Drew McLellan, Author at McLellan Marketing Group

The real SuperBowl competition

February 3, 2008

We ~~already know~~ thought we knew who was going to win the football game, so we might as well turn our attention to the real competition — which TV spot will win the hearts and buzz of the viewers?

Firebrand has declared Monday, February 4th as "Firebrand Monday" where they will celebrate the mother load of creative TV spots shown on the SuperBowl.

On Monday morning, Firebrand.com will have only the best of the previous day’s commercials ready for download, allowing viewers to share and rate them all, and to decide for themselves which spot wins the coveted “Firebrand Water Cooler” trophy.

On their Monday evening TV show (find out where it’s showing in your area) , the hour will be dedicated to major ads from the Super Bowl, featuring Celebrity CJs such as Reebok’s "Office Linebacker" Terry Tate and Carmen Electra, who makes her Super Bowl debut in an ad for Hershey’s "Ice Breakers."

If you love ads — you’ll enjoy Firebrand’s show. Not just on the Monday after the SuperBowl, but every week.

You can view all the ads online as well.

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Who came first – The Mac Guy or the Mac User?

February 2, 2008

That Mac Guy in the Apple ads is pretty confident. He knows the Mac is a superior machine and so he can afford to be nice to the poor PC, who can’t really help being inferior. Afterall, it’s not that he isn’t a nice guy, but it’s just that he’s not Mac.

That’s the basic theme of the Apple spots, featuring the Mac Guy. Here’s a great example of how Apple has positioned the product and personality of their products.

They’re funny, memorable and different. They’re also very spot on, when you think about your favorite Mac user. Most Mac users I know (myself included) feel a little cocky about the fact that they’ve discovered (in their opinion) the superior computer.

In fact according to a recent article on AdAge.com, Mindset Media did a study and found that the ad’s personifications of Mac users was dead on. Their research "mind-set profile" — a psychographic ranking system that scores respondents on 20 different elements of personality — found Mac users to be more assured of their superiority, less modest and more open than the general population. (The article goes into more depth on the study…a good read)

On the flip side, the one and only area where PC users did stand out as statistically different was in creativity — low creativity, that is. Mindset Media found they tend to be realists who are emotionally steady and work well with what they’re given. (Sorry, PC readers, I just really could not resist. I know lots of you are very creative….despite what the study said!)

But here’s the marketing question. Which came first? Has the Mac Guy influenced and shaped the Mac Users’ attitude? Or does Apple have a remarkable handle on their customers and was able to create Mac Guy as a compilation of all their Mac Users?

Marketing question #2 — what do you think the impact is, from the Apple brand perspective, of this alignment long term?

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Top Experts Share Their Marketing Secrets

February 1, 2008

Would you like to know Seth Godin’s secret? Or how about Jackie Huba’s or Scott Ginsberg’s?

Have you ever wondered what Michael Port’s secret is? Or even that crafty devil, Drew McLellan?

Well, Anita Campbell, editor of Small Business Trends asked us. (And many other marketing experts like Toby Bloomberg and John Jantsch) And boy did people share. There’s something there for just about anyone and everyone.

Some of them will have you nodding and others will have you kicking yourself in the pants! Either way, well worth the time spent.

Read all the secrets.…and then come back here and share yours.

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Blogger social or bust?

February 1, 2008

Have you heard? We’re throwing a party.

You coming? No matter where you are….hold up a sign and hitchhike if you have to. But NYC is where you want to be April 4th – 6th.

Two weeks from today, the attendee list closes. You’ve got to register and pay no later than 02/15. New York City. Over 50 marketing bloggers. And about 225 hours of fun packed into less than 48.

This is going to be a weekend you will remember for the rest of your life. We promise.

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M&M capitalizes on a myth

January 31, 2008

We’ve talked quite a bit about how consumers own our brand. It lives in their minds and hearts. But we can have great influence in terms of how our brand is received and perceived.

But sometimes, people do crazy, unexpected things with your brand. Take M&M’s for instance. We’ve all known about the powers of the green M&Ms for years. Pretty darn sure the folks at The Mars Company didn’t start that myth.

But, now they’ve demonstrated that they’re smart enough to take advantage of it. As I was perusing the Valentine’s Day row (have to get ready for Who Loves Ya Baby Day) in Walgreens, look what I found.

I’ll bet they sell a ton of these packages and good for them. Think about what they did:

They embraced the brand…from the consumer’s point of view.
They showed a sense of humor and playfulness (always been a part of their brand).
They took an old product and gave it new life for very little cost.
They extended their possibilities for the Valentine’s Day holiday. Some will buy the pink and red M&Ms but others will love these green only packages.
They created a buzz worthy moment for themselves
They created a seasonal product that people will watch for again next year

Bravo M&M/Mars for recognizing that you can’t rein in your brand and sometimes, you just have to go with the flow. In this case, brilliantly!

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What is creativity?

January 30, 2008

Finger painting, anyone? What does that cloud look like to you? How do you make a can opener look cool?

Creativity is one of those words that conjures up something different in each of our heads.

Which is exactly why I know that Chris Wilson’s contest is something that everyone can play!

It’s easy to enter and would be cool to win. Here’s the short version.

Take a photo showing what creativity means to you.That’s it!
Upload it to your Flickr account. (Open an account if you don’t already have one. It’s free!)
Join the Flickr the Fresh Peel: Creativity Contest group.
Send your creativity photo to the Fresh Peel: Creativity group.
Tell your friends to vote for you when the time comes!
You only have until February 6th to enter. So hurry up!

What’s in it for you, besides the camaraderie of playing and the thrill of victory? Well, two lucky players will win MetaMeme’s ThinkCubes.

Check out Chris’ site Fresh Peel, the contest announcement and all the details.

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Does going green + Boomers mean you’re in the green?

January 28, 2008

Green, green, green. Everywhere you look. You’ve got green in all the candidate’s speeches, Al won the Nobel Prize and hybrids are flying out of dealerships.

Should you be pushing the green aspects of your products or services (assuming there are some)?

Several studies released in the last month or so suggest that it might be in your bottom line’s best interest. According to a USA Today story, a study done by Deloitte suggests that 1 in 5 consumers planned on buying more earth friendly items this holiday season.

At 79 million, the Boomers rule the buying word. AARP also recently released data on this topic. According to their research, over half (40 million) Boomers consider themselves green.

Of course — time will tell. People saying that they’re green and behaving with their wallet are two very different things. I am sure both Deloitte and AARP did a very thorough and professional job on their research. But the cynic in me also thinks that when asked by a researcher — do you recycle or are you more likely to buy a product because it is environmentally friendly — most people would be embarrassed to admit they are lazy consumers who are willing to contribute to the decline of the Earth rather than toss their cans in the recycle container. I mean really — which answer would you feel better about giving?

Treehugger.com suggests that 2008 is the year where green is the new everything. On the flip side, Joel Makower (author of The Green Consumer) points out that 16 years after the publication of his book — we still do not have a significant number of green products that are mass produced.

What do you think? Will this be a competitive advantage for the companies that can capture this wave? Have you considered adding or spotlighting a green aspect of your offerings?

Or, as a consumer — where do you stand on this issue?

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Viral video – are you trying to be heard over the noise?

January 27, 2008

It started with a simple question. Do you viral video?

Let’s continue our discussion on the phenomenon of viral video and its many purposes.

We’ve culled through the stats that show the rapid rise of viral video viewing, we’ve talked about how some companies are using the medium to just get in front of as many people as possible and we’ve also looked at the educational aspects of the medium.

What other objectives can viral video answer for marketers? One of the most challenging aspects of marketing is the sheer volume of noise out there. You have to be able to shout pretty loud sometimes to even be heard, let alone hold someone’s attention.

One of the most cut-throat and competitive market places out there has to be book publishing/selling. Unless you’re a marquee name, you’re pretty much on your own. Publishing houses will provide a little support but speaking from personal experience — most of it is on you.

Imagine it. You’re an author. Say you’ve written one book before. You’re hardly a household name. You’re ready to launch your second book. You going to plan (and pay for) a book tour? I know…how about creating a website?

That’s where Jay Nussbaum (teacher, lawyer and novelist) found himself, as he was about to release A Monk Jumped Over A Wall. He was going to do the book signings, press releases, websites etc. But he wanted to do something more. And boy did he.

Nussbaum decided to create a video that he thought would create some buzz far beyond traditional book marketing.

"I began work on my novel in 1987 and, with 20 years invested in this book, I decided early on that, if I wanted the book to succeed, I would have to think out of the box. After all, my first novel, Blue Road to Atlantis, had received great reviews, but it didn’t get enough reviews to get noticed. I didn’t want that to happen again.

And so I did something that, to my knowledge, no novelist had ever done before: I dramatized an entire scene from the novel and posted it on YouTube (as well as various other media sites such as break.com, dailymotion.com, etc.) as a short film. Other writers have done very simple, 2-minute "trailers", but no one has ever done anything remotely like this. The film, entitled, "Nymphomercial" is very funny, and is quickly becoming something of a sensation on college campuses nationwide."

Take a look and see what you think. And despite the video’s name…it’s PG-13. No actual body parts showing.

The question of course is….did it work?

Well, I’ll bet more of us know Jay Nussbaum’s name than most relatively new novelists. And by watching the video we probably have a pretty good sense about if we’d like his book or not. It’s not his goal to get all of us to love his work. Just to let those of us who might love his books to know about them. And to do that, you have to get noticed.

I also think it is safe to bet that Newsday probably wouldn’t have written about his book, had he not reached beyond the traditional marketing methods.

Was it a safe choice? Hardly. How many remarkable products/companies stay in the safe zone?

How could you use viral video to shout over the crowd and be heard in a remarkable way?

Other posts in this series:
Do you viral video?
Viral video – are you looking for a lot of eyes?
Viral video — are you trying to educate?
Viral video – are you trying to be heard over the noise?
Viral video — are you establishing yourself as an expert?

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If content is king — meet the royal court!

January 26, 2008

Whether we are talking "old" marketing or "new" one thing hasn’t changed. If you aren’t relevant, you won’t survive the scrutiny of an audience that is time starved and attention span short.

To make this point, Junta42 has released their Top 42 Marketing Content blogs. They define content marketing as:

"Content marketing is a marketing technique of creating and distributing relevant and valuable content to attract, acquire, and engage a clearly defined and understood target audience – with the objective of driving profitable customer action."

As you can imagine, I’m honored that my blog was included, as well as Daily Fix where I also get to show my pretty face.

Truth be told…there are lots of lists out there. And it’s always nice to be included. But, I figure the value in them is that they introduce us to thinkers and writers we might not have met before. So, with that caveat — if you want to learn more about content marketing, take a lesson from these masters.

Many of these are on my must read list, but I discovered some new blogs as well. Even if you just add a couple to your feed reader, you’re going to be glad you did!

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Grab the mic: The ingredients for cooking up a community (Liz Strauss)

January 25, 2008

It’s easy enough, at this time of year, to suffer from the post-holiday blues. Blog traffic becomes weirdly unpredictable. Just when we thought that we our blogs were as bright as holiday lights, it seems the lights have gone out.

Ever look at a community that seems alive every day and wonder what’s so special over there? If you look closely, I bet you’ll see most of these ten traits . . .

A community leader. Leaders know what they stand for. They know where they’re going. They know what they have to offer. Leaders are interesting people to be around. They’re generous with their experience. They don’t take themselves too seriously.
A clear idea of people who are the community. A community is a collection of people who are alike in some way, despite their myriad differences. All members of a community have something in common — that’s the need the community serves.
A sense of place that reflects the community. Online or off, vibrant communities offer people an environment that looks familiar to them. If the crowd prefers to wear tuxedos and black dresses, they don’t hold their party in a barn. A vibrant community design sort of says to the people who see it, "Other folks like you hang out here."
Honest hospitality. A vibrant, growing community notices new people and welcomes them as soon as they walk in the door. Someone answers their questions and makes sure they feel at home. That’s why they return and bring their friends.
Plenty of entertainment/information. The environment is rich with things to explore — content, ideas, and questions about the visitors. Every decision reflects who the people of the community are.
Conversation and Connection. From the first word, conversations leave room for folks to speak — no list is finished without participation. Every idea invites others’ experience. When folks tell their truth, people explore, discover, and learn from each other.
Room. We always make room for one more — even the one who’s different. Inclusion is important.
Respect. Every member has a place to stand and the chance to speak. Everyone is interesting and valued.
Rules and Responsibility. The rules are few, but the standards are high. Occasional misbehaviors are handled in gentle ways. People notice and know they don’t have to worry about such things.
Gratitude. People only have so much time. It’s a gift that they’re spending part of their life in the community.

So many great communities are happening. If we step back and make room for them, so many more will be.

Truly. I know. Someone just told me about another one tonight.

Community builder = Liz Strauss. That’s simply all there is to it. Her blog Liz Strauss at Successful Blog is both a destination and an event for a fiercely loyal community of readers. She’s known as a relationship geek, a person who answers every comment, and someone who never sleeps. If you ask her about it, she’ll tell you she lives inside your computer. Some folks have started to believe that. Liz is one of the creators of SOBCon, a blogger’s event that combines learning, sharing and genuine caring.

Every Friday is "grab the mic" day. Want to grab the mic and be a guest blogger on Drew’s Marketing Minute? Shoot me an e-mail.

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