History in the Marketing

 

In order to know where you’re doing, you have to know where you’ve been. With newer and newer buildings popping up it’s easy to see how much Atlanta is growing, but where is it headed?

Jamestown Properties is a property management company that has a very impressive portfolio. They have properties like the Ferry Building in California to the Chelsea Market in New York, and now they’ve added Atlanta to that list.

The Ponce City Market was born, located at the cornerstone of 4 Atlanta neighborhoods and the cities pedestrian walking trail known as the Beltline. The building officially opened on August 25, 2014. Now, I know I’m a little behind schedule but this isn’t about showcasing the Market (although it is impressive), it’s about showcasing the history that makes this building so special.

If you’ve ever been to the Ponce City Market you’ll remember the first time you saw it because the building itself is massive, over 2,000,000 million sq ft. It’s also impressive because it hasn’t really changed that much since 1926 when it was known as the Sears, Roebuck Building. Later it was used as Atlanta’s City Hall East but officially closed its doors in 2010.

The history is there.

This was a huge opportunity for Jamestown when they bought the building in 2011. They could have made huge renovations and turned the building into an unrecognizable modern complex. Not only is that not cost efficient, it strips away the meaning of the Ponce City Market. A city market is supposed to bring people together, eat great food and have a couple of drinks. Not only does this building serve that purpose, but it also stays true to what made the building great to begin with. All I’ve talked about is outside too, when you go in you’ll see original floors, elevators, and pieces of the building’s history.  The whole building is a celebration of its history. Even their social media uses the history to give the building a sense of wonder. They’ve even posted couples that actually met in the Sears Roebuck Building. #historyonponce

In celebrating the history they’re inviting you to be a part of it, it’s a friendly and open environment. This is what a city market is supposed to feel like. As a sentimental person, I crave the way something makes me feel and how it’s impacted my life, no matter what it is. The Ponce City market is using that feeling but not in a sleazy way, they’re honestly just celebrating the history. Even the newer attractions bring to life the past of the Ponce City Market. Skyline Park recently opened on the roof of the Ponce City Market, it features mini golf and carnival attractions. The new park is influenced by vintage rides at Atlanta’s Ponce de Leon amusement park. 

This is a great job done by Jamestown and hardworking businesses in the Ponce City Market. The fact that everyone who works there is so proud of the building makes me proud to walk through the doors. There is an energy in the building that gives you a glimpse into the past and future at the same time.

Keep doing you Ponce City Market, I’ll see you around.

N

Tying your shoes? Just Don’t Do It.

We interrupt this blog to give you an important message.

(I’m going to try to get through this without a Back to the Future reference, this is a blog on shoes and marketing not one of the best movies in history. Back to the blog.)

That’s right, Nike is telling you not to tie your shoes. You aren’t going to have to worry about that because their new shoe is going to do it for you.

Okay, so they aren’t going to send the rabbit around the tree and through the burrow but the new shoes will tighten as soon as you put your foot into them.

Nike isn’t breaking new ground, though. The idea of ‘power laces’ has been around for 30 years but in 2015 Nike showed off the Nike MAG, complete with the ‘power lace’ technology. Unfortunately, these shoes are very rare due to the fact they are a replica of shoes in a 1989 hit movie starring Michael J. Fox.

(I could have easily made a reference to Back to the Future there, so far so good.)

But this is the first time the technology will be released to the public.

This is a risky move by Nike. A lot of people like technology but that doesn’t necessarily mean people will buy it. The first generation of a new technology is quite expensive and could be riddled with flaws. While some technology has stood the test of time (looking at you smart watches), others have not.(..cough..cough…3D tv’s).

Few notes on the shoes:

Yes, they’re waterproof.

Yes, you’ll have to charge them, takes 3 hours to charge and it lasts about 2 weeks.

Are you stuck in them if the battery dies? No, there are self-adjusting buttons.

When it comes down to it, auto-lacing shoes are awesome but will people pay the premium for it? Can you convince people to charge their shoes? The technology is convenient but not necessary. Now, that doesn’t mean it can’t do well in the market, it just means Nike has to prove to the consumers the technology is worth it. Now, the shoe industry isn’t a stranger to products with cool ‘gimmicks’. Do we need light up shoes? No. Did we want them when we were kids? Yes.

That doesn’t mean it can’t do well in the market, it just means Nike has to prove to the consumers the technology is worth it. Now, the shoe industry isn’t a stranger to products with cool ‘gimmicks’. Do we need light up shoes? No. Did we want them when we were kids? Yes.

Goals.

Remember  Reebok Pump?

So shoes have been adapting for 40 years but Nike has finally pushed technology forward. This could be a breakthrough that could allow older citizens who have disabilities tie their shoes. Frankly, I don’t see them wearing athletic shoes like this but it’s only the beginning.

 

Nike will have great sales when they come out on November 28th, but will they last? Anyone who really wants them will buy them in the first couple of month, they might even sell out and discontinue them. If that doesn’t happen and the shock factor dies down they’ll need to adjust their marketing strategy. This is what happened with the 3D TVs. Everyone wanted one but after a couple of months, people began to realize they didn’t want to watch TV with glasses on.

Nike will need to focus on the everyday uses of the shoe, not just the tech.

In Nike’s announcement video they brought up an example of how marathon runners feet swell during races and they could become useful. They’ll need to do more than that. Since this is the first shoe to come out with this technology it means that not only athletes will buy them. They’ll need to find out who is buying them, is it the tech junkie or the die-hard athlete? If it’s the tech junkie they might be in trouble because at the end of the day Nike is an athletic apparel company.

Since you have to book an appointment to try on and purchase the shoes I would suggest the sales person ask the customer to fill out a survey how why they are purchasing the shoes and what they’ll use them for. This gives Nike information about how to proceed in marketing the shoes.

Welcome to the future, and no we don’t dress like this.

(Okay, I tried not to make a Back to the Future reference but come on….POWER LACES.)

–N

Thanks for reading! Be sure to check out my other blogs!

To Dab or not To Dab?

Congratulations to the Denver Broncos! Thanks to the Broncos, Denver is now known for more than just an omelet. Honestly, the game was kind of a bust. 2 offensive touchdowns? Dozens of flags. Snoozefest.

Well, it’s Wednesday. You know what time it is. Ad of the week!

Since it was super bowl Sunday I thought I’d mix it up and go through some of the winners of the Super Bowl commercials. Since we have winners….there must be losers.

Sorry Carolina.

Hyundai- First Date

Winner

This has everything an ad should have. First off, it has a story. This is a classic twist on father, daughter, and her boyfriend’s relationship. It brilliantly shows the new feature of the car but also gives the audience laughs along the way.

NFL- Super Bowl Babies

Loser

Ok NFL we get it, kids are cute, but do you know what’s not cute? The embarrassment these kids are going to have to live with. Hmmm, let’s get together some kids and advertise their parents consummating their teams victory. It seems to try too hard to be funny. With the lyrics cutting in and out between different kids, it makes it too hard to understand. Stick to football NFL.

Where has Seal been?

Buick- The Catch

Winner

There are a lot of weird car commercials. Like, who drives around in a city at night when it’s completely empty? Buick could have gone the ‘professional driver, closed course, do not attempt’ route…but instead they shook things up. They play a commercial with a football joke during a football game. Brilliant. It’s clever and even had a surprise guest, Odell himself. The grandma was a great choice too, really brought the joke home.

Dollar Shave Club- Zeke

Loser

Where did Dollar Shave Club go wrong? They’ve been known for having hilarious ads in the past. If you’ve seen the past couple ads by them this really doesn’t break any ground. This ad doesn’t do it for me. The dialogue is jumpy and isn’t funny. Of course, the creator stopped by to deliver the pitch, which is the best part. If you’re going to spend 5 million for 30 seconds you have to make waves.

TurboTax-Never Sell Out

Winner

This is almost my favorite. Playful humor and celebrity guest. He delivers the pitch in an obvious but funny way. The Super Bowl actually falls into the perfect time for TurboTax. Tax Season. TurboTax as been putting out a lot of brilliant ads recently. Another winner. You know what they say, there are only two guaranteed things in life, Anthony Hopkins and Taxes.

Butterfinger’s- Bolder Than Bold Jump

Loser

What’s bold? Butterfinger’s gamble on this ad or the fact that it failed? This ad has way too many things packed in for just 15 seconds. It’s basically yelling the pitch at you…which is unclear because you want me to believe that a candy bar is bold. Nope

T-Mobile- “Drop The Balls”

Winner

Favorite ad of the Super Bowl. Everyone has been throwing shade at Verizon for their “A Better Network as Explained by colorful balls” commercial. Sprint had a comeback and now it’s T-Mobile’s turn. This ad is hilarious. It gives the info in a playful and topical way. Steve Harvey made an appearance and laughed at himself. Simple and witty.

Honorable Mention

Budweiser- #GiveaDamn

This commercial is more than just a winner. It came at the perfect time of the game. Where everyone is drinking and having a good time but are starting to leave the party. This ad serves as a public service announcement not to drink and drive. Good on you Budweiser.

I’m just going to leave this here.

 

Budweiser didn’t pay him to say that.

 

The real winner.

 

Betty Freaking White 

 

I’m going to go hug my family. I’m going to drink a lot of Budweiser tonight.

-N

 

 

We are Farmers bum ba dum bum bum

The SuperBowl is only a couple of days away.

Did you know that it costs around 5 million for a 30-second ad. I hope they’re good.

It’s Wednesday. Time for the ad of the week!

What’s the deal with Insurance commercials? Everyt ime I see one I can’t help but laugh and enjoy it. Progressive, Geiko, and now State Farm.

They’re killing it.

The commercial I have today goes along with the excitement of this weekend, it’s about football.

The commercial starts off with a little pitch to the message of the ad, the discount double check from State Farm. Before setting up the story of the ad, they decided to start with the end of the ad. “I wish I’d double check before discussing that play.” That set up the joke. Aaron Rodgers was also a nice touch.

The great thing about this ad is that it pokes fun of what everyone has on their mind when they watch a football game, ‘What are the refs saying?” The refs poke around and make up signs before someone in the stands yells “Mics on.”

Then the tagline comes up “It pays to double check.”

The most important thing about this ad is that it’s simple. It’s not about the sales pitch, it’s about promoting the message in a fun and light way. In my opinion, the message sticks with me more than some boring sales pitch. State Farm found the common ground.

24-17, Panthers

-N

 

Are you ready for some football?? (and ads)

The game is set. Panthers vs. Broncos. On February 7th, the two teams will duke it out in California. Super bowl fever has alway really interested me because everyone who doesn’t like football all of a sudden gets interested. It’s like the people who only go to church on Easter and Christmas. Football is more than just a game to some people.

Panthers vs. Broncos. On February 7th, the two teams will duke it out in California. Super bowl fever has always really interested me because everyone who doesn’t like football all of a sudden gets interested. It’s like the people who only go to church on Easter and Christmas. Let’s be honest, though, Football is more than just a game to some people.

Cheesing pretty hard

Keep in mind that the super bowl is also another reason to throw a party, just like you acing a big test or the fact that it’s Saturday. It’s time for a party. Some people like socializing and just sort of pay attention, maybe picking a team based on how cool their jersey’s look. Whatever the case, you have some people who are hardcore football fans and some that aren’t. Do you know what everyone has in common though? Everybody looks forward to the ads. It’s funny too because any other time of the year people complain about ads. The super bowl is known for its ads because businesses pay a lot of money to reach the nearly 114 million people watching the game. They normally consist of funny ads that get people talking about it the next day. Seeing as we live in a digital age, some companies release a teaser of their ad. This brings me to the ad of the week. Colgate.

This ad really hits in a hard place. A lot of companies put a funny or emotional spin on their ad. This stirs up another of emotion, empathy. The ad is simple, which makes it brilliant. Colgate was trying to make it feel like any other morning. A person walks up and turns on the faucet to brush their teeth. While the water is left on people from undeveloped countries fill up on water, clear off fruit, and even a small girl. This doesn’t leave anything up to the imagination because the message of the ad is so real. We take for granted simple things in our lives that others don’t get. The reason I like this ad so much is that Colgate could have created an ad about anything, they could have used a cute dog or a funny twist. Instead, they paid millions to help enlighten people to conserve water. Of course, this is a form of Strategic Philanthropy. Strategic Philanthropy is when a company combines its marketing goals with its desire to increase the well-being of mankind. None the less it’s a great ad with a powerful message.

Now, go brush your teeth.

-N

Nod to the Starman

David Bowe was an inspiration. He was a legendary songwriter and performer that’s gone too soon. The legend actually brings me to my new weekly segment, “Ad of the week”.

Every Wednesday I’ll post an ad and I’ll go over it in detail. Seeing as I live in Atlanta, I see it’s only fitting that I start with a classic, Coca-Cola.

Coca-Cola has alway been known for their emotional advertising. It’s worked wonders for them because Coke’s goal is to simply “be there”.

Coke’s strategy is be associated with your favorite past memories.

Whenever you grab a Coke you’ll be reliving your first crush, kiss, or 4th of July, 1989. The list goes on and on.

Let’s move on to the ad of the week.

This ad is a part of Coke’s new campaign “Taste The Feeling”. According to Fortune magazine, U.S soda sales dropped for the 10th straight year in 2014. The stat for 2015 hasn’t come out yet but due to the health information we know about soda, it comes as no shock that sales might be down. Everything about this ad is brilliant, though. Their demographic is young adults anywhere from the age of 15-25. Again, they are pulling on our emotions to associate Coke with a reoccurring theme in this video, triumph. The video starts with students taking a test, a nervous, young girl peeks behind a curtain. It then moves on to soccer players falling, a diver falling, mom and daughter fighting. All of these clips switch back and forth to a bottle of Coke. As soon as the Coke bottle opens, everything changes. The diver nails the dive, the soccer player scores, etc. This goes to show that anything good can happen when you open Coke. The ad is truly uplifting and very well done. The video is titled “Under Pressure” and the song David Bowe recorded with Queen is playing in the background.

You may be under pressure, but anything is possible when you have Coke.

-N

US(A)dvertising

Why would you ever have to convince someone to go to Hawaii?

Because like anything else, it’s a business.

Now, tourism marketing has always fascinated me because you’re not selling a product, you’re selling a place. Instead of focusing on the attributes of a product, you focus on the experience and memories one will gain. This industry is also selective to vacation spots and historical places. You don’t see magazine ads or T.V. spots for the small town of Cainsville, Missouri.

 

290 strong

Tourism marketing has become a very important division of marketing because traveling has become more available. Back when airlines were just getting started, going on a plane was a big deal. Wealthy people and businessman were the key demographic at the time. Now that airlines like Southwest are making it more affordable to fly, the need for tourism marketing has increased. Marketing a destination is more than just sandy beaches and historical landmarks, it’s an experience. Traveling is a really stressful time for a lot of passengers and that’s something to take into account when trying to appeal to your demographic. Of course, different places want to attract a different crowd. Beaches typically attract families, older generations, and honeymooners. Historical places attract families, students, and the older generations. Amusement parks typically attract young kids and families. Obviously, you can tell what the most important demographic is. Marketing to families is a little interesting because you’re not only selling to one person. If your marketing a destination you need to point out that there is something for everyone in the family. There needs to be an event appropriate for families, maybe a spa for mom or a bar for dad to escape to.

 

Now, some cities have a slight advantage when it comes to marketing their destination. I’m sure Orlando, Florida or Anaheim, California don’t have any problems getting themselves on the map. L.A. has the Hollywood walk of fame and New York has the Empire State Building, Times Square, and much more.

Those cities are lucky because consumers aren’t just going for those specific places. Okay, sure, a family might be going to Orlando to visit Disney World but Orlando had a lot more to offer than just Disney World. Vacations are more about the experience of the trip, along with the memories.

This is why I find tourism marketing so interesting.

It’s not an everyday household cleaner or product.

It’s a life changing experience that you’ll only get if you escape to

(insert destination here)

Just focus on the copy, “Goodbye rush hour”, “white sandy beach”, “crystal-clear sea”.

One of my favorite ads is California’s “find yourself here” campaign,

That ad had it all: celebrities, the ocean, snow, Disney, and wordplay.

When all is said in done they aren’t selling California. They are selling you the experience to visit California. The benefits that come with California.

This is a classic advertising technique that teaches sellers to focus on the benefits the product (or in this case, the place) can bring to their life.

Features tell, but benefits sell.

Now whose up for a road trip to Cainsville, MO?

I’ll bring the sandwiches.

-N