Bragging

With the Olympics in Canada this year many of the nation's businesses, big and small, helped fundraise and donate money to our athlete's with hopes of helping them make it to the podium. This marketing/communication tactic is great because it works for everyone, consumers feel warm and fuzzy about a company that coordinates a fundraiser like that, the athlete gets funding, and the sponsor gets good, positive exposure.

But is there a need to brag about all you've done for these people? It's not the quote-unquote "canadian way", and it certainly takes away some of the good will of what you've done. Take a look at this Shaw website and definately have a play of their advertisement.

Here are my problems with it:

1. Shaw is asking for donations for the athletes, which people have gratefully done, and then Shaw spins it to sound as if they have given it themselves (maybe they have given a large chunk themselves, but the numbers they advertise on their cheesy "we are the world" type ad match up with those of their ticker on the page)


2. It's all about them. "their" company and what "they" have done for the athletes. The oldest team sport saying in the world has got to be "There's no 'I' in Team", well clearly Shaw forgot about that


3. The tone of the tv spot is just way too over-the-top cheesy. I saw it on television the other day and laughed out loud. It doesn't make one feel patriotic, it makes one embarassed to be a Shaw subscriber. Trying to copy the "we are the world" style for a patriotic commercial is just shoddy.

It's great that companies like Shaw support our athletes and help raise donations towards a relevant cause, but don't brag about it. People know you have been helping athletes, thats why they are donating. They know you have been putting in the effort, so don't act like a 10 year old kid that needs recognition. Are you going to throw a tantrum if we don't acknowledge you? You don't see Molson Canadian bragging about all the money they raised.

Beer companies do brilliant marketing

It never ceases to amaze me some of the marketing/advertising strategies that come out of beer companies and their agencies. From the original patriotic inspiring Joe Canadian rant, the now popular Dos Equis Most Interesting Man in the World, to a simple Kokanee radio commercial I remember from about 12 years ago that made a poke at Molson for always handing out free t-shirts:

Announcer: Everybody loves winning, and now in every 18 bottle case of Kokanee glacier beer you will find a special prize.
Person rattling and opening a box
Male Voice: It's a box.....and there's beer inside!!!! (cheering noises)

Well, I just saw an ad on TV the other day for a brilliant new Molson Canadian campaign that is perfectly timed and i'm guaranteeing it will be adding to their sales numbers for the next while as it runs.

The Give'R campaign offers people a chance to buy specially marked boxes of their beer and on the box is a pin code that you can enter online. Now traditionally companies use the pin code system as a way for people to enter their contest, then the company gets that person's data, etc. This time Molson threw in a wrinkle because everytime you enter one of those codes Molson donates $5 to Canadian olympic and paralympic athletes. Genius. It makes the consumer feel even better about drinking their product and allows them to feel like they have helped contribute to their country's athletes. What a great way to sell a whole bunch of product, portray a patriotic, charitable brand image, AND get valuable information on every consumer to add to your growing database. Pure genius, and the person behind the campaign should be given a serious bonus.

I predict big things as a result of this campaign, way better than just giving away a t-shirt or offering the chance to win something.