One of the stronger marketing tools that we built at Skier's Choice was an active message board community for both of our brands. The ability for fellow owners to share their praise and frustration about their experience with our product proved invaluable to our efforts.
1. Instantaneous product feedback: we were able to gather product use data first hand, not screened by our dealer network. Issues that recurred became brush fires at the factory. Every complaint gave us the gift of 'stop and fix it'. Product quality improved because of the feedback provided by our owners.
2. Customer satisfaction increased: our owners appreciated the sounding board. They appreciated the opportunity to get direct feedback from the factory when issues arose. They liked being able to provide insight into how we could build them a better boat. In turn, they supported us when NMMA surveys reached them inquiring as to their satisfaction levels.
For three consecutive years both of our brands won the CSI award indicating 90%+ approval rating from our customers.
Not particularly surprising when you consider that our customer's helped us design our product through their comments; helped us identify issues for our quality team to correct; and carried on an on-going conversation with people who they came to know at the factory through the boards.
3. Our owners became our best salespeople: often times prospective customers would visit our board to ask questions of our current owners. Invariably our owners would speak to both their satisfaction with our product and more importantly their connection to our company.
4. Events bubbled-up: our owners would organize local events where they could get together with other owners to enjoy their boats together. This sense of community became a bond that not only made their boating experience better, but also increased their loyalty to our brands leading to stronger repeat purchase patterns.
5. Marketing efforts became more focused: the feedback received not only changed our product and our customer service department, it also changed our marketing focus. We chose to nurture the growth of these branded communities. We built programs that furthered the connections. We partnered with brands that supported our owners and that our owners told us that they believed in. We were able to reduce our direct mail costs because we grew our message board communities to the point that when we wanted to speak with our customer base, we did so primarily through our message boards.
The one fly in the ointment was that we simply had to accept that our mistakes would be publicly discussed. When product issues arose, rather then trying to secretly quiet the quell, we lived with the transparency of failure.
Transparency appropriately managed and responded to built the bridge of TRUST. Our customers didn't demand perfection from our product. Rather, they demanded that we be honest, attentive, and responsive to their needs.
We were, and because of that, our brands were rewarded with market share gains. Transparency works.
Friday, February 20, 2009
Thursday, February 19, 2009
The proverbial song book
For better or for worse, the fad of Mission Statement reengineering appears to have subsided. I've observed that fewer CEO's are handing out translucent bricks engraved with the company creed today than they did in the 1990's.
Which may indeed be a good thing. It was my experience that Mission Statements and Brand Positioning Statements were rarely in alignment. As any mom will tell you, 'there are consequences for your choices', and when those choices lead to misalignment, business results decline.
Why?
A good mission statement rallies the stakeholders to a common cause. Most frequently, that cause is centered on 'providing exceptional value for our customers' or 'meeting customer needs'. Mission Statements often are a strong reminder that business success is largely determined by the will of its customers.
Most brand positioning statements acknowledge a similar fact. As industry leader Microsoft says in their current ad campaign, 'our customers own our brand'. I might quibble with the semantics,
but for the sake of this discussion, the ownership ideal provides for perfect alignment between the Mission statement and the Positioning statement.
In truth, the brand positioning statement is a very different thing than a simple recognition of brand ownership. When we position, we choose a side. We are no longer ubiquitous in expressing customer satisfaction. Rather, we are deductive.
"For (x) group of people, (y) represents the best product/service value, because of (z)."
So Myrtle Beach's Mission Statement for the Visitor's bureau might read 'providing exceptional customer value for beach vacationers', while the brand positioning statement characterizes the destination as 'affordable fun in the sand for people living on a budget'. Again, alignment.
The challenge of course is that in declaring a side, the Marketing Director risks offending a constituency. For instance, what about the golf course managers, or the amusement ride operators, or the restaurant and retail establishments? Where is their skin in the game? So in an effort to be true to all of Myrtle Beach various stakeholders, the Marketing Director opens the door to a broader vacation platform through a new extended position: "An affordable family vacation that provides fun for everyone, even when the beach is only one part of your travel plans."
In turn, the Executive Director of MBVCB might alter the Mission Statement: "Providing exceptional vacation value for our visitors -- on the sand, or on the land."
This then suggests to the Marketing Director that a further refinement need be made to the brand positioning: "Myrtle Beach is an affordable family vacation destination that provides fun for every member in the family: from beach balls, to golf balls, to high balls."
Which may indeed be a good thing. It was my experience that Mission Statements and Brand Positioning Statements were rarely in alignment. As any mom will tell you, 'there are consequences for your choices', and when those choices lead to misalignment, business results decline.
Why?
A good mission statement rallies the stakeholders to a common cause. Most frequently, that cause is centered on 'providing exceptional value for our customers' or 'meeting customer needs'. Mission Statements often are a strong reminder that business success is largely determined by the will of its customers.
Most brand positioning statements acknowledge a similar fact. As industry leader Microsoft says in their current ad campaign, 'our customers own our brand'. I might quibble with the semantics,
but for the sake of this discussion, the ownership ideal provides for perfect alignment between the Mission statement and the Positioning statement.
In truth, the brand positioning statement is a very different thing than a simple recognition of brand ownership. When we position, we choose a side. We are no longer ubiquitous in expressing customer satisfaction. Rather, we are deductive.
"For (x) group of people, (y) represents the best product/service value, because of (z)."
So Myrtle Beach's Mission Statement for the Visitor's bureau might read 'providing exceptional customer value for beach vacationers', while the brand positioning statement characterizes the destination as 'affordable fun in the sand for people living on a budget'. Again, alignment.
The challenge of course is that in declaring a side, the Marketing Director risks offending a constituency. For instance, what about the golf course managers, or the amusement ride operators, or the restaurant and retail establishments? Where is their skin in the game? So in an effort to be true to all of Myrtle Beach various stakeholders, the Marketing Director opens the door to a broader vacation platform through a new extended position: "An affordable family vacation that provides fun for everyone, even when the beach is only one part of your travel plans."
In turn, the Executive Director of MBVCB might alter the Mission Statement: "Providing exceptional vacation value for our visitors -- on the sand, or on the land."
This then suggests to the Marketing Director that a further refinement need be made to the brand positioning: "Myrtle Beach is an affordable family vacation destination that provides fun for every member in the family: from beach balls, to golf balls, to high balls."
Bottom line, your Mission Statement and your Positioning Statement should always remain in alignment. When they aren't, your internal actions are at risk of being out of step with your customers expectations.
If this misalignment occurred at Myrtle Beach, the result would be a very happy group of hotel owners ... in Daytona Beach.
Tuesday, February 17, 2009
Mao Tse Tung -- The Secret Capitalist
Earl Littman is awesome, but Mao, now there was a guy who understood the notion of marketing. In 8 words, he told you all you needed to know about how to successfully market a product in any market condition.
Ready. Drum roll. Mao. The Communist. The Capitalist.
"Don't worry about the fish. Change the ocean."
Detroit, are you listening?
Put that one together with this from Jay Chiat ...
"One of the good things that advertising can do is speed up the inevitable. It can make something good happen faster."
About those Hybrid cars, um, what's the average fuel cost savings in a year?
"Don't force people to do what they are not good at."
Norman Grulich delivered that number. And what could be more true? As a nation, we gravitate towards our known skills. We exercize our option to 'soar on our stengths'.
If you were to go Seth Godin on this thing ... wouldn't you say three Brand Enthusion rules to live by would be:
1. Change the playing field. Redefine the sales category. Go 'ziggy' on it.
2. Once you've redefined the market, tell your stakeholders.
3. Make it easy on the stakeholders to participate.
Here's one last bonus notion from Julian Koenig.
"All ads don't have to have the same intensity. Chewing gum ads don't have to read like they are selling blood plasma."
I know, everything is critically important to someone. But really, does $1.00 for a diet Coke at McDonald's, or a 'professional fry cook' at every KFC rise to the level of nuclear physics?
Got thoughts on who gets this right. Love to hear back from you, provided that you are not calling to invite me to the local chapter meeting of American's for Mao. Love him as an ad guy, but never dug the threads.
Ready. Drum roll. Mao. The Communist. The Capitalist.
"Don't worry about the fish. Change the ocean."
Detroit, are you listening?
Put that one together with this from Jay Chiat ...
"One of the good things that advertising can do is speed up the inevitable. It can make something good happen faster."
About those Hybrid cars, um, what's the average fuel cost savings in a year?
"Don't force people to do what they are not good at."
Norman Grulich delivered that number. And what could be more true? As a nation, we gravitate towards our known skills. We exercize our option to 'soar on our stengths'.
If you were to go Seth Godin on this thing ... wouldn't you say three Brand Enthusion rules to live by would be:
1. Change the playing field. Redefine the sales category. Go 'ziggy' on it.
2. Once you've redefined the market, tell your stakeholders.
3. Make it easy on the stakeholders to participate.
Here's one last bonus notion from Julian Koenig.
"All ads don't have to have the same intensity. Chewing gum ads don't have to read like they are selling blood plasma."
I know, everything is critically important to someone. But really, does $1.00 for a diet Coke at McDonald's, or a 'professional fry cook' at every KFC rise to the level of nuclear physics?
Got thoughts on who gets this right. Love to hear back from you, provided that you are not calling to invite me to the local chapter meeting of American's for Mao. Love him as an ad guy, but never dug the threads.
Monday, February 16, 2009
Earl Littman and the secret science of 'Grandiosity'
I'm the son of a living Texas Advertising Legend. A member of the Texas Advertising Hall of Fame. The former Chairman of Goodwin, Dannenbaum, Littman & Wingfield advertising. The former Chair of multiple social work foundations, religious foundations, athletic foundations. I am the son of a marathon runner, a kayaker, a tennis player, a spinner. I am the son of a living legend, and I thank God every day that Earl is both living and legendary.
Dad was not prone to discussing the marketing profession. But he did share with me purposefully and unintentionally his 'secrets'. After all, his brain drove branding campaigns for Pizza Hut, Pizza Inn, Midas Mufflers, Church's Fried Chicken, Grandy's, Foley's, the Houston Oilers, the Houston Chronicle, and literally hundreds of other clients large and small. Earl knows retail. Earl knows how to sell.
Dad once positioned his agency as a place to 'Up Your Ads'. He did it with jingles, with his famed 'creactivity', with a relentless curiousity and an obsession towards selling. If dad didn't teach me the phrase 'selling is telling' it somehow has become part of my vocabulary.
Jason Falls, who is Doe-Anderson's Social Media Specialist reminds me that the art of blogging often breaks down to a simple list of rules or learnings that a writer can impart on a reader.
So in that spirit, here are 10 thoughts on life and marketing that Earl Littman taught Michael Littman.
1. Dream Boldly. Why settle for a small dream when you can imagine something grandiose?
Why limit your horizons when possibilities are always abundant? Don't settle for a 3% market share gain. Imagine 70% share and brand dominance. Imagine the other Marketing Directors in your category cowering in the presense of your brand. Imagine success without despair, love without heartache, life without disappointment. Dream Boldly.
2. Live Beyond Your Means. I know, it flies in the face of current events. If I were to be more politically correct, this would simply say 'Go Big or Don't Bother Going'. But Earl would simply go. Somehow the financial details would take care of themselves with time.
Dad taught me that you can't save your way to prosperity. Invest in a big idea, and big things will happen.
3. Be different. Dad hates nothing more than doing what others have done. To his way of thinking, originality trumps all else. Bill Samuels said that a bad ad is like a bad haircut, it will grow back with time and soon be forgotten. If more Marketing Directors followed this formula marketing wouldn't be perceived as a nuisance and advertisers wouldn't fear the DVR.
4. First Impressions Are Lasting. Never would you catch my father five pounds over weight or wearing baggy sweats and a t-shirt. The suit must be well made and well cut. The hair must be combed and in place. Visually the office space must be bold, original, defining. Comfort is secondary to visual stimulus. Or as the Duke Brothers said in Trading Spaces: "Looking Good Lewis." "Feeling Good Billy Ray."
5. Nothing Happens Until The Cash Register Rings. Dad wasn't a big believer in the Awareness/Preference/Purchase Intent school of advertising. That stuff was for wimps. Earl's client roster was largely made up of hard charging retail clients. Dad knew that if they had a bad weekend, he had a bad Monday. I vividly recall his fielding client phone calls on weekends and at night when the big event had produced less than anticipated sales results. I've been a brand guy all my career, but in my mind, it's not a program unless the result produced is a monetary one. Awareness is simply an excuse for a failed marketing effort.
6. Love is the Ultimate Trump Card. 60 years of marriage to one person, even one as magnificent as my mom, is more than a miniscule accomplishment. Eccentric in many areas, Earl had one traditional triumph. Marriage. He found the right partner and he was smart enough to stick by her. He had the sideburns of a 60's player, but he knew when to go home.
7. There is No Substitute For Hard Work. Smart comes and goes. But now more than ever, outworking your competition has much to do with outlasting your competition. I was blessed with marketing instincts. But I'm at my best when I integrate a brand program, precisely because I am relentless in seeking out differentiating touch points with consumers.
8. Innovate. Originate. Differentiate. Saturate. It's not a brilliant idea unless someone other than your parents and children know about it. Create something unique. Make sure to differentiate it from its competition. Then tell enough people enough times to transform a thought into a purchase.
9. Don't Do Stupid Stuff. Don't overeat. Don't drink to excess. Don't smoke. Don't do drugs. Don't lie. Don't hold back. Don't wait. Don't procrastinate. Don't fit in. Don't stop believing in yourself. Don't cheat. Don't slow down. Don't settle. Dad has never been long on 'To Do's', but man, he has given me a life-long list of 'To Don't's'.
10. Conquer One Mountain. Time to Climb Another. The word 'relax' is not in Earl's vocabulary. To do is to live. To lay down is to die. I have no idea what pithy phrase dad has inscribed on his tombstone, but if I were to get a vote, it would simply be 'What's Next'. Because I can guarantee you this. Whatever is 'what's next', Earl will be leading the charge to do it.
You can find Earl Littman at 80+ years old running Point of Sale Broadcasting in Houston, Texas. You can find Michael Littman at Doe-Anderson Advertising in Louisville, Kentucky. I hope that wherever you find me, you will find at least a pale representation of the best ad man I ever met.
Dad was not prone to discussing the marketing profession. But he did share with me purposefully and unintentionally his 'secrets'. After all, his brain drove branding campaigns for Pizza Hut, Pizza Inn, Midas Mufflers, Church's Fried Chicken, Grandy's, Foley's, the Houston Oilers, the Houston Chronicle, and literally hundreds of other clients large and small. Earl knows retail. Earl knows how to sell.
Dad once positioned his agency as a place to 'Up Your Ads'. He did it with jingles, with his famed 'creactivity', with a relentless curiousity and an obsession towards selling. If dad didn't teach me the phrase 'selling is telling' it somehow has become part of my vocabulary.
Jason Falls, who is Doe-Anderson's Social Media Specialist reminds me that the art of blogging often breaks down to a simple list of rules or learnings that a writer can impart on a reader.
So in that spirit, here are 10 thoughts on life and marketing that Earl Littman taught Michael Littman.
1. Dream Boldly. Why settle for a small dream when you can imagine something grandiose?
Why limit your horizons when possibilities are always abundant? Don't settle for a 3% market share gain. Imagine 70% share and brand dominance. Imagine the other Marketing Directors in your category cowering in the presense of your brand. Imagine success without despair, love without heartache, life without disappointment. Dream Boldly.
2. Live Beyond Your Means. I know, it flies in the face of current events. If I were to be more politically correct, this would simply say 'Go Big or Don't Bother Going'. But Earl would simply go. Somehow the financial details would take care of themselves with time.
Dad taught me that you can't save your way to prosperity. Invest in a big idea, and big things will happen.
3. Be different. Dad hates nothing more than doing what others have done. To his way of thinking, originality trumps all else. Bill Samuels said that a bad ad is like a bad haircut, it will grow back with time and soon be forgotten. If more Marketing Directors followed this formula marketing wouldn't be perceived as a nuisance and advertisers wouldn't fear the DVR.
4. First Impressions Are Lasting. Never would you catch my father five pounds over weight or wearing baggy sweats and a t-shirt. The suit must be well made and well cut. The hair must be combed and in place. Visually the office space must be bold, original, defining. Comfort is secondary to visual stimulus. Or as the Duke Brothers said in Trading Spaces: "Looking Good Lewis." "Feeling Good Billy Ray."
5. Nothing Happens Until The Cash Register Rings. Dad wasn't a big believer in the Awareness/Preference/Purchase Intent school of advertising. That stuff was for wimps. Earl's client roster was largely made up of hard charging retail clients. Dad knew that if they had a bad weekend, he had a bad Monday. I vividly recall his fielding client phone calls on weekends and at night when the big event had produced less than anticipated sales results. I've been a brand guy all my career, but in my mind, it's not a program unless the result produced is a monetary one. Awareness is simply an excuse for a failed marketing effort.
6. Love is the Ultimate Trump Card. 60 years of marriage to one person, even one as magnificent as my mom, is more than a miniscule accomplishment. Eccentric in many areas, Earl had one traditional triumph. Marriage. He found the right partner and he was smart enough to stick by her. He had the sideburns of a 60's player, but he knew when to go home.
7. There is No Substitute For Hard Work. Smart comes and goes. But now more than ever, outworking your competition has much to do with outlasting your competition. I was blessed with marketing instincts. But I'm at my best when I integrate a brand program, precisely because I am relentless in seeking out differentiating touch points with consumers.
8. Innovate. Originate. Differentiate. Saturate. It's not a brilliant idea unless someone other than your parents and children know about it. Create something unique. Make sure to differentiate it from its competition. Then tell enough people enough times to transform a thought into a purchase.
9. Don't Do Stupid Stuff. Don't overeat. Don't drink to excess. Don't smoke. Don't do drugs. Don't lie. Don't hold back. Don't wait. Don't procrastinate. Don't fit in. Don't stop believing in yourself. Don't cheat. Don't slow down. Don't settle. Dad has never been long on 'To Do's', but man, he has given me a life-long list of 'To Don't's'.
10. Conquer One Mountain. Time to Climb Another. The word 'relax' is not in Earl's vocabulary. To do is to live. To lay down is to die. I have no idea what pithy phrase dad has inscribed on his tombstone, but if I were to get a vote, it would simply be 'What's Next'. Because I can guarantee you this. Whatever is 'what's next', Earl will be leading the charge to do it.
You can find Earl Littman at 80+ years old running Point of Sale Broadcasting in Houston, Texas. You can find Michael Littman at Doe-Anderson Advertising in Louisville, Kentucky. I hope that wherever you find me, you will find at least a pale representation of the best ad man I ever met.
Refuse to Participate in the Recession
At the risk of sounding like George W. Bush, the best defense for a bad economy is simply a strong state of mind. Simply refuse to participate in the recession. Refuse to allow your business to participate in the recession. Refuse to get caught up in the guagmire of negativity and instead concentrate your energy, your partners energy, your employees energy on buoyancy.
Why do some float while others sink? Buoyant thinking.
Buoyant thinking will drive you to making long-term minded business decisions as opposed to short-term cost cutting tactics.
Buoyant thinking will allow you to invest in your best employees, your best developmental ideas, your best customers.
Buoyant thinking will encourage those with whom you come interact to share a positive spirit, provide better customer service, and be better resources to each other.
Buoyant thinking will keep your brand face forward, first to market, first off the shelf. Brand Managers that see the future will continue to build bridges. Brand Managers that fear today are unlikely to be shaping a brand's destiny tomorrow.
I'm not talking about putting on a brave face and keeping a stiff upper lip. That decries the message. I'm talking about refusing to believe that anything other than success is going to meet you as you go about your daily tasks.
Be buoyant. Refuse to participate in the blues, blahs, bahhumbugs. Stay the course. Invest for success. Share your wins, not your fears.
Declare your will to prosper, and prosperity will find you.
May I have an Amen to that?
A simple mantra for each waking morning: I REFUSE TO PARTICIPATE IN POOR-MINDED THINKING. I REFUSE TO PARTICIPATE IN THIS RECESSION.
Why do some float while others sink? Buoyant thinking.
Buoyant thinking will drive you to making long-term minded business decisions as opposed to short-term cost cutting tactics.
Buoyant thinking will allow you to invest in your best employees, your best developmental ideas, your best customers.
Buoyant thinking will encourage those with whom you come interact to share a positive spirit, provide better customer service, and be better resources to each other.
Buoyant thinking will keep your brand face forward, first to market, first off the shelf. Brand Managers that see the future will continue to build bridges. Brand Managers that fear today are unlikely to be shaping a brand's destiny tomorrow.
I'm not talking about putting on a brave face and keeping a stiff upper lip. That decries the message. I'm talking about refusing to believe that anything other than success is going to meet you as you go about your daily tasks.
Be buoyant. Refuse to participate in the blues, blahs, bahhumbugs. Stay the course. Invest for success. Share your wins, not your fears.
Declare your will to prosper, and prosperity will find you.
May I have an Amen to that?
A simple mantra for each waking morning: I REFUSE TO PARTICIPATE IN POOR-MINDED THINKING. I REFUSE TO PARTICIPATE IN THIS RECESSION.
Friday, February 13, 2009
Joe Grieco, The City of Hope & Product/User/Maker
As a 23 year-old I had the distinct pleasure of working at McCann Erickson while Joe Grieco ran the strategic planning department. Back in the day, strategic planning was called research, though Jeff Blish (at that time another McCann employee), America's fist account planner, had started to redefine the role of research inside of an ad agency.
I was just a fresh-faced assistant account manager with a little too much time on my hands ... so I determined that my best hope for learning while at ME was to hang around these two guys offices and soak in whatever knowledge that they chose to impart.
My most treasured memory from the time was when Joe and Jeff explained to me that all ads could be categorized into one of three categories: fabrications, lies, and damnable lies. Nah, not really. That's my observation of how consumers view ads, not what Joe and Jeff were selling.
On that day, I learned that every ad comes from one of three perspectives: from the perspective of the PRODUCT, from the perspective of the USER, or from the perspective of the MAKER.
PRODUCT ads typically focus on a specific feature or benefit that a particular product provides. Notably Hardee's has used this strategy effectively in the recent past through their introduction of 'Thick Burgers'. The PRODUCT focus is most powerful when your brand has a clear, distinct, and most important a consumer-worthy point of distinction from its competitors. Sheet metal on cars tend to drive product messaging. Technology manufacturers often fall back to this area when their widget is demonstrably faster, smarter, more user friendly, etc. The downside here is that if your product distinction is of little value to a consumer, your advertising dollar has been poorly spent.
USER ads reflect either the rational or emotional benefit that use of a product satisfies. They deliver the outcome of the product use from the perspective of 'what's in it for you'. In today's environment USER ads most easily allow for the 'transaparency' that consumers prefer. Consumer voyuerism of captured seemingly unscripted moments fueled by the 'reality tv' rage has brought USER advertising to the level of overexposure. The current wave of 'User/Transparency' messaging is evidenced beautifully in the 'Above the Influence' campaign.
Nike developed the penultimate in USER advertising through their decade long paeon to the athlete: 'Just Do It'.
But remember that when you are are trying to live inside the head of a consumer, you need to be thinking affinity groups, not demographic groups. If you don't refine your targeting strategy, your message can actually diminish your brand credibility by framing your user motivations incorrectly.
MAKER advertising has been largely on the outside looking since the 1950's, though it remains an incredibly powerful tool when delivered appropriately. MAKER advertising delivers a message about the company that makes/offers the product. What's in it for you is the company's knowledge/experience/longevity/security or other benefit associated with the company's manner of doing business. Next time you call 'Jack Daniel's' at a bar, you have called a MAKER brand story line. So what's the downside? If the message doesn't ring true, you've beaten your chest, appeared self-absorbed and out-of-tune with your prospects needs.
Joe framed this for me in this manner:
MAKER: Proctor & Gamble has made Tide soap for 75 years. Clean, gentle cleaning of your whites and colors make's P&G's Tide soap the clean choice for you.
PRODUCT: Tide's new enzyme xyz assures that your whites will be white and your colors will be brighter. Enzyme XYZ, only in Tide.
USER: Your family will notice the difference when you put Tide soap in your washing machine. Whiter whites. Brighter brights. More thanks in every load.
For me, the first step in approaching a brand repositioning assignment is to develop a complete storyline for the brand from each perspective. I align the rational and emotional benefits that a brand delivers under each category. Then I do an internal 'credibility' check. In short, which perspective delivers the truth of the brand in the most meaningful and memorable manner.
If more than one perspective appears credible, I test it with loyalists to discover which perspective rings most true with the people who most frequently use and most greatly value the brand. In short, the brand owners.
Even the best marketing messages can wear thin over time. Assuming that the fundamental truth of the product has remained constant and that primary drivers of product selection are unchanged, one way to freshen your message is by simply redirecting it through a different perspective.
For instance, if you have been telling your story through the PRODUCT perspective, spin it to a USER or MAKER perspective. In this way, your underlying marketing truth remains the same, but the perspective shifts leading to a fresh new executions.
One day Joe and I were on a plane together flying to Las Vegas. I shared with him that I thought it was the saddest city in the world. In my mind it was a place where people went to lose their hard earned money. I saw rows and rows of blue hairs dipping deeper and deeper into their change purses lining the coffers of Vegas casino operators. Joe saw it differently.
As it happened, Joe's dad lived in a single-wide near the casinos. It was a city he had come to love. Rather than seeing it as a city of loss, Joe saw Vegas as the city of hope. It was a place where dreams came to fruition. Where a year's worth of savings delivered 362 days of sunshine in people's lives. That in Las Vegas, all was possible, particularly as future visitors sit huddled in front of a fireplace somewhere in a midwestern home buried under January snows. Joe would say that it mattered less what happened on your Vegas vacation and more what happened through your year's worth of planning for it.
A whack on the side of the head. A shift in perspective. A gift given to me by Joe and opened day after day for 25+ years. Thanks, Joe.
I was just a fresh-faced assistant account manager with a little too much time on my hands ... so I determined that my best hope for learning while at ME was to hang around these two guys offices and soak in whatever knowledge that they chose to impart.
My most treasured memory from the time was when Joe and Jeff explained to me that all ads could be categorized into one of three categories: fabrications, lies, and damnable lies. Nah, not really. That's my observation of how consumers view ads, not what Joe and Jeff were selling.
On that day, I learned that every ad comes from one of three perspectives: from the perspective of the PRODUCT, from the perspective of the USER, or from the perspective of the MAKER.
PRODUCT ads typically focus on a specific feature or benefit that a particular product provides. Notably Hardee's has used this strategy effectively in the recent past through their introduction of 'Thick Burgers'. The PRODUCT focus is most powerful when your brand has a clear, distinct, and most important a consumer-worthy point of distinction from its competitors. Sheet metal on cars tend to drive product messaging. Technology manufacturers often fall back to this area when their widget is demonstrably faster, smarter, more user friendly, etc. The downside here is that if your product distinction is of little value to a consumer, your advertising dollar has been poorly spent.
USER ads reflect either the rational or emotional benefit that use of a product satisfies. They deliver the outcome of the product use from the perspective of 'what's in it for you'. In today's environment USER ads most easily allow for the 'transaparency' that consumers prefer. Consumer voyuerism of captured seemingly unscripted moments fueled by the 'reality tv' rage has brought USER advertising to the level of overexposure. The current wave of 'User/Transparency' messaging is evidenced beautifully in the 'Above the Influence' campaign.
Nike developed the penultimate in USER advertising through their decade long paeon to the athlete: 'Just Do It'.
But remember that when you are are trying to live inside the head of a consumer, you need to be thinking affinity groups, not demographic groups. If you don't refine your targeting strategy, your message can actually diminish your brand credibility by framing your user motivations incorrectly.
MAKER advertising has been largely on the outside looking since the 1950's, though it remains an incredibly powerful tool when delivered appropriately. MAKER advertising delivers a message about the company that makes/offers the product. What's in it for you is the company's knowledge/experience/longevity/security or other benefit associated with the company's manner of doing business. Next time you call 'Jack Daniel's' at a bar, you have called a MAKER brand story line. So what's the downside? If the message doesn't ring true, you've beaten your chest, appeared self-absorbed and out-of-tune with your prospects needs.
Joe framed this for me in this manner:
MAKER: Proctor & Gamble has made Tide soap for 75 years. Clean, gentle cleaning of your whites and colors make's P&G's Tide soap the clean choice for you.
PRODUCT: Tide's new enzyme xyz assures that your whites will be white and your colors will be brighter. Enzyme XYZ, only in Tide.
USER: Your family will notice the difference when you put Tide soap in your washing machine. Whiter whites. Brighter brights. More thanks in every load.
For me, the first step in approaching a brand repositioning assignment is to develop a complete storyline for the brand from each perspective. I align the rational and emotional benefits that a brand delivers under each category. Then I do an internal 'credibility' check. In short, which perspective delivers the truth of the brand in the most meaningful and memorable manner.
If more than one perspective appears credible, I test it with loyalists to discover which perspective rings most true with the people who most frequently use and most greatly value the brand. In short, the brand owners.
Even the best marketing messages can wear thin over time. Assuming that the fundamental truth of the product has remained constant and that primary drivers of product selection are unchanged, one way to freshen your message is by simply redirecting it through a different perspective.
For instance, if you have been telling your story through the PRODUCT perspective, spin it to a USER or MAKER perspective. In this way, your underlying marketing truth remains the same, but the perspective shifts leading to a fresh new executions.
One day Joe and I were on a plane together flying to Las Vegas. I shared with him that I thought it was the saddest city in the world. In my mind it was a place where people went to lose their hard earned money. I saw rows and rows of blue hairs dipping deeper and deeper into their change purses lining the coffers of Vegas casino operators. Joe saw it differently.
As it happened, Joe's dad lived in a single-wide near the casinos. It was a city he had come to love. Rather than seeing it as a city of loss, Joe saw Vegas as the city of hope. It was a place where dreams came to fruition. Where a year's worth of savings delivered 362 days of sunshine in people's lives. That in Las Vegas, all was possible, particularly as future visitors sit huddled in front of a fireplace somewhere in a midwestern home buried under January snows. Joe would say that it mattered less what happened on your Vegas vacation and more what happened through your year's worth of planning for it.
A whack on the side of the head. A shift in perspective. A gift given to me by Joe and opened day after day for 25+ years. Thanks, Joe.
Thursday, February 12, 2009
Relationships Relationship to Marketing
Recently I asked the 70 people I work with to tell me 'what makes your interpersonal relationships work'. Consider a pool of people that is evenly split male to female, largely under the age of 40, some married, some single, some widowed, some divorced. While we live in Kentucky, most of us are from somewhere else, so that the idea that the average Kentuckian is likely to be married to his brother or sister does not apply here. In short, we are wholly normal, and through that normalcy, have found common ground on how to make a relationship work.
The first notion, and one that I found particularly intriguing, is that all relationships are a work in progress, not a finished piece of art. Cyncially, a relationship is the ultimate 'what have you done for me lately' experience. Once we stop working at the relationship, the relationship is likely to stop working.
Communication is an underlying theme of my peers review. The need to speak freely, honestly, with complete transparency becomes central to relationship developmet. Positive reinforcement, thankfulness, listening not only to what is said but also to what goes unsaid all make for effective communication.
Trust is a notion that is consistently addressed. Both emotional and physical fidelity are the bonds that make and break trust. In the absense of trust, the relationship can no longer provide a safeplace that both parties require.
Mutual Attaction and physical contact are both inherant to a sound relationship. I'm not here to champion or denegrate lust ... but on both sides of the gender divide, the need for some form of touch comes as a natural outgrowth of attraction.
There are a number of seemingly contrary throughts that appear all to be important in this relationship game.
-- Spontaneous Consistency. We loathe boredom, but we need predictability. To keep our relationships fresh, a magic moment or two sprinked in between the every day every day makes for a healthy partnership.
-- Freedom Constraint. Both parties must be allowed room to grow within their own personal space, while at the same time being respectful of the strictly drawn lines that empower trust.
-- Laughter Tears. Somehow we want our partners to share equally in our bright and shiny as we do in our darkness and despair. We need to be able to laugh with and occassionally at our partners. We require their understanding and support when we are overburdened by the day.
Relationships blossom when we discover that we share enthusiasms for similar actions, activities, people and places. Shared enthusiasms are no more important than shared dislikes. When 'I love Lucy' but you hate her ... well, we won't be covering chocolates together let alone driving across the country in our Airstream.
There are multiple other components. The ability to forgive and forget. The willingness to be fair, not just right. Remaining open to new ideas, all the while working together in the spirit of compromise to be attentive to the others needs.
These are the fundamental building blocks of strong interpersonal realtionships. And of the relationships between a brand and its customers.
Next blog ... I'll cross that bridge
The first notion, and one that I found particularly intriguing, is that all relationships are a work in progress, not a finished piece of art. Cyncially, a relationship is the ultimate 'what have you done for me lately' experience. Once we stop working at the relationship, the relationship is likely to stop working.
Communication is an underlying theme of my peers review. The need to speak freely, honestly, with complete transparency becomes central to relationship developmet. Positive reinforcement, thankfulness, listening not only to what is said but also to what goes unsaid all make for effective communication.
Trust is a notion that is consistently addressed. Both emotional and physical fidelity are the bonds that make and break trust. In the absense of trust, the relationship can no longer provide a safeplace that both parties require.
Mutual Attaction and physical contact are both inherant to a sound relationship. I'm not here to champion or denegrate lust ... but on both sides of the gender divide, the need for some form of touch comes as a natural outgrowth of attraction.
There are a number of seemingly contrary throughts that appear all to be important in this relationship game.
-- Spontaneous Consistency. We loathe boredom, but we need predictability. To keep our relationships fresh, a magic moment or two sprinked in between the every day every day makes for a healthy partnership.
-- Freedom Constraint. Both parties must be allowed room to grow within their own personal space, while at the same time being respectful of the strictly drawn lines that empower trust.
-- Laughter Tears. Somehow we want our partners to share equally in our bright and shiny as we do in our darkness and despair. We need to be able to laugh with and occassionally at our partners. We require their understanding and support when we are overburdened by the day.
Relationships blossom when we discover that we share enthusiasms for similar actions, activities, people and places. Shared enthusiasms are no more important than shared dislikes. When 'I love Lucy' but you hate her ... well, we won't be covering chocolates together let alone driving across the country in our Airstream.
There are multiple other components. The ability to forgive and forget. The willingness to be fair, not just right. Remaining open to new ideas, all the while working together in the spirit of compromise to be attentive to the others needs.
These are the fundamental building blocks of strong interpersonal realtionships. And of the relationships between a brand and its customers.
Next blog ... I'll cross that bridge
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