Nike’s New Tiger Woods Commercial – Premiering Same Time As Masters

April 8, 2010

Tiger Woods made his competitive return to golf today at the Masters.  Coincidentally Nike launched a new commercial that features Tiger’s Dad, Earl Woods, talking to his son.  The only catch is Earl passed away years ago and most people that follow golf know that.  They also know about the very close relationship Tiger had with his father.  Nike uses a tool to digitally recreate Earl’s voice as if he if he is having a father-son moment with Tiger.  Tiger doesn’t say a word in the 30 second spot – only stands there with a vulnerable look on his face.

I first saw this commercial last night from a link on MSN.  At that time, it had just over 300 views.  The YouTube video now has over 1,290,000 views.  Needless to say plenty of people are talking about this commercial and it’s creating some controversy for using Earl’s voice as many rumors indicate he was unfaithful to Tiger’s mom.  Say what you want about this commercial, but it definitely does 3 things:

  • Grabs Your Attention – It’s very quite and all you hear is Earl Woods talking and only see a close up of Tiger (of course wearing Nike).  It’s also black and white which makes it stand out even more.
  • Promotes Discussion – As I mentioned above people are talking about Nike’s choice to use Tiger’s father and if Earl would approve.
  • Shows Nike Will Stand By It’s Superstar – Nike is one of the few sponsors that hasn’t abandoned Tiger.  And this commercial reiterates they do not plan to do so anytime soon.

Enough writing about the commercial – check out the video below for yourself.  What is your opinion on this decision from Nike and Tiger?

1 Comment | Viral marketing | Tagged: , , , , | Permalink
Posted by derekmcclain

Buying The Experience – Cars and Apple iPad

April 7, 2010

How much of what we purchase is based upon our experience? I have been asking myself (and others) this question quite a bit lately. It all stems from my recent car dealership experience.

I had narrowed down the dealerships at which I was going to look to two. One dealership has been around forever and I have done business there before – we’ll call this dealership #1. The other dealership is at a new location and I felt comfortable doing business there as I have built a relationship with the General Manager through a networking group – we’ll call this dealership #2.

I walked in dealership #1 and stood there for about 5 minutes before I was helped. I was directed to the representative that I have been working with for years. He was moderately helpful and said he would look for some cars then get back with me the next day. Days went by and still no call with updates. Needless to say I was very disappointed with the follow-up.

Dealership #2 was totally different from the beginning. When I arrived to dealership #2, I was promptly greeted at the door and the employee even held the door open for me to enter – talk about a first impression! Come to think of it, I have NEVER had to open a door at this dealership myself. The representative was very attentive to my needs . He asked what type of car I was interested in purchasing and key features I was seeking. He called me back that same day to follow-up.

Throughout the sales process I never heard back from dealership #1 and dealership #2 continued to go above and beyond. While I am sure they both have very equal products, my purchasing decision came down to the experience created by each dealership. Needless to say, dealership #2 won my business.

Now, let’s stop and think about the new iPad released by Apple last Saturday. This is a great product, but how much of the frenzy it has created is based upon the Apple Experience?  The ads, the new product announcement, the countdown to release, waiting in line at the Apple store to pick up your iPad, the “coolness” factor of being able to say you were one of the first to get your iPad.  It’s all of these things that really take sales to the next level.  And it is because of the experience that iPad sales are now over 500,000 in less than a week. 

The buying experience is not just a factor for cars and Apple iPads, it is a HUGE factor in nearly every purchasing decision we make.  Just think about it…. When will those “other” companies finally get it?

Leave a Comment » | apple, iPad | Tagged: , , | Permalink
Posted by derekmcclain

Email Marketing Timing – Dick’s Sporting Goods Case Study

April 2, 2010

I’ve been waiting awhile to do this blog post.  Since 6:16 PM on January 24th, in fact.   I bet many of you reading this in the Indianapolis, Indiana area do not even remember what happened on January 24th.  I will give you a hint.

Do you remember that NFL team EVERYONE seemed to be talking about.  Why did their coach throw the perfect season away?  Is Peyton Manning the best quarterback ever?  Yes, January 24th was the date the Indianapolis Colts won the AFC Championship and seemed like they were going to be a sure winner in the Super Bowl.  But we all know how that turned out.  My how quickly we forget!

It’s okay.  Right now Indianapolis is focused on the Final Four & cheering on the Butler Bulldogs.  I wonder how long it will take us to forget all about Butler should they lose?

Timing is so important; especially in Email Marketing.  And on January 24th at 6:16 PM Dick’s Sporting Goods got their timing right.  Like many others I was watching the Indianapolis Colts as they claimed the AFC Championship.  And like many others I had my computer and mobile device within an arm’s reach that evening.  Instantly I received the email below from Dick’s Sporting Goods will all of the AFC Champs apparel for the Indianapolis Colts.  Not only was their message highly targeted – it was also PERFECTLY timed!  Now I could instantly order the items the players were wearing on the field.

Check out the screen shot below and think about how you can plan ahead for your next email marketing campaign to be timed perfectly.

4 Comments | case studies, email marketing | Tagged: , , | Permalink
Posted by derekmcclain

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