Madison & Vine

1.What does the phrase Madison & Vine mean to promotional strategy? Madison & Vine means a term that has come to represent the merging of advertising and entertainment in an effort to break through the clutter and create new avenues for reaching customers with more engaging messages. As to promotional strategy, it means promotion has to be creative and attractive, so that customers will be interested.

2. What is Kevin Roberts referring to with the term Lovemarks? Give an example of one from our discussions in class. Lovemarks, that are products or services that “inspire loyalty beyond reason.” Customers don’t just like these brands, they have strong emotional connections. For example, people are willing to drive to another city just to get an In-N-Out Burger.

3. What is the purpose of webisodes in today’s promotional environment? Today’s consumers, armed with an arsenal of weapons, can choose what they watch and don’t watch. Increasingly, they are choosing not to watch ads. Advertisers are creating new advertising forms that look less like ads and more like short films or shows. A range of new brand messaging platforms—from Webisodes and blogs to viral videos and apps—now blur the line between ads and entertainment. The purpose is to preventing consumers from skipping advertisements, and on the contrary, watch the advertisements for fun.

4.What does Dr. Rapaille mean by The Code? Why are some products off-code? The code means the unconscious meaning people give to a particular product, service or relationship.

5. Why does the Director of Marketing for American Express see TV advertising as “paying more for diminishing returns?” In traditional businesses, growth beyond some point usually leads to diminishing returns: Acquiring new customers becomes harder as fewer people, not more, find the firm’s value proposition appealing. Fewer and fewer people are watching television now. And almost everyone knows American Express.