Highlighting the good things people are doing with marketing

Monthly Archives: September 2008

A kinder, gentler protest culture? A small rant to close the week

Posted on September 26, 2008 in Randomness

These last couple of weeks have been miserable for the world economy…but some people in Germany have found a way to digest all of this with a melody.  As my wife and I were watching the German news tonight, we discovered a new cultural phenomenon…singing complainers.

Yes, you heard me right…singing complainers.

Could this be the rise of a kinder, gentler protest culture?

Apparently, this is not just a German phenomenon.  What started out as an art project has now become groups of people all over the world, banding together to sing sweet melodies of dissent.  In fact, there is even a slick website where you can learn more about the rising complaints choir fad.

What has happened to all the real protesters and dissenters?  Where are the Berkeley types & MLKs when you need them?

My 2 cents:  If you are going to complain & “fight the power” at least go a bit bigger or do something meaningful that sparks some reaction! Don’t go around town on a rainy Saturday singing about your cold latte after a disappointing afternoon at Starbucks.

So, there you have it…a bit of a rant on m-cause (this does not happen too often).

Whew…what a week!

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What would you do with $3 Trillion…???

Posted on September 24, 2008 in Randomness

I just saw a video that lays out the staggering cost of the war in IRAQ.  According to the video, the US Govt. may spend as much as $3 Trillion for the war in IRAQ.  VIDEO LINK

I never imagined that we would reach the Trillion $ mark (Donald Rumsfeld originally estimated that the war would cost $60 Billion or so).

As I often write about causes on this blog, I was wondering what we could fund with $3 Trillion…

We could relieve the entire debt burden of Africa (currently estimated at $300 Billion, depending on the source).

We could also make a significant dent in climate change (practically buying the entire Amazon + other key “earth lung” regions).

We could fight world poverty in a BIG way & think about all the money we could spend on fighting cancer/AIDS, etc…!


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Brief chat with P&G’s new Global Marketing Officer

Posted on September 20, 2008 in Interviews

Marc Pritchard, P&G’s new Global Marketing Officer, held a forum this week in Geneva, and I had a chance to briefly talk with him after the session.

As Marc had already addressed a wide range of issues that I discuss regularly on this blog (marketing purpose, digital marketing, sustainability, etc.) during the session, I decided to ask him how he planned to interact with the global marketing community as he steps into his new role.  Marc said that he would probably put together a couple of external councils, etc. and that he was open to any new ideas we had for him in this area.

We also briefly discussed the blogosphere; he was very interested in the space and where it was all going.  He mentioned that he is a big fan of internal blogging & he was looking forward to watching it grow within P&G…while I agreed with him that internal blogging needs to expand, I also noted that external blogging offers so much more in terms of diversity of opinion and audience.  Indeed, I have really enjoyed the connections made with such a diverse range of external marketers around the globe during my short time in the blogosphere.

I found Marc to be very personable and approachable.  If you happen to run into him at an external engagement, I recommend that you try to catch up with him for a chat.

So, just a short note today to fill you in on a brief, but interesting conversation I had during this week of bulls and bears…

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How can a marketer leave consumption behind?

Posted on September 17, 2008 in Lifestyle, Social Entreprenuers

Just how overrated is consumption?

Gaurav Mishra is trying to answer some pretty heavy questions about the nature of consumption in his blog to book experiment, The Marketer Who Went Off Consumption.

As global warming breathes down our collective necks and we enter “the age of responsibility” we should all probably question our consumption habits. Do we really need all this things?  Why does XMAS now just have to be about the gifts?  What if we all really made a commitment to just live a bit simpler & unclutter our lives?

Gaurav believes that “owning, buying, hoarding” is shifting into a experience, share/exchange/giving mindset.

At times in my life I have lived pretty lean.  During my days at West Point, I basically survived with a radio, computer & a bed.  Once you live like this for a few years, you realize that you really don’t need much.  My wife sometimes jokes that I could probably live like a monk and not have a problem…though we live relatively lean in Europe right now, we could certainly still clear out about half of our stuff and be just fine.

I am interested in hearing more from this “Amish marketer:” Keep going Gaurav…

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Does Reality Bite? Or are authentic “reality products” the future? Patagonia case study

Posted on September 13, 2008 in M-products, Marketing, Purpose Products

In today’s world, we are fascinated by reality & authenticity.  Reality TV, YouTube @home stars, etc…we all want more authenticity.  Indeed, authenticity is a key buzz word in the new marketing world.  People long to connect with other authentic people.  People want to buy authentic products…and people want to work for authentic companies.

Fakers

Consumers currently in their consumption prime (esp. Gen Xers) crave authenticity because they are just plain sick of fakers and shakers in their lives.  Too many “personality first” politicians have been exposed. Enron + Worldcom and other blockbuster scandals have only added salt onto the wounds of the consumer psyche.  Trust in anyone and anything is simply at an all-time low.

Was the “Personality Ethic” partially to blame?

Did the years of personality-ethic driven training within the success literature lead us astray?  As Steven Covey notes in his landmark book The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, the post WWI success literature put the slick, image driven personality ethic ahead of the character ethic.   Maybe the recent extreme interest in authenticity signals that the era of the personality ethic is coming to an end...Social media side note: Steven Covey has just launched an online community site called the Steven R. Covey community.  He even has a blog–which I only recently discovered–sadly, it seems that there has not been a post since May 08, which means it is probably abandoned)

You just can’t get away:

Now, almost every institution and every person is subject to the new era of micro-reporting.  Blogging, micro-blogging, camera phones, i-Reporting, Google, you name it…it is all out there.  And if your secrets are not out there yet, they will be soon.   If we thought we could get away using personality driven tactics, smile solutions…and “lipstick on a pig” marketing, we were wrong.  This is especially true in the new world of “Green marketing”.  Just as companies began sensing the rising consumer concern for the environment and Greener consumption, savvy consumers started pushing back against the deluge of Greenwashing.

Reality Products?:

So, what are companies doing about all of this?  One example I recently saw that really blew me away was Patagonia’s Footprint Chronicles.  While companies around the globe are trying to figure out how best to maneuver in the burgeoning Green revolution, Patagonia is taking bold steps to lead the way.  Patagonia’s Footprint Chronicles actually tracks and openly EXPOSES the environmental impact of Patagonia’s products via a unique website.  What I found interesting about this very transparent website was that Patagonia openly discusses the good, the bad, and the ugly of its own global supply chain.   Indeed, this move boldly and strategically elevates the idea of reality and transparency within the enterprise.  Will Patagonia’s amazingly deep level of openness usher in a new expectation for Global Firms?  Or, will Patagonia struggle to answer some of the questions that are now being raised about its supply chain…ultimately bogging itself down operationally?  Could this even create a PR nightmare if Patagonia cannot better explain what it is doing differently to reduce its environmental footprint?

Whatever the outcome, you have to applaud the risk taking and green leadership at Patagonia.  Right now, Patagonia is exposing 15 “Reality Products” to naked eye scrutiny.  Will they stop there?

What do you think about this reality product trend?

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Best advertising slogans of all time & other links from today

Posted on September 11, 2008 in Future of Marketing, Marketing, Randomness

The Best Advertising Slogans of All Time According to Digg Users:  This is a fun article that should remind us all about the power of mass messaging.  How often have you walked around with a jingle in your head after an evening of TV watching?  I admit that I do this all the time (OK, I work in marketing, so I am probably more susceptible to this).   My personal favorite on this list is: RICE-A-RONI, THE SAN FRANCISCO TREAT.  Though I don’t remember eating tons of Rice a Roni as a kid, I always loved this jingle for some reason.

What would Stuttgart look like after Global Warming? My Canadian brother-in-law is very creative, and as a Canadian I think he fully understands the weight of his national obligation to follow in the proud Canadian comedic tradition.  Aren’t the funniest North Americans secretly Canadian? I can think of a few…Mike Myers, Jim Carrey, John Candy, Dan Aykroyd, the list goes on & on.   In this funny post, Fraser attempts to weave in Elvis, Elephants & Flamigos into a montage of what the future would look in Stuttgart after Global warming.

A Job for the Future: Kevin Roberts (ex P&Ger & now Saatchi & Saatchi CEO) puts together his list of some ad/marketing career titles for the future.  My personal favorites from this list are the Creative Connector and the Professional Optimist.  The Creative connector is going to have to “Connect people with people, ideas with ideas, images with images, insight with foresight”. Kevin was probably joking about the professional optimist title (would you be fired for frowning?)  But, what a great thought…indeed, the world needs more positive thinkers.  Positive thoughts, expressions and words can do so much for a company culture.

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Black holes in marketing and potentially in my backyard

Posted on September 10, 2008 in Geneva, Randomness

As most of you know, I live in Geneva, Switzerland.  A few months ago I talked about the potential for mini black holes appearing in my backyard once the Large Hadron Collider at CERN started full operations.  Well, today, scientists cranked up the biggest atom smasher in the world inside a 17-mile (27-kilometer) long tunnel underneath the French-Swiss border.  The Collider ushered in a new era of scientific discovery by firing its first proton beam down a large circular tube.

If you don’t hear from me for a few weeks, then perhaps I have been sucked into a mini black hole of nothingness…

Speaking of black holes of nothingness.  What would you consider “black holes” in marketing?  Would you consider a black hole of marketing to be the infamous “middle”…that dark area that you cannot defend because it is too wide or there are too many players?

Here is a great post on black holes in marketing…below is an excerpt from that post:

The poet Yeats said, “Things fall apart; the center cannot hold.” The center is untenable. The biggest brands usually have a big enough base to straddle the middle. The specialists cling to the edge. The rest have one of these characteristics-

1. They try to appeal to all sides, but they don’t have the wherewithal to stretch that far.
2. They have a niche, but no exclusivity.
3. They strangle themselves by hiring poor employees.
4. They fall easy prey to stronger players who delight to under-price and out-service them.

The drown-ees are stuck in the middle of the pool, can’t swim, have no life-preserver and no paddle.

Here’s what they need to do:

1. A Persian proverb says, “No matter how far you’ve traveled down the wrong path, turn back.
2. Cut your losses and begin again. You’ve already stopped to smell the roses, so act.
3. Get back to basics and create a useful brand. Pick an edge to the perceptual map and latch on to it with a strong product and appealing positioning.

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Meaningless search impressions? + Other Stuff that caught my eye recently…

Posted on September 6, 2008 in Marketing, Randomness

Meaningless Search Impressions? In a recent post on the excellent marketingwitheaning* blog, Bob Gilbreath discusses recent search studies from Google and Yahoo.  Both studies seem to indicate that unclicked search impressions have the potential to build CPG businesses.  Bob believes the studies could be flawed.

This is a really interesting debate and kudos to Bob for pushing the search giants to go deeper here.  I agree with Bob…it would have been great to have these studies linked to an impartial organization. However, I don’t think the CPG world can ignore search for much longer; it is simply becoming such an important part of the consumer journey toward final purchase.  And, at least the search leaders have realized that they need to provide more data if they want to move the CPG world deeper into the search world.  Having said that…we are subject to the tyranny of cascading choices when it comes to marketing spend and if the search giants cannot provide a deeply compelling argument (via data) then I expect that the CPG world will continue to lag everyone else in search.  Having said all of this I wonder if creating more search engine clutter is really meaningful?   Can you imagine what will happen to search result pages if/when the CPG guys start really spending in this space?

Oh so many fun marketing choices in today’s fragmented media world!  Lets keep this conversation going…it is a good one.  Tks Bob.

Here is a quick rundown of a few other items that caught my eye as of late:

Bands Without Borders:  Founded by Nathan Marion, this is a non-profit trying to “Incite Bands & Fans to actively help children around the world”.  BWB is trying to connect musicians with humanitarian organizations that focus on helping children in the developing world.  BWB also reaches out to help non-profits reach younger audiences.  Here is an article about the organization.

Pampers/Unicef: Paul Jones writes a nice overview of P&G’s Pampers/Unicef cause marketing campaign.  The campaign is indeed a very good one…go and check-out Paul’s post for all the details.  Tks for the heads up Steve!

People’s Popsicle:  People’s popsicle buys locally-grown fruits and herbs from several New York City Greenmarket’s and then transforms them into ice-cold popsicles and shave-ice…I discovered these guys over on PSFK…Too bad we don’t have these treats in Geneva yet!  Looks like someone local will have to start s-thing up.

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Friday inspiration from Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

Posted on September 5, 2008 in Inspiration

Looking for some weekend inspiration?

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. is ultra-inspiring.  I love how he had the courage to “call everyone out” back in the 60s.  Dr. King never ceased to motivate people.  He was passionate about pushing people to wake up and change.  And, he was passionate about purpose…every time I read his stuff, I get serious chills.

I love what he says at the bottom of this excerpt, so please read on down until the end.  Thanks to Tim Ferriss for posting this & reminding me about this speech.

So here is our Friday inspiration and call to action/purpose from the man himself.

“I say to you, this morning, that if you have never found something so dear and precious to you that you will die for it, then you aren’t fit to live.

You may be 38 years old, as I happen to be, and one day, some great opportunity stands before you and calls upon you to stand for some great principle, some great issue, some great cause. And you refuse to do it because you are afraid.

You refuse to do it because you want to live longer. You’re afraid that you will lose your job, or you are afraid that you will be criticized or that you will lose your popularity, or you’re afraid that somebody will stab or shoot or bomb your house. So you refuse to take a stand.

Well, you may go on and live until you are ninety, but you are just as dead at 38 as you would be at ninety.

And the cessation of breathing in your life is but the belated announcement of an earlier death of the spirit.

You died when you refused to stand up for right.

You died when you refused to stand up for truth.

You died when you refused to stand up for justice.”

-Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
From the sermon “But, If Not” delivered at Ebenezer Baptist Church on November 5, 1967.

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Past performance is not an indicator of future success

Posted on September 4, 2008 in Marketing, Randomness

People love benchmarking.  Companies love benchmarking.  Marketers love benchmarking Keeping up with the Joneses (I never particularly liked that catchphrase for obvious reasons) is our favorite past time.

Benchmarking is supposed to keep us on our toes.  It is supposed to remind us that there is always someone or something better out there.  Benchmarking sets a standard…business students are taught “if you can’t measure it, you can’t manage it”. Marketers analyze market data and compare their standing vs. competition;   they benchmark their media spending against competition; they benchmark advertising creative, etc. etc. etc.

But when does benchmarking just go to far?  Have you ever wondered why almost all fast food chains look alike in some weird way?  Do we just benchmark to find out what everyone else is doing, so we can more or less copy and think a lot less?  When we benchmark, do we decide to make something a little less expensive, a little more luxurious…in other words, are we going for merely incremental improvements vs. thinking way outside of the box.

Don’t get me wrong, benchmarking is necessary evil at some level.   I know I have been motivated by watching others or comparing myself to others.  Indeed, it sometimes helps to get a sense for what the other guys & gals are doing.  But too much looking over your shoulder at the other guy can produce an unwillingness to take bold risks.  Too much benchmarking is probably not healthy if we aim to create big breakthrough innovation in anything we do professionally or personally.

Benchmarking is really “rear-view mirror thinking” that can give us an idea of where we are…but it won’t tell us where we are going.  And, at its worst, benchmarking can lead us into all kinds of complacency & overconfidence.

So what are your thoughts about benchmarking in business, the blogosphere, in your personal life, or whatever?  Are you tired of benchmarking?

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