Yahoo's $100M Marketing Campaign: “It’s Y!ou”

Yahoo outlined its new global branding campaign today, dubbed “It’s You!”, which is focused on the personalization of its homepage and products. The campaign, which has a budget of more than $100 million, includes tag lines that will be featured on the homepage such as “It’s time to get personal” and “The new Yahoo lets you do it your way every day.” The company also released an updated version of its Yahoo search product. The update, shown to the media last month, includes a left-hand column that lets users filter their results by using Search Monkey data. The layout resembles Microsoft’s Bing, which is interesting since the two companies inked a search deal in July.

Yahoo CEO Carol Bartz said that the ad campaign isn’t a short-term marketing scheme, but a harbinger for the company’s new direction and its products going forward. “What we want to do is show (people) what the new Yahoo is about so they come (to the site) all the time,” she said.

The ad campaign will launch in the U.S. on Sept. 28 and in the UK and India on Oct. 5. Yahoo will roll out the campaign to other markets, including Brazil, Canada, France and Hong Kong, throughout the next year. “It’s you!” will be featured online and through a variety of other mediums such as TV, print and radio. Yahoo said it expects to see a shift in consumers’ perspective of the company brand within 12 months as a result of the campaign.

Reports surfaced earlier this week that Yahoo was preparing to unveil a marketing campaign focused on the size and scale of the company and personalization of its products. Examples of the campaign have already sprouted up in New York, according to the Wall Street Journal. Bartz hinted at the upcoming “It’s You!” campaign during the company’s July earnings call, saying that Yahoo’s “Q3 plans include an initial wave of incremental marketing spend which will increase substantially into Q4 and next year.

Since Bartz took the helm of Yahoo in January this year, the CEO has made sweeping changes to the beleaguered Sunnyvale, Calif.-based company’s image, including rolling out a revamped homepage and updated versions of its Mail and Messenger consumer web products that tap into social networks like Facebook and Twitter. Bartz also has been quick to correct widespread assumptions that Yahoo is a search company, trying to set it apart from rivals like Google and Microsoft.

Releasing fresh versions of its products isn’t the only way the company is trying to redefine its image.Yahoo is looking to offload Zimbra, an open-source email company that it acquired for $350 million in 2007, in an effort to slim down its portfolio, AllThingsD reported this week.

When asked to confirm whether the company is selling Zimbra, Bartz said, “We don’t comment on whether something is being shopped or not. What I can tell you in the spirit of the question is that Zimbra technology is very, very important to our mail system.” But she added, ” The technology is already integrated into our system.”

According to Bartz, 76 percent of the U.S. population are Yahoo users and 581 million people visit the site each month.

Tattoo yourself...Lebanon Impact BBDO is BUSTED

THE ORIGINAL? Rio Sul Shopping Center – 2000 Source : Cannes Archive Online, Luerzer’s Archive, Agency : Salles / D’Arcy (Brazil)	LESS ORIGINAL : C & F Cosmetics & Fragrances “Love yourself” – 2007 Source : Pikasso Gold Agency : Impact BBDO (Lebanon)
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Tools for Tracking, Measuring, and Evaluating Brand's Online

Online brand-building enables  to reach beyond the people  can connect with in person and allows  to measure the impact of your actions. Since online personal-branding efforts are easier to track and measure, you can see how your brand pervades the World Wide Web. Here are five easy-to-use Web tools to help you get a handle on how powerful and prevalent your virtual personal brand is.

1. Google Alerts (www.google.com/alerts)

Google Alerts notifies you via email when your name shows up on the Web, and it provides links to the reference sites so you can see exactly what's being said. 

2. TweetBeep (www.tweetbeep.com)

TweetBeep is like Google Alerts for Twitter. It enables you to track Twitter conversations that mention you, providing hourly updates so you can stay connected to and respond to relevant conversations. You can also track who's tweeting your website or blog.

3. Online ID Calculator (www.onlineidcalculator.com)

Tto measure the strength of one's online reputation. In doing research for our book, Career Distinction: Stand Out by Building Your Brand, Kirsten Dixson and I learned that when people google someone, they judge the results based on two factors: volume and relevance.

The Online ID Calculator will give you a basic understanding of your current online ID. If you use it before and after a major online personal-branding campaign, you can see how the campaign affected your score.

4. Bit.ly (www.bit.ly)

This is a great service for tracking the links that you include in your Web-based articles, blog, and Twitter posts. It's helpful because it shortens standard URLs, but its true value lies in its tracking tools.

With Bit.ly, you're able to see in real time how often your links are clicked, helping you understand the relative popularity of the items you post. It's a great way to measure which sources are most popular (use different bit.ly links for your blog and Twitter posts, for example) and which posts and links generate the greatest interest.

5. Addictomatic (www.addictomatic.com)

This is a useful tool that provides a comprehensive snapshot of how your brand shows up across many online search engines, including video search engines. Type your name in quotes (e.g., "william arruda") and see a custom page created just for you, with input from Google, Twitter, Bing, FriendFeed, Twingly, YouTube, Digg, Flickr, Delicious, Bloglines, Truveo, Wikio, Yahoo, Technorati, etc. You can also use Addictomatic to get a picture of what's happening on the Web in your area of expertise.

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Tok & Stok :::Stok clearance

‘Sale’ signs are so ubiquitous these days that retailers often struggle to cut through the clutter and get their discount offers noticed. This was the problem facing Brazilian furniture retailer, Tok & Stok, and its solution was one of the most innovative poster campaigns of the past few years.

In Brazil, Tok & Stok has built up a reputation has a high-end furniture retailer. Its design style is minimalist, uncluttered and clean and this had to be reflected in its advertising campaign. It was also imperative that Tok & Stok drew a large crowd for the sale as it was its biggest of the year and the retailer had a new range of stock waiting to go on display.

The posters were designed to look like furniture and left in places that would surprise and amuse the public. Some were made to look like tables, some chairs; others were rolled up into a cone and attached to the walls of malls and give the impression of lampshades. Every poster was almost entirely white with a simple Tok & Stok logo and discount offer, relating to the item the poster was suppose to represent, in one corner.

The posters gained a lot of attention in Brazil and enhanced Tok & Stok’s reputation for sophisticated furniture solutions. The interest translated directly into sales with the retailer selling out of its discount stock in a matter of days.

BRAND: Tok Stok

BRAND OWNER: Tok & Stok

CATEGORY: Retail

REGION: Brazil

DATE: Aug 2009

AGENCY: DDB Brasil

MEDIA CHANNEL

Wispa Gold Bar::: For the love of Wispa

We’ve decided to give our advertising space to you guys as a thank you for all the love you’ve shown to Wispa. We've bought thousands of billboards all over the UK and Ireland so that you can share your special messages with the world. Yes that’s right, you let us know your special message and if it gets selected we will post it on a real billboard in the location of your choice.So whether you just want to say 'hi' to a special friend who lives in a different city, or wish your Mum Happy 60th Birthday, now is your chance. All you have to do is submit your special ‘gold’ standard message along with an explanation of why it is so special, and let us know which city you would like your billboard to appear in. We will do the rest.So what are you waiting for? Make sure you submit your message by 3rd October 2009 to be in with a chance of winning.

Site: http://www.wispagoldmessages.com/

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/wispa?v=wall

YTube Channel:http://www.youtube.com/fortheloveofwispa

Talk Talk:::Put-Pocketing

Londoners tend to expect the worst when they see somebody loitering near their bag, and usually they would be right to. But telecoms operator, Talk Talk, has launched a campaign employing ex-pickpockets to distribute cash to people in London without them even realising.

Certain factions, including those that have previously been pick-pocketed, have taken issue with the idea. But the campaign has been given the blessing of the Metropolitan police and each ‘put-pocket’ – as they are being called – carries ID, in case he is caught in the act, and is watched by a minder.

20 put-pockets roamed around the traditional pick-pocketing heartlands including Leicester Square, Oxford Circus and Covent Garden as well as on the tube network. Once they had found a ‘mark’, they would approach and slip a crisp £20 note onto their person, along with a branded Talk Talk card. The telecoms company plans to distribute over £100,000 in this way. Strategically placed signs, reading ‘Rejoice! Put-pockets operating in this area’, warn the public of the put-pockets presence.

A YouTube video showing the operation in action has turned into a very successful viral. The scheme has been in operation since July and so far none of the put-pockets have been rumbled.

http://www.youtube.com/user/talktalkvids

BRAND: Talk Talk

BRAND OWNER: Carphone Warehouse

CATEGORY: Telecoms/ Mobile

REGION: UK

DATE: Jul 2009 - Oct 2009

AGENCY: In House

MEDIA CHANNEL

Aviva car insurance:::

Aviva wanted to engage consumers when they would be in the right frame of mind to think about car insurance. The obvious solution was to target motorists when they were actually on the road, so the insurer decided to advertise with In Your Space.

In Your Space displays advertising on the sides and back of its trucks. According to the media owner, 64% of motor vehicle traffic is via motorways and major A-roads, which are covered by its moving billboards. It recently carried out a £70,000, 12-month long research programme to provide the likes of Aviva with specific targets.

Aviva’s campaign is running on a total of 210 ad sites - termed as ‘high reach billboards’. The lorries carrying the ads will cover more than one million miles of road. If estimates prove correct, the campaign will communicate to over 24 million motorists every month, with each motorist expected to see the adverts at least 7 times, delivering a total of 508 million impacts over the three-month campaign period.

With TV advertising overloaded with insurance companies, it makes sense for a car insurance firm such as Aviva to move its advertising into a more relevant space for its target market, although the environmental impact of such advertising may concern insurance customers in the future.

BRAND: Aviva car insurance

BRAND OWNER: Aviva

CATEGORY: Automotive

REGION: UK

DATE: Aug 2009 - Oct 2009

AGENCY: AMV/OMD

OTHER AGENCIES:Posterscope

MEDIA OWNER: In your space

MEDIA CHANNEL

Target:::Bag a billboard

Fashion is a personal thing. Ask two women arriving at a party dressed in the same outfit and you’ll really see the ‘handbags’ come out. Knowing this, fashion retailer Target has come up with an environmentally friendly way of making sure the handbags, at least, will always be unique – by making bags out of billboards.

In the past, Target has shown a preference for commissioning high profile artists to create designs for its fashion ranges. The artists it has commissioned to design its billboards this time round are equally high calibre: Michael Anderson, Laurie Rosenwald, Charles Wilkin and Josh Goldstein have all signed up to the project. Their billboard designs will be erected in NY Times Square on Labor Day and remain up until the end of October.

Once they have been taken down, the vinyl designs will be turned into 1,600 limited edition bespoke bags using an Anna Sui tote bag model. Every bag will be unique and made from 90% recycled material. So, consumers passing through Times Square are advised to keep an eye out for their favourite parts of the billboard designs as they could soon be wearing it on their arm.

The bags will be available to order on Target’s website from September 4^th, ready to be shipped from January 2010. A clever, cost-saving campaign that gets consumers talking about the brand and thinking about the environment.

BRAND: Target

BRAND OWNER: Target Corporation

CATEGORY: Accessories/ Clothing/ Footwear

REGION:USA

DATE: Sep 2009 - Jan 2010

AGENCY: Mother

MEDIA CHANNEL

Whisper:::Period drama

‘That time of the month’ is one of its politer descriptions, but the onset of a woman’s period has neverbeen something for them to get excited about. Attempting to reverse this trend, Singapore-based hygiene brand, Whisper,

decided to try and improve women’s perception of their own menstrual cycle and in doing so build brand affinity.

Research conducted by global communications company, MS&L Singapore showed that only 22% of women were able to correctly identify the various stages of their own menstrual cycle. Not only was there a lack of understanding about the biological goings-on, a woman’s period was also seen as something of a taboo subject in Singapore.

To increase awareness, Whisper built a dedicated website, ‘Happy It’s Here’, that identified the various stages of the menstrual cycle and provides helpful tips and ideas of activities and exercises, such as kickboxing, that women can perform to help relieve their pent-up frustration. Visitors to the site are directed to aFacebook group where they can discuss why they are happy about the onset of their period as well as offer a sympathetic shoulder and encouragement to others.

The group currently has over 4074 members and is growing daily. Aiming to improve women’s perception of their periods is an ambitious campaign objective but if Whisper can pull it off, the public perception of its own brand will improve dramatically.

The Whisper “happy it’s here!” initiative aims to help young women embrace their womanhood by sharing the many positive secrets of the menstrual cycle and encouraging open conversations around it within a community of like-minded women.

Whisper is dedicated to creating happier periods for women. As the first to bring new and innovative feminine care products such as Ultrathin products and pads with wings, Whisper continues to play an integral part in the lives of women in Singapore and around the world.

Website:http://www.happyitshere.com.sg

Images above are from Happy it's here media and blogger reception

BRAND: Whisper

BRAND OWNER: P&G

CATEGORY: Pharmaceuticals/ Healthcare

REGION: Singapore

DATE: Aug 2009

AGENCY: Leo BurnetO

THER AGENCIES: ARC Singapore

MEDIA OWNER: Facebook

MEDIA CHANNEL

WWF:::The Impact on Global Climate Change"meltdown"

Most people only get to experience the Arctic region through nature programmes on TV, so the problem of Arctic warming is not something we are immediately aware of.

WWF wanted to make sure that ‘out of sight’ did not mean ‘out of mind’ by highlighting the risks of Arctic warming and show the direct effect of climate change in the Arctic on the whole planet. A major report compiled by WWF, entitled Arctic Feedbacks: The Impact on Global Climate Change, reveals that rapid retreat of ice could lead to the sea level rising by one metre in this century alone, threatening a quarter of the world’s population. Warming in the Arctic could also substantially increase carbon dioxide and methane emissions in the atmosphere as a great quantity of those gases are stored in the Arctic’s frozen soils or wetlands. WWF wanted to ensure that climate change was seen as a political priority for the months leading up to the United Nations Climate change conference in December.

To coincide with the release of the report, WWF teamed up with Brazilian artist Nele Azevedo to create 1,000 tiny ice sculptures of people. These were positioned on the steps of the music hall in Gendarmenmarkt public square in Berlin.

The sculptures began melting in 30 minutes, perfectly illustrating the impact of melting ice caps on humanity.

BRAND:WWF

BRAND OWNER: WWF

CATEGORY:Charities

REGION:Germany

DATE:Sep 2009

MEDIA CHANNEL

Visit Denmark Tourist Board:::a Danish woman looking for he baby's daddy

A viral stunt for Visit Denmark Tourist Board.



This is a viral stunt made by Visit Denmark. However, cleverly crafted it has caused a rhetorical battle between journalists and marketing people concerning the right interpretation of the video. Is this way of branding unfair as its based on lying in order to make people aware on Denmark, or is it a success story due to the explosive amount of viewings it has received in a very short time?

A Youtube video purporting to represent a pretty young Danish single mother looking for the foreign father of her son, may have garnered Denmarks national tourist agency VisitDenmark some 800,000 clicks but the story behind the video is a lie.

According to confirmed reports, the national tourist agency VisitDenmark generated the story of a one night stand with a foreign man producing a son, to get more people to visit the home of Shakespeare's 'To be or not to be'.

The video, however, is definitely 'Not to be' the young woman in the video is a Danish actress and the baby is not hers.

I dont understand the advertising agency that has produced this story. What do they think people will think, says Roskilde University Sociologist and Womens Affairs Researcher Karen Sjørup.

Theyre obviously trying to sell a type of promiscuous Danish woman and exploit the idea that you can lure quick, blonde Danish women home without a condom, Sjørup says, adding however that foreigners who come to Denmark with that idea will be very disappointed.

Broad-minded
VisitDenmark disagrees.

Karens story shows that Denmark is a broad-minded country where you can do what you want. The film is a good example of independent, dignified, Danish women who dare to make their own choices, says VisitDenmark CEO Dorte Kiilerich.

Why have you chosen to market Denmark as a country with drunken women who have unsafe sex with casual acquaintances?

That is not a story that I recognise. We tell a good and sweet story about a mature, responsible woman who lives in a free society and shoulders the responsibilty of her actions. And she uses a modern social medium, Kiilerich says.

Ad agency
The Grey advertising agency that produced the video says it is a major success.

It is the most successful viral advert ever. We have got through the media noise and it cost the same as a 30-second spot shown a couple of times on TV2, says Peter Helstrup from Greys.

Since last Thursday, the video has notched up 1.9 million Google searches, 773,000 YouTube viewings and is linked to 83,000 websites.

No reproach
In the video, the young woman, claiming to be called Karen says: I dont reproach you, but I think you should know that (a young boy called) August is here.

Karen, however, is the actress Ditte Arnth Jørgsensen, the baby is not hers, and the viral advert was produced using taxpayers money.

The fabricated story behind the video is that the young woman met a tourist by chance in the Nyhavn area of Copenhagen, introduced him to the Danish concept of hygge or cosiness. The next morning his side of the bed was empty when she woke up, and nine months later the now one-and-a-half-year-old August appeared on the scene.