Tag: excellence

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Marketing Master Class: “Monster U”

  • The marketing masters for Monsters University have an excellent campaign in place to promote the upcoming film
  • Campaign features NCAA targeted media buys and brilliant parody website, including merchandise store

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Television advertising for universities has become incredibly popular in recent years. Most commercials air during college sports broadcasts and follow a formula that includes: smiling students, picturesque campus, a balanced representation of academics and (take your pick of) Business, Sports, Science, Research, Liberal Arts, Fine Arts or Leadership. Mix in some nostalgia for alumnae and the goofy school mascot and you have yourself a commercial!

“Imagine U at MU” was created to promote the June premiere of the upcoming film Monsters University; it is an incredibly witty yet respectful take on this formula. If you watch the upcoming NCAA basketball tournaments look closely for this spot to air interspersed with real commercials.

However, that only scratches the surface of what looks like another powerful promotional campaign. In a bit of marketing brilliance, the tactics include a beautiful and fun higher education website devoted to the world, and campus, of Monsters University. The creators’ thoughtful planning and development of this website is successful because:

  • No one does character better than Disney; in this medium, the Monster U characters come alive in a different way than on television or in the film. For example, in sections like “Campus Life,” the characters feel real, relatable and accessible.
  • The content creates a natural extension of the story that will be told through the film.
  • It sustains both the Monsters University brand and the film’s upcoming premiere beyond the television budget or inevitable fast-food tie-in.
  • The built-in store provides a natural and direct product selling line, outside of big box retailers.
  • Kids and adults can draw a transferable experience to the Monsters University website from their current school’s website (or alumnus site).
  • It is incredibly cost-effective, in the scheme of the worldwide marketing spend for the film.Walt Disney and John Lasseter are icons of storytelling and artistry. This is a wonderful tribute to their philosophy of creative, collective and innovative thinking.
  • Ongoing learning and organized socialization is promoted, which can inspire kids in their own lives.

Well done. Well done.

To read additional kudos about the Monsters University campaign and Walt Disney, the staff at Crossroads identified a few lessons to learn (#4 should be #1, in my opinion).

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“If you want to build a ship…”

  • Seth MacFarlane is given a poor review for execution of his Oscars duties
  • Excellence starts with leadership, inspiration and motivation

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Seth MacFarlane was host of The Oscars ceremony last month. His performance was controversial and highly criticized. Some successful moments involved the family Von Trapp and some swoon-worthy crooning on MacFarlane’s part, but these moments were not enough to balance out the offensive weight jokes, race jokes, sexist jokes, religion jokes and a bad Lincoln assassination joke. The only apologetic moment was MacFarlane’s jab and subsequent booze-toss-apology to George Clooney.

Between his stints as Roast Master of three Comedy Central Roasts and his own Sunday night empire of animated comedy series, should anyone be surprised at MacFarlane’s presentation during The Oscars telecast? I think Mike Ryan, of the Huffington Post, wrote it best: “Yes, it’s no secret that MacFarlane likes to go this route, but with the entire world watching, this may have been the night that MacFarlane should have thought to himself, I’m going to try harder.”

“Try harder.” This phrase has never meant more to me than as the parent of a precocious 15-month old boy. Encouraging chants such as “You can do it!” and “You’ve almost got it!” are commonplace in my home, often followed by “Great job!” or “Do it again!” This motivation keeps him going. Without it, I would have a passive toddler who is uninterested in exploring new experiences or ideas. He certainly would not be achieving any new milestones.

Proper motivation may have been the missing element for MacFarlane and the 10 other credited writers of The Oscars. MacFarlane has a juvenile, biting style of humor and that is likely a key reason the producers of The Oscars hired him; in the end, they stated they were happy with MacFarlane’s performance and the outcome. However, to have achieved higher accolades and had more reason to celebrate (with less criticism), perhaps they should have followed this philosophy to better inspire and lead their writers:

“If you want to build a ship, don’t drum up people together to collect wood and don’t assign them tasks and work, but rather teach them to long for the endless immensity of the sea.” (Antoine de Saint-Exupéry).

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#Oreo Wins the Super Bowl

  • Blackout at the Super Bowl inspires advertisers to think on their feet
  • Social media provides real time entertainment and connectivity when the unexpected occurs

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My husband is a football fan. He loves the hometown team and thinks the NFL is, without question, the greatest sport. Through the years, my interest in the gridiron has grown so that we can enjoy games together. Naturally, the Super Bowl is a prime viewing event, for the game as well as the commercials.

This year was a bit… different. Of course, I eagerly waited to see what sentiment the Budweiser Clydesdales would muster, raised an eyebrow at how far the Go Daddy camp pushed the envelope and waited to find the most miscast celebrity in a commercial (Stevie Wonder). However, as each spot passed and the quarters ticked by, I was paying more attention to Twitter and less on the television.

Twitter is utterly terrific when something unexpected happens. It quickly becomes a virtual community where an idea can explode in moments, thanks to retweeting (RT), mentioning (MT) and hashtag trends (#). A few companies/agencies were clearly ready to capitalize on events as they happened during the Super Bowl, and the blackout provided some exciting opportunities. Here are a few who had their creative war rooms primed and ready to act fast (and probably did not pay $4 million for air time on CBS).

9 Brands That Thought Fast on Social Media During the Super Bowl

(Author: Samantha Murphy)

Twitter, the Monday morning (advertising) quarterbacks and I declared #Oreos the winner this year. Oh, and “congratulations” to the Ravens and Coach John Harbaugh.

Read Stuart Elliott’s column in the New York Times to see what the advertising guru had to say about this year’s commercials.