Marketing Nostalgia

These throwback boxes from General Mills are a lot of fun. They are nostalgic and full of retro kitsch. Plus you get a shirt out of the deal. You walk away smiling and probably carrying a box of something you haven't had since you were a kid. That's what nostalgia does. As a marketer you can't go to this well too often but every now and then, after just enough time has passed, you can get out some artifact that will make your customers smile with childlike delight as you tug on their heartstrings and subtly remind them that your brand has been with them through it all.

Got some old signage or advertisements collecting dust in a closet or storage facility? Get them out and take them to your next meeting. Put them up in your business. Pretty soon your team will be smiling and together you'll come up with a great way to re-introduce these memories back into your brand's quilted tapestry.

Favorite Things: Direct Mail Done Right

"You've got to see this," said my friend and colleague Don as he slid one of the most engaging pieces of direct mail that I've seen in a long time across the table ... Hear my quick take in the video above. Here is the PURL (Personalized URL) used in the campaign – www.AcceptTheInvitation.com/DonaldCarstensen. An interesting takeaway? With campaigns like this, direct snail mail is almost becoming a boutique media for very small personal campaigns.

The Back of the Box

No, this isn't an excuse to show off pictures of my kids. When you have little children you eat fast food a whole lot more than you normally would. Last weekend on a trip to the golden arches I found my gaze wandering across the table to back of my son's Happy Meal box. There on the box before me was depicted what a Happy Meal should be. A Utopian offering composed of a grilled chicken wrap, sliced apples and a cool inviting glass of milk. Mmmm.

The problem? This is the first any of us saw of it. No commercials (we watch a lot of kids TV too) and no in-store signage or menu call-outs. So — as you can see above — our gang ordered up our usual vittles. This is something about the Mickey D's brand that we would actually like to know and it's no where in the barrage brand impressions constantly pelted at families like ours. The conspiracy theorist in me thinks that it was planned this way. The folks at McDonald's want to be able to say that they offer something healthy in response to the heightened awareness of the post-Super Size Me world we live in but at the end of the day they don't want anyone ordering it. Offer it and under-promote it and all of a sudden ... We have a healthy Happy Meal on the menu but no one orders it ... I digress ...

Why should this matter to you? Is there something important that your customers should know or want to know about your brand that you have relegated to the back of the box?

Good Day

Paul Harvey died this weekend. There are any number of finely worded obituaries you can read about the man whose "rest of the stories" and "good days" punctuated the breakfast tables of my childhood. What I think should be noted is that this 90-year old, who was often cited as the oldest living radio personality and one of the most effective pitchmen ever, was really quite progressive. It occurred to me as I thought back on his show that Paul Harvey was blogging before there were blogs. His daily news and comments with segues to commercial content, all packaged by his folksy delivery — you could have transcribed it and probably have had a great blog but you'd have missed the author's voice and unmistakable inflection. Plus he respected advertising, famously quipping, "I am fiercely loyal to those willing to put their money where my mouth is." Good day, indeed.

Photo credit by Tanki via Flickr

Anatomy of an Ad: Reality + Gestalt

Like the Reality Coalition needs any help from us — I think I saw this spot between every break last night. But here is our quick take on why it works. First, the ad is good. Every piece works — clever copy, art, and acting. The logo fits to a T, playing on the age-old metaphor of the canary in the coal mine. Simple yet striking in yellow and black. (The x-d out eyes are the cherry on the sundae.) But what really sets off this campaign is the Gestalt effect — the whole being more than the sum of its parts. That is the biggest takeaway. More than being a good spot, this has story appeal as the Coen Brothers directed it. Once that circulated, it gave added impact to the ad itself thus making the whole package — the story — more than the sum of its parts. People might have tuned in to a good commercial. But a good commercial with a memorable story (you have to see what the Coen Bros. would do with this) is clear winner.

8 Reasons Why Email Newsletters Work

Today Business Week had a great article on the success of the tried and true email newsletter. While definitely not the sexiest form of new media (nor the newest), many of our clients see continued success with email newsletters. Here are our 8 reasons why email marketing is an effective way for getting your brand in front of your customers.

Email Marketing Is ...

1. Personal — Email newsletters are delivered directly to customers' inboxes. When they sign up for your email program, they demonstrate their willingness as a consumer to enter into a very personal relationship with you.
2. Permission-based — As the Business Week article points out, it is much more personal to grant a company permission to send regular email updates than it is to click through and passively read a blog or fan a business on Facebook.
3. Relevant — The best commercial emails touch on timely issues that are relevant to customers. There is no bigger predictor of email success than relevance to the reader.
4. Targeted — You can be even more relevant to your readers by segmenting your list and delivering targeted messages.
5. Regular — After you set a scheduled pattern and provided you pay close attention to items 3 and 4, your emails will become an anticipated part of your customers' routines. It's the first Wednesday of the month, so I get my e-newsletter from ...
   
6. Trust-Building — Because of its personal nature, email marketing provides you with an opportunity to build trust. If this trust is abused you risk damaging the relationship — both online and off. There are many ways of losing a customer's trust via email such as mailing too much, using too hard a sell, not delivering relevant, targeted messages and more. Be careful.
   
7. Cost Effective — A less touchy-feely reason but it's true. Email can be as effective as direct mail without the cost of printing and postage.
   
8. Measurable — Again, a dollars-and-cents reason but few other forms of media can compete with email marketing on its level of insight and accountability. As a business, you get real-time results on opens, clicks, bounces, and opt-outs.
   

Finally, I'd like to say a quick note on sending permission-based email rather than blasting. I dislike this dated phrase mostly because it flies in the face of email marketing's elder cousin, direct mail. You don't blast something at some general population and hope for a response. You send a targeted message directly to a relevant audience. Oh, and you can measure it. Heck, that's direct marketing in a nutshell. Blasting uses junk mailer tactics to attack users' inboxes. In the end, that's where you end up when you abuse this special relationship — in spam folders wondering why you have more customers opting out of your program than you have opting in.

In times of economic hardship, many companies' sole direct marketing expenditure is email. Email is modern direct marketing. When used wisely, email is an incredibly effective tool for keeping your brand in front of customers on a consistent basis. When cultivated and maintained, your email list will become an invaluable asset to your business as your customers will eagerly await seeing your brand in their inboxes.

Photo credit: husin.sani via Flickr

Social Media Strategy for Personal Brands

A few weeks ago I changed my Twitter username from '@nickwestergaard' to '@westerad.' (If you would like step-by-step instructions on doing this check out Rick Butts' post here.) It all went very smoothly but I did have some ask me if the change meant that my Twitter voice would be changing. I was taken aback by this at first but in the end this prompts a larger discussion of what happens when a person becomes a brand and how this impacts the increasingly social and personal nature of online media.

Truthfully there was no greater thought to it other than this — I was going to a have a custom Twitter shirt made and I applied our old in-house style rule of trying not to require folks to spell out 'Westergaard' so I truncated my username to our URL de plume 'westerad.'

The question of where the person ends and the brand begins can often seem like a tricky one. How do I answer my business phone that is also my cell phone? "This is Nick." I thought that over waaaay too long. Questions like these are further exacerbated by social media where you have even more opportunities to expose your brand to the online community. However, most of these tools have either personal applications, professional applications, or some combination thereof. You need a strategy on how to tackle all of this and what voice to use. As a brand working through this as well, I will share our strategy with you on the off chance that it may help you define a strategy of your own:

Facebook — My profile is for me personally, not so much Business Nick. Same goes for our other team members that are on here. To have a calculated WA presence here, we have created a Facebook fan page.
MySpace — Nothing for WA here yet. I can't get a gauge on the on-going value of MySpace especially as it relates to business use and professional networking. For artists or bands, no contest. But business ...? Thoughts?
LinkedIn — Individual team members can create their own profiles with links from the bio pages of our website.
Twitter — Right now I straddle the line of tweeting both for our business and for me personally from the aforementioned @westerad account. I try to make it a mix of article forwards, insights, retweets, personal notes, etc.
YouTube — We have a WA channel showcasing our video, radio, and TV work.
Flickr — We have a WA photostream showcasing our branding, print, and online work.

I'm not saying this is cast in stone for us or even that this is a prescription for success for your personal brand. But rather, that defining your personal/professional brand's roles as they apply to social media is paramount to success in this new space.

P.S. Soon we're going to launch a redesigned WA website that better ties together all pieces of social media outlined above — including this blog. More later.

Photo credit Matt Hamm via Flickr

Ads That Move the Needle

This morning Advertising Age reported that the Miller High Life one-second Super Bowl ad has created a year-on-year sales bump for the brand affectionately referred to as "the champagne of beers." The real kicker is that NBC didn't even air the one-second ad in some larger markets including New York, Chicago, and LA as they didn't want to discourage marketers who "followed the rules" and bought traditional :30s and :60s like they were supposed to. "We definitely sold more beer," said the High Life brand manager. And isn't that the point? Forget what NBC and anyone in the establishment says they are supposed to do. Their job is to sell more beer and that ad did it. Compare the one-second Miller bought for High Life to the four and a half minutes Anheuser-Busch bought. Talk about ROI ...

Contrast this with all of the red carpet-like reviews ads are given during high profile events like the Super Bowl and the Oscars (even on this blog every now and then). Sure, it's a fun conversation to have but it's like like having a sports discussion about which team's uniforms are the most aesthetically pleasing. It's secondary. The team with the most points at the end of the game wins, just as the ads that sell ultimately win.

We can talk endlessly about how the fan-created Doritos ad was voted as the most popular pick by USA Today and YouTube but I wonder if they sold more chips ... My own personal aside is that I think anyone can write a funny sketch with someone getting a ball to the crotch but I think it takes a professional to move the needle and sell some chips.

Moving the needle is what it's all about — not making clever, sexy ads. You need to sell more chips, beer, online job services, or whatever your particular widget may be. That's not to say that you can't be creative in the process but you can't simply be creative for the sake of being creative and hope by accident that some chips get sold. I also say moving the needle because results can come in lots of shapes and sizes — sales dollars, units sold, website traffic, etc.

Ultimately I think that's the difference between a professional sales and marketing strategy and writing a skit for the school talent show. Buying a one-second spot was a gutsy, creative move. It had people talking about it and anticipating it not to mention it was cost-effective, moved product and ultimately demonstrated ROI. It's not an easy thing to do but I think sometimes it can look easy. At a glance it's a funny guy shouting "High Life" that literally passes in the blink of an eye but in the boardroom post-mortem it is an objective achieved.

Photo credit: Rebecca.. via Flickr

Copywriter's Time Machine: Ted's Words

Our first client was/is a Cadillac dealership. On the wall of one of their conference rooms is a framed document with advertising copy in it. Yep, ad copy. A copywriter's dream come true — that their words would live on, framed inside conference rooms across the nation. But this is not just any pedestrian copy (I can say that as a copywriter myself). "The Penalty of Leadership" was a legendary Cadillac print ad that ran once in 1915 in the Saturday Evening Post. The words were crafted by Theodore MacManus and they never specifically mention Cadillac.

In 1967 Cadillac revived the campaign by sending scrolls of the copy to customers nationwide, including Elvis Presley. The King so identified with these words, he framed them and hung them up on the walls of Graceland where they still reside today.

Maybe I'm just being sentimental as I'm in the midst of reading The King of Madison Avenue, hearkening back to the long, descriptive, and often poetic ads of David Ogilvy, but copy like this is wonderful. It not only sings but it sells. And not just a car but a lifestyle — an ethos. It paints a picture so clear and vivid in a day where there the only tools for doing so were carefully scribed words on the printed page — long before the colored lights of television and all of the new media that has followed.

Here is the ad, in its entirety.

THE PENALTY OF LEADERSHIP

In every field of human endeavor, he that is first must perpetually live in the white light of publicity. Whether the leadership be vested in a man or in a manufactured product, emulation and envy are ever at work. In art, in literature, in music, in industry, the reward and the punishment are always the same. The reward is widespread recognition; the punishment, fierce denial and detraction. When a man's work becomes a standard for the whole world, it also becomes a target for the shafts of the envious few. If his work be mediocre, he will be left severely alone - if he achieves a masterpiece, it will set a million tongues a-wagging. Jealousy does not protrude its forked tongue at the artist who produces a commonplace painting. Whatsoever you write, or paint, or play, or sing, or build, no one will strive to surpass or to slander you unless your work be stamped with the seal of genius. Long, long after a great work or a good work has been done, those who are disappointed or envious, continue to cry out that it cannot be done. Spiteful little voices in the domain of art were raised against our own Whistler as a mounteback, long after the big would had acclaimed him its greatest artistic genius. Multitudes flocked to Bayreuth to worship at the musical shrine of Wagner, while the little group of those whom he had dethroned and displaced argued angrily that he was no musician at all. The little world continued to protest that Fulton could never build a steamboat, while the big world flocked to the river banks to see his boat steam by. The leader is assailed because he is a leader, and the effort to equal him is merely added proof of that leadership. Failing to equal or to excel, the follower seeks to depreciate and to destroy - but only confirms once more the superiority of that which he strives to supplant. There is nothing new in this. It is as old as the world and as old as human passions - envy, fear, greed, ambition, and the desire to surpass. And it all avails nothing. If the leader truly leads, he remains - the leader. Master-poet, master-painter, master-workman, each in his turn is assailed, and each holds his laurels through the ages. That which is good or great makes itself known, no matter how loud the clamor of denial. That which deserves to live - lives.

Favorite Things: Helvetica & Viddler

In the video above I offer up some of our favorite things. Favorite branding things — not so much like Oprah favorite things (though I would love to give you a car). Here are some of the sites referred to:

• Brand New: Kraft Foods, Smiling at You
  
• Classic logos set in Helvetica
  
• Helvetica: A Documentary
• Viddler: Best video player ... ever
  

Cheers.

Tending Your Garden

Today I made an analogy about social media that I think might hold some water. I was outlining a comprehensive social media strategy and the client rightfully asked what all it would entail as far as time commitment, money, etc. As I walked through each new media channel I said that managing social media is like tending a garden.

It's true. Maybe you start with a plan or maybe you just plant some seeds here and there and eventually it leads to a full fledged garden. Either way you usually end up doing some heavy lifting up front planting your seeds (building your profile page, uploading photos, connecting with friends/fans). Early on you keep a very watchful eye on your seeds to make sure they have what they need to start growing. After awhile, they start shooting up (your first 100 friends, subscribers, etc.). Eventually, they take off and you are left with general watering and pruning (status updates, posting new video). And like a garden, you end up enjoying the fruits (or vegetables) of your labor.

Don't make fun! I like metaphors. How is your garden doing?

Photo credit steveocee via Flickr

Bridging the Generational Gap

Recently, I was having a conversation with a friend of mine who works for a local social services non-profit that I am on the board of. I also do some ad-hoc marketing consultation for them as well. I was struck at the profundity of a simple statement that she made about their organization as we discussed a website revision and social media opportunities that could be leveraged. She said, "Our organization is led by baby-boomers, staffed by Gen X-ers, and caters largely to millennials. And that's not always easy to navigate." At first, I merely thought it was a striking analysis of their organization. Then I took a step back and realized that this paradigm could be applied quite broadly — to clients, communities, the government, and maybe even your business.

And yet later when I shared this with my frequent sounding board, Mike, he replied with an even more sobering analysis. In short, he said that the technical gulf that is growing between these groups is becoming wider by the day. As new media gains more and more traction with the younger demographic the other end of the spectrum complains of "getting it" less. It's not enough for folks to just "know how to do email" anymore. The internet is becoming — scratch that — already is the hub for connecting with friends, shopping, getting from point A to point B, etc. for a growing majority of the public.

It's a different form of revolution when compared with other emergent media through the years. With the advent of radio and TV you, if you could afford one, you got one and turned it on. It was a socioeconomic divide. No special skills or training were required. And while you think the same may hold true for new media — just login and manage your account — talk to the other end of the spectrum. They increasingly feel that they don't have the skills to understand how to do all of this. And granted, they don't have to as it's not at the epicenter of life for their generation as it is for those younger. But what if they own a business who's target market is a younger demographic? If so, then bridging this divide is critical.

There are promising signs, though. Facebook's fastest growing user segment is the 30+ set. Over 50% of self-identified Twitter users are between the ages of 30 and 49. The challenge to marketers now is to look for ways to bridge this gap. Create a presence for yourself/your business on the most prevalent social media sites (YouTube, Facebook, MySpace, etc.) because (1) it's free and (2) it speaks to one end of your pool of constituents. As for the other end — the Boomer+ folks who don't know what to make of the "SpaceTubeBook"? Help them out. Have a social media 101 mixer at your business. Get some snacks and work through new media together. Or simply do write ups on each type of media in your email newsletter.

If you do this right, you'll not only do them the service of educating them about new media. You'll also position your brand at or near the hub of their online networking.

Photo credit: akahodag

Staying in Touch

I don't always agree with my state senator Chuck Grassley. But for a couple of months I've been thinking that he does a very effective job of communicating with me via new media. As a constituent, this makes me feel — dare I say — close to my elected official. What is Senator Grassley doing that's so special? For starters he is an almost prolific user of Twitter. He updates just the perfect amount. Sometimes personal (We had 25 people at Christmas dinner at our New Hartford Farm) and sometimes professional (Came bk DC aftr holidays. Today meet w Gov Vilsack as new ag secy. His confirmation shld b easy) but never too much and the real kicker is I think it's really him Tweeting. Unlike others who farm out their Twitter stream I think the Senator is really writing these updates (either that or a very effective surrogate).

But it doesn't stop there. Yesterday he voted against the stimulus package then immediately Tweeted his vote and told his followers to check his YouTube channel for why he voted the way he did (see the image clip above). He also blogs, publishes an email newsletter, and has a MySpace page. So he gets several forms of online media and is effectively linking them together to communicate efficiently and effectively with his constituency.

Take this to another level and consider that Senator Grassley is 75 years old. Not necessary the high tech millennial that most people envision when they think of the the typical web 2.0 user. Consider this — we live in a world where the Pope has a YouTube channel and the White House blogs.

Online media is quickly overtaking other traditional forms of staying in touch with those who want to hear from you. One can't simply respond to email any longer and call that good enough for online communications. You need to harness all high-traffic online outposts (Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, etc.) and feed them relevant updates. Not only will your audience listen more but they will also share your messaging more with others. Whether you are a politician, church, or small business, this is where the conversation is moving.

Your audience is listening. How are you staying in touch?

Wrap Your Customers in Your Brand

Do you have customers rabid enough to wear your brand? If so – even if it's only a small handful — let them. I'm a fan of Google and their various products — he says as he writes a post on his Blogger-powered blog that he tracks with Google Analytics all of this with Gmail up, about to create another Google AdWords campaign and so on. So the other day I Googled 'Google Apparel' and found the Google Store. Jackpot. As you can see, I ordered a shirt and coffee mug.

Why? They aren't a cool band or movie. It's not like it's designer gear. But wait – it's actually both. They have created a brand that has fans just as excited as a band or movie. And, in my opinion, it is impeccably designed. When a customer makes a choice to wear your brand and ultimately becomes a living, breathing, practically free billboard for you it creates a bond stronger than almost anything else. It sounds hokey but they have tactically bonded with you and are comfortable standing up for you.

Would your customers wear your brand? How can you make it easy for them to do that?

P.S. Fun fact – As I write this I am working on adding 'gear' to a client's website.
P.P.S. Don't forget your opportunity to score Twitter-branded gear from WA for yourself this Thursday at the Iowa City Twestival.

Taking Social Networking Offline

Westergaard Advertising is proud to be a sponsor of the Iowa City Twestival (Twitter + festival). This is a local "tweet-up" that is part of a global initiative harnessing the power of the Twitter community to raise money for Charity:Water — an organization working to bring clean drinking water to the 1.1 billion people without it. The Iowa City Twestival will be held in the North Room of the Iowa Memorial Union at 7 PM this Thursday, February 12th. More event details can be found here.

In addition to seeing what happens when you take social networking offline, you can purchase raffle tickets with a chance to win several cool prizes including a chance at a custom "Follow Me on Twitter" T-shirt from WA. However, we must give the appropriate props for this idea and the template to self-described creative superfreak Ted Murphy.

Hope to see you at the Twestival! I'll be wearing my shirt.

Selling Frozen Peas 101

Nick recently discovered an old favorite of ours was on YouTube (above). No, not a favorite TV show or movie, but a short recording of outtakes of Orson Welles recording commercials for a frozen food company. I’ve had a cassette recording of this for many years, and its good listening from time to time to help keep us agency types grounded.

It’s only four minutes, but it gives a great microcosm of an agency/talent relationship gone wrong. I don’t know the back story on this actual relationship, I doubt few people do. But there are some easy conclusions to be drawn, and lessons to be learned.

1. If you’re going to hire someone famous as your spokesperson, bring them into the circle. They may not want to be in the circle, but at least make that effort. Educate them about your product; even bring them into the creative process – again, if they wish. Then, when you step into the recording studio you’re all working toward the same goal.
2. Make sure they are at ease with the copy. This goes back to involving them in the process. Don’t put words or phrases in their mouth that they are not comfortable saying. My guess is that Mr. Welles saw this copy for the first time when he walked into the recording studio.
3. Don’t over-coach. Would you try to tell Mickey Mantle how to hit? If you’ve done your job on points 1 & 2 this is a no-brainer. You’ve hired Orson Welles. Put him in the little room, close the door, and turn on the microphone. And, if you offer any direction at all, you certainly don’t start telling Orson Welles how to inflect. This is where they truly showed the “depths of their ignorance.”
4. And, last but not least, remember it’s advertising – not Shakespeare. These guys looked upon their words as sacred poetry – which is why Mr. Welles so heartlessly reminds them that they’re talking about frozen food.

Follow that strategy and you might just get Orson to stay in the studio for the entire session. Was Orson Welles a bit temperamental and perhaps difficult to work with? Undoubtedly – but they knew that going in. This is great listening. Take four minutes and hear for yourself a creative director’s worst nightmare.

"There's a Fan!"

Sorry to get you excited. I have no cool way to tie Harry Caray into an advertising blog post. Don't get me wrong. I really think it could be done. Harry was on the mind as I was creating a Facebook Fan Page for Westergaard Advertising (Fan Page = an FB page for a brand to encourage user engagement with said brand). I found myself at the computer slurring in my best Will Ferrell/Harry voice, "There's a fan!" And besides, what can I say about Facebook that you don't already know? Some quick takeaways:

• Today there are more than 150 million active users.
• Though the under 30 bracket makes up the largest percentage of current users, the fastest growing segment are those over 30.
• The average user has 120 friends on the site.
• More than 3 billion minutes are spent on Facebook each day (worldwide).
• More than 15 million users update their statuses at least once each day.
• More than 3.5 million users become fans of pages each day.
• Facebook offers several levels of advanced targeting for marketers to utilize.
  
• It's another Web 2.0 touchpoint for your brand that features people having fun, catching up, and sharing — a very casual time to offer up a relevant message. (Please note, I said relevant.)
  

So if you are already on "the Face" we'd love you to be a fan. Just login and search for 'Westergaard Advertisng' or simply follow this link. Do you have a Fan Page for your organization? We'd love to know about it? What kind of conversations are your fans having? If you aren't on Facebook yet — give it a try now. You owe it to yourself to see what the buzz is about. It's Friday! Catching up on social media is 'research' anyway, right? Not a waste of time. Cheers.

Data source: Facebook Press Room

In the Words of Others - Try Something

Last week at the Iowa City Area Chamber of Commerce Annual Banquet, former UI president David Skorton was asked how his love of jazz has influenced him. "You don't know what's going to happen but you have to improvise to find your way through it – like in the current economy. We don't know how it's going to end but we have to try something."

As a trained theatrical improviser myself (long story for another post) I can tell you that I have always felt that improvisational skills strangely translate to the business world. Being on stage without a script or sheet music to follow brings terror but also a certain calm if handled correctly. The secret, as Dr Skorton described, is that you have to jump in and keep an open mind. On stage the golden rule is to say 'yes' to others' ideas as it always keeps the story moving forward.

Now more than ever it seems that folks are being called on to improvise. In our world of careful analysis and review, many are shell-shocked because the playbook has been chucked out the window. Even the experts are flummoxed (see current debate over stimulus plan). What we need is action. Management guru Tom Peters is fond of saying that we need a "bias toward action." His "Ready - Fire - Aim!" philosophy asks us to throw something up on the wall and see what sticks. If it doesn't work, we know that much and can try something else. FYI - Tom didn't say this in response to the current economy. He said it 16 years ago.

Someone else with words of wisdom in dealing with a struggling economy was Franklin Delano Rooselvelt, who famously said: "It is common sense to take a method and try it. If it fails, admit it frankly and try another. But above all, try something."

Finally, we should all heed the advice of Southwest Airlines founder Herb Kelleher: "We have a strategic plan. It's called doing things." Amen, Herb. We can and will get through this. But we cannot be paralyzed by it. Above all, we must remember to try something.

Photo credits - foreverdigital (Skorton), Flanders DC (Peters), Public Domain (FDR), JC Howes (Kelleher)

Don't Forget About TIM

Recently at seminar on ROI (the one where I sat next to Dave Power), the speaker strongly advocated for holding true to the old Drucker axiom that's also one of my favs: you can't manage what you don't measure. At the same time he voiced concern over putting too much stock in "the myth of the last impression." This means that when customers are asked to identify what lead them into the store or to make their purchase, they often cite the last brand impression they experienced when, in reality, what moved them to action was actually several brand impressions working in concert.

As any good Lutheran would say, this is most certainly true. Branding is an experience that is a sum total of many parts; not a sequential and linear path where a sale only occurs after a set point. This is not to say that you should throw measurement out with the bathwater. Rather, you need to look for more holistic means of measurement. Instead of asking the ubiquitous how did you hear about us? with a list of media options where just one lucky winner is checked, perhaps the new customer should select which combination of media inspired them to act.

Years ago, Dean gave a speech that he called the "TIM Talk" at the National Office Machine Dealers Association convention. TIM is an acronym Dean developed that stands for Total Image Marketing. In his speech, he outlined a strategy for holistic branding that covers all touchpoints and can be applied to any media and any business. He's thinking of updating it and giving it again. I think that there's never been a better time for TIM.

Photo credit thegloaming

Touchpoints Revisited

One of the first posts I wrote in 2005 was about maximizing your brand's touchpoints. This continues to be favorite topic of mine. The above image from Twitter is a great example of maximizing a touchpoint at a very critical time in a brand relationship – the error message. Every now and then you see a business that puts a bit of time into writing interesting error message copy but rarely do you see an equally witty image accompanying it. They have several more of these as well (the owl that comes up saying 'Who goes there?' when there is an identity issue). As I mentioned earlier, this diffuses a potential moment of brand angst with humor. It actually makes you laugh off an error message or warning. In fact, it makes all other Error 404/File Not Found messages seem like you're getting hit in the face with a sock full of online doorknobs.

Well done Twitter. Especially when several online brands are rounding out points of interest in favor of Web 2.0 sleekness.

Post-Game Wrap Up

After careful consideration and watching, well, hours of ads — tweeting the whole time — we've come to some conclusions on the commercials featured in Super Bowl XLIII. There were some hits but largely this seemed like an off year. Whether this was due to the economy or not, the creative seemed off and some of the advertisers an odd fit. Overall, this blogger's choice for best of show was the above offering from Career Builder which will no doubt be earning heaps of adulation in the days and weeks ahead.

What was so special about it? Simply put, it was 1. funny (not an easy feat), 2. repetitious which also made it very 3. memorable and 4. it continued to communicate Career Builder as the premier job search site which, sadly, more folks are probably looking at these days, thus rendering their message incredibly relevant. Were I to narrow it down further, I would probably say that what made this spot effective was it's clever use of repetition. If you'll note, this is a 0:60-second spot. Dean always says that with a 0:60 you use the added time for what's often called a "teaching message" – or telling a longer story. Career Builder did something different. They started with a very basic story which they repeated probably half a dozen times, each time adding a more absurd manifestation of job frustration.

Some other standouts include:

• Most Saavy Use of Media: Miller High Life – a one-second spot?!? Laugh it off but it cost less than all the others but it also generated buzz and had folks checking out the outtakes that didn't make the cut on YouTube.
• Best Entertainment Ad: Hulu – a rare spot from my favorite free TV site. Plus Alec Baldwin as an alien who will scoop my brain out with a melon baller!
• Best Automotive: Hyundai – with their Genesis and Assurance program ads they staked ownership not so much via their ad creative but rather with their stacked up placements early on in the show.
  

And by the way — who else is sick of the stale Go Daddy and E*Trade spots?

Happy Super Bowl XLIII!

Half-Time Report

OK ... So I would say, at this point, that the ads from the first half of the Super Bowl have been lackluster at best. If pressed I would argue that the one from Avon (posted above) best captured and capitalized on the moment. Yep, Avon. I liked it because it spoke to real people right now as opposed to standard snow-globe-in-the-crotch (Dorito's) and obscurely risque (Go Daddy) spots. This ad emphasized a tried and true brand (who does not usual advertise at all much less in the Super Bowl) and strategically positioned it as an answer to these challenging times (I use it to pay my bills). Well done. More later. Don't forget to follow us on Twitter for the second half of the game for play-by-play ad analysis!

Tweeting the Big Event

We're going social for the Super Bowl! Not so much to comment on the game itself – though I'm struggling with being regional and rooting for Kurt Warner while feeling some Steelers nostalgia after meeting Terry Bradshaw at NADA. Rather, we'll be using Twitter to tweet on the Super Bowl advertising highs and lows in real time. So if you're already a follower, be sure to have your laptop or mobile handy for WA play-by-play. If you're not a follower yet, you can do so now. We will definitely have a post-game analysis here on the blog and may even toss something up during halftime.

Chicken or Egg?

I am by no means the first to point this out. Just Google new pepsi logo obama. After all of the recent chatter on the blogosphere, things got kicked up a notch today when Advertising Age reported that Pepsi actually got cornered on this yesterday at their pre-Super Bowl press-conference. Know what they said? Obama copied us! LOL. I really have no answers or insight here ... Hard to tell which came first. I mean Pepsi obviously came first but did the Obama campaign really base their mark on a soda logo? And just because Pepsi's new TV campaign is decidedly "up with people" are they really ripping off Barry O? Sometimes things in the public sphere tend to mirror each other organically. Dunno. What do you think?

How Not to Work a Trade Show Booth

As you can see from our posts throughout the last four days we learned a lot at NADA. This gathering produces great ideas applicable to the dealership business and to any business working to stay ahead during these challenging times and we can't wait to continue sharing these thoughts with you.

But there's one post I haven't written yet that was on my mind for most of the show. I wanted to wait until I had a moment to compose my thoughts. NADA is a huge show — one of the nation's larger trade shows actually. As a former frequent exhibitor myself, I am fascinated by the trade show world. I've always said you can bleed a lot of money at a trade show but the marketer in me still feels that, if done correctly, they can make a brand come to life. Since I mostly wear the marketer's hat now, I am often focused on creating brand experiences at a booth through careful integration of design, messaging, marketing, and sales.

There's one aspect that often gets overlooked: how the booth is worked by the staff. Let me preface what I am about to say with my understanding that this is a tough time for both the auto industry and the many vendors that support it. Trade shows are expensive and must demonstrate ROI (usually through the leads they produce) if they want to remain a part of the media mix. However, this quest for accountability and leads cannot come at the expense of attacking trade show attendees. Yes, I said attacking.

What did I see? As Dean and I walked the expo hall floor we were mauled and accosted by anything we made eye contact with. We had booth babes (show workers hired less for their extensive product expertise and more for their physical attributes) and every other imaginable incarnation of an old-timey huckster/carnival barker aggressively pushing their wares — even when irrelevant — to anything that would hove into their fields of vision. While taking the risk of actually talking to someone at a relevant booth (more on relevancy later) I literally saw a booth worker leap from his booth in front of an unsuspecting victim. Here is another conversation I heard:

Trade Show Huckster – HUCK for brevity's sake – walks out of booth, intercepting uninterested ATTENDEE and begins following them down the aisle walking several booths away from their own booth.

HUCK: Have you heard of company XYZ?!?

ATTENDEE: Well ... no ...

HUCK: Do you want to learn more about what we do at company XYZ?!?

ATTENDEE: Not really ...

Huck thrusts a stack of brochures at ATTENDEE.

HUCK: Here 'ya go! Take these home and read 'em and then you'll know!!

Both continue on their separate paths, shaking heads in exasperation.

Let me say again, I am not being dramatic. What I saw can objectively be described as attacks, leaping, accosting, etc. As a trade show attendee and a fellow marketer I have two responses to this. As an attendee, due to this behavior, I started avoiding eye contact with the booth workers and their booths. As a marketer, this leaves a pang in my stomach. Because of an aggressive booth employee folks aren't looking at my both much less stopping at it.

Notice in the above vignette I observe both the attendee and the huckster walking away in exasperation. I fully recognize that at a booth you can't sit quietly back like a priest waiting to take a confession. You have to work it a bit but it needs to be relevant to the prospect in order to produce a real lead rather than junk leads to show (fake) ROI. There's truly something to be said for quantity vs. quality when it comes to trade show leads.

After voicing my frustration I started waiting to see if anyone was doing it right. That's when I had the following conversation ...

Nice Booth Guy – NBG for brevity – stands at his booth as NICK walks by ...

NBG: Are you interested in online marketing ?

NICK: Why, yes I am ...

NBG: Let me tell you a bit about about what we do ...

NBG gives a true elevator speech — approx. 2 minutes then closes with ...

NBG: ... now sir I know you're busy today. We have a demo here but if you'd like I can call you later and we can go through it over the phone. Can I swipe your card?
NICK: I'd love it if we could do it later. I am going to give you my business card because that has better information to reach me at and I want to make sure I hear from you.

And ... SCENE. That was a great introductory brand experience. You can break down this successful interaction from the point of view of the exhibitor and the attendee:

• The attendee made a good connection and had an experience that was non-threatening and relevant.
  
• The exhibitor got a lead — a real lead not just a swiped card – and presented his brand as approachable and understanding of customers' time.
  

You see, I chose the word interaction above because both sides got something out of it. That's what a trade show is supposed to be – an interaction. Communion between the brand and the consumer at its most basic level. That's why — when done correctly with careful planning on all fronts — a trade show can be an impressive and effective marketing tool.

All in the Family

Okay so Dean and I may have been the last ones to notice this but when we were at a Toyota/Lexus/Scion event this weekend at the House of Blues in New Orleans we observed an impressive feat of branding. Or, rather, inter-brand branding. As we sat back and enjoyed the mixture of great music and food, we looked up on the closed-circuit TV screens and noticed that the loop they had running featured the Toyota, Lexus, and Scion logos flipping between each other. This loop offered a seamless horizontal flip from one logo to the next and that's when we both saw it — all three of these very different logos are all based on the same basic oval shape (look at the outlines above). The result? When they run together they seem like logical parts of a machine that contribute to a total brand picture and yet 99% of the time — when viewed on their own — all retain the unique characteristics of their brand (they also make up the letters of their brand name — T, L, & S). Way to keep it all in the family, Toyota.

Probably the best remark someone shared with me on this front was the casual yet insightful observation that this kind of total brand synergy is not all that common and couldn't be achieved if you set all of the GM logos up next to one another ...

A Young Mind

Henry Ford once said, "Anyone who stops learning is old, whether at twenty or eighty. Anyone who keeps learning stays young. The greatest thing in life is to keep your mind young." Like Henry, the 25,000 car dealers here at NADA are here to keep their minds young – which is even more important as we face new media and an economy more challenging than ever.

It's not just the dealers, though. If you look at the habits of successful people, we all know that they are lifelong learners. On Saturday Ford CEO Alan Mulally addressed the group and talked about his career change a couple years ago when he joined Ford after a storied career at Boening. Airplanes he knew; cars not so much the CEO humbly said. So what did he do? It's pretty simple. He called up some of his dealers and went to work on the showroom floor selling cars. I say simple but I think that this is a pretty impressive and humbling act and shows that Alan is at least working at keeping his mind young.

I also had the privilege of sitting next to measurement genius J. David Power, founder of JD Power and Associates, at a session. Was he giving the seminar? No. At 77 Mr. Power was sitting down with open ears and mind to hear someone talk about measuring ROI in the age of new media.

Do you work to keep your mind young?

Radio Free No More

Today at an NADA session on online media I caught some news from the presenter with insider info as it was breaking (or very shortly there after). Pandora – the online jukebox that grew out of the Music Genome project – will now be adding in-stream ads to their content. You can read the complete story at WIRED.

The folks at Pandora didn't come to this decision lightly. This is just their latest attempt to monetize their site, no doubt brought on with renewed urgency by the troubled economy (Pandora recently let staff go). Personally, I'd thought that they'd had some recent flashes of ad brilliance with well-executed portal takeovers by Dos Equis and Apple. However, it seems that this combined with their display ads have failed at moving the needle significantly thus the addition of the in-stream ads which takes away one of Pandora's unique selling points (for $36 you can subscribe to their premium service which remains ad-free).

What do you think of this? Does this reduce what used to be unique online radio to ... well, radio radio? Are their other ways to monetize a website other than just placing ads on it?

The Pie Looks Different Now

At NADA today, Dean and I attended a session about media planning with special emphasis on new media and the current economic downturn. One of my favorite metaphors for how to look at this particular issue is to think of your total spend as a pie, with various media making up each piece.

There used to be just a few slices of pie – print ads, radio, TV, and maybe outdoor – but over the years the media has multiplied. We've added different pieces – direct marketing, online, social media – and further sliced our pie.

Given the current economic climate, businesses small and large can no longer slice their pie as many different ways. And the pieces that we have need to work for us. As we look at this, we need to pare down our pieces of media pie to only those few things that work for us. In order to do this, however, we need to remember the classic Peter Drucker quote: "You can't manage what you don't measure."

Does your media pie look different? Consider that each week the average adult spends about 4 hours reading the newspaper and/or magazines, watches TV for 16 hours, listens to 19 hours of radio and spends nearly 33 hours online.

Your pie should look different now.

Off to the Big Easy

As I mentioned last week, today Dean and I are leaving for the National Automobile Dealers Association (NADA) Convention and Expo in New Orleans. Our very first client is an auto dealer and we serve several others in the industry as well (I say is because we have the very rare honor in the advertising business to say that we still have our first client). NADA has always provided exceptional workshops and an expo hall that is second to none.

Throughout the expo we will be reporting back on best practices and trade show goings on from this very big event. We do this not just for the benefit of our friends in the auto industry but for everyone. The news and lessons here are often ones we apply to clients across industries. Plus, as Dean said earlier, "If there was ever a year to go to NADA ..." With the economic downturn, industry struggles, Toyota overtaking GM, and keynotes from Ford's Alan Mulally and two former US presidents, this year should provide a great industry snapshot at a critical time as well as new media vendors looking to offer tools to a sector that needs new tools now more than ever.

More from the trade show floor ...

Anyone Can Be Remarkable

Every business has a story to tell.

Those are the words that first pop up on our agency's website because at our very core that's what we believe. Not only does every business have a story to tell but every business has the opportunity to be remarkable. But this isn't always easy. How many of us have read a Seth Godin book or an inspiring blog post about telling your businesses' remarkable story to the world only to be told by those we answer to "that's all good and well but the [INSERT PERCEIVED BORING INDUSTRY HERE] business isn't like that. We aren't Nike or Apple or Starbucks ..."?

Case in point – many falsely think that banking or the finance industry is sterile and unremarkable. More so now given the sobering news of the day. In fact, many are using the marketplace's need for stability as a reason for sanding out any pointed edges of creativity. (How many big bank CEO's have we seen on TV reassuring recently?) And yet there are those who persevere and tell their story. And sometimes it gets picked up.

Yesterday as I was listening to NPR's Morning Edition, one of their short 0:30-second point-of-interest stories struck me. It briefly told the story of First State Bank in rural Norton, Kansas — a bank with a seemingly unremarkable name that has a wealth of remarkability. You see, First State Bank has a one-of-a-kind portrait collection of all of the losers from every presidential election from Thomas Jefferson to Kansas' own Bob Dole. And how did the bank celebrate the inauguration of Barack Obama on Tuesday? By adding his opponent John McCain to their collection.

That's it. That's all I know about First State Bank in Norton. But if I were told that I had to be a resident of Norton, I might learn over time that there was an older or more prestigious bank in town but I wouldn't have bothered to look because I know the folks at First care about being fun and remarkable with their work. And in times like these especially, it's nice to be around people who care and enjoy their work.

Every business has a story to tell. Every business has the opportunity to be remarkable. But like all opportunities, it only comes to life when someone steps up and takes action on an idea. And that is a very brave thing to do.

Social Networking Via One Steak Burrito w/Pico

Check out this photo that I snapped while in line at Panchero's a few minutes ago. Too often people create the obligatory Facebook fan page or start Twittering for their business and then totally forget to promote this new channel across their consumer touchpoints because they assume that friends and fans will automatically flock to connect with them. Of course, adding the little social buttons to your website is a start but your network will grow even faster – especially if your business is retail in nature – if you literally put this announcement between your customer and their burrito. Maximize places where your customers already are.

Change – Available Now!

With inauguration day fast approaching it seems like everyone is trying to cash in on the act before Tuesday. Some are relevant, such as the endless droves of commemorative Obama plates, coins, magazines, while some struggle a bit trying to force a fit. 

I snapped this photo from my local grocery store. Someone has obviously sold the chain on the limited edition MAKING HISTORY cardboard bookshelf (they somehow manage to reduce MAKING HISTORY to a SUNDAY! SUNDAY! SUNDAY!-like call to action). Just put this baby together and load 'em up with all the Obama books you can find and your store will be on top of all of this "Change fever." The problem? Look at the bottom shelf. They ran out of legit and pulpy Barack books and decided to face up the shelf with some Grishams from the trade paperbacks. Dreams from My Father, The Audacity of Hope, The Partner, The Summons ...

The point? Relevancy counts when you decide to go topical. If you have a relevant way to tie into the news of the day then go ahead. But if you end up stretching your brand's story in a way that doesn't make sense then you look like the rest of the masses trying to cash in on the story du jour. 

The Copywriter's Time Machine

Yesterday, while mourning Ricardo Montalban (KHAAANNNNN!) I happened upon the above spot for the 1975 Chrysler Cordoba. I have to admit, it kept me laughing for about a half hour solid. Not just the fine corinthian leather but the tastefulness of its appearance and Ricardo's winsome look as he reflects on how the Cordoba answers his demands.

But this is where it gets weird. After I stopped laughing, I started thinking. And thinking. The spot stayed with me. Once you get past the campiness (his stylish neckerchief, the buttons on the seats) you realize that the copy is really well written. What's more important is that it makes a statement about the brand that evokes very specific images and aspirations. No small coincidence that it helped Chrysler sell a whole lot of this small car in the mid to late '70s. RIP Ricardo. Now what about Chrysler ...?

On a slightly related note ... a week from today Dean and I arrive in New Orleans for the National Automobile Dealers Association Annual Convention & Expo. We're eager to hear what industry experts have to say. We'll blog from the convention and maybe even snap a few shots from the trade show floor.

Pew - Mom and Dad Are Social Networking!

Sorry - I couldn't resist the headline. From the Pew Research Center ... The share of adult internet users who have a profile on a social networking site has more than quadrupled in the past four years -- from 8% in 2005 to 35% now. Beyond this impressive new figure are several other takeaways such as – personal use of social networking is currently more prevalent than professional use. This tracks pretty closely to the Forrester study from last week. You can read the complete findings of the Pew research here. How many profiles do you maintain and how do you use them?

Why Newspapers Are in Trouble

From my snow drift. I am not a subscriber but get many freebies even though I read it all online and have for some time. I wonder how much longer this strategy will hold up? Overall the free sample marketing strategy is still alive and well but for newspapers the internet killed it for good. Because now it's all free online. 
Seth really said it best earlier today.

In Reference to the Location of the Beef

After a recent Arby's visit, my mind wandered as it's been known to do. I stared off at the packaging in front of me – the instructions to the toy that came with the Kid's Meal. On the backside were about four graphics that made up the fast food giant's core values and mission. Again, this was on the back of the instructions to the Kid's Meal toy. Because — you know as well as I do — kids care greatly about the mission and core values of the companies that provided them with their most recent toy. 

Fast forward a couple of days to a luncheon at one of my favorite new local restaurants — Vesta. At the bottom of their lunch menu, was a short paragraph telling the story of how the restaurant is named for the Roman goddess of hearth and how this was relevant to the dining experience they work to create. 

Some quick takeaways? First, compare the two "missions" — generic stuff like dream big and "make a difference" versus a quirky story involving the gods – and tell me which one you'll remember. Finally, you tell me who really cares more about living a mission by comparing where they chose to display it. On the back of some throw away instructions to a whirlygig that didn't really need instructions in the first place or the page-long, one-sided lunch menu that everyone easily reads all of ...?

Where Does Your Brand Exist?

Google made some news last week when they updated the design of their favicon for the second time in a year. The old one, which replaced the former capital 'G' less than a year ago, is on the left while the new, technicolor favicon is on the right. (For those of you who don't know what a favicon is - it's the 16 x 16-pixel icon associated with your website or webpage that appears to the left of your URL in most browsers' windows and bookmark pages.) 

This got me thinking - like my recent Pepsi post - not so much about the change itself but rather about what this means on a larger scale. (For the record ... while it may not be as readable as either of its predecessors, I'm OK with the new favicon mostly because the coloring adds a bit of the playfulness back into their at-times sparse brand as they look to scaling it across new media  platforms.) The new favicon reminded me of an article I read about the Pepsi brand update – specifically about the hard costs tied to the update. The new Pepsi logo design alone cost millions with additional millions anticipated to execute the revision across all brand touchpoints. Think of it for just a sec and imagine the costs: point-of-purchase displays, distributor signage, huge ballpark ads ... Oof.

My point is that when you consider this compared to updating the Google favicon – which in the end costs next to nothing – it reminds you that we are moving into/have already arrived in a very different era of branding. You have to ask yourself, where does your brand exist? In the case of Google, they exist almost exclusively online (as an AdWords advertiser I actually got a flyer from Google last fall - I keep it locked in a vault). Their portal accented by their favicon is their brand so of course the ramifications of any seemingly minor update are under intense scrutiny. To summarize:

Brand Touchpoints 

Old world -- store signage, yellow page ads, billboards, point-of-purchase, collateral, etc.

New world -- website w/favicon, online ads, search, iPhone app icons, Facebook fan pages, etc.

To be sure, this transition is not complete and the old world touchpoints won't go away entirely but the process has most certainly begun as we see an online-only Google take its place next to tried-and-true brands like Pepsi in consumers' hearts and minds. 

Where does your brand exist? Are your new world touchpoints as strong as your old world touchpoints?

P.S. Props to Brand New for the side-by-side favicons above. They are a great blog by Under Consideration about corporate brand and identity work.

To Assume Makes ...

... Well, you know the rest. Just a quick post via Tom Peters regarding a USA Today story citing a recent study by Forrester Research revealing that "Older folks like Wii, PCs, and cellphones too." Definitely worth your time to read. One highlight that jumps out is that those over 55 are more active in online finance, shopping, and entertainment than those under 55.

Now how many times have you thought recently that the older generation isn't consuming tech tools like their younger counterparts? And these assumptions definitely work both ways. I've heard many peers of a more ... er, more advanced age ... state that online "mostly targets younger people." Remember this study and try not to make as many assumptions on media consumption in the New Year.

Plotting a New Course

Recently Advertising Age reported that the Boy Scouts of America are undertaking a relaunch and update of their venerable 100-year old brand to bring them into the 21st Century and help boost sagging numbers. As an Eagle Scout and devoted parent of a Cub Scout, I am committed to this organization and that is also why, as an advertising professional, I couldn't agree more with this move more. Now they haven't let leak what they are doing as far as execution goes but we we have some ideas of our own.

It all comes down to the technology that has come to define us. Are the Boy Scouts going to embrace technology and reposition their brand around it – essentially becoming the "Tech Scouts of America"? Or do they embody the other piece that you need to add to help shape a truly well-rounded child – running, hiking, exploring, civic responsibility. My Spidey sense tells me someone might try to pitch the former to produce quick results but I think the real opportunity for long-term brand traction is in the latter. All of the things that Scouting stands for are more relevant than ever now. In reality – as we so often find — the raw material for a great brand is already there. It just needs to be packaged more effectively.

The Boy Scouts are a great example of a brand that has let some weeds grow over it but more importantly they are addressing the issue. What are other examples of brands in need of a makeover? Is yours ...? 

The Role of Positioning in an Economic Downturn

If you were Harley Davidson in this economy you might think that you'd have a problem, right? You make high-end bikes that are expensive and could be seen by some as an expendable purchase given the current climate. Well, Harley has headed this off at the pass with their new TV/online campaign (above) that you've no doubt seen this past week.

In one fell swoop they re-galvanize their brand evangelists (click through to YouTube and you can see the user comments where someone posts that they'll have to "pry my current sportster keys from my cold dead hands") and fire up folks on the fence with their "Guarantee Made of Iron." They clearly acknowledge the current state of affairs but firmly position the Harley Davidson Sportster as one of the only sure things left in the economy and, moreover, a good investment. They even go so far as to position the brand and what it stands for as one of the building blocks of our freedom. Wow. Well done HD.

See how major brands like Harley and Walmart are talking about the economy without literally talking about the economy? More than overt crisis messaging, what's called for now is good, old-fashioned Ries & Trout positioning in a way that is relevant to the revised priorities of the day.

What are some other examples – good or bad - that you've seen of positioning for the current economy?