But once a year, a very special time comes around. Signs foretell its coming when the weather begins to grow cold, our bank accounts start to deplete, and we find ourselves pushing work off until after the new year.  Amidst these fairly normal changes for the holiday season, comes one other very special event we at PMA look forward to every year…

THE REGGIE AWARDS!!!

“Why?” you may ask, do we get so giddy about it? Because it’s the one time a year we get to see the BEST and MOST INNOVATIVE marketing campaigns that happened during the past year. We get hundreds of submissions from agencies and brand managers alike depicting innovative thinking they used to solve marketing problems. From experiential marketing solutions, to National Consumer Campaigns, from Social Media Game Changers, to Shopper Marketing Technology – We see it all.

This year, we took our judging a step further and incorporated long-time judges from the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity. They will take part in judging the SUPER REGGIE giving the Gold finalists a chance to have their hard work viewed and credited by the very best.  To say the least, we are teeming with excitement about this relationship.

I thought this would be a perfect opportunity to resurrect the REGGIE finalist videos from last year. Have a look through our library of great submissions. And of course, if you think you have what it takes to win a REGGIE, submit to our 2013 Awards happening….RIGHT NOW!
CLICK HERE TO SIGN UP! 

We have an information-filled month for you.  Sign up for these upcoming Webinars and learn while you lunch!

February 10

Branded Content on the Digital Frontier.  Davis & Gilbert LLP’s Jim Johnston, Esq. explores the challenges and opportunities on the horizon for agencies and marketers who are creating and distributing branded content.  Sign up here.

February 15

NEW TOOLS OF THE TRADE: Social Media Compliance — Challenges and Opportunities. Tom Chernaik, CEO of CMP.LY, will show you how to ensure that your brand is being responsible, open and transparent in its digital marketing.  Check out the new tools and requirements available to document and report on compliance and measure social media influencer campaign-specific Return On Investment (ROI).  Sign up here.

February 17

PMA Member Webinar: Get The Most Out of Your PMA Membership.  Join PMA’s VP of Membership Dave Wallace as he  shows you the best ways to put PMA to work for you.  This is a FREE Webinar and is open to all! Sign up here.

February 22

Accelerate ROI with Experientially-Activated Sponsorships & Social Media.  IMI Consulting’s Dan Hunter and Tim Bishop will share some market-proven principles and case studies to drive the effectiveness, efficiency and ROI of three activation tactics: Sponsorship, experiential marketing, and social media.  Sign up here

February 24

NEW TOOLS OF THE TRADE: Bridging the In-Home/In-Store Engagement Gap.  Join Pelago’s John Kim (makers of geo-location tool Whrrl) and USA Weekend’s Laura Hendricks show you how to integrated location-based tools into your shopper marketing plans to build loyalty and increase sales activation.  Sign up here.

We just announced our 2011 Call for Papers & Presenters yesterday.  This call is in conjunction with our upcoming Annual Conference–Game Changer: The Marketing Conference of Big Wins and Bold Thinking–which will be in Chicago on April 5-6, 2011.  This event is super special because it kicks off our Centennial Celebration.  That’s right: The PMA turns 100 in 2011!

We are looking for educational, insight-filled papers that explore new trends and research in any area connected to integrated promotion marketing.  Focus areas might include (and this isn’t an exhaustive list):

P&G is not the first company one would think of when it comes to humor in marketing, and yet in the past few months they have proved that they do have a funny bone and hope consumers are laughing all the way to the shelves.

Last month’s Isaiah Mustafa for Old Spice You Tube campaign has certainly garnered plenty of attention – industry-wide and among consumers.  Old Spice sales are up, whether it’s thanks to the campaign or the couponing, is still being debated.  My guess is it’s probably both – just as a true integrated marketing campaign should deliver.

This week’s announcement of Head & Shoulders insuring Pittsburgh Steelers safety Troy Polamalu’s trademark hair for $1 million follows the humorous and integrated blueprint.  In addition to the PR announcement of the Lloyd’s of London policy, there is the www. troyshair.com web site featuring free samples, games and sweepstakes and we hope plenty of other NFL-oriented support still to come this season.

P&G has taken their sponsorship of the NFL and the Players Association to new levels with Troy and Isaiah and created appeal for not only the traditional male NFL fan, but the female P&G consumer as well.  And that’s not, funny, that’s smart.

]]> http://www.pmalink.com/?feed=rss2&p=979 0 http://www.pmalink.com/?p=932 http://www.pmalink.com/?p=932#comments Fri, 16 Apr 2010 13:50:29 +0000 Rob Fields http://www.pmalink.com/?p=932

Good trend piece in the Wall Street Journal about the disintegration of the record business, the changing consumer perceptions of musicians with corporate sponsors and the increased business savvy of artists.  Take a look:

Once, when pop music was synonymous with rebellion, a band getting into bed with a large corporation was as improbable as a Brooks Brothers suit at Woodstock. For companies, too risky; for fans, a betrayal.

This changed when advertisers began to leverage elements of the counterculture, which was no longer threatening. First they targeted baby boomers, from the Rolling Stones’ “Start Me Up” for Microsoft to John Mellencamp’s Chevy commercial. Cries of “sellout” diminished. As CD sales and the marketing surrounding it began to fall into a bottomless pit, younger bands rushed to find other sources of income and publicity. The Peas were among the fastest learners of the industry’s new math.

Read the full article here.

Designed for both marketers and attorneys, this new half-day offering at the LA offices of Manatt, Phelps & Phillips will help practitioners navigate the ever-evolving convergence of branded entertainment, social media and music marketing.  The agenda:

2:00pm – 3:15pm Social Media: Will the Buzz Make You or Break You?

3:15pm – 4:15pm Music Download: Talent, Labels, and Numerous Rights Holders

4:15pm – 4:30pm Break

4:30pm – 5:45pm Branded Entertainment: Managing the Issues

5:45pm – 7:30pm Cocktails

Click here for more information and to register.

More great speakers and sessions have been added to the lineup of our upcoming 2010 Annual Integrated Marketing Conference.  Join us in Chicago on March 23-24 and you’ll hear:

• Avatar case study in 3-D. Anna Roca, SVP, International Promotions, Twentieth Century Fox, about the global marketing strategies and promotional partnerships for James Cameron’s record-setting blockbuster! Anna will showcase some of the film’s international partners’ marketing and talk about the importance of 3-D marketing: Going Deep with a Diverse set of partners and Delivering with the product.
• The Bottom Line on Loyalty. Dr. Candace Adams (r), the president of SmartRevenue’s Global RetailStrategy Group, and formerly the senior director of Walmart USA’s Brand and Consumer Insights group, will argue the case that loyalty is the ultimate test of whether your Integrated Marketing is working.  Since only 5% of shoppers are loyal to a single retailer, planning for the future based on past performance alone results in knowledge gaps. Insights must provide the emotional and psychological components of purchase behavior. Looking across 8 key retail channels, SmartRevenue has conducted a groundbreaking study, and will share insights that reveal shopper- and consumer-centric strategies to increase sales, shopability and differentiation.
• The Media is the Message or is the Message the Media? Immediately following his keynote, Don Schultz moderates a panel of representatives from four (4) different media vehicles to follow-up his keynote presentation.  The group will tackle the question of what the industry must do in a world where the most efficient media delivery is no longer the most effective.

Check out the full agenda and register now!

The Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) adopted final changes to the Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising (“Guides”). First, the revised Guides indicate that a “results not typical” disclaimer is likely not sufficient when an ad highlights a consumer’s experience with a product when such experiences are not typical (e.g., “before” and “after” photos of a woman who claims to have lost 50 pounds in 6 months with the product). Rather, the Guides require advertisers to clearly and conspicuously disclose the results that most consumers can reasonably expect (e.g., “most women who use the product for 6 months lose at least 15 pounds”).

Additionally, the Guides confirm that advertisers who sponsor bloggers must assure that the connection between the company and endorser is disclosed and should establish procedures to advise endorsers of their obligations and monitor the conduct of the endorsers. The Guides also clarified that such obligations only arise when, viewed objectively, the relationship between the advertiser and the speaker is such that the speaker’s statements can be considered sponsored by the advertiser.

Accordingly, individual reviews about the positive benefits of a product are not deemed “endorsements” (and therefore would not require disclosure of the connection between the reviewer and the seller) when they are (a) made by a consumer who purchases the product with his/her own money and writes in his/her personal blog or (b) made by a consumer who received a coupon from a third party (not the company) for a discount or free trial of the product and written in his/her personal blog. However, if a consumer takes part in a service whereby it receives various free products, cash, or other payments from the company and is expected to review the products, the consumer’s positive review would likely be deemed an endorsement and require disclosure of the material connection between the reviewer and the seller, including if she received the products for her review.

Additionally, the Guides provide recommendations with respect to celebrity endorsements. First, celebrity endorsers may be liable for statements about a product which are false or do not represent the celebrities own views, even though the celebrity is reading from a script. Second, advertisers should disclose the connection between a celebrity and a company when the celebrity makes a “plug” about a product or service on a talk show or other social media when it is not obvious that the celebrity is paid to speak about the product or service. Third, advertisers may use endorsements of celebrities only if the advertiser believes that the celebrity continues to subscribe to the views present.

You can view the Guides here.

These materials have been prepared by Winston & Strawn for informational purposes only. These materials do not constitute legal advice and cannot be relied upon by any taxpayer for the purpose of avoiding penalties imposed under the Internal Revenue Code.

An interesting suit to watch in coming months will be the class action filed in late July against the National Collegiate Athletic Association and its licensing arm, the Collegiate Licensing Co.

The suit, filed in the Northern District of California by a putative class of Division I college football and basketball players, alleges that the NCAA has violated antitrust laws by precluding them from receiving compensation in connection with the sale of merchandise using their images after they have graduated from their institutions.  At stake is the right of graduates (not current athletes) to receive compensation when the NCAA licenses products, such as video games, that use their images.

The market for collegiate licensed merchandise currently is $4 billion, and while much of that is not the subject of the suit, the suit does challenge the NCAA’s requirement that student athletes sign a form each year relinquishing in perpetuity the commercial use of their images.  The release clause apparently was meant to allow the NCAA to use athlete’s names and images to promote its championship games and other events, activities and programs, but allegedly has been more broadly used by the NCAA without compensation to the players.  The case is worth watching for those who license footage and other properties from the NCAA, particularly that of historical interest.

The case was filed by former UCAL basketball star Ed O’Bannon and also requests monetary damages for the class.  (O’Bannon v. NCAA, N.D. Cal., No. CV-09-3329, filed 7/21/09).

These materials have been prepared by Winston & Strawn for informational purposes only. These materials do not constitute legal advice and cannot be relied upon by any taxpayer for the purpose of avoiding penalties imposed under the Internal Revenue Code.

We’re happy to report that PMA members ranked extremely well in the 2009 PROMO100 awards, which were announced earlier this week, with Catapult Action-Based Marketing taking the award for Agency of the Year.

Other highlights:

50% of the Top 10: #1 DraftFCB, #2 Digitas, #5 G2 Worldwide,  #9 The Integer Group, and #10 Momentum

Those numbers hold up well over the entire list:

• Top 20:  13 PMA Members – 65%
• Top 50:  28 PMA Members – 56%
• Top 100: 45 PMA Members – 45%

Congrats to all of our members!

You can download the entire list here.  Even though the Webinar has passed, login and look for a button on the right that says “download PDF”.