>Advertising on the West Coast (part one)

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>After a week spent in Las Vegas and San Francisco, one thing is certain – there is no where like the west coast. It’s true what they say out there: California is a lifestyle in itself.

As you can imagine, the marketing structure in Las Vegas is centered on being very loud and exceptionally large in size.

As this was my first trip to Vegas, everyone asked me what I thought of it – and I only had one response: “Everything was really big.” But, that is true. Advertising, buses, buildings, food, colors, performers, cars – everything was blown up to larger than life.

Perhaps the most, ahem, blatant form of in your face advertising came on the side of the Paris hotel. Their theme, “Everything is Sexier in Paris” flaunts two young lovers caught up in the moment on their wedding day.

An example of their advertising:

Ahh, gotta love Vegas. Has anyone else seen other similar shocking advertising?

>Oh, baby

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High heels for babies is one of the new trends in babywear… and sadly enouugh I’m pretty sure this product will catch on. Celebrities such as Nicole Richie and Tori Spelling have already dress their soon to be divas in these heels.

Featured on The Today Show this morning, click here to visit A Heelarious Experience and see the array of products they have available.

>A different way of advertising yourself

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>Ruth E. Rencevicz had a unique sense of humor and a busy life, no one could argue either of those facts. In her life, she was the switchboard operator at both Sears and BFG Federal Credit Union. Also, Ruth proudly served her country during the Cold War where she was largely responsible for the breakup of the Soviet Union near the end of the 20th century.

She had seven children, including one illegitimate child named Greg “The Donkey” King conceived when the circus was passing through town.

She was also an active community volunteer with youth in Tallmadge, Ohio, donating her time to yelling at neighborhood kids for “playing that rap music” at all hours of the day and night. She also served as a responsible mentor to the younger generations by throwing rocks at area teenagers dressed in loose baggy pants, exposing their underwear.

That’s what her obituary says anyway.

In her actual life, Mrs. Rencevicz always had a smile on her face and seemed to find a reason to laugh no matter what – even when she was diagnosed with leukemia three weeks ago (despite her obituary saying her cause of death was complications resulting from her children making her old before her time). Her obituary has allowed thousands of Ohioans to laugh while getting a glimpse into this dynamic woman’s life.

If you need a reason to smile today, please click here to learn a little nonsense about Ruth E. Rencevicz’s life and a unique way of advertising yourself.

>A Recipe on Niche Marketing

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Dear AIM readers:

I was sent this link by a colleague of mine and thought I would share with our Blog group. This proves the point that a good idea and out of the box marketing can pay off. Please visit http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=5618417 and see what I am talking about.

I would love to hear your thoughts on this as well.

Bruce

>We are all listeners

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The Cleveland Cavaliers season just around the corner and drivers everywhere are already getting excited.

Why?

More billboards advertising WMMS 100.7’s morning show, Rovers Morning Glory, are starting to pop up across town.

Personally, I know the first time I saw it (Just as I mentioned in the “Fear the Roo” blog) I laughed. I couldn’t help it! Rover, a 32 year old male in less than great shape was comparing himself to our superstar, LeBron James. (Needless to say if these two ever went head to head there certainly would not be much of a game.)

Has anyone seen other examples of this “un-comparative” advertising?

>"Facebook called me a bad name."

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>We’ve all heard how social networking sites have advertising based on what items you click on and which sites you visit. All fun and innocent, right? Not anymore.

Facebook is playing hardball.

A writer from the Washington Post told her story here about Facebook calling her “fat” and how she needs to lose a few pounds before her upcoming wedding day. Talk about in your face advertising! How awful.

For those of you not familiar with Facebook, you select your relationship status from the options of: Single, In a relationship, Engaged, Married, It’s Complicated and In an Open Relationship. (This particular individual had her relationship status set to “engaged.”)

After she got married and changed her relationship status to “married” she was then presented with “Are you infertile?” ads.

Yikes.

Just to see what would happen, I logged in to my Facebook account to see what ads it would show me.

Here is a summary of my profile:

Sex: Female
Age: 26
Location: Ohio
Relationship Status: In a Relationship
Interests: THE BEACH. Cleveland Sports. Photogrpahy. Writing. Traveling.
Favorite Music: I have very random taste in music.
Favorite TV Shows:Sex and the City, Survivor and Ally McBeal.
Work info: Marketing and Advertising

The ads I am greeted wtih are trying to get me to buy competitor’s secrets, the Gambling Addiction Hotline (that’s odd), the DMA conference and a new hair eliminator promising to remove all of your unwanted hair.

I’m not horribly offended by these ads – aside from the Gambling Addiction Hotline because I’ve been to one (1) casino in my lifetime and spent roughly $10. None the less, this was a fun experiment.

Has anyone else noticed these in your face advertisements?

>Jessica Simpson’s new ad

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She sings, she acts, she dates high profile celebrities like Tony Romo and John Mayer – what’s next? Endorsing beer of course!

Stampede Light Plus, made by Dallas’ Stampede Brewing Company, has signed the catch all bombshell to be the new face of their brand – a vitamin-enhanced beer.

Ms. Simpson has even taken a 15% share in the company to solidify her interest. Although terms were not yet made available, one can assume it’s a rather large chunk of change.

In a statement released on her behalf, Simpson said as an entrepreneur she’s “always looking for ways to diversify my portfolio with good ideas and good people.”

Mind you, her great portfolio includes box office hit “Blonde Ambition” (huh?), skin care line ProActiv (which she admits to never using) and Dessert Beauty (which resulted in a number of lawsuits).

Any guesses what will result from her endorsing Stampede Brewing Company?

>Now that’s a shame

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>PlayStation Portable (PSP) made its debut in the United States in March of 2005. Afterwards, like any smart company, Sony decided to beef up the advertising and chose to include larger than life PSP units mounted on billboards.

Very neat. Oh, but wait… what is that error message in the lower right corner?

That can’t be good! Sadly, it was too late to fix this problem and PSP billboards all over the world crashed.

How could this have been prevented? Well, I have never claimed to be a technowiz, but certainly I am no stranger in the field. But, this is a matter of simple testing. It was a great idea, one that is very unique and very appealing to the eye… that is, when it is actually functioning up to its capabilities.

What can we learn from this failed (and very expensive) advertising lesson?

When marketing something (or yourself), make it appealing – but also ensure you are in it for the long-haul. Nothing is more frustrating than learning too late about a problem that could have been solved before launch – imagine how Sony felt!

Also, make sure you are emphasizing your capabilities and strengths. People will see you for your abilities and respect that you have challenged yourself in your weaknesses before launch. That’s a lesson we can all learn from.

-k

>A Coke, M&M’s… or an iPod?

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>On the way out of Summit Mall last night, something a bit different caught my eye. Just inside Macy’s entrance from the mall was an iPod vending machine.

A what??

Macy’s department stores have installed these iPod vending machines inside 400 of their stores across the nation. The 28-square foot machines will allow you to swipe your credit card and then, just as a vending machine would, drop your item into a door where you can take your chosen item.

Surely I don’t go to the mall enough to know the exact day (or three-week span for that matter) this was installed, but it is fairly recent as there were a number of curious onlookers checking it out as well.

Taking the idea from Europe and Asia, ZoomSystems has parnered themselves with: Apple, Sony, Proactiv, Rosetta Stone, Belkin, Samsung and MyVu.

Want to see what ZoomShops are near you? Click here.

Hold on, there’s more. Next on the list is Best Buy according to recent news. Located primarily in airports, these vending machines will offer memory cards, travel adapters, headphones, gaming devices, digital cameras, cell phones, chargers and even various computer accessories. This just eliminated making extra stops on your way home for the holidays.

And to think, this is just in time for the Holiday season! Hmm, do you think that was planned?

-k

>One of the better commercials out there

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>After the popularity of its debut at the Super Bowl, Budweiser has brought back its Rocky-themed commercial for this summer’s Olympic games.

Visit Budweiser’s site, click on the commercials tab and be prepared for entertainment.