Looking For the Answer to the “First Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Cover?” And More.

This special issue of SI is a marketing, sales and publicity success story. Ironically the special issue was designed to increase sales and readership of the magazine during the winter lull after football and before major, significant basketball. The Super Bowl was only a week or so ago. March Madness in March and the NBA in May and June. By the way, the 2013 SI Swimsuit issue arrived today with Kate Upton on the cover again.

With ten to fifteen times the sales at the newsstand and the single best-selling issue in Time Inc.'s magazine franchise, it’s truly a multi-million dollar business. Let's call it an event The issues now captures one million newsstand sales, three million copies sold and 23 million readers.

Let's go back to the question. It’s a tricky one. The answer is either February 21, 1955 or January 20, 1964.

The “first” Sports Illustrated swimsuit “edition” debuted on Jan. 20, 1964, as a five-page supplement. This premier cover featured Babette March in a white two-piece. The answer to the question actually is February 21, 1955 which featured Betty di Bugnano in a swimsuit on the cover.

The swimsuit issue isn't just a boon to marketers and advertisers, but to the swimsuit manufacturers, accessory businesses and the jewelry designers when their items are featured in the special issue. Huge sales increases for all.

In 1983, SI rolled out its first swimsuit calendar, followed by a television documentary, videos, TV specials, trading cards, screen savers, and other products and services.


I teach and consult in Marketing and Advertising, in the classroom, court and with my clients. For more on ideas and Marketing concepts: Go to www.LondreMarketing.com and look under resources and the 9P's/Nine P's ©2007. Specifically find: http://www.LondreMarketing.com/stimulating_articles.php

Or for more fun, marketing strategies/tactics and facts:  Go to http://www.LondreMarketing.com/trivia.php

Here to help you better understand. All the best.

Got Your 3-D Glasses On? Many Super Bowl Messages and Ads Were Uplifting. Some Were Just Dumb.

This year you did not need your 3-D glasses. Many Super Bowl messages were uplifting. Some were just dumb for Super Bowl XLVII.  Each 30-second TV spot cost on average $3.8 million, plus production, talent, sets, and more.  Were they worth it?  I tell my marketing and advertising classes, what’s the R.O.I. or return on the advertiser’s investment?  Companies could have spent their money in other promotional areas, such as a better, larger sales force, better call center, dedicated customer service, social media, sales promotion, P.R. or direct marketing. Add alternative marketing strategies of new product development or just lower prices.   By the way, I do not know of a company which is not improving and revising their website. For $3.8 to 4.0 million a spot in media only that’s a lot of product or services to sell.

Conversely, the high price tags of the commercials all but promise viewers that they will be spectacular and innovative, in most cases. A couple were excellent. I liked the Clydesdale Budweiser spot, but not sure it sells beer. Clever spots for detergent Tide, with the Joe Montana stain, Samsung's two-minute "copy points" with Rogen and Rudd, and for Ram Truck with the v/o of the late Paul Harvey. Plus Oreo's spot culminated a good year of promotion for the ubiquitous cookie. The Godaddy spot seemed creepy, the more you thought about it and it was discussed by the students and others. To me, the ones which missed were the two Bud Black Crown and the Beck's goldfish for beer. Really, bad and dumb.

For many in marketing and advertising, the commercials are always more anticipated than the game.  The ads generate much buzz now even before the game. Stung by the economy, some of our biggest companies have been cutting and slashing their advertising budgets. But television viewers won't know it from watching the spots in Sunday’s game.  It takes both millions of dollars in media costs and add on the creation and production dollars of the spots. My classes are always surprised this is usually for a one-time airing, plus all on youtube.

A lot of people have lost jobs, and haven't replaced them. Today, generating sales revenue is tough.  In last Sunday’s Super Bowl, I saw strategies of value, hard sell; get it with others, appeals, and more.  It's a terrible time for the economy but continues to be a strategic opportunity for marketers to build and generate additional market share and enhance their brands versus their competition.  

Well, the game is over, but the advertising lives on.  My classes discuss that it’s the commercials or the spots that get talked about, more than the game.  One of my first thoughts is to go to youtube.com to watch the best ones again.  Other avenues you can read a recap of the advertising in USA Today, plus for 37 years of advertising you can go to Adland, at. http://commercial-archive.com/SuperBowlCommercials.  

The most renowned Super Bowl spots have been:

• In 1984, which just celebrated its 25th anniversary, and has won recognition as the best TV spot ever by Adweek, TV Guide, and AdAge.  It was the “Big Brother” ad introducing Apple's Macintosh followed a 1984 theme, and ending with the copy of “We shall prevail.”
• In 1993, Michael Jordan’s  most famous spot included Larry Bird playing an entertaining game of HORSE, for McDonald’s Big Mac and fries.  The advertising was interesting  due to the dares and obstacles set for both players.
• In the February 4, 2013 issue of Sports Illustrated has the pets.com spot of 2000 as one of the greatest. Really. That makes zero marketing and business sense. There is an old adage in advertising: “It is only creative if it sells.”  Let’s review the stats on pets.com.Pets.com  spent $55.3 million in advertising, mostly on TV and generated only  $5.8 million in total sales.  Yes, $5.8 million. Total. Pets.com had cost of goods of $13.4 million, more than two times their actual sales of $5.8 million.  

For more on ideas and Marketing concepts: Go to www.LondreMarketing.com and look under resources and the 9P's/Nine P's ©2007. Specifically find: http://www.LondreMarketing.com/stimulating_articles.php

Or for more fun, marketing strategies/tactics and facts:  Go to http://www.LondreMarketing.com/trivia.php

Here to help you better understand Marketing. All the best.

Here's to Romance, Valentine's Day and the Promotion of Walgreens.

Walgreen promotes themselves as "At the Corner of Happy & Healthy.  But are they clueless or just stupid, or maybe to a select target segment, clever, when they promoted Menage A Trois red wine as the perfect toast for Valentine's Day in their Promotion and Presentation. In the Marketing strategies of the Nine P's/9P's© 2007 we use one of the P's for "Presentation," as a Marketing strategy.

In class and with our clients, we use "Presentation" in Marketing as the act or acts of presenting any of the different 9P’s©2007 to your customers, suppliers, wholesalers, retailers, sales force, marketing intermediaries, clients, employees, and/or partners. They are symbols or images that represent something; a descriptive or persuasive account (as a sales person of the product). Wal-Mart, Walgreens, CVS and retailers want a better integration of its retailing in store and online. Something set forth for the attention of mind. So does Walgreens have a "special" marketing strategy and a target which American may not understand?


The Internet changed everything especially in the “presentation” of the different P’s. Another part of “presenting” is the big picture perspective of corporate social responsibility (CSR) which refers to consideration of, and the firm's responses to issues, beyond narrow economic, technical and legal requirements.

Which brings me to another of the 9P's:  Passion: The intense, driving or overmastering feelings, emotions in the marketing and selling of products or services.  Emotional, as distinguished from reason and rational decision-making; A strong liking for or devotion to some activity; Deep interest in your partnership/presentation of any of the 9P’s to any target or partner. APPLE and how they present their new and existing products is a great example students bring up in an Advertising or Marketing class at USC, CSUN, Pepperdine, and Ucla.

Another of the Nine P’s/Nine P’s ©2007 in Marketing and the study of Marketing is “Promotion,” which Walgreens is using to promote Valentine's Day.

For more on ideas and Marketing concepts: Go to www.LondreMarketing.com and look under resources and the 9P's/Nine P's ©2007. Specifically find: http://www.LondreMarketing.com/stimulating_articles.php

Or for more fun, marketing strategies/tactics and facts:  Go to http://www.LondreMarketing.com/trivia.php

Here to help you better understand. All the best.

Marketing, Valentine's Day, Targeting and the Nine P's.

The NRF (National Retail Federation) expects consumers to spend $18.6 billion for Valentine's Day in 2013.

For companies and retailers, they are putting together combinations of “Products “and Services, with “Promotion,” “Price/Pricing” and targeting segments of “People.”  These are four of the Nine P’s/Nine P’s ©2007, influencing objectives, strategies and tactics in Marketing.

I teach that one of the 9’s “People/Prospects (Target Market)” consists of a set of buyers who share common needs or characteristics that the company decides to serve. Market targeting can be carried out at several different levels, especially during the Valentine’s Day period, usually ten days to two weeks in February.

Defining a target market requires market segmentation; the process of segmenting the entire market as a whole and separating it into manageable units based on demographics, geographics, psychographics, behavior, or technographical characteristics. Some strategic variable include male and females, geography, income, education, along with "technographics" with so many items sold on the web. Once a specific target market is chosen, the organization can develop its marketing strategies to target this market.

It was interesting to read this week that one in ten relationships end on Valentine's Day, and 85% believe trust/trustworthiness is the most important trait in a relationship (Bing survey results). Of the billions who will buy Valentine's Day gifts, 26.3% plan to buy on-line, which has been trending up.  Have you seen all of the candy and flower deals this week, and we are a week away?

One of the Nine P’s/Nine P’s ©2007 in Marketing and the study of Marketing is “Price:” Price/Pricing: All aspects regarding pricing. The amount of money a consumer is willing to pay to obtain the product. Pricing includes wholesale/retail/promotional prices, discounts, trade-in allowances, quantity discounts, credit terms, sales and payment periods and credit terms.  I’m keeping track of the deals including free delivery, discounts, offers, free vases, shipping, combos for Valentine’s Day.

For more on ideas and Marketing concepts: Go to www.LondreMarketing.com and look under resources and the 9P's/Nine P's ©2007. Specifically find: http://www.LondreMarketing.com/stimulating_articles.php

Or for more fun, marketing strategies/tactics and facts:  Go to http://www.LondreMarketing.com/trivia.php

Here to help you better understand Marketing. All the best.

The "Big L," "The L" for Super Bowl "L" in 2016.

Anniversaries may be important for marketers, clients and advertising agencies.Sometimes they are important to the company and no one else. Sometimes for the employees it's important to them, but customers or potential customers don't care unless the anniversary is attached to a great Promotion or Sale.

The 2016 Super Bowl will be the 50th anniversary year for the Super Bowl. It will be the “Big L.”
It will be in Roman numbers --- L, with some referring to “The L”  in 2016.

Some other interesting Roman numbers for the Super Bowl.
IV                 (1970)  Hint: Be sure to say it out loud.
XXX              (1996)
XXXXVIII        (2004)
L      (2016)
LIX              (2025)
C                 (2066)
MD              (3466)

The first Super Bowl had 33K empty seats and was called the “AFL-NFL Championship Game.” Or the "Supergame.” There were two college bands and the Arcadia High drill team.  Much different than megastar Beyoncé in 2013.              

One of the Nine P’s/Nine P’s ©2007 in Marketing and the study of Marketing is “Promotion."

For more on ideas and Marketing concepts: Go to www.LondreMarketing.com and look under resources and the 9P's/Nine P's ©2007. Specifically find: http://www.LondreMarketing.com/stimulating_articles.php

Or for more fun, marketing strategies/tactics and facts:  Go to http://www.LondreMarketing.com/trivia.php

Here to help you better understand. All the best.

Marketing, Corporate Strategic Planning/Mission Statements, Nine P's, the GAP, Ritz-Carlton, Wal-Mart and More.

In any Marketing class, Corporate Strategic Planning/Mission Statements are presented, reviewed and discussed, because an organization (profit/non profit) must plan and the organization exists to accomplish something, such as sell products, services, ideas, experiences, etc. Examples may be producing consumer products; lending  money; providing a service, like transportation, health care, a night’s lodging, provide energy. I use one of the 9P's/Nine P's ©2007, "Product," to describe Products and Services as "A product is anything that can be offered to a market for attention, acquisition, use or consumption that might satisfy a want or need. (Kotler)"

In developing new products and services it's vital to look at trends in the study of Marketing. I discuss in class that these trends are like waves.  You can let them crash into you or build a surfboard and ride them. Companies must identify major forces of change. Companies know that there will be a road to restructuring, but sometimes they have no plans to be the perpetrators rather than the victims of what they all saw coming.

There are opportunities and threats in the company's external environment, strengths and weaknesses in the company’s internal environment. Corporations as mighty as General Motors, Sears and IBM have been brought to their knees by ignoring trends, changes in the marketplace and environmental changes. Additional examples: Xerox saw the future in coping, IBM and Kodax did not. Sears dismissed discounting, Target and Wal-Mart did not.

Here are some helpful planning hints for management, who must define its mission:

• What is our business?  
• Who is our customer? 
• What is value to our customers?
• What will our business be? 
• What should our business be? 

Original mission of the Girl Scouts: “To prepare girls for motherhood and wifely duties.”

The mission of the Ritz-Carlton: “We are ladies and gentleman serving ladies and gentlemen. The Ritz Carlton is a place where genuine care and comfort of our guests is our highest mission. We pledge to provide the finest personal service and facilities for our guests who will always enjoy a warm. Relaxed yet refined ambiance. The Ritz-Carlton experience enlivens the senses, instills well-being, and fulfills even the unexpressed wishes and needs of our guests.”

Mission of the Gap: "Gap, Inc. is a brand-builder. We create emotional connections with customers around the world through inspiring product design, unique store experiences, and compelling marketing." So I found it interesting that the GAP, which opened its first store in 1969. The name is a reference to the Generation Gap.  I found that interesting. How many changes have there been over the years in the generation gap, the product, pricing, targeting, promotion and partners of the Gap?

Successful companies raise questions constantly.  The answers are shaped by:

• History of company’s aims, policies, achievements
• Current preferences of management
• Market environment
• Resources
• Distinctive competencies

A well-worked out mission statement gives direction, shared purpose and opportunities to employees, partners, suppliers, distributors, and other groups.


For more on ideas and Marketing concepts: Go to www.LondreMarketing.com and look under resources and the 9P's/Nine P's ©2007. Specifically find: http://www.LondreMarketing.com/stimulating_articles.php

Or for more fun, marketing strategies/tactics and facts:  Go to http://www.LondreMarketing.com/trivia.php

Here to help you better understand. All the best.

More on Marketing and Advertising: Linking Super Bowl XLVII, 85th Academy Awards and the Nine P's.

As a Marketing, Advertising senior lecturer and guest lecturer at  USC, UCLA, CSUN, Pepperdine and other schools since 1975, I have used several of the TV spots in the Super Bowl and in the Academy Awards to illustrate marketing strategies, AIDA (Attention, Interest, Desire and Action); creativity; objectives, strategies, tactics in advertising; ratings and share; media planning; plus "It's only creative, if it sells."

Here are a few additional, interesting points:

• On average this year's Super Bowl XLVII television spots cost $3,800,000 each, which did not include actors, production, director, agency talent, sets, just the time on CBS. Some spots cost up to $4 million each for the time only.
• In the Academy Awards set to air on February 24th, it's been reported that ABC negotiated rates of $1.7 to $1.85 million per 30-second spot. 
• Last year's Super Bowl XLVI was the most-watched U.S. telecast of all time, according to Nielsen.
• A 30-second ad during the first Super Bowl, which was called the NFL-AFL Championship Game was sold for $38,750 and in today's dollars, $266K. 
• Don't forget to count the number of promotional spots for the network and its shows. The amount of clutter is more than you realize.

In class and with my clients we discuss targeting or "People."  In  the Nine P's/9P's ©2007,  People/Prospects/Target Market  is defined as a set of buyers who share common needs or characteristics that the company decides to serve. Market targeting can be carried out at several different levels. Defining a target market requires market segmentation; the process of segmenting the entire market as a whole and separating it into manageable units based on demographics, geographics, psychographics, behavior, technographics or technographical characteristics. Once a target market is chosen, the organization can develop its marketing strategies to target this market.

Once a target market is chosen, the organization can develop its marketing strategies to target this market. What is interesting with the Academy Awards is that this event has a high concentration of well-educated and affluent, upscale viewers with income.

Two of the other Nine P’s/Nine P’s ©2007 in Marketing and the study of Marketing are “Price,” and "Promotion."  The TV spots are part of Advertising which is part of "Promotion" for a client and the TV spots are part of the "Product" of the networks. The "Price" and pricing is negotiated between the agencies, media buying services and clients.

For more on ideas and Marketing concepts: Go to www.LondreMarketing.com and look under resources and the 9P's/Nine P's (c) 2007. Specifically find: http://www.LondreMarketing.com/stimulating_articles.php

Or for more fun, marketing strategies/tactics and facts:  Go to http://www.LondreMarketing.com/trivia.php

Understanding Rating and Share Figures in Super Bowl XLVII, Plus Reach, Frequency and Continuity.

• TV's Third-Biggest Audience Ever, with 108.4 million. Viewership was dipping and then rising after the power outage. 

As a marketing and advertising senior lecturer, consultant and expert witness, I wanted to explain the advertising/media terms involved with the TV viewers watching Super Bowl XLVII. The audience was the largest in the final 17 minutes with a Rating of 51%, of the household tuned in. 

What is a Rating? Share? Reach? Frequency? Continuity?

You see these media terms used in any marketing or advertising class, within clients and at advertising agencies, especially used in the media around major TV events, including the Super Bowl and the Academy Awards/Oscars. 

Here are some examples from yesterday’s Super Bowl, including ones after the blackout on the "Baltimore" side of the field at the Superdome. 

• In Nielsen's metered-market households: It was reported that the 8:45-9:15 p.m. portion did a 46.5  rating/68 share, but viewership spiked from there. To explain, 46.5 percentage of the total possible audience was watching and of those watching 68% were watching the Super Bowl game, meaning that 32% were watching other programming. In my advertising and marketing classes at USC, Pepperdine and CSUN, there were always a few students who thought "Everyone was watching.(at least part of the game)." 

The 9:15 p.m. quarter-hour did a 47.9 rating/68 share; the 9:30 p.m. quarter-hour did a 49.6 rating/70 share; the 10 p.m. portion did a 51.3 rating/73 share and the 10:30-10:45 p.m. quarter hour, during which the game ended, did a 52.9 rating/75 share.

The 8 o'clock half-hour containing the Beyonce concert at halftime earned a 48.2 rating/71 share. 

It was reported nationally that the overnight score for the game (48.1 household rating/71 share) was up 1% from last year's 47.8/71 for New York Giants-New England on NBC and the highest on record.

• Rating (RTG): The estimate of the size of a television audience relative to the total universe, expressed as a percentage. The estimated percent of all TV households or persons tuned to a specific station.
• Share (SHR): The percent of the Households Using Television (HUT) or Persons Using Television (PUT) which are tuned to a specific program or station at a specified time. 
• Reach (Cume; also called Coverage): refers to the total number of different people to whom you deliver an advertising message, or a complete campaign.  The number of different or unduplicated households or persons that are exposed to a television program or commercial at least once during the average week for a reported time period. 
• Frequency: Average number of times a household or a person viewed a given television program, station or commercial during a specific time period. 
• Continuity: Length of time a schedule runs. For example, a brand manager or media planner could divide a media schedule into specific weeks and months in a year. 

For more on ideas and Marketing concepts: Go to www.LondreMarketing.com and look under resources and the 9P's/Nine P's (c) 2007. Specifically find: http://www.LondreMarketing.com/stimulating_articles.php

Or for more fun, marketing strategies/tactics and facts:  Go to http://www.LondreMarketing.com/trivia.php

Here to help you better understand. All the best.

All This Talk About A Big Idea In Advertising in the Super Bowl. Plus All of the Media Vehicles

There are pros and cons of creating, building and executing the BIG IDEA in that one spot in the Super Bowl, but you need to know an advertiser is only paying $3.8 million to $4 million for the space or time cost only. Add on top of those millions, production, sets, director, actors camera work, etc. 

Advertising has traditionally relied on “big ideas:” the concepts, stories and taglines that have helped brands sell product for years. I like to use in my Marketing and Advertising classes the example of M&M’s. So simple a candied covered chocolate, now in many variations. Marlboro had the Marlboro man, Apple uses  “Think Different,” and then, of course, there’s “Enjoy Coke” or the “Pause that Refreshes. And  McDonald’s “You deserve a break today.”  

Now there are so many media vehicles. I have a list on my website: http://www.londremarketing.com/documents/LondreMarketing-Advertising-Media-and-Sales-Promotion-Vehicles-1.29.13.pdf

For more on ideas and Marketing concepts: Go to www.LondreMarketing.com and look under resources and the 9P's/Nine P's (c) 2007. Specifically find: http://www.LondreMarketing.com/stimulating_articles.php

Or for more fun, marketing strategies/tactics and facts:  Go to http://www.LondreMarketing.com/trivia.php

Here to help you better understand. All the best.

Super Bowl Spots and Commercials: "They Are Only Creative, If They Sell."

In watching the Super Bowl TV spots for Super Bowl XLVII, I want to give you some strategies to look for. It’s more than an idea communicated in the ad, it’s also based on targeting, production and execution. And more.

I speak as an marketing/advertising instructor, seasoned Marketing pro, former account manager and client professional, with advertising agencies reporting to me.

Today what we have to train people for in advertising, creative, production, marketing and media is so much wider, broader than it used to be. The majority of the advertising is no longer traditional media. In MAD MEN’s time it was TV, radio, print. The actual discipline of planning, thinking creatively and communicating with the target segments is the same. But now audiences are so fragmented.

I still teach in the classroom: “It’s only creative, if it sells.” Meaning that the ad and advertising must sell product or services.

The advertising needs to sell products and services, so when you are watching tomorrow, do the spots deliver...SALES? Look for the polls on rating the spots, but do the spots deliver sales, awareness, getting people into the stores, buying products, car dealer visits, Google searches?
Look at the aggregate but decisions should be made on sales, not “creativity.”

Two of the Nine P’s/Nine P’s ©2007 in Marketing and the study of Marketing is “Promotion” and “Product.” For more on ideas and Marketing concepts: Go to www.LondreMarketing.com and look under resources and the 9P's/Nine P's (c) 2007. Specifically find: http://www.LondreMarketing.com/stimulating_articles.php

Or for more fun, marketing strategies/tactics and facts:  Go to http://www.LondreMarketing.com/trivia.php

Here to help you better understand. All the best.

Ever Wonder if the Expression "Drinking the Kool-Aid" Adds to the Sales and Consumption of Kool-Aid?

Nearly everyone has consumed Kool-Aid, in one form or another. In the marketplace and in the study of Marketing and Advertising you research your competitors. In the grocery store potential consumers see all of the brand choices, "Products," one of the 9P's/Nine P's. The competitors or in Marketing terms "competitive set" for Kool-Aid are: Capri Sun, Hawaiian Punch, Juicy Juice, Tropicana, Ocean Spray, Apple & Eve, Minute Maid, Motts, Tree Top, Welch’s.

For a Marketing class, I was wondering if the expression "Drinking the Kool-Aid" in the workplace, marketplace or at your place adds to the consumption of Kool-Aid?  Maybe. Read on.

Carrying a negative connotation “Drinking the Kool-Aid” is a metaphor commonly used that refers to a person or group holding an unquestioned belief, argument, or philosophy without critical examination.
The basis of the expression is a reference to the November 1978 Reverend Jim Jones Jonestown Massacre, where members of the Peoples Temple allegedly committed suicide by drinking a “Kool-Aid” drink laced with cyanide.

I read that some survivors and their families of the Massacre object to the link between blind faith and the deaths, because some victims were murdered. They were forced to drink at gunpoint, than being convinced to commit suicide. There were also many rehearsals for the event in which the drink did not contain poison, which led to cult members believing the drink was harmless.

The “Kool-Aid” phrase has also been used in a variety of contexts to describe blind, uncritical acceptance or following.  In some cases, over the years, it began to take on a neutral or even positive light, implying simply great enthusiasm.

Lately, the phrase has been used in business and in technology circles to mean devotion to a certain company or technology.

I found a NYT article about the dotcom era, which there were so many companies running out of cash, but employees were still believing, a tasteless reference to the Jonestown massacre.

Not sure anyone thinks of juice or a phony, artificial juice-based product.  So, now you are really wondering if the expression "Drinking the Kool-Aid" adds to any purchase, use or consumption of Kool-Aid?  Probably not, unless you are in product sampling, and an employee with Kool-Aid.

One more thing: I remember seeing the Mr. Kool-Aid man at a Food Marketing Institute (FMI) trade show in Chicago, not so long ago. He was standing with Mr. Peanut. On our website I have a photo of all three of us (LondreMarketing.com).

Using the Marketing concept of the Nine P’s/9P’s ©2007 there are references to “Product,” “Presentation,” “Partners,” “Passion”  and “Planning.” Probably other 9P’s we would discuss in a Marketing class.
For more on ideas and Marketing concepts: Go to www.LondreMarketing.com and look under resources and the 9P's/Nine P's (c) 2007. Specifically find: http://www.LondreMarketing.com/stimulating_articles.php

Or for more fun, marketing strategies/tactics and facts:  Go to http://www.LondreMarketing.com/trivia.php

Here to help you better understand. All the best.

Largest Audience, Most Watched U.S. Telecast Will Be A Super Bowl Game. It Will Be Either 2012 or 2013.

The Super Bowl's attraction is simple: It's about the game and it's about the commercials and spots. It's also about getting together with friends, eating and partying.

As a Marketing and Advertising senior lecturer at USC, CSUN, Pepperdine and other schools since 1975, I use a few on the spots to illustrate AIDA (Attention, Interest, Desire and Action); creativity; objectives, strategies, tactics in marketing and advertising; ratings and share; media planning; plus "It's only creative, if it sells."  Here are a few interesting points:

1. Last year's Super Bowl XLVI was the most-watched U.S. telecast of all time, according to Nielsen.
2. A 30-second ad during the first Super Bowl, which was called the NFL-AFL Championship Game was sold for $38,750 and in today's dollars, $266K.
3. On average this year's Super Bowl XLVII spots cost $3,800,00 each, which did not include actors, production,sets, just the time on CBS.
4. Count the number of promotional spots for the network and its shows. The amount of clutter is more than you realize.

Two of the Nine P’s/Nine P’s ©2007 in Marketing and the study of Marketing are “Price,” and "Promotion."  

For more on ideas and Marketing concepts: Go to www.LondreMarketing.com and look under resources and the 9P's/Nine P's (c) 2007. Specifically find: http://www.LondreMarketing.com/stimulating_articles.php

Or for more fun, marketing strategies/tactics and facts:  Go to http://www.LondreMarketing.com/trivia.php

Here to help you better understand. All the best.

"Sports Illustrated" Magazine Has the Pets.com Super Bowl Spot of 2000 As One of the Greatest. Really.

Here's more information on Super Bowl spots or commercials for Super Bowl XLVII:

In the February 4, 2013 issue of Sports Illustrated magazine there's a story by Mark Bechtel. He may not have much of a business background. He has the pets.com spot of 2000 as one of the greatest. Really. That makes zero marketing and business sense to me who has worked for clients and advertising agencies and taught at USC, CSUN, Pepperdine and LMU in marketing, global studies and advertising since 1971.

There is an old adage in advertising: “It is only creative if it sells.”  Let’s review the stats on pets.com.

Pets.com  spent $55.3 million in advertising, mostly on TV and generated only  $5.8 million in total sales.  Yes, $5.8 million. Total.

Pets.com had cost of goods of $13.4 million, more than two times their actual sales of $5.8 million.

One of the Nine P’s/Nine P’s ©2007 in Marketing and the study of Marketing is “Promotion." The communication element includes personal and non-personal communication activities.  Activities that communicate the merits of the overall product, which include the tools of:  Personal Selling/Sales Force;  Advertising; Sales Promotion; Collateral Materials; Direct Marketing; Interactive/Internet/Web/Digital Media/Social Media; Events and Experiences; Public Relations.

For more on ideas and Marketing concepts: Go to www.LondreMarketing.com and look under resources and the 9P's/Nine P's (c) 2007. Specifically find: http://www.LondreMarketing.com/stimulating_articles.php

Or for more fun, marketing strategies/tactics and facts:  Go to http://www.LondreMarketing.com/trivia.php

Here to help you better understand. All the best.

J.C. Penny's Eroding Profits. It's About Sales (Or Lack Of), Promotion, Pricing and Revenue.

It reported again that J.C. Penney is changing its pricing strategies. Actually it is changing its "Promotion" too,  with its announcement of 100 sales. Up from zero and their every-day low pricing model. Down from 500 sales in '11.

Wall Street is reacting to lack of customer traffic which means less potential shoppers which are shopping fewer times and lower overall sales. To Marketing and Wall Street that means less revenue and dropping revenue.

JCP will no longer offer its ELP (everyday-low-price) model, which had been blamed for eroding profits. They will run 100 sales and holiday events throughout the year, which is about 500 fewer promotions than the retail chain ran in 2011. Some investors are not happy. They are selling the stock short.


One of the Nine P’s/Nine P’s ©2007 in Marketing and the study of Marketing is “Price:”

Price/Pricing: All aspects regarding pricing. The amount of money a consumer is willing to pay to obtain the product. Pricing includes wholesale/retail/promotional prices, discounts, trade-in allowances, quantity discounts, credit terms, sales and payment periods and credit terms.  Pricing decision making also involves adjusting prices concerning the competitive environment, economic situations and involve buyer perceptions.  Prices are a key positioning factor and must be decided in relation to the target market, the product and service assortment mix, and the competition.

For more on ideas and Marketing concepts: Go to www.LondreMarketing.com and look under resources and the 9P's/Nine P's (c) 2007. Specifically find: http://www.LondreMarketing.com/stimulating_articles.php

Or for more fun, marketing strategies/tactics and facts:  Go to http://www.LondreMarketing.com/trivia.php

Here to help you better understand. All the best.

Light, Bright and Polite: Your Actions on Social Media May Be Holding You Back From Landing a Job

Last month, I endorsed a new book Light, Bright & Polite: How Businesses and Professionals Can Safely and Effectively Navigate Social Media by Josh Ochs. You will find me as part of "People Talking" and page two.

If you've met Josh, you'd consider him a friend. Great first impression. He's charming and extremely likable. Plus knowledgeable

He starts the book by answering three helpful, instructional concepts about you and social media. When writing, responding and sharing something, always keep it "Light, Bright and Polite:"

1. Light: Make the message short. People are busy. Grab their attention. Do not lose it. 
2. Bright: Make it helpful to the readers and that they want to pass it on to others. 
3. The third item from the title is Polite: That you are proud, have reflected on the "message" (photo or message) before sending or forwarding them and that if thousands of people see the "message,"  it reflects well on you and if your boss or parents see it it would be appropriate and they would be proud of you. 

I talked about the book and mentioned it last night in the Business Communications class at Pepperdine. I have assembled for more than thirty years senior Marketing and Advertising people, with recruiters and HR professionals to help students in class. Usually our "Better interviewing and job looking skills" class or seminars are in the last or second to last class of the semester.

In Ochs' book, Josh has put some of these strategies in writing that we have talked about over many years. His thoughts have been included in the interviewing and job panels in my classes at USC, Pepperdine and CSUN.  

In March I have put together a panel at California State University, Northridge where I started teaching in 1975. More on that at Londremarketing.com.  The panel is called: "Getting an Interview. Landing a Job. Practical, Insightful, Timely Advice and Counsel for the AMA (American Marketing Association)  at CSUN.”

Another important concept: I wanted to add to Josh's SOK (Silent Opportunity Killer).  It's so true. We've talked about this for years when the web shanged everything about finding and landing a job. What is that you ask, SOK?  It's the sad fact that as a potential job searcher and job seeker you may get passed over because of the public social media posts and poor decision making about putting photos on Facebook, for example. 

Students and other job seekers need to be aware and realize that their actions on social media are keeping from getting them hired because a recruiter or professional HR director are "researching them"  on the web. 

More on the book later.In a future blog. 

For more on ideas and Marketing concepts: Go to www.LondreMarketing.com and look under resources and the 9P's/Nine P's (c) 2007. Specifically find: http://www.LondreMarketing.com/stimulating_articles.php

Or for more fun, marketing strategies/tactics and facts:  Go to http://www.LondreMarketing.com/trivia.php

Here to help you better understand. All the best.

Passion And Presentation of Post-it Notes And More on the 9P's/Nine P's

It seems everyone uses Post-it notes, all of the time. I found their latest promotional campaign to be using important parts of the 9P’s/Nine P’s ©2007;  3M's new advertising campaign brings three of the 9P’s factors together, including Passion, People and Presentation.

3M is launching a $10 million ad campaign for Post-it notes; it’s asking consumers to find creative uses for their product. The tagline is "Go ahead," which re-creates real-life examples of the "customization" trend (I have a lot on customization in my marketing and advertising classes), where consumers have personalized applications for mass-market products.

From the 9P’s/Nine P's:

• Passion: Intense, driving or overmastering feelings, emotions in the marketing and selling of products or services. Emotional, as distinguished from reason and rational decision-making; A strong liking for or devotion to some activity; Deep interest in your partnership/presentation of any of the 9P’s© to any target or partner.
• People/Prospects: (Target Market) Target Market consists of a set of buyers who share common needs or characteristics that the company decides to serve. Market targeting can be carried out at several different levels. Share is a key word, here.
• Presentation: The “P” is the act of presenting any of the different 9P’s© to your customers,suppliers, wholesalers, retailers, sales force, marketing intermediaries, clients, employees, and/or partners. They are symbols or images that represent something; a descriptive or persuasive account (as a sales person of the product). Wal-Mart and retailers want a better integration of its retailing in store and online. Something set forth for the attention of mind. 

The Internet changed everything especially in the “presentation” of the different P’s. Another part of “presenting” is the big picture perspective of corporate social responsibility (CSR) which refers to consideration of, and the firm's responses to issues, beyond narrow economic, technical and legal requirements. These objectives and firm strategies of accomplishing social benefits along with the traditional economic gains which the firm is seeking is vitally important to the “presentation” to the constituents, different publics and to the world.

Unfortunately Post-it notes are not great for the environment.  In the study of Marketing, companies look and review issues of global sustainability, not interfering in the internal politics of the different countries and the governments of local markets, respecting natural resources, conducting research and development activities in developing countries, respecting local laws and regulations, environmental concerns, creating jobs in the served markets, respecting human rights, and more.

For more on ideas and Marketing concepts: Go to www.LondreMarketing.com and look under resources and the 9P's/Nine P's (c) 2007. Specifically find: http://www.LondreMarketing.com/stimulating_articles.php

Or for more fun, marketing strategies/tactics and facts:  Go to http://www.LondreMarketing.com/trivia.php

Here to help you better understand, apply and learn.  All the best.

If Tourism Is So Important to Los Angeles, Why Do We Have Such Poor Roads?

We were biking yesterday and I was thinking how we, as Los Angeles, promote our city? How does the city look and feel to tourists? 

Another question concerning the marketing to tourists for Los Angeles: If tourism Is so important to LA, why do we have such great bike paths/lanes and such poor roads? 

We, as a city,  welcomed a record 41.4 million visitors in 2012, a 2.5 percent increase over the previous record-high 40.4 million visitors in 2011 according to L.A. Tourism & Convention Board.  Total domestic visitation accounted for 35.3 million visitors, a 2.7 percent increase over 2011; total international visitation set a record with six million visitors, a 1.2 percent increase over 2011, with China becoming the destination’s top overseas market for the first-time ever. 

With all of this money and people coming in, why can't we have better roads? In addition, direct visitor spending, hotel occupancy and hotel room nights sold set all-time record highs.  Visitors to the city spent an estimated $16.5 billion, a more than $1 billion increase over the $15.4 billion spent in 2011. Hotel occupancy set a record at 75.4 percent, surpassing the previous 2006 record of 75.1%; and the city sold a record 26.64 million hotel room nights generating $180 million in tax revenue for the city. 

The tourism industry supports one in ten jobs in LA and the revenues that come from its success go directly to the city services. But our roads?

The City generated $151 million in transient-occupancy taxes in FY11-12.  So I ask why are the roads so poor in helping us all get around, visitors and residents, business people?  

But the bike lanes are beautiful and have new paint. I'm not against bike lanes. I was on many bike paths yesterday, but our adjacent roads are in decay.  Our priorities seem out of line with the number of people driving around, visitors and citizens. 

"Planning" and "Presentation" are two of the 9P's/Nine P's (c) 2007 of Marketing.  "Place" or Distribution is another of the nine P's. We are not presenting the city as well as we could. I hope our next mayor is better. 

The overall planning, service, presentation for tourists and for our citizens should be better.   

For more on ideas and Marketing concepts: Go to www.LondreMarketing.com and look under resources and the 9P's/Nine P's (c) 2007. Specifically find: http://www.LondreMarketing.com/stimulating_articles.php

Or for more fun, marketing strategies/tactics and facts:  Go to http://www.LondreMarketing.com/trivia.php

Here to help you better understand. All the best.

Blending the Study of Marketing on Price or Pricing with Customer Service

You know that cell phone can be annoying to others, especially in restaurants.  Almost any place where customers get together or congregate.  Some restaurants have signs just like in a doctor’s office “No cell phones” or "No cellphone in the dining area.” Add the loudness of the voices or the frequent calls which may disrupt service for everyone.

You may have heard about Eva’s in Los Angeles on Beverly Boulevard which wanted to curb cellphone use so they offered a five percent discount off the meal at this restaurant if the customers would check their cell phone at the door.

I teach marketing and advertising. Plus Global Strategies.

One of the Nine P’s/Nine P’s ©2007 in Marketing and the study of Marketing is “Price:” Price/Pricing: All aspects regarding pricing. The amount of money a consumer is willing to pay to obtain the product. Pricing includes wholesale/retail/promotional prices, discounts, trade-in allowances, quantity discounts, credit terms, sales and payment periods and credit terms.  Pricing decision making also involves adjusting prices concerning the competitive environment, economic situations and involve buyer perceptions.  Prices are a key positioning factor and must be decided in relation to the target market, the product and service assortment mix, and the competition.

There's a "price" we pay to be fed, wined and dined. Dining should be fun. Eating out should be for all.

For more on ideas and Marketing concepts: Go to www.LondreMarketing.com and look under resources and the 9P's/Nine P's (c) 2007. Specifically find: http://www.LondreMarketing.com/stimulating_articles.php

Or for more fun, marketing strategies/tactics and facts:  Go to http://www.LondreMarketing.com/trivia.php

Here to help you better understand. All the best.

Super Bowl XLVII is Significantly Different From the First "One" in 1967

The first Super Bowl had 33K empty seats and was called the “AFL-NFL Championship Game.” Or the "Supergame.” There were two college bands and the Arcadia High drill team.  Much different than megastar Beyoncé.

Tickets were priced at an outrageous price of $12. On stubhub today January 23, the top ticket is $315, 916 for a suite in the 400 Level to a low of $2197.00.

This remains the only “Super Bowl” not to have been a sellout. It also is the only Super Bowl to have been simulcast in the U.S. by two networks: NBC had the rights to nationally televise AFL games while CBS held the rights to broadcast NFL games; it was decided that both networks could televise the game.

Where was I? Attending University of Southern California/USC and working at the corner of Santa Barbara (now Martin Luther King) and Vermont for Standard Stations, Inc. I had two years of experience working in what was then a "real"service station, not a gas station. I did everything from sell tires, repair tires, change shocks to oil and filters. Plus pump gas and actually clean the windows and check the air in the tires. Premium gasoline was 32.9 cents per gallon.

I was making $3.42 an hour (great money and putting myself through college with a 50/50 split with my father) and I oil and lubed 23 cars that day. Using my business major I suggested giving free parking for attendees of the “AFL-NFL Championship Game.

A lot has changed on pricing.  Besides an expensive venue ticket, now the cost of parking would go for $200/car or about $70 to $80 per car for the Notre Dame game versus USC across the street at the Coliseum.

The “AFL-NFL Championship Game was played on January 15, 1967 at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum  or the Coliseum to us in Los Angeles. Featured the Green Bay Packers who defeated the American Football League (AFL) champion Kansas City Chiefs by the score of 35–10.

For more on the $4 million advertising spots, ideas and Marketing concepts: Go to www.LondreMarketing.com and look under resources and the 9P's/Nine P's (c) 2007. Specifically find them at http://www.LondreMarketing.com/stimulating_articles.php

Or for more fun, marketing strategies/tactics and facts:  Go to http://www.LondreMarketing.com/trivia.php

Here to help you better understand. All the best.

A Story About Anticipation

Anticipating the Marketing situation and looking for the answer has pros and cons. A big insight into creativity.

The story:
During a visit to the mental asylum, a visitor asked the Director what the criterion was which defined whether or not a patient should be institutionalized.
 
"Well," said the Director, "we fill up a bathtub,  then we offer a teaspoon, a teacup and a bucket to the patient and ask him or her to empty the bathtub."

"Oh, I understand," said the visitor. "A normal person would use the bucket because it's bigger than the spoon or the teacup."

Scroll down for the answer

"No." said the Director, "A normal person would pull the plug.   Do you prefer a room with or without a view?"


For more ideas and Marketing concepts: Go to www.LondreMarketing.com and look under resources and the 9P's/Nine P's (c) 2007. Specifically find: http://www.LondreMarketing.com/stimulating_articles.php

Or for more fun, marketing strategies/tactics and facts:  Go to http://www.LondreMarketing.com/trivia.php

Here to help you better understand. All the best.

Writers Discussing the Super Bowl Ads Seem to Miss the Big Point About the Networks, Including NBC This Year

With 47 minutes of commercials (or in advertising we call them "spots")  in this year's Super Bowl, the writers on the Super Bowl ads/spots keep missing the "Big Point."  Their stories should include the network's number of self-promotion, program/programming spots. Why do they forget? It seems so obvious, the number and frequency.

I teach and consult in marketing and advertising, why not include the tremendous number of spots/promotions for NBC last year and CBS for this year’s game?

I include a whole section on my website: #29 on http://www.LondreMarketing.com/trivia.php

• “During the broadcast advertising time has also grown from 40 minutes, 15 seconds in 2001 — or 82 messages — to 45:10, or 84 messages in 2009. There was a big rise in 2010, to 47:50 and 104 commercials. Which product is advertised the most on the Super Bowl? Not beers, movies or cars. It’s the network’s own programming promotion. In a typical Super Bowl, 15% to 20% of all commercial time is a plug by the network for its own programming and shows. One of the questions I answer is "How much did a 30-second TV commercial or spot cost in Super  Bowl XLVII, February 3, 2013? Who starred in the most “watched” musical event, the halftime show?" 

A couple of concepts before you go to my LondreMarketing.com website:

• Good news for CBS in 2013, a single Super Bowl XLVII spot topped $4 million with ads ranging between $3.7 million and $3.8 million and topping $4 million.

• The big premium was for a typical 30-second spot in the first quarter of the game, which averaged around $100K extra. This premium was due to the larger audience and better chances that consumers will recall the ads early in the game. Viewers are usually “in a better state of mind.” The audience averages 111 million.

For more go to http://www.londremarketing.com/trivia.php

Here to help you better understand the Super Bowl and the ads or advertising or Promotion. All the best.

Above the Fold. Today Versus Yesterday in Communication.

Today you want to be “above the fold, “ whether it is a computer, iPad,  cell, smart phone, newsletter or newspaper. What do I mean? I mean high on the page. Higher on the screen. Where does that expression "Above the fold" come from?  From the old days, the printed newspaper business.

Newspapers and newsletters were the primary form of communication. The keyword is  "was." And the best stories were put on the front page. Still are.

In my marketing and advertising classes I bring a copy of USA Today which has high readership especially in hotels and I bring a copy of the Wall Street Journal.  They prove my points. The class discovers and presents. They learn.  We discuss “above the fold” has more readership or viewership than below the fold or inside the paper.

Visitors and viewership/readership means awareness, or increased awareness. However, there are many new sizes of screens---iPad, cell phones, computers, notebooks, Smartphones.

In the old days I remember one of my favorite bosses at Grey Advertising –Worldwide tell me --- we want to ask for positioning on the right hand page, above the fold and second impression page of the newspaper.  The second impression page was the second page printed. He saw how the ink was absorbed on the first pass and that ink was bolder, stronger on the second page, or on the back.  So he taught us more than just right hand page positioning.

Today we are looking at prime positioning or real estate, but ink isn't as important as where your story or photograph is located.

Want to solve a business or marketing problem. Go to more on the Nine P’s/9P's (Product, People/Target Market, Planning, Price, Promotion, Place, Partners, Passion, Presentation  and other marketing resources). Positioning isn't one of the 9P's but is part of "People and Targeting" and more.

Go now, "right now" to http://www.LondreMarketing.com/stimulating_articles.php

Which Product or Service Will Be Advertised the Most During Super Bowl XLVII?

Here's a question that is asked in Marketing and Advertising classes, "Which product is advertised the most on the Super Bowl?"

During the broadcast, advertising time has also grown from 40 minutes, 15 seconds in 2001 — or 82 messages — to 45:10, or 84 messages in 2009. There was a big rise in 2010, to 47:50 and 104 commercials.

The product or service is not beers, movies or cars.

The Answer: It’s the network’s own programming promotion.

For Super Bowl XLVII, the Super Bowl will be on CBS. In a typical Super Bowl, 15% to 20% of all commercial time is a plug by the network for its own programming and shows.  Enjoy the game.


P.S. Find more fun questions and answers on a variety of marketing, advertising and media subjects at Londremarketing.com and, specifically at "DO YOU KNOW" and “Get the Answer.”

Super Bowl Ads in Super Bowl XLVII: Are They Worth the Millions

A question which come up in class every year in January and February. Are the Super Bowl XLVII Ads: Are They Worth the Millions?

Many messages will be conveyed in the commercials aired during Sunday February 3rd's Super Bowl. some will be uplifting, while some will be just dumb.

Each 30-second spot costs on average at least $3.7 to 3.8 million, with some topping $4 million each, plus production.

Are they worth it?

It's a question I ask my marketing and advertising students. That's a lot of product and services to have to sell in order to get a return on the advertiser's investment.

Generating sales revenue is tough in any market, and especially during today's economy. But it's a strategic opportunity for marketers to build and generate additional market share and enhance their brands versus their competition. Enjoy the Game. Both Games.


P.S. Find more fun questions and answers on a variety of marketing, advertising and media subjects at Londremarketing.com and, specifically at "DO YOU KNOW" and “Get the Answer.”

Super Bowl XLVII Questions and Answers: First Quarter of the Game, plus Longest Running, Exclusive Sponsor

Here are a couple of answers about the Super Bowl XLVII. You want, as an advertiser, to be usually in first quarter of the game, which averaged around $100K extra in pricing.

Prices for each "30 this year have averaged $3.7 to $3.8 million with some thirty-second spots costing over $4 million each. This premium is due to the larger audience and better chances that consumers will recall the ads early in the game. Viewers are usually “in a better state of mind.” Also positions in the first half of the game sell first for clients at the advertising agencies and media buying services.

Who is the longest running sponsor, and oh, by the way, an exclusive sponsorship?

Anheuser-Busch delivered four-and-a-half minutes during last year’s Super Bowl XLVI, the company’s 24th consecutive season as the exclusive malt beverage category advertiser. This year on February 3rd will be their 25th consecutive  year.

Also, on Tuesday, the Anheuser-Busch said it would run one or two commercials during the game for a new beer, Budweiser Black Crown.

Find more fun questions and answers on a variety of marketing, advertising and media subjects at Londremarketing.com and, specifically at  "DO YOU KNOW" and “Get the Answer,” on the top right. See you at the Game.  

How Many Marketing Concepts Are in the Press About the Dismissal of the Dealer Lawsuit Against Tesla?

In a word, “Many.” A little background, first. Dealers and dealer groups were trying to block Tesla Motors' retail stores in Massachusetts. There are other states involved, too. The dealer groups lost in Massachusetts when a judge dismissed their lawsuit against the electric vehicle maker.

What caught my eye was this line “…to introduce consumers to electric vehicle technology in an open, friendly, no-pressure (emphasis added by me) environment," Elon Musk, Tesla co-founder and CEO”

When Tesla started selling its Model S hatchback, Tesla planned to bypass the “traditional dealership network” to open its own stores.

Marketing Concepts

• Traditional Dealership Network
• Dealer Network
• Dealer Associations
• Distribution
• "Place,” one of the Nine P’s (http://www.londremarketing.com/documents/Londre-Marketing-Consultants-9Ps-10.11.2012.pdf)
• New Car Sales
• Models, as in car models, product line 
• Selling, as in “Selling cars directly to customers rather than setting up a dealership network.” 
• Market
• Entrepreneurs 
• Traditional Business
• Nameplate
• Customer Service
• Sales Strategy
• Retail Stores
• Factory Stores
• Franchises
• Unaffiliated Manufacturer 
• "Planning,” one of the Nine P’s (http://www.londremarketing.com/documents/Londre-Marketing-Consultants-9Ps-10.11.2012.pdf) 

You may also be interested that the franchised new-car dealership system goes back to the start of the auto industry, when hundreds of manufacturers were fighting for market share. They didn't have enough resources.  The setting up of showrooms was expensive and time-consuming for them. So automakers sold the right to sell and  market their cars in specific cities and regions.

From Autoweek and other media outlets.

Defining "Price" Or "Pricing" In the 9P’s. Is Not As Simple.

In my Nine P’s / 9P’s © 2007, I define “Price/Pricing as “All aspects regarding pricing. The amount of money a consumer is willing to pay to obtain the product. Pricing includes  wholesale/retail/promotional prices, discounts, trade-in allowances, quantity discounts, credit terms, sales and payment periods and credit terms.

Pricing decision making also involves adjusting prices concerning the competitive environment, economic situations and involve buyer perceptions. Want a real-world example?

The WSJ has done a good job of investigating “Price” and “Pricing” at several stores and retailers. Marketing and Financial pros are adopting techniques for their websites to glean information about visitors to their sites, in real time, and then deliver different prices of the same products to different people.

Staples for one has acknowledged that it varies its online and in-store prices by geography because of "a variety of factors" including "costs of doing business."

The WSJ identified several companies, including Staples, Discover Financial Services, Rosetta Stone Inc. and Home Depot Inc., that were consistently adjusting prices and displaying different product offers based on a range of characteristics that could be discovered about the user.

Office Depot, for example, told the Journal that it uses "customers' browsing history and geolocation" from “Place” and/or “People” in the Nine P’s to vary the offers and products it displays to a visitor to its site.

Staples told WSJ that "in-store and online prices do vary by geography due to a variety of factors, including rent, labor, distribution and other costs of doing business."

It is possible that Staples' online-pricing formula uses other factors that the Journal didn't identify. The Journal also tested to see whether price was tied to different characteristics including population, local income, proximity to a Staples store, race and other demographic factors.

Statistically speaking, they reported that the strongest correlation involved the distance to a rival's store from the center of a ZIP Code.

Interesting how the Nine P’s are interrelated along with competitive factors.

How Important is Targeting in Marketing? Very Important. How important is Less Spam Worth to Facebook? About a Buck.

How important is Targeting in Marketing? Very Important.  How important is Less Spam worth to Facebook? About a Buck.
From today's WSJ and Atlantic Wire:

Facebook has their target markets and has garnered one billion monthly active users.

A company cannot serve all customers in a broad market. Companies distinguish major segments, target one or more and develop products and marketing mixes tailored to them.
What is Targeting? In the Marketing classes and in the classroom, I use these definitions:

• Targeting: The market segment or segments toward all marketing activities will be directed. 
• Target Market: A target market consists of a set of buyers who share common needs or characteristics that the company decides to serve.

So let’s use an example from today with Facebook:

Facebook has garnered one billion monthly active users. Did you hear that Facebook has begun testing a system for users to send messages to people outside their “network” or immediate circle of social contacts for a payment of $1? Facebook continues to look for ways to generate income and revenue. But what is spam or the lack of it worth to the user experience.

In their statement "imposing a financial cost on the sender may be the most effective way to discourage unwanted messages and facilitate delivery of messages that are relevant and useful."

Facebook does let members send messages to those outside their network of contacts, but routed to "Other" folder. This new feature for $1 would let users send messages directly to a user's main "Inbox.”

To be fair:  Only individuals are allowed to send messages using this feature. Companies can’t send bulk emails to groups of users. But is anyone looking at Facebook and at their Facebook user experience or just revenue.

Execution and Some Background on Creativity in the Marketplace

For major financial, competitive and technological reasons, companies should be concerned with creativity.

Pay attention to Marketing objectives, strategies and tactics, along with the 9P's/Nine P's 2007©, in new ways; escape your mental patterns associated with a topic; keep moving in the thinking to avoid premature judgment and execution, are some of the topics I discuss in the classroom.

A few more: Whenever you ask employees or functional teams to generate ideas, always ask them to purposefully generate at least one outrageous idea along with the other ones. Gives the manager of the department or company the chance to explore.

Peter Drucker once said: Innovation is a core competency that every company needs. Increased distribution is an innovation.

In Marketing, the word “Where” can mean many things and places, especially under the Nine P’s or 9P’s of “Product” and “Place?”

From ClicZ today, “Truvia's Facebook-orchestrated Turning the Town Truvia contest, where the brand asked fans to say where they'd like to see the sugar substitute, has garnered 35,000 leads and increased Facebook fandom 25%. The campaign has also had a practical business-to-business effect as well, convincing Hilton Atlanta, Hilton Boston Logan Airport, Biaggi's in Chicago and the Fireman Hospitality Group, among others, to adopt the brand.”

Food for thought: Now I ask you, "Why are telephone keypads arranged with the digits 1 to 3 on the top row and while calculator keypads have those digits on the bottom row?"

But remember, real success only comes with the implementation of an idea; real success comes with innovation, with detailed, timely execution.

Does This Make Sense to Anyone But the Diet Pepsi P.R. people? How Can You Change the Ingredients, Sweetener and the Flavor Remains the Same?

How can you change the ingredients, sweetener, and the flavor remains the same? Isn’t consistency a product attribute? In the marketplace, boardrooms, grocery stores, restaurants, mass merchandisers, schools, liquor stores, and in the classrooms of Business, Marketing and Advertising classes, it surely is.Let's add 99-cent stores and the dollar stores, too.

From Advertising Age:  "Diet Pepsi wants customers to "Love Every Sip."

They admit they have lost customers, marketing share and awareness of customers, even “loyal” customers at Pepsi. As a marketing expert, are the Diet Pepsi P.R. people  trying too hard? Not believable to me, that changing ingredients and the sweetener do not change the "Product," especially if consistency has been a problem in the marketplace.

Consistency is a product attribute. The Marketing Concept is a philosophy and a practice for me. The practice of Marketing makes the customer, and the satisfaction of his or her needs, the focal point of all business objectives, strategies and tactics.

Diet Pepsi  will be featuring the tagline "Love Every Sip," TV spots starring Sofia Vergara of Modern Family fame and a new sweetener that's intended to give the flavor -- which will be unchanged??? -- more consistency. Really?

“Dine-in” AMC's Movie With Dinner Marketing Concept. Not Drive-in, Dine-in.

Here’s a new marketing "Product" or service concept from AMC Theatres. It’s their “Dine-in” AMC Movie marketing concept. Not Drive-in, Dine-in.

AMC is the nation's second-largest cinema chain and opened its first dine-in theatre in Southern California's Marina del Rey, a couple of weeks ago.  It’s their eleventh theatre of their new concept. Unfortunately we were away and had to wait. But more on that at the end.

Appetizers, entrées, desserts, beer, wine and cocktails are served at your seat, before and during the movie.

We saw “Lincoln.” But this really is more of a review of the service, marketing concept and execution.  I wanted to see and review the “Product” concept, one of the Nine P's in marketing, with the movie “Lincoln.”

If you are a serious movie buff, this is not the concept. Movies target many ages, and specifically 18-24 is not the "Lincoln" demographics. There were noises and sounds not associated with the dialogue and action from the servers, patrons, dishes, etc.  But back to the "product" concept and its execution.  The food is good… lunch, dinner or a snack. We had dinner. Popcorn comes in a ceramic bowl/dish. Interesting.

The experiences combine the cuisine and drinks/cocktails of a restaurant with the fun and excitement of a movie theatre.

How the concept works:
Your options at AMC include:
• “Cinema Suites,” with recliners, a dinner menu and full cocktail bar. Under “People” one of the Nine P’s, guests must be 21 and over.

 

• “Fork & Screen,” a casual in-theatre dining experience with a dinner menu and full cocktail bar. By the way guests must be 18 or over unless accompanied by an adult.

You get to reserve your seats according to your preference and the seating guide.

There’s a “MacGuffins,"  bar and lounge before or after the show. More on that in another Marketing post.
You have a call button at your seat and a server arrives to take your order. Not a problem. There were more servers and waiters than patrons at one point.

The food comes, routed from about three theatres away. The concept is extremely labor insensitive. Service was spectacular but there were no more than ten patrons in the theatre. Three servers: One took the order. One brought the drinks, and one more brought the dinner.  Menu is above average. Seats were like “Barcalounger-type” chairs.  Probably worth experiencing and trying again. I do feel we will do the "concept" again.

Let’s also talk about “Price,” another of the Nine P’s. As with other dine-in theaters, this luxury service comes with a price. The cost of a ticket at AMC Marina 6 will be as much as $17.50 (without food) depending on the day of week. We paid $12.50, and there was a coupon on the web for a free entrée if you bought another one, with two "over-priced" drinks. Another concept at Cinepolis charges up to $19.50 for the ticket at its California Westlake Village location.

One interesting additional point. We were a little slow answering all of the questions of the waiter. It is hard to hear with the previews in the background. We apologized and said we were jet lagged. The steward said: “Where did you fly from?  My wife said “Tanzania.” He looked like a wildebeest in the headlights. Sorry. Still jet lagged, the morning after the movie. Woke up at 3:11AM. That’s when I started to write this.


Note: Go to www.LondreMarketing.com, and specifically http://www.londremarketing.com/documents/Londre-Marketing-Consultants-9Ps-10.11.2012.pdf to review all 9P’s in Marketing.

Hostess Twinkies. Distribution costs are out of whack. And the Union rules, too.

It's all over the news. We all have read and heard a lot about Twinkies and Hostess this month.  Plus Wonder Bread, Devil Dogs and more.

Some interesting points:

• Hostess's production costs were not outrageous but the distributions costs were between $80 million and $130 million annually and this is according to the judge.
• Part of Promotion: There's been a ton of free publicity, but no advertising in a decade, according to the Wall Street Journal.
• Hostess has spent eight of the past 11 years in bankruptcy with some "odd" Union rules. The real story are the unions, AFL-CIO and the Teamsters, and their costs, which hurt the bottom line.
• One of the nine P's, Place: Wonder Bread and Twinkies could not ride on the same truck. More Union rules. 
• Hostess could not enter dollar stores, vending machines and movie theatres; there would have been more sales and revenue with the additional distribution channels and outlets. Unfortunately they needed separate agreements, which were restricted. 
• The Unions imposed work rules, which stopped the drivers from helping load the trucks. How heavy could the Hostess products be? 

Hostess and Twinkies will come back, but should the strange, odd union rules come with them. 

Advertising pricing for Super Bowl XLVII is hot in 2012 and for 2013.

The ads and advertising in the Super Bowl is a hot, interesting topic, especially when I teach or present Marketing and Advertising. Especially right now through February.

I’m asked:

• How much did a 30-second TV commercial or spot cost in Super Bowl XLVI, February 5, 2012?
• What about next February 2013? 

Good news for CBS is that in 2012, a single Super Bowl XLVI spot topped $4 million. This year the majority of Super Bowl spots are sold for the February game in 2013, at a high of $3.9 and averaging $3.8 million, per spot.

With ads ranging between $3.5 million and $4 million, Super Bowl prices were up 13% to 29% in 2012, from a year ago. The big premium is usually for a typical 30-second spot in the first quarter of the game, which averaged around $100K extra. I explain that this premium is due to the larger audience and better chances that consumers will recall the ads early in the game. Let’s say that the viewers are usually in a better state of mind. I have a west coast bias here.

For 2013, with a reported average :30 cost of $3.8 million, CBS could achieve approximately a 9% premium on the previous year’s rate, or as much as $225 million in revenue.

Prices, for this advertising time only, can typically cost millions of dollars; the 30-second spot during the 2012 telecast cost an average of $3.5 million.

FOX in 2011 reported that Super Bowl XLV sold out, fetching between $2.8 million and $3 million per :30. This amount excluded production costs and fees for actors, sets, equipment, advertising agencies, directors, crew and other personnel. Here’s more:

In 2009-2010, the cost of a 30-second spot ranged from $2.5 million to $2.9 million.

During the broadcast advertising time has also grown from 40 minutes, 15 seconds in 2001 — or 82 messages — to 45:10, or 84 messages in 2009. There was a big rise in 2010, to 47:50 and 104 commercials.

Which product is advertised the most on the Super Bowl? Not beers, movies or cars. It’s the network’s own programming promotion. In a typical Super Bowl, 15% to 20% of all commercial time is a plug by the network for its own programming and shows.

Sales and the pace of sales in 2010-2012 were fueled by the heavy competition among car makers. There was a record of eleven different car brands which announced Super Bowl deals, including nine different auto brands. This year we have Mercedes coming back into the fold at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome in New Orleans in 2013.

The Super Bowl is our country’s highest-profile advertising showcase, with households staying glued to their screens and not using TiVo-type products and services during the ads. Marketers get a huge audience, but they also face high expectations especially when the audience can judge and be a critic with the click of a mouse. With the high price tag, it’s a lot to spend if the creative is poor or dumb, lacks strategic marketing direction, or just plain awful. The cost of a Super Bowl spot every year has been an annual contest of brinkmanship for the networks, in setting its price.

Positions in first half sell first. Anheuser-Busch delivered four-and-a-half minutes during Super Bowl XLVI, the company’s 24th consecutive season as the exclusive malt beverage category advertiser.

Super Bowl XXXVIII, broadcasted on 2/1/2004 from Houston, Texas on the CBS network, was noted for a controversial halftime show in which Janet Jackson’s bare breast was exposed by Justin Timberlake in what was referred to as a "wardrobe malfunction". A record $550,000 fine was levied by the FCC, as well as an increase of FCC fines per indecency violation from $27,500 to $325,000.

While the Super Bowl still commands the highest-priced commercial unit — around $3.8 million — other major sports events and the Oscars can pull in total dollars, too.

New insights on recent business activities. Some interesting examples of the Nine P’s in business and in the news.

I have been collecting a few recent business stories in the news, and applying them to the Nine P’s. Here are a few interesting examples of the Nine P’s (Planning, People/Segmentation, Product, Price, Promotion, Place/Distribution, Partner, Presentation, Passion), which break down business problems into possible solutions and into objectives, strategies and tactics to solve your business, marketing issues.

Examples: 

Price: 
Price Less Foods sells groceries at cost. From a recent Supermarket News, markets in Virginia and Tennessee are selling their groceries at cost, and these grocers are adding on a charge of 10% fee per basket. In marketing, “Price” includes all aspects regarding pricing. The amount of money a consumer is willing to pay to obtain the product or service.

People/Segmentation: 
Target market and/or segmentation consists of a set of buyers who share common needs or characteristics that the company decides to serve. Market targeting can be carried out at several different levels. 
With Obama’s win last week it will assist/increase the ratings for Fox News. The re-election of President Barack Obama and the GOP's loss is going to strengthen the network's role as "the voice” of the opposition. With more viewers, the station will generate more revenue. 

Promotion/People: 
Advertising is one component of the Marketing Mix and the Nine P’s. Remember the rock ‘n’ roll, “super,” spectacular outdoor boards on Sunset Blvd. in Los Angeles. 

I read recently that there is a book of photography of these famous boards; it’s called Rock ‘n’ Roll Billboards of the Sunset Strip (Angel City Press). Sometimes the audience was only the artists or band such as The Doors, Elton John, Beatles and Donna Summer, among others.    

Product: 
Doesn’t this seem late, from Yahoo?
It’s reported that Yahoo will relaunch its Yahoo email product. It’s the second time in six years, with last year being the first time in five.  Yahoo is trying to compete with G-mail. Seems too late to me. Most people are happy with Gmail and I know of few who are happy with AOL. 

Promotion/Advertising/Media: 
One more example: Media firms want to be paid for more ad views. It includes “time-shifted” viewing, which could increase measures of program viewership by 30% to 40% during a week.

The networks currently get to monetize some of that time-shifting viewing. What is called “C3 ratings” -- the average commercial ratings plus three day of time-shifted viewing – it’s the way media is measured and the currency through which the TV networks get paid from the advertisers, agencies and media buying services. 

This media metric started in early 2007. There's still other viewing that goes “un-paid” -- in days four, five, six and seven after a program's initial airing. Research has shown live plus seven days accounts for 90% of all viewing. One fix for programmers is inserting "fresher" spots known as “dynamic ad insertion.” 

I developed and own a copyright for the concept, the Nine P’s/9 P's ©2007, which augments the Marketing Mix and 4P’s by the American Marketing Association, Neil Borden and Jerome McCarthy). 

For more on the Nine P’s and other marketing resources, go to http://www.LondreMarketing.com/stimulating_articles.php.

Thinking about the debacle about Lance.

Let’s look at the perspective from years past. It was two years ago when I read in the Miami Herald: “What is LeBron James worth to the Heat?” With the addition of superstar, Miami Heat are seen by many as the team to beat in the NBA. This may be true financially as well, with increased sponsorships, ad sales, season ticket sales, playoff revenue and more. Sports-business media has said, “LeBron is a walking, talking, free-throw-shooting stimulus plan.” How much is Lance worth as Nike et. al. abandon him?

In Marketing you need to come up with the right idea or selling concept.  That must be first. Then decide on the “celebrity” to present, sing or act. In my USC, CSUN and Pepperdine marketing and advertising classes I teach that you must remember what you are going to say in the promotion and advertising is more important than the “who.” Insist on moral clauses and “bigger, longer and fatter contracts,” began more earnestly after the Tiger Woods’ incidents. Using “alleged” instead of “convicted.”

Tiger Woods spectacular tumble prompted the loss of lucrative deals with AT&T, PepsiCo’s Gatorade. Other sponsors have distanced themselves from him, including Gillette and Tag Heuer. Nike and Electronic Arts have stood by him.

Wrigley and the California Milk Processor Board (“Got Milk”) dropped singer/actor Chris Brown as a pitchman after charges that he beat up his girlfriend, pop star Rihanna. Rapper and actor, T.I. enjoyed the spoils of the "thug" life, but it ended costing him $12 Million (his own estimate) in losing the General Motors endorsement deal and other work when he was convicted of a federal weapons charges. (Adweek, 3/8/2010)

Woody Allen says ad lawsuit is getting too personal: Actor-director Woody Allen was complaining about American Apparel, which Allen was suing for $10 million in an infringement case, has crossed a line in its request for personal information. Allen's image was used without permission in an American Apparel billboard that briefly was displayed in Los Angeles. (Los Angeles Times/The Associated Press, 4/15/09)

More Examples:
P&G insures star’s hair for $1M: Pittsburgh Steelers star Troy Polamalu, USC Trojan) is as well-known for his flowing locks as for his crushing tackles. Polamalu is a spokesman for P&G’s Head & Shoulders, and to protect their investment. (Reuters,8/31/10)

In ’99,  Salton International signed George Foreman (Lean Mean Fat Reducing Grilling Machine) to a five-year, $137.5 million deal for the use of the ex-boxer’s name and likeness. George then started another company “George Foreman Steaks.”

What experts say marketers look for? Increasing awareness and SALES, plus a winner, with marketing savvy, plus success on and off the field.

Why do marketers and advertisers use celebrity endorsements?

It's clear we do have a celebrity-crazed culture, but it's both an art and science for marketers. Let's start with Lance Armstrong who is in the news. He has been a multi-brand endorser.

1. Can attract attention
2. Improve company or product's image
3. Boost company or product’s awareness
4. Break through clutter
5. Exploit celebrity's popularity
6. Increase sales
7. Increase company or product's credibility
8. Use celebrity in your marketing and sales meetings. Star can appear in events. 

From today's "WSJ," "Brands are fleeing Lance Armstrong after doping details are released. He's lost Nike, RadioShack and Anheuser-Busch InBev after the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency report detailing Armstrong's use of performance-enhancing drugs. Nike said it would continue to back Livestrong, from which it licenses a clothing line, but it issued a strong statement rebuking Armstrong for misleading the company."

Major questions any brand manager or marketing manager should ask?

1. Is the celebrity appropriate for our product or service?
2. Does celebrity subtract from product or service?
3. Does the celebrity add value? Or generate a good impression?
4. It used to be about "gut feelings." Now brand managers are asking "Show me the evidence that this is the right star or celebrity."
5. Does the celebrity add to the product's image?
6. How much is the fee?
7. How is the contract structured?
8. Do you pay the celebrity their fee, which will decrease media exposure/expenses?
9. What about the history and future of the celebrity exposure? What about "after hour" behavior, any criminal record, FTC issues? Health?
10. Be sure celebrity uses and continues to use the product.
11. Be sure the facts about the product are true and substantiated, before giving script to celebrity.
12. You must disclose if the star or celebrity has considerable interest in the company or product.
13. Q Scores: The company, Marketing Evaluations, produces a Q score (a numerical rating of a celebrity’s popularity).  It’s a calculated business risk. Past blowups have taught brand managers to do a better job of investigating the background and lifestyles. The checks may uncover something which makes you pause. 

It really is both an art and science.

More than a Hundred Twists to Oreos.

Oreo’s doing a terrific job of promoting it’s fun Oreo cookie, with its promotion, advertising, media planning/buying, social media posts and PR, plus 100 days of events ending with the Super Bowl advertising culmination.

Beginning
Oreo is promoting a different cookie each day for 100 days as part of its 100 years’ anniversary.
It’s developed the “Daily Twist” campaign, from an agency team of Draftfcb New York, 360i, Weber Shandwick and MediaVest.

They have invented a cookie to match whatever is trending, rather than sticking to a prescribed schedule.

Super Ending
Mondelez International has asked Oreo’s lead agency Draftfcb and independent Wieden+Kennedy to compete in a pitch for a “cookies vs. cream”-themed Super Bowl spot. The TV spot will cap marketing around Oreo’s 100th anniversary.

What is Promotion? The communication element includes personal and non-personal communication activities.  Activities that communicate the merits of the overall product, which include:

• Personal Selling/Sales Force. In this example, working with the grocery trade.
• Advertising—Mass or nonpersonal selling: TV, radio, magazines, newspaper, outdoor/out-of-home (OOH), online

Advertising is structured and composed of nonpersonal communication of information, usually paid for and usually persuasive in nature, about products (goods, services) and ideas by identified sponsors through various media. (Contemporary Advertising, 13the, Arens, Weingold, Arens, 2011)

Advertising is any paid form of nonpersonal presentation and promotion of ideas, goods, or services by an identified sponsor. (Principles of Marketing, 14e, Kotler and Armstrong, 2012). Ads can be a cost-effective way to disseminate messages, whether to build a brand preference or to educate people.

• Sales Promotion—Trade deals, samples, coupons, premiums, tie-ins, p-o-p, displays, sweepstakes, allowances, trade shows, sales rep contests, events/experiences and more.
• Collateral Materials—Booklets, catalogs, brochures, films, sales kits, promotional products and annual reports.
• Direct Marketing (also referred to as Action or Direct Response Advertising)--online, direct mail, database management, catalogs, telemarketing, and direct-response ads.
• Interactive/Internet/web and social media
• Events and Experiences Mondelez International and their agencies have done a great job of creating events. More than a hundred.
• Public Relations—press releases, publicity. Securing editorial space, as opposed to paid space—usually in print, electronic or Internet media. Promote or “hype” a product, service, idea, place, person or organization, internal communication, lobbying. PR involves a variety of programs designed to promote or protect a company’s image/reputation or individual products.