Marketing at the Twin Cities Auto Show: There Is A Time and A Place

By Natalie Bell

@nebell90

Last night after work I went to the 39th Annual Twin Cities Auto Show -- by choice.  I love going to the auto show and looking at all the cars.  My love for cars comes to a surprise to most people that know me, except for those who experienced my Hot Wheels years.  When I was younger my father and I would play a game where we had to name each car that went by and boy, did that make road trips to Ohio seem a lot faster.  To car lovers like me the car show is a candy store (only much more expensive)!

Being surrounded by $15,000,000 worth of vehicles was so fun.  Every car was new, shining, clean, and had that wonderful new car scent.  Spokespeople for each dealership were dressed to the nines; women in dresses and heals and men in business attire.  All-in-all it was a classy event.  

With good comes bad, however, and one dealership's marketing was not fitting for the auto show.  Kia Motors had "Kia Karaoke" going on the entire time I was at the show.  In Kia's section there was a stage set up in which visitors were called onto stage, dressed in obnoxious outfits, and singing loudly.  It came to the point where I and others had to walk to the other side of the convention in order to escape the off-key voices.  

I am not saying karaoke can't be good marketing, but there is a time and a place.  This year's auto show was neither of these.  At a high-energy event this would have fit in perfectly.  However, the auto show draws families and couples seriously shopping, car junkies drooling over the engines displayed, and others just there to look and dream.  No one is there to be loud and party.  The key to a good campaign is to think of your audience.  A great idea can go to the pits if not presented at the right time or place.  Similar to what my fellow employee, Shelly, explained in yesterday's blog, lots of thought needs to go into a campaign as to who your target audience is, what their preferences are, and the way you want them to respond.  

Of course the misfit karaoke didn't ruin people's nights.  With so many cars to explore that would be extremely difficult.  My personal highlights from the night are:

• Seeing the Fisker Karma, which was admired by all at the event
• Sitting in a Range Rover
• Seeing old classic cars
• Sitting in my dream Audi convertible (shown below).

Marketing to Daddy Bloggers

by Shelly Gustafson

While Mommy bloggers continue to be a marketing trend, many fathers are now jumping on the blogging bandwagon with Daddy blogs. Coming in after Mommy bloggers in many ways presents a creative advantage – no one wants to be a one-trick pony in the marketing game and Daddy bloggers have the unique opportunity to learn from the mistakes of Mommy bloggers before them.

This past weekend this new group showed up in full-force for the first ever national Daddy blogger conference - Dad 2.0 Summit in Austin, TX.

Notably, however, the power of Daddy bloggers was heard even before the conference kicked-off in the form of an attack campaign in response to Huggie's “The Dad Test” Campaign (view one of the ads here).

“The Dad Test” came with this tag line: “To prove that Huggies diapers and wipes can handle anything, we put them to the toughest test imaginable: Dads, alone with their babies, in one house, for five days.” 

The comical concept stuck just the wrong cord with this newly influential group that is fighting to have their voice heard and recognized.

Chris Routly from www.daddydoctrines.com, went as far as launching a Change.org petition called “We’re Dads, Huggies. Not Dummies.” It drew over a thousand signatures. And other dads sent emails, tweets and letters to Huggies expressing their disappointment with the stereotyping.

Reacting quickly to the complaints, Huggies has responded by not only revamping their entire campaign (see their facebook for the new “Dad Friendly” version) but also scored brownie points with the dad’s at the summit by attending the conference and addressing the complaints in-person.

Stereotyping in advertising is nothing new but it’s important to look at a campaign from all angles before sending it out in the world. In this case, both Huggies and dads seem to have come out ahead in the end.

Online Reviews Grow In Popularity and Purchasing Power

by Ashley Haugen

Follow @AshleyKaia

I am a huge fan of online reviews. In fact, I am among the 72% of consumers that trust online reviews as much as personal recommendations. For example, when charged with the responsibility of figuring out a restaurant for dinner, I head to a review site. When buying a new appliance I turn to consumer reviews to figure out the "best purchase." The list goes on and on, and with the wealth and popularity of online reviews, I'm not the only one.

This year's Local Consumer Review Survey (2012) shows us a positive shift in consumer trust and appreciation of online reviews. The statistics are telling and reinforce the fact that consumers now hold more power than ever for influencing purchases. In fact, 52% of consumers surveyed said that positive online reviews make them more likely to use a local business.

More consumers are reading online reviews now than 15 months ago, with 27% regularly reading online reviews when looking for a local business to use. Only 15% of consumers said that they had NOT used the Internet to find a local business (vs. 21% in 2010).

Here are a few other interesting stats:

• 65% of consumers read between 2-10 reviews (vs. 58% in 2010) before trusting a business. 
• Having a high number of reviews is also important as the more reviews, the higher consumer confidence soars. 
• 58% of consumers trust a business which has positive online reviews (vs. 55% in 2010). 
• Just 28% of consumers cite location &/or price as main decision making factor (vs. 28% in 2010). 

More than anything, these results tell us that business owners need to make sure they know their brand's social buzz. What are customers saying about the service they received? How do they feel about your product? Once you understand the general sentiment and theme of your business reviews, it's easier to set up a strategy to either encourage the chatter, or to address the most common complaints.

The other important takeaway is to make sure your business has a healthy online presence to begin with. The higher number of reviews (especially positive), the higher consumer confidence soars.

Chevy Amps up its SXSW Sponsorship

by Mike Reiber

Chevrolet is using the popular Austin-based music, film and interactive event, SXSW, which runs from March 9-18 to showcase its new models.

Chevy's 4G LTE concept car features a touch screen monitor in the dashboard and tablets mounted on the backs of the front seats. The in-dash system powered by GM's OnStar allows the driver to Skype with another Chevy model located several blocks away. The driver can stream videos and different programming quickly and efficiently using the 4G network. The brand is also showcasing its Sonic Boom concept car which features a custom audio showcase via a concept Kicker audio system.

In addition to its concept cars, Chevrolet offers a variety of services to SXSW attendees. A free shuttle service called "Catch a Chevy" provides free transportation to and from SXSW events using a fleet of 46 Cruze sedans and Chevrolet Equinox crossover vehicles. Attendees can also test drive them at the convention center. Chevy's Volt Recharge Lounge allows attendees to rest their feet and recharge their mobile devices.

So, what's the ROI, you're asking? Sounds like a huge investment to reach a mere 16,000 SXSW attendees. Chevy has correctly identified the uniqueness of SXSW, the match with its brand attributes, and the link with its target consumer segments. The event allows it to showcase GM innovation to innovators from high tech, music, film and interactive industries. You can bet your boots that Chevy's SXSW partnership will make brand consideration and preference scores leap among attendees and their respective spheres of influence.

The real ROI, however, will come during the next few years as attendees and those people they impact begin to replace their existing vehicles. 

Here's a look at Chevrolet at SXSW:

Facebook Introduces New "List" Feature

by Ashley Haugen
@AshleyKaia

Facebook announced today a new feature that allows users to create "interest" lists for brands, groups and public figures. It's a nice feature, and offers a convenient space to view content tailored to your liking. Similar to Social Reader, Facebook Lists gives you third-party content, except it is all housed within Facebook.

With Facebook Lists, users can subscribe to lists from other users, or create their own. The process is incredibly simple. I had a list titled "social media news" up and running in under 5 minutes. Within this list are updates from sources like Mashable, TechCrunch and Adage.

Lists can either be made private or public, the latter showing up in the News Feed. There are additional controls for users to select what type of stories to include or exclude in the feed. For example, you can select to see only photos from a page or only music and videos from a public figure.

I find it another nice tool for content curation, albeit thinly veiled behind Facebook's true goal of keeping you on the site for as long as possible. Of course the longer you're on the site, the more appealing Facebook advertising becomes. However, the feature is so nice I can almost ignore the sound of ad dollars cashing in.

I am always grateful to find new, efficient ways of curating information that is tailored to my needs. As any social media manager will tell you, finding quality content is half the battle. This feature provides an individualized tool to help connect with the information you want.

Have you checked out Facebook Lists? What do you think? Would you use it?