“Because the purpose of business is to create a customer, the business enterprise has two–and only two–basic functions: marketing and innovation. Marketing and innovation produce results; all the rest are costs. Marketing is the distinguishing, unique function of the business.”
Yet, time after time we see companies trot out responses to competition that aren’t much different than the competition. Witness the box like car pioneered by the Scion Xb, then the Honda Element, and now the Nissan Cube. Honda misjudged the primary market so badly for the Element- thinking young hipsters would be the primary market- and it ended up being a car for the practical geriatric set (don’t worry, Chrysler had the same experience with the PT Cruiser).
And then there is a crazy inventor named James Dyson. The man who made 5,127 prototypes before coming up with the vacuum that doesn’t lose suction as it does its job. Not only did the vacuum work better- it also looked better- bright yellow, in a land of beige and brown. It also proudly displayed your dirt- something other vacuums were skittish about.
He was able to charge a premium for his product, not because of better marketing, but because he had built a better product. How many times would I rather get a better product than a better advertising pitch: it’s a no brainer, every time.
Dyson Air Blade hand dryer
But the key to the Dyson brand is that they’ve continued to offer products that don’t look or act like other products. Just adding a ball to the vacuum wasn’t enough, next came the hand dryer- the “Air Blade” the scraped the water off your hands with one simple swipe through a wall of super fast air. It cut the time to dry hands by a third compared to other air dryers.
Now, Dyson introduces a fan- like no other. And, while the fan looks different, works different, it also solves a major safety issue (which I only found out once I tweeted about it- and a friend instantly retweeted- kid safe, no fan blades).
Dyson Air Multiplier fan
Sure it costs about 10 times more than the fan you can get at the local superstore, but, that’s what real innovation does- it gives a business a distinct competitive advantage. Here is the description from Dyson:
The Dyson Air Multiplier™ fan works very differently to conventional fans. It uses Air Multiplier™ technology to draw in air and amplify it 15 times, producing an uninterrupted stream of smooth air. With no blades or grill, it’s safe, easy to clean and doesn’t cause unpleasant buffeting.
Sure, Burger King has seen 20 consecutive quarters of same-store-sales-growth since it finally hired an ad agency that “gets it” (Crispin Porter + Bogusky) and then let them do their thing.
Of course for that to happen, you also need a Chief Marketing Officer who “gets it” and it seems Russ Klein has some pretty good insight on what to green light:
Mr. Klein: “Whopper Freakout” was a great example of tension and the way deprivation affects the way someone who is a loyal Whopper fan. We try to make all of our briefs hinge on some sort of social or anthropological insight that’s charged up with tension. It’s not like we’re trying to set our hair on fire to get tension.
The line that we put in bold italics should be on a big sign above any marketers desk. It’s much easier to get an emotional response to something that’s already got emotions attached.
No one cares about your nifty new twist on your features, advantages or benefits- no, they want to know what’s in it for them- in a way that makes them lust for your product and trust your company.
Interestingly enough, the article on the other side of the spread was “Why emotional messages beat rational ones.” This quote sums it up nicely:
What the data show us is that emotional campaigns are almost twice as likely to generate large profit gains than rational ones, with campaigns that use facts as well as emotions in equal measure fall somewhere between the two.
It turns out that emotional campaigns in general generate a wider range of desirable business effects, each of which plays its part in improving profitability. But they excel in one noteworthy area: reducing price sensitivity, and hence strengthening the ability of brands to secure a premium in the marketplace (or, in the current economic climate, to hold firm on pricing).
To create messages with meaning, start looking at what decisions a buyer has to make to choose your product, and think of how it fits into the rest of their life- then find what makes them uncomfortable and make it engaging or funny- be it the complexity of a car- broken down into the parts that go together like the Honda Cog ad they point to in the second article or the “Whopper Freakout” campaign. Either way- you’ll get more interest, which should translate into more sales.
While this is a story about a book, it’s really a story about the transformation in marketing.
There has to be a new authenticity, a new transparency and most of all, companies need to listen to their customers first, and maybe, only respond through action.
There are a few ad agencies that really understand relationship marketing and building brands based on emotional ownership over rational decision making processes- Wieden & Kennedy is one of them.
Since 2004 they’ve worked with Starbucks, a brand that’s been known as a poor client. When your agency fires you as a client, it’s time to do some introspection. Especially if you are a marquee type client.
Getting fired means you are doing something wrong, and Starbucks’ senior VP-marketing seems to be the first candidate for the introspection couch:
In a statement, Starbucks’ senior VP-marketing, Terry Davenport, said Wieden’s decision was a response to Starbucks’ recent move to ask a number of agencies it works with, including Wieden, to “provide ideas to move the brand forward. … And, as a result, Wieden has decided to opt out of the process,” he said.
While Wieden is Starbucks’ primary agency, the retailer has worked with a number of other agencies in recent years on co-branded products. Interpublic Group of Cos.’ DraftFCB, New York, is the primary shop on its grocery coffee business. Starbucks has also worked with Omnicom Group’s Goodby Silverstein & Partners on the bottled Frappucino beverages it co-markets with Pepsi and Energy BBDO for the coffee liqueur brand it co-marketed with Beam Global Wine & Spirits.
But Wieden, which also handled media buying and planning for the coffee roaster, as well as much of its in-store graphics work, had been responsible for the first large-scale advertising in Starbucks’ history, including its first TV push last winter.
Starbucks is a brand that’s a love it or hate it brand. Their market penetration is incredible, as I’m constantly reminded when I pop up my “Starbucks finder” on my iPhone and almost always find one nearby when the coffee urge hits my companions.
And here is where the fundamental problem exists: The best marketing and advertising that Starbucks can do- isn’t marketing or advertising in the traditional sense of the words- because it’s just not necessary. The focus should be on refining a voice through the brand touchpoints and building very tight relationships with their customers through Customer Relationship Management tools. This is hard for both a VP of Marketing to understand and hard for an ad agency to caculate a compensation program for.
Modern marketing techniques don’t come with conventional media billings- and for a company like Starbucks, they shouldn’t. But, an open mind of how to build relationships with customers should be the first order of discussion with any agency who is bold enough to take on this “difficult client.”
Our part of Ohio recently got hammered by a windstorm that did billions of dollars in damage, knocking out power for over a week for many people. While the national news has been covering the financial crisis and the effects of Hurricane Ike that wiped out parts of Galveston, for the people in the Midwest their immediate issues were with putting things back to normal.
Some astute companies turned the disaster into opportunity, while others lost respect. These are just some observations about how to turn lemons into lemonade when a disaster strikes.
Home Depot wins points for taking out full page ads offering no-interest for six months on purchases over $299 on their credit card to help repair storm damage. This came across as a sincere attempt to share the burdens of the storm with their customers.
Cincinnati Bell on the other hand, took this as an opportunity to mock Time Warner and digital phone which requires both a connection and electricity to work, while their phone service only requires a connection. Yes, the people who had switched to digital phone service had learned this lesson, however, gloating over the failure came across as crass and opportunistic. Their offer of a free Trimline phone, a $14.95 value was an even greater insult. Phones access in a crisis can be a matter of life and death for some, but, touting a $15 “gift” when people are sitting in the dark with rotting food in powerless refrigerators is just classless. There is also the question of deliver-ability- even if you called to take them up on their phone service- how fast could they hook you up while lines are still down?
Call centers also are an opportunity to make a good impression. Comparing the automated systems of the power company, DP&L with the cable company, Time Warner was a lesson in how to do it wrong from DP&L to how to do it right from Time Warner. The DP&L system never once acknowledged their failure to deliver a critical service or apologize for the outage. No information was available via phone, or online about projected repair time. Time Warner on the other hand, acknowledged their failure, apologized for service outages, explained what was causing the outage and advised that they were working as fast as possible to restore service but the nature of the storm and their dependence on DP&L to provide power was causing delays.
Even with the power out, many people were using laptops, cell phones, wi-fi hot spots to connect online and seek information. Restaurants that were open and serving food, did well to notify their customers via their site and through e-mail blasts. Hotels that had power, had customers. The ability to quickly update a website with the latest status, inventory or answer frequently asked questions online separated the winners from the losers in the midst of the crisis.
A large part of a brands value is measured in “goodwill” and when the chips are down, it is often the best test of how well you understand your brand and it’s position in the consumers psyche. Remember, it’s ok to reach out, but do it with a kind heart, not a greedy hand. Also, always address, acknowledge, apologize for any decrease in service. Pointing fingers usually end up sticking you in your own eye.
If anyone thinks there is room for exaggeration in advertising anymore, think again.
Truth and authenticity are the true currency of branding in a web 2.0 world.
Back in 1999 some guys got together and wrote a little thing called the “Cluetrain Manifesto” which built a good foundation for future marketers. My favorite one of their theses is number 12:
the cluetrain manifesto
There are no secrets. The networked market knows more than companies do about their own products. And whether the news is good or bad, they tell everyone.
And thanks to web 2.0 and search engines, there is no escaping the scrutiny of not just the press, but hundreds or thousands of empowered web citizens.
If you need an example, look at the recently announced Mac clone being offered by a no-name company called Psytar and what happens when you try to pose as legit without building a credible reputation first:
The post opens the door, the comments nail it to the jam. Everything from real estate records to previous sites to business licenses- uncovered by netizens. If you thought political wonks were like rabid attack dogs going after raw meat, look at what the Macintosh Zealots do to a potential competitor for their beloved Apple.
The lesson to be learned is before making a bold move into a market, one must prove ones chops with a proper introduction to the big league. Introductions are more important than ever, with a gradual build to your “big idea.”
Had Psystar prepared the field by seeding key advocates and trusted sources within the Macintosh community before unveiling their game changing clone, they may have had a chance at being taken seriously. Now, they’ll be lucky to get any orders at all- and no chance at a second chance should something go wrong with any of the first units (if they ship).
Better mousetraps can’t be sprung without proper preparation, and poser brands don’t stand a chance at hiding behind any value proposition, until tested and proven.
Time will quickly tell if Psystar is a poser, but, until then, they’ve already dug themselves a pretty deep hole.
then do what I did and buy the book
There are a few ad agencies that really understand relationship marketing and building brands based on emotional ownership over rational decision making processes- 
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