apt blog

I'm Lovin' it

apt marketing and PR are always thinking of new, captivating, and intelligent ways to help our clients reach their audience and make sure their brands remain strong.  So we weren't surprised to see the McDonald's marketing team is planning an overhaul of its Happy Meal toys in a bid to improve its global image and reputation among parents.

The McDonald's chain will be releasing a range of educational toys including puzzles and brainteasers, as opposed to their signature figurines. This will see the end of a long relationship with Disney and other animation film makers.

As well as this, in an arguably desperate attempt to change negative perceptions of the brand, McDonald's has launched a £5m television campaign that promotes the quality of the ingredients used in its food.

However, sometimes no amount of marketing and PR will ever totally reverse perceptions of globally well-known brands such as McDonald's. Yes, they can show parents that they're aware of the need for mentally stimulating Happy Meal giveaways but surely no parent thinks that a Happy Meal represents an ideal meal for their child? Unfortunately, their profits indicate that some parents do!

That's what I call crisis management!

KFC's treatment of chickens before and during the slaughtering process has come under the spotlight this week. KFC is therefore seeking some specialist PR support following damning allegations by PETA that KFC makes its chickens endure 'live scalding and painful de-beaking' and stories of 'crippled chickens'.  Unfortunately for KFC the PETA campaign has already received some significant celebrity backing and has managed to escape a ban on its anti-KFC adverts of Colonel Sanders knifing a chicken.

So KFC is desperately seeking an agency to handle a newly created CSR and corporate brief and has already approached a number of agencies that are expected to be pitching in early July. The successful agency will be expected to ‘proactively shift brand perceptions'. 

Hopefully the agency will remember that actions speak louder than words and they'll be taking significant steps to improve living conditions and welfare. 

This will take some serious crisis management.

YOU'RE FIRED!

apt marketing staff, like much of the UK population, have been keenly following this year's captivating series of 'The Apprentice'. So we were delighted to come across a hilarious collection of short Lego versions of the boardroom scenes, one of which was aired on BBC 2 on Wednesday night during the after show analysis. Apparently Alan Sugar had requested for one to be shown after finding them extremely amusing himself. We think these short films made by the Boleg Brothers are fantastic and any Apprentice fan will love them as much as we do!

Does this headline grab your attention?

Thinking of the right headline when you're trying to catch the attention of editors (who are inundated with hundreds of press releases every day) is no easy task.  This blog post from Brian Clark makes some useful points on how to write the perfect headline that will stretch the bounds of believability to stand out without making false promises.

We often see press releases with extravagant and unbelievable headlines which are written purely to grab your initial attention; this is a mistake. Not only does it damage your credibility, it shows that you don't think the content and purpose of your release is interesting enough to be considered. It also just makes you look a bit desperate; something an editor will pick up on straight away.

Unbelievable headlines can work in some contexts though. Blog titles or headlines can sometimes be far removed from the truth just to grab attention and this can work within the context of a blog. When it comes to press releases however, keep it honest; as Brian Clark says, "Just never forget that your headline is a promise you have to keep."

Shock Tactics

Today, Scope, the National disability organisation, is launching an extremely hard-hitting campaign that will be shown in 200 cinemas nationwide throughout the month. Supporting adverts across print media will also be running throughout Time to Get Equal Week (June 9-15) - the charity's annual flagship awareness calendar event.

The adverts will highlight various levels of discrimination faced by disabled people in the UK, ranging from physical abuse to poor access to public services. The first cinema advert highlights violence against disabled people. It uses CCTV-style footage showing a disabled person in a wheelchair being beaten and then states that disabled people are four times more likely to be violently assaulted than non-disabled people.

Shock advertising is something that's becoming common place among charities, for example you will remember recent posts on the campaign by Amnesty International on human rights for China. It seems as though this type of advertising appears to be one of few ways to gain awareness, but we must ask ourselves- how far should we go? Surely we get to a point where adverts are becoming too distressing for some viewers?

We don't feel this is the case though. This is about real-life and is the only way to address these issues is to confront people in a way that makes them feel uncomfortable. Surely this is the best way to provoke a strong enough reaction to bring about real change. Sadly though, part of the problem is that the people who perpetrate these kind of violent crimes will not be affected and, alarmingly, are likely to be amused by the content.

A MINI VIRAL

apt marketing ad pr are loving the latest mini campaign- 'Ban Boredom'.  The television ad below has been accompanied by an interactive viral campaign where you're encouraged to "nominate and obliterate" things that are boring by driving a digital Mini into them. Have a go!

Cadbury's just get it!

The new Cadbury's Dairy Milk advert follows on well from the drum-playing Gorilla we've all become very familiar with.  It's another example of just how well the Cadbury's brand have adapted in a society where consumers are bombarded with between1,600-5,000 advertising messages per day. The 1.30 'mini films' have undeniably become a unique and successful way of creating strong brand awareness for Cadbury's.

Much like the mini gorilla film, the advert keeps its audience engaged and entertained throughout. It is the second in what’s set to be a series of ads that aim simply, as the Cadbury’s “Glass and a Half” website has it, “to make you smile” – in the same way the choccy bar does, of course.

We love it, take a look!

Now that's what I call a FAILURE!

We came across a very inspirational video and comment on Dean Hunt's Blog.  It discusses how failure can be far more important than success, if you can improve and learn from it at the same time.  The video uses some of the worlds most influential and successful people to demonstrate this carefully considered point.  The key mesage is: Don't be afraid to fail, just make sure you fail better each time!  Take a look and be inspired...

TEAM APT!

On Sunday, staff members from apt marketing & pr raised over £1200 (and counting) for the Acorns Children’s Hospice! ‘Team apt’ launched themselves down a 150ft high zip wire from the top of Eastnor Castle, to raise the essential funds.  Now we're busy thinking of what we can do next!

Here's a video clip of the event.

Good Airtime!

apt marketing and pr have come across a very clever and interesting advertising technique that has been taken on by the likes of Disney. It has been invented by the co-founders of SnowMasters Inc, creators of fake snow for Hollywood films.

‘Flogos’ are the company’s latest venture- a corporate logo in the form of a floating cloud.  Made of environmentally friendly foam, the logos can be as large as 4 feet wide and then released into the air where they can reach up to 20,000 feet, after which they'll disperse into bubbles.  Walt Disney will be using it next month to make Mickey Mouse-shaped clouds at Walt Disney World in Florida.  What a great idea…weather depending of course!