A survey conducted by the W.B. Doner & Co. has shown that retail therapy is largely a thing of the past for Orange County residents.
The advertising shop started a study called “The Art of the Possible” last September to track and measure the shift in consumer purchases.
“The big question we had was ‘Is this a temporary or permanent shift?'” said Henni Sanft, director of planning and research at Doner.
The study was conducted during six months, according to Tim Blett, managing partner at the Newport Beach office.
Consumers still are purchasing,but at trimmed back levels, the study found. They also are seeking an emotional connection with the purchases being made.
“The study showed that advertisers have to discover the balance between the rational value piece and the emotional connection consumers have with the brand,” Blett said.
The ad shop has employed this finding with ad campaigns for several of its clients, including automaker Irvine-based Mazda North American Operations, part of Japan’s Mazda Motor Corp., and Newport Beach-based Asian/Hawaiian fusion restaurant Roy’s, part of Florida-based OSI Restaurant Partners LLC.
Doner recently launched a campaign for Mazda called The Mazda Driver’s Seat event that is aimed at consumers who are on the fence about buying.
The Irvine automaker reported March sales of 21,974, down 33% from a year earlier, and year-to-date sales of 53,795, down 31%.
The automaker is faring better than other automakers, but still was forced to lay off about 100 workers recently.
“It’s not an easy time, but there is a firm belief (at Mazda) to stay true to the brand and not waver too much,” Sanft said. “It’s not that people are being optimistic about the economy, but they are optimistic that they will find a way to get through it and still have the life they want.”
The automaker isn’t shying away from sales events, said Blett, but “you can’t hold a sales event for 365 days a year and expect to make a profit.”
So Doner is focusing its campaign on building the brand’s image up for when the market starts to recover.
Idea Hall Adds Clients
Costa Mesa-based Idea Hall has added five clients, thanks in part to referrals.
“I used to track (referrals) down to the nickel and they used to be about 93% (of our business),” said Rebecca Hall, chief executive at Idea Hall.
The marketing and public relations agency has been actively trying to diversify its real estate roots during the past 12 months in an effort to weather the downturn.
The shop added Rancho Santa Margarita-based Tieman’s Fusion Coffees, an antioxidant coffee company, thanks to a former freelancer who recommended Idea Hall to his new boss, who was a part owner in Tieman’s.
“It’s a crazy small world we live in, where the relationships you keep can end up leading to more pieces of work,” Hall said.
Idea Hall is preparing to launch its campaign for San Diego-based Chief Ingredient Inc., an interactive job referral company. The campaign promotes Chief Ingredient’s new national product, an online resume and portfolio building service.
The shop also will be working with Costa Mesa-based Parsa Law Group, Costa Mesa’s Pacific Environmental Resources Corp. and Mission Hills-based Asset Management Consultants Inc. by providing media relations and other marketing services.
Lawyers Webisode
Irvine-based RaveBiz, an Internet infomercial and testimonial company, has launched a legal advice TV show for Web and cable television.
The Trust Factor TV series is designed to provide viewers with legal advice while promoting the show’s panelists, who are Southern California lawyers.
“Instead of an attorney selling their services on their Web sites, we’ve changed the focus so that it’s more about offering the consumer information and looking to the attorneys on the show for help,” said Brett Duncan, president of RaveBiz.
Some lawyers who have been featured on the show since it began last December have seen leads increase nearly 25%, according to Duncan. Local independent attorneys Joel Baruch of Irvine, Ryan Davies of Lake Forest and Phillip Lemmons of Fountain Valley have all been guests on the question and answer show.
The company has produced four 30-minute shows about specific topics, including family law, business law and bankruptcy.
The show is airing on legaladvicepanel.com, the show’s Web site, and on Time Warner Cable Inc.’s Video on Demand.
Bits and Pieces:
PepsiCo Inc. is launching two “World of Warcraft” Mountain Dew flavors to coincide with two game factions from Irvine-based Blizzard Entertainment Inc., part of Santa Monica-based Activision Blizzard Inc. Irvine-based Automatic Partners LLC, a digital ad shop, has been hired by Tustin-based Mobile Line Communications Corp. to build a dealer Web site to expand the virtual inventory that dealers can sell Laguna Niguel-based TownZilla.com, a search engine for OC, Inland Empire and San Diego local businesses, has hired Carlsbad-based Bolt Public Relations as its media agency of record Anaheim-based Pacific Sunwear of California Inc. has signed on as a title sponsor for the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation’s Second Annual Pipeline to a Cure event Santa Ana-based Truth had a big turnout for its anti-litter campaign for the city of Santa Ana and Texas-based Waste Management Inc. working with the Santa Ana School District. The shop has crafted a student-generated art contest that saw more than 800 applicants apply. The contest winners will be announced on Earth Day, Wednesday.
