Proliferation

Aug 18
0

Could Television Finally Be Linked to Advertising?

By | advertising, marketing | No Comments

If the phrases, “Tiny Rick” or “Get Schwifty!” sound familiar to you, then you are among the thousands who regularly enjoy the dark show, “Rick and Morty.” This series isn’t just a reminder that you’ve got a twisted sense of humor, but is proof that we may not have seen the end of product placement.

You probably noticed when marketing companies invaded your favorite television show, as a can of pop with the label pointed directly to the camera was highlighted. It was unnatural and a failure at making brands a part of storylines. But there has also been a predicted return of products to our screens in the future — the future is now.

“Rick and Morty” Spark a Movement

For anyone who isn’t familiar, “Rick and Morty” is an animated series that is loosely based on “Back to the Future.” This grandfather and grandson pair travel through space and time, taking part in failed adventures and all but ruining their own dimension.

It wasn’t an advertising agency that came up with the McDonald’s storyline. During the season three premier, Rick uses the deliciousness of the dipping sauce to distract aliens and get out of intergalactic prison. In the end, he mentions his overarching goal has been to get his hands on McDonald’s Szechaun dipping sauce, “…even if it takes nine seasons, Morty!”

McDonald’s Jumps Aboard

McDonald’s dug deep to get Justin Roiland, the show’s creator, a half-gallon of Szechaun dipping sauce. Before the second episode of the season premiered, Roiland shared his bounty—earning over 141,000 retweets and 337,000 likes. McDonald’s also tweeted out that they have three more containers to award their biggest fans.

The fast food giant played into the delicious social media karma, basking in the glory that is promotional marketing. This 19-year-old condiment had note plastered on it playing into the theme with a, “…Who knows where space or time will take us because when our customers speak, we listen.”

Though it’s not your traditional product placement, brands are constantly watching out for anytime they’re mentioned in popular shows. Niche followings are boosted (think “Stranger Things” and the Eggo boom), and these brands feel the surge that even the best advertising agency can’t just create organically.

To Justin Roiland we say, keep pushing your personal agenda with the success of “Rick and Morty”—we’re loving it. To all the marketing companies, we urge you to study the way nostalgia, products and social media have tied together to bring McDonald’s back to the top once more.

Great Scott, get schwifty and game on to anyone else going after the rest of the Szechaun sauce.

Sources:
http://adage.com/article/digital/mcdonald-s-makes-lost-sauce-crazed-rick-morty-fans/309979/
http://www.foxnews.com/food-drink/2017/08/01/mcdonalds-bends-to-rick-and-morty-fans-pleas-brings-back-szechuan-dipping-sauce.html
https://hbr.org/2013/02/the-decline-and-fall-of-product-placement

Aug 15
0
Cover Photo

How to Beat Writers Block

By | advertising | No Comments

As the weather in Utah and across the United States gets colder, creative individuals who draw inspiration from the great outdoors are often forced back inside and ultimately, into writer’s block. Writer’s block can hit the best of the best and while working at an advertising agency, this writer’s block can be frustrating and career halting.

If you find that writer’s block has begun to impede your creative process or mess with the flow of your advertising agency, never fear. Fortunately for you, there are ways to battle the block and writers everywhere can use just a few simple tips and tricks to get back in the groove and obliterate writer’s block.

Infographic Beat Writer's Block

Aug 14
0

Does Marketing to Millennials Work?

By | advertising, marketing | No Comments

In the world of marketing, trends come and go as quickly as the Mocking SpongeBob meme shifted into the “Oh no baby, what is you doin?” Countless companies have revisited their strategies, realizing that it’s high time to figure out how to reach Millennials.

There isn’t an advertising agency on the planet that hasn’t tried to come up with the answer for Millennial marketing. Unfortunately for many, the approaches have tanked faster than Scaramucci’s career in the White House.

One Size Does Not Fit All

When you think of Millennials, you probably picture a tech-savvy young adult who stares at their smartphone all day. While they are the first generation to grow up with computers as an integral part of their everyday lives, if you’ve stuck with that image, you’ve played yourself harder than Blacc Chyna played Rob Kardashian.

The stereotypical Millennial does not touch on the fact that this generation ranges anywhere from the 35 year old father of three to the 22 year old college student. The fact remains — this 80 million person generation will soon be taking over the market, and they are as diverse as they come. Being the most educated generation, they aren’t slow to the fact that you’re generalizing their interests and entirely missing the mark.

Tactics to Remember

It’s no secret that social media has become the information channel of this age. Traditional marketing is now a thing of the past. The average Millennial actually touches their phone 45 times a day. Remind your marketing companies to zero in on the audience you want to reach in order to create the content that will connect with them. Remember the mantra, “One size does not fit all.”

Nostalgia marketing has seen a boom. When you consider the hectic schedules and responsibilities that this generation faces, pulling at fond memories will humanize your brand. Your retro roots are an invaluable tactic.

Don’t be the advertising agency that dives right into the generalized “Marketing to Millennials.” Remember what a diverse group they actually are. And for those companies who have successfully done this, “You’re doing amazing sweetie.”

Sources:

https://www.skyword.com/contentstandard/marketing/your-marketing-to-millennials-is-failing-because-of-your-stereotypes/

https://www.forbes.com/sites/laurenfriedman/2016/08/02/why-nostalgia-marketing-works-so-well-with-millennials-and-how-your-brand-can-benefit/#349fe6433636

https://business.experticity.com/understanding-influencer-marketing-millennials/

Aug 10
0

Is AI Taking Over Content Marketing

By | advertising, content marketing, Utah | No Comments

Content marketing is crucial for building a digital brand. Everything points back to the messages in the content. This is why, as an advertising agency in Utah, you’d want to hire a creative team that is capable of producing genuine and relevant content for your clients.

With recent developments in artificial intelligence (AI), experts are discovering how AI can make content creation more efficient. But many fear AI will “take over” in a negative way.

Should We Be Excited or Afraid?

The big question everyone is asking is whether or not AI will be a major game-changer in the near future. The realistic answer is no. AI isn’t going to take over the world anytime soon — knock on wood. However, AI is capable of many things including, writing generic content and analyzing market data, but so far AI lacks the empathy and emotion that humans need.

That doesn’t mean AI won’t have its place in content marketing. It has the potential to be a valuable tool for content teams. AI is good at following orders and completing templated jobs quickly and consistently. This is something that some agencies are already utilizing. Especially those industries that create data heavy, scientific content.

That being said, with the type of advancements we are seeing in the world of AI, we should be excited. The development of AI is going to expand the abilities of content marketing companies. Instead of focusing on monotonous tasks, your creative team can focus on the content that really matters — the content that strikes a connection with people.

Content Is Still King

 As they say, “content is king.” Long live the king. The development of AI isn’t a revolution to overthrow that hierarchy anytime soon. Rather, AI is another pillar of support to elevate content creation. Consequently, from this elevated content, brands will be able to better present themselves through modern mediums.

Sources:

http://www.econtentmag.com/Articles/News/News-Feature/How-AI-is-Impacting-Content-Marketing-119095.htm

https://scrunch.com/blog/5-reasons-why-content-is-king/

 

Aug 08
0

Why Aren’t Millennials Buying Stuff?

By | advertising, content marketing, marketing | No Comments

As the Millennial generation is graduating from college and entering the workforce, finances and student debt are now a forefront issue for this age group. While the average student has $37,172 in student debt at graduation, saving every dollar is essential to financial freedom later down the road.

While many Millennials are quick to point at student debt to the sole contributor, there is also a lack of connection to consumers about their products. Millennials enjoy feeling connected and marketing firms are trying to figure out various routes to connect their consumers.

Here are some products that are lacking in the understanding and connection front.

Fabric Softener

While the title may seem self explanatory, many millennials have no idea what this product is supposed to do. If the purpose or value is not explained as clearly as possible, the potential for purchase is extremely low with this age group.

Also, brands such as Downy do not resonate with these consumers as they deliver no further value to their lives. Lastly, it is not a necessity in doing laundry, only an added bonus. With money being tight with this age group, they want to spend it only on necessities.

Golf

The sport of golf is extremely traditional, slower-paced and expensive. These three attributes do not align with this age group very effectively, resulting in a decline in revenue for some major golf brands. Also, the sport is extremely difficult to self-initiate. Many people were influenced into the sport by a family member or friend. Unless it is a group of friends hitting golf balls for an afternoon, this sport is lacking connection to the new age of adults.

With these products not aligning with the values of the new marketplace, Millennials will be quick to eliminate them because they’re unnecessary. Content marketing companies are constantly trying to figure out what these very complicated consumers are looking for in order to drive sales.

Many an advertising agency has zeroed in on what the consumer wants from major brands, and are bringing it to them through whatever means necessary.

Aug 04
0

Should Marketing Agencies Now Be Looking Into Chief Artificial Intelligence Officers?

By | digital marketing, marketing | No Comments

Technology has skyrocketed in the last decade — so much so, that some marketing agencies are even looking into hiring on CAIO’s, or Chief Artificial Intelligence Officers. Yes, you read that correctly.

Concepts like artificial intelligence and machine learning are not as abstract as they once were. They’re now flowing into various aspects of the advertising world, forcing marketing agencies to keep up with the technology and successfully direct it into their business.

What Is Artificial Intelligence? 

The idea of artificial intelligence (AI) is a theory and development of computer systems that are able to perform tasks that would usually require human intelligence and interaction. Some of which include visual perception, speech recognition, decision-making and language translation.

Another way to define artificial intelligence is by using the word “crazy.” It’s something that most people can’t even comprehend at this point in time.

The Next Big Title

It’s beneficial for marketing agencies to incorporate this technology because developments such as the AI dashboard allow for the agencies to know when there are unusual patterns in their metrics. In addition, some agencies are looking into how to use AI to improve efficiency of their internal processes.

Understandably, some agencies are hesitant to let a robot-like creature take over the reigns, while some agencies are more confident. For instance, one brave independent media agency in New York just hired on a new executive director of cognitive solutions, who will be in charge the agency’s work surrounding the AI-like department.

Don’t Get Left Behind

Though AI is still in it’s semi-early stages and there are currently not many, if any, positions strictly dedicated to its growing development, it will one day in the near future be worth investing in.

For marketing agencies, the creation of artificial intelligence basically means life or death. If they shy away now while the concept is still new, there will be an evolutionary divide. This means that those who didn’t jump on the AI train are left abandoned at the station, not moving forward.

Sources:

http://adage.com/article/agency-news/chief-ai-officer-big-title-media-agencies/309667/

Aug 01
0

Is the Tech Industry Becoming Too Big?

By | advertising, digital marketing, marketing | No Comments

Written by Ascari Pena

 

Microsoft is beginning to cut back their sales and marketing teams, which allows us to ponder as technology becomes integrated into our daily lives. In 2014, nearly 17 million workers were employed in the high-tech sector. While this number continues to skyrocket, many other sectors are either being eliminated or restructured.

As an advertising agency in Utah, we are seeing an incredible boom here in the Silicon Slopes with jobs and economic growth.

Advantages of the Tech Boom

As technologies such as self-driving cars, virtual reality and fully automated online retailers such as Amazon, there is no stop to what technology companies are going to innovate. Technology also brings alignment to the consumer, allowing them to have a much more informed purchase cycle.

For example, before smart phones, the average consumer would visit around ten car dealerships to “kick the tires” and see pricing options. Now, the average buyers visit around two dealerships because of the help of online information and resources.Technology also allows the consumer to be smarter with each dollar they spend.

A perfect example is ride-share programs. The taxi business has never been centered around the customer experience, with rude drivers and ridiculous pricing to make for a pretty unpleasant experience. From here, comes Lyft and Uber, offering a much more customer friendly experience at a much better price. Now, taxis are struggling to survive — for better or worse.

Disadvantages of The Tech Boom

While technology is great, it has come with unfavorable conditions for some. Billions of dollars are being lost in traditional mediums such as television and print advertising. With everyone ditching anything even remotely related to the word ‘traditional’, businesses are folding. Traditional television advertising, shopping malls, travel agencies, newspapers and book stores are all having to change their models drastically to keep up with the demands of a 2017 consumer.

At Fusion 360 Agency, we understand where the eyeballs are at. We know that traditional models are dying and we are the pros of digital sustenance — from content marketing to SEO. Our combination of services have allowed us to build something great, and we’re happy to see innovation as a result.