Juicing the Orange by Pat

Juicing the Orange by Pat Fallon

Fallon, Pat & Fred Sean. Juicing the Orange. Harvard Business School Press, 2006.

Juicing the Orange by Pat Fallon and Fred Sean is an examination of how a boutique advertising agency was able to stay on top by making creativity its source of competitive leverage. The authors are the founders of Fallon Worldwide, one of the top advertising firms in the world. The title refers to the need to use a unique product image and market segmentation to stay afloat in a hyper-competitive marketplace. A business needs to juice the orange, to distill its lifeblood and essence into a concentrated, easily understood format to make its advertising successful. An orange does not need to become an apple to succeed against its competitors, rather it simply needs to do what it does very well, and communicate that message, whether it is selling small luxury cars like BMW or cool jeans to teens like Levi Strauss.

The book uses a series of case studies of the clients with whom the authors have worked including Citibank "life is more than just money," United Airlines, and Holiday Inn. Over and over again, these examples demonstrate that no matter how tried, true, and tested the brand, it is necessary for a marketer to work from the ground up and break all previous molds when crafting a public appeal. The goal is not to do what your competitors are doing, otherwise by the time you launch your campaign, you will already be out of date.

One of the most interesting case studies of companies that the advertising agency has worked with is that of BMW, itself a "small company in the land of giants," an independent, international small car firm that has flourished against all odds in a large American market (Fallon & Sean 125). When the company came to the agency it had already negotiated a deal with MGM to tie in the launch of its new sports car, the Z3, with the upcoming James Bond movie. The movie revealed a new image for James Bond, and a new style of BMW sports car. Later, the agency used Internet videos to stimulate interest in the vehicle, a revolutionary idea in 1999. The commercials told a story, and as with so many of Fallon Worldwide's creative campaigns, getting consumers interested in the story of the product is critical to generating buzz and interest. Fallon was intent upon not redoing the old 'racing car' and pumping music commercial format.

Another interesting example is the campaign to launch Lee Jeans. This chapter is used to illustrate the principle of trusting one's focus group, stressing what teens liked about the jeans, and using iconic 'retro' images in the advertising. The important thing is not to spend as much as you possibly can on marketing and to reach everyone, but to use that marketing wisely, and place advertisements in a strategic and eye-catching fashion. Because teens are so interested in what their friends are doing and wearing, encouraging teens to talk, and generate buzz about a product is a crucial element in succeeding in this demographic. Teens want shopping to be fun, interactive -- and understanding teens meant deemphasizing stale television ads and experimenting with things like free text messaging during unannounced 'gift' hours through Virgin Mobile (Fallon & Sean 131).