FRIDAYS AT FOUR Volume Nine Issue Two

FRIDAYS AT FOUR
Volume Nine Issue Two
Trends and News from GF Strategies
February 17, 2012

So the news is full of Super Bowl ads. Did the smartphone apps get used, what ones were the most successful and what did users think? Well, usage rates did not impress most of the trend watchers. Seems we are not quite ready to snap a small square on our tv while watching an advertisement.  However, give us access to updated statistics, player profiles and other inside information on our phone during the game, and the usage was at an all time visitor rate on sites like nfl.com, ESPN and others.

This comes from Coyle Media…”Fans want three things: camaraderie, recognition and access. Comradery comes from interacting with other fans. They want recognition form the team for their passion and loyalty. And access means they want to feel close to the team or athlete. Social relates to all that. –ad week

Here is another interesting fact to consider. Many brands today spend two to three times as much on sponsorship activation as they do on rights fees, according to Matt Wasserman of Wasserman Media Group.

So the big question is this one….How do you monetize sports fan traffic? According to an analyst at Forrester Research “the sports brands, (and you could take sports out of this and just say brands) that have done a good job are the ones that understand that to increase the value of their assets, the need to find the optimal mix of content”—ad week

There it is. The optimal mix of content.

Niche sports. A few years ago no one was seeing these sports, like BMX, Bull Riding, and yes something called Mudding Marathons. This is a military style challenge series that Under Armor signed on to sponsor. Sponsors are finding that alternative sports then to attract intensely loyal followers. Three advantages cited by Jeff Shifrin of Octagon Sports Marketing—yet get the benefits of cheaper rights, less expensive media platforms and the ability to home in on a target market”…Ad week

The model for establishing a niche in this area would have to be the Dew Tour, now in year eight. The Tour has been able to create a national marketing platform that includes apparel, music, gaming and art. “Music is a big part of action sports. WE find out what these athletes are listening to and make playlists on the Dew Tour web site”

Erica Permagent Pepsico Sports Marketing

A new book being released next week is called Abundance: Why the Future Will Be Much Better Than We Think, by Peter Diamandis and Steven Kotler. Here are a few of the highlights of the book in the book the authors talk about four powerful forces that are starting to emerge with world-changing potential.

• Accelerating rate of technological progress
• The do it yourself innovator
• Money-and how it is being spent in a particular way. The high tech revolution created a new breed of wealthy techno-philanthropists who are using their fortunes to solve global, abundance related challenges
• The so called “Bottom Billion” are finally plugging into the global economy and are poised to become the “Rising Billion” –Forbes Magazine

A recent chart in Ad Week offers this interesting graphic about the type of online consumers engaged in social media. Here are the findings about US users:

• 24 percent are creators—publish a blog, upload music or content they created
• 38 percent are conversationalists—update status on a social site
• 36 percent are critics—post ratings/reviews of products or services
• 23 percent are collectors—use RSS sites, vote online
• 68 percent are joiners—maintain profile on a social network site
• 73 percent are spectators—read blogs, listen to podcasts, watch videos
• 14 percent are inactive.

Trends in food are covered in the latest issue of Food Management News. Here are some of the latest things to be watching for:

• super sandwiches—upscale hot dogs, exotic subs, premium grilled cheese
• Whole grains will appear more often on menus
• Stealth health. More and more are asking for healthy choices. This means making food healthier behind the scenes, with less sodium, more vegetables and whole grains
• Menu options that for K-12 schools that mirror popular restaurant trends but with healthier ingredients

Other things to watch that are trending hot include chefs in schools, local sourcing, farm to cafeteria, onsite gardens, gluten free meals, sustainability and wellness programs  — Food Management News  February 2012

And the move by all of the major companies to digital and away from traditional media sources continues. This is made clear by one of the largest public relations firms in the World Edelman. Last year, revenue rose by 23 percent in the digital division of the company. “Digital is no longer an optional sport” according to CEO Matthew Harrington. –Ad Week

Fast Company reports on a company MonoSol that has come up with edible casing.

The company makes water soluble wrappers and can be found encasing clothing to pesticides to detergent. MonoSol is developing edible films that are soluble, biodegradable and yes even flavorful. Monosol reports there are 76 tons of packaging waste added to US landfills each year. The firm sees the day when wrappers that dissolve during prep would not end up in dumps. –Fast Company March 2012

Our book recommendation this issue is What Matters Now by Gary Hamel.

www.gfstrategies.com     Greg Flakus         360-573-7027
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