Why Change is Hard...

I've been posting a "Sunday Seth" Godin the past few weeks.

Usually it's something that Seth posted on his blog within the past couple weeks.

Today, I'm digging into his archives back to February 2002:

Why Do Companies Stick With Their Mistakes?

Sorry I haven’t blogged in a while. I’ve been traveling. Which is the inspiration for this piece.

No one is perfect. And no company avoids every mistake. But why do companies make mistakes and then do nothing to get rid of them?

Let me propose five reasons:
1. The people who make the policies don’t actually work in the field.
2. The people in the field aren’t given the ability to influence management without appearing to be troublemakers.
3. Customers aren’t encouraged to speak up, and their suggestions are ignored.
4. It’s easier to make a policy than to undo it.
5. Business is complicated and unless you come up with a clever way to measure the impact of a decision, it’s often difficult to tell if it’s a good idea or not.

I thought of all of these reasons as I flew from one airport to another the last few weeks. My heart goes out to the folks working in the airline industry—they are brave and stalwart folks, and they deserve far more credit than they are getting. I also completely support our efforts to make flying safe. That said, I think the airline security issue is an amazing analogy for what’s wrong at most companies (your company?).

First, it’s obvious that most of us aren’t encouraged to speak up about security at the airport. To do so is to be a troublemaker or even unpatriotic . Just as a company can build a culture that makes it hard to criticize a decision from headquarters, it’s been made clear to us that experts are in charge and we should shut up and support any efforts to stop bad guys from flying.

But the experts aren’t in charge! Many of the decisions getting implemented are nothing but superstitions. One person decides that nail clippers are dangerous but ballpoint pens are not, and airports all over the country begin to confiscate nail clippers. There’s no system in place to measure whether or not this policy is effective, whether or not it is worth the thousand of hours and millions of dollars it costs to enforce. Without a way to measure the effect, we can be confident the policy will last a long time.

Today’s USA TODAY says that a whistleblower is accusing the FAA of failing to follow up on security tests and ignoring bad results when they do perform tests. Has that ever happened at your company?

Because there’s no consistent measurement system, we also discover obvious discrepancies across the system. In Montrose, Colorado, your shoes are x-rayed and you need to remove a fleece sweater (IF it has a zipper). In New York, however, shoes are fine, as are sportcoats and fleeces of any kind. At one airport, the guards confiscated all Duracell batteries, but allowed much larger laptop batteries through. Why? Because of superstition. Because there was no measurement system. Because the person who invented the policy wasn’t standing there discovering whether it was working or not. It seems pretty obvious to me that if it’s important to x-ray shoes in Colorado, it’s important to do it in New York.

One last example and one suggestion. In New York, you can’t walk through security with an open bottle of Poland Spring water in your hand. You have to take a sip to prove it’s not acid or something. But why wouldn’t a bad guy just put the bottle in his carry on? I know, I’m not supposed to ask because that would be undermining the system, but come on!

And my suggestion? Here you go. Let’s put an email address on every x-ray machine in the country. Have it say, “Do you know how to make security screening better? Drop us a line!” Now, imagine hundreds of thousands of very smart businesspeople, all travelers, all security experts or consultants or whatever, constantly upgrading the system by feeding back advice, detecting errors or increasing consistency… hmmm. Imagine that both the person making the suggestion and the operator reading it would get a bonus every time a suggestion made it through and was put into action. I could send a note praising the speed, thoroughness and kindness of the woman who patted me down… or describe three ways to make the system at West Palm Beach go more smoothly. The system would evolve—fast. Hey, it might even work at your company!

So why is an obvious idea like this (evolving fast with fast feedback loops based on data) so hard to swallow? Because managers like to make decisions. Because managers like to be right. Because employees have been trained to want the manager to make the decision, and to want stability in the policies they work with.

As our world goes faster, we need to evolve faster. If we don't, the competition will.

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What He Said Last Year

Roy H. Williams gets paid lots of money for his work and wisdom in the field of advertising and marketing.

One thing he does every week is an email, titled the Monday Morning Memo.

Look at what he wrote about 54 weeks ago:

Slide 210 from The 40 Year Pendulum, a Dec. 2003 presentation of the Wizard of Ads

Social Media: Myth or Miracle?

Back when I was an advertising salesman, business owners would often dismiss me by saying, “I believe in word-of-mouth.” Then with a smug, self-satisfied look, they’d say it again, as though the words made them feel fine and righteous. “Word of mouth is the best form of advertising.”

I almost opened The Word-of-Mouth Advertising Agency in 1984. My plan was to hire people to ride up and down in elevators of tall buildings and say things like, “Have you tried that new café over on Third Street? I hear it’s really good.”

My fantasy response was to say to business owners, “You believe in word-of-mouth? Great! That’s what I sell!”

Today you can invest in a form of quasi-advertising similar to my elevator plan. We hear about it everywhere we go: “Social media is the new marketing.”

But it isn't true.

I just now googled “social media marketing” and clicked the uppermost link. It opens with these words writ large: “(CompanyName) creates and leads powerful social media campaigns that will intelligently rocket your traffic, promote your brand and grow leads and sales with maximize (sic) ROI to give you a feeling of power and importance in the marketplace.”

Really? You’re going to intelligently rocket my traffic and give me feelings of power and importance? Can you add a little something to my biceps while you're at it? (That made me sound petulant, didn’t it? I’m sorry. HypeWeasels bring out the worst in me.)

Lest you think me out of touch, let me remind you that I accurately predicted the impact of social media in my "40-Year Pendulum of Society" presentation in December 2003, long before Facebook, MySpace and Twitter came into being. In January, 2004, I made the same presentation in Stockholm, Sweden, to the great advertising agencies of Europe. From there I took it to Sydney, Australia, then on to Canada and the United States.

Social media is not "the new marketing."

Now before you get all worked up and send me an email explaining why you respectfully disagree, give me a moment to share my definitions for 3 commonly used terms: (I've learned over the years that many disagreements revolve around the lack of any definition of terms.)

1. Advertising is what you buy from the sales department of any media.
2. Public Relations are what you get for free from the news department of any media.
3. Social media is word-of-mouth empowered by internet and cell phone technologies.
(Based on these definitions, the purchase of targeted ads on Facebook would be classified as advertising, not as social media.)

REUTERS – Oct 8, 2009: “Three-quarters of small businesses say they have not found sites such as Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn helpful for generating business leads or expanding business in the past year, according to a survey conducted for Citibank Small Business of 500 U.S. businesses with fewer than 100 employees.”

If you haven't yet invested a few hundred hours in a social media campaign for your business, let REUTERS and me save you the time: Three-quarters of the businesses who have tried it were disappointed in the results.

Are there business examples of success using social media? Of course there are:

1. Using Twitter, businesses are building lists of bargain hunters who want to be the first to know about new offerings. Announce a highly desirable product at a highly desirable price - or free - and you can draw quite a crowd. But that’s always been true, hasn’t it?

2. Barack Obama’s skillful use of social media helped propel him to the presidency. His secret? From the beginnings of their campaigns, Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton were both sending tweets on Twitter. The difference is that when Obama had 44,596 subscribers following his tweets, he was following 46,252 others. Hillary was following no one. Imagine how those 46,252 people felt: “Hillary Clinton wants me to hear her opinions. Barack Obama wants to hear my opinions.”

3. Feasibility studies are hugely enhanced by social media. A single question, “Who likes the flavor of bacon?” resulted in 35,000 possible customers, 10,000 inquiries and 3,500 sales of Bacon Salt.

4. Entertainment has always triggered word-of-mouth. People will stand in the lobby and text their opinions to their friends before ever leaving the theater. Hollywood studios are realizing that opening day is the only day that can be helped by advertising. After that, the movie's future is in the hands of the viewers. Are you in the entertainment business?

Bottom Line:

1. Not every business is equally suited to leverage social media.
2. Many businesses are jumping onto the social media bandwagon without understanding the limitations of the vehicle.
3. Social media is not a replacement for advertising.
4. The most universal benefit of social media is that you can search your own company name (on Facebook, etc.) and find out what's being said about you.
5. The business benefits of social media often fall short of an acceptable return on the time invested.
6. Create ecstatically happy customers and they’ll spread the word through social media. Create disgruntled customers and they’ll spread bad word even faster.
7. Focus your attention on your customers. Social media will take care of itself.

Now go get ready for Christmas.

Roy H. Williams

PS - If you think social media might provide a marketing miracle for you, here's my advice: Search for success stories. Ignore the philosophical treatises, the detailed conceptual explanations and the myriad articles containing tips and advice about how to use it. Look for detailed stories of how actual people have actually used social media to trigger the kinds of results you need. I believe you'll find, as I have, that most of the success stories fall squarely into the 4 categories of success I've listed above.

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Let THEM tell about it.

Some of you use email as a prospecting tool, or as a follow up tool. That's why this piece of advice from MarketingProfs.com is being labeled as "Sales Training".

Three Ways to Maximize the Power of Testimonials in Email Campaigns

The forward to Harvey Mackay's bestselling Swim With the Sharks Without Being Eaten Alive featured 15 solid pages of praise from VIPs like President Gerald Ford and the Reverend Billy Graham. "The kicker?" writes Hal Licino at MarketingProfs. "By the time the reader read those 15 pages, they were so convinced that the book would change their lives that what followed practically didn't matter."

Don't underestimate the power of the testimonial. Such endorsements can be up to seven times as effective as paid advertisements. So go ahead and energize your email campaigns with testimonials by using pointers like these:

Ask open-ended questions in surveys. If you give customers a yes/no question, there's a chance that they might respond without elaboration. Encourage in-depth responses—and increase the chance of positive feedback—by asking questions that facilitate lengthier answers.

Don't limit your testimonial-gathering efforts to survey feedback and notes from customers. You may, for instance, invite customers to submit video reviews of your product or service. Or: "If you are recording your customers' telephone conversations," suggests Licino, "you will likely discover a treasure trove of kudos and props. Simply contact those customers again and ask for permission to use their comments as testimonials while offering them a thank-you gift or discount." He notes that incentives should be substantial enough to warrant customer participation, but not so large that it looks like compensation.

Learn to edit for length. "There are no hard-and-fast rules," Licino says, "but if you can edit ... down to 35 or fewer strongly indicative words, you should fall within the limit of the average attention span."

Above all, use testimonials to highlight a unique experience—something prospective customers can't or won't get elsewhere.

The Po!nt: Don't be shy. Find ways to encourage fans to offer unique praise; you could boost the power and reach of your testimonials.

Source: MarketingProfs.

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Classic Ad of the Week/Month

Starting this week thru the end of 2011, on the first Saturday of the month, I'll feature a classic ad at this time.

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Being Nice

Just like there's more to Marketing than just Advertising, there's more to Being Nice, than, well just being nice.

Use it as part of your Marketing as Drew explains:

Marketing tip #57: Charitable dollars are marketing dollars

Posted: 19 Oct 2010 05:07 AM PDT

I believe that every business has a responsibility to give back. No matter where you practice your trade -- there's a community that makes it possible. To not share your time, talents and treasures is irresponsible and short-sighted.

I honestly think most companies share that belief and serve their communities well.

At MMG, that's why we started the Adopt a Charity program several years ago. We also make cash donations, serve on boards and volunteer for the charities that matter to us.

That's not just because we're good people. It's because it's smart business. And here's the part of the message that makes people uncomfortable.

There's nothing wrong with a business benefiting from the good they do. In fact...every charitable dollar you spend is actually a marketing dollar.

You wouldn't buy equipment that didn't help your business grow or spend money on computer software that didn't serve your clients better. So why should your charitable gifts be any different?

Every dollar or hour you donate is a business asset. So spend them wisely. If you're feeling charitable, make sure you get the maximum bang for each buck. Here are some strategies to keep in mind.

It's better to give big to a few: Don't get caught up in the "but we don't want to say no to anyone" trap. If you give a little bit to everyone, you end up being one of 42 logos on the back of a 5K run t-shirt.

It's far better to be the presenting sponsor or one of an elite group of sponsors. You'll get a lot more exposure and you're giving enough money to actually make a difference. Writing 100 checks for $25 is a waste of your efforts and isn't really impacting any of the non profits you support.

You won't get what you don't ask for: When you're donating your money or your talents, don't be shy. Ask for the recognition that will benefit your business.

Want your logo on the greens at the charity golf tournament -- ask for it. Want to have your efforts recognized at the next board meeting -- ask for it. Want the celebrity host at the auction to appear at a private client only cocktail party before the event -- ask for it.

Think about how you can leverage your donation. What will cost the non-profit very little but provide your business with a boost?

Be creative in the perks: There won't always be an opportunity to have your logo plastered on an event or get naming rights. After all, you might not have $25K to donate. Even if your charitable gifts are modest -- you can still enjoy some marketing benefit.

An introduction to an influential board member, a thank you from the podium, or four tickets to the fancy dinner/dance (two for you and two for your best client). Don't think that only the big donations can garner a return on that investment.

Everyone of us should give back. It's part of being a good neighbor, a good business and a good corporate citizen. But, there's no reason it can't be a win/win situation!

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Fear

Not yours, theirs..

from Jill Konrath this week:

Reduce the Risk of Doing Business with You

Posted: 04 Nov 2010 05:55 AM PDT

Today's article is from Barbara Weaver Smith, co-author of Whale Hunting, a guide for executives of smaller companies who want to land bigger customers.

To learn more about her ideas & strategies, check out the new Whale Hunters online community, newsletter and expert series interviews. (I was a recent guest!)

You'll find a lively discussion of small business growth, RFP strategies, sales development, sales resources, and business deals.

___________

Why Big Companies are Afraid of You

As a seller, when you approach a big company you are most likely more concerned about your fears than theirs. After all, they are bigger, wealthier, more powerful—and they hold all the cards.

But the big-company buyers are very fearful of all their decisions, and a decision to do business with a small, unknown, or new company is a very risky move for the individual people who are charged with making a choice of providers.

Big companies are exceedingly risk averse, and careers are damaged and jobs lost by unpopular or unconventional decisions.

For these reasons, big companies are more interested in the safety of choosing you than the benefits you provide. Fear is the most potent emotion in their decision-making processes.

So here’s the rub. Smaller companies usually tout the benefits they will provide, with little attention to the big company’s fears. Therefore, they often make mistakes during their sales process that actually create fear and undermine their ability to make a sale.

To be more successful, you need to understand what they are afraid of, and take steps to alleviate those fears.

Big Company buyers fear four circumstances:

• Change. Any requirements to do anything differently from what they are doing now represent a big hassle.

• Conflict. Any decisions that colleagues or supervisors or other departments oppose are simply too risky to pursue.

• Work. If they perceive that your solution requires a lot more work on their part, they will not buy.

• Failure. If they choose you and you do not deliver, they will be held accountable for the bad choice.

Your job as a seller, then, is to alleviate those fears early in your sales process. What you don’t want is to lose a great opportunity very late in the game because you discover that someone on the buyers’ team is just too worried about you.

Here’s a process that works:

• Get your team together and brainstorm all of the reasons a big company might be afraid of you. These can be reasons you’ve already heard (“You don’t have experience in our industry”) or reasons that they rarely speak out loud (“Can they really ramp up to deliver this for us?”)

• Once you have a good handle on the fears, develop specific, tangible documents or other tools to counteract those fears, and introduce those things early in the sales process. Focus on your people, your processes, your technologies, and your tools. You may have to invent new ways to present these materials, but they are priceless.

• Prioritize these materials based on what you believe to be the most serious fears that big companies would have about you. Decide who on your sales team will present each of the “tangibles”, deliberately and early in your process, so that the big company buyers can begin to get beyond their fears and listen with interest to your benefits.

It may be hard to imagine that big companies are afraid of you, but they are. If you learn to alleviate their fears, you will close more big deals. I would love to hear your “big company fears” stories if you care to post a comment.

___________

Barbara Weaver Smith, founder of the Whale Hunters, is an expert in dramatically accelerating an organization's growth trajectory.

She guides entrepreneurs, CEOs, and sales leaders with education, peer coaching, and team training on this winning process that has helped transform more than 300 companies and counting.

For more info, check out the Whale Hunters on their website, their blog & Twitter.

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Friday Night Marketing News from Mediapost

Click & Read:

Sports

Marathon Sponsors Expand Into New Categories

by Karl Greenberg

Among the new sponsors is Subway, whose most famous customer, Jared Fogle will be running the race as part of an effort to get back into trim, after having gained back some of the weight that he famously lost eating subs. The company has activated with ads and is activating at its 200 area stores. ...Read the whole story >>

Telecom

1 In 5 Likely To Switch To Prepaid Plan

by Aaron Baar

"Two thousand eleven is shaping up to be the year of the prepaid cell phone service plan," said Sam Simon, a senior fellow at the New Millennium Research Council, in a teleconference with reporters. "We may have actually underestimated how quickly this trend would catch on." ...Read the whole story >>

Spirits

Tecate Backs 'Pac'-d Month of Boxing

by Karl Greenberg

The timing is good for Mexican beer brand Tecate -- as most of the main events coming up feature Mexican or Hispanic superstars, and boxing is, after soccer, the second-most-popular sport among U.S. Hispanics and Mexicans. Tecate will back the fights with "Tecate Knockout Month." ...Read the whole story >>

Retail

Department Stores Endured A Sluggish October

by Sarah Mahoney

One exception was in the swanky sector, with experts speculating that stronger financial markets may be inspiring a few more trips to the mall. Sales at Neiman Marcus climbed 11.5%, while Saks' gained 8.1%. And at Nordstrom, sales rose 3.4%. Limited Brands, parent of Victoria's Secret, saw sales jump 9%. ...Read the whole story >>

Research

Transparency Issues Among Top '11 CPG Trends

by Karlene Lukovitz

Mintel defines one of its 12 key CPG trends in terms of decisions about "quiet" versus overt reductions of ingredients such as high-fructose corn syrup (HFCS), sugar and sodium, and maintains that the big underlying issue is brands' need to decide whether to "counter or cater to obesity." ...Read the whole story >>

Airlines

United Airlines Unveils Oprah Winfrey Plane

by Tanya Irwin

In conjunction with the unveiling of plane, United is launching the "Million Mile Giveaway" -- a sweepstakes that will award one million United Mileage Plus miles to one winner each month through May 2011. Additional prizes include Oprah Store e-cards. Details are at www.unitedmillionmiles.com. ...Read the whole story >>

P&G's Always Launches Ovulation/Period App

American Chooses Avis As Media Partner

Dr Pepper Launches Online Football Game

Casting Call: Barbie Seeks A Better Ken

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The Magic is in the Message

I recently read the following info from Mediapost that says that TV & Internet advertising isn't aimed at Baby Boomers.

Since I fall into that demographic, I tend to agree, unless I want some drugs and according to my wife, I don't need what they're pushing!

In my city of Fort Wayne, Indiana we have around 20 radio stations and 4 local TV stations. I work for a group that owns 4 of those stations and I do my best to create advertising that is appropriate for each demographic. (Click here to visit the stations website).

Making Advertising Relevant To Boomers

In a national study called "The New Generation Gap Study" done for TV Land in 2007, consumers of all ages were asked if they agreed with the statement: "If it is done right, advertising definitely influences my purchases."

Some 55% of younger adults, those under age 45, said they agreed. But so, too, did 55% of Boomers. (Wow, only 55% agreed to that? Well, that must mean John Wanamaker really was speaking the truth when he allegedly said, "Half the money I spend on advertising is wasted; the trouble is, I don't know which half.")

Nonetheless, we'll take this as good news: Advertising can influence purchases.

The bad news is that, in study after study, Boomers tell us most advertising is not even intended for them. Last summer, Google and Nielsen fielded a national study among adults of all ages to learn more about online activity and media usage. They asked if we wanted to include any questions in the survey to update information we had published in our book, Boomer Consumer, in 2007.

Two questions we added to the study were about the intended target of advertising. Sure enough, Boomers told us the vast majority of advertising they see on TV or on the Internet is intended for "someone younger than I."

Our question: Advertisers communicate with consumers in a variety of ways. In general, who would you say most advertising is intended for?

Google/Nielsen Consumer Study, Summer 2010	On TV	On the Internet
Someone YOUNGER than I	79%	84%
Someone MY AGE	19%	15%
Someone OLDER than I	3%	2%

As you have read here, this is a demographic cohort that spends over $2 trillion annually on consumer goods and services. Yet, 8 out of 10 Boomers tell us they think the advertising they see -- presumably on shows they watch and Web sites they visit -- is intended for younger consumers.

It's no wonder the average tenure for a chief marketing officer is less than two years. Heads certainly need to roll if advertising dollars are so poorly deployed.

Make it Relevant

The fix for this problem is easy to spot, but perhaps difficult to pull off. First, you don't have to double your advertising budget and develop a completely separate marketing program to reach Boomers. All you have to do is make your current programs relevant to consumers across all age groups and generations.

That means look for ways to make your product, packaging, pricing, messaging and distribution relevant for more than simply your traditional advertising or marketing sweet spot -- adults 25-54, or moms with young kids. Take a look at your advertising over the last several years. Do you always show the "ideal" target consumer enjoying your product or service? Do that year in and year out, and you will effectively communicate that is the only person who should use your product.

Instead, use messaging techniques that cut across age groups or generations. We work with clients to find the attributes and benefits that are universal -- appealing to a broad range of consumers and relevant to all.

Two examples: There is universal appeal in the Dove brand's Campaign for Real Beauty approach, and it is relevant for women of all ages. The new Old Spice campaign may appear to be for young, virile men, but the underlying message that this brand is for a "man's man" is universal.

The goal is advertising that isn't targeting young adults or Boomers, but more consumers.

Boomer Project founder/president Matt Thornhill is an authority on marketing to today's Boomer Consumer. He has appeared on NBC, CBS and CNBC, in "BusinessWeek," "Time," "Newsweek" and "The New York Times" and countless others. Matt is also the co-author of the business book "Boomer Consumer." Boomer Project is a marketing research and consulting firm and has done work for Johnson & Johnson, Lincoln Financial, Samsung, Hershey's Foods and Home Instead Senior Care. Reach him here.

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Know when to Hold'em

from my email:

Daily Sales Tip: The Question of Price

Price comments are not price objections. When someone says, "Wow, that's more than what I expected to pay," they are NOT saying they will not buy. You do not even need to respond. However, many sales reps offer to cut price at this point.

Have a quick response to "Do you discount?" How about, "No, that's the price." Or, if they ask, "Can you do any better on price?", say, "That's the price." Simple.

Most good buyers will always ask for a better price because they have nothing to lose. And they often succeed.

Source: Sales trainer/consultant Art Sobczak

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Thursday Night Marketing News from Mediapost

Click & Read:

Automotive

Mazda's Miata MX-5 Still Magnetic North For Brand

by Karl Greenberg

Chris Hill says that while the company doesn't advertise the MX-5, it still informs the product design and marketing decisions for the rest of the lineup. Hill, Mazda's group manager of marketing operations, talks to Marketing Daily about the car and what it means to the brand. ...Read the whole story >>

Retail

Q&A With Cathy Halligan On Online Holiday Sales

by Sarah Mahoney

"Groupon, flash sales ... these are nothing more than deal-of-the-day offers reincarnated. It's just with technology, they're on steroids. And while lots of sites are having success -- ideeli, Yelp, Open Table, Gilt, even Amazon's Gold Box -- this is an old idea. And for Walmart, a price leader, known so well for its rollbacks? I think they'll be very good at it." ...Read the whole story >>

Food

In The Raw Takes Offbeat Approach To Recipes

by Karlene Lukovitz

The campaign's print ads feature bold, run-on headlines playing on themes of love, loss and indulgence and close-ups of tempting foods and beverages, accompanied by step-by-step recipe copy. Examples include "Cocoa brownies to heal a heart broken by a man who promises it wasn't you; it was him. And by him he means a girl named Stacey Lee." ...Read the whole story >>

Automotive

Happy Days Are Here Again, Except For Toyota

by Karl Greenberg

Tuesday was no glitch -- the positive new-car and truck sales numbers rolling in for October were not limited to a handful of companies. As automakers begin posting sales numbers for the prior month, it seems that everyone has something to be happy about. The only company to see sales drop was Toyota, which has been hampered by recalls, the most recent one happening smack dab in the middle of the month. ...Read the whole story >>

Airlines

American Airlines Effort Aimed At Hispanics

by Tanya Irwin

Because buying power is projected to be $1.4 trillion by 2013 and approximately 41% of U.S. Hispanics live in American Airlines hub cities, the campaign aims to demonstrate that the airline understands the travel aspirations of U.S. Hispanic customers who desire enriching experiences while traveling worldwide. ...Read the whole story >>

Whole Foods, Amex Team For Holiday Hunger Effort

Dole Plans Rose Parade Float, Sweeps

United Airlines Offers New Signature Cocktail

Chevrolet And AARP Team Up To Tout Impala

General Motors Goes Public

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Quick Reality Check....

Yeah your teen is sending 3000 texts each month, but look at who's online.... from Drew:

Who is *really* the uber internet users?

Posted: 04 Nov 2010 04:56 AM PDT

Before you scold your college aged son or daughter for how much time they spend online, you'd better look in the mirror. According to research conducted by MarketingProfs (buy the full report here) if you're in the 30-39 age bracket, you're the heaviest users out there!

These stats line up with what we know about Facebook as well. The largest demographic group on the social media gorilla is 35-44 and the fastest growing demographic is 55+.

Why does this matter? One of the common sense rules of marketing is that you should know where your prospects or target audience hang out. Rather than waiting for them, you need to get out there and hang where they hang.

More justification to include some digital marketing in your overall plan.

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New Ad Campaigns

from Amy:

Name? Wade. Dwyane Wade. The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas is wrong. Just wrong. Let's launch!

Valets by day and gamers the rest of the time. EA Games Need For Speed: Hot Pursuit launched a trio of TV ads promoting the title's November 16 U.S. launch. "Entourage" actors Kevin Dillon and Jerry Ferrara are valets who park expensive sports cars for the fictitious Hotel St. Fritz in Hollywood, then race them in "Need For Speed: Hot Pursuit." "Valets" introduces Dillon and Ferrara as slacking valets with a need for speed sated by their gaming personas: Dillon, the renegade cop and Ferrara the outlaw racer. Who will win? See it here. Ferrara is late to work in "Officer Douche." His excuse is errand running, but truthfully, he spent the morning playing the demo version of "Hot Pursuit." Dillon then has the expensive car he was parking stolen three feet away from where he was standing -- and his lunch was inside. Watch it here. The customer is always right, especially in "You Park It." A man driving a teal-green sports coupe watches the two valets argue about who will park his car. The duo mocks the car's price tag, faux leather and color. The man drives off, but not before calling the pair "a$$holes." See it here. Wieden+Kennedy Amsterdam created the campaign.

Some people yearn for shrinkage. A giant does in a TV spot supporting Boost Mobile's $50 Monthly Unlimited with Shrinkage plan. For every six on-time payments, a customer's monthly cost will shrink by $5, eventually getting payments down to $35 a month for unlimited talk, text, Web, and email. A 20-foot giant struggles to stock shelves in "Grocery Store." One small move and the aisles crumble like dominoes, causing customers to run for their lives. Although he can't shrink in size, the giant can shrink his monthly cell phone bill. Glass half-full, people. The ad, seen here, is running on ABC, FOX, Adult Swim, E!, A&E, ESPN, BET, Spike, Comedy Central and MTV. 180LA created the ad.

Love is right under your nose in a TV spot for Dell's Streak 5 smartphone/tablet. Just look up from said smartphone and let nature take its course. "Rendezvous" is a 60-second spot that follows a man and woman who are meeting for the first time in person. Each uses their smartphone to find one another in a crowd. While the two narrowly miss each another, additional passersby are shown interacting with their Streak 5s, playing video games, music and making a video. The spot ends with the woman and man actually bumping into one another. Who needs technology? See the ad here, slated to run globally throughout 2011. Mother New York created the ad.

Jordan Brand launched "Dominate Another Day," a campaign starring Dwyane Wade as Agent D3, a James Bond character for the basketball realm. His mission? Get the king to the court (a LeBron James reference this non-basketball follower understood!) and bring the rings back to Miami. Wade flies through the air, looking for his motorcycle, which is driving itself, in "The Mission." His partner H, played by actor Kevin Hart, helps him maneuver past the Green Gang (Celtics) and the Snake Charmer, opponents also vying for NBA rings. Watch the ad here, created by Wieden+Kennedy New York and directed by Noam Murro.

Once again, Nissan Juke spins a story that propels the car to urban legend status. A human-built weather machine goes awry in "Weather." The machine's core is packed into a Juke and driven far away, but not before Juke battles fire, water, earth and wind. Juke drops the unstable core into a mountain brimming with hot lava. Crisis averted. Watch the ad here, created by TBWA/Toronto, with visual effects provided by MassMarket.

The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas opens in December, using the tag line, "Just the Right Amount of Wrong." If baby chicks, deer, bunnies and kittens are wrong, I don't want to be right. The ad begins with a woman licking her plate clean. We've all been there. An older woman dances with a young man, lovingly patting his rear. We've all been there. Men are used as chairs, a pantsless man delivers luggage, and then the animals are released. Puppies climb stairs, kittens and bunnies ride the elevator, chicks partake in a photo shoot, and a scantily clad woman carries a lone rabbit outside. Just the right amount of wrong" closes the ad, seen here. Fallon created the ad, directed by Tarsem with visual effects handled by Zoic Studios.

Pepsi MAX and Coke Zero truck drivers are back, with a rivalry that does nothing for me in "Display King." The duo appeared in a remake of "Diner," and the Coke Zero driver was captured on video enjoying a Pepsi Max. This time around, the rivals attempt to create the biggest and best in-store soda displays. Just when it appears that Coke Zero man has topped his opponent, Pepsi Max sets off a display with fireworks and Snoop Dogg, treating customers to an impromptu show. Watch the ad here, created by TBWA/Chiat/Day Los Angeles.

Movistar, a cell phone company in Latin America, launched "Connected," a TV spot that uses split screens to connect diverse societies, allowing people to overcome challenges. "If one day I bend, will you come to me and help me," says a voiceover as a man, struggling to bring a boat onto shore, is paired with a set of strong runner's legs. "Connected we can do more," closes the ad, seen here and created by Young & Rubicam Peru.

Random iPhone App of the week: Theater producer Ken Davenport launched At The Booth, an iPhone app listing all the Broadway and Off-Broadway shows available at the discounted TKTS booth (a listing that changes daily), along with prices. The app also serves as a directory of info on all Broadway and Off-Broadway shows, including reviews, cast photos, videos, performance schedules, running times, opening and closing dates, and a listing of all Broadway and Off-Broadway theater locations. The app costs 99 cents and is available in the App Store.

Amy Corr is managing editor, online newsletters for MediaPost. She can be reached at amyc@mediapost.com.

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Know Thy Customer

from Chris Brogan:

What You Should Know

Posted: 31 Oct 2010 04:36 AM PDT

Can you name your top 5 customers? (Your top 20?) Can you explain the challenges those top 20 people face? Can you talk about what else is on their plate besides potentially buying more of what you sell? Do you know how they talk about you to their bosses, their peers, or others?

We know product specs. We know all kinds of details of the things we sell. Though we should know those things, why aren’t we focusing more on our customer and the information they can give us?

It’s interesting, to me, which metrics we track and what we do with them. The distance between metrics and analytics is the difference between statistics and intent. Meaning, we might know several things about how many products we sell, where we sell them, at which time of day, and all kinds of other things, but what we’re really trying to figure out is the secrets of our relationship with our customer. That’s where we have to invest our efforts.

How do we analyze what we know? How often do we just ASK our customer for some insight? And what else could we be doing to understand behavior and thus be more helpful?

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Wednesday Night Marketing News from Mediapost

Click & Read:

Retail

Target, Walmart, Best Buy Tempt Tech Shoppers

by Sarah Mahoney

While an estimated 32% of shoppers plan to make a consumer electronics purchase this season, reports the Consumer Electronics Association, they're also expected to be exceedingly price-wary. But they're looking to spend: The average American will shell out $232 on electronics gifts this year, according to CEA's 17th Annual CE Holiday Purchase Patterns Study--a gain of 5% from last year, and the highest dollar amount in the history of the study. ...Read the whole story >>

Food

Sara Lee Promotional Sweepstakes Hits Home

by Aaron Baar

"Our issue was that competitors were resorting to aggressive pricing," Jim Gelder, vice president of creative at Launch, tells Marketing Daily. "Our objective was to increase household penetration and market share. We knew in this economy [giving away a house] resonated really well with the public." When competitors cut their prices on a product, the best thing to do may be to give away a house. ...Read the whole story >>

Financial Services

Chase Partners With DreamWorks For 'Megamind'

by Tanya Irwin

"Over the past year, we have enhanced our card rewards program to let customers redeem points for a variety of unique customer experiences," says Chase spokesperson Laura Rossi. "Our 'Megamind' promotion was a perfect case study of how we've developed experiences that resonate with our customers. We had an overwhelming response -- tickets sold out within days of becoming available." ...Read the whole story >>

Airlines

JetBlue, HP Back LinkedIn; URLs Still Home Base

by Karl Greenberg

During a discussion of LinkedIn's new Company Pages, JetBlue CMO Marty St. George said that while the airline's Web site "is fundamentally our cash register," in coming months the company will be doing more in social media because other networks let the carrier create brand-engagement content "without jeopardizing our conversion rate. So we see our Web site as paramount, but would love opportunities to have a lot of engagement in key communities." ...Read the whole story >>

Food

Wonderful Pistachios Goes For The Twitter Crowd

by Karlene Lukovitz

Most of the new campaign executions rely on what the marketer terms "Twitter-centric talent" to generate attention and buzz among young adults, in particular. At the same time, the campaign quite intentionally follows the celebrity reality competition show formula of offering a "wide net of talent ... with someone to appeal to everyone." ...Read the whole story >>

Automotive

Mood Down, Sales Up. Go Figure!

by Karl Greenberg

It's Election Day and people are anxious, and the national debt clock on 44th Street near Times Square in New York says every family in the country owes $115,000 to service the debt. But if October automotive sales numbers mean anything, things are looking up. ...Read the whole story >>

Ford Bows Online Store For Licensed Merchandise

Nintendo Reopens New York City Store

Cathay Pacific Asks For Dessert Creations

Gene Brown Leaves Suzuki

Taylor Swift Signs Deal With Elizabeth Arden

Del Monte Produce Has Tough Quarter

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Should You Go Undercover?

from Drew:

Marketing tip #17: Stop assuming!

Posted: 29 Oct 2010 11:44 AM PDT

I've said it before....no one is worse at seeing your business objectively than you. If you own or run it -- you cannot possibly remove your own biases, opinions and hopes from the equation.

So when you make operating, marketing and customer service decisions, you need to second guess yourself now and then. You need to remove yourself from the equation and see it from your customer's perspective. But how do you do that, if you can't possibly be objective?

You walk in your customers' shoes. Literally.

You need to experience exactly what they experience. Go through your own drive thru, try to navigate your phone system without using any of the back end short cuts, see what asking for a credit or return feels like.

I'm betting that 90% of companies never do this. They think they know what their customer wants, so based on that dangerous assumption -- they run their business. We all know the old saying about what happens when you assume...

Over at IowaBiz today, I explore this topic some more. Come jump into the conversation.

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Expert?

A friend of mine called me Monday afternoon to tell me about this guy who was trying to explain a way to get free advertising on one of my radio stations.

This guy was doing a lousy job according to my friend, he was talking in circles, not answering questions and sounded incompetent. Clearly not an expert.

Turns out, the guy works for us. I believe it's time for him to either get properly trained or properly fired, since he's worked for us for 18 months.

Not all advertising people are the same. Don't let one person turn you off from all of us.

If you are going to do something, be an expert, was the advice from this email I also received Monday:

Sales Tip #146: be an expert

Dated: 01 November,2010

Patience and self-control are admirable and indispensable tools that you will need in order to maintain high levels of service. The business that you don’t get today might just come through to you tomorrow, as long as your prospect has been impressed by your knowledge, dedication and professionalism.

Action Step

Be confident in your ability to sell a quality product that is worthy of your effort and support. Increase your knowledge about the product that you sell and become an expert in your own field. This will go a long way in boosting your confidence and you will be able to approach your clients in a calm and professional manner; well prepared to answer their questions and to provide them with excellent solutions. The way you come across to your clients will determine the basis of your relationship with them. And if you are respectable and trustworthy, they will stand by you and depend on your expertise for a long time.

Answer These Questions:

Are you an expert in your field of sales?

Do you approach your clients in a professional manner at all times; and do you appear presentable when you meet with them?

Click here to read this post at The Science and Art of Selling by Alen Majer.

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Tuesday Night Marketing News from Mediapost

Click & Read:

Restaurants

Wendy's Launches Hispanic Campaign

by Karlene Lukovitz

Timed to coincide with Wendy's expansion of its 99-cent Everyday Value Menu offerings, the campaign positions Wendy's as the solution for Hispanic consumers looking to satisfy their "antojos," or taste cravings, with quality food at affordable prices. ...Read the whole story >>

Retail

Walmart Cuts Toy Prices -- Again

by Sarah Mahoney

"The economy is still a little bit in question and Middle America is watching its dollars," Jonathan Samet, publisher of Toy Insider/Toy Book, tells Marketing Daily. "You might not be buying lots of things for yourself, but you still want to put multiple things under the tree for your kids. Finding the best prices is very important to them, and they are doing a lot of comparison shopping." ...Read the whole story >>

Retail

JCPenney, FedEx, Macy's Repeat Holiday Efforts

by Tanya Irwin

"A more negative view might be that they are repeating these campaigns due to economic constraints, but a more positive view might be that they repeated the campaigns because they worked well last year," one analyst tells Marketing Daily. "We've found that in a tighter economy, more companies are willing to experiment with new tactics -- provided they are cost-effective -- [but] will stick with what's working." ...Read the whole story >>

Research

JWT: Hoping For Equanimity? Try Wednesday

by Karl Greenberg

A new study from JWT's research arm says the overall anxiety of Americans has returned to levels not seen since late 2007. Seventy percent of Americans the group surveyed for its yearly AnxietyIndex say they are "nervous or anxious" although the numbers are slightly lower than the 76% in May and 82% in November 2008, when anxiety was at an all-time high for the seven-year old study. ...Read the whole story >>

Telecom

Boost Puts 'Shrinkage' In A Positive Light

by Aaron Baar

"[Boost] really wanted to get the idea that your monthly payments will shrink over time," Ari Weiss, creative director 180LA, tells Marketing Daily. "As they started to get into it, they realized a lot of people had a negative connotation for shrinking, particularly when it came to a wireless plan. We wanted to find a way to refocus the conversation around shrinkage to be a positive conversation." ...Read the whole story >>

Automotive

SEMA Brings Back Customized Cars, Trucks

by Karl Greenberg

The real draws of the show, running through Friday of this week, are the grown-up toy-store arrays of tricked out cars and trucks from accessory companies, customizers and automakers. This year, for example, Ford will use the show to spotlight its new Mustang Boss 302 by putting it in a kick line of nine other Mustangs customized by Ford's Vehicle Personalization division and other designers. ...Read the whole story >>

Nestle Crunch, Paul Frank Offer Stocking Stuffer

Sears Intros Personalized Online Shopping Feature

JetBlue, MasterCard Offer Deal If Jets Win Super Bowl

Toshiba Turns To Goodness For AOR

LinkedIn To Business: Talk Amongst Yourselves

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R.O.I. of Advertising

Great thoughts from Seth Godin last week.

I work in the traditional advertising world and am a proponent of Social Media too.

Recently I was advising a political candidate on how to spend his funds for today's election. We added more commercials to some radio stations, cut a couple stations and used common sense for the rest.

Common sense sometimes is missing from people who only justify with statistics.

Here's Seth. (I REALLY Agree with point #2):

On buying unmeasurable media

Should you invest in TV, radio, billboards and other media where you can't measure whether your ad works? Is an ad in New York magazine worth 1,000 times as much as a text link on Google? If you're doing the comparison directly, that's how much extra you're paying if you're only measuring direct web visits...

One school of thought is to measure everything. If you can't measure it, don't do it. This is the direct marketer method and there's no doubt it can work.

There's another thought, though: Most businesses (including your competitors) are afraid of big investments in unmeasurable media. Therefore, if you have the resources and the guts, it's a home run waiting to be hit.

Ralph Lauren is a billion dollar brand. Totally unmeasurable. So are Revlon, LVMH, Donald Trump, Anderson Windows, Lada Gaga and hundreds of other mass market brands.

There are two things you should never do:

1. Try to measure unmeasurable media and use that to make decisions. You'll get it wrong. Sure, some sophisticated marketers get good hints from their measurements, but it's still an art, not a science.
2. Compromise on your investment. Small investments in unmeasurable media almost always fail. Go big or stay home.

And if you're selling unmeasurable media? Don't try to sell to people who are obsessed with measuring. You'll waste your time and annoy the prospect at the same time.

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Would You Buy From You?

It's election day in the United States.

Sound bites, half truths, smear tactics have been out in force the past few months, bad mouthing the opponent.

If you are as disgusted as I am by this type of selling, make sure you are not doing it in your daily sales life.

Sell solutions.

Stop beating up the competition.

Stand on your own two feet and build trust.

Honestly, would you buy from you?

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Monday Night Marketing News from Mediapost

Read, Click and Read more:

Packaged Goods

Brut Slap-Happy For Younger Guys, Real Men

by Karl Greenberg

The effort plays on the idea of slapping someone who deserves it -- sort of an extension of the slap men give themselves when they apply aftershave. Three TV spots, as well as print initially, and product integration on Monday night NFL broadcasts, direct traffic to new Brut Web sites, one of which centers on an interactive slap fest, where a series of boorish guys -- parodies of real pop-culture personalities -- all but beg to be slapped. ...Read the whole story >>

Retail

Q&A: Can Crane Bring Manners To Facebook?

by Sarah Mahoney

Crane & Co., the stationery company founded in 1801, has launched a Crane's Blue Book app for Facebook, allowing users to comment when friends' posts are either rude or polite. Eliza Browning, director of Crane Digital -- and a seventh-generation family member of the Dalton, Mass.-based company -- tells Marketing Daily why Facebook users need some coaching in courtesy. ...Read the whole story >>

Retail

Aaron's Takes Music Video Approach In New Ads

by Tanya Irwin

Aaron's, Inc., is launching its first nationally integrated campaign starring Nashville recording artist Brittini Black. The effort includes TV, radio, web, out-of-home and print and will run through December 2011. This is the first time in the Atlanta-based rental company has created a campaign on this scale, says Mark Rudnick, Aaron's vice president of marketing. ...Read the whole story >>

Automotive

Edmunds.com Relaunch To Focus On Intuition

by Karl Greenberg

Jeremy Anwyl, CEO of the Los Angeles-based company, says products like Amazon's Kindle are the kind of cross-media commerce play Edmunds is trying to emulate. "The challenge is how to create a seamless value-added experience," he says. The company is running simultaneous tests on several home-page betas all designed to make the site more intuitive. ...Read the whole story >>

Education

New Coast Guard Ads Leverage Academia

by Aaron Baar

"Most people have no idea who they are," Jose Villa, president of Sensis, the agency behind a $3 million brand awareness campaign for the academy, tells Marketing Daily. While the Coast Guard itself has increased awareness with humanitarian efforts, such as the response to Hurricane Katrina and other natural disasters, the Coast Guard Academy has gone largely unrecognized. ...Read the whole story >>

Jeff Gordon Partners With AARP Against Hunger

J.D. Power: Used-Car Buyers Head For The Web

Southwest Airlines Announces WiFi Pricing

Knicks Sign Boost Mobile As Official Team Telcom

Edmunds.com: October Sales Looking Up, Kind Of

Restaurant Outlook Improved In September

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