BUS 572-4: Targeting Stories for Sales, Maximizing your Position

I love stories; the human element is enthralling & unpredictable. While a story captivates your attention, it also sells. Marketers of course know this & use it all the time. What do you do to revitalize a brand whose hero & namesake is no longer as visible to new generations?  You tell a new story, insert new characters and then find a way to make it self sustaining. The successful campaign launched by the marketing agency, Weiden+Kennedy, New York promoted the Jordan Brand via the character Leroy Smith and very targeted keyword advertising on the Google Display Network. Banner ads, display & text ads and links to a web site housing a motivational infomercial created buzz, intrigue and conversations about the brand itself. Though there was a great deal of potential in the six week campaign premise itself, if ads were not targeted at those who would be receptive (fan sites, basketball enthusiast blogs etc.), it might have fallen flat. 

Are you interested now? Do you want to know more about Leroy Smith? What lessons can you take from this campaign to hyper target your key audience? What character, image or tool would you use to create interest in your client’s web site or product if you were an ad agency? Does this make you re-consider the keywords you have selected?

This concept is further strengthened by the Google Display Network videos assigned for this week. Placement targeting allows an advertiser to be very specific in targeting their audience. The Leroy Smith campaign would be compatible with the sports and entertainment categories on the Google Display Network (GDN) Reserve. It is possible to target a niche within a larger interest set- these are the basketball blogs identified for targeting by the Leroy Smith campaign.Who is your real target-how specific would you like to get? 

 

In this week, the skill set gained is perhaps more a consideration of all the tools available for a well funded and extended campaign than a specific skill. Given unlimited funds I might utilize the GDN for awareness of Literary Arts Boom (LAB)-Would a Poetry Slam team like to volunteer with a teen poetry workshop given the knowledge that LAB offers them? Would a blog targeting Pittsburgh Teachers attract more teachers to book field trips to the LAB for their classes? Will local philanthropic writers donate funds to keep the LAB offering free classes?