American Air and US Air Merger

It's interesting to see American Airlines and US Airways merging. Oftentimes, we say that companies are best off merging when brand image is similar so the reputation of one does not lower the reputation of the other. Though some would argue, acquring a company with a better brand image could improve the brand image of the poor brand image company. In this case, American tends to have higher customer satisfaction ratings and US airways poorer. It seems as if US Airways is going to decrease the image of American Airlines, especially if they impose many of their regulations and use the same customer service agents. Where is this focus for both of these airlines now? Is it on the consumer? The price? Or somewhere else.

What does a retail store do with coupons?

Research on consumers and coupons is plentiful - often showing that it is lower income consumers and women that are most likely to redeem them. But have you ever wondered what happens after you turn your coupon into the store?

My husband and I were having a debate about coupons a few weeks back (this is what happens when you are married to a marketer, our discussion is always about marketing). We were at a grocery store and redeemed a coupon for $1 off a box of crackers. As we were walking around the store, we came to a debate about what happened to the coupons after you redeemed them. I had proposed a central office of each grocer that sorted through the coupons and mailed them back to the manufacturers once a month to get a refund check. My husband proposed the coupons were mailed back to the manufacturer and then given an allowance essentially on new product purchase. I ended up finding this interesting article (read it here) discussing the coupon process. The article discusses how the coupon is received by the store which is then transferred to a central point within the organization, and then transferred to a coupon clearinghouse who acts as the intermediary between the retail stores and manufacturers to ensure funding gets distributed where it should. So interesting!

Anthropomorphism in Advertising

Advertising frequently using anthropomorphism to imbue human like attributes to non-human objects. You see this often in car ads as the cars seem to have a personality of their own - desiring to be loved and cared for. This ad by the Keep America Beautiful campaign uses a similar tactic in suggesting that the water bottle has a mind of its own and desires to end its life by being recycled. Many may think this is strange, but research shows that anthropomorphized objects are more attractive than non-anthropomorphized objects. Neat to see non-profits taking on the marketing tactics of for-profit companies to try to increase sustainable behaviors.

Beardvertising

I love hearing about guerrilla marketing techniques. Although this example with the Dollar Shave Club is through a more formalized beardvertising advertising program, I would definitely classify this as guerrilla marketing given its extremely unusual nature and low cost. Dollar Shave club is well known for unusual, shocking ads and now they have transitioned to have stickers on long beards to attract attention in public. They are still going to face the consumer reactions of - "is this really real?", but a great way to get the word out, nonetheless.

Marketing & Over the Top Sex Ads

You have to sometimes wonder what marketing is coming to. Yes, we know that sex is one of the number one things that sells in marketing. However, at what point are we corrupting society by mixing sex into everything. And what does this teach children that are flipping through magazines (I saw this in Shape magazine) and seeing these ads? Effective does not necessarily mean ethical. Who should be in charge of these ads? Where do marketers need to draw the line? These are issues we need to be discussing today.

Branded America

Just a short post for today, but I ran across this graphic and really loved it. It's so true that each state has its main brand that it is known for - whether good or bad. Interesting to think about how brand perceptions influence state perceptions and also vice versa. Are there states that you would not live because of the big brands there? What does it have to say about the state?

Colors and Advertising

Have you ever thought about how color influences your perceptions of advertising as well as companies? Numerous studies have investigated color in terms of psychological reactions and show that colors such as pale pinks and greens are calming, yellows and reds are stimulating, and blues make you sleepy. There was an interesting article in the latest issue of Marketing News that shows the relation between colors and logos.

Yellow logos are associated with optimism, clarity, and warmth (think Nikon, Subway, Best Buy). Orange logos are associated with friendliness, cheerfulness, and confidence (think Nickelodeon, Fanta, Shutterfly, Crush). Red logos are associated with excitement, youthfulness, and boldness (think Canon, Avis, Coke, Kmart). Purples are creative, imaginative, and wise (think Yahoo, Cadbury, Taco Bell). Blues are associated with trust, dependability, and strength (think Facebook, Dell, AT&T, WalMart). Greens are associated with peacefulness, growth, and health (think Tropicana, Whole Foods, John Deer, and BP). Finally, greys are associated with balance, neutrality, and calm (think Apple, Honda, Wikipedia).

Of course, many of these associations don't ring true. Would you really say Kmart is the epitome of excitement, youthfulness, and boldness? Yes, they are trying to get there, but they have a ways to go. Colors are not the driving force of perceptions, but they definitely influence perceptions, especially for a new brand. Something any brand should consider in logo development, branding, advertising, and corporate design.