Radio Shack has taken a back seat in the marketing game for the past few years.  But with the announcement of Lance Armstrong’s new cycling team, Team RadioShack, and their new rebranding plan, Radio Shack is making a comeback.

In 12 new TV ads that started running nationally yesterday, Radio Shack, is now going to be known as “The Shack,” at least informally in its marketing materials.  The new campaign includes in-store signage, digital media, out-of-home, direct and a three day bi-coastal event which will broadcast live video connecting New York and San Francisco.  “The Shack Summer Netogether” will use two 11 x 17-foot “laptops” broadcasting live video to connect activities in both cities.  There are also plans for a new website and a new Facebook page.

The goal of this campaign is to give it a more modern image that speaks to its premium brand offerings in wireless and connectivity.  The brand is 80 years old and its definitely time to spice things up.

Rebranding is always risky business.  We’ve seen several companies do it lately, i.e. Pizza Hut it with “The Hut,” Circuit City did it at one time with “The City.”  But RadioShack is not just changing its name and resting on its laurels, they are covering most of their bases with this campaign, as they are using both traditional and experimental media.  It will be hard to ignore their new “The Shack” messaging, which in for a marketer is one of your top goals.

For the full article, go to: http://www.brandweek.com/bw/content_display/news-and-features/retail-restaurants/e3i2249411481f0057b413e041c487ac7bf?imw=Y

For an interesting opinion from PC World, go to: http://www.pcworld.com/article/169613/radioshacks_the_shack_shift_3_things_to_consider.html

In a new Pew Research Center Social & Demographic Trends survey, 60% of respondents aged 65-plus said they feel younger than their actual age – in many cases much younger.

• Among respondents ages 65 to 74, 1/3 say they feel 10 to 19 years younger than their age
• One in six say they feel at least 20 years younger than their actual age
• When asked flat out whether they “feel old,” 78% of the 65-74s and 61% of the 75-plusers said “no.”

So, how should marketers address people who are old, by conventional measures, but whose self-perception and physical condition doesn’t match up? One school of thought promotes using images that reflect the target market’s age less 10 to 12 years.  Another is to practice ‘ageless’ marketing, while being sure the ad reflects your understanding of the values and stage of life of the targeted populations and how the product and service meets their needs.  Another important role to the 65 plus consumer is the role of them being a grandparent.  Per the report, 65-plusers value becoming a grandparent more than anything.  They also look forward to having more time with family and then spending time with grandchildren as they age.  So these are key points that marketers can also tap into to evoke an emotional response.

For a more in depth look at how to market to this demographic, go to: http://www.adweek.com/aw/content_display/news/client/e3i4d0a69ad29e1cca5bb846e33310e9dcb

Times are changing, especially when it comes to what used to be the conventional women vs men household roles.  While women used to be the housemakers and the ones to do all of the household shopping, studies now show that almost one-third of men are now the principal shoppers in the household.  This new Mr. Mom role is key for marketers, who have been skewing their supermarket advertising towards women, because now they have a whole new demographic that they can market to.

One of the biggest distinctions between men and women supermarket shoppers came from a 2006 article, “Secrets of the Male Shoppers,” which claims that “men buy, while women shop.”  This highlights that the sexes have different priorities when going down the aisles and is key for marketers to be aware of.

Nielsen data shows that while females used to dominate shopping trips in all channels except for convenience/gas stores, their numbers have consistently dropped from 2004 to 2008/2009, while the men’s numbers have steadily increased.  Research has shown that men have increased their grocery spending by 56% over a five year span.

To get more information about how men and women’s shopping roles are changing, go to: http://www.brandweek.com/bw/content_display/news-and-features/direct/e3i1a1890f91e4cda9ae317111c0e19f1fa

Taco Bell has decided to think outside of the TV box for their new marketing campaign which focuses on their new 79, 89, and 99 cent menu items.  The ad, which is called “Roosevelts,” as it is referring to the president featured on the dime, debuted Monday in National CineMedia’s FirstLook pre-feature program across 171 markets.

The spot will run in theatres before the new Transformer movie (which has already grossed more than $60 million), as well as other “Summer Blockbusters.”  These movies are the perfect place to debut these spots because Taco Bell’s target demographic is younger adults, the same people who are going to these films.  Taco Bell also considered research presented by National CineMedia which claims that 74% of moviegoers eat out either immediately before or after a movie and 88% of NCM’s audience is within a 3-mile radius of a Taco Bell.  Sounds like a no-brainer for Taco Bell.

Personally, I believe that more and more companies are going to be looking into doing movie theatre marketing because you have a captive audience.

For the fullarticle, go to: http://www.brandweek.com/bw/content_display/news-and-features/direct/e3i344418db676344f0847dc8afac665540