Curdled words - WORDLE?

I gave my valentine a "StarKiss"

It was a fun experience although she did not enjoy it, said it felt like an old people kiss :( I loved the experience and the idea of a NEW type of a kiss after - Butterfly kiss, Eskimo kiss, Khumani kiss (after our dog) and so on...

I must say I was inspired but the StarKist advertisement that was such a let down!

The company could have capitalized on the timing and the holiday but I hardly noticed any more than a few spots.

These are perfect opportunities for a brands to create consumer engagement and transcend into a cult.

Nuggets from Silverstein

Happy New Year to my readers! After a short hiatus I am back to writing and talking about my passion... BRANDS & PEOPLE.

A recent post in the WSJ caught my attention, from the author of Trading up, Treasure Hunt and now What Women Want... Here are some poignant thoughts.

Men typically:

1. Ignore the importance of emotional appeal. Senior male executives often rise to their leadership positions through manufacturing, finance, marketing or product development. They are rewarded and recognized for their ability to identify technical and functional benefits, but they often fail to realize that women buy goods for emotional benefits: How does this purchase make them feel, during the purchase experience and after? Do they feel wise, savvy, intelligent, cared for? Men, by contrast, develop habitual purchasing routines and buy most goods for replacement. This is why women's categories are characterized by ever-shortening fashion cycles while change rolls much more slowly through men's categories.

2. Cut price to build sales. When business slows, male executives will typically cut prices or create promotions to make up for a drop in sales, but this often has the opposite effect than the one desired. Women think of lower-priced goods and services as second rate and assume that the offerer has compromised on quality. Women are in the market every day, physically and online, and are more aware than men are of changes in offerings and shifts in pricing.

3. Don't change offerings from year to year. Executives will skimp on product development, making incremental improvements that are intended to bring short-term payback, rather than gain share over the long haul. They lengthen the product development cycle, making few changes in the product from season to season, and, as a result, have difficulty differentiating their products from those of their competitors and have little news to offer their customers. Women are far more interested than men in what's new, better and novel, and want to be delighted by innovation.

4. Make it pink. Male executives who have success with a product aimed at men, and are uncertain of what women really want, will offer a female version of their male-focused product, by making minor changes in size, shape, packaging, color or marketing strategy. But, because the product is not genuinely created to meet women's needs and challenges, female consumers immediately see through it and reject it.

5. Fail to differentiate. Unless they research and refine, companies find themselves blind to women's needs and dissatisfactions. They offer "me too" goods and wonder why they sit on the shelves.

6. Communicate clumsily. Marketing is often based on stereotypes rather than insight into the real problems women face . Sales and/or service delivery frequently fails to directly target segments of women and meet their needs exactly, finely, prescriptively.

7. Overlook the need for time-saving solutions. According to the BCG research, women identify their main challenge as how to manage time and create balance in their lives. Although men are gradually taking more responsibility at home, women still shoulder the majority of household and childcare tasks. They have, in effect, a job at work and a job at home, so they are constantly making choices and trade-offs and look for product and service solutions that help them make the most of their precious time. Although many products are marketed with the claims that they are designed to save time, bundle tasks and make life easier, few of them actually deliver on those promises.

8. Ignore the importance of community. A sense of community and empathy is lacking from most male-developed products and services. Personal connection and credibility are critically important to key service categories. One satisfied female customer will bring another nine or ten into the fold. Women spend as much time on the Internet now as they do watching television, and, unlike men, much of that time is given over to networking and connecting with others.

9. Forget design aesthetics. Women love color, but men tend to use a black and white palette. Women see every product purchase as a chance for adventure, learning and a way to bring excitement and flair into their lives. In most categories, men are focused on functionality, durability and price.

10. Underestimate the importance of love. Next to time, women place love as the most important aspect of their lives. Married women with children especially have the least time to express their love and, as a result, seek goods and services that let them say "I love you" with care, specificity and empathy.

'I think' & 'I feel' connundrum...

Stanford Knowledgebase published some recent finding into a study conducted in partnership with University of Illinois, Chicago about brand messages that empathize with the consumer through copy that contains, 'I think' and 'I feel'. They uncovered some interesting insights...

Men tune in when messages contain 'I think' while Women focus on the 'Feel' follow the link for details... Is "Thinking" or "Feeling" More Persuasive?

I could not believe it...

It sure sounds ridiculous, but I trust the analytical judgment of the investors? Eitherway, Now women can pee while standing.

I hope this is a joke in the woman's emancipation movement?

Mixed format advertising is amazing...

This old piece from Chiquita is apparently making a come back according to brandchannel.com the interesting mix of DRTV and an infomercial is both educational and catchy.

The Chief Mythologist's view point

Devdutt Patnaik helps the Future Group understand the shoppers in India, their behaviors and habits.

This is an interesting talk on "the myths that mystify" posted on TED.

Also check an old related post - Mythology MUST influence brand strategy

We sure have all lived through this... thanks again Tom

I love satire... Thanks Tom!

Stupidity influenced

This may not be a huge surprise but stupidity loves company! Here is an example those who watched the show 'Jackass' were most likely to try repeating some of the actions they watched. The show had to caution audience against trying any parts of the show on their own and at home!

Is stupidity really contagious? If humor is lost in translation why isn't stupidity?

Now for the more critical part of this essay, how does a brand target the stupid? Or does the target find the the brand? I am quite sure those that qualify for The Darwin Awards very often don't need to know about them to act and qualify for them!

Sadly organizations too fall prey to being influenced by 'stupid', as much as I have loved Drucker I know Management is not always about doing the right things and leadership is not about doing things right!

The experience brand phenomenon!

V interesting article in Adage on "How Experiences Are Becoming the New Advertising" and brands like Red Bull, Virgin America, Uniqlo and Guinness Lead the Way!

Red Bull: Red Bull basically pioneered the experiential category. Not only did the brand rise to prominence by sponsoring alternative athletes and lifestyles, it went further by creating its own events, like Red Bull's Flugtag and even its own sports like Red Bull's Crashed Ice, which takes over old Quebec with a mix of hockey and motorcross. Even the brand's website has morphed into a blog, much like today's most popular publishers.

Camper: Most of us in the U.S. think of Camper as purely a comfortable yet stylish shoe brand. But the Spanish company is much more and pursues a brand ethos that's both traditional, cultural and fashion forward simultaneously. Proof: Casa Camper, stylish (but laid back) hotels in Barcelona and Berlin that embodies the brand's essence. Ditto for Camper Together which taps up and coming artists to create one-of-a-kind boutiques.

Guinness: Guinness may be 250 years old, but it's acting like a much, much younger marketer. The company has embraced experiential branding both literally and figuratively with its "It's Alive Inside" positioning. For its anniversary, Guinness offered up Remarkable Experiences, including a trip into space. It also released a pub-finder iPhone application with a social media twist. More impressively, the brand created the Guinness Storehouse, a seven-story building that functions as both museum and pub, that has now become one of Ireland's top tourist attractions. And, more recently, Guinness even wired up its rugby team with RFID tags (including balls and players) to capture a whole range of statistics about how fast, powerfully and effectively the game is played.

UNIQLO: Few companies have so used digital like Uniqlo to both build a brand and breakthrough to new consumers -- and on a truly global scale.The Japanese retailer surprises and delights consumers at every turn, whether through innovative iPhone applications, calendars, e-commerce, stylebooks and microsites. Uniqlo's experiential efforts not only express the brand, but reach new consumers who may live thousands of miles away from the nearest retail location.

Virgin America: Virgin America has gone further than most, ensuring that the experience is the marketing -- and advertising in many cases. The brand targeted tech-savvy consumers early on with its Red system entertainment console and in-flight WiFi. It showed off its dramatic interiors in promotions with Diggnation and YouTube celebrities; became an early adopter of Twitter for customer service; and reinforced its brand values through its simple booking engine on VirginAmerica.com. And now, for the holidays, Virgin America is partnering with Google to offer free WiFi for travelers.

Nike: Nike, of course, has been moving in this experiential direction for a few years. 'We're not in the business of keeping the media companies alive,'' Nike's Trevor Edwards told the New York Times in 2007. ''We're in the business of connecting with consumers.'' And so they have. The company continually earns kudos for consumer experience breakthroughs like Nike+, its online running community; the Human Race, a global running event; and more recently the Livestrong Chalkbot which enabled users to submit a text message that would be painted (digitally) on the route of the Tour de France.

Branding 'Sexiness'

This is a very powerful video, one with a strong personality and yes of course 'Sexiness'. Sensuality does not have boundaries and without doubt is PERSONAL not limited to someone else's evaluation, judgment or appreciation! - LIAISON

Powered by liaison-dangereuse.com

Now for another view on Shoppers

Segmentation is one of the fundamental building blocks of a marketing program and one of the first steps in presenting a brand with a relevant proposition to the target audience. Segmentation is not how brands perceive shoppers & consumers but how shoppers and consumers perceive themselves... There are obviously 10 ways from Tuesday to skin a cat and so also Segment the target shoppers & consumers.

Here is one shopper segmentation in light of the current economic recession from Decitica -

1. Steadfast Frugalists
2. Involuntary Penny-Pinchers
3. Pragmatic Spenders
4. Apathetic Materialists.

These categories were derived by analyzing the frequency, satisfaction and the self-efficacy associated with a variety of spending, purchase and consumption behaviors.

Steadfast Frugalists

Steadfast Frugalists are committed to self-restraint, engaging in prudence with unequivocal enthusiasm. They make up about one-fifth of the American consumers, representing all income and age groups.

"Marketers will find this group to be the most challenging, as they are the least brand loyal and most likely to discount marketing messages," notes Dr. Srinivas.

Eighty-percent of Steadfast Frugalists say the new behaviors they have adopted will likely stay with them for a long time. This is in contrast to twenty-four percent of Apathetic Materialists who feel this way.

Involuntary Penny-Pinchers

Involuntary Penny-Pinchers, about twenty-nine percent of the population, have been severely affected by the recession. They are mainly made up of households with less than $50,000 in income, with more women than men.

This segment has been forced to embrace thrift like never before. Presently, their actual behaviors do not differ widely from those of Steadfast Frugalists. Where they drastically diverge is in their aversion to expending effort in money-saving strategies. Only seventeen percent find buying store or generic labels to be satisfying, compared to fifty-nine percent of Steadfast Frugalists.

Also, the recession has had a heavy emotional impact on Involuntary Penny-Pinchers; they admit to being more scared (seventy-seven percent), stressed (eighty-one percent) and worried (eighty-seven percent) about the future than other groups.

Pragmatic Spenders

"Pragmatic Spenders are the most attractive group for marketers because of their higher spending power," says Dr. Val Srinivas. "While it is true that they have also curbed their spending, they are the most capable, both psychologically and financially, to willfully resurrect their past spending patterns," he added. This group comprises twenty-nine percent of consumers.

Income has blunted the effects of the recession on this segment. Only twenty-eight percent of Pragmatic Spenders feel the recession has changed what and how they will buy in the future, compared to fifty-five percent of Steadfast Frugalists.

Apathetic Materialists

Apathetic Materialists seem least changed by the recession. They have not embraced the new frugality to the same extent as others and get minimal satisfaction from such behaviors. Only about six percent in this group find price comparison to be satisfying, in contrast to eighty-five percent in the Steadfast Frugalists camp.

The Apathetic Materialists segment has more men (fifty-five percent) and younger consumers (seventy-two percent are below the age of forty). They are the least driven by price: only eight percent admit to being very focused on value compared to thirty percent of Pragmatic Spenders and fifty-two percent of Involuntary Penny-Pinchers.

In my opinion a lot of these segments are sheer common sense and a lot of creative copy in generating segment names that sound profound and titillating at the same time.

Top 10 tactics that make you buy

Retail marketing article on MSN's Money is interesting... Here are the tidbits

1. Location, location, location

In retailing, as in real estate, location is everything. The milk is at the back of the supermarket for the simple reason that you have to walk past everything in the shop to get to it. There's no dashing in and dashing out again. Instead there's enough time to remember that you also need dishwashing detergent, garbage bags and, oh yes, Tim Tams. The best layouts are designed to keep you moving and often follow a curving path (think of an IKEA store or your local Target). The effect is to have you "wander around".

2. Refer to rule one

While we're on the subject of location, it's no accident that small, incidental purchases are placed close to the cash registers. Magazines, chocolate bars, batteries … the kind of stuff you never remember unless it's staring you in the face. In the same way, lip glosses, scented candles, soaps, those little "comedy" books, key rings and the like will be placed tantalisingly near the counter of specialist shops. It makes it easier for you to say "oh, and this too, thanks". You'll also often see products classified as impulse buys placed at the ends of aisles, making them hard to miss.

3. Smells like teen spirit

Probably bigger in the US than it is here, scent can be used to create a buying ambience. The classic is coffee and freshly baked bread in supermarkets (try smelling either and not feeling hungry), but there have also been cases where sports stores have been scented to smell like locker rooms (supposedly to make you feel like an athlete).

4. My kind of sound

Next time you're shopping, close your eyes and listen to the tempo of the sounds being piped through the aisles. In a traditional department store, the music is likely to be soothing — aimed at slowing you down and encouraging you to linger over the merchandise. Supermarkets play those comfortable, easy hits that have you singing along and probably not sticking as closely to your shopping list as you should. Specialty stores will use music to reflect the kind of customer the retailer is targeting — young, funky boutiques play young, funky music (usually at ear-splitting levels).

5. Show me the money

Visual merchandising (a fancy name for displays) offers more ammunition. By putting items together in an attractive way, or, in the case of home stores, showing a room setting that allows you to imagine the items at your place, retailers are doing the hard work for you. So rather than buying the picture frame you went in the store for, you might buy three (they "group" so nicely) — and perhaps a rug, lamp and cushion to "tie the look together".

This kind of enticement begins with the glossy catalogues that stores now produce. No longer just a photographic show-through of a company's product, the catalogues are selling "see-yourself-here" lifestyle aspirations.

6. Look at me

To make you buy, the retailer has to get you to stop. The more you stop to look at attractive displays or interesting details or "bargain" signs, the more likely it is that extra stuff will find its way into your basket or trolley. To combat this, keep on walking — if it's that interesting, you can always go back later.

7. Shelf possessed

It's no accident that the most expensive items in a supermarket are placed at eye level (or that products aimed at kids are placed about three-feet from the ground). We see therefore we buy. It takes a savvy shopper to know that cheaper products are usually on the bottom shelves. Bend a little and save.

8. Twice as nice

How many times have you been seduced by the supermarket "multi-buy" or the shoe stores "two-for-one" offer? Using the words "two for one" instead of "50 percent off" have been shown to increase purchases by up to 150 percent! Apparently we feel we're getting value rather than simply getting something cheap. Ask yourself this: do you really need two?

9. Size does count

It's very hard to over-shop with a basket — space is at a premium — which is why some retailers push us towards trolleys. Your three-item shopping list — toothpaste, butter, tuna — looks very lonely in a huge trolley and it's hard to avoid the temptation to throw in extra products to keep them company. Before you know it, you've racked up a huge bill.

10. When trying has you buying

Clothes-shopping has many traps for the unwary. From the salesperson who tries to develop "a relationship" with you (so that you trust her judgement and will take her advice on additional purchases) to the little "extras" that are vital to making an outfit "work" — think jewellery, bag, shoes, scarf … and the list goes on. It also seems that simply trying something on can lead to a purchase. It's called "claiming ownership" and the logic goes that once you've had that coat on your back you'll feel less happy about putting it back on the rack. Nobody's suggesting you shouldn't try before you buy, but beware those possessive feelings.

8 Guaranteed Ways To Kill Your Brand

As important as it is to work a strategy to develop a successful brand, it is important to know avoid the pot holes along the way. This was an interesting article from this morning's MediaPost, cant say I agree with everything 100% but it is not a bad start.

Here are some of the key points.

Myth #1 - Follow the leader

NB - You cannot fail for following the leader! Game Theory has proved the best fail proof strategy is "Monkey see monkey do"

Myth #2 - Better safe than sorry

NB - Test, Test, Test then Act! Better safe than fool hardy.

Myth #3 - Recessions are bad times to introduce new brands

Myth #4 - National brands are dead

Myth #5 - Value = price

Myth #6 - More SKUs = more market share

Myth #7 - Consumers are marketers

NB - Start with listening to Consumers, but marketer holds the controls

Myth #8 - The answers lie in research

NB - Start with research and end with research! Focus on the right questions not just right answers.

Brand Magic

The article is no new news but a sheer reinforcement of concepts but the ideas are certainly on target. Top lines from the article:

1. Understand the "right brain" of your category.

Marketers always have a deep understanding of their category's "left brain," the numbers and functional benefits. The "right brain" attributes often are unexplored. What visual, sensorial and emotional benefits can your brand deliver and own that work together with your product's attributes to create an unbreakable bond that turns your consumers into brand enthusiasts?

2. Understand the sensorial and emotional palette of your audience.

A lot of research is still left-brain, Q&A-focused. To unveil the magic in your brand, using highly right-brained projective techniques like image sorts, drawing and writing can get at the more elusive sensorial and emotional attributes that are important to your consumer and relevant, meaningful and inspiring in your category.

3. Create a Visual Position.

Brand positions are often created in words, although people primarily experience brands visually. But ... a brand's packaging, advertising and overall presence in the world starts with visual symbolism, not words. And unlike our pets at home, who have heightened senses of smell and hearing, humans are primarily sight-driven. Seventy percent of our sense receptors are in our eyes, and 80% of what we learn about the world comes to us visually, yet most brands do not have a visual position that brings the written positioning and story to life.

Terminologies catching-up with Concepts

I was at the breakfast table and thinking of an ice breaking phrase for a conversation when I stumbled upon the thought of how terminology and concepts are out of sync. May be even a phase lag where terminology is playing catch-up with concepts!

Here is a classic example "Automobile", as an equipment and term enabled consumers to be 'mobile' without much physical exertion. For a few years now we don't even need to physically travel to be 'mobile' to get from Point A to Point B, participate in dialog, interact broadly beyond just sound. Devices like Mobile-Phones, Networking devices enable us to be in a new place ethereally in a matter of seconds and in many times multiple places simultaneously at the same time.

This gap creates the space for brands to establish metaphors and emotions for consumers to visualize and imagine the possibilities? The more vivid the images and greater the relevance the greater the likelihood of resonance!

You've got to love the simplicity!

Venky (Rao), Thanks again for the shot...

Plan-Act-Prepare

Interesting article on Realities of idea diffusion and consumer idea adoption based on concepts from Moore's, Crossing the Chasm & Godin's 'Purple Cow', published by Beakdal.

Here are some real life examples from the article:

Car industry:

One example is the car industry, and companies like General Motors. If they had embraced this plan 5-10 years ago, then they would not have gone bankrupt.

Of course, there are always special cases, where you are creating niche products that go against the norm. But, they too have to change with the times. Even Ferrari is looking into creating more fuel-efficient cars. And cars like the 2010 Fisker Karma are showing the way.

"Web design" (which we need another word for)

The same goes for web design. Instead of a traditional website, your plan should now be to move your content to where people are. While doing that, you should embrace the social world and use your website as a hub (do this now, not tomorrow).

You should also still support the ‘old world' of websites and blogs. But, you should no longer spend any more time creating traditional websites.

Marketing & PR:

It is the same with marketing and PR. Plan for social news. Do social networks, support TV & magazines, and ignore print catalogs?

Fair versus Equal

Back to the debate of tangibles? Yes, ofcourse!

I know not a lot of people have patience for this math mumbo-jumbo but here is where I was going with the concept. Brand and particularly in the service sector incentivize customers through promotions either to attract or retain them various strategies (popularly refered to as CRM-Customer Relationship Management, a glorified way of nurturing your customer). Even the best laid plans are often abused, the least attractive shoppers often endup with maximum gains and the loyalists miss the cream.

In a debate between fair and equal, the rewards are established fairly from the opint of view of the marketer but redeemed fairly from the point of view of the customer and consumer. Fair is intangible and is obviously a function of the point of view where as equality is tangible and independent of points of view.

So the fnudamental question in my mind was should a brand pursue fairness and run the risk of some very happy customers or equality and averaged happiness across the entire customer base? One option is to establish and offer equality through baseline brand attributes of service, quality, assortment while fairness in community causes. As for the rewards, let the experience be a reward in itself?