Lost Dog

With over fifty-five million view on YouTube alone, last year’s most-watched Super Bowl commercial was Budweiser’s “Puppy Love” about the bond between a yellow Labrador puppy and a Clydesdale.  This year Budweiser is wisely building on that success with its “Lost Dog” campaign.  The news media ran stories late last week about the trailer Budweiser released that announced the puppy was missing.  As many online are commenting, “It will break your heart.”  If you haven’t seen it and want to do so, go here.

Budweiser is asking consumers to help find the lost dog by following Budweiser on Twitter.  The reward for finding the puppy is a trip to the Super Bowl including tickets and transportation.  While this reward may be driving some, many would look for the puppy purely out of a desire to help.  The concern for a lost dog pulls at consumers’ heart strings.  “I’m having difficulty remembering this is not a real lost dog,” noted one tweet. 

However Budweiser decides who finds the lost dog, its marketing team has done a magnificent job with this campaign.  I want to point out three facets of it that all businesspeople can apply to their marketing. 

First, the campaign has continuity.  It builds on the success of last year’s ad.  It uses a yellow Labrador puppy and takes the puppy’s story one step further.  It taps into consumers’ emotional attachment to dogs to get their attention and involvement.  It’s well-thought-out and planned.  That planning is showing and paying off. 

Second, the campaign employs multiple media with same message.  The video on YouTube, the publicity via news outlets, and the viral tweets all focus on finding the lost dog.  Like a snowball gathering momentum as it rolls downhill, each of these adds to the campaign’s effectiveness.  Together they make the impact of the campaign bigger than any one of them could singly accomplish.   

Third, the campaign is interactive.  It involves consumers.  It prompts them to tweet and talk about the campaign.  It encourages creative responses to where the lost dog might be found.  On Twitter, one person posted a picture of her dog with his head in a culvert searching for the lost dog.  Another put up a picture of her dog Diesel and stated he had found the lost dog.  A couple guys shot a video about the lost dog.  Check out #BestBuds to see the interesting tweets.

Before you retreat into a thought of “My business does not have Budweiser’s marketing team.  We could never put together a campaign like this,” realize that you don’t need to do so.  Learn from Budweiser’s example that continuity, multiple media with the same message, and interactivity create powerful marketing.  Employed together, they are a profitable force.    

This week's marketing trivia challenge is  How can you apply the facets of the “Lost Dog” campaign to your marketing?  E-mail me your answer.

Continuity of Message

I finally gave in.

After watching the Culver’s commercials about their delicious fish sandwiches several times, I finally succumbed and bought a Culver’s fish sandwich a couple of days ago.

“Our fish is individually hand-breaded and fixed just for you.  Nobody makes better cod sandwiches than us,” stated Craig Culver, founder of Culver’s, in the commercial as he demonstrated by dipping the cod into batter.  A very Scandanavian-sounding gentleman agreed.  “They come from the North Atlantic.”

“We make our own tartar sauce, too, from an old family recipe,” Craig added. 

This is not the first commercial featuring Craig.  In another recent one, he spoke with a farmer who raised beef for Culver’s.  They discussed how the beef was never frozen, always fresh. 

In these commercials, Craig Culver communicates authenticity.  He projects credibility.  He imparts information about why Culver’s food is so good.  He backs up his claims with those who provide the cod and the beef.   

He ends every commercial with “Welcome to delicious.”

After I opened the box to enjoy my fish sandwich, I noticed that Culver’s has taken Craig’s ending statement one step further.  It is written on the inside top cover of the box.  I easily saw it as I lifted out my fish sandwich.  The printed “Welcome to delicious” was followed by Craig’s signature. 

Then I glanced at the bag and saw “Welcome to delicious” on the outside of each side of the bag, too.  Culver’s has threaded the same message through all communications with its customers:  on television, on wrappers, and even on bags.  Management is wisely reinforcing and reiterating Culver’s message at every opportunity.  This continuity of message is profitable marketing.

The message hints at Culver’s unique selling proposition.  Rather than merely offering fast food, Culver’s offers freshly-prepared fast food.   In his conversations with producers on the television commercials, Craig Culver clearly explains this difference. 

Unlike Culver’s, any businesspeople do not have one message about their business they continuously repeat.  Too often, they hop from one message to another or quickly change messages.  Usually this change happens from boredom.  The original message may not have been well-thought-out, and the change may not be, either. 

Think through your what your business offers.  Identify your unique selling proposition.  Decide your message. 

Then repeat that message at every opportunity. 

Continuity

A few days ago a television commercial caught my attention. At the end of the commercial, the advertiser stated “We service and maintain peace of mind.”

“Whoa! What was that? Who was that for?” I shouted as I reached for the remote to replay the commercial.

The commercial was for Bonfe, a company which offers plumbing, heating, cooling, electrical, drain cleaning, appliance repair, and indoor air services. I was excited. “Someone did a marketing plan!” I exclaimed. “That company knows why its customers buy. Wow!”

Wanting to share this with you, I went to Bonfe’s Web site to find out more about the company. When the home page came up, my excitement turned to disappointment. The headline on the home page was “Bonfe for Your Plumbing, Heating, Air Conditioning, Electrical, and Appliance Repair Needs.”

“Oh, no,” I moaned. “They didn’t carry it through.”

At the top of the page was Bonfe’s logo with a tag line of “The trusted name in home comfort.” Bonfe had discovered why customers buy from them, but company personnel had not continued that message onto the Web site.

Scrolling further down the home page, I found another reference to peace of mind. “Save $400 today. Sign up for our Gold Peace of Mind Plan.” The company had taken the reason that the customer buys and tied it to a supposed discount of $400. I say supposed because often these are gimmicks of discounts that the company offers to close a sale.

That was a sad misuse of “peace of mind.”

Now I wonder if Bonfe did a marketing plan or just saw what appeared to be a catchy slogan, peace of mind, and used it. Whatever the case, my point to you regarding this situation is continuity. Once you establish a message such as “We service and maintain peace of mind,” that message should continue in a prominent position throughout all your communications. Do not use the message on a television commercial and use a different message, “The trusted name in home comfort,” on a Web site. Use the same message everywhere.

That creates continuity. Similar to a snowball rolling downhill and picking up momentum and snow as it goes, continuity adds impact and retention of your message in the customer’s mind.