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marketing posts

Systemax relaunches Circuit City's website, this time with feeling

by Darren Murph, posted May 23rd 2009 at 5:56PM

After shelling out some $6.5 million, you had to know that Systemax planned on doing something with Circuit City's trademarks and internet domain names. As of today, CircuitCity.com is back and better than ever, carrying on the legacy of a name that became synonymous with overpriced consumer electronics for nearly six decades. Of course, this doesn't mean that any Circuit City retail stores will be re-opening, but at least the brand is living on in the world wide web. The wonders of the internet: I Can Has Cheezburger?, Twitter and the continuation of an icon that would otherwise be six feet underground.

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

Hilco / Gordon Brothers acquires Polaroid brand, assets and dignity

by Darren Murph, posted Apr 17th 2009 at 8:41AM

After filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy (again) in December of last year, Polaroid may have just made its last shakeable memory. Today, the Federal Bankruptcy court for the district of Minnesota has approved a motion for "substantially all the assets of Polaroid, including the Polaroid brand, intellectual property, inventory and other assets," to be acquired by Hilco Consumer Capital and Gordon Brothers Brands. If those names sound familiar, have a cookie on us. You see, this very same joint venture picked up The Sharper Image around this time last year, and while it's still unclear what these suits plan to do with the 72 year-old name, we are told that it doesn't plan on shelving it anytime soon. In fact, it's hoping to "partner with a number of global institutions in the ongoing development of the Polaroid brand." Personally, we would've used "revival" rather than "development," but we'll refrain from bursting any bubbles here.

Systemax snaps up Circuit City's brand and domain name

by Darren Murph, posted Apr 13th 2009 at 6:33PM

Just like it did in January of last year, Systemax is snapping up leftovers from a now-defunct national consumer electronics retailer. As part of the post-bankruptcy proceedings, Circuit City Stores Incorporated recently closed a deal that'll net it $6.5 million. The price for the coinage? Systemax taking control of its trademarks and internet domain names. Circuit City stated in the filing that the sale of its intellectual property and internet assets would bring "significant recovery for the sellers' estates and creditors," and we're also told that Circuit City would be able to snag an unspecified share of sales from the brand name. Look out, Best Buy -- we hear Systemax has eyes for you, too.

[Thanks, Sid]

Video: LG's LGenius presentation lays out totally fake, remarkable TV advancements

by Darren Murph, posted Mar 28th 2009 at 3:01AM

Not that we haven't seen completely off-the-wall viral marketing ads before (including one from LG, in fact), but this one just takes the proverbial cake. In a perfectly staged LGenius presentation, we're informed about a few astounding up and coming TV advancements. The first one intelligently replaces all swear words with baby laughter or eerie silence, while the "Happy Time" feature automatically detects when a program is too sad for one's health and adds random images of cute puppies and kittens. Finally, the "Family Time" feature turns any sensual scene into one with cartoon characters, making even the steamiest bedroom romance seem perfectly acceptable for innocent eyes. Seriously, this one has to be seen to be believed -- mash that play button and have a gander.

[Thanks, Kellen]

Norwegian ski billboard gets snowy when texted

by Darren Murph, posted Mar 25th 2009 at 2:19AM

We've certainly seen mobile-activated bus stop ads before, but the cool factor on this one was just too impressive to overlook. Tryvann Winter Park, a ski resort that sits just 15 minutes away from downtown Oslo, was searching high and low for ways to better market itself to residents of the bustling Norwegian city. In order to do so, it turned to JCDecaux, who conjured up the brilliant idea you see to the right. Essentially, this advertisement packs a few internal fans and a bucketful of faux snow; whenever it starts snowing up at the ski resort, someone sends a text to the billboard and the flurries start to fly. This way, residents and workers in Oslo can easily see when conditions are good some 500 meters up. We're told that Tryvann "loved" the campaign and the resulting crowds that came, though there's no mention of whether it'll be implemented next season or elsewhere in the world.

[Via textually, thanks Charles]

Takara Tomy Xiao printer-camera excretes prints

by Darren Murph, posted Dec 27th 2008 at 3:38PM

We never knew that cameras could be constipated, nor that excrement could be framed, but apparently Takara Tomy knows better than us.

Microsoft to push cool factor with retro-inspired clothing line

by Darren Murph, posted Dec 6th 2008 at 2:26PM

It's actually kind of amazing how much dough Microsoft has spent over the past little while in an attempt to polish its image in the minds of the general populace, and as if those "I'm proud to be a PC" and completely incomprehensible Gates / Seinfeld spots weren't enough, the Redmond-based outfit is about to roll out its own clothing line (dubbed "Softwear") this month. And no, we're not kidding. Not even a little. Microsoft has purchased the assistance of Crispin Porter & Bogusky in order to ensure the results are actually desirable, and it has also hired rapper Common as a spokesman. We can't definitively say the shirt you see above is as fly as Pharrell's Gizmondo Enzo tee, but we'd rock it. We'd rock it hard.

[Via Boy Genius Report]

LG: 'Life isn't that good right now'

by Paul Miller, posted Oct 28th 2008 at 7:28PM

With economic-downturn on everyone's minds, LG's director of marketing plans on downplaying the company's ubiquitous "Life's Good" slogan. Time for Lucky GoldStar to make a comeback? Nothing says "recession proof" like a quasi off-brand cereal name.

[Thanks, ugotamesij]

IMMI tracks ad exposure / effectiveness via cellphone, trips privacy alarms everywhere

by Darren Murph, posted Oct 15th 2008 at 10:59PM

Hunker down and find that tin foil cap, pronto! Privacy advocates, we've a new target for you to bang on: Integrated Media Measurement. The 4,900-person media research company is looking to take advertising measurement to a whole new level (or new low, as it were) by embedding tracking modules within cellphones. In short, the module picks up audio from ads and records information about the exposure; in the future, if you were to purchase whatever product you heard about (like seeing a movie that was plugged), it would register a hit and deem you a sucker. As of now, the only testers with these freaky phones are individuals who signed up for this stuff, but you better believe major marketing firms (and TV / movie studios in particular) are perking their ears up and begging to know more.

[Image courtesy of Corbis, thanks ugotamesij]

NVIDIA rumored (again) to be renaming its GPU lineup in the name of simplicity

by Darren Murph, posted Sep 26th 2008 at 10:27AM

We won't even begin to suggest that NVIDIA is the only company out there with, shall we say, less than crystal clear naming schemes, but we're really hoping the latest whispers (which we've heard once before) about the outfit are true. TG Daily has it that undisclosed "industry sources" have suggested that the GPU maker will be dropping the 8000- and 9000-series names in an effort to simplify the model tags that appear on its products. Instead of breaking into the 10k+ club, the outfit will purportedly resort to using simple(r) letter prefixes to denote performance levels: "G" for baseline, "GS" and "GT" for mid-range and "GTX" for high-end. We're told that the new naming arrangement could be revealed officially as early as October 15th, but 'til then, we'd recommend doing some hefty research before buying something you only thought could run Crysis.

[Via Electronista]

Mildly frightening Verizon promo video gets employees hype for BlackBerry Storm

by Darren Murph, posted Sep 15th 2008 at 10:46PM

Hey, bet you'd like to know that Verizon Wireless' Mike (you know, from Minute with Mike) thinks the BlackBerry Storm is going to "crush the competition." He also expects his sales team to "take the world by storm." He also states that this handset's screen is "built to be the most responsive of its time." Oh, but he totally neglects to mention a price and / or release date. Thanks Mike. Thanks a lot. Full mind-numbing episode is after the jump.

Continue reading Mildly frightening Verizon promo video gets employees hype for BlackBerry Storm

Sony Ericsson goes viral with Xperia X1 marketing

by Joshua Topolsky, posted Sep 11th 2008 at 10:31AM

Sony Ericsson is taking the viral route on marketing with its forthcoming Xperia X1, launching a new "alternative reality thriller" centered around a mysterious character named Johnny X. There's not much meat in the video the company is desperately trying to sneak into your daily YouTube diet, but at least we get to see action-packed chases, Memento-stealing plot points of the highest order, and one weird, seemingly backmasked utterance of "Johneeeeeeeeeee... X!" Hit the read link for the full clip, and check out another video after the break which helps to unravel the mystery.

[Via Pocket-lint]

Continue reading Sony Ericsson goes viral with Xperia X1 marketing

Windows Gurus to infiltrate retail stores, tell you why Vista rules

by Darren Murph, posted Sep 6th 2008 at 11:57AM

In case you missed the completely baffling Gates / Seinfeld ad, here's the skinny: Microsoft is getting serious about polishing the tarnished Vista brand (its words, not ours). According to new reports, that aforementioned spot is just the beginning of Redmond's costly push to "change consumers' perception of Windows," and soon you'll be seeing Microsoft Gurus in your favorite B&M locations. These so-called experts will be there to "explain the benefits of Windows," but we're not sure if they'll only be around to answer inquiries or if they'll be actively approaching you in an uncomfortable attempt to talk about Aero and ReadyBoost. We're hearing that some 155 representatives will be deployed before the year's end at stores like Best Buy and Circuit City, so at least you now know where not to shop if you're terrified of confrontation.

[Via Electronista, image courtesy of StarBulletin]

Maria Sharapova and Canon to give away diamond-clad SD1100 ISs

by Darren Murph, posted Aug 21st 2008 at 5:31PM

Maria Sharapova has already had her greatness spread over a number of Motorola handsets, but now the tennis queen is partnering up with long-time associate Canon in order to make five lucky individuals extraordinarily happy. As part of an elaborate marketing scheme, Canon and Maria (but mostly Canon) are cranking up a contest in which five Canon PowerShot SD1100 IS's are given away. But these aren't just any SD1100 ISs -- these are diamond-encrusted editions worth around $12,000 apiece. No word on whether Maria will actually touch the cameras before they're shipped out, but a boy can dream.

[Via Luxist]

Japan to push its whiz-bang handsets overseas

by Darren Murph, posted Aug 20th 2008 at 1:32AM

With Japanese handset sales declining pretty much across the board (thanks, lower subsidies!), it follows logic that the government and Japanese-based handset makers would look internationally to pick up the slack. In a rather vague report, we're told that the nation is hoping to push its technologically advanced mobiles in other countries, though it'll have a tough time marketing mobile TV without sufficient infrastructure. One of the token handsets chosen to lead the parade is a Sony-made "wallet phone," which is only described as having cashless technology built in. Color us (very) mildly enthused.