Posts for 'CIT'

Three exciting examples of how marketers are using broadband to drive their branding objectives recently hit my radar: Cartier, Campari and CIT.

Though the campaigns differ widely, they all strive to convey brand attributes by creatively using video. Interestingly, they also each use traditional print publications to drive awareness of their broadband efforts. This illustrates how important multi-platform marketing has become.

Cartier, the luxury products company, recently began re-promoting its mini-site supporting its "Love" line of jewelry. This campaign originally kicked off in '07 but I found it via a screen takeover ad at NYTimes.com. The mini-site includes 12 short videos from director Olivier Dahan (La Vie En Rose). Each video depicts a couple in various states of their relationship. Shot in black and white with low lighting and mood music, each evokes a luxurious sensibility that is consistent with the Cartier brand and "Love" line. Though purely entertaining, they create an engaging experience that would be impossible to replicate in traditional 30 second TV ads.

Meanwhile, Campari, the Italian liquor, is re-promoting its "Hotel Campari" min-site featuring Salma Hayek. I previously wrote about this last July, and once again found out about the site through an ad in The New Yorker magazine. Campari uses a more overtly seductive approach than Cartier, featuring Ms. Hayek gliding down a hallway ignoring all kinds of enticements until settling on a Campari on the rocks. The video nicely supports Campari's exclusive positioning, introducing the brand to audiences via the well-known, yet still-exotic actress. With liquor ads barred from TV, Campari is making great use of the unregulated broadband medium.

Lastly, there's CIT, the financial services giant, which has updated its "CIT: Behind The Business" video interview series with leading business executives. This first caught my eye last November, and the current interview with Jon Luther, Chairman and CEO of Dunkin' Brands is promoted via a 4-page insert also in the latest New Yorker edition. CIT differentiates itself by promoting how it brings "knowledge, expertise and creativity" to its client relationships. The interview series supports that positioning perfectly by eliciting insights in a low-key, yet engaging manner. Though clearly not as eye-catching as Cartier's and Campari's videos, CIT's videos and serialized nature serve its brand well.

These three campaigns show how broadband video continues to be used by savvy brands to better engage their target audiences. They also demonstrate how entertainment programming and brand marketing continue to converge. I expect more of this to come.

Tracking the innovative use of broadband video by brand marketers is an ongoing focus for me and I'm always on the lookout for great examples. The latest I found is a campaign from CIT, a global commercial finance company, that has just introduced the third installment of "Behind the Business", a broadband-based interview series with notable business leaders. If you haven't seen it, it's well worth checking out. This particular installment is a series of interviews with the co-founders of Intrepid Pictures, Marc Evans and Trevor Macy.

The press release states that CIT is "reaching out to its client base through various initiatives that will highlight key business issues facing middle market executives today." Having watched a number of the videos available at the site, it is evident that CIT is taking a soft-sell approach, with the interviews focusing on Intrepid and the founders, with no overt CIT plugs. The video player window is embedded in a page that has strong CIT branding and links to learn more, but that's about it. The idea is to inform and educate the target audience, with CIT branding wrapped around the experience.

Another aspect of the campaign is its multi-platform nature. CIT hooked up with Conde Nast Media Group, which is promoting the video heavily in its publications. This follows a separate video initiative that Grey Goose Entertainment and Sundance Channel are pursuing with their "Iconoclast" series, in which Conde Nast is also a partner. Conde's involvement shows that when big brands are going to invest real money in broadband-centric campaign, promoting in relevant print publications is an important key to driving awareness.

CIT is following a list of other brand marketers who want to expand beyond traditional 15 and 30 second TV spots to use video to drive deeper engagement with their target audiences. This artful blending of entertainment, information and advertising is at the heart of how I believe broadband will be used by smart brand marketers. With broadband's unlimited shelf space, marketers have a new and unprecedented palette to promote their brands. Behind the Business shows that savvy brands are beginning to take advantage of it and that there are a plethora of opportunities unfolding for skilled producers.