Jaguar takes bite out of Mercedes' Magic Body Control chicken ad

We were quite impressed by Mercedes-Benz when it aired its Magic Body Control commercial, starring a group of suitably funky chickens demonstrating their ability to jive to Diana Ross and the Supremes. Now,Jaguar has taken the opportunity to poke some fun at its German rival, releasing its own take on the Magic Body Control spot, and um, there's a big cat involved.

We aren't sure if "Jaguar vs. Chicken" will make it onto TV any time soon, but it's still fun to see the British brand take the mickey out of Mercedes – it's rare to see automakers go after each other so bluntly in their marketing efforts. 

Apple's Next Big Success Should Be A Failure

Jonathan Salem Baskin

Contributer

Shares of Apple AAPL -0.11% stock are down by more than 5% as analysts of all stripes are opining that the company is long overdue for a big success. They’re wrong. It needs to give us a failure. Something spectacularly bad 
could be just what it needs.

I know we live in ahistorical times, but it’s fascinating how quickly everyone has forgotten what Apple is all about. Sure, it has given the world some great new products and services, but it has also failed. A lot.

Christmas miracle or sickly sweet PR stunt? Emotion, creativity musts for holiday ads: experts

WestJet’s viral video a great example of Christmas marketing, analysts say.

Capturing the magic of the holiday season in an ad can create a Christmas miracle for companies, but hitting all the elements that create that warm, fuzzy feeling can be harder than it looks.

WestJet managed to harness holiday cheer in its latest promotional video. Last month, the airline surprised 250 lucky passengers when they landed with the gifts they asked for just before departure, from socks and underwear to a big-screen TV. The company turned the results into a heartwarming video.

Uploaded overnight Sunday, “WestJet Christmas Miracle: real-time giving” had more than 1,600,000 views by Tuesday afternoon.

“We never imagined that it would be as popular as it is,” said Robert Palmer, WestJet’s manager of public relations. “Obviously we’re thrilled because it’s a way to share the Christmas spirit in the way only WestJet can.”

How a UK road safety video went viral with 5 million views

When Sussex Safer Roads Partnership embarked on a new video project they never imagined that the work would go viral.

But ‘Embrace Life’ has become something of an online phenomenon, watched almost five million times on YouTube and with requests from around the world to licence the work for TV.

“Key to the film's creation was to focus on a message that didn't take a conventional route to shock and scare the audience; rather it was my intention to bring the audience in on the conversation of road safety, specifically seat belts, and the best way to do this was to make a film that could engage the viewer purely visually and could be seen and understood by all, whoever they are and wherever they lived."

How UEFA created 'the home of football' online

The brief

"Football isn't a matter of life and death," legendary Liverpool manager Bill Shankly once said. "It's much more important than that." The website of UEFA, European football's governing body, welcomes some 60million unique - and equally passionate - users per month, who between them account for 210 million page views. Football fever is a global phenomenon: 50% of UEFA's audience lie outside Europe, reflecting the worldwide appeal of club and international competitions such as the Champions League and EURO 2012. Here then was the opportunity to reinvent the UEFA site as the home of football - a multimedia, content-rich site for fans who love the passion and theatre of the beautiful game that is European soccer.

Turkish Airlines engage Londoners with QR codes

Background

Turkish Airlines, the first national airline company of Turkey, was founded in 1933, and has taken its passengers to 200 countries throughout a history of 80 years. In July 2012, it was named "the Best Airline in Europe" for the second time.

The company wanted to further its reputation as a dynamic brand by establishing itself among consumers in the digital world. It chose InMobi to help them achieve this.

Boeing Pays a price for its line in the sand

Shortly before Boeing commercial boss Alan Mulallynamed a new jetliner sales chief in January 2002, he considered whether the company needed someone like the hard-charging John Leahy of Airbus.

The American-born Leahy is brash, aggressive and tenacious. He's a pit bull who doesn't take no for an answer. And he never stops selling Airbus and its airplanes -- or trash-talking the competition. Like him or not, Leahy is largely credited with taking Airbus to the top as the world's No. 1 airplane manufacturer.

How McDonald's Canada built trust and reputation with the help of social media

One of the largest fast food chains in the country, McDonald’s Canada decided to face myths and misconceptions about the brand head on and gave the public a backstage pass on how things work in the company. In the spring of 2012, McDonald’s Canada launched a digital platform called “Our Food. Your Questions.” giving people a chance to ask the company anything about its food.

Does Brand Really Matter?

A recent experiment reveals how brand impacts the conversion process

Marketers often hear of the "power of brand," and organizations spend significant revenue on building brands. But, is this a truly effective approach for increasing conversion?

Watch this Web clinic replay to learn about a recent experiment with one of the largest print news sources in the United States, and how branding impacts the conversion process.

Work Smarter, Not Harder With Your Marketing Strategy

Ensure That Strategy, not Tactics, Drives Your Social Media

There it is again, another new social media network to investigate. The first question you ask yourself: "Do we join or not?" That's potentially followed up with, "Will my boss ask me about this?"

The rapid growth of social media platforms sometimes outpaces the ability of businesses to get their arms around how best to use it. Before you can use a new channel, you must create a strategy around it. But many marketers struggle with how to create strategies.

In organizations, stakeholders often discuss logistics and tactics rather than strategies: "Who is going to post this to Facebook," or "We should tweet this out from the corporate handle versus the product." That approach is futile for one simple reason: Without a comprehensive, clear strategy, your tactics will never achieve your goals.

12 Tenets of Content Creation

When thinking about content marketing, we often have visions of SEO bliss and customers lining up to buy our products. But such thoughts fade quickly when we're down to the nitty-gritty of producing measurable results from our actions.

The problem isn't that producing high-quality content is difficult... because it isn't: There are lots of fantastic content creators out there, and even better tools to create with. The real issue is that most of the content we're creating isn't answering the questions our customers are asking. Our strategies are all wrong.

It's all too easy to go down the "we are amazing" path of content creation, producing content that's self-promotional, geared for driving clicks, or—worse—content that's not really valuable to your target audience. There's a huge difference between random people reading your stuff and a highly targeted tribe of consumers engaging with your content. Customers want what they've always wanted: someone they can trust.