BOHAN Beat Off! 2008

First Annual BOHANnual Beat Off! Drum Circle and Percussion Exhibition Extraordinaire!

Come celebrate with us the rhythm of life in the brand villages of Bohan!

Consumers might not care that your product is wrapped in the flag

Consumers might not care that your product is wrapped in the flag
by David Bohan, CEO BOHAN Advertising

Red state or blue state, many advertisers wrap themselves in the red, white and blue to lure customers—but is it a sure-fire marketing strategy?

Car dealerships, possibly even some that sell cars made in Asia or whose headquarters are there, proudly wave giant American flags, and furniture retailers work hard to convince us a three-day weekend shopping experience is a patriotic act.

For some companies, waving the flag in their advertising and promotional efforts comes naturally.

Lockheed Martin, the world’s largest defense contractor, launched a campaign that might have been mistaken for an armed forces recruiting effort. Johnson & Wales professor Mark Brand commented, “Whether you are a supporter of the war or not, you are supportive of the men and women in uniform.”

The fashion brand Tommy Hilfiger has always shown its colors. An “Earn your stripes and be a star” contest urged aspiring filmmakers to submit videos demonstrating what the American flag meant to them.

Despite all this, recent studies might suggest advertisers re-think the Americanization of their brands.

Yankelovich Partners, a Chapel Hill, N.C.-based research firm, studied brands that expressed themselves as American. The results: Consumers don’t seem to care. Yankelovich also found that the notion of being American is not a factor when it comes to evaluating performance.

Anderson Analytics discovered that—especially among college-age consumers—a product’s country of origin usually is unknown; it’s also not a factor in the buying decision. Many younger, educated consumers are cynical of patriotic trappings. Some flag-draped promotions are seen as heavy-handed or outdated.

Jupiter Research reports that as consumers age, value for quality becomes a significant concern. At that point, geographic association plays a greater role in purchase decision-making.

Consider the difference between two advertising offerings from Chevrolet and Saturn, both of which are General Motors products.

Chevrolet Silverado trucks use the “ Our Country, Our Truck” theme that features music from baby-boomer rocker John Mellencamp. This GM campaign is designed to appeal to older buyers. The message is aimed at those of us who were raised with the “us -versus-them” mentality of the 1950s and 1960s.

Saturn, on the other hand, takes a different approach with its “Rethink American” campaign. Here, GM wants younger audiences to change their thinking that rates the quality of Japanese products very highly. One ad goes as far as to say, “Don’t buy it because it’s American. Buy it because it’s amazing.”

The definition of the country of origin for brands continues to change. Consider these factors: American companies have a global presence; foreign-based brands have significant U.S. facilities and American employees; and the Internet makes international borders disappear. All of this makes a product’s country of origin seem less relevant.

Nissan, Bridgestone and Toshiba are significant to Middle Tennessee. Mention those companies, a few of us think first of their Japanese parent companies. And not many of us would blink an eye if a local Nissan dealer offered Memorial Day specials.

BOHAN Wins 30 ADDY Awards in 2008!

Bohan Advertising wins 30 ADDY Awards including 5 Gold, 7 Silver and 2 Judges’ Choice Awards - March 1, 2008 - Nashville Advertising Federation… See the home movies…

Thanks to the judges and the Nashville Advertising Federation for this recognition of the excellent work by all Bohan’s creative and professional staff… And thanks to our clients who make it all possible!

BOHAN Byte - Google via TXT Message

This is the first BOHAN Byte blog post produced concurrently as a video log, or “vlog.” Click on the video box here to see it.

The idea to do the BOHAN Byte as a vlog came from work on a sales PowerPoint for a new client, which is interactive in design, allowing viewers to navigate to any section of the presentation rather than see the slides presented in a linear order (increases both comprehension and retention rates). If PowerPoint is the new web, then video is becoming the new PowerPoint (or Keynote for you MAC users), because video remains a linear presentation medium (beginning, middle, end).

And now for the topic: Google via TXT…

Even in the digital world, “everything old is new again.” Take for example the venerable Google, at one time a mere startup, now the unquestionably the industry leader, despite what Microsoft or Yahoo! may do in the near future.

In an increasingly mobile world, how is Google responding? Of course, you can access the Google website on internet-enabled cell phones and other mobile devices. But that still leaves out the majority of cell phone users who do not have internet access on their phones.

So Google is beta-testing a TXT messaging service that works like this:

Create a TXT message on your cellphone that includes a keyword (or phrase) and a ZIP code. Send that TXT message to phone number 46645 or “GOOGL” (the “E” is excluded). In a few moments you will receive two reply TXT messages from Google, with the name, address and phone number of the first few businesses that match your keyword(s) and ZIP code.

For example, send the TXT message “PIZZA 37203″ to GOOGL and the system will reply TXT you with the name, address and phone numbers for Mellow Mushroom, DaVinci’s and Papa John’s pizza, all in the same ZIP code as our office.

Why is this important for our clients? If this GOOGL TXT program ever comes out of beta development and becomes more popular, we may want to help clients optimize their websites and improve their Google ranking to be sure they appear in this type of search.

In a broader sense, the use of TXT messaging is becoming more common, certainly with younger generations and teens for whom TXT is a very large part of their peer communications, and we should know how to use it effectively. Also, TXT messages like email can be forwarded and shared with others, so the more viral the message, the better.

Restaurants and destinations could use the technology to send TXT alerts about new menu items or promotions or special events to customers and prospects who have either given permission previously for us to send them TXT messages, or who send a TXT message in response to an advertisement or POS display.

TXT a message with a month/date/year to “PALMBCH” and receive a reply TXT with a list of events for that date in Palm Beach County. Or TXT a message with your ZIP code to “FAZOLIS” and receive the nearest restaurant contact information along with a code for a discount or the latest promotion.

Imagine the possibilities…

TTFN! Your BFF,
Bayard

Bayard Saunders

Director, Digital & Alternative

BOHAN

www.bohanideas.com

Bohan’s best and worst Super Bowl ads

Originally published in The Tennessean - February 4, 2008:

From Amp to Yukon, advertisers lined up on Super Bowl Sunday, putting up $2.7 million for 30 seconds of fame or infamy. Thirteen brave brands bet more than $5 million for sixty seconds of this rarified airtime.

(To watch this year’s Super Bowl ads, visit http://www.usatoday.com/money/advertising/admeter/2008admeter.htm.)

Companies with Tennessee ties were well represented. Bridgestone’s two 30-second spots featured critters, Alice Cooper and Richard Simmons. Do we notice a theme? Dell featured a cause marketing tie-in with its AIDS fund-raising effort, Red.
Advertisement

And Super Bowl staple FedEx told a pigeon tale.

Former U.S. Sen. Bill Frist, R-Tenn., made his Super Bowl TV commercial debut for Coca-Cola, along with Democratic political consultant James Carville. And Justin Timberlake was back at the Super Bowl hawking Pepsi-Cola. No wardrobe malfunctions appeared this time around.

Now for my winners and losers.

Top dogs on Super Sunday

Budweiser and Bud Lite were again up for the big game. The Dalmatian as a personal trainer was a nice twist in the classic Clydesdale series.

Bud Lite’s humor was on display. I especially enjoyed the wine tasting party and the Carlos Mencia repeat performance as an English as a second language teacher.

Planters also had a big hit. Cashews as perfume had men in a trance.

Memphis-based FedEx used sumo carrier pigeons and the games only 45-second spot to score big points.

Sales Genie’s pre-game spots turned out to be an indication of bad things to come. The two animated spots were by far the worst use of $5 million in the history of television. I hope their product is good because their advertising is not.

Controversy continued to be the theme for GoDaddy.com. The 2008 commercial encouraged viewers to visit their Web site to view the spot FOX network censors rejected. Race car driver Danica Patrick might have taken racy to new heights.

What were they thinking?

The worst use of celebrities award would be a tie between Ice Breakers and Sunsilk. Carmen Electra, Madonna and Shakira’s agents should have looked at the scripts.

For local advertisers, the big winner was Fifth Third Bank with a story of the 42-year-old paperboy. And despite some stiff competition, Nissan of Rivergate gave everyone the chance to make a run to the buffet table.

Compare my opinion to a national consumer panel and watch the commercials at admeter.usatoday.com. USA Today’s Ad Meter has consumer’s top picks and pans plus a 20-year history of the Super Bowl of Advertising.

A great contest kept the audience glued to the game to the end. While the Giants came away the game winner, Amp, the energy drink was also victorious. They bought a lower-cost fourth quarter spot betting the audience would stay tuned. And they did.
David Bohan
BOHAN Advertising | Marketing
www.bohanideas.com

Best bet for your next retail location may be on the Internet

Originally published in The Tennessean - January 20, 2008:
http://www.tennessean.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2008801200352

Best bet for your next retail location may be on the Internet
By David Bohan

Online retail is a reality no one can ignore. Consumers spent $733 million on Cyber Monday 2007, the Monday after Thanksgiving.   That’s 21 percent more than in 2006.  Online retail grew by 20 percent to more than $1.2 billion in 2007, according to comScore Inc. (This total excludes online purchases of travel.)

It might surprise you that J. C. Penney attracts more shoppers to its online store than any other multi-channel retailer. Penney’s has developed an Internet strategy that nicely complements its retail store operation.  It offers a wider selection online, nearly three times the number of products than in its stores, and it uses its Web site to lure customers into the stores.

Part of the rationale is that its online shoppers are younger, ages 25 to 35, than its regular retail customers.  Online sales accounted for 6 percent of Penney’s total sales this year.

Online sales are important, but consider this fact—the share of total online sales that went to retailers that exist only online declined in 2007, just as it did in 2006.  Seven of the top ten retail Web sites during the just-ended holiday season belonged to traditional brick-and-mortar retailers.

A study by the J. C. Williams Group and StartSampling focused on multi-channel shopping.  It found the most frequent shopping path started online, either when the consumer visited a Web site or when the consumer received an email or an online offer, and ended with the consumer in a store.

The most likely cross-channel shoppers are men ages 25 to 34 who have incomes of more than $50,000.

Another successful online retail tactic is the Web site-to-store model. Many traditional retailers, including Circuit City and Wal-Mart, allow customers to order online and pick up the merchandise at stores convenient to them. More than one-third of Wal-Mart’s online sales resulted from this initiative.

A bonus: 60 percent of Wal-Mart’s site-to-store customers spent an additional $60 when they got to a store to pick up merchandise ordered online.

Of course cyberspace is not limited to computer and electronics retailers and discounters.  Saks Fifth Avenue, Neiman Marcus and Armani are expanding their Web presence and successfully marketing high-fashion products at luxury price points.

What are consumers looking for in a Web store? The ability to search within the site must be robust.  Consumers want store information, they want to learn what’s new and they want special offers.

Consumers want better imagery and more product descriptions so they can “feel” the products online, and they want checking out to be easy.  Hint: Let them add an item to their shopping carts without leaving the page they are on.

So before you start seeking real estate for your next location, make sure your cyberspace location is working well.

David Bohan
BOHAN Advertising|Marketing
www.bohanideas.com

BOHAN Byte - CES, GPS and the new Post-It Note

Every technology has its time. Nowhere is that more apparent than at the annual Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. Earlier this month manufacturers introduced a tsunami of new concepts and technologies, as they do every year, some certainly more “ready” than others for the current market. I’ll bring you a few highlights of the best and most likely to succeed in later blogs, but just like the American Idol TV show, there are a few that can be dismissed after a quick audition. This year’s clear loser? The combination MP3-Player/Taser Gun. Perhaps it’s ahead of its time, or more likely it will never have a right time, let’s hope… If you can’t wait, some of the best reviews are on www.engadget.com and also on www.cnet.com

Over the past holiday, consumer spending on digital appliances was led by the “GPS” sales – clearly a technology whose time has come (www.garmin.com, www.magellangps.com, www.tomtom.com, www.navico.com). Since the introduction of a new evolutionary software last year, the GPS experience has become far more like a trusted friend with a map in the front seat than their previous more complicated incarnation (released at CES before its time). So consumers are responding now, and the winners are those companies (restaurants & shops) who were early adopters, investing in advertising placements on those GPS software maps (www.mapinfo.com, www.esri.com) before anyone could even guess at how to calculate their value.

Thanks for the feedback last week on “Tell Me” (1-800-555-TELL, www.tellme.com)… Two people said they used the Driving Directions and another echoed the research that women’s voices aren’t as clearly understood yet. But continuing on last week’s theme of useful speech recognition technology, I wanted to share my favorite and most-used technology from last year – the Post-It Note for a new century – www.jott.com

This is another completely free service. You call an 800# and dictate any message for up to 30 seconds. That message is then translated into text and you can choose to have it emailed to you, or to someone else, or to a group of people, or even have it posted to your blog or Twitter.* Go ahead and register then jott yourself a note – see for yourself. In the interest of fairness, there are other competitors who offer the same or similar services: www.yap.com, www.pinger.com, www.bubblemotion.com, www.simulscribe.com, www.spinvox.com, etc…

* Twitter – Staying “hyper-connected” has never been easier, but it sure is hard to explain if you haven’t experienced it. For more information, see the next BOHAN Byte or check it out yourself at www.twitter.com

Bayard Saunders, Director, Digital & Alternative

BOHAN

www.bohanideas.com

(615) 327-1189 - ext.234

Tell Me - Ending the Tyranny of the Keyboard

With all the advances in digital technology, many people still complain about the “tyranny of the keyboard.” At first we were limited to the use of typing skills to access information from computers, and even with advances like the mouse and touch-screens, the problem is that we human beings are required to learn and adapt, rather than technology adapting to us. Mobile devices like palm-sized computers and cell phones with internet access have freed users from the desk, but most still require some type of manual input.

However, recent advances in speech recognition technology are changing this. More and more, mobile phones and other devices have integrated speech recognition software and hardware that allows you to automatically dial someone in your contact list by simply speaking their name. Most 411 directory information systems and some airlines and hotels have also begun using the technology.

The most advanced system available now, and the clear winner in the battle for consumer acceptance of the new technology, is produced by a company called “Tell Me.” And you don’t need a keyboard or a computer to try it. Just call (800) 555-8355 – they advertise it in the easier-to-remember format: “(800) 555-TELL” – and speak to it just as you would a person.

There are many useful features, but the one that I’ve found most useful is “Driving Directions.” Just like Yahoo or Google Maps will give you turn-by-turn directions from one address to another, the Tell Me system will read them to you step-by-step after you’ve told it your starting and ending addresses.

Other features are current stock quotes, sports scores & news, weather information, connection to airlines or hotels or rental car or taxi services, movie information from Fandango, horoscopes, lottery results, soap operas plot summaries, a 411 business directory, business-world-entertainment news, and a black-jack game (voiced by a wicked Sean Connery imitation).

Hope you will find the technology useful as so many companies are adopting these systems, and, of course, adding their own audio advertising into the mix, so it may be a good idea for clients who are upgrading from the old telephone tree systems “Press 1 for this, press 2 for that.”