Marketing on April Fool's Day

It's that time again--time for slightly silly April Fool marketing.

• PR Week highlights the April Fool prank marketing by Mumsnet Jobs, which is teaming with the European Space Agency and NASA to recruit a mum and baby for space pioneering. It also shows Honda's emoji registration plates (above).
• Kotaku features the best of Japan's April Fool prank marketing. My fave is the Coca-Cola battery. Kit-Kat sushi is a close second.
• The Guardian shows a diverse group of April Fool pranks, including transforming two of the London Eye capsules into penthouses in the sky.

Merlin Entertainments' awesome, balanced portfolio

From Merlin's 'About us' page

Merlin Entertainments is having an awesome year, thanks in part to the global success of the Lego Movie. Revenues at Merlin's Legoland theme parks surged by an awesome 13% last year.

Other attractions operated by Merlin include Madame Tussauds wax museums (where Star Wars exhibits are attracting attention ahead of the new movie), Gardaland theme parks, Alton Towers, the London Eye and Sea Life aquariums.

On the 'about us' page, Merlin sets out its marketing strategy:

To create a high growth, high return, family entertainment company based on strong brands and a portfolio that is naturally balanced against the impact of external factors.

Merlin is smart to plan for balancing the portfolio 'against the impact of external factors' in the marketing environment. For instance, the weakness of the euro is expected to keep some European visitors from vacationing at UK destinations in 2015. Weather is also an uncontrollable factor.

By design, Merlin has assembled a portfolio that spans four continents and includes a variety of brands. At any one time, one brand (such as Legoland) might be in the media spotlight and therefore attract an awesome number of customers. Building on that interest, Legoland Water Park Dubai is in the works, among other enhancements to the portfolio.

Coca-Cola integrates marketing for consistent brand identity

Coca-Cola UK will participate in the company's centenary celebration of the iconic hourglass bottle, designed in 1915. The promotion, scheduled from 30 March, will feature both the distinctively-shaped bottle and famous people who have enjoyed Coke over the years.

The iconic bottle was originally designed to help differentiate the brand from competing colas and help the product stand out wherever soft drinks were sold. After a century of being part of pop culture, the packaging alone is enough to communicate the brand name.

Coke has long been careful to integrate its marketing efforts so that advertising, for instance, reinforces the brand's look (its packaging too) for a consistent identity. Even Coke's UK headquarters borrows the brand's colours and styling for a unique working environment.

When Coke began sponsoring the London Eye, it applied its specific brand of red to the lighting and other elements, conveying the brand's involvement with the attraction.

Coke UK reaches out to its target audience by being active in social media, including 20,000 Facebook likes and hundreds of thousands of YouTube views for its adverts and videos.

From Millennium Wheel to Coca-Cola London Eye

The London Eye was originally branded as 'Millennium Wheel' in 2000, part of the city's celebration of the turn of the century. After being sponsored by British Airways and then by EDF Energy, the London Eye (a Merlin Entertainments attraction) is now sponsored by Coca-Cola.

This change in corporate sponsorship means the Coca-Cola London Eye (as it's being called) glows red at night--the color of the soft drink marketer's iconic label. The sponsorship includes Coca-Cola branding inside each pod and on staff uniforms, ticket kiosks, etc.

Some critics are outraged about Coca-Cola sponsoring such a popular family attraction, worried about encouraging children to consume sugary beverages. Health advocates distributed free toothbrushes at the Eye's reopening on Saturday to call attention to nutrition issues and the ethics of this sponsorship, which runs for two years. What then?

Marketing the London Eye

Built to mark the turn of a new millennium, the London Eye has lived on and on to become one of the city's most popular attractions. It's a highly visible symbol of London, often featured in movies, TV shows and tourism materials because it's so distinctive and instantly identifiable by a global audience.

Before it opened, some critics believed that the London Eye would be a 'white elephant' and others appreciated the unique design. In fact, the design has inspired other projects, such as a new attraction on board a Royal Caribbean cruise ship that will allow passengers a completely different view of their surroundings (see below).

British Airways was the London Eye's original sponsor. Merlin Entertainments operates the London Eye, and in 2011 it set up a three-year sponsorship with the French utility EDF Energy. Now the EDF Energy London Eye is being marketed online, through special mobile apps, occasional ticket giveaways, outreach to travel marketers, e-mail newsletters, special bundled pricing with other attractions and promotions with other brands.

Stay in touch with the London Eye on its Facebook page (336,000 likes), Twitter account (12,000 followers) or its Flickr page (175,000 uploads tagged for the London Eye).