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| cool news of the day |
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tuesday october 17 2006
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team adidas
Nike has built its 80 percent share of the basketball-shoe market based on the cult of individual stars, but Adidas hopes to improve its 10 percent share based on the virtues of teamwork, report Mike Estrel and Stephanie King in The Wall Street Journal (10/16/06). Compare and contrast: Nike is spending $90 million in a seven-year deal with superstar LeBron James, centered on his superstardom and the signature shoes he wears on the court. Adidas is spending $400 million in an 11-year deal with the NBA, centered on their teams and shoes that players do not actually wear while they play. That's because the Adidas-NBA deal is for apparel only and leaves the players free to wear whatever they like on the courts.
Nike is pretty happy with its position. "It's hard to build an identity for your brand around a team," says Nike brand president Charles Denson. "We built our brand around the athlete and his or her personality, creativity and innovation." Adidas doesn't necessarily disagree with that, but since Nike owns that idea it is trying something different -- beginning with a "30-second television spot" showcasing five stars "who look into the camera and tell viewers that it's not about them, but rather the team. The same ad is being trotted out in print ads and on Adidas' website," and is all part of a campaign called "It Takes 5IVE."
Each of the players gets his own signature shoe, but one that is designed for streetwear. By December, Adidas will have launched "a new line of 30 different basketball shoes -- one with a special design for each NBA team." Adidas will showcase its new shoe fashions "inside the NBA's flagship store on New York's Fifth Avenue," and also hopes to build its brand "in countries like China, basketball's second-largest market." Indeed: "Adidas has 2,600 stores in China, Taiwan and Hong Kong, and it plans to have 5,000 on the ground by 2010." The push is Adidas' "biggest-ever" in basketball, where, by the way, shoes have potential that they don't in soccer, because cleats don't wear very well off the field.
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planet google
"It's all part of Google's benign dictatorship of your life," says Dan Firger, an N.Y.U. law student, explaining why he can't seem to get away from using Google's tools to run his life, as reported by Alex Williams in The New York Times (10/15/06). Dan says he not only uses Google's search engine to get information, but also Google Talk to chat "with friends in Bolivia," receives email via Google Gmail and uses Google Calendar to keep track of his appointments. "I find myself getting sucked down the Google wormhole," says Dan. Rashi Glazer, a Berkeley business prof, says people like Dan "may think they use Google because they like it," but actually, "it's the reverse."
According to Rashi: "You use something and in seeing yourself using it you say to yourself, 'Hey, I'm using it all the time, must be because I'm loyal to it.' It becomes a virtuous cycle." Others suggest that Google's attraction is simply its "anticorporate credo" of "do no evil" that takes direct aim at Microsoft. Comments philosophy prof Donald C. Hubin of Ohio State: "Microsoft always seems to be trying to force you to do things their way, like when they released the version of Windows with Internet Explorer embedded forcing you to use it." Still, others suggest that anyone who thinks Google is totally benign ought to think again.
"What they don't understand," says John Perry Barlow of the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF), "is that once a company sells its soul to the stockholders ... good versus evil is no longer a practical consideration. Google has already crossed that Rubicon," he says. Kevin Bankston, also of the EFF, suggests that Google's data-collection is in itself, cause for concern: "This kind of profile-building, if it was being done by authorities in a Communist regime, people would immediately object," he says. Google insists it handles persoanl data very carefully, but even Dan Firger admits to a "weird tension" with Google. "I don't know if I want all my personal information saved on this massive server in Mountain View, but it is so much an improvement on how life was before, I can't help it," he says. Just wait until he discovers Google Docs & Spreadsheets.
Tim Manners
editor
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footer notes
Gus Priemer of SC Johnson envisioned the future of targeted media more than 30 years ago. By Spencer L. Hapoienu, co-founder, Insight Out of Chaos. (more)
What is the impact of brand image on marketing R.O.I.? A roundtable discussion featuring Jeff Glueck of Travelocity, Ed Faruolo of CIGNA, Allen Olivo of Yahoo! and David Norris of OnRequest Images. (more)
Ohio turns teens into anti-smoking activists with an integrated, grassroots marketing campaign. By Brian Newberry, vp/gm, Northlich. (more)
"This is a song I recorded with the Chad Mitchell Trio in 1961. It's a cotton screwing shanty," says Roger McGuinn. Hear Roger sing "Whup Jamboree" in The Folk Den. (MP3 Download)
Schwan's creates brand enthusiasm by finding a deep, soul connection between moms and their teenage kids. By Dori Molitor, ceo, WomanWise. (more)
Marketers are turning their backs on television advertising. But do they have a grip on the alternatives? The results of an exclusive Reveries.com survey with analysis by Dr. Brian Harris of the Partnering Group. (more)
"Affluent consumers are busy ... they are early adopters of new media ... and they are causing the general slide in a lot of the traditional media." American Express engages high-spending consumers with high-technology media. An exclusive interview with Amex global brand chief, Jim Hedleston. (more)
Even the staunchest budget "hawk" understands that you can't cost-cut your way to growth. Just ask Atari, Toyota, MGM Grand Casino, Intelligentsia Coffee, Aquafresh ... and Ringo. Check out Spare No Expense, an all-new Fast Company column by Tim Manners. (more)
The past, present -- and possible future -- of Nike Town's in-store media network. By Terry Scannell, founder of iPsigns. (more)
The HUB is an exchange of ideas ... a place where marketing ideas are presented, discussed, explored, changed, accepted or rejected, bought and sold. (more)
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| John S. Dykes, illustrator |
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extra texture
For today's eclectic collection of marketing-relevant news headlines and trends -- updated twice a day -- please visit: extraTexture.com
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events
Entertainment & Media Forum. October 18 -19, Los Angeles, Beverly Hills Hotel. Join leaders from Film, Television, Music, Gaming, Digital Media, Marketing and Advertising for keynote presentations, case studies, and panel discussions examining content delivery, online strategy, mobile entertainment, VOD, podcasting, content creation, digital content and media, brand integration, and the latest in media research and trends. For more information, please call (305) 667.4705 or (866) 636.7350, visit trademeetings.com, or e-mail: emf2005@trademeetings.com.
Achieving Engagement: New Marketing for a New Consumer. November 13-15, 2006, Hollywood, CA. Featuring case studies from leading marketing executives who have used blogging, podcasting, VOD, branded entertainment, gaming, experiential marketing, viral marketing, and other new marketing mediums to successfully reach their audience. Hear from MySpace, Pepsi, Target, McDonald's Nascar, New England Patriots, Facebook, Yahoo!, Nike, ESPN ABC Sports, and many others. For further info visit: www.iirusa.com/engagement
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