Ask any college student to participate in a survey, and you'll probably hear a response such as:

1. How much time will it take?
2. What's in it for me?

Will I get spammed after I give you this info?
Survey U has three answers those students like to hear:

1. 1.The average survey lasts 15 minutes.
2. 2.You earn Amazon and iTunes Gift Cards.
3. 3.The information you provide remains anonymous and confidential at all times.

Through online and offline campaigns, Survey U, a division of Globalpark USA, recruits thousands of students across the nation, including each of the 50 states. Valuable statistics are derived from their monthly publications, known as The NOW Report. Answers are collated and analyzed and the data is forwarded to the public sector, private corporations, foundations, trusts, charities and academic institutions.
SurveyU was built with Globalpark tools and is a showcase of the Globalpark platform.
To gauge the accuracy of the stats, I skimmed through an older publication of The Now Report, which noted students shifting from Myspace to Facebook in August, 07- well before Facebook surpassed Myspace in monthly visits.

I spoke with GlobalparkUSA president and SurveyU co-founder Dan Coates at Mplanet2009. We talked about the current college generation, also known as the "millenials"and their unique habits and traits, such as their preference for  Hulu over live TV. They're also one of the most highly coveted age groups for marketers, and their attention spans are too short to notice traditional forms of advertising.

As a result, the stats provided by SurveyU carry extra value for marketers. The surveys provide a multi-dimensional analysis of habits and trends.
For example, one graph lists the types of online video college students watch (news, politics, sports,movies) compared to the internet population as a whole. They also asked if and when students planned to buy the 3G iPhone, and you can see the breakdown on this image.

SurveyU.com has its fingers on the pulse of the college community, and marketer would be wise to dig into that valuable info.

 Super Bowl Sunday is still two days away, but more than 46,000 people have already seen the Pedigree Super Bowl Ad on Youtube.

Pedigree launched the ad earlier this week, along with three behind the scenes videos on their Youtube Channel, Pedigreebrand. It's not the only brand launching a pre-emptive campaign. Careerbuilder, Toyota and Doritos are among the other companies posting ads before the NFL championship.
The concept behind the early exposure campaign is simple: Get  people talking about your brand before the game, to maximize the buzz and increase awareness of your brand. Not only do you get the extra exposure online, but you've planted a seed with the viewers who are eager to look the ad their friend was hyping in the breakroom earlier in the week.

Considering the $3 million price tag for each 30 slot, it's no wonder that Pedigree and others are utilizing online networks to maximize their ROI.

Pedigree's commercial scores on two major emotional elements: Humor and compassion.
The ad shows frustrated owners of exotic pets, with scenes of a runaway ostrich, a boar stinking up the family car's backseat, a rhino charging through the owner's living room and a bull that has no intention of playing frisbee.  It ends with a simple message:

Maybe you should get a dog. The Pedigree Adoption Drive. Help us Help Dogs.

Anytime you gather thousands of marketers together for a few days, you're bound to hear certain buzz words repeated ad nasuem. Now don't get me wrong, I enjoyed all of the speeches at Mplanet2009, particularly John Hayes, CMO, of American Express, who reminded us to keep things in perspective. I especially appreciated his anecdote about a bank executive who admonished one of his colleagues during the bank fallout in September. He reminded the fellow millionare: "Keep things in perspective. You're stepping out of  a Mercedez and walking down Wall Street. You're not stepping out of a LVC boat and storming Normandy Beach."

A few phrases and terms officially in overkill status.
 
The top 5 most overused phrases:
5. You must become Innovative and interactive.
4. Build your brand with a consistent message.
3. Establish an authentic and emotional connection with the consumer.
2. Become your company hero with a new vision.

And, the most overused phrased at Mplanet2009:

1. "Find those consumer touch-points."

I must have heard "touch-points" on an average of once every five minutes. To be honest, the humorous side of me envisioned a short comedy video to mock the over use of the phrase. I'm not sure every customer is  100% comfortable with the phrase "Touch points", which sounds more like a politically correct phrase you'd hear during a public safety video warning against child predators.
To be honest, I don't want Wal-Mart or Best Buy trying to find my "touch points".
I felt like I was listening to Chris Hansen on  Dateline NBC: To Catch a Predator:
"You said you wanted to find their touch points.....sounds a little suspicious to me."
For the record, I'm NOT making light of child predators, they're the scum of the earth. I just want to know who coined the popular new phrase, cause it's already worn out its welcome.

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Coca-Cola (NYSE: KO) is branching out to a demographic that's exploding in population- Hispanic Americans.
Reinaldo Padua, Coke's Assistant Vice-President of Hispanic Marketing, presented Coke's latest marketing strategies at Mplanet2009 in Orlando.

Reinaldo joined a round table discussion that included Donna Sturgess: the global head of Innovation at GlaxoSmithKline and Jeben Berg, a Creative Innovationist for YouTube. Reinaldo expects additional Hispanic interactive features for Cocoacola.com in the near future.

 We want to be consistent with all of our touch-points that we have with the brand, and online is a critical one. It's been growing by double digits with our Hispanic consumers.

We do have specific website that is the Spanish version of Coke rewards called mispremioscocacola. It's an additional touch-point and experience with our consumers to be in touch with our brand. As we see our key Hispanic consumers growing in their usage of online tools and the internet, it will keep growing our investment behind that opportunity.

Another Georgia-Based corporation that's tapping the Hispanic Market is Home Depot (NYSE: HD). You may recall when my post about Home Depot launching Spanish site that was a complete replica of the English site: espanol.homedepot.com. 

If U.S. population trends continue, Coke and Home Depot should see significant increases in online traffic.

Let me preface the post by giving a special thanks to Rachelle Lacroix and Bryan Blaise of Fleishman Hillard, who were so courteous and arranged our visit to Mplanet2009.

Two companies stood out during my two days at Mplanet2009- Coke and McDonalds, Both companies spent time to talk to the blogging community at the annual event hosted by the American Marketing Association.

You may recall my earlier post crediting McDonald's CMO Mary Dillon, as the lone executive who took time out of her cramped schedule to talk with ALL of bloggers in one session. Time constraints prevented me from asking "As an spokesperson for the food's quality, I can't help but wonder, how often do you eat at McDonald's?" But we still learned a lot about McDonald's marketing plans for 2009 and beyond. I was impressed by the fact that McDonalds and Dillon were humble enough to admit they still had a lot to learn. The funny thing is, they designated time to speak to us, while other corporations missed out,  so McDonald's left me with two major impressions:

1. They're eager to learn more about social media.

2.  By engaging with bloggers, they're on the right track.

You can watch two videos from the Dillon interview. The top video is the shorter of the two,  about 3 minutes long. Lower video is approximately 9 minutes.

In Japan and Korea they're letting customers use mobile phones to give feedback.In Japan, McDonalds has a relationship with Nintendo, and you can download a game  to your DS, a free game, just by entering the restaurant.

Mcworld.com allows kids to enter codes from their toys and create a virtual world for the pet or character that comes in their Happy Meal.

Dillon was very straightforward and honest with many of her answers. She mentioned several internal blogs and forums that employees use to interact with management. She also shared some of the insights they gained from the Global Moms Panel, including the U.S. version called: Mom's Quality Correspondents, where mothers contribute their thoughts and feedback regarding McDonald's products.

They're blogging externally, about their experience with the brand. They've been a pretty big advocate  of what we're doing and pushing us harder to put more fruits and vegetables and finding ways so that kids can make those choices and mom doesn't have to be the bad guy. Because a lot about going to McDonalds is the treat, it's about the fun. They've not held back when they're not happy about something. I do believe that when people get exposed..

When Dillon was asked about the possibility of starting RSS feeds to keep customers in touch with special events or deals, she confessed:

We're not quite that sophisticated yet. I think we do a really good tools around to understand the demographics of an area. We do some local store marketing and we're beginning to connect store/local marketing opportunity.

There's an example of McDonald's local store marketing in my hometown, Merritt Island, the TRUE home of Kennedy Space Center. McDonald's put a Space Shuttle on top of the playpen, as you can see in the picture.

On social networks, Dillon didn't see social media as a top priority because McDonalds already has such strong presence throughout the world. However, she sees the potential to enhance the company's image through networks and forums.

We're not there yet. Social media for the future is a big opportunity for us and one that we haven't really tapped into as much, but we will. So it's not a critical on the front-end need, but is it a critical front end opportunity? I would say absolutely.We know that by using social media, not to try to sway it, but to let it evolve, more people will know about our food and our ingredients. There's a powerful opportunity for us to convey that more authentically to people in the future, and frankly it's not a high investment one. It's a matter of getting more expertise and time investment.

I'll recap my interview with Coke VP of Hispanic Marketing Reinaldo Padua in the next post.

Last night, I came to a rolling stop at a red light. My front tires creeped over the white line,( by a foot or two), when all  of a sudden, I saw those flickering blue lights.

I pulled over, rolled down the window, and heard:

Are you texting, or driving?

I explained that I was just checking an email on my iPhone, and the deputy warned me that I was technically failing to obey a traffic signal (since I was over the line). The funny thing is, I know he picked me out, because the cars to my right and left also hesitated to stop (and only did so because they realized there was a cop behind them, so it wasn't worth the 50/50 chance of the yellow turning red right as they passed through the intersection).

Fortunately, I still have a few cards from the Lt. Sheriff and others kept in my wallet, so that may have helped me escape the $180 ticket. He suggested a bluetooth, hands-free set and let me go scott free. I'm thankful for their leniency, but I'm warning the rest of you Floridians- just put that phone down and wait until you get home.

Update from Mplanet2009 : During today's strategic forum: Creating a Holisitic Communication Strategy:CMOs from IBM, Ford,Under Armour and Nintendo took questions from AMA members regarding customer relations and marketing campaigns.

Anne Belec of Ford conceded the fact that Ford is trying to shed its image as an old-tech,midwest "muscle&hammers" brand that appeals to a limited market. She explained the motivation behind three campaigns: 1. Drive One. 2. American Idol 3. Tell your Mustang Story.

John Iwata of IBM emphasized establishing presence and substance.

R&D is fine, but we must go to cost-effective new methods. The world isn't just smaller and flatter, it's becoming smarter.

Steve Batista of Under Armour credited a consistent, single message for driving the brand's success.

You can't really pitch science and innovation to high schoolers, so we found our secret sauce: Passion. That's our active ingredient.

Cammie Dunaway of Nintendo spoke on "experiencial" marketing, and packaging to build.

More later.

Update: Today's first speaker at Mplanet2009 was R.K. Krishna Kumar, the chairman of Tata Coffee and Vice Chairman of Tata Tea and Indian Hotels, just delivered an impressive presentation regarding India's role in the international economy.

Kumar leads several ventures, including Rallis India, Watawala Plantations,
Tata Tetley and Tata Tea Incorporated (US). Throughout his speech, Kumar emphasized the need to shrink the gap between upper and middle class. He claimed that the current form of capitalism has failed, and believes a new form of a "more responsible" capitalism will emerge.

He cited several Tata projects that have lifted the lower class, such as the Tata Nano, which will sell for $2,000 this March, and Tata Indian Hotels, which offer luxurious accomodations for $20 per-night.

Tata is spread over seven business sectors. It comprises 96 companies, operates on six continents and employs 350,000 people.

In 30 minutes, Cammie Dunaway, executive VP of Sales and Marketing for Nintendo of North America, is speaking. Considering the success of the Wii, I'm sure she'll provide some interesting insights about the topic: Creating a holistic Communication Strategy.

I sat down for a one-on-one with Jerry Wind of Wharton School of Business. Wind is the Academic Director of Wharton Fellows Program and the SEI Center for Advanced Studies.

This interview followed his presentation at Mplanet titled:

:Competing in a World of Networked Organizations: Implications for Marketing.

Wind praised Sony for hosting a forum that allowed customers to compare and evaluate products. Wind believes that current economic "mess" will force the best companies to become more creative and utilize their networks to locate fresh talent.

The challenge for a company is 'how do I create a platform that encourages the consumer to interact with me?' Start leveraging the power of open innovation and network orchestration. All of these are perfect for today's environment.

 

Enablers of network orchestration
1. Flattening of the world.
2. Global availablity of talent and resources at varying prices.
3. Decompisition of the production process.
4. Advances in logistcs, communication, info and tech practices.
5  Intensified competition for having the right product and service at the right time and right place.

McDonalds CMO Mary Dillon reached out to bloggers with a Q&A session at Mplanet 2009 today. (For the record, she was the only CMO who designated time to speak exclusively to bloggers, and I appreciate her generosity.)

The  Global Moms Advisory Panel , the importance of online reputaiton management, balancing universal appeal with local relavance were some of the issues she discussed.

We learned about internal forums McDonalds developed employees, such as Station M, McLand and others, where employees can suggest changes or ask for information about store changes. Dillon admitted that McDonald's hasn't fully tapped into social networking / social media yet, because they're not a brand that customers have to spend a lot of time thinking about. She may be right, but I'll get into that later.

It's nice to know that McDonalds is open for dialogue with the new media, even when its boasting 80% profit.

I'll go into further detail later,because I'm off to the next conference.

What is the future role of marketing? During his presentation at the Mplanet2009 conference, American Express CMO John Hayes said that 2008 served as a sobering reminder that marketer's can't ignore the consumer's voice.

The only one who knows where we are is the consumer.The consumer is going through massive new sobriety.For the affluent, a margin call intheir lifestyle.We have a unique and intimate relationship with customers because we market to their passions.

Hayes compared the economic hurdles ahead to the challenges earlier generations faced. He offered three ways to manage through the economic recession:

1.Take respective biz models and reform it to match the market size.
2.Be an absolute zealot of increasing marketing share
3.Create hope and confidence in marketplace

Listening in today's world is the most powerful selling tool because people want to be heard.Marketing needs to be a dialogue not a monalogue

Hayes also listed ome key areas any marketing organization needs to focus on:
1.Establish new customer listening posts and vist them daily.
What do they need? What do they want?
2.Marketing leaders musthave the comfort to bring change,and can't rely on their comfort forms of communication
3.The world passes by if we aren't constantly innovating.

I'm blogging on-scene from the Mplanet 2009 Conference by American Marketing Association.

The conference is at the Rosen Shingle Creek in Orlando. I've already noticed an overriding theme: Be your company hero. AMA CEO Dennis Dunlap delivered the opening address. Some of his key points and themes:

Trends:

1. We're entering an underground economy.
2. Customers are connecting with diverse resources.
3. Customers are creating their own review stations.

Points:

• Plan for future scenarios based on trends.
• Be the driving force.
• Take the lead in  your organization show need for future planning.
• Go first, but not alone.
• Gain consensus on future scenarios based on trends.
• Create a road map.
• Focus on "game changers"

Anne Mulcahy,chairman and CEO of Xerox followed Dunlap with a speech about surviving in the age of information overload. She stressed consistency, clarity, communication with customers and strengthening your brand.

We're in the era of information overload. The hurricane of information has become a tsunami. a lot of the tried and true tools under scrutiny including TV ads.Daily questions about combatting false claims on the blogosphere and how you're dealing with social media.

Points:

• Consistency and clarity are critical in information overload.
• In a sea of constant change,brand establishes trust and provides comfort
• Most important time for research and innovation.
• Enemy of great is good.
• "very satisfied" customers are 6 times more likely to return than just satisfied at Xerox.
• Get as close to customers as possible-listening. If you don't,the downside can be deeply devastating

Mulcahy also stressed the importance of branding.

Brands are more than just a logo, they reside in hearts of customers, how people think about us ,what they say about you and how they feel about you.

UP NEXT:John Hayes, CMO of  American Express

As many major chains,such as Starbucks, (NASDAQ: SBX) cut and contract, McDonalds is renovating and expanding.
Despite a slow fourth quarter, the fast food leader ended up with 80% net profit for the year.
An article from AFP credits the profit to growing demand for low-cost meals in the global economic recession. McDonalds (NYSE: MCD)released a statement citing Net profit at 4.3 billion dollars, compared with 2.3 billion in 2007.

According to CNNmoney.com, McDonalds plans to spend $2.1 billion on enhancement and expansion this year. In the article, McDonalds CEO James Skinner commented on the successful year and explained his vision for the year ahead.
 

Through our strategic focus on menu choice, food quality and value, the average number of customers served per day increased to more than 58 million. Comparable sales and guest counts were positive across all segments for every quarter, and the company delivered double-digit growth in operating income for the fourth quarter and the year.
 

Tomorrow, I'll be among the media listening to McDonald's Chief Marketing Officer, Mary Dillon, who is speaking at the American Marketing Association Mplanet Conference in Orlando. Dillon's presentation is titled: "Building a strategic advantage in Global Markets."

Dillon is one of many high-profile leaders slated to speak at Mplanet. Others speakers include marketing leaders from Google, Xerox,American Express, Wal Mart, Cisco, Nintendo, Coca Cola and others. Check the marketingshift homepage or subscribe to our RSS feed  for on-location interviews and updates at the conference.

Ikea is in, Homegoods is out.

 That's the latest trend according to the Main Street Spending Index by Geezeo.
Since the start of this month, customers have spent 30% less per visit ($43) than they spent in December (66.70%)  at HomeGoods furniture store. HomeGoods is a division of TJX companies (NYSE:TJX).
Conversely, Ikea, which sells contemporary-designed furniture, enjoyed a 39% increase in sales during that same span.
From Jan.1-25, Geezeo's Ikea customers spent an average of $114.36 per-visit , compared to $81.86 in December. The most impressive aspect of that stat is it's almost a dollar higher than it was in September, before the recession really slammed the markets.

Would you risk $3 million dollars on 30 seconds of fame?

It's not a new  game show, it's a question on the minds of corporate executives who paid NBC for a Super Bowl commercial this year.

High-rollers at Vegas and Wall Street Brokers risk millions each day, and major corporate CMOs bet on the annual TV ratings frenzy known as the Super Bowl. Following annual trends indicates  the ratings are virtually guaranteed to be high, but I doubt Super Bowl 43 will draw as many viewers as the New England Patriots vs. New York Giants game last year, which featured an undefeated team and two of the most popular quarterbacks in the league- Tom Brady and Eli Manning.

This year's game lacks the compelling storyline we had last year, but the Pittsburgh Steelers are one of the most popular teams in the NFL. Then there's the  Arizona Cardinals, a team that's only won five playoff games, including three this season. (Personally, I hope the Cardinals get their first Lombardi Trophy.)

2009 presents a challenging decision for Corporate VPs at major companies such as Anheuser-Busch, Pepsi, General Motors, Time Warner and FedEx, (the top 5 advertisers in Super Bowl History), who are cutting cost at every corner in the midst of nation-wide layoffs and high unemployment.

A Wall Street Journal article: "Tough Times Complicate the Case for Buying Super Bowl Ads" reported lower demand for Super Bowl ads this year. According to TNS Media Intelligence,the cost of a Super Bowl ad has quadrupled in the past 20 years. To put it into perspective, a 30-second ad only cost $675 grand in 1989.

NBC may set a record for in-game ad revenue, with $200 million.
Dean DeBiase, CEO of TNS Media Intelligence, believes that the total cost for a Super Bowl ad, including production and all other overhead, exceeds the price for the time slot, but the potential reward still outweighs the risk.
 

There’s the expense of producing elaborate, new commercials for the game and for an increasing number of marketers, there are additional outlays for integrated communications programs intended to leverage their Super Bowl sponsorship.
As the long-term trend of data indicates, the Super Bowl endures as the premier venue for advertising in terms of ad rates and the ability of commercials shown in conjunction with the event to engage and hold viewers.
 

Maintaining the post-super bowl buzz should become a top priority for marketers. TNS's Super Bowl Ad-Fact Pack revealed that the media coverage and social chatter about theads peaks the day after the game and fades away within a few days. A week-long teaser campaign on prime time TV could improve brand recognition and increase chatter for a longer duration following the game.

If you love Super Bowl ads more than the game, CBS is hosting a one-hour primetime special the night before Super Bowl Sunday, called: Super Bowl’s Greatest Commercials 2009. Tide's Talking Stain” is competing for the number one spot against nine other popular ads from over the years.

The 10th through fourth place positions will be determined before the show starts and viewers can watch as commentators count down to the number one spot. The top three remaining picks will be revealed during the show at which point viewers will be able to go online to decide which commercial will take home the ultimate title.Viewers can cast their vote at www.cbs.com/tide.