Express Yourself With Your Espresso

Screen shot of the 7-eleven website

Some Americans live and breathe politics, and now some of them can sip it.

With the U.S. presidential election just six weeks away, American consumers can slurp their morning coffee while toting a Democratic or Republican coffee cup from the 7-11 convenience store.

The store is running it’s 7-Election campaign for the third presidential election in a row. By purchasing the cups, participants can cast their vote with either the red Republican cup for presidential hopeful Mitt Romney or the blue Democrat cup for President Barack Obama.

Though it is considered to be an unscientific polling device, the results have been relatively accurate in the past. According to the store’s website, the cup's sales have echoed the popular vote in the last two elections and predicted the new president of the U.S. for both. 

As of last week Obama leads with 58% of the vote in cup sales, while Romney has acquired 42% of the votes. All of the participating states are blue for President Barack Obama, except for Idaho and West Virginia.

Beginning next week the 'mobile oval office tour' begins a road trip around the U.S. The company will tour in a truck containing a replica of the oval office in the White House while giving out free cups of coffee leading up to the elections in November. Voters can also have their pictures from the road posted on the 7-eleven website.

It is also a fully integrated marking campaign with the opportunity for voters to follow on social media as well. Consumers can download special edition Facebook cover photos for social media profiles complete with the 7-eleven logo and their preferred presidential candidate.

If the pressure of politics is too much while you’re waking up in the morning, there is also a purple, non-partisan vanilla-flavoured Slurpee to ‘chill out’ with all of the heated political talk. The tagline reads, “Chill with vanilla. Spread the peace.”

So whether voters pledge red, blue or purple, consumers can make their own judgement when it comes to their morning java. Wake up and smell the democracy!

Unilever’s Lynx ‘Newsjacks’ Prince Harry Vegas Scandal

Recently, Prince Harry once again hit headlines as naked photos of him on holidays in Las Vegas were published online. The photos were published on website TMZ on the 22^nd of August 2012.

St James’ Palace initially reacted by contacting the UK press through the Press Complaints Commission (PCC) in order to remind UK editors that the “pictures were private and any possible publication of the photos would intrude upon the Prince’s reasonable right to privacy” (campaignlive.co.uk). However, it would seem that the sheer scale of the internet coverage the pictures were receiving on the internet was just too much for The Sun, which decided to publish the pictures on the 24^th of August with the headline “Heir it is! The pic of Harry you’ve already seen on the Internet”.

In that issue of the Sun, Unilever decided to connect Lynx to the royal scandal by publishing two one-off tactical press ads which joke that it may have been caused by the ‘Lynx Effect’. The ads were created by Bartle Bogle Hegarty London and use the same typeface as the governments “keep calm and carry on” posters. The ad itself says “Sorry Harry if it had anything to do with us” and shows a picture of Lynx’s newest scent Lynx Attract. The two adverts are very much in keeping with Lynx’s long-running ‘Lynx Effect’ marketing strategy which markets the Lynx product as being irresistible to women.

It would seem that Lynx managed to ‘newsjack’ this story quite effectively. ‘Newsjacking’ is a relatively new concept, which means injecting your ideas into breaking news stories in order to try to generate media coverage at a very low cost. Successful attempts are rare but it would seem that Lynx managed it here.

Lynx’s social networking publicity more than doubled after the ad ran, with mentions of the brand on Twitter alone going from 1500 to 3300 daily mentions. Lynx reached 1.5% of Twitter with key words appearing with Lynx including “advert”, “today”, “Sun”, “great”, “Prince Harry”, “Vegas” and “love”. By Monday, Lynx had reached a score of 3% on Twitter with the word “clever” being referenced alongside Lynx. Furthermore, by Tuesday, Lynx’s score had increased again, now reaching 5% of Twitter newsfeeds, of which 59% belonged to those between the ages of 18 and 34 (you.gov.co.uk).  Interestingly, the Lynx Attract product is the first Lynx product to be released which includes a version for women and during the three-day period, between 48 and 52% of those hearing about Lynx on Twitter were women.

This is not the first time that Lynx and BBH have used Prince Harry in an advertising campaign. In November 2010, just two days after the engagement of Prince William to Kate Middleton, Lynx ran a seven day advertising campaign with the tagline ‘Keep up Harry’ at an estimated cost of £35,749. However, although a figure has not yet been released for the cost of the ‘Sorry Harry’ campaign, it is likely to have been much lower as the ad ran for one day only.

Personally, I really like this ad campaign by Lynx. The humorous taglines fit well with the Lynx brand image and the overall marketing strategy for the product. News jacking is a really good way for the brand to gain extra publicity at a low cost. If Lynx continues to be innovative and stay ahead of the competition in this way then it will continue to differentiate itself from the rest. My feelings regarding Prince Harry’s behaviour on the other hand are a blog for another day...!

Audrey Aspell – Marketing Advisor

Spot the Difference: 20,000 Fake Louboutins to be Destroyed by US Customs

U.S. Customs and Boarder Protection (CBP) seized over 20,000 fake pairs of luxury Christian Louboutin shoes in four separate shipments from China last week. The shoes, described as “very good counterfeits” by the CBP, are estimated to have cost about $3 per pair to produce, indicating a total value of around $60,000. Louboutins usually sell for around $800 but can reach $5,000 or more for elaborate designs. The haul would have fetched over $18 million in the American market alone. The shoes are now set to be destroyed, most likely by being incinerated.

The French designer’s creations, famous for their red lacquered soles, have become a world-wide symbol for sexy sophistication and elegance. Louboutin’s obsession with shoes began as a teenager, when he worked as an apprentice in the famous Parisian music hall Flies-Bergere. There, he marvelled over the ability of showgirls to dance in elaborate headdresses and heels. Louboutin launched his own shoe boutique in 1992 in Paris and developed his signature red lacquered soles, inspired by a glamorous assistant’s scarlet nail polish. Louboutin described the bright red shade as “a symbol of love, of blood, of passion.” Industry journal Footwear News described Louboutin shoes as “a subtle status symbol”.

It’s not just Louboutins; luxury brands from Chanel to Louis Vuitton, from Rolex to Burberry have been plagued by the counterfeit market for decades. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce estimates for every $1 spent policing counterfeit goods, it gains $5 in new tax revenue. Louboutin fought and lost in court battles against fellow designer Yves Saint Laurent and high-street retailer Zara last year over the right to sell shoes with red soles. DIY versions are popping up on the high-street too, with kits to paint the soles of shoes scarlet growing in popularity.

CBP Director of Field Operations in Los Angeles Todd C. Owen stated in a press release: “This seizure illustrates the outstanding level of commodity expertise and vigilance of CBP import specialists and officers at our nation’s largest seaport. CBP maintains an aggressive and proactive posture on intercepting shipments containing counterfeit and pirated items.”

How much do knock-offs really damage a brand? It’s hard to say. Counterfeits attack possibly the most valuable qualities of prestige brands – their exclusivity, their power as a status symbol. If people buy designer clothes in part to be seen with them by others, then a proliferation of fake designer produce that places doubt over authenticity might torpedo demand. On the other hand, if the brand is strong enough, maybe consumers will still aspire to own the real thing.

But aside from the brand – what about the fakes? While high-heeled shoes probably aren’t the easiest commodity to divert towards a more useful end than the designer knock-off market, it hardly seems right to destroy 20,000 pairs of shoes. Wasting viable products, regardless of their production methods, doesn’t appear to be the answer.

- Caroline Reid, Marketing Advisor

New payment App enters the market

Starbucks is always one step ahead in the payments game. Recently the coffee company’s CEO, Howard Schultz, agreed to adopt Jack Dorsey's (co-founder of Twitter) new payment system called ‘Square’, in their 7000 coffee chains across America. This payment system is considered game changing, surpassing mobile payments.

The system is simply a free iPad app, which turns into a digital cash register. Customers create a free square account by giving their name, setting up password security, uploading a profile picture and entering their Visa, American Express, MasterCard or Discover credit or debit card. What is amazing about the system is that when a Square-registered customer enters a shop, bar or restaurant with this system, their names and photographs automatically appear on the retailer’s iPad. When customers place an order, they say their name and the transaction is then approved by the retailer. This new system will be of huge benefit to cafes, bars and restaurants, which will increase service speed and also revenue.

The advantage Square has over mobile payments is that the system makes the process of purchasing even simpler. Who would of thought that payments were going to become easier than swiping a phone? However, like mobile payments people are sceptical to adapt. They are finding reasons not to adopt a payment system like this 'some people look the same' , and are asking questions such as ‘what if I am charged for browsing  in a shop by mistake or even deliberately’. Consumers are undoubtedly going to have issues with these new payment systems. However, it is predicted mobile payment spending will increase to $600 billion by 2016.  Therefore, it is only a matter of time before people really embrace these new payment methods.

It is interesting that the new ios Apple update will have a new version of maps for the iPhone and iPad, stealing Google’s thunder. With the new iPhone 5 due to be released in a couple of months it will be interesting to see if they implement something new in relation to mobile payments.

Ross Hartnett - Marketing Advisor

Tobacco Plain Packaging Act

Australia will become the world’s first country to sell cigarettes in plain packaging cases on the 1^st of December 2012.

Cigarettes will now be sold in plain olive packs with graphic health warnings such as pictures of cancer-riddled mouths, blinded eyeballs, and other smoking-related illnesses. This news comes after a legal battle between the Australian government and Tobacco giants (Japan Tobacco Inc., British American Tobacco Plc, Philip Morris International Inc. and Imperial Tobacco), lost the right to print logos or trademarks on cigarette packaging.

British American Tobacco released a statement saying that not only were they very disappointed with the court ruling, but they believe that packaging would only “exacerbate an already significant illicit tobacco trafficking problem.” In addition, the company believes that this would have other adverse consequences including reduction of cigarette prices which would lead to increased smoking and reduced government tax revenue. According to Japan Tobacco and Imperial Tobacco, Australia’s government loses about $1.1 billion in annual revenue because of the cigarette black market, which is equivalent to 13.4 percent of the legal industry. Tobacco moguls also claim that the “Australian ruling unlawfully extinguishes the value of their trademarks without providing compensation.”

Health Minister and Attorney General Nicola Roxan, who has headed this international test case in Australia, has stated, “Gone are the days that cigarettes are glamorous, gone are the days where gold embossing can imply that they are luxury or pale green can imply that they are light and safe.” The federal government believes that this move will not only deter consumers from purchasing cigarettes, but also save many lives.

It will be interesting to see not only how tobacco marketers will differentiate their products in the Australian market under the new laws, but also if the case will create the chance for change down under.

Lyanne Ryan – Marketing Advisor