Dropping the Ball on Branding

With the increasingly popular music festivals like Govenor's Ball on Randall's Island, brands are able to reach a new segment of consumers with exciting and unique ideas!

Governor's Ball Music Festival

Though this wasn't the largest of music festivals, it still presented a unique environment for brands to embrace the crowds. Governor's Ball brought "22 1/2 hours of music to Randall's Island on Saturday and Sunday [and] was relatively modest as festivals go: about 21,000 people each day." (Source) 

With music festivals like Governor's Ball, Stagecoach, Coachella, and many more taking place all over the world, a new market for brands has been created. Featuring many different sponsors, Governor's Ball used new and creative ways to attract consumers to both newer and already well known brands. Examples of brands using the music festival's to their advantage over the June 7-9th weekend included:

Blu Electronic Cigarettes: Recently trending are electronic cigarettes. Blu e-Cigs sponsored one of the coolest set ups at the festival, the Vapor Lounge. At the Vapor Lounge, guests were invited to stop in to use device charging stations, use social media photo booths, and even try out and sample Blu's latest products. The Vapor Lounge also featured surprise guest appearances throughout the festival- something sure to get people's attention. Blu used ticket give aways prior to the music festival in order to redirect traffic to their websites and product locations ahead of time. This was a large sponsorship for this up and coming brand and it will certainly add to their recent success.


Camelbak: Being pretty well known for their reusable water bottles, they sponsored Governor's Ball in a big way. Concerts are infamous for their overpriced food and drinks. With that said, 
Camelbak embraced the opportunity to provide thousands of people with free water. They provided 8 refillable water stations for festival-goers to rehydrate. Additionally, they promoted an environmentally friendly way to drink water, which has a growing appeal amongst consumers. 

Onomonomedia: On the rise with their event photo booths is Onomonomedia. Their innovative photo booths specialize in uploading pictures straight to social media websites like FaceBook and Twitter. You are also able to share your photos via email to ensure you don't forget that fun or special moment. At Governor's Ball they placed two of their photo booths for the fun and wild fans to remember their time well spent. 

Sennheiser: A growing, premium audio company set up "The Silent Disco" for those at the Governor's Ball to enjoy. "The Silent Disco" allowed music fans to put on high quality, wireless headphones and listen in to the different DJs from afar. Whether you needed a break from the crowded stages or wanted to chat with friends and check in on the performances frequently, they created a unique way to advertise their advancing products.

Other brands responsible for similar sponsorships in the few past years include: Pop Up Yoga NYC, Hi-Chew, Skyy Vodka, Ben & Jerry's, Yelp, Pop Chips, Zia Records, Toyota, Budlight, Barefoot Wine & Bubbly, and many others.

Along with these activities and sponsorships, these festivals usually operate high activity websites, where your brand, if featured, will receive a lot of publicity.

Sponsorships like these allow brands to be seen by thousands of people, usually of massive diversity, in a short period of time. It can often increase their sales and popularity rather quickly, giving brands a large incentive to participate in events like this. If your brand wants to associate with a favorite genre of music, say country for example, saddle up and prep an event for Stagecoach or the CMA Music Festival.

'Tis the Season- for Weddings that is!

Wake up and smell the roses, wedding season is in the air! 

As we move through spring and into summer, Wedding Season is fast approaching! "June has long been the most popular month to get married-- in 2012, 17% of American couples tied the knot in this early summer month."(source) This is an excellent time for companies to use these special occasions as a perfect platform or promotion for their products and brands. Whether companies choose to alter their typical products to incorporate the wedding state of mind, or simply embrace the season in their advertising, this is a crucial time for brands to capitalize. 

Advertisements Embracing the Season
Alter advertisements to reach new brides

Often during spring and summer companies will alter their advertisements to embrace the increasing quantity of weddings. This is an efficient way for companies to reach consumers with weddings on their mind.

Gillette took their usual goddess-emphasizing Venus Razor to a new level during wedding season, advertising the legs of a bride next to her groom. With her "seriously smooth legs," her garter slid right down to the top of her foot. Every bride strives to look perfect on their wedding day; With advertisements like this not only will it catch the eye of brides-to-be, but any girl or woman paying attention to their appearance. Advertisements like this are a great way to expand your consumer base.

Another company trying to distinguish itself during this special season is Crest. Focusing on their whitening products, they have released advertisements showcasing how well their toothpastes and Crest Whitestrips work. Demonstrating the success of these whitening products on a bride wearing all white is a great way for Crest to make a pretty large statement.


Wedding Inspired Product Creativity
Develop new products to expand your audience

Other brands develop an entirely new product line to market during wedding season. These enhanced product lines capture the attention of brides who maybe wouldn't have used your brand otherwise. It also gives your brand a great edge over competition. If competing brands don't offer these same specialty items, consumers will have no choice but to look to you.

A brand that has utilized this strategy before is Philosophy Skin Care. Philosophy has used both previous skin care lines with new and adapted packaging, and also designed a new line specifically for brides. The idea behind using their previous skin care lines (like Hope in a Jar) and adding it into their "Here Comes the Bride" package is smart because existing customers may already use and enjoy this product regularly and may now splurge on the extras. These existing customers may also spread the word to their soon-to-be-married friends.

However, Philosophy has gone beyond this special package and created "The Bridal Party" shower gel set. Including scents such as "Wedding Cake," "Bubbly," and "Bridal Bouquet," these products or product packages make for great gifts throughout the wedding planning process. Altering product lines like this draw in consumers that may continue to try other products under the Philosophy brand in the future.

      

 

Another brand that has used a similar idea is Essie. Constantly releasing new colors, Essie creates a bridal polish line each season in hopes of reaching those brides-to-be. With lighter shades of cream and pink they creatively name these colors things like "tie the knot" or "happily ever after." Something as small seeming as a nail polish can play a crucial role on your wedding day and this provides a way to reach out to more consumers and differentiate yourself from other competing brands. 

Bridal Specials 

Many specials are offered to engaged couples or future brides during this season as well. Different workout specials are offered to get brides in shape prior to the big day such as Pure Barre's three month unlimited Bride-to-be Special. Also known to offer special packages or giveaways are: Baked Tanning,  Clarisonic, Macy's "Scan for a Grand," and other similar products and services.

Whether you're a well-known beauty brand like Philosophy or an essential daily necessity like Gillette razors, you should utilize this time to promote your brand. Developing new product lines or just simply adapting your advertisements to the upcoming occasion, wedding season can really be leveraged to amplify your brand.

Throughout the next couple of months, be sure to look for ways to promote the perfect brands and products for the perfect day!

Get Ready for Some Football! The Big Game Heads to NYC February 2, 2014

Look alive New York! A game-changing pass is headed your way and you don't want to get caught with your feet up on the sidelines.

Next February, New York and New Jersey will play host to the biggest game in American professional sports -- along with hundreds of thousands of eager fans gearing up for the action. Excitement, fun, competition, glamour, and – of course – football will fill the chilly air of NYC, so the question is: how will your brand capitalize on this energy?

The Big Game is expected to generate as much as $550 million in revenue for the NY/NJ region and attract well over 200,000 tourists, during what is typically the slowest time for tourism in the region. In addition, millions of local residents will catch the buzz and check into the fun. 

The increased traffic creates invaluable opportunities for brands to catch consumers' attention.

The center of action for the week leading up to the game will be “Super Bowl Boulevard,” a fan-fest filling the half mile stretch of Broadway between Times Square and Herald Square. The streets around the area will teem with enthusiastic fans looking for new experiences and ready to share their fun over social media. 

For companies, this time will present a fabulous opportunity to entertain clients and VIPs at exclusive parties.  Players and celebrities can be brought in as extra special guests as well. 

Below you'll find a recap of several exciting events hosted around the 2013 game. But whether a brand goes big-budget or economical, there are bits of wisdom around Big Game activation to be found in each. 

Whether you’re a brand ready to take the spotlight or a company hosting a party for VIPs and clients, Rubik can develop stand-out ideas and deliver crisp, results-driven execution. Contact us at kbowman@rubikmarketing.com.

Embrace the Host Culture

BEYOND FOOTBALL, THE BIG GAME IS A CELEBRATION OF THE CULTURE AND TRADITIONS OF ITS HOST CITY 

The much anticipated Playboy Party Presented by Crown Royal mixed the glamour of the Big Game with the distinct flavor of host city New Orleans. The party began as a fleet of six MINI convertibles arrived on the carpet following a parade across the French Quarter.

Naturally, each car carried a glittering Playboy Bunny -- but, in true New Orleans' fashion, each Bunny was also escorted by a member of a booming brass band. With a Mardi Gras theme and clever brand integration, the party seamlessly celebrated a grand weekend of competition, sophistication, and Lousiana flair.

The Big Game itself has a brand and flavor of its own that can easily set the tone for events and activations. But by taking additional inspiration from local heritage, your event will become that much more unique, rich, and ultimately unforgettable.

Create an Annual Event

BRANDS, TAKE NOTE FROM THE CLASSIC BUD BOWL: CREATING AN ICONIC ANNUAL EVENT DEEPENS TIES TO THE GAME'S CULTURAL CACHET 
Pro athletes aren't the only big names playing football in the week leading up to the game. For the seventh year in a row, DirecTV brought stars like Neil Patrick Harris, Snoop Dogg, Katharine McPhee and Lil Wayne out for their Celebrity Beach Bowl.

Consumers, fans, corporate VIP guests and celebs were all treated to feats of athletic greatness -- and comedy -- over seven tons of imported sand.

The event has grown and evolved over its run, and now airs live over exclusive DirecTV stations and NBC Sports. It has now earned a place as staple of Big Game festivities, and deepened the brands' image as a prime cable service for sports cover.

Pop Up in Style in the Heart of the Action

WHEN CHAMPIONSHIP WEEK COMES TO NEW YORK CITY, FASHION &; DESIGN BRANDS WILL CELEBRATE AS WELL 
We all know that the Big Game names not only the best in pro football, but the best in advertising, creativity, and style as well. Express capitalized on the latter and on the widespread presence of suit-wearing consumers with their 1MX Ultimate Shirt Shop.

The Shop opened with star-filled Shirt Shop Cocktail Party where, to quote one enthusiastic stylist, "I watched as Pro Bowl-ers and other NFL notables walked in wearing over-decorated, boxy shirts and walked out in clean, perfectly fitting dress shirts." 

In the days leading up to the game, visitors tried on the signature botton-up and left with branded swag -- marking Express as a stylish choice for the fit and active man. 

Consumer Trend Focus: Health & Wellness

Take the pulse of your audience: are your followers buying natural foods, signing up for yoga classes, and blogging about stress reduction? If so, they are right on trend with the millions of American consumers who are increasingly interested in health and wellness.

Over the past decade the nationwide conversation about healthy living has dramatically changed. Buzz words of the ‘00s like "Atkins" and "Hydroxycut" have been replaced by "organic," "holistic," and "pilates." Dieting is increasingly a thing of the past as consumers turn more and more toward  proactive, whole body wellness: eating natural foods, exercising, and managing stress. 

A few numbers make the trends very clear:

• Sales of natural and organic food and beverages saw 85% growth between 2005-2009 (source)
• Total consumer spending on yoga increased a staggering 87% between 2004 and 2012, up to $5.7 billion (source)
• Gym membership numbers have increased considerably over the past decade, rising almost 20% since 2002 (source)

Brands across a variety of categories are bringing a health and wellness face to their image, particularly through strategic partnerships -- showing it doesn't just have to be athletic brands talking about healthy living!

This data leads us to ask: 

How can your brand connect the dots between what you stand for and your consumers’ desires to lead healthier lifestyles? 

A few of our favorite examples are below.

Fruit of the Loom:
This Summer, Fruit of the Loom launched an exciting new campaign called “Move to Comfort” which sought to keep the brand fresh for its older base while attracting a more youthful audience as well. The program highlighted the ease and comfort associated with wearing Fruit of the Loom cotton while naturally aligning with wellness trends.

As part of the campaign, the brand created a customer engagement program called "The Next Big Move." Fans were invited to show off their dance moves to win a spot on a future brand commercial. The nationwide contest stirred energy and enthusiasm, encouraging consumers to live the active life that so many want -- by getting out and getting active.

SpaFinder: 

SpaFinder, the online hub for all things spa and massage related found a great match with the EIF Revlon Run/Walk last Spring. The sponsorship helped the brand show 100,000 consumers that spa treatments and massage therapy are just as much about self-care as they are about luxury -- if not even more so!

SpaFinder brought professional massage therapists to their booth at the event's Health Expo and spoke with consumers about the proven health benefits associated with taking time to relax.

Fiji Water: 

When designer Vivienne Tam revealed her new line of yoga wear at Mercedes Benz Fashion Week, Fiji Water was on hand to provide refreshment. The creative launch, which took place in Lincoln Center's entry courtyard, featured a "live sculpture garden" yoga demonstration.

Twenty svelt yogis moved in Tam's attire and sipped Fiji water in front of trendsetting crowds. The brand soaked up the positive affiliation while busy photographers and bloggers captured the moment. 

'Tis the Season... for Hollywood's Biggest Nights!

While the world gears up for the holiday season, we here at Rubik are looking forward to the excitement of the season that follows: Awards Season! It's just around the corner, and brands seeking a tie-in with a sophisticated, upscale, and high-engagement platform are just as excited as we are. 

From the Golden Globes, BAFTAs, and SAG Awards in January through the Academy Awards at the end of February (and many more!), the season brings an air of anticipation that can be strategically leveraged in a film or awards-inspired activation. 

When it comes to experiential marketing around film awards shows, many brands focus on connecting with celebrities through gifting suits, green room sponsorship, and parties. Yet the award season platform is an excellent launching point for consumer-facing events as well, with its high level of consumer engagement over the two month time period and its "A-list" appeal. 

A few numbers: in 2012, close to 40 million people watched the Academy Awards, and 20 million the Golden Globes, about 70% of whom were adult women.

In the weeks leading up to the shows, entertainment media and blogs are all abuzz over Hollywood, while consumers plan their watch-parties, check out nominated films, and cast their votes for the best of the best.

The awards season platform holds numerous tie-in angles for brands -- whether it be around film, which inspires a range of experience and emotion, or fashion, parties, food and decor, celebrities, luxury, contemporary trends -- the list goes on.

How might your brand affiliate with the magic of awards season? Here are a few ideas we love: 

Coca Cola "MyParty" Campaign

In 2011, Coca Cola launched a teen-focused party-in-a-box campaign that leveraged the popularity of in-home watch parties hosted by consumers on awards show evenings. Using the innovative MyParty platform, Coke invited teens around the world to host a brand-themed watch party with friends.

Coke mailed participants branded t-shirts and their signature soft drink along with coupons for free Papa John's Pizza and a branded photo backdrop. Enthusiastic fans felt like VIPs in their own homes. They posted photos online and shared widely.

The program cultivated brand loyalty and valuable word-of-mouth promotion via Facebook and Twitter, and earned Coke the reputation among teens they were aiming for: that Coca Cola makes your life better. 

Oscar Winning Style

In February 2011, London's luxury retailer Harrods launched a clever email newsletter featuring looks inspired by best picture nominated films.

Labeled "Swan Song" (for Black Swan) and "Facebook Fashion" (The Social Network), the outfits showcased Harrods' products in a fun and creative way that effectively leveraged the season's focus on style.

For the 2011 SAG Awards, L'Oreal and People StyleWatch hosted "A Night of Red Carpet Style" for celebrities. Then, the brands turned to us here at Rubik to produce a consumer-facing event in Hollywood & Highland's central courtyard. The activation featured an array of stylish looks, inviting consumers to find the one that most appealed to their own taste, and gave away free makeovers to go with each.  Styles included Hot Hollywood, Uptown Chic, American Classic and Urban Cool.

Netflix's Integrated Campaign
"Post a video online quoting a classic Oscar-winning movie for the chance to win a membership!" touted Netflix in a campaign officially tied with the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and the 79th Academy Awards.

The campaign leveraged the viral YouTube video phenomenon and a favorite pop culture game around movies to celebrate Hollywood and drive memberships. It cultivated interest in both the awards show as well, as fans shared the videos and then checked out the Oscar-themed Netflix landing page.

Not Your Grandfather's Fiddle: Country Music's Fresh Face & Broad Appeal

“It’s not your Grandfather’s fiddle! Today’s country music fan is an affluent educated middle to upper class individual. Their interests range from international travel to a good old fashioned rodeo.” - Kathy Wright, producer of Country Jam  music festivals in Wisconsin and Colorado.

Today, country music has the broadest appeal of any genre in the US. Its rise in popularity spans age and income brackets -- giving associated brands the opportunity to connect with younger consumers in a meaningful way while re-energizing their older fanbase. 

Brands who are looking to reach a broad market of consumers with real buying power are taking note.  

Contemporary country stars include glamorous Hollywood A-listers, youthful pop-crossover artists, and classic singer-songwriters with all American values. With this shift toward the mainstream, the average country music fan has changed as well. 

According to the Country Music Association’s survey of 13,000 people, 42% of the US population is a country music fan, totaling a whopping 92 million adult fans. Here are a few key numbers: 

• 40% fall in the 18-to-39 age group
• 55% fall in the 25-to-54 age group
• Average income: $75,392 (average U.S. household income in 2010 was $49,445)
• 89% are on Facebook, 58% are on Twitter

For brands from a wide range of sectors, country music has become an exciting and strategic platform for sponsorships and partnerships.

Here are a few examples of the range and variety:

• Garnier Fructis found a beauty-conscious match with the Country Music Television Awards
• Elizabeth Arden saw huge success selling Taylor Swift fragrance
• State Farm Insurance partnered with Jason Aldean for a month on tour
• Brita filters brought filtered water and environmental awareness to country festivals
• Jack in the Box rolled their Jack Burger Truck to festivals across the southeast
• Velveeta Shells & Cheese pinged singer Rodney Atkins as a fresh faced ambassador
• Clorox brands and Keith Urban gave fans a shot at an exclusive backyard BBQ

With an image that is increasingly glamorous with an all-American spirit and fans who are tech-savvy and fashionable, a country music focused campaign is a great match for brands looking for freshness, fun, and values with roots.

Imaginative Activation at SXSW: Entertaining or Overdone?

South by Southwest (SXSW) is all about the future in music, film, technology, and now -- more this year than ever before -- in interactive marketing. What began in 1987 as a small gathering of independent musicians now hosts more than 2000 performers and 40,000 attendees over three weeks of festivals and conferences.

There has been growing talk of concern among festival veterans over South By’s increasing commercialization in recent years. Marketers, therefore, had to be especially creative in order to engage this hip and savvy crowd.

Let’s just say -- this opened the doors for brands to have a lot of fun. Virgin Mobile rented a local house and invited festival attendees “to come on over to their place” for intimate backyard concerts. Skype sent out a town crier, dressed in colonial garb, to dramatically announce tweets with the “#skype” hashtag. Foursquare hosted a playground court and foursquare competition, while Warby Parker, the trendy eyewear brand, opened a three day 1920s style carnival. Each of these activations added to the fun of the festival, and were generally well-received.

Doritos took activation to a new level, though, by building a 56 foot tall, fully functioning vending machine to promote a new line of chips, Doritos Jacked. The structure rose four stories above a stage where bands performed across the week.

Enthusiastic fans rolled foot-wide quarters into a payment slot and pressed giant buttons to receive prizes or bags of the new over-sized snack. Doritos increased the fun, and the social media engagement, by hiding these quarters around town. Show-goers tweeted or “liked” the page on Facebook to receive clues to the tokens’ whereabouts.

The innovative installation wowed audiences at the festival and generated press coverage across the digital world, while showcasing new talent on the stage. It’ll be talked about for weeks to come and remembered as part of the 2012 SXSW experience.

Is over-sized activation a good thing? It depends on who you ask, but as brands are pushed to higher and higher levels of imaginative activation (pun not intended!), will they be able to keep the focus on the fun, rather than overpower the spirit of the festival?