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, should a not-too-distinctive rich media ad be considered “new” because it appears online? (You get the point.)

Digital has as much branding power as television and print. Television will become a pure digital medium in early 2009, offering the targeting and accountability we demand of online marketing. Which is traditional? Which is the branding medium?

Mobile has the power to immediately transform every billboard, television commercial and print ad into opt-in interactive media. Just add a text call to action instead of a URL.

I believe we learned the basics of integrated marketing at age five when we got our first giant box of Crayola 64 crayons. Before getting this box we drew fairly mundane pictures using traditional colors like blue, red and brown. Then, with 64 crayons suddenly at our disposal, we used every color imaginable (because we could) and made really confusing drawings.

In time, we learned how and when to blend a little green and brown with a touch of wild strawberry and neon carrot. We didn’t debate which one was the traditional color, we just knew they blended together to make for a beautiful drawing.

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 to a select group of customers.

And speaking of design, Ford enlisted a fashion designer, Anthony Prozzi, to imbue the car’s interior with non-automotive design cues.

Ford is generating buzz and demand by orchestrating a slow roll-out in major markets such as Atlanta, Miami, New York, San Francisco and Los Angeles before broadening to a full national launch. This is so much smarter than the tendency to flood dealer lots with too many cars which then require buzz-killing incentives to bring down the inventory. (I can sense the fingerprints of my former Toyota client, Jim Farley, who is now CMO for Ford Motor. The man knows a thing or two about marketing.)

Great product. Smart marketing. Let’s hope it can overcome the bad timing of launching in the current economy.

Brave New Brand: The 'Era of the Artist?' ... when scarcity meets endless supply

Brave New Brand: The 'Era of the Artist?' ... when scarcity meets endless supply

Insightful article by a former colleague.  Erik applies the razor v. razor blade economic model to the music business.  He make a good point.  My partner Stuart D'Rozario is currently recording his second CD.  He may beg to differ.

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 set out to attract more customers, a brief we've all seen before. Instead of free toasters, viral films and more advertising, Jyske Bank opted to rethink the banking experience from the customer's point of view. They manifested their various savings and checking services as physical "products" to make them tangible and clear and evoke an emotional connection. They created that special "third place" -- a haven that is neither home or work -- that has been the secret sauce behind Starbucks' success. The result? Ad Age reported that Jyske Bank doubled its customer base in one year by improving loyalty while attracting new customers. Take a look at this video. It's a stunning case study and a good way to brush up on your Danish.

Design as a business discipline is even emerging as a potential alternative to the traditional MBA, witness Stanford's so-called D-School.

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 the automobile stood for freedom, mobility and joy. Cars represented modern life at its best. Today that role is served by each new smart phone, gaming system, wafer-thin laptop or lifelike home theater that joyfully proclaims that today is better than yesterday. An automaker should commit to creating a truly modern car, a car that democratizes the latest technologies; a car that liberates us from tired compromises by proving that design and performance go hand-in-hand with safety and environmental responsibility; a car that is an extension of the personal technologies we use to make our lives smarter, more organized and more entertaining. Create a car that joyfully proclaims that today is better than yesterday.

Design, design, design: The iPhone looks like nothing else. It took no cues from category norms. It wasn’t an exercise in incrementalism, as if often the case with domestic auto design.

Cult of celebrity: Auto companies tend to believe “celebrity” is attained by having A-list actors and rappers drive the car. In Apple’s case, its celebrity is organic. Steve Jobs is a celebrity. Jonathan Ive, Apple’s head of design, is a celebrity. It is time to elevate the automotive designers to be the face of the company instead of the suits. Let's see these designers on the cover of Fortune, People and Vanity Fair. After all, at their core these companies are industrial design firms.

To fast track this cult of design celebrity car companies should enlist a hot industrial designer (Yves Behar) or an accomplished architect (Frank Gehry) to create the next “must have” design of the year. And I don’t mean creating a “Cartier” edition, which usually means a special trim package. Fully empower this outside designer.

Limited supply: Here’s a very simple rule: a company shouldn’t produce more product than it can sell. Sounds simple, but seldom happens in the car business. Limiting supply negates the need for brand-sucking discounting and creates a perception of rarity that strengthens the marketer’s pricing power. Apple is genius at this.

New distribution model: Sales associates at Apple stores are extremely well trained and are living ambassadors of the brand. Consumers may not get this same experience from car salespeople. So here’s where the auto companies need to swallow a brave pill. Don’t sell this hot new car through dealerships. Signal change by changing how the car can be bought. Establish centrally located viewing galleries – in shopping malls, in airports, in downtown business districts – staffed by the same well-trained ladies and gentlemen hired for car shows. Sell the cars there or online. And, knowing that state franchise laws don't allow cars to be sold without dealers, give dealers a reasonable commission on all sales that take place in their designated sales area. Dealers must be properly compensated because they play a crucial role in providing ongoing service.  (Fixing a car is a tad more complex than fixing an iPhone.)

Advance buzz: When Apple launched the original iPhone it created a huge amount of buzz and curiosity by doing the opposite of what auto companies tend to do: Apple said absolutely nothing. Auto companies tend to debut the concept car three years in advance at an auto show, create microsites for sneak-peeks, and give the buff books early test drives in return for good coverage. And what happens in return? The buzz peaks well ahead of the product's retail launch. The new mantra must be to reveal less and intrigue more.
 (Dealers did this quite well back in the days when they'd cover up new models until launch day to keep curious faces pressed against store windows.)

Apple did all of this and more. Breakthrough product. Inspiring design. Smart pricing. Clever marketing. Seems so simple. And therein lies the beauty of Apple’s success.

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 hardware working together to create unique value.  This was the simple vision of Sony's founder, Akio Morita, finally brought to life by Sir Howard Stringer, Sony's current CEO.

This test, if successful, has major implications for how movies will be distributed in the future and may do to video distribution what iTunes did to music distribution.

But I'm equally interested in the implications for the Sony brand.  I think we're about to see the brand rediscover its mojo.

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 good, how did we end up with failing schools, $4.00 gas, war, and melting ice caps?  

Barack, focus your candidacy on creating a more secure future for America.  Redefine national security.  Inspire Americans to understand that security goes beyond a strong military and, by doing so, undercut the Republican Party's single issue definition of security.  Focus on five policies that will create long-term economic, strategic and personal security.

Education is a security issue.  Better K-12 education creates economic security when our children are better prepared to compete in the global economy.  Alternative energy is a security issue.  Investing in wind, solar, and nuclear resources will lead to strategic security when the future of the United States is no longer held over a barrel.  Healthcare is a security issue.  Policies, both legislative and market-driven, that make healthcare more affordable will inspire a feeling of personal well-being and security.  The environment is a security issue.  Common sense initiatives that help lower greenhouse emissions will help guarantee the security of our communities, country and planet.  And, of course, military spending is a matter of great national security.  But what we need is a new investment strategy that leads to a more agile force capable of winning asymmetrical conflicts.

Barack?