by Steve Badertscher
First off, let me say that I agree with everything in Steve Fodor's blog post yesterday, especially the title (I kid, I kid). Actually I do concur with his views about Twitter as a B2B marketing tool, especially the fact that the verdict is still out. Truth be told, the "real" reason I have a little smirk on my face every time he mentions Twitter is because images from this YouTube video start running through my head. Oh, that and the fact that his cat has over 200 followers.
Thursday, May 14, 2009
Wednesday, May 13, 2009
My Boss Thinks I'm a Twit
by Steve FodorWhenever I mention Twitter as a marketing venue, my boss does a little smirk and I sense apprehension on his part.
I really can’t disagree with that sense of apprehension because I share it myself. Over the brief course of the last six months or so, here’s a small sampling of what I’ve read and heard regarding Twitter as a marketing tool:
“Twitter has jumped from early adopter oddity to mainstream sensation.”
“Twitter is fast becoming a go-to tactic for business-to-business and business-to-consumer marketers.”
“As of February 2009, there are over 7 million users on Twitter, an increase of over 1,300% from a year before.”
“Over 60% of new Twitter users will drop out and cease participation in 30 days.”
What’s the verdict? I’ll give you a very definite “maybe” at this point. It’s still being defined. Some use it as a research tool. I’ve heard of some “Tweeting” at trade shows, saying “what’s going on in our booth.” Some companies let customer service representatives interact with customers via Twitter, creating new avenues for relationship building. It’s “speculative” at best to measure viewership with Twitter. And it does not tie in with search engine optimization programs as do blogging and keyword search strategies.
I’m not dismissing Twitter (hey, my cat has over 200 followers). How we use all new social media is evolving. How we define these new mediums as marketing tools is limited only to our creativity. The possibilities are endless and, I’m sure, will become even more defined and measureable over time. So keep your eyes, ears and Twitter accounts open and see what evolves over the next six months.
Flickr Photo Credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/scobleizer/
Flickr Photo Credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/scobleizer/
Tuesday, May 12, 2009
Judging Marketing Creative -- The Power of the First Impression
by Brad Smith
One of the hardest things an account manager is asked to do is the same thing we turn right around and ask our clients to do – judge the agency’s creative efforts.
Take an ad, for example. At this agency the presentation of an ad is preceded with a review of the situation, the audience and the objective(s) of the ad. Given today’s market characteristics, who is the audience we want to communicate with, and what do we want them to do after reading our ad?
So we create an ad from the perspective of the audience, and then we ask our clients to put themselves in the audiences’ shoes and evaluate/judge the power of the concept and its ability to do the job we’ve all agreed upon.
And then there’s the presentation, and that magic moment of the first impression. The client sees the concept – the headline and the visual (the text is read later). Will it grab my prospect’s attention and interest? Will they get it? Is this the way my company should be portrayed?
This is an emotional judgment. Combined with an intellectual business decision. When you’re judging the creative, never forget that first impression…because it’s the first impression your prospects will likely have, too.
The tendency is to start to over analyze. To try and improve. To start the “what if we changed this” thinking.
Don’t do it. Trust your emotional instincts. Remember the power of your first impression.
It took a brave client to approve “Just Do It” as a positioning statement. Or “Got Milk?” as a campaign theme, using famous people with a white moustache as a visual. Or “Lemon” as a headline for a car manufacturer’s ad.
So how do you judge an agency’s creative concepts? How brave should you be – or have you been? Let me know what you think, and share an experience or two.
Nike "Swoosh" symbol and "Just Do It" slogan are trademarks of Nike Corporation
One of the hardest things an account manager is asked to do is the same thing we turn right around and ask our clients to do – judge the agency’s creative efforts.
Take an ad, for example. At this agency the presentation of an ad is preceded with a review of the situation, the audience and the objective(s) of the ad. Given today’s market characteristics, who is the audience we want to communicate with, and what do we want them to do after reading our ad?
So we create an ad from the perspective of the audience, and then we ask our clients to put themselves in the audiences’ shoes and evaluate/judge the power of the concept and its ability to do the job we’ve all agreed upon.
And then there’s the presentation, and that magic moment of the first impression. The client sees the concept – the headline and the visual (the text is read later). Will it grab my prospect’s attention and interest? Will they get it? Is this the way my company should be portrayed?
This is an emotional judgment. Combined with an intellectual business decision. When you’re judging the creative, never forget that first impression…because it’s the first impression your prospects will likely have, too.
The tendency is to start to over analyze. To try and improve. To start the “what if we changed this” thinking.
Don’t do it. Trust your emotional instincts. Remember the power of your first impression.
It took a brave client to approve “Just Do It” as a positioning statement. Or “Got Milk?” as a campaign theme, using famous people with a white moustache as a visual. Or “Lemon” as a headline for a car manufacturer’s ad.
So how do you judge an agency’s creative concepts? How brave should you be – or have you been? Let me know what you think, and share an experience or two.
Nike "Swoosh" symbol and "Just Do It" slogan are trademarks of Nike Corporation
Monday, May 11, 2009
Stand For Something
by Steve Fodor
A colleague of mine likes to say, “If you needed to have brain surgery done, you wouldn’t go to a general practice doctor.”
The same is true when it comes to positioning your business and how you go to market. If you don’t stand for something specific and own it, or, if you try to be too broad in your positioning, you end up standing for nothing in the minds of prospects and customers.
Positioning is the discipline of making trade-offs. And I say “discipline” because it is hard to focus your marketing message and positioning. But, as Bill Cosby once said, “The surest way to fail is to try to be all things to all people.”
Defining what you do best (or the two or three things you do best and can own) requires you to take a hard look at yourself and have insight into what the unmet needs are in your category. What makes you unique? Will this motivate customers? Will this render the competition helpless? Not only is this a critical business strategy, but think about how people find information today. In many cases, their first avenue is to enter some words into Google. If you’re not presenting your information in a specific, well-defined and positioned way, you’re probably not going to be high on the search page.
Today’s consumers and buyers have way, way more choices than they did just a decade ago. If you don’t stand for something specific, own a relevant position and stand out in a unique way, you’re just another commodity. And if you’re a commodity, you’ll always be forced to compete on price. That’s not the most enjoyable position to own.
Flickr Photo Credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/mistressf/
A colleague of mine likes to say, “If you needed to have brain surgery done, you wouldn’t go to a general practice doctor.”
The same is true when it comes to positioning your business and how you go to market. If you don’t stand for something specific and own it, or, if you try to be too broad in your positioning, you end up standing for nothing in the minds of prospects and customers.
Positioning is the discipline of making trade-offs. And I say “discipline” because it is hard to focus your marketing message and positioning. But, as Bill Cosby once said, “The surest way to fail is to try to be all things to all people.”
Defining what you do best (or the two or three things you do best and can own) requires you to take a hard look at yourself and have insight into what the unmet needs are in your category. What makes you unique? Will this motivate customers? Will this render the competition helpless? Not only is this a critical business strategy, but think about how people find information today. In many cases, their first avenue is to enter some words into Google. If you’re not presenting your information in a specific, well-defined and positioned way, you’re probably not going to be high on the search page.
Today’s consumers and buyers have way, way more choices than they did just a decade ago. If you don’t stand for something specific, own a relevant position and stand out in a unique way, you’re just another commodity. And if you’re a commodity, you’ll always be forced to compete on price. That’s not the most enjoyable position to own.
Flickr Photo Credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/mistressf/
Friday, May 8, 2009
Do You Really Need A New Brochure?
by Steve Fodor
I read something interesting in Business-To-Business magazine recently. Over 70% of industrial buyers view white papers as the most credible source of information for their purchasing decisions. Even more, they prefer information they can download from a Web site.
At first I was surprised by this statistic. I’ve always viewed the “stand-by” full-line product brochure as a necessity for anyone selling in the B2B, industrial world. But, with a new generation of decision makers entering the work force, I guess this isn’t such a surprise.
People (be them consumers or industrial buyers) want information on their terms. In a world of commodity products, decisions are often made based on “who makes it the most convenient for me to purchase” and “who gives me a feeling of more control over my purchasing situation.”
Selling tools for today’s new generation of decision makers must be created to meet their information needs, not the seller’s. Think about all the new alternatives to the standard, printed brochure. There are DVDs, social media venues, opt-in e-mail and others that present information in a more dynamic and convenient format than a printed brochure. Not to mention that some of these options are more flexible and less costly than a printed piece.
Ultimately, it comes down to understanding the information needs of your customer. How do they use information? What is their decision-making process? Where do they go for information? What do they consider the most credible sources for information?
Understand what customers want and how they want to be communicated with. Gee, what a novel marketing concept.
I read something interesting in Business-To-Business magazine recently. Over 70% of industrial buyers view white papers as the most credible source of information for their purchasing decisions. Even more, they prefer information they can download from a Web site.
At first I was surprised by this statistic. I’ve always viewed the “stand-by” full-line product brochure as a necessity for anyone selling in the B2B, industrial world. But, with a new generation of decision makers entering the work force, I guess this isn’t such a surprise.
People (be them consumers or industrial buyers) want information on their terms. In a world of commodity products, decisions are often made based on “who makes it the most convenient for me to purchase” and “who gives me a feeling of more control over my purchasing situation.”
Selling tools for today’s new generation of decision makers must be created to meet their information needs, not the seller’s. Think about all the new alternatives to the standard, printed brochure. There are DVDs, social media venues, opt-in e-mail and others that present information in a more dynamic and convenient format than a printed brochure. Not to mention that some of these options are more flexible and less costly than a printed piece.
Ultimately, it comes down to understanding the information needs of your customer. How do they use information? What is their decision-making process? Where do they go for information? What do they consider the most credible sources for information?
Understand what customers want and how they want to be communicated with. Gee, what a novel marketing concept.
Flickr Photo Credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/gavinandrewstewart/
Thursday, May 7, 2009
Working With An Ad Agency And The "Seven-Year Itch"
by Steve FodorI’ve always heard that an agency/client relationship is a lot like a marriage. And most marriages that fail do so, on average, in about seven years. It goes something like this.
1. Year one – the honeymoon phase.
2. Year two – you start to notice little “quirks” about each other, but it’s no big deal.
3. Year three – you begin to take each other for granted.
4. Year four – you start to ignore each other.
5. Year five – tensions grow and you begin to argue…a lot.
6. Year six – you start to realize you made a bad decision.
7. Year seven – you get the “itch” to find another partner.
When do most marriages and agency/client relationships go bad? Year three.
Flickr Photo Credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/50841708@N00/
Wednesday, May 6, 2009
The Value of a Big Idea
by Steve Fodor
People often ask me, “What’s your favorite ad of all time?” Well, I have several, but one in particular stands out.
I love this ad (at right) for Volkswagen done by Arnold Communications and DDB Worldwide in 1979. Why? It’s simple and extendable. It makes the point by letting the reader reach the conclusion themselves, not by pounding a list of benefits into the reader’s head. Even the look of the ad says “simple” and “out of the ordinary” – Volkswagen brand attributes from my point of view. And the ad is timely, and timeless. It was developed during the oil embargo in the late 1970s. But it’s just as relevant today. What more could you ask for from an ad?
Whenever I show this ad as my favorite, people look at me and say, “Give me a black marker and a piece of paper and I could do that ad in about 30 seconds. Probably could draw the picture better, too.”
The value of a big idea and creativity is priceless. It’s much more than pretty pictures and execution alone.
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