Blog - Page 75 of 181 - McLellan Marketing Group

Marketing tip #42: How to name a product

June 26, 2010

Over my career, I have worked with many companies and entrepreneurs to name their products, services and organizations. It's actually much more science than art — you need to have a very good understanding of what you are trying to communicate.

It's much more about tone than the actual words — that's the tough part to help clients understand. It's the feeling the name evokes — not so much the literal translation of each word.

Take the product above — Anti Monkey Butt Powder. Sure…they could have called it Chaff-B-Gone or something that was more clinical. But this company decided that part of its brand and its product was to have a little fun. They wanted it to pop off the shelf and for its packaging to be difficult to ignore.

I think they accomplished their goal. Now…why was this a good decision?

Their name:

Gives us an idea of how the product can help us
Takes into account the attitude of their core customers (bikers, people that work outside in the heat, extreme sports enthusiasts…and now they have added, new parents with their baby version)
Is memorable
Differentiates them from the competition
Gives us a sense of their corporate culture/attitude — what will they be like to do business with?
In today's world — you can find the right URL. (Hard to imagine that someone else hadn't scooped up www.AntiMonkeyButt.com already!)

Many business owners get hung up on the wrong thing when they're trying to name their company. It's not the specific words — it's the overall effect. If the folks at AMBP had worried about including the word "butt" in their name or debated if "anti" was a negative word….and they only wanted to create positive feelings — they would have ended up with a boring and forgettable name like Chafe-B-Gone.

But…they let the attitude, tone and message of the name carry their decision. They didn't over analyze or get too far into their own heads.

They trusted their culture and their brand. And created a very memorable name!

And if you're wondering if the Anti Monkey Butt Powder is just a gimmick — check out their testimonials. Pretty impressive.

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Social Media Glossary (101 social media terms explained)

June 24, 2010

Our friends at HubSpot did an excellent job putting together a very comprehensive glossary of social media terms that we should all familiarize ourselves with.

Many of the terms include links directly to the tool, site or even more information. A treasure trove for all!

Check it out by clicking here.

Photo courtesy of Shutterstock.com

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What’s your north star?

June 22, 2010

I heard this story several years ago…. and a discussion with a client yesterday reminded me of its importance.

A young sailor had been traveling for many days on the open ocean. He had the night watch so literally — for over two weeks, he saw nothing.

Finally, the vastness overwhelmed him and he asked his Captain, "how do you know where to head, when darkness is all around you?"

The wise Captain pointed his finger towards the sky and said “Fools watch the waves and make decisions according to ever-changing circumstances, but a wise captain charts his course by a star that does not move.

When your journey is long and the way before you is rough, never take your eyes off the North Star, son. Stay focused on the unwavering constant.”

We can twist ourselves into a knot if we react to everything our competitors do, or the ups and downs of the economy or any other outside factor that shifts and changes on a dime. Or, we can have a clear understanding of our business' purpose and mission. That's understanding your brand and living by it every day.

Are you making decisions based on where the waves toss you or have you charted your course according to your brand, your principals and your true north?

Photo courtesy of Shutterstock.com

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A public service announcement for today

June 20, 2010

I get called many things…but there is no title that I cherish more than Dad. On Father's Day, I wanted to share this public service announcement with all of you out there.

If you had a dad who let you dress him up, who played hoops with you on the driveway or who showed up at your games — be grateful. There are so many kids who never knew what that felt like.

And if you are a dad…soak it up. Soak it up with abandon. I know I do.

Happy Father's Day to all of you sons, daughters and dads!

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Your brand cannot live in the C-Suite

June 16, 2010

Here's the challenge with most brand promises. They only live at the top of the org chart. It usually happens on a corporate retreat. The C-level gang gets together at a lodge or fancy hotel and they talk about vision, mission and maybe even a company pledge or promise. Then, they either lead themselves or hire a consultant to lead them through a 2 hour exercise and from that exercise emerges their new brand.

(cue the trumpets blare)

Now…the front line employees aren't involved or consulted. In fact, they first see the new brand promise as a tagline on the new ad campaign. They don't understand it's not just marketing spin. They don't get that it is a promise that THEY are supposed to keep. Because no one told them.

Let me tell you a story I heard a few years back. A concierge in a luxury hotel with an impressive brand name was working her usual shift. She was accustomed to handling requests and complaints from the most discerning and demanding of guests. But she was surprised when a first-time guest criticized the quality of the hotel’s complimentary combs.

“They’re horrible combs,” he told her. “They’re not like the combs at XYZ hotel. Now they have good combs. They’re heavier and you can't bend them like this," he said as he demonstrated.

The concierge apologized and asked what kind would meet his satisfaction. She promised him a better comb on his next visit. Sure enough, a few weeks later when he checked in, the guest found a selection of high-grade combs in his room. When he checked out, he left a note for the concierge. “Thanks for the combs. Much better. See you in a few weeks.”

The guest became one of the hotel’s most frequent guests. That one interaction, over a complaint most employees would not be aware that they should care about, created a loyal guest who has meant tens of thousands of dollars in annually recurring business.

All for a comb.

You see….that's the problem. While the C-suite can come up with a brand….they're actually not the ones who deliver (or don't) on the promise. Odds are, that hotel guest couldn't tell you the hotel's tagline. But he could sure tell you the comb story. Now that concierge was either just naturally gifted at customer service or she was well trained. She could make the brand come to life because she had been taught what it meant. She had been trained to look for opportunities to make it so much more than a tagline.

Think about how she could have reacted:

She could have shaken her head as soon as the man walked away and declared him a pain in the rear.
She could have given him directions to the nearest drug store so he could buy a better comb.
She could have pacified him and then forgot all about it.
She could have "written it up" in some notebook, assuming someone would (or wouldn't) do something about it.

But she didn't. She recognized an opportunity to create a "story worthy" moment.

So one guy loves the hotel. Does it matter in the grand scheme of things? You bet. The ROI of customer loyalty has been proven again and again. This isn't just touching-feely stuff. This is bottom line results.

It's not enough to say you have a brand. It's not enough to have a good brand. It's whether or not your employees know and live the brand. And that doesn't happen by happy coincidence or luck.

It happens when you involve them from the beginning and it becomes a part of your company's DNA thanks to plenty of reinforcement, training and best of all — the "lore" that grows from customer stories. Whether it's the age old favorites of Nordstroms (who hasn't heard the tire story) or the latest example — Zappos — when you create story worth moments, the brand really comes to life.

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College graduates — stop listening to your parents and professors!

June 14, 2010

At least stop listening to those parents and professors who still believe it's 1980.

As you might imagine…this is the time of year when we get bombarded with resumes, calls and college graduate drop ins — all looking for their first job. I remember how frustrating my search was. Everyone wanted someone with experience…which of course, no one would give me!

I've spoken to several college classes and many a recent grad over the past couple months and I can tell you without a doubt that most of them are going about finding a job all wrong.

And sadly, this is due to the tutelage of their well meaning parents and some out of touch professors.

Entry level jobs are not won with marbled resume paper and cover letters that tell employers how much you like people. And…you should not tell me that you're going to call to schedule an appointment. That's sort of my job. If I want to actually meet you. And seriously — spell check.

I wrote a post outlining what I would do if I were looking for a marketing job today. (click on the link to check it out) Even if you aren't interested in marketing — most of it still applies.

But bottom line — you need to get our attention. And the standard resume/cover letter combo isn't going to cut it. You have to do something to stand out, to be noticed and most important — to be remembered.

The photo above is a little something I got in the mail from job seeker Kurt Henderson. The copy is clever — he acknowledges that time is money and he'd like a little bit of my time. He did several other things right. But…the bottom line, I've had this orange envelope (and the dollar) on my desk for about a month. I need to start talking to some entry level type folks. Guess who is getting my first call?

And in fairness — not everything your parents tell you is out of date. Handwritten thank you notes never go out of style. Neither does doing your homework.

Good luck finding that elusive job. I promise, you'll never work as hard to get one as you will this first time out.

P.S. Check out this free e-book aimed at grads!

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Brands, taglines and how the Pork Producers are killing their golden pig

June 12, 2010

At a recent industry event, the National Pork Producers announced that they would be stepping away from their iconic tagline of almost 25 years…the other white meat.

The association's VP of marketing explained that the tagline wasn't driving sales and that people seem to have forgotten what the tagline means. (I'd be willing to bet that if you did a man on the street poll — no one has forgotten what it means!)

This is actually not new news…despite all the buzz. The Pork Producers began to abandon their tagline in 2007 when they tried the completely forgettable "don't be blah" campaig n in a effort to step away from their own tagline. This was the same year that "the other white meat" was listed as #29 of the 100 most influential taglines since 194

The other white meat is one of the most recognizable taglines in the country. It's recall is the envy of most companies. It has it's own wikipedia page and website for Pete's sake!

Most businesses would kill to have that kind of tagline — the Pork Producers did it all right back in 1987 when they hired Bozell to develop the tagline and then until the last few years — they were absolutely consistent in their use for it.

So why would anyone abandon such an institutional asset? Because they are expecting it to do something it was never designed to do.

Taglines, by themselves, are not designed to drive sales as its primary job. That's what an advertising campaign is supposed to do.

A tagline, or brand promise, as we like to call it at McLellan Marketing Group, creates an emotional reaction or connection between the product and the consumer. It's the one thing that the brand wants to own in the mind of the consumer. In the case of the Pork Producers — that's why "the other white meat" was so brilliant.

As our friends over at Branding Strategy Insider say:

The ideal benefit to claim in a brand promise has the following three qualities: (1) it is extremely important to the target consumer, (2) the brand’s organization is uniquely suited to delivering it and (3) competitors are not addressing it.

So — is "the other white meat" not meeting those criteria anymore? Are people less health conscious about what they eat, red meat etc today? Nope. Is pork uniquely suited to being the other white meat? Yup. And are any other meat competitors trying to own that space? No.

If pork sales are stagnant — it's not the tagline's fault. In the Des Moines Register article, the Pork Producer's representative references the fact that their research shows that people believe pork lacks taste. Sounds like a problem that an advertising campaign, coupled with some education and sampling, could solve. Certainly a "it's tasty" is not a unique brand position.

Bottom line for me — they are fixing something that isn't broke. And in fact, are throwing away a huge organizational asset. And, worst of all — it's not going to solve their sales problem.

Has the “transparency craze” killed marketing?

June 9, 2010

One of my favorite TV commercials right now is for Chef Boyardee Ravioli. The family is sitting around the kitchen island, and the kid is happily eating his ravioli. The dad is reading the can and marveling that the ravioli actually is jam-packed with healthy ingredients.

As he tries to tell his wife this good news, demonstrating their tag line, "Obviously delicious, secretly nutritious" she keeps banging the hanging pots and pans with her wooden spoon, clearly not wanting the child to hear that the ravioli is good for him. (view the spot by clicking here)

The spot cracks me up. I laugh or at least grin every time I see it. And, I now know their tagline. But not once…I swear to you, not once did I actually think that they were a family. I knew they were actors. But the spot still worked.

Remember Madge? She wasn't really a manicurist. How about Mr. Whipple? He didn't really work at a grocery store.

So flash forward to 2010. Best selling author Jennifer Belle launches a new book and she wants to create some buzz. Authors understand that unless they're John Grisham, they need to take responsibility for a lot of their own marketing. And Belle did. She held auditions and hired 40 actresses to situate themselves all over New York City's high traffic areas and "read" her book, laughing hysterically.

This story hit the New York Post and the commenters were, for the most part, aghast and declared with indignation that they'd never buy her book now. Because she was, in essence, faking it.

So I'm curious about your take on this. Isn't much of traditional advertising "faking it" with actors? Do you think we tolerate it because we know it's fake whereas a woman on a subway laughing is in essence tricking us?

Do you think Belle's stunt was brilliant marketing or trickery? Would hearing this story impact your interest in her new book?

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From the mailbag: Non profit boards as the boss

June 7, 2010

As I think you know, one of the perks of my job is that I get to travel the globe, talking with conference/convention audiences about marketing, branding and social media. After a presentation, I take a lot of questions but invariably, I get a few via e-mail when I get home.

So…it occurred to me that since I am going to respond to the e-mail — I might as well share both the question and the answer here as well. Here's one I got this Spring…

Hi Drew-

I attended your session last week at the SMART Conference – one of the best ones I’ve attended in years because it’s had me thinking for days.

The question I wish I’d asked at the time (if I’d thought of it then…) is: most of the folks in the room work for nonprofit organizations and their boards of directors are their bosses. Are there special considerations or questions that should be asked of a board before undertaking social media? I don’t have to get my board’s permission about what I say when the Lions Club invites me to be their noon speaker, but they might feel entirely differently about something I post on the web linking to our website.

Looking forward to your answer!

And my reply:

Thanks for your question. I think it gets to a bigger picture issue, actually. Whether you work for a non profit (and deal with a board) or work for a for profit and deal with the C-suite — like with any marketing — you need a strategically thought through plan. So you wouldn’t or shouldn’t be doing anything via social media that would be a surprise to your board.

I would think your key messages and communications strategy (what to say to whom, etc.) would be the same.

One of my biggest worries when it comes to social media and how organizations use it is that they believe it should be this magical add on that is somehow separated from the rest of their marketing effort. I think it only works long term if it is woven into the rest of your communications plan. It's just another tactic, really.

That’s why I think it needs to be part of a larger communications plan — rather than a stand alone. Once management or a board understands the entire plan (with key messages etc) then they shouldn't care very much about HOW you get the message out. The vehicle becomes almost irrelevant (unless it's off target) and because they have confidence in the overall plan, their concerns about any tactic, including social media, are immediately reduced.

Did I answer your question? If not, let me know and I'll take another swing at it!

Thanks,

Drew

How would you have answered the question?

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Anonymous comments aren’t about the conversation at all

June 3, 2010

We need to take a stand on the idea of anonymous comments. And the stand is — they need to go away.

I think this problem has its roots in the newspaper industry. When they starting creating digital versions — they wanted to take advantage of the interactivity of the web. And in the newspaper industry — it's all about the numbers (subscribers, pass along rate, etc) so it's no surprise that they wanted a huge volume of comments as well.

No doubt, someone told them that people will comment with more frequency if you don't ask for their name or contact information so voila — the anonymous or the "use a nickname, not a real name" comment was born.

Sadly, this has seeped into blogs as well. And as more companies wade into the social media waters — many marketing types, looking to justify the time and efforts spent on the tools — point to the comment count with pride.

But what really are we counting?

I don't care if you're talking about a traditional newspaper's website or a blog — when you allow anonymous commenting, you disrespect the topic, the conversation and the readers.

These are not conversations — they are verbal vomit.

It's perfectly logical that the anonymity invites people to behave in ways they wouldn't if they had to identify themselves. And it swings to both ends of the spectrum. On the one hand — they're vicious in their personal attacks, cruel comments and judgments. On the flip side, they can completely bypass the topic all together in an attempt to get some link love/attention for their product or service.

So what do we do about it? We say no.

We write to our newspapers and ask them to actually be responsible for creating real conversations on their sites. By demanding, just like they do in their traditional letters to the editor section, that commenters be identified (and verified) by name and city.

In terms of social media — if you own a blog, fight back. Here are some of the things I've done to combat the problem:

Have a stated comment policy (see the visual above) that says you will delete anonymous comments
Actually delete them — even if they are relevant (you can e-mail the person and ask them to re-submit, using their name)
Close comments after 30 days (many of the back link seekers go into your archives to tuck key word rich comments where they think you'll ignore them)
Actually respond to the comments — you'll get lots more of them if people think they're not talking into a black hole

Whether it's someone calling themselves "MoonDog127" and ripping into someone based on a story in a digital newspaper or it's "Korean Wedding Dress" leaving 27 random comments on your blog — we need to recognize the conversation deserves better.

What do you think? Is there ever a place for anonymous commenting?

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