Nouveau niche and hot button branding

May 19, 2008

BRAND INSIGHTS

THE war for consumer attention among brands is getting fiercer by the day. Mass advertising is under constant theoretical siege by marketing pundits. Customer made and nouveau niche are the latest hot buttons.

Welcome to the world of free-for-all, which is all about giving away products and services to consumers without having them have to pay for it. Losing strategy?

Think again. It's all about getting those eyeballs or gaining that attention amidst the plethora of choice or that conversion point of desire through that age-old strategy of trial and referrals. Call it what you will, the old AIDA (Attention /Interest/ Desire/ Acceptance) still rules the behaviour choice of our consumers.

What has changed is that instead of the cluster bomb approach, we are down to the old shotgun. Point, aim, shoot and capture!

Free newspapers, magazines, SMS, WiFi, music downloads and even airline tickets are nothing new. Look at our own backyard; there is theSun newspaper. They followed the basic Google model, going after traffic or readership to justify an advertising rate card or look at the constant offers/counter offers of Firefly, AirAsia and Malaysia Airlines.

The latter too now is going beyond mere price undercutting to establishing captive customer clubs, but using its premier brand to fight a low-cost carrier, which shows a degree of brand confusion. Presumably, Firefly should have been used as the vehicle for freebies and discount travel.

So let’s get a grip on this old strategy in its latest incarnation, “Try-vertising”. It certainly has started getting more imaginative in how it gets relevant trial. The old shampoo sample in a magazine was random, a shot in the dark – you had no idea who tried it, when and how.

Now it's got niche. We can target the right aperture, the right emotive trigger and the really interested prospect. At its best, Try-vertising is going nouveau niche and hot button branding.

“Tryvertising”

Trendwatching.com defines it as “it is a new breed of product placement in the real world, integrating your goods and services into daily life in a relevant way, so that consumers can make up their minds based on their experience, not (only) your messages.”

Sony just launched its new range of DVD handy-cams, teaming up with London Zoo for 11 days to offer consumers the chance to borrow DVD handy-cams for one hour, free of charge. After a two-minute demonstration, families were free to roam the zoo and record all their favourite family moments. After their visit, the DVD handy-cam obviously had to be returned, but participants could keep their DVD (with pre-recorded product and purchase details).

Or look at the Ritz Carlton Key to Luxury programme in cooperation with Mercedes-Benz. Deluxe guest room accommodations on Carlton Club Level, the use of a CLS500 with unlimited mileage for the duration of the guest's stay, full tank of gas each morning and overnight valet parking. Dozens of guests decided to buy a new Mercedes based on these integrated test-drives.

Brand Butlers

Brand butlers are a Try-vertising concept with an aperture twist; when might you think most of the product choice? For instance, in Istanbul, a diaper company has set up changing rooms in malls with free samples of their product. In New York, temporary 20 restrooms were set up in the heart of Times Square by a toilet paper company goods and services into daily life in a relevant way, so that consumers can make up their minds based on their experience.

Swapping

It’s back to barter. Travellers now can find free places to stay and people to hang out with when they are travelling. One of the most popular websites which specialise in holiday swapping has over 440,000 users from 224 countries signed up so far, and they've stayed at about 345,000 homes. Another resourceful swapping is a global WiFi community website which lets its members share their home Internet connections in exchange for free access to hotspots provided by over 190,000 other members worldwide.

Back to hot buttons

In its true sense of spin, giving is receiving and sharing is caring. But in pragmatic terms, there is nothing called a free lunch. Trialing consumers now has increased priority, and that means that marketing costs are diverted from the mass market communication. Last month Gillette Australia trialed KLM travelers after in-flight meals. Textured teeth-wipes and airline meals; a perfect match in relevance. A perfect example of the way this process will flow.

Not the end of the world. We ad people have to look at working with shotguns. Think about it. It’s still the same old imperative – our clients want a good bang for their buck.

The best of us will give it our best shot and hit the right hot buttons.

 

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