AusPost 'zing' advertising campaign

[FirstPageResults]

I know this kind of things has been discussed before, but it still strikes me as odd when it happens.

AusPost is currently running a TV campaign based on a fictitious product called 'zing':
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MBrIDs5PTV0&feature=player_embedded

At the the end of the commerical they say to 'seach for zing'.

So I did:

Out of curiosity GKWT says 5,400 exacts and $0.09 Approx CPC.

If you click 'Pages from Austalia' they make it onto the frontpage and upto 3rd position organically... but people are lazy.

Sure there is no Adwords competition, however there is nothing to stop a competitor from outbidding them or us from collectively Google bombing for 'zing'

Ironically, the whole ad is centered around businesses being successful online with ecommerce.

What do you think -- is this a marketing fail, is 9c CPC a brilliant way of tracking the ad campaign success or is their target demographic well suited to this strategy?

 

[snoopy]

I think it is a mistake, there is a few companies trying this, eg million dollar woman.

As you say there is a control issue in terms of sending people to a webpage that is not theirs + having no organic listing. I'm sure Google would love it if everyone did, pay for a tv ad to send traffic to a paid Google ad.

Having said that it is perhaps easier for people to type "zing" into a search bar than remember a web address.

 

[FirstPageResults]

I like this YouTube comment:

I... think I get it. Zing is just your normal mail or package xD Zing is just a stand in, a visual reference to an idea that you can attach anything you want to send to. Though it is clever, I can see this ending up on the Gruen Transfer for a series of adds that miss the mark.

 

[snoopy]

Just thinking about this more I guess for australia post the choice is probably advertising auspost.com.au/zing or doing this. I don't think either choice is particularly good though the search box perhaps has a bit of a "trendier", "modern" feel to it which might suit the campaign.

 

[FirstPageResults]

I don't think either choice is particularly good though the search box perhaps has a bit of a "trendier", "modern" feel to it which might suit the campaign.

Better than promoting facebook I guess, which is also popular atm.

Only after seeing the ad a few times I realised it was promoting AusPost, but atleast they are having a go though and can still make a profit - unlike the US Postal Service which hasn't done so since '06!

 

[DavidL]

They should have bought zing.com.au and directed people to that website (or chosen another appropriate unforgettable brandable domain)

Looks like zing.com.au are an ad agency - wonder if they are behind the campaign??

BTW looks like a deals website already hopped on the adwords!

 

[FirstPageResults]

BTW looks like a deals website already hopped on the adwords!

Lol, but I'm not seeing that come up

 

[snoopy]

They should have bought zing.com.au and directed people to that website (or chosen another appropriate unforgettable brandable domain)

Looks like zing.com.au are an ad agency - wonder if they are behind the campaign??

BTW looks like a deals website already hopped on the adwords!

The domain they are using is zingyourthing.com.au. Doubt zing.com.au has anything to do with it, that is possibly the problem.

Personally would have using some other available term instead of "zing", would have been countless names they could have used.

 

[snoopy]

Lol, but I'm not seeing that come up

Just seeing the Australia post ad here also.

 

[Honan]

At the PO:
Hello, May I buy 10 stamps ?
Yes sir Would you like a book?
No I want stamps
Ok , here is a book of stamps
I would also like some envelopes
No, we don't sell envelopes
We only sell prepaid postage envelopes
You don't sell plain envelopes?
No, we are a post office
Ok, how about a jewellery box?
Sure we sell a large range of jewellery boxes

They need to get rid of all the profit they are making from online traders
A good way is to waste it on useless ads

 

[snoopy]

At the PO:
Hello, May I buy 10 stamps ?
Yes sir Would you like a book?
No I want stamps
Ok , here is a book of stamps
I would also like some envelopes
No, we don't sell envelopes
We only sell prepaid postage envelopes
You don't sell plain envelopes?
No, we are a post office
Ok, how about a jewellery box?
Sure we sell a large range of jewellery boxes

They need to get rid of all the profit they are making from online traders
A good way is to waste it on useless ads

Would like to sell them lose their monopoly in some way or another. Seems they are in steep price rise mode at the moment with a former bank boss running it. Pushing the eparcel system in those ads (and phasing out "cheaper" programs) is a good example of it.

 

[courier]

I reakon the ad agency is having some fun & bet they certainly made some coin. I think auspost is on the right track with trying to harness the eretail sector. The overall concept of e-retail and evening deliveries needs to be takled by someone in the industry who has the funds and the infrastucture- at least they are giving it a go and facing up to the fact that ecommerce is raging. Similar concepts undertaken by the usa ( not that they worked just reinvent the wheel ) could be looked upon - infact do you recall kincos - the fedex mob that went under a few years back a one stop copy shop with a built in collections / drop off unit. eretail has to nail the final delivery and pickup process. Is the answer a combo of smartlockers and PM deliveries. There are a few national carriers now gearing up for satchel /airbag PM deliveries. Will be interesting to see if it works fro a process point of view & a culture view lets face it even the bricks and mortar shops mostly close at 5 working past 5.30 is hard to do mentally. I think a disounted PM delivery rate might be the trick as with eretail going gang busters the volume is there now to make it happen.

 

[FirstPageResults]

This might be of interest to you courier:

An official Productivity Commission inquiry into the retail industry today released its draft report, and recommended that the current $1000 low-value thresholds (LVT) should stay.

It said Australia Post has a relatively inefficient, out-dated and costly system for processing international parcels.

Indeed the Commissioners concluded that until Post can develop a new system, the cost of collecting GST and duty on low-value imported purchases will be greater than the revenues.

http://www.ecommercereport.com.au/?p=1805