"Coke Lore"

With the Holiday Season now essentially behind us and everyone focusing on the arrival of the next decade, I am consumed by thoughts of the origins of the most beloved symbol of this season...Santa Claus. A seemingly peculiar subject for a marketing blog to some, it may come as quite a surprise to learn that this year marks the 78th anniversary of the modern-day Santa Claus!

According to "Coke Lore", in the beginning, depictions of St. Nicholas, the Bishop of Myra, varied widely. Gradually, they were refined and evolved from many stories from countries around the world until finally, in 1931, the depiction of the large, jolly, and benevolent elderly man in his red suit was created by artist Haddon Sundblom and incorporated into Coca Cola magazine ads.

For decades afterwards, Sundblom's portraits further solidified the modern-day image of Santa Claus in the hearts and minds of people young and old the world over and were the foundation of the Coca-Cola ads which featured "Santa delivering (and playing!) with toys, pausing to read a letter and enjoy a Coke, playing with children who stayed up to greet him and raiding the refrigerators at a number of homes."

The Coca-Cola Company even reports that those years where discrepancies in this representation of Santa Claus were noted, they were inundated with feedback from customers: "People loved the Coca-Cola Santa images and paid such close attention to them, that when anything changed, they sent letters to The Coca-Cola Company. One year, Santa's large belt was backwards (perhaps because artist Haddon Sundblom used himself as a model and painted by looking in a mirror). Another year, Santa Claus appeared without a wedding ring, causing fans to write asking what happened to Mrs. Claus."

While I am well aware of the impact that effective advertising can have on the target market, I was astonished to learn that the Coca-Cola Christmas campaigns had such a profound impact on contemporary culture. Today, though no longer appearing in Coca-Cola commercials, Santa Claus can be seen spreading his message of commercialism and kindness for other companies around the world.

Thanks to the Coca-Cola Company , Santa Claus has emerged as a symbol of consumerism and the Christmas spirit. Children of all faiths and nationalities recognize his famous "Ho Ho Ho!", pack the streets along their respective Santa Claus Parade routes with their families and friends to celebrate the commencement of the Christmas season, and arrive in droves at their local shopping centers to have their pictures taken with him and ask for something special.

Though they cannot take responsibility for the conception of Santa Claus, there is no denying the role The Coca-Cola Company's advertisements and efforts played in his emergence as the "icon of contemporary commercial culture" we all know and love.

**information provided by http://www.thecoca-colacompany.com/heritage/cokelore_santa.html and http://www.stnicholascenter.org/Brix?pageID=35

Common misconceptions about marketing

Ever since I decided to pursue a career in marketing, I was astounded by the ambiguity that surrounds the discipline and those who practice it. To paraphrase the most common misconceptions, it would appear that marketing is perceived as the act of convincing someone to do something they would not do otherwise. Sadly, I have spent as much time defending my craft, as I have studying it, and this got me thinking. I came to a startling revelation. Most people have no idea what marketing is, and what a marketer does!

Most people equate marketing with advertising and sales because the latter are both common elements of most marketing strategies, and those to which they have direct exposure. However, marketing as a whole, is a much more complex and involved discipline. Marketing is the act of conveying a clear, honest and concise message to a well-defined, well-researched and targeted audience.

Good marketers will often begin the marketing process by becoming familiar with the product or service that is to be the focus of the campaign. Who will use it? Why will they use it? How will they use it? Most importantly, what sets it apart from competing offerings?

Once the answers to these questions are established, the next phase is to gain an in-depth understanding of the answer to who will use it. Who are these people? What are their likes and dislikes? Where do they shop? How do they spend their time? What publications do they read?

These insights will ultimately form the basis of all marketing strategy decisions from this point forward. Every tactic (including sales and advertisements) is designed to make sure that the right message is reaching the right people where they need it, when they need it, and how they want it.

Effective marketing is capable of capturing the popular imagination, raising the collective consciousness of the intended audience, and inspiring a specific action. The mix of marketing elements selected for a campaign has the ability to unite people towards a common goal, effortlessly identify and solve a defined problem and provide the essentials for informed decision-making.

Thus, marketing (contrary to popular belief) is not akin to sales or advertising, nor a form of blatant manipulation, but rather the result of careful study of both product and audience and the implementation of creative and captivating strategies to deliver pertinent information about the former to the latter so as to elicit a specific response.

A big cheer to Cheerios!

If ever there was an example of integrated marketing communications (IMC) done right, let the Cheerios "Send A Cheer to Our Athletes" campaign be it! For years, I have watched as various companies have attempted to integrate their online marketing efforts into their overall marketing strategies with varying degrees of success...

CNN incorporates their television presence with their website, CNN Mobile, podcasts and social media outlets like Twitter and Facebook to reach their audience while also increasing viewer participation through iReports.

Molson Canadian launched the Molson Canadian Facebook Photo Contest Campaign which required facebook members to submit photos to enter a draw for a trip to Cancun. Unfortunately, the campaign was seen as promoting irresponsible drinking and was cancelled only after the company realized the detrimental impact and repercussions of this campaign on the brand and their image.

While both are examples of integrated marketing communications, the former can be seen as a long-term, well defined marketing strategy while the latter can be perceived as an attempt at exploiting social media. Not so with the Cheerios "Send A Cheer to Our Athletes" campaign.

VANOC (the Vancouver Olympic Comittee) and General Mills got together with the goal of generating interest and enthusiasm for the Olympic Games and support for our Olympic athletes. Expanding on these themes was a new box design and multiple websites. The culmination of this campaign (set to run until the Olympics begin in February) will be a cheer wall in the Olympic Village. If you have not seen the commercial, click here, or to send your cheer, pick up a box of Cheerios or visit www.sendyourcheer.ca.

What makes this campaign so remarkable is the incorporation of so many marketing elements and strategies. From printed material (new boxes), to advertising (TV, radio, print), to online media (websites), to a unique partnership with Canada Post, to the launch of the "Aspiring Olympian" program, this campaign truly solidifies General Mills Canada as a proudly Canadian operation and supporter of our Olympic athletes!

For the first time I truly feel that we, as marketers, now have something against which we can measure ourselves and our results. We now have an example of truly effective, commercially-driven, integrated marketing communications! To VANOC, Dale Storey, Jason Doolan, and the entire General Mills marketing team, I say congratulations on a campaign well run!