WWFD?

I can barely remember a time without MySpace or Facebook. It seems as if these social networks have always been around for our amusement....

There have always been some sort of social network available online for us, from MSN Messenger or various dating or networking sites, but only recently have we been introduced to websites dedicated to us making our own personal "pages".
I remember the first time I heard of Facebook, and one of my girlfriends was shocked that I hadn't heard of it. This must have been in my first or second year of college, over 2 years ago.
Not wanting to be left out, I searched for Facebook the same night, and made my profile. Three years later, my page is filled with pictures, posts, links to hundreds of friends, co-workers, relatives, and other's pages, and not to mention tons of other things.
It seems to have been an overnight success. In no time I went from 10 friends, to 50, to over 100, and so on. People I hadn't heard of or seen in years, were suddenly "my friend". Even my current boss (which I know you're not supposed to do) is my "friend".
Facebook has gone from a great networking page, to a marketer or advertiser's best friend. Here, they can reach millions of their target market from around the world, for free (by making a page). Or, they can place a banner or offer a "free gift" that people can give to a friend's page.
It's not only a great way to stay in touch with distant friends or relatives, but a great way to hear about current events, keep up with pop culture, learn about new products or brands, and so much more!
As our society progresses towards an even more technological age, past technologies are now disappearing and being replaced by new ones. Its possible to imagine that instead of picking up the phone to speak to someone, the norm will be to Facebook them. Who knows? What is for sure is that Facebook and MySpace, and other social networks, are here to stay.

Guerilla. The wave of the future

FYI: First of all, I was all done this post when my internet decided to crash, so here it is again... Not pleased! Apparently the SAVE NOW button, does not, in fact work. 

Anyhow...

Guerilla marketing. What an interesting and unique way to send a message to the target audience without seeing it on the TV or reading it in a magazine. It's a fast growing media that will soon move it's way into the traditional forms of advertising.

What's so great about it is that is original. Most of the time, the idea has not been done and the agency that thought it up is the first to have done such a thing, which in a world like advertising, you can't say you've done very often. It's also a way for agencies to out-do themselves and think of more interesting things to do, but also a great way to stand out from their competition.

Guerilla advertising/marketing can be something very simple from a large brush combing telephone wires or intensely complicated like a billboard of paint cans spilling down the wall and onto a few cars beneath. It can be something shocking like a garbage can say "waa waa" to making everyday objectives, like a tree, into a carrot.

Basically, guerilla advertising can be anything that you make it. It can be as simple as you want or as complicated as you want. But one thing is for sure, it's going to get you noticed.

By chance, last week I found an interesting example of guerilla marketing that Disney put out. It was a simple robot that was roaming the streets of LA, promoting their newest animated film, Wall-E. The "live" Wall-E was moving, speaking, and interacting with the growing crowd around him. Since I am a huge fan of the movie, I found this very interesting and would have loved to have seen him! You can see him on YouTube, its pretty awesome.

In all, I love guerilla marketing. I think it is one of the most creative forms of advertising and is only going to get bigger and bigger, and everyone will start to do it. I can only hope that when I grow up and get into the big, bright world of advertising that I am so lucky to work on a guerilla marketing campaign. Or even, just see one with my own eyes. I'll take whichever comes first!

Blogs smogs

Blogs are basically a 21st century version of a diary; except with a lot more cursing and ranting about everything. I honestly haven't really been interested in following blogs because I don't really care about what lots of these people have to say. But seeing as I am getting into advertising, and blogs are gaining popularity at an alarmingly fast rate, I guess it's time I get on board.

I've been looking through some of the popular blog sites, and one of the biggest things I found about them, is I don't really know where to start. There is a lot of information packed onto one site and its a little overwhelming.

Perhaps the more I read through, the more I will grow to like them, but right now, I am very indifferent. I would much rather watch the news or read a paper, or even the homepage of MSN.com. 

I definitely do see the appeal of blogs for advertisers however. They are free and are readily seen by millions of people across the world. Its quite genius actually. Its also a great way for people to speak positively about a brand or product, that the brand didn't even have to pay for!

There is a lot of garbage that you have to look past before you find something worthwhile. Everyone with a computer seems to think they are an author. With a huge shift into digital medias used as forms of advertising, blogs are going to continue getting bigger and better, reaching more people around the world faster, and for free.

Blogs are a fantastic way to advertise, an could easily become the newest common form of advertising. With a little more time and practice, I could see myself getting into the blogging world, it's just making blogging a part of my day that is going to be the most work! I think I'll get into it quickly though...

Inexpensive, Without the Cheap

It seems that every grocery store I go to these days is changing. You can't just go in to buy your regular necessities of life - bread, eggs, milk, etc, without noticing all the other options out there. Now there is so many different things that people consider "necessities" like Pop Tarts, Pizza Pockets, or mircowavable dinners, things that just weren't considered years before.

Since people are looking for faster and easier alternatives to a home-made meal, it seems every company is jumping to the chance to make another unnecessary product to make our lives easier. Just today I saw a magazine ad for a sandwich kit. The sandwich kit is similar to "Lunchables", the fun lunch choice for kids' whose parents are too lazy to make a real lunch. This sandwich kit however, was for adults. Apparently with this sandwich kit, you wont waste anymore of your lunch breaks making food. Ridiculous.

And to add to all the major brand names that have started making these "easy" alternatives, grocery stores themselves have joined the bandwagon. Loblaws and Loebs both have their own personal store brands, adding to their brand's architecture. Loblaws now boasts both a cheaper and healthier alternative for food called "President's Choice" and a surprisingly successful (and decent) clothing line called "Joe Fresh". Loebs has a similar line to President's Choice called "Master's Choice". 

These exclusive additions to both grocery stores are adding to their brand architectures. Now, they are much more then just stores carrying, displaying and selling other brand's products. These companies are now manufacturing and selling their own personal brands within their already established stores to increase their revenues even more. Brilliant. 

As a student living on her own, money is kept as close to me as possible. Not to sound cheap or anything, but I'm the kind of gal that will go for a deal or look for a sale, over anything else. I like to look around before I purchase, to make sure I am getting the best deal possible. So, when I am at Loblaws I will often chose the President's Choice brand over the leading brand name. I mean, there are some exceptions. I will not buy a no name ketchup or cola, its just not the same. But taco shells or canned olives? That's all the same to me. 

So, its great to have a cheaper alternative without skimping on the quality or taste. Just because I am a student and trying to live affordably, doesn't mean I want crap. And if you know me, you know I like fashion. I like to look good, but without paying a high price (though I would kill for that luxury). Until then, I am happy to look in Joe Fresh in the middle of Loblaws for inexpensive, yet nice clothing. In fact, I usually visit Joe when I am picking up a loaf of bread. I can't help it.

These brand architecture extensions (if you will), are excellant ideas. I certainly hope that whoever thought of the idea was promoted instantly. I would love to see them surface to other stores (cough, cough Winners, cough). Its probably safe to say that this is a trend that we will see a guaranteed rise in over the years. 

And thats just fantastic.

An Oldy but a Goody-Coke vs. Pepsi

I hate to do this, but I can't help but mention it: Pepsi vs Coke. Two similar products, with very different ideas and branding. Pepsi, the new cola vs Coke, the old veteran cola. They are both sugar and fizz, and both come in a can, so why are they so different, and why, WHY do people prefer one more over the other? 

They are the same thing!

Right? Well, with all that said, I have always been a Pepsi girl. My whole life I have always preferred Pepsi over Coke. If presented with the 2 beverages, I would always choose a Pepsi over a Coke. I find Coke sweeter than Pepsi, which, is probably a silly thing to think. However, thats just what I find.

My dad was also a Pepsi guy, and as the main purchuser in the family, it would always be Pepsi, and so I kind of grew up with a negative image of Coke. Now that I am the main purchuser, I had been choosing to not buy either and try (really hard) to be healthy.

However, since meeting my boyfriend, he has introduced me to Coke Zero, a diet Coke without the gross diet Coke taste. At first, I was not convinced. I don't like the aspartame taste that usually comes with diet/no calorie beverages and will therefore, choose the really bad for you, high calorie and sugar alternative instead.

Well, 7 months later of him drinking mostly only Coke Zero, I have now grown a taste for the drink. And now, I find myself choosing a Coke over a Pepsi, something that I have never done before. Why not drink diet Pepsi? Its gross. Simple as that.

I hate to say that I really like Coke Zero, but I do. And I hate to say that I'd choose it over Pepsi. Frankly, I hate to say that I drink that kind of stuff at all, but lets be honest, I do, though I try to choose a healthier alternative over the fizzy choice.

I'm sorry Pepsi that I have betrayed you. But Coke Zero tastes good and it doesn't have the high calories that you do. The day that you make a delicious low calorie beverage, I'll be right back. I promise.

Cereal Characters, They're Grrrrreat!

Tony. The Trix Rabbit. Capt'n Crunch. Snap. Crackle. Pop. Some of the oh so many names of fictional characters brought to life from various cereal brands. Its almost hard to imagine cereals that I grew up with that didn't have a character name attached to it.

Growing up, I always enjoyed seeing the character change and doing different things. I loved reading the backs of the boxes and playing the games that the characters were always involved with.

I never really understood the point of mascots or characters until I started my advertising journey, and now I truly see what Leo Burnett was thinking. The characters really allow you to gain a personal feeling towards a product. You kind of get to know them in a way, especially when your young and eating cereal day after day.

I think the most memorable of all the characters for me is Tony the Tiger. He's just the first one that jumps to mind when I think about a brand's character. Over the years he has gone through many changes, but he's always been around. I do find that Tony is disappearing a bit more these days, but it might just be because I am growing up (although I do enjoy a nice big bowl of Tucan Sam's Fruit Loops every now and then!).

Cereal characters, or any characters for that matter, really are great ideas that truly help to build a brand. Its almost funny to imagine Frosted  Flakes without Tony. I don't think I want to imagine Frosted Flakes without Tony the Tiger. No matter how old I get, I will always remember Tony and the mornings with the big bowls of Frosted Flakes. 

Once you go Mac, you never go back

Mac vs PC. I can't even remember back to when there wasn't ridiculous comparisons between the 2 different computer types. I'm sure there has always been some sort of rivalry between them, similar to Coke and Pepsi (for example), but it seems these days, its nonstop comparison. It seems that Mac doesn't really want to talk about what makes them unique from a PC without needing to compare the 2.

As a new Mac user and a long time PC user, there are things I like about both. I'm not a hardcore user, I don't play games and I don't use much Photoshop or things of that nature. I've grown to Mac because I like the styling difference of them, that and its what I use in school all day long.

I find that Mac is positioning themselves as the cooler, newer way of using computers, and it seems to be working. Everyone in advertising sure seems to prefer Mac over PC for whatever reason. I guess Mac has also positioned themselves as the creative choice, which is why people like me in advertising, have chosen a Mac over anything else.

When it came time for me to get a new computer, my first and only choice was a Mac. The only thing I had to decide was laptop or desktop? Black or white? Never did the idea of owning another PC come into my mind. I had used PCs all my life until my first year of college.

Once I started using a Mac simple things that I once knew how to do did not seem possible. Everything was backwards. I hated them.

Now, in my fourth year of college, I love my Mac and using them. So stylish, sleek and simple. I can't imagine every going back to my old ways. I barely ever refer to my computer as a computer, I call it my Mac instead. It sounds so much better.

Mac has done a fine job in differentiating themselves from other computers. They are the new, cool way of doing things and make everything so stylish. Why use a boring, old PC when you can use hip, young Mac instead?

Its like they say, once you go Mac, you never go back...