Marketing blah blah

Novotel is taking opportunity of this event to create a special “end of the world” offer, called “21122012revival,” that includes a suite in France with an evening “survival cocktail,” a “new world” breakfast, and a fantastic surprise!

For more details about the “21122012revival” offer, visit 21122012revival.com. A countdown to the end, is posted on the home page, followed by necessary (and hilarious) survival tactics.

Novotel also provides location details of your new “survival shelter” on their website. (Follow the link at page bottom to learn more.)

Please note: Novotel requires full, nonrefundable payment by credit card at the time of booking…in case the world actually does end.

Direct mail marketing campaigns – even those targeted to specific names and addresses – have notoriously poor success rates. However, as the results of one Canadian Porsche reseller’s recent campaign have shown, mediocre results are far from inevitable.

Indeed, in June, no less than 32 percent of the campaign’s target audience – selected residents of affluent neighborhoods of Toronto – signed up to take drives test after receiving the dealer’s invitation in the post.

On top of its good targeting, the campaign’s great strength was that it truly raised the bar on personalization: each recipient received a card showing an upmarket Porsche 911 parked in the driveway of his or her house.

Hard to resist the effect of seeing a photo of your dream car – especially when it’s sitting in your very own driveway. 

The Lyon and Marseille train stations feature a giant piece of chewed gum, more than 13 feet high, and a cigarette butt, peaking at 16,5 feet, erected as symbols of everyday incivilities. This operation completes the latest campaign of the French Railway Company “There Is No Small Incivility,” and makes it a long-term action program.

The event is relayed by a dedicated website where you can view the making of the art pieces, and, in the bonus section, three examples of incivilities transposed to the Web. The testimonials are also quite entertaining… (sorry in French only).

The idea is not completely new, as we can see in the Joe La Pompe website, a site dedicated to similar advertising ideas. However, this new event seems to catch the attention of travelers, as you can see in the “making of” video.

Bonus 1

Bonus 2

Bonus 3

Sponge + dishes + young adults = a difficult equation?

Scotch-Brite (a 3M Company brand) is leader in Brazil in the sponge market. Young adults are a prime target for developing attachment to such products,as their interest has been notoriously low. The company has established a partnership with a selection of trendy bars and restaurants in Sao Paulo and devised a marketing campaign that’s part surprise and part learning process (moms say thank you!). When it’s time to pay the bill, the target customers are offered a Scotch-Brite cleaning sponge, along with the following message: “Don’t want to pay the bill? Go wash the dishes.”

Even though virtual marketing on social networks increases day after day, the success of this operation demonstrates the positive impact of well-targeted actions—as well as devising a fun and cost-effective way to engage a younger market.

Please click the image to see the video.

Audi celebrates innovation with a new kind of car photo calendar – one with no photos of cars.

At least, none at first glance …

You have to download an iPhone app to get the full picture, and capture the beauty of mechanical innovation.

Each month, you get not just a pretty picture, but an intriguing blend of communication technologies and augmented reality (AR), a technique that combines a real-world environment with virtual imagery.

Indesit Company, which owns the Hotpoint-Ariston and Scholtes brands, is Europe’s second-largest producer of home appliances, and the group posted sales of €3.2 billion in 2008. The company is known for its well-designed lines, where “Every product answers a need.” For several weeks now, our TVs have been screening a remarkable film about the  Aqualtis washing machine. The award-winning ad has won more than a dozen international prizes since its production in 2006. It takes us on a dream-like underwater journey, lulled by the sweet melodies of Vangelis. We are far from the realities and guaranteed values conveyed by Vedette’s famous 1972 “Mother Denis” spot and from the technological seduction of that caressing wash Philips promised the now first lady of France in 1989.

Beauty giant L’Oréal is celebrating its centennial year by reinforcing the values of sharing and generosity with “100 Projects.” Focused in the areas of education, scientific research, and self-esteem, the philanthropic projects are designed to assist communities in need all over the world, and every branch of the company is taking part. To mark the occasion, the L’Oréal website is displaying anniversary messages from artists, models, beauty professionals, and scientists. An elegant, comprehensive press file is also available for download.

Anniversary massage for the L'Oréal centennial

Do you want to find out what people are thinking about your brand (or your client’s brand) via just one click? Easy! Noah Brier created a website called http://www.brandtags.net/ — “a collective experiment in brand perception” — where you can do just that. You can also share your own perceptions by typing, in the text field provided, the first word or sentence that pops into your head when you see a brand name. See the Lego example below.

Created in 1995 by Handicapzero, a portal that provides access to vision-related information for prople with partial or complete visual impairment, the Pharmabraille service delivers drug notice information to blind and partially sighted patrons in a number of accessible formats: a Braille transcription of the information can be delivered  by post within a 48-hour timeframe; the notice can be viewed on line in large-character format; or an audtio version can be heard and even downloaded as an MP3 file. The website allows users to personalize their background, text color, and text size. The service is totally free of charge.

Remember the really funny Bic ad campaign from last year, in which the famous French pencil brand revisited the funniest mistakes heard by the examiners of the Baccalauréat — the French A-Level exams? French version only, sorry. http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x8vi6f

The business cards that Lego employees receive are, in a word, original.  Using Lego products in the cards is a brillant idea in itself, but even more creative is the fact that each card is personalised to match its owner’s appearance. What a great way to impress a new business acquaintance!

source : http://positivesharing.com/2009/02/coolest-business-card-ever/

Paris Match’s 60th birthday was a real publicity coup for biodegradable paint manufacturer SUDLAC. To commemorate its 60th anniversary, French weekly magazine Paris Match painted its logo on the Greenland ice shelf.

The logo. enlarged to the size of a football field, was displayed at the foot of an ice promontory the height of Paris’ Arc de Triomphe. To accomplish the supersized task, Paris Match needed a special biodegradable paint that could withstand Greenland’s extreme (-31° Fahrenheit) temperature.

SUDLAC was the manufacturer chosen to produce it.  To reward the SUDLAC R&D team for the work of maximizing the paint’s cold resistance, the magazine displayed the manufacturer’s logo one million times in the 60th anniversary issue. SUDLAC also got a plug on the French Paris Match Web site. The resulting name recognition was quite a motivator for the team!