Ford - Bold Moves

Ford has embraced the seismic changes we are currently experiencing by admitting it is in terminal decline and inviting consumers to help it stay alive. This is a seriously brave move for what seems like a very staid company.

Basically Ford have thrown the doors open to the public to tell them how to turn Ford around and are using this content in reality TV format.

Thanks to Mike Iskas for this - please send me any comments on this as I'd like to hear more about it.

Glenfiddich Blog

Glenfiddich has embraced the concept of blogging as a way of both engaging with their consumers and as a way of building an online community of fans. They use the blog as a feed of interesting information about Glenfiddich such as new releases, interviews with the master distiller etc. Crucially the blogging format allows any articles written to be commented on.

From New Media Age in March 2006:

"Glenfiddich single-malt owner William Grant & Sons recently announced that it is building an online loyalty club for the whisky brand, including a blog. The move reflects the continuing growth of the distillery's digital budget. The Glenfiddich loyalty club will provide access to exclusive promotions. It will be supported by an online campaign and educational blog aimed at whisky connoisseurs. The decision follows a successful offline CRM campaign conducted by direct marketing agency Presky Maves last year, which established a database of 100,000 committed whisky drinkers who Glenfiddich now hopes to retain using online marketing. The blog, also a first for the brand, will be written by Glenfiddich's "brand ambassadors" Ian Millar and Ludo Ducrocq. They will supply educational and informative content for people interested in whisky-related events, to attract new consumers as well as retain current drinkers. "This is all about letting consumers get closer to the brand," said Glenfiddich new media manager Rebecca Heathcote. "The focus is on leveraging our database and concentrating on customer retention and loyalty."

Thanks to Erika Warren for this.

The article on Ladybank Distillers highlights the current trend for whiskies to chase a younger audience via a wealth of CRM ideas.

Johnnie Walker ad in Beirut causes a stir

Bloggers in London were offended by Johnnie Walker's "Keep Walking" ad in Beirut. The image of a bridge which looks like it's been bombed by the Israelis. On the other hand bloggers in Beirut are far more positive as shown in the Adrants forum.

I'm not sure it's being taken as negatively by the Lebanese, I was actually sent the picture by a friend from Lebanon and his note said this:

"The Johnnie Walker whiskey billboard near Nahr el Mot has always been there for years and has become a landmark of sorts as many of you know. This is the new version following the war. I pass by it daily and you can see people smiling as they drive by."

Another said:

"True. The ad is being 'hailed' by Arab creatives and designers on the web... it's actually popping up on many Lebanese blogs and they seem to see the positive side of it.

Let me assure you that Leo Burnett were indeed trying to capitalize on some nationalistic feelings following the conflict.... pushing this Whiskey brand, but also creating an affinity with the locals...

Bombed Bridges-No Problem-Lebanon Keeps Walking."

Sometimes ads need to be viewed in a broader context, this was a bilboard that had been there for years and was changed in many ways as an act of solidarity."

The learning from this are threefold:

1. Different cultures have different attitudes towards things.
2. Blogs and forums are a great way of guaging how a market is receiving creative work - use flickr etc. as an informal but powerful testing mechanic.
3. Context is everything.

Governor Mark Warner hold a press conference in Second Life

Second Life's rise to greatness is continuing apace. Governor Mark Warner, a potential candidate to be President of the USA, has held a press conference in Second Life as a way of generating online PR and engaging with a trendy, young, voter base that are turned off by traditional media and politics.



It's an interesting note that the last US election was a great catalyst for blogging becoming borderline mainstream.



New World Technologies explains why he did it:

“Well,” Nancy Mandelbrot explains, “we were sitting in our offices one day and kind of goofing around, just geeking out about social technologies, gaming, that sort of thing, as we're wont to do. Someone made a joke about how great it would be if we brought an avatar of Governor Warner into Second Life.

“When we all quit laughing, we kind of looked around and said, ‘Hey, that's not a bad idea.’

“One of Governor Warner's operating principles is to go where the voters are,” she continues, “not make them come to you. We saw how rich an environment [SL] was. I mean, you can sit next to someone's avatar, strike up a conversation, and forget that you're not in the same room. We started to see that in Second Life, people can get together and talk politics with other folks without the obstacles of real life.”

The idea of social networking and navigating a virtual world is becoming more talked about by the day. It's interesting to note that to do it properly and to avoid backlash, brands / protagonists have to be sincere and credible to a much higher level than in normal marketing.

For more background a commentary click here.

If an American politician can enter Second Life successfully surely we can too.

Extra Tasty = Booze 2.0

Extra Tasty, from the brainiacs that came up with the revolutionary, cult T-shirt company Threadless - a catalyst for Web 2.0.


The site sets up a community of people who contribute drinks recipes which is open for comment. It's all set up to take comments and produces a drink of the day that is delivered via an RSS feed. It's a cracking idea and just another example of the proliferation of useful, community based, cool little open sourced web businesses that are springing up. It would be a great way to either test a new drinking strategy or to find find new cocktail recipes.

Innocent Smoothies uses legal battle as a marketing ploy

"They are starting a campaign to scrap VAT (value added tax) on their fruit smoothies. The boys and girls at Innocent are arguing, if you don't pay VAT on frozen chips and pizzas, meat pies, pastries and beef-burgers, why do you have to pay it on something which is good for you and which aids the current UK governments five a day target.

Innnocent is considering a legal challenge to this anomaly. The legal definition of a beverage is something drunk to ‘increase bodily fluid levels’ and to ‘slake one’s thirst’. Well, this quite clearly does not apply to our product.

Is this a clever marketing ploy or a simple common sense argument to pursue? After all, the customers are the ones who will benefit if the law gets changed by paying less..."

From PSFK

Second Life: Brands should explore with caution

"A group called the Second Life Liberation Army have been harassing Second Life inhabitants in the stores of First World brands. Earlier this month, members of the SLLA stopped shoppers buying in American Apparel. Their mission is to get voting rights in the world plus a share in the Second Life company, Linden Labs.

SL doesn't have a police force as far as we see. What would happen if a literal army of SL residents banded together - maybe within a geographic zone - and attacked other residents, land and even commercial operations? We believe that someone could easily do this with enough time and funds." From PSFK

It's all part of a wider debate about the merits of brands getting involved in Second Life. The consensus is divided between Second Life purists who want to live in an unbranded world and those who think that Second Life is much more interesting when brands add something to the mix such as American Apparel, Reebok etc.

To read the pro brand side click here.

To read the anti brand side click here.

The out-take at the moment seems to be that brands should get involved and experiment with what works vs what doesn't but they should be careful with how they do it. Annoying Second Life avatars will backfire very quickly!