Blog.

14
Mar
13

A Marketer’s Guide to Being Creative

Richard Lobel | Executive Vice President

Category: CBS, Design, Entertainment, Marketing

Plenty of productivity gurus talk about the importance of unplugging. In a world where we’re bombarded by a constant stream of emails, tweets, and news feeds, sometimes disconnecting is the best way to stay focused and be productive. But what about creativity?

busy_papersLast year, Jay Fields of Lifehacker posed the question: “Is Productivity Killing Your Creativity?“. The answer is yes. Productivity gurus are so focused on packing every moment — reading white papers on trains, listening to audiobooks in the shower, watching a documentary while cooking – that we never get time to think.

The real creativity killer in the 21st century is that we are never bored.

Henry David Thoreau once said that “It’s not what you look at that matters, it’s what you see.” We look at things every day. We walk by people with our headphones plugged in, we drive by scenic overviews, we bring a good book to the park. But we don’t see anything anymore. We no longer simply observe our surroundings. And it’s that observation that fuels creativity.

But you don’t need to go soul searching to get inspiration. You might just need to stop planning every second of your day. Annie Murphy Paul at Time highlights recent studies that prove the benefits of being groggy:

In a study published in the journal Thinking and Reasoning last year, researchers Mareike Wieth and Rose Zacks reported that imaginative insights are most likely to come to us when we’re groggy and unfocused. The mental processes that inhibit distracting or irrelevant thoughts are at their weakest in these moments, allowing unexpected and sometimes inspired connections to be made. Sleepy people’s “more diffuse attentional focus,” they write, leads them to “widen their search through their knowledge network. This widening leads to an increase in creative problem solving.” By not giving yourself time to tune in to your meandering mind, you’re missing out on the surprising solutions it may offer.

Not all sensory stimulation is the same, studies show the sounds and sights of nature are actually good for your brain.

So turn off your phone, go camping, experience nature, but don’t bring a book. Boredom lets your mind wander and, for those in the creativity business, that’s a beautiful thing.

Jump in the Deep End

“Everything is in everything.” That’s what French philosopher Joseph Jacotot realized after his classroom full of Flemish-speaking students learned to speak French with absolutely no instruction. You see, Jacotot knew no Flemish. And his students knew no French. So the pioneering pedagogue found a copy of a popular book that contained both a French and Flemish translation and told his students via translator to “figure it out.”

It worked. After they studied both translations diligently, Jacotot asked his Flemish students to formulate their thoughts on the book in French. To Jacotot’s great surprise, they did.

Jacotot became a proponent of panecastism, the philosophy that “everything is in everything.” According to Jacotot, one page of text contains everything you need to learn a new language – its alphabet, its syntax, its vocabulary. Jacotot theorized that any art could be learned by carefully observing all of the component parts of a masterpiece.

But what does this mean for us marketing folks?

Learn something you never imagined learning. Or reach far beyond your expertise. Immerse yourself in something that you know nothing about. Not only are you capable of learning, but the process of learning and the new knowledge you will acquire can inform and improve your creative process. It’s far less radical than it sounds, how many great writers have learned by reading great books?

As Bruce Nussbaum notes, “creativity is mostly about two things — connecting different bodies of knowledge in new ways and seeing patterns where none existed before.”

It’s not every day that we think about learning how to learn, but it’s a skill we can easily forget as we become experts in our field. Let go and learn something new on your own.

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08
Mar
13

CBS Radio Introduces ‘Amplify’ With Music Heavyweights

Richard Lobel | Executive Vice President

Category: CBS, Music, Radio

2-timberlake_01-14-2013We couldn’t be more excited here at the Altitude group that CBS Radio has announced new music initiatives across its stations and platforms to revolutionize the way that artists are presented and promoted.

These exclusive national content initiatives will grow the popularity of proven artists, as well as those on the rise across its Pop, Country, Rock, Adult Contemporary and Urban stations.

Billboard.com has already reported on this new effort and you’ll be reading more in the coming days.

In the meantime, here’s some more info on the program:

● IMPACT: When one of today’s biggest names in music is ready to unveil their latest project, CBS RADIO listeners will be sure to know about it through its IMPACT program.  Extensive on-air promotion on format specific stations across the country will begin in the days leading up to the song or album debut, and a dedicated section on station websites will highlight the artist and provide an array of editorial features.

● LAUNCH: Chosen exclusively by CBS RADIO’s reputable programming team, LAUNCH artists are those rising stars of the music industry you absolutely need to be listening to.  On-air programming will highlight clips from their latest release, and an extensive online companion will be available complete with artist specific pages, multi-media content and links to purchase music.

● ARTIST HOOK-UPS: Not your ordinary radio station event – these are once in a lifetime, money can’t buy experiences.  Listeners can expect front row access, intimate settings, and unusual destinations as they join their favorite artists on a thrilling musical journey.

● SONG INTROS: Continuing ona path CBS RADIO set down several years ago intended to familiarize the audience with song titles and artists, stations will incorporate into their programming personalized intros voiced by the musicians themselves, offering candid insight into the stories and meaning behind their hit song or album.

● RADIO.COM: The online and mobile destination for the best in music, sports, talk and news programming, RADIO.com will take an active role in engaging fans with original audio and video content including streaming, exclusive editorial features, live and on-demand concerts and events, and rich storytelling.  Select CBS Television Stations will also have the ability to showcase a sampling of this programming during their local newscasts, an opportunity exclusive to CBS RADIO.

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04
Mar
13

When the Going Gets Tough, Radio Breaks Through

James Ingrassia | Director, Strategic Sales

Category: Local, Marketing, Radio

Marketing During Sandy

The U.S. has experienced more extreme weather events in the last few years than in any period in recent history. If Hurricane Sandy and weather events like it prove anything, it’s that natural disasters make it tough to quickly get trustworthy information.

As cellphone reception goes down and cable TV goes dark, it’s radio that local audiences turn to for information and salvation. There are often days on end when radio is the best connection that families have to the outside world.

Despite the ubiquity of mobile devices, radio reigns supreme when wireless networks falter. The cataclysmic events of Hurricane Sandy prove just that. In November, The Daily News ran a story that proved just how tenacious radio and its employees were. Here’s an excerpt:

Dozens still stayed out in the middle of the storm, helping radio keeps its traditional role as our most reliable and local media lifeline when nature deals its worst.

“If everything else is gone, people still have radio,” says Tim Scheld, news director at WCBS AM. “It’s not just information. It’s a connection. Even music provides companionship and a sense of calm.

Many of the reporters from WINS slept in the station’s unheated offices that night, the Daily News reported.

Of course, marketing effectively during times of natural calamity can be tricky. During Hurricane Sandy, there were plenty of marketing faux pas made by the likes of American Apparel and Urban Outfitters, whose humor did not juxtapose well with the devastation and death caused by the storm.

But not all marketing was insensitive in light of tragedy. In fact, some of the best marketing will come from those genuinely trying to help. Anheuser Busch turned its Budweiser factories into water-canning facilities to provide over 1 million cans of fresh drinking water.

Imagine  sitting home without power for days or weeks. Your only source of communication with the outside world is a battery operated radio. Cutting through the doldrums of other unoriginal ads is a message that help is on the way. Only radio can evoke that feeling of security like no other medium can.

The New York Times detailed some of the ads that broke through to consumers during Sandy in a tasteful way. The successful campaigns all shared one common characteristic: they were genuinely helpful.

Examples included Allstate, with radio commercials describing how policyholders can file claims; American Express, with e-mails addressed to cardholders “in the area impacted by Hurricane Sandy” that offered “emergency financial, medical or travel assistance”; JetBlue Airways, which told customers with travel affected by the storm that it would be “waiving change and cancellation fees for those rebooking through Nov. 14”; and Walgreens, with e-mails advising customers affected by the storm that it was “doing everything possible to make sure we can continue to serve the health and daily living needs of you and your loved ones.”

Radio’s power to help in times of need isn’t going anywhere, either. In fact, it’s only getting more robust.

Realizing that radio waves are far more reliable than cellular service, Sprint announced that some of its phones will now contain FM tuners. This means that when disaster strikes again, consumers will be better equipped with reliable news using one of America’s most reliable mediums.

Radio marketers need not look at the success of mobile and digital services as antagonistic to radio. Rather, marketers need to realize that for consumers, radio is not a case of “either/or” opposed to other mediums, but co-exists in a number of combinations and permutations with other digital technology.

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25
Feb
13

Spreading the Message of Natural Sweetness at Truvia®

Marketing Masters | The Altitude Group

Category: Local, Marketing Masters


For decades, there wasn’t exactly a lot innovation in the sweetener market. Many suggested that consumer habits were too set and the industry leaders too entrenched for the category to change.

But in just a few years, Cargill’s Truvia  has become the number two brand of sweetener. How did the company pull off this feat? We spoke to Zanna McFerson to find out.

As Cargill’s Vice President and Business Director in charge of Truvia, McFerson has helmed the brand from conception to growing ubiquity. When devising the marketing strategy for the sweetener, she looked first to leverage the product’s core attributes: nature, sustainability and taste.

“One of the best pieces of advice that we got from our first creative agency was: get out of the way of your product. It speaks for itself,” she said of the white crystals derived from the stevia plant. Package design and messaging followed suit, emphasizing clean lines and simple, natural accents. Consumers instantly responded favorably.

Last year, the brand kicked off it’s “Turning the Town Truvia” campaign which uses local media from CBS and other partners to encourage consumers to nominate their favorite local eateries to carry Truvia® sweetener. “It’s a multi-platform media campaign that involves so much consumer engagement directly on the campaign as well as local talent,” she says. “In collaboration with CBS, we have targeted and really focused on local communities.”

The stevia plant is typically harvested in South America and Asia and the brand has gone to great lengths to emphasize the importance of sustainability. “We look at stewarding natural resources,” she said. “We already did a full life cycle analysis and put out objectives for 2015 in the areas of carbon and waste, water, biodiversity for land.”

In what products might consumers soon find Truvia? McFerson says that Truvia likes to see itself as a lifestyle brand and as such the opportunities are innumerable. “You never know what Truvia can become.”
——-
Zanna McFerson is Cargill’s Vice President and Business Director in charge of Truvia.

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25
Feb
13

Marketing To The Sandwich Generation

Matt Ryder | Director, Strategic Sales

Category: Local, Marketing

The “sandwich generation” refers to people who care for their aging parents while supporting their own children at the same time.

As the U.S. populations ages and evolves, this demographic is growing rapidly. According to the Pew Research Center, just over 1 of every 8 Americans aged 40 to 60 is both raising a child and caring for a parent. And the over-65 demographic is expected to double in the next 20 years.

Marketing Sandwich Generation

Even as they’re faced with obvious responsibilities, as a consumer demographic, this group has enormous clout. By and large, these Americans are responsible, well employed and have discretionary income. Most have household incomes above $100,000 a year.

That said, advertisers tasked with marketing to the sandwich generation can have a challenging job. Occupied with finding ways to care for aging parents and children, these folks are often taxed in both time and attention. Companies looking to reach these consumers need to speak sensitively to the nature of this double bind.

It’s not always easy for folks who often feel overwhelmed; it is the sandwich generation who most need to consider essential goods and services like life insurance, health care, and hospice care.

Unscrupulous marketers looking to make a quick buck need not apply. A study done by online consumer insight company Communispace found that scare tactics are a no-go, as are  Leave It To Beaver-esque portayals of perfect smiling families. The study found that consumers want realism, innovation, and a dash of reassurance.

So what companies are effectively speaking to the sandwich generation?

One great example is MasterCard, which recently partnered with the AARP to provide a sense of financial freedom with the AARP Foundation Prepaid MasterCard, which ensures that loved ones stay on a predetermined budget.

Walgreens is also helping aging seniors with a unique promotion. For the entire month of February, customers receive a free blood test and information to help fight heart disease. For every free test taken, Walgreens will contribute $1 to the American Heart Association. Their site also offers “care guides” for a variety of different medical issues. By helping consumers with straightforward and actionable advice, Walgreens is building up consumer trust in a market where it can make all the difference.

Life insurance is also hugely important for sandwich generationers. Not only do parents want to make sure their children are taken care of if they unexpectedly pass, but life insurance can ease the financial burden of their own parents passing. Prudential made that point eloquently with this commercial:


Marketing to the sandwich generation is also a uniquely local proposition. Particularly in later life, a tight-knit sense of community becomes more important than ever. Whether you run a mom-and-pop business or are a corporate giant like Walgreens, local engagement strategies are indispensable.

We’ve talked previously about why 2013 marks an era of local engagement for radio marketing and the deep emotional connections sonic branding can create. That makes radio the perfect medium for communicating with the sandwich generation locally to deliver vital information that they need.

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20
Feb
13

Unbeatable Sports Coverage and the CBS Advantage

Eric Lemieux | Director, Strategic Marketing

Category: CBS, Interactive, Local, Marketing, Sports

It’s a great feeling to work at a company that is being referred to as “King of the Mountain in 2013.”

Earlier today, MediaPost published a blog post spotlighting some of the high-profile sporting events associated with the CBS name. The post goes on to give some essential advice to any advertiser looking to maximize their investment with a sports sponsorship:

1) Start early. Begin conversations as early as possible (e.g., a year out) to allow lots of lead time for the best chance of a meaningful presence.

2) Integrate. Prepare for bundle buying, as these sought-after sports events sell for premium pricing. The network will force a vertical bundled buy across their digital and on-air properties. So make sure your creative has legs.

3) Steal mindshare. We saw great examples of this from Beats by Dre and Nike around the London Olympics. If you get creative, you can hijack mindshare without paying full freight. Consider activating influencers and blitzing earned media channels, as opposed to a formal buy.

4) Pray for great storylines and match-ups! Nothing generates eyeballs like two brothers facing each other in the Super Bowl, or Butler’s Cinderella challenging Duke’s royalty in the NCAA title game. This, of course, can’t be controlled, but with some sports marketing expertise and a “long lens,” you may be able to diagnose a great sports story before it unfolds.

Whether it’s our unparalleled access to marquee sporting events and stars, or our groundbreaking launch of a national radio network, sports is in our DNA.

And of course, it’s not just on TV.

At the CBS Altitude Group, we’re here to amplify your message through every medium. Real sports fans never stop following the game and neither do we.

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11
Feb
13

The Enduring Wisdom of Charles Osgood

ALTITUDE | Redefining Radio

Category: Entertainment, Radio

Four years ago today, CBS News Sunday Morning Anchor Charles Osgood playfully explained (in rhyme) why his catch-phrase,”See you on the radio,” still applies to our modern world.

See you on the radio. I say that every week. A peculiar phrase, some people think, for anyone to speak.

I’ve got a piece of mail or two, up on my office shelf.
Complaining that the sentence seems to contradict itself.

“Dear Mr. Osgood,” someone wrote, “That sign off is absurd. Radio is for the ear…the song or spoken word.

The medium for seeing us, without a doubt, TV. We therefore call it video, that’s Latin for ‘I see.’

So please don’t say that any more. You really should know better.” That’s a gentle paraphrase of what was in this viewer’s letter.

“Dear Sir,” I then wrote back to him, and this was my reply: I do believe that you are wrong, and let me tell you why.

I’ve worked some years in radio, and television, too. And though it’s paradoxical, it nonetheless is true.

That radio is visual, much more so than TV. And there’s plenty of good reason why that paradox should be.

You insist that on the radio there are no pictures there. You say it’s only for the ear, but I say au contraire.

There are fascinating pictures on the radio you see, that are far more picturesque than any pictures on TV.

No television set that’s made, no screen that you can find, can compare with that of radio: the theatre of the mind.

Where the pictures are so vivid, so spectacular and real, that there isn’t any contest, or at least that’s how I feel.

The colors are more colorful, the reds and greens and blues. And more vivid yet more subtle than television’s hues.

The dimensions of the radio are truly to be treasured, infinite the size of screen diagonally measured.

With resolution so acute, TV can not compare. We can whisper in the listener’s ear and take him anywhere.

And you tell me that I cannot see the audience I touch? Let me tell you now a secret…my experience is such.

That although the room I work in may be very plain and small…in a way that’s quite miraculous, it isn’t small at all.

I am there inside the radio, the one beside the bed. And it’s me you hear when it goes off…come on now, sleepyhead.

I can see you in the morning…I can see you coast to coast, as you sip your glass of orange juice and bite into your toast.

I am with you as you brush your teeth and as you shave your face. You may think you are alone, but I am with you everyplace.

And I see the lines of traffic stretching endlessly for miles. Not a hundred or a thousand miles…a million there must be. And I’m riding along with them. This is radio, you see.

And I’m on the Jersey Turnpike, on the Throughway and the Hutch, and the Eisenhower expressway, helping people keep in touch.

And the California freeways, and the Houston traffic funnel. I may lose you for a little while as you go through the tunel.

But suddenly I’m there again, some episode to tell. To nobody’s surprise, because they know me very well.

For my voice is with them every day and when it disappears, they know it comes right back again, it’s been that way for years.

I’ve been riding with them every day for such a long, long time. They are willing to put up with me when I resort to rhyme.

And that may be the ultimate and quintessential test, that proves beyond the slightest doubt that radio is best.

A friend will always stick with you, though your poems may not scan. I’ll see you on the radio…I can, you see, I can.


Written by Charles Osgood

Copyright 2009 CBS. All rights reserved.

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08
Feb
13

10 Classic Examples of Sonic Branding You’ll Never Forget

James Ingrassia | Director, Strategic Sales

Category: Radio

Sometimes it only takes a soundbite to transport you 20 years in the past.

Earlier we discussed what it means to be a sonic brand. Strong radio marketing campaigns leave impressions that can last a lifetime. While a radio jingle can get stuck in our heads, the effect of sonic branding goes much deeper.  Aural queues can evoke strong emotions and memories in listeners. A voice, a phrase, or even a musical backdrop can be enough to make listeners feel secure, joyous or even hungry, in the case of clever food marketing.

What stands out about the campaigns we’ve selected is their ability to stick in the memories of their listeners. I hope you enjoy this trip down memory lane:

Alka-Seltzer

This catchy jingle has stayed in consumers’ minds decades after the commercial stopped airing. The sound of Alka-Seltzer fizzing into a glass of water is sure to evoke a strong feeling of relief in listeners for years to come.

Pillsbury Doughboy Giggle

The Pillsbury Doughboy may be the longest running case of sonic branding in this list. The giggly mascot first appeared in 1965 and has been brought back for various campaigns, as recently as 2011. It’s hard to hear or see the Pillsbury Doughboy without craving their buttery crescent rolls.

Budweiser Frogs

The Budweiser Frogs first appeared during the 1995 Super Bowl XXIX and were an instant classic. The commercial features 3 frogs (“Bud”,”Weis” and “Er”) as they croak their name in succession. The TV spots included the CGI-rendered frogs but the powerful audio element made the frogs an easy crossover into the world of radio.

Bud Light – Real Men of Genius

The Real Men of Genius campaign was so good that I would stop what I was doing and turn up my radio just to listen to them. The wildly funny ads had countless iterations which all consisted of a baritone voice describing a “hero” over a cliche soundtrack. Not many ad campaigns can boast over 150 different spots in less than a decade, but the Real Men of Genius did just that.

Oscar Mayer Weiner

Much like Alka-Seltzer’s Plop-Plop Fizz-Fizz, The Oscar Mayer Weiner songs prove that a simple jingle can leave impressions that last a lifetime. The ad originally aired in 1965. It wasn’t the television spot that stuck, but the unforgettable tune. Almost 50 years later, parents and kids alike can recognize the iconic jingle.

Rice Crispies Cereal

Rice Crispies Cereal is lucky enough to have its own sonic branding made apparent as soon as you fill the bowl with milk. The snap, crackle, and pop of the popular breakfast staple has been a marketing point since the 1930s, when it was used in radio ads. The sounds inspired an illustrator to create the popular elf-like characters Snap, Crackle, and Pop that still appear on boxes 80 years later. The branding is so pervasive in popular culture that physicists frequently use the terms snap, crackle, and pop to describe derivatives of movements.

Slinky

The Slinky jingle, originally written in 1962, can still make you feel like a kid again. The jingle’s chorus is simple (“It’s slinky, it’s slinky, the favorite of girls and boys”) but bound to get stuck in a listener’s head. The metal spring turned cultural icon has been amusing children for almost 60 years.

State Farm

The original “Like A Good Neighbor State Farm Is There” jingle was written by none other than Barry Manilow. Since then, the company has been using the jingle in a line of new ads that feature down-on-their-luck customers singing the tune to magically summon a State Farm representative. The jingle recently got a full-length cover from rock legends Weezer.

Coke

Very rarely does a jingle tap into the cultural zeitgeist like Coca Cola’s “I’d Like to Buy The World a Coke” ad did. It was 1971. Richard Nixon was President and the Vietnam war was raging on. The commercial features a chorus composed of singers from around the world with a simple message of global harmony. And what draws people together better than a bottle of crisp, cold Coca Cola?

Chevrolet

This catchy tune from the 1950s was sung by many hit artists during its day, but none drew as much attention as actess and singer Dinah Shore. The upbeat jingle evokes a sense of patriotism and paints a picture of beautiful American landscapes ready to be explored by its listeners.

It’s every advertiser’s dream to make an ad that will stick with consumers for 30, 40, or even 50 years. But that’s just what these ads have done. It’s only proof of the amazing power of sound; proof that the sound of your cereal or the tune of a jingle can transport you back in time.

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04
Feb
13

Music and Radio Transform Super Bowl XLVII Ads

Richard Lobel | Executive Vice President

Category: CBS, Marketing, Social Media, Sports

As a marketer, it’s hard to know whether to be more excited about the clash of the nation’s best football teams or the clash of the nation’s best creative minds.

Early estimates suggest that some 115 million people tuned into Super Bowl XLVII yesterday, spurred on by a power outage and an exciting, down-to-the-wire finale. A perennial ratings blockbuster, last year’s Super Bowl was the most watched program ever. Final numbers aren’t in yet, but this may very well be the 8th consecutive year that more people tuned in than the year before.

It’s no surprise then that marketers spent upwards of $3.8 million dollars to get a highly coveted 30-second spot in the 2013 game.

But TV is just part of the action. The best ads this year, which have already enjoyed skyrocketing views on YouTube, prominently featured pop songs by artists like Psy and Fun. Our medium was well represented in other ways as well. In case you were living under a rock for the last 10 days, you already know that the half time show was anchored by pop radio super star Beyonce Knowles. More than 23 million people experienced the game via radio broadcasts. And this year’s most celebrated commercial relies on the spoken words of a radio legend.

In any year, advertisers use their best creative minds to make the most innovative commercials of the entire year. 2013 was no exception. Here are some of the Super Bowl commercials we loved most.

Ram Goes Old School


Mere minutes after RAM aired this simple yet ingenious commercial featuring simple still images and the voice of radio legend Paul Harvey, the internet was buzzing, with many critics proclaiming it the best ad of the game. And in true internet era fashion, the TV commercial was inspired by a viral YouTube video which used the same Harvey “God Made A Farmer” speech from the Future Farmers Convention in 1978. The crux of the commercial is Harvey’s unmistakable voice narrating a set of still images, proving yet again the power of spoken word.

Pistachios Crack Gangnam Style


Another radio hit provides fertile ground for this clever 30 second spot featuring Korean pop star Psy. Wonderful Pistachios have managed to make a simple snack extremely cool with a series of ads that frequently draw from pop culture. They’ve starred viral sensations a like Keyboard Cat and  Honey Badger and time-tested classics like The Simpsons and Mr. Bill. For the Super Bowl, Wonderful Pistachios took on the biggest YouTube hit of all time Gangnam Style. The video features Psy clad in a pistachio-green suit singing “Crackin’ Gangnam Style” backed up by a cast of pistachio dancers.  The over-the-top theatrics are sure to cash in on the success of the break-out hit.

Taco Bell – So Funny You’ll Watch It Again


What do you get when you combine an octogenarian’s night on the town with a Spanish rendition of the hit We Are Young by Fun? You sort of have to see it to believe it. Everything about this commercial is completely over the top.  Wholesome looking retirees put The Jersey Shore to shame as they go clubbing, race around in a vintage sports car, and get tattoos before ending the night with a trip to, of course, Taco Bell.

Mercedes CLA – Devilishly Good


Featuring the iconic Rolling Stones tune Sympathy For The Devil, this commercial actually rocks. It opens with a devilish Willem Dafoe enticing an unsuspecting victim with a Mercedes CLA. It cuts to a montage that plays like every 20-something male’s dream: fast cars, Bieber-like fame, and a spot on the Vanity Fair cover atop a white stallion. Did we mention Usher makes a guest appearance?

The Rock – Got Milk?


There may be no better proponent of strong bones than football player turned-wrestler turned-actor Duane “The Rock” Johnson. The commercial features Johnson as the protagonist of our adventure as he braves a city descending into anarchy for more milk. The ad has a healthy mix of action and humor that keeps adults and children alike rooting for Johnson on his quest.

The Budweiser Clydesdales Return


The famous Budweiser Clydesdale horses have appeared in many Super Bowls over the years, but 2013 featured a new take on the majestic steeds. With Stevie Nicks crooning the words to “Landslide,” a Clydesdale pony reunites with the farmer who raised him. Look at Christian the lion! There’s a new animal-man love story in town.

This is just a sampling of the crazy, moving and funny ads that made Super Bowl XLVII legendary. Be sure to check out more Super Bowl commercials on CBS.com.

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01
Feb
13

Leveraging the Power of User Generated Content

Don Murray | Manager, Strategic Marketing

Category: Entertainment, Interactive, Marketing, Radio

This week, I read a really insightful article in Mashable that spotlighted a few marketing campaigns that successfully employ user-generated content (UGC) to generate brand awareness.

One fascinating example is this video where Ray-Ban created a real time mosaic using Instagram images from a three day music festival:

Another example from Pepsi leverages their longstanding association with NASCAR and driver Jeff Gordon to create 24 social media challenges for its fans. Tasks included sharing why they like Pepsi MAX over Coke Zero in 24 words (Jeff Gordon is #24) and Instagramming themselves with MAX and #24 gear. Users earned points and won prizes.

More than ever, consumers are connected by the products that make up the fabric of their daily lives and habits. It can sometimes feel as though our favorite pastimes are becoming part of our DNA. Over time, we become loyal and ardent ambassadors, and today more and more brands are using the content generated from these users and fans.

As Mashable suggests, one of the best ways to show off your product is to show real people embracing it. This had me thinking about just a few of the programs we have worked on here at the Altitude Group that have integrated user generated content.

Back in 2011, we worked on The Fiesta Movement, which, at its core, was a user-generated program. Ford enlisted agents, gave them Fiestas for 6-8 months (in our case, select radio talent) and tasked them to complete monthly “missions” which transported them and their Fiesta vehicle into communities, inspiring them into action.

The agents created content in blogs, pictures and interviews. The mission experiences were filmed and the captured content was distributed across multiple media platforms. In essence, the agents were sharing and showing the world what it’s like to own a Fiesta.

Ford empowered these agents to write the story that would become the Fiesta brands campaign. This tactic was the first of its kind in the auto industry and proved immenely successful.

We look forward to its evolutions as we brace ourselves for the 2014 Ford Fiesta. But user generated content doesn’t have be to so tangible as giving away cars. Check out what we did for Bermuda Tourism.

I believe that user-generated content can be employed in all mediums, not just that of the visual or social. By enlisting radio talent to endorse a product, we allow them to touch, feel and experience the product, then share that experience with audiences. That’s original authentic content. It’s one and the same.

Sure, our talent are compensated, but the beautiful thing about our radio talent is that they truly believe in the products they choose to endorse. That’s the only way it works. From a strategic perspective — or any marketing/sales perspective, for that matter — we here at the Altitude Group continuously challenge ourselves to develop new ideas that connect authentic passion to incredible products and brands. And that’s never more exciting than when users are in the driver’s seat.

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