Big Brand Branding – Let The Lesson Begin

Dec 21, 2011 by Holly Ralston-Oyler

Big brand branding – are you ready for the upcoming lessons to be learned? Advertising and marketing is changing and we all have a lot to learn.

Have you ever felt like a tiny little gold fish in the huge sea of big business? I have spent the past 30 years feeling that way. When I opened my retail store  no one had a clue who I was or why they should buy from me. It was 1981, the nation was in a recession and starting a self-named artistry makeup and skin care line was insane. Thank goodness I did not have the good sense to know I was insane. Not being successful was not an option. Granted, it took a lot of marketing work.

If I had thought about competing with all the  big brand department store franchise lines and I would have never succeeded. I evened the playing field by telling why and what I did better than they did. I offered solution based answers to everyday problems, not the cookie cutter copy-cat launches and gift-with-purchases offered by company after company.

I didn’t advertise, but made myself accessible to the media, which worked great. There is just something magical about a viewer seeing you on the 6 PM news instead of a glossy big brand  commercial they can’t relate to before, during or after the 6 PM news.

Over the next few months you are going to be seeing a lot of the “big boy brands” coming down to our playing field of FaceBook fan pages, Google Plus and Social Media campaigns, so don’t panic!

What a wonderful chance for us to learn from the Seventh Avenue Advertising Agency gurus. We will no longer have to wonder how an ad campaign came to be, we can watch it unfold as it comes online. And yes, we will also be able to watch as their mistakes in judgment unfold  as well.

In fact, mistakes are already beginning to happen. Have you noticed the lack of humans in commercials? It started with the paper-clip-like people commercial by one of the pharmaceutical companies and has exploded into the mainstream advertising world. Even print ads are becoming amateurish and child-like, forgoing the use of models and commercial talent.  Who ever thought a puppy, fluffy, furry kitten or baby would be replaced with clay animation characters or drawings. Where is a great commercial when you want one?

Social media campaigns are going to be huge and they will deliver huge numbers for the companies using them. Burger King launched a campaign asking FB fans to give up 10 friends in order to get a free Whopper. I’m not sure how I would have liked being one of those 10 friends given up for a sandwich, but it worked. Burger King claimed “Friendship is strong. But the Whopper is stronger.” Unfortunately, 220,000 friendships were probably ended in order for Burger King to give away 20,000 free burgers.

And what’s not to love about Starbucks and their marketing genius. After all, who else has ever convinced you to pay $5.00 or more for a cup of coffee? This time around they have asked their fans for advice on ways they could better their service and products. Then they turned around and ask the fans to vote on the advice given, creating a two way street of fans. Now fans were asking others to go to the Starbucks page and vote on their idea, creating additional interaction and buzz.

So sit back and fasten your seat belts. Lower that tray table and get out your ipad, paper and pen or napkin and start taking notes. You will be learning from the best of the best when it comes to creating your brand online using social media campaigns. It has come down to bragging, pushing buttons, daring people to take action and generating sparks of engagement. Are you ready?

What are you going to be looking to learn from the big boys in the coming months. How do you feel it will help your business and/or blog. Will you be changing the way to run your social media campaigns based on what your learn?