ThinkNoLimit Marketing Coaching

This is a rather strange marriage : a co-brand credit card between MSN and Liu Chong Hing Bank. It appears to me it's just yet another co-brand card and the welcome gifts are pretty common too. It takes two to dance but why ? MSN is a brand virtual community brand that earns its revenue from online advertising. Its business model is not about selling physical products or services whereas credit cards are for making real purchases. Then what's the catch ? While we are scratching our heads, let's open our eyes to see whether there are next steps of development that would convinces us it's a "right" marriage.

I think this product, an all-natural mosquito repellent, is a potential big hit. It's just too bad that their ad is not managed properly. Why ? There are just many supports spelled out in the ad , making it rather cluttered : Lavender-scented, all natural, no chemicals, safe for body and face, suitable for adults and children, non-sticky formulation, handy and easy to carry, alcohol free, safe for kids, DEET safe (?), long-lasting, US environmental authority's endorsement on the ingredient, voted "best companion for forest adventure" (?) and a celebrity's endorsement..... At the end of the day, we need to have a focused key message that is relevant to our audience. When it comes to supports, we need to prioritize, decide what to include and link it to the key message, rather than overloading the readers.

A holiday destination that is famous for shopping, cooking class and spa, where would you think of ? Thailand probably. These images about Thailand are built over time by advertising and journalists. I'm surprised to see SIA holidays put up an ad trying to convince us Singapore is a destination for shopping, cooking class and spa. Is that credible ? No, not at all. Advertising does not built product advantage but only convey it. BTW, you see the soccer and the goal poles at the background ? I wonder why they put this "creative touch" in the ad. What they are selling have nothing to do with soccer. OK OK it's world cup season. P.S. The typeface of the slogan "非常新加坡" is not too appealing.

During the World Cup, do you know how many ads come with a goal-keeper as the key visual ? I didn't count but I bet there are many. Here are two examples, one from Smartone and the other from G-code. What's wrong with these ? These are exciting visuals but the problem is everyone is using something similar. The market is flooded with world-cup related promotions, official and "unofficial" sponsors alike. There are 世界杯, 世界波, 世界cup, World Cup... lucky draw, scratch and win, quiz, so on and so forth. What happens when everyone is doing the same thing ? Consumers simply shut their minds about any of them, money down the drain. It's a sin to be the same...

Long time ago Libogen was a popular energy drink. Now it has become a dated brand. Although they tried to sustain with some advertising and new product (a light version targeting at women), their brand image and sales are still on the decline. Libogen was a product that matched with the need of the society 20 years ago. At that time, HK was still a developing city and people had to work hard days and nights to make a living. But now that HK is more like a developed city and people have started to treasure more leisure and quality family life. What do we need have the extra energy for nowadays ? Not for work but for more funs. Red Bull is a much more popular energy drink among young users. Its image is built on "extra energy for funs".

This is a brilliant joint promotion idea between Wing On and Olay. It's a co-branded trip called "Pure White Fun Trip". The trip is tailored for women who want to enjoy spa and funs on the beach as well as experience the goodness of Olay White Radiance products. What do Wing On and Olay get from this joint effort ? Wing On should be able to charge a premium price as the whole experience can be highly tailored with specific itineraries and value-adds of Olay products. On the other hand, Olay can have their prospects and existing consumers to sample their full range of products. If the products work, these customers will become their brand ambassadors who pass positive words of mouth. Good ideas are hard to get these days. Hope they can execute this idea with good planning and commitments to the brand promises. And it's potentially a strategic idea I hope they don't just treat it like just another joint promotion.

All you can paste ! We see too many ads are treated like a notice-board. Single-mindedness is the key to a successful ad. We should think twice if we want to use one stone to kill two birds or three birds. Consumers are overloaded with advertising messages nowadays. They are simply immune from anything too complicated and unmotivated to read. Take this Premier DC as an example. There is a movie sponsorship to announce. They want to tell people they have 1/5 of world market share of DC. One of the model is on price promotion and they have other good models too. In case people don't know where to buy, there are shop address and retailer logos too. The result is an ad that may be considered "value for money" by the advertiser but generates zero return of investment.