The Blogging Adventure

It's hard to believe it's just about summer time. The weather is finally getting warmer and the semester is winding down. I've been looking back over my blog posts from this semester and have realized how much they have taught me. I have never been extremely good with technology and new or alternative media. When challenged to keep a blog on product placement, I was a little skeptical of blogging. I didn't understand why it was important. Now, I know.

It's a way to get your thoughts heard and your ideas out there. It helps connect you with thousands of other people, and keeps you up-to-date with a large span of issues. I was suprised by how much I got into blogging. I loved reading through various websites, especially Advertising Age, and finding stories on the latest product placement news. Before this experience, I hadn't realized how much is going on in the marketing world at one time. I realize that advertisements are EVERYWHERE, and each ad is strategically placed...but I never new about the business side of things, such as the advertising firms that help put together campaigns.

One of my favorite things that happened while blogging was when I got a response post from Thom Forbes. It was so cool to hear from someone who was in the middle of the action. I also thought it was cool how writers, advertisers, marketing companies, and more pay close attention to what's being said in the blogging world. I learned so much about new products coming out, ideas behind commercials, results from advertising campaigns and more.

When I first started, I was confident that I wasn't going to continue blogging after this semester. Now, I'm excited to keep writing about things I'm observing, learning, and experiencing. It's a great way to connect yourself with tons of people and learn more about what you find interesting. The whole experience was a great one, and I'm thankful I had this opportunity to learn what I did.

Rum Wedding Crashers

I guess the movie Wedding Crashers may have helped marketers think of new ways to promote their product....Leblon, a company that sells a Brazilian spirit, has decided to place their product at weddings. The rumlike drink that is made from cachaca will be offered at various weddings and important events to help raise awareness of the new drink. The bars that feature the drink at weddings will have a lot of fresh fruit to help hammer in the concept of this exotic, upscale drink.

Leblon is an expensive drink, selling at $25-$30 a bottle. As you can probably tell this is a high price compared to other rums on the market.

Vice President of Sales, Kevin Martin, explained that they wanted to have people try the drink for the first time at a big, exciting party and enjoy its unique taste in a happy atmosphere. Martin also mentioned that there are around 15 places in major cities that are working on deals with Leblon.

I thought it was really creative how the company is placing their product at different weddings and occasion. Even though it might be challenging, it is an excellent idea to test out.

If you want to read the full article by Jeremy Mullman, go to: http://adage.com/article?article_id=116092

Mountain Dew Gaming

The game Halo. I was first introduced to it in high school by a group of guy friends who were obsessed. They would organize huge Halo parties with up to 25 players, television sets scattered throughout the room, and controllers making a tangled mess on the floor. Of course they sat there screaming at the screen, talking like pros, and making fun of each others' skills. The parties would a lot of times last well into the morning hours. I just couldn't understand it....how could people stay up for over 8 hours playing a game? Well, one way to stay up caught my eye today when I was looking at articles. The answer? Mountain Dew.

Mountain Dew, a soft drink with around 54 milligrams of caffeine, is always a great choice for a drink to keep you awake. Mountain Dew decided to team up with the makers of Halo, and are releasing a brand new kind of Mountain Dew that will help advertise for the new Halo 3 game as well. The new red drink, a citrus cherry flavor, will come in a 20-ounce bottle with the title of "Game Fuel".

A spokeswoman for Pepsi talked about the gaming industry's effect on Mountain Dew. "Our goal is to go beyond traditional advertising by creating initiatives that make the brand an integral part of the gaming experience. We have some exciting programs coming this summer."

I always find it interesting to see what products are teaming up; I think Mountain Dew is really smart for connecting themselves with the Halo games. Even though I can't claim that I am a gamer, I am still excited to try this new flavor of one of my favorite pops.

You can check out Kate Macarthur's article at: http://adage.com/article?article_id=116107

Glacier Cold Beer

Like your beer cold? Well Coors Light does, and I mean they really do. For years they've been positioning themselves as the coldest beer with a refreshing taste. Now, they're moving their marketing tactics up a notch.

It's easy to see that they're trying to get back to their Rocky Mountain background. Their first string of product placements will include mini glaciers that sit on counter-tops at bars. From the glacier you can fill up your glass with an ice cold Coors Light---known as the "Coors Light Super Cold Draft". The exact temperature of this cold cold beer? 28.5 and 31.5 degrees Farenheit. That sounds like the kind of drink that would freeze your heart and brain.

Coors Light's biggest competitor right now is Miller Lite; both companies use a similar brewing process to keep their brews cold and refreshing. Miller Lite is a little ahead in sales, but Bud Light is ahead of both of them. Coors Light is looking to spend over $127 million in advertising this year.

The article also touched on Coors' background of how it used to be a beer that people tried to smuggle over to the east coast.

A really interesting, great article written by Jeremy Mullman; check it out at: http://adage.com/article?article_id=115992

Mojito-Flavored Gum

I do have something to admit...I'm addicted to gum. I chew a pack of Extra Polar Ice gum a day. I know it's not the greatest habit to have, especially when around people who think it's rude...but yes, it's my weakness. Why am I admitting this strange addiction? Wrigley has just released a new flavor of gum: Mint Mojito Orbit. Sounds good, right?

Well, not everyone is agreeing. People are saying that the new flavor of gum is trying to appeal to children and teenagers. The article mentioned how pina colada became such a big flavor for candies. The spokesman for the people upset with the new flavor stated his problems with the name: "It's something I'd call mildly reprehensible, and it'll almost certainly lead to others going further. It's sad they need to name it like an alcoholic beverage to sell it."

The spokesperson for the Wrigley gum did bring up the fact that the choices for mint-based flavor names are getting slim. With many flavors such as: bubblemint, sweet mint, and citrus mint, the creative people are started to hit a wall with ideas. The spokesperson also brought up the point that the advertisements for it don't really differ from any of the other ads they made for gum. This helped support his point that they are not trying to target young teenagers and children with their product.

It's always interesting to see what kind of things people get upset about and why in the advertising world.

Check out Jeremy Mullman's article at: http://adage.com/article?article_id=116025

Wendy's New Frosty Flavor & Breakfast Menu

Wendy's International has taken a hit to their sales and are trying to get back into the game. Their famous Frosty drink is undergoing changes; they tested over 100 different kinds of vanilla for a new Frosty flavor. As you may have noticed, they released the new vailla Frosty with a strong cotton candy flavor during last summer. Another promotional tool they are using are introducing wide straws and bubble-shaped tops.

Along with their new Frosty flavor, Wendy's has reintroduced their breakfast menu. Trying to keep up with major competitors, Wendy's will be serving breakfast sandwiches, French-toast sticks, hash-browns and more. Between the new Frostys and breakfast menu, Wendy's is hoping to attract a younger demographic.

I had been wondering why Wendy's decided to introduce a vanilla Frosty, but now understand the reasoning and strategy behind it to extend their target audience.

If you want to check out Thom Forbes' article, go to: http://publications.mediapost.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=Articles.showArticle&art_aid=58353&passFuseAction=PublicationsSearch.showSearchReslts&art_searched=Wendys%20tries%20to%20attract%20young%20diners&page_number=0

Funkmaster Flex For Ford

Giving a 17-year old actress a hybrid car not enough product placement news for you in the car business? Well Ford is following Honda's lead and introducing a new SUV that will be driven by a celebrity. Wondering who it is? Funkmaster Flex. That's right; Ford has realized that by having Funkmaster Flex as a spokesperson for Ford's SUVs, they will be able to capture a large chunk of the urban crowd. They are naming editions of the Expedition and Mustang after the DJ, including a vehicle known as Flex.

Ford is trying to swoop in and get more of the consumers that make up Escalade's target audience. As Halliday mentions in the article, Escalade has a very strong presence amoung the rap/ hiphop community. As big advantage Ford Expeditions have over the Escalades is that they are much cheaper, by $20,000. If the Funkmaster Flex ad campaign grabs enough positive attention from this target audience, Ford might be able to easily pull ahead of its competitor with its lower price.

The sales of the Expeditions are already significantly improving with an increase of 8.2% from last January/February to this January/February. I'm interested to see how much the sales improve after Funkmaster Flex's cars are introduced. Another great way that Ford is hitting this new promotional idea home is by being the mains sponsor on the "Car Wars" show on ESPN2. The event is hosted by Funkmaster Flex and will have 6 episodes featuring the Expeditions.

If you want to read Jean Halliday's article, go to http://adage.com/article?article_id=115872

GMU Enjoys Free Publicity

Just like the college football season with the attention of thousands of viewers, the NCAA tournament has proved to be entertaining, surprising, and exciting. This month-long event known as "March Madness" determines which college basketball team is the best in the nation. What's the best part of March Madness for the media world? All of the advertising opportunities! Now, I'm not just talking about for marketers, products, businesses and such....I'm talking about for the schools themselves.

Last year George Mason University did a great job of suprising everyone by beating some of the best teams in the tournament including UNC, Michigan State, and more. So how did this help them out? The applications for the following school year quadrupled. Also alumni stepped up and started donating huge amounts of money with pride. GMU was shocked, seeing as they had little to no advertising for the school.

According to Rich Thomaselli's article, small schools can gain up to $50 million dollars in free advertising for doing well in the tournament. Not too bad, eh? I had never really thought about how admissions were affected by doing well in sports. It makes sense though; they are out in the public eye with top performances, of course more students would want to come to their school. Not only do sponsors get the benefit of great advertising spots, but the schools get free publicity. It was fun to read about the success of small schools in the NCAA.

Check out Rich Thomaselli's article at: http://adage.com/article?article_id=115715

Promoting My Blog take 2

I have been reading other product placement blogs; it's really interesting to see what people's opinions are on certain media topics. Many people have been writing about Second Life and how it may or may not help the success of a business or product. One blog in particular talked about Bloomsberry chocolate like I did before in a prior post. Her post definitely got me thinking and I started to see a new perspective on how SL might help Bloomsberry. I left a comment on Amanda's blog explaining my thought process and how her post helped me develop new ideas.

I'm hoping that by leaving comments on other people's blogs, I will get more people to check out my own blog. Hopefully it works, but I guess I'll have to keep leaving comments and see what happens.

Check out Amanda's blog at: http://playproduct.blogspot.com/

Cell Phones the Next Advertising Platform?

I found an interesting article written by Alice Z. Cuneo on Ad Age's website about advertisements on cell phones. Right now, cell phone companies and marketers are trying to determine the success of possibly placing advertisements on cell phones. The amount of people that do not want the advertising on their cell phones is overwhelming, with 90% of consumers against the advertisements. Researchers discovered however, that consumers are more open to the idea if there is some sort of reward or trade-off. Besides the obvious desire for money, consumers are also eager to receive free cell phone features like ring tones and games.

Marketers are targeting younger people (around college-age to 30s) for this new cell phone advertising campaign. When polled, they found that people with lower income in their thirties are most interested in receiving advertisements. Only 9% of all respondents were at all interested; the number rose slightly at the thought of bribery.

It is obvious that the demand and desire for advertisements on cell phones is very low. The CEO of Mobile Posse, Jon Jackson, was quoted saying: "If you ask, no consumer ever will say 'I need more advertising in my life,'". I think Jackson hit the nail right on the head. Of course people don't want to receive advertisements on their cell phone. We are already exposed to an absurd amount of advertising every day; I don't see why people would want it to start invading their personal phones.

The marketers realize that advertising on cell phones is a great opportunity for them, but they are going to have to work hard to develop a way to get the consumers interested.

If they did start selling phone packages with a discount if you were willing to receive advertisements, I still don't think I would agree to it. I would gladly pay more money on a phone package and not have to read advertisements throughout the day. It was interesting to think about this, because I am extremely interested in every aspect of marketing. Hoping to break into the marketing business some day, I realized how hard it is to break through consumer barriers and opinions. I'm interested to see how successful the mobile companies are in starting this project up.

If you want to read Cuneo's article, check out: http://adage.com/digital/article?article_id=115614

Second Life Advertising

Eager to network with people from all over the world? Well maybe Second Life is for you. This virtual world has proved to be a phenomenon with over 4 million users. Big businesses and organizations have bought islands in Second Life, and created a world of their own. Mercedes, Ithaca College, H&M and many more have buildings in SL.

When I first learned about Second Life, I was shocked. The idea that people could create another life for themselves and have their avatars go to different events seemed unbelievable. After exploring SL, I understand what a great marketing tool SL can be. While I've walked around going to different islands, I have encountered a lot of product placement and advertisements. Just today, something popped up saying if my avatar wore a huge sign for a certain company, I would make $2 (Linden) every 10 minutes. The Linden dollars can be used to buy clothing, products, islands, etc in SL.

So why should a company look into possibly marketing in SL? The virtual world provides another way to interact with consumers and potential customers. They can create an island or building for their product, or just put up posters in SL about their product. SL isn't right for every company though. The majority of users in SL have proved to be made up of middle-aged people with a fair amount of money to spend. SL is constantly expanding though, and is appealing to many different demographics.

In my class, my group is making a marketing plan for Bloomsberry & Co. chocolate bars. I think Bloomsberry would be able to get a lot of exposure by advertising in SL, but I think they should wait for SL to expand and have a larger college-aged user population. Bloomsberry & Co. primarily targets females in college. The packaging of the Bloomsberry chocolate bars is very attention-grabbing and creative, but I don't think older people would appreciate their package designs.

I'll continue to explore Second Life and see if I can find some of Bloomsberry & Co.'s other competitors.

Cutting Back Alcohol Ads

Throughout my blog, I have talked positively about product placement and shared product stories that are exciting for the media world. Today, however, I found an article about how an industry is being urged to cut back on advertisements and exposure. What industry and product might I be talking about? Alcohol.

The U.S. Surgeon General, Dr. Kenneth Moritsugu, is strongly suggesting that alcoholic beverage companies tone down the amount of advertisements they have on college campuses and around teens. He wants the companies to get rid of as many outdoor advertisements as they can, and also try to stop using college newspapers for advertising. Moritsugu also mentioned that colleges and universities should try to get rid of alcohol-sponsored events.

I thought this was really interesting; I wonder if the commercials during the Bowl games and basketball games will exclude advertisements that involve alcohol. I'm not sure how marketers will try to get around this suggestion, seeing as a large part of the college sports audience is made up of the alcohol companies' target audience. I'm going to be looking for articles and watch a few basketball games to see if I notice an effort that the schools and marketers are making to limit the amount of alcohol-related advertisements.

Even though there are statistics that are showing that alcohol consumption among teens is dropping, Moritsugu is still worried about the amount of alcohol use in colleges and universities. Moritsugu is trying to avoid creating new laws, which is why he is asking the media and marketers to get on his side. Coming straight out of the article: "The entertainment and media industries should be sure movies, TV shows and video games do not 'glamorize underage alcohol use,' the report says. They should also avoid 'gratuitous portrayals of alcohol abuse in films and TV shows in which children are a major audience.'"

I am very curious to see how marketers and advertisers will adjust to this new "recommendation" from the Surgeon General. Marketing alcohol is already a complex business with so many things to consider. I'm interested in seeing how this may affect alcohol sales.

Read the article at http://adage.com/article?article_id=115414

Honda Gives Celebrity Hydrogen Car

In one of my advertising classes, I am doing a project on the Honda Fit. Because of this, I've been cruising around Honda's website a lot and also paying extra attention to car ads to help me with my own advertisements. I was so excited to find an article today about product placement for Honda.

The story was released today, and it turns out that Honda is giving their first Hydrogen car to a 17-year old actress! The lucky teen is O'orianka Kilcher, who starred in the movie "The New World" in 2005. The reason she gets the new Honda FCX is because Honda knows that she'll be driving around Hollywood- showing off the new car and getting a lot of attention for Honda. (Let's hope she doesn't crash it!)

The Honda FCX has zero emissions and has met the federal safety standards. It's a great step forward for trying to solve the transportation/ global warming problem. Hopefully Honda's marketing strategies and celebrity product placement will help them gain a lot of loyal customers.

Kilcher is very excited about her new car and the difference she can help make. In the article they had a quote from her saying: "When I first started pursuing my dream of a zero emissions vehicle as my first car, it seemed like a pretty unrealistic dream. With Honda's innovation and support, my dream of helping the environment became a reality!"

I'm sure more news will be released soon on Kilcher's experience with the car and also Honda's advertising campaign to promote the vehicle.

If you want to read the article...go to: http://www.productplacement.biz/branded-entertainment/200703081832/honda-product-placement-hydrogen-car-to-celebrity

GEICO caveman sitcom

Possibly the most popular advertisements on television right now are the GEICO Caveman ads. The caveman first appeared in 2005, and showed a caveman living in the modern world. In the commercial, the cavemen find the Geico slogan: "So easy, a caveman could do it!" very offensive. The series was born with later commercials developing with story lines of a spokesman apologizing to the caveman. The newest ad features a caveman on one of the moving sidewalks in airports. He passes a GEICO advertisement with that same slogan and gets offended. These commercials have kept consumers and viewers entertained, and increased awareness of the GEICO brand.

Information was released today in Variety, saying that a sitcom is being created for ABC based on the GEICO cavemen characters. The cavemen will be living in Atlanta, and dealing with the modern world like the commercials have shown. The guy who is responsible for the creation of the GEICO cavemen is going to be writing the sitcom.

It's awesome to see a popular character in a commercial become the basis of a new television show. I'm interested to see how popular it will become, and the plot lines for each episode. Hopefully they'll have more information on the sitcom soon, but for now if you want to read up on the article, go to: http://abclocal.go.com/wpvi/story?section=entertainment&id=5086153

Promoting the blog

I'm really getting into blogging. It's fun to write updates on product placement, product releases, sponsorships, and current events that are happening. I realized that with all my posts about promotion, I should focus on promoting my blog.

I have sent the link to my blog to my brother, who is at grad school in New Mexico studying creative writing. He sent the link to his housemates, girlfriend, and classmates. I have sent the link to quite a few of my friends over IM; many of them have started asking me about my blog every week and even have given me input about what they would like to see me write about. I also sent an email to my high school teachers, so they could get a better idea about what I am studying in college.

I am planning on searching through the blog network and finding people with similar blog topics, and send them my blog link.

Hopefully through all of these different strategies for promotion I will get more readers and find out what other people think about the different topics in my blog. If you think of another way to promote my blog, let me know!

Oscars & Apple iPhone

It's the biggest night of the year for actors/actresses, directors, producers, editors, and more. It's the night of celebrities dressing up in gorgeous gowns and amazing suits. It's the night of 40 million viewers tuning in to one of the biggest nights for Hollywood. It's Oscars night!

The Oscars were packed with amazing performances, hilarious bits from Ellen, and surprising moments. During the commercial breaks, I tried to pay extra close attention to who the target audience of the advertisements was and the types of products that were being advertised. Among the various commercials throughout the night were tons of L'Oreal spots targeting women of all ages. One commercial that seemed to surprise everyone however, was an advertisement for the new Apple iPhone.

It was a strange commercial, featuring 31 clips from various movies and tv shows. John Travolta, Mr. Incredible, and Lucille Ball were all in the iPhone ad, just to name a few of the many celebrities. Throughout the 30-second spot, the celebrities were shown answering their phones saying "hello". At the end, the screen went black, and with that famous white iPod writing, "Hello" appeared on the screen.

It was surprising to see this iPhone plug because the product is not being released until June. Reporters stated it was the first time that Apple has advertised something ahead of its release date. The ad did not show the phone network that would carry the iPhone, or the name of the iPhone.

So what's all the hype? The iPhone is positioned to be a very cool, very expensive, and very stylish product. It serves as a widescreen video iPod, a camera with two megapixels, and it can also be used to access the Internet. Oh yeah...it has a touchscreen too. Apple is known for its amazing marketing plan; all of their products are consistent with the brand image, including the packaging.

Apparently reporters couldn't reach Apple to find out if they will be showing the advertisement again. It could be just something they created for the Oscar audience. Hopefully we'll see it again on tv, or even different editions of the ad!

Go to: http://adage.com/article?article_id=115206 to read the article.

Zoo Marketing...what a wild idea!

Advertising and product placement is everywhere. Whether we know it or not, we are exposed to thousands of advertisements a day. Product placement is constantly reaching new heights; marketers are always eager to think of an innovative way to reach their target audience. I just listened to a podcast from Ad Age about advertising in zoos. Surprisingly this option was not explored until recently by marketers.

In the Ad Age podcast, they talk about the unique experience of placing brands and products throughout the zoo. Fisher Price is a company that has done a lot of advertising through San Francisco Zoo and San Diego Zoo. The results of having play areas and food stands with the Fisher Price brand were very positive, so Fisher Price started incorporating zoo advertising in their marketing/media plan. Inspired by the great outcome from zoo advertising, they have also decided to reach out to cruise lines and hotels.

At the Philadelphia Zoo, there is a lot of advertising for Dodge. They have different Dodge vehicles positioned around the grounds of the zoo as well as various print advertisements by different animals exhibits. They also have an amusement park ride at the conservation center where zoo visitors sit in a Dodge Durango and take a virtual tour. The Ad Age podcast revealed the zoo's intentions to increase their sponsors' exposure and to help develop long-term relationships with their sponsors.

Zoos are a great place to advertise, because zoos attract a lot of families. Another good reason, is that there isn't a lot of competition for the companies to market their products since not a lot of companies think to spend money to advertise at zoos. Zoos attract over 143,000,000 visitors per year, giving companies access to a huge audience. There are more than 200 zoos and aquariums in the country, which gives marketers a lot of different options and opportunities for marketing.

This podcast was extremely informative and interesting. Check out the variety of podcasts that Ad Age has available to find out more on product placement and sponsorship!

Go to: http://adage.com/article?article_id=48120 and click on the podcast link that directs you to a huge number of podcasts available for free through itunes.

Trump in Trouble?

Hey all! I'm here to give you an update on the product placement world. There are many positives and negatives to having a celebrity endorse your product. They attract a lot of consumers, because of their image, talents, and popularity, but they can also hurt your brand if they are not responsible.

One of the main sponsors of Donald Trump's famous show, "the Apprentice LA", is Lexus. While watching the episodes, you can see the contestants being driven around in Lexus cars and SUVs. This sponsorship got turned upside down when Donald Trump was spotted driving around in what reporters think was a Bentley or Rolls. Although the show has lost about half of their audience, Lexus is still not getting the complete sponsorship that they paid for from Trump.

These types of situations and problems can hurt brands and celebrities in the long run. Donald Trump will probably not be asked to sponsor another product, based on his lack of reliability to actually use the product in real life. (This is just my opinion). Right away this news caught my attention. It's interesting to hear when a celebrity doesn't use a certain product that he/she agreed to promote.

If you want to read some articles that are similar to this story I was talking about, check out Jeff Greenfield's articles. He is always on top of what's going on!

Check out: www.productplacement.biz/

The future of virtual product placement

Inspired by my last post, I found an extremely interesting article about virtual product placement. Recently, billboards at certain sports events have been using virtual advertisements. They make advertisements appear on billboards, but the ads aren't really there. If you were watching the sports event on television, and Ford was trying to make a push for their product in your area, you would see a Ford ad up on the billboard. If you were in a different area and Toyota was trying to make a push for their product in that area, you would see a Toyota ad. This helps marketers reach their specific target groups effectively, and helps the sports event get a variety of promoters.

Another example of where virtual product placement can take place is in the movies. While filming, an actor can be drinking soda from a solid color can. Later during post production, they can place product names on to that solid color can. The distributor of the movie can sell advertising space by adding digital tags on to objects that marketers can put brand names. The technology is similar to Photoshop, where advertisers can change the tags.

Marketers are discussing the idea about adding virtual product placement in old movies. Although they could successfully add the brand names into old movies, they are worried that the ads might affect the movies in a negative way. Eventually, virtual product placement will be available for all advertisers to use and won't be expensive. Researchers are also talking about how viewers will probably be able to skip the ads placed in movies using similar technology.

This article blew my mind. Just when you think advertising has reached its peak, more and more opportunities develop.

Check it out: http://www.ad-mkt-review.com/public_html/air/ai200008.html

If you have opinions on the subject, let me know!

Interactive Product Placement

Popular items that get a lot of action in the product placement world include all types of cool and innovative technology. You'll see these strategically placed items such as cell phones, computers, and more, within movie and television scenes. Television shows that are well-known for having such product placement items include CSI, Alias, and 24.

Because of all of the ways that potential customers are getting away with not watching commercials through Tivo, websites, video games, and more, marketers are forced to think of new options. There is talk floating around that marketers are looking to create interactive television, where if a viewer sees an actor holding a product, they can click the remote and be able to buy that product. The same thing can happen if the viewer is watching the program on the internet. If they click a certain product, they will be offered a link to purchase the product.

This idea can be related to what Seth Godin said in his speech to Google about making things available for the customer when they want them. CEO of GoldPocket interactive, Scott Newnam, explained his thoughts on the new marketing strategy and the progress of their research: "It's about not making it intrusive. So far, the focus groups are terrific."

Many technology products are constantly being sent to writers, directors, and producers to be used for product placement in the various movies and television shows. With the knowledge that product placement is taking a more interactive role in customers' lives, marketers are fighting hard for the opportunity to make relationships with the important people that can help with promoting their products.

If I find more information on interactive television and product placement, I'll post it.

The article that I read is available at: http://www.wired.com/news/culture/digiwood/0,67723-0.html

Let me know what you think!

Diesel in Jamiroquai's video

While working at the radio station, I get the opportunity to learn new artists and bands everyday. One of my most recent favorite songs that WICB has been playing is Jamiroquai's "Runaway". The song itself, has been stuck in my head for days. Earlier today, I was scanning through articles and magazines, when I stumbled across some very interesting news about product placement.

Diesel landed a huge product placement deal with Jamiroquai. In their new video "Runaway", the lead singer of Jamiroquai (Jay Kay), is wearing a special pair of sunglasses that Diesel makes. Diesel is an Italian based designer clothing company- and the sunglasses are featured in the Fall Winter 2006 fashion line. The glasses were specially designed for Jay- going for a cool, underground look. The video was shot at Trafalgar Square, Tower Bridge, and Piccadilly Circus in London. It has been featured for weeks on various music videos shows all over the world- and will keep growing in popularity.

For some reason, the idea of product placement in music videos never occurred to me. This deal, which was handled by Propaganda Gem, will definitely boost sales and exposure for Diesel. I was excited to find this music-related product placement news...if I find more updates on other music videos, I'll post them!

American Idol podcast

I realized how much I have been missing out on in the media world this past weekend when I listened to my first podcast. It never crossed my mind to search through available podcasts and listen to what's going on in the industry. I selected a podcast from the AdAge website titled: "'American Idol': A Marketing Mammoth Expands Further". American Idol is one of my favorite shows because of some of the ridiculous contestants and judges' reactions. Although American Idol is a show I laughed at and enjoyed, I failed to notice how big of an impact it has on the marketing world.

According to the podcast, in 2001, 'Pop Idol' was launch in the UK. Simon, my favorite judge, came to America and tried to pitch his idea to NBC, ABC, and CBS. He was determined to get ABC to take the show, but they turned him down twice. Soon after that, FOX agreed happily to air the show. I think NBC, ABC, and CBS are all kicking themselves right now, having turned down a marketing opportunity of a lifetime.

In the podcast, Claire Atkinson, reported that the revenue American Idol pulls in is above 2.5 billion dollars. She admitted that the estimated 2.5 billion dollars was a very conservative number, and they expected the actual revenue to be much higher. She referred to American Idol as "the biggest integrated advertising platform on the planet." Atkinson compared Idol to the Superbowl and mentioned how Idol's audience is the size of the Superbowl audience every week for 19 weeks.

There are two co-owners of the franchise: 19 Entertainment and FremantleMedia. 19 Entertainment handles the music side of the business. This includes the music sales and exploitation of the albums. FremantleMedia takes care of all the off-air licenses. There are over 40 licenses using the Idol name right now. American Idol has become a brand name in many different product lines. There is Idol-branded chocolate, candy bars, Ice-cream flavors, and more. They are even looking into making a fashion line that's based on what the contestants wear on the show.

There is alot of talk going on about how people think that American Idol has reached its peak going into their 6th season. Atkinson confirmed that Idol is only 'scratching the surface' and that there are many more possibilities for the show. They have just started to get into streaming Idol footage on their website, something that other television shows have started. There is also talk of how a virtual game will be made where consumers can become virtual contestants and go through the whole process in a virtual world.

The three main sponsors of American Idol are Coke, Cingular, and Ford. All three of these companies bought huge packages with FOX, which sold between 30 million and 50 million dollars. Being a sponsor of this popular show is an extremely powerful position to have in the marketing world. Atkinson mentioned how while it's easy to watch product awareness increase, it's hard to measure exactly how the sponsorship is affecting the companies' sales.

This podcast was interesting, informative, and entertaining. I learned more than I expected about the marketing aspect of Idol. It also got me thinking about product placement. During the show, viewers might see the judges drinking Coke or Coke products, which is a good example of product placement. Although podcasts themselves aren't the best media channels to use product placement, they raised my awareness on where to spot product placement. I would definitely recommend listening to the various podcasts available on AdAge; you can learn so much about products and services that you love.

All Marketers are Liars

I just watched an interesting speech, "All Marketers are Liars", by Seth Godin. With an entertaining and humorous presentation, Godin revealed his thoughts to Google on the importance of creating buzz among consumers. Within the first eight minutes of the speech, Godin talked about how signifcant a role that word of mouth plays in marketing. What really sells a product, is the consumer who tells their friends about it. Word-of-mouth is the fastest and most efficient way that people become aware of certain products. Right away a trust is formed with the consumer and the product, because the consumer trusts their friend's opinion. With this trust, the consumer decides to buy the product- to start believing in the product.

Throughout the whole speech, Godin gave specific examples on people talking about products. He mentioned Fancy Feast, a rather disgusting form of cat food (if you ask me), and how people will voluntarily pay 5 times more for this brand of cat food than normal dry food. The reason? It's not for the cats; it's for the people. Fancy Feast has successfully created an image that people believe in. A cat can survive on any type of cat food, but people buy Fancy Feast for their own satisfaction. They know that they are trying to provide "the best" for their cat, and that's what makes them happy.

Godin told Google that people want a story they can tell themselves. They want to tell their friends about the cool or interesting things they have found. He threw out an example about Tiffany's. "Tiffany's gives the jewelry away for free; the box is what they charge for!" Godin made a solid point; people want the story behind the box. Of course, people could go to a different jewelry store and perhaps buy the same thing, but they wouldn't have that small blue box- the blue box that gave people something to talk about.

He presented a challenge to Google by saying, "If you're going to do something, is it worth talking about?" I thought this speech was very educational and interesting. It proved the point that a product's best marketers are the consumers themselves. I realized that a huge part of why I buy certain products is because of the buzz my friends create about them. Godin's speech to Google can open eyes to what is important in a marketing plan. You need to make something worth talking about.

Introducing Me!

My name is Liz Staley and I am a student at Ithaca College. My major is Integrated Marketing Communications with a minor in Outdoor Recreation. Being a student at IC has given me a lot of opportunities. I am heavily involved with the college radio station and have participated in various other media-related activities. Along with my love for communications, outdoor adventures have always been a huge part of my life.

One thing that I have always been extremely interested in, is product placement within movies and television shows. The idea of marketers strategically placing soda cans, computers, brand names, and more within programs is overwhelming. It's entertaining to point out product placement when I see it, but at the same time it feels intrusive.

For the next couple of months, I will focus my attention on this topic. I will be reading articles, other blogs, and reporting on my own experiences with various examples and issues of product placement. I am excited for the new information and discoveries. I hope that keeping this blog will help me apply what I learn to my future experiences in the communications field.