ANA Marketing Maestros

A NYC McDonald’s Receives More Than Your Average Facelift

By Cara Brooke Schultz

Do you have an upcoming informal business meeting? Perhaps you might consider having the rendezvous at your local McDonald’s accompanied by flat-screen TVs and free Wi-Fi. This isn’t the first time McDonald’s has performed a facelift on one of their locations; all throughout the UK and France numerous McDonald’s have gone under the knife. The changes to the NYC location: multiple outlets for plugging in laptops, upholstered vinyl chairs, subdued lighting, modern painted walls, and employees in trendy all-black uniforms.

 

So why did the Chelsea-location feel the need to get work done? According to an article written by MSNBC, McDonald’s spokeswoman Danya Proud said, “People are using our restaurants differently today than they did five, 10, 20 years ago. People are multi-tasking, doing more on a given day […] you want to be able to open your laptop, log on and get some work done while you’re eating.”

Proud said the redesign of several locations in the UK and France was an attributing factor to McDonald’s growth in Europe. It seems as though the Chelsea-location won’t be alone for long. So, what will be next—a McDonald’s conference room that can be rented out at an hourly rate?

Are You a Bacon Lover? Wendy’s Sure Hopes So.

By Cara Brooke Schultz

Is social media an increasing aspect to your marketing plan? For a growing number of companies, social media is an important force driving communication between the brand and their consumers. Wendy’s wanted to drive more people to talk about their brand via social media. In order to get customers to tweet about their new product—the Applewood smoked bacon burger—Wendy’s started the “bacon hunt” contest.

According to an Adweek.com article, customers will follow @UrBaconMeCrazy on Twitter and Tweet answers to questions such as how many strips of Applewood smoked bacon would appear on the mythical double baconator. Customers are awarded points and required to use the hashtag #bacon in all of their Tweets. Throughout the contest Wendy’s is giving away several $200 Wendy’s gift cards and once the contest concludes on Friday, November 20, a lucky person will win $2,000.00. Since the contest started nearly two weeks ago, Wendy’s has drawn 1,773 followers on Twitter. Are you going to get in on the fun and Tweet #bacon?

Snapshot of the ANA Annual Conference

By Cara Schultz

Well, I survived my first conference with the ANA and I have to say, it was a great experience. The speakers were extremely insightful and entertaining, from Eric Ryan’s presentation in which he displayed their new commercial (which I have to say is hysterically genius) to David Jones’s speech on his theory: “the new world of marketing is square.” Overall the speakers were amazing, they gave great industry insights. I learned an incredible amount in a short period of time. Stephen Quinn, CMO of Walmart explained that media spending, customer segmentation, an emphasis on multicultural markets and marketing analytics helped to improve the overall in-store experience.  Michael Keller, Chief Brand Officer for Dairy Queen talked about his company’s online presence.  DQ has built an online consumer following with its Blizzard Fan Club, Facebook page, and two unique online games.
 
Not only did I pick up numerous nuggets of information from the top industry gurus, but I also had the opportunity to speak to several attendees at the conference. I asked questions, like what sets their company apart from the competition, how are you battling the recession, and of course how is your company dealing with advertising on multiple platforms (Web, print, mobile, e-books, etc). To watch and listen to what people had to say, check out our original videos. Chime in with comments and suggestions…I plan on continuing our ANA videos, and they will only get better with your feedback!

What do E-readers Mean for the Publishing Industry?

By Cara Brooke Schultz

Everyone wants to find the solution for the troubled publishing industry. Recently there has been a lot of hype around the e-reader phenomenon—Barnes and Noble released their version called the Nook, Amazon came out with a larger-screen version of the Kindle, and Sony has a touch screen edition. So what does this mean for the publishing industry—will people flock to the e-readers and begin paying for content again?

According to a recent article by AdWeek, “’There is an optimism among publishers,’ says Roger Fidler, program director for digital publishing at Donald W. Reynolds Journalism Institute at the University of Missouri. ‘But nobody is seriously saying this is going to save the industry.’”  

I personally bought my Kindle less than a year ago, shortly after Amazon released their second version, and I have to say I fell in love with my Kindle at first use. I am an avid reader, in fact I’ll read pretty much anything—from advertisements on the Subway to the NYTimes, so I think I fit Amazon’s target audience, however what about the main population? Will the e-reader trend catch on like the iPhone?

Here are a few of the reasons other people might find e-readers to be appealing:

1.    They are more environmentally friendly.

2.    No more lugging around multiple hard cover (or paperback) books. One e-reader can hold hundreds if not thousands of books, newspapers, magazines, even blogs—and e-readers usually weigh around 11 ounces.

3.    You can read multiple items at once. For example you can read the NYTimes on the train and then switch over to TIME magazine in seconds without elbowing the guy next to you.

4.     You can download new material in seconds, almost anywhere.

What do you think the benefits or disadvantages of e-readers are? Will you buy one?

 

Vanity Fair: The New Recessionista?

By Cara Brooke Schultz

The recession is taking a hit on every industry, especially the media. With numbers down across the board—The Tribune Company filed for bankruptcy, Doubledown Media shut down, Condé Nast ceased production of Domino, Gourmet, Cookie, and Elegant Bride, and Hearst closed down the print version of COSMOGIRL  (just to name a few)—it seems like every company is doing whatever they can to stay afloat.

Perhaps we can call Vanity Fair the next “recessionista” for recycling a photo for the cover of their March 2009 issue. The original photograph (right image)—shot by Annie Leibovitz—was used for the cover in July 2007. Vanity Fair acknowledges the reuse in the following statement on their Website, “This portrait of Obama, then a senator, was originally taken for one of 20 covers on Vanity Fair’s Africa issue of July 2007.”

What do you think about the decision to reuse an image that is over two years old?

To Tweet or Not To Tweet…

By Cara Brooke Schultz

It seems as if everyone is tweeting these days. In fact, your boss might even encourage you to write tweets. However, after reading an article on imediaconnection.com, I felt compelled to throw a few tricks of the trade out there. iMediaConnection rounded up a few sceneries when you should refrain from tweeting:

1. Do not tweet when you are in the middle of a crisis. If something terrible happens and you are dealing with a ton of negative feedback from customers, stay calm and try to rectify the situation prior to tweeting. One tweet announcing the change is enough.
2. Try to steer clear of all negativity on your twitter page. There is no reason to make fun of another company, a geographical location, or another person. Although you might think you are being funny, chances are you will offend someone.
3. Do not post everything online for the world to see. Always get the go ahead to broadcast breaking news, new deals or any developments that might come up in the office. Most likely, your boss will want to wait before making the news public.

I also wanted to add a few suggestions to the list:

1. Don’t write negative tweets about your competition. Your customers like you for several reasons, highlight those reasons and leave out the negativity!
2. Think before you tweet. Have well-thought out and spelling-error free tweets before making them live online. Remember, tweets cannot be edited once they go live, so do a thorough edit before posting.

Before writing your next tweet—take these ideas into account—it will help create a positive twitter experience.

The “Stigma” Associated with Social Media Sites for Companies—Does it Exist?

By Cara Schultz

Some companies are diving right into social media Websites, while other companies are slightly more hesitant when it comes to setting up a Facebook page or Twitter account. Although the idea of a disgruntled customer leaving negative feedback can be a bit intimidating to any company, a recent study from Pennsylvania State University confirmed that is usually not the case. After studying nearly 150,000 tweets, they came to a few positive conclusions. An article posted by eMarketer states, “Just 22.3% of tweets about brands expressed an opinion one way or another. The good news: Twitter users were much more likely to express positive sentiments than negative.”

   

What are your reservations with jumping on the social media bandwagon? Have you had a positive experience with social media sites and your customers? Chime in with your thoughts and opinions; we love to hear what you have to say!