Get To The Grapes

Rance Crain, writer for Advertising Age wrote a rather lengthy article entitled “Why Many Super Bowl Ads Failed to Score.” His premise?  Marketers keep forgetting that the best ads are simple and direct. And he’s right.

Years ago, Kelly Johnson, lead engineer at the Lockheed Skunk Works coined the acronym KISS; which stands for ‘keep it simple stupid.’  Simple and direct simply works. Remember “Bud-weis-er?” It doesn’t get much simpler than that.

To borrow from Mr. Crain’s article, he noted that The Financial Times ran a story this week on the “infomercial king” of the U.S., British-born Anthony Sullivan. Mr. Sullivan says his job is to pitch products, not to market them, and he likens those who practice the dark art of marketing as “black-suits-wearing namby pambies.”

He continued by stating that ‘the basics of selling, or how to put a crowd “under the ether,” as he says, haven’t changed: The pitch has to be succinct, compelling and direct.’ He notes that far too many ads are quite the opposite in that they are simply too complex, confusing and oblique.

And finally, he summarizes the article this way: Good ads are simple and direct. Bad ads aren’t. It’s all a matter of discipline, a characteristic that advertisers have a woeful lack of these days. No wonder the informercial king calls them namby pambies.

So, who did get it right? Volkswagon. I mean, really? Does it get any simpler than that?

And some who didn’t:

Brisk Tea: I thought he advertising an energy drink or something.  The brand association was simply odd. I don’t see Eminem as a ‘tea-totaller,’ if you will.

Go Daddy
It’s so tired, played and inane and I can’t even get myself to show you…

Snickers?

Make sure customers’ experience is in line with marketing promise

Sacramento Business Journal – by Debi Hammond, Contributing writer, Marketing

Loyalty. It’s what retailers and marketers want but few are able to garner. Even as a marketing professional, I find my loyalty swayed by, what else? Advertising.

My husband and I purchased a sporting goods product a year or so ago and the service was fine. Not exceptional, but very good. So, as we were contemplating another purchase, we were compelled to try a new store that has been doing a great amount of advertising with a compelling message. The problem? They simply didn’t deliver on their message.

They claim to be the “friendliest” sporting goods store, but quite frankly, they weren’t all that friendly. They were running a radio promotion that said if you came in you’d get a free T-shirt, so when I inquired about it, I was simply told “we’re out.” The sales guy wasn’t really rude about it, but he wasn’t really friendly either — or accommodating. He didn’t offer a rain check or even an apology.

Given that it was two days before Christmas, I decided to go ahead and make the purchase I’d gone in for anyway — a T-shirt my husband wanted. I bought the shirt and before I left the store, I pulled it out of the bag to look at it, and it was stained. Of course, they didn’t have any more in the size I needed, so I asked if I could get a small discount. The answer? “No, but you can return it.” Really? That’s so “helpful!”

What the sales guy probably didn’t realize is that although that day I was there only to buy a T-shirt, I was also there to determine where my husband and I would be making another, much more expensive purchase. I had been frequenting another retailer but chose to check this one out because of their advertising and endorsements. Advertising can definitely drive traffic, but it’s a company’s ability to deliver on its brand promise that matters most. (more…)

I don’t know if you saw, but Starbucks unveiled a new logo yesterday.  I heard it first from my own local Starbucks baristas just this morning when I stopped in for my normal Grande cup of Pike blend.  The baristas had been huddled in the back and as they returned to the floor they informed me that they had been admiring the newly unveiled logo.  That’s right, in keeping with the spirit of strategic marketing, the Starbucks siren will no longer be sharing her space with the “Starbucks Coffee” text.  What a feat that a brand continues to evolve to a point of almost total ubiquity and to a point that the logo no longer requires words as a means of identification with the consumer.  In fact, the strategy behind the transformation, according to CEO Howard Schultz, is in essence to avoid limiting Starbucks to just coffee as the logo has always portrayed and to open up even more opportunity for diversification in the marketplace.  How is it that a move like this works for some companies and not others?  Is it simply a matter of creative design?  Perhaps you heard about the recent change that G.A.P. made to their logo.  Within a week they were back to their traditional logo due to the outrage among consumers over the seemingly unnecessary and thoughtless design change.  That situation definitely seemed to lend itself to the old adage, “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.”  Will Starbucks be any different?  Will their strategy prove to be sound or will they be following suit with G.A.P. in another week?  The opinions of the consumer can sometimes be unpredictable, but whether you are for, against, or indifferent to the evolution of the Starbucks brand and the new and improved logo, hopefully you are able to appreciate the depth of the strategic thinking behind this recent move.

For more follow the link:

http://www.starbucks.com/preview

Posted by: Stephanie

Friday, December 3, 2010

Great video content can drive sales, awareness for your small business

Sacramento Business Journal – by Debi Hammond, Contributing writer, Marketing

I am not the typical mom type. Not that it is a bad thing, it’s just that I’ve never really been that into kids, moms groups and the like. In fact, when at parties or events, you would always find me anywhere the kids were not. So, of course, that goes for mom- and parenting-type commercials, videos, magazines and more.

My, how one’s world changes once you actually have kids. As a mom to a 2½-year-old daughter and 9-month-old son, I’ve grown quite fond of children (even other people’s) and have a true appreciation for the jokes, jabs and simply humorous life we parents live.

Now, let’s talk about minivans. There is simply nothing humorous about minivans. In fact, after having our second child, my husband started talking to me about the practicality and convenience of a minivan. I responded without any hesitation that it would be “over my dead body” that we EVER buy a minivan.

Then came the “Swagger Wagon” , a hilarious video on YouTube brought to you by Toyota. Granted, Toyota spends hundreds of millions of dollars a year on advertising, but this video went viral due to its organic roots, not advertising. Why?

Because it is hilarious and touched an emotional chord with its audience. It touched an emotional chord with me, and remember, I’m not the mom type and minivans would be “over my dead body.” But somehow Toyota made a minivan kind of cool. The video seemed to say, you can be a parent, own a minivan and still be cool! Sounds childish and rudimentary, I know, but they’re on to something. But the question is, what?

The answer: content.

I love this business! There is nothing better than developing the strategy and creative and then begin production.  Here are a few pictures from our most recent photo shoot.

Brenda making sure it's perfect!

Friday, October 1, 2010

Biz Savvy

Focus should be on messaging, usability, personality, then design

Sacramento Business Journal - by Debi Hammond Contributing writer

Ah, the wonderful world of website design. A place where everyone you talk to is either an expert or knows someone who is. And a place where everyone wants to share the great deal they got on the design and development. And why not? I mean, it’s just one of the most important parts of your brand. The place where most of your customers and prospects will visit to learn more about you and your business.

The fact is many business owners are frustrated with their websites because they’ve put their brand in the hands of these so called “experts,” usually a graphic designer, or a website churn mill, where templates are applied to something that should be treated with the utmost care and attention to detail.

After all, your website is an extension of your brand. It should reflect who you are today and what kind of company you want to be five years from now.

I’m not here to belittle or begrudge graphic designers or their craft, as they are absolutely an integral part of the process. But a website is so much more than aesthetics. A website is visual and it should be visually appealing, but the design should be the last phase of your website, not the first.

So, whether you’re getting ready to build a website from scratch or redesigning an existing one, follow these five steps to make it successful. (more…)

Social media should without a doubt be a part of your overall marketing strategy.  Key word here is STRATEGY.  Time and time again, we see companies letting interns or “a young person with a facebook account” manage their brands online.  “Manage their brand…?” Fortune 500 companies pay good money to very talented marketing professionals to manage their brands, yet smaller companies who need to build their brands put their brands into the hands of someone with a myspace account.  Managing your brand in the social media space is just as important (if not more important) as managing it via a national or international public relations or multi-million dollar advertising campaign.

Yes, social media is free, but to incorporate it into your branding strategy successfully requires skilled human capital!

Friday, June 4, 2010

Target your social media efforts by going for quality over quantity

Sacramento Business Journal – by Debi Hammond, Contributing writer, Marketing

Dunkin’ Donuts has 80 percent fewer Facebook and Twitter followers than Starbucks. So it is losing the social media game, right? Well, it depends on your definition of social media success.

If your goal is to be like Ashton Kutcher (he was the first to reach the 1 million “follower” mark on Twitter, even before CNN), then I guess you could consider your social media program a success. However, my recommendation is to focus on quality over quantity.

Besides, what do those 1 million followers really represent for a celebrity? More movies? More money? Or was it simply a bunch of people experimenting with a new medium who now have inactive accounts?

After all, according to a recent Nielsen Online data study, 60 percent of Twitter users quit after a month.

From a business perspective, the question you want to ask yourself is, does having more “followers/friends” equate to having more business and more brand equity? If you want to use social media effectively, then stop “selling” and be more “social.”

Be authentic

The biggest mistake marketers and small businesses make when trying to market their businesses is trying to use social media the same way they do traditional media. Social media is not traditional media and should not be treated the same way.

Television and radio use a “hard sell” approach. It’s one way and directional: “buy me” now. Social media is “social,” meaning people need to be engaged to want and to learn about your product, service or other information. You can, and in most cases, should, use it as an integral part of your marketing campaign, but don’t treat it as a traditional marketing tool.

Social media is about engagement. It’s bi-directional. It’s about providing value. It’s about being authentic. If all you do is tweet about what’s on sale, promotions and the number of “friends/followers” you want, buy an ad because social media is not the place for the “hard sell.”

You want followers that want to follow you. You want followers who are truly engaged in your brand and are following you because of the value you bring to their lives. If you’re wondering what kind of social media marketer you are, take this brief quiz (answer yes or no): See article at the Sacramento Business Journal (more…)

Online Marketing is Here to Stay, it’s Time to get in on the Action

Sacramento Business Journal – by Debi Hammond, Contributing writer, Marketing

Albert Einstein said the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.

Still, so many companies continue to market their businesses the same way — traditionally. That’s not to say traditional marketing is dead, though according to Joseph Jaffe, author of “Life After the 30-Second Spot” and “Join the Conversation,” marketers must adapt to the brave new world of the Internet, social media and social networking, consumer-generated content, blogs, videocasts and podcasts by joining in the meaningful conversations that are happening online.

The point is that you can no longer rely on traditional media alone to tell your story. Marketing has to be truly integrated. And quite frankly, marketing has changed. People no longer want to be sold to by companies; they want to be connected and compelled to buy in a more personal and meaningful way.

In “Join the Conversation,” Jaffe writes that today’s consumers are active participants in the advertising process. They are no longer simply silent targets and sitting ducks for one-way communication.

The advertising industry is changing rapidly, yet so many companies seem to have their heads in the sand — especially when it comes to incorporating social media into their marketing mix. They seem to think that if they stick their head in the sand, no one will notice them.

Well, my philosophy is that if you stick your head in the sand, everyone will notice you because you’re sharing your most undesirable end.

Not sure if your customers are really online? Let me share a few statistics with you. (more…)

According to a new study from Performics and analytics from ROI Research, 46 percent of social media users have recommended or talked about a product or brand on Facebook, and 44 percent have done the same on Twitter.

With more than 3,000 responses to an online survey of social network users, 30 percent said they have learned about a new product, service or brand from a social networking site, and 25 percent have gone directly to an online retailer or ecommerce site after learning about a new product or brand.  Twenty-five percent have recommended a product or brand to friends through social networking sites while 20 percent have discussed them on social networking sites after seeing an ad elsewhere. 

Want to engage your target audience?

Twenty-seven percent reported being receptive to invitations to events, special offers or promotions received through social networking sites. 

Just like with any public relations or advertising campaign, a social media program needs to be based in strategy and provided the resources needed to succeed.  But the real question is for those companies out there who still wonder if social media is just a fad.   They continue to hesitate to truly get involved or invest the time and resources to get involved successfully.  Well, if those companies wait for much more evidence, that ‘bandwagon’ will be long gone…. Full article at BrandWeek.