al berrios IMKTG REPORT 10.29.02: KFC; MSN; eBay; more

THIS WEEK'S CONTENTS ARE:
[1] JUST SAY IT: My Updates
[2] BRANDSTRATEGY: Viral Chicken and Computers
[3] CONSUMERFOCUS: Perception Changes Everything
[4] MEDIA: Stimulating Consumers to Interact
[5] MANAGEMENT: Consumers Do Police Themselves



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[1] JUST SAY IT: My Updates

>> "The future ain't what it used to be" --Yogi Berra

Good morning execs,

If you're reading this, you already know what the internet can do for your business. As a result, this publication, as well as my firm, has been evolving to guide your communications investment decisions based on consumer input.

October marks our 2nd year anniversary. To celebrate this milestone (we're actually in the black, folks, no kidding), we will be undergoing major changes designed to re-position our company to a specialized consulting firm that leverages real-time discussions with consumers to help you manage your communications efforts (the first of it's kind, as far as I know.) Watch out for our new look this November.

I want to extend many thanks to everyone who has helped us make it this far: Loiett, Simone H., Michael P., Clariza E., Sarah J.S., Shane M., Wendy K., T.Quan, Tme, Bonnie S., David F., Felicia and Steven, Adam, Randolph, and Bill, Mahesh, Julio P., Amber B., Jose and Jorge G., Jorge C-M. and Joe B, Joel R., Richard A., Cherine A., Gary S., and well, I've met over 1000 people in these two years, and I'm sure you don't want me to go through my list... but thanks to all. Enjoy the rest.

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[2] BRANDSTRATEGY: Viral Chicken and Computers

What does a fast-food joint need the internet for? Well, in a remarkable campaign, KFC is utilizing the internet's most important function to drive consumers to partake of a four-day promotion. Aside from noticing an ad on AOL instant messenger, a friend of mine actually IM'd me to tell me to check out the site. How viral is that!? The other fast fooders (QSRs) use their sites as part of their off-line campaigns (except for McDonalds.com, which looks like something out of 1995, even though they claim they generated over 200% awareness for their Chicken Flat Bread using a 12% internet budget increase for the internet), which is great. KFCs strategy focuses on discounting its product to attract consumers. But aside from its brilliant effort to diffuse its promotion to consumers, will this hurt its brand?

BOTTOM LINE: No, it's fast food. Thanks to the dollar menus, eaters have been programmed to only want discounted fast food. It's not like computers, where one can set you back several hundred bucks. With this in mind, Gateway is offering us $50 for referring to them new customers that actually buy something from them. Both campaigns are viral in nature, however, can computers be sold with the same viral diffusion as lunch? No. Remember, the cost of a computer means that their decision process is longer. They need to research and compare. Chicken won't cost you a paycheck, so it's virally speaking, it makes sense. And since McDs has found that 27% of the 18-to 49-year-old target market doesn't watch TV but spends over an hour online daily, you now know why and how to use the internet if you're in the fast-food business.

READ MORE:
Net Ad Industry Pushes For Bigger Slice of Media Pie
http://www.burgerking.com
http://www.tacobell.com
http://www.wendys.com

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[3] CONSUMERFOCUS: Perception Changes Everything

Turns out consumers don't want the web on their phones. A new study says no value is perceived. LOL. MSN put out a study saying that subscribers prefer the usability of their new 8 version over AOL. LOL, it must be true, coming from such a trusted source as Microsoft. (Scott Adams, creator of "Dilbert" recently polled his readers and discovered that Microsoft is perceived to be the "weaseliest" company around.) Radio jumped in again last week with new research that breaks down women radio listeners and why they listen (and don't listen) to the radio. As expected, the top reasons women tune out radio is ads, bad content, and no time. (Ain't those the reasons Clear Channel is so big?) Companies continue to ignore customer emails yet force spam on them when they register, according to another research titled the "2002 Online Customer Respect Study of Fortune 100 Companies". LOL. And finally, and what I personally find very interesting, consumers perceive doctors, scientists, teachers, and military officers to be prestigious jobs while clergy, lawyers, accountants, and bankers to have much much less prestige.

BOTTOM LINE: How does consumer perception change? Current events that affect more than one person, personal lifestyle changes resulting from income level, and of course, what young people perceive to be "cool" because let's face it, when they get put in charge, their decisions will be based on what happened to them when they were young. How can you leverage this insight? Market to them while they're young, adjust business practices to current events, and of course, position yourself as a necessary brand, because when the sh!t hits the fan, even if consumers had no money, they still need what's necessary.

READ MORE:
The Yankee Group's 2002 Mobile User Survey
Study Shows That MSN 8 Preferred 3 to 1 Over AOL 8
What Women Want: Factors Driving Tune-In and Tune-Out (pdf)
Scientists, Doctors, Teachers and Military Officers Top the List of Most Prestigious Occupations


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[4] MEDIA: Stimulating Consumers to Interact

With $300 million to spend, it's pretty easy to do something stupid. MSN had half of NYC stickered with its butterfly logo. Chances are, their ad agency, McCann, hired a guerrilla firm with a team of "street marketers", to place stickers everywhere. And they did such a great job, the city fined MSN for littering. An apologetic MSN has agreed to clean up the mess, but my question is, does seeing a sticker really stimulate a consumer to interact with your brand? I'm in the brand camp that says reach and frequency via multiple media will ultimately work, however, what do you do if you don't have $300 million to spend? Forget stickers.

Turns out kids in Europe are so hooked on texting that all kinda interactivity occurs between them and TV. "Figures show that 20% of teenagers in France, 11% in Britain and 9% in Germany have sent messages in response to TV shows. This has much to do with the boom in 'reality TV' shows, such as 'Big Brother', in which viewers' votes decide the outcome."

BOTTOM LINE: Everywhere you look, brands want your opinion. From TV polls, to voting via cell phones, brands are increasingly utilizing interactive means to get consumers to respond to their efforts. It's amazing how they've figured this out and yet continue to advertise in the most annoying ways.

READ MORE:
Microsoft decals don't stick in NYC
MSN Ads Anger NYC
Texting the television


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[5] MANAGEMENT: Consumers Do Police Themselves

This proves my point: eBay users have begun policing themselves in an effort to prevent fraud in the eBay community. It didn't cost eBay anything and it's a great indication of the commitment and future profitability of the eBay community. Why is this so important for your business?

BOTTOM LINE: Is it so hard to believe that consumers can guide your business decisions? It's no longer about the bottom line, but the consumer's opinion. If you can harness that and ultimately adjust your business to it, then you will always make your numbers. But aren't I in the business of controlling consumer opinions? I would say no. I am in the business of altering consumer perception to something more preferable. If done right, that consumer will ultimately become your customer and it's up to you to manage that perception. At no point does anyone like to be controlled. So why are you not doing what I'm telling you already? You should hire me.

READ MORE:
Hell Hath No Fury Like an eBay User Scorned

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Disclaimer: The recommendations, commentary and opinions published herein are based on public information sometimes referenced via hyperlinks. Any similarities or likeness to any ideas or commentary from any other sources not referenced is purely coincidental. al berrios & co. cannot control any results occurring from advice obtained from this publication nor any opinion(s) conveyed by any reader of this publication.

(c) 2001-2005. All Rights Reserved. al berrios & company, inc. Published by al berrios & co. This Report may not be reproduced or redistributed in any form without written permission from al berrios & co., subject to penalty.

 

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