Today's edition of the WSJ included two columns that encapsulated compelling marketing (and advertising) do's and don'ts, observations that are particularly appropriate when facing heavy "head winds". The type of climate we can expect to be in for the time being.
That said, lets all remember that advertising is merely a component of marketing, and interesting to point out findings in JackMeyer's recent report, "..advertising, as a percentage of marketing budgets, continues to wane; and advertising spends are necessarily being directed to platforms that are otherwise uncluttered, with content that's creatively captivating..."
Advertising insight courtesy of Sridhar Balasubramanian and Pradeep Bhardwau from UNC's Business School:
1. Target customers at times when they're unoccupied. (This underscores the reasons why airport-centric venues (especially in-plane)offer a nice vehicle.
2. Tease, don't tell. The logic here is that brain can only process so much information, and when it comes to an ad, too much of anything is no good. Make the message intriguing, so that it drives the eyeball to a destination that can sell.
3. Cross Promote. By aligning your brand with another complementary brand, you introduce a much coveted goal-third party endorsement/integrity. That said, make sure you're aligning with a brand that has integrity.
4. Integrate your ad within a frequently used application. A great example of this approach is a software application that we highlighted two years ago-created by our friend Evan Richmond, a fellow that's always been ahead of his time and whose approach to capturing eyeballs is now under the umbrella of Think360 whose
Marketing Do's and Don'ts; Contrary to Conventional Wisdom..
(Courtesy of David Corkin at South Australia's International Graduate School of Business)
1. Broaden The Brand..as opposed to conventional 'wisdom' of zeroing in on the perceived demographic target
2. Loyal customers aren't really so royal. Loyalty is nice, but research suggests, its over-rated. Especially when it comes to commoditized products. And what isn't commoditized these days?
3. Increasing sales is achieved by increasing the customer base. That brings us back to broadening the brand. The conventional and incorrect wisdom according to Corkin, is to emphasize increasing loyalty of existing customers and trying to increase their purchasing of the product/service.
4. Promotions are great--if the goal is to sell your product at a discounted price (and earn less profit margin) to existing customers. Otherwise, this strategy rarely captures new, long-lasting customers.
5. The 4 P's (product, price, place and promotion)-a topic that our generation of MBA's will rattle off in a presentation (including job interviews) overlooks a more fundamental focus--we keep saying it--Its all about The Brand...Creating positive associations in the mindset of the audience. That requires creative thinking.
6. Marketing is about hunting and capturing. Wrong-sales is about hunting and capturing--marketing is about making sure your message/image is inserted in locations that your audience is actively visiting.
Monday, October 20, 2008
Wednesday, October 15, 2008
NY Times /CBS News Poll: McCain Negative Advertising Backfires
For those that noticed this past Sunday's posting at this very blog(immediately below), it would seem that my middle-aged, middle of the road opining is shared by more than a few..(I was not polled by NY Times/CBS News prior to today's release of their findings..)
"..The poll found that more voters see Mr. McCain as waging a negative campaign than Mr. Obama. Six in 10 voters surveyed said that Mr. McCain had spent more time attacking Mr. Obama than explaining what he would do as president; by about the same number, voters said Mr. Obama was spending more of his time explaining than attacking...The top reasons cited by those who said they thought less of Mr. McCain were his recent attacks"
Duh... And for those that want to put blame on the advertising/marketing geniuses that craft McCain's strategies..keep in mind, they all come with the statement "I'm John McCain, and I approved this message.." Yikes.
"..The poll found that more voters see Mr. McCain as waging a negative campaign than Mr. Obama. Six in 10 voters surveyed said that Mr. McCain had spent more time attacking Mr. Obama than explaining what he would do as president; by about the same number, voters said Mr. Obama was spending more of his time explaining than attacking...The top reasons cited by those who said they thought less of Mr. McCain were his recent attacks"
Duh... And for those that want to put blame on the advertising/marketing geniuses that craft McCain's strategies..keep in mind, they all come with the statement "I'm John McCain, and I approved this message.." Yikes.
Sunday, October 12, 2008
Marketing Communications: What is McCain thinking??
Its always fascinating to observe political campaign "messaging" strategies, as they're really nothing more than marketing/advertising campaigns on steroids.
They're a composite of what the most aggressive brand marketing campaigns encompass, leveraging every type of guerilla marketing application, every type of media outlet,and are wrapped with every type of PR and awareness tactic under the sun.
The common wisdom of brand marketing and positioning is that a truly successful marketing campaign is supposed to stick to a consistent theme of messages and clear value propositions throughout the course of the campaign: that's what we call Brand Integrity 101. If you switch messages, you confuse consumers--and consumers don't like to be confused.
One would think this would be the most obvious tactic when it comes to a political campaign. However, much to our chagrin--and especially during times of great crisis and uncertainty, the rules of engagement for those selling a political product are completely contradictory to those espoused by accomplished brand marketing experts.
Yes...many of those reading this will say "Duh-tell me something we don't know.."
But for those that depend on Harvard MBA's or other 'case study' experts, the case in point that should be a What Not To Do when promoting a product is the marketing campaign behind attempts to sell the John McCain and Sarah Palin product.
1. Negative Advertising. Pounding a competing product is actually not a bad tactic at the appropriate time--as long as the pounding is credible. And, Bill Clinton said that politics is a contact sport; implying that the rules change after each play.
That said, numerous federal agencies that govern product marketing have very clear rules prohibiting fraudulent and/or deceptive advertising. False claims about competing products are considered libelous, and those messages found to be fraudulent can result in criminal prosecution.
Most recent accusations made by McCain & Co.'s advertising team--including direct statements made by his anointed running mate with regard to Senator Obama's purported 'terrorist' links are not only completely unsubstantiated, but if those statements were regulated by a federal or state agency, they would easily be considered deceptive, if not fraudulent.
..Obviously, political campaign statements aren't regulated by any government agency (way too complicated), but any reasonably well-trained marketing student would clearly know that when a manufacurer is found to be delivering a false claim, the consumer backlash to negative advertising can sink a brand in a matter of days. The result? The product collects dust on the shelf-then its sent back to the manufacturer, who disposes of it in a junk pile-or ships it to an overseas country at a discounted price.
Changing the packaging. If one package type or size doesn't sell, manufacturers try to adjust quickly and re-package, but they typically use the same ingredients.
In this case, the republican presidential campaign is not only re-packaging on an hourly basis, they keep changing the ingredients, which is destroying an already aging Grand Old Party brand that once prided itself on a relatively unchanging set of ingredients. Yes, these are historic times, and we're facing challenges that are unprecedented, and 'change' is the recipe that we need, but changing ingredients based on every tick in stock futures is merely causing consumer confidence in the underlying product to disintegrate faster than the value of our retirement investments.
Crisp, clear, concise and CONSISTENT messages are the basic elements to promoting any product, a tactic that even Mr. McCain's wife will acknowledge, as Budweiser succeeded in that strategy for three generations.
And if consumers are finding they no longer like the taste, manufacturers spend lots of time and thought on researching what will work-they don't roll out a new product change every 3 hours. Even in the most volatile of times.
They're a composite of what the most aggressive brand marketing campaigns encompass, leveraging every type of guerilla marketing application, every type of media outlet,and are wrapped with every type of PR and awareness tactic under the sun.
The common wisdom of brand marketing and positioning is that a truly successful marketing campaign is supposed to stick to a consistent theme of messages and clear value propositions throughout the course of the campaign: that's what we call Brand Integrity 101. If you switch messages, you confuse consumers--and consumers don't like to be confused.
One would think this would be the most obvious tactic when it comes to a political campaign. However, much to our chagrin--and especially during times of great crisis and uncertainty, the rules of engagement for those selling a political product are completely contradictory to those espoused by accomplished brand marketing experts.
Yes...many of those reading this will say "Duh-tell me something we don't know.."
But for those that depend on Harvard MBA's or other 'case study' experts, the case in point that should be a What Not To Do when promoting a product is the marketing campaign behind attempts to sell the John McCain and Sarah Palin product.
1. Negative Advertising. Pounding a competing product is actually not a bad tactic at the appropriate time--as long as the pounding is credible. And, Bill Clinton said that politics is a contact sport; implying that the rules change after each play.
That said, numerous federal agencies that govern product marketing have very clear rules prohibiting fraudulent and/or deceptive advertising. False claims about competing products are considered libelous, and those messages found to be fraudulent can result in criminal prosecution.
Most recent accusations made by McCain & Co.'s advertising team--including direct statements made by his anointed running mate with regard to Senator Obama's purported 'terrorist' links are not only completely unsubstantiated, but if those statements were regulated by a federal or state agency, they would easily be considered deceptive, if not fraudulent.
..Obviously, political campaign statements aren't regulated by any government agency (way too complicated), but any reasonably well-trained marketing student would clearly know that when a manufacurer is found to be delivering a false claim, the consumer backlash to negative advertising can sink a brand in a matter of days. The result? The product collects dust on the shelf-then its sent back to the manufacturer, who disposes of it in a junk pile-or ships it to an overseas country at a discounted price.
Changing the packaging. If one package type or size doesn't sell, manufacturers try to adjust quickly and re-package, but they typically use the same ingredients.
In this case, the republican presidential campaign is not only re-packaging on an hourly basis, they keep changing the ingredients, which is destroying an already aging Grand Old Party brand that once prided itself on a relatively unchanging set of ingredients. Yes, these are historic times, and we're facing challenges that are unprecedented, and 'change' is the recipe that we need, but changing ingredients based on every tick in stock futures is merely causing consumer confidence in the underlying product to disintegrate faster than the value of our retirement investments.
Crisp, clear, concise and CONSISTENT messages are the basic elements to promoting any product, a tactic that even Mr. McCain's wife will acknowledge, as Budweiser succeeded in that strategy for three generations.
And if consumers are finding they no longer like the taste, manufacturers spend lots of time and thought on researching what will work-they don't roll out a new product change every 3 hours. Even in the most volatile of times.
Wednesday, October 08, 2008
Crisis Management : Overcoming Fear & Panic
If Vladimir Putin had his way, he'd probably pull the plug on CNBC in an effort to stop the media from making a really bad financial situation worse. He'd certainly pull the plug on the program trading software that many believe drives the price of stocks like a drunken driver.
Inasmuch as too many of us, instead of focusing on being productive, are probably sitting in front of TV screens watching the financial market meltdown, like a deer staring into the headlights, and busy calculating the mounting losses to our businesses, and more importantly--the damage to our life savings, the fact is that no single person (not even Hank Paulson or John McCain) can change the course of events that are unfolding.
However, and barring the world coming to an end--which I don't believe is a likely outcome, this is a rare opportunity for leaders and entrepreneurs to position themselves and to focus not on what they're losing, but on how to be proactive, positive and innovative. According to my very wise father, who is now trading above 83, and a fellow that has lived through 7 decades of financial market ups and downs from his catbird seat on the floor of major stock exchanges, "Its always darkest before the dawn."
Perhaps not an original statement, but one that should resonate with marketers, brand managers, and business operators. This is the time to initiate strategies that capture the confidence of employees, partners, clients and customers. This is the time for entrepreneurs to focus on products/services and technologies that deliver cost savings and more efficient business processes. This is the time for branding, PR, and investor relations messages that inspire and provide assurance and credibility. This is the time for coopetition, and crisp, clear, concise and believable messages.
This is the time to position yourself as a confident leader--with that, you'll be protecting the morale of your most valuable sales people--which includes everyone that works in your company--and your most valued customers. An expert on that topic is LeadershipIQ's Mark Murphy; his guidance and counsel has proven invaluable to companies of all sizes, including Fortune 50's.
There are hundreds of innovators and smart solution providers--a handful are profiled at JLC Group's website--and finding the solutions--whether its objective analysis, creative sales approaches, or efficient technologies merely requires solid research and thoughtful and comprehensive evaluation.
Sure, we're all going to be adjusting, tightening belts, and re-evaluating what we consume and how we consume it. But as economic fear permeates throughout our homes and workplaces, perhaps like few other times in our modern history, save for the 1930's, my Dad has also always said, "This too shall pass..". And he's got an amazing track record for being right.
Inasmuch as too many of us, instead of focusing on being productive, are probably sitting in front of TV screens watching the financial market meltdown, like a deer staring into the headlights, and busy calculating the mounting losses to our businesses, and more importantly--the damage to our life savings, the fact is that no single person (not even Hank Paulson or John McCain) can change the course of events that are unfolding.
However, and barring the world coming to an end--which I don't believe is a likely outcome, this is a rare opportunity for leaders and entrepreneurs to position themselves and to focus not on what they're losing, but on how to be proactive, positive and innovative. According to my very wise father, who is now trading above 83, and a fellow that has lived through 7 decades of financial market ups and downs from his catbird seat on the floor of major stock exchanges, "Its always darkest before the dawn."
Perhaps not an original statement, but one that should resonate with marketers, brand managers, and business operators. This is the time to initiate strategies that capture the confidence of employees, partners, clients and customers. This is the time for entrepreneurs to focus on products/services and technologies that deliver cost savings and more efficient business processes. This is the time for branding, PR, and investor relations messages that inspire and provide assurance and credibility. This is the time for coopetition, and crisp, clear, concise and believable messages.
This is the time to position yourself as a confident leader--with that, you'll be protecting the morale of your most valuable sales people--which includes everyone that works in your company--and your most valued customers. An expert on that topic is LeadershipIQ's Mark Murphy; his guidance and counsel has proven invaluable to companies of all sizes, including Fortune 50's.
There are hundreds of innovators and smart solution providers--a handful are profiled at JLC Group's website--and finding the solutions--whether its objective analysis, creative sales approaches, or efficient technologies merely requires solid research and thoughtful and comprehensive evaluation.
Sure, we're all going to be adjusting, tightening belts, and re-evaluating what we consume and how we consume it. But as economic fear permeates throughout our homes and workplaces, perhaps like few other times in our modern history, save for the 1930's, my Dad has also always said, "This too shall pass..". And he's got an amazing track record for being right.
Tuesday, October 07, 2008
Marketing Messages in Times of Mayhem; Perception Management 101
Are we in "unheralded times"? For many, the answer is yes. But for those of us that have been around for more than 15 minutes, or for those that have studied the history of financial markets, we've seen plenty of individual companies, industries, and even economies experience periods of crisis and mayhem.
Bubbles burst, and business cycle "crashes" can swallow the best of companies that fail to quickly respond with proactive messages that reassure customers, clients, partners and employees.
With regard to corporate messages from financial service companies, this is obviously one of the most critical times in history--as the value and competitive position of just about every financial service enterprise is based on good will, credibility and confidence.
Corporate Image, otherwise a "soft asset" is the lifeblood of banks, brokers, lenders, and just about any business that serves a financial service-related entity...and the credibility of these institutions is the foundation to any free enterprise system.
And those that fail to take proactive steps to address the current 'crisis' by not quickly and effectively re-engineering their corporate messaging strategies, from PR to investor relations to advertising campaigns, will find themselves watching their customers run for the hills to havens that are perceived to be safer and more reliable.
Gary Stibel of New England Consulting Group in Westport, CT--an advisory firm that is now expanding its suite of services to include financial crisis management, summed it up nicely in a comment that appeared in today's NY Times: "This is NOT the time for keeping to the course.."
Bubbles burst, and business cycle "crashes" can swallow the best of companies that fail to quickly respond with proactive messages that reassure customers, clients, partners and employees.
With regard to corporate messages from financial service companies, this is obviously one of the most critical times in history--as the value and competitive position of just about every financial service enterprise is based on good will, credibility and confidence.
Corporate Image, otherwise a "soft asset" is the lifeblood of banks, brokers, lenders, and just about any business that serves a financial service-related entity...and the credibility of these institutions is the foundation to any free enterprise system.
And those that fail to take proactive steps to address the current 'crisis' by not quickly and effectively re-engineering their corporate messaging strategies, from PR to investor relations to advertising campaigns, will find themselves watching their customers run for the hills to havens that are perceived to be safer and more reliable.
Gary Stibel of New England Consulting Group in Westport, CT--an advisory firm that is now expanding its suite of services to include financial crisis management, summed it up nicely in a comment that appeared in today's NY Times: "This is NOT the time for keeping to the course.."
Wednesday, September 24, 2008
Telepresence for Talking Heads: DeskTop Video Broadcasting, Video Conferencing and Even Pay-Per-View Apps: The New Trend in New Media
In 2001, while overseeing marketing and communications for a boutique brokerage specializing in junk bonds, I joined hands with a technology vendor to introduce a live video/webcam platform that broadcasted the firm's trading desk to clients of the firm. We thought it took the phrase "transparency in trading markets" to a completely new level--as it provided live video streaming so that customers could see and hear the action.
We were ahead of our time, and even if the rest of Wall Street remained reticent when it came to transparency, video conferencing and streaming applications, (the majority of which were actually developed by technology gurus from within the adult entertainment sector), has, over the past 8 years, evolved to the point where the catch phrase "telepresence" is perhaps the fastest growing telecommunications application.
Video conferencing platforms introduced 7-8 years ago and affordable only to those with $700,000 or more to spend, have evolved; plug and play desktop applications that deliver interactive, TV quality video and audio are the hottest thing since rye bread--as evidenced not only by Cisco's recently announced initiative to "mash" recently acquired video streaming technology with its WebEx product as a means of providing a full suite of next-gen 'telepresence' apps (by combining presentation, interactive voice and video, etc)--but this trend is hotter than fire when looking at the growing number of smaller technology companies that are delivering plug n play and highly affordable (think $399 a month) platforms that can transform the way in which corporate communication and HR execs, marketers, pundits, telecommunicating talking heads, and Bob The Bloggers communicate with their respective captive audiences.
Cisco's system, which is down from $700k+ and now comes in at about $300,000(including furniture for your own corporate broadcast 'studio') is well out of reach for most pocketbooks, especially the mass audience that wants to broadcast from their corporate or home office. The latter group has, for the past few years, been lukewarm, but receptive to using the nascent market for 'walk-in' videoconferencing "studios" that provide turnkey internet and interactive video broadcasting services at a cost of about $1000/hr.
But for those that have watched their retirement accounts with AIG stock implode, and have pared their business budgets to the bone, if you don't have the time/energy to research platforms that are truly affordable, amazingly robust in terms of broadcast quality, feature rich (interactive, multiple windows, a pay-per-view and billing module, the ability to insert advertiser messages, can be operated by monkeys, and can pay for themselves in one single broadcast--we tripped over a solution.
No coincidence that its been developed by the same technology vendor that made the first stride in enhancing the transparency of the firm I worked for 8 years ago.
The provider is Montreal-based LCN Technologies--and having worked with this outfit for years and watching from afar as they've introduced true technology innovation, this is the first place that I'd recommend for anyone that is considering getting on board the new media train that 'gets it' when it comes to ways that can bring you, your content, and your message to your captive audience.
The fact that this platform includes a billing module--allowing broadcasters to charge on a pay-per-view basis is particularly compelling to a wide range of professions and practices..If you don't want to charge your audience for viewing (or downloading archived programs), that's fine--the module includes the ability to insert sponsor and advertiser displays around the frame of the screen, or in marquee scrolling format...
Now you can effectively operate your own "iTV" platform for a few hundred bucks a month..the only hardware you need is a videocam..good ones cost less than a hundred bucks, really good ones cost no more than $300-$400..Want to transform your blogging platform? Bored with static WebEx features?..Want real interactivity with your audience? Now, you too can be just like the talking heads on CNBC, Fox, but better-because these new apps are interactive--think video telephone with a 19 in screen and no latency--or you can simply introduce a corporate communication network that can save tens of thousands of dollars every month when considering your cost of travel, including off-sites that don't really require every being in the same room, etc.
Aside from LCN, we tripped over Telanetix--they've positioned their $30,000 "video conferencing" platform to be a competitor to the Cisco-type $300k platforms--but again, we think that LCN's "turnkey" offering (vs their month to month lease), which provides a one-time license to their system is winning solution, and according to the vendor, you can have the life-time license for as little as $7000. For $300/mo (give or take), they'll host, stream, administer viewer registrations, billing modules, archive and maintain a swath of viewer metrics, and provide 24/7 technical support.. Don't be afraid if you see my face and hear my voice appearing on your desktop!!
Sunday, September 21, 2008
Corporate Sponsorship & Academia: Drawing the Line?
Is a corporate-sponsored marketing course an academic service, or a self-serving one? asks Rob Walker in his well-written New York Times Sunday Magazine piece that profiles a controversy ignited by of all groups, a non-profit trade association that sponsored an academic course at New York's Hunter College and several other universities across the country..
If you don't get the Sunday NY Times Magazine--here's the upshot..I.A.C.C., the IntL. Anti-counterfeiting Coalition, whose members include leading brand manufacturers, underwrote a course at Hunter (and 7 other campuses) that was intended to enlist the resources (and peer relationships) of those participating in the class, to instill the doctrine of Knocking Off is Bad.
The course work, which includes teams of students creating an assortment of very innovative digital and print ads, and compelling experiential marketing campaigns that are now being leveraged by I.A.C.C., has evoked post traumatic stress with some academics, specifically those that believe a line in the sand needs to be drawn prohibiting corporates, trade groups, non-profits, and anyone else that has an agenda from imposing their mantras when sponsoring educational curriculum.
Yes, some are all-consumed by the notion Big Brand Brother is getting his hooks into the crannies of our young, and oh-so-easily influenced college students and exploiting their intellect.
For those that agree that corporate sponsorship of colleges should have strict black and white rules and 14 ft Chinese walls that separate church from state and college students from their prospective corporate hiring managers, you're invited to submit a comment and share your thoughts!
If you don't get the Sunday NY Times Magazine--here's the upshot..I.A.C.C., the IntL. Anti-counterfeiting Coalition, whose members include leading brand manufacturers, underwrote a course at Hunter (and 7 other campuses) that was intended to enlist the resources (and peer relationships) of those participating in the class, to instill the doctrine of Knocking Off is Bad.
The course work, which includes teams of students creating an assortment of very innovative digital and print ads, and compelling experiential marketing campaigns that are now being leveraged by I.A.C.C., has evoked post traumatic stress with some academics, specifically those that believe a line in the sand needs to be drawn prohibiting corporates, trade groups, non-profits, and anyone else that has an agenda from imposing their mantras when sponsoring educational curriculum.
Yes, some are all-consumed by the notion Big Brand Brother is getting his hooks into the crannies of our young, and oh-so-easily influenced college students and exploiting their intellect.
For those that agree that corporate sponsorship of colleges should have strict black and white rules and 14 ft Chinese walls that separate church from state and college students from their prospective corporate hiring managers, you're invited to submit a comment and share your thoughts!
Tuesday, September 02, 2008
Marketing To Moms : Can You Spell Blog?
For those in the marketing/communications profession, most are familiar with MarketingSherpa, but if you're not, its worth your time to get on the newsletter subscription list (its free), as odds are high that you'll encounter an article that makes good sense, and very possibly, a fistful of dollars.
The link in title to this posting is the first in a series of articles from MarketingSherpa i.e. "how to market to the mommy market" is very solid, and includes links to a variety of high traffic blogs that have become frequent destinations for the new generation of gals with kids in tow.
The link in title to this posting is the first in a series of articles from MarketingSherpa i.e. "how to market to the mommy market" is very solid, and includes links to a variety of high traffic blogs that have become frequent destinations for the new generation of gals with kids in tow.
Using Comic Book Format To Introduce Innovative Ideas: Google Case Study
For those that might have seen a posting made here almost a year ago, you'll appreciate that we presciently pontificated on the increasing use of comic book-style strategies within corporate publications, main-stream marketing and advertising collateral, and as Google has done courtesy of famed comic book king Scott McCloud, within new product launch announcements.
As observed by leadership guru Mark Murphy, founder of LeadershipIQ, "...the need to address the needs and tastes of Gen Y, a group that is dominating the new work force and represents the most sought after consumer demographic cannot be underestimated.." What Murphy is saying is that we need to speak the language of what is becoming our largest audience, and to deliver messages in a way that inspires, influences and win their votes.
Comic book format messaging became widespread in Japan several years ago, and the 'style' has been successively and successfully embraced by Fortune brands in the course of executing a wide spectrum of marketing and awareness initiatives.
Whether Google's Chrome browser supercedes Microsoft IE, or Firefox (a browser that we have aggressively recommended to corporate and educational industry clients soon after it was introduced)is only something that time can determine. Switching browsers is relatively easy and painless, switching mindsets is something else. Especially when many are hyper-sensitive when it comes to privacy; Chrome will undoubtedly come equipped with imbedded tracking applications that can be used to further enhance Google's Adwords platform and deliver ever-more focused demographic zoning features.
As observed by leadership guru Mark Murphy, founder of LeadershipIQ, "...the need to address the needs and tastes of Gen Y, a group that is dominating the new work force and represents the most sought after consumer demographic cannot be underestimated.." What Murphy is saying is that we need to speak the language of what is becoming our largest audience, and to deliver messages in a way that inspires, influences and win their votes.
Comic book format messaging became widespread in Japan several years ago, and the 'style' has been successively and successfully embraced by Fortune brands in the course of executing a wide spectrum of marketing and awareness initiatives.
Whether Google's Chrome browser supercedes Microsoft IE, or Firefox (a browser that we have aggressively recommended to corporate and educational industry clients soon after it was introduced)is only something that time can determine. Switching browsers is relatively easy and painless, switching mindsets is something else. Especially when many are hyper-sensitive when it comes to privacy; Chrome will undoubtedly come equipped with imbedded tracking applications that can be used to further enhance Google's Adwords platform and deliver ever-more focused demographic zoning features.
Monday, July 28, 2008
The New Investor Relations Buzz Word: Swirl
Hats off to Yahoo!'s Susan Decker for introducing a new phrase to the investor relations world...
In the first sentence of prepared remarks made on a recent investor conference call, Ms. Decker said "...Notwithstanding a more difficult economic environment, and substantial external swirl related to Microsoft.."
Ah...in this context, Swirl means "distracting jibber jabber"... and presumably, her speech writer can be credited with introducing a new synonym for "spin". Although 'swirl' also conjures up the image of a cyclone...and I don't know that Susan intended to suggest that Microsoft has created a powerful storm
My local Carvel has a great swirl, comprised of fat-free coffee and raspberry...its great with low-cal cookie crunchies and a perfect soother when encountering head winds.
But when it comes to investor relations phrases, I'm going to stick with "jibber jabber"..although this phrase might not be easily translated from English to other languages.
In the first sentence of prepared remarks made on a recent investor conference call, Ms. Decker said "...Notwithstanding a more difficult economic environment, and substantial external swirl related to Microsoft.."
Ah...in this context, Swirl means "distracting jibber jabber"... and presumably, her speech writer can be credited with introducing a new synonym for "spin". Although 'swirl' also conjures up the image of a cyclone...and I don't know that Susan intended to suggest that Microsoft has created a powerful storm
My local Carvel has a great swirl, comprised of fat-free coffee and raspberry...its great with low-cal cookie crunchies and a perfect soother when encountering head winds.
But when it comes to investor relations phrases, I'm going to stick with "jibber jabber"..although this phrase might not be easily translated from English to other languages.
Friday, July 25, 2008
Marcomm 301: Loose Lips Sink Ships
Great insight on the new age of marketing communications courtesy of MarketingProfs.com:
If you're working on a deal that hadn't been made public, the last thing you'll do is announce it to your friends on Twitter. And yet, warns Rohit Bhargava in a post at the Influential Marketing Blog, savvy online observers could use a variety of tidbits to gather information you never meant to share. Here's his hypothetical scenario:
* You tweet about a business trip to the West Coast with a friend who is known to be a lawyer.
* She updates her Facebook profile, mentioning a client meeting in Redmond, Washington.
* Media outlets quote a Microsoft executive about being in discussions with companies in your field.
* A Microsoft engineer blogs about a new company in your town.
"In four small updates from unrelated people," says Bhargava, "a smart social media surfer could get a very direct sense of a deal about to happen and some inside information [you didn't intend to share]." To combat online "spying," he recommends the following:
* Educate employees on the potential ramifications of sharing information online.
* Teach selective friending.
* Monitor comments made from within your company to head off inadvertent "leaks" before they become major problems.
Says Bhargava, "It is only a matter of time before Social Media Espionage becomes a concern that some businesses will need to have a preemptive strategy to fight against." Your Marketing Inspiration is to be prepared.
If you're working on a deal that hadn't been made public, the last thing you'll do is announce it to your friends on Twitter. And yet, warns Rohit Bhargava in a post at the Influential Marketing Blog, savvy online observers could use a variety of tidbits to gather information you never meant to share. Here's his hypothetical scenario:
* You tweet about a business trip to the West Coast with a friend who is known to be a lawyer.
* She updates her Facebook profile, mentioning a client meeting in Redmond, Washington.
* Media outlets quote a Microsoft executive about being in discussions with companies in your field.
* A Microsoft engineer blogs about a new company in your town.
"In four small updates from unrelated people," says Bhargava, "a smart social media surfer could get a very direct sense of a deal about to happen and some inside information [you didn't intend to share]." To combat online "spying," he recommends the following:
* Educate employees on the potential ramifications of sharing information online.
* Teach selective friending.
* Monitor comments made from within your company to head off inadvertent "leaks" before they become major problems.
Says Bhargava, "It is only a matter of time before Social Media Espionage becomes a concern that some businesses will need to have a preemptive strategy to fight against." Your Marketing Inspiration is to be prepared.
Monday, July 14, 2008
Protecting The Corporate Brand: What To Do About Online Attacks
A bit dated, but this WSJ article can prove to be timeless in an age where aggravated customers can vent their frustrations to the world by simply pressing "submit comment"
Internet has drastically increased the potential damage to a brand or a company's reputation. Frustrations with a company's practices, products and service that once were confined to relatively small circles now reach complete strangers around the world. With a very low cost of entry, disgruntled customers, workers and former workers are free to post messages, create Web sites and blog about grievances. Advocacy and special-interest groups use their Web sites to stage attacks on companies and rally support for their positions. And all of it is often archived, searchable and printable.
The potential harm from such attacks should not be underestimated. They can damage a company's reputation, hurt sales and scare off potential -- and current -- employees. Investors may flee, and partnerships may be put at risk.
1.Companies need to monitor the Web for criticism and be able to move quickly on matters that could hurt their reputation or brands. Such monitoring should cover not only corporate, professional and industry Web sites, but also grass-roots sites, such as blogs and bulletin boards.
2.Companies should examine their current practices in dealing with grievances, gripes and concerns. Researchers have consistently found that the manner in which a company attempts to remedy a complaint and how the company interacts with dissatisfied stakeholders can either temper or exacerbate the conflict -- even when the company can't provide the outcome the stakeholder desires.
As a result, companies should limit heavy-handed responses such as threats of legal action to areas in which protective measures are more justifiable -- such as preventing financial disclosures, or discussions about strategic and proprietary information. They should also develop clear employee guidelines for when -- and when not -- to blog, post messages or generate other Web content.
3. At the most successful companies, dedication to fair processes percolated through all levels of the organization. Companies should train managers to understand the risks that attacks can pose to the brand -- and to appreciate the dangers that unfair treatment can pose.
4.Once a brand-damaging attack appears, companies should try to address it directly, and quickly, going directly to the site where the criticism originated. They should also drive the discussion in a way that displays the company's dedication to fairness and tries to restore a sense of justice for those involved.
Internet has drastically increased the potential damage to a brand or a company's reputation. Frustrations with a company's practices, products and service that once were confined to relatively small circles now reach complete strangers around the world. With a very low cost of entry, disgruntled customers, workers and former workers are free to post messages, create Web sites and blog about grievances. Advocacy and special-interest groups use their Web sites to stage attacks on companies and rally support for their positions. And all of it is often archived, searchable and printable.
The potential harm from such attacks should not be underestimated. They can damage a company's reputation, hurt sales and scare off potential -- and current -- employees. Investors may flee, and partnerships may be put at risk.
1.Companies need to monitor the Web for criticism and be able to move quickly on matters that could hurt their reputation or brands. Such monitoring should cover not only corporate, professional and industry Web sites, but also grass-roots sites, such as blogs and bulletin boards.
2.Companies should examine their current practices in dealing with grievances, gripes and concerns. Researchers have consistently found that the manner in which a company attempts to remedy a complaint and how the company interacts with dissatisfied stakeholders can either temper or exacerbate the conflict -- even when the company can't provide the outcome the stakeholder desires.
As a result, companies should limit heavy-handed responses such as threats of legal action to areas in which protective measures are more justifiable -- such as preventing financial disclosures, or discussions about strategic and proprietary information. They should also develop clear employee guidelines for when -- and when not -- to blog, post messages or generate other Web content.
3. At the most successful companies, dedication to fair processes percolated through all levels of the organization. Companies should train managers to understand the risks that attacks can pose to the brand -- and to appreciate the dangers that unfair treatment can pose.
4.Once a brand-damaging attack appears, companies should try to address it directly, and quickly, going directly to the site where the criticism originated. They should also drive the discussion in a way that displays the company's dedication to fairness and tries to restore a sense of justice for those involved.
Wednesday, July 09, 2008
Branding in Bad Times..and the Best of Times
With the nations consumers facing this generation's most challenging economic hurdles (although one or two of hedge fund friends believe this is a great buying opportunity) this is a good time to reflect on the importance of brand.
Brand isn't just a logo or a tagline. Duh. But way too many companies of all sizes neglect to appreciate that the brand image is what keeps the blood flowing. Brand value in the corporate financial sense is defined as a combination confidence, integrity, reliability, and satisfaction.
Confidence in doing business with you. This includes members of the senior management, vendors, distributors, employees, (for many, this also includes regulators), and of course customers, consumers and clients.
Integrity in the manner by which you conduct your business, including the manner by which you manufacture goods.
Reliability in good times and bad. You can be counted on to share the burden, and the wealth.
Satisfaction provided by the receiver in the delivery of your product/service.
Keeping the brand intact, regardless of which way the wind blows, comes from within.
Courtesy of Jay Berkman at The JLC Group
Brand isn't just a logo or a tagline. Duh. But way too many companies of all sizes neglect to appreciate that the brand image is what keeps the blood flowing. Brand value in the corporate financial sense is defined as a combination confidence, integrity, reliability, and satisfaction.
Confidence in doing business with you. This includes members of the senior management, vendors, distributors, employees, (for many, this also includes regulators), and of course customers, consumers and clients.
Integrity in the manner by which you conduct your business, including the manner by which you manufacture goods.
Reliability in good times and bad. You can be counted on to share the burden, and the wealth.
Satisfaction provided by the receiver in the delivery of your product/service.
Keeping the brand intact, regardless of which way the wind blows, comes from within.
Courtesy of Jay Berkman at The JLC Group
Monday, July 07, 2008
Corporate Sponsors Singing a New Tune
Courtesy of the NY Times reporter Robert Levine:
It’s American Brandstand: Marketers Underwrite Performers
By ROBERT LEVINE
The hip-hop and R&B producer Jermaine Dupri has discovered best-selling acts like Kris Kross and Da Brat, has produced hits for Mariah Carey and Jay-Z, and now runs the urban music division of the Island Def Jam Music Group. He’s also looking for fresh talent for a new label financed by a company new to the music industry.
The new player? Procter & Gamble.
The consumer goods giant is part of a wave of companies getting into the music business to promote their own products, essentially becoming record labels themselves.
At a time when online file-sharing is rampant, record stores are closing and consumers are buying singles instead of albums, getting into the music business might seem like running into a burning building. But as record labels struggle to adjust to a harsh new digital reality, other companies are stepping up their involvement in music, going far beyond standard endorsement contracts and the use of songs in commercials.
These companies — like Procter & Gamble, Red Bull and Nike — are stepping outside of their core businesses to promote, finance and even distribute music themselves.
A few months ago, Bacardi announced that it would help the English electronic music duo Groove Armada pay for and promote its next release. Caress, the body-care line owned by Unilever, commissioned the Pussycat Dolls singer Nicole Scherzinger to record a version of Duran Duran’s “Rio” that it gave away on its Web site to promote its “Brazilian body wash” product. The energy drink company Red Bull is starting a label that is expected to release music before the end of the year.
It’s not about money,” said Sarah Tinsley, a global marketing manager at Bacardi. “It’s a branding exercise.”
Although consumer brands are taking on roles once reserved for labels, they are investing so much money in music because the same digital technology that whipsawed the music business is also making it harder to reach consumers.
Monday, June 30, 2008
Press Release Writing 101: Sex, Green, Secret
Refreshing article courtesy of NY Times reporter Joanne Kaufman...Here's an excerpt, with tips that might bring a press release into the press:
The original pitch landed in the inbox with a whiff of medical authenticity overlaid with a snicker-inducing headline: “Toxic Ties to ‘New Shower Curtain Smell’ Evident, According to Latest Laboratory Testing.”
There was a news conference, this release said, at New York University Medical Center. It was led by a doctor representing an obscure if official-sounding group that few people have heard of, the Center for Health, Environment and Justice. There were revelations about how shower curtains that are “routinely sold at multiple retail outlets” and can “release as many as 108 volatile chemicals into the air.”
Thus, the Toxic Shower Curtain Story was born.
ABCNews.com picked up on it, only to debunk it. With varying amounts of credulousness, other outlets ran with it as well, including U.S. News & World Report, The Daily News in New York, MSNBC.com and The Los Angeles Times. The gist of some of the coverage was that it was all a tempest in a bathtub, though other reports took the information at face value.
How do stories of this ilk get such bounce from major news organizations?
Those who make their living composing news releases say there is an art to this easily dismissed craft. Strategic word selection can catapult an announcement about a study, a product or a “breakthrough” onto the evening news instead of to its usual destination — the spam folder or circular file.
“P.R. people want to invest time in things that are going to get picked up, so they try to put something to the ‘who cares?’ and ‘so what?’ test,” said Kate Robins, a longtime public relations consultant. “If you say something is first, most, fastest, tallest — that’s likely to get attention. If you can use the words like ‘money,’ ‘fat,’ ‘cancer’ or ‘sex,’ you’re likely to get some ink in the general audience media.”
David Seaman, a P.R. stunt planner and the author of a book to be published in October, “Dirty Little Secrets of Buzz,” is a proponent of “safe,” “easy” “secret,” “trick” and “breaking” because they suggest that something is new and fresh, he said.
“Anytime you have ‘toxic’ next to an item everyone has in their house and has always been assumed to be the last thing that would harm them, you can be sure it will get picked up on the news, and the Web will spread it like wildfire,” said Allen P. Adamson, managing director of Landor, a corporate branding firm, and the author of “BrandSimple.”
The words that attract media attention change with the times. “Anything that speaks to long-term health risks is good these days, because there is a belief that there’s a lot of stuff out there harming us, from the cellphone on down,” Mr. Adamson said.
David B. Armon, the president of PR Newswire, a distribution service for public relations professionals, likens writing a news release to writing a headline for the front page of a newspaper: every word has to do heavy lifting.
“It’s a lot more scientific than it used to be,” Mr. Armon said, “because you’re not just trying to get media pickup, but to get search engine attention.”
“Green” and “environment” are huge right now, he said, as is “foreclosure.” “We’ve done 412 press releases that incorporate that word so far in ’08, up from 261 last year.” For the record, Mr. Armon added, the use of the word “toxic” in news releases is up 5 percent.
The words that may help get a news release picked up vary from region to region. Brenda Baumgartner, the news director and anchor at KPVI, the NBC affiliate in Pocatello, Idaho, for example, looks for words like “fishing,” “hunting,” “Mormon” and “polygamy,” she said, “because they fit the culture we live around.”
Words that help elevate a news release also vary from industry to industry. For instance, Tom Gable, the head of a San Diego public relations firm, said a news release about video games could benefit from a phrase like “faster graphics.” When talking about technology, he said, it would be “ ‘cost breakthrough,’ like the $200 computer.”
In the entertainment industry, on the other hand, the most basic of nouns will do — baby, breakup, marriage, divorce — according to Cindi Berger, co-chief executive of the public relations firm PMK/HBH. “Now attach names like Madonna or Jessica Simpson,” Ms. Berger said, “and of course the assignment editor is going to pay attention.”
Perhaps because many people in public relations are former journalists, they know what grates on the Fourth Estate. Mr. Gable, who was once the business editor of The San Diego Union, has compiled a list of words that will do a news release no good whatsoever, like “solutions,” “leading edge,” “cutting edge,” “state of the art,” “mission critical,” and “turnkey.”
Mr. Gable said that his company once did a weeklong survey of the releases that came out of PR Newswire and Business Wire, a commercial news distribution service, “and most of the releases identified their company as ‘a leader’ and described their research as ‘cutting edge.’”
“They were empty, unsubstantiated and had no news value,” he said.
Ken Sunshine, the head of a P.R. firm in Manhattan, said he thought the media had an institutional bias against “hype-y terms” like “world renowned” and “once in a lifetime,” which he studiously avoids putting in his news releases. “But ‘unique’ is fine,” he said, “if something really is unique.”
Ultimately, perhaps, the whole thing is less about terms than timing.
“Was it really the issue of toxic shower curtains that fired up assignment editors?” asked Mr. Armon of PR Newswire. “Or was it just a slow news day?”
The original pitch landed in the inbox with a whiff of medical authenticity overlaid with a snicker-inducing headline: “Toxic Ties to ‘New Shower Curtain Smell’ Evident, According to Latest Laboratory Testing.”
There was a news conference, this release said, at New York University Medical Center. It was led by a doctor representing an obscure if official-sounding group that few people have heard of, the Center for Health, Environment and Justice. There were revelations about how shower curtains that are “routinely sold at multiple retail outlets” and can “release as many as 108 volatile chemicals into the air.”
Thus, the Toxic Shower Curtain Story was born.
ABCNews.com picked up on it, only to debunk it. With varying amounts of credulousness, other outlets ran with it as well, including U.S. News & World Report, The Daily News in New York, MSNBC.com and The Los Angeles Times. The gist of some of the coverage was that it was all a tempest in a bathtub, though other reports took the information at face value.
How do stories of this ilk get such bounce from major news organizations?
Those who make their living composing news releases say there is an art to this easily dismissed craft. Strategic word selection can catapult an announcement about a study, a product or a “breakthrough” onto the evening news instead of to its usual destination — the spam folder or circular file.
“P.R. people want to invest time in things that are going to get picked up, so they try to put something to the ‘who cares?’ and ‘so what?’ test,” said Kate Robins, a longtime public relations consultant. “If you say something is first, most, fastest, tallest — that’s likely to get attention. If you can use the words like ‘money,’ ‘fat,’ ‘cancer’ or ‘sex,’ you’re likely to get some ink in the general audience media.”
David Seaman, a P.R. stunt planner and the author of a book to be published in October, “Dirty Little Secrets of Buzz,” is a proponent of “safe,” “easy” “secret,” “trick” and “breaking” because they suggest that something is new and fresh, he said.
“Anytime you have ‘toxic’ next to an item everyone has in their house and has always been assumed to be the last thing that would harm them, you can be sure it will get picked up on the news, and the Web will spread it like wildfire,” said Allen P. Adamson, managing director of Landor, a corporate branding firm, and the author of “BrandSimple.”
The words that attract media attention change with the times. “Anything that speaks to long-term health risks is good these days, because there is a belief that there’s a lot of stuff out there harming us, from the cellphone on down,” Mr. Adamson said.
David B. Armon, the president of PR Newswire, a distribution service for public relations professionals, likens writing a news release to writing a headline for the front page of a newspaper: every word has to do heavy lifting.
“It’s a lot more scientific than it used to be,” Mr. Armon said, “because you’re not just trying to get media pickup, but to get search engine attention.”
“Green” and “environment” are huge right now, he said, as is “foreclosure.” “We’ve done 412 press releases that incorporate that word so far in ’08, up from 261 last year.” For the record, Mr. Armon added, the use of the word “toxic” in news releases is up 5 percent.
The words that may help get a news release picked up vary from region to region. Brenda Baumgartner, the news director and anchor at KPVI, the NBC affiliate in Pocatello, Idaho, for example, looks for words like “fishing,” “hunting,” “Mormon” and “polygamy,” she said, “because they fit the culture we live around.”
Words that help elevate a news release also vary from industry to industry. For instance, Tom Gable, the head of a San Diego public relations firm, said a news release about video games could benefit from a phrase like “faster graphics.” When talking about technology, he said, it would be “ ‘cost breakthrough,’ like the $200 computer.”
In the entertainment industry, on the other hand, the most basic of nouns will do — baby, breakup, marriage, divorce — according to Cindi Berger, co-chief executive of the public relations firm PMK/HBH. “Now attach names like Madonna or Jessica Simpson,” Ms. Berger said, “and of course the assignment editor is going to pay attention.”
Perhaps because many people in public relations are former journalists, they know what grates on the Fourth Estate. Mr. Gable, who was once the business editor of The San Diego Union, has compiled a list of words that will do a news release no good whatsoever, like “solutions,” “leading edge,” “cutting edge,” “state of the art,” “mission critical,” and “turnkey.”
Mr. Gable said that his company once did a weeklong survey of the releases that came out of PR Newswire and Business Wire, a commercial news distribution service, “and most of the releases identified their company as ‘a leader’ and described their research as ‘cutting edge.’”
“They were empty, unsubstantiated and had no news value,” he said.
Ken Sunshine, the head of a P.R. firm in Manhattan, said he thought the media had an institutional bias against “hype-y terms” like “world renowned” and “once in a lifetime,” which he studiously avoids putting in his news releases. “But ‘unique’ is fine,” he said, “if something really is unique.”
Ultimately, perhaps, the whole thing is less about terms than timing.
“Was it really the issue of toxic shower curtains that fired up assignment editors?” asked Mr. Armon of PR Newswire. “Or was it just a slow news day?”
Monday, June 09, 2008
Viral Marketing Hall of Fame 2008: Top 10 Campaigns & Results Data
Great summary of top strategies executed by big and small brands, courtesy of MarketingSherpa.
The overriding theme:
-> Rise of social media
Most of this year’s candidates sent videos to YouTube, created Facebook pages or organized communities on MySpace -- or all of the above. These sites are free to use and add seemingly unlimited viral potential to any campaign. That means free additional exposure from powerful peer-to-peer networks. Marketers are hearing the social media message loud and clear.
-> Peer-to-peer sharing is critical
There were two distinct groups in this year’s entries: fantastically thought-out campaigns and wacky content. Either way, success hinged on peer-to-peer sharing. As our winners illustrate, both strategies can work if enough effort is put into the right places.
Clever marketers created funny videos or text documents, posted them to a few social media sites and people shared like mad -- ka-boom! Other marketers left less at risk. They created contests, microsites, full-assault ad campaigns and got on every Web 2.0 medium reachable.
-> All hail mighty content
You’ve heard the adage -- we’re not even going to say it -- but all it took for some campaigns to go wildly viral was great content. Not every content-based entry made it to Sherpa’s winners’ circle, but there were enough to denote a trend. Most of the content being passed around was funny or sarcastic -- even if it was a bit risky for PR. But being truly funny requires risks. Some of these marketers went out on a limb to grab the ripest fruit.
The overriding theme:
-> Rise of social media
Most of this year’s candidates sent videos to YouTube, created Facebook pages or organized communities on MySpace -- or all of the above. These sites are free to use and add seemingly unlimited viral potential to any campaign. That means free additional exposure from powerful peer-to-peer networks. Marketers are hearing the social media message loud and clear.
-> Peer-to-peer sharing is critical
There were two distinct groups in this year’s entries: fantastically thought-out campaigns and wacky content. Either way, success hinged on peer-to-peer sharing. As our winners illustrate, both strategies can work if enough effort is put into the right places.
Clever marketers created funny videos or text documents, posted them to a few social media sites and people shared like mad -- ka-boom! Other marketers left less at risk. They created contests, microsites, full-assault ad campaigns and got on every Web 2.0 medium reachable.
-> All hail mighty content
You’ve heard the adage -- we’re not even going to say it -- but all it took for some campaigns to go wildly viral was great content. Not every content-based entry made it to Sherpa’s winners’ circle, but there were enough to denote a trend. Most of the content being passed around was funny or sarcastic -- even if it was a bit risky for PR. But being truly funny requires risks. Some of these marketers went out on a limb to grab the ripest fruit.
Thursday, June 05, 2008
Advertising 101- Don't Waste The Space
A full page ad promoting a Dow Jones service in today's WSJ reinforces my table pounding that someone needs to proofread advertising copy before spending mid-six figures on placing ads into the real world.
The entire text reads : "Make customers stick like glue." The first 'message' that my eyeballs transmitted to my brain was "Make customers sick..like glue." This was after my first cup of coffee, so perhaps my brain wasn't processing at the right setting. Then I looked at the ad again...same thing...I kept associating the ad with 'make customers sick'.... To the extent that it captured my attention, the strategy worked. But the ad failed, simply because it delivered a negative context and completely turned me off to what the actual service being promoted was.
OK, lots of ads out there, and many are carelessly thought out. At the top of the careless advertising list was a recent highway billboard campaign executed by Bloomberg LP's radio division. Placed smack dab on the busiest roadway in the heart of hedge fund country (Fairfield County, Connecticut), the billboard ad displayed an innocuous message "Check Your Pounds"...and a Bloomberg LP logo below. No radio station call signal displayed, no display of the company's cable television channel #--absolutely nothing in the ad that would drive the viewer to tune his/her car radio to the Bloomberg station. Bizarre.
When I called up the head of advertising buying at Bloomberg in connection with another topic, and pointed out what I thought was a surprisingly poor marketing strategy, he thanked me profusely for making the observation, and he said that it wasn't his decision in the first place t0 run or administer the billboard campaign. That billboard ad stayed in place for another 8 weeks and then it was replaced with an ad that displayed the radio call signal.
The entire text reads : "Make customers stick like glue." The first 'message' that my eyeballs transmitted to my brain was "Make customers sick..like glue." This was after my first cup of coffee, so perhaps my brain wasn't processing at the right setting. Then I looked at the ad again...same thing...I kept associating the ad with 'make customers sick'.... To the extent that it captured my attention, the strategy worked. But the ad failed, simply because it delivered a negative context and completely turned me off to what the actual service being promoted was.
OK, lots of ads out there, and many are carelessly thought out. At the top of the careless advertising list was a recent highway billboard campaign executed by Bloomberg LP's radio division. Placed smack dab on the busiest roadway in the heart of hedge fund country (Fairfield County, Connecticut), the billboard ad displayed an innocuous message "Check Your Pounds"...and a Bloomberg LP logo below. No radio station call signal displayed, no display of the company's cable television channel #--absolutely nothing in the ad that would drive the viewer to tune his/her car radio to the Bloomberg station. Bizarre.
When I called up the head of advertising buying at Bloomberg in connection with another topic, and pointed out what I thought was a surprisingly poor marketing strategy, he thanked me profusely for making the observation, and he said that it wasn't his decision in the first place t0 run or administer the billboard campaign. That billboard ad stayed in place for another 8 weeks and then it was replaced with an ad that displayed the radio call signal.
Friday, May 23, 2008
Communicating via LinkedIn
Eric Leebow, a finalist in IdeaBlob's latest contest for 'next great idea' recently initiated a strategy targeting LinkedIn members to go to IdeaBlob's site and cast a vote for his "FreezeCrowd" idea.
Eric had pinged me soliciting ideas about the best phrase he might use in his subject field--and while I was pondering, lo and behold my email alert registered an inbound from SiteProNews, which coincidently re-enforced the entire value proposition of Linked-In's business networking value for those seeking to crack open doors in the course of selling/marketing/communicating C-Level propositions. Click on the link...it makes for good reading!
Eric had pinged me soliciting ideas about the best phrase he might use in his subject field--and while I was pondering, lo and behold my email alert registered an inbound from SiteProNews, which coincidently re-enforced the entire value proposition of Linked-In's business networking value for those seeking to crack open doors in the course of selling/marketing/communicating C-Level propositions. Click on the link...it makes for good reading!
Wednesday, May 21, 2008
Technocrati Rocks
Pretty simple strategy for those publishing blogs and hoping that others will actually read your musings! Technorati Profile
Tuesday, April 22, 2008
Online market for buying and selling ideas..that's marketing!!
Now this is going to be an interesting platform--an online exchange where product innovators seeking to get to the next level can meet and transact with intellectual property buyers.. While not exactly an innovative idea; Idea Connection is another one, and this has been tried via an assortment of initiatives over the years), its being backed by a formidable group of manufacturers, retailers and major corporations.
The obvious biggest obstacle is privacy--i.e. appeasing those concerned about promoting ideas that aren't protected (patented), and naysayers will suggest that this could become a flea market that can be raided by knock-off artists. Wonder what Donny Deutche thinks?
The obvious biggest obstacle is privacy--i.e. appeasing those concerned about promoting ideas that aren't protected (patented), and naysayers will suggest that this could become a flea market that can be raided by knock-off artists. Wonder what Donny Deutche thinks?
Monday, April 21, 2008
Selling Chat on Fox, and a Sex-Enhancing Potion on the Side
If you don't subscribe to the NY Times (who could blame you?), you probably won't be able to get much out of the link imbedded in the title, but here's a story you gotta love---another 'new product and marketing tactics' profile..
Who woulda thunk that a former professional wrestler would morph into a Wall Street investment banker and then turn that gig into becoming a financial market news talking head...? Only in America, folks!
Just when I thought that my condo association President (a former top gun at CIT Financial) had it right when he suggested the idea of a lotion format for a Viagra-esque product--along comes pseudo star John Layfield with "Mamajuana Energy" ....an energy drink/beverage potion from the jungles of somewhere south of Bora Bora---and a product that purportedly emulates something similar to what happens when you take a Viagra tab.
From the NYT:
Mr. Layfield, a 6-foot-6 Texan, actively cultivates an outlandish persona. His wrestling character is based on the television character J. R. Ewing, the ruthless oilman on “Dallas.” For a photo to accompany this article, his publicist, Pamela Johnston, suggested the following: “Layfield in a beach chair, wearing a suit and tie on the top and swim trunks on the bottom. N.Y.C. skyscape in background. Cabana girl serving him Mamajuana Energy on a silver tray.”
Hats off John--you got Vitamin Shoppe to take a gamble and stock your product--and you're no doubt being labeled a scoundrel and elixir salesman...but we love your tenacity and your passion---lets hope your beverage evokes the same response from those on the opposite side of the table!...
Who woulda thunk that a former professional wrestler would morph into a Wall Street investment banker and then turn that gig into becoming a financial market news talking head...? Only in America, folks!
Just when I thought that my condo association President (a former top gun at CIT Financial) had it right when he suggested the idea of a lotion format for a Viagra-esque product--along comes pseudo star John Layfield with "Mamajuana Energy" ....an energy drink/beverage potion from the jungles of somewhere south of Bora Bora---and a product that purportedly emulates something similar to what happens when you take a Viagra tab.
From the NYT:
Mr. Layfield, a 6-foot-6 Texan, actively cultivates an outlandish persona. His wrestling character is based on the television character J. R. Ewing, the ruthless oilman on “Dallas.” For a photo to accompany this article, his publicist, Pamela Johnston, suggested the following: “Layfield in a beach chair, wearing a suit and tie on the top and swim trunks on the bottom. N.Y.C. skyscape in background. Cabana girl serving him Mamajuana Energy on a silver tray.”
Hats off John--you got Vitamin Shoppe to take a gamble and stock your product--and you're no doubt being labeled a scoundrel and elixir salesman...but we love your tenacity and your passion---lets hope your beverage evokes the same response from those on the opposite side of the table!...
Email Software Delves Into Employees' Contacts
If you have a subscription to WSJ online--you can access the full article..but the story ( in excerpted fashion), brings to light the most integral element with respect to Sales. Its all about leveraging (some say 'exploiting') internal relationships.....at www.JLCgroup.net--resident guru Jay Berkman opines that "every single one of your employees is a salesperson--even if their job title is miles apart from traditional sales roles--and that secondarily...your most valued clients are the best third party sales executives..."
The article does point out that privacy concerns remain an impediment to full scale exploitation---but gee whiz golly gosh...contact information acquired by employees in the course of doing their job belongs to the company---NOT to the individual--and it merely requires a pragmatic, rational and mature business executive to determine the most appropriate way to leverage this data---taking into account relationships that exist between employees and their counterparts/relationships at other enterprises...
Bytes from WSJ article:
Companies are rolling out software that allows them to mine their employees' emails and electronic address books for contact information, in a bid to make it easier to establish relationships with potential clients and others.
The article does point out that privacy concerns remain an impediment to full scale exploitation---but gee whiz golly gosh...contact information acquired by employees in the course of doing their job belongs to the company---NOT to the individual--and it merely requires a pragmatic, rational and mature business executive to determine the most appropriate way to leverage this data---taking into account relationships that exist between employees and their counterparts/relationships at other enterprises...
Bytes from WSJ article:
Companies are rolling out software that allows them to mine their employees' emails and electronic address books for contact information, in a bid to make it easier to establish relationships with potential clients and others.
The products work by examining the contact lists on employees' email programs, as well as other information such as lawyers' billing records or contacts stored on special programs for managing customer relationships. Then it checks how often individuals email the contacts and whether they have appointments for face-to-face meetings or phone calls on their calendars. The software uses that information to determine how strong a relationship a person has with the contact. For example, individual emails that get replies rank higher than a blast email sent to many people.
"We're able to infer where people have relationships, based on their electronic vapor trail of activities," said Geoffrey Hyatt, founder of Contact Networks in Boston. The company, whose product is called ContactNet, said the program is used at about 40 law firms, including Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP and Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP, both in New York.
If an attorney at a firm using ContactNet wants to pitch his expertise to a particular company, he can type in the name of the company or perhaps the general counsel. The system responds by saying how many of his fellow employees have relationships with the general counsel or other people at the company. The lawyer can then ask his fellow employee to introduce him to the contact. At other firms, the program reveals which employee has the contact, but details like phone numbers aren't shown. The employee may offer to share just an email address, or they may advise against pursuing business with that contact altogether.
Sunday, March 23, 2008
Google_ Mystifying billing practices to be uncovered?
We're hearing from lots of Google advertisers that they are incurring charges for clicks that are not documented within Google's own analytic reports.
Here's an example of a complaint we just rec'd a copy of:
i have repeatedly brought this to your attention, and i have not been provided any type of adequate explanation
1. Site targeted campaign name :(blocked)
2. Campaign manager displays (1) Click for period mar 20-mar 23 I had selected approximately 500 different sites.
Your ad manager indicates i received 1 click from 1 site (www.legacy.com)
3. Despite above #2, when scrolling down the admin page, it indicates that (9) different ads resulted in 16 clicks, and I have been charged for those clicks, despite the fact that you are reporting to me only 1 click was made during this period.
I would like a credit for the 15 clicks that I was fraudulently charged for.
Thanks
Actually, we asked three different clients to take a close look at their monthly billing from Google adwords campaigns--each of which run both CPC and site-targeted campaigns (also CPC). In each case, clients reported an inexplicable discrepency between what GOOG reported as the number of clicks and the number of clicks that clients were charged for.
No surprise that in each case, clients are apparently being charged for more than the actual number of clicks---the dollar amounts are relatively inane (approximately 8-10% of total monthly spend)...wait a minute, that's not inane--that's INSANE.
We're guessing this is something that Wall Street analysts are going to take a closer look at.
Here's an example of a complaint we just rec'd a copy of:
i have repeatedly brought this to your attention, and i have not been provided any type of adequate explanation
1. Site targeted campaign name :(blocked)
2. Campaign manager displays (1) Click for period mar 20-mar 23 I had selected approximately 500 different sites.
Your ad manager indicates i received 1 click from 1 site (www.legacy.com)
3. Despite above #2, when scrolling down the admin page, it indicates that (9) different ads resulted in 16 clicks, and I have been charged for those clicks, despite the fact that you are reporting to me only 1 click was made during this period.
I would like a credit for the 15 clicks that I was fraudulently charged for.
Thanks
Actually, we asked three different clients to take a close look at their monthly billing from Google adwords campaigns--each of which run both CPC and site-targeted campaigns (also CPC). In each case, clients reported an inexplicable discrepency between what GOOG reported as the number of clicks and the number of clicks that clients were charged for.
No surprise that in each case, clients are apparently being charged for more than the actual number of clicks---the dollar amounts are relatively inane (approximately 8-10% of total monthly spend)...wait a minute, that's not inane--that's INSANE.
We're guessing this is something that Wall Street analysts are going to take a closer look at.
Monday, March 17, 2008
Name That Firm: What Should You Call Your Business?
We're in the midst of trying to come up with a name for a boutique product licensing/distribution firm that started out specializing in licensing and manufacturing rights to innovative/disruptive technology products, and has since grown to the point where we have multiple products under our umbrella; extending across environmentally- friendly consumer goods, health care products, eco-friendly cleaning products for commercial application, food, and some technology widgets.
At the moment, the firm has a next generation, alcohol-free hand sanitizer product line, a lubricant made from mineral oil that is Green Seal certified and best described as the eco-friendly alternative to WD 40 (making it a great product for both the consumer and commerical marketplace), and some food products that are Fair Trade certified. We also continue to look at software and hardware products.
My partners and I have been trying to come up with a moniker (which is currently Mata Global Solutions) to a name that will resonate i.e.--encompass the unique nature of products that we are licensing/distributing, can perhaps be universally applied to the products we are licensing (a tough one considering the breadth of products), and can be easily incorporated into a URL for optimal search engine strategies.
Today's WSJ profile "Name That Firm" is a solid primer do's and don't(s) when it comes to putting up a marquee for a business.
Here are good excerpts from the WSJ article:
At the moment, the firm has a next generation, alcohol-free hand sanitizer product line, a lubricant made from mineral oil that is Green Seal certified and best described as the eco-friendly alternative to WD 40 (making it a great product for both the consumer and commerical marketplace), and some food products that are Fair Trade certified. We also continue to look at software and hardware products.
My partners and I have been trying to come up with a moniker (which is currently Mata Global Solutions) to a name that will resonate i.e.--encompass the unique nature of products that we are licensing/distributing, can perhaps be universally applied to the products we are licensing (a tough one considering the breadth of products), and can be easily incorporated into a URL for optimal search engine strategies.
Today's WSJ profile "Name That Firm" is a solid primer do's and don't(s) when it comes to putting up a marquee for a business.
Here are good excerpts from the WSJ article:
FIND THE UNIQUE
The first step is usually pinpointing the company's unique value or service. Companies should ask themselves, "What are you doing to bring value to potential customers and what's your vision?" says Scott Kuehl, president of BrandResolve LLC, a St. Cloud, Minn., brand-consulting firm.
BUT DON'T BE OBSCURE
AVOID THE MUNDANE
Indeed, companies trying to create a unique brand sometimes err by choosing a name that describes too closely what they do. "When a company tries to describe its services, it usually makes the company sound generic," says Mr. Montoya. The names of many successful companies don't describe what they do, he says.
![[image]](http://s.wsj.net/public/resources/images/OB-BD738_SB_Nam_20080314162033.jpg) |
| Josh Robbins of Geckotech. |
Names that describe a company also require a greater investment to promote the name in the marketplace, says Steven Winokur, CEO and founder of Turning Point Strategies, an Atlanta-based branding consultancy. "The only way I know how to do that is through repetition," he says. "You have to get people to see it many times."
GET REACTIONS
The best way to gauge the effectiveness of a small-business name is to find out how it resonates with people outside the company. It's an "ask people" question, says BrandResolve's Mr. Kuehl.
If people respond using phrases that echo the company's mission, that's good, he says. A catering company whose goal is to create irresistible, sinfully delicious food, for example, would know a name was right if people said it made them think of food that is "wicked good" or "devilishly tasty," he says.
Mr. Montoya says that people also should find a name memorable and easy to look up, either in phone listings or on the Web. The easier a name is to remember, the more it will benefit from referrals, he says. Similarly, a name that's hard to spell makes a company hard to find.
David Placek, president and founder of Lexicon Branding Inc. in Sausalito, Calif., notes: "You want to make people think a little bit -- not a lot. But if we don't make them think at all, they will walk past."
DOMAIN DO'S AND DON'TS
Check on the availability of a domain name, as Pacific Biosciences did, before making a final decision. An Internet domain name should be closely related to the company's name and make sense to users, says Mr. Winokur
Mr. Placek, however, cautions against sacrificing an effective name if the domain isn't available. He notes that many people surfing the Web don't look for corporate Web sites by remembering a domain name. Instead, he says, they type the company's name into Google, and then click on a link that is listed.
"Companies shouldn't sacrifice memorability and creativity [in a name] just to have a URL," he says.
Monday, March 10, 2008
Spitzer: A Marketing/Communications Classic
Eliot Spitzer. Former NY Attorney General turned politician (actually one and the same) . Qualities: Self righteous, sanctimonious, zealot, narcissist...and now a self-confessed criminal.
This is a guy that proclaimed to stand at the top of mountain in terms of ethics and morality, spending the last decade prosecuting, extorting and bullying anyone he felt like like, regardless of whether he had evidence of a crime, in order to advance his career--financed in part by his wealthy family.
Resigning in disgrace is great, what should happen is that he be prosecuted (pick a crime: abuse of office, fraud, using taxpayer money to commit a crime (hey, he's on the govt payroll, and no doubt that its a crime in the State of New York to procure sex for money--and if he paid, then we can assume that it was government money that hey paid with).
And of course, he should be sentenced to whatever the maximum jail is for the crimes he'll hopefully be charged and convicted of. US Attorneys investigating the case are no doubt going to be politically influenced by those that will dangle carrots in front of their face. Prosecuting Spitzer for violation of the Mann Act would be poetic justice.
And yes, its heart breaking to his wife and daughters. But Eliot wannabee Ness broke more hearts and families under the guise of ill-conceived prosecutions--without any concern or care for what the impact might be on innocent family members.
This is a guy that proclaimed to stand at the top of mountain in terms of ethics and morality, spending the last decade prosecuting, extorting and bullying anyone he felt like like, regardless of whether he had evidence of a crime, in order to advance his career--financed in part by his wealthy family.
Resigning in disgrace is great, what should happen is that he be prosecuted (pick a crime: abuse of office, fraud, using taxpayer money to commit a crime (hey, he's on the govt payroll, and no doubt that its a crime in the State of New York to procure sex for money--and if he paid, then we can assume that it was government money that hey paid with).
And of course, he should be sentenced to whatever the maximum jail is for the crimes he'll hopefully be charged and convicted of. US Attorneys investigating the case are no doubt going to be politically influenced by those that will dangle carrots in front of their face. Prosecuting Spitzer for violation of the Mann Act would be poetic justice.
And yes, its heart breaking to his wife and daughters. But Eliot wannabee Ness broke more hearts and families under the guise of ill-conceived prosecutions--without any concern or care for what the impact might be on innocent family members.
First came SpotRunner-Now Comes TalkMarket
Last summer we told you about SpotRunner--a "create your own TV commercial' platform targeting small businesses that have limited budgets. It was and remains a brilliant idea--and it includes a module for advertisers to use SpotRunner templates for creating a 30-second spot, and to place those spots on local and cable TV. Instead of spending tens of thousands to create the commercial, and thousands more for placement time, SpotRunner is a turnkey solution that can cost an advertiser as little as $3000 to reach wide audiences.
Now comes The Talk Market--billed as the "QVC for the Masses". Instead of provid9ing templates for videomercials as SpotRunner does, advertisers can jump on the YouTube style approach by creating their own spot, then uploading it the Talk Market platform. TalkMarket's business model is based on 5% commission on sales (mapped to clicking on a link imbedded in the commercial).
Brilliant--we wish you lots of success!
Now comes The Talk Market--billed as the "QVC for the Masses". Instead of provid9ing templates for videomercials as SpotRunner does, advertisers can jump on the YouTube style approach by creating their own spot, then uploading it the Talk Market platform. TalkMarket's business model is based on 5% commission on sales (mapped to clicking on a link imbedded in the commercial).
Brilliant--we wish you lots of success!
Sunday, March 09, 2008
Say it Ain't So! Video Doomed in the Workplace
As reported by the WSJ this week, it appears that web-centric video-based applications within the workplace, which I've been rooting for since before they became ubiquitous, is now destined to be doomed.
Apparently, video email and video presentations, the apps that I've been championing, have been overshadowed by office workers logging on and surfing the net to consume entertainment and other video content completely unrelated to work. This type of activity has overwhelmed IT networks, impacted worker productivity, and imposing a massive cost increase to business, as internet connectivity is priced to companies based on bandwith usage.
As a result, corporations across the spectrum are now banning employees from downloading the type of content that has made Google's YouTube.com and News Corp's MySpace so rich in advertising revenue. Oops.
Apparently, video email and video presentations, the apps that I've been championing, have been overshadowed by office workers logging on and surfing the net to consume entertainment and other video content completely unrelated to work. This type of activity has overwhelmed IT networks, impacted worker productivity, and imposing a massive cost increase to business, as internet connectivity is priced to companies based on bandwith usage.
As a result, corporations across the spectrum are now banning employees from downloading the type of content that has made Google's YouTube.com and News Corp's MySpace so rich in advertising revenue. Oops.
Lightbulb of An Idea: Its About The Packaging, Not The Product, Stupid!
Courtesy of last week's NY Times
Proving once again that retailers, marketers and manufacturers recognize that its all about the packaging--especially in mass merchandising. Getting onto a shelf is relatively easy, but having a beacon on your package will hopefully get the consumer's eyeball magnetized to it.
Getting consumers to buy products with gimmicky packaging is another thing. Especially when creating the packaging has a big negative impact i.e. 'environmentally friendly". A package that "shouts" or in this case, illuminates using battery-operated technology ain't so e-friendly. And obviously the fancy packaging is what you're paying for, the deodarant costs a few pennies to make and stuff into the dispenser.
A+ To NXT for a fun idea!. C for being e-friendly, and D for your investors believing this will make NXT an unforgettable brand within the minds of the consumers. Unless of course, you keep inventing other fad-based packaging and other fun stunts before the battery runs out
 |
A Package That Lights Up the Shelf
ABOUT a year ago, when Jamie Leventhal was trying to convince big chain stores to stock his new line of shaving gels for young men, a buyer for Target asked a crucial question: How much would he spend on advertising?
“I told him we would not spend a single dollar,” Mr. Leventhal said.
The buyer was stunned until Mr. Leventhal pulled a prototype out of his briefcase. The product, called NXT, is sold in an arresting triangular container that lights up from the bottom, illuminating air bubbles suspended in the clear gel. The plastic is tinted blue, and when the AAA batteries in its base are lighted, the whole thing looks like a miniature lava lamp or a tiny fishless aquarium.
The novelty of the light-up container worked, and NXT shaving gel — as well as its after-shave and face wash, similarly packaged — will hit the shelves at Target this month. It will also arrive at other retailers like Wal-Mart, CVS, Duane Reade, Winn-Dixie and Fred Meyer.
To call attention to themselves, the products, which are aimed at 18- to 24-year-old men, will glow on the shelves, inviting customers to pick them up. Every 15 seconds, a light-emitting diode (LED) in the bottom of the container flares on, stays lighted for a few seconds, then fades out.
Comic Books: Leveraging The Success of Graphic Novels within a Marketing Message
Last year, after noting a bulging trend out of Japan, we pontificated that "comic book-style" messaging would proliferate into mainstream marketing and assorted publications, including How-To books and mags.
Last week BusinessWeek Magazine re-affirmed that notion ""Graphic books on bsuiness are already a hit in Japan. With Johnny Bunko, the genre heads for the U.S..."
Why is this trend gaining traction? Pretty simple, really. We're inundated with txt msgs, overloaded with blackberry correspondences, and overwhelmed with email. Our eyeballs are looking at millions of alpha, symbol, and numeric characters, and for many, elevating premature ADD.
Putting a message within a visually appealing and easy to connect with format is a concept that started with the caveman. Expect to see lots more series-based messaging delivered within graphic novel aka comic book elements.
Wednesday, February 27, 2008
Retailers Perplexed :Branded Products Vs. Private Label
Guru marketers in the corner offices of major retailers continue to throw darts when it comes to merchandising private label vs. branded products.
Maybe everyone should take a hint from today's WSJ profile of Cott Corp--the private label soda manufacturer whose shares are falling flat--much in part because Wal-Mart has determined that its customers are more interested in branded products vs. the Sam's label.
We all know that manufacturers have been hammered over the past several years as retailers seek to introduce lower cost, higher margin goods. Private labeling necessarily accomplishes that goal, especially when faced with declining revenue from slotting fees that are part and parcel to many chain store business models.
But a funny thing seems to be happening on the way to the checkout counter--other than the most rudimentary staple items (i.e. napkins, nails, or the most highly commoditized), consumers still cherish a branded product--and the lower priced "house brands" within the food, beverage, personal care categories are simply not appealing, even to the most price sensitive shoppers.
Maybe everyone should take a hint from today's WSJ profile of Cott Corp--the private label soda manufacturer whose shares are falling flat--much in part because Wal-Mart has determined that its customers are more interested in branded products vs. the Sam's label.
We all know that manufacturers have been hammered over the past several years as retailers seek to introduce lower cost, higher margin goods. Private labeling necessarily accomplishes that goal, especially when faced with declining revenue from slotting fees that are part and parcel to many chain store business models.
But a funny thing seems to be happening on the way to the checkout counter--other than the most rudimentary staple items (i.e. napkins, nails, or the most highly commoditized), consumers still cherish a branded product--and the lower priced "house brands" within the food, beverage, personal care categories are simply not appealing, even to the most price sensitive shoppers.
Marcomm 201: Its All About The Customer
Stellar observation from JEFFREY FOX of Fox And Company:
Too many companies that sell directly to consumers think marketing is advertising. Too many business-to-business sellers think marketing is trade shows and literature. Marketing involves the profitable identification, attraction, getting, and then keeping of the most highly desired customers. It is the heart and lungs for every organization. Without customers, members, patients, parishioners, donors, the organization will die. Every single function, every single job, in every single organization must, directly or indirectly, today or tomorrow, be laser-beamed on the getting and keeping of customers. Every single job in every business must be a marketing job. Every single job must be tied to profitable revenue- without exception. If someone does not know how his or her job gets or keeps customers then, that person is either ill-managed, ill-trained, or, as the Europeans say, redundant
Too many companies that sell directly to consumers think marketing is advertising. Too many business-to-business sellers think marketing is trade shows and literature. Marketing involves the profitable identification, attraction, getting, and then keeping of the most highly desired customers. It is the heart and lungs for every organization. Without customers, members, patients, parishioners, donors, the organization will die. Every single function, every single job, in every single organization must, directly or indirectly, today or tomorrow, be laser-beamed on the getting and keeping of customers. Every single job in every business must be a marketing job. Every single job must be tied to profitable revenue- without exception. If someone does not know how his or her job gets or keeps customers then, that person is either ill-managed, ill-trained, or, as the Europeans say, redundant
1800 Flowers-Redeeming Response
Lo and behold--within 24 hours of my e-venting my frustration via email to senior execs at 1800 flowers for a total breakdown in customer service in connection with a special delivery for my 21 year old daughter's birthday--I received a personal call from Monica Woo, the President of the company's consumer floral division.
Not only did Ms. Woo express her apologies and acknowledgement that the company's system had failed to meet their standards during the most important week of the year--she insisted on sending both my wife and daughter a bouquet--both of which arrived exactly when she said they would.
Thank you, Monica!-You've re-affirmed my belief that the best executive leaders are those that focus on every customer complaint. I'll look forward to renewing my relationship accordingly!
Not only did Ms. Woo express her apologies and acknowledgement that the company's system had failed to meet their standards during the most important week of the year--she insisted on sending both my wife and daughter a bouquet--both of which arrived exactly when she said they would.
Thank you, Monica!-You've re-affirmed my belief that the best executive leaders are those that focus on every customer complaint. I'll look forward to renewing my relationship accordingly!
Sunday, February 24, 2008
Its ALL about Customer Service! Don't You Understand That Yet??
Thank G-d that BusinessWeek is keeping its eye on the ball and keeping a scorecard about the absolute most important element to any business--start-up, turnaround or the grey, old battleships--CUSTOMER SERVICE.
It befuddles the mind when reading business plans for start-ups that fail to include a line item expense for customer service, and enrages the intellect when being subjected to the absolute worst customer service from companies that are purportedly brand leaders. Telecoms and high tech have been infamous for failing to appreciate that they have an obligation to deal with customer complaints--and many, even Dell, have recognized the error of their ways.
Although many figured it out after they lost their customers--and subsequently, the keys to the executive washroom (and all of the other keys to the building), there is actually a universe of corporate managers that understand that customer experience, satisfaction and loyalty are the lifeblood of any business.
Unfortunately, based on personal experience, I don't think that 1800Flowers falls into the category of "we get it"--and if you believe Warren Buffet when he suggests that poor customer service is a tell tale sign of a poorly run company, then 1800Flowers' revolving door of senior execs says something about the company's board of directors.
On Feb 10, my wife placed an order via the 1800Flowers call center--flowers to be delivered on Feb 13 to our only child ( daughter) in honor of her 21'st birthday. When it was obvious the flowers hadn't been received by 7pm on the 13th--we phoned 1800 flowers to discover the phone lines were overwhlemed, and no matter how we attempted to naviagate, we kept encountering insturctions ot leave a voice message. Then we tried submitting a complaint by email--and received an auto reply that our inquiry would be addressed within 24 hours--which by then would be almost a full day after the birthday presented was suppposed to be delivered--and five days after it was ordered.. We tried phoning on the 14th, but what a surprise, the automated answering system indicated they were not accepting any calls--as they were overwhelmed. We tried calling on the 15th---same thing--no matter how much we tried to speak to a human--all ports were blocked.
Finally on the 16th--6 days after the order was placed and 3 days after the birthday--we were able to connect to a live customer service representative--who explained the reason the flowers were never delivered was because "the local vendor they had designated was too busy." The customer service rep believed that was a reasonable explanation and when asked if thought it would be a good idea for 1800flowers to find another local vendor--as opposed to simply dropping the entire thing--without bothering to call us, he therwsie said''hey, this was our busiest week of the year--so I'm sure you can understand..."
What I understood is that the customer service rep could have the stupidiest person ever put on a customer service line--and when he offered to provide a 20% discount card on the next purchase, I became convinced he was from another planet (or a former customer service rep from Dell).
When I asked " Why in thew world would I ever purchase anything from your company again when they failed so miserably on this purchase, and made absolutely no effort to resolve the problem, and had absolutely no customer service available for 4 days...??".. The customer service guy had no response--and when we asked to speak with a supervisor, we were told that none were available, and "it wouldn't be any better--but we could still have the 20% discount on the next purchase. " I politely suggested that I'd never use 1800flowers again (I' probably used them 1-2x a year for the past 10 years)--and under no circumstances did I want him sending us any solicitations.
What a surprise that the following week, I received a form letter apologizing for our not being satisfied, along with a 20% discount offering on my next purchase.
What should have happened: the customer service rep should have been trained to understand english and customer frustration. Who in their right mind is going to be appeased with a "sorry--here's 20% discount discount card when a special flower arrangement for their only child's 21'st birthday is bungled so completely??....
What he should have done was immediately offer a free something--as in "can we send your daughter a bouquet right now?--or can we not only credit you, but can we keep an additional credit available for the next time you'd like to send flowers to anyone anywhere?" Not a measely discount on a purchase--and he made zero effort to keep me as a satisfied customer--or to prevent the situation from turning ugly-which I clearly forewarned him about: -includingthe liklihood of my lamenting on a blog that's read by hundreds of media and marketing industry execs--and emailing everyone in my family and universe of friends that they should never do business with 1800flowers.
OK--the birthday was the day before Valentines Day--the biggest flower day of the year (or is it Mother's Day?)--And shit happens. But to have no customer telephone support for 3 straight days--and to have voice recordings that suggest that if you leave a message, someone will get back to you within the next day is lunacy. On the biggest day of the year, a smart company would OVERSTAFF with customer support to make sure those customers come back for next year's busieest day of the year. This isn't rocket science .
Jim McCann--I hope you're reading this--because I doubt anyone on your staff really cares.
It befuddles the mind when reading business plans for start-ups that fail to include a line item expense for customer service, and enrages the intellect when being subjected to the absolute worst customer service from companies that are purportedly brand leaders. Telecoms and high tech have been infamous for failing to appreciate that they have an obligation to deal with customer complaints--and many, even Dell, have recognized the error of their ways.
Although many figured it out after they lost their customers--and subsequently, the keys to the executive washroom (and all of the other keys to the building), there is actually a universe of corporate managers that understand that customer experience, satisfaction and loyalty are the lifeblood of any business.
Unfortunately, based on personal experience, I don't think that 1800Flowers falls into the category of "we get it"--and if you believe Warren Buffet when he suggests that poor customer service is a tell tale sign of a poorly run company, then 1800Flowers' revolving door of senior execs says something about the company's board of directors.
On Feb 10, my wife placed an order via the 1800Flowers call center--flowers to be delivered on Feb 13 to our only child ( daughter) in honor of her 21'st birthday. When it was obvious the flowers hadn't been received by 7pm on the 13th--we phoned 1800 flowers to discover the phone lines were overwhlemed, and no matter how we attempted to naviagate, we kept encountering insturctions ot leave a voice message. Then we tried submitting a complaint by email--and received an auto reply that our inquiry would be addressed within 24 hours--which by then would be almost a full day after the birthday presented was suppposed to be delivered--and five days after it was ordered.. We tried phoning on the 14th, but what a surprise, the automated answering system indicated they were not accepting any calls--as they were overwhelmed. We tried calling on the 15th---same thing--no matter how much we tried to speak to a human--all ports were blocked.
Finally on the 16th--6 days after the order was placed and 3 days after the birthday--we were able to connect to a live customer service representative--who explained the reason the flowers were never delivered was because "the local vendor they had designated was too busy." The customer service rep believed that was a reasonable explanation and when asked if thought it would be a good idea for 1800flowers to find another local vendor--as opposed to simply dropping the entire thing--without bothering to call us, he therwsie said''hey, this was our busiest week of the year--so I'm sure you can understand..."
What I understood is that the customer service rep could have the stupidiest person ever put on a customer service line--and when he offered to provide a 20% discount card on the next purchase, I became convinced he was from another planet (or a former customer service rep from Dell).
When I asked " Why in thew world would I ever purchase anything from your company again when they failed so miserably on this purchase, and made absolutely no effort to resolve the problem, and had absolutely no customer service available for 4 days...??".. The customer service guy had no response--and when we asked to speak with a supervisor, we were told that none were available, and "it wouldn't be any better--but we could still have the 20% discount on the next purchase. " I politely suggested that I'd never use 1800flowers again (I' probably used them 1-2x a year for the past 10 years)--and under no circumstances did I want him sending us any solicitations.
What a surprise that the following week, I received a form letter apologizing for our not being satisfied, along with a 20% discount offering on my next purchase.
What should have happened: the customer service rep should have been trained to understand english and customer frustration. Who in their right mind is going to be appeased with a "sorry--here's 20% discount discount card when a special flower arrangement for their only child's 21'st birthday is bungled so completely??....
What he should have done was immediately offer a free something--as in "can we send your daughter a bouquet right now?--or can we not only credit you, but can we keep an additional credit available for the next time you'd like to send flowers to anyone anywhere?" Not a measely discount on a purchase--and he made zero effort to keep me as a satisfied customer--or to prevent the situation from turning ugly-which I clearly forewarned him about: -includingthe liklihood of my lamenting on a blog that's read by hundreds of media and marketing industry execs--and emailing everyone in my family and universe of friends that they should never do business with 1800flowers.
OK--the birthday was the day before Valentines Day--the biggest flower day of the year (or is it Mother's Day?)--And shit happens. But to have no customer telephone support for 3 straight days--and to have voice recordings that suggest that if you leave a message, someone will get back to you within the next day is lunacy. On the biggest day of the year, a smart company would OVERSTAFF with customer support to make sure those customers come back for next year's busieest day of the year. This isn't rocket science .
Jim McCann--I hope you're reading this--because I doubt anyone on your staff really cares.
Wednesday, February 20, 2008
Guru Marketing--from Guru Energy-Consumer Products 101
CRAIG MARGULIES is hoping to strike it rich in the grab-and-go beverage cases on the Upper East Side of Manhattan.
A 36-year-old with a master’s degree in industrial psychology, Mr. Margulies left a corporate career to become a sales representative for Guru energy drinks, a new company started by a bunch of old Canadian high school pals.
It might seem like a strange career switch, until you consider that the investors in the last beverage sensation in Manhattan — Glacéau, the makers of Vitaminwater — split $4.1 billion last year after Coca-Cola bought it.
“Bust my hump and get some equity in the company,” Mr. Margulies explained. “That’s what we are all here for.”
Guru, which is already selling in Canada, is trying to crack the New York market by zipping around the city in electric minicars painted like Guru cans and hiring cheerful, attractive young women to offer samples at convenience stores, health clubs, supermarkets and delis.
But most of all, it is relying on the skills of salesmen like Mr. Margulies, who in three months on the job has received a quick education on how to win coveted shelf space in beverage cases around the city. It requires a gift for schmoozing, a comfortable pair of shoes and armorlike skin.
The nonalcoholic beverage market, in New York City and elsewhere, is tough. For decades, it was dominated by the soft-drink giants Coke and Pepsi, with a few other brands scrambling for the leftovers.
An enormous variety of drinks, a hundred or more even in small delis, have picked up the slack. And energy drinks, where Guru believes it has found an opening offering products with all natural and organic ingredients.
The explosion of new beverages has been marked by stories of regular folks who started small and made it big with a new drink that they hustled to local stores. Three New York friends created Snapple, which was sold to Quaker Oats Company in 1994 for $1.7 billion. Arizona tea was mixed up by a couple of Brooklynites who first tried flavored seltzer and malt liquor.
Glacéau’s Vitaminwater was the brainchild of J. Darius Bikoff, who insisted on selling his vitamin-spiked flavored water beside regular bottled water rather than in the soda section.
The four founders of Guru Beverage have a pretty good story, too. But the ending remains far from certain. While creating a drink in a blender and finding a bottler is relatively easy and inexpensive, making it a successful brand is difficult.
“Frankly, some of it is luck,” said Gary Hemphill, managing director of the Beverage Marketing Corporation. “Being at the right place with the right product at the right time.”
Bankrolled by the founders’ savings accounts, the company sold its first can of Guru at a small deli in Montreal in 2000. By the end of the first year of production, nearly one million cans had been sold, mostly in Montreal. By 2005, Guru was being sold throughout Canada, and the company was looking to sell in the United States. New York City was selected because it was the largest market, it was fairly similar to Montreal in terms of its many independent retailers
“If it doesn’t make it there, we would rather know up front rather than later,” Mr. Jolicoeur said. He said it was important for the company to prove to itself “that the Guru concept has legs.”
The company’s strategy in New York was similar to what worked in Montreal: trying to get the product into as many retail locations and company cafeterias as possible in a small area to create buzz, and then expanding.That kind of small-scale approach works to a point. But eventually you need to have a good distributor.
When he started, Mr. Goldman was driving cases of his tea around in a van, trying to persuade retail stores to try it. He realized that to gain any scale he needed a distributor who had a fleet of trucks and well-known relationships with retailers.
“You go into a store, and you’re asking a guy to take a brand on,” Mr. Goldman said. “Who are you? How are you going to get in there?” But if you are connected with an established distributor, he said, the relationship is already reputable.
Guru chose Exclusive Beverage as its distributor, hoping Guru would receive more attention with a smaller company...Steve Gress, Exclusive’s president, said his portfolio consisted of small start-ups like Guru. Asked what makes a hit, he said, “I wish I knew because I’d be a lot better off.”
Mr. Gress credited Guru as being “very hands-on” and willing to listen to advice on how to succeed in New York. “You need the company support,” he said. “You need to get it in people’s hands and get them to try it.”
The company started selling its drinks downtown last July. It has advertised in The Village Voice and Time Out New York, sponsored art and fashion shows, and scooted around the city in its electric cars to promote the idea that the car and Guru offer “clean energy.”
David Kessler questioned whether Guru was distinctive enough to rise above the growing pack of beverage choices. “We’re marketing guys,” Mr. Kessler explained. “I don’t know if it’s differentiated enough to get my attention to say it’s really unique and I’ve got to have it.”
Mr. Kessler’s comments crystallize the challenge for Guru’s salesmen, who must convince the managers of company cafeterias and health clubs, vitamin stores and bodegas that they must have Guru on their shelves. “There are so many drinks out there,” Mr. Margulies said. “The only niche we have to play off is that it’s an all-natural product.”
Yet Mr. Margulies exhibits considerable skill as a salesman. “The product is the product, but if you don’t sell yourself it makes no difference,” said Mr. Margulies, a Long Island native who is newly married. “You’ve got to make an impression in the first five minutes or you are done.”
Social Media Campaigns Have No Flight Dates
Superb insight courtesy of Joe Marchese at Online Spin!
Social Media Campaigns Have No Flight Dates
By Joe Marchese
Social Media Campaigns Have No Flight Dates
By Joe Marchese
Your social media campaign is always on -- like it or not. The only question is whether you are paying attention or not. Marketing Daily's Sarah Mahoney does a great job of highlighting the key findings of a study by OneUpWeb in her piece "Social Media Marketing's Disease: No Follow-Through." The finding that social media efforts positively influenced sales, while vastly underappreciated, is not the study's most interesting finding. I would instead direct marketers' attention to the rapid loss of return on social media efforts as those efforts lose support.
I know it doesn't sound surprising (please hold your calls to the Harvard Business Review). But what if someone told you that you might NEVER see a positive return on social media efforts without consistent monitoring and management, forgetting the traditional notion of campaign start and end dates. Effective social media campaigns incorporate community creation and communication. They incorporate various forms of B2C communication and dialogue, as well as enablement and monitoring of C2C communication. All this means that the creation of social media campaigns can require a significantly larger outlay of resources and patience upfront, while not returning in the typical time frame (re: in time to see how these efforts impacted this quarter's results).
This is because you don't "launch" a social media campaign. You begin a social media effort. You don't just create a campaign message for social media distribution; you test various messages and enable a dialogue with those people who will carry your message. This adds up to a greater upfront cost without seeing the typical returns associated with marketing spend. You never had to test messages so that they would get media distribution, you just bought media distribution and your message of choice reached its intended audience (but then again you've never been able to watch media distribution to determine message effectiveness or find a product enhancement -- these required separate efforts).
What this means is that abandoning a social media effort that has any traction is like rolling a gigantic bolder up a hill, then, once you get to (almost) flat land, giving up and letting the bolder roll back down the hill. Looking back on the exercise, it is easy to conclude that you did not see the return on the effort it took to get the bolder up the hill, because it's the ongoing return on maintaining the social media effort that shows far greater return on effort. But once you have found the mix that gets your social media momentum going, it's much easier to recognize a positive ROI on social media efforts, even if you are considering marketing objectives in a vacuum and ignore the potential for social media to provide brand and product feedback
Monday, February 11, 2008
Out of the Mouths of Babes-Email Marketing
Having just executed 3 different (list-based) email marketing campaigns on behalf of a consumer product company with a line of kid friendly, alcohol free hand sanitizers--I'd argue that the age of email marketing is dead and kapoot.
The emails were nicely designed, the subject field(s) were compelling, and the call to action shout outs were green-lighted by 4 unrelated email marketing advisors that received no compensation for their pre-launch opinion.
We sent out at 'best day of the week (tues and thurs), we provided tools that would encourage referrals (we included testimonials and discount coupons). Although the last of the 3 campaigns yielded somewhat better results than the first two, the overall results were abysmal.
With that said, Marc Lore, CEO of Diapers.com has demonstrated that email marketing can work--as long as it conforms to the discipline of leveraging lists that are acquired in-house--NOT acquired lists. And there are necessarily certain nuances to keep in mind. Attached article is from May, Marc was profiled in today's NY Times business section
The emails were nicely designed, the subject field(s) were compelling, and the call to action shout outs were green-lighted by 4 unrelated email marketing advisors that received no compensation for their pre-launch opinion.
We sent out at 'best day of the week (tues and thurs), we provided tools that would encourage referrals (we included testimonials and discount coupons). Although the last of the 3 campaigns yielded somewhat better results than the first two, the overall results were abysmal.
With that said, Marc Lore, CEO of Diapers.com has demonstrated that email marketing can work--as long as it conforms to the discipline of leveraging lists that are acquired in-house--NOT acquired lists. And there are necessarily certain nuances to keep in mind. Attached article is from May, Marc was profiled in today's NY Times business section
Saturday, February 09, 2008
Generation MySpace Is Getting Fed Up
BW's Spencer Ante and Catherine Holahan are the most recent media experts to observe what we pointed out back in December, and that advertising performance (clicks, purchases etc) is a fraction of what advertisers hoped, and that ad revenue projections for social networking sites are proving grossly over optimistic.
It doesn't take a social scientist to know that the value of a social networking site is predicated exclusively on the loyalty of its members--and obviously its that loyalty which inspires the aggregate traffic counts for the platform.
Facebook has quite the track record for introducing innovative ideas, but at the same time, they've imposed these innovations without asking the most important people if they would support it--and they've never invited them to participate in the enterprise value that these members created for its founder. And on more than one occasion, the members rioted , causing Facebook to lose face and retreat. God forbid they should actually conduct member surveys before introducing major releases.
In the case of advertising, this weeks BW article shouldn't come as a surprise to anyone i.e. the that social networking sites are proving to be grossly overrated insofar as a vehicle for advertisers, or as the next gold mine for those looking to make billions in advertising revenue.
We already know that the return on investment i.e. CPM based banners has been diminishing more rapidly than the value of subprime mortgage debt. That's why pay for performance (i.e. PPC and CPC applications are the bread and butter to Google's bottom line. But with that said, the actual # of clicks vs. impressions will always remain insignificant. But Google's Adsense program is exactly the type of application that should be introduced to social networking sites.
Why an advertiser would think that advertising on a social network site would be a panacea merely demonstrates how little most advertisers know about peer-to-peer marketing---and the BW article points that out.
Members on a social network go the site to communicate with other members, not to be inundanted with 3rd banner ads.. They don't click those ads when they're actually surfing the net, so they aren't about to click them within what is supposed to be a 'protected comfort zone'.
Yes, marketers know that products are best promoted via influencers--and a social networking site is by definition, a hotbed of influencers. But unless the member is doing the influencing, any third party advertising strategy is not only going to fail--its going to backfire--and negatively impact the loyalty of its members. Simple logic that any VC should understand before plucking down the next five cents of investor capital.
Facebook claims that allowing its members to advertise products of their own choosing on their own profiles wil make the page 'too cluttered'. Instead, Facebook is imposing what ads display where, including scrolling across member profile pages. That's the equivalent of inserting billboards on the side of my house, without asking my permission, and the fact that I'm not even being offered a piece of the ad revenue is almost incomprehensible.
My 22 year old is a senior in college--and I've polled her, along with two dozen of her peeps. They're all ready to graduate, and to leave Facebook behind them, for the simple reasons noted herein. With that said, if there is going to be ads on the platform, it only makes sense that individual members could select "My Favorite Stuff" and be allowed to maintain their own proprietary 'billboards'--and share in the revenue accordingly.
Out of the mouths of babes.
Monday, January 21, 2008
Have you been Phished? Has Your Identity Been Stolen?
Identity thefts due to on-line phishing continues to be a massive problem. Despite both low tech and high tech security strategies introduced by online payment vendors, credit card companies and banks, there still remain 'holes' that attackers can penetrate. These are often referred to as "Man-In-The Middle (MITM) and "Man-In-The Browser" attacks.
Consumers can't really protect against many of these types of incidences-hackers have a variety of ways to perpetrate your PC and lift your info--the most common of course is sending you an email that appears to be from your bank, from PayPal or from Amazon. Even the most experienced computer industry execs have been tricked into clicking on those links and supplying 'correct billing info".
We've just heard about KeyID, a new company that has come up with a very interesting solution that banks and credit card companies can integrate into their systems and otherwise add a completely new level of protection for their customers... We'll keep you updated as we hear more about KeyID !
Consumers can't really protect against many of these types of incidences-hackers have a variety of ways to perpetrate your PC and lift your info--the most common of course is sending you an email that appears to be from your bank, from PayPal or from Amazon. Even the most experienced computer industry execs have been tricked into clicking on those links and supplying 'correct billing info".
We've just heard about KeyID, a new company that has come up with a very interesting solution that banks and credit card companies can integrate into their systems and otherwise add a completely new level of protection for their customers... We'll keep you updated as we hear more about KeyID !
Tuesday, January 15, 2008
Marketing and the Presidential Campaign
For those following my musings, you'll know that I have a tendency to be acerbic--but I try to stay away from political opining--and leave that to Bill Maher and Rupert Murdoch's Bill OReilly--as I don't need to risk potential consulting clients to be offended by my personal political viewpoints.
With that said, the current Presidential campaign, and particularly Mike Huckabee's comments today suggesting that his God supercedes the US Constitution has ignited my need to opine.
Have we gone so far off the path of common reason that more than 100 responsible, educated people would even consider voting for someone that suggests that religous beliefs should supercede the US Constitution. When and if the US Govt gives me back the right to vote, the odds of my voting Republican are pretty close to zilch, but if I had to choose, Ron Paul would be my fav.
I chuckled when I saw Huckabee's "Christmas" ad--but today's salvo compelled me to reach for Alka-Seltzer.. Is this guy a total lunatic?
Sure--I'm an east coast, quasi liberal. Harry Truman was my Dad's favorite President. But I can be a switch hitter--as I truly believe that party affiliation is less important than the personal perspectives of the top gun with his finger on the button.
I will always believe that Jack Kennedy was an inspiration for his and generations yet to come, that Ronald Reagan was a lousy screen actor, but smart enough to surround himself with very smart people; that Gerald Ford might have tripped on stairs--but he was a true American hero--that Jimmy Carter was the second worst President of the last 30 years--George W winning the trophy for that title--and that Obama should have changed his name if he wanted to be a serious consideration.
My fav would be Mike Bloomberg (notwithstanding his being a meglomaniac of sorts)--but alas, this country isn't ready to elect a Jewish person to the highest office--and its becoming ever more doubtful that we're mature enough to elect a woman or a person of color.
Lesson to be learned--any worthwhile contender for the highest political office necessarily needs to be politically astute--and his/her "message" will have to be re-engineered/tweaked to appeal to the targeted audience. The risk in overtweaking--or posturing a message that is so obviously designed to 'sell' one particular audience, and then changing it the next day to appeal to another audience is one that few people can afford to take. And right now, none of the candidates have demonstrated the ability to manage that kind of risk. There's a guy named Putin looking for a job--his posture is more appealing than Huckabee's. Mike-time for you to bow out and leave it to Mitch and John to duke it out. Sorry Rudy-you were never a realistic choice, and I'm a New Yorker that lost 10 good friends in the WTC on 9-11.
With that said, the current Presidential campaign, and particularly Mike Huckabee's comments today suggesting that his God supercedes the US Constitution has ignited my need to opine.
Have we gone so far off the path of common reason that more than 100 responsible, educated people would even consider voting for someone that suggests that religous beliefs should supercede the US Constitution. When and if the US Govt gives me back the right to vote, the odds of my voting Republican are pretty close to zilch, but if I had to choose, Ron Paul would be my fav.
I chuckled when I saw Huckabee's "Christmas" ad--but today's salvo compelled me to reach for Alka-Seltzer.. Is this guy a total lunatic?
Sure--I'm an east coast, quasi liberal. Harry Truman was my Dad's favorite President. But I can be a switch hitter--as I truly believe that party affiliation is less important than the personal perspectives of the top gun with his finger on the button.
I will always believe that Jack Kennedy was an inspiration for his and generations yet to come, that Ronald Reagan was a lousy screen actor, but smart enough to surround himself with very smart people; that Gerald Ford might have tripped on stairs--but he was a true American hero--that Jimmy Carter was the second worst President of the last 30 years--George W winning the trophy for that title--and that Obama should have changed his name if he wanted to be a serious consideration.
My fav would be Mike Bloomberg (notwithstanding his being a meglomaniac of sorts)--but alas, this country isn't ready to elect a Jewish person to the highest office--and its becoming ever more doubtful that we're mature enough to elect a woman or a person of color.
Lesson to be learned--any worthwhile contender for the highest political office necessarily needs to be politically astute--and his/her "message" will have to be re-engineered/tweaked to appeal to the targeted audience. The risk in overtweaking--or posturing a message that is so obviously designed to 'sell' one particular audience, and then changing it the next day to appeal to another audience is one that few people can afford to take. And right now, none of the candidates have demonstrated the ability to manage that kind of risk. There's a guy named Putin looking for a job--his posture is more appealing than Huckabee's. Mike-time for you to bow out and leave it to Mitch and John to duke it out. Sorry Rudy-you were never a realistic choice, and I'm a New Yorker that lost 10 good friends in the WTC on 9-11.
Sunday, January 06, 2008
Cornel Bucks Privacy Concern-Stands Out in Outing Troubled Students
Let's give a round of applause to Cornell University--and their innovative approach to making sure that troubled (and potentially suicidal students) are under constant watch--and when even the slightest hints of danger are displayed, parents are the first to be called. This is a philosphy that every single school in teh country should be taking--as opposed to nambsy pamsy fear of violation of privacy laws---and in fact--universities that incorporate programs similar to Cornell's should be receiving federal grants--and those that don't should be losing their federal grants .
There. I said it... Ron Paul---are you listening?
There. I said it... Ron Paul---are you listening?
Buffet To Start Bond Insurer--Marketing Coup By Branding Genius
Warren Buffet only gets better with age.. And the stock price for Berkshire is miles higher than any other company--not only because it trades at $135,000 per share--but because Warren is uniquely masterful at identifying opportunities and leveraging the power of brand integrity.
Seizing the moment-Buffet is launching a municipal bond insurer--in a time when every other competitor is on the ropes as a result of investments in mortgage debt---he's starting with a totally clean slate, an over capitalized balance sheet, and the integrity of the Berkshire brand. Our bet is that in two years, this new company will be bigger than Ambac and MBIA combined.
Seizing the moment-Buffet is launching a municipal bond insurer--in a time when every other competitor is on the ropes as a result of investments in mortgage debt---he's starting with a totally clean slate, an over capitalized balance sheet, and the integrity of the Berkshire brand. Our bet is that in two years, this new company will be bigger than Ambac and MBIA combined.
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