I am passionate about BMW brand, which is why I entered into a contest to become the Ultimate Blogger for Endras BMW in Ajax, Ontario. The entrant with the most votes will get in the top 20 and ultimately will advance to the second round.

If you are a BMW fan like me and/or you just like my BMW blog entry, I will greatly appreciate if you would take a moment to vote for me. All you have to do is click +1 located at the bottom of the blog entry or on the right top side of the screen.

 Please click on the link below to be directed to the site.

 http://endrasbmw.com/ultimateblogger/RedBeast

Also, don’t forget to share my blog entry with your friends, on facebook, twitter or any other social media tool.

 Thank you! Now, let’s put this contest into overdrive.

Planning a wedding can be an overwhelming and stressful experience for most people as everyone leads busy professional lives, which leaves little to no time for anything else. TheRingBearer.ca is your one stop portal for all your bridal and wedding needs. Think Yellow Pages Directory but just for weddings .  On there you’ll find everything from wedding décor, flowers, cakes, wedding gowns, reception halls, photography, beauty trends. The magazine also features real love stories and real proposals where couples share their experiences of the magical event.

And that’s not all that you can find on TheRingBearer.ca, it has features on celebrity weddings and NY bridal fashion trends and prizes to be won. Also, imagine how cool it would be to win a $7,000 diamond ring and/or a $5,000 Kleinfield experience when you submit your love story online.

In addition, to having a website that’s easy to navigate, is accessible, fast and provides tons of information to help plan your wedding, you can create a free online profile. I think that it’s a really cool feature to have when planning a wedding. As I had mentioned earlier when everyone has busy schedules you want something that keeps you organized and efficient when planning for your big day. The online profile allows you to create your own personal wedding page where you can keep all your family and friends informed on your wedding progress and events.

TheRingBearer.ca is not just another online wedding magazine, it is a valuable wedding planning tool loaded with cool features.

The Blog-Health-o-Meter™ reads Fresher than ever.

Crunchy numbers

A Boeing 747-400 passenger jet can hold 416 passengers. This blog was viewed about 8,500 times in 2010. That’s about 20 full 747s.

In 2010, there were 7 new posts, growing the total archive of this blog to 14 posts. There were 29 pictures uploaded, taking up a total of 3mb. That’s about 2 pictures per month.

The busiest day of the year was October 15th with 80 views. The most popular post that day was Billboard Chess Game: BMW vs. Audi.

Where did they come from?

The top referring sites in 2010 were forums.redflagdeals.com, facebook.com, twitter.com, linkedin.com, and en.wordpress.com.

Some visitors came searching, mostly for starbucks logo, grand marnier commercial song, fisherman’s friend, grand marnier commercial, and starbucks.

Attractions in 2010

These are the posts and pages that got the most views in 2010.

Billboard Chess Game: BMW vs. Audi May 2010
3 comments

La Vie Grand Marnier takes a plunge into digital media November 2009
11 comments

Starbucks without the Bucks July 2009
16 comments

Fisherman’s Friend is your friend with Attitude February 2010
1 comment

TOYOTA UNDER FIRE March 2010
5 comments

Just a few weeks ago after the Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show had aired I went online to order the Rhinestone Leather Jacket, which was the Fashion Show Exclusive item. When I was adding the item to my shopping bag it said that “only a few left” so I had assumed probably 2 or 3. However, I should have checked out right a way because when I was ready to check out, the jacket was SOLD OUT. I am gonna lie if I say that I wasn’t disappointed. To be honest I was really upset (yes, I know I was upset over a $500 jacket ). Those of you who are fashion conscience will understand me.

 The next day I had sent an email to Limited Brands Customer Relations outlining the issue and my interest in having the item restocked. To my surprise I got a quick reply from Andrea P. who is a Customer Care Supervisor apologizing for the item being sold out and ensuring me that the matter will be looked into. Moreover, she wanted to personally speak to me about it and get more feedback. After a week of playing phone tag I finally got a chance to speak with her.

She showed genuine concern for the matter and told me that other customers had also shown interest in the jacket. She assured me that my voice as a customer will be heard and that she will bring up the issue when she meets with the merchant department. Andrea was pleasant, polite and interested in helping out. We also talked about when and if the item might be in stock again as well as social media like FB and how it can be used to better serve VS customers.

Overall, I was pleasantly surprised at the excellent customer service that I received. Not all companies have the time to actively listen to their customers’ concerns and feedback. It’s nice to know that your voice is being heard. As I had mentioned in my email to VS “… customers are the ones who drive your business. And if it weren’t for them then you wouldn’t be in this business”.

 Have you had any good or bad experiences when dealing with customer service issues?

 P.S. And I do hope they bring back the jacket soon!!! 

Apple’s PR department plays a stealth role in these rumors. There is no denying that they are unaware of these rumors surrounding iPhone5, they might even be the originators of them. And why wouldn’t they be responsible for that? What is a better way to keep the media, consumers and the market focused on your company and your product than by publicizing ample amounts of free press and buzz about your next product?

Usually when rumors and information get “leaked” to the public, it takes the form of controlled leakage. And while we debate and discuss the release of the next iPhone, competition is usually left in the dust.

You might be wondering whether or not Apple’s reputation would get tarnished if they don’t come out with an iPhone5 in early 2011? You have probably heard the phrase “any publicity is good publicity”. Well, the rumor mill creates a win-win situation for Apple. If there is no iPhone5 in early 2011, we will have to go back to speculating, playing the guessing game and holding our breath for the next announcement thus continuing to create brand awareness for Apple products.

It’s pretty straight forward. As one blogger had noted “we, the consumer, fit into this game as pawns. We don’t control the rumor: the rumor controls us”. But we are used to it as we get bombarded and manipulated by marketing campaigns every day. It has become part of our lives, regardless of how much information we actually retain. It also keeps the tech geeks occupied by taking turns guessing the next hardware and apps to be released by Apple.

What feelings does this commercial evoke in you? Does it make you wanna go out and buy the product? Or do you find it disturbing that the kid is portrayed as an adult? And how about that tagline?

How far would companies go to get our attention?

Sound off your views and opinions.

Imagine this: You’re in a public restroom, tidying up in front of the mirror, and you notice a message (written in red lipstick, of course) that says, “I’ll make your heart pound,” or, “My body is absolutely stunning.” You’d want to learn more, right? BMW of Canada is hoping that men between the ages of 25 and 45 will agree, as the automaker will be launching a new ad campaign for the 3 Series Coupe using AddMirror technology that will display these risqué messages in public restroom mirrors across the country.

So, how does it work? As a patron approaches the mirror, motion detectors sense the person’s movement and displays a sequence of messages urging readers to send text messages for photos of the subject leaving the flirtatious notes. When BMW receives the text, a link is sent back, leading readers to a landing page with downloadable beauty shots of the 3 Series Coupe, under the headline, “We were made for each other.” Ooh la la!

The marketing campaign runs until May 16th in different venues throughout Toronto, Vancouver and Montreal.

Source:  Autoblog. May 13th, 2010 by Steven J. Ewing

I came across a brilliant execution of a 2009 BMW response ad. If you are in the ad business you probably might have heard of it and if you are not then read on.

On the corner of Santa Monica Blvd and Beverly Glen Blvd, Audi had put up a billboard campaign challenging BMW with the headline “Your move, BMW”. BMW took the challenge and entered the virtual chess game by featuring the headline “Checkmate”.

On behalf of Santa Monica BMW, the agency that initiated and was responsible for such a tactical advertising was Juggernaut Advertising. The campaign was positioned within the same sightline to westbound traffic as Audi A4 ad.  Juggernaut Advertising saw a unique and immediate geographical opportunity and acted on it.  Del Montell, Jr. of Santa Monica BMW said “When we heard the idea, we loved it and couldn’t resist going forward”.

 In response to the BMW’s “Checkmate” ad, Audi had replaced “Your move, BMW” advertisement with a less effective “Time to check your luxury badge. It may have expired” one featuring R8. I am not sure how that reply is relevant to the chess game as it doesn’t make any sense. Nevertheless, BMW removed their ad soon thereafter. Both the “Checkmate” and “Your move, BMW” ads were gone leaving the new Audi ad in reference to what, an advertisement for Barney’s New York when BMW was nowhere to be found. Was Audi telling Barney’s to check their luxury badge? As you can see, Audi has lost this match and was outsmarted by the BMW’s marketing team.

I think the Audi team could have come up with a better and wittier response. May be something along the lines of “Think Again” or “Check Yourself” or “Pawned”.

If you were on the Audi marketing team what would be your response to the BMWs advertisement?  Would you keep the virtual chess game going or just drop out of the match?

Are you a fan of the BMW or Audi?

A research analyst in the automotive group at IHS Global Insight says: “It’s stunning to hear this news about Toyota, which has built its reputation not on the driving experience or styling, but on its promise of unquestionable reliability. Now to see that that’s no longer the case, it’s shaken a lot of people’s opinions”.  

In Part 1 of this analysis I want to look at the issue, what the company has been doing to fix the problem, customer reactions and what the future holds for Toyota. In Part 2, I will examine the strategic and financial side of the problem.

THE PROBLEM

The company has been under scrutiny since last fall due to unintended acceleration problems in numerous models.

President of USA Toyota Motor Sales, James Lentz said that the cause for unintended acceleration are loose floor mats that entrap accelerator pedals, and pedals that stick because of wear. Also, he confirmed that the electronic controls have been tested and retested, and no problems have been found. “We have done extensive testing of this system and have never found a malfunction that caused unintended acceleration”. He also mentioned that in the event of system failure the “fail-safe mechanisms” in cars would shut off or reduce engine power.

However, critics raise a different issue. Energy and Commerce Committee’s chairman Henry Waxman said that Toyota should have investigated the electronics issue more thoroughly. “Toyota failed its customers, and the government neglected its responsibilities,” he said. People with Toyotas have complained of their vehicles speeding out of control in their efforts to slow down, sometimes resulting in deadly crashes.

Rep. Bart Stupak (D-MI), chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee’s accused the company of putting profits ahead of customers and misleading drivers about safety. “Toyota all but ignored pleas from consumers to examine sudden, unintended acceleration events,” Stupak said. “They boast in a briefing of saving Toyota $100 million by negotiating a limited recall.”

According to various marketing studies one of the worse things any company can do is put their profits, growth and shareholders value ahead of their customer satisfaction. Customer satisfaction creation is a major creator of capital.

Toyota dealers are concerned that lawmakers will drive down sales and scare customers away. They point out that other car manufacturers have had problems and complaints about unintended acceleration. For example, Audi issued a recall of their 5000 models in the late ‘80s when drivers experienced sudden acceleration when shifting from park, which almost drove Audi out of the market. It was discovered by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration that the problem originated by drivers hitting the wrong pedal.  The brand did recover and came back strong.

Back to the issue at hand, if we had more educated and experienced drivers then this situation wouldn’t have blown out into media frenzy. Toyota dealerships are offering practical advice to drivers by telling them “to put their driver-side floor mat in the trunk so the pedal doesn’t get caught on it. And in the unlikely event that the pedal does stick: Just put your break on, and then put the car in neutral”. But not a lot of people know what to do in similar situations and how to respond quickly.

WHAT HAS BEEN DONE

It’s been said that it’s better to be proactive than reactive but sometimes that is not always the case. And when things like Toyota or Maple Leaf recalls happen to good companies its important to take action and to realize your mistakes and work towards fixing them. In the case of Toyota, the brand would have to restore back their customers loyalty and commitment to the brand. Let’s look at what the company has done so far.

Akio Toyoda, the President of Toyota issued a statement taking full responsibility for the company’s failures. Japanese manufacturers have a really good reputation for making reliable and safe cars like Acuras, Hondas vs. their German competition. The Japanese automaker is convincing customers that they are on top of the problem. Toyota took out advertisements in newspapers around the country and sent a top executive out for a round of television interviews.

Jim Lentz who is Toyota’s U.S. sales chief said “We deeply regret the concern that our recalls have caused for our customers, and we are doing everything we can — as fast as we can — to make things right”.  “In recent months, we have not lived up to the high standards our customers and the public have come to expect from Toyota,” he said. “Put simply, it has taken us too long to come to grips with a rare but serious set of safety issues, despite all of our good-faith efforts.”

Toyota announced it has “developed and rigorously tested” an upgrade for the sticky accelerators on millions of cars and trucks it has recalled. “I’m excited about the details that we got today because it seems to be an effective and simple fix to the problem,” says Robert Boch, owner of Boston’s Expressway Toyota. “So that is good news. And now we’re going to be able to move forward and fix the cars.” Dealership would remain open 24 hours a day to fix the problem.

CUSTOMER REACTIONS

If you listen to your customers you win, and if you don’t you loose. Current technology provides lots of channels to get feedback from customers (Twitter). Organizations can leverage on good feedback and if it’s negative then they should act on it. Bad feedback never goes away but technology can help fix that. Social media is a way to create conversations.

Toyota has been offering incentives and special deals to get customers back to the showrooms. A lease for a new Prius now costs $179/month vs. previous $299/month. The sales have been rising sharply with a 70% increase in sales over the last month. According to Edmunds.com Toyota has regained the same market share of sales that it had before the gas pedal recall.

Robert Boch who runs a Toyota dealership in Boston seems very optimistic about the recall problem and thinks that the company can deal with whatever else comes its way. He says: “If something does emerge, they’re going to fix it. They’re going to stand behind their products. They’ve demonstrated that”.

He also says that most customers have been supportive, “You ask 10 people who own a Toyota — even with this recall, nine of them will say, ‘Fix the car. I want it back. I love my Toyota’ “.

Carol Brown, an owner of Toyota says that every other car has problems, “If Toyota is so bad, why are all these people still coming in to shop, you know?” Another Toyota owner has traded in 2009 Corolla for a different model that wasn’t part of the recall.

“They’re very loyal,” Robert Boch says. “Toyota’s worked very hard to develop that loyalty and maintain that loyalty. They’re going to set the standard on a recall now.”

However, not all customers continue to remain loyal to Toyota, there are those who feel scared and disappointed by the situation in which case they switch car brands. Advertisements from GM that ask customers to trade in their Toyota don’t help either. But you have to read Part 2 of the analysis to find out where I stand on this.

THE FUTURE

Toyota has been known for having a good reputation when it came to quality and reliability of cars. But could this incident mean that the company has grown too quickly and taken its eye off the ball?  Promotions tend to work well at first but what about the long term goals? There is still a lot of work to be done ahead to gain back that loyalty of existing Toyota owners and reassure potential car buyers.

One of the worst things that can happen is that if it becomes known that Toyota had ignored this problem in the past then it would be next to impossible to regain that loyalty. Toyota has been criticized for taking too long to act on the recall and for hiding information from Government officials.

Aaron Bragman, a research analyst in the automotive group at IHS Global Insight comments: “If Toyota is seen in any way of having stonewalled the process in finding out there was an issue or having covered anything up, that would be devastating for them”.

The recalls could also take a toll on Toyota’s used car values, another traditional selling point for the carmaker. Because sales of these used models have also been suspended, the impact on their prices remains unknown.

Another thing to keep in mind is the impact this can have on potential young buyers. Analysts worry that Toyota simply won’t be able to build the kind of loyalty with younger customers that it has long enjoyed with the baby boomer generation. “Younger buyers were still not totally sold on Toyota, and now this comes along,” says Aaron Bragman. Furthermore, I think that Toyota’s strong sales over the past years have threatened other competitors like GM. I wouldn’t be surprised if the competition is not taking advantage of this momentary weakness to drive Toyota out of the game.  But you have to stick around for Part 2 of Toyota Under Fire.

 A brand that has build a reputation on providing reliable and safe cars, can Toyota turn this into an opportunity and come out stronger in the end? You be the judge.

 Sources: NPR.org,  CBC.ca

In November 2009 a new ad agency JupiterMoon (opened in July) launched a national campaign for Fisherman’s Friend . The challenge the agency faced was to re-energize brand relevance with women and young adults without alienating core male users. The TV spot follows the day in the life of a young professional woman, using both live action and animation. Busy career women don’t have time for a cold to slow them down and get in their way.

Christopher Stavenjord notes that Fisherman’s Friend is known for its strong taste, and the ad connects that with the character’s inner strength. The voice behind the screen says, “When your throat has an irritated tickle you can let it slow you down or punish it”.

The brand’s tag line is “Relief with Attitude.”  “Relief with Attitude” cough drops come in three flavours: cherry, lemon and mint and promote a kick ass strength that punishes an irritated throat instead of candy coating it.

Christopher Stavenjord said: “The spot clearly identifies that strength and attitude from the visual design…right through to the track…through to the key imagery,” he said. “This woman is successful, she’s strong.” Personally, I liked the ad and thought that it delivered its 30 seconds message across really well and to the point. Also, I liked how the ad was shot and the mix of animation and live action.

According to Stewart Schneider, marketing manager for TFB & Associates Limited, the objective of the Fisherman’s Friend is to build long-term growth among younger adults and females. Because women currently represent 40% of the brand’s consumer base the company saw an opportunity to build more usage among females.

Stewart Schneider noted: “We want to stimulate long-term growth, so we’re looking to bring new users into the brand at an early stage in their life cycle, and a point in time where they might be looking for something slightly more effective”. 

Commercial was produced and directed by: Tantrum Design

Original music and soundtrack by: Brad MacDonald Music Ltd.’s.

While researching material about this ad, I came across another TV spot for  
Fisherman’s Friend that aired in London, UK. The 20 seconds ads feature the classic fisherman character from the 1970’s print ads. The company responsible for the ad is design agency called The Brand Engine and animation production company Film Club.

Both TV spots show the fisherman in his trawler battling against poor weather conditions. In one ad, the fisherman is sailing through a thunder storm, while in the other he must navigate the boat through icy waters. In both cases, as soon as the fisherman consumes the cough drop candy, the conditions immediately begin to clear. The tag line in those ads is ‘Never Be without A Friend’.

So, now that you have seen two different ad versions for Fisherman’s Friend cough drops, which one appeals to you more and why?

Source:  Marketing Magazine