Brand Curious

Really superficial

2012-01-25T22:06:00.002-06:00

Really ! 3 visits to Klout is not an achievement and does not make me an addict. It's a rather superficial attempt at engagement that turns me off this brand. Does this work for you ?

The surest way to get people talking

2012-01-14T15:37:00.000-06:00

When have you been positively surprised by a brand ? What was the situation ? Why were you surprised ? What did the brand do so well ? I posed this question on Linked In and here's one of my favourite responses - from Rashi Mittal today:

"Extensive Psychological Research Studies show that 'Surprise' is actually one of the 'strongest' and most 'surest' ways to get people 'talking'. Schemas is the scientific term used for the way that we understand the world. Whenever a 'schema' is broken, people are likely to talk about it. (eg. when a plane lands in water, when a girl wins a hand-fight with a boy and so on.). I'm not even surprised that a discussion on 'how have brands surprised you' has led to so many more answers on linked in, than most average questions. :)

In any case, my favourite of the most recent ones has to be Benetton's Unhate campaign. A lot of positive energy. Breaks schemas like no other campaign in recent times. A conversation-starter like no-other. Viral Marketing at its best?".

here's my email to Rashi:

"Thanks for helping me with your answer. I wanted to re-open this question in 2012 to see how people would respond, and which brands could be part of the conversation.

You rightly made me exercise my 'left' brain, and I'm going to dig up my Psychology books - for a timely refresher on some of the basics of human cognition, perception, and behaviour. I'm intrigued to see if Benetton can build momentum on their campaign and continue to stay part of the conversation and become relevant.

By the way, I love your concept of brandripples.com Its such a great universal metaphor; simple to understand and has that little piece of magic - by being able to visualise its meaning when hearing the name ! Love it."

What are your thoughts ? Join the conversation, get talking and share your answer on Linked In here.

RE: Awareness vs Preference

2011-12-05T19:19:00.000-06:00

I exchanged the following email with a former colleague....agree ? Let me know..

Colleague:
Awareness vs preference campaign - "Do you have a good definition? I am confused, in need of some good advice"

Me:
Hi, it could be semantics [of the client] or a true ask so I suggest to use a tried and tested model of advertising.

Awareness will drive recognition/attention - if you are a brand that wants to get people to know you or what you do that's fine but it doesn't pay the bills.

Preference would be an activity that gets people to choose your brand, or at least have the brand amongst a considered set of competitors.

Hence in the AIDA model (Awareness, Interest, Desire, Action) - Awareness is the first step, with preference between Desire and Action.

So in summary, I don't think anybody really wants a brand preference campaign, they want a Brand Action campaign with metrics that clearly deliver against the need of the client.

I would align a definition of what success looks like before doing anything - that way you will know if million facebook fans is success or increasing sales by $10,000 per quarter... Hope this helps..

You're in Luck

2011-11-25T10:23:00.001-06:00

If you want to gain attention for your message, compel the receiver to act now. Make it is simple, relevant and impactful on both the right and left parts of the brain.I hope you will also get someone on your Black Friday and holiday shopping lists something at Kiva.org/gifts today.

Commercial Break. We'll be right back

2011-11-21T20:17:00.000-06:00

Watching ESPN on my iPad has led to extreme agitation and frustration, because I can't see the commercials. Yes, you heard correctly - ads are a key role in my experience. With my changed viewing context, broadcasters, advertisers and brands need to tackle new insights in order to meet my needs.

Self Determination

Context: I've chosen to watch ESPN Football via my iPad app

Insight: I'm enjoying the novelty and the complete control to watch it on my terms

Need: Acknowledge me

Hyper-Attention

Context: The screen is c. 12 inches from my face, I'm not doing anything else

Insight: I want to be entertained, I'm open to a message

Need: Stimulate me, entertain me

Inertia and Anticipation

Context: Exiting the app is a hassle, and I don't know when the game will will restart

Insight: I feel a bit stuck, I don't want to miss the next play, I guess i will just wait for you

Need: Entertain me, reassure me

Okay so on ocassions you get a ticker..........or a static graphic....

Stop Press: Read more here where it was reported in April that ESPN would have the technology in August ready to serve ads ....on the iPad

its the tingle of the bubbles...

2011-11-07T07:00:00.000-06:00

..."on my tongue and the cool blast of refreshment....Ahhh, my thirst quenched". A story that delights me, and I want to hear when I buy a Sprite at Mcdonalds!

....By pushing the envelope beyond the norm McDonalds gained a little more attention and a hint of brand love by doing this.....

...."Its those moments I crave. My Time to indulge...." amazing how you can improve the consumer experience by using the space on the disposable cup just that little bit more creatively.... If on the other hand your focus is for that caffiene hit, well, this all might pass you by as marketing blah blah....

Re: HxHxH = #Lovemark - an apology

2011-11-03T07:00:00.000-05:00

I put this idea out without a good explanation...Better now ?

H1 = Head: its what you THINK about a brand or collection of brands, perhaps interested and aware of some more than others. This is dangerous territory for a brand - as on the journey to a choice the consumer can easily be swayed by logic, price, time, convenience, competition,out of stocks, bad service..... and all other sorts of everyday distraction.

H2 = Heart: its how you FEEL about a brand...a huge step forward, because this is where you find the brands you love, those you simply cant live without...and lead you to.....

H3 = Hands: its what you DO with your... money/wallet/purse/credit card/time/attention... And because your so loyal you cant really explain why you do what you do, you can't justify why you upgraded to the new IPhone model, why you have the ltd edition version of the coffee maker, why you payed $150 to see Sade. 3 nights in a row !....Well not in a rational way........Those, unfortunately are symptoms of a #Lovemark as defined by Kevin Roberts work at Lovemarkscampus.com

H x H x H = #Lovemark

2011-10-20T22:17:00.001-05:00

Did you win $1,000,000?

2011-07-08T02:30:00.006-05:00

On the off chance that this #brandcurious blog post passes your spam filter..

Then you're able to see the beautiful art direction in this Lotto advertising creative.

........Stopped me in my tracks at Citgo. Bravo to the agency/Marketing folks.

My Reckless Experience

2011-06-01T06:00:00.001-05:00

No, not a story of remorse and regret, but instead the story of my discovery of Reckless Records in Chicago.

How does Reckless Records remain relevant In an era of instant downloads ?

How does it compete with virtual access to the worlds largest music libraries ?

Why is it still here when technology from brands such as Itunes, Spotify, Pandora, Amazon render this place obsolete?

I believe it's because I can:

Discover and explore music with (almost) all of my senses.
Be certain that popularity is not the only arbiter of taste.
Buy VHS and cassette tapes. (I didn't as I don't have anything to play them on - but was honestly surprised, that people still do !)
Ask the staff questions about music and musicians - which they are more than keen to answer.
Immerse in the feeling that I can't get this anywhere else
Leave with the belief that whatever I buy here is more valuable, meaningful and important than getting it from somewhere else.
Be certain that I will tell people about it
Be certain that I will go back.

This brand is not in the business of selling music. Its value comes from facilitating community via music, and an experience beyond the function of selling things.

Breaking News - Landscape is the new Portrait

2011-05-15T12:32:00.021-05:00

In search of marketing innovation for your brand ?

This Kia car ad has an authentic picture of....well a Kia car (no-less), with a disruptive landscape placement that compelled me to rotate the page to look at it and share it (remarkable).

Innovate, disrupt, and become remarkable, seize the patently obvious opportunity to be landscape in the portrait world !

An empty box of Roses

2011-05-02T06:57:00.001-05:00

Cadbury's Roses are a British institution, a delicacy on par with Tea, Worcestershire Sauce and yes Fish and Chips.

This battered box of chocolates lasted 10 mins in my office before being devoured by my colleagues in Hoffman estates (nr. Chicago, IL). Coincidentally, its near to the US HQ of Kraft - the new owners of Cadbury.

Dear Kraft US - your market research is complete...launch this brand in the US and I'm sure it will be huge.

What Marketers can learn from #RoyalWedding, Twitter & #cnntv

2011-04-29T05:33:00.005-05:00

Its 4.53 AM CST (10.53 in London) and I've just been woken up by wife's alarm as she dashes to the tv and logs into facebook, while I remain in bed and bleary eyed fumble for my phone and onto twitter.

The royal wedding proves that when you have a remarkable event and a motivated community people will connect and participate. This ranges from the truly devastating events in Japan, uprisings and political upheavals in the middle east and Africa and well yes who designed Kate Middleton's dress.

Right now the top 10 trending topics (aka brands) are of course all British including #BuckinghamPalace #ClarenceHouse #Royal Wedding and...... #Cnntv !!!???

So, despite the fact it's a (pardon the pun) Royal Flush, CNN have mastered the art and science of motivating their global audience of (consumers) to act, and simply use a hashtag. To be honest, I was expecting to see BBC.

I'm surprised at my own behavior, as well as the masterstroke of CNN. It goes to show that brands which understand their equity and consumer will thrive in this diverse new media web 2.0 age.......

Now ive woken up a bit I'm off to see that dress live...

Stop press.......Its BBC America on the TV....British marketers may once again rejoice.

Marshall Headphones - watch out Bose

2011-04-16T06:10:00.020-05:00

In a 'sea of sameness' - and dominated by plastic see through packaging, the possession of a distinctive brand equity will help you win.

The genius move by Marshall Headphones is to hide their product in a brown cubed box design.... that provokes instant curiosity.

My compulsion to discover - and open the box proved insatiable. Although I like my Bose, I really want these as well! Marshall simply oozes lovemarks status.

Milwaukee Day

2011-04-14T23:04:00.000-05:00

could this go viral ?.... As i write there are 408 facebook fans...and with a population of 600K+ in Milwaukee theres a huge community who have pride in their city and could be part of this movement.... An example of marketing at its very grass roots. Brand Managers take note

http://milwaukeeday.tumblr.com/

Unusual Suspects

2011-04-10T00:06:00.000-05:00

Which brands did you instantly recognize in this Identity Parade? (police lineup to my US readers!)..... proudly on display at one of the worlds busiest airports.

Not being able to control your brand message is a pretty hard concept to accept. So it must be nauseating for Coca Cola and Volvic to have their brand equity subverted and be cast as prime suspects at airport security checkpoints....Perhaps it pays to be mediocre after all !

The Social Network II

2011-03-04T09:00:00.003-06:00

"I was only saying the same things as my friends who work here, I just hit enter and went for lunch. I deleted it straight away, but my boss didn't see that as proper apology".

It's only a matter of time before Anderson Cooper announces the sad but true 'sign of the times' faux pas....A sorry tale of the poor Gen Z multitasking intern who inadvertently announced on Linked In (while also auto posting on their blog, and twitter feed) their hatred of their employer, boss and leadership using sms profanity of the most vulgarity ......

No, not a deleted Facebook movie scene, but an observation of Linked In. A once simple, uncluttered and intuitive professional networking platform that is transforming into a business social network. Now filled with a landscape full of dashboards, ads, and tabs, and peppered with likes, comments, pictures (of babies ..perhaps) and youtube videos.

Is the brand manoeuvring its way into future convergence with the hyper-stimulated, hyper-sticky, informational super-channel-esque - Facebook behemoth ? Fiction ? Melodrama ?....Partial truth ? Irrelevant ! As user numbers continue to increase and embrace the new experience, the business led by Jeff Weiner is an indellible disruptive force heading for an IPO.

As I write this post, ad agency planners the world over are scheming to uncover killer insights, brand managers vy to launch their first hybrid campaign, and media mavens are seeding content amongst the most coveted 'sociopro' influencers......

I used to love Linked In as I knew exactly why I was there, what I was going to do and how long I was going to spend there. Yet the online version look and feel changes, added features, and constant refreshes echo the rhythm of Facebook, and I sense its now too late for them to dial back. My only solace is the Iphone version - (the app development team are genius architects for mobile).

Failure to understand their brand equity and user base may lead to the creation of a 'Bring back old Linked In' group. Start to worry if a cut the rope 'corporate ladder edition' replaces the 'People you may know' section......

PS, while the opening quotation is currently fictitious, I sadly predict to see it reported true pretty soon.

Fan us

2011-02-06T14:11:00.001-06:00

After 3 months of pondering I decided to post this picture because I still can't fathom why someone would fan a mall ..... Thoughts?

Stopping Power is all you need

2011-02-06T00:42:00.001-06:00

A good claim has to stop you and address a purchase barrier or at least make you feel enough to provoke a response. I found this claim from Bodum to be disturbing, irritating, yet delightfully disruptive to my perception of how I feel about my choice to use the Nespresso brand.

I'm sure it adds cost so I would love to know if Jimmy John's measure the effectiveness or impact of this simple, playful, genius placement......After all a sandwich, is just a sandwich... right ?

#YearInReview - Brand Curious: most read posts of 2010

2010-12-30T11:51:00.007-06:00

In case you missed some of them, here are your favourite posts this year:

a review of the must have social media marketing book Wikipedia + Mentor + Superpower = #micromktg
My unshakable relationship with a coffee brand Loyalty beyond reason = Nespresso
Product innovation of the year candidate ?? Free #Summermash IPhone Bumper
The catwalk comes to the nappy (diaper) category the war of nappies
A simple and effective brand refresh How to refresh brand equity without alienating your audience
Comeback brand of the year How #oldspice rescued 30' ads
The best Christmas ad bar none this year Hyundai vs #Pamplamoose = outlandish soundclash
A must read marketing rant The trouble with swatting flies
Delightful US (football) world cup coverage ESPN world cup so far so good
Hmmm.... already out of date Twitter tips ! Twitter 101 smart twips and top links

Xmas 2010 Ad of the year: Hyundai vs #Pamplamoose = outlandish soundclash

2010-12-02T23:17:00.003-06:00

Love it. Quite possibly the most emotive, engaging and irreverant TVC's of the year.... Great work by the brand, the band and of course the agency and production company Innocean Worldwide Americas and Lemonade Media.

Enjoy all 3 of them.

Dream Big at the Langham Place - Kowloon HK

2010-11-14T11:09:00.040-06:00

A hotel is a hotel is a hotel right ?......Staying in a 5 star hotel is always a memorable experience but often not remarkable ...as the pampering and door opening is no different to any other premium experience.

The Langham Place in Kowloon Hong Kong is remarkable because It was able to use smart branding and simple communication - executed immaculately to catch my imagination like no other hotel.

....During the evening turnover service you get a chamomile tea in cup shaped envelope with the message "Dream big".

I like to call this place the Langham Palace , because its more than a place.

#Beatcancer

2010-10-16T22:45:00.000-05:00

a simple show of support to raise awareness of a disease that has touched my family and many more.

Cereal Dissonance

2010-10-14T22:01:00.001-05:00

In search of a new breakfast cereal brand experience I opted for the eloquent yet mysterious sounding - Product 19 (by Kellogg's). It seemed a plausible substitute to Kellogg's Special K, which continues to cause serial dissonance when I purchase it - in the same way that lip balm, and moisturiser causes agitation and frustration that male targeted options remain few and far between.....Anyway, while I haven't actually opened the box yet, I am enamoured with the claim of "Live Better. Live 19".....( years beyond expectation perhaps...)

Stop Press .... after a closer inspection of the front cover I discover a yoga lady subtly blended into the artwork....and then low and behold I notice the 80's-esque cycle lady on the back cover....so I guess I was naive ..where is the (adult) male cereal in grocery stores ????

(the trouble with) Swatting Flies

2010-09-26T12:37:00.002-05:00

Isn't it curious that the harder you try to swat a fly the more it seems to anticipate your movements and preempt your action?

Marketing buzzwords are plentiful, but when I heard the 'attention war' during a presentation by James Andrews (aka the key influencer) my ears pricked up, and I found myself exonerated from defending the status quo.

What if you reverse your brand strategies to focus on being found rather than incessantly trying to find people ?
What if you work only on tactics that elicit discovery and not tactics designed to interrupt ?
What if instead of trying to out-do your competition you simply out-do yourself over and over and over again by delighting only a minuscule group of consumers?
Why try ever harder to combat 'attention attrition' ? What if you just listened more to find out where people are spending their time ? how about an act of generosity - by helping them have more of that precious time.

Wouldn't that be ample reason to reward you with a little more attention?

Wikipedia+Mentor+Superpower = #Micromktg

2010-08-23T23:49:00.006-05:00

DISCLOSURE: As a Twitter follower of Greg Verdino I was one of 10 tweeps who offered to provide a review on Amazon for receiving a free (and signed) copy of his new book Micromarketing. I honestly think you should check out the book, because it was a page turner and so I post here the extended version of my Amazon review.

Starting off with an introductory experience that every marketer can relate to delivers the implied presumption that you will proceed to read a manifesto, where Greg Verdino dismantles sticking with the traditional mass approach as a winning marketing strategy. He eloquently constructs his propositions that small is the new BIG, and micro is the new MASS, neither of which are new ideas, but are ample incentives to make you read on.

As any good 'guru' his value add comes via a new spin on micro marketing - re defining it as a sum of micro cultures, explosion of microcontent and the rise of insidious micro mavens that build (and kill) brands in real time. Yes! it's dramatic stuff, and in the light of the recent double rainbow and bed intruder Gregory Brothers music phenomena (as reported by Reuters) his very first viral example in the book "sasquatch" dancing man is spookily apt and validates that he's on to something.

The chapter titles, section headers and buzzwords earn and maintain your attention (my favourite coming from chapter 4 "Feed Me, stream me, like me, link me" (inspired by a U2 song title perhaps?) . Verdino initially romances you with charm, passion, sweetish words of wisdom, and subtle tones that leaves a twinkle in the eye.

Yes he's that good - and with skepticism now subdued his arguments lead further away from the comfort zone/status quo (antiquated safe plays of the 4P's traditional marketing blah blah). For example, the replacement for reach and scale is depth - and the commensurate new desire to establish lengthy rich engagements with small audiences.

Each of these propositions transform into sexy stealthy epithets that pummel you into a state of acceptance, anticipation and eventual awakening. In addition, Verdino perpetually ladens the book with multiple experiences and emotive examples where micro strategies and real time mindsets trump macro tactics, and in doing this introduced several that I was completely unaware of most notably of a fellow Brit called Lauren Luke.

This leads to the only gripe I have with this book; namely that it is (over)jam packed with proof points, examples and cases with corresponding web links. Perhaps they were planted to overwhelm 'uber-skeptics', or to futureproof the content, but to a 'micro' convert such as myself it left me feeling that the pace and vitality of the main message was being constrained . Perhaps, an interactive eBook/vook version would be the immaculate solution and premium priced masterstroke ! STOP PRESS on page 220 you will find a link to enhanced content ( and of course for free) ...

I lie, one other trivial gripe is that on page 200 he misspells Procter & Gamble (incorrectly using Proctor) - bound to aggravate all P and G readers!

I had fun writing this review, and it proved as effortless as absorbing the multiple micro messages that Verdino seeds. If you're a brand manager, social media expert, CEO or even small business owner who thinks you've seen and heard it all for free (in multiple blogs) then....you just might be right, and good luck on cataloging and synthesizing it all. But if you truly truly believe you don't need another social media/marketing book - I urge you to think again.

Think of #micromktg as 1/3 'grown up' Wikipedia, 1/3 nurturing mentor (uniquely poised, respected, and with a bountiful repository to deliver persuasive democratizing and honest wisdom) and 1/3 (not so) secret superpower in rendering 'old school' thinking impotent.

Armed with a hugely disarming writing style I found that Verdino was as provocative as business(ish) authors such as Gladwell and Godin, but wasn't as polarizing. I recommend Micromarketing as THE go to book that bridges marketing and social media, a book you urge your VP or CMO to place at the top of the reading list for your team, and the book you reference in agency meetings whenever 'one-upmanship' is necessary. To repeat myself yes this book is that good !

Free #summermash Iphone bumper

2010-08-11T23:20:00.002-05:00

Why spend money on an Iphone bumper!....Simply repurpose one of those rubber wrist bands that they gave out at #summermash....Kudos to @scottfmurphy for co-creating this idea at the at the Chicago Mashable event.

The war of Nappies

2010-08-11T22:56:00.001-05:00

A brand war between designer brands is underway.....The cool twist is that its happening in the aisle where you find nappies (aka diapers to my US! readers). A recent visit to my local Target made me realise that the days of boring functional benefit driven (poo catching claims) are long gone in the category.

The largest collection for this season belongs to Cynthia Rowley with c. 15 styles for Pampers.

Emotive marketing that focuses on child development and peaceful sleep may be taking a back burner for a while. So, are babies getting vain.... or is it actually their parents (rhetorical i know)? But it did provoke the thought - how do the parents actually justify spending more for stylish nappies vs their regular brethren?

Could the cache of Fashionistas and celebrity style be enough to get parents to consistently invest more in the category? With two huge brands such as Huggies and Pampers slugging it out you know that this will be a battle worth watching.

Almost Bigger than Michael Jackson ?

2010-07-22T23:27:00.001-05:00

Well Old spice just might be ! Just over a year after Michael Jackson took over the music charts, Old Spice is dominating the viral video charts and tearing up records with the top 4 spots this week and 42 million views according to Ad Age (113m for the total campaign).

.......Wieden & Kennedy take a bow, Isaiah Mustafa take a rest and.....Old Spice brand team please take it easy on the competition !

How #OldSpice Rescued 30' ads

2010-07-20T22:55:00.008-05:00

Old Spice has set new standards for viral video making and delivered amazing stats stats yet the current YouTube campaign is under scrutiny due to poor product sales...Leading to the inimitable question - does advertising work ? and is this campaign truly effective ? Here are 4 reasons why I salute Wieden and Kennedy + the folks at P and G, (also shared on the beancast in response to topics for their podcast on 7/18).

1. Creativity and Context are powerful

I'm intrigued as to why a sales decline on the brand or product satisfaction/relevance comments are thrown at Old Spice. As a marketer, I simply watch in wonderment at the magnificence of this phase of the campaign. It is truly immense on an insight, engagement, creative, intelligence, and context level. All this originating from the allegedly dead 30' ad !

2. Paying into the brand Equity

There should be no criticism from a brand or marketing perspective. If the campaign delivers against the brand equity and measures that were set - then bravo to all. I feel that effectiveness should be measured in a way that explicitly seeks to capture all benefits to the brand, irrespective of sales or market share change.

For example, lets quickly look at this from the Sales department perspective - they can now call their retail partners in the full confidence that their brand has been elevated, eulogised and is front page news. The call or visit will run smoother, the promo plan will be seen more favourably, the orders will be placed more promptly.

Now Imagine being the Old Spice brand management folks who are now able to show metrics that are transparent to product development, design, finance, customer services....they can now more easily demonstrate the value they can add, they can show engagement growth, viewers, new prospects, influence change, brand image improvement etc etc.

3. Marketing Innovation does NOT require a new product

For me the best part of all this is that it has happened on a low tech commodity product (compressed fragranced air). Clearly highly creative people re-envisioned the way to look at the category and how to communicate WITHOUT needing a new product ......sometimes we just might too quickly seek comfort in new products, when often there is a world of opportunity to simply stop, think and act differently.

4. Raising the Bar
The challenge has been set to every brand mananger and marketing/ad agency out there. What are you doing to get a consumer to care about your brand, that doesn't involve the easy option of maintaining the status quo or doing the same old thing?

That's the kind of challenge that makes me LOVE what I do.

Disclosure - despite being a former P and G employee, yet a competetitor deodorant brand user, the thoughts here are without any predetermined bias for or against Old spice.

Sharp copywriting from Proactiv

2010-07-16T23:08:00.000-05:00

Its not often that a Billboard catches my eye, but this one off Ohio St. in Chicago did.

Sharp wordplay, sharp photography and new territory for a brand that is now taking on the 'beauty' big hitters such as Procter and Gamble and tapping into the more conventional aspirational messaging approach. Read more perspective here from a New York Times piece. Interesting to see if they divert more funds to this strategy.

ESPN World cup - so far so good

2010-06-30T21:05:00.000-05:00

ESPN's coverage if the World Cup and football in general is first class. I'm particularly enjoying the integration with mobi tv where you can watch live games via the iphone app and the quality and reliability of the service has been great. Only downside is there is no Ipad version....now that would be truly impressive.

Quitting Facebook

2010-05-22T15:03:00.000-05:00

Will there be a mass revolt to leave Facebook - or will Facebook prove savvy enough to fix the privacy issues and still remain 'sticky' ? This post is my response to a great question raised by Bob Knorpp at the Beancast - you can find his full question here.

Quitting Facebook

This issue is so emotive, hence upfront I must say that I empathize with people's frustrations, however I feel a lot of the sentiment is a function of a lack of understanding of the new digital age that we are in....Here's why.

On a personal level I am shocked at the lack of inhibition and naivety people have when they use a medium such as Facebook. Having seen the expression "get off my Facebook" a few times - it is clear that some people have become desensitized to any implication of 'Liking/following/friending' a person, product, brand, company, or cause, (or poking them for that matter !). Doing this on a platform such as Facebook is intrinsically a public and not a private event.

Change your mindset

You can guess where I am going .......We are proceeding through a digital revolution. With this change (eg akin to the industrial revolution) the old mindset of how things "ought" to be, how people "should" behave, how relationships "should" work no longer hold true.

Nobody told you the rules have changed !

It is up to the individual to adapt. Facebook is ultimately a powerful and open communication tool with the world, and if you want to keep things private - you must now resort to meeting face to face, sending a letter or even making a phone call ! Under the digital rules it is fine to change your mind - but up to (you) the individual to know how to undo or unlike or unfriend (and don't be surprised if it is not as easy as you would like it to be !!). Remember the rules changed when 'free' services such as Facebook and Myspace and Twitter installed themselves as indispensable platforms - that have greater reach and influence than tv.

I have amazingly popular and friends who were wise before their time and understood that to retain their privacy and avoid any risk of compromising they simply chose not to: blog, tweet, buzz, digg, or use facebook etc !

Staying Close

On a professional level Facebook (as per blog's, podcasts etc) have been transformative, and are an invaluable listening, learning and connecting tool. Ironically, in some companies these types of website could be on a 'blocked' list - yet are a way to build absolute closeness with consumers.

In conclusion.... I am not quitting Facebook, but I empathize with those that want to.

I am NOT an Olympic Champion

2010-05-19T21:13:00.000-05:00

Every day we are bombarded messages that are supposed to inspire us to do and be better...so here are two perfect posts to help you get there.

1) Seth Godin reminds us that the hardest part is the last 10% of any task...which of course he concludes is where you should make the most effort, find the link here.

2) So then I read this amazing post on the BBC about Carolina Kluft (an Olympic champion) who found winning so boring, she changed to an event she has no chance of winning.....

Confused ? You shouldn't be, as I guess when you are an Olympic champion a commitment to making the most effort can only mean challenging yourself in an event where you are NOT the Olympic champion......

50% NOT Seth Godin...more books that provoke action

2010-05-01T13:19:00.001-05:00

Completing my list of 6 books to buy ..here are the reamining 3 that got me agitated, engaged and excited......and happen not to be written by Seth Godin.

What Got You Here Won't Get You There: How Successful People Become Even More Successful (Marshall Goldsmith)

Its a smart choice to listen to the Audio book version of this, as the author has a way to get your attention, and shake you out of your complacency on the subject matter. Expertly written and full of useful tips on how to succeed in your career - notably what to change, do less of and the key things to do more of. Its a book that will be trusty accompanyment and a repeat read (listen) - for the rest of your career.

What Should I Do with My Life?: The True Story of People Who Answered the Ultimate Question (Po Bronson)

Whilst the title is a little misleading this is truly a a book of hope, charm, and intensity that leads the reader to reflection. The book is a series of interviews with people who tell their story, often of how they changed or discovered a new life path, be it early or late in life. An engaging read, and one that will force you to re-think what you are currently doing with your life - you have been warned !

Outliers: The Story of Success (Malcolm Gladwell)

This book challenges the perceived wisdom that self determination is the lead reason for success. By studying the phenomenom of 'outliers' Gladwell uncovers the pivotal role of environmental factors and biases that lead to outstanding achievements. A great book that helps you see the real 'facts', and an excellent read for those who like to challenge the status quo.

50% Seth Godin - Books That Provoke Action

2010-04-04T10:37:00.001-05:00

Seth Godin's writing provokes me into action each and every time, hence no surprise that 3 of the 6 books I'm recommending are by him, so check them out. Catch the remaining 3 books in my next post.

Purple Cow, New Edition: Transform Your Business by Being Remarkable

The test of a good business book are if the core principles stand the test of time. In this case, c.9 years after publication the edict to be 'remarkable' holds truer than ever, (although innevitably) some of the brand examples are beginning to date a little. Godin comprehensively undermines the traditional mass tv driven advertising business model, and as the sage he is - the social media phenomena has proven his core arguments to be fundemantally true.

Tribes: We Need You to Lead Us

Tribes doesn't stray too far from the 2 topics of leadership and avoiding mediocrity. Seth Godin hammers home the vital importance of being remarkable and NOT wasting your resources on simply maintaining the status quo. He makes it plain that mediocrity is equivalent to invisibility and you cant help but love him for pointing that out.

The Dip: A Little Book That Teaches You When to Quit (and When to Stick)

This book helps educate when you should quit and move on or to stick and push through. Seth keeps it short and focussed so you only need 2 hours or so to absorb the key learnings. Perfect!

Help nourish your brain

2010-03-23T21:23:00.000-05:00

It dawned on me that its amazing what a claim can do in the home, and in this case - in my fridge.

The best claims are:

1.simple

2.have stopping power

3.believable, (or at least make you feel that its believable)

4.make you buy

5.make you come back and buy again

" Help nourish your brain" from the Minute Maid brand is a remarkable claim. It wins my attention, makes me use and buy, and beats "Natural spring water" each and every time....

Throwback is back

2010-03-22T22:41:00.002-05:00

I got really excited in my post about the Pepsi Throwback campaign earlier this year, and now the cereal brands have caught my eye.

The packaging artwork with old skool cartoons are so much more captivating simply because they look hand drawn and lovingly cultivated - although to what extent they represent todays 'family' highlights how the perspective of that era has evolved so dramatically.

Disrupting Relationships

2010-03-21T14:56:00.011-05:00

Disrupting Relationships
I'm an ardent Man Utd Fan and was content to scour 3 channels via my provider Comcast(ESPN, Fox Soccer Channel and formerly Setanta USA) to catch their games (of football ...soccer). I have been forced out of my comfort zone this month with the demise of Setanta USA, leading to the creation of Fox Soccer Channel Plus. The downside has been that Comcast have not signed up the channel.

Building Relationships
The good news is that Foxsoccer.tv has an online service that is showing games and at $4.95 for 24 hours access is reasonably priced, and I was able to tolerate (just !) a few of the glitches during transmission of today's Man Utd vs Liverpool game.

The Dilemma
Today was the first time that I contributed to the decline of 'tv' as a broadcast medium. Comcast now have a dilemma, as a disruption to the status quo has led their consumer (me !) elsewhere and I don't see a reason to return them. The savvy content providers will serve their audience, and build relationships with them directly........Now Comcast have to make an effort to win my custom back .. eg make it easy for me to have online access to my sports channels as part of my package and perhaps I will return...

Dont forget... to do something different

2010-03-09T00:32:00.003-06:00

Last week I posted on the 3six5 project about a day of attempting to do things differently. It was a truly liberating experience that is still lingering in my mind, and you can read the full post here .

Al Gore is watching

2010-03-07T16:11:00.000-06:00

If you're ever looking for an example of effective communication this perfect sign at Mocha coffee shop in Milwaukee does the job. Suffice to say I only took 1 napkin.

Fast Company - Masters of Retention

2010-03-05T22:48:00.013-06:00

I happily completed my subscription renewal to Fast Company yesterday. The trouble is, for over 3 months I haven't told them my new address, but they still knew the correct place to send the invoice. So now I'm puzzled - why are they still sending the actual magazine to my old address ? which is then being redirected to my new address ? I guess it doesn't matter, because masters of retention do two simple things well:

have a remarkable product (service etc..)
use implied permission to hold on to their consumers.

I wouldn't expect any less from them....Now if only they could incentivize me to actually mail the renewal form back.

Persistent innovation at its best - Gorillaz (Stylo)

2010-03-04T23:38:00.003-06:00

Gorillaz have nicely reinvented themselves and now launch their animated avatars into the 3D human universe in true hyper-real surreal and magnanimous fashion.

Just to take it to the next level - add Mos Def and Bobby Womack on vocals, and use Bruce Willis in the video and you have drama that rivals 24 and the Grammys combined.......take a look here.
.

Breathe (the ad)

2010-02-27T20:07:00.009-06:00

I love this ad. I saw it for the first time today. I stopped what I was doing. I watched. I pressed re-wind on the DVR, and again (and agin). I then tweeted about it (and spent 10 minutes wrestling with my iphone to copy and paste the link), and now I'm blogging about this ad. I FEEL and THINK differently than before. I'm actually interested in what CSX do. Yes I now I'm actually interested in a freight company's 'green' message, and they helped me believe it. I like the way they said it... Advertising works when it tells you meaningful stories..... Good job by Mullen.......

">

SuperBowl 44 Ads - The first Top 5 winners

2010-02-07T20:24:00.022-06:00

So here we go....

1. MOST LIKELY TO DRIVE CONSIDERATION: HomeAway.com ! Never heard of them before, and now I have 'binged' them (c'mon google is getting all the attention) !
2. MOST FUNNY: Car Max/Doritos - great use of humour and making the drama about the product benefit that consumers love them for.
3. MOST ON EQUITY: VW – totally on their US equity with an irreverent attempt to bring alive their relevance. The use of Stevie and Tracy Morgan was the twist you weren’t expecting that left a little twinkle in the eye. I would love to see this aired in Germany - its just so different they wouldn’t have a clue.
4. MOST TALKED ABOUT: Google, clearly a grown up ad going for the “mega brand”/”epic “ ad – that would elevate their brand as market leader.
- I felt I knew where the story was going and where it was going to end – so the question for me is authenticity Was it really authentic ?
5. MOST EFFECTIVE PLACEMENT: Doritos (Gym) 30 sec ad after a Saints Interception you deserve that piece of luck if you go after so many spots.

Your comments please.

The Blanket with sleeves

2010-02-01T21:17:00.011-06:00

If there is ever a case of gaining attention you have to respect what Snuggie is achieving. Snuggie has clearly captured hearts and minds, even if it wasn't the first its gained the most attention. Cozy Blanket needs a much more compelling proposition because claiming "the original" won't influence consumers.

Pepsi Throwback

2010-01-23T09:55:00.007-06:00

Pepsi are on to a great idea with their Throwback launch.

1. Give people a piece of nostalgia, but in a way that piques curiosity and creates excitement.
2. Keep it simple and find a claim that is truly distinctive "Made with real sugar", in the face of the healthy eating mindset - the perfect 'disruptive' claim !
3. Keep it limited - lasts til Feb 22nd 2010. Check out more below.

http://www.pepsithrowbackhub.com/

You can call me Al

2010-01-02T12:41:00.005-06:00

I welcomed in the new year with my wife and 4 friends at a restaurant. Music was provided by a 3 piece band.

Unfortunately a lot of the music they played wasn't to my taste and the vocalist wasn't exactly the best singer, especially during a rather painful (yet entertaining) rendition of Paul Simon's 'You can call me Al' (I have truly never heard a trumpet played that badly in my life).

Don't get me wrong I'm not complaining, because I had a great time, and I get the sense that the band did as well. They played with enthusiasm and with a feel for the crowd. They played stuff that filled the dance floor, and emptied the dance floor, stuff that people liked, and stuff that people didn't know. But they kept playing and they kept trying.

Were they remarkable ? Not necessarily in the way that will take them to the top of the Billboard 100, but enough for me to enter 2010 with joy and anticipation, because they played with passion, and that is priceless.

Do you agree ?

2009-12-29T20:58:00.003-06:00

The new #LinkedIn 3.0 (for Iphone) and the new web platform look and feel very 'facebookesque' is there something they're not telling us ?

Its ok to be 'Good Enough'

2009-12-18T23:16:00.029-06:00

So I finally relented, and tried Starbucks Via today. Over the last 5 years my pallet has adapted to love only Espresso based coffee, but that was not an available option at an event I attended today.

Out of curiosity I tried Via instead of the brewed Coffee option, and was stunned to find it so drinkable. So much so that I was tempted enough to have a refill - an unexpected positive experience. Yet it wasn't really so unexpected, because they keep telling me it tastes better than brewed coffee...but that just was not believable until now.

For sceptics of Via like myself they could have done much more to get me to try it, to provoke me out of my apathy/rejection.

But how ? As I follow Starbucks on Twitter, they could have sent me a DM or @ message, and I wouldn't have minded that, because I'm enough of a fan to follow them. If they had incentivized me I probably would have driven to a store flashed my Iphone app and tried a free sample, but they didn't.
Ultimately they had my permission to change my mind because I had already reached out to them through my Twitter follow and my Iphone app, but in the end they got me by accident.

I struggle with the fact that by only delivering a 'good enough' (according to me) product they managed to change my perception and make me an advocate. I also struggle with how Starbucks is re-framing its coffee Equity. Do they stand for great tasting coffee or good enough coffee ? Do they stand for a great experience or more frequent good enough experiences ? I think you know which one to choose here ...right ?

Revealed:The Linchpin's (not so) secret weapon

2009-12-03T23:31:00.029-06:00

Joyfulness Restored

Following my previous post "Black Friday and the GPS Blues", joyfulness has been restored and marketing once more triumphs.

(not so) Secret Weapon to monetary attraction
Seth Godin has smartly cultivated his fans in order to launch his new book "The Linchpin" with a simple yet compelling formula (with his actions in brackets):

Functional Benefit (book) +

Emotional benefit (Acumen Fund - Charity endorsement) +

Motivation (limited offer of 3000 + request to blog a review)

= Monetary Attraction

The formula is masterful ...savour, digest, share and reapply.

Black Friday and the GPS Blues

2009-12-01T21:44:00.018-06:00

Black Friday

During Black Friday the new Rhianna album Rated R was available for $3.99 on Amazon.com. You could also have used a $3 e-voucher which meant for the princely sum of $0.99 you would get the album. Is this a great deal or does it make me question if the album is any good or not ?

For any brand this is a slippery downward slope..Rhianna may have sold lots of copies, but is the consumer being conditioned to value her product for less in the future ?

GPS Blues

The GPS manufacturers such as Garmin and Tom Tom are having a severely tough time of maintaining the (premium) value of their products as price competition drives down the $$ value of each and every product innovation in days ...let alone weeks, as reported by daily finance.

Value for me experiences

Spending time building engaging (value for me) experiences for consumers is a way out of this challenge - with a front of mind brand being Apple.

Less obvious and more interesting examples from Fox such as "24", and the band Sade are case studies of how to achieve this by 'cultivating' their fans.

You wont find these cases in the marketing books or too many blogs.....yet, but I may just have to change that....

Soldier of Love - Sade the brand queen

2009-11-25T21:43:00.021-06:00

Very few brands can gain attention after c.10 years without consistent communication with their their consumers. Sade has managed that.

Very few brands can re-create their visual identity and be incredibly captivating. Sade has managed that with the cover art for their new album.

What brand would easily generate 1 million sales in its first week after being absent for a decade. Yes, you've guessed ! Sade.

If Sade were a product its brand equity would be off the scale, by being unique, authentic and the best at what they do.

Marketers - start emulating brands like Sade - the brand queen(and kings).

Gladwell book: $25 vs free - experience is priceless

2009-11-08T17:49:00.017-06:00

Malcom Gladwell's latest book - what the Dog Saw can cost you nothing if you go to his website and download his articles from the New Yorker. (I wont include the link...just to make you work a little bit harder if you want to read his stuff for free).

I chose to invest $25 to download the 'priceless' mp3 audio book version, and Its money truly well spent. I get to hear the author breathe fresh life into his work, and hear him re-tell all the stories. I get to feel what he felt when writing it, and share his joy, surprise, fear and confusion. I get to build a relationship with him (of sorts), and it only cost me $25.

The publishing industry is in shock, and charging for content you can find for free is pretty audacious. With e-books (and Amazon) keeping prices at c. $10 it will be a tough task to create more value via price rises.....and I fear for authors who don't look to innovate with these new book mediums.

But if you know your consumer well enough you realise that they will pay more for a special experience such as a 'tried and tested' audio book....As I said - you can get it all for free, but who wants free when you can get true experiential value for such a small investment.....

Just do it

2009-10-11T19:36:00.007-05:00

There aren’t too many opportunities to immerse yourself in the business and marketing world at the movie theatre, so take advantage of two great films showing in selected theatres right now.

The September Issue

This narrates the creation of American Vogue's seminal ‘September’ issue (in 2007). The standout drama comes from the fascinating relationship between Anna Wintour and Grace Coddington, where methodical and meticulous editing alongside visionary creativity coexist - beautiful and truly fascinating.

Art and Copy

The film is a masterpiece that tells the magic stories behind seminal ad campaigns such as ‘got milk’, and of course 'Just Do it' from Nike. It's so much fun to revel in the journey of the campaigns and become mesmerized by the genius and talent of the protagonists.

The simple way I connect both films is that in these industries breakthrough success can only arise from three things:

• passion for what you do
• rejection of mediocrity
• Unbridled joy at expressing your creative self

Check them both out now !

The World's softest sock

2009-10-04T20:30:00.008-05:00

So what makes a great claim?

1.It must be simple
2.It needs to have stopping power
3.It needs to be believable, (or at least make you feel that its believable)
4.It needs to make you buy
5.It needs to make you come back and buy again

Well this one certainly meets all 5 criteria. My wife has purchased 4 pairs of these socks in the last 4 months, and at c. $8-10 a pair (in stores) they certainly are high margin for the manufacturer and retailer alike.

I cannot figure out how they substantiate this claim "world's softest sock", unless of course they test each and every sock in the world for softness (unlikely)…..or perhaps this counts as ‘marketing puffery’ (more likely)?

In any case its fantastic marketing, because it works !

Twitter 101 – Smart Twips and Top Links

2009-09-21T23:52:00.009-05:00

As a fan of Twitter and self taught user (via trial and error) I have collated dozen's of sources to write a 2 page guide called "Twitter 101 - Smart Twips and Top Links". It's ideal for beginners and intermediate users. Find it at the following link.

Hope it helps and please leave comments on the blog.

Mraketing – how to make Sreach work for you….

2009-09-18T14:44:00.007-05:00

So now I got your attention didn’t I ! Think about it - how often do you miss-spell a word in an email – 50% of the time ? How about miss-spelling a word in a search ? I would guess its MOST of the time.

So If marketing is about gaining attention, and search marketing is about defining and choosing the optimum words for your 'bsusines' or 'barnd'…then you may be missing a trick by not actively buying miss-spelled words.

Simply, get someone to type your top 5 search words out 20 times, and keep the mistakes for some of your key words!

I credit this highly original thought to the great guys at the Marketing over Coffee site and podcast ….listen to the show dated 16th Sept (at 06:25) to learn more….

Rebranding London - 3 tips for success

2009-09-18T10:48:00.023-05:00

As a former resident I’m a big fan of London. However, it does need to step up its game to keep up with wonderful cities such as Barcelona, Stockholm and Melbourne. So Im watching the rebranding London campaign brief and pitch process with interest. Moving Brands have breathed some great energy into the process by leveraging crowdsourcing - with some amazing ideas sent in : check them out here .

My three tips for success

1. Bring the Outside In
The opportunity to re-brand london should be championed outside of the country – after all visitors and tourists will be the key customers of any new identity.

2. Engage the Masses
Internally, It could be a great opportunity to reach out to the wider community of ‘brands’ that actively touch London – eg airlines, sports teams, retailers that also have a vested stake in the success of the output, tapping into their creative minds and ample resources – encouraging them to submit.

3.Inspire the Kids
This could be a great school project – to get kids engaged in the discussion – reaching out to school bodies to encourage submissions. Good Luck London.

Passion for your brand is infectious

2009-09-04T07:25:00.009-05:00

Dining last night at Busaba Eathi - a Thai restaurant chain in London's Soho last night was a real pleasure. The food, atmosphere (and weather !) were all great last night, but that's not what made the difference.

The difference was the waitress, who had a genuine love and excitement about the food. She was just so keen to recommend her favourites, and delighted to offer sides of the delicious peanut sauce that they have (at no extra charge !). She was fast, efficient and just fantastic at her job, and did it all with passion !

This was not the usual friendly and forced smile, this was not the usual coached and trained service - no this felt genuine, authentic and honest. The positive energy and excitement rubbed off on me, and that makes all the difference to the consumer.

Is Bing faster than Usain Bolt ?

2009-08-26T15:00:00.007-05:00

Ok, so you have to read a bit further to decipher my metaphor (suffice to say that Bing clearly isn’t Bolt)…..‘Google’ - formerly a proper noun, has effectively morphed into a verb. Yes it was slow, but is now widely accepted and understood, entering the lexicon as the verb referring ‘to execute a web search’ (ie they are the Bolt of web search).

Lets Bing it

I first heard the expression ‘let’s Bing it’ – in a sponsored section of the Rachel Zoe Project tv show earlier this week. Having taken a couple of days to ponder my reaction, I still feel that the expression frankly sounds forced and quite odd.

Although Bing has to differentiate itself from Google, (with eg their TV creative poking fun at the shortcomings of other search engines) they now go head on to challenge Googles’ ubiquity. But can you think of anyone who would get what you meant if you said “I binged that ”?.. I don’t think so !...not yet anyway.

Going for Gold

Bing works really well, looks good, and provides different results to Google, and I love any brand that offers me a better solution. So, yes I applaud Microsoft for having the tenacity to set their benchmark as at least a dead heat – and to metaphorically race their Usain Bolt.

Imagine being the Bing CMO who could also change the language – and claim to have turned Bing into a verb from a noun, let’s watch and see.

Brands. Don’t hide the facts - talk about price rises !

2009-08-25T14:00:00.009-05:00

Kudos to Starbucks. I’ve been impressed with the recent Twitter communication from @Starbucks and the intelligent way they have engaged their followers after raising (and also reducing) some prices, by following 2 simple rules.

1.Be Transparent
As smart users of social media they maintained transparency in their communication, and didn’t hide from the facts. The first tweet was a link to an ABC report that was neutral in overall tonality; containing both positive and negative comments about pricing, but also referenced a competitors’ success (McDonalds).

2.Be Authentic
Today they posted a tweet to savvy sugar which gave 10 tips on how to save money, nicely balancing being informative vs overtly sales focused. The tonality of the piece felt authentic, and I love this grown up approach.

By building this kind of relationship with their consumers Starbucks is adopting a winning strategy to strengthen their brand.

No more crumbles…a simple way to loyalty

2009-08-24T23:13:00.007-05:00

No more crumbled Nutrigrain bars for me ! I’m ecstatically buying them at the moment, because they have a promotion – that provides the perfect solution to my perennial squashed snack problem. For years now, when I’m on my travels I have been forced to develop makeshift solutions (eg placing them in my glasses case) to avoid the snack time disaster of a flattened, crumbled, ‘squished’ bar.

The ‘on the go’ carrier is free (with 3 tokens from purchase). I know what you’re thinking …and no despite the fact this piece reads like a press release absolutely no remuneration has been provided by Kellogg’s. This is simply the celebration and joy of a marketeer who just loves it when a brand finds such a simple and emotive way to positively surprise me and solve my problems. By doing this they strengthen their relationship with me, and make me that little bit more loyal, and less likely to buy an own label substitute.

NB Now my only dismay will be if it takes the full 90 days for me to receive it !

In search of the Remarkable: No.1 Dan Roam

2009-08-16T19:33:00.029-05:00

Inspired by Seth Godin, I'm consistently in search of the remarkable, and this pursuit has led me to the fabulous work of Dan Roam.

Start at the Beginning
My visits to Barnes & Noble stores, are underpinned by a compulsion to browse the business section, with my working theory that the market is fuelled by 3 drivers:
a) a race to create the latest buzz word
b) a plethora of new/breakthrough 7-10 step processes that will revolutionize the way we think
c) the emerging/returning Guru with the as seen on ‘Oprah/The View/Fast Money/Today’ sticker on the front cover, (with accompanying endorsements from all the usual suspects).

The Discovery
The above theory is being threatened by Dan Roam’s book ‘The Back of the Napkin – Solving Problems and Selling Ideas with Pictures’. This literally jumped out at me; as my preference for visualizing my thinking is the core of his work - via ingenious illustrations that help captivate and inform. I just Had to buy it, and i dont think he's been on Oprah ...yet !

Demanding Attention
...But... to be honest I haven’t yet read it, as Dan’s book was in the queue - behind ‘Purple Cow’ (Seth Godin) and The Black Swan (Nassim Nicholas Taleb) which I’m attempting to read simultaneously…

Well, not any more, Dan has captivated my attention by writing 4 amazing 'Napkins' which demystify the healthcare reform debate (in the US) - leveraging his truly unique pictorial eloquence and elegance…I’m absolutely hooked, and he’s forced me into choosing him first (and hence placing on hold the other books I'm reading), and that’s what any great brand should achieve…

NB I’ll post a review when im finished, but go and check out the book website

Now that’s what I call a logo

2009-08-16T09:30:00.002-05:00

CNN and Fortune magazine have a great piece highlighting 12 major link brand identity restages of companies with strong examples being Walmart, IBM and Starbucks. I posted last month about how much I love the restage by Pepsi – which shook my complacency with Coke drove me to try Pepsi with the ultimate result of that I switched allegiance to Pepsi. Of the examples the stand out is UPS, providing effortless proof that the colour brown can successfully be used to differentiate and connote positive attributes that engage the consumer and fit a brand so well.

Brand Loyalty in action - Twitter CEO’s Wife Tweeting While in Labor

2009-08-11T13:06:00.008-05:00

I love this Twitter story , a classic example, and a perfect way to spontaneously translate the benefit of a brand into something compelling and emotive.

A perfect definition of brand loyalty and brand equity in action ! PS congrats to the new parents.

Loyalty beyond reason = Nespresso

2009-08-04T18:35:00.011-05:00

There are some brands that just permeate the soul, and in my case one of them is Nespresso. Acquiring the newly launched Citiz machine cost me 5 hours – the time it took for a round trip to my nearest Sur Le Table store (courtesy of the Chicago area traffic). Although the official launch was 1st August I have been enjoying my machine for 2 weeks now.NB this proves the power of exclusive launches works for brands (as Sur Le Table get a 1 month head start on the other retailers).

What did I get: a) exquisite design, b) an in built milk frothing (Aerocino) for Lattes and Cappuccino’s, and c) consistently darn good tasting coffee. I have already overinvested in 200 capsules (when purchasing my welcome pack) – and cant wait for the ongoing interaction with the Nespresso Club.

My next goal is to understand how well the folks at Nespresso build their brand relationship with me.

KISS - Keep it Short and Sweet

2009-08-04T14:34:00.009-05:00

In the current age being time poor is inevitable, with the added burden of yearning for continuous development and learning. There is however a practical way to know what’s hot, and stay ahead of the curve as efficiently as possible.

I have become an immediate fan of Seth Godin, who gets his messages across by owning the mantle of being brutally honest, repetitive and most importantly short and 'sweet'.

In ‘The Dip – the little book that teaches you when to quit (and when to stick)’’ he talks about the same 2 themes over and over, and abruptly stops after only 80 pages. Its successor ‘Tribes – we need you to lead us’ on the other hands runs a little longer (150 pages), but doesn’t stray too much from the 2 topics of leadership and avoiding mediocrity.

In tribute to Seth I leave you with my review of Tribes - in as succinct a manner as possible: provoke, frustrate, enlighten, motivate, enable !

NB I’m waiting on Amazon to deliver ‘Purple Cow’, with the hope it’s equally as short and just as engaging.

Trial: The holy grail !

2009-07-29T21:44:00.001-05:00

Remember the last time you tried a new brand or product - how did you feel?

Let me take you back a week
As a happy Coke zero consumer, (and an occasional Sprite zero drinker) I happened to be thirsty and needed a drink whilst shopping in Target. So on auto pilot I searched for Coke zero and couldn’t find it in the chillers by the checkout (I don’t like Diet Coke).

A sudden appearance
Now, all of a sudden I noticed diet Pepsi. Why did I notice ? Well in the last few months Pepsi has rolled out new designs across the lineup, and they just seem to attract me that little bit more, and as they were the same price as Coke I thought why not try diet Pepsi. Why am I telling you all this, well it’s because I absolutely love diet Pepsi, in fact I prefer it to Coke Zero.

I have defected from Coke zero after one trial of diet Pepsi !

The Power of New
As a brand manager this experience troubles me. It seems that my action was sparked by 3 things:
a) there was no real risk to my decision, after all I was thirsty, so I was desperate to consume anything cold and wet.
b) no incremental cost - ie diet Pepsi was the same price as the Coke equivalent, BUT
c) there was something new and interesting about Pepsi. The new packaging design made me feel different about Pepsi, it made me think differently about Pepsi, it helped interest me enough to try Pepsi.

What's going through your mind ? Do diet Pepsi know that their taste beats Coke zero ? Am I going to revert back to Coke ? Why doesn't Target have Coke Zero in the chillers ?

It feels liberating to try something new, and I guess Pepsi were counting on that simple response.ix74wmjf2r

Billboard.com – how to refresh brand equity without alienating your consumers

2009-07-27T21:13:00.003-05:00

As a music fan one of the sites I visit almost on a daily basis is billboard with core brand equity elements of the 'authority', and 'champion' of the music industry. It’s a great portal for sales and shipment data, charts, news, reviews and general music industry gossip. So on Saturday when I logged in – I was surprised to see a radical site redesign. Granted the old site was tired and driven by banner ad’s, but was easy to navigate and content rich.

A New Business Model

With focus on downloading music (via lala.com), I sense a change of business model – to actively generate user revenue and return visits vs. the ad driven model.

Is it the same brand?
I’m not sure that I like the new ‘MySpace’ feel which undermines the ‘authority’ brand value. The brand clearly needs to evolve and perhaps has succeeded - I have already opened a www.Lala.com account and downloaded music (by Alexi Murdoch).

Marketing works !

This could prove to be a classic marketing case study where a brand:
a) Reinvents itself by refreshing its equity - but not straying too far (simply by adding ‘first choice’) as an additional equity element
b) Ensures it understand how to engage and retain consumers
c) Drives the top and bottom line

Bravo to the marketing folks at Billboard.

Battle of the Beans - Is McCafe Better Than Starbucks ?

2009-07-20T21:00:00.002-05:00

The Good
Having seemingly lost its way as consumers tighten their discretionary spending at last Starbucks is back and returning to their premium (coffee) experience roots via the Inspired by Starbucks brand of stores.

The Bad
For years the key characteristics of:
a) great tasting coffee, and b) a truly unique and engaging experience, have been hindered by the push behind stretching the brand into for example, cold ice filled flavoured drinks - coupled with the sense that the role of the Barista was being diminished .

To make matters worse brands such as Dunkin Donuts and McDonalds (McCafe) have successfully infiltrated Starbucks territory and spent significantly to communicate their offerings. NB in Europe McCafe’s are also nicely decked out in comfy leather seats, wooden tables, and art alongside an offering of muffins, cookies etc.

The Ugly (Truth)
Contrary to the experts at Coffee Review, my current tally is a stirring 20:1 visits in favour of McCafe vs Starbucks. Yes, I freely admit to preferring a McCafe ‘Medium’ Cappuccino vs the ‘Tall’ Starbucks equivalent.

The winning Formula
Lower McCafe price (by 50c or so) + incentive (discount coupons on ‘Medium’ size) = Starbucks disloyalty.

But with hope of the “inspired by Starbucks” franchise on the horizon, perhaps there is a way for Starbucks to win back my business.

REMEMBER THE TIME ? DID OBAMA HELP BUILD BRAND GHANA ?

2009-07-16T09:21:00.001-05:00

Remember the Time ?

So did President Obama’s visit to Ghana help build the Ghana brand ? If yes what can you remember ? Well, a CNN search of ‘Ghana’ today (Thursday July 16th 2009) shows perhaps the message decay has already set in, and the lead story is about a charity that donates used computers to village schools . Great stuff, but what does brand Ghana actually stand for ?

What’s great about Brand Ghana

From the CNN reports I give top marks for clearly identifiable core values of democracy and independence, and a solid brand character of passionate, proud, and hopeful. However, with no clear overall equity – and no real executional elements Im left a little disappointed.

Execution, execution, execution…

Yes there were merchandise and memorabilia (sold locally of course)and even official songs but without a video there’s no chance to generate the 3m+ views that eg the United Breaks Guitars song has achieved on Youtube. The missed opportunity here is develop a visual identity that could travel the world and lodge in peoples minds.

Visual Brand icons

Simple question - from this event what will the international consumer (ie viewer) take away ?

As awareness slips, a simple distinctive visual identity would help recollection. I’m not saying its easy to do, but two great recent examples :
1. Michael Jackson’s memorial service silver glove and aviator shades
2. fireworks and the singing girl from the Beijing Olympics

Unfortunately for Ghana, from president Obama’s trip, all I can clearly remember is, well President Obama in a suit....

THERE’S A GAP IN THE MARKET FOR A ‘SABOTAGE MARKETER’

2009-07-11T13:48:00.000-05:00

I’m not an advocate of negative marketing, but after reading the story "United Breaks Guitars" a Smash Hit on YouTube! (as reported on MSNBC) http://tiny.cc/4NRaN , a contentious thought came to mind - that there could be ‘a gap in the market’ for a new marketing career path - namely sabotage marketing !

Don’t buy it huh, well hear me out…..

1.In the above case United Airlines get lots of coverage and can use it to show how they will learn and improve, and Dave Carroll (the inconvenienced customer) will get some belated compensation.

2.After all we have recently seen a number of cases of very smart and highly impactful ‘crisis management/turnarounds’ to handle negative publicity following inappropriate staff behavior at Domino’s (as reported on Fox) http://tiny.cc/quWZx and a chicken shortage at KFC http://tiny.cc/LpDQq

3.Although I’m not suggesting it was a premeditated strategy in the above examples, the results are impressive. What would stop a brand thinking ‘aha’ perhaps we ‘stage’ a negative experience as a way to build a viral ‘turnaround’ story.

4.That’s why I argue that there’s a gap in the market for the ‘sabotage marketer’, their sole job would be to actively and purposefully stuff up - and yes annoy consumers!

For those inclined - some sabotage marketing tips:

a)have a ready made press release, b) get your CEO Youtube response recorded, and of course - c) your Twitter apology posted, and d) fingers crossed either Wolf Blitzer or Anderson Cooper cover you on CNN.

PS.

Typing the phrase ‘sabotage marketing’ into your search engine produces descriptions not as extreme as the way described in point 4 above…..but you never know, so keep your eyes peeled and let me know if you find any concrete examples.

AND THE WINNER IS….INAUGURAL BRAND CURIOUS LOVEMARK NOMINATION GOES TO NESPRESSO

2009-07-11T11:41:00.002-05:00

Ever since discovering the ‘Lovemarks’ concept from Kevin Roberts (CEO of Saatchi and Saatchi) ie a brand that generates loyalty beyond reason, http://www.lovemarks.com/. I have been weighing up potential candidates of brands that I am unreasonably loyal to, and so the inaugural Global Marketeer nomination goes to NESPRESSO.

The Pro’s: (captivating brand experience)

Nespresso has won my heart because it gives me a delightfully captivating experience each and every time I need it. I’m fanatical enough to visit a store everywhere I travel, and so be it Barcelona, Stockholm, Geneva, Frankfurt or New York, I’m left in awe at how they excel at deliveing a perfect brand representation of style, indulgence, and premiumness in each location. Add to this incredible on line work, eg this new Swiss website gives me access to their ‘experts’, providing yet another level of fascination to what Nespresso means to me.

The Con’s: (waiting for new product launches)

The low point is that new products are launched later in the US vs Europe - I’ve had to wait to get my hands on a new Citiz Machine. Although they’ve been missing out on my coffee capsule sales for the last 3 months, I don’t think they’re hurting right now - despite the current economic crisis sales are up : +20% . These girls and guys are damn good at marketing.