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Oct 15, 2009 by Mark MaierIt doesn't matter what kind of property you work with, Broadcast, Interactive, Print, Mobile...we are all after cooler talk, the buzz generated that makes people talk about your property. I have seen some pretty great stunts to generate cooler talk and have been involved in my share of trying to create it, but Pepsi's AMP gave us a look at the new generation of PR with the new iPhone App that they released. "AMP Up Before You Score" is the title and we are not talking about football here. Steve Smith from The Mobile Insider gives an apt description...
"We are in an age of manufactured controversy,
trendy political incorrectness, and upside-down PR. A mobile app that
characterizes the female population into 24 "types" (Tree Hugger,
Dancer, Princess, Goth, Out-of-Your-League Girl, etc.) is actually
getting more granular than a lot of the serious demographic analyses of
Americans out there. On the other hand, I don't think the Prizm
segments come with little check boxes to indicate whether you "got
lucky" with one of the categories. Public response is no help at all in
determining the real score with AMP's guide to helping men "score" with
women. The 1,100 or so votes in the App store are radically divided
between those who give the app five stars and those who trash it with
one. Pepsi offered a non-apology apology via Twitter the other day.
"Our app tried 2 show the humorous lengths guys go 2 pick up women. We
apologize if it's in bad taste & appreciate your feedback. #pepsifail"
But as a way of bringing life and fresh
imagination to a branded app, it is laudable. This app does some things
very well. It maintains its barroom back-of-the-napkin style throughout
and never kicks you out of the app to access data feeds or maps. Even
the map indicators are hand-circled Xs. The information itself is quite
clever -- in that informative trivia kind of way. For the Sorority
Girl, you get an index that helps you identify Greek Letters. The
profile for a "Married" woman has a diamond ring gauge to determine how
rich her husband is and a map of local motels. Come on. That is kind of
funny. "
The most tasteless piece of the App is the "Brag" button that allows users to make notes on conquests and post to Facebook, Twitter, and send it out as e-mail. Not exactly the kind of thing you would like to find your own name on or your daughters.
The App created Cooler Talk and probably will for a while, so do you think the executives are secretly happy that they were able to create the market buzz....I think so but what does it do for the brand? That is hard to say but if you can be edgy without offending a major portion of the buying public and it brings you Top of Mind Awareness than maybe it was worth it...the big test is at the cash register. I have always held the belief that you are much better to take the high road and not offend a major portion of your audience with any stunt, the risks are just too big. I do want Cooler Talk, but you have to be the judge of what works in your market.
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