Current Affairs Archives - Page 10 of 14 - McLellan Marketing Group

JetBlue goes bold and delivers on their brand

February 20, 2007

We’ve all seen the news stories, outlining JetBlue’s woes in the NE part of the US this past week. I don’t know about you, but I just chalked it up to the airlines industry and their seemingly endless distain for their customers.

So I have to say, JetBlue’s Founder and CEO David Neeleman’s announcement of their new Customer Bill of Rights surprised me. Why? Because it actually has teeth. Real consequences for real customer problems.

Listen to how Neeleman’s set the stage for the release of the Bill of Rights.

The actual Bill of Rights is lengthy (Download Bill_Of_Rights.pdf) but here are some of my favorite guarantees:

If your flight is delayed (prior to scheduled departure) longer than 4 hours gets you a voucher in the amount of your ticket.
If you get bumped from a flight because they overbooked it — you get $1,000. Cash.

All of that is really great, but what I love most about what they did was issue an apology. It starts like this:

Dear JetBlue Customers,

We are sorry and embarrassed. But most of all, we are deeply sorry.

Really, when someone messes up, isn’t that what you need and want to hear? The combination of the sincere apology, the explanation of how it will be different and the guarantee of how it will be handled in the future is a pretty potent punch. I have to say — bravo JetBlue.

By the way, this is all retroactive. It’s going to cost JetBlue about $30 million just to compensate those who got caught up in last week’s mess.

So what do you think will happen next? Will the other airlines react at all? Will JetBlue re-gain the confidence of their customers?

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Tell your story

February 20, 2007

You might remember a post in mid-December talking about how McLellan Marketing Group and some MMG friends (see here for the complete list) were banding together to adopt a charity for an entire year. We’re promising over $75,000 worth of services and goods.

Let me bring you up to date.

We received over 50 applications
It took a couple weeks to wade through them all
It was incredibly difficult to choose. Without exception — each charity is doing amazing work and changing their corner of the world.

So in the end, how did we choose the 2007 recipient of the Charity of Choice grant? All the applicants gave us the information we asked for. They provided financials, letters of reference, board lists, possible conflicts. But the winner did something beyond that.

They told us stories. They allowed us to "meet" the kids that they served. They brought the facts and figures to life. We could envision how this charity changed lives. And how we could be a part of that.

There’s a lesson in their wisdom for all of us. Don’t get so bogged down in the facts that you forget to tell the story. That’s where the sale will be made.

We’ll be using YESS and our work together as a living marketing lab here on Drew’s Marketing Minute so stay tuned. And don’t be surprised if I ask for your opinion now and then. I’d be stupid not to take advantage of your brains!

Read more about the selection Download yess1.pdf

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Everyone’s a twitter about Twitter

February 19, 2007

Twitter, by their own FAQ definition is "a community of friends and strangers from around the world sending updates about moments in their lives."

After watching it for a week or so, I decided to give it a try, as you can see in the right hand column of this blog. Like it or not, you will now be able to peek into the deep and dark recesses of my mind. Best tie a rope around your waist so you can pull yourself out when you’ve had enough!

What value does it bring? Why does it matter? Why would I add it to my world?

I can’t tell you yet, because I don’t know. There is something incredibly interesting to me about sharing both the mundane and the monumental moments that, in a flash, are gone.

When I did a Google blog search, I discovered that lots of people have already been talking about twitter. So I thought I’d give you a snippet of their perspectives.

David Armano (Logic + Emotion) wonders if Twitter will be polluted by product placement.
Kathy Sierra (Creating Passionate Users) who makes the argument that our brains just can’t take much more.
Robert Scoble (Scobleizer) is all about maxing his Twitter contact list.

And that’s just the tip of the iceberg. You can also go here, here or here.

From a personal perspective — it’s almost like having a secret friend you can whisper to. Of course, you need to remember that your secret friend is a blabbermouth and anyone can listen in.

From a marketing perspective — what do you think it says? I wonder if it is more evidence of how, in this uber connected world, many people feel even less connected and less heard. Or perhaps it means our blended obsession with technology and instant gratification has taken on a whole new level.

What do you think it means?

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The secret is out — blogging conference in Chicago!

February 18, 2007

We’re having a Successful-Blog conference in Chicago and you are cordially invited.

This conference has been designed especially for relationship bloggers. The way this came together is quite unusual. Some might even call it remarkable Four separate groups of people, independent of each other, had the idea of having a Chicago event that drew from the community of Successful-Blog. We got the four groups together and made it happen!

Interactive presentations on publishing, design and branding, tools, analytics, social networking, marketing, and coaching — all from the perspectives of the relationship blogger and the audience.

You can register for the conference here. And better hurry — we’ve only got 250 slots!

Speakers include:

Phil Gerbyshak, Make It Great!

Liz Strauss, Successful Blog

David Armano, Logic + Emotion

Terry Starbucker, Ramblings from a Glass Half-Full

Rodney Rumford, Podblaze

BenYoskovitz, Instigator Blog

Drew McLellan, Drew’s Marketing Minute

Chris Cree, Success CREEations

Scott Rafer, MyBlogLog

Janice Myint, Technorati

Wendy Piersall, emomsathome

The conference will kick off with Christine Kane’s special brand of music.

Come join in the conversation! I can’t wait to meet you!

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Psst, it’s a secret!

February 18, 2007

It’s going to be worth the wait…12 hours before I can tell! Check back for details.

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Hey raving fans, STOP promoting my product!

February 13, 2007

There are very few products that have emerged in my lifetime that have captured the marketplace as pervasively and quickly as the iPod.

It seems like just about everyone, from man to moose owns and loves their iPod.

Owners spend hours and millions of dollars (via iTunes) to craft custom playlists that are the embodiment of a mood, a relationship, a favorite activity or a phase in their lives.

Which must make Apple giddy.

So here’s the puzzler.

In Des Moines, a local and "in" bar called the The Lift has been hosting iPod Mondays for the past two years. Bar patrons bring their iPods and get to play DJ for 15 minutes, while they share one of their favorite playlists.

Let’s look at the ingredients of this:

Everyone at the event either owns or is surrounded by the iPod and participating in an event that highlights how much fun the product is.
To create a playlist, most users are going to spend money at iTunes.
Over two years, people have bonded over a product they love — and bring new people every week.
The "in" bar is endorsing the product and producing advertising that touts it.

In a very "Microsoft-like action" Apple representatives contacted the bar and told them that their event and the associated website were a violation of Apple’s trademark guidelines.

What is happening at Apple? Why aren’t they offering to sponsor this event? Sending prizes and free download coupons? Why isn’t Apple paying the Lift a brilliant idea fee and taking this to bars across the country?

What happened to the organization with the incredible sense of grassroots marketing and community building?

Read the Des Moines Register story — Download ipodmonday.pdf

Photo courtesy of Stumpy Moose.

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Niche publications going wiki!

February 12, 2007

Meredith Corporation, publisher of magazines as mainstream as Ladies Home Journal, Better Homes & Garden, Parents and Family Circle also has an entire division of special interest or niche magazines aimed at very segmented audiences.

These titles include Diabetic Living, Decorating, Kitchen & Bath Ideas and over 200 additional magazines aimed at women particularly honing in on homebuilding, remodeling, decorating, gardening, crafts and cooking.

They access and influence over 75 million women with their titles. That’s a lot of power and because of the narrow focus of each title — a lot of passion.

Meredith announced today that it has signed a contract with Wetpaint to create a series of Wikis for its company’s most popular special interest magazines and Web sites.

The first Wiki to launch will be Scrapbooks etc.

So what do you think? How will this influence circulation? Advertising dollars?

Do you think this strategy would work as well in a more mainstream magazine like Time or People?

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Want to be princess for a day?

February 12, 2007

Talk about brilliant branding…and they get us to do all the work!

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Do you want a 340 lb exercise instructor?

February 8, 2007

…or…

Last week, The Wall Street Journal wrote an article about a new exercise (Nordic Walking) that targets the "less than fit." Part of the effort to lure the couch potatoes and non-athletic type people into an exercise class is to have overweight instructors lead the group.

In the article one of the instructors, the 340 lb. Donna Mirabile, explains the tactic as "we want people to think if big fat Donna can do it, so can they."

Hmm.

Now the politically correct answer of course, is…it doesn’t matter how much she weighs. And maybe it doesn’t.

But I find myself wondering if this isn’t a case of someone marketing based on what they wish people thought/wanted rather than either recognizing or wanting to acknowledge the not so flattering human truth. (Sort of like the recycling movement.)

I get the whole before and after technique that is rampant in weight loss marketing. They show a picture of "big fat Donna" and then we see the after version "svelte, sexy Donna" while she tells us she could still eat chocolate. The premise of these ads is to encourage the mental leap — if Donna can transform herself, so can I.

But if "big fat Donna" is leading the class and she is still "big fat Donna" does that imply that you’re going to stay "big fat you?"

Be honest — both women are friendly, kind, love animals. But one is fit and one is fat. Who would you, as a consumer, want to take the exercise class from?

Do you think it matters, from a marketing perspective?

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Duh!

February 1, 2007

Long story short…(read about it here or Download adageTurner.pdf here) The Turner Network and a New York marketing firm Interference launched a 10-city outdoor marketing campaign for its film "Aqua Teen Hunger Force Colon Movie Film for Theatres" involving small circuit boxes labeled with the characters scattered across the streets of Boston; New York; Los Angeles; Chicago; Atlanta; Seattle; Portland, Ore.; Austin, Texas; San Francisco; and Philadelphia.

The boxes have lights and wires sticking out of them. Can you say "bomb?"

They shut down a huge section of Boston because, again…can you say "bomb scare?" Boston’s bomb squad was scrambling around the city, detonating and removing the devices.

I am sure some people will applaud the disruptive ploy. They’ll point to the fact that we’re all writing about it, it played on major network news and the name of the movie is top of mind.

Frankly — I don’t care. Somewhere along the way, we have to put ethics ahead of getting our clients some buzz.

In our post 9-11 world, this gimmick was just irresponsible. You do not throw a city into panic mode to promote a movie. You do not tie up valuable, life-saving resources on a stunt. You do not earn buzz by creating fear and worry.

And, while others will pass this off as "oh, we had no idea it would create this reaction" I think that’s bull. You would have to be an adult with the IQ of of 13 to not consider that your antics might trigger exactly what happened in Boston.

Today, I am embarrassed for our profession. We look like what we are often accused of being — slick manipulators who don’t care how we get our message out.

For another take, read Ann Handley’s post over at Marketing Profs Daily Fix.

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