The best part of this campaign is not the girls in bikinis, the jiggling bodies covered in spilled milk or the turning radius of a very cool car, it’s that this spot is being seen by a hundreds of thousands of people and Scion didn’t have to fork over millions for a TV campaign.  The power of viral.

As all marketers know, consumers are bombarded by multiple messages at every turn and it’s very difficult (and often expensive) to get anything noticed.  We give the Scion creative team a lot of credit for coming up with a viral campaign that is actually working, at a time when every brand is trying to launch a viral campaign.

With budgets being slashed and burned everywhere, the question has really become – how can your brand become viral?  What campaigns would make sense?  Scion has figured it out.  Let’s discuss the tips and tricks for how your brand can go viral in our next series of meetings.

BTW – Scion was also smart enough to offer a little something for everyone.  It’s not just Babes ‘N Donuts, there’s also Bikers ‘N Donuts and Dudes ‘N Donuts (and we bet there’s more to come).

As we witness the press coverage and ratings for TV-guest-host-week, with Katie Couric being on “Good Morning America” and Sarah Palin guesting on “The Today Show,” it reminded us of the importance of star power and relationships.

Say what you will about Katie and/or Sarah, but neither morning television program has received this much press in years.  And this is where the relationship factor is important.

Let’s assume “Good Morning America” wants to take viewers from “The Today Show.”  There’s only so much available (and willing) audience in the morning.  And those who are happy with Today aren’t just going to watch GMA without good reason (and they’ll have to be aware of the reason – which is why stunts, big guests, co-hosts and marketing are so important).

The Today loyalists know about GMA, they’ve seen commercials or even external advertising for the show, yet they choose to watch “The Today Show” each morning instead – they have a routine and a relationship with Matt Lauer and the gang, and they wouldn’t even know (and probably wouldn’t care) if GMA was doing a better show.

But the Today audience may cheat on Matt Lauer for a day or two and give some viewing time to GMA if given the right incentive.  Then it’s up to GMA to seal the deal for the long term, but that’s part 2 of a very difficult audience growth (or conversion) process.

Audience cheating usually stems from a certain guest, topic or one’s favorite show being in reruns or mailing it in and not being entertaining.  However, in most cases, audience cheaters are usually back to being in their usual, comfortable relationship the next day.  For example:  After years of being consistently trounced, David Letterman finally beat Jay Leno the night he had Oprah on.  This happened because it was a pop culture event and Dave generated new viewers and also got a lot of Leno loyalists to tune in and see Oprah.  It was party central in NYC.  But not so fast, Leno was firmly back on top the following night.  You get the point.

• The lesson for shows looking to grow is simple:  It’s not easy and takes a long time.  You’ll need a lot of your own Oprah, Palin or Couric types of moments.
• The lesson for leading shows is also simple:  Don’t take your audience relationships for granted, you could be cheated on.  Your competition is going to try and create a lot of Oprah, Palin or Couric moments, so you’d better do the same to stay in the driver’s seat.

We’re football addicts, but we also look for a lesson in everything.  So, as we thought more about this, it reminded us of the importance of evolution.

While the NFL changed uniforms to honor their new deal with Nike and so they could make a boatload off new merchandise, they also knew making the move would help them remain fresh and drive even more buzz for the most popular sport in the United States.

As we’ve written about a lot here, studying the NFL is like taking a Master’s course on evolution (and innovation).   So, what can we learn from a simple NFL uniform tweak?

We’re not going to suggest all brands should change their logo every two years, but updating packaging or even or ‘the look’ of a brand can be a smart (and sometimes necessary) move.  It can remind the audience there’s a heartbeat; that someone is paying attention; and that the brand is constantly moving forward and trying new things.  As marketing experts know, “new” is very powerful (that’s one of the dirty secrets behind why obviously ‘not new’ products are still marketed as ‘new’).

Often when working with talent or a show, especially heritage situations, we find ourselves using the phrase, “It needs a new coat of paint.”  In other words, without changing the entire recipe, a fresh sound or look can inject new life and energy into a brand, show or product that’s growing tired.

• In media programming terms, we’re talking about benchmarks, tertiary voices, production sound, clock structure, promotional strategies or even a slight shift in vision.
• In product terms, we’re talking about offering new features and benefits to remain relevant and fresh.  Apple has mastered the art of evolution through new features and benefits – the original iPad was released just two years and now it seems terribly outdated.  And the other behemoths that control the world, Facebook and Google, are constantly evolving to stay ahead of would-be competitors.

Often people will say, “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.”  That’s not bad advice and change for the sake of change is never advised, but evolution to avoid become stale is just plain smart.

Go Broncos!

A:  Consider playing Steven vs. Nicki – which would feature you reading something either Steven or Nicki has written/said, and the listener has to guess who the correct author is.  Use audio of each passage once a listener has correctly guessed to give this more impact (and humor value).

B:  Say What?  This would be a bit that is just based on terrible lyrics from various artists (solicit some suggestions from your audience, too).

A:  The winners of the Mega Millions Lottery (asking for some cash)

B:  Kim Kardashian (ask her to take some time off and stop giving the U.S. such a bad name)

C:  AC/DC (begging them to release a new record that doesn’t suck)

While arguments will be made about whether this is good or bad for the TV industry, we’ll temporarily leave that debate for others and simply use this as a reminder of the importance of having a strategy for your app.  It’s not enough just to have an app – every brand has one these days, and standing out has becoming as difficult a marketing challenge there is.

There are nearly 600,000 apps in the iTunes app store as I write this.  So, again, what’s your mobile strategy?

• Why should people download your app?
• What key benefits are there?
• How will it be a meaningful extension of your brand?
• Will it be its own brand with its own business plan?
• How will the audience hear about your app if it’s not lucky enough to be spotlighted in the iTunes store?

There are a lot of killer apps collecting dust in the app store basement, so let’s add “mobile strategy” to our discussion agenda when we meet.

Say what you will about McDonald’s, but they’ve figured out the importance of special benchmarks that can drive sales and create excitement and buzz (note:  we could be writing the same column about the McRib).  Denny’s has followed suit with special menus for special occasions, and they’ve seen a spike in sales.  Even iHOP celebrated their own National Pancake Day earlier this week.

While these are all special benchmarks in the restaurant industry that are meant to shake things up a bit, brands of all types should be thinking along the same lines.  How can your brand create meaningful benchmarks?  What would these meaningful benchmarks be?

In yesterday’s jacoBLOG, Fred Jacobs wrote about the importance of new things for radio stations and posed the question – When did staying pat become a strategy?   He’s right on with the post and it goes for all product categories.  The iPhone would become extinct if it didn’t constantly evolve and create new features and benefits.

Thanks to McDonald’s, we have another reminder:  Every Brand Needs A Shamrock Shake.

Is your brand or show Flawsome?

We came across this great post on being Flawsome the other day.  As the writer defines it, Flawsome means:  Consumers don’t expect brands to be flawless. In fact, consumers will embrace brands that are FLAWSOME*: brands that are still brilliant despite having flaws; even being flawed (and being open about it) can be awesome. Brands that show some empathy, generosity, humility, flexibility, maturity, humor, and (dare we say it) some character and humanity.

While this Flawsome theory is great (and spot on) for brands, it’s also applicable to talent.  If you’re an entertainer, being Flawsome means being real, genuine, vulnerable, authentic.  The audience knows all talent has flaws – no matter how funny or good looking they are, and even if they average 25 points per-game – but fans get turned off when talent acts as if they have no flaws.

Being Flawsome takes a lot of confidence and guts, and a willingness to stand-up and own your flaws, but it’s worth it.  This is one of the reasons we conduct an intensive “personality workshop” for new clients – to find those likeable traits (and some flaws) that can be endearing.  Simply put, spotlighting them helps the audience get to know the entertainers better.

We know you get it, but we’ll leave you with a few examples of talent that are clearly Flawsome.

• Howard Stern displayed his personal flaws on a daily basis and that didn’t stop him from becoming one of the most successful, beloved (and hated) radio hosts of all-time.
• Ryan Seacrest has become a master at poking fun at his own quirks and flaws.
• Tom Brady rarely admits to having a good game, but instead focuses on mistakes and what he could have done better.

As we tell clients all the time; don’t try to be someone you’re not – the audience will see right through it.  Just be Flawsome.

One of our favorite quotes is from SNL creator, Lorne Michaels:

“If you’re not about what people are thinking about that week, then I think you don’t have any relevance.”

As we step back and think about what it takes to really win in today’s new world, some telltale signs of where a show is truly headed remain in place.  Of course, things like talent, X-Factor, intelligence, preparation, resources,  and many others make the list.  But what we’re focused on today is awareness.  It’s surely a telltale sign, and without it, a personality or show often sounds disconnected – which leads down the wrong path.

So, today’s post is nothing more than an easy 10 question quiz/reminder to be fully aware of what’s going on.

1. Who is Jeremy Lin?
2. Who is Kate Upton and what is she famous for?
3. Hugh Hefner’s son is in trouble for what?
4. Who is Matt Bomer and why is he in the news?
5. What’s the up-to-date status of the Whitney Houston saga?
6. Who were the big Grammy winners, besides Adele?
7. Who are the judges on “The Voice”?
8. What’s the Oprah/Twitter flap about?
9. What’s happening with the GOP primaries – who’s leading, which contest is next, what are the headlines?
10. Which movies are on top of the box office right now?

While we could ask many more questions – and covering all of the stories above or knowing the answers to all 10 questions won’t guarantee a show will be successful – not knowing the answers to many of the above questions will reveal a show that’s either not spending enough time prepping or plugged-in to what’s going on.