Monthly Archives: July 2018

by | Monday, July 30, 2018 · 7:29 am

Cirque du Soleil Goes to the Mall

There are days when walking around the local shopping mall can seem like a walk amidst a ghost town. Is it due to the impact of online shopping? Or is it boredom with the same old retail experience? Are shopping malls dying?

To help shake up the routine mall experience, Cirque du Soleil is taking its show on the road and directly to consumers through a new concept called CREACTIVE, an indoor family entertainment experience. CREACTIVE will be installed in indoor centers and offer a variety of Cirque du Soleil activities such as bungee jumping, aerial parkour, wire and trampolines, juggling, dance, circus track activities, and more.

The new venture offers entertainment experiences that can help turn malls into more exciting destinations, and also fill the growing list of empty spaces that once held anchor tenants. Collaboration between the organization and retail spaces can help bring more consumers into the spaces, and help the retail spaces become more important to the families in their communities.

Is this the future of retail?

Group Activities and Discussion Questions:

  1. Poll students: How often do they go to a mall? What was their last experience at a mall?
  2. Show CREACTIVE in use at Club Med locations: https://www.cirquedusoleil.com/club-med-creactive
  3. Discuss the four primary marketing strategies: market penetration, market development, product development, and diversification.
  4. Which strategy is being used for the new CREACTIVE performances? Why?
  5. Divide students into teams. Have each team select one of the four different strategies and explain why that strategy could be used to market Cirque du Soleil in retail locations.
  6. Debrief the exercise.

Source: Cirque du Soleil is coming to shopping malls in 2019. (15 June 2018). Brandchannel.com

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by | Friday, July 27, 2018 · 7:19 am

Cannes Lion Awards: Best Outdoor Ad Campaigns

While today the definition of “outdoor advertising” for marketing goes far beyond the traditional highway billboard, outdoor advertising is still all about engaging the viewer. Billboards certainly have a place in marketing, and they are the most common form of out-of-home advertising that consumers see. However, marketers today can expand beyond a simple billboard sign on the side of the road, to an elaborate display on a beach of a whale sculpted with plastic trash.

Cannes Lions awards are among the most established awards for marketing, advertising, and creative professionals. The international competition includes three rounds of viewing, voting, and discussion and includes thousands of international submissions.

Among the top winners in this year’s category of outdoor ads:

  • Greenpeace Philippines, “Dead Whale”
  • Louvre Abu Dhabi, “Highway Gallery”
  • Hbo, “HBO’s SXSWestworld”
  • Burger King, “Scary Clown Night”
  • National Down syndrome Society, “C21”

Many of these examples include case studies and results. While it is tempting to think that an outdoor ad only impacts those who see it, in today’s fast-moving Internet-enabled world, a single outdoor installation has the power to span the globe and encourage change. Review the “Dead Whale” example of an outdoor display from Greenpeace Philippines to see just how powerful one advertisement can be.

What did you see today outdoors?

Group Activities and Discussion Questions:

  1. Poll students: How many different types of outdoor ads can they recall?
  2. What specific ads can they recall? Why?
  3. Discuss with the class the different forms out-of-home advertising.
  4. Show the Cannes Lions Web site: https://www.canneslions.com/our-awards
  5. If you do not have access to the Cannes Web site (sign-up is free), the ads can be found on Ad Week: https://www.adweek.com/creativity/the-12-best-outdoor-ad-campaigns-of-the-year/?utm_content=position_5&utm_source=sailthru&utm_medium=email&utm_term=AW_Adfreak&utm_campaign=Adfreak_Newsletter_2018062914&s_id=516e0a4d191b2a646da5e880
  6. Divide students into teams. Assign each team a different campaign to review and analyze.
  7. Have each team debrief their analysis for the class. Have the class vote on their favorite and least favorite campaign. Why was it selected?

Source: Griner, D. (28 June 2018). The 12 best outdoor ad campaigns of the year. Ad Week.

 

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by | Wednesday, July 25, 2018 · 7:14 am

Uncle Drew – The Movie Hits the Big Screen

Branding knows no bounds. Well, at least it knows when it’s “in-bounds” in this case (on the basketball court)…

It’s here – the Uncle Drew movie has finally arrived and fans have been ecstatic! What began eight years ago as a series of short, online scripted videos by Pepsi MAX has now hit the big screen as a full movie starring NBA star Kyrie Irving as the elderly (but still talented) basketball player Uncle Drew.

The story focuses on how one of the characters drained his life savings to enter the Rucker Classic street ball tournament in Harlem, only to see his longtime rival take over his team. Desperate to win the tournament and regain his money, he stumbles upon “the man, the myth, the legend” – Uncle Drew! What ensues is a road trip to round up Uncle Drew’s old basketball squad and prove that the old guys still have what it takes to be winners on the court. With a supporting cast including great players such as Shaquille O’Neal, Chris Webber, Reggie Miller, Nate Robinson, and Lisa Leslie, the movie features quick moves and plenty of laughs.

The short films are still winners online. All quickly went viral and have remained fan favorites:

  • Part 1, May 2012, 52 million views. Pepsi MAX visits a New Jersey pick-up game where Uncle Drew first appears.
  • Part 2, October 2012, 13 million views. Uncle Drew is on a mission to get his old team back together in Los Angeles.
  • Part 3, October 2013, 22 million views. Uncle Drew visits an underground jazz club in Chicago to convince his old point guard to revisit the game.
  • Part 4, November 2015, 15 million views. Uncle Drew is in Miami settling old scores.

This is likely one of the largest brand promotion projects done by Pepsi. It’s a Pepsi-funded movie based on a character and concept featured in its soda commercials. Like Pepsi, other companies have been increasing their spending on branded content – films that look more like editorial content than advertising. Clever move – consumers accept the story more easily than accept advertising.

It’s all about the buckets, young blood.

Group Activities and Discussion Questions:

  1. This is a great summer case study when students are restless and need some screen time.
  2. Discuss the benefits and expenses of branding. How did the original Uncle Drew accomplish this for Pepsi?
  3. Watch the movie trailer: https://youtu.be/Ept29ceiVfk
  4. If you have not seen the original viral videos, here they are:
    1. Part 1: https://youtu.be/8DnKOc6FISU
    2. Part 2: https://youtu.be/MLyvkBifQ3w
    3. Part 3: https://youtu.be/spDdO_ZB-lE
    4. Part 4: https://youtu.be/ZY6GAOPGuPs
    5. Interview with Drew: https://youtu.be/sW2sobJXI4s
  5. Divide students into teams. Have each team discuss the pros and cons of this brand extension and movie. What should Pepsi, and other companies, do next?

Source: Brandchannel.com

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