Monthly Archives: June 2014

Coca-Cola Transforms Empty Plastic Bottles

Coke

Trash and recycling are important topics, but not always easily addressed by companies and individuals. Let’s admit it – trash just isn’t attractive or high on priority lists for most people. But what would happen if we could turn some of our trash, such as plastic bottle, into fun and useful items? Coca-Cola is doing this very thing in Vietnam with a campaign called “2ndLives,” a 16-cap system of unusual bottle caps that can turn empty plastic bottles into new objects such as lamps, toys, paintbrushes, squirt guns, and more.

The beverage industry has long faced attacks over the issue of plastic bottles. Campaigns such as this one can help encourage the reuse of packaging. Other examples are Pringles with an app that encouraged people to reuse chip cans as music amplifiers, and Domino’s Pizza with pizza boxes reused as jack-o’-lanterns. What can you think of for a similar campaign?

Group Activities and Discussion Questions:

  1. Show the video: http://youtu.be/rWgCQgzJOU4
  2. Poll students: What are common products that have discarded materials (similar to soda and pizza containers)?
  3. What are the challenges for these products? What would be the benefit of reuse?
  4. Divide students into teams. Assign each team one of the products and have them develop campaigns for reuse/repurpose.
  5. Debrief by having each team present its product and campaign. Vote on the winning idea.

Source: Ad Age Daily

Leave a comment

Filed under Classroom Activities

What Makes a Great Ad?

BestAds

Quick – think about the last great advertisement you have seen. Maybe it was on the side of a bus, the radio, television, or the Internet. Now, consider the essential elements that make an advertisement great. It might be harder than you think to come up with a formula for greatness. Recently, the researchers at Nielsen examined their TV Brand Effect database of more than 250,000 TV ads in an effort to understand what truly makes an ad or brand memorable.

  1. Storytelling: Great ads tell us a good story.
  2. Simplicity: A well-told, simple story is one we can easily remember.
  3. Relatable situations: Ads that show us characters who act or look like us are more effective.
  4. Humor: Humor lifts peoples’ spirits and contributes to memorable ads.
  5. Branding: Great ads convey a strong, consistent brand.

Go back to the ad you thought was great and see if it meets these criteria.

Group Activities and Discussion Questions:

  1. Read the article at: http://www.nielsen.com/us/en/newswire/2014/effective-advertising-more-than-a-creative-black-box.html
  2. Divide students into groups. Have each group list at least five ads that they think are great, and five ads that are not great.
  3. Next, review the five key elements to a good ad. Have students examine the ads and compare to the list.
  4. Finally, have students choose one of the poor ads and redesign the ad to become stronger.

Source:   Nielsen Research

Leave a comment

Filed under Classroom Activities

June 2014 – YouTube Trends Map

Youtube

 

Everyone is familiar with YouTube; the video-sharing site averages more than one billion viewers each month! But the videos we watch vary by age, gender, geography, and more. The most popular video watched by men is likely not the same as the most popular video watched by women. And don’t forget about variations in culture across the U.S. The viewers in New York have very different habits than do viewers in Texas.

YouTube posts a daily trends map based on demographics as reported by its account holders. Rankings are based on the number of views and can be separated by age, gender, and location. Through the aggregated data, YouTube Trends show us the most popular video in real time and gives ideas about trends that are developing within the YouTube viewing community. The map is a visual representation of the most viewed videos over the past 24 hours across the U.S.

Before you look at it, take a guess. What do you think the most popular, trending videos are this week? Then click on the interactive map to discover trends and viewing behaviors.

Group Activities and Discussion Questions:

  1. Poll students: What are the YouTube videos they watch the most?
  2. What videos do they think are more popular for men vs. women? By various age groups?
  3. Bring up the YouTube trends map: http://www.youtube.com/trendsmap
  4. Divide students into teams. Have each team select a specific target market and geography and view the most popular videos in that area.
  5. Discuss how this information can be used by marketers.

Source: YouTube.com

 

Leave a comment

Filed under Classroom Activities