KFC: Kindess From the Colonel?

KFC’s Colonel Sanders has temporarily left the world of fried chicken to instead fill in potholes.  Following the recent trend of cause-marketing, the company is now helping local governments by fixing their streets.  In return, KFC can market their “Fresh Tastes Best” campaign by stamping “Re-freshed by KFC” on the freshly laid pavement.

45828402.jpg

The current economic landscape provides the perfect opportunity for corporations to stand out by connecting with local communities in a meaningful, helpful way.  According to Advertising Age, this trend of cause-marketing appears to be growing.  For example, Charmin provided a public restroom in Times Square for the third holiday season in a row.  Along the same lines, Starbucks donated about 400,000 hours of community service towards the rebuilding effort in New Orleans.  And the shoe company Toms donates a pair of shoes to a child in a developing country every time a pair of their shoes is purchased.

Hopefully we’ll soon see many more marketing efforts like the one from KFC–which began in hometown Louisville, KY, and will seek out four more cities before returning to the life of chicken and mashed potatoes.


Go Big or Go Home

silobaltimore_12.jpgCarnival Cruise Line has done it again.  In the most recent phase of their newest marketing campaign–taglined “Fun for All, and All for Fun”–the company has introduced six massive, interactive aquariums around the country.  The computer-animated aquariums will appear in vacant storefronts in Baltimore, Dallas, L.A., New York, Washington D.C., and Houston through the end of April.

Designed to interact with passersby, the fish and plant life react to motion as people walk past.  Using their cell phones, pedestrians can go a step further by creating personalized fish by making various sounds into their phones and using the keypad to swim the fish around the aquarium.  The fish even change in size and shape when consumers lead them to food!  And don’t worry about having to leave your newly-made friend.  Pedestrians can retrieve their fish by coming back later and using the same cell phone.2987373480_7c7f34f1f3_s.jpg

The interactive aquariums are only one part of Carnival’s impressive marketing campaign the past six months.  They kicked it off in a huge way when they broke their first Guinness World Record.  In downtown Dallas in late October, they dropped the world’s largest volleyballs, measuring 36 feet in diameter, into a crowd of 2,500+ people!  Then in November, they broke yet another record in Philadelphia with the world’s largest pinata.  The pinata, which rose over three stories, was filled with 2 tons of candy!  Talk about a sweet tooth . . .

3027865674_3424c5893a.jpg


4A’s Media Conference & Tradeshow Recap

dscn1067.jpg

Last week, DOmedia had the opportunity to attend the AAAA Media Conference and Tradeshow in New Orleans (tough break, we know).  And while attendance may have been down from previous years, creativity and morale were still very high over at the DOmedia booth!

Between the many compliments on the overall visual presentation and the overwhelmingly positive feedback on the website capabilities, the 4A’s tradeshow was an official success!  Making its world debut on Wednesday morning, the new DO booth (A.K.A. DO erector set) attracted attendees to take a test drive of the site using our two 22″ monitors.  Of course, the infamous orange DOmedia yo-yo’s may have helped drive traffic just a bit, too.  Everywhere you looked, orange dots could be seen flying through the air, attendees rekindling their childhood yo-yo skills.  (And a personal thanks to everyone who trained me in the art of yo-yo over the three days–I can finally walk the dog!)

dscn1068.jpg

On Tuesday night, we had the great pleasure of sponsoring the Director’s Dinner at the Hilton where conversation consisted of trends in out-of-home and alternative media as well as an update on how DOmedia has grown since it was last introduced to the 4A’s.  Thank you again to everyone who attended!

And congratulations once again to all the DOmedia contest winners and a huge thanks for your support!  Participants received entry tickets by coming by the booth, wearing a DOmedia button, or following us on Twitter to name a few.  Several exciting prizes were given out such as iPod Touches, iPod Shuffles, and numerous iTunes gift cards!

Check out the rest of our pics from the tradeshow on our Flickr page http://www.flickr.com/photos/10211400@N08/sets/72157615079096686/


DOmedia Joins the Wonderful World of Social Media!

images.jpg

Now you can become a part of the DOmedia family by joining our Facebook group!  Here you can find upcoming events, contact info, important links, and recent news (to name a few).

http://www.facebook.com/home.php#/group.php?gid=47174161854

twitter_logo_125×29.png

Prefer Tweets?  You can also receive updates and information even faster by following us on Twitter!

http://twitter.com/domedia

We’ll see you there!


2009 AAAA Media Conference & Tradeshow: Now Comes the Fun Part!

aaaa_bannerlogo_member.jpg

It’s that time of year again: media savants from around the country come together for the 4A’s conference and tradeshow.  This year, the conference’€”which will be held in New Orleans from March 4-6’€”is focused around today’s most challenging aspect of the media landscape: the consumer.

And the best part of it all: DOmedia is joining the fun and bringing with us a little excitement of our own!  Introducing the DOmedia game, where attendees can win amazing prizes like 8G iPod Touches and iPod Shuffles just by stopping by the booth!  Your mission: to collect as many game pieces as possible and drop them in the prize bowl in the DOmedia booth (Booth number 709, 711) by 6:30 on Thursday.

Attendees can collect tickets by:

Opening their mail!  Many conference attendees received an official DOmedia travel wallet in the mail, complete with the first game piece.

Spotting the DOmedia rep in the Hilton Riverside conference area between 2:00 and 4:00 PM on Wednesday.

Simply visiting the booth and taking the DOmedia website for a test drive’€”Good for 3 tickets!

Picking up a DOmedia button at our booth and wearing it throughout the show’€”We’ll randomly select button-wearers and reward them with another game piece!

Following us on Twitter (@domedia) when we announce even MORE ways to win!

Winning numbers will be announced on Thursday at 6:45 via Twitter and in our booth.  Just stop by before 7:00 PM to claim your prize!

What DO you have to lose?