Thursday, December 31, 2009

Digital Marketing Trends Relevant for PR

One of the most important lessons for me over the past few years – marked by the emergence and then explosion of social media – is the growing irrelevance of boundaries between marketing, public relations and corporate functions like IT and HR. In fact, I would argue blurring these silos is not only beneficial, but critical, for organizations intent on fully engaging their audiences. Some of the best innovations in social media (and communications) have come from cross-pollination and collaboration across disparate corporate functions, and there is a rich crop of new ideas emerging on a regular basis.

As exhibit A take a look at these proposed digital marketing trends by Advertising Age. At first glance, some of these appear to have huge potential well beyond pure advertising, notably:

  • Growth of viral videos
  • Gaming becomes more social and mobile
  • Boom in mobile web access
  • Customization based on location
  • Real-time search
  • Social graphs and networks

Innovative companies are already leveraging some of these ideas in their communication programs, but imagine how much more could be done. Even with seemingly obvious assets like video and mobility, many companies seem hesitant to fully leverage these tools within their own communication networks. Imagine adding ingredients like GPS capability and real-time search in corporate intranets, for example, or introducing more gaming technology into communication materials and training. Why not use an application like foursquare, as another example, to help employees identify colleagues near their location and compete for “mayorships”? Or allow staff more leeway to create and leverage personal groups – either on internal networks or outside the firewall? The potential seems unlimited.

From my perspective, the barriers are typically not with end users – though there will always be inherent realities based on job function – but rather with executive timidity. Many companies don’t even let their employees access social networks the company uses for marketing campaigns. Leaders would be better served to explore what they could do, rather than what they shouldn’t do.

FYI – For an interesting comparison on trend prognosis check out David Armano’s take in HBR.

[Via http://publicrelationsrogue.wordpress.com]

What's the best way to brand your product on the internet?



Branding on the internet is very different than anything we would put in print.  Because the human mind wants to have everything faster when they are looking online, our marketing has to do just that, help a user get to the point in a few short seconds.  If you have pages and pages of content going on and on, then a user will just move away from your site until he finds the particular words in his mind that relate to what he is looking for. One of the more critical elements to designing a website that is often overlooked is the use of page titles.  Page titles allow a user to quickly scan for a topic and make the experience that much easier.  When creating the titles keep in mind that this is what gets indexed by search engines.  So if you have a page title that says  Smith Incorporated controls your everything, and you are trying to tell folks that you sell cups, then that is not very descriptive to a user who is searching for cups.  Instead title the pages to be of relevance to the online users.  So it would be in your best interest to say Smith Inc. Cup Product Line.  The first 60 characters of the page title will show up in the online search engines, so this is a great way to brand or market your brand name.  It’s free and it takes very little time to come up with clever ways to let people know who you are via simple tools like google.  Users scan a page for content like headlines, meaningful sub-headings, bulleted lists and content arrangement.  Content arrangement should be in an inverted pyramid for the eye to scan it correctly.

[Via http://itsthefuturemarketing.wordpress.com]

Tuesday, December 29, 2009

Get Your Head in the Game!! Be intentional!!

The new year always brings about the need to create New Year’s resolutions in our personal lives.  It seems to be the time for people to make changes that could positively affect their situation.  These personal goals are great, and depending on your situation, could be life changing.   The same holds true when you own your own business.  As entrepreneurs, we should also plan New Year’s resolutions that could bring about positive change for the future.  Taking stock in what you have now and what you need is imperative for continued success of your brand.  When it comes to loosing weight (the number one New Year’s resolution, I would imagine), I am sure a lot of time goes into researching the best diet, the best exercise program, creating a schedule for your workouts, etc.  Shouldn’t the same hold true for your business?  What research have you done to ensure continued success in 2010?  What are the latest trends in your industry?  Where is your target audience now?  Are they using the same mediums to make their decisions?  I wanted to help you with this process so I found a great article to help.  It doesn’t matter the industry, these trends can help you improve your presence in 2010!!!

Let me know what you think and if you have any other trends to build business for the coming year.

http://www.cnn.com/2009/TECH/12/03/cashmore.web.trends.2010/index.html

[Via http://butterflyblogger.wordpress.com]

PR & The Ninja Turtles

This post was co-conceptualized and co-written with the exceptionally awesome Sheema Siddiqi.  Read more at her blog here and follow her on Twitter.

If you are anything like us, when you think of teams, you think of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles!  From comic books to TV shows to movies to toys, the Turtles have been a pop culture sensation for more than two decades now and a huge influence on more than one generation of kids and teenagers.

They are among our favorite characters and a true microcosm of a Public Relations/Marketing team!

Don’t believe us?  Let’s take a closer look.

Master Splinter – Master Splinter discovered the young turtles and nurtured them as youths and trained them to become the team they are today.  At this point in his life, he is a man of words, and prefers not to be involved in the day-to-day action.  However, if the situation calls for it, he will insert – and assert – himself!

Splinter is like the CEO of your company.  The sage leader with decades of experience, he or she probably put the team together and has helped you grow for quite some time.  They take pride in watching you excel, but isn’t afraid to jump in if you need a hand. They have the keen ability to balance good judgment with the ability to take risks. In most cases, the CEO can act as a role model for how to act in various situations as well as set the tone for entire company.

Leonardo – Every team needs a leader, and Leonardo is just that.  He makes the tough decisions, based on what’s best for the group and their mission. Beyond leading the team, Leo is also a master swordsman. He fronts the team in responsibility and by example.

The leader of your PR team should be experienced, calm and mature.  They should be able to look beyond themselves and manage everyone for the greater good.  Like Leonardo, they bring something unique and special to the table. The leader should motivate the team by displaying confidence and passion for their work and encouraging them to use their individual talents. Most good leaders do more listening than talking- its crucial to listen to the needs of your client, as well as any issues the rest of your team may have. Leonardo has to make tough decisions.  Leaders, like their CEOs, aren’t afraid to take risks in order to accomplish goals.

Donatello – While Leonardo may lead the team, Donatello is their chief problem solver.  As a master technician, he sees the world differently from the rest of the team – he understands cause and effect.  Ironically, while he develops the hi-tech gadgets to meet any challenge, he himself uses the bo stick, the simplest of weapons.

Somethin’ strange in your neighborhood?  Who ya’ gonna call?  Well, you have Ghostbusters PR and TMNT PR.  You need a crisis PR expert on your team to make sure they call TMNT and not a dude named Egon. The crisis PR expert needs to stay calm while the client is freaking out, and the good ones like Donatello will have a plan in place just in case disaster strikes. He’s got a “can do” attitude and is able to shift perspectives and see every side of the problem. That Donatello uses a stick is a good reminder that the old KISS adage (Keep It Simple, Stupid) works best when crisis strikes.

Raphael – While some people call Raphael “cool, but rude,” he is a true maverick.  He works outside the box – and sometimes outside the law – to get the job done.  His methods are unconventional and his attitude is brash…and let’s not get into the danger surrounding his sai weapons.  While Raphael is  the “maverick”, he’s also extremely loyal to the team and would never sabotage the team.The bottom line is this: while he may be the social pariah of the group, he gets the job done.  His customer service skills may be lacking, but the proof is in the pudding.

Like Raphael, it is important to approach projects from differing viewpoints and perspectives.  If everyone on your team looked at every issue the same way, it would be hard to grow your skillset.  Sometimes you need someone around you who will rock the boat and think outside the box. Raphael may need some guidance from Master Splinter and his PR team, but he’s a work in progress.  If he can merge his creativity with a positive attitude and learn to play by (some) rules, he’ll be a force to be reckoned with in the PR world.

Michelangelo – Mikey seems to be the least sophisticated member of the group.  He is always looking for a hot slice of pizza, which puts the other Turtles in danger from time to time.  Despite his supposed immaturity, he adds a different element to the team, with exuberance, energy and excitement.  He may not be the most precise in his execution, but he works his tail off and tries to get better every day.

Most every PR team should have some youth on it, be it a recent entry level hire or interns.  The passion to prove themselves that they can bring to the table is a powerful motivator for the rest of the crew.  Nobody is even half-perfect on Day One, but someone willing to work as hard as possible for the project deserves a spot at the table.  An entry-level PR or intern will struggle with an inner conflict- on one hand, they want to prove themselves and impress their PR team. On the other hand, they want to act as a sponge, soaking in all the information on clients. They will need to most guidance from the team, but have the potential to flourish into a successful PR professional.

April O’Neill – The big hotshot TV reporter helps the Turtles when she can, be it information or pizza.  She is powerful in the media and knows how to portray the heroes properly, even when the public is scared.

Above all else, April is a branding and trends specialist- she’s “in the know” and has an idea of what people expect from each of the clients.  It’s critical that the PR efforts match the overall marketing strategy for the client or project.  On the other hand, April is a community manager, able to influence opinions of others.  You need to have an experienced team-member who understands how to maximize social networks, as well as integrate them into a larger PR campaign. You’d trust April to expand and promote your brand, wouldn’t you?

Shredder – The arch-nemesis of the Turtles, Shredder is a true master warrior.  Although he has surrounded himself with an army of Foot Soldiers to do his bidding, he is as dangerous as it gets in a one-on-one situation.  While the Turtles have to know who they are, it’s critical to understand your enemy and their motivations – that’s the only way you can stop him!

While you don’t want the evil Shredder on your team of warriors, he does represent your team’s competition and distractions.  You must be aware of any threats, such as competing agencies, internal issues and, of course, super villains! The best way to defeat Shredder is to work together as a team, bring out the best in each other, and develop a PR/marketing campaign that kicks butt!

So there you have it: assembling your PR team is no easy feat, but it’s important to realize that if the “Master Splinter” in your life can bring out the best  in each member, then Shredder better watch his back! Who knew you could learn some huge lessons from the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles?!

And now we leave you with The Ninja Rap!

[Via http://thebuzzbymikeschaffer.wordpress.com]

Sunday, December 27, 2009

Blog Topics We'll Be Discussing

COMMERCIAL

==========

GALLERY POSTS

VIDEO POSTS

Case studies.  How photos help sell

The value of good photography

- WHat does cheap photography say about your business?

- How will your clients perceive you if you have classy photographY

- Whats the difference between you and an expert?

Special photography – something that makes your business stand out

- How do you make your business stand out

- If all retailers selling a product use the same supplier images

- Including, you, your shop front, your customers – using the product

Photo labels

- Neat idea  [MAKE SOME]

Photo/Video combo – in shop on web

- where could you display it

- what could you show

- what is it?

- Photo slide shows – mixed with video snips

- Collaborate with video team

PR Stories

- Why and what is a PR story

- Why do you put it together

- Why you need a photo

— To help get placed

— To get a better picture

— To make sure your picture carries your messgae / logo

Library shoots

- Book a tog for a day get lots

- Staff photos

- Product photos

- Web shots

- PR ready shots

- Don’t confuse this with a product shoot though

Special Events

- For press, for customers, for the record

Customer relations

- Givng photos as gifts

Planning for your shoot

- Think about what you need

- What should it show

- Is it lifestyle / product / catalogue

- Studio / location?

- People, models, props

Model selection

- Does your model represent you or your customer

- Who are you?

- Who is your customer?

- Do you want beauty, natural, young, old

Making the most of your shoot

Making your web presence standout

- So many websites follow ASOS model

- But then why wouldn’t the buyer choose ASOS

- What’s your colour theme

- What’s your style

- Where’s your logo>

Why not photograph in your town

- no more stock photos

- personalises you

- makes people think of themselves in those placs

- makes your products special and.or acceptable

- people notice

Link up with multiple suppliers

- Classic model is the wedding

- Clothes / shoes / bags /hair / make-up

- Cross displays

- Hair dressers:  Personal Portfolio Book

Seasonal photographer

- do your have a seasonal product

- plan your photography in advance

- difficulty over buying cycle & delivery

Pre-book a years photography for a discount

- Discounts for multiple days, but negotiate pre-purchase of days

Photoshop – the part it plays

- General twaeking

- Removal spots, defects etc

- Replacement backgrounds

- Clean-up backgrounds

- Full compositiing

- Image construction

Should you work be colour balanced?

- Are customers colour conscious & precise

- important

- showing images which are “vibrant and striking”

- at odds with exact colour match

Location, location, location – where what kind?

- In studio of location

- What sort of location

- What does the location say about your product

- what does product say about the location

- finding locations

- rent / negotiate / hotels

Personalised Christmas cards

Personalised advertising – your staff in your adverts

- the estate agents on the bus

- creates talk when the client comes in

- makes your business personal

- which staff

- how will they be presented

The story of your product

- the story of its creation

- the story of its use

- the story needs people?

- the product as its own character

Point of sale packages

Why you shouldn’t use your own digital camera

INVENT SOME SHOOTS – perfume package, local retail items, posh labels etc

Celebrity day – or look a like day??!!

DO WEB SEARCHES FOR PHOTOGRAPHY FR RETAILER

BUILD PACKAGE SOLUTIONS FOR BUYERS

- The library day

- The PR event

- The Special Event

- Fashion shoot

- Point of sale ideas

- Banner graphics for exhibitions

[Via http://businessphoto.wordpress.com]

Zetronix Virtual Video Glasses - $129 Gift Kids Will Go Crazy For

Trying to find that perfect gift for your growing boy? Zetronix Virtual Video Glasses are a cheap option that provides a technology your kids will love you for. This is why it is so cheap and why sometimes, its a good thing!

The Honest Truth

Yes, you are sacrificing quality when you buy cheaper toys! It is a fact of life and there is no getting around it! Sometimes this can work to our advantage though. Will kids notice that you got them $129 Zetronix Virtual Video Glasses instead of the $299 super glasses? You know when something is $100 cheaper there is something wrong with it. This is what is wrong with these, but does it really matter?

Resolution

Biggest difference right off the start is resolution. The cheaper the glasses, the lower the resolution, which means the lower the video quality.

When your 11 year old opens a box though and sees video game glasses that allow him to play his favorite video games on a 50″ screen in his own private home theater, do you think hes going to check the resolution? Probably not! He will be so excited by the glasses, he won’t even notice the less the perfect video quality.

Comfort

This would be the second big one. A cheaper toy, means cheaper materials, and finally less comfort. Since we are giving virtual video glasses to a kid that spends half his time hanging off the couch upside down watching T.V, comfort probably isn’t a really big deal to him! We tend to look for that luxury more as we get older.

3d Capable

Really, is this important? How many 3d movies do you have in your collection? One maybe? This is a feature almost entirely used just to sell more expensive toys. In the future when there are lots of 3d movies this could make a difference, but for now, it is just many spent!

Related : Low Price Store

[Via http://cheaplcd2u.wordpress.com]

Saturday, December 26, 2009

Helping to take the hassle out of landscaping company management

Making landscape management easier

Most small and mid-sized landscapers don’t like to deal with all the back-office issues associated with running their business; planning, budgeting, human resources, accounting, etc.  They can be a hassle and  are not what you had in mind when you started the business.  Unfortuately, they take up a larger and larger portion of your day, week or month as the business grows.  

I am here to offer a solution, EZ Landscape Management which is a business that I am starting specifically for the landscaping industry that w ill provide all the back-office functions; planning; marketing, human resources, budgeting, pricing, accounting, insurance/risk management that every business person knows needs to be done but very often get pushed to the side because we don’t have the time, desire or possibly the experience to complete them.  

I know that my approach to starting the company is unusual because it is going to happen in this blog and my initial approach to using the blog is going to probably unusual because I want to use the blog to get feedback from the landscaping community about the business plan.  The long-term purpose of the blog is to support that activity by providing ideas and reminders on the successful management of a landscaping businesses.  On the pages of the web-site, I have published my business plan.  I am looking for feedback on the plan, especially from the landscaping community.

While I a confident of my ability to help landscapers run their businesses, I have to admit that I am brand new to the blogging community.  I welcome any and all feedback from the blogging community on how to improve how I am approaching the blog and I appologies up-front for any mistakes I make in being a novice user of the medium.

[Via http://ezlandscapemgmt.wordpress.com]

MLM (Multi Level Marketing)

MLM ??

Sering banget orang-orang yang nawarin bisnis MLM ke kamu?

Tapi kamu gak tau mLm itu apah, Lets check aLL about MLM in this article!!

MLM adalah singkatan dari Multi Level Marketing. Istilah ini menunjuk pada system bisnis, dimana pemasaran produk atau jasa dilakukan oleh individu yang indepeden (artinya tidak terikat kontrak kerja dengan perusahaan pengelola bisnisnya). Individu ini lalu memebentuk sebuah jaringan kerja untuk memasarkan produkatau jasa. Dan hasil penjualan pribadi da jaringan, setiap bulan perusahaan akan memperhitungkan bonus atau komisi sebagai hasil usahanya. Karena MLM dijalnkan menggunakanmekanisme pemasaran dijaringan, maka MLM juga sering disebut Network Marketing.

Kenapa banyak orang menjalankan bisnis MLM ?

Setiap orang akan memiliki jawaban yang beragam,

  • Ada yang mau jadi distributor MLM setelah melihat factor keuntungan fiansial dan materi yang mungkin diraihnya sukses.
  • Ada yang  karena manfaat produk-produk yang dipasarkan sebuah perusahaan MLM, dimana sebagai anggota, dia bias memperoleh potongan harga.
  • Ada yang tertarik kesempatan pengembangan kepribadian dan pengetahuan yang ditawarkan bisnis ini. Karena, untuk menjadi pemasar produk  dan pembentuk jaringan yang sukses, seorang distribor harus diterima oleh pihak mana pun yang ingin ditemuinya.

Dalam bisnis MLM, hanya membutuhkan modal yang kecil, selain itu semua orang yang menjalankan bisnis ini berpelung untuk sukses, asalakn saja ada kemauan dan usaha yang tak perah henti hingga kesuksesn dating. Namun kita harus berhati-hati dalam memilih bisnis MLM yang akan kita jalankan, karena banyak bisnis yang mengaku sistemnya adalah MLM, padahal meraka tidak menerapkan aturan main dlam bisnis MLM secara baik. Pda umumnya, p[raktek-praktek usaha yang mengaku MLM ini menitik beratkan perekrutan seseorang untuk menaruh sejumlah uang di perusahaanyang dikatakan menjlankan bisnis secara MLM. Padahal aktivits penjualan produk/jasanya hamper tidak ada, sekiranya ada, itu hanyalah kamuflase.

Supaya kalian gak ketipu sama bisnis yang ngaku-ngaku MLM, perhatiin hal berikut

Bisnis MLM Bisnis yang ngaku-ngaku MLM Biaya pendaftaran tidak terlalu mahal, atau masuk akal Biaya pendaftaran sangat mahal,  selain itu cenderung memaksa Ada produk/jasa yang jelas yang dijual, kualitas produk/jasa dapat diertanggung jawabkan Tidak da produk/jasa yang diperjualbelikan, kalaupun ada kualitasnya dipertanyakan Semua anggota berpeluang untuk berhasil Yang bergabung lebih dulu yang berhasil, dan dengan mengorbanikan yang bergabung belakangan Penentu keberhasilan adalah hasil penjualan produk/jasa yang nyata serta pengembangan jaringan. Perlu kerja keras untuk mencapai keberhasilan Yang berhasil adalah yang paling banyak menyetor uang kepada perusahaan

Sekarang kalian udah tau kan apa itu bisnis MLM dan apa ajah yang perlu diperhatiin supaya kita sukses ngejalanin bisnis MLM, jangan sampe ketipu sama bisnis yng ngaku-ngaku MLM iaaaa GOOD LUCK !!!

nuryanti taufik_ marketing department

[Via http://hmjmfeunsoed.wordpress.com]

Thursday, December 24, 2009

How to put your price down

Do you feel a pang in your heart when you over charge your offer?

This article came across which talks about the view in a digital photography context.

Imagine you wear a pair of boots which costs you Rs.15,000/-. These pair must not have cost more than a few hundred rupees to make.

1. Value – You do not pay the price for the product – you pay the price for the value the product represents. Another person who has the same pair of boots immediately connects with you because of the value.

2. Feeling – What came into you when you saw your first bicycle? What did that seat tell you? What did the treading on the tyre convey? Does your product compare to that feeling?

The traditional view talks about cost price and a sales price. Am I making x% profit? Instead, you could price it the other way around. Fix a number for the price tag on the product. Work backwords till you reach your Cost Price.

[Via http://kiranspillai.wordpress.com]

When is the right time to get a website?

I have spoken with many people about when the right time to have a website built is. Well, if you ask me, I think the best time to get a site is early on. The reason I say this is because in order to be found by clients, you need to reach a wide variety of people. The best way to do this is over the world wide web of course. So who do you hire to make one if you don’t know HTML? Well, I have a few places I know of that are referred to as CMS systems (content management systems) where you don’t need to have any knowledge of HTML code.  All you need is a pc to be able to upload your content. Now, when you do this, you might want to have someone set up the initial design (shameless plug for meJ) Or you can attempt it on your own.  There is a site called coffecup.com or you can look for others. I have about 10 different suppliers I refer clients to (another shameless plug), so just email me if you need help.

The most important thing, is to get your site up and running.  If you still don’t have the cash to get it started, consider a blog. WordPress, Blogger, and others are free. A blog is intended to be used to be a platform to alert others that you are an expert in your industry, so if you start it, be prepared to post a new article at least once a week. To be a great blogger, you should really do it more often. You can have multiple authors of your article posts though and that will alleviate some of the burden on you.

Good luck, and remember, a website is a description of who you are and what services you can provide. Make sure your content is accurate and use good keywords so that you will be found by search engines.  Examples of your work should be posted as well. You can do it though, because lets face it, if you are in business then its probably because you are passionate about what you do. You will probably become addicted to the writing of your content…or else you will be passionate about your agency that you hire (another shameless plug)!

[Via http://itsthefuturemarketing.wordpress.com]

Tuesday, December 22, 2009

Branding 2.0

Proces brendiranja je proces pričanja pažljivo osmišljenih priča. Nekada su se te priče saopštavale onako kako su to kompanije želele. Posetioci Web 1.0 sajtova nisu imali drugih opcija sem da pročitaju šta im je saopšteno. A onda je došao Web 2.0 i sve se promenilo…

U vreme društvenih mreža, brendovi sve više postaju „javno dobro“ – kompanije imaju sve manje kontrole nad njima, jer se brendovi više ne grade jednosmernom komunikacijom, već kroz razgovor svih zainteresovanih strana. Brendovi su postali transparentni i u velikoj meri zavisni od toga šta se o njima priča u online svetu. A u tom svetu kompanije su samo sagovornici mnogima.

MozaikRoger Sametz u dve rečenice sjajno objašnjava ovaj novi način izgradnje brenda – „Mislite o svom brendu kao o mozaiku, sastavljenom od delića koje ste vi postavili i delića koje su postavili drugi. Iako ne možete kontrolisati kako su svi delići postavljeni, možete da, sprovodeći svoju viziju brenda, postavite dovoljno delića tako da ivice onih koje ste vi postavili utiču na to kako će se postaviti ostali delići.“

I taj mozaik nikad nije završen – uvek će biti delića koji otpadaju i novih koji se stavljaju… Neke deliće će „menjati“ sama kompanija, neke „otpale“ će uspeti da vrati, ali uvek će biti i onih koje će „skidati“ i „stavljati“ zadovoljni i nezadovoljni korisnici.

Brendiranje je kompleksan proces. I angažovanje na društvenim mrežama je kompleksan proces. Izgradnja i održavanje brenda na društvenim mrežama je vrlo kompleksan proces. I dugotrajan.

Ustvari… “Branding 2.0″ je neverending story…

[Via http://pedyamilicevic.wordpress.com]

Holidays Not so Happy in eBay Land

Maybe this isn’t the best time of year to be selling women’s clothing. Or maybe it’s just a bad time to be on eBay. So far this month, we’ve been making slightly less than November. While one would expect more sales of womens lingerie and clothing in the holiday season, we haven’t seen it. Why?

The Facebook Barometer

Today (12/21/09), the eBay “fan page” on Facebook said alot about the sentiments that have been dragging down the site. On a fan page, you kind of expect fans. The comments that these folks were leaving were scathing, caustic, sarcastic. It’s like football’s Raider fans bringing shotguns to express their love in the direction of their “favorite” players’ kneecaps. With fans like these, who needs opponents? Looking beyond the throwaway “eBay sucks” comments, the most tangible complaints were fees charged to sellers and problems encountered by buyers.

The bigger question for us and thousands of other sellers is: Will eBay experience a continuing decline? While advertising has helped its brand image to improve, AuctionBytes reports that actual site visits have been declining in recent months. Dang. It’s almost enough to make us try selling in an actual brick and mortar store.

But not really.

When you add it all up, eBay still provides the best value for a business to hang their shingle – virtual or otherwise. While eBay charges fees both to list an item and when it sells, it’s nothing compared to the costs of running a store. And while 100 million people regularly surf eBay, I can’t think of many places in Los Angeles where we’d find enough foot traffic to equal that. Not even Hollywood Boulevard. I just hope eBay’s advertising efforts continue to improve the brand and draw visitors to the site.

[Via http://ebayelation.wordpress.com]

Sunday, December 20, 2009

Let's Quit Our Day Jobs!

Welcome to our first post of helping you Quit Your Day Job! We are going to help so many people to help your dream come to a realization and have your own business. I suggest that you read our About US page for some helpful insight. This is not a get rich quick scheme or website because we are all about quality and logevity. Follow my blog and I will follow you. Have a question about how to get started or just a general question? E-mail me at steelcitypr@gmail.com and we will discuss it on the  blog.

Have a product and want the HONEST and BRUTAL (sorry) opinion of the masses, I’ll have a poll of what the readers think about your product. Send us product submissions and you might be featured as our Featured Product.

Talking about it helps to get your creative juices going and on the right path to being your own boss. :-)

[Via http://steelcityprconsulting.wordpress.com]

Whatever you do, don't annoy.

There’s a woman on my Facebook Friends list and I want to kill her. But according to modern laws and ethics, I cannot.  If I did,  I would be sent to jail.  And if I was sent to jail for murder then I’d really want to kill her. Or I would, if she wasn’t already dead.

This lady, let us call her “Mavis” write Facebook status updates all the time about herself.   Nothing wrong with that you’d mutter. We all do it, you’d add. And in the clear, cool, rational skies of days I’d be forced to agree with you. Except I can’t, because the blood vessels in my eyes have burst open upon reading Mavis’ latest update,  placing a red-tinged hue on everything I see for the remainder of the day.

The problem with Mavis is that 50% of her updates relate to her as a “working mum”, “mumtrepneur” or just plain old “entrepreneur”.  Mavis also regularly proclaims herself as a go getter, a do-er, and writes updates about how it is “time to give [her] children the benefit of [her] presence”.  Cue collective gasp of disbelief.

What’s worse, when she isn’t writing about her own awesomeness, she’s using Facebook statuses as a marketing tool to promote her book, her online business, her feature in some mag, her whatever.

As a single, solitary user of Facebook, and as part of Mavis’ friend network, I cry poor. Mavis goes against all of my unspoken rules of Facebook use. She uses it to promote, rather than to entertain; to indoctrinate, rather than to share; to network rather than befriend; to create false solidarity rather than cultivate the real thing. And as a result, I tune out, or at least become very unreceptive.  I might still listen to what she says, but I do so with the fascination of someone watching a train wreck, rather than as someone wanting to take advantage of her small-business-level products and enthusiasm.

And there lies the point.

Whether you use your business’s fan networks, your personal friend networks, or Facebook Advertising which potentially touches over 5 million Australian users, the risk of losing people in droves is really, really high unless you are genuine and don’t push too hard. Else watch the negative reaction, the unsubscribes, and the deletions grow.

It’s because of this that  I’ve been watching Westfield’s new “All I want for Christmas” Facebook campaign with avid interest.  For transparency’s sake, I have been a willing participant in this campaign. I’ve added the Westfield application, entering myself into the competition to win a $10,000 Gift Card.

After all, though my boyfriend would disagree with me, I really need new clothes. Oh yeah, and money to spend on my family and friends.

There’s just one teensy catch.  By adding the application and entering the competition, the slogan “All I want for Christmas is a Westfield Gift Card” pops up in your status update, alongside a link.  Friends and family can  then see it in their news feed. The strategy is awesome because it’s organic and viral. And, after all, what person in their right mind isn’t going to enter? Ten thousand cool ones for the small indignity of having a commercial statement in your status update?  I’d do it. And I have!  Thus to date, Westfield has over 578,000 application users, and  7,000 fans.

The problem is, as more and more of my friends get on board, the campaign is also getting really, really annoying. By starting to take over my news  feed, I’m no longer seeing the dollar signs. Instead, I’m back to seeing red.

My personal annoyance is being reflected in other people’s status updates, groups and pages:

  • “All I want for Christmas is for friends to stop putting Westfield in their status (sic)!!” – A friend’s status update.
  • If all you want for Christmas is a Westfield gift card I don’t want to know -  Random Facebook Page – with  4,450 fans and counting.

Heh.

See, I’m happy to get the Westfield  freebie if I win. But I also regularly think of joining one of the Facebook pages above because the campaign is getting on my nerves, and I started to feel like that after only one day.

Furthermoree,I’m not so sure about the long-term benefits of this little competition. I suspect Trinny & Susannah, though more expensive, are doing more for the brand. Sure, as a result of this competition my awareness is raised, but while I might visit Westfield in Doncaster, it’ll only be because it’s close to my parents’ home – so I’ll only be going for location-based reasons. And I’m not so sure I’ll be buying any of my friends or family a Westfield Gift Card if I’m stuck for something to buy. After all, they’ll know where I got the idea from, and that just isn’t cool.

Facebook is awesome. But there are rules, people.

And rule number one is: whatever you do, don’t annoy.

[Via http://hilaryfisher.wordpress.com]

Saturday, December 19, 2009

Saatchi & Saatchi's Toyota Social Media Disaster

I’ve always admired Saatchi & Saatchi and I still do. But even the best of agencies will have their share of mistakes. It’s about learning from them and moving on.The thing I respect about Saatchi & Saatchi in this instance is that it dared to push the envelope and to venture into an area it did not have much experience in.

So what exactly happened?

So what exactly happened and how did Saatchi & Saatchi land itself in a social media disaster? For more info, you can visit mUmBRELLA’s write-up on it.

In a nutshell, though, Saatchi & Saatchi decided to incorporate social media into its campaign for Toyota’s Yaris without the help of a digital agency, and some things went wrong. Sadly, the world can be quite unforgiving of “mistakes”. The story soon spread to Aussie news sites, British news titles, the Aussie papers, US media and large global ad blogs.

As part of the Yaris social media campaign, a Facebook page managed by Saatchi & Saatchi was set up and on this page, S&S ran a video competition. Members of the Facebook page just needed to create videos about the Yaris and the top videos would win $7,000, $3,000 and $1,000 for first, second and third prizes respectively. Unfortunately, the participation level was dismal because many of us in the social media space are probably tired of such video competitions run on Facebook pages to count towards eyeballs and ROI.

Faced with the embarrassing prospect of few entries, Saatchi & Saatchi opened the competition to its production houses in the following email:

From: Rob

Subject: Clever Comp

Hey creative people

I’ve got something that you’ll (or your housemates, brothers, sisters, artistic friends etc will) be interested in.

It’s a film comp in aide of promoting Toyota Yaris.

“A film comp? I don’t have the time!” you may say, but listen up. So far, NO ONE has entered and it has been open for more than 10 days and closes 1st December. Voting is done on hits and comments so if you’re in first you have a huge advantage. And you don’t have to make an ad, just put a Yaris in somewhere a la the ‘number 8′ or ’spring’ in Tropfest or something

First prize is $7,000. $3,000 for second and $1,000 for 3rd. At this stage, you could enter a picture of your cat playing in his kitty litter and win 7 grand.

Details are in the attachments. If you win, I’d love an all carbon fibre road bicycle for Christmas.

Cheers y’all.

-Rob

This initiative garnered entries from the production houses as there was also an understanding that the winning production house entry would win S&S’s business to produce Toyota Yaris’ ads. A team comprising of S&S and Toyota representatives came together to decide on the winning entry and TADA, presenting the winning entry (with no lack of sexual references by the way):

My thoughts on this whole episode?

  • While many in the world are slamming Saatchi & Saatchi for this incident, I would like to speak up on behalf of S&S (no, I am not an employee of S&S and I have no connections with it) because I must say I admire S&S’s courage in pushing the envelope and expanding into an area that it had little experience in. I know some will call this foolhardy but honestly, are agencies which allow risk-aversion to prevent them from playing with new ideas and charting new territory, in this modern world of innovation, any less foolhardy? At the end of the day, the best of agencies have their share of “mistakes” but if their achievements and acquired capabilities outweigh these “mistakes”, the world will recognize them as commendable and respectable agencies.
  • I’ve also learned from this incident that in the social media space it’s so important to create intangible value for users. Sure, the video competition promised cash prizes for winning entries but clearly that wasn’t enough to get users involved. Tangible benefits were not enough. The main problem was probably that the Facebook page already lacked content that would bring users back to the page to interact with the content and to even want to join the page in the first place. Apparently, the videos were old viral videos that anybody active in the social media space would most likely have seen. Besides the video competition was a “tired” idea. Even the cash prizes could not convince users to join the page and the competition.
  • Competitions on social media channels to drive user-generated content should stay that way – user generated. I think what enraged many people about S&S opening the competition up to its production houses was that the video competition was positioned with the production houses as a pre-business pitch. What was this? A video competition originally intended for amateurs and ordinary people to participate with equal chances of winning the cash prizes was not being opened to production houses (the professionals) as a pre-business pitch? Didn’t that mean that the winner was already pre-determined to be one of the production houses? At the same time, what made this situation worse was the fact that the winning entry was decided on by a panel of Toyota and S&S employees. If the contest was a user-driven contest in the social media space (which highly values egalitarianism), why wasn’t the winning entry decided upon by users? Or at least, why weren’t users given some (if not total) say in the results of the contest?
  • We must always go back to the basics – the core brand values. Another thing that got many people upset was the content of the winning entry. We’re talking about Toyota here – a brand that has long been associated with reliability and family life. In choosing the video entry that was replete with sexual references, Toyota (or S&S on behalf of Toyota) was going against Toyota’s core brand values. Even if they had wanted to energize Toyota’s brand to appeal to a younger audience, this had to be done carefully, without offending Toyota’s core fan base. This selection of such a controversial video was simply too sudden and radical.

That said, it is episodes like these that we should and must learn from, and I believe that Saatchi & Saatchi will learn from this to keep up its good work all these years.

[Via http://dodobirdsrcool.wordpress.com]

My top cars - Ayi Jihu

Ayi Jihu Choses her top cars for the year

Having travelled the world and experienced some of the best things it has to offer Chinese star Ayi Jihu shares her thoughts on the top cars she has driven, owned or driven in. These are all cars she would love to own and may even own.

Ayi Jihu's top car selectionAyi Jihu’s top car selection

Ayi Jihu’s top cars are: lamborghini, Mecedes-Benz, Aston Martin, Mini cooper, Audi R8

Ayi Jihu says:

I’m a small girl so I bought a Mini which I love. It’s just the right size for me and it drives fantastic. It’s so cool and sexy and made for a girl like me. My ultimate car has to be the Lambo, A good friend took me for a drive in his once and I don’t think I have ever had a better time in any car. He let me drive it too which was amazing. The sound it makes and the way it makes you feel is unbelievable I’m hoping to get one of those in a year or so if I can afford the insurance.

The Aston Martin comes next. I have always loved these cars. Any girl who watches James Bond movies has to fall in love with these cars, they are so sexy, so refined so powerful and well designed, classic all the way. The truth is however that Stevie Eagle E my producer from Shlepp Records loves these cars and he goes on about them all the time. He made me fall in love with them a bit more and they made my top 5.

Ayi Jihu and her love of cars and bikes

I have been fortunate enough to work with BMW, Audi and Volvo and although no BMW makes my top 5 as great as they are the Audio R8 definitely does. I was a guest and reporting at the grand opening of Audi in Macao and I got to sample all the cars including the magnificent R8. If I did not have my Mini cooper I would have one of these for sure. It’s the perfect size, drives like a dream and when you sit in it you feel as though nothing can hurt you. It feels so well made so solid. It’s a boys car, but it’s also a hot girls car like me and I love this car.

Ayi Jihu becomes the center of attention at the Audi launch in Macau

Call me a girl but I love cars where the doors open like wings, that is such a sexy thing to see. Yes it’s not very practical if you are just nipping down to the supermarket to pick up some noodles, but if you pull up outside a club in the mercedes AMG oh my god! When those doors open and you step out it seems everything else opens after that. I have turned up to a few of my shows in this car and trust me it works. The other thing about this super car is the raw power of it, you feel like you are sitting in a rocket ship when you mix the sound it makes with the acceleration. I was almost sick and had to ask my friend to slow it down a bit. What a thrill this car is.

I love my Bikes and custom cars too, but thats another story.

Ayi jihu’s debut Album Try Me is available on Itunes and Amazon now.

www.Ayijihu.com

www.AyiJihu.me Chinese site

[Via http://ayijihu.wordpress.com]

Thursday, December 17, 2009

S.E.C. Approves Tougher Rules on Executive Pay

WASHINGTON (AP) — Federal regulators voted Wednesday to require companies to reveal more information about how they pay their executives amid a public outcry over compensation.

The Securities and Exchange Commission voted 4-to-1 to expand the disclosure requirements for public companies.

Company policies that encouraged excessive risk-taking and rewarded executives for delivering short-term profits were blamed for fueling the financial crisis.

The agency also changed a formula on how public companies report stock options and stock awards in regulatory filings. Such awards often make up most of top executives’ pay.

Separately, the agency voted unanimously to require thousands of investment advisers who have custody of clients’ money to submit to annual surprise exams by outside auditors.

The surprise audits would allow independent accountants to review the books and verify that the money is there. The snap audits would apply to about 1,600 investment advisers that don’t use third-party custodians, out of roughly 11,000 advisers registered with the S.E.C.

This move is aimed at plugging gaps that allowed the disgraced money manager Bernard Madoff to deceive investors.

The changes will help investors make better-informed voting decisions for the companies in which they hold stock, said Mary Schapiro, the chairwoman of the S.E.C.

“By adopting these rules, we will improve the disclosure around risk, compensation and corporate governance, thereby increasing accountability and directly benefiting investors,” Ms. Schapiro said before the vote.

Kathleen Casey, one of the commissioners, said she opposed some of the new requirements, like added information on qualifications of directors and candidates for the board, that she said could be “unduly burdensome.”

As a result, Ms. Casey said she was voting against the rule as a whole.

It was the first final rule adopted by the S.E.C. this year under Ms. Schapiro’s tenure. Numerous proposals have been made by the commissioners.

Under the new rules, companies will have to disclose legal actions involving the company’s executive officers, directors and nominees for the board. They also must explain the role played by diversity as a factor in choosing candidates for the board and detail potential conflicts of interest on the part of compensation consultants retained by the company.

Anger over lavish Wall Street pay has led some American banks to take pre-emptive action. Goldman Sachs, for example, has said it won’t give cash bonuses to 30 top executives. Instead, the bonuses will be paid in stock that can’t be cashed in for five years.

The new requirements were proposed by the S.E.C. and opened to public comment in July. They build on rules the agency adopted in 2006. The expanded executive pay disclosure rules will take effect next spring, when companies send annual proxy disclosures to shareholders.

S.E.C. Approves Tougher Rules on Executive Pay

[Via http://djonbri.wordpress.com]

HR sau Marketing?

,,Asigurarea necesarului de resurse umane în conformitate cu nevoile curente de personal şi/sau în baza previziunilor legate de acesta”. Frază arhicunoscută şi veşnică în lista de obiective-funcţii ale unui departament de HR. Aici, HR-iştii îşi dau frâu liber: de la bugetare până la chestionarele săptămânale, lunare etc. pe care le administrează angajaţilor şi care sunt menite să scoată la suprafaţă insatisfacţiile, lipsurile care ar putea afecta fluctuaţia personalului şi cine mai ştie ce altceva.

Avându-i pe cei din interior sub control, atentia cade asupra potenţialilor angajaţi. Sponsorizările, parteneriatele, reclamele, urmărirea poziţiei în topul preferinţelor, prezenţa online, etc. sunt măsuri ale creeării unei imagini favorabile ce face compania respectivă de dorit pentru cei care îşi caută un job.

Legătura cu HR-ul se face prin materializarea conceptului Employee Value Proposition. Poate fi adaptat după caz: Company VP, Employer VP, BandVP, Fan VP. Prin urmare, companiile via departamentul de HR trebuie să fie interesate de crearea/consolidarea Employee VP, asta făcând munca mult mai uşoară/ieftină la recrutare şi apoi integrare. Cu alte cuvinte, conceptul se referă la cât de dorit/apreciat este un angajator în urma contactului dintre cultura organizaţională a acestuia şi posibilii candidaţi. Şi cum puţini candidaţi fac studii pe companii în timpul lor liber, acestea trebuie să invadeze discret mediul de desfăşurare al primilor: conturi pe Social Media, chestii interactive, etc. etc.  Ori aspectul acesta scoate HR-iştii din biroul de recrutare şi îi face brand manageri direct interesaţi. În plus, HR-iştii ar trebui să înţeleagă că principalii ambasadori ai imaginii companiei sunt proprii angajaţi. Angajaţi care confirmă sau infirmă în mediul lor fizic sau virtual, corespondenţa dintre ce spune compania că este şi cum este în fapt.

Un aspect tangenţial cu marketingul în HR l-am întâlnit în foarte scurta perioadă de pregătire la Precision Media. Deşi candidasem pe un post de HR, lucrurile au trecut subit spre vânzări. Trebuia să conving companiile să cumpere un anumit spaţiu în revista Ambition, beneficiile lor fiind ,,consolidarea şi promovarea unei imagini dezirabile” în rândul celor 1,3 milioane de posibili angajaţi la care printurile noastre ajungeau. Era cu alte cuvinte vânzare de servicii HR , putea fi făcută de orice agent de vânzări, deşi unele aspecte implicau noţiuni solide de HR.

Este interesant de văzut cum se diversifică şi se adaptează domeniul resurselor umane la noile realităţi de pe piaţă. Este şi trebuie să fie cel mai flexibil şi dinamic sector.

[Via http://moscovici87.wordpress.com]

Tuesday, December 15, 2009

All you believe…may be ALL WRONG – Belief #5

Misconception #5 – Lower Your Prices and Make it Up on Volume.

(Read time approx. 3 minutes.)

This is the fifth misconception in a series of six. The concepts being discussed here will likely be counter to your beliefs. The comments left on the previous posts are quite interesting so you may want to go back and read them. Click HERE to go back and begin with the first post related to this series.

Possibly one of the greatest travesties to befall the independent garden center as an industry is the fallacy that if you offer lower prices you will “make it up on volume”.

This is what I  call Fifth Grade Economics. The general level of knowledge about economics in our industry was learned in fifth grade social studies class. In my fifth grade class Mrs. Woods taught us about supply and demand, and how if you lowered the price you would “make it up on volume”. Unfortunately this same macro-economic principle has been perpetuated in higher education and has not been balanced with understanding of the micro-economic application in an independent garden center serving niche demographic and psycho-graphic customers.

It may be true that more units of garden center products and plants are sold to US consumers through the combined efforts of mass merchandise chains and independent garden centers. However, I  do not see any economic benefit of that additional volume to more than a handful of folks who are directly involved in our industry. The downward price pressure of commoditization at wholesale and retail levels is actually depriving our industry supply chain of the margin dollars necessary for continuing a healthy business. Radical change beyond the application of LEAN processes is occurring as the effect of a poor economy forces weaker companies to exit the competitive environment. For now, their volume is being redistributed among the last men standing. Yes, this comes with free enterprise, however it is accelerated by a lack of understanding and incorrect application of this basic supply-demand economic distribution model.

The “Make it up on Volume” trick should be reserved for items sold in high volume through mass market retail stores and that is where it began in our industry. In the earlier days of the independent garden center business some companies in reasonable proximity to larger population centers were able to trade price for volume and come out fairly well off. Remember that some of their brethren were equally as successful promoting a value-added business model and earning even more money during those days preceding the discount format mass merchants entering the garden center business. Now the DNA of those companies demands that they exploit more commodities to drive yet more traffic through their stores.

The “Make it up on Volume” folks that have made it this far are now ensnared in a deadly trap where operating margins are lowering as the costs of doing business rise. To continue to compete on price they must advertise low prices even more aggressively to draw enough able-paying customers past the myriad other mass merchants as well as value-added independent garden centers just to pay their bills. Where does this low price/high volume philosophy lead? Just this week I read that an 82 year old owner of a 90 million dollar garden center chain famous for selling on low price/high volume doesn’t think he can sell his business for more than the value of the real estate and equipment.

Price Elasticity of Demand is the economic principle we’re talking about. It is true that sales volume of some items increases while more consumers are attracted to purchase them as prices drop. Customers who are attracted by lower prices may also use the product more frequently and in greater quantity over a period of time.

For example, Kroger recently advertised gallon jugs of milk for $1.75 in a local market. While Walmart has been aggressively advertising the savings they offer on the total shopping basket everyone knows that the price of milk is  about $3.25 to $3.50 and Kroger wins a shopping trip from nearly everyone in the market. Those milk-buying shoppers include the die-hard loyal Kroger shopper as well as many Walmart low price shopper regulars who intend to “cherry-pick” but inevitably get caught up in other deals that are more lucrative to Kroger. These folks stock-up on milk to save the maximum amount they think they can use before the milk they purchase would spoil. They pour more milk until it is gone, then most of them return to their regular shopping pattern or the next sale-price induced one.

Most garden centers have adjusted to selling fewer Known Price items as discounters and big-box chains have created commodities out of Miracle Gro, Proven Winners, flats of annuals, cell packs of annuals, gallon perennials, etc. (This is NOT to imply that independent garden centers should not sell these items at all.) As more items are commoditized independent retailers have failed to adjust tactics and have no solid game plan on how to  hold onto the margin dollars they need to earn on the high quantity items they sell. Commoditization is fueled by suppliers who offer no control of their distribution to protect their retail outlets.

When 4″ specialty annuals and 5″ Poinsettia are heavily advertised at $.99 during prime buying season by two major mass merchants in many US markets this year the rapid commoditization phase of the Price Elasticity of Demand Game is officially on. Someone – maybe everyone is about to get hurt!

The Price Elasticity of Demand Game

An independent who chooses to remain relevant and competitive in the same market as discount merchants has to play the Price Elasticity of Demand Game the way it is intended. This game has no favorite. In this game the challenger has entered the low price/high volume arena and the incumbent value-added retailer must resist the pull to join them or join the race to the bottom – end of game.  The other side of this game table is the Inelastic side and that is where they must the value-added retailer must choose to sit, but not just wait out the competition if they wish to continue as a viable provider to the customers who choose to purchase their added-value offer. They must devise new tactics.

New Belief #5 – You must do the hard work to add value and differentiate your company to earn the margin dollars you need to sustain your business.

Product Differentiation

On the value-added side of the game table the rules are the same but the game pieces are different. The incumbent (high/value independent) must play with game pieces (products) of Unknown Price, leaving game pieces of Known Price and relatively low operating margin to the challenger.The basic idea is to create in-elasticity by offering highly desired and highly valued products at prices that allow a high operating margin.This is also known as Product Differentiation.

Choosing Supply Chain Partners

Executing this strategy is not easy in a marketplace where person charged with selecting products to sell are matched with suppliers who ignore or are unable to meet the strategic need of their retail partner to offer differentiated products and a margin of protected from high volume/low price competition. I can think of no such product supplier to our industry supply chain other than in the gift categories. Vera Bradley for example sells through a limited number of authorized retailers and strictly enforces discounting within their legal limits. Instead, many garden center suppliers provide exclusive product opportunities and other benefits to their mass retail distribution partners. And those that do partner with independent value-added retailers do not limit distribution within a market, provide suggested retail pricing, or invoke discounting parameters.  Of course one of the reasons they don’t offer these controlled distribution benefits is that most independent garden centers don’t understand them and resist the notion of being restricted by these types of vendor rules. (In other words, we have met the enemy and he is __.)

Environment Differentiation

To the degree products are differentiated by quality of ingredients, performance and design the physical environment in which they are offered to consumers must also be differentiated. The value-added side of this game table looks different to the consumer. From colors to quality of display materials to spacious room for customers the atmosphere is more inviting and comfortable. Meanwhile others are drawn to choose to spend less for less in the low price/high volume retail environment that is often more crowded and less attractively decorated.

The cost of differentiation has been a controlling factor in the past, however low price/high volume providers have been using their economies of scale and design to break the barrier (visit an updated McDonald’s restaurant) and increase margins on commodities such as coffee. Another nemesis of low price/high volume stores in the past has been cleanliness. This has been given much needed attention in mass merchant stores. It is getting to be even more expensive and difficult and even more important to differentiate on the basis of atmosphere.

Service Differentiation

Providing a value-added experience through offering services whether included or optional and additional create in-elasticity or differentiation. Mass merchants have responded to the service edge long possessed by independent garden centers with no-questions-asked guarantees, certified specialists, in-store vendor merchandising, and even plant installation services in some areas. The most viable level of differentiation by service is that of long-term personal relationship and connection between the salesperson and the consumer.

Total Perceived Value

The customer perceived TOTAL VALUE TRIANGLE -  Product, Store Environment, and Service

Achieving a winning level of total value perception by the consumer requires exceeding the minimum expected level of service and provide noticeable difference in all three value areas.

The role of each type of retailer is to represent the total value they offer as completely as possible and in context of how the consumer perceives the value they receive from the products, environment, and services. This is done by product and store design, marketing messages, and ultimately the repeat business and word of mouth from their consumers.

Who Will Win?

We are only concerned with helping the independent value-added retailer succeed, and the only way we know to successfully do that is to differentiate in all three areas of the total value triangle. Those who choose to fully engage in providing the most highly differentiated value have a place at the table where stakes are high and clear separation from mass retailers is a must.

Leave a Reply – How do you differentiate on Product, Store Environment, and Service?

[Via http://hortadvantage.wordpress.com]

Tiger Woods, Accenture and the Anatomy of Succesful Press Release

So accenture has discontinued its sponsorship relationship with Tiger Woods. Here is the press release:

NEW YORK; Dec. 13, 2009 – Accenture (NYSE: ACN) today announced that it will not continue its sponsorship agreement with Tiger Woods.

For the past six years, Accenture and Tiger Woods have had a very successful sponsorship arrangement and his achievements on the golf course have been a powerful metaphor for business success in Accenture’s advertising. However, given the circumstances of the last two weeks, after careful consideration and analysis, the company has determined that he is no longer the right representative for its advertising. Accenture said that it wishes only the best for Tiger Woods and his family.

Accenture will continue to leverage its “High Performance Business” strategy and “High Performance Delivered” positioning in the marketplace. The company will immediately transition to a new advertising campaign, with a major effort scheduled to launch later in 2010.

Nike ,on the other hand, according to Reuters  is not dropping Tiger. In fact Nike Chairman Phil Knight says “it’s all part of the game” when dealing with athletes. For instance, there was Kobe Bryant’s alleged rape issue. Nike has learned that with athletes, wait it out and the public is pretty forgiving.

What I found interesting was Accenture’s press release. I really liked how they phrased things. Now Accenture is a global consulting firm. I think they do finance, tech, and a bunch of things. They used to be a part of Arthur Andersen, the accounting firm, so think men in white short sleeves, glasses, pencils and ledgers. So, if you’d ever seen those accenture ads, they were usually somewhat expansive, wide open space, with the prominent figure of Tiger Woods on the greens focused and studying the greens before his par shot. The ads were good. You felt open about Accenture. You did not feel that they were stodgy or closed in, but open to possibilities, yet competently focused on accomplishing a goal (Tiger for par). So I think Tiger’s image was very useful in giving them a contemporary edgy image.

Now, with the Tiger scandal, the slow trickle of bad news, and Tiger’s indefinite leave of absence from golf, Tiger sponsors then had to make the decision if they would stick with him or drop him.  For sports outfits, the Michael Phelps drug scandal was probably instructive. Phelps recovered from that and shouldn’t have problems with sponsorships going forward. So sport related companies have nothing to gain by dropping Tiger. However, for a company like Accenture, it is a different ball game. They are not a sports company. In fact the Tiger image was what they describe as “a powerful metaphor for business success.” So Accenture is betting that they can switch metaphors if needed and proceed.

About their press release, what I like is that they initially recognize the mutually beneficial relationship. This absolves them from any perceptions of sanctimoniusness, i.e., we are dropping Tiger because we are holier than thou. They agree, he made money, we leveraged his image to improve our brand, now his image no longer fits our brand. The language is very positive and forward-looking. I just flat-out loved how they handled it. It is the transparency of motives that makes this press release very successful. As for their new advertising campaign, one has to wonder if they had a plan B all along. Did they know what Tiger was like in his spare time and did they have potential replacement advertising campaigns in the wings? Who knows. It would interesting to watch.

[Via http://onoekeh.wordpress.com]

Sunday, December 13, 2009

Cheaper is better

I’ve heard pretty much any argument from potential clients who believe that marketing or web design is something “anyone” can do. If you are a writer or designer I am sure you know what I am talking about. Anyone can write some copy or use a template for a website, right?

For some marketing is an expense. I look upon marketing as an investment. The latest I heard was “Cheaper is better”. Not really a new statement, but interesting. Especially now during these economic times. What happened to “You get what you pay for?” or the fact that probably 50% (or maybe more) of all marketing efforts are a waste of money? I have never understood why people are willing to throw what little money the have out the window.

NBC has for many years run a commercial or spot with the tagline “The more you know…” – I love it because it is so true. The more you know about anything the better chances you have to make good decisions in any aspect of your professional and personal life.

Through the years I have met numerous clients that have spent “a lot of money” with amateurs, and suddenly they have to redo it because it doesn’t do the job. Then they finally come to us, but don’t have the budget anymore. “Can you help us for less please?” Like we are a charity for corporations that didn’t do the right thing in the first place. I must say that not all client who come to us react that way. Some actually have learned from their experience and are now willing to pay the cost, even if it hurts a little.

The funny thing is that some of the clients that still wants work for less are driving a Mercedes 500 or a 7-series BMW. I am sure they paid more than what they would pay for a KIA. So why doesn’t their “cheaper is better” attitude work there? Maybe because cheaper is NOT better?

[Via http://ocdesigner.wordpress.com]

Marketing Your Photography Business

Marketing my photography business must have been one of the most difficult tasks when I was starting out. Since I knew nobody in the industry, I didn’t even have the first clue about where to start. I hope this helps you.

When I first really figured out that I wanted to become a professional photographer, I knew I had to market myself. But how? I knew I didn’t have that strong of a portfolio at the time, but I knew that it was important to brand myself immediately and get my name out there within the circles that I wanted to work within. Now, as most starving artists are (hence the term), I didn’t have a ton of money to throw into a huge viral marketing campaign – and even if I did, I didn’t have the quality of book to back it up and would have started off on the wrong foot by showing sub-par work to the top Ad Directors, Creative Directors, Designers, Owners, CMO’s, etc etc etc. I scoured the Internet to find out what I should do at the beginning phases of my photography business, and here is what I found (and my opinions on them):

Model Mayhem – http://bit.ly/5KJwsm : The joke of industry professionals. You know what it is – and you’re probably a member on there. So am I – just with my abbreviations so that when clients Google my name, my Model Mayhem page won’t pop up.  :)   The first models I ever shot were from this site – because that’s where I figured out that I can get people to model for me for simply a disk of the images when we were all set and done. It was a great place to network with other creative artists from around Vancouver-Seattle-Portland area and I was able to find most of the teams I currently work with somehow through this site. Sure, I had to work my way through mediocre teams for awhile, but it’s all part of paying dues to be part of the industry. Right??? Haha :)   Most of the teams I’ve connected with on there are now professionally represented and 99% of the models I work with are also represented by well-known modeling agencies from around the world. I just keep my MM account to further get my work out there and continue to build my branding.

Facebook – http://bit.ly/51Z3Ff : Personally, I love Facebook. I started the account just to keep in touch with old friends and current colleagues. It wasn’t until I started having people find me (my work) and had NO idea who they were that I realized that somehow my work and name is getting out there without me even really trying. When I first decided to utilize Facebook, everything seemed to blow up. I was getting more work routed through Facebook than any other type of media – and it’s completely free. I’ve also created a fan page (which I currently need to update) in order to further put my name and brand out there. Just try not to get distracted by all the applications on the site!

Myspace: What? What’s that? People still use that? Not me.

Twitter – http://bit.ly/8Wihom : The new fad that is here to stay. Personally, I am still getting used to it, but it seems like another great networking tool and is quite easy to update on a regular basis (almost too regular… haha). I’ve created lists of different types on my Twitter page, so please keep an eye on those and “follow” them. They should be growing fairly large over the coming months/years and will be a good way to grow your network.

Blogging: Well, obviously I use WordPress, but there are many other blogs out there that work great as well. BlogSpot and Tumblr are other blogs that are popular amongst my friends and colleagues. BRAND BRAND BRAND.

Parties, Gala Events, et al: This are phenomenal ways to grow your brand and get some crucial face-to-face time with those around your market. Get familiar with the people in your market and make sure to keep your face familiar with them as well – you have to make sure it’s a two-way street here. If you remember them – that still won’t do you any good if they have to keep trying to remember who you are. Get face time as much as you possibly can without being a nuisance. When you are at these events, talk a little business if you think it’s appropriate, but these are the times where we all want to kick back and relax with some good food, good drinks, and good people. This is the time where you are wanting to sell yourself on your personality – not your work.

Postcards, E-mailers, et al: These methods are used often for a reason, but keep in mind what I just said – they are used often. If you are wanting to sell yourself to a company who is bombarded with all these pieces of marketing materials on a daily basis, you have to make sure you stand out from the crowd. Hopefully you will be standing out based on your work and not a busy graphic. Keep it simple and let your work speak for itself. Don’t have anything distracting from it. If you think your mailers need a lot of special graphics overlayed around your imagery, you will be putting off the signal that it’s not strong enough by itself. Keep it simple.

Branding, branding, branding: I’ve said it a lot, but I will say it again – branding yourself is so incredibly important. Brand not only your logo with a certain color scheme and typeface, but brand your style of imagery. Nail down your body of work, lighting style, and post production to scream “Your Name.” If someone can’t tell that a particular photo was created by you, why are they hiring you? Ask yourself that question and you will quickly realize that it’s a good way to look at all your shoots from here on out.

In my opinion, those are the best ways to get yourself marketed in the right direction and for the least amount of money. Just remember: get your face-to-face meetings often, brand yourself, your logo, and your imagery, and keep it all updated regularly. Fashion changes quickly – and it’s your business to keep up with it.

Cheers, and happy shooting,

Kyle – http://bit.ly/5PpQpR

[Via http://kylegoldie.wordpress.com]

Saturday, December 12, 2009

Twitter the next revolution of staying connected?

Twitter Bird

Twitter Bird

So what exactly is Twitter? Why is there so much of fuss about Twitter now a days. From Barack Obama to Shah Rukh Khan everyone is using Twitter to gain more popularity. My intension to write blog on Twitter is to create awareness in our Pakistani people on how to use Twitter well.

Twitter as you must have heard is a micro blogging website which keeps you updated about the activities of your family and friends. Twitter is a great tool to kill boredom. First you have to make an id on Twitter then what you have to do is to invite or follow some of your family and friends who are there on Twitter, so you can catch up with(known as follow me in Twitter) them with their activities.

When you follow a person you will get news and updates from that particular person in your homepage in Twitter in this way you will know what he/she is up to. Just like status update in Facebook but in Twitter this is limited to 160 characters and this is called Tweet.

Basic purpose of Twitter is to get connected with your friends and family and when people will start following you this will keep them updated about your activities. You can also upload pictures on Twitter by using Twitpic.

Another purpose of Twitter which can be helpful in Pakistan is that it’s an amazing tool when used for marketing. This will keep your clients updated about your new products and will surely increase your sales.

Software for Twitter

Twhirl is amazing software for Twitter. This is a desktop application which settles on your desktop and updates you from latest Tweets from your friends.

TweetDeck is also a very easy software which can be used to keep you updated on your friends Tweets.

This is just a short review on what Twitter is and how it can be used. In Pakistan Twitter is not so very popular but from time to time its gaining popularity. So get your hands on Twitter before its too late.

[Via http://pakgates.wordpress.com]

What's The Difference To You?

We don’t have a fancy Athletic Department publicist or a deep-pocketed marketing department, but what we do have at FGCU is a staff that does an exceptional job with the resources they are given to promote the Athletic Department, its sports and their events. However, since finances and person power are limited it is up to the individual programs to decide whether or not they want to continue this promotional campaign themselves.

Under the direction of our Head Coach the Men’s Basketball program has taken a grassroots approach over the last few years to hit the streets and encourage local support. One way that we do this is by pairing coaches with players and dividing up the Fort Myers and Naples areas in an attempt to go business to business passing out schedule cards and asking establishments to hang posters in their windows.

This idea is similar to one that we employed at Dartmouth where we went to local businesses and asked them to make donations in exchange for advertising at our yearly golf tournament fundraiser. While we did garner some support from area businesses it was difficult at times to convince owners and managers that this was a worthwhile exchange of services.

However, here we are only asking places to display a poster in their window and put out some pocket schedules so that their patrons have the opportunity to learn a little about our program and perhaps be interested enough to come check us out. Having that been said one would expect that we would get nearly 100% participating in this endeavor since heading in I really couldn’t understand why anyone would object.

If anything, I thought that they would be happy to help since supporting other area organizations would make them look good in the eyes of community members, and further ingratiate them as an integral and caring member of the local society.

While I can understand businesses not wishing to display our larger posters in their windows since it may lead to their business being covered in such displays, I simply can’t comprehend any place showing resistance to us leaving a few schedule cards by the register.

Yet, after we had finished our second attempt this morning to get the word out about FGCU Men’s Basketball we were all shocked by the collective tally we unfortunately put together of places that weren’t willing to even except the schedule cards. With the number of places that we went to over the course of two days it was by no means a high percentage of businesses that denied us, but it was noticeable.

Some places said that if they displayed anything of ours then they would have to do it for everyone and didn’t want their establishment covered in schedules and fliers promoting local teams and events. However, in my opinion this is exactly what a business should want, especially during the current economic crisis that has cripple much of southwest Florida.

Wouldn’t the perception that you were doing everything in your power to support and promote the welfare and best interests of the community help your standing within said community and therefore attract more customers?

Perhaps I am naïve in this notion but I was honestly a little shocked when given this rationale for why they couldn’t help us out. When we visited several different chains that fell under the jurisdiction and laws imposed by their corporate masters some said that they didn’t have the authority to display anything, which as silly as it sounds is something that I can accept as a byproduct of the corporate hierarchy.

Any way you look at it we all need to do what is in our best interests, especially during tough times, but that means different things to different people and businesses. While some establishments are only willing to help and support others if they can envision a way that the exchange will directly benefit them, others take the alternative approach and are completely willing to be of assistance in any way possible as long as it doesn’t hurt them, regardless of whether they will gain from the relationship or not.

In the end perhaps I wasn’t looking at the reality of the situation we were heading into when we began this campaign by optimistically assuming that everyone would take the latter approach, but then again the fact that not everyone was helpful has certainly increased my level of appreciation and admiration for those did.

[Via http://coachraidbard.wordpress.com]

Thursday, December 10, 2009

Safe Promotional Products. Fire Extinguisher

Governments are mandating safer construction and products be installed in houses or offices.  Smoke alarms are mandatory in certain countries.   Insurance companies can reduce premiums for fitting different security and safety devices.

This month ODM is promoting fire extinguishers as a unique and extremely appreciated high end promotional product.   These can cost under US$10/pc but the perceived value is much higher.

Complying with strict standards, European Normes, USA, or international codes, we offer a with a variety of extinguishers to choose from.

  • Dry Chemical extinguisher
  • Halon extinguishers
  • Water extinguishers
  • Carbon Dioxide extinguishers.

An absolute necessity in any home or office, this promotional item can be customized to a smaller size, shape and weight.

Simple instructions are printed on the body of the extinguisher leaving sufficient space for sticker/silk screen printing of logo or brand.

Different from the usual promotional merchandise, hung in a place which is easily visible and accessible, a fire extinguisher will make a difference in people’s life and will be remembered for years to come.

[Via http://theodmgroup.com]

SmartAss Award 1 -- You Go Paula Maccabee!!

As a facilitator of group sessions, on leadership development or talking with the media or tatting, I often, when I remember to, give out a Smartass Award. Somebody shoots off a zinger nailing me or a corporate sacred cow or a boss who can take it, and I’ll toss out a T-Shirt or a book or some Fruit Loops and have everyone applaud the Smartass Award Winner. People like it, and it takes their mind off the issue of whether they’re actually learning anything in my session.

So, let’s import this concept into The Same Rowdy Crowd and start a tradition. Let’s give a SmartAss Award to someone in Minnesota, or a Minnesotan out in the warmer world, who lets fly with a turn of phrase that makes us all wish we’d said that — or had the guts to say that.

We’ll celebrate a winner whenever one of us stops watching As The World Turns long enough to pay attention to local communications.

Our inaugural winner is Paula Maccabee, an attorney for WaterLegacy, an environmental group wishing the DNR would do a little more hearing at its hearings.

In a Tom Meersman story in the StarTribune, the DNR gets a little seemingly deserved heat for informational meetings this week on a copper nickel mining project in Northeastern Minnesota. There will be information presented to the public, but no open microphones for public comment. People can, however, line up and give their views to — drumroll — stenographers. Really.

Now public hearings can get pretty rowdy (and that’s a bad thing why?) and they can become Kabuki Theater if too many PR types like us draft astroturf “public” comments. So I get the desire to keep things more orderly. But having people talk to stenographers? Takes all the fun out of it.

So up steps Counselor Maccabee, quoted by Meersman:

“The agencies have taken both ‘public’ and ‘information’ out of the term ‘public information meeting.’”

You go, Paula!

SmartAss Award Numero Uno from The Same Rowdy Crowd.

Keep it smart out there, folks.

– Bruce Benidt

[Via http://thesamerowdycrowd.wordpress.com]

Tuesday, December 8, 2009

New Nielsen surveys reveal new online audience results

Nielsen, usually the gold standard in broadcast media audience measurements, is finding surprising results in its new survey methodology. The Ad Age article indicates less crossover from some print and broadcast sites to companion websites than previously assumed – in some instances, less than half the number in the old assumptions. That may change as methodology is refined but this is getting interesting.

[Via http://nrmarketwatch.com]

How to Avoid Marketing Mistakes

As many of you trade show veterans know, marketing is where the money is. Without a strong plan and solid goals your strategy may just get lost in the madness. The more prepared you are, the better your chances are of being successful at your next event. Being prepared and panning ahead entail careful planning, smart and savvy promotion, and effective qualification of leads with immediate and persistent follow up. All of these things will help your organization meet and exceed all expectations.

The success you will see from trade shows will depend on how devoted your organization is to the marketing plan, which should be involved in the entire process. This means that your marketing should start before the event, should continue strong throughout the event, and also to persist on into the future by following up with potential customers, etc.

To avoid many of the marketing mistakes made by companies every year at trade shows, remember a few easy ideas, to keep you and your organization on the right track. Make sure to set concrete, solid goals for the particular event. Always prepare your employees for everything good and bad that could occur at the trade show. Especially paying particular attention to the main trade show display spokespeople. Their training and experience is imperative to your overall success. Finally, make sure to follow up on all the leads you acquire at the trade show, these potential clients may be the key to your company’s future. Take every opportunity available to market your product and your name. At trade shows, there is always someone watching and waiting for the opportunity to get find what they are looking for…do not let an opportunity to assist them slip you by.

[Via http://shopfordisplays.wordpress.com]

Sunday, December 6, 2009

Open Source = Open Money

At EC, we have a lot of people coming to us with all these different ideas about building portals. More because we often push Ads like ‘Have an Idea ? We have the technology. Build your dream web portal with ECBuzz.com’. So we get to listen to a lot of ideas everyday. And as true software guys, what do me and sushant do when we have to work out a proposal for something new, we follow the standard coders maxim : Good coders code. Great coders reuse !, and look out for existing softwares. We look out for all that free stuff, or better call it open source to reuse. And every so often, we used to wonder- how do these guys make money ? With all the code up for grabs, are these people so noble at heart and want to earn so much goodwill – of course not ! So this leads to the all important question – how do open source companies make money ?

There are 2 entities here, the ones who write the original software (‘original company’) and the ones who take it, reuse and deploy (lets call these ‘parasite company’). The case of the latter is easy to understand- why reinvent the wheel, if someone is just giving it to you, take it, polish it and sell it. So we will consider entity 1 here. Lets try and see.

So you come up with this great idea, find a loophole in the market, or just have a super enhanced version of some existing concept and you decide to make a software solution. After toiling hard and working with great passion, you build your product. Lets say you spent about $20,000 building it. Lets see how going open source is going to help you make money, both in terms of saving of essential investments and actually generating revenue.

Marketing : once you have decided to go open, you give away your code for free download, have it for a free download on your product website, blog about it like mad and post about it in every possible place you can. You start attracting some developer community attention – obviously its free and no one has anything to loose to download and see what you have done. It’s amazing how the word FREE has a specific magnetic effect on your mind no matter where you see it. Anyways, so people start downloading and messing around. To your surprise, the software starts reaching customers who would have never have even considered or even come to know about it. Here comes the most important point about going open – you need a software that is seriously good – because it is naked out there, a good enough will never attract developers and downloads. You didn’t spend a penny and your software is already going places by harnessing the power of open source to market itself. This much about saving on money – now about actually making some-

Service : You then put up pages on your website about a complete installation suite(1st source) – a preinstalled OS, DB, App Server and your free application over that and offer it for some price, say $5000. You can now officially use – free, open source, $0 only to attract all the attention you want. There is a good chance that a lot of prospects considering your software will go for you as of all the parasites thriving on you, you yourself are obviously the most reliable. Next comes your customization : Many of the users who consider going in for your free software, would need some arrangements to suit their own needs and since the idea of getting the software for free has already gotten them excited, they would not mind shelling out something like a $100/hour for customization(source 2). And once you have gotten your customer – you always have the enhancements :-) @ may be $150/hour which becomes our 3rd source.

Support : By now, with some amount of downloads and some community focus on your software, you would probably have an active support and knowledgebase on your site. Its obviously free until now. But now onwards, you start charging for a support package selling support on case basis or a monthly or yearly basis(Say $100/month). Consultants depending on your software and serving customers will not mind paying you for all genuine support. Every programmer has their style of coding that other coders dont understand and trust me, even if its open- tones will need support which is our 4th source.

Demoware Open Source : This is a somewhat debated but definitely a very effective way. Give a really basic, almost commercially non usable version of the software as complete open source. And have a professional and enterprise paid edition over it(Say $500 and $900 respectively). The lowest version suffices the basic needs, but people are stuck up during critical customer custom deployments and have to upgrade. Sugar CRM does this. But attracts a lot of criticism for marketing itself as open source while truly being our demoware open source. But they seem to be better off than other truly open source CRM’s. Proprietary softwares like Salesforce.com, Oracle On Demand and FreedomCRM are way better off in the CRM market though. Anyways, so this is our 5th source.

Collaborative Money : This is where open source is used to collaborate and help some other aspect of your business to monetize itself. Google have Wave and Android open for developers and cant we see the android boom now(2% to 7% growth in market share in just 6 months). Turning these into open source is actually their marketing strategy to market their software through the power of the community in order to be able to sell more Advertisements. So that’s source 6 to use the self marketing power of open source to generate revenue through some other aspect of the business.

So as per our(just some rough) analysis, you need to sell 4 Installation suites($20000) or 200 hours customization ($20000) to break even and we have not even considered other sources.

So open source is not about goodwill or spirit, its about fierce competition and capitalism. You know that the company next to you has the same piece of clay as you have and it all boils down to who can mould it better and sell, thus fostering innovation and productivity. No one can put it in words better than Red Hat CEO, Jim Whitehurst “If we all had to walk around naked, we’d spend more time in the GYM”. :-)

[Via http://rahulrane.wordpress.com]

Top Trends for 2010

Limited Locations - F(Luxury) Trend

Trendwatching.com is one of my favorite sites for showcasing newsworthy trends. I love the way they bring the trends come alive and encapsulate the spirit of the inherent opportunities.

Source: www.trendwatching.com. One of the world’s leading trend firms, trendwatching.com sends out its free, monthly Trend Briefings to more than 160,000 subscribers worldwide.

One trend that they describe that I’m particularly interested in is F(Luxury) — now that luxury is so much in flux – it can be defined as “whatever we want it to be.”  Never more than now, has luxury been in the eye of the beholder. Scarcity is a key indicator of what is held precious and dear — and this range from commissioned unique items to time with family to time alone.

Limited editions, limited locations are increasingly influential in creating a sense of exclusivity and luxury.

What is your business doing to tap into the F(Luxury) trend?

[Via http://ramone1rosen.wordpress.com]

Saturday, December 5, 2009

Social Media Relationship Marketing Success: Strategies, Systems, Tips & Tricks for You!

Want more engaging Social Media Relationship Marketing strategies & systems?

Here’s the latest on what I can do for you:

http://www.blogtalkradio.com/e3c/2009/12/04/maximizing-your-business-opportunities-with-a-virt

I’d love your feedback & comments! If you like it, please do share it with your friends!

What are your favorite tips & tricks?

To your success,

Christine



Christine Elisabeth Hueber

ChristineHueber.com

Engaging Social Media Relationship Marketing Strategies for Thriving Entrepreneurs

+1 530.582.8091 Direct, Pacific Time

Connect with me further:

Facebook: http://FaceBook.com/Christine.Hueber

LinkedIn: http://LinkedIn.com/in/ChristineHueber

Twitter: http://Twitter.com/CEHueber

Everywhere: http://XeeSM.com/ChristineElisabethHueber

Where do you want to go next with your business? I invite you to discover how my engaging Social Media Relationship Marketing expertise enables you to get there …with ease!

[Via http://bestvirtualassistant.wordpress.com]

Get off the Cluetrain and into my Zipcar: Social media success in the car-sharing business

I came across an excellent blog posting by Lora Kratchounova, aka “Scratch” – an industry marketing and media guru – addressing Zipcar’s unparalleled marketing success.

Over the past 9 years, Zipcar has built more than just a revolutionary product – they built a brand. Through their intriguing marketing and media messaging, Zipcar planted in consumers the illusion of exclusivity and luxury. Potential consumers ponder the wishful idea that if they’re lucky enough, maybe just one day, they too can become a Zipcar member.

Scratch’s post outlines 8 things she loves about Zipcar – all with which I whole-heartedly agree. But there are two more points that she missed, both of which I think are crucial to the success of their overall brand. Coincidentally, both of these points are major elements of the Cluetrain Manifesto: the use of the ‘human voice’ and the idea that ‘markets are conversations’.

Across their entire brand and marketing campaign, Zipcar speaks to their consumers with a human voice, and not that of a corporation. As I pointed out in an earlier posting on the Cluetrain Manifesto, traditional companies’ voices are dry, homogenized, and contrived; they do not sound like the real people in their market.

Successful ones, such as Zipcar, understand human mannerisms to be able to interact with their market. A true example of this is the way they treat their cars like people.

Their vehicles are all given a name, such as Babycakes, Bitsy, Belvedere, Boy wonder, even Boogaloo. Zipcar’s online database also contains short descriptions of the vehicles – each one of them resembling more an online dating profile than typical rent-a-car websites. They even recently announced a Zipcar “sleepover” program; this slumber party allowing you to keep a Zipcar overnight at a discounted rate.Zipcar Profiles

The cars become your companions, your teammates, and not just a tool to achieve your goal. In the end, this personification of vehicles and casual language makes users feel more connected to the company as a whole.

Second, Zipcar uses every instance of delivering corporate messages as an opportunity for a conversation with their market.

While many companies attempt – and fail – at successfully involving their markets in conversation, Zipcar thrives (or should I say drives.) This affirmation is evident by their extremely active Facebook page.

Zipcar has a following on Facebook of over 27 thousand fans. Though many pages can boast that many members, few have achieved the same level of interaction.

Every Zipcar post on Facebook earns tens, hundreds, something thousands of feedback messages.

Zipcar regularly asks its members to name their vehicles. In a request for naming on September 10th, members responded overwhelmingly with 1,641 comments and 20 “likes.”

Zipcar also converses with their members on a level beyond the product itself. They encourage ‘Zipsters’ to send in stories and pictures of things they’ve done during their Zipcar reservations. On December 4th, they posted a picture of a baby who was born after being driven to the hospital in a Zipcar. On September 25th, two guys from MIT drove their Zipcar to a launch site where they floated a balloon with a camera attached into the sky, and submitted a picture of what they found. On November 6th, Tyler and Jane hopped in a Zipcar after their wedding and drove off into the sunset.

Zipcar Weekend Fun

They have also asked their members to submit designs for their Christmas e-card, or a picture of their Halloween “pumpkin art” carving that captures what they love about Zipcar.

Why is Zipcar so successful in employing these two elements into their marketing scheme? Because they use them together. The ‘human voice’ plays off the belief that ‘markets are conversations.’

Companies can easily write a witty passage, but if no one is there to respond, what is the use? And why converse with your audience when you aren’t speaking the same language?

Zipcar has found a way to seamlessly incorporate both of these elements into their marketing plan, and it is their use in tangent that makes them relevant to us, the consumer. Or in their case, the too-cool-for-school “Zipsters.”

[Via http://juicedbox.wordpress.com]