Thursday, March 27, 2008
TAC proves that advertising can shift cultural norms.
After listening to a podcast of Peter and Colin, I thought about the amazing role TAC has played in driving cultural change within Australian society. Drink Driving was something that was embedded in Australian culture and it was not until the great ‘If you drink then drive you’re a bloody idiot’ campaigns that Victorians started to change their behaviour.
Their latest ads on wearing motorcycling protective gear are great too. As a person outside the target market (I dont own a Harley yet!) I have still been affected by these ads, I am now more aware of what motorcyclist are wearing.
For more on marketing and cultural change listen to this podcast from Peter and Colin
Saturday, October 6, 2007
Here is the first lesson from Symbols of Australia
As much as marketers like to think about Consumer Involvement as this new marketing technique it is not. The story of the Australian icon Vegemite is testament that this technique has been around for years.
‘In 1910, the popular English spread Marmite was registered in Australia. Made from beef extract, the product is still in exsistence today. In early 1923, Fred Walker, an enterprising general merchant produced a vegetable extract. To position it in direct compeititon with Marmite, he called it Parwill: ‘Marmite-mother might, Parwill- father will.
The brand didn’t take on and Walker assumed it may have had something to do with the name. Late 1923 he conducted a competition to rename it. The result was Vegemite, which Walker duly registered.’
A recent example that comes to mind of the food industry using this consumer involvement in the product naming is the Name It Burger competition from McDonalds. Link here.
In the picture above is a Vegemite ad from 1923 and a bottle from 1950 and one from the 1980’s.
