Under the Influence with Terry O'Reilly

This week, we look at the world of Tourism Marketing. Every country and city competes for lucrative tourism dollars, and the resulting marketing is often highly creative and fascinating. We’ll tell the story of a city that promised to keep secrets, a state that offered one tourist the job of a lifetime, and a country that actually benefited from being insulted in a movie.  We know you want to...

Many marketers often release special-edition products of their mainstream brands. It may be a special limited-time flavour, or colour, or it may be a kooky version of their usual product. It’s an interesting marketing strategy, because marketers create limited-edition brands for very specific reasons - to generate new attention, or test-drive a new product or to celebrate an event. Some work, some...

This episode takes a look at the most recent - and interesting - marketing innovations from around the world. From an edible pizza box, to a glove that will play music and take pictures, to rentable office desks, to personal climate controls for airplane seats, to rain that actually smells like brands - the latest marketing innovations are simply unbelievable. We know you want to listen to all the...

This week on Under The Influence, we look at one of the newest trends in marketing, called Giftvertising. Where marketers  surprise  their customers with elaborate free gifts, film their reactions, and put the resulting video on YouTube. Hoping it will go viral. From airlines to banks to retail stores, big brands are embracing the trend. We’ll also look at the psychology behind Giftverti...

One of the biggest factors fuelling the sharing economy is the mindset of the Millennial generation. A demographic bigger than the Baby Boomers, Millennials have been conditioned by the Great Recession to shed the responsibility of ownership. They want the movie, but not the DVD. They want the music, but not the CD. They want the ride, but not the car. That attitude is beginning to have an enormou...

The issue of geography is a subject the marketing world subscribes to.  Many companies, and even entire industries, attach their brands to geographical points of origin as a way to differentiate themselves and assert superiority. From German engineering to Russian vodka to Swiss watches, “Geography as branding” is a powerful marketing strategy that often comes with a premium price tag. This w...

The Academy Awards are coming up soon - and the wins and losses on that night change the fortunes of actors, directors and films. But what the public never sees is how movie studios - and some actors - campaign to win those Oscars. The strategies used to influence Academy voters are fascinating, involving millions of dollars, trade advertising, parties, swag, the White House, law suits, and e...

Just in time for the Grammy Awards, we look at how hit songs are marketed. With music sales in decline, recording artists are turning to inventive marketing ideas to sell their albums. From the first 24-hour music video, to hiding lyrics in library books, to downloading a new album onto 500 million music libraries to the opposite strategy of issuing one, single copy of a new album, marketing hit s...

In Part Two of “Selling The Moon,” we pick up the story with the success of the Gemini program, which leads NASA to believe they might reach the moon faster than anticipated. But then tragedy strikes, and the Apollo project is put on hold for more than a year. But when the improved Apollo program returns, the race to the moon accelerates - as does the remarkable marketing that surrounds it. NASA c...

Across the two episodes, we’ll trace the way NASA marketed the expensive moon landing to both the American public, and to Congress. In this first part, we see how the Russians got to space first, prompting President John F. Kennedy to promise a moon landing - not only as a way to win the space race - but to improve his public relations after the Bay of Pigs fiasco. The journey to the moon will be...

Not all products are beautiful. While it’s easy to sell a gorgeous item, the degree of difficulty ratchets up when the item is butt-ugly. Some ugly products need a lot of clever marketing to succeed, while no amount of marketing can save other hideous brands. Then, every once in a while, some ugly products become runaway hits. In this episode, we tell the story of how a big grocery store figured o...

This week, we tackle the topic of Controversy Advertising. The number one job of all advertising is to get attention, and many brands choose to use controversial advertising ideas to break through the clutter. It’s a risky strategy, as controversy always courts trouble. We look at how Kmart used controversy to blow the dust off its staid image, how Kimberly-Clark used an eyebrow-raising idea to se...

This week, we look at some of the strangest brands that exist in the world. Some are the result of odd licensing deals - like WikiLeaks, which is now licensing its brand out to other manufacturers. Others are the result of unusual marketing opportunities - like a Burger King body spray. We kid you not. From Mandela wines to Motörhead Shiraz, we explore how these strange products came about, the th...

Well, this is the final episode of Under The Influence for the 2014 season. As as we do every year, we turn this show over to our listeners. Terry answers all the marketing and advertising questions listeners have sent in, and this year, the questions are better than ever. Terry will trace the history of how Kool-Aid/Lemon-Aid stands came to be, he’ll give a first-hand report on how the very last...

This week on Under The Influence, we look at brands that mock other brands. It’s a risky strategy, as one company has to ridicule another brand to make a point - and mocking a rival always fuels retaliation. We’ll talk about how Miller High Life mocked Anheuser-Busch during the Super Bowl, how Jaguar mocked Mercedes, how Samsung mocked Apple, how Apple mocked Samsung, and how Apple kind of perfect...

This week, we search for companies that offer 100%, no questions-asked, no fine print lifetime guarantees. They're hard to find, as not many companies are willing to offer that unlimited return policy. We know you want to listen to all the ads in this show. On the off-chance you  don’t ,  subscribe ad-free here. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week, we look at 21st Century Brands. Only 14 years into a new era, and it's astounding to look at all the new brands and categories that have changed our world. We know you want to listen to all the ads in this show. On the off-chance you  don’t ,  subscribe ad-free here. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week, we look at how companies sell death. While death is usually a forbidden word in advertising, the subject of death is slowly becoming more mainstream. We know you want to listen to all the ads in this show. On the off-chance you  don’t ,  subscribe ad-free here. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week, we discuss what happens when founders are the face of a company. No one can relay the passion of a company like the founder - but while they may be the heart and soul of a company, should they be the face? We know you want to listen to all the ads in this show. On the off-chance you  don’t ,  subscribe ad-free here. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week, we look at the subtle art of "nudging." Schools, marketers and even governments are now using small nudges to gently steer people toward making more positive decisions in their lives. We know you want to listen to all the ads in this show. On the off-chance you  don’t ,  subscribe ad-free here. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week on Under The Influence, it's Terry O'Reilly's annual episode where he features four brands he admires. It might be because the brand broke new ground, or has managed to stay #1, or just because it has been a part of our lives for so long. With that in mind, he'll celebrate a certain mac & cheese that has been with us since 1937, a TV show that broke ground in 1969, a condiment that h...

This week we air our annual book show. The research for Under The Influence requires a lot of reading, and listeners always ask for more information about the books we mention. So we take the opportunity every year to talk about the research books we've read, and tell additional stories from those books. In this year's show, we'll talk about how Bobby Orr met Gordie Howe's elbow, how the Romans tu...

The marketing industry is a business of short, concise messages. Be it the confines of 30 seconds, the space in a print ad or the restrictions of twitter or a website. The true test of an idea is whether or not it can be explained in just a few words. An elevator pitch forces that discipline - if an idea can be explained in the time it takes an elevator to go from the first floor to the second flo...

This week, we explore how the weather affects marketing. With 75 years of climate data cross-referenced with reams of shopping research, marketers can now use the weather to predict sales. Sears Automotive knows that 5-year old car batteries die after three consecutive days of sub-zero temperatures, so they advertise on day four. The busiest day of the week at Harley-Davidson dealerships is exactl...

In this episode, we look at famous people who began their careers in advertising. Many of the people who have gone on to shape popular culture cut their teeth in the world of marketing. From Dr. Seus, Salman Rushdie and Bob Newhart, to Sir Alec Guinness - yes, Obi-Wan Kenobi himself - they all spent their formative years writing copy. Each learned some valuable skills on their way to the top....