Brand Girl™

Well, there you have it… the drama NBC primetime has been missing. Another rendition of The Biggest Loser—without the skyrocketing Nielsen ratings or the fab new body, that is.

We now know that the experiment by NBC President and CEO Jeff Zucker to move Jay Leno from a successful, lucrative late-night time slot to a one-hour primetime one normally dedicated to drama was a mistake. The related financial gamble—that the cheaper cost of producing talk programming would outweigh any potential drop in ad revenues—was a bust, too. And what about the drop in audience numbers? Simply put, it appears that Zucker was wrong on many levels, and those questionable calls have cost the already bleeding network quite a lot of money.

(On a somewhat related note, I caught some of the Wall Street Barons testifying yesterday, and with regard to risk management, J.P. Morgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon commented that they never stress-tested the idea that housing costs would ever stop rising or fall 40%. Never tested that business model’s viability from a consumer perspective? Really? Hmm. But I digress.)

NBC chairman Jeff Gaspin admitted on Sunday that the [Leno/O'Brien] “solution”–the proposed quick fix to give Leno his old 11:35pm slot back and bump Conan and The Tonight Show to 12:05am–was, in fact, a compromise that wasn’t to either Leno’s or O’Brien’s satisfaction. Indeed, NBC execs privately wondered whether they had damaged all three brands—Leno, O’Brien, and The Tonight Show—in the process. No doubt a few of the mentioned icons (NBC included) will take some sort of brand slap, but as in our Wall Street scenario, we won’t know the extent of the damage until the whole story plays out. But I’m betting that whether O’Brien––or should I call him “Coco”?––retains the 11:35pm slot or not, he’s a winner, Mr. Gaspin (or can I call you Jeff?).

In a few short days, the Internet has gone frantic with support for O’Brien. When I last checked, L.A.-based designer Mike Mitchell’s “I’m with Coco” effort (reminiscent of the Shepard Fairey Obama “art” movement) had close to 80,000 fans. What’s to be gleaned? The generation that embraces Facebook, Twitter and YouTube embraces O’Brien. Yes, there’s an inherent need to preserve an institutional brand like The Tonight Show, but it’s also about letting the show and its brand evolve into the future by connecting with audiences. And social media, acting as a stress test of sorts, strongly indicates that O’Brien is connecting with audiences via new media, much like Obama did. So, Mr. Gaspin. Jeff. Please tell us that you and NBC see this trend and will consider it as part of the programming mix? Perhaps before some other misfire happens (moving 30 Rock and The Office to Friday at 2pm maybe?) and all hell really breaks loose.

Go Humans Go is the rallying cry from Quaker Oats new campaign. The endeavor represents the first time PepsiCo has marketed its entire whole grain product line underneath one centralized theme.  The campaign’s premise is to present oats as a super grain that helps humans harness internal power to do good for themselves, others and their communities. Not only is Quaker Oats a great staple for a healthy diet, it’s seemingly a healthy model for the new media marketing menu.

Why the kudos? First off, the campaign uses what it holds: a solid ownership of oats and a brand icon with more household penetration than that of Aunt Jemima* (I haven’t verified that… but I’m guessing it’s true.). They even gave the little man a brand lift by placing him in modernized situations. His recent graphic adaptation to all packaging is helping consumers recognize the huge breathe of products under the Quaker portfolio. (For instance, did you know that Life cereal was actually part of the Quaker lineup?)  Of course there’s an all encompassing website, and the little man is popping up on Twitter and Facebook. But it’s the affiliation with Bravo’s hottest show, Top Chef (which includes a recipe contest with top-rated judging) that truly boosts awareness and drives traffic to all touch points, truly harnessing the power of social media.

The “Go Human Go” promotion also works in a tie-in with celebrity chef and philanthropist Art Smith that segues nicely into Quakers cause marketing effort. Through a partnership with “Share our Strength,” the “Quaker Go” Project allows you to fight childhood hunger in the United States and even in your community. (Did you know more than 36 million Americans – including 12.6 million kids go hungry?) Quaker will apparently donate 10 servings of a Quaker product per every product you buy (i.e., UPC code you enter) and –– hello all you do good-ers –– the program will even consider giving you a grant to do more good within your own backyard.

It’s a well-balanced program and fitting for today. At a time when individuals and companies are forced to work leaner and meaner, Quaker has harnessed its own power by successfully tapping into these trends to help Americans cut food costs, stay healthy, yet feed a few others.

Looks like the meat is in the grain.
The grain is in you.
Go Humans Go.