Friday, November 22, 2013

Letter from the Editor: It's a People Thing



Dear Friends,

In this world of turbo-charged changes, there are some, albeit seemingly few, things that do remain the same, and those things usually have to do with principles and people.

I took note of this in viewing a somewhat dated video recently. (View it here.) It’s a promotional clip entitled “Vision” for a motivational speaker, Howard Putnam, the former CEO of Southwest Airlines and Braniff Airlines. In between the various plugs, there are nuggets of truth delivered with humor and sobriety that pour from Putnam’s arsenal of experience, not with business strategies or financial spreadsheets, but rather with…people.

He begins and ends with the importance of people, specifically an organization’s team and its culture. According to Putnam, these form the foundation of a brand. “It’s a people thing. Hire attitude [confidence, talent, and ambition]. Find the folks that fit your culture…that’s how you begin to build a brand.” He continues by distinguishing the appeals: “If you sell a product or a service, you’ll be known as a vendor or a supplier. If you sell a vision or experience, now you’re beginning to develop a brand.”

In this world of smart-but-faceless-technology, the human touch is elusive and more important than ever. It’s the core of a brand’s existence, and the life and breath of an organization. Sometimes the anonymity of digital communication tools causes us to forget this fact. We need to keep in mind that they are merely tools, not replacements.

Putnam concludes, “The one business I know you are in and I know I am in is the people business. Your customers, your stakeholders, your suppliers, your investors, they are all people, and if we can work together as a team you have a much greater opportunity for success ahead.”

As the holiday season approaches and the new year is on the horizon, this is a great opportunity to thank you, our customers, for your continued support and trust! We appreciate you and, as always, we value your input and business. 

Here’s to the human touch and building a better brand through it,
Bridget

Be a Patron of the Brand Arts

The Good Samaritan, Vincent Van Gogh,
oil on canvas, 1890
"In a picture I want to say something comforting as music is comforting. I want to paint men and women with that something of the eternal which the halo used to symbolize, and which we seek to give by the actual radiance and vibration of our colorings…" –Van Gogh



Just as consumers connect with the people component of your brand, they connect with the visual “painting” of your brand as well through shared values.

People are emotional intuitive beings who are actually the determinants of what your brand is. It’s not what you say your brand is; it’s what the customer says it is. However, we can influence the way people emotionally respond to an organization through branding. Just as Van Gogh and other masters did with canvas and oils, so it goes with branding. The medium is different. The act of messaging is not.

Your brand requires consistent development. If your brand embraces artistry and cultivates meaning (an authentic message about your organization’s culture), then you’ve increased your odds for connection. You’ve demonstrated the importance of the emotional aspect of your brand, which in turn means you’ve humanized the building process. Treating people as people and less as sales quotas will in turn…not only increase sales figures but, more importantly, create brand evangelists.

If the organization places little to no value with regards to any aspect of the brand, including the visual, then you lose the emotional connection with consumers. Its ho-hum, void-of-value-system comes across loud and clear to the consumer, adversely affecting the consumer’s perception of the brand.

Convey the value of the person within the brand by promoting excellence and authenticity at every turn. Even if you offer a low-cost product or service, the quality of the presentation and service will speak to the value you have for your customer.


Test Your Advertising and Marketing Knowledge













Test your advertising knowledge by answering the following questions. Answers are found below the test.



QUESTIONS:


1) The purpose of advertising and marketing is to increase sales.
a) True
b) False
Go to the answer.

2) Marketing is the act of targeting specific groups of people based on demographics, i.e. “markets,” prior to and in support of the actual advertising and/or sales program.
a) True
b) False 
Go to the answer.

3) Implementing the “4 Ps” (product, price, promotion, and place) through tactics such as promotions, email campaigns, specials, among others comprise the basic elements of marketing.
a) True
b) False
Go to the answer.

4) Consumers’ perception of quality is the best measurement of good branding efforts.
a) True
b) False 
Go to the answer.

5) Successful ads garner awards such as the coveted Clio Award.
a) True
b) False 
Go to the answer.

6) Defining the various consumers' needs and their product/service usage is the best methodology for market segmentation.
a) True
b) False 
Go to the answer.

7) Defining click-through rates is the best methodology for measuring internet advertising’s effectiveness.
a) True
b) False 
Go to the answer.

8) A collection of brands, products, or services that consumers would consider purchasing is called a “consideration set.”
a) True
b) False 
Go to the answer.

9) Brand extensions allow marketers to enhance brand associations from a brand in one category to a brand in another category.
a) True
b) False 
Go to the answer.

10) Qualifications listed in a disclaimer diminish the brand’s perception.
a) True
b) False 
Go to the answer.


ANSWERS:


1) False. Marketing and advertising goals are elements of the marketing mix and sales cycle that are better thought of in terms of communication objectives rather than sales objectives. While immediate conversion is possible, it’s primary purpose is to communicate repetitively and frequently through targeted outlets in order to bring the product or service to top-of-mind at the purchase point.

Go to the next question.

2) False. This is actually an archaic definition of marketing. Today, because of the Internet, there are crossovers and blurring of lines between marketing, advertising, and sales departments roles. Marketing is no longer just about demographics and the data accumulated and used prior to the sales and advertising process, but is also now taking on the role of real-time, one-on-one behavioral tracking of an individual’s preferences. For example, if you are shopping online for cars, within days you might receive ads for cars, even if you are visiting an unrelated site.

Go to the next question.

3) False. The 4Ps are the tactical elements of marketing. Before implementing the tactics, you must first have researched the brand’s current position, which includes identifying the brand’s (internal) Strengths and Weaknesses as well as its (external) Opportunities and Threats (SWOT). From there, a marketing plan must be developed, which includes target market, brand positioning statement, goals, objectives, strategies, and tacticals; tacticals being the last item in the plan.

Go to the next question.

4) False. Measuring a consumer’s perception of quality is as varied as the number of people you survey. People have different opinions as well as levels of quality. A more quantitative, and thereby productive, approach would be to learn of specific features and benefits of a brand that consumers like and look for.

Go to the next question.

5) False. An ads success depends on the objectives set prior to implementation, and whether or not those objectives were met. Some goals might include increased brand or company name awareness, increased knowledge, or an increase in positive opinions.

Go to the next question.

6) True. Understanding the various demographics and the psychographics of a market is the best tool for market segmentation as consumers buy according to benefits and needs. Your product may have several benefits that meet different needs in different markets. Market segmentation will allow you to speak the language of a particular demographic without confusing or turning off another demographic.

Go to the next question.

7) False. Internet ads work the same as magazine ads. They provide information and resources to keep your brand top-of-mind when the consumer is ready to purchase. Usually a consumer is online for specific reasons other than viewing advertisements. That's why constant brand awareness--staying in front of the prospect--by implementing Internet advertising can go a long way when the prospect IS online looking for your specific product line or service.

Go to the next question.

8) True. When a consumer is considering a purchase, they first narrow the field to a certain number of brands… the consideration set. This is the first step towards a purchase, and if you want to be the chosen one in the end, you need to be in the consideration set from the beginning.

Go to the next question.

9) True. Brand names evoke certain benefit associations such as reliability, safety, ease, or convenience. Extending the brand to other product categories gives opportunity to infuse those categories with the same brand benefits.

Go to the next question.

10) False. Disclaimers only affect the brand’s perception to the degree of the consumer’s motivation to think about the disclaimer, how explicit the disclaimer is, and the time the consumer invests in thinking about the disclaimer.



The 10 Building Blocks of Trust














In any scenario, successful engagement begins and ends with trust. To motivate someone to move forward, go deeper, or reach higher with you over someone else, there must be trust. Below are ten areas where you can enhance your business’ trustworthiness and build your brand.

  1. Word of mouth: Recommendations are by far the most effective way to build a trusted business. The percentages are overwhelmingly in your favor and require no heavy lifting on your part. If some third party goes to bat for you, trust is already built into the equation before you utter the first word.
  2. Direct engagement: What kind of communication has taken place prior to your engagement? Was it passive or aggressive? This will impact how a prospect will interact with you. There’s a big difference between a response to spam and a response to a mutual introduction. 
  3. Visual appeal: For example, when a visitor comes to your website for the first time to learn about you, their engagement is limited to the visual. What does it say about your brand? 
  4. Intonation: In tandem with your visual appeal is the tone of your communication…copy, images, video, etc. Your tone should always be set by your business goals, objectives, and strategy.
  5. Benefit orientation: Give your prospect a reason to listen to you. What’s the benefit to them if they listen?
  6. Emotional Connection: How have you connected with your prospect? What values do you share or interests do you have in common? 
  7. Brand awareness: If your logo is recognizable, your name is frequently passed around via hashtag, or you’re regularly in the media, you are not only gaining brand awareness, but trust as well. Public recognition goes a long way in developing trust, even if you’ve not had direct engagement with the prospect.
  8. Transparency: Ever been to a site that declares the “Five foods you should never eat”? 10 minutes into their video spiel, you still haven’t found out what the five foods are. It’s deceptive and wrapped in a sales ploy. Declare your purpose upfront, answer the pressing questions quickly, and make sure it’s understandable. Otherwise you are undermining your own trustworthiness.
  9. The Prospect’s Investment: What are you asking your prospect to do? There’s a big difference between asking them to “like” or “follow” you compared to asking for their credit card number. The security for each of these requests and everything in between needs to be cradled in care and trustworthiness.
  10. Social ranking and search engine metrics: First page Google rankings and a large number of Twitter followers have proven to gain trust among online users. 


The Digital Landscape: Career Prospects for the Next Generation














Generation Z, the title bestowed on those born after 1995, is a unique generation and the first to be completely submerged in the technological landscape we know as the Internet. Key projections are an ever-growing online social connectivity, a booming global e-commerce environment, and an overall more informed society than has previously existed.

Another name given to this generation is “digital natives.” Instead of growing up in a culture of rotary telephones, the Dewey decimal system, and one centralized-three-networked-television-set, they’ve been immersed in everything digital. All information is at their fingertips. No sweat-equity required.

According to Wagepoint, there are some interesting and exciting opportunities that await the Digital Natives:

  •  65% of today’s kindergarteners will work in jobs that do not currently exist.
  •  The top 10 in demand jobs of 2010 were not around in 2004.
  •  Some digital jobs with growth projections include app developers, social media managers, and user experience designers. These did not exist in the early 2000s.
  • Environmental careers will increase.
  • A new field of farmer will include “vertical farming” which will reduce the amount of acreage by growing crops upwards. Additionally, a climate controller will not predict weather, but manage weather.
  • Healthcare-related jobs will increase, especially with regards to nano-technology (“Nano-Medic”) that automatically regulates medication and a memory augmentation surgeon that will help memory in the aging population.



Source: http://wagepoint.com/blog/jobs-in-the-future



Tidbits


Wall Street Journal Reports
Facebook Decline


 “Facebook's web-based users in the U.S. declined year over year, and the company's core U.S. business may be shrinking,” according to the Wall Street Journal. The key words here are “web-based users.” Mobile users are increasing, however, 78% of Facebook’s revenue come from its web-based ads.

Additionally, teenage use of Facebook is declining in favor of Instagram (a Facebook acquisition as of Aug. 2012) and Twitter (among several other social media). According to Pew Internet & American Life Project, the majority of teenagers complained of “an increasing adult presence, high-pressure or otherwise negative social interactions (‘drama’), or feeling overwhelmed by others who share too much.”



A Revealing Social Media Campaign


Using social media for a brand unveiling is trending. In August, 2013, Yahoo! implemented a rebranding campaign with a 30-day preview of 30 different logo renditions on TUMBLR (Yahoo!'s social media/microblogging combo site, boasting 108.4 million blogs, 50.9 billion posts, and 175 employees). The final reveal was made September 5th with the purple and exclamation intact, but the type and website revamped. A video of the 30-day progression can be seen below.


Figure 1: Yahoo!'s old logo.
Figure 2: Yahoo!'s new logo 
released September 5, 2013.


Yahoo!'s "30 Days of Change" video:




Things that Make You Say, "Hmm..."


Would loved to have seen the events that led to this sign.

Instant marriage counseling for the commuter.

Be on the lookout for your friendly neighborhood Spiderman.

The van says, "Children's Club Pickup Service."
Shady, and we're not talking elms. 

Passive aggressive has found its place in the world.

Apparently, this was not handled by a business major.

For this rule to be in place, someone must have tried this.

Branding 101: Avoid message integrity problems.

Truth in advertising can be so refreshing.