Six Mobile Marketing Trends for 2008

Six Wireless Marketing Trends for ‘08
by Bryon Morrison

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“I never think of the future. It comes soon enough.” -- Albert Einstein

Had Einstein had a mobile phone, he might have seen the future of mobile marketing lies in channel sharing, wireless environments, and convergence. These are among the trends that will impact the industry in the next 12 months.

1. Consumers will be more willing to download applications to their wireless devices. Here’s why:

First is the investment made by major industry players like Yahoo! and Google that deliver direct value to the consumer. Second, the iPhone movement has continued the march toward convergence in handsets and has made people more comfortable with using them for more than a phone call.

Third, the phone is personal, and downloadable applications that are focused on affinities and preferred brands offer another opportunity for people to further customize their phone.

And, finally, a download provides a better user experience which can also reduce or eliminate the need for future data downloads.

We believe in the following year we will see the number of downloadable applications increase significantly, and with it, the number of consumers downloading the applications to their phones. These applications will serve as a platform for customizing how a consumer would like to interact with brands, giving the relationship management to the user.

In return, the benefits to the brands are substantial. An application provides 24/7 access to a company’s brand and links the brand with a positive experience. Also, by developing applications around affinities that relate to the brand attributes, a brand can provide functionality that directly supports the brand promise.

2. Wireless environments. The more control we have over a venue, the more we can use a series of tactics to enhance an experience. Today, clients are asking us to create environments that offer similar experiences to those in Japan or Europe. Specifically, the role of a mobile phone in concerts, sporting events, and retail environments is changing quickly and will evolve further in the next 18 months.

What’s driving this evolution? For one, venues can take advantage of captive audience attending events. Further, attendees typically enter through limited points of entry, allowing us to introduce them to the experience on-site and efficiently opt-in. And, the mobile device is the one constant from the seats, to the pits, to the stage, to the food line, to the bathroom, to the vendor line. Most importantly, it’s the one thing guaranteed to leave the event with the customer.

3. Convergence. While technology has consistently attempted to create convergence devices -- and typically failed to meet consumer expectations -- we believe the phone will be the one accepted convergence device. It has already begun to play out in the U.S. Overseas, it already serves as the phone, wallet, keys and remote control device.

In 2008, we’ll see consumers seek out content and applications to serve various utilitarian and entertainment functionality like games, camera, music, maps and directions, wireless internet, social networking, TV, personal management (finance, calendar, to-do lists, etc.), event interaction, smart-home interface, etc.

Mobile devices are being released with more advanced multimedia capabilities and consumers will look for that device to be a “go-to” solution for managing their lives.

4. Channel-share. Many of our clients have tested the medium over the last 24 months. Now, they’ve reached a point where they recognize that it’s a viable channel that delivers a significant ROI. We’re seeing clients plan concepts for 2008 that are focused on “owning” the channel or increasing their association with the medium.

In keeping with the media principal, “If budgets are limited, then go big and own the channel,” we are seeing clients take advantage of the medium’s low costs and lack of clutter. These strategies are coming to fruition as dedicated shortcodes; heavy media buys in on-deck/off-deck channels; attention to viral, grass-roots marketing methods; and “signature” technology or applications that will be heavily promoted.

We anticipate 2008 being the year companies take a page from the internet playbook and learn from the success of significant first movers like Dell, Barnes & Noble, Nordstrom, Southwest Airlines, Best Buy, Charles Schwab, 1800-Flowers, etc. Though they had successful businesses prior to the internet, each of them took a “land grab” approach to the medium and made their brand synonymous with the internet among that audience base.

5. Customer Managed Relationships (CMR). The natural evolution in the medium leads us to a point of thinking beyond a project or campaign. Anticipating success, we are now asked by clients to focus on how to communicate with their highly valuable opt-in audience that is the result of their various promotions we execute on their behalf.

While the traditional CRM (Customer Relationship Management) approach would be to develop high-level segments and communicate out to four of five groups in a time-bound wave of communications, mobile provides us a platform to speak to consumers on a true 1:1 level based on their desired manner of interaction.

As opposed to planning a mass outbound message every certain number of days or months, we are developing strategies that will introduce relevant options, features, functionality, content, discounts, etc. based on what we know about the user. The next step in that process is developing opportunities for those people to continue to refine their desired manner of being contacted.

6. Structured Learning. “How should we be measuring the success of these campaigns?” This question, along with, “Are we getting the best response possible?,” are two of the most frequent questions we field from clients. We’re working closely with many of our clients to understand the true impact of their wireless initiatives.

We approach the challenge from two perspectives: The “Micro” and the “Macro.” On the Micro level, there are quantitative measures available with every campaign we execute. These measures allow us to do champion-challenger testing that determines how we would optimize a campaign in the wireless space. We introduce these proposed approaches in “learning plans” and continue to test variables throughout a campaign. Ideally, we’re allowed to look at each of the campaigns and identify ways we will measure across initiatives, as well.

On a Macro level, we take into account that wireless is a new medium and each of our campaigns probably have a greater impact than what is literally documented through our direct interaction statistics. In other words, it’s more likely in a new medium for people to be inspired to act based on stimulus, but use an indirect channel to execute the transaction.

Leveraging econometric techniques we’re now able to understand the true impact a wireless campaign has on brand equity, sales, online interactions, etc. We’re also able to determine the ideal media mix used to drive people to the wireless channel. The goal will be to reach a point of accurate forecasting as we have in other media.

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Bryon Morrison is president of ipsh!, the wireless marketing division of The Marketing Arm, which operates within Omnicom Group Inc.

Adam Smith, president, Davie Brown Music talks about AT&T's blue room

Guiding AT&T on Its Road to Content Creation

Davie Brown's Adam Smith Helps Telecom Channel MTV With Blue Room

By Mya Frazier

Link to full issue

Who: Adam Smith, president of Davie Brown Music

Davie Brown's Adam Smith on AT&T's Blue Room: 'It's not just about being a telecom company. It's about being a distributor of great content.'

Why you need to know him: As the battle to own the "three screens" -- mobile, TV and web -- heats up, Mr. Smith has been on the ground floor of a content-creation experiment with AT&T that aims to position the telecom as a "distributor of great content" and to give the brand a place to control the message about its products. Two years ago, AT&T set out to prove it was hip enough to bring exclusive content around music to a passionate audience with a website dubbed the Blue Room (attblueroom.com). It's the kind of site you'd expect from MTV, not a telecom. But the site offers a peek inside what very well may be the next generation of initiatives from an industry in the throes of change.

Credentials: Mr. Smith, 38, has spent almost 15 years in the entertainment business in sports and music. He's the former VP-marketing at the Firm, a music-management company in Los Angeles, former VP-marketing of the National Basketball Association's Los Angeles Clippers and the former managing director at Marketing Arm.

How does Blue Room help AT&T? "It was really created to offer consumers another way to experience AT&T products and services but in an environment that is completely relevant to them, which was music. The Blue Room ... was created and is owned by AT&T, rather than just being a sponsor of an event, a tour or an advertiser on a music website. [Blue Room is] an environment that is created by AT&T, and they can control to a enormous extent the content that is in it and can help better define the messaging that is in it and can also add layers to it like music festivals."

How has AT&T linked up with music festivals? "Two years ago, the Blue Room held the first webcast of Lollapalooza, it was a live webcast and saw a huge jump in traffic and settled well above where previous traffic levels had been, because visitors experience the Blue Room and returned after the event. This was a great way to drive traffic. Now we are going to be the official webcast partners of these kind of events like the Vegoose Halloween festival in Las Vegas, the Austin City Limits music festival, the Coachella, the Bonnaroo and the New Orleans Jazz Fest. The only way to see those events live is if you aren't there is in the Blue Room."

Why is AT&T focusing on music festivals? "We see these as appointment-based viewing sessions; we tell consumers to see Bonnaroo or Coachella on these days or these times. We use media, both online and radio and a limited amount of print, to drive traffic to these webcasts, and they go online and they watch these things all day long from 12 noon until the headliner leaves the stage. And what we've found is that, in addition to watching these streams, they check out other content on the site. We also have promotions in there, once-in-a-lifetime opportunities for shows to meet the band or things like that. It's a whole musical experience beyond just seeing archived clips."

But how does this help a telecom brand? "It's not just about being a telecom company. It's about being a distributor of great content, so right now this is a big broadband play. We are delivering exclusive content, and because AT&T is giving them content exclusively and delivering content into the home and soon to mobile devices and to the television with [AT&T's] new television platform U-verse. Exclusive content is where the whole telecommunication industry is going into. Content is hot right now, and everyone is trying to utilize content to connect with consumers. It's no longer about a message, but a message tied to content."

Has being a content provider helped it stand out apart from Verizon Wireless and its V-cast service? "That I don't know. I wouldn't want to comment on that. What we are doing is one of AT&T's many content plays and content-distribution concepts, and it's been successful. I wouldn't want to say more or less because that's all relative."

What is the demographic AT&T is after? "It's a very broad demographic, and that's why we have alternative rock, country, contemporary, hit radio, pop. We focus on all the music genres, and that's why we're expanding to gaming and sports and Hollywood. We are trying to touch on those passion points for things consumers are passionate about in their spare time and let AT&T deliver that to them so we are speaking to them about something relevant to them."

How is that different from the more traditional kind of demographic categories, like men age 18 to 34? "[Blue Room] is going after a target of people who are passionate about something. It's about speaking to them while they are viewing an artist or a video game or a sporting event, and when it's an interest or passion of a consumer, they are going to want to get it. A fan of a specific music will search out that content and will look for it anywhere they can get it because they can never get enough information about their favorite band. If we can aggregate that on an exclusive basis, we have a better chance of drawing them, and then we can surround them with an AT&T message."

Are there other distribution channels planned? "Eventually, the idea is for content on the three-screen play, mobile, broadband and TV."

How does Davie Brown go about putting something like this together? "We tried to leverage existing deals that AT&T had to potentially get content and try and identify areas that have been 'unowned' opportunities, like music festivals, where there is a passionate audience and it's a kind of a tent-pole concept."

But is Blue Room really getting enough traffic? According to ComScore Media Metrix, the site isn't even drawing enough traffic for them to report numbers. Is AT&T's ROI for this effort based on some other criteria? "We don't talk about numbers, unfortunately. I don't know what they measure besides traffic. We always aspire to have more traffic, and we continue to grow and get more traffic. I wouldn't want to say we aren't getting the traffic we want, it's just something we continue to deliver and hope the traffic numbers continue to grow."

What does putting something together like this cost? "Honestly, we just don't release those numbers."

Do you think brands creating their own entertainment platforms, like AT&T has with Blue Room, is the next evolution in branded entertainment? "Absolutely. More than ever, brands don't want to do one-offs, and as marketing budgets shrink, brands are looking to get the most out of their marketing dollars. It's critical for them to do less one-offs and larger programs. If they can create something that is ownable and scalable ... it has more value ultimately for the brand."

But does it cost a lot more? "Yes, but you get more. But if you want to catch lightning in a bottle, it will cost you too. The first few 'Apprentice' deals were free, and now they are more expensive but not worth as much as they were in the beginning. With a one-off program, they could pay for that opportunity vs. trying to create something that is sustainable. The Blue Room is creating something every week, which makes it scaleable and provides value to the consumer because it is always new.

But does this kind of content creation make sense for every brand? "No, but for AT&T, yes. They are in the delivery business. ... They are a part of the business of content delivery. They are not just about connecting two voices anymore but providing communications and content delivery to consumers. It's no longer about just local and long distance. It's about broadband mobile and TV, because people are going to start to expect that from them."

Q&A with Bob Schneider, EVP, Davie Brown Entertainment

Q&A with...
Robert Schneider
Executive Vice President
Davie Brown Entertainment

Q: You've worked on both the client side and agency side of the business. What can agencies do to ensure their clients are maximizing the agency-client relationship?

A: Clients are best served by their agency when they work together as partners. The agency should always have the most up to date information that the client has relating to the business they work on. When I worked on the McDonald's business on the agency side, they shared everything with us, research, sales info, we knew everything they knew. This information allowed us to contribute focused and creative ideas that could move their business ahead.

Q&A with Bill Glenn, VP, Strategic Insights, The Marketing Arm

Q&A with...

Bill Glenn
Vice President, Strategic Insights & Analytics
The Marketing Arm

Q: What role does I&A play in the emotional marketing process?

A: I&A is applicable at many points in a program: Idea development, execution or analysis. I&A is much more than a scorecard outlining program ROI. In idea development, it’s the data which provides direction in determining strategy (e.g., leverage film if your target is a heavy movie attendee, create on-site presence at NFL games if the data shows heavy game attendance, etc.).

In execution, it’s creating data which demonstrates the effectiveness of the program’s tactics and strategy in communicating to the target and in analysis; it’s quantifying the ROI of the program using sales and retention data. These three areas combined deliver the basis for key learnings which enhance follow-up programs. So it’s smart to consider I&A as part of the foundation in our overall approach to delivering client success -- it’s an investment which delivers outstanding ROI to your client.

Q&A with Adam Smith, President, Davie Brown Music

Adam Smith, president
Davie Brown Music

Q: How can clients leverage the power of music when building their brands?

A: The digital music revolution has completely changed the way the music industry looks at corporate America. Now more then ever, artists and labels are willing to tie their music more closely to brands in exchange for inclusion in mass media messaging. The key to a successful music program is to identify all of the potential “asks” of the artist and include them in the up-front negotiation. Instead of just licensing a song, or acquiring the rights to name and likeness, brands need to think about:

• What content are they interested in?
• What are the artist’s plans throughout the brand’s campaign life? New record? Tour? Award show appearances?
• How can I bring the campaign to life on-line and at live events?

Finally, if brands are looking to acquire content to stream on-line, it is critical to promote the relationship and the program on-line – and not just at the brand’s site.

Q&A with Melissa Gena, General Manager, ipsh!

Q&A with...
Melissa Gena, General Manager
ipsh!

Q: The Super Bowl was a busy time for ipsh! Are brands more receptive to integrating wireless into their marketing programs than, say, 8-12 months ago?

A: Brands are steadily becoming more interested in extending their marketing efforts with the use of mobile components. We worked with three clients on Super Bowl-related programs this year, but interestingly, none of them included a call-to-action in their commercials. I think this illustrates that brands are still taking small steps toward integrating mobile into more traditional mediums, but there is constant progress. I think by next year, you'll see more direct integration and call-to-action from the commercials themselves.

Q&A with Alden Stoner, Davie Brown Entertainment (LA)

Q&A with...
Alden Stoner
Davie Brown Entertainment

Q: How does Davie Brown differentiate itself from other entertainment consulting agencies?

A: DBE differentiates itself from other entertainment consultancies on a few levels. First, DBE has a long history in entertainment with over 22 years of experience, whereas a number of the various competitors have popped up in recent years and do not have the same heritage or notoriety.

Secondly, DBE only represents brands, where some current consultancies' agendas are compromised since they try to partner their brands with entertainment properties they represent as well.

Most importantly though, DBE is not only a full service consultancy specializing in strategic thinking with regard to entertainment, but also services product placement and integration, promotions, music and talent. DBE interacts regularly with everyone from the on-set decorators to directors to studio executives. We touch all aspects of entertainment, which to my knowledge, no other consultancy can claim.

"Game of Shadows" book references Bonds' DBI scores

The afterword to the paperback edition of the book "Game of Shadows: Barry Bonds, BALCO, and the Steroids Scandal that Rocked Professional Sports," by San Francisco Chronicle staff writers Mark Fainaru-Wada and Lance Williams, references the Davie Brown Index:

"Corporate sponsors shared the fans' disaffection with Bonds. Both Home Depot and Bank of America declined to participate in a proposed advertising campaign that the Giants had hoped to build around Bonds' assault on Ruth's mark. "A company like ours is always going to choose the untainted opportunity," a Bank of America spokesman said. Steering clear of Bonds made good business sense, according to a consumer poll taken by a Dallas marketing agency. Davie-Brown Talent found that of 1,500 celebrities who might be hired to endorse products, consumers rated Bonds no. 1,486 in likability and no. 1,488 in trustworthiness."

Celebrity talent-buying agencies navigate ad agencies through muddy waters

Who Should Pitch, Angelina Or Dylan?
A new breed of corporate consultants is matching celebrities with ad campaigns

Business Week

Burt Helm

How much is a celebrity worth? Advertising agencies don't really know how to calculate the dollar value of star power. Hollywood talent agents are no help: They represent the star's interests.

So along comes a new breed of consultants promising corporate clients that they will take away some of the mystery. A half-dozen of these middlemen are already operating in Los Angeles, Las Vegas, and New York--among them Platinum Rye, Creative License, and Davie Brown Talent.

Their pitch to marketers: All the information needed to cut the best deals is at our fingertips. The firms track market prices for the celebrities (accurate at least until the next scandal). And they offer research to determine which stars are truly influential--and which are merely celebrated.

Working either on retainer or for a percentage of the total deal, the agencies negotiate everything from cameos at corporate events to appearances in national ad campaigns for brands such as Coors, Pepsi (PEP ), Chevy (GM ), and AT&T (T ).One advantage these small outfits offer is that they are run by people familiar with the insular movie and music industries.

"Think of scenes from [the hbo show] Entourage," says John Osborn, president and chief executive of BBDO Worldwide, an ad agency owned by Omnicom Group Inc (OMC ). "If I were to pick up a phone and call an agency, I have no idea if I'm getting the right price, or talking to the right person. I need someone who can navigate this world."

Most important, the firms can sometimes shift the balance of power between big stars and big brands. It can be as simple as providing anonymity: When BBDO decided it wanted Lars Ulrich and James Hetfield of the band Metallica for an America Online (TWX ) advertisement, Platinum Rye initiated the negotiations without once mentioning AOL.

When talent agents and managers hear the name of a prominent brand, they can start "seeing dollar signs," Osborn says. "You need someone who can play hardball."These firms are also introducing a new twist in that familiar Hollywood staple, the bidding war: Now it's the celebrities who are doing the bidding. Molson Coors Brewing Co. is looking for a folksy song for its next ad campaign, according to people familiar with the search, but doesn't want to pay top dollar to license an existing tune by the likes of John Fogerty, Stephen Stills, or Bob Dylan.

So Coors, its advertising agency DraftFCB, and Creative License are inviting major recording artists to submit a song on spec. The client gets a tune from a leading songwriter, and the artist gets a promotional boost, plus a paycheck. Which artists are considering it? John Fogerty, Stephen Stills, and Bob Dylan, to name three.

MEASURING INFLUENCE

When it comes to calculating a fair price for more traditional endorsements, the agencies can tap a wealth of information about recent deals. They also collect personal information, such as which causes interest the stars. When Creative License approached Sheryl Crow to use her song Every Day is a Winding Road for Subaru last year, executives went in knowing Crow felt strongly about environmental issues.

Representatives showed her Subaru's low-waste manufacturing plants and talked about its commitment to being green. She agreed to the deal.

Measuring a celebrity's influence, of course, is as much art as science. Q scores, the measure traditionally used to track stars' popularity, doesn't look at how good they are at persuading consumers to buy. Will Ferrell, for instance, is funny, and Angelina Jolie is beautiful, but a company might wonder whether anyone would take either's endorsement seriously.

Davie Brown Talent, which is also owned by Omnicom, surveys some 1,000 respondents to calculate the relative appeal and influence of more than 1,500 celebrities. (Tom Hanks and Oprah Winfrey are the two most influential.) While most people find comedian Ferrell more likable than Jolie, she is the more persuasive one, their research found.

Jolie is currently earning some $12 million, plus performance incentives, to be the face of St. John Knits International Inc. (SJKI ).

Manning's appeal spikes after Super Bowl

Manning's Pitchman Appeal Rises on Super Bowl Win, Analysts Say
By Aaron Kuriloff

Feb. 9 (Bloomberg) -- Winning the Super Bowl boosted Peyton Manning's already considerable power as a celebrity endorser, according to an index tracking sponsor appeal.

A survey taken less than 48 hours after the National Football League championship game for the Davie-Brown Index found that awareness of the Indianapolis Colts' quarterback increased among all U.S. consumers to almost 74 percent.

Manning's index was 68 percent before the victory on Feb. 4, according to the index, which ranks celebrities by their ability to influence product sales.

Winning the game's Most Valuable Player award turned Manning, 30, from someone who already had the marketing power of U2 singer Bono to a celebrity pitchman as well known as the actor and musician Sting, according to the index.

``After a major event like the Super Bowl, there's a halo effect for the winning players and the MVP in particular,'' Jeff Chown, president of Davie-Brown Talent, a unit of Omnicom Group Inc., said in a statement. ``Americans like winners.''

Manning already was the league's most marketable player, according to a survey by the Sports Business Journal. He appeared last season in national commercials for MasterCard Inc., DirecTV Group Inc., Disney's ESPN, PepsiCo Inc.'s Gatorade, Adidas AG's Reebok and Sprint Nextel Corp.

While Manning always scored near the top of NFL players on the index, which ranks celebrities on criteria including appeal, trust, influence and awareness, winning the title still gave him a boost.

Index Jump

Manning's overall Davie-Brown score rose four points to 74, topping that of his coach, Tony Dungy, who jumped less than a point to 66.1. Manning is approaching the score of Joe Montana, the former San Francisco 49ers quarterback, who is the highest- ranked NFL player on the list with a 74.8. Golfer Tiger Woods leads all athletes, with an 86.1.

NFL players don't usually rank among the leading celebrity endorsers because each team includes more than 50 men who play in a helmet, face mask and pads, said Scott Sanford, senior account director for Davie-Brown.

Manning is an exception to that rule, according to Joyce Julius and Associates, an Ann Arbor, Michigan, company that gauges the impact of corporate sponsorships.

His face appeared on-screen, in-focus for more than six minutes during the Super Bowl, the company found. Chicago Bears Pro Bowl linebacker Brian Urlacher appeared on screen for 2:22, although he was on the field as much as Manning.

Announcers mentioned Manning's name 86 times and Urlacher's 27 times, Joyce Julius's study found.

While the Super Bowl boosted Manning's overall rating, it had some negative consequence for Bears quarterback Rex Grossman, who threw two interceptions in the game.

Grossman's Davie-Brown score for awareness rose six points after the game, even as his score for appeal dropped five points.

``A reputation is a fragile thing, whether you're a president, an actor or an NFL quarterback,'' Chown said.

The impact of a Super Bowl win (or loss) on your image

What’s a Super Bowl appearance do for a player’s image? If you’re Peyton Manning, it means a five percent boost in awareness nationally and increased trust among consumers.

According to the Davie Brown Celebrity Index (DBI), U.S. consumers rate the Colts quarterback and Super Bowl MVP higher in terms of appeal, notice, trust, influence, endorsement, and aspiration than the days prior to the big game in Miami.

“After a major event like the Super Bowl, there’s a halo effect for the winning players, and the MVP in particular,” said Jeff Chown, president of Davie Brown Talent, which negotiates celebrity endorsements for major brands. “The same is true when an actor wins an Oscar or a singer wins a Grammy. Americans like winners.”

Manning’s coach, Tony Dungy, also enjoyed a boost across the DBI’s eight attributes, including appeal, notice, trust, and aspiration.

On the other hand, Chicago players like Brian Urlacher and Rex Grossman experienced a drop in their scores. While Urlacher’s awareness among U.S. consumers jumped eight percent following the Super Bowl, his appeal, notice, and trust scores fell slightly after losing the game.

Grossman, the Bears quarterback who fumbled twice and threw two interceptions in the game, saw his appeal score drop five points while his trust score fell three points.

“A reputation is a fragile thing, whether you’re a president, an actor, or an NFL quarterback,” said Chown. “The good news is, Americans tend to forgive and, over time, forget.”

The Davie Brown Index® (DBI) is an independent index for brand marketers and agencies that determines a celebrity’s ability to influence brand affinity and consumer purchase intent. The DBI provides brand marketers with a systematic approach for quantifying and qualifying the use of celebrities in marketing campaigns by evaluating a celebrity’s awareness, appeal and relevance to a brand’s image and their influence on consumer buying behavior.

Created by Los Angeles marketing agency Davie Brown Entertainment, the DBI consists of more than 1,000 celebrities and is powered by a 1.5 million-member domestic research panel administered by GMI, a leading provider of global market intelligence solutions. Respondents evaluate celebrities along eight key attributes: Appeal, aspiration, awareness, endorsement, influence, notice, trendsetter, and trust.

Dungy, Lovie Smith now celebrities in their own right

MOVE OVER OPRAH AND TOM:

Super Bowl coaches Dungy and Smith rate among most-appealing celebrities in Davie Brown Celebrity Index

Neither will break a tackle, intercept a pass, or win MVP honors during the Super Bowl on Sunday, but Tony Dungy and Lovie Smith have already scored with U.S. consumers.

According to the latest Davie Brown Index (DBI), Dungy and Smith, head coaches of the Indianapolis Colts and Chicago Bears, respectively, rank among the most likeable celebrities in the index, on-par with favorites like Michael J. Fox, Denzel Washington, and Tom Hanks.

“Though not as well known as the most-loved celebrities like Oprah, Bill Cosby, and Will Smith, U.S. consumers who recognize them tell us that Lovie and Tony genuinely appeal to them –- they’re likeable guys,” said Jeff Chown, president of Davie Brown Talent, which negotiates endorsement deals for major brands and their advertising agencies. “But it’s more than likeability. They also scored very well in terms of trust, influence, aspiration, and notice. They really have the whole package in terms of endorsement potential.”

Dungy, 51, scored slightly below 48-year-old Smith in the DBI’s “appeal” attribute, but outscored Smith in awareness, notice, trust, endorsement, and aspiration. The coaches posted identical “trendsetter” scores.

The Davie Brown Index® (DBI) is an independent index for brand marketers and agencies that determines a celebrity’s ability to influence brand affinity and consumer purchase intent. It provides brand marketers with a systematic approach for quantifying and qualifying the use of celebrities in marketing campaigns by evaluating a celebrity’s awareness, appeal and relevance to a brand’s image and their influence on consumer buying behavior.

Created by the Dallas-based talent division of Los Angeles marketing agency Davie Brown Entertainment, the DBI consists of more than 1,500 celebrities and is powered by a 1.5 million-member domestic research panel administered by GMI, a leading provider of global market intelligence solutions. Respondents evaluate celebrities along eight key attributes: Appeal, aspiration, awareness, endorsement, influence, notice, trendsetter, and trust.

Old quarterback never die, they just become product endorsers

Everywhere you look, there's Dan Marino
On TV. On radio. On billboards. In newspapers. He's a pitchman and an analyst.

By Sarah Talalay
South Florida Sun-Sentinel

January 30, 2007

Dan Marino will be back on the Dolphin Stadium field on Sunday, making the ceremonial coin toss for Super Bowl XLI before a national television audience expected to exceed 100 million.

But in South Florida, we've been seeing Marino a lot lately. Take a ride on Florida's Turnpike and you can't miss the retired Dolphins quarterback and his wife Claire staring out of a Levinson Jewelers billboard. Above I-95, he has pitched tracts of waterfront and recreational land in Florida, Georgia and South Carolina.

Open the newspaper to find him advertising Maroone automobiles. This football season he had a radio show on Monday mornings on 790 the Ticket (WAXY-AM). In the fall, he volunteered to make ads in support of the unsuccessful campaign for a 1 percent sales tax increase for Broward County mass transit projects, although county voter records show he didn't vote in the election. More recently, he was advising the Dolphins on their coaching search.

That's in addition to his national television work as an analyst on CBS's The NFL Today and HBO's Inside the NFL; his ads for Samsung; pitches for the Sleep Innovations' Marino Recovery System line of mattresses, pillows and slippers; and the NutriSystem campaign that broke in July to show off his 22-pound lighter physique. Some joke that he had to slim down after scarfing Papa John's Pizza he advertised in an earlier campaign.

With business manager Ralph Stringer, he also is co-executive producing The Shanghai Hotel, a feature film about human trafficking that was shot last year.

Overexposed? Perhaps. But Marino's popularity only seems to grow, now that he's in the Pro Football Hall of Fame and as the Dolphins continue to go without a star quarterback. He is appealing to companies, experts say, because his football accomplishments are already in the record books and won't suffer from an injury on the field or trouble off it.

"Since he's retired from the Dolphins, they haven't done much without him and they haven't found a replacement for him," said Scott Sanford, senior director of Davie Brown Talent, a Dallas firm that pairs athletes and celebrities with corporations. "I think from a local level that just increases your iconic stature."

According to the Davie Brown Index, which uses consumer research to measure a celebrity's awareness and attributes such as appeal and trustworthiness, Marino is in the top 20 among 340 athletes. Compared with other retired quarterbacks, he's behind Joe Montana and Terry Bradshaw, but ahead of Troy Aikman.

Stringer says Marino, who retired in 2000, is so busy with his TV schedule that he has had to turn down some offers.

Marino travels to New York on Tuesday to tape the HBO show on Wednesday, returning that night. Then on Saturday he travels back to New York for CBS's Sunday coverage and returns that night. Along the way, he might stop off at a land sale being held by a branch of National Land Partners -- a partnership that emerged because the company's owner played golf with Marino, Stringer said.

"He's everywhere. It's amazing," Stringer said. "I think a big part of that is he's with companies that are probably much more aggressive in what they do."

What also makes him appealing is that he has little competition locally from other star athletes who have essentially grown up and played their whole careers in South Florida.

"You have the Shaqs of the world, but we don't have a lot of bench strength in terms of sports celebrities in South Florida," said Jay Stuck, president of BrandGuy Inc., a Palm Beach marketing and advertising agency.

That's why, Stuck says, Marino could be treading close to too many deals, which could dilute his stature as a pitchman.

"It's great to have an aggressive agent and a large number of friends, but you have to look at it from a brand value standpoint. Marino is a brand. He has to be careful in the future about being a huckster," Stuck said. "That applies not just to Dan Marino. ... I think it's an object lesson for any celebrity. Sometimes 15 minutes is too much."

Marino says he isn't racking up deals for the money.

"You can always use money, but it's not always about that," Marino said. "That's what I do now. I do television, I represent companies. After I retired, that's been kind of my job."

Marino said he has to believe in what he's pitching and that his endorsement deals stem from friendships.

"It's all about relationships and the people you know," he said.

Marino's roots run so deep in the community that his partnerships with some companies go back years. He started out as a customer of Levinson Jewelers in 1983, agreeing six years ago to be a spokesperson, including in the "Live Life Levinson Style" campaign. Mark and Robin Levinson feature other celebrities in advertising, but Mark Levinson says the Marinos are their only spokespeople.

Marino's partnership with NutriSystem came as a result of seeing golfing buddy former San Francisco 49er Jim Stuckey had lost 50 pounds. In July, Marino did a promotional campaign for the weight loss program after losing 22 pounds. His before and after photos are prevalent, and according to NutriSystem, Marino's endorsement works.

Before the campaign aired, 13 percent of NutriSystem's customers were men. Since Marino's story aired, that number has ballooned to 30 percent, said Sheri Keiles, a NutriSystem spokeswoman.

Marino and Mike Maroone, AutoNation president and chief operating officer, have known each other for more than 15 years. They were neighbors in Weston, but when they met Marino was representing another auto dealer. Once that deal expired, Marino and Maroone launched a series of ads that played on their similar names.

"His success on the field and effort in the community, he was a perfect spokesman for us," Maroone said. "He's got that unique combination of obviously great face appeal, the incredible Hall of Fame success, success in business, in broadcasting, tremendous family man. I think the balance he's achieved makes him even more desirable, more trustworthy. It makes him more attractive to potential business."

Peyton Manning NFL's endorsement leader

He won't be sold short
Peyton Manning hasn't won the big one -- yet -- but he is the NFL's champion when it comes to endorsing products
By Greg Johnson

Los Angeles Times

January 30, 2007

Some fans won't credit Peyton Manning of the Indianapolis Colts with having the right stuff until he grabs as many Super Bowl rings as archrival Tom Brady of the New England Patriots. Manning, however, has few doubters on Madison Avenue, where the second-generation NFL quarterback has joined the elite ranks of athletes who are paid handsomely to pitch goods and services.

Only a handful of professional athletes, including Tiger Woods, Andre Agassi, LeBron James and Serena Williams, earned more from product endorsements than the $11.5 million that Manning was paid last year, according to Sports Illustrated. The 30-year-old has forged more than a half dozen sponsorship deals with such powerful brands as Reebok, MasterCard, Sony and Sprint. And, along the way, the nine-year veteran has become an ambassador for the league.

He's done it, to use a sports marketing phrase, by "taking his helmet off" and revealing more of his personality.

Manning's ads include playing the football hero-turned-everyman who begs a grocery clerk to autograph a melon in a MasterCard commercial, the big brother stuck in a sibling rivalry with brother Eli (the New York Giants' quarterback) in an ESPN commercial, and the stand-up comic who gamely dons a fake mustache and wig to hawk Sprint cellular service.

Ad executives aren't alone in their appreciation of Manning's marketing game. "I think it's hilarious," said Chicago Bears defensive end Alex Brown, who will face off against Manning and the Colts in Super Bowl XLI on Sunday. "My son loves him too."Manning's role as product pitchman benefits from playing the right position — quarterback — to get his face on television.

Sports marketers, though, credit Manning for using his good-guy-next-door image, showcasing his playful sense of humor and constantly honing his acting skills.

Bob Garfield, a columnist for Advertising Age, has chronicled the painful parade of athletes who've stumbled while pitching hemorrhoid preparations, low-calorie beer and the like.

In December, Garfield wrote that Manning is "the greatest sports endorser ever. Not the most successful; Michael Jordan, after all. But his delivery, poise and comic timing make Michael look, comparatively, like an extra on 'CSI.' "There's plenty of Manning to be seen on TV and online.

One YouTube entry from an adoring Manning fan sums it up nicely: "I really hope none of Peyton's commercials ever get deleted. I have all nine in my favorites."

It's not as if the quarterback needs extra work. Manning is in the middle of a seven-year, $98-million contract with the Colts. Last year, a Sports Business Journal survey of sports marketing industry executives listed Manning as the NFL's most marketable player.

A Harris Poll survey reportedly listed Manning's popularity as matching that of Jordan among 30- and 40-somethings."When we first asked Peyton to join our team he was second only to Jordan in consumer recognition of athletes," said Kevin Berman, senior marketing manager for Sony Electronics, which uses Manning to pitch high-definition televisions. "That's a nice camp to be in."

Colts owner Jim Irsay credited Manning's commercial success to the same work ethic he displays in practice and during games."I'm not saying that there aren't players as good, and I'm not saying that people don't work hard," Irsay said. "But I'm just saying that if you're talking about someone who prepares, I've never seen anyone prepare like this guy."

Manning has avoided potentially embarrassing ads and stuck with well-known brands. Sports marketers suspect that Manning might eventually add an automobile deal — think fast-moving quarterback using a family-oriented SUV to maneuver out of a tight situation. Yet, sports and advertising industry observers doubt that Manning's first Super Bowl will produce a noticeable number of new corporate partners.

The payoff for a Super Bowl win, marketers said, could come in Manning's post-football career."What he's got is a real opportunity for lasting power," said Matt Delzell, a senior client manager with Dallas' Davie Brown Talent, which tracks celebrity appeal among consumers.

"He's articulate, intelligent and the networks are going to clamor over him when he's done with football. So would a loss hurt? No. Would [a win] help? Yeah."

Manning wasn't always as comfortable pitching products. In the spring of 1999, a youthful Manning was on the second team when he reported to a Los Angeles sound studio to make a 30-second spot for DirecTV. Veteran quarterbacks Bret Favre, Dan Marino and Steve Young dominated the commercials that set the players up in a kitschy setting reminiscent of "The Dating Game."

Over the years, business associates said, Manning has refined his acting skills by using the same intense preparation he is known for on the football field. Manning also seems to have benefited from his status as the highly talented son of Archie Manning, an NFL quarterback in the 1970s and 1980s.

"We really don't need to tell him much or brief him. He seems to be ready for everything coming at him," said Todd Krinsky, a vice president for Reebok. Manning is known to think on his feet during commercial shoots. "If you're asking if he calls audibles during the process, yes he does," Berman said.

At the end of one popular MasterCard spot, Manning asks a grocery clerk to autograph a loaf of bread for his younger brother, Eli. MasterCard's advertising agency had written another line, but Manning decided to mention his brother.

"It was his impromptu idea on the set," said Chris Jogis, MasterCard's vice president for U.S. brand development. "It ended up being one of the best lines in the spot. He definitely has a good sense for what's humorous."

Sports marketers say there's little chance that Manning's commercial career will be derailed if the Colts lose on Sunday.

"He transcends football," Jogis said. "He has a great sense of humor, he's really down to earth for such a great athlete and people can relate to that."

Although Manning has moved well beyond the borders of the sports scene, he's still got room to grow in the marketing arena.

About half of Americans recognize his face, according to Davie Brown's research. Manning is No. 46 on Davie Brown's sports-celebrity list — which includes 350 well-known athletes, including Magic Johnson, Jack Nicklaus, Muhammad Ali, Cal Ripken and Lance Armstrong. As important, consumers like what they see.

Davie Brown's index suggests that Manning scores high in trust, influence and as a product spokesman.

"He's seen as an upstanding citizen who does charity work, he communicates in a way that shows him to be a down-to-earth, friendly person — who happens to be the most talented guy in football," Berman said.

Chicago Bears cornerback Charles Tillman might differ on that last point, but he still laughs each time he sees the MasterCard spot that shows a goofy Manning comforting two movers who lose their grip on a piano that goes rolling down a hill.

"Actually, I think they're funny, when he goes, 'They're not booing, they're saying, 'Moooovers,' " Tillman said. "That's my favorite one. I think Peyton has worked real hard for the success that he's had and he's deserved everything he's gotten."

The face of the NFL:

Peyton Manning ranks 46th on the Davie Brown Index, a list of 350 active and retired athletes. The index measures consumer awareness, as well as an athlete's appeal, influence and degree of trust:

1. Tiger Woods

2. Michael Jordan

3. Muhammad Ali

4. George Foreman

5. Lance Armstrong

6. Magic Johnson

7. Shaquille O'Neal

8. Joe Montana

9. Terry Bradshaw

10. Andre Agassi

46. Peyton Manning

Manning finished 18th in Sports Illustrated's 2006 Fortunate 50 of how much top athletes gleaned from salaries and endorsement deals. Though quarterbacks Carson Palmer, Michael Vick and Tom Brady each topped Manning in total income, the magazine portrayed him as the NFL's top endorsement earner.

Urlacher's marketing potential

Could Brian Urlacher cash in on celebrity like Peyton Manning?

By Stacy St. Clair

Chicago Daily Herald

Staff Writer

Monday, January 29, 2007

No matter the outcome of Super Bowl XLI, Brian Urlacher is poised to walk off the field a winner.

A recent marketing survey shows the Bears linebacker has an even broader appeal than Colts quarterback and uber-endorser Peyton Manning — once people get to know him.

According to the Davie Brown Index, which measures a celebrity’s ability to influence brand affinity, roughly 18 percent of people in the United States know who Urlacher is. More than 50 percent, however, recognize Manning.

“Brian’s awareness numbers are still pretty low,” says Scott Sanford, senior client director with Dallas-based The Marketing Arm. “But when you play in a Super Bowl it automatically increases.”

And that’s good news for Urlacher, who has very favorable ratings among those who know of him and his on-field efforts. Even his personal peccadilloes, which include dating Paris Hilton and an out-of-wedlock child with the woman who accused Irish dance sensation Michael Flatley of rape, haven’t hurt his image.

Colts quarterback Peyton Manning, shown here in his popular Mastercard commercial, has become the NFL's go-to pitchman.

“Brian is thought of as a good guy, a down-to-earth individual,” Sanford said. “He’s also thought of as a fierce competitor.”

According to the research conducted by Sanford’s firm, 77.2 percent of people familiar with Urlacher found him likable. The linebacker’s popularity is backed up by his jersey sales, which have led the NFL in past seasons and were second to only New Orleans Saints running back Reggie Bush this year.

Manning, meanwhile, was considered slightly less appealing at 75.9 percent.

Urlacher’s likability numbers also beat Oprah Winfrey, Mike Ditka and Dick Butkus. In fact, the index shows the only two Chicago celebrities more appealing than Urlacher are Michael Jordan and actor Jim Belushi.

With more than 141 million people expected to watch the Super Bowl, Urlacher’s popularity will jump naturally. Coach Lovie Smith, quarterback Rex Grossman and kick returner Devin Hester also could make themselves household names Sunday.

But only Urlacher — who rates as the Bears’ most popular player and ranks among the Top 10 of the NFL’s most recognized players — has the potential to become a megastar, Sanford says.
“Brian is the only one who has the opportunity to put himself on the level of Peyton Manning and Tom Brady,” he says. “He’ll have more endorsement opportunities in the next two months than he has had in his entire career.”

Urlacher currently has commercials airing for Nike, McDonald’s and AT&T. With the exception of the phone company’s ads, however, he either plays a supporting role or doesn’t have any lines.

The New Mexico native has said in the past that he doesn’t enjoy doing commercials. That could explain why he hasn’t seized all the marketing opportunities available for him, experts said.
Al Lautenslager, author of “Guerrilla Marketing in 30 Days,” says Urlacher hasn’t capitalized on all the spoils that come with being the 2005 NFC Defensive Player of the Year. He believes Urlacher would be an ideal pitchman for the food industry and anything automotive related.

“Urlacher has not translated his success into commercial opportunities,” Lautenslager said. “It’s almost like shame on him.”

Should Urlacher’s endorsements skyrocket after the Super Bowl, he likely won’t eclipse Manning, who has become corporate America’s go-to guy. The Colts quarterback already does commercials for Mastercard, Sprint, DirectTV and Gatorade, among others.

Even if the Colts lose Sunday, it’s unlikely that his image will be tarnished. Experts say it would be nearly impossible for one game to undo Manning’s other athletic achievements and his unsoiled image.

“Peyton came into the league as a star and he has lived up to the hype,” Stanford said. “He’s got a squeaky-clean image, he has a pedigree and he comes from a famous family.”

Urlacher wouldn’t want Manning’s gigs anyway, says Thomas Smith, a sports economist and University of Illinois-Chicago professor. While the Colts star’s commercials are effective, Smith says they succeed because Manning embraces his dorky side.

“That wouldn’t translate very well to Urlacher,” Smith says. “He’s not a goofy guy. He should play to his strengths and find endorsement opportunities that say ‘This guy is a beast.’”

How to get the most out of a $2.6 million Super Bowl ad

Super Bowl's Longest Yard

January 29, 2007

By Eleftheria Parpis

ADWEEK

It seems that 90 million viewers just aren't enough anymore to make the multimillion-dollar buy worth it.

NEW YORK -- Somber music plays as a chimpanzee looking pretty in pink nonchalantly picks its nose. Sweetly looking into the camera, she repeatedly sticks her finger in her nose and then licks her finger.

"It's tough working with monkeys. And we've had enough," reads the on-screen copy. "Watch the CareerBuilder ads evolve. Feb. 4 on the big game." The ad ends with the chimp giving the camera a proud, toothy grin.

That 30-second commercial is one of two new spots from the Chicago-based company that began running two weeks before the Super Bowl to heighten anticipation for its new campaign, "It's a jungle out there. "The Super Bowl preview campaign is running on network TV and the client's Web site.

Super Bowl advertisers have long touted their game buys with leaks to the press and partial previews of their spots in an effort to stretch their ad dollars. Controversial spots historically garner media attention that can add millions of dollars' worth of "free exposure." This year, however, an increasing number of advertisers are employing all sorts of supplementary efforts pre- and post-game in order to maximize the value of their $2.6 million ad buy. The approaches are varied, but the intention is the same: generate buzz early and prolong the shelf life of the commercials long after the game

It seems that 90 million viewers just aren't enough anymore to make the multimillion-dollar buy worth it. So, advertisers are resorting to every form of modern marketing, from user-generated ad contests, video-sharing sites, blogs, mobile advertising and Webisodes, to additional content on brand sites.

The hoopla began earlier than ever this year, when Doritos, the NFL and Chevrolet introduced their Super Bowl stories months in advance, kicking off contests that asked the general public to submit ideas for Super Bowl commercials, back in October.

More skeptical industry observers say Super Bowl XLI is shaping up to be the most "gimmicky" in memory, but others call it smart business. Peter Krivkovich, CEO of CareerBuilder's agency Cramer-Krasselt, Chicago (whose shop's work on the Super Bowl dates back to the famous Masterlock series that began in 1974 and lasted through the mid-1990s) says the key to a successful Super Bowl showing is to "merchandise the bejesus out of it."

At press time, a majority of the advertisers signed up for the game had agreed to contribute their ads to a showcase on the CBS Sportsline Web site, according to a rep for the program. The showcase will be promoted on the home page as well as in short promos during the game's telecast. The ads will be loaded onto the site at the end of each quarter and will be available for a week after the game.

"It's no longer just about the additional press you get," says Tom McGovern, director of sports

media at Optimum Sports, a unit of Omnicom's OMD. "Now the incremental is all these additional places where the commercial is going to be used."

Halftime sponsor Pepsi last week was still considering how to use its 90 seconds of time. One option: to introduce a campaign tagged "Feel the Pepsi" for its flagship brand with ads from longtime agency BBDO.

To extend the excitement beyond the game, the company has also bought the front page of Yahoo for the day of the game and the day after. Yahoo also built a Web site for the brand, pepsisupercan.com, where people can get a code for a chance to win Super Bowl tickets for life and a diamond-and-jewel-adorned can valued at $100,000. It will also advertise on Yahoo Sports with video spots before and after the game.

All the Internet activity has further cemented the championship game as the preeminent media vehicle to reach a maximum audience. "It's still the viewing and commercial showcase. Nothing really comes close to it from a viewing, commercial or marketing standpoint," says Charlie Rutman, North American CEO of Havas' MPG. "Every client has their own definition of price value, but for every advertiser that is reluctant to get into that spotlight for that price there's a marketer dying for the opportunity. These digital showcases create more interest and word-of-mouth about the advertising efforts, rather than less.

For two weeks prior to the Super Bowl, visitors to BudLight.com can register to use their mobile phones to vote for their favorite commercials on game day. After Anheuser-Busch's final spot airs, registrants will receive a text message with a code that will allow them to unlock a "secret" spot (not airing during the game) on their cell phone or via a microsite. They will also be able to send customized messages to friends inviting them to view the spot.

The brewery is also planning to launch its first Web entertainment channel, Bud TV, the day after the game, where all of the game spots will be featured. "Last year, when we put our commercials on various Web sites, we were quite overwhelmed with the views we had and downloads of the commercials," says Tony Ponturo, vp, global media and sports marketing, A-B. "That also allowed us to realize our commercials were entertainment and content."

GoDaddy's CEO Bob Parsons has been stoking interest in its game spot by blogging about the trouble the company has had getting its ads through CBS clearance and posting at least one of the rejected spots on his site, bobparsons.com. In it, two office workers battle over buying each other's domain and loved ones' names using GoDaddy.com. The phrase, "Too late, I already did my mother," is used as a double entendre.

The overall concept of the final ad will focus on a fictional department at the online company.
The NFL, Frito-Lays' Doritos and General Motors' Chevrolet were some of the earliest promoters of their Super Bowl investments. Last fall, they launched contests inviting the public to create spots, making this the first Super Bowl that will air consumer-generated ad ideas. All three are keeping the public updated on the progress of the contests via dedicated pages on their sites. The NFL posted the winning pitch from New England native Gino Bona.

Chevy is running behind-the-scenes footage chronicling the Chevy Super Bowl College Ad Challenge and has posted the CG ads on its site for viewers to vote on. However, like the NFL, it is using professionals to finesse the contest winners' concepts for the actual game spot. Only Doritos will be airing an ad entirely created by a consumer.

For the last few months, consumers have been able to watch a play-by-play of the online competition on the Doritos site, including voting on which of the over 1,000 entries they want to see aired. The five finalists are all being flown to the game and won't know whose spot won until it airs. "There have been plenty of funny and memorable Super Bowl ads over the years, but very few have genuinely engaged consumers," says Dan Belmont, CMO of The Marketing Arm, which is working with Goodby, Silverstein + Partners on the contest. "That's why this year's Doritos Super Bowl ad really breaks new ground, with thousands of consumers actively creating Doritos brand messaging."

Despite advertisers attempts to create new approaches that will set them apart in viewers' minds, celebrity and scandal still capture consumer attention best. Last week, Nationwide Mutual Insurance, which is prepping a Super Bowl commercial starring ex-Britney Spears husband Kevin Federline, posted outtakes from the production on YouTube. At press time, the video ha more than 100,000 views.

Steven Schreibman, Nationwide's CMO, estimates the company has already received $5 million worth of PR and 180 million impressions from news about its ad, which is scheduled to first air on ABC's Good Morning America on Jan. 29. He says he did not intend to disclose the content of them commercial, but word began to leak about K-Fed's role.

According to Nielsen BuzzMetrics, Nationwide is topping the pre-game buzz, dominating Web chatter with 26 percent of all blog conversations last week. Doritos, Chevy, Bud, the NFL and an anonymous guy named J.P.—who is going to propose to his girlfriend during the game and apparently got an as-yet-unnamed advertiser to foot the bill—are also getting lots of buzz.
Pete Blackshaw, BuzzMetrics CMO, predicts the most successful advertisers will be those who extend their game-day exposure to video-sharing sites like YouTube, calling this "the torture test of marketing integration."

Others predict it will also be the ultimate test of the CG ad trend. "This year might be the year that tells us if the users have the stuff," says Steve Simpson, partner and cd at Goodby, which is overseeing the creative on the Emerald Nuts and HP efforts. "I'm open to it," he adds, "but this is the year that we'll see if it will live up to Time magazine's hype."