It's a McDonalds Morning - Product Placement on the News

Avid TV viewers are no stranger to product placement on their favorite shows - especially reality TV fans, who encounter the Bluefly accessories wall (Project Runway), a caravan of Ford Escapes (The Biggest Loser) or the ever-present Coca-Cola cup (American Idol).

But what about during your local news?

For the past few weeks, KVVU, a Fox affiliate out of Las Vegas, has featured morning news anchors with cups of McDonald's iced coffee on their desks as they report local happenings. This 6-month partnership is intended to drum up additional advertising revenue for the station.

The station promises that they will continue to truthfully represent news items - including items that may negatively reflect on McDonald's practices or products. Additionally, if a negative story did occur, it's likely that the cups would be removed from the set.

KVVU is owned by Meredith Corporation, who is actively seeking out product placement opportunities on other morning shows in Atlanta and Hartford, Conn. McDonald's also has product placement deals with several other news networks around the country.

The three major network morning shows, ABC’s “Good Morning America,” CBS’s “The Early Show,” and NBC’s “Today” do not endorse or participate in product placement deals, citing company ethics.

Image via Fox 5

Fortune 500 Companies Not Surfing the Blog Wave

The July 2008 issue of PR Week reports the surprising finding that a recent survey of Fortune 500 companies shows that only 15% maintain active blogs. 

Not so suprising was the top 4 Fortune 500 industries that are blogging: Computers, Office Equipment ; Network and Other Communications Equipment; Semiconductors and Other Electrical Components (Intel, AMD, etc.); and Internet Services and Retailing.

Seems to me that there is a lot more opportunity to give people a look inside your company - and simply to tell your side of the story. These companies are missing out on a vital part of today's marketing culture - and relationships with Gen Y and Millennials are sure to suffer for it. This is the time that today's giants of industry need to be connecting with consumers on a personal level and fostering relationships with the future spenders in America. 

The study also found that it's larger companies that are doing most of the blogging - with 32% of the Fortune 50 blogging. This is disappointing, since blogging is one of the cheapest available marketing techniques and smaller organizations could easily take advantage of this accessible trend. 

Incognito Advertising - Kanye West for Absolut Vodka

Absolut Vodka's new viral campaign featuring Kanye West is creating buzz in the marketing world... hopefully it will succeed in creating the same buzz among consumers.

The ads feature tiny tablets that, upon consumption, will help the Average Joe transform in to hip-hop superstar Kanye West. Subway posters and mock infomercials touting the tablets don't even mention the Absolut product. Intrigued parties will find that a visit to the advertised website, BeKanyeNow, will quickly redirect them to Absolut's Kanye-centric homepage.

This ultimate (or should I say Absolut) form of viral marketing causes consumers to take action in order to find out what the Kanye campaign is all about, thereby creating an instant connection with the brand's message. It results in people actually seeking out informaiton about the vodka instead of just passing by one more white-noise ad on the subway.

View the Be Kanye infomercial.

Image via nysun.com.

Recommended Reading

I know this is not an industry-related book. But the truth is, we could all learn a lesson from David Sedaris. He's taken short anecdotes from his life - some of them unique, but some of them mundane - and created a series of New York Bestsellers. If Sedaris can write such a captivating account of quitting smoking or his childhood babysitters, surely us marketers can take a page from his book and put a creative twist on our writing next time we're asked to draft a press release about something less-than-newsworthy.

Get it here: When You Are Engulfed in Flames

The Web is Hazardous for Hotheads

The number one thing I miss about my past days as an AOL user: the now-defunct "unsend" feature. AOL made it easy to take back mistakes - so long as the recipient hadn't opened the email yet. I wish all aspects of the web had an "unsend" feature.

I bet this guy does too (see comments from Roy Russo). Reading about marketing automation and technology is part of my daily routine to keep abreast of the industry. Today I came across this chain of comments showed us how NOT to comment on a blog, as the CEO of LoopFuse slams the blogger for her review, giving her even more ammunition.

It is hard not to respond when you feel you (or your company) are being misrepresented, but as momma always said, "If you can't say something nice," well, you know the rest.

If you absolutely must defend yourself, better to handle it gracefully, as Lisa Garza of The Next Food Network Star did here. Well, somewhat gracefully at least.

Marketing To Women : G23

The Wall Street Journal looks in to the world of agencies specializing in marketing to women on the heels of the launch of Omnicom's G23, a new consultancy dedicated the subject. The name G23 was chosen for "Group" and "23," pair of chromosomes that carries the sex differences between women and men. The G23 board is comprised entirely of women.

According to the article:

"Agencies and agency companies are increasing their efforts to help clients aim pitches at women. The work is parallel to efforts to improve life inside agencies for women and appoint more women to executive jobs."

With women controlling 75% of spending in today's market, agencies are struggling to come up with innovative ways reach women without dumbing down their advertising or simply throwing a coat of pink paint over it.

Pictured: The founding partners of G23

Do As I Say, Not As I Do

As every blogger probably knows, there usually comes a time when life gets in the way of your blog. Such has been the case with me, as our sales team has been selling faster than I can service new clients, I've taken on freelance projects and I've moved across the city. I hope to be back at you next week with fresh content.

That being said - don't let this happen to you! Constant updates are key to building your audience and keeping them hooked, not to mention they really help your search rankings.