Marketing Archives - Page 25 of 67 - McLellan Marketing Group

Social media tip #22: Do not overshare just because you can

July 5, 2010

This is one of the toughest marketing truths to swallow. Just because we have all these ways to connect — does not mean your audience wants to hear from you every hour. You're just not that interesting .

Check out this e-mail I got from a reader. Pay particular attention to the 4th paragraph:

"Perhaps you could write about how some people engage is relentless posts on LinkedIn–like once an hour, yet say absolutely nothing. I have a LinkedIn connection who works for a major ad agency here in Des Moines, touting himself as an advertising phenomenon, and always shows up #1 on my LinkedIn page every time I log on.

I have to confess that I don't tweet and can't be bothered with it. I am far from being alone in this, by the way. So his blurbs show up and they are mostly gobbledy-gook. Sometimes I click on them thinking they might lead me somewhere interesting, but they don't go anywhere.

So I emailed him saying I would like to be able to see what he has to say at a glance since he's a permanent presence at #1 in my LinkedIn hit parade. Maybe he could be clearer. He didn't answer, but I noticed he didn't post anything for several hours. When he did, he was slightly clearer. Then the more he posted, the more he went back to saying nothing.

So I decided just to hide his posts permanently so I didn't have to be bothered any more. Interestingly, I couldn't figure out how to reactivate someone's post once I turn off their lights. I suspect my reaction was the opposite effect he was attempting to have on people.

Goodbye ad genius–out of sight and out of mind."

Not only are you boring people if you blather on and on — but you gain a reputation for being all talk. Is that really why you're investing all that effort?

There's a whole lot of "talking at" someone going on in all forms of marketing — traditional and digital. It's a lot easier to just fire off a statistic, fact or link than it is to actually have a conversation, ask a question or connect with someone.

Confident that you're not guilty? Check yourself against these:

Are you tweeting, updating your Facebook status or LinkedIn account multiple times a day — spouting resources but never connecting with the people listening?

Do you only Facebook message people when you are having a sale, holding an event or in some other self-serving way? (Oh…and do you do that in a mass msg sort of way?)

Do you always initiate Twitter, LinkedIn or Facebook conversations — as opposed to joining in someone else's? (In other words…do you only care about what you want to talk about?)

Remember — it's the cocktail party rule of social media that earns credibility and respect online. And no one wants to hang out at a cocktail party with someone who can't shut up about themselves!

Photo courtesy of Shutterstock.com

Copywriting tip #91: Can you say it a different way?

June 28, 2010

One of the maxims of marketing is repetition. Maybe that's why most ad copy sounds the same. Everyone seems to take the same spin on the product or service…and end up sounding a bit "me too" when all is said and done.

Take the idea of encouraging seat belt usage. For years we've seen the test dummies slammed into dashboards and front windows. We've had traffic fatality statistics scroll by and we've been shown mournful family members express their loss.

Nothing wrong with any of it…it's just been done to death. Which is why this commercial is so powerful. Watch it and then I'll tell you the back story. (e-mail subscribers…click here to view)

Pretty impactful — wasn't it? An independent director in the UK, Daniel Cox, got the idea for this spot and went to the Sussex Safer Roads Partnership and proposed his idea. They let him shoot the spot and because of its completely different approach — it has become a worldwide sensation…and very effective in delivering the seat belt message.

Not only has the YouTube video been viewed over 9 million times, but the spot has always garnered significant news coverage, including this story on CNN.

So…. how do we create the same impactful, fresh kind of copy writing/concepting? We ask different questions and we view the "problem" from different points of view.

Try some of these on for size:

Put the message in the middle of the "table" and walk around it. Identify different people who would have a perspective on it. What might they say? (Listen carefully to their choice of words)
What would the problem (product, service) say if it could talk?
If you had to play charades…how would you act out the problem (product/service)

Being creative and fresh isn't a fluke. It's hard work. Perhaps because it's so difficult — it's rare. Which is why we are so enamored when it happens!

Share the Embrace Life spot with those you love… what better way to ask them to buckle up?

Hat tip to my Dad for sharing the spot with me!

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?

Trends shaping 2010: Dang it, we’re getting old!

March 15, 2010

Back in December, I wrote about some of the trends that would be influencing all of our businesses in 2010. I thought it might be helpful to look at some of these trends a bit more closely.

Let's dig into the trend that we've actually been anticipating for the past several years. After all, we've known that the baby boomers are such a huge group — there's no way their crossing into the 65+ category wouldn't throw our society a curve.Look at these facts:

By 2020, people over 65 worldwide will outnumber children under the age of 5 for the first time.
By 2020, 22% of western civilization will be 65+.
The ratio of workers to retirees will continue to fall. Today it’s 3:1. By 2030, it will be just over 2:1.

So what does that mean for all of us?

Shifting away from our youth focus :

For so long, mass marketing has been all about the young. As this trend takes hold, marketers are going to shift their attention to those boomers. Remember, this group of seniors is tech savvy, active and has quite a bit of disposable income. Even products that are typically designed for the youth market will be aimed at seniors, like motorbikes and technology.

Simplified, smarter products :

We've already seen companies like Jitterbug simplifying technology for a senior's physical limitations and that's just the beginning. Now, there's going to be a huge new market for smarter products that accommodate senior's needs.

For example, there are canes and walkers being created with GPS technology built right in. Wonder what will be next?

Subtle safety products:

This era of seniors isn't ready to slow down or think of themselves as elderly. Most of them are still quite active and aren't going to see themselves as someone who needs to be taken care of. But let's face it, as we get older — we need a little assistance.

Ford and other car manufacturers are working on technology that can detect if the driver is getting drowsy (a major cause of car accidents with seniors behind the wheel). As soon as the car senses the driver is not alert, it automatically lowers the temperature in the vehicle to wake up the driver.

Here's another one — Thermador is developing a stove top that automatically shuts off as soon as the pot is lifted off the burner.

New problems/opportunities brought on by the volume:

In the good old days, when someone got a little older, their family rallied around and took care of them. But with families scattered across the land and with fewer offspring per family — many boomers are going to be on their own.

3 of the 10 industries with the fastest employment growth are tied to this trend.

Home healthcare
Elderly and disabled services
Community care facilities

There are also all kinds of senior concierge companies cropping up. They'll do everything from take someone to the doctor and take notes, to putting up your Christmas decorations or running errands.

How can you take advantage of this?

That's the real question. As with all trends the question is not whether or not they're true but what we're going to do when they come to pass. How can your business capitalize on what's coming? How can you be come indispensable to this huge market?

My language is just grating!

January 15, 2010

I've noticed something that's been quite prevalent in my writing of late. The word "great." Apparently I think just about everything is great.

Lazy is what that's all about.

Lazy writing is boring writing. It's not juicy. My words aren't caressing a darn thing. Lazy is not memorable, quotable or even mildly noteworthy. No matter what the subject — word choice matters.

So….

First, I apologize that I've been serving up lazy word choices. You deserve better.

Second, 2010 is going to be the year of juicy language. Now I am not going over the deep end. Every sentence is not going to be jam packed with gooey adjectives just because I know how to mine a thesaurus. But, I am going to be much more attentive to making conscious word choices.

And third…on the hunch that your writing might have a dash of lazy in it as well, here's a writing exercise for all of us. Come on…it's time to do a bit of stretching.

Flip through a magazine and find a photo that catches your eye. Once you've selected your photo, simply look at it and do the following three exercises.

The warm up: List 25 adjectives that describe the photo. Don't censor or judge. The obvious ones will pour out first but notice how you have to push to get to 25. Is the 24th one better than the 2nd one?

The workout: Create a business analogy from the photo. What might it say about anything from your industry to leadership to social media? The point is to see beyond the obvious and see a hidden meaning inside the image you selected.

The cool down: What is the perfect word that captures either the meaning or the mood of the photo. A single word. No cheating.

Whether you are a copywriter day in and day out, a business owner who crafts an occasional flier or an exec who writes 10 e-mails and memos a day…your audience deserves your best words. Get out there and and be great! (Just kidding….)

Photo courtesy of Shutterstock.com

Marketing Minute gets some ink!

January 9, 2010

It's always very gratifying when this blog gets an "atta boy" for the content and the conversation.

Many thanks to all of you who contribute to the lively discussion down in the comments section.

The accolades are as much yours as they are mine!

The Top 50 Entrepreneur Marketing Blogs to Watch in 2010!

The Top 150 Social Media Marketing Influencers

Daily Reviewer's top 100 Content Marketing blogs

Junta42 — top 42 content marketing blogs

Photo Courtesy of Shutterstock.com

What’s your marketing lagniappe?

December 28, 2009

My blogging buddy Stan Phelps has always preached the word of having a "marketing lagniappe." He wrote about it in a guest post back in April and now he's decided to write a book on the topic.

In short, lagniappe (pronounced lan-yap) is a creole word, originating in Louisiana and literally translated means 'the gift.'' It refers to a small unexpected extra gift or benefit presented by a store owner to a customer at the time of purchase. The people of Louisiana have embraced the term and have broadened the definition to include any time a little something extra is given.

Stan's point is that every company should have some lagniappe in their culture, brand and marketing efforts.

Here's the recipe for creating a marketing lagniappe:

Here are the four main ingredients:

Unexpected – the extra benefit or gift should be a surprise. It is something thrown in for good measure. Think 'surprise and delight'.
Relevant – the item or benefit should be of value to the recipient. Make sure that the item or service is a true benefit. It shouldn't be a one size fits all proposition.
Unique – if it's a small token or gift, try to select something that's rare, hard to find or unique to your business.
Authentic – many times it comes down to the gesture. It becomes more about 'how' it is given, as opposed to 'what' is given. The small gift or extra communicates that you care about your client and you appreciate their patronage.

Let me give you a few examples from the McLellan Marketing Group culture:

Fresh baked cookies: If you come to a meeting at MMG, you're going to be served warm (fresh from the oven) M&M cookies. An added dash of double lagniappe — the M&Ms in the cookies are only the three colors (purple, green & orange) from the MMG logo.

Who Loves Ya Baby Day? For years, we've had an internal celebration for Valentine's Day called Who Loves Ya Baby Day (think Telly Savalas for those of you old enough to remember Kojak). Now — we share that celebration with our MMG clients. On Valentine's Day — each client receives a special Valentine's treat with a note from us — telling them how much we love them. Yup — love them. If we don't love them, we don't want to work with them.

Charity Adoption: Every year, as an agency we put out an RFP (last year we have over 50 applicants) and adopt a charity for an entire year. We ask some of our vendors to join us and in total, the charity will receive over $100,000 of marketing counsel, design, help and stuff.

Marketing lagniappes can't be artificially manufactured. They need to come from the heart (see #4 from the list above). It's about actually wanting to go above and beyond. It works because it's genuine.

Stan is looking for some examples to put in his book. And I'm betting that many of the Marketing Minute readers (that's you!) have either done or seen some great examples of marketing lagniappe.

Check out this PPT presentation (be sure to watch the short video embedded in the middle as well) and then if you have some examples — reach out to Stan and share.

Marketing Lagniappe – "In Search of Your Purple Goldfish"

View more documents from Stan Phelps.

Why not tell the world what you're up to? Or give someone else some props for their marketing lagniappe? And as you've been reading this, if you've realized that you can't point to something that you're doing to give that "little gift" — I'm hoping that's making you feel a little uncomfortable.

If you won't make your clients feel special and appreciated…someone else will.

Meanwhile…why not tell us here in the comments the best marketing lagniappe you've ever received? I'd love to hear some!

P.S. By the way…I think you can and should have some marketing lagniappe tricks up your sleeve for your employees as well.

Image courtesy of shutterstock.com

5 marketing lessons from Rudolph

December 23, 2009

We've sung the song, teared up at the movie…but have we really considered what marketing messages are woven into the classic Christmas story — Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer?

I think not. So let's correct that mistake right now. (And enjoy the film's original trailer)

Marketing lesson #1: You can't hide the truth.

Rudolph did not embrace the fact that he was different from all the other reindeer. He just wanted to have a cute little black nose and the chance to play some reindeer games.

You can fool people for a little while, but if you cannot walk the talk…don't say it in the first place. Your consumers know you're not perfect. They just want you to be straight about it.

Marketing lesson #2: Never make assumptions about how your consumers feel. Far better to ask directly.

One of the main reasons Rudolph took a hike was because he assumed Clarice wouldn't love him now that his nose so bright was common knowledge. Think of the grief he could have saved everyone if he had just checked in with her.

You are going to be hard pressed to find a more insightful marketing tool than a customer survey. Sometimes the news is tough to hear, but I guarantee you — you can make some simple changes to significantly increase your customer loyalty and retention.

Marketing lesson #3: Your worst enemy can turn into your greatest ally.

Sure…the Abominable SnowMonster (or The Bumble as Yukon Cornelius called him) tried to eat his girlfriend but Rudolph came to see him as a buddy — even letting him put the star atop the Christmas tree. All it took was someone (Hermey the elf) listening to the Bumble and finding his pain (tooth ache) to turn the grumbling beast into a helpful and happy pal.

When someone clearly dislikes or even hates your company, product or services' shortcomings, listen. If you really work towards understanding their perspective — you can not only save the relationship but you can turn that negative word of mouth risk into an advocate.

Marketing lesson #4: Create raving fans and a community by giving first.

Rudolph didn't have to promise the Misfit Toys anything. At that moment, they couldn't help him. But with a generous heart, he promised them he'd try to find them good homes with children who would love them.

When you do something without regard for "re-payment" of any kind, you create value. When you create value…people keep coming back. When they do that, you begin to build a relationship and a sense of loyalty and no one has even tried to buy or sell yet. Which makes the selling a whole lot easier.

Marketing lesson #5: When you find what makes you unique, it can be your ticket to new heights.

When Rudolph began to see his nose as an asset and recognized it was what set him apart from all the other reindeer, he suddenly got asked by Santa to take a leadership position. From then on, it was his calling card. People told others about his nose and pretty soon, he was known from coast to coast. That's branding!

Companies like Apple and Disney rise to the top because they are proud of what makes them different. They don't try to be everything to everyone. They recognize that having a niche means you can create brand loyalty as opposed to being lost in a sea of sameness.

(A fond repeat of a post I wrote in 2007)

Are you good enough to even try it?

December 18, 2009

I've been both hustling and bustling to get my Christmas shopping done. One of the items I have purchased at many different retailers is a gift card. I'm guessing most of you have bought more than one this holiday season so you know how easy it is.

You select the card design of your choice, you carry it up to the check out, you request a dollar amount and voila, you have a gift card. Pretty standard.

But not always.

I was at my bank earlier this week, making a deposit when I saw a display for VISA gift cards. I needed one for a gift so I thought…great, I'll just get it here.

When I told the teller what I wanted, she was more than happy to sell me the VISA gift card. Here's how the process went.

I pulled my credit card out of my wallet. "Oh no, sir. We can't take a credit card for the gift card." Turns out they could….but it had to be a cash advance. So I had to sign a form for that. I smiled and said, "no problem."

Then, I had to fill out a different form with my name, address, etc. on it so they could register the gift card. I smiled and said, "no problem."

Then…I had to read a 2 page disclosure and sign it. I smiled and said, "no problem."

10 minutes later, I had my $50 gift card. I could have bought the exact same card at my local grocery store or Walgreen's in 30 seconds.

I kept saying "no problem" but — for that bank, it was a big problem.

A problem of lost esteem. (I'm a good customer and I had to sign 3 different forms to buy a stinking $50 gift card?)
A problem of changed perception. (if it takes them that long to sell a gift card…how long would it take them to make a house loan?)
A problem of a bad association. (Every time I see that particular teller…what do you think I will remember?)

And they probably made $1 on the transaction, if that.

Many businesses, in an attempt to be everything to everyone or perhaps to squeak out yet another few pennies of profit — do things that they're not good at. If you're guilty of this — stop it. If you aren't great at it, don't do it. And if you know you can't at the very least — be as good as your average competitor — for the love of God, don't do it.

Whenever we step away from our sweet spot — the thing/things that we excel at (and that our brand should be associated with) we do damage. We damage our reputation, we damage our relationships and we damage our ability to be perceived as the best.

Next time you want to add a product or service to your offerings…ask yourself the very difficult question. Are we good enough to even try this?

If you can't be better than most — don't.

Photo courtesy of Shutterstock.

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