Is ‘Dom’ the New Siri?

I would like to introduce you to ‘Dom’, the virtual voice ordering assistant that lives inside the Domino’s Pizza mobile app.

‘Dom’ is every Domino’s consumer’s new best friend! He was introduced by the brand in June 2014, and made his first appearance in the Domino’s TV advertisements “All It Does” and “Party” on October 5th. ‘Dom’ is a new feature on the Domino’s mobile app that allows consumers to order pizza through a virtual voice ordering system that records, orders, and dispatches their pizza order.

‘Dom’ is a user-friendly feature that makes it easier for consumers to order pizza. The consumer no longer needs to call or place their order online, all they need to do is download the app and have a conversation with ‘Dom’, who will place their personalised pizza order, and have it delivered directly to their address or prepared for pick up at the closest Domino’s store. ‘Dom’ may be your new virtual friend, but unlike Siri, he can only discuss pizza.

 

This is the first voice ordering system to be implemented by a fast food brand, and has become a successful feature of the Domino’s Pizza mobile app. It was created by Domino’s with Nuance Communications, and is an innovative strategy to engage consumers and improve the user’s experience with the brand.

 

‘Dom’ has enabled Domino’s to create a more interactive relationship with it’s consumers, and demonstrates how brands can use technology to improve their products. This feature makes it easier for consumers to order pizza than ever before, and is less time-consuming, which is an important factor in the fast food industry. ‘Dom’ is a competitive advantage for Domino’s Pizza, as no other pizza or fast food brand has developed a voice ordering system. This could have a positive impact on Domino’s position in the market, and increase it’s sales and market share, as ‘Dom’ provides the easiest and fastest pizza delivery.

It is becoming more important for brands to develop new and innovative ways of engaging consumers, and “break through the clutter.” ‘Dom’ is a leading example of how brands can use technology to interact with people, and reflects the mobile trend in digital marketing. This is a great feature, and I expect that many more brands will follow Domino’s lead in the future!

The video below shows Patrick Doyle, the CEO of Domino’s, who explains how voice will become the most popular interface to interact with technology in the future.

http://video.cnbc.com/gallery/?video=3000283858

What do you think about ‘Dom’? Do You think that other brands should use a virtual voice ordering system?

Sources

Market Watch

Topshop’s Social Catwalk

Topshop revolutionised the runway at the debut of it’s ‘Unique’ Spring Summer 2015 collection at London Fashion Week, creating a social catwalk powered by Facebook and Instagram. The brand created a “digital catwalk”, which gave consumers the opportunity to interact with and purchase items from the new collection through Facebook, Instagram, and the Topshop website.

 

The #TOPSHOPWINDOW hashtag was used by consumers to create their own looks, which were featured on a three screen digital installation in the Oxford Circus store. The interactive digital mosaic was streamed live at the fashion show on September 14th, which created an opportunity for consumers to become part of the show. The brand selected five influential users on Instagram to share their view of the new collection on Topshop’s Instagram, Facebook, website, and in the Oxford Circus store. This enabled the brand to communicate with the target market through opinion leaders in the fashion industry, and generate positive publicity on social media.

 

The new collection was streamed live online, and the top looks were featured instantaneously on Topshop’s Facebook page, and made available for purchase on the Topshop website and in the Oxford Circus store. The “Click to Buy” option on the website allowed customers to immediately purchase their favourite looks as they appeared on the catwalk. This encouraged people to engage with the brand on social media, and provided them with unprecedented access to the new collection. It was also effective in breaking down the barrier between the brand and it’s customers, which makes the brand more accessible to consumers and creates a more positive image.

 

The show generated buzz in the media and fashion industry, and became the most anticipated and talked about show at London Fashion Week. This demonstrates how brands in the fashion industry are using social media and other digital platforms to engage consumers and increase sales.

What do you think about the “digital” trend in the fashion industry? Do you think this is an effective marketing strategy?

Sources

Express UK Marketing UK

‘The Selfie Ads’ and The Truth Behind the Oscar’s Selfie

The “selfie”, a pop culture phenomenon, has become the new face of advertising.

We are all guilty of taking the occasional selfie, some more than others, and our Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter would not be the same without them. The “gym selfie”, which floods our social media every Spring and Summer, has been popularised by fitness models such as Jen Selter, who created the “belfie” and has over 4.6 million followers on Instagram.

 

Friskis and Svettis, a Swedish gym franchise, has capitalised on the popularity of the selfie through the ‘Selfie Ads’ marketing campaign, which began in 2013. The brand distributed t-shirts to gym members with the reversed logo on the front and name of the gym branch, and asked them to take a selfie wearing the t-shirt at the gym, and post it on Instagram with a trending exercise hashtag.

 

In the two week campaign, hundreds of selfies were posted on Instagram, and were featured in the most popular exercise feeds. This generated millions of impressions in the target market, and increased the visibility and popularity of the brand on social media. People continue to post these selfies on Instagram, which are used as advertisements for the brand.

This campaign provided Friskis and Svettis gym members with the opportunity to become part of the brand, and create their own content, which established a more personal relationship between the brand and it’s customers. The use of popular hashtags, such as #gym, #training, and #fitness, increased the visibility of the images, and is an effective tool that marketers can use to promote their posts on social media.

A great example of how brands can use the selfie to promote their products is Samsung and the famous “Oscar’s selfie”, which is the most re-tweeted selfie of all time.

This may seem like the “perfect” selfie, however, it is actually an advertisement for the Samsung Galaxy Note 3, which generated over 32.8 million impressions in the first 24 hours. Samsung sponsored the Oscar’s for $20 million, while the selfie is reportedly worth between $800 million and $1 billion in value to the brand.

LG even created an advertisement using the notorious Oscar’s selfie:

To learn more about the truth behind the Oscar’s selfie, read these articles from The Australian and Advertising Age.

For all you selfie lovers, here is some inspiration!

What do you think of the selfie trend?  Do you think it should be used as a marketing strategy?

Why Location-Based Marketing Is Important For Marketers

The rise of location-based marketing has transformed digital marketing, as it enables marketers to target consumers based on their location.

Location-based marketing is a strategy that delivers marketing messages to consumers through mobile devices using mobile applications, GPS, and location-based services such as Google Places, Shopkick, and FourSquare.

74% of people who own a smartphone over 18 use their phone to get directions or other information based on their current location. (Pew Institute) This represents marketers with the opportunity to reach a large portion of consumers through mobile at any time or place based on their location.

A new trend, “checking-out”, has emerged, as location-based services have progressed beyond the ability to “check-in”, to deliver relevant, personalised information to the consumer about their location, products they can purchase in-store, discounts, and offers.

  

The marketer can provide the consumer with more value through location-based services, as consumers receive in-store credit, discounts, gifts, and information about new products when they “check-in”, connect to Wi-Fi, use a GPS-enabled app, or use their mobile to search for information.

The location of a consumer can be combined with information about a consumer’s context to analyse their purchasing behaviour, and target them based on their buying habits. This is a valuable source of information and data about consumer behaviour, and allows marketers to improve the in-store experience of consumers.

The marketer should provide a specific “call-to-action”, to encourage customers to engage with the brand.

72% of consumers said they would respond to calls-to-action in messages received when they are near or at a store. (MDG Advertising, Marketing Land)

This is demonstrated through Heineken’s @wherenext campaign, which encourages people to geo-tag their tweets to receive information about the best places to go out within close proximity.

 

Only 23% of marketers currently use location-based data in their mobile marketing campaigns (MDG Advertising), however, this is expected to increase, as the estimated revenue for mobile and location services in 2014 is $12.2 billion, and is expected to grow to $43.3 billion by 2019. (Forbes)

As location-based marketing continues to grow, the challenge of how to achieve a balance between the interests of the marketer and the privacy of the consumer will emerge. However, this strategy can provide brands with the opportunity to develop a more personal relationship with it’s consumers through providing them with more relevant, valuable, and personalised information about the brand.

http://youtu.be/-Nv1d9Lylzg

Do you think that location-based marketing is an effective strategy? 

Sources

Marketing Land 

Marketing Land Infographic

Mobile Marketer

Forbes

Business Insider Australia

CMO

Daily news about location-based mobile marketing and mobile advertising

Samsung Galaxy versus iPhone 6: Round Two ‘Bend-Gate’

‘Bend-Gate’ has provided Samsung with another opportunity to capitalise on the media coverage of the launch of the new iPhone 6. The advertisement, which was released today, depicts the iPhone 6 “bowing down” to the Samsung Galaxy Note 3, with the caption “Bend to those who are worthy.” The Samsung Galaxy Note 3 passed the bend test, which the iPhone 6 failed. The “bending” of the iPhone 6 has had a negative impact on consumer perception of the iPhone 6, and undermined the credibility of the brand.

This has provided Samsung with the opportunity to position the Samsung Galaxy Note 3 and Note 4 as more reliable than the iPhone 6, and persuade consumers that intend to buy the iPhone to switch to the Samsung Galaxy. This demonstrates how important it is for brand’s to monitor and respond to events that take place in the media, as it could present them with an opportunity to advertise their brand.

 

Source                                                                    Source

The negative publicity surrounding the iPhone 6 continues to increase, as consumers have published a variety of satirical images online, two of which are depicted above. This raises the question of the long-term impact that this will have on the brand image, and the sales of Apple products, in particular the iPhone 6.

LG, HTC, KitKat, and Heineken have also trolled capitalised on the bending of the iPhone 6 in the Twitter posts below:

  

 

Apple has not responded about whether the $10 million consumers who have purchased the iPhone 6 will receive a refund or exchange.

How do you think Apple should respond? Do you think this will have a long-term impact on the sales of the iPhone 6?

Sources

Mashable

Samsung Galaxy Note 4 versus iPhone 6

This past week, the iPhone 6 has been the centre of attention in the public and the media, however, that all changed when Samsung released it’s first advertisement for the Galaxy Note 4. The advertisement, which was released on September 13th, within days of the launch of the iPhone 6 on September 9th, has generated a new debate: Samsung Galaxy Note 4 versus the iPhone 6.

The advertisement “calls out” Apple for the iPhone 6, which has a similar design and screen to the Samsung Galaxy Note series, claiming “Now it’s not being dismissed by competitors, it’s being imitated”, with the article, ‘The truth hurts, Apple fans: You can thank Samsung for your big new iPhone displays.’

The ad featured the following tweets about the iPhone 6:

 

The comparison between the Samsung Galaxy and the iPhone demonstrates how the brand is “ahead of it’s game”, as the iPhone 6 bears a striking similarity to the Samsung Galaxy Note 2, which was released in 2012.  The strategic timing of the advertisement has been successful in generating discussion about the new Samsung Galaxy, as the brand has capitalised on the launch of the iPhone 6.

This positions Samsung as an innovative, leading brand in the market, and challenges the perception of Apple as the most innovative brand among consumers.

Do you think this advertisement was effective? Which do you think is better: the Samsung Galaxy or the iPhone?

Sources

Samsung Galaxy Note 4: Then and Now Ad YouTube 

Read more

How CoverGirl’s Advertising Campaign Turned Into a Protest #GoodellMustGo

The rise of social media has provided consumer’s with the opportunity to voice their opinion, and influence the actions and decisions of brands. This is demonstrated through the controversy surrounding CoverGirl’s “Get Your Game Face On!” advertising campaign and sponsorship of the NFL, which has initiated a debate about domestic violence. In 2014, CoverGirl announced that it was the “official beauty sponsor of the NFL”, and launched an advertising campaign that featured “Official NFL Makeup Looks” for the teams in the NFL. The original advertisement for the Baltimore Ravens, which is depicted below, was edited to give the model a black eye, and was posted with the hastag “#GoodellMustGo”, to encourage CoverGirl to discontinue it’s sponsorship of the NRL until Roger Goodell resigns.

The controversy began when footage of former NFL player Ray Rice from a security camera was released, in which he physically assaulted his wife, Janay Palmer, in an elevator. The commissioner of the NFL, Roger Goodell, was condemned by the public for claiming that he had not received the footage, which the Associated Press proved to be false. He has also been accused of being “lenient”, in his suspension of Ray Rice by the public and in the media.

The image was created by the public in response to the conduct of the NFL in order to raise awareness about domestic violence, and encourage brands such as CoverGirl to lead by example and hold the NFL accountable for its actions. The image, which went viral, has been shared and retweeted by thousands of people on social media, and been featured in various media publications around the world.

The #GoodellMustGo hashtag has become a trending topic in the United States, and has been effective in generating discussion about the issue. This is an example of what is described as “hashtag activism”, and demonstrates how consumers can use social media to influence the behaviour and decisions of brands, and hold them accountable for their actions. The hashtag, #BoycotttheNFL, has also been shared, which calls for CoverGirl to end it’s partnership with the NFL, as consumer’s are threatening to boycott the cosmetics brand. CoverGirl addressed this issue with the following response:

Do you think that this response was adequate? Do you think that CoverGirl should end its sponsorship of the NFL?

Sources

The Washington Post

YouTubers: The Best Advertisement For Your Brand

In the past decade, YouTube has emerged as one of the largest social media websites in the world. Over 1 billion people visit YouTube each month, while 100 hours of video are uploaded to YouTube every minute. The rise in popularity of YouTube has enabled hundreds of people to have a career posting video’s on their YouTube channel, which are watched by millions of people from around the world. This can provide brands with a platform to promote their products and reach millions of consumers online. A recent example of this is the partnership between Ingrid Nilsen, “missglamorazzi” and CoverGirl.

 

Ingrid Nilsen, who is known as “missglamorazzi”, has risen to fame on YouTube with over 2.9 million subscribers. She began her career on YouTube as a “beauty guru”, posting make-up tutorials and video’s about fashion. She has expanded her channel by creating “Monthly Favourites”, “Hauls”, “DIY’s”, “Get Ready With Me”, “TAGS” and “Ingrid Dishes” videos. Her second channel, “TheGridMonster”, where she posts personal Vlogs, has over 730,000 subscribers, and provides her thousands of followers with a more personal glimpse into her everyday life.

She is the perfect “girl next door”, and has become a role model to millions of young girls around the world, who look to her for advice about fashion, beauty, health, relationships, and self-esteem. I have followed Ingrid on her rise to fame as a YouTube celebrity for the past three years, and watching her video’s has become a part of my everyday routine.

In July 2014, Ingrid became the new “Glambassador” of CoverGirl, one of the largest beauty brands in the world. She is the first YouTuber to represent the brand. In her role as “Glambassador”, Ingrid posts videos and creates make-up tutorials using CoverGirl cosmetics on their YouTube channel and on her “missglamorazzi” channel.

The partnership between Ingrid and CoverGirl allows the brand to promote it’s products, increase awareness, enhance it’s brand image, and reach potential and existing customers online. She embodies the characteristics of the brand through her vibrant, positive, and fun personality, and her young, feminine, and fashionable look. She appeals to the target market, who are able to relate to her, as she has established a strong personal relationship with them through her videos on YouTube.

 

She has developed a sense of trust with her viewers, who follow her advice about which beauty products to purchase. When she promotes CoverGirl products in her video, this increases awareness, creates a positive attitude toward the brand, and persuades her viewers to purchase these products. The power to influence the opinion and purchasing behaviour of millions of consumers has made Ingrid a successful ambassador for the CoverGirl brand.

The first video she created with CoverGirl was a “Back To School Essentials” video, where she shared her school bag and make-up essentials. She has since been featured in a photoshoot with CoverGirl and Seventeen magazine to showcase their new range of cosmetics, and promote her new role as “Glambassador.”

 

In August she attended the VMA’s as CoverGirl’s “#instaGLAM” correspondent, and walked the red carpet with CoverGirl spokesperson Becky G. She shared the process of getting ready with her millions of followers in a video,”Getting Reading For a Big Event!”, where she applied her makeup using CoverGirl foundation, mascara, lipgloss, and nail polish. She showed each of these products in her video, describing how to use it, what it does, the benefits of using the product, and what it looks like when applied. This video has 784,612 views, 40,616 likes, and 23,283 comments on YouTube, which demonstrates her ability to reach hundreds of thousands of people online.

The video was successful in raising awareness and promoting the CoverGirl brand, as the people who viewed this video were exposed to various products from the cosmetics range, and shown how they can be used to create a complete make-up look. She also posted various pictures from the event on Instagram and Twitter, sharing her experience with millions of her followers. This partnership has enabled Ingrid to advance her career on YouTube and in the beauty industry, as she has expanded her network, attended major events, received publicity, and been featured in various magazines and online publications.

Ingrid’s interview with Seventeen Magazine

What do you think of this approach? Should brand’s hire YouTubers to endorse their products online?

Sources

YouTube Statistics

The 10 E-mail’s We All Have In Our Inbox

There are ten e-mails that every one of us who has ever purchased an item or become a member of a store have in our inbox.

E-mail is an effective tool for brand’s to establish a relationship and communicate directly with consumers. This enables brand’s to access information about the lifestyle, preferences, purchase intentions, brand loyalty, and purchase history of customers. When we register to become a member of a brand, we are often required to provide information about our name, age, gender, home address, phone number, and credit card details, which can be used to target and segment the market. In return, we are provided with information, vouchers, and special offers.

But is this becoming less effective? I receive e-mails from the same brands every single day, and while some are useful, others have become repetitive, so here is a list of ten e-mails that we all have in our inbox!

The following is a collection of e-mail’s from my inbox:

1. The “Welcome”: Thank you for giving us all of your most important personal details.

2. The “New Collection”: We will continue to send you a new e-mail every single day until you purchase something.

3. The “Happy Birthday Voucher”: Let us help you celebrate your birthday by encouraging you to spend even more money in our store.

4. The “Personalised Picks”: Look how well we know you! We have personally selected the most expensive items we think that you will buy.

5. The “Essentials”: You absolutely NEED all of these items in order to survive.

6. The “VIP” event: A top secret, VIP invitation just for you! Come celebrate with every single other person who shops at our store!

7. The “Your Favourites Are Selling Fast”: Quick! You MUST buy it now or else you will never see it ever again, ever!

8. The “Exclusive SALE”: This sale is JUST for you, even though there is a massive SALE sign in every store and the website.

9. The “We’ve Missed You Voucher”: We’ve missed your money!

10. The “Update Your Information”: Even though we already have your name, age, e-mail, home address, mobile phone, home phone, credit card details, and purchase history, we need even more information about you!

Do you have any of these e-mails in your inbox? What do you think about e-mail marketing?

Buy Fans: Fake Likes, Friends and Followers

Do you want to be famous? Well now you can be!

The video above is a short clip from the Channel 4 documentary, ‘Celebs, Brands, and Fake Fans’, which follows the “fake” rise to fame of British boy band Wrong Direction. In just one day, four young men formed a band, recorded their first single, shot a promotional video, and received an astounding 100,000 YouTube views, over 6,000 likes on Facebook, and 40,000 Twitter followers. Or did they? The secret behind their sudden success is actually the result of a new trend in social media: buying fans.

In recent years, the rise of social media has created a new market for companies such as Buy More Fans, Get With Social, Buzzoid, Social Roar, We Sell Likes, and Hypez, that sell likes, fans, views, and followers on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Instagram, and LinkedIn. Buy More Fans is an Australian company that offers people likes on social media from anywhere between $20 and $600. But where do these likes come from? These “likes”, “views”, “fans”, and “followers”, are actually hundreds of workers in “click farms” from foreign countries who continuously like, re-tweet, comment, or view social media .

Buy More Fans Australia

This has become a way for businesses, celebrities, and even the government to increase their popularity on social media and create a “mass following” online. Get With Social, a popular company that sells likes on social media has increased the online profile of various Australian companies, some of which you may even recognise, such as Mad Mex and Soniq Australia.

This has become a popular marketing tool for businesses, however, it may surprise you to know that many of your favourite celebrities are also guilty of “buying” their popularity online. The Business Insider Australia claims that Enrique Iglesias, Michael Jackson, Justin Bieber, Akon, Shakira, Rihanna, and Lady Gaga are among many of the celebrities that have thousands of “fake” followers on social media.

But how effective really is buying fans on social media? The “like” button is a powerful tool, and has become a standard of popularity on social media. The amount of likes, views, or followers that a company has can be an indication of it’s success, popularity, and credibility among consumers. However, if consumers were to find out that these likes were in fact “fake”, then the credibility and legitimacy of the brand would be undermined, which has a negative impact on consumer perception, associations, and liking toward the brand. So is it worth the risk?

What do you think? Would your perception of a brand change if you discovered that their likes were fake?

Sources

Business Insider Australia 

Buy More Fans Australia 

The Sydney Morning Herald

To learn more:

The Huffington Post