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Showing posts from 2008

Inspiration in seat 1B

I shared a flight yesterday with Alan Simon, the Chairman and CEO of Omaha Steaks. What an inspiring guy. Omaha Steak is a nearly 180 year old family business. How many companies can claim that? Although Alan has since turned over day to day management to his 52 year old son, he still makes the commute from Orange County to Omaha twice a month because he loves the business so much. He finds the time to give back to the community by being on the boards of two universities. And he seems to know more about media technologies than most people half his age -- including me! But the biggest delight was sensing I was meeting a man with the mischievous humor of a teenager. It made having to fly on a Sunday afternoon worthwhile.

Marketing in a recession: Message from the front lines

A few weeks ago I conducted a marketing survey of senior executives across a range of businesses such as automotive, pharmaceuticals, toys, home remodeling, consumer electronics and retail. I wanted to learn if there were common themes in the way a diverse group marketers was navigating the current recession (depression?). Not surprisingly, all marketers are hurting and nearly every segment of their business is down. Lack of credit is affecting consumers and businesses alike. High priced premium segments, which seemed unaffected at first, have caved. Consumers are saving money by trading down to a lesser alternative or waiting for deep discounts on the products they desire. B2B purchases are drying up as companies cut CapEx budgets. There is a “slash and burn” mentality to marketing budgets. But there are some bright spots as well. Products and services that appeal to the consumer’s “cocooning” instinct – e.g., entertain at home, family games – are showing some resiliency. Toys rec

Creating heroic brand narratives

I am intrigued by the art of storytelling in helping marketers create more meaningful and lasting brand identities. Stories help us understand. They convey meaning. And in an increasingly overwhelming and fast-moving world, meaning trumps information. If we step into the way-back machine and return to our English Lit classes, we might remember that stories are built on several essential elements, including archetypal characters, the hero's journey and resolution of conflict. Archetypes are the universal characters that form what Carl Jung called our collective unconscious. Over the millennia, we became hardwired to instantly recognize the meaning of archetypes like the outlaw, hero, ruler, jester, temptress, innocent and the everyman. Defining and expressing brands as archetypes may be more powerful than the traditional brand personality statement in creating a deep connection with consumers. The "hero's journey" was first defined in Joseph Campbell's b

Kaizen in action

There are varying points of views on how to bring more innovation to marketing communications. Too often the discussion languishes in empty exhortations to be more nontraditional, viral, guerrilla, etc. I met the other day with a friend and former client, Kim McCullough, the head of marketing communications for Toyota, who gave me a clear and actionable user's guide for managing innovation in marketing communications. Kim refers to it as the 70/20/10 plan. In the 70/20/10 plan a marketer would invest 70% of its budget in proven, effective communications strategies, another 20% in rolling out new strategies that have been tested and vetted in the previous year, and use the remaining 10% as seed money for new test and learn opportunities. The brilliance in this strategy is its clarity and simplicity. First, it recognizes that marketers should not run away from things that work simply to pursue the latest buzz marketing strategy d'jour . Second, it dedicates resources to main

The sun speaks again.

During the Democratic National Convention , the Sun decided it was time to address planet earth, speaking through its friends at Applied Materials (and one of colleagues at BD'M, copywriter Phil Calvit, a.k.a., the voice of the sun). The Sun spoke again in today's Wall Street Journal, this time expressing its appreciation for the Congress' decision to extend the Investment Tax Credit which will continue to provide much needed relief to those companies investing in new alternative energy technologies, such as renewable solar energy. BD'M also created this site to show how Applied Materials is making good on the Sun's promise.

What great marketers do well.

I’m giving a talk next week to the MBA students at the University of California, Irvine. I’m posting this outline to to invite readers to share their ideas and improve this list. My goal is to give these MBA candidates the type of marketing insights that grad schools tend to overlook – mainly that all marketing challenges cannot be solved through statistical analysis and analytics. Many of us would agree that after spending a few years in brand marketing we learned that it is often the softer skills that define great brand leaders. I’m not going to spend time going on about quality, integrated marketing, interactive media, etc. Price of entry ideas like these are more suited for a speech entitled “How to avoid being a mediocre marketer.” When I think of the hallmarks that define great marketers I come up with this list. Brand literacy: They understand that not all products are brands and that branding is not solely the responsibility of advertising. They understand how br

Deja vu all over again

Yogi Berra allegedly said “this is like déjà vu all over again.” I was reminded of Yogi’s wisdom while thinking about what marketers can learn from the way in which consumers reacted during previous economic meltdowns. Our economy is a mess. Jobs are fragile. Real net income for working Americans is stagnant. We knew this for a while but chose to ignore it while buying our McMansions with zero money down. It takes the evaporation of trillions in personal wealth to get our full attention. Now that we’re duly panicked, how will we respond? One clue is to examine how consumers reacted the first few times we saw this movie. Let’s go in the way-back machine. No, not 1929, let’s start in 1987. Conspicuous consumption was in vogue. Michael Milken was peddling junk bonds. Yuppies drove “beemers.” Wall Street’s ficitonal Gordon Gekko preached how “greed is good.” Then came Black Monday , the day the Dow plummeted over 20%. (To put this in context, this past Monday’s 777-point free fall was a 7

Digitally-inspired brands

The IAB’s Mixx conference in New York was extremely well organized and featured a diverse roster of speakers, including Chrysler CMO Deborah Meyer, eBay CMO Michael Linton, CBS President Les Moonves, TV host Charlie Rose, BBDO chief Andrew Robertson, digital media author Clay Shirsky and Heroes executive producer and creator Tim Kring. Although the event didn't break new ground, it did illuminate several themes that brand marketing professionals would be wise to embrace. Here’s my take-away: Stop the debate over brand vs. interactive. Interactive marketing is, in fact, our most powerful brand building strategy. More and more marketers intuitively understand this. The question then is why we’re not yet using this medium to its full potential. One reason is that too many people in advertising define "brand" through the narrow lens of a product’s TV or print campaign. Consumers build brand impressions through a complex mix of first-hand experiences, peer opinions and

Flex your brand identity

More often than not brand identity is treated like some sacrosanct object, kept rigid and inflexible in the pursuit of brand equity and awareness. It's hard to argue against that goal, but there may be some counter-intuitive ways to reach the same goal. I'm beginning to see several leading marketers loosen the reins on their brand identity to allow their brands to seem more topical and relevant. My partner Bob Barrie turned me on to the latest example: Coke Zero in the UK is temporarily changing its name to Coke Zero Zero 7 to celebrates the brand's tie-in with the upcoming Bond Film, "Quantum Solace." I think Google may have set this trend in motion with its willingness to change its logo everyday to make the brand appear plugged into the zeitgeist of the moment. MasterCard flexes its logo at the end of each commercial to echo the idea of each spot, making the identity seem an intrinsic part of the spot and not just a closing punctuation mark. When I was

Microsoft's moist and chewy teaser campaign

Microsoft's new spot featuring Bill and Jerry is being universally skewered by the press and bloggers alike. Am I missing something? It's a teaser spot for goodness sake. Get off Microsoft's case. It's not supposed to communicate anything nourishing or lasting. It's the advertising equivalent of an energy drink -- a quick jolt to the system to get our attention. Mission accomplished. (My only quibble: forcing Bill and Jerry to introduce each other to the viewers. "Bill Gates!" "Jerry Seinfeld?!" I think their faces are fairly well known.) Having gotten that off my chest, the campaign that follows had better be amazing. I've read previously about one potential idea -- windows, not walls -- which could be the basis of a compelling brand narrative, something that's been lacking over the years. Windows is a shared language and platform for global collaboration. It helped create today's flat world. The brand needs to stand fo

What Google learned attending Comi-Con

There was a good bit of noise this week about the launch of Chrome, Google's answer to Explorer, Firefox, Safari, et al. Is it a better browser? Don't know. I'll download the beta and find out. (The new version of Firefox recently lured me away from Sarari. It's simply faster.) What I enjoyed most about Chrome's launch was the comic book they created to explain why it's a better browser. Very counter-intuitive. Take something dry and complex and make it fun and simple to understand. The folks publishing operating guides for digital cameras should take note. Hell, even the 50-page manual for my new digital watch would have been better as a comic book. I might even have gotten past page 17 -- setting the high tide graph -- with a few illustrations and humorous copy.

Serving the customer...what a concept!

Best Buy is winning with a simple idea: do what's best for the customer. (Best Buy is a client of BD'M .) It's amazing how such a simple idea can be so successful. Conversely, it's equally amazing how few companies show the ability to grasp this idea. Yesterday's article in the Wall Street Journal featured a side-by-side comparison of shopping for a TV at Sears, Circuit City and Best Buy. The article's concluding thought underscores the power of Best Buy's strategy: "We left Best Buy feeling confident we'd end up with the right television." Best Buy is not alone in viewing service as a competitive advantage . The folks at Starbucks, Enterprise, FedEx, WaMu , Southwest and Ace Hardware win using the same simple formula. Treat the customer well and they will come back. What a concept.

Why doesn't GE make electric cars?

Hybrid cars are going mainstream. My former client, Toyota, has sold over one million Prius . Nearly every automaker is planning to launch some kind of hybrid. GE should be in this market. (It’s name is General Electric, after all.) The company is a manufacturing giant (jet engines, locomotives). It is in the financing business (GE Credit.) Its growth strategy is linked to green-tech (eco-Imagination). And it is a household name with a reputation for dependability. Why not make an electric car? One reason may be that GE lacks a sales and service channel. The solution may be to use GM or Chrysler dealers. Both companies lag far behind in the development of hybrid vehicles. The GE name might create more buzz than if either GM or Chrysler launched its own hybrid car. And the dealer network would benefit from a new product that generates traffic into their stores. In today’s automotive industry it is increasingly fuzzy who makes what. While private label branding is common in

Lessons on integrated marketing inside a box of Crayola Crayons

I found myself today in yet another discussion about the merits of traditional media vs. new media. I wish these terms would evaporate because we’re still trapped in a 1999 marketing dictionary. Here’s what I try to remember to keep myself sane in these conversations: If you want to make a 20 year old laugh, refer to the web as new media. Ditto for mobile. Debating the merits of new media vs. traditional media is as useful as debating television vs. print. It’s all media. What matters is knowing how, when and why you use each. Digital must be planned as part of the main course, not the side dish. Continuing the food metaphor, Burger King’s Whopper Freak-out made for a good commercial, but the true depth of the idea was found online. One couldn't exist without the other. There is no such thing as traditional media, only traditional uses of media. Is BDM’s mobile text campaign for Applied Materials “traditional” because it appears on a billboard? Of course not. Conversely,

Text message from the sun.

Folks attending the Democratic National Convention in Denver will be greeted by somebody with an important message: the sun. BD'M collaborated with Applied Materials to create a campaign to reinforce the potential of solar energy, a solution that is increasingly within our reach. Applied Materials has long been a global leader in the semiconductor business and is now applying its nanomanufacturing technologies to green-tech solutions such as solar, energy efficient glass and lighting. The DNC campaign consists of newspaper, outdoor, and a cool mobile initiative. Text SUN to 42107...the sun has something to say.

Kudos for the Ford Flex

Last month I wrote a piece for Advertising Age about what the auto industry could learn from the iPhone’s success . It sparked healthy a response, becoming one of the magazine’s top e-mailed articles that week and prompting many readers to post their opinion on adage.com, many agreeing, some not. The best “response” to date is the way Ford is launching its new Flex – a truly segment-busting car (minivan? cross-over?). With the Flex, Ford is bringing to bear many of the strategies outlined in the article. (PS: I harbor no illusion that my opinions had any influence. Having worked extensively in the car business, I know Ford’s strategies were likely in place 18 months ago.) First and foremost, Ford showed courage in green-lighting a love it or hate it design. The all too common decision is to choose safe designs that are mildly appealing to as many customers as possible (with the notable exception of the Chrysler 300). Ford chose instead to turn heads and be passionately appealing t

Wow.

The team at Barrie D'Rozario Murphy has been working hard for months creating United Airlines' new brand campaign that will debut tonight on the Olympics. We're thrilled with the new campaign.  We're even more thrilled with the review our client's work received in today's  Chicago Sun Times .  Please vote.  Often.

Redesigning the Stop Sign

If you are curious why it can seem so hard to create simple ideas, then please check out this video. It's a hilarious satire of the creative development process. Even funnier knowing that it was sent to me by a client with a good sense of humor.

"Advertising is the price companies pay for being un-original."

I don't know who authored this quote, but I found it in this video of a presentation Yves Behar gave at TED about the need for design to create products that tell a story. I believe all great brands tell a story. Advertising has always been a powerful way to weave a brand narrative . But the process of storytelling should begin with the design of the product itself and be carried through all points of contact. Design shouldn't be used as a shortcut to make average ideas look better. True of products. True of advertising. Design Thinking helps solve business problems by creating solutions from the customer's point-of-view. A good example is the way Target rethought its pill bottles to help customers sort out the jumble of bottles in the family medicine cabinet, and by doing so Target created a differentiated idea for its pharmacy business. Design isn't limited to physical products. It can help create a better customer experience. Jyske Bank in Denmark s

How Detroit can create the next iPhone

Like hundreds of thousands of people across the country, I stood in line this weekend at the Apple Store in Newport Beach to buy the new iPhone 3G for my daughter after three unsuccessful attempts at nearby AT&T stores. Witnessing this exuberant demand for a new product made me wonder if this feat could be repeated in other categories, such as the auto business. What would an automaker have to do to seduce consumers to stand in line to buy a hot new car? Here are some lessons from the iPhone: Functionality : Auto execs pondering how replicate the iPhone’s commercial and cultural success would be wise to note that the iPhone is not simply a marketing phenomenon. The iPhone is a breakthrough product. It revolutionized the mobile phone business through design, features and functionality. One way for auto companies to create breakthrough products may be to begin thinking like a consumer electronics brand. Technology brands are the new car. Throughout the last century th

Sony rediscovers its mojo.

Several years ago when I led Young & Rubicam in Southern California I had the opportunity to  work with Sony Electronics.  During that time I developed tremendous respect for the brand's quality, innovation and design.  But I also confronted first-hand the silos that separate the company's considerable entertainment content from its hardware. Sony owns movie and music companies and also markets the hardware on which to enjoy movies and music, not to mention videogames.  I can still recall the difficulty in getting Sony Music to come to the table with Sony Walkman (remember Walkman?).  These silos where invisible to most until Apple launched iPod and iTunes, a perfect combination of hardware and content.  Game. Set. Match. That's why I was very excited to hear last week's announcement that Sony Pictures will offer customers who own a web-enabled Sony Bravia TV the ability to stream Hancock, its summer blockbuster, before it is released on DVD.  Content and h

Barack, please focus your campaign

Those who know me know that I am a passionate supporter of Barack Obama's campaign for President.  I talk up his candidacy.  I have been a foot soldier during the primaries going door-to-door.  I've given money. But I am disappointed that Obama's advisors (and Barack himself) have not yet focused on the meaty issues facing America.  I'm all for change.  But what type of change?  So Barack, and your army of bloggers, here's my plea:  in the spirit of the great brand marketers, embrace one overarching idea and then focus all messages and policies to support this defining idea. While it is true that Americans want change, we are a fairly risk-averse culture.  What we actually want is to change course toward a destination that is safe and secure.  We want a secure future that inspires optimism.  We want a secure future we can leave to our kids.   Some will argue for a return to a past that seems, in foggy hindsight, to be more secure than today.  But if the past was so

Small company with big insights

I came across Pomme Bebe as part of my work with the Merage School of Business, which is focused on the art and science of strategic innovation. I usually write about large national brands, so why post about this start up formed by two UC Irvine alumni? Because I believe marketing leaders at Fortune 500 companies could learn a thing or two from this new venture. Pomme Bebe's positioning wonderfully simple: Fresh organic baby food. No marketing over think. No spin. It is clear, relevant and differentiating to young health-conscious mothers. The company's founders understand their customers and have created a unique retail experience to reinforce the brand promise. At its retail location in Newport Beach Pomme Bebe offers moms and their babies a tasting bar to sample the food and decide which concoction the bundle of joy prefers. Moms can relax and socialize in the bebe lounge while enjoying a fresh squeezed drink. The store also offers a drive-up service for moms wh

Good idea. Poorly executed

Chevron ran a spread in yesterday's Wall Street Journal announcing a game called Energyville  in which we are challenged to choose the best energy policy for our city while minimizing economic, environmental and security impact. At first glance the game, which was developed by The Economist Group , seems like a smart way for Chevron to involve consumers in the debate and allow us reach smart and sensible conclusions on our own.  More so than yet another big oil TV commercial on Sunday Morning news programs, the engagement and interactivity of Energyville creates the potential to educate people on the opportunities and realities of alternative energy sources while also making a realistic case for the role of oil in our country's future energy policy. The let down for me was its heavy-handedness.  About halfway through powering my city I received a lecture on the need for oil.  This singlehandedly diminished any objectivity or usefulness I had ascribed to Energyville.   Che

Postcard from Cannes

The annual advertising award show in Cannes is meant to showcase all that is good about the advertising business.  It celebrates big ideas that build our build our clients' brands in memorable and imaginative ways. But often I'm struck by how Cannes also has the ability to shine a harsh light on things that must change in our business.  Two articles in Adweek  bring this to mind.   The first deals with the confusion over how certain entries were categorized .  Is an integrated campaign a TV idea?  Or an online idea?  Or a promotional idea?  I'm not sure clients care.  They just want ideas.   Only agencies worry about silos and categories.  That has to change.  (That's why BD'M built its model around "no walls." ) The second article reports on WPP's  Martin Sorrell questioning why Google is going straight to clients and disintermediating agencies.  Clients might rightly wonder why their agencies believe they should be immune from the same forces tha

Where do you want to go today?

This is the question Microsoft posed several years ago in its brand advertising. I referenced this recently in a conversation with one of our clients and later wondered how different Microsoft's brand image might have been if they had stuck to this idea. "Where do you want to go today?" peeled away the rational layers of Fortress Redmond and revealed the emotional raison d'etre for software, operating systems and browsers -- they unleash our potential, allowing us to go anywhere and learn anything, be part of larger social and semantic communities, and break the shackles that chain us to our office, right from our PC.  This brand campaign could have been an ever-unfolding narrative of optimism and discovery. Because Microsoft abandoned its attempt to define an inspiring true north for the brand,  it allowed Apple to personify it as the dumpy and insecure PC dweeb.  Pity.  

Text "shoptext" to learn more

I've posted several times about the untapped potential of mobile marketin g to transform offline media into interactive touchpoints. I just came across a company called ShopTex t that offers agencies and marketers a one-stop service to begin testing this idea.   Savvy magazine publishers such as Hearst (Cosmo, Good Housekeeping, Esquire, et al) are using ShopText in their books to demonstrate to marketers that print remains a viable medium for building brands.

Design to the rescue

Yesterday's WSJ had a good article on P&G's new packaging for Febreze. It is yet another example of how design can help solve marketing challenges . The Febreze brand managers were facing the same challenge shared by many consumer product companies: how can we sell more products? Many marketers resort to the same solutions -- cut the price, coupon, offer 25% more for the same price, heavy-up advertising. What I like most about this example is that it seems to have been inspired by a simple insight -- consumers are likely to use more Febreze if it is visible in the home rather than tucked away out of sight under the sink along with myriad other household cleaners. So in comes the design team armed with that insight, along with competitive references from Method Products (a pioneer in applying brand design to everyday household products) and Kleenex tissue boxes. And out comes a piece of packaging that has the ability to transform the brand more than any repositio

I met my "frenemy"

WPP's Martin Sorrell uses a great expression to describe companies with whom we both compete and collaborate -- the " frenemy ." I met one today.   Spot Runner. Spot Runner can create TV commercials for a fraction of the cost of a large agency and then geo-target the commercial to the right audience in the right location.  Their customers tend to be small local and regional businesses that cannot afford TV using traditional means, or orphaned brands within large consumer product companies.  The entire transaction is done through Spot Runner's website.  (Yes, we're in an era where the client/agency relationship can be described as a transaction .) The collaborative opportunities within the frenemy relationship are using Spot Runner to support local dealers and franchisees with one-off tactical promotions, or perhaps for test marketing ideas before investing in a large-scale campaign.   Will Spot Runner put advertising agencies out of business?  Thankfully just the

Something a little more important than brands

Several items collided in my head today and made me think how desperately we need to solve our country's energy crisis. Our clients at United are grappling with the impact of oil at $133 a barrel.  My colleagues in the auto business are grappling with the impact of gas spiraling well over $4 a gallon.  And our clients at Applied Materials, who are now deeply involved in applying nanotechnology to help make generating solar energy more affordable, are grappling with the massive capex bets their customers need to make in order to effectively scale solar into a viable solution. Solving our dependence on oil is not just an economic imperative, it is increasingly a national security imperative. We need a serious and concerted effort that joins government and business behind a noble and important goal -- energy independence.  In 1962 President Kennedy rallied the country to go to the moon , and in so doing created a space program that went well beyond putting a man on the moon -- it

Don't let this happen to your brand.

Very funny video from The Onion depicting a Blockbuster as a living museum for tourists curious to learn how people used to rent videos in the old days. Blockbuster used to be cool.  But that was before VoD, Netflix and iTunes. How easy it is for an innovator to become yesterday's news -- or today's punch line.  This is why I firmly believe in the need for brands to innovate in good times and in recessionary times.

TV is dead. Long live TV.

In early 2001 I gave a speech entitled "The Future of Advertising" at a chapter meeting of the American Marketing Association.  (I know, I know...even Nostradamus would have been embarrassed to use that title.) I'm in the way-back machine because some recent headlines reminded me of something I talked about that day:  the advent of addressable TV advertising.  I spoke breathlessly about interactive TV (remember Wink?) and some emerging chatter about addressable TV.  My instincts may have been right but my timing was way off. Seven years later that chatter about addressable TV advertising is now a full-fledged dialogue.  New companies such as Invidi Technologies can now provide cable operators with the tools to target specific commercials to specific viewers.  Industry initiatives such as Project Cano e, a consortium of cable operators, are working to create a universal model to deliver, price and measure addressable advertising.  The future is coming.  Any day now. What&

What's your brand narrative?

I've posted before on how great brands have a sense of true north -- a compelling point of view that shapes their beliefs and actions and keep them moving forward with an infectious sense of momentum. I want to expand on that and add another dimension -- great brands also know what they oppose. Three brands illustrate this point. Harley Davidson's new campaign, "screw it, let's ride", is a powerful manifesto for the brand. This campaign found a way to link Harley's defy authority ethos to today's zeitgeist of war, recession and slippery politicians. The campaign and website unite a community in a crusade against fear. The Dove "Real Beauty" campaign shook the cosmetic world a few years back by standing up for individual self-esteem and exhorting people to question and defy the pretense of media-defined beauty. For over two decades Apple has been on a crusade in celebration of creativity by demonizing grey conformity. This was set i

Google "google" for a smart innovation strategy.

In my previous post on strategic innovation I wrote about the mistake many companies make putting innovation on the back burner during a recession.  In a difficult economic climate strategic innovation is often viewed as a luxury.  Smart companies, on the other hand, view innovation as a growth strategy, and these companies never place growth on the back burner. This interview with Google's CEO Eric Schmidt reinforces this point and sheds light on Google's innovative approach to innovation.  He nails a huge idea -- i.e., innovation is a culture, not just a strategic process.

Introducing the washing machine of TVs

Today's Wall Street Journal quotes the vice president of brand marketing for LG Electronics as saying, "If you go to Best Buy, you can't tell the difference between any of the TVs; even to me, I cannot tell which is LG. They all look the same." (I doubt that was on the list of talking points prepared by his PR team, but I respect his candor.) Why do the major TV set makers allow this steady commoditization of their business to continue? Sony Electronics was a client of mine several years ago. Sony Wega TVs (pronounced, oddly enough, "vega") were the industry benchmark because they were based on an innovative and proprietary picture technology that offered customers a clear reason to pay more. (This built on a heritage of picture quality that started with the Sony Trinitron.) Sony's minimalist silver boxes also set a new design standard with a look that has now become common. But much has changed over the years. Low price offerings from LG,