Canadian Marketing Blog

Writer's Block Cured by Twitter

They say that confession is good for the soul. So I’ll admit something. I’ve had writer’s block for a while. I just couldn’t think of something interesting to write. Until Twitter helped me. I’m sure you’ve heard all about Twitter as it’s the latest and greatest social media sensation. Oprah’s on it. Ashton Kutcher is on it. Even Borat is on it.

So recently I read a terrific article in the Toronto Star (full disclosure: my employer is owned by Torstar which also owns the Toronto Star) by Ellen Grossman. She wrote about a situation where Aeroplan charged the widow of an Aeroplan member to transfer his accumulated Aeroplan points to her account as she wanted to take her grandchildren to Disney World. You read correctly. They wanted to charge the widow almost $2k to transfer her deceased husband’s Aeroplan points to her account. When the Toronto Star asked Aeroplan about it they had no comment.

I was so stunned I tweeted (posted) about the article in Twitter. The next thing I knew my tweet (post) got re-tweeted (re-posted) by at least ten other people. All of them very smart and talented people. Some of whom I’ve never met before. In fact a few of them are respected journalists for the Globe & Mail and La Presse respectively. None of my previous Twitter meanderings generated such a ‘viral’ effect. I now had something interesting to write about for my next post. And so here we are.

I’m an Aeroplan fanboy and I’ll admit it. The credit cards I use are because of it. The gas I buy at Esso is because of it. I buy Tropica orange juice because of it. I fly on Air Canada because of it. I have friends who work at Aeroplan and at agencies who represent them. A couple of years ago my wife’s Aeroplan account was de-activated because she hadn’t used it within the required amount of time and she was at risk of losing thousands of points. She missed the deadline by a matter of days so I emailed the President of Aeroplan, Rupert Duchesne, and he graciously re-instated her points without penalty. So as you can see, I’ve had a good relationship with Aeroplan over the years.

Which is why I’m torn by the article by Ellen Grossman. It really bothered me and based on the re-tweeting it bothered many others as well. I just don’t get why such a respected brand would act that way. The optics in this situation look nothing short of ridiculous from a marketing or branding perspective. As Mathew Ingram succintly tweeted “Stay classy Aeroplan – soak those widowers for all you can get.”

So is the morale of the story that spouses should tell their partners their Aeroplan account information? So in the event of an untimely demise their spouse/partner can still book reward tickets otherwise they will have to pay penalties to re-acquire Aeroplan points? (Naturally I would never do or advise such a thing as that would be a contravention of Aeroplan’s rules that members must agree to when they sign-up.)

It just doesn’t seem right Aeroplan. Even to a fanboy like me. Even if you did help me cure my writer’s block.

Give Credit where Credit is Due - the Basics of Attribution

As a marketer you’ve tried to be diligent about optimizing the marketing investments of the organization you are working with. You’ve incorporated some level of attribution and a solid targeting strategy. But as I’ve recently done, have you questioned whether or not the attribution model your company is using to measure their online marketing investments really enable marketers to optimize the campaigns they work on.

An overwhelming majority of online marketers use a 'most recent' attribution model for determining which media placements are the most effective. This may oversimplify and provide an inaccurate picture of how customers are exposed to promotional marketing messages during the buying cycle and which combination of media placements are performing better than others.

For example:
-A consumer clicks through on a display ad for an electronics retailer (Retailer A ) - no purchase occurs
-Two weeks later, the consumer's laptop breaks down, the consumer searches for "cheap laptops" in a search engine. A paid search ad for the same retailer shows up and the consumer conducts some research - no purchase occurs
-After researching prices with other retailers, the consumer decides to purchase the laptop from Retailer A by subsequently locating Retailer A through an organic search result.

The traditional, "most recent" attribution model, will give full credit of the sales conversion to the paid search ad. However, this is not an accurate representation of the other media channels that played a role in the sales conversion. In the example above, the initial display ad receives no credit for the sales conversion suggesting it did not influence the conversion at all. Secondly, organic search traffic will not be identified as 'campaign traffic' by the various web analytics tools (unless programmatic changes are implemented) and would likely be missed in the campaign reporting. An added complication might be, that the conversion also gets credited to the organic search listing in the analytics tool's organic search report resulting in two channels that claim to have succeeded in driving the sale.

In addition to the pre-dominant “most recent” attribution model, some others are:
-Initial - the marketing placement that drives the first click gets the full credit of a conversion
-Even - all placements that drive traffic to the site before a conversion get equal credit
-Weighted – this is the most complex model which gives more credit to some placements than others depending on their influence. It is difficult in the case of a weighted model to determine accurate weightings.

As a marketer, familiarize yourself with how your media channels are getting credit for the conversion. That way, you can, at a minimum understand and take into account when conductingyour campaign analysis. Question whether the ‘attribution period’ is similar to the buy cycle of the organization’s product or service offering vs the default value set in the web analytics tool. If it makes sense, adjust the ‘attribution period’ to better reflect your organization’s buy cycles. And last but not least, work to standardize on the attribution model that best aligns with the organizations overall business objectives. I believe, by giving credit where credit is due, marketers will be able to help get the most out of the online marketing investments they make.

The Need for Cultivating E-Marketing Talent

There is no question that the Internet is transforming consumer behaviour and buying practices, and companies without access to digital marketing expertise quickly find themselves falling behind. Over the last three years, e-marketing has been growing over 50% per year and in 2009 digital marketing is forecasted to increase a modest 5% (which is decent growth given the -3% decline in traditional media spend forecasted by eMarketer). As a result of the growth and the unique nature of digital, one of the key future issues for employers is the shortage of digital marketing talent.

The big question that many executives have is “how will the current economic downturn affect the digital sector”?

The Impact of Lean Marketing

The landscape for Canadian marketers is changing rapidly, with major media players fearing bankruptcy and marketers constantly trying to prove their worth. The last six months has been a battleground out there and some people have been unfortunately caught in the crossfire. Many companies and agencies have trimmed their staff in order to survive and there are lots of experienced marketers looking for new jobs. Remaining departments are doing the same with less people and resources. In a downturn, businesses need to focus on efficiency and people need to be retrained. But few companies and agencies are stepping forward and investing enough in online marketing (other than a few smart boutique agencies who are picking up talent and enhancing their teams). Talent is waiting on the sidelines.

The Digital Talent Gap will Grow

Digital marketing is one of the largest short-term and long-term potential opportunities that marketers don’t want to miss. It’s efficient, growing and a coveted skill set. Digital marketing is by no means immune to the overall economic climate but there are good job openings. It’s also an exciting area with great future career potential. A CMA research study predicts that the number of online marketing jobs will increase 155% between 2007 and 2011 and there will be a gap of over 4,000 new “advertising jobs” in the internet advertising space (Source: Marketing’s Contribution to the Economy report p22). We will need entry level people but also senior talent with Internet expertise.

Many mid-level marketers are finding their roles now require more in-depth digital marketing understanding to advance and be successful. There’s pressure from senior management to stay ahead and leverage the huge cost-efficiencies and real-time measurability of digital media – in tough economic times, expenditures that can deliver measurable ROI are what the C-level executives want to see – and are pushing their marketing teams hard to meet these new standards.

The need for strong e-marketing talent is growing faster than the talent pool and we as an industry need to start working hard to close the gap.

So Where is the New Digital Marketing Talent?

The easiest source is to tap the current marketers who are out of work. Education is about lifelong learning and there are many willing and skilled candidates who can learn the specialties of online. Companies can grow and cultivate the online expertise but they must invest the training resources. Cultivating managers is a great strategy to enhance your competitive companies’ position.

The next best source of talent is the young new graduates. But there is a problem that many new graduates overlook marketing as a profession and they have the wrong perception of marketing. A few of the key findings from the 2008 CMA Talent Study:

• “Cultivating and competing for top marketing talent is a growing concern. Prospective hires and students considering a career path in marketing do not have a clear understanding of what constitutes a marketing career.”

• “… marketing needs to be presented as a competitively skilful profession, as are finance, consulting, accounting, medicine, or law.”

• “We need to do a better job of showcasing the marketing profession by featuring successful marketers as role models through a variety of media. Our study indicates that role models have a strong impact on a student’s decision making – it’s time to put marketing on the map as a rewarding, skilful, lucrative, creative, and professional occupation.”

Bottom line – Marketers have not been doing a good job of marketing marketing as a profession. Ironic isn’t it? CMA has taken action though, with marketing career resources for students – a place for students to learn more about the marketing profession and find a mentor or two.

Furthermore, as an industry, we also need to encourage recruitment and training for all levels. More on this next time.

Authored by Geoff Linton, VP Inbox Marketer and Taina Suomela, VP The Aber Group

CRTC Crashes While Looking Through the Rearview Window

“Hulu.ca”… Has a nice ring to it, doesn’t it?

This particular post started out as a rant. It evolved. In the process I realized that, as a media consumer, I’m a temperamental 2-year old with ADD. I have no patience. I want my content the way I want it, and I want it now.

At Christmas I received some iTunes gift cards. I figured I’d be an honest consumer and go buy some content. After surfing the Canadian Apple Store site, I felt discouraged… Where were the commercial-free “Prison Break” episodes that I’d gone looking for? And why were they readily available on the American Apple Store site, where I couldn’t get them, alongside countless hours of other commercial-free entertainment.

A quick Google search brought up numerous ways to get those same episodes, but I was feeling lazy and wasn’t in the mood to forge my mailing address or buy a fresh US-based gift card on eBay. I simply wanted to redeem my existing Canadian-bought gift cards and be entertained.

Around the same time, I found that the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) was surprisingly relevant in how it brings new content to market. On the Canadian Apple Store site, I could buy and download “Hockey Night in Canada” games and episodes of “MVP: The Secret Lives of Hockey Wives”.

I could also watch streaming episodes of the Canadian “Dragon’s Den” on CBC.ca for the price of watching one or two quick Rogers commercials. Seemed fair.

However, I didn’t want to pay to download any commercial-free CBC content since the publicly funded broadcaster already gets my tax dollars to send me its signal and its programs for ‘free’.

Besides, where were my “Prison Break” episodes? I had money (the gift cards); I wanted to buy. Another quick Google search reveals how to shield your I.P. to watch those same episodes but I wanted to stay away from the grey-market of 21st century media consumption. Why was it so hard?

Everyone in this industry – content producers, distributors, advertisers, and consumers – is searching for a new world order. Canada’s commercial broadcast stations are in crisis (according to recent CRTC hearings), losing money and rapidly losing touch with the consumer. It is a daunting position for them to be in, especially when advertisers go looking for ways to connect with buyers.

Advertisements are heat-seeking missiles – they go where they find audiences. Ultimately, they are channel and media agnostic. Even in a recession. The recent downturn in ad revenue is as much to do with audience fragmentation as with anything else. For many, it simply seems harder to find today’s consumers.

The majority of 21st century audiences, target markets and consumers will pay for either downloads (without ads) or they will watch ads in return for ‘free’ content (streaming online video). Apple pioneered the online subscription-based download model for music although they may have a harder time dominating online video without the benefits of first mover advantage.

The CBC gets all of this, but CTV and GlobalTV seem to only support the online streaming version of things – most akin to the traditional broadcast model. And since Peer-to-Peer sharing isn’t popular with the Canadian ISPs, these are the only aboveboard models.

Even so, the real challenge facing the industry is not whether or not Canadian content makes it out to the world (or at least, to other Canadians) or whether commercial broadcasters and cable companies continue to make buckets of cash… rather, the real challenge is whether consumers will cease to exist.

The world is full of users now, not consumers. We use the media and we create content too. User-Generated-Content splits our attention (already short, as it is) away from consumer-focused content, adverts, and general entertainment alike.

Jeff Zucker, president of NBC Universal and a member of the Hulu.com board recently commented: “Advertisers have made it clear that they want a safe environment, unpolluted by videos of cats on skateboards”. It was a blatant and defensive knock at YouTube and all UGC, neither of which inherently support traditional advertising but both of which steal mind-share from Hulu.com and NBC Universal’s mass-produced content.

Meanwhile the Canadian government, in the form of the CRTC, is still attempting to make mass media serve various mandated, national goals. Mary Vipond noted in her historical research of “The Mass Media in Canada”, that too much foreign content threatens Canadians’ identity, filling our minds with foreign attitudes and images while crowding out our attempts to speak to each other.

That old Can-Con issue seems quite dated now as more and more Canadians are indeed “speaking to each other” through social media and UGC. Doesn’t that count for something?

Were the CRTC to turn its gaze from the rearview window toward the road ahead, it would be preparing for a future of even more user-generated content and on-demand consumption. The CBC could show them the way.

(NB: My skateboard-riding cat charges ACTRA rates).

Authored by Joy Boyson, Director, New Business for Technical Marketing, The Marketing Store

Service Levels Are Not An Indication Of A Level Of Service.

For as long as anyone can remember, call centres have measured themselves through service levels. This mathematical formula of the percentage of calls answered within a certain time frame has been the bedrock of the industry. It has been widely accepted that by managing service levels you are ensuring a consistent and acceptable customer experience, while appropriately managing your resources. This traditional view of service levels, however, is a fallacy.

There are three main reasons why I hold this view:

1. Service levels manage to averages and not deviations to the average.
2. “Buying back” service levels are a common occurrence in the industry.
3. By not including IVR (Interactive Voice Response) time, service levels do not correctly reflect the customer experience.

No one manages to a service level target for each and every call. By the nature of the calculation, that would be impossible. Instead, we manage to service levels within a given period of time (a day, a week, a month). By stretching out our time horizon, we in affect hide wide swings in service levels that we experience all the time. By not factoring in a measurement that accounts for these deviations, we are not accounting for the consistency of service being experienced by our customers.

The problem of deviations to a standard service level is only heightened by the fact that many in the industry regularly “buy back” service levels. This is accomplished by running at service levels well above target to make up for intervals where the target was missed. This practice does not change the experience of those who waited a longer period to be answered, and is not appreciated by those who are answered faster in exchange. This practice only costs a firm additional money to meet an artificial in-house target.

Finally, service levels do not include IVR time. The IVR and the time taken to navigate it, is as much part of the customer experience as is the hold time to be answered after getting through the IVR. We are as responsible for the experience on the IVR as we are for the experience with an agent. We also have as much, if not more control over the IVR experience as we do over the agent experience.

It is essential that as an industry we challenge ourselves to find new and better ways to account for the customer experience within our centers. I invite people to add their comments and help share what they have done to combat the short falls of service level measurements within their organizations.

Authored by Richard Litvack, VP Operations, Citi Cards Canada

Take It

“There is an awesome marketing job that has recently come up. You would be perfect for it! Tell me your current salary and email me your resume asap. Sorry but I can’t tell you who the company is, where the job is located or the salary due to confidentiality reasons. I’m sure you understand. Talk soon. Bye."

Some people view headhunters, recruiters or executive search partners with suspicion or even a degree of resentment. When someone receives calls like that it’s not difficult to understand why. However I don’t immediately hang up on all recruiters. I take the call. Why?

I’ve gotten to know some recruiters over the years and quite a few are extremely professional people who take their craft very seriously. Many actively volunteer in their local communities. One of them I know took time off to volunteer for a summer in Africa which is more than can be said for most (including myself). Many have over the years given me pointers on my resume, interviewing tips and other invaluable career development advice.

I’ll also let you in on something else, I take calls or reply to emails from recruiters even when I’m very happy (as is currently the case) at work. Why on earth would I do that?

a. It’s always good to know what your relevant market value is.

b. If you have a firm relationship with your employer they won’t feel threatened by you getting unsolicited requests. If anything they should be flattered someone on their team is coveted. If they treat you well they should be confident they have nothing to worry about.

c. Someone in my network may be a free agent or looking for a change of scenery. If I can help a recruiter and another friend at the same time then I’ve helped two people in one stroke.

d. If I answer calls/emails from recruiters when they are looking for assistance, they’re more likely to answer mine when I am as well.

Now some may think “Well that’s all well and good when you know the recruiters or have experience dealing with them. What the heck do you do when you get contacted out of the blue from a complete stranger about a job? Or have never dealt with them before?" Indeed some people get nervous and don’t know what to do. I sure felt that way the first time a recruiter contacted me.

I’m not suggesting this works for everyone but my rule of thumb when fielding a call or email from a recruiter I’m not familiar with is to ask the following questions:

1. How did you get my name? I view this as a litmus-test. It shows the degree of transparency on behalf of the recruiter. Even if they say they found me on Google or LinkedIn that is fine but any relationship must be based on trust. If they are evasive or can’t answer that question it should tell you something,

2. What is the salary range for this position? I ask this not because money is the only thing as work-life balance, corporate culture and career development are just a few of many other elements that are as important as salary in making an employment decision. But I also don’t want to waste the recruiter’s time, my time or that of others in my network. So let’s cut to the chase so expectations are aligned from the start.

3. Who is the company? I’m not about to refer my friends to a place that has a lousy reputation or is viewed as a sweatshop. Just like I’m not about to refer a lousy candidate in my network to a good recruiter either. (You show me yours and I’ll show you mine.)

4. Are you on contingency or retained? In my experience I’ve found contingency-based recruiters look for a quick placement and not always examine the longer terms implications of proper fit. Based on the commission structure of their compensation they are there to quickly place someone and move on. My tendency is to only deal with retained recruiters in most circumstances. This doesn't apply to everyone but it applies to me.

5. How do you feel about them? This isn't a question for the recruiter but for yourself. Is the recruiter really pushy or not? Are they trying to jam a square peg in a round hole or do they carefully assess if there is a fit between potential candidate and employer? Excellent recruiters determine that before the dance begins and tell you. Mediocre ones don’t.

In the end, it really comes down to trust. Usually your first instinct about a recruiter is the right one. If you feel good then continue the conversation. If you get the heebie-jeebies politely decline and move on. But don’t view all recruiters to be ‘scum-sucking leaches’ as one person recently opined to me. You do yourself a disservice by making broad stroke assessments like that.

So the next time you get a call or email from a recruiter? Take it.

Go Green or Go Frizzy… Why Make a Girl Choose?

It ain’t pretty to shop in the beauty aisle these days. That is, if you’re a green consumer intent on making environmentally responsible choices. Overpackaged beauty products, such as my bottle of frizz control serum, can literally make your hair stand on end, when you evaluate all the waste going into a relatively small amount of product.

Take, for example, my bathroom staple, Pantene Pro V Hair Serum in 50 ml glass bottle, with a plastic, unrecyclable pump top, non recyclable lid, wrapped in a non recyclable PVC insert, and inserted in a cardboard box. Compare that with the reduced package for the alternative Life Brand hair mist, which contains more than twice as much product, in a lightweight recyclable container (and is cheaper to boot!)

Why oh, why Pantene, must you make me choose between my hair and my planet?
You know I’ll choose my hair every time! Who wants to live on a planet of untamed ‘fro’s?

Now some would argue that the higher prestige Pantene needs the enhanced packaging to convey its quality and justify its price tag. But suppliers of luxury goods are proving that by being creative, it is possible to strike the balance between sustainability and high perceived value.

Take Mary Kay’s Affection Fragrance sets, which use a lightweight, more sustainable cardboard box. Produced by MWV, the gift set box features a paperboard package that provides the same look as a rigid set box but costs less to produce and maximizes efficiencies in the transportation process.

See…you can get the pretty without the pollution! I’m not saying beauty products have to wear Birkenstocks. But with a little creativity and research into new packaging options, the beauty industry can capitalize on consumer willingness to go green, and still appeal to sophisticated, fashion conscious tastes.

With all that environmental goodness and none of the nasty granola aftertaste; next year’s Earth Day may yet be a good hair day after all.

Authored by Adina Zaiontz, Trade Marketing Manager, Yahoo! Canada

Going Once, Going Twice, Gone!

In these difficult economic times, all charities are trying to find new ways to raise funds. A client of ours, The Canadian Hearing Society is one of those groups. They have just launched their third eBay auction. This initiative is an innovative way for the Society to solicit support in addition to their traditional direct mail, major gift asks and events. Wendy Quick, The Manager of Individual Giving for the Society says. “Our key objective was to find a new way to fundraise that would hopefully also attract younger support. The traditional ways to raise money are our bread and butter, but they have not allowed us to break into the potential younger supporters.”

The Society finds the items and then offers them up on eBay for a specified period of time. This is also a unique potential opportunity for nonprofits as all the items are donated and the charity gets to keep 100% of the dollars raised. You can check out their auction which is live now for the entire month of May. Log-on to their website www.chs.ca and follow the links…

Authored by Angie Mackie, Partner, The Donnée Group

Cautiously Optimistic…

“Cautiously optimistic” is the catchphrase so many of us in the not for profit world were throwing around the end of 2008, when fear of the impact of a recession first hit as we were planning our 2009 budgets. We all knew that biggest hit would be in major gifts, and had learned from previous economic downturns that some charities would possibly not even feel the effects on other donation streams.

Fast forward to 2009, a third of the way through the year. Charities I’ve spoken to are reporting a decrease in direct mail results from that of the previous year, and for those of us doing telemarketing, those results are down as well. Specifically, the lapsed donor segments seem to be particularly hard hit.

Do we give up on them, to save the cost of mailing or calling? I'd say not yet. Or do we invest a bit more and truly integrate telephone, e-mail and direct mail strategies?

So, e-mail/call, mail/e-mail, call/e-mail, mail/call, call/mail?

Previous tests have found that sending lapsed donors an e-mail (with a story, photos, no ask) prior to a telephone call will help lift results of that telephone call (interestingly the results were not the same for active donors). We also find that sending an e-mail shortly after a direct mail appeal helps drive in some more donations, as well as an e-mail to those who just pledged to a telemarketing campaign. These are easy and affordable solutions for those charities with the ability to send e-mail on their own, or with a service provider who will do it for them as part of their overall fee structure.

But the reality is that most of our donors don't have an e-mail address - so what do we do about those donors for whom we currently have no e-mail address?

We're thinking of sending a postcard, digitally produced so that the image on the face of it reflects what their previous gift helped support (i.e. a country, a program, a sector). But at a time of cost cutting and revenue concerns, this unaccounted-for expense (a cost of about 85 cents a postcard in the mail), untested activity to an ever growing lapsed file may not be possible. So perhaps we'll test to a small segment only at this time. The obvious timing for this would be before a scheduled phone call or before a monthly donor is about to lapse.

Likewise, a call to more recently lapsed mail donors will serve to reactivate some of them but, since this is an unbudgeted activity this year, a solution we may not be able to afford. Or perhaps we can't afford to not try it when, frankly, if they're not reminded to support us again, they may support another charity that does call them.

There are a lot of uncertainties for charities today but I, for one, will continue to remain cautiously optimistic....

Authored by Dusanka Pavlica, Director, Resource Development, Canadian Feed The Children

Is Twitter a Fad?

Approximately 60 percent of current Twitter users fail to return the next month, according to data from Nielsen Online. In other words, Twitter's audience retention rate is about 40 percent. Moreover, it was below 30 percent in the 12-month period before Oprah joined Twitter bandwagon. The above conclusions were arrived at by Nielsen Online by analyzing Twitter.com and other websites and applications that feed into Twitter community blog post. For comparison, Facebook and Myspace users’ retention rates were twice as high in the early stage and are about 70 percent currently.

By definition, fads enter the market quickly, are adopted with great zeal, peak early and decline fast. Fads do not survive long because either they do not satisfy an existing market need or fail to develop a desire (want). There are several products, line extensions and ideas that could not develop an ongoing market demand and proved to be fads. The Atkins diet, Wacky wall walkers, acid-washed denim jeans and Rubik’s cube were a few of such fads. On the other hand innovative products like iPods successfully met and increased an existing market need and Blackberry smart phones created demand for convenience and mobility to be hugely successful.

Is there an identifiable need for Twitting that could translate into a critical mass? Can twitter help expand the initial use by Innovators to Early Adopters? Answers to these questions will determine whether Twitter is a fad, a trend or will be a successful brand.

Celebrities like Oprah and George Stroumboulopoulos use Twitter to inform TV audience about the guests in their forthcoming shows and generate interest and buzz about it. So there is a possible need / niche market for it. Twitter would have to expand this need (niche) into an appeal for bigger groups. For example, I use Twitter to stay in touch with friends and colleagues who I am also connected with on LinkedIn and Facebook. Thus LinkedIn and Facebook drive first-mover advantage here as I have been using these platforms for a while, few times a week, as a habit. I use Twitter mostly for fun than as a utility or a need.

Twitter’s growth coincided with the economic slowdown, with people working more hours to sustain their lifestyle and getting less time to try out innovative ideas. LinkedIn and Facebook were launched during economic growth and feel-good times, an environment conducive for new products. Thus Twitter faces an uphill task to maintain the initial momentum compared to other such applications. Future success for Twitter will depend on its ability to use the technology and perhaps business collaborations to correspond with current lifestyles, values and demographics in order to move from a nice-to-have to a feel-good, must-have brand.

A Changed Vowel that is oh so Fowl….

Have you ever had one of those moments? You know, one of those brilliant moments where you come up with a campaign for a brand that is genius? You realize that perhaps your campaign idea may be fruitless because you don’t even work with the brand but because you love what you do, you can’t help yourself. Well this time I think I have done it, I really have. And this one should fly…

iTrade Canada, (formally E*Trade Canada) launched their rebranding campaign in early March with creative print executions, a new spot and host of other initiatives. All fine and dandy, but here is my big campaign idea: I propose that they re-launch the current campaign but instead of featuring a red Scotia power ball as seen here , the new executions should feature a common but highly underutilized animal, the chicken.

Beavers have been done (RIP Frank and Gordon) and thanks to TAXI’s long legged ingenuity, Telus has used just about every animal one can think of without it getting tired, BUT to my knowledge they haven’t used chickens yet. Come on Capital C, grab those chickens before TAXI does….

So where did this fowl campaign idea come from?

In July of 2008 Scotia Bank purchased E*Trade Canada for the tidy sum of $442 million U.S. dollars, immediately making them a legitimate player within the Canadian discount brokerage business, after years of trying. No offense to the anemic Scotia Direct or Trade Freedom brand, which are also owned by Scotia, intended here but E*Trade was the crown jewel.
The key for Scotia in this transaction was not the $4.7 billion in assets under management that came with E*Trade, but rather the undisclosed number of customer accounts that made up the $4.7 billion in AUM. Within the online brokerage business, the highest value customers are your heavy traders. Those select individuals who trade upwards of 50+ times a month are worth big bucks, and they are the hardest ones to get. Although it is not known just how many high volume trading accounts Scotia picked up from E*Trade, one can certainly guess that it was enough to justify the price tag. On an important side note, $442 million dollars presumably* also bought Scotia the rights to the once ubiquitous E*Trade Canada Brand.

Now this was a good brand, possibly even a great brand, especially when compared to the rest of stodgy category. It had a fun, cheeky personality; it was the anti bank (oh the irony of a bank purchasing the anti-bank and then axing it…). E*Trade Canada was the place with attitude that knew and understood the mindset of the self directed active trader. The recent US baby campaign is a fantastic demonstration of the brand’s DNA. E*Trade is also famous for starting the great Canadian price war. Thanks to them, lucky day traders are paying south of $10 bucks per trade today at their respective brokerages. But no matter, even though the singing baby is absolutely hilarious and the price has always been right at E*Trade, it is child’s play when compared to the chicken rebranding I propose…

When the news broke of Scotia acquiring E*Trade Canada, amongst the people for whom it really mattered, active traders and clients of E*Trade, the response seemed quite clear. Keep the brand intact, keep the trading platforms intact. Keep the E*Trade we love. Evidence of this sentiment is easily found on various sites – the comments and feedback from this CBC story are quite telling. Although it is only a small cross section of opinion, it would've certainly raised a red flag for me were I Scotia.

At every step of the rebrand from E to I, the signs must have been very clear to those involved...Some logical points that would have been raised are listed below:

"Maybe rebranding E*Trade Canada, a brand with more than 11 years of Canadian presence, a rich pedigree and brand recall scores that are through the roof, may not be the best idea."

"Perhaps the rationale of amalgamating our existing splintered trading platforms with E*Trade and eventually introducing a new trading platform, primarily to E*trade clients, because they now make up the bulk of our accounts, doesn’t make sense."

"None of these clients asked for a new brand or a new trading platform, they were happy with E*Trade."

Somehow the rationale listed above was addressed adequately - it must have been in order to proceed with the rebranding. No matter I say, chickens will fix it all!

And I say chickens because key people were too afraid to take a stand behind the E*Trade Canada brand. Perhaps they were afraid of the decision maker at the very top, the one who put the gauntlet down and said, “We are changing the vowel to “I” and that is final!”

Or maybe they were afraid because after doing all of the rebranding work, it finally dawned on them. A simple vowel change does not transfer the equity from one brand to another. “How can our red power ball compete with singing exchange trading babies?” They must have asked. Of course by the time they asked the latter question, too many red balls were in motion. Eating crow and reverting back to E*Trade was not an option.

Of course the competition is happy, probably even ecstatic. If the boys at Disnat and TD Waterhouse were consulted, they would’ve agreed with Scotia’s decision to scrap E*Trade Canada. “Why eat crow?” they would’ve said, “Chicken tastes much better and none of us have to worry about the anti-bank anymore. Trust us Scotia; you are doing a good thing by not listening to your new clients…”

* Scotia continued to operate under the E*Trade brand for several months, signing up new accounts until iTrade launched in March of this year.

Reputation and the B-to-B Buying Cycle

Communications executives often view reputation management as a set of consistent efforts to maintain awareness and a positive impression of their organization. Get this right, they think, and buyers will be convinced to engage. Trouble is, connecting A with B has been nearly impossible, leaving these executives exposed when it’s time to cut both budget and headcount. While it’s true that communications functions have historically had a higher-level charter, this is rapidly changing as organizations learn that materials created for awareness, branding and even crisis management can be retooled for use throughout prospect buying processes. In this post, I will share some ideas for doing so, and in turn bring communications to more closely align with key goals of demand creation, sales enablement and revenue generation.

A Buying Cycle Primer
If an organization does not understand the way prospects buy what it sells, it will never be able to use marketing to facilitate these decisions. This is due to the fact that as prospects move toward a purchase, the tone, message, offer and even communicator for a specific marketing effort should be altered. Buyers don’t go through a straight-line process of getting information through the Web and other sources, weighing one solution against another and finally making a decision. Instead, a b-to-b buying process typically comprises a series of smaller decisions involving a variety of audiences that move into and out of the buying process. SiriusDecisions has created a model that describes six macro stages that b-to-b organizations typically go through. These six macro stages can be rolled up into three higher-level phases: education, active buying, and closing.

Buying Cycle Impact
Given the importance of buying cycles – and the role of the entire marketing organization to facilitate (rather than fight) them – better alignment of key reputation-building efforts with these cycles will result in more targeted, measurable communications.

Education. Many communications functions spend an inordinate amount of time blindly flooding the market with awareness messaging through public relations (PR) and analyst relations (AR), using both traditional and social media outlets. While a broadcast strategy can generate general awareness, taking a more surgical approach will generate incremental leverage. As an example, the work that goes into securing quotes for press releases and testimonials can be used to reinforce the connection between a specific offering and core business issues within a vertical market, then repurposed into content made available in a central repository for reuse. Multimedia content can be encapsulated into Web-based podcasts that both marketing and sales can distribute and track for effectiveness. These efforts should also be tracked to determine possible impact on organic search, a key element of prospect activities early in buying processes.

Active buying. The active buying stage finds buyers looking for solutions to problems they have decided are a priority, matching solution types to their specific needs and uncovering vendors that offer their solution of choice. An organization’s communications activities can be used to drive focused awareness not around brand, but around specific decisions made by current customers that drove them to choose the solution you offer, and subsequently your organization in particular. Reuse quotes, testimonials and case studies in a variety of deliverables (including social media outlets such as blogs and microblogging sites such as Twitter) that are cooperatively created with product marketing and subject matter experts, and provided to field marketing and sales. For deals that move into the opportunity phase but then stall, specific pipeline acceleration efforts sponsored by marketing in conjunction with sales can be effective in helping these deals to get moving again. Communications functions can help even further by tracking key issues being discussed in online communities that are sponsored by their organization or outside entities; emerging or changing issues can be quickly identified and converted into deliverables as warranted.

Closing. The closing phase includes activities such as negotiations and terms/conditions creation required to seal a deal. While there may be less traditional communications content reuse potential here because prospects have much of the information they need, a key leverage point is the communications function’s ability to act as a liaison to the executive branch for their participation in critical deals. Directly addressing any issues that a prospect may have about your organization by facilitating prospect interaction with marquee references also could help tip a decision in your favor, as can repurposing any ROI-related content into tools. Communications also should stand ready as a liaison to deal teams working feverishly to close deals in order to potentially create (or adapt) content as needed.

The more the communications function links its reputation activities to demand creation goals, the more reach and value can be demonstrated to the overall organization. While traditional communications activities in the branding, PR and AR arenas will still occur, the leverage available to other marketing functions is often minimal if these activities remain general in nature and myopic in execution. Instead of merely releasing your communications content to become available to other marketing roles, proactively match your deliverables to specific stages in the buying cycle; not only will you gain additional mileage out of your initiatives, you will raise the visibility and impact of your function to the business.

The Big Three...of B2B Branding

There have been only three serious books written on business branding: the first was published in 1994 with the other two released within the last five years (detailed reviews of all three are posted in the CMA’s book review section).

Three is a tiny number compared to the vast number of books about B2C Branding – but still indicates increased awareness of business branding. Below I have summarized some comments about the three books but will also point out what I call “gaping holes” in our ability to translate all these wonderful theories into practice.

Philip Kotler-Waldemar Poetsch (B2B Brand Management):
In business-to-business markets, things are different, branding is not meant to be relevant...To them brand loyalty is a non-rational behaviour”. The “them” being referred to are business “branders” – who have not necessarily bought into business branding. The strength of this book is that it covers business branding from A to Z with most of the book dedicated to the mechanics of the branding process. But be prepared to be inundated with a lot of terminology.

Bob Lamons (The Case For B2B Branding):
I’ve discovered through many years of trying to work with target audience statements that most of them are not worth the paper they are written on. Bob Lamons is more a man of instinct than theory – he dedicates the first part of his book to the branding “process” but with a practical twist; and his personal involvement in a number of the 21 case studies presented in the second part adds a spark of interest.

Paul Hague and Peter Jackson (The Power of Industrial Brands):
The point of branding is to create a distinctive image which is underpinned by core values and some extras which distinguish the company: both authors are market researchers and Hague also wrote one of the first handbooks of “industrial” marketing. This is the only book where the authors discuss the role of research prior to outlining their own approach to the business branding “process”.

THE GAPING HOLES - the level of sophistication demonstrated by all three authors compares well with B2C marketers but where does B2B branding go from here:

B2C versus B2B branding - everyone seems to know that these are two different processes. But nobody has yet to make a strong a case for the uniqueness of business branding – and convincingly describe what sets it apart.

The dynamics of B2B branding – by the same token nobody (has yet) really outlined the framework for B2B branding. Hague-Jackson come close with their repeated focus on "core” versus “differentiating” values. But this is only discussed on a superficial basis.

What are these “extras” that are supposed to differentiate B2B companies (and brands) - functional versus non-functional benefits and higher order benefits (to leverage business brands) are good exampls of differentiation but this issue has not been dealt with extensively enough. Digital technology, for example, can provide more portability and mobility and ultimately more independence – an example of a boring functional feature that can spin off some interesting benefits.

The role of corporate image – there is a lot of agreement about the importance of corporate image in business branding i.e. the company. But nobody explains to my satisfaction why this is important. In addition to obvious cost efficiencies, there is a need for a corporate-to-corporate dialogue. B2B branding is all about the “organization” – and the organization’s requirements.

The role of research -- up to two-thirds of the upfront effort in any business branding process involves research. Yet rarely is market research part of the official planning process -- nor is there such a thing as "model" for business branding research.

Enough! Please stop! No more! I can't stand it!

There are times when there is no possibility of being constructive when writing about the absurdities inflicted on an innocent world by others in our field. There are even times when, as honest proponents of our business, we have no choice but to call it like it is. And this, Ladies and Gentlemen, is one of those times. (By the way, stop me if you've heard this one!)

I am referring to the Province of Alberta rebranding project -- the one (I am not sure whether it is for tourism or just for the sake of doing it) which has as its tag line: "Alberta. Freedom to Create. Spirit to Achieve". Normally, as those who know me would expect, I would let a slogan as completely mysterious and meaningless and nonsensical as this pass with barely a snide comment. But this isn't normally.

Seems the marketers in Alberta (or whoever is responsible for this) took the "Freedom to Create" part literally, and "created" a beach and coastline for the province in order to make a point in an ad. Yes, I kid you not. They used a scene from a beach in Northumberland as the image in an advertisement. More than just the beach, they also used the image of two English girls romping on the beach.

Not surprisingly, they were caught out in the blogosphere, and this is where the fun really starts. It turns out that the image, over which the Alberta logo and the tag line appear written large, is not meant to depict Alberta -- it is meant to be a visual depiction of Albertans' concern for the future of the world (this according to Olga Guthrie of Alberta's public affairs bureau). It is likely that the intent of the campaign may be to counter the idea that Alberta's oil sands extraction process is an economic depiction of Albertans' lack of concern for the future of the world. If that is the case, then wouldn't the fact that they could not find a pristine example of concern-for-the-world in their own backyard, rather prove the critics right?

Apparently not. The Prime Minister's head of media relations (sorry, but what the hell is the Prime Minister involved in this for?), helpfully points out that, "There's no attempt to mislead here. The picture used just fitted the mood and tone of what we (we? we?) were trying to do." Obviously, whatever Alberta is trying to do, is something they can't do, if they can't find a picture to fit the mood and tone of whatever it is, in Alberta. Whatever happened to authenticity?

The little English girls, too, were not meant to deceive -- they are meant to be British girls because (implicitly) only English girls are suitable "symbols of the future." (Olga again).

If you don't believe me, here is a link to a PDF of the article in The Guardian Weekly.

Need I say more? Have we achieved absolutely nothing in the marketing world? Has everything we've been trying to do and say really been so tediously boring that it is totally ignored? I am desolate, disappointed and going to Mexico!

Nothing to Hide

I saw this tv spot for Air New Zealand last night on Youtube and thought it was hilarious. The airline has a humorous delivery on the idea they don't have any hidden fees when it comes to additional charges for services such as food and drink, booking seats online and baggage allowances.

Created by .99 New Zealand. Music is “Under My Skin” by Auckland singer Gin Wigmore.

A cheeky approach that gets the point across.

Professional Associations: Re-positioning to meet Members Needs

Just as companies are struggling to grow their customer base, professional Associations are trying to grow theirs (by attracting and retaining members).

The battle for membership is becoming increasingly fierce for Associations and their associated offerings as companies are tightening budgets and demanding increased ROI from all aspects of marketing spending. As such, many Associations are re-positioning their offering to more directly impact their members’ bottom line (through re-branding the Association profession with the end goal of increasing demand for members’ services).

In a recent survey, the four main draws for members of Association membership were identified as: (1) Professional Development, (2) Access to Information/Knowledge, (3) Networking, and (4) Advocacy. But Associations are asking themselves, are these more traditional benefits/offerings sufficient to grow membership? Members must feel that their immediate needs are being met (advocacy, networking, industry news, etc.); however, they must also believe that their Association has the capacity to help their bottom line in the long-term. As a result, we have found that Associations are expanding their offering to include building their Associations’ profession brand. Associations are assuming a support role, ensuring that their members have the resources (information/knowledge, marketing materials, and training) to deliver the new profession brand.

For example, the Appraisal Institute of Canada recently re-branded the ‘appraiser profession’ with the goal of enhancing public perception – thus giving members the opportunity to expand their service offering should the opportunity arise in the long-term. They re-branded the profession from ‘the foremost authority at estimating market value of Canadian real estate’ to ‘accredited members who are qualified to deliver analytical advice and professional opinions across a wide spectrum of services’. Another example is the demand-generating initiative recently launched for the Certified General Accountants profession brand.

Does anyone have another recent example of a really good professional Association branding initiative?

Can We Design a Conference via Social Networks?

We all know social networking works on many levels but has anyone ever used it to design a conference? Specifically for a conference on a fairly traditional topic—Direct Marketing? Let’s be the first!

The organizing committee for the conference had this idea that we would like the community of attendees to help shape the day. This would be an interesting experiment in how engaged in social networking members really are. We need your help!

First, throw out the notion that direct marketing is only direct mail. Direct Marketing is much more than that. It really could be anything from SMS, e-mail, calls and more.

Aside from new channels there are a lot of other uses for technology in direct marketing; most obvious is the growth of analytics and results reporting. There is no glamour but it is becoming table stakes in the Direct Marketing arena.

Some of the existing ideas we have for the conference is to structure it from a life cycle approach (from strategy to targeting/ analytics/testing to the creative and offer and then wrapping up with reporting) overlaid with a multi channel approach. We would of course include the obvious – speakers with a leading edge perspective for each topic. As well we thought we would do some “speed dating” at the mid point of the day….attendees could pick or be assigned three or four tables to be at for 10 minutes with a lead with an interesting subject to discuss…then rotate.

Here’s how we could use your help. Tell us who the speakers should be? Who should lead the roundtable discussions?

To be heard, comment on the blog, solicit your colleagues for input, post a link to your social networking sites or simply email the CMA lead Jeanette.

This is your opportunity to shape your own customized conference on Direct Marketing. Tell us what you need to know. We look forward to hearing from you.