Marketing: Fun and Useful – try now!

Google’s custom icons are quirky and keep its personality vibrant. To-day would have been Les Paul’s 96th birthday. In celebration of this guitar great the interactive, musical icon is particularly fitting. Screenshot below, and then short video to show you what your mouse could have done if you missed it on the day. Go Google!

There are certain words that are heavily used in marketing – they risk becoming buzzwords and attracting skepticism, and possibly, in the longer term, losing meaning. This is a shame, as the origins of  a word and the concept it underpins are typically rich and relevant for the initially selected purpose. So, it is important for marketers to re-inject meaning into their chosen language so that it communicates as intended, and resonates with the audience – engaging and inspiring rather than confusing or diffusing interest.

So, what is community, and specifically, what is a brand community? Earlier this month, the BCAMA’s Marketline Magazine’s feature topic was “community.” There are several interesting perspectives that I encourage you to explore – full text available by clicking through on the link in this paragraph. I authored the piece on p15-16. Indeed, if you read the article (it’s only 2 pages!) – you’ll see that I interviewed two local marketers on their view of community within their roles. I talked with marketers at VanCity and Whitecaps FC and they were generous in sharing their thinking. Brands cannot own communities, but they can help to inspire them, support them, and harness them. This is part of the broader trend to user generated content, pull and permission as opposed to push and interrupt, and earned vs. paid marketing. Take a read and think through your approach to community in brand marketing – and how you will use language in your marketing role.

A lot is written about the apparent randomness of online ads – lack of relevance has to contribute to low click-through. Therefore, there is something to savour in the simple but careful placement of the Tiffany’s ad alongside news reporting of the British royal wedding – this screenshot from Canada on the BBC site – still frame first or full video – this auto-runs before the news videos on the actual wedding – with the Tiffany’s banner remaining beneath throughout. Great association and implicit endorsement.

Released April 8th – over 233,000 views in days – and check out the positive comments. How to celebrate a passionate community and share it with the world. Proud to teach at the Sauder School of Business at UBC!

The latest MEC catalogue marks the end of the beginning – the first 40 years of Vancouver founded and Vancouver based Mountain Equipment Co-op. The “end” because it will be the last paper based catalogue. This will seem strange to many who have become accustomed to the twice-a-year delight for the outdoor enthusiast. It may seem like a risk – they have a handful of stores in major centres, but have long relied on a strong catalogue based mail order business, supplemented by e-commerce.  They are ready to commit to going 100% online with the catalogue. They’ve done a really nice flash job with it – feels like I’m on an iPad when I’m not! Browse it, here.

There are many gems in this nostalgia filled issue. One story that grabbed me, is encapsulated in the headline, below.

This mid 1980s employee saying captures a lot of the essence of what the MEC embodies: desires, fire ….and implicitly the passion of the community.

Take a look at the catalogue yourself – and come face-to-face with a clear brand identity – marketing can seem easy when you look at the clear personality of a brand like MEC.

More on GroupOn – a different take – (thanks to Richard Sandor for forwarding this)  a sobering satirical cartoon take and commentary from Tom Fishburne.

Consumers love Groupon and other local, daily, deep discounters.

But are they good for your business? As ever, much depends on the specifics of an individual context.There are some fundamental questions to ask and cautionary notes before proceeding. I tried to capture the current state on this topic (and it continues to evolve), and my thoughts can be found in my presentation to BCAIM last week. The powerpoint is downloadable and there are many links in the speaker notes for those that want to explore the resources that I examined.

There are some interesting experiments with Groupons with expiring inventory, or partial value for new brands. However, many simply do not make good marketing sense to me…..such as this one for 94% off! Really! The gym will get $12.50 in exchange for 20 lessons with a trainer?! Maybe the gym is really empty, and they expect to get from trial to habit and full price renewal. But why not do 2 or 5 lessons for 30% off? 94%….maybe we’ll see 99% off soon. Step back and ask the tough questions. What are your marketing objectives? What options do you have? How does price discounting impact margins and cashflow short and medium term?

Too often, brands take the obvious choice, in terms of positioning, proposition and communication. And if several brands in the same category take the same obvious choices, they merge into one another, and, at best, promote the category, most likely benefiting the existing brand leader. So, what should a skateboard brand do? (In this case, not equipment, but a professional athlete.) One might expect tricks and jumps and extreme demonstrations of skills.

There is an age old saying in advertising (to whom this should be credited, I know not): “if one interrogates the brand for long enough, at last, it will confess.” Look inward, and find what really matters. Here is a super example to illustrate the point -found at stimulant online – a regularly updated mix of creative, quirky and intriguing communication. Here is what they say about the following film:

“Stuart McIntyre …. recently made a short film for professional skateboarder Jesse Landen. Rather than showcasing a bunch of tricks and stunts, it tells the story of what it means to love something so much, it becomes part of you.”

So much is written about social media at the general macro level that it can be easy for the reader to become cynical and turn away from such articles. This makes it refreshing to see mini cases with some detail and practicalities, such as Gillian Shaw’s recent articles in the Vancouver Sun: “A symphony of tweets” and “Vancouver Opera…” As ever, the devil is in the detail. Although it would be nice to see some “before and after” type stats, the qualitative topics in this article hit on some key themes. I’ve highlighted some of the key elements from the article, and provided some commentary. (I’ve taken the liberty of re-sequencing to build a logic to my review.)

“It is an opportunity to go in and find that niche market and really put your material together and present it to them.”

First things first: nice or micro targeting. Too many organizations are still caught up in the bright lights of the size of the online world. But a theatre or opera performance that is already half or two-thirds sold does not need tens of thousands of superficial views.Marketing 101 (and yes, I mean marketing as a whole, not online marketing or social media) requires that a diligent job is done of segmentation and then profiling of the target audience. To identify a relevant niche, and then the most active and influential handful of people in that niche, requires that someone in the organization knows how to undertake excellent segmentation. if the principles are understood, and a disciplined approach is followed, this does not have to be difficult. Some experimental searching of existing user blogs and social media activity can often help one find these influencers and content creators.

“Treating social media as a billboard doesn’t earn loyalty. It’s making connections that counts and responding to fans that keeps them coming back.”

This all sound very obvious. For sure, SM does not equal billboard or broadcast. The “making connections” part is a little harder. Assuming that one has identified the niche target properly, then connections can be made by offering to help answer questions or making interesting offers within the community. This should not be advertising or selling! The article suggests that back-stage passes, access to rehearsals and similar value add, unique content can be the conversation starter here.

“… it is often the recommendation of a friend or colleague that prompts a ticket purchase. Social media allows organizations to target their audience, focusing their attention on groups that might be interested in what they’re doing rather than resorting to a scattergun approach.”

We come full circle – niche segmentation or micro-targeting. Get focused. Do a little, but do it well.

“Small organizations often don’t have marketing departments and can’t afford a full-time publicist, making their use of social media almost an imperative.”

Yes, but…..

“For cash-strapped organizations, the barrier to entry for reaching fans and potential customers is low; many social media tools are free. And while they require continuing attention, socially media savvy organizations enlist the help of fans to fuel their traffic.”

Here is the hurdle – social media is NOT free. It may not be an expense in the way that paid advertising is, but it involves trading money for time. Is the owner going to do this off the side of his or her desk? Out-sourcing to suppliers costs, but can be a good investment. With clear goals the business case can be made. Notably, Vancouver Opera had hired an online marketing professional. To get started, consider a student intern, or part-time employee. But be clear that social media does not just happen. After the design of a program it needs daily care and maintenance. Good luck, and congratulation to the Vancouver Opera.