Hyundai is advertising what they call the “Hyundai Assurance.”  And they predicate it on another move by the company from a decade ago:

This is from the Hyundai web site:

A decade ago, Hyundai pioneered America’s best warranty to show you that we had faith in our cars.  Today in addition to our warranty, we’re introducing Hyundai Assurance, to show you that we have faith in you.  Right now finance or lease any new Hyundai, and if in the next year you lose your income, we’ll let you return it.  That’s the Hyundai Assurance.

The spot wraps up by stating that “we’re all in this together, and we’ll come through it together.”  This, obviously, is a reference to the recession.

Now, I’m sure there’s a lot of fine print to this offer.  But on its face, it’s a excellent move on the part of Hyundai.  And I love the tie-in from “we have faith in our cars” to “we have faith in you.”  Beautiful.

This is, of course, an effort to sell cars.  But it’s an effort grounded in a give and take relationship between the brand and the consumer.

The voice-over by Jeff Bridges is a nice touch as well.

Until now…

In the news today:

BK is now making Flame, a body spray that captures the essence of flame-broiled meat and allegedly makes you completely irresistible.

And if that were not enough to up your game, use the Flame online mood maker tool at firemeetsdesire.com to turn your computer screen into a fireplace, sunset, etc.

That’s right…it’s not a typo…Whopper-scented body spray.  So you can smell like a processed, flame-broiled meat patty.  But hey, don’t take my word for it…you have to see this yourself…

http://www.firemeetsdesire.com

This gives a whole new meaning to the idea of “having it your way.”  Gag or no gag, this can’t be helping the BK brand.  Their brand management and marketing team should whipped with cane poles…publicly.

Oh man, methinks it’s time for an intervention.  Someone stop these people.  Save them from themselves.  Are we at Rock Bottom yet?  Surely it can’t get any worse…

Can it?

All of that was bad enough. But wait…it gets worse. Now, we have the “Whopper Virgin” ads. Watch below, if you dare…

So…lemme get this straight: is Burger King really admitting that they have to travel to the far reaches of the planet…to the most uncivilized pockets of humanity…in order to find someone who likes their food?

This “Whopper Virgin” taste-test…will that finally convince we Consumers to buy the Whopper? I mean, if a Transylvanian Sheep-herder who lives on rice and pond-water likes it, why on Earth, pray tell, wouldn’t we? After all, if HE likes, and I don’t, then clearly…CLEARLY…I’m the one with the problem.

I’m starting to miss The King.

What they’re really saying is that the average consumer is too smart and can’t be fooled. So, they’re off to find a moron or two, shove some burgers at them, and, thus, “prove” their point.

(Sigh).

This all goes to show that there really is no substitute for having a truly good product and backing it up with sincerely good service. In the absence of those two things, no amount of advertising tom-foolery is going to help.

“Stove Top Stuffing is all about warming up families with hot, delicious meals when the temperatures drop, and we wanted a stand-out way to demonstrate this to consumers this holiday season,” said Stove Top Brand Manager Ellen Thompson.

This illustrates beautifully something we here at Mojoloco have been “warming up” to in the past few months.  Branding, as we say, is all about the “experience you create.”  Therefore, if your brand is, for example, about creating a family atmosphere, then you can embed this perception in the consumer’s psyche by creating that experience through some sort of event or mini-event much faster than you can by running ads in print or multimedia.

This is exactly what Stove Top is doing…they are creating the experience they wish to be known for.  Bravo…and Standing O.

We’re talking to a couple of our clients about this very idea and are working towards some event-based promotions for 2009.  Using experience as a brand association is the way of the future, I have no doubt.  Experience can come in a variety of forms:

• it can come in the form of a physical sensation, such as the Stove Top campaign built around warmth…
• or in the form of an emotional sensation- Extreme Home Makeover has mastered this…
• or in the form of an activity, which is why Hummer has obstacle courses built into its car lots…
• or in the form of smells, which perfumes and fragrances have been doing for years…
• or in the form of taste (think Coke/Pepsi taste test)…
• or in the form of sounds, which is what Muzak has built its fortunes on…

It doesn’t always have to be an all-out event geared to stimulate all of the senses.  But, the more, the merrier.  Engage one sense, and make a dent.  Engage all of the senses, and own the mind.

Of course, the catch to this is that you have to be true to that experience day in and day out.  You can’t be on your best behavior the day of the event and then fudge the rest of the year…you have to make it real.  Consumers are quick to sniff out a fraud.

Bottom line, if you wish to be known for a certain sensation or experience, then create that experience for your consumer.  Build a campaign around it.  And then follow it up with daily reinforcement.

I’ve spoken with several local small business owners this past week who, like many others, have cut their ad budgets due to the economy and declining foot traffic in their stores. The interesting thing is that they were all very frank about the fact that their advertising wasn’t producing great results even before they scaled it back.

My question to them was: “if your tactics weren’t effective when you were spending $5,000 per month, what makes you think they will be effective when you’re spending $2,500 per month?”

Basic principles of ROI would dictate that if you’re not hitting a break-even point by spending $5,000, then you certainly will not hit it by spending $2,500 on the same tactics. In essence, you’re running a loss campaign.

Based on your profit margin, how many customers do you need to earn each month to justify the $5,000 expense? Cutting the ad budget will decrease your expense, but it will also decrease your exposure, and thus, proportionally, your return.

Here is a lesson you can take to the bank: if your advertising tactics aren’t paying for themselves at $5,000 per month, then they aren’t going to pay for themselves at $2,500 per month or even $10,000 per month.

The problem is not the amount of money you’re spending. The problem is the tactics you’ve chosen. If they don’t work, then doing more or less of the same thing isn’t going to change that.

The “sweet spot”, as we say in advertising, is to find tactics that work (to be defined as tactics that pay for themselves and leave a profit) and then to do them at a high enough frequency to provide your business with adequate revenue. That formula is different for every business…but the principle remains the same.

If the tactics you’ve chosen for that $5,000 budget aren’t working, abandon them, as I advised the business owners I mentioned earlier. Do something else. Think outside the box. There’s more to the world of branding and marketing and advertising than print, radio, television, and billboards. Lots more.

When you get outside of that traditional mindset, you will find tactics that produce lower cost, higher returns, and stronger brand equity. Hello, sweet spot!

The point I’m making here is this: if something isn’t working, accept that it isn’t working. Don’t expect a different result by doing more of the same. That’s insanity.