FP12 fi nancialpost.com , FRIDAY, JULY 22, 2011 FPMARKETING Fledgling carrier aims to boost brand presence with spokescharacters Aliens ‘natural fi t’ for

is responsible for the creative B Y H OLLIE SHAW brand campaign, which in- cludes TV and online ads, pokescharacters are point of sale, digital and radio. an easy and obvious A contest to name way to connect an the aliens launched this week audience with a brand and closes Sunday. Swithout the potential draw- “ We actually looked at backs of celebrity spokes- spokespeople who would be people — popularity declines, a good fit for the brand,” Mr. embarrassing moral lapses Booth said. The company — not to mention the expense. considered creating a char- Like jingles, spokescharac- acter rather than using an ters have a way of sticking in actual person and ended up people’s minds, for better or with aliens, which tie in with worse. For every adored brand the carrier’s new tag line, ambassador such as the Old ‘Now that’s smart,’ he said. Spice guy, there are the polar- “Aliens tend to be seen izing figures: the Canadian as smart, advanced, for- Tire couple and the Taco Bell ward-thinking, technically dog; or the Bell beavers, which advanced, higher life forms memorably claimed the top [with] better decision-mak- spot simultaneously on both ing [skills]. It just came down the most-liked and most-hated to a very natural fit as a way ads list on Leger Marketing’s to talk to consumers, and regular Marketing magazine that two of them could tell a poll before their official de- story in a fun and engaging mise three years ago. fashion.” Now, one-year-old Mobil- He said there was no fear icity, an upstart wire- about the potential for con- less company seeking to make sumers having divided opin- a more indelible brand pres- ions on the spokescharacters. ence in , has come out “A lot of spokescharacters with its own spokescharacters tend to be very successful, strategy with a pair of un- but some of the missing links named aliens. for people [have to do with] Anthony Booth, chief cus- whether there is a real con- tomer officer at Mobilicity, nection back to the brand. said the carrier’s initial mar- I would never speak ill of a keting had focused so exclu- company like Bell, but [that sively on the low-price offer- was] one of the questions for CNW GROUP / MOBILICITY ing and service, that there me around the beavers. When A Facebook contest to name Mobilicity’s aliens was launched this week and closes Sunday. was little else people thought I think about a beaver and I of the company. In a segment take a beaver on its own, why does that tell me anything about Bell? What does it say about Bell? It is hard for me AD MISSIONS to draw that connection.” You need to find If there is any downfall to using a spokescharacter or something that spokesperson, he said, it is that the figure in question would connect needs to work and embody Facebook fans to drive Volkswagen ad with consumers a message and point of view even if the actual message is Red Urban’s “Drive Until” television ads for the the right mix of ingredients. Curious to see how the next missed by consumers. Two of these are great images chapters will unfold bringing that focuses a lot of advertis- “Even if [consumers] don’t Volkswagen Golf, Part 1 and Part 2, have been getting to capture the viewer’s eye, together the user content, the ing around pricing and plans, remember anything that is attention for memorable soundtracks and for the intrigue the other is adopting the right agency filters and the client Mobilicity, which operates in said, how does [an advertiser] about Part 3. For the final part of the trilogy, the agency soundtrack to evoke emo- bravery. Be brave Volkswagen. Toronto, , , use that person or character collaborated with Facebook fans of Volkswagen to create tion. These two vignette spots Be brave. Wish there was a and , lacked to short-circuit consumers the script, choose a cast and pick music for the ad. The fully captured the view and LOVE+ button. an identity that resonated into making an instantan- Ad Missions team takes a spin on Parts 1 and 2, entitled emotions of real life through with consumers. That became eous connection with the beautiful photography and is president of “Courage” and “Time.” Part 3 was crowd-sourced, filmed ❚ Chris Hall more pressing when larger brand. With the aliens, even if direction by Jean-Michel Toronto ad agency Huxley carriers began to muscle into none of the messages breaks last week and will air in the coming weeks Ravon and Red Urban Toron- Quayle von Bismark. Mobilicity’s unlimited-talk- through, you can translate to. If the two spots “Courage” I have bought Volkswagens and-text turf last year; Rogers the inherent things about ❚ Henry Wong is creative dir- you to point B, it’s about get- and “Time” are the start to the when they weren’t the best debuted and Bell Can- them quite quickly back to ector at Toronto-based agency ting you to points in your life. campaign, which will unfold deal out there, and I have ada relaunched its wireless the type of business we are Tenzing Communications in a series of chapters, it will changed jobs for the chance Solo brand. and the brand.” Volkswagen Golf: Gets you ❚ Anthony Kalamut is a pro- be a best seller. And now call- to work on the Volkswagen “This is a very competitive Branding consultant Andris from A to B. Check. Gets you fessor, program chairman and ing upon the very loyal and business. Why? Because of space, very fast-moving, and Pone, chief namer at Andris from A to B reliably. Check. chief enthusiasm officer of the deeply passionate Volkswagen their advertising. Volkswagen like a lot of brands you need and Associates Brand Nam- Gets you from A to B while Creative Advertising Program nation to come along for the has had a long history of in- to find something that would ing in Toronto, has a different enjoying the drive. Double at Seneca College Toronto. ride by writing the next chap- novative creative advertising connect with consumers,” Mr. point of view. check. It’s a checklist for the It’s taught at every level of ters via Facebook will add the and has built a brand that Booth said. “When I came in “ It is almost beside the campaign as much as it is for film and ad schools that to be authenticity too often miss- not only supports and dem- about three months ago the point whether aliens are in- the car. The commercials take a great storyteller you need ing in serial ad campaigns. onstrates a good product, but focus was very traditional, trinsically more relevant to a you on a journey of simple stands up for that product problem/solution-type adver- wireless brand than beavers driving pleasure that arrive when things like longer prod- tising, and it was very clear to are,” he said. “What really to a nice destination. And in uct cycles, high fuel prices, me that we needed to actually matters is whether the cre- this case, a nice destination or competitive discounting build a lot of equity in the brand ative execution can make of emotional fulfillment. All comes into play. My feeling and give consumers a way to them so. Although the rel- you need to add is a dose of has been that they had re- connect [with it]. I think a lot evance of the beaver to Bell’s music: thank you Jesus and cently lost their grip on this of brands go through the same brand was never made espe- Mary Chain. Thank you Wave exclusive territory. This could iteration. We really haven’t cially clear, the spokesbeavers Machines. Here the music have happened when they changed anything about the were amazingly successful does more than supply a abandoned the idea of “Driv- brand or the product.” at creating awareness. The head-bobbing soundtrack. It ers wanted” for what is now Enter the aliens, which ac- challenge for Mobilicity is to actually captures the feeling “Das Auto.” Since then, some cording to Mobilicity’s back bring to life that “smart” pos- of being along for the ride. Car car companies have been story, hail from the Taran- itioning — which does seem copywriters say it is as much “out-Volkswagening” them. tula Nebula. The female is different in this space — over about the journey as it is the This “drive until” campaign is pink and perky; the male is a long period of time.” destination. And for VW, they good, and could start them on green, diminutive and rotund. Financial Post have shown quite nicely that the road back to where they Sharpe Blackmore Euro RSCG [email protected] it is about more than getting Red Urban’s “Drive Until” TV ads for Volkswagen. belong.

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