Google Plus Just as Popular as Twitter in U.S., Study Says

via http://www.adweek.com

Google Plus has the same number of U.S. users as Twitter and more opportunity for brands, according to a new survey from Forrester Research. Google Plus, the two-year old network that put social in the search giant, is far from a ghost town as some have called it, the survey said.

In fact, 22 percent of people in a 60,000-person survey said they visit Google Plus monthly, the same percentage as people who said they visit Twitter. Of course, 72 percent visit Facebook monthly. Google Plus visitors topped LinkedIn, Pinterest and Instagram.

Nate Elliott, the Forrester researcher who found that brands are having a tougher time reaching Facebook users without paid campaigns, did the study.

“Put simply, Google Plus isn’t the Facebook killer some hoped it would be,” Elliott wrote on his blog today. “But that doesn’t mean marketers should ignore Plus. Far from it: I believe every marketer should use Google Plus.”

Elliott found that top brands have about 90 percent as many Google Plus fans as they have Twitter followers, on average.

“The brands we studied have more followers on Google Plus than on YouTube, Pinterest and Instagram combined,” Elliott wrote.

The report also found that Google Plus fans engage more with brand posts than they do on Twitter. Google says it has more than 300 million monthly users, which is more than Twitter at 240 million, but Nielsen has found people spend little time on Google Plus.

A recent New York Times Article called it a "ghost town," but that was met by some passionate fans, who disagreed with the comparison. Still, most marketers advise brands to have a presence on Google Plus because it can affect search positions.

Coca-Cola, Mondelez partner for snack solution

 via http://supermarketnews.com

A joint occasion-based snack merchandising program was a success for Coca-Cola and Mondelez International, executives from both companies’ said in a Shopper Marketing Summit presentation.

“The goal was to provide quick and convenient access to products already consumed together,” said Michael Tilley, associate director of Shopper Marketing & Strategic Partnerships at Mondelez.

The program features a snack and beverage merchandising rack that can be merchandised in the perimeter as a destination center. The rack is available in a smaller version for retailers who want to use it in the deli or another department. “We created a rack that could fit in any retail or channel outlet,” Tilley said of the program, which launched in March 2013 and marks one of the largest joint efforts between the two companies.

The program comes at a time when 63% of shoppers have specific occasions in mind as they shop for snacks, and 33% agree it would help if stores provided meal and snack solutions.

“Consumers want to see products together that they would consume together,” said Tilley.
The displays combine Triscuit, Ritz, Oreo and other Mondelez brands with Coke, Dasani, Powerade and other items in the Coca-Cola portfolio. Entertaining ideas, coupons and mobile promotions support the display.

“This is more about a solution than a brand-sell,” said Tara Bartelt, Coca-Cola’s senior manager of strategic partnerships.  “We paired brands to offer relevant solutions.”

Century 21 Takes Over YouTube With Puppy Cam

via http://creativity-online.com/

Century 21 follows up drone delivery with something much cuter: Puppies. Taking a cue from the uber-successful puppy cams that are all over the Internet, the brand is working with agency Mullen for a YouTube takeover featuring eight videos of adorable pups playing, sleeping and just being cute.

The cam, which is accessible on YouTube's homepage, is up today, Mar. 27, because the brand found that more consumers searched for new homes on Google this day last year than another other -- coinciding with the start of the spring home buying season. Alongside the puppy cam is a field for you to enter your zipcode or city and start searching for your new home.

New Evian Baby Ad To Feature Baby Spider-Man

via creativity-online.com

The next spot in Evian's hugely popular "babies" campaign will feature a baby Spider-Man. The water brand has released a trailer of the full spot by BETC Paris (which will be released on April 2), which shows the Spider-Man character from The Amazing Spider-Man 2 encountering a mini version of himself. Last year's Baby & Me spot went viral and the brand's 2008 "Rollerbabies" spot clocked up over 250 million online views.

Pepsi Pranks Commuters With Terrifyingly Real Display Featuring Aliens, Tigers and Killer Robots

via http://time.com



Have you ever watched a movie about aliens invading planet Earth and wondered how you would fare? A new ad from Pepsi Max gave unsuspecting commuters a momentary glimpse of a dystopian future to enliven their morning routine.

As part of their “Unbelievable” campaign, Pepsi Max took over a bus shelter and secretly installed technology that gave anyone waiting for the bus serious cause for alarm. Think: Alien invasion, fiery comets heading towards town, tigers on the loose and rampaging robots all realistically superimposed over New Oxford street station.

The results are simultaneously funny and frightening and a good reminder to never ever look up from your phone during your commute.

LeBron James Gets His Own Soda

via time.com

Miami Heat star LeBron James is partnering with Sprite to introduce 'Sprite 6 Mix,' a specially branded cherry- and orange-flavored version of the popular lemon-and-lime soft drink. The new beverage hits store shelves nationwide for a limited time this month.

LeBron James already has a best-selling sneaker line and a cartoon series on YouTube. Soon, he’ll have his own beverage, too.

The NBA All-Star is partnering with Sprite to release Sprite 6 Mix, a cherry and orange-flavored version of the lemon-lime soda. The drink will be available for a limited time nationally starting this month. Sprite 6 Mix will feature a crown on its label — a reference to the basketball player’s nickname, “King James” — and will be the company’s first soda developed in tandem with a celebrity.

James earned $42 million in endorsement deals in 2013, leading all NBA players, according to Forbes. He’s been a pitchman for the Coca-Cola Company, which owns Sprite, since he first entered the NBA in 2003. James has helped the company advertise several of its brands in that time—making improbable full-court three-pointers for Powerade, trying a court case for Vitaminwater and challenging Yao Ming to a battle of cultural stereotypes for Coca-Cola itself.

Sprite 6 Mix will get a 15-second TV spot all its own this spring. 

Whether James’ new soda will reach the cultural ubiquity of rap star Nelly’s energy drink Pimp Juice remains to be seen.

KitchenAid Collaborates With SodaStream on Sparkling Beverage Maker

via http://www.bevnet.com

KitchenAid has entered the fast growing home carbonation category with the introduction of the Sparkling Beverage Maker, a premium countertop soda maker developed in collaboration with SodaStream International, Ltd., the world’s leading manufacturer and distributor of home carbonation systems.

Echoing the curved, streamlined silhouette of the brand’s iconic stand mixer, the Sparkling Beverage Maker features all-metal construction.  It offers four carbonation settings, a one-liter BPA free plastic bottle, and a 60-liter CO2 tank.  Available in Aqua Sky, Cobalt Blue, Contour Silver, Empire Red, Green Apple, Onyx Black, Tangerine and White starting in June, it will carry a suggested retail price of $249.99.

“As with all KitchenAid products, we never enter a new category unless there’s something differentiating we can offer,” said Beth Robinson, senior manager of brand experience for KitchenAid.  “The all-metal design and eye-catching aesthetics of this model make it uniquely KitchenAid.”

“Also, given how adventurous our consumers are in the kitchen, we envision them using it somewhat differently,” she adds.  “Beyond the many wonderful pre-made soda syrups available for this system, KitchenAid consumers are likely to experiment in making their own syrups using fresh ingredients.”
In an earlier statement announcing plans for their collaboration, executives from both KitchenAid and SodaStream reflected on the synergies between the brands.

“We are excited to expand our KitchenAid family of products and enter the growing category of home carbonation,” said David Elliott, general manager of KitchenAid small appliances.  “Working with SodaStream brings together their best-in-class technology with our stylish design signature to offer a premium product for our consumers worldwide.”

“KitchenAid is an iconic, global brand and we welcome them to the SodaStream revolution,” said Daniel Birnbaum, CEO of SodaStream. “Our unique platform will enable KitchenAid to provide its large and loyal consumer base with the many benefits of home carbonation. We look forward to leveraging the combined strengths of our two brands to advance the category and reach an even broader global audience.”

Meow Mix Launches Catstarter, a Kickstarter for Kitty Fans

via creativity-online.com

Got a creative cat idea? Perhaps you can make it real now that Meow Mix has launched Catstarter, a Kickstarter-inspired site for supporting feline-related innovations, created out of EVB. For now, Catstarter features three projects, a keyboard-style catbed that you can perch next to your real one, which also gets increasingly warm as you type, an automatic feeding bowl that you can activate via Twitter and another that spins around to ensure that the center is always filled with chow (addressing the familiar problem of when cats forget to eat from the bowl's sides.

Visitors back the projects by simply sharing them on social media and Meow Mix will fund production of the most winning idea. Cat owners can also apply to win limited edition versions of the products for the pets and submit their own ideas for the next wave of Catstarter projects.

Coca-Cola Filmed Noisy Filmgoers And Put Them In Fake Movie Trailers

via http://gizmodo.com

To help drive home the point that you shouldn't ruin a movie by talking, using your phone, or snacking excessively loud, Coca-Cola created a fake movie trailer featuring people in the actual theater disrupting the action on screen. Which served to drive home the clip's tagline: "When you make noise during the movie, you become part of it."

Using a green screen and a hidden camera in the theater's lobby, unsuspecting patrons were filmed and then immediately composited into a fake trailer that served as a PSA reminding the audience to be polite and respectful to others while enjoying a movie. The turnaround time for pulling off such a stunt was incredibly tight given the clip had to run before the movie everyone was going to see, but there's no doubt it would have put everyone in that theater on their best behavior.

Gatorade Brings Propel Back Into the Family for a Relaunch

via adage.com

Propel is going home again.

The brand helped to create the enhanced water category when it launched in 2002 as part of the Gatorade portfolio. But as the category grew to include powerhouses like Vitaminwater and SoBe Lifewater, PepsiCo pushed Propel into more of a lifestyle space and away from its athletic roots. In 2011, Cindy Crawford starred in a campaign, along with her husband and two kids.

Now, Propel is returning to the Gatorade portfolio, getting a package refresh and being pitched as a workout water for regular exercisers. The brand is working with Fleishman Hillard for PR, while Fathom is leading creative and social efforts.

"Their day just isn't complete if they don't get their workout in -- that's the mindset and behavior that we're targeting," said Morgan Flatley, VP-marketing for Gatorade and Propel. "It's very different from where it was. We're harkening back to where [the brand was] when it launched."

Propel will shift its focus to "routine exercisers" but still skew slightly older than Gatorade's target, focusing on males and females aged 25 and older. Previously, the brand was going after Generation X and Boomers, in a bid to distinguish itself from youth-oriented brands like Vitaminwater and SoBe.

Within the Gatorade portfolio, Propel will be the only product with zero calories -- though it will drop the "zero" from its name and packaging. Packaging will also reinforce that Propel is "from the makers of Gatorade." Execs are hoping that distinction, along with a strong point of view will help drive distribution and get key retailers excited about the brand again.

  

Propel controls 13% of the enhanced-water market, according to Beverage Digest. Coca-Cola's Smartwater and Vitaminwater are the leaders in the category. Still, Ms. Flatley says Propel's biggest competitors will be bottled and tap water.

A new campaign is focused on real people, who appear in ads doing pull ups, running on a treadmill and jumping onto a box. Propel will also rev up its sampling efforts, particularly at shorter distance events, like 5Ks. Ms. Flatley declined to comment on marketing spend. Measured media spending in the last few years has been varied, ranging from $40 million in 2008 to $330,000 in 2010, according to Kantar Media. Last year the brand spent $11.5 million. 

"We've talked to a lot of exercisers. There's a latent brand equity and love within that community. Part of it is just reminding them that Propel is there for them," Ms. Flatley said. "With the heritage of Gatorade and the sharp positioning, we feel there is tremendous opportunity."

And Here's the First Branded Parody of That Super-Viral 'First Kiss' Ad

via adweek.com

The surest sign that you've created a viral juggernaut is that the parodies quickly come flowing in. This will be especially true of Wren's "First Kiss" ad, which is so stripped down visually that it will be easy to spoof. First out of the gate is a British brand with a reason to jump all over this—Snog frozen yogurt. (A "snog," of course, is British slang for a makeout session.) Check out the parody below, and wait for the onslaught of about 5,000 more by tomorrow. Agency: Krowd.

Here Are 15 of Marketing's Most Memorable Experiential Moves

via adage.com

1. 20th Century Fox: "The Simpsons Kwik-E Mart"
In 2007, 20th Century Fox hyped the release of "The Simpsons Movie" by bringing Kwik-E-Mart convenience stores to the real world. The studio partnered with 7-Eleven and its agency Tracy Locke to transform a dozen stores into their "Simpsons" counterpart. The shelves even boasted familiar treats like pink sprinkled doughnuts, Buzz cola and Krusty-Os cereal.

2. TNT: "Push to Add Drama"

This effort from Belgian agency Duval Guillaume forever raised the bar for stunts. In 2012, in a sleepy Belgian town square, passersby encountered a mysterious red button labeled "Push to Add Drama." Those who bit unleashed havoc on the streets in the form of ambulances, fist fights and gunshots -- all in an effort to promote the channel's "Daily Dose of Drama."

3. TNT: "Ewing Energies"
On the other side of the Atlantic, TNT set out to promote the third season of "Dallas" last month by installing the first Ewing Energies flagship gas station in Manhattan -- with prices set to kill the competition at $1.98 a gallon. Located at 10th Avenue and 37th street in New York, the station was open from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Feb. 24, the day of the season premiere. One of the show's stars, Josh Henderson, even stopped by for a visit.



4. "Selfridges: "No Noise" 
Last year, British retailer Selfridges launched an unusual campaign via agency 18 Feet and Rising to celebrate the "power of quiet." When founder Harry Gordon Selfridge opened the shop in 1909, it included a "Silence Room" where customers could get respite from the shopping storm. "No Noise" translated that idea into a host of initiatives, including a silence room designed by architect Alex Cochrane as well as "The Quiet Shop." The boutique featured carefully curated products from brands such as Levi's, and Marmite, which agreed to remove the "loud" logos that adorn their products for more minimalist labeling.


5. MGM: "Carrie: A Telekinetic Coffee Shop Surprise

Agency Thinkmodo is behind some of the most entertaining and passed-around experiential videos, including this recent effort to promote MGM's remake of "Carrie" last year. Patrons of a coffee shop witnessed a young woman send a man up the side of a brick wall with a flick of her hand after he accidentally spilled his coffee on her laptop -- a "real world" example of the telekinetic rage that drives the film's title character.

6. Red Bull: "Stratos"
Red Bull outextremed itself when it sent skydiver Felix Baumgartner on the world's highest skydive -- from 24 miles above Earth. Red Bull announced the effort at the beginning of 2010 and on Oct. 14, 2012, Mr. Baumgartner made his leap. It became one of the most-talked-about events of the year -- clips of the feat even served as the intro and finale to Google's annual zeitgeist video.

7. Nike: "Chalkbot"
One of the most celebrated examples of technology-meets-the real world,Wieden & Kennedy, Portland, Ore., Deeplocal and Standard Robot in 2009 created a roving vehicle that imprinted messages of hope sent by tweeters along the route of the Tour de France. It also snapped images of those chalk notes and sent them to those who tweeted them. Meant to promote Lance Armstrong's Livestrong, the effort led to a 46% increase in apparel sales for the organization. And although the reputation of its founder later crashed, Chalkbot remains a landmark experiential effort.

8. HBO: "Voyeur"
The cornerstone of this 2007 multiplatform campaign from BBDO, New York, was a "Rear Window"-style film that gave a peek into the interconnected lives of various apartment dwellers. The film, directed by RSA's Jake Scott, was projected onto the facade of a New York building, giving onlookers a true sense of voyeurism. The effort was designed to assert HBO's position as a storyteller like no other.

9. Hot Outdoor Advertisers
This year, Coca-Cola, the Fort Lauderdale Convention & Visitors Bureau and charity Caritas created bus shelters that warm shivering commuters in wintry climes while promoting brand messages. Coke brought "happiness" to the frigid in Sweden; Fort Lauderdale reminded New Yorkers that they could be wearing bikinis elsewhere; and Caritas showed how far donations could go to providing comfort for others.

10. Gatorade: "Replay"
Gatorade and agency TBWA/Chiat/Day Los Angeles teamed up in 2009 to give rival high-school football teams the chance to replay their final senior-year game -- 15 years after the showdown ended in a tie. Gatorade staged a rematch between the two original teams documented in online webisodes and a TV series.

11. IBM Watson
In 2011, IBM put a truly human face on its Watson artificial-intelligence system when the A.I. came face-to-face with Alex Trebek and a couple whiz-kid competitors for a game of "Jeopardy" and won. Since then, the supercomputer has evolved into a cloud service that enables many types of businesses to make sense of their mounds of data in more human ways. Recently, IBM invited mobile developers to come up with their own Watson-fueled ideas and will provide seed funding for the three best.

12. SAP
Enterprise-software firm SAP showed off its social-media analytics prowess at the NFL's Super Bowl Boulevard in New York this year in an installation that sat among more expected consumer-friendly exhibits from advertisers like Xbox, Snickers, GMC and Papa John's. The NFL.com Stats Zone, powered by SAP, turned numbers, images and data insights into fun, digestible factoids about the NFL and the big game.

13. Royal Caribbean: "Virtual Balcony"

Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines aims to enhance its passengers' travel experience with the "Virtual Balcony" created by Control Group. For RCCL's new "Quantum of the Seas" ship, the tech-innovation firm created digitally-enabled faux balconies that give each stateroom a real-time live-streamed view of the sea, complete with guard rail. The firm consulted with MIT and Harvard scientists to help ensure the experience would be motion-sickness-free.

14. Coca-Cola: "Open Happiness"

Coca-Cola's "Open Happiness" platform has inspired efforts like the outdoor ad above to delightful vending machines that dispense everything from sandwiches and flowers. The brand has also conducted moving stunts, such as this tear-jerker that brought Filipino overseas workers home to their families.




15. Zappos
Last year on the busiest -- and most annoying -- travel day of the year, the day before Thanksgiving, online retailer Zappos sprung a surprise on one of its most loyal markets, Houston. Along with agency Mullen, Zappos turned one of the baggage carousels at George Bush Intercontinental Airport into a "Wheel of Fortune"-style game that awarded travelers the prizes upon which their luggage landed.

Oscar Mayer Wakes You Up To The Smell Of Bacon With iPhone Alarm App

via creativity-online.com

Just in time for daylight savings, Oscar Mayer has created an iPhone alarm app that wakes you up to the sound and smell of sizzling bacon. Bacon lovers can apply for a limited edition "Wake Up And Smell The Bacon" device online through Friday, April 4. To use it, they download the Wake Up & Smell the Bacon app and plug the detachable device into the headphone jack of an iPhone. It will then emit the mouth-watering scent of frying bacon when the alarm goes off. Those who do not receive a device may still download the free app in the App Store to wake up to the sizzles and a selection of amusing bacon sayings. To promote the bacon alarm, agency 360i, which also designed the website, created this hilarious video in the style of a fragrance ad.

Coca Cola #SharetheGood Manifesto

Sunny Delight Joins Roster of SodaStream Partners

via bevnet.com

SodaStream continues to plunge through the thicket, making deals with brands left and right despite financial turbulence.

On Monday, SodaStream announced that it has reached an agreement with Sunny Delight Beverages Co., according to a joint release. The companies will co-develop flavors exclusively for SodaStream, the at-home soda kit, in SunnyD Tangy Original Orange and Orange-Strawberry, among other varieties. The products are expected to be available in the U.S. in the second half of 2014.

“This partnership highlights our commitment to evolving our business to reflect the changing trends within the beverage industry, providing consumers with new and innovative ways to SunnyD,” Billy Cyr, president and CEO of Sunny Delight, said in a release.

Sunny Delight joins Welch Foods Inc., the grape juice company, Skinnygirl and Ocean Spray, to name a few, as companies that recently joined the SodaStream stable.

SodaStream continues to announce new partnerships despite some financial challenges. On Jan. 13, Forbes reported that the company’s shares tumbled more than 20 percent to a 52-week low of $38.55 and that the company’s net income fell approximately $12.5 million short of its consensus estimate. At press time, SodaStream’s stock sits at $39.09 per share.

Ellen's Selfie Scores Oscar Gold for Samsung

via adweek.com

Oscars host Ellen DeGeneres snapped that epic selfie with the Samsung Galaxy Note during last night's ceremony, it effectively snagged "Best Picture"—among marketers, that is.

According to Kontera, which analyzed millions of digital views, Samsung was mentioned 40,000 times across Twitter, Facebook and other social media outlets during ABC's three-and-a-half-hour broadcast. Even though DeGeneres did not actually mention the brand in her tweet (which was swiftly retweeted 1.3 million times), the San Francisco tech firm found that Samsung scored a peak rate of 900 online mentions per minute because of the stunt.

The tweet broke a record for retweets previously set by President Obama on the night of his reelection in 2012. Twitter's server briefly went down because of the DeGeneres-generated social media mayhem.

The product placement fit nicely with Samsung's "You Need to See This" spot that aired during the show, Kontera said. 

While Google, Netflix, McDonald's and Oreo also fared well during the broadcast, Pepsi's spot for its mini cans produced the greatest single spike in Twitter activity of the night. Pepsi peaked at 1,200 tweets per minute at one point after the ad ran. 

Kontera shared the following exclusive data with Adweek.

Oscars Pepsi Spot: "Mini Hollywood"