Strategy Archives - Page 43 of 53 - McLellan Marketing Group

Taking a 360 degree look

February 25, 2007

8+ inches of snow fell on us over night. Hundreds of churches and other organizations cancelled their Sunday events. Reporters told us to stay off the roads. Almost 200,000 were/are without power.

But what does the snow mean?

It would be easy to only see it from my own perspective. Using that single lens focus we discussed in an earlier post. But what happens when you actually take the time to walk around an issue, thought, product, client and take a 360 degree view?

For me, the snow is beautiful. Having grown up in Minnesota, I love the snap of cold, the crispness of the snow and the serenity in the blanket of white.

For my dad, who’s flying here from Sarasota today, it’s a reminder of why he left the Midwest and no doubt will be a source of much grumbling over the next few days.

For the neighborhood kids, it’s an imagination overloaded play land filled with an ice fort’s construction materials, bombs to be lobbed, and snow people to be birthed.

For my friend Steve, whose daughter was at a weekend church retreat deep in the woods and about an hour away, it brought worry about how to retrieve her safely. (We took my 4-wheel drive…all is well!)

For my daughter, it was a close but no cigar. 24 hours later and we’d have had a snow day.

For Mark the guy who runs a snow removal company, it was cha-ching and relief after a very slow season.

For the families without power, it was a potential crisis. No heat brings frozen pipes, no way to keep the family warm, and a huge hassle.

A relatively simple thing. A snow storm. And yet to each different audience, its importance and meaning was very different.

As you approach a marketing project — how often do you "place the item in the center of the table" and walk around it, describing it from different perspectives. We know people buy based on emotional responses. This snow storm brought a sense of calm/serenity, disgust, frustration, glee, disappointment, worry, relief, and panic.

Wow…those emotional truths are tools for a marketer. With a better understanding of people’s reactions to an event, product or service — you can talk to them in a way that will resonate with those emotional realities.

But only if you take the time to understand them.

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It’s not art, it’s a website

February 25, 2007

Fine artists sign their works. I get that. It’s art.

Apparently many web designers are aspiring Picassos. There’s a trend initiated by web design companies that I just don’t get. It’s the "signature line" that they believe they’re entitled to place at the bottom of their clients’ websites.

"Website designed by XYZ" is a prevalent footer on many commercially designed websites. I am here to tell you, as a client — just say no.

I have no idea how this trend started. Can you imagine seeing a TV spot and then, as part of the close hearing "this spot was created by Weiden + Kennedy?" Or seeing McLellan Marketing Group at the bottom of a print ad in one of our client’s trade pubs? Sounds ludicrous, doesn’t it?

And yet, clients across the land don’t blink an eye when the company they are paying decided to use that site as an advertisement for themselves!

I think the ONLY acceptable exception to this rule is if the web design company donates their services. Then, they deserve the credit line.

If you’re a client out there — check your site and if there’s a fine art signature at the bottom, e-mail your web company and ask them to remove it immediately.

If you’re a web company — why not differentiate yourself in the marketplace by acknowledging that you understand you’re creating a business tool for your clients and will treat it accordingly.

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You don’t know what you don’t know

February 24, 2007

One of the most dangerous habits a marketer can develop is thinking that they/their life experience is an accurate (and the only) filter. We’ve covered aspects of this topic before.

That’s a very narrow lens to use. But, with a slight twist, your single lens view finder could become a kaleidoscope with all the colors and images mixing up and showing you a completely different way of seeing the world.

Let me give you an example. I read an article about a new product/trend that is beginning to bubble up across the globe — women only cab or car services. When I first read it, I thought — wow, are we talking segmentation too far? But as I kept reading, my middle-class white man perspective melted away. I’m embarrassed to admit it, but it never occurred to me that women would be attacked after getting into a cab. But, according to what I read, it happens. In London alone, an average of 10 women a month are attacked.

Here’s how the Pink Ladies, a women-only cab service in the UK is solving that problem for women.

"Booking is done over the phone, and a text message is sent to the customer to let her know the vehicle is approaching, which means she doesn’t have to wait outside. Drivers are trained in self-defense and will wait outside a customer’s home after a drop-off to ensure she gets in safely."

Bravo to someone who turned the kaleidoscope to see the picture in a new way and develop a profitable and customer centric new solution.

Here’s my question to you marketers — how do you make sure you’re looking through a kaleidoscope and not a single lens view finder?

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A marketing tip from my Italian grandma: Sampling starts something contagious

February 23, 2007

No doubt you look at my last name and say Italian? But rest assured, on my mom’s side I’m your amico! Like all Italians, I had an Italian grandma. And like all Italian grandmas, she had an opinion about everything and wasn’t afraid to share it or the life lessons she had collected along her colorful life. What she didn’t realize is that she also taught me some great marketing tips that in her honor, I’d like to share with you.

One of my grandma’s claims to fame were her pizzalles. If you’ve never had one…wow, are you missing out. They’re a traditional Italian waffle cookie and can be hard and crisp or soft and chewy depending on the ingredients and method of preparation.

They require a special pizzalle iron (like a waffle iron) and were always a big treat in my family. My grandma lived a plane ride away and I vividly remember being a kid, waiting for her at the gate (way before 9/11). She was old and didn’t move all that quickly, so it wasn’t a surprise to see streams of other people getting off the plane first.

But what was a surprise is that many of them were coming off the plane, munching on a pizzalle. As my grandma slowly appeared out of the jetway… the other passengers, with big powdered sugar-faced grins, were waving at her and telling her to enjoy her visit as though they were old friends. On my grandma’s arm was a big metal tin, like a picnic basket.

Well, you can deduce the rest of the story. The batch of pizzalles she had made and brought for us were gone, but lots of people on flight 427 had a great treat!

It started simply enough. She had a high quality and unique product. No doubt, she mentioned the tin and its contents to her seat mate and offered a sample. Pretty soon, there were samples flying everywhere. I guarantee you that my grandma and her tin of pizzalles were the talk of many a passenger’s ride home that day or call home that night. Had she been in the business of online pizzalle sales, she’d have scored big that week!

At McLellan Marketing Group, we are firm believers in sampling. Since 1999, we’ve produced a short e-newsletter called, as you might have guessed, the Marketing Minute. Every week, a few thousand people get to sample our marketing and branding expertise. This blog is big old tin of how we think.

Sampling creates word of mouth buzz. Sampling creates familiarity and a sense of already knowing you. Sampling creates demand and sales. Sampling creates the confidence to buy.

What’s in your pizzalle tin? And where are you sharing its contents?

(photo — one of my favorite possessions. The infamous pizzalle tin)

Several people have asked for my grandma’s pizzalles recipe — I’m very happy to share it!

Here’s the entire Marketing Tips from My Italian Grandma series, for your enjoyment:

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A rose by any other name…

February 21, 2007

A conversation with a client about naming a business and a post by Iowa attorney Rush Nigut got me thinking. There are few marketing decisions that can be as personal and subjective as naming a business. There is no ideal “right” answer which only makes it a tougher call.

Here are some Business Naming Basics.

No one is going to, for the most part, do business with you or not do business with you, because of your name, unless its so stupid or so offensive that you shouldn’t be in business anyway.

Yes, it is a very important decision. But it’s not life-ending. Should it be easy to remember and spell? You bet. But that’s more for memory recall than creating preference. Remember, any business name is an empty shell. You are going to attach meaning to it by how you conduct business, how you position and market yourself and how you treat your clients.

Choosing a name because it starts with an A is only a good choice is the name you would have picked anyway starts with an A.

If you are going to market yourself, the Yellow Pages becomes a support vehicle, especially in today’s digital world. You’re better off picking a name you like…and then doing a good, clear yellow page display ad than banking on the A listing. Or worse, being AAA Plumbing or A+ Plumbing.

The name of your business is far more important to you than it is to your customers.

They want to know what you do and how you do it…and really, unless it is offensive, don’t care about your name. So, positioning statements and how you market yourself become very critical and much more important than your name.

Make it simple to say. Make it simple to remember. If at all possible — let it help define who and what you are/do.

Your name is just the beginning. It is more important to pick one and get going on the marketing than it is to search for the perfect name.

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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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Want to create an Apple-sized buzz?

February 15, 2007

Despite my frustrations about how Apple announced the iPhone or how they mishandled iPod Mondays, I do love the brand. I love what it stands for and, in general, how they communicate.

Inc.com did a very nice little slide show, How to Generate Buzz like Apple. Unfortunately, they don’t give me any way to add the code so you can watch it here…or a URL I can share.

So, I did the next best thing. The screen shots are worth the scroll. I promise. Don’t just read the headlines…some marketing greats are quoted in the body copy as well.

Kudos to creators Leslie Taylor and Erika Schneider. If anyone finds a better way to show this (I checked to see if it was on YouTube) let me know and I’ll update!

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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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