Tennis and Tomic: Game. Set. Match?

You may recall earlier (if you're new...just scroll on down to the sponsorship post) that I posted about Tomic struggling to gain a decent sponsorship, due to him being well "normal". As of late he has managed to make himself "abnormal", therefore being noticed by the countries media and being made the current poster boy for the sport and the Aus Open. Sam Stosur played back up racket to the 19 year old, due to her poor performance leading up to the Aus Open, meanwhile Tomic had a cracker winning the Kooyong Classic.

It appears that young Tomic has come to spark the interest of potential sponsors and media alike, through his sporadic and inspirational style of tennis. Winning his first round in the Australian Open in true Aussie Battler spirit, he began creating himself a story, not to mention the promo Channel 7 ran of a younger Tomic explaining that he bought his first racket with 50cents at a garage sale. Now theres a story...."Unkown to this child, he was being called by the sport. Little did he know that he would become the next Australian tennis superstar" AWKWARD! When only a year ago he was dismissed and was considered to be too young to really make a name anytime soon.

According to BandT, Channel 7 is reliant upon their ratings for Australian Open as it becomes a pre-cursor for the rest of the years ratings. Seeing as they are the number one rating television channel, I guess there is some validity to the claim. Realistically, there will be no Australian in the finals and the closest we will come is through Tomic, hence Channel 7's newly found keen interest. So where to from here for Tomic? I suppose we will find out at the 2013 Australian Open, who knows he may be our home grown Federer.

Tweet yourself silly

Majority of us are on Twitter and Facebook, tweeting and posting away about what interests us, what were doing, what we LIKE, why we go somewhere, do something, say something and the list goes on and on and on and on....

Most of us are on Twitter to follow our favourite celebrities, musicians, brand and some of our friends...mostly the latter. Those who we follow are more than aware of why we do it and the power they have and hold till fame does them part. Facebook on the other hand is a friend connecting tool, with the splash of celebrity and a lot of our local favourites e.g. clubs, shops, restaurants and bands. So which platform has the most power, or are they reliant upon one another.

Twitter seems to be the place where brands and products flaunt what they got and get millions and trillions of followers to retweet, mention or trend them. Where as Facebook seems to create a more fleeting worth of awareness and making a smaller mark on the user. However when twitter is used as an awareness mechanism (seeing as it is 140 characters or less) and Facebook is able to provide all the information you need to succeed.

I have been pulled into the force field, I am frantically tweeting and posting about Dj Afrojack and his New Years Eve competition, mostly because I want to get his post to 10,000 likes and see what,when, where and how! I'm not going to lie I want to win, but in me advertising it like this means I may not, which is fine because I'm dying to know the details so I can meet the criteria to WIN WIN WIN!

So when it comes down to it, being on social media really does work ONLY if you have the style, the product, the hype and MOST OF ALL...the crazy followers to make the gears turn and get the engine moving. Having the correct followers and being able to create a brand perception that will motivate and initiate buzz, are all necessary elements to be ruling the social media world.

WHO has you in their social media force field? WHY have you been pulled in? WHEN will you ever get out?

The Branding Bunch

So here's a story of long loved branding...Coca Cola is part of many lives, its never new, in-fact it just works harder, to maintain its brand name!

Coca-Cola or more affectionately known world wide as Coke, it entered our live many moons ago with a pop of the cap, a tingling on the taste buds and a satisfied ahhhh. Coke we thank-you for your extremely long service to not only consumers but as the case study for the next generation of the advertising army.

We associate Coke as being fresh, fun, attractive and improving on our sense of community. For a carbonated beverage that is pretty damn good,  after all it is a universal word. 'Share A Coke' is the latest Coca-Cola campaign; it encompasses everything Coke is and has found yet another way to be current, to be noticed, to be purchased. So what is this 'Share A Coke' craze? It is pure GENIUS is what it is, the simple notion of putting a name on a Coke and telling the consumers to 'Share A Coke with Matt, Liam, Victoria....' captured the ever impulsive, attention craving and money wielding Gen X, Gen Y and Gen Z.

But what about us folk with the left of field names? Fear not, this campaign is not half-baked, you can go to 18 Westfield locations around Australia and have your name printed onto a Coke can for FREE! What a great Christmas idea, did I mention it is FREE! I'll say it again GENUIS!

This campaign doesn't there you can even win $50,000 between yourself and some mates and if you don't have a Westfield near you share a personalised Coke virtually through there Facebook page. Coke was meant to be shared, to be loved by all and Coca-Cola Amatil has ensured this.

My Facebook timeline was at one point ruled by people getting there personalised Coke cans and a million questions of Where? How? When?. This was a perfect way of gaining the target markets attention, as us Facebookers love "sharing" our latest feats. Along with the online avenue, there is outdoor, television and radio commercials, this mix is perfect as it hits you no matter where you go...inescapable and as the ads are short and sweet (much like a can of coke) you pay attention. Honestly, who can say that they don't pay attention to a Coke commercial, there is always an intrigue into what they are doing next and when can I get it!

Coca-Cola has become part of history and will remain with us long into the future.

Viva La Coca-Cola!

Check out this link: Best coke ads

Krazy Kardashian Koncotions

Honestly, I had no intention on posting about them AT ALL! Then came along Gruen Planet and whaddaya know!

The Panel from Gruen Planet said it best! No denying the Kardashians are the incredible at what they do, bringing the world (and a million brands) to their feet and making a hell of a lot of money doing it! So how do they do it? Originating from the small time fame of their father, Robert Kardashian (Lawyer to OJ Simpson), they took this golf ball of fame and rolled it into a medicine ball, filled with kash. Hate them or love them, they've done it extremely well.

Enough from me...Let the Gruen Planet Panel of Wil Anderson, Todd Sampson and Russel Howcroft explain the intricacy of the Kardashian Klad Kindgom.

(caution: Wil Anderson is ridiculously hilarious, stitches may result)

Lets Get Digital, Digital!

As I scroll down my twitter timeline I see the word "digital" pop-up on majority of the industry accounts I follow...which lead me to think...WHY DIGITAL, WHY NOW?

As of late digital and advertising have become two peas in a pod. One without the other doesn't seem to make sense. Driving down the main roads in metro areas you see billboards going digital, namely GOA, with a billboard that has at least 3 other advertisements on it - talk about maximising sales opportunities - and lets not start on the Twitter and Facebook craze, actually lets. Facebook and Twitter are free digital spaces for everyone! And it seems that small businesses are loving this, albeit without utilising it properly and having plenty of room for opportunity, and why wouldn't they? It reaches many, its cheap or free and provides you with the ultimate control on your brand.

Digital seems to be the most effective means of advertising, it is immediate, captivating and the most free-form -creatively speaking. It also serves as a great element in IMC strategies and hey it provides an interactive platform for the target market. What more could you want????

But will there be a point where digital joins the clutter crew? Will the initial intrigue disappear? Will the target market dismiss the message in all the advertising madness? And what will be done to avoid the impending doom? Only time will tell....

But why now? Well I guess it comes down to who is able to be the most innovative and experimental. It was only a matter of time until the digital world and the advertising worlds collided.  The Lynx augmented reality strategy was a cracker! It opened the eyes and the mind of the target market, making the Lynx brand ever more edgy and maintaining their boundary pushing, loin invigorating and mind boggling messages.

So digital seems the way for the future, until it is overtaken by something fresher and newer. Until then lets embrace the digital race and make the best of a good thing.

Crouching Tiger....Hidden Dragon?

Something I noticed for the first time! I have seen this commercial a million times...shows how much attention I pay to commercials (and quiet possibly the level of attention the rest of us pay).

The St. George television ad of "you can do better with a St. George home loan" has the St. George Mascot (the green dragon) hiding in the background behind a bush. I nearly spat out my coffee in disbelief that as an avid analyser of advertisements that I missed it!

See if you can spot it for yourself...I've already told you where to look, so get spotting!

St George - Do Better with a St George Home Loan

ENJOY!

Sponsorships - The story behind the man

Sponsorship, players need it and companies love it. Gaining a sponsorship is becoming more and more difficult for the next generation of aspiring athletes, whether they are the best or second best. In the beginning sponsorship was like an award, the best few within each field are given sponsorship, letting the world know that they are the best at what they do!
So what now? If you are an up and coming athlete, working yourself to the bone to be the best, to make it to the professional level, it is no longer enough, you need to have a "story". According to Ad News, a story makes the sponsorship, along with some talent. What are you to do when you come from a seemingly well off family, not battled against the odds, essentially handed a silver spoon of sport soup.
A stated example by Ad News is tennis protege Bernard Tomic, brilliant tennis player who entered the sport young and has recently worked his way into the top 100, but cannot gain a substantial sponsorship. At age 13 he earned sponsorship from Nike, Head, Optus and Tennis Australia, when he was a fresh face with a "story".

Imagine this, a young boy from Australia given a wild card entry to the Australian Open, where he will come up against the likes of Federer, Hewitt, Djokovich or Nadal. Can this young superstar of amateur tennis make it to the end? Will he be Australia's next Number One?

As nice as that story was...that is where it ended. And since then Tomic has been unable to wrangle up another story, therefore leaving him without any sponsorship that would leave a mark on the world. What advice would you give him? Injure yourself severely, work your way back to the top or have a family feud and become a trailblazer...HELLO sponsorship!