| Offline Sales Lift from CPG Brand Advertising Comparison Between TV and Internet Total U.S. Source: Information Resources, Inc. and comScore, Inc. | ||
| TV (IRI) | Internet (comScore) | |
| Sales Lift | +8% over 12 months | +9% over 3 months |
| Percent of Campaigns Showing Statistically Significant Lift | 36% | 80% |
While both the CMO & CTO share high-level goals, their priorities differ. Marketers find flexibility and agility most important, while IT execs value stability and continuity.The CMO's Role in a Customer-Centric Organization - I have been interested in Jay Galbraith's work on organization design for a while (I own and have read all the books he has written), his article in AdAge this morning is very exciting. Here are some nuggets:
1. Allow IT to experiment.
2. Give IT a stake in marketing.
3. Let marketers tinker with technology.
4. Mix things up. Systems work better when IT and Marketing work in the same room and share responsibility for uptime.
"How customer-centric do we need to be?"; At the center of these challenges is the role of the chief marketing officer -- the person who needs to deliver thought leadership, lead the strategy debate and reorganization, and then integrate the various marketing types into a company-wide, customer-centric orientation.
The need for strong thought leadership begins by defining customer centricity. This task is more difficult than simply establishing a company lexicon.
many product-centric companies think that they are customer-centric; They drive their product-development process with customer insights. They use ergonomic and anthropological studies to guide product design. They test the design on focus groups and user groups. They measure customer satisfaction and so on. But at the end of the day, they are still product-centric. Why? Because they are trying to reach as many customers as possible for their product. Their metric is market share and customer retention.
A customer-centric business tries to find as many products and services as possible for the customer. They create solutions and experiences for their customers.
Solutions require customer insight and knowledge in order to create value for the customer segment. In general, the larger the solution -- the more products and services that are combined -- the greater the amount of customer insights and knowledge needed to create that solution.
The CMO's role? To be the thought leader who defines customer centricity and determines if the company is product-centric or customer-centric; The role of the CMO is one of generating and implementing cross-category solutions. The CMO needs to build and establish a robust insight-development process throughout the company to drive the development of solutions. Finally, the CMO will need to bring the brand architecture framework to bear. The CMO needs to have the leadership skills to manage this company-wide community. The CMO typically runs the marketing councils for the company.
"A Parent is Born" 12-part docu-drama video series debuts on www.pampers.com on Aug. 24. Not a new strategy for either Pampers, P&G or most brands but the concept is great in targeting the prospect when she is anxious and prime."A Parent Is Born" is a docu-drama series following a real couple, Suzie and Steve, along their path to parenthood. The series captures the range of challenges, fears, excitement and joys that come with having your first child. The episodes are 4-5 minutes in length and will live on the recently redeveloped Pampers Village Web site, which continues to offer new content and features to delight current parents and parents-to-be where they live, work and play. "A Parent is Born" is an honest, entertaining, portrayal of a couple's amazing journey from the 15th week of pregnancy through the first month post birth.
"Pampers understands there are experiences to be faced long before the baby even comes," said
Jodi Allen North American vice president and general manager for Pampers. "The 'A Parent is Born' series is an authentic look at the joy and excitement, as well as the challenges and fears that go along with becoming a parent. We are excited to enhance the Pampers Village Web site and provide consumers with compelling video content that not only informs new parents-to-be, but also provides some nostalgic moments for parents looking back at their own journeys."
Forrester Research's definition of ENGAGEMENT:
Engagement is measured as the level of involvement, interaction, intimacy and influence a customer has for or with a brand over time.
Metrics:
- Involvement tracks site visitors, time spent, page views, reach, frequency, media impressions, etc.
- Interaction measures the contributions to blogs, content creation and uploads, and purchases.
- Intimacy monitors consumer attitudes, perceptions and feelings about a brand through surveys, service calls and brand studies.
- Influence measures the likelihood that consumers will recommend or advocate products or brands. Summarized well with gauges such as Net Promoter Indexes (NPi), brand affinities, etc.
1. If we're a clothing retailer, we have to hire fashionista/passionistas.
A genuine passionista (of whatever retail genre) is excited about the merchandise not because they're told to be, but because they are excited by it. How can you tell? One of the aspects of finding passionistas is that their avocation is also their vocation.
2. We have to brand the experience, differentiating on elements of style and design.
The most salient emotional benefit of shopping is to feel "lucky," as women describe it over and over. Knowing that feeling lucky is the emotion women desire from a great shopping experience, we can empathize with retailers who try resort to the short cut of price promotion, which surely can elicit the "lucky" response. However, it's those folks who work harder and more creatively to prompt the "I'm lucky I found it" reaction through enhanced shopping experiences who win social as well as financial capital.
3. We have to change the tone, acknowledging that the customer knows the economy is in free-fall.
What customers want is to have a unique proposition. When we bother to do that through service and support or any of a hundred valid means, we automatically de-average price.
"When buying products whose selling point is richness or weight, consumers like to see the product image at the bottom or the right of the packaging"Credits to Ernst Dichter for the title of this article. Ernst published a book by the same name in 1975.
"products that are supposed to be healthy or light — like low-calorie cookies or hand-held video cameras — do better with images at the top of the packaging, or on the left"
Needs in Tension Reveal Hidden Opportunities
Keep it..
- practical (get help to get things done)
- emotional (express devotion to my group)
- individual (explore different parts of my identity)
- social (raise the quality of my interactions)
Sustain Passions while Managing Responsibilities
Joining a community is often a means to pursue a hobby or interest
- Paradoxically, the more a community succeeds at providing members multiple ways to engage, the more it increases the potential conflict between spending time with the community and the need to manage responsibilities such as family and career.
- Strong communities head off these issues by providing opportunities to include the family and by making it easy for members to manage their involvement without feeling guilty.
Deepen Experience and Explore New Challenges
Some of the most tangible benefits communities offer are opportunities to deepen knowledge and gain expertise.
- The more the brand enables members to explore their shared passion, the stronger the ties to the community become.
Be an Individual and Part of Something Bigger
Individuals often join communities to test out or develop different aspects of their identities.
- Affiliating with a like-minded group is a good way to explore ideals and decide if they’re really for you.
- Marketing experts have taught us that the best way to do this is by developing a strong brand identity: define a relevant set of values and express them clearly and consistently to attract a loyal following. While this formula works well for attraction, it can be limiting in terms of retention. The very clarity and consistency that build a strong brand can feel confining to those already involved and lead to a desire for escape.
Enjoy Today while Preparing for the Future
The tension between immediate gratification and future rewards has plagued humans for thousands of years. It shows up in every aspect of our lives, and the community sphere is no different.
- Involvement in the community can feel like a distraction or like an impediment to getting on with the serious business of real life.
Discovering these opportunities requires listening to constituents, asking questions and, often, digging beneath the surface to unearth hidden conflicts. Passionate community members are eager to co-create, and engaging people in strengthening their own community is always a winning strategy.
Kanter's stages and suggestions align with mine:• Tune into the environment. What has changed since you began the initiative? Do the original assumptions hold? Is the need still there?I agree with Kanter on the fact that:
• Check the vision. Does the idea still feel inspiring? Is it big enough to make extra efforts worthwhile?
• Test support. Are supporters still enthusiastic about the mission? Will new partners join the initiative?
• Examine progress. Have promises been kept and milestones passed? Are there early indicators, tangible demonstrations, that this could succeed? Can the next wave of results sustain supporters and silence critics?
• Search for synergies. Can the project work well with other activities? Can it be enhanced by alliances?
Those who master change persist and persevere. They have stamina. They are flexible. They expect obstacles on the road to success and celebrate each milestone. They keep arguing for what matters. And who knows what might happen? Persistence could keep innovations alive, convince companies to avoid draconian cuts, influence hiring managers to take a second look, or even persuade local politicians to save the city zoo.
The birth date of Hans Christen Orsted would have been the last thing on my mind this morning but the fun fact gave me a reason to spend additional time on the site, add to the search traffic on Google and visit Wikipedia (not associated with Google) to read up on Orsted's contributions to electro-magnetism, etc. Yesterday it was the Meteor shower and so on.
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