All posts tagged Business

Find your Brand Belief.

Some of us have no issue talking about ourselves. I certainly don’t (I’m a Gemini born in 1970, BTW). But when it comes to brands, some are a little too eager to pound their chests. “This is our stuff! Here’s our product! Have you tried it?! Have you got our coupon?!!”

We know about the decreasing impact of advertising, the clutter in the space and the consumer’s ability to skip right past us. Given the choice between cat videos and product information, finicky consumers are actually choosing Morris.

Simply put, nobody wants to be pitch slapped. So many of us agency folk have been telling our clients, “Don’t talk about yourself so much.” It’s right and it’s true. But it inevitably creates the client response,

“Well, what the hell am I supposed to talk about, then?”
Oh. Right. We didn’t tell you that part, did we?

Brands have to elevate the conversation to content that people want to interact with. But it’s not just randomly generated cool stuff. It has to be strategically relevant to the brand and its customers. So how do you do that?

Find your Brand Belief. 

Your Brand Belief is the first critical step in designing your content marketing or social media strategy. Do it and you’ll actually have something to talk about. Don’t do it and you’ll either be haphazardly generating hit-or-miss tactics or worse, you’ll be left to repurpose your list of ingredients as a blog post.

Getting to the Brand Belief isn’t easy but once you get there, it does give you somewhere interesting to go.

One of our clients is Dx3 Canada, the country’s largest trade show and conference focused on digital marketing, digital advertising and digital retail. The show only  happens 2 days a year (March 6-7, 2013) so talking about the product would get old at the second mention of “Register today”.

Their Brand Belief on the other hand, is “We believe Canadian business needs to get more digital.” Awesome. Now their content decisions can be evaluated by asking, “Does this fulfill our brand belief?” opposed to “Does this mention registration?”

I don’t know that’s there’s a better Brand Belief example than Expedia’s new work, “Find Yours.” Obviously, people can find hotels and flights on Expedia but they’ve elevated the conversation to a far more interesting place with an incredible insight.

They’re not a client of the Tite Group and I doubt they used the Brand Belief process but I think their brand belief is “We believe travel allows people to find a lot more than cities and towns. It helps them find themselves.”

It’s a beautiful story. It has great production value. And it stars a couple from the reality show, “The Real L-Word”. Most importantly, it features the brand without being about the  brand. It simply tells a story about how one man found understanding by traveling to the other side of the country. While I assume he used Expedia to book his flights, I didn’t need to see him do it.

I’ve always known that I can go to Expedia to find flights.
Now I know what they believe in. And I’ll be coming back for more.

Business should busk.

What marketers can learn from street performers.

I’ve always thought that buskers were “Carnies with Talent”, working their way around the world entertaining suburban dads decked out in a Tilley hat and a willingness to be embarrassed in front of a crowd of assembled strangers. Now, given your average street performer makes less than minimal wage over a 40 hour work week, it may not seem like there’s much to learn from them. But there is.

Busking is the epitome of the cold call.

No brand awareness. No liquidation sale. No inbound marketing techniques. A busker has the unenviable task of selling their product in an environment filled with the direct  competition and booths with food and face painting that distract their customers even more. In one 20 minute set, they have to build an audience, deliver their product and then ask for voluntary payment. Is there a more pure business transaction in the world? I doubt it. Here’s what we can learn.

1. They build a unique product.
When you’re competing against other performers, you can’t simply do what the other guy is doing. Even if you’re juggling stuff, you have to look unique, act unique, sound unique and in some cases, smell unique. And when you hit the stage, you better have invested the time to perfect your product. Who’s going to invest the time watching someone perfect their bit when there are so many other perfect options available?

2. They use the audience to build an audience.
Stepping into an empty space, a busker has to immediately create interest in his or her product without the benefit of a social media agency to help them do it.

To build an audience, they simply start with one person. They’ll politely ask an innocent bystander to get involved. “Can you hold this? Can you stand there? Can you put your hand up?” Volunteers aren’t given the 3 year strategic plan and asked to share with their friends – they’re just asked to do something simple. They’re involvement intrigues others to at least stand around and wait to see what’s going to happen. Even the most skeptical will wonder what we’re missing when a crowd starts to form.

3. VIP access for early adopters.
Why hang around waiting for something to happen when there are so many other options? Well, anyone who has been to a busker festival knows that the early adopters get front row seating. They get to see more and hear more and if they’re lucky, there’s a chance that they’ll actually get to star in the show. There should be a reward for those who stuck with us even when there wasn’t any show to speak of. I hope I never forget that.

4. Make ‘em feel special.
A positive attitude creates a positive experience. Every time someone does something, says something, or volunteers to join the show, the professional busker initiates a response with the age-old, “Let’s give Phil a really big hand, folks…” And it doesn’t just make the volunteer feel ridiculously special. It creates intrigue for customers who may be bored at another show. We consumers don’t want to think we’re missing out on something. With this strategy, the bigger a crowd gets, the bigger the crowd will get.

5. They use humour.
I don’t think puns or sexual innuendo are funny. Apparently, I’m in the vast minority. While crowds bellowed at lame one-liners, I was heard muttering, “They think this shit is funny?” Oh well. Regardless of the specific tone of the humour, I think we can all agree that humour is critical when building relationships.

6. They ask to get paid. 

Can you imagine if agencies had to complete a campaign before asking, “How much do you think that was worth?” Yikes. Part of me thinks agencies would actually make more. Well, that’s what these folks do every day of the week. And those who are good at it make more. When they make more, they can perform more.

The approach is usually honest: “I do this as my job and the festival doesn’t pay me.”
It’s rational: “Can you see a show this good for $10 for your entire family?”
It’s promotional: “If you give $20, you get a free DVD.”
It’s humourous: “If you give $10, you’ll go home happy. If you give $100, you’ll go home with me.”

I always feel bad asking for dough. I think I may change my approach.

It’s not like I’m asking brand managers to get a guitar case, work on stilts or juggle their product while it’s in flames. But there’s a lot we can learn from our nomadic creative colleagues. We all want to build community, give a good show and create applause. But unless people put money in our cap, we won’t survive.

If you want to check out more photos I took at Buskerfest, click here. 

Canadian Advertising Community’s 2012 Resolutions.

We all make them. We all break them. And the Canadian advertising industry is no different.
Here they are. In 2012, the Canadian advertising community resolves to…

1. Close the blinds on Antoine.
I don’t watch a lot of live TV because when I do, I’m forced to sit through the forced enthusiasm and badly scripted interruptions of Antoine from Blinds to Go. I actually don’t mind the slowly closing blinds concept but I’d prefer to see it delivered by an ACTRA member. Until then, I’ll be over at Apple TV.

2. Commit to integrating social.
It will be great when we know the ROI of socially sound, customer-focused communications. But why is transparent customer engagement subjected to a level of scrutiny that isn’t applied to other aspects of the business? The only reason the doubters justify inaction is because true social integration radically changes people and processes. Quit asking the spreadsheets to do your job for you. By the time some of you figure it out, you’ll be too late.

3. Invest in good Content Marketing.
Howard Gossage said, “People read what interests them. And sometimes, it’s an ad.”

And often it’s not.

In yesteryear, people didn’t want to see an ad, they had to. Well, now they don’t have to. And now, their content choices include stuff on that weird little hobby they never spoke about. If you absolutely love buttons and can connect with others who love buttons and watch a web show on buttons and attend a button expo, watching advertising supported So You Think You Can Dance suddenly loses its cache. People want good content. It’s time your brand gave it to them.

4. Stop investing in bad Content Marketing.
Content Marketing isn’t finding clever ways to have a character raise your branded cup into frame. That’s right, McDonald’s. I’m talking to you. Please make it stop. And while we’re at it, let’s realize that branded web comedies and dramas compete with comedies and dramas on HBO. Let’s stop making them. I’d rather not sit through Season 2 of VH Sauce’s Life Unjarred, thank you very much.

5. Put the Loan Arranger out to pasture.
Whether he’s buying your gold, lending you money, giving you a mortgage, or sending creepy shivers up your spine, Russell Oliver is a guy who just wants to be on TV. Money should buy many things. Time for this freak to prance around on our public airways shouldn’t be one of them. Oh, yea!

6. Let Ramada do their thing somewhere else.
What’s worse – the horrible music, the ridiculous scenarios or the bad production values? Let’s call it a three way tie. Regardless, I’d rather sleep under the scratchy synthetic comforter at a Journey’s End (where I almost died once) than give my money to a crew that continues to produce this campaign.

7. Close the Gap.
No, not the clothing store. The gap that exists between what Canadian consumers want and what Canadian business is delivering. While not every Canuck wants a mobile integrated, e-commerce driven, unique shopping experience, many do. And the numbers are increasing. If we don’t get our shit together, Canadian retailers will be shutting down as quickly as Amazon warehouses will be popping up.

8. Stop blaming your agencies.
Big ad agencies are caught between delivering solutions for clients who want to push the envelope and those who would rather stuff an envelope. We all have something to learn. So let’s not throw the word “partnership” around during compensation discussions yet not use it when it comes to exploring better ways to do things. Pick your partners and figure it out together.

9. Say “I don’t know”.
Guaranteeing results from new initiatives with very few historical benchmarks is like saying you can predict exactly how long a Hollywood marriage will last. Will it be Kim Kardashian? Russel Brand? Tom Hanks? No one knows. Let’s focus on making the right decisions with the flexibility to change along the way.

10. Learn.
We don’t know. But we should arm ourselves with as much information as we can. Dx3 Canada (full disclosure – I helped them as Content Curator) occurs on January 25-26 and features over 35 workshops on everything you’ll need in 2012 including mobile, social, search, digital wallets, media innovation, trends, digital retailing, ad verification, and more. Facebook, comScore, LinkedIn, Rogers, PayPal, John St., Visa, SAY Media, Amber Mac, and many others will be there. You should, too. It’s super cheap and promises to be fun. Pick the sessions you want to attend at www.dx3canada.com

 

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The intrigue! The drama! The rumours!

Around this time last year, I was beginning to feel like I wasn’t loving life.

Or my job.

I was Vice President and Executive Creative Director at the Toronto office of a well respected international network, Euro RSCG. What was not to like? It was, and remains, a great gig. I absolutely loved my bosses, colleagues and clients. I had a department of talented and fun people. And to top it all off, I had practically grown up with founders Bill Sharpe and Tom Blackmore. Hell, I wouldn’t even be in advertising if it wasn’t for them.

Still I was feeling like I had to make a move.

Simply put, I was frustrated. The industry was rapidly changing and I personally wasn’t doing enough to change with it. So, after much deliberation, I just decided to leave so I could figure it out.
In true Sharpe / Blackmore fashion, the fine folks at Euro gave me a new title, an email address and an office when I needed it. It was all unpaid but little things like that are more appreciated than they ever appear.

So, I set out on a quest much like Karl Pilkington’s An Idiot Abroad.
(Only without the mumbling British accent)

I met with network programming people.
I met with TV producers.
I met with entrepreneurs.
I met with media sales people.
I met with media planners.
I met with content publishers.
I met with senior clients.
I met with junior clients.
I met with academics.
I met with creatives.
I met with agency management.
I met with recruiters.
I met with developers.
I poked. I prodded. I asked. I listened.

And now, I’m almost ready to talk. 
Look for an exciting announcement in the next couple of weeks.

There are already some floating around so let’s add to the rumours. What do you think I’m going to do?

Who’s guilty? Advertising, Paris Hilton or me?

In yesterday’s post about Dr. Pepper Ten, I explored the need to rise above calling for the removal of sexist ads and instead, vote with our wallets. Today, I watched a trailer for the documentary “Miss Representation” which, I think, further proves the need to do this.

Written and directed by Jennifer Siebel Newsom, this film calls out the media and advertising for re-enforcing negative stereotypes of women. On one hand, I agree. On the other, I don’t.

Does advertising (and the content it pays for) illustrate women in ways that prevent women from rising above the past? Absolutely. Is it their fault? Maybe and maybe not. It’s kind of a chicken and egg thing. Let me explain.

While advertising certainly has done its fair share to contribute to the problem, the only thing that drives the use of negative imagery is success. Advertisers do it because it works. Trust me, if a “sexy” ad failed to drive sales, it would get yanked faster than Qwickster. So who’s guilty? The advertiser for doing it or the general public who reward the advertiser’s behaviour with sales and brand loyalty?

There was a time when corporations didn’t even think about greening their products. Only when the general public started rewarding those who went green did everyone else join in.
The answer is easy then, right?
Maybe not.

As the trailer points out, many men respond to such images because that’s what we’ve been taught our entire lives. By the media. And by advertising. When we buy magazines or watch TV or check out movies, we’re fed images that define what we should like and what we shouldn’t. So when we see Paris Hilton in a Carl’s Jr. spot, we’re immediately conditioned to think, “Blonde? Check. Thin? Check. Not intellectually sound? Check. Oh, right! I like this!! (or at least I’m supposed to).”

Is it my fault for responding or someone else’s fault because they taught me that that’s how I should respond? Or.. and here’s where it gets interesting.. Is it Paris’ fault for contributing to the problem simply for financial gain? Shouldn’t she be held at least partially accountable?

Many of you will point to the brilliant work done by Ogilvy Toronto for Dove’s “Real Beauty” campaign to say that clearly progressive forms of advertising work. Well, ya but don’t forget that the campaign targeted people who supported that type of brand communication much in the same way that parent company Unilever stands behind its work for Axe Body Spray. They work because their target connects with them.

Like or not, money drives decisions but it also represents a democracy. I absolutely hate Jersey Shore but man, there are a LOT of people who like it which proves it should exist. Who am I to impose my cultural beliefs on others? Instead of yanking it, wouldn’t it be better if there simply wasn’t a market for it?

I know I’m rambling. I guess this is my point: If we want to make advertising better, we have to rethink what we’re responding to and support those products (and the ads that represent them) regardless of price. And whether we’re Kim Kardashian or US Weekly or a Creative Director at a big agency, we need to make decisions based on our values, not on our bank accounts.

My good friend, Bill Sharpe, once told me, “A principle is only a principle if it costs you money.” I couldn’t agree more.

As a consumer and as a brand guy, I know I’m not perfect.
I’m just trying to do the right thing.

What do you think?

Technology does not = innovation. Just ask a parking lot.

The other day, I had a meeting in an office tower I hadn’t been to. Don’t tell David Suzuki, but I drove. Luckily, there was parking in the building.

You all know how parking lots work: Pave or dig land and rent out the space for brief periods of time. (It’s like a short term motel without the bad drapes and naughty behaviour.) When someone enters, they punch a clock and when they leave, they pay someone sitting in a booth for their time. Simple enough.

How do you innovate such a simple system? Well, there’s a right way and a wrong way.

The wrong way to innovate
Some parking lots decided to invest in technology to cut costs by replacing the people with machines. Innovation! You grab a ticket when you enter, take it with you to the lobby and before you leave, insert it into a vending machine, pay your bill, and then insert the “I’ve paid” verified ticket on your way out without ever interacting with a human being.

That’s not innovation folks, that’s a recipe for decreased business.

Someone loses their job and the customer gets to do more work and experience more aggravation all so that an accounting line item is improved. Sure there are signs that remind us to take “Take your ticket with you” but you might as well say, “We’d like to make more dough. Please don’t screw this up.” Unless the savings are passed on to the consumer or re-invested in the product to add more value and differentiate you from the competition, it’s wrong. And it’s kind of evil.

The right way to innovate
Other parking lots have taken a different route. Enter your credit card when you enter, insert it again when you leave and you’re good to go. No muss, no fuss and no cursing yourself when you realize you’ve left your ticket in your car. While I don’t love that someone loses their job in the process, hopefully, the money saved can be re-invested to create other employment.

Now THAT’S innovation.
A win-win that satisfies the customer and decreases operating costs over time which can be reinvested to create even more value for the customer.

Who knew this much thought could go into a parking lot?

This 71 year old knows more about social media than you and I do.

While various social media apps can help you be more effective or more productive or more accurate, a passionate desire to connect is far more powerful than any software package. A brand that has a genuine willingness to engage with their customers will trump one that doesn’t, regardless of the budget, websites, widgets or tools used.

You want proof? Don’t talk to the 21 year old social media evangelist who’s busy building their Google+ profile in the corner. Talk to 71 year old Evelyn Hannon.

Back when putting brochures online was considered breakthrough, Evelyn decided to launch a website for female travellers called JourneyWoman.com.

That was 1997.
And she hasn’t changed the design since.

Seriously. There’s no flash. No video. No HTML 5. Or, in her words, “…there’s no fancy shmancy”. Check it out. You’ll be amazed. It’s so old school, it’s retro. Her site is the Polaroid in a sea of iPhone 4 HD cameras. One look and you’ll think you got to it by putting a punch card into a mainframe.

What it does have, though, is a massive loyal community of active contributors.

• She has an e-newsletter with over 75,000 subscribers.
• She has 13,000 Twitter followers.
• She built a global database of female mentors.
• She’s been an imbedded blogger on a ship sailing around the world.
• People from over 200 countries follower her, read her and trust her.

She has no heavily researched strategy, she’s never checked out Google Analytics, she doesn’t read up on what the experts say she should do and her approach to engagement, refreshingly, doesn’t even use the word “engagement”.

All she does is care.

She cares about the subject of travel. She cares about helping women. She cares about being genuine.
She acts like a grandmother. Not surprising because, well, she is.

Evelyn reminds us that real communities don’t live on Twitter or Facebook. They camp out there. Real communities live because of a passion that is shared by those who belong to it. And when it’s strong enough, that community can exist anywhere.

Have a listen. You won’t just love Evelyn. You’ll love her approach.
Success may be a journey but this woman has figured out what to do along the way.

KLM gets it. Luckily, their passengers do, too.

When companies want to thank their loyal customers, the first thought is to bombard them with trinkets and trash – little gifts companies buy in mass quantities complete with logos, corporate colours and sadly, almost no value to the customer whatsoever. In the past, it was really difficult to really get to know individual customer interests so we were forced to purchase one gift for everyone and the lowest common denominator (and lowest price) ruled the day of customer appreciation. Luckily, we can kiss this approach (and the logoed golf shirts that came along with it) goodbye.

When you combine the new tools that  give us greater access to our customers’ interests with the real time updates of their lives that are available, the potential to truly surprise and delight customers is unprecedented. And that’s not just good for customers. It’s also good for business.

KLM gets it. Do you?

Pizza Nova gets it. Pizza Pizza doesn’t.

Yesterday, I wrote about the customer service issue that Cammi Pham experienced with  Canadian pizza retailer Pizza Pizza. Here’s Pizza Pizza’s response:

Good Afternoon Ron,
We’ve read your blog in regards to the social media driven, customer service issue. This customer’s complaint was handled immediately, complying several hours in advance of our 24 hour response guarantee.  At this point, we are not able to release any further information with regards to this, as we take customer confidentiality very seriously. If there are any other issues directly pertaining to yourself that you would like to discuss we are open to chatting live. Thank you .

Pizza Pizza didn’t just fail to deliver a pizza to a hungry customer. They failed (and continue to fail) with their social media efforts, especially when compared to their competition. Here’s why:

No one wants to speak to a corporation.
Pizza Nova’s Twitter account is @PizzaNovaGuy. Whether it’s one person actually managing the stream or not, it certainly feels like it is. Pizza Pizza, on the other hand, tweets from the account @PizzaPizzaLtd. Yech. People like connecting with people. With corporations? Not so much. And the numbers prove it. Pizza Pizza has 587 more locations than Pizza Nova but close to 500 fewer followers.

Deals! Offers! Let’s talk about us!
One of the most common mistakes big brands make is using social media as a one-way bugle that provides a never-ending and piercing stream of infomercial-like offers, deals and promotions. On both Twitter and Facebook, Pizza Pizza excels at this. SM isn’t a commercial. It’s an operational service that listens, responds and keeps people interested and engaged. I’m getting tired of hearing it and saying it but clearly, this critical point still needs to be communicated.

We’ll deliver a response in 24 hours… or it’s free.
As noted above, Pizza Pizza gives themselves 24 hours to respond to a customer complaint. So, they can prepare, cook and deliver a pizza in under an hour but can’t respond to a complaint in less than 24? In the fast pace world of SM, that can be too long. I imagine (but can’t confirm) that Pizza Pizza’s community is managed by someone at their head office even though the bulk of their sales come after 6pm. If they serve their customers after normal work hours, they should respond to them then, too.

Focus
PIzza Nova doesn’t seem to maintain a Facebook presence at all. That’s a good thing. Facebook has proven be an unbelievable platform  for brands but only when they have the resources to manage it. I’d rather a brand choose a platform that works for them and focus their time and energy into doing a good job there. To quote Steam Whistle, “Do one thing really, really well.”

Personality.
Let’s face it, pizza is a fun, easy and fast food. We don’t tuck linen napkins into our shirts when enjoying it and most of us want communications that are consistent with this. Take a look at this tweet from @PizzaNovaGuy:

Pizza should be fun.

Almost 25% of Pizza Pizza’s July tweets were template responses that seemed to be written by their legal department. And knowing what I know about large organizations, they probably were.

Clearly, people love the Pizza Nova brand. Of their 36 Tweets in the month of July, 29 were actually unprompted positive comments retweeted from other users. It’s amazing how easy social media can be when other people do the work for you.

Judging by the numerous complaints to @PizzaPizzaLtd, the passion for Pizza Pizza isn’t as strong. I think their social media process has a lot to do with that.

But it’s not the only thing.

As a huge organization, Pizza Pizza has a more difficult job. They have more drivers to keep in line, more locations to quality control and a ton more pizzas to deliver. They’re bound to make more mistakes. They have to dedicate more resources, provide more training and instill a culture of service from top to bottom.

Clearly, they have potential and hopefully, they can turn it around. They’re a successful organization, they have a great mobile app, and they do a lot of good for the communities they work in. They do have over 80,000 Facebook fans (which I guess is impressive) but as we all know, that doesn’t really indicate true engagement.

Get with it, Pizza Pizza. You’re an institution. I’d just prefer you didn’t act like one.

UPDATE: Here’s another Pizza fail.

 

 

 

 

Please tweet responsibly.

As we’ve seen, social media can be an unbelievable force that can help topple a dictatorship, expose a napping TTC driver or even just convince an airline to improve their customer service.
We citizens literally have the ability to change the world right in the palm of our hand.

If you’ve been treated poorly
or if you hate an ad
or if you don’t approve of a company’s environmental policy
or if you don’t like a political candidate well, choose to vote for someone else.
Or choose to not buy that product.

And while you’re at it, do what you can to convince others to follow your lead. Tweet about it. Start a Facebook page. Comment on a post. Expose the wrong, promote the right and leave the world (or at least a brand’s newsfeed) a little better than you found it.

But with that power comes a noble duty.
Please tweet responsibly.

Bitch about government but cheer about it, too.
Complain about staff who were rude but acknowledge the ones who were nice.
Give a restaurant a bad review but be sure to rave about the places that you love.

And here’s the most important part: If you have commented on, complained about, or campaigned against something or someone in the past, well then go out of your way to compliment them when they deserve it.

It doesn’t make you hypocritical.
And doesn’t mean you have to buy what they’re selling.

It’s just the right thing to do.