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January 2008
EMAK Insider

A Note from CEO Jim Holbrook: The Marketing of a Presidential Candidate

We are always looking - looking at retail, in newspapers, around the web, at other brands' activities and even into people's fridges and medicine cabinets.
 
Call us voyeurs. Call us curious. Really, it's just that we're never satisfied with the marketing work we're doing for our clients. There's always more to learn, to try, to test. That's what keeps us going - the pursuit of being more and more effective. Being unsatisfied.
 
Recently, we've been debating the Presidential activities. The "brands" are taking very different approaches to marketing themselves, and it is fascinating (sometimes even nauseating) to watch. The greatest positioning line so far comes from Mike Huckabee, who said on Jay Leno something like, "I'm like a fellow employee; Romney looks like the boss who laid you off." Wow! Incredibly insightful and well articulated. The perfect challenger brand approach. But in a winner-takes-all market share battle, we'll see if it's enough vs. Romney's big "integrated marketing" machine.
 
And Obama is following a similar strategy - to position Ms. Clinton as the "incumbent" so as to position himself as the outsider.
 
All these folks shun the label of "marketing" and call it campaigning instead. I guess they don't want to appear to be too slick and manipulative, which is what marketing has become in many people's minds. But call it what you will, figuring out the deep insights, proper messaging, most effective media, and alignment around all of these things, that's how you win!

 

Jim Holbrook
CEO, EMAK
Publisher of Stay Tuned
 
jim.holbrook@emak.com


FEATURED PHOTOS

Using unconventional launch tactics, Emmi International, a well-known coffee company in Europe, found its niche in the U.S. as the "cooler coffee."

The launch began in Chicago with ten large refrigerators – decorated by local artists – placed around the city, teasing consumers to guess “what’s in the cooler.” Mobile billboards, a YouTube video and MySpace page encouraged consumers to participate in a mobile messaging campaign, driving traffic to www.whatsinthecooler.com. The website listed fridge locations and also encouraged visitors to guess what’s in the cooler for cash prizes.

Click here to read more about the launch of Emmi Caffè Latte.

A Well-Known European Company Takes on the U.S. Coffee Market
Upshot
Emmi International caused a stir in Chicago for the U.S. launch of their refrigerated coffee beverage.
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November PromoSweep Report
Logistix
Use this latest issue of PromoSweep to evaluate your retail promotions.
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Launching a New Product into an Overcrowded Category
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To launch an unconventional product, use unconventional launch tactics.
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Now, What's the Payoff?
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How do you move from one-off marketing to pay-off marketing?
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Does Good Work Relations Always Improve Work Creativity?
C.W. Park (From MarketingProfs)
Are your marketing teams producing tired and noncreative work? Perhaps they work too well together.
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What is your New Year's resolution?

FreeRice: Test your vocabulary while helping people in need.  www.freerice.com

WEJETSET: The definitive resource for design forward travel products and wisdom. www.wejetset.com

Trend Hunter Magazine: The world's largest trend spotting and cool hunting community. www.trendhuntermagazine.com

Killeen Shuda
Director of Communications
t. 323 932 4308
Killeen.Shuda@emak.com

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