5 Blogs Before Lunch

What's Old Is New Again. Marketers Take a Second Look At Network Radio

Network radio--the hot new thing? believe it or not, this old skool media choice has a growing number of major marketers rethinking their media buys. Think about it, targeted reach, flexibility and accountability.

Mediaweek says it this way:

Network radio is undergoing a renaissance. At a time when the economy is squeezing local advertisers and local media, the medium--with its attractive efficiencies, targeted reach and greater accountability--is thriving.

The Return of the Traveler's Umbrella

As 5 Blogs reported a little over a year ago, Travelers is restoring its red umbrella logo, which it repurchased from Citigroup years after its 2002 spin-off from the financial services company. The umbrella is returning as part of an ad campaign by Fallon, Minneapolis.

From Advertising Age:

In the first TV spot since the insurer repurchased its icon last year, the oversize umbrella is being carried through a fairy-tale landscape solving myriad problems. It protects children playing baseball from the rain, ferries a Moulin Rouge-era circus troupe to its big top and airlifts children with a broken bicycle back home before ultimately being carried to the top of a downtown office building.

Marked contrast to rivals
The 60-second, highly cinematic spot from Fallon, Minneapolis, offers a marked contrast to the more literal, overt pitches coming from the geckos, cavemen, ducks and prominent pitchmen who have become ubiquitous as insurers have ratcheted up ad spending in recent years. And there's little doubt the red umbrella is primed to become nearly as commonplace.

View one of the new spots here

Reformulating The Network Upfronts. Goodness All Around

There are a few good things which came out of the recent Hollywood writer's strike. First among them is that the network upfronts may never be the same. I'm not sure which was the chicken, and which was the egg, but the network upfront buying season and the September new season launch timing were never advantageous to consumers. It was all a corporate play to secure maximum advertising dollars.

The Wall Street Journal says the writer's strike gave the networks "...the opportunity to rethink some of TV's more archaic and expensive conventions."

This year, the upfronts will look different than in years past. The move to year-round programming shatters the September new-show launch season, and the writers strike also created fewer pilot episodes produced by the networks -- a total of about 30, instead of the usual 70.

Goodness all around.

Mall Makeover: Think Botox Spas, Wine and Cheese Bars and Nightclubs

In San Francisco, where 5 blogs...blogs, a new mall recently opened called the San Francisco Centre. Some of my friends raved about the new destination.

But when questioned, it wasn't the great retail shops that drove them downtown, it was the food court, and the movie theatre. The raison d'etre of the mall has changed from retail magnet, to service center. It's not about the anchor department store anymore.

With the rise in acceptance of online shopping, why go to a mall to buy--anything?The folks at CNN/Money also suggest that the economic stall (I won't say the R word) is a good reason that mall tenants are changing. They suggest that the economy is forcing bloated retail chains to shut some mall-based locations, and it's created an opportunity for a new breed of businesses eager to move into those vacant storefronts.

Think wine and cheese bars, medical spas for a quick afternoon Botox fix, and even nightclubs.

From CNN Money:

John Waller, vice president of mall leasing for CBL & Associates Properties, which owns about 80 malls nationwide, is acutely aware of that trend.

"We've given a directive to our leasing folks to go out and pursue non-traditional retail uses both for our enclosed and open-air malls," Waller said

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Affluentials Begat Affluencers

It seems that a new gimmicky word to describe a certain demographic has been born--Affluencers. And I may know the DNA of this progeny.

In the late 1980's, early 1990's I worked at Team One Advertising. The agency was a spinoff of Saatchi & Saatchi, and was (is) known primarily for launching Lexus automobiles in the United States. When we started to look for new business, and to leverage our niche as a luxury brand advertiser, we coined the phrase "Affluentials"--affluent, influentials--to describe our primary target audience.

Today, the new gimmicky word to describe this demo, or at least 2008's version of it, is "Affluencers"

Coined by the head of the Bravo TV network (owned by NBC), Lauren Zalaznick says that the new word which combines affluence and influence is best to describe Bravo's core audience.

From The New York Times:

“Who doesn’t want to be that person with the cute boyfriend and the hot cellphone?” Ms. Zalaznick said in an interview in her spacious and eclectically decorated office at NBC headquarters in Manhattan. “You want to influence people, and you want to have money. It’s like America.”

Now, this affluent, influential audience may be at Bravo's core, but they're smart enough to understand that that audience needs to be as broad as possible. Bravo's niche is really A 18-49, a bit upscale, a bit urban, skewing female and also including a significant number of gay men.

Not quite what we had in mind back in 1990, but the times they always are 'a changin'

Please welcome "Affluencers" to your audience profiles, but feel free to continue to use the phrase "Affluentials" as old skool.

The Bud Dude Takes A Trip To Vegas

Some of you may find this spot annoying, others will love it. The word "Dude" certainly has embedded itself into the vocabulary of a particular demographic--the Bud demo.

Here's the latest in the "Dude" series from Bud.

Dude takes a trip to Vegas:

And, for those who want a little more:

Pernod Ricard Wins Absolut Auction

Back in December, the Swedish government put the Absolut brand up for sale. Today comes word that Pernod Ricard has won the race to buy Vin & Sprit Group, the owner of Absolut Vodka.

Absolut, which is one of the world's top vodka names, will join Pernod Ricard's portfolio of premium brands, which include Chivas, Ballantine's, Beefeater, Mumm, Perrier-Jouet, Jacob's Creek and Montana.

The acquisition also gives Pernod control of brands such as Cruzan rum and another vodka brand Level, which are both popular in the US, as well as entry into the Nordic market. In addition, it will end the distribution of rival Stolichnaya by Pernod Ricard.

It is the third major acquisition that Pernod has made in recently, having bought part of Seagram in 2001 and Allied Domecq in 2005.

Mrs. Butterworth Hawkin' Geico

Call For Entries: AAAA's Jay Chiat Planning Awards 2008

The American Association of Advertising Agencies (AAAA) has initiated its 2008 call for entries for the Jay Chiat Planning Awards. The awards celebrate the contribution of Account Planning and strategic thought leadership.

The AAAA encourages entries from across the industry not just advertising agencies. The encourage submissions from media agencies, digital shops, CRM, and business strategy firms.

The awards are given out each year at the AAAA Account Planning Conference in recognition of those planners who have developed a strong insight and seen this evolve through creative that affects both the consumer and also the business.

Awards are given on four levels: Gold, Silver, Bronze and Honorable Mention. A book containing the winning briefs and examples of creative is published each year.

If you're interested, download the Call For Entries today from the AAAA Home Page. There's even a 2008 Jay Chiat Planning Awards Facebook group to join.

Frito Lay Using Solar Power To Greenwash Its SunChips

How far will a company go to jump on a popular trend?

For the Frito-Lay division of PepsiCo, it is trying to transform its SunChips snacks into a “green” brand by powering one of its California production plants with solar power.

The New York Times' Stuart Elliott has the details:

The newest demonstration of solar power (figuratively) is coming from the Frito-Lay division of PepsiCo, which is using the sun to help transform its SunChips line of multigrain snack chips into a “green” brand. The initiative is centered on the addition of solar power (literally) to the Frito-Lay plant in Modesto, Calif., that makes SunChips. A 10-acre “farm” of solar collectors is being added, to provide up to 75 percent of the energy needed to produce the product.

The plant, one of seven in the United States that make SunChips, is scheduled to start using solar power on Earth Day, April 22, as part of ambitious efforts by Frito-Lay and PepsiCo to convince consumers that the companies care about the environment.