All Media Are Not Created Equal

What Worked? What Didn't? Where To Go Next?

You have a product or service that needs exposure. For the purpose of this exercise, we will assume that it is fantastic and there's a need for it.

We will also make the leap that your creative messages are well focused and all the other parts are in place.

The Future Is Now

Let’s deal with where most business owners unfortunately reside. It’s where the pain is most intense – today. There is no time to look at long term plans; you need to make your next quarter. But if you do the same things hoping they will work this time, well you know the cliché.

Should you do a television campaign or a microsite? Perhaps it’s time for you to increase your social networking activities or buy radio? Has the money you spent on print become a dead end or perhaps an outdoor campaign will work?

It is dicey to change strategy without sound reasons yet dangerous to stay with a bad plan. Whether you run a large, medium or small organization, you have budget constraints. It’s effortless to look at Starbucks or Wal-Mart and have an opinion on how you would spend their marketing budget.

A quick checklist 

• Find people who can give you honest feedback and perspective.
• Stop watching the competition (for now).
• Remember that Facebook and Twitter are tactics, not your strategy.
• Pay no attention to those who say they have all the answers.
• Keep in mind that the media sales person is compensated on commission.
• Firing people to save money is not a good enough reason.
• Ask your customers what resonated with them.
• Carefully analyze what media has worked for you and what has not.
• Get out of your office, turn off your phone and think.
• Examine all of our current business activities. All of them.
• Cutting your marketing budget to save money is not the answer.
• Educate yourself on all media options and metrics.

Perhaps some items to add to your list.

Kneale Mann

image credit: alternativenews
original post: July 2010

Starbucks and the Economic Meltdown

As recently as 4-5 years ago, many of us who do business presentations used Starbucks as an aspirational brand. It was the trading up transaction. You would do without something to get that $5 latte and millions of people go into their 17,000 stores every day and do just that. Then the economy took a kicking and suddenly Starbucks was viewed – by some – as too expensive or a frivolous luxury we couldn’t afford.

So instead of assuming what people were doing or thinking, the company thought it would be wise to actually find out. Matthew Guiste is the Director of Global Social Media at Starbucks. In this video presentation, he talks about how they engage millions of fans through Twitter, FourSquare, YouTube, Facebook and various other channels.

Your business may not be as big as Starbucks but this could give you ideas for engaging with your customers.



Kneale Mann

video credit: leaderlab

A Dozen Ideas on Choosing Your Media

What Worked? What Didn't? Where To Go Next?

You have a product or service that needs exposure.

For the purpose of this exercise, we will assume that it is fantastic and there's a need for it.

We will also make the leap that your creative messages are well focused and all the other parts are in place.

The Future Is Now

Let’s deal with where most business owners unfortunately reside. It’s where the pain is most intense – today. There is no time to look at long term plans; you need to make your next quarter. But if you do the same things hoping they will work this time, well you know the cliché.

Should you do a television campaign or a microsite? Perhaps it’s time for you to increase your social networking activities or buy radio? Has the money you spent on print become a dead end or perhaps an outdoor campaign will work?

Shiny and Sparkling

It is dicey to change strategy without sound reasons yet dangerous to stay with a bad plan. Whether you run a large, medium or small organization, you have budget constraints. It’s effortless to look at Starbucks or Wal-Mart and have an opinion on how you would spend their marketing budget.

More of the Same or Give Up?

You can throw your hands in the air and say you have no money and marketing efforts will have to wait. But before you tear everything apart or stick your head in the sand, perhaps some of these ideas may help...

• Find people who can give you honest feedback and perspective.
• Stop watching the competition (for now).
• Remember that Facebook and Twitter are tactics, not your strategy.
• Pay no attention to those who say they have all the answers.
• Keep in mind that the media sales person is compensated on commission.
• Firing people to save money is not a good enough reason.
• Ask your customers what resonated with them.
• Carefully analyze what media has worked for you and what has not.
• Get out of your office, turn off your phone and think.
• Examine all of our current business activities. All of them.
• Cutting your marketing budget to save money is not the answer.
• Educate yourself on all media options and metrics.

What would you add to the list?

knealemann
Helping you integrate all you do with all you do.

image credit: mysitemyway

Are We Still Trading Up?

"Middle-market consumers around the world are trading up to New Luxury products and services that deliver higher levels of quality, taste, and aspiration than conventional items."
Trading Up: The New American Luxury (2003)
Michael J. Silverstein and Neil Fiske

As the economic asteroid field whizzes by our ears, do we still have money for luxuries and trading up?

Smaller numbers. Bigger bucks.

Of all goods and services, new luxury items account for 20% of sales, 40% of revenue and 60% of profit.

We seem to find a way to get the stuff we want by spending less on the stuff feel is unimportant. For example, we may shell out five bucks for a latte and buy no name brand bathroom tissue. The earliest example for me was when I bought my first new car while renting a basement apartment. Great car, horrible apartment.

Instant Starbucks.

People can put down their picket signs. The company is about to introduce Via - a water soluble coffee. Yes, it's instant coffee and some may say the end of life as we know it but at least it's in their wheelhouse. CNN Money is calling it a "gamble".

Starbucks has been a brand many of us have used to illustrate the 'trading up' or 'living large' lifestyle.

"Because New Luxury goods sell for 20 to 200 percent more than standard mid-price goods, they deliver higher profits. They also can sell in much higher volumes than super premium products, and thus have greater potential for growth."
Trading Up: The New American Luxury (2003)

A colleague's wife and her purse.

She loves the purse but the zipper broke. Instead of tossing it and buying a new purse, she bought a new zipper. Sounds logical but more to the point, perhaps we've all contributed to this crisis because we've become too familiar with the concept of throwing out the broken one and buying a new one. Too often on credit.

Repair. Recycle. Reuse.

I got an email this week from someone who wondered if this downturn will cause the return of more repair shops. Good point. Let's stimulate the economy by employing more talented people who can make our stuff last longer. Plus, it makes for less landfill which in-turn helps the environment.

This is not about doing without, but the collective 'we' has been racking up the bill for too long and we simply can't trade up indefinitely.

We want companies to thrive, we want them to keep making stuff to turn a profit and we want to create jobs not lose them. Part of the correction may need to come from our collective reduction in tossing stuff away too quickly. And in the process, we could still find a way to treat ourselves once in a while.

How are you Trading Up?

km

Marketing: Time To Change Our Ways

I’ve been chatting with some ad agency colleagues lately and it’s been an eye-opening experience. It's tough for a lot of them. But others are angry because of news reports are causing more fear. No one has their head in the sand, but the negative news certainly isn't helping.

There are plenty of clients who still want to promote and market their goods and services. Clients are more cautious but slashing marketing and promotional budgets is the wrong tact. It is tough ‘out there’ but if you focus on that, you will get what you wish.

We need to cut costs
If you replaced the word “marketing” with “coffee cups” how long would Starbucks or Tim Horton’s stay in business? If you replaced the word “promotion” with “steering wheel” how long would you be able to keep your car on the road? If you want to see your company decline, stop telling people you have a company.

Where’s the map?
Imagine you are driving in a snow storm. It’s 3am and the gas meter has been on empty for the last fifteen minutes. You are lost. All you see is the odd light on the side of the road, no signs to indicate what is there. How many gas stations could you possibly drive by without knowing it? And how long will that gas station stay in business without a sign out front?

It worked yesterday
Years ago I worked with a guy in radio who didn’t see the need for us to tell people the name of the station. I’m serious! He said: “Everyone knows who we are.” Really? He saw little need to do marketing or outside promotion because the brand was that strong. No brand, product, or service is immune to softening markets or competition. No company has survived on their past successes.

The community is much too fickle.

Spam scam and scram
It gives none of us solace to watch major household brands crack under the pressure. But the companies that will continue to thrive – yes thrive – will sharpen their proverbial pencils and find out how they will do it. Those “hows” include: more targeted marketing, paying attention to the marketplace and needs of consumers, customers, audience, community, and staying aware of all technology available to them. And most importantly – have something worthwhile that others want to buy or use!

The best marketing campaign in the world, conceived by the brightest in the field will have a very difficult time convincing people to buy-in if the product or service fails to deliver on its promise.

Now what?
One agency veep told me last week that their goal for next year is to increase their client base by 20% and billing by 30% by “offering clients a soft place to land”. His plan is to give fearful business owners realistic solutions to their marketing and promotion issues rather jamming people in to the same old tired ideas. He said: "The lemmings and laggards can stayed scared while I build my business."

The U.S. auto industry is teetering. GM, Ford and Chrysler have been doing things the same way for far too long. If you are unwilling to be nimble and change with your environment, you can expect diminishing results. No mandated production levels will increase consumer demand no matter how much you want it.

What’s in it for we?
Of course I have a vested interest in all this – I am a producer. But I am also a marketer, a writer, a creative guy and I enjoy when something well-made is well-marketed and sees a healthy profit.

What are your thoughts?

km

Stop Selling. Start Asking.

Every day, I read another article about how the advertising world is changing. The advertising world is always changing. Ad Age published an article today about the broken ad model and what we should do next.

In all my years in media, I have been bombarded with people who say I am in the advertising business. The claim is often that we only care about revenue to the the detriment of the viewer/user/consumer/listener. Any company that tries to execute such a business plan is finished before starting.

Wal-Mart has done a remarkable job promoting their superior price point. Whether they have the best prices on every single item in their stores, is irrelevant. Starbucks provides a warm comfortable home-like atmosphere while you wait for your $4 pumpkin spice latte. And Jiffy Lube gets you in and out of the service bay in fifteen minutes.

Before deciding on stories and mediums and fancy slug lines, we must pay close attention to what you want to say and what you want to sell. Integration of product, client and customer are essential. But what is more important is connecting with people. “They” are not some mass of beings with no souls or faces. They are us and we are them. We are all in advertising, we are all customers, we all want solutions and stories.

In our user-generated world, it’s time for us to stop thinking we have all the answers and start asking a lot more honest questions of each other, and drop the charade that we all know what’s best.

km