Frontiering Talk

Imagine you are browsing through a store looking at the latest HDTVs. Now you have done your homework checking out CNET and Amazon
to get expert and other consumer opinions, so you have a reasonable idea what you should be paying for a product. But the sales guy then talks to you and introduces you to another product, one which is even better than the one you have been researching for only a small price premium.

So you need to go back to the consumer opinion sites and then skip over to to check up on the product before you purchase. Although your laptop has wireless internet access, you don’t have it in the car. What you really wish that you could all be done from your mobile phone?

Well thanks to Scanbuy, you can do all this by simply scanning the bar code of the product you are considering buying. It then automatically connects you to price information on pricegrabber.com and consumer reviews on Amazon, and additional product information. Check it out at http://scanbuy.com/website/products_shopper.htm

And soon a service could be provided that tells you which other stores in your area offer the same product at a lower price.

In Japan and Korea, consumers point their camera phones at 2D barcodes to access mobile content. For example, movie trailer clips might be attached to a bus poster via this 2D code as in the picture below. 2D barcodes can be found on city guides, maps, billboards, advertising, stores displays.

Kodak has joined the ranks of brands who are running campaigns to assist consumers creating their own content.

The original Kodak commercial where a man takes a group of children through a gallery and the pictures are saying “keep me, protect me, and share me” is the basis for the commercial. And you select up to 5 of your own pictures and they are then included in the commercial.

It’s easy to use and there’s a nice invite with a “10 free print offer” to use Koday Easyshare service.

McDonalds is running a global online casting campaign to select new faces for it’s “I’m lovin’ it” campaign.

Contestants submit a photo & story of what you love doing, which makes it reasonably easy to enter. The best entries will have their pictures and stories placed on new packaging. These “real consumers” will demonstrate a certain trust element to the big M.

According to McDonald’s global Chief Marketing Officer, Mary Dillon,
“Our first online global casting call uses technology in a new approach to bring the energy and spirit of ‘I’m lovin’ it’ to life by connecting with consumers and giving them a stage on which to express themselves about the things they love”

I like the simplicity of the campaign and also the fact that they are accepting entries from around the world.

via Yahoo News

Here’s another great example of ORSIM (Open-source, Research, Shaper-lead, Innovation and Marketing), this time focused on how to present an existing product, the Chevrolet Aveo to young buyers.

GM asked for volunteers from the Public Relations Student Society of America in order to tap into what would appeal to young buyers. Not only were these volunteers in the target audience for the car, but for many it was a chance to demonstrate some of the learnings from their studies.

Here are some of the suggestions
1. Promote the Aveo on college Web sites like Facebook.com and MySpace.com, which are the “grapevine” of news for college students today.
2. Rather than focus on well-worn college campus activities, such as campus test drives and T-shirt giveaways, create a summer road trip for the Aveo, with stops at venues such as theme parks and concerts. Local media should be contacted for each tour stop to help publicise the tour, and a lucky local would be selected to drive the Aveo from one stop to the next. The trip, as well as the personal items, would be featured on the Internet, along with travelogue videos. In the end, one of the drivers would win the Aveo in a “See It, Drive It, Win It” campaign.
3. Describing the Aveo as a “small car with a big personality,” one group suggested a “Why I Have the Biggest Personality” contest, which would allow young participants to send in homemade videos to compete for an Aveo.
4. The thinking of the winning group was “the car is as unique as you are,”. Personalisation options would be provided via an Aveo Web site, to customise their dream Aveo, and tell friends to take a look.

Consumers are getting smarter, and Advertising / PR is not longer the domain of the big agencies. I applaud this initiative, and would recommend that GM should work with the winning entries to involve them on the execution of the idea.

When was the last time you involved young people in the marketing of a product that is positioned for the younger audience?

Via Detroit News