Peanuts & Monkeys

I have a certain reverence for those sales junkies. It takes a lot of patience and determination to keep at it for long periods of time, certainly there is a large pot of gold at the end of the tunnel but it is still a very dark place to tread and often slow. In categories where strong brands don’t exist like outsourced IT services the sale can be driven on what else but price?

During a recent conversation with an old friend who is now developing business for a growing IT outsourcing company I had the opportunity to relive his conversation with a prospect. He said the prospect wanted the lowest possible price and had experienced several issues in the past with other outsource vendors they had partnered with. The dialogue piqued my interest so I asked some more questions. Contracts with other vendors had fallen apart based on the quality of service that was delivered to the client. Pricing was the key differentiator when selecting those vendors and the experience

The immediate analogy that came to mind was if you offer peanuts the best you can afford are monkeys. A monkey is a monkey is a monkey is a monkey just smaller or bigger in size, all they can do is copy each other, scratch and sniff.

Marketing Evolution-Tom Fishburne

Another fascinating contribution by Tom on Brand Camp! - Marketing Evolution.

Habits, Habits, Habits!

Buy This: Save More, Spend Less
By ROBERT POWELL (WSJ-Subscription Needed)

Interesting article talking about how CPG companies provide the stimulus that generates profitable volume and brand growth without even making the consumer think about the product.

Not every industry has been successful in establishing and leveraging habits, one such industry is Finance and Financial services.

The article reviews a case on soap usage from Ghana and makes references to consumer irrationality discussed by Dan Ariely to know, understand and leverage. Worth a read!

Training the consumer Pavlov's way-Tom Fishburne

Tom captures an interesting store from his past, no one denies sales move volume but what does it do for a brand's equity?

A lack of a holistic view on brands growth strategy and heavy dependence on trade promotions are a paves path to the brand grave yard!

Stuff grows legs

Ever noticed how you don’t find things when you are in a rush or when you need them. In our household we have this happen with salt, sugar, chips, snacks, etc. The recent McCormick ad is a classic example of how this happens. In the advertisement the kid of the family is using the McCormick black pepper grinder while mom cooks a meal and can’t find the grinder. Mom asks the child and she hands over the grinder so mom can complete making meal for the family. Years ago I remember when I moved to Cambridge, Mass for school/work I lived out of my car for almost a week until I found an apartment. I slept in a hotel but my stuff stayed in the car. Even after I settled into an apartment things took a long time to leave the car and often accompanied me between the apartment and the car.

We had several similar experiences with folks misplacing brands from designated spots particularly the popular brands, causing the cooking to take longer than it really needs to. Over time I noticed the more popular brands and fancy new packaging is a major driver.

All this got me thinking, As a marketer an idea popped – Could brands have invisible feet?

What drives these products to ‘travel’, not something we have leveraged yet?

Core truths about 'Digital-lings'

Interesting post on ANA Marketing Maestros - Digital Natives By: Irina Gorodetskaya

Truth 1: Email is lame.
Recently, Chris Marriott of Axciom presented at an ANA Marketing Training workshop on Digital Marketing and he stressed that the younger demographic does not answer their parents’ phone calls or emails. Instead joining social networks such as Facebook has caught his daughter attention.

Truth 2: TV is dead. Long live TV like online video services, e.g. Hulu.
That’s right, television is still hip but the format we watch it in has changed. People are busier now and do more things simultaneously—we as digital natives expect to see movies on multiple platforms which we can take with us wherever we go.

Truth 3: Cant w8 2 c u luv mma
We have our own ‘hip’ lingo that can catch our attention if adopted by advertisers.

Truth 4: Teens have a totally different view on privacy. Totally!
Teens today put up their phone numbers on social networking sites without worrying about identity theft or telemarketers.

Truth 5: “We don’t need no education.”

Truth 6: Copyrights?
An average teenager’s iPod has 800 illegal music tracks.

Truth 7: They care.

The heart and the wallet

For years my wallet would get distorted after a period of usage. No matter how fancy or sophisticated, it met the same fate. Remember the Seinfeld episode where George has to sit at an angle with his wallet under one of his buttocks that should give you an idea why those poor wallets have such a terrible destiny. Then couple years ago on my birthday I received a Coach wallet and I was determined to preserve this one for as long as it took. The first thing I did was started carrying it in my blazer pocket. The first time I put it in my pocket a thought crossed my mind. We make brand decisions with our heart and emotion and pay from our wallet, now there is a connection.

I guess there is a reason why shirts tend to have pockets right over the heart? What is funny is it is said ‘The way to a man’s heart is through his stomach and to a woman’s heart is through flattery’. Wouldn’t it make more sense to have a pocket on the belly and not the chest? Women have it figured; to them the wallet is a fashion accessory. It is no wonder they carry it away from their immediate body on most occasions.

The good and bad part is with all the ‘stuff’ in the wallet its position has dropped for most men to the bottom rear while the heart is still up top! One more reason for marketers to focus on emotions and connect with the heart than just the wallet!

That being said it is tough to drive shaving cream and razors with any appetizing pictures of food? While women don’t buy any more maxi pads just because the package speaks to her saying ‘honey you look ravishing’? Patriotism has also only gone so far… ‘Made in America’, ‘Designed in America’, or even ‘Assembled in America’ in a day and age where consumers literally empty their wallets on each stop at the gas pump. That’s not to say consumers don’t make purchase decisions emotionally with their heart but every purchase is a negotiation.

The negotiation involves a balancing act between the heart and the wallet. For years businesses that have let their brands languish at the expense of promotions have noticed a typical phenomenon where revenues increase while profits drop. Closure has been motivated purely based on the price at point of purchase, conversion at the point of purchase does little to leverage the emotional bond and the sixth sense of the packaging itself. Then there is the phenomenon of the luxury market where the shopper has a strong emotional bond and one that is effectively communicated and reinforced in the store but the foot traffic is small and not quite enough to justify at a grocery, drug or mass merchandise stores.

Marketing with Metaphors

Emotions, Beliefs and Expression, Zalman knows it best.

Staycation

A long time ago a manager in one of my old roles told me the easiest way to build awareness for a project is to name it. A form of branding the project! Recently I heart of one such rallying term – Staycation.

In today’s economic times of increasing costs of food, energy and everything around us people are economizing. Like most things economy starts at home! Consumers are cutting back on shopping and vacationing. A good vacation can be rejuvenation we need after a long hard day of work but with energy prices where they are travel is an expensive proposition and that’s only the tip of the iceberg. Our creative genes help us reinvent our world over and over and our imagination is the fuel for this reinvention.

As consumers cut back on travel, they are starting to find alternative destinations like the backyard of the house! I am not kidding and there in is the genesis of the word I heard – STAYCATION. Stay at home to take a break and small vacation to destination backyard.

Hope may not be a strategy but till there is hope there will be life and rallying cries are the hope of brands. The hope for the season is Staycation!!!

Culturecode? - "Fuel your family"

Dr. Rapaille will be very happy to hear about this video on youtube...