TribalWorks

A&W launched its recent promotion by heavily relying on social media.

The restaurant chain’s “ultimate uncle contest” invited customers to tell A&W why they have the best uncle at UncleBurger.ca. At launch the site included a limited number of coupons for a free Uncle Burgers and visitors can still send an electronic “Uncle’s Day” greeting card and print a coupon for a Uncle Burger deal.

Tom Shepansky, a partner at Rethink, which created the promotion, said the idea was to get people talking about the Uncle Burger, drive people to the website and generate some excitement for the product.

Soon after launch, A&W employees and consumers were talking about the free burger offer on Twitter, Facebook and other message boards and blogs.

Shepansky said 10,000 visitors went to the site in the first 48 hours and all 2,000 free burgers were claimed within the first four hours. Half of all visitors also opted to receive future news updates from A&W.

Although this campaign uses social media, it is important to note that this is not what I would consider Tribal.  The key to remember is to find out who your tribe(s) are and then develop strategies that support the tribe(s).

In fairness, it seems as if A&W was using this as a trial to see how older people interact with social media sites.

David Waterfall, A&W’s Vancouver-based director of marketing, said using Facebook, Twitter and other sites was largely an experiment to see if A&W’s primary target of baby boomers are online enough to make social media an ongoing part of its marketing mix.

“We were looking at a lot of research saying an increasing numbers of baby boomers are involved in the social media sphere,” he said. “It’s not just 16-year-olds texting and using Twitter. And the results have been really pleasing for us, and it reinforced that it was something worth trying.”

However, I do think there is an opportunity to build a Tribal Strategy around the brand.

 Gatorade launched its G campaign across the US and now into Canada. 

Gatorade Canada has drafted Canadian athletes for its national “G” campaign in support of the sports drink’s new brand identity.

The PepsiCo Canada brand identified athletes and moments in sports that represent what it means to be “G” in a Gatorade context—golden, gutsy and glorious—said Dale Hooper, vice-president of marketing for Gatorade in Canada.

“For us, G represents the heart, hustle and soul of athleticism and we want this to become a badge of pride for any Canadian who sweats, no matter where they’re active,” he said.

The Canadian athletes appearing in the campaign include: UFC fighter Georges St-Pierre, hockey legend Gordie Howe, women’s hockey player Cassie Campbell, wheelchair racer Chantal Petitclerc, ultra marathon runner Ray Zahab, and high school basketball player Bradd Arseneau—survivor of the January 2008 bus crash that killed seven teammates in Bathurst, N.B.

When I first saw the US ads back last fall, I didn’t know who or what G was.  All I saw were a bunch of atheletes with a voice over.  See for yourself below:

What is strange for the Canadian version is that the letter G is not really synonymous with Gatorade.  Furthermore, with the exception of Gordie Howe and perhaps George St-Pierre, no athlete is recognizable. 

As soon as I read this article, I thought of Martin Crane’s quote from the show Frasier, when both Frasier and Niles wanted to buy over a restaurant.

Frasier and Niles wanted the name to be inviting and welcoming but be difficult to pronounce, have no sign on the outside or any advertising and an unlisted phone number.

Martin wittingly replied “Well don’t stop there.  Post some guards on the roof who can shoot people as they try to get in.”

This type of campaign would be suited in getting the attention of consumers to a new or unknown brand - not a market leader.

 Nissan recently launched its Cube crossover.  A vehicle which seems to be targeted to trendy urbanites.  One of the key selling points of the vehicle is, as the website states:

Break out in roomy, high-style.  Share a loungey interior and smart fuel efficiency with your top four.  Life’s never been so flexible.  Even parking is a breeze. 

 The above caption is placed over the following image.

Sounds good!  Parallel parking is often the only way to park in many urban settings.   Who wouldn’t want a vehicle with a roomy interior that is easy to park.  Right?

The problem is with the design of the rear tailgate.  Which for some reason opens sideways - like an old station wagon.  

Thus, if you were the person with the the grey Nissan Cube on the right of the first picture, you would find it nearly impossible to open the back of the vehicle without banging into the Cube parked behind you.

From my perspective, this is a good example of how a company can try to introduce a product which is supposed to appeal to a tribe, but has been poorly designed to their needs.

EA Sports, is the publisher of the Madden, Tiger Woods and NCAA Football series of video games among others.  This Friday (March 20th), they will have a Community Day at their EA Tiburon studios which will allow some tribe members to try out an early version of NCAA Football 10.

I came to EA Tiburon in the fall of 2006 and was fortunate enough a few months later to organize the first ever community event for NCAA Football.  The big feedback coming out of that event was that our attendees loved the opportunity to check out the game, but that they’d love to visit us earlier in the year when they could give us some feedback while the title was still in development.  Since then it’s been our priority to move community day events earlier in the year.  This product cycle I’m happy to report that all of our community events are at a point in development where our attendees’ feedback can help make sure our games are tuned to the liking of the community.

When meeting clients, I often use the EA Tiburon case as an example of how a Tribal Strategy can impact other areas of the organization besides marketing - in this case product development.  The fact that they have decided to move up the date of the Community Day demonstrates to the tribe that EA is serious about building a better product.

The Community Day is just one part of a larger strategy to continuously improving how they connect with the tribe.

Even though we’re not quite ready to open the floodgates of information and tell you everything about NCAA Football 10, we do want you to know that we’re taking a lot of care in developing the game.  We are taking the quality of our games to new heights by involving the community early on.  You’ve seen some examples of this with our producer involvement on the forums and here on the Inside EA SPORTS Blog and this Friday’s NCAA Football 10 Community Day is another step towards making sure we involve the community every step of the way.  And while you may not learn all of the NCAA 10 features this Friday, you will get an inside look at the community day. 

Lakeport is the latest brand to jump into the foray of user generated ads.

Beer drinkers looking for T-shirts, golf balls or other freebies in cases of Lakeport are going to be sorely disappointed by the brand’s first campaign of 2009. They may even be publicly mocked.

The discount-brand beer is asking its customers to submit their own ads spoofing typical beer promotions such as in-pack giveaways. Starting today, consumers can submit videos, radio or billboard executions to Lakeport’s Facebook group for a chance to win one of five big-screen televisions. The winners will be selected based on user votes in six weeks.

By developing a contest which encourages brand fans to generate humorous ads, Lakeport is Activating The Tribe.  Their Facebook page already has prompted discussions among its 700+ members about the various ads posted by Lakeport.

The key thing to remember when trying to Activate The Tribe is that your brand may not necessarily be front and centre.  Read my previous blog post which talks about brand managers and marketers needing to take a step back and support the tribe rather than try to lead it.  It looks like Tom Rolfe, the brand marketing manager already understands this:

“[Customers] said to us ‘Keep doing what you’re doing and we’ll help you spread the word,’ ” Rolfe said. “We set up the contest as a thank you and venue for them to spread the word.”

Porsche Canada has launched a contest that will enable the winners to spend a day at the track testing out different Porsche vehicles.

From April 13 to April 23, 2009 – for the first time ever in Canada – the legendary Mosport International Raceway will play host to the Porsche World Roadshow.

Participants will experience a full range of 20 Porsche vehicles, including the very exclusive 911 GT2 – on the track – in a number of high-performance exercises. Special driving instructors from Europe and Canada will be on hand to teach handling, braking and on-track driving. An off-road course will give guests an opportunity to test the driving capabilities of the Cayenne.

Out-of-town guests will enjoy a one-night stay in Toronto’s five-star SoHo Metropolitan Hotel, including a reception and dinner at Senses, a landmark Toronto restaurant located right in the hotel. Guests will be transported to the racetrack the following day by luxury coach.

It’s the blind date every guy dreams about.

This contest is an attempt by Porsche Canada to trim and focus its advertising spend and comes on the heels of the announcement in December that Porsche would not participate in the Canadian International Auto Show in Toronto.

“Still, as we seek to find better, more targeted ways to reach out to our potential customer base – particularly in an economy as difficult as the one we face today – we must look beyond traditional consumer auto shows, even ones as prominent as Toronto.”
Rawlinson said that “Toronto is Porsche’s largest market in Canada – and the Toronto auto show is a world-class event.
But to participate with a Porsche-quality display would have required a major financial investment.
Trying to connect more directly with Canadian customers allows us to allocate our limited marketing resources more effectively in a challenging economic environment.”

Though I can appreciate - and even advocate the need to refocus marketing spend, I do not see this campaign generating more targeted prospects.  Essentially, I believe the people entering the contest are unlikely to be any different than those who attend the auto show and visit the Porsche booth; people who dream and believe one day they will be able to buy a Porsche - but often never will.

My suggestion would for Porsche to focus on its existing consumers and determine how to best support them.  Thus, potentially increasing the frequency they buy/lease a new Porsche or bring in qualified prospects to the fold.

Mars Canada is running a “Join the Hunt” campaign for its M&M’s Speck-tacular Eggs candy.

Join the Hunt” campaign is anchored by a virtual hunt for M&M’s Speck-tacular Eggs at JoinTheHunt.ca, where visitors can create an account and search for hidden candy eggs, collecting contest points for each egg they find. Each egg has a corresponding PIN code, which contestants must enter into their online account to receive the points; the more points collected, the better the chances of winning an instant prize or one of three grand prize trips.

Visitors can also conduct their search on four microsites hidden within the main contest site, as well as play games to accrue extra points.

Offline, consumers can find PIN codes on packages of M&M’s Speck-tacular Eggs and enter the codes online to earn points. Online banner ads appearing on websites such as MSN.ca, MySpace.com, YouTube.ca, Yahoo.ca, Canoe.ca and TheWeatherNetwork.com also contain the eggs and PIN codes that can be redeemed for points.

I like the concept of using a real world activity (an egg hunt) and bringing it to online and point of sale.  The reason I like it so much is because it fits well with a traditional family activity and leverages multiple quadrants in the Tribal Map.

In early posts I talked about the strong us vs. them dynamic within tribes.  The one post which demonstrated this was when I talked about Bills fans vs. CFL fans.

Here is why some Canadian Football League fans hate Rogers Communications…

Background:  For those of you who don’t know, Rogers Communications Inc (RCI) is one of Canada’s largest providers of cable, high-speed internet and cellular phones.  In addition, they own other properties such as the Toronto Blue Jays and the Rogers Centre. 

Here are a few reasons why many CFL fans hate RCI:

• For many years Ted Rogers (its late founder) was a strong proponent of bringing and NFL team (possibly relocating the Buffalo Bills) to Toronto.  
• RCI is no longer a CFL sponsor.  RCI was paying the CFL approximately $250,000 per year to sponsor their weekly/monthly/annual awards.  However, in June 2008, the CFL and RCI could not come to an agreement to renew their contract.  According to some reports, the CFL was looking at getting $750,000 per year while Rogers was only willing to pay $350,000.
• Rogers also signed a significant deal to bring the Buffalo Bills to Toronto for their Bills In Toronto series.
• The Toronto Argonauts play in the Rogers Centre - which many CFL fans detest as being a poor facility.
• Rogers also owns the Toronto Blue Jays - some CFL fans also view them as a threat (i.e. people will spend their entertainment dollar on the Jays instead of the Argonauts).

This ‘hate’ has resulted in some potentially real and economically damaging (for RCI) activities.  I stumbled upon some posts at the popular CFL fan site 13thman.com.  Here is a sample of some of the anti-RCI comments from a few people.

In support of the CFL, I’ve switched carriers from Rogers to Telus and have taken a hammer to my old phone.

I no longer pay for any Rogers services. Bell is no great hell either, but at least they’re not trying to harm the CFL. Hit Rogers where it hurts!

I guess it’s at times like this I wish I was with Rogers to I could dump them.

would everyone still be ok with the fact I want to name my son Roger though, as long as its not connected with the company.

too bad though, Rogers was a big supporter of the CFL back when I started watching in 03, what happened???

There you have it!

Cadbury is utilizing real and virtual spaces for its latest campaign for the Cadbury Creme Egg.  The centrepiece of its real space campaign is a mechanical billboard in Dundas Square in Toronto.  (For those who do not know, Dundas Square is Toronto’s attempt to recreate Times Square in NY).

Cadbury North America is promoting its Cadbury Creme Egg with a new billboard that relies on precipitation to work. The Titan Worldwidebillboard, bearing the words “Release the goo,” features a pendulum-like device with an oversized Cadbury’s Creme Egg at one end and a giant box to capture rain, snow and other forms of precipitation at the other. A giant fan sits atop the board.

As the box fills with precipitation it slowly raises the egg, eventually flipping a switch that turns on the fan and thrusts the egg into it, splitting the egg open and causing its faux cream filling to splatter across the billboard.

According to the article, this out of home execution is supported by online and TV advertising.  This is a good example of how a brand is utilizing the many areas where tribes meet and interact.  By looking at our Tribal Map - Cadbury has utilized 3 out of the 4 quadrants.

• Quadrant 1: Dundas Square Execution
• Quadrant 2: TV execution (if you consider the family unit as a sub-tribe)
• Quadrant 3: Online execution

In subsequent years, Cadbury can gain additional benefits by developing a comprehensive Tribal Strategy.

Coca-Cola along with Sogo Active and Accelteon client ParticipACTION have teamed up to run the “Sogo Carry The Flame” tour.

Coca-Cola’s “Sogo Carry the Flame” Tour is bringing the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Torch to communities across the country to inspire Canadians to become Olympic Torchbearers and live healthier lifestyles.

Designed and manufactured by Bombardier, the Olympic Torch is traveling on the 32-foot “Sogo Carry the Flame” Tour RV, and will visit approximately 50 venues in 25 cities.

The RV is equipped with computers so that people can nominate themselves for the chance to become an Olympic Torchbearer at iCoke.ca or SogoActive.com.

Sogo Active is a national, youth active living program presented by Coca-Cola in collaboration with ParticipACTION.

“The Vancouver 2010 Olympic Torch Relay will touch the soul of the nation,” said Mickael Vinet, Olympic torch relay manager, Coca-Cola Canada, in a release. “And with our ‘Sogo Carry the Flame’ Tour, we hope to use the unique power of the Olympic Games to inspire the nation to sign up to be torchbearers.”

By building a series of events tied to the Olympic torch, Coca-Cola has aligned itself with one of the world’s most recognized icons.  The activities surrounding the torch relay itself include:

Onsite activities include road hockey in a boarded-in hockey zone, the Sogo Active Interactive Running video game, a “Commitment Wall” where Canadians can share their commitment to “Live Active” or “Live Green,” and a display of Olympic torches from Beijing, Torino, Athens, Salt Lake City, Nagano and Atlanta.

Thus this campaign has the effect of brining multiple tribes together:

• Bringing people across Canada together who are passionate about the Olympics and amateur sport
• Bringing active people within each community together by hosting these events