Marketing News of the Week: TV Show News, Facebook, and More

This past week, there were news stories that reflected brand positioning, personal branding, social media, customer experience, advertising, and more.

Sam Waterstone's Departure from Law & Order
If you're a fan of this famous Dick Wolf TV dynasty, you know who epitomizes the law: Sam Waterstone's character, Manhattan District Attorney Jack McCoy. Since 1994, and in more than 400 episodes, his personal brand was consistency and honesty. The show's introductory sounds "dun-dun" just won't sound the same without Jack McCoy in the head office.

Jon Stewart Will Return to The Daily Show
Famous Comedian Jon Steward will return to The Daily Show each Monday night as guest host beginning after the Super Bowl. According to Howard Anglin of The Hub, "Stewart’s return starts with one big advantage over his whilom proteges: he can be funny. Another advantage is that he actually seems to care about normal Americans. His charity work, for example, is mostly in support of veterans and first responders. Finally, and most promising for anyone hoping for something more than a weekly court jester for the DNC, Stewart has a cranky independent streak that means he can sometimes surprise."

Facebook Celebrates 20th Anniversary
According to Euronews, "Facebook is now two decades old. And despite its slow descent into cultural irrelevance with younger generations, it remains the largest social network in the world. Today, Facebook counts over 3 billion active monthly users – a third of the world’s population. But Facebook’s age is starting to show, and like many people you may know, it’s veered way off course from its original goal – to bring people together (for free) and help friends keep in touch. Scroll through Facebook today and you’ll find less posts from your actual friends and more sponsored ads harassing you to purchase things you searched for once on the internet, fake news articles with thousands of comments from conspiracy theorists, and old family friends documenting every aspect of their lives in blurry photographs and cringey captions."

Customers Sour on Self-Checkout
Do you like self-checkout at stores? Do you use self-checkout? According to a new study by researchers at Drexler University published in the Journal of Business Research, "Regular checkout featuring a human cashier makes customers more loyal to a store and more likely to revisit in the future than self-checkout. The study comes as some companies remove self-checkout machines and others adjust their self-checkout operations. Customers feel more rewarded by a store and feel like they were treated more valuably when using regular checkout because it involves less effort and cashiers handle the scanning, bagging, and payment process, the researchers found. Regular checkout also makes people feel that they are receiving the service they are entitled to as customers, the study found."

In addition, a survey from hospitality product provider Tensator revealed that 33 percent of retail shoppers chose not to complete a purchase because of a bad experience with a self-service kiosk.

Consider how these negative experiences - where customers would like to pay and complete transactions - can affect a brand experience.

King Charles III Receives Cancer Diagnosis
According to a statement released on the Royal Family's website: "During The King’s recent hospital procedure for benign prostate enlargement, a separate issue of concern was noted. Subsequent diagnostic tests have identified a form of cancer. His Majesty has today commenced a schedule of regular treatments, during which time he has been advised by doctors to postpone public-facing duties. Throughout this period, His Majesty will continue to undertake State business and official paperwork as usual. The King is grateful to his medical team for their swift intervention, which was made possible thanks to his recent hospital procedure. He remains wholly positive about his treatment and looks forward to returning to full public duty as soon as possible. His Majesty has chosen to share his diagnosis to prevent speculation and in the hope it may assist public understanding for all those around the world who are affected by cancer."

It is surprising that cancer organizations around the world did not take this opportunity to promote cancer awareness, cancer screenings, etc.

Budweiser Clydesdales
And if you're eagerly looking forward to this weekend's Super Bowl in order to watch the very expensive ads, according to the premier magazine of the west, Cowboys and Indians, "Budweiser and the iconic Clydesdales are back with a timeless message of resilience, determination, and coming together over a beer. The spot is rooted in the scenes, storylines, and on-screen magic that shaped the brand’s legacy as one of the top advertisers of all time."

What other marketing news stood out to you?

What will be the marketing buzz next week, keeping in mind that everyone will be talking about the Super Bowl ads on Sunday and all next week. And don't forget to swing by #DebbieLaskeysBlog the day after the big game for my annual review of the ads!


Image Credits: Michael Dwyer/The AP (Facebook) and Anheuser-Busch.

To read about the history of the Budweiser Clydesdales:
https://www.anheuser-busch.com/about/clydesdale

Facebook Rebrands and Becomes Meta

 

By now, everyone has heard the surprising news. On October 28, Facebook announced a new name: Facebook will now be known as Meta, which is Greek for “beyond.” The new logo is a blue infinite symbol that accompanies the name. Is this the most important marketing news of the year?

According to the press release from Facebook:

As Mark Zuckerberg described to media, the company is betting that it’ll be the next major computing platform after the rise of smartphones and the mobile web – thus, the impetus for the rebranding from Facebook to Meta.

Mark Zuckerberg explained, “Today we’re seen as a social media company. Facebook is one of the most used technology products in the history of the world. It’s an iconic social media brand. [But] our brand is so tightly linked to one product that it can’t possibly represent everything that we’re doing today, let alone in the future. From now on, we’re going to be metaverse-first, not Facebook first. Over time, I hope we are seen as a metaverse company, and I want to anchor our work and identity on what we’re building towards. [But] our mission remains the same – it’s still about bringing people together. Our apps and their brands aren’t changing either. We’re still the company that designs technology around people. As we broaden our vision, it’s time for us to adopt a new brand.”

Under the new arrangement, Facebook and its family of apps (Instagram, Messenger, WhatsApp) will be a division of a larger Meta company still led by Zuckerberg that will ALSO focus on AR (augmented reality), VR (virtual reality), and metaverse efforts. The company’s stock ticker will change from FB to MVRS on December 1, 2021.

If this sounds similar to Google’s restructuring, you’re correct. In a surprising move in 2015, Google became a subsidiary of “Alphabet.”

According to CNN Business, “A rebranding could be part of an effort to overhaul Facebook’s reputation and turn the page following a series of PR nightmares, including misinformation on its platforms, content moderation failures, and revelations about the negative effect its products have on some users’ mental health.”

On another note, apparently, when translated into Hebrew, “Meta” means “dead.” So, the hashtag that appeared on some social platforms was #FacebookDead.

Also, after the Meta announcement, fast-food chain Wendy’s changed its Twitter handle to “Meat” stating that it is going “Into the Meataverse.”

Will this rebrand achieve Zuckerberg’s goals? Will Facebook fans and users embrace the new name and logic behind the rebranding efforts? And finally, will Meta become the leader in the metaverse space? Only time will tell.

So now, back to the initial question of this post: Is Facebook’s new name the most surprising marketing news of the year? You’ll have to return to this Blog on January 1, 2022, and read my “Top 10 Marketing Highlights of 2021” post for the answer to that question.


Image Credit: Facebook/Meta.