Zeeman hot brand

When I was a teenager I did not want to be seen in the yellow-blue stores of Zeeman. This store is probably associated with tight white underpants. That is now history!

Free boxer shorts

The banana Hammocs of Zeeman are definitely being exchanged for Bjorn Borg boxer shorts. Currently the yellow boxers are adorning the Dutch streets on billboards across the whole country. Without notice or explanation Zeeman currently gives away free boxers through its website (www.zeeman.com). The boxers are free, it will only cost you € 3.90 for postage. To be honest: the piece of yellow fabric is not pretty, but with the deployment of a good marketing strategy it became a real success.

Use of social media

The yellow-blue-boxer even has its own fanclub on Hyves (zeemanboxers.hyves.nl). Besides Hyves the company also presents itself on Twitter as an offensive to create more buzz.

Why they did it?

The marketing manager of Zeeman says the following about the campaign: “The idea behind the action is obviously to give a nod to the trend among especially young people for showing the flashy brand name on the waistband of underwear. We use the shorts in order to advertise our new website, but also to load our recently renewed brand dentity”. It is a beautiful piece of online marketing for the cheap image of Zeeman to generate extra attention. Is this the ultimate form of recession marketing? Will this lead to acceptance of the brand? Is it ugly enough to be found beautiful? Will the youth exchange their Bjorn Borg for a Zeeman?

Missed opportunity

I'm not very familiar with the strategy of Zeeman but I think they want to drive sales. There is no web shop attached to other products on the site. I believe this is a missed opportunity, they could have gotten much more out of this campaign if they also had a web shop.

Social media marketing

Companies like Apple, Nike and Vodafone are standing in line to advertise on his blog. I'm talking about the blogger Nalden, who became famous with a good idea and a good set of brains. His blog has become the brand Nalden! Here's an example of how social media can be used effectively.

Who is this blogger
Nalden started blogging in 2002 for friends about mainly music and parties. Soon he attracted an audience down in the Netherlands and abroad with his inspirational messages about music. Meanwhile, he won 2 Dutch Bloggies, one for lifestyle and one for design (prize for best Dutch blogger). He is also in the Decemberissue of ‘Vrij Nederland’. Nalden is no longer blogging just about music anymore but about all things in his life that he finds interesting. He selects only what he finds cool: music, design, parties, advertising, gadgets, technology, architecture, art etc. Nalden is often the first one to come with new stuff. He brings unknown artists to the attention and puts cool brands on his stage. Nalden is a blogger with a celebrity status. He has a big influence, people and businesses want to be seen and associated with him. Take a look @ his blog: http://www.nalden.net/

Make money with a blog
The weblog of Nalden provides access to national, young, hip, creative and often wealthy people. This is a very interesting audience but difficult to reach for advertisers. These are people who lead the way in trends, fashion, design, gadgets, technology and music. A group called influentials in marketing jargon. Their opinion counts. They are of great value to advertisers because they are the key to a lager audience. These people are difficult to reach, media wise and are distrustful towards commercial messages. They are more able to figure out what they want for their selves. Through his blog advertisers come in contact with these groups. Nalden has devised a business model and makes al lot of money with it. He sells advertising space to brands on his blog in the form of wallpapers. Brands pay big money to be visually present on Nalden’s Blog. These wallpapers are downloadable for visitors, who can put these on their hyves page, mobile phone or PC desktop. Nalden is extremely picky when it comes to selecting wallpapers for his blog. Nalden does not promises advertisers more site visitors. He makes them part of the Nalden experience and promises that his visitors will talk about the brands, online and offline.

What is his trick, technique, tip or secret?
I think a lot of companies can learn a lot from Nalden's marketing strategy. Consumers have become increasingly elusive. How can companies ensure that they are being noticed by the audience? Companies currently have three choices. In summary these are the options: First of all, they can entertain their audience. Secondly, they can appear as a reviewer and give their opinion. Finally, companies can communicate with their audience. Start a conversation with them and 'really' listen to them. Most brands choose one strategy. What is Nalden's trick, technique, tip or secret? He unites all three strategies. He is not only the entertainer, he also gives his opinion and he invites people to give their opinion by using social media like twitter and hyves.