Imported from Detroit.

The best ad from the Superbowl was great because it wasn't an ad at all.  Today's marketing is about interacting with consumers and this "ad" did just that - while utilizing traditional media.  The ad spoke to the emotion in all of us.  The ad assured us that we can come back from the tough few years that we, as a nation, have experienced.  Chrysler spoke to us honestly and with pride.  They used a "tough town" to represent a "tough nation."

A True Story About Today's Buyers

We read all the time that people are buying differently now.  They are interacting with your brand differently and therefore we all need to consider how we can sell differently.  I had one heck of an example of this as my husband and I headed out to purchase a TV recently.

It should be noted that my husband and I vary significantly in regard to how we buy.  I love the relationship aspect of things. He loves reading online reviews.  I am a quick start.  He enjoys research.  I am in marketing and design.  He is literally a strange combination of lawyer and engineer.  In addition, it should be noted that our ages vary slightly.  I am in my mid to late twenties and he is in his early to mid thirties. 

We spent four and a half months sans television.  For me that meant four and a half months of discussing what we wanted, how important it was to us and what features we were looking for.  For my husband, those four and half months meant RESEARCH, RESEARCH, RESEARCH!

So, we started our day at a giant chain store that sells televisions among a lot of other electronics.  We stood between two televisions and talked to a sales person for nearly an hour.  I could see my husband's anxiety level rising without his computer in front of him to help direct his decision.  He had low trust in this sales person, with a nice blue shirt on, while I liked the guy and had a lovely time with him and his 3D glasses as we checked out the next generation televisions (outside of our budget).

The husband soon broke up our party by indicating that he needed to go home and do more research - he was not ready to buy and nothing this guy would do could change that.  So, we headed home, refueled and he spent 2+ hours on his trust-worthy computer. 

We headed back out that evening.  This time to a local store that promised knowledgeable staff and good value.  We spent another hour there, enjoyed the VERY knowledgeable staff person, and walked out empty handed.

We headed home again.  My husband stayed up until 2 am continuing to research while I slept upstairs with dreams of flat screens and high definition pictures fluttering through my head.  The next morning he announced that he was ready.  So, we fueled up and headed back to store number one (he had higher trust in their brand although their staff person didn't seem as informative).  We literally walked in, talked to no one, he picked up one end of the TV while I picked up the other and we headed to the check-out.

There are so many lessons in this story but here are a few that I pulled out.  My husband, a well educated thirty-something, needs his online research.  He trusts referrals and online communities but at the end of the day he buys from the well-known brand, not the sales person.  He's a funny combination of new and old school while being proof that marketing is evolving but the basics continue to stay the same. 

As for me, I also find comfort in the online communities, the sea of reviews and flooded comments on quality, but at the end of the day, I like the experience.  I like the guy with the 3D glasses who talks to me about the new town that I just moved to.

Dear Future Me,
Good luck house shopping!

Taking the Coffee out of Starbucks?

I literally just finished reading "Pour Your Heart Into It: How Starbucks Built A Company One Cup at a Time," by Howard Schultz.  So, I was surprised to see them take the "coffee" out of their logo.  After all their mission statement - as published in the book - is to "establish Starbucks as the premier provider of the finest coffee in the word."

I guess the question that remains is: what makes a company great?  Is sticking to your core equity a statement of a strong company or rather is the ability to evolve over time more the test? 

2010: A Marketing Year in Review

Thanks to the new issue of Marketing News, I got inspired to throw my two cents into the ring in regards to a couple different brand-impacting stories from 2010.

Toyota
What happened?  Toyota recalled 2.3 million vehicles to fix "sticking" accelerator pedals in January.  Days later, other acceleration issues prompted Toyota to expand a separate recall of 4.2 million Toyota and Lexus vehicles to include 1.1 million additional vehicles.

What was the marketing strategy?  They began by issuing apology ads that stressed their history, described their response to the recall and reinforced their devotion to safety and technology.  In addition, they posted ads on YouTube instructing drivers on what to do should their cars suddenly accelerate and in the spring and summer they began running ads further emphasizing their committment to safety.

My thoughts?  I thought their first round of ads were impactful.  They spoke to a concerned audience whose confidence had been shaken.  The tone was calm and the story, clear.  However, as the tone evolved and the committment to safety took front stage, I thought it was a little soon.  As in any marketing and advertising, you have to keep in mind your audience's emotions and ensure 'believability' in your message.  I think the safey ads beckoned more eye rolls than Toyota could afford given their timing.

Conan O'Brien Leaves The Tonight Show
What happened?  After taking over the coveted host role on the The Tonight Show in 2009 Conan O'Brien was amidst entertainment chaos when NBC announced in January that Leno would be returning to late night bumping O'Brien to a later time slot.  After much discussion, O'Brien took a settlement from NBC and announced he would host a talk show on TBS in April.

What was the marketing strategy?  TBS made its campaign for O'Brien's new show "very fan-forward."  Utilizing social media such as YouTube and Facebook as well as a website set-up in honor of O'Brien's fans, TBS maintained O'Brien's sense of humor in all avenues.  Their strategy maintained the sense of community that had built up around O'Brien as he departed NBC and profiled fans, sponsored off-the-wall constests, utlized Twitter and unveiled original videos.  In addition, TBS leveraged the color orange in print ads as well as a Conan blimp that appeared over ballparks.

My thoughts?  The first rule of marketing?  Know. Your. Audience. And TBS did.  TBS did a great job of tapping into the unique energy of Conan followers and continues to promote his brand online.

The Gulf of Mexico Oil Spill
What happened?  In case you were living under a rock this year, on April 20, an oil rig working on an underwater well in the Gulf of Mexico for London-based BP plc exploded, killing 11 people and creating what would become the largest oil spill in U.S. history.

What was the marketing strategy?  BP granted interviews with their then CEO and had their PR representatives working around the clock to spread information about how the company was working to fix the leak, lead clean-up efforts and provide financial compensation to affected individuals, businesses and government entities.  BP utilized all avenues to communicate their response in a very point-blank, talk straight to camera, style.

My thoughts?  In contrast to Toyota, BP seemed to spend the majority of their energy telling their story rather than trying to move on too quickly.  Although this story continues to play out, my opinion is that BP's marketing syle is pretty effective and informative.

Does Your Business Have the Blues?

It's been a tough few years for businesses.  But color master, Pantone, has just the thing (or shade) to turn things around.  They announced this week that their color of the year for 2011 is an intense pink they call "honeysuckle" (or to be more exact Pantone 18-2120 TCX).

The color is intended to help sell products and evokes a much needed sense of optimism.  “In times of stress, we need something to lift our spirits. Honeysuckle is a captivating, stimulating color that gets the adrenaline going – perfect to ward off the blues,” Leatrice Eiseman, executive director of the Pantone Color Institute said in a press release.

So, how can your business incoporate this bright hue into your daily interactions?

How's my logo working in the optimistic shade?

Lessons Learned from a Career Yet to Come.

I am a runner.  I am a marketer.  I am a sister.  I am a writer.  I am emotional.  I am a blogger.  I am a wife.  I am a daughter.  I am creative.  I am a subordinate.  I am bossy.  I am persistent.  I am a friend.  I am a candidate for motherhood.  I am a designer.  I never knew that with a degree in advertising tucked in my back pocket that I would need to be all of the above to make it in the marketing world.

This story begins with the runner.  I ran my first half-marathon in October 2009. I began the race like I began my career – with a playlist full of songs sure to motivate me to conquer the world.  Conquer the world?  Yes.  Because as I graduated college I did utter the words:  ‘I will save the world, one kidney patient at a time.’

Unfortunately, my headphones were broken and I didn’t hear a single song.  But, like in my career, I decided to listen to all the things I never planned to hear – the runners' shoes hitting the pavement, the pride in the voices of people cheering me on and my gut instinct on whether to pick up the pace or slow it down.

At mile eight, I ran over a bridge and watched leaves fall slowly over a river. I had a moment of clarity where I knew what I wanted in life and how to get it. This feeling was familiar; I remember it from when I graduated college and at varying moments since. Post-college I was managing a graphic design studio in Des Moines, IA and in doing so creating award-winning marketing programs for clients.

Since then I have been part of a marketing team that at its peak – prior to the dear ‘great recession’ – was eight professionals deep.  At its valley?  It was just me.

This clarity – from the leaves falling and the pride felt when you think you are successful at creating world-changing marketing materials and withstanding rightsizing to the utmost – surely meant that I could do more with my skills.  I could run faster.  I could be bigger.  I could go elsewhere?  Literally and figuratively, I fell down only two and a quarter miles later.

The fall felt like those low moments in careers that we all inevitably go through. I slowed down afterwards and had a hard time figuring out how – with a swollen knee and a cut hand – I was going to continue and finish this race with my head held high.   I did.

Well, I finished the half-marathon that is.  As for the full race – my career – it’s still taking shape.  At the end of the 13.1 miles I did not feel like I could turn around and run it again and five years into my career, I feel the same way.  But I think I will.  I’ll run another half-marathon and maybe even the full 26.2 miles someday.

I write this as a lesson to myself and others as we head out to create meaningful careers even when times are increasingly tough.  Great marketing is about finding the truth in what we are communicating and I truly believe marketing is at the core of all we do.

What I’ve learned is that my truth lies somewhere in that intro-mantra.