Welcome to the CMA - Canadian Marketing Association - Blog. This Blog is an initiative of the CMA Digital Marketing Council. All marketing-related topics are fair game: branding, strategy, online, offline, marketing trends, technology, direct marketing, market research...and more.
The Search for Canada's GREATEST Entrepreneur...of all time is on! From Monday February 5th - 9th please go to www.yoce.ca and nominate who you think is Canada's Greatest Entrepreneur... of all time. It's time to celebrate, showcase and support the Canadian Entrepreneurial Spirit. The Year of the Canadian Entrepreneur - www.yoce.ca
Marketing online today announced that Frito Lay, now offers both Doritos Tandoori Sizzler and Lay’s Spicy Curry flavours across the country.
Doritos is one brand that is really getting it right. Not only have they recognized the growing influence of the many ethnicities that make up our country, they are also listening to consumers by having them create Doritos advertising for the superbowl! I can remember the days when it would cost a million dollars just to produce an ad for the superbowl - not to mention the millions of dollars associated with the media buy. Now, smart brands like Doritos are having their consumers create their advertising for next to nothing. As marketing people, we spend a great deal of time and money trying to understand what consumers think. We then take that information and use it to build communication that would speak to them effectively. Why not just give the control to the people who know best? The consumer. Bravo Doritos!
This is the first time I've ever written you. I don't have to tell you how important you are. You have many suitors as most marketers realize to compete in the online space, search engine marketing is a critical part of their online plans.
I'll get to the point as you tend to be pretty direct as well. It's bothered me a lot lately that you allow competitors to bid on competitive branded and trademarked terms. You know what I mean. Fine, if you are going to play coy I'll spell it out for you.
If I'm Sears, you (Google) allow my rivals Walmart, the Bay, Home Depot and others to bid on 'Sears' or other Sears related trademarked and branded keywords such as 'Sears.ca', 'Sears Canada', 'Craftsman', 'Kenmore' and so forth. Some customers could click on competitive ads thinking they lead to the Sears website or products. Upon arrival they discover, the competitive site has nothing to do with Sears or any of the products Sears sells.
The problem is that if I don't bid on those keywords my competitors will. But here is the rub. I could suck it up but you know that new cutie on the block (Yahoo Search Marketing) that just had a makeover? They do not allow bidding on trademark terms and apparently never have. And that other cutie (Microsoft AdCenter) that is having a coming out party later this month does not allow it either.
You may think this is all much ado about nothing. I used to think that way as well but even eBay has been bidding aggressively on their own branded terms. And based on their financial performance they must be on to something, no?
You know that I've never bid on competitor branded keywords except during one brief moment of weakness that lasted a week. Thank heavens I came to my senses and realized it wasn't worth it anymore. I've never gone back to those dark days as I cannot be a hypocrite. But deep down you know you tempted me to bite the forbidden apple. Granted, I accepted and I'm responsible for my own actions but that doesn't change the fact you are a wicked temptress.
It was suggested by one cool person I recently met, that you might argue that by posting competitive ads you simpy help provide searchers with relevant products/services. But her view was that if someone looks for Nike and they enter it, they are looking for just Nike. Not Adidas, Reebok, Sketchers, Converse or anything else. Just Nike. So why not just do it? (And yes, creative copy that is trademarked counts as well.)
It's not fair when us marketers spend millions of dollars building and protecting brands/trademarks that you behave this way. Yes, I know this issue went to court when Geico sued you and they lost. But that still doesn't make it right either.
That nasty Mathew Ingram recently wrote a critical piece on you. At first I thought he was just another sleazy tabloid reporter taking cheap shots but now I'm not sure. Are you still the underdog I fell in love with?
Let's face facts and stop lying to ourselves. You are now an industry titan and with that comes greater pressure, expectations and scrutiny.
Remember when our legal department recently sent your Trademarks team a complaint about competitors who had nothing to do with SearsTravel but they were actively bidding on branded and registered trademarks? After many weeks, your Trademarks team finally replied and agreed to block competitors from bidding on those terms. I was so proud of you when I heard this but then I reached paragraph two of your reply:
"Please note, we only processed the specific URLs you listed in your trademark complaint. We will not be disapproving the use of your trademark beyond the scope of your complaint. In addition, we only processed the exact trademark you submitted. If you would like us to investigate variations or misspellings of your trademark, please supply us with a list of the exact variations or misspellings and we will review them."
Stop playing with my emotions. After your cruel response, I came very close (for the first time ever) to entering a Yahoo search on "How to change my default search engine".
So now I have to spend more money on legal fees to enforce our trademarks and brands every time a violation occurs? Or use up my own valuable time and personally contact competitors and hope they will be open to reason? Telling them that it's a zero sum game to bid on each other and that no one wins in the end except you. And don't you dare suggest that is collusion. It's not when it relates to registered trademarks and brands.
It's possible you could claim your legal dogs of war were just being difficult. It's their job. But you have to pay that $1.6 Billion tab on YouTube you charged up in that recent shopping spree of yours somehow, right?
You may also suggest there is a cost for things like Google Analytics. Namely, letting others bid on competitive brands/trademarks. Everything has a price. Fair enough but then don't tell me and the world it's free then. Especially when your 2006 Q4 results come out. Normally, I would congratulate you but right now I don't feel much like celebrating.
I'm sorry but we've been together for a very long time and it's not my fault you set the bar so high. The mantra 'Don't be Evil' is yours not mine.
In spite of all these unpleasantries, I still love you Google. You are my search tool of choice both privately and commercially. You are my RSS reader. I've worked with your team in Canada for years and their account management is second to none. Others would do well to learn from them. Even your IT folks are outstanding and we all know how perculiar they can be at times.
I use GMail for personal email and Analytics has been a blessing for my business. And you know I've been an ambassador for you. Now I feel cheap and used despite being so heavily invested in you.
Yes, I don't own stock in you because I was badly hurt by my last tech love. I'm still recovering as many Canadians are, in spite of the heady times of that relationship. The memories are just too painful but perhaps one day I'll move on.
You are normally pretty reasonable so please don't get vindictive and demote my rankings in the natural search listings as a result of this. Someone has to be honest with you. That's what friends do for each other.
You could shrug your shoulders and say nobody is perfect but you are not a nobody.
I await your response.
Fondest Regards,
Sulemaan
For every marketing leader, there comes a moment of truth. This moment – whether it is in front of your chief executive officer, product management, your board of directors or your senior sales counterpart – will be defined by the answer to one simple question. What benefit has your function brought to the organization? And while the systematic building of reputation is certainly important, the answer that all of these audiences are truly looking for has to do with how your strategic plan and tactical mix has helped contribute to topline revenue; they want to know how effectively marketing is helping to create demand. Here are five metrics that you simply must be armed with the next time you find yourself on the firing line.
Inquiries. This first metric is the fuel that at a baseline makes your demand creation engine run. When all campaigns have been accounted for and all sources totaled, how many raw responses - hand-raisers, if you will – did the marketing function generate?
Marketing Qualified Leads (MQLs). With a group of raw inquiries in hand, it is now marketing’s job to nurture those leads to a level that has been mutually agreed upon by sales. Marketing leaders must track and report on the conversion rate of inquiry to MQL; they can then demonstrate how improvements in target marketing and messaging have improved this rate from quarter to quarter.
Sales Acceptance. With a definition (or definitions) of an MQL that have been agreed to by marketing and sales, an organization is now ready to create a formal process for acceptance of these leads by inside, field or channel sales.
Sales Qualified Lead (SQL). By initially accepting a lead, a salesperson is not committing to anything beyond the basic tenets of the MQL. Marketers are looking at two metrics at this stage of the funnel, including the conversion rate of sales accepted leads to SQLs, as well as the cumulative size of the opportunities now in the pipeline.
Closed Business. Although much happens to leads once they leave the control of marketing, understanding the ratio of SQL to closed business is still critical for marketers.
It’s hard to believe that five fairly straightforward metrics have so much power, but they do. With these metrics in hand, marketers can make a strong argument for additional program dollars; identify gaps in communications with sales; understand their impact to the organization’s pipeline and revenue; and build a series of processes that makes the entire set of activities around demand creation much more systematic.
Let me start by dating myself...
Do you recall Hard Harry (Christian Slater) and his suburban pirate radio station from the 1990 film "Pump Up The Volume"? The way I remember it *, Harry's a disillusioned teenage protagonist, new to town and out of his element. Desperate for a voice, with no one to talk to, Harry turns his modified shortwave equipment into a low wattage pirate radio station. Confident in his new voice, Harry screams his angst, yawns his boredom, vents his anger and spins his lonely Leonard Cohen tunes to eventually win the girl and become the voice of a generation. (Well, maybe the voice of one weekend of a generation.)
Before I turn this blog post into a Diet Pepsi ad kicking it old skool, (it may be too late) let me summarize by saying, this movie may very well be the inspiration for podcasting**.
Many marketers have heard the term 'podcast', but still have yet to subscribe, download or even to listen to one. (It's ok if you're blushing, we're here to get you through this.)
Today's mission: take your first step into the new world of podcasting.
What is a podcast? Wikipedia says: A podcast is a media file that is distributed by subscription (paid or unpaid) over the Internet using syndication feeds, for playback on mobile devices and personal computers ... The host or author of a podcast is often called a podcaster.
Podcasting is like broadcast on demand, but in your pocket. Great for commutes, grocery store line ups and road trips, podcast content is available to be enjoyed on your schedule. You subscribe to a "show" or a podcast and listen and/or watch at your will.
Who are the Podcasters?
The vast majority of podcast content is similar to what you read on blogs. And it's true, many podcasts are challenged by amateur production quality and horrible content... but it's just as likely you'll find incredibly fascinating and insightful content. The only difference between you, me and most of these podcasters is their bravery and tenacity to actually put themselves out there and say it all for all it's worth.
What are they talking about?
All sorts of topics are available on podcasts; from personal trainer workouts to marketing and PR discussions. From political ranters to celebrity ravers. From university physics courses to golf tips. With the advent of iPod video and the continued proliferation of high speed internet access, a second wave of video podcasting (aka VidCasting, VodCasting) is hitting the market. Over the last several months, network TV and cable news channels have even gotten into the game. CBC is into it in a big way, republishing radio shows and offering original content. (I wish they would add Wiretap to their podcast line up... hint, hint)
As a good start, open up iTunes, subscribe to a podcast feed and get listening. I assure you the learning curve will be quick if you open your mind. The full marketing potential of this medium is still undiscovered, yet I can almost guarantee it will be somewhere in your marketing plan in the near future.
Yahoo offers a great guide to help you get started.
Here is Apple's guide "Plug into Podcasts"
Go. Now.
* ... may not be the way it actually was.
** ... but probably isn't.
Is a slogan just a slogan? “Incredible Value Every Day.” On the surface it is ordinary. But this slogan has allowed Aldi, a German-based international supermarket chain with 4,400 stores in nine countries to generate an estimated $27 billion USD in annual sales! I've written about the concept of whole being branding before on this blog - and the power it has to transform a brand. While the slogan may appear simple - there's more to it than meets the eye.
Just like Williams-Sonoma, IKEA, and Disney, Aldi has developed a whole-being branding concept that is all about “no frills” and low prices. They offer high-quality goods for the lowest price. This concept of whole-being branding is rooted in the passionate belief that without brand identity there is no long-term brand destiny.
What Aldi has done is create a need that is unique to the market, a strong brand identity. Their goal is simple: "to provide customers with the products they buy regularly, to ensure those products are of market leading quality and to offer them at guaranteed low prices.” The secret to their success is providing consumers with the secure knowledge that what they offer is of the highest quality and the lowest price but most importantly they offer a product and brand that can be trusted. Aldi’s ability to become a whole-being brander is ultimately the difference between success and failure.
Successful companies like Aldi, have built upon their solid brand identity: who they are and equally as important, who they are not and arrived at brand destiny.
How many slogans can you think of that consistently deliver on their promise? In Canada, eh?
Just returned from the DMA NonProfit Conference in Washington and one of the more interesting sessions was on recent creative tests undertaken by some of the largest US non profit mailers over the past year. Their most notable findings?
Possibly not surprising….. the most basic packages won each time.
Countless beautiful, compelling and catchy packages were shown in competition with plain white envelopes displaying teasers along the lines of ‘Annual Fund’ and ‘Supporter Card’.
Speculation was that there are just too many “wow” packages and that moving to “plain white envelopes” may be the best way to get noticed. My hunch is that donors want a clean and clear message and that we do have to ‘read’ the current market offerings when developing our concepts.
Would love to hear your responses. What have you found in your testing over the past year?
Our debatably “boring” city of Toronto is a hot topic of discussion lately. The focus is on “Toronto Unlimited” - a brand strategy to re-position Toronto as a premier global tourist and business destination. An article in The Toronto Star, “Toronto needs a vision, not a new ad campaign” by David Dunne, a marketing professor at the Rotman School of Management at the University of Toronto, articulates some important issues about brand communications. Dunne criticizes the “Toronto Unlimited” brand identity for being “too vague” and therefore ineffectual. He says, “Great brands must be clear, distinctive and stand for something,” not to mention, inspire great advertising to incite action. I would say the opposite in this case, that the branding is on the mark, but the communication, specifically the advertising, is struggling. While, Dunne sums it up to a lack of vision, I disagree. With “Toronto Unlimited” as the overall strategy, “Live With Culture” is an initiative of the City of Toronto’s Culture Division. The uncertainty and controversy surrounds these ads in particular, which suggestively state that Toronto is nothing like Paris, Italy, Hollywood or New York, except for the art, opera, film or theatre. But, what exactly are these ads suggesting in relation to Toronto’s competitive appeal as a destination?
This may be an issue of internal branding. If “Toronto Unlimited” is the brand, then all strategies should come back to that vision. Dunne writes about Australia’s tourism campaign and its success at reaching the two target markets of residents and potential visitors. I think this is the key; one brand identity that both residents and tourists buy into. In this way, the residents become ambassadors of the brand image, which will succinctly translate into the attraction of tourists. If each division of the City of Toronto is left to develop its own marketing communications, does that leave “Toronto Unlimited,” unlimited in images and thus, identities? Dunne suggests Toronto’s image is “…clean, safe, easy to live in ... and boring,” which isn’t tempting to tourists and not even representative to most residents. So, maybe the recent ads were on the right track, attempting to shake things up, but creating a debate about what the city has to offer does not get at the end goal of increased tourism. It only works against the branding strategy that has already been developed and, with greater alignment of the goals of each of the city’s divisions, from which creative and appealing communications ought to flow. As was noted in Australia, Toronto is experiencing a new energy, but how can “Toronto Unlimited” capture and cultivate it?
My son arrived home from school about a month ago with a letter from his Grade 5 teacher entitled "Junk Mail". Naturally the hair (what little of it I have) stood up on the back of my neck. It turned out to be the beginning of an assignment on, yes, "Junk Mail". The teacher was requesting that our child collect "Junk Mail" over the period of a couple weeks and bring it in to school for discussion with the class. Their assignment was to evaluate it. What is it? What is being communicated? What is the consumer expected to do? There was no judgement about whether it was a good or bad thing. It was just about discovering another form of communication. (I was surprised and a bit amused to learn that some parents "from the industry" did take the teacher to task for using the term "junk mail".) The class would ultimately be asked to develop their own "Junk Mail" for a product of their own choosing.
Before I knew it, and at my son's urging, I was on email offering to come into the classroom to explain the difference between "Junk Mail" and "Direct Mail". After a couple of emails back and forth with the teacher, I agreed to discuss some of the "tricks of the trade", talk about the process of creating advertising in all forms and put some history and context around their assignment.
What I found once I entered the classroom was a group of about twenty-five 10 year olds completely enthralled by the notion of advertising generally, and even by the "Junk Mail" they collected specifically. They were more aware, and I must say savvy about marketing than I was at that age. They asked intelligent questions (How do you find the names to mail people?) and could recite verbatim everything from the Sleep Country jingle to the Frank and Gordon Bell Commercials. They understood that the difference between junk mail and direct mail was relevence. Well, they understood once I explained that if they received something in the mail about the Wii, they'd probably want to read it. They agreed.
I came away from the conversation with my son and his classmates realizing that the world is a very different place than it was when I was their age. I was reminded that they are indeed consumers and influencers at their young age. I came away hoping that at least some of them would become advertisers and marketers one day. It's hard to tell how their exposure to so much media today will impact who they become and what they do. But I can't wait to find out.
Let me see if I have got the numbers right here:
(1) One of the major banks posted a record profit in 2006, up 11% year over year at the tune of $2.7 Billion.
(2) The outgoing President and CEO had a 2006 compensation plan in the amount of $8.6 Million dollars.
Consequently, the aforementioned bank has decided to lay off 1000 employees.
So by that logic 1 + 2 = -1000
Am I the only one having difficulty understanding this? If you can explain please do. Please also provide your exact address in Shangrila (as Joseph Jaffe would say) as I'd love to visit you.
It was reported in the Financial Post that the cuts will come mostly in "support functions and non-customer areas". The BMO President noted "We owe it to our customers, our employees and our shareholders to have lean, efficient support functions." He further stated, "It is always tough to make decisions that result in job eliminations."
A couple of observations:
Firstly, to suggest that layoffs restricted to support service positions (i.e. administration and technical support) will not affect customer service operations is a wee bit of a stretch. I'm no banking specialist but wouldn't technical support be a key feature for online banking customers? Or be critical in helping a retail branch if their systems went down? The work doesn't go away so someone has to pick up the slack or service suffers. There is no option C.
Secondly, it just doesn't come off well to the 1000 employees being downsized to state 'We owe it to them to have lean, efficient support functions.' Sharedholers may love that kind of talk but employees? I've never heard one employee (besides senior executives) state, 'We need to have more lean operations'. My wife has been a long-standing BMO customer and she's never said, "They need to have more lean operations." Perhaps someone out there has. Why is no one putting their hand up?
Finally, if BMO declared a profit of $2.7 Billion in 2006 and still let 1000 people go, can you imagine the carnage if they ever posted a year over year loss?
I'm not pulling any punches here. The Board of the BMO and Mr. Comper achieved a record profit, were compensated handsomely and still let so many people go? Talk about moxie.
Opinion of one but if you are being paid for doing a great job, then your colleagues should not lose theirs en masse. Otherwise your compensation should be adjusted to reflect your under performance. A one-liner on a press release about 'what a tough decision it was' does not suffice. Actions speak louder than words.
Perhaps I'm being harsh but I expect a lot more from such a respected Canadian brand and company. I also know some fine people who work there. BMO is capable of so much more.
Sorry but 1 + 2 does not equal -1000 regardless of how much marketing or PR you throw at it.
I launched my first podcast, Marketing Martini, recently, and the number one question I have been getting from people (after "What's a podcast?") is "Why'd you do it?"
Here are some of the answers I have been giving. Perhaps a few of them might resonate with you.
Now do you know why I launched my podcast?
P.S. Want to find out more about podcasting? Join me and hundreds of other podcasting enthusiasts at PodCamp Toronto, a 2-day 'unconference' that will be held at Ryerson University on February 24-25, 2007. Attendance is free.
Recently members of CMA’s Integrated Marketing and Customer Experience Council were discussing what it truly means to offer superior customer service, the continuum that exists within the entire consumer experience, and the “Moment of Truth” when the consumer can't help but say "WOW". We’ve even gone so far as to invite Ken Wong, an award-winning marketing authority to join us on March 22nd to offer us his insights on this very topic.
All this talking got me thinking…
I get that Interactive Voice Response (IVR – an automated system that allows the client to select options from a voice menu and interact with the computer phone system) as a technology is supposed to assist companies in enhancing the customer experience by allowing us customers to call in anytime, day or night, to complete simple tasks. I guess my issue is… how is it some companies can get it so right and others so wrong?
Let me give you a recent example. In the frenzy of activity that always precedes a vacation departure, I realized that I had forgotten to cancel our newspaper subscriptions for the National Post and the Globe & Mail. At 8:00 pm the evening before our morning departure, after finding the “vacation stop” phone numbers in each of the paper’s mastheads, I got on the phone to suspend delivery for the week that we were going to be away.
With my call to the first newspaper, after a couple of simple prompts I was quickly routed into the vacation stop program. After verifying my delivery address, I was prompted to enter my start and stop dates. After confirming the dates and asking if they were correct, the system thanked me and I hung-up. What could be simpler?
My call to the second newspaper was an entirely different story. It started well enough… very similar to the other publication in fact, but when I was asked to enter the start and stop dates, for some reason the system could not reconcile the request. It would not accept my restart date. Despite re-entering the date a number of times, the system would not accept my entry. In frustration, I finally hung up. Determined that it was just a glitch, I called in a second time with the same result. I gave up.
What I experienced was a “moment of truth”. A key interaction with two separate companies, attempting the same activity with vastly different results. One left me very satisfied, the other with a sour taste in my mouth.
It's my first day back from vacation and that impending feeling of doom decends upon me as I open up my inbox. In spite of this, while I was away as I got to recharge my batteries and collect my thoughts. Few as they may be.
We were in Miami and then went to Orlando and Disney World. A couple of observations from a marketer while on vacation:
The first one came when we tried to pick up complimentary tickets (full disclosure) at the guest relations booth. We had all the right documentation but were not in the reservation system.
Having seen this scene at airline counters it rarely plays out well. And try telling your 3 year old girl and 5 year old niece to do a 180 degree turn after they have seen Cinderella's castle in the distance. Time to pull out the Amex?
Wrong. The Disney representative said, "This is our problem and you are our guest. I don't want to delay you any longer. Here are the tickets. Please enjoy yourself." Talk about customer service. Advertising only gets you so far after all.
Secondly, before entering the park one must provide a finger scan when passing through turnstiles. I realize safety/security is necessary but still found this extreme. With all due respect to Disney, I don't want to provide my personal email much less biometric information.
However, it was explained to me that the reason Disney scans customer fingerprints is that it matches them to tickets. So if a guest purchases costly multiple-day tickets and loses them, they can be re-issued and the old ones are voided. It was the first time I've ever seen anything like that. Talk about impressive.
The third observation was that Disney characters such as Mickey Mouse start at $6.40 per hour. Yes, I was stunned when an employee told me that. However, turnover is apparently low because training and benefits provided are very good. And one college student remarked having Disney on your resume doesn't hurt. Apparently salary isn't everything.
Finally, at Disney they pay attention to the small details. Whether it's having cleaning crew walk directly behind the horses in a parade picking up 'debris'. Or where a child starts to vomit and cast members (wearing identifiable uniforms) decend on the stressed-out mother like a swat team ready to assist. For any parent who has gone through this - 'wow' indeed.
It terms of improvements, their merchandising could have been stronger. Disney improving their merchandising? Was I drinking Florida swamp water? Please let me explain.
Disney sells merchandise as it relates to their classic movies and characters (Mickey Mouse, Alladin, Cinderalla) or current movie releases. But movies such as Cars had very limited merchandise available. I can't recall how many kids asked for Cars related product. It wouldn't be a stretch to say they lost hundreds of dollars in potential revenue in that store. And I was only there for a few minutes. Not to mention the fact, the markup at the park is higher from a margin perspective.
They also have a FastPass program which I highly recommend if you ever visit with young kids. Waiting 75 minutes for Space Moutain with kids is unwise. The problem was that very few people knew about the FastPass program. Good for those in the know. Not so much those who are not.
All in all, I've been to Disney a half-dozen times because of some charity work I was involved with during my airline days. This was the first time with both my family and a marketer hat on. Mouse ears and all, it gave me a lot to think about.
Looking at the number of texting thumbs and earbuds on any subway or bus it’s fairly intuitive that young people are the early adopters when it comes to technology. (Heck, I set up a MySpace account solely to communicate with my teenage cousins overseas since their email skills are sorely lacking!). What I didn’t realize is how many of the 10 million boomers in Canada are online and ready to spend.
As a sneak preview to an upcoming AIMS event (Feb. 27) about marketing to different demographic groups, Sara Scurfield, an AIMS volunteer interviewed David Cravit, Senior Vice President, Marketing, The 50Plus Group. He shared that information is the biggest reason this demographic goes online and they are prepared to have their credit cards at the ready. “Their primary concerns are health (which encompasses wellness, anti-aging and beauty), money and travel. They are looking for information they can apply in their daily lives, and products and services that will meet their needs particularly in these key areas. They can be a very interested and attention audience – higher click rates, longer time spent with the information, more responsiveness – if the message is concrete and perceived to be useful”.
David will be providing more insight into what makes 50+ Canadians click next week at our ‘Marketing to YOUR Customer’ event. We’ll also be discussing youth and gender. Mirabel Palmer Elliott, Group Director, Audience Development, Rogers Consumer Publishing Websites will be sharing her insight into what men and women are doing differently online and how Rogers Publishing addresses both genders effectively. Hunter Madsen, Marketing Director, Yahoo! Canada, will look at how the ultra-wired ‘Millennial’ generation differs from older Canadians. And also how young Canadians differ from their counterparts south of the border.
Is the health and general well-being of employees a necessary factor for an organization’s internal branding strategy? How much does the morale of employees reflect on the company’s brand, from both internal and external perspectives? The recent news attention on the federal government’s plan to spend $5-million to re-launch ParticipAction, the non-profit agency that encouraged Canadians to get fit, and the revitalization of Canada’s food guide, not to mention the focus on cigarette advertising and quit smoking campaigns, has helped put health back in the spotlight as a top priority.
B2B organizations can connect HR and marketing through their brand management programs with internal branding development and CSR programs. If employees are engaged through the company on a personal level, such as their health and fitness, they may be more apt to portray their company in a favourable and positive manner. Employee well-being can become a “brand behaviour.” The company can then support health initiatives through its CSR programs, which provides a channel for marketing and communications that will cast the company in a positive light in the B2B marketplace.
The focus on environmental issues may be top of mind these days over individual health, but really one is not relevant without the other (despite Joni Mitchell’s comments in this past weekend edition of The Globe and Mail). I think this is a proactive way to reposition a company’s brand as socially responsible to its employees by tying in these behaviours with what it means to them to be a part of the company team. It is also proactive in reducing the costs associated with employee heath and morale if preventative actions are not taken. This message can be easily communicated to clients and customers through CSR and the healthy employees that represent the company.
It also helps to establish employee commitment to the company, thereby decreasing recruitment costs. As the workforce ages and Canadians continue to increase their participation in sports and exercise, how much will we expect from the companies we work for and from those we do business with in terms of health-related issues? This is a question that new graduates and entrants into the workforce will increasingly ask and may very well use to measure the appeal and worthiness of a brand.
Over the past couple of weeks I've probably called every gaming retailer in the GTA in my search for the Holy Grail -- er, I mean the Nintendo Wii. I can guarantee you there isn't a Wii to be had. And if a small shipment comes in, they're gone within a matter of minutes. What is going on?! The fact of the matter is, the Wii is the must-have product of the moment. I first heard of the Wii on the CBS magazine show "Sunday Morning". They were doing a story on what was going to be hot in High-Tech for Christmas '06. The Wii wasn't even out yet. Then December rolled around and I started to hear rumblings from friends that they were going down to Buffalo to find their kids a Wii because Toronto was sold out. Friends were bringing Wii's back over the border for friends. Has there been as much of a frenzy over a product since the advent of the Cabbage Patch Doll?
Which brings me to the last two weeks where I've suffered the humiliation of having stoner-voiced game store employees (no offense to game store employees intended) laugh at me through the phone upon being asked when they might be receiving a shipment of Wii. The answer? Who knows.
Then this morning I opened the latest issue of Marketing Magazine to find an article by Angela Kryhul suggesting that the lack of Wii could be a marketing ploy by Nintendo hyping "a launch like it's the second coming..." then "... only bestow precious units on the chosen few to build buzz and desire...If loyal customers perceive that a marketer has purposely divided them into haves and have-nots...can any brand afford to leave people empty-handed?"
I don't buy Angela's basic premise that frustration over not being able to find "the Holy Grail" makes a consumer less likely to desire one or buy one once they become available.
But more to the point, and admittedly I may be naive, but I don't believe Nintendo is being Machiavellian by creating an "artificial product shortage" as their marketing strategy, as Angela suggests. Perhaps they simply underestimated the demand. It happens. Either way, Angela asserts that "perceptions can easily turn against a brand" because of lack of supply. I'm not sure I agree and I can't think of an example where that's happened. Can you? Unfortunately Angela doesn't support her assertion with examples.
In the end, I might never get my Wii. But it won't be for lack of trying. And it certainly won't be because I developed a negative perception of an amazing product because my desire for one went unfulfilled.
If the answer is no and you only use your iPod / mp3 player is listen to music - check out PodCamp Toronto.
Why?
(1) You don't have to pay.
(2) You don't need to know a thing about podcasting.
(3) You might just learn something.
(4) You can network with fellow marketers and digerati.
(5) You don't like it - you can leave. It's not the Mafia.
Enough said. See you there.
I attended an excellent CMA breakfast Roundtable on Corporate Culture between Analytics and Marketing a few days ago. The theme was how to better integrate the areas of marketing and analytics such that more optimal and quicker solutions using database information could be produced. There were representatives on the panel from both Marketing and Analytics. One emerging concept was the notion that the marketing role itself is changing. It is no longer acceptable for marketing to view analytics as simply a group of 'techies and pocket calculators'. Marketers have always realized the importance of services coming from the analytics area but traditionally, there has been a lack of willingness by marketers to obtain a more detailed understanding of these solutions. This is changing as marketers become more immersed in the details of some of these solutions. New skill sets are required by the marketers; such as the ability to understand and interpret numbers.
Conversely, on the analytics front, we are beginning to see their roles evolving as they try to better understand the business area and its functions. Through this increased level of understanding, they are better able to communicate the efforts of their labor to the marketing person of that business unit. Communication improvement on the part of the analytics group can only lead to better actionable implementation of their solutions.
But how to do this? Simply stating the obvious does not achieve results. Rather it is through actions such as reward and compensation schemes that promote this type of integration, as well as establishing workplace environments that have the analysts and marketers physically sitting alongside each other.
The obvious and best way, albeit long-term, to bridge this cultural divide as expressed by the Roundtable panelists, is through organic growth where one hires the right skill sets for both marketers and analysts. The company can then harness this base skill sets through mentoring and on the job experience thereby allowing these individuals to grow into these desired roles.
One interesting point from one of the panelists was that this cultural divide could be better bridged by having more senior level representation at the executive level. To some extent, we are seeing this evolution through the creation of a new marketing role entitled the CMO (Chief Marketing Officer). However, I would argue that consideration should be also given to the analytics area at the executive level. In the U.S., many organizations have created executive roles within this area called the CDO (Chief Data Officer) in addition to the CMO. The CDO is responsible for all the data that is used for analytical solutions within the organization. It is different and very separate from the other technology executive roles such as CIO (Chief Information Officer or CTO (Chief Technology Officer). As we begin to see more evolution within the marketing and analytics areas, it will not be uncommon to observe both a CDO and CMO at the executive level for many organizations in the not too distant future. Cultural divide will then become an historical item of the past.
By now many of you have already heard or read all about the service problems JetBlue’s customers experienced during a snow and ice storm. I won’t go into the ugly details. But I would like to point out how JetBlue’s Founder and CEO publicly addressed his customers. First, he publicly (via a letter on JetBlue’s website) said we are sorry. Imagine that, a CEO actually saying sorry. Then, he created a video apology and posted it on YouTube. As pointed out on the Church of the Customer blog, he did not actually say sorry in the video...too bad...but at least he did in the letter. Not to mention his video message was a bit all over the place.
Companies could learn a lesson from JetBlue...first, it’s ok to say sorry and second, use social networking sites to quickly get your side of the story out. In this case the execution may not have been great, but the idea was right. One last observation. It’s interesting to see video posts from customers caught in the middle of the service disruption right beside JetBlue’s video apology. It's nice to see both sides of the story.
A friend of mine was commenting that she went for some interviews recently with a company. (Call them ACME Widgets). She went through a whole lot of trouble preparing for her interviews, researching the company, the people working there and so forth. All the rights moves for someone going to an interview.
After her second interview, one week went by and then another with no response. She sent an email to the interviewer and left a voicemail with no response. I told her that she probably scared them away. Yes, the bruise on my left eye is recovering quite nicely.
In all seriousness, after a couple of phone calls she finally got a hold of the interviewer and he said, "We appreciated your interest but we decided to go with another candidate." No apologies, no explanations for the lack of follow-up. Nothing.
What struck me was that this seems to be happening with alarming frequency. (And the company she interviewed with was a reputable brand.) At dinner the other night, friends commented on the same kind of thing happening to them in the past.
I understand all job postings have the standard "We appreciate all applications but only qualified candidates will be contacted" mantra, as HR departments are stretched to respond to all applicants. Fair enough. But when someone takes the time to interview with you, the very least you can do is reply to them. Yes, even if you decided that hell would freeze over first before you ever hired them.
I told my friend if that was how ACME treats people before they become employees, heaven knows what happens once they become one! As bitter a pill it was to swallow, she was better off elsewhere. Sure enough she landed a senior position at another firm.
As much as we marketers want to monitor what people say about us, our companies and our brands (via website, blogs and so forth) a little consideration or courtesy for others never hurts.
I have the privilege of interacting with many bright and very effective sales and marketing leaders who enjoy sharing their ideas and best practices with colleagues and peers - even outside of their organizations. In the first in a series of two posts, I will share a few new ideas, tips and techniques we've collected to help address one of sales and marketing's most difficult issues - Inside Sales.
Idea: Contact Discovery
Problem Addressed: Lack of accurate prospect information; inside sales role definition; outsourcing issues.
Detail: At a baseline level, generating quality leads is predicated on having a “clean” database of contacts, with accurate names, titles, phone numbers, email addresses and any other information that enables an organization to follow up with a prospect effectively. While critical, this is a data quality activity that can and should be fulfilled by an external telemarketer, not by teleprospectors or telesales. Too often, we continue to see higher-paid inside reps (or even expensive thirdparty teleprospecting vendors) acting as their own data cleansers; this is a waste of their skills, and resources.
Idea: Account Intelligence
Problem Addressed: Target market data collection; lead definition inconsistency; wasted marketing effort.
Detail: More organizations are using telemarketing in a strategic fashion by having the function call into the target market on a rolling basis. There are two goals here: To uncover individual opportunities, and to gather information about market forces, changes in buying patterns and general prospect attitudes. This role is often outsourced, but the further the distance away from marketing that the resource is, the less likely that usable feedback will be delivered in a consistent, organized manner.
Idea: Event Marketing
Problem Addressed: Falling registrations/attendance at marketing events; driving sufficient raw interest at the top of the sales funnel.
Detail: B-to-b marketing functions continue to sponsor a significant number of online and offline events each year, only to find “event fatigue” taking more of a toll on both registrations and attendance. To counteract this trend, some organizations are creating a group of telemarketers to focus exclusively on event support (both registrations and reminders) via outbound calling. These reps are tied extremely closely to the field marketing function, receiving specific training and scripting for each event they will s