Popup Extensions: Angels and Demons

Two leading brands have chosen the popup-store concept to extend themselves, with decidedly different flavors. Axe is taking over a Hamptons, NY nightclub; its brand will be splashed liberally over the premises, with Axe products on sale in the restrooms. The extension is nothing if not logical. Michael Heller, a marketer quoted in the New York Times, observed, “Axe is all about the mating game, and the best place for a mating game is at a nightclub.” According to the Times, Axe is paying a promotion fee and is not participating in the revenues from the club. More here.

Those looking for a more, um, wholesome brand extension need look no further than Martha Stewart’s Popup Wedding Chapel. The last week of June, brides in New York City can get hitched cost-effectively at a Martha-Stewart-branded venue. “For $500, couples will get a gorgeous chapel and ceremony with champagne toast,” says the promotion. More here.

Coming Soon: PlayStation Food

Sony Computer Entertainment Europe (SCEE) recently named Target Entertainment Group as licensing agent for PlayStation software IP across Europe and Asia. Target Entertainment plans on developing a wide range of consumer products, including PlayStation apparel and accessories, stationery and gifts, housewares and – yes – food.

Stephanie Freeman, licensing manager at SCEE, said, “Many of Sony Computer Entertainment’s ’s first party software titles and characters are now recognized by millions of people around the world – from the legendary Ratchet and Clank through to the iconic Sackboy from LittleBigPlanet. We really want our consumers to have the ability to interact with our brands and characters in ways other than just on screen.”

The German Touch

While American hucksters wasted no time in cranking out the Obama T-shirts and memorabilia, it took a German company to come up with the questionable idea of marketing Obama-branded fried chicken.

German newsweekly Der Spiegel reports that frozen-foods firm Sprehe wanted to ride the wave of Obama-mania and nothing could appear more natural than chicken fingers (with curry sauce, by the way).

The magazine quotes the firm’s marketing manager, Judith Witting, who remarked that, “It was supposed to be an homage to the American lifestyle and the new US president.” When asked by the magazine whether they might be playing off traditional racial stereotypes, Ms. Witting remarked that the thought had never occurred to her. More here.

The Last Laugh

Brand marketers, in their ivory towers, may get a chuckle out of seemingly eyebrow-raising brand extensions. But the brand owners may be getting the last laugh, all the way to the bank.

Case in point: Burger King apparel (such as BK boxer shorts), which was singled out in TippingSprung’s 2008 Brand Extension Survey as a questionable fit.

The folks at Broad Street Licensing Group who have been spearheading an extension program for Burger King naturally have a different take on the situation. First, Burger King apparel is just one piece in a larger program, which includes some innovative extensions like BK-branded salty snacks (which won an award for best brand extension in License! magazine), barbecue sauce, and frozen appetizers.

Bill Cross, VP of food licensing at Broad Street, thinks that non-food extensions like Burger King boxer shorts get a bad rap for no good reason: brand owners are often overly concerned about issues ranging from product liability and dilution of brand equity to cannibalization (forgive the metaphor) of core products. In reality, he says, many of these products are simply “fun” and have little risk of impacting brand equity. These non-food applications are often “of the moment” – a moment which, quite often, is a very profitable one.

Extending the iPhone

This week, Apple announced that 15,000 applications are available at its App Store and that they’ve been downloaded a total of 500 million times -- not bad for a service launched only last July. In this week's Brand Elastic, we look at some innovative ways brick-and-mortar brands are extending into the iPhone app arena.
 
Kraft’s iFood Assistant offers a wide range of simple recipes, and is one of the iPhone's 100 most popular paid apps. For a single payment of 99 cents, users can browse recipes by ingredients, meal type, or prep time. They can also register at KraftFoods.com to save recipes and build shopping lists.
 
When Target realized that most of the traffic to their mobile site was coming from iPhones, they created the Target Snow Globe to capture holiday sales. After shaking the iPhone like a regular snow globe and waiting for the digital snow to settle, users are shown a gift idea from the retailer that they can tap through and purchase from Target.
 
Audi was the first auto manufacturer to launch an iPhone app back in August ’08. The Audi A4 Challenge is a driving simulator that takes advantage of the iPhone’s accelerometer, and allows users to steer an A4 through a series of courses. The game links to a dedicated A4 iPhone microsite featuring content optimized for viewing on the iPhone.
 
Of course, brands looking to enter the App Store universe need to make sure they avoid the type of misstep that Chipotle made with their Mobile Ordering app. The app failed to deliver on its promise of fast food ordered directly from your phone, and was pulled within hours of appearing in the App Store.
 
Any other branded iPhone apps you’ve come across or would like to see? Let us know.

CES Spotting: Lego camera and Swiss Army laser pointer

Some interesting brand extensions to report from the 2009 Consumer Electronics Show, where we saw an unlikely entry into the crowded digital-camera category. Lego announced it will launch a line of branded tech products this summer, including digital cameras, video cameras, and MP3 players. The new line will let fans "express themselves through photos, videos and music, while displaying their enthusiasm for one of the world's all-time favorite toys," says Jill Wilfert, VP licensing for Lego Group.

And if you’re looking for headphones for your Lego MP3 player, you may want to try Candeez earphones which, for $4, will allow you to walk around looking like you have a pair of Tootsie Rolls or Jolly Ranchers in your ears. 
 
Finally, from the literal cutting edge of technology comes the Victorinox Presentation Pro, a Swiss Army Knife that comes with built-in USB thumb-drive, laser pointer, biometric fingerprint scanner, and Bluetooth remote that connects to your laptop so you can change slides in your presentation.

Your thoughts on these new extensions, or any others we may have missed at CES?

Hard Rock Theme Park Shuttered

The Hard Rock theme park lived an intense, all-too-brief existence like one of its idols. It opened in Myrtle Beach this year, only to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy by year-end. Hard Rock International was apparently guaranteed an annual minimum of $2.5 million for its name; the park covered 55 acres and was built for $400 million. More coverage here. Visit the theme park’s site, while it lasts, at www.hardrockpark.com.

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Burger King men’s apparel was one of the extensions which raised eyebrows in TippingSprung’s fifth-annual survey. Just after the survey results were released, another questionable Burger King extension made headlines, in case you missed it: Burger King cologne (titled "Flame"). The $3.99 stocking-stuffer, available over the holidays exclusively in New York City at novelty shop Ricky’s, sold out in the first three days. More here.

The Results Are In...

What do Burger King underwear, Kellogg's hip-hop street wear and Allstate Green insurance have in common? They all were voted among the worst brand extensions of 2008. Earlier this month, TippingSprung polled 689 Brandweek readers and other marketing professionals, online, about this year's flurry of brand extensions. Among others voted thumbs-down: Coca-Cola's RPet clothing at Wal-Mart, Playboy energy drink and Disney Sleeping Beauty executive fountain pens priced at up to $1,200, particularly ill-timed in this economy.

Accentuating the positive, Campbell's V8 Soup was selected the top beverage extension. Nearly 77 percent of marketers said it was a good idea. Coppertone sunglasses and Mr. Clean performance car washes were named the best brand extensions, according to 31.2 percent and 25.7 percent of respondents, respectively.

For Ken Hein’s full coverage in Brandweek, click here. To receive a full survey report (available in the first half of January 2009), email us.

This is TippingSprung's fifth annual brand-extension survey conducted with Brandweek. Past winners include Iams pet health insurance and Huggies Little Swimmers sunscreen; past losers include Precious Moments coffins, Hooters airlines, Cheetos lip balm and Salvador Dalí deodorant (yes, these are/were all real products). Feel free to write us for past results as well.

A Little Bit of Luxe

Those hooked on luxury brands who wish to make a gesture of frugality in a down economy have had their prayers answered. Hermès just unveiled its version of the Smart car, complete with leather accents and available in colors that include fuchsia and lime. The cars start at 38,000 euros (almost $50,000). More here.

Those with less pocket change who still wish to splurge on luxury brand extensions this holiday season have a few options. Famed Paris baker Lenôtre is offering bûches de Noël, traditional Christmas cakes, designed by Hubert de Givenchy. Last year’s was from Karl Lagerfeld.

A more playful option comes from Porsche, which has licensed its name for videogame steering wheels -– prices range from $150 to $400 for the Clubsport model. More here.

Gentlemen, You May Start Your Ovens

A kitchen designed by Porsche with slick aluminum and driftwood finishes is in production. For $200, you can throw in a pair of Peugeot-branded salt and pepper mills. These brand extensions are targeted at a new male demographic – the gastrosexual. You’ll find the term in a recent study commissioned by food company PurAsia and authored by experts including Dr. Paul Levy (who purportedly coined the term "foodie").

According to the study, men are spending more time in the kitchen, which they increasingly view as their turf (53% of men reported cooking with separate ingredients nearly every day, and the amount of time men have spent at the stove has risen five-fold since 1961).

Men's interest in the kitchen is rapidly creating brand-extension opportunities. German luxury-kitchen maker Poggenpohl recently unveiled its P7340, a "new kitchen especially designed for men" in partnership with luxury men's accessory brand Porsche Design. Chefs Jamie Oliver and Gordon Ramsay, credited in the PurAsia report as helping drive the rise of the gastrosexual, each have cooking-themed videogames in the works.

For the complete editorial in Brandweek, click here. To download a PDF version of the PurAsia report, right-click here.