Mad 4 Blog

Recently, Mad 4 Marketing had a guest visit the offices from Europe who remarked: “Americans use so many celebrities in their ads. It’s not like that in the rest of the world.” She said that she’d been transfixed by commercial breaks while watching TV, because it seemed like she could name the spokesperson for one out of every five commercials, which was unheard of where she was from. “It’s not just little stars, either,” she added. “It’s like A-list celebrities. Doesn’t it hurt their careers to do little television ads if they’re millionaires and movie stars?”

That made us start paying attention to how many ads we saw that featured famous people rather than actors, models or even experts in their field. Ever since then, we’ve been wondering about our national fad of celebrity endorsements — and about the pros and cons for a brand to dish out the big bucks for association with a big name.

Certainly, it has a positive effect because fans might feel like they know and trust a celebrity; therefore, their word might mean as much to a consumer as the recommendation of a family member or close friend. But one has to ask themselves: What about hurting the image of the brand? What, exactly, does an athlete really know about breakfast cereal or sneakers, better than the foodmakers or shoemakers themselves? Why not have a trusted company representative or an industry professional convey the message, instead of a pretty face?

Certainly, marketers can research a celebrity’s popularity with their target demographic and explore that person’s outreach (such as through social media). But sometimes, it’s just informed guesswork.

For example: Jamie Lee Curtis did amazing things for Activia, boosting the yogurt treat to a household name. Could Activia have known that they’d reach an amazing 80 percent of their target demographic by making that particular investment?

On the other hand: Tiger Woods became an immediate liability when scandal leaked of his multiple marital affairs during the time that he served as a brand rep for Tag Heuer. He was fired, but not without some stigma leftover.

Curious, we asked our international guest if there were other trends in our country that she’d noticed — things that might have slipped by us because we’re so used to seeing a certain standard in our commercials. “Just one others thing — you guys use a lot of patriotism to win consumers over. All of the messages are very American.” When asked what she thinks stands out the most from European marketing, she simply said: “More sex.”

Are there other trends and fads that you’ve noticed in American commercials? What about overseas? We’d love to know.

Your company’s identity is absolutely vital to its success. Its image, reputation and aesthetics are all about as important as services rendered. And the very first point of contact that a prospective client or customer has with your company is the logo.

On “America’s Next Great Restaurant,” contestants vying to open three branches of a brand new food-service chain devoted one episode to putting their logos to the test. They had an objective audience vote on where they’d pay cash to eat based on the look of the logos alone. Contestants learned a fast lesson about how important this sort of choice can be when it comes to starting a new business. Other image-related challenges included designing uniforms, menus and restaurant decor. All of these things, the celeb judges asserted, were just as important to the potential chains’ success as the food, name or location.

As a society, we’re very visually oriented. People are quick to make a decision based on their first, entirely sight-based impression–and then they just as quickly move on. So having a logo that packs a wallop with one solid, clear thought is necessary. Imagine it as your company’s firm handshake. You can convey a sense of sincerity, energy and longevity with the right look.

Think about it: What colors, fonts and symbols represent what you do? More importantly, how can you tie a sense of personality (that’s unique to your brand and “voice”) into a singular image that also stands for your company’s name? Plus, you want to be memorable. If your logo shows up next to a list of your competitors’, you want yours to be the one that stands out.

When designing your logo, Mad 4 Marketing takes into account all of your brand’s key messages. What are the thoughts you want to convey? Although these won’t literally translate into your logo, they can affect its design. Are you all about being modern and edgy? Maybe a chic and bold font is right for you. Are you aiming for a low-key, tropical vibe suitable for South Florida? Perhaps a sea blue is a better choice than boring old white for framing your logo.

Whether you’re handing out pens at a trade show or having individuals step in the front doors of your office (your outside signage and reception area should not be overlooked), any first encounter with your logo can impact your chance of success. Even if you have a logo that’s suited you well, maybe your customers are too used to it; you can grab some new attention with a slightly tweaked, fresher vibe. Retooling your logo is also a wonderful excuse to reach out to colleagues and customers alike to let them know about the change and send over some promotional materials.

Don’t hesitate to ask how Mad 4 Marketing can integrate your brand and business goals into a new logo that really makes your audience stop and take notice.

A few weeks ago, The New York Observer and other outlets began reporting on a trend making its way through the celebrity world: reverse or anti-product placement. Called a “wicked” new marketing strategy, this fascinating pattern describes marketing and public relations companies sending out free samples to famous persons with the hope of linking that brand with the A-lister’s strong public image.

But what’s so strange about that? Haven’t agencies been mailing out free samples and swag for decades? Isn’t it actually a commonly used form of publicity and sponsorship?

Yes; but now the difference is that they’re not just sending out the goods of their clients. They’re sending out samples from their client’s competition. Why would they do that? Well, because they’re sending out those branded products to celebrities with whom their own brand would never associate. For example, gleeful (albeit probably untrue) rumors are rampant in the fashion industry that a competing designer brand sent Snooki (the moniker for Nicole Polizzi of MTV’s “Jersey Shore”) a handbag from Gucci—all in an effort to devalue the respectable brand and boost their own sales. Snooki, who’s been in the news recently due to an arrest for disorderly conduct, is infamous for her less-than-brilliant comments and untoward antics on her hit reality television show, now in its second season.

The Observer also calls this tactic “deviously dirty” as a form of “unbranding.” It sounds technically legal—but could there be connotations of negatively associating a brand that fall under libel? Maybe someday; for one thing, the worlds of fashion and celebrity certainly love to argue about brand and copyright infringement, and they never shy from a potentially publicity-inducing legal battle.

So what do you make of this practice? Is it bratty or genius? Is it even ethical?

In a world where Tiger Woods can still swing a club like nobody’s business but can’t sell a pair of sneakers because of the goings-on in his personal life, there’s certainly something to be said about how seriously the American public takes brand association. In fact, perhaps we should be a little surprised that this sort of thing didn’t become common practice a lot sooner, especially way back when there were Martha Stewart arrests and Britney Spears breakdowns to capitalize on with anti-product placement.

At Mad 4 Marketing, reverse product placement doesn’t quite bear the level of finesse that we would want to enact for our customers and clients. We prefer to help you build and market strong brands that stand out simply because they’re the best and reaching the best-suited audiences for your products and services. But in the meantime, it does provide us with a hearty laugh behind our hands and something to chat about on meeting breaks.

And it makes us pay a little more attention to what Ms. Snookums is going to wear next week on “Jersey Shore”—and wonder where it really came from!