A blog about marketing, causes and a variety of topics in the “goodsphere”

Category Archives: Future of Marketing

Marketing goes deeper into the brain

Posted on February 4, 2009 in Future of Marketing

Should marketers just give up on traditional consumer research & use neuromarketing in the future?  That was the first question that popped into my mind after reading a book called buy*ology over the weekend.

I’ll get to my second question in a second…

Buy*ology is a very interesting book that I skipped over in 2008, but decided to quickly have a look at into the new year on a tip from Dave Knox over at Hard Knox Life.  The book is basically about a set of neuromarketing experiments conducted by Martin Lindstrom.  Sitting at the crossroads of marketing and science, neuromarketing could be a dream consumer research technique for marketers in the future.  Neuromarketing allows researchers to literally peer into the brains of consumers by using high tech fMRI (functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging) technology.

Here is more on the promise of Neuromarketing from Lindstrom’s website:

Until now, most marketing, advertising and branding strategies have been built on qualitative and quantitative market research. The fact is, roughly 90% of our consumer buying behavior is unconscious, and we can’t actually explain our preferences…with any accuracy. So market surveys and customer questionnaires are of dubious value. As brands pour millions of dollars into advertising that may or may not hit the mark, we realize that the time has come for a paradigm shift. Advertisers need to know what directs our buying decisions. NeuroMarketing…circumvents the question and answer approach of conventional research. A non-verbal research method, NeuroMarketing bypasses a subject’s claims by going straight to the source and examining the consumer’s brain responses.

But now my second question: Isn’t neuromarketing somewhat Orwellian?

As I read the book, admittedly I felt somewhat conflicted about this brain scanning technique.  Though I am a Brand Manager, I am also a consumer and I’m not sure if I want “Big Brother” getting deeper into my head in this way.

Lindstrom himself does not deny that their is a big debate around neuromarketing.  On his site, he smartly discusses the issue and even openly links to Commercial Alert, a consumer advocacy group that has petitioned the Senate to end neuromarketing.

Commercial Alert worries that marketers will use neuromarketing to “subjugate the mind.”   They go further to say that the technique could be used as political propaganda “potentially leading to new totalitarian regimes, civil strife, wars, genocide and countless deaths.”

Though I see the potential for neuromarketing…no more failed product launches, less guesswork on which brandline to push, etc. I have a lot of sympathy for Commercial Alert’s cause.  And, as neuromarketing is a young science, the jury is still out if brain scanning really is a better predictor of buying behavior as this blog post points out.

If you are more interested in Neuromarketing, 60 minutes recently did a segment on the topic which you can check out here.

Any thoughts out there on this?

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Schoolvertising

Posted on December 5, 2008 in Causes, Future of Marketing, Randomness

    photo from StarrGazr

17 + x = 68 and oh by the way, “Brace Yourself for a Great Semester!’”

OK, I know everyone remembers taking big, ugly math tests in school. So imagine that you sit down to start your algebra test…you look over to the right side of the page and you see an almost Google like text ad from the local dentist. Shocked, you then scroll down the page and you see an inspirational quote from your ex-girlfriend’s mom. WHAT?

Interestingly, this is exactly the situation that many kids in the San Diego school district found themselves in recently. It sounds sick, but this schoolvertising was actually for a cause. Yes indeed, a teacher found himself without enough budget to make copies for his students…so, like any good marketing savvy teacher, he decided to get innovative and sell some ad space on his tests. This is how Commercial Alert describes the situation:

When administrators at Rancho Bernardo announced the district was cutting spending on supplies by nearly a third, (Tom) Farber had a problem. At 3 cents a page, his tests would cost more than $500 a year. His copying budget: $316. But he wanted to give students enough practice for the big tests they’ll face in the spring, such as the Advanced Placement exam.

“Tough times call for tough actions,” he says. So he started selling ads on his test papers: $10 for a quiz, $20 for a chapter test, $30 for a semester final.

Apparently school supply issues are nothing new…The National Education Association says teachers spend about $430 out of their pockets each year for school supplies. DonorsChoose is an organization that helps teachers out…on the site teachers are matched with donors & they can get help. They even have a blog…

Those with kids may want to head on over to DonorsChoose and give the teachers a hand. I’m a marketer, and even I don’t want to hear about ads popping up on quizzes. There are already too many distractions out there for kids today…

Hat tip to Rob Walker for the schoolvertising link.

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A Crowdsourcedworld…Jeff Howe & the power of driving crowds

Posted on October 12, 2008 in Future of Marketing

Below is short post just to let you know what I am thinking about at the moment.

Crowdsourcing is hot right now & it is on my mind.  I just picked up a copy of the highly anticipated Crowdsourcing book by Jeff Howe.  I also like his blog which continues to examine the crowdsourcing topic in real time…indeed, it seems that as technology progresses, more & more activities in more & more categories can now be “crowdsourced”.  Jeff even had his own book cover design “crowdsourced”, which I find pretty cool (you can find the designs that didn’t win his contest in the back of the book).

Here is a quick definition of crowdsourcing:  The act of taking a job traditionally performed by agencies/employees & outsourcing it to an undefined, generally large group of people in the form of an open call or contest

Jeff mentions in the book that one of the interesting things about crowdsourcing is that it provides answers to questions you didn’t even know you were asking.

I intend to write more on this topic at a later stage, however, I will leave you with Jeff’s 10 rules for crowdsourcing.  Some are obvious, but others are pearls of wisdom.

1. Pick the right model (crowd wisdom, crowd creation, crowd voting, or crowdfunding)

2. Pick the right crowd

3. Offer the right incentives

4. Keep the pink slips in the drawer (e.g. don’t fire everyone just because you can outsource it to the crowd)

5. Remember the benevolent Dictator Principle (crowds can turn into mobs…someone needs to provide guidance & strongly lead the activity)

6. Keep it simple

7.  Remember Sturgeon’s Law (90% of everything is crap)

8.  Remember the 10%, the antidote to Sturgeon’s Law

9.  The Community is always right

10.  Ask not what the crowd can do for you, but what you can do for the crowd

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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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What Legacy Will We Leave Behind?

Posted on June 22, 2008 in Future of Marketing

Over the weekend, I saw a great post on the future. John Grant, author of the book Green Marketing Manifesto and the blog Greenormal, asks us in a recent post Today’s Work, Tomorrow’s Heritage, to consider what we will leave behind as a useful cultural heritage for our great grandchildren…the generation who will be taking over in one hundred years time. Here are his top picks of the legacy we might leave behind (In his words)

1. Music. My hunch is people will still listen to the Beatles. That the folk music distribution system of the middle ages will return; and good tunes will endure.

2. Women’s empowerment. Probably the single greatest social change in recent centuries and the absolute key to future development and population control.

3. Buildings. Especially skyscrapers. These (along with landfill mining) will likely be the primary source of materials for making things in future; a deconstruction industry. As well as providing a standing reminder of our follies. In both ways they may function rather like ancient monuments.

4. Postmodernism. Not the confusing academic theory. But the idea of blending and bricolage - the delight of making new cultural ideas out of old (EaKo’s fire-hose fashion accessories being a current example).

5. The social venture. Where corporations were, community hybrids (public-private) ie cooperative-style organisations will be. We may still see massive global franchises for proven formulae (and not reinventing the wheel) but with local and/or employee ownership.

6. Open source. Restrictive IP and the modern cult of the patent is from a broader perspective, a key block on development and flexibility. And most breakthrough ideas originate in science parks and universities, not corporations.

7. Know-how. The stock of knowledge we have developed in the fat times may support us through the lean times; from medicine to nutrition to design.

8. Permaculture Design. The more I read about this, the more I think this is probably the key set of ideas of our age. One of its founders David Holmgren was profoundly influenced by Odum too. Permaculture will likely revolutionise agriculture; including their calls for turning every garden into a home farm.

9. The internet. I seriously doubt that current trivial uses will be affordable, but as an essential means to share good ideas, crowd-sourced innovation processes, support efficient markets and a global sense of belonging…

10. A cautionary tale. Our whole (from a future view) totally mad modern lifestyle will probably be taught as a negative example, to support the new culture. ‘Imagine a day when people used to throw things away’!

I really like John’s thinking and “future envisioning” exercise. John also mentions in the article that he would be surprised if the current marketing and advertising industry exists at all in 100 years–a bold and thought provoking statement! Here are a couple of thoughts from my side on his article:

#1. Music: I am not really sure people will still listen to the Beatles in 100 years. I don’t listen to anything from 1908 right now…and what is the folk music distribution system John is referring to? Does he mean bands will have to constantly tour to survive?  If so, that is already starting to happen now as the internet has turned the music world & business model “on its head”.

#5. Social Ventures: I would love to see John build more on this point. This is a very exciting area…we are already seeing new social venture funds (e.g. the Acumen Fund) spring up to help entrepreneurs come up with ways to solve pressing social issues–I recently posted about this here.

#9. Internet:  Even in a constrained resource future, I believe the internet will still be at the center of how we communicate and interact globally.  I don’t think that trivial internet usage will become too expensive…it will be fundamental to how all business is conducted and we will find innovative ways to keep it cheap and accessible (I hope!)

#10. Caution:  Agree…consumer (& corporate) behavior needs to change dramatically soon or we will put our great grandchildren’s future at risk.

Here is another article to get you thinking about this topic…

What will be our Legacy?


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