There’s a big fuss across the pond about two men kissing. A recent Heinz ad was taken off the airwaves after the UK Advertising Standard Authority received over 200 complaints.

And I always thought they were supposed to be so much more open-minded than us Yanks! A Boston news outlet’s editorial claims, “As far as images of same-sex families go, it’s positively delicious.” I think that author missed the boat completely. What’s funny is that I don’t think the commercial has anything to do with being gay. We’ve discussed marketing to gays on this blog before, but this is an entirely different scenario. The idea behind the ad is that the deli mayo is so authentic tasting that the “mother figure” is replaced as a New York deli worker. Either that, or it’s normal for children of gay couples in London to call their one father “mum” and for that person to be dressed in the morning like they’re working at a diner.

Heinz used creativity in making a provocative, compelling and memorable ad. What more could a brand want?

What’s your take on the ad? Was Heinz wrong to make it? Were they wrong to pull it?

Pat Cauley is Electronic Retailer magazine’s eMedia Editor

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A while back, I wrote an article that discussed the viability of viral marketing for Electronic Retailer’s September 2007 issue. In the article, I mention different campaigns that have used viral marketing and succeeded, as well as a few that didn’t pan out (think “Snakes on a Plane” bombing at the box office).

According to Wikipedia, viral marketing refers to marketing techniques that use pre-existing social networks to produce increases in brand awareness or to achieve other marketing objectives (such as product sales) through self-replicating viral processes, akin to the spread of pathological and computer viruses. It can be word-of-mouth delivered or enhanced by the network effects of the Internet. Viral marketing is a marketing phenomenon that facilitates and encourages people to pass along a marketing message voluntarily.

Below are two current, successful viral campaigns:

The first video shows how a well-established brand like Bud Light uses viral marketing to keep itself hip, fresh and funny. This video was brought to my attention via word-of-mouth while out this weekend.

The second shows how a less established brand uses YouTube to drive to its website and keep potential customers engaged and entertained.

The fact that you viewed these videos means I just helped move the viral campaigns forward. Whether you share it with your family and friends, a true test of success is up to you.

Pat Cauley is Electronic Retailer magazine’s eMedia Editor

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Recently, many news outlets have been discussing the launch of Discovery’s new channel: Planet Green. A story from AP’s David Bauder claims the environmentally focused network is not what you might expect. The New York Times ponders if viewers are ready for “eco-friendly” television.

Electronic Retailer proudly boasts Planet Green as its May cover story. To read our exclusive interview with Eileen O’Neill, Planet Green’s president and general manager, click here.

Do you think the channel will be a success?

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There’s no denying that the main objective for any e-commerce sales or retail marketing executive is to maximize the total value of visitor traffic on their site, simply put— turning web browsers into buyers and clicks into cash. Search is certainly leveling the playing field as well, so how do companies stand out from the crowd? And why are some sites still failing to deliver compelling and relevant content to their customer base?

In today’s saturated marketplace, retailers can no longer rely on the traditional marketing techniques and media vehicles to manage customer interaction and drive home sales. In order to achieve greater web interaction optimization, e-commerce and retail sites must recognize the inherent value of social behavioral merchandising and effectively increase the relevance of communications by automatically promoting the most relevant products to each visitor, thereby maximizing conversion rates and average order values.

By making websites more customer-centric via these “recommendation engines,” retailers can essentially optimize customer interaction through improved content and messaging based on a customer’s specific needs and behavioral patterns.

We all know who Amazon.com is. Besides the millions of SKUs at Amazon.com, the site is easy to use and “steers” browsers in the right direction when they need help (recommendations, user reviews, etc.). The addition of recommendations from other customers can build a sense of trust and community between new and returning customers—and probably better than any 17-year old working the floor at Border’s Books.

Given the wide variety of tools available in the market, online retailers must familiarize themselves with the different points of customer contact and approaches towards reaching interaction optimization. The Customer Interaction Cycle, shown below, depicts the many different points—from initial landing page through transaction—where collective intelligence can be applied to maximize value.

Rolf Elmer is CEO of Avail Intelligence

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Pick up the newspaper: Our country and the world are in a state of anxiety about the economy, especially in light of a potential recession. What does that mean to us as marketers? Just how does the recession affect direct response advertising? Recessions are different from other economic downturns and need to be approached differently, but there are ways to weather the storm.

History teaches us that recessions reward the aggressive advertiser and penalize the timid one. Indeed, firms that maintained or increased their advertising expenditures during the 1981-1982 recession averaged significantly higher sales growth, both during the recession and for the following three years, than those that eliminated or decreased advertising.

By 1985, sales of companies that were aggressive recession advertisers had risen 256 percent over those that didn’t keep up their advertising. Why? One reason is that a recessionary market can provide an opportunity for businesses to build a greater share of market through aggressive advertising. Sometimes, we need to remind ourselves about the short-term benefits of advertising: It creates sales immediately; it generates added business from current customers; and it brings in new leads and prospects. In short, as one marketer pointed out, “When times are good, you should advertise. When times are bad, you must advertise.”

One trait of a true recession lies with shifts in consumer patterns. We can no longer expect even our core base of customers to behave in ways familiar to us and comfortable to them. Preparing for changes in consumer behavior will allow us to jumpstart new messaging, platforms and technologies—when this makes strategic sense—to capture the attention of both loyal and new customers. One false assumption is that it’s safe to reduce the advertising budget if the competition is reducing theirs. Research shows that companies maintaining or increasing advertising during periods of economic slow-down will boost market share. (more…)

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In the past few days, Comedy Central has taken a brazen approach to some of the issues we deal with day in and day out. The virtual world Second Life is one of those buzzwords often thrown around conferences by people trying to sound like they know what they’re talking about. Many well-known companies have spent lots of money jumping into Second Life to have a virtual world presence, but I think they were simply jumping the shark.

Second Life, like many other platforms on the Internet, has not taken off quite as expected. “The Daily Show” had quite the time making fun of Second Life. Enjoy the clip below:

A recent “South Park” episode was no stranger to speaking on the Internet’s monetization problems. The boys create a hit YouTube video thinking they’ll rake in some fast cash, only to find themselves waiting in line for “theoretical dollars” at the Department of Internet Money, along with other Internet celebrities. A full list of the episode’s clips can be found here. However, enjoy below Kyle’s closing insights on Internet revenue:

What are your thoughts on monetizing the Internet?

Pat Cauley, eMedia Editor, Electronic Retailer Magazine

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As far as reality TV goes, Bravo’s “Project Runway” is top notch, or ‘fierce’ as some would say. While watching season four’s recent finale, one advertisement stuck out to me. It was a Levi’s ad directly targeting gay men.

American Airlines recently launched a major multimedia ad campaign targeting the gay travel demographic. I could go on and on about how inspiring it is to see these companies stepping outside of the box and making bold political statements, but I won’t. Frankly, these were smart business decisions. Sure, you may run into trouble from the likes of the American Family Association, which recently ended its two-year boycott of Ford for advertising to gays, but this is unlikely and trivial. The real lesson is in the numbers.

A report from eMarketer research found the following:

—The buying power of U.S. gay and lesbian consumers was $660 billion in 2006 and is expected to reach $835 billion by 2011.

—According to U.S. Census Bureau data, the median annual household income in the U.S. in 2006 was $46,326. For single gay men, that number was $62,000 and for single lesbians, it was $52,000. That number rises to $130,00 for gay male couples and $96,000 for lesbian females.

—About 89 percent of U.S. gay male respondents and 91 percent of lesbian respondents thought a brand’s sponsorship or support of gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender (GLBT) events favorably influenced their buying decisions.

—A significant percentage of the GLBT community checks whether a company is gay-friendly before buying its products.

—About one in four GLBT Internet users said they have switched products or service providers because they found a competing company that supports causes that benefit the GLBT community.

—Like a privacy policy or Better Business Bureau seal of approval, companies genuinely connecting with the GLBT community display the trademarks of relevant organizations prominently on their sites. With strong evidence that the GLBT community will support those companies that respect them, this is a best practice for online marketers.

Wells Fargo, Orbitz, Diet Pepsi, Diet Coke, Saab, Citi, IBM, Deloitte, Ernst & Young, Prudential Financial, XM Satellite Radio, BP, Absolut Vodka, GM, AT&T, Chase, Harrah’s, Merrill Lynch, Showtime, Volvo, Dell, Hotels.com, Motorola, Nike, Shell and UPS all actively support the gay community.

If you’re not already including gays in your marketing, then why not? What are you so afraid of?

Pat Cauley, eMedia Editor, Electronic Retailer Magazine

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Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen are two of the worst offenders when it comes to wearing fur. We’ve written the twins letters and sent them our undercover investigation to let them know the cruelties of this industry; however, that seems to have made no difference to them. The Olsen twins are constantly in the public eye and are looked up to by millions of girls around the world—that’s a lot of responsibility, and one that shouldn’t be taken lightly. What kind of message does supporting the fur industry send their fans? That it’s okay to abuse animals to keep up with the latest trends? That’s just downright heartless. There are so many humane alternatives out there that don’t cause an animal to suffer and die—like faux fur—that there is no excuse for wearing the fur off an animal’s back.

Our Trollsen Twins campaign is an entertaining way for people to learn about what happens to animals killed for their fur—people who might not know anything about what happens to millions of foxes, chinchillas, minks, rabbits, and yes, even cats and dogs, that are killed to become “fashion” accessories. We live in a tabloid world, and most of the time it takes something unique, and sometimes controversial, to catch people’s attention. We use every opportunity we can to help animals, and this is one way that is without a doubt effective.

Check out just a few recent articles that have been written about the campaign:

Fox News
AOL News
E! Online

There are celebrities out there who use to wear fur, but once we contacted them and let them know what the animals go through, they had a change of heart—and even work with us on our anti-fur campaign now. Eva Mendes is one of those celebrities who had a change of heart—check out her anti-fur ad and what she has to say about the fur industry here.

We know this campaign doesn’t necessarily appeal to everyone, which is why this is just one approach we take to educating people about animal rights. We do public outreach at concerts and festivals, write letters to the editor, stage demonstrations, offer free and low-cost spay and neuter services locally, and help students make a difference for animals. We focus on the four major industries that the largest number of animals are treated the worst—in the food, entertainment, experimentation and clothing industries. This is simply one of our campaigns to help animals that are abused by these industries, and simply one part of the important work PETA does to help animals.

Dan Shannon is assistant director of youth outreach & campaigns for PETA.

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