Possibly the Greatest Brand Story Ever Told

Posted by Jon Thomas, 13 Mar 2013

The most effective mass media is the stories we tell and conversations we have with each other. If you don’t believe me, let me prove it to you.

We've all seen an endless number of ads for cars, car dealerships, and the like. If I think really hard, I may be able to remember a few of them. Let’s see… I remember the Volkswagen ad with Kid Vader (but mostly because it was so talked-about, not because I thought it was so effective). I remember the Toyota Celica ads in which the senior citizen sees a parked Celica and yells, “Slow down. This is a neighborhood!” If you gave me 10 more minutes, I could probably think of another three to five, but not much more. Considering how many car ads I’ve seen in my lifetime, that’s a pretty low recall rate, and I can assure you that none of them influenced my purchase decisions.  

Share

3 Carmakers Embracing Brand Stories

Posted by Jon Thomas, 19 Sep 2012

My first car was a gray 1987 Honda Accord LXi hatchback. Well, it was actually a two-toned gray, since I never bothered to get the replacement panels painted after a fender bender (primer gray was close enough).

I bought the car using the money I earned scooping ice cream and washing dishes at Brigham’s restaurant the two years before. It was a stick shift, and since I didn’t know how to drive a stick yet, my mom had to test-drive it as I sat in the passenger seat. I remember that test-drive vividly. Supposedly it had great gas mileage and shifted like butter. I didn’t pay much attention. I was on cloud nine because I knew this would be my car, and I was dreaming of the possibilities.

Share

EC=MC: Explaining the Brand-Media Metamorphosis

Posted by Luke Dringoli, 28 May 2010
The metamorphosis of brands into fully realized media companies — that is, providers of real, quality content — is something we like to talk about a lot at Post Advertising. And we're thrilled to see it take hold. In particular, Tom Foremski, purveyor of the newly-launched EC=MC discusses many of the same concepts. Think Einstein would've agreed with us?
Share

#bpcares, Just Ask Their Twitter Feed

Posted by Luke Dringoli, 27 May 2010
The Deepwater Horizon oil spill has the potential to become the worst man-made disaster in history. With some 100,000 barrels worth of oil spewing forth daily from the Gulf of Mexico wreck (including a second, smaller outpouring), the leak threatens the coasts of Louisiana, Missisippi, Alabama, Texas, and Florida, and promises unforeseen environmental impact. While there's no shortage of blame to go around, the public relations nightmare falls squarely on the shoulders of British Petroleum. So you’d think BP would be running a pretty good publicity game to combat the negativity swirling around their name. Not so much.
Share

How Toyota Got Its Groove Back

Posted by Luke Dringoli, 19 May 2010
If you have kids, you’ve probably given serious thought to buying a minivan—even if you're loathe to admit it. So, we have to give an appropriate measure of props to Toyota for a new spot glorifying the boring, suburban parent we all swore we'd never become. It admittedly has us (or some of us, at least) in stitches.
Share