Thursday, December 23, 2010

How Reebok Taikan's viral campaign became a YouTube hit in Japan

PumaPulse
Curated By ZenithOptimedia, The ROI Agency
Find out more at http://puma-pulse.blogspot.com

The Reebok Taikan viral video campaign, created by Saatchi & Saatchi Fallon Tokyo, became the second most viewed on YouTube in Japan in 2010.







Background:
Taikan is Reebok's performance enhancing clothing and footwear line that helps align the body for better balance which can lead to better breathing, flexibility and sports performance. The challenge for Reebok was how to gain awareness and exposure of the product line with limited budget and retail space allotment compared to competitors.

Aim:
The campaign was designed to raise awareness of Reebok's Taikan product line. KPI's included reaching 100,000 views within six weeks, a doubling of visits to the brand website and some free exposure in non-paid media.

Execution:
"A successful viral campaign involves much more than a great piece of film placed on-line. The agency carefully crafted a plan that was supported by some integrated activities that would help detonate maximum exposure of the video in a short period of time," said Zach Taub, brand director, Reebok Japan.
The central element to the campaign was a video designed to go viral, which was in fact a parody of a very well-known exercise show in Japan. The videowas released 1 April and was supported with limited but well-aimed integrated public relations seeding and guerilla tactics targeting potential users.
"The key to success was two-fold", Phil Rubel, CEO of Saatchi & Saatchi Fallon, explained, "First, the campaign taps into a tremendous cultural icon. The daily calisthenics show had been on TV for decades and almost everyone growing up in Japan knows about it and has probably exercised to it at some point."
He added that the campaign was based on an insight that everyone can relate too – which is people's penchant for purchasing expensive new equipment to improve their game, rather than improve their own physical core. "Of course, the surprising twist that people saw when they viewed the video which our creative team came up with made it absolutely irresistible not to pass on to friends," said Rubel.

Results:
"The Reebok viral campaign for the Taikan line of performance wear is an excellent example of how to do a viral campaign right. The KPI results speak for themselves ," said Taub.
"We had hoped to get 100,000 views in six weeks – we got 134,000 views the first day and over 1.6 million views by the six week mark." explained Rubel "In addition to the YouTube views, we also achieved over 550 million yen's worth of free TV exposure as almost all the key stations in Japan featured the video, the products, the performers and sometimes even Reebok representatives on their shows.  And visits to the product website increased by almost 400 per cent."
The icing on the cake for this campaign was the recent announcement byYouTube Rewind that the viral video was the second-most viewed video on YouTube in Japan in 2010.
"We were only beat out by a famous local celebrity model's very steamy fashion shoot film called Glamorous. So if we're going to come in second to somebody, it might as well be to something like that," said Taub.

Currently the Taikan video is closing in on 2 million views.

source: http://www.campaignasia.com/Article/242478,case-study-how-reebok-taikans-viral-campaign-became-a-youtube-hit-in-japan.aspx

Friday, December 17, 2010

Sneaker Tube TV

PumaPulse
Curated By ZenithOptimedia, The ROI Agency
Find out more at http://puma-pulse.blogspot.com



Sneaker Tube TV is a brand new website that allows sneaker fiends from all around the world to interact and express themselves through video. The brainchild of seasoned retailer and all-round sneaker guru Premium Pete, Sneaker Tube TV allows you to quickly and easily plug into a vast, passionate online community. Whatever your attachment to sneaker culture, no matter how many kicks are crammed in your closet, you'll find plenty to talk about. Check it out at www.sneakertube.tv.

SNEAKER TUBE TV

"At the end of the day, its all about the community" says Pete. "One of the main things I envisioned when creating SneakerTube.TV was having sneaker lovers, reviewers, collectors etc, from all around the world  all in the same community as Companies, Boutiques and Shops. I encourage sneaker companies to sign up, Interact, and show the community what you have" SneakerTube.TV will be a place where folks can begin to exchange views and make friends with sneakers being the common bond that will branch out to other things. SneakerTube.TV also features one of the most flexible, high quality, and fastest importing video players online today. Members will be able to import You Tube and Vimeo videos without losing their view counts, and will also have the ability to create customizable profile pages, live chat, blog, create & join groups and make friends with other members.

SneakerTube.TV (STTV) launches online today Wednesday, December 15th, 2010 and will be open to anyone to join and begin uploading and importing your sneaker related videos as well as watch videos from other members.





Monday, December 13, 2010

Asics hunts for the face of its women's running range

PumaPulse
Curated By ZenithOptimedia, The ROI Agency
Find out more at http://puma-pulse.blogspot.com


Asics, the athletics brand, is launching a pan-European digital campaign to find the face for its Ayami women's sportswear range.


Asics hunts for the face of its women's running range



The Asics campaign has been created to promote the women's sportswear brand as stylish and functional.
The activity, created by Amsterdam Worldwide, centres around a Facebook Asics page containing an online casting app that encourages women to upload pictures or films of themselves running towards the Asics Facebook wall. Members who view the images are then asked to vote for their favourite using the "Like" function.
The most popular runners will feature in an Asics "Lookbook" gallery on the Facebook page, while the overall winner with the most votes will appear in next year's Asics Ayami campaign by Amsterdam Worldwide.
Asics rolled out its Ayami range in March 2010 with a launch supported by an integrated marketing campaign, also by Amsterdam Worldwide.

Friday, December 10, 2010

Uniqlo launches its 'Lucky line' campaign in China

PumaPulse
Curated By ZenithOptimedia, The ROI Agency
Find out more at http://puma-pulse.blogspot.com



Partnering with Chinese SNS website Renren.com, Japanese fashion giant Uniqlo has brought its widely-acclaimed viral campaign 'Uniqlo Lucky line' to China.



Uniqlo launches its 'Lucky line' campaign in China


Scheduled to launch on 10 December, the campaign's website extends to reveal a virtual line of Renren users who have entered for the chance to win an iPhone, iPad or coupon.

Once a user joins the line, an auto message is published on his Renren homepage to notify friends in his network. Users can also interact with other people in the line by leaving messages on their Renren homepages.
When it was first launched in May as part of the celebration of Uniqlo's 26th anniversary, the campaign achieved huge success. In Taiwan alone, a total of 640,000 people showed up in the virtual line. The goal of its China campaign, Uniqlo said, is to enlist one million fans.
Uniqlo, which launched their Renren fan page on 3 December, is the latest fashion brand to join the SNS website.





Wednesday, December 1, 2010

Ad watchdog bans Reebok's bum-toning trainer ads

PumaPulse
Curated By ZenithOptimedia, The ROI Agency
Find out more at http://puma-pulse.blogspot.com



The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) has banned ads for Reebok's EasyTone Curve trainers, stating the brand gave insufficient evidence to back its claim they toned people's "legs and bum more than regular trainers".



Watch here: 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GoRbDm644E8


The TV and magazine campaign received two complaints that the ads were misleading and unsubstantiated.


The TV ad shows women walking, dancing, jumping, standing and spinning around while wearing the trainers, as the camera focuses on their bums and legs.


The voiceover said: "Reebok EasyTone. Helps tone legs and bum more than regular trainers. Reebok EasyTone with balanced ball inspired technology. Better legs and better bum with every step."


The accompanying magazine ad shows an outline of a woman underneath the headline "Reetone with every step. Get up to 28% more of a work out for your bum. And up to 11% more for your hamstrings and calves".


Reebok defended the campaign with an independent study it had commissioned, which compared the increase in muscle activation in certain parts of the body when wearing the trainers and when walking barefoot.


Although Clearcast cleared the ad, saying Reebok's claims were substantiated by the study, the ASA dismissed the evidence and upheld the complaints.


The ASA said the sample size of the study was "very small" and was "not adequate to support the absolute claims made in the ads that consumers would achieve an improvement in muscle tone".


The ASA ruled the ads were misleading, as Reebok did not provide "robust, scientific evidence" to support the claims.


A Reebok spokeswoman supplied the following statement: "EasyTone shoes use balance ball-inspired technology. Balance balls are used in gyms around the world and the benefits of this type of training are well documented. Despite these two complaints to the ASA, thousands of consumers have told us they love our shoes and that they work. For us, that's the most powerful evidence."


source: http://www.brandrepublic.com/news/1044244/ad-watchdog-bans-reeboks-bum-toning-trainer-ads/


Friday, November 26, 2010

Location, location, location: the new wave of social networking

PumaPulse
Curated By ZenithOptimedia, The ROI Agency
Find out more at http://puma-pulse.blogspot.com


Thanks to the launch of Facebook Places, Foursquare and Google Latitude, location is becoming an essential element of social interaction. Alexandra Jardine reports on how advertisers can "check in".


Gap is using Facebook Places to offer users location-based 'deals'

Gap is using Facebook Places to offer users location-based 'deals'
A few months ago, a Facebook friend in New York posted that she had ‘checked in’ at Wal-Mart.


She was using location-based social networking service Foursquare, more commonly used by people to advertise that they have just arrived at a hip restaurant or a newly opened bar. Some of her Facebook friends commented that this, really, was TMI: too much information.
But is it? Fast-forward to autumn 2010 and advertisers and brands, particularly in the retail and catering space, are scrambling to catch the next big wave of social networking: location. Although still small-scale in the UK, location-based social media is rapidly gaining in popularity in the United States, with brands such as Foursquare, Gowalla and Loopt at the forefront 
At the same time, geo-targeted advertising specialists such as Ji-Wire are providing more opportunities for advertisers to think local. And Google is focusing on location more than ever before, thanks to last month’s launch of its Place Search option and its Google Latitude location-sharing feature.
However, Facebook’s entry into this space could provide the critical push. After launching Facebook Places for the iPhone in September, earlier this month Facebook announced a number of new features for the service, as well as its availability on Android smartphones.
These include the ability to ‘tag’ friends when someone ‘checks in’ at a location and to add photos. But, most importantly for advertisers, another new feature will allow companies to offer ‘Deals’ through Facebook Places.

Deal or no deal

Users in a particular location will be able to see that a local business is offering a Deal - for example, a two-for-one offer on coffees - and then ‘check in’ via their mobile phone and claim it, only needing to show the cashier the button on their phone when they arrive at the store.
The ‘Deal’ will show up in their Facebook news feed, encouraging friends in the area to come along and claim one too. There will also be loyalty-style deals, as well as deals that customers can claim together in groups with their Facebook friends.
Brands on board with the new Facebook Deals in the US include Gap, which is giving away 10,000 pairs of jeans, and North Face, which is giving $1 to charity every time someone visits a store or ‘checks in’ at a National Park.
"Our vision is to create engagement between local businesses and their users," says Henri Moissinac, director of mobile at Facebook. "We think it’s really important to add location to the social graph that we’re making."
Facebook claims not to be competing directly with rival ‘check in’ services such as Foursquare and has formed partnerships with these brands so users of Facebook Places can see who has ‘checked in’ using other services.
"We are trying to develop a platform and then work with third parties, just as we do on games with the likes of Zynga," says Moissinac. Similar brands like Loopt recognise we are going to educate a large chunk of the mobile internet about location-based services."
However, some social media commentators believe Facebook could crush the other services available. Facebook has more than 200 million mobile users who will potentially use Places, whereas Foursquare - until now the leading brand in the check-in area - has three million users. Unsurprisingly, Foursquare's co-founder Dennis Crowley has been openly critical of Facebook’s move.
Dean Dempsey, managing director at brand engagement agency Made, says: "Foursquare is still very niche in the UK. Aside from brands like Nike and Red Bull who are in the youth market anyway, marketers have found it hard to understand the benefits of location-based social media. But more brands will get in there now Facebook is on board, and the first advertisers to use it will flourish."

How brands can check in

Others believe that Foursquare - which also has a gaming element, where users collect points and trophies - could still benefit alongside Facebook.
"Foursquare is a relatively cheap way to get into location-based media, because you can sign up from within their platform," says Helen Lawrence, senior social media planner at Dare. You don’t have to deal with the company and you can do it for just one store or one outlet if you want to."
While location-based services are most useful for retailers or brands that have a natural footfall, there are other ways for brands to become involved: for example, through events and retail tie-ups. "Where this will work will be all about partnership," says Dempsey from Made. "For example, if a drinks company wants to reward loyal customers, it could partner with a bar chain and give special offers to customers who chose its drinks in that particular location."
Another way for consumers to share their location is via Twitter, which last year introduced a service that allows users to add a location to their tweets.
However, observers say location-based tweeting is still very much in its infancy, mainly because of privacy issues - rather than ‘checking in’, Twitter users either have their location button switched on or off.
But for advertisers looking to target consumers by location, another option is offered by services such as Ji-Wire, which launched in the UK last month.
Its deal with BT Openzone means it is has access to users of Wi-Fi networks in more than 4,000 ‘hotspots’ - and can target them with localised ads when they log on. The first advertiser, insurance firm Hiscox, signed up this month and will integrate its digital media campaign with local poster activity.
Peter Jones of JiWire Europe says that, similar to knowing that users have ‘checked in’ using social media, JiWire instantly knows a person has logged on in a Wi-Fi hotspot in a particular location - for example, a branch of Starbucks.
But whereas the likes of Foursquare or Facebook Places might be useful for that particular branch or chain to run a promotion, Ji-Wire's network can be used by brands across the spectrum. "In a way, the venue becomes almost irrelevant; it’s more about location and the audience profile," says Jones.
Of course, the question of how many consumers will choose to share their location remains. But with people getting more used to the idea, the potential is enormous.
Facebook's Moissinac says: "We are only at the start of what will be a very large market. Location will become an essential element of social interaction."

Location-based social media services

Foursquare

Founded: March 2009.
Users: Claims to have more than three million worldwide.
How it works: Users ‘check in’ to venues using their smartphone to let their friends know where they are. They can also collect badges for the number of times they visit a venue – the most frequent visitor can become the ‘mayor’. Brands can then target participants with promotions or special offers, for example offering the ‘mayor’ free drinks.

Gowalla

Founded: 2009.
Users: Over 300,000 ‘passport holders’.
How it works: Users collect ‘stamps’ on their Gowalla ‘passport’ each time they visit a venue. Companies can ‘claim’ their business and then target consumers who visit with special deals or rewards. Other organisations, such as National Geographic, have also created special ‘trips’ for consumers.

Facebook Places

Founded: September 2010.
Users: No numbers disclosed as yet.
How it works: Users of Facebook can opt-in to use Facebook Places and then ‘check in’ at various venues using their smartphone. They can also tag friends and add photos, and the story appears in their newsfeed. Companies in the US can now offer ‘Deals’ to local users.

Loopt

Founded: 2006.
Users: Claims to have more than four million.
How it works: Users let their friends know where they are located via maps on their phones, and access local content from the likes of Zagat and Citysearch.

Google Latitude

Founded: 2009.
Users: Undisclosed.
How it works: Users opt-in to share their location via their Google account. They can see where their friends are, in real-time, using Google Maps.

Ji-Wire

Founded: 2003 (launched in the UK in October 2010).
Users: Says it will reach more than 4.6 million people a month.
How it works: Targets users of wi-fi hotspots with geo-targeted ads based on their location.

source: