A Gravy Ladle’s Worth of Marketing Ideas

Thanksgiving is a great holiday:  food, friends, fun, Little Debbie Christmas Trees hit the stands and football.  With the holidays coming here is a buffet worth of marketing ideas for you to feast upon.  In the spirit of Thanksgiving, thank you to all I have stolen these ideas. 

• Give away turkey basters with a note inside saying how much you appreciate their business.  The basters are cheap and usable.
• Send a Thanksgiving card to people instead of Christmas cards.  It’s a great way to thank people for their business or contribution.
• If you don’t have a company/organization mascot, think about a turkey.  Every year it is the big bird on campus.  You could hold an annual Turkey Trot and have a real reason to call it Turkey Trot.
• Send out Cranberry recipes prior to Thanksgiving.  “We are berry thankful for your support.”  If you really have a budget, send out cranberries.  Always a welcome surprise.
• Protest for “Good Customer Service” or some other unusual idea.   Think of the attention of picketers chanting and marching for good.  There is no news over Thanksgiving so imagine the positive stories.
• Hire a quartet to serenade your favorite customers or stakeholders.  Have them carry a sign that let’s everyone know who is providing the music.
• Send elves (would have been a good idea for Halloween as well) to deliver treats to your clients and contributors.
• Hire some sign twirlers to send a strong message.  Don’t just promote a sale, promote an idea—it is more likely to get press coverage.

As I look through this list, there are a number of ideas that are just remakes of sound image-building techniques.  In this high-tech age, it is good to know some old-fashioned marketing really gets attention and brands you in real, relationship-building ways.  I’m abundantly thankful for that.

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Brand Loyal Boomers?

I continue to hear people talk about younger demographics as the sweet spot of a marketing plans.  I say baloney.  The sweet spot is boomer-age people and here is just one more reason.

According to the Burearu of Labor Statistics reported by the New York Times, unemployment for 15-24 is 16.7%.  For 25-44 it is 8.2% and 45+ is 6.3%.   1 in 8 of Millennials have boomeranged back home to parents.  Brent Bouchez, partner at agency FiveO, says that Boomers have 2.5 times the discretionary spending power of any other demographic group and hold 75% of the nation’s current wealth.

“Yes, but” Boomers are already brand loyal?  Are you kidding?  I’m going to look at my own brand usage (yes, I’m a Boomer) for some quick research:

Brand	1980s	2010
Beer	Old Milwaukee	Bud Select 55
Car	SAAB	Cadillac
Wine	Gallo	SilverOak
Cell phone	None	HTC Ozone
Computer	None	Dell
Health Ins	Blue Cross	United Health
Fast Food	McDonalds	Subway
Grocery Store	Randalls	HyVee
Soap	Zest	Dove
Ketchup	Heinz	Heinz
Mustard	French’s	French’s
Soda	Pepsi	Sprite 0
Toothpaste	Crest	Acquafresh
Coffee	Folgers	Starbucks
Soup	Campbell’s	Campbell’s
Running shoes	Nike	Nike
Laundry Soap	Cheer	Tide

There are very few brands that stand up to time.  I know this is not scientific, yet every time I see a Boomer carrying an iPad or a Kindle I know that this is a target rich marketing environment.  Younger demos, keep looking for those jobs.

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I Want My ‘Friend’ Discount

So you are a fan of a business on Facebook.  And just like a real fan or friend, you expect something in return, some value,  from your relationship.  Well, we know now it is money when it comes to social media.

According to a new study from ExactTarget and CoTweet, the “number one driver for consumers to ‘like’ a brand on Facebook” is receiving discounts.  Two other popular reasons, getting free samples/coupons and updates on upcoming sales, also helped boost the discount reason.

Providing feedback, interacting with the company and learning more about the company rated at the bottom of motivations to ‘like’ a company, brand or association on Facebook.  Showing support for a company to others surprisingly ranked very high.  So social marketing (sponsoring events, taking a stand on some efforts, etc) seems to have a high value for ‘liking’ a company on Facebook).

This study really shows that marketing on social media builds relationships.  In any relationship, there needs to be value added by each side.  In the case when customers ‘like’ a brand, there needs to be a cash incentive of some kind to keep the relationship alive.

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Nonprofits Should Sell Competence

We all use stereotypes or broad assumptions to help us predict behavior in demographic categories and groups.  I think we can all agree that stereotypes are, in general, bad.  Yet we still do it.  According to research, one effect of stereotyping is giving nonprofits a very bad name.

In the Journal of Consumer Research, in a paper titled, “Non-Profits Are Seen as Warm and For-Profits as Competent: Firm Stereotypes Matter,” the researchers paint a bleak picture all nonprofits should take into consideration when crafting grants, proposals, case statements and fundraising presentations.  What the researchers found was that the stereotypical view is that nonprofits are “warm, generous and caring organizations.”  All of those are nice attributes and understandable for nonprofits.   However, the research also found that nonprofits are viewed as lacking  ”the competence to produce high-quality goods or services and run financially sound businesses.”  For-profits were viewed as “competent” in that area.

What this means is that in your next grant or proposal, there should be a clear plan for follow-through, reporting, fiduciary responsibility and quality controls.   I’ve noted that some nonprofits are receiving ISO certification to help counter this particular stereotype.

You can’t assume people know you run the business side of your organization well.  In fact, according to the research, you can assume that the there may be a “baseless misperception of incompetence.”   You will need a strong presentation that includes proof-of-performance examples to change the stereotype and build credibility in the business side of your organization.

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I’m at “Peace” Being a Boomer

I’m a boomer and proud of it.  However, I just read a piece of research from the Stanford Graduate School of Business that surprised me–but it does explain why I like listening to spa-inspired, Native American flute music now.

What researchers Sep Kamvar, Cassie Mogilner and Jennifer Aaker found was that “younger people are more likely to associate happiness with excitement, older people are more likely to associate happiness with feeling peaceful.”   I was watching a casino ad the other night that first was ‘screaming’ throughout the commercial, and in the titillating copy the word “excitement” was used several times.  Considering how many ‘boomers’ go to casinos, I thought the ad was way off target.  This research indicates that boomers view happiness in terms of being low stress, a good use of time, carefree and relaxing.  (Maybe boomers don’t want to be happy in a casino.)  A phrase a boomer would not say is, “I am so stressed, but loving life.”   

According to Nielsen, boomers comprise 1/3 of TV viewers, online users, social media users and Twitter users; watch the most video per day (more than 9 hours), and dominate all packaged-goods categories .  Nielsen’s research show that this demo will be an active consumers much longer than we all expect.  Companies, and especially non-boomer marketing managers, designers and producers, will need to relearn how to successfully message to this demographic group.   

Another, more troublesome surprise, is the fact that Nielsen estimates only 5% of advertising dollars are targeted toward boomers.   Maybe part of the economic slowdown is that business (marketing, service providers and product engineers) took its collective eye off the largest, most affluent and most powerful consumer group.  Next time you see someone with an iPad, ask about their age.

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Business Means Saying You Are Sorry

I’m really, really sorry for this blog.  I’m sorry it can’t be more.  The reason I’m apologizing is I just wanted to join the ranks of those making public apologies:  General McChrystal, Tony Hayward of BP, Toyota’s president, the Catholic church, British prime ministers, a host of politicians, Tiger Woods, Don Imus and Kramer.

In the first 30 seconds of Tiger’s press conference, he said he was sorry.  When you work in the public, you must be forgiven by the people you offended, but then you must also be forgiven by the general public.  Don Imus was forgiven by the Rutgers team, but not by the public.

Three things must happen in a public apology:

1. Express genuine remorse
2. Take full responsibility
3. Introduce a plan to never let it happen again

How well is BP doing?  They are missing part three.  They can apologize again and again, but they need the plan for going forward.

Now, you may not spill oil in the gulf or have your car accident interrupt network programming, but you will make a mistake.  And, you will need to apologize.  Not just to the person you’ve wronged, but to all your customers.

In this social media age, word can travel at light speed.  Your apology needs to travel faster.

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Why Europe Hates U.S. Marketing

When we were in the Czech Republic this year, I noticed just how good U.S. companies are at marketing.

I realized this as  we were wandering about a  touristy area of Prague.  At one corner, I was handed this coupon.  It was the only coupon I was handed the entire trip.  There is nothing breakthrough about a coupon, other than the fact that no other business was doing it.

It had a clear map, even to non-Czech-speaking people, consistent colors and logo usage, and a pretty good offer (at least I think it did). 

U.S. companies abroad utilize marketing basics that really stand out when few are following the basics.  And I think that is what makes many Europeans, and people who visit, disappointed to see U.S. companies settle into an area.  Some call it commercialism, I call it good branding.  And when you’re thirsty, it is nice to see a familiar face in the crowd.   According to the Wall Street Journal, Coca-Cola gave away red plastic encased TVs and tables with the Coke logos to bars in Johannesburg.  Coke World Cup flags were given out to fans.  Coke’s Celebration mix hit No. 1 on Apple’s iTunes store in 15 countries.

There was a billboard campaign that caught my eye which featured clear benefits even if you didn’t understand the language.  I asked a Czech native about the advertising and she said that an American advertising agency was hired by the party to help “sell.”  Well, it did sell.  And I can see how some power photography, bold graphics, benefit selling, bulleted copy and consistent look and feel really work in the US and abroad.

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Smile, You’re on a Domino’s Pizza Shoot

Watch this clip from Domino’s about photographing a pizza.  It is 3 minutes and a fun clip.   

It is a great way to show some of the lengths we take to make products look good in photography.  Really, it is no different than the primping you might do before the family Christmas card photo shoot.  You want to look your best.   (Do families really wear the same color clothing when they are out on the street?)

The Domino’s approach is great.  I love the honesty and behind-the-scenes peek it gives the consumer.  I’m laughing, because I’ve been there looking for that right piece of garnish.  I also know that if you don’t  shoot the pizza right out of the oven, the cheese turns translucent as it sits out.  It looks old.  You may eat day-old pizza out of the fridge, but it would not sell in a photograph.

So what can we learn from this?  You still need to primp, but we all go a bit too far from time to time.   You could try the Domino’s approach,  but make sure it fits your brand personality.  I’m sure the pizza chef in the Domino’s ad made sure his clothing was spotlessly clean (unlike most pizza chefs I’ve seen) and I bet they put on makeup to hide the shine on his forehead.

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BP is Now Darryl

Every brand has a brand personality.  Just like people, brands can be boring, exciting, interesting, fun.  BP realized it didn’t have a much of personality—or should I say, the CEO didn’t have much of a personality.

Meet Darryl.  He volunteered for this assignment (builds credibility) and he says, “I’m responsible for overseeing BP’s claims process.”  The ad is warm, honest and not over-hyped.  You like Darryl and you trust him.   

We have a need in all of us to anthropomorphize (humanize) inanimate objects to facilitate interaction or understanding.  The weather seems less of a threat if we call it ”Mother Nature.”   We name our cars and coax our computers and talk to them like people.

If you only advertise transactions and price, you cannot expect people to think more about you than they do about a light bulb.  If you don’t ever communicate that personality, then you are the wallflower of brands.  Pillsbury isn’t much without its doughboy.  It helps define the brand character in human ways. 

People want to have a relationship with your brand.  If you don’t have a likeable personality, you will never be able to participate in all that media—and especially social media—has to offer.  Why would you ever “friend” someone (or something) you don’t really like?  What kind of person is your brand?  And, would people like that person?

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Pete Carroll’s Video Response

I’m sure you now have heard about USC’s NCAA sanctions.  And, you also may be aware of Pete Carroll’s response.  What you may not have noticed was a shift change in the world of public relations.

A couple of things really struck me about Mr. Carroll’s response, but the amazing part was that he did the release on video.  He did not ’release a statement’ or ‘issue a press release.’  The YouTube video could be used by all news organizations and all media (radio, TV and print).  By using video, it made his statements more credible because you can see him say it.  (I’m not saying what he said was true, just more credible.)   The real key is the message was totally controlled by Pete and his PR people.

What a great way to get out information to large audiences and avoid media from saying that you have “no comment.”    Instead of issuing that next company e-mail, try a video message.

Coach Carroll did a pretty good job of looking into the camera, however at the end you could really see that he had “cue cards” above the camera.  Why he didn’t use a teleprompter, I’ll never know.

When you do a video release, make sure that you can deliver the message looking into the camera.  People are watching your eyes.  Looking off camera is OK, but not when you are delivering key messages.  It will look like you are not telling the truth or you don’t really care if you can’t look the camera square in the eye.  Welcome to the new age of PR.

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