Tuesday Night Marketing News from Mediapost

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Disruption Demands 'Customer-Obsessed' Model

by Karlene Lukovitz

Technology-empowered consumers are so radically disrupting the traditional competitive scenario across industries that companies must now be "customer-obsessed," not just "customer-centric," in order to survive and thrive, contends a new report from Forrester Research, Inc. ...Read the whole story >>

For Brands Targeting Women, It's Game On

by Sarah Mahoney

While it's no news that girls and women are diving deeper into gaming every day, a new ranking from NBCU shows that brands offering women a way to play are gaining buzz. ...Read the whole story >>

Quaker State To Reward Drivers Who Get To 300,000 Miles

by Karl Greenberg

Hard as it is to imagine, some cars out there have 300,000 miles on their odometers. Not many, but some. Quaker State motor oil is launching a campaign that promises to reward drivers who use one of its specialty motor oil brands on a regular basis -- and keep their vehicles alive for a few hundred thousand miles. ...Read the whole story >>

Study: Consumers See Luxury Brands As Reason To Buy

by Tanya Irwin

Luxury brands continue to lead the pack in the Brand Keys Fashion 15 rankings. On trend with a growing desire among consumers for product differentiation, the role of fashion brands doubled in importance last year (to 28%) and sentiment is holding firm again this year at 29%. ...Read the whole story >>

Ubisoft Dances With Katy Perry Tour

by Aaron Baar

Already one of the most popular video games available, Ubisoft's Just Dance 2 is looking to gain some more market share and awareness by sponsoring pop star Katy Perry's upcoming North American tour. ...Read the whole story >>

Mars Consolidates Creative With BBDO, DDB

New Balance Unveils Heidi Klum Sneakers

Carnival Cruise Invites Music Fans To 'Rock The Deck'

Apple Enters The Cloud

Ford Runs Promotion At Internet Week

h2O Will Sample With 'Rio' Movie Purchases

Amex Open To Small Biz Social Tool

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Mobile & Moms

Update with a link below...


I've shared reports in the past about mobile, which in most cases is smart phones.

Even before the iPhone and Droid, I made the observation that a phone was going to be the lifeline that many people hang on to... I've seen homeless people with all of their possessions in a backpack who had a cellphone.

My step-daughter lost her phone for a few hours and said she lost her "life".

No, she's not homeless, in a few years she will become one of these Mobile Moms talked about in this report from Mediapost:

Yeah, There's An App For That ...

My iPhone is overflowing with apps. Okay, I admit that I let my kids download one too many games -- maybe a few during dinners in restaurants where I would have paid a thousand dollars for them just to quiet down and sit still for a few minutes. Yes, guilty of purchasing the full bells and whistles version of "Cut the Rope," but a peaceful dinner seemed worth the $2.99 toll. Nonetheless, there are all kinds of apps from maps to cooking to shopping to an NFL sports ticker. They are a reflection of all the aspects of my life and most of them are incredibly useful, especially the NFL one.

However, there are some apps that, after I loaded, set up accounts and organized my information; I wished I could apply for the time rebate. Complete wastes of the time that they were supposed to save me. My favorite "bad app" is for grocery shopping that I downloaded under the premise of "saving money and time." It seemed good on paper, easy to use, barcode scanner, price checker, calorie information. Easy and useful? Bah, humbug.

Here are my complaints in no particular order:

1. Don't offer me coupons for chains of stores that are not in my region of the country. I love Kroger and all, being from the Midwest, but we don't have this store in Boston. Has geo-targeting not come further, I mean I did spend all that time loading my personal information, including my address and zip code.

2. Don't make it harder that it needs to be. I usually can get in and out of the grocery store in under 30 minutes if it is not a busy shopping hour. I purposely went with my new app when it was quieter so I could really shop without confusion. It took me almost an hour and a half just to get through my shopping list and price checking. I was close to a hostage situation by the time I got to the dairy aisle.

3. I love the immediate coupon transfer attempt to my loyalty card but ... It would have been so worth it if it hadn't slowed the check-out line down to a dead stop. You know those people who make a lot of exasperated noises behind you in line while you look for your bank card at the bottom of a messy handbag? Yeah, they are not any happier to see you trying to get service by holding your phone like the Statue of Liberty while your coupons download to your frequent buyer card. Trust me. Good idea, bad execution.

4. Keep it simple. The guide to the app, version 3.2.2 had more pages than my last real paper phone book. (Do they still make those?) It included the ability to upload pictures of my favorite items, in case I forgot what they looked like; international setting adjustments in case I was at a Kroger in Paris; and a section called Data Objects complete with a diagram explaining the relationship between the items, the store and the buyer. Really?

I could go on for pages but suffice to say that I learned a great lesson from this exercise. I am guessing that somewhere in that big corporate grocery HQ, someone in a planning meeting said, "We need an app for that" and in their attempt to make the app robust and worthy, they included everything but the kitchen sink, which only served to make it confusing and complicated.

I don't need a Data Object diagram to go to the grocery store. I want to go to the store with a list, a list that includes the items that I buy over and over, same brand, same size. I would like to get coupons for the items that I buy and need. I would like to be rewarded for my loyalty of choosing the same store over and over. I would like to receive offers that really apply to me and my family. I would like it if someone would carry my bags to the car and load it for me. Okay, maybe the last one was pushing it, but can someone please tell me: is there really an app for that?

Kimberly Jackson is an editorial strategist at King Fish Media, a custom media firm. Kimberly is a former executive at Ziff Davis, Carat Interactive and a mom of three kids.

And for more info, click here:

http://www.mediapost.com/publications/?fa=Articles.showArticle&art_aid=151692

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Ever Hear of the Internet?

from my email:

Daily Sales Tip:

The goal of pre-appointment research is to allow you to know as much about the client as possible before your first appointment. Companies on the Internet, like Hoover's, provide a plethora of information about most major companies. The information you learn will add to your credibility and may expose new ideas that add dollars to your sale.

Source: Brandeis C. Hall, RAB

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Monday Night Marketing News from Mediapost

Just a word of warning that there may be a couple of days this week that I will not have access to the web to provide you with this evening update from Mediapost on this site.

If this is the case, I already have a couple of articles ready to go that qualify as Collective Wisdom.

Here's tonight's update:

Retail

7-Eleven Lights The Thrusters With 'Super-8' Promo

by Karl Greenberg

Call it Madison, Vine and Houston. 7-Eleven is sending someone into space as part of a campaign around the Steven Spielberg-produced Paramount sci-fi horror feature "Super 8," which hits theaters next week. The capstone in the effort is an honest-to-goodness trip into near-orbit for the winner of a Foursquare location-based promotion. Private aerospace firm Space Adventures, Ltd. is providing the seat into suborbital space. ...Read the whole story >>

Beverages

Bot Repositions From Kid- to Adult-targeted

by Karlene Lukovitz

As all experienced marketers know, product launches don't always pan out exactly the way they were envisioned. But the unexpected outcome isn't always failure. Sometimes, it's a realization that there's actually a different and more profitable market for the product. ...Read the whole story >>

Technology

Intel Launches Films Profiling Bloggers

by Aaron Baar

The new 10-minute film, which is being shown at www.intel.com/visuallife, profiles two Chinese wedding photographers, Kitty and Lala, who take stunning and creative wedding photos (such as a kitschy fairy tale and a tongue-in-cheek portrait of soccer fans in tracksuits) and also run one of China's most popular blogs. ...Read the whole story >>

Retail

Online Shoppers 'Follow' Faves On Social Media

by Sarah Mahoney

The National Retail Federation reports that people are more willing to dabble in social commerce than many retailers realize, with 42% of those who shop online saying they at least occasionally "follow" a store on social media. More than 56% of Facebook users have clicked through to a retail site, while 67% of Twitter users have done so. ...Read the whole story >>

Financial Services

Capital One Visigoths Invade FarmVille

by Tanya Irwin

The promotion began June 2 at midnight and runs through June 9. FarmVille players can get "double mastery" points on crops and trees harvested within seven days when they place a Capital One Visigoth statue on their farms. The double mastery points help players advance to higher levels in the game at a faster pace. ...Read the whole story >>

Automotive

Sometimes It Pays To Quit: EagleRider's Adventure

by Karl Greenberg

Rather than drive volume with advertising, the company has deals with third-party aggregators and has a retail-based fleet distribution channel. The online program involves placement on travel sites like Expedia, and Orbitz; regional travel web sites in places like Germany and Japan; and through travel companies like Virgin Holidays. ...Read the whole story >>

Wal-Mart Sets Sights On 'Next Gen' Shoppers

Subway Runs Mobile 'Green Lantern' Contest

Jeep Hits The Road

Corona Extra Evolves 'Find Your Beach'

Subaru Races Isle of Man

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The Other Side of Change

Tuesday mornings at 7am, I feature another chapter in the Not-So-Secret Writings of ScLoHo on this website: http://www.scloho.info/

Here's last weeks chapter:

Embrace Change, Beware of Change (Part 2)

Last week I encouraged you to Embrace Change.

This week a few words of caution.

Change for the sake of change without consideration of the past and an eye on the future is full of risk, sometimes too much risk.

I have had clients who wanted to move their radio ads from one station to another every 3 months because they felt it only took three months to become established and they moved on to the next group of radio listeners. It doesn't work that way.

Instead of simply changing by stopping something and starting something else, perhaps you need to add something to your business marketing.

In the 8+ years I have worked for a group of radio stations, whenever we changed the format of a station, we threw away the thousands of listeners of the old format in the hopes of finding a new and better audience for our advertisers.

The most recent change we did in the past year was more transitional, more cautious. We added a 3 hour talk show to an all music station, then 9 months later added another 3 hour talk show. Now, instead of 24 hours of music, we have 18 (to preserve the old audience) and 6 hours of talk to attract a new audience. Depending on the results we may add more talk programming in the future.

My recommendations to you:

Keep tabs on trends, investigate where they are going.
A short-term fad is now a couple of weeks.
Anything lasting a month or longer may be a trend to consider.

Know your strengths, weaknesses, core values, and reasons for your past and current success.
With this knowledge, you will begin to see what NOT to change, and what you can adapt to meet your marketplace.

Your comments are always welcome.

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Value is What They Really Want

from my email:

Daily Sales Tip: Creating a Value Proposition

To develop a winning value proposition, first think about why customers buy. These reasons typically fall into three buckets --we call these the three legs of the value proposition stool:

1. Resonate: Resonance is all about cutting through the never-ending chatter of the marketplace and speaking to prospect needs and wants. A buyer must quickly understand how to fit you into the "how can they help me" bucket or they move on. You have but one chance to capture someone's attention, so avoid describing what you do or the tasks you perform. To resonate, make it all about them, and speak to the needs of the marketplace. Be straightforward, clear, and concise. It's not time to get cute with clever language as you want to be quickly understood.

2. Differentiate: You want buyers to see you as the best possible option in your space. Your area of distinction may be many things: your products and services, customer experiences, operations, point of view, or even the way you are structured. As you work to distinguish yourself, be sure to position yourself as the best possible resource for solving the prospect's need. This may lead to different areas of distinction for different prospects, so don't think in terms of just one differentiator. Think of the prospect first and how what you do and how you do it benefits them.

3. Substantiate: You made the claim; now it's time to show your cards and prove you're not bluffing. Prospects are inherently skeptical, so walk them through a case study, show them research you've published, schedule a demonstration, or discuss likely results based on work you've done with similar customers. Proof mitigates risk and erases skepticism, two major obstacles in any sale.

Source: Bob Croston, Vice President and Principal Consultant at RAIN Group

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The Problem with Competition

...is that you can never rest.

My Sunday Seth:

Brand exceptionalism

Your brand is your favorite. After all, it's yours. You understand it, you helped build it, you're obsessed with the nuance behind it. Your organization's actions make sense to you, you sat in the room as they were being argued about... you might even have helped make some of the decisions.

So, your brand doesn't do anything wrong. What it does is the best it could do under the circumstances. Someone who knew what you know would make the very same decision, because under the circumstances it was the only/best option.

Of course we should buy from you. You're better!

When your brand starts falling behind a competitor (Dell vs. Apple, Microsoft vs. Google, Washington Mutual vs. Everyone and then Apple vs. Android, Google vs. Facebook)... you say it's not fair, nor expected.

The problem with brand exceptionalism is that once you believe it, it's almost impossible to innovate. Innovation involves failure, which an exceptional brand shouldn't do, and the only reason to endure failure is to get ahead, which you don't need to do. Because you're exceptional.

In the battle for attention or market share, the market makes new decisions every day. And the market tends to be selfish. Often, it will pick the arrogant market leader (because the market also tends to be lazy), but upstarts and new competitors always have an incentive to change the game or the story.

Brand humility is the only response to a fast-changing and competitive marketplace. The humble brand understands that it needs to re-earn attention, re-earn loyalty and reconnect with its audience as if every day is the first day.

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Local can be National

You need to define your geographic marketplace.

There's a local chain of coffee shops that was in town long before Starbucks came to Fort Wayne, Indiana and he was prepared to do battle.

Walmart used to be proud of the American Made Products they carried, until they realized that their niche was not American Made, but Cheap Crap, or as they say, Always Low Prices.

And price is not the only consideration, value is. Some of us are willing to even spend more to support American industries.

Check out this report from Bloomberg:

Olsen Twins Use Made-in-America Hook to Lure Wealthy Shoppers

By Cotten Timberlake - May 26, 2011

The Made-in-America label has undergone a deluxe makeover. Everyone from Brooks Brothers to the Olsen twins is using it to hawk luxury goods, a tactic made popular by blue-collar brands such as Levi Strauss & Co. and Chrysler Corp.

Menswear maker Joseph Abboud has a “Made in USA” banner on his website with a link to footage of the Massachusetts factory that crafts his suits. Brooks Brothers has factories from New York to North Carolina, and The Row, the luxury fashion line from Mary Kate and Ashley Olsen, manufactures most of its clothes in America’s biggest cities.

“There is a customer that appreciates that the product is made in the United States and is willing to pay for the difference,” Brooks Brothers Chief Executive Officer Claudio Del Vecchio said in an interview. While Brooks Brothers made few goods in the U.S. 10 years ago, today a “large percentage” is American-made, he said.

The U.S.’s reputation for quality is benefiting upscale labels as more Americans question where their goods come from, and how their buying affects the economy, said Pam Danziger, president of Unity Marketing Inc.

“Made in America feeds into the values proposition,” she said. “They are voting with their money not just for U.S. jobs, but for a way of life. In 2007, they were on a spending jag -- they weren’t thinking about things like this.”

Shopper Surveys

Now that they are, luxury-goods makers in the U.S., the largest market, stand to profit: Almost two-thirds of wealthy consumers say they try to buy American when they can. Global spending on luxury apparel, accessories, watches, jewelry, perfume and other products may climb to 185 billion euros (about $260 billion) in 2011 from 172 billion euros last year, excluding currency moves, Bain & Co. said May 3 in a report.

More than three-quarters of affluent consumers surveyed this year by American Express Publishing and the Harrison Group, a luxury research firm, said they like brands made in America, up 5 percentage points from 2008. Sixty-five percent say they try to buy U.S. products whenever possible, a 3-point gain.

Among more than 1,300 affluent shoppers surveyed by Unity in April, the U.S. ranked highest on an index measuring the quality of its luxury goods manufacturing, scoring 267 compared with an average of 100, the Stevens, Pennsylvania-based firm said. That topped Italy and France, home to Salvatore Ferragamo Italia SpA and Hermes International (RMS) SCA, respectively.

Blue-collar goods have a history of using patriotism to attract U.S. consumers. Denim makers such as Levi Strauss have harked back to Wild West origins, while Chrysler, which has used the slogan “Imported from Detroit,” created TV ads urging prospective buyers to remember their American roots.

Self-Made

The self-made nature of much of America’s wealth may be one of the reasons the pitch is so appealing, says Andrew Sacks, head of of New York luxury ad firm Agency Sacks.

“There is a built-in inherent interest among those successful people to do whatever they can do to help,” Sacks said. Recent increases in labor costs in China, a sagging greenback and stalling U.S. economic growth probably will lead to more American manufacturing, he said.

Take Enfield, Connecticut-based Brooks Brothers. Almost all its suits are made in its factory in Haverhill, Massachusetts, while made-to-measure shirts and Black Fleece shirts are put together in Garland, North Carolina. The price on an American Brooks Brothers shirt is as much as $150, or 70 percent more than one made in Malaysia.

Fashion Fans

The Olsens’ women’s label, New York-based The Row, uses factories in its home city and Los Angeles to make fashions such as its $250 white T-shirts and $2,350 short dresses. The brand has found favor with the likes of First Lady Michelle Obama and actress Julianne Moore, as well as with critics: The former “Full House” child stars got a nomination this year for a new talent award by the Council of Fashion Designers of America.

Tiffany & Co. (TIF) has moved past its Northeast home turf and into the South by expanding its manufacturing base to Lexington, Kentucky. The New York-based company makes 60 percent of its jewelry itself, all of it in the U.S., compared with 20 percent 15 years ago, according to Mark Aaron, a company spokesman.

The Made-in-America mystique isn’t a requisite for success: Most of Polo Ralph Lauren Corp. (RL)’s goods are made outside the country, and Coach Inc. (COH), the largest U.S. luxury handbag maker, manufactures a small portion of its goods in the U.S.

Still, says Brooks Brothers’ Del Vecchio, making things in America is about more than just the label: It’s about having the goods to back it up.

“The quality is really the reason,” he said. “It gives us better control of the product.”

To contact the reporter on this story: Cotten Timberlake in Washington at ctimberlake@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Robin Ajello at rajello@bloomberg.net

®2011 BLOOMBERG L.P. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

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Adding up the "Little's"

to make something Big:

Daily Sales Tip: Keep the Conversation Going

Listen for opportunities in novel areas. Your clients may be holding back purchasing your typical offerings, but in dire need of one of your lesser known solutions.

When they tell you all spending has been curtailed, don't stop the conversation. Keep questioning and conversing.

Identify their top priorities for succeeding in this strange market. As they talk, listen for unusual ways you can assist them. Don't thumb your nose at minor projects. Nothing is too small to get your foot in the door and show the financial return you provide.

My philosophy is that small projects add up to big numbers, and I appreciate every one!

Source: Sales trainer/author Kendra Lee

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Classic Ad of the Month

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Are You Customer Friendly?

Are you sure?

This is from a weekly email I receive, the Wizard Chronicles:

From The Vault in the New Wizard's Tower Libary

Returns Policies and Customer Guarantees

Kick the Devil…

By Sonya Winterbotham, Wizard of Ads partner

"How many of your store policies are based on the assumption your customer might be fraudulent?... When deciding on returns policies and customer guarantees you need to find a balance between protecting yourself and protecting the customer."

A death certificate. The airline actually requested a death certificate for Daniel Kitson to prove his grandfather had died forcing him to change flights. If he could prove it, he could avoid paying the additional airline charges.

“Hi mum, I know you’re in the middle of grieving and organizing a funeral and stuff, but could you just fax granddad’s death certificate through to the airline… cheers”.

If it hadn’t been a comedy show nobody would have laughed. Still it was that “how ridiculous is the world” type of laugh, because we knew this was a true story.

Daniel got me thinking. How often do businesses listen a little too strongly to the devil’s advocate in their heads and make decisions based on the lowest common denominator?

How many of your store policies are based on the assumption your customer might be fraudulent? Do you really believe the world is full of Bart Simpsons trying to rip you off? Or do you know he only accounts for about one percent? But you still say “it’s not worth the risk”.

I recently spoke to a bedding retailer about a 30 day sleep guarantee… If you’re not happy with your mattress within 30 days you return it and get your money back. The devil’s advocate stepped right in, “we can’t afford that, what about the returns?”

In those few minutes what she was forgetting was that nobody buys a bed hoping they’ll have to return it. You buy a bed hoping it’ll give you the best night’s sleep of your life. But knowing you can return it makes you feel safer when deciding on your purchase.

The business generated from this policy will far outweigh the cost of the minimal returns she’ll get over a year. Here’s a business that’s already ignored their devil - Zappos.com – it’s an online clothing and shoe store. Now in e-tailing customers feel even less secure when buying – particular when there’s no option to “try on before you buy”. So Zappos offers free shipping and free return shipping. When you consider that 36% of online shoppers are influenced by returns policies… it’s no wonder Zappos more than tripled sales when word got out. When deciding on returns policies and customer guarantees you need to find a balance between protecting yourself and protecting the customer. Only about one percent of your customer base will ever look for a loop hole… the rest are the good guys… Will you talk to the one percent or will you talk to the other ninety-nine? For every devil’s advocate that’s whispering to you in one ear, make sure you have an entrepreneurial angel whispering in the other.

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Time

from my email:

Daily Sales Tip: Timeliness

Prospects get turned off when they have to listen to product details that may or may not be important to them. Or when they receive calls they are not expecting. Or when they don't get callbacks when the calls were promised.

These convey the message that the salesperson's time is more important than the prospect's time.

If you want to convey trust, don't assume prospects have time to talk to you. Be selective in your scheduling and respect their time.

Source: Adapted from Killing the Sale, by Todd Duncan, CEO and founder of The Duncan Group.

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Government Spending and some less Annoying Topics

First off, I'm sure the amount of $$ our government spent to redesign the Food Pyramid from a triangle into a circle was outrageous.

But enough with that, let's just look at the rest of the Friday Night Marketing News from Mediapost...

Food

New Guidelines Plate Icon Draws (Mostly) Praise

by Karlene Lukovitz

The U.S. Dept. of Agriculture's just-unveiled replacement for the decades-old, complex and much-criticized food pyramid graphic -- a plate divided into food groups shown in the recommended portions -- is meeting with a largely positive response from groups ranging from nutritionists and consumer advocates to food producers. ...Read the whole story >>

Dot-Brand: Get Those Applications Ready

by Karl Greenberg

About 54% of clients surveyed by a brand protection agency in the U.K. this year said they would acquire TLD extensions of their brand names. He said several brands, including Canon, Hitachi, Unicef, and Deloitte, have said they would do so. As have the cities of Paris, (.Paris) and New York, and the League of Arab States, which has plans to grab ".Arab." ...Read the whole story >>

Retail

Nike Pitches Curve With New 'Just Do It' Effort

by Karl Greenberg

While past "Just Do It" campaigns have featured the likes of Michael Jordan, Bo Jackson, and LeBron James, this year's effort is focused on Nike 6.0 action sports athletes like skateboarder Paul Rodriguez, surfer Laura Enever, snowboarder Danny Kass and freestyle BMXer Garrett Reynolds. ...Read the whole story >>

American Family Insurance Tops In Satisfaction

by Tanya Irwin

Scoring 864 out of 1,000 points, the Madison, Wis.-based insurer performs well in the policy offerings and distribution channel factors, primarily driven by the performance of their exclusive agents. Rounding out the top three are Auto-Owners Insurance, with an overall average satisfaction score of 860, and Erie Insurance, with 857. ...Read the whole story >>

Retail

Luxury Spending Up Sharply; Target Disappoints

by Sarah Mahoney

Saks posted a whopping 20.2% gain, in part because of a timing shift with a promotional event. But even without that change, it says sales would have shown a percentage gain in the mid-teens, fueled by a strong demand for women's designer apparel, shoes, handbags, and accessories; men's clothing, shoes, and accessories; jewelry; cosmetics; and fragrances. ...Read the whole story >>

Electronics

Utilities Must Educate Public On Conservation

by Aaron Baar

People are interested in finding ways to lower their electricity bills, but they're still in the dark about how upgrading to a smart grid or other electricity management systems might help them do so, says the Consumer Electronics Association. ...Read the whole story >>

Hawaiian Health Campaign Targets Sugary Drinks

Dramamine Required For 7-Eleven Promo

Xbox: More Entertainment Than Games

Study: Father's Day Spending To Rise 7%

Visit Florida Hires Comms Editor

PNC App Aims To Simplify Banking

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Are You Smartphone Friendly?

I'm an early adopter in some area's and more cautious in others.

When the iPhone came out, I watched others with theirs, but waited.

And waited, and waited some more.

It was a combination of events that led me to buy my first smartphone last summer, and I hope you are prepared for the smartphone revolution that we are in the midst of...

Mobile Users Are Ad Clickers

According to the Mojiva Mobile Audience Guide, 60% of mobile users click on mobile ads at least once a week. When seeing an ad, half of users indicated that they would play a game, download an application, or visit a Web site after seeing an ad, but only 22% said they would make a purchase, and only 40% would download a coupon.

Tony Nethercutt, General Manager of Mojiva, notes that "... mobile marketing performs well when it lines up the services and products that affect people on an everyday basis ... mobile advertising is part of the conversation for major national brand advertising..."

Some additional findings from Mojiva and InsightExpress in the Mojiva Mobile Audience Guide include:

• Over 84% of users deemed 'normal banner ads,' 'video ads,' 'ads that let me interact with them,' or 'animated banner ads' as the forms of marketing they would likely pay attention to.
• Text ads perform modestly with 13% of users most likely to pay attention; however, only 2% pay attention to expanding screen takeover ads.
• Marketing offers related to magazines, social/dating, airlines, traffic and banking had the least effective performance.

With user statistics from InsightExpress, the MAG offers a look into what resonates with users through mobile devices like smartphones and tablets. This month's research shows that marketers need to focus on engaging creative executions that encourage user interaction.

Joy Liuzzo, Senior Director from InsightExpress says "... InsightExpress research continues to demonstrate that mobile consumers are evolving, with new behaviors, attitudes, and demographic segments emerging almost monthly..."

There are opportunities to advertise with mobile ads, says the report, as respondents are frequently clicking on mobile ads. Graphic ads as a whole appear to be successful in grabbing attention. Content and type of ad will impact overall reach:

• More than half indicated they would "play a game," "download a mobile application" or "browse a website" after seeing an ad on their mobile phones.
• Fewer than one-fourth of respondents would "purchase a product" after viewing an ad on their mobile phones.

For the most part, graphic ads as a whole were successful in capturing the attention of respondents:

• Over 20% of respondents said that normal banner ads, video ads and ads that let me interact with them are most likely to be paid attention to.
• Respondents were least likely to pay attention to expanding screen take-over ads, which may be too aggressive.

Ads pertaining to retail stores, weather, restaurants or bars and sports are most likely to be clicked on by someone using their mobile phone:

-- Respondents tended to gravitate more towards mobile ads that focus on providing information pertaining to everyday life, rather than more specific and direct ads.

-- 60% of respondents click on a mobile ad for more information at least once a week. Of those, 19% click on a mobile ad for more information several times a day.

(Source: The Center For Media Research, 05/31/11)

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Are You Surprise-Proof ?

from my email:

Daily Sales Tip: The Planned Presentation

The best sales presentation possible is not vastly different each time. There are certain benefits and features of every product that must be communicated, and those benefits and features must be communicated in the best way possible. Best, by definition, means one, exclusive, alone; the best way is better than any other way by its very definition. There are not five best ways; there can be only one best way.

Your goal is to give the best presentation you can to each and every prospect. How do you get there? You have a choice based on your experience -- shoot from the hip, go with the flow, or plan your presentation. It's your choice, but the only way to give the ever-elusive "best" presentation and to give it every time is to plan it.

Here are some thoughts about why it pays to plan your presentation:

I. Have Planned Responses
If your presentation is planned, you'll have time to think about your prospects' verbal and non-verbal reactions and comments. If you have to think of what you're going to say next, you simply can't do that.

II. Gain Heightened Efficiency
Efficiency is the second advantage of planning your presentation. No non-relevant material can creep into your presentation to distract you or your prospect. You don't repeat yourself. You cover all the salient points in the most efficient manner possible.

III. Guarantee Thoroughness
Third, you guarantee that you are more thorough. Perhaps that is really just a part of efficiency, but it helps to think of it separately. You never leave anything out, and you never present important points in the wrong place in your presentation if you've planned and practiced.

Unplanned presentations can go on forever, leave important points out, and in general be wastes of qualified prospects' time. You can also miss important buying signs, interest signs, and signs of concern because you have to worry about what you are going to say next rather than pay attention to the nonverbal communication that is taking place. If you are only listening to yourself, you can't listen to the prospect!

IV. Practice to Make Perfect
Another reason for giving a planned presentation is to better gauge your results. No professional athlete experiments with his shot, stroke, or swing.

All the pros tweak and constantly strive to improve, but their basic motions stay the same. It's when they stray from that basic motion that they have slumps or bad games.

The same is true in sales. Great salespeople can have bad days, bad weeks, or longer slumps when they stray from their basic planned presentation.


Source: Author/entrepreneur/sales coach Tom Black

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Better Late than Dead

I used to say better late than never, but let's be honest. I forgot to schedule this Thursday night marketing news update from Mediapost:

Packaged Goods

Freshpet Launches Major TV Campaign

by Karlene Lukovitz

The target audience for the brand is extremely well-defined: empty nesters age 45 to 54 with household incomes of $100,000-plus. "These are people whose kids are now busy with high school or off at college or in jobs now, and who are now lavishing their affection and attention on their pets, which they basically view as their 'children,'" says Freshpet VP, marketing Kathryn Winstanley. ...Read the whole story >>

Research

Finding: 'Sandwich' Women Have 'Can Do' Attitudes

by Karl Greenberg

Women now in their 40's and 50's were really the first to believe in large numbers in the possibility of having it all. "So, what do labels mean for us? And why are [marketers] looking at labels that don't fit when we should be seeking what's really underneath this generation's pursuit of happiness?" ...Read the whole story >>

Automotive

Honda's Civic Campaign Is Comment On Internet

by Karl Greenberg

Honda on Wednesday launched a complex social media and Web campaign for the new Civic that is as much a statement about the nature of the digital universe as it is a second phase of a campaign for the car and its variants that began in April. ...Read the whole story >>

Retail

Macy's Sales Up 7.5%; Boosts Forecast

by Sarah Mahoney

Macy's says its same-store sales rose a healthy 7.5% in May -- higher than expected. As a result, the company, which is releasing its results a day ahead of the rest of the retail pack, is also bumping up its quarterly and annual forecasts.< ...Read the whole story >>

Research

MIT: Personalized Ads Don't Always Work

by Tanya Irwin

Contrary to popular practice, personalized ads not only don't drive conversions, but are likely to be ignored, according to the study by MIT Sloan School of Management Prof. Catherine Tucker and London Business School Prof. Anja Lambrecht. ...Read the whole story >>

Electronics

Eastman Kodak Launches Recycling Effort

by Aaron Baar

People can send in a variety of old consumer electronics -- ranging from printers, digital cameras, camcorders and picture frames -- regardless of brand, in return for cash and discounts on Kodak products. For products that have no remaining resale value, Kodak will direct consumers to local electronic recycling centers. ...Read the whole story >>

Mayday, Mayday, May Auto Sales Losing Altitude

McGarryBowen Reportedly Snags Burger King

Detroit Automakers Report Gains In May

AmEx Launches Android App

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New Ad Campaigns

Here's this weeks edition from Amy at Mediapost:

Love thy pits. Man returns rabbit's feet to a peg-legged rabbit. Let's launch!

Hertz launched two new TV ads for its "The Gas and The Brake" campaign, featuring a voiceover from Owen Wilson. A woman makes the best of a crowded bus ride by befriending a card shark and leaving him wearing nothing but his boxers. Her other half books a rental car online, with help from a rooster. See it here. You might be unable to afford a SUV, sports car or hybrid vehicle, but renting one is doable. Drive off in your fantasy vehicle, if only for a few days. Watch it here. DDB NY created the campaign.

New South Wales Tourism launched three TV ads encouraging young Australians to plan an adventure in their own backyard. "Captured by the Country" shows 20-something women on a road trip laden with food, wine, animals, boats and beaches. Sign me up. In "Food and Wine," the ladies pick apples, make cheese, stomp grapes for wine and play with chocolate. Sounds like a great day in my book. Watch it here. The trio becomes one with nature in the next ad, seen here. They hike through a forest, find a waterfall, go horseback riding, skim stones and camp beneath the stars. Break out the SPF, for the final ad takes place at the beach. The ladies swim, collect seashells, visit a lighthouse, go fishing and dolphin watching. See it here. The same song is used in each 60-second ad, so by the time you watch the last ad, you'll probably be sick of hearing it and know 80% of the lyrics. The campaign was created in-house and directed by Matilda Brown of The Colony.

Phillips 66 considers itself a high-performance gasoline. A TV, outdoor and online campaign has the brand on a mission to find "local legends": high-performance individuals with various talents. The first TV spot, seen here, pays tribute to a Pee Wee linebacker that "tackles quarterbacks like [Phillips 66] tackles dirty injectors." The next ad highlights a man who's really good at staring contests. The smell of freshly chopped onions or silly string shot in his direction is no match for him. Watch it here. Anyone with a random quirk or talent is encouraged to submit a video to Phillips66.com, between now and Nov. 27. Consumers will vote on submissions and the top three winners receive free gas for a year. Venables Bell & Partners created the campaign.

Snickers launched "Party," the fourth TV spot in its "you're not you when you're hungry" campaign. Initial pairings included Betty White and Abe Vigoda, Aretha Franklin and Liza Minelli, and Roseanne with Richard Lewis. This time around, we have Joe Pesci and Don Rickles. Pesci plays his usual tough guy persona at a party where he and his friend are chatting up two ladies. Pesci gets testy when he thinks a woman is distracted by something else, and knocks her appearance by implying she models gloves. After leaving to eat a Snickers, our angry man returns as himself only to be called a loser by one of the ladies, who has morphed into Don Rickles. Hysterical. Watch the ad here, created by BBDO New York.

Mitchum antiperspirant launched "Love Thy Pits," a global ad campaign supporting the launch of its Mitchum Advanced Control stick/solid deodorant. This bad boy offers 48 hours of sweat protection, so regardless of how sticky a situation you might be in, your pits will never reveal your secret stress. The first TV spot, "Lie," begins with a whopper of a fib. An unemployed man scored a job as a translator at Going Dutch Inc. Only problem is he lied on his resume about being fluent in Dutch. Thankfully, his boss will never see him sweat. Watch it here. Print ads, shown here and here, have love for armpits, sketching hearts on dry pits. Check out Mitchum's Facebook page and Love Thy Pits Web site for more information. Mother created the campaign, directed by Brand New School.

The past meets the present in a TV ad for Nokia Astound, available through T-Mobile. Present-day viral videos are combined with cowboys, villains and King Kong while the Black Iris' cover of "Don't Fence Me In" plays. My favorite scene is the old-school cowboy shooting at his rival and having the bullet morph into an Angry Bird. Needless to say, the phone can play music, games and video. See it here. Wieden + Kennedy, New York created the ad, produced by 1stAveMachine.

You don't need luck when you have Poker Wingman to help calculate whether you should fold, call or raise when playing online poker. So you can return your lucky rabbit's foot - or feet, in this man's case - to their rightful owner: a peg-legged bunny that wasn't happy to see his feet inside his mailbox. This bunny has a serious accent and looks threatening, until his peg legs slide on the floor. Poor guy. Watch the ad here, created in-house and produced by OPC Toronto.

PacSun launched a cutesy TV as called "Dress Irresponsibly" that pairs skate, surf and motocross athletes with the sound of Ol' Blue Eyes singing "Call Me Irresponsible." Chances are 70% of the kids in the ad have no idea who Ol' Blue Eyes is. The ad features crowd surfing, jumping in pools with clothes on, trading bikini tops with your BFF, making jean shorts out of jeans and skateboarding. So, a typical day for a teenager, right? "Dress irresponsibly," closes the ad, seen here and created by72andSunny, produced by Caviar Content and edited by Arcade Edit.

Random iPhone App of the week: I'd laugh at this app if finding a bra weren't always such an expedition. AvatarLabs created the Natori Bra Finder to help the estimated 80% of women who wear the wrong bra size. Women are instructed how to measure themselves for a comfortable fit. Those that take the "Find Your Perfect Bra" quiz and email the results are registered in a contest to win a Natori Bra each month for a year. The contest ends June 10. The app is available fore free 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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Wrapping it Up

from my email:

Daily Sales Tip: Five Key Closing Questions

Recently I got a request for questions that could be used during the close or presentation stage. These questions will vary from taking a prospect's pulse, to seeing if they are with you, to finding out if a benefit you just listed would work for them, all the way to a trial close.

1. After giving any part of your presentation, you should ask, "Are you with me so far?" You can vary this with, "How does that sound?" Or, "Do you see what I mean?" and, "Does that make sense?"

Always listen carefully to not only what they say, but to how they say it. And always allow a few seconds after they respond to give them time to add something else.

2. Any time you give a benefit, ask, "How would you use that?" or, "Could you use that?" Or, "Would that work for you?" Or, "Would that be of benefit in your situation?"

Again, LISTEN to what and how they respond...

3. Another good question to ask throughout your presentation is, "Do you have any questions so far?"

This is one of the best questions to ask, and it's also one of the least used. You'd be amazed by the kinds of questions you'll get, and each one reveals what your prospect is thinking. You must use this question often!

4. Trial closes are always good -- "Does this seem to be the kind of solution you are looking for?" or, "How is this sounding so far?" or, with a smile, "Am I getting close to having a new client yet?"

Even though that sounds cheesy, you'd be amazed by how it will often break the ice and get your prospect to lower his/her guard.

5. When you're done with your presentation, always ask, "What haven't I covered yet that is important to you?"

This is a great way to end your presentation, because if they tell you they don't have any questions, then you get to ask for the order! If they do have questions, you answer them and then ask for the order!

The bottom line is that asking questions -- and then shutting up and listening -- is still one of the most important things you can do either during the qualification stage or during the close. Use the above questions during your next presentation and watch your closes get stronger and your income get bigger!

Source: Veteran sales consultant Mike Brooks

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Wednesday Night Marketing News from Mediapost

Just click and read. I'm sort of busy.

Electronics

Mitsubishi Hopes To Heat Up Market For Ductless AC

by Karl Greenberg

Joe Mastroianni, chief marketing officer at Mitsubishi Electric's heating, ventilation and air conditioning division, tells Marketing Daily the opportunity for Mitsubishi ductless systems in the U.S. is both for new houses and older central systems that cost a fortune and aren't doing the trick. ...Read the whole story >>

Sports

Major League Baseball Takes On Prostate Cancer

by Tanya Irwin

During the Home Run Challenge, MLB and the Prostate Cancer Foundation will encourage baseball fans to pledge between $.25 to $10,000 for every home run hit during select games. Last year, 112 home runs were hit, raising nearly $2.3 million for accelerating research and scientific discovery that will lead to better treatments and a cure for prostate cancer. ...Read the whole story >>

Food

Idaho Farmers' Cheese Campaign Targets Floridians

by Karlene Lukovitz

The "Beyond the Cracker" campaign is anchored in a site of the same name, where legal-age Florida residents were offered a sweepstakes (grand prize: kitchen appliance package worth $5,000) and a $1-off coupon on any one-pound domestic cheese product purchased in participating grocery retailers throughout the state. ...Read the whole story >>

Retail

Father's Day Spending To Hit $11.1 Billion

by Sarah Mahoney

Clothing -- including the dreaded necktie -- will be the choice of 38.2% of shoppers, closely followed by gift cards and gift certificates (36.9%). Books and CDs are also a popular choice (25.3%), as are consumer electronics (18.5%). And 67.5% of the survey, conducted by BIGresearch and based on about 8,300 adults, plan to buy a greeting card. ...Read the whole story >>

Automotive

Saab Production Is Back In Gear

by Karl Greenberg

Saab says it has ramped up operations at its production facility in Trollhattan, Sweden, starting with an initial batch of 100 cars. The company says it plans to increase daily production in the coming weeks in parallel with the full re-establishment of the supply chain. ...Read the whole story >>

Food

Ben & Jerry's Expands Tweet-driven Freebies Tour

by Karlene Lukovitz

In addition to their pre-planned stops at retailers, community events, businesses ("office invasions") and other high-traffic locations, the trucks' teams will be checking in on Foursquare -- which directly posts to the tour's Twitter account -- and sending tweets encouraging local fans to tweet back (or use other social media) to request a stop near their locations. ...Read the whole story >>

Blue Cross, Blue Shield Of Fla. Releases Mobile App

WHO Issues Cell Phone Warning

More Changes At Nissan

Sprint 3D Phone Comes With Content

Consumer Cellular Seeks Extraordinary Grandparents

Ford Asks, Where Do We Put The Socket?

Wheaties Fuel Sponsors 'Designing Spaces' Extension

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