Ram's Super Bowl Ad Will Drive More Brand Discussion for Days.

February 5, 2018 by Clever Samurai

As an advertiser, the worst possible thing that can happen is to be unnoticed. With yesterday’s immediate backlash, social media noise and today’s water-cooler conversations, there will be those that believe being unnoticed would have been much better for RAM Trucks than running the Martin Luther King Jr.’s Drum Major Instinct speech as the backdrop to their “Built to Serve” Super Bowl ad.

I don’t think there will be much argument that the overall idea of the commercial was solid. In fact, it might have been very powerful with no soundtrack at all. There is certainly some confusion being delivered by the licencors of the MLK Estate as to whether they were aware of the ad, its content and the rights to use the 50-year old speech. RAM is clear that they worked with the MLK people, every step of the way. Mercedes did the same a few years back.

And while today maybe be an unusually busy day for the RAM PR department, it makes me wonder if the Fiat-Chrysler executives that control the RAM brand are looking at the long game; recognizing that the conversation will melt into another topic about another brand or celebrity scandal while they reap considerable discussion about their trucks and what they should, or should not have done with their Super Bowl advertising.

There is no question that RAM sells loads of trucks, over 500,000 in the US last year, but they are ever in-pursuit of market leaders Chevy Silverado and the Ford’s F-Series. Trucks are a big deal in some parts of North America; like motherhood and apple-pie (mixed in with a few gun racks). And those that drive them, they often drive the brands their daddy’s did and sometimes their daddy’s before them. RAM’s job is to get people to switch their brand choice to them – period.

Was the “Built to Serve” ad market tested in advance? One would assume so for a brand as sophisticated as RAM. Did they expect the discussion about the ad and were they prepared for it? Or did they have no idea that their brand would be the topic of the day?

RAM’s mistake, if there is one, certainly is not the technical misrepresentations of VW in recent history. It’s one that might actually garner more discussion, at least in the short-term.

So will RAM view this as a PR disaster or is this a calculated risk to help catapult them into the forefront of discussion with the new 2019 trucks now available? It sure would be interesting to be in their offices today – however RAM got there (by mistake or on purpose), they now have my attention.

 

The Importance of Strategy in Modern Marketing

In today’s fast-paced digital landscape, the role of strategy in marketing has never been more crucial. As businesses grapple with an ever-evolving marketplace, a well-defined marketing strategy serves as a beacon, guiding brands towards sustainable growth and success. This article aims to shed light on the essence of marketing strategy, its undeniable benefits, and the […] October 23, 2023 by Clever Samurai

Maximizing Social Impact through Marketing: Strategies for Success

In the contemporary business landscape, where consumers are more informed and socially conscious, the intersection of marketing and social impact has become a pivotal point of discussion. Brands are no longer just profit-driven entities; they are change-makers with the power to influence societal norms and values. This article delves deeper into the symbiotic relationship between […] September 28, 2023 by Clever Samurai

Corporate brand positioning is not easy. These tips will help!

In the fast-paced and fiercely competitive business environment of the modern era, the concept of brand positioning emerges as a fundamental pillar in crafting a triumphant commercial approach. Brand positioning is more than a mere marketing term; it’s a strategic process that places a brand firmly in the consumer’s consciousness, articulating its unique values, attributes, […] August 22, 2023 by Clever Samurai

Public relations in marketing: 7 reasons why you should build relationships with media 

Public relations (PR) are a vital aspect of any business. It involves creating and maintaining a positive image and reputation for your brand. One key way to achieve this is through building relationships with the media that represent your industry. These media outlets can help increase your brand’s visibility, establish you as an authority in […] April 11, 2023 by Clever Samurai

How content marketing can lead to media wins and increased sales

In the modern marketing era, it has become impossible to escape the call of content marketing. Content is everywhere in the digital space, and marketing strategists have known this for a long time, and have taken advantage of it to drive huge amounts of organic traffic. If you, as a business, want to grow your […] March 1, 2023 by Clever Samurai

SEO marketing for sales lead generation in 2023 [back to basics]

What is SEO? SEO is search engine optimization, a method of improving your site to garner more organic traffic from search engine results. Content and websites designed with SEO in mind are often an important aspect of digital marketing strategies, as more traffic is always appreciated when it comes to digital marketing efforts. Whether you’re […] January 31, 2023 by Clever Samurai

How to market your job listings to secure and retain high-level passive job seekers

Canada continues to deal with a shortage of available, high-quality talent, which has caused job vacancies to soar in recent years. This has caused complications for all kinds of companies throughout various industries, as they struggle to staff their businesses with capable individuals. It isn’t as simple as posting a listing online, and then sitting […] December 6, 2022 by Clever Samurai

Recruitment marketing 101: How to secure high-quality talent by “selling” your job postings

It’s no secret that Canada is currently experiencing a shortage of available, high-quality talent that can fill job vacancies. According to Statistics Canada, employers were actively recruiting for more than one million vacant positions in June 2022. This makes June the third consecutive month with over one million job vacancies. If you are an employer, […] November 1, 2022 by Clever Samurai

How marketing agencies combine public relations and inbound marketing to improve brand reputation and sales

A cursory internet search regarding the relationship between public relations and inbound marketing will result in countless articles discussing the differences between the two. Guides on how to separate their strategies, methods, and objectives are plentiful, but this could lead a reader to false conclusions, or an assumption that they should be treated and utilised […] August 4, 2022 by Clever Samurai

Can B2B sales increase from trust gained by PR? The answer is “yes”.

Earned media coverage, which is non-paid promotional opportunities for a brand, company, internal thought leader or expert, that is secured via public relations (PR) is more important than it’s ever been for B2B businesses. In fact, if PR is not part of your overall B2B marketing and sales strategy, you are doing yourself a great […] June 25, 2020 by Clever Samurai

The power of customer testimonials

Whether your business is big or small, getting feedback and positive reviews is an essential part of your marketing strategy. People depend on reviews to make purchase decisions, and in a world where social media amplifies every opinion, your most compelling content marketing can come from customer testimonials. It’s good practice to seek out feedback […] December 19, 2019 by Clever Samurai

Social media trends you shouldn’t ignore

It’s easy to pooh pooh anything labelled “social media trend” since we’ve seen so many of them come and go. But there are a few social media trends with staying power that B2B companies should consider using to reach potential customers in the social media world where many of them live and breathe each day. […] October 16, 2019 by Clever Samurai

How to create a killer e-newsletter

Years ago, the newsletter was dead. More specifically, email was dead and social media was where everyone wanted to be. Due to the unknowability of algorithms, (which make figuring out how to reach followers on social media platforms near impossible), the reliability of email has put the newsletter back in the spotlight. In fact McKinsey […] September 17, 2019 by Clever Samurai

Want to be liked by almost a billion people? Try Instagramming!

Think of Instagram and impossibly beautiful, sun-kissed landscapes come to mind, often with equally beautiful pictures of food, products, vehicles, people and more. There’s a reason why B2C companies like the platform; its striking visuals sell, sell, sell. But B2B companies should pay attention too: Instagram isn’t just a place to post enviable vacation snaps, […] September 4, 2019 by Clever Samurai

Thought Leadership Can Turbocharge Your Business

Thought Leadership or Subject Matter Expert (SME) has been around for a long time, though people have different ideas about what it is. It’s not just a C-suite type talking on about a topic they’re passionate about on LinkedIn. It could be that, but it could also be something entirely different. Thought leadership can take […] August 13, 2019 by Clever Samurai

What B2B Marketers Can Learn From B2C

B2B marketers can learn a lot from their B2C colleagues. It starts with thinking of your customers as people, not companies, and your B2B brand as a multi-faceted company that provides value in multiple ways. Too often B2B brands are represented as bland, business-only entities, which is not just deflating for the company but ultimately […] July 25, 2019 by Clever Samurai

The Future of Visual Search

Two big trends in search are coming our way: voice search and visual search. Listen to ecommerce industry leaders and you’ll hear that visual search – taking a picture with a phone and searching for matches as you would with text in Google – is the “next big thing.” The CEO of Pinterest, Ben Silbermann […] June 6, 2019 by Clever Samurai

It’s 2019: Is Your Business Inclusive?

The world has changed a lot in the past five years, and maybe no more so than in the realm of inclusivity. People want to see it reflected in the brands and companies that they work with, so before any marketing or lead generation campaign can take off, it’s vital to ensure your company is […] May 23, 2019 by Clever Samurai

The Second Coming of Podcasting

‘Video killed the radio star’ went the 1981 song; but of course, it didn’t. Not long ago there was a lot of talk about the death of podcasting. People said it was too niche. Too hard for audiences to find amid all the other digital clutter. Then in January, music streaming platform Spotify made a […] May 7, 2019 by Clever Samurai

It’s the Marie Kondo Effect: Does Your Marketing Spark Joy? If Not, Here’s What You Can Do.

It seems the entire world has fallen under the spell of Japanese organizing expert, Marie Kondo, whose system provides a simple way to organize or get rid of anything in one’s life that doesn’t, in her words, “spark joy.” Ever since her Netflix show, “Tidying Up with Marie Kondo”, debuted on January 1, donation bins […] March 8, 2019 by Clever Samurai

Integrated Marketing in the Digital Age: Using all the Tools in the Toolbox

Integrated marketing is a blend of all aspects of marketing communication – advertising, sales promotion, public relations, direct marketing, and social media – through their respective mix of channels, media, and methods so that all work together as a unified force. That’s a pretty long sentence, but the objective is fairly simple:  ensure that all […] January 11, 2019 by Clever Samurai

Employer Branding – Attract and Retain Excellent Employees

In order to attract and recruit the best talent available, companies need to align their business value proposition with their employee value proposition. What does that mean in practice? To succeed in attracting today’s best employees, you need to develop a distinctive talent brand strategy that motivates candidates to find out more about your opportunities. […] December 17, 2018 by Clever Samurai

The Importance of a Strong Value Proposition

Why should I buy your product or service? This is the fundamental question every business needs to answer, and that answer is the value proposition. Simply put, a value proposition describes the tangible benefits a customer gets from using your product or service. It should deliver a strong first impression and make a clear case […] August 17, 2018 by Clever Samurai

Making Marketing Movies. A Great Way to Tell Your Brand Story.

Motion pictures began in the 1890s. They were short and rudimentary by today’s standards. Despite their limitations, they had one thing that today’s great movies have – they told a story. I’ve been fascinated with movies and how they are made since Grade 8. My classroom had 3 cameras and a control panel, with the […] May 10, 2018 by Clever Samurai

Ram’s Super Bowl Ad Will Drive More Brand Discussion for Days.

As an advertiser, the worst possible thing that can happen is to be unnoticed. With yesterday’s immediate backlash, social media noise and today’s water-cooler conversations, there will be those that believe being unnoticed would have been much better for RAM Trucks than running the Martin Luther King Jr.’s Drum Major Instinct speech as the backdrop […] February 5, 2018 by Clever Samurai

Converting Analytics Into Insights And Insights Into Sales

It doesn’t take a genius to come up with one simple insight that can be applied to solve a client’s biggest marketing problem. Or, maybe it does.Joe Amaral is vice president and creative director at Canadian marketing and communications agency, Clever Samurai (www.cleversamurai.com). Amaral has won just about every major creative honour there is, including […] November 16, 2016 by Clever Samurai

Dear Client, Instagram doesn’t have to suck.

Many clients and businesses see Instagram as a “black hole” for advertising dollars. When they don’t quickly see sales, they place the blame upon the medium – before they begin to understand it.This misconception stems from the expectation of immediate results to the bottom line. But businesses need to learn: Instagram is about capturing moments. […] June 29, 2016 by Clever Samurai

New Media Really Loves PR

Think about the old-school public relations agent pitching stories to get ink on their clients’ latest and greatest. With the right connections, a reasonable story and a nudge-nudge-wink-wink that advertising purchasing doesn’t impact positive editorial coverage, that old school agent might have secured a whole lot of ink.Things have changed. And, for the better. With […] May 1, 2016 by Clever Samurai

Welcome to our community

We’ve recently been doing some candidate interviewing and hiring for our client services team. And along the way, we’ve met some interesting, talented and quite experienced marketing agency pros. Some we liked and some we really liked. Some liked us back, some didn’t and some others we had a mutual dislike. Standard hiring stuff, really.In […] January 4, 2016 by Clever Samurai