C is Just a Letter

When small really is small

Ann — Sat, 21 Apr 2012 17:07:08 +0000

I often emphasize to my classes that if you mean something in your positioning statement you should make it come to life in your creative.

IKEA does this in spades with this new spot. Have a look! What do you think?

Carl’s Jr/Hardee’s continues to push sexy food

Ann — Thu, 05 Apr 2012 16:24:15 +0000

This latest ad is the latest in a long line of sexually charged burger commercials

There is something to be said for consistency of message, revitalization via new models, and new burgers to feature. You may not like it for its sexual content, use of women as a sexual object, use of sex to sell fast food, fears of fast food cratering our health care system, and a host of other issues. And that’s a fine assessment.

But as a branding move, its coherent, relevant, and my bet highly engaging for the target audience.

We’re back at the Master’s – and still no women at Augusta

Ann — Wed, 04 Apr 2012 23:19:11 +0000

I’ve written about the Master’s and Augusta National Golf Club before.

It’s only appropriate to revisit this marketing puzzle on the eve of yet another Master’s tournament, which opens tomorrow.

This time, there is a real challenge to the all male dominion which is Augusta national Golf Club:

In the past the CEO’s of all key corporate sponsors have been offered membership in the club. The current CEO of IBM, a key corporate sponsor is a woman. As noted by the Toronto Star in their appropriately titled article from 2 hours ago “How Can Augusta National deny membership to IBM’s female CEO?” That’s a heck of a fine question.

As a marketer, I continue to be stunned that the PGA plays at a club that doesn’t allow women, that there is a club of international importance who doesn’t allow women, and as I’ve noted before that advertisers still support an event held at a golf course that believes that women are unworthy of membership in their club.

We’re a world of serious issues, and women’s rights is a serious issue. Once again, I’m not watching the Master’s. It’s my one-woman protest. Join me!

amazon.com keeps telling me I’m wrong – so what’s wrong with that?

Ann — Thu, 22 Mar 2012 01:41:05 +0000

My bank changed ACH numbers. I needed to change my bank account of record with PayPal and amazon.com

PayPal could not have been easier.

amazon.com was insulting.

This is the exact customer service email I sent to amazon.com

RBC Bank in Georgia was just sold. I tried to input my new account information – information i was able to input and get validated in paypal – and your system says “invalid bank routing number”. Yes, its a new bank – about 2 weeks old in fact – but its real and that’s the only account I have to link into so I need you to accept it. thank you for advising me that this situation has been remedied.

This was the reply:

I’m sorry to hear that you’re having trouble entering your bank account information for your account. I have checked the details and can assure you that there is no issue with our system that could restrict you from successfully uploading your bank account details associated with your account. You may want to contact your bank to determine whether the routing and account information you provided is correct for receiving ACH deposits. As long as the information entered is correct, your disbursements should be deposited without a problem.

I was also provided the process to call a real live person. Good for amazon.com. They have a real live person.

I was informed in that call that there was no bank with the routing number I had presented and that I must have an error. I replied IN MY VERY LOUD VOICE THAT I WAS TIRED OF BEING TOLD I WAS IN ERROR AND THAT AMAZON.COM HAD MADE A DECISION NOT TO BUY A NEW ACH LINKING TABLE BECAUSE IF THEY’D DONE SO WE WOULD NOT BE HAVING THIS CONVERSATION RIGHT NOW.

I give the man at the end of the phone a few points – he put me on hold instead of hanging up on me.

After 6:30 of bad music he returned to advise me that I was not the only person with a bank account with RBC Bank with this issue and that my name had been added to a list of other customers who would be advised when the situation was fixed. Thank you. Goodbye.

What’s wrong with that? For amazon.com, clearly nothing. Their people have been trained to communicate to customers with routing number issues that when an ACH number comes up as non-existent it is always the customer’s issue. Interesting training. What if the ACH is right? What if amazon.com is wrong? Not considered in this scenario, clearly.

What’s wrong with that for me? I’m not interested in a company I’ve spent thousands of dollars with telling me in a written format and over the phone that I am wrong.

Stories of Trains

Ann — Sat, 11 Feb 2012 17:52:12 +0000

I teach in my marketing classes the power of story. Stories to drive the branding process. Stories as the foundation of the Integrated Marketing Communication challenge. Stories to sell your skills to recruiters. Stories to make your ideas – whatever ideas – come to life.

I share insights from Nancy Duarte and her book Resonate: Present Visual Stories that Transform Audiences

I use classical story structures and creative briefs as my tools.

One of my favorite online writers posted a story recently. It doesn’t sell anything. Its “just a story”. But its simple beauty teaches us not only how to be good marketers, but good humans. I invite you to read about Trains.

This morning I woke up and one of my favorite authors online just wrote a story. It doesn't sell anything at all. But its power and insight into any life - any marketing campaign - and any moment - took my breath away. I invite you to read about

The Super Bowl ad you might not have seen

Ann — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 17:20:46 +0000

This was a lovely piece done by Budweiser Canada. If you’re not Canadian the piece’s emotional connection may or may not be apparent. As a Michigander born and Canadian resident – both places that value hockey – I have to tell you this is AWESOME. Deep and meaningful connections are made!

I’m looking forward to this

Ann — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 05:40:43 +0000

VW has posted a teaser for their new Super Bowl ad. If you loved what they did last year this should be good!

Triangulate the Truth

Ann — Tue, 10 Jan 2012 01:49:57 +0000

One of the most powerful ideas I know in marketing is to make people comfortable with the idea that no one market research study, no one gut call, no one secondary research study, no one of anything can answer challenging business and marketing questions.

Only with lots of information and lots of insight, can you “triangulate the truth”. This isn’t my phrase, its the brainchild of Dr. Barb Watts, who I worked with on some research studies at Dairy Queen. While trying to explain this concept to students, I realized it needed to be visual as well as explained, and one of my talented students undertook the challenge of making this concept come to life. If you wanted or needed one visual about how to understand your brand or know how to become a good marketer, this is it: ambiguity rules, best combatted by finding the information to allow you to Triangulate the Truth.

The death of cable TV

Ann — Sat, 07 Jan 2012 22:00:49 +0000

Hello Netflix, Hulu, general streaming. Goodbye cable.

That is the premise of today’s article in the WSU by Kevin Sintumuang entitled ”Cutting the Cord on Cable”

While Kevin may have beaten me to publish, this has been on my topic list for 2 months. Cable is gone. Let me share with you my proof.

As many of you know, I teach students at UBC in Vancouver, BC and WWU in Bellingham WA. Last semester a UBC student shared a terrific ad they had seen on a piped-in US show. We pulled it up on YouTube, and it ended up being a great shared learning moment.

The next day down at WWU I asked if anyone had seen the same ad. The students looked at me oddly. I explained further that I knew for a fact it had been on the West Coast feed two nights before. The students still looked at me oddly. Finally one student said “I think you’re confused about how we watch TV. We don’t watch it live.”

Well that’s a conversation stopper. So I asked the room how they watched “TV”. They Tivo’d, they Hulu’d, and the Netflixed. They didn’t “watch”. They knew what they wanted to see, and they watched it when it was convenient to them.

I asked further how many had cable. There were 10 of 40 who had cable, and in all of those cases it was that someone else in their living situation – parent, partner, friends – who insisted on the cable connection.

“Live” is viewed via smartphone. Everything else is accessed via “service of choice”.

For readers in Canada, where Hulu is blocked and cell plans are much more expensive, this snapshot of behavior is perhaps a bit premature. But for the United States, cable is gone. Much like long distance plans and land lines, there will be a long tail of residual income…but from a planning and marketing perspective, media planners would be well-served to put a fork in this longterm staple “meal” – its done! – and move on to the future.

image credit http://www.wilsonelectronics.com/

Tebow Marketing

Ann — Wed, 14 Dec 2011 20:20:04 +0000

Alternately titled “what Tim Tebow teaches us about marketing”.

I’m sure there are a few of you out there unaware of Tim Tebow. He is the “unofficial starting quarterback” of the Denver Broncos, a team in Denver, CO who plays American Football.

Tebow is a new from college quarterback, and according to people who know such things, not very good at it. There is a brilliant article from sportswriter Cam Cole in the Vancouver Sun that articulates the characteristics of Mr. Tebow’s football capabilities both better than I could and far more entertainingly.

I’m a marketing person, and Tim Tebow interests me as a marketer. Mr. Tebow exhibits a particular attribute which most marketers could learn from: he believes in himself and in his teammates.

Tebow not only believes in himself but is self-depricating when confronted with his shortcomings. As Mr Cole cites amusingly in his article, when confronted with the indisuptable numbers that he is at best an average quarterback Mr Tebow responds that he needs to practice more. With good humor, by the way. Which means he knows what he does well, knows what he doesn’t do well, and is willing to admit he needs more work on the “doesn’t do well” stuff.

Learning #1 for marketers – believe in your skills and capability yet be everpresent to the opportunity to learn and improve.

Far more importantly to me is Mr Tebow’s boundless and vocal support of his team. The guy who booted home an improbable 61 yard field goal in the waning moments of the surprising game for Denver was interviewed after the game. My paraphrasing of that reply is this “Tim told me that when it counted I’d get the job done. He told me that weeks ago. So I figured he knew something and believed it.”

Learning #2 for marketers (and dare I suggest humans in total): believe in your teammates. Tell them so every day. Reward them and heap praise on them when they do great, remind them of your faith in them even when they fail.

What Mr Tebow reminds all of us as marketers is to believe in our own gifts and believe perhaps even more in the gifts of others. Teams that believe they are good are good.

Marketing is never a solo effort. It always happens in teams. All too often a hotshot “player” thinks they can “go it alone”. They can’t. They need to first learn that teams matter, and then learn from Mr Tebow’s: BELIEVE.

That is the official end of this insight. I will continue, however, for those who are wondering if the real issue at hand isn’t whether or not Mr Tebow believes in HIM. Much of the buzz about Tim Tebow is that he is an expressive person with his faith. He believes that anything he does comes from God, and is open, frank, and expressive with his thanks when he believes HE has had a role in his performance.

My contention is this: the source of Mr Tebow’s belief in himself is irrelevant. His belief system is part of the magic that makes him Tim Tebow and not anyone else. Mr Tebow’s belief in his teammates comes from a deep seated innate sense of teamwork and belief in his fellow humans and teammates. If that is rooted in his beliefs about HIM or his beliefs about coffeetables isn’t relevant either.