Documentary Marketing, World Cup and Brand Refreshing – 2Q10

With a higher marketing and advertising budget than any other event in company history and over 230 hours of related programming, ESPN’s efforts supporting the 2010 FIFA World Cup comprise a comprehensive, multi-platform campaign across traditional, integrated, and social media.In addition to their national TV and digital strategies, the company’s widespread print and outdoor efforts feature thirty-three original murals depicting the unique story and history of each participating country.Following an 80% jump in viewers from the 2002 to the 2006 games, the massive efforts support an additional expected increase in viewers of 25-50%. FIFA’s official partners and sponsors, including Adidas, Coca-Cola, Visa, Sony, McDonalds, and Budweiser, are also contributing campaigns, while unofficial endorsers are forced to engage in controversial ambush marketing to participate in the marketing craze.

Inside the Industry

It’s hard to argue that Facebook marketing isn’t here to stay. A Facebook page is quickly becoming a necessary complement to many companies’ online branding strategy. While the platform doesn’t have the branding and design user experience that a traditional website delivers, it certainly is convenient way to instantly reach and push content out to all those who “Like” your page. It is also easy to maintain and update, from almost anywhere. But that doesn’t mean anyone should do it! Instant distribution certainly is a powerful feature, but to maximize the impact of your Facebook marketing, it should be integrated and managed as part of your overall marketing plan and messaging strategy. It may make sense to get professional help, as we currently manage the social networking platforms for several clients across multiple industries. This includes a recent launch of green documentary called Happy Planet, which also featured the song of our musician client, showing another powerful benefit of social marketing platforms.

News from Inside Articulation

Articulation recently underwent efforts to refresh elements of their own brand. Focusing on the website homepage and the portfolio of work, the visual update maintains the same color palette and style long associated with the firm’s core identity, while implementing a bold new design to emphasize recent work and successes. It is important to periodically revisit your branding strategy to ensure that your visual identity evolves as your company does. Adjustments to your look, when consistent with the overall brand, can take advantage of new services, features, and technologies, as well as repositioning your firm to reflect current focus, goals and offerings. A brand refresh can also serve as a new and interesting touch point to reach out to past and current clients and prospects.

Current Projects

Throughout the second quarter, the Articulation development team worked extensively to build a robust, customized inventory and product management system for a fashion design firm. Originally charged with automating what was a half-day process to develop materials into just three clicks, the platform was built on top of the Magento online sales management system and includes both front-end sales support as well as back-end inventory control. Housing nearly a thousand unique pieces, the application aggregates all product-specific information, from wholesale and retail prices, to descriptions, quantities, locations, and imagery. To maximize the utility of the system, the team developed and implemented several distinct capabilities to fit the needs of the client. The additional features enable the company to instantly create branded line sheets for any selection of products, generate unique URLs for each image, and produce multiple levels of password protected segments and log-ins for buyers.