The Big Fat Marketing Blog

I guess it’s really no surprise. In any of the top action movies over the last 3-4 years Audi has been positioning itself as the new standard for desirable luxury. Audi wasn’t yet doing any straight up comparisons, but they certainly had been earning a bunch of “cool” on our emotional rolodexes. It seems like Audi has decided to cash in some of that earned equity and ratchet things up a bit

In the US, Audi is running a series of commercials that has the DNA of the movies in which Audi has prominently appeared. You can slightly feel the Jason Bourne series, the movie Taken with Liam Nielson and there’s a touch of the Transporter with “the man”. If we take all of those movies and put them in the blender for about 15 seconds you’ve got the underlying DNA for the new AUDI USA TV spots. more

In email, like comedy, timing is everything. In a flubbed opportunity last week, Chuck E. Cheese proved that he’s not ready for the big time.

If you’re a parent, you personally probably aren’t a big fan of the establishment. Sure, your kiddo may be. But you? Probably not, unless you’re a rabid aficionado of so-so pizza and Skee-Ball partnered in the most chaotic environment possible.

Assuming the former, it stands to reason that if you’re an adult visiting the Chuck E. Cheese website, there’s probably some immediate reason—perhaps you’re planning a birthday party, or treating your child to a special day out. And if you’re willing to fork over your email address, you’re probably doing so to get that “one time best offer” coupon the grinning mouse offers as an incentive for that precious information.

It would make sense then, that Chuck E. Cheese would get a welcome email out lickety split to start building the relationship and fulfill on that coupon, to take advantage of the parents interest immediately, right? You’d think, but you’d be wrong.

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Following the massive earthquake and tsunami that devastated Japan, FedEx issued the following:

March 11, 2011 - The health and well-being of our team members is our first concern and we are in the process of confirming their status. more

I’m all in favor of sly marketing that doesn’t insist on itself and incorporates humor. If a brand can make me laugh and, better yet, can win me a little social credit when I forward it to my friends, I tend to remember that the next time I’m in the market to buy that product. A few laughs works better for me than a 10% discount coupon—at least, until Suzuki starts issuing rebates on the Hayabusa sportbike. Then we can talk.

But a recent attempt at astroturfing a viral video proves that some brand marketers can be too clever by half. A month ago a video popped up on YouTube in which two very attractive women from New Zealand slipped small video cameras in the back pockets of their jeans, with holes cut for the lenses, and then strolled around what appears to be Venice Beach CA, ambushing guys doing what comes naturally—checking out their derrieres. The aim, according to the two girls, was to “show guys how sly they aren’t”. more

“Image is everything” is never truer than when talking about magazine covers.

During last week’s DMA Circulation Marketing Day, All You magazine’s executive editor Clair McHugh broke down the art and science behind the cover of her magazine’s August 2010 issue – an edition which produced a 73% sell-through rate. more

We can all take a lesson from the Promotional Products & Advertising Specialty Forum. The group uses Linkedin in one of the most important ways for which it was designed, as a virtual marketplace for the exchange of ideas, products and services.

As an example, an email arrived the other day that included an “active discussion” based around one question: “Need some fresh ideas for senior citizen giveaways—any good suggestions?” more