marketing at first sight

Seth‘s got lots of insights. I want to comment on one of his blog posts, “When should we add marketing?”. He identifies two eras in marketing; the first being when marketing was all about telling the world “We’ve made a product; come check it out” and the other being when marketing is the product itself and the conversation that builds around it. He also raises the issue of whether marketing can help a product that doesn’t quite cut it for the people it targets, and that’s the focus of my post.

Although good marketing can sustain a product that’s not doing very well in the market, it will do so for a short period of time; in the long-term, the said product will likely not pass the test of time and increasing competitive pressure. That’s why I think it is so important to get it right at the product level before considering other aspects of a marketing mix. Similarly, innovation (read: research and development) will keep a company up and running lucratively even in the presence of external shocks. What are companies like Google doing so well at? They’re innovating away; and the other components of their marketing mix support their products to make them stand out in their industry.

One of the most valuable lessons I have taken from my marketing class to-date is how essential having a focused target market is to the success of any business. Going wrong on that one aspect could be disastrous, from hampering the company’s progress to being much more vulnerable to swings in the market.

“You can’t be everything to everyone” is a statement any new business should carefully consider before diving into an industry. Having a clearly defined target market means a more effective marketing strategy, and the ability to quickly respond to changing customer demands.

Some of Solarway’s products. Screenshot from solarway.com

I read up this company called Solarway that provides affordable solar power solutions to homes without reliable access to electricity. Looking at its positioning statement, it’s clear who Solarway’s target market is: “Solarway is a forward-thinking creative think tank that develops personalised and sustainable power solutions for people with limited or no access to power”. You will likely not find Solarway producing solar pannels for a company, simply because customers that need large-scale solar power solutions are not what the company targets.

Another important lesson I learned is that a company does not have to segment its markets based on just demographics (age, occupation, income level, gender, etc.); other factors (psychographics) such as values, interests, attitudes, etc. are also possible factors to look at.

I’m sure many of you reading this have had to sit through 5 annoying seconds of a YouTube ad. Yes, 5 seconds is all an advertiser’s got to keep us hooked. Because, let’s be honest, we skip the ad right away. But not always. Sometimes, watching through an ad feels just right. Which brings me to the point of my post.

Just today, I followed a link to a YouTube video, and as is the case for most videos, there was an ad. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5… I didn’t want to click skip because this ad piqued my interest. It was TenTree with its 10 Reminders For The Wild And Free ad. I didn’t even know it was TenTree, until the end; I thought it was an ad for some exotic resort vacation with all that surfing and beautiful scenery. The background music made it even better; dancy and ear-soothing enough to take you on an adventure. I rarely click through a YouTube ad, but in this case I wanted to know what exactly was being advertised, so I did. I landed on TenTree’s YouTube page, and it didn’t take long for me to realize it was an apparel company, based in Canada (and that they were on Dragons’ Den!). Turns out, their target market is Canadian nature-lovers; now I understood why the ad had elements of nature. A large part of what TenTree was doing in the ad is storytelling; taking the customer on an adventure.

We are social beings who value connection. Connecting with customers should be focal to a company’s marketing efforts. Done right, storytelling is a very powerful way of connecting to your customers .

It’s not uncommon for clothing and fashion brands to go on creative ad campaigns that wow. But Diesel, the Italian design company, may have struck the wrong chord on an ad featuring a tattooed woman in a burqa with “I AM NOT WHAT I APPEAR TO BE” written right beside the picture, as part of its #DieselReboot ad campaign.

The first time I saw the ad, I went “There we go. Another intentionally provocative ad”. Naturally, I googled it to see how the internet reacted. As one would expect, there were those who reacted with utter disgust (understandably) and others who were on a fence.

Fun fact: Diesel’s creative director, Nicola Formichetti used to be Lady Gaga’s stylist.

So I asked myself: “How did Diesel’s marketing team determine whether the ad would be in its best interests, both now and in the future? How did they determine the nature of the ad’s impact on customers, existing and potential ones alike?” I mean, what would possibly push a design company to take this sort of risk? For one person, the ad screams disrespect and insensitiveness; for another, it is art—a call to see beyond mere appearance.

It’s hard to say how I feel about it. Certainly not indifferent—let’s just say it’s complicated. I pondered on the original intent of the marketing team and what exactly it was that they wanted to convey. Lots of ambiguity for one ad.

Does the ad say something about Diesel’s values and its target market? It sure does. Maybe they are the socially-present, convention-breaking, humanistic company?

One thing is certain: brands are increasingly contributing to conversations with wide social implications – Cheerios ad anyone?