The Audacity of Marketing

My friend gave me this week's business week magazine to read about Pepsi's hiring a chief scientific officer. They are trying to go more healthy. That is not what the Pepsi brand stands for. Everyone knows soda is not good for you. Healthy junk food? The Pepsi brand is not about health its about pleasure. Nooyi is trying to do the right thing but I think she is in the wrong company. Great PR but this product has no fizz.

Read all about it here:
http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/10_04/b4164050511214.htm?chan=innovation_branding_top+stories

Everyone knows Santa Claus as jolly old, St. Nick. Every Christmas, he is celebrated all throughout the world. Many movies have starred Santa Claus, from Miracle at 34st to Tim Allen's Santa Clause movies. But how did Santa Claus become the phenomenon that he is today? I don't want to burst anyone's bubble, but it's with MARKETING!

The American image of Santa Claus was first created by illustrator Thomas Nast, who depicted a stout Santa for Christmas issues of Harper's magazine from the 1860s to the 1880s. It was still not part of American culture until the world's biggest brand came along and decided to market Santa. Starting in 1931, magazine ads for Coca-Cola -- that's right Coca-Cola (the world's most recognized brand) featured St. Nick as a kind, jolly man in a red suit. D'Arcy Advertising Agency worked with The Coca-Cola Company on a campaign to show the wholesome Santa as both realistic and symbolic. Illustrator Haddon Sundblom painted a plump old man with a white beard, wearing a red and white outfit.

The Coca-Cola Santa made its debut in 1931 in The Saturday Evening Post and appeared regularly in that magazine, as well as Ladies Home Journal, National Geographic, The New Yorker and others. Coca-Cola advertising showed Santa delivering and playing with toys, pausing to read a letter and enjoy a Coke, playing with children who stayed up to greet him and raiding the refrigerators at a number of homes.

Because magazines were so widely viewed, and because this image of Santa appeared for more than three decades, the image of Santa most people have today is largely based on Coca-Cola's advertising. The red and white Coca-Cola colors worked seamlessly into the Santa campaign.

In short, to answer everyone's question "Yes, I believe in Santa Claus."

(for more information please visit the Coca-Cola website)

My Dad is in the limo business (not stretch, but all the black Lincoln Town cars you see racing all over NYC) and he does pretty well. His whole business is based on PR. He does not have business cards nor does he advertise. These days with the recession and the high price of oil, the limo business is not doing too well (as are many other businesses)

I am always telling him get business cards and build your brand. He tells me he is not a brand. He just drives a limo. But he is a BRAND. We are all brands whether we like it or not. You, me, our parents, their bosses, the local pizza store, the hot dog vendor across the street, the school teachers where your kids go to school, and everyone else: We are all brands. When you go to a job interview, YOU are a brand (the way you walk, talk, dress, etc). You are your own brand ambassador. You go to the interview to position yourself, that's all.

So these are ideas I gave my Dad on how to build his limo brand:

- Have a water cooler with 6 oz. beverages containing water, coke, diet coke and ice tea.
- Have today's New York Times, Wall street Journal, TIME and Oprah in your car
- Have a remote control for your radio so your clients can listen to what they want (they will feel in control)
- Have a couple of cell phone chargers for popular phones (they are very cheap on Ebay)
- Always make sure the car smells great with every pick up

How many Lincoln Town cars in NYC do this? Not that many, and I have been in plenty. By committing to this he can build his brand. Brand awareness will spread through all the clients he picks up, and I guarantee clients will request him much more. This will lead to brand engagement which will ultimately lead to brand marriage. Creating brand marriages is why marketers like me have a job.

Next time you are in NYC and get in a black Lincoln Town car with all of things I mentioned above, please say "Hi" to my Dad.

A great concept that is being overlooked in marketing these days is a concept called "Positioning". Positioning is the first thought that comes to mind when you think of a certain product/entity and owns that #1 position. Advertising dollars can all go to waste if they are not built on positioning. Trust me, many have!

As marketers we have to get into the consumer's mind, stay there and build our equity. Not easy to do! But without it we are not going to survive. (or at least stay on top for long). What's that word (or thought) that comes to mind when consumers think of your product?

Some examples of great product positions:

Volvo - Safety
Starbucks - Premium Coffee
Wal-Mart - Low Prices
Red Bull - Energy Drink
BMW - Ultimate Driving Machine
Amazon - Books
Grey Goose - Premium Vodka

Are you comfortable with your position? What is it?

I happen to work close to the famous Bryant Park. While walking back from lunch with some coworkers I saw some street marketers handing out green apples with flyers wrapped around them. So once again, I took one. It happens to be for the new FOX TV show coming this fall called "FRINGE". (By JJ Abrams who produced the smash hit Cloverfield this past January)

So where does the apple come into play? It's on the flyer cut in half with a little blurb on the bottom saying "Genetically, humans and cows are separated by only a couple lines of DNA". Very clever! I thought it was a superb idea handing out apples with the flyer. Everyone in NYC is handing out flyers so this was a great way to be different and grab everyone's attention.

Another interesting fact is that FOX is actually promoting this show as "Remote Free TV". FOX is selling fewer ads for the show. An hour long show usually contains 18 mins of commercials but this show will only have 10 mins of commercial time.

The strategy: FOX hopes advertisers will pay more since there is a limited amount of space and less ads interrupting the audience. (the ads are more likely to be seen this way)

It's a pretty gutsy risk! But I do love what FOX is doing. I can't wait for the fall, until then: Have some apples!

My favorite marketing law is the law of perception.

The law states "marketing is not a battle of products, it's a battle of perceptions" These 12 words run through my mind all day from when I wake up to when I sleep (and probably in my dreams). One of the great laws in marketing who we owe thanks to Mr. Ries & Mr. Trout.

Every brand's ultimate dream is to have a position in a consumers mind that (for the most part) never changes. That perception in their mind becomes the consumer's reality. It does not matter if another product in the marketplace is better. Once that perception (reality) is created it is very hard to change.

Our job as marketers is to create that reality... I didn't say it was easy!

Example:

Campbell's is the #1 selling soup in the USA. Heinz is the #1 selling ketchup in the USA. Heinz makes a variety of products and one of them is soup. Heinz soup flopped in the USA. Why? They make ketchup. Who wants soup from a company that shouts the word "ketchup" in your mind when you think Heinz. But Heinz is a leader in the growing soup category in Europe and is tops in the U.K. Over there the reality is different from ours.

Does Campbell's make better soup than Heinz? Who knows. What does your perception tell you?

I was walking to work this morning and crossing the street I saw some nice attractive women dressed up in a ball game food vendor's outfit handing out bags of chips. They were yelling "Caffeine chips get your free caffeine chips". So of course, I grabbed a bag to see what exactly they were giving away. They are giving away highly caffeinated (corn) chips. The product is called ENGOBI (ENergy GO BItes). Packaging looks great and in the back of the bag they have a little blurb saying "has more caffeine than those little energy drinks. " I think we all know who they are calling out when they say that. Just some caffeine facts (size: 12 ounce):

Red Bull: 80 mgs
Jolt: 71.2 mgs
Mountain Dew: 55 mgs
Pepsi One: 55.5 mgs
Diet Coke: 45.6 mgs

ENGOBI chips have 170 mgs in each 1.5 oz bag. That's a lot of caffeine in one bag. This is their marketing strategy and brand focus. ENGOBI wants to capitalize on this and I think they should.

Are they the first one in the market to introduce caffeinated chips? NO. NRG potato chips have been in the market place for less than a year now and claim to have more caffeine. These products have not taken off in the marketplace yet. ENGOBI is using a great method to get their product to the end users in a very efficient way. Let's see which of these companies creates brand equity in the minds of consumers first.

Personally, I am having the chips while I write this and the taste does not suit me at all. (But I am not a big fan of energy products either) I might have to try a different flavor, I guess but for now I will stick to my Doritos.

Side note: Great street marketing by Rudolph Foods Co. by the way. Young, attractive, energetic (probably from the chips) women handing out bags of chips near Penn station is a great idea. Commitment is the key, so I hope they do it frequently.

Some of my favorite authors are Al Ries & Jack Trout (Gurus in the marketing realm). They have laid down the foundation of marketing for me. One of the first books I ever came across many years ago was "The 22 Immutable Laws of Marketing". I wanted to post these laws up just to remind everyone the roots of marketing. These laws should not be violated.

1. The law of leadership
2. The law of the category
3. The law of the mind
4. The law of perception
5. The law of focus
6. The law of exclusivity
7. The law of the ladder
8. The law of duality
9. The law of the opposite
10. The law of division
11. The law of perspective
12. The law of line extension
13. The law of sacrifice
14. The law of attributes
15. The law of candor
16. The law of singularity
17. The law of unpredictability
18. The law of success
19. The law of failure
20. The law of hype
21. The law of acceleration
22. The law of resources

This book should not be missed by anyone starting their career out in marketing.

I was at Mercury Bar in NYC at round 8pm on Thursday night. My 2 friends and I sat down and about 5 minutes later the waitress comes around offering FREE DOS "XX" EQUIS beer. Who can turn down free beer at a bar, I know I can't. This was a great way to get their product out into the hands of the consumers. A couple of minutes later the waitress comes around with free Dos Equis wristbands and t-shirts.

I loved this idea by the Dos Equis to promote their new Ambor beer. I mentioned this earlier as a great idea for Chivas to implement (on my post earlier last month) Glad to see some companies going directly to where the consumers are. Great work DOS EQUIS.

For me marketing is about communicating with individuals. In the case of beer, it always wise to give them one on the house. Would you turn it down?

Now I have never shopped at Aldo in my life. I always thought it was for women. But it's for Men too. I was walking to Penn Station and I saw the ad for Aldo shoes on the phone booth. (The phone booths mostly make their money off advertising sales than the phone calls, I think that's why we stil have them everywhere)

Now Aldo shoes must be a great product and brand. On the ad which can be seen on aldoshoes.com (click for men) has 2 middle aged men (picture is taken from the waist up) smiling at each other and one of them is about to take the other ones hat off. On the bottom right of the ad it says "aldoshoes.com". THAT'S ALL FOLKS!

Now Aldo shoes can do much better than this, I would basically show their top selling shoes for men in the ad (with a sticky slogan). After all Aldo is about is all about shoes. Just another ad, where creativity is taking the place of branding (selling). I wish Aldo shoes all the best but hope they start showing shoes in the ads not men with hats.

I was browsing Youtube over the weekend and found so many videos related to marketing. Everyone is putting in there 2 cents when it comes to advertising and branding. My favorite authors all have videos on Youtube.

Levinson
Godin
Ries

All great videos and I think everyone in the industry should at least take some time out and check out the Ries Report. Great insights into marketing by Al & Laura Ries.

Check out their latest video "Sticky Slogans"

Money Transfer is a 300 billion dollar a year business. There are many players in the game but the leader seems to be Western Union. They have over 245,000 agent locations in over 200 countries and territories. They maintain lots of customer loyalty because they were first in there category and have been around for a very long time. These days so many money transfer companies are trying to get a piece of that 300 billion.

One of our clients at the agency is a money transfer company. They target the Asian community by advertising in print, TV, radio, sponsoring events, etc. Which, is all a great and is making their brand more aware in the community. At events they give away premium items like:

Pens
Bags
Key chains
International Phone cards
Playing cards
and others

This is all to get consumers who transfer money or who are thinking about transferring money in the future to use their services. The best premium item I think is the international phone card. But where is the best place to give them out? I think they should be given out to everyone who sends money at their location. Once they transfer money at their agent locations the manager should give them a free phone card and say "Here is a phone card from us, call your loved ones and tell them their money is on the way"

This builds customer loyalty and brings in new business. Customers feel happy and smart when they get something for free. I would definitely think twice about using another company if I can get some free international airtime with my money transfer. It's like using an airline and getting the flyer miles, you feel good (everyone does, that's why it's still so popular).

Keep your customer base loyal, happy, and feeling smart - others will follow.

There are a plethora of names you can think of when you think of great brands. Some are:

Subway
Budweiser
Tide
Rolex
Xerox

At my company we are getting an account to brand a mall in NJ that only has famous Indian designer clothes. (The South Asian Indian Population in NY & NJ is roughly 500,000) A great concept because this mall has narrowed it's focused to only carry famous Indian designer brands. This has not been done before. Usually South Asian Indians go back to India to get their exclusive and expensive clothes (now this mall will save them a trip half way across the world). So what's the name of this mall? "The Mall at Oak Tree" (because it's on Oak Tree rd). Now the owner wants to brand this concept and open locations across the states and still call it the "The Mall at Oak Tree".

I don't think that's a great way to brand this Mall. You need a unique name that also positions itself in the consumers mind. When women think of shopping for designer Indian wear, the mall's name should automatically pop up. "The Mall at Oak Tree" is kind of a hard name to be positioned in the consumers mind. Generic names tend to not catch on with people.

I live near 2 malls, one is called Roosevelt Field and the other is called the Source. Anytime you hear those 2 names you exactly know what the person is talking about and what inside each mall. The owner should change the mall's name, do tons of great PR, and then start to advertise his brand. If the name is not right from the beginning all this time and money are most likely going to go to waste.

They are telling me at my agency we cannot change the name (it's been open for less than a year). I don't see why not. In this case, change is good.

William Shakespeare's famous line in Romeo & Juliet "What's in a name? That which we call a rose. By any other name would smell as sweet." Too bad it does not apply in marketing!

The last two restaurants I went to in NYC (Indian and Thai). The food was great and when it came time to pay the bill they had a little form for me to fill out. Asking me:

1. How do I rate all their services
2. Any suggestions I might have for the staff
3. Birthday (send special greetings)
4. Address (direct mailers to my place)
5. Email (so they can email me special events / coupons)

This is great. I didn't mind filling it out since my girlfriend and I were there talking for another 10 minutes after we paid for dinner. It's a form of permission marketing which is a great book written by marketing Guru Seth Godin. It's a great idea because it shows me the restaurant actually cares what their customers think. This builds loyalty and customers feel smart and happy that they had a say in the restaurants success.

Great Idea! I hope more companies in the food industry start doing the same thing.

Everywhere I go in the city these days I see street teams handing out free newspapers. The big one being New York Post. They first used to be near the subways and today they were on 3-4 corners in Manhattan on my way to work. Everyone knows they make their money off the advertising and not the 25 cents you give to the vendor. So I asked myself this, if they are now giving it away for free its one of many things, just to name a few:

1. Papers content is not that good
2. No one is buying it anymore, hence circulation is declining
3. The fall of print media is getting worse each year

I just want to say something to the Post and hopefully they will listen. People will start buying your newspaper once they see content they can relate too. Stop trying to use scare tactics and Hollywood gossip to sell your papers. Americans are much smarter than you think they are.

You have been around since 1801 founded by Alexander Hamilton (who is probably turning in his grave in downtown Manhattan after seeing the Post in 2008) Start telling New Yorkers the NEWS. We are smarter than you think we are and maybe just maybe you might pass the Daily News in circulation.
As a marketer and a New Yorker if I see someone giving away a newspaper on the street everywhere for free that I used to pay for, I would not waste my time to read it. (Nor advertise in it!)

I see that Chivas Regal is advertising everywhere these days. Billboards, magazines, newspapers, etc. There ad contains a full picture of the bottle (very well shot) with very little copy. Creative.. hmm.. I don't think so but the people at Chivas might. Is that ad going to make me drink Chivas Regal?

Why would I change from drinking Johnny Walker Black Label into drinking Chivas. Because of the nice picture on back of the newspaper. There are no words enticing me to switch (or at least trying it out at a bar)

Another way a big company is just wasting money. They should probably take all that money and start offering people free Chivas Regal drinks at the bar. That's a better way to get the drink in peoples hands and then maybe they will tell their sphere of influence about it.

Ads have to sell. A picture of the product without any significant copy is not going to do that.

They should read "Ogilvy on Advertising"
If it doesn't sell, it's not creative - Ogilvy.