Category Archives: Marketing

Hollerin’

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Overlooked Marketing Edge

Here are a few tidbits from my presentation yesterday. I spent most of my blog time (and more) preparing to speak at Entrepreneur’s Day, so this might be my only post this week.

The Marketing Proverb

The Well

If this is a marketing proverb, what is the moral?

holler1.jpg

or, some ad agencies prefer to

Send in the Clowns

…simply entertain.

Do you ask this question?

How did you hear about us?

TV

Radio

Newspaper

Direct Mail

Billboard

Other

Hey car dealers… want to see some results?

TV Doesn't Influence Car Purchases

Cars

When you see 71% of car purchasing decisions are influenced by word of mouth…

Tiger

You’re right, but you can…

Steak

Tipping Point

How do you influence word of mouth?

Trendsetter

I’m not talking fashion trendsetters (unless you’re an apparel company). If you’re a technology company, these are the geeks. They’re the raving fans of your industry.
Baton

Do you make it easy for people to hand off your message to others?  More on this here.
Bad Baton

The coupon above might get one person to show up, but it doesn’t encourage them to hand off the baton.

A Better Baton: Drink Coupon

This coupon creates social currency. “You’ll like me more because I got us all free drinks.”

Create Community

Online (blogs/message boards) or offline (customer advisory boards/customer events).

Keep Your WordGodin on Keeping Your WordTypes of WOMBooks on WOM

So, maybe we add two lines to our marketing proverb:

Well 2

And the moral of our NEW proverb is…

Holler 2

Tulsa Marketing Events of Interest

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Management Impact
Wednesday, Feb 28th 2007
BMA Tulsa Luncheon (11:30 -1:00)
Jack Hayhow
Jack Hayhow of Opus Communications

Focusing on the four key activities of all great managers, Jack will show how great managers provide employees what they need to increase productivity and profit.

Jack and his book, Wisdom of the Flying Pig, were featured on Brand Autopsy exactly one year ago today. (what are the odds?)

If you’re in the Tulsa area, RSVP for this event.

The Overlooked Marketing Edge
Thursday, March 1st 2007
2007 Entrepreneur Day Tradeshow (2:30 PM)
Dustin
Dustin Staiger, Beyond Marketing & Advertising

I’ll be speaking during Entrepreneur Day at the Claremore Expo Center next Thursday. I’ll cover how businesses (especially small businesses and startups) overlook an important channel when addressing their marketing. Everyone knows about it, but few know they can affect it.

If you’re interested in attending Entrepreneur Day, contact Rick Reimer at (918) 671-3011.

If you’re in the areas of Tulsa / Oklahoma City / Kansas City / Bentonville, AR / Springfield, MO… you’ll want to attend this annual seminar:

BMA Tulsa’s Annual Seminar

Business Coaches Clinic: Winning as Individuals and Organizations
 Friday March 30th
9:00 AM – 4:15 PM
OSU-Tulsa

Mark your calendars for March 30th!

We’re very excited about the 2007 BMA Tulsa Seminar, featuring Dr. Jay Kent Ferraro and Michael Wagner. The catered keynote luncheon presentation will be given by Rick Couri of KRMG.

The Engaged Organization

Mike Wagner , White Rabbit Group

Mike Wagner is Founder & President of White Rabbit Group – an organization committed to help groups find innovation and new possibilities from an unlikely source… themselves! Mike will give some great coaching tips for your business team to break out of the rut, get unstuck, and see how far they can follow the “white rabbit.”

Mike also authors a marketing blog – Own Your Brand, and regularly contributes to MarketingProfs, an online “webzine” of marketing expertise.

The Emotionally Intelligent Leader


Dr. Jay Kent Ferraro, Empowerment Technologies

Dr. Jay is the Founder of Empowerment Technologies – a national executive coaching, training and consulting firm in Tulsa, OK. Dr. Jay’s expertise in Emotional Intelligence is being used in Fortune 500 companies across the country. He will share how emotionally competent people create success for their organizations. It’s no longer about how smart you are (IQ), but how you are smart (EQ).

Registration information will be available soon. Contact me for more information.

Green Cows

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Green Cow

“Our product is superior to the competition. Our advertising shows people how we’re better. Why aren’t people buying our product?”

There could be many reasons, but today I’m going to focus on one possibility: You’re not talking to the green cows. (before you question my sanity, read the rest)

A lot of marketing and advertising focuses on what you get if you buy. Believe it or not, most people don’t care about what they can get. They care about what they’re missing.

And there is a difference.

I could sell $19 DVD players year round, but Best Buy would sell more for $29 in one day (after Thanksgiving) because people don’t want to miss the sales event.

I could create the best drama on television, but people would rather watch American Idol so they don’t miss out on the water cooler talk at work.

The key isn’t just creating greener grass and educating the public on its benefits. The key is getting greener grass closer to the green cows. Those who want what is on the other side of the fence. They don’t have it, but it is attainable with the opening of a gate (purchase, investment of time or effort, entering a contest, etc.).

“How do I get my grass on the other side of the green cow’s fence?” Asking this question may answer the question at the top of this post.

The Old Old is the New New

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I’ve grown quite fond of my old-style hats. I have a fedora and a willis hat. When I wear theses hats I get comments from people (and sometimes stares). Yet, these were the hats everyone used to wear. Now, it seems like a very new thing to do.

Of course trends come and go and come back again. That’s nothing new. But it has made me think about how some of the recent trends in marketing are not new, but old. When business became modern, the old way became passé. In our postmodern world, old has become new:

Old Old is the New new

*see Brand Autopsy’s High-Tech vs. High-Touch post

**see Seth Godin

Naked Messages

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Nuts and Bolts

Some business owners say they don’t “buy into” marketing. They characterize their business as nuts and bolts. Providing a high quality product to the customer is the path to success.

By educating the public about the superior features of your product, people will see the truth and buy your brand.

The problem is most people aren’t interested in the naked truth. See this Jewish parable:

Truth, naked and cold, had been turned away from every door in the village. Her nakedness frightened people. When Parable found her she was huddled in a corner, shivering and hungry. Taking pity on her, Parable gathered her up and took her home. There, she dressed Truth in story, warmed her and sent her out again. Clothed in story, Truth knocked again at the villagers’ doors and was readily welcomed into the people’s houses. They invited her to eat at their table and warm herself by their fire.

Ironically, even by saying you’re a nuts and bolts business – you’re telling a story. But are the messages you send out clothed in story as well? Is the story they see on TV or on your website consistent with the story the hear when they interact with your employees or read your instruction manual?

Are you sending out the truth naked and cold to be shut out of every door? Are you giving features and markets served? Don’t be afraid to discover your story, embrace it, and tell it to others.

That goes for individuals as well as organizations.

Here’s a great example of the truth wrapped in a story (via Ernie Schenck):

Context

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Out of Context
My wife and I attended a piano concert this week. Before the pianist would play a piece, he would give some background on the composer and the meaning behind the composition.

It was amazing how knowing the background of Debussy’s General Lavine made it more meaningful. Otherwise, I would have simply considered it a pretty arrangement of notes. Especially since I barely knew who Debussy was, let alone General Lavine (a popular turn of 20th century American juggler).

A big part of communicating effectively is in conveying context. But we tend to do one of two things:

1. Assume everyone knows the context.

2. Communicate context in static, drawn out, boring, and generally uninteresting ways.

If people do know the context, then reiterating it in a creative way will only reinforce your message.

Though context surrounds your message, do not marginalize it.

Are Politicians People Too? (Monday morning Quarterback warning)

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The race for Lieutenant Governor in Oklahoma was an interesting race. It was especially interesting for me because the Republican candidate Todd Hiett hails from my original hometown of Kellyville, OK. Todd is a little bit older than me, but in a town that size (population of about 1,000) you can’t help but know everyone else. So I knew him as I grew up.

Todd had some very well produced commercials. Resonating voice overs, saturated and soft film clips, sharp graphics, and a carefully chosen catch phrase (Steps to the future).

So, why did he lose the race?

I could delve into his political platform or how the issues were framed. But honestly, I don’t think that is where the race was lost.

I believe the race was lost at the same moment Todd lost his humanity. Through these professional ads, he (or more likely his campaign advisors) traded his humanity in for celebrity status. Meanwhile his opponent came off as the aunt who always brings your favorite cookies to Thanksgiving dinner. Approachable.

Like I said, I know where Todd comes from. Kellyville is a small town. Very quaint. The people there are proud to have the House Majority Leader as a citizen. They’d be even prouder of a Lieutenant Governor. Yet, we never saw the pride on their faces. We never heard the story of a small town boy making a difference in his great state (ala Clinton from Hope, Arkansas).

Instead, we heard about tax cuts. We were told marriage is a union between a man and a woman. We were reminded how he helped balance the budget.

As this race drew to a close with Hiett lagging behind Askins, I couldn’t help but think about a Rick Warren quote referenced by Bert Decker (via John Moore of Brand Autopsy).

Celebrities vs. Heroes – Rick said we need fewer celebrities and more heroes. Celebrities sacrifice to gain success for themselves. Heroes sacrifice for others.

I would go further and say we need fallible heroes. We need more Peter Parkers (Spiderman) and fewer Clark Kents (Superman). As the Wizard of Ads Roy Williams puts it (hat tip: Bill Kinnon):

Baby Boomers were idealists who worshipped heroes, perfect icons of beauty and success. Today these icons are seen as phony, posed and laughable. Our cool as ice, suave lady’s man James Bond has become the comic poser Austin Powers or the tragically flawed and vulnerable Jason Bourne of The Bourne Identity. That’s the essence of the new worldview; the rejection of delusion, a quiet demand for gritty truth. We’re seeing it reflected in our movies, our television shows and our music.

Once again, it comes back to the people brand. I think this will continue to frame politicians, businesses, churches, and causes. What is your ‘people brand’? Celebrity or hero?