Blog

When to say good-bye

Posted on by Brian Lee

If you’ve worked in the agency world long enough, you’ve invariably landed a client that had a bad split with its previous agency.

In some cases, the agency wasn’t the right fit. In other cases, the client wasn’t the right fit.

The latter appears to be the situation in Cramer-Krasselt’s public split with Panera Bread. A leaked memo mentioned Panera’s “constant last-minute shifts in direction, the behind-the-scenes politics, the enormous level of subjectivity that disregards proof of performance — all churn people at a rate that becomes much too much even in this crazy business. The previous agency found that out as well. There is a pattern. And in the end, no amount of money makes it worthwhile.”

I applaud Cramer-Krasselt for not letting money prevent them from exiting what seemed like a difficult and frustrating relationship.

Nike vs. Adidas World Cup Campaigns

Posted on by Taylor Kennedy

Isn’t it crazy to think the World Cup has only been playing for a week and three more weeks remain? Not only is this the month of crazy goals between countries, but it’s also a time for sporting goods manufacturers such as Nike and Adidas to compete. This time it’s about their marketing strategies.

Nike’s commercial, “The Last Game,” features animated avatars of World Cup pin-ups Cristiano Ronaldo and Neymar Jr., as part of its “Risk Everything” strategy.  The 5 1/2-minute video shows the Nike-signed players playing one last sudden-death match against the clones, who bore spectators by playing “like it’s just a job.”

Meanwhile, Adidas’ commercial features international stars David Beckham and Zinedine Zidane. In their “All in, or nothing” campaign, the duo challenge two individuals playing the FIFA World Cup video game to a real soccer match in their house. Another strategy Adidas is trying this year is shifting to YouTube and trying to introduce real-time marketing to the social platform.

Both campaigns are attempting to show how effectively channels such as video work well with e-commerce and social media. According to communications agency Way to Blue, Nike secured 200,119 social mentions between April 20-June 6 while Adidas grabbed 88,041.

PRSA Silver Anvil Awards

Posted on by Brian Lee

Last night I attended the annual PRSA Silver Anvil awards, which honor the best PR campaigns. The auditorium was full of talented professionals who obviously deserved recognition.

I loved the band, which played a song for every award winner based on the name of their entry. For example, an Alzheimer’s campaign elicited “Who are You” (though that does seem a little wrong).

But my big takeaway was that some of these PR campaigns really are about improving our lives, not just making a profit or strengthening a brand. The top award went to AT&T’s “It Can Wait” campaign to end texting while driving.

The elements were so powerful that AT&T’s competitors–Verizon, Spring and T-Mobile–joined in. And data showed that several states were projected to have fewer accidents and deaths as a result of texting while driving.

Now that’s some good PR.