Free Coffee

Hurry up and get your free coffee courtesy of Yahoo.

As a promotional gift to its TV, radio, and movie theater blitz, Yahoo will offer coupons for a free cup of coffee at Dunkin' Donuts to anyone who sets Yahoo.com as their home page by tomorrow.

The multimillion dollar campaign is to reinforce its strong cutting edge technology with improvements like its home page makeover, an e-mail upgrade and a service that enables users to tap into their collective knowledge to find answers to tough questions.

Yahoo has been struggling to catch up with Google in the online search market, and it's also battling perceptions that startups such as MySpace.com have become hipper places to hang out.
Meanwhile, Microsoft and Time Warner's AOL are spending heavily to lure traffic away from Yahoo.

I've seen the changes at Yahoo, and I'm seriously considering making my Yahoo my primary personal email service and homepage. Right now I have a hotmail account, that I've had for years, and a My MSN homepage. Both don't seem to offer near the services that Yahoo offers.

For now, I'll at least enjoy a free cup of coffee.

Photo by ttaulli.

Categories: Yahoo Homepage Media Blitz Free Dunkin' Donuts Coffee

Gamers: More Attentive to Ads

Well it looks like playing video games can be a good thing after all - at least for marketers. According to MediaPostPublications, gamers, who account for approximately 17% of the adult population, consume an above-average amount of media and tend to be well-disposed toward product placement in movies and TV.

Characteristics of the adult gamer:

• Spend an average of 2 hours a week online more than the average adult.
• Spend an hour more than average watching DVDs each week - many of them probably subscribing to NetFlix.
• More receptive to celebrity spokespeople and product placement.
• More likely to think of themselves as trendsetters.
• More likely to remember the name of the last brand.

Filed In: Gamer Marketing Advertising Brand Product Placement

What's Next...Reality Commercials

Well it looks like we've moved into the next phase of "what's next." You've heard of reality TV, but have you heard of reality commercials?

I just saw an TV commercial for a reality commercial, the Brawny Academy, sponsored by Brawny paper towels.

The Brawny Academy features eight men that have been sent there, by their wives, for the host, Brawny, to make them more thoughtful, helpful and romantic. The men live together, compete against one another, and even share their bad habits with one another at a burning recliner ceremony all while wearing their Brawny t-shirts.

The TV commercial refers the public to its web site. In addition to watching the eight episodes, the site also offers "Woodsy Wisdom" on such subjects like:

• Staying manly
• Wife appreciation
• Staying positive
• Hygiene
• Getting along
• Respecting nature
• Home protection
• Mental strength
• Just listening
• Wooing

As eye rolling the concept maybe, at least the creators made it humorous. Seriously though, I'd be real interested in learning about the success of this new initiative.

Filed In: Reality TV Commercial Brawny Academy Advertising