Godiva
Out-of-home campaign sweetens the deal
Situation
Godiva wanted to reach a younger demographic of women and steer away from its traditional “gifting” marketing strategy, with a new line of chocolates that were designed to be portable yet decadent, Chocoiste.
Chocoiste is “an on-the-go indulgence product for the young trendsetting mobile female,” says Chris Bragas, CEO of Eastwest Marketing Group, which developed the multitouch marketing program for the line of goodies. “Godiva wanted the young woman to walk into a store and say ‘I need something for me to make me feel better about the day.’”
Approach
The campaign was deployed during April and June of last year. To reach women in the New York metropolitan area, a team of 50 female “Chocoistas” dressed in branded T-shirts hit the streets distributing collateral and samples in targeted locations. More than 40,000 coupons offering a free tin of Chocoiste with a purchase were distributed via the street team, as well as through more than 50 boutique hair and nail salons, spas and shoe stores, where window clings, counter cards and posters were also displayed.
In addition, double-decker buses and SUVs traveled the city wrapped with brand messaging touting “indulgence on the go,” and Vespa scooters featured billboards directing consumers to www.areyouachocoiste.com. More than 2,800 Chocoiste posters were pasted around the city.
Results
About 8% of coupons were redeemed. Chocoiste received a 59% sales lift during the promotional period in New York stores and a 49% sustained lift afterwards. –Mary Hurn
Renaissance Hotels & Resorts
Putting a face on a hotel brand
Approach: Renaissance Hotels & Resorts and agency T3 launched a microsite, www.revealrenaissance.com, in February that lets hotel visitors share stories of “interesting stays” from previous travel experiences. Banner ads, e-mail, direct mail and print ads promote the site to business travelers age 25 to 54. A Renaissance Facebook page launched in May also mentions the site.
Results: More than 16,000 “interesting stays” have been created. The Facebook page is anticipated to reach five times as many quality leads than the current print campaign.
–Nathan Golia
Oakley
Shades get social with sports
Approach: Last fall, sunglasses marketer Oakley teamed up with Loop’d Network, a sports social network, to promote a contest offering several chances to win private sessions with Oakley team athletes. To enter, contestants had to upload their best sports-related videos and pictures.
Results: The contest page received more than 77,000 visits over five months and more than 1,500 uploads. The community grew to 9,500 members. –Chantal Todé
Privateview
Max Elo, Group creative director, The Marketing Arm
Some marketers would frown upon a guerilla technique for promoting chocolate’s premiere brand, Godiva. But Eastwest’s lighthearted and clever campaign takes the seriousness out of the brand, leaving only the delicious taste of cheerful self-indulgence. Even with carefree copy buzzing behind scooters through the streets of New York City, Eastwest’s campaign does a good job of reinforcing Godiva’s brand equity as the chocolate world’s brand of choice. Nice use of fresh color palette and type. The fresh attitude seems to marry well with NYC; hopefully it will fly in non-urban areas.
The Internet is clearly the most-used tool when researching your next dream trip.
With content that is supplied by actual travelers, the Renaissance site cleverly moves away from less credible advertising to real information by those who have actually experienced the joy of vacationing at Renaissance. The subtle MySpace/Facebook design seems to give a younger skew to the brand.
Oakley is well known for keeping a brilliantly consistent brand image. So how can you make it even more appealing for athletes? A chance to learn from the pros, while also showing off your moves. Loop’d Network creates a contest with teeth, one that you’ll want to visit over and over again — if not to see your own footage, to steal cool moves from everyone else. The overall look keeps tight with Oakley and the product tie-in is presented perfectly.
