Marketing-Fix: 100-Words-On

First, New Coke

Then, New Tropicana

Now, the New O, The Oprah Magazine

Business people tire of our products and marketing campaigns long before the consumer does. It’s natural—we live with them everyday.

There’s an urge to shake things up—or start over—at the slightest hint of staleness.

We’d suggest: proceed with caution. And, ask a few pointed questions:

• What do we represent to our customers? Have we really ‘drifted’ from delivering what we do best for them—or not?

• Do our product offerings remain relevant? There’s no need to ‘retire’ things before their time.  Remember, many people resist change.

• Does our marketing reinforce our brand image? To us, BMW delivering ‘the ultimate driving machine’ will always trump BMW ‘delivering joy.’

• Do our changes make sense—or just make work? Years later KFC is still just Kentucky Fried Chicken with a shorter name.

“No one reads, their mail.  Everyone knows that.”

–Anonymous

Not so fast…

Clearly, we love email and we admire web sites and apps that deliver value (think of Yelp or Groupon).  Yet, our increasingly empty USPS mailbox makes us wonder if print isn’t being overlooked unfairly.

A new consumer survey found that:
•    Two of three preferred print catalogs to viewing catalogs online.
•    Six of ten preferred receiving printed bills, invoices and financial statements.
•    Eight of ten dollars raised for charity are from mail solicitations.

Direct mail is rarely the most cost-effective way to acquire customers today and the incremental value of multi-channel buyers is declining.  Still, we believe that print should be part of the mix.

To make it effective, we wonder how many have:
•    Abolished silos and integrated systems to accurately measure the value—and incremental value—of every interaction.
•    Created a integrated contact strategy vs. direct mail, web and email strategies.
•    Segmented customers accurately, based upon their transaction and product preferences.

“Not even our friends wanted to come and watch us dance.”
–Rasta Thomas,
classically trained dancer

In under three years Rasta Thomas has done ‘the impossible’: creating an internationally-acclaimed, self-supporting dance company revered by 18-34 year olds.

Yes fellow marketers, 18-34 year olds into dance theater.  How?

Mozart—out                U2—in
Tights—out                 Tee-shirts—in
Scenery—out               Multimedia—in

Most importantly:

Willowy girls—out       Humpy boys—in

As Rasta explains: women love dance.  They want to see guys.  They’ll drag their boyfriends.

So, does this apply to the ‘real world’?

Absolutely:

Identify your customers and what they want—before writing that 16 page product description.

Create differences that benefit target customers—give ‘em what they want and when they want it.

Deliver in ways that delight and exceed expectations—who wouldn’t want to see: The Bad Boys of Dance?

$500,000
is the New
$1,000,000

-Lisa Spellman
303 Gallery

Extreme, but this did make us wonder, particularly as consumer confidence dips to a 28 year low:

How do businesses adapt to seismic changes without diluting their brand’s DNA?

Embracing one “big” idea appeals. But pitfalls abound with popular strategies:

Slashing prices to improve short-term results. What happens after customers experience “luxury for less”?  Once Lucky’s $200 “premium denim” is $98, “luxury” may lack credibility there indefinitely.

Rushing “me-too” products to protect market share or exploit hot niches. Tried-and-true, but prone to backfiring if features or functionality are missing—think of Microsoft’s Zune music player.

Increasing marketing to buy share. Bold, but alienating if efforts don’t synch with the times.  Chanel advertising logo-emblazoned $4,500 boots, cringe-making.

Less sexy, but addressing and adapting all business aspects surgically can produce results without gutting your brand. Examples from H-P to Lululemon seem apt.

“It’s Sony.  No, no, I can show you.”

“I have no what it’s called.”

“Just a regular old phone.  A Verizon?”

Okay, we’ve all heard it hundreds of times: surviving rapidly changing times with overwhelming choice and message bombardment requires pushing the envelope with compelling product offerings and distinctive marketing.

It’s become cliché, but how many succeed?

Trendwatching.com’s video: Blanding vs. Branding stopped us in our tracks. Watching dozens unable to identify their cell phone brand suggests less than we’d hoped.
A few thoughts:

Listen to outliers. The ‘offbeat’ or ‘weird’ might make sense.  Twitter, who knew?

Move way outside your comfort zone. Coach’s colorful, next-generation Poppy collection may be successful because it’s so “not Coach.”

Don’t drink the Kool-Aid. Group-think kills great ideas and carries many dubious projects too far.  Did anyone need a Lincoln pick-up truck?

Happy Valentine’s

Embrace love with Mauboussin from February 9th thorough February 14th

Mauboussin offers you 15% savings on all its collections*

and invites you, for any purchase**, to dinner for two at the Lowell Hotel on February 14th

–New York Times, February 9, 2010 p. A7

It’s a mouthful, but a tempting proposition from Mauboussin the tony French jeweler.

Our first thought: that’s a bold, arresting way to build business.

Seeing asterisks, we read the fine print. Restrictions included:

• Six complete collections of jewelry are excluded.

• Eligibility requires a “minimum $1,100 purchase.”

• Mauboussin only “covers the first $150 per couple.

Our second thought: never hire the legal department–or Ebenezer Scrooge–as your marketing guru or copywriter.

Our third thought: begin with the end in mind.  Strategy matters.

This effort misses on many counts:

• Misleading language creates suspicion, alienating customers.

• Over-promising and under-delivering dilutes brand credibility.

• Using out-dated, expensive mass media to deliver a very targeted message/offer is costly and sub-optimal.

We love challenges and know that many of us could have made this idea work.

Happy Valentine’s, restrictions apply.

Just do it?

Why do it?

or

How do it, best?

Reading an excerpt from Dov Seidman’s “Why HOW We Do Anything Means
Everything” (Wiley, 2007), one central hypothesis struck home:

How now trumps who, what or why.

With ever-greater transparency, information and misinformation flows more
freely, innovations become commodities faster, and the perception of
certainty devolves.

“Just do it” doesn’t cut it.  There’s little wiggle room for mistakes.

We’re thinking about our:

- Actions—aligning what’s said and done publicly with the customer’s
values/expectations. Did it make sense for Whole Foods’ CEO to publicly
oppose health-care reform?

- Interactions—treating colleagues, associates and customers impeccably.
Did Wal-Mart believe locking workers in stores overnight could continue
unnoticed forever?

- Reactions—seizing control of the situation and messaging when
inevitable problems arise. Did Tiger Woods believe that the National
Enquirer and Fox News would let a sensational “personal matter”
go?

Integrity isn’t optional, it’s expected.

A recent billboard packed road trip provoked heated discussions about:
“What did that one mean?”

This reminded us: in every channel, execution is everything.

Consider:

Is the strategy channel-appropriate?
Explaining everything you represent at a glance seems impossible.  Why try?  Mixing “Home Cooking,” “Italian Specialties,” “Indian Buffet,” “Gluten-free” and “Sushi Bar” doesn’t make sense, especially not on a billboard or in a banner ad (no joke, we passed it in New Haven).

Is the concept conveyed clearly?
While amusing, no one could decipher what a giant pot of wan-looking cheese fondue, “Holiday Savings” and three illegible logos meant.

Are the image and message readable instantly?
Concise, compelling benefits are perfect.  “Unprecedented Year-end Savings!  Act Now!” Great, but executed tone-on-tone, probably not so successful.

One clear favorite:  McHappiness 24/7 Exit 37.

Happy motoring,

Yesterday: E-bay

Today: Google

Tomorrow: Facebook?
Reviewing OneUpWeb’s excellent “Holiday Special Report”, some interesting facts popped out.

Average Internet usage increased incrementally to 12 hours a week with heavy users online up to 42 hours!

Social-networking skyrocketed 115% and may dramatically change marketing playing fields:
•    Average social-network users now spend 15 hours a week updating, linking, tweeting and connecting.

•    Facebook and YouTube combined now have 25% more unique monthly visitors than Google.

•    25% of social-network users link to a company, product or service.

A few thoughts:
•    Re-consider paid advertising—social sites can deliver very targeted eyeballs cost-effectively.

•    Virtual” brand ambassadors become critical—every social network link affects your reputation directly.

•    If social networking strategies remain “in-work,” get on it!

The “new” basics

The “new” classics

The “new” traditions

The same old snooze?

Observing retailers and others retreating to safety in merchandising and marketing may make sense for the “great recession”—but will it deliver the season—or critically, a direct hit with consumers in this economy?

Black twinsets, exhortations to “Believe” or engage in the “Joy of Giving” in retro campaigns and sparsely decorated stores feel as lazy and off base as demanding that I “want it.”

Especially in hard times, success requires viscerally connecting with customers:

• Engage—create powerful messages that stop us in our tracks.

• Inspire—offer amazing products and services that move us to call, click or visit.

• Excite—deliver an unbeatable value proposition to close the sale.