Under the Influence with Terry O'Reilly

In this episode, we explore the controversial topic of Humane Marketing. From circuses to SeaWorld to fashion runways to fast food restaurants, each industry is dealing with mounting issues when it comes to the ethical treatment of animals, and their marketing is being affected as a result. This week, we'll look at how Ringling Brothers started using humane storytelling to draw customers, how Armani tipped the scales in the burgeoning "vegan clothing" world and the 2016 movie that may change the way animals are used in film forever. In this day and age, you can't ignore the elephant in the room. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week, we enter the delicate world of Sponsorship Marketing. Close to 20 billion sponsorship dollars are spent each year in North America. That money can keep a brand afloat, or it can cause a lot of tension. We'll look at how a single phone call from Coca Cola changed Christmas tradition forever, how Barbie helped save the Girl Scouts and what happens when a sponsor has to weather the demands...of the sponsee. The reason brands pick certain programs or events to sponsor is always strategic – and always interesting.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week, we peek into the emerging world of influencer marketing. Today, the most popular social media Influencers aren't celebrities, they're regular people. Bloggers, Instagrammers, YouTube stars and Snapchatters have amassed millions of followers, promoting products using only the trust of their fans as currency. We'll look at a single YouTube review that shot Patti Labelle to the top of the baking industry, why J.K. Rowling only needed seven people to promote the biggest movie attraction of the year and exactly what happens when influencers break the trust of their loyal followers. It all comes down to integrity and transparency. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week, we take a look at the biggest day of the year for the advertising industry: The Super Bowl. The only sporting event where viewers pay as much attention to the commercials as they do the game. We'll analyze a tiny but ambitious brand that bet its entire marketing budget on one single Super Bowl commercial, a website that created a purposefully banned ad to generate free buzz and a company that created the most famous Super Bowl commercial of all time one year, then aired another the next that was such a flop, they sent the ad agency packing. That's why they call it "Judgement Day" - because careers and accounts hang in the balance on Super Bowl Sunday.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week, we look at brands that separate themselves from the herd. In the world of marketing, standing out is the most critical thing a company can do. Having a distinct personality gives shoppers a reason to remember a brand and a reason to buy. We'll analyze a wrestler who used a delicate flower to intimidate his opponents, a single eyepatch that gave one company a $28M bump in sales and a motorcycle brand that succeeded by taking the fun out of the ride. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode, we explore why some big brands fail when they attempt to expand internationally. It’s always interesting when massive companies with marketing firepower move into a new country and end up packing up their tents and going back home. Sometimes those companies succeed in other countries, but one just trips them up. We’ll look at how Home Depot and eBay originally struck out in China, why Germany didn’t take well to Walmart and we’ll dive deep into the real reasons Target failed in Canada. Amazing success stories at home, failures abroad. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This episode explores what happens to brands when a completely unexpected event occurs. Most companies tightly control every aspect of a brand - but occasionally, an unforeseen circumstance rears its head. And it’s always interesting to see how the company reacts and what happens to their business as a result. We’ll look at what happened to Ford Broncos after the OJ Simpson slow-speed car chase, what happened to Red Lobster after Beyonce gave it a sexy callout in a song, and what happened to James Bond when JFK gave the books a ringing endorsement. The Podcast for this show was recorded at the first ever live performance of Under The Influence at the Hot Docs Podfest. We do a Q&A with the record after. It was fun. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode, we explore the crazy world of Trademarks. The key to success in marketing is to stand out from the crowd. One of the best ways to do that is with trademarks. Brands try to create logos or slogans or design features that they can protect legally, giving them unique marketing tools. In this episode, we'll look at a lawsuit between Disney and a music performer over a mouse trademark, we'll listen to how companies trademark sounds, we'll talk about a ring announcer who earned over $400 million from trademarking a single sentence and how shock rocker Marilyn Manson saved his career by trademarking his name. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week, we take a peek into the risky, yet delicious world of commercial parodies. Some spoof ads are created just for the laughs, while others are sharp critiques of questionable products, overzealous advertising claims and self-congratulatory corporations. We'll look at a magazine that satirized one of the most controversial court cases of the century, a company that parodied the competition, then sued another company for parodying their parody, and unpack the Saturday Night Live skits that brought commercial parodies into the mainstream. Commercial parodies didn't just lampoon the ad industry, they influenced it. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week, we take a peek into the risky, yet delicious world of commercial parodies. Some spoof ads are created just for the laughs, while others are sharp critiques of questionable products, overzealous advertising claims and self-congratulatory corporations. We'll look at a magazine that satirized one of the most controversial court cases of the century, a company that parodied the competition, then sued another company for parodying their parody, and unpack the Saturday Night Live skits that brought commercial parodies into the mainstream. Commercial parodies didn't just lampoon the ad industry, they influenced it.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.