Brand Recognition Quiz

Anyone subscribe to Games magazine? My parents bought a subscription for me when I was young. I especially loved the challenge of some of those quirky word puzzles or visual mind benders. When what to my wondering eyes should appear, but the same kind of quiz, so I had no fear.

Let’s see how everone does on this title page that I scanned from the March issue of American Way magazine. Some are too easy but others are brutal. Post your guesses and I’ll credit the correct answers!

What
W=Washington Mutual by Steve
H=Holiday Inn by Andrew Pryor
A=Gap by Andrew Pryor
T= 

To
T=Texaco by Princess Jami
O=Oakley by Andrew Pryor

Expect
E=ESPN by Andrew Pryor
X=Xerox by Princess Jami
PE=Pepsi by Honzo
C=Campbell’s by Princess Jami
T=T-Mobile by Princess Jami

When
W=MS Word by Andrew Pryor
H= 
E=eBay by Princess Jami
N= 

You’re
Y=Yahoo! by Princess Jami
O= 
U=U-Haul by Princess Jami
R= 
E=E! Entertainment Channel by Andrew Pryor

Sponsoring
SP=PlayStation by Princess Jami
O=Dunkin Donuts by jen
N=Nestle by The Thurmanator
S=Sony by Andrew Pryor
O=Nintendo by Honzo
R=Toys ‘R’ Us by Princess Jami
ING=Burger King by Princess Jami

Music Marketing Through Vids

Is MTV a thing of the past? (I think a lot of us have been saying this for years, but that’s another story.) So where do kids learn about new music? Check this:

Recent surveys show that more than 40 per cent of game players have bought a CD from an artist featured in a game, 40 per cent have learned of a new band from a game, and 27 percent have gone out and bought the CD.
[story]

That’s right! Next time you play NHL Hitz or another video game pay close attention to what’s blaring in the background. With as much as kids are playing games nowadays, it makes good marketing sense.

Monkeys Make Me Laugh

Generally speaking, I’m not that fond of commercials with animals. Too easy it seems to me. But these new CareerBuilder.com commericals are fun. I especially like the following interchange:

Monkey: (hands man some papers)
Man: “Hey, Rudy. Uh, this doesn’t make any sense.”
Monkey: (picks up his phone)
Man: “That didn’t ring.”
Man: “You’re not talking to anybody.”

I’m probably an easy mark, but I laugh every time.

Get Your Grub On

Product placement is one thing. But now gamers, who are actually in the middle of playing said game, have the opportunity to order a Pizza Hut meat-lovers with extra onions, from within the game!?! We’ve officially entered the Gaming Age. Quick! Buy some YUM!

I apologize beforehand for what this breakthrough brought to my mind. It won’t be long before a gamer will never need to leave his chair for anything. [via kottke]

‘Frank’ The Tumor Is Dead

Creative marketing helped save this boy’s life. Diagnosed with a grapefruit-sized malignant brain tumor, David called it “Frank” after Frankenstein, his mother used her brain to sell bumper stickers on eBay that read, “Frank Must Die.”

Great to hear about David’s clean bill of health. His Mom should be receiving a job offer from one of Washington’s advertising firms shortly.

Looking for an Excuse to Buy American?

GM Vice Chairman, Bob Lutz, addresses the issue (in his own blog no less) of whether American cars are, in fact, lower quality than the Japanese. Interesting, but I wouldn’t put too much emphasis on initial quality. I want a car that “holds together” after 10 years and 150k. This is something that the auto industry as a whole has made remarkably little progress in the past 40 years.

I’m sure Andrew will have an opinion on the matter. [via Hold the Mayo]

Sun Selling Cycle-Time

Sun is pushing a new idea in computing, buying cycle-time. By making computer processing a commodity, transactions are simple. It seems there is an interesting marketing challenge but hopefully Sun will put adequate effort into that aspect of this venture, so that potential customers can easily understand the benefits. It’s not hard to imagine an eBay like trading arena for cycle-time. Mr. Cox might soon be getting an offer for his domain.

Starbucks Density

Kottke has an interesting post about Starbucks density. My office smashed my home, 14 to 7. But this got me thinking. Who says more is better? What if I’m sick of seeing a Starbucks everywhere I look? Aren’t the same people who bow at the Seattle-born bistro one minute, cursing the pervasive presence of Wal-Mart the next?

I’m guessing it isn’t their spatial logistics that riles but what these stores represent. Wal-Mart is the place where regular people get their regular stuff. Starbucks, however, is the elite coffee house. “Ha. Don’t you just pity those poor people who have to drink Folgers?”

So who’s to say the winner isn’t Bozeman, Montana which is certifiably, 100% Starbucks-free? I’ll post more about this after I get back with my Cafe Mocha.

Fire That Marketer!

Don’t even ask me what I was looking for when I found this.

Muddled Marketing vs. Just Do It

Saw an ad for Song in a magazine yesterday. It wasn’t totally clear that they were an airline. After a bit of research, I learn they’re just a piece of Delta with limited flights but with the all-important 11 key committments.

#7 is my favorite:

We will provide full and timely information on the status of delayed and canceled flights.

Why aren’t they already doing this? It takes a new company to tell the truth?

After my recent “encounter” with Delta and American, I have no problems saying the airline industry is a necessary evil. But seriously, how hard would it be to:

1. Safely transport people from Point A to Point B; and
2. Depart and arrive when you say you’re going to depart and arrive; and
3. Be nice to the passengers?

Isn’t that all we really need? Just think of the cost savings they’d realize by going from 11 key considerations to just 3.

Amex, McDonald’s Evil; Microsoft Good?

So, what do American Airlines, McDonald’s and American Express have in common? They’re the “American” brands that other countries want to steer clear of. This kind of analysis needs to be taken up a notch, to include not just what a country’s current perceptions are, but tie those perceptions to their annual expenditures for each industry. Maybe this is being done. I’d love to get my mitts on that data. Why? Curiosity killed the cat, right? I’ll take my chances.

On a related tangent, isn’t all this talk of anti-Americanism only fueling the fire?

The Great Cereal Challenge

Sometimes I fancy myself a marketing guy. For some reason, I pay attention to how logos are made and promoted. That unfortunate character trait finally made itself useful when I came across Cereal Crazy at LogoGame.com. Your mission, if you choose to accept it, is to name each cereal with only a small portion of that cereal’s logo. A couple were a bit tough, but I persevered to gain entrance to the Hall of Fame. My parents will be quite proud.

‘Jimmy Played Pretty Good’

George: “HEY! JIMMY!!! Ha ha ha… great game!”
Jimmy: “Oh yeah… Jimmy played pretty good.”
George: “Hey you know, I felt we had like a synergy out there, you know, like we were really helping each other.”
Kramer: “What d’you got there?”
Jimmy: “These?”
Kramer: “Yeah.”
Jimmy: “These are Jimmy’s training shoes.”
George: “Yeah, yeah yeah yeah! I’ve seen these… they sorta… they make your legs stronger.”
Jimmy: “Oh yeah! Jimmy couldn’t jump at all before he got these. Jimmy was like you.” (Jimmy looks at George)
[Full Script]

Real Rolex vs. Faux Fraud

Just in case one of my thousands (vbg) of readers is planning on buying that special someone a Rolex this Christmas, you might want to head over to indentify counterfeit page to brush up on the authentic properties of the worlds most famous wristwatch. Me? I can’t even affort the fake. [via jordancooper]

iPod Campaign

Apple does certain things very well. Creative design is one of those things. And finally some analysts are acknowledging that their marketing campaigns show the same strategic thinking combined presented with Apple’s typical creative flair. He’s a BBC story highlighting the iPod television campaign. It’s got to be working since the iPod is still selling quite well despite it’s much higher price point.