Archive for the 'Analysis' Category

No Sir, Your Gaming PC Does Not Take Flight

Published
by
Matt
on May 27, 2008
in Analysis and Products
. 1 Comment

I know this page is beautiful, but if you're into feeds, you can subscribe and get all this ANM goodness right in your feed reader. And hey, do you love comments? I know I do. Feel free to let me know what you think!

But it sure does look like it.

I love hardcore gaming PC’s. I don’t know, but there’s just something about a computer with enough horsepower to run a small country that appeals to me.

For a long time, these gaming computers looked just like their mundane cubicle-dwelling counterparts. If you think about it, that’s like having a Ford Taurus that runs like a Lamborghini Gallardo. But somewhere along the line, someone decided that these machines need to be as intimidating and intense on the outside as they are on the inside. It’s about time.

Take a long look at the Acer Predator (above), the HP Blackbird 002 (left), the Dell XPS 730 (center), and the Alienware Area-51 (right).

All beautiful, but in a F-22 Raptor sort of way.

The “big idea” here is form meeting function. Just like Apple and Nintendo, these PC makers understand that design matters in this market. It doesn’t everywhere (nails, manhole covers, manila folders), but figuring out where design is really important, and where its superfluous is something that you always have to pay attention to.

I would love to take any of these for a test drive, but doubt I’ll ever have the opportunity. So if you’re out there Acer, HP, Dell, or Alienware and are looking for a few good testers, let me know.

Hey, it’s cheaper than a few plane tickets.

22 Surefire Marketing Predictions for 2K8

Published
by
Matt
on Jan 1, 2008
in Analysis and New Marketing
. 4 Comments

Hello again. In case you’ve forgotten about me, my name is Matt J McDonald and I’m a new marketer. After taking most of December off, ANM will be back in full swing for the new year. In the spirit of New Year’s resolutions, lists, and hangovers, I’ve put together a short list of 22 surefire predictions. Take a look, tell me what you think, and then marvel as they come true throughout the year.

There will be 437 supposed “digg killers”.

A great new site will come around that people will flock too…

And then people will ruin it.

You will have near-constant access to your information.

Someone will realize that marketing is really just about making connections with people.

No one will agree on how to measure social media.

At least one retailer will get social media right.

A theme of the year will be “mashups”

Apple will fail miserably at something. But look good doing it.

At some point, someone (my guess is Google) will figure out how to integrate everything we do (facebook, twitter, digg, blogging, IM) into one platform.

Just like with spies, information will become a currency.

Google will deal with some serious backlash.

A mindset of the year will be “ME + you”.

User experience specialists will be the most sought after professionals in marketing.

Interactive agencies will take the lead on overall brand strategy.

Someone will skip “web 3.0″ and try to define “web 4.0″.

There will be an emergent technology that begins to change everything.

“Going back to basics” will be the best marketing strategy of the year.

Marketers will continue to think they’re the coolest people out there. (But aren’t we?)

At least one big company will do a great job with new marketing.

At least one big company will do a terrible job with new marketing.

There will be one (but probably many more) big marketing fad that, in the end, is mostly useless.

Some Change for Levi’s

Published
by
Matt
on Oct 17, 2007
in Advertising and Analysis
. 4 Comments

Here’s a new ad called “change” for Levi’s 501 Jeans. Give it a look.

Now what were your initial thoughts? Shock at the exploding apartment? Puzzlement as to the deeper meaning?

The first things I thought where: Who still uses phone booths? I can’t think of the last time I saw someone in one.

Being of a marketing mindset, I’m pretty sure that wasn’t the first response Levi’s was looking for. Yes, you might point out that someone yanking the street level up (or himself down) is a little more outlandish than someone in a phone booth and the whole thing wouldn’t work without it, but that’s not my point. My point is that this ad was obviously trying to be contemporary, and the phone booth, at least to me, made it feel weird and dated.

How do you feel about this ad?

Believe In Halo 3 Marketing

Published
by
Matt
on Sep 29, 2007
in Analysis and Products
. 3 Comments

Unless you’ve been living in a cave for the last 6-9 months, you know about Halo 3. Since the announcement, the marketing machine for the uber-anticipated 3rd episode has been in full swing. Some of it has been good, some if it has been not-so-good, some has been incredibly elaborate and intense and some of it, like the ad below, has been great. The latest commercial, entitled “Believe” shows an incredibly detailed model of the turning point in the battle for humanity backed by Chopin’s “Raindrops”. If you haven’t seen the entire thing, it’s definitely worth a look.

This has been a truly massive campaign, spanning almost every media you can think of. They even have a Halo 3 version of Mountain Dew, most likely a first for video games. And how did it fare? I’m pretty sure 170 million dollars in the first 24 hours is a sound success. That’s more than the Spiderman and Harry Potter movies if you’re counting.

This is incredible for me, as someone who has been playing games for a long time, because 10 or so years ago, there was barely any mainstream video game advertising at all. How things have changed. I guess you just have to believe.

Dodge’s “First Time” Free Ride

Published
by
Matt
on Sep 8, 2007
in Advertising, Analysis and New Marketing
. 0 Comments

If you watch any TV, I’m sure you’ve seen this commercial for Dodge’s summer 2007 lineup.

Rife with imagery trying to create associations and evoke feelings for the brand (hockey player collision?), the ad does a pretty good job of getting across the vibe that Dodge is going for. But the real trick is the song, Lifehouse’s “First Time”, that plays during the 30 and 60 second spots.

Lifehouse’s new album has been on the billboard top 100 for 11 weeks, and the song “First Time” has been on the hot digital list for 13 weeks. This is a song that’s popular now, which means it’s getting a lot of radio play and a lot of downloads. And even though I’ve only seen the actual commercial a handful of times, every time I hear the song on the radio or on a computer, I think of Dodge immediately.

Dodge has created a Brand Hitch. Now people have seen the commercial, and they will start to think “Dodge” every time they hear that catchy song.

While not entirely novel, it was a smart idea for a brand that’s always fighting for mental real estate. So what other opportunities are there for a Brand Hitch? Where else can you attach your brand to something without creating a negative association or killing good will? Might be worth looking for a free ride.

When The Gloves Come Off - Audi Style

Published
by
Matt
on Aug 17, 2007
in Advertising and Analysis
. 0 Comments

You don’t often find companies taking direct shots at each other, but when they do it sure is fun!

What’s your opinion of this? Do you think it’s beneficial or detrimental to marketing when companies go head to head?

Hairy Soap - A Look at Old Spice Body Wash

Published
by
Matt
on Aug 13, 2007
in Advertising, Analysis, Branding and Products
. 1 Comment

To continue Old Spice’s new look and re-branding, they’ve re-released their body wash with a new package and a new ad campaign.

I love it. The scary music, the dramatic cuts, the slow reveal of the soap, it all builds to the “aww gross!” moment. It’s semi-shocking, but definitely gets your attention. The moral of the story? Use Old Spice body wash and no more hairy soap. Wow. As a member of their target market, I can honestly say that this ad resonates with almost every younger guy.

I like this ad, and more importantly, I like where it fits in with Old Spice’s new direction. The “Experience” campaign, with the ever-cool Bruce Campbell (check him out in USA’s Burn Notice) has given new life to a lagging brand. Old spice was getting clobbered and needed something to combat AXE’s edgy, sexy appeal. Their answer? Old-school with a touch of class and sass. Check out the old and new body spray designs:
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Old Spice was smart here in recognizing that you can’t win by following the leader. Their move was similar to Nintendo’s with the Wii because they decided to go in a different direction. Sometimes the answer isn’t overtaking the leader in your niche, but either taking a different angle at the same niche or finding a different one all together.

A Revolution? Be a DIY Editor-in-Chief

Published
by
Matt
on Aug 9, 2007
in Advertising, Analysis, Blogging, Communication and New Marketing
. 0 Comments

“Revolutionary” is a word that gets thrown around a lot, so you’ll understand my hesitation in using it. However, something is happening now that just might fundamentally change the way people get a lot of their information.

Every morning, my Dad wakes up, grabs his coffee and spends about half an hour reading the newspaper before work. The Editor-in-Chief (EIC) of the Philadelphia Inquirer, has decided what might be important/of interest to my father. And not only my father, but most of the newspaper readers in the greater Philadelphia area.

Every morning, I also wake up and grab my coffee, but instead of paging through the newspaper, I fire up my laptop and spend 30-45 minutes going through the new posts in my RSS reader. And who decided that these stories/posts would be important or interesting to me? I did. I didn’t have to worry about the greater Philadelphia area. I didn’t even have to worry about the rest of my family. Just me. I’m my own Editor-in-Chief.

This could be a revolutionary change. No longer do you have to let someone else decide what matters to you, now you control what information you recieve. Love the NY Times’ book reviews, USA Today’s entertainment news, and the Wall Street Journal’s economy reports? No problem. As DIY-EIC you can create your own media outlet.

The impact of this on marketing is huge. As people become more selective, they might not be interested in the entire paper anymore, but the segmented content that matters to them. Pretty soon, RSS feed advertising will become a more efficient and effective way of reaching people compared to traditional media outlets. As the feeds become more segmented, targeting audiences will become easier, for example the NY Times already has 67 individual feeds.

If you’re trying to stay ahead of the game, then you can’t ignore the power of RSS and the growing number of DIY-EICs. After all, if you don’t understand the way that people are interacting with their media, then how can you expect to reach them?