Samsung Goes Viral With Brickfish Campaign

SAMSUNG IS PROMOTING ITS MX10 flash memory camcorder with Your "Baby Love," a new user-generated content (UGC) campaign featuring Pussycat Dolls' lead singer Nicole Scherzinger. The promo invites users to film themselves doing a rendition of Scherzinger's single "Baby Love" and upload it for a chance to win prizes like the MX10, a 40-inch LCD HDTV or $500 cash. San Diego-based Brickfish is the viral marketing agency at the helm of the campaign, which runs until February 4.

The MX10 was featured in Scherzinger's video for "Baby Love," which debuted in late 2007, and Samsung turned to UGC as a natural way to extend the buzz. "Being featured in Nicole Scherzinger's video for 'Baby Love' was great. and we are excited to integrate music lovers into the experience," said Reid Sullivan, vice president of marketing for Samsung Electronics America. "UGC is a great tool to help us engage with consumers at a new level." Anyone can view and vote on the entries via the campaign microsite. Brickfish's UGC platform helps to facilitate viral adoption by allowing visitors to post comments and share their entries via email and IMs, as well as distribution across sites like Facebook, MySpace and Xanga.

According to Nichole Goodyear, founder and vice president of operations at Brickfish, the agency's proprietary platform has an analytics engine that tracks the movement of each piece of content. "As the content is shared across different networks, it sends the data back and it gets aggregated into campaign summary reports," said Goodyear. She added that the tool also provides detailed analysis of just how viral a campaign really is, complete with geographic and demographic data on user participation.

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Lincoln Has New Celeb Endorser: Common

Rapper Replaces Magic Johnson as Brand Eyes Younger Consumers

By Jean Halliday

Published: November 12, 2007

DETROIT (AdAge.com) -- Goodbye, Magic Johnson. Hello Common.

Ford says Grammy winner Common appeals to consumers in their late 20s to mid 30s.

Lincoln has ended its three-year relationship with NBA-star-turned entrepreneur and teamed with hip-hop artist Common to reach African Americans. In a deal announced at the Los Angeles Auto Show, Ford Motor Co. said the celeb will mainly plug the Lincoln Navigator luxury SUV in ads across a variety of media, at events and online.

'A little cooler'
Marc Perry, multicultural marketing manager for Lincoln, told Advertising Age the Grammy winner appeals to consumers in their late 20s to mid 30s. The star will help meet the marketer's plan to make the Navigator and the Lincoln brand overall "hipper and a little cooler," he said. While Magic Johnson worked well for Lincoln, the marketer wanted to "keep things contemporary," he said.

Lincoln is hoping Common will help Navigator overtake General Motors Corp.'s Cadillac Escalade as the most popular luxury SUV among African Americans, Mr. Perry said.

Seven percent of all Navigator buyers from last October to March 2007 were African American, according to data from consultant Strategic Vision. The Escalade had twice as many African-American buyers than any contenders in the SUV segment, said Alexander Edwards, president of Strategic Vision's auto practice.

He noted the median age of Escalade buyers during that period was 51, just one year older than the average age across the entire luxury-SUV category and significantly younger than the median age of Navigator buyers, 57.

Hefty price tag
Lincoln's new deal with Common isn't likely to resonate with its current buyers, but could help build long-term aspiration for the brand, Mr. Edwards said. "How many consumers in their 20s can afford a Navigator?" The suggested retail price for the 2008 model SUV is $47,755.

Common's one-year deal with Lincoln was developed by UniWorld Group, New York, the brand's African-American agency of record. Other than to say Common gets a free, new Navigator, Mr. Perry declined to discuss financial details of the deal.

Common's first national general-market ads break Nov. 25 during "Sunday Night Football" on NBC, but more targeted TV will begin after the New Year on cable and national radio, Mr. Perry said. Magazine ads will break in February titles.

Common will appear next spring at test-drive events, dubbed Lincoln Lounge, and will be integrated online at LincolnLounge.com. Lincoln is wrapping up details on online and offline promotions, licensing of his songs for TV and web ads and how the automaker will integrate into his 2008 concert tour.

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Crown Royal Asks Consumers to Make Stuff From its Purple Bag

Crown Royal has launched a promotion to get people to make quilts, reupholster chairs or create any other variety of crafty fare out of the iconic purple bags the whisky is packaged in.

Partakers submit pictures of their creations via mail or an online entry at CrownRoyal.com through Dec. 31.

The name of the promotion, the Legends of the Purple Bag, plays into the grand prize termed a “legendary” trip to both Los Angeles and New York. The weekend in Los Angeles includes a movie night with Hugh Hefner and a private tour of the mansion with a Playboy bunny. The weekend in New York features a day of VIP treatment at the ESPN Zone and a tour of ESPN headquarters in Bristol, CT.

“For years, Crown Royal consumers have been showcasing their passion and style via thoughtful creations featuring the iconic purple bag,” said David Tapscott, brand director for Crown Royal, in a statement. “Whether it’s creating wedding gowns, golf club heads, or a suit comprised of the purple velvet, this promotion offers a forum to celebrate and showcase the unique creativity and skill of some of the most enthusiastic consumers out there.”

Past creations ranging from winter hats and sport jackets woven entirely from the purple bags, to the lining of car interiors and sofa covers prompted the idea for the contest.

Submissions will be judged on creativity, originality, relevance to Crown Royal product, appeal, clarity and appropriateness for use in publicity and advertising.

Print ads, P-O-P, online banners and e-mails are supporting the contest.

For every submission received, Crown Royal said it would make a donation to RADD, the entertainment industry’s voice for road safety.

Former NFL football player Jerry Rice wore a suit designed out of Crown Royal purple bags to this year¹s ESPY Awards. The suit will be auctioned off with its proceeds getting donated to RADD.

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Gap Launches New 'Classic Redefined' Marketing Campaign

GAP INC.--STRUGGLING TO REVERSE A persistent slide in its U.S. stores--has launched a new ad campaign, using celebrity portraits shot by Annie Leibovitz.

Themed "Classics redefined," the company says the new ads play up Gap's commitment to personal style.

"Fashion portraiture is a subject near and dear to Gap. Our advertising has always put the individual ahead of the clothes," the company says in its announcement. "Whether it's a celebrity, a writer, a performing artist or a model, the person is always the art, the clothes the frame that sets them off. And a compelling portrait is a way to make sure it lives on forever."

Ads, running in September magazines, focus on such A-list celebrities as musician John Mayer and actors Forest Whitaker and Lucy Liu, as well as quirkier selections, like comedian Sarah Silverman and choreographer Twyla Tharp. Each of the 12 portraits focus on a wardrobe staple, and Gap is hoping the new effort will spark sales as it heads into the critical fourth quarter.

But the company continues to struggle. Gap, which named Glenn Murphy as its new chairman and CEO last week after months of speculation, has been struggling with poor sales and an exodus of talent.

Earlier this month, it announced that its June sales fell 4% overall, with same-store sales at its North American Gap stores plunging 9%, and sales at its Old Navy division skittered 6%. Same-store sales at Banana Republic North America gained 6%.

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