Humor And Viral Marketing: XTEL Sets About To Raise Brand Awareness In Europe, Putting The Adventures Of Mr. Goods Online

Online, June 1, 2010 (Newswire.com) - Bologna, May 2010
Are sales problems related to distribution in the consumer goods industry giving you a headache? Then don't miss "The Adventures of Mr. Goods," the hilarious series by XTEL that will help you regain your sense of humor. It could also help you finally find a partner with the right solutions: complete, easy to use and client-centred.
The viral marketing campaign was designed by the creative team of Menabò Group, a communications agency partnered with Leo Burnett, for XTEL, an Italian company specialized in solutions for the European market for commercial automation in the consumer goods industry. It goes online this week. The first sketch can already be viewed on the www.xtel.eu site or on Youtube. You won't be able to resist laughing.
In the style of silent films (though here some words are spoken), each video is targeted at managers of the trade and ICT departments of leading consumer goods companies in Europe. They have received or will receive, in print and by e-mail, a witty invitation to go online for a quick break to enjoy a parody of their daily experiences while also getting some useful information.
The star of the videos is Mr. Goods who, as his name suggests, is a manager of the trade or ICT department of an anonymous European company that makes consumer goods. He is on the hunt for answers to his problems: finding the right partner in his sector, one that is specialized in the European market and can offer an integrated, easy-to-use solution for all sales processes.
In the first episode, we see him armed with a bar code reader and donning a safari hat. He is on the hunt for of a partner with real expertise in the world of consumer goods. At first, he comes across a braggart who fills him with false promises and gives him an empty box that expands until it blows up, leaving him sorely disappointed. As you might guess, he ends up meeting XTEL - friendly, competent, client oriented - which gives him the solution he needs and satisfies him.
We don't want to give away all the details of the next episodes, but Mr. Goods will go on to have other adventures of the sort. In the opening scene, he is dressed each time as a different "searching" character, grappling with new needs and new potential partners that lead him astray, scare him or stretch his patience, until the happy ending, which is always when he finds XTEL.
"Our goal," said Suzana Dias, XTEL's marketing manager, "is to present our brand and services, in a humorous, entertaining way, to all multinationals operating in the consumer goods industry in Europe. In Italy we are industry leaders and we don't need to do brand awareness, but our specific features targeted at the European market have recently led us beyond Italy's boundaries and brought us to deal with new challenges. There is a lot of work to be done and we want to do it with a smile. "
The second episode will be online in June and the third and fourth will be available in September and October after the summer break. The Spanish market - one of the main targets of XTEL's international expansion policy in the short term - will be blanketed with a Spanish version for all manufacturers, including local ones, active in consumer goods.