One Dream. One Goal. It’s A Kind of Magic.

What were you doing in 1991?

According to Wikipedia it was the year that grunge music made its breakthrough. Tragically, it was also the year that Eric Clapton’s son fell from an apartment 53 floors up, leading Clapton to write  ‘Tears in Heaven’. And 1991 was  the year that Freddie Mercury passed away.

The Web was born

For lovers of technology, it was a year to be celebrated, as August 6, 1991  heralded the birth of the world’s first website. Read more about physicist and website creator, Tim Berners-Lee in the Wired article here.

It’s hard to imagine life now without the Web.   Yet despite 2 billion users, a  significant percentage of businesses are still without websites and give little attention to their online marketing strategy.

Connect with customers

This can be rectified by thinking about your customer. The Web, particularly Web 2.0 and its interactivity, has made connecting with your customer so easy.

So put yourself in their shoes. Think about:

• How do your customers find you?

Do they go online? Read something about you? Find you via word of mouth? (now very much possible on online)

• Where do they go to learn  more information about you?

Ask your customers about their behaviour. It’s highly likely they will be searching online about your product category, a competitor or your own business. Comscore has reported more than 113 billion searches in one month alone globally – almost one third of these in the Asia Pacific region.  In February this year, they reported there were 11.9 million unique Australian searchers, conducting more than  1.3 billion searches.

• How can you as a business make it easier for them to do this?

Your business needs to be where your customers are. If your customers are searching online – then you need to be there too.

How?

1. Get a website
2. Focus your content on your customers – their needs and the problems your product or service solves for them
3. Share content that is of interest and value to them.

Remember  - it’s not about you. It’s about your customer.

And finally …

Can you make your products/services available for purchase online?

Since the 1990′s –  we’ve grown increasingly confident about shopping online.  In Australia, recent research shows that online retail will grow to $36.8 billion by 2013. So think about transacting online.

Go on, insert some magic into your marketing. Place your customer at the heart of your marketing efforts and take a look at your online marketing strategy.

Happy Birthday World Wide Web. What you’ve made possible is truly ‘a kind of magic’.

**And a very Happy Birthday to Mr Connect Gen - Iggy Pintado who fittingly shares his birthday week with the World Wide Web. Happy Birthday Iggy!**

Related Posts
Don’t ditch the marketing strategy
What is your online marketing strategy
In memory of Netscape: the transformation of business marketing

• 5 trends that will shape small business

“Small business owners don’t care what’s cool. They care about what seems practical and what seems obvious – and that’s not always what gets the buzz.” says John Jantsch of Duct Tape Marketing.

Read John’s predictions here

• 5 design trends for small business

“In the past 12 months, we’ve seen a lot of changes in the world of web design. Growing popularity in the mobile device space — including smartphones and tablets like the iPad — have refined the way many users access and interact with content.” Christina Warren.

Some great insights here about web design.  Read more in: Small Business Design Trends from Mashable.

• Online Marketing Trends

2011 will be the coming of age year for social media, according to Courtney Mills, a search marketing specialist. Read more here

Which of these trends are key to your business?

Image: Salvatore Vuono / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Seth recommends the definition be expanded to include more outcomes than exist currently, describing  seven different types of failure to be considered in our businesses.  (They’re also applicable to losing football teams. For background  – see  last week’s post.)

Dimensions of Failure

Rather than  a singular definition of failure such as “lack of success”,  for me,  these descriptions represent different dimensions – each on its own  is a failure. Combined, they would result undoubtedly in significant failure.

In diagnosing a business failure, or when looking for ways to improve the likelihood of success, the dimensions could be used as a check list.  Indeed Seth writes, if we truly care about our companies, customers and the value we’re creating we should consider them.  Not doing so would be failure in itself.

What do you think?

Seth’s Seven Dimensions of Failure

(my football team application appears in brackets following the description)

• Design Failure: Is the product/service mis designed so that people don’t understand it, purchase it or may harm themselves?

(Football team: Is it  structured correctly for success?)

• Failure of Opportunity:  Are you destroying your assets by poorly deploying or ignoring them, or allowing them to decay?

(Football team:  Did they execute correctly? Has the team been properly maintained, supplemented with new talent and replacing old talent?)

• Failure of Trust – Are you wasting stakeholders’ good will and respect by taking shortcuts in exchange for short term profits?

(Football Team – If they’re not giving 100+% in all ways, they’re shortchanging fans)

• Failure of Will – Are you prematurely abandoning work because of internal resistance or temporary delay in market adoption?

(Football Team – Not seeing something through.)

• Failure of Priorities: Do you focus on work that doesn’t create value?

(Football Team: Are they focusing on the right things in training and the game?)

• Failure to Quit – Sticking with mediocrity: do you keep an idea, facility or team too long because you don’t have the courage to create something better?

(Football Team:  There’s no sentiment in sport. The best players are chosen for a game.)

• Failure of Respect – Have you achieved success without treating your people, your customers and your resources with respect and honesty?

(Football Team: Fair and ethical play on and off the field, rather than winning at any cost)

The failure to quit –  to have the courage to create something better is personally  powerful – whether it be applied to my business  - or my football team!

Which ones resonate with you?

Related References:

Redefining Failure (Article by Seth Godin, HBR September 2010)
Happy Birthday Seth
Linchpin Reflections

• Clearly defined business and marketing objectives

In building relationships with existing customers, attracting new ones and ultimately increasing traffic into their Centres and sales (via frequency and size of spend) – the promotion will be powerful.

• Part of  comprehensive and integrated marketing activity

The promotion is just one aspect of an integrated,  comprehensive marketing program. Other elements include  tv, events, catalogues and e marketing.

• Relevant to target audience

The promotion is perfect for an online, fashion loving demographic. In building relationships with existing and potential customers, Westfield has harnessed  the interactivity of  today’s technology, and engaged customers by inviting them to apply and vote online  for their favourite candidate.

• Tourism Queensland

The Westfield promotion was likely inspired by The Best Job in the World campaign which was devised  to launch the new Islands of the Great Barrier Reef brand to Global Experience Seekers. From 34,000 applicants, Brit Ben Southall won the $150,000, six month role in a campaign which generated media coverage globally exceeding $400 million. Read more here:  Great Job Great Publicity TQ Award Entry

• Nando’s – Fake Sacha Baron Cohen

Nando’s generated buzz last year when a fake Sacha Baron Cohen arrived at the Sydney premiere of Bruno. The fake Bruno was accompanied by models who doused themselves in Nando’s Peri Peri sauce.

What is your potent promotion?

You don’t have to have sizeable budget to make promotions work. They just need to be considered, targeted and planned. Sometimes, the simplest activity can effectively increase awareness of your business, engagement with customers and generate incremental sales.

What potent promotion will you undertake? We’d love to hear.

Westfield Hunts a $100,000 Shopping Blogger
Westfield on the Hunt for $100,000 Fashion Blogger
$100,000 to Australia’s best shopper

Image: Salvatore Vuono, FreeDigitalPhotos.net

For businesses, blogs engage  customers, share information, feedback and most importantly, build relationships.  The following provide more information:

The Beautiful Business Benefits of Blogging and The Best Damn Marketing Tool

Blogs are  also a great source of information  to your business.

I recently asked several esteemed colleagues to name their favourite blogs. Their responses with my own favourites are listed below.

Valeria Maltoni, Brand Strategist – Conversation Agent

Valeria Maltoni built one of the first online communities associated with Fast Company magazine.  A brand strategist with 20 years of real world corporate experience, 10 of which online, she’s worked with Fortune 500 and small start up companies in 5 industries. She specializes in taking companies to what’s next in their business cycle through marketing communciations, customer dialogue and brand advocacy.

Valeria’s blog Conversation Agent is ranked among the top 25 marketing blogs in the world on AdAgePower 150 (and is one of our favourites!).  Read more about Valeria Maltoni here.

Valeria Maltoni’s favourite blogs (for SME’s):

Jennifer Frahm, Jennifer Frahm Collaborations

Deloitte Australia. More Grateful Dead than Barry Manilow.

In a connected world, power shifts to those best able to connect.”

Dov Seidman, Ethicist

If likened to musical styles,  some may think of accounting firms more as Barry Manilow than the Grateful Dead!

However I recently heard about the social media activity of Deloitte Australia, a member of the global Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu network and one of the big four accounting firms.  Their activity includes Facebook, Yammer (a type of in-house Twitter), Twitter and YouTube. They’ve achieved  significant results. It’s a remarkable story – and if you’re a larger organisation, it may just get you rockin’ toward social media!

Recognising Opportunity

After a decade of particular turbulence with fairly rapid, consecutive changes in leadership (CEO’s), Deloitte Australia was seeking new strategies.

The firm had identified the consumer shift towards accessing information when, where and how they want, and consumers’  increased use of social media.

Deloitte regard social media as :

… about socialising in communities online – sometimes leading, sometimes connecting and sometimes following … to be where people are and to participate in a way that speaks to them directly.”

Cognisant that many of their stakeholders use social media, they recognised the opportunity:

Companies are ignoring a valuable media communication outlet that targets a generation that has time and money to spend on technology”.

As innovation, relevance and connection are hallmarks of the Deloitte brand, it was a good fit to embrace social media.

Objectives

Increasing brand awareness and engaging their staff to present “an authentic, user generated impression of Deloitte for prospective candidates and clients” are key for the firm.

The Strategy: An Inside Out Approach

To achieve this, Deloitte’s social media strategy implementation was aligned to their ‘inside out ‘ approach to new ideas and innovation.

At the end of 2008, they launched Yammer ( ‘the best inhouse sandpit available’) to shape value and develop a way of being relevant to the firm as a whole.

Initially an in-house social chat room, it soon became the platform upon which problems are posed and solved.  Deloitte has found Yammer a great way to seek input, test ideas and gather feedback quickly. They also state it has been powerful in disseminating information, collaborating on a large scale globally and connecting with undiscovered communities.

More than 50% of Deloitte Australia’s 5000 people have now  signed up and recent statistics show a correlation between retention of staff and the Yammer leader board.

Deloitte says that the tipping point though for Yammer was when their Digital CEO, Peter Williams, called for videos and tag lines for a new advertising campaign, known as the “Green Dot Campaign”.  His call triggered 1000+ new members of Deloitte Australia to join Yammer, the formation of 38 groups and  creation of  1184 original concepts.

Other Initiatives

• Recruitment : “JoinMe@Deloitte”

Deloitte has established a JoinMe@Deloitte Facebook application, which links  the firm’s employee referral program to their employees’ Facebook network.

The idea came through their innovation (ideas) program.

To date more than 25% of Deloitte’s 4,000 employees have added the application to their Facebook profile and almost 3,000 (2,793) potential referees have viewed the application, generating 150 requests to be referred for hire.

Leveraging employees’ existing networks and mobilising them to act as recruiters makes financial sense for the firm and necessitates a committed, trusting and respectful environment.

• You Tube

At the end of 2008, Deloitte established a dedicated  YouTube channel ,  which to date has generated more than 40,000 video views. (Click on the link to go directly to the channel).

The Results – Harnessing Collective Wisdom

The results have been impressive.  As a firm focussed on innovation, David Redhill, Chief Marketing Officer of Deloitte cites several positive outcomes of their social media activity including:

• Revenue driving new products developed from using the media
• Tangible business improvements resulting from harnessing the collective of wisdom of their people
• Engaging 4500 people in the process of building a marketing strategy;
• They’re now the largest Yammer network in the world
• The blitzing of the competition and grabbing share of media and government mind with their innovative use of Twitter during the last Federal Budget.

Managing Risk

Many businesses contemplating social media activity are nervous about potential risks to their business.  Deloitte has addressed this.

Like  marketing strategist and best selling author David Meerman Scott, who  talks of the need for organisations to ‘lose control’ when spreading ideas and creating world raves,   Deloitte believes in   ‘unleashing energy and not trying to control it’.

The firm has  developed a framework around how it manages social media risk. They’ve defined acceptable and unacceptable behaviour, monitor use and deal with any inappropriate use. Their focus is upon education:

‘The central idea is for people to understand how social media works. Their national social media council has developed guidelines that put focus on education.”

Deloitte’s social media activity internally is supported by two of the firm’s key values – empower and trust.  Employees are counselled about personal and professional responsiblity for both their own and the company’s reputation.

Social Media Rock Stars

Social media as a communications channel is relevant for business if their  stakeholders are online and participating. With 400 million active users on Facebook,  24 hours of video uploaded to YouTube every minute and an estimated 5-10 thousand Twitter accounts opened per day, it is likely that for  businesses,  many stakeholders are active in this realm.

In addition to being described as ‘rock stars’, Deloitte has established themselves as Web 2.0 thought leaders and as a top employment brand in technology and business.  As they say “not bad for a firm of accountants!”

Rock on Deloitte!

This content is drawn from a presentation by David Redhill, Chief Marketing Officer of Deloitte Australia, provided in May 2010  and their publication: Social Media at Deloitte. Participation, communication, transformation

Update:

Just posted: Read David Meerman Scott‘s post from the WebInkNow blog here.

(Thanks David!)

Follow Deloitte on Twitter: @green_dot

1. How can we market our products with limited resources?

Resources are always limited for businesses regardless of size, necessitating careful allocation of expenditure for the best possible return. How to market with limited resources?

Read: Clever Cost Effective Marketing Strategy

Why is implementation so important? Picasso said:  Action is the key to foundational success‘. Plans must be implemented or they remain just plans.

Read more in: Marketing Strategy – Just Try It

2. Why blog?

Web 2.0 has facilitated interactivity never before possible. Blogs (or weblogs) have several benefits for business. Read more here:

The Beautiful Business Benefits of Blogging

To Blog or Not to Blog

3.  Why social media?

90% of your sales will come from word of mouth or digital promotion by 2011. How do you change whatyou’re doing today to be ready for that? - Seth Godin, April 20, 2009

Social media has become a powerful additional communications channel for building relationships with customers. Managing Social Media is as easy as 1-2-3!

Read more:   The 1-2-3 of Managing Your Social Media

4. What’s branding?

A brand is often thought of as a mark or distinguishing element – the company identifier, almost like a personal signature. However this is just one aspect.

A brand represents everything your organization offers.

Read more about branding here:

Your Brand So Much More than Your Logo

Branding Values Vibe & Synchronicity

Romancing The Brand (A discussion of Lovemarks – much loved and respected brands)

5. Can you recommend a great marketing book?

Of course!

Rework by Jason Fried & David Heinemeier Hansson

I highly recommend this book written by the two founders of 37 Signals – a trailblazing software company. Rework so nicely complements Seth Godin’s Linchpin and contains the same no nonsense ‘just do it!’ attitude of Tom Peter’s. You can read it in one afternoon and will be inspired afterwards to tackle your best work!

More about Rework here. Rework is available for purchase  here

What is your most important marketing question?

Established as a site where anyone can upload and share their videos with the world,YouTube today is a thriving community, attracting more than two billion views daily – nearly double the prime-time audience of all three major U.S. television networks combined.

YouTube has become an increasingly important marketing tool to build customer relationships. It’s also a great resource for businesses.

Here are five of our favourite YouTube videos which we hope you find both interesting and useful.

Tom Peters: On Reading For Success

Tom reminds us that a key to success is reading. Staying informed and developing analytical skills are essential in business today.

“Read wide, read long, read deep” Tom says.

David Meerman Scott: Five Questions

Best selling author, David Meerman Scott, asks five questions at workshops across the world and finds the responses to be remarkably similar, highlighting The New Rules of Marketing & PR

Seth Godin & Tom Peters: On Blogging

Seth and Tom provide their thoughts about the value of blogging. Blogging since 2004, Tom concludes: “It’s the best damn marketing tool I’ve ever had … and it’s free.”

Elizabeth Gilbert: Creativity

Best selling author of ‘Eat Pray Love’, Elizabeth Gilbert, provides inspirational insights into creativity.

The Real Meaning of Success: Deepak Chopra

Providing a service that is needed .. having fun along the way ..these are just a couple of Deepak Chopra’s thoughts about the real meaning of success.  The Real Meaning of Success

Harnessing You Tube

This article provides some great tips to get the most from YouTube.

Top 10 You Tube Tips for Small Businesses

What’s your favourite YouTube?

Update:

Just posted – read (and see) David Meerman Scott in his post: Online Video Rocks As A Global Marketing Channel.

Lovemarks. ‘We will always LOVE you.’

Trademarks were products that learned to crawl; brands are trademarks that learnt to walk upright. What’s next in the evolutionary chain? Lovemarks: brands that soar. How to give them wings?  There’s nothing as elevating as love.” - Kevin Roberts, CEO Worldwide, Saatchi & Saatchi

I’ve recently become romantically involved!  Not with a person (I’m very happily married) but with an idea. It’s called Lovemarks, and it’s the the work of Kevin Roberts, CEO Worldwide of Saatchi & Saatchi.

Much is  written about branding.   It’s everything a company does, represented  by the ‘name, term, sign, symbol or combination thereof ‘,  identifying and differentiating  products and services.  Lovemarks takes this concept so much further.

What are Lovemarks?

According to Roberts: “Lovemarks are those brands built on respect which make emotional connections and suffused with the most powerful emotion of all – love.”

Connecting with customers emotionally and forging long term relationships with them will amount to increased business.

As Kevin says: “ It’s the ultimate premium profit generator . … it’s about selling more at higher prices more frequently to more people because you have exclusive relationships with them based not only on trust and respect, but on that most powerful of emotions – Love.”

The Love/Respect Quadrant

Since 2000, Kevin has been using the ‘Love Respect’ quadrant , a perceptual map positioning  Fads, Products, Brands and Lovemarks according to their levels of Love and Respect.

Fads are depicted as high love and low respect; Products – low love, low respect; whilst Brands fall into the ‘low love, high respect’ quadrant and Lovemarks: ‘ high love, high respect’ .

What Makes a Lovemark?

The characteristics of  a Lovemark can be correlated to those of  an enduring personal love. The relationship is between the brand and the customer.

For me, great personal love is underpinned not only by respect, but also care, commitment, interest to the success of the other person and trust.

A Lovemark brand shares these qualities in its customer relationships.   Our brands become Lovemarks when we inject this type of love into what we do.

The Transition to Lovemarks

Commitment to customer satisfaction, constantly striving to innovate and shape our services to our customer needs and communicating in a way which resonates with customers,  combine to demonstrate a brand’s love for its customers.

The vigour with which this is done could be called passion –  described by Tom Peters as  ‘enthusiastic fixation’ (or ‘obsession’). Perhaps Lovemark brands are enthusiastically fixated upon the care and satisfaction of customers. The passion and care of our brands is matched only by the passion and care of our customers. Perhaps it is passion reflected by a brand’s energy  and commitment to consistency which keeps the customer love light burning.

And like any great love, perhaps this feeling cannot be forced. To be true, love must be mutual – only shared if both parties are interested in partaking.

7 Questions: How to Romance Your Brand & Transform to a Lovemark

Assess the following. Ask your customers their perceptions – as it will be their perceptions which ultimately transforms your brand into a Lovemark.

• How much love goes into your brand? Are you nurturing it, committed to it’s growth and success?
• How much do you care about satisfying your customers?
• Are you passionate about shaping your products/services to  your customers needs?
• Are you looking for new ways to satisfy your customers’ needs – enhancing your customer relationships?
• Do you care as much about your brand as you do of our customers?
• Are you committed to the long term welfare of your customers?
• If you answered yes, to all of the above – do you communicate this passion and commitment to your customers in a way that connects with them?

Are Lovemarks Linchpins?

In Seth Godin’s terminology, perhaps Lovemarks are Linchpins – indispensable brands that delight and challenge; that are passionate, believe in themselves, are honest, trustworthy and most importantly, connect with their customers.

Favourite Lovemarks

Here are the Top 200 Lovemarks. (Vegemite is #26!)

Amongst my favourites, is anything by Baz Lurhmann for the consistency, passion and care in creation and nurture.

As Nicole Kidman sings “How wonderful life is with you in the world”. Perhaps, that’s how we feel about Lovemarks.

What do you think?

Further Information & Official Websites:

The Story Behind Lovemarks
Lovemarks The Future Beyond Brands

Related Posts

Your Brand: So Much More Than Your Logo

Branding Values Vibe & Synchronicity

Branding Innovate don’t Imitate

This post really started out as a re-post of the snippet we featured nearly a year ago.  In it,  Seth Godin and Tom Peters talk of the personal and business benefits of blogging;   the formulation and expression of thoughts enabling conversations.  If you missed it –  here it is again:

Why Blog?

If you are contemplating a blog for your business – the following post details some other benefits.

It is likely your customers are reading and participating in  blogs. For business, blogging is  a means of engaging your customers, sharing information and feedback, and most importantly, building relationships.

In his best selling book,  The New Rules of Marketing & PR, marketing strategist, author and conference speaker,  David Meerman Scott describes blogging as ‘his front door’ and ‘his most important marketing and PR tool’.

Debbie Weil, corporate blogging expert, and author of the bestselling The Corporate Blogging Book says blogging, as part of social media marketing:

…creates long-term value  for your customers that ultimately drives sales.’

Great Corporate Blogs

The following are just a few examples of engaging corporate blogs:

McDonalds (Open Discussion Blog)

Richard Edelman (Edelman PR)

Alan Meckler (Web Media Brands) (A summary of his microblogs)

Bob Parsons (Go Daddy) (A video blog)

How to Blog?

Blogging can be integrated into your business’s marketing communication strategy. Establish objectives, confirm your target audience then put together a blogging plan setting out potential topics, information to share and frequency of posts. The tone of your blog should reflect the personality of your company/brand.

To assist, Debbie  shares two excellent e-books which you can download here: 7 Blog Tips and Beginner’s Guide To Business Blogging

If you are looking for tips and information about any aspect of blogging Problogger provides an absolute wealth of information. Problogger is fellow Aussie Darren Rowse who has been blogging since 2001. His site is dedicated to helping other bloggers learn the skills of blogging, share their own experiences and promote the blogging medium and contains more than 3500 articles, tips, tutorials and case studies.

And if you need help in your writing (don’t we all!), Copyblogger provides a wealth of online copy and content resources.

If Shakespeare had blogged ..

So imagine if Shakespeare had blogged.  Think of  the writing – the sneak previews to poems, plays and sonnets. In spreading his ideas  -  am sure he’d agree with Tom Peters and believe blogging is:  ‘ the best damn marketing tool’ he’s ever had.  What do you think?

The Little BIG Things by Tom Peters, Linchpin by Seth Godin, The New Rules of Marketing & PR by David Meerman Scott and  The Corporate Blogging Book by Debbie Weil are  available  here .

Related Posts:

The Beautiful Benefits of Business Blogging

What is Your Online Marketing Strategy?

The 1-2-3 of Managing Your Social Media – A Beginner’s Guide

In Memory of Netscape – The Transformation of Business Marketing

Some Linkedin Lovin’

Social Media For Good – Businesses Making A Difference Using Social Media 12for12K

When I started my business not quite two years ago, many of  Seth’s blogs felt as though he was speaking directly to me.  Some of my favourites include: Breakthrough’s and Drips (about delivering consistent benefits over time);  The Marketer’s Attitude (detailing desirable traits of marketers),  What Marketers Actually Sell and Lonely, Scared & Bitter . These were just some of the posts which  provided much inspiration and motivation in those early days,  and Seth’s Blog continues to do so.   For me, Linchpin extends that.

‘Our work is our art‘

In Linchpin Seth likens our work to that of an artist. As an amateur and frequently frustrated artist I loved this analogy – the rawness, frustration and creativity involved in the pursuit of our own idea of perfection. Seth asserts our work is our art. The more we put into it – emotional work – the better the results.

‘Transcend the job description’

Seth inspires us not to be average but to be the best we can be.

Perhaps by having my own business it is easier to express this, but he makes it clear no matter what working environment you are in, you can do this.  Transcend the job description.

‘Beware the Lizard Brain’

I have posted previously about the lizard brain: that which holds us back from our best work, stopping us from becoming true artists.

Linchpin is also a plea for individuals to be true to themselves: work hard, don’t be compliant, go above and beyond:

Sing in your voice. Draw your own map. Make your own systems’.

In Linchpin, I feel Seth is like a coach:  motivating, nudging and inspiring us to do our best work.

I loved this book and will read it again.  Look forward to finding a book group in which  I can enjoy dissecting it with others.

Thanks Seth.

If you are interested in purchasing Linchpin, it’s available at our EStore.

WOW!

How fantastic it was to attend the inaugural TEDx Brisbane event on Saturday.  I knew something of TED, but had no expectations except that the day was sure to be interesting.

Interesting it was.  Also:  Inspirational. Thought provoking.  Exciting.  Emotional

With the theme ‘All you need is’ ..’  ..to see’ ..’,    to listen’..,  ‘to dream’ and ‘to act’, twelve speakers each presented for 18 minutes – except for Nigel Brennan, the final speaker, for whom the clock was switched off.

Nigel received a standing ovation at one of his first public engagements since being released from Somalia only 100 days ago.

In addition to the twelve we heard  a number of ‘brain bursts’, three minute concise and thought provoking snippets, on a range of topics.

Inspiration

Several recorded TED talks were featured . My favourites were by best selling author (‘Eat, Pray, Love)  Elizabeth Gilbert who spoke on creative genius and UK Prime Minister,  Gordon Brown who spoke passionately about marrying morality to the world’s new interconnectedness. Foreign policy, he says, is  now consumer driven, with new media making it so easy for consumers to comment.   The New Rules of Marketing & PR apply to modern day foreign policy too it seems.

Dr Joel Gilmore, Physicist provided a balanced account of climate change policy and nuclear energy, calling for more discussion, not political debate.

Creativity

As a marketer I was excited by the creativity and innovation of Designer Kevin Finn, publisher of the Open Manifesto, who left the high powered corporate advertising world of Saatchi’s to live in Kununurra, a remote area of the Kimberleys in Western Australia. Kevin spoke of using the land’s red dirt as the visual language for some of his design work there. The dirt represented the Indigineous relationship with the land and a motif of the rich resources of the mining companies.  Kevin had the unenviable job of kicking off the day’s presentations .. but his talk, creative work and Irish sense of humour were a perfect start to the day.

On the design – creativity and innovation side – further inspiration  was furnished by Hamish Cairns, photographer, who provided a 3 minute insight into some of his photo journalism adventures in Northern Pakistan. Hamish spoke of his current pursuit of growing a  long beard which will compliment the flowing robe which he must wear when he returns to the area.  His photos are beautiful.

Sheldon Lieberman of Bigfish.tv, was wonderful – so funny, unique and creative, whilst Anthea Edam provided haunting poetry and Michael Doneman told us about developing the ‘seeing muscle’.

Overwhelming Need

It was also a day which reminded of the tremendous problems which exist in our society. Dr Chris Sarra, Executive Director of the Stronger Smarter Institute spoke of the importance of providing positive messages to all young children whilst Bronwyn Sheehan, mother of three, recounted statistics and stories of the liberating power of literacy and how the Pyjama Foundation she established five years ago, has helped change so many lives through reading to foster children.

Friends & Food

Old friendships were discovered and new ones commenced. Yummy food provided by Food Connect, a social business which works with farmers surrounding Brisbane.

What does all this have to do with marketing strategy?

Design, creativity and innovation are probably most closely associated with the main theme of this blog.  However TEDx provided so much food for thought, information on topics previously not studied, a vehicle to open our minds, to  challenge, think and appreciate other situations and lives.

Personally,  I can’t wait until the next one. If you get the chance to attend TED or a TEDx event near where you live, don’t miss it!

‘We envision a day in the near future when companies that don’t blog will be held suspect to some degree, with people wondering whether those companies have something to hide or whether the owners are worried about what the people who work for them have to say’

- Robert Scoble and Shel Israel, Naked  Conversations: How Blogs Are Changing the Way Businesses Talk With Customers

Blogging for Business. Fish where the fish are. Photo Credit: Xalamay http://www.flickr.com/photos/xalamay/

I was asked recently about the value to business of blogging. In this era of interactive technology enabled by Web 2.0, blogs or web logs have become increasingly popular.  The benefits are many.  Here are just three:

Customers eMarketer reports that in 2009,  96.6 million US Internet users, representing 48.5% of the population, read a blog at least once per month. In 2013, it is anticipated that this number will grow to 128.2 million people, or 58% of all US users.

The number of bloggers is also rising. In 2009, 27.9 million US Internet users have a blog they update at least once per month, representing 14% of the Internet population. By 2013, 37.6 million will update their blogs at least monthly.

With so many people reading or actually writing blogs – it is likely your customers are too.

In a recent article, inbound marketing software company,  HubSpot customers revealed ‘that businesses that blog witness their monthly leads rise by 126% more than those who don’t.’

Communication A blog provides the means to listen to and engage with your customers. A business can test ideas, undertake research or gather opinions about its product/service. Marketer and author David Meerman Scott credits his best selling book ‘The New Rules of Marketing & PR’ (now in its second edition) as a result of a single blog post and the refinement of ideas following feedback received via his blog.

Search Engines Love Blogs Regular blogs provide fresh  content for your website which helps its ranking in search engines.

I’ll leave the last word on blogging to Seth Godin, who writes the world’s most popular marketing blog and Tom Peters: Management Consultant, Writer, Lecturer  and  co-author of the seminal ‘In Search of Excellence’  in a clip we posted last year.    So Get Blogging!

Unsure of the best way to promote your business to achieve business growth?

Firstly understanding your market, product or service and customers will ensure that you select the most suitable promotional tools  for your target audience.

And underpinning all communication is today’s marketing catch cry:  ‘Stop Interrupting!’ .

What does this mean?

Marketing is no longer about broadcasting messages at customers in an interruptive, one way fashion.  Enabled by Web 2.0, successful businesses are engaging customers via social media and other e-communications in  dialogues or conversations and really listening to their customers.

New Research

A recent study by social research company, Colmar Brunton[1] highlights the  changing media landscape and the wane  of  the ‘interruption’ style of marketing.

Interruptive, Irritating & Informative

Amongst the findings were:

Web pop-ups (35%) and TV advertising (31%) were found to be the most interruptive media, with both also regarded as the most irritating. (Web pop’s (65%) web pop-ups and 43% TV advertising.)

One in five people considered radio boring (the highest percentage  for any of the advertising platforms).  21% also regarded it interuptive.  However 19% found it informative.

Considered traditionally as a medium of intimacy, the radio results   could possibly reflect the type and style of ad’s

So, how can customer engagement grow your business?

The benefits of customer engagement are significant.

Strong Relationships = Less Marketing

Most importantly, customer engagement forges the creation of strong relationships with customers.  Strong relationships mean increased customer loyalty, repeat business and referrals. Less marketing expenditure is then required to acquire new customers.

Great for the Brand

Customer engagement is also good for the brand. Instead of   fuelling  negativity from irritating, interruptive communication to customers, positive goodwill towards the brand and positive word of mouth about the brand are generated.   Brand advocacy results.  Your engaged customers become integral to the promotion efforts and your business growth.

A Secret No Longer

In planning your promotion strategies – adopt the ‘Stop Interrupting’ mantra, engage your customers and see the positive results for your brand and business growth.

[1] BRW Jan 14-Feb 3, 2010, p31

We blogged recently about the timeliness that a New Year brings for assessment of business activities and goals.   We advocated activities such as revisiting business and marketing plans to check progress against targets; conducting a marketing audit of activities identifying what worked and what didn’t.

However these activities alone will not result in any improvement unless they are implemented.  Action, the vital ingredient to success, is required.

Sometimes it can seem difficult to take that first  step if  obstacles are perceived in your way. These might include lack of research, conviction that an idea will work, a general lack of self belief or fear of failure. However, whilst identifying and balancing risks – you will never know unless you’ve tried. And part of success is picking yourself up and moving on if  ’at first you don’t succeed’ or an idea didn’t work.

I personally take much inspiration from those  who took the leap and followed their ideas to fruition such as the successful entrepreneurs interviewed in this story: Tips from Unstoppable Women Entrepreneurs.

Here are some other wise words. In his book Think Big and Kick Ass, Donald Trump – who has demonstrated incredible resilience in navigating both personal and business highs and lows said:

“Once you set your goals, start looking for opportunities to start acting on them. If you hesitate when an opportunity presents itself to you, it may be the fear of failure that makes you procrastinate. Break through this fear, for if you make a habit of procrastinating then all your goals become empty promises that will never be fulfilled. Always keep your promises to yourself by making a habit of acting on your goals.”

My favourite though is from management guru, consultant and author Tom Peters:

“Try it! Try it! Try it! If a suggestion is made, your instinctive response should be ‘Try It’. In 40 plus years of study and practice, I sometimes think I’ve only learned one thing:  ’He or she who tries the most stuff wins”

Here he  talks of ‘‘What the Hell Moments”. The comments in the post are also insightful.

When I think back over my corporate life before establishing Marketing Is Us, the most successful companies and CEO’s with whom I worked – were those who said just that ‘Try It’.

May you do much ‘Try It’  in 2010 and I wish you great success and learnings from the journey.

Have you had a ‘Try It’ moment?  What has been your journey on the road to action?  We’d love to hear about it.

NB Donald Trump’s book (and others) now available at our E Store.

It is difficult to nominate but amongst my favourites are:

‘Make compassion a core value’ Mitch Joel, p33

‘The future belongs to people who can spread ideas’ Guy Kawasaki, p32

‘Or you can earn attention by creating something interesting and valuable and then publishing it online for free’  David Meerman Scott p48

‘Stop waiting around for bosses and companies to get better and and complaining about how you are treated. Build the skills – and use them – that will permit you to create the environment in which you want to live’ Jeffrey Pfeffer, p29

‘Business is a game.  (In) Strategy. Learn to adapt. Adjust your style of play  as the dynamics of the game change.’ Tony Hsieh, p26

‘Sing in your own voice’ Hugh Macleod, p10

‘If not Excellence, what?’  Tom Peters, p20

‘…its usually a small percentage of the tribe within the larger tribe who spread the word. …They are the One Percenters. The One Percenters are often hidden in the crevices of niches but they are the roots of word of mouth. …find them and attract them.’ Jackie Huba & Ben McConnell,  p17

‘Forget about working on your weaknesses -> Focus on supporting your strengths. ‘ Marti Baletta, p22

As Seth says: ‘Things to think about’ .. ‘small things do make a difference’.  You can view the E-Book and download here. (Just click on the link).  Enjoy!  And thanks Seth!

What Matters Now

Image: Salvatore Vuono / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

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90% of your sales will come from word of mouth or digital promotion by 2011. How do you change what you’re doing today to be ready for that? Seth Godin, April 20, 2009

Social media has become a powerful additional communications channel in your marketing strategy to build relationships with customers.  Managing it can be as easy as 1-2-3!

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Here are some stat’s:

Facebook alone has more than 400 million users worldwide, half of whom log on daily.The fastest growing demographic is 35 years + female.

LinkedIn, described as the ‘buttoned down, suited up’ version of social media has  more than 47 million members with a new member joining  every second. Half of all members are from outside the U.S.

Twitter – (microblogs), is one the fastest growing social networking sites in history with millions of users within its first year.

Blogs – (web log) 184 million users globally have started a blog and 346 million people read them[1]. The majority (77%) of active internet users read blogs. Chances are your customers are too.

YouTube – It has been said if YouTube was a country it would be the third most populated place in the world!  20 hours of video are uploaded every minute [2]. 100 million unique monthly visits.[3]. #1 entertainment site on the Internet, #6 largest internet destination.[4]

So, if you are just starting out or have your accounts already established, the following provides some quick  tips for making the most of these media:

1. Purpose

Think about what you are seeking to achieve from your social media activity. Are you hoping to: increase customers, sales, awareness of your business or all of the above?  Clarity about your purpose will help refine the type of content you provide and how often you use these media.

2. Plan

Planning is key to optimizing your time and outcomes. Planning for content, frequency and time management will provide efficiencies.

Content Social media is not about selling – but like offline networking – its more about building relationships and engaging your followers.    Follow the 80/20 rule: 80% of your posts provide information of value, relevant and of interest to your followers, such as  articles, links and tips relevant to your business and industry. 20%  of your posts can be  about your business including special offers.

How often? To build and maintain a following you need to participate and engage regularly.  Suggested: Twitter – several times per day;  Facebook – 2-3 times per week.

Time Management Managing social media is now akin to email management. Set aside some time, perhaps 15 minutes twice daily, to answer messages, accept friend requests and make your posts.

Use programs such as PingFM (www.pingfm.com) which links your social media – enabling your posts to be automatically distributed to your other sites.   Twitter can be linked to Facebook, YouTube and LinkedIn – so any new posts on your Twitter feed will be automatically updated on your other platforms.

3. Promote

• Choose a name for each of your profiles relevant to your business and consistent with  your branding. Once you have 25 fans on your Facebook business page, you can claim your url.
• To reinforce your branding – keep your profile images consistent on each platform.
• Promote your social media addresses on all your written and electronic communication.
• Follow up networking events by connecting with new colleagues via these media. LinkedIn particularly is great for this.

Take advantage of the fantastic technological phenomenon that is social media to build your network and grow your business.     Good luck!

[2] YouTube 2009

[3] Comscore 2009

[4] YouTube 2009

Respected management thinker and writer, Peter Drucker,  would have celebrated his 100^th birthday on November 19.

Born in Austria, he started out his career as newspaper correspondent, continued as an economist, management consultant and teacher.  He wrote 39 books – not only on  management but also politics, economics and society and was an iconic contributor to the Harvard Business Review for more than 50 years.

I first encountered  his thoughts during my studies, and although imminently ‘paraphrasable’ it is considered that it is not just  the ‘content of his ideas’ but rather the ‘discipline of his mind’ from which we can learn.  He was a holistic, integrative and far sighted thinker.  RBMKanter states: ‘he preached steadinesss and lifetime vision’  (HBR, November 2009)

The following are some of my favourite  Drucker quotes/ideas, the substance of which is of great value for businesses of all sizes in their management and marketing strategy development. They also provide  a glimpse into the workings of this great mind.

-oo-

We live and operate in dynamic environment:

Managers believe that industry structures are ordained by the Good Lord, but they can and often do – change overnight

Customers – at the heart of every business – and every marketing strategy

The purpose of a company is to create a customer

A business.. is defined by the want the customer satisfies when he or she buys a product of service

To satisfy the customers is the mission and purpose of every business

Employees Purpose & Motivation:

The number of people who are really motivated by money is very mall. Most people need to feel that are here for a purpose, and unless an organization can connect to this, need to leave something behind that makes this a better world, or at least a different one, it won’t be successful over time.

Customers, Business & The Internet

In the mental geography of ecommerce, distance has been eliminated

Management & Non Profits:

Non profits are of course still dedicated to ‘doing good’. But they also realize that good intentions are no substitute   for organisation and leadership, for accountability, performance, and results.  Those require management and that .. begins with the organisation’s mission.

Mission:

A clearly defined mission will foster innovative ideas and help others understand why they need to be implemented

A mission …focuses the organisation on action.

Innovation:

Means looking on change as an opportunity… abandoning the old

Innovation matters because ours is a knowledge based society

Do you have a favourite Drucker insight? Please tell us!

‘Great Job|Great Publicity’  ‘More on Tourism Queensland Win’

Recent media reports have commented that despite its long list of  awards, the campaign hasn’t increased traffic numbers.

This is shortsighted. The environment in which businesses (including tourism) operate is impacted by many factors.  The Global Financial Crisis, cited as the worst economic downturn for a century and from which we are only just emerging, has been of particular influence to potential visitors.

The effect of marketing is cumulative. It is not a tap to  turn on and off. The best marketing results are gained when companies commit to a focussed, long term consistent effort. Switching off marketing activity - particularly in tough times - gives competitors still marketing an edge; and means substantial future investment in catch up to reestablish the brand, awareness and win back customers  lost from ceasing communication with them.

The marketing investment such as TQ’s campaign will bring returns in the longer term. The campaign now enters a new phase to capitalise upon the massive publicity  and convert interest to sales. It is the long term, consistent effort which will reap rewards.

Rather than only assessing sales (via traffic numbers), the question should also be – what would have happened if no campaign had run? What would the traffic figures been like then?

Simpson Scream by DeviantArt.com

I am not proud to admit that I spent some considerable time recently cleaning my bulging inbox. Am too embarrassed to admit the exact number, but rest assured a significant number of emails met their cyber maker. As I ploughed through - intensely committed to getting the unwieldy tool organised – I couldn’t help but wonder how it got so out of control in the first place.

The process reminded me of editing major papers at university, when a successful afternoon was marked by the elimination of several thousand words. At that time I learnt how useful it was to establish processes and write succinctly at the outset – rather than investing copious amounts of editing time later. The same principle applies to my burgeoning inbox. It would be beneficial in terms of time and computer efficiency if the emails were filed or deleted as they were received, well before my hardworking computer slowed in protest, creeking under their weight.

The adage “Begin with the end in mind” reminds us of this principle and is applicable to business. Yet unfortunately many businesses start up or continue to operate without a plan, only taking action when the business has run into difficulty and adversely affected.

A good marketing plan is a business’s most cost effective marketing tool. It doesn’t need to be cumbersome – indeed it can be presented in a page. But like the time invested in bulging inboxes or shearing words in editing a paper, a plan and its consideration of the market, customers and the shaping of your services to suit, will help avoid ad hoc and unnecessary expenditure in mistimed and ill designed business marketing activities.

Strategic planning is a fundamental business process which will increase  the chances of business success – and to get it right from the beginning. Like unattended inboxes, doing it now will save time and money later. Very beneficial!

Postscript:

I can take heart from this: Einstein managed his inbox!

And tips from Cory Doctorow in managing email: Cory Doctorow’s article

And  from the super organised  Get Organized Wizard – Michele Connolly - in Slaying the Inbox Dragon

The Tipping Point as Malcolm Gladwell describes – and as author Iggy Pintado notes in his book Connection Generation – is “the moment of critical mass, the threshold, the boiling point.”

That point – says Iggy was October 13, 1994 – 15 years ago today – with the public launch of the Netscape Navigator Web browser, providing access to the wealth of information available on the World Wide Web. Google’s subsequent introduction extended access to that information by enabling specific word and phrase search.

These changes have transformed marketing and business today. A website is the ultimate cost effective marketing tool, extending market reach for businesses, providing a platform to build relationships with customers, brand awareness and communication.

However, although most Australian businesses are online -   a little more than half have a website. If your customers are online then you definitely should be.  Twenty five per cent of the world’s population or more than 1.6 billion people are linked to the web.   And two thirds of Australian households are now online. A website is now a key marketing tool and fundamental to business today.

Netscape is no longer with us. The popularity of Microsoft Internet Explorer and subsequent other browsers, led to its demise. Development ceased in late 2007 and technical support cancelled in March, 2008. Netscape’s legacy though is certain to live on.

Thanks to Fantastic Bright Blogger Zac Martin for granting use of his image.  You can read Zac's blog Pigs Don't Fly here.

Stop Press to yesterday's post re Vegemite's misbranding: A Different Branding Experience: The New Vegemite

Kraft has reportedly announced that they will be withdrawing the name and have elected that Australia will choose another name. They insist it was not a publicity stunt.

Just some of the  news items follow:

 Mumbrella

BBC

SMH

 The Punch (another of Zac's blogs)

Marketing strategists Al and Laura Ries say the ‘birth of a brand is achieved with publicity, not advertising’ . The media that has ensued has certainly answered that objective.

It remains to be seen whether the name will remain or indeed is part of some publicity activity  of a larger plan.  Indeed, doubt still exists as to whether Coke’s 1985 introduction and subsequent withdrawl of New Coke, was a publicity stunt.

For any business, the brand name decision is key. It seeks to be memorable, own the category and authentically represent the product’s values.  ‘i Snack 2.0’ doesn’t seem right . Here are some reasons:

Feels like they’re trying to cash in on all things ‘ i ’ to win instant cool.  But having an ‘i ’ in front of a product doesn’t make it cool. The product itself has to fulfill that promise. The reason iphones, imacs and ipods are cool, are because they are innovative and functional products which live up to their brand promise.

Is ‘i ’ relevant .. ?  The ‘ i ‘ doesn’t seem relevant here. Apple has ownership of the ‘i ’ categories .. and if they introduced a snack to eat while you are on your Iphone or working on your imac ..it would seem a more natural extension.

The name is a mouthful (sorry – bad pun). From twitter: ‘ Seriously? iSnack 2.0 name 4 new Vegemite.’ Do you want jam,Vegemite or iSnack 2.0 on your toast? ..’RT @sammutimer: RT @bonniebullock

An ‘ i’ in front of the product doesn’t necessarily give instant access to a younger audience.  Younger audiences are known to be more discerning and wary of marketing messages. Any suspected manipulation or exploitation may in fact   turn them away.

And just as it is that not only  young people use all things ‘i ’, older people might be interested in this new Vegemite product .. after all we’ve lived and experienced the previous one for a long time!

Ries and Ries propose their 21^st law of Immutable Branding as the ‘Law of Mortality’: ‘No brand will live forever. Euthanasia is often the best solution’.

Wonder if this will be the fate of i Snack 2.0?

What do you think?

The 12for12K Challenge is a great example.

The 12for12K Challenge was founded late last year by Danny Brown, a Scot, now residing in Canada.

Danny established the charity after some reflection about the degree of true connectedness in the world today. One Sunday afternoon, whilst visiting a food court, Danny spotted an elderly woman wearing a wedding ring, eating alone. Despite being active in social media where it is customary to strike up conversations with strangers, on this occasion, Danny didn’t. He later felt he had missed an opportunity to reach out. You can read Danny’s original post about this experience and the birth of 12for12K here.

In an age of supposed connectedness, Danny wanted to actively use the power of social media to reach out and help others.

The 12for12K Challenge represents Hope – Change – Belief and uses social media to raise awareness and funds  to change the lives of millions worldwide.

The 12for12K Challenge supports a different charity each month: 12 charities, 12 months, aiming to raise $12,000 per charity. Charities with administration costs of 10% or less and openly available financial records, are chosen by collective vote from supporters.

Danny explains: “We look at all the suggestions and firstly see which ones fit our criteria in terms of operating costs, long term change etc,” he says. “Then we see which can help the most people or needs the most support from us. Our goal is to be the voice of the voiceless. Some need us more than others in that respect.” he says.

All work for 12for12K is undertaken voluntarily – with no money being taken for administration. Donations are made by PayPal or credit card online directly to that month’s charity, eliminating third parties.

A large and growing membership

The 12for12K support base has grown significantly since its inception. In less than 12 months, almost 2,500 people have subscribed to the blog, more than 600 joined the 12for12K Facebook page and 500 the email list, in addition to countless Twitter supporters and hashtag users. 30 official blog partnerships have also been established.

The support base is truly international with US, Canada, UK, Australia Japan France, German, South America, Sweden, Italy and New Zealand just a few countries represented.

Charities Assisted

To date the organization has raised more than $50,000 US and supported more than eight charities.

“While this is short of our goal, it’s still a terrific amount for us” says Danny “and I’m incredibly proud and humbled by our supporters.’ he says.

The positive impact extends beyond the month of support. The increased awareness of chosen charities achieved from the 12for12K support encourages a continual flow of donations over the longer term.

“We are simply a call to action for the charities.” Danny says. “ This is why all donations go directly to the charity itself as opposed through 12for12K

In March next year, Danny hopes to chat about global consciousness at the South by South West Film & Interactive, a conference which attracts approximately 17,000 attendees.   He  also aims to bring a local focus to the global connections achieved via social media:
“One of our members Jon Aston coined the phrase Connect Globally:Think Locally,” says Danny.

“I have a ton of ideas about how to empower 12for12K locally so you can really make a difference where you live, no matter where in the world you are.”

Exciting times ahead  enabled by the connections  of twenty first  century technology and social media.

For further information or to join click here: 12for12K Follow on Twitter

PS C’mon Aussies .. we’ll be rallying the troops in the months ahead and providing more information about local charities, causes for our support, and  how your support can be linked to your corporate social responsibility activities.

12for12K on CTV

‘A Big Week for Books’

Seth’s reading list.

Others in my reading pile:

Connection Generation – Iggy Pintado

Free – Chris Anderson

The Power of Small – Why Little things make all the difference – Linda Kaplan Thaler and Robin Koval

..to name just a few.

Chris Brogan’s book is now in there too.

Enjoy!

Last week we initiated our Twitter Theme Weeks – which provide thoughts and insights around a marketing theme.

The first of these focused on  David Meerman Scott’s new book World Wide Rave – which I  highly recommend.

In case you missed any of our tweets – follows is a summary:

1. ‘Nobody cares about your products (except you)’. People care about ways to solve their problems.

2. No Coercion Required. When you have something worth sharing, people will share it – no coercion required.

3. Lose Control. Make your content free & freely sharable; easy to find & consume.

4 Put Down Roots. Be involved in the online communities of people who actively share.

5 ‘Create triggers that encourage people to share’. Creativity and imagination required.

6. ‘Point the world to your (virtual) doorstep’ Create a World Wide Rave. Offer excellent content.

We concluded the week of tweetful insights with my personal favourite:

‘Focus on your buyer personas and how you can solve problems for them.’

Stand by for our next Theme Week!

Welcome to Spring!

With the recent economic news indicating ‘green shoots’,  a time of business growth and renewal is also upon us.  In preparing well for such growth a marketing audit is valuable.

What is it?  A marketing audit is a key component of a strategic marketing plan. Essentially a marketing audit is a thorough review of all marketing activities in light of prevailing market trends. Aspects considered are sales and profit patterns; positioning, target markets,  promotional activities and results.  An audit assesses the success of your marketing activity and identifies opportunities for strategy refinement.

When to audit?  Measuring the results of all marketing activity and comparing against objectives should be undertaken after each campaign. Such measurement to some degree could be considered a ‘mini audit’.  However, the more encompassing marketing audit should be undertaken at least once per year as part of the overall business and marketing planning cycles, coinciding with annual plans and budget preparation.  

Value? Stopping to reflect and analyse activities not only helps shape more effective strategies, but is also cost effective, ensuring marketing investment is focused and targeted. In light of all marketing factors, reasons can be considered for any activities not producing desired outcomes. These activities can be subsequently refined or eliminated in the reformulated strategy. 

Ensure you are working ‘on’ your business!  It is always easy to continue working ‘in’ the business but stepping away to work ‘on’ the business in this way is vital. Evaluation and assessment of all business aspects including marketing provides a strong and solid foundation for future action.

If you haven’t stopped to audit your marketing activities in the last twelve months – why not give your marketing a Spring clean and do one this month? It will  refresh your strategies and activities and set your business on a strong course for the months ahead.

If you require any assistance in undertaking your marketing audit or any marketing activity – please do not hesitate to contact us.  We would love to be of assistance  to grow your business.

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Business has only two functions – marketing and innovation.’ Peter Drucker

Peter Drucker’s famous quote is poignant.

Today’s Entrepreneur section of the The Australian details several articles about the value of good planning and targeted marketing to all businesses – not just SME’s.

The following  links to articles published. Marketing Is Us is mentioned in the second and provided some information for others which appeared.

Ideas Do The Selling

and

Target the Market and Win the Game

Enjoy!

The following is a great example of shaping products to suit customer needs  – satisfying a need with which many women would identify.

Called Feet Fairies -they're little fold up ballet pumps, small enough to fit in your handbag, ready to exchange for your high heels at the end of a long night of standing or dancing.  FAvaila

Rainproof and available in two sizes, they're packaged in a small pouch which unfolds to create a portable carrier for those heels.

A fantastic idea – and perfect for the forthcoming Spring Racing carnival!

 Shaping or customising products to suit customers' needs begins with understanding customers – which the following post discusses. For every company – consumer insights must be non negotiable

How  have you shaped your products to suit your customer needs? It is important to consider as a fundamental to your overall  business and marketing strategy.

But I also LOVE finding and telling clients' stories – in the process of assisting them to increase their brand awareness via publicity, as part of an integrated promotional effort.

The following is a case in point. Michelle Bent is a Brisbane designer who has recently launched her fresh and innovative plus size label – Bent Creations.

Like its namesake, the designs are stylish, sassy and affordable. The signature piece is very cleverly designed pants. "They're classic and sit comfortably on the hip. It's all in the cut." says Michelle.

So more curvaceous ladies need no longer despair – Bent Creations has arrived, providing unique designs for the plus sized woman.

You can find Michelle and Bent Creations at: Shop 2/7 Allardyce Street, Graceville T: 0402 821 883

Web site: Bent Creations .. . and can read more about her in the following. Its a great story.

'We have to accept what we all know to be elemental – that taking a defensive position, can, at best, only limit losses. And we need gains'  Peter F Drucker from 'This Competitive World' in the Harvard Business Review – March – April, 1961.

Although nearly 50 years old, the quote is still relevant today; and reflects that despite rapid and continued change – particularly in respect to  innovation and technology – some fundamentals of business and marketing  remain the same.

The following is another case in point.  This video depicts an active demonstration of the famous ' Man In the Chair' ad which is 51 years old.  It then presents a modern take of the same principles which underscore the ad.  Essentially customers like to know who they are buying from –  brand awarness and establishing credibility has and continues to be important.

These are only a couple of examples.  Much has changed. But some aspects remain constant. Maybe it is not so much 'out with the old – in with the new' but rather retaining some of the old as foundations upon which the new can be built.

A feline example of market positioning

We took Ms Ella, our fluffy, four legged feline for her annual check up on the weekend. We go to ‘The Cat Clinic‘, a vet service dedicated to cats.

Although Ella was somewhat unhappy about going – meowing throughout the entire short drive there – she settled once we arrived.

And not just because she was no longer in the car.

You see,  ‘The Cat Clinic’ is exclusively for cats: no ‘scary dogs’ are allowed!

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Created from a recognized customer need for a more positive, less stressful visit for both cat and owner, ‘The Cat Clinic’ is a great example of niche marketing.

They’ve narrowed their focus to just one market segment, and in so doing  differentiated themselves in a crowded market place, carving a unique market position supported by some innovative and clever marketing.

Each year we receive  a very cute reminder postcard that our furry baby is due for her check up. And if we fail to book promptly we receive another one.

Before any operation,  we’re also required to complete a questionnaire. It’s a little like a human pre-op form, except in this one we’re asked to name our furry beloved’s favourite food.

It’s not only these touches though, which draw us back to the Clinic.

In the words of Seth Godin – we find their service and care, ‘remarkable’.

From a strategic perspective they’re dedicated to their niche. They’re cat care specialists. They’ve not diluted their focus by trying to provide services for a wide range of animals. And  their position is supported by their great skill at what they do.

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Niche – Narrow Your Focus

Whilst contemplating this post over the last few days, I’ve heard the niche message repeated several times in different ways. For example:

‘Find your core and blast it’ ..  and

‘Narrow your focus’.

As Marketing Is Us approaches its first birthday, we plan to narrow our focus and further define our own niche,  making it even easier for our customers to identify how we can be of assistance in supporting their business growth.

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So, how can your business ‘niche it’?

• Look for those products and services which are profitable.

• Narrow your focus.

• Specialise.

• Differentiate yourself by providing your product/service in a different, more compelling way to your customers.

Finding a viable niche will result in a sustainable competitive advantage.

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So go on – ‘niche it’!

Picture: Courtesy SMH, 28 July 2009

Watching Brenton Rickard win World Championship gold after 15 years in the sport was inspiring.  It also reminded of the lessons transferable to business, learned from our elite athletes.

Vision, Goals, Strategies –  For Brenton, winning a world title was the vision. The long held dream, had been distilled into goals and a clear strategy set to achieve them.

Like any business, Brenton and his coach would have examined and identified the surrounding positive and negative influences, including competitors, likely to impact his performance and the achievement of those objectives.

As in business, they also would have assessed his strengths to be maximised and weaknesses to be eliminated or overcome.

Consistent Execution – Successful outcomes are not only a result of preparation and planning. They’re also a result of doing the same things consistently.  For a swimmer this includes training routines practicing techniques such as turns and finishes, and out of water practices such as nutrition, rest and relaxation.  For a business it is providing consistency in product and service quality and supporting the systems and processes to facilitate this.

As in all strategies, consistency does not always mean predictable. The element of surprise -  providing a ‘wow’- something unexpected for your customers is useful. Perhaps Brenton’s low key approach enabled him to provide that surprise.

Measurement, Evaluation – Brenton and his coach would have continually measured their results and mapped against objectives.  For business, measurement means not only monitoring results, but also identifying the  return on investment, comparing  results with objectives and subsequently refining  strategies/tactics.

Resilience – Integral to strategy is the ability to deal with unforeseen obstacles. For Brenton his coach  relocating interstate meant changed plans.  For any athlete, the ability to overcome injuries is necessary. For businesses, the Global Financial Crisis was unforeseen  and despite tough, economic conditions,  businesses have refocused and adapted.

Persistence – As Brenton clearly demonstrated, overnight success is a misnomer. Continued application and adherence to the plan are the ingredients of success.   Whilst no business might want to wait 15 years to reach their objectives,  Brenton’s victory in  Rome  and its underlying messages, provide tremendous inspiration.  

As the  first Australian man for 45 years to win a world or Olympic breastroke title – congratulations Brenton and thanks for the inspiration!

Something to enjoy for a few moments .. take a little wander around a gallery of graphic design.

Just click on the link

Thanks to tweetbuddy @timboreid for this. You can follow Tim:  http://twitter.com/TimboReid 

and http://twitter.com/softalize who provide Free and Useful Online Resources for Designers and Developers.

Recently Mars Snackfood  Australia attracted publicity announcing  the downsize of all their 90 products to include Mars Bars which is being reduced in weight by 11.6% from 60-53 g. According to reports, whilst some products would become cheaper the new slimline Mars Bars would remain at the same price – ie less product, same price.

The size reduction has been championed by the company as a response to  increasing concern about obesity, particularly ‘the nutritional content and portion size’ of what we eat.

However, static prices on downsized products indicate a cost saving and profit building strategy.

From a strategic marketing perspective, altering one product attribute, such as recalibrating product size, is useful for mature products, as a way of breathing new life by kicking off a new life cycle.

Shampoos, mature products in a competitive, mature market frequently resize – sometimes providing ‘25% more’ but at the same price. Manufacturers alter the product – but importantly convey the provision of additional value.

In challenging economic times, providing something additional which customers deem valuable, is vital in driving business.

And perhaps this– the consumer acceptance or rejection of value – is the reason for some resizing initiatives to fail.  Last year Cascade reduced their Pale Ale stubby from a twist top 375 mil to a pry off top 330 mll bottle, with new product repackaging and labels.

However dramatic sales declines ensued, and in response to a public backlash, Cascade announced, they would reintroduce their 375 ml twist top bottle.   Interestingly the GM made the announcement on the company’s Facebook site – demonstrating  the value of asking and listening to your customers and the utility in this respect of social media.

It will be interesting to monitor the response to the Mars change. As far as I can tell, they do not have a social media presence, although one Facebook page has been established calling for the boycott of its products due to the downsizing and no corresponding price reduction. The page though at this stage only has 6 members.

If your product is mature then contemplating product attribute changes such as resizing can boost sales .. however in the current environment, the perception of value will determine  the strategy’s success.  If customers feel it is a good exchange then the strategy will be successful.  However learning from the Cascade case – it is prudent to  gauge your customers’ opinions first or at least ensure platforms exist for customer dialogue. 
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It is probably evident (:)) that I am a fan of Seth Godin! Just in case you missed it – the following is useful food for thought ..

The Best Way to Make an Internal Sale

No-one would doubt that as business owners we are operating in dynamic and challenging times.  The frameworks strategic marketers once used are also evolving embracing some of the changes in today’s technology and environment.

Recently, Chairman and CEO of Ogilvy One Worldwide, Brian Fetherstonhaugh, advocated the replacement of the  traditional marketing mix – known as  the  ’4 P’s’ with a modern day version – the ’4 E’s’.

According to Fetherstonhaugh:

Product has become     Experience
Place                           Everyplace
Price                           Exchange
Promotion                   Evangelism.

The E of Experience focuses on the end to end customer experience – mapping the ‘Customer Journey’ is required.    

‘Everywhere’ reflects consumers’ ability to access products when and where they wish necessitating marketers to ‘intercept’ them in their communications rather than ‘interrupt’.

The evolution from Price to Exchange highlights the need to recognise value, particularly that derived by a consumers’ attention, engagement and permission.

‘Promotion’  has been replaced by ‘Evangelism’ which combines word of mouth with social networking and Web 2.0. No longer is marketing directed at a target audience.  Rather, today it focuses upon authentic, consumer engagement.  If brand experiences are positive, your customers become evangelists or advocates for your brand.

What does this mean for businesses?

The ’4 E’s’ extend the marketer’s tool box.   Some concepts are not new – for example – customer blueprinting – identifying and managing each customer interaction  - or moment of truth –  has been around since the late 1980′s.  Additionally marketers in recent years have been increasingly cognisant of creating value.

However the E’s of Place (Everywhere) and Promotion (Evangelism) reflect changed consumer behaviour enabled by today’s technology.  

Acknowledging these changes, the new mix elements should be integrated into marketing plans for more comprehensive and appropriate strategy development.

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‘TOURISM Queensland has massively outstripped the performance of Tourism Australia’s $40million sponsorship of Baz Lurhman’s movie Australia, despite being run on a budget of just $1.7m, according to the chairman of Tourism Queensland.

The Best Job in the World advertising campaign set a new record at the Cannes International Advertising Festival last week when it took an unprecedented three Grand Prixs for public relations, direct advertising and cyber websites. ..  More on Tourism Queensland award win

Congratulations to the Cummins Nitro team who this week won the prestigious Grand Prix awards for both public relations and direct advertising for its Tourism Queensland Best Job in the World campaign, at the Cannes International Advertising Festival.

As quoted in the attached article jury chairman Lord Tim Bell said the work was ‘classic and single minded’.  The campaign was created on a budget of $1.7 m and generated media coverage exceeding US$ 150 m. Great return on investment, highlighting the value of an innovative idea and great planning, implementation and measurement.

Click here to read our original post of May 6  Great Job|Great Publicity .

Here is the job spec!

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Art and particularly blockbuster exhibitions are significant tools in the tourism marketing arsenal in attracting visitors and spend to a particular State and city.  They're popular in smoothing demand during the Winter period, typically a time of lower visitation.

In Brisbane, the Queensland Art Gallery is hosting the 'American Impressionism and Realism: A Landmark Exhibition from the Met'

curated by Dr Barbara Weinberg, the Alice Pratt Brown Curator of American Paintings and Sculpture, The Metropolitan Museum of Art.  The Queensland Art Gallery is the only venue in the world to show the exhibition.  On until 20 September the exhibition offers added interest for art lovers by integrating 30 Australian impressionist masterpieces.  The Courier Mail (13 June 2009) reports that more than 13,500 people have already attended since the exhibition opened on May 30.

John Singer Sargent  1856 1925  Mrs. Hugh Hammersley 1892 Oil on canvas
205.7 x 115.6 cm  Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Douglass Campbell, in memory of Mrs. Richard E. Danielson 1998  Collection: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York

***

The National Portrait Gallery in Canberra is showing Vanity Fair Portraits: Photographs 1913-2008, until 30 August 2009.  'Vanity Fair Portraits traces the birth and evolution of photographic portraiture through the archives of Vanity Fair magazine. Visitors can expect to see many familiar and famous faces in this exhibition depicting the history of celebrity portraiture, for which Canberra is the only Australian venue.'

Pictured  A Much Screened Lady – Gloria Swanson 1924 Edward Steichen  Bequest of Edward Steichen by Direction of Joanna T. Steichen. © Condé Nast Publications Inc./Courtesy George Eastman House

***

And delicious Dali – Salvador Dali: Liquid Desire,  

the first comprehensive retrospective of the work

of Salvador Dali ever to be staged in Australia has just opened as part of Melbourne ’s Winter masterpiece series at the National Gallery of Victoria (NGV).

Pictured    Salvador DALÍ 

Spanish 1904–89, worked in United States 1940–48

Soft self-portrait with grilled bacon 1941

oil on canvas

61.0 x 51.0 cm

Fundació Gala-Salvador Dalí, Figueres

© Salvador Dalí, Fundació Gala-Salvador Dalí, VISCOPY, 2009

If you are a business owner, what promotions can you implement to increase demand for your products during the quieter sales cycle?  Smoothing out demand is possible, and  rest assured, the tactics used do not need to be grand as an international art blockbuster!

Thank you to the QAG, NGV and National Portrait Gallery Canberra for granting permission to use the images which appear here.

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Technorati Profile

We have become so dependent on technology but what if goes awry? I had the misfortune of this experience recently whilst at a conference, away from my office located in another part of the country.

It was something simple. The audio on my hand held device had disappeared, resulting in an inability to hear those who either had called me or whom I had called. I chalked up quite a bill making calls from the hotel including several to the provider in an endeavour to see if I could get the situation quickly resolved. Alas after five calls to various providers including the retailer from whom I purchased the device and the device's manufacturer I was advised a visit to a manufacturer's outlet would be required.  As I was to return home within 24 hours and did not wish to cancel client appointments I decided to wait and get it fixed at home. So, now at home I need to make an appointment and travel to the store located one hour away to have it assessed. The device was only two weeks old.

The stress of feeling cut off from clients and disconnected from my work activities was significant but was added to in the way my calls were handled by the various customer service representatives, some of whom were polite but didn't know what was going on and others who displayed no empathy and were unfortunately unhelpful, uncaring and unwilling to assist.

I have heard recently of similar stories of poor customer service in other industries and wonder is this a sign of the times. Are we not giving certain roles any respect which means that the people in those roles do not accord a helpful attitude to those customers they are serving?

It is a huge strategic marketing opportunity for savvy companies to carve a competitive  advantage by differentiating on fantastic customer service. I have purposely not named names here, but happy to name an example of fantastic customer service. 

As strategic marketers, in our roles to assist business growth, the examination and evaluation of a companies' customer service should be integral to every strategic marketing plan.  Looking after our existing customers will ensure they will return in future. Not looking after them means poor word of mouth and damage to the brand. It is a marketing opportunity not to be missed.

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By TwitterButtons.com

A few months back we discussed how a brand is so much more than a logo, proposing that it encompasses a customer’s entire experience with a product or service, including how they are greeted on the phone,   the ease with which they can find your business and  the consistency  of product/service quality they receive.  

Recently I had the pleasure of listening to two design professionals reinforce these points.  Pip McConnel-Oats from visual communication firm Lumino, spoke of the brand as a promise and the need for its provider to continually deliver on that promise to earn customers’ loyalty.   At the heart of a brand’s promise however,  is its values. 

 So what does your brand stand for?  At Marketing Is Us, our brand values include professionalism, innovation, insight and intelligence. As a specialist marketing consultancy, they underpin everything we do in providing cost effective, strategic marketing solutions to our customers.

A brand’s values should be consistently demonstrated in the customer experience of the product or service.  Clarity in both brand values and strategy execution can facilitate an organisation’s connection with customers, building one on one relationships with them.

A brand can also be likened to a person or personality. Tim Layton, Senior Design Manager at Westfield believes a brand is a vibe, and that synchronicity can be achieved when a brand’s values are integrated and reinforced in the physical environment – namely the retail store.

In a crowded market place, such harmony manifested in the store’s physical design can differentiate the brand, delivering it significant competitive advantage. Cohesion and clarity between a brand’s values and the physical representation evident in the retail store environment ensures maximum synchronicity, adding to the brand’s overall vibe. Ultimately the combination of these  factors contributes markedly to the customer experience.

So by now I’m sure you know a brand is so much more than your logo .. but perhaps it is timely to reflect  on your brand’s values and your customers’ experience of your brand.  Does their experience mirror your brand’s values?  And if you have a retail store  – does it truly represent your brand? If it doesn’t – what changes can you make to ensure greater synchronicity?  Finally what vibe does your brand convey?    

A brand embodies multiple aspects, the synchronicity of which will not only strengthen and differentiate your brand, it will also lead to more consistent and harmonious customer experiences resulting in new and loyal customers, and increased sales.  

If you would like to discuss your brand or any aspect of your strategic marketing planning and implementation, please do not hesitate to contact us. We look forward to being of assistance.

Pics: Louis Vuitton store, 5th Avenue, New York & Apple Store, 5th Avenue New York, taken by the author

By TwitterButtons.com

Of all the current trends impacting fashion industry marketing, the phenomenon of  social media is particularly pertinent.  Research shows two thirds of the world’s internet population visited a social network or blogging site [1]  Leading the way is Facebook with more

than 200 million active users, 100 million of whom log on daily and whose fastest growing demographic is 35 years+ [2] . Web 2.0, the technology borne from the internet’s ‘second generation’, heralded a movement away from static web pages to interactivity, collaboration and  user generated content, has particular influence for the fashion industry.

Only ten years ago the fashion industry would typically communicate with their customers via traditional offline media such as advertising and public relations in glossy magazines, catalogues and via events. Today, via the various social media platforms communication is far more personal and direct, with consumers engaged in ongoing exchanges. Where once the fashion consumer was a passive, albeit enthusiastic recipient of information, today they are an active participant.  Previously, loyal customers were awarded VIP or Privileged Shopper status; today they are members of online communities – their own tribes – where they can interact with other like minded members who share their passion for their favourite fashion labels.

For fashion industry marketers, social media has expanded the marketing toolbox and is now integral to every marketing strategy as an additional means to engage customers, build stronger more authentic relationships, generate referrals and word of mouth, increasing brand awareness and ultimately sales.

But like any marketing strategy, a fashion brand needs to set clearly defined objectives for its social media activity, understand its audience and have a strong sense of self in terms of its brand values, attributes and personality. It is also vital that the strategy is planned, considered and consistently aligned with the brand values.

By TwitterButtons.com

I’ve had a somewhat wistful weekend. This time last year I was in The Big Apple. I had a spent a lot of time there in the mid – late 1980’s, and it was great to be back! first ‘conference’ focusing on digital trends and changing media. Mediabistro.com, a division of Jupiterrmedia Corporation , generates more than 6 million page views each month as a resource which includes  daily media news, classes and seminars, and recruiting services. Jupitermedia Corporation is a leading global provider of images, news and original information.

Rather than ‘deadly panel discussions, rehashed conference fodder or self congratulatory case studies’ – the Media Bistro Circus ‘conference’ promised a ‘roster of Internet rock stars presenting fresh takes on topics crucial to their businesses’.

Held at the Skylight Studios, downtown Manhattan  – the first day’s sessions comprised Publishing: Form Print to Digital – with speakers including Paul Cloutier, CEO 8020 Publishing, James Daly Editor In Chef of Eduotopia and Paul Rossi, Publisher of the Economist. Paul spoke of the ‘clickatorial’ and reader engagement advising that every article published online received 200-300 comments, totalling 13-15000 comments per month.

The Blogging session examined how the ‘blogosphere has revolutionized communication and the world of media’. Elisa Camahort, co founder and COO Blogher spoke of how blogs enable expression and connection with people of like minds in the formation of communities and their motivation to find information. We were told that more than half of US women online reading blogs which are influencing what is and  is not purchased. Amongst the speakers were Anish Dash, Vice President (or ‘Chief Evangelist) of Six Apart, the  maker of blog platforms including this one – Typepad. Amongst many messages were ‘blogs are the web’.. ‘the centralised model is not how media works and won’t be the path forward – rather it will be user controlled.’

A highlight was the keynote presentation by Chris Anderson, Editor in Chief of Wired magazine and author of The Long Tail – the bestseller which examines the value of market fragmentation, niche markets, their significant value if aggregated and how the Internet has made this possible. Chris advised ‘content first,  networking second, urging to firstly establish sites that are  about something, then build in social networking features’.

The event had its own twitter wall – a bit like the stock exchange ticker – tracking the steady stream of tweets.

Although I was fighting the jetlag – and drinking a lot of coffee to counter the effects – it was fantastic to hear some of the best in the world speak about the phenomenon which has changed the marketing landscape.

One year on – it is great to see so many Australian businesses and marketers embrace the technology and platforms. The marketing landscape has changed and as marketers we  need to demonstrate the value of these platforms to our clients.

This year’s Media Bistro Circus is taking place in June – again in  New York and promises to be equally stimulating with presenters including author Tim Ferriss of ‘The 4- Hour Workweek’. Let’s go!

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Twitter, the microblogging phenomenon, where messages are posted in 140 characters is the fastest growing social media platform recording 7 million visitors in February 2008 (Nielsen 2009) – a 1382% year-over-year increase from 475,000 unique visitors in February 2008 making it the fastest growing site in the Member Communities category for the month.

Twitter is most popular amongst working adults with the largest age group being 35-49; with nearly 3 million unique visitors, comprising almost 42 percent of the site’s audience. Interestingly, this age group is also the fastest growing demographic using Facebook.

As with other social media – from a business and strategic marketing perspective – its not about the hard sell. Rather the focus is on engagement, sharing information and resources, and building relationships within an online community, the members of which represent potential brand advocates. When tweeting is aligned with your brand and positioning, brand reinforcement can also be achieved.

Twitter should be considered as another medium in all integrated promotional mixes.

By TwitterButtons.com

 Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images North America

Last week we blogged about the ‘First Brand’ – Obama. 

In this weekend's  Weekend Australian Magazine Amy Chozick profiles Desiree Rogers (pictured left), the White House Social Secretary, who reports directly to the First Lady and who is considered by many, to be the key to the Obama brand.

Ms Rogers, 49, Harvard MBA, breast cancer survivor and one time Vogue model – 'demonstrating executive and chic can coexist’, is responsible for ‘planning the events that promote the Obama presidency’, ensuring ‘the White House is reflective of who they are’. In keeping with her academic and business background, Rogers treats her role strategically as a business, with clearly defined mission and objectives.

Interestingly and not previously usual it seems, the East and West wings are collaborating closely – with Rogers meeting the President’s Chief of Staff every morning at 8.15 am to swap notes – and perhaps strategies!

The marketing of Obama is certain to trigger some business school case studies.  The activities of the White House Press and Social Secretaries will form part of this analysis and continue to fascinate, particularly as some murmurs emerge about potential overexposure.

Stay tuned.

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On 28 April we published a post about the very clever Meat & Livestock Australia Mothers Day ad. The talented people responsible were: BMF Agency; TVC ECD Warren Brown; Ad: Jake Rusznyak; Copywriter Dennis Koutouogenis, Production – Orange Whip Films and Director Simon Macrae .

Looking forward to the next one.

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Sydney based journalist Patty Huntington has been writing some great articles about the use of Twitter in various creative industries.  The latest which appeared in ‘The Weekend Australian’ today is about Australian born director Robert Luketic who is the first to document the progress of the film making process on Twitter.Today’s article is not yet available on line but here is the link to one which appeared last month. Net Gain- Patty Huntington.  As Patty says the subject ‘definitely has wings’.

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The article says that although most people associate DVT with long flights, employees who remain in their chairs without getting up for several hours were more likely to develop DVT than others who moved around.

Dr Goldhaber recommends moving at least every 90 minutes and to avoid blood thickening dehydration by drinking plenty of water.  If you are stuck in a long meeting – he advises to do some heel/toe lifts to keep blood moving.

More information is available at Health HBR.

I know I'm guilty of getting immersed in my work and staying glued to my chair! But its worthwhile to develop some better habits when your health and well being are at stake.

As the song says 'gotta start moving ..!'

A great reminder.

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"It was artificial, but most people would still say, 'He's a regular guy with my kind of tastes'," said Professor Larry Sabato, professor of politics at Virginia University. 

Fascinating. President Obama has created many firsts – in addition to being the first black US President. His use of 21st century technology and his overall marketing approach particularly is great to observe.

What a brand to protect and how interesting (and challenging) would be the strategic plan. 

By TwitterButtons.com

Significant is the $100 million worth of publicity generated by Tourism Queensland from an investment cited as $1.7 million. The ROI will be even greater if the increased global awareness of Australia and beautiful Queensland translates into increased visitation and expenditure.

Paying $150K for six months, based on Hamilton Island and  reporting on the Island and the Reef, it is certainly a great job with great publicity generated from a fantastic, innovative idea!

Well done Tourism Q!

Here is the job spec!

Quoting from the ABC website:

'The Gruen Transfer is a fast, funny show about advertising that will make you look differently at the constructed world around you.

It's not an expose. It's not a satire. It's about truth in advertising. Finally.

We used to know what advertising was. It was that stuff in the margins, in the ad breaks. But in recent years, it has begun colonising every space it can. US ad wizard Mark Fenske, the guy behind the Nike campaigns, calls advertising "maybe the most powerful art form on Earth". And the Earth aint the end of it. Not so long ago, Pizza Hut stamped its logo on a rocket to the moon. Earlier this year, Doritos announced it would beam its ads into space.

We all think we're immune to advertising, that we're smarter than the marketers, but can you honestly say you know why you buy one brand of detergent and not another? As you walk the aisles of the supermarket, how many of the purchasing choices you make are consciously your own? And if you can be persuaded, without realising, to buy the orange dishwashing liquid, what else can you be persuaded to do? Advertising: you know you're soaking in it.

Which is where The Gruen Transfer comes in. Each week, host Wil Anderson is joined by guests with the best and brightest minds in the advertising industry; insiders prepared to share the ideas and insights that drive them.

End Quote!

Tune in – its worth watching!

This week's pitch!

A great and very generous Australian has passed on.

The Pratt Foundation donated $13 million to charity in 2007/2008 alone and contributed significantly to the community in which he built his business.

The Foundation is now one of the largest private sources of philanthropy in Australia aiming “to enrich the lives of our community” and to fulfil this aim in a spirit of “kindness, justice and equity”.

Large and small charities have benefited – many of which undertake vital but largely unrecognised work in the community.

Our condolences to the Pratt family.  Rest in peace  Mr Pratt.

OBITUARY

The hierarchy of presentations

Number 6 rule:

Don't cut advertising expenditure

"Smart organisations should consider a counter cyclical approach to marketing. When sales are low, ramp up spending to show that the company is still active in the market and to take advantage of any competitor weakness. Unfortunately few organisations take this approach, preferring to fork out money when they have it then pulling back when they don't. To get the best win from marketing expenditure, it is worth swimming against the tide."

Let's ramp up the marketing!

I love Spencer Johnson’s books. They include ‘Who Moved My Cheese’, ‘An A-Mazing Way to Deal with Change’ and ‘The One Minute Manager’ – coauthored with Kenneth Blanchard, and cited as the world’s most popular management method.

From a time management perspective, each book is brief – enabling the gleaning of his wisdom within a short, couple of  hours.  Strategically each book provides many marketing and management gems.

Johnson’s latest is Peaks and Valleys – Making Good and Bad Times Work For You – At Work And In Life. Peaks and Valleys tells a story of a young man who lives unhappily in a valley until he meets an old man who lives on a peak, and it changes his work and life forever. The story traces the young man’s awakening and understanding of the old man’s principles and practical tools in good and bad times to become more calm and successful.

It is a tiny but timely tale and definitely worth the read!

Johnson has perfected the art of successfully ‘taking complex subjects and presenting simple solutions that work’ . More than forty six million of copies  of his books  currently in print world wide are testament to that.  

It might sound complex but the result is a handy 16 category matrix which can form the basis of subsequent strategy formulation.

Employing multiple bases has always been recommended in segmentation. This additional analysis will provide even greater insights, increasing the likelihood of effective strategy formulation.   Staying close to your customers, understanding their behaviour,  monitoring changes and adapting strategy accordingly, facilitates this analysis and is vital during these times.

Chris Anderson, Editor in Chief of Wired magazine and author of The The Long Tail is about to release his new book ‘Free’.

The book has developed from his article which appeared in Wired “Free! Why $0.00 Is the Future of Business in 2008 which describes a viable business model of building revenue by giving away most of your services.

It posits that  ‘freeeconomics’ is not just ‘a marketing gimmick’ but a ‘fundamental strategy’ changing the way the world does business.  The business model is underpinned by digital technology and consumers seeking value.

As companies increasingly utilise the technology to build revenue and engage with their customers, there is certain to be more consideration of this strategy. The Long Tail which described companies operating successfully by selling lots of quirky products in small quantities has oft been cited as a paradigm shifting. It seems Free may shift another.

Link to Chris Anderson’s blog.

Related article

A well designed and interesting postcard arrived the other day from our local Mini dealership. The  marketing piece invited test drives timed to suit their busy customers’ timetable. It also provided details of something extra  - a gourmet food and refreshment package to suit the time of the drive. For example if you were taking a breakfast drive, you would receive  croissants, other pastries, orange juice and coffee.

The mailer demonstrates some aspects of services marketing. The dealership was aware and mindful of their customers’ needs – in this case – their time constraints; and addressed these needs in not only the timing of their test drives but by providing the food package. They ‘augmented’ their service to make it a better experience overall resulting in a nice and more likely successful promotion.

In this current economic climate companies should be seeking ways to provide something extra for clients and integrate this focus into every marketing plan and activity. By doing this, companies will be creating more value – something their customers are seeking more than ever. It also provides an opportunity to solidify customer relationships. A win/win all round.

The most recent edition of Harvard Business Review  includes a great article – Value-for-Money Strategies for Recessionary Times.

With the current economic transformation,  the article highlights the value for money segment comprises three key groups: 

• people who want to more with the same resources (be more effective),

• do the same with fewer resources (be more efficient)

• do less with less resources (economise)

The article reminds of those companies which grew during the depression – GE, Kellogg and P&G – each of whom delivered value for money strategies that offered customers dramatically more for less.

We are now operating in an environment where value for money is imperative. Our economic climate demands innovation as to how we can  improve systems, processes and outputs to provide greater value. 

It is an exciting time.

However this week I've heard several stories of businesses making contact with other businesses or customers  through cyber connections and building  relationships which have resulted in non cyber conversations (!) and business transactions.   It seems offline and online – the old and the new – are working very well together in building relationships.

With the huge numbers of people using social media, businesses can't ignore this phenomena in their marketing media mixes.   Facebook alone has 100 million users worldwide and is ranked the 4th most trafficked website in the world. And its not just being frequented by the very young. Facebook's fastest growing demographic is the 25-35 year olds.

Social media is a great opportunity for business – particularly in building relationships,  and is made even more powerful when combined with the 'old'.  

Whilst times are tight – there is still a lot of good business going on and good stories to tell. Woolworths has announced they will create 16,000 new jobs this year in addition to undertaking a $1 billion store improvement program. Gerry Harvey was quoted earlier this week as having a better than expected February. And he is  opening more stores than closing them.  

For many business owners  this is an opportunity – to really refine our company's systems and to work smartly. For we marketers it is an opportunity to get in touch with consumers' changing values and their focus on needs rather than wants. As Bernard Salt stated in BRW last week week:  'Consumers may pay as much as they did before, but their aim is value ..not glitz. So the deadliest sin will be to produce unexceptional products that do not offer any value'. (BRW, Feb 19, 2009, p 19)

Having a small business – choices seem more easily identifiable. We can expend energy being nervous and fearful or focus on the job at hand -  taking action to work with our changing situation. This focus is not only a better use of our energies but really is so much more positive.

I'm a fan of Seth Godin.  His gems are thought provoking and so often inspiring .. like the following. Enjoy.

You can subscribe to Seth's blog by clicking on the link below. The link is also listed on our Resources page.

Do you deserve it?