsorship, Default, Experiential marketing, Media, New Product Development, Product placement, Sales promotion, Sponsorship, Television

1 comment

If you get the product right, everything else follows.

So General Motors has inevitably parted company with Tiger Woods. Some commentators have claimed that this somehow proves that endorsements of this type don’t work. Nonsense. In Tiger’s case, Nike and Accenture in particular disprove the point. Tiger may be a miracle-worker, but not even he could have saved GM from its current predicament. The problem isn’t Tiger, it’s GM.

Also this week, the PGA Tour announced the FeEx Cup’s third format overhaul in as many years. As I wrote back in September, in this case, the problem is also the product - the Cup format. Only time will tell if, this time, the PGA has got the product right.

Which brings me to the latest example of NPD on the PGA Tour, the Kodak Challenge. Like both the FedEx Cup and the Red Bull Final 5, it’s a competition-within-a-competition, its USP being to link great holes on different courses, with $1m going to the player who posts the lowest score on the Kodak Challenge Holes over the season.

Again, only time will tell if Kodak has got the product right - on which point I suspect they’ve missed a trick by not adding a cause-related overlay to counter-balance the $1m prize  - but there’s a lot to like here, in particular the integration of Kodak’s ‘Kodak Moments’ heritage; the opportunity to leverage the wonderful imagery that great golf courses provide; and the season-long campaign platform. What I most like is that, as the Kodak blog reveals, Kodak planned their activation upfront - one of the keys to successful sponsorship.

By Tim Crow on November 28th, 2008

Tags: Branded content, Default, Experiential marketing, Golf, New Product Development, PGA Tour, Public relations, Sales promotion, Sponsorship, Tiger Woods

No comments