Strategic Design | marketing & branding thoughts by Nick Rice

The leap of faith (moving to Wordpress)...

2006-12-11T14:56:00.000-05:00

Well, after a year of blogging I've decided to switch platforms to Wordpress. There are a lot of cool features and much easier management as the site grows. Unfortunately I lose all of my comments, my Technorati rank (which isn't huge, but hey it's better than nothing) and I have to ask a lot of people to update their blogroll.

So please join me as we move to:

http://www.nick-rice.com

RSS Feed: http://www.nick-rice.com/?feed=rss2

FeedBurner Feed: http://feeds.feedburner.com/StrategicDesign (stays the same YEAH!)

Best of 2006 follow up

2006-12-05T12:32:00.000-05:00

I mentioned David Armano's push to capture the best of 2006 (from a social media perspective) the other day.

He's compiled his report and it's available on his blog. I opened it up and lo and behold, there was part of my comment to him on page four.

David is really making a dent in one of the largest marketing companies around. And his good work has not gone unnoticed, a few months back he was promoted to VP. So now that he has greater reach and visibility, I'm looking forward to seeing him influence and shape new media . I hope he doesn't get too bogged down in the management aspect of his new role. Thanks David.

An employee's confusion

2006-12-01T07:38:00.000-05:00

I read this on Hugh's manifesto request and had to pass it on...

Anna Farmery of The Engaging Brand blog sent me in this manifesto:
If... a brand starts inside, an employee's confusion

1. If you believe in the strategy, why can't you explain it?
2. If talent is important, why is promotion based on your social circle?

3. If we are entrepreneurial, why do we make decisions by consensus?

4. If values are important enough to put on a card, why are they not applicable to leaders?

5. If the future is important, why do we spend time in meetings looking at the past?

6. If you embrace talent why, do you only speak to me about my weaknesses?

7. If we aim for a USP why, are encouraged to produce sameness?

8. If we believe in diversity, why are you all 40+, white and male?

9. If we need to cut development and R&D to hit budget, how can you afford a two-day team bonding session in a 5-star hotel?

10. If it is us that interact with customers, why don't you see we should feel the brand values first?

Best of 2006

2006-11-30T08:36:00.000-05:00

For those of you not familiar with David Armano, you should definitely check him out. He's a rising star in the blogging space and one of my few daily reads.

He's started a great thread on the biggest marketing/advertising impact in 2006. Most of it is centered on web 2.0-type things, but that's where the entire industry is moving anyway. This thread was just covered in BusinessWeek and it's still picking up steam.

You'll see my responses around comment #15 or so...

technorati tags > marketing, 2006, businessweek, david armano, impact, trends

Best ROI for marketing dollars

2006-11-29T09:17:00.000-05:00

According to the latest DMA Power of Direct report, email marketing tops all marketing efforts from an ROI point of view. As of right now, email marketing will give you the biggest bang for your buck with a return of $57.25 for every $1.00 you spend. Compare that to $7.09 for print catalogs and $22.52 for non-email internet marketing.

Yet for most organizations, email marketing gets little funding compared to traditional advertising and print materials. Unless you're in the catalog business, those other mediums offer little in regards to measuring a return on your investment. And with markets collapsing and prices falling, businesses are looking for every dollar to show a measurable return - and a quick return at that.

In 2006, marketers will spend only $400M on email marketing. Compare that to spending $20B for print catalogs. Those #'s are radically different, but you have to dig in a little deeper to understand them. Let's compare the two.

From a cost point of view, print is a nightmare. The time is takes to layout and design a 75 page catalog is huge. It is an all consuming task for your designers to get the artwork ready for the next catalog. They spend months preparing. And once the files are ready to go to the printer, you have exorbitant printing and distribution costs. Hopefully you sleep well at night knowing that as soon as each page is printed, it's potentially out of date due to pricing or technical product changes.

From a personalization point of view, catalogs fail miserably. About the only level of personalization on a catalog is the little promo code or coupon that prints with the shipping address. Other than that, everyone gets the same book.

On the other hand, people love to keep catalogs around for a long time. Some catalogs are so powerful; people keep them out on their coffee tables to impress friends. They're easy to take with you on a trip or share with a friend. They are a great way to build a brand because you can tell more of your story. You're not locked into a small window within Microsoft Outlook.

While print catalogs have a lower ROI than emails, it is predicted to increase by 2007 while email ROI is predicted to drop.

Email and internet marketing are infinitely more measurable and customizable than print. But they are the newest kids on the block and lots of organizations still do not know how to handle them properly. Don't mistake the ease of email marketing with simplicity. It's still take a lot of work to manage lists and create offers that appeal to your target audience without being seen as a spammer. And there are technical barriers like server blocks and email filters that have to be worked through as well. With catalogs it's pretty easy, drop it in the mail and it arrives. Hopefully calls start coming into your order center. With email, you can see exactly who opened it, how long they spent reading it, which links they clicked on, and whether they forwarded it to a friend. Unfortunately spammers are making a bad name for the entire market.

So, I wouldn't stop what you're doing just yet. If you have a booming catalog business, start to think about augmenting that with a email component. And if you've dabbled with email, try to get more serious about it by taking advantage of the variable data and trackable nature of the medium. Email is a great way to communicate with your audience; you just have to respect their time and inbox.

Like all good marketing initiatives offer value first and your customers will respond.

technorati tags > email, marketing, print, advertising, ROI, internet, measure

Creativity or a slow death?

2006-11-24T22:31:00.000-05:00

Submitted to Hugh as a mini-manifesto...

I read somewhere that the best test for creativity in business was simply to ask “are you creative?” So I tried it. And for the majority of people it seemingly proved true. The people that we all see as creative (designers, PowerPoint gurus, out of the box thinkers) said yes; and the planners, project managers, sales people said no. So I naively believed it to be true.

Watching my two year old daughter run around and play reminds me that we’re all creative. We all have boundless imaginations. We always have. Unfortunately our educational system has progressively worked that aspect our being out of our nature. No educational system on the planet puts as much emphasis on creativity as they do logic. Think about the number of math and science classes you took versus the arts and humanities. Not that logic is bad. In fact, it’s a critical element of life. I just believe that we are over-balanced on logic compared to creativity.

I believe the lack of creativity is slowly killing business. That lack is driving everything to a commodity price-driven market. It's creating an environment that puts cost cutting before customer satisfaction. Without creative thinking how will the engineering team discover the next breakthrough product? How will the marketing team develop messaging that stands above a crowded market place.

Creativity isn’t solely the realm of designers and ad agencies. It shouldn't be associated with art. It does not equal wild and crazy. It doesn’t equal foolishness. And being "creative" not a job title.

When you hear “out of the box thinking”; that’s the call to creativity. It’s your management team asking you to come up with a new approach. It’s daring to think differently. It’s not copying the competition. And after all, when you boil it down isn’t creative thinking what we’re paid to do? If everyone has the same view, the same ideas, the same approach, and the same results why are we all still here?

To succeed in business is to be creative in your role. Growth demands creativity. It will separate you from the competition. As humans we’re trained to only notice what’s different in our environment. Therefore, standing out is the best way to raise awareness.The lack of creativity across the board is not only hurting your brand, it's ultimately hurting your profitability. And it’s hurting your employees.

Creativity isn’t a special gift - we’re all born with it. It never leaves, it’s just hiding behind years of logic. I challenge you to find time to let the two year old inside of you come out and play. Your employees, customers, and shareholders will thank you.

technorati tags > creativity, gaping void, business, marketing, growth, strategies

Typical client presentation

2006-11-23T11:39:00.000-05:00

I've been on both sides of the client/agency fence during my career. Now that I'm solely on the agency side, I really appreciate this more than ever...

How NOT to judge creative...

2006-11-21T15:37:00.000-05:00

From Olivier Blanchard...

Two things that kill creativity

2006-10-27T11:07:00.000-04:00

From Seth Godin...

The first is fear.

The fear that you'll have to implement whatever you dream up.
The fear that you will fail.
The fear that you will do something stupid and be ridiculed by your peers for decades.
The fear that you'll get fired.
The fear that there will be an unanticipated backlash associated with your idea.
The fear of change.
The fear of missing out on the thing you won't be able to do if you do this.

The second is a lack of imagination.

I believe that every single person I've met in this profession is capable of astounding creativity. That you, and everyone else for that matter, is able to dream up something radical and viral and yes, remarkable. So why doesn't it happen more often? Sure, fear is a big part, but it's also a lack of imagination.

Basically, most people don't believe something better can occur. They believe that the status quo is also the best they can do. So they don't look. They don't push. They don't ask, "what else?" and "what now?" They settle.

Fear is an emotion and it's impossible to counter an emotion with logic. So you need to mount emotional arguments for why your fear of the new is the thing you truly need to fear.

As for the second issue, just knowing it exists ought to be enough. Once you realize you're settling, it may just be enough to get you wondering... wondering whether maybe, just maybe, something better is behind curtain number 2.

technorati tags > marketing, strategy, creativity, fear, imagination

Quick update

2006-10-18T20:12:00.000-04:00

I wanted to let you guys know that our son came through his heart surgery great yesterday. I'm keeping another blog for updates on him. You can find out more at: riceplayground.com

Thank you for all of your prayers and support. He'll need a few more to come through the recovery process. It's going to take a while. But once he's well, there should be no side effects or long term issues.

Blogging on hold...

2006-10-14T13:23:00.000-04:00

We've had good news and bad news in the family. First off, my wife and I welcomed a new baby boy into the family on Oct. 10. The bad news is that he was born with a heart defect and is waiting for surgery to repair it. It's a very fixable condition with little to no side effects after he makes it through the surgery.

For those of you that are medically-inclined, he has Transposition of the Great Arteries - not a walk in the park but a common heart condition. We are at the Cincinnati Childrens Hospital and are very impressed with the staff here. They are wonderful and are some of the best in this business.

So please keep him (and us) in your thoughts and prayers for the next few weeks.

We just want to get our little guy home safe and sound.

SmallBusinessBranding.com Growth

2006-09-30T14:43:00.000-04:00

SBB.com is really beginning to take off. Our readership is increasing almost daily and we just redesigned the site to stay current. Here are some of the latest posts by author:

Nick Rice

Lead Generation Techniques & Hierarchy

The Value of Customer Service in an Emergency

The Call for Project Management

What is the Essence of Branding

Kammie Kobyleski

Online Networking & How to Woo Your Crew

Writing for WOM & Branding the Croc Hunter Way

Creative Leadership - Juicy Food for the Brand Soul

Savvy Marketing or Sour Grapes

Robert Kingston

Sensational Sources to Send Out your Message

Making Ads to Sing to your Target Market

Big Brand Undergoes Re-Branding Campaign

How Effective is Your Advertising?

Brad Williamson

Do You Suffer from Entrepreneurial Ignorance?

Sales Secrets from a Scam Artist

Why it Pays to be Narrow Minded in Business

All Customers are Liars

Jeff Barson

75 Posts on what it means to be an Entrepreneur

Danielle Rodgers

Creating Something from Nothing

I am Invincible... Apparently

technorati tags > small, business, branding, marketing, strategy, techniques

What are you the best at?

2006-09-20T21:21:00.000-04:00

There's a big push towards niche marketing. Here, Here, Here. As more and more markets commoditize, brand becomes a critical factor. And in most large cash cow commodity markets, there are only two or three major players. Everybody else is left picking at single digit marketshare with little to no growth opportunities.

So you have basically two options for growth. One, you can launch a break-through product or service in your category. Think bagless vacuum cleaners. When there were only bagged vacuums, everybody was pretty much equal. Then the bagless came out in Japan and revolutionized the market - and put most of the aftermarket bag suppliers out of business. It was a game changer. Before that product came out people just assumed you needed a bag to catch the dust.

The second method is to be seen as "head and shoulders" better than anything else in the market. Think Dyson. Until that brand was launched there was little growth or movement in vacuum cleaners. Now Dyson is stealing share from everyone. They really didn't invent anything new or revolutionary. They've done a great job of promoting the things people really care about - weak vacuums that lose suction and pass a lot of dust through back to the carpet. And they've done it with stylish advertising and marketing. They look high tech, expensive, and worth it. The funny thing with Dyson is that he was not trained as an engineer, but as an industrial designer. He's turned a stale market on its end and is raking in the profits.

More and more firms are moving to a niche marketing strategy. They want to be seen as the best provider of a very specific offering. The Long Tail theory tells us that a lot of small providers with very passionate customers can be as powerful as one or two large providers - that they control more of the marketplace than previously realized. The hard part is getting them organized and focused towards a common goal.

Very few firms in the world can be a Wal*Mart (in fact no one can). The average retailer cannot compete with Wal*Mart. So my advice is to not compete at all. You can make a lot of money offering the high-end products that they cannot. You can make a lot of money providing products that are above Target. So why should it surprise or anger people when Wal*Mart puts small Mom & Pop's out of business. They simply need to adapt with unique offerings. They'll be more profitable and sustain future growth. In theory, Mom & Pop shops have the advantage of convenience. They should be closer to their customers and they definitely have potential for much better customer service.

So, you will be relegated to commodity status if you cannot easily answer and defend what you are the best at. Start planning now how your products and services can change the game or stand out from the competition. Once you can easily answer the question, your audience will begin to find you. People are always looking for specialists to solve their problems. Being recognized as an expert makes your marketing efforts a lot easier. Jeffrey Gitomer said it best, "No one wants to be sold, but everyone likes to buy." Being seen as a specialist creates a buying environment, not a sales situation. Even after you are seen as a specialist, you still need to market. Marketing gives you the ability to even further refine your customer set and profitability criteria. It's about creating more demand than capacity. It's about creating choices.

What do you do better than anyone?

technorati tags > marketing, strategy, niche, small, big, long tail

A little news, a few jabs, and a lot of laughs

2006-09-19T16:26:00.000-04:00

I was recently turned on to Ze Frank and the Show. You should check him out. He does a daily video blog of current events with more than a touch of humor. He cracks me up and everyone that works hard deserves a little break.

technorati tags > ze frank, humor, laugh, break

Email makes it too easy

2006-09-17T18:34:00.000-04:00

There are so many things I love about communicating via email:

low effort
trackable
easy to revise in order to get "perfect"
immediate
available 24/7
not restricted by time zones
impersonal
searchable
you know when the recipient receives/opens it
the list goes on...

Unfortunately, email is a poor way to build relationships. We all know that business is built upon relationships - especially in my role as a business developer. No one wants an account executive that stays in the office all day. They want their acct exec to be in front of them. Unfortunately, half of my job is project management. That requires the exact opposite. Good PM's are always in the office. They are always in touch with what their teams are supposed to be working on and where they are supposed to be in relation to the status of the project.

Email makes it too easy. It's too easy to confuse the quantity of communication with the quality. When it comes to quality, nothing is better than face to face. When you're in person, there's no guessing about the other person's reaction to your words, presentation, or comments. Yes, it takes more time to be face to face; but how much time is wasted trying to interpret an email reply? How much time is wasted before you pick up the phone?

I know it's just basic blocking and tackling. But that's the point.

Seth Godin's post about looking me in the eye prompted me to write about email. He gave a challenge, for one week try to do as much in person as possible. I'm going to try. Are you?

technorati tags > email, in person, communication, sales, project, management

Physician, heal thyself...

2006-09-14T19:24:00.000-04:00

After eleven years in business, my firm just brought in our first management consultant. We've been growing steadily for the last few years, but have too much of our revenue coming from a single client (an all too common occurance in agencies btw). We know that and are taking a proactive approach to solving that. And part of that approach is me - Mr. New Business Development. I'm the first employee with a dedicated % of time going towards finding new accounts. So far we have grown entirely from referral business. Not too shabby for an $8M company. It says a lot about our CEO and the quality of work and service we deliver.

Currently we position ourselves like 99% of the marketing communication firms out there. Which is: we do good work, we have a proven process to ensure good work, we provide great customer service, and we generate a positive ROI/value for our clients. Everybody says that, whether it's true or not. Most importantly, those are reasons clients STAY, not reasons to BECOME a client.

Try this simple test for positioning; what's the answer when a client asks point blank "why should I choose you over so and so?" If you have a hard time answering or the answer is one of the statements in the paragraph above; your positioning stinks.

The funny part of this is how painful the process is to go through when you try to do it to yourself. We've hit the same dead end many many times over the last 18 months when we've tried to hone our own message and value prop. We do this very well for our clients - even they would say so. It just proves that you cannot operate on yourself. You need an external, non-biased, honest point of view to take a true look at your systems, your competition, your offerings, and your value.

Like all consulting engagements, a few bombs were dropped, a few people were irritated, a few gems were exposed. And like normal, it will take a little while to digest the entire experience.

It is a very good exercise for me personally. It gave me a different view of how I am potentially received by my clients. As a consultant, there are times to be brutally honest and times to keep comments to yourself. You cannot alienate your client along the way. Expectations need to be set up front (and agreed upon in writing), long before you come onsite. It's a big step for business (especially small business owners) to admit they need help. You aren't there to stroke egos, but you cannot call their baby ugly all day either.

When it's all said and done, we should have a clear vision for where we are headed, who specifically we'll target, and how we will position ourselves better than the competition in that space. We should have a plan to grow profitably. And there's not much sweeter in business than profitable growth - it's the best way to get rid of issues!

technorati tags > marketing, management, consultant, profit, company, growth

Marcom Vocabulary

2006-09-06T12:51:00.000-04:00

Had to pass on a great marketing communications primer from Ernie Mosteller. Being on the same page with regards to vocabulary is one of the most effective ways to ensure that your projects come in on strategy, time, and budget. Ernie does a great job of boiling down the basics...

Brand. Your brand is your personality, as determined by how the world sees you. How you want to be seen can affect how the world sees you, but it doesn't define it. The world gets to define its own take on you. Lots of things go into what the world sees of you. Your brand = (what you want it to be) + 2(X) what the world says it is. The world's actual view of you is at least twice as important as your desired view of you. As the world's view of you becomes more negative, X gets larger. As it becomes more positive, X shrinks.

Design. Design is not your brand. But it can affect your brand. Design is the clothes you wear in order to attempt to affect the world's perception of your personality. It may also be the car you drive, or the house you live in. It's your outward, visual, projection to the world. It may or may not have anything at all to do with who you really are -- though good design is always based on what's inside. Design can, and should, touch everything you do that the world sees. Which, basically, is everything.

Advertising. Advertising is not your brand. Advertising is what you say about yourself in order to attempt to affect the world's perception of your personality. What you say can also be defined as: how you act in public. Which is, everywhere. What you say about yourself is greatly affected by how you say it, because how you say it determines whether people will hear and/or listen. Whispering in the middle of an NFL stadium doesn't have the same effect as shouting in church. If I were you, I wouldn't do either. Advertising, by the way, is no longer defined as the placement of a pre-determined message in a purchased medium. Advertising is any piece of communications with an agenda.
Public Relations. PR is not your brand. PR is an active attempt to get other people to say something positive about you, without directly paying them to do so. Because this definition is so broad, and so clearly goes light years beyond churning out a press release, you can safely assume that I believe PR is pretty much anything, and is an integral, specialized component of quality advertising. PR is also the component you need to turn to for crisis management, assuming you're managing the crisis honestly. Because almost anything else has a real chance of making things worse.

Collateral. Collateral is not your brand. Collateral is reference material for people who have already expressed an interest in your brand. Whether it's a business card or brochure, collateral has almost no ability to create interest in you. Its function is to enhance interest, and provide information, for those who have already decided (if even in a small way) to check you out. Most websites function as collateral, though they are capable of a lot more.

Concept. A concept is no longer simply a storyboard, or a headline/visual relationship. A concept is an idea designed to encourage a specific action from the person who interacts with it. A concept could be an event, a direct mail piece, a Super Bowl commercial, a You Tube video, a boy band, or a newspaper ad. The key to making a concept work is to focus your attention on the desired action from the viewer, and simplify that action to its most basic element. A concept doesn't sell a car. A salesman sells a car. But the right concept can get someone to talk to a salesman. Or click a link. Or remember the car you have for sale, the next time they think about buying one. Good concepts surprise people. Great concepts hold their attention. Effective concepts are very specific, and very simplistic, about what they want to achieve.

technorati tags > ernie mosteller, marketing, communication, vocabulary

What it takes to win

2006-09-03T13:42:00.000-04:00

My firm recently lost a big deal. We were one of three agencies to bid on a year long integrated media & advertising contract worth well into the six figures. Now this isn't a sob story or anything close, we win and lose bids all the time. But it did get me to thinking about was what it takes to win an advertising contract as a small agency (which is pretty much a constant thought as a business developer).

All three firms are small agencies (significantly less than 50 people - but more than 10). And we had a little bit of an inside track in that we have a personal relationship with the decision maker that no one else does to our knowledge. That relationship offered some advice on what the first agency presented to her. It was all about what the decision maker liked and what she expected to see but didn't. And like normal, we learned about the first firm too late to change our presentation.

But here's the rub. During the initial meetings, our executive made it very clear that she was looking for ideas and visionary direction. She even twice mentioned that she didn't want to have our best designers put a lot of time into concepts. During our initial internal brainstorming sessions, I fought to present two concepts to our client. These weren't two different look and feels as much as they were a proposed identity mark and a website mockup. We decided it would be best to show that we could generate quality ideas that met all of the goals of the project and that we would save the other mediums (radio & TV) until after we won the bid. That way we wouldn't waste a lot of time on scripts and storyboards because those are always subject to heavy revisions.

Apparently the firm that was awarded the project came up with full storyboards for at least two TV spots and a couple of radio script ideas. They presented the exact opposite mediums as we did. In fact, to my knowledge they didn't do any work on the brand identity itself. Now I'm not saying we're right and they're wrong - especially since they won the business. But it is funny how an executive (with a lot of advertising experience) was swayed by storyboards and scripts. I think part of it's due to the fact that business execs don't view script writing and story board illustrations as requiring as much effort as graphic design, video, or web work. It's easy to look at a story board sketch and know that it's not the final deliverable. When you do website concepts, even though they are probably Photoshop files, they look just like the final website. A lot of executives that I've seen can't grasp the void between polished mock ups and the final deliverable. They do not understand the level of effort required from a programming, testing, and troubleshooting point of view. They only see the surface. And for some reason they don't seem to think that the time copywriters and illustrators put into sketches cost as much to the agency.

I think a lot of it stems from each firms internal DNA. We are basically an interactive firm with a long history of film/video. While the other agency is group of ex-ad agency guys that spun off and started their own firm. Traditional ad agencies are solely focused on coming up with a break-through idea. If they can sell the idea to their client, they find the right production team to execute it. Interactive firms, on the other hand, do most of their production in-house. They come up with the idea and produce the deliverables themselves. A lot also depends on the size of the project. We would have done a lot more if the project was seven or eight figures instead of six.

So looking back, what would I do differently? I would probably leverage our relationship more to truly find out what would have impressed her and her team. We did what we do naturally. We focused on the deliverables that made the most sense to us. We were looking at the foundation (brand identity and website) and the other firm was looking at the paint and carpet. We focused on long term branding and information delivery while they focused on short term awareness. Both are important. In the end, I think both firms missed opportunities. If we can find a way to work together, the client will get the best of both worlds. That's the best way to win - meet the business objectives and keep client satisfaction high.

technorati tags > advertising, branding, strategy, business, development

A few great ads

2006-08-30T17:10:00.000-04:00

Found these great ads on Sherbs Blog.

technorati tags > advertising

The effect collateral and manuals have on purchase, loyalty, and the user experience

2006-08-30T09:19:00.000-04:00

Kathy Sierra has a great post on how much time, effort, and branding is put into creating pre-sales materials while post-sales material like user manuals is pure function.

I find it interesting how corporations are structured to support this mismatch. Marketing handles the glossy slick brochures and outer packaging, while either engineering or Pubs handles the user manuals, set up guides, packing materials, and quick reference sheets in most companies. Very few companies put a lot of thought into creating an experience that is reflective of the brand after a user buys their widget. I know we talk a lot about Apple in the design and user experience space, but they truly do take every opportunity to create loyal customers. Everything from pre-sales collateral to unpacking the device to installing the software and using it has been thought through from the point of view of a normal user not an engineer buried deep within a company that sees these products every day. That creates passionate users. Passion breeds loyalty. And loyal users are a key component of keeping the doors open and the lights on long term.

Here's a great quote from Kathy:

As a potential customer, I'll find your attention to user learning a lot more convincing than your attention to new sales. Rather than using your brochure to show how much YOU kick ass, I'd much rather see no-marketing-spin hard evidence of how you're going to help ME kick ass.

Kathy reminds us that users don't care about your features. They only care about how improve their daily life. When a user sees your product as an enabler to getting more done or doing things better, they become loyal. If you concentrate your efforts on generating loyal customers, you'll quickly discover that you need to focus more on the activities that happen post-sale. If you offer generous support, information, and ease of use as soon as they open the box you will create loyal users.

Obviously you have to get people to buy your products first so I'm not saying shift all of your resources. The glossy slick brochures, have their place. And are very effective at what they're designed to do. I'm just saying put more thought into how you can improve the user experience throughout the life of your product not just pre-sale.

technorati tags > presales, post, sales, collateral, user, experience, customer, loyalty, marketing, publications

Seth Godin, David Armano, Cre8tive Group

2006-08-28T10:47:00.000-04:00

A recent post by David Armano (Logic+Emotion) got me fired up about my company's value proposition. I've stayed away from this blog being a Cre8tive Group corporate pitch, but I also call out good work when I see it.

For the last two years we've used a combination of "Balance" and "You know it when you see it" as our external value propositions. Both David and Seth Godin have covered these topics recently. So mainly, I'm just pumped that my firm is thinking two years ahead of these industry heavyweights that we all look to as new media leaders.

Here is how we have tied the two thoughts together:

(image source: http://web.qx.net/nrice/images/cre8tive_group_it.jpg)

Seth takes a different approach. He doesn't believe people know it when they see it. I partly agree because the vast majority of people are not visionary thinkers. They have a hard time seeing something that is outside of their box. Over the years we've become pretty good at reading between the lines with our clients. Once we understand their business, their audience and their goals; we don't need to be told exactly what to do. By balancing those tensions above, we often have clients look up during an engagement and say "that's it, you nailed it". That's what we mean when we say "you know it when you see it". Most clients seem to like and appreciate that approach. And even if they cannot "see it", they like to think that they can.

Like a lot of small firms, we are constantly trying to separate ourselves from the competition. One of the biggest things that set us apart is the fact that we only work with 8 clients at a time. That's how much we value quality over quantity. It's about giving our clients the level of service and thought required to make a difference. We've also leveraged the 8 symbol across a lot of our communication touches. It's a unique way to bring consistency to our materials.

We're betting on the fact that great experiences along with a consistent image & promise will improve our brand.

technorati tags > seth godin, david armano, logic, emotion, value, proposition, marketing, strategy

Is B2B marketing different than B2C?

2006-08-25T18:24:00.000-04:00

No small question to tackle! Over my career I've held marketing position in both B2C and B2B. And while I personally didn't approach each role differently, a lot of people did. I typically work under the general principles of:

Figure out what the target audience is looking for
Build your service or product (and your collateral) around meeting that need
Test, test, test
Refine and launch
Test, test, test
Refine and re-launch, rinse and repeat

I know that's just Marketing 101, but it's amazing how many people skip a lot of those steps. In organizations that are not customer-centric, you're forced to sale what you've got. Sometimes those products are big hits and sometimes they're not; regardless it's risky. You may not have the luxury of testing or refining.

The idea of business customers needing something that retail consumers didn't was always foreign to me. Obviously it takes different types of messaging, packaging, promotions and payment structure for a B2B audience, but that's not a big deal. That's just good segmentation or targeting. Different audiences should receive relevant messaging. Products targeted at everyone rarely make a difference to anyone.

And obviously different marketing mediums reach the different audiences more effectively. It's hard to market to top tier business executives with 30 second TV spots. They're too broad and expensive to reach such a small audience. Rebates don't work well in large organizations. If you've ever worked in a Fortune 500 business, you know how big of a pain it would be to process a rebate coupon with your procurement department much less American Express. Tech-heavy spec sheets or pricing schedules do not appeal to the general public. But, I contend that the thought process is the same. The deliverables, mediums and tactics may differ but you still need to determine the best message that will get this user to buy - and buy now.

It's about getting them over the hump as quickly as possible. You have to show them what problem your particular offering solves, why you are the provider of choice, and why they should act now. Those foundations should be the core of any marketing initiative.

Seth Godin said it best, "Business to business marketing is just marketing to consumers who happen to have a corporation pay for what they buy."

technorati tags > B2B, B2C, business, consumer, marketing, strategy,

How to hit a moving target

2006-08-21T16:47:00.000-04:00

Great article in BusinessWeek today. We all know how hard it is to innovate consistently. Yet some companies do it all the time; Disney, Apple, Starbucks, Target, Amazon, Land's End, Catepillar, etc...

How do they do it? Here are the keys to beating the competition:

Experiment fearlessly
Don't just get bigger, get unique
Why compete? Create new markets
Obsess about customers, not rivals
Give as good as you get
Get personal
Stay hungry

technorati tags > innovation, competition, strategy, market share, business week

Best blogs in Branding

2006-08-19T20:40:00.000-04:00

Small Business Branding and Marketing was named on the Canadian Trademark blog as one of the branding blogs they're tracking.

I'm proud to contribute to a site that's so well respected. Keep your eyes open for some major changes we have coming in the next few months.

technorati tags > small business, branding, marketing, branding blogs, small business branding, small business marketing

My posts on Small Business Branding & Marketing

2006-08-18T08:58:00.000-04:00

With vacation winding down, here are my posts from my other blog, Small Business Branding & Marketing...

The Power of the White Envelope

Role of Creativity in Business

How to Succeed with Direct Marketing

Lead Generation Strategy for Small Business

5 Tips for Getting the Biggest Bang for your Buck

Let me know your thoughts.

technorati tags > small business, smb, branding, marketing, strategy, nick rice

Standing between OK and remarkable

2006-08-16T13:56:00.000-04:00

Since I'm off enjoying a few days at the beach, I thought I'd just pass on some wisdom from Seth Godin.

http://sethgodin.typepad.com/seths_blog/2006/08/awkward.html

technorati tags > seth godin, awkward, product, strategy

Brand adjectives and alignment

2006-08-09T22:27:00.000-04:00

I run across a lot of marketing managers that continue to think of their brand as their logo. Obviously there is much more to your brand than just your logo mark. I've read all of the classic brand definitions and here is mine:

Your brand is defined by the individual gut feelings of those people that has been exposed to your company and/or products and services.

Notice that they do not have to be current or previous customers; nor do they need direct contact with your offerings or corporation.

One thing that we tend to do with customers is get them talking about brands they favor. Doesn't matter who or what. But it's all about describing the company without necessarily talking about their products. Here are some examples:

Nike

fitness
athletic
speed
innovation
not as globally focused as Adidas

Chase Manhattan

late fees
always merging w/ another bank
lots of direct mail

Red Lobster

hopefully fresh
suburban
decent substitute for the real thing
average

Adobe

in touch w/ the creative industry
don't screw up the Macromedia apps
trusted

A lot of product-driven companies like to talk about product features or industry jargon. No normal customer thinks that way. Most users are very pragmatic about their brand impressions. It's basically a bell curve. They love a few brands, hate a few brands, and most are just stuck in the middle. If you can become loved, you'll grow profitably. Preference leads to loyalty and that's a powerful position.

If you're responsible for marketing products, I contend that you must know what your customers and the general public think of your brand. Overlay that with your desired brand adjectives. If there is a gap, you've got a problem. And unfortunately you cannot fix it immediately - simply because you cannot completely control your brand. The best you can hope for is alignment between those gut feelings about your company, products, services and your vision.

What do you want to be known for? And don't cop out by saying "exemplary customer service" or "industry leading whatever" or some crap like that. It's hard work to change gut feelings. But you can with innovation and communication - and time. Consistent alignment is the primary driver of brand strength.

Do you have an alignment issue with your brand?

technorati tags > branding, marketing, strategy, alignment, brand promise, gut feelings,

Carnivale of Customer Service

2006-08-08T18:25:00.000-04:00

Maria Palma of "Customers Are Aways" invited me to be part of her Carnivale on customer service.

I believe that good customer service is pretty simple yet surprisingly difficult to execute. The very nature of service is putting someone else's need ahead of your own. In today's society, that is not something that comes natural to most. You truly have to want to help someone to succeed in customer service. It has to be part of your being.

Many moons ago, I started corporate American life in Tech Support. I was young and had never really worked with the general public before. In dealing with Tech Support calls, you really start off on a bad foot. Something is broken and it needs to be fixed - quickly and painlessly and there's a good chance it's out of warranty. On top of that, you're just a faceless voice on the other end of the phone. It's much easier to to go postal over the phone than it is when you're sitting across the table. At that time, the company was very focused on keeping customers and prospective customers happy. Tech Support was the face of the company's brand to 99% of the callers. We were instructed to be respectful, knowledgeable and empowered to do what we thought it would take to solve their problem. That's all great. Unfortunately a lot of teams were also praised for taking as many calls as possible and not giving away free service (parts, service calls, etc...). Think about the recent fiasco with AOL - but it never close to that situation. Regardless there in lies the rub. Some Tech Supporters were naturally geared towards call volume instead of truly helping each caller. Luckily I stayed in a product group that was very hands on and always went above and beyond to help each user. And they loved it. I would get thank you letters, gift baskets, Christmas cards - you name it. And the beauty was that you never knew who was connected to the person on the other end of the phone. I ended up solving problems for the CEO of Caterpillar, IBM board members, and author Stephen King as he was trying to finish a short story. It was great and I learned a lot about helping people.

So here are the lessons I learned and currently live by:

Treat everyone - everyone - with courtesy and respect
Answer all voice mails and emails before you leave the office every night
Never over-promise on something you cannot deliver (it's much better to under-promise and over-deliver)
Keep an eye on the little details - people notice
Do what's right for the customer - 99% of the people simply want to be treated fairly

We're all consumers. We all have our own personal stories of bad service; they're hard to forget.

Good customer service can overcome a lot of product issues. At the end of the day, just do what your Grandma told you years ago - treat others like you want to be treated. If everyone just did that, the customer service industry would be entirely different.

technorati tags > customer, service, strategy, support, carnivale, maria palma

The right priorites

2006-08-05T16:54:00.000-04:00

This image from Hugh Macleod got me thinking.

Trust in a seller/customer relationship truly is paramount. Big advertising blew it - people are sick of being screamed at. Big business blew it - employment for life? The social media push is all about trust. It's an amplified globe-shrinking Word of Mouth push. It is about customers taking back control and recognizing the power of their tribe.

I've seen it happen a thousand times - and I'm guilty of it myself. Once a creative firm (in-house or outside) sells a new idea; the client usually jumps right into "so how are we going to do it". I've always thought they should be more concerned about ensuring their brand is elevated in the eyes of the customer instead of the technical details. I'm sure the thought process is "if I understand how it's going to work, I'll be able to know if it's right".

Most clients are focused on the wrong thing and it's puts them at a disadvantage that is next to impossible to overcome. Focus on what your customer wants to hear (the why), not the technology (the what or how). Focus on solving the true business problem that's prompting you to market/publicize/advertise/etc... Be brave enough to peel back the layers and write an honest creative brief. Make trust a priority.

technorati tags > marketing, branding, advertising, priorities, strategy, customer, trust

Brainstorming tips & tricks

2006-08-03T12:01:00.000-04:00

I've used the SCAMPER methodology for brainstorming quite effectively over the years.

SCAMPER stands for:

S - substitute
C - combine/create
A - add
M - modify/magnify
P - put to other uses
E - eliminate/elaborate
R - reverse/rearrange

This is a great way to get your creative juices flowing. We've all seen that ingenious little tweak on someone else's idea that sparks a new flurry of ideas. The SCAMPER methodology allows you to create in bitesize chunks. Instead of having to have an ideal moment of inspiration, these techniques get your brain thinking in ways that you may not be used to.

Let's take a basic pencil.

S - substitute pencil for crayon, marker, chalk, lead, paint anything that play a similar role
C - combine pencil with lead pencil, #2 pencil, pencil and pen, pencil and paper
A - add pencil to a messy desk, journal of dreams, a sketchbook
M - magnify a part of the pencil you want to focus on - clean erases, visual display of how sharp the lead is and how much is left
E - what would a pencil be like without the six sides (easier to hold or harder), is it better w/ blue lead, does the audience need a pencil/pen combo
R - is there a way to rearrange a pencil? Not sure, it's pretty well baked.

After a while, you can see how these methods get you thinking differently about a simple pencil. It's easy to put yourself in the shoes of the Dixon-Ticonderoga marketing manager planning his/her next campaign.

Anyway, use the SCAMPER techniques to find new solutions to problems. Once you begin to understand and apply each letter, you'll be able to dissect how other companies came to their conclusions on product names, features, and design.

technorati tags > brainstorming, techniques, scamper, product, development, features, design

SmallBusinessBranding.com - It's official

2006-08-02T10:03:00.000-04:00

Just a quick post to let you know that I've officially began writing on SmallBusinessBranding.com.

Here are my two initial posts:

I'm truly excited about the opportunity to work with business owners and executives. Helping corporations and organizations improve has been a passion of mine for a long time.

technorati tags > small business, branding, blog, marketing

Gen Y is driving technology consumption

2006-08-01T11:15:00.000-04:00

According to Forrester, North American 18-26 year olds are integrating technology into their lives faster than any generation previously. They spend twice as much time online as baby boomers. Almost half have broadband at home. Whether its blogs, IM, or social networks like Facebook, Gen Y is driving technology consumption.

It's amazing how much this trend is changing the face of America. Pay phones are gone. Travel agencies are very hard to find. Land line phone subscriptions are falling. To most folks in the blogosphere this is not new news. But I'm still surprised at how many corporations are not embracing the shift.

Loyalty is the key to long term growth. The Web 2.0 trend is only exposing & amplifying what has always happened. People have always recommended products the love and bashed products they hated. Technology has enabled those local conversations to happen globally. It has created massive tribes of like-minded consumers with the power to shower explosive growth on a company or tank it.

Now more than ever you must make products/services that customers will love, not just be satisfied with if you want to grow. Keeping your customers happy is more important than short term Wall Street-driven changes. Be more competitive by beating the competition. Not by simply cutting price.

You should leverage technology to enable conversations. There's still room for traditional market research, but you can learn a lot by paying attention to what is already being said. Before you had no idea what college kids in Idaho loved about your product without expensive focus groups that were automatically filtered because they're staged research initiatives in a controlled setting. Now you can just tap right into Bebo, MySpace, Flickr, del.icio.us, xanga, etc... The list goes on and on.

Here's the key; take advantage while you can. Every corporation on the planet is heading down this same path. If you don't beat them, all you'll hear is corporate marketing crap that is coming not the users themselves.

technorati tags > forrester, strategy, customer, loyalty, marketing, technology, integration

Expanding my reach

2006-07-31T16:35:00.000-04:00

I wanted to let everyone know that I will be blogging on the SmallBusinessBranding.com blog as well. A little backstory; while surfing around I came upon Yaro's blog the day that he announced that he was looking for 2 additional writers to grow the blog. So I threw my name in the hat and was accepted.

We are building a nice team of international writers with experiences from big business to entrepreneurs on SBB. The goal is to share information and best practices about all things branding and marketing. It's geared toward small business. But that's a broad category, so there will be valuable content for everyone.

As soon as my posts start to go live, I'll let you know.

Check it out. We're also going to work on a site redesign so that it's easier to navigate through the multiple authors.

technorati tags > small business, branding, marketing, blog, smallbusinessbranding.com

The typical customer

2006-07-27T09:33:00.000-04:00

I was reading this post from Olivier and I realized that he is describing how a large percentage of the American population consumes.

There are lessons to be learned.

Most of time, consumers will tire of your products/services
Comfortable and safe is only tolerable for so long
The products that work today probably will not tomorrow
Brand loyalty is hard to generate and harder to sustain
Consumers are human, not statistics.
Listening is better than analyzing.
The "what have you done for me lately" attitude applies to products/services as much as people.

technorati tags > branding, consumers, customers, market research, trends, product development

Live or die by documentation

2006-07-25T20:40:00.000-04:00

For some reason the rigorous documentation practices that drive software development have not migrated to the creative space. The ability to write down your expectations, audience desires, and overall strategy is critical to ensuring success.

A lot of professional design firms that I worked with as a Fortune 500 marketing manager didn't even have a standardized project management process. This was very scary. To think that you're spending thousands if not hundreds of thousands or millions on an agency that just "wags" it scared me to death.

Trust me; I know how hard it is to get senior executives to give good direction on projects. They like to be elusive and provide vague instructions on what they want. They believe that it "empowers" their staff. For a lot of people, documentation freaks them out. They are not comfortable seeing everything on paper without any wiggle room. Most clients know that the unexpected will happen (budgets change, timelines decrease, management overhauls, etc...). When everything is written in stone, no one is sure how to handle these changes.

I've written about it before (here, here, and here). Documentation is your savior. It allows both client and agency to be on the same page concerning deliverables, strategy, timeframe, and budget. It's not fun or glamorous; but it's the #1 way to ensure that your projects meet and/or exceed all expectations. And that's the #1 driver of customer satisfaction.

technorati tags > marketing, process, collateral, project management, documentation, budget, timeframe, strategy, audience, creative brief

How to give better feedback

2006-07-24T08:55:00.000-04:00

Another wonderful post (an oldie but a goodie) from Seth Godin via Core77.

How to give better feedback.

Synopsis:

No one cares about your opinion
Say the right thing at the right time
If you have something nice to say, please say it
Give me feedback, no matter what

Giving good feedback is all about putting yourselves in the shoes of your audience. It's not about your personal feelings or your favorite colors or what you think your boss will like. When you approach everything from the POV of your customer (hopefully based on research) your opinions don't matter. It's what's best for your audience.

Here's a good hierarchy for reviewing marketing materials. Start at the top and answer the hard questions first.

Does it meet the stated strategy?
Does it succinctly convey ONE value proposition?
Is it visually interesting? Does it make you stop and want to learn more?
Does it meet your branding guidelines?
Can it be developed within the stated budget and timeframe?
Is it legally appropriate?
Is it free of typos and grammar mistakes?

Notice that copy editing comes last. A lot of people want to dig right into spell checking as opposed to making sure the collateral is on target and effective. It's easy but it's not appropriate to do first. Having the ability to better review materials will increase the effectiveness of your marketing.

technorati tags > marketing, review process, strategy, seth godin, opinion, research, core77, guidelines

Creative Constraints

2006-07-21T22:37:00.000-04:00

Johnnie Moore's post on constraints got me thinking about limits that clients naturally put on projects. It always surprises me that no one likes to talk about budgets or deadlines up front. Especially considering that those two very real constraints drive 99% of all marketing projects. After all who is going to pay an agency to work forever with no goals or defined invoice amount?

The true genius of a creative person is finding the best solution available given project constraints. It's not unreasonable to renegotiate deliverables to fit within constraints - and that goes for client expectations as well as agency desires to produce top notch materials on every engagement.

It's hard to fault a designer for wanting to do the best job possible on each and every assignment. Unfortunately the business world is one of realities more so than possibilities. The trick is doing the best job possible under the deadline and budget restrictions. That's hard for a lot of creative directors and producers to wrap their heads around. You have to make conscious design decisions that meet the project/brand goals while staying on time and budget.

As an agency, we have to set client expectations up front about what is possible within given project constraints. With margins thinning, it's a fine line to walk between customer satisfaction and agency profitability. And I don't think that's a bad thing. The days of multi-year retainer client/agency relationships are gone. I've heard a lot of mega-agency people talk about retainers as if they are an open bucket of money without defined deliverables or deadlines. In reality, retainers are just multi-project engagements under contract with one agency. You still have the same constraints as one off project work; you're just not fighting off other firms for each job.

We have to learn to embrace constraints. Use them as fuel for out-of-the-box creative thinking. Great work comes from finding unique solutions while meeting all goals (project objectives, client satisfaction, timeframe, budget, agency goals and designer expectations - probably in that order). Budget and timeframe should determine level of effort on a sliding scale. A seasoned design professional will know what is possible when they understand the constraints. After that it's a matter of aligning client & agency expectations with those constraints and everyone involved making purposeful decisions to stay on target.

technorati tags > marketing, communications, advertising, level of effort, constraints, retainer, projects, budget, deadline, project management, designer, client, agency, creative

Simple vs. Dumb

2006-07-19T17:06:00.000-04:00

Great post from Mary Schmidt.

The summary is that "dumbing down" your marketing so that it seemingly appeals to all audiences is the wrong thing to do. That tactic will appeal to no one. On the other hand, simplifying your message so that it's easily understood and actionable is key to connecting with your customers/clients/prospects/etc...

New technology, being constantly connected, and having fewer hours in the day have created an environment where people are demanding more control over their marketing & sales exposures. You have to keep your message short, unique, value laden, and available on their terms to gain traction.

technorati tags > marketing, advertising, strategies, consumers, messaging, targeting

How to live happiliy w/ a great designer

2006-07-19T14:25:00.000-04:00

I had to include this post from Godin... It's good enough to be considered professional development for a lot of marketing managers and company presidents.

Why do some organizations look great... and get great results from their design efforts and ads... while others languish in mediocrity? I think it has little to do with who they hire and a lot to do with how they work with their agencies and designers.

Here are the things your design team wishes you would know:

If you want average (mediocre) work, ask for it. Be really clear up front that you want something beyond reproach, that's in the middle of the road, that will cause no controversy and will echo your competition. It'll save everyone a lot of time.
On the other hand, if you want great work, you'll need to embrace some simple facts:
It's going to offend someone. If it doesn't offend them, then it will make them nervous. The Vietnam Vets memorial offended a lot of people. The design of Google made plenty of people nervous. Great work from a design team means new work, refreshing and remarkable and bit scary.
It's not going to be easy to sell to your boss. That's your job, by the way, not mine. If you want me to do something great, you've got to be prepared to protect it and defend it. Come back too many times for one little compromise, and you'll make it clear that #1 was what you wanted all along.
You can't tell me you'll know it when you see it. First, you won't. Second, it wastes too much time. Instead, you'll need to have the patience to invest twenty minutes in accurately describing the strategy. That means you need to be abstract (what is this work trying to accomplish) resistant to pleasing everyone (it needs to do this, this and that) and willing, if the work meets your strategic goal, to embrace it even if it's not to your taste.
Help me out by pointing out the work you'd like this to be on a peer with. If you want a website to be like three others (in tone, not in execution) then point it out. In advance.
Be clear about dates and costs. Not what you hope for, but what you can live with!
You don't know a lot about accounting so you don't backseat drive your accountant. You hired a great designer, please don't backseat drive here, either.
If you want to be part of the process, please go to school. Read design magazines or take a course from Milton Glaser or get a subscription to Before & After. By the way, that one link is the single best part of this post.
This one may surprise you: don't change your existing design so often. Not when your kids or your colleagues tell you it's time. Do it when your accountant says so.
Don't get stressed about your logo.
Get very stressed about user interface and product design. And your packaging.
Say thank you.

What I like about this is that he's not talking about an artist, he's talking about a designer. There is a difference. Because the marketing communications & advertising industry has done a poor job of aligning itself with business, a lot of of business people still think of designers as artists. Designers are really just communication specialists. They are trained to find the simplest, most effective way to get your unique message out to your unique audience. They are simply proficient at another part of business. There's no mystery to the creative process, but it may seem that way when people don't follow Seth's advice above.

technorati tags > graphic designer, marketing, relationship, management, professional, development, performance

Q1 Online Ad Spend Up 46%, MySpace Gets 17% of June Ads · MarketingVOX

2006-07-18T16:08:00.000-04:00

Q1 Online Ad Spend Up 46%, MySpace Gets 17% of June Ads · MarketingVOX

Interesting fact; Yahoo Mail & MySpace account for over 50% of ALL online advertising clicks. That's amazing.

technorati tags > online, advertising, myspace, yahoo, spending, budget, increase

Brand Autopsy: Creationist WOM Eggs-ample

2006-07-18T11:21:00.000-04:00

Brand Autopsy: Creationist WOM Eggs-ample

John Moore is right on. I'm not sure what made CBS thinking that advertising on eggshells made sense for their brand, but they're trying it anyway. Just because it's technically feasible to put a message on a substrate doesn't mean it's appropriate for your company's image. WaffleHouse maybe, but CBS? I'm all for trying new things, but you have to stay in alignment w/ your business.

technorati tags > word of mouth, marketing, advertising, eggs

Don't squeeze the Charmin

2006-07-17T22:00:00.000-04:00

Great post from Olivier Blanchard on Charmin's latest ad in the UK - there's even a blog to go along.

It took me a little while to catch on, but it's pretty clever. Great job on getting people to talk about toilet paper of all things. If TP can be viral, anything can!

technorati tags > advertising, viral, toilet, paper, UK, branding, blog

Are blogs in your corporate strategy?

2006-07-16T22:18:00.000-04:00

Still think the blogosphere is just for early adopter fringe web users?

Think again. Check out some of the stats in this article.

YouTube traffic doubles monthly
MySpace is bigger than Yahoo
Blogs can drive explosive growth or outrage
Revolutionize customer service programs
Senior citizens are the fastest growing blog population

User generated content or free for all communication; call it what you like but blogging and social media networks have really grown into their own over the last 12 months. Companies are launching new 3o second commercials solely on YouTube instead of paying $$ for network airtime. Fortune 5oo companies use MySpace to launch products to highly influential young adults w/ billions of dollars of purchasing power.

When a customer is happy enough or mad enough to talk about your product or service you should pay attention. In fact, you should encourage the conversation. That's what web 2.0 is all about. The tables are turned and if you're not taking the lead you will be left behind. Your audience is too savvy. They demand control over their experience with your brand and the ability to speak out about it - good and bad.

You cannot control your brand. You can only hope to guide it's direction by knowing who you are, who your customers are, what they want, and who you want to be to them. If you think the world is small; the gap from CEO to customer is tiny. You don't need a million dollar research program; just start a blog and pay attention.

The truth is that they're already talking. They always have been. Read more...

technorati tags > blog, social, networks, media, youtube, myspace, marketing, advertising, customer, branding, web 2.0

Everything a marketer needs to know...

2006-07-14T12:25:00.000-04:00

8.5x11 poster from Seth Godin

technorati tags > marketing, seth godin, poster, knowledge, customer, branding, advertising, marketer

Advertising & Corporate Strategy

2006-07-14T11:36:00.000-04:00

Check out this great campaign from Carmichael Lynch. It was commissioned by the AAF to educate CEO's on the powerful cultural impact iconic brands possess. Their research showed that many CEO's undervalue advertising contribution to corporate strategy.

technorati tags > advertising, carmichael lynch, aaf, ceo, corporate, strategy, branding, iconic

It's official! Apple overtakes Microsoft

2006-07-14T10:39:00.000-04:00

Battle of the brands and walletshare...

As Bill Gates prepares to exit the company he founded, Microsoft finds itself dumped from the US's favourite brands... by, of all, people, Apple! Sony was ranked the best brand in the US for the seventh year in a row, according to Harris Interactive.

read more | digg story

technorati tags > apple, microsoft, sony, hp, branding, US top brands, harris interactive

Branding 2.0

2006-07-14T10:31:00.000-04:00

Here's a quick tutorial of some of the web 2.0 sites that are driving viral & social networks.

Branding 2.0 - Mashable

technorati tags > branding, web 2.0, youtube, myspace, ask a ninja, social networks

Brand vs. ROI

2006-07-12T14:40:00.000-04:00

Great article from Jim Lenskold. The gist of it is that long term branding activities should not be in a death match for budget dollars against short term marketing projects that generate a measureable ROI. They should be complimentary. You may not be able to pin-point exactly which branding initative contributed directly to quarterly sales, but branding has long term impacts on pricing, stock value, and strategic direction.

If you only focus on short term project-led ROI, you miss out on big picture industry-shaping strategic activities that lead to future sales growth. If you're not tracking either; you should and need to be able to prove a positive return on your daily activities. If not, how do you expect C-level execs to continue funding? Not to mention, you'll never have a true seat at the table for strategic discussions.

It's funny that I was just talking about this the other day as well. The point is that what gets measured improves. You can track long term strategic goals like preference, attitude, and profitability; as well as short term goals like purchases from online ads, direct marketing response rates, and event marketing.

Done well, all short term activities feed and strengthen your long term strategic goals. You can build brand while making sales - as long as you are truly working with your customer's best interests/desires in mind.

technorati tags > branding, marketing, ROI, investment, strategy, metrics, measurement

Sony steps in it

2006-07-12T09:30:00.000-04:00

Sony's just released and pulled ad (more) in Amsterdam is over the top. I'm sure they thought they would create a little free PR; but the overtly racial overtones are too much.

Here's what Sony says:

"All of the 100 or so images created for the campaign have been designed to show this contrast in colours of the PSPs , and have no other message or purpose."

I'm sure a little testing would have served TBWA well in this case. Either way, this ad should have never made it out the door. They are getting attention, is it worth it? I'm not saying go back to boring product shots, but this crosses the line IMO.

technorati tags > advertising, sony, psp, bad taste, racist, tbwa

KFC is pushing it...

2006-07-11T17:40:00.000-04:00

Geez, I can't believe that someone is going to fall for this. Or better yet, pay an agency to come up with it.

More comments

technorati tags > icon, logo, KFC, YUM, branding, rebrand, strategy, advertising

Marketing measurements

2006-07-11T16:38:00.000-04:00

Naras Eechambadi has a great article on making your marketing measurements count on CMOmag.com. It's hard to pinpoint which specific activity persuaded a prospect to turn into a customer. It's even tougher considering that industry best practice dictates at least seven touches need to be made before a prospect recognizes your brand. It's difficult to fully understand where your budget dollars go the farthest. This doesn't even touch the sticky mess that is short term ROI versus long term shareholder value.

Too many companies think that installing Siebel or Salesforce.com will automatically make all sales & marketing activities measurable. Anyone in the midst of a CRM roll-out knows that the devil is in the details. How clean is your customer database, are there duplicate database field names in disparate legacy systems, where did the inside sales team get their pre-show mailing list? There are too many questions to wrap your head around.

But you have to start somewhere. Start by mapping out what actions you want to take to be able to improve your business. Make the data available to base decisions on that inform those actions. Transparency and accountability are crucial elements required for success. And always keeping moving forward towards your end goal. Just remember, that which is tracked improves.

Here's the best quote from the article:

An honest diagnosis of current capabilities and an assessment of how suited they are to future strategy is a crucial step in improving marketing performance. Ensure that the organization is properly aligned to strategy and to the processes that are essential to execution. Develop the right processes and make sure people are trained on these processes. Align the incentives for all of the people involved in planning and executing campaigns.

technorati tags > marketing, CMO, measurement, ROI, CRM, programs, effectiveness, strategy

The 25 Greatest Calvin & Hobbes Comic Strips

2006-07-11T10:48:00.000-04:00

I just had to include this. Calvin & Hobbes ran from 1985 to 1995. They are my favorite comic - by far. Bill Watterson drew thousands of strips, and while I wish that he would come back and draw more, it's probably best to reflect and be thankful for what he's done. Below we have showcased, in no particular order, some of our favorite Calvin & Hobbes strips of all time.

read more | digg story

So, what's this going to cost?

2006-07-09T20:12:00.000-04:00

In my opinion, one of the most consistent hot-button issues when working w/ vendors is price. I've personally seen it more times than I care to think about in my life on both sides of the marketing communications table. I've asked the question to dozens of firms and I've answered the question from dozens of clients. So believe me, neither side has it easy.

As the client, you're struggling between "good enough" and "best available". You (and your customers) want best available, while the finance guys like good enough. Seth Godin talks about it here. You get this feeling deep in the pit of your stomach as you're watching the agency go through their pitch. You just know that they would work hard for you. You know they would bring all of their world-class expertise to bear on your project. You're thinking, "they know the industry, they know my business, we get along and their work is top notch". It's exactly what you're looking for. But you have a feeling they're going to be outside of your budget or at least outside of your idea of what their services should cost. You hate to bring it up because you know that budget shouldn't be the ultimate deciding factor on what solves your problem or need. Sure there are cheaper firms out there, but these guys have it all and they're right here in front of you.

From the agency side, you can see it in their eyes. During the discussion and demo the client's eyes light up. They ask the right questions. They understand what you're about. But there's a hesistation, a slight glint of uncertainty. You know that sooner or later you're going to get the price question. Charging by the hour isn't really an option because clients demand to know at least of range of prices to consider before signing the dotted line. Charging by the project, or value pricing, is a strange magical mix of time, hourly rate to cover overhead, and some profit padding. Either way you sense there is going to be sticker shock.

In my experience, this scenario happens most often when agencies are presenting to budget spenders not budget deciders. Budget spenders are only worried about their bucket of money being spent efficiently. Solving greater business concerns are typically a secondary requirement otherwise known as "nice to have". If you're on the client side and this firm provides the solution you need, then move them up the chain if you cannot make or justify the decision yourself. Become their biggest proponent. Get them in front of the true budget decider. She/he can find the money required to solve problems. Your foresight and problem-solving abilities will be recognized and rewarded. Unless you truly do not have the money available, price is rarely a reason not to buy.

Back to the agencies; if you cannot get past the price question, one of two things is happening. You're either not working with the right people (budget deciders versus spenders) or you're not providing enough value to the clients and the price objection is an easy way to say no and move on to another agency with better relationships and/or better offerings and value.

technorati tags > price, client, agency, marketing, communication, budget, seth godin, vendors, value

New Look & Feel

2006-07-07T09:10:00.000-04:00

It didn't take long to tire of the standard Blogger templates; so I'm trying out a new look & feel.

I'm still tweaking the final design, but let me know what you think so far.

technorati tags > new design, blog, blogger, templates, opinions

Market Trends

2006-07-06T20:44:00.000-04:00

Companies that ride economic trends grow more rapidly than companies that rest of their laurels. Pretty obvious, but without good trend data it's hard to know where to point your business strategically. Here are McKinsey's ten trends in 2006 that will shape 2015:

Centers of economic activity will shift profoundly, not just globally, but also regionally.
Public-sector activities will balloon, making productivity gains essential.
The consumer landscape will change and expand significantly.
Technological connectivity will transform the way people live and interact.
The battlefield for talent will shift.
The role and behavior of big business will come under increasingly sharp scrutiny.
Demand for natural resources will grow, as will the strain on the environment.
New global industry structures are emerging.
Management will go from art to science.
Ubiquitous access to information is changing the economics of knowledge.

If you're on the business battlefield now, there's not doubt you're living a lot of these. So while these may not seem revolutionary; the real question is how are you evolving your long term strat plan (5-7 years out) to account for these trends? Your short term plan (1 year out) should be able to flex enough to allow for changes to make you more competitive.

Unfortunately a lot of marketing teams are not a core part of the corporate strategy sessions that define business direction. If that's the case you have to step it up. You're not bringing enough value to the table. No one should know more about customer desires and how to address them properly than the sales & marketing team. Over time a data-driven process that keeps you riding current trends instead of fighting them will get you a seat at the table. Drive it and you will succeed.

technorati tags > market, trends, research, mckinsey, strategy, strategic plan, business,

Very cool news aggregator

2006-07-05T10:08:00.000-04:00

I told myself that I'd only blog on M-W-F, but I keep finding these cool little sites and posts that I want to pass on. So, check out http://www.marumushi.com/apps/newsmap/newsmap.cfm.

It aggregates headlines from GoogleNews. The use of multi-variant data to display news category (world, technology, health), most popular story, geography, and date works really well. You can sort by "squarified" or standard layout to change the view to your preference.

I think it's great to show what a different point of view can do. Same data, completely different presentation layer.

technorati tags > google news, map, data, presentation, visual, news map

Strategy by Design

2006-07-05T08:32:00.000-04:00

I had to provide this article from Tim Brown. Tim is the President & CEO of IDEO, one of the largest and most respected design firms on the planet (think Leap chair, Palm V, Apple’s mouse, standup Crest toothpaste, HP industrial design, etc…). Tim breaks down five points to develop and execute your strategy by thinking like a designer. The summary is that design thinking can help everyone from the executive team, employees and customers better understand your vision and unique value prop. This is accomplished by translating strategic concepts and ideas into visual realities. It’s about storytelling. It’s about evolution, simplicity and consistency.

I believe that a business must innovate and communicate better than the competition in order to grow. And who does innovation and communication better than designers? It’s their God-given gifts to the world. Unfortunately the design community has done a poor job of aligning themselves with the business community. And because of that, a lot of executives will read this and think “artist”. But not the smart ones.

Article courtesy of FastCompany

technorati tags > strategy, design, IDEO, Fast Company, innovation, communication, talent, skills

Great TV Spot

2006-07-03T08:50:00.000-04:00

I had to pass on one of the coolest commercials to come out in a while. It's getting a ton of buzz right now...

Video link

W+K & PSYOP hit a home run w/ this one. And don't forget to check out the new logo/tag at the end. I like it. Retro and classic with a modern twist.

technorati tags > coke, weiden kennedy, psyop, TV, commercials, viral, coca-cola

You get what you pay for

2006-07-03T08:35:00.000-04:00

Doesn’t your business deserve the best talent? Here’s a great post from new marketing guru Seth Godin discussing what investments will pay off. If your people (or their direct work product) are a key differentiator for your business, you want the best talent possible.

Notice I didn’t say the best you can afford. 99% of the time the old adage rings true, you get what you pay for. If you are only willing to spend pennies, expect little to no short-term return. Experience is expensive. Scar tissue is expensive. It’s also the best way to fuel explosive growth. If your business is so process driven that you can afford junior people, then great, but now you’re in the commodity widget business and I’ll bet you compete on price. If you compete on value, your currency is talent and skills. One is taught and the other is a birthright. The right people on the right job make a quantifiable difference. Check out Buckingham’s book on getting the most from the people you have and becoming a better manager.

technorati tags > seth godin, talent, skills, employees, salary, marcus buckingham, ROI, experience

2 for the road...

2006-06-30T14:33:00.000-04:00

Don't be these guys. It's not good for you nor the people that are trying to help you (internal staff team or outside agency).

courtesy: gapingvoid

technorati tags > marketing, advertising, product, superbowl, commercial, TV

Brainstorming Effectiveness

2006-06-30T08:25:00.000-04:00

Interesting post on brainstorming.

Here are a few things to keep in mind during your next group brainstorming session:

new ideas, inspiration, and creativity cannot be scheduled
and it typically does not fit neatly into everyone's schedule
don't spend much time on bad ideas
but don't create an environment that is anti-new or crazy thoughts
don't use the brainstorming session to spread potential blame/failure
hijackers need to be dealt with - everyone should contribute
don't waste the group's time if a decision has already been made
brainstorming sessions are not the appropriate venue to sell a particular idea
office politics are the arch-enemy of fresh ideas
lastly, scribes should have great handwriting

technorati tags > brainstorming, idea, creativity, session, whiteboard, meeting, fresh approach, office politics

CMO Top 10 List

2006-06-28T08:39:00.000-04:00

In light of the previous post discussing CMO short tenures. From CMO magazine...

10. Defining the essence of the brand is something a CMO can't delegate. Our opening speaker, Charlotte Beers, former under secretary of state for public diplomacy and public affairs, spoke eloquently about the importance of brand and the CMO's role in nurturing it.

9. In uncertain times, people look for touchstones of trust. But trust cannot be bought; it must be earned. Dean Barrett, senior VP of global marketing for McDonald's, offered that McNugget in the context of the company's efforts to redefine its global brand.

8. The "CEO's CMO" has three primary traits: Know the value chain; be a disruptive innovator; and speak the CEO's language. Carter Cast, president of Wal-Mart's online business, explained that these qualities help set the great CMOs apart from the simply good ones.

7. The CMO also must be conversant in the language of IT. This call to action came from a speaker who oversees both marketing and IT: Tom O'Toole, Global Hyatt's senior VP of strategy and systems. As the distinctions between the two functions become increasingly arbitrary, O'Toole reasoned, it's critical that the CMO understand basic technology concepts.

6. But don't let technology drive your marketing programs. Both O'Toole and a panel that discussed emerging technology cautioned attendees that CMOs must use technology as an enabler, not as a solution to an ill-defined problem.

5. Do things before the bureaucracy inside your company kills them. Steve Hayden, the vice chairman of Ogilvy & Mather Worldwide, provided this bit of agency wisdom during a case study with Silvia Lagnado, Dove's global brand director, on the Dove "Real Beauty" campaign. There was plenty of early resistance inside Unilever about the initiative, but the proponents pushed on, and the campaign was a rousing success.

4. Focus inside the box. To build a robust marketing organization, CMOs must invest in internal functions such as marketing operations and performance measurement, according to Rich Vancil, vice president of IDC's CMO Advisory Research service. Vancil was referring specifically to high-tech companies, but his message applies across all sectors.

3. Everything communicates—and everyone contributes to the success of a brand. Everyone in a company needs to be immersed in the brand message you're trying to convey. The need to believe in brand message so they can convey it naturally and effectively.

2. Innovation is a creative process that must involve all business units to be successful. Diane Gulyas, DuPont's chief marketing and sales officer, spoke in her closing keynote on the role that marketing and other functions play in this B2B giant's steady stream of innovation. Such creativity, she added, requires structure.

1. It's not what you say, it's what your customers hear. Beers set the tone for the conference with this comment during her opening keynote. A simple message, but one that CMOs often forget.

technorati tags > CMO, Top 10, marketing, VP, executive, business, branding

It's not about you....

2006-06-26T10:15:00.000-04:00

Great post from Simon Sinek.

It's all too common for businesses to focus on their products or services instead of their customers. Here is a sample from Simon:

"Apple's iPod marketing serves as a good example. Apple states simply, "10,000 songs in your pocket." The message is all about the consumer's life or lifestyle. It's a very different message than "20 gigabyte mp3 player" which is a description of the product. Even if 20 GB is a good thing or 30 GB or 40GB, who cares if a consumer can't easily relate to and integrate it into their lives."

Most manufacturers focus on the wrong thing - your feature versus the consumer benefits or wants. You can include the technical features; just don't lead with them. Find those eight words, the hook, that resonate with your audience. The words that make them stop and pay attention. Talk about them, not about you.

Better B2B selling

2006-06-23T08:42:00.000-04:00

Thought I'd pass on a solid report from McKinsey. It's from 2005, but it's still valuable content - like most of their material.

The gist of it is not resigning yourself to price cuts when your customers demand more. The more you collaborate on solving their true problems, the less price is an issue.

Your product/service may only be one puzzle piece to solving their real business issue. Go the extra step, help your customer solve the entire problem and you'll see real success. This doesn't mean that you need to know all of the answers; just honestly try to help them find the appropriate solutions that are complimentary to your offering (assuming that your offering is the right solution as well).

Negotiation is part of any sales/buying process but you do not want to be known as the low price option. Price is rarely a true barrier to purchase - unless they truly do not have the money, then I would contend that your targeting was off.

It's hard to grow profitably if you're not collaborating w/ your customers.

technorati tags > strategic, selling, b2b, mckinsey, commodity, price, services, pricing, value

Integrated Marketing picking up steam... again

2006-06-22T10:25:00.000-04:00

David Armano talks about the iMedia Integrated Marketing How To Guide on the struggles of aligning multiple marketing projects across multiple channels. The key take away is that while it's difficult to maintain consistency, the companies that do will benefit from a unified message that is easily understood by consumers no matter how or where they decide to listen.

Your audience is too busy to expect a huge ROI from a one touch campaign. And they're too busy to put together the pieces from disparate multi-touch campaigns themselves. They really don't care about your products or services until you convince them that you can make their life/business issues go away.

You really have to push your unique value prop out across a lot of different marketing vehicles (consistently of course) so that it's easily digested by your audience when they're ready. It's a waste of time & money to put all of your marketing/branding eggs in one basket.

Email marketing best practices

2006-06-21T10:06:00.000-04:00

A little more technical than my typical post, but this is a great article on proper coding for email marketing.

Email is still a valuable marketing tool. Is it abused? Sure, but if you send information that your audience truly values, you'll be in great shape. It's a great way to keep prospects warm and current customers in the loop. Not to mention it's one of the few marketing tools that prospects & customers can forward to their colleagues and friends without you having to do anything. Referrals are the true test of your value to them.

Short Lived CMOs

2006-06-21T09:45:00.000-04:00

Tom Peters has a great little post on the longevity of CMOs. More than 50% of the CMOs surveyed by Advertising Age have been in the job for less than a year.

Here's a quote from AdAge, "the job of CMO has become one of highest-stressed, shortest-tenured in American industry."

Here are some of the comments from Tom's blog:

Great CMOs are like big bursts of ideas, energy, etc. especially when they first join their new team. The burnout or departure (23.2 months) comes as a result of the following:
#1-Not a good hire to begin with:
*Not qualified
*Not psyched about the brand
*Qualified, but at odds w/ that corp.'s philosphy

#2-Bad Company
*CEO doesn't 'get' branding and isn't willing to hire someone who does...and let them do their job
*Will hire an underqualified CMO...ultimately resulting in the burnout of said CMO
*Great brand but bad philosophy on taking care of employees first, then clients (see Starbuck's, West Paces Hotels and other companies that care about their employees first) which causes the CMO (as well as plenty of other employees) to depart and find a better organization
My theory. These are highly creative people who innovate quickly. Large organizations typically don't do well with rapid change.
My hunch is most CMOs are good at dealing with traditional media such as TV and newspaper, which are basically declining and not any longer effective. With the new media like social media and blogging, the traditional CMOs probably need to change thier minds sets 180 degrees.

My two cents; most good CMOs are change agents. They tire quickly in maintenance mode. Unfortunately, ~2 years is not long enough to ensure that his/her changes will be effective (you need at least four to see significant repeatable consumer/organization change). And that's good and bad. Good for the individual because they leave for a better paying gig before they can truly be measured; bad for the employees and shareholders because if successful it may be a flash in the pan without the right team to keep up the forward momentum and bad because the business has invested a lot of time and money in someone that has put them further behind. This is why a lot of CEOs do not respect career marketers or invest in discipline of marketing.

Choosing the right agency/design firm

2006-06-16T11:05:00.000-04:00

The good folks at the Small Agency Diary have a new post on choosing the wrong client. I thought I'd flip it around and talk a little about choosing the right agency/design firm.

You flip open the latest issue of AdAge or the Yellow pages and see a list of agencies so long your eyes cross. Some you may have heard of but most you have not. Some look like legal firms (partner + partner + partner + partner & assoc) and some look a little funny (watermelon toad, autonomy, or similar). All of their websites look similar (client list, portfolio, why we're different - which doesn't look that different after all). How do you pick?

Here are the highlights - in no particular order...

Obviously you have to have some type of immediate connection w/ their account team. If you do not like them, there's no way you're going to be happy doing business with them.
Check out their work, but don't get too caught up in it. Any agency worth their salt puts a lot of thought into new ideas for a particular client & project. You're looking for a consistent new-thought-generation process. You may or may not like their work for other clients, but that really doesn't matter if the work was effective at meeting the goal for that particular client. The agency should be able to generate work that suits your organization, customers, and business objectives.
Talk about budget early and often. Talk about how the agency will scope out the level of effort required to meet your goals. Doesn't matter whether you're buying months of international TV spots with a lot of high-end digital effects or just a local newspaper ad - talk about how they come up with their bid.
Most importantly, you probably have an idea of what you're looking for. TELL THEM! Don't expect their account or creative team to be mind readers. I know you're looking for new ideas and a fresh perspective, but tell them what you're thinking. The last thing you want is for them go off on some tangent that you know the President will hate. If you are one of the very few people that really doesn't have any idea what you're looking for; then you have to be open to their suggestions when they come back. It's a waste of your time & money to have something in mind and not discuss it. A test of their creativity is how well they function within boundaries - budget, timeframe, brand guidelines, etc... They are working from your direction, be sure to give it.
And for pete's sake, write everything up! Whether it's your creative brief or theirs, make sure that both parties are working towards the same goal. You need to have detailed information on deliverables, scope, timeframes, and budget - and agree to all of it before work is started. I know you're busy. I know this project has to be finished on time. But trust me, if it's not written down and agreed upon, it will become a point of contention. Projects tend to show signs of success or failure within the initial 13% of the project. You have to have everything lined up before you begin. Otherwise you put a lot at risk - including your next promotion if not your career.

What's the point of Marketing Communications?

2006-06-15T08:48:00.000-04:00

To keep your name in front of your target audience? Yes, but that's really about long-term branding not revenue or ROI.

To support the effort of your sales team? Sure, that's important but they typically are just looking for another excuse to call the customer. A new white paper, brochure, or sales tool is a great reason to reach out.

How about differentiating yourself from your competition? Interesting, but Marketing Communication (marcom) is simply the vehicle for talking about your true differentiations like consumer benefits, unique business model, industry leading features, etc...

I believe it's really about changing behavior.

It's easy to make money off of run-rate business - typically you don't have to work very hard to keep it flowing. The real challenge is getting a brand new customer to buy. Becoming a preference in his or her eyes - now that's a big deal (a long term, strategic, profitable big deal).

Marcom is the art & science of combining your value to the audience, your unique elements, and a reason to act NOW. I believe that a "call to action" is a critial component of any marketing communications effort. It could be as simple as a unique URL to visit to or some type of bundled promotion, but you need something to keep a new customer moving towards a purchase.

Marketing communications is about creating a bread trail for your audience to follow. Get them hooked, keeping feeding them value, and they will buy.

ANA/Booz Allen Hamilton Marketing Study part II

2006-06-13T10:51:00.000-04:00

Here is how the study breaks down the different types of marketing departments:

1 | Marketing Masters (38% of respondents)
2 | Senior Counselors (17%)
3 | Service Providers (15%)
4 | Brand Builders (12%)
5 | Best Practice Advisors (9%)
6 | Growth Champions (9%)

1 | Marketing Masters “… enjoy the authority to coordinate with other major business functions. They do not, however, make strategic decisions and seldom lead new-business development.”

2 | Senior Counselors assist in guiding “… the CEO on marketing strategy and also serve as primary advisors on marketing strategy for individual businesses.” Rarely will these marketers lead product innovation initiatives, but they are responsible for leading major advertising and/or promotional campaigns.

3 | Service Providers are the coordinators of “… advertising, promotion and public relations at the request of the company’s brand and product teams.”

4 | Brand Builders provide “… marketing services like communications strategy, creative output and campaign execution of key brands, but their leadership role and decision rights on strategy and investment are all but negligible.”

5 | Best Practice Advisors work directly with “… individual business units to maximize marketing effectiveness and efficiency” by gathering and disseminating best practices within the company as it relates to advertising, promotion, and public relations.

6 | Growth Champions lead their company’s efforts in product innovation and in new business development. They also are heavily involved in decisions pertaining to new-market penetration and strategic investments. (btw, this is only category that truly drives revenue and profitablity - nothing says promotion and job security like top line growth!)

Which type do you work for? More importantly, what are you actively doing to move your department up the food chain by increasing the role you play in business development and NPD?

Measuring impact of design on business

2006-06-08T10:15:00.000-04:00

A couple of recent posts on measurement caught my attention (DMI event) and (UK DesignCouncil study).

It seems that companies that put an emphasis on design are elevating above commodity status. That makes sense. I know a lot of talk has gone into iPods. But for years now there have been smaller, cheaper, and arguably better MP3 players on the market; but Apple is by far the 800lb gorilla in the marketplace.

Design is about more than the look & feel or colors of a product. It's a purposeful thought process that goes into making every aspect of the user experience better. It's VW understanding that silicon-dampened grab handles are nicer than the ones that just slap back against the headliner. It's Rally's understanding that two drive-throughs are better than one. It's Nike. It's the Aeron mesh chair. It's Starbucks versus Seattle's Best. It's Target versus K-Mart.

Companies that integrate design thinking are more profitable because it usually costs the same to manufacture a designed widget versus a not. Customers want to love their purchases. Good design does that. It starts conversations. It creates profit - and that is infinitely measurable.

Top 10 stock photo clichés

2006-06-07T10:19:00.000-04:00

From forty media...

1. The Handshake of Synergy: You’ve made the sale and closed the deal. They can’t back out now—you shook on it!

2. The Flirty Customer Service Gal: Operators are standing by to take your call…and your heart.

See the rest...

So please, stay away from these worn out clichés. First off, no one looks like these people. How do you expect your audience to identify with you when you only use 25 year old supermodels in your advertising? Your customers are sick of it. It just shows how little you understand your customers.

Not that you have to spend mega-bucks on a custom photo-shoot; just put a little more thought and consideration into creating your marketing materials. As humans, we're trained to only notice things that are different - things that stand out. If you put this level of effort into creating your collateral, you disrespect your customers and automatically lump yourself with every other business that thinks of marketing as an afterthought. Those businesses tend to focus more on their own products and services than how those products benefit their customers. No one cares about your product. People only care about meeting their needs and desires.

CMO's Increasingly Take a Leadership Role

2006-06-06T13:54:00.000-04:00

New ANA/Booz Allen Hamilton Study talks about companies that elevate the status and strategic nature of their marketing teams are 20% more likely to experience superior revenue growth and profitability.

The world-class marketing teams stopped being relegated to tradeshows and direct mail campaigns a while back. If you want a say in the future of your company; leverage the direct access to customers and products you're given. Leverage your in-depth knowledge of your product/services, the competition, and your customer's preferences & attitudes. That insight should be the foundation of your strat plan.

Brand-driven companies know that marketing is at the crux of future innovation. Engineering for engineering sake isn't going to give you explosive growth.

Creative Process Explained

2006-06-05T15:29:00.000-04:00

I thought this was a great explanation of the creative process. Most clients tend to want to dig right into design; but I like how this graphic shows that good design results from a lot of hard work and thought up front. I also like the importance of calling out "concept/prototype". This is a critical step that I've seen agencies skip. You can save a lot of headache (read billable time) and effort by getting your prototypes approved before beginning the design phase. Clients will appreciate the fact that you are seeking directional approval before spending a lot of time.

Moral of the story: as a team (client & agency) determine why you're doing this project, why now, what the audience will respond to, gain clarity of direction, test, then AND ONLY THEN move into the design phase of the project.

Indifference

2006-06-01T10:01:00.000-04:00

From metacool...

"The only real enemy of design is indifference."
- Matt Kahn

It takes roughly the same amount of effort to great good design as it does bad design. With the exception of a few corporations, most are surprisingly indifferent about the design of their product and/or collateral. The prevailing thought is that it's the job of the industrial design group or the marketing dept to figure out.

To be honest, I'm not sure why more executives do not appreciate good design in business. These same people understand the basics of fashion and typically know a great looking shoe or tie compared to a not-so-great looking one.

I think the creative community has built this reputation of secrecy around the creative process that needs to be abolished. On the whole, most people bring good ideas to the table - doesn't matter their education, their title, or their background. Obviously these things factor in; but it's naive to think that good ideas only come from creatives. Working together is the key. Bring the creatives and executives together to solve the business issue. Don't just throw it over the fence.

Good design can make a difference. There are thousands of examples (Target, Apple, Starbucks, Sony, Audi, Dyson); the list goes on and on. As more and more markets commoditize, design has the power to elevate. It is a major factor in the overall brand experience. Customers can tell the difference and as more customers take greater control over their viewing and purchasing habits, indifferent businesses will feel it in the P&L.

UPS is top American brand w/ CEO's

2006-05-26T21:42:00.000-04:00

http://biz.yahoo.com/bizj/060515/1288631.html?.v=2

This paragraph stood out to me:

"Respondents said they ranked UPS highly for being an industry leader, forward-thinking, easy to use, ethical, popular and a growing company. At the end of last year and beginning of this year, DHL carried out a $50 million campaign to promote its customer service. The promotion followed $150 million in ads DHL took out to re-introduce itself to the U.S. market."

Notice that they didn't talk about shipping time, price, or truck color. After $200M+ in advertising, DHL still doesn't make the list.

With CEO's perception is reality. Congrats UPS!

PS. surprise, surprise, look what happens when you're top of mind w/ executives. Funny how that works huh?

Do you video?

2006-05-26T21:08:00.000-04:00

According to American Business Media (ABM blog) web video will be the most dominant global medium in a few years.

As a business executive, what are your plans to use web video as a sales/marketing/branding tool? Have you even thought about it? A lot of execs think of YouTube or GoogleVideo as the playground of 16-24 year olds - ala MySpace.

Mobile technology is continuing to revolutionize how we access data and entertainment. Consumers are taking more control of their own content, media, and buying environment everyday. You have to continue to get your message out without relying on the old tried and true techniques like network TV, outdoor, or radio. People skip past commercials with Tivo; they listen to iPods in the cars instead of talk radio; with crowded freeways @ 90MPH the last thing you need to catch your eye is a billboard.

What are you doing to make your message available to increasingly jaded consumers?

What are you doing to make them seek you out? Can they do it on their own schedule?

Or are you continuing to hope that they happen to be on the couch, watching the right channel, paying attention, without the latest Fast Company open and not channel surfing long enough to see your multimillion dollar 30 second spot?

Is it better to hunt with a shotgun or a scalpel?

Leader... Challenger... Differentiator

2006-05-25T20:44:00.000-04:00

Image from the hidden persuader...

This really hit home w/ me when I saw it. Simply for the honest truthfulness of it. Market challengers HAVE to be different. That's the only thing that separates them from the 800lb gorilla in the market. It's the only way to grow, to increase your marketshare, to elevate your brand.

What challengers may or may not know is how jealous market leaders are of their creativity & risk-taking culture. Market leaders cannot be too risky; otherwise they risk alienating their core customers that made them what they are today. Market leaders have to stick to their bread & butter. The really scary thought is not who will overthrown them but when. It's bound to happen; a challenger comes out of nowhere with a new way of doing business, a new idea, a new technology, or a new solution to a problem that people didn't know existed.

It's a funny equation. Market challengers want to be #1 - the leadership, the prestige, the profit, the view from the top is pretty good. But if they make it, they can no longer do the innovative things that previously generated explosive market growth. Now they have to play it safe (or at least safer) - and it's hard for the same management team to do that. But that's a topic for another post...

Agency pitch fees. Good or bad?

2006-05-23T14:49:00.000-04:00

Do you think clients should pay "pitch fees" for agencies to come in and pitch their ideas?

It's a semi-new issue in the ever-changing environment that advertising/design/PR agencies face today. Historically agencies have not charged for the time staffers put into generating ideas/concepts to win new business. Typically the agency fees were so high after winning the business, they would make up any effort spent pre-contract. But in today's increasingly competitive marketplace, there is not as much profit in advertising and design as there once was. Today's agency is more concerned with doing the right thing for the client than excessively padding their own coffers by using media technologies that only they control.

One side of the argument (client side) says that if an agency is not winning new business then their ideas are weak and they need more experience or practice. Why would a client pay for an idea that they are not happy with or on target.

The other side (agency side) says it takes an enormous effort to brainstorm new ideas and put them into a format that elevates the clients value/brand. Their time is valuable and they wouldn't be in the pitch process if the client hadn't asked (or let) them in.

To make matters worse, clients have stolen brilliant ideas from outside agencies and handed them off to the in-house team for execution - without compensation. Or put a new agency thorough the ringer under the guise of potential business only to keep the incumbent agency honest. That is taking advantage.

The thought process is that if agency pitch fees were a standard procedure, clients would be less likely to drain ideas or abuse advertising/design agencies without compensation. I know from personal experience that agencies will spend an exorbitant amount of time generating concepts to win a new account. My opinion, if those concepts/ideas are not on strategy or completely off base, then it's the fault of the agency. If the concepts/ideas were on target and another agency was selected for some other reason, then depending on the circumstance, the agency should be reimbursed for their time. If the agency was too small (whatever that means), not experienced enough, or couldn't handle the work volume for the client, they should have never been part of the selection process in the first place. That's the clients fault. They should take care of the agency for wasting their time.

The way advertising talks...

2006-05-14T22:10:00.000-04:00

Hugh does it again...

Think about it as you plan your next campaign.

Brand ownership

2006-05-14T21:24:00.000-04:00

I wanted to pass on some lessons I found on the "Own Your Brand!" blog:

The brand ownership lessons:

Brands are not made in a day. Stop asking your ad agency to crank one out for you.
However, brands ARE made one day at a time - like reputations. Find your “intentionality gene” and activate it.
Brands don’t turn on a dime, but they do in time. What took time to create, will take time to re-create.

The context was the brand perception issues that GM is facing. Most people still think of them as builders of inferior cars. Right or wrong that's the prevailing thought. They have put a lot of thought & money into re-becoming a premier brand worldwide. It is a long process. And it happens one interaction at a time, one new product at a time, and one ad at a time.

You cannot change your brand perception without careful thought and planning (or designing) the experience. Design is about more than fonts and colors; it's a thought process that considers customer needs, your unique elements, the marketplace, your visual equity, and your objectives.

Why Ad Agencies don't advertise

2006-05-04T14:09:00.000-04:00

Great post by Simon Sinek

Like a lot of industry folks, I've thought that the mega ad agency model has been declining for a while. There are a ton of blog posts about it. You have to find a company that truly wants to help you grow your business - by whichever medium works best, not by the marketing medium that generates the greatest kickbacks. As an ex-Fortune 500 marketing manager, I saw my company go through ad agency after ad agency. Now granted they were, and are not the best at working w/ agencies. But they still spent multi-millions on ads that generated little to no direct impact on business performance.

The firm I'm with is more focused on delivering the tools you need to meet your goals/objectives. That may come in the form of an interactive sales presentation, online blog, magazine ads, whatever... The point is that the tools we create for our clients make a difference in their day-to-day operations. They are not 30 seconds spots that 99% of the viewing audience ignores, 100% of the non-viewing audience misses, and still makes the executives/employees feel better becuase they're on TV. Some people call us an ad agency, but we're not. Very few corporations in the world need the multi-million dollar branding campaigns. But a lot, if not all, companies need help getting through the day with better tools that the sales & marketing teams can use in the hand-to-hand combat they face every day.

Design & Business Inseparable

2006-04-25T22:24:00.000-04:00

Diego Rodriguez, from IDEO & metacool fame, has a great article on BusinessWeek about good business equals designing a good customer experience.

Successful business is about more than a great product. That may get a customer in the door initially, but their overall experience w/ your brand and customer service will keep them coming back - or never coming back. It's very hard, almost impossible, to create loyal customers but as markets commoditize, the organziation w/ the most loyal customers wins. The power of blogs is the perfect example. Bloggers that love a product can create a buying frenzy and of course the opposite is true as well. If you are happy enough to talk about it, you're satisfied.

Design is about more than thinking about look & feel or colors & fonts. You have to design the entire experience. You do not have total control over your brand image - your customers define your brand, not you. You can only hope to have everything in place in order to influence your customer's perception of your products, services and offerings so that their perception matches your desired business strategy. Do what it takes to keep them loyal, it will pay off in every way imaginable - the first of which is profit and shareholder value.

"We do stuff"...

2006-04-21T08:39:00.000-04:00

I found a great site you have to check out, thanks to Jill Konrath at Selling to Big Companies.

It's a slightly humorous look (read: would be more funny if it wasn't so accurate) at the typical PR/Design agency. I love their tagline, "We do stuff."

As we at Cre8tive Group look into a website refresh, this is be one example that I will hold up as what to stay away from because it's easier to talk about ourselves than it is to talk about what prospective customers want to hear.

Lessons:

Keep your language simple, accurate and real-world.
Talk about the benefits you provide, not about you or your products.
People don't do business with companies; people do business with people. Be likable.

Daily Cartoon - Typical Project?

2006-04-18T17:28:00.000-04:00

You may have seen this before, but I thought it was a funny look at what sadly happens more often than not. This sums up why I started blogging. There are too many marketing communications projects that are doomed to meet the same fate without the right people on board, the right questions asked, and the right expectations set.

Here's another version from 37signals. funny stuff.

Design Process Primer

2006-04-13T21:01:00.000-04:00

Great post from AiAlone.com. I'm anxious to follow the thread.

Since I've lived on both sides of the marketing world, client & agency, I'm still surprised at how many people make marketing decisions emotionally versus data-driven or strategically. I am constantly engaged in "I like" or "I feel" or "I think" conversations with clients. Not that personal thoughts are bad; it's just that creative decisions should be based on how well the project objectives/strategies are being met. Opinions are usually political. And politics are usually personal agendas, not necessarily what's best for the target audience.

A lack of understanding how the creative process works will always default to personal emotional requests. It's up to the creative world to show clients that the creative process is a purposeful series of ideas and refinements based on the knowledge of audience needs/likes, technical requirements, experience, and the nature of the problem to be solved. Not to mention the standard best practice application of fonts, colors, and white space. Wrap all of that up inside the client's brand guidelines (as well as project budget & timeline constraints) and you have the heart of the creative process.

Daily Quote - Innovation

2006-04-12T17:29:00.000-04:00

Business has only two functions - marketing & innovation.
- Peter Drucker

Great article on innovation in business from Brianna Sylver at Core77. To sum it up, there are three primary driving factors for the desire to innovate. As marketing/design consults, we have to understand the business issues and the tolerance level required for innovation before we suggest ways to innovate. As with all consulting engagement, the more transparency during the process the better the results. Unfortunately, it's tough for a lot of businesses to "open the kimono" when asking for help.

Marketing: Important or Urgent?

2006-04-12T10:45:00.000-04:00

Most businesses would agree that marketing is important. In the SMB market, that agreement is usually followed up with “but it’s not an urgent need…” Why worry about marketing when you can neglect it and still get new customers in the door. Referrals are a great way to add customers; but you are not in control over when it will happen or who will be referred to you.

Proper marketing is all about taking control of your business. It’s about getting the right type of customers; not simply getting more customers.

If you are like most business people, today was busier than yesterday, this quarter is more hectic than last – and unfortunately, that cycle isn’t ending soon. Marketing to the wrong segments or untargeted marketing just adds more potential customers; not to mention that you’re simply adding more work. When you market to add the right customers, you increase customer satisfaction and profit because you're providing a service they value.

Most importantly, to market effectively you have to stake your position in the marketplace. This isn’t an easy task but it’s critical to your long-term success.

As your products and services become more commoditized, marketing quickly moves from important to urgent. In a stable established market, brand perception is the number one driver of consumption. To become the #1 provider in the eyes of your customers, your marketing plan has to be actively managed one project at a time; while ensuring that every decision is aligned with your core brand strategy.

8 reasons to market your products or services now:

You want profitable growth
You desire a better brand image
You’re announcing new products
You have a distinct competitive advantage; or wish you did
A few large customers control your business
You need to attract and keep top employees
Your products surpass your current customer’s perception
The right customers value your offerings and are willing to pay a premium

Daily Quote: Moronic Consumers

2006-04-10T10:16:00.000-04:00

"The consumer isn't a moron. She is your wife."
- David Ogilvy

This is an oldie but a goodie. It still rings true today. I've seen a lot of marketing managers frustrated by how little their target audience knows or understands about their product. This is in no way the fault of the consumer. You cannot flood customers with feature after feature and expect them to walk away understanding how those features will make their lives easier or save them money or make them money.

Today's consumers are so savvy that even benefit-focused headlines are not getting through. Clayton Makepeace recommends that your focus on reader skepticism instead of benefit statements.

Consumers have never been morons. Each and every buyer has a need; they wouldn't be shopping if they didn't. Marketing staff need to do a better job of addressing the need, satisfying skeptics, and differentiating themselves in order to succeed in today's tough & evolving economy.

The $72M P&L rollercoaster

2006-04-09T20:43:00.000-04:00

I learned that Six Flags spent $72,000,000 on Mr. Six, the dancing man. The ads score very well with the audience. Unfortunately, Six Flags reports that they saw NO increase in attendance or additional revenue. Doner Advertising created a huge stir with these ads (including a lot of rumors on who the actor was - a little birdie told me that it's a young woman in makeup), but after zero ROI, Six Flags has decided to drop the campaign. This is another example of mass market advertising not showing a return. Even though ad recollection and satisfaction were high, they did not entice anyone to actually go to the themeparks.

I cannot imagine being the CMO or VP of Marketing at Six Flags with my Board of Directors and CFO staring at the $72M hole in the P&L. He/she has to be running scared. I wonder who was driving the media mix choices. Did Six Flags run the show or did they rely too heavily on Doner? I wonder what they nixed in order to launch the massive TV campaign. They spread the media across a lot of different mediums (tv, outdoor, online, print, etc...), but I wonder if Six Flags knows which mediums worked best for the brand. I wonder what they will do differently next time. They are a brand in trouble. They haven't been profitable in eight years. The new CEO seems to have things on the right track, but sooner or later you have to get the word out that you've made improvement. You have to convince people to spend their hard earned cash with you. Rebuilding a struggling brand is tough. And I'm anxious to what they do differently this time.

Customer Service via Email

2006-04-06T14:09:00.000-04:00

Found a good post via MicroPersuasion on how email responsiveness relates to customer service.

This is something that we've been discussing a lot during the last few days at Cre8tive Group. What do customers expect when judging service (which happens subconsciously a lot of times). How much of it is responsiveness versus doing what you said you would do or going above and beyond - and most importantly how does it affect their experience and loyalty.

Tough questions. We are re-discovering something we've always known. Not all customers are the right customers for our business. The customers that do not value process or documented expectations tend to think that we are pulling them through a knot hole. Other clients love it. They understand the power of the creative brief and know exactly what to expect from our efforts and interactions. We try to put a lot of thought into which design strategies will best meet our individual client's business objectives. And that is communicated through every interaction we have with them over the long haul.

The point of all this is that email is a great way to stay in touch & transfer docs, but it's a horrible way for us to build relationships or get new business (at least for us). If I'm not face-to-face or on the phone, I feel like I'm letting my customers down and I'm afraid that a nuance will be missed. I try to respond to every email & voicemail before I go to sleep. It's tough but I'd like to think it's a small way to keep my customers loyal - but you can't neglect the other aspects like doing what you said you would, billing what you said you would, and treating them better than expected.

Daily Quote - Just copy our largest competitor...

2006-04-05T10:36:00.000-04:00

"If you mimic market leaders, you'll only add to their dominance."
- Jon Spoelestra

I love Jon's book "Marketing Outrageously". He has some great insight (much like Seth Godin) on differentiation. He's absolutely right, copying the 800lb gorilla only solidifies his place in the minds of consumers. As human beings, we're trained to only recognize differences.

I believe it's one reason why Apple is experiencing a comeback. Their products are always different from their competitors. The iMac, iPod, iBook, Final Cut, iTunes, etc... They have done a great job at breaking through the clutter and creating products that appeal to a wide audience, work pretty easily, and make money for shareholers. Apple doesn't copy anyone. Remember when the iMac launched w/ it's crazy translucent colors? How many accessory companies jumped on that bandwagon? The sea of translucent teal was insane.

Their innovation made them appear bigger than their marketshare and it pays off in profit.

Daily Quote - Project Mgmt & Design

2006-04-04T13:47:00.000-04:00

"Method goes far to prevent trouble in business; for it makes the task easy, hinders confusion, saves abundance of time, and instructs those that have business pending, both what to do and what to hope for."
- William Penn

No truer words have been spoken when it comes to getting your marketing & sales projects out the door. As a Certified Project Manager, I naturally gravitate towards method as opposed to chaos.

But too often people feel that momentum is more important than purpose. Hence another old adage, "haste makes waste." And there is no shortage of waste in most large corporations. The funny thing is that most creatives will identify with the above passages as well as project or marketing managers. For a designer to really put her best foot forward for her client, she must truly understand the what's and why's of the project. Having a standardized process that pulls out that information at the beginning of a project is critical to success. I've read that you can tell whether a project will come in on time and on budget as early as 15% into the project.

Put some method to the madness. And maybe the madness will slow enough to become more effective.

Marketing by #'s

2006-04-03T10:47:00.000-04:00

Great post by Dale Wolf

Marketing managers have to embrace the data-driven side of life. Direct marketing is very effective and truly measurable. Given the state of 30 second TV spots, no wonder the finance folks have a hard time investing in marketing/branding.

The better you understand your customer, the better messages & offerings you can create for them. The more effective the message, the more likely your customers will act. Action is ROI and ROI gets budget dollars.

How to build your elevator pitch

2006-04-03T10:01:00.000-04:00

If you've ever struggled with how to anwser "What do you do", then this will help you. It's a great starting point. I recommend filling in the blanks and continuing to refine this until it's conversational and easy to say.

ala Mad-Libs...

You know how some (target audience) experience (problem), which means that (outcome of problem)? Well, what we can do is (solution); and the benefit of that is (benefit). Would you like to know more?

Daily Quote

2006-04-03T09:58:00.000-04:00

"You can have innovation without branding, but you can't have branding without innovation."

- Sir Martin Sorrell

Creative Brief Part II: Audience = customers...

2006-04-02T19:18:00.000-04:00

I don't know how many times I've seen the "Audience" section of a creative/project brief filled in with simply "purchasing directors" or "executives" or worse "customers". While this may be accurate at the most basic level, it is far from enough information to base marketing/design choices on.

Much like the last post on creative briefs, the Audience section is more about why this project is important to the audience, not just their title. You should include demographics, psychographics, business concerns, and any other market research data you have available on this targeted segment of your audience. The more detailed the better.

Your message will be ignored if your message is not tailored to what your audience wants and/or needs to hear. Today's consumers are too busy to take time to figure out how a particular product or service helps them.

Your marketing collateral needs to be:

easily understood
to the point
laden with customer benefits
easy to act upon the call-to-action

Don't talk about you; talk about how your product will make their life easier, save them money, or make them a superstar. Put yourself your customer's shoes. Figure out how they want to be communicated with (medium), figure out how often (frequency), and figure out what they need to hear in order to take immediate action (differentiated & benefit-focused message).

In order for your design team/agency to build effective collateral like above, your marketing staff needs to be able to clearly articulate more about the audience than their business title.

What do you do for a living?

2006-03-30T21:36:00.000-05:00

Interesting post from the Small Agency Diary on AdAge...

As a former corporate America marketing manager, I too run for the hills when I meet traditional ad agency folks- even though I work for a company in a similar space. I believe that times have changed. Traditional advertising methods are not as effective as they were a decade ago. Consumers are too savvy. They are too innundated with marketing messages. They demand more control over their experiences because they know they have choices. Choice is the very reason that network TV ads are only truly effective for the very few mega-corps that have hundreds of millions of dollars for brand advertising. Unless you can match McDonalds, Pepsi, Coke, Bud Light, you will be overshadowed and likely not get the biggest bang for your buck.

Consumers are flooded with roughly 3,000 marketing impressions per day. TV, radio, outdoor, email, website, newspaper, voicemail, vehicle, vending machine, storefront, etc.... The majority of these impressions are not targeted enough to make a consumer react.

Moral of the story, no one wants to be part (read spend valuable budget dollars) of a non-effective industry. Change the game. Solve the executive's true problems. Make them more profitable, increase employee productivity, decrease their cash cycle. These are things that traditional ad agencies have a hard time addressing. I believe there will always be a place for brand advertising, but that place in business is radically smaller than what it was a decade ago. Smaller, point-of-pain solution providers are increasing their strategic value and getting the dollars that were not spent effectively with the big ad guys.

Creative Briefs Part I: Why not What...

2006-03-27T11:30:00.000-05:00

Over the years I've worked in both in-house creative teams and with outside agencies. Pretty much everyone involved will agree that a creative brief is an essential element to each project. But I've seen briefs vary widely. So I wanted to break down my view of what a creative brief should consist of and why.

First off, the brief is more about the why's behind the project than it is about what the project is supposed to be. The brief isn't the answer to the problem; it defines the problem so that the team can find an appropriate solution within a given budget & timeline.

I've seen a lot of marketing & sales staff put a lot of thought into exactly what they want their creative team to work on; but they rarely tell the creatives why they are asking for those items. For example, a typical website brief will include directions on how many pages, what copy goes on those pages and how they link together. That's great, but the creative team needs to understand why & how you came to those conclusions in order to truly develop an effective website that addresses the audience's needs.

Good creative teams are not button pushers. They can and should be a valuabe part of your strategic team. NOTE: I'll be the first to admit that it's the creatives fault that they do not have a seat at the table, but that's why I write this blog. Back on topic, your creative team should be a group of problem solvers. Working together, you work towards a common solution with different perspectives of the project. And that's great - it's the way it's supposed to be. Marketing & sales staff are good at the things creatives are not; and vice versa. The two halves equal the whole.

So next time you have a project. Explain the why's. Tell the creative team why you need this deliverable, what's the business problem you're trying to fix, why the audience needs a certain product, why you want specific colors and fonts, etc... If both teams are equal partners in the success of the project, both have a say in the best way to address the problem. And that's the way it should be.

How good is good enough?

2005-12-30T14:06:00.000-05:00

Wow, that’s a tough one in the marketing communications space. Obviously you want your project to accurately reflect your message, unique value prop, brand, etc… But the real heart of the question is “are you willing to pay for it; to wait for it”?

In my experience, most marketing managers do not understand nor participate in the creative process. That is not the fault of the marketing manager, it’s the responsibility of the creative team to include, listen to, and integrate the business people early and often.

On the opposite side, most designers do not understand or participate in the budget planning and scheduling phase of projects. A good designer is more concerned about doing things the right way or for the right reason than they are about timelines and how that relates to budget.

I believe that a lot of these issues are solved with open & honest conversation. The more transparent the better. The marketing folks need to understand what is causing the root business problem that they are asking the design folks to fix. The designers need to understand the contraints that define the project related to time & money and how to produce the best possible work within those constraints. In short a team that trusts one another and works together to solve the common problem. Not a team that throws half-baked guidance over the wall and expects "magic" to happen on a one day turn-around and for less than you pay the kid that cuts your yard (which happens to equal roughly $40 for 20 minutes of work or $120/hr; think about it).

What will you do differently if good enough isn't enough for your customers?