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Pick up your head (a marketing lesson from Maggie the mostly lab)

April 28, 2009

This past weekend, I took Maggie the mostly lab on a long walk along a wooded trail near my home. 

We had the trail to ourselves as it was a cold, gray day…with a steady drizzle.  As we walked, I couldn't help but notice that Maggie rarely looked up, her nose close to the ground as she sniffed with vigor, weaving back and forth. 

It occurred to me that we often do the same thing.  The pressures of work, juggling all the projects or clients, trying to squeeze in a little work/life balance etc. has us nose to the ground much of time. 

But as I observed Maggie on this walk, she clearly illustrated the dangers of that mindset.

You lose sight of what's going on around you:  On our walk, the trail was a hopping place.  Four deer, 2 rabbits (including the tiniest baby rabbit I have ever seen), a woodchuck and more birds and squirrels than I could count all literally ran right in front of us, crossing the trail.  Maggie didn't see one of them.  Think how different her walk experience would have been if she had.  (I'm pretty sure I saw one of the deer mocking Maggie to the other deer.)

How many times have we missed an opportunity because we were out of touch with what was going on around us, in our industry or maybe even in our own company?  Often times, those opportunities cross our paths once and then they're gone for good if we're not ready.

You step in things you wish you hadn't:  As we rounded a bend in the trail, Maggie was so oblivious, she walked right into a patch of pricker weeds.  She let out a yelp that was so loud, she spooked all the birds in the trees around us.

Admit it, you've been so absorbed in the minutia of the day, or in an internal political battle or worrying about losing your job that you've stepped in something pretty unpleasant too.  It's so easy to get sucked into our own heads or a project that we don't see we're stepping on a landmine, often with disastrous results.

You can go down the wrong path:  At one point in the walk, I decided just to see where Maggie would lead us.  Now, I am not suggesting she is a genius but we've walked this same trail many, many times.  But because she had her head down, she very quickly took us off the main trail, and into one of the neighborhoods surrounding the area.

We have to see the big picture to make good choices.  We need to know what our customers are saying, our competition is doing and how the marketplace is responding.  Without that, we're literally making decisions in the dark and can end up where we don't want to be.

Take it from Maggie and me.  Make some time on your calendar to step back and look around.  Don't let the day's tasks drag your head down too close to the ground. 

I'm curious — how do you balance the demands of the day with the need to keep your head up?

Time to start talking to dads in a different way

April 27, 2009

Right up front, I will admit my bias here.  I've always found the advertisements and shows that portray dads as the bumbling idiots to be pretty insulting.  I think it demeans how dedicated many men are to their kids and being a good dad.

It's not that we can't laugh at ourselves, but from a marketing point of view — I may find it funny but I sure don't see myself in the portrayal.  So if you want to amuse me…have at it.  If you want me to buy something, you'd better find a different avenue.

That's why I found this recent study from the nonprofit Families and Work Institute (FWI) so fascinating.  What the study suggests is that men are now feeling the same pressures to balance their lives and that pressure is causing a lot of stress. 

It suggests that perhaps it's time for marketers to re-think how they target and talk to men.  I'm curious what you think…do you think this sort of study gives us new insights?  Or do you think marketing is ahead of the research and we already knew this?

Here's some of the study's data and analysis.

The study traces the trends in men’s and women’s attitudes and actions over the past three decades, reveals that changing gender roles have significantly and specifically increased the overall level of work-life conflict experienced by men, from 34% in 1977 to 45% in 2008. On the other hand, the rise in women’s work-life conflict, which increased from 34% in 1977 to 39% in 2008, has been less dramatic and is not statistically significant.

Fathers in dual-earner couples are spending more time with their children but are experiencing more work life conflict than mothers. In 1977, 35% reported experiencing some or a lot of conflict. In 2008, that figure has risen to 59%. The level of conflict experienced by mothers in dual-earner families has not changed much during that time period (41% in 1977 and 45% in 2008).

Working Women Can Be Good Mothers

Greater proportions of both men and women agree that employed women can be good mothers, the study found. In 1977, 49% of men agreed (strongly or somewhat) that a mother who works outside the home can have just as good a relationship with her children as a mother who does not work. Today, 67% agree. From 1977 to 2008, the percentage of women agreeing moved from 71% in to 80%. Both men and women who grew up with employed mothers have greater acceptance of working mothers than those whose mothers did not work outside the home.

Fathers Spend More Time with Kids

Employed fathers, especially Millennials, are spending more time with children today than their age counterparts did three decades ago, while employed mothers’ time has not changed significantly. On average, employed fathers of all ages spend 3.0 hours per workday with children under 13 today compared with 2.0 hours in 1977. For employed mothers of all ages, time spent with children has remained at 3.8 hours. Today’s Millennial fathers spend 4.3 hours per workday compared with the 2.4 hours spent by their age counterparts in 1977. Mothers under 29 today average 5.0 hours compared with 4.5 hours in 1977.

Men also say they are taking more overall responsibility for the care of their children. In 1992, 21% of women said that their spouses or partners were taking as much or more responsibility for the care of their children as they were. By 2008, that percentage has risen to 31%.

Interestingly, FWI noted, 49% of men report taking as much or more responsibility for the children as their wives, indicating a perception gap.

The report states that the gradual increase of women in the labor force over the past half century, combined with various work life trends and economic pressures, has resulted in a shrinking gap between how men and women view their careers, family roles, and the fit between their lives on and off the job.

“Our findings are striking and surprising,” said Ellen Galinsky, president and co-founder of FWI and lead author of the study. “There are many firsts in this study – the first time that younger men and women feel the same about job advancement and the first time that there is no statistically significant difference between men and women in their views of appropriate gender roles.”

You can read the whole report:  “Times Are Changing: Gender and Generation at Work and At Home,” (pdf) examines the evolution of work-related gender roles over the past three decades.

What would your pep talk be about?

April 26, 2009

There's an interesting project brewing.  Phillipe De Ridder has invited bloggers to think about 2009 so far and share their views.  In his words…

Let’s all share our views on 2009 up until now. What is your advice to the world? Which projects have surprised/disappointed you so far (in your industry or in general)? Are people motivated enough to start new projects? Which solutions can innovation bring?

I'll be joining in on the fun.  I'd love your thoughts on the state of branding, marketing etc. in the year 2009.  What's your half-time report?

If you'd like to join the project, you can get more info on Phillipe's site.

Stories stick and sell

April 26, 2009

Stories are a part of our lives from the time we're babies. 

• Dad read stories to us at bed time. 
• Mom tells us the story of the little boy who bumped his head because he didn't put on his seat belt. 
• Grannie's stories about growing up and getting her first TV set teaches us about innovation.
• Papa regals us with his tale of how his stage kiss brought down the house in high school connects our generational passion for theater.

Then, we get to school.  In just about every class we are taught via stories.  Whether it's a history lesson wrapped up in the Gold Rush, a humanities study woven into haunting Holocaust stories, or a sociology primer on how people around the globe practice their religion — school is filled with stories.

When we date…what do we do to learn about the other person?  Exactly….we tell stories.  Whether they're sad, funny, heartwarming or ego-boosting — human beings teach and learn via stories.

Recognizing all of that, doesn't it make sense that we would use stories in our marketing?  The truth is…the tactic is already all around us.  Jared is thin, thanks to Subway.  eHarmony couples want you to be as happy as they are,and average Joe John Erlendson wants you to know that Lipitor is keeping his heart healthy.

Dandy…you're sold.  You now believe that stories can help you strengthen your brand, sell more and reinforce your customers' buying decision.

Now what?

Creating stories to use in your marketing, especially if you are going to use real customers, is no small task.  Fortunately, there's a book out to help.  Casey Hibbard has written Stories that Sell, which is literally a step-by-step playbook of how to create incredibly powerful marketing tools from customer stories.

In the book, Hibbard covers everything from planning the campaign, to finding the best stories (even stories you didn't know about), getting your customers to say yes to letting you tell their story, and how to create compelling stories that really stick.  There are 9 steps in all and she explains each one in detail so you can't possibly go astray.

This is a very practical and yet inspiring book.  You'll read it and know with confidence that you can hunt down the right stories and create amazing marketing materials from them.

Want even better news?  I have three signed copies to give away. Just leave a comment and we'll randomly select three lucky winners!

In the meantime…how are you using stories today in your marketing?  Or, how would you like to?

Let’s meet our free logo winner…Colfax Main Street

April 24, 2009

Image via Wikipedia

As you will recall, thanks to an offer from LogoInn, I was able to offer one lucky reader/company a free logo.  After accepting entries for about a week, we eventually selected Colfax Main Street as our winner.

We're going to go through the entire process here on the blog, so everyone can learn along.  Here's what's happened so far.

• We talked about 5 tips for designing a new logo
• Announced the contest and gave the rules
• Shared a creative brief, with questions you should ask yourself before you start a new logo process

And now, in this next phase…we have Colfax Main Street's answers to the creative brief.  You'll notice my commentary in blue.  Hang in there, it's long but there's lots of good learning in here.

Logo Inn’s Creative Brief:

Your company name:  Colfax Main Street

Describe your business (your product or service):  Colfax Main Street is a nonprofit organization that is focused on economic development within the context of historic preservation.  We are in the process of applying to become a Main Street Iowa community with the Iowa Department of Economic Development.  Here is the link to the Main Street Iowa web site: 
http://www.iowalifechanging.com/community/mainstreetiowa/index.html

Website address:  We have just purchased domains for Colfax Main Street: COLFAXMAINSTREET.COM, COLFAXMAINSTREET.NET, COLFAXMAINSTREET.ORG.  As of today, we do not have our web site up and running.  The Colfax Chamber of Commerce has a web site:  COLFAXIOWACHAMBER.COM.  We also purchased COLFAXIOWA.ORG.

Who’s your target audience:  Our target audience is just about anybody – all ages, all demographics.  We want to attract people to our downtown, get them to spend time downtown, invest, open a business, shop, or come to events.  People who appreciate small town charm and an easygoing lifestyle.

Here's our first sign of potential trouble.  No business, organization, product or service can target everyone.  If the people at Colfax Main Street don't know what kind of people are drawn to living, shopping or potentially living in a small community in Iowa — they need to narrow that down.  Fortunately, there are enough question in the creative brief to help us narrow the focus — at least for the logo.

What colors do you require in the logo?  We are open to many color schemes.  However, we prefer not to use orange and blue together since that is the local school colors it seems to be overused.  Additionally, other towns in the area seem to use a lot of blue.  We would prefer not to use blue.  We also do not want to use pastels.  Many color combinations would work including bold earth tones. 

Do you have any preference for you logo regarding image and text style?  We are looking for a font that is graceful, classic, possibly scripted, easy to read from a distance, and appears to have a “casual elegance.” 

Language you require in logo?  Colfax Main Street

Any additional thoughts?  We would like to incorporate our mineral water heritage in our logo, possibly through the use of the Mineral Springs Gazebo.

Okay…potential trouble spot #2.  The Gazebo is way too detailed and specific to include in a logo.  They might be able to do something with the mineral water idea…but remember, logos do not have to be this literal.  Using an architectural element from the gazebo might also be an option.  But…we're going for feel rather than literal visuals.

My additional questions:

What, if anything, are you using for a logo now?  We are currently using the below logo, Take Pride Where You Reside.  This is the name of our committee that is applying for Main Street.  Take Pride was a temporary committee that was set up following a Downtown Assessment from the Iowa Department of Economic Development.

If you have a current logo, why are you looking to change it?  The current logo is not reflective of the direction we are heading as a group.  Take Pride Where You Reside has been used for over a year as we completed various projects in town.  Now, we are moving forward combining Take Pride Where You Reside, Colfax Economic Development, Colfax Chamber of Commerce and the Colfax Visioning Committee into one group called Colfax Main Street.  Colfax Main Street will follow the Main Street 4 point approach that is used by other Main Street communities across the country.

What word/words need to be included in your logo?  Colfax Main Street.

Who is your competition?  How are you different from them?  Our competition is other Iowa towns, possibly Des Moines, Altoona, and Newton since they are close in proximity.  We want people to work in Colfax, shop in Colfax, play in Colfax and live in Colfax.  We are different from our competition because we are a small quaint charming town.  We are not an urban strip mall community.

What is your brand promise/tagline? How do you bring that to life?  An unofficial brand promise/tagline that we are using for Colfax Main Street is a “community partnership.”  In the past, Colfax used, “a pleasant blend of town and country.”  Since our organization is so new, we have not formalized a brand promise/tagline yet.

What are your organization’s values/mission?  Our mission is to bring life to our downtown through historic preservation and economic development.  We are a new group with fresh ideas and we want to have fun along the way.

What words would people use to describe your organization/city BEFORE their first visit (in other words-what do they think/believe before they visit)?  Small, bedroom community, aging population, rough, dirty, mineral water.

What words would people use to describe your organization/city AFTER their first visit (in other words-what do they think/believe after they visit)?  Changing, something is different in Colfax, quaint, surprising, historic, mineral water.

Are there any iconic places, elements of architecture, design elements, landmarks that make Colfax unique?  Mineral Springs Gazebo, trees, historic architecture of buildings – bricks, Teen Challenge of the Midlands/Hotel Colfax, Monroe Folding Tables Company, Sale Barn, historic style light posts, Women’s Club Park/Anspach stage is craftsman style.

Which of these words is a better fit for your brand?   Techno or Active.  Active.  Absolutely, not techno!

Which of these words is a better fit for your brand?   Warm or Progressive.  Progressive. 

Which of these words is a better fit for your brand?   Old Fashioned or Modern.  Old Fashioned.  We believe we are a new twist on the old, but not modern.

Which of these words is a better fit for your brand?   High End or Cost Effective.  Cost Effective. We believe our brand is casual, easy going, but not cheap.  We are not aiming to compete with the Jordan Creek Town Center (a high end mall in Des Moines)

Which of these words is a better fit for your brand?   Night Life or Early Morning.  Both.  We have promotional events in the evening, but the town is also busy early in the morning with businesses opening, people having breakfast, children going to school and people having coffee.

Here's an example of potential confusion.  When I said night life…I am thinking big city, lots of people on the streets until 1-2 am sort of night life.  But the Colfax people interpreted it as having events in the evening.  Neither is right or wrong.  But you have to be very careful in the language you use to describe elements in the logo design process.

Who would have no interest in your city/brand?  People who are against any sort of change.  People who are looking for a very urban, high tech experience.

Are there any color no no’s?  Image no no’s?  If only a two color combination is used, we would prefer not to use orange and blue.  Also, we do not want to use pastels.

Competitors' marks.  (colors, shapes, concepts, ideas are already being used in the marketplace). 

 Where will the logo appear/primary usage -how will you use it?  The logo will appear on all banners, letterhead, window displays, printed on t-shirts, etc. 

Any other production considerations (must work extremely small, or will be usually be reproduced in single color etc.)?  It will be reproduced frequently in black and white.  It must work very small and very big. 

Additional Thoughts from Colfax Main Street: 

• We would prefer something that is timeless and classic.  We want to stay away from the circles used above in the Newtown Development Corporation and Altoona Chamber logo.
• Colfax is famous for mineral water.  There were many, many mineral bottling companies in Colfax in the late 1800’s.  People traveled from Europe to come Colfax to take in the healing mineral waters.  There were many hotels in town for the over two trainfuls of people who arrived daily.  There was even a local trolley car to help transport people to the Hotel Colfax.
• Colfax is also the boyhood home of James Norman Hall, author of Mutiny on the Bounty.
• Colfax also has coal mining as part of its history.

There you have it….now we will see what LogoInn comes up with….stay tuned!

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